Second siege of Anandpur

This article is about a siege that took place in the year 1704. For other sieges conducted at the same location, see Battle of Anandpur.

The second siege of Anandpur (anadapura dī ghērābadī), also known as the second battle of Anandpur (1704) ^{[lower-alpha 1]} (anadapura dī dūjī laṛā'ī sāla satārāṁ sau cāra), was a siege at Anandpur, between Sikhs and the Mughal governors, dispatched by Aurangzeb, Wazir Khan, Dilwaar Kahn and Zaberdast Khan, and aided by the vassal Rajas of the Sivalik Hills which lasted from May 1704 to 19 December 1704.^[7][1]

Second siege of Anandpur
Part of the Mughal-Sikh Wars and Hill States-Sikh Wars
19th century painting depicting the battle of Anandpur
Date May – 19th December 1704[1] Location Anandpur Result Mughal and Hill Raja victory[2]
Belligerents
Khalsa (Sikhs)	Mughal Empire Alliance of 22 Hill Rajas
Commanders and leaders
Guru Gobind Singh supreme general and in charge of Anandgarh Udai Singh in charge of Fatehgarh Mohkam Singh in charge of Holgarh Ajit Singh in charge of Kesgarh Jujhar Singh, Nahar Singh and Sher Singh in charge of Lohgarh Alam Singh Nachna in charge of Agampur   Daya Singh in charge of Northern Anandpur[3][4]	Aurangzeb Wazir Khan Zaberdast Khan Dilwaar Khan Ajmer Chand Bhim Chand Bhup Chand
Strength
500 hundred in each of the five forts of Anandpur and 500 hundred in reserve Total of 3,000–10,000[3][5][6] 2 cannons in Anandgarh[3]	100,000[6]

Background

The Hill Rajas were concerned about Gobind Singh's rising power and influence in their region along with dislike for the Sikh movement.^[8][9] In addition, the Hill Rajas were frustrated by the raids on their villages by the Sikhs from Anandpur who sought to acquire supplies, provisions and cash.^[10][11][12] According to Indubhusan Banerjee, the hill rajas and the Guru maintained harmony after the Raja of Kahlur had conceded villages adjacent to Anandpur, however with the proliferation of the Sikhs in Anandpur and the Guru's pursuit of expanding his territory, the Khalsa began to encroach upon the hill rajas' territory to coerce villagers for goods.^[13]

Eventually they sent a petition to the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb and launched a joint attack with the Mughals in 1700 which failed.^[14][15][16] After they besieged Anadpur without Mughal assistance which also failed.^[17][18] The Rajas decided to plan with the Mughals again and launched multiple joint attacks all of which failed.^[19][18]

Siege

News of all the defeats reached Aurangzeb who was furious. He gave orders that the Guru and all of his followers should be killed.^[20] In May 1704, Governors of Sirhind, Lahore, and Kashmir Wazir Khan, Zaberdast Khan, and Dilwaar Khan were sent by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, joined by the Hill Rajas, besieged Anandpur in an attempt to remove Guru and his followers.^{[21][2][22][20]} Aurangzeb also dispatched the Governor of Peshwar to help lay siege. All were ordered to bring their full army to Anandpur.^[23] They were joined by the Hill Rajas consisting of the rulers of Kahlur, Kangra, Jaswan, Mandi, Kullu, Nalagarh, Kaithal, Nurpur, Chamba, Jammu, Busaher, Dhadwa, Darauli, Bijarwal and Garhwal.^[24]

Guru Gobind Singh divided his force into 500 men per each of the 5 forts. Anandgarh was under Guru Gobind Singh's charge. Fatehgarh was commanded by Uday Singh, Holgarh was commanded by Mohkam Singh, Ajit Singh commanded Kesgarh, and Jujhar Singh held Lohgarh. Guru Gobind Singh also placed 2 cannons in Anandgarh named the tigress and victory-deceleration. When used they would cause havoc on the attacking forces.^[24]

The army of the Guru kept the Mughals and hillmen at bay but being surrounded by heavy odds, took refuge in Anandpur fort, where they were besieged for many months, with all supplies and communications cut off.^[21] Emperor Aurangzeb sent a written assurance by promising on the Quran, whereas Hill Rajas swore by the name of the cow,^[25][26] with the safety of all Sikhs if the Guru decided to evacuate the fort, and after a long drawn out siege, Gobind Singh and his followers, facing starvation, capitulated in return for safe passage, but the Sikhs were treacherously attacked at the Sarsa River, with all assurances and solemn oaths betrayed by the Mughals and Hill Rajas.^[2][21]

