Dilawar Khan

Dilawar Khan, a Mughal chief, who during the closing years of seventeenth century sent his son, referred to as Khanzada in Guru Gobind Singh's Bachitra Natak, as head of an imperial expedition to exact tribute from the Guru. The young commander, marching with alacrity, reached the vicinity of Anandpur at midnight and intended to surprise the town. But the Guru was alerted by his chamberlain, Alam Chand, and the Sikhs, putting on their armour, rushed out to meet the invaders. The beating of the Ranjit Nagara and the warcries of the Sikhs echoed widely in the stillness of the dark winter's night, giving an exaggerated estimate of their numbers. The Mughal force was completely unnerved at the suddenness of the Sikhs' movement and beat a hasty retreat without giving battle. The Khan fled deserting the field. Dilawar Khan fell into a rage on hearing of the disaster. He made attempts to retrieve the lost position by sending, first, his slavegeneral Husain Khan and, then Jujhar Singh Hada, a Rajput, against Guru Gobind Singh, but without success.