Who was Bandar Singh Bahadur?

Guru Gobind galvanized a generation of Sikhs earning him enormous respect second only to Guru Nanak. After his assassination in 1708, he said to have ordered a slave of his to punish the Mughals that have done harm to Sikhism. This man who declared himself as a servant of the Guru named Banda Singh Bahadur.

Banda Singh Bahadur (image from sikhwiki.org)

Early Life

Banda Singh Bahadur came from Rajauri, Kashmir and born on October 27, 1670 as Lachman Dev. His religious life began at the age of 15 after having a moment of Enlightenment. He loved hunting, but a sight of a dying doe changed him. The Doe passed away right after giving birth to 2 young dears that followed their dead mother few moments later. The event sparked a feeling of atonement.

His religious path brought him under the wings of a Janaki Prasad where he took an ascetic life. Later on he became a protégé of one Bairagi Ram Das and changed his name to Madho Das. He went to a pilgrimage and upon settling in the Panchvati woods, he practiced yoga under Yogi Aughar Nath. After being a follower of different religious teachers, he decided to establish his own monastery in Nanded along the River Godavari.

Madho Das then met with Guru Gobind in 1708, while the Sikh leader made his way south. The presence of the Guru caused Madho Das to prostate himself in front and declared himself to be Guru Gobind’s banda or slave. He then became a Sikh and initiated into the Khalsa, taking the name Banda Singh Bahadur, in honor of his declaration of himself as a loyal and devoted servant of Guru Gobind.

Sword of Guru Gobind

Banda Singh Bahadur, according to stories, received orders from Guru Gobind to lead the Sikhs into battle against the Mughal with the objective of exacting justice for their cruelty. He received as symbols of authority a drum, a banner, and 5 arrows. He also received 25 Sikhs to serve as his witness to his order and help in his battle. Lastly, he also received conditions from Guru Gobind which include not calling himself the 11th Guru, establish his own religion, remaining celibate among others. While Guru Gobind passed away from his wounds from an assassins’ attack, Banda Singh returned to Punjab to realize his master’s orders.

Banners of rebellion raised in Punjab by Banda Singh. As he returned to Punjab he recruited Sikhs to his cause. Deposing the Governor of Sirhind (now Fatehgarh Sahib) Wazir Khan who cruelly tortured to death 2 sons of Guru Gobind by bricking them alive. On November 26, 1708, Banda Singh’s forces struck Samana first before slowly advancing north towards Sirhind. Along the way he captured the town of Kapuri and Sadhaura managing to track down and put to the blade the executioner of Guru Tegh Bahadur and those who betrayed the trust of Guru Gobind Singh.

The war band of Banda Singh expanded as his reputation preceded him. Sikhs and even Muslims as well as Hindus from Doaba, Majha other towns in Punjab, joined Banda Singh Bahadur’s forces. High taxes and abuse of local Mughal officials contributed to the high discontent among the population that led many to joined Banda Singh’s forces.

Mughal decline also contributed in Banda Singh’s successes. Emperor Aurangzeb’s relentless campaigns and wars drained the coffers dry. Furthermore, infighting among the princes and factions of officials weakened the central imperial government allowing many to rebel with impunity. Banda Singh Bahadur exploited this situation.

The Battle of Chappar Chiri on May 12, 1710 saw the realization of Banda Singh’s objective. His forces met in the field of battle the Governor Wazir Khan of Sirhind. The clash resulted to the fall of Wazir Khan and that of his city of Sirhind. The fall of Wazir Khan avenged the execution of Guru Gobind Singh’s sons.

Consolidation

After the death of Wazir Khan, Banda Singh controlled lands from the Yamuna and Sutlej Rivers. He established his headquarters in Mukhlisgarh Fort and renamed it Lohgarh or Iron Fort.

Banda Singh enacted changes in the culture of the towns under his command. He introduced a new calendars with year 1 beginning with the capture of Sirhind. He minted coins with the names of Guru Nanak and Guru Gobind Singh. He abolished the Mughal Zamindari system and introduced land reforms that gave peasants the land they tilled. He also showed tolerance of other religion that further contributed to his success in recruiting non-Sikhs to his cause.

