Battle of Sarai Nurdin

Last updated
Battle of Sarai Nurdin
Part of Mughal-Sikh Wars
DateJuly 28th 1739
Location
Sarai Nurdin, 6 km from Tarn Taran Sahib
Result Mughal Victory
Belligerents
Sikh flag.jpg Khalsa (Sikhs) Alam of the Mughal Empire.svg Mughal Empire
Commanders and leaders
Sikh flag.jpg Bhai Bota Singh 
Sikh flag.jpg Bhai Garja Singh 
Alam of the Mughal Empire.svg Zakariya Khan
Alam of the Mughal Empire.svg Jalal-Ud-Din
Strength
2 [1] 100 [1] –1,000 [2] cavalry
Casualties and losses
2 30+

The Battle of Sarai Nurdin was fought between the Khalsa's 2 Sikhs Bhai Bota and Bhai Garja Singh and the Mughal forces led by Subahdar (Governor) Zakariya Khan. This battle is one of the most important battles in Sikh history, and is one of the most significant battles after Banda Singh Bahadur's execution.

Contents

Background

Fresco of a Sikh warrior wearing blue clothes and turban with weapons in hands. Possibly a depiction of either Bota Singh or Garja Singh. Located at Khem Singh Bedi's haveli, ca.1850-1890 Fresco of a Sikh warrior wearing blue clothes and turban with weapons in hands.jpg
Fresco of a Sikh warrior wearing blue clothes and turban with weapons in hands. Possibly a depiction of either Bota Singh or Garja Singh. Located at Khem Singh Bedi's haveli, ca.1850–1890

Zakariya Khan had slaughtered many Sikhs which had forced Sikhs to go into hiding. The Mughals believed that the Sikhs had all died. No skirmishes involving Sikhs were reported. [3] [4]

Sikh tradition states 2 travellers had seen Bhai Bota Singh walking and had called him a coward and said he could not be a Sikh as he is hiding from the Mughals. After listening to their conversation, he thought to himself that he needed to fight and not hide. [5] [6] He then proceeded towards a road at Sarai Nurdin. There he created a checkpoint and a toll tax barrier which made travellers pay the Khalsa Regime Tax in order to pass. Another Sikh named Garja Singh joined Bota Singh and they started collecting the Khalsa Regime Tax. Zakariya Khan heard about this and immediately sent a Mughal force there under Jalal Din with 100-1000 Cavalry. [7] [1] [2]

Battle

Initially Jalal Din requested the Sikhs to surrender but they refused. [1] One Sikh had a wooden staff and the other Sikh had a spear and one-edged daggar. The Mughal forces were fully armed. [8] Both the Singhs fought with electrifying speed and beat all the soldiers who came to their way. [9] The Sikhs had killed around 20 soldiers without signs of exhaustion. [9] Since fighting in horses wasn't working, the Mughals decided to retreat and send soldiers on foot. [10] The staff Bhai Bota had was enough to damage the Mughal shields. Soon the Mughals realized that they can't fight the Sikhs in hand-to-hand combat so they finally brought in bullets. Even after being shot, the Sikhs tried their best to fight with one leg and they didn't give up until their last breath. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bahadur Shah I</span> Mughal emperor from 1707 to 1712

Mirza Muhammad Mu'azzam, commonly known as Bahadur Shah I and Shah Alam I, was the eighth Mughal Emperor from 1707 to 1712. He was the second son of the sixth Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, who he conspired to overthrow in his youth. He was also governor of the imperial provinces of Agra, Kabul and Lahore and had to face revolts of Rajputs and Sikhs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guru Gobind Singh</span> Tenth Sikh guru from 1675 to 1708

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.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bhai Mani Singh</span> 18th-century Sikh religious leader and martyr

Bhai Mani Singh was an 18th-century Sikh scholar and martyr. He was a childhood companion of Guru Gobind Singh and took the vows of Sikhism when the Guru inaugurated the Khalsa in March 1699. Soon after that, the Guru sent him to Amritsar to take charge of Harmandir Sahib, which had been without a custodian since 1696. He took control and steered the course of Sikh destiny at a critical stage in Sikh history. He was also a teacher of the Gianian Bunga, later becoming known as the "Amritsari Taksal", currently located in Sato Ki Gali.

Guru Nanak founded the Sikh religion in the Punjab region of the northern part of the Indian subcontinent in the 15th century and opposed many traditional practices like fasting, Upanayana, idolatry, caste system, ascetism, azan, economic materialism, and gender discrimination.

Baba Amar Singh Nibbar Khemkaran was an important figure in 18th century Bandai Sikhism.

