Page 15 - Lohgarh

Foreword & Acknowledgements

Banda Singh Bahadur changed the history of the sub-continent and in
doing so embraced martyrdom. The credit to establish the first Sikh
rule goes to this hero. He also deserves the honour of bringing an end
to the yoke of the Mughals.
Not only Banda Singh, but even the biggest Fort of Lohgarh has
met injustice at the hands of historians. Historians have narrated that
this was a small Fort, which existed before Banda Singh ‘occupied’ it.
The fact is it belonged to the Sikhs. Banda Singh did not capture it; in
fact, he chose to have this Sikh Fort as his capital.
Again, some historians have also tried to misrepresent the events
of November-December 1710 by saying that the Mughal army captured
Lohgarh in just one day. This book proves that no one could have
captured this Fort even in 5-6 years. Interestingly Muhammed Qasim
Aurangabadi had accepted that this Fort was almost invincible.
Lohgarh Fort, which should have been a matter of pride for history,
remained concealed due to the injustice done to it. Perhaps some
historians did not want to present its glory because by doing so, they
would have had to show the mighty Mughal army in poor light.
Lohgarh came into limelight when the Haryana government held a
state-level function to celebrate the 300th martyrdom of Banda Singh
Bahadur last year. Gagandeep Singh DDPO Yamuna Nagar, explored
relevant literature pertaining to Lohgarh Fort which gave an indication
that it existed at the boundary of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh on a
small hill, where the Mughal army attacked in early 18 th century to