NIRMOHGARH SAHIB, GURDWARA, situated on top of a low hill 4 km south of Kiratpur (31° ll`N, 76° 35`E), is dedicated to Guru Gobind Singh. In August 1700, Anandpur, which was then the seat of Guru Gobind Singh, was attacked by a combined force of several of the surrounding hill chiefs. For four days, their troops assaulted successively the four fortresses built around the main citadel, Anandgarh, but they found all of them impregnable. Finally, they laid a siege to Anandgarh in the hope of starving the Sikhs into surrender, but without effect. They then resorted to a ruse.
Explore the brave stand of Prithi Chand Dadhval and Guru Gobind Singh against Mughal forces. Dive into legendary battles for freedom.
Explore the legacy of Ajmer Chand, ruler of Kahlur, and his battles against Guru Gobind Singh. Discover the historical conflicts in the Sivaliks.
Explore the legacy of Sansar Chand, the Katoch Rajput Raja of Kangra, his conquests, and his alliance with Maharaja Ranjit Singh to defend against the Gurkhas.
BHIKHAN KHAN (d. 1688) was a Pathan who had served in the Mughal army before joining Guru Gobind Singh at Paonta Sahib on the recommendation of Pir Buddhu Shah of Sadhaura. He had one hundred soldiers under his command, but he crossed over to the hill rajas on the eve of the battle of Bharigani (AD 1688). According to Bhai Santokh Singh, Sri Gur Pratap Suraj Granth, Bhikhan Khan told the Pathans in the employ of Guru Gobind Singh that the Guru was mainly dependant on them and that the rest of his army was only a miscellaneous rabble who would run away when they heard the first shot fired. He suggested that they could save their lives by taking the side of the hillmen.
Discover Savan Mall, nephew of Guru Amar Das, who procured timber for Goindval's expansion and spread Sikh teachings in the hills. Learn more about his journey.
BHIM CHAND, ruler of Kahlur (Bilaspur), a princely state in the Sivaliks, from 1665-92. The family claimed descent from Chandel Rajputs of Bundelkhand. Bhim Chand`s father, Dip Chand, was a tributary of the Mughals and he was allowed to exercise nominal authority over twenty-two states in the hills including Kulu, Karigra, Mandi, Suket and Chamba. Till the accession of Bhim Chand to the gaddfin 1665, the rulers of Kahlur had maintained amicable relations with the Gurus. In 1635, Guru Hargobind had retired to Kiratpur, a town founded by his son, Baba Gurditta, on the base of the Kahlur mount.
Explore the dynamic relations between Sikhs and hill states from Guru Nanak's time to Maharaja Ranjit Singh's reign, highlighting alliances and conflicts.
BIR GURU, by Rabindranath Tagore, is a life sketch in Bengali of Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708), the last of the Ten Gurus of the Sikh faith, emphasizing especially how he had prepared Sikhs to stand up to oppression and injustice. This is Tagore`s first writing on Guru Gobind Singh published in 1885 in the Sraban July-August issue of the Balak. The poet was then in his early twenties. Though no reference is made in the text to any earlier work on the Sikhs, Tagore (1861-1941) seems to have been familiar with the writings of Malcolm (Sketch of the Sikhs), McGregor (History of the Sikhs) and Cunningham (A History of the Sikhs).
Discover Sukhdev, the daring ruler of Jasrota, who fought alongside Guru Gobind Singh against Mughal forces in 1691. Learn about his heroic legacy.