He then expanded his domain capturing the whole of Punjab except for Lahore. His exploits then grabbed the attention of Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah. On December 10, 1710, the Emperor mobilized the imperial army to push the Sikhs out of Sirhind. The imperial forces defeated the Sikhs in the battles of Tiravri, Sahind, and Kharar forcing Banda Singh Bahadur to take shelter in the safety of Lohgarh.

The Sikh leader managed to escape Lohgarh and recruited more to join his army. Soon he attacked Bilaspur, Kullu, and Chamba before finally retaking Sirhind. For 2 more years, Banda Singh evaded annihilation and even outlived the Emperor. On February 28, 1712, Emperor Bahadur Shah passed away leaving once again the Mughal throne empty and the court shattered by another succession war.

Consolidation and preparation took the attention of Banda Singh. He recruited more men for his army and erected fortification across Punjab. They prepared for the day when the Mughals reorganized and began to strike them once again.

Fall of Banda Singh Bahadur

Emperor Farruksiyar sat on the peacock throne in 1713 after much chaos and bloodshed. He declared an all-out war against the Sikh. He allowed the persecution of the followers of Sikhism and mobilized the imperial army for war. He also sowed divide among the Sikhs when he asked the widows of Guru Gobind Singh to condemn Banda Singh.

Farruksiyar

The widows accused Banda Singh of breaking the prohibitions that the late Guru ordered. They criticized Banda Singh for breaking the oath of remaining celibate by having a wife and child, calling himself the 11th Guru, forgoing humility and righteousness by establishing himself a royal court, and finally having the intentions of establishing a new religion. This caused a rift among the Sikhs and some resisted Bahadur’s changes to the Khalsa and dubbed themselves the Tat Khalsa or the True Khalsa.

Mughal forces then advanced. Bandar Singh’s forces retreated to the safety of the Gurdasnangal, a fort they built near Gurdaspur. Due to a canal they dug to defend the fort, it prevented them from escaping, thus they remained besieged in the fort for the next 8 months.

Gurdasnangal eventually fell on December 7, 1715. Imperial army stormed the fort and captured Banda Singh Bahadur along with 740 prisoners. After being taken to Lahore, they proceeded to Delhi arriving on February 27, 1716. Their parade of humiliation in the city shocked many for its gore. Besides Bahadur Singh being paraded inside a cage, 700 cartloads of Sikh heads followed along with additional 2,000 pikes with Sikh heads. The grotesque marched declared the victory of the Mughal over the Sikhs.

The captured Sikhs languished in the prisons of the Red Fort. They were given a choice by the Mughals to convert or to be executed. Many choose the latter and for the next 7 days, a hundred Sikhs accepted execution in public. In June 9, 1716, Banda Singh Bahadur had the same choice in front of him. However, after realizing that his defeat and death served as a punishment for disobeying the Guru, he accepted his gruesome fate. His 4 year old son Ajai Singh executed and hacked into pieces before his eyes. Then his turn came and red-hot irons pulled out his eyes. His hands and feet chopped off before red-hot pincers tore his flesh little by little. The agonizing hellish ordeal ended with the tearing of his limbs apart.

Legacy

In the words of Joseph Cunningham:

“The memory of Bunda (Banda) is not held in much esteem by the Sikhs; he appears to have been of a gloomy disposition, and he was obeyed as an energetic and daring leader, without being able to engage the personal sympathies of his followers.”

Banda Singh Bahadur failed to command the same respect as Guru Gobind. His reserved and sometimes cold character failed to galvanize the Sikhs as the Gurus. Nevertheless, he continued Sikh struggle against oppression of the Mughals. His devotion to Sikhism to the very end even at the face of a gruesome death remained a commendable actions.

See also:

Basics of Sikhism

Guru Gobind Singh

Bibliography:

Websites:

“Banda Singh Bahadur.” Sikh Encyclopedia. Accessed on April 28, 2020. URL: https://www.thesikhencyclopedia.com/sikh-political-figures/banda-singh-bahadur

The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. “Banda Singh Bahadur.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Accessed on April 28, 2020. URL: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Banda-Singh-Bahadur

Books:

Cunningham, Joseph Davey. History of the Sikhs: From the Origin of the Nation to the Battles of the Sutlej. London: John Murray, 1853.

Singh, Khazan. History of the Sikh Religion. Chandigarh: Sardar B.S. Saffary, 1970.