Harinder Singh @1Force 18 th Century Sikh History What do we know - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

SIKH RESILIENCY 18thCentury History

Harinder Singh @1Force

18th Century Sikh History

• What do we know about Sikhs in the 1700’s?
• Why is it that this time period gets overlooked?

 Have we heard of utter persecution Sikhs faced in this period?  What was their response?

Outline

• Organized Revolution
• Key Figures & Events
• The Misl System
• Personalities, Lifestyle & Attitude
• Desecration of Srī Darbār Sāhib
• Parallel Western History
• Relevance Today

High Spirits in Dire Situation

• Post Bandā ƓiOgh Bahādar martyrdom
• Sikhs warring with Afghans, Iranians, and the Mughal Empire
• Sikhs banned; killings became legal
• Sikhs scattered; reorganization impossible
• Militant resistance continued during worst times
• Sikhs continue to challenge state in small groups
• Highly mobile guerilla-bands (jathās) remain active

Organized Revolution – Dal Khālsā

• Kapūr ƓiOgh organizes Sikhs into 2 dals (groups) in 1734
• ƁuDhA dal
• Tarunā dal
• Together, Dal Khālsā
• Dal responsibilities
• Guarding places of worship
• Offering armed resistance to Mughal state
• Became 12,000 strong

“In Kapur Singh’s time the dals, although in their early stages, provided Sikh resistance with a much-needed methodology and organization.”

• Patwant Singh, The Sikhs

Key Figures

• Zakariyā Khān
• Governor of Lahore (1726); Created 20,000 strong “Sikh-hunting force”
• Price on head of Sikhs; public execution of those captured alive
• Lakhpat Rāi
• Commander of Zakariyā Khān’s “Sikh-hunting force”
• Rounded up all Sikh inhabitants of Lahore and had them executed
• Responsible for Sikh losses in ƂhoTA Ghallūghārā (Small Holocaust)
• Nādir Shāh
• Became emperor of Iran (1736); kicked Afghans out
• Marches to Delhi via Pañjāb; wins (1739) and acquires Koh-e-nūr
• Ahmad Shāh Abdālī
• Invaded Mughal empire 8 times between 1748 and 1768
• Consistently “bothered” by Sikh forces in Pañjāb region
• Responsible for Sikh losses in ƖaDDA Ghallūghārā (Large Holocaust)

Reputation of the Sikhs

• Sikh raids caused Nādir Shāh to ask Zakariyā Khān about Sikhs,

to which the latter replied: “Their only homes are their saddles and horses. They can last long periods without food and rest. They are known to sleep on horseback...They are never despondent, but are always singing the songs of their Pirs.”

Key Events

• Bhāī Manī ƓiOgh’s Martyrdom
• Ban on congregations, taxed Divālī celebrations
• Fear caused low turnout and tax could not be paid
• SƂhoTA Ghallūghārā
• Under administration of Shāh Navāz Khān and Lakhpat Rāi
• June 1746, massacre of more than 7000 Sikhs
• 3000 imprisoned and executed publicly
• ƖaDhA Ghallūghārā
• Sikhs moving to Malvā with families
• Abdālī covers 110 miles and crosses 2 rivers in 2 days from Lahore
• February 5, 1762 – Battle at Kūp
• All odds against Sikhs - weapons, form of warfare, and family vulnerability
• Estimated losses vary from 10,000 to 50,000

The Misl System – Policies, Roles &Weaknesses

• Misls: Institutionalized in 1748; became prominent in 1760’s
• Well-defined 12 groups owed responsibility in their territory
• Land administration, agricultural production, revenue collection
• Absolute control of misl leaders democratically sanctioned
• Vital features in success of the misls
• Sarbat Khālsā: Khālsā goals had priority over misl goals
• Rākhī principle
• Gurmatās
• Weakness
• In-fighting among misls, clanism and tribalism, and loyalty issues

Personalities of the Revolution

• Botā ƓiOgh and Garjā ƓiOgh
• Zakariyā Khān proclaims there are no Sikhs left (1739)
• Levy tax and send letter to State, showing that Khālsā lives on
• Pañjāb’s busiest road connecting (Lahore to Delhi)
• Jassā ƓiOgh Āhlūvālīā “Sultān-ul-Kaum”
• Headed Āhlūvālīā Misl; successor to Navāb Kapūr ƓiOgh
• Leader of Dal Khālsā after ƖaDDhA Ghallūghārā (1762)
• Raided Abdālī’s caravan to free hostages, particularly women
• Baghel ƓiOgh
• Led Sikhs into Delhi along with Jassā ƓiOgh Āhlūvālīā (1783)
• Emperor promised tribute if Sikhs left
• Returned to build commemorative gurdūārās in Delhi (1785)

