Abdali and the Sikhs

The following is a brief analysis of Abdali vs. the Sikhs I had written some years ago. It is a repost from another forum. Due to lack of time I have not updated it with more information.

Modern day historians accuse Sikhs of being biased and writing false historic events when it comes to battles with Abdali. They claim that since Abdali destroyed Marathas who had three times more troops than him (Abdali) and the blow to the Marathas was so great that they could never successfully regroup and organize ever again, the same Abdali could not have been afraid of the Sikhs let alone suffering defeat. It must be kept in mind that Abdali was responsible for the Great Holocaust in which at least 30,000 Sikhs were martyred and Abdali claimed that Sikhs would not be able to face him again for at least 50 years. The following sources written by non-Sikhs prove beyond the doubt that Abdali not only lost but was afraid of the Sikhs.

According to the News Reports from Delhi 1759-65

As for the facts regarding Shah Abdali, after the great battle and the defeat suffered by him there at the hands of the Sikhs, the Shah reached the river Jhelum, and his troops fled hither and thither in disorder. However much the Shah took off his turban and exhorted his army commanders to show firmness and stand up to the enemy, no one listened to him, and troop after troop crossed the river Jhelum, and fled pell-mell, like an army without defense or transport. Traveling thirty kurohs in one day and night, out of the terror of the Sikhs, they reached Hasan Abdal. There only did they give a breathing time to themselves. All fled, one by one. In this kind of flight, the bazaar of the camp and Shah’s baggage was put to sack. One man’s turban went to someone else.

This is very important historical document as it clearly states that Abdali was defeated by the Sikhs and his mighty Afghan army was so afraid by the Sikh terror that it travelled 30 kurohs (1=2.5km) in one day and night. Then in 1765, Abdali invaded again but this time he could not do anything. The author of the report says:

Nothing has been achieved [by the Shah] in respect of quelling the Sikhs….as for the Sikhs, the chiefs Charat Singh, Hari Singh, etc., have spread over and established themselves in the territory of – and also the Doab, and do not allow any posts of the Shah to be established. The result is that the shah, accompanied by his whole army and commanders, moves from place to place, and does not disperse his army, so that to date no punishment has been inflicted on the Sikhs, and there appears to be no prospect of it in future as well.

The above quote makes it crystal clear that Abdali was unsuccessful in subduing the Sikhs and he was so afraid that he kept his army with him all the time and no posts by him could be established anywhere in the Punjab and up to U.P. It was only when he reached Saharnpur where he rested and collected money from the Amirs. Sikhs had become the masters and no one had the guts to stand up to them.

Qazi Nur Mohammad in Jangnama written in 1764-65 says:

After marching for three [days] and nights, the Shah arrived at the Chak (Amritsar) on the fourth night.

Re-read the above line clearly. Abdali marches from Lahore and reaches Amritsar on the fourth day which is a distance of about 40km. When he was defeated by the Sikhs in 1764 he covered twice the distance in one day and night. So why would he take three days and nights to reach Amritsar? Clearly, because he was afraid to face the Sikhs and his self-confidence had been destroyed by the Sikhs in his previous defeat. It was the same Abdali who had claimed to have killed all the Sikhs in the world and remarked that Sikhs would not be able to stand up for at least 50 years. But it took Sikhs only 3 years to take over the entire Punjab territory and defeat Adabli. The facts are staring everyone in the face and the sources are written by Muslims one of whom was a companion of Abdali. If Afghan army was so brave and ready to face the Sikhs, it would’ve traveled 40 km within a day and fought the Sikhs the next day but Abdali took 3 days so that Sikhs would leave Amritsar and not fight him.

By 1765-66, Khalsa had established its firm control over Punjab and Lahore. All the supporters and rulers appointed by Abdali had been defeated and uprooted.

In 1766 Abdali invaded India the 8th time. The Singhs were angered by his repeated attacks so this time Singhs planned to weaken his position so much so that he wouldn’t dare to come back in Punjab. So they left Lahore and took positions in different parts of Punjab. When Abdali reached Lahore, he quickly decided to enter negotiations with the Singhs for they had caused him much loss and sufferings in previous invasions. He tried to persuade Sardar Lehna Singh to enter peace with him but he refused to meet Abdali. Then he wrote to Sardar Jassa Singh Ahluwalia and other Sardars that either they should come to the battlefield or sign peace treaty with him for which he would grant them their territories and ensure their freedom and rule in Punjab. For Singhs there was no need to compromise with Abdali. They knew his position very well. He had no support up to Yamuna River and no other ally. He had too many internal problems to deal with in Afghanistan so he would be constrained to return back to his country. They knew that soon after he left Punjab they would reoccupy the territory and no one would dare stand against them.

