ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>VA&#7692BH&#256G SI&#7748GH SO&#7692H&#298 (1716-61)</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="VA BHG,SIDGH,SO H*,Person"> <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">&#65279VA&#7692BH&#256G SI&#7748GH, SO&#7692H&#298 (1716-61), a lineal descendant of Gur&#363 Hargobind (1595-1644) through the latter's son, B&#257b&#257 Gurditt&#257, and grandson, Dh&#299r Mall, was born the son of Sodh&#299 R&#257m Si&#7749gh on 13 August 1716 at Kart&#257rpur, in present-day Jalandhar district of the Punjab. Va&#7693bh&#257g Si&#7749gh became chief of Kart&#257rpur owned by the family as a freehold grant since 1598, after the death of his father in 1737. Ahmad Sh&#257h Durr&#257n&#299 during his fourth invasion of India in 1756-57 annexed Punjab to his empire and appointed his young son, Taim&#363r, governor of Lahore, with his trusted general Jah&#257n <u>Kh</u>&#257n as his deputy and de facto administrator. In April-May 1757, two Af<u>gh</u>&#257n troopers travelling from Sirhind to Lahore were murdered near Kart&#257rpur. Jah&#257n <u>Kh</u>&#257n had So&#7693h&#299 Va&#7693bh&#257g Si&#7749gh, the chief of the area, arrested, and tortured him mercilessly. The latter's followers rescued him during the night and took him to a distant village, Mai&#7771&#299, in the hills that now form part of &#362n&#257 district of Him&#257chal Pradesh. The Af<u>gh</u>&#257ns, chagrined it the escape of the prisoner, pillaged Kart&#257rpur and the neighbouring country and, helped by Nas&#299r 'Al&#299 Jalandhar, burnt down the Sikh temple along with the sacred relic, Thamm S&#257hib, the Holy Prop, and desecrated the holy tank. When Sikhs, consolidated into the Dal <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 under the overall command of Sard&#257r Jass&#257 Si&#7749gh &#256hl&#363v&#257l&#299&#257, heard of the outrage, they conjointly with Ad&#299n&#257 Beg <u>Kh</u>&#257n, the ousted <i>faujd&#257r</i> of Jalandhar Do&#257b, attacked Jalandhar in December 1757 to avenge the spoliation of Kart&#257rpur. A 20,000 strong Af<u>gh</u>&#257n army sent by Jah&#257n <u>Kh</u>&#257n from Lahore was routed near Mahilpur and its artillery and baggage train were captured. A few months later, the Sikhs, aided by a strong Mar&#257&#7789h&#257 army, drove the Af<u>gh</u>&#257ns out of the Punjab. So&#7693h&#299 Va&#7693bh&#257g Si&#7749gh, however, did not return to Kart&#257rpur and continued to reside in Mai&#7771&#299 where he died on 31 December 1761 and where a shrine called &#7692er&#257 Va&#7693bh&#257g Si&#7749gh now stands in his honour, attracting visitors and pilgrims all the year round. The &#7692er&#257 is in popular belief connected with exorcism of evil spirits. Many go there to be so treated.</p> </font> <p class="BIB"> BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1"><li class="C1"> Bha&#7749g&#363, Ratan Si&#7749gh, <i>Pr&#257ch&#299n Panth Prak&#257sh</i>. Amritsar, 1914<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> [Reprint]. Patiala, 1970<BR> <li class="C1"> Gupta, Hari Ram, <i>History of the Sikhs</i>. Delhi, 1978-82<BR> <li class="C1"> Ganda Singh, <i>Ahmad Shah Durrani</i>. Bombay 1959<BR> </ol><p class="CONT">Har&#299 R&#257m Gupta<br></p><BR> </font> <img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""> </HTML></BODY>