Page 204 - Lohgarh

204 w Lohgarh : The World’s Largest Fort

Capture of Banda Singh and His Companions
In the first week of December, not a single Sikh tried to come out of the
Fortress; nor was any face or weapon appearing from the tops of the
walls; at this, the Mughals began thinking that either the remaining
Sikhs had fled from the Fortress or all of them had died; they, however,
did not yet dare move towards the gates of the Fortress. Finally, on the
th
morning of the 7 of December 1715, the Mughal general sent a few
dare devil soldiers towards the gate of the Fortress. They reached near
the gate without any opposition. This confirmed their apprehensions
that the Sikhs had either disappeared or died. Now, the herds of the
Mughal army ran towards the gate of the Fortress, broke the gate open
and entered the Fortress.
There were none to resist them; inside, they found about three to
four hundred Sikhs who were very weak from hunger and almost dead;
the Mughal soldiers immediately tied them, and, if any one of them
showed even a little movement, he was immediately cut with sword;
about half of the Sikhs were put to the sword. There was a pool of
blood around the dead bodies of the Sikh soldiers.
But, on the other hand, Mohammed Qasim (in Ibratnama) gives a
different story: “Due to stinking smell and starvation, the Sikhs offered
themselves for arrest on this condition that they won’t be killed.” The
same has been claimed by Mirza Mohammed; he writes: “the Sikhs
offered a big sum of money (as bribe) to Mohammed Amin Khan if he
would allow them passage to flee; but when the Khan did not agree,
they offered themselves for arrest, on the condition that they won’t be
killed but shall be presented before the Emperor and they would accept
whatever punishment the Emperor grants them.” 19
Both these stories are concoctions. Any Sikh showing his head out
of the gate of the Fortress or above the walls was sure to get an arrow
or a bullet attack; hence no question of their surrender. Secondly, the
Sikhs had no money which they could have offered to Abdus Samad
20
Khan (the Sikhs had only 600 rupees and 23 muhars. Thirdly, had the
Sikhs offered to surrender, they would have either come out with their
hand up or with a white flag or any other form of surrender. Fourthly,