# Battle of Sirhind (1764)

The Battle of Sirhind was fought between Durrani Empire and Sikh Misls on 14 January 1764.

## Background

In January 1764, After the sack of Morinda, the Sikhs marched upon Sirhind, Zain Khan Sirhindi, the Afghan commander in charge of the region, had been facing mounting issues. His leadership had become corrupt and ineffective. He stopped paying his soldiers and revenue officials, instead resorting to plundering nearby villages for personal gain. The stolen goods were used to pay his men, but the payments didn’t even cover a fraction of their dues. As a result, many of his soldiers, starving and dissatisfied, began to desert him and join other leaders like Najib-ud-Daula. Miskin, an eyewitness who had worked for Zain Khan, left his service in early 1763, deeply disappointed by his greed and mismanagement. Zain Khan realized he was alone, with no help coming from his allies, and had to face the Sikhs on his own.

## Battle

Ahmad Shah Durrani returned to Afghanistan after appointing Zain Khan Sirhindi as the governor of Sirhind. Zain Khan Sirhindi, the Durrani governor, was attacked by a well-equipped force of 40,000 Sikhs. In the battle, the Sikhs killed Sirhindi and many other leading officers of the Durrani army. The Sikhs then established their rule between the rivers Satluj and Yamuna. The Sikhs captured Sirhind and later handed over the land to Maharaja Ala Singh of Patiala State. The city's inhabitants faced particularly harsh treatment from the Sikh armies who razed much of the city and made a deliberate policy of destroying the city's buildings and mosques.
Zain Khan Sirhindi attempted to strike first, hoping to take advantage of the Sikhs’ scattered forces. One night, he attacked the Taruna Dal Sikh group near the village of Pir Zain Khan Munayra. However, the Sikhs had already planned a coordinated attack on Sirhind, and as soon as they heard of Zain Khan’s assault, the other Sikh groups rushed to his aid. Soon, Zain Khan was surrounded from all sides. Desperate to escape, he tried to divert the Sikhs’ attention by sending detachments with weapons to distract them. While some Sikhs got involved in the plunder, Jassa Singh Ahluwalia’s group continued to close in on Zain Khan. Despite his efforts to flee, Zain Khan was shot and killed during his attempt to escape. His troops, in a panic, scattered in all directions, but the Sikhs relentlessly pursued and slaughtered them.

## Aftermath

After defeating Zain Khan, the Sikhs turned their attention to Sirhind. They quickly overpowered the city's defenders and captured it. Once inside, they looted every house, taking valuables, gold, silver, and ornaments, and killed all the men except for children, the elderly, and Hindus. The city was set on fire, and most of the buildings were destroyed. The Sikhs also demolished the walls of the fort where Guru Gobind Singh’s sons had been bricked up alive. In their memory, they built a platform at the site of their execution and established a Gurdwara named, Fatehgarh Sahib in honor of the Guru’s sons. This victory was a major triumph for the Sikhs, who had not initially aimed to capture Sirhind but took advantage of the opportunity after Zain Khan’s defeat.