Sukerchakia Misl

What it was: The Sukerchakia (Sukkarchakkia) misl was one of the Sikh misls, the fighting bands of the Dal Khalsa, and the house from which Maharaja Ranjit Singh rose. The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism says it took its name from the village of Sukkarchakk in today's Gujranwala district, Pakistan, and that its first known head, Budha Singh, died in 1718 with the scars of forty wounds.

How it became a misl: Naudh Singh, Budha Singh's son, fortified Sukkarchakk in 1730 and joined the Faizullapuria (Singhpuria) misl under Nawab Kapur Singh. He died in 1752 of battle wounds. His eldest son Charhat Singh then broke away from that misl and set out to win land of his own (Encyclopaedia). Wikipedia says it is unclear whether the 1748 reorganisation of the misls made the Sukerchakia independent, or whether it became so only after Charhat Singh left.

Its chiefs, in order

• Naudh Singh, to 1752.
• Charhat Singh made Gujranwala his headquarters and took the Rachna and Chaj Doabs, Rohtas and parts of Pothohar. He died of wounds in 1770 when his own gun burst during a succession dispute at Jammu (the Encyclopaedia; Wikipedia gives 1774).
• Mahan Singh raised his horse to 6,000 and conquered widely. The Encyclopaedia says he died in 1790, while Wikipedia dates Ranjit Singh's headship from 1792.
• Ranjit Singh, who became head at about ten years old.

Key moments

• August 1761: Charhat Singh besieges the Afghan general Nur ud-Din Bamezai at Sialkot and forces him to flee.
• 5 February 1762: he fights in the Vadda Ghallughara.
• November 1763: he defeats the Afghan commander Jahan Khan at Sialkot.
• 7 July 1799: Ranjit Singh drives the Bhangi sardars out of Lahore.
• 12 April 1801: Sahib Singh Bedi proclaims him Maharaja.

Where it stands: The Encyclopaedia says Ranjit Singh went on to absorb the misls north of the Sutlej and become sovereign of the Punjab. The Sukerchakia became the ruling house of his kingdom and no longer exists as a misl.