Farakh Seyer, the new ruler of Hindustan, gave his governors in North India the command to either kill or detain Baba Banda Singh Bahadur in April 1715. He sent his men to assist the Governor of Lahore, Abdu-Samad, whom he mocked for his incapacity. At Gurdaspur, Baba Banda Singh Bahadur and his troops were present. He resided in the abandoned four-walled Kachhi Garhi of Duni Chand in Gurdas Nangal.
The Kachhi Garhi was encircled by the Mughal armies for eight months since they did not even attack it. Baba Banda Singh Bahadur only had a few men with him, along with a meager supply of food and weapons. All supplies had been halted by the Mughals. Adopting the Garhi was advised by Baba Binod Singh (as was done in December 1710 after abandoning the Loh Garh fort). Baba Banda Singh Bahadur, on the other hand, adopted a different method; he refused to leave the Garhi but said that those who desired to do so could do so. Baba Binod Singh and his troops departed the Garhi during the night. Approximately 800 of Baba Banda Singh Bahadur's troops were left in the Garhi as a result.
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Day by day conditions worsened in the Garhi. No food was left, grass, leaves of plants, and trees were boiled and eaten. Even the bark of trees was eaten. One cannot imagine the misery they faced. The meat of animals and birds was eaten. Not even wood was left for cooking. It is said a few cut the flesh of their thighs to eat.
Many of Baba Banda Singh Bahadur's men developed illnesses and cramping in their stomachs. The Mughal troops attacked the fort with swords in hand after being encircled for 8 months. The Sikhs still put up a lot of resistance at this point. Before being apprehended, Baba Banda Singh Bahadur is claimed to have slain between 50 and 60 soldiers of the Mughal army on his own.
Hazi Karam-war Khan writes in his book 'Tazkiratu-Sulatin Chugtian that the arrest of Baba Banda Singh Bahadur and his men was not the result of wisdom or bravery of the rulers, but it was the Grace of God that Kafir (non-muslim) Baba Banda Singh Bahadur and his men were weakened by hunger.
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The money Baba Banda Singh Bahadur possessed as well as their tenacity in the war astounded the Nawab. They were only discovered to have roughly 600 rupees, 23 gold coins, and a few weapons. The Sikhs were believed by the Mughal soldiers to have ingested the gold money. The stomachs of numerous Sikh victims were pulled open for inspection, but nothing was discovered. Thus, in December 1715, Baba Banda Singh Bahadur and roughly 760 Sikhs were taken. They were transported to Lahore in a parade. The convicts should be brought to Delhi, according to Emperor Farukh Seyer. The governor of Lahore, Abdu-Samad, wished to travel to Delhi to receive a reward, but Farakh Seyer told him to stay and send Zakria Khan instead.
Abdu-Samad and his son thought that Baba Banda Singh Bahadur, 200 heads on spears, and 700 prisoners were not enough for the emperor. They ordered the local chieftains to behead the Sikhs wherever they could be found and present their heads to them. Thus thousands of Sikhs were murdered.
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Baba Banda Singh Bahadur was placed in an iron cage, dressed as a clown with a cap on his head. He was also tightly shackled. An elephant was restrained in a cage. Two Mughal soldiers were stationed on either side of the cage with their swords drawn in case Baba Banda Singh Bahadur managed to break free and attempt to flee. About 760 convicts were made to wear colorful hats and jackets made of goat skin. They were seated on unsaddled camels, two-on-one, back to back, and bound with chains and shackles.
The procession consisted of:
1. Baba Banda Singh Bahadur on an elephant in an iron cage at the forefront.
2. About 760 prisoners in chains on camels.
3. About seven hundred Mughal soldiers on horses with heads of Sikhs on their spears.
4. About 700 hundred carts, loads with severed heads of Sikhs.
5. A dead cat on a spear indicating not even a trace of a Sikh was left.
The procession proceeded to Delhi on Feb 1716. Thousands of men and women were on the streets to witness the events. People of all faiths, even Christians, were witnesses. Among the captured Sikhs, not a single Sikh was disappointed or ready to ask for mercy. Accepting it as the Will of God they were happily singing Gurbani.
The Sikhs were imprisoned in the Delhi fort and under pressure to convert to Islam. All of them were given the go-ahead for execution after their adamant denial. Baba Banda Singh Bahadur and a few of his colleagues were taken away for questioning, while the others were executed at Khuni Darwaja in front of the Delhi Gate. At a rate of 100 executions per day, the public hanging continued for 7 days. The killing was postponed until March 1716.
Many people observed and recorded the horrifying slaughter of the Sikhs. The courageous Sikhs sang their holy melodies instead of displaying signs of dejection or humiliation; none of them feared death or abandoned their faith. It is not insignificantly astonishing how patiently they endure their fate, and up until this point, no one has been discovered to have abandoned this newly established religion, according to the British Embassy in Delhi.
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Baba Banda Singh Bahadur and his remaining men were interrogated for 3 months to find out about their war strategies, wealth, and ammunition. Baba Banda Singh Bahadur had, in fact, never buried any wealth or currency. Whatever he got he used to distribute among his soldiers and needy. His weapons were only swords, spears, bows, arrows, daggers, etc. His army was on foot and on horses. He had no elephants or cannons or any other sophisticated
Baba Banda Singh Bahadur and his 26 comrades were transported in a parade through the streets of old Delhi in June 1716 before being brought to the Makbra (Grave) of Khawaza Kutub-ud-deen Bakhitiyar Kaki next to Kutub Minar. To elicit a pleading for forgiveness from Baba Banda Singh Bahadur, 26 Sikhs were executed in his presence. When Baba Banda Singh Bahadur's turn came, he was given the option of accepting Islam or dying. He was content to die.
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A Muslim historian claims that a nobleman was permitted to visit Baba Banda Singh Bahadur before his execution. "It is surprising that one who shows so much acuteness in his features and so much nobility in his conduct should have been guilty of such horrors," he said to Baba Banda Singh Bahadur. Banda responded to the question posed to him by Mohammad Amin Khan, the author of Siyarul-Mutakherin, with the utmost dignity: "In every faith and every land, whenever men have become corrupt, despotic, and tyrannical, God sends a scourge like me to punish them and teach them a lesson."
Baba Banda Singh Bahadur's 4-year-old son was seated on his lap. A dagger was given to Baba Banda Singh Bahadur and ordered to cut his son. He refused. The executioner pierced the chest of his son, took out the violently vibrating heart, and tried to push it into the mouth of Baba Banda Singh Bahadur. Though shackled, Baba Banda Singh Bahadur refused furiously. After this his flesh was notched out with pliers, and hot sharp rods were inserted into his flesh. His eyes were notched out; his hands and feet were chopped off. Thus when he became unconscious, his head was chopped off. This black day was on 9th June 1716.
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