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| Princess Susheel Kanwar of Chamba |
Rajkumari Susheel Kanwar was the only daughter of Raja Udai Singh of Chamba in Punjab Hills now renamed Himachal Pradesh. Like the princesses of her time she was trained in sword fighting, equestrianism, as well as music, arts and craft; she was skilled in embroidery handicraft of the Chamba Rumal. Max Arthur Macauliffe describes her as being extremely beautiful, graceful and delicate the physical embodiment of a Goddess.
To visualize how Susheel Kaur may have looked like, I am sharing a 1915 picture of the two daughters of Raja Bhuri Singh of Chamba. Princess Dhan Dei, married Maharaja Hari Singh of Jammu and Princess Rattan Dei, married Raja Brijmohan Pal of Kutlehar.
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| Princesses Dhan Dei & Rattan Dei of Chamba in traditional attire - 1915 |
Chamba is one of the oldest principalities in the Western Himalayas. It boasts an exceptionally rare, well-preserved history spanning over 1,400 years, during which it managed to remain largely sheltered from major foreign destruction due to its isolated, high-mountain geography.
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| Beauty of Chamba Valley |
Banda Singh Bahadur was born Lachhman Dev, a Dogra Rajput from Minhas clan who had abandoned the custom of a Rajput warrior and became a spiritual ascetic. He was blessed by Guru Gobind Singh in Nanded, Maharashtra and baptized as Banda Singh. The tenth Guru gave his five arrows and blessed him to command Khalsa, the Sikh army to liberate the people from Mughal occupation. He arrived at Sonipat, Haryana and assembled a fighting force of peasants from Haryana and Punjab to destroy Mughal power in East Punjab, Haryana, and Western UP.
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| Baba Banda Singh memorial at Chapar Chiri, Punjab |
Band Singh Bahadur captured the city of Sirhind, its Governor Wazir Khan and Dewan Sucha Nand, to avenge the execution of the two young sons of Guru Gobind Singh. After punishing Nawab Wazir Khan of Sirhind, he turned his attention towards the Pahari Kings of Punjab Hills. Raja Ajmer Chand of Kahlur (Bilaspur) was responsible for organizing all the Hill States against Guru Gobind Singh and joining the Mughal army in the Siege of Anandpur Sahib. After Raja Bhim Chand's execution at Kahlur, the other Hill Rajas accepted their subordinate status and paid revenues to Banda Singh.
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| Wedding of Susheel Kanwar with Banda Singh Bahadur |
Raja Udai Singh invited Banda Singh to Chamba and proposed a wedding alliance to him. Banda Singh accepted and the wedding took place in March 1711. Brought up as a Hindu Rajput princess, Susheel Kanwar became Susheel Kaur upon her marriage to the Banda Singh. In 1712, she gave birth to his son, Ajai Singh.
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| Susheel Kaur with Infant Ajai Singh at Lohgarh Fort |
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| Banda Singh Bahadur's Last Stand at Lohgarh fort |
The Sikhs defended the fort for 8 months but on December 7, 1715, the Mughal army under Abd al-Samad Khan besieged the fort and took the Sikhs along with Banda, Susheel and Ajai captive. They were caged and brought to Delhi in a procession of 780 Sikh prisoners, 2,000 Sikh heads hung on spears, and 700 cartloads of heads of slaughtered Sikhs used to terrorize the population. Every day 100 Sikh soldiers were brought out of the fort and executed in public for refusing to convert to Islam.
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| Mughal offer to Susheel Kaur in Prison |
Shusheel Kaur was separated from her husband and son and taken to the prison. She was offered to marry the Emperor and become one of his wives. Just like the other Sikh prisoners she remained unmoved on giving up her faith no matter what riches were promised to them.
On the seventh day, Banda Singh Bahadur was told to kill his four-year-old son, Ajai Singh, which he refused. Ajai was killed in his father's lap by the executioner, his heart was cut out, and thrust into Banda's mouth. However, his resolution did not break under torture, and so he was martyred. After three months of confinement, on 9 June 1716, Banda's eyes were gouged out, his limbs were severed, his body was skinned, and then he was beheaded.
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| Martyrdom of Sushil Kaur at Red Fort, Delhi |
Shiv Das Lakhnavi in his ‘Shahnama Munawwar Kalam’ makes a claim that the Raj Kumari of Chamba overcome by the agony of witnessing her son’s torture and converted to Islam. But Sikh chronicles document that Bibi Shushil Kaur ultimately chose to end her own life to safeguard her honor from being compromised in the imperial harem. The narrative presented by Shiv Das Lakhnavi is highly refuted by most historians as Mughal propaganda to humiliate the Sikhs.
Susheel Kaur ended her life while in confinement on 20 June 1716 after witnessing the murder of her husband and only child, Ajai Singh, aged four. Sushil Kaur’s suicide while imprisoned in Delhi may reflect the brave 'Johar' tradition of Rajput women and Sikh warrior tradition. Her sacrifice was a final, defiant act of resistance that completely crushed the Mughal strategy to humiliate the Khalsa.
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| Brave Daughter of Chamba and Punjab |
Does Himachal recognize its brave daughter? Is there a monument in her memory in Chamba? Do Sikhs or Punjab honor its brave daughter-in-law?
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