Harbans Singh Noor

However odd and ludicrous it might sound but this is what actually happened.

In 1756, Emperor of India, Ahmad Shah Alamgir II,¹ invited Ahmad Shah Abdali, king of Afghanistan, to launch another attack on India. So also did Najib-ud-Daula a Ruhella chief, who was a close ally of Prime Minister Imad-ul-Mulk and Mughlani Begam the erstwhile governor of Punjab. All of them promised to help him.²

Abdali took their advice and came 'running'.

Starting from Kandahar in autumn, Abdali reached Peshawar in November 1756. He left Peshawar on November 15 and without any opposition enroute, he entered Delhi on January 28, 1757.

From that very day, his troops started plundering and committing all sorts of ravages in Delhi. Abdali himself resorted to all sorts of torture and humiliation of all the high nobles, "even the greatest grandees" of the court, to extract their hoarded treasures. Ceilings were broken and basements dug up to unearth hidden treasures. "Their women were stripped of everything. Mughlani Begam rendered the Abdali, most meritorious service by telling him of what worth each noble was and what virgin beauties were in the Imperial Harem".³

Abdali made the Emperor marry his daughter to the former's son, Prince Taimur, and gave him the province of Sarhind in dowry.

After a month of systematic loot in all parts of Delhi, Abdali and his warriors marched to Agra, and from there to Mathura and Brindaban, where massacre, arson and rape were committed beyond limit. Muslims also were targeted, because during previous attacks, whenever Delhi was in danger, Muslim courtiers used to send their families and valuables away to Mathura.

Compelled by cholera epidemic which broke out in his camp, killing hundreds of his troopers, Abdali returned to Delhi on March 31, 1757.

Delhi was sacked once again.Civilian death toll of this episode was over 30,000 lives -- men, women and children.

Abdali then launched his move to enhance his harem. He forcibly took into wedding, a 16-year-old step-sister of the Emperor, " and dragged away 17 other ladies of the Imperial Harem and 400 maid-servants in his train".⁴

Victorious Ahmad Shah could have chosen, like Babur, to stay in India, and be Emperor of Hindustan. But, for prestige at home, and ability to recruit thousands of warriors at short notices, he preferred to rule from Kandahar. The hot climate of India also did not suit him.

Abdali retained Ahmad Shah Alamgir II, as nominal Emperor of Hindustan and appointed Najib-ud-Daulah as his Regent -mukhtar/plenipotentiary. Mughlani Begam was left high and dry, but at her request Imad-ul-Mulk was retained as Wazir.

The Mughal power was reduced to zero.

Now was the time for the invader to return home with humungous loot. And, it was time for the Sikhs to give the invader a 'treatment', which they had become accustomed to -- like they had given to Nadir Shah in 1739, and to Abdali, during his earlier forays in 1748 and 1752.

Mir Mannu, who had won the laurel of defeating Abdali's first venture, and pushing the invader back from Manupur in 1748, was installed as governor of Punjab. During five years of his tenure up to his death in 1753 he had killed over 30,000⁵ Sikh men, women and children -- many of them beaten to death with wooden mallets.⁶ But, he could not crush the spirit of the Sikhs. They used to sing:

Manu saadee datree
Aseen Manu de soe,
Jiyon jiyon Manu wadhda
Aseen doonrh sawae hoe.⁷

(Manu is our sickle; we his grass blades. As and when he prunes us, more and more we grow.)

Manu's death, by poisoning, on November 3, 1753 pushed Punjab into a state of unbounded anarchy -- every noble was trying to grab a bigger piece of the pie; every Turki general in Lahore desired to carve out a principality of his own.

Between November 1753 and October 1756 administration of Punjab changed hands nine times. Manu's widow Mughlani Begam herself rose and fell from power three times. In March 1756, Delhi Wazir, Imad-ul-Mulk had made Mughlani Begam captive; confiscated her property and handed over Lahore and Multan to Adina Beg, of Jullundur, against a tribute of 30 lakhs of rupees a year. That is why Mughlani invited Abdali to attack Delhi -- she wanted to teach a lesson to the wazir Imad-ul-Mulk.

During these three years of anarchy in Punjab and similar confusion in the Capital, Sikhs had comparatively a free hand.

In 1754, Jassa Singh Thoka(carpenter) was deputed by Dal Khalsa, the Sikh confederacy, to reconstruct the Ram Rauni fortress which had been destroyed by Adina Beg in 1748, and then again by Ahmad Shah Abdali in 1752. It was renamed Ramgarh, and Jassa Singh became popular as Jassa Singh Ramgarhia -- for distinction from the greatly revered leader, Sardar Jassa Singh Ahluwalia.

