Later Mughals v1.c9.s18: Sec. 19.—Sikh Campaign, Capture and Execution of Banda (July 1713—June 1716).
Later Mughals v1.c9.s18
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- v1.c9.s18.t1 The Sikh Spiritual Succession. — 29 parts
Sec. 19.—Sikh Campaign, Capture and Execution of Banda (July 1713—June 1716).
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On the 26th Zul Hijja 1127 (22nd Dec. 1715), at the very time when the Emperor was celebrating the anniversary of his victory over Jahandar Shah, Muhammad Amin Khan presented a report from his brother-in-law, Abdus-samad Khan, governor of Lahor, with the joyful news that Banda, the false Guru and leader of the Sikhs, had been made a prisoner. We will now resume the story of the Sikhs from the point at which we quitted it, namely, the recall of Muhammad Amin Khan when Jahandar Shah started from Dihli in December 1712.
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From that time, Zain-ud-din Ahmad Khan, the new faujdar of Sarhind,* who had gained a great reputation in Alamgir's reign, was left to continue to the best of his ability the campaign against the Sikhs. Close to the town of Sadhaura, Banda had succeeded in raising a fort of considerable size, with high and thick walls. Here he maintained his position in spite of all the faujdar's efforts. As soon as Farrukh-siyar had taken possession of Dihli, affairs in Sarhind demanded his attention; and on the 27th Muharram 1125 (22nd Feb. 1713) Abdus-samad Khan was appointed governor of Lahor, with his son, Zakariya Khan, as faujdar of Jammu. His orders were to expel Banda from Sadhaura, or, if possible to destroy him altogether. Other Mughal commanders were sent to reinforce the new governor and aid him in his task.*
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∗ Zain-ud-din Ahmad Khan's appointment was made on the 22nd Jamadi I. 1122, (18th July 1710), vice Wazir Khan killed—Kamwar Khan, 71.
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Thus far the garrison of Sadhaura had made a very stout defence. They had so contrived that they could be ready to continue their fire, even while they were cooking or eating, and the men on duty were protected from both the heat and the rain. The cannon balls, even when they hit the fort, made no impression on the walls. When Zain-ud-din Ahmad Khan had brought his trenches within forty or fifty yards of the fort walls, he formed a battery, placed a large gun in position, and commenced to fire. Although the fire was ineffectual, the garrison, out of mere bravado and to show their valour, resolved to remove this cannon in such a way that no one should hear a sound or know how they had done it. Opposite the position of the cannon, they dug a long passage, leaving only a foot or two of earth at the outer end. The oxen and ropes used in dragging their carts were held in readiness. It was the rainy season. One night it had been raining heavily from an early hour in the evening, and of the besiegers not one cared to put his head outside of his tent. Owing to the sound of the pouring rain, it was impossible to hear anything else, and it was so dark that nothing could be seen. At midnight the Sikhs broke through the remaining wall of earth, and ranged yokes of oxen, one before the other, in the underground passage. Then some of them crossed the fort ditch, in which the water was rushing down with great force, and reached the besiegers' earthen battery where they tied their ropes firmly to the gun-carriage.
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∗ Anon. Fragment, fol. 18b; Mhd. Ihsan Ijad, fol. 130b; Kamwar Khan, 133.
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The oxen pulled and the gun with its carriage, once set in motion, began to roll down. On reaching the bottom, gun and carriage fell apart. The loud noise thereby caused roused the sentinels. They saw that the cannon had disappeared. Hearing the disturbance, Zain-ud-din Ahmad arrived on the spot, on foot and without any torch, through all the mud and mire, the water in places up to his waist, and a deluge of rain falling from above. If he ordered lanterns or torches to be lighted, he would become a target for the enemy's fire; without light, he could find out nothing. With much difficulty it was ascertained that the gun and its carriage were lying upside down in the ditch, at the foot of the earthwork. The ropes that had been attached to them had broken off. After a little time, Zain-ud-din Ahmad Khan, collecting his senses, offered rewards of fifty Rupees each to one hundred camp-followers, if they would recover the cannon. Before morning broke, they had dragged it away to a position, where it was safe from the enemy.*
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When Abdus-samad Khan arrived at Sadhaura, the siege was little if at all advanced. The Guru himself was in Lohgarh; his followers held the fort at Sadhaura. It was thought advisable to force them first to evacuate Sadhaura and then crush their united forces at Lohgarh. Sadhaura was therefore invested. Abdus-samad Khan encamped on one side, Zain-ud-din Ahmad Khan on another, the third and fourth sides were guarded, one by the Mughals, the other by the local militia. Every other day, sometimes every day, Banda sent out from Lohgarh three or four divisions, who fell unexpectedly, at different times, on the imperial camps. As soon as these troops were seen dimly in the distance, or the dust they raised began to appear, the besieged came out on all four sides and fell vigorously upon the besiegers. These sorties met with no success, and supplies soon began to run short. The Sikhs had thought that no one could prevent their bringing in whatever they wanted, and they had not prepared any large stores of food. What they had collected was soon exhausted.
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∗ Anon. Fragment, fol. 19a.
