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<p class="C1">&#65279BAND&#256 SI&#7748GH BAH&#256DUR (1670-1716), eighteenth-century Sikh warrior who for the first time seized territory for the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 and paved the way for the ultimate conquest of the Punjab by them, was born Lachhma&#7751 Dev on 27 October 1670 at R&#257jaur&#299 in the Puñchh district of Kashm&#299r. according to H&#257kim R&#257i, <i>Ahw&#257l-i-Lachhma&#7751 D&#257s urf Band&#257 S&#257hib</i>, his father R&#257m Dev, a ploughman, came of the So&#7693h&#299 sub-caste. Lachhma&#7751 Dev had a very tender heart and the sight of a dying doe during one of the hunting excursions proved a turning-point in his life. So strong was his sense of penitence that he left his home to become an ascetic. He was then fifteen years of age. He first received instruction from a mendicant, J&#257nak&#299 Pras&#257d. At the shrine of R&#257m Thamman, near Kas&#363r, he joined Bair&#257g&#299 R&#257m D&#257s and was given the name of M&#257dho D&#257s. Roaming about the country for some years, he settled down in the Pañchva&#7789&#299 woods, near N&#257sik. He learnt yoga from Yog&#299 Augha&#7771 N&#257th and, after his death, left N&#257sik and established a <i>ma&#7789h</i> (monastery) of his own at N&#257nde&#7693 on the left bank of the River God&#257var&#299. Here he had an encounter with Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh who happened to visit his hermitary on 3 September 1708, at the end of which he, as the chronicler records, fell at his feet, pronouncing himself to be his <i>band&#257</i> or slave. Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh escorted him to his own camp, administered to him the vows of the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 and gave him the name of Band&#257 Si&#7749gh, from the word <i>band&#257</i> he had used for himself when proclaiming his allegiance to the Gur&#363. Blessed by Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh who bestowed upon him a drum, a banner and five arrows as emblems of authority, and accompanied by five Sikhs - Binod Si&#7749gh, K&#257han Si&#7749gh, B&#257j Si&#7749gh, Day&#257 Si&#7749gh and R&#257m Si&#7749gh, he set out towards the north determined to chastise the tyrannical Mu<u>gh</u>al <i>faujd&#257r</i>of Sirhind. As he reached the Punjab, Sikhs began to rally round his standard, amongst the first to join him being Bh&#257&#299 Fateh Si&#7749gh, a descendant of Bh&#257&#299 Bhagat&#363, Karam Si&#7749gh and Dharam Si&#7749gh of Bh&#257&#299 R&#363p&#257 and &#256l&#299 Si&#7749gh, M&#257l&#299 Si&#7749gh and other Sikhs of Salaud&#299. R&#257m Si&#7749gh and Tilok Si&#7749gh, the ancestors of Ph&#363lk&#299&#257&#7749 rulers, provided material help. On 26 November 1709, Band&#257 Si&#7749gh attacked Sam&#257&#7751&#257, the native town of Jal&#257l-ud-D&#299n, the executioner of Gur&#363 Te<u>gh</u> Bah&#257dur, and of the two executioners who had volunteered to behead Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh's two young sons, at Sirhind. After the sack of Sam&#257&#7751&#257, Band&#257 Si&#7749gh occupied Ghu&#7771h&#257m, &#7788hask&#257, Sh&#257h&#257b&#257d and Mustaf&#257b&#257d. The town of Kapur&#299, whose <i>faujd&#257r</i>, Qadam ud-D&#299n, was notorious for his debaucheries and persecution of Hindus and Sikhs, was razed to the ground. Next came the turn of Sa&#7693haur&#257, whose chief, 'Usm&#257n <u>Kh</u>&#257n, had not only oppressed the Hindus but had also tortured to death the Muslim saint, Sayyid Buddh&#363 Sh&#257h, for having helped Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh in the battle of Bha&#7749g&#257&#7751&#299. Band&#257 Si&#7749gh took this long circuitous route awaiting Sikhs from the Do&#257b&#257 and M&#257jh&#257 areas to join his force before he attacked Sirhind where two of Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh's sons had met with a cruel fate at the hands of Waz&#299r <u>Kh</u>&#257n, the Mu<u>gh</u>al satrap. Waz&#299r <u>Kh</u>&#257n was killed in the battle of Chappar Chi&#7771&#299 on 12 May 1710, and on 14 May the city of Sirhind was captured and given over to plunder. B&#257j Si&#7749gh, one of Band&#257 Si&#7749gh's companions, was appointed governor of Sirhind. Band&#257 Si&#7749gh was now the virtual master of territories between the Yamun&#257 and the Sutlej, yielding an annual revenue of thirty-six lacs of rupees. He made the old Fort of Mu<u>kh</u>lisga&#7771h, in the safety of the Himalayas, his headquarters, renaming it Lohga&#7771h. He assumed the style of royalty and introduced a new calendar dating from his capture of Sirhind. He had new coins struck in the name of Gur&#363 N&#257nak-Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh. Besides the names of the Gur&#363s, the inscription of his seal contained the word <i>deg</i> (the kettle in Gur&#363 k&#257 La&#7749gar signifying charity) and <i>Te<u>gh</u></i> (the sword of the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 signifying victory). Band&#257 Si&#7749gh's rule, though short-lived, had a far-reaching impact on the history of the Punjab. With it began the decay of the Mu<u>gh</u>al authority and the demolition of the feudal system of society it had created. Band&#257 Si&#7749gh abolished the Zam&#299nd&#257r&#299 system and made the tillers masters of the land by conferring upon them proprietory rights. He was liberal in his treatment of Hindus and Muslims many of whom joined the Sikh faith and took up arms under him.</p>

