His fellow hunters attempted to protect him but he refused their offers and allegedly killed the tiger by himself using a dagger while fending off blows with a shield, thus earning the cognomen Baghmar (Tiger-killer).

It took place at the capture of Kasur, which had long been a thorn in the side of Ranjit Singh's power because of its proximity to his capital city of Lahore.

[48] When news of its conquest arrived, it left the Maharaja so elated at the success of Sikh arms that he celebrated this victory with the firing of cannons.

Hari Singh Nalwa took command of a force and routed his army, which offered an unconditional surrender after losing most of its men and war supplies.

The Maharaja and his army had crossed the Jehlum when Hari Singh Nalwa, accompanied by his Kashmir platoons, joined them at Mitha Tiwana.

Azim Khan, Yar Mohammed's half-brother in Kabul, totally disapproved of the latter's deference to the Sikhs and decided to march down at the head of a large force to vindicate the honour of the Afghans.

This Mashwani village was strategically placed in a basin at the top of the north-east end of the Gandhgarh Range, which made its secure location a haven for the rebellious chiefs in the entire region.

While stationed at Wazirabad, he received an arzi (written petition) from Sardar Hari Singh[83] informing him that he and his men were overwhelmingly outnumbered – one Sikh to ten Afghans.

[48] Hari Singh Nalwa stood guard at the fort of Attock with the intention of keeping the Sayyid and his men from crossing the river until reinforcements arrived from Lahore.

The Sikhs charged at their opponents, routed them, and continued a victorious pursuit for six miles, taking all their guns, swivels and camp equipment.

[84][85][86] The occupation of the great city of Peshawar and its ruinous fort, the Bala Hisar was a reflection of Sardar Hari Singh Nalwa's formidable reputation in the region.

[87] Hari Singh Nalwa was the governor of Peshawar when Dost Mohammed personally came at the head of a large force to challenge the Sikhs.

Following his victory against Shah Shuja at Kandahar, in the first quarter of 1834, Dost Mohammed declared himself padshah (king), gave a call for jihad and set off from Kabul to wrest Peshawar from the Sikhs.

[89] Ranjit Singh chose intrigue rather than facing the Afghans in battle and began sending negotiation efforts to Dost Mohammad Khan.

[90] The French division under Jean-François Allard, Paolo Avitabile, Claude Auguste Court and Jean-Baptiste Ventura commanded 20 to 22,000 men who marched very slowly and suitably towards the left flank of Dost Mohammad Khan's army.

[96][97] In October 1836 following the Dussehra celebrations in Amritsar, Hari Singh made a sudden attack on the village of Jamrud, at the mouth of the Khyber Pass.

[105] Hari Singh Nalwa had not only defended Jamrud and Peshawar, but had prevented the Afghans from ravaging the entire north-west frontier, in turn was not able to invade Afghanistan himself.

[112] The territories under his jurisdiction later formed part of the British Districts of Peshawar, Hazara (Pakhli, Damtaur, Haripur, Darband, Gandhgarh, Dhund, Karral and Khanpur), Attock (Chhachch, Hassan Abdal), Jehlum (Pindi Gheb, Katas), Mianwali (Kachhi), Shahpur (Warcha, Mitha Tiwana and Nurpur), Dera Ismail Khan (Bannu, Tank, and Kundi), Rawalpindi (Rawalpindi, Kallar) and Gujranwala.

The Sikhs enacted a number of anti-Muslim laws,[115] which included handing out death sentences for cow slaughter,[116] closing down the Jamia Masjid in Srinagar,[115] and banning the azaan, the public Muslim call to prayer.

[115] Kashmir had also now begun to attract European visitors, several of whom wrote of the abject poverty of the vast Muslim peasantry and of the exorbitant taxes under the Sikhs.

[120][121] Cow-slaughter (Holy Cow) offended the religious sentiments of the Hindu population and therefore it met with capital punishment in the Sikh empire.

In Peshawar, keeping in view "the turbulence of the lawless tribes ... and the geographical and political exigencies of the situation" Hari Singh's methods were most suitable.

[122] In 1831, Hari Singh Nalwa was deputed to head a diplomatic mission to Lord William Bentinck, Governor-General of British India.

At least 56 buildings were attributed to him, which included forts, ramparts, towers, gurdwaras, tanks, samadhis, temples, mosques, towns, havelis, sarais and gardens.

Nalwa's presence brought such a feeling of security to the region that when Hügel visited Haripur in 1835–6, he found the town humming with activity.

[137] He reinforced Akbar's Attock fort situated on the left bank of the river Indus[138] by building very high bastions at each of the gates.

[139] A religious man, Nalwa built Gurdwara Panja Sahib in the town of Hassan Abdal, south-west of Haripur and north-west of Rawalpindi, to commemorate Guru Nanak's journey through that region.

In the 20th century, the song Mere Desh Ki Dharti from the 1967 Bollywood film Upkaar eulogises him in the line when the hero exclaims, Rang Hara Hari Singh Nalwe se.

On 30 April 2013 the Indian Minister of Communications Kapil Sibal released a commemorative postage stamp honouring Hari Singh, marking the 176th anniversary of his death.

[152] In September 2023, a depiction of Hari Singh Nalwa was imprinted on official sweater merchandise of the Dallas Cowboys football team as part of the Carpe Omnia ('seize everything') theme for the upcoming sports season.