Battle of Sirhind (1764)

Battle of Sirhind
Part of Indian Campaign of Ahmad Shah Durrani
Date 14 January 1764 Location Sirhind Result Sikh victory[1] Territorial changes Sikhs capture Sirhind.[2][3]
Belligerents
Sikh Misls	Durrani Empire
Commanders and leaders
Jassa Singh Ahluwalia Charat Singh Jassa Singh Ramgarhia Hari Singh Dhillon Jai Singh Kanhaiya Baghel Singh Sardar Chuhar Singh Aghar Singh †[4]	Zain Khan Sirhindi [5]
Strength
23,000 According to Surjit Singh Gandhi[6] 40,000 According to Joseph Davey Cunningham[7] 50,000 According to Giani Gian Singh[8]	Unknown believed to be smaller[9]
Casualties and losses
Unknown	10,000 horsemen killed.[10]

Not to be confused with Battle of Chappar Chiri, known alternatively as the Battle of Sirhind, or the Siege of Sirhind and Battle of Sirhind (1555).

The Battle of Sirhind was fought between Durrani Empire and Sikh Misls on 14 January 1764.[11][12]

Background

In January 1764, After the sack of Morinda, the Sikhs marched upon Sirhind, Zain Khan Sirhindi, the Afghan commander in charge of the region, had been facing mounting issues. His leadership had become corrupt and ineffective. He stopped paying his soldiers and revenue officials, instead resorting to plundering nearby villages for personal gain. The stolen goods were used to pay his men, but the payments didn’t even cover a fraction of their dues. As a result, many of his soldiers, starving and dissatisfied, began to desert him and join other leaders like Najib-ud-Daula. Miskin, an eyewitness who had worked for Zain Khan, left his service in early 1763, deeply disappointed by his greed and mismanagement. Zain Khan realized he was alone, with no help coming from his allies, and had to face the Sikhs on his own.[13][14]

Battle

Zain Khan Sirhindi attempted to strike first, hoping to take advantage of the Sikhs’ scattered forces. One night, he attacked the Taruna Dal Sikh group near the village of Pir Zain Khan Munayra. However, the Sikhs had already planned a coordinated attack on Sirhind, and as soon as they heard of Zain Khan’s assault, the other Sikh groups rushed to his aid. Soon, Zain Khan was surrounded from all sides. Desperate to escape, he tried to divert the Sikhs’ attention by sending detachments with weapons to distract them. While some Sikhs got involved in the plunder, Jassa Singh Ahluwalia’s group continued to close in on Zain Khan. Despite his efforts to flee, Zain Khan was shot and killed during his attempt to escape. His troops, in a panic, scattered in all directions, but the Sikhs relentlessly pursued and slaughtered them.[15][16]

Afternath

After defeating Zain Khan, the Sikhs turned their attention to Sirhind. They quickly overpowered the city's defenders and captured it. Once inside, they looted every house, taking valuables, gold, silver, and ornaments, and killed all the men except for children, the elderly, and Hindus. The city was set on fire, and most of the buildings were destroyed. The Sikhs also demolished the walls of the fort where Guru Gobind Singh’s sons had been bricked up alive. In their memory, they built a platform at the site of their execution and established a Gurdwara named, Fatehgarh Sahib in honor of the Guru’s sons. This victory was a major triumph for the Sikhs, who had not initially aimed to capture Sirhind but took advantage of the opportunity after Zain Khan’s defeat.[15][17]

References

1. Lansford, Tom (2017-02-16). Afghanistan at War: From the 18th-Century Durrani Dynasty to the 21st Century. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781598847604.
2. Bhagata, Siṅgha (1993). A History of the Sikh Misals. Publication Bureau, Punjabi University. p. 181. ...
3. Syad Muhammad Latif (1984), History of the Panjab from the Remotest Antiquity to the Present Time, Progressive Books, p. 285
4. Singha, H.S (2000). The encyclopedia of Sikhism. Hemkunt Publishers. p. 11. ISBN 9788170103011. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
5. Ganḍā, Singh (1959). Ahmad Shah Durrani: Father of Modern Afghanistan. Asia Pub. House. p. 285. ISBN 978-1-4021-7278-6. Retrieved 2010-08-25.
6. Surjit Singh Gandhi (1999). Sikhs In The Eighteenth Century. Singh Bros. p. 398. ISBN 9788172052171.
7. Cunningham, Joseph Davey (1918). A History Of The Sikhs From The Origin Of The Nation To The Battles Of The Sutlej. p. 110.
8. Singh, Giani Gian (1898). Panth Prakash. pp. 832–834.
9. Sarkar, Jadunath (1934). Fall of the Mughal empire Vol II. Central Archaeological Library. p. 492. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
10. Grewal, J. S.; Habib, Ifran (2001). Sikh History from Persian Sources: Translations of Major Texts. Tulika. p. 195. ISBN 9788185229171.
11. P Dhavan (2011). When Sparrows Became Hawks: The Making of the Sikh Warrior Tradition, 1699-1799. Oxford University Press. p. 92. ISBN 978-0-19-975655-1.
12. Gupta, Hari (2007). History of the Sikhs Vol II Evolution of the Sikh confedracies. Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd. p. 202. ISBN 978-81-215-0248-1.
13. Surjit Singh Gandhi 1999, p. 285.
14. Gupta, Hari Ram. History Of The Sikhs Vol II Evolution of Sikh Confederacies. Munshilal Manohorlal, Pvt Ltd. p. 201.
15. Surjit Singh Gandhi 1999, p. 286.
16. Gupta, Hari Ram. History Of The Sikhs Vol II Evolution of Sikh Confederacies. Munshilal Manohorlal, Pvt Ltd. p. 202.
17. Gupta, Hari Ram. History Of The Sikhs Vol II Evolution of Sikh Confederacies. Munshilal Manohorlal, Pvt Ltd. p. 202.