Page 86 - Lohgarh

86 w Lohgarh : The World’s Largest Fort

1710), he transported these gold coins on 40 camels and deposited
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them with the ruler of Nahan for safe custody. According to still another
entry “the Sikhs realized the State share of the produce (crops and taxes)
and took it to Dabar… one day they loaded three hundred wagons and
took away the same. None obstructed their way”. As there were several
soldiers and their families staying at Lohgarh, which had now become a
big township. The Sikh Capital was spread through dozens of hills, and
on each hill there were several houses (hand mills, oil pressers, utensils
and toys of children found on almost all the hills confirm that several
families had been living on these hills).

The Sikh Rule & Promulgation of an Egalitarian System

After taking control of the administration and infra- structure of Sarhind,
th
Banda Singh Bahadur held a public Darbar (court) on the 27 of May
1710. In this open gathering he announced that the Sikh rule would be
the ‘rule of the people’; the land would belong to those who till it; no
one would be a slave or labourer of any landlord. All the peasants would
contribute one third of their crop to the Sikh state’s treasury (under
Wazir Khan it was the half of the crop). Banda Singh declared an end to
feudal system; now, the Jats became the owners of lands i.e. fully
independent landholders; a Jat (farmer) was no more a dalit (so-called
low status person). It was Banda Singh, who promulgated an egalitarian
system for the first time in the history of the world.

First Sikh Coin Issued

After this, Banda Singh issued a new coin, a symbol of sovereignty, in
the name of the Gurus. The Sikh coin had this wording on it:
sikka zad bar har do aalam, tegh-i-naanak vahib ast
fateh Gobind Singh shah-i-shahan, fazal-i-sacha sahib ast
(Meaning: Issued with the blessing of the master of both the worlds.
Guru Nanak’s sword is the dispenser of everything. With the blessing
of the True Master, it was a victory of Guru Gobind Singh).
On the Reverse inscription of the Sikh coin Baba Banda Singh
Bahadur wrote the Lohgarh as Khalsa –Takht.