Akali Phula Singh Nihang
Akali Phula Singh Nihang (born Nihang Singh; 1 January
1761 – 14 March 1823) was an Akali Nihang Sikh leader. He was a saint soldier of the Khalsa Shaheedan
Misl and head of the Budha Dal in the early 19th century. He
was also a senior general in the Sikh
Khalsa Army and commander of the irregular Nihang of the
army. He played a role in uniting Sikh misls
in Amritsar.
He was not afraid of the British who at many times ordered for his arrest but
were not successful. During his later years he served for the Sikh Empire
as a direct adviser to Maharajah Ranjit
Singh. He remained an army general in many famous Sikh battles up until his
martyrdom in the battle of Naushera. He was admired by the local
people and had a great influence over the land
and his settlement was always open to help the poor and helpless. He was
well known and was a humble unique leader and prestigious warrior with high
character.He was also known for his effort to maintain the values of Gurmat and the
Khalsa panth.
His 14th generation still lives in faith chak. His 14th granddaughter is
Jagdish Kaur.
Childhood
Akali
Baba Naina Singh taught Akali Phula Singh from
around the age of ten.
Akali Phula Singh was born in 1761 in a Jat
family,to father Sardar Ishar Singh. After his father's death Akali Phula
Singh, who was still young, and his elder brother, Baba Sant Singh, were taken
care of by Mahant Balram and under his mothers advice he would then later be
taken under the apprentice of Akali
Baba Naina Singh, the leader of the Shaheedan Misl, and his Nihang order at
Anandpur Sahib. It was from Baba Naina Singh that he would receive initiation
into the Khalsa.
Akali Phula Singh memorized the Nitnem (The writings of the
Sikh Gurus which are recited daily by a Sikh) at a young age. As a child he
would not eat until he completed memorizing a certain portion of the Sikh
Guru's writings and in this way he had the Akal Ustat,
33
Savaiye, and other Sri Mukhwak Bani memorized.Around the age of fourteen
Akali Phula Singh's mother also passes away leaving him with the dying wishes
of being virtuous, upholding dharma, helping the poor, serving the Panth, in the heart
being at the refuge of the Guru, being unaffected by Moh, being a role model
on the battlefield, and following the footsteps of his ancestors.This had a
great impact on Akali Phula Singh who then gave away his land and his
possessions to the poor to start to live the life of a Nihang Saint Soldier. He
became very close to Akali Naina Singh's jatha at Anandpur
Sahib where he completed his martial arts training and fought many battles.
As he began to recite Gurbani with a near perfect pronunciation and began to
display great dharmic strength he was made the jathedar of
the Shaheedan Misl. He did considerable Seva at Anandpur Sahib which included
protecting the Gurdwara from thieves and preparation of langar
until eventually the Gurdwara was reformed.
The Jathedar of Amritsar
Upon hearing of news of lack of maintenance and other
neglect by sevadars
of the Gurdwaras in Amritsar Akali Phula Singh came to Amritsar in 1800 at this
time he had under his leadership a band of about 2,000 Nihangs. He stopped the
mismanagement and actively began reforming many Gurdwaras within Amritsar to
the point he became responsible and accepted as being in charge of the
maintenance of all Gurdwaras in the area.He did Kar Seva at
the holy sorawar at Harmindar Sahib and overall cleaning of the complex
with the help of about 100,000 pilgrims this lasted for about 2 months. Later
on in his life he did similar improvements to Sri
Muktsar Sahib, Anandpur Sahib, and Damdama
Sahib. Seeing Akali Phula Singh's high character and dedication the Sangat
made him the Jathedar
of the Akal
Takht which was initiated by the Panj Pyare.
Meeting the Maharaja Ranjit Singh
Akaki Phula Singh remained a prominent member of the court
of Maharajah Ranjit Singh.At the beginning of
the nineteenth century Amritsar was ruled by the Bhangi
Misl under Mai Sukhan and other Sikh Sirdars. Ranjit
Singh of the Sukerchakia Misl had recently acquired the capital
of Punjab, Lahore.
When he approached Amritsar wanting to add it to his empire it created a
problem for the ruling families of the city. In 1801 Maharajah Ranjeet Singh
brought his army and the Bhangi Misl fortified Amritsar preparing for battle.
