Bharat Rakshak

Posted: **27 Dec 2009 06:11**

Jammu,
The people speak dogri.
Our own BRFite Jamwal should know this well.

I've stayed in Jammu for several years, Dogri is just like punjabi, but some words and pronunciation is different. I guess it is different enough and its speakers astute enough for it to be recognized as a separate constitutional language.

India is a wonderful case study in itself. As you travel from one end to the other, notice how first the dialect changes, gradually the difference is large enough that a new language emerges. Travelling by train, the station name signs change suddenly as the new state begins.

Posted: **27 Dec 2009 06:20**

When we talk of punjab, one needs to remember that Punjab was earlier Himachal, Haryana, and the current punjab.
There are a lot of sikh villages and many Punjabi speaking people scattered across the neighbouring states.
For example Uttranchal (Remember the state capital issue and change of state boundaries regarding Udham Singh Nagar, that was raging there when the new state was carved out? This area is occupied by a lot of Sikh land owners who felt they would be better off within Uttaranchal than UP.

Ditto Kashmir. There are several villages where sikhs reside. Remember Chattisinghpura? That village and some adjoining villages have a sikh majority. You pass through some of these villages as you travel along the Jammu Srinagar highway.

Posted: **27 Dec 2009 08:07**

^ Residents (Primarily the one's who owned acres of land , in this case mostly Sikhs) of Udham singh nagar were in favor of remaining in UP as they feared their huge land assets might come under the new administration's lens , something which any common Indian is skeptical of irrespective of the legal status of the land in question .

Posted: **27 Dec 2009 08:29**

Gagan wrote:When we talk of punjab, one needs to remember that Punjab was earlier Himachal, Haryana, and the current punjab.

In the present Himachal, only Kangra and Kulu regions were part of Punjab, the rest were princely states that acceded to Independent India and were merged to form HP as a Chief Commissioner's province in 1948. The States Reorganisation Commission of 1956 decided to merge HP into Punjab, but the proposal met with stout opposition in HP, and it was hastily dropped. On the bifurcation of Punjab in 1966 the hill territories of Kangra and Kulu were transferred back to HP.

Gagan wrote:There are a lot of sikh villages and many Punjabi speaking people scattered across the neighbouring states.

Yes that is true. But also note that Hoshiarpur and Gurdaspur districts of Punjab are home to a large Dogra population. Here the word "Dogra" is as understood by the Indian Army (Dogra Class) and not limited to inhabitants of Jammu region of J&K State.

2001 Tribune

PATHANKOT RECRUITMENT RALLY: The Dogra Regiment will hold a recruitment rally at Tibrhi in Gurdaspur district from October 9 to 28. Youths from Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir barring Ladakh are eligible for the recruitment.

Posted: **04 May 2010 14:33**

Marwaris invited to Punjab by Maharaja Ranjit Singh

Posted: **04 May 2010 15:23**

I am curious to know what kind of interaction was there between the Sikh kingdom which was coming up and the Maratha empire nearing its life at the beginning of the 19th century?

I remember reading a review of a marathi historical fiction book long back.The book dealt with the last days of the maratha empire and one of the protagonists (? not sure of this) talks of apporaching the sikhs to enlist their help.

Posted: **05 May 2010 03:12**

Very perceptive post by munna in Internal Security thread...

munna wrote:
derkonig wrote:^^^^
In light of the Chattisgarh link and the moaist-EJ partnership, what are the chances that the EJs are backing Khalistan terror as well?
No chance! To understand the support behind these Khalistani Khottays (donkeys) one has to refer back to the rebellion of then Punjab* against the Mughal empire, the restive NW and subsequent Hun invasion during Guptas and even the loss of control during the later times of Mauryan dynasty. There is a high correlation between the loss of/destruction of/restive NW India and the consequent collapse of Indic states (Guptas or Mauryas) or foreign imperial powers (Mughals/Slave dynasty).

Move forward to 1947-although Nehru lost nearly all battles of strategic importance in his lifetime he won a major victory by getting all parties to agree to a division of provinces and thereby rescued chunks of Punjab and Bengal from the clutches of Jinnah's republic. Due the principle of division of provinces the dreams of Jinnah and other imperial powers to create an inimical nation state right at the border of New Delhi and cut India off from Indus watershed were thwarted. Jinnah and other countries' cockiness regarding the impeding collapse of Republic of India was partly because they thought that by default jinnahland would inherit the key (Punjab and greater Punjab ie NWFP) to the lock of power in India. The division of Punjab into East and West Punjab however put paid to those wet dreams. With East Punjab India became a part of the Indus Watershed and riparian state thereby Bharat Ganarajya was able to convert a settled deal into stalemate. The ambitions of imperialist forces and the renegade provinces of India (p-land) were thwarted for good by 1960s. However myopic and irrational policy approaches of then central governments created conditions ripe for exploitation by interested parties. The black April of 1978 when Nirankaris and Akhand Kirtani Jatha clashed was the second time when interested parties became powerful in deciding the fate East Punjab. Zia used his Arain Jalandhari Jatt card to influence the jatt clergy and footsoldiers of the Khalistani groups while interested governments from the west provided support of all kinds to these groups. What these cannon fodder folks did not realize was that they were a becoming part of the historic continuum of devious machinations of foreign powers in destabilizing India.

The Khaliatani movement at a very macro level was an old but deadly trick of finishing off Bharatiya Ganarajya by permanently ending its influence over its NW. East Punjab is our gateway to Indus plains and beyond, people have known and gamed this much before than the birthdates of all of us. Make no mistake folks the key to the ultimate glory and power of India lies in converting the current stalemate of divided Punjab into complete control over our NW either defacto or dejure.

*Includes current Indian Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, parts of Jammu and the renegade Pakjab.

Posted: **01 Mar 2011 22:57**

Punjabiyat: The Early Stirrings Of A Renaissance

http://www.sikhchic.com/partition/punja ... enaissance

With Partition, I feel we are in a way orphaned. Of course, we are very good at keeping our chins up, but we are a deeply wounded people.

...

He says Partition left Punjabis "in perpetual longing for each other on either side of the border. ‘Lang aajaa patan Chana da yaar' (Come across over to the banks of the Chenab, O beloved) says it all.In East Punjab, the biggest loss has been the loss of dialects. Dialects probably are a product of the physical landscape and cannot survive transmigration."

...

Lahore, the united Punjab's former capital, had long been considered the jewel in the crown of North India and had been developed as a cultural capital under both the Mughals and Maharaja Ranjit singh. "Jisne Lahore nahi dekhya, oh janmia nahi (Those who have not seen Lahore, have not lived)," proclaimed popular lore at the time.
...
In 1901, the first Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, India's first music university funded by public support and donations, was started there by Vishnu Digambar Paluskar.

In order to begin to understand what the loss of Lahore meant to Indian Punjab, one must try to imagine either France without Paris or England without London; a sense of the cultural desolation begins to resonate.

Posted: **16 Jun 2011 19:47**

The land of punjab is a land of exciting culture, myriad images of swaying emerald green fields and hearty people uhose robust rustic ways of camaraderie and bonhomie are very much a part of their heritage.

Rabindranath Tagore, the Nobel laureate, had claimed Punjab to be the place in India where the first civilized man was born. Thus, much of Indian thought, philosophy and culture is supposed to have originated from this land. Kingdoms changed and empires perished, but the inhabitants of Punjab enlivened their culture, especially the folkdances, which are a vital organ of this culture. The origin of folk dance is associated with the evolutionary era when man left the caves and settled in the plains, devising means to save himself from animals. Raisinq his hands and letting out a scream at the first kill, it is belleved gave birth to folk dance. Jumps and waving of arms In excitement. gave a name to the dance with screams being developed into folk music.

