Sada Kaur

The full story

Before there was an empire, there was an alliance. Sada Kaur, leader of the Kanhaiya misl, helped the young Ranjit Singh turn family ties into political power. Their forces took Lahore in 1799. Her partnership was decisive, though their later struggle over authority ended in her confinement.

Before empire, an alliance.

Sada Kaur led the Kanhaiya misl, one of Punjab’s Sikh confederacies. Her political and military support helped the young Ranjit Singh rise.

Lahore, 1799.

Their combined forces captured Lahore in July 1799. The alliance helped establish the city as the centre of Ranjit Singh’s growing power.

Power has more than one author.

Her later relationship with Ranjit Singh broke down, and she died in confinement in 1832. Remember both the architect of an alliance and the cost of a struggle for authority.

Place it in the wider story.

Women, power and the Lahore court ↗

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