1 Early Struggles of the Khdlsa. 45
2 large force under the viceroy, Wazir Khan. A fierce
3 encounter ensued, in which the Sikhs were completely
4 victorious. Banda engaged Wazir Khan in single
5 combat, and smote off his head with one blow of his
6 sword. The Sikhs then entered Sirhind, which they
7 plundered, massacring many of the inhabitants, and
8 wreaking a terrible vengeance on the murderers of
9 the sons of Guru Govind Singh. Growing more and
10 more confident with each new success, Banda now
11 directed his arms against the hill chiefs, whom,
12 one after another, he brought into subjection. He
13 attacked and plundered Batala, defeated a powerful
14 force sent against him by the emperor, and entering
15 Lahore put the governor and all his principal officers
16 to the sword. He was now master of practically
17 the whole region lying between the Sutlej and
18 the Jumna, and he levied and exacted tribute from
19 all classes of the population. But the tide soon
20 turned.
21 Hearing of the defeat of his troops, Bahadur Shah
22 hastened in person to the Punjab at the head of a
23 large army. Banda declined a pitched battle, and
24 established himself in the hill-fort of Dabir. Here
25 he held out for some time, but starvation compelled
26 him to evacuate the fort and seek shelter in the
27 mountains. At this critical juncture Bahadur Shah
28 died, and the fugitives were thus saved from pursuit.
29 But for this unforeseen event, the entire Sikh com-
30 munity must have been exterminated. The confusion
31 which followed the death of Bahadur Shah was all
32 in favour of the fugitive chief and his indomitable
33 followers. For four years he was left unmolested,