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In spite of all their exertions, they were unable to bring in anything through the lines of the investing army. They now decided on flight, and finding a way out at night on the side guarded by the zamindari militia, they took their way to Lohgarh.*
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Abdus-samad Khan and Zain-ud-din Ahmad Khan followed them at once to Lohgarh. Before a shot had been fired, or a sword drawn, a panic seems to have seized on Banda and his men; they evacuated their fort and fled into the hills. While a camping ground was being selected by the imperialists, water sought for, and preparations in progress for beginning to dig a ditch and throw up earthworks, a party of horsemen, in the most reckless fashion, rode off towards some high ground, from which they expected to obtain a better view of the Sikh position. As soon as they appeared on the high ground, the Sikhs streamed down the further side of the hill and disappeared. This panic and flight became the more inexplicable when the imperialists saw the elaborate preparations for resistance. From the first ridge up to the wall of Lohgarh itself, they 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. Some insisted that food supplies must have failed; others argued that their ammunition must have given out. But the prisoners, when questioned, swore in the most solemn way that it was due to a sudden panic on seeing the horsemen appear at the top of the hill and, as they thought, about to charge them. If the advantage had been followed up at once, it is probable that Banda would have been defeated effectually, but pursuit was delayed for several days, and by that time, in spite of much searching through the hill country, not a trace of the Guru could be found. The capture of Sadhaura and the flight of Banda were reported at Dihli on the 20th Ramzan 1125 (9th Oct. 1713).†
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† Anon. Fragment, fol. 19; Kamwar Khan, 140.
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On the 26th Zul Qada 1125 (13th Dec. 1713) Zakariya Khan, son of Abdus-samad Khan, brought to Court a report from his father, accompanied by a number of heads. A few months afterwards, Abdus-samad Khan came in person. Mir Jumla was sent out to escort him into the capital and he was presented on the 20th Safar 1126 (6th March 1714), receiving the usual gifts. Four days afterwards he was posted to the army then proceeding to Rajputana under Husain Ali Khan. On his return from this service, he was ordered back with his son to the Panjab, where the Sikhs had again raised their heads near Rupar on the Satlaj. The two nobles were sent off on the 14th Jamadi II. 1126 (26th June 1714). Not many months after Abdus-samad Khan's departure, a report was received, on the 16th Shaban 1126 (26th Aug. 1714) that a body of Sikhs, estimated at 7000 in number, had attacked the town of Rupar. Khwaja Mukaram, deputy of Zain-ud-din Ahmad Khan, the faujdar, made a good defence, although his force was small. He killed about two hundred of the enemy and cut off their heads. The rest of the Sikhs then retreated.*
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∗ Anon. Fragment, fol. 19b.
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About this time Khidmat Talab Khan replaced Zain-ud-din Ahmad Khan in Sarhind. He employed a large force to watch the issues from the hills. As the Sikhs had lost their strong places, with their stores of food, and the country itself had been devastated, it was impossible for them to subsist and they retired again into the hills. After a few months they reappeared in the plains from the direction of Jammu. The parganas of Kalanaur and Batala were plundered, in spite of the efforts of the faujdars, Suhrab Khan and Shaikh Muhammad Daim, and of Santokh Rai Qanungo. Mhd. Daim left his pargana and retired to his home in Kasba Bhairuwal, south-east of Amritsar. Rich and poor again forsook their homes, many went to Lahor, and many took refuge in the country of Jina and Dasoha.† At this time Abdus-samad Khan had marched southwards from Lahor to repress an outbreak of the Bhatti zamindars in the wild region known as the Lakhi jungle. He wished to carry out his repressive measures thoroughly, and therefore made no haste to return and deal with the Sikhs. In his absence Mir Ahmad Khan, faujdar of Gujarat, Iradatmand Khan, faujdar of Amanabad, Nur Muhammad Khan, ruler of Aurangabad and Parsarur, Shaikh Mhd. Daim and Suhrab Khan above mentioned, Sayyid Hifz Ali Khan of pargana Haibatpur Patti, Rajah Bhim Singh Kamboh, and Hardam son of Rajah Dharb Deo Jharotha,* assembled their forces, and marched against the Sikhs. Arif Beg Khan, the nazim's deputy, came out of Lahor and camped near Shahganj, for the protection of the city. The Guru's first position was at Kot Mirza Jan, where he threw up earthworks. Before he had completed his defences, the advance of the Muhammadans forced him to evacuate that place, and he then retired with 10,000 men on Gurdaspur, a small town founded by Bhai Dip Chand, a fakir.†
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∗ Kamwar Khan, 142, 145, 147, 149; Anon. Fragment fol. 21b.
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† Mhd. Qasim, 175, 176. Bhairuwal is 31 m.s.e. of Amritsar (Thornton, 103). For Jina see Ain, translation, ii. 320, and for Dasoha, idem, ii. 110,316.
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† Mhd. Qasim, fol.
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The reports of the Sikh ravages sent in to the Court caused great alarm, and on the 15th Rabi I. 1127 (20th March 1715) a sharp reproof was administered to Abdus-samad Khan, and at the same time, Qamr-ud-din Khan, son of Mhd. Amin Khan, Afrasyab Khan, the third Bakhshi, Muzaffar Khan, Rajah Udait Singh Bundela, Rajah Gopal Sing Bhadauriya, and other nobles were sent to reinforce him.‡
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‡ Kamwar Khan, 154; Anon. Fragment, fol. 22b. Qamr-ud-din Khan had just returned from an expedition against Madar Sah, zamindar of Ajaon, (sarkar Budaon, subah Dihli?)
