Page 157 - Lohgarh

Death of Emperor Bahadur Shah w 157

of the Emperor and the princes would appear before them only after
shaving their beards...” (The non-Italic text is mine- Author).
rd
On the 23 of August 1711, the Emperor sent two hundred thousand
rupees to Mohammed Amin Khan as an advance grant for his expedition
against the Sikhs.
On the 27 th of August 1711, Bahadur Shah got information that
Banda Singh had crossed Raavi and Beas rivers and was moving towards
Rupar from where he intended to go to Lohgarh in order to establish
himself in that Fort.
th
On the 14 of September, Bahadur Shah got news that Banda Singh
had already crossed Satluj river along with four thousand Sikh soldiers
on the 7 th of September 1711. The Emperor sent a message to
Mohammed Amin Khan to march towards Keeratpur. The Emperor also
dispatched two thousand additional soldiers to join Mohammed Amin;
but due to flooding in the river Mohammed Amin had to wait on the
th
bank of the river, which he finally crossed on the 5 of October 1713.
When Banda Singh got this news, he rushed towards the hills and
entered the territory of Kullu State.
On the 2 nd of November 1711, Bahadur Shah appointed Hoshiar
Khan (son of Iradat Khan) as the army chief for Jalandhar-Doab and
despatched him on an expedition against the Sikhs. On the 5 th of
November, the Emperor received a letter from Mohammed Amin Khan
in which he had written: ‘the Sikhs attack our camps at night, please
send five thousand horsemen to chase the Sikhs’; the very next day,
Bahadur Shah ordered five thousand soldiers and three hundred trained
gunmen to march towards Rupar, under the command of Hoshiar Khan,
the army-chief of Jalandhar. 3
th
On the 12 of November 1711 Zain-ud-Din Ahmad Khan, the new
Governor of Sarhind, along with one thousand of his best-trained
soldiers, too joined Mohammed Amin Khan, in the expedition against
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the Sikhs. On the 14 of November, the Emperor received reports that
royal soldiers had fought a four-hour long, fierce battle against the Sikhs
near Hari Jungle; several royal soldiers had lost their lives in this battle.