https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Sukh_Jiwan_MalSukh Jiwan Mal - Revision history2026-10-30T06:18:40ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.43.6https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sukh_Jiwan_Mal&diff=538037&oldid=prevBharatman at 17:15, 22 February 20262026-02-22T17:15:23Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Raja of Kashmir from 1754 to 1762}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}<br />
{{Infobox royalty<br />
| name = Sukh Jiwan Mal<br />
| succession = [[list of monarchs of Kashmir|Raja of Kashmir]]<br />
| reign = June 1754 – October 1762<br />
| image = A King Enthroned on a Terrace, 18th century, Kashmir.jpg<br />
| predecessor = ''Position established''<br />
| successor = ''Position abolished''<br />
| reg-type = [[Prime minister|Prime Minister]]<br />
| regent = [[Abu'l Hasan Bandey]] (1754–1757, 1758)<br>Mir Muqim Kanth (1757–1758)<br>Pandit Mahanand Dhar (1758–1762)<br />
{{Infobox officeholder<br />
| embed = yes<br />
| office = [[Durrani Empire|Governor of Kashmir]]<br />
| successor = Nur-ud-Din Khan Bamzai (1762)<br />
| predecessor = Abdullah Khan Kabuli<br />
| deputy = Khwaja Kijak Khan<br />
| monarch = [[Ahmad Shah Durrani]]<br />
| term_start = 1753<br />
| term_end = June 1754<br />
| office1 = [[Durrani Empire|Deputy Governor of Kashmir]]<br />
| successor1 = Khwaja Kijak Khan<br />
| predecessor1 = Abdullah Khan Kabuli<br />
| governor1 = Abdullah Khan Kabuli<br />
| monarch1 = Ahmad Shah Durrani<br />
| term_start1 = 1752<br />
| term_end1 = 1753<br />
| allegiance = [[File:Durrani Emirate Flag.png|22px]] [[Durrani Empire]]<br>[[File:Saffron flag.png|22px]] [[Kingdom of Kashmir (1754–1762)|Kingdom of Kashmir]]<br />
| branch = [[File:Durrani Emirate Flag.png|22px]] [[Durrani Empire|Durrani Army]]<br>[[File:Saffron flag.png|22px]] [[Kingdom of Kashmir (1754–1762)|Kashmiri Army]]<br />
| rank = [[Lieutenant]]<br>[[Faujdar]]<br>[[Ispahsalar|Naib-Sipahsalar]]<br>[[Subedar]]<br />
| battles = {{tree list}}<br />
*'''[[Mughal–Afghan Wars|Afghan–Mughal War]]'''<br />
**Siege of Srinagar (1748)<br />
**[[Battle of Shopian (1752)]]<br />
*'''[[Indian campaign of Ahmad Shah Durrani|Afghan–Kashmir War]]'''<br />
**Baramulla Offensive<br />
**Battle of Poonch (1754)<br />
**Battle of Sialkot (1758)<br />
**[[Battle of Chera Har|Battle of Chera Har (1762)]]<br />
*'''[[Afghan–Maratha War]]'''<br />
**[[Third Battle of Panipat]]<br />
{{tree list/end}}<br />
| birth_date = {{Circa|1720}}<br />
| birth_place = [[Bhera]], [[Subah of Lahore|Lahore Subah]], [[Mughal Empire]]<ref name=Parmu/> (present-day [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]], Pakistan)<br />
| death_date = 1762<br />
| death_place = [[Lahore]], [[Durrani Empire]] (present-day Punjab, Pakistan)<br />
| blank1 = Religion<br />
| data1 = [[Hinduism]]<br />
| occupation = {{hlist|Soldier|officer|advisor|politician}}<br />
}}<br />
}}<br />
[[Raja]] '''Sukh Jiwan Mal''' was the [[List of monarchs of Kashmir|ruler of Kashmir]] from 1754 to 1762. He rose from the rank of a soldier to a governor ([[emir|''amir'']]) and then finally became a ruler. He was the last independent [[List of monarchs of Kashmir|monarch of Kashmir]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Gupta|first=Hari Ram|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S1wwAQAAIAAJ&q=sukh+jivan+mal|title=History of the Sikhs: The Sikh commonwealth or Rise and fall of Sikh misls|date=Oct 2001|publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal|isbn=978-81-215-0165-1|language=en}}</ref><br />
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== Early life ==<br />
Sukh Jiwan Mal was born and raised in the city of [[Bhera]], then in the [[Subah of Lahore]], into a [[Punjabi Hindus|Punjabi Hindu]] [[Khatri]] family.<ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last=Gupta |first=Hari Ram |author-link=Hari Ram Gupta |title=The Maratha Supremacy |date=2001 |publisher=[[Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan]] |others= |editor-last=Majumdar |editor-first=R. C. |editor-link=R. C. Majumdar |edition=3rd |series=[[The History and Culture of the Indian People]] |volume=VIII |location=Mumbai |pages=164 |chapter=Disruption of the Mughul Empire – (k) Jammu and Kashmir |oclc=664485 |quote= |orig-date=1977 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/marathasupremacy08bhar/page/164/mode/1up}}</ref><ref name=Parmu>{{Cite book |last=Parmu |first=R. K. |url= |title=A History of Muslim Rule in Kashmir, 1320–1819 |date=1969 |publisher=People's Publishing House |isbn= |location=Delhi |pages=358 |chapter=Kashmir Under the Pathans (1753–1819) |oclc=1129473831 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/AHistoryOfMuslimRuleInKashmir13201819R.K.Parmu/page/358/mode/1up?q=}}</ref><br />
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== History ==<br />
<br />
=== Background ===<br />
