The Battle of Rohilla was a 1621 campaign by the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

against the growing influence of the Sikhs. Because of historic persecution from the Mughal Empire and the martyrdom of the fifth Guru of the Sikhs,

Guru Arjan Guru Arjan (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਅਰਜਨ, pronunciation: ; 15 April 1563 – 30 May 1606) was the first of the two Gurus martyred in the Sikh faith and the fifth of the ten total Sikh Gurus. He compiled the first official edition of ...

(Also

Guru Hargobind Gurū Hargobind (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਹਰਿਗੋਬਿੰਦ, pronunciation: l 19 June 1595 – 28 February 1644), revered as the ''sixth Nānak'', was the sixth of ten Gurus of the Sikh religion. He had become Guru at the young age of e ...

's father) on the orders of Jahangir, After Martyrdom of

Guru Arjan Dev Guru Arjan (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਅਰਜਨ, pronunciation: ; 15 April 1563 – 30 May 1606) was the first of the two Gurus martyred in the Sikh faith and the fifth of the ten total Sikh Gurus. He compiled the first official edition of t ...

fully militarized the Sikhs into a proper militia mostly based on an irregular cavalry style of warfare. This resulted in increased political and military power in the region leading to fears of usurpation by local feudal lords (jagirdars) like Bhagwan Das Ghererh who were relative of Chandu Shah (Chandu who had a key role in martyrdom of

). The immediate cause of the battle was the creation of the town Hargobindpur also known as Rohilla in those times and the beheading of Bhagwan Das Ghererh by Sikhs as Bhagwan Das had spoken ill words about Guru Hargobind and despite the Guru telling the Sikhs to ignore his words, the Sikhs couldn't tolerate the blasphemous nature of Chandu's descendant Bhagwan Das Ghererh. Thus the Sikhs were attacked by a group of local jagirdars such as Rattan Chand and Karam Chand who were sons of Chandu Shah under the command of the Mughal Governor of

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

, Abdul Khan. The Sikhs were attacked as the Guru was rebuilding the town Hargobindpur after Guru Arjan's martyrdom which was left in ruins by the

Mughals The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

. The attacking forces were immediately repulsed and the surviving portions of the

Mughal Army The Army of the Mughal Empire was the force by which the Mughal emperors established their empire in the 15th century and expanded it to its greatest extent at the beginning of the 18th century. Although its origins, like the Mughals themselves, ...

fled the field of battle resulting in a decisive Sikh victory. A subsequent campaign against the continually growing influence of the Sikhs saw 4,000 Mughal troops sent to northern Punjab to support local Governor Abdul Khan against Guru Hargobind following his sound defeat in the initial skirmish. Although the Sikh General Bhai Jattu was killed in heavy fighting northeast of Amritsar at Rohilla, Ratan Chand, Karam Chand, Abdul Khan were ultimately defeated and killed, along with Abdul's sons Nabi Bakhsh and Karim Bakhsh, greatly enhancing the Sikh cause.

References

Rohilla Rohilla 1621 in India Rohilla {{sikhism-stub