Inder Jeet S “Prince”
Banda Bahadur was born in 1670 in Reasi area of J&K. His original name was Lachhman Dev. Born in a Rajput family headed by Ram Dev, Lachhman Dev used to enjoy hunting animals in wild forests.
During one of his hunting excursions, he shot a doe, and when he approached nearer, the pitiable looks of the dying animal struck the tender chords of his heart. What the worst was the premature death of two young ones of that doe who died due to their premature birth. The tender feelings of Lachhman Dev were very much affected. Not only that sport appeared to him to be very distasteful, but his sense of penitence grew so strong that all of a sudden his mind had an ascetic turn. He got himself admitted to a Bairagi Dera near Kasur to the order of Bairagis and was renamed as Madho Das. After some time, Madho Das shifted to Nanded Sahib where he set up a Dera of his own scores became his disciple and joined his monastry and he amazed them with incantations and magic tricks. His fame spread far and wide.
Guru Gobind Singh Ji, the 10th Guru of Sikhs visited ‘Dera’ of Madho Das who was not present in his ‘Matth’. Guru Ji occupied the only cot available there while his disciples busied themselves in cooking meal for themselves and also for their master. The ‘Bairagi’ was red with anger. He tried his magic tricks on Guru Gobind Singh Ji but they did no harm Guru Ji. Realising his foolishness, Bairagi fell down at the feet of Guru Ji saying”, I submit, my lord.
I am your “Banda”, a slave of yours !”
Guru Ji baptised ‘Banda’ and admitted him in ‘Khalsa-brotherhood. Guru Ji renamed Madho Das as Banda Singh and armed him with 5 arrows from his quiver and assigned him a mission to punish those who were committing atrocities on innocent Sikhs. Guru Ji issued ‘Hukumnaama” to the Sikhs urging them to render all possible help to Banda Bahadur.
The mission of Banda Bahadur is generally misunderstood by historians. He is represented to have been commissioned by Guru Gobind Singh Ji to avenge the murder of his sons. But Guru Ji was far away from personal animosities. Those who are acquainted with the tenets of Sikhism, the writings of the Guru and the various events of his life, cannot believe that he could, ever thought to ask any one to avenge the murder of his sons. Had it been so, Banda Bahadur’s work would have been finished after the defeat and death of Wazir Khan, the Nawab of Sirhind who had ordered the killing of two younger sons of Guru Ji at Sirhind after their refusal to accept Islam. The matter of truth is that Guru Ji had entrusted Banda Bahadur, the noble task of continuing the war against the tyrannies and appressions of his time. And in the execution of his duty, Banda Singh Bahadur, of course punished the wrong doers for the cold blood murders of Zorawar Singh and Fateh Singh, the younger sons of Guru Ji. And that is why, after destroying the town of Sirhind, Banda Bahadur led expeditions against the rulers of Saharanpur, Nanauta, Jalalabad, the Ram Rayias of Ghudani and Faujdars of Batala and Sultanpur.
The Sikhs armed under the leadership of Banda Bahadur, due to “Hukam Naama” issued by 10th Guru, were impatient to wreak vengeance for the wrongs done to their Guru Ji. Banda Bahadur and his army attacked Sonepat and defeated its rulers. Kaithal and Samana too were conquered soon. Samana was the home of the executioners of 9th Guru, Shri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji and Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s two sons. The town was stormed by the frenzied followers of Banda Singh Bahadur. The war was fought for three days until all that remained was a heap of smouldering ruins. Samana was the first notable victory of Banda Singh Bahadur.
