Sikh Occupation of Delhi and Red Fort

The Sikh Misls were fighting against the Mughal Empire and the foreign invaders since the time of the Nader Shah's invasion of the Mughal Empire and the Indian Campaign of Ahmad Shah Durrani. Sikhs Misls waged several wars against the invaders and the Mughal Empire which includes the following battles:

After the conquest of Sirhind and killing of Mughal Governor Zain Khan Sirhindi, the Sikh Misls started raiding trans-Yamuna areas bordering Delhi and forced the Rohillas to pay tributes to them. By 1764, Sikhs Misls formed their grip over almost entire Punjab. The continuous raids to Delhi, later, resulted in the victory of Sikhs over Delhi. On 11 March 1783, Sikhs defeated the Mughals and conquered Delhi.[9] They entered the Red Fort hoisted the Sikh flag (Nishan Sahib) and occupied Diwan-i-Am.[10][11]

Background

After the invasions and the defeat of Ahmad Shah Durrani, the Sikhs got much military skills and they started raiding the areas near Yamuna such as Delhi, Meerut and Awadh. In 1764, Sikhs overran the territory of Najib-ud-daula (the Rohilla chief) and forced him to pay a tribute of 11 lakh rupees. The story of plunder was again repeated in April 1775, Baghel Singh with the help of two other Sikh sardars, Rai Singh Bhangi and Tara Singh Ghaiba, crossed Yamuna again and subdued the Rohillas, but negotiated not only large sum of money as tribute. However, they also hammered an alliance with Rohillas. The combined forces of Sikh army and Ruhillas, in 1776, attacked the outskirts of Delhi from the south side and encircled Delhi.[12] In the same year, the allies defeated the imperial Mughal army near Muzaffarnagar.[13][14] Baghel Singh established a Sikh military post in this region. At this time the northern part of Delhi was in the hands of Sikhs.[15] The Mughals, the Rohillas, the English and the Marathas all sought Baghel Singh's friendship.

Attack on Delhi

In April 1781, Mirza Shafi, a close relative of Mughal Prime Minister, captured the Sikh military post at Indri, India. Baghel Singh retaliated and attacked Shahabad, thus covering his flank. Then, he marched with his 300 horses, 800 soldiers and two cannons all the way to Delhi. On 11 March, Sikhs defeated the Mughals and conquered Delhi and Red Fort.[16][17][18]

Aftermath

After capturing Delhi, he undertake the construction of all the historical Sikh Gurudwas in Delhi. These Gurudwaras are permanent monuments and are irrefutable evidence of Sikh rule over Delhi. Baghel Singh administered the city government so well that the Sikh rule was just loved by the citizens of Delhi. He installed a very fair tax and revenue structure and all the citizens of Delhi irrespective of their religion. In November, he expressed his desire to go to Amritsar to pay homage to Darbar Sahib, the citizens were in panic that if he left Delhi they will again be under the rule of Mughals whom they saw as tyrannical. Therefore, a delegation of citizens came to him with this petition. Baghel Singh assured them of law and order. He left a contingent of 30,000 Sikh soldiers and the army camp was called Tees Hazari.[19]

The conditions of their retreat included the construction and protection of seven historical Gurudwaras in Delhi associated with ninth Sikh Guru Tegh Bahadur.[20] Hence, the Sikhs proved that their desire to serve Gurus was greater than their desire to rule Delhi.[21]

Why Sikhs vacated Delhi

There were many reasons why Sikhs vacated Delhi and Red Fort. The reasons were as follows:

References

  1. ↑ Raj Pal Singh (2004). The Sikhs : Their Journey Of Five Hundred Years. Pentagon Press. p. 116. ISBN 9788186505465.
  2. ↑ Jacques, Tony. Dictionary of Battles and Sieges. Greenwood Press. p. 939. ISBN 978-0-313-33536-5.
  3. ↑ Grewal, J.S. (1990). The Sikhs of the Punjab. Cambridge University Press. p. 91. ISBN 0 521 63764 3. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
  4. 1 2 "A Concise History of Afghanistan in 25 Volumes, Volume 14". Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  5. 1 2 Bhagata, Siṅgha (1993). A History of the Sikh Misals. Publication Bureau, Punjabi University. p. 181. ...
  6. ↑ Kakshi, S.R.; Pathak, Rashmi; Pathak, S.R.Bakshi R. (2007-01-01). Punjab Through the Ages. Sarup & Sons. p. 15. ISBN 978-81-7625-738-1. Retrieved 12 June 2010.
  7. ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20060510140741/http://www.sikhpoint.com/religion/sikhhistory/MainEvents/vaddaGhalluchara.htm
  8. ↑ 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.
  9. ↑ Singhia, H.S. (2009). The encyclopedia of Sikhism. New Delhi: Hemkunt Press. ISBN 978-81-7010-301-1.
  10. ↑ Bhagata, Siṅgha (1993). A History of the Sikh Misals. Publication Bureau, Punjabi University. pp. 271–282. Baghel Singh, Baghel Singh took the leadership of karorisingha misl.
  11. ↑ "Marathas and the English Company 1707-1818 by Sanderson Beck". san.beck.org. Retrieved 2015-04-10.
  12. ↑ https://books.google.com/books?id=AytuAAAAMAAJ&q=baghel+singh+Delhi+references+book&dq=baghel+singh+Delhi+references+book&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CBcQ6AEwA2oVChMIr6_1r_WOyAIVxBmOCh24kQUY
  13. ↑ Singh, Khushwant (11 October 2004). A History of the Sikhs: 1469-1838 (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 146. ISBN 978-0-19-567308-1. Retrieved 1 April 2011.
  14. ↑ Singh, Khushwant. Ranjit Singh- Maharaja of the Punjab. New Delhi. ISBN 978-0-143-06543-2.
  15. ↑ N. G. Rathod. The Great Maratha Mahadaji Scindia. pp. 31–32.
  16. ↑ https://books.google.com/books?id=6sg_9N_AHbMC&pg=PA89&lpg=PA89&dq=Delhi+baghel+Singh&source=bl&ots=UXYslriYSa&sig=6o9dZrr8QTv4gkPIYfg5LYXFr74&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CB0Q6AEwBjgoahUKEwi71LLD6MPHAhUHyRQKHRoqD60
  17. ↑ Hari Ram Gupta, History of the Sikhs: Sikh Domination of the Mughal Empire, 1764–1803, second ed., Munshiram Manoharlal (2000) ISBN 978-8121502139
  18. ↑ Ram Gupta, History of the Sikhs: The Sikh Commonwealth or Rise and Fall of the Misls, rev. ed., Munshiram Manoharlal (2001) ISBN 978-8121501651
  19. ↑ Brief History of the Sikh Misls. Jalandhar: Sikh Missionary College.
  20. ↑ Fenech, E. Louis, Mcleod, H. W. Historical Dictionary of Sikhism. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 54. ISBN 978-1-4422-3601-1.
  21. 1 2 https://books.google.com/books?id=r13hjYfoI6MC&pg=PA152&lpg=PA151&dq=baghel+singh+sikh+history&source=bl&ots=iA2widPHTp&sig=70W0VftZ6xQxrcw0vfBI1w907ag&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CBcQ6AEwBTgUahUKEwjv7PaZh8THAhULao4KHVuuDPI
  22. ↑ Bhatia, H. S. (2001). Mahrattas, Sikhs and Southern Sultans of India: Their Fight Against Foreign. Deep & Deep Publications. p. 298. ISBN 978-8-17100-369-3.
  23. 1 2 Jawandha, Nahar (2010). Glimpses of Sikhism. Sanbun Publishers. p. 205. ISBN 9789380213255.

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