Folk songs of Punjab are the songs of the body and soul. The joyous flight of birds, starry nights, sunny days and thundering clouds, signifying happiness and joy, are all reflected in folk songs . So ageless are these songs that no one can clalm their creation. Punjab is the only place where male and female dances are not the same and are of varying forms. While the male dances are the bhangra, jhoomer, luddi, julli and dankara. the female one's are Giddha and Kikli.

Bhangra is considered to be one of the oldest dances in the world. Though danced now at every gala day, bhangra is closely associated with the Baisakkhi festival on the day the harvesting of wheat begins. The dancers are dressed in a kurta (long, tlowing, collarless shirt), waistcoats, loin cloth up to the ankles and a colourful turban with a folded tail hanging down like a plume. A golden band to keep the turban in piace is also worn. The song for the dance is called saddh or boli or the call. Adrum, musical tongs and empty earthen vessels provide the rhythmic beat.

Starting with a slow beat, the dancers circle the drummer, who, with a gradually increasing rhythmic beat, beckons them on. Being a virile dance, acrobatics are also performed to display the vigor of their bodies. A man with a whistle accompanies the party to Indicate a change in the movement of the dance. Another. holds a pole atop which a squirrel in puppet form is holsted attached to a string which indicates agility.

The origin of bhangra has been attributed to the disciples of Shiva who, while grinding bhang or marijuana, sang and danced. Hence the name, bhangra.

Jhoomer also called the cool dance of Punjab, is performed by male dancers with a graceful gait. The costumes are the same as worn for bhangra. To the tunes of emotional songs, the dancers with a waving of arms. move in a slow circle around a single drummer in the centre. No acrobatics are pertormed during this dance.

Luddi is danced to celebrate a victory in any field. The dance has its historical linkages to the moment when Punjabi Sardars rescued women who were forcibly taken towards the Middle East. The costume for this dance is simple consisting of a kurta, loin cloth and a turban. The performers dance by placing one hand at the back and the other before the face copying the movement of a snake's head. Thic is also danced with the drummer in the centre. This dance, however. is not as popular as the bhangra in India.

Jalli is a religious dance associated with the Pirs and recluses and is generally danced in their hermitages. The dance is generally pertormed while in a sitting posture. After donning black clothes and a black scarf over the head, the dancer holds a thick staff in his hand and dances by revolving it. This dance is very rarely pertormed these days and is fast disappearing.

Dhankara, like other male dances, is also performed in circles generally ahead of marriage processions to exhibit joy. Also known as the gatka or tippi dance, the dancers rhythmically ply colourtul staffs in their hands crossing them with each other. The high point is reached in the sitting position when the bitons are crossed. No special costumes are worn.

The folk dance of Punjabi women is similar to the bhangra in its vinlity and tastness. Though confined to women, it is by no means a gentle style of dancing .

During the harvest and on ceremonial occasions like a marriage or the birthday of a son, the Punjabi women revelling joy, give vent to their suppressed feelings in a male dominated society through the giddha. Slogans known as bolis are sung while dancing which exhibit the deep human feeling. These bolis cover varied themes from nature to excesses commited by the husband and his relatives; some talk about love affairs to the loneliness of a bride separated from her groom. The Punjabi salwar kameez or lehnga (loose ankle skin), rich in colour and decoration is worn. No musical instruments except perhaps a dholak accompanies a giddha.

The kikli is a part when, while singing participants begin moving in a circle. As the tempo builds up two or three pairs free themselves and begin performing the Kikli. In this, two panicipants stand face to face with their feet close to each and their bodies inclined back. while clasping each other's hand's and arms stretched, the participants swirl around in a very fast move using their feet as a pivoting points. This continues to the accompaniment of Dhols and clapping of hands till the tempo gradually eases off.

Long atter the dances and the singing cease singing cease it takes time to get used to silence. The rythimic beat of the dholak, its booming crescendo, subtle shifts in rythms or the lazy lulling beat, linger on.

The Robust Revelry
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Posted: **16 Jun 2011 21:14**

jambudvipa wrote:I am curious to know what kind of interaction was there between the Sikh kingdom which was coming up and the Maratha empire nearing its life at the beginning of the 19th century?

I remember reading a review of a marathi historical fiction book long back.The book dealt with the last days of the maratha empire and one of the protagonists (? not sure of this) talks of apporaching the sikhs to enlist their help.

Sikh empire and maratha empire had not much time overlap. So there was no much friction between them.

The Sikh misls rose under the vaccum created by the panipat war and maratha raids which weakened the entrenched muslim governors. Remember Sikh empire, which lasted around 40 years, rose around in 1805-10 under Ranjit Singh. But by that time, marathas were under aar-par ki ladai with british.

Posted: **16 Jun 2011 21:26**

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bharatpur

this is one of the last Maratha victory in 1805.. the skirmishes started near Amritsar.. final battle happened near Bharatpur.. The relations between marathas, sikhs and jats are interesting to study... .

Posted: **17 Jun 2011 05:44**

Sikh empire and maratha empire had not much time overlap. So there was no much friction between them.

The Sikh misls rose under the vaccum created by the panipat war and maratha raids which weakened the entrenched muslim governors. Remember Sikh empire, which lasted around 40 years, rose around in 1805-10 under Ranjit Singh. But by that time, marathas were under aar-par ki ladai with british.

Sikh misls ruled after martyrdom of Banda Singh Bahadur in early 1720s (way before panipat war) first as two groups between Lahore and Delhi and later organized into 13 Sikh misls. So in effect 1720s till 1849 Sikhs ruled punjab. Sikhs did not had any big guns and thus could not capture any "forts" or city but their writ was all over the area between Indus and Ganga.

Sikhs checked Abdali over 7 times between 1740 - 1765 (first battle of panipat) losing almost 70% of the Sikh population. In 1764 Sikhs lost 50,000 women and children in single day (when abdali attacked).

When Ranjit singh was born Sikhs already were ruling from both Delhi and Lahore as well as all the way to river Indus.

Ranjit Singh only got all the misls together and became their "Maharaja" and later PAtiala raja alligned themselves with British thus there were two seats of power in Punjab from 1800 - till date.

1. Ranjit Singh till 1849 (he died in 1839).
2. Patiala till 1947 and could be today (Congress under Amarinder Singh)

Posted: **17 Jun 2011 06:51**

ramana wrote: Make no mistake folks the key to the ultimate glory and power of India lies in converting the current stalemate of divided Punjab into complete control over our NW either defacto or dejure.
*Includes current Indian Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, parts of Jammu and the renegade Pakjab.

This imbalance of the sub continent due to pakjab west punjab being against the rest of the entire region including sindh/baloch/nwfp .

This can be corrected by only changing the people world view of the Pakjab. There is no other choice.

Posted: **17 Jun 2011 07:06**

The problem is our own folks who think that pakjsbistan is a good riddance. We need to convey that all pakjabis are loosers and can only attack
innocent civilians .
Thus pakistan is and was always part of india., and shall remain so. India is not complete without indus.

Posted: **17 Jun 2011 07:26**

SBajwa wrote: Sikh misls ruled after martyrdom of Banda Singh Bahadur in early 1720s (way before panipat war) first as two groups between Lahore and Delhi and later organized into 13 Sikh misls. So in effect 1720s till 1849 Sikhs ruled punjab. Sikhs did not had any big guns and thus could not capture any "forts" or city but their writ was all over the area between Indus and Ganga.

