One of the few soldiers who accompanied Guru Gobind Singh on his journey south to Nanded in 1708 was Binod Singh, a descendant of the second Sikh Guru, Angad. According to most accounts, Binod Singh, who was one of the five council of advisors sent back north with Banda Bahadur to incite insurrection in Panjab, was the most senior person present. The historical book Mahankosh by Kahn Singh Nabha expressly makes reference to him by name. At the Battle of Sirhind in 1710, when the Khalsa troops defeated Wazir Khan and took control of Panjab, Binod Singh led the left wing of the Khalsa Army and participated in all of Banda Bahadur's fights.
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Binod Singh served as the Nihang Dal's first Jathedar (leader) at the time it was founded. Additionally, they claim that Guru Gobind Singh only entrusted Banda Bahadur the command of the Sikh army and that he gave the leadership of the Sikh Nation to the Singh Khalsa, a group of five Singhs, the elder of which was Binod Singh.
Binod Singh and his son Kahan Singh started to disagree with Banda Bahadur after participating in four more wars. Beginning small, the Mughal authorities employed an adopted son of Mata Sundari—the widow of Guru Gobind Singh—to exacerbate ideological divisions after determining that it was the ideal time to do so within the fledgling Sikh country. Even though Gobind Singh had granted the Guruship to Guru Granth Sahib, Binod Singh, and Kahan Singh began to fear Banda Bahadur was seeking to steal the authority of the Singh Khalsa and establish himself as the 11th Guru of the Sikhs. Rattan Singh Bhangu and other historians claim that Banda Singh started modifying the Sikh salute and clothing code as well as imposing a vegetarian diet.
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The Mughals took advantage of this and attempted to establish communication between the Sikhs in Panjab and those in Delhi under the leadership of Mata Sundari. In the end, Kahan Singh betrayed Banda Bahadur and left with a sizable troop. The defections persisted until Binod Singh ultimately turned against Banda Bahadur during the Siege of Gurdas Nangal, dividing the Khalsa into the Banda Singh-led Bandai Khalsa and the Tat Khalsa under his leadership.
Binod Singh was killed not long after his defection along with up to 4000 of his followers during a skirmish with the Mughal forces.
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