When the Khalsa was hoisted at Red Fort in 1783 A.D

 

On 26^th January when whole India was celebrating its 72^nd republic The huge protest of mainly Sikh Farmers along with their feudal associates of market middleman and a considerable percentage of Jat farmers led by their leaders stormed the barricade planted by the police authorities to restraint the protestor .The unleash chaos and uncontrolled wave of massive crowd made the assigned authority enervated to act and even became paralyzed and non functional to resist . Khalsa was hoisted and unfurled on red fort as a mark of protest . Though protest now became a highly complex web of many narratives  and political explanations the people simplistically termed these disturbing and stunning visual of hoisting of flag as anti national . It’s a people tendency that normally they demand less control of government  however when matter come up for security and personal protection of life and property state power are always expected to be in full charge. The Khalsa Flag at red fort was something that was hard to imagine by common people  watching live television  . However people in general are unaware with  circular rotation of time in which past history sometime stand before us with glaring present and if we are even slightly aware about our distant past there is a little chance of getting being surprised ..

 

Jassa Singh Ahluwalia

 Shah Alam II

                                                                                                                                  

 Jassa Singh Ramgarhia

                                                                                                                 

                                                        Mughal empire after the attack of Maratha , Jat and Persian invasion became almost a dead carcass however they were having still some flesh left  with mughal emperor Shah Alam II on throne who was already on the pay roll of earlier Maratha now waiting to be looted and invaded by Sikh confederates  who rose and organized during the later raids of Persians in India . Some historian confirms that it was rise of these confederates who  put up a strong and resolute  fight against Persian led by Ahmed Shah Abdali which halted his continuing incursions  into India … now whatever left of Mughal was served for Sikh to be eaten who became powerful in mid eighteenth century   Even Today  the idea of subduing Delhi’s arrogance has been a powerful motivator in Punjab politics.

 

Khalsa Flag

                                                                                                                                                                                     

                                             Mughal Flag Under Shah Alam       

                        
                            

                                                                                     

                                                                                                       By early 1783, the Sikhs commenced preparations for the capture of the Red Fort. A force of 60,000 under the leadership of Sardar Jassa Singh Ahluwalia Sardar Baghel Singh and Jassa Singh Ramgarhia assembled at Ghaziabad, continuing their attacks and capturing rich towns around Delhi. Enormous booty was collected by Sikhs, which was sent to Punjab with an escort of 20,000 soldiers. One-tenth of this booty was sent to the Golden Temple as offering to the Guru.

On March 8 the Sikhs captured Malka Ganj and Sabzi Mandi. Prince Mirza Shikoh, on orders from the Emperor, tried to stop the invaders but suffered defeat, and fled. On March 9 they captured Ajmeri Gate. There was a panic in the city; many took shelter in the fort. Jassa Singh Ramgarhia joined the Sikh forces at the last moment with 10,000 soldiers. As many as 30,000 Sikh horsemen of Baghel Singh’s army were camping at a place now known as Tees Hazari, location of the Delhi High Court.

The Sikhs attacked the Red Fort on March 11,1783. The Emperor and all his guards, in fact every one in the fort, hid themselves. The story goes that an insider informed Sikhs of a weak spot in the wall of the fort, where the soldiers made a hole by ramming it with wooden logs; the place is named as Mori Gate, the location of Inter State Bus terminus (ISBT).

The Sikhs entered the Red Fort, hoisted the kesri Nishan Sahib, and occupied Diwan-e-aam, a key location in the fort, where the Emperor, sitting on the throne, used to have audience with the public. In a symbolic gesture, Jassa Singh Ahluwalia was made to sit on the throne, which made him the Emperor. His old rival and his name-sake, Jassa Singh Ramgarhia, joined by some other chiefs, opposed Ahluwalia’s sitting on the throne. Before the event took an ugly turn, Jassa Singh Ahluwalia gracefully vacated the throne and, thus, avoided a controversy amongst the chiefs at a critical moment.

The Mughal  Emperor was quick to reconcile with the Sikhs he offered a treaty and accepted their terms. The Emperor was to pay Rs 3 lakh as nazrana. The kotwali area was to remain the property of the Sikhs. Baghel Singh was allowed to construct gurdwaras on all sites connected with Sikh history.

With government machinery became ineffective  and people climbed over Red Fort dome  in 21^st century hoisting the Khalsa was like a déjà VU ..it is nothing new it is already happened before . We can only learn the lesson from our bygone past that such embarrassing situation shouldn't occur to surprise us again .

Protest storming at Red Fort in 2021

 

Khalsa Flag unfurled at red fort in 2021

Ayodhya-The First Communal Battle Of 1853 & 1855

Before 1992 Mosque demolition Ayodhya was  always been a hotbed  of religious- social conflict. In past it witnessed a major "clash of civilization" styled battle in 1853 and 1855 . 

