Datar Kaur

Maharani Datar Kaur (born Bibi Raj Kaur Nakai; (c. 1784– 20 June 1838) was the queen consort of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the founder of the Sikh Empire and the mother of his successor, Maharaja Kharak Singh. She was the daughter of Sardar Ran Singh Nakai, third ruler of the Nakai Misl and Sardarni Karman Kaur.

Datar Kaur was betrothed to Ranjit Singh in childhood; the Anand Karaj took place when the couple were still young. Though Ranjit Singh married several times for political reasons, Datar Kaur remained his favorite and most respected wife. He lovingly addressed her as Mai Nakain.

In 1801, she gave birth to Kharak Singh, the heir apparent of Ranjit Singh. She took an active interest in the affairs of the State and was given command during the Battle of Multan (1818) alongside her son, Kharak Singh. She was the grandmother of Maharaja Nau Nihal Singh (1821–1840) and aunt of Sardar Kahan Singh Nakai. Datar Kaur died on 20 June 1838 in her haveli in Sheikhupura.

Her Samadhi is located in the royal garden, now part of the grounds of Government Islamia College, Civil Lines, Lahore.

Family history Bibi Raj Kaur was born in Baherwal Kalan into the family of the ruling Nakai Sardars; Nakai Misl was founded by Sandhu Jats.

Raj Kaur was the youngest child of Sardar Ran Singh Nakai and his wife, Sardarni Karmo Kaur. She was the granddaughter of Sardar Natha Singh (d. 1768) brother of the legendary Heera Singh Sandhu (1706–1767), founder of the principality of Nakai Misl in 1748. She had three elder brothers Sardar Bhagwan Singh, the fourth ruler of the Nakai Misl; Sardar Gyan Singh who became the fifth chief of the Nakais and Khazan Singh.

Her father, Ran Singh was the third and the most powerful ruler of Nakai Misl, a fierce warrior under whose leadership the misl was at its highest. He was an ambitious man and had exceeded his rule to the taluqas of Bucheke, Chhanga Manga, 69 km from Lahore, Chhichha, Devsal, Fatahpur, Jethupur, Kasur, Kharral fort of Kot Kamalia, Sharakpur, Gugera pargana, 5 km to the west of the Ravi, and Shergarh. Wazir Singh tried to break off this match, but was unable to do so. In an attempt to mislead her, Wazir Singh claimed that the Nakai Sandhu Jatts are superior to the Sukerchakias, but Karmo Kaur refused to break off the match and stated as Sikhs all were equal.

Later in 1785, Maha Singh was facing attacks from Sardar Jai Singh Kanhaiya of the Kanhaiya Misl and called on Bhagwan Singh and Wazir Singh to aid him. After their victory against the Kanhaiyas, Maha Singh began to favor Wazir Singh, which started to affect his relationship with Bhagwan Singh. Maha Singh tried to reconcile the differences between Bhagwan Singh and Wazir Singh, but they continued to engage in constant warfare and in 1789 the former was killed by Wazir Singh.

Since Bhagwan Singh had no children, he was succeeded by his brother, Gyan Singh as the head of the Nakai Misl in 1789. With the family's old enemy Wazir Singh being killed by Dal Singh, son of Heera Singh Sandhu, Gyan Singh had a relatively peaceful reign and was able to consolidate his power. She is said to be only 12 at the time of her muklawa to the 16-year-old Ranjit Singh in 1797. This marriage was the first political alliance of the Sukerchakia Misl and the Nakai Misl.

Though the nuptials of Datar Kaur and Ranjit Singh were arranged for political reasons, the two shared a close and loving relationship. Her known physical and personal attributes describe her as being doe eyed and beautiful, she is said to have possessed a fair complexion along with being highly intelligent, independent, artistic, calm, dignified, gentle and graceful. She is said to have been a patron of mystics and mendiants.

Since Raj Kaur was the name of her mother-in-law, as well as Ranjit Singh's aunt the daughter of Charat Singh and Desan Kaur; To avoid confusion, the wife of Ranjit Singh, Raj Kaur Nakai was given the name "Datar" (ਦਾਤਾਰ) (داتار) which means 'Giver', due to her maternal gentleness and understanding in dealing with the wayward Ranjit Singh. He lovingly called Mai Nakain, sometimes affectionately addressed her as Taare. Datar Kaur brought sweetness and light into Ranjit Singh's life and provided for him a focus of interest in his home. Even though Ranjit Singh had many marriages, Datar Kaur remained his favourite.

She had significant influence over her husband, the royal family and the royal court. There is no record of any friction or mutual differences between Datar Kaur or the other wives of Ranjit Singh, but there were instances of tension between her and Mehtab Kaur after the she bore Ranjit Singh's first child. This left Mehtab Kaur in a very difficult position as Datar was her junior. This also left Sada Kaur's plans to secure the future of her daughter and the Kanhaiyas in tatters.

