Sujan Rai Bhandari

Sujan Rai Bhandari was a Punjabi historian and author of Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh, among other works.

Biography Little is known about the life of Sujan Rai. According to his own remarks, he was born in Batala, Punjab, then part of Lahore Subah, and belonged to a Bhandari Khatri family. His writing style suggests that he was a Hindu. Sujan Rai served as a munshī in the administration of Aurangzeb, and also claimed to have travelled to Kabul and Thatta.

Works His most prominent work is Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh, completed during 1695–6. It is a general history of Indian subcontinent starting from earliest times to the accession of Aurangzeb in 1658, and is a significant source for the history of Punjab. His other works include Khulasat al-inshā and Khulasat al-makātīb, dealing with Insha. They were compiled in 1690s and are so far unpublished. Khulasat al-sīāq, a work on arithmetic written during 1703–4, is also attributed to him.