Sikhs checked Abdali over 7 times between 1740 - 1765 (first battle of panipat) losing almost 70% of the Sikh population. In 1764 Sikhs lost 50,000 women and children in single day (when abdali attacked).

When Ranjit singh was born Sikhs already were ruling from both Delhi and Lahore as well as all the way to river Indus.

Ranjit Singh only got all the misls together and became their "Maharaja" and later PAtiala raja alligned themselves with British thus there were two seats of power in Punjab from 1800 - till date.

1. Ranjit Singh till 1849 (he died in 1839).
2. Patiala till 1947 and could be today (Congress under Amarinder Singh)

You say
i) Sikhs did not have control over forts
ii) They lost 70% of population
and then say they ruled. In my post I have used ruled /=suzenarity or survival or rebellion, I interpret ruled as someone independent with complete control over the area.

How many of the Sikh misls from 1720-50 were completely independent and how large were they? They were routed by Abdali during 1750s and until the panipat battle. In the vaccuum then created because Abdali had decimated the local mughal nawabs who held the forts, Sikh misls started to hold the forts.

Panipat is the western end of punjab. and most of the Sikh misls were not involved in a fight between those from eastern and western punjab?? And the only Sikh misl who fought did in the side of Abdali??

For 2 if we count british rule, the marathas (Holkars and Scindias) "rule" until today

or the mysore rajas for 400 years. Approx 40% of India was princely states during British India.

But this is not to say that Sikhs were not constantly fighting or rebelling during 1720-70. They were fighting very hard, but independent rule only started after panipat and the gains consolidated by Ranjit Singh from 1805-20 and ended in 1849, around 40 years. With due respects to those who died during smaller and bigger massacres( including 1746 and 1762) Sikhs were relentlessly fighting and rebelling, but were not the rulers during that timeframes.

Posted: **17 Jun 2011 12:30**

Sikhs did help Marathas in their Punjab campaign. Alasingh Jat accompanied Raghunathrao. Later after untimely death of Adina Beg, connection broke and was never fully forged again. Going in to liberate Punjab without securing Ganga valley thoroughly, remains the biggest strategic mistake of Marathas for which India is still paying the heavy price. In fact, Peshwa understood this mistake and asked Shinde to move base from Punjab and fix Bengal problem and while on the way eastwards, "punish" najib without entering in any sort of negotiations with him. Dattaji however, started negotiations with Najib. Najib was simply buying time and assaulted Shinde at Buradi ghat thereby killing him in skirmish.

this is a small take on Sikh angle of Panipat campaign

Relevant Excerpt

Sikhs were not organised by 1750. It was after 1762 that Sikhs started becoming a force to reckon with. Even if there were a support base for, Marathas in punjab, there are many operational problems..

Village is fundamental structural and functional unit of India. On an average every village had 200 households (my estimate). Villagers leave their homes and either take refuge of forests OR fortified cities when Pathans cross Sindhu and descend on plains of Punjab . If they go to fortified cities, they fight for its defence and live if city prevails and die if city falls. If they go to forests, they live if they have enough rations, OR die of hunger, animals, enemy OR nature. Given the sparse nature of towns and cities in medieval times, most of the people took refuge of forests, abandoning the land.

Ruler needs encourage people to return to their lands and till it. Even if Punjab was taken by Marathas for purpose of tax (Punjab has and had very high tax potential similar to bengal), it would have taken at least 4-5 years of stable occupation for people to start paying chauth. The net income of Marathas in Punjab campaign (in spite of the loot) was negative because there was nothing left to loot.

Furthermore, while Sikhs were harrassing Abdali using guerilla warfare tactics, it is easy for Sikhs than Marathas, to do so for two reasons.

A. It was their home-base.
B. Their armies were not so huge and sophisticated, hence the supplies were very simple ones. Not many horses, cheap weapons, no elephants, no artillery (and associated maintenance crew for all units), no royal women with all their luxuries (relatively). For such an army, the list of items to be supplied is really long.

Punjab and Sikhs (even if they were friends of Marathas) were not in position to fulfill this demand of such a huge army. It is easy to feed a fighting band of 200-300 men. It is takes huge toll to feed a gathering of 400,000 men and about million animals. No village, town, citadel or power centre of sikhs were in position to make the supplies.

Posted: **17 Jun 2011 21:43**

They were fighting very hard, but independent rule only started after panipat and the gains consolidated by Ranjit Singh from 1805-20 and ended in 1849, around 40 years. With due respects to those who died during smaller and bigger massacres( including 1746 and 1762) Sikhs were relentlessly fighting and rebelling, but were not the rulers during that timeframes.

Khalsa was created in 1699 Visakhi day.
Guru Gobind Singh attained martyrdom in 1705.
Aurungzeb passed away in 1707.
Banda Bahadur defeated the mughal governor of Sarhind on 12th May 1710 and took over the large area of Punjab between Delhi and Lahore declaring his independence asking for only 10% tax or join Khalsa forces. He advanced towards Lahore but couldn't break upon the fort.

Upto this point the population of Khalsa was not more than 100,000.

In December 1710 the Mughal emperor passed out a writ to "kill the worshippers of Nanak (the Sikhs), wherever they were to be found." (Nanak Prastan ra Har ja kih bayaband baqatl rasanand)., along with rewards for the head of Sikhs.

In 1716 Banda Bahadur was captured and executed along with 800 Sikhs for not converting to Islam at Mehrauli, Delhi.

In 1720s. The Sikhs who saw the martyrdom of Banda Bahadur organized themselves into two groups with over all leadership of Jathedar Kapur Singh Virk. Jathedar Kapur Singh Virk was founder of the state of Kapurthala. In 1750s Kapur Singh passed on the leadership of Sikhs to Jassa Singh Ahluwalia and then later Jassa Singh Ahluwalia organized 13 Misls that ruled the area from River Sindh to River Ganga.

1. Phulkian Misl Patiala
Nabha Rajpura, Bathinda, Sangrur, Tohana, Sirhind, etc.
2. Ahluwalia Misl Kapurthala Nurmahal, Talwandi, Phagwara,Kana Dhillon, Hariana,etc.
3. Bhangi Misl Amritsar Tarn Taran, Gujrat, Wazirabad, Sialkot, Chiniot, Rawalpindi, Jhelum, Sialkot, Jhang, Bhera, Lahore, Hasan Abdal, Bhairowal, Majitha, Bedian, Bulaki, Bazidpur, Shahpur, etc.
4. Kanheya Misl Sohian Ajnala,Sohiau,Nag,,Surdaspur, Dera Baba Nanak,
Kalanaur, Pathankot, Sujanpur
5. Ramgarhia Misl Sri Hargobindpur Batala,Jukerian, Qadian, Ghoman, Mukerian, Dasua, Kalanaur, Zahura, Mattewal, Shahpur Kandi, Dinanagar, Riarki, Urmur Tanda, Sanh, Miani Bhagupurian, Garhdivala, Begowal,etc.
6. Singhpuria Misl Jalandhar Haibatpur,Patta, Bunga, Banga, Bela, Attal Garh, Adampur, Singhpura, Bhareli, Kandhola, Manauli, Bharatgarh, etc.
7. Panjgarhia Misl[note 2] Bhunga Nawashahr,Burka,Bassisn, Pindorian,Hoshiarpur,
Kathgarh,Bhangs
8. Nishanwalia Misl Ambala. Firozpur,etc.
9. Sukerchakia Gujranwala Kunja,Ladhe Wala Waraich, Ramnagar, Eminabad, Sodhra, Qila Didar Singh, Rohtas, etc.
10. Dallewalia Misl Rahon Nakodar,Talwan ,Badala, Rahon, Philluar, Goraya, Apra, Mau, Bilga, etc.
11. Nakai Misl Chunian Baharwal, Khem Karan, Khudian, Jamber kalan etc.
12. Shaheedan Misl Shahzadpur Talwandi Sabo, Much of Northern Ambala.

