Persecution after 1716
After the execution of Banda Singh Bahadur, the Sikhs of Punjab faced a long period of persecution under the Mughal governors of Lahore. Many Sikhs lived in the forests, the hills and the desert fringes, moving in small bands and returning to their villages when they could. Sikh memory of this time is full of accounts of martyrdom, and Sikhs recall these martyrs daily in the Ardas. It was a time when simply keeping the outward identity of a Sikh could put a person's life at risk.
Two figures are especially remembered. Bhai Mani Singh Ji, the learned Sikh associated with the care of Harmandir Sahib and with the preservation of the Gurus' writings, was executed in Lahore in the 1730s (1734 is the year most often given, though some sources differ). Bhai Taru Singh Ji, a young farmer who supported Sikhs in hiding, was put to death in Lahore in 1745. Both are remembered for refusing to abandon their faith under pressure.
Nawab Kapur Singh, the Budha Dal and the Taruna Dal
In 1733 the Mughal administration, unable to crush the Sikhs, offered them a jagir and the title of Nawab. After discussion the Khalsa accepted, and the title was given to Kapur Singh, who according to tradition accepted it only after touching it to the feet of the Panj Pyare and continued to do humble seva. The truce was short, but it gave the Sikhs a chance to regroup. Historians see the episode as a sign that the Mughal authorities in Lahore now had to treat the Khalsa as a political force.
Under Nawab Kapur Singh the Khalsa's fighters were organised into two bodies: the Budha Dal, made up of older and more experienced Sikhs, and the Taruna Dal, made up of younger fighters, which was itself divided into several jathas. These bands, each with its own leader and flag, grew into the confederacies later called misls. Historians note that the misls were not fixed kingdoms but flexible associations bound by loyalty to their sardar and to the Panth.
The Chhota Ghallughara (1746)
In 1746 a Mughal campaign in Lahore, led by the provincial minister Lakhpat Rai and supported by the governor Yahiya Khan, launched a determined drive against the Sikhs after the death of Lakhpat Rai's brother in a clash with them. Sikh bands were pursued into the swampy forest near Kahnuwan in the Gurdaspur area and then towards the hills, and suffered heavy losses in the fighting and the retreat that followed.
Sikhs remember this event as the Chhota Ghallughara, the "lesser holocaust" or "lesser catastrophe". Accounts of it also speak of wider measures in Lahore against Sikhs and their sacred texts. Despite the scale of the loss, the Sikh bands survived and regrouped within a short time, and the memory of the Chhota Ghallughara became part of the Panth's story of endurance and chardi kala — rising spirit in adversity. It also sharpened the determination of the Sikh bands to act together in future.
The Sarbat Khalsa and the Dal Khalsa (1748)
In 1748, at a gathering of the Sarbat Khalsa at Amritsar on Vaisakhi, the Sikh bands were brought together into a single body known as the Dal Khalsa, with Jassa Singh Ahluwalia as its overall leader. The misls within it are commonly counted as eleven; the Phulkian misl to the south of the Sutlej, often listed as a twelfth, developed separately. Well-known misls include the Ahluwalia, Bhangi, Kanhaiya, Ramgarhia, Sukerchakia, Nakai and Shaheedan.
Collective decisions were taken through the gurmata, a resolution passed by the Sarbat Khalsa in the presence of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, usually at the Akal Takht. Once agreed, a gurmata was binding on all. The misls also developed the rakhi system, in which villages paid a share of produce in return for protection. Historians see in these institutions a distinctive blend of religious authority and practical self-government. The same institutions also allowed the Khalsa to act together in moments of crisis, even when individual misls were rivals.
Ahmad Shah Abdali and the Vadda Ghallughara (1762)
From 1747 Punjab was repeatedly invaded by the Afghan ruler Ahmad Shah Abdali (Durrani), whose campaigns weakened Mughal power in the region. The Sikhs harassed his armies and gradually grew in strength. In February 1762, near Kup and Rahira in the Malerkotla area, Abdali's forces caught a large Sikh body escorting families, the elderly and children. Sikhs fought while shielding the non-combatants, and suffered heavy losses in a single day.