There was a brief shelling where Ranjit Singh fired empty rounds into the sky
in the respect of the holy city. Akali Phula Singh saw this and was saddened by
the event and right when the battle was imminent he intervened between the two
Sikh forces in the middle of the battlefield. He said that it was a sin for a
Sikh to kill another Sikh and it was also a sin to fire cannons in Amritsar and
succeeded in persuading them to stop fighting. The two parties made peace under
Akali Phula Singh's advice.Ranjit Singh asked Akali Phula Singh to join his
forces and he agreed, Akali Phula Singh with him added about 2,000 to 3,000
Nihangs to join the government army.Many of Ranjit Singh's future victories
would be due to Akali Phula Singh and his army.
Battle of Kasur
Kasur falls in fairly close proximity to Lahore and there
were many Pathan-Sikh wars fought earlier between the two neighbouring empires.
Previously Emperor Nizamuddin Khan agreed after battle to subdue to the Sikh
empire. Nizamuddin however then broke his vow and was defeated again with
Ranjit Singh forgiving him once again allowing Nizamuddin to control Kasur
again.The next Nawab of Kasur and Nizamuddin son, Qutbuddin Khan, was
mistreating the Sikhs and Hindus in his state and charging extra tax on them he
eventually called a Jihad
on the Sikh Kingdom. In February 1807 Qutbuddin Khan with the help of the
Multan Nawab, Musafar Khan, gathered thousands of soldiers in Kasur where there
was a big fort. Akali Phula Singh and his jatha were called to Lahore by
Maharaja Ranjit Singh to fight in Kasur, Jodh Singh Ramgarhia and Hari
Singh Nalwa were also called in. Akali Phula Singh and his soldiers led the
attack on the Muslim Ghazis on the morning of 10 February 1807.Two battles were
fought outside the city and the Singhs won both. Qutbuddin retreated to his
fort as he had nowhere to go.
For one full month the Sikh cannons fired at the walls of
the fort. The Sikh Army broke a hole through in a section of the wall by putting
gunpowder underneath the fort doors. Akali Phula Singh and his Nihangs were the
first to charge through the breach and after hand-to-hand fighting the Sikhs
gained victory. Qutbuddin tried to run away but was soon caught. After begging
for mercy Maharaja Ranjit Singh forgave him and give the Nawab a jagir of land
at Mamdotnear the Sutlej River and Lahore. Kasur was
made a part of Ranjit Singhs empire. After this battle Akali Phula Singh gained
affection from Ranjit Singh and Akali Phula Singh became a reliable military
ally. The Nihang jatha was large now and they got a jagir for Langar. At this
time Akali Phula Singh and his Akalis used to ask for weapons and horses from
the local leaders and if they were not given they would take them by force
themselves. This stopped after Ranjit Singh gave them permission to take
whatever they required from the Sikh Empire's army barracks.
Encounter with Charles Metcalfe
Charles Metcalfe, circa 1820
The British Civil servant Charles Metcalfe met with
Ranjit Singh at Kasur and then in February 1809 arrived in Amritsar to go to
Ranjit Singh's court for the signing of the Treaty of Amritsar. Metcalfe was
interested in the creation of the pastili[check spelling] boundary and establishing
an English treaty made by suffledge where boundaries will be respected between
British and Sikh empires. Metcalfe came with his platoon who were composed of
entirely Shia Muslims. It was the Shia Muslims commemoration of Muharram and they took it upon themselves to
enact this ritual in the streets of Amritsar. The army of about 100 Muslim
soldiers began beating their breasts to the chants of "Hassan, Hussein,
Ali" and making a lot of noise as they came near the Harmindar Sahib
complex where Akali Phula Singh and his jatha was staying.
Akali Phula Singh who was participating in the Kirtan when he
heard the noise he sent three Akali Nihangs to inquire what is going on. When
The Nihangs approached the Shia group and explained that they are disturbing
the sacred hymns and atmosphere of the Gurdwara they were insulted by the Shia
Muslims and a confrontation took place in which one of the turbans of the
Nihangs fell to the ground. Akali Phula Singh on hearing this news came to the
Muslims. With a few Nihangs he confronted and attacked the Muslims and shots
were fired at their procession. Maharajah Ranjit Singh heard of the battle
going on and arrived however he could not stop the rowdy Nihangs and it was
after some time that the violence quelled. Akali Phula Singh killed and wounded
a large amount of the Muslims and made them apologize and agree to not make
noise near the Gurdwara again. It was likely the entire platoon would have been
killed if it weren't for Mahajah Ranjit Singh conveying to the Akalis to stop
the fighting. Maharajah sent the Muslims back to their camp and went to meet
Metcalfe where he was staying. He explained the situation and how most of
Metcalfe's army was killed because of the Akali's perceived disrespect to the
turban. This entire complication was settled that day and the treaty was
written the next day.
