Sikh-Durrani Entanglement for the Possession of Peshawar (1818-1823)

Abstract

Excessive use of coercion and persecution generally practiced by despotic rulers, force people to rebel. The Sikhs were a peaceful religious community, but cold blooded murder of their religious leaders and the general plight of the community made them militants. The failure on the part of later Mughal rulers to pacify their hard feelings compelled the Sikhs to defy. On the other hand, a combination of circumstances led to the decline of the Mughals. There weakening created a power vacuum which some local forces, for instance, Marhatas, Sikhs and even Jats struggled hard to fill. The ambition of Marhatas to rule Hindustan was shattered by Ahmed Shah Durrani in the third battle of Panipat, fought in 1761. They failed to recover from that humiliation. The Jats were numerically insignificant and could not make any difference without joining another major force. However, Sikhs, being a formidable power in Punjab, left lasting imprints on the contemporary and forthcoming history of the region. The Sikhs ascendancy in Punjab could well be connected with the shrewd leadership of Ranjit Singh. Prior to that, they had been striving hard to be recognized as a separate entity, and heavily relied on militancy. They succeeded in harassing the Mughals on one side and the Afghans on the other. However, they lacked having a leader under whose banner they could forge a common cause against an enemy and acquire political power. In Ranjit Singh, they found the leader they required at that moment.