ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>BU&#7692&#7692H&#256 DAL</TITLE> <style type="text/css"> .BODY { background-color: #EAF1F7; background-image: url('images/gtbh.jpg'); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: fixed; background-position: center; color: #0066CC;} .C1{text-align: justify;color: #0066CC;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .BIB{text-align: center;color: #000099;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .CONT{text-align: right;color: #FF0000;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} </style><META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="BU  H,DAL"> <META http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"></HEAD> <BODY class="BODY" oncontextmenu="return false" ondragstart="return false" onselectstart="return false"> <FONT ALIGN="JUSTIFY" FACE="Tahoma"> <p class="C1">&#65279BU&#7692&#7692H&#256 DAL and Taru&#7751&#257 Dal, names now appropriated by two sections of the Niha&#7749g Sikhs, were the popular designations of the two divisions of Dal <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257, the confederated army of the Sikhs during the eighteenth century. With the execution of Band&#257 Si&#7749gh Bah&#257dur in 1716, the Sikhs were deprived of a unified command. Moreover, losses suffered by the Sikhs during the anti-Band&#257 Si&#7749gh campaign around Gurd&#257spur and the relentless persecution that followed at the hands of 'Abd us-Samad <u>Kh</u>&#257n, governor of Lahore, made it impossible for Sikhs to continue large scale combined operations. Hunted out of their homes, they scattered in small <i>jath&#257s</i> or groups to find refuge in distant hills, forests and deserts, but they were far from vanquished. In 1726 the imperial government replaced 'Abd us-Samad <u>Kh</u>&#257n by his more energetic and disciplinarian son, <u>Kh</u>&#257n Bah&#257dur Zakar&#299y&#257 <u>Kh</u>&#257n, but he too was unable to reduce the Sikhs to submission. He at last came to terms with them in 1733, offering them a <i>j&#257g&#299r</i> worth 1, 00, 000 rupees a year, the title of "Naw&#257b" for one of their leaders and their peaceful settlement at Amritsar and elsewhere in the Punjab. The Sikhs accepted the offer. Some went back to their old villages, but the bulk of the warriors among them, a few thousand in number and still grouped around their former leaders, concentrated in Amritsar under the command of Sard&#257r Kap&#363r Si&#7749gh who, with Darb&#257r&#257 Si&#7749gh to assist him as his <i>d&#299w&#257n</i>, made arrangements for their maintenance. Kap&#363r Si&#7749gh, finding it difficult to cater for such a large force centrally, particularly after Darb&#257r&#257 Si&#7749gh's death in 1734, divided the camp into two parts on the basis of age of the <i>jathed&#257rs</i> or group leaders. The elders' camp comprising <i>jath&#257s</i> of older leaders such as Sh&#257m Si&#7749gh, Gurba<u>kh</u>sh Si&#7749gh, B&#257gh Si&#7749gh, Gurdi&#257l Si&#7749gh, Sukkh&#257 Si&#7749gh and Kap&#363r Si&#7749gh himself came to be called Bu&#7693&#7693h&#257 (elderly) Dal, and the youths' camp Taru&#7751&#257 (youthful) Dal. The latter was further sub-divided into five <i>jath&#257s</i>, each with its own drum and banner. Bu&#7693&#7693h&#257 Dal too was similarly sub-divided after some time. Naw&#257b Kap&#363r Si&#7749gh remained in overall command of the two Dals jointly called Dal <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257. Men were free to join <i>jath&#257s</i> of their choice. In old