Diwan Sawan Mal Chopra

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

Diwan Sawan Mal
Diwan Sawan Mal seated holding a lotus. Watercolour by a Company artist, Punjab, c. 1865
Sikh governor of Multan
In office 1820–1844
Monarchs	Ranjit Singh Kharak Singh Nau Nihal Singh Sher Singh Duleep Singh
Preceded by	Nawab Muzaffar Khan (as Durrani governor, d. 1818) Several temporary Sikh governors of Multan (1818–1820)
Succeeded by	Diwan Mulraj Chopra
Personal details
Born	Gujranwala, Sukerchakia Misl (modern day Punjab, Pakistan)
Died	29 September 1844 Multan, Sikh Empire (modern day Punjab, Pakistan)
Cause of death	Seriously wounded by an under-trial prisoner
Parent	Hoshnak Rai Chopra (father)

Biography

Early life

Sawan Mal was born into a Hindu Khatri family of the Chopra gotra originally from Gujranwala, the region where Maharaja Ranjit Singh's Misl, the Sukerchakias held sway.^[1][2]

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 Nawab Muzaffar Khan, in 1818. After a series of incompetent governors, Sawan Mal was appointed as the Diwan of the region.

In 1834, he signed an agreement on behalf of the Maharaja with Sardar Karam Khan, a Mazari warrior respected in his tribe as well as in the Sikh Army. Karam Khan was the younger brother of Mir Bahram Khan, chief of the Baloch Mazari tribe, thereby ending the long war between the Sikhs and the Mazaris of Rojhan. He was succeeded to the governorship of Multan by his son, Diwan Mulraj Chopra, who was the last ethnic Punjabi to administer Multan.^[3]

Sawan Mal died on 29 September 1844 due to wounds inflicted upon him by an under-trial prisoner.^[1]