<p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;	In the summer of 1710, Band&#257 Si&#7749gh crossed the Yamun&#257 and seized Sah&#257ranpur. On his arrival at Nanaut&#257 on 11 July 1710, crowds of Gujjars, who called themselves N&#257nakpanth&#299s swelled his ranks, but he had to return to the Punjab, without making  any further conquest in the Gangetic valley. In the Punjab, he took Ba&#7789&#257l&#257 and Kal&#257naur, marched towards Lahore, while a contingent proceeded to occupy the city and <i>parganah</i> of Pa&#7789h&#257nko&#7789. Seized with terror, Sayyid Aslam, the governor of Lahore, shut himself up in the Fort. Cries of <i>jih&#257d</i> or religious war against the Sikhs proved of little avail and Band&#257 Si&#7749gh inflicted a crushing defeat upon the gathered host at the village of Bh&#299lov&#257l. Except for the city of Lahore, the whole of M&#257jh&#257 and Ri&#257&#7771k&#299 had fallen into his hands. On 3 October 1710, he occupied R&#257ho&#7749 in the Jalandhar Do&#257b.</p>

<p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;	Band&#257 Si&#7749gh's increasing influence roused the ire of the Mu<u>gh</u>al emperor Bah&#257dur Sh&#257h, who came northwards from the Deccan, and commanded the governors of Delhi and Oudh and other Mu<u>gh</u>al officers to punish the Sikhs. The order he issued on 10 December 1710 was a general warrant for the <i>faujd&#257rs</i> to kill the worshippers of N&#257nak, i. e. Sikhs, wherever found (<i>N&#257nak-prast&#257n r&#257 har j&#257 kih ba-y&#257band ba-qatl ras&#257nand</i>). Even in face of this edict for wholesale destruction of the Sikhs, Band&#257 Si&#7749gh maintained towards the Muslims generally an attitude of tolerance. A report submitted to Emperor Bah&#257dur Sh&#257h stated that as many as five thousand Muslims of the neighbourhood of Kal&#257naur and Ba&#7789&#257l&#257 had joined Band&#257 Si&#7749gh and that they were allowed the fullest liberty to shout their religious call, <i>az&#257n</i>, and recite <i><u>kh</u>utb&#257</i>and<i>nam&#257z</i>, in the army of the Sikhs and that they were properly looked after and fed.</p>

<p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In 1710, a massive imperial force drove the Sikhs from Sirhind and other places to take shelter in the Fort of Lohga&#7771h in the submontane region. Here Band&#257 Si&#7749gh was closely invested by sixty thousand horse and foot. For want of provisions, the Sikhs were reduced to rigorous straits but on the night of 10 December 1710, Band&#257 Si&#7749gh made a desperate bid to escape and hacked his way out of the imperial cordon.</p>

