Lohgarh - Khalsa Rajdhani, Lohgarh fort - Lohgarh Trust, S. Daljeet Singh Bajwa [early reader books .txt] 📗

and 500 on feet, entered the Fort. Fighting continued still another 2 months. During these battles too several Sikhs were killed. If these figures are correct, then, out of a force of 2000, only 2-3 hundred Sikhs could escape by breaking a portion of any wall of the Fort. But, according to a report, Abdus Samad Khan got severed the heads of the 600 dead Sikhs killed in the battle of Sadhura and dispatched them to the Emperor to win his appreciations.26 On the 27th of September the Emperor inspected these heads and sent

 

 

a special robe of honour to the Abdus Samad Khan.

Having captured the Fort of Sadhaura Abdus Samad Khan decided to demolish it, so that the Sikhs might not be able to have this Fort as their defensive post. All the soldiers were given the duty to demolish and transport its rocks and bricks and other materials to far areas, so that the Sikhs might not be able to repair or re-build it.27 The demolition of the Fort and transportation of its debris took several days. After this, Abdus Samad Khan decided to move towards Lohgarh.

Martyrdom of Bhai Fateh Singh

When the battle of Sadhaura was going on, Bhai Fateh Singh was in Jammu-Kashmir area. In the second week of August 1713, Bhai Fateh Singh was present in Baloh (in Kashmir). Suddenly, the ruler of Kashmir on one side and the ruler of Baloh on the other side surrounded the Sikh army. The Sikhs tried to seek refuge in the nearby jungle, but the number of the Mughal soldiers was so high that they (Sikhs) could not save themselves. All the one thousand Sikhs and an equal number of the Mughals died in this battle. Bhai Fateh Singh was also one of those who lost their lives. His head was severed and dispatched to Mohammed Ali Khan (deputy Governor of Kashmir) who further sent the news of the Mughal victory to Farukhsiyar. Farukhsiyar praised the Mughal soldiers and increased the mansab of Mohammed Ali Khan by five hundred.28

 

Endnotes

Irvine, Later Mughals, vol 1, 206. Irvine, Later Mughals, vol 1, 206. 3. Ibid, p. 258. Akhbarat-i-Darbar-i-Mu’alla, entry of 10.1712 Akhbarat-i-Darbar-i-Mu’alla, entries of 26 and 1.1713 Akhbarat-i-Darbar-i-Mu’alla, entry of 3.1713 Later, after the murder of Farukhsiyar in 1719, Raj Inder Kunwar’s father Raja Ajit Singh got her ‘freed’ from the palace of the widows, on the 16th of July 1719, and escorted her to Jodhpur; he also took away all her wealth and other precious belongings; the Muslim clergies and aristocracy

 

 

opposed this and tried that she should not be allowed to go, but Abdullah Khan helped the Raja’s safe exit from Delhi. (Irvine, Later Mughals, p 401).