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On the 13th Rabi II. 1127 (17th April 1715) reports were received at Dihli that, after plundering the town of Batala, the Guru had taken up his position in an earthen fort at Gurdaspur. This small town lies forty-four miles north-east of Amritsar, in the Bari Duaba. The Sikh leader made every effort to strengthen his defences and increase his store of supplies. He cut the canal known as the Shah-nahr and other small streams below the hills, and allowed the water to spread, so that owing to the quagmire thus formed, neither man nor horse could reach close to the fort. When the Muhammadans arrived, many of the Sikhs were out in the villages collecting supplies. Numbers of them were seized, brought in, and executed; the rest cut off their long locks, shaved their beards, and hid themselves in Lahor. The rest of the besieged showed great activity in the defence, but Abdus-samad Khan and his son, at the head of their own men and those of the faujdars, daily met and defeated the sorties of the garrison. Two or three times a day, forty or fifty of the Sikhs would come out to gather grass for their cattle, and when attacked they faced the Mughals with bow, gun, and sword. The common soldiers were so afraid of the Guru's sorceries that they prayed he might soon take to flight as before. The further progress of the investment was reported to Court in a letter received on the 26th Rabi II. 1127 (30th April 1715).*
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∗ Gujarat, 70 m.n.w. of Lahor (Thornton, 358); Amanabad, 33 m.n.w. of Lahor (Thornton 302); Parsarur, about 60 m.n. of Lahor—Jharotha (or Jarautia), a tribe of Rajputs in the Kangra District (Ibbetson, Census, para. 459).
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¹⁷⁸ Mhd. Qasim was present in these operations, and at the siege of Gurdaspur, being then in the service of Arif Beg Khan.
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Abdus-samad Khan soon perceived that 30,000 men would be required to prevent the escape of the besieged and the carrying in of supplies. The reinforcements brought by Qamr-ud-din Khan were therefore very welcome. When the line of investment had been carried to within cannon-shot of the fort, the work of closing it in on all sides was divided between the several commanders. Abdus-samad Khan took one side, Qamr-ud-din Khan and Zakariya Khan received charge each of one side, and the fourth side was made over to the faujdars and zamindars. United efforts being necessary, the tents were pitched close together all round the fort and rope was joined to rope. †
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† Anon. Fragment, 23b.
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Night and day missiles from the fort fell in the camp. To protect man and beast, the soldiers threw up an earthen bank, ten to twenty yards long, before each tent, and sheltered themselves behind it in the trench thus made. By slow degrees, so that the process might not be noticed, they closed all the openings between each shelter, and before the Sikhs were aware of it, they were surrounded as if by a wall. The Sikhs, relying on their successful evasions on former occasions, tried their best to sweep the obstacle away, but the Muhammadans triumphantly resisted all their attempts to break through and make their escape. So bold and indomitable were the Guru's followers, that they impressed their adversaries with the greatest respect for their fighting qualities. It was feared that the garrison might by a sortie *en masse*, and by sacrificing themselves, secure the escape of their leader. The superstitious soldiery were fully persuaded that the Guru by his incantations could turn himself into the shape of a dog or cat. Thus every dog or cat they saw from their entrenchments was at once a target for stones or arrows. The struggle continued for two months and many lives were lost on both sides.*
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∗ Kamwar Khan, 155; Mhd. Qasim, 178, 180; Khafi Khan ii. 764.
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By this time the investment had advanced a musket-shot nearer to the walls and it was resolved to surround the fort with a field-work. A thousand axemen and a thousand carpenters were employed in cutting trees, two thousand carts and two thousand camels carried wood and earth to the spot. When the circle round the fort had been completed, mounds of earth were raised on the trunks of the trees, from distance to distance, and at the foot of the stockade, a deep and wide ditch was made. In spite of this the Sikhs continued their defence without any relaxation of effort. Nor were the besiegers idle. They drove subterranean passages towards each corner of the fort. Before Abdus-samad Khan's approach had reached the main gate, Qamr-ud-din Khan succeeded in capturing the ditch and a bastion, from which the artillery and musketry fire of the garrison had done great execution. Zakariya Khan obtained possession of a second gate, the one chiefly used by the garrison. Other commanders also advanced their works, and on all sides the Sikhs were much hampered. Their provisions had now come to an end, not a grain being left in their store-houses.†
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† Anon. Fragment, 23a.
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Men would make overtures to the Muhammadan soldiers and buy from them a little grain at the rate of two or three shillings a pound; also as the Sikhs were not strict observers of caste, they slaughtered oxen and other animals, and not having any firewood, ate the flesh raw. Many died of dysentery and privation. Many began to pick up and eat whatever they found on the roads. When all the grass was gone, they gathered the leaves from the trees. When these were consumed, they stripped the bark and broke off the small shoots, dried them, ground them down, and used them instead of flour, thus keeping body and soul together. They also collected the bones of animals and used them in the same way. Some assert that they saw a few of the Sikhs cut flesh from their own thighs, roast it, and eat it. [K. K. 763, Qasim 181.]
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∗ Anon. Fragment, 23a; Khafi Khan, ii. 764. Yahya Khan, Tazkirat-ul-muluk, fol. 12a.
