297th Birth anniversary of Maharaja Jassa Singh Ramgarhia celebrated

Jassa Singh Ramgarhia (1723 - 1803) was a prominent Sikh leader during the period of the Sikh Confederacy. He became the Misldar (Chief/Leader) of the Ramgarhia Army (misl). This period was an interlude, lasting roughly from the time of the death of Banda Singh Bahadur in 1716 to the founding of the Sikh Empire in 1801. The period is also sometimes described as the Age of the Misls.

Jassa Singh Ramgarhia is not to be confused with Jassa Singh Ahluwalia; both were prominent Misldars of separate powerful Sikh army groups, called Misls. Ramgarhia's father was called Giani Bhagwan Singh.

Ramgarhia was born Jassa Singh Thoka at Ichogil village in 1723, near the city of Amritsar into a Tarkhan family.

His grandfather, Baba Hardas Singh was a resident of Sur Singh, a large village in the Lahore district. He took Pahul (the Sikh baptismal oath) from the hands of Guru Gobind Singh, the initiator of the Pahul tradition who bestowed the original Panj Piares.

Giving up his work as a ploughman, he became one of the Guru's personal attendants. Baba Hardas Singh was only five years old when Guru Tegh Bahadur and his three brave companions bravely faced their tortuous executions in defence of the threatened Hindu Pandits of Kashmir, in Chandi Chowk at the order of Aurangzeb.

Baba ji served the Sikh panth under the guidance of the tenth Guru, Guru Gobind Singh. He was responsible for many Birs (hand written copies of the Holy Granth. He worked with one of the famous Sikh martyr and scholar Bhai Mani Singh. After the death of the Guru, he joined the forces of Banda Bahadur and took part in almost every battle for religious freedom, under the Sikh Jathedar's (commander's) flag, against the Mughal Empire's forces. In 1716 his grandfather, Baba Hardas Singh died in a skirmish.

His only son, Bhagwan Singh then became the head of the family. He was of a still more adventurous disposition. He shifted to village Ichogil which lay about twelve miles east of Lahore. He preached the Sikh faith in the neighbouring villages. He was an intrepid soldier and with two hundred followers entered the Imperial Mughal forces under the Governor of Lahore — Khan Bahadur. Where, owing to his abilities, he became a distinguished officer. He was appointed a Risaldar (a Commander of a Calvary unit) by Khan Bahadur.

Bhagwan Singh had five sons, named Jai Singh, Jassa Singh, Khushal Singh, Mali Singh and Tara Singh. In 1739 during the invasion of Nadir Shah, Bhagwan Singh saved the life of the governor of Lahore at the cost of his own. Khan Bahadur surrendered to the Persian invader's forces and was left in place as Governor. To reward Bhagwan Singh's brave deed the governor gave a village each to all of his five sons. The villages gifted were Valla, Verka, Sultanwind, Tung and Chubhal. All of these are now in the Amritsar district. Of these villages Valla came to the share of Jassa Singh.

On the death of Khan Bahadur in 1746, Jassa Singh, together with his followers, joined their Sikh brethren at Amritsar. Jassa Singh Ramgarhia was one of the closest friends of Jhanda Singh Dhillon.