Rise and Fall of the Khalsa, the weasel win of the Khusralsa

The Mughals and their local henchmen in Punjab were persecuting and converting Hindus.  On a pretext, they received threats to either embrace Islam or be killed.  These days, similar to the use of blasphemy laws to coerce and torment non-muslims.   Without the world watching, it was blatant in those times.  Unlike Hindus, the newly founded Sikhs refused to convert and chose death.  However, passive like Hindus and not used to violence, they submitted without resistance.  Guru Arjan Dev, the fifth guru, was tortured to death in Lahore.  Gurdwara Dehra marks where his body was swept away in the Ravi river.  His son, Guru Hargobind, started an armed struggle against the oppressors.  It fizzled out because the Mughals’ might was at its peak, and the submissive Hindus were too weak.  

History would repeat itself.  Guru Arjan Dev’s grandson,  Guru Teg Bahadur, and his disciples were also tortured and beheaded at Chandni chowk in Delhi for refusing to convert.  A faithful brought his severed head to his son Guru Gobind Singh.  Gobind Singh understood that the time had come for an armed struggle to defend the faithful from fanatical persecution.  At first, he tried to unite and rally the Hindu hill chiefs in the Shivalik range. But, unfortunately, they were preoccupied with local power struggles and more interested in petty disputes.   It was a futile effort doomed to fail.

Now, it was necessary to raise an army for self-defense.  Gobind Singh created the Khalsa.  The event was dramatic, and religious fervor made up for what the modest force lacked in men and materials.  Many of the volunteers who took the oath to sacrifice their lives were neither Punjabi nor from the upper castes.  Now and then, the sympathizers and mercenaries strengthened the nascent brotherhood. Temporary alliances, bloody battles, and changing loyalties dwindled their numbers.  During desperate times, spirits remained high, and the armed struggle continued.

A few would sally against overwhelming odds.  They would kill many before achieving martyrdom.  During one such battle at Chamkaur, Guru’s teenage sons fought and fell.  The Muslim generals swore on Quran to give the Guru and his family a safe passage out of the siege.  They had no intention of keeping the pledge.  It was a sanctioned deceit to use against the kafir.

In the ensuing chaos, the family separated.  The family’s  Brahmin servant betrayed Guru’s mother and younger sons for money.  The Muslim chiefs murdered them in cold blood at Sirhind.  Their imprisoned grandmother died of grief in a freezing tower.

Apologists have tried to whitewash this gruesome crime - a worse evil.  Punjabis have incorrectly tried to blame foreigners, mainly Mughals, for the wicked act.  The fact is that Punjabi Muslims colluding with Hindu lackeys raised the allegations that brought the wrath of the rulers in Delhi.  The orders may have come from Delhi, but local Muslims did the dirty work.  The taunting crowds of the spectacle were native.  What makes it worse is that these were mutts - the progeny of Hindu rapine and their forced conversions.  They tried to outdo each other in this macabre to prove their loyalty to the new religion and win personal favors.

The tragic news reached Guru Gobind Singh.  Though a believer in God’s will, he must have been grief-stricken as a human and a father. Heartbroken and for unknown reasons, he left Punjab and wandered a thousand miles into Deccan with some of his followers.  One can only speculate. He probably needed a respite from testing times and misfortune that had befallen his family.  The apathy, disunity, and betrayals by Hindus and passive Sikhs would be more disheartening. Punjab was a hostile land full of enemies baying for his blood. It could be that history would repeat itself, and his armed struggle would fade away.

Fate had other intentions; in the Deccan, he met an ascetic and his followers.  Impressed and moved by Guru Gobind Singh’s sacrifices, the ascetic swore to seek revenge.  Guru baptized the ascetic, and he became famous as Banda Singh Bahadur. Soon after, Guru’s Pathan servants gravely wounded him in an assassination attempt.  Shortly after that, he would die from the ruptured wound.

Banda Bahadur, carrying Guru Gobind Singh’s edict, marched north with a ragtag band of fighters that grew in numbers to form a small army.  Mostly, they carried household weapons.  Banda Bahadur was a bold warrior and a brilliant strategist.  He blazed through the area delivering defeat to professional soldiers.  Banda kept his promise and dispatched the tyrants to the next world.  He reduced their fiefdoms to rubble as punishment for persecuting Sikhs and murdering Guru Gobind’s family.  

