Shaheedan Misl

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The Shaheedan Misl, [1] also known as the Shahid Misl [2] , was one of twelve Sikh Misls that later became the Sikh Empire. It held a small amount of territory in the Malwa (Punjab) area around the Damdama Sahib [3] before being incorporated into the Sikh Empire of the Sukerchakia Misl by Ranjit Singh.

Contents

Deep Singh (later Baba Deep Singh), son of Bhagta, of village Pahuwind (now district Amritsar) was the founder of this Misl. Earlier this Misl was known as Deep Singh’s Misl but after the martyrdom of Deep Singh in 1757 and another Sikh general Gurbakhsh Singh (of Leel village) in 1764, this Misl came to be known as Shaheedan Misl.

Origins and history

In 1748, Baba Deep Singh was appointed the leader of the Shaheedan Misl and the Mahant of the Takht Sri Damdama Sahib. In 1757, Ahmad Shah Abdali invaded India[ citation needed ] and sent an army to the Harmindar Sahib to block Sikhs from entering the Gurdwara. Baba Deep Singh and a company of men who rode with him to free the gurdwara were killed in the Battle of Amritsar (1757) [4] against the Durrani Army. His successor, Suddha Singh, later led the misl into a skirmish against the Afghan government of Jalandhar City. The first two leaders of the misl were considered Shaheeds, or martyrs, by their contemporaries so the misl became known as, Shaheedan Misl, or the misl of the martyrs. The misl was annexed by the Sikh Empire at some point in the early 19th century and became a part of the Sikh Empire. The Nihang order of Sikhs maintains the traditions of this misl. [3]

List of leaders

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naina Singh (Jathedar)</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Amritsar (1757)</span> Battle between the Afghans and Sikhs

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.

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References

  1. Bhagata, Siṅgha (1993). A History of the Sikh Misals. Publication Bureau, Punjabi University. p. 241. Deep Singh Shahid, a Sandhu Jat and resident of the village of Pohuwind of the pargana of Amritsar, was the founder of this Misal.
  2. 1 2 3 Singha, H.S. (2000). The Encyclopedia of Sikhism (over 1000 Entries). Hemkunt Press. p. 150. ISBN   9788170103011. NAINA SINGH: Naina Singh was the chief of the Shahid misl in the later part of the eighteenth century. His real name was Narain Singh. He is credited with the introduction of the Nihang type turban for his followers. He groomed the famous Sikh hero Akali Phula Singh and handed over the command of the Shahid misl to him.
  3. 1 2 McLeod, W.H. (2005). Historical dictionary of Sikhism. The Scarecrow Press. p. 186. ISBN   978-0-8108-5088-0.
  4. Jacques, Tony (2006). Dictionary of Battles and Sieges. Greenwood Press. p. 400. ISBN   978-0-313-33536-5. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015.