Abdali, angered by the refusal of the Singhs, sent Jahan Khan to Amritsar with 15,000 soldiers. On the other side, S. Jassa Singh, Jhandha Singh and others had assembled and pounced on Durrani army so fiercely that the Afghans retreated in no time. When Abdali personally reached to help Jahan Khan, it was too late and Singhs had left to Lahore which they attacked and plunder. Abdali was annoyed at this but he moved forward helplessly. His army was attacked by different jathas of the Singhs every day as he passed through Punjab. His position had become so weak that he could not sleep either during the day or at night. One contemporary writer notes: the influence of the Shah does not extend beyond the place through which his army is passing. The village landlords appear to be so greatly in favor of the Singhs that even ordinary Singhs are welcome in their houses and are served with food etc. in day time they come and pester the Shah’s army. So long as the Shah is in Doaba between the river Beas and Satluj, the Singhs would be moving close to the Emperor, but if he moves towards Sirhind and beyond, they would immediately occupy the territories left behind the Shah. (Calendar, Vol 2, 161)

This turned out to be true. As Shah moved towards Delhi, Singhs occupied the entire territory. Repeated raids by the Singhs on Shah’s army had caused irreparable damage which made Shah unable to reach Delhi and had to return back without any success. Due to his bitter experience with the Singhs, he was so afraid to face them that he chose to reach Afghanistan through a different route. About 125000 Singhs had gathered in Amritsar to give an open battle to Shah but he had decided to leave quietly. He knew that he could not face the formidable army of the Singhs who had recovered from the great holocaust within the same year. Therefore, Shah left for Afghanistan avoiding any direct conflict with the Khalsa. He decided to reach Qandhar via Kasur, Pakpattan and Multan rather than going via Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Goindwal, Taran Taaran and Lahore which was his regular route in previous invasions. He had realized that his dream of establishing Afghan rule in Punjab and India would never be fulfilled. After he left, the Singhs were the sole rulers of Punjab. Abdali invaded India the 9th time but without accomplishing anything he went back from Lahore.

He tried to win over some Sikh chiefs by offering governorship of Lahore and control over other areas but no one in Majha agreed to his terms. Instead, Sikhs sent him a strong reply stating that they were the lions and real masters of Punjab and would never come to terms with a dog of Kabul. His hopes of conquering India and establishing Afghan rule had been shattered by the Sikhs. Sikhs chose to conquest Punjab by force and wanted no other power to exist. When Sikhs came to power, they took back all the territory taken over by Abdali 85 years prior and rejoined it to Punjab otherwise Afghanistan’s border would’ve been next to Amritsar. The reality is this: Afghans (pathans) were beaten, they were kicked out of Punjab, their areas were taken over by the Sikhs, their rule was reduced to what they had started off with prior to invading India and never again were they able to attack and take over Punjab.

This leaves no doubt that Abdali had lost against the Singhs. He repeatedly asked the Singhs to compromise with him but no one cared about him. The Singhs regarded it as a matter of disgrace for their community to bow to a foreign ruler for the gift of freedom because they believed freedom and sovereignty had already been blessed to them by the Guru and they were the only true rulers of Punjab. Why should they get any gift from any Mughal or Durrani ruler? The Singhs who were servants of God regarded Adabli and other temporary rulers as trash. Therefore, they did not surrender to anybody, defeated Mughals and Durranis and became the only rulers of Punjab. Presence of Punjab in India is the direct result of innumerable sacrifices of the Khalsa for their land and its dignity and honor. India should be grateful to the Khalsa for the gift of Punjab.

Very knowledgeable article.

Abdali whom Afghanis call Baba (father) was one of the best of his times. He was a military genius as is evident from his victory over the formidable forces of Marathas, in the 3rd battle of Panipat but his subsequent clashes with Khalsa forces prove that he was no match for Khalsa forces. The Sikhs were outnumbered and much poorly equipped as far as weapons were concerned but they still managed to show him who was in charge of Punjab.

