GHULAM MURTAZA, MIRZA, served the Lahore Darbar under Maharaja Ranjit Singh and his successors for several years. One of his ancestors, Hadi Beg, a Mughal migrant from Samarkand, had emigrated to the Punjab in 1530 during the reign of Babar and got appointment as qdzi or magistrate over seventy villages in the neighbourhood of Qadian. Hadi Beg`s descendants were engaged in constant struggle with the Ramgarhia and Kanhaiya sardars who had occupied territory in the neighbourhood of Qadian. Maharaja Ranjit Singh who had confiscated the possessions of the Ramgarhia chiefship restored to Ghulam Murtaza a large portion of his ancestral estates.
Ghulam Murtaza entered the army of the Maharaja and served on the Kashmir frontier and at other places. During the time of Maharaja Kharak Singh and his successors, Ghulam Murtaza did his stints of active service. He accompanied General Vcntura in 1841 to Mandi and Kullu, and in 1843 he was sent to Peshawar. Mirza Ghulam Murtaza settled at Qadian, but his estate was resumed upon the occupation of the Punjab by the British.
References :
1. Sun, Sohan Lal, `Udmdt-ul-Twcinkh. Lahore, 1885-89
2. Lepel, Griffin, and C.F. Massy, Chiefs and Families of Note in the Punjab. Lahore, 1909
Mirza Ghulam Murtaza (c. 1791–June 1876) was a scion of an erstwhile powerful Mughal noble family whose fortunes had dramatically fluctuated with the rise of new regional powers. As the Sikh Empire under Maharaja Ranjit Singh expanded its influence, many traditional estates were lost or absorbed by the emerging regime. Yet, in a twist of fate emblematic of the era’s fluid power dynamics, Ranjit Singh allowed Ghulam Murtaza to return to his ancestral seat at Qadian in exchange for his military support. This restoration of his family’s holdings was not merely a personal vindication but also a strategic move by the Maharaja to secure the loyalty and local influence of established regional figures .
Ghulam Murtaza’s decision to align himself with the Sikh Empire meant more than the simple reclamation of land—it signified his commitment to a new political order. Joining the ranks of Ranjit Singh’s army alongside his brothers, he proved himself as a capable military leader whose skills were instrumental in several campaigns. His contributions on the battlefield underscored the pragmatic alliances that characterized 19th-century Punjab, where traditional Mughal loyalties blended with the rising ethos of Sikh statecraft. His willingness to serve the Maharaja highlighted a period when personal ambition, survival, and allegiance were often intertwined, reflecting the complex interplay of regional power, identity, and honor .
Mirza Ghulam Murtazara
Then followed the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who gradually brought all the petty chiefs of the country under his sway. In around 1818, he allowed Mirza Ghulam Murtaza, the son of Mirza ‘Ata Muhammad, to return to Qadian. Mirza Ghulam Murtaza and his brothers thereupon joined the Sikh army and rendered excellent services in several places, including the frontier of Kashmir, which was annexed by Ranjit Singh in 1819. He took Peshawar in 1823. During this period of military service under Ranjit Singh, Mirza Ghulam Murtaza’s burden of affliction and adversity was to some extent lightened, but the Sikhs were still in power and the family remained in strained circumstances. Mirza Ghulam Murtaza was much worried.
It is said that he travelled far and wide but no ray of hope was yet visible. In moments of distress and disappointment he even thought of going to Kashmir and settling there; for he had already served there in the capacity of a Suba; a kind of Governor. He devoted his time to study and prayer. He tried his luck at the court of Ranjit Singh, but the court was dissolute, and nothing availed. Ranjit Singh was, however, so impressed with Mirza Ghulam Murtaza’s goodness and nobility that in the latter period of his reign, sometime in 1834-35, he restored to him five villages out of his lost ancestral estate. This was about the time of the birth of the future prophet.
Thus, the very birth of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas, the promised reformer of the world, blessed his parents and his family in a wonderful manner. Light came and darkness vanished. The days of adversity were turned into peace and prosperity. They had a twofold reason for gratification: they were restored to peace, and they came to enjoy religious freedom. The whole family felt the change in its fortunes and attributed it to the happy birth of their blessed son. And it proved to be a blessing for the whole country, as better days were in store for all. The Sikhs lost power a few years later. Ranjit Singh died in 1839. During the next ten years British rule was extended to the whole of the country, ushering in the most peaceful and prosperous era in the history of India. The Sikhs made, in their last days, an abortive effort to kill Mirza Ghulam Murtaza and his brother, Mirza Ghulam Muhyuddin, who were confined by them in Basrawan, near Qadian; but they were soon rescued by their younger brother, Mirza Ghulam Haidar.
It should be noted here that in their early days the Qadian family could not be expected to show any sympathy towards the British Government. The reason for this was that they belonged to the ruling family at Delhi. When they saw, however, that the Mughal rule had lost its usefulness to the country and that India now needed a new power to regain its former glory, they set themselves whole-heartedly to support the British Government to the best of their ability, even at the sacrifice of their private sentiments and ambitions.
A Great Physician
Mirza Ghulam Murtaza sahib was a great physician. He had studied medicine at Baghbanpura, under Ruhullah and at Delhi, under the Sharif Khan family. He treated people free of charge, expecting nothing in return. He attended to rich and poor alike.
Raja Teja Singh of Batala, once offered him a large amount of money and a Khilat with two villages, Shitabkot and Hasanpur, in return for his medical services. The two villages had once belonged to his ancestral estate, but he declined them, saying that it would be derogatory for him and his children to accept any fee.
