The story of Hundal’s and its roots

A Historical Background:

In 1706, Guru Gobind Singh jee sent Baba Banda Singh Bahader, along with five other Sikh warriors, from Nanded South (Hazoor Sahib) to Punjab to fight against oppression. Baba Banda Singh Bahader reached Punjab and launched a campaign against the tyranny of the government. He won many battles from the tyrants and gave appropriate punishments to the enemies of Guru Ghar. As a result of this campaign, he established the Khalsa Raj and minted the Khalsa coin. Baba Banda Singh Bahader's performance shook the Delhi government. The government sent a large army against Baba ji and in 1716 AD, the royal army surrounded him in the fort of Gurdas Nangal. For nine months, Singhs remained besieged in the fort starved and under gruesome conditions. Eventually, Baba Banda Singh Bahader was arrested along with about 700 others Singhs. All of them were taken to Delhi and tortured to death. After this, oppression of the Singhs by the Mughul government continued and Singhs kept retaliating in small groups.

1733 Nawab Kapur Singh and Jageer:

The bravery of the Singhs and their spirit of ultimate sacrifice remained a thorn in the side of the government. Both sides suffered heavy casualties and financial losses during the war. The government was making every effort to capture or kill the Singhs, but all its efforts were in vain. Perhaps, the government did not know that it is not easy to eliminate an enemy who does not hesitate to self-sacrifice.

Eventually, Zakariya Khan, the viceroy of Lahore, reached out to the Singhs through his official Subeg Singh and offered a peace treaty. In this offer, he promised to give the title of Nawab to the commander of the nation and a jageer of one lakh rupees. Due to the continuous campaigns, the number of Singhs at that time had declined considerably. To consolidate their strengths, they wanted to live in peace for a while. The Singhs, recognizing the urgency of the time, made a resolution (gurmta) and accepted Zakariya Khan's offer. Sardar Kapoor Singh was chosen for the title of Nawab. Same as other false promises by the government, this one also turned out to be hollow promise and as soon as the opportunity came next year, Zakariya khan weaseled out of his promise.

1734 Baisakhi formation of 2 Dals and 5 Jathas:

Understanding the time and circumstances, Sardar Kapoor Singh invited as many Jathas as possible for the Baisakhi gathering in 1734. In this gathering, two Dals (groups) of Singhs were formed. One of which was called 'Tarna Dal' and the other 'Budda Dal'. The Budda Dal was entrusted with the care of gurduaras and families. Five more jathas were formed out of the Tarna Dal and they were given the responsibility of fighting against oppression and tyranny. Kapoor Singh retained command of both Dals.

1734 Invitations to Singhs by Bhai Mani Singh for gathering in Amritsar during Diwali festival:

Bhai Mani Singh sent invitations to the Singhs from far and wide for a gathering during Diwali festival for a period of ten days. For this Summit, he agreed to pay the fee of five thousand stamps imposed by the government. The Governor of Lahore, seizing the opportunity, began plotting to assassinate the Singhs who would come to the gathering. When Bhai Mani Singh became aware of his plans, he canceled the meeting, realizing the danger. He sent messages to the Singhs not to come to Amritsar. Despite this, some of the Singhs who had already come were captured and martyred. The government was furious with the decision of Bhai Mani Singh Ji, so he too was arrested and martyred.

1739 Singhs move towards Malwa region, invasion of Nader Shah:

After the martyrdom of Bhai Mani Singh Ji and other Singhs, the wrath of the government against the Khalsa increased. For the safety of the families, most of the Singhs, led by Kapoor Singh, moved to Malwa (region), where they greatly increased their numbers by spreading the message of Amrit (Pauhl). Combat training continued at the same time. The number of Jathas increased from about sixty to sixty-five. In 1739, Nader Shah invaded India and plundered as far as up to Delhi. When he was returning to Afghanistan with the booty (looted goods), the Singhs engaged in guerrilla war with his armies and raided the looted goods and released the captured women and helped them to get to their respective homes.

