Battle of Amritsar (1764)

Battle of Amritsar
Part of Indian Campaign of Ahmad Shah Durrani and Afghan-Sikh Wars
Date 1 December 1764 Location Golden Temple, Amritsar Result Durrani victory
Belligerents
Durrani Empire Khanate of Kalat	Shaheedan Misl
Commanders and leaders
Ahmad Shah Durrani Nasir Khan I Ahmadzai	Baba Gurbaksh Singh   † Nihal Singh  † Man Singh  † Basant Singh  †
Strength
18,000 Afghans 12,000 Baloch Total Army: 30,000 [1]	30
Casualties and losses
Unknown	30

The Battle of Amritsar (1764) was a raid by Afghan forces under Ahmad Shah Durrani on the Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar on 1 December 1764, during his seventh invasion of India. The shrine was desecrated and destroyed with gunpowder, but was soon rebuilt by the Sikhs.

Background

During the year 1764, the Sikh Misls was expanding their territory over the region of Punjab, and other North Indian subcontinent regions. ^{[2] [1]} This greatly weakened Durrani rule over Punjab which forced Ahmad Shah Abdali to launch a 7th invasion into India. ^[3]

Ahmad Shah Durrani and his army reached Eminabad where his Baloch ally Nasir Khan joined him. The Afghans had a force of 18,000 and the Baloch had a force of 12,000, having a total force of 30,000. ^[1] Soon they got into a skirmish against Charat Singh's Sukerchakia Misl. ^[1]

Battle

The Sikhs later marched to Amritsar. When Ahmad heard this about this movement of the Sikhs, he immediately advanced towards Amritsar. When Baba Gurbaksh Singh was informed about Durrani's presence near Amritsar, he along with Man Singh, Basant Singh, Nihal Singh along and 26 other Sikhs decided to defend their holy city of Amritsar. ^[4]

They 30 Sikhs fought till death against the Durranis at Shri Harmandir Sahib, which is the holiest site of Sikhism. ^[5]

Aftermath

Ahmad Shah then proceeded with his army to Amritsar and sacked the city a third time before returning to Lahore. ^[6] Frustrated that he could not catch the Sikhs in pitched battle, Ahmad Shah led his forces through the Jalandhar Doab and razed the Sikh homes and farms there, accumulating supplies for his army. The Afghans advanced through Jandiala, Batala, and Dina Nagar, fighting numerous engagements with the Sikhs that typically ended unfavorably or required heavy effort to repel. The entire countryside was destroyed by the Afghan advances. ^{[7] [8]}

References

1. Gupta, Hari (2007). History of the Sikhs Volume II. Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd. pp. 215–216. ISBN   978-81-215-0248-1.
2. Singh, Ganda (1990). Sardar Jassa Singh Ahluwalia. Publication Bureau Punjabi University,Patiala. pp. 143–146.
3. Gandhi, Surjit (1999). Sikhs In The Eighteenth Century. Singh Bros. pp. 290–291. ISBN   81-7205-217-0.
4. Muhammad, Noor (2020). Singh, Ganda (ed.). Jangnamah (2nd ed.). Khalsa College Amritsar. p. 46.
5. Singh, Harbans (2011). The Encyclopedia of Sikhism Volume II E-L (3rd ed.). Punjabi University,Patiala. pp. 131–132. ISBN   978-81-7380-204-1.
6. Lee, Jonathan L. (2022-03-08). Afghanistan: A History from 1260 to the Present. Reaktion Books. p. 129. ISBN   978-1-78914-019-4.
7. Gupta, Hari Ram (1978). History of the Sikhs: Evolution of Sikh confederacies, 1708-1769. Munshiram Manoharlal. pp. 216–217.
8. Singh, Ganda (1959). Ahmad shah durrani, father of modern Afghanistan. Asia Publishing House, Bombay. pp. 298–299.