60-462: The Singh Krora or Karorsinghia Misl , also known as the Panjgarhia Misl, was a Sikh Misl. Sardar Karora Singh Virk, resident of Barki (district Lahore ) was the first chief of this Misl; earlier, Karora Singh was the deputy of the jatha led by Sirdar Sham Singh of village Narli (district Lahore ); after the death of Sham Singh in 1739, Sardar Karam Singh Uppal (of village Pechgarh) became
120-570: A Gurmata was passed where the Jathas were reorganized into a new grouping called misls , with 11 Misls forming out of the various pre-existing Jathas and a unified army known as the Dal Khalsa Ji . Ultimate command over the Misls was bestowed to Jassa Singh Ahluwalia . The misls formed a commonwealth that was described by Swiss adventurer Antoine Polier as a natural "aristocratic republic". Although
180-685: A Sikh leader during the period of the Sikh Confederacy , being the supreme leader of the Dal Khalsa . He was also Misldar of the Ahluwalia Misl . This period was an interlude, lasting roughly from the time of the death of Banda Bahadur in 1716 to the founding of the Sikh Empire in 1801. He founded the Kapurthala State in 1772. Jassa Singh was born on 3 May 1718 CE in a Kalal Sikh family in
240-410: A 100 paces, they load and repeat the same mode of annoying the enemy. Their horses have been so expertly trained to a performance of this operation that on receiving a stroke of hand, they stop from a full canter." The remainder was separated into Puttees or parcels for each Surkunda, and these were again subdivided and parcelled out to inferior leaders, according to the number of horse they brought into
300-582: A few hundred to tens of thousands of soldiers. Any soldier was free to join whichever Misl he wished, and was free to cancel his membership of the Misl to whom he belonged. He could, if he wanted, cancel his membership of his old Misl and join another. The Barons would allow their armies to combine or coordinate their defences together against a hostile force if ordered by the Misldar Supreme Commander. These orders were only issued in military matters affecting
360-466: A humble and docile disciple of Guru Gobind Singh. In the person of Jassa Singh Ahluwalia, the Guru actually made a sparrow kill hawks. Jassa Singh was a great warrior, mighty general and eminent organiser. He bore thirty-two scars of sword cuts and bullet marks on the front part of his body and none on his back. He was a giant in body. ... Qazi Nur Muhammad who saw him fighting against Ahmad Shah Durrani called him
420-734: A hundred thousand trees located in Central Punjab) and Abdali behind the walled safety of Lahore. In June 1763, Jassa Singh Ahluwalia marched towards Jalandhar , Sadat Yar-Khan, the Governor of Jalandhar so much terrified he did not stir out of his capital, Jassa Singh sacked Jalandhar , In December 1763, Jassa Singh Ahluwalia defeated and Killed Bhikhan Khan, the Nawab of Malerkotla , and plundered Morinda, In January 1764, Dal Khalsa under Jassa Singh Ahluwalia attacked Sirhind , Zain Khan Sirhindi ,
480-443: A mountain. He was a great warrior, mighty general and eminent organiser. He bore thirty-two scars of sword cuts and bullet marks on the front of his body and none on his back. He was a giant in body. His breakfast consisted of one kilogram of flour, one half kilogram of butter, one quarter kilogram of crystalline sugar slabs ( misri ), and one bucketful of butter-milk (lassi). One he-goat sufficed him for two meals…. These were
540-737: A natural leader. In a 1748 meeting of the Sarbat Khalsa , Nawab Kapur Singh appointed him as his successor. His followers awarded him the title Sultan-ul-Qaum (King of the Nation). Ahmad Shah Durrani , Nader Shah 's seniormost general, succeeded to the throne of Afghanistan when Shah was murdered in June 1747. He established his own dynasty, the Sadozai , which was the name of the Pashtun khel to which he belonged. Starting from December 1747 till 1769, Abdali made
600-462: A resolution that Nadir shah had plundered the city of Delhi and now he is taking Indian women as slaves to his country. Sikhs made a plan to free all the slaves. Jassa Singh Ahluwalia was 21 years old at that time, he planned raids to free all slaves. He along with other Sikh bands attacked Nadir shah forces, freed all slaves and sent those slaves back to their families safely. Ahluwalia participated in many battles as well where he proved himself to be
