The Battle of Amritsar, also known as the Battle of Gohalwar, was fought between Durrani Empire and Shaheedan Misl of Dal Khalsa on 11 November 1757.

The Battle

Ahmad Shah Durrani had finished raiding

Hindustan ''Hindūstān'' ( , from '' Hindū'' and ''-stān''), also sometimes spelt as Hindōstān ( ''Indo-land''), along with its shortened form ''Hind'' (), is the Persian-language name for the Indian subcontinent that later became commonly used by ...

and was returning to

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

after sacking

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...

in January 1757, but on the way his army was attacked by Baba Deep Singh. He managed to escape along with his remaining army and in retaliation for the attack, he attacked Amritsar and desecrated the Golden Temple, the holiest site of the Sikhs, by having waste poured into the pool along with entrails of slaughtered

cows Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

in order to hurt the religious sentiment of the Sikhs. Upon his return to

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

, Abdali sent his son

Timur Shah Durrani Timur Shah Durrani (; prs, ;), also known as Timur Shah Abdali or Taimur Shah Abdali (December 1746 – May 20, 1793) was the second ruler of the Afghan Durrani Empire, from November 1772 until his death in 1793. An ethnic Pashtun, he was the s ...

to chastise the Sikhs. The news of the desecration of the holy Golden Temple had reached Baba Deep Singh so Baba Deep Singh vowed to avenge the desecration of the holiest Sikh site and promised to clean and defend the temple even if it meant sacrificing his own life. Baba Deep Singh, along with an army of 5000 volunteers set off and began marching towards Amritsar, where the Faujdar of Amritsar tried to stop the march with a force of 20,000 soldiers. The Afghan Army fought the

Sikh Army The Sikh Khalsa Army (), also known as Khalsaji or simply Sikh Army, was the military force of the Sikh Empire. With its roots in the Khalsa founded by Guru Gobind Singh, the army was later modernised on Franco-British principles by Maharaja Ran ...

at the village of Gohalwar. During the battle, Baba Deep Singh got into a duel with Jamal Shah, one of the Afghan commanders. In this duel Baba Deep Singh suffered a serious neck injury and Jamal Shah himself was killed in the duel. Baba Deep Singh, the leader of the Sikhs, was later killed during the battle.

Result of the battle

The result of the battle is disputed. According to Professor of Political Science, Tom Lansford, the Sikhs defeated an outnumbered Afghan army. While Tony Jacques, states the Sikhs were outnumbered and chased off the Afghan army, yet Baba Deep Singh was killed by Attal Khan. Historical Researcher Vivek Chadha states that the Sikhs defeated the Afghans at the Battle of Amritsar. Historian J.S. Grewal states that Jahan Khan was nearly overwhelmed by the Sikhs before Afghan reinforcements arrived to save him. Historian Rishi Singh states that Jahan Khan achieved a victory along with the death of Baba Deep Singh. The historian Himadri Banerjee states the Sikhs were defeated and many were massacred.

Notes

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * *{{cite book, last=Chadha, first=Vivek, title=Low Intensity Conflicts in India: An Analysis, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ApzUuLiO0jYC&pg=PA171, year=2005, publisher=SAGE Publications, isbn=9780761933250, page=171 *Singh, Bhagat (1993). ''A History of the Sikh Misals''. Publication Bureau Punjabi University Patiala ISBN 978-8130201818 *Gupta, Hari (2007). '' History Of The Sikhs Vol. II Evolution Of Sikh Confederacies (1707-69).'' Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd. ISBN 81-215-0248-9 Conflicts in 1758

The Battle

Result of the battle

See also

Notes

References

Sources