sources we come across only one reference to the strength of a <i>jath&#257</i>. That is in Ratan Si&#7749gh Bha&#7749g&#363, <i>Pr&#257ch&#299n Panth Prak&#257sh</i>, which, referring to the fifth <i>jath&#257</i> of the Taru&#7751&#257 Dal commanded by B&#299r Si&#7749gh Ra&#7749ghre&#7789&#257, puts down its strength at 1300 horse. From this figure it may be surmised that the <i>jath&#257s</i> broadly comprised 1, 300 to 2, 000 men each. It was generally agreed that Bu&#7693&#7693h&#257 Dal would remain at Amritsar and manage the shrines, leaving Taru&#7751&#257 Dal free for operations in the country.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The entente with the Mu<u>gh</u>als did not last long. Zakar&#299ya <u>Kh</u>&#257n wanted the Sikhs to disperse and revert to civil life in villages or join the imperial army as regular soldiers. The governor eventually broke the compact and resumed his former policy of persecution through his <i>gasht&#299 fauj</i> (roving army) and rewarding informers and private killers of Sikhs. While Taru&#7751&#257 Dal crossed the Sutlej into the territory of Sirhind, Bu&#7693&#7693h&#257 Dal spread in the countryside of M&#257jh&#257 (area of B&#257r&#299 Do&#257b and Rachn&#257 Do&#257b, especially the former). Its first clash with the <i>gasht&#299 fauj</i> took place in 1736 near Ch&#363n&#299&#257&#7749, 50 km west of Kas&#363r. Both sides suffered heavy casualties. Bu&#7693&#7693h&#257 Dal crossed the Sutlej and, staying for some time at Barn&#257l&#257, then the capital of Sard&#257r &#256l&#257 Si&#7749gh, proceeded northwards again to celebrate D&#299v&#257l&#299 (1736) at Amritsar. While camping at B&#257sarke near Amritsar, they were surprised by a 7, 000 strong force under D&#299w&#257n Lakhpat R&#257i. The Dal retreated towards Ch&#363n&#299&#257&#7749 and then to the M&#257lv&#257 country, where it helped &#256l&#257 Si&#7749gh extend his territory southwards at the cost of Bha&#7789&#7789&#299 chiefs of that region. Infuriated by the martyrdom in 1737 of Bh&#257&#299 Man&#299 Si&#7749gh at the hands of Zakar&#299y&#257 <u>Kh</u>&#257n, Sikhs prepared to converge again upon Lahore territory. Although N&#257dir Sh&#257h's invasion in January-May 1739 had shaken the imperial government at Delhi to its very roots, Zakar&#299y&#257 <u>Kh</u>&#257n in the Punjab was not deterred from his policy of repression against the Sikhs. The Bu&#7693&#7693h&#257 Dal was still in the desert region of M&#257lv&#257 and R&#257jasth&#257n when news was received of the desecration of the Harimandar by Masse <u>Kh</u>&#257n Ra&#7749gha&#7771, Kotw&#257l of Amritsar. Mat&#257b Si&#7749gh and Sukkh&#257 Si&#7749gh, members of the <i>jath&#257</i> of Sard&#257r Sh&#257m Si&#7749gh, travelled incognito to Amritsar, killed Mass&#257 in broad daylight on 6 May 1740 and rejoined the <i>jath&#257</i> in their desert resort. The Bu&#7693&#7693h&#257 Dal and Taru&#7751&#257 Dal soon returned to the Punjab and resorted to their usual hit-and-run tactics. They also resumed their gatherings at Amritsar on the occasion of Bais&#257kh&#299 and D&#299v&#257l&#299. Zakar&#299y&#257 <u>Kh</u>&#257n thought it politic to ignore these assemblies. According to <u>Kh</u>ushwaqt R&#257i, he did post D&#299w&#257n Lakhpat R&#257i with a suitable contingent at Amritsar on these occasions, but his orders were not to pick a fight with the Sikhs. However, his campaign for general massacre of the Sikhs "wherever found" continued unabated till his death on 1 July 1745. Feeling the need for further dispersal, the