Later Mughals v1.c6.s19: Sec. 19.—The Emperor Marches Against the Sikhs.
Later Mughals v1.c6.s19
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Sec. 19.—The Emperor Marches Against the Sikhs.
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The first news of the Sikh outbreak was brought to Bahadur Shah on the 2nd Rabi II. 1122 (30th May, 1710), when he was approaching Ajmer on his return march from the Dakhin. A peace was forthwith patched up with the Rajputs and attention was turned to the new trouble. Some difference of opinion seems to have arisen between Bahadur Shah and Munim Khan, his Wazir. The Emperor wished to make a rapid march with such troops as could keep up with him. Munim Khan, arguing that it would be derogatory to the Emperor's dignity thus to rush in haste to suppress an enemy that had never been heard of before, preferred a more deliberate advance. If it were thought that delay would enable the rebel Guru either to make his position impregnable or to escape, Munim Khan would bind himself by solemn oaths to be answerable for the capture of the rebel. Some state that Bahadur Shah's unwonted eagerness arose from the chance of conducting what he looked on as a *jihad*, or holy war against the infidel, such as had not been the good fortune for many years of any Emperor in Hindustan.*
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∗ Qasim, fol. 95.
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The plundered inhabitants of Sarhind and Thanesar, with the Pirzadas of Sarhind and Sadhaura, arrived at the camp in a destitute condition, raising loud cries about the oppression that they had suffered, and making many grievous complaints. Ajmer was quitted on the 1st Jamadi I. 1122 (27th June, 1710), urgent orders being sent to Khan Dauran (afterwards Nizam-ul-mulk) the subahdar of Oudh; Muhammad Amin Khan Chin, faujdar of Muradabad; Khan Jahan, subahdar of Allahabad, and Sayyid Abdullah Khan Barha, calling on them to march without delay and join Asad Khan, subahdar of Dihli and Wakil-i-mutlaq, in his advance against the Sikhs. Meanwhile the Emperor's camp moved on, *via* Rupnagar, Sambhar, Rasulpur, Pragpura and Narnol; the capital, Dihli, being passed on their right hand at a considerable distance.† In order to prevent desertions, proclamation was made on the 1st Rajab, 1122 (25th August, 1710), that no man should visit Dihli without permission, nor should any man's family come out to camp to see him. Another precautionary measure was an order for all Hindus employed in the imperial offices to shave off their beards. As the Sikhs had many well-wishers among the Khatri clerks, these men were thus forced to choose between losing their appointments, or committing an act that excluded them from the Sikh sect. The order was carried out, it seems, in a very harsh manner. Petty officers perambulated the streets and bazars of the camp, followed by barbers bearing dirty water in a scavenger's vessel. Whenever a Hindu was met wearing a beard, he was seized and his beard shaved off. The clerks in the imperial offices hid in their quarters, and did not appear again in public, until they had been shaved.*
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∗ Kamwar Khan, 68; Warid, 119 *a*.
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† Rupnagar, about 28 m. n. of Ajmer, about 200 m. s. w. of Dihli; Sambhar, about 55 m. n. e. of Ajmer; Rasulpur, (not traced); Pragpura, 120 m. n. e. of Ajmer, about 100 m. s. w. of Dihli; Narnol, 150 m. n. e. of Ajmer, 80 m. s. w. of Dihli.
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From Pragpura, on the 12th Jamadi II. 1122 (7th August, 1710), a force was sent on in advance, under the command of Firuz Khan Mewati, Sultan Quli Khan, a nephew of Rustam Dil Khan, Shakir Khan, and others ; an allowance of 50,000 Rupees being granted to Firuz Khan for the payment of levies. Muhammad Amin Khan and his son, Qamr-ud-din Khan, arrived about the same time from Muradabad (27th Jamadi II. 1122, 22nd August, 1710). A week or two after the first force had started, another was sent off under Sayyid Wajih-ud-din Khan Barha. On the 4th Rajab (28th August) Khan Dauran† reached the camp ; and when the Emperor was at the town of Patodhi,‡ (17th Rajab, 10th September), Saif-ud-din Ali Khan, Najm-ud-din Ali Khan, and Siraj-ud-din Ali Khan, younger brothers of Sayyid Abdullah Khan Barha, came in from their home across the Jamuna. Khan Jahan (Sipahdar Khan) did not arrive till the 4th Ramzan, 1122 (26th October, 1710). Churaman Jat joined when the camp was nearer Dihli.§
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After a halt to celebrate the Emperor's birth-day, followed by several days' delay from heavy rain, and a hunting excursion of a few days in the preserves of Jyunti, the army at length, on the 29th Shaban 1122 (22nd October, 1710), reached the town of Sonpat, some thirty miles beyond Dihli. Here, on the 4th Ramzan (26th October), a letter was received from Shams-ud-din Khan, faujdar of the Jalandhar Duab, reporting that he had, on the 19th Shaban, 1122 (12th October, 1710), gained a victory over the enemy. On the 8th Ramzan (30th October 1710), at the next stage, Sarai Kunwar, Rustam Dil Khan reported to His Majesty that four days before (26th October), Firuz Khan Mewati had fought the enemy between Indri and Karnal, and he now sent in three hundred heads. Firuz Khan was rewarded with the appointment of faujdar of Sarhind, and six robes of honour were sent for him and his companions. The next marches were to Sarai Sambhalka, Panipat, Kharonda, then to near a brick bridge close to Karnal, next to Karnal itself, Azimabad-Talaori (alias Alamgirpur), and then Thanesar, which was reached on the 22nd Ramzan, 1122 (13th November, 1710). At Karnal a further fight was heard of; it had taken place at Thanesar and the Sikhs had been again defeated. Firuz Khan, after clearing Thanesar, had gone on to Shahabad, ten miles further to the north. Such Sikhs as had been made prisoners were strung up to the road-side trees, their long hair being twisted to perform the office of a rope.*
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∗ Qasim, 32; Kamwar Khan, 73; Khafi Khan, ii. 669, 674. Dastur-ul-insha, 13. † Formerly Chin Qilich Khan, afterwards Nizam-ul-mulk. ‡ About 35 m. s. w. of Dihli. § Kamwar Khan, 72, 73, 75; Browne, 11; Khafi Khan, ii. 668.
