Rani Raj Kaur was the wife of Maha Singh, the leader of the Sukerchakia Misl and the mother of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the founder of the Sikh Empire.
18 Facts About Raj Kaur
1.
2.
Raj Kaur was affectionately known as Mai Malwain after her marriage.
3.
Raj Kaur was the daughter of Raja Gajpat Singh of Jind.
4.
Raj Kaur was born to the family of Sidhu Phulkians of Mehraj, one of the oldest aristocratic Sikh families in Malwa.
5.
Raj Kaur was the granddaughter of Sukhchain Singh and his wife, Rani Agan Kaur.
6.
In 1743, Agam Kaur was imprisoned in Delhi by the Mughal imperial forces alongside her 5 year old son, Gajpat Singh until her husband Sukhchain Singh halts his rebellion and pays tribute to the Mughal Empire.
7.
However due to a faithful maid of Agan Raj Kaur, who switched places with her in prison she was able to escape back to Punjab with her son.
8.
Raj Kaur was married to a daughter of Kishan Singh Manshahia and she was known as Rani Gajpat Kaur.
9.
Raj Kaur was titled Rajkumari Bibiji at birth and she had three elder brothers, Tikka Yuvraj Mehar Singh, Raja Bagh Singh, who succeeded their father as the King of Jind in 1789 and Kanwar Bhup Singh who was granted Badrukhan, Baman Bade, and Bazidpur as his hereditary jagirs in 1789 by his brother.
10.
Raj Kaur had a younger half sister, Rajkumari Bibiji Bagam Kaur who was born in 1765 to Gajpat Singh's junior wife known as Balanwali Rani.
11.
In 1774, at the age of fifteen, Raj Kaur was married to the 17-year-old Maha Singh, son of Charat Singh, leader of the Sukerchakia Misl and his wife, Rani Desan Kaur.
12.
Raj Kaur was named Buddh Singh at birth, but was later renamed Ranjit Singh.
13.
Maha Singh did not have time to devote to his son's upbringing, nor did the conventions of the time give opportunity to Raj Kaur, confined as she was to the seclusion of the zenana to see much of her son after he was old enough to be on his own.
14.
Raj Kaur became Ranjit's regent during his minority and managed the affairs of the Sukerchakia Misl.
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Raj Kaur was assisted by Diwan Lakhpat Rai who is reputed to have acted with ability and enthusiasm.
16.
Raj Kaur felt that marriage might bring him around to the responsibilities of life.
17.
Ranjit Singh readily agreed to a second marriage as his marriage with Mehtab Raj Kaur was hardly pleasant, with her not forgiving the fact that her father, Gurbaksh Singh Kanhaiya died in a battle against Maha Singh and she resented being married to Maha Singh's son.
18.
Dal Singh and Sada Raj Kaur are said to have played a role in his death as after his death Dal Singh asked Missar Laiq Ram to hand over the treasury to him while Sada Raj Kaur gave him money and sent him to Haridwar.