Later on, when the Sikhs were also equipped with similar weapons as the Pashtuns, they conquered many parts of Pashtustan under the legendary leadership of Sardar Hari Singh Nalwa.

Pashtuns are no doubt very brave and martial but they have not been undefeated in history. Apart from Sikhs, they were routed by the Mughals under the leadership of Babar as is evident from Babar related Baani in Siri Guru Granth Sahib jee which has recorded the battle between Mughals and Pathaans (Mughal Pathaana bhaee laraaee, rann meh tegh vagaaee).

Kulbir Singh

Interestingly, in today's Tribune, there is an article, a little biased though, about the 3rd Battle of Panipat.

THE THIRD BATTLE OF PANIPAT JANUARY 1761
WAR THAT CHANGED INDIA’S DESTINY
M Rajivlochan

The forces of the Marathas clashed with those of Ahmed Shah Abdali 250 years ago in a historic encounter. The warring parties had no doubt about the prize to be had by the victor — the throne of Delhi



A painting depicting the fierce clashes that took place during the Third Battle of Panipat.


On the 14th January 1761, with the Third Battle of Panipat, the Maratha effort to rule over India came to an end. It had begun in 1720, when the newly appointed Peshwa Baji Rao, all of 20 years of age, had shown his compatriots the vision for a Maratha conquest of Hindustan. He offered to share all the newly-accrued power with his able military commanders thus earning tremendous loyalty from Holkar, Gaikwar, Bhonsale and Shinde. We can see the remnants of these families in control of large tracts of land in Indore, Baroda, Nagpur and Gwalior respectively even today.

The Marathas set up a new kind of civil administration and effectively began to replace the now defunct Mughal imperial system. Their empire began to touch the borders of Delhi by the time of the death of Baji Rao in 1740. In the meanwhile the Marathas began to set up a system of stable administration much akin to that of the Mughals. This included charging Hindu traders double the transit duty that was charged from Muslim traders. However, the opportunity to expand the Maratha Empire further north into the Punjab came only when the Mughal governors of Punjab were rattled by invasions from Afghanistan and internally weakened by the continuous rebellion of the Sikh peasantry who refused to pay their taxes.

Matching the Maratha desire to control Delhi was a similar desire on the part of Ahmed Shah of the Abdali tribe. Ahmed Shah had been a slave of Shah Nadir of Iran and his chief of palace security. After Nadir's assassination in 1747 Ahmed Shah looted the palace treasures and fled to Kandahar. Here he persuaded other Pakhtun chiefs to join him in setting up an Afghan kingdom in the mountains that would be free from Iranian control. He also changed the name of his tribe from Abdali to Durrani (pearl), using a title that had been bestowed upon him by Shah Nadir.

Historically, the typical way for any Afghan chieftain to make himself popular with the other tribes of the region was to lead them into a military expedition to the plains of Hindustan and bring back loot that would impress everyone back home. Ahmed Shah lost no time in launching a similar attack on Lahore.

In the 20 years of his rule, Ahmed Shah would come down the mountains nine times. Each time he would leave his nominee to rule over some territory within India in the hope that there would be at least a modicum of Afghan control over some parts of India. When that control was challenged, he would come down again, plunder a fresh part of the subcontinent and return with even more loot.

By 1757 it was the turn of the region around Delhi and further south to be looted. Before returning he appointed his son Timur Shah the governor of Punjab. Timur proved incapable of managing the rebellious Punjab. On seeing him weakening the Mughal governor of Jallandhar doab, Adina Beg, invited the Marathas to launch an attack on Lahore. It is said that to help Adina Beg the Marathas charged Rs. 1 lakh for each day's march and Rs. 50,000 for each day's halt.

Raghunath Rao, the Maratha general in-charge of Delhi, defeated Ahmed Shah's son on April 20, 1758, and set up a brief Maratha rule over Punjab with Adina Beg as the Maratha governor. A small contingent of Maratha troops was left at Attock and Multan. An enraged Ahmed Shah once again began to march into the plains of India.

The conflict this time, however, was being couched in religious terms. Ahmed Shah declared that he was on a jihad to India. After all, his son had been kicked out of Punjab. Moreover, Ahmed Shah had been invited by Shah Waliullah (1703-62), one of the leading Islamic clerics in India based at the Rahimiya Madarssa in Delhi. Waliullah, one of the early proponents of a war-like Islam, wrote to Ahmed Shah that it was obligatory upon him "to wage an Indian campaign, break the sway of the unbelieving Marathas and Jats, and rescue the weaknesses of the Muslism who are captive in the land of the unbelievers."