Attacking a British Regiment
After the Amritsar Treaty was accepted, the British
Officer Captain White was sent to Punjab to survey the border line between the
British and Sikh Raj. He got permission from Maharajah Ranjit Singh to set camp
at that spot where he rested however he did not tell the local people what he
was doing there. Around 1799 Akali Phula Singh arrived at Damdama Sahib for
maintenance of Gurdwaras in the area and the starting of Gurbani recitation
samagam. Here he heard the news that there was a British Regiment who wanted to
capture neighboring land and were preparing maps nearby. It was also said that
Captain White was mistreating the local people and displaying poor conduct. The
Nihangs could not bear the British forces trying to enter Punjab for any
reason.
Akali Phula Singh with an army of hundreds of Nihangs
arrived at the campsite of the British Regiment. Without negating or explaining
the situation the British Regiment took out their arms and prepared for
conflict.The British regiment of about 150 soldiers were quickly defeated
besides the commanding officer the entire regiment ran off to a different
village. The Nihangs looted their tents and tore up their maps. Captain White's
army suffered 6 soldiers casualties and 20 wounded. While the situation was
occurring news was told to Raja Jaswant Singh of Nabha who then sent his nephew
to explain the situation to Akali Phula Singh. The British again issued a warrant
for the arrest of Akali Phula Singh.
Advice for the Maharajah
Stay at Anandpur Sahib
Akali Phula Singh got into conflict with the Dogra courtiers
and Brahmin
officials and blamed them for causing distress and damage to Sikh Government.
The courtiers were also opposing Prince Kharak
Singh and Prince Sher Singh.They made it hard for Akali Phula Singh to
meet with the Maharajah Ranjit Singh nor did they tell the Maharajah Ranjit
Singh his requests. Akali Phula Singh admitted himself into the fort where
Ranjit Singh was without the Dogra Officials or Brahmin Officials permission.
He tried to persuade the Maharajah to abandon the corrupt Dogras and corrupt
Brahmanis but Ranjit Singh refused. He stated that to Ranjit Singh that he was
not inline with Sikhi
and Gurmat and
not respecting the Sikh empire that was given to him by the blessing of
Maharajah Guru Gobind Singh and thus he is not happy living
under this rule and with this he left Ranjit Singh. In 1814 Akali Phula Singh
left his Nihanghan di Chhaoni in Amritsar and arrived in Anandpur Sahib, which
was near British land and the British did not like this and saw him as a major
threat. Akali Phula Singh and his Shaheedan Misl opened up a dera here.
Protection of Kanowar Partap
In 1813 prince Kanowar Partap of Jind acquired the
Kingdom of Jind from his father's will. However, the will was not accepted by
the British government. Kanowar Partap revolted by taking the Jind fort over
and thus the British wanted him captured. Under distress alongside with his
father the prince came at the refuge of Akali Phula Singh's camp in Anandpur.
The British sent an order to Akali Phula Singh and wanted him to send back the
prince so he could be arrested or else prepare for war.
Akali Phula Singh refused to break his vow to protect the
prince and maintained that under the ideals of the Khalsa it was a sin for the
Khalsa to refuse someone who has come for help and then relies on you to fix
the problem.
The British messaged Ranjit Singh asking him for his help on
the troublesome Jathadar and wanted to remove him from the near proximity of
British territory. The Dogras and Brahmins courtiers sent a reply from the Sikh
Government to try to arrest Akali Phula Singh and thus Diwan Moti Ram's army
was sent to arrest Akali Phula Singh.However, when the army arrived each
soldier refused their orders and refrained to proceed with the action out of
respect for Akali Phula Singh. Ram Kud Singh's army was paid to attack Akali
Phula Singh but they laid down their weapons saying they cannot attack this
great holy man. A similar attempt happened a second time on British requests to
Raja Jaswant Singh of Nabha and their requests to Nawab of Malerkotla to subdue
Akali Phula Singh. When Jaswant Singh Nabha forces arrived they laid down their
weapons saying they won't attack. Finally Ranjit Singh sent the saint Baba
Sahib Singh Bedi to bring back Akali Phula Singh to Amritsar and tell him he
was sorry about his conduct and that all of Akali Phula Singhs plans will
slowly implemented into the Government. Thus Akali Phula Singh returned to
Amritsar and on his return he received 50 horses, two elephants, weapons, and
wealth from the Maharajah. Akali Phula Singhs army of 3,000 Nihangs were given
a newly constructed building under the title of Nihang Choni to stay, and more
wealth and a jagir for their sewa of langar.