Oudh Court Scene

The Historical  Setting  The weakened state of the Mughal empire led to an internal power struggle for succession after Aurangzeb's death and allowed for other rulers to take regions that the empire could no longer  defend .

The decline of Mughal empire sparked several Islamic revivalist movement on the subcontinent aimed at explaining the cause of the empire's decline and the path to redemption. Two Islamic revivalist leaders are especially important for understanding the milieu in which Sunni  Muslims of Ayodhya rose to challenge the Hindu presence in the city. Shah Wali Allah of Delhi (1702-62) argued that the Mughal Empire had fallen into decline because its leaders had turned away from the true path of Islam. Restoration lay in reviving their interpretation of pure Islam, modeled after the example of the prophet and his companions. Specifically, reviving Islam required a return to Sharia's law, formulated by freshly applying the words and deeds of the prophet as recorded in the Sunnah. As a member of the Naqsshbandiyah Sufi order, he argued that revival also required reforming sufi practices to exclude the worship of saints' tombs and rituals that incorporated Hindu elements. Wali Allah called for Jihad against threats to the faith, encouraging Muslims to take up arms against innovative practices similarly what Osama bin laden video graphed Jehad inspired messages to his followers.

Shah Wali Allah's agenda paved the way for the creation of a jihad movement of Sunni Muslims under the leadership of Sayyid Ahmad of Bareilly (1786-1831). Like Shah Wali Allah, Sayyid Ahmad was a member of the Naqshbandia order, in addition to two other prominent Sufi orders, the Chisti and Qadiri. Prior to forming his jehadi movement, Sayyid Ahmad was trooper under the pindari chieftain Ahir Khan, which the British defeated in 1818. In that same year, he founded a revivalist movement called "the Path of Muhammad" and asserted that true Muslims should retreat from the current social and political milieu of their surroundings and creat a new polity. In 1826 after organizing a a band of mujahideen, he decalred war against Sikhs in the North-West Frontier (current Pakistan), with the aim of capturing their land and establishing a Muslim stronghold; this offensive , however, ended in failure. In 1830 Sayyid Ahmed defeated the Shia ruler of neighboring  Peshawar, Yar Muhammad Khan, and declared himself the new Muslim Caliph. In 1831 with an army of around six hundred, Sayyid Ahmad tried  again to push the Sikhs out of Hazara and Kashmir but was killed in battle. Surviving members of the path of Muhammad continued to hide out in the northwestern territories and fought against the British in the frontiers wars of 1897-98 before finally being subdued.

 

The Ayodhya Battle and Outcome  

 In 1722 with Nawab Burhan ul Mulk Sa'adat Khan  born in 1680 Nishapur, Khurasan, Safavid dynasty, Persia Shia Muslim Kings emerged and succeeded the Mughal rule of Awadh, a    region that included the cities of Ayodhya, Faizabad and Lucknow. The Nawab's rule maintained political cooperation with various Hindu elites, and Hindu and Muslim leaders visited each others's sacred sites. It was during this time that the presence of different Hindu monastic orders flourished, and from the eighteenth century onward Ayodhya became an important pilgrimage site for Hindus.

The first recorded violence between Hindus and Muslims over Ayodhya occurred between 1853 and 1855.The kingdom of Awadh was under the rule of Shia Nawab Wajid ali shah, who reigned from 1847 until British annexation of the site in 1856.

In 1853 a band of Sunni Muslims in the region, headed by Ghulam Husssain motivated by earlier revivalist Political Islamic movement , rose up against the Shia ruler and marched on Ayodhya, claiming that Hindus had destroyed  a mosque to build the Hindu Hanumangarhi  temple, An order of Naga Sadhus, Hindu warrior monks, defeated the Sunnis and around seventy Muslims were killed and buried in the graveyard next to the Babri mosque. Following hostilities, the Shia nawab king, together with the British, attempted to resolve the dispute by by investigating Muslims claims that Hindus had destroyed a mosque, they concluded that there had not been a mosque on that site prior to the construction of the Babri  mosque.

In 1855 The British investigation , however did not placate the Sunni leader Maulvi  Amiruudiin also known as Amir Ali who called for Jehad against the Hindus of Ayodhya in 1855 and mobilized a band of 2000 muslims. A combined force of British, Nawab and Hindu troops stopped the group en route killing a reported 120 to 700 before finally defeating Amir Ali troops. Amir Ali was assassinated shortly after the attacks, his head was given as a gift to the Nawab king, and his body was buried in the graveyard next to the Babri mosque .The British officially annexed Awadh Shortly after the uprising erected the fence around the mosque and allowed Hindu to worship on a platform outside the fence. 

