May 1710: The Khalsa Flag Fluttered At the Citadel of the Mughal Empire
May 23, 2012: Seeing his end drawing near, Guru Gobind Singh initiated Banda Bahadur into the fold of the Khalsa brotherhood and invested in him the political and military authority to vigorously launch a crusade against the forces of evil. The Guru, after having blessed him with temporal authority, adorned him with a sword, a bow, five arrows with golden tips from his quiver, and an insignia of the Khalsa, the Nishan Sahib.
After Banda Bahadur took Amrit, Guru Gobind Singh dispatched him, along with 25 Sikhs, to Punjab to uproot tyranny, oppression and injustice. Question arises? With no money, no arms, no shelter and no base to accomplish the mission set forth, how could a handful of Sikhs shatter the citadel of the mighty Mughal empire?
It speaks volumes of Banda Bahadur’s towering personality, his military acumen, organizational skill, coordinated efforts and, above all, his illustrious leadership that he surged like a hurricane to take on the Mughal Empire. Undaunted, unfazed by the heavy odds against him, he led his men in the most magnificent fashion crushing the forces of evil one after the other.
War brings out the stuff that makes legends and this is what Banda was, a legend. The blood-splattered battlefield of Chappar Jherdi spewed awe-inspiring tales of heroism, sacrifice and self-confidence of the Khalsa to win the battle against insurmountable odds.
THE ASSAULT ON SARHIND
After the fall of Mughal towns of Samana, Sadhuara and Kapuri, the next target was Sarhind. The flattening out of these towns gave the Mughal Empire a shiver down its spine. Shock waves of awe were felt all around. This news was received by the Sikhs residing far and near in the hinter land of Punjab.
Banda needed time to consolidate his gains, and muster required war materials and men to take on Wazir Khan. He retired to a secluded place called Mukhlispur. It had a fort on the top of a hill. History speaks that Mukhlis Khan built the fort, on the orders of Emperor Shah Jahan. The fort was a strong structure. It was located between Sadhuara and Haripur, about 10km from Sadhuara. At the time of occupation by Banda Bahadur, the fort was in a dilapidated condition. Later, it was restored and made the first capital of the Sikhs, and renamed Lohgarh. Here it was that Banda Bahadur struck coins in the name of Guru Nanak and Guru Gobind Singh. Preparation of war commenced.
Simultaneously, the Hukumnamas of Guru Gobind Singh directing Sikhs to gather under the overall command of Banda Bahadur also were received. Propelled by the zeal, they set course to join the Khalsa commonwealth, leaving their hearths and homes. Contingents of Sikhs marched for the final assault towards Sarhind. They carried whatever war material they could lay their hands on. Banda Bahadur also descended from the hills of Logarh, Mukhlispur, near Kala Amb. The entire operation was planned in two phases.
The Battle of Ropar: When Wazir Khan found out about the movement of Sikhs, he was terribly upset. Sikhs of Majha and Doaba had already reached Kiratpur and were preparing to cross over the Satluj River. Wazir Khan deputed Nawab Sher Mohammad Khan of Malerkotla to check their advance and prevent their union. Accompanied with his brother, Khizar Khan, and his cousins, Nashtar Khan and Wali Mohammad Khan, marched towards Ropar. In route, detachments of Sarhind and Ropar also joined in. They had two guns and assorted weapons, including superior horses.
Sikhs, on the other hand, had few men. They had insufficient weapons, muskets and other tools of battle. Notwithstanding the smaller numerical strength, they surged ahead with determination and courage. The battle started in the morning. Initially, the guns played havoc on the Sikhs. Fierce fighting continued throughout the day. A great deal of blood was shed on both sides. Throughout the contest, the Mughal troops had the upper hand. It appeared that the battle would end in their favor. They were confident of their victory but the Sikhs fought with unprecedented ferocity. As the sun set, darkness descended and the battle ceased for the day. The next morning, to their good luck, a fresh contingent of Sikhs arrived.