660-509: A series of skirmishes, a tactic which gave them an advantage over fighting pitched battles. Bodies of cavalry would attack a position, retreat, reload their muskets, and return to attack it again. The tactics used by misl field armies include flanking an enemy, obstructing river passages, cutting off a unit from its supplies, intercepting messengers, attacking isolated units like foraging parties, employing hit-and-run tactics , overrunning camps, and attacking baggage trains . To fight large armies
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#1732868559718720-616: A total of nine incursions into the north India . His repeated invasions weakened the Mughal administration of North India . At the Third Battle of Panipat , he along with Nawab of Oudh and Rohillas , defeated the Marathas , who after a treaty signed in 1752 became the protector of the Mughal throne at Delhi and were controlling much of North India, and Kashmir . However they were never able to subdue
780-473: A treaty of peace. The Sikhs were in no mood for peace and insulted the emissary. Abdali did not waste any time and turned up at the outskirts of Amritsar. The Battle of Pipli Sahib was fought in the grey light of a sun in total eclipse. It ended when the sunless day was blacked out by a moonless night with the adversaries retiring from the field: The Sikhs to the fastness of the jungles of the Lakhi (the forests of
840-783: The Dal Khalsa of the Sikh Confederacy in the 18th century. It was a large source of income to the Sikh Misls. The two main divisions in territory between the misls were between those who were in the Malwa region and those who were in the Majha region. While eleven of the misls were north of the Sutlej river, one, the Phulkian Misl was south of the Sutlej. The Sikhs north of the Sutlej river were known as
900-741: The Harmandir Sahib . After discussion at a Sarbat Khalsa , Kapur Singh was elected leader of the Sikhs and took the title of Nawab. He combined the various Sikh militias into two groups; the Taruna Dal and the Budda Dal , which would collectively be known as the Dal Khalsa . Sikh militias over 40 years of age would be part of the Budda Dal and Sikh militias under 40 years were part of the Taruna Dal. The Taruna Dal
960-950: The Majha Sikhs while the Sikhs that lived south of the Sutlej river were known as the Malwa Sikhs. In the smaller territories were the Dhanigeb Singhs in the Sind Sagar Doab , the Gujrat Singhs in the Jech Doab , the Dharpi Singhs in the Rechna Doab , and the Doaba Singhs in the Jalandhar Doab . Jassa Singh Ahluwalia Jassa Singh Ahluwalia (3 May 1718 – 23 October 1783) was
1020-472: The Marathas , Abdali captured thousands of prisoners, totaling around 22,000 captives in total, who were being taken to Afghanistan as slaves, including Hindu women destined for the Afghan harems. When Jassa Singh learned of it, he attacked the Afghan army at Goindval on the Sutlej river , rescued over 2,000 of the captured women, and sent them back to their families. Thereafter, he was known as Bandi chhor , or
1080-457: The Afghan army was hardly gone 3 km from the western bank of the Satluj , when they attacked by the Sikhs, The Afghans immediately stopped marching and got into regular formation of battle, Ahmad Shah Durrani was in the center with 6,000 choice soldiers, Shah Vali Khan, Jahan Khan, Shah Pasand Khan, Anzala Khan and others at the head of 12,000 troops were on the right Nasir Khan with 12,000 Baluchis
1140-522: The Afghans moved onward but right after 5 km, they again came across the Sikhs who attacked the Durranis from all sides. The formation of the Sikhs was reversed whereas Ahmad Shah applied same formation as previous day. Ahmad Shah told Nasir Khan and the whole army to not move a step without his order as he was aware of tactics of the Sikhs, and after waiting for some time, Ahmad Shah ordered an assault but
1200-574: The Ahlu village near Lahore , Punjab . Originally known as Jassa Singh Kalal, he styled himself as Ahluwalia after his ancestral village. Jassa Singh is described as a member of the Kalal or wine distiller caste. During the period of Kharak Singh (r. 1870-1877) a Bhatti Rajput origin story was also created. According to this tradition, one of the Bhatti Rajputs Rana Har Rai had to leave
1260-519: The Battle of Taravari in 1761. Karora Singh was succeeded by Baghel Singh Dhaliwal of Jhabal (district Amritsar); Baghel Singh was fond of adventures; he left the Majha area and launched his actions in Karnal , Saharanpur and other areas of Gang-Doab ; he was one of those five generals who unfurled blue Khalsa flag on Red Fort at Delhi on 11 March 1783. Baghel Singh had an army of 30,000 soldiers;
