Banda Singh Bahadur

Banda Singh Bahadur (born Lachman Dev)[3][1][4] (27 October 1670 – 9 June 1716), was a Sikh warrior and a commander of the Khalsa army. At age 15, he left home to become an ascetic, and was given the name Madho Das Bairagi. He established a monastery at Nānded, on the bank of the river Godāvarī. In 1707, Guru Gobind Singh accepted an invitation to meet Bahadur Shah I in southern India, he visited Banda Singh Bahadur in 1708. Banda became disciple of Guru Gobind Singh and was given a new name, Gurbaksh Singh (as written in Mahan Kosh[5]), after the baptism ceremony. He is popularly known as Banda Singh Bahadur. He was given five arrows by the Guru as a blessing for the battles ahead. He came to Khanda, Sonipat and assembled a fighting force and led the struggle against the Mughal Empire.

Banda Singh Bahadur
Depiction of Banda Singh Bahadur, during the Battle of Sirhind (1710), from an illustrated folio of ‘Tawarikh-i Jahandar Shah’, Awadh or Lucknow, ca.1770
Birth nameLachman Dev
Other name(s)Madho Das Bairagi, Banda Bairagi
Born27 October 1670 (1670-10-27)
Rajauri, Poonch, Mughal Empire[1]
(present-day Jammu and Kashmir, India)
Died9 June 1716 (1716-06-10) (aged 45)
Delhi, Mughal Empire
(present-day India)
Allegiance
Years of service1708-1716
Spouse(s)Susheel Kaur
Sahib Kaur[2]
ChildrenAjay Singh
Ranjit Singh[2]
Signature
Personal
ReligionSikhism
Religious career
TeacherGuru Gobind Singh
Banda Singh Bahadur
Battles/warsBattle of Sonipat
Battle of Samana
Battle of Kapuri
Battle of Sadhaura
Battle of Ropar (1710)
Battle of Chappar Chiri
Siege of Sirhind
Battle of Saharanpur
Battle of Jalalabad (1710)
Battle of Thanesar (1710)
Siege of Kotla Begum (1710)
Battle of Bhilowal
Battle of Rahon
Siege of Lohgarh
Banda Singh Bahadur's invasion of the Hill States
Battle of Bilaspur (1711)
Battle of Jammu (1712)
Second Battle of Lohgarh
Battle of Kiri Pathan (1714)
Siege of Gurdaspur
Battle of Gurdas Nangal
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His first major action was the sacking of the Mughal provincial capital, Samana, in November 1709.[1] After establishing his authority and Sikh Misl in Punjab,[6] Banda Singh Bahadur abolished the zamindari system, and granted property rights to the tillers of the land. Banda Singh was captured by the Mughals and tortured to death in 1715–1716.

Early life
Gilded panel (repoussé plaque) from Takht Hazur Sahib, Nanded. Madho Das declares he is Guru Gobind Singh’s ‘Banda’ slave

Banda Singh Bahadur was born in a Hindu family to farmer Ram Dev, at Rajouri (now in Jammu and Kashmir). Sources variously describe his father as a Rajput from the Bhardwaj clan[7][8] or a Dogra Rajput,[9] Hakim Rai's Ahwāl-i-Lachhmaṇ Dās urf Bandā Sāhib ("Ballad of Banda Bahadur") claims that his family belonged to the Sodhi sub-caste of the Khatris.[10][11] However, this claim appears to have been an attempt to portray him as Guru Gobind's successor, since the preceding Sikh Gurus were Sodhis.[8]

Military campaigns

Early conquests
Painting of Banda Singh Bahadur being blessed with five arrows by Guru Gobind Singh, by Gian Singh Naqqash, ca.1930

After meeting with Guru Gobind Singh, Bahadur marched towards Khanda, Sonipat and fought the Mughals with the help of the Sikh army in Battle of Sonipat.[12][13][14]

In 1709, he defeated Mughals in the Battle of Samana and captured the Mughal city of Samana (30 km southwest of Patiala).[15][16] Samana minted coins. With this treasury, the Sikhs became financially stable. The Sikhs soon seized Mustafabad (now Saraswati Nagar)[1] and Sadaura (both places in present Yamunanagar district, Northern eastern Haryana).[17] The Sikhs then captured the Cis-Sutlej areas of Punjab, including Malerkotla and Nahan.