Dal <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257, meeting at Amritsar on the following D&#299v&#257l&#299, 14 November 1745, divided itself into 25 <i>jath&#257s</i> who, however, owed allegiance to Bu&#7693&#7693h&#257 Dal and Taru&#7751&#257 Dal according to the affiliation of their leaders, and who often undertook joint operations. <i>Jath&#257s</i> belonging to both Dals were involved in the bloody action known as Chho&#7789&#257 Ghall&#363gh&#257r&#257 of April-May 1746 in which Sikh losses amounted to seven to eight thousand killed and captured. Taking advantage of the civil war which had broken out between the two sons of Zakar&#299y&#257 <u>Kh</u>&#257n - Y&#257hiy&#257 <u>Kh</u>&#257n and Sh&#257h Naw&#257z <u>Kh</u>&#257n--in November 1746, the <i>jath&#257s</i> of the two Dals (their number had since gone up to 65) came out of their retreats and started converging on Amritsar whence they spread out again on their plundering raids in order to replenish their depleted stocks of stores, equipment and horses. Sh&#257h Naw&#257z <u>Kh</u>&#257n, the victor in the civil war, on the advice of his D&#299w&#257n, Kau&#7771&#257 Mall, and &#256d&#299n&#257 Beg, <i>faujd&#257r</i> of Jalandhar, solicited peace with the Sikhs. The Sikhs at an assembly of the Sarbatt <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 at Amritsar on the occasion of Bais&#257kh&#299, 30 March 1747, decided to build a fort near Amritsar which when completed came to be known as R&#257mga&#7771h or R&#257m Rau&#7751&#299.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The <i>jath&#257s</i> harassed and plundered for a whole week (18-26 March) the columns of Ahmad Sh&#257h Durr&#257n&#299 who, defeated in the battle of M&#257n&#363pur (16 March 1748), had recrossed the Sutlej and was on his way back to Afghanistan. Sard&#257r Cha&#7771hat Si&#7749gh, grandfather of Mah&#257r&#257j&#257 Ra&#7751j&#299t Si&#7749gh, chased him up to the River Chen&#257b and returned with a rich booty. At a Sarbatt <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 conclave at Amritsar on Bais&#257kh&#299, 29 March 1748, the entire force of 65 <i>jath&#257s</i> was divided into eleven <i>misls</i> or divisions each under its own <i>sard&#257r</i> or chief as follows : (1) &#256hl&#363v&#257l&#299&#257 <i>misl</i> under Jass&#257 Si&#7749gh &#256hl&#363v&#257l&#299&#257, (2) Si&#7749ghpur&#299&#257 (also called Faizull&#257pur&#299&#257) <i>misl</i> under Naw&#257b Kap&#363r Si&#7749gh, (3) Karo&#7771si&#7749gh&#299&#257 <i>misl</i> under Karo&#7771&#257 Si&#7749gh, (4) Nish&#257nv&#257l&#299&#257 <i>misl</i> under Dasaundh&#257 Si&#7749gh, (5) Sh&#257h&#299d <i>misl</i> under D&#299p Singh (6) &#7692allev&#257l&#299&#257 <i>misl</i> under Gul&#257b Si&#7749gh, (7) Sukkarchakk&#299&#257 <i>misl</i> under Cha&#7771hat Si&#7749gh, (8) Bha&#7751g&#299 <i>misl</i> under Har&#299 Si&#7749gh (9) Kanhaiy&#257 <i>misl</i> under Jai Si&#7749gh, (10) Naka&#299 <i>misl</i> under H&#299r&#257 Singh and (11) R&#257mga&#7771h&#299&#257 <u>misl</u> under Jass&#257 Si&#7749gh R&#257mga&#7771h&#299&#257. The first six were under Bu&#7693&#7693h&#257 Dal and the latter five under Taru&#7751&#257 Dal. Jass&#257 Si&#7749gh &#256hl&#363v&#257l&#299&#257 was chosen to be in joint command of the entire Dal <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257, while Naw&#257b Kap&#363r Si&#7749gh continued to be acknowledged as the supreme commander.