Sikh leader and founder of Kapurthala State (1718–1783)
Jassa Singh Ahluwalia (3 May 1718 – 23 October 1783) was a Sikh leader during the period of the Sikh Confederacy, being the supreme leader of the Dal Khalsa. He was also Misldar of the Ahluwalia Misl. This period was an interlude, lasting roughly from the time of the death of Banda Bahadur in 1716 to the founding of the Sikh Empire in 1801. He founded the Kapurthala State in 1772.
Early life.
Jassa Singh was born on 3 May 1718 CE in a Kalal Sikh family in the Ahlu village near Lahore, Punjab. Originally known as Jassa Singh Kalal, he styled himself as Ahluwalia after his ancestral village.
Jassa Singh is described as a member of the Kalal or wine distiller caste. During the period of Kharak Singh (r. 1870-1877) a Bhatti Rajput origin story was also created. According to this tradition, one of the Bhatti Rajputs Rana Har Rai had to leave the throne of Jaisalmer for refusing to marry his niece to the Mughal emperor Akbar. However, there is virtually no evidence of this account. According to this account, Har Rai migrated to Punjab, where his descendants married with the Jats, and gradually they became Jats. Starting with Sadhu Singh (also called Sadho or Sadda Singh), they married with Kalals, and the family came to be known as "Ahluwalia Kalal". British administrator Lepel Griffin, who wrote an account of the rulers of Punjab, dismissed this tradition as fictitious.
According to the dynasty's account, Sadhu's Singh's great-grandson Badar Singh and his wife remained childless for a long time, and sought blessings from Guru Gobind Singh. As a result, Jassa Singh was born to them.
The formation of the Dal Khalsa and the Misls.
In 1733, Zakariya Khan Bahadur attempted to negotiate peace with the Sikhs by offering them a jagir, the title Nawab to their leader, and unimpeded access to the Harmandir Sahib. After discussion at a Sarbat Khalsa, Kapur Singh was elected leader of the Sikhs and took the title of Nawab. He combined the various Sikh militias into two groups; the Taruna Dal and the Budda Dal, which would collectively be known as the Dal Khalsa. Sikh militias over 40 years of age would be part of the Budda Dal and Sikh militias under 40 years were part of the Taruna Dal. The Taruna Dal was further divided in five jathas, each with 1300 to 2000 men and a separate drum and banner. The area of operations of each "Dal", or army, was Hari ke Pattan, where the Sutlej river and Beas River meet; the Taruna Dal would control the area east of Hari ke Pattan while the Budha Dal would control the area west of it. The purpose of the Budda Dal, the veteran group, was to protect Gurdwaras and train the Taruna Dal, while the Taruna Dal would act as combat troops. However, in 1735, the agreement between Zakariya Khan and Nawab Kapur Singh broke down and the Dal Khalsa retreated to the Sivalik Hills to regroup.
Later the command of Dal Khalsa was taken by Jassa Singh Ahluwalia who was an able and powerful administrator, even displaced &amp; brought Mughal’s centre of power at the time (Red Fort) under Khalsa flag.
He made the foundation of Khalsa firm for future generations to lead.
Military campaigns.
Nadir Shah's invasion.
In 1739, Nadir Shah, the Persian ruler, invaded much of Northern India, including Punjab, defeating the Mughals at the Battle of Karnal in 1739, he plundered the city of Delhi (Shahjahanabad) robbing it of treasures like the Peacock throne, the Kohinoor diamond and the Darya-i-Noor diamond. Meanwhile, all the Khalsa bands got together and passed a resolution that Nadir shah had plundered the city of Delhi and now he is taking Indian women as slaves to his country. Sikhs made a plan to free all the slaves. Jassa Singh Ahluwalia was 21 years old at that time, he planned raids to free all slaves. He along with other Sikh bands attacked Nadir shah forces, freed all slaves and sent those slaves back to their families safely.
Ahluwalia participated in many battles as well where he proved himself to be a natural leader. In a 1748 meeting of the Sarbat Khalsa, Nawab Kapur Singh appointed him as his successor. His followers awarded him the title "Sultan-ul-Qaum" (King of the Nation).
The raids of Ahmed Shah Abdali.