The Marathas on their part stated that it was their holy duty to punish the invading Afghans for having desecrated the Golden Temple at Amritsar.

It was quite usual in those times to call upon differences in religion to justify pre-existing rivalries. It was just as usual for the combatants to call upon support from those of the other religion without bothering about the prima facie contradiction between religious assertion and ground reality. Thus one of the most important military commanders in the Maratha army was a Muslim general who controlled the Maratha artillery. His name was Ibrahim Khan Gardi and he refused to be wooed in the name of religion to side with the Afghans. None of the warring parties had any doubt about the prize to be had by the victor: the throne of Delhi.

Ahmed Shah crossed the Indus at Attock, then moving across north Punjab he crossed the Yamuna near Saharanpur into the territories of the Rohilla Afghans who sought his support against the Marathas.

On the march from Saharanpur to Delhi Ahmed Shah encountered a troop under the command of Dataji Shinde and then another under the command of Malhar Rao Holkar. Both were defeated.

Ahmed Shah over took Delhi, left a small contingent in the town and moved further south with the rest of his forces to Anupshahr, over a 100 kms south.

In the meanwhile the Marathas, under the command of Sadashiv Rao Bhau, having amassed a huge army of 70,000, retook Delhi from the Afghans and moved up north to attack Kunjpura, some 90 km away.

Ahmed Shah tried to save his garrison at Kunjpura but could not. He was on the eastern banks of the Yamuna and his position was extremely vulnerable. The Marathas, however, confident about their strength and numbers entrenched themselves at Panipat and let the Afghan forces cross the river and settle down facing them across the fields. The Marathas blocked the pathway of Ahmed Shah to Afghanistan just as Ahmed Shah blocked their supply routes from the Deccan.

Thus the two forces remained entrenched for two and a half months. In these two and a half months the two armies snatched provisions from the locals thus destroying the land in and around Panipat almost entirely even before any battle had been fought. It was only when it was not possible to keep the army in camp any longer that the Marathas decided to join battle.

Both sides had almost the same number of soldiers. Half of Ahmed Shah's forces were made up of his Indian allies. Almost half of the Maratha forces were made of mercenaries who were in the war for booty that the victorious Marathas always provided. And the Maratha track record in getting a victory on the battle field was quite good. This battle has been one of the most studied battles of Indian history. It lasted from sunrise to just before sunset.

For most of the day the Marathas had an upper hand and pulverized Ahmed Shah and his allies. But by 4 pm, the tide of battle began to turn. All the Maratha troops had become engaged in battle while Ahmed Shah still had a few troops in reserve. These fresh reserves were brought forth and the Maratha rout began. To make matters worse the prisoners taken at Kunjpura by the Marathas too began to attack the Marathas from behind. By sunset both sides decided to stop the battle. Most of the people on the battle field had either died or lay dying by then.

At night the Marathas decided to leave the battle field and escaped back towards Delhi. Sadashivrao Bhau's wife, who had been in-charge of the camp administration, too managed to flee along with her bodyguards.

The writer is Professor of History and Chairman of the Department of History, Panjab University, Chandigarh.

This following quote from the above article caught my eye:

Quote

The Marathas on their part stated that it was their holy duty to punish the invading Afghans for having desecrated the Golden Temple at Amritsar.

This does not seem correct. I have never seen any evidence that the Marathas were upset at Siri Darbar Sahib desecration by Abdali. Here are some points to note:

1. The Sikhs stayed totally away from the conflict between the Marathas and Abdali because like Jats of Bharatpur and Rajputs of Rajputana, the Marathas had also alienated the Sikhs because of their upperhandedness and ego.

2. Prior to the Panipat battle, the Marathas at one time took over whole of Punjab and present day Pakistan but they did not include the Sikhs as shareholders in power, rather they appointed Adina Begh of Jalandhar as their governor in Punjab.

No doubt, if the Marathas had won the battle of Panipat, the history of India would have been totally different. Perhaps the British would have never ruled India but then there is also very high chance that the Sikh nation would have been a reality as a result of this. The Sikhs would have established their kingdom nevertheless and today, a huge Sikh nation might have been flourishing in the North of India and present day Pakistan.

