1 RAMGARHIA MISL. 307
2 Shah, the Rohilla chief, laid siege to Batdla and captured it. Mir Aziz
3 Bakshi, in command of a strong body of cavalry, was sent to the Manjha
4 country with orders to attack and chastise the Sikhs wherever they could
5 be found. Four thousand pioneers* accompanied the Mir, with their
6 sharpened tools, for the purpose of clearing the jungle where the Sikhs had
7 concealed themselves. Thousands of Sikhs were thus hunted down and
8 mercilessly butchered. The more adventurous fled and sought shelter sis
9 within the mud fort of Ram Rouni. The principal refugees were Nodh
10 Singh, the head of the Ramgarhia mis/, his lieutenants, the brothers Jassa
11 - Singh, Malla Singh and Taré Singh; Jay Singh, Kanhia and Amar Singh,
12 Kingré. Mir Aziz Bakshi, hearing of the retreat of the Sikhs towards
13 Amritsar, proceeded thither and besieged Ram Rouni. The Sikhs, finding
14 that the Mir’s troops were more than a match for them in the open field,
15 resorted to sallying forth at night and attacking the outposts of the besieg-
16 ing party, and retiring again to their fort before allowing the Afghans to
17 recover from their surprise. By this means they managed to reduce cop-
18 siderably the number of their enemies. After suffering many hardships
19 and fighting with the courage of lions, the Sikhs were obliged to effect
20 their escape as best they could, which they accomplished one night, after
21 having battered down the walls of Ram Rouni, which had so long
22 sheltered them from their foes. They were pursued in their retreat by the
23 Afghans, and many of them fell under the avening sword of the Muslims,
24 Those who escaped this slaughter were styled Ramgarbis by their fellow-
25 countrymen, as a compliment to the sacred place where they had sought
26 shelter, and this, more appropriately, gave the mist the designation which it
27 bears.
28 After the death of Adina Beg, in 1758, the ever-vigilant Sikhs be-
29 came as troublesome as before. Jassa Singh, about this time, took com-
30 mand of the confederacy, and, aided by the Kanhia mis, besieged Dina-
31 nagar, Batdéla, Kalanaur, Srihargovindpur, Kadian, Ghamman and many
32 other towns and places in the districts of Amritsar and Gurddspur, yielding
33 a revenue of between six and ten lakhs of rupees. Ahmad Shah came to
34 chastise the Sikhs, and blew up their Harmandar at Amritsar with gun-
35 powder. It was about this time that the Gullighdrdé battle was fought
36 between the Durrdni king and the Sikhs, which for ferocity and brutality
37 surpassed all other battles between the Mahomedans and the Sikhs.
38 When Nodh Singh died, he was succeeded in the sardari of the mist by
39 Jassa Singh. After the departure of Ahmad Shah, this Jassa Singh, with his
40 brothers, Malla Singh and Tard, Singh and Jay Singh, Kanhia, emerged from
41 their jungle retreat, and, collecting their followers, ravaged the country far
42 and wide, and built forts and established military outposts. When Khwaja,
43 Obed, the Léhore governor, attacked the Sikh fort at Gujranwdld, he was
44 opposed by the united forces of the Ramgarhias and the Kanhias, and the
45 guns, ammunition and treasure left by the governor, were equally divided
46 by the leaders of the two misls.
47 A year after this, Ahmad Shah again appeared on the scene, and, cross-
48 ing the Sutlej, advanced as far as Rohtas and Jandidld, carrying fire and
49 sword wherever he went. The Sikhs, as usual, fled and concealed themselves
50 in deserts and hills, but no sooner had the Shah started for Kdébul, than the
51 Ramgarhias made themselves masters of Batdla and Kalanaur, expelling
52 Khwajé Obed, the Afghan governor, and seizing on the surrounding country.
53 The fort of Ram Rouni was again secured by Jassa Singh, who constructed
54 * The Memoirs of Mowvi Mahomed Din of Batéla, a contemporary historian.
55 Slaughter of the
56 ikhs,
57 Mir Aziz Bakhshi
58 lays siege to Ram
59 Rouuni.
60 The Sikhs disperse.
61 Nodh Singh on his
62 death is sucecedcd by
63 Jassa Singh,
64 Who joins the
65 Kanhias against the
66 Afghans,
67 Captures Batfla and
68 FKalanaur.
69 Restores Ram Rouni.
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