Battle Of Chillianwala 1849, When Sikhs Defeated The British

[lsingh]

There have been a few fictional accounts of Sikhs fighting the British recently. This is a real account , one which many Sikhs still do not know about.

The Battle of Chillianwala during the second Sikh war in 1849 is a battle in which a large British army was defeated by the Sikhs. What makes the British defeat even more remarkable is that the British army was larger and better equipped than the Sikhs. It also had information from many spies and informers.

Its a battle British historians do not like to talk about, because the Sikhs not only beat them but that the Sikh army had up to date weapons and used them like a European army would. British Colonial history is based on the British army defeating large number of 'savages' like Zulus who only have spears and swords.

Had the Sikhs not been betrayed by the Dogras and Brahmins Ranjit Singh had employed the course of Sikh and Indian history could have been quite different.

http://en.wikipedia....of_Chillianwala

http://orbat.com/sit...anwala1849.html

[singh135]

Very informative. Why are Sikhs so poor at documenting and researching their own history. Is it because punjabi parents don't think 'historian' is a good enough career?!!

It may not pay well but the seva of preserving history to inspire the youth is priceless.

[Singh559]

So much to read.

Sometimes it feels so overwhelming that even deciding where to start seems like a daunting task.

Thanks for sharing.

[RebelSingh]

isnt ironic those same hindu hill rajas who fought vs Guru Gobind Singh (the king of ALL kings) and the dogras of north panjab/jammu (conspired against sikh empire) have got descendants runnin panjab into ruins, im talkin of course bowt the dirty badals. their religion may have changed down the family tree, but the backstabbin mentality is fresh as ever.

[singh135]

Are the Badals from the dogras descendants?0

[RebelSingh]

Are the Badals from the dogras descendants?0

^^^

yup

[lsingh]

Are the Badals from the dogras descendants?0

The Badals are not Dogras ( they came from the area that is called Jammu) , but the British were helped by the Sikh Sirdars of the Malwa region of Punjab. Notabaly the Maharajah of Patiala and other Malwa Sardars ( From which the Badals are decended from. The help to the British was for financial rewards and they did not care if the Sikh nation was destroyed. So it is no surprise that Amrindar Singh and the Badals see Delhi as their masters.

Reading the history of this period actually brings home what a powerful nation Sikhs were at the time. The artillary of the Sikhs was said to be the best in the world by the British, this was the most powerful military weapon at the time. It would be like saying the Sikhs had the best aircraft and tanks today. The Sikh Empire had the best military in Asia and how sad it is to see the state of Sikhs today

[lsingh]

I have not been here but you may be able to see Sikh artillary at the Sikh museum at Derby. The Royal artillary museum at Woolwich near London definately has Sikh artillary guns there.

http://www.nationalsikhmuseum.com/

[KhalistaniGunMan]

I have not been here but you may be able to see Sikh artillary at the Sikh museum at Derby. The Royal artillary museum at Woolwich near London definately has Sikh artillary guns there.

http://www.nationalsikhmuseum.com/

interesting to note cannons used by the Sikh army had frescos of Hanuman on them,,,interesting

Yes sikhs had the premier army in the whole of asia....this was before the rise of japan as a millitary power....The infantry and artillery were up to the standards of the british...but the cavalry was below par....never matched the british...poorly trained and poorly disciplined but still put up a good fight mainly due to the tenacity of the sikh soldier. The biggest weakness we had was our terrible leadership with the exception of a few etc Sham singh attari....we lost because our millitary leadership had been bribed before the war even began...not much has changed

[Jonny101]

The Badals are not Dogras ( they came from the area that is called Jammu) , but the British were helped by the Sikh Sirdars of the Malwa region of Punjab. Notabaly the Maharajah of Patiala and other Malwa Sardars ( From which the Badals are decended from. The help to the British was for financial rewards and they did not care if the Sikh nation was destroyed. So it is no surprise that Amrindar Singh and the Badals see Delhi as their masters.

Reading the history of this period actually brings home what a powerful nation Sikhs were at the time. The artillary of the Sikhs was said to be the best in the world by the British, this was the most powerful military weapon at the time. It would be like saying the Sikhs had the best aircraft and tanks today. The Sikh Empire had the best military in Asia and how sad it is to see the state of Sikhs today

Not true. The Badals are not Paharias. The Badal family are Jatts originally hailing from the Amritsar District. Parkash Singh's father later migrated to Malwa in the Badal village where he bought a lot of land at a very cheap price..

As for the Patiala royal family, they have always stood with the invader against the Sikhs. But during the anglo Sikh wars, the average Sikh in the Malwa region stood with the Sikh kingdom. In fact the Khalsa army also consisted of a lot of Sikhs from the Malwa region. Example Baba Ram Singh Namdhari was originally from Ludhiana but like many Sikhs from Malwa he was a soldier in the Khalsa army. Their loyalties was with the Sikh kingdom. Unlike the Sikhs today, the Sikhs of puraatan times were not small minded to indulge in regionalism.

And btw, I'm not from Malwa myself if anyone is wondering. So I am speaking from a neutral point of view.