Second Battle of Lohgarh
| Second Battle of Lohgarh | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Mughal–Sikh Wars | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Khalsa |
 Mughal Empire | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Banda Singh Bahadur |
Jahandar Shah | ||||||
The Second Battle of Lohgarh was fought in between 1712 or 1713 by Sikh forces led by Banda Singh Bahadur and Mughal forces led by Jahandar Shah.[1]
Background
After the death of Bahadur Shah I, a civil war occurred between his sons. The eldest son, Jahandar Shah, won and became the emperor.[2]
Banda took full advantage of the opportunity and recaptured Sadaura. After this, he recaptured Lohgarh, where he remained undisturbed for about two months. The fort of Lohgarh was repaired and strengthened, and it became the capital of the Sikhs for almost two years.[3][4][5][6]
Battle
Jahandar Shah ordered Amin Khan to capture Banda Singh Bahadur and laid siege to Lohgarh, but he failed to capture the Sikh leader. Later, as the Emperor went to Agra to deal with Farrukh Siyar’s revolt (Farrukh Siyar being the son of his younger brother, Azim-us-Shan), Amin Khan was called to join him.[7][8][9][10] On February 11, 1713, Jahandar Shah was defeated and killed, and Farrukh Siyar became Emperor. Soon after, Farrukh Siyar focused on ending the Sikh uprising.[8][9][10] On February 22, 1713, he moved Abd al-Samad Khan from Kashmir to Punjab, appointed his young son, Zakariya Khan, Governor of Jammu, gave Kashmir to Zabardast Khan, and put Zain-ud-din Ahmad Khan in charge of Sirhind. They were all ordered to stop the Sikh revolt and capture Banda.[8][9][10] In April 1713, Abd al-Samad Khān and Zain-ud-din Ahmad Khan set up camp at Sadhaura and began fighting the Sikhs. The Sikhs fought very bravely, nearly overpowering the Mughal army with their daring night attacks. Banda held his ground for six months, but when he ran out of grain and fodder, he fled into the hills in early October 1713. This was recorded in Delhi on October 9, 1713. Banda then moved to his Derah on the bank of the Chenab River. Later, Zakariya Khan led an expedition against him. Many Sikhs were killed, and their heads were sent to Delhi.[8][9][10] On December 13, 1713, these were shown before Emperor Farrukh Siyar, and Zakariya Khan was honored with a robe that gave him the rank of 3,000 Zat and 1,000 Sawars.[7][8][9][10]
References
- ^ Nijhawan, P. K. (1985). Sri Guru Gobind Geeta: Guru Gobind Singh's Dialogue of Destiny with Banda. Army Educational Stores. p. 143.
- ^ Gupta, Hari Ram (1978). History Of The Sikhs Vol. II Evolution Of Sikh Confederacies (1707-69). p. 23.
- ^ Singh, Ganda (1999). Life of Banda Singh Bahadur (PDF). Publication Bureau. p. 123. ISBN 9788176293006.
- ^ Dhillon, Harish (2013). First Raj of the Sikhs. Hay House. ISBN 9789381398395.
- ^ Publications, Mocktime. MODERN INDIA EPUB FORMAT.
- ^ Willian Irvine (1971). Later Mughals. p. 121.
- ^ a b Sagoo, Harbans Kaur (2001). Banda Singh Bahadur and Sikh Sovereignty. New Delhi: Deep & Deep Publications Pvt. Ltd. p. 211-213. ISBN 81-7629-300-8.
- ^ a b c d e Singh, Ganda (1999). Life of Banda Singh Bahadur (PDF). Publication Bureau. pp. 180–185. ISBN 9788176293006.
- ^ a b c d e Gupta, Hari Ram (1978). History Of The Sikhs Vol. II Evolution Of Sikh Confederacies (1707-69). pp. 23–24.
- ^ a b c d e Surjit Singh Gandhi (1999). Sikhs In The Eighteenth Century. Singh Bros. pp. 47–48. ISBN 9788172052171.