We are commemorating the Wadda Ghallughara (large holocaust) of the Sikhs at the Gurdwara Sahib this weekend.
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 scalp from 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 (small holocaust). 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 5th 1762 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 one 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 Diwali 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.
It is hard for us to imagine now the times that Sikhs must have lived through losing such a massive amount of our population all at once, and living in the jungles and desert trying to fight for their survival. We must remember our history and retell it to our friends, families, and our children. 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. Bole So Nihal, Sat Sri Akal!
References:
See old posts: Baba Deep Singh; Bandha Singh Bahadur; History of Our Resilience
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