Banda Bahadur: Epitome of Valour and Sacrifice

Born as Madho Das on 27 October 1670 in Rajauri in a Hindu family, Banda Singh Bahadur was a Sikh leader known for devotion, chivalry and undaunted courage. He fought the Mughals with exemplary valour.

Banda Bahadur was leading a life of an ascetic before he met the tenth Sikh Guru Guru Gobind Singh in 1708 at Nanded In Maharashtra. The Sikh Guru asked him to give up the life of ascetic and directed him to fight the Mughals.

In November 1709, Banda Bahadur attacked Samana and captured it. After that the Sikh forces under Banda Bahadur brought Sirhind under their control and established the first Sikh State. During Mughal period Sirhind was a city located between between Delhi and Lahore.

Mukhlispur became the capital of the Sikh State and was renamed Lohgarh. The siege of Sirhind took place after the Battle of Chappan Chiri (on 12 May 1710) in which the Mughal Governor Wazir Khan was beheaded by the Khalsa army. Wazir Khan had ordered two sons of Guru Gobind Singh ( 9-year-old Zorawar Singh and 6-year-old Fateh Singh) to bricked alive in Sirhind in 1705.

Bahadur Shah I, the Mughal Emperor, died in 1712 during the course of his campaign against Banda Bahadur. His son Jahandar Shah became the next Mughal emperor who, in turn, was succeeded by Farrukhsiyar who ruled from 1713 to 1719. An important event of Farrukhsiyar's rule was the execution of Banda Bahadur.

Samad Khan, the Mughal governor of the Kashmir Subah, was tasked to capture Banda Bahadur who was defeated by the Mughal forces in the Battle of Gurdas Nangal which took place in April 1715.

Banda Bahadur was tortured to death by the Mughals in 1716 in the Mehrauli area of Delhi.

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