Some discarded mud fortresses also were taken over, repaired and occupied. A few new ones were built. Using Ramgarh as their base, Mughal faujdars far and near were harassed, and farmers in their areas were encouraged to remain amicable. Detractors, who used to spy and report their whereabouts to the government, were chastised. Notable among them were Mahant Aqil Das Handalia, Rama Randhawa, and Karma Chhina.⁸

In March 1754, Qasim Khan, faujdar of Patti, was tempted to take 8,000 Sikhs in his fauj (army). After he had issued them matchlocks and other war materials, dispute arose over pay, and they left.⁹ Now they were in much better position militarily, to complement their courage and their faith in their motto , 'Raj Karega Khalsa' -- that Khalsa shall rule one day.

Food and fodder were as necessary for the Sikhs as for the farmers of Punjab. Protecting the crops was better than destroying them. The Sikh confederacy -- Dal Khalsa -- introduced raakhi or protection system -- giving guarantee of protection to the farmers, on payment of one-eighth (in some areas one-fifth) of the annual revenue, payable in two installments, one each at the time of two harvests -- rabbi and kharif, also called harhi and sauni in Punjab.¹ The Marathas, in the South, had a similar system, called chauth, or 'one-fourth'. But there was a great difference between the two -- the Sikh raakhi and Maratha chauth.

Marathas gave only assurance that they would not harass, if they receive the chauth, which actually amounted to a sort of ransom. (Emperor Ahmad Shah also was paying chauth to the Marathas). But, the Sikh raakhi guaranteed the villages protection against all exaction, blackmail, and extortion. It became so popular, all over Punjab, that if one village was under raakhi, it was not uncommon for a neighbor to approach voluntarily and seek to be placed under the system.

In a short time four out of the five Doabas of the Punjab came under the protection of the Dal Khalsa.

To make the system function successfully one or more units of the Dal Khalsa could combine to take charge of a big chunk of territory that came under their protection. To meet emergency situations, a reserve force was stationed at Amritsar, in addition to the moving units of the Dals. According to Sohan Lal Suri, Amritsar began to be guarded by Nishanwalias and Dallewalias. The territory, southwest of Lahore, fell under the protection of the Nakkais; the Chaj and Rachna Doab territories came under the protection of Hari Singh Bhangi and Charhat Singh Sukkarchakkia. Some territories north of Amritsar fell under the raakhi of Jassa Singh Ramgarhia and Jai Singh Kanahiya. The southern bank of the Satluj came under the protection of Baba Dip Singh and Karora Singh, while the Ahluwalias and the Singhpurias occupied some territories on both banks of the Satluj.¹¹

Now Sikhs were conscious and confident of their cumulative power, and Mughals also could ignore that fact only at a great risk and loss.

At the end of March 1757, the front division of victorious Abdali's army under Prince Taimur was transporting the plundered wealth of Delhi to Lahore. Ala Singh of Phulkian Misl and other Sikhs attacked him at Sanaur and Malerkotla, and deprived him of almost half of his treasures.¹²

Tara Singh Ghaiba and Karora Singh Dallewalia overpowered the guards, broke open their boxes of gold on the bank of Chenab, filled their leather bags with coins and escaped.¹³

When Abdali's own train comprising of 28,000 camels, elephants, mules, bullocks, and carts; and 200 camel-loads of property being carried by widows of emperor's father Muhammad Shah Rangila, was proceeding from Delhi, it was followed by 80,000 horse and foot. Yet, it was attacked several times by undaunted Sikhs between Delhi and the river Chenab. To Abdali's great annoyance, they easily succeeded in acquiring many horses and a good part of the enormous booty he was carrying off.¹⁴

Abdali halted for some time at Lahore. Taking Punjab under his own control, he appointed his young son, Prince Taimur Shah, as viceroy and to help him left his commander-in-chief Jahan Khan as deputy viceroy of Punjab.¹⁵ He wanted to punish the Sikhs severely for their boldness, but in view of the heat, that he could not bear, he decided to return home. Abdali left ten thousand of his best Afghan troops in Lahore, and advised Jahan Khan to raise a separate army of India-born Turki, Irani and Afghan soldiers.¹⁶

After Abdali's departure, Jahan Khan led expedition against Sikhs; massacred as many as he could. "The city was given to plunder, sacred buildings were demolished and the holy tank was filled with garbage."¹⁷ According to Khushwant Singh, when he [Abdali] "arrived at Lahore, he was in a black mood. He could not lay his hands on the elusive Sikhs, so he spent his fury on the city of Amritsar. The Harimanadir was blown up and the sacred pool filled with the entrails of slaughtered cows."¹⁸

A great number of Sikhs from around Lahore and Amritsar moved away to the safety of Shivalik hills, or to the cis-Satluj deserts of Malva.