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Taking advantage of the preoccupation of the Mu<u>gh</u>al governor, Mu'&#299n ul-Mulk, with Ahmad Sh&#257h's second invasion (December 1749-February 1750), Bu&#7693&#7693h&#257 Dal under Naw&#257b Kap&#363r Si&#7749gh attacked and plundered Lahore itself, and the Mu<u>gh</u>al satrap had to permit his minister, D&#299w&#257n Kau&#7771&#257 Mall, to enlist Sikhs' help in his expedition against Sh&#257h Naw&#257z <u>Kh</u>&#257n who had risen in rebellion at Mult&#257n in September 1749. Jass&#257 Si&#7749gh &#256hl&#363v&#257l&#299&#257 with 10, 000 men of the Bu&#7693&#7693h&#257 Dal took part in the expedition. However, soon after the successful completion of the campaign, the Lahore governor renewed his policy of repression. The Bu&#7693&#7693h&#257 Dal retreated towards the &#346iv&#257lik hills, while the Taru&#7751&#257 Dal found refuge in the M&#257lv&#257 and in B&#299k&#257ner. In October 1753, the Bu&#7693&#7693h&#257 Dal assembled in Amritsar to celebrate D&#299v&#257l&#299 (26 October 1753). Mu'&#299n ul-Mulk died in an accident a week later.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Naw&#257b Kap&#363r Si&#7749gh, before his death at Amritsar on 7 October 1753, nominated Jass&#257 Si&#7749gh &#256hl&#363v&#257l&#299&#257 supreme commander of the Dal <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257. The appointment was ratified by Sarbatt <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 on Bais&#257kh&#299, 10 April 1754. Mu'&#299n ul-Mulk's death had cleared the way for Sikh hegemony over vast areas in central and southern Punjab, from the Chen&#257b to the Yamun&#257. The Durr&#257n&#299s' victory in the third battle of P&#257n&#299pat (January 1761) was a severe blow to the Mu<u>gh</u>al empire as well as to the Ma&#7771&#257th&#257s as rivals to the Sikhs in northwest India. The only contender left now was the Af<u>gh</u>&#257n invader, Ahmad Sh&#257h Durr&#257n&#299, who annexed the Punjab to his dominions and appointed his son, Taim&#363r, governor at Lahore in 1757. During 1753-64, the Sikhs replaced the strategy of plundering raids with the system of <i>r&#257kh&#299</i> literally protection, under which villages and minor chiefs accepting the protection of the Dal <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 paid to it a regular cess. The Taru&#7751&#257 Dal was now spread over the M&#257jh&#257 area, and the Bu&#7693&#7693h&#257 Dal operated in the Do&#257b&#257 and M&#257lv&#257 regions. Both collaborated for operations against the Af<u>gh</u>&#257n invader, who took, on 5 February 1762, a heavy toll in what is known as Va&#7693&#7693&#257 Ghall&#363gh&#257r&#257 (q. v.), the Great Holocaust, so called in comparison with a similar but lesser disaster of 1746.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;With the conquest of Sirhind in January 1764 started the final phase of the development of the Dal <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 into a confederacy of sovereign political principalities called <i>misls</i>. The <i>misls</i> now occupied well-defined territories over which their Sard&#257rs ruled independently while maintaining their former links as units of the Dal <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257. The <i>misls</i> of the Bu&#7693&#7693h&#257 Dal established themselves broadly as follows : &#256hl&#363v&#257l&#299&#257 <i>misl</i> in Jagr&#257o&#7749, Bharog and Fatehga&#7771h (later in Kap&#363rthal&#257-Sult&#257npur Lodh&#299 area in the Jalandhar Do&#257b) ; Si&#7749ghpur&#299&#257 in parts of Jalandhar Do&#257b and