Sikh Holocaust of 1746 - The Massacre of 1746

The Massacre of 1746

It was in this atmosphere of persecution that the Chhōṭā Ghallūghārā took place in 1746. Early in that year, Jaspat Rai, a Hindu military commander was killed in an encounter with a roving band of Sikhs. Jaspat's brother, Lakhpat Rai, who was a revenue minister at Lahore, vowed his revenge.

With the help of the new governor, Yahiya Khan, Lakhpat Rai mobilized the Lahore troops, summoned reinforcements, alerted the dependent rulers of the kingdoms in the Himalayan foothills, and roused the mostly Muslim population for a genocide of the “infidel” Sikhs. The Sikh inhabitants of Lahore were first rounded up, then executed on 10 March 1746.

Lakhpat Rai next set out for the swampy forest of Kaahnoovaan, near the town of Gurdaspur, about 130 kilometers (81 mi) to the north-east of Lahore, where Sikhs were reported to have concentrated. Lakhpat had with him a with a large force of mostly cavalry, supported by cannon, with which he surrounded the forest and began a systematic search for their prey.

The Sikhs held out for some time and struck back whenever they could. Heavily outnumbered and under-equipped, they decided to escape to the foothills of the Himalayas to the north. The Sikhs crossed the River Ravi and came in sight of the foothills, a 65-kilometer (40 mi) trek with the enemy in pursuit, only to find the armies of the hill rajas arrayed to oppose them.

Caught between these two armies and running out of food, the Sikhs suffered heavy casualties. At last, they managed to break through the encirclement and to recross the River Ravi in a desperate attempt to reach the safety of the Lakhi Jungle, near Bathinda, some 240 kilometers (150 mi) to the south. In the river crossing, many of the weakened Sikhs were swept away by the current. With Lakhpat Rai's forces still in hot pursuit, they crossed two more rivers, the Beas River and Sutlej, before finally arriving at the sanctuary of the Lakhi Jungle.

An estimated 7,000 Sikhs were killed and 3,000 captured during this operation. The captives were marched back to Lahore, paraded in the streets and publicly beheaded. Given the small numbers of the Sikhs in those days of persecution, the losses will have been a very substantial proportion of their population, perhaps a quarter to a third of the total. Hindus who sheltered Sikhs were also murdered by the Muslim population.

Lakhpat Rai went on to order Sikh places of worship destroyed and their scriptures burnt. He went so far as to decree that anyone uttering the word “Guru” be put to death. Even saying the Punjabi language word for sugar, “gur”, which sounded like “Guru”, could be cause for the death penalty.