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Battle of Pipli Sahib
Part of Afghan–Sikh Wars and Indian campaign of Ahmad Shah Durrani
Date 17 October 1762 Location Amritsar Result Disputed
Belligerents
Dal Khalsa	Durrani Empire
Commanders and leaders
Jassa Singh Ahluwalia Charat Singh Other Notable Leaders	Ahmad Shah Abdali
Strength
60,000	Unknown

The Battle of Pipli Sahib also known as Battle of Amritsar was fought by the Sikh Misls and the Durrani Empire.

Seeking to avenge past defeats, the Sikhs rallied and engaged in conflict with the Afghans. Gathering at Amritsar, Ahmad Shah led his army to meet the Sikhs. The battle began with a Sikh attack, ongoing with a solar eclipse. The battle concluded in the night when both sides withdrew to their camps. During this, Ahmad Shah withdrew to Lahore, before returning to find the Sikhs as having withdrawn into the Lakhi Jungle.

The battle's authenticity is speculated by historians, and the result is just as convoluted.

Background

After the Battle of Kup, the Sikhs decided to get revenge for the dead and avenge their defeats. Ahmad Shah Abdali had returned to Lahore. He sent an ambassador to negotiate peace with the Sikh leaders and prevent further losses of his ken which the Sikh were desperate to do. However, when this ambassador arrived at the Sikh camps the Sikhs plundered him and his followers and after drove them away. Abdali, becoming furious, quickly arrived at the outskirts of Amritsar.

Battle

The Sikhs had gathered around at Amritsar to celebrate Diwali which was on October of 17 that year. The Sikhs attacked the Afghans vehemently. The battle was fought under a total solar eclipse. The battle went on furiously from early morning till late night. Both sides decided to stop fighting for night and resume fighting in the morning, but during the night Ahmad Shah Abdali and his forces decided to withdrew to Lahore during the night. Returning later, the Shah, looking to engage the Sikhs again, found that they had withdrew into the Lakhi Jungle.

Result

The battle itself, and its result is not accepted by all historians. John Malcolm, Jadunath Sarkar, George Forster, and Sinha all doubt the battle as actually having occurred. While it is accepted by Hari Ram Gupta and Ganda Singh.

Some sources simply state both sides withdrew to their camps after the battle, and that Ahmad Shah returned to Lahore afterward, later returning to see the Sikhs had also withdrawn. Other academics such as Jonathan Lee, Vidya Dhar Mahajan, Tej and Ganda Singh say the battle was a Sikh victory.

Aftermath

While Abdali was hunting in the Majha territory, he ordered the capture of a body of Sikh horsemen within the area. Immediately after, another body arrived and engaged Abdali's men, whereupon a Sikh unsuccessfully attempted to strike Abdali. Some Sikhs were killed by the Afghans while the remaining retreated into the jungle.

The Shah left Lahore on December 12, 1762, and Kabuli Mal was appointed the new governor of Lahore.

References

1. Gupta, Hari (2007). History of the Sikhs Vol II Evolution of the Sikh Confederacies. Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd. ISBN 978-81-215-0248-1.
2. Gupta 1939, p. 191.
3. Gupta 1939, p. 190.
4. Cunningham, Joseph Davey (1918). A History Of The Sikhs From The Origin Of The Nation To The Battles Of The Sutlej. p. 101.
5. ^ Singh, Ganda (1959). Ahmad Shah Durrani,father of modern Afghanistan. Asia Publishing House, Bombay. pp. 286–287.
6. Singh, Khushwant (2004). A History of the Sikhs: 1469-1838. Oxford University Press. pp. 155–156.
7. ^ Gupta 1939, p. 192.
8. ^ Singh 2004, p. 156.
9. Singh, Khushwant (1977). A History of the Sikhs. Oxford University Press. p. 148. ISBN 978-0-19-560600-3.
10. ^ Singh 1977, p. 148.
11. Gandhi, Surjit Singh (1999). Sikhs in the Eighteenth Century: Their Struggle for Survival and Supremacy. Singh Bros. p. 278. ISBN 978-81-7205-217-1.
12. Lee, Jonathan L. (2022). Afghanistan: A History from 1260 to the Present. Reaktion Books. p. 129. ISBN 9781789140194.
13. Mahajan, V.D. (1990). Modern Indian History. S. Chand Publishing. p. 58. ISBN 9789352836192.
14. Singh, Ganda; Singh, Tej (1950). A Short History of the Sikhs: 1496-1765. Orient Longmans. p. 166.

Works cited

• Gupta, Hari Ram (1939). History of the Sikhs, Volume 1. S.N. Sarkar, 1939. ISBN 9788121502481.

See also

• Nihang
• Martyrdom and Sikhism

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