Siege of Amritsar (1748)
The Siege of Amritsar was a siege that took place on March 1748.The Battle was fought between the Sikhs led by Nawab Kapur Singh against the Mughal Forces lead by Salabat Khan.The Sikhs successfully defeated and killed Salabat Khan and conquered the city of Amritsar from the Mughals.
| Siege of Amritsar | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Mughal-Sikh Wars | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Dal Khalsa |
 Mughal Empire | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Nawab Kapur Singh Jassa Singh Ahluwalia Tara Singh Waeeyan Chuhar Singh Bhakniya |
Salabat Khan † Nijabat Khan † Qutab-ud-Din † | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
Background
After the execution of Bhai Mani Singh,control over the city of Amritsar was taken by the Mughal Empire.[1] The first person in charge of the city was Qazi Abdul Rehman Khan who was killed while fighting the Sikhs in a battle.[2] The second was Massa Ranghar who was assassinated by Sukha Singh and Mehtab Singh Bhangu.[3][4] In 1747, a Muslim Rajput named Salabat Khan was appointed the 3rd person to be in charge of the city of Amritsar.[5] The Mughal Empire was preoccupied with the invasion of Ahmad Shah Abdali,thus the Sikhs took the opportunity to retake Amritsar.[6]
Battle
Nawab Kapur Singh promoted Jassa Singh Ahluwalia as the main commander to lead the campaign.They along with Tara Singh Waeeyan, Chuhar Singh Bhakniya and their armies besieged Amritsar.[6] Jassa Singh Ahluwalia marched towards Salabat Khan and beheaded him with his Khanda.[7][8] His nephew Nijabat Khan attacked Jassa Singh but Nawab Kapur Singh killed him.[1] Another commander named Qutab-ud-Din was slain by the Sikhs.[9] After the death of the Mughal commanders,the Mughal army was routed.[1]
Aftermath
The Sikhs looted a large amount of ammunition and weapons left by the Mughals in the Shri Harmandir Sahib. The temple was repaired,and Sikhs were able to visit and pray after several years of Mughal occupation.[1] The Sikhs had a Sarbat Khalsa during Vaisakhi on 29 March 1748 in which Jassa Singh Ahluwalia was chosen to be the supreme leader of the Sikhs and the start of the Sikh Misls.[10]
References
- G.S. Chhabra (1960). Advanced study in History of the Punjab. p. 380.
- Surinder Singh Johar (2002). The Sikh Sword to Power. p. 54.
- Fenech, E. Louis; Mcleod, H. W. (2014-06-11). "Sukha Singh". Historical Dictionary of Sikhism. Rowman & Littlefield. p. xxvi. ISBN 978-1-4422-3601-1.
- Kohli, Surinder (1993). The Sikh and Sikhism. Atlantic Publishers & Distributors. p. 60.
- Punjab (India) (1970). Punjab District Gazetteers: Amritsar. p. 25.
- H.S. Singhia (2005). Sikh Studies. p. 31. ISBN 9788170102588.
- Lepen Henry Griffin. Chiefs of the Punjab. p. 457.
- Syad Muhammad Latif (1891). History Of The Panjab. p. 315.
- Sohan Singh Seetal (1971). Rise of the Sikh Power and Maharaja Ranjeet Singh. p. 177.
- Ranjit Singh (2013). Golden Crystals. pp. 227–228. ISBN 9789351130482.