Mughal faujdar of Sirhind, died 1710
Wazir Khan
The Mughal commandant at Sirhind who fought Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji at Anandpur and Chamkaur and ordered the martyrdom of the two younger Sahibzade. He was killed by Banda Singh Bahadur's force at Chappar Chiri in 1710.
Who he was
The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism says he came from Kunjpura near Karnal, and held Sirhind as faujdar in the early eighteenth century. Under the Mughals it was the most heavily fortified town on the road from Delhi to Lahore, and its district reached as far as Anandpur.
He should not be confused with an earlier Wazir Khan (died 1634), a physician who governed Lahore and appears in Sikh accounts as an admirer of Sri Guru Arjun Dev Ji.[EoS][EoS][EoS]
Anandpur and Chamkaur
He sent troops and cannon to help the hill rajas against Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji in 1700. In late 1704, the Encyclopaedia says, Raja Ajmer Chand obtained orders from the emperor, and Wazir Khan and Zabardast Khan of Lahore marched on Anandpur.
After Guru Ji left on the night of 5-6 December 1705, he pursued Guru Ji to the Sarsa and then to Chamkaur, where the two elder Sahibzade attained martyrdom. A letter to him from Aurangzeb's secretary confirms his report on Chamkaur. At Khidrana, forty Sikhs stood against his force and attained martyrdom, and his tired troops turned back.[EoS][(eds)]
The Sahibzade at Sirhind
Zorawar Singh and Fateh Singh were held with Mata Gujri in the Cold Tower. The Encyclopaedia says that on 9 December he offered them riches to accept Islam, then threatened death. Sher Muhammad Khan of Malerkotla pleaded for them, and they were given more time. They attained martyrdom on 12 December 1705, and Mata Gujri passed away on hearing the news.[EoS][EoS]
Last years and death
A later order told him to give Guru Ji safe passage through his district, and to meet any travel costs from the property he had seized from Guru Ji.
Banda Singh Bahadur marched on Sirhind in 1710. Wazir Khan called a jihad and met him at Chappar Chiri on 12 May, where he was killed. Muhammad Qasim's Ibratnama, written from the Mughal side, shows an old man still shooting arrows, and says that his body was hung from a tree. Sirhind was taken on 14 May.[(eds)][EoS][EoS]
What the sources disagree on
- The ages of the Sahibzade
The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism's entries on Wazir Khan and on Sirhind say that they were nine and seven. Its own entries on the boys give births in November 1696 and February 1699, which makes them nine and six in December 1705.[EoS][EoS][EoS][EoS]
- How the Sahibzade were martyred
Sikh tradition says that they were sealed into a wall. The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism's entry on Zorawar Singh adds that the masonry crumbled and that they were martyred the next day. The Mughal sources say less. The Ahkam letter reports one son and his mother captured. Muhammad Qasim says that the prisoners were held in the fort with their needs met, and his translator notes that he avoids saying directly what happened to them. The Zafarnamah speaks of all four sons as lost.[EoS][EoS][(eds)][EoS]
- Who broke the promise at Anandpur?
The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism's entry on Wazir Khan calls the sworn safe-conduct his ruse. The Zafarnamah holds Aurangzeb and his officers answerable. Muhammad Qasim does not mention an oath. He traces the fighting to court orders and a demand from Wazir Khan that revenue be paid on Guru Ji's lands.[EoS][EoS][(eds)]
- Was he behind the stabbing at Nanded?
The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism's entries say that he hired the assassins, fearing Guru Ji's friendship with Bahadur Shah. Grewal gives this as one view. Muhammad Qasim instead describes a quarrel with Afghan horse traders over money owed, and a court report mentions only an Afghan. No document from the time has been confirmed as linking Wazir Khan to the attack.[EoS][EoS][(eds)]