Banda Singh Bahadur. Banda was born as Lachhman Dev on 27 October 1670, at Rajokri in the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir. There are conflicting opinions on his ancestry; some call him a Sodhi of the Khatri clan, there are others who believe that he was the son of a ploughman of the Bhardwaj clan. An incident from his adolescence is said to have changed him and Banda became a Bairagi (ascetic or devotee) under the influence of Janaki Prasad. Banda renounced his home and household and became Janaki’s disciple who gave him a new name, Madho Das. Banda travelled far and wide; learnt new yogic practices, ultimately setting up a small hermitage near Nanded (in Maharashtra). This small set-up soon took the shape of a monastery, attracting followers and disciples. Banda’s name and laurels spread across towns and he lived there for almost 16 years of his life. While Banda was busy in his teachings and practices, Guru Gobind Singh was engaged in negotiation with the Mughals.
Aurangzeb’s son Muazzam was in Kabul, Afghanistan, when he learnt of his father’s critical health. He soon started his march towards India. En route, he learnt that his father had passed away (at the age of 90, on 30 March 1707) and Muazzam at the age of 63, proclaimed himself the emperor of the Mughal Empire, Bahadur Shah I, atop the Peacock Throne!
Guru Gobind Singh, on learning about the Emperor’s death, weighed in on the side of Bahadur Shah I. He was invited by the new emperor to Agra, where on 2 August 1707, a dress of honour, including a jewelled scarf, a dhukhdhukhi, an aigrette, etc., worth Rs 60,000, was presented to the Guru as a mark of gratitude. The Mughal-Sikh negotiations for peace, however, were inconclusive and the Guru accompanied Bahadur Shah I on the emperor’s march towards the south. At Nanded, however, these negotiations broke down and Guru Gobind Singh separated himself from the imperial camp. This is where, in September of 1708, Guru met Madho Das Bairagi, a.k.a. Banda Singh Bahadur.
Bairagi was probably not in his Muth and the Guru occupied the only cot available. His followers started to cook meat in the Ashram. Bairagi was a Vaishnav and accordingly, a vegetarian. Learning of these developments, Banda swiftly made his way back. The following dialogue is recorded in the Zikr-i-Guruan wa Ibtida-i-Singhan wa Mazhab-i-Eshan by Ahmad Shah of Batala.
Bairagi: Who are you?
Guru Govind Singh: He whom you know.
Bairagi: What do I know?
Guru Govind Singh: Think it over in your mind.
Bairagi (after a pause): So you are Guru Govind Singh!
Guru Govind Singh: Yes!
Bairagi: What have you come here for?
Guru Govind Singh: I have come so that I may convert you into a disciple of mine.
Bairagi: I submit, my Lord. I am a Banda (a slave) of yours.
And Madho Das Bairagi was baptized and named Gurbaksh Singh (lion saved by the Guru). Gurbaksh Singh, in time, became popular as Banda Singh Bahadur (Banda the brave lion).
Guru Gobind Singh appointed Banda the lieutenant of the Sikh army with full political authority to take revenge on Wazir Khan, the Faujdar of Sirhind (later Fatehgarh). Wazir Khan was a resident of Kunjpura (in Karnal) and governed the town of Sirhind, about 50 kilometres from present-day Ambala. Wazir had executed Guru Gobind Singh’s sons in the town.
Guru had developed a good relationship with Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah unlike the predecessor Aurangzeb. Wary of these developments, Wazir Khan decided to assassinate Guru Gobind before the latter could execute an action against him. Guru Gobind Singh was stabbed and wounded. When the Mughal emperor learned about it, he sent medical support, including an Englishman, to assist in recovery. In the intervening days until his death, Guru did not name any successor. He instead declared the scripture Guru Granth Sahib as the permanent Guru and also that they would be led by Khalsa as a whole, that is, by elected Singhs acting together. Guru Gobind Singh died at the age of 42 on 7 October 1708.
