Lakhpat Rai

Lakhpat Rai
Died	1746 Punjab, Mughal Empire
Occupation	Revenue minister of Lahore
Known for	Involvement in the Chhota Ghallughara
Relatives	Jaspat Rai (brother), Dalpat Rai (son)

Lakhpat Rai was the brother of Jaspat Rai and an enemy of the Sikhs. ^[1] Lakhpat was the revenue minister of Lahore and wanted to take revenge on the Sikhs.^{[ citation needed ]} He convinced the Mughal governor to take action against the Sikhs. ^[1] Yahya Khan (subahdar of Lahore) helped him in a large scale massacre of Sikhs called the Chhota Ghallughara, in which an estimated 7,000 Sikhs were killed. ^{[2] [3]} However, Purnima Dhavan gives a smaller figure of 400 Sikhs being killed in the massacre. ^[1] As per Rattan Singh Bhangu's Panth Prakash , Lakhpat Rai specifically sought out copies of the Guru Granth Sahib in-order to destroy them. ^[4] He was later killed by the Sikhs.^{[ citation needed ]} His son, Dalpat Rai, sought asylum in Jammu State and settled there. ^[5]

References

1. Dhavan, Purnima (2 November 2011). When Sparrows Became Hawks: The Making of the Sikh Warrior Tradition, 1699-1799. Oxford University Press. p. 91. ISBN   9780199877171.
2. A Popular Dictionary of Sikhism: Sikh Religion and Philosophy, p.86, Routledge, W. Owen Cole, Piara Singh Sambhi, 2005
3. Singha, H. S (2000). The encyclopedia of Sikhism (over 1000 entries). Hemkunt Press. p. 110. ISBN   978-81-7010-301-1 . Retrieved 22 December 2011.
4. Mann, Gurinder Singh (2016). Sri Gur Panth Prakash: Its Text, Context, and Significance (PDF). New York: Global Institute for Sikh Studies. p. 34. ... and Bhangu mentions Lakhpat Rai, a Hindu Rajput working for the Afghan administration, making efforts to destroy the manuscripts of the Guru Granth.
5. Seth, Mira. "1: Background". Dogra Wall Paintings in Jammu and Kashmir (illustrated ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 2–3. ISBN   9780195615494.