On 12 May 1710, in the Battle of Chappar Chiri, the Sikhs killed Wazir Khan, the Governor of Sirhind and Dewan Suchanand, who were responsible for the martyrdom of the two youngest sons of Guru Gobind Singh. Two days later, the Sikhs captured Sirhind. Banda Singh was now in control of territory from the Sutlej to the Yamuna. He ordered that the ownership of the land should be given to the farmers and to let them live in dignity and self-respect.[18]

Military Invasions

Banda Singh Bahadur developed the village of Mukhlisgarh and made it his capital. He then renamed it to Lohgarh (fortress of steel) where he issued his own mint.[19] The coin described Lohgarh: "Struck in the City of Peace, illustrating the beauty of civic life, and the ornament of the blessed throne".

He briefly established a state in Punjab for half a year. Banda Singh sent Sikhs to the Uttar Pradesh and Sikhs took over Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar, and other nearby areas.

Revolutionary
Mural fresco of Banda Singh Bahadur (seated right) with his son (seated left). An attendant to the right is waving a fly-whisk. They are adorned with red clothing colours, characteristic of the Bandai Khalsa faction

Banda Singh Bahadur is known to have halted the Zamindari and Taluqdari system in the time he was active and gave the farmers proprietorship of their own land.[20] It seems that all classes of government officers were addicted to extortion and corruption and the whole system of regulatory and order was subverted.[21]

Local tradition recalls that the people from the neighborhood of Sadaura came to Banda Singh complaining of the iniquities practices by their landlords. Banda Singh ordered Baj Singh to open fire on them. The people were astonished at the strange reply to their representation and asked him what he meant. He told them that they deserved no better treatment when being thousands in number they still allowed themselves to be cowed down by a handful of Zamindars. He defeated the Sayyids and Shaikhs in the Battle of Sadhaura.[22]

Persecution from the Mughals

The rule of the Sikhs over the entire Punjab east of Lahore obstructed the communication between Delhi and Lahore, the capital of Punjab, and this worried Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah He gave up his plan to subdue rebels in Rajasthan and marched towards Punjab.[23]

The entire imperial force was organized to defeat and kill Banda Singh Bahadur.[24] All the generals were directed to join the Emperor's army. To ensure that there were no Sikh agents in the army camps, an order was issued on 29 August 1710 to all Hindus to shave off their beards.[25]

Banda Singh was in Uttar Pradesh when the Moghal army under the orders of Munim Khan[26] marched to Sirhind and before the return of Banda Singh, they had already taken Sirhind and the areas around it. The Sikhs therefore moved to Lohgarh for their final battle. The Sikhs defeated the army but reinforcements were called and they laid siege on the fort with 60,000 troops.[27][28] Gulab Singh dressed himself in the garments of Banda Singh and seated himself in his place.[29]

Banda Singh left the fort at night and went to a secret place in the hills and Chamba forests. The failure of the army to kill or catch Banda Singh shocked Emperor, Bahadur Shah and on 10 December 1710 he ordered that wherever a Sikh was found, he should be murdered.[30][31]

Banda Singh Bahadur wrote Hukamnamas to the Sikhs to reorganize and join him at once.[32] In 1712, the Sikhs gathered near Kiratpur Sahib and defeated Raja Ajmer Chand,[33] who was responsible for organizing all the Hill Rajas against Guru Gobind Singh and instigating battles with him. After Bhim Chand's dead the other Hill Rajas accepted their subordinate status and paid revenues to Banda Singh. While Bahadur Shah's four sons were killing themselves for the throne of the Mughal Emperor,[34] Banda Singh Bahadur recaptured Sadhaura and Lohgarh. Farrukh Siyar, the next Mughal Emperor, appointed Abdus Samad Khan as the Subahdar of Lahore and Zakariya Khan, Abdus Samad Khan's son, the Faujdar of Jammu.[35]