Shaheedan Misl and Nishaanwalia Misl got together and invaded Delhi in march 1783 (18 years after Abdali's invasion) and got Mughals to build Sikh historical gurdwaras in Delhi (Guru Nanak, Guru Har Kishen, Guru Tegh Bahadur martyrddom, etc).

In 1739 Nadir Shah attacked India and fought a battle between Panipat and Karnal. Sikh misls harassed him and freed many enslaved women. Jassa singh Ahluwalia was even given a name "Baandi Chor" i.e. "Women Slave stealer" by Mughals. Just in one raid he freed 2200 women. Many of these women didn't want to go back to their parents/families and they lived at Gurdwara Kaulsar at Amritsar., Many of these girsl became Khalsa and participated in the struggle.

As soon as Nadir Shah left India Sikhs occupied the fort of Lahore., Abdali in 1751 attacked India and sikhs retreated. Sikhs never knew how to fight a "real battle" as they only had fought "Guerilla battles". They decided to keep on the struggle in Guerilla warfare.

Abdali attacked three more times till 1754 and then he attacked and occupied Delhi installed Alamgir II as mughal emperor wedded his son to the daughter of Alamgir II and he himself wedded the daughter of Mohammad Shah Rangila. Returning from this occasion he destroyed Golden Temple slaughtering the cows in the Sarovar and filling it up with the debris. Baba Deep Singh along with a farmer army of 10000 Sikhs attacked Abdali at Golden Temple (during Diwali) and attained martyrdom at Golden Temple. After Abdali was gone India sikhs rebuild the Golden Temple.

Peshwa Baliji rao sent Raghunath Rao to ouster Tamur Shah from mughal court and thus whole of North India came under marathas in 1757.

Abdali declared Jihad against Marathas and thus third battle of panipat was fought in January of 1761. Sikhs were still guerilla fighters on the side of Marathas. Leader of Phulkian Misl (Congress Amarinder Singh ancestors) let Abdali passed through his territory and he was declared "out of Khalsa".

What Ranjit Singh the leader of Shukarchakia Misl did was that he got all Misls together and stopped the usage of Guerilla warfare tactics and started using modern warfare (both French and British).

Mughals only ruled in the cities of Delhi, Sarhind, Lahore, Peshawar, malerkotla and small jagirdars like Patti (close to amritsar) but their rule of law was effectively 0% after Banda Singh Bahadur's rule from 1710-1716. Farmers just didn't paid any taxes to Mughals and when Nadir Shah or Abdali attacked India they harassed the foreigners through guerilla tactics. A very useful tactic was named "Dhai Phat" i.e. 2 and a 1/2 strikes.

Two groups (25-50 horsemen) of cavalry Sikhs would be charging from the either side of the enemy forces first with guns and then cutting them through going across. That is one strike. They they will fill up their guns and come back doing the same at some other point of the enemy forces that is strike two. Then both groups would strike again meeting in the middle forming one group and running away that is 1/2 strike. They used this against Mughals, Abdali and Nadir Shah.

Posted: **17 Jun 2011 22:27**

Of the thirteen misls, how many were with Ranjit Singhji? How many made separate peace with british after the Ango-Sikh Wars?

Also before 1761, the Marathas had deposed Timur Shah in Delhi and that led to the jihad by Abdali in 1761?

Posted: **17 Jun 2011 23:09**

Bajwa Saab,

I partially know about the Sikh tactics, how the sixth guru started the initial traditions while defeating the hill rajas (himachal Pradesh). Even Peshawar, Lahore changed hands between afghans, mughals and Sikhs during 1720-50s. Unable to completely control the Sikhs, the mughals gave Kapur Singh a Jagir consisting of three parganas in 1835 to mollify, but then again it was lost in wars with mughals.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pargana

The tactics which Sikhs used were similar to those used by marathas (and on lower scale) during their 27 year war against the whole of mughal army at its prime in the western ghats and also during Shivaji. During that time, Shivaji's son was killed and Marathas so as to not have a single fountainhead for Aurangazeb to strike, started having semi-independent kings(Peshwas, Scindias, Holkars etc), a very very similar concept which Sikhs followed around 40 years later as misls. The marathas were better organised. What the sikhs did with army logistics, the marathas were able to do it both the army logistics and forts!! They used to occupy the forts during the rich season and vacate it during the lean season. Aurangazeb settled himself in Aurangabad to explicitly crush the marathas and made it the defacto capital of mughal empire for those years, but in the end couldnt.

But I wouldnt say that the marathas were ruling during this phase. They were the guerilla warriors who were harassing, defeating, losing battles, but gave their ultimate importance to survival not rule. The ruler at that time of deccan was definitely Aurangazeb, he held the major forts, he was the one who was in control of major cities. His writ didnt pass in outside of the area under direct control of the army. Most cities and villages in deccan didnt pay taxes to him and if they did, they were looted.

During their rise both the empires gave tremendous importance to fragmentation. This fragments which were a boon when everyone is torture and pain, became a curse when the torture and pain went away. Each of those fragments now had something of their own to protect. Both the marathas and Sikhs had the same problem, it required very very talented individuals at the top to make them fight as one force. When that person died, the empires were defeated. The marathas because of their overall successes which gave them some amount of endurance, tried to rise again in 1857, but lost.

One advantage which the marathas had but Sikhs did not was, the only enemy which marathas faced was mughals, where as the Sikhs contented with mughals and afghans at the same time.

Posted: **17 Jun 2011 23:31**

The Sikhs and Jats took care of many Maratha refugees after Panipat. Sadashivrao Bhau's daughter was married to a Sikh sardar and her grandson was Harisingh Nalua.

Posted: **20 Jun 2011 06:02**

by Ramana

Of the thirteen misls, how many were with Ranjit Singhji? How many made separate peace with british after the Ango-Sikh Wars?

Also before 1761, the Marathas had deposed Timur Shah in Delhi and that led to the jihad by Abdali in 1761?

Ranjit singh was born into Shukarchakia Misl which was ruling the area of Gujranwala to Rawalpindi. His great grand father named Charat Singh was made Khalsa by Guru Gobind Singh himself. Charat Singh picked the most difficult area of Punjab and established his writ by defeating many Mughal and afghan Nawabs, Zamindars.
One time he even captured uncle of Ahmad Shah Abdali (who was on the way back to Afghanistan in 1750s). The story goes this way that "Uncle of Durrani/Abdali pleaded Charat Singh to let him go, Charat Singh replied that he will get the uncle to Golden Temple during Sarbatt Khalsa (bi yearly on diwali and Visakhi) to raise the pride of his misl that he captured the uncle of Abdali., Uncle pleaded again that his pride will be even more that he captured the uncle of Abdali and them released him., hearing this Charat Singh let the uncle of Abdali go. Abdali sent the choices dry fruit (badam and Pista) of Afghanistan to Charat Singh as thanks which Charat Singh returned with roasted gram of Punjab saying that 'Khalsa and their horses live on the real earthy dry fruit which is ROASTED GRAM'". Charat Singh's son Mahan singh was very brave too but he died prematurely in a battle.

