Hill States–Sikh wars

The Hill States–Sikh wars, also known as the Sikh–Pahari Raja wars, was a set of battles and conflicts fought by the Sikhs and the rajas (kings) of the Hill States located in the Sivalik Hills.

Prelude


Guru Hargobind came in contact with some of the chiefs of the Rajput states in the Gwalior Fort where he along with the others were held captive under the orders of Mughal Emperor Jahangir. He also helped Dharam Chand, a prince of Hindur to regain his throne after being released from Gwalior. The guru was also able to be the founder of the city Kiratpur Sahib by the Kahlur state. The Raja of Kangra, Rai Jodh, aided Guru Hargobind in the Battle of Lahira against the Mughals. This caused closer relationships between the two parties. However, when Bhim Chand became the ruler of Kahlur, he fought the Sikhs, making them their main enemy.

Conflict during Guru Gobind Singh's era
Kahlur attacked the Sikhs in 1682. There are several reasons to why. Bhim Chand, the ruler of Kahlur did not like the large gatherings and war-like activities in the vicinity of his capital. However, the main reason for the attack was that Guru Gobind Singh used to beat a huge war drum called Ranjit Nagara every morning and it echoed for miles. The Raja objected to this practice, declaring that it was the privilege of the ruler alone. The guru paid no heed to this objection. Therefore, Bhim Chand attacked the 16 year old Guru but was repulsed.

After the clash in 1682, skirmishes frequently occurred between the two parties. Bhim Chand connived with the Raja of Kangra and Guler to expel the guru from Anandpur. They attacked Anandpur in early 1685 but were beaten off by the Sikhs.

Battle of Bhangani
The Battle of Banani was a major battle fought between an alliance of the different kings of Shivalik Hills with Bhim Chand's Kahlur and the Sikhs.

During April 1685, the Guru shifted his residence to Paonta in Sirmur State. He was invited by Mat Prakash who was the king of Sirmur. This is believed to occur because of his differences with Bhim Chand in Anandpur.

The town of Bhangani is located seven miles from the town of Paonta on the confluence of Jamuna and Giri rivers. Pir Buddhu Shah joined the Guru with his four sons, two brothers and 700 disciples.

The battle is believed to be fought for an entire day. The Sikhs numbered about 1,000 in strength and were later reinforced by a force of 507 troops. The Alliance of Hill Kings strength numbered around 10,000. The Guru came victorious and won the battle. The Bachittar Natak mentions that the enemy forces fled the battleground. Hari Chand, the king of Hindur was slain.

Temporary military alliance with Guru Gobind Singh
After the Battle of Bhangani, Bhim Chand and some other hill kings refused to pay tribute to the Mughal emperor which ultimately led to Battle of Nadaun. He sought for help to the Guru and made an alliance. The alliance of the Sikhs and Kahlur came out as the victors.

The exact date of the battle remains disputed. The main guess of the date is believed to be 1691 by Tony Jaques.

Attacks on Anandpur
Following the creation of the Khalsa the Hill Rajas were quite alarmed and jealous of the Guru. The Rajas thus began raiding Sikhs causing further tension between the Sikh and Rajas.

When Guru Gobind Singh was on a hunting trip Raja Balia Chand, and Alim Chand launched a surprise attack in hopes of capturing the Guru. They outnumbered the Sikh but Sikh reinforcements soon arrived. Balia Chand was shot dead by Bhai Udai Singh and Alim Chand had his hand cut off by Alam Singh. After the death and injury of the Rajas the army retreated.

After this defeat the Hill Rajas sent a petition to Delhi (The Mughal Empire) requesting their immediate assistance in battle. In response to this letter Aurangzeb sent 10,000 soldiers under Painde Khan and Din Beg. They were joined by 20,000 soldiers of the Hill Rajas. The Rajas and Mughals, whose combined army was 30,000, attacked the Sikhs who numbered 7,000. The Sikhs defeated the Mughal and Raja army killing Painde Khan and wounding Din Beg. The Sikhs chased the army all the way to Rupar.

Besieging Anandpur
The Hill Rajas were alarmed by the success of Guru Gobind Singh. In a meeting of the hill kings, they all decided collect high contingents of troops from every king alongside Gujjar and Ranghar levies (conscripted villagers) and attack the Sikhs in Anandpur. They besieged Anandpur. The Sikhs took position in the 5 forts at Anandpur. The Defence of Lohgarh was entrusted to Sher Singh and Nahar Singh, Udai Singh took charge of Fatehgarh and Sahibzada Ajit Singh took command of force defending Taragarh. The Hill Chief forces were led by General Jagutallah and is believed to be numbered around 300,000 troops.

For many days straight, the hill kings forces attacked the fortresses without success. One of the rajas named Ghumand Chand's horse was shot by a warrior named Alim Singh while he was killed himself by the hands of Bhai Himmat Singh.

The Rajas decided to send a peace treaty to Guru Gobind Singh after a council was held. They sent a letter which said, "Satguru, we are susceptible to the mistakes. We swear on the cow and the sacred thread that we will never raid the town of Anandpur. We are ashamed to show our faces to the hill people. If you abandon the Fort Anandgarh just once and come back later, it will help us to restore our dignity. Guru Gobind Singh was hesitiant to accept the Rajas demands, but the Sikhs insited upon it. After meeting Sikh commanders who proposed leaving Guru Gobind Singh and the Sikhs left Anandpur.

