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Banda Singh Again Returns To The Punjab
In the middle of August 1714, Banda Singh again returned from the
Hindustan to the plains of the Punjab plains. According to Irvine, on 16
20
August 1714, a seven thousand strong force of the Sikhs attacked Ropar.
Khwaja Mukarram, the deputy of Zain-ud-Din Ahmed Khan gave a tough
fight to the Sikhs; as a result the Sikhs had to flee towards the high hills;
two hundred Sikhs were killed in this battle. 21
In December 1714, he put up his camps near Pinjore and Lakhat
villages. On 5 December 1714, Banda Singh Bahadur reached Amboh
22
near Pinjore . At that time his wife Sahib Kaur and his son Ranjit Singh
were also with him. As he was planning to launch an attack on Batala
and Kalanaur, he decided to send his family to some safer place. He
went to the village of Dhotay-Da-Tanda, also known as Tanda Dhota,
(near Riasi in Jammu zone) and left his family in the care of Bhai Mehar
23
Singh Dhoota; he also handed over the Guru Granth Sahib and Guru
24
Gobind Singh’s Kirpan to his wife and asked her to take care of the
relics. After this he began his march towards Gurdaspur. 25
On 5 February 1715, the Emperor was told that the Sikh soldiers
were encamped at village Lakhat (3 koh, i.e. about 10 kilometre from
Sarhind). When Faujdar Khidmat Talab Khan received the information,
26
he sent his Bakhshi with five thousand gunmen and arrow-shooters to
chase the Sikhs. He also wrote to the hill rulers asking them not to
allow the rebels enter their territories. 27
In the third week of March 1715, the Sikh had gone from Sarhind
to the hills towards Suket and Mandi. Their number was seven thousand
cavalry and eight thousand infantry. They had the support of the ruler
of Kehlur (Bilaspur) State. During this period, when the Sikh army was
in Dun area, they had to fight a battle against the Mughal army led by
Ramzani Begh, amil (an employee) of Fatah-Ulla-Khan. In this battle
the Mughals suffered heavy losses. 28

Banda Singh in the Punjab
At the end of February 1715, Banda Singh himself came down to the
foothills and entered the Punjab; he attacked the Mughal posts and