Fall of the Mughal Empire v2.c22.s4.2

v2.c22.s4.2

The mischief was only aggravated by the attempt to allay it. Adina Beg had accepted the governorship of the Jalandar doab on the express condition of not being required to present himself before Timur Shah. But now the viceroy, in despair, pressed him to come to Lahor and devise means for subduing the Sikhs. Adina flatly refused, and when threatened for his contumacy, fled away to the Balwān (? Balsan) hills. "In consequence of it, utter disorder spread throughout the Panjab. The wazir Jahān Khan sent Sarāfrāz Afghan of Attock and Ghufrān Khan as governors to Jalandar and Kashmir respectively, but both of them returned defeated in the course of a month. Utter lawlessness prevailed. Every force that was sent out by Timur was defeated. Even the environs of his capital were not safe. Every night thousands of Sikhs used to assemble and plunder the suburbs lying outside the walls of Lahor ; but no force was sent to repel them, and the city gates were kept closed by way of precaution!"* This was the sad state of things from November 1757 to February 1758. "The Sikhs gathering together, by our [i. e., Maratha] advice, began to upset Abdali's rule ; from some place they expelled his outposts. They defeated Sadat Khan Afridi, plundered all the Jalandar doab, and forced him to flee to the hills. By order of the subahdar, Khwājah Ubaid Khan came from Lahor with 20,000 horse and foot to fight the Sikhs. In the end he was defeated, many of his captains were slain, all his camp and baggage were plundered; all the artillery left behind by Abdali was captured." [*SPD.* ii. 83.]