For a while, dejected Sikhs could do nothing to restore the sanctity of the sarovar, and the Darbar Sahib. But, it would have been a great moral defeat if they could not gather for their regular gathering at Amritsar on the occasion of Diwali.

Seventy-five-year-old Baba Dip Singh of Damdamma Sahib (Talvandi Sabo) was head of one of the two Misls that had assumed responsibility for raakhi/protection of areas around the southern bank of the Satluj. Personally, the devoted scholar usually occupied himself with transcribing copies of the holy Guru Granth Sahib. Jolted by the thought that Sri Darbar Sahib had become beyond reach of the Sikhs, he pledged that he would liberate the holy shrine even if he were to lose his life.

To launch a march, he sent messages to Anandpur Sahib, Tarn Taran, and other centres, for willing Sikhs to gather at Tarn Taran and then proceed to Amritsar for illumination of Darbar Sahib on he occasion of Diwali. A few days before the festival about 1,000 volunteers from Kot, Lakhi jungle, Phul, Mehraj, Gobindpura and other surrounding villages gathered at Talvandi to proceed to Tarn Taran. Sarup Lal's Tarikh-e-Sikhan and other Sikh books tell us that there Sikhs renewed their pledge to liberate the holy Amritsar, to repair and reconstruct the destroyed buildings, and restore sanctity of the shrine. "Here they tied festal ribbons round their wrists and sprinkled saffron on their turbans in order to prepare themselves for a sacrifice."¹⁹

Tahmas Khan 'Miskin', who was a page of governor Mir Mannu, and then of his widow, Mughlani Begam, writes in his Memoirs:

"One day a paper of news from an intelligencer informed Jahan Khan that a large body of Sikhs had assembled at Chakk Guru [Amritsar] for a bath, and were causing tumult and violence. The viceroy's troops under Haji Atai Khan were out in the neighbourhod subduing the country, settling matters, and chastising them (the Sikhs).

"The Wazir wrote a letter to Sardar Haji Atai Khan informing him about the disturbances. He asked him to reach the Chakk by a sudden march with all his troops on a certain day [November 11, 1757 CE] promising that he also would arrive there at the appointed time in order to send this lost sect to the dwelling place of destruction. He also issued a proclamation in the city of Lahore after the manner of the Vilayat that everybody whether a servant of the State or otherwise, possessing a horse, must follow him [Jahan Khan] to the battlefield.

"Accordingly, the Begam Sahiba [Mughlani Begam] also was asked to send all her servants under Tahmas Khan (Miskin). The Begam at once sent for all her attendants, numbering 25 and ordered them (to march) in the company of Miskin. Qasim Khan (of Patti) also joined the Wazir's troops, who were about 2,000 in number. By nightfall they arrived at Sarai Khan-Khanan, which was 20 Kms away from Lahore. The next day they reached a place, 8 Kms village Gorewal) this side of Chakk. They were surprised to see that Haji Atai Khan had delayed his march in spite of strict instructions.

"The Sikhs got this intelligence and attacked us on all the four sides. The battle began and both the parties got busy in showering fire on each other. The Sikhs closely besieged us and from every side kept the fighting hot and distressed us so much that many of our men turned to flee in desperation. The Wazir also with agility and daring tried to stop them. . At that time this Miskin with two mounted troopers was with him. But the Sikhs had left no path for the fleeing soldiers to escape by.

" At last they returned to the army disappointed and dejected. Jahan Khan then took out his sword and wounded some of his own men who had fled saying, "Why did you flee?" In short, we all gathered together and got busy in fighting again. The matter came to such a pass that none felt life in him. But this Miskin displayed so much courage that no one would believe him if he were to describe it.

