Page 146 - Lohgarh

146 w Lohgarh : The World’s Largest Fort

When the Sikh army reached near Bilaspur, the hill soldiers attacked
them with guns and arrows from the tops of the hills, but, the Sikhs
braved all this, and, gave a befitting reply. Soon, the Bilaspur soldiers
realized that they were no match to the brave Sikhs, hence they decided
to surrender. Thirteen hundred hill soldiers had died in this battle.
Instead of cremating them, they were buried in a big ditch. Some Sikhs
too lost their lives in this battle.
Some scholars question the decision of Banda Singh in accepting
the apology of Ajmer Chand and forgiving him; they assert that the
crimes and sins of Ajmer Chand were no less than that of Wazir Khan,
and, he deserved death as the minimum punishment. Some others
believe that though Ajmer Chand had attacked Anandpur to get the
city vacated, he was not responsible for the killing of any member of
Guru Family; whereas Wazir Khan had killed two younger sons and the
mother of Guru Gobind Singh.

Robe of Honour For the Ruler of Mandi

After defeating Kehlur State, Banda Singh sent messages to the other
hill States asking them to declare their loyalty to the Sikhs and send
their tributes; all the hill rulers, one by one, surrendered. Raja Sidh Sen
of Mandi was the first to surrender; in fact, this State had been a part
of the Sikh world since the time of Guru Nanak. When Banda Singh
visited Mandi he was given a royal welcome; in return, he presented a
robe of honour to the ruler of Mandi and assured him of complete
assistance in the situation of a crisis in his state.
Similarly, the rulers of Haripur and Guler too immediately accept
the subordination of Banda Singh. The Nahan ruler was already helping
the Sikhs, and, it was due to his sympathy with the Sikhs that Bahadur
Shah had arrested him. (Later, Nahan ruler had changed sides and
became an associate of the Mughals).

‘Arrest’ of Banda Singh at Kullu

Kullu was the next target of Banda Singh. According to a popular story,
he was hoodwinked and arrested by Raja Maan Singh of Kullu who put