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When things had come to this pass, all food being exhausted, and the smell of the putrid bodies of men and animals making the place untenable, the Sikh leaders made overtures for surrender on certain conditions. Abdus-samad Khan refused to make any concessions, and at length the Guru submitted unconditionally; the Muhammadans entered the fort and made prisoners of everybody found alive within it. Of these prisoners two or three hundred were executed by the general's order, their heads being then filled with straw and fixed on spears. As it was known that many of the Sikhs had swallowed whatever gold coins they had, to save them from plunder, the dead bodies were ripped open, and thus much wealth fell into the hands of the low camp-followers and the Mughal soldiers. The rest of the prisoners were placed in fetters and kept to grace the triumphal entry into Dihli. The surrender of Gurdaspur took place on the 21st Zul Hijja 1127 (17th Dec. 1715). The list of arms taken and money seized does not give a very exalted notion of either the military strength or of the wealth of the Sikh leader.* In spite of this, he and his men had resisted all the force that the Empire could bring against them for the space of eight months. [Kamwar 162.]
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∗ The arms delivered into the armoury at Dihli were 1000 swords, 278 shields, 173 bows and quivers, 180 matchlocks, 114 daggers, 217 long knives. The valuables were a few gold ornaments, 23 gold coins, and a little over 600 Rupees—Kamwar Khan, 163 (entry of 15th Rabi 1128).
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Abdus-samad Khan asked for permission to come to Dihli in person with his prisoner, but he was told to remain and attend to the government of his province, sending in the Guru and the other prisoners in charge of his son, Zakariya Khan, and of Qamr-ud-din Khan, the son of Mhd. Amin Khan. On the 15th Rabi I. 1128 the arrival of the party at Agharabad, just north of the city, was reported at Court. Mhd. Amin Khan was sent out at once to make all arrangements for bringing the Guru and his followers in procession from Agharabad to the palace. The ceremonial to be followed was that observed after the capture of Sambhaji, son of Shivaji, the Mahratta. [Ibid.]
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The triumphal entry with the prisoners took place on the 17th Rabi I. 1128 (10th March 1716). The road from Agharabad to the Lahori Gate of the palace, a distance of several miles, was lined on both sides with troops. Banda sat in an iron cage placed on the back of an elephant. He wore a long, heavy-skirted Court dress (jama) of gold brocade, the pattern on it being of pomegranate flowers, and a gold-embroidered turban of fine red cotton cloth. Behind him stood, clad in chain mail, with drawn sword in hand, one of the principal Mughal officers. In front of the elephant were carried, raised on bamboo poles, the heads of the Sikh prisoners who had been executed, the long hair streaming over them like a veil. Along with these, the body of a cat was exposed at the end of a pole, meaning that, even down to four-footed animals, everything in Gurdaspur had been destroyed. Behind the Guru's elephant followed the rest of the prisoners, seven hundred and forty in number. They were seated, two and two, on camels without saddles. One hand of each man was attached to his neck by two pieces of wood, which were held together by iron pins. On their heads were high caps of a ridiculous shape made of sheep's skin and adorned with glass beads. A few of the principal men, who rode nearest to the elephant, had been clothed in sheep's skins with the woolly side outwards, so that the common people compared them to bears. When the prisoners had passed, they were followed by the Nawab Mhd. Amin Khan Chin, accompanied by his son, Qamr-ud-din Khan and his son-in-law, Zakariya Khan. In this order the procession passed on through the streets to the palace.*
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The streets were so crowded with spectators that to pass was difficult. Such a crowd had been rarely seen. The Muhammadans could hardly contain themselves for joy. But the Sikhs, in spite of the condition to which they had been reduced, maintained their dignity and no sign of dejection or humility could be detected on their countenances. Many of them, as they passed along on their camels, seemed happy and cheerful. If any spectator called out to them that their evil deeds and oppressions had brought them where they then were, they retorted, without a moment's hesitation, in the most reckless manner. They were content, they said, that Fate had willed their capture and destruction. If any man in the crowd threatened that he would kill them then and there, they shouted, "Kill us, kill us, why should we fear death? It was only through hunger and thirst that we fell into your hands. If that had not been the case, you know already what deeds of bravery we are capable of."
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By the Emperor's order the Guru Banda, with Taj Singh and another leader, was made over to Ibrahim-ud-din Khan, commander of the artillery, and they were placed in prison at the Tirpoliya or Triple Gate. The Guru's wife, his three-year-old infant, and the child's wet-nurse, were taken by Darbar Khan, the nazir, and placed in the harem. With the exception of between twenty and thirty of the chief men, who were sent to prison with the Guru, the remaining prisoners were made over for execution to Sarbarah Khan, the city kotwal or head of the police. The work began at the chabutra, or chief police office, on the 22nd Rabi I. (15th March 1716), and one hundred men were executed every day for a week. All observers, Indian and European, unite in remarking on the wonderful patience and resolution with which these men underwent their fate. Their attachment and devotion to their leader were wonderful to behold. They had no fear of death, they called the executioner Mukt, or the Deliverer,* they cried out to him joyfully "O Mukt! kill me first!" Every day one hundred victims met their fate and artificers were kept in attendance to sharpen the executioners' swords. After the heads had been severed from the bodies, the bodies were thrown into a heap, and at night-fall they were loaded into carts, taken out of the city, and hung up on the trees.†
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∗ Mirza Muhammad 256, Anon. Fragment 24a, Kamwar Khan 162, J. T. Wheeler, Early Records, 180, (letter of 10th March 1716 O.S. = 20th March N.S.) and Orme Collections (India Office) vol. vii. p. 1708. Mirza Mhd. joined the procession at the Salt Market (Mandavi-i-namak) and marched with it to the palace. The embassy from the E. I. Company, at the head of which was Mr. John Surman, was in Dihli at the time.
