Sawan Mal was born into a Hindu Khatri family of the Chopra gotra originally from Gujranwala, the region where Maharaja Ranjit Singh's Misl, the Sukerchakias held sway.

As a general under Ranjit Singh, he assisted in wresting the subah (province) of Multan from the Durrani governor Nawab Muzaffar Khan, in 1818.

After a series of incompetent governors, Sawan Mal was appointed as the Diwan of the region.

In 1834, he signed an agreement on behalf of the Maharaja with Sardar Karam Khan, a Mazari warrior respected in his tribe as well as in the Sikh Army.

[3] Sawan Mal died on 29 September 1844 due to wounds inflicted upon him by an under-trial prisoner.