| Battle of Gujranwala | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Indian Campaign of Ahmad Shah Durrani | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Sikh Misls |  Durrani Empire | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Charat Singh Hari Singh Dhillon [3] | Khawaja Abid Khan [1] Nur-ud-din [1] [4] | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 10,000 [5] | 12,000 [6] | ||||||
The Battle of Gujranwala was fought between the Durrani Empire and the Sikh Confederacy in September 1761. [7]
Ahmad Shah Durrani raided India in 1761 and defeated the Marathas in the Third Battle of Panipat in January 1761. He then returned to Kabul and appointed Khawaja Abid Khan [8] the Afghan Governor of Lahore. [9] He wished to defeat the Sikhs in order to secure Afghan positions in the entire Punjab region but was defeated by a Sikh army under Charat Singh in the Battle of Sialkot (1761).
As soon as Nur-ud-din arrived on the banks of the Chenab, he came into conflict with Sardar Charat Singh of the Sukerchakia Misl. Charat Singh, anticipating the trouble, had ready moved from his headquarters at Gujranwala to arrest the further progress of the Afghan general. He was assisted by the other Sikh Misldars who had made a common cause with him. Thus assuming the defensive with his army of trained men, Charat Singh awaited the onslaught of the Afghans whom after a battle of considerable duration he repulsed. He followed up his victory by maintaining a vigorous pursuit of the fugitives.
The Afghans, about 12,000 in number, fleeing pellmell, took refuge in the stronghold of Sialkot. The town was immediately besieged and the strictness of the watch was such as supplies gave out and the garrison was brought to the verge of starvation. Nur-ud-din, finding his men demoralized and starving, abandoned them to their fate and disguised as a beggar sought refuge in flight. The garrison immediately surrendered, and were allowed to depart in peace.
This victory over the well-trained troops of the greatest soldier of the day placed Charat Singh in the front rank of the Sikh leaders, while the loot of Sialkot brought him a quantity of artillery and baggage. [1] When all was over, Charat Singh made a triumphant entry into his capital, Gujranwala. [10]
The Sukerchakia Misl was one of twelve Sikh misls in Punjab during the 18th century, concentrated in Gujranwala and Hafizabad districts in western Punjab and ruled from (1752–1801). The misl was founded by Charat Singh of Sandhawalia, grandfather of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The last Sukerchakia Misldar was Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Towards the end of the eighteenth century, Maharaja Ranjit Singh united all the misls and established an independent Sikh Empire.
Maha Singh, also spelt as Mahan or Mahn Singh, was the second chief of the Sukerchakia Misl. He was the eldest son of Sardar Charat Singh and Sardarni Desan Kaur Warraich. He was the father of Sher-e-Punjab Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
The Sikh Confederacy was the confederation of the twelve sovereign states. which rose during the 18th century in the Punjab region in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent and is cited as one of the causes of the weakening of the Mughal Empire prior to Nader Shah's invasion of India (1738–1740).
Sultan-ul-Qaum Sardar Jassa Singh Ahluwalia was a Sikh leader during the period of the Sikh Confederacy, being the Supreme Leader of the Dal Khalsa. He was also Misldar of the Ahluwalia Misl. This period was an interlude, lasting roughly from the time of the death of Banda Bahadur in 1716 to the founding of the Sikh Empire in 1801. He founded the Kapurthala State in 1772.
Sarbat Khalsa, was a biannual deliberative assembly of the Sikhs held at Amritsar in Punjab during the 18th century. It literally translates to the "entire Sikh Nation" but as a political institution it refers to the meetings of the Dal Khalsa and the legislature of the Sikh Confederacy.
Khushal Singh Virk was the second chief of Singhpuria Misl from 1753 to 1795, extending its territory on both sides of the Sutlej River. His 'acquired' lands included Jalandhar, Nurpur, Bahrampur, Patti and Bharatgarh. Jalandhar doab and adjoining areas yielded an annual income of three lakh rupees.
Sardar Charat Singh, also romanised as Charhat Singh, was the founder of Sukerchakia Misl and father of Mahan Singh, and the grandfather of Ranjit Singh. He distinguished himself at an early age in campaigns against Ahmad Shah Abdali and along with 150 horsemen split from the Singhpuria Misl to establish the Sukerchakia Misl.