Battle of Multan
Maharajah Ranjit Singh fought numerous battles in Multan
from 1802 to 1818. In 1805 Muzaffar Khan Sadozi stopped paying taxes to
the Sikh Kingdom but eventually after military defeat agreed to pay them this
happened again and again at a few different occasions through the years.The
last battle of 1818 is of prime significance when Muzaffar Khan again stopped
paying taxes and finally flew the Jihad flag against Khalsa and called the
Muslims of the adjoining territories of help. The 25,000 Sikh soldiers sent to
Multan were led by Hari Singh Nalwa with Mokham Chand secondary in charge. Akali Phula
Singh and the Shaheedan Dal along with the reinforcements of Nihung under Sadhu
Singh and the power of Zamzama Bhangianwala Toap played a big role in this battle
and was inspiration for the Sikh soldiers to fight bravery.
The Sikhs begin preparing for the battle in January 1818 and
the battle was fought from March to June later that year. The Indus
River was used to transport heavy artillery. Akali Phula Singh brought his
jatha and joined the Sikh army soon after Kharak Singh also bought his forces.
Prince Kharak Singh urged Akali Phula Singh to rest but Akali Phula Singh
disagreed and said we will properly rest after taking over the fort. Muzaffar
Khan had about 13,000 troops inside the famous Multan
Fort. The Sikhs first captured Khangarh
and Muzaffargarh.
The Sikhs then besieged the Multan fort. Arrangements were made for an appeal
to stop the war and to give Muzaffar jagirship elsewhere but Muzaffar backed
out at the final stages. There was rally of many attacks from the Sikh heavy
guns but each time the breaches were quickly filled by the Afghans. Hundreds of
Sikhs continued to lose their lives as battle prevailed. At a time of rest
Sadhu Singh Akali dashed near a breach in the wall killed the Pathan guards and
entered the fort. Shouting Sat Sri Akal the other Sikh soldiers rushed behind
him. Hand to hand sword fighting now was striking inside the fort.
Muzaffar Khan and five of his sons were killed while his
remaining two sons were imprisoned and then later given 2,400 rupees and a
large piece of land near Sukherpaur. The Sikh army suffered about 1,900
casualties and 12,000 Muslims were killed by 4,000 Sikhs. Multan was
incorporated into the Sikh empire. This victory meant that there was no longer
any Afghan presence in Punjab and also the Sikhs gained a major centre of
trade. Maharajah Ranjit cerebrated for eight days and freely gave out lots of
wealth throughout both Lahore and Amritsar. Akali Phula Singh fought so hard
that when he returned his hand swelled up so much that his sword handle was
stuck to his hand and had to be removed with great difficulty only upon his
return. He also had to stitch up some minor war wounds but he quickly
recovered.
Advancement to Attock
The Attock Fort
Upon the assassination of Fateh Khan and the civil
disruption that evaded the Kabul region Maharajah Ranjit Singh took advantage
of the situation and advanced his army to Attock in October 1818.The Maharajah
himself led the expedition to bring the rebellious Pathans under control. A
bridge made of boats was constructed across the river Attock and a small jatha
was sent to assess the situation, but the jatha was attacked. This enraged the
Maharaja. He sent Akali Phula Singh and general Hari Singh Nalwa to fight
against the rebels. As soon as the Sikh army was within firing range, they were
showered with a rain of bullets. Akali Phula Singh ordered a tactical retreat.
This made the rebels come out of their bunkers to follow the retreating Sikhs
and push them out of their area. When the enemy was in the open battlefield, Akali
Phula Singh ordered a severe attack and then encircled them. Their commander
Feroze Khan accepted his defeat and requested the Sikhs to end the battle. The
rulers of Khatkha surrendered themselves to the Khalsa forces and thus were
spared. Next day, the remaining Khalsa army and Maharajah Sahib came across the
river and camped there. Placing small contingents in the forts of Khairabad and
Jahangira. The Sikh army then proceeded towards Peshawar.
