Fall of the Mughal Empire v2.c28.s4.1

v2.c28.s4.1

Najib’s conflicts with the Sikhs in his own dominions, as distinct from his engagements with them as an auxiliary in Abdali’s army, had begun in January 1764, [Ch. 24 § 4], when the Sikh forces, flushed with their slaughter of Zain Khan and capture of Sarhind, overflowed across the Jamuna into the upper Doab. “This was the first time that the Sikhs came to the eastern side of the Jamuna and spread through the villages of Bārha, the homes of respectable men whose ancestors had been *umara* in former times. They took booty beyond calculation in coins, gold bullion and jewels, burnt the country, and draggged away captives. Najib, distracted by the news, came up near them by rapid marching, . . . but they went back to their own country.”