(Koi kisi ko raj na de hai, jo le hai nij bal se le hai) means that sovereignty or power is not given away as a gift by anyone; it is attained through one's own inner strength, struggle, and sovereign capability.
These uplifting words of Guru Gobind Singh inspired the Sikhs and empowered the Khalsa to destroy the power of Mughal and Afghan powerhouses to establish Sikh sovereignty in North-West India.
Foundation of Khalsa Raj
Baba Banda Singh Bahadur laid the foundation of Sikh power by transforming a spiritual movement into an active military resistance, rallying the rural peasantry, defeating key Mughal strongholds of Sirhind in 1710, abolishing the exploitative feudal land system, and establishing independent sovereign rule in Punjab and Haryana.
Banda Singh Bahadur's key achievement include:
- Established the first sovereign Sikh rule with capital at Lohgarh (Mukhlisgarh) in Haryana
- Carving out territory between the Sutlej and Yamuna rivers managed by Khalsa Panchayat (Khap)
- Abolished the oppressive Nawab-led zamindari feudal system, granting direct property rights and dignity to the tillers and common peasants of Punjab, Haryana, and Western UP.
- Minted official coins and seals in the names of Guru Nanak and Guru Gobind Singh.
Banda Singh first established the Sikh tradition of coinage in the name of the Sikh Gurus rather than a rulers own name.
Obverse: Persian Script: Sikka Zad Bar Har Do Alam Fazl Sachcha Sahib Ast Fath-i-Gur Gobind Singh Shah-i-Shahan Tegh-i-Nanak Wahib Ast
"Coin struck through each of the two worlds (spiritual and temporal) by the grace of the True Lord. Of the victory of Guru Gobind Singh, King of Kings, Nanak's sword is the provider."
Reverse: Persian Script: Zarb Khalsa Mubarak Bakht Ba-Aman Ud-Dahr Zinat At-Takht Mashwarat Shahr. Sanah 3
"Struck by the Khalsa of auspicious fortune at the Refuge of the Age, the Ornament of the Throne, the City of the Council. Year 3" The year refers to the third year since Banda Singh's initial conquest of Sirhind in 1710.
The Rise of Khalsa Misls
The rise of Sikh Misls (independent, sovereign warrior confederacies) occurred during mid to late18th century, filling the power vacuum left by the declining Mughal Empire and frequent Afghan invasions.
Following the martyrdom of Banda Singh Bahadur in 1716, Sikhs faced intense Mughal persecution and split into small, mobile martial bands called Jathas. In 1748, during the festival of Baisakhi, leader Nawab Kapur Singh organized these scattered groups into a unified military confederacy called the Dal Khalsa. The Dal Khalsa was structured into 12 distinct Misls (derived from the Arabic word for "equal"), each led by a Misldar (Warlord).
These Misls offered a protection plan (Rakhi) to local farmers against Mughal revenue collectors and Afghan raiders in exchange for a share of their agricultural produce. The Misls would congregate twice a year at Amritsar for Sarbat Khalsa to pass collective resolutions (Gurmattas) on political and military strategy, maintaining unity despite internal rivalries.The Misls successfully repelled the brutal invasions of Afghan ruler Ahmad Shah Abdali, and capturing the Mughal stronghold of Lahore thus completely liberating Punjab from foreign rule by the late 1760s.
Subjugation of Mughal Empire
In 1783 Sikh Misls led by Jassa Singh Ahluwalia and Baghel Singh Dallewal camped near Gaziabad, UP. They were supported by the Jats of Haryana and Western UP. Prince Mirza Shikoh, on orders from the emperor, tried to stop the Sikhs but suffered defeat, and fled. On March 9, Sikhs captured Ajmeri Gate. There was a panic in the city; many took shelter in the fort. Jassa Singh Ramgarhia joined the Sikh forces at the last moment with 10,000 soldiers.
The Sikhs attacked the Red Fort on March 11,1783. The emperor and all his guards, in fact everyone in the fort, hid themselves. The story goes that an insider informed Sikhs of a weak spot in the wall of the fort, where the soldiers made a hole by ramming it with wooden logs; the place is named as Mori Gate, the location of Inter State Bus terminus (ISBT).
The Sikhs entered the Red Fort, hoisted the Nishan Sahib, and occupied Diwan-e-Aam, a key location in the fort, where the emperor, sitting on the throne, used to have audience with the public. In a symbolic gesture, Baghel Singh asked Sardar Jassa Singh Ahluwalia to sit on the throne as the supreme leader of Dal Khalsa but he declined.
