Rai Ahmad Khan Kharal

Rai Ahmad Khan Kharal (Punjabi: رائے احمد خان کھرَل; c. 1776 – 21 September 1857), widely known as Nawab of Jhamra, was a Punjabi Muslim chieftain of the Kharal tribe. He led a rebellion in the Bar region of Punjab against the British East India Company in the Revolt of 1857 and died fighting against it on 21 September 1857, at the age of 81. He is today considered a folk hero in rural Punjab, Pakistan.

Biography

Rai Ahmad Khan Kharal was born in Jhamra into a landowning family of the Kharal tribe which was prominent in the Sandal Bar region of Punjab. Kharals had vied for dominance with Bar tribal groups such as the Kathia, Wattoo, Fatayana and others. Ahmed Khan Kharal was able to briefly maintain influence over all of Sandal Bar.

Leopold Oliver Fitzhardinge Berkeley, or better known as Lord Berkley, was the Assistant Commissioner of Gogera in 1857. He held a meeting with important personalities of Gogera including Ahmad Khan Kharal. Berkley demanded all the leaders to supply the British with men (soldiers) and horses to crush the ongoing revolt. To this, Ahmad Khan Kharal replied: "Kharals do not share women, horses and land with anyone" and left.

Role in the Revolt of 1857

On July 8, the British arrested a large number of Joiya tribesmen, women and children after they refused to pay the heavy taxes (Lagan). When Ahmed Khan Kharal received this news, he planned to break into the Gogera jail and rescue the innocent people imprisoned there. With help of his Fatayana, Wattoo and Kathia allies Ahmad Khan Kharal attacked the Gogera Jail around 26 July. According to British records 17 prisoners were killed, 33 were injured and 18 fled. But native accounts disagree suggesting that 145 prisoners died and 100+ EIC troops were also killed. The British arrested Ahmad Khan Kharal but released him due to pressure from local tribes and insufficient evidence available to charge him. Ahmed Khan Kharal continued resisting against the British after being released.

In order to arrest Ahmad Khan Kharal, Berkley attacked Jhamra but was unsuccessful although he imprisoned 20 civilians including Ahmad Khan Kharal's youngest son Bala Khan Kharal. The British also took with them a large number of cattle. Ahmad Khan Kharal with the help of Kathia, Wattoo, Fatayana and Joiya tribesmen started a guerilla campaign against the British. According to Punjab government records, the rebels numbered 20,000 to 30,000 men at their height. John Cave-Browne writes that these rebels took refuge in thick jungles and grass and attacked with groups of 3000-5000 guerillas. The sound of drum beating was the sign that they would attack. The connection of Jhang to Lahore was completely cut. Ahmed Khan Kharal planned a major assult on Gogera with other tribal leaders in a secret meeting but the information was leaked by Sarfraz Kharal of Kamalia to the British. The British prepared themselves to face the upcoming assult and when the rebels attacked they were repulsed with heavy losses.

Ahmad Khan Kharal with his companions fled to the jungles of Gashkori and continued the struggle. The British received news about Ahmad Khan Kharal's presence in the jungles of Gashkori and a force under Captain Black was sent there. The detachment succeeded in killing Ahmad Khan Kharal while he was offering afternoon prayers. Many of his close companions such as his deputy Sarang Khan Kharal was also killed in this engagement.

Murad Fatayana, a trusted associate of Ahmed Khan Kharal, took revenge of Ahmad Khan's killing and killed Lord Berkley alongside 50 British and Indian troops in a successful attack. The rebellion continued until it ended in 1858 as local tribes lost to British EIC reinforcements.

Death

Ahmad Khan Kharal’s head was decapitated and put on display at Gogera Jail. A few days later, one of his supporters stole the head and buried it in his ancestral graveyard in Jhamra. The local dhola poems recited after his death describe Ahmad Khan's martyrdom as Britain lowering the head of Punjab:

احمَد خان شہید ہویا تاں سِر پَنجاب دے نوُں جا گھَتیا اے ہَتھ

With Ahmad Khan's martyrdom, Britain has lowered the head of Punjab.

See also

• Murree rebellion of 1857
• Mai Bakhtawar
• Nizam Lohar
• Hemu Kalani
• Kadu Makrani
• Ajab Khan Afridi
• Bhagat Singh
• Udham Singh
• Kartar Singh Sarabha
• Chandrasekhar Azad

References

1. Kharal
2. List of Pakistani political families
3. Kathia
4. Jhamra
5. List of people from Faisalabad
6. Ajab Khan Afridi
7. Indian Rebellion of 1857
8. Gogera
9. Bar Region
10. List of Jats
11. Majha
12. Punjabi Muslims
13. Nizam Lohar
14. Okara District
15. Neeli Bar
16. Ganji Bar
17. Tandlianwala Tehsil
18. Sahiwal Division
19. Ashiq Husain Khan
20. List of Punjabi people