In 1713 the Sikhs left Lohgarh and Sadhaura and went to the remote hills of Jammu and where they built Dera Baba Banda Singh.[36] During this time Sikhs were being persecuted especially by Mughals in the Gurdaspur region.[37] Banda Singh came out and captured Kalanaur and Batala(both places in modern Gurdaspur district[38] which rebuked Farrukh Siyar to issue Mughal and Hindu officials and chiefs to proceed with their troops to Lahore to reinforce his army.[39]

Excommunication and rivalry with Tat Khalsa
Mural of Banda Singh Bahadur with his son with both being served by fly-whisk attendants

In 1714, a resolute effort was envisaged by Farrukh Siyar to suppress Banda's rebellion, who was evading capture despite significant Mughal endeavors and investment of resources. At first, Mata Sundari (Guru Gobind's widow) was asked to persuade Banda to stop his lawlessness and expedition against the Mughals in exchange for jagirs and recruitment for Sikh soldiers into the imperial army. Banda declined on account of his lack of trust in the government. The Emperor had then imprisoned both of Gobind's widows, prompting Sundari to write to Banda again to get him to submit. Banda had again declined, leading the Emperor to tighten the restrictions on the widows, culminating in the excommunication of Banda Singh Bahadur by Mata Sundari for refusing to submit to the Emperor as per her demands. She further accused him of reigning over the Sikhs as their "Guru", and reprimanded his followers in a hukam-nama. This dispute led to two separate factions of the contemporary Sikh community, the Tat Khalsa; who were allied to Mata Sundari, and the Bandais; who were allied to Banda Singh Bahadur.[40][41][42][43] Mata Sundari's intervention led to half of Banda's followers (approximately fifteen thousand) abandoning him prior to the siege of Gurdas Nangal.[44][45][46] Disputes between the Tat Khalsa and the Bandais primarily included topics including Banda's abandonment of the traditional blue robes in favor of red ones, his insistence on vegetarianism, his observance of caste rituals, and his replacement of the prescribed Sikh slogan with "Fateh Darshan", as well as concerns over excesses committed by Banda's troops during their campaign of retribution against the Mughals. Banda's excommunication impeded his ability to counter the Mughals and contributed to his eventual capture and execution.[47][48][49][50]

Modern Sikh tradition speaks of at least two different Khalsas; the Tat Khalsa adhering to the polity and injunctions of Guru Gobind Singh, and the Bandais; those who adopted the principles of Banda Singh Bahadur.[51][52]

However the authenticity of the excommunication of Banda Singh Bahadur by Mata Sundari has been questioned by Historian Ganda Singh who mentions that there is no contemporary or near contemporary writers or sources that make any mention of Banda Singh Bahadur being excommunicated, or that Farrukh Siyar had come into negotiations with Mata Sundari.[53] Historian Surjit Singh Gandhi also claims that there is no contemporary sources that make any mention of an excommunication occurring between Banda Singh and Mata Sundari.[54] Historian Sukhdial Singh further notes that there is no hukam-nama issued by Mata Sundari that addresses Banda Singh.[55]

Siege in Gurdas Nangal
See also: Battle of Gurdas Nangal

In March 1715, the army under the rule of Abd al-Samad Khan,[56] the Mughal governor of Lahore, drove Banda Bahadur and the Sikh forces into the village of Gurdas Nangal,6 km to the west of city Gurdaspur, Punjab and laid siege to the village.[57] The Sikhs defended the small fort for eight months under conditions of great hardship,[58] but on 7 December 1715 the Mughals broke into the starving garrison and captured Banda Singh and his companions.[59]

Execution
Sculpture of the execution of Banda Singh Bahadur at Delhi, Mehdiana Sahib, near Jagraon in Ludhiana district, India

Banda Singh Bahadur was put into an iron cage and the remaining Sikhs were chained.[60] The Sikhs were brought to Delhi in a procession with the 780 Sikh prisoners, 2,000 Sikh heads hung on spears, and 700 cartloads of heads of slaughtered Sikhs used to terrorise the population.[61][62] They were put in the Delhi fort and pressured to give up their faith and become Muslims.[63]