Thus Ranjit Singh (son of Mahan Singh) who was 12 years old became the leader of Shukarchakia Misl. Ranjit Singh was of a Sandhu Jutt clan. He had already married into Kanhaiya Misl (shukarchakia and Kanhaiya Misl) then he married again into 2-3 misls later he got his sons married into other misls. Thus through marriages and other alliances he got 8 of the Misls together with him. Bhangi Misl (Dhillon Sardars) was the largest at that time and around 1750s was ruling Lahore.

Earlier in 1755 The whole Sarbatt Khalsa (all Sikhs) got together at Amritsar and decided to (under guidance of 16 years old Ranjit Singh) face Zaman Shah (Grand son of Abdali) face to face as oppose to Guerilla warfare. At this time Zaman Shah had created 15 special guns (one such gun is still posted at Lahore and is named Zamzama even kipling wrote poems about the gun) to conquer india. Khalsa got together and faced them in between Lahore and Amritsar (one day 16 years old Ranjit Singh even got on the summan burj "summan tower" next to fort of Lahore where Zaman Shah was staying and challenged him to come out and face him). Zaman Shah got scared and left punjab with Ranjit Singh and other misls chasing him., along with his guns., he drowned his guns in river Indus as he was scared that Khalsa will invade Afghanistan. Ranjit Singh decided to stop the chase and whole Khalsa army was able to salvage 2-3 guns from river Indus. Out of these three guns 2 got wasted when Multan was won by Ranjit Singh and one is still posted in Lahore.

Meanwhile Bhangi Sardars took over Lahore, Bhang means marijuana and Bhangi means "the person who is always intoxicated with marijuana" Dhillon Sardars of Lahore totally massacred the muslim population of Lahore and created harems for themselves and everybody around them of muslim women. They converted all the mosques of Lahore into horse Stables. They declared death for the murder of Cow for Muslims. Shia Tajiyas were banned. Islamic call for prayers were banned. They murdered any muslim who defied or looked upto them. Thus the people of lahore (Muslims and Hindus and Sikhs) got together and invited Ranjit Singh to take over. Ranjit singh advanced slowly and took over the city in a blood less coup. The Bhangi Misl sardars were murdered and thus Ranjit Singh became "The Secular Maharaja". in 1799 , whom even muslims loved as they had seen the days of Dhillon Sardars.

The rest is history...

Posted: **01 Jul 2011 10:54**

ravi_ku wrote:One advantage which the marathas had but Sikhs did not was, the only enemy which marathas faced was mughals, where as the Sikhs contented with mughals and afghans at the same time.

There were other factors as well: Marathas native land, and their area of fighting/occupation/wars were in areas where Muslim population was far less than the he Hindu population. Sikhs operated in a demographically far worse situation: The Sikh population of Punjab proper alone was never more than 10%. More than half of Punjabis had already gon RoP. In the total Sikh/Lahor Empire, Sikh numbers were much less. Many of the lands they fought for and won were close to 90-100% Muslim (Afghan areas of Peshawar and Khyber, Kashmir, Multan).

[The biggest lesson from the Sikh saga is a surprising message about how to resist when numerically you are not just outnumbered, you are ridiculously outnumbered. The 10th master understood that and said "sava lakh se ek larrayoon". In decades to come, when India will be a Muslim Majority nation, these lessons will be re-learnt and old books will be dusted off---these are lessons that those in India who still feel for Dharma will eagerly seek and learn and re-learn. There is simply no other historical parallel that is accessible to India for this situation. The Sikh struggle will begin once again then.]

Secondly, the land productivity of areas under Marathas was much better than the lands that the Sikhs occupied: Punjab was fertile, but Afghan areas of Peshawar & Khyber were pathetic in land productivity; Kashmir and Norther Areas, and Laddakh and Hill tracts of current HP had little land productivity. Due to British (with UP-Bihar support) their ambitions to expand towards the fertile lands of Delhi, UP was blocked.

Posted: **01 Jul 2011 22:46**

The message of "sawa lakh se aik laraoun, chiriyon se main baaj maraoun tabhe gobind singh naam kahaun" i.e. "I make 1 soldier to fight 125,000 soldiers " I make sparrow to kill a hawk", "Only then I call myself Gobind Singh". Remember a 1971 war hero named Gen. Rajinder Singh Sparrow? He named himself "Sparrow" because of his love for Gobind Singh. This struggle to fight against all odds was understood over centuries (and forgotten after 1947).

Guru Nanak dev ji were born (1469-1539) in the area which was then called "VirkGarh" now it is called "Sheikhupura" as later during the times of Guru Arjan Dev ji (fifth guru) Sheikhu (Mughal jahangir son of Akbar) massacred the Virk Jutts and renamed the city to "Sheikhupura".

The village was called "Rai Bhoe di Talwandi" i.e. "Talwandi of Raja Bhatti" The Raja Bhatti was one of the general of Prithviraj Chauhan (1149-1192) and when the battle was lost to Ghauri one of the few generals who converted to Islam to spare their lives was Raja Bhatti (of Bhatinda) but because he was ashamed to go back to his place he got a "Jagir" and created the city "Raja Bhoe di Talwandi". In this area he protected the non-muslims as that was one of the pre-requisite for Raja Bhatti to convert to Islam.

by the times of Guru Nanak most of the sorrounding areas were converted to Islam and whole of this area was a hot bed activity (Babar, Humayun and all wars)., Guru Nanak Dev ji preached about peace between all communities. the message of peace was repeated till Guru Arjan Dev ji., then after murder of fifth Guru at Lahore (Greatest martyr in Sikhism Sri Guru Arjan Dev ji ), Sikhs started to militarize themselves.

Then Guru Gobind Singh created Khalsa which is a military uniform (These days it is more of a ritual as I do not see a difference between a small symbolic kirpan and a Brahmin's Janeu). It is so unfortunate that Guru Nanak dev started out against rituals and our today's sikhs are back into rituals (endless akhand path, parkash/sukhasan of book, etc). In my opinion a person who

1. Understands India's history and its basic ethics and ethos. (Sat Santokh Daya Dharm Sabr, Kam, krodh lobh moh ahankaar) i.e. (Truth, contentment, compassion, Righteousness, Kust, Anger, Greed, Attachment, Ego)
2. Follows the number 1.
3. Participates in sports and keep himself fit and healthy.
4. Has some military training to defend himself and needy.

is a way way way better khalsa of Guru Gobind Singh than anybody else (hair, five symbols, mindless recitation of gurbani not withstanding).

Posted: **13 Sep 2011 04:34**

Sheikhupura original name was VirkGarh i.e. citadel of the virks.

Posted: **21 Sep 2011 02:15**

this is one of the last Maratha victory in 1805.. the skirmishes started near Amritsar.. final battle happened near Bharatpur.. The relations between marathas, sikhs and jats are interesting to study... .

Check:

http://bharatendu.wordpress.com/2009/09 ... shtrakuta/

http://bharatendu.wordpress.com/2009/10 ... rakuta-ii/

He didn't finish the series for some reason but posted the following elsewhere in the context of British efforts at preventing a Nepal-Ranjit Singh alliance:

A little diversion, but the scope of above attempt was more than Ranjit Singh and Nepal. The British feared any alliance between any Hindu powers -- in all their treaties with individual states, it used to be the point number one -- a state could not enter in any treaty with any other indian state without Brits approval-- and they used to very cautiously guard against any Hindu unity.