March 29, 1748 Baisakhi Amritsar, Beginning of Misls, Jassa Singh Ahluwalia and Arrival of Ahmad Shah Abdali: 

In 1748, Ahmed Shah Abdali invaded India for the first time. He had many skirmishes with the Singhs. On 29 March 1748, on the day of Baisakhi, Sardar Kapoor Singh convened a large gathering of Budda Dal and Tarna Dal at Amritsar. On this occasion, through a resolution (Gurmata), a plan was drawn up to organize the jathas in a more efficient manner.  This is where the misls started. Eleven misls were formed under the leadership of eminent chiefs:

• Ahluwalia Misl under Jassa Singh Ahluwalia
• Singhpuria Misl (also called Faizulapuria) under Nawab Kapur Singh
• Sukkarchakkia Misl under Charhat Singh Naudh Singh

The sixth invasion of Ahmad Shah Abdali, on 5 February 1762 The Wadda Ghallughara ((Major Holocaust):

Ahmad Shah Abdali invaded India 5 times between 1748 and 1760 AD. The Singhs countered every attack courageously. The sixth attack took place on February 5, 1762. At that time the number of Singhs was about sixty to sixtyfive thousand. The Khalsa suffered heavy losses in that attack, and about thirty thousand elderly men, women and children were killed. The Khalsa Panth remembers it by the name of the Wadda Ghallughara (Major Holocaust).

Background of Hundal's:

Whereas at this time, 'Hundal' is one of the prominent surnames of Jatts in Punjab, it is also considered to be one of the oldest tribes of Jatts. According to some information (which is not authentic) these people were Surajvanshi Rajputs before joining the Sikhs. As descendants of the Aryans, they are associated with many clans in England, the United States, Canada and Germany.

Migration has been a part of human nature for ages. Whatever the reason, from time immemorial man has been moving from one place to another. The ancestors of the Hundals in the village of Bandala Hundalan are said to have come from the Malwa region of the Punjab. They came to Goindwal and learned the virtuous way of life in the presence of Guru Amar Das and became attached with the Guru ghar. Their next generation also remained devoted to the Guru ghar and became an integral part of the Sikh community.

Karora Singhia Misl and Hundal Sardar:

After Abdali's first (1748) attack, Sardar Sham Singh, the youngest son of a family from Narli village (Lahore district, Pakistan, Sandhu Jatt), joined Jathedar Kapoor Singh's jatha. Being intelligent, brave and fearless, he soon made his mark in the Jatha. While he led a jatha, he continued to participate and contribute to Kapoor Singh's jatha as well. After Sham Singh's death in 1739, his nephew Karam Singh became the commander of this jatha. Under his leadership, the jatha made great strides. During a battle with Nasrodeen, the faujdar of Jalandhar, Karam Singh suffered major injuries and died after some time. Karora Singh then took over the leadership. He was a Virk Jatt of village Pajgarh, district Lahore.

Karora Singh was active in Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur in the Doaba region and the hilly areas as well as far as Delhi. The capital of his jatha was the village of Haryana, district Hoshiarpur. The Hundal chiefs had their own group and from time to time helped Karora Singh.

Between 1748 and 1760, a group of Hundal chiefs from the village of Bandala captured twelve villages around Shamchurasi by force. They took the responsibility of safety and security of the area and levied some taxes. They also settled in five of these twelve villages. These people later joined the Karora Singhia Misl permanently. Under the leadership of Karora Singh, the misl made many gains. The misl established its second capital at Chhalodi (now in Haryana province) near Karnal.

During a battle in 1764-1765, Karora Singh was severely wounded and died soon after. At that time the number of Singhs of this misl was about twelve thousand. Karora Singh had no children of his own. After Karora Singh's death, his ally, Sardar Baghel Singh, became the next Jathedar of this misl. In those days the Khalsa conquered Delhi and hoisted the Khalsa flag on the Red Fort. The wife of Bahader Shah, King of Delhi, accepted the victory of the Khalsa and pleaded for the safety of her husband and the state. Therefore, certain terms and conditions were laid down by the Khalsa:

• Overseeing the construction of Sikh shrines in Delhi.
• The cost of accommodation of five thousand Singhs engaged in managing construction work.
• All the expenses of this project will be borne by the king's treasury, which will be equal to 37% of the revenue from excise duty.