It would be interesting to imagine what would have been the position of Sikhs if this had occurred.

Kulbir Singh

They say that if raja ranjit singhs grandfather stayed alive another 10yrs then the Sikhs would have ruled the whole of India.....

If sant Bhindravale was alive right now no body would have dared to do what's happening in luddiana right now.


daas,
Guptkhalsa

You'r right Gupt khalsaji he was the leader of our army.

Daas,
Khalsaji.

Or Sukhdev Singh Babbar!

Abdali attacked Darbar Sahib not once but many times and Darbar Sahib was desecrated couple of times prior to Abdali’s invasions but Marathas never marched to Punjab. When Timur burnt the Thamn Sahib, Marathas never came forward. Heck they never fought for their own temples. In fact, when Marathas attacked Tipu Sultan and lost, on the way back they destroyed a hindu temple in his territory which was later built by Tipu Sultan. So expecting Marathas to fight Abdali for Darbar Sahib when they destroyed their own temples is simply ridiculous. Where were the Marathas in 1984? They had their own selfish interests and never fought for united India. Only Sikhs are the true heir to rule India.

hi friends you are not aware the right history of marathas we maratha are the first community to fought successfully against the mughals and all the muslim sultans in the leadership of great Shivaji.We always fought for our country and independence we never quit with anyone even Abdali is also talking great words for us he speaks i never saw this kind of worriers.so pls do not think wrongly.

Bottom line is that it was only the Singhs who pushed the Afghans all the way back to Kabul. No other martial community in India had achieved that. Agreed, many defended their lands, a few were even successful, but neither Marathas nor Rajputs took the battle to the house of the enemy, except Singhs.

Quote

hi friends you are not aware the right history of marathas we maratha are the first community to fought successfully against the mughals and all the muslim sultans in the leadership of great Shivaji.We always fought for our country and independence we never quit with anyone even Abdali is also talking great words for us he speaks i never saw this kind of worriers.so pls do not think wrongly.

Dear Rahul, welcome to this message board. I agree that the Marathas did a lot of good for the nation by fighting the foreign rule but your statement that they fought for India and its independence is not true. As I wrote before, the main reason why the Marathas lost the the third battle of Panipat is that they had alienated other indigenous people like Sikhs, Jats, and Rajputs. Marathas had been plundering Rajputhana (Rajsthan) and this is why the Rajputs stayed neutral in the Panipat battle.

When they ran over Punjab, they did not help Sikhs but instead made Adina Begh the governor of Punjab. For this reason, the Sikhs stayed away for the most part, with the exception of the Patiala Sikh kingdom who did provide supplies to the Marathas. Same way the Jats of Bahavalpur too were upset with the Marathas and backed off from helping them.

If they had worked together with Sikhs, Jats and Rajputs, then they could have never lost the battle of Panipat but they always tried to suppress other communities in India.

Kulbir Singh

The thought of uniting India as one country or fighting for its independence never entered the Maratha mind and unfortunately Sikhs too lost sight of this idea after Nawab Kapoor Singh. Marathas fought for their own kingdom and even plundered their own subjects. It was Marathas who after losing to Teepu Sultan destroyed a Hindu temple in his kingdom which Teepu rebuilt with his own money.

Shivaji’s inspiration came from his teacher Samrath Ramdas who was greatly influenced by the sixth Guru Hargobind Ji. It was the Sikh doctrine of Miri Piri which was taught to Shivaji by his teacher. In order to become a king, Shivaji paid 4 crore and 96 lakh rupees to Brahmins to upgrade his caste so he could be enthroned. Brahmins conditioned him to rule according to Varna System which he did and it is recorded in history that he was most cruel to his own caste people.

Though Sikhs fought to free their own homeland, mainly Punjab, but they never oppressed anyone and all those who accepted the Rakhi system were never plundered. In case of Marathas such was never the case. I do not mean to say Marathas were bad but they did not fight for anything except their own kingdom, to secure which they sometimes fought under Delhi rulers. Marathas never recovered their might after Panipat battle whereas Sikhs took over Punjab and defeated Abdali within three years. So in the North, Sikhs are the clear winners. Guru Rakha

Rahul ji

Marathas under Shiva ji fought guerrilla war against Moghals at local level.
They knew western ghats well and that helped them.

