ZAIN KHAN (d. 1764) Zain Khan, an Afghan, was appointed governor of Sirhind in March 1761 by Ahmad Shah Durrani. Earlier, he had served as Faujdar of Char Mahal, overseeing the four districts of Sialkot, Gujrat, Pasrur, and Aurangabad. This appointment began in 1759, during the tenure of Karim Dad Khan as governor of Punjab under the Afghan invader.
Zain Khan became notorious for his relentless campaign against the Sikhs, particularly for his role in the Vadda Ghallughara (Great Carnage) on 5 February 1762 at the village of Kup Rahira near Malerkotla. His actions made him a primary target of Sikh vengeance. Within four months of the Ghallughara, the Sikhs launched a strong attack on Sirhind, defeating Zain Khan’s forces and imposing a tribute on him.
Conflict with the Sikhs In January 1764, under the leadership of Jassa Singh Ahluvalia, the Sikhs invaded Kurali and looted Zain Khan’s diwan Lachhmi Narain. Anticipating an assault on his capital, Zain Khan attempted to negotiate with Ala Singh of Patiala by offering jagirs to the Sikhs in exchange for withdrawing from his territory. However, as noted in Prachin Panth Prakash by Ratan Singh Bhangu, Ala Singh’s emissary, Nanu Singh Greval, relayed the terms to the Sikh chiefs, who rejected them, declaring: “Authority does not come by charity… The Guru has assigned sovereignty to us. The Khalsa has earned it by sacrificing their lives for it.”
On 14 January 1764, the Sikhs besieged Sirhind.
The Fall of Sirhind Jassa Singh Ahluvalia commanded 10,000 cavalry from his misi (clan). As the leader of the Dal Khalsa, he oversaw troops from seven other misis—six from the Buddha Dal and one from the Taruna Dal, the Bhangi Misi. A battle ensued at Pir Jain, about 10 km from Sirhind, where Zain Khan was wounded. Fleeing on horseback, he sought refuge in a mango grove, but Tara Singh of Man, a pursuing Sikh soldier, found him and beheaded him.
The vast territory of Sirhind, spanning approximately 350 km in length and 250 km in width—from the Sirmur hills and the River Yamuna in the east to Rajasthan’s borders in the west, and from the River Sutlej in the north to Panipat in the south—now fell into the hands of the Sikhs.
References:
- Bhangu, Ratan Singh, Prachin Panth Prakash, Amritsar, 1914
- Gian Singh, Giani, Twarikh Guru Khalsa, Patiala, 1970
- Ganda Singh, Sardar Jassa Singh Ahluvalia, Patiala, 1969
- Gupta, Hari Ram, History of the Sikhs, Vol. IV, Delhi, 1982
- Gandhi, Surjit Singh, Struggle of the Sikhs for Sovereignty, Delhi, 1980
- Bhagat Singh, Sikh Polity in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries, Delhi, 1978