The prisoners remained unmoved. On their firm refusal these non-converters were ordered to be executed. Every day 100 Sikh soldiers were brought out of the fort and murdered in public.[64] This continued for approximately seven days.[65] He was told to kill his four-year-old son, Ajai Singh, which he refused to do.[66] So, Ajai Singh was murdered, his heart was cut out, and thrust into Banda Bahadur's mouth. However, his resolution did not break under torture, and so he was martyred. After three months of confinement,[67] on 9 June 1716, Banda Singh's eyes were gouged out, his limbs were severed, his skin removed, and then he was killed.[1][68]

The execution of Banda Singh Bahadur and 700 of his followers by the Mughals in the spring of 1716 at Delhi was observed by a European visitor to the city on official business who was an East India Company diplomat to the Mughal Empire.[69] This European recorded his thoughts on the execution of the Sikhs in a letter he sent to the governor of Fort William in Calcutta.[69] It is one of the earliest accounts of the Sikhs from the perspective of a Westerner.[69]

Baba Banda Singh Bahadur War Memorial
Night view of Fateh Burj, Chappar Chiri, Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar, Punjab, India.

A war memorial was built where Battle of Chappar Chiri was fought, to glorify heroic Sikh soldiers. The 328 feet tall Fateh Burj was dedicated to Banda Singh Bahadur who led the army and defeated the Mughal forces. The Fateh Burj is taller than Qutab Minar and is an octagonal structure. There is a dome at the top of the tower with Khanda made of stainless steel.[70]

  • Sarbans Dani Guru Gobind Singh, a 1998 Indian Punjabi-language drama film directed by Ram Maheshwari. The film follows the Guru and Banda Singh Bahadur's struggle against the Mughal Empire.[71]
  • Rise of Khalsa, a 2006 Indian animated historical drama film by Vismaad Mediatech.
  • Chaar Sahibzaade: Rise of Banda Singh Bahadur, a 2016 Indian computer-animated film by Harry Baweja. A sequel to Chaar Sahibzaade, it follows Banda Singh Bahadur's fight against the Mughals under the guidance of Guru Gobind Singh.
  • Guru Da Banda, a 2018 Indian animated historical drama film by Jassi Chana.

Battles fought by Banda Singh
  1. Battle of Sonipat
  2. Battle of Samana
  3. Battle of Kapuri
  4. Battle of Sadhaura[72]
  5. Battle of Ropar (1710)
  6. Battle of Chappar Chiri
  7. Battle of Sirhind
  8. Battle of Saharanpur
  9. Battle of Nanautu
  10. Battle of Jalalabad (1710)
  11. Battle of Thanesar
  12. Siege of Kotla Begum (1710)
  13. Battle of Bhilowal
  14. Battle of Rahon
  15. Battle of Lohgarh
  16. Battle of Bilaspur (1711)
  17. Battle of Jammu (1712)
  18. Second Battle of Lohgarh
  19. Battle of Kiri Pathan (1714)
  20. Battle of Gurdas Nangal Or Siege of Gurdaspur
  • Statue of Baba Banda Bahadur at Chappar Chiri, near Mohali (Punjab)
    Statue of Baba Banda Bahadur at Chappar Chiri, near Mohali (Punjab)
  • Statue of Veer Banda Bairagi in Birla Mandir Delhi
    Statue of Veer Banda Bairagi in Birla Mandir Delhi
  • Banda Bairagi Memorial in Khanda, near Sonipat, Haryana
    Banda Bairagi Memorial in Khanda, near Sonipat, Haryana
  • Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Indian Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal at the commemorative event to mark the 300th anniversary of the martyrdom of Baba Banda Singh Bahadur.
    Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Indian Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal at the commemorative event to mark the 300th anniversary of the martyrdom of Baba Banda Singh Bahadur.
  • Shaheed Baba Banda Singh Bahadur memorial at Chhapar Chiri,near Mohali
    Shaheed Baba Banda Singh Bahadur memorial at Chhapar Chiri,near Mohali
  • Places related with life of Baba Banda Singh Bahadur
    Places related with life of Baba Banda Singh Bahadur
  • Issued edict (hukamnama) of Banda Singh Bahadur. Held in the Bhai Rupa Collection
    Issued edict (hukamnama) of Banda Singh Bahadur. Held in the Bhai Rupa Collection
  • Issued edict (hukamnama) of Banda Singh Bahadur containing his official seal at top of page
    Issued edict (hukamnama) of Banda Singh Bahadur containing his official seal at top of page
  • 'Pind Dehra Sahibji', dedicated to Banda Singh Bahadur, in September 1932
    'Pind Dehra Sahibji', dedicated to Banda Singh Bahadur, in September 1932

See also
Wikiquote has quotations related to Banda Singh Bahadur.