Takeover of the Kashmir
Kashmir was a territory that Maharajah Ranjit Singh wanted
to capture for some time but never got the right opportunity to do so. In 1819
upon hearing the news of the Kashmir people under distress from Pandit Birbal
Dhar Ranjit Singh decided to invade the region. The Sikh forces first attacked
Aziz Khan who had broken the terms of the treaty with the Khalsa raj. After a
short battle Aziz Khan submitted to the Sikh forces and gave directions and
information about the Kashmir region for their upcoming expenditure. Special
care was taken to ensure that the people of Kashmir were not harmed during the
conflict. The people of Kashmir were not used to such hospitality and
preservation of their property from foreign invaders.
The Nihungs played a special role in this battle and after
trekking through rough terrain and leaving their horses behind the Akali jatha
reached Bayram Gela. They met with the rulers of the area. Meer Mohamand Khan
and Mohamand Ali Khan submitted to the Khalsa empire however Jabardast Khan
refused to subdue and join the empire and prepared for war. The Sikhs quickly
attacked and put siege to Jabardast Khans fort. They blew up the doors with a
large amount of gunpowder.[ Using their swords the Akalis attacked the Pathans.
Chenkhar Khan and his soldiers were arrested and after taking complete control
of the fort the Akalis left the area leaving a few Singhs stationed behind.
After a few days of rest they prepared to take over Peer Punchal using a
variety of routes and roads.
When the Pathans learned that the Akali army was wandering
through the area they brought out their armies and blocked off both sides of
the mountains on the route. Upon arriving on the scene both sides started
firing at each other but since the Pathans were on higher ground the Sikh
firing was ineffective. Akali Phula Singh ordered his troops to ascend the
mountain. Upon climbing up the enemies attacked and sword battle ensued until
night. On nightfall the Pathans ran away from the mountain. The Akalis set up
their campsite as well as a fire on top of the mountain and departed forwards
in the morning. Then the Akalis reached Saria Ali and met with the rest of the
Sikh army via the Pir Panjal Range route.
Battle of Shopian
From the town of Saria Ali the Sikhs learned Jabbardast Khan
gathered an army of 5,000 Afghani Soldiers and blocked of the route to Shopian. Dewan Mokham Chand told his plans on how to
approach the upcoming battle. On 29th Harh (Bikrami
Samat) they attacked the enemy from both sides with gunfire. The Sikhs then
began to squeeze the enemy closer and closer from both sides. The Afghanis were
able to attack Dewan Chand's regiment and took from him 3 cannons. Akali Phula
Singh when he saw Diwan Chand backing up and the Afghanis charging forward
advanced his jatha from the right side for a quick sword to sword combat
attack, though Jabardast fought bravely the Afghani army could not bear the
Akali's attack and ran away.All the Afghani war supplies fell to the hands of the
Sikhs these supplies included food stock, cannons, gunpowder, weapons, and
horses. The Afghanis suffered great loss in this battle in which Mehardil Khan
and Meer Akoursmad Khan were killed. Jabardsast Khan was greatly injured but
managed to get away. The Khalsa forces took over fort Sherghari and a few other
nearby areas effectively taking over the Kashmir region.
In 1879 Srinagar was captured by the Sikh forces without the looting
of the civilians. Akali Phoola Singh made a Gurdwara at Srinagar, by the name
of Gurdwara Bunga Akali Phulla Singh also known as Shaheed Ganj, for the Sikhs
who achieved martyrdom at the battle of Shergarhi who were also cremated here.
Seva at Amritsar
The gold on the Harmandir
Sahib was placed during Akali Phoola Singh's time.
After the victory in Kashmir Maharajah Ranjit Singh had a
Deep Mala of the entire city of Amritsar for three days and elaborate markets
were set up. During this time Ranjit Singh began massively improving Harmandir
Sahib and many other Gurdwaras in the region. When Ranjit Singh arrived in
Lahore he had even bigger celebrations there, and thousands of Rupees were
distributed freely to the people. Later when Akali Phula Singh, General Diwan
Chand, and Sahibjada Karak Singh arrived in Lahore great parades on Elephants
were arranged around the city, thousands of Rupees were distributed again.
Maharajah Ranjit Singh was very impressed by Akali Phula Singh performance and
wanted him and his army to remain at the Lahore darbar but Akali Phoola Singh
refused and preferred to live in Amritsar and perform administrative work.Akali
Phula Singh told Ranjit Singh that though they will remain in Amritsar we will
always be available when requested.
