Later Mughals v1.c9.s18.29

v1.c9.s18.29

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.]