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† Kamwar Khan 163, Mirza Muhammad 259, Shiu Das Munavvar-ul-kalam, fol. 10, J. T. Wheeler, loc. cit.
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Although life was promised to those who became Muhammadans, not one prisoner proved false to his faith. Among them was a youth, whose mother made many supplications to Qutb-ul-mulk, through Ratan Chand, his diwan or principal man of business. She said she was a widow, had but this son, and he had been unjustly seized, being no disciple or follower of the Guru but only a prisoner in his hands. The Wazir interceded and obtained the boy's life. The woman took the order of release to the kotwal, who brought out the prisoner and told him he was free. The youth said "I know not this woman, what does she want with me? I am a true and loyal follower of the Guru, for whom I give my life, what is his fate shall be mine also." He then met his death without flinching.‡
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‡ Shiu Das fol. 10b, Khafi Khan ii. 766, Khush-hal Chand Nadir-uz-zamani, 405b.
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At length on the 29th Jamadi II. 1128 (19th June 1716) Banda and his remaining followers were led out to execution. The rich Khatris of the city, who were secretly favourable to his tenets, had offered large sums for his release. But all these offers were rejected. The execution was entrusted to Ibrahim-ud-din Khan, Mir Atash, or general of artillery, and Sarbarah Khan, the kotwal. The Guru, dressed as on the day of his entry, was again placed on an elephant and taken through the streets of the old city to the shrine of Khwaja Qutb-ud-din Bakhtiyar Kaki,* and there paraded round the tomb of the Emperor Shah Alam, Bahadur Shah. After he had been made to dismount and was seated on the ground, his young son was put into his arms and he was told to take the child's life. He refused. Then the executioner killed the child with a long knife, dragged out its liver, and thrust it into the Guru's mouth. His own turn came next. First of all his right eye was removed by the point of a butcher's knife, next his left foot was cut off, then his two hands were severed from his body, and finally he was decapitated. His companions were also executed at the same time. His wife was made a Muhammadan and given over to Dakhini Begam, the Emperor's maternal aunt.†
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∗ Mukt is the final deliverance of the soul from the body, and exemption from further transmigration (Shakespeare, Dictionary, Col. 1938).
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† Kamwar Khan 165, 166; Mirza Muhammad, 289; Shiu Das, 11a; Anon. Fragment, 24b; Khafi Khan ii. 765.
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The Muhammadans looked on this ruthless execution as a fitting retaliation for the cruelties the man had inflicted on their fellow-religionists. Khafi Khan [766] sententiously sums up the matter with the proverb "Who gets not what he has done; who reaps not what he has sown?" and he quotes the lines
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Forget not the retribution for transgression!
Wheat springs from wheat, barley from barley.
The Sikh Spiritual Succession.
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The Sikhs, as a body, deny the spiritual authority of any one who came after Guru Govind Singh. But in a modified form he had successors, and as a conclusion to this section, I will add a few words carrying on the story into the reign of Muhammad Shah (1719-1748).
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Govind Singh left no surviving natural issue. But at his death in 1708, as already stated, a boy named Ajit Singh was brought forward by the disciples as his adopted son. After receiving an imperial mansab, he was raised to the seat of authority as the head of the sect. He finally found his way to Dihli, in charge of Govind Singh's widow, Mata, or Mother, Sundari. In Farrukh-siyar's reign, when he grew up to manhood, evil advisers persuaded him to set up entirely on his own account. Mata Sundari was turned out, and necessarily a schism arose, she claiming for herself a separate spiritual head-ship. Many Sikhs forsook Ajit Singh and followed her. At length in the seventh year of Muhammad Shah, a false accusation was brought that one of the Wearers of Patches* had been killed by him. Some two to three thousand Muhamadans raised a disturbance and with much clamour brought their complaint to Qamr-ud-din Khan, Itimad-ud-daulah, the Wazir. Fearing a serious riot, the Wazir sent some troops, who captured Ajit Singh and he was executed.†
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∗ The place is familiarly known to us as the Qutb Minar.
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† Rai Chatarman, Chahar Gulshan, my copy fol. 143a, and Tarikh-i-Mhdi, year 1137, "Guru Ajit Singh, son of Guru Govind Singh, successor of Nanak, killed on Friday the 4th Jamadi I. (=18th January 1725) at Shahjahanabad for rebellion, by the Emperor's order."
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Jahi Singh, son of Ajit Singh, was at that time very young. His well-wishers, fearing that some harm might come to him, carried him off to Mathura and in 1173 H. (Aug. 1759—Aug. 1760) when Chatarman wrote, he was still living there. Many believed in and followed him, but some of the sect had betaken themselves to others.
