Battle of Hargobindpur

Gurdwara Damdama Sahib Where Guru Sahib took rest after Battle

the Battle of Hargobindpur was, the first battle in which Guru Hargobind and his Sikh Risaldari, fought the the forces of Abdullah Khan the Mughal ruler (Subedar) of Jalandhar. Some give the date of this historic battle as 1621 (other chronicles give the date as September 1629. The battle was fought near the village Ruhela where Guru Hargobind and his warriors defeated a Mughal force and their Turkish chieftains and Abdullah Khan. After the victory Guru Har Gobind Ji renamed the village of Ruhela as Sri Hargobindpur.

Reason for the Conflict

The village was established on the ruins of Ruhela by Guru Arjan Dev in 1587 and named Sri Gobindpur, but it was soon appropriated by Bhagvan Das Gherar helped by Chandu's machinations. The site, where Guru Hargobind actually laid the foundation of new town, was situated in the tiny village of Ruhela, on the right bank of the river Beas. He liked the place so much that he decided to build a town, on an open space available on the bank of the river.

During the rainy season, Guru Hargobind ji left Kartarpur and camped at Sri Hargobindpur, on the second Thursday of Sawan. At that time, Bhagwan Das Ghirarh (a local Khatri) had illegal possession of the land. Bhagwan Das was a relative of Chandu Shah (who was involved in the horrific tortures that lead to the Martyrdom of Guru Arjun Dev) the father of .

When Guru Hargobind Ji was setting up a camp in the vicinity, Bhagvan Das, a rich Khatri of the Gherar clan, challenged Guru Hargobind and asked him to vacate the site. He used undignified words for the Guru. Bhagwan Das contemplated his right of ownership on the land and with the help of some hired ruffians forcibly tried to dislodge the worker, who were engaged in developing the new township. In the ensuing small clash with Sikhs, most hired ruffians were killed with their Chaudry (chief) Bhagwan Das .

After this incident, Ratan Chand, the son of Bhagwan Das Ghirhar went to Jalandhar, to meet with his relative Karam Chand, the son of Chandu Shah. Together they went to Ali Beg (Abdullah Khan), the subedar of Jalandhar and complained about Guru Hargobind. They played on the fears of Abdulla Khan, the subedar of Jalandhar, telling him that the Guru was constructing a fort at Sri Hargobindpur to raise an army to seek revenge on the Moghuls for the death of his father. Guru Hargobind had been advised by his father to raise and train a force to defend against against attacks on the Sikhs, but the young Guru had no intentions of building a fort or attacking anyone, his forces were strictly to be used in defense, but such were the fears (and doubless the guilt of the Moghuls concerning the death of the Saintly Guru Arjan) that Abdulla Khan dispatched ten thousand soldiers to help the plotters expel Guru sahib and the community of Sikhs.

Abdullah Khan's plan

Abdullah Khan first sent 4000 soldiers to Hargobindpur and ordered the local chieftains Bairam Khan, Muhomad Khan, Balwand KHan, Imam Baksh, Nabi Baksh, Chirag Din, Akbar Khan and Sher Muhommad to ready their forces they were to be his main pawns in his plan. He then divided these forces, sending them to eight different locations around the Sikhs.

Guru Hargobind gave command of his army to Bhai Jattu and selected one jathedar (leader) for each jatha (group). Bhai Kalyana, Those selected to lead the jaths were Bhai Piraga, Bhai Mathra Bhat (son of Baba Bhikha), Bhai Jagan Nath, Bhai Jagna, Bhai Saktu, Bhai Jati Mall, Bhai Paras Ram, Bhai Malooka. The Guru kept the jatha of Bhai Bidhi Chand in reserve so that they could add support wherever it was needed.

Battle

Results

The attack launched by this force soon fell apart, both Ratan Chand and Karam Chand were killed along with Abdullah Khan, his two sons and five of his commanders.

On the Guru sahib's side, Mathura Bhat Ji (son of Baba Bhikha Ji), Bhai Nanu Ji, Bhai Saktu Ji, Bhai Jattu Ji, Bhai Pirana Ji, Bhai Paras Ram Ji, Bhai Jagannath Ji and Bhai Kalyana Ji were martyred.

Reaction of the Mughal Emporer

At the time, Shah Jahan, the Mughal emperor, was at Agra. When he heard about the embarrasing defeat of the Moghuls at the hands of the smaler force of Sikhs he ordered his troops to destroy Sri Hargobindpur. But when his son Dara Shikoh and Wazir Khan narrated the true version of the whole story to the emperor, Shah Jahan said that Abdullah Khan had fought this war without any justification and, even worse, without his permission. He then ordered his men to take possession of the property of Abdullah khan. Wazir Khan also told Shah Jahan that Guru Hargobind had ordered his Sikhs to build a mosque in Hargobindpur, as the Muslims of the village were not able to afford one themselves. Shah Jahan was pleased to hear that.

Memorial

There is a Gurdwara called Gurdwara Damdama Sahib.

Four shrines commemorate Guru Hargobind's stay at Ruhela. The local population was thankful for the riddance of the tyranny of the evil minded Chaudhry and Mughals. They helped the Guru in the construction work of the town which came to be called after the sixth Guru as Sri Hargobindpur.

References

• Translated by (Lucky 17:24, 7 March 2009 (UTC)), copied from History book from Sri Hargobindpur which he (Lucky 18:52, 7 March 2009 (UTC)) on his personal visit.