Jassa Singh Ahluwalia's leadership and the Sikhs' rise in Punjab

Who: Jassa Singh Ahluwalia (born 3 May 1718), commander of the Dal Khalsa and founder of the Ahluwalia misl; the other misl sardars; and their opponents, the Mughal and Afghan governors of Lahore and Sirhind.

What: Orphaned young, Jassa Singh grew up in Delhi under Mata Sundari, and in 1729 joined Nawab Kapur Singh's band. After Kapur Singh died on 7 October 1753 and Mir Mannu died in November, he began taking villages and set up the rakhi system, a protection levy, usually a fifth of the revenue, in return for security. The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism and other sources record these steps:

• April 1754: the Dal Khalsa routs an Afghan force from Lahore that had besieged Amritsar.
• March and April 1758: with Adina Beg and the Marathas, the Sikhs sack Sirhind and reinstall Adina Beg at Lahore.
• March 1761: after Panipat, a surprise attack near Amritsar frees 2,200 women captives being carried off by Ahmad Shah.
• Autumn 1761: the Sikhs besiege and occupy Lahore, and the Encyclopaedia says Jassa Singh was proclaimed King of Lahore with the title Sultan-ul-Qaum, King of the Nation.
• 5 February 1762: at the Vadda Ghallughara he commands the Dal and is wounded twenty-two times, but on 17 May the Sikhs fall on Sirhind and exact tribute.
• 14 January 1764: Sirhind falls and the Afghan faujdar Zain Khan is killed. In April 1765 the Sikhs take Lahore.

Where: Amritsar was the base, with campaigns across the Majha, Malwa, the Jalandhar Doab, Sirhind and Lahore.

Why it mattered: The Encyclopaedia credits him with organising the Sikhs militarily, overthrowing Afghan power in northern India and winning for the Sikhs the right to rule independently over the territories taken from the Afghans. After 1764 the misls carved up the land, with the Phulkian chiefs at Sirhind and the Bhangis at Lahore. He was also widely revered for his piety, and it was thought a merit to take amrit from his hands. SikhRI calls him Sultan-ul-Qaum, Sovereign of the Sikh Nation. He died on 20 October 1783 and a samadh stands at Gurdwara Baba Atal. The Dal Khalsa, the Encyclopaedia says, effectively ended with his passing.