Battles of Peshawar
Ranjit Singh got an opportunity to try to takeover the
Pathan capital in 1818 after finding the Afghan frontier left open during the
civil war and murder of Wazir Fateh Khan, the ruler of the Peshawar
region. Initially Ranjit Singh asked Akali Phula Singh who was familiar with
Attock and his surroundings for his advice regarding the situation Akali Phula
Singh told him of how the Khyber Pass is used as a gateway to Punjab and a way to
block alliance between Pathan and Afghani soldiers. Ranjit Singh immediately
made the decision to attack. The high ranking generals in this attack would be
General Hari Singh Nalwa and Akali Phula Singh.
Sirdar Yar Mohhamand Khan and Dost Mohammad Azim Khan, the Wazir of Kabul
and head of the Barakzai tribe, were in charge of the city when the Sikh
army approached. They quickly fled to the Yusufzai
hills. After the Sikhs took over the city it was given to Jehandad Khan
However, when Ranjit Singh returned to Lahore Yar Mohammad quickly reconquered
the city. Ranjit Singh almost immediately sent another expedition to Peshawar.
Yar Mohammad accepted the rule of the Sikh Raj and agreed to pay a tax of Rs.
50,000 to the empire. The neighbouring cities of Darband, Mankerah, Dera
Ismail Khan, and Dera Ghazi Khan were also added to the Sikh Raj.
Grandeur battle of Peshawar
In 1823 Dost Muhammad Azim Khan peacefully takes over
Peshawar from his brother Sirdar Yar Mohammand Khan who was under the rule of
Ranjit Singh's raj. Muhammad Azim Khan declares Jihad against the
Sikh empire and Islamic religious teachers motivated around 25,000 jehadi
pathans to join under Mohammad Azim Khan army. Ranjit Singh preparing to
recapture the ancient city sent 2,000 horsemen under Kanwar Sher
Singh and Diwan Kirpa Ram to check the
advance of Afghans. Another army division was sent under Hari Singh Nalwa to help
the first group. Next Maharajah alongside Akali Phula Singh, Sardar Desa Singh
Majithia, Sardar Fateh Singh Ahluwalia joined and reached Attock.
Sher Singh and Hari Singh crossed the Attock river via a
boat bridge and took over the Jahangira fort after a small battle. Mohammmad Azim Khan
dispatched an army of Ghazis under Dost Muhammad Khan and Jabbar Khan to fight
against the Sikhs near Jahangira. Mohammad Azim Khan also destroyed the boat
bridge at Attock so Maharajah Ranjit Singh and his army would not be able to
cross. Maharajah Ranjit Singh started construction of new bridge but he quickly
received the news that a large number of Ghazis had encircled his army across
the river and the Khalsa army had a chance of being wiped out there. Maharajah
Ranjit Singh ordered the army to swim across the river and the Sikh forces were
successful without much loss of men and luggage and Maharajah Ranjit Singh
reached Jahangira. During this time Jai Singh Attariwala who had left the Sikh
Army in 1821 and joined Azim Khan came back to Ranjit Singh who instantiated
him into his former rank. Here the army was strategically divided into three
formations. 800 cavalry and 700 infantry soldiers was placed under Akali Phula
Singh.
Martyrdom
The army prepared to storm Peshawar and Sikh army come
together to do an Ardas
to Akal
Purakh asking for their victory and to formalize their upcoming departure
to the battlefield. Upon the completion of the ceremony Ranjit Singh heard news
of the delay of General Ventura and the Sikh artillery and
cannons so he told his army to stop and tried to tell the Nihang army to stop
the planned attack. Akali Phula Singh refused to break the Khalsa's Gurmata made in
the presence of Guru Granth Sahib to fight tonight and to fight
to the last without turning back.He told Ranjit Singh to do what he may with
his army but the Nihangs are leaving for battle now and won't turn back. The
Akalis thus entered the battlefield first. The Nihangs charged at the army on
horseback but when they reached the army they abandoned their horses and fought
through the enemies with swords. Ranjit Singh seeing the Nihangs successful
charge and also seeing how the Nihangs were outnumbered on the battlefield
ordered the rest of the army to enter the battlefield. Prince Kharak Singh's
army now charged at the enemy and General Ventura had now also arrived. Ranjit
Singh ordered General Balu Bahadur's Gurkha army to
attack the enemy from behind.
