Lohgarh - Khalsa Rajdhani, Lohgarh fort - Lohgarh Trust - S. Daljeet Singh Bajwa (the kiss of deception read online .TXT) 📗

the other side of river Ravi).4

On 18 April 1711, the Emperor was told that the Sikhs have taken away the animals (buffaloes and cows) of the Muslims. Some of those present there opined that this action was done by the Vanjaras, who were the companions of Banda Singh. Some of them believed that it was done by the people of Nahan (Sirmaur) State.5

The Emperor Plans a Cantonment at Ropar

On 22 April 1711, when the Emperor was near the Satluj river, he expressed his wish to celebrate the fifth anniversary of his crowning as Emperor. He announced the construction of a big platform for celebrations of the event at Ropar.

The Emperor had issued this order, but, in his heart of hearts he was under constant fear of Banda Singh. Though, the Mughals had wrested control of Kunjpura, Thanesar, Shahbad, Sarhind, Sadhura etc. from the Sikhs, but the Emperor was not at peace. The Emperor had been given the impression that the Mughal army had occupied the Lohgarh Fort (whereas they had occupied only the first hill and Sitarganh). The Sikhs were still present in the upper hills of Lohgarh as well as in the villages around Lohgarh and Sadhaura as well as in the forest. The Emperor received reports that the Sikhs were openly moving in Sadhura, Lohgarh an even around Sarhind. Some Hindus were co- operating with them, but the Muslims were living under fear.

The Emperor had been getting the reports that Banda Singh had subjugated the hill rulers. All this created awe in the heart of the Emperor.

 

 

On 22 April 1711, the Emperor held a meeting of the princes and the umraa (the Muslim aristocracy) accompanying him and told them that he had decided to establish a cantonment at Ropar. He asked them to build their mansions there. He gave a new name, Jahangirpur, to the city of Ropar. He told them that Lahore and Shahjahanpur (Delhi) were at an equal distance from Ropar. By establishing a cantonment there, the passage to the hills would be closed. Then neither the hill rulers will be able to help Banda Singh nor would Banda Singh be able to escape into the hills.6

This clearly indicates that the Emperor believed that Banda Singh was a great force and it was not easy to defeat him. He knew that Banda Singh’s exit from Lohgarh was a temporary action and as soon as he learnt that the royal army had left Dabar area, he would come back. The state of the Emperor Bahadur Shah was like that of Aurangzeb, when he had to shift his headquarters from Delhi and Agra to Aurangabad.

Rumour of Banda Singh’s Plan to Occupy Delhi

On 20 May 1711, Bhagwan Das, a news reporter, sent the news to Bahadur Shah that Banda Singh had returned to Batala and was resting at Achal (now Achal Watala), about 6 km from Batala. Another informer reported that a Sikh named Ram Singh had arrived from the hills of Jammu, along with seven thousand soldiers, to join Banda Singh.

A news reporter informed Bahadur Shah that if any Hindu or even a Muslim approached Banda Singh, he was admitted into the Sikh army. He (Banda Singh) has told them (the Sikh soldiers) that if the Mughal army had marched towards them, they should fight; otherwise proceed towards Shahjahanabad (Delhi) via Lakkhi Jungle and Ajmer and then occupy the Capital. This news frightened Bahadur Shah.

On the 25th of May, Bahadur Shah appointed Issa Khan as Deputy Chief for Bist- Doab. On the 30th of May, Bahadur Shah was present at village Hoshiarpur (the headquarters of Hoshiar Khan). Here, Raja Jagat Singh of Kumaon presented him the heads of 25 Sikhs slain by his army. The Emperor gave him an award and asked him to throw these heads at

 

 

the crossing.

Battle Between Sikhs and the Mughal Army Near Pasrur

In the last week of May 1711, the Sikh army was present in the hills near Pursarur (now Pasrur). On the 30th of May, Mohammed Amin Khan (Chain Bahadur) and Ghazi Khan (Rustam-i-Jang), who had been specially deputed by Bahadur Shah to annihilate the Sikh army, received information about the presence of the Sikhs near Pasrur.7 They immediately left for Pasrur and reached there in the evening of the 31st of May, covering 30 kos (about 100 km) in less than two days. The next day a fierce battle was fought between the Mughal army and the Sikhs. Isa Khan (son of Daulat Muin) too joined the Mughal side. His elephant was wounded in this battle. The battle continued for a few hours, but, the Sikhs, realizing that their (Sikhs’) number was too small against the huge Mughal army. They fled towards the hills in the territory of Raja Dhruv Dev of Jammu.

When Dhruv Dev came to know about the Sikhs’ entry into his territory, he sent all his army to attack the Sikhs; Azmatulla Khan, the chief of Rajauri, too dispatched all his army against the Sikhs. The Sikhs had no option but to proceed further towards high hills. Another group of the Sikhs had to fight battles at Kathua and Parol where they suffered heavy losses. In all these battles about 500 Sikhs lost their lives. A rumour reached the Mughal court that Banda Singh too had been killed in one of these battles. At this the Mughal officials began searching the dead bodies of the Sikhs but they could not find Banda’s body; soon, they realized that they had got the wrong information.

