Malik Fateh Khan Tiwana

Punjabi landowner and politician

Malik Fateh Khan Tiwana (died 1848) was a Punjabi landowner and politician during the Sikh Empire.

## Biography[edit]

### Early life[edit]

He was born to Khuda Yar Khan and a member of the Tiwana family of Shahpur. He was the grandson of Khan Muhammad Khan, the Tiwana chief of Nurpur Tirwana. He was the uncle of Malik Sahib Khan Tiwana. He served General Hari Singh Nalwa who had held the Tiwana jagir of Mitha Tiwana since 1819. He held a command under the General's authority until his death in 1837.[1] The following year Prime Minister, Raja Dhyan Singh rewarded him control of Mitha Tiwana and the salt mines to the south of the country.[1] His administration was unsuccessful and he was placed under house arrest by Nau Nihal Singh until arrears were paid. On the death of Nau Nihal Singh, his fortunes rose once again, and he was made Manager of the Kachhi country.[1] In 1843 his patron Raja Dhyan Singh was assassinated, and Fateh was accused of conspiracy to the murder. The murdered minister's son, Hira Singh, himself now Prime Minister, placed a bounty on Fateh's head. Fateh escaped to Bannu where he sought refuge and thereafter returned to rally fellow Muslims to take up arms against the government.[1]

### Murder of Pashaura Singh[edit]

In 1844, on the fall of Hira Singh from power, Fateh went to Lahore to seek the assistance of Jowahir Singh, the new Prime Minister. Jowahir Singh made him governor of Mitha Tiwana, of portions of Jhelum and Rawalpindi, and of the whole province of Dera Ismail Khan and Bannu. In return, Fateh was requested to assist Jowahir Singh in defeating Pashaura Singh, a reputed son of Maharajah Ranjit Singh and popular choice to succeed as Maharajah of the Punjab.[2] Pashaura had, with the help of local Muslim tribes, secured the fort of Attock.[2] Together with Chattar Singh Attariwalla, and some 8,000 men, Fateh was ordered to the fort. Unable to seize Pashaura by force, they promised him safe passage if he surrendered the fort, and Pashaura obliged.[2] They then set out for Lahore, when upon reaching Hasan Abdal, they received word that it was unsafe to continue to the capital and were ordered to retain him in the north of the province.[2] That same night they placed him in chains and marched him back to Attock. Here he was placed in the lower chamber of a tower, and strangled to death the following night. His body was thrown into the Indus river.[1]

After the murder of Pashaura, Fateh took possession of Dera Ismail Khan and sought to secure his position. He had the two of the chief Jagirdars of Tank killed, namely Payinda Khan and Ashik Muhammad Khan, whilst a third Haiyat Ullah Khan narrowly escaped.[2] The killings caused uproar across the province and Fateh had to pay a high price for immunity.[2] He was however replaced as governor of Dera Ismail Khan by Daulat Rai. In 1846 he was attacked by Daulat Rai and forced to retire to Mitha Tiwana.[2] In the summer of 1846 he was sent to Kashmir in a bid to influence his friend, the rebel governor Imaduddin Khan. Having achieved his mission with success, he later accompanied Major Henry Lawrence to Kashmir.[2]

### Later life and death[edit]

On his return to Lahore he was held to account for financial irregularities in his former government. He was ordered to pay four lakh rupees, and on pleading impecunity, he was held under house arrest by Lawrence. He was then imprisoned at Govindghar fort along with his son Fatah Sher Khan.[2]

At the start of the Second Anglo-Sikh War, Lieutenant Edwardes recommended he be installed as the Governor of Bannu in place of Lieutenant Taylor.[3] He was besieged at his fort of Dalipnagar, and killed in the gateway.[3] He was succeeded by son Fatah Sher Khan, who would go on to serve as one of Lieutenant Edwardes's chief officers, and render support for the British during the Indian Rebellion of 1857.[3] Nawab Malik Muhammad Sher Khan Tiwana was his grandson, who further had two sons, Nawabzada Shahadat Khan Tiwana and Nawabzada Feroz Khan Tiwana.

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e Rishi Singh, State Formation and the Establishment of Non-Muslim Hegemony: Post-Mughal 19th-century Punjab, SAGE Publications India, 23 Apr 2015
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Lepel H. Griffin, The Punjab Chiefs, 1865
3. ^ a b c Sir Roper Lethbridge, The Golden Book of India: A Genealogical and Biographical Dictionary of the Ruling Princes, Chiefs, Nobles, and Other Personages, Titled Or Decorated of the Indian Empire, Aakar Books, 1893

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Sikh Empire

Rulers|

* Ranjit Singh
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Military
conflicts|

| Mughal-Sikh Wars|

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|

Afghan–Sikh wars|

* Battle of Attock
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First Anglo-Sikh War|

* Battle of Mudki
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Second Anglo-Sikh War|

* Battle of Ramnagar
* Battle of Chillianwala
* Siege of Multan
* Battle of Gujrat

Others|

Nepal–Sikh War, Sino-Sikh war, Katoch–Sikh War, Hill States–Sikh Wars, Panchayati Revolution, List of battles involving the Sikh Empire

Military forces|

* Sikh Khalsa Army
* Fauj-i-Khas
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Adversaries|

* Mughal Empire
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* Namgyal dynasty
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Forts|

* Jamrud Fort
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Officials and warriors|

| Natives|

* Dhian Singh
* Diwan Dina Nath
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* Diwan Buta Singh
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* Diwan Mulraj
* Hari Singh Nalwa
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* Balbhadra Kunwar
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* Mehta Basti Ram
* Sham Singh Attariwalla
* Sher Singh Attariwalla
* Chattar Singh Attariwalla
* Amar Singh Majithia
* Lehna Singh Majithia
* Ranjodh Singh Majithia
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* Mangal Singh Ramgarhia
* Akali Phula Singh
* Chandu Lal
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* Sangat Singh Saini
* Hukma Singh
* Veer Singh
* Jarnail Ghaus Khan
* Ilahi Bakhsh
* Fakir Azizuddin
* Sultan Mahmud Khan
* Malik Fateh Khan Tiwana

|

Foreigners|

* Jean-François Allard
* Jean-Baptiste Ventura
* Claude Auguste Court
* François Henri Mouton
* Alexander Gardner
* Paolo Avitabile
* Josiah Harlan
* Johann Martin Honigberger
* Henry Lawrence

Influential families|

* Sandhawalia family
* Majithia family
* Tiwana family

Treaties|

* Treaty of Amritsar (1809)
* Treaty of Chushul (1842)
* Treaty of Lahore (1846)
* Treaty of Amritsar (1846)

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