This is remembered as the Vadda Ghallughara, the "great holocaust". A few months later Abdali had Harmandir Sahib blown up and its sarovar filled. Yet within a remarkably short time the Sikhs regained their strength. They defeated Abdali's forces in later encounters, began rebuilding Harmandir Sahib, and in the years that followed became the leading power across much of Punjab. The rebuilding of Harmandir Sahib, begun in the mid-1760s, became a powerful symbol of that recovery. Sikh memory holds together both the depth of the loss and the strength of the revival that followed it.
From misls to a new order
In 1764 the Sikhs captured Sirhind, and in 1765 they took control of Lahore, where coins were struck in the name of the Gurus. Over the following decades the misls held territory across Punjab, and Sikh forces also campaigned beyond it; in 1783 a Sikh force under Baghel Singh reached Delhi, and several historic gurdwaras in the city are associated with that period. The misl period thus saw the Khalsa move, within a single lifetime, from hunted bands to the rulers of much of the region.
Once the external threat eased, rivalry between the misls grew. Some sardars became more like territorial rulers, and alliances shifted frequently. By the end of the century the Sukerchakia misl, led by the young Ranjit Singh, began to unite much of Punjab under a single authority. Historians still debate how best to describe the misl period — as a confederacy, a set of emerging states, or a unique Sikh form of collective sovereignty.
Timeline
- 1733
The Mughal administration offers a jagir and the title of Nawab; it is conferred on Kapur Singh. Historical record
- 1734
Most often given year for the martyrdom of Bhai Mani Singh Ji in Lahore (some sources give a later date). Historical record
- c. 1734
The Khalsa is organised into the Budha Dal and the Taruna Dal under Nawab Kapur Singh. Traditional account
- 1745
Martyrdom of Bhai Taru Singh Ji in Lahore. Historical record
- 1746
The Chhota Ghallughara: Sikh bands suffer heavy losses near Kahnuwan and in the retreat that follows. Historical record
- 1748
The Sarbat Khalsa at Amritsar forms the Dal Khalsa under Jassa Singh Ahluwalia. Historical record
- 1762
The Vadda Ghallughara near Kup–Rahira; later that year Harmandir Sahib is blown up by Ahmad Shah Abdali's forces. Historical record
- 1764–1765
The Sikhs capture Sirhind and then Lahore, where coins are struck in the name of the Gurus. Historical record
- 1783
A Sikh force under Baghel Singh reaches Delhi; several historic gurdwaras there are associated with this time. Historical record
Gurbani
ਨਾਨਕ ਨਾਮ ਚੜ੍ਹਦੀ ਕਲਾ ॥ ਤੇਰੇ ਭਾਣੇ ਸਰਬੱਤ ਦਾ ਭਲਾ ॥
Naanak naam charhdee kalaa. Tere bhaane sarbat daa bhalaa.
Through the Name, O Nanak, may our spirits stay in rising optimism (Chardi Kala); by Your will, may there be good for all.
ਨਾਮ ਰਾਹੀਂ, ਹੇ ਨਾਨਕ, ਸਾਡੇ ਹੌਸਲੇ ਸਦਾ ਚੜ੍ਹਦੀ ਕਲਾ ਵਿੱਚ ਰਹਿਣ; ਤੇਰੇ ਭਾਣੇ ਵਿੱਚ ਸਭ ਦਾ ਭਲਾ ਹੋਵੇ।
The closing lines of the Panthic Ardas (not part of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji) express the chardi kala — undefeated spirit — with which Sikhs remember this era.
Sources & further reading
- J. S. Grewal, The Sikhs of the Punjab (The New Cambridge History of India), Cambridge University Press
- Khushwant Singh, A History of the Sikhs, Oxford University Press
- Harbans Singh (ed.), The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism, Punjabi University, Patiala
- Pashaura Singh and Louis E. Fenech (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies, Oxford University Press