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#17328685597181320-532: The Governor of Sirhind was killed, Sikhs captured Sirhind and divide Province between themselves, Jassa Singh Ahluwalia captured the territories of Jagaon, Bharog, Fatehgarh , In February 1764, the Sikhs crossed Jamuna under Jassa Singh Ahluwalia, Khushal Singh , Sardar Tara Singh Ghaiba , Baghel Singh , and Gurbaksh Singh, at the head of strong force. They plundered Saharanpur , Shamli , Kandhla , Miranpur , Deoband , Jawalapur , Chandausi , Muzaffarnagar , and Najibabad . Najib ad-Dawlah made peace with
1380-524: The Liberator of captives. In early 1762, Ahmad Shah Durrani invaded India to crush Sikhs power Ahmad Shah Durrani with his Soldiers reached Malerkotla, west of Sirhind, then attacked a 20,000 Sikh army escorting 40,000 women and children, along with the elderly. In one of their worst defeats—known as Vadda Ghalughara —the Sikhs lost perhaps 5–10,000+ soldiers and had 20,000 civilians massacred. The Afghan forces of Ahmad Shah Durrani came out victorious with
1440-557: The Patadari system held their land in complete freedom. The Misaldari system applied to sardars with a small number of cavalrymen as well as independent bodies of cavalrymen who voluntarily attached themselves to a misl. They kept the lands they held before joining the misl as an allotment for their cooperation with the misl. The leaders of these groups, called misaldars, could transfer their allegiance and land to another misl without punishment. The Tabadari system referred to land under
1500-514: The Rajput Raja of Jaipur in the Battle of Maonda and Mandholi and the Battle of Kama and was defeated in both. An account appearing in the 19th century texts, Munshi Kanhaiyya Lal's Tareekh-e-Punjab and Gian Singh's Shamsher Khalsa , credits Jassa Singh with rescuing Hindu women captured by Ahmad Shah Durrani after the Third Battle of Panipat in 1761. According to this account, after defeating
1560-460: The Sikhs by offering them 11 lakhs of rupees tribute. In 1765, Ahmad Shah Durrani invaded India for seventh time in the winter of 1764–1765, During this campaign he constantly harassed by Sikhs , Qazi Nur Muhammad who was present in the Afghan army describes the numbers of engagements between Sikhs and Afghans, a battle was fought on the western bank of the Satluj opposite Rupar, it was morning and
1620-520: The Sikhs in the Punjab . Suraj Mal (1707–63) was the founder of Jat State of Bharatpur. He was killed on 25 December 1763 near Delhi by Najib ul Daulah , the Ruhilaa chief who had been appointed Mir Bakshi and Regent at Delhi by Ahmed Shah Durrani. Suraj Mal’s son Jawahar Singh sought help from Sikhs who responded with a Sikh force of 40,000 under the command of Sardar Jassa Singh Ahluwalia. The Sikhs crossed
1680-487: The Sikhs overpowering the right wing of the Durrani army after applying their usual tactic where Hari Singh dashed upon Shah Vali Khan and Jahan Khan and then retired to draw the Afghans to pursue them, where the Sikhs would then return and ambush the Afghans. Ahmad Shah who was quite aware of the usual tactics of the Sikhs of hit and retiring and then returning to attack again, called and warned Nasir Khan about this stratagem of
1740-400: The Sikhs resorted back to their tactics and retired, only for Afghans to pursue them for next 3 miles when the Sikhs returned, circled them and attacked them from all sides after scattering themselves. Upset Ahmad Shah shouted at Nasir Khan to stick to his spot and attack the Sikhs only when they come closer to him and he advised all the remaining soldiers the same. Again with the nightfall,
1800-404: The Sikhs. But despite the warning, Nasir Khan and his soldiers rushed in pursue only for another contingent of Sikh soldiers to rush to position themselves in between, cutting off both Ahmad Shah and Nasir Khan and then circling the retreating Baluchis army where a close bloody combat took place. The whole battle ended due to nightfall with both parties retiring. Next morning, with sunrise,
1860-542: The Taruna Dal, while the Taruna Dal would act as combat troops. However, in 1735, the agreement between Zakariya Khan and Nawab Kapur Singh broke down and the Dal Khalsa retreated to the Sivalik Hills to regroup. Later the command of Dal Khalsa was taken by Jassa Singh Ahluwalia who was an able and powerful administrator, even displaced & brought Mughal’s centre of power at the time ( Red Fort ) under Khalsa flag. He made
