Alif Khan

Alif Khan was an officer in the Mughal army of Aurangzeb. He is mentioned in Guru Gobind Singh's, Bachitra Natak. In 1691, he was dispatched by Mian Khan, the viceroy of Jammu, to Kangra to collect arrears of tribute from the Hindu hill chiefs. Raja Kirpal Chand Katoch of Kangra and Raja Dyal of Bijharval submitted their arrears of tribute to Alif Khan, but the most powerful hill chief Raja Bhim Chand of Kahlur refused.

Bhim Chand enlisted the support of several of the chieftains against Alif Khan. He also requested and received the aid of Guru Gobind Singh who did not like the idea of anyone paying tribute to the Mughal Court. The tribute then three years in arrears was being sought to bolster the ongoing wars in the Deccan where Aurangzeb was rapidly depleting the coffers of the once wealthy Mugal Empire.

The combined force reached Nadaun, on the bank of the River Beas, 32 km southeast of Kangra where Kirpal Chand Katoch and Raja Dyal sided with the Mughal general. Things at first went against Bhim Chand but after praying to one of his Gods he managed to rally his allies to his defense.

The Battle of Nadaun in which Guru Gobind Singh himself took part was fought on 20 March 1691. Guru Gobind Singh described the action in his, Bachitra Natak in vivid and rousing verse. Alif Khan fled in utter disarray "without being able to fold up his camp."

Guru Gobind Singh camped at the site for several days. Maharaja Ranjit Singh, later, ordered a gurdwara to be built on the spot where the Guru had pitched his tent. The present building was constructed by Rai Bahadur Baisakha Singh in 1929. The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, which took over control of the shrine in 1935, now administers it through a local committee. The Gurdwara is known as Gurudwara Dasvin Patshahi (Nadaun) or Gurdwara Nadaun Sahib.

References

1. Bachitra Natak.

2. Kuir Singh, Gurbilas Patshahi 10. PATIALA, 1968

3. Gian Singh, Giani, Twarikh Guru KHALSA [Reprint]. Patiala, 1970

4. MacaulifTe, Max Arthur, The SIKH Religion, Oxford, 1909

5. Harbans Singh, Guru Gobind Singh. Chandigarh, 1966