Kamal Khan Gakhar

Kamal Khan Gakhar (Punjabi: کمال خان گکھڑ) was a chief of the Gakhars and a Mughal general in the 16th century. He assumed the throne of the Pothohar Plateau by defeating his uncle Adam Khan in battle with help of the Mughal Emperor Humayun, his father was Sarang Khan who was famous for resisting the Suris, losing his life in the struggle.^[1][2][3]

Kamal Khan belonged to the ruling family of the Gakhars, a powerful hill tribe inhabiting the region between the Jhelum and Indus rivers, extending into the folds of the Salt Range and the lower Himalayan foothills. The Gakhars dominated this tract, and contemporary sources state that other groups in the region including Khattars, Janjua, Awans, Chibh, Bhugiyal, and related communities were subject to their authority.

He was the son of Sultan Sarang, a Gakhar chief noted for his resistance to the Sur rulers. Sultan Sarang was the younger brother of Sultan Adam, and both were sons of Tatar, who had earlier headed the Gakhar tribe. After Tatar's death, Sultan Sarang initially obtained the chiefship, while Sultan Adam later emerged as his principal rival.^[1]

During the reign of the Sur rulers, Sultan Sarang engaged in repeated conflicts with Sher Shah Suri and later Salim Shah Suri, fighting with persistence and inflicting losses on Afghan forces. Sher Shah, seeking to curb Gakhar resistance, founded the Rohtas Fort, intended to control the Gakhar country. Eventually, Sultan Sarang was captured and put to death.

Following his father's execution, Kamal Khan was imprisoned in the fort of Gwalior. Contemporary narratives state that despite his imprisonment, the Sur rulers failed to bring the Gakhar territory under full control, and the chiefship passed to Sultan Adam. Mughal chronicles record a dramatic episode during Kamal Khan's confinement in which Salim Shah allegedly ordered prisoners in Gwalior Fort to be killed by detonating gunpowder beneath the prison. According to the account, the explosion destroyed the structure and killed its inmates, but Kamal Khan survived unharmed in a corner of the prison. The source attributes his survival to divine protection and states that, upon hearing of this, Salim Shah released him after administering oaths. This episode is reported as part of the narrative tradition of the period.^[1]

After his release, Kamal Khan returned to his homeland. However, his uncle Sultan Adam had consolidated authority, and Kamal Khan, along with his brother Saʿid Khan, lived in a state of outward submission while awaiting an opportunity to reassert his claim.^[1]

At the beginning of Emperor Akbar's reign, Kamal Khan travelled to Jalandhar and entered Mughal service, where he was appointed as an officer. He took part in imperial campaigns, including operations connected with the defeat of Hemu and engagements at Mankot, and earned favour through his conduct in battle.

In the third regnal year of Akbar, Kamal Khan was dispatched with a suitable force to suppress disturbances caused by the Miyana Afghans in Sironj, in the province of Malwa. He successfully carried out this assignment and was rewarded with jagirs, including the towns of Karra and Fatehpur Hanswa. In the sixth regnal year, he participated in a campaign against a rival claimant raised by Afghan elements, fighting alongside imperial commanders. Chroniclers note that Akbar praised his performance and expressed his intention to reward him further. ^[1]

In 970 AH (1562 to 1563 CE) Kamal Khan appeared at the Mughal court and petitioned for the restoration of his father's lands, which he claimed had been unlawfully seized by his uncle Sultan Adam. Akbar responded by ordering the Mughal officers in Punjab to divide the Gakhar territory into two portions, one for Sultan Adam and the other for Kamal Khan, and to punish any refusal to comply.

Sultan Adam and his son Lashkari Khan Ghakar, who managed his affairs, rejected the imperial order. As a result, Mughal forces, accompanied by Kamal Khan, entered the Gakhar territory and fought a major engagement at the township of Hilan. Sultan Adam was captured, while Lashkari fled towards the hills of Kashmir before also being taken prisoner.

Following this campaign, the entire Gakhar territory, long noted for its resistance to outside rulers, was subdued and placed under Kamal Khan’s control. Lashkari was executed, while Sultan Adam was kept in confinement until his death.^[1]

According to the Akbarnama and related Mughal records, Kamal Khan attained a mansab of six thousand, marking him as a high ranking noble of the empire. The same sources state that he died in 970 AH (1562 to 1563 CE), the very year in which he achieved his final success and restoration. Some uncertainty surrounds the precise circumstances of his death, and Mughal chroniclers themselves note the limits of certainty regarding the events of his final year.^[1]