Intrigue played a role, and at last, his coreligionists abandoned him at Gurdas Nangal, and Muslims captured him after a lengthy siege.  As usual, they gave him a choice to convert and avoid death.  To break Banda’s resolve, they brutally butchered his four-year-old son before his eyes. However, Banda Bahadur remained steadfast in his faith till the last breath.  That day the Khalsa died.   

Banda Singh Bahadur's achievement for the faith remains unparalleled.  His conquests boosted morale, attracted followers, and brought even the enemies into the Sikh fold.  If it weren’t for him, today, the Sikhs’ widow wailing on the banks of the Ravi river would be on the banks of the river Yamuna or further east.

The reader should note a most critical point that the Guru overlooked his congregation and the surviving “five beloved ones” when he chose Banda Bahadur to lead.  It reflects that the Guru did not have confidence in their leadership or administrative qualities.  He preferred abilities over emotional attachments.  This tradition would change after Banda’s death.  

An able leader was gone, and the Sikhs were hunted like wild animals with bounties on their heads.  They sought refuge in the wilderness and the foothills.  Banda Bahadur’s death left a great void.

Khalsa brotherhood was on its path to becoming like the anecdotal jungle scene where after the lion’s departure, the kill is taken over and scavenged by crows, dogs, and vultures.  They strut and howl as if they were the hunters. Khusralsa was eventually going to replace the Khalsa.  Khusralsa would indulge in nepotism and showmanship, corrupting the religion and weakening the Khalsa. 

The invaders, including Babur, the founder of the Mughal dynasty, called the Hindus and Punjabis crows and mongrels.  Hindus are not a religion but a nationality.  A native to the land of the Indus river civilization was called a Hindu.  Hindu is the corruption of the word Sindhu, the local name of the Indus river.  The foreign invaders did not distinguish between the locals irrespective of their religion - much to the shock of the Muslims. These converted Hindus received the exact humiliating retribution.  Even today, Arabs and Afghans look down on Pakistanis as pariahs.  

They had particular contempt for the marginalized semi-nomadic tribes.  The tribes were mainly Jats and Gujjar, with a sprinkling of others, including thugs and junglis colloquially known as Ujads.  Since the Jats are the majority, the terms are used synonymously. These semi-nomadic tribes had no fixed loyalties and lived off scavenging others’ misery.  Babur’s cruelty towards Hindus is a well-documented horror show.  There is an anecdote of how his victims came to his camp seeking refuge from Ujad looters who had preyed on the injured and defenseless.  

Like the vultures who wait and swoop at first sight of death, the highway robbers of the time saw an opportunity, weaseled their way into the Khalsa fold, and eventually took over the leadership.  History repeated itself during the so-called Khalistan political drama of the 1980s, and the goons and mafia sabotaged the movement.  They would change the demographics. Unlike the complicated Hinduism that treated these tribes as inferior, Sikhism's simple and egalitarian message appealed to them.  It was still familiar and rooted in the Indian ethos.  Thus, they joined in droves.

The previous soldiers hailed from the fringes of Punjab and faraway lands.  Alliances included diverse demographics irrespective of caste, creed, and religion.  The recruits would change to heavily pastoral and nomadic Punjabis who had no experience in military strategies or administration.  Sikha Shahi, or the Sikh rule, is notoriously remembered as far worse than the infamously cruel Afghan rule.  

Until then, Sikh leadership was in the hands of learned men who led with dignity and finesse.   Guru Gobind Singh and Banda Bahadur fought pitched battles head-on.  During battles, the foes accepted challenges to a duel.   Both Gurus had killed all the challengers.  Later, Sikhs honed their guerilla tactics into hit-and-run sorties.  

They became a nuisance for Persians, Afghans, Mughals, and Marathas. So now they hounded them out of Punjab. Mughals were nominal figures by now. The Afghans scored a pyrrhic victory over the Marathas but lost heart as a formidable fighting force.

