[1] He held the position only briefly, during a tumultuous nine months in which he persecuted those who had antagonised him in the past, including Jodha Ram, who was mutilated.

The Khalsa, or Sikh army, believed that Jawahar had personally ordered the death, fearing that Pashaura presented too great a threat to young Duleep Singh.

The leaders of the Khalsa demanded Jawahar present himself before them on 21 September 1845, which he did after much prevarication and attempts at bribery.

[1][4] Jawahar met with the Khalsa on the appointed date, with an escort of elephants and people including the Maharani, and the Maharaja himself seated beside him, in an attempt to ensure his own safety.

The soldiers, however, removed the escort and dragged away the Maharani, causing Jawahar to panic: Duleep was pulled out of Jawahar's arms and taken to the Maharani, and the Wazir was bayoneted, dragged from his elephant, and speared to death, supposedly being stabbed fifty times.