Emboldened with the new arrival, Sikhs hit their foe with redoubled vigor. Khizar Khan mounted a fierce assault. Desperately, Sikhs made a dashing charge, shooting arrows with great precision. At that point, a bullet hit Khizar Khan and he fell dead. There was chaos and confusion in the rank and file of the Mughal forces. Exhorting his men to push forward, Sher Mohammad Khan led another charge. All his efforts to stand up against the Sikhs proved futile. Nashtar Khan and Wali Khan tried to extricate the body of Khizar Khan but both were killed in battle. Sher Mohammad Khan was severely injured and fled away. The entire Mughal force suffered a complete rout. The Sikhs carried the day.
After cremating their dead, the Sikhs hurriedly set course to join their brethren. By this time, Banda also reached Banur. The news of this conquest was received with great delight. Sikhs advanced on Ambala-Kharar road to meet their brethren. There was a great rejoicing at their union. Karaha Parshad was liberally distributed.
The Battle of Chappar Jherri: May 12, 1710: This battlefield derives its name from Chappar (pond) and Jherri (cluster of trees). A seasonal rivulet passes through it. It is located about nine kilometers from Chandigarh and 25 kilometers from Sarhind.
War preparation commenced on both sides. Emboldened by the arrival of the reinforcement, Banda, along with his generals, took stock of his men, weapons and other war materials, and those of the enemy. After sifting through the ground intelligence, Banda set out to plan the tactical move and assign the role to his strike forces. The Sikhs were a mix of different groups. The diehard Sikhs were few in number.
Free-boaters and opportunists, numbering 10,000, had no love for the cause and joined in for the sole purpose of plunder. A force of one thousand men, under the nephew of Sucha Nand, the peshkar of Wazir Khan, sneaked into Khalsa forces on the pretext that their women-folk had been dishonored by Wazir Khan, and that they had come at the feet of Khalsa to wreak vengeance against the Mughals. This was a deceitful maneuver by Wazir Khan and Sucha Nand combined, ostensibly with an aim to desert the Sikhs in the thick of battle. Banda was apprehensive of their sincerity. He did not trust them.
Wazir Khan, on the other hand, had mustered forces of six Mughal faujdars from different areas and collected 5,000 Ghazis (Islamic warriors) who were specially selected for all-out war. Mullahs proclaimed jihad (religious war). Combined forces of Sarhind and its allies gathered under the Islamic flag and marched to take the Sikhs head on. In the name of Islam, Kazis left no stone unturned, and spewed hatred and venom from the ramparts of the fort of Sarhind. They incited simple Muslims to recruit for the battle. Large stores of ammunition, war elephants, horse’s musketeers, archers, barkandaz, cavalry and infantry were collected.
The strength of the Mughal and Sikhs forces has been estimated by the various writers differently, may it be Persian or the Mughals. Because of pro-Islamic prejudice, they had shown the numerical strength of Mughal forces less in contrast with the Sikhs. It sounds quite incredible. It must be noted that Sarhind was the provincial head quarters of the Mughals. It had a strong military cantonment. Also, all of Punjab was administered by various Mughal faujdars. With vast administrative machinery, coupled with the might of Mughal Empire, how could Sikhs be quoted as having the upper hand in terms of men and material?
The Mughals were far superior in their heavy guns, armor, cavalry and war elephants. The Sikhs, on the other hand, did not have fast moving horses, guns or elephants. Their strength was far less than their foes. According to Hari Ram Gupta, the strength of Mughal and Sikh forces were 25,000 and 15,000, respectively, which seems appropriate.
Both armies arrayed themselves in battle formation. Wazir Khan, commander of Mughal forces positioned himself in the centre. He was flanked by Sher Mohammed Khan and Khwaja Ali Khan, (Afghans of Malerkotla) from the right. Sucha Nand ‘peshkar’ commanded the left flank. Guns were placed in a semi circle in the front. Behind were the rows of war elephants followed with archers, musketeers and then the cavalry. The commanders were in the rear with the infantry.
Banda Bahadur was in overall command of the Sikh forces. He occupied a raised mound, a strategic location. The high ground enabled him to keep the entire battlefield within his view sector and to rush the reinforcement wherever needed. He had reserves along with him. For frontal assault, the Sikh contingents were placed under the command of noted warriors like Dharam Singh, Karam Singh, Fateh Singh and Sham Singh. Binod Singh and Baaz Singh, daredevil Sikh generals, led the Sikh strike force on the left and the right.