Desecration of Srī Darbār Sāhib - The Heart of Sikh World

“The Golden Temple…[has] a theo-political status which is not a matter of concession by a political state, but it is a right…”

• Kapūr ƓiOgh, The Golden Temple: Its Theo-political Status
• Zakariyā Khān (c. 1735)
• Massā ƑaOghaR (c. 1740)
• Lakhpat Rāi
• Abdālī/Taimūr Shāh (c. 1757)
• Abdālī (c. 1762)
• Abdālī (c. 1764) (30 defenders)

Lifestyle and Attitude of a Sikh-on-the-Run

“On the other hand, the food and water of the Khalsa was exhausted; the birds of the lake were also finished off and there was no animal left in the jungle. Thousands of soldiers had to be fed by the animals do not multiply so soon. Even the scanty supply of jungle fruits came to an

• end. The ammunition had been exhausted…the weather became

severe.” “It was a very critical period, but the Khalsa never lost their spirits, and with the hope in the Guru survived on the roots of the trees.”

• Bhāī Vīr ƓiOgh, Sundarī

Parallel Revolutions

• 1730’s and 40’s – Great Awakening
• 1760’s – Seven Years War and French & Indian War
• 1770’s – American Revolution
• 1780’s – French Revolution

Revolutionary Language

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalieanable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness…”

• Thomas Jefferson, Declaration of Independence

“Since no man has any natural authority over his fellow men, and since force is not the source of right, conventions remain as the basis of all lawful authority among men.”

• J. J. Rousseau, The Social Contract, 1762

Revolutionary Language

Avru iksU ko kwx n pirh rwj krY iekY lir mirh They are not subservient to anyone; they are either purely sovereign

• r in a state of rebellion.
• Ƒatan ƓiOgh ƁhaOgU,

ƏrAcIn Əanth ƏrakAsh

A Comparison

French Revolution

• Confronted class based on feudal system
• System was flexible and fluid
• Did not abolish social/political system
• Goal not to capture political power
• Never overstepped class limitation
• Quest for “liberty and equality” with no

social content

• Did not abolish feudal regime
• Middle-class benefited not peasantry
• Lacked clear goal and concrete plan
• Spontaneous, with no humanitarian

element Sikh Revolution

• Confronted caste governing all spheres
• Rigid and immutable
• Uprooted social/political system
• Established parallel egalitarian social

and plebeian political society

• Aimed at total human freedom and

equality in every respect

• Did not abolish feudal regime
• But established peasantry proprietorship
• Clear goal of establishing Divinely

inspired just society

• Humane, preconceived historically visible

plan and pursued without swerving

The Revolution Noticed

“Since you have obtained some knowledge of the conduct of the Sikhs, not hear of their country: they have divided up Panjab themselves, giving it to every man, old or young…They have not learnt to have fear of any one”

• Qazī Nūr Muhammad, ƉaOgnAmA, 1765

As translated by ƆaNDA ƓiOgh

Writers of Own Destiny

• In utter persecution with prices on heads and Sikh killings

legal

• Lifestyle and sovereign never changed
• Sikhs still gave a strong militant resistance
• Set examples of self-sacrifice and resolute faith
• Misls did not forsake Sarbat Khālsā
• Exercised consensus in most testing times even with infightings
• After Vaḍḍā Ghallūghārā, Dal Khālsā:
• Within three months defeats governor at Sarhind (April 1762)
• Within nine months defeats Ahmad Shāh at Amritsar (October

1762)

Capture Political Power Later

Review

• ƁuDhA Dal + Tarunā Dal = Dal Khālsā
• Zakariyā Khān, Lakhpat Rāi, Nādir Shāh, Abdālī, and others
• The Misl System: 12, autonomous, under Khālsā rule
• Botā ƓiOgh/Garjā ƓiOgh, Jassā ƓiOgh Āhlūvālīā,

Baghel ƓiOgh, and others

• Repeated Desecration of Srī Darbār Sāhib
• The Global Call for Freedom: Concurrent Western History
• The Lifestyle and Attitude of a Sikh-on-the-Run

Thirst for Freedom

“Much is in the sprouting and more in the seed, and all is in the Guru who made us so to love freedom as to prefer death and dissolution to slavery of the soul.”

• Pūran ƓiOgh, Spirit of the Sikh

Relevance Today

• How does this time exemplify

“thirst for freedom?”

• What effects do the actions of

Sikhs in 18th century have on us?

• What can we learn from our

history in this context?  How does 18th century dire situation compare to the situation now?  How is 18th century Sikh history relevant to our personal life?