Summary of the Novel

My novel is non-fiction. It takes place in 1708 – 1716 in India. More specifically Punjab. The book is
about Banda Singh Bahadur who is our protagonist. It is about his 8 years as the commander of the
Khalsa army and his revolution from contemporary Rajasthani documents. The antagonist is the Mughal
government. The story is as follows. Our story begins with Banda Singh meeting Guru Gobind Singh. At
that point, his name was Matho Das, and he was an ascetic. Upon meeting Guru Gobind Singh, he
became a Sikh. He soon enough took amrit and was renamed Banda Singh. Guru Gobind Singh was
attacked by Mughal assassins and was on the verge of passing. He made Guru Granth Sahib the new Guru
and made Banda Singh commander of the Khalsa army. The Guru sent him to Punjab to liberate the land
and make the Mughal Empire who were oppressing people pay for their deeds. Banda Singh led the army
from south India all the way to Punjab. Along the way the size of the army increased. Banda Singh fought
his first battle in Sonipat and had his first victory. The city of Sonipat was just north of Delhi which made
it a major victory and shook the empire which ruled unopposed. His next target was Samana. It was a
hated town because it was the residence of the executioner of Guru Tegh Bahadur and the executioner of
Fateh Singh and Zorawar Singh. They were the sons of Guru Gobind Singh and were executed for being
Sikh at the age of 5 and 9. It also had the funds of the treasury. Banda Singh conquered it with ease. His
main goal was Sirhind. Wazir Khan who was in Sirhind was the governor of Punjab and north India. He
ordered the death of the Guru’s children and had executed thousands of Sikhs. He also sent the assassins
on Guru Gobind Singh. Along the way he captured Sadhura. He took Sadhura because people came to
him complaining about the torture in the city. The governor would kidnap Sikhs in Amritsar and raped
them. He also raped all Hindus before marriage. He tortured many. He was killed by Banda Singh. Banda
Singh also killed the killer of Pir Budh Shah who was executed for helping Guru Gobind Singh. Next, he
made his way to Sirhin. It was a deadly battle. Wazir Khan had over 50,000 soldiers while Banda Singh
had no more than 10,000. Wazir Khan before the battle bribed a tenth of the army to desert. The Sikhs
had mostly swords. Wazir khan had artillery, elephants, and muskets. Khan’s army attacked Banda
Singh’s army on all sides. It was a brutal battle. It is said a single arrow of Banda Singh could kill 10. He
eventually won and killed Wazir Khan and many generals. He took all the land which the rich oppressors
had and handed it out to the poor. Only those who did not oppress lived in Sirhind after Banda Singh. He
killed the oppressors. Banda Singh showed mercy and let the town remain instead of the usual burning of
towns done by the Mughals. I won’t go into much detail because it is long but essentially Banda Singh
took over most of north India. The Mughal emperor personally sought to defeat him, but he was
unstoppable. Banda Singh’s victory enraged the emperor. He resorted to committing genocide against the
Sikhs. Over 100,000 Mughals marched on the Sikhs but could not stop them. Banda Singh not only took
Punjab. He took a third of not just India but the entire subcontinent. Soon the emperor died. After a civil
war happened. Banda seized the opportunity and further expanded his empire. Soon the civil war ended,
and every Mughal soldier put their focus on Banda Singh. The Mughals waged Jihad. It took much effort,
but eventually, Banda Singh’s empire started to lose. His last battle was a siege. It lasted 8 months.
Banda Singh had 750 soldiers. The Mughals had 35,000. He was captured at the end with his son. He was
marched to Delhi and tortured along the way. The Sikhs were tortured for a year straight. They were told
they could live if they converted. None did. All the Sikhs were executed. Banda Singh was killed in a
brutal fashion. He first watched his son die. Then he had his sons’ heart put into his mouth. He still didn’t
convert. His eyes were gouged out and his skin was removed. He was then cut into limbs. After that, he
died. The emperor laughed watching this brutal death he ordered. His limbs were spread across Delhi to
install fear. (Ironically the emperor was killed the same way Banda Singh was in 1719 by his own family)
Then the book ends.