SikhiWiki:Today's featured article/January 14, 2009
Nadir Shah's brutal offensives and the eight invasions by Ahmed Shah Abdali had made the Mughal Empire fragile and weak.
Sikhs had emerged as a strong and powerful force in northern India, and eventually halted Abdali's invasions. Under the leadership of Dal Khalsa chief, Sardar Jassa Singh Ahluwalia, the Sikhs refused an alliance, and instead challenged Abdali for battle.
They were anxious to avenge the killing of over 20,000 Sikhs, mostly women, children and old people, and also the destruction and desecration of the Golden Temple. Sensing defeat, Abdali called it a day, and finally returned to Afghanistan, never to come back again.
The vast area of the Indian subcontinent lying between the Indus and the Yamuna thus became free from foreign rule. With no enemy in the North, and Shah Alam II at the head of the decaying Mughal Empire at Delhi, the powerful 12 misls had a free run in increasing their influence in all directions, from the Indus to the Yamuna, seeking 'rakhi' (tribute, protection money) from various small chiefs, nawabs and rajas. .....More