Maharaja Shair Singh once came to Kahnuwan on a hunting trip. Mirza Ghulam Murtaza was also with him. An attendant of the Maharaja caught a severe chill. Mirza Sahib cured him with an ordinary inexpensive prescription. Then, Shair Singh himself caught a similar chill. Mirza Sahib prescribed for him a very expensive medicine, upon which the Maharaja asked his reason for this differential treatment. Mirza Sahib answered that he did not think the attendant was equal in status to the Maharaja. Shair Singh was greatly pleased with this reply.
Mirza Sahib was magnanimous towards his enemies. A Brahmin named Joti, who had gone to court against him, was treated most sympathetically by him in his illness. A man once congratulated him on the death of one of his enemies. Mirza Sahib was most displeased, and turned him out of his company.
A Keen sense of Self-Respect
Mirza Ghulam Murtaza sahib had a keen sense of selfrespect. Once he went to see Mr Robert Cust, Commissioner of Lahore, on some business. In the course of conversation, Mr Cust asked him, with an official air, the distance between Srigobindpur and Qadian. Mirza Sahib said he was not there as a peon to answer such questions and rose to leave. The Commissioner realised his mistake and was much impressed by this display of independence and dignity.
One of Mirza Sahib’s sons, Mirza Ghulam Qadir, was a subinspector in the police force, and Mr Nisbet, the Deputy Commissioner (D.C.), once suspended him. The D.C. spoke of it to Mirza Sahib when he came to Qadian, whereupon Mirza Sahib said that if his son was really guilty, he should be punished in such a manner that his punishment should serve as an example to the sons of all respectable families. The D.C. was much pleased and pardoned Mirza Ghulam Qadir, saying that the son of such a father needed no punishment. People were filled with awe at the sight of Mirza Sahib. He had an imposing appearance and nobody dared look him in the face.
Mirza Imam Din, a nephew of his, once procured Sochet Singh of Bhaini to kill Mirza Sahib. He has stated that he went on several occasions over a wall with the intention of killing him, but whenever he looked at him he felt afraid and dared not approach him.
As a Poet
Mirza Ghulam Murtaza sahib was also a poet. His Takhallus was Tahsin.
Mirza Sultan Ahmad sahib has said that once he collected all of Mirza Ghulam Murtaza sahib’s poems and sent them to Hafiz Umar Daraz, Editor of the Punjabi Akhbar, but unfortunately, the latter died soon after and the poems were all lost.
Masjid Aqsa Qadian
Masjid Aqsa was built by Mirza Ghulam Murtaza sahib. The piece of land on which it stands belonged at that time to the Sikhs, and he bought it at an auction at the then very high cost of Rs. 700. He had made up his mind to buy it at any cost, as he wanted to make amends for the worldly pursuits in which he had spent his life. People taunted him for building such a big mosque while there were no worshippers for it. Little did they know that it was to be crowded
with devotees, and that the sincerity with which it was built, was to be reflected in the necessity to extend it again and again. He also tried to regain possession of a mosque, which had been converted into a temple, but the legal proceedings he instituted failed.
Mirza Ghulam Murtaza sahib tried all his life to regain possession of his ancestral estate. He spent about Rs. 70,000 on litigation on this but did not gain much. No one in the family helped him in these efforts, which they knew would prove vain, but whatever little he succeeded in gaining was shared by his collaterals. This was because, through the carelessness of his agent, the names of his collaterals were, along with that of Mirza Sahib, entered in the papers as proprietors of the estate.
Once in a dream Mirza Ghulam Murtaza sahib saw the Holy Prophetsaw coming in state to his house. He ran to receive the Holy Prophetsaw and thought of offering Nadhar—an Eastern form of homage similar to the oblation of gold, frankincense and myrrh offered to Jesusas by the Wise Men of the East. When, however, he put his hand into his pocket, he found that he had only one rupee and that it was a counterfeit coin. This brought tears to his eyes. At this point he awoke. This, he interpreted to mean, that the love of God and His Prophetsaw, mixed with the love of this world, is nothing better than a false coin. His disappointment with regard to his worldly affairs was very keen and he often regretted that he had not served God with all his means and power. He directed in his will that he should be buried in a corner of the mosque he had built in the centre of the town so that, perchance, God would have mercy on him. He fixed as the site for his tomb the spot where it stands in accordance with his wishes. He died of dysentery in June 1876, at the age of 85, when the mosque was nearing completion.
Mirza Ghulam Murtaza sahib was married to Charagh Bibi, the sister of Mirza Jami‘at Baig of Aima, a village in Hoshiarpur district. Charagh Bibi was a generous, hospitable, cheerful and good-hearted lady of exemplary piety. She looked after the poor while they lived and, when they died, provided them with decent burial. Through prosperity and adversity, she remained a devoted wife and an excellent companion to Mirza Ghulam Murtaza sahib, who had deep respect for her. He always sought her advice on account of her prudence, sagacity and virtue. She was a most loving mother. She lavished her most tender care upon her children. The worldly members of the family perhaps looked upon the holy-minded Ahmadas as a worthless young man, but his unworldliness appealed most of all to his mother. She died in 1868 and was buried in the family cemetery (known as Shah Abdullah Ghazi) in the west of Qadian. The Promised Messiahas had loved her deeply and whenever he spoke of her his eyes used to fill with tears. He used to go to her grave and pray for her. May she rest in peace for ever and ever! Ameen.