In some historical accounts, mistakenly, marriage of Ranjit Singh has been mentioned with two daughters of Nakai Misl i.e. Raj Kaur and Datar Kaur. However, she was one and the same person.

Issue and descendants In 1801, she gave birth to Crown Prince Kharak Singh, the heir apparent of the Sikh Empire earning her the title of Ranjit Singh's queen consort. and Fateh Singh, who died in infancy.

In 2020, Sandeep Singh Sukerchakia, 7th generation great-grandson of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and Maharani Datar Kaur from their son Rattan Singh, wrote a detailed letter to Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India insisting the inclusion of Punjabi Language in the New Jammu and Kashmir official Language Bill of 2020.

Her other descendants include- Late Lt Gen Jagdishwar Singh Nakai who joined the Indian army just when the Second World War broke out and served in the Burma Campaign. He was later to see action in all subsequent wars of independent India till his retirement in 1979 after serving as the General Officer in Command, Central Command. Lt Gen Nakai was a recipient of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal. Former Chief Minister of Punjab (Pakistan), Sardar Arif Nakai and Pakistani politician, Sardar Asif Nakai are also the direct descendants of the Nakais.

Maharani of the Sikh Empire

Datar Kaur took interest in political affairs, and her husband sought her advice in important stately matters. Though she was Ranjit Singh’s second wife but she became his principal wife and chief consort.

Though historian Jean-Marie Lafont, in his biography of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, wrote that Mehtab Kaur was the only one to bear the title of Maharani, contemporary court chronicles refer to Datar Kaur as the Maharani and principal consort of Ranjit Singh.

During the wedding celebrations of her son, Prince Kharak Singh, Maharani Datar Kaur joined the Baraat in an opulent chariot made from gold and adorned with diamonds and other precious gems gifted to her by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The display was a striking demonstration of both her status within the Lahore Darbar and the esteem in which she was held by the Maharaja. Historian Priya Atwal has suggested that this grand procession may have carried symbolic significance beyond mere royal spectacle. She speculates that Datar Kaur’s appearance in a richly decorated chariot could have evoked associations with Subhadra, the wife of Arjuna and one of the three deities worshipped at the Jagannath Temple who rides in a ceremonial ratha during the annual Rath Yatra festival. Given Ranjit Singh’s well-documented patronage of the Jagannath Temple and his famous deathbed wish to donate the Koh-i-Noor diamond to the temple’s priests, Atwal cautiously proposes that the elaborate display may have been intended to cast Mai Nakain in the image of Subhadra.

On many different occasions, Datar Kaur served as her husband's ambassador; even acting as a political proxy for him. It is said that Maharani Nakain wielded a legendary amount of influence on Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

Mai Nakain took control of the Sheikhupura Fort when her six-year-old son, Kharak Singh had conquered it. In 1811, she was officially granted the jagir of Sheikhupura by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Around the same time she started residing in the Sheikhupura Fort and held her own court. She enjoyed hunting and often accompanied her husband on his hunting trips. Sheikhupura has a vicinity of good hunting places.

Since his birth, her son was the heir of Ranjit Singh. When Kharak Singh was merely an year old he was paraded through the streets of Lahore as his father’s heir and Punjab's prince. In 1816, Ranjit Singh crowned Kharak Singh as his heir apparent and anointed him "Yuvraj Shri Tikka Kanwar" (Crown prince). The same year she took over her son's training for 18 months for his Expedition of Multan.

In 1818, she accompanied her son to the campaign of Multan as a commander to. The Sikh Khalsa Army was under her command during the Battle of Multan (1818). Mai Nakain was also a patron of religious mystics and mendicants.

Though Emily Eden or Fanny Eden never met the Maharani as she met the royal family of Lahore in November 1838 after the death of Mai Nakain. But her daughter in law, Chand Kaur describes her as being as auspicious and beautiful as Goddess Lakshmi, along with being vivacious, independent, artistic, intelligent and religious. Ranjit Singh described her as a chaste noble woman who filled his life with light and sweetness.

She is said to have been a patron of mystics and mendiants. The Royal Lahore Garden was chosen for her Samadhi, the site was chosen by Ranjit himself and Suri mentions for the first time he saw the Maharaja cry. Ranjit Singh wanted the finest for his wife, hence the Royal Garden was chosen and the ashes of Mai Nakain were placed.

Ranjit Singh and Datar Kaur shared a very loving and close relationship. After her dealth, Ranjit Singh fell sick and died shortly. The missionary reported, "The Maharajah was never the same person again. He was no longer able to mount his horse himself and had to be lifted into the saddle. His recovery was retarded by the death of Mai Nakain, his favourite wife and companion of over forty years . He took the Nakain's death to heart and brooded over it a long time"

Claude Martin Wade had brought the Tripartite Treaty of 1838 to be signed at her funeral.

In popular culture Datar Kaur was a portrayed by Navneet Cheema in the TV series titled Maharaja Ranjit Singh which aired on DD National. The series was produced by Raj Babbar. Datar Kaur is a principal character in Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's The Last Queen.