Bhangi Misl: Difference between revisions

The '''Bhangi Misl''' was a large [[Sikh]] [[Misl]]<ref name="BhangiMisl"/> headquartered in a village near [[Amritsar]]. It was founded in the early 18th century by [[Chhajja Singh Dhillon|Sardar Chhajja Singh]],<ref name="BhangiMisl">Sikh History (2004). [http://www.sikh-history.com/sikhhist/events/bhangi.html "The Bhangi Misal"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304135121/http://www.sikh-history.com/sikhhist/events/bhangi.html |date=4 March 2016 }}, ''History of the Sikhs'', 2004. Retrieved on 7 September 2016</ref><ref>Singh, Rishi (2015). ''State Formation and the Establishment of Non-Muslim Hegemony:Post-Mughal 19th-century Punjab''. India: Sage Publications India Pvt Ltd, New Delhi, 23 April 2015. {{ISBN|9789351500759}}</ref><ref>Dhavan, Purnima (2011). ''When Sparrows Became Hawks: The Making of the Sikh Warrior Tradition, 1699-1799'', p.60. OUP USA Publisher, 3 November 2011.</ref> who was baptised by [[Banda Singh Bahadur]].<ref name="Jaspreet">Jaspreet Kaur (2000). ''Sikh Ethos: Eighteenth Century Perspective'', p.99. Vision & Venture, Patiala, 2000.</ref><ref>Jain, Harish (2003). ''The Making of Punjab'', p. 201. Unistar Books Pvt. Ltd, Chandigarh.</ref> The ''misl'' received its name "Bhangi" because Chhajja Singh and his soldiers frequently used the herbal intoxicant [[bhang]] (drink made from [[cannabis sativa]]).<ref>Singh, Bhagata (1993). ''A History of The Sikh Misals'', p. 89. Publication Bureau, Punjabi University, Patiala, 1993.</ref><ref>Seetal, Sohan Singh (1981). ''The Sikh Misals and the Punjab States'', p.11. India: Lahore Book Shop, Ludhiana, 1981.</ref> After Singh's death, the Bhangi ''misl'' was succeeded by [[Bhuma Singh]].<ref name="SandhuJaspreet">Sandhu, Jaspreet Kaur (2000). ''Sikh Ethos: Eighteenth Century Perspective'', p.99. Vision & Venture, Patiala, 2000.</ref><ref name="Khushwant Singh">{{cite book|last=Singh|first=Khushwant|title=A History of the Sikhs: 1469-1838|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MD9uAAAAMAAJ|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-567308-1|pages=127|date=2004-10-11}}</ref>

It grew in strength and territory to cover an area from [[Gujrat, Pakistan|Gujrat]] to [[Multan]] and emerged as the strongest power in the western [[Punjab region]].<ref name="McLeod2005">{{cite book|last=McLeod|first=W. H.|title=Historical dictionary of Sikhism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ma3G-hjh6SwC&pg=PA35|year=2005|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-0-8108-5088-0|page=35}}</ref> However, deaths among the leadership during the late 1760s reduced the Misl's power.<ref name="McLeod2005"/>

==Decline of power==

The Bhangi misl engaged in numerous power struggles with the [[Sukerchakia Misl]] until they were severely weakened at the [[Battle of Basin]] and the loss of Lahore to [[Ranjit Singh]].{{cn|date=August 2021}}