Sikh Resistance (1765) To Ahmad Shah Abdali’S Invasion Of The Punjab

[DalbirSingh]

Sikh Resistance to Ahmad Shah Abdali’s Invasion of the Punjab 1764-65 From Qazi Nur Muhammad, Jangnama Sikh history from Persian Sources 204-211

Translated by Iqtidar Alam Khan (this text was compiled originally in 1765)

Do not call the Sikhs ‘dogs’ [sags], they are [in fact] lions; in the battle-field [they] are courageous like bold lions. How could a warrior who joins the battle roaring like a lion, be [compared with] a dog?

….

Leaving aside their [mode of] war, hear you of another aspect that distinguishes them among warriors. At no time do they kill one who is not a man (namard). Nor would they obstruct the passage of a fugitive. They do not plunder the wealth and ornaments of a woman, be she a well-to-do lady or a maid-servant. There is no adultery among the Sikhs, nor are these people given to thieving. Whether a woman is young or old, they tell her, “Budhiya, go and occupy a corner.” The word “Budhiya” in Hindi language means “old woman.” No thief is to be found among these Sikhs, nor is a house-breaker [present] among them. They do not approve of adulterers and house-breakers, [but] otherwise their conduct is not commendable. If you are not conversant with their religion, I [should] tell your honour that the Sikhs are the disciples of a Guru, and that fortunate Guide lived at Chak [p159].

The ways and practices of these [people] are derived from Nanak who showed to the Sikhs a separate path. His [last] successor was Gobind Singh, from whom they received the title ‘Singh’. They are not from amongst the Hindus. These miscreants have a distinct religion of their own. Since you have obtained some knowledge of the conduct of the Sikhs, now hear of their country: they have divided up Panjab among themselves, giving it to every man, old or young…

…. They have not learnt to have fear of any one. On Muslims, whether they are near or far, it is proper and obligatory that they should all unite in a body to attack those men and overthrow the foundations of the power of the Sikhs. God! Give our Shah victory for the sake of the prophet who is the benefactor of man, that he [the Shah] may remove their very foundations from this world, and reduce the repute of those accursed Sikhs!