1 The Sikh call their
2 defeat Ghuld Ghard or
3 the bloody carnage.
4 Ala Singh, chief of
5 Patiala,
6 The Shah summons
7 certain chiefs of the
8 Panjab, and levies
9 nazrdndé on them,
10 He visits Amritsar,
11 And defiles the holy
12 places of the Sikhs.
13 Sukh Jiwan, the
14 Afghan governor of
15 Kashmir, rebels.
16 Ts defeated and put
17 to death. 4
18 284 HISTORY OF THE PANJAB.
19 the neighbouring hills, or became prisoners of war. The Sikhs characterised
20 their great disaster by the name of Ghulé Ghardé or “the sanguinary
21 visitation.”
22 Ala Singh, chief of the Phul family, and founder of the Patiaélé Raj, was
23 made a prisoner at Burala and brought in chains to Lahore, but, through
24 the intercession of Shah Wali Khan, the grand wazir, he was released, on
25 . condition of his paying tribute. A nazrdéné of four lakhs of rupees was
26 paid to the Shah by Rdni Fatt, wife of Ala Singh, and the king was so
27 much gratified with the manly deportment of the Sikh chieftain, that he
28 conferred upon him a rich khilat and despatched a firman to the subedar
29 of Sirhind, on receipt of which he was immediately to restore to him all
30 his jagirs. Ala Singh was, on this occasion, honoured with title of “7dj4,” and
31 he struck a coin bearing the name of the Shab, as the bestower of the
32 kingdom over which he then ruled.
33 The Shah then surnmoned to his presence, at Lahore, Ranjit Deo, raja
34 of Jammu, Rai Birham of Kapurthala, Ghamand Chand, raja of Katoj,
35 Nidhan Singh Randhdwé, the rajd of Kangra, Mirza Mir Muhammad of
36 Kadidn, and other chiefs, and, having received from them suitable nusrénd,
37 bestowed upon them dresses of state, and dismissed them with honour.
38 The Dewali festival then coming on, the Shah paida visit to Amritsar,
39 where he spent several days in shooting and recreation, in the company of
40 the Omerahs. He signalized his stay at Amritsar by committing those
41 ravages and atrocities on his vanquished enemies of which the history of
42 eastern countries affords so many examples. The Sikh temple of Harmandar
43 at Amritsar was blown up with gunpowder, and the sacred reservoir again
44 choked with its ruins, and polluted with the blood and entrails of cows and
45 bullocks. Kalandar Khan, a Durrani chief, was appointed to carry out these
46 arrangements. Numerous pyramids were made of the heads of those who
47 had suffered decapitation.
48 The sacrilegious outrages committed by the Sikhs on the Muslim mosques
49 and shrines were now avenged by the demolition of the most sacred edifices
50 in their most sacred city. The law of retaliation was carried out to the
51 letter. The indignities offered to the Mahomedan religion, were, in this
52 instance, as in the others, repaid with compound interest. The outrages
53 suffered by the Mahomedans could not have been atoned for except by the
54 blood of the offenders. Moreover, nothing could have proved so gratifying
55 and satisfactory to them asthe carrying out of the work of iconoclasm, since
56 their Unitarian faith cannot tolerate idolatory.
57 There can be no doubt that the Abdali acted in strict conformity with
58 the law of his religion, and was actuated by a sense of duty, when he under-
59 took the destruction of the sanctuaries of the Sikhs. Having now completely
60 vindicated his religion, he turned his attention to the affairs of Kdshmir. At
61 this time, the governor, Sukh Jiwan, thought proper to administer and
62 govern Kashmir as an independent chief. He expelled the Afghans from
63 Kashmir, refused to pay tribute, and, in short, threw off the yoke of the
64 Shah. The Abdali had no alternative but that of bringing the governor to
65 his senses, which he did by despatching a large force into the country under
66 the command of Nur-ud-din Khan, Bamizie, with orders to apprehend and
67 convey him to Lahore. In this expedition the Shah’s general was accom-
68 panied by Ranjit Deo, the rajé of Jammu, whose co-operation greatly
69 facilitated his arrival at his destination. When the army reached Pir Panjal,
70 the village in which the rebellious governor had fortified himself, they imme-
71 Se elcaene it, and after a slight resistance, Sukh Jiwan was captured,
72 a chains and conducted to Lahore, where he was first sentenced
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