[www.thesikhencyclopedia.com]

MARATHA-SIKH RELATIONS

Posted in Historical Events in Sikh History - The Sikh Empire [1799 - 1839]


MARATHASIKH RELATIONS spanning a period of half a century from 1758 to 1806 alternated between friendly cooperation and mistrust born out of rivalry of political and military ambition. Although Shivaji (1627-80), the founder of Maratha power, and Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708), the creator of the Khalsa, both rose against the tyiannical rule of Aurarigzib, and although the Sikhs` real crusade in the Punjab took its birth on the banks of the River Godavari in Maharashtra, the two forces did not come in direct contact with each other until the Marathas, in a bid to fill the power vacuum caused by the fall of the Mughal empire, expanded their influence as far as Delhi.

By this time, while the Marathas had reached the zenith of their power, the Sikhs, caught in the pincer grip of Mughal and Afghan persecutors, were still struggling for survival. Ahmad Shah Durrani during his fourth invasion (November 1756 April 1757) had occupied the Punjab. He appointed his young son, Taimur, his viceroy at Lahore with his trusted general. Jahan Khan as his deputy. Adina Beg, reinstated as faujddr of the Jalandhar Doab, on being harassed by Taimur andJahan Khan, sought the help of the Sikhs. With their help he was about to defeat the Lahore force sent against him in December 1757.

But not sure about the Sikh strength that would be available against a heavier force sent or led byJahan Khan orAhmad Shah Durrani himself, he also invited in January 1758, Raghunath Rao, who was stationed at Delhi at the head of a large Maratha army, to invade the Punjab, offering him 1,00,000 rupees for each day`s march and 50,000 rupees for each halt. On 8 March 1758, Raghunath Rao arrived near Sirhind where Adina Beg and his Sikh allies joined him. Sirhind was besieged. On 21 March the town fell and was sacked thoroughly. The SikhMaratha coalition was soon strained over the distribution of spoils. Sikhs, owing to their initiative and knowledge of the local geography, took the lion`s share; the Marathas demanded a share proportionate to the number of troops.

The situation was saved by Adina Beg who brought about peace between the two. To avoid any further clash during their march together, itwas agreed that Sikhs would remain two marches ahead of the Marathas. The combined SikhMaratha army occupied Lahore on 20 April 1758, the Afghan prince and his deputy having fled northward the previous day. Raghunath Rao appointed Adina Beg governor of Lahore and leaving two small garrisons atAttock and Multan returned to Delhi. In November 1759, Ahmad Shah Durrani, invading India for the fifth time, wiped out the Maratha forces in the Punjab.

He inflicted a crushing defeat on the Marathas in the third battle of Panipat in January 1761. The next contact of the Sikhs with the Marathas was in JanuaryFebruary 1765 when they both fought on the side ofJawahar Singh of Bharatpur, against Najib udDaula, the Ruhila chief who had killed theJat ruler`s father, Suraj Mall, in a battle at Delhi in December 1763. Jawahar Singh hired thcservices of both the Sikhs and the Marathas to avenge himself on Najib.

The Sikhs, 15,000 strong, under SardarJassa Singh Ahluvalia defeated the Ruhilas in a battle fought on the northern outskirts of Delhi on 4 February 1765, but Jawahar Singh did not succeed in his venture owing to the faithlessness of the Maratha commander, Malhar Rao, who along with some treacherous Jat officers arrived at a secret understanding with Najib udDaula forcing the Bharatpur ruler to accept peace. Jawahar Singh had another score to settle with the Marathas, too. They had supported his brother, Nahar Singh, in his claim to the throne of his father. He now took nearly eight thousand Sikhs into his pay to make another assault.

He defeated them in a battle fought near Dholpur on 1314 March 1766 and occupied Dholpur, formerly held by Nahar Singh as an appanage. Jawahar Singh with his Sikh troops then went to the help of the Jat prince of Gohad against the Marathas. Together they raided Maratha territory in central India. Jawahar Singh was assassinated in June 1768 and his brother, Ratan Singh, who succeeded him, was similarly done away the following year. A civil war broke out between their halfbrothers, Naval Singh and Ranjit Singh. The Sikhs sided with Ranjit Singh while Naval Singh invited the Marathas and the Ruhilas to assist him. A fierce battle took place on 24 February 1770, in which the Maratha cavalry was severely mauled.