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Before these successes were obtained, the road from Dihli had been barred for many months. Bayazid Khan, an Afghan of Qasur near Lahor, and then faujdar of the Jammu hill country, was on his march up-country with a retinue of several thousand men. On reaching Panipat his further progress was stopped. But on the advance of Firuz Khan, he took the initiative and drove the Sikhs before him. He was also assisted by his nephew, Shams-ud-din Khan,† faujdar of the Jalandhar Duab, already spoken of, who came now from Bajwara, in that jurisdiction, as far as Sarhind. Bayazid Khan, Umar Khan, and Shams-ud-din Khan encountered the Sikhs at a grove known as Yaqut Khan's, and drove them in disorder towards Sarhind, where they took refuge in the fort, and were there invested. The first success of these leaders was gained on the 19th Shaban, 1122 (12th October, 1710),* and it was followed by a further victory, of which a report was received on the 6th Shawwal (27th November, 1710). Good service was also done within the Baith Jalandhar Duab, by Isa Khan Main. Muhammad Amin Khan, who had been appointed to command a detached force, was now directed to march with all speed and take measures for the reduction and occupation of Sarhind.
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∗ Kamwar Khan, 75, 76; Qasim, 100; for Shams-ud-din Khan see the next note. † Shamsher Khweshgi, was made Shams-ud-din Khan, and on joining the imperial service had been given the rank of 500, 150 horse. (Danish-mand Khan, entry of 24th Zul Hijja, 1119, 2nd year of Bahadur Shah).
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Leaving Thanesar on the 4th Shawwal, 1122 (25th November, 1710), Bahadur Shah, in five marches by way of Shahabad and Aukala, reached Sadhaura on the 13th of the same month. Sadhaura is about thirty-six miles north-east of Thanesar. A few days before this date, it had been reported that the Sikhs had moved southwards from Sadhaura, with 3,000 horsemen and 10,000 infantry,† and had entrenched themselves on the road. Subsequently, they must have thought it wiser not to risk an encounter, for the imperial march was not molested. The Sikhs fled even from Sadhaura, and took refuge in the hills to the north-east of that place. Sadhaura itself is a town on a high hill of steep ascent, standing on the edge of the Markhanda torrent, in a hilly and, in those days, well-wooded country.‡
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† Khafi Khan, ii. 669, says 30,000 to 40,000 men.
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‡ Kamwar Khan, 77.
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The Guru's head-quarters were not at Sadhaura, but farther on, within the first hills, in a region called by the native writers both Mukhlispur and the Dabar. Their use of the first name raises some difficulties of identification. They confound the site of the Guru's fort with Mukhlispur, the name for the hunting lodge, now called Badshahi Mahal, built by Shah Jahan close to the left bank of the Jamuna, and a few miles below the heads of what are now called the Eastern and Western Jamuna Canals. Some lands, which had been detached from pargana Muzaffarbad, of sarkar Saharanpur, were assigned to it and called Faizabad.* This is, at the very least, twelve miles too far to the east for the Mukhlispur that we want, for which we must make search somewhere between Sadhaura on the west, Nahan on the north, and the Jamuna river on the east. That there was such a place, is shown by our finding Moklespore (Mukhlispur) on J. Rennell's map† of 1792, exactly where we want it, namely, half-way between Nahan and Sadhaura. Dabar (with the Hindi, or cerebral d) must have been the name of the region round Mukhlispur. It is described as "a place seven or eight kos from Sadhaura, near the northern hills, and on the edge of it is a small hill, difficult of access, on which Islam Khan, son of Sher Khan Sur, in his day of brief authority, began to build a strong fortress, under the name of Pawagarh. It was left unfinished at his death, and fell into ruins, parts of which still remain. Banda restored and extended these ruins."‡
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∗ Report received on the 4th Ramzan.
