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 After
Banda's execution
For the first five years after Banda's
execution, very little was heard of
the Sikhs. The focal point shifted from
Punjab to Delhi, where Mata Sundari
and Sahib Devan, were living in retirement.
Bhai Mani singh looked after them and
gave advice to parties of Sikhs who
came to pay them homage. The Khalsa,
who remained in the plains of Punjab
got divided between Bandai, who wished
to deify Banda and the Tat Khalsa, who,
while revering the memory of the leader,
disapproved of the attempt to apotheosize
him. The rift grew wide between the
two bands of Khalsa and situation became
serious enough for the leading Sikhs
to appeal to Mata Sundari for intervention.
In A.D. 1721, she sent Bhai Mani singh
to Amritsar to take charge of the Harimandir.
The Bandai gave up their claim and,
after a time, most of them threw in
their lot with the Tat Khalsa.
Once the internal squabbles were settled,
the sarbat Khalsa became a real force.
Under its instructions Jathedars formed
small bands of outlaws and began taking
villages near mountain and jungle hideouts
under their protection. A name which
became legend in the countryside was
Tara Singh of village van, who looted
many district treasuries. His band of
desperados was liquidated in 1726. By
then many more bands of Sikh outlaws
were operating in different parts of
the province. The combine strength of
these Jathas was enough to persuade
Zakriya Khan, who, on the transfer of
his father to Multan, had become governor
of Lahore, to try to conciliate the
Sikhs.
His envoy came to the meeting of the
Sarbat Khalsa on the first of Baisakh
A.D 1733 and offered Dipalpur, Kanganwal,
and Jhabal, which were worth a lakh
of rupees in revenue as a jagir (estate).
The offer was accepted with some reluctance
and Kapur Singh virk of village Fyzullpur,
was nominated jagirdar and given the
title of Nawaab . Nawaab Kapur Singh
Virk was thus recognized as the leader
of the Sikhs, both by Sarbat Khalsa
as well as the provincial governor.
Closely associated with Kapur Singh
was another remarkable man Jassa Singh
ahluwalia. These two men became chief
architects of Sikh power in the country.
 Kapur
Singh and Jassa Singh made full use
of the conciliatory attitude of Zakraya
Khan. The Khalsa was ordered to come
out of their hideouts. At another meeting
of the Sarbat Khalsa held at the Akal
Takth, jathas were reorganized. They
were assured complete freedom of action
except when the future of the community
was in jeapordy; then they had to merge
their units in the Dal Khalsa , the
army of the Khalsa. Two jathas of Buddha
Dal and Taruna Dal were made. Former
led by Kapur Singh, latter, which was
more active and numerous, by a number
of jathedaris had separate billets for
their men.
The jagir did not prove as much of
a sop to the Sikhs as Zakraya Khan had
hoped. The Taruna Dal moved across the
Bari Doab and forcibly collected the
revenue which was due to the state.
Zakraya Khan give up the policy of appeasement
and jagir was confiscated. Zakraya Khan's
minister Diwan Lahkpat Rai drove the
Budha Dal out of Amritsar into the Bari
Doab (Area between Beus and Ravi) and
then across river Satluj. Ala Singh
of Patiala joined Budha Dal and soon
Budha dal occupied a large part of Malwa.
Lakhpat Rai bided his time; when the
Budha Dal recrossed the Sutlej he intercepted
it on its march towards Amritsar. In
the skirmish that followed, many officers
of Lahore army, including Lakhpat Rai's
nephew were slain. Zakraya Khan took
the field himself, re-established his
authority in the region, and maintained
it with an iron hand for almost two
years.
In the autumn of A.D. 1738 the aged
Mani Singh, who was manager of the Harimandir,
applied for permission to hold the ,Diwali
fair in Amritsar. He was given license
on undertaking to pay Rs. 5000 into
the state treasury immediately after
the festival. Mani Singh expected to
raise money from the offerings of pilgrims.
A few days before Diwali, Zakraya Khan
sent a large force towards Amritsar.
This frightened away the pilgrims, and
Bhai Mani Singh was not able to pay
the fee. He was arrested and brought
to Lahore, and condemned to death. On
his refusal to save his life by accepting
conversion to Islam, Mani Singh was
tortured and executed.History of Sikhs,
by Khushwant singh page 124. Sohan Lal
Suri in his Umdat-ut-Tawarikh states
that Mani singh was tortured to death
for his proselytizing activities. There
is no doubt that the number of Sikhs
increased rapidly under his influence.
The killing of a pious and venerable
head priest caused deep resentment among
the Sikhs. But before they could retaliate,
the situation changed with dramatic
suddenness with the news of a Persian
invasion from the northwest.