Irvine, Later Mughals, vol 1, p Akhbarat-i-Darbar-i-Mu’alla, entry of 3.1713 Mohammed Qaim Aurangabadi, Ahwaal-ul-Khwakeen, pp 64-67. Akhbarat-i-Darbar-i-Mu’alla, entry of 3.1713. Farukhsiyar sent these 13 senior generals to lead seven thousand soldiers: Khushkismat Janash Khan, Daulat Begh Khan Hazara, Iradat Khan, Arab Ali Khan, Mir Hussaini Khan, Sayyad Jawad Khan Bukhari, Mirza Muhammed Shafia Barlas, Nazar Khan Kheshgi, Walidad Khan Sherzaad, Sher Khan, Mirza Begh Turk, Mir Mustafa and Zahur UllaKhan. Mohammed Qaim Aurangabadi, Ahwaal-ul-Khwakeen, pp 64-67. Akhbarat-i-Darbar-i-Mu’alla, entry of 3.1713 Akhbarat-i-Darbar-i-Mu’alla, entry of 4.1713. Arzdashat (letter) written by Jeth Mall (agent of Raja of Jaipur) to the Raja of Jaipur, in April 1713, Serial no 62, Arzdaasht no 145 (Rajasthani Documents on Banda Singh Bahadur, edited by Dr Balwant Singh Dhillon). Akhbarat-i-Darbar-i-Mu’alla, entries of 27 and 6.1713. Irvine, Later Mugals, I, p. 308. Irvine, Later Mughals. I, p. 309. Muhmmed Qasim Aurangabadi, Ahwaal-ul-Khawakeen, pp 64-67. Muhmmed Qasim Aurangabadi, Ahwaal-ul-Khawakeen, pp Muhmmed Qasim Aurangabadi, Ahwaal-ul-Khawakeen, pp 64-67. Irvine, Later Muggals, volume I, pp 308-09. Muhmmed Qasim Aurangabadi, Ahwaal-ul-Khawakeen, pp 64-67. Arzdashat (letter) written by Jeth Mall (agent of Raja of Jaipur) to the Raja of Jaipur, on 6 Augsut 1713, Serial no 63, Arzdaasht no 139 (Rajasthani Documents on Banda Singh Bahadur, edited by Dr Balwant Singh Dhillon). Muhmmed Qasim Aurangabadi, Ahwaal-ul-Khawakeen, pp 64-67. It is possible that the total number of the Sikhs killed at Sadhura was around As Muhammed Qasim Aurangbadi gives figure of 691 in one battle, it may be total number of the Sikhs killed at Sadhaura. Muhmmed Qasim Aurangabadi, Ahwaal-ul-Khawakeen, pp 68-69. Akhbarat-i-Darbar-i-Mu’alla, entry of 8.1713

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 12

 

Third  Mughal Attack

on Lohgarh

 

 

Banda Singh Bahadur knew that after capturing the Fort of Sadhaura, the Mughal army would surely attack Lohgarh Fort; so, he dispatched every good, except weapons, to Paonta Sahib (12 Kos, i.e. about 45 kilometers from Lohgarh).1

Having captured Sadhaura, Abdus Samad Khan wanted to attack Lohgarh Fort, but his companions told him that there was no hope of winning this battle; hence he postponed the decision. This delay gave opportunity to Banda Singh Bahadur and he further strengthened Lohgarh Fort. He strengthened the walls, and, built bastions and trenches.

On 21 August 1713, an advance unit of the Mughal army went towards Lohgarh. This party came under the attack of the Sikh soldiers. From among the soldiers of this unit at least 40 were killed, 20 were wounded and 35 were arrested by the Sikhs. The rest of them left everything there and ran empty-handed and saved their lives. Besides, the Sikhs captured about 100 horses, 30 camels, 40 buffalos and 200 other animals. Almost during the same days, the death of Mohkam Singh, a general of the Mughals, too disheartened the Mughal soldiers, and the companions of Banda Singh became more daring and bold.2

On 29 August 1713, about 200 Mughal soldiers were patrolling in between Sadhaura and Lohgarh. When they saw just a small number of Sikhs, most of them ran away, but their leader Jamandar Baloch Khan was killed by the Sikhs. Beside him, four more Mughal nobles were also killed. The Sikhs chopped off their heads and took them into the hills of Lohgarh. These losses disheartened the Mughal army and they decided

 

 

to postpone an immediate attack on Lohgarh.3

On 12 October 1713, the Emperor was told that Banda Singh was present in Lohgarh Fort and he was further strengthening it. The moat of the Fort was under preparation and Banda Singh intended to fight.4 It was an indication to the Mughal generals that they should not make a hasty attack on Lohgarh Fort, otherwise they would have to suffer heavy losses.

According to Irvine, from the first ridge up to the wall of Lohgarh Fort, the Sikhs had built fifty-two defensive posts, arranged in such a manner that each protected the other, thus exposing an assailant to a deadly fire throughout his advance. The Fort was in more than a dozen hills, and, all around were bowers of trees, stones and ditches and gorges everywhere. It seemed that even angels with wings or birds could not reach there, then how a man or a horse could reach there. It was a really difficult venture.5

Having waited for some days more, Abdus Samad Khan began moving to Lohgarh. He covered this distance in 14 days. When he reached near the Fort, he pitched his tents there, but he did not launch an attack. After some days Zain-ud-Din Ahmad Khan (Faujdar of Sarhind) and Zakaria Khan (son of Abdus Samad Khan) too reached there.

