Early Life
Hari Singh's ancestors came from Majitha and served the Sukerchakia Misl. His grandfather, Hardas Singh, was killed in action in 1762. His father, Gurdas Singh, served under Charat Singh and Maha Singh and received the Jagir of Balloki, a village in the modern day Kasur District of Pakistan.
Hari Singh Nalwa was born into an Uppal Khatri family, in Gujranwala, Punjab to Gurdas Singh and Dharam Kaur. After his father died in 1798, he was raised by his mother. In 1801, at age ten, he took Amrit Sanskar and was baptised as a Sikh. At the age of twelve, he began to manage his father's estate and took up horse riding.
In 1804, at the age of fourteen, his mother sent him to the court of Ranjit Singh to resolve a property dispute. Ranjit Singh decided the arbitration in his favour because of his background and apitutude. Hari Singh had explained that his father and grandfather had served under Maha Singh and Charat Singh, the Maharaja's ancestors, and demonstrated his skills as horseman and musketeer. Ranjit Singh gave him a position at the court as a personal attendant.
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