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{{Short description|1711 battle of Banda Singh Bahadur's invasion of the Hill States}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict = Battle of Bilaspur
| place = [[Kahlur Fort]]
| partof =
| date = Early 1711
| result = Sikh victory<ref>{{cite book|last=Kapoor|first=Sukhbir|url=https://archive.org/details/SaintSoldier-GuruGobindSinghsConceptOfAnIdealMan/page/n165/mode/2up|title=The Ideal Man: The Concept of Guru Gobind Singh, the Tenth Prophet of the Sikhs|year=1988|publisher=Khalsa College London Press|location=The University of Virginia|page=177}}</ref>
| combatant1 = [[File:Sikh flag.jpg|30px]] [[Khalsa]]
| combatant2 = [[File:Bilaspur_flag.svg|30px]] [[Bilaspur State (princely state)|Kahlur]]<br>'''Assisted by:'''<br>21 [[Hill States of India|Hill States]]
| commander1 = [[File:Sikh flag.jpg|30px]] [[Banda Singh Bahadur]]
| commander2 = [[File:Bilaspur_flag.svg|20px]] Raja Ajmer Chand{{surrender}}
| strength1 = 5 accompanied voluntary by a large number of Sikhs
| strength2 = 1,300 [[Mian Rajputs]]<br>7 [[war elephant]]s
| casualties1 = Unknown
| casualties2 = Entire Army<ref name="Ganda Singh Banda Singh Bahadur"/>
}}
The '''Battle of Bilaspur''' was fought in 1711 by Sikh forces led by [[Banda Singh Bahadur]] and the rulers of the [[Sivalik Hills]] led by Raja Ajmer Chand of [[Bilaspur State (princely state)|Princely State of Kahlur (Bilaspur)]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xqE5AQAAIAAJ&q=kahlur+banda+singh|title=Banda Bahadur|author=Gurdev Singh Deol|date=1972|pages=76}}</ref><ref name="Harbans">{{cite book|title=Banda Singh Bahadur and Sikh Sovereignty|last=Sagoo|first=Harbans Kaur|url=https://archive.org/details/BandaSinghBahadurAndSikhSovereignty/page/n205/mode/2up|year=2001|isbn=9788176293006|publisher=Deep & Deep Publications |pages=190}}</ref>

==Battle==
After escaping from [[Lohgarh (Bilaspur)|Lohgarh]], Banda Singh set his plans in motion by issuing Hukamnamas that called upon people to rise up and free Punjab, instructing them to gather at Kiratpur in the [[Shivalik Hills]].<ref name="Ganda Singh Banda Singh Bahadur">{{cite book |last1=Singh |first1=Ganda |title=Life of Banda Singh Bahadur: Based on Contemporary and Original Records |publisher=The Sikh History Research Department, Khalsa College, Amritsar |year=1935 |location=Amritsar|page=55-59}}</ref><ref name="Sagoo Banda Singh Bahadur">{{cite book |last1=Sagoo |first1=Harbans Kaur |title=Banda Singh Bahadur and Sikh Sovereignty |year=2001 |publisher=Deep & Deep Publications Pvt. Ltd. |location=New Delhi |isbn=81-7629-300-8 |page=190}}</ref> His campaign began with an assault on [[Raja Ajmer Chand]]—a man who had long been a persistent irritant to Guru Govind Singh and had played a major role in the military campaigns led by both the hill chiefs and the imperial forces from Sirhind and Lahore against the Guru, [[Raja Ajmer Chand]], along with other local hill rulers, had taken measures to reinforce the city’s defenses in anticipation of conflict.<ref name=Gandhi1999>{{cite book|title=Sikhs In The Eighteenth Century|author=Surjit Singh Gandhi|url=https://archive.org/details/SikhsInTheEighteenthCentury/page/49/mode/2up|publisher=Singh Bros.|year=1999|isbn=9788172052171|pages=46}}</ref><ref name="Sagoo Banda Singh Bahadur"/>Despite these preparations and the determined resistance led by Raja Ajmer Chand and his coalition of allies, the fortified position at Bilaspur could not withstand the forceful advance of the Sikh army. In the ensuing battle, over thirteen hundred Mians—comprising both regular troops and irregular forces—were completely defeated. Their bodies were methodically gathered into groups of one hundred and interred in thirteen long ditches. As a consequence of this decisive victory, Bilaspur fell to the Sikhs, and they seized a substantial amount of treasure from the town.<ref name="Sagoo Banda Singh Bahadur"/><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nPYTEAAAQBAJ&dq=baghar+singh&pg=PA222|title=The Cherished Five in Sikh History|author=Louis E. Fenech|date=14 January 2021|pages=222|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780197532867}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TzRuAAAAMAAJ&q=baghar+singh|title=Rise of the Sikh Power and Maharaja Ranjeet Singh|author=Sohan Singh Seetal|date=2 September 2008|pages=94}}</ref><ref name="Encyclopedia">{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/sikhreferenceboo0000dila/page/n1/mode/2up|title=The Sikh Reference Book|author=Harajindara Siṅgha Dilagīra|date=1997|pages=257|isbn=9780969596424}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WU9uAAAAMAAJ&q=kahlur+banda+singh|title=Banda Bahadur and His Times|author=Raj Pal Singh|date=1998|pages=43|publisher=Harman Publishing House|isbn=9788186622254}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vg89BAAAQBAJ&dq=kahlur+banda+singh&pg=PT207|title=First Raj of the Sikhs|author=Harish Dhillon|date=May 2013|publisher=Hay House|isbn=9789381398395}}</ref>

==Aftermath==
The crushing defeat not only weakened the Raja of Kahlur and his allies, but also struck fear into the hearts of other Rajput chieftains in the [[Shiwaliks]], who dreaded the harsh retribution that might follow if they opposed the advancing Khalsa.<ref name="Ganda Singh Banda Singh Bahadur"/> As a result, many chose to avoid further bloodshed by surrendering to Banda Singh, joining the Sikh camp, pledging their loyalty, and offering tribute to the Sikh treasury. Both [[Kullu|Kulu]] and [[Chamba State|Chamba]] submitted on their own, and Udai Singh of Chamba further solidified his commitment by marrying his daughter, [[Susheel Kaur]], to Banda Singh Bahadur, whose striking beauty—with large eyes, imposing limbs, and delicate grace—evoked the very image of a goddess of love.<ref name="Sagoo Banda Singh Bahadur"/><ref name=Gandhi1999/><ref name=Gupta>{{Cite book |last=Gupta |first=Hari Ram|url=https://archive.org/details/HistoryOfTheSikhsVol.IiEvolutionOfSikhConfederacies1707-69/page/n41/mode/2up|title=History Of The Sikhs Vol. II Evolution Of Sikh Confederacies (1707-69)|year=1978|pages=21}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Nihang]]
*[[Martyrdom in Sikhism]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Battles involving the Sikhs]]
[[Category:1710s in India]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1711]]
[[Category:18th-century sieges]]
[[Category:1711 in Asia]]

Battle of Bilaspur (1711) - Revision history

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