Sardar Baghel Singh

Sardar Baghel Singh entered Delhi on January 18,1774 during first invasion of Delhi.

The Marathas, after their defeat by Abdali in the third battle of Panipat in 1761, were marginalised, and the Rohillas were a spent force. The English were in the process of finding their place at Delhi. It was easy for the Sikh misls to cross the Yamuna and make forays towards Delhi and beyond. The misls did not owe any allegiance to each other, except when the Sarbat Khalsa, through a Gurmatta, resolved to attack a common target.

Baghel Singh's Karor Singhia Misl was operating in south-east Punjab. He was a very able leader of men, a good political negotiator, and was able to win over many adversaries to his side. The Mughals, the Marathas, the Rohillas, the Jutts and the British sought his friendship, and, above all, he was a devout Sikh; amrit prachar was his passion.

Karor Singhia was one of the strongest misls with 12,000 well- trained horsemen. The combined strength under Baghel Singh, including soldiers of a few sardars who joined him, was well over 40,000. He captured territories much beyond Delhi to include Meerut, Khurja, Aligarh,Tundla, Shikhohabad, Farrukhabad, Agra and many other rich townships around Delhi, and collected tribute and rakhi from nawabs and rajas. He captured Saharanpur and overran the Rohilla territory in April 1775.

Harpreet Singh

Singh Military History Forum

Baghel Singh