1 46 A Short History of the Sikhs.
2 and he was able in this time to reorganize his troops
3 and regain many of his lost strongholds. Once more
4 the long-haired troopers of the Khalsa became the
5 terror of the Punjab, and a formidable addition to
6 the dangers which surrounded the already tottering
7 throne of the Moghul sovereigns.
8 Farrukh Siyar was the next emperor to undertake
9 operations against the Sikhs. He entrusted the
10 conduct of the campaign to Abdur Samad Khan,
11 the Governor of Kashmir, an intrepid and skilful
12 general. Abdur Samad was determined to do his
13 work thoroughly, and the force which he took into
14 the Punjab was superior in numbers, discipline, and
15 equipment to any with which the Sikhs had hitherto
16 come in contact. Outnumbered and outgeneralled,
17 Banda suffered defeat after defeat, and was eventually
18 driven to bay in the fortress of Gurdaspiir. Here,
19 after a stubborn defence, he was literally starved into
20 surrender. The entire garrison fell into the hands
21 of Abdur Samad Khan. The majority were put to
22 death on the spot, while Banda and more than seven
23 hundred of his chief retainers were sent to Delhi,
24 where, after being subjected to every kind of insult,
25 they were beheaded, a hundred at a time, on seven
26 successive days. The execution of Banda was re-
27 served to the end. He was paraded through the
28 city in an iron cage, and tortured to death. A
29 general proclamation was now issued for the destruc-
30 tion of Sikhs wherever found. They were hunted
31 down like wild beasts, and any man who killed a
32 Sikh could claim a reward from the viceroy of
33 Lahore. The few who escaped the persecution fled