Battle of Anandpur (1700)
Part of Mughal-Sikh Wars
Date1700[1]
Location
Anandpur
Result Sikh victory.[1]
Belligerents
Khalsa (Sikhs)

Mughal Empire

Commanders and leaders

Guru Gobind Singh

 Din Beg (WIA)
Painde Khan  †
Strength
7,000[2] 10,000 Mughals[3] + 20,000 troops of the Silvak hills Raja making the total 30,000[4]
Casualties and losses
Unknown Unknown, General Painde Khan was killed by Guru Gobind Singh.[1]

The Battle of Anandpur was fought at Anandpur, between the armies of the Sikh Guru Gobind Singh and the Mughal forces aided by the Nawab of Bahawalpur state, Rajas of the Sivalik Hills.[3]

Cause

The increasing power of Guru Gobind Singh, and his establishment of a military order (Khalsa) alarmed the Rajas of the Sivalik hills. The hill Rajas were concerned about Gobind Singh's rising power and influence in their region and following the defeat of Alim Chand and Balia Chand that unnerved the hill Rajas.[3][5] After some failed attempts to check the Guru's power, the Rajas teamed with the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb and his Mughal General Wazir Khan to help them against the Guru.[3]

The Mughal viceroy of Delhi sent his generals Din Beg and Painda Khan, each with an army of five thousand men, to subdue the Guru under direct orders from Aurangzeb.[6][7]The Mughal forces were joined by the armies of the hill chiefs at Rupar. The Guru appointed the Panj Piare, his five beloved Sikhs, as the generals of his army.[3]

Battle

According to the Sikh chronicles, Guru Gobind Singh refused to play the role of an aggressor, as he had vowed never to strike except in self-defence.

In the course of a long action near Anandpur, northeast of Ludhiana, Painda Khan was killed—reputedly in single combat by Guru Gobind Singh. After Painde Khan's death, Din Beg assumed the command of his troops.[8] However, he failed to overpower the Guru's forces. The hill Rajas fled from the battlefield, and Din Beg was forced to retreat after being wounded. He was pursued by the Guru's army as far as Rupar.[3]

Aftermath

After the Mughal generals failed to drive off the Guru from Anandpur, the hill Rajas formed an alliance and attacked Anandpur, leading to the Battle of Anandpur (1701).[9]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Jacques, Tony. Dictionary of Battles and Sieges. Greenwood Press. p. 48. ISBN 978-0-313-33536-5. Archived from the original on 2015-06-26.
  2. ↑ Singh, Dalip (2015). Life of Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji (6th ed.). CSJS. p. 175. ISBN 978-81-7601-480-9.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Gandhi, Surjit Singh (2007). History of Sikh Gurus Retold: 1606-1708 C.E. Atlantic Publishers & Distributors. p. 815. ISBN 9788126908585.
  4. ↑ Singh, Dalip (2015). Life of Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji (6th ed.). CSJS. p. 174. ISBN 978-81-7601-480-9.
  5. ↑ Fenech, Louis (31 January 2013). The Sikh Zafar-namah of Guru Gobind Singh. OUP USA. p. 161. ISBN 9780199931453.
  6. ↑ Banerjee, Indubhusan. Evolution of the Khalsa. Calcutta: A. Mukerjee. p. 25. OCLC 5880923.
  7. ↑ Gandhi, Surjit Singh. A Historians Approach To Guru Gobind Singh. p. 253.
  8. ↑ Macauliffe, Max Arthur (1996) [1909]. The Sikh Religion: Its Gurus, Sacred Writings, and Authors. Low Price Publications. p. 125. ISBN 978-81-86142-31-8. OCLC 1888987.
  9. ↑ Kaur, Madanjit (2007). Guru Gobind Singh : historical and ideological perspective. Chandigarh, India: Unistar Books. ISBN 9788189899554.

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