Siege of Mankera (1821–1822)
The siege of Mankera, also known as the fall of Mankera was fought from 7 December 1821 to 1 January 1822 by the Sikh forces led by Maharaja Ranjit Singh and the Mankera forces led by Nawab Hafiz Ahmad Khan.
| Siege of Mankera | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Afghan-Sikh Wars | |||||||||
 Ruins of the Mankera Fort caused by the siege | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Sikh EmpireAssisted by Tiwanas of Mitha Tiwana |
 Kingdom of Mankera | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Maharaja Ranjit Singh Hari Singh Nalwa Misr Diwan Chand Akali Phula Singh Faqir Azizuddin Fateh Singh Ahluwalia Kirpa Ram Gurmukh Singh Dal Singh Bharania Khushal Singh Javala Singh Padhania Jhanda Singh Butalia Dhanna Singh Malvai Gajja Singh (WIA) Mangal Singh † Ahmad Yar Khan Tiwana |
Nawab Hafiz Ahmad Khan  | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
|
3,000 under Maharaja Ranjit Singh[1] 15,000 under Khushal Singh[2] 8,000 under Misr Dewan Chand[3] 6,500 under Hari Singh Nalwa[1] Unknown under Ahmad Yar Khan | 25,000[1] | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||||
Background
The Sindh Sagar Doab was fully under the rule of Kingdom of Mankera and Mitha Tiwana. The chief of Mankera Nawab Hafiz Ahmad Khan had the most control over the region.[4] Mohammad Khan, the previous chief of Mankera had build 12 forts outside the Mankera fort to make it impossible for someone to invade the fort.[5] The fort used to be a part of the Bhangi Misl until they lost it and an independent state was formed.[6] Instead of paying taxes to the Sikh Empire, the Nawab paid to the Durrani Empire or Kabul. Adding on to that point Mankera held the 3 important towns of Leiah, Bhakkar and Dera Ismail Khan. The caravan transportation route from Iran and Baluchistan also went through the territory of the Nawab. This is what made Mankera an important asset for the Sikh Empire to have.[7] Therefore in the Dusshera of 1821, he headed with his army to annex Mankera.[4]
Ahmad Yar Khan Tiwana decided to aid the Sikh forces during the battle to settle old scores with the Nawab.[8] Hari Singh Nalwa was invited to join the expedition. When he was heading to join the Maharaja with 7,000 troops, he was attacked by 25,000 tribesmen which led to the Battle of Mangal in which the Sardar defeated the tribesmen and continued to go to the Maharaja until meeting him at Mitha Tiwana.[9][10]
Battle
The Sikh forces arrived at Mankera on 9 November 1821. They took Bhakkar without a fight and Dera Ismail Khan and Leiah were taken by the Sikhs with a fight.[11][12][13] Next the entire army regathered and laid siege to the fort of Mankera.[14] Since Mankera was situated in the middle of a sandy desert, the Sikhs dug up 25 wells for people to drink from.[2] Nawab Hafiz Khan knowing that he could not resist any longer offered terms of surrender. These terms stated to be able to leave the fort with personal things and to be given the town of Dera Ismail Khan as a jagir.[3] The terms were accepted and the Nawab came out after 25 days of being besieged.
Aftermath
After this siege, the land between the Jhelum and the Indus was annexed by the Sikh Empire.[7][15] It was also the key of having influence over the Derajat region.[16] The Maharaja was impressed by the contribution of the Tiwanas during the battle and asked for him to take on horsemen with him to Lahore.[8]
References
- Johar, Surinder Singh (1982). Hari Singh Nalwa. Sagar Publications. p. 84.
- Gurbachan Singh Nayyar (1995). The Campaigns Of Hari Singh Nalwa. p. 96. ISBN 9788173801419.
- Hari Ram Gupta (1991). History Of The Sikhs Vol. V The Sikh Lion of Lahore (Maharaja Ranjit Singh, 1799-1839). p. 75. ISBN 9788121505154.
- Shashikant Nishant Sharma (25 March 2014). International Journal of Research. Lulu.com. p. 7. ISBN 9781304977151.
- Rishi Singh (2014). State Formation and the Establishment of Non-Muslim Hegemony. SAGE Publications India. ISBN 9789351505044.
- Sukhdev Singh Charak (1977). Gulabnama. p. 99.
- Singh, Khushwant (2004). A History Of The Sikhs, Vol. 1, 1469-1839. Oxford University Press. pp. 256–257.
- Harbans Singh (1995). The Encyclopedia Of Sikhism - Volume I A-D. p. 26. ISBN 9788173801006.
- K.K Khanna (2015). Art of Generalship. Vij Books India Pvt. ISBN 9789382652922.
- Autar Singh Sandhu (1987). General Hari Singh Nalwa. Uppal Publishing House. p. 23. ISBN 9788185024301.
- Muhammad Latif (1891). History of the Panjáb from the Remotest Antiquity to the Present Time. p. 425.
- Madanjit Kaur (2003). Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Unistar Books. p. 83. ISBN 9788189899547.
- Vikas Khatri. World Famous Wars and Battles. Pustak Mahal. ISBN 9788122312812.
- Singh, Gulcharan (October 1976). "General Hari Singh Nalwa". The Sikh Review. 24 (274): 138.
- G.S. Chhabra (1960). Advanced study in History of the Punjab. Vol. 2. p. 65.
- Patwant Singh (2000). The Sikhs. p. 125. ISBN 9780375407284.