Kathgarh

Jhanda Singh of Sultan Wind, Amritsar, like many other Manjha Jats of his time, took advantage of the break-up of the Mughal power to secure an estate for himself in semi-independence. Having seized certain villages in Sialkot which he made over to his younger brother, he turned east-wards to the rich country between the Satlaj and Bias. This was in 1759. He acquired sixteen villages in Ilakas Basi , Kalan and Singriwala, Tahsil Hushiarpur, forty villages in Katgarh, and seventeen in Ilaka Jamiatgarh, Tahsil Garh-shankar, yielding an annual revenue of about one lakh. He died in 1797 and was succeeded in his Hushiarpur estates by his son Tara Singh, who built five small forts, still in existence, for the protection of the patrimony. But he had to admit the supremacy of Maharaja Ranjit Singh; his acknowledgment taking the usual form of a supply of horse-men, fixed according to the extent of his holdings. He was succeeded in 1831 by his only surviving son Khushal Singh, who became a favourite of the Maharaja, accompanying him on many of his expeditions. He was connected by marriage with Sardar Lahna Singh Majithia, Amritsar. When the turn of the British came, he was given a jagir of eighteen villages, yielding Rs. 10,371, in Hushiarpur, while holding that of Sultan Wind in the Amritsar district, valued at Rs. 2,031. He died early in 1854, and one of his sons Indar Singh followed him with in six months, leaving the present incumbent, Sardar Rajindar Singh, then seven years old, as the sole surviving member of the family. He was placed under charge of the Deputy Commissioner of Hushiarpur, and received a good education at the District School. The family jagir, reduced to Rs. 3,000 per annum, was spread over four villages in Tahsil Hushiarpur, seven in Tahsil Garh shankar and one (Sultan Wind) in Amritsar. His proprietary holdings aggregate one thousand six hundred ghumaos of land in the Tahsils mentioned. He lives at Katgarh, Garhshankar and Hushiarpur; is Circle Zaildar, Honorary Magistrate, Sub-Registrar and Civil Judge within the limits of the Balachaur Police Thana. He is President of the Local Garhshankar Board and member of the Hushiarpur District Board. He has also recently been appointed a member of the Committee of the Aitchison College, Lahore. The title of Sardar Bahadar was conferred upon him in January 1888. He is a Viceregal Darbari. The Sardar is connected by marriage with the houses of Sardar Nahar Singh of Ahmad Kalan, Amritsar; Sardar Shib Deo Singh of Ladhran, Ludhiana ; and Sardar Lahna Singh (uncle of Sardar Gurdayal Singh, District Judge) of Harpargarh, Nabha, and Chief of Manimajra, Ambala. Sardar Rajindar Singh is described as a man of great personal worth, a fine sportsman, and a good rider, having great influence in his own part of the country.He is one of the few members of the old Sikh aristocracy who have accommodated themselves to the changed spirit of the times. He has, for instance, taken a prominent part in the movement for the reduction of marriage expenditure amongst the Jats. Mention may here be made of the elder branch of the family, descended from Jhanda Singh’s son Sham Singh, who succeeded to the Amritsar, Sialkot and Jamu properties, said to have yielded over a lakh of rupees income. Harsa Singh, son of Sham Singh, was a distinguished soldier in the Khalsa army, and commanded one of the regiments of the French brigade. He had the rank of General under Maharaja Sher Singh. In 1849 he espoused the national cause and fought on the wrong side at Multan, thus forfeiting a jagir of twenty-five thousand rupees. In 1857 he took service in the Bengal Lancers as a Rasaldar and proved himself agallant soldier. He retired in 1860 with the rank of Sardar, and a pension of Rs. 600 per annum. One-half of this has been continued to his son Gulab Singh, at the head of the family since Sardar Harsa Singh’s death in 1887. The Sardar was a Viceregal Darbari of the Amritsar district, and resided at Sultan Wind. Gulab Singh is Chief Lambardar of the village. He is a man of good presence, high intelligene, and possesses considerable local influence. His brother Jaswant Singh is a Rasaldar in the rith Bengal Lancers, and for his services in connection with the Afghan Boundary Commission received the Order of Merit Jaswant Singh’s son Narain Singh is serving as a Dafadar in his father’s Regiment. The family owns about two hundred and fifty acres of land.