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Mata Sundari, Govind Singh's widow, when the quarrel with Ajit Singh took place, started on her own account and drew many after her. On her death, her party transferred their allegiance to Sahib Dei, known as the Kuwara Dula or the Virgin Bride. She was the daughter of some hill-rajah, who had sent her to Govind Singh. Before her arrival, he had departed to the other world. But she refused to take any other husband and adopted the life of a religious mendicant. On Mata Sundari's death, Sahib Dei succeeded, but after a year she too died. These two ladies had continued to live in Dihli. In 1173 (1759-60) the only religious leader of the Sikhs, was Jahi Singh, son of Ajit Singh, who then lived in Mathura with a good following of from one to two hundred persons. [Chahar Gulshan, 143a.]
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∗ Khirkahposh = Religious mendicant or dervish.
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SEC. 20.—THE JAT CAMPAIGN, (SEPTEMBER 1716—APRIL 1718).
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We have now to deal with another branch of that wide-spread Jat race, which formed such a large proportion of the Sikh fighting line. Without entering into Colonel James Tod's speculations about their identity with the Goths or Getæ, it may be assumed as a certainty that, for many hundreds of years, a branch of this people has been settled in the country south of the Jamuna, between the cities of Agra and Dihli. This region, ending on the east at the Chambal river or a little beyond it, marks the eastern limit of their advance from the west. East and north-east of that point there are practically no Jats. Their position on the flank of the high road between two great capitals and of the routes from both those places through Ajmer onwards to the Dakhin, must in all ages have given this robust race an opening for plundering on the highways, a temptation which they found it impossible to resist.*
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Without attempting to carry very far back the history of these Jat depredations, we find, without question, that in the reign of Shah Jahan (1047 H., 1637), they killed Murshid Quli Khan, the faujdar of Mathura, during an attack on one of their strongholds. In the next reign, that of Alamgir, they several times gave trouble. In Zul Hijja 1079 H. (April 1669) another faujdar, Abdun-nabi, lost his life in an attack on a village called Sorah, the home of a Jat freebooter named Gokala, who had raided the town of Sadabad in the Duaba. Alamgir marched in person from Agra, and sent on before him a new faujdar, Hasan Ali Khan, son of Allah Wirdi Khan. Gokala and a follower of his, Sanki, were captured and executed, limb being torn from limb; Gokala's daughter was married to the Emperor's favourite slave, and his son was made a Muhammadan. [Sarkar's History of Aurangzib, iii. ch. 35.]
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∗ A lively picture of the dangers of this road early in Bahadur Shah's reign is given by Yar Muhammad, Dastur-ul-insha, 130. Between Mathura and Dihli the road had been entirely stopped for two months, and a crowd of many hundred travellers, including the wife of Amin-ud-din Sambhali, had collected. In 1712 the Dutch envoy and his party also found the road infested by robbers, who were, no doubt, Jats, F. Valentyn iv.
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³⁰² The same state of things is reported in the diary of our own envoy, John Surman, a year or two afterwards, Orme Collections, p. 1694, entries of the 8th, 16th, and 30th June 1715.
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Alamgir's prolonged absence in the Dakhin speedily weakened the imperial authority in Northern India. In their master's absence the provincial governors took their ease and winked at abuses. Favoured by this negligence, the Jats resumed their depredations. At length in 1099 H. (1687-8) Khan Jahan, Zafar Jang, Kokaltash, and Prince Bidar Bakht, son of Azam Shah, were sent from the Dakhin to restore order. At this time the chief stronghold of the Jats was at a village called Sansani, eight miles south of Dig, and sixteen miles north-west of Bharatpur. This place was taken on the 15th Ramzan 1099 H. (14th July, 1688), the chief, Raja Ram, was killed, and his head sent to the Emperor. Prince Shah Alam, when he was put in charge of the Agra subah in the thirty-ninth year, i.e., 1106 H. (1695), also had trouble with the Jats. Bhajja, the father of Churaman, is the next leader of whom we hear, and his abode was also at Sansani. In the forty-ninth year of Alamgir's reign, 2nd Rajab 1117 H. (19th October, 1705), Sansani was destroyed a second or third time by Mukhtar Khan, the then subahdar of Agra; and shortly afterwards, on the 18th Ramzan 1119 H. (13th December, 1707), Riza Bahadur attacked it again, sending in ten carts filled with weapons and one thousand heads.*
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When Bahadur Shah and his brother, Azam Shah, took the field against each other and met between Agra and Dholpur, Churaman collected as many men as he could, and hung about the neighbourhood of both armies, ready to pillage the vanquished. In the end, so much plunder fell into his hands, that he became from that time forth a most formidable partisan leader, with whom it was necessary to reckon in such troublous times. While Bahadur Shah was at Agra, Churaman came in, and professing to have repented of his turbulent ways, was granted the rank of 1500 zat, 500 horse. In Ramzan 1120 H., (November 1708), he helped Riza Bahadur, the imperial *faujdar*, in an attack on Ajit Singh, zamindar of Kama, where Churaman was wounded and Riza Bahadur was killed. In 1122 H. (1710) Churaman joined the Emperor at Ajmer, and took a part in the campaign against the Sikhs at Sadhaura and Lohgarh. He went on with Bahadur Shah to Lahor, and was present during the fighting which took place there after that Emperor's death (March 1712). He also seems to have fallen upon and plundered the baggage of both sides impartially, when Jahandar Shah and Farrukh-siyar met in battle array near Agra in Zul Hijja 1124 H. (January 1713).