Notes

1. Called 2nd Anandpur by Tony Jacques^[2]

References

1. VSM, D. S. Saggu (2018). Battle Tactics And War Manoeuvres of the Sikhs. Notion Press. ISBN 978-1-64249-006-0.
2. Jacques 2006, p. 49.
3. Sagoo, Harbans (2001). Banda Singh Bahadur And Sikh Sovereignty. Deep & Deep Publications. p. 75.
4. Macauliffe, Max Arthur (1909). The Sikh Religion Vol.5. p. 171.
5. Saggu, D.S (7 June 2018). Battle tactics and war manoeuvres of the Sikhs. Notion Press. ISBN 978-1642490060. The Guru's troops were around 10,000 whereas the collation forces are estimated to be 10–15 times more.
6. Gajrani, Shiv (2000). Guru Gobind Singh. Vision & Venture. p. 71. ISBN 978-8186769133. Before any fight took place Guru Gobind Singh had about 10,000 men. However, they were not well equipped. On the other hand, the Mughal army was consisted of over a hundred thousand well-equipped men. Moreover, they were accustomed to fighting and could face the troubles and hardships of war.
7. Fenech 2013, p. 18.
8. Gandhi, Surjit Singh (2007). History of Sikh Gurus Retold: 1606–1708 C.E. Atlantic Publishers & Distributors. p. 823. ISBN 978-8126908585.
9. Gandhi 2007, p. 734.
10. Fenech 2013, pp. 14, 161.
11. Malhotra, Anshu; Mir, Farina (2012). Punjab Reconsidered: History, Culture, and Practice. Oxford University Press. p. 135. ISBN 978-0199088775.
12. Fenech, Louis E. (2021). The Cherished Five in Sikh History. Oxford University Press. pp. 30–31. ISBN 978-0-19-753284-3. It appears highly likely, moreover, that dharam occasionally lost out to the more brute contingencies of the day that raj demanded, as we note in the multiple raids led by Sikhs in the closing years of the seventeenth century and the opening years of the eighteenth against villages such as, for example, Alsun (which was ransacked after the Battle of Nadaun) in the Pahari kingdoms adjoining Anandpur, something about which Sri Gur- Sobha also speaks, though in a highly sanitized manner.
13. Banerjee, Indubhusan. Evolution Of The Khalsa - Volume 2. pp. 130–131.
14. Singh, Dalip (2015). Life of Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji (6th ed.). CSJS. p. 174. ISBN 978-81-7601-480-9.
15. Singh, Guru Gobind (2015-09-15). Zafarnama. Penguin UK. ISBN 978-81-8475-595-4.
16. Macauliffe, Max Arthur (1996) [1909]. The Sikh Religion: Its Gurus, Sacred Writings, and Authors. Low Price Publications. p. 125. ISBN 978-81-86142-31-8. OCLC 1888987.
17. Amardeep S. Dahiya (2014). Founder of the Khalsa. Hay House. ISBN 9789381398616.
18. Bindra, Pritpal Singh. Guru Kian Sakhian Tales of the Sikh Gurus. pp. 142–148.
19. Singh, Dalip (1992). Guru Gobind Singh and Khalsa Discipline. Amritsar: Singh Bros. p. 256. ISBN 978-81-7205-071-9. OCLC 28583123.
20. Johar, Surinder Singh (1978). Guru Gobind Singh : a study. Internet Archive. New Delhi : Marwah Publications.
21. Kaur, Madanjit (2007). Guru Gobind Singh: Historical and Ideological Perspective. Unistar Books. p. 25. ISBN 978-8189899554.
22. VSM, D. S. Saggu (2018-06-07). Battle Tactics And War Manoeuvres of the Sikhs. Notion Press. ISBN 978-1-64249-006-0.
23. Singh, Khazan (1914). History and Philosophy of the Sikh Religion. Printed at the "Newal Kishore" Press. p. 181.
24. Sagoo, Harbans Kaur (2001). Banda Singh Bahadur and Sikh Sovereignty. Deep & Deep Publications. p. 75. ISBN 978-81-7629-300-6.
25. Macauliffe, Max Arthur (2013). The Sikh Religion: Its Gurus, Sacred Writings and Authors. Cambridge University Press. p. 181. ISBN 978-1108055475.
26. Grewal, J.S. (2019). Guru Gobind Singh (1666–1708): Master of the White Hawk. OUP India. p. 117. ISBN 978-0190990381.

Sources

• Fenech, Louis E. (2013). The Sikh Zafar-namah of Guru Gobind Singh. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0199931453.
• Jacques, Tony (2006). Dictionary of Battles and Sieges. Greenwood Press. p. 49. ISBN 978-0313335365.