Misr Diwan Chand


Misr Diwan Chand was a notable officer of Maharaja Ranjit Singh's reign. He rose from petty clerk to the chief of artillery and commander-in-chief of the armies that conquered Multan and Kashmir.He was a notable pillar of the state. Diwan Chand was the son of a Brahmin shopkeeper of Gondlanwala village.Diwan Chand was honoured with the title of Zafar Jang Bahadur—Brave Victor of Battles from Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Diwan Chand captured Multan in 1818. In 1819, he led an expedition to Shupiyan in Kashmir region, along with Ranjit Singh's son Kharak Singh.
Maharaja Ranjit Singh had a great regard of general.Once at Amritsar, the Maraharja had purchsed a very precious Hookah from as Hindustani merchant, although this was against the injunctions of his own religion He presented the hukkah to Misr Diwan Chand, to mark the high esteem in which he was held by the Maharaja. Also give permission was given to him to smoke.
The contribution of Misr Dewan Chand in the making of the Maharaja's empire has also been under-estimated by British historians who have described him as a “Hookah-smoking general'.It is a fact that Maharaja had once presented him a Hookah himself.
He was a great warrior and general who achieved the title of Fateh-o-Nusrat-Nasib from Maharaja Ranjit Singh himself and made him Governor of Kashmir.
Misr Diwan Chand was the Commander-in-Chief of Khalsa Army from 1817 to 1825. He was a pillar on whose back the powerful Sikh Kingdom arose.