Later Mughals v1.c6.s18.33

v1.c6.s18.33

Let us next trace the Sikh fortunes in another direction. As soon as the Sikh expedition eastwards had crossed the Jamuna, Ali Hamid Khan Qanauji, *faujdar* of that part of the country, took fright, and in spite of offers by the Afghan and other leading Muhammadans to repair the walls and stand on the defensive, that very night marched away from Saharanpur, and took the road to Dihli. The Sikhs, learning that the imperial officer had abandoned the town, made all haste to the spot, soon overcame the resistance of the inhabitants, and plundered it as they had done Sarhind. The whole country, far and near, was in a panic. Those people, who were rich enough or lucky enough to obtain means of conveyance, carried off their goods and families. The rest, taking their wives and children by the hand, fled on foot. Women who had rarely been outside the courtyard of their own house, and had never gone one step outside of it on foot, were forced to walk distances of thirty and forty miles. Many women threw themselves into wells to avoid outrage. In this way, half of the *sarkar* of Saharanpur fell into the hands of the Sikhs.†