Wazir Khan, the Nawab of Sirhind got terrified on watching the fate of Samana and sent urgent messages for help to Bahadur Shah. Banda’s army proceeded on his triumphant march through the heart of Malwa. He plundered Ghuram, Shahabad, Mustafabad, Kapuri and Sadhaura and came to Sirhind which deterted in the eyes of the Sikhs for the executions of their Guru’s sons, At Chapper Chiri, about 10 miles from the city, the forces of Banda Bahadur and Mughal army met. A fierce battle was fought on 12th May 1710. Not a single man of the army of Mughal escaped with more than his life and clothes he stood in. Fateh Singh engaged Nawab Wazir Khan into a hand to hand fight and hacked him to death. The irregulars in the army of Banda Bahadur, who had joined him recently, looted Sirhind and finally the town was razed to the ground. Sucha Nand, who conspired against Guru Ji’s sons, was put to ignominous death.
Saharanpur, Behat and Nanuta were next to fall. The Mughal Faujdar of Rahon was defeated. Banda’s army seized Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur and by the autumn of 1710, they liberated the whole of Jalandhar Doab area from Mughals. The Khalsa established its own rule in Batala and Kalanaur and occupied Pathankot. Lahore the capital of the Punjab was threatened. Courage oozed out of Syed Aslam Khan, the Governor of Punjab, who gave a call of ‘Jehad’ against Banda’s army. A battle was fought at Bhilowal. The Mughal army had to pay a heavy toll of life.
Emperor Bahadur Shah ordered a big attack on Banda Bahadur’s army. A royal army moved northwards from Delhi in June 1710. Banda Singh and his men withdrew into the fort of Lohgarh-the hilly retreat of Banda which was besieged. Though otherwise well fortified, yet the garrison ran short of provisions. Leaving Gulab Singh, a faithful follower in his own guise behind, Banda Singh escaped into the hills of Nahan along with his followers. Raja Bhup Parkash of Nahan was charged for giving Banda a refuge and enabling him to escape. Raja was imprisoned along with Gulab Singh.
Banda Singh re-emerged at Kiratpur Sikhs flocked around him. He punished Raja Bhim Chand for his past misdeeds. The Rajas of Kullu, Mandi and Chamba allied themselves with Banda.
Bahadur Singh died on 15th Feb 1712. As usual a war of succession followed. Farukhsiyar became Emperor in the beginning of 1713. In the meantime, Banda Bahadur had reoccupied his lost territory and was administering areas under his control up to Jammu from Mukhlispur.
Farukhsiyar could not tolerate it. He ordered Governor of Lahore Abdul Samad Khan and his son Zakariya Khan to finish Banda Singh and decimate his troops. As the massive attack of Mughal army assisted by hilly rajas of Kangra and Jasrota began mounting its pressure. Banda Singh’s army could not match that massive and well prepared attack of the Mughals. They adopted tactics of hit, run and turn back to hit again. Night after night, the Sikhs made bold sallies and struck terror in the hearts of Mughal army.
In the beginning of 1715 Banda Singh Bahadur sallied forth in to plains but was encircled. He entered a Haveli belonging to one Duni Chand at Gurdaspur Nangal which was besieged by royal army of Mughals. The imperial forces laid seige to the Haveli only to starve the garrison inside. As the days passed, the garrison was reduced to sore straits. Binod Singh advised Banda to evacuate Haveli and fight against the enemy. Banda, finding his men extremely weak, set aside his suggestions. Differences widened and Binod Singh and some of his followers daringly came out and cutting through the lines of the besiegers escaped in wild forests. Situation inside became desperate day by day Hungry stomachs could resist no longer. Eight months siege had emaciated them. They were now reduced to mere skeletons. The final assault of Mughal army came on 7th Dec 1715. banda Bahadur’ his sons and 740 soldiers were captured. They were bound head and foot in chains and were paraded all the way to Lahore. From there they were taken to Delhi. At Chabutra Kotwali, the executions of Sikhs began in most inhuman way. They were offered reprieve if they accepted Islam but no one renounced his faith. Banda Singh Bahadur was martyred along with his son in the most barbaric way on 9th June 1716. His son was brutally torn to pieces with red hut pincers.
Banda Singh Bahadur was a gallant fighter and a wise administrator. He aroused in his people the will to live and die as free people. He welded his followers into a nation and gave them a taste for winning victories.
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