Page 203 - Lohgarh

Battle of Gurdas Nangal and Arrest of Banda Singh Bahadur w 203

captured, they should be punished. In this way the movement of the
rebels and the food-grain for them would be restricted. 16
During this expedition against Banda Singh, Hamir Chand Kamboj
(Katoch), the Daya Dhamma (Nurpur), Ram Singh Jamwal, Deb Chand
Dehnuval had come to Abdus Samad Khan along with their armies, and
participated in expeditions against Banda Singh. Similarly, Udey Singh
(Sibia) and Dalip Singh (Loka) had sent their armies, led by their army
chiefs. But, Madha Sen (Mandi), Man Singh (Kullu) and Heeraj Pal 17
(Malabar) neither joined the expedition against Banda Singh, nor did
they send their armies. These three were friendly to Banda Singh. The
Emperor asked Itmad-Ul-Daula (Bakhshi ul Mulk) to write to the
Governor of Lahore to take action against them. 18
Banda Singh and the Sikhs Inside the Fortress: In July 1715, the
monsoon stopped major action by the Mughals, but they did not lift
their siege. On the other hand, the Sikhs too did not try to avail of the
rainy season for trying to make any attempt to escape by breaking the
siege. Though the number of the Mughal soldiers was very high there
was the possibility of escape by some Sikhs; the Sikhs did nothing but
and remained inactive during the whole Chumasa (four months), i.e.
first extreme heat and then the rains, whereas they knew that they
wouldn’t be able to get food and even water, and, there was no
possibility of the lifting of the siege.
Inside the Fortress, as the Sikhs did not have food, they ate all the
grass and even dry leaves of the trees. Several of them became victims
of loose motions and other diseases. Some Sikhs crushed the stems of
the trees into powder and cooked it for food; some had cut the flesh
from their thighs and cooked it in order to save themselves from
starvation.
The Sikhs did not try to break the siege even when winter began.
They had two options: 1. Try to break the siege and embrace martyrdom
and possibly escape of a few of them; or 2. Remain inside the Fortress,
die of hunger or get captured and then face death. Thus, Banda Singh
simply waited for eight full months and finally the day came when the
calamity was to happen.