KĀHN CHAND, son of Amīr Chand, served under Mahārājā Raṇjīt Siṅgh and his successors in various capacities. His family originally belonged to Multān. His father had served as a revenue officer under Misr Dīvān Chand at the Lahore court and afterwards as a commander under Harī Siṅgh Nalvā. Kāhn Chand joined service as a scribe in 1823 and was promoted to the position of murāsalā-navīs or dispatch-writer in 1834. This was an office of trust. The correspondence being secret was conducted under the direct farmān or order of the Mahārājā by his trusted courtier Faqīr 'Azīz ud-Dīn. It was Kāhn Chand who first raised the Ḍerā Khās or bodyguards, a regiment of young Sikh sardārs, who were the pick of the Sikh army. On the annexation of the Punjab in 1849, Kāhn Chand's jāgīrs were resumed and he was granted a pension of Rs 1,200 by the British.