Fall of the Mughal Empire v3.c35.s10.1

v3.c35.s10.1

In six weeks famine completed its work in that crowded den. Finally, in the night of 29th April 1776, Ranjit Singh himself fled away with the remnant of his troops and took the road to Kumbher, after some skirmishes with Himmat Bahadur’s horsemen who barred his path. “As soon as the news of this flight reached the Mughal camp, the soldiers rushed into the fort with impetuosity for plundering. There occurred during the first shock much tumult and bloodshed; a number of women and children were killed. The plunderers set fire to the city. The gunpowder of which there was an enormous quantity, was stored in many different buildings. During three consecutive days, explosions leaped up at every moment from the magazines, which were fatal to the victors and the vanquished alike. The Musalmans took delight in showing their contempt for the religion of the idolators by filling their pagodas with the entrails, heads and bones of oxen and kine.” Three widowed Jat Ranis committed suicide to avoid outrage. [Modave, 298-299, 231. G. Ali, iii. 91.]