"At this stage Haji Atai Khan arrived with a triumphant army; and the ill-natured Sikhs who were feeling proud of their courage and bravery were defeated by the relentless swords and the ruthless guns. The wretched (Sikhs) could not face opposition and took to flight. The victorious army gave them a close pursuit as far as the Chakk Guru, It was a screened place (the shrine of their Holy Book), and at that door we saw five Sikh infantry men (standing at guard). The heroes of our army rushed at and killed them. At this place Mir Niamat-ullah Khan, one of the Lahore grandees, lost his life in the struggle. Then our triumphant army encamped there."²⁰

The Sikhs arriving from Tarn Taran, on getting the news of advancing Lahore forces, took them by surprise and as told by Miskin besieged them and inflicted heavy casualties on them. Sikh loss of life was also heavy. But, then they were surprised by Haji Atai Khan's fresh contingent, They fought bravely and Baba Dip Singh was wounded very badly, with a deep cut in the neck..

With one hand holding his neck, and the other a double edged sword, Baba Dip Singh made to the parikarma (circumambulatory passage) of the Harimandar Sahib and thus fulfilled his pledge -- of dying for the liberation of the holy shrines of Amritsar.

One of the five who were at the gate was Baba Gurbakhsh Singh of Seel (near Khem Karan) who had arrived from Anandpur Sahib. He gave a tough fight behind the Akal Takht, before achieving martyrdom.²¹ Other martyrs who fell in the bloody battle were: Bhai Aghar Singh, Jathedar Ram Singh, Sant Singh, Dyal Singh, Sajjan Singh, Hira Singh, Nihal Singh, Bahadur Singh, Kuar Singh and Mana Singh.²²

Baba Dip Singh was born in January1682, at Pohuwind, a village 40 km southwest of Amritsar. His father Bhai Bhagta, a Sandhu Jat, and his mother Mai Jivani, were devoted Sikhs of Guru Gobind Singh. Dip Singh accompanied his parents to Anandpur Sahib in 1700 C. E. After taking pahul -- the initiation ceremony with a double edge sword -- he chose to stay with Guru Gobind Singh. He was fond of learning languages and already knew Sanskrit and Persian. At Anandpur he became acquainted with Bhai Mani Singh, from whom he learnt to read and write Gurmukhi. In 1702, he returned home and got married.

In January 1706, after the battle of Khidrana (Mukatsar), Guru Gobind Singh had stayed at Talvandi Sabo, south of Bathinda, for nine months and nine days. There Dip Singh joined Bhai Mani Singh, and Guru Gobind Singh. It was during this stay that work of making copies of the enlarged edition of the Adi Granth was carried out. As Dip Singh had a thorough knowledge of Gurmukhi, Persian and Sanskrit, he helped Bhai Mani Singh in making copies of the Granth, during and after the stay of Guru Gobind Singh at Talvandi Sabo (Damdamma Sahib).

During this stay of Guru Gobind Singh, thousands of people from Malva thronged there to pay their obeisance to the Guru and be ‘initiated’ with pahul to join the Khalsa. After receiving the news of Guru Gobind Singh’s assassination at Nanded, at the call of Banda Bahadur, Dip Singh and thousands of others from that region responded to join Banda, to punish the murderers of Guru Gobind Singh’s two younger sons Zorawar Singh (8) and Fateh Singh (6).

After parting company with Banda Bahadur in 1715, Dip Singh returned to Talvandi Sabo (Damdamma Sahib). There he started making copies of the holy Scripture, and taught exegesis of Gurbani. In time, the centre came to be known as Damdammi Taksal. Between 1716 and 1726 he made four copies of the Adi Granth, which was by then the Guru Granth Sahib, the only ‘living’ guru of the Sikhs, designated as such by Guru Gobind Singh before he passed away at Nanded (in South India) on Kattak sudi 5, 1765 Bk, corresponding to October 7, 1708 CE.

Baba Dip Singh was a true sant-sipahi (saint-soldier) -- a devoted Sikh who was well versed in Sikh Scriptures and at the same time a skilled warrior, having fought many battles along with Banda Bahadur from 1709-1715.

In 1739, when Nadir Shah was returning from Delhi, with booty of humungous wealth of Hindustan, Dip Singh was one of the Sikh leaders who attacked his rear on the southern bank of Satluj,and deprived him not only of some of his booty and horses, but also helped free hundreds of young women that Nadir's troopers were toeing along as slaves.

Dip Singh's fearless jatha became known as Nihang-brigade. During the struggle lead by Banda Bahadur, against Mughal forces of Bahadur Shah and Farrukh Siyar when there was a reward for every Sikh taken dead or alive, the Nihangs had developed a code language which proved very useful.

In 1745, after the death of Governor Zakariya Khan, the Khalsa volunteers were reorganized into 25 jathas. Dip Singh was head of one of those twenty-five. His was a prominent jatha, when by 1748 the number of jathas had increased to 65 -- and it was resolved to unify the whole fighting force into one: the Dal Khalsa, under the supreme command of respected Sardar Jassa Singh Ahluwalia.