Chhat-Ban&#363&#7771-Bharatga&#7771h areas south of the Sutlej; Karo&#7771si&#7749gh&#299&#257 <i>misl</i> in a long strip south of the Sutlej extending from Samr&#257l&#257 in the west to Jag&#257dhr&#299 in the east; Nish&#257nv&#257l&#299&#257 <i>misl</i> in area S&#257hnev&#257l-Dor&#257h&#257-M&#257chh&#299v&#257&#7771&#257-Amloh, with pockets around Z&#299r&#257 and Amb&#257l&#257; Shah&#299d <i>misl</i> in area Shahz&#257dpur-Kesar&#299 in present-day Amb&#257l&#257 district, and territory around R&#257&#7751&#299&#257 and Talva&#7751&#7693&#299 S&#257bo; and &#7692allev&#257li&#257 <i>misl</i> in <i>parganahs</i> of Dharamko&#7789 and Tih&#257&#7771&#257 to the south of the River Sutlej and Loh&#299&#257&#7749 and Sh&#257hko&#7789 to the north of it. Of these, &#256hl&#363v&#257l&#299&#257 <i>misl</i> survived as the princely house of Kap&#363rthal&#257 and a branch of Karo&#7771si&#7749gh&#299&#257 <i>misl</i> as rulers of Kals&#299&#257 state. Others divided into several petty chieftainships were either taken over by Mah&#257r&#257j&#257 Ra&#7751j&#299t Si&#7749gh and the British East India Company or absorbed into the Ph&#363lk&#299&#257&#7749 states of Pa&#7789i&#257l&#257, N&#257bh&#257 and J&#299nd.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Even after the consolidation of their territorial acquisitions, the <i>misls</i> of the Bu&#7693&#7693h&#257 Dal continued co-operating in joint operations in Ruh&#299l&#257 and Mu<u>gh</u>al territories in the Ga&#7749g&#257-Yamun&#257 Do&#257b and in the country north and west of Delhi. They collected <i>r&#257kh&#299</i> from parts of the Do&#257b and their plundering raids extended up to Delhi itself and beyond. Instances of Bu&#7693&#7693h&#257 Dal's co-operation with the Taru&#7751&#257 Dal, active in B&#257r&#299 and Rachn&#257 Do&#257bs and further to the north and east, became far fewer. The two together defeated Ahmed Sh&#257h Abd&#257l&#299 in a 7-day running battle in the Jalandhar Do&#257b in March 1765. Early in 1768, men from both the Dals were included in a 20, 000 strong contingent engaged by Jaw&#257har Si&#7749gh, the J&#257&#7789 ruler of Bharatpur, at Rs 7, 00, 000 a month, to fight against R&#257j&#257 M&#257dho Si&#7749gh of Jaipur. The latter, however, retired without giving a fight, and the Sikhs came back to the Punjab receiving part of the contracted sum. The two Dals now entrenched in their respective spheres as separate <i>misls</i>, the terms Bu&#7693&#7693h&#257 Dal and Taru&#7751&#257 Dal became redundant and went out of use.</p> </font> <p class="BIB"> BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1"><li class="C1"> Cunningham, J. D. , <i>A History of the Sikhs</i>. Delhi, 1972<BR> <li class="C1"> Latif, Syad Muhammad, <i>History of the Panjab</i>. Delhi, 1964<BR> <li class="C1"> Griffin, Lepel, <i>The Rajas of the Punjab</i>. Delhi, 1977<BR> <li class="C1"> Narang, Gokul Chand, <i>Transformation of Sikhism</i>. Delhi, 1960<BR> <li class="C1"> Teja Singh and Ganda Singh, <i>A Short History of the Sikhs</i>. Bombay, 1950<BR> <li class="C1"> Gupta, Hari Ram, <i> History of the Sikhs</i>, vol. II. Delhi, 1978<BR> <li class="C1"> Bha&#7749g&#363, Ratan Si&#7749gh <i>Pr&#257ch&#299n Panth Prak&#257sh</i>. Amritsar, 1962<BR> <li class="C1"> Gi&#257n Si&#7749gh, Gi&#257n&#299, <i>Tw&#257r&#299<u>kh</u> Gur&#363 <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257</i>. Patiala, 1970<BR> </ol><p class="CONT">Gulcharan Si&#7749gh <br></p><BR> </font> <img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""> </HTML></BODY>