Fall of the Mughal Empire v2.c29.3

v2.c29.3

Throughout the year 1760, when Ahmad Shah was busy campaigning in the Doab or the Delhi region, he had left the Panjab in charge of his agents, Buland Khan* the subahdar of Lahor, Abdus Samad Khan the faujdar of Sarhind, Rustam Khan the faujdar of "the Four Mahals" (Sialkot), and others. But during the campaign of Panipat (Oct. 1760—Jan. 1761) all the Durrani forces were naturally concentrated round the Shah’s person, and the Sikhs finding the province so weakly garrisoned, everywhere rose with impunity. While Abdus Samad Khan was slain by the Marathas at Kunjpura (17 Oct.), the trans-Satlaj Sikhs defeated and captured Rustam Khan and Tahmasp Miskin (our invaluable memoir-writer), and these two could secure their release only by paying ransom. The victors, in a body reported by Miskin as 40,000 strong, then invested Sialkot, but the place was strongly fortified and its defence was gallantly kept up by Rustam’s diwan for three days, till a relieving army under Qāsim Khan was sighted, when the Sikhs withdrew. [Miskin, 218-224.] Emboldened by the news of the Bhau’s capture of Delhi and Kunjpura, the Manjha Sikhs attacked Lahor itself. Jassa Singh Ahluwalia (the founder of the Kapurthala State), Jai Singh Kanhaiya, Gujar Singh Bhangi, Lehna Singh and other group-leaders assembled at the sacred tank of Amritsar on the Diwali day (6 Nov. 1760), and after concerting their plans advanced with 10,000 horsemen to loot Lahor. The Durrani governor shut the city-gates and himself retired to the citadel for safety. The Sikhs roved round the city, plundering the suburbs, stripping the houses of their timber and then setting fire to them. Many people were killed and the rest fled away. The raiders were dissuaded from breaking into the city by the governor paying a ranson of Rs. 30,000, disguised under the name of “a donation for consecrated food offering to Khālsaji.” [Kanhaiya Lal, 32.]