At the onset of battle, Banda cautioned his generals to keep their strike force away from the kill zone of the guns to minimize causalities. With the beating of war drums, both armies advanced. The trumpet of war elephants, the neigh of horses, and the thunder of guns filled the entire battlefield with noise, dust and smoke. War cries of Sikhs and Mughals rent the air. Mughal guns opened fire impounding the Sikhs positions. It caused havoc on the Sikhs.
As the guns zoomed, those who joined with the sole purpose of loot and plunder came under direct fire of the guns. They fled away. Sucha Nand’s nephew, who deceitfully took refuge, was the first to desert along with 1,000 of his men. This desertion caused a lot of disturbance in the rank and file of the Sikhs. Their deployment pattern was disturbed. Despite the cannon fire, Sikhs launched repeated assaults. The ferocity of the carnage was such that it surpassed all previous engagements between Sikhs and Mughals. The rapidity of gunfire was so intense that by noon the gunners expended most of the ammunition. In this context, it must be noted that the Sikhs had no guns and no war elephants. It was the worst carnage of its kind.
The Mughals attacked with more force. The Left flank of Sikhs, commanded by Binod Singh, came under heavy pressure. Dauntlessly, Sikhs repulsed all attacks. However, the feet of the Sikhs began to uproot. At that point, a Sikh rushed to Banda Bahadur and apprised him of the precarious situation. Banda’s eyes were reddened with rage. He rose and roared like a hungry lion. He lifted his bow, took out one of the arrow bestowed on to him by Guru Gobind Singh - placed it on the string, pulled it with full force at his command and released it with thunderous war cry - Bole So Nihaal! The arrow whizzed past the enemy positions, kicking off enormous dust that literally darkened the broad day light. The entire Sikh force was electrified. With redoubled vigor, they launched frontal attacks.
Banda Bahadur’s name was itself a terror for the Mughals. In the scorching heat of May, the battle reached its climax. Then, the course of battle changed.
Unmindful of cannon firing, a handful of Sikhs made a desperate charge and dashed towards the gunners. Killing them, they seized the guns and trained them on the Mughal forces. Elephants and horses were hit. They ran back trampling the Mughal troops in a stampede.
Sucha Nand could not withstand the renewed assaults of Sikhs. Cracks appeared in his flank. He was terrified. His troops began slinking away. Sucha Nand deserted his men and fled to a safe place. Chaos prevailed. Baaz Singh moved inwards to besiege Wazir Khan.
Binod Singh, commander of the left flank, was still in bad shape. Sher Mohammad Khan had the upper hand. He was on the verge of overpowering this flank when suddenly a bullet hit him and he fell dead. A little later, Khwaja Ali Khan suffered the same fate. Seeing their commanders licking the dust, the Mughal troops ran helter-skelter.
Wazir Khan tried his best to muster strength but to no avail. The Sikhs converged from all sides for a final show down. Banda Bahadur and Fateh Singh from the center, and Binod Singh and Baaz Singh from the left and right, advanced to catch their prey. Wazir Khan was besieged. He was fighting a losing battle. Various writers had described the final assault differently. Macauliffe asserts that Banda Bahadur cut off Wazir Khan’s head. He fell under the sword of Banda. Whatever might have been the cause of his end, the head of this brute was stuck onto a spear and hoisted on top of a dead elephant for full view of the public. On seeing his head, the entire battlefield reverberated with the war cries of the Sikhs: Bole So Nihal, Sat Sri Akal! One can imagine the great excitement of Sikhs at this triumph.
Sikhs fell upon fleeing Mughal troops. It was a terrible carnage. Blood flowed freely on the wide tract up to Sarhind. Wazir Khan body was dragged with oxen and later burnt at Sarhind. Khafi Khan writes that not a man of the army of Islam escaped with more than his life and the clothes he stood in. Horsemen fell under the swords of the infidels (Sikhs) who pursued them up to Sarhind. By nightfall, the Sikhs reached Sarhind. The guns mounted on the walls of the Sarhind fort took a heavy toll. Five hundred Sikhs lost their lives. By the afternoon of the second day, the Sikhs were able to break the gates of the fort. Sikh troops entered the town and the fort. Sarhind was plundered and razed to ground. Inhabitants of the town were put to the sword.
On May 13, 1710, the Khalsa flag fluttered on the citadel of the Mughal Empire.