History of Sirhind

According to Hsuen Tsang, the Chinese traveller who visited India during the seventh century, Sirhind was the capital of the district of Shitotulo, or Shatadru (the River Sutlej), which was about 2000 H or 533 km in circuit.

With the contraction of their territory under the Ghaznavid onslaught, the Hindu Shahi capital was shifted in 1012 to Sirhind, where it remained till the death of Trilochanpala, the last ruling king of the dynasty.

During the invasions of Muhammad Ghori, Sirhind, along with Bathinda, constituted the most important military outpost of Prithviraj Chauhan, the last Rajput ruler of Delhi.

In the time of Mughal Emperor Akbar, the rival towns of Sunam and Samana were subordinated to it and included in what was called Sirhind sarkar of the Subah of Delhi.

Spread over a distance of 3 kos (10 km approximately) on the banks of the River Hansala (now known as Sirhind Nala), it had many beautiful gardens and several canals.

Guru Gobind Singh after a brief interval returned to Anandpur but had to quit it again on 5–6 December 1705 under pressure of a prolonged siege by the hill chief supported by Sirhind troops.

Under the orders of the faujdar, Nawab Wazir Khan, Guru Gobind Singh's two younger sons, aged nine and seven, were cruelly bricked to death.

Upon hearing the news of his sons' deaths, Guru Gobind Singh is reported to have prophesied the city of Sirhind being plundered, looted and devastated by his followers.

The Mughal Army recaptured Sirhind and they also captured Banda Singh Bahadur alive at Gurdas Nangal near Gurdaspur where they took him to Delhi and executed him for his rebellion.

Early in 1758, the Sikhs, in collaboration with the Marathas, sacked Sirhind, and drove Prince Taimur, son of Ahmad Shah and his viceroy at Lahore, out of the Punjab.

Ahmad Shah defeated the Marathas at Panipat in January 1761. and struck the Sikhs a severe blow in what is known as Vadda Ghalughara, the 'Great Massacre', that took place on 5 February 1762.

Sikhs rallied and attacked Sirhind on 17 May 1762. defeating its faujdar, Zain Khan Sirhindi, who purchased peace by paying Rs 50,000 as a tribute to the Dal Khalsa.

Besides the Sikh shrines, Sirhind has an important Muslim monument Rauza Sharif Mujjadid Alf Sani, the mausoleum of Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi (1569-1624), the fundamentalist leader of the orthodox; Naqshbandi school of Sufism.