Who is banda singh bahadur

He was killed in a very brutal manner, where his eyes were gouged out and his limbs and skin were separated. The fire which Banda ignited for the Sikhs was never extinguished. To avenge his death, the Sikhs then fought with great valour and went on to free Punjab from the Mughals and the Afghans. Even the massive ft tall Fateh Burj which is dedicated to Banda Singh Bahadur for his achievements is not enough for what he has done for the Sikh.

Indeed, a true hero! Videos News India. Latest Stories. Mutual Funds. Worth X. Science And Future. Human Interest. Social Relevance. Healthy Living. Here Banda Singh was closely invested by sixty thousand horse and foot. For want of provisions, the Sikhs were reduced to rigorous straits but on the night of 10 December , Banda Singh made a desperate bid to escape and hacked his way out of the imperial cordon.

Banda Singh was far from vanquished and, within a fortnight of his escape from Lohgarh, he began to send out hukamnamas exhorting the people to carry on the fight. He ransacked the submountainous state of Bilaspur; Mandi, Kullu and Chamba submitted to his authority of their own accord. In June , as he descended towards the plains he was engaged in an action at Bahrampur near Jammu, in which the Mughal troops were worsted. Banda Singh was, however, forced in the end again to retreat into the hills.

After the death, on 28 February , of Emperor Bahadur Shah, the war of succession for the imperial throne and the disturbed state of affairs in Delhi brought Banda Singh some respite, but FarrukhSiyar who ascended the throne of Delhi in accelerated the campaign against the Sikhs. They were hounded out of the plains where Banda Singh had reoccupied Sadhaura and Lohgarh. Their main column, led by Banda Singh, was subjected to a most stringent siege at the village of GurdasNarigal, about six kilometres from Gurdaspur.

The supplies having run out, the Sikhs suffered great hardship and lived on animal flesh which they had to eat raw owing to lack of firewood. When all the grass was gone, they gathered leaves from the trees. When these were consumed, they stripped the bark and broke off the small shoots, dried them, ground them and used them instead of flour, thus keeping body and soul together.

They collected the bones of animals and used them in the same way. Some assert that they saw a few of the Sikhs cut flesh from their own thighs, roast it, and eat it. The royal armies at last broke through and captured Banda Singh and his famishing companions on 7 December They were at first taken to and paraded in the streets of Lahore and then sent to Delhi where they arrived on 27 February Cambridge University Press.

Glimpses of Sikhism. New Delhi: Sanbun Publishers. Sikh Studies, Book 6. Hemkunt Press. Early Aryans to Swaraj. Dictionary of Battles and Sieges. Greenwood Publishing Group. History of the Sikhs: Evolution of Sikh confederacies, 3rd rev. Anmol Publications Pvt Ltd.. The Sikh Sword to Power. The University of Michigan: Arsee Publishers. Tata McGraw-Hill Education. The Sikhs. Random House Digital, Inc. A Comprehensive History of India: History of Sikh nation: foundation, assassination, resurrection.

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His attempts to kill or capture Banda Singh were on. In Feb Bahadur Shah died out of illness. For one year there was fight for the Throne of Delhi among his sons. To take gain of the situation Banda Singh collected his forces and again conquered Batala , Kalanaour, Sarhind, Muzaffar Nagar and other areas in and ruled till It was for the first time that Banda Singh broke the believe of Mugals that they could not be conquered by any one.

He established a democratic rule. The poor and down trodden got a sense if living with dignity. Those who tilled the land became its owners. He had power of devils but heart of saints. He protected the poor and low, did not harm those who surrendered. Clear example is the army of Afgan fighters who did not want to fight Banda Singh and accepted his leadership. He taunted the Governer of Lahore, Abdu-Samad for his inability and sent his own forces for his help.

Banda Singh and his forces were at Gurdaas Pur. The Mugal forces dared not even to attack this Kachhi Garhi and surrounded it for 8 months. Banda Singh had very little army with him and had very limited quantity of weapons and food.

The Mugals had cut off all the supplies from outside. He did not want to leave the Garhi. He did not want to leave the Garhi but said that those who wanted to leave him could go. At an appropriate night Baba Binod Singh and his men left the Garhi. This left Banda Singh and about of his men in the Garhi.

Day by day conditions worsened in the Garhi. No food was left, grass, leaves of plants and trees were boiled and eaten. Even balk of trees was eaten. One cannot imagine the misery they faced. Meat of animals and birds was eaten. Not even wood was left for cooking. It is said a few cut the flesh of their own thighs to eat. History was being created, but there was no one to write. They were completely cut off from the outside world. After surrounding for 8 months, the Mugal army with swords in their hands charged the fort.

Even at this stage the Sikhs offered heavy resistance. It is said Banda Singh alone had killed about 50 to 60 soldiers of the Mugal army before he could be captured. The Nawab was surprised at the wealth- Banda Singh had and the determination with which they were fighting. Hardly rupees and 23 gold coins and a few weapons were found with them. The Mugal soldiers thought that the sikhs had swallowed gold coins, in fact few of the sikhs were killed, their stomachs torn open, but nothing was found.

Thus Banda Singh with about sikhs was captured in Dec. They were taken to Lahore in the form of a procession. Farukh-Seyer, the king at Delhi, wanted them at Delhi. Abdu-Samad, the governor of Lahore, wanted himself to go to Delhi to present this big catch and take all the credit, but Farakh-Seyer ordered him to stay back and send his son Zakria Khan. So they ordered the local chieftains to behead the sikhs wherever found and present their heads to the Nawab.

Thus thousands of sikhs were murdered. Banda Singh was clothed with clothes of a joker with a cap on head, was firmly chained, put in an iron cage. The cage was tied on top of an elephant. On both sides of the cage two Mugfal soldiers were seated with unsheathed swords, lest Banda Singh may still free himself and try to run away. About prisoners were forced to wear coats of goat skins and caps of different colours. They were tied with chains and shackles and were seated on unsaddled camels — two on one with back to back.

Banda Singh on an elephant in an iron cage in the fore-front. About seven hundreds of Mugal soldiers on horses with heads of sikhs on their spears. About hundred carts, loads with severed heads of sikhs.