THE RISE OF ADINA BEG KHAN FROM PATAWARI TO GOVERNOR
PROPERTY OF ADINA BEG KHAN IN MOHALLA CHABUK SAWARAN
Direct neighbor of the Mimar family of Lahore
Little is known about Adina Beg Khan. A small 12 page manuscript supplies us with most of information about him. Very few have written abut him. The article by Dr Muhammed Baqir is very illuminating, but the most information is collected by Dr Hari Ram Gupta Of F.C. College, Lahore. Interestingly it is literally impossible to even find this printed source on Adina Beg Khan. A very rare book. Some books in Urdu are romantic fictions. Sikh story telling is contrived history at most, for gullible consumption.
Adina Beg Khan was by caste an Arain, and born in Sharakpur in Tehsil Lahore, in the house of a common person by name of Channu. However due to reasons, he was brought up by a Mughal family and identified himself as a Mughal. His skills were extraordinary in every way and he knew how to manipulate people as well a situations. And his rise is very much due to his knack for manipulating things. It is reported that he married a Syed girl, but finding out that she was a Syed, he divorced her but gave her maintenance all his life. The truth looks different. It is said that he married a street girl and had a son and a daughter by her. The daughter was married to Khawaja Mirza Khan and the son tried to take his position after his death but failed, for he lacked the abilities of his father.
From the position of a Patawari, he ended up as the Governor of the province, by doing one thing or the other, and black mailing people into serving him. But he did enjoy the highest position in the Punjab and that for one year too. There were three strong parties. The Mughals, the Sikhs and the Maharattas, and he played all three against each other, getting the best out of situations. The present governmental trait of buying land cheap and then selling same at high prices was his forte. It seems people today are direct spiritual descendants of Adina Beg Khan.
We noticed in a deed to our house in Mohalla Chabuk Sawaran dated 1757 AD, as reference to land and property owned by Adina Beg Khan as a neighbor to the Mimar family of Lahore. We were truly surprised. Here was an information not recorded anywhere else of his holdings in Lahore. We decided to add the information to the history of Adina Beg Khan. We will research that document in a separate blog.
Adina Beg Khan is a most interesting character in history of Lahore.
Adina represents the start of the decay in our culture.
For your information Adina Beg was not a putwari of Lahore like these days. But a Foujdar in Mughal Army. He goes up step by step. Foujdar to revenue tax collector and due to his bravery Mughals appointed him the governor of Lahore. He belonged to an Arain house of Sharakpur Sharif and a pious person. Also he didn’t married to a Syed girl or a street girl but married to his own baradari fellow Arain girl. Please don’t spread wrong information about him.
Your source of information is your own. No manuscript or printed version say that. Share with us. Folk tales not accepted. Every historical source calls him a patawari.
Do you have a reliable source? He happens to be my ancestor and great great great great grandfather. Still, even our family doesn’t know much about him just that his justice encompassed him and he did welfare work for the general public. Still, he was knowledgeable in military affairs and beat all three powers of the then subcontinent. Please if you know something mention it to me here or email me.
We can share the copy of the book with you. And possible articles. But recently fresh paintings have emerged. We can share too. Provide us with an email and address and our email and address is there for all.
We do not write anything unless it is documented in historical account.
People work on fantasy not documented evidence. We work on documents and say so.
People without information quick to offer corrections which are baseless in history.