Mughal–Hill States alliance
In 1702, The Mughals and Hill Rajas made a plan to attack the Guru and the Sikhs at Nirmohgarh. The Rajas reinforced the Mughals and fought against the Sikhs in Battle of Nirmohgarh (1702). At Basoli, the Mughal and Hill King forces failed to subdue the Sikhs and faced defeat by retreating. In First Battle of Chamkaur, there was a small army of 500 soldiers with the Guru. Alif Khan could not fight alone which made the entire enemy force including the hill rajas retreat. In First Battle of Anandpur (1704), the commander of the Mughals was severely wounded while battling and retreated the force led by him.

The Mughals joined the Hill Kings. They besieged Anandpur with all supplies and communication cut off. The strength of the Hill Rajas and Mughals was ten to fifteen times more than the Sikhs. 8 months had passed without the Sikhs surrendering themselves to the enemy. Aurangzeb promised on the Quran while the Hill Rajas swore to their gods that the Sikhs will be safe if the Guru decides to leave the fort. The Sikhs left the fort.

When the Sikhs arrived at the Sarsa, the Mughals and Hill Rajas broke their oath and attacked the Sikhs. The Guru sent Bhai Jiwan Singh, Bhai Udai Singh and 48 other troops to Shahi Tibbi in order to defend the large army while everyone else tried to cross the river. When the Battle of Shahi Tibbi was taking place, the rest of the caravan including the guru had reached the bank of Sarsa River. The enemy forces had crushed the 50 Sikhs and reached Sarsa. There they reduced guru's forces from 400 men to 40. The next day, an army more than 700 times the size of the 40 Sikhs marched upon Chamkaur. However even after outnumbering them, they failed to capture Guru Gobind Singh. This was the last battle fought between the Hill Rajas and Guru Gobind Singh.

Banda Singh Bahadur's invasion
After wrestling Punjab from the Mughals and being its ruler, Banda Singh Bahadur launched an invasion on the Hill Kings. The first Hill state he focused on was Bilaspur which is also known as Kahlur. They sent a note to Raja Bhim Chand of Kahlur that he must face the wrath of the Khalsa Army. The main reason of attacking Kahlur was that they had always allied up with the Mughal Empire to fight Guru Gobind Singh. They both had a meeting and they made conditions on what they would do if they won the battle. Right after the meeting, Raja Bhim Chand placed as many troops as possible in order to defend the Kahlur Fort. There were around 1300 Mians including 7 war elephants. Banda Singh first sent 5 of his Sikhs to fight who were accompanied voluntary by a large number of Sikhs. Bhai Kehar Singh, Bhai Ranjit Singh and Baba Ranjor Singh eliminated the 7 war elephants. Bhai Bajar Singh marched towards the fort and brought down both of its main doors. Bhai Baghar Singh cleared the passage through enemy columns and destroyed the forces which were blocking the entrance of the fort. During all this time, the Khalsa contingents had arrived which made the remaining mians flee. Around the entire army was slain including every war elephant. Bilaspur's immense booty was plundered by the Sikhs.

After Kahlur, Mandi was the next by the Sikhs. Sudh Sain was the Raja of Mandi. He came to Mandi next as Raja Man Singh of Kullu attempted to capture Banda Singh but he dodged into Mandi. Kullu and Chamba were the next two targets until Banda Singh left the hills.

During Dal Khalsa
The first Sikh to invade Kangra State was Jassa Singh Ramgarhia. Kangra, the strongest of the hill states was ruled by Raja Sansar Chand Katoch. In 1774, Sansar Chand laid siege on the Kangra Fort which was held by a Mughal garrison. Unable to take it by himself, he called in aid of Jai Singh Kanhaiya. The latter accepted his invitation and the garrison was compelled to surrender. The fort was ultimately occupied by the Kanhaiya Misl and they refused to give it to the Raja.

On the Diwali day in 1784, all the Sikhs chiefs gathered at Amritsar, Jai Singh Kanhaiya behaved coldly with Maha Singh and refused his attempts to reconcile and called him a dancing boy. Maha Singh took this insult to heart. He invited Sansar Chand and Jassa Singh Ramgarhia to join him against the Kanhaiya Misl. The Kanhaiyas were defeated and Gurbaksh Singh Kanhaiya was killed. Sansar Chand finally occupied Kangra Fort.

Jammu was the principal state lying between Ravi River and Chenab River. Its most famous ruler Ranjit Dev was succeeded by Raja Braj Dev. Jammu was sacked twice by Maha Singh. Braj Dev was killed in a battle in 1787. His son Raja Sampuran Singh succeeded with Jammu becoming an autonomous tributary under the Sikh Misls.

Relations during Ranjit Singh's reign
In 1803, Sada Kaur's territory near Hoshiarpur was attacked by King Sansar Chand Katoch. Maharaja Ranjit Singh drove him away.

General Amar Singh Thapa of Nepal commanded his troops further to Kangra Fort of King Sansar Chand. They rested on Jwalamukhi and ultimately captured the fort. King Sansar Chand aided by 1500 soldiers of Sikh King Ranjit Singh fought against forces of Amar Singh at Ganesh Valley and retreated back only to attack at the evening. Due to the attack in the evening, the Nepali Army lost some positions and Amar Singh returned to Sutlej river as per agreement on 24 August 1809.

Sansar Chand was in war with Amar Singh Thapa and he had lost hope. He sought for Maharaja Ranjit Singh for help under the condition of giving Kangra Fort to the Sikh Empire. In August 1809, the Sikh Khalsa Army attacked the Nepalis in Kangra. The Gurkha army collapsed and the Kangra Fort was under the hands of Ranjit Singh. This was the last ever encounter between the Sikhs and Hill States.