References
  1. Ganda Singh. "Banda Singh Bahadur". Encyclopaedia of Sikhism. Punjabi University Patiala. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  2. Sagoo, Harbans. Banda Singh Bahadur And Sikh Sovereignty. p. 213.
  3. Rajmohan Gandhi (1999), Revenge and Reconciliation, pp. 117–18, ISBN 9780140290455
  4. "Banda Singh Bahadur". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
  5. RATNAKAR, GUR SHABAD. Mahan kosh (in Punjabi). Bhai Baljinder Singh. pp. visit website of Rara Sahib www.rarasahib.com.
  6. Sagoo, Harbans (2001). Banda Singh Bahadur and Sikh Sovereignty. Deep & Deep Publications.
  7. Harbans Kaur Sagoo (2001). Banda Singh Bahadur and Sikh sovereignty. Deep & Deep. p. 112. ISBN 9788176293006. His father, Ram Dev, was an ordinary ploughman, Rajput of the Bharadwaj clan
  8. Rai Jasbir Singh (1997). "Historical analysis of the ballad of Banda Bahadur". Journal of Sikh Studies. Guru Nanak Dev University. 21 (2): 33. The poet wants to assert that Banda was the religious descendant of Guru Gobind Singh and the 11th guru of the Sikhs. For this purpose, he acclaimed that Banda was a Sodhi Khatri. Actually, Banda was Bhardwaj Rajput. The poet knows that only the Sodhi Khatri could be the guru of the Sikhs. He seems, to be aware of the Sikh tradition that the guruship would remain within the limit of the Sodhi's.
  9. Vidya Dhar Mahajan (1965). Muslim Rule in India. S. Chand. p. 231. Banda Bahadur was a Dogra Rajput
  10. Ganda Singh. "Banda Singh Bahadur". Encyclopaedia of Sikhism. Punjabi University Patiala. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  11. Ganda Singh (1975). "Banda Singh Bahadur, His Achievements and the Place of His Execution". The Panjab Past and Present. Department of Punjab Historical Studies, Punjabi University. p. 441. According to Hakim Rai's Ahwal Lachhman Das urf Banda Sahib Chela Guru Singh Sahib, he originally belonged to the Sodhi clan of the Khatris, while another account records him as a Panjabi Khatri (Kapur or Khana) of the Sialkot District.
  12. The Sikh Review. Sikh Cultural Centre. 2008.
  13. Sagoo, Harbans Kaur (2001). Banda Singh Bahadur and Sikh Sovereignty. Deep & Deep Publications. ISBN 9788176293006.
  14. Haryana, India Director of Census Operations (1994). Census of India, 1991: Haryana. Govt. of Haryana.
  15. Singh, Teja (1999). A Short History of the Sikhs: 1469–1765. Patiala: Publication Bureau, Punjabi University. p. 79. ISBN 9788173800078.
  16. Dātā, Piārā (2006). Banda Singh Bahadur. National Book Shop. p. 37. ISBN 9788171160495.
  17. Sagoo, Harbans (2001). Banda Singh Bahadur and Sikh Sovereignty. Pennsylvania State University: Deep & Deep Publications. p. 128.
  18. Singh, Gurbaksh (1927). The Khalsa Generals. Canadian Sikh Study & Teaching Society. p. 8. ISBN 0969409249.
  19. Grewal, J.S. (1998). The Sikhs of the Punjab. Cambridge University Press. p. 83. ISBN 9780521637640.
  20. Jawandha, Nahar (2010). Glimpses of Sikhism. New Delhi: Sanbun Publishers. p. 81. ISBN 9789380213255.
  21. Sagoo, Harbans (2001). Banda Singh Bahadur and Sikh Sovereignty. Deep & Deep Publications. p. 158. ISBN 9788176293006.
  22. Singh, Teja (1999). A Short History of the Sikhs: 1469–1765. Patiala: Publication Bureau, Punjabi University. p. 85. ISBN 9788173800078.
  23. Singha, H.S. (2005). Sikh Studies, Book 6. Hemkunt Press. p. 14. ISBN 9788170102588.
  24. Singh, Harbans (1995). The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism: A-D. Punjabi University. p. 27. ISBN 9788173801006.
