History of Sirhind
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Sirhind is the older name of
Trigarta Kingdom
It derives its name probably from Sairindhas, a tribe that according to Varahamihira (AD 505-87), Brihat Samhita, once inhabited this part of the country. According to Hsuen Tsang, the Chinese traveller who visited India during the seventh century, Sirhind was the capital of the district of Shitotulo, or Shatadru (the River Sutlej), which was about 2000 H or 533 km in circuit. The Shatadru principality subsequently became part of the vast kingdom called Trigarta of which Jalandhar was the capital.
Medieval Era
At the time of the struggle between the
Mughal Empire
Under the Mughals, Sirhind was the second largest city of the Punjab and the strongest fortified town between Delhi and Lahore. The town also enjoyed considerable commercial importance. According to Nasir Ali Sirhindi, Tankhi Nasin, Sirhind at that time possessed buildings which had no parallel in the whole of India. Spread over an area of 3 kos (10 km approximately) on the banks of the River Hansala (now known as Sirhind Nala), it had many beautiful gardens and several canals.
On 22 June 1555,
Guru Gobind Singh after a brief interval returned to Anandpur but had to quit it again on 5–6 December 1705 under pressure of a prolonged siege by the hill chief supported by Sirhind troops. Under the orders of the faujdar, Nawab Wazir Khan, Guru Gobind Singh's two younger sons, aged nine and seven, were cruelly bricked to death. They were enclosed alive in a wall in Sirhind and executed as the masonry rose up to their necks. Upon hearing the news of his sons' deaths, Guru Gobind Singh is reported to have prophesied the city of Sirhind being plundered, looted and devastated by his followers.[2][3]
Banda Singh Bahadur's Rebellion
Mobilized under the leadership of
Durrani Empire
In March 1748, Sirhind was seized, but only temporarily, by
Ahmad Shah defeated the Marathas at Panipat in January 1761. and struck the Sikhs a severe blow in what is known as Vadda Ghallughara, the 'Great Massacre', that took place on 5 February 1762. Sikhs rallied and attacked Sirhind on 17 May 1762. defeating its faujdar, Zain Khan Sirhindi, who purchased peace by paying Rs 50,000 as a tribute to the Dal Khalsa. A more decisive battle took place on 14 January 1764 when Dal Khalsa. under Jassa Singh Ahluvalia, made another assault upon Sirhind. Zain Khan Sirhindi was killed in action and Sirhind was occupied and subjected to plunder and destruction. The booty was donated for the repair and reconstruction of the sacred shrines at Amritsar demolished by Ahmad Shah.
Under Dal Khalsa
The booty was donated for the repair and reconstruction of the sacred shrines at Amritsar demolished by Ahmad Shah. The territories of the Sirhind sarkar were divided among the leaders of the Dal Khalsa, but no one was willing to take the town of Sirhind where Guru Gobind Singh's younger sons were subjected to a cruel fate. By a unanimous will it was made over to Buddha Singh, descendant of Bhai Bhagatu.
Patiala Princely State
It was soon after (2 August 1764) transferred possession to Sardar Ala Singh, founder of the Patiala family. Sirhind thereafter remained part of the Patiala territory until the state lapsed in 1948. Maharaja Karam Singh of Patiala (1813–45) had gurdwaras constructed in Sirhind in memory of the young martyrs and their grandmother, Mata Gujari. He changed the name of the nizamat or district from Sirhind to Fatehgarh Sahib, after the name of the principal gurdwara. Besides the Sikh shrines, Sirhind has an important Muslim monument Rauza Sharif Mujjadid Alf Sani, the mausoleum of Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi (1569-1624),the fundamentalist leader of the orthodox; Naqshbandi school of Sufism. There are a number of other tombs in the compound mostly of the members of Shaikh Ahmad's house.
References
- ^ Syed Yusuf Shahab (2021). Sirhind: A Monumental Example Of Oblivion.
- ISBN 978-0-19-536823-9.
- ^ Singh, Ganda (1935). Life Of Banda Singh Bahadur. Punjabi University. p. 49.
And the alleged prophecy of Guru Gobind Singh, has, of late, been recently fulfilled, as a railway contractor 'appeared on the scene and carried the mass of old Sirhind as blast on which to lay the iron track'. And even to this day a pious Sikh, when travelling to the north or south of that city, may be seen pulling out a brick or two from its ruins and conveying them to the waters of the Sutlej or the Jamuna.
- ISBN 978-0-19-975655-1.
- ^ History of the Sikhs: Evolution of Sikh Confederacies (1708-69) (PDF). Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers. p. 14.
- Sirhind Town(Sahrind) The Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 23, p. 20.
- Sirhind Canal The Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 23, p. 18.
- Memories of a town known as Sirhind