Rajasthani Documents on Banda Singh Bahadur by: Balwant Singh Dhillon (Dr.)

The present study introduces the exciting Rajasthani sources to explore the Sikh history. It rings into focus the Rajasthani documents, which are basically found in archival form in Rajasthan State Archives, Bikaner. The authors of these documents belonged to a rare breed of Vakils, who like the present-day diplomats, represented the Rajput Rajas at the Mughal court. On the basis of their observations they submitted regular reports to their masters which may be called dossiers in the modern sense. Evidence offered by them is unique as it does not carry the sectarian bias which is the hall-mark of contemporary Mughal chronicles. Rather it unfolds the Rajasthani perspective on the Sikh struggle against the Mughal Empire under the stewardship of Banda Singh Bahadur. This study is based upon the reports written by eyewitnesses to the events. Some of the reports carry graphic account of the battlefield and even reveal the crisis within the Mughal army. These documents divulge the nature and extent of Sikh uprising and throw fresh light on some of the lesser-known facets of Banda Singh Bahadur. These dossiers from the pen of Rajasthani Vakils are of immense value to understand the military strategy and diplomacy during the suppression of the Sikh struggle by the Mughal Empire. These documents also bear testimony to the fact that Banda Singh Bahadur desired to forge an alliance with the Rajput Rajas with a view to liberate the country from the Mughal yoke.

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