Naval Singh however carried the day and the Sikhs had to retire to the Punjab. Although the Sikhs were now masters of Punjab, Marathas had reemerged as the strongest power in India. Mahadji Scindia, chief of Gwalior, occupied Delhi in January 1771 and the nominal Mughal emperor, Shah `Alam II, who had been living under British protection at Allahabad, returned to the imperial capital early in January 1772 as the Marathas` protege. Mahadji was appointed VakiliMutlaq or Regent Plenipotentiary of the Mughal Empire in November 1784. His principal duty was to restore peace and order in the country and to supply the Emperor with sufficient funds which largely came as revenue from the crownlands.

The Sikhs, free from the danger of foreign invasions after the death of Ahmad Shah Durrani in April 1772, had been plundering the crownlands north of Delhi and in the Ganga Yamuna Doab, and revenues from these lands had almost completely ceased to come to Delhi. Even the imperial city was no longer secure against their raids. Mahadji Scindia tried to win over the Sikhs by diplomacy. He dispatched several agents, one after the other, to open parleys with the Sikhs; on the other hand, he won over Begam Samru to his side making over several parganahs to her in jagir. A treaty of "unity of interests and of friendship" with the Sikhs was concluded on 9 May 1785 according to which the Sikhs agreed to forgo rakhi in the Gang Doab and other crownlands in exchange for jagirs worth one million rupees a year granted to different sardars.

To meet any external danger or internal disturbance both powers were to help each other. The Sikhs also agreed not to cause any injury to the territories of the British East India Company and the Nawab of Oudh. The treaty, however, did not endure beyond a month and the Sikhs entered the Gang Doab in June 1785 to collect rakhi. In December 1785, Khushal Singh Singhpuria occupied Chhatand Banur which belonged to Raja Sahib Singh of Patiala, who soliciting help from the Marathas, regained the territory. In January 1786, in the struggle for succesion among the sons of Raja Gajpat Singh of Jind, Bhup Singh sought the Marathas` help against his brother, Bhag Singh, in lieu of which he surrendered Safidori to them.

In April 1789, Mahadji Scindia deputed two of his generals, Rane Khan and `Alt Bahadur, to negotiate alliance with the Sikhs, Sardar Baghel Singh KarorSinghia and Diwan Nanu Mall of Patiala. The latter, however, doubted their intentions and called reinforcements from beyond the Sutlej. 12,000 Sikhs immediately responded to their call. Nanu Mall, however, presented himself before the Maratha generals and bought peace by offering 4,00,000 rupees as annual tribute and another 2,00,000 rupees as expenses of their army. Rane Khan pressed on towards Patiala. An inconclusive skirmish took place with the Sikhs on 15 April 1789 at Bhuncrheri, 16 km southeast of Paliala.

A settlement was at last arrived at according to which Baghcl Singh was granted a large jagir on the condition that he would keep the Sikh chiefs from assailing the Marathas; the cisSutlcj states acknowledged the supremacy of Mahadji Scindia; and several Sardars were granted jagirs or confirmed in their estates in the Gang Doab against their undertaking not to allow other Sikhs to attack the Doab. This pact, too, was shortlived and the Sikhs resumed, from March 1790 onwards, their depredations without check or hindrance. Only once, in February 1794, the Marathas with the support of Begam Samru`s welldisciplined artillery regiment could frustrate their attempt to seize Saharanpur. Mahadji Scindia died on 12 February 1794 and was succeeded by Daulat Rao Scindia.

In September 1795, one of his generals, Nana Rao came to realize tribute due from the Sikh chiefs, but was beaten back. George Thomas, an Irish adventurer in the Marathas` pay was then given charge of the northern region. He kept fighting the Sardars on both sides of the Yamuna and was often successful because of his artillery, an arm the Sikhs did not then possess. In April 1798, George Thomas gave up Maratha service and settled down atJhajjar and Harisi as an independent chief. He expanded his power and carried out frequent raids on the territories of the cisSutlej Sikh chiefs, who in 1801 sought help from Perron, a French general in the service ofScindias and commander of the northern division of the Maratha army.

