Kharial

The southern portion of the Gujranvala district is to so great extended dominated by the Jats of the Virk tribe that the country from Shaikhupura to Miraliwala has long been known as the Wirkayat Tappa .Over this tract Lal Singh, Virk Jat emigrant from Jammu, held sway in the early days of the Sikh confederacies. His son Sirdar Bagh Singh, under Charrat Singh and Mahan Singh, acquired great power, and held a large portion of the Gujranwala and Shaikhupura parganahs. When Ranjit Singh obtained possession of Lahore, Bagh Singh was one of the most powerful chiefs in the neighbourhood of that city, but it was not long before he was compelled to become a feudatory and was placed in command of the Wirkayat Horse, with a jagir worth one lakh and a half of rupees, consisting of eighty-four villages in the vicinity of Karial Kalan, and Miraliwala. Bagh Singh died in 1806, and his only son Jodh Singh succeeded to his jagirs, and to the command of the Virk force. He served in most of the Maharaja’s campaigns, till 1814, when he was killed in the first unsuccessful Kashmir expedition.

His son Sahib Singh was then but six years of age, and the family estate, with the exception of threa villages, worth 1,700, Rs., were resumed, When Sahib Singh grew up he received command of his father’s regiment, and a jagir worth 3,500 Rs, and subsequently was made commandant in the Rattan Singh Man Regiment. His estate at this time only consisted of Badha Guraiah in the Gujranwala district, and he also received a cash allowance of 500 Rs. He was implicated to some extent in the rebellion of 1848, and his jagir was confiscated. At present he holds a pension of 240 Rs. His only son Jawahar Singh was Subhadar in a native regiment.