The Sikh Who Captured The Red Fort Of Mugal Delhi . Sardar Baghel Singh Dhaliwal On 11 March 1783, the Sikhs entered the Red Fort in Delhi and occupied the Diwani-Am . Baba Baghel Singh Dhaliwal (c. 1730 - c. 1802) was an important military general during turbulent times in Punjab in the 18th century. He was born in the village of Chabal Kalan in the Taran Taran district. He grew up to become leader of the Karor Singhia Sikh fighting order or misl. Sikhs from present day Amritsar district and Taran Taran district (major villages being Chabal, Naushehra Pannuan, Chabba, Sur Singh, Sirhali, Patti, Bhikhiwind, etc.). Attack on Delhi[edit] In February 1764, a body of 30,000 Sikhs under the command of Baghel Singh (Named Tes Hazari after his attack) and other leading warriors crossed the Yamuna and captured Saharanpur. They overran the territory of Najib ud-Daulah, the Ruhila chief, acquiring from him a tribute of eleven lakh of rupees (INR 1,100,000). In April 1775, Baghel Singh with two other sardars (Rai Singh Bhangi and Tara Singh Ghaiba) crossed the Yamuna to occupy that country, which was then ruled by Zabita Khan, who was the son and successor of Najib ud-Daulah. Zabita Khan in desperation offered Baghel Singh large sums of money and proposed an alliance to jointly plunder the crown lands. Sardar Baghel Singh set up an octroi-post near Sabzi Mandi to collect the tax on the goods imported into the city to finance the search and the construction of the Sikh Temples. (He did not want to use the cash received from the Government Treasury for this purpose, and most of that was handed out to the needy and poor. He often distributed sweetmeats bought out of this government gift to the congregationalists at the place which is now known as the Pul Mithai.) In March 1776, they defeated the imperial forces of Mughal emperor, Shah Alam II near Muzaffarnagar. The whole of the Yamuna Gangetic Doab was now at their mercy. On 11 March 1783, the Sikhs entered the Red Fort in Delhi and occupied the Diwani-Am .
Posted on: Wed, 02 Apr 2014 12:24:21 +0000