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Killing of Forty Sikhs (Vanjaras and others)
As mentioned earlier, in December 1710, the Mughal Emperor had
issued an order for the annihilation of the Sikhs. The Muslim officials,
clergy and feudals, and even the Hindu elite too, acted to translate this
order into action. In the execution of this order, the chief of Multan
arrested Forty Sikhs (most of them Vanjaras and Bhatts) from different
parts of the province and sent them to Lahore to be presented before
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the Emperor. On the 11 of October 1711, the Emperor ordered that
they should be converted to Islam, and, if they refuse they should be
buried alive; but, none of them agreed to renounce his faith; hence
they were buried alive near the camp of the Emperor, in the village of
Alowal. These Sikhs included: Sahij Singh Chauhan, Dogar Singh, Hira
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Singh, Dyal Singh, Keso Singh Bhatt, Desa Singh Bhatt, Narbud Singh
Bhatt, Tara Singh Bhatt, Sewa Singh Bhatt, Deva Singh Bhatt, Jetha Singh
Chauhan, Jetha Singh Parmar, Hari Singh, Rup Singh, Parsan Singh
Rathore, Anup Singh, Kehar Singh, Channan Singh, Dharam Singh etc. 5
Battle of Bilaspur
In December 1711, the Sikh army entered the territory of Bilaspur State;
Banda Singh was not among them. Mohammed Amin Khan got the
information about the presence of the Sikhs and he led a big force
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towards Bilaspur. On the 27 of December, they reached near the river
Barsana and put up their camps on the bank of the river.
The next day, the Sikhs made a sudden attack on them; a fierce
battle of guns and arrows was fought between the Sikhs and the royal
forces. Several Mughals and about 500 Sikhs were killed in this battle.
These included Keso Singh (son of Chitar Singh) and Bagh Singh (son of
Udey Singh), both the grandsons of Bhai Mani Singh. After the sunset,
the Sikhs crossed the river and moved towards Bilaspur.
In this battle, both the parties suffered almost equal losses but the
Mughal messengers and reporters informed the Emperor that they (the
Mughals) had won the battle; Mohammed Amin Khan got heads of the
500 Sikhs severed from their dead-bodies so that the same may be
presented before the Emperor in order to earn his appreciations. On