  25. Bakshi, S. R. (2005). Early Aryans to Swaraj. Sarup & Sons. p. 25. ISBN 9788176255370.
  26. Sharma, S.R. (1999). Mughal Empire in India: A Systematic Study Including Source Material, Volume 2. Atlantic Publishers & Distributors. p. 627. ISBN 9788171568185.
  27. Jaques, Tony (2007). Dictionary of Battles and Sieges. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 595. ISBN 9780313335389.
  28. Gupta, Hari (1978). History of the Sikhs: Evolution of Sikh confederacies, 1708-1769 (3rd rev. ed.). the University of Virginia: Munshiram Manoharlal. p. 19.
  29. Ralhan, O. P. (1997). The Great Gurus of the Sikhs: Banda Singh Bahadur, Asht Ratnas etc. Anmol Publications Pvt Ltd. p. 17. ISBN 9788174884794.
  30. Singh, Gurbaksh (1927). The Khalsa Generals. Canadian Sikh Study & Teaching Society. p. 10. ISBN 0969409249.
  31. Johar, Surinder (2002). The Sikh Sword to Power. The University of Michigan: Arsee Publishers. p. 27.
  32. Singh, Teja (1999). A Short History of the Sikhs: 1469–1765. Patiala: Publication Bureau, Punjabi University. p. 91. ISBN 9788173800078.
  33. Kapoor, Sukhbir (1988). The Ideal Man: The Concept of Guru Gobind Singh, the Tenth Prophet of the Sikhs. The University of Virginia: Khalsa College London Press. p. 177.
  34. General Knowledge Digest 2010. Tata McGraw-Hill Education. 2010. p. 2.134. ISBN 9780070699397.
  35. Singh, Teja (1999). A Short History of the Sikhs: 1469–1765. Patiala: Publication Bureau, Punjabi University. p. 93. ISBN 9788173800078.
  36. Singh, Patwant (2007). The Sikhs. Random House Digital, Inc. ISBN 9780307429339.
  37. Sastri, Kallidaikurichi (1978). A Comprehensive History of India: 1712–1772. the University of Michigan: Orient Longmans. p. 243.
  38. Gill, Pritam (1978). History of Sikh nation: foundation, assassination, resurrection. The University of Michigan: New Academic Pub. Co. p. 279.
  39. Singh, Teja (1999). A Short History of the Sikhs: 1469–1765. Patiala: Publication Bureau, Punjabi University. p. 94. ISBN 9788173800078.
  40. Ballantyne, Tony (2010). Textures of the Sikh Past: New Historical Perspectives. Oxford University Press. pp. 80–84. ISBN 9780195686630.
  41. Gupta, Hari Ram (1978) [1937]. History of the Sikhs. Vol. II: Evolution of the Sikh Confederacies (1708–1769) (3rd ed.). Munshiram Motilal Publishers. pp. 24–26. ISBN 978-8121502481.
  42. McLeod, W.H. (2003). Sikhs of the Khalsa: A History of the Khalsa Rahit. Oxford University Press. p. 80. ISBN 978-0-19-567221-3.
  43. Alam, Muzaffar (1986). The Crisis of Empire in Mughal North India: Awadh and the Punjab 1707-1748. Oxford University Press. p. 175.
  44. Kaur, Madanjit (2000). Guru Gobind Singh and Creation of Khalsa. Guru Nanak Dev University. pp. 83–84. The truth is that fifteen thousand Sikhs left Banda's force because of the intervention of Mata Sundri, the widow of Guru Gobind Singh. She admonished Banda Singh Bahadur for breaches of the Khalsa code of conduct. Banda started calling himself a Guru, required his followers to address him as Sacha Sahib and changed the Khalsa greeting, Wahe Guru ji ka Khalsa, Wahe Guru ji ki Fateh into Fateh Darshan. For these and other misdeeds Banda was excommunicated from the Khalsa Panth by Mata Sundri.....The result of Mata Sundri's intervention was that half of Banda's followers sided with Mata Sundri, left Banda's force and started calling themselves Tatva Khalsa.
