The Battle of Malerkotla, fought by the Karora Singhia Misl against Ahmad Shah Durrani, proved disastrous and resulted in the martyrdom of thousands of Sikh children, women, and elderly people, reflecting the brutal resistance offered by the Sikhs against repeated external invasions.

Following the raid of Sirhind in 1764, Baghel Singh’s ambitions carried Sikh influence beyond the borders of Punjab, as he sought to secure territories in the cis-Yamuna regions and collect tribute from areas such as Meerut and from the Nawabs of Awadh. He redistributed land to farmers and abolished the zamindari system, aiming to restore dignity and self-respect to the common people. These actions helped reduce corruption and made him widely popular among the general population.

Banda Singh Bahadur’s early successes provoked a fierce response from the Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah, who mobilised a large force to suppress the uprising, leading to a series of confrontations. Although Banda Singh initially evaded capture, his forces were eventually overwhelmed, and the Mughal army laid siege to his fort at Lohgarh with a massive force. Banda Singh Bahadur’s efforts nonetheless established the military strength of the Sikhs and laid foundations that later culminated in the Sikh Empire under Maharaja Ranjit Singh in the early...

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