Ilahi Bakhsh

2022-06-08T16:02:40Z

203.135.47.205:

{{Short description|Sikh Empire general and artillery officer}}
{{Infobox military person
| name = Ilahi Bakhsh
| birth_date =
| death_date = 1849
| birth_place =
| death_place = [[Chillianwala]], [[Punjab]], [[Sikh Empire]] <br> (present-day [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]], [[Pakistan]])
| allegiance = [[File:Sikh Empire flag.jpg|30px]] [[Sikh Empire]]
| branch = [[Sikh Khalsa Army]]
| serviceyears = 1802-1849
| rank = [[General|Jarnail]]
| spouse =
| relations = Fateh Khan (son) <br> Sikander Khan (son) <br> Madad Khan (son)
}}

'''Ilahi Bakhsh''' was a [[Rajput]] general. He served in the [[Sikh Khalsa Army|Sikh Khalsa Fauj]] for over forty years and was regarded as one of the best artillery officers.<ref>Nagendra Kr Singh, Encyclopaedia of Muslim Biography: I-M, A.P.H. Publishing Corporation, 2001</ref><ref>G. S. Chhabra, Advance Study in the History of Modern India (Volume-2: 1803-1920), Lotus Press, 2005</ref>

==Biography==
He entered the service of the army in 1802.<ref>Nagendra Kr Singh, Encyclopaedia of Muslim Biography: I-M, A.P.H. Publishing Corporation, 2001</ref> Following a re-organization of the army in 1810, Bakhsh was transferred to a new artillery corps, the [[Fauj-i-Khas]], led by Mian Ghaus Khan.<ref>Gulcharan Singh, Ranjit Singh, and his generals, Sujlana Publishers, 1976</ref> In 1814 he was placed in command of a special wing of artillery named the Derah-i-Ilahi.<ref>Nagendra Kr Singh, Encyclopaedia of Muslim Biography: I-M, A.P.H. Publishing Corporation, 2001</ref> In 1818 he assisted [[Misr Diwan Chand]] at the [[Battle of Multan]].<ref>Kartar S. Duggal, Philosophy and Faith of Sikhism, Himalayan Institute Press, 1988</ref> He was later employed in the pacification of [[Hazarajat|Hazara]] and [[Dera Ghazi Khan]]. He fought at the [[Battle of Nowshera]] in March 1823.<ref>Balraj Saggar, Who's who in the history of Punjab, 1800-1849, National Book Organisation, 1993</ref>

In 1831 at the [[Rupnagar|Ropar]] meeting between [[Ranjit Singh|Maharaja Ranjit Singh]] and [[Lord William Bentinck]], the [[Governor-General of India]], he arranged a demonstration of his artillery as well as of his own firing skill in the course of evening entertainments and the review of troops.<ref>Nagendra Kr Singh, Encyclopaedia of Muslim Biography: I-M, A.P.H. Publishing Corporation, 2001</ref>

In the beginning of January 1844, he was removed from his command in suspicion of corresponding with Jawahar Singh and Suchet Singh but was restored to his command a few days later.<ref>Balraj Saggar, Who's who in the history of Punjab, 1800-1849, National Book Organisation, 1993</ref>

He was present at many of the battles during the [[First Anglo-Sikh War]] and [[Second Anglo-Sikh War]].<ref>Balraj Saggar, Who's who in the history of Punjab, 1800-1849, National Book Organisation, 1993</ref> He played a key role at the [[Battle of Chillianwala]], one of the bloodiest British battles fought in India.<ref>M. L. Ahluwalia, Sant Nihal Singh, Alias Bhai Maharaj Singh: A Saint-revolutionary of the 19th Century Punjab, Punjabi University, 1972</ref> Three days after the battle, Ilahi Bakhsh defected to the British, possibly due to a monetary incentive from the British.<ref>Basil Perronet Hughes, The Bengal Horse Artillery, 1800-1861: the 'Red Men' - a nineteenth-century corps d'élite, Arms and Armour Press, 1971</ref> The defection of Bakhsh dealt a blow to the Sikh artillery and they capitulated to the British the following month at [[Battle of Gujrat|Gujrat]].
He died in the [[Battle of Chillianwala]] in 1849.

==Family==
His sons Fateh Khan, Sikander Khan and Madad Khan all achieved distinction as officers in the Sikh Army. Sikander succeeded his father as Chief of the Artillery and later inherited substantial properties in [[Lahore]]. Fateh died whilst fighting at the [[Battle of Mudki]], and Madad was killed at the [[Battle of Chillianwala]].<ref>Azim Husain, Fazl i Husain A Political Biography, Longmans, Green & Company, 1946</ref> His Grandson was the famous Raja of Chillianwala Ch. Tuman Khan, the father of Raja Sardar Khan of Chillianwala. His great-granddaughter married the founder of the [[Unionist Party (Punjab)|Unionist Party]], [[Fazl-i-Hussain|Sir Fazl-i-Hussain]].<ref>Azim Husain, Fazl i Husain A Political Biography, Longmans, Green & Company, 1946</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bakhsh, Ilahi}}
[[Category:People of the Sikh Empire]]
[[Category:History of Punjab]]
[[Category:Punjabi people]]
[[Category:People of the First Anglo-Sikh War]]
[[Category:People of the Second Anglo-Sikh War]]
[[Category:Ranjit Singh]]
[[Category:People of British India]]
[[Category:1846 deaths]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing]]

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Ilahi Bakhsh