Ahmad Shah Durrani, Nader Shah's seniormost general, succeeded to the throne of Afghanistan when Shah was murdered in June 1747. He established his own dynasty, the Sadozai, which was the name of the Pashtun khel to which he belonged.
Starting from December 1747 till 1769, Abdali made a total of nine incursions into the north India. His repeated invasions weakened the Mughal administration of North India. At the Third Battle of Panipat, he along with Nawab of Oudh and Rohillas, defeated the Marathas, who after a treaty signed in 1752 became the protector of the Mughal throne at Delhi and were controlling much of North India, and Kashmir. However they were never able to subdue the Sikhs in the Punjab.
Sikhs and Marathas Expel Afghans (1758).
The Battle of Mahilpur was a decisive victory for the Sikhs and Adina Beg's troops. In 1758, they clashed with the Afghans at Mahilpur, a village in Hoshiarpur district. The Afghans suffered heavy losses, and the Sikhs and Adina Beg's forces emerged victorious. 
Prince Taimur, determined to regain control, sent 20,000 horse and foot soldiers from Lahore to counterattack. However, the Sikhs emerged victorious once more, capturing guns and military equipment. The Afghan camp in Lahore was plagued by nightly Sikh raids, spreading fear and uncertainty. The contemporary historian Miskin wrote, "Every force sent in any direction came back defeated and vanquished."
Raghu Nath Rao entered Lahore in April 1758, and Adina Beg Khan celebrated with festivities at Shalamar Gardens. However, his intentions remained unclear, and his loyalty to the Sikhs was short-lived.
Adina Beg Khan's sudden death in September 1758 ended his plans. The Sikhs, now the dominant force, no longer faced opposition from him.
The Sarbat Khalsa gathered to discuss occupying Lahore, considering potential threats from the Afghans and Marathas. They decided to assert control over the rest of Punjab. In March 1759, the Marathas re-entered Punjab, cautiously advancing through Malwa. The Sikhs allowed Sabaji Sindhia to occupy Lahore, and when General Jahan Khan attacked, the Sikhs and Marathas joined forces to defeat the Afghans once more. 
Help of Sikhs to Jats of Bharatpur.
Suraj Mal (1707–63) was the founder of Jat State of Bharatpur. He was killed on 25 December 1763 near Delhi by Najib ul Daulah, the Ruhilaa chief who had been appointed Mir Bakshi and Regent at Delhi by Ahmed Shah Durrani. Suraj Mal’s son Jawahar Singh sought help from Sikhs who responded with a Sikh force of 40,000 under the command of Sardar Jassa Singh Ahluwalia. The Sikhs crossed the Yamuna on 20 February 1764 and attacked the surrounding areas. Najib ul Daulah rushed back to Delhi thereby relieving the pressure on Bharatpur. Najib ul Daulah suffered another defeat at hands of Sikhs under Ahluwalia after a battle that lasted 20 days in the trans-Yamuna area at Barari Ghat, 20 km north of Delhi. He retired to Red Fort on 9 January 1765 and within a month Sikhs defeated Najib ul Daulah again in Nakhas (horse market) and in Sabzi Mandi.
In December 1765, the Sikhs embarked on their usual expeditions, moving from Saharanpur to Delhi and then to Rewari, causing widespread destruction along the way. During this time, Jawahir Singh was engaged in a conflict with Raja Madho Singh of Jaipur. To strengthen his position, Jawahir Singh hired 25,000 Sikh soldiers led by Jassa Singh Ahluwalia. In response, Madho Singh sought help from the Marathas. Fearing a Maratha attack on Bharatpur, Jawahir Singh made peace with Jaipur, paid a subsidy to the Sikhs, and allowed them to leave. After resolving matters with Jaipur, Jawahir Singh attacked Dholpur, which was controlled by his step-brother Nahar Singh. To fight this battle, Jawahir Singh employed about 7,000 Sikhs, while Nahar Singh enlisted the help of the Marathas. A fierce battle occurred on March 13-14, 1766, in which the Marathas were heavily defeated and abandoned Nahar Singh. Left without support, Nahar Singh sought refuge with Madho Singh of Jaipur, who then bribed the Sikhs to leave Jawahir Singh and return to Punjab.
Rescue of Maratha women by Sikhs.
