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Im surprised you think Khalsa has such character as stealing and looting. There is no evidence to suggest Khalsa looted the Mughals.
If the Khalsa were in dire straits and their very survival depended on looting who are we to judge?
Be good if someone can provide authentic sources for the following accounts:
From Panthkhalsa.org
Jathedar Darbara Singh (1716-1733)
The period between 1716 to 1733 was the darkest period of the Sikh history The policy of Farrukh Siyar, Abdul Sama and Zakriya Khan was total extinction of Sikhs. The price was laid at the head of Sikhs and the Sikh persecution was to be done most vigorously. But the spiritual message of the Gurus and the stories of the undeterred faith even in the face of tortured deaths, kept their spirits high. Banda Singh had left a lasting mark on the character of the Sikhs. He fanned the fire of independence, ignited by the tenth Guru. They believed that there was no higher cause for a holy man than to destroy the oppressive and tyrant force of the Mughal empire. The Sikhs lived in jungles and deserts under extreme conditions of poverty and helplessness but their spirits were kept high by theit leaders like Tara Singh who with his ill-equipped and half fed men fought like tigers against Zakriya Khan's 4000 strong punitive force under the command of General Moman Khan. Each one of them died fighting a brave man's death but also wrought havoc in the ranks of the enemies.
The Sikhs all over Punjab burnt with the spirit of revenging the death of Bhai Tara Singh and his companions, organised themselves under the command of Jathedar Darbara Singh, and after passing Gurmata at a gathering at Amritsar, started inflicting casualties on the Mughals and looting the imperial treasury. As the number of Sikhs, who
plundered the imperial treasuries and destroyed the Government officials, continued to increase, Zakriya Khan realised his utter futility in annihilating the Sikhs and decided to adopt a policy of conciliation by offering them a Jagir with an annual revenue of one lakh rupees and the title of Nawab for their leader. The policy bore the desired fruit; the Sikhs accepted the Jagir and the title. This happened in 1733. And with this ended the darkest period of the Sikh annals and persecution.
Though worst persecutions were to follow, but the later period was not potent with destructive factors as after 1733 Sikhs had a strong, capable and unanimously accepted leader.
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Daljeet Singh Kharak Singh "Sikhism, its Philosophy and History"
below is only an excerpt
Nadir Shah entered Delhi as a victor on 9th March, 1739. He demanded 2.5 million Rupees as retribution, but the Rangila Emperor had nothing in his government treasury. He threw open his personal safe of jewels, and Nadir availed himself of all the diamonds and rubies of the Peacock Throne, and also the famous Koh-i-noor.
He left Delhi at the beginning of May 1739, taking with him a few thousand Indian girls (both Hindu and Muslim), a large number of boys as slaves and thousands of elephants, horses and camels loaded with the booty his men had collected. The hollow shell that made up the Mughal empire had been smashed open by Nadir Shah with one sweep, and the Sikhs quickly moved in to collect the broken pieces.
During his stay at Delhi, the
Sikhs had come out of their jungle retreats and had no difficulty in looting all the Mughal posts at countryside from the river Chenab to the areas around Karnal. Zakaria Khan's police forces were too demoralised to offer resistance. So Nadir's arrival was most opportune for the Sikhs in the replenishment of their depleted stores. Again when people learnt about his departure from Delhi, the rich landlords and noblemen promptly evacuated the cities and headed for the hills as they could not trust Mughals for their security anymore. Mohmmad Shah Rangila was a bad administrator, all his croonies had looted the rich landlors and elite after Nadir Shah left to fill up the coffers of Mughal kingdom.
Meahwhile, The Khalsa bands got together and passed a resolution: "Nadir Shah must deliver a part of the booty he was carrying away from Delhi." Nadir, on the other hand, felt that his reputation was a sufficient deterrent to anyone attacking him on the way. He had chosen the route along the foothills of the northern mountains to escape the heat of the plains. His baggage train being heavy-laden, lagged well behind his main force, and it was quite a shock for him to hear on reaching Akhnoor by the river Chenab, that all his slaves had been freed by Sikh bands, who had
also seized a large share of his gold. Sardar Jassa Singh Ahluwalia who had just turned 21, showed a glimpse of his greatness as a leader by planning those raids, and by escorting the freed maidens to responsible homes from where they could return to their families.Zakaria Khan had accompanied Nadir Shah to Akhnoor, and Nadir asked Zakaria Khan who those Sikhs were. On being told that they were all bands of poor sadhus, without clothing or riches, he asked;
"Then why don't you burn their houses down to punish them ?"
To that Zakaria replied,
"Their only homes are the saddles of their horses. They can last long
periods without food and rest. They are known to sleep on horseback.
We have put prizes on their heads, but their numbers keep increasing.
They are never despondent, but are always singing the songs of their Pirs."
With a sigh, Nadir admitted that in that case the Sikhs would one day rule the land. Then he obtained a promise of a tribute of 2 million Rupees annually from Lahore, and confirmed the appointment of Zakaria Khan at Lahore and of his son Shah Nawaz Khan at Multan (where Abdus Samad Khan had just died).
With the departure of Nadir Shah, Zakaria Khan took stock of his household and saw it all in ruins. He decided to take full revenge on the Sikhs for all his misfortunes.
The way I see it, under exceptional circumstances certain actions performed in good faith cannot be considered as 'crimes' at least not in the real sense of the word. Its not as black and white as you make it out to be.
ਸਤਿਗੁਰਬਚਨਕਮਾਵਣੇਸਚਾਏਹੁਵੀਚਾਰੁ॥