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∗ Chura, or more politely Churaman, son of Bhajja, of Sansani, had by this time succeeded to the leadership of the Jats. Masir-i-Alamgiri, 311, 498; Danishmand Khan, under above date; Khafi Khan ii. 316; Masir-ul-umara, i. 809.
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Early in Farrukh-siyar's reign Chabela Ram, then *subahdar* of Agra, received orders to march against Churaman, and efforts to reduce his power were continued for a long time without success, owing to the underhand opposition of the Wazir and his brother. The next holder of that Government, Samsam-ud-daulah Khan Dauran, not feeling strong enough to use force, tried to make terms. Churaman agreed to come to Court, and on the 16th Ramzan (5th October, 1713), when he arrived at Barahpula near the city, Rajah Bahadur Rathor, son of Azim-ush-shan's maternal uncle, was sent out to meet and escort him. Churaman marched in at the head of 3,000 to 4,000 horsemen, and was conducted to the *Diwan-i-khas* by Samsam-ud-daulah in person. Charge of the royal highway from Barahpula near Dihli to the crossing on the Chambal, was made over to him, and he soon returned home. But by slow degrees he fell into disfavour, the extent of the country he took possession of was thought excessive, his realization of road dues was objected to, and his interference with *jagir*-holders was disliked. All that a *jagirdar* could collect from him was a little money thrown to him as if it were an alms. These things were repeated to the Emperor in detail, over and over again, until they produced an effect, and he resolved that some action must be taken. The difficulty was to find any one competent to undertake such an arduous task. Churaman had meanwhile constructed a new stronghold at a place called Thun.[*]
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∗ Thun does not seem to be well known now. Can it be the Toond of the Indian Atlas, sheet 50, between Dig and Gobardhan? Or is it
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At length in the fifth year of the reign, Jamadi II. 1128 H., May—June 1716, Rajah Jai Singh Sawai returned to Court* from his Government of Malwa. Finding out Farrukh-siyar's secret desire to get rid of Churaman, he offered himself as ready to undertake and carry out the work. Early in Shawwal (September 1716) he received his orders, and started on the 9th of that month (25th September 1716), being the Hindu festival of the Dasahra. Some troops under Sanjar Khan and Shamsher Khan, of the Wala-shahis, were posted at Palwal, thirty-six or thirty-seven miles from the city, to keep communications open, and provide convoys from that place to Hodal in one direction, and Faridabad in the other. A large sum in cash was disbursed to Rajah Jai Singh from the imperial treasury, and he sent for troops from his own country. Serving under him were Maharao Bhim Singh Hada, of Kota, Rajah Gaj Singh Narwari, and Maharao Rajah Budh Singh Hada of Bundi.†
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† Kamwar Khan, 140, 168; Shiu Das, 11b.
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Thun having been completely invested, the siege began on the 5th Zul Hijja 1128 H. (19th November, 1716). The fort was provided with lofty walls and a deep ditch filled from springs, and round it spread a thick and thorny jungle "through which a bird could hardly make its way." Supplies were abundant; indeed, (though this is probably an exaggeration), there was said to be grain, salt, ghi, tobacco, cloth, and firewood sufficient for twenty years. When the siege was imminent, Churaman had forced all merchants and traders, with their families, to quit the place, leaving their goods behind them. Churaman made himself personally responsible for their compensation if he gained the day, and as the property could not be removed, the owners gave their consent without much demur.‡
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‡ Kamwar Khan, 168; Shiu Das, 12b. Hodal, 18 or 19 m. s. of Palwal Indian Atlas, sheet No. 50; Faridabad, Indian Atlas, sheet No. 49 s.e. ;
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Jatolee Thoon, 8 miles west of Sansani? An 18th century writer remarks: "Il y a encore (1767) un Thoun, mais dans un autre endroit, peutétre pour conserver la mémoire d'une place qui, quoique malheureuse, n'a pas donne peu de reputation aux Jats," Orme Collections, p. 4218.
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∗ Mace-bearers were sent to fetch him on the 27th Rabi II. 1128 H. (19th April, 1716), Kamwar Khan 140, 163; Masir-ul-umara; Mirza Muhammad, 293.
