Siege of Jind (1776)

The Siege of Jind was fought in May 1776 by the Sikh forces led by Raja Gajpat Singh and the Mughal forces led by Rahimdad Khan.

Siege of Jind
Part of Mughal-Sikh Wars
DateMay 1776
Location
Result Sikh Victory
Belligerents
Jind State CoA.png Jind
Supported by
Patiala flag.svg Patiala
Nabha flag.svg Nabha State
Bhais of Kaithal
Alam of the Mughal Empire.svg Mughal Empire
Commanders and leaders
Jind State CoA.png Raja Gajpat Singh
Patiala flag.svg Diwan Nanumal
Nabha flag.svg Raja Hamir Singh
Alam of the Mughal Empire.svg Rahimdad Khan 
Strength
5,000 combined Sikh forces 10,000 imperialists

BackgroundEdit

After the Rohilla Sikh coalition defeated the Mughals at Amirnagar, Rahimdad Khan who worked for Zabita Khan joined the Mughals. He had captured many places but the place in between his newly conquested land was Jind.[1] Therefore, he decided to besiege Jind and conquer it once and for all.

BattleEdit

Raja Gajpat Singh sought help from the neighbouring Sikhs states. Patiala, Nabha, Bhais of Kaithal and many more neighbouring Sikhs decided to help and ammased an army of 5,000 Sikhs.[2] These Sikhs attacked the Mughal camp at night. The Mughals however were twice in number and managed to get an upper hand in battle.[1] However, Rahimdad Khan was struck by 3 balls of cannon which caused confusion among his army.[3] Therefore, the Sikhs managed to defeat the Mughals who had retreated due to the death of their commander.[4][5]

AftermathEdit

The Sikhs looted the baggage left by the Mughals and shared it with village women.[1]

ReferencesEdit

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Hari Ram Gupta. History Of The Sikhs Vol. III Sikh Domination Of The Mughal Empire (1764-1803). p. 89.
  2. Surinder Singh Johar. The Sikh Sword To Power. p. 142.
  3. Surjit Singh Gandhi (1999). Sikhs In The Eighteenth Century. Singh Bros. p. 510. ISBN 9788172052171.
  4. Satish Chandra Mittal. Haryana, a Historical Perspective. p. 8. ISBN 9788171560837.
  5. Khazan Singh. History and Philosophy of the Sikh Religion. p. 295.

See alsoEdit