Sawan Mal

Diwan Sawan Mal (died 29 September 1844) was a Sikh Empire-era administrator and general who served as governor (Diwan) of Multan from 1820 to 1844.

Biography Early life Sawan Mal was born into a Punjabi Hindu Khatri family of the Chopra gotra originally from Gujranwala, the region where Maharaja Ranjit Singh's Misl, the Sukerchakias held sway.

Career Along with Hari Singh Nalwa, he was a top commander in Maharaja Ranjit Singh's army. As a general under Ranjit Singh, he assisted in wresting the subah (province) of Multan from the Durrani governor Muzaffar Khan Sadozai, in 1818. After a series of incompetent governors, Sawan Mal was appointed as the Diwan of the region.

Diwan Sawan Mal successfully cultivated indigo in the Multan area through an early, plentiful, and constant source of water realized by irrigation canal construction, which was tied to commercial cash cropping. Diwan Sawan Mal promoted the chakdari system and invited Hindu settlement in the region, with canal-building arrangements being centered around wells.

Sawan Mal died on 29 September 1844 due to wounds inflicted upon him by an under-trial prisoner.