<i>Chhota Ghallughara</i> 1746 genocide of Sikhs by the Mughal Empire

Chhota Ghallughara was a massacre of a significant proportion of the Sikh population by the Mughal Empire in 1746. The Mughal Army killed an estimated 7,000 Sikhs in these attacks while an additional 3,000 Sikhs were taken captive. Chhōtā Ghallūghārā is distinguished from the Vaddā Ghallūghārā, the greater massacre of 1762.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tara Singh Wan</span>

Bhai Tara Singh Wan was an eighteenth-century Sikh martyr. He was from the village of Wan, also known as Wan Tara Singh and Dall-Wan now in Tarn Taran district tehsil Bhikhiwind of the Eastern Punjab.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zakariya Khan Bahadur</span> Viceroy of Lahore during the Mughal Empire

Zakariya Khan, alternatively spelt as Zakaria Khan, was a Muslim and the Mughal Empire's subahdar of the Lahore Subah from 1726 to 1745 till death, succeeding his father, Abd al-Samad Khan, in the post.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Banda Singh Bahadur</span> Sikh warrior and general

Banda Singh Bahadur; born Lachman Dev;, 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.

The Battle of Jajau was fought between the two Mughal princes and brothers Bahadur Shah I and Muhammad Azam Shah on 20 June 1707. In 1707, their father Aurangzeb died without having declared a successor; instead leaving a will in which he instructed his sons to divide the empire between themselves. Their failure to reach a satisfactory agreement led to a military conflict. After Azam Shah and his three sons were killed in the Battle of Jajau, Bahadur Shah I was crowned as the Mughal emperor on 19 June 1707 at the age of 63.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Binod Singh</span> Sikh warrior

Binod Singh, a Trehan Khatri and a descendant of Guru Angad, was an army man and disciple of Guru Gobind Singh and was among few Sikhs who accompanied him to Nanded in 1706. In Budha Dal Chronicles, Guru Gobind Singh made Baba Binod Singh the head of the Khalsa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baba Darbara Singh</span> Sikh leader

Baba Darbara Singh, also known as Diwan Darbara Singh, was second Jathedar of Budha Dal and third leader of the Akal Takht. He should not be confused with other Darbara Singh of Sirhind who fought in the Battle of Anandpur.

The siege of Jalalabad occurred in 1710 between the Mughal forces of Jalal Khan and the Sikh forces of Banda Singh Bahadur. Banda Singh Bahadur attacked the Mughal stronghold of Jalalabad. The army opposing Banda Singh was composed of a sizeable number of the Mughal zamindars and shurafa, including many Sadat, Banda Singh Bahadur repelled Mughal and Pathan forces after four days from the battlefield and back into the town, but failed to capture the town and withdrew.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abd al-Samad Khan</span> Political and military leader in the Mughal Empire

Abd al-Samad Khan Al-Ansari or Abd-us-Samad Khan Al-Ansari, also known simply as Abdus Samad Khan, was the Mughal subahdar of Lahore Subah from 1713 to 1726.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fateh Singh (Sikh warrior)</span> Sikh warrior (died 1716)

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Akal Sena</span> First standing Sikh army created by Guru Hargobind (1606 – 1699)

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 siege of Amritsar was a siege that took place in March 1748. The Battle was fought between the Sikhs led by Nawab Kapur Singh against the Mughal Forces led by Salabat Khan. The Sikhs successfully defeated and killed Salabat Khan and conquered the city of Amritsar from the Mughals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First Sikh State</span> Former country in South Asia (1709–1715)

The First Sikh State was a breakaway and short-lived sovereign Sikh state during the 18th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent that existed from 1709 to 1715. It was established by Banda Singh Bahadur after the Battle of Samana and lasted until his defeat in the Battle of Gurdas Nangal.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Harbans Singh (1992–1998). The encyclopaedia of Sikhism. Patiala: Punjabi University. pp. 387–388. ISBN   0-8364-2883-8. OCLC   29703420.
  2. 1 2 Gandhi, Surjit (1999). Sikhs in the Eighteenth Century: Their Struggle for Survival and Supremacy. Singh Bros. p. 124. ISBN   9788172052171.
  3. Bhangu, Rattan Singh (1914). Panth Prakash Vol.2 English Translation.
  4. Bhangu 1914, p. 161.
  5. Bhangu 1914, p. 163.
  6. Sikh Digital Library (1919-10-05). Sikh Martyrs - Bhagat Lakshman Singh. Sikh Digital Library. Sikh Digital Library. p. 127.
  7. Bhangu 1914, p. 163 and 165.
  8. Bhangu 1914, p. 165.
  9. 1 2 "Bhai Bota Singh and Bhai Garja Singh". 24 January 2015.
  10. Bhangu 1914, p. 169.
  11. Bhangu 1914, p. 171.

See also