The tide had turned.  However, the Ujads were poor administrators and worthless at diplomacy.  They kept Muslims and Hindus for administrative and clerical roles.  Unlike the Mughals, the simpletons couldn’t handle the cunning courtiers.  It would be a factor in their ruin later on.   Old habits die hard.  Just like a pack of dogs biting each other in the rear, they squabbled much to the amusement of others.   Delhi had fallen twice, but they couldn’t hold on to it due to infighting and poor diplomacy.  The enemies outwitted them during negotiations time and again.  

External threats diminished, and they turned against each other, more or less like a dog attacking family members out of habit or its tail when no strangers were around.  Equally matched, they formed alliances that ended in stalemates.    Their numbers swelled with spoils of war, and Sikh elders separated them;  the quarreling clans reached a tentative agreement.  Most were looters and thugs who outnumbered the well-wishers of the faith.

Their success varied;  some became confined to smaller localities.  Others, through sheer brawn, stretched beyond Indus, Ganges, and Delhi.  Their habits, customs, and culture alienated the conquered populations.  As one would compromise with an aggressive dog with treats, the population pacified them with valuables and protection money.  Eventually, habits caught up with them, and excess consumption and careless behavior left them issueless or with inept descendants and successors.  Within a generation, Khusralsa was like an old addict confined to a cot and waiting out his final days.

There is a stark difference between the Khalsa of Guru Gobind Singh and the Khusralsa that weasel into its place.  

The differences are like day and night in every aspect.  Khalsa swore allegiance to the defense of their religion and fought for dharma.  Khusralsa’s loyalties were tribal to their leaders.  They used the former to motivate the canon fodder.  Caste and creed would creep back into Sikhism.  Khalsa fought for freedom and protection.  Khusralsa for the expansionary motives of individual chiefs.  The bickering for power sowed divisive seeds.  The British would exploit this very effectively soon.

As big a difference remained in the mindset and psyche.  Khalsa refused to succumb to pain and greed.  They laughed at approval and promises of comfort and luxury.  The younger sons of Guru Gobind Singh also received an offer to convert to Islam to save themselves. Yet, as toddlers, they had self-respect and remained defiant.  The Khusralsa, on the other hand, sought approval and recognition from invaders who repeatedly defiled their sacred sites and caused holocausts amongst them.  

The following examples explain well the difference between the two mindsets.  When the Mughal armies marched on Amritsar, Guru Hargobind left the city to give a fight.  He didn’t want the holy city damaged.  In contrast, the delusional Khusralsa barricaded the Golden Temple in 1984 and turned it into a fortress.  The army shattered their misconceptions, and the whole community suffered from genocide throughout India.  Only about a hundred fought; the rest threw their ceremonial swords and ran with tails between their legs.  Khusralsa watched in a stupor as humiliation after humiliation followed for decades.

Babur’s mayhem in Punjab brought about indignity and starvation.  It did not stop a small-time village head, Phool, from becoming his dog.  Babur threw him a tiny principality as a reward.  A century later, Ahmad Shah Abdali, an Afghan invader, brought about a similar carnage.  Phool’s descendant, Ahla Singh, became his dog and received land as a dog would a bone.  His descendants became lapdogs of the British.  The current descendent is the lapdog of the Congress party responsible for the Sikh genocide of 1984.  All jat ministers in Punjab wag their tails to political powers in Delhi.  After the partition, the Sikh princes surrendered their dominions without firing a single shot.  Ranjit Singh and some Sikh chiefs also tried to seek recognition from Abdali for territories.  He sent back the invader’s cannons as a gesture of goodwill to receive a pat on the back—the invader was guilty of killing Sikhs and desecrating holy sites.  Historians have tried to twist these facts by smoking mirrors.

The Sikh faith was started by and remained in the custody of Khatris.  They happened to be Kshatriyas, the second varnas of the Dharma that would be later called Hinduism.  After Islam became the ruling religion of the land, the Khatris turned to administrative, clerical, and commercial ventures.  They excelled in subordinate roles; thus, invading masters preferred them for centuries.  Even the most orthodox and fanatic Muslim monarchs chose the khatris over their brethren.  They were familiar with the ways of the land and, as the vanquished, it would be easier to control with fear.  Some had converted to Islam, but most remained Hindu.  Even after seven centuries of Muslim rule, the Hindus were the majority till the twentieth century.

Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, broke away from traditions and chose his successor based on dedication and ability.  The tradition continued for three successions and reverted to inherited rights.  The guidance of the faith remained in the hands of the khatris.  Gurus and counsel emphasized their education and upbringing to make them worthy of leadership.   Guru Gobind Singh excelled at poetry in different languages, sports, and diplomacy. But, of course, the intrigues and squabbling leeched along during succession rights.  Guru Gobind Singh ended it by proclaiming the Granth as the Guru moving forward.  It would have a side effect.

The Ujads bullied their way into the leadership role and the custody of the Gurdwaras.  To this day, they try the same tactics wherever they can.  Their knowledge was rudimentary and superstitious on a good day and blasphemous on a regular day.  To them, the Granth became a deity to bow before for blessings and protection.  All of them were illiterate and depended on second-hand knowledge.

To make matters worse, they brought their rituals, complexes, phobias, and elder worship, among many other anti-Sikh activities.  They would degrade the ethics of the Khalsa. Their actions would not only undermine the conquests but rot the religious core.

Brawn and boorish intimidation go a limited way.  Melees rarely, if ever, win against the disciplined military. The further west they ran into seasoned enemies, the harder it became for them to conquer and hold. An Irishman in the south also tested their limitations and became a thorn in their side.  Maratha's alliance with French advice helped them remove the thorn.

It's nothing new; ever since the recorded history of Jats, travelers have noted that they are physically robust, quarrelsome, disruptive, and belligerent.  Their loyalties are fleeting and tribal.  The Chinese, Persians, and British witnesses echo these observations.  A person can visit any Gurdwara in any part of the world and watch what the travelers observed a millennium ago.   Through the ages, there were changes in religions, academics, and cultures, but they had little or no effect on their ingrained traits.  

Even today, they restore to scuffles, cursing, and fake allegations, and gossip to have their way in the affairs of the gurudwaras.   They depend on amulets and ritualistic jewelry than the teachings of the faith.  Their phones have a direct dial to soothsayers, fortune tellers, pandits, and peers.  They carry alcohol and drugs as if it is a badge of honor.  The Guru Granth is for decoration only, and the words are lip service.   There is no attachment or respect, only greed and superstitious fear.  All are strictly forbidden and sacrilegious in the Sikh faith.

The chiefs did not want to alienate the remnants of the Khalsa and adherents, so they didn’t sway too far from the teachings.  Some upheld it and did their best by what they understood.  They subdued the Muslim fanatics and their hooliganism.  However, in a half-baked effort, they missed a golden opportunity that would influence global course and affairs.

The worst was Ranjit Singh, falsely celebrated as the Lion of Punjab.   Nothing could be further from the truth. In reality,  he was a weasel - a dirty politician who used deception and intrigue to usurp lands from widows, orphans, and dying chiefs.  

There is no account of him participating in a battle.  All Sikh chiefs bore battle wounds.  The only scars Ranjit Singh had were from chicken pox.  There are narratives of him yelling and challenging holed-up nawabs, being around battle camps but no engagements.  It's another trademark habit of most Ujads. 

An English lady wrote that Ranjit Singh was superstitious and not religious.  He was disloyal to Sikhism.  His mentor was a sadhu whose grave lies outside of Lahore fort.  Spin doctors have written about his punishment at the Golden Temple.  It's a drama in cahoots with equally corrupt religious heads that repeats to this day.

The Khalsa Raj was in name only; its court did not intend or organize an effort to propagate Sikhism, the Punjabi language, or culture.  The humble audience in Guru Gobind Singh’s court had poets, bards, linguists, and intellectuals who left rich literary work. Ranjit Singh’s court had lecherous pigs getting fat on looted and squandered wealth.  The outcome of the partition would have been different had Sikhism been encouraged. Instead, the community’s lamentation and wailing would continue.  One is hard-pressed to find a single example of effort or patronage by Ranjit Singh that benefitted Sikhism or Punjabi.