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Churaman's son, Muhkam Singh, and his nephew, Rupa, issued from the fort and gave battle in the open. In his report of the 7th Muharram, 1129 H. (21st December, 1716), the Rajah claimed a victory. He next cut down all the trees round the fort, and erected a large number of small guard-houses, in which he placed his men. A large cannon, said to throw a ball weighing a Shahjahani maund, was sent to him, being escorted with great ceremony from Palwal to Hodal, whence it was taken on to Thun by Nusrat Yar Khan, the deputy governor of Agra. Three hundred maunds of gunpowder, one hundred and fifty maunds of lead and five hundred rockets were ordered to be sent from the arsenal at Agra. At first Abdus-samad Khan, governor of Lahor, was recalled from the Panjab, but after he had reached Dihli, the idea of sending him was abandoned, and Sayyid Muzaffar Khan, Khan Jahan, maternal uncle of the two Sayyids and then governor of Ajmer, was summoned to take his place. The Sayyid was despatched to Thun on the 30th Muharram 1129 H. (13th June, 1717).*
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In spite of the investment of Thun, the roads were not cleared of robbers. The other zamindars and villagers took Churaman's part; they pillaged travellers and plundered villages. For instance, a caravan of merchants arrived at Hodal, consisting of thirteen hundred carts loaded with leather bottles full of clarified butter. Instead of giving the usual notice to Sanjar Khan, the owners started for Palwal, in the belief that their own one thousand matchlockmen would suffice. When two or three kos from Hodal, they were surrounded, the armed guards threw down their guns and fled, while the Jats and other plunderers drove off the carts into the neighbouring villages. About twenty lakhs' worth of property, as the owners asserted, had been taken. Sanjar Khan soon reached the spot with his troops, but he was afraid to enter the villages, because they were in the jagirs of the Wazir, Qutb-ul-mulk, and of Khan Dauran. [Kamwar 168-175.]
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Narwar, Thornton, 685, 210 m.s. of Dihli, the Narwar Rajah was a Kachhwaha; Bundi, Thornton, 1410, 245 m. s. w. of Dihli; Kota, Thornton, 525, 265 m. s. of Dihli; Palwal, Indian Atlas, sheet No. 49 s. e.
* Abdus-samad Khan reached Dihli on the 12th Muharram, Sayyid Khan Jahan on the 25th, (Kamwar Khan, 169). Khafi Khan, ii. 777, says, Rajah Jai Singh Sawai was never distinguished as a soldier or general in the field, and in spite of all he could do, the siege dragged on for twenty months. The rains of 1717 were very late in coming, prices rose very high, and great expense fell upon the Rajah in bringing supplies from his own country of Amber. In Safar 1130 H. (January 1718), the Rajah reported that he had many encounters with the Jats, in which he had overcome them, but owing to support given to them at Court, they were not inclined to yield. And, no doubt, the presence of Khan Jahan, a near relation to the Wazir, caused a division of authority which was fatal to success. At length Churaman made overtures to Qutb-ul-mulk through his agent at Dihli, offering a tribute of thirty lakhs of Rupees to the Government and a present of twenty lakhs for the minister himself. Thereupon Qutb-ul-mulk espoused the Jat's cause. He represented to Farrukh-siyar that Rajah Jai Singh had received a large amount of money and that the monthly expenses were very heavy. Yet, although twenty months had elapsed, no definite result had been arrived at. Very reluctantly Farrukh-siyar consented to the terms offered. Sayyid Khan Jahan was written to, directing him to bring Churaman to Court, with his sons and brothers' sons, after having protected the whole of his property from pillage. At the same time a flattering farman was despatched to Rajah Jai Singh, thanking him for his exertions, informing him that Churaman had made overtures which had been accepted, and that all hostilities must cease. By this time Rajah Jai Singh believed that victory was within his grasp, and now, by this negotiation over his head, the whole fruit of his labour was taken from him! Although inwardly raging, he obeyed orders, withdrew his men, and raised the siege.*
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Qutb-ul-mulk's ill-will to Rajah Jai Singh is said to have arisen in the following way. When the Rajah first came to Farrukh-siyar's Court, he found himself very favourably received by the new Emperor. In former reigns a noble, when he found the sovereign gracious to him, never thought of paying court to any one else. Believing himself secure in the Emperor's good graces, Rajah Jai Singh neglected to ask for the support and favour of Qutb-ul-mulk. The Wazir resented this neglect. He was further vexed about the campaign against Churaman, a matter on which his advice had not been asked. Thus he privately applied himself to prevent the Rajah from reaping the reward of his undertaking. He instructed Khan Jahan, his kinsman, accordingly, and it is said that Churaman was secretly aided with supplies of food and powder. After more than eighteen months of exertion, nothing had been effected. Farrukh-siyar grew angry, as he believed the conquest to be an easy one; and on several occasions, Qutb-ul-mulk made covert allusions to the effect that the task was one beyond Jai Singh's strength. In the end Churaman's proposals were brought forward and accepted as already stated. [M. M. 352.]
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∗ Shiu Das 14b, 15b (where there is a copy of the hasb-ul-hukm, and 15a (copy of farman); Khafi Khan, ii. 777; Mirza Muhammad, 352.
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On the 10th Jamadi I. 1130 H. (10th April, 1718) Khan Jahan arrived at Dihli with Churaman and his nephew, Rupa. They went first to visit Qutb-ul-mulk, which angered Farrukh-siyar very much. On the 19th (19th April, 1718) the formal presentation to the Emperor took place, the introduction being made by Qutb-ul-mulk. Farrukh-siyar granted this audience very ungraciously, and absolutely refused to see Churaman a second time. Two days afterwards Sayyid Khan Jahan, in return for his services, received the addition to his titles of the word Bahadur and was promoted to 5,000 horse. On the 30th (30th April, 1718) it was settled through Qutb-ul-mulk that the Jat leader should pay fifty lakhs of Rupees in cash and goods, to be liquidated by instalments. Rajah Jai Singh and Maharao Bhim Singh returned to Dihli from Thun on the 29th Jamadi II. (29th May, 1718). [Kamwar 177, K. K. 777.]