  45. Grewal, J. S.; Chattopadhyaya, Debi Prasad (2005). The State and Society in Medieval India. Oxford University Press. p. 350. ISBN 978-0-19-566720-2. According to Ratan Singh Bhangu , the earliest historian of the Khalsa , the veteran followers of Guru Gobind Singh ( Tat - khālsa ) charged Banda with having assumed ' rulership ' whereas he had been only assigned ' service '. They maintained that the Tenth Guru had bestowed sovereignty upon the Khalsa Panth. They charged Banda with deviation from Khalsa practices by adopting the salutation 'fateh darshan', by insisting upon vegetarianism, and by preferring red dress over the traditional blue of the Singhs. His observance of chauka (plastered squared space) militated against the practice of collective dinning. Therefore, the staunch Khalsa dissociated themselves from Banda before the final siege in 1715. Mata Sundri, the widow of Guru Gobind Singh, is believed to have lent her moral support to the Tat - Khālsa in their tussle first against Banda and then against his followers ( Bandais ).
  46. Banga, Indu; Indian History Congress (2002). Banerjee, Himadri (ed.). The Khalsa and the Punjab: Studies in Sikh History, to the Nineteenth Century. Tulika Books. pp. 103–104. ISBN 978-81-85229-71-3. His observance of ritual purities seemed to militate against the casteless order created by the baptism (sarbangi reet) created by the baptism of the double-edged sword. The old Khalsa also regarded it unsuitable for a state of warfare. Therefore, they are said to have disassociated from Banda before the siege of Gurdas Nangal and gone to Amristar.
  47. Louis E. Fenech; W.H. McLeod (2014). Historical Dictionary of Sikhism. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. pp. 59, 296. ISBN 9781442236011.
  48. Mandair, Arvind-Pal Singh (6 June 2013). Sikhism: A Guide for the Perplexed. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 70. ISBN 978-1-4411-5366-1.
  49. Fenech, Louis E. (14 January 2021). The Cherished Five in Sikh History. Oxford University Press. p. 91. ISBN 978-0-19-753285-0. He nevertheless soon fell out of their favour, even drawing the ire of the Tenth Guru's widow Mata Sundari and actually managing to divide the Khalsa in its loyalties, between those who remained attached to the memory of the Tenth Guru (the Akalpurakhia) and those committed to Banda (Bandai), whom Mughal sources often refer to as the 'accursed guru' or confuse with Guru Gobind Singh.
  50. Sarkar, Jagdish Narayan (1976). A Study of Eighteenth Century India. Saraswat Library. p. 311. According to Sikh tradition, one of Guru Gobind's wives, Mata Sundari, wrote to Banda to stop his 'career of carnage and spoliation' as he had 'accomplished the mission imposed on him by the Guru'.
  51. Singh, Pashaura; Fenech, Louis E. (2014). The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies. Oxford University Press. p. 242. ISBN 978-0-19-969930-8.
  52. Irschick, Eugene F. (3 September 2018). A History of the New India: Past and Present. Routledge. p. 121. ISBN 978-1-317-43617-1.
  53. Singh, Ganda (1935). Life Of Banda Singh Bahadur Based On Contemporary And Original Records. pp. 246–250.
  54. Gandhi, Surjit (1999). Sikhs In The Eighteenth Century (1st ed.). Amritsar: Singh Bros. p. 61. ISBN 81-7205-217-0.
  55. Singh, Sukhdial (2005). Banda Singh Bahadur On The Canvas Of History. Patiala: Gurmat Prakashan. p. 6.
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  57. Pletcher, Kenneth (2010). The History of India. The Rosen Publishing Group. p. 200. ISBN 9781615302017.
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