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| Gurdwara Sri Wadda Ghallughara |
We commemorate the Wadda Ghallughara (large holocaust) of the Sikhs Feb 9th. Although I’ve written many posts about our history at different points, I found myself somewhat confused about the timeline of events following the Jyoti Jot of Guru Gobind Singh Ji in 1708. Here I’ve provided a timeline prior to the Wadda Ghallughara. I learned a lot while writing this post and I hope that you will as well!
Tasked by Guru Gobind Singh Ji, Bandha Singh Bahadur continued the fight oppression. He defeated Wazir Khan, conquered Sirhind and restored justice wherever he travelled. Given his fair rule, Emperor Bahadur Shah turned against him and set up laws to kill the Sikhs. Bahadur Shah died and was proceeded by Emperor Farrukhsiyar, who ordered Mughal forces to attack the Sikhs. As a result, Bandha Singh was tortured and martyred in 1716.
Baba Deep Singh Ji joined Bandha Singh Bahadur in fighting in the battle of Sirhind. During Baba Ji’s lifetime, Zakaraiya Khan became Governor of Lahore in 1726. He ordered rewards for anyone who removed the scalp of a Sikh, hair o a Sikh, or give information on a Sikh’s location. He punished those who sheltered and protected the Sikhs. In the meantime, the Sikhs divided up into the Budha Dal (army of veterans in charge of looking after Gurdwara, spreading Sikhi) and Taruna Dal (army of younger Sikhs in charge of fighting). Nawab Kapur Singh played an important role for the Sikhs at this time, leader of the Dal Khalsa. He further divided the Taruna Dal into misls. Under the rule of Zakaraiya Khan and Lakhput Rai, Bhai Mani Singh Ji was martyred in 1737 cut joint by joint.
Subsequently, Nadir Shah, a Persian invader (Emperor of Iran) was plundering Punjab in 1738-9. His men would loot and rape villages, as well as kidnap young Hindu and Muslim girls. He successfully took victory of Delhi. The Sikhs led by Sardar Jassa Singh Ahluwalia (who took over as leader of the Dal Khalsa after Nawab Kapur Singh) fought and returned thousands of Hindu girls to their families. Nadir Shah only kept Zakaria Khan as governor by bribe and keeping his son as a hostage, then left. Zakaraiya Khan ordered Bhai Taru Singh Ji to be martyred by removal of his scalp and Bhai Mehtab Singh to be martyred on a wheel in 1745. Bhai Taru Singh Ji stated that Zakaraiya would be killed by his shoes, which he was- he developed urinary retention and then asked for forgiveness from the Khalsa Panth, which they told him he would have to beat himself with Bhai Taru Singh Ji’s shoes. He was cured of his urinary problem but died from the injuries of hitting himself with the shoes. Bhai Taru Singh Ji survived without his scalpfrom 9thJune to July 1stuntil after the death of Zakaraiya Khan!
May 1 1746 Chotta Ghallughara: Zakaraiya Khan’s minister was Lakhpat Rai. He wanted revenge on the Sikhs as his brother was killed fighting the Sikhs. Under his guidance,7,000 Sikhs were killed and 3,000 were captured then executed in the Chotta Ghallughara. At that time the Sikh population was small due to persecution and this is estimated to be a loss of 1/3 of the total Sikh population.
Ahmad Shah Durrani (Abdali) took over Lahore and massively slaughtered and looted the population in 1748. Subsequently he was defeated by the Mughals and Mir Mannu took over as Governor of Lahore, imprisoning Lakhpat Rai and appointing Kaura Mall in his place. Under Mir Mannu’s rule, hundreds of Sikhs including women and children were tortured and executed. He died by falling off his horse in 1753. In 1755, Ahmed Shah Abdali invaded India again, with the same pattern of looting, slaughtering, and taking Hindus and Muslims as slaves. Baba Deep Singh Ji’s jatha attacked and freed the prisoners. Abdali appointed his son Taimur Shah to "finish" the Sikhs, who got the help of Jahan Khan. Jahan Khan invaded Amritsar in 1757, and started demolishing the Gurdwara Sahib. In response, Baba Deep Singh Ji gathered the Sikhs and became martyred while defending Harmandir Sahib. Once again Ahmad Shah returned to India over and over. On his 6thinvasion is when the Wadda Ghallughara took place. He had been foiled over and over by the Sikhs, who freed his prisoners and took back the money he had stolen. During this invasion he was intent on killing the rest of the Sikh population forever.
Wadda Ghallughara: On Feb 5th1762 the Wadda Ghallughara took place at Kup Rahira 12 km north of Malerkotla. The Sikhs had a plan to fight the Afghans but they first wanted to send their families to safety in Malwa. This plan was intercepted, and Ahmad Shah sent messages and prepared three separate groups of armies to defeat the Sikhs when they were off guard. The Sikhs, led by Jassa Singh Ahluwalia and Charat Singh Suckerchakia (grandfather of Maharaja Ranjit Singh), had a difficult time defending themselves because they also needed to protect their elders, women and children. Unfortunately Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji Bir of Damdama Sahib was not able to be saved in battle. Estimates of Sikh losses vary from 20-50,000 on this day with most sources citing 25-30,000 as this was cited by a Muslim chronicler. In April 1762, Ahmad Shah returned to blow up Harmandir Sahib. The Sikhs reorganized and took back Lahore and Amritsar, then celebrated Divali at Harmandir Sahib. In Ahmad Shah’s subsequent attacks (9 total invasions), the Sikhs forced his retreat and ultimate defeat. He required the slaves and loot from India to run his empire and didn’t have it. Ahmad Shah died of an ulcerating wound caused by a piece of brick when he blew up the Harmandir sahib with gunpowder.
I am always amazed at reading our history. I really cannot imagine the amount of courage it took the Sikhs to brave through these difficult times. Living in a country with a stable house where I am safe, I cannot imagine the state of the Sikhs as they lived in desert hills and jungles for survival, in an environment where people were being taken prisoner, tortured, raped and executed. Over and over we see how those who were after the Sikhs died a horrible death- take Zakaraiya Khan, or Ahmad Shah. I wish we would teach our history in our Punjabi schools and our homes. The Wadda Ghallughara was such a devastatingly significant loss to our population and yet I think many families will not even realize it is being commemorated, or perhaps the history behind what happened. About 250 years ago we lost 1/3 of our population in the Chotta Ghallughara, and then 16 years later we suffered a loss again of ½ to 1/3 of our population in the Wadda Ghallughara. Today the Khalsa has risen across the globe and our Sikh population is estimated to be 27 million worldwide! We must always remember the history that got us to where we are today and draw strength upon the stories of the heroes, the countless Sikhs, who fought against oppression to give us our freedom today. The fact that we have any Sikh population at all goes to the bravery of those Sikhs who fought for us. It is said that not a single Sikh warrior was unwounded in the Wadda Ghallughara.
References:
See old posts: Baba Deep Singh; Bandha Singh Bahadur; History of Our Resilience
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