Battle of Darbar Sahib

Battle of Darbar Sahib
Part of Indian Campaign of Ahmad Shah Durrani and Afghan-Sikh Wars
Date 1 December 1764 Location Golden Temple, Amritsar Result Afghan Victory
Belligerents
Durrani Empire Khanate of Kalat	Shaheedan Misl
Commanders and leaders
Ahmad Shah Abdali Nasir Khan I Ahmadzai	Baba Gurbaksh Singh   † Nihal Singh  † Man Singh  † Basant Singh  † (26 other unidentified Sikhs)
Strength
18,000 Afghans 12,000 Baloch Total Army: 30,000 [1]	30
Casualties and losses
Unknown	30

The Battle of Darbar Sahib was fought on 1 December 1764 in Amritsar, when about thirty Sikhs under Baba Gurbaksh Singh made a last stand against the forces of Ahmad Shah Durrani at the Harmandir Sahib, fighting to the death in defense of their shrine.

Background

From 1763 to 1764, the Sikh misls would greatly expand their territory over the region of Punjab. ^[2] The Sikhs would successfully occupy Lahore and expand their territory into Multan and Derajat. This greatly weakened Afghan rule over Punjab which caused Ahmad Shah Durrani to launch a seventh invasion into the Indian Subcontinent. ^{[2] [3]}

Ahmad Shah Durrani arrived in Punjab and reached Eminabad.It was at Eminabad that Ahmad Shah was Joined by his Baloch ally Nasir Khan.Ahmad Shah Abdali commanded a force numbering 18,000 while Nasir Khan commanded a force numbering 12,000. ^[2] The Afghan and Baloch forces marched towards Lahore in which where they got into a Skirmish with the Sikhs under the command of Charat Singh Sukerchakia. ^[2]

Ahmad Shah heard news that the Sikhs had retreated towards Amritsar. Ahmad Shah arrived in Amritsar on December 1, 1764; however, the Afghan forces did not come across any large gathering of Sikhs. ^[2] Baba Gurbaksh Singh, Nihal Singh, Basant Singh, Man Singh along with 26 other Sikhs had stayed in Amritsar to fight a last stand against the Afghan and Baloch forces. ^[4]

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. ^[5]

Aftermath

They 30 Sikhs fought till death against the Durranis at Shri Harmandir Sahib (also known as Darbar Sahib or Golden Temple), which is the holiest site of Sikhism. ^[6]

References

1. Gupta, Hari (2007). History of the Sikhs Volume II. Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd. pp. 215–216. ISBN   81-215-0248-9.
2. Gupta, Hari (2007). History of the Sikhs Volume II Evolution of the Sikh Confederacies (1707-1769). Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd. pp. 215–216. ISBN   978-81-215-0248-1.
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. Muhammad, Noor (2020). Singh, Ganda (ed.). Jangnamah (2nd ed.). Khalsa College Amritsar. p. 46.
6. Singh, Harbans (2011). The Encyclopedia of Sikhism Volume II E-L (3rd ed.). Punjabi University,Patiala. pp. 131–132. ISBN   81-7380-204-1.