There was once made a desperate attempt by a visionary Rajput youngster Man Singh Rathod of Jodhpur to forge a rajput-jat-holkar-sikh-gorkha alliance against the British. He voluntarily sent his marwad army (and a fighting Naga band) to join the Holkar-Jat alliance fighting under Yaswantrav Holkar at Bharatpur. The Holkar family was brought safely to his Jodhpur palace where they spent a year despite all the British pressure on Man Singh to hand them over to the Brits. At this time he also sent secret letters to the other Maratha chiefs to forget the mutual rivalry in joining their forces again. It is to this effect that he also brought the deposed Bhosla king from Nagpur to Jodhpur, where he died after living there some years. The Rathod prince also wrote secret letters to the Gorkhas (who were his Gurubhai-s, he himself being a nath-yogi of the western Goraksha tradition like the Gorkhali king) and Maharaja Ranjit Singh at Lahore to abandon their mutual struggles and join hand for a larger alliance. But British proved to be much more cunning than to allow any such thing. His letters to Ranjit Singh fell into the hands of British spies at Maharaja's court (some say Ranjit Singh himself gave the letter to the British ambassador at his court, but it is doubtful.)

Man Singh also wanted to push westward and regain the Sindh province from the long Muslim rule - in the treaty that he was finally forced to enter with Brits, it is a condition stipulated from his side that Brits will not interfere in his campaign to Sindh. But all his efforts were wasted, and neither the Sikhs nor the individual Maratha chiefs nor the Gorkha-s yielded until they all perished individually. Just before the third anglo-maharatta war during the so-called pindari campaign, Brits asked Man Singh to send for their use the famous Marwadi horse regiment of his army for the campaign -- which as per the treaty he was supposed to supply on demand of the Brits; after being pushed several times, he sent for them a thousand domestic donkeys mounted by gardeners, barbers, washermen and such to fight for the british -- which so much irritated them as to invade Jodhpur. Much later, during the 1857 struggle, Marwad's was the only Rajput regiment that fired against the British.

Posted: **21 Sep 2011 02:32**

SBajwa wrote:Sheikhupura original name was VirkGarh i.e. citadel of the virks.

Any opinion on how weapons have changed over time, for examples guns/bullets etc and how this progress in weapons should be incorporated into mindset please?

Posted: **21 Sep 2011 21:13**

Bajwa ji

I would like to know your views on the Dogra brothers vis Dhian Singh, Gulab Singh (later Maharaja Gulab Singh of Jammu, Kashmir and Tibat) as well Suchet Singh and of course Hira Singh.

It is a subject which continues to fascinate me.

Posted: **21 Sep 2011 21:35**

Dhian Singh, Gulab Singh (later Maharaja Gulab Singh of Jammu, Kashmir and Tibat) as well Suchet Singh and of course Hira Singh.

After annexation of Kashmir by Ranjit Singh from Afghanis., J&K became part of Sikh kingdom. Dhian singh, Suchet Singh and Gulab Singh came into Khalsa Army.

Dhian Singh was later made Prime Minister of Sarkar Khalsa by Ranjit singh.
Suchet Singh worked under Dhian Singh.
Gulab Singh was in the Khalsa Army.

Maharaja Sher singh and Dhian Singh Dogra were murdered on the same day by Sandhawalia Brothers.
Hira singh (son of Dhian Singh) was murdered along with Nau-Nihal singh (great Grandson of Ranjit singh).

Among all this Gulab Singh Dogra was the shrewdest person. He got himself allied with British and helped British in defeating the Khalsa Kingdom. In lieu of the help he got the kingdom of Jammu and Kashmir.

The major follies of Dhian Singh Dogra under Ranjit Singh were

"The great and brave Hari Singh Nalwa was fighting on the frontier when he called for aid, Dhian Dogra received the call but did not inform Ranjit Singh. Hari Singh died as a result. While Ranjit Singh was furious when he found out, Dhian Dogra weaseled his way out of it, saying that he hadn't wanted to add pressure to the Maharaja by telling him the news."

"Dhian Singh Dogra poisoned Kharak Singh to death while having him looked after for this ‘illness’.

"On Nov 5 1840, as Nau Nihal Singh was walking back from the cremation of his father Maharaja Kharak Singh escorted by Udham Singh, son of Gulab singh. As they passed under the Roshni Gate, the beam stones and tiles of the archway collapsed and crashed upon their heads. Udham Singh died, but Nau Nihal had an injury the size of a rupee on his head. He was carried away and personally escorted by Dhian Dogra. When the door to his room was finally opened some time later, the floor was splattered with blood and Nau Nihal was dead. "

The death of Udham Singh was cause of major rift between Gulab singh and Dhian Singh. One day
Gulab Dogra stole 80 lakh rupees of gold cash and jewels and 500 horses from the treasury, later this was used to buy Kashmir from the British in 1846.

Posted: **23 Sep 2011 07:20**

Banda Bahadur’s letter to Sawai Jai Singh of Amber
Posted on November 5, 2010 by dharmayodha| 3 Comments
The following is an alleged letter sent by Banda during his struggle against the Mughals:

J.N. Sarkar’s transcripts of the Jaipur Kapaddwara records contain a letter that may be from Banda to Jai Singh of Amber. The letter begins with Banda’s characteristic salutation ‘Fateh darshan and expresses the writer’s surprise at Jai Singh s having ‘forsaken Hindu dharma, especially since ‘Akal Purakh has commanded that the time of the Turks has reached its end and it is the turn of the Hindus.’ The letter states that ‘the foundation of dharma must be strengthened’ and asks Jai Singh to join the writer in marching on Delhi ‘to kill the oppressive Turks.’ It ends by stating that ‘I do not need sovereignty (shahi) but have been sent by Akal Purakh to strengthen the foundations of dharma (National Library, Calcutta, Sarkar transcripts, notebook 105, p. 2). The exact nature of the letter is problematic, especially as the original is not listed in the latest catalogue of the Kapaddwara collection (Bahura and Singh 1988). The grammar and diction are occasionally irregular, and the transcription bears the name “Guru Gobind’ at the bottom, although it is unclear whether the words are an addition by Sarkar or by a Jaipur scribe or record-keeper. It is of course also possible that the letter represents a transcript of a forged letter sent to Jai Singh in the name of Banda.

Source: Sikh Religion, Culture and Ethnicity by Christopher Shackle, Gurharpal Singh and Arvind-pal Singh Mandair. Curzon Press, Richmond, Surrey, pg’s 44-45.

http://dharmayuddha.wordpress.com/2010/ ... -of-amber/

Posted: **23 Sep 2011 16:32**

It is of course also possible that the letter represents a transcript of a forged letter sent to Jai Singh in the name of Banda.

Why would somebody forge a letter like this? All Sikh Gurus From Guru Nanak Dev to Guru Gobind Singh and Sri Guru Granth Sahib and all gursikhs like Banda always tried their best to raise the awareness to fight against "Turks" i.e. "Mughals". Punjabi word for Mughals has always been "TURK" which includes most of the people west of river Indus (afghanis, persians, arabians, etc)

Guru Gobind Singh when traveling in Maharashtra (close to Nanded on the banks of Godwari to be specific) met Banda who had turned Bairagi. Guru Gobind Singh reminded him of his Dharma. He tasked him with going back to Punjab to get rid of the tyrants (especially the Subaeder of Sarhind). 5 distinguished Sikhs were sent with Banda. It took almost 1 year for Banda to travel to Punjab from Nanded. Even on horses this distance should not take more than few weeks.