He readily agreed, but as the combined SikhMaratha troops forced George Thomas to surrender by the end of the year, the Sikh chiefs began to resent the heavy exactions imposed upon them by Perron. The short spell of Maratha supremacy, however, was broken by the emergence of the British as the dominating power in India. Daulat Rao Scindia after his defeat at Lasvari on 1 November 1803, ceded to the British the districts of Delhi, Agra, Gurgaori, Rohtak and Hissar. The Brilisli also occupied the GangaYamuna Doab. The last SikhMaratha contact look place in 1805 whenjasvant Rao Holkar, Maratha chief of Indore, defeated and pursued by the British General, Lord Lake, entered the Punjab and sought help from Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

The Maharaja, after consultation with his principal Sardars at Amritsar in what is remembered as the last meeting of the Sarbatt Khalsa, only offered to mediate between Holkar and the British. As a result of the parleys that followed, two treaties were signed. The first treaty signed on 1 January 1806 by Lord Lake and Sardar Patch Singh Ahluvalia representing the British GovernorGeneral and Maharaja Ranjit Singh respectively, stipulated Holkar`s exit from the Punjab; according to the second, between the British andJasvant Rao Holkar, signed on 11 January 1806, the latter gave up his rights north of the River Chambal while the former undertook not to interfere with his territories south of that river.

References :

1. Bhangu, Ratan Singh, Prachin Panth Prakash. Amritsar, 1914
2. Gian Singh, Giani, Twarikh Guru Khalsa [Reprint]. Patiala, 1970
3. Gupta, Hari Ram, History of the Sikh,. Delhi, 1978-82
4. Sinha, N. K., Rise of the Sikh Power. Calcutta, 1960
5. Harbans Singh, The Heritage of the Sikhs. Delhi, 1983
6. Khushwant Singh, A History of the Sikh, vol. I. Princeton, 1963

Marathas under Anta Rao had invaded patiala state of sikhs.Ruler of Patiala was Raja Sahib Singh.
His sister was Rani sahib kaur who was married to Jai Singh Kanihya.

As raja himself was himself not very popular with his subjects, his sister took command of joint forces
of patiala and forces sent by three other sikh chiefs of Jind, Thanesar and kalsia.

A fierce battle took place near Ambala. The Sikhs were outnumbered by Marathas in strength. Rani sahib
kaur alighted from her chariot with drawn kirpan and inspired her forces to fight to end.Prof. Mohan singh had
written a very famous poem on this. he wrote

Likhia sahib Kaur Ne Anta rao Tani
Main nagin dunga jis nu Nahin mangda pani

Main Chandi Gobind Singh dee, vairy ( enemy) dal khani
Main Kar Kar suttan dakre sabh teri dhani

Main chungh chungh doke burian de chari jawani
Main lar lar naal Bahadran de hoi siani ( wise)

Main sheehni Panj dariya dee mainu Kali Na jaani

( Sahib Kaur wrote to Anta Rao Tani
I am she cobra and whosoever bite does not ask for water

I am Chandi of Gobind Singh ji and will decimate enemy
I will cut your forces into small pieces

I have grown by drinking milk directly from brown buffaloes
I have attained battlefield wisdom by fighting in company of bravehearts

I am lioness of Five rivers, do not consider me alone)

Marathas were defeated and fled the field.
This was famous poem in Punjab representing sikh spirit.

I just read extremely hateful words towards Sikhs by a Marathi guy on Facebook and came here to search as I faintly remembered we discussed this a while back. I haven't read this entire thread in detail, but there are a few things that come to mind...

--As I mentioned above, Marathas were not able to push the Afghans all the way to Kabul.
--They were never a threat to the Muslims as big as Sikhs, which is why there is no record of Muslims putting a price on their heads.
--I feel that true strength isn't merely fighting an enemy and winning. It should also be measured in terms of how soon can one spring up after getting hit. As mentioned above Marathas suffered a broken backbone after Panipat, but Sikhs always managed to re-group and fight back.
--Yes, the Marathas ruled Punjab for a brief period, but so did Muslims. Ruling is one thing, maintaining and consolidating an empire is totally different. Sikhs were able to establish their rule twice in Punjab after great sacrifices, whereas Marathas were able to become the rulers only after a power vacuum was created as a result of 4 fighting entities battling it for Punjab, namely Sikhs, Marathas, Afghans and the Delhi Mughals. Please correct me if I am wrong, but the Marathas didn't really win Punjab with the intention to capture/conquer it, it just happened to fall under their power because of the same power vacuum.
--Marathas never fought battles like Chamkaur Sahib, Saragarhi, or June 1984 where they were totally outnumbered yet refused to give up.

No doubt they were brave, but the conviction which the Sikhs had surpassed the Marathas.