<p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;	Band&#257 Si&#7749gh was far from vanquished and, within a fortnight of his escape from Lohga&#7771h, he began to send out <i>hukamn&#257m&#257s</i> exhorting the people to carry on the fight. He ransacked the sub-mountainous state of Bil&#257spur; Ma&#7751&#7693&#299, Kull&#363 and Chamb&#257 submitted to his authority of their own accord. In June 1711, as he descended towards the plains he was engaged in an action at Bahr&#257mpur near Jamm&#363, in which the Mu<u>gh</u>al troops were worsted. Band&#257 Si&#7749gh was, however, forced in the end again to retreat into the hills.</p>

<p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;After the death, on 28 February 1712, of Emperor Bah&#257dur Sh&#257h, the war of succession for the imperial throne and the disturbed state of affairs in Delhi brought Band&#257 Si&#7749gh some respite, but Farru<u>kh</u>-S&#299yar who ascended the throne of Delhi in 1713 accelerated the campaign against the Sikhs. They were hounded out of the plains where Band&#257 Si&#7749gh had reoccupied Sa&#7693haur&#257 and Lohga&#7771h. Their main column, led by Band&#257 Si&#7749gh, was subjected to a most stringent siege at the village of Gurd&#257s-Na&#7749gal, about six kilometres from Gurd&#257spur. The supplies having run out, the Sikhs suffered great hardship and lived on animal flesh which they had to eat raw owing to lack of firewood. To quote the Muslim diarist of the time, <u>Kh</u>&#257f&#299 <u>Kh</u>&#257n, "Many died of dysentery and privation. . . . When all the grass was gone, they gathered leaves from the trees. When these were consumed, they stripped the bark and broke off the small shoots, dried them, ground them and used them instead of flour, thus keeping body and soul together. They collected the bones of animals and used them in the same way. Some assert that they saw a few of the Sikhs cut flesh from their own thighs, roast it, and eat it. "</p>

<p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;For eight long months, the garrison resisted the siege under these gruesome conditions. The royal armies at last broke through and captured Band&#257 Si&#7749gh and his famishing companions on 7 December 1715. They were at first taken to and paraded in the streets of Lahore and then sent to Delhi where they arrived on 27 February 1716. The cavalcade to the imperial capital was a grisly sight. Besides 740 prisoners in heavy chains, it comprised seven hundred cartloads of the heads of the Sikhs with another 2, 000 stuck upon pikes. By Farru<u>kh</u>-S&#299yar's order Band&#257 Si&#7749gh and some two dozen leading Sikhs were imprisoned in the Fort, while the remaining 694 were made over to the kotw&#257l, Sarbr&#257h <u>Kh</u>&#257n, to be executed at the <i>Kotw&#257l&#299</i> Chab&#363tr&#257 at the rate of a hundred a day. Then Band&#257 Si&#7749gh Bah&#257dur and his remaining companions were taken to the tomb of <u>Kh</u>w&#257j&#257 Qutb ud-D&#299n Ba<u>kh</u>tiy&#257r K&#257k&#299, near the Qutb M&#299n&#257r. There he was offered the choice between Islam and death. Upon his refusal to renounce his faith, his four-year-old son, Ajai Si&#7749gh, was hacked to pieces before his eyes. He himself was subjected to the harshest torments. His eyes were pulled out and hands and feet chopped off. His flesh was torn with red hot pincers and finally his body was cut up limb by limb. This occurred on 9 June 1716.</p>

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BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1"><li class="C1"> Bha&#7749g&#363, Ratan Si&#7749gh, <i>Pr&#257ch&#299n Panth Prak&#257sh</i>. Amritsar, 1962<BR>

<li class="C1"> Gi&#257n Si&#7749gh, Gi&#257n&#299, <i>Panth Prak&#257sh</i> [Reprint]. Patiala, 1970<BR>

<li class="C1"> Ganda Singh, <i>Life of Banda Singh Bahadur</i>. Amritsar, 1935<BR>

<li class="C1"> Bhagat Singh, <i>Sikh Polity in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries</i>. Delhi, 1978<BR>

<li class="C1"> Irvine, W. , <i>Later Mughals</i>. London, 1922<BR>

<li class="C1"> Surman, John, and Edward Stephenson, "Massacre of the Sikhs at Delhi in 1716" in <i>Early 	European Accounts of the Sikhs</i>, edited by Ganda Singh [Reprint]. Calcutta, 1962<BR>

</ol><p class="CONT">Ga&#7751&#7693&#257 Si&#7749gh<br></p><BR>

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