Page 176 - Lohgarh

176 w Lohgarh : The World’s Largest Fort

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on 29 of Safar, 1124 Hijri/Hegira (i.e. The 27 of March 1712 C.E.).”
Farukhsiyar Receives Reports About the Sikhs

On 10 March 1713, Farukhsiyar was told that the rebels (Sikhs) “had
raised their heads in rebellion in the villages and Parganas of chakla of
Sarhind. They had laid waste the imperial territory. The Faujdar was
not able to punish them. Instead the troopers of the Faujdar attacked
the villages and took away their grains and their buffaloes. On this
account the people of the said chakla are fleeing from there.” 9
Farukhsiyar was told that Banda Singh had come out of the caves
of the hills (which are out of the territory of government of Hindustan)
and, he had strengthened the Fort of Lohgarh and had also occupied
the land and the towns around it. His soldiers came out at night and
attacked, plundered and killed the Muslim. They moved up from 20 to
30 kos (i.e. 60 to 90 kilometres). Hearing this, the Emperor got so much
frightened and scared that it cannot be narrated in words. At that time
Qutbul Mulk Sayyad Hassan Ali Abdulla Khan, Amir-ul-Umra Sayyad
Hussain Ali Khan, Hamid Khan, Samsam-ud-Daula and some other senior
courtiers were also present there. Now, Farukhsiyar decided to send
Abdus Samad Khan (the Governor of Lahore) on the expedition against
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Banda Singh. On 21 March 1713, Farukhsiyar asked Amir-ul-Umra
Sayyad Hussain Ali Khan, to write a letter to Abdus Samad Khan asking
him to contact Zain-ud-Din Khan (Faujdar of Sarhind) and make a joint
attack on Banda Singh. 11
In his letter to Abdus Samad Khan, the Emperor called Him “helper
of the government, great personality of the great empire, leader of the
leaders, national leader of the great nobles, perfectly wise person and
beautiful faced” and asked him to immediately leave for expelling the
Sikhs from Lohgarh. The Emperor also stated that he was dispatching
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seven thousand cavalry and ten leaders (generals) under the command
of Inam Khan for this expedition. In the same letter, Abdus Samad Khan
was requested to work with counsel of and in co-operation with each
other (i.e. Sarhind Faujdar and the 13 generals) and the salary for the
soldiers was to be given by the Faujdar of Sarhind.