An account appearing in the 19th century texts, Munshi Kanhaiyya Lal's "Tareekh-e-Punjab" and Gian Singh's "Shamsher Khalsa", credits Jassa Singh with rescuing Hindu women captured by Ahmad Shah Durrani after the Third Battle of Panipat in 1761. According to this account, after defeating the Marathas, Abdali captured thousands of prisoners, totaling around 22,000 captives in total, who were being taken to Afghanistan as slaves, including Hindu women destined for the Afghan harems. When Jassa Singh learned of it, he attacked the Afghan army at Goindval on the Sutlej river, rescued over 2,000 of the captured women, and sent them back to their families. Thereafter, he was known as "Bandi chhor", or the Liberator of captives.
issued the coins in Lahore, November 1761.
In September 1761, Khawajah Abed Khan, the governor of Lahore, launched a surprise attack on Charat Singh in Gujranwala. Jassa Singh Ahluwalia promptly led the Dal Khalsa to Charat Singh's aid, forcing Abed Khan to hastily flee to Lahore, abandoning his entire baggage train.
Following Diwali festivities in November 1761, Jassa Singh directed the Dal Khalsa to launch a counterattack on Lahore. Abed Khan barricaded himself within the fort, while prominent local citizens sought an audience with Jassa Singh. These citizens proposed surrendering the city to the Sikhs, ensuring the inhabitants' safety and security in exchange for Sikh occupation. The Sikhs accepted, securing the city and then launching an assault on the fort.
Abed Khan was killed in the battle, and the Sikhs successfully captured the fort. In triumph, they declared Jassa Singh "Padshah" (Emperor) and minted commemorative coins bearing his name. However, Ganesh Das Vadehra disputed this achievement, claiming Lahore's Maulvis minted the coins and sent them to Ahmad Shah Durrani in 1765. Contrarily, Ghulam Ali Azad's Khazana-e-Amira, written shortly after the coin's issuance, corroborates the Sikhs' version..
Ghulam Ali described the Sikhs' rebellion, their killing of Abed Khan, and Jassa Singh's proclamation as king: "They raised the standard of rebellion and disturbance, and killed his viceroy at Lahore. They raised a person named Jassa Singh from among themselves to the status of a king." This account is supported by Siyar-u-Mutakhirin (1782), Tarikh-e-Muzaffari (1787), Khushwaqt Rae (1811), and Ahmad Yadgar (1835)..
Ganesh Das's account, written after Punjab's annexation in 1849, is considered unreliable due to contemporary evidence. His claims contradict the accounts of multiple historians who lived closer to the events. Kartar Singh Tegh Khalsa confirms Jassa Singh struck the coins, but some were sent to Ahmad Shah Durrani to provoke him.
The Sixth Abdali Incursion, 1762.
In early 1762, Ahmad Shah Durrani invaded India to crush Sikhs power Ahmad Shah Durrani with his Soldiers reached Malerkotla, west of Sirhind, then attacked a 20,000 Sikh army escorting 40,000 women and children, along with the elderly. In one of their worst defeats—known as "Vadda Ghalughara"—the Sikhs lost perhaps 5–10,000+ soldiers and had 20,000 civilians massacred. The Afghan forces of Ahmad Shah Durrani came out victorious with the night ambush on the large convoy.
At Anandpur, March 1763.
In March 1763, Jassa Singh Ahluwalia, the renowned Sikh leader, joined forces with the Dal Khalsa at Anandpur to celebrate the festive occasion of Hola. However, the festivities were soon overshadowed by complaints from local Sikhs about the mistreatment they suffered at the hands of Gale Khan Rajput of Kathgarh and the zamindars of Shankargarh. Determined to protect his people, Jassa Singh embarked on an expedition against these oppressors, establishing Sikh military posts at Kathgarh and Balachaur to maintain order and discipline
This strategic move not only secured the region but also paved the way for Jassa Singh to collect tribute from neighboring rulers, including the rajas of Bilaspur and Nalagarh, solidifying the Dal Khalsa's authority. As he returned to Fatahabad, Jassa Singh demonstrated his unwavering resolve by seizing Kot Isha Khan from Qadir Bakhsh, further expanding the Dal Khalsa's influence 
Conquest of Jalandhar and Malerkotla.
In June 1763, Jassa Singh Ahluwalia marched towards Jalandhar, Sadat Yar-Khan, the Governor of Jalandhar so much terrified he did not stir out of his capital,