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† Rennell, Memoir, 3rd edn., *Map of Countries between Dehli and Candahar*.
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‡ "Anonymous Fragment," f. 14b. This work is tract No. 4, in a miscellaneous volume, formerly in the library of Dr. Lee, now owned by me. Salim Shah (Islam Khan) reigned 1545-1553.
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Here the Sikhs had built a strong fort as a place of refuge, apparently the first to resort to this quarter having been Guru Govind Singh, in the period of seclusion succeeding his father, Tegh Bahadur's, death. The name given to the stronghold was Lohgarh, or Iron Fort, either in allusion to the prominence of iron in the Guru's new ritual, or with reference to the fort's supposed impregnability. Its exact situation cannot be determined, but it was about half-way between the towns of Nahan (in Sirmur) and Sadhaura (sarkar Sarhind); probably it stood on some spur of the hills overlooking one of the dry, stony, torrent beds, or raos, which form such a peculiar feature of the hill country and its border-land, both there and in the north of the Saharanpur district. The fort may have been on the Som rao, or more probably, on the rao still bearing the name of Lohgarh.* Roughly speaking, it lay some twelve miles to the north-east of Sadhaura. Here the Guru stood at bay, having the walls of the fort mounted with small cannon and pierced for musketry.†
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∗ *Masir-ul-umara*, printed text, ii. 867; iii. 157. Alamgir visited this place in 1073 H. (*Masir-i-Alamgiri*, 42).
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† Kamwar Khan, 79.
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At Lohgarh, Banda tried to assume something of regal state. He was the Sacha Padshah, or Veritable Sovereign, his disciples all Singhs, or lions. A new form of greeting, Fath daras (May you behold victory!), was invented and Muhamadans were slightingly called Maslah. Coin was struck in the new sovereign's name. One side bore the lines:
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Sikkah zad bar har do alam tegh-i-Nanak wahib ast,
Fath Govind Shah-i-shahan fazl-i-Sacha Sahib ast.
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If we are to judge by this halting, obscure verse, Banda was a better warrior than he was poet. The lines, an obvious imitation of the inscriptions on the Mughal coins, seem to mean "Fath Govind, king of kings, struck coin in the two worlds, the sword of Nanak is the granter of desires, by grace he is the veritable Lord." On the reverse were these words Zarb ba Aman-ud-dahr, Maswarat-shahr, Zinat-ut-takht-i-mubarak-bakht. "Coined at Refuge of the World, the Walled City, Ornament of the Fortunate Throne." These were the titles and epithets assigned by him to Lohgarh, just as each imperial city had its appropriate honorific name. On his letters he impressed a seal, bearing the following rhyming inscription:
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Teg, deg, o fath, nusrat-i-be-dirang,
Yaft az Nanak, Guru Govind Singh.
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"Guru Govind Singh found in Nanak, sword, pot, and conquest, help without hindrance or delay."‡ Not content with supremacy in the State, he also claimed, as other sovereigns have done, to be above grammar. By his order all nouns in Hindi and Persian having feminine terminations were changed into the masculine form. For instance, *sawari* (a retinue) and *kachari* (a Court-house or office) were pronounced by him and his Sikhs, *sawara* and *kachara*!*
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∗ Indian Atlas, sheet No. 48.
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‡ These words were used by the Sikhs on the coins they made at Lahor in 1765. See C. J. Rodgers, Journal, Asiatic Soc. of Bengal, lvii, Part I, 30. For the seal, bearing the same inscription, still used by the Sikhs at Achalnagar (Nader) and elsewhere, see Sayyid Muhammad Latif, History of the Panjab, 270. Deg, literally "pot," means, I believe, the contributions levied from the faithful. Cunningham, 103, note, and App. ix, thinks it a metaphor for abundance or prosperity.
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The campaign which the Emperor had undertaken was rendered more arduous by the nature of the country and the season of the year. It happened that much rain fell that year in December and January, and the imperial army, largely composed of men who had served in the Dakhin only, and were accustomed to a much milder climate, suffered severely from the almost incessant rain and the bitterly cold wind, which blew with great force every night. Supplies were also deficient, and the muddy state of the country was an additional obstacle. The losses among the horses and cattle were very heavy. Added to these material difficulties were others of a more imaginary but hardly less potent nature. According to the popular voice the Guru was a most powerful magician, greater even than he who made a calf to talk; he could turn a bullet from its course and could work such spells that spear and sword had little or no effect upon his followers. Owing to these idle rumours the Emperor and the nobles and the soldiers were much disturbed in mind and disheartened. The Sikhs, on the other hand, were encouraged by the belief instilled into them by Banda that all who lost their lives in this war would be re-created at once in a higher rank of life.†
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† Kamwar Khan, 78; *Dastur-ul-insha*, 11; and Khafi Khan, ii. 671.