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Banda, by now, was on a mission against Wazir Khan. He quickly acquainted himself with the early Sikh history and the oppressions suffered at the hands of Mughals. He received the title of ‘Bahadur’ and five arrows from the Guru’s quiver as a ‘pledge and token of victory’. Banda marched towards Punjab as the commander of Sikhs along with an advisory council of five devoted Sikhs, to avenge years of exploitation and the death of his Guru. With letters from the Guru, Banda was able to gather many supporters and money to carry out the crusade. As records suggest, he traversed through Narnaul, where he witnessed how the Satnamis had been wiped out and went further to Tohana. Moreover, it is clear from the records that Satnamis were quite widespread in the region; however, their population saw a considerable decline owing to Mughal atrocities.
With adequate cadre and resources by his side, Banda camped close to Khanda Village (Sonepat) before challenging the Mughal Faujdar. His swift and decisive victory was the beginning of a big campaign in Haryana and Punjab that soon shook the Mughal roots and their hold on these lands. Confident after initial successes, Banda defeated the Mughals in the town of Samana, which is situated at the border of what’s now Haryana and Punjab. This rich town was then home to some high-placed Sayyads and Mughals. Twenty-two among them were high-ranking officials who moved about in palanquins. The executioner who had severed Guru Teg Bahadur’s head 34 years before this and the executioner’s son who, some thought, had carried out the order to execute Guru Gobind Singh’s minor sons lived there. The town was won and the victory in Samana was followed by large-scale vengeance killings. From there, the camp travelled to Sadhaura in Yamunanagar where Usman Khan, who persecuted a Muslim pir, friendly to Guru Gobind Singh, lived.
Within a few years, Banda Singh’s followers ravaged Haryana. With raids in Sirhind and as far as Saharanpur, Banda was able to establish his dominance in the Cis-Sutlej territory and repeated attempts at subduing him failed. He also successfully defeated and killed Wazir Khan in the Battle of Chappar Chiri in 1710. At Lohgarh, (in Yamunanagar district, Haryana) he established his command centre, issued coins and introduced an official seal.
At 66, Bahadur Shah-I, in December of 1710, engaged in battle with Banda. Returning from Deccan, the emperor did not halt at Delhi and marched straight to Lohgarh. Many raids later, the siege succeeded and the Sikh leader had to escape to Bari Doab. The pursuit, however, failed to capture Banda Singh Bahadur.
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Mughal Emperor Farrukh Siyar (January 1713–February 1719) ordered Abdus Samad Khan, governor of Lahore, to take on the challenge and subdue the Sikhs. Banda was forced out of the territories of Sirhind by the end of 1713, but the daring rebel surfaced in the upper Bari Doab and found support from thousands there. Khan and Banda Bahadur kept fighting each other for over a year. Banda and his men withstood ‘all the military force that the great Saltant-i-Mughalia could muster against them for eight months.’ It is believed that the men fought till the last grain; when that was finished, asses and horses became their food. In absence of firewood, the flesh was eaten raw. Many died of dysentery but they continued fighting with grounded wood and tree leaves.
Having already written tall tales of ‘guts and glory’ Banda Bahadur and his men were forced into submission. Many of his followers were slaughtered while Banda and other prisoners were taken to Delhi, where they met with their fate.
As had been the case, there were two choices, Islam or death. Guru Gobind Singh’s Banda chose the latter. First, his son, four years of age, was placed in his arms and Banda was asked to kill him. He refused. The executioner hacked his child to death. When it was Banda’s turn—first his right eye was poked with the point of a knife, then his left. His left foot was cut off next and then his two hands were severed from his body. His flesh was then torn with red-hot pincers and finally he was decapitated and hacked to pieces, limb by limb. Banda Singh remained calm and serene amidst these tortures, completely resigned to the will of God and the Guru, and died with unshaken faith on 19 June 1716.
This excerpt from Land of Gods: The Story of Haryana by Arjun Singh Kadian has been published with the permission of Rupa Publications
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