 The
Persian Invasion 1738-1739 A.D.
The Persian, Nadir Shah swept across
Punjab scattering all opposition. Zakariya
Khan made submission; Khalsa retreated
to the hills. The Persian defeated imperial
army at Karnal and pushed on to Delhi.
The capital was plundered and its population
massacred. In the summer of 1739 Nadir
Shah turned homewards laden with enormous
booty, which included the be jewelled
peacock throne, the famous koh-i-noor
diamond, and thousands of slaves. He
chose to travel back along the foothills
of the Himlayas to avoid the heat of
the plains as well as to find new pastures.
The Khalsa, who were already there and
were well acquainted with the terrain,
found Nadir's loot-army an easy prey.
The began plundering the invader's baggage
train as soon as it entered the Punjab,
and continued to do so all the way to
river Indus. While passing through Lahore,
Nadir Shah is said to have questioned
Zakaraya Khan about the brigands who
have been audacious enough to attack
his troops. The governor replied: "They
are faqirs who visit their Guru's tank
twice a year, and after having bathed
in it disappear." "Where do
they live?" enquired the Shah.
"Their homes are their saddles,"
replied Zakaraya Khan. Nadir is said
to have prophesied, "Take care
the day is not far distant when these
rebels will take possession of your
country." By most historians, from
Mohd. Latif, Miskin to Sohan Lal Suri,
almost all agree that this dialogue
took place.
 Interlude
between the Invasions, 1739-1747 A.D.
Nadir Shah's five months stay in India
utterly disrupted the administration
of Punjab. Zakraya Khan could do little
more than retain his post by dancing
attendance on the Persians. The only
people who refused to have any truck
with the foreigner were the Sikhs. The
sikh conduct during the occupation,
particularly in liberating Indian prisoners,
created a new prestige among local people.
Sikhs were now seen as a powerful guards
of Punjab who could save the common
people from an invader. Thousands of
beautiful girls being taken to Persia
for the harems were freed by Sikhs.
Peasentry from Jamuna to Indus was behind
them. Thus Khalsa returned to plains
and built a mud fot at Dallewal on the
banks of Ravi, and resumed their pilgrimage
to Amritsar. According to a contemporary
Muslim Writer:"Sikh horsemen were
seen riding at full gallop towards their
favourite shrine of devotion. They were
often slain in the attempt and sometimes
taken prisoner;but they used on such
occasions to seek instead of avoiding,
the crown of martyrdom.... No instance
was known of a Sikh taken on his way
to Amritsar consenting to abjure his
faith."
 Zakraya
Khan, who had submitted to the foreigner,
showed great alacrity in taking the
offensive against the Sikhs. He had
the fortress of Dallewal blown up and
ordered village officials to round up
Sikhs and hand them over for execution.
He made head-hunting a profitable business
by offering a graded scale of rewards:a
blanket for cutting off a Sikh's hair,
ten rupees for information of the whereabouts
of a Sikh, fifty rupees for a Sikh scalp.
Sikhs or withholding information of
their movements was made a capital offence.
Zakraya's police scoured the countryside
and brought back hundreds of Sikhs in
chains. They were publicly beheaded
at the nakhas, the horsemarket of Lahore,
since then renamed Sahidganj (place
of martyrdom), in memory of the dead.
At least 2-5 thousand Sikhs were executed
here. Persecution had the opposite effect.
Since the peasants were in sympathy
with the Khalsa, they thwarted the administration
by giving shelter to the fugitives,
and many joined hands with Khalsa bands
to ambush the state constabulary. The
only notable exceptions were the Niranjanis
of Jandiala, near Amritsar who colloborated
with the authorities.
The Khalsa suffered terrible hardships
during Zakraya Khan's stern rule. But
they remained as defiant as ever and
developed a spirit of bravado which
enabled them to face adversity. Zakraya
Khan died on July 1, 1745 A.D. His son
Yahya Khan, who was also son in law
of the chief wazir at Delhi, had no
difficulty in securing an appointment
as the governor of Lahore. Sikhs decided
to reorganise their forces.
Upto 1745 bands of a dozen or more
horsemen dharvi under a jathedar had
operated independently. On the diwali
of 1745 (October 14) the Sarbat Khalsa
resolved to merge the small jathas into
twenty-five sizeable regiments of cavalry
and confirmed Kapur singh as overall
commander. The commanders of some of
the regiments, name, Hari Singh Bhangi,
Naudh Singh of Sukarchak, Jassa singh
Ahluwalia, and Jai Singh Kanhaya, played
a decisive role in liberating the Punjab
from Mughals and foreign invaders.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Copyright © Khushwant Singh "A
History of the Sikhs, Volume 1 pages
100-129"
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