Kashmir under Afghan rulers was in a bad state. Locals were tortured and killed during the reign of Afghans. The very first Afghan chief Abdullah Khan Isk Aquasi appointed by [[Ahmad Shah Durrani|Ahmad Shah Abdali]] would line up all Kashmiris whom he considered rich and would ask them to either part with their wealth or to face death. The Afghan army would often raid and loot common Kashmiri houses.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Jagmohan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yHj4DwAAQBAJ&dq=sukh+jiwan+mal+parents&pg=PA57|title=My Frozen Turbulence in Kashmir (12th Edition_Reprint 2019)|date=2019-11-15|publisher=Allied Publishers|isbn=978-93-85926-56-3|language=en}}</ref><br />
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=== Rise ===<br />
After the loot and plunder, Abdullah Khan Isk Aquasi returned to [[Kabul]] leaving Kashmir under the charge of Abdullah Khan Kabuli. Kabuli appointed Sukh Jiwan as his [[Adviser|chief advisor]].<ref name=":1" /> A local leader of the [[Kashmiri Muslims]], Abu'l Hasan Bandey wanted to get rid of the cruel Afghan rulers.<ref name=":0" /> Bandey convinced Sukh Jiwan to kill Kabuli and become independent. Subsequently, Kabuli was assassinated and Sukh Jiwan became the independent ruler after formally getting the title of ''[[Raja]]'' from the Mughal emperor.<ref name=":1" /><br />
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=== Reign ===<br />
{{Main|Kingdom of Kashmir (1754–1762)}}<br />
As the ruler of Kashmir, Sukh Jiwan appointed Bandey as his prime minister. To suppress the rebellion, Ahmad Shah Abdali sent Khwaja Kijak and Abdullah Khan Isk Aquasi to Kashmir. They were both defeated. In another occasion, Afghan [[Prisoner of war|prisoners of war]] were paraded in the streets with Kashmiri crowds spitting at them.<ref name=":1" /> The locals of Kashmir were at large happy with the smooth and efficient administration but the happiness did not last very long. A destructive [[famine]] occurred in 1755 followed by [[Locust|locust attack]]. These natural calamities forced the locals to desperately eat dead locusts.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Nanda|first=K. K.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NL4wBQAAQBAJ&dq=sukh+jiwan+mal&pg=PA37|title=War With No Gains (Prabhat Prakashan)|date=2013-01-01|publisher=Prabhat Prakashan|isbn=978-81-8430-241-7|language=en}}</ref> Sukh Jiwan distributed 80 lakh kg rice for free among the poor people.<ref name=":0" /><br />
<br />
According to Schwartz, "Kashmir's only respite from economic and political pressures during the Afghan and [[Sikh rule in Kashmir|Sikh rule]] occurred during the reign of Sukh Jiwan Mal, marked by a flowering of literacy activity attached to patronage." Sukh Jiwan held weekly symposiums to which he invited all the poets. He also employed poets to produce history of Kashmir in the style of [[Books of Kings|Book of Kings]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Schwartz|first=Schwartz Kevin L.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FHgxEAAAQBAJ|title=Remapping Persian Literary History, 1700-1900|date=2020-03-18|publisher=Edinburgh University Press|isbn=978-1-4744-5087-4|language=en}}</ref> Under the advice of Mahanand Dhar, Sukh Jiwan in order to facilitate his work imported many [[Khatri]] Hindus from Punjab to Kashmir.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Suri|first=Inderjit Singh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wCBuAAAAMAAJ&q=khatree+sukh|title=Lest We Forget: A History of Sikhs of Kashmir|date=2006|publisher=Inderjit Singh|language=en}}</ref><br />
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=== Defeat ===<br />
When force did not work, Abdali used wit to get control of Kashmir. He attempted to destroy the good relations between Sukh Jiwan and Bandey by putting a wedge against them. Taking advantage of this situation, Abdali sent an army led by Nur-ud-Din Khan Bamzai to Kashmir. A major portion of Raja Sukh Jiwan's army including his commander-in-chief Bakth Mal betrayed him.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Gupta|first=Hari Ram|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NcMBAAAAMAAJ&q=sukh+jiwan+mal|title=Studies in Later Mughal History of the Panjab, 1707-1793|date=1944|publisher=Minerva book shop|language=en}}</ref> Eventually, he was captured, blinded and sent to Abdali in [[Lahore]] where he was killed by throwing him under an elephant.<ref name=":1" /><br />
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== See also ==<br />
<br />
* [[Kabuli Mal]] <br />
* [[Kaura Mal]] <br />
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== References ==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
<br />
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raja Sukh Jivan Mal}}<br />
[[Category:Kings of Kashmir|Jivan Mal, Raja Sukh]]<br />
[[Category:Punjabi Hindus|Jivan Mal, Raja Sukh]]<br />
[[Category:Punjabi people|Jivan Mal, Raja Sukh]]<br />
[[Category:Hindu states|Jivan Mal, Raja Sukh]]<br />
[[Category:Hindu dynasties|Jivan Mal, Raja Sukh]]</div>Bharatman