Battle of Balakot

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Battle of Balakot
Part of Afghan-Sikh Wars
Date6 May 1831
Location
Balakot
34°00′12″N 71°22′43″E / 34.0034°N 71.3786°E / 34.0034; 71.3786Coordinates: 34°00′12″N 71°22′43″E / 34.0034°N 71.3786°E / 34.0034; 71.3786
Result Sikh victory
Belligerents
Sikh Empire flag.svg Sikh Empire Flag of Herat until 1842.svg Durrani Empire
Commanders and leaders
Sher Singh
Hari Singh Nalwa
Ilahi Bakhsh		 Syed Ahmad Barelvi
Shah Ismail Dehlvi

The Battle of Balakot was fought between the forces of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and Syed Ahmad Barelvi in Balakot, Mansehra District on 6 May 1831. Barelvi declared jihad against the Sikhs and established a camp in Balakot. Along with Shah Ismail Dehlvi and his tribesmen, he attacked the Sikhs at dawn. The battle lasted all day. The Sikh soldiers eventually beheaded Syed Ahmad Barelvi, and hundreds of his followers were killed.[1][2][3]

Battle[]

On 6 May 1831, Mujahideen forces prepared for the final battle at Balakot in the mountainous valley of Mansehra. Sikh troops started landing at Balakot from Metikot Hill while Syed Ahmad and most of the Mujahideen forces were staying in and around the Masjid-E-Bala. The Mujahideen force was encamped far along the Satban waterfall. Syed Ahmad suddenly left Masjid-E-Bala to attack the Sikhs and reached Masjid-E-Yarin. Then he marched towards the foot of Metikot Hill with the Mujahideen forces. Every inch of Tiller in Metikot Hill was quickly filled by Sikh troops. . Syed Ahmad was at the forefront of the Mujahideen forces. Suddenly, he was killed in the fountain of Metikot Hill and was beheaded by the Sikh soldiers who took his head as a trophy which was a common thing done by soldiers in the Indian subcontinent at that time.

A large group of Mujahideen fighters did not realize that Syed Ahmad had been killed and went in search of him. Besides, small groups of Mujahideen were killed while fighting in different places. This battle lasted at least two hours. Then the Mujahideens started shouting loudly to different groups that Syed Ahmad had been taken to the top of the hill and told them all to come to the top of the hill. As a result, the Mujahideen moved towards the mountains to the north. When the they reached the top of the mountains, they realized that they were surrounded. They tried to escape but were massacred and slain by Sikh soldiers coming from all sides of the hills and mountains. Thus, the deadly battle had come to a end.

Another rumor about the death of Syed Ahmad is that he was at their vanguard and had infiltrated a group of Sikh soldiers. The peaks surrounded him which his followers did not notice. Thus he was killed but his body could not be identified by the Mujahideen. For this reason, even after a long time, the remaining Mujahideen could not believe that Syed Ahmad was dead. In the battle, Shah Ismail Dehlvi was also slain by the Sikh soldiers. Thus, the battle was a victory for the Sikhs who had now added Balakot to their empire and extended the western border of the Sikh Empire deep into Afghan territory which included Balakot and the whole of Mansehra District. After this major victory, the Sikhs turned their ambitions towards conquering Peshawar from the Afghans.[4]

References[]

  1. ^ Ahmad, M. (1975). Saiyid Ahmad Shahid: His Life and Mission (No. 93). Lucknow: Academy of Islamic Research and Publications. Page 27.
  2. ^ Adamec, Ludwig W. (2009), Historical Dictionary of Islam, Scarecrow Press, ISBN 978-0-8108-6303-3
  3. ^ Jalal, Ayesha (2009), "The Martyrs of Balakot", Partisans of Allah: Jihad in South Asia, Harvard University Press, pp. 58–113, ISBN 978-0-674-03907-0
  4. ^ Jacques, Tony (2006). Dictionary of Battles and Sieges. Greenwood Press. p. 419. ISBN 978-0-313-33536-5. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
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