Siege of Ram Rauni

The Siege of Ram Rauni was a 4 months siege fought between the Sikh forces led by Jassa Singh Ahluwalia and the Mughal forces of Adina Beg, Dewan Kaura Mal, Mirza Aziz Khan and Bakhshi Nasir Ali Khan Jalandri.

Siege of Ram Rauni
Part of Mughal-Sikh Wars and Hill States-Sikh Wars

One of the very rare photographs taken of Qila Ram Rauni of Ramgarh.
DateOctober 1748-February 1749
Location
Ram Rauni Fort
Result Sikh Victory
Belligerents
Dal Khalsa Mughal Empire
Rajas of Sivalik Hills
Commanders and leaders
Jassa Singh Thoka
Jassa Singh Ahluwalia
Jai Singh Kanhaiya		 Mir Mannu
Adina Beg
Dewan Kaura Mal
Mirza Aziz Khan
Bakhshi Nasir Ali Khan Jalandri
Sadiq Khan
Strength
500-900 30,000
Several Artillery Guns
Casualties and losses
200 Massive

Background

During the first invasion of Ahmad Shah Abdali, the Sikhs had constructed a mud fort near Amritsar which had been named Ram Rauni.[1][2] In October 1748, the Sikhs assembled at Amritsar to celebrate Diwali.[3] Mir Mannu, in a bid to defeat and destroy the Sikh, ordered Adina Beg to march against them.[4][5] He also ordered forces under Dewan Kaura Mal, Mirza Aziz Khan and Bakhshi Nasir Ali Khan Jalandri to besiege Ram Rauni.[6]

The Siege

The Mughal commanders pushed towards Ram Rauni . The Sikhs realized that they were heavily outnumbered took positions in the fort.[7] There were only 500 Sikhs at the time who were taking shelter (Persian sources suggest 900).[8] The Mughals had decided to blow up Ram Rauni by filling gun-powder in the underground tunnels. The Singhs decided to dig a deep moat, and decided to take positions in it, which prevented the progress of the plans of the Mughal.[6] The siege continued for four months with daily skirmishes taking place.[9] During the 4 moths, 200 Sikhs out of the garrison were killed.[10] According to Panth Prakash, Sikhs in groups of 10 troops came outside the fort and slaughtered the Mughals. Only an odd number of survivors ever returned to the fort.[7] Many Sikhs wrote to Jassa Singh Thoka who was a carpenter in the service of Adina Beg that he being on the side of the Muslims, was the cause of the ruin of the Sikhs, and if he did not come that day to their help he would never be allowed into the Khalsa Panth.[9] So he sent a message to Diwan Kaura Mal and he asked Mir Mannu to end the siege.

Aftermath

Mir Mannu offered to lift the siege because Ahmad Shah Abdali was planning to invade India for the second time.[3] Jassa Singh Thoka remained in the fort for a quite sometime. He repaired the fort and established a misl named Ramgarhia Misl. He would later be known as Jassa Singh Ramgarhia and went on to be one of the greatest Sikh generals.[5]

See also

References
  1. Kaur, Madanjit (1983). The Golden Temple: Past and Present. The University of Michigan: Department of Guru Nanak Studies, Guru Nanak Dev University Press. p. 43.
  2. Cunningham, Joseph Davey (1853). A History Of The Sikhs From The Origin Of The Nation To The Battles Of The Sutlej. p. 95.
  3. Singh, Khuswant (2004). A History Of The Sikhs, Vol. 1, 1469-1839. Oxford University Press. p. 134.
  4. Surjit Singh Gandhi (1999). Sikhs In The Eighteenth Century. Singh Bros. p. 187. ISBN 9788172052171.
  5. Singha,Bhagata (1993). A History of the Sikh Misals. Patiala, India:Publication Bureau, Punjabi University.
  6. Singh, Ganda (1990). Sardar Jassa Singh Ahluwalia. pp. 60–61.
  7. Bhangu, Rattan Singh. Sri Gur Panth Prakash Volume 2 English Translation. pp. 391–399.
  8. Ifran Habib (2001). Sikh History from Persian Sources (PDF). Tulika. p. 172. ISBN 9788185229171.
  9. Gupta, Hari Ram (1978). History Of The Sikhs Vol. II Evolution Of Sikh Confederacies (1707-69). pp. 100–101.
  10. Surinder Singh Kohli (2020). The Sikh And Sikhism. p. 62. ISBN 9788126930968.


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