ZAKARIYA KHAN (d. 1745) Zakariya Khan succeeded his father, ‘Abd us-Samad Khan, as governor of Lahore in 1726. Previously, he had served as governor of Jammu (1713–1720) and Kashmir (1720–1726). During his earlier tenure, he had actively participated in operations against the Sikh leader Banda Singh Bahadur. Following Banda Singh’s capture in December 1715 at Gurdas Nangal, Zakariya Khan escorted the prisoners to Delhi, rounding up any Sikhs he found in villages along the way. His gruesome caravan reached Delhi with over 700 captives and 700 bullock carts filled with severed heads.
Oppression of Sikhs As governor, Zakariya Khan, known by Sikhs as Khanu, implemented harsh policies against the Sikhs, intensifying the terror unleashed upon them. His relentless military campaigns forced the Sikhs to retreat to remote hills and forests, yet Sikh bands continued to disrupt government activities by attacking caravans and treasuries.
In 1733, Zakariya Khan attempted to ease tensions by offering the Sikhs concessions. During the Baisakhi festival that year, Subeg Singh, a Sikh and kotwal of Lahore, conveyed the government’s offer of the title of Nawab and a jagir (land grant) comprising the parganahs of Dipalpur, Kariganval, and Jhabal, worth 100,000 rupees in revenue. However, the truce was short-lived. By 1735, Zakariya Khan sent forces to seize the jagir, driving the Sikhs toward the Malva region under the leadership of Lakhpat Rai, a Hindu minister at the Lahore court.
Atrocities Committed To crush the Sikhs, Zakariya Khan implemented a system of rewards for persecuting them:
- A blanket for cutting off a Sikh’s hair
- Ten rupees for information on a Sikh’s whereabouts
- Fifty rupees for a Sikh scalp
Plundering Sikh homes was made lawful, and providing shelter to Sikhs or withholding information about their movements became a capital offense. Zakariya Khan recruited a force of 20,000 men to scour the countryside, capturing Sikhs in chains. Prominent Sikhs, such as Bhai Mani Singh and Bhai Taru Singh, faced brutal public executions at Nakhas (the horse market of Lahore), later renamed Shahidganj in honor of the martyrs.
Despite his efforts, Zakariya Khan was unable to destroy the Sikh resistance. He died in Lahore on 1 July 1745, leaving behind a legacy of chaos and despair for his successors.
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