All these conditions were accepted by the king's wife. According to a resolution (gurmata) passed by the Khalsa, the army returned to the Punjab, leaving behind Baghel Singh with 5,000 Singhs in charge of all this work. After the construction of the Sikh-shrines, the Singhs returned the conquered Red Fort to the king.

As mentioned earlier, the Hundal chiefs captured twelve villages by force and settled in five villages (Jalbhe, Sarobad, Mahadipur, Kotli and Dhurial). Budh's son Suja took over the village of Jalbhe. There was another Hundal family whose members were Roop Singh and Bhup Singh. They got ownership of some land in village Kohje that belonged to village Jalbhe. One of them was married in village Dhotiyan in Amritsar district and died in his youth. The other brother was still single. His widowed sister-in-law called her nephews from Dhotiyan, whose descendants are still living in the village of Kohje.

Beginning of Hundal's Jageer:

In 1809, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, in the treaty of Sutlej with the British, ceded the territory south of the Sutlej to the British and retained the north. An agreement was reached between the Maharaja and Hundal chiefs, according to which: on condition that 19 horsemen, be sent to the Maharaja's army as required the territory occupied by the Hundals remain under their regime and recognized as a jageer. After that the ancestors of the Hundals continued to fight and be martyred in the Maharaja's campaigns. In his writing, Principal Parkash Singh, son of Master Mewa Singh, mentions the martyrdom of Sardar Bogh Singh during a battle at Multan in 1818 AD.

In 1989, Pritam Singh, a former constable, wrote a pamphlet titled 'History of Hundal Community and Village Dhuriyal'. On page three, he lists the names of elders who were martyred in the battle of Mudaki. However, these names do not match with the names listed in the nineteenth (19th) century's panchayat (council) records of the village of Jalbhe. We have decided to list the names as per the council's records. According to this historically informative pamphlet, martyred Sardar Deva Singh was a resident of village Dhurial, however he was cremated in village Jalbhe. The name of elder Bur Singh, another martyr of village Jalbhe, is also mentioned.

According to Sardar Sher Singh great-grandson of Baba Bur Singh that sardar Mal Singh grandson of Baba Bogh Singh left Jalbhai with his four sons and family and settled in the village of Bandala.

Struggle to maintain the jageer:

After the Ghadar (mutiny) of 1857, the Punjab was annexed by the British. Thereafter, the government began to gradually reduce the expenses of the landlords' jageers in order to lessen the power of the Sikh sardars. The first attempt to change the laws in-regards to landlords was made in 1885 but it did not succeed. Despite this, the government continued the campaign and forcefully changed the law during the First World War in 1914. Even later, the British government continued to adopt a strict attitude towards the laws related to landlords in Punjab. In 1929, the jageerdars of some forty villages of the Doaba, came together and formed an organization to oppose this oppression of the government.

On 26 January 1929, invitations were sent to all the Jageerdars of the area to attend a meeting on 6th February 1929 at the residence of Sardar Arjan Singh of village Pathrali. About two hundred jageerdars attended this meeting. In order to protect their rights, a committee was formed with the following members:

• Sardar Arjan Singh Pathralia, President
• Sardar Nand Singh Jalbhe, Member
• Sardar Duleep Singh Pajoditta, Vice President
• Sardar Udham Singh Kaluvahira Secretary
• Sardar Kartar Singh Ghorevaha, Treasurer
• Sardar Kesar Singh Kotli, Vice President

End of the Jageer:

This committee struggled for a long time to maintain the existence and rights of the landlords. After the end of World War II, in 1947 the British liberated India and handed over the government to the Indian Congress Party. In 1959, the Congress government amended the law to abolish the jageerdar and paid a lump sum compensation for seven years.

All this information has been gathered from various sources. We have also included the information that has been passed down from generation to generation. Therefore, written sources of some information are not available.