Like any complex-ridden bumpkin and a nouveau riche, he used Persian in his court.  The copycat historians tried to twist this with excuses. One runs across the same mentality today; Punjabis making fools of themselves trying to speak Hindi, Urdu, and English.  With no practical official language, the British brought Urdu - which would become another divisive issue along religious lines.  Had Punjabi been the lingua franca and official, the political madness around the subject wouldn’t be there today. Instead, Punjabi is flailing in the literary hallways.  

Ranjit Singh used lies and treachery to advance his motives.  The culture is such, and that was the only skill he had.  It didn’t work with the British, who ordered him to remain west of the Sutlej river and out of princely states within his boundaries.  They threatened him with invasion if he entered Sindh.  By then, the Sikh army was modernized and led by Europeans and could stand up to the British.  However, the coward was afraid of the British and did not have the stomach to fight them.  Historians have fantasized about exaggerations of his relations with the British.  He was a politician and a trickster.  To save face, he put two words in a jar and said that let the random piece of paper decide if they would go to war with the British or not.  He took out the one with “no war” written.  The charlatan would have picked the same piece of paper even if he had tried a million times.  Only a sham person restores to such gimmicks.

The short-sighted politician didn’t understand the repercussions of his ways.  All his sons were mercilessly murdered by those who held grudges.  Either he wasn’t a good judge of human nature or turned a blind eye to save his seat of power.  Like flies to filth, he attracted deceivers, traitors, and two-faced gold diggers.  All of them would contribute to the destruction of the Khalsa.  Two Sikh generals, Nalwa and Phoola Singh, loyal to the faith, were killed under suspicious circumstances.

Was he secular?  It doesn’t matter.  A more plausible answer is that he played a crude game of divide and rule.  A treacherous person, he didn’t trust the Khalsa soldiers or his superficial Sikh courtiers.  The former could rebel against him, and the latter could be seditious. So to maintain a balance, he welcomed and promoted Dogras, Poorbias, Muslims, Gorkhas, and Europeans.  All would cuckold him one way or another. 

How did he build an empire?  His predecessors had already subdued the lands up to the river Indus. So instead, he usurped it with deception. First, as luck would have it, European soldiers of fortune wandered into Punjab and brought new tactics and discipline to the army.  Then, they contributed immensely in subduing any pockets of resistance and conquering additional territory.

During the Sikh civil and Anglo-Sikh wars, the Europeans didn’t want to be part of the chaos and left.  With seasoned officers gone, the melee fighting style returned.  Imitating his father, Ranjit Singh’s son, Sher Singh, yelled at enemies and left without a fight.  In another battle with Dogras, a mob of Akalis - another farce of pony-riding tricksters, were blown away by the dozens and used as target practice.

There are several lies about his exploits. Why is he celebrated so much? It is an emotional outburst. For the first time in history, Punjabis held on to their heartland. The parade jumper got the credit for Khalsa’s sacrifice and success.

Why were Muslims also fond of him?  He was not as harsh and restrictive as his predecessors.  They, along with Hindus, had helped him sneak into Lahore and occupy it.  Afghans correctly saw Punjabi Muslims as Hindus and had utter contempt for them and treated them so.  The Sikh rule had saved Muslims from abuse too.  This gesture had thankless reciprocation as well.  They, along with Dogras, contributed to the downfall of the Sikh empire. And in 1947, all was forgotten by the ingrates who carried out the destruction of Sikhs enthusiastically.

Sikhs had become nothing but feral Hindus.   Their state is their undoing - a consequence of making a caricature of their religion.   Instead of rising to the code of ethics, they shamelessly drag it down to their level.   In denial, they hide behind showmanship and empty cliches like Singh is King.  A fantasy king without a kingdom.  More like a washerman’s dog that belongs neither here nor there.

One may argue if Ranjit Singh was a coward or an oaf, how did he become the maharaja of Punjab?  Visit any Punjabi organization, and you will have the answer.   It's a lap dog or stooge mentality or a weasel win - whether a village Sarpanch,   gurdwara head,  government minister or the president.  A recent example of another person will help the reader understand how a coward can become a ruler.    A century later, a selfish Kashmiri pandit’s quest for power would destroy India by dividing the Indian subcontinent into Hindustan and Gangustan - a misdeed that caused more damage than all the invaders did in two Millenium.