In defence of husbands and sons several women of our land have fought battles. But princess Sahib Kunwari of Patiala state devoted her entire life in protecting her incompetent brother. Patiala was a major state of Punjab till the end of the 18th century.
Sahib Singh was the Raja of Patiala but he was meritless person. Sahib Kunwari was his sister who was married to Jaimal Singh a big landlord. After the death of his father Sahib Singh inherited the throne but failed to run the state. When things started going bad to worse Sahib Kunwari came to Patiala with the assent of her husband. She took over the reins of the state and lived away from her husband for the sake of her brother.
Jaimal Singh’s estate was very large and it was almost a small kingdom with a proper throne and an army. He could not leave his estate Fatehgarh as it needed some one in charge of it. In the absence of Sahib Kunwari the cousin brother of her husband called Fateh Singh attacked the estate and seized it from Jaimal Singh who ended up in prison.
Princess Sahib Kunwari set out from Patiala with a large force and attacked Fatehgarh. She defeated Fateh Singh and forced him to flee. After restoring the throne of Fatehgarh to her husband she returned to Patiala to do her duty to the brother.
By the end of 18th centry Marathas were in ascendance. They were spreading fast northwards and a large part of Punjab too was under their dominance. Their sights were now set on Patiala. They knew that Raja Sahib Singh was an incompetent weakling who was dependent on her sister’s bravery and courage. Marathas thought they would easily browbeat that woman. A message was sent to Patiala to accept the domination of Maratha rule.
The message infuriated Sahib Kunwari. At once she declared war against Marathas and sent a force of 7000 soldiers to deal with them. A battle was fought by rival forces at Mardanpur situated near Ambala. Sikh soldiers of Patiala were not skilled in battlecraft and Marathas were experienced fighters. The Patiala force was on the back foot soon after the battle started. The defeat appeared imminent. When Sahib Kunwari heard about it she rushed to the battlefield herself.
To her demoralised soldiers she brandished her sword and delivered a battle order in the following words, ‘Soldiers of Patiala! Extreme cowardice is fleeing from battles. Death is better than such cowardice. You can’t run away from death which is inevitable. If we go down fighting at least our names will be immortal. A glory in death you will gain. I will fight alongside you as long as I am alive. I won’t run away. If you desert me to die what will people say about you? Think about that. You won’t be able to show your face to anyone. Being the sister of your king I am your sister as well. Stand by your sister and wreak havoc on the enemy.”
Her talk charged up the soldiers and they decided to fight a do-or-die battle. In the ensuing battle a large part of the Sikh army was killed but no soldiers fell back as Sahib Kunwari stood firm in the battlefield. The day ended.
At night some commanders advised Sahib Kunwari that their numbers was now small and it was about time to retreat to Patiala and organise a new force to take on Maratha.
But Sahib Kunwari disagreed. She thought they could surprise Marathas by attacking at night. In the darkness the enemy would not be able to clearly see how few or how many they were. The need was to attack with ferocity, she impressed.
The Sikh soldiers obeyed and launched a fierce night attack on Marathas. The enemy was caught by surprise and in confusion a small band of Sikh army won the battle against Marathas. Most of the female battlers of India battled only once but Sahib Kunwari fought three different battles and won all of them. The first battle she fought at Fatehgarh for the benefit of her husband. The second battle Sahib Kunwari fought at Mardan for the sake of her brother and Patiala. The third battle she waged to save Punjab.
In 1793 a French general called George Tomas moved against Sikh states of Punjab with a large infantry, 1000 strong cavalry and 50 cannons. He took Hansi and Hissar on his way. Sikh chieftains had gone away to Lahore. So, he laid siege to Jind. A Sikh army challenged Tomas but it failed to subdue the Frenchman. At last Sahib Kunwari arrived with her Sikh battlers. A battle started and Kunwari put her opponent on back foot. The army of Tomas was in trouble. It forced Tomas to lift the siege and flee towards Jhelum.
Princess Sahib Kunwari won all the three battles she fought. But she was not so lucky in her personal life. She loved her husband but she lived away from him for the sake of her brother. In Patiala she camped to defend it permanently.
When Sahib Kunwari made Patiala safe and secure, ironically her brother began to suspect her motives. Some courtiers or sycophants poisoned the ears of Sahib Singh that Kunwari was going to seize the throne for herself and she might dispose him off physically.
It pained Sahib Kunwari. She thought of going to her husband but did not go for some reason. She stayed put in Patiala rest of her life. Inspite of being married to a man she loved she could not enjoy marital bliss and raise a family.
