The period following the execution of Guru Tegh Bahadur – the father of Guru Gobind Singh, was a period where the Mughal Empire under Aurangzeb was an increasingly hostile enemy of the Sikh people.^[88] The Sikh resisted, led by Gobind Singh, and the Muslim-Sikh conflicts peaked during this period.^[88] Both Mughal administration and Aurangzeb’s army had an active interest in Gobind Singh. Aurangzeb issued an order to exterminate Gobind Singh and his family.^[89]

Gobind Singh believed in a Dharamyudh (war in defence of righteousness), something that is fought as a last resort, neither out of a wish for revenge nor for greed nor for any destructive goals.^[90] To the Guru, one must be prepared to die to stop tyranny, end persecution, and to defend one’s own religious values.^[90] He led fourteen wars with these objectives, but never took captives nor damaged anyone’s place of worship.^[90]

There were total of 12 Hill Kings who could not tolerate the growing popularity among local and other states ,they tried to attack Guru Gobind Singh but were defeated .They jointly met Aurungzeb and asked him to curb Guru and so they collectively along with support of Mogul Army attacked but could not make any dent in any walls of the fort for 8 months . Thereafter Aurangzeb asked Guru Gobind Singh ji to leave the Fort and took oath of Cow beef for safe passage .

It was again the Indian rulers who sided with Aurungzeb to defeat their own Singh King

Battles

Guru Gobind Singh fought 21 battles against the Mughal Empire and the kings of Siwalik Hills.

• Battle of Anandpur (1682) Bhim Chand attacks Gobind Singh.
• Battle Of Anandpur (1685) Bhim Chand attacks Gobind Singh once again
• Battle of Bhangani (1688), which states chapter 8 of Gobind Singh’s Bicitra Natak, when Fateh Shah, along with mercenary commanders Hayat Khan and Najabat Khan,^[91] attacked his forces without any purpose. The Guru was aided by the forces of Kripal (his maternal uncle) and a Brahmin named Daya Ram, both of whom he praises as heroes in his text.^[92] The Guru’s cousin named Sango Shah was killed in the battle, a cousin from Guru Hargobind‘s daughter.^[91]
• Battle of Nadaun (1691), against the Islamic armies of Mian Khan and his son Alif Khan, who were defeated by the allied forces of Gobind Singh, Bhim Chand and other Hindu kings of Himalayan foothills.^[93] The non-Muslims aligned to the Guru had refused to pay tribute to the Islamic officials based in Jammu.^[91]
• In 1693, Aurangzeb was fighting the Hindu Marathas in the Deccan region of India, and he issued orders that Guru Gobind Singh and Sikhs should be prevented from gathering in Anandpur in large numbers.^[91][94]
• Battle of Anandpur (1695) Mughals attack Gobind Singh at Anandpur
• Battle of Guler (1696), first against the Muslim commander Dilawar Khan’s son Rustam Khan, near Sutlej river, where the Guru teamed up with the Hindