The Battle of Sialkot took place on 12 November 1763, between the Durrani Empire, led by Jahan Khan, and the

Sukerchakia Misl The Sukerchakia Misl was one of 12 Sikh Misls in Punjab during the 18th century concentrated in Gujranwala and Hafizabad district in Western Punjab (in modern-Pakistan) and ruled from (1752–1801). Misl was founded by Chaudhary Charat Singh ...

, led by Charat Singh, as part of the Afghan-Sikh wars which concluded with Sikh victory.

Background

During the battle of Kasur, another battle was occurring at the same time between the Buddha Dal under the leadership of

Jassa Singh Ahluwalia Sultan-ul-Qaum Sardar Jassa Singh Ahluwalia (3 May 1718 – 23 October 1783) was a Sikh leader during the period of the Sikh Confederacy, being the Supreme Leader of the Dal Khalsa. He was also Misldar of the Ahluwalia Misl. This period ...

and Sa’adat Khan, the governor of Jullundar Doab, where the Sikhs invaded the whole doab, defeating Diwan Bishambar Das of

Lasara Lasara is a village in Phillaur tehsil of Jalandhar District of Punjab State, India. It is located 17 km away from Phillaur, 60 km from Jalandhar and 108 km from state capital Chandigarh. The village is administrated by a Sa ...

in the battle of Urmar Tanda, taking possession of many villages and causing terror-stricken Sa’adat Khan to confine himself within the fort. When

Ahmad Shah Abdali Ahmad Shāh Durrānī ( ps, احمد شاه دراني; prs, احمد شاه درانی), also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī (), was the founder of the Durrani Empire and is regarded as the founder of the modern Afghanistan. In July 1747, Ahm ...

was informed of such news and activities of the Sikhs, he appointed Jahan Khan to lead an expedition against the Sikhs, who reached

Rachna Doab Rachna Doab ( pa, ) can be classified as one of the main regions of Punjab, Pakistan. Punjab historically has been divided into regions based on its various rivers, since the name Punjab is based on its five main rivers. Rachna doab includes a ...

in November 1763 and headed straight for

Sialkot Sialkot ( ur, ) is a city located in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the capital of Sialkot District and the 13th most populous city in Pakistan. The boundaries of Sialkot are joined with Jammu (the winter capital of Indian administered Jammu and Ka ...

Battle

Jahan Khan and his forces met the Sikhs in the city of Sialkot, northeast of

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...

where in the ensuing battle, Jahan Khan and his forces faced much ferocity by the Sikhs, shooting down his horse from under and causing him to fall to the ground. The Sikhs continued to attack, causing significant loss of Afghan soldiers, making both Jahan Khan and the remaining Afghan soldiers to flee the battle, leaving behind all their relatives, dependents including Jahan Khan's wife and camp equipments, into the possession of the Sikhs. The battle ended in a Sikh victory.

Aftermath

All the Afghan women left behind were set free by the Sikhs and sent safely to

Jammu Jammu is the winter capital of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters and the largest city in Jammu district of the union territory. Lying on the banks of the river Tawi, the city of Jammu, with an area of ...

. After this success, the Buddha dal marched over to

Malerkotla Malerkotla is a city and district headquarters of Malerkotla district in the Indian state of Punjab. It was the seat of the eponymous princely state during the British Raj. The state acceded to the union of India in 1947 and was merged with ...

to avenge the participation of Bhikhan Khan in the

Vadda Ghalughara Vadda Ghalughara ( pa, ਵੱਡਾ ਘੱਲੂਘਾਰਾ, translit=ʋəɖɖɑ kə̀lːuɡɑ̀ɾɑ, lit=Greater Massacre) was the mass murder of unarmed Sikhs by the Afghan forces of the Durrani Empire during the years of Afghan influence in ...

, by besieging the fort and killing him in the battle of Malerkotla. The Sikhs then sacked the town of

Morinda ''Morinda'' is a genus of flowering plants in the madder family, Rubiaceae. The generic name is derived from the Latin words ''morus'' "mulberry", from the appearance of the fruits, and ''indica'', meaning "of India". Description Distributed i ...

, killed Jani Khan and Mani Khan, who were the descendants of Ranghars, moving on with the capture of Sirhind and killing Zain Khan Sirhindi.

References

* Hari Ram Gupta, ''History of the Sikhs: Sikh Domination of the Mughal Empire, 1764–1803,'' second ed., Munshiram Manoharlal (2000) * Hari Ram Gupta, ''History of the Sikhs: The Sikh Commonwealth or Rise and Fall of the Misls,'' rev. ed., Munshiram Manoharlal (2001) * *{{cite book, title=Brief History of the Sikh Misls , publisher=Sikh Missionary College , location=Jalandhar , url=http://www.apnaorg.com/books/sikh-misls/book-1.php?fldr=book , ref=none 1760s in the Durrani Empire History of Sikhism Sialkot 1763 History of Sialkot