On 13 November 1713, these three armies began a very heavy artillery attack on Lohgarh Fort. For the next four days guns and cannons bombarded all the hills of the Fort. It was such a heavy bombardment that (to quote an idiom used by Muhammed Qasim Aurangabadi) ‘even the wings of the gods might have been burnt’.6 Banda Singh, who could watch the movement of the enemy from the tops of the hills, had seen that a mammoth army had surrounded the Fort from three sides.

Those soldiers who were in the front trenches and first layer of the hills fought bravely, but the firing made them helpless; hence many of them were killed and quite a number was captured as well. The Mughal attack continued for many days, but there was no fighting from the Sikhs’ side. This made the Mughal army understand that the Sikhs in the upper trenches and the hills had disappeared; they had escaped through high hills. Banda Singh and senior Sikh general had escaped

 

 

without giving a fight. It seemed that only one thousand Sikhs were involved in the battle. Abdus Samad Khan, once again, failed to arrest or kill Banda Singh Bahadur. So, the Mughals lost this battle too. Their purpose was not to capture Lohgarh Fort; they were there to arrest or kill Banda Singh Bahadur; and they failed in this mission. Even by fleeing the scene Banda Singh had virtually defeated the Mughals.

Why Did Banda Singh Leave Lohgarh in 1713?

One may ask that it was neither failure of food supplies, nor in ammunition, then why did Banda Singh leave Lohgarh without giving a big fight? The answer is Banda Singh had a long term strategy. His purpose was not to achieve a small gain of winning the battle of Lohgarh. He wanted to keep the Mughal army constantly engaged in the battlefield and thus exhaust it, drain its treasury in paying salary for the soldiers and spending on provisions and ammunition, create constant fear in the mind of the Emperor and the Mughal aristocracy, and create an atmosphere of chaos for the officials of the Mughal regime.

When he left Lohgarh on 30 November 1710, it was the same reason. He could have fought for several months. He left Lohgarh and the Mughal generals and the soldiers remained in trouble for so many days; the regime spent a lot of money for this expedition, the Emperor could not pay attention to other activities. The awe and chaos created by Banda Singh made the Emperor insane. This was the beginning of the destruction of the Mughal Empire. Even for the second time, in September 1712, he left Lohgarh without giving a fight. At that time too, along with Mohammed Amin Khan, hundreds of generals and thousands of Mughal soldiers, the Emperor had also engaged the Rajas of Jaipur and Jodhpur. This time too, the royal treasury spent a lot of money, and, it had to surrender revenue rights of the East and Gujrat to the rulers of Jaipur and Jodhpur, thus losing a considerable part of the royal income. The third time (in November 1713) too, the Governors of Lahore and Multan and the Faujdar of Sarhind and thousands of the soldiers of the Mughals spent many months to capture Sadhura and Lohgarh but they could not arrest or kill Banda Singh Bahadur. This time

 

 

too they lost the battle. Had Banda Singh Bahadur not made the mistake of confining himself to Gurdas Nangal, in March 1715, the results would have been much different; he could have ended the Mughal Empire (at least in the Punjab), by 1720. Had the Rajput rulers of Udaipur, Jaipur and Jodhpur declared rebellion against the Mughals, this would have resulted in the end of the Mughal Empire in the whole of South Asia. Banda Singh’s battle was not over with his arrest and execution. The Sikh struggle of post-Banda Singh period, which ended the Mughal rule in the ‘Greater Punjab’, was continuation of the Banda Singh’s expedition.”

Having captured the lower part of Lohgarh Fort, the soldiers went up towards some stages of the Fort. There they found precious clothes, including silk and other precious clothes, gold and silver, utensils, spices like cardamom and cloves, animals (buffaloes and cows, etc.), slaves and womenfolk etc.; many soldiers plundered whatever they found there.7

This was the last battle of Lohgarh Fort. The battle of Lohgarh continued for three years (November 1710 to November 1713). During this period three major battles were fought. In the first battle, fought in November 1710, mammoth Mughal army of more than one hundred thousand soldiers led by the Mughal Emperor, his four princes and hundreds