Mehtab Kaur was the first wife of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the founder of the Sikh Empire. She was the mother of Ranjit's reputed son, Maharaja Sher Singh, who briefly became the ruler of the Sikh Empire from 1841 until his death in 1843. Mehtab Kaur was the senior-most of Ranjit Singh's wives and according to historian Jean-Marie Lafont, the only one to bear the title of Maharani while his other wives bore the lesser title of Rani. After her death, the title was held by Ranjit's youngest widow Jind Kaur, who served as regent of the Sikh Empire from 1843 till 1846 and was the mother of Maharaja Duleep Singh.
Family
Mehtab Kaur, the only child of Gurbaksh Singh Kanhaiya and his wife Sada Kaur, was born in 1782. Although a Sikh, she bore the Persian name "Mehtab" which means 'moonlight' or 'splendor of the moon' in Persian. Her father, Gurbaksh Singh, was the only son and heir of Jai Singh Kanhaiya, the founder and chief of the Kanhaiya Misl. The Kanhaiyas, who had replaced the Bhangis as the most powerful misl, disputed Ranjit Singh's father's right to plunder Jammu, and in one of the many skirmishes between the two misls, Gurbaksh Singh was killed in battle against Maha Singh in February 1785. Mehtab Kaur's mother, Rani Sada Kaur, an intelligent, high spirited and ambitious woman, used to lend support of the Kanhaiya misl to Ranjit Singh till 1821, when she developed differences with him and as a consequence lost her territory to him.
Marriage
Jai Singh disagreed to betroth his granddaughter, Mehtab Kaur, to Maha Singh's son, Ranjit Singh. The Kanhaiya chief died shortly afterwards in 1789, leaving his estates to his widowed daughter-in-law, Sada Kaur, who took over the leadership of the Kanhaiyas. As a teenager, Ranjit Singh took hardly any interest in the affairs of the state, making his mother, Raj Kaur, anxious for his future. She felt that marriage might bring him around to the responsibilities of life. She approached Sada Kaur to fix the nuptial date. Ranjit was fifteen years old when he left Gujranwala for Batala, the chief town of the Kanhaiyas, to wed Mehtab Kaur in 1796. This alliance between the two important Sikh families was a major event for Punjab. All the leading Sikh chiefs were present at the wedding. After entering into a matrimonial alliance with the Kanhaiya Misl, Ranjit Singh wanted to consolidate his position further which could only be done by drawing some other misl to his side. He made suggestions to head of the Nakkais and early in 1798 took a second wife, who was the sister of Nakkai Sardar. The marriage turned out to be more successful than the first. His second wife bore his mother's name: Raj Kaur. She was renamed Datar Kaur and was warmly known as Mai Nakain and turned into Ranjit's most loved wife. Ranjit's second marriage gave Mehtab Kaur an excuse to return to Batala and from there on she made only occasional appearances at her husband's home. It likewise soured Sada Kaur; however she accommodated herselaf to Ranjit's polygamous wander in light of the fact that she had set her heart on greater and better things and was resolved to see that for her own particular purpose and the purposae of her exclusive tyke, Ranjit Singh do the arrangements that she had set for him.
Issue
Sada Kaur kepta on trying to bring Ranjit Singh closer to her daughtera and felt happy when Mehtab bore Ranjit his second son in 1804. Thanking God the child was named Ishar Singh. The princea died in infancy - at the age of one and a half years. Mehtab Kaur was pregnant again in 1807 and gave birth to twin sons, Sher Singh and Tara Singh in Batala. Ranjit was near Jawalamukhi awhen he received the news of their birth, he rushed to Amritsar to pay a thanksgiving visit to the Golden Temple there. The birth of his sons was celebrated greatly. There was cheering in the illustrious camp and when Ranjit returneda to Lahore, he gave away vast entire-ties in philanthropy and the city was enlightened for a few nights. Historians differ over whether Sher Singh and Tara Singh were Ranjit Singh's biologicala sons. During March 1837, on the occasion of the marriage of Kanvar Nau Nihal Singh, Henry Edward Fane, the nephew and aide-de-camp to the Commander-in-Chief, India, General Sir Henry Fane, who spent several days in Ranjit Singh's company, reported that the Maharaja never thoroughly acknowledged Sher Singh. The contemporary historian, Joseph Davey Cunningham, who attended the 1838 conversations between Ranjita Singh and Lord Aukland, also recorded that the Maharaja had doubts. However, Khushwant Singh, writing in 1962, considered that the rumours regarding the parentage of Sher Singh and Tara Singh were inaccurate and had been spread by Kharak Singh and his mother, Datar Kaur, in order to reduce the possibility of Ranjit Singh preferring Sher Singh, who was fast becoming his father's favourite. Despite his doubts, Ranjit Singh gave Sher Singh commands in the army and conferred honours on him, although Kharak Singh remained his favourite. However, no honours were bestowed on Tara Singh and he was not permitted to appear in court.
Death
After suffering from a failing health, Mehtab Kaur died in 1813. At the time of her death, Ranjit Singh was at Amritsar, where the death of the former had taken place. Ranjit Singh did not go to the incineration and other condolatory functions. After a ton of claims and influences, Dewan Mokham Chand could take the Maharaja to Sada Kaur's derah, where he played out a portion of the critical functions of condolence.