There is lot of evidence that Banda was visiting and trying to get the help of all the Dharmic kingdoms between this area of Marathas and Rajputs. He might have personally visited Raja Jai singh. It was after 1 year that Banda was able to start raiding the Mughal caravans close to Delhi.
Then the people of current day Haryana and Punjab got together with him and they raided Sarhind and won without any big guns.

Posted: **23 Sep 2011 17:32**

I agree SBajwa, its very possible that this was a genuine letter & not forged as the book authors suggest.

Mughal court records do state that he was in communication with various Rajpur rajas and also that he was using his contacts among the bairagis to spy on the Mughals. The Mughals after a while banned such bairagis/sanyasis from coming near their camp.

Its a shame we only have 2 Hukumnama's that survive from Banda and not much else from his hand.

Posted: **13 Oct 2011 05:09**

General Baghel Singh
He gave a crushing defeat to tottering Mughals

A very few Indians know about General Baghel Singh (1730-1802). He paid the Islamic fundamentalists in their own coins and made them construct Gurdwaras in Delhi in 1783. He paved the way for self assertion of Indians after the slavery of nine centuries under Islam.

At the formation of the Dal Khalsa in March 1748, Karora Singh, a Virk Jat of village Barki in the district of Lahore, was the head of the misl (Sikh fighting group). About 20 years earlier, Karora Singh had been forcibly converted to Islam by Zakariya Khan’s officials. But after six months he again took pahul (amrit) from Darbara Singh and returned to Sikhism. Since then he became a foe for Mughals. Karora Singh generally confined his activities to south of the Kangra hills. In emergency he could seek shelter in the hills. In 1759, after the death of Adina Beg Khan and by killing his Diwan Bishambar Mal, he seized large territories in Punjab and parts of Delhi. Karora Singh was killed in the battle of Taraori in 1761 against the Nawab of Kunjpura.

Since Karora Singh had no son, he adopted his servant Baghel Singh who succeeded the headship of the misl. Baghel Singh Dhaliwal belonged to village Chabhal, 21 km from Amritsar. He grew into the most powerful Sikh leader in the Cis-Satluj region. He dominated the Sikh politics in this area in last quarter of the 18th century. Baghel Singh had seen the rotten condition of the Mughal empire. His aim was to establish Sikh rule over the Mughal Empire under the nominal suzerainty of Emperor Shah Alam II. The Emperor was inclined to appoint him regent of the Empire. Had he accepted this position, the Sikh rule would have extended up to the Ganga as far south as Mughal Sarai, Bundelkhand, Rajasthan and Sind. He was endowed with the ability and capacity to play a major role in building up the political power of Sikhs over the whole of northern India. As he had risen from extreme poverty and penury and from the position of a domestic servant, the Sikh would not have supported him against Jassa Singh Ahluwalia in such an ambitious scheme. It was with this idea that he persuaded the Sikhs to enter the Red Fort and seated Jassa Singh Ahluwalia on the throne. Baghel Singh remained in charge of capital for the sole purpose of building seven Gurdwaras.

In February 1783, Budha Dal numbering about 60,000 under the leadership of Jassa Singh Ahluwalia and Baghel Singh marched towards Delhi. They commenced their depredation in Ghaziabad, 20 km south of Delhi. The Sikh army won whole of northern India including Bulandshahar, Khujra, Aligarh, Hathras, Tundla, Sikohabad, about 241 km from Delhi. They also ransacked Farrukhabad and Sikohabad. From Farrukhabad, they rushed back. They arrived Delhi on March 8, 1783. The enormous booty acquired during this expedition was sent to their homes under the custody of 10,000 men. Just at this time Jassa Singh Ramgarhia arrived Delhi from Hisar. He had been driven out of Punjab by Jassa Singh Ahluwalia and others. After devastating the walled city and its suburbs, the Sikhs on March 12, 1783 turned to Red Fort to seize the property of the refugees who had taken shelter there. They stopped before Diwan-e-Aam. Jassa Singh Ahluwalia’s force of 20,000 people desired to place their leader on the throne. By this time, Jassa Singh Ramgarhia arrived on the throne. He demanded immediate withdrawal of Ahluwalia from Diwan-e-Aam. Both sides drew out their swords. Ahluwalia at once got down the throne and ordered his men to vacate the fort. All returned to their respective camps.

The same day, Begham Samru reached Delhi. She had friendly relations with Baghel Singh who had saved her during a Sikh incursion of Mirath. The Emperor gave her full authority to settle terms with the Sikh in order to save the city from further misery and misfortune. She called on Baghel Singh in his camp at Tis Hazari. Jassa Singh Ahluwalia had declined to represent the Budha Dal. This authority was assigned to Baghel Singh. The following terms were settled between her and Baghel Singh and were approved by the Emperor:

‘The Dal Khalsa should retire from Delhi immediately. Baghel Singh would stay in the capital with his 4,000 troops. He would be responsible for maintaining law and order in the city. He would establish his camp in Sabzi Mandi. The Sikhs would not misbehave in any way during their stay in the capital. Baghel Singh would charge six anna (37.5%) of all the octrois in Delhi to meet the expenses for maintaining peace.’

Baghel Singh was allowed to build seven Gurdwaras at the sacred places of the Sikhs. The construction of Gurdwaras was to be finished within a year at the most. In consequence, most of the Sikhs left Delhi. Only Baghel Singh, as the head of 4,000 horsemen, stayed behind. They set up their camp in Sabzi Mandi-Tis Hazari area. Baghel Singh took charge of octroi posts as well as the Kotwali in Chandni Chowk. Five/eighth of the whole collection was daily deposited in the government treasury. Warren Hasting, the governor general, recorded in a minute presented to his council: "While I was in Lucknow, they (Sikhs) carried their depredations to the very suburbs of Delhi, where two of their officers actually reside in a quarter called Subzi Mandi, which is chiefly occupied by shopkeepers, for the double purpose of levying their rauky (which is the name given to that contribution) and of protecting the inhabitants from the marauders of their own nations."

The first Gurdwara was built at Teliwara in the memory of Mata Sundari and Mata Sahib Devi, wives of Guru Gobind Singh. They had lived there for some time. The second Gurdwara was built in Jaisinghpura where Guru Harkishan had stayed. Four tombs were constructed on the bank of the Yamuna at the places of cremation of Guru Harkishan, Mata Sundari, Sata Sahib Devi and Ajit Singh, the adopted son of Mata Sundari. A Gurdwara was constructed there. There were two places connected with Guru Teg Bahadur. One was at the Kotwali where the Guru was beheaded. The other was at Rakabganj where his headless body was cremated by Lakhi Banjara. At both these places mosques had been built. In order to build Gurdwara, mosques had to be demolished. The Muslims had been most sensitive with regard to their mosques. But their fanaticism had grown weaker before the supremacy of the Sikhs.

Earlier, a small body of Sikhs under Sahib Singh Khondah, a small Sikh chief, visited Delhi. He was there on October 1, 1778. This was the Dussehra day and the Sikhs riding out went to the Guru’s bungalow near Rakabganj, and they demolished the mosque and ravaged the cultivated fields." (Delhi Diarist, anonymous, in Delhi Chronicle, 31).

The diarist further observed that with the departure of the Sikhs, the Muslims again erected the mosque. When Baghel Singh planned to pull down the mosque, the Muslims of the capital grew furious and thousands of them gathered there to save the mosque.