The news of this battle reached Bahadur Shah on the 4th of June. He was so happy at the victory of the Mughal forces that he ordered the grant of a robe of honour, along with a sword studded with diamonds and an emblem (with lions and fish signs on it) for Mohammed Amin Khan. He also awarded a robe of honour to Ghazi Khan along with a precious sword and an emblem (with horse and fish signs on it). He also sent both of them a message to see him (Emperor) and receive the prizes. Bahadur Shah sent awards, including a sword, to Isa Khan too.8

 

 

On the 7th of June 1711, Bahadur Shah received the report that Raja Dhruv Dev of Jammu and Sayyad Azmatulla Khan of Rajauri was chasing the Sikhs. Mohammed Amin Khan and Ghazi Khan too were with them. All these four armies had surrounded the Sikh soldiers from three sides. The Emperor was given the hope that Banda Singh would be captured very soon. But, Bahadur Shah’s hopes and joy were shattered when he learnt that the Sikhs had once more escaped and moved towards Wazirabad. Here. Azhar Khan, the Chief of Wazirabad attacked the Sikhs with all his forces and compelled the Sikhs to flee from that area too; when Bahadur Shah received the news of the action of Azhar Khan, he sent him a robe of honour.9

At that time Bahadur Shah was proceeding towards Lahore. On the 9th of June he was in the Fort of Bajwara (at that time Hoshiarpur was a small village and Bajwara was a major town). He spent a couple of days at Bajwara and then again began his journey to Lahore. On the 13th 1711 of June, Bahadur Shah ordered enrollment of two thousand infantry at a salary of four rupees per month, and two thousand horsemen at a salary of twenty-five rupees per month, and, ordered that these four thousand soldiers would chase the Sikhs.

On the 16th of June 1711, Bahadur Shah received the reports that the Sikhs were moving towards Sadhaura and their goal was to recapture Lohgarh Fort. The Sikhs had taken the route via the hills, he had been told. Bahadur Shah sent an order to prince Jahandar Khan and Isa Khan (Deputy Army Chief of Bist Doab Jalandhar) to march towards Sadhaura and crush the Sikhs. Both the groups of the royal soldiers reached Sadhaura but found no Sikh there. At that time, the Sikhs were still camping in the hills; Banda Singh too was with them. The Sikhs had in fact themselves spread the rumour as Banda Singh wished to divide the strength of the Mughal army rumour.

When Bahadur Shah received the news of the failure of Sadhaura mission, he became desperate. He decided to stay in Lahore and personally monitor the anti-Sikh campaign. When the soldiers found that Bahadur Shah was scared of Banda Singh and the Sikh army, they too got disheartened. The rumours and whispers that ‘Banda Singh has

 

 

come, Banda Singh is coming’ began lowering the morale of the Mughal soldiers. The situation was so frightening and scary that simply the mention of the name of Banda Singh would turn the faces of the Mughal officials pale.

On the 11th of July 1711, Bahadur Shah received a message from Ghazi Khan that Banda Singh was now in the reach of his grip, hence more forces had to be despatched towards his camp so that he (Banda Singh) may be captured or killed. Ghazi Khan already had the command of two thousand soldiers, so Bahadur Shah did not answer his letter. When Bahadur Shah received Ghazi Khan’s message, Mohammed Amin Khan was sitting near him and he conveyed to the Emperor that Ghazi Khan was only after getting more money, weapons and ammunition.10 Bahadur Shah continued his march towards Lahore. On the 19th of July 1711, he reached near Kahnuwan. Here, he decided to spend a few days for hunting in the nearby forest. His next stop was at Kalanaur.11 On the 30th of July, he (The Emperor) was present in Kalanaur where he held his court and discussed the Sikh affairs with his generals and

courtiers. The next day, he again began his journey towards Lahore.12

 

 

Endnotes

Akhbarat-i-Darbar-i-Mu’alla, entry of 1. 1711. Akhbarat-i-Darbar-i-Mu’alla, entry of 3.1711. These names are found in different entries of Akhbarat-i-Darbar-i-Mu’alla. Letter written by Pancholi Jagjiwan Das to the ruler of Jaipur, dated 24 March 1711, Serial No 16, Vakil Report No (Rajasthani Documents on Banda Singh Bahadur, edited by Dr Balwant Singh Dhillon). Letter written by Bhkhari Das to the ruler of Jaipur, dated 18 April 1711, Serial No 20, Vakil Report No (Rajasthani Documents on Banda Singh Bahadur, edited by Dr Balwant Singh Dhillon). Letter written by Bhikhari Das to the ruler of Jaipur, dated 26 April 1711, Serial No 21, Vakil Report No (Rajasthani Documents on Banda Singh Bahadur, edited by Dr Balwant Singh Dhillon). In ancient times, the name of this town was Porus-pur, in the name of king Porus (330 E.) which, later, became Pursrur and finally Pasrur.

 

 

Akhbarat-i-Darbar-i-Mu’alla, entry of 6.1711. Akhbarat-i-Darbar-i-Mu’alla, entry of 6.1711. Akhbarat-i-Darbar-i-Mu’alla, entry of 7.1711. Akhbarat-i-Darbar-i-Mu’alla, entry of 7.1711. Akhbarat-i-Darbar-i-Mu’alla, entry of 7.1711.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 8

 

Banda Singh After Leaving Lohgarh

 

 

 

Banda Singh Subjugates Hill States

After leaving Lohgarh Banda Singh did not take rest. Having discussed the situation with the senior leaders, Banda Singh decided that for the time being they should not launch any action in the Punjab; so, they decided to move towards the hills. Their first action was an attack on Bilaspur, the capital of the Kehlur State. Ajmer Chand, the ruler of that State had attacked Guru Gobind Singh at Anandpur Sahib and Nirmohgarh several times between 1700 and 1705; he had also instigated and even paid to the Mughal army to attack the Guru. It was he who was responsible for Guru’s exit from Anandpur Sahib in December 1705. In fact, most of the calamity of the Sikhs was as a result of Ajmer Chand’s actions. So, like Wazir Khan, he too deserved severe punishment.

Before attacking Bilaspur, Banda Singh sent a message to Ajmer Chand to accept subordination of the Sikhs; but Ajmer