Sikh Ruhila Relations

RUHILA - SIKH RELATIONS. The Ruhilas came from the Yusafzai tribe of Afghans originally belonging to Roh, a tract of land south ofChitral in the NorthWest Frontier region. They established themselves in the early years of the eighteenth century as a semiindependent power in the district lying between the River Ganges and the Kumaon hills and extending eastwards up to Shahjahanpur. Their first powerful chief, 'All Muhammad, received from the Emperor Muhammad Shah a mansab or rank of the 4,000 grade and was appointed faujdar of Sirhind in 1745. Ala Singh, the founder of Patiala state, made alliance with him and joined him in a campaign against the Muslim chief of Raikot. But 'Ali Muhammad suddenly attacked Ala Singh's capital, Barnala, which was given over to plunder. Ala Singh himself was taken prisoner and detained in the Fort ofSunam, but he escaped through a stratagem in 1747. 'Ali Muhammad died in September 1748.

The next great leader of the Ruhilas was Najib Khan who started life as a foot soldier under 'Ali Muhammad, but rose in rank soon after his master's death. He received from the Mughal Emperor 'Alamgir II the mansab of 5,000 zo Ahmad Shah Durrani, before returning homewards after his fourth invasion, 195657, appointed him Mir Bakhshi or paymaster of the army and his own mukhtdr or agent plenipotentiary. While the plunder of Delhi was being transported to Lahore under prince Taimur, Ala Singh attacked him at Sanaur and again at Malerkotia and robbed him of a considerable part of the treasure. Ala Singh had also supplied provisions to the Maratha army on the eve of the battle of Panipat, January 1761. The Durrani, therefore, sacked Barnala soon after Panipat and forced Ala Singh to become a tributary. For this reason, Ala Singh did not give any active support to the Sikhs during what is known as Vadda Ghallughara or the Great Holocaust perpetrated on them by Ahmad Shah Durrani on 5 Feburary 1762. Yet Ala Singh was summoned to present himself before the Shah. He was saved only through the intervention of Najib udDaulah. But Najib udDaulah being the Durrani's agent was not the Sikhs' favourite. Following their conquest of Sirhind in January 1764, the Dal Khalsa or federated force of the Sikh misis, under their leader, Jassa Singh Ahluvalia, poured into the GarigaYamuna Doab in the middle of February 1764 and plundered the country up to Muradabad and Chandausi in Ruhilkhand, the land of the Ruhilas. Najib udDaulah had to pay a heavy sum of 11,00,000 rupees to persuade them to go back to the Punjab early in March. This was, however, only the first of the Sikhs' biannual raids into the territories of Najib and the Emperor. In NovemberDecember 1764, the Jat ruler of Bharatpur, Jawahar Singh, solicited the Sikhs' help against Najib udDaulah. 15,000 Sikhs already in the Gang Doab, joined him and defeated Najib twice during JanuaryFebruary 1765, after which they retired to the Punjab at the news of a fresh invasion of their country by Ahmad Shah Durrani. During the Sikhs' raid on the Doab later in the year, a severe battle lasting several days took place between them and the Ruhilas, with Najib personally in command, near Shamli in presentday Muzaffarnagar district ofUttar Pradesh. The periodic raids of the Sikhs and skirmishes with the Ruhilas continued till Najib's death on 31 October 1770. His son and successor, Zabita Khan, inherited his father's title and office, but he did not have his father's strength of character. With the Emperor now under Maratha control and Ruhilkhand conquered by the Nawab of Oudh in 1774 with British help, Zabita Khan's influence was restricted to a small area around Ghausgarh in the upper Gang Doab. He came to terms with the Sikhs conceding to them the right to collect rdkht or protection levy. The Sikhs in May 1776 frustrated the Nawab of Oudh's efforts to wean them away from Zabita Khan. and instead assisted the latter to occupy Mughal territories. The Emperor took away his titles ofMir Bakhshi and Amir ulUmara and sent a force to bring him to book. Zabita Khan helped by his Sikh friends withstood the onslaught for several months, but was finally defeated on 14 September 1777. He fled to the Sikh camp and escaped, under their protection, across the Yamuna while his entire camp, family and treasure fell into the hands of the victors. To strengthen his alliance further he became a convert to Sikhism and assumed the name of Dharam Singh. Najaf Khan, the Regent of the Empire, considered it advisable to conciliate Zabita Khan with a view to keeping the Sikhs in check through him. He called Zabita Khan to Delhi and restored his family and territories to him. Zabita Khan in turn gave his daughter in marriage to Najaf Khan. But the Sikhs were alienated from him, for they had not been consulted during these proceedings.

The Sikhs, passing through the Doab in December 1778, entered Ruhilkhand despite opposition by the troops of the British East India Company guarding the fords and ferries on the Ganga, and returned after plundering several villages with impunity.

Zabita Khan died on 21 January 1785. His son and successor, Ghulam Qadir, tried to reestablishe friendly relations with the Sikhs. His vakil or agent waited upon the sarddrs who were again out on a plundering raid in Ruhilkhand in JanuaryFebruary 1785, and persuaded them to withdraw promising to pay rdkht money. The Sikhs withdrew but Ghulam Qadir did not honour his part of the agreement. Having waited for two years, during which period, the rdkht arrears rose to 1,00,000 rupees, the Sikhs invaded his territories in February 1787. Ghulam Qadir paid to some chiefs their share of the dues. In July 1787 he persuaded Sardar Baghel Singh and some other chiefs to join him in an attack upon the imperial capital. Their combined force entered Delhi on 5 September 1787. The Emperor, finding himself helpless, conferred the office ofMir Bakhshi with the title of Amir ulUmara on Ghlam Qadir. But the Ruhila chief's haughtiness and his secret parleys with Begam Samru led to disaffection among the Sikhs, who once again pillaged his territories in the Doab in 1788. Ghulam Qadir was ultimately captured by the Marathas in December 1788, and put to death on 4 March 1789. Mu'in udDin Khan alias Bhambu Khan, the younger brother of Ghulam Qadir, and his mother were given refuge byJassa Singh Ramgarhia in his estates in Gurdaspur district of the Punjab.

References

1. Bharigu, Ratan Singh, Prachin Panth Prakash. Amritsar, 1914

2. Gian Singh, Giani, Twankh Guru Khalsa [Reprint]. Patiala, 1970

3. Ganda Singh, Sardar Jassa Singh Ahluvalia. Patiala, 1969

4. Gandhi, Surjit Singh, Struggled/the Sikhs for Sovereignty. Delhi, 1980