Tej Singh

Tej Singh was born in 1799 near Meerut, a Brahmin, and came to Lahore as a young man. He was the nephew of Jamadar Khushal Singh, a powerful courtier, and rose in the army.

In 1845 he was made commander-in-chief of the Khalsa army. At Ferozeshah, when the British army was exhausted and near defeat, he withdrew his fresh troops. At Sobraon he fled across the Sutlej at the start of the battle and broke the bridge of boats behind him, trapping the Sikh army against the river, where thousands drowned or were shot.

The British made him Raja of Sialkot. He died in 1862. For the Sikhs his name means betrayal.