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The tenth guru of
Sikhism, Guru Gobind Singh, created the Khalsa. Which
means "Akal Purakh de fauj" - the Army of God. Guru
Gobind Singh clearly choose these words very
deliberately - He did not state that the Khalsa was the
army of the Khalsa or an army of the Sikhs or the army
of Punjab - but an Army of God whose function was the
protection and safeguarding of all the peoples of God
regardless of religion, colour, race or creed. The Sikh
Khalsa rise to power began during the 17th century.
During a time of growing militancy against the Muslim
rule. The creation of a Sikh Empire began when Guru
Gobind Singh sent his brave Sikh general, Banda Singh
Bahadur along with some hundred Singhs to punish those
who had committed atrocities against Pir Buddhu Shah and
avenge the murder of his youngest sons. Banda Singh with
a large group of Sikhs advanced towards the main Muslim
Mughal city of Sirhind and followed the instructions of
the guru he punished all the culprits. Soon after the
invasion of Sirhind, Guru Gobind Singh was stabbed by a
Pathan assassin hired by Mughals, Jamshed Khan stabbed
the Guru in the left side below the heart while he was
resting in his chamber after the Rehras prayer. Guru
Gobind Singh killed the attacker with his sword, while
the assassins companion tried to flee but was killed by
some Sikhs who had rushed in on hearing the noise. A
European surgeon stitched the Guru's wound. However, the
wound re-opened as the Guru tugged at a hard strong bow
after a few days, and caused profuse bleeding. Seeing
his end was near, the Guru declared the Granth Sahib as
the next Guru of the Sikhs. He then sang his
self-composed hymn: "Under orders of the Immortal Being,
the Panth was created. All the Sikhs are enjoined to
accept the Granth as their Guru. Consider the Guru
Granth as embodiment of the Gurus. Those who want to
meet God, can find Him in its hymns. The Khalsa shall
rule, and impure will be no more, Those separated will
unite and all the devotees shall be saved.
The death of the Guru reached Banda Singh and Sikhs all
over Punjab. After this the Sikhs took over many Muslim
and Mughal lands, establishing a Sikh Empire. Other
existing Muslim Emperors proclaimed a jihad or a holy
war against Banda Singh and the Khalsa. However, many
Muslim army’s and their Generals fled in dismay and
despair after Wazir Khan's head was stuck up on a spear
and lifted high up by a Sikh who took his seat at
Sirhind, Muslim troops on beholding the head took alarm.
Many Muslims embraced Sikhism and joined the Khalsa.
Banda Singh at this time also married the daughter of a
Muslim General, . However the concept of jihad was
re-proclaimed, it took over 60,000 Muslim troops to
capture 400 Sikh's and Banda Singh, where Banda Singh
was captured and tortured. Banda Singh's mission played
an important development of the Dal Khalsa and the Sikh
Misls, which eventually led to a new king, Maharaja
Ranjit Singh capturing Lahore in 1799 and establishing
the Sikh Kingdom of Punjab. The new king and the Sikh
Misls rose to power in a series of sweeping military and
diplomatic victories. Increasing the number of Sikhs and
spreading the Empire further. His vast empire comprised
almost 200,000 square miles (520,000 square kilometres)
of what is now Afghanistan, Pakistan and Northern India.
The Empire of the Sikhs was widely feared by many
natives including Muslims, Hindus, Persians and many
Asian countries. Even many Pathans who had previously
lived their during the Islamic rule, attempted many
times to attack the Empire with over 20,000 troops, in
which case Maharaja Ranjit Singh sent his bravest Sikh
warrior, named Akali Phula Singh Nihang (at the age of
65) and a few hundred Singhs to deal with the Invading
Pathans and bring them under control. Soon during a
battle, a Pathan hiding behind a boulder shot Akali
Phula Singh from close range during a battle with a
number of Pathan soldiers began shooting him. Akali
Phula Singh was found bullet ridden.
The Sikhs retained control of the Sikh
Empire. However, another challenge was yet to come. In
the East, the British Empire took over thousands of
square miles of land, including eastern parts of India
and many Asian countries, soon reaching the Sikh Empire
where the British would also meet their biggest
challenge during their Conquest. Both British and Sikh
sides lost many troops and heavy number of materials in
various battles, such as the Anglo-Sikh wars. The
British was claimed to be unbeatable, but Maharaja
Ranjit Singh and the Sikhs were the only people who
could stand toe to toe with the British forces. For the
first time during the British Conquest the British were
unable to invade and resulted in both sides having to
stop and come to terms. Narrated by Mohanlal Kashmiri,
Secretary to Sir Alexander Burnes, Maharaja Ranjit Singh
replied to the British, "As long as I'm alive, the
British will never conquest here. This led to
further Anglo-Sikh wars and further loss on both sides.
In 1839, the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the Empire
fell on the shoulders of his son, Maharaja Duleep Singh
(at the age of 11). The Empire had fallen. The British
Commission General describes Maharaja Ranjit Singh,
"was by all accounts a fierce and revered conquerer.
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