Lehal Library

Banda Bahadur 109 In a village near Batala Banda dug himself in. Before he could complete his defence fortifications, the imperial forces came upon him. Artillery blasted Banda into the open field. Banda stood his ground and, to the amazement of Abdus Samad Khan, almost trounced his vastly superior forces. Even after the Mughals had recovered from the shock of Banda's violent assault and the tide of battle had begun to tum in their favour, they were unable to press the advantage to a successful conclusion. 'For although vigorously pursued, he retired from post to post, and like a savage of the wilderness from thicket to thicket, losing an endless number of men and occasioning losses to his pursuers.'20 Banda fled northwards. But instead of disappearing into the mountains, he stopped a few miles above the present town of Gurdaspur and turned back to face his pursuers. He cut a canal and flooded the surrounding country in the hope that this would prevent the imperial artillery from getting too close to him. The operation proved to be the decisive factor in his defeat, for, although it prevented the besiegers' cannon from being placed within range, it also cut him off from supplies of food. Abdus Samad Khan surrounded Banda's artificial island and waited patiently for his victims to starve themselves into submission. The siege dragged on interminably. There were occasional sorties by Randa's men to get provisions, and attempts by the Mughals to test the Sikh defences. An eyewitness gives the following account of the siege: 'The brave and daring deeds of the infernal Sikhs was wonderful. Twice or thrice every day some forty or fifty of these black-faced infidels came out of their enclosure to gather grass for their cattle, and when the combined forces of the imperialists went to oppose them, they made an end of the Mughals with arrows, muskets, and small swords, and disappeared. Such was the terror of the Sikhs and the fear of the sorceries of the Sikh chief that the Commanders of this army prayed that God might so ordain things that Banda should seek safety in his flight from the fortress. ' 21 20 SiJiir-ul-Mutiilt/1erit1, 77 21 Mohammed Qasim, Ibrat No.ma, 42.