Ayodhya Graphics

Hulaskhera Archaeological Site-Unearthing a 3000 year old Civilization

H.D.Images Site Location captured by Mobile Phone : 23.1.2017

Traditionally the capital of Uttar Pradesh lucknow city always famed for its Nawab heritage which gain importance after the fall of Mughal Empire and its role in igniting 1857 rebellion.But there is also a deep layer of thousands of years old history and civilization buried in its soil. Situated in the middle of the Indus-Gangetic Plain the city is surrounded by many rural towns and villages: the orchard town of Malihabad, Kakori, Mohanlal ganj, Gosainganj, Chinhat, and Itaunja. and to the east lies Barabanki, to the west Unnao, to the south Raebareli, while to the north lie the Sitapur and Hardoi.The site of Hulaskheda is one of them . While returning from Mohanlalganj leaving my wife and kid at her parents home for a week an arrow direction of  5 k.m inner located archaeological site from main highway electrified my imagination and i cant stop my urge to go and visit so i just turned steering of my car for a while and went to unknown exploration with slight hesitation and fear. This place is still very much untouched .

H.D.Images Site Location captured by Mobile Phone : 23.1.2017

Hulas Khera is a village near Mohanlal Ganj, Lucknow and it is an ancient site where excavations have revealed a cultural sequence beginning from the Pre-NBPW upto medieval periods. Northern Black Polished Ware culture is an Iron Age culture, succeeding the Painted Grey Ware culture. Having thoroughly analyzed artifacts like pottery, coins, terracotta images and brick structures, the archaeologists concluded that this place was first inhabited around 1000 BC (3000 years ago). Gradually a highly evolved civilization flourished here. The civilization reached its zenith between 200BC-200AD. During this period extensive civil engineering works were carried out; high class pottery was produced; art was encouraged and trade carried out. Brick made road of the same period is also a unique find. The most important finding is gold leaf image of Kartikeya, the God of War which is now at State Museum, Lucknow !

Gold leaf image of Kartikeya, the God of War which is now at State Museum, Lucknow !

The site was originally surrounded by horse-shoe shaped lake known as Karela lake and thus ideally suited for habitation. The lake that once proved the nemesis for the civilization has now almost disappeared in recent times, whereas archaeologists reached the site by boats during excavation which started in 1978 !

The vast mound of a more than  mile diameter surrounded the excavated structure represent that it was no ordinary human settlement.

Border wall of vast mound

H.D.Image taken standing at a border wall of mound

Archaeological Survey Information Board

THE FINDING OF DIRECTORATE OF ARCHAEOLOGY  GOVT. OF UTTAR PRADESH 

3000 YEARS OLD CIVILIZATION.

"Having thoroughly analyzed artifacts like pottery, coins, terracotta images and brick structures, the archaeologists deduced that this place was first inhabited around 1000 BC (3000 years ago). Gradually a highly evolved civilization flourished here. The civilization reached its zenith between 200BC-200AD. During this period extensive civil engineering works were carried out; high class pottery was produced; art was encouraged and trade carried out. The most important evidence of this period is gold leaf image of Kartikeya, the God of War (on display at the State Museum, Lucknow).

By 700 AD the civilization declined. There was a marked deterioration in the quality of life of the people. It is said that during this period the water level in the Karela lake increased due to silting. Communication was hampered. By 1000 AD it was curtains for this civilization. We do not know who were the people that lived here or who ruled over them. Theirs was possibly a closely knit community of farmers and artisans.

The Karela Jheel that once proved the nemesis for the civilization has now almost disappeared. But if Hulas Kheda is to be discovered by the world, it will only be possible if the Karela jheel is revived. If this happens there will be few places to rival the beauty of Hulas Kheda. Around thirty years ago, the Karela was brimming with water. Archaeologists say that they reached the site by boats."

Excavation Report  source:   http://archaeology.up.nic.in/exploration_excavation1_5.htm Excavations projects:directed and conducted 1983-87   Halaskhear,district Lucknow (Protohistoric to medieval period)  Project Director:   R. C. Singh, Hemraj, R. Tewari, R.K. Srivastava, Directorate of Archaeology Uttar Pradesh

 In Collaboration  Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany, Lucknow

Objective To understand the culture sequence of the site and to make a comparative study of the settlements pattern of the settlement patterns of the Kushan and Gupta Period Outcome The ancient site of Hulaskhera is located near Mohanlalganj.It is easily approachable by a metalled link-road connecting village Hulaskhera with the main Lucknow-Rai Bareli road.The site is surrounded by a lake,which secure it from all sides and thus ideally suited for habitation.The excavations have revealed a cultural sequence beginning from the antiquity has been placed around 1000 B.C.A gold plaque bearing an omage of Karttikeya,datable to 1st-2nd centuries BC/AD is a rare find form this site .Now it is kept in the State Museum Lucknow.Apart form that a brick made of the same period is also a unique find,which was built particularly across the strech submerged under lake water to connect the eastern site with the main habitation.