As many as 30,000 Sikh horsemen of Baghel Singh’s army were camping at a place now known as Tees Hazari, location of the Delhi High Court. After negotiations, the Sikhs forces agreed to leave Delhi and reinstate the Mughal emperor, Shah Alam II. The condition of their retreat included a Nazrana of Rs. 100,000 paid by the emperor to the Sikhs, and construction of seven Sikh Gurdwaras in Delhi, including the Gurdwara Sis Ganj in Chandni Chowk near the red fort.
Takht-e-Taus, he symbol of Mughal power and splendor, the famous peacock throne was no longer there is it was taken by Nadir Shah to Iran. Sikh Misl chief Jassa Singh Ramgarhia then ordered the removal of the rectangular stone slab upon which the Mughal emperor used to sit on the peacock throne. The slab measuring 6 feet by 4 feet was uprooted, enchained, and dragged all the way to Amritsar. The imperial seat was placed at the bottom of Ramgarhia Bunga (Tower) at a level much below the level of Akal Takht, the seat of Sikh military and political power.
Retreat of Afghans from Punjab
The Sikhs defeated Ahmad Shah Abdali (Durrani) through a relentless, decades-long campaign of attrition. They combined mastery of asymmetric guerrilla warfare, rapid counter-offensives, and unbreakable organizational resilience to turn Punjab into an unsustainable "graveyard" for the Afghan military machine.
Abdali's massive invading armies required moving large amounts of plundered wealth, treasure, and captives back to Kabul. The Dal Khalsa exploited this bottleneck masterfully:
- Sikhs waited out Abdali's main force in safe havens like the Lakhi Jungle or the Shivalik foothills.
- As soon as the fatigued Afghan army began marching back to Afghanistan through Punjab, the Sikhs launched brutal, continuous night raids.
- They repeatedly liberated enslaved captives and recaptured looted treasures, turning Abdali's hard-won victories into massive economic and military embarassments.
The Third Battle of Panipat took place on 14 January 1761, about 60 miles north of Delhi between Maratha and Ahmad Shah Abdali. The Afghans decimated the Maratha flanks. Most of Maratha leaders like Vilas Rao Bhau, Sadashiv Rao Bhau, Jankoji Scindhia, and Ibrahim Gardi were killed in the battle. The Afghan cavalry and pikemen ran wild through the streets of Panipat, killing tens of thousands of Maratha soldiers and their families. His booty included 22,000 Hindu women being taken to Afghanistan to be sold into slavery. On the way they were allowed to be used by the Afghan soldiers to satisfy their lust.
So far, the Sikhs had watched this theater from a distance by not taking any sides in this battle. The Sikhs were at Sarbat Khalsa at Amritsar when the relatives of the women pleaded for help. They heard of the slaughter of innocent, rapes of women, and capture of more than twenty thousands Maratha women by the Afghans. Dal Khalsa passed a resolution that they will not allow Afghans to take Maratha women through Punjab to Afghanistan.
Jassa Singh Ahluwalia led the a volunteer force and caught up with the Afghans at the River Sutlej at Goindwal. The Afghans were dismayed at the swiftness and ferocity of Sikh attack. Before they could gather themselves to counter the attack, the Sikhs rescued the Maratha women and carried away much of Abdali's booty.
Abdali reached the safety of Kabul with a bruised ego and a broken nose. He had to wear a silver mask for the rest of his life to cover his severed nose. He returned to take revenge but was confronted by Sardar Charat Singh, chief of the Sukerchakia Misl (and grandfather of Maharaja Ranjit Singh) from Gujranwala.
- Charat Singh intercepted Abdalis prominent general, Nur-ud-Din Bamazei across the Chenab River. Nur-ud-Din was forced to flee and took shelter inside Sialkot Fort. Charat Singh laid siege to the fort forcing him to abandon his troops and flee to Jammu under the cover of darkness.
- Abdali ordered Khwaja Ubaid Khan, the governor of Lahore to march with a large army to attack Charat Singh’s base at Gujranwala. Ubaid Khan suffered a catastrophic defeat and fled back to Lahore, abandoning his ammunition, treasury, and heavy artillery directly into Charat Singh's hands.
- In the summer of 1764, Charat Singh teamed up with Bhangi Misl to attack Rohtas fort held by Sarbuland Khan Sadozai, the Afghan general and the maternal uncle of Ahmad Shah Abdali. Sikhs defeated the Afghans and Sarbuland Khan was taken as prisoner and later released.
- During Abdali's eighth and final major invasion of India (1766–1767), Charat Singh and a coalition of Sikh chiefs confronted Abdali's premier military commander, Jahan Khan Popalzai, at Sialkot. Relying on aggressive mobile cavalry strikes, Charat Singh's forces defeated the Afghan divisions, inflicting thousands of casualties and permanently convincing Abdali that Punjab could never be tamed.
All these military successes against Mughal and Afghan armies, paved way in Punjab for the 'Khalsa Raj" of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
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