Manawala is a city in Sheikhupura District, Punjab, Pakistan. It is situated on the Lahore-Sheikhupura-Faisalabad road.
The Battle of Kup was fought on 5 February 1762, between the Afghan forces of Ahmad Shah Durrani and the Sikhs, under the command of Jassa Singh Ahluwalia and Charat Singh. Ahmad Shah Durrani and the Afghan forces reached Malerkotla, west of Sirhind. Different sources give various estimates on how many sikhs were present. According to Tom Landsford, nearly 30,000 Sikh men, women, children, and elderly laid encamped. According to Narendra Sinha, 40,000 Sikhs were present. According to Hari Ram Gupta, 50,000 Sikh soldiers laid encamped at Kup while 5,000 non combatants laid encamped at Pind Garma. Abdali's forces outnumbered the Sikhs in hand-to-hand combat and the Sikhs couldn't use their usual tactics of hit and run, but had to engage in battle while protecting the civilians at the same time. With surprise attack, the Sikhs threw a human ring around civilians as protection and fought the battle killing several thousand Afghans. Abdali was able to break the ring and carried out a full scale massacre of the Sikh civilians. Ahmad Shah's forces killed several thousand Sikhs, and the surviving Sikhs fled to Barnala. According to various different estimates, as many as 5,000 to 30,000 Sikh men, women, elderly and children were killed in what is known as the second Sikh genocide.
The Battle of Sialkot took place on 12 November 1763, between the Durrani Empire, led by Jahan Khan, and the Sukerchakia Misl, led by Charat Singh, as part of the Afghan-Sikh wars which concluded with Sikh victory.
Ahmad Shah Durrani, the founder of the Durrani Empire, invaded Indian subcontinent for eight times between 1748 and 1767, following the collapse of Mughal Empire in the mid-18th century. His objectives were met through the raids and deepened the political crisis in India.
The Battle of Manupur was fought between the Mughal Empire and the Durrani Empire in March 1748 near Sirhind which ended in victory for the Indian coalition.
The Battle of Sialkot was fought between Durrani Empire and Sukerchakia Misl of Dal Khalsa in 1761.
Vadbhag Singh Sodhi was a direct descendant of Guru Hargobind and a prominent figure of the heretical Dhirmalia sect of Sikhism.
The siege of Lahore took place in 1761 when the Sikhs besieged Lahore and captured it after facing no opposition from Durrani forces.
The Battle of Amritsar, also known as the Battle of Gohalwar, was fought between the Durrani Empire and Shaheedan Misl of the Dal Khalsa on 11 November 1757. Following the fourth invasion of Ahmad Shah Durrani, his army was attacked by Sikh bands under the command of Ala Singh and Baba Deep Singh. Following the attacks, Ahmad Shah desecrated the Sikh holy site known as the Shri Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar. The news of the desecration reached Baba Deep Singh who vowed to liberate the holy site from the Afghans. This resulted in a pitched battle being fought in the village of Gohalwar, near Amritsar. The battle resulted in Baba Deep Singh being killed and an Afghan victory.
The Battle of Chenab was fought between the Durrani Empire and the Sikh Misls of Dal Khalsa in 1764.
Baba Gurbaksh Singh was a Sikh warrior from the 18th century who served under the Shaheedan Misl of the Sikh confederacy. Gurbaksh Singh along with 29 other Sikh warriors led a last stand against the Afghan and Baloch forces on December 1, 1764, at Amritsar. It was in this skirmish that Baba Gurbaksh Singh along with 29 other Sikhs were killed.
The Battle of Darbar Sahib was fought in 1761, during the Afghan-Sikh Wars, between the Shaheedan Misl of the Sikhs and the Durrani Empire of Ahmad Shah Abdali aided by the Khanate of Kalat.
The Battle of Qarawal was fought between the Sikhs under the command of Charat Singh against the Afghan forces led by Ahmad Shah Abdali and his Kalat ally Mir Nasir Khan I.The battle resulted in a victory for the Afghan forces and forced the Sikhs to withdraw to Amritsar.