Mughal rule of Punjab on horseback while marching with his army of Sikhs The religion of
Sikhism began at the time of the
conquest of Northern India by
Babur. His grandson,
Akbar, supported religious freedom and after visiting the
langar of
Guru Amar Das had a favorable impression of Sikhism. As a result of his visit he donated land to the langar and had a positive relationship with the
Sikh gurus until his death in 1605. His successor,
Jahangir, saw the Sikhs as a political threat. He arrested
Guru Arjan Dev because of Sikh support for
Khusrau Mirza and ordered him to be put to death by torture. Guru Arjan Dev's
martyrdom led the sixth Guru,
Guru Har Gobind, to declare Sikh
sovereignty in the creation of the
Akal Takht and to establish a fort to defend
Amritsar.
Jahangir attempted to assert authority over the Sikh by jailing Guru Har Gobind at
Gwalior and released him after some time with 52 other
Rajput (
Hindu) kings on Guru Hargobind's orders. Sikhism did not have any further issues with the
Mughal Empire until the death of Jahangir in 1627. His successor,
Shah Jahan "took offense" at Guru Har Gobind's sovereignty and after a series of assaults on Amritsar forced the Sikhs to retreat to the
Sivalik Hills.
Guru Gobind Singh, assumed the guruship in 1675 and to avoid battles with Sivalik Hill Rajas moved the guruship to
Paunta. He built a large fort to protect the city and garrisoned an army to protect it. The growing power of the Sikh community alarmed Sivalik Hill Rajas who attempted to attack the city but the Guru's forces routed them at the
Battle of Bhangani. He moved on to
Anandpur and established the
Khalsa, a collective army of baptized Sikhs on March 30, 1699. The establishment of the Khalsa united the Sikh community against various Mughal-backed claimants to the guruship. In 1701, a combined army composed of the Sivalik Hill Rajas and the
Mughal army under
Wazir Khan attacked
Anandpur and, following a retreat by the Khalsa, were defeated by the Khalsa at the
Battle of Muktsar. In 1707, Guru Gobind Singh accepted an invitation by
Bahadur Shah I, Aurangzeb's successor to meet in southern India. When he arrived in
Nanded in 1708, he was injured by agents of Wazir Khan, the governor of
Sirhind. After this incident his wounds were stitched and he began to recover. A few days after, some Sikhs brought a very stiff bow to present to Guru Gobind Singh. As they were discussing whether anybody would ever be able to put a string on the bow, Guru Gobind Singh accepted the challenge. Though the bow was stringed, due to the force he applied on the bow the wounds which were still fresh started bleeding profusely. Guru Gobind Singh then declared that he would be leaving for
heavenly abode and asked his Sikhs to prepare for the cremation.
Banda Singh Bahadur (1710), also known as the Battle of Chappar Chiri. From the ‘Tawarikh-i Jahandar Shah’, Awadh or Lucknow, ca.1770. The Sikh Khalsa forces are dressed in blue whilst the Mughals are wearing white
Banda Singh Bahadur was an
Bairagi ascetic who converted to Sikhism after meeting
Guru Gobind Singh at
Nanded. A short time before his death, Guru Gobind Singh ordered him to reconquer
Punjab and gave him a letter that commanded all Sikhs to join him. After two years of gaining supporters, Banda Singh Bahadur initiated an agrarian uprising by breaking up the large estates of
Zamindar families and distributing the land to the poor Sikh, Hindu, and Muslim peasants who farmed the land. Banda Singh Bahadur started his rebellion with the defeat of
Mughal armies at
Samana and
Sadhaura and the rebellion culminated in the defeat of
Sirhind. During the rebellion, Banda Singh Bahadur made a point of destroying the cities in which Mughals had been cruel to Sikhs, including executing
Wazir Khan in revenge for the deaths of
Guru Gobind Singh's sons after the Sikh victory at Sirhind. He ruled the territory between the
Sutlej river and the
Yamuna river, established a capital in the
Himalayas at
Lohgarh, and struck coinage with the faces of
Guru Nanak and Guru Gobind Singh. The Sikhs "retaliated by killing government functionaries and plundering Mughal posts, arsenals, and treasuries" but could not assemble an army. The persecution of the
Mughal Empire forced some Sikhs to abandon the outward signs of their faith, but "the more sincere had to seek a refuge among the recesses of the hills or in the woods to the south of the
Sutlej" The Sikhs went into hiding during this period. From 1718-1738, the Sikhs carried out a
guerrilla war against the Mughal Empire in the area around the
Sivalik Hills. The Taruna Dal was further divided in five
jathas, each with 1300 to 2000 men and a separate drum and banner. The area of operations of each
Dal, or army, was
Hari ke Pattan, where the
Sutlej river and
Beas River meet; the Taruna Dal would control the area east of Hari ke Pattan while the Budha Dal would control the area west of it. The purpose of the Budda Dal, the veteran group, was to protect
Gurdwaras and train the Taruna Dal, while the Taruna Dal would act as combat troops. However, in 1735, the agreement between Zakariya Khan and Nawab Kapur Singh broke down and the Dal Khalsa retreated to the
Sivalik Hills to regroup. Later the command of Dal Khalsa was taken by
Jassa Singh Ahluwalia who was an able and powerful administrator.
