Lehal Library

114 The Agrarian Uprising families of Malwa and the Jullundur Doab. Large estates were first broken up into smaller holdings in the hands of Sikh or Hindu peasants. With the rise of Sikh power these holdings were once again grouped together to form large estates, but in the hands of Sikh chieftains. The movement to infuse the sentiment of Punjabi nationalism in the masses received a setback with Banda. The wanton destruction of life and property of Mughal officials and landowners alienated the sympathies of great numbers of Muslims who began to look upon the Khalsa as the enemies of Islam. Until then only the richer classes of Muslims had been inbred with notions of Islamic revival preached by men like Shaikh Ahmed Sirhindi; Banda's savagery hardened the hearts of the Muslim peasants and made them as anti-Sikh as their government. The Muslims looked upon Banda as the author of the Siyiir described him: 'a barbarian. whom namre had formed for a butcher ... an infernal monster.'28 It was a long time before the Muslim masses were willing to join the Hindus and Sikhs to defend their counU} against the imperial force: and foreign invaders. 28 Siyi:ir-ul-MuliiAhnin, 72, 76.