Battle of Shaidu
The Battle of Shaidu, also known as the Battle of Pirpai, was fought in March 1827 between the Sikh forces led by Hari Singh Nalwa and the Yusufzai tribesmen troops led by Syed Ahmad Barelvi. The Sikhs were victorious.
| Battle of Shaidu | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Afghan-Sikh Wars | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Sikh Empire | Yusufzai tribesmen and Peshawar Sardars | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Hari Singh Nalwa Budh Singh Sandhawalia |
 Syed Ahmad Barelvi | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
|
8,000-10,000 10 Pieces of Cannon[2][3] |
70,000-150,000 8+ Pieces of Cannon[2][3][4] {Gulabnama states that the Afghans numbered more than 100,000}[5] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown |
6,000[4] | ||||||
Background
Budh Singh Sandhawalia accompanied by 4,000 horsemen was sent towards Attock to assist in putting down the Yusufzai Rebellion.[6] When Budh Singh arrived at Hazro, he was challenged by Ashraf Khan of Zaida, Fateh Khan of Panjtar and Khadi Khan of Hund along with some Ghazis.[7] The Ghazis fell back. Following this, a battle was fought at Shaidu.
Battle
On the eve of the battle, the Syed was poisoned by the servants of Yar Muhammad. However, he still reauested his men to take him to the battlefield.[8] The action commenced at about ten in the morning. The Muslim war cry "Allahu Akbar" was answered by the Sikhs with their war cry of "Bole So Nihal Sat Sri Akal".[6] The entire village of Pirpai was surrounded by Afghans.[9] Budh Singh was joined by Gulab Singh, Suchait Singh and Atariwala Sardars.[4] According to an eyewitness Alexander Burnes, “8,000 Sikhs were defending themselves against an enraged population of 150,000 troops”.[3] Around 6,000 troops were killed or wounded on the side of the Afghans. Yar Muhammad along with his men deserted the Muslim ranks.[8]
Aftermath
Following this battle, several skirmishes occurred between tribes in one of which Yar Muhammad was killed.[8]
References
- Sayyid Ahmad Barailvi: His Movement and Legacy from the Pukhtun Perspective by Altaf Qadir
- Singh, Gulcharan (1976). "General Hari Singh Nalwa". The Sikh Review: 40.
- Alexander Burnes (1839). Travels Into Bokhara. p. 73.
- Hari Ram Gupta (1991). History Of The Sikhs Vol. V The Sikh Lion of Lahore (Maharaja Ranjit Singh, 1799-1839). p. 162. ISBN 9788121505154.
- Sukhdev Singh Charak (1977). Gulabnama. p. 131.
- Shashikant Nishant Sharma (25 March 2014). International Journal of Research. pp. 8–9. ISBN 9781304977151.
- Rishi Singh (2014). State Formation and the Establishment of Non-Muslim Hegemony. ISBN 9789351505044.
- Jamil Ahmad (1988). Hundred Great Muslims. Library of Islam. p. 310. ISBN 9789351505044.
- Nayyar,Gurbachan Singh (1995). The Campaigns of Hari Singh Nalwa. Patiala, India:Publication Bureau, Punjabi University. page 101-102