Categorization of the Dal Khalsa After 1733, the Dal Khalsa was fundamentally divided into two groups, the Buddha Dal (meaning 'the old army') and the Taruna Dal (meaning 'the young army'). Each was assigned with component
Jathas (meaning 'battalions', originally referred to an armed group of Sikhs) during a meeting in Amritsar on 14 October 1745. There were around a total of twenty-five jathas established at that time (whom had been born out of a coalescing of numerous smaller
, pre-existing
Jathas), later their numbers swelled to sixty-five by 1748. After the
Sarbat Khalsa of 1748, the numerous
Jathas were rearranged and further subdivided under constituent
misls as follows, which in-turn were divided between the Buddha and Taruna Dals: • Buddha Dal •
Ahluwalia misl •
Dallewalia misl •
Faizullapuria or Singhpuria misl •
Karorasinghia or Punjgarhia misl •
Nishanwalia misl •
Shaheedan misl and
Nihangs • Taruna Dal •
Bhangi misl •
Khanaya misl •
Nakkai misl •
Ramgarhia misl •
Sukarchakia misl Note - the
Phulkian misl was not part of either the Buddha nor Taruna Dal, as they were not a member of the Dal Khalsa having been excommunicated from the formation. The leaders of the Dal Khalsa would meet twice a year at Amritsar for the Sarbat Khalsa legislature.
Invasion of Nader Shah In 1738,
Nader Shah of the
Afsharid dynasty invaded
Muhammad Shah's
Mughal Empire. Nadir Shah defeated the Mughal Empire in the
Battle of Karnal and proceeded to sack
Delhi. During the panic before and after the Battle of Karnal, important functionaries of the Mughal Empire fled Delhi but were intercepted by small jathas of the Dal Khalsa and relieved of their wealth. Nadir Shah took away all the treasury, including the
Peacock Throne. When Nadir Shah began his retreat, the Sikhs who had been seeking refuge in the
Sivalik Hills came down from the mountains and mercilessly plundered the treasure of the Persian Army. Afterwards the Dal Khalsa established a fort at Dallewal near the
Ravi river and began levying taxes in the area around
Lahore. During this period, the Muslim historian Nur Mohammed, though full of contempt for Sikhs, was constrained to pay tribute to them of their character, in the following words: "In no case they would slay a coward, nor would they put an obstacle in the way of a fugitive. They do not plunder the wealth and ornaments of a woman, be she a well to do lady or a maid servant. There is no adultery among these dogs, nor are they mischievous people given to thieving. Whether a woman is young or old, they call her 'buriya' and asked her to get out of the way. The word 'buriya' in Indian language means 'an old lady'. There is no thief at all among these dogs, nor is there any house breaker born among these miscreants. They do not make friends with adulterers and house breakers, though their behaviors on the whole is not commendable."
Dissolution The Dal Khalsa was dissolved after the Sikh Confederacy came to an end with the conquests of Maharaja
Ranjit Singh, who effectively absorbed the rest of the Misls. However, aspects of the military force lingered on and influenced the
Sikh Khalsa Army of the later
Sikh Empire. ==Battles fought by Sikhs==