Battle of Amritisar | |||||||
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Part of Early Mughal-Sikh Wars | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Akal Sena (Sikhs) | Mughal Empire | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Guru Hargobind Bhai Bidhi Chand Bhai Kirat Bhatt † Bhai Bhanno † Bhai Peda Das † [3] Rao Ballu † [3] Painde Khan Singha Purohit † Bhai Mohna † [4] | Mukhlis Khan † [5] Shamas Khan † [5] Murtaza Khan † [5] Mustafa Khan † [5] Anwar Khan † Sultan Beg † Sayyad Muhammad Ali † [2] |
The Battle of Amritsar was fought during Mukhlis Khan's campaign against Guru Hargobind and the Sikhs on 14 April 1634. [6] [5] The battle took place over two days and was a result of increasing tensions between the Mughal government and Guru Hargobind.
After persecution from the Mughal government the Sikhs began organizing regular training exercises and became a rallying point for people disaffected by the Mughals. [2] Increasing tensions erupted during a clash between a group of Sikh and Mughal hunting parties. On Vaisakhi day, a hunting party of Sikhs set their hawk upon an imperial hawk and brought it down. [2] When the Mughal hunting party came to retrieve their hawk they used abusive language and the Sikhs then refused to part with it. This altercation led to blows and the Mughals were forced to leave after two Mughals were killed and the leader of the hunting party, Faujdar Ghulam Rasul Khan, was injured. [2] [4] The incident with the hunting parties was used as an excuse to send out 7,000 soldiers with Mukhlis Khan to attack Guru Hargobind. The Sikhs were unprepared to face the Mughal force because of the impending marriage of Guru Hargobind's daughter. [2]
The battle took place at Amritsar over two days. The day before the Mughals attacked, the Sikhs received information that they would be attacking and evacuated Lohgarh, a small mud fort on the outskirts of the city, except for a small garrison. [2]
The second day of the battle saw fierce fighting where Khalsa College, Amritsar is located now. Bhai Bhanno was killed in the fighting and Guru Hargobind took up command when he died. [2] The battle ended when Mukhlis Khan's head was "cleft in twain" by a blow from Guru Hargobind. [2]
This was the second conflict between the Mughals and Sikhs and legitimized the affirmation of Guru Hargobind's efforts to militarize his followers. [2] In addition, the Sikh victory destroyed the idea of Mughal invincibility and increased the Guru's support among peasants in Punjab. [2]
Bhatt Kirat and Balu (son of Baba Mula) were killed in this battle fighting on the Sikh side. [6]
Guru Gobind Singh was the tenth and last human Sikh Guru. He was a warrior, poet, and philosopher. In 1675, at the age of nine he was formally installed as the leader of the Sikhs after his father Guru Tegh Bahadur was executed by Emperor Aurangzeb. His father was the ninth Sikh Guru. His four biological sons died during his lifetime – two in battle and two executed by the Mughal governor Wazir Khan.
Guru Hargobind was the sixth of ten Gurus of the Sikh religion. He had become Guru at the young age of eleven, after the execution of his father, Guru Arjan, by the Mughal emperor Jahangir.
Dal Khalsa was the name of the combined military forces of 11 Sikh misls that operated in the 18th century (1748–1799) in the Punjab region. It was established by Nawab Kapur Singh in late 1740s.
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Bidhi ChandChhina was a Sikh religious preacher and military commander, from Chhina Bidhi Chand village, 37 kilometers south of Amritsar and Chhina Bidhi Chand was part of Amritsar District not Lahore. His birth place temple is situated in his own village Chhina Bidhi Chand, which was built by the residents with the help of Baba Daya Singh. Baba Daya Singh laid foundation with his own hands. Every year on his birthday Baba Daya Singh, and now Baba Avtar Singh, would go to village Chhina Bidhi Chand and celebrate it there to date. He was a disciple of Guru Arjan and served Guru Hargobind for most of his life.
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Banda Singh Bahadur, was a Sikh warrior and a general of the Khalsa Army. At age 15, he left home to become an ascetic, and was given the name Madho Das Bairagi. He established a monastery at Nānded, on the bank of the river Godāvarī. In 1707, Guru Gobind Singh accepted an invitation to meet Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah I in southern India, he visited Banda Singh Bahadur in 1708. Banda became disciple of Guru Gobind Singh and was given a new name, Gurbaksh Singh(as written in Mahan Kosh), after the baptism ceremony. He is popularly known as Banda Singh Bahadur. He was given five arrows by the Guru as a blessing for the battles ahead. He came to Khanda, Sonipat and assembled a fighting force and led the struggle against the Mughal Empire.
Bhatt Kirat was a Brahmin bard in the court of Guru Arjan, whose eight hymns are present in Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of Sikhs. The title Bhatt is given to learned Brahmins.
Prithi Chand, also spelt as Prithia, was the eldest son of Guru Ram Das – the fourth Guru of Sikhism, and the eldest brother of Guru Arjan – the fifth Guru. He founded the heretical Mina sect of Sikhism.
Fateh Singh was a warrior in Sikh history. He is known for beheading Wazir Khan who was the Mughal Governor of Sirhind, administering a territory of the Mughal Empire between the Sutlej and Yamuna rivers. Wazir Khan was infamous for ordering the execution of the two young sons of Guru Gobind Singh, Sahibzada Fateh Singh and Sahibzada Zorawar Singh in 1704.
The Akal Sena was the Sikh military force established by the sixth Sikh Guru, Guru Hargobind. It was the first standing Sikh army. It was also known as the Akali Dal.
The Battle of Phagwara was fought between the Akal Sena forces led by Guru Hargobind and the Mughal forces led by Ahmad Khan.
The Hill States–Sikh wars, also known as the Sikh–Pahari Raja wars, was a set of battles and conflicts fought by the Sikhs and the rajas (kings) of the Hill States located in the Sivalik Hills.
Bhai Gaura was the eldest son of Bhai Bhagtu, and was a devotee of Guru Arjan, warrior, and native of Vinjhu, 14 km north of Bathinda, India.
The Battle of Sangrana was fought in 1628 by the Sikh forces led by Guru Hargobind and the Mughal forces commanded by Hakim Alim-ud-din.
Bhai Singha Purohit was a Kul-Purohit of Brahmin caste, General of 6th Sikh Guru Hargobind, who saved guru's daughter from Mughals.