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{{short description|Mughal official (died 1747)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Lakhpat Rai
| death_date = 1746
| death_place = Punjab, Mughal Empire
| children = Harbhaj Rai<br>Dalpat Rai
| office = Diwan of Lahore
| term_start = 1726
| term_end = 1747
| predecessor = unknown
| successor = [[Kaura Mal]]
| known_for = Involvement in the Chhota Ghallughara
| relatives = [[Jaspat Rai]] (brother), Dalpat Rai (son)
}}Lakhpat Rai was the [[Dewan|Diwan]] (chief minister) of [[Subah of Lahore|Lahore]] for [[Yahya Khan (governor)|Yahya Khan Bahadur]], the [[Subahdar]] of [[Subah|Subahs]] of Lahore and [[Subah of Multan|Multan]], from 1726 until his death on March 21, 1747.<ref name=":12">{{Cite book |last=Seetal |first=Sohan Singh |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Rise_of_the_Sikh_Power_and_Maharaja_Ranj/TzRuAAAAMAAJ?hl=en |title=Rise of the Sikh Power and Maharaja Ranjeet Singh |date=1971 |publisher=Dhanpat Rai |pages=221 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":122">{{Cite web |last=Nijjar|first=B. S.|title=CHHOṬĀ GHALLŪGHĀRĀ|url=https://eos.learnpunjabi.org/CHHOTA%20GHALLUGHARA.html|access-date=22 February 2026|website=Encyclopedia of Sikhism (Online Edition)|publisher=Punjabi University|publication-place=Patiala}}</ref> He is best known for his role in a large scale massacre of [[Sikhs]] in 1746 called the [[Chhota Ghallughara]], in which an estimated 7,000 Sikhs were killed.<ref>A Popular Dictionary of Sikhism: Sikh Religion and Philosophy, [https://books.google.com/books?id=vcSRAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA86&dq= p.86], Routledge, W. Owen Cole, Piara Singh Sambhi, 2005</ref><ref name="Singha200022">{{cite book |last=Singha |first=H. S |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gqIbJz7vMn0C |title=The encyclopedia of Sikhism (over 1000 entries) |publisher=Hemkunt Press |year=2000 |isbn=978-81-7010-301-1 |page=110 |accessdate=22 December 2011}}</ref> However, Purnima Dhavan gives a smaller figure of 400 Sikhs being killed in the massacre.<ref name=":032">{{Cite book |last=Dhavan |first=Purnima |title=When Sparrows Became Hawks: The Making of the Sikh Warrior Tradition, 1699-1799 |date=2 November 2011 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780199877171 |pages=91}}</ref>

Lakhpat Rai and his brother [[Jaspat Rai]] belonged to a [[Khatri]] family from [[Kalanaur, Gurdaspur|Kalanaur]].<ref name=":12" /><ref name=":04">{{Cite book |last=Dhavan |first=Purnima |title=When Sparrows Became Hawks: The Making of the Sikh Warrior Tradition, 1699-1799 |date=2 November 2011 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780199877171 |pages=91}}</ref> Lakhpat Rai constructed the Suka Talab in Lahore, which was situated near the Gurdwara Shikargarh Patshahi Chhevin.<ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last=Butalia |first=Tarunjit Singh |url=https://jeevaysanjhapunjab.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Sikh-Historical-Shrines-in-Pakistan-Lahore-District.pdf |title=Sikh Historical Shrines in Pakistan: Lahore District |date=April 2025 |publisher=Jeevay Sanjha Punjab |edition=1st |pages=11 |chapter=}}</ref> Jaspat Rai was killed by the Sikhs in a raid. In order to take revenge of his brother's death, Lakhpat Rai convinced Yahya Khan, the Mughal governor, to take action against Sikhs.<ref name=":04" /> As per [[Ratan Singh Bhangu|Rattan Singh Bhangu's]] ''[[Prachin Panth Prakash|Panth Prakash]]'', Lakhpat Rai personally supervised the operation and specifically sought out copies of the Guru Granth Sahib in-order to destroy them.<ref name=":022">{{Cite book |last=Mann |first=Gurinder Singh |url=http://giss.org/jsps_vol_23/2_mann.pdf |title=Sri Gur Panth Prakash: Its Text, Context, and Significance |publisher=Global Institute for Sikh Studies |year=2016 |location=New York |pages=34 |quote=... and Bhangu mentions Lakhpat Rai, a Hindu Rajput working for the Afghan administration, making efforts to destroy the manuscripts of the Guru Granth.}}</ref> During the ''Chhota Ghallughara'' campaign, Lakhpat Rai's son Harbhaj Rai was killed by the Sikhs.<ref name=":4">{{Cite news |last=Sodhi |first=Harjinder |last2=Ganeshpur |first2=Jagjit Singh |date=14 May 2019 |title=Aja ghalūghārā divasa'tē: Sikha itihāsa dā ahima sākā chōṭā ghalūghārā |script-title=pa:ਅੱਜ ਘੱਲੂਘਾਰਾ ਦਿਵਸ 'ਤੇ : ਸਿੱਖ ਇਤਿਹਾਸ ਦਾ ਅਹਿਮ ਸਾਕਾ ਛੋਟਾ ਘੱਲੂਘਾਰਾ |trans-title=On Ghalughara Day: The Significant Episode of "Chhota Ghalughara" |url=https://www.punjabijagran.com/religion/religious-articles-saka-of-sikh-history-chhota-ghallughara-8659626.html |access-date=22 February 2026 |work=Punjabi Jagran |language=pa}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite web |date=13 August 2018 |title=Chōṭā ghalūghārā sarōta: Pajāba kōśa–jilada pahilī, bhāśā vibhāga pajāba |script-title=pa:ਛੋਟਾ ਘੱਲੂਘਾਰਾ ਸਰੋਤ : ਪੰਜਾਬ ਕੋਸ਼–ਜਿਲਦ ਪਹਿਲੀ, ਭਾਸ਼ਾ ਵਿਭਾਗ ਪੰਜਾਬ |trans-title=Chhota Ghallughara (The Minor Holocaust); Source: Punjab Kosh – Volume 1, Language Department Punjab |url=https://punjabipedia.org/topic.aspx?txt=%E0%A8%9B%E0%A9%8B%E0%A8%9F%E0%A8%BE%20%E0%A8%98%E0%A9%B1%E0%A8%B2%E0%A9%82%E0%A8%98%E0%A8%BE%E0%A8%B0%E0%A8%BE |access-date=22 February 2026 |website=[[Punjabipedia]] |publisher=Punjabi University |language=pa |publication-place=Patiala}}</ref> Lakhpat Rai was later killed by the Sikhs.<ref name=":12" /> According to Surjit Singh Gandhi, he was killed in 1748.<ref name=":12" /> His son, Dalpat Rai, sought asylum in [[Deva dynasty of Jammu|Jammu]] and settled there.<ref name=":72">{{cite book |last1=Seth |first1=Mira |title=Dogra Wall Paintings in Jammu and Kashmir |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780195615494 |edition=illustrated |page= |pages=2–3 |chapter=1: Background}}</ref>

== References ==
<references />

[[Category:1746 deaths]]

Lakhpat Rai - Revision history

Cmrseowork at 22:57, 20 April 2026