Maha Singh


Maha Singh
was the misaldar of the Sukerchakia Misl. Upon the death of his father, Charat Singh, he succeeded to the leadership of the Sukerchakia Misl. His son Ranjit Singh succeeded him and established the Sikh Empire. He is known for his alliance with Jassa Singh Ramgarhia and for reducing the power of the Kanheya Misl. Maha Singh married firstly Mai Man Kaur, daughter of Sardar Jai Singh of Mogalchak, and secondly Raj Kaur, daughter of Raja Gajpat Singh of Jind.

Leadership of the Sukerchakia Misl

As the new leader of the Sukerchakia Misl he captured the Rohtas Fort from Nur ud-Din Bamezai, a general of Ahmad Shah Durrani. With the help of Jai Singh Kanheya he laid a four-month siege to Rasool Nagar and captured the city from Pir Mohammed, its Chattha leader. The reputation he gained as a result of the siege led to Sardars loyal to the Bhangi Misl defecting to him He continued to expand his territory and captured Pindi Bhattian, Sahiwal, Isakhel, Kotli Loharan, and Jhang. In 1784–5, He used a feud between rulers to raid Jammu, but because he gained a great degree of wealth without sharing or informing his partner Jai Singh Kanheya, Jai Singh refused his attempts to reconcile. Maha Singh then created an alliance with Jassa Singh Ramgarhia and defeated the Kanheya Misl at the Battle of Batala. During the battle, Jai Singh Kanheya's son and successor, Gurbaksh Singh Kanheya, was killed. His widow, Sada Kaur betrothed her daughter to Ranjit Singh, Singh's Son. Sada Kaur would later succeed to the leadership of the Kanheya Misl and aided Ranjit Singh in his early victories.
During the siege of Sodhra, which was being occupied by the Bhangi Misl, he contracted dysentery and died in April 1790.