When the Dal Khalsa was reorganized into Taruna Dal (youth-brigade) and Buddha Dal (seniors' brigade), though Dip Singh (b. 1682) was not so young, the group that he commanded was one of the five Taruna Dals.-- probably because there were more daring youth in his group. Hari Singh Bhangi, who was head of another Taruna Dal, had taken pahul from Dip Singh just as many others.

Gurdwara Shaheed Baba Dip Singh in Amritsar marks the spot where Baba Dip Singh died.

Whenever the Sikhs assembled to fight the corrupt and unjust Mughals and the foreign invaders Dip Singh’s Nihang Misl – a group of enthusiasts -- was always willing to fight in the forefront, fully prepared to lay down their lives for sake of their cause.

In May 1746, he and his men fought bravely the hordes of Diwan Lakhpat Rai and governor Zakariya Khan, when Sikhs were being chased by them, and after crossing Ravi, Beas, and Satluj they ventured to take refuge in the Lakhi jungle. In that historic clash, known as Chhota Ghallughara or smaller holocaust, nearly 7,000 Sikhs lost their lives. (It was called Chhota, or minor, because compared to the one-day battle fought by Sikhs with Abdali led forces, on February 5, 1762, this was 'minor'. In the latter, remembered in Sikh history as Vadda (bigger) Ghallughara (holocaust), estimates of the Sikhs' loss of life vary from 20,000 to 50,000).²³

After the martyrdom (shahidi) of Baba Dip Singh, on November 11, 1757, his Nihang Misl became popular as Misl Shaheedan.

(For an eye witness account of the fourth invasion of Abdali see: The fourth invasion of Ahmad Shah Abdali, 1756-57 by Shaikh Ghulam Hasan 'Samin' , translated by William Irvine, which appears in his Indian Antiquary, 1907.)

NOTES & REFERENCES

¹ He was known as a "good natured, imbecile debauch".

² The Begam wrote: "Goods and cash worth crores of rupees lie buried to my knowledge in the palace of my late father-in-law, besides heaps of gold and silver stored inside the ceilings. A perfect disagreement exists among the Emperor Alamgir II, his wazirs and nobles. If you invade India this time, the Indian Empire with all its riches of crores will fall into your hands without your incurring any expenditure. (Hari Ram Gupta, History of the Sikhs, II, 128; cf. Ali-ud-din, Mufti, Ibrat Namah, 114b).

Najib-ud-Daulah wrote: "In this country I have gathered round myself 25,000 Afghans. I have [also] prepared other Afghans of Gangapar (Trans-Ganga) who number 40,000 to enter your service. You may come here without any suspicion. Imad-ul-Mulk [Prime-Minister] has not the strength to oppose you. I am his greatest ally. As I have become obedient to you, there is none other left here (to help him). (Ibid. Cf. Nur-ud-din, 14b).

For Emperor's invitation, Ibid. p. 129; cf. Franklin, Shah Aulum, 4-5.

³ Hussain Shahi, p. 37; Gupta, II, 129.

⁴ Gupta, II, p. 130.

⁵ Ibid, p. 116; Tahqiqat-e-Chishti, 649

⁶ Ibid.

⁷ Gopal Singh, History of the Sikh People, p. 391; Gupta, II, 115

⁸ (Rattan Singh Bhangu, 311-12; Gian Singh, 713).

⁹ Miskin, Memoirs, pp. 94-96.

¹⁰ Gupta, II, p. 127

¹¹ Sohan Lal, II, p. 5.

¹² Gupta, II, p. 131; cf. Rajwade I, 85

¹³ Gupta, III, 54.

¹⁴ (Gupta, II, 130 -131; Ahmad Shah, 877; Malcolm, 93. Cf. Sarkar, II, 71-72, 125- 130; S.P.D., II, 71.)

¹⁵ Ibid.

¹⁶ Ibid, 132

¹⁷ Fauja Singh, The city of Amritsar, p. 81.

¹⁸ Khushwant Singh, p. 145.

¹⁹ Fauja Singh, The city of Amritsar, p. 82. cf. Gupta, II, p. 109.

²⁰ Miskin, Memoirs. pp. 162-65.

²¹ Fauja Singh, The city of Amritsar, pp. 82-83.

²² Ibid,

²³ Encyclopaedia of Sikhism, IV, 595-6.

Copyright ©2005 Harbans Singh Noor. About the author