Baghel Singh asked the mob to send their representatives to discuss the matter with him. About one hundred Muslim leaders met him. He gave them a fortnight to declare their final decision. Till then the construction was stopped. He sent his agents to the Cis-Satluj chiefs to be ready for an expedition. The details of which he would supply in a couple of days. He prepared a list of all the Jagirs held by Delhi Muslims in the Ganga-Doab and in the region north of Delhi in the district of Rohtak and Karnal. He marked certain Sardars for certain areas. They entered those villages and created havoc. The leaders finding themselves in ruin waited for Baghel Singh individually and gave in writing that they have no objection to the demolition of the mosque at Rakabganj. He laid the foundation of the Gurdwara before sunrise. The building was soon built.

At the Kotwali, a huge Muslim mob gathered to protect the mosque from demolition. The situation was grave. Baghel Singh did not touch the mosque, and pulled down only a portion of the compound wall which obstructed the construction of the Gurdwara. On its completion a Brahman Sikh was appointed Granthi, and a Jagir was assigned to it.

In the war of Independence in 1857, the Sikhs in general and Raja Sarup Singh of Jind in particular, had rendered help to British Government. The government allowed Sarup Singh to demolish this mosque and extended the Gurdwara in its place. The sixth Gurdwara was constructed at Majnu Ka Tila where Guru Nanak Dev with Mardana, Guru Hargobind and Ram Rae, son of Guru Har Rae, had stayed. The seventh Gurdwara was raised in Moti Bagh where Guru Gobind Singh had lived. All these seven Gurdwaras were constructed in eight months. The Emperor was pleased with his work. He granted Baghel Singh one/eight of the octroi of Delhi for life. Baghel Singh left Delhi in the beginning of December 1783. The contemporary Khair-ud-Din, secretary to royal princes, called him Raja.

http://organiser.org/archives/historic/ ... 73&page=15

Posted: **10 Nov 2011 11:03**

SAD (D) seeks ban on Advani's yatra

can any one shed more light on the circumstances. What exactly did LKA did and what did he say which caused the PM to act this way.

A deputation of SAD (D) led by Jaswinder Singh Balliawal submitted the memorandum at Akal Takht office on Wednesday. Talking to TOI, Balliawal said, "No doubt Indira Gandhi was responsible for the attack on Golden Temple in 1984 but we must not forget that it was L K Advani who played a significant role to instigate her to order Operation Bluestar," while claiming that Advani had mentioned the incident in his autobiography - My Country My Life. The party had earlier submitted a memorandum to Punjab governor Shivraj Patil requesting a ban on the yatra.

Posted: **10 Nov 2011 21:46**

It is a lie!! LK advani did not had any role in 1984 at all.

Posted: **10 Nov 2011 22:13**

so SAD(D) is an INC plant...

Posted: **10 Nov 2011 23:41**

LKA had said once that when he was growing up in Sindh before partition, the religion followed by his family was more Sikhism than Hinduism. I can't imagine him being anti-Sikh.

Posted: **11 Nov 2011 00:15**

exactly why else would SAD(D) seek a ban on Rath Yatra citing 1984?

Posted: **11 Nov 2011 02:20**

Kakkaji wrote:LKA had said once that when he was growing up in Sindh before partition, the religion followed by his family was more Sikhism than Hinduism. I can't imagine him being anti-Sikh.

Advani's family like many Sindhi families belonged to the Nanakpanthi's who were not part of the Khalsa Panth but part of the broader Sikh family.

Early Gurudwara's in places like Singapore were funded by Sindhi merchants.

With the emphasis on a separate Sikh identity gaining ground during the British Raj, most Sindhis decided they were Hindus and Advani's family was one of them.

However he has been noted to call himself "spiritually more a Sikh".

Bhagat Sadhana one of the sants whose compositions are to be found in the SGGS was born in Sehwan, Sindh.

Posted: **13 Nov 2011 19:46**

Today 13th November 1780 was born Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the upholder of Dharma against Jihad in our North-Western provinces.

Posted: **01 May 2012 22:10**

X-post...

SBajwa wrote:
by Shiv
But what is clear from all the above references are the common ground that all have:

1. Forcible conversion to Islam caused some families to be split among Muslim/Sikh lines, but these families maintained ties with each other
2. There was definite communal strife because of fundamental religious differences
3. Despite that cultural relations were maintained with Sikhs being invited for Iftar and Muslims taking part if non Muslim festivities. Both communities shared music and some other cultural events
4. The western districts were Muslim dominant and the eastern districts were Sikh/Hindu predominant.

Jats are those Rajputs who took to farming. All Jats agree that they originated from Rajasthan and settled at current Punjab between Indus and river Ganga. So!! Sikh Jats have their areas which are as following

1. Sandhu clan is from Gujranwala and its vicinity. It is the largest Sikh Jat clan. Maharaja Ranjit Singh was "Sandhu" and thus majority of Sandhu's now are from Lahore.

2. Bajwa clan is from Sialkote and sorrounding (Raja Sialu was a Bajju Rajput and thus Bajwa) The whole area of Sialkote/Gurdaspur/Batala is also referred as "Bajwait" i.e. "The land of the Bajwa. Baj means "Hawk" and Bajwa means "Tribe of the Hawk".

3. Majority of the Sidhus/Brar are from the Patiala area., Captain Amarinder Singh is a Sidhu.

4. Dhillons are from the Southern Amritsar/northern Ferozepur area (Badal is a Dhillon)

5. Randhawa clan is from Amritsar.

6. Virk clan is from the area called Virkgarh which was renamed by the Mughal Jahanjir to "Sheikhupura" on his name. The nick name of Jahangir was "Shaikhu". So Sheikhupura in Pakistan was originally called "Virkgarh" i.e. "citadel of the Virks" just like Bhatinda is "Citadel of the Bhatti Rajputs who are both Rajputs and Jats"

The reason why Akbar was calling Jahangir a "Shaikhu" was because he was the first Mughal to be born in India.
Since then any locally converts by Mughals if they are not of high caste call themselves as "Shaikh" or "Sheikh".
Brahmins who converted to Islam became "Sayyids"

and so forth!!!

Bharat Rakshak

Understanding Punjab and History

Re: Understanding Punjab and History

Re: Understanding Punjab and History

Re: Understanding Punjab and History

Re: Understanding Punjab and History

Re: Understanding Punjab and History

Re: Understanding Punjab and History

Re: Understanding Punjab and History

Re: Understanding Punjab and History

Re: Understanding Punjab and History

Re: Understanding Punjab and History

Re: Understanding Punjab and History

Re: Understanding Punjab and History

Re: Understanding Punjab and History

Re: Understanding Punjab and History

Re: Understanding Punjab and History

Re: Understanding Punjab and History

Re: Understanding Punjab and History

Re: Understanding Punjab and History

Re: Understanding Punjab and History

Re: Understanding Punjab and History

Re: Understanding Punjab and History

Re: Understanding Punjab and History

Re: Understanding Punjab and History

Re: Understanding Punjab and History

Re: Understanding Punjab and History

Re: Understanding Punjab and History

Re: Understanding Punjab and History

Re: Understanding Punjab and History

Re: Understanding Punjab and History

Re: Understanding Punjab and History

Re: Understanding Punjab and History

Re: Understanding Punjab and History

Re: Understanding Punjab and History

Re: Understanding Punjab and History

Re: Understanding Punjab and History

Re: Understanding Punjab and History

Re: Understanding Punjab and History

Re: Understanding Punjab and History

Re: Understanding Punjab and History

Re: Understanding Punjab and History