Page 181 - Lohgarh

Third Mughal Expedition Against the Sikhs w 181

a special robe of honour to the Abdus Samad Khan.
Having captured the Fort of Sadhaura Abdus Samad Khan decided
to demolish it, so that the Sikhs might not be able to have this Fort as
their defensive post. All the soldiers were given the duty to demolish
and transport its rocks and bricks and other materials to far areas, so
27
that the Sikhs might not be able to repair or re-build it. The demolition
of the Fort and transportation of its debris took several days. After this,
Abdus Samad Khan decided to move towards Lohgarh.

Martyrdom of Bhai Fateh Singh
When the battle of Sadhaura was going on, Bhai Fateh Singh was in
Jammu-Kashmir area. In the second week of August 1713, Bhai Fateh
Singh was present in Baloh (in Kashmir). Suddenly, the ruler of Kashmir
on one side and the ruler of Baloh on the other side surrounded the
Sikh army. The Sikhs tried to seek refuge in the nearby jungle, but the
number of the Mughal soldiers was so high that they (Sikhs) could not
save themselves. All the one thousand Sikhs and an equal number of
the Mughals died in this battle. Bhai Fateh Singh was also one of those
who lost their lives. His head was severed and dispatched to Mohammed
Ali Khan (deputy Governor of Kashmir) who further sent the news of
the Mughal victory to Farukhsiyar. Farukhsiyar praised the Mughal
soldiers and increased the mansab of Mohammed Ali Khan by five
hundred. 28

Endnotes

1. Irvine, Later Mughals, vol 1, p. 206.
2. Irvine, Later Mughals, vol 1, p. 206.
3. Ibid, p. 258.
4. Akhbarat-i-Darbar-i-Mu’alla, entry of 20.10.1712
5. Akhbarat-i-Darbar-i-Mu’alla, entries of 26 and 27.1.1713
6. Akhbarat-i-Darbar-i-Mu’alla, entry of 2.3.1713
7. Later, after the murder of Farukhsiyar in 1719, Raj Inder Kunwar’s father
Raja Ajit Singh got her ‘freed’ from the palace of the widows, on the 16th
of July 1719, and escorted her to Jodhpur; he also took away all her wealth
and other precious belongings; the Muslim clergies and aristocracy