In the Uoper Desh region after severe hand-to-hand combat
Akali Phula Singh was wounded in the leg so he came back to fight on a horse.
Whilst fighting on horse his horse got shot so he came back to the battlefield
on in howdah on
the elephant upon which he would be fired down and attain martyrdom. Around
this time General Ventura, Hari Singh Nalwa, and Sirdar Budh Singh attacked
Muhammad Azim Khan's army. When the Ghazis heard that Azim Khan ran away they
lost hope and were quickly defeated. The Sikhs chased away any surviving
enemies and after winning the battle the news of Akali Phula Singhs death
spread around the army. Ranjit Singh with tears in his eyes along with the
other Sirdars reached where Akali Phula Singh's body was lying in the howdah.
Ranjit Singh covered his body with a shawl and returned to his campsite in
dismay. The next day Akali Phula Singh was cremated and his ashes deposited in
the Lunda river. Akali Phula Singh was succeeded by Jathedar Baba Hanuman Singh Nihang.
Life as a Nihang leader
A photograph of an Akali
Nihang Sikh taken during the 1860s. The Akali is wearing the
characteristically recognisable turban. The Mazhabi Sikhs dominated this order
throughout the 18th and 19th centuries.Akali Phula Singh helped solidate many
of the ideals of the Guru Khalsa created by Guru Gobind Singh. He was a strict
follower of Amrit Vela and the Sri Guru Granth Sahib and paid high
importance to do Asa Ki Var daily As a Nihang sevadar he paid his due to
act upon Dharma
on the populous. Nihangs do not find it necessary to obey the law of the land
nor do they believe in law of property or any subjection of any kind. Akali
Phula Singh made it routine to steal a lot of wealth and weapons from rich
rulers until he was confronted by Maharajah Ranjit Singh for the act after
which whatever Akali Phula Singh required was provided by Maharajah Ranjeet
Singh.[citation needed] The Nihangs aim to be at
Selfless service (seva) of the world though they
are especially generous to the poor and weak. Akalis are known to be of great
integrity and they are known to not break their hukam.
Nihangs often slept on horses many days at time and it is
their rule to be always on the move and to not stay at the same place for too
long. They prefer the sword over gun
but are also trained to be excellent marksmen. In warfare they are the first to
attack and usually do not retreat in battle, rather they just keep charging.
They do cries of Akal Akal loudly. Akali Phula Singh enforced all the qualities
of the ideal Nihang.
Some prominent English Sikh scholars were against Akali
Phola Singh like Max MacAuliffe. Many of the English writers
also ignore the Nihangs victories and on often attribute Dogras to substitute
when Nihangs fought battles. Akali Phula Singh talked in a unique slang-like
Punjabi which was not understood by the British and often misinterpreted.
Punishment of Ranjit Singh
The sovereignty of Akali Phula Singh's Khalsa Panth over
Ranjit Singh was made clear on a particular event when Ranjit Singh brought
dancers for his grandson's wedding. The community was upset with Ranjit Singh
for this action. When Ranjit Singh visited Amritsar for his daily listening of
the Sri Guru Granth Sahib nobody spoke to him. Ranjit Singh could not bear
nobody talking to him so he asked for forgiveness. Akali Phula Singh being the
leader of the panth ordered Ranjit Singh to be flogged and he immediately
agreed.Upon getting in the position to receive the whipping with a naked back
and leaning against the tamarind tree in front of the Akal Bunga (Akal Takht)
Akali Phula Singh asked if it was enough that the Maharajah was ready to
receive the punishment and should be forgiven without getting the actual
whipping. He asked the Sangat who had gathered around if they agreed that he
should be forgiven that they should respond with the Sat Sri
Akal battle cry in response the entire Sangat cried out Sat Shri Akal in
approval.
Legacy & Culture
Akali Phula Singh's samadhi was
built at Pir
Sabaq, 8 km from Nowshera to Attock, where he
was martyred. It had a large piece of land attached to it and was a popular
place of visit for Sikhs, Hindus, and Pathans especially during Vaisakhi and
Dussehra. The Nihangs served langar there up until the creation of India.Akali Phula Singh's land in Amritsar is still run by the Nihangs at the Akali
Phula Singh Burj which was built by Maharajah Ranjit Singh himself as a tribute
to Akali Phula Singh.
The total land attached to Akali Phula Singh Burj was originally over 13 acres
but now that number has been greatly reduced.
Comments
Post a Comment