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1920-712: The Yamuna on 20 February 1764 and attacked the surrounding areas. Najib ul Daulah rushed back to Delhi thereby relieving the pressure on Bharatpur. Najib ul Daulah suffered another defeat at hands of Sikhs under Ahluwalia after a battle that lasted 20 days in the trans-Yamuna area at Barari Ghat, 20 km north of Delhi. He retired to Red Fort on 9 January 1765 and within a month Sikhs defeated Najib ul Daulah again in Nakhas (horse market) and in Sabzi Mandi. Jawahar Singh also engaged 25,000 Sikh forces under command of Sardar Jassa Singh against
1980-541: The battle came to a close. Throughout the march through the Jullundur Doab from the bank of Sutlej to river Chenab , the Durranis were harassed and assaulted for seven days where the Sikhs returned again and again only to retire in same prevalence, as this was their war tactic. In March 1783, Dal Khalsa under Jassa Singh Ahluwalia and Baghel Singh was advancing upon Delhi , Jassa Singh Ramgarhia Joined Dal Khalsa at March 10, 1783, On 11 March, Dal Khalsa entered in
2040-405: The chief of the misl was known as the sardari and the tabadari and jagirdari systems used land directly given by the chief from the sardari. The patadari and misaldari systems formed the basis of a misl, while tabadari and jagirdari lands would only be created after large acquisitions of land. The type of system that was used in an area depended on the importance of the chief sardar of the area to
2100-501: The chief of this Jatha ; he too died in the early days of 1748 and Karora Singh became the chief of the Jatha. In March 1748, when the Misls were formed, his jatha became a Misl ; then this jatha came to be known as Karorsinghia Misl. Karora Singh had the command of 7-8 thousand horsemen; his first possessions were Hariana and Sham Churasi (in Hoshiarpur district); Karora Singh died in
2160-460: The control of a misl's tabadars. Tabadars served a similar function to retainers in Europe. They were required to serve as cavalrymen to the misl and were subservient to the misl's leader. Although tabadars received their land as a reward, their ownership was subject entirely on the misl's leader. The tabadari grants were only hereditary on the choice of the chief of the misl. The Jagirdari system used
2220-416: The days of physical prowess, and only men possessed of indomitable will power could compete with ferocious Afghans on better footing. He was wheatish in colour, tall, fat, with a broad forehead, wide chest, loud and sonorous voice which could be clearly heard by an assemblage of 50,000 men….. The horses under him must have been the size of an elephant. This is why he could be clearly seen by Qazi Nur Muhammad in
2280-423: The field. Each took his portion as a co-sharer, and held it in absolute independence. The Sikh Misls had four different classes of administrative divisions. The patadari, misaldari, tabadari, and jagirdari were the different systems of land tenure used by the misls, and land granted by the misl left the responsibility of establishing law and order to the owner of the land. The land under the direct administration of
2340-567: The forests and the Himalayan foothills until they organized themselves into guerilla bands known as jathas . The basis of the Dal Khalsa army was established in 1733–1735 based upon the numerous pre-existing Jatha militia groups and had two main formations: the Taruna Dal (Youth Brigade) and the Budha Dal (Elder Brigade). On the annual Diwali meeting of the Sarbat Khalsa in Amritsar in 1748,
2400-724: The foundation of Khalsa firm for future generations to lead. In 1739, Nadir Shah , the Persian ruler, invaded much of Northern India, including Punjab, defeating the Mughals at the Battle of Karnal in 1739, he plundered the city of Delhi ( Shahjahanabad ) robbing it of treasures like the Peacock throne, the Kohinoor diamond and the Darya-i-Noor diamond. Meanwhile, all the Khalsa bands got together and passed
2460-496: The grant of jagirs by the chief of the misl. Jagirs were given by the chief of the misl to relations, dependents, and people who "deserved well". The owners of jagirs were subservient to the chief of the misl as their ownership was subject to his/her needs. Like the Tabadars, jagirdars were subject to personal service when the chief of the misl requested. However, because jagirs entailed more land and profit, they were required to use
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2520-658: The great privilege of conquering Lahore and issuing his own coin ... [and] sitting on the throne of the Mughal Emperors in the Red Fort at Delhi [after conquering it]. He fought a number of times face to face with Ahmad Shah Durrani, the greatest Asian general of his days. The invader tried to win him over in vain. The Maharajas of Patiala and Jind stood before him in all reverence and humility. The Rajas of Nalagarh, Bilaspur, Kangra Hills and Jammu touched his knees. The Nawabs of Malerkotla and Kunjpura paid him homage. And yet he remained
2580-496: The ground where his army used to pitch its tents is still known as Tees Hazari (literally: associated with thirty thousands). Baghel Singh died in 1802 without an heir. Jodh Singh and Sukhu Singh each claimed to be the chief of this Misl. During this interregnum, Baghel Singh's two widows, Ram Kaur and Rattan Kaur, ruled this Misl. (Birth–Death) This Sikhism-related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Sikh Confederacy The Sikh Confederacy
2640-471: The high degree of skill required to execute it. George Thomas and George Forster, contemporary writers who witnessed it described its use separately in their accounts of the military of the Sikhs. George Forster noted: "A party from forty to fifty, advance in a quick pace to a distance of carbine shot from the enemy and then, that the fire may be given with the greatest certainty, the horses are drawn up and their pieces discharged, when speedily, retiring about
2700-449: The misl would completely evacuate the areas in front of the enemy's marching route but follow in the rear of the opposition and reconquer areas the enemy had just captured, threaten agents of the enemy with retribution, and sweep over the countryside in the wake of the enemy's withdrawal. The Running Skirmish was a tactic unique to the Sikh cavalrymen which was notable for its effectiveness and
2760-525: The misl. The Sardars would then divide their parcels among their Surkundas, and then the Surkundas subdivided the land they received among their individual cavalrymen. The Surkundas receiving parcels of land with settlements were required to fortify them and establish fines and laws for their zamindars and ryots . Parcels of land in the patadari system could not be sold, but could be given to relatives in an inheritance . The soldiers who received parcels from
2820-449: The misls were unequal in strength, and each misl attempted to expand its territory and access to resources at the expense of others, they acted in unison in relation to other states. The misls held biannual meetings of their legislature, the Sarbat Khalsa in Amritsar . Each Misl was made up of members of soldiers, whose loyalty was given to the Misl's leader. A Misl could be composed of
2880-440: The money generated by their jagirs to equip and mount a quota of cavalrymen depending on the size of their jagir. Jagirdari grants were hereditary in practice but a misl's chief could revoke the rights of the heir. Upon the death of the owner of a tabadari or jagadari grant, the land would revert to direct control of the chief (sardari). The Rakhi system was the payment-for-protection tributary protectorate scheme practiced by
2940-479: The night ambush on the large convoy. Despite the Ghalughara disaster, by the month of May, the Sikhs were up in arms again. Under Jassa Singh, they defeated the Afghan faujdar of Sirhind in the Battle of Harnaulgarh . By autumn, the Sikhs had regained enough confidence to foregather in large numbers at Amritsar to celebrate Diwali . Abdali made a mild effort to win over them and sent an envoy with proposals for
3000-538: The persecution of Shah Jahan and other Mughal emperors , several of the later Sikh Gurus established military forces and fought the Mughal Empire and Simla Hills' Kings in the early and middle Mughal-Sikh Wars and the Hill States–Sikh wars . Banda Singh Bahadur continued Sikh resistance to the Mughal Empire until his defeat at the Battle of Gurdas Nangal . For several years Sikhs found refuge in
3060-430: The rest of the misl. The Patadari system affected newly annexed territories and was the original method used by the misls in administering land. The patadari system relied on the cooperation of surkundas, the rank of a leader of a small party of cavalrymen . The chief of the misl would take his/her portion and divide the other parcels among his Sardars proportional to the number of cavalrymen they had contributed to
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#17328685597183120-728: The royal palaces in the red fort, In the Diwan-e-Am Jassa Singh Ahluwalia was placed on the throne of Delhi as Badshah Singh of Delhi by Sikhs, Through Ramgarhia was in minority, yet he challenged the Ahluwalia and called upon him to get down immediately. Both sides drew out swords and were about to pounce upon each other when Jassa Singh Ahluwalia at once renounced the honour,. Mughals agreed to construct 7 Sikh Gurudwaras in Delhi for Sikh Gurus. Jassa Singh Ahluwalia died on 23 October 1783 in Amritsar. He (Jassa Singh Ahluwalia) had
3180-449: The rulers of Punjab, dismissed this tradition as fictitious. According to the dynasty's account, Sadhu's Singh's great-grandson Badar Singh and his wife remained childless for a long time, and sought blessings from Guru Gobind Singh . As a result, Jassa Singh was born to them. In 1733, Zakariya Khan Bahadur attempted to negotiate peace with the Sikhs by offering them a jagir , the title Nawab to their leader, and unimpeded access to
3240-533: The throne of Jaisalmer for refusing to marry his niece to the Mughal emperor Akbar . However, there is virtually no evidence of this account. According to this account, Har Rai migrated to Punjab, where his descendants married with the Jats , and gradually they became Jats. Starting with Sadhu Singh (also called Sadho or Sadda Singh), they married with Kalals , and the family came to be known as "Ahluwalia Kalal" . British administrator Lepel Griffin , who wrote an account of
3300-404: The use of primarily light cavalry with a smaller amount heavy cavalry was uniform throughout all of the Sikh misls. Cavalrymen in a misl were required to supply their own horses and equipment. A standard cavalryman was armed with a spear , matchlock , and scimitar . How the armies of the Sikh misls received payment varied with the leadership of each misl. The most prevalent system of payment
3360-490: The whole Sikh community. These orders would normally be related to defense against external threats, such as Afghan military attacks. The profits of a fighting action were divided by the misls to individuals based on the service rendered after the conflict using the sardari system . The Sikh Confederacy is a description of the political structure, of how all the barons' chiefdoms interacted with each other politically together in Punjab . Although misls varied in strength,
3420-529: Was a confederation of twelve sovereign Sikh states (each known as a Misl , derived from the Arabic word مِثْل meaning 'equal'; sometimes spelt as Misal ) which rose during the 18th century in the Punjab region in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent and is cited as one of the causes of the weakening of the Mughal Empire prior to Nader Shah's invasion of India (1738–1740). In order to withstand
3480-417: Was further divided in five jathas , each with 1300 to 2000 men and a separate drum and banner. The area of operations of each Dal , or army, was Hari ke Pattan , where the Sutlej river and Beas River meet; the Taruna Dal would control the area east of Hari ke Pattan while the Budha Dal would control the area west of it. The purpose of the Budda Dal, the veteran group, was to protect Gurdwaras and train
3540-443: Was on the left, The Dal Khalsa also organised themselves in regular battle army Jassa Singh Ahluwalia fearlessly stood like a mountain in the center close by him was Jassa Singh Thokah , looking like a lion in stature, Charat Singh , Jhanda Singh , Lahna Singh and Jai Singh positioned themselves on the right, and Hari Singh Bhangi , Ram Das, Gulab Singh and Gujar Singh positioned on the left. furious battle took place with
3600-624: Was the 'Fasalandari' system; soldiers would receive payment every six months at the end of a harvest . Fauja Singh considers the Sikh misls to be guerrilla armies , although he notes that the Sikh misls generally had greater numbers and a larger number of artillery pieces than a guerrilla army would. The misls were primarily cavalry based armies and employed less artillery than Mughal or Maratha armies. The misls adapted their tactics to their strength in cavalry and weakness in artillery and avoided pitched battles. Misls organized their armies around bodies of horsemen and their units fought battles in
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