Ajit Singh Sandhawalia was a Sikh chieftain from the Sandhawalia Jat clan who assassinated Sher Singh, the ruler of the Sikh Empire, on 15 September 1843.[1]
Sardar Ajit Singh Sandhawalia | |
|---|---|
 Sardar Ajit Singh Sandhawalia of Raja Sansi, ca.1840 | |
| Known for | Assassin of Maharaja Sher Singh |
| Parent | Basava Singh Sandhawalia (father) |
Biography
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Ajit Singh was the son of Basava Singh Sandhawalia, a sardar from Rajasansi.
After the assassination of Nau Nihal Singh, the Sandhawalia clan supported Chand Kaur to become the ruler.[1] But when Sher Singh forced Chand Kaur to abdicate the throne, the Sandhawalias felt cheated and refused to accept his rule.[2] The Sandhawalias were banished from the Khalsa empire and they fled to Calcutta in British India.[3]
British civil servant George Russell Clerk convinced Sher Singh to let the Sandhawalias enter the empire again. Sher Singh welcomed Ajit Singh back with open arms.[2]
Sher Singh's assassination
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Ajit Singh killed Sher Singh after asking him to inspect a new shotgun. Ajit Singh then pulled the trigger[4] and then killed the wounded Sher Singh with his sword by cutting off his head.[1]
After assassinating Sher Singh, Ajit Singh and his uncle, Lahina Singh, escaped and went on to assassinate Dhian Singh, the wazir of Sikh empire.[1][4]
References
edit- ^ a b c d Khalid, Haroon (2016-05-13). "In Lahore, overflowing garbage marks the spot where the final blow was dealt to the Sikh Empire". Scroll.in. Retrieved 2023-06-06.
- ^ a b Singh, Gavin (2020-12-21). The Butcher of Sobraon: A Fake War and the Genocide of Khalsa. Xlibris Corporation. ISBN 978-1-6641-1385-5.
- ^ Singh, Khushwant. The Fall of the Kingdom of the Punjab (PDF). Penguin.
- ^ a b "The Raja of Rajas". The Express Tribune. 2016-02-27. Retrieved 2023-06-06.
External links
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