Mirza Ghulam Murtaza

Mirza Ghulam Murtaza
Born	Qadian, India
Died	1869 Qadian, India
Buried at	Qadian, India
Allegiance	Sikh Empire
Service/branch	Sikh Army British Army
Rank	General
Battles/wars	Indian Rebellion of 1857 Anglo-Sikh wars

Mirza Ghulam Murtaza an Indian nobleman, military man and father of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. He was of the royal family of Mirza rulers of the Indian subcontinent. His brother served in the British Army during the rebellion.

Professional career

Chief of Qadian

Mirza Ghulam Murtaza was born the son of Mirza Atta Muhammad, a Punjabi nobleman and the last ruler of the tiny fiefdom of Qadian. His family lost the fortified town of Qadian and its surrounding villages to the Ramgharia Sikhs due treachery within their ranks. In 1835, at the birth of his son Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, he had five villages of the original eighty villages of his ancestral estate returned by Maharaja Ranjit Singh who had established the Sikh Empire. On 29 March 1849, when the Punjab first encountered the British he remained loyal to the Sikhs. This put him in an unfavorable relationship with the new British administrators when took control of the Punjab. In the Indian Rebellion of 1857, he was one of the few Muslim Chieftains to aid the British Raj in a calculated move to gain their favor. Afterwards he spent much of his fortune and time trying to get his properties back by taking his case to the Colonial courts but to no avail.^[1]

Military career

Maharaja Ranjit Singh ordered him back to Qadian. He fought in Kashmir and other battle fronts. In the reign of Sher Singh, he was in the army command structure. In 1841, with a general he was sent to Mahadi and the Kulu. In 1843, he was the commander of an infantry regiment which was sent to Peshawar. He also fought in Hazara in 1848 in putting down a rebellion. He also sent his men under his brothers command and quickly gained a good reputation as a reliable Muslim chief and commander. In 1849, he remained stubbornly loyal to the Sikh Empire. However, in the Indian Rebellion of 1857, he was loyal to the British.^[2]

Personal life

Mirza Ghulam Murtaza was also belonged to a branch of the House of Timur hence sharing kinship with the Mughal rulers of the subcontinent. He married a woman by the name of Chiragh Bibi who was his relative. He had four or five children (exact count unsure). Their names were: Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, Mirza Ghulam Qadir, Murad Begum and Jannat Bibi. Jannat Bibi did not live long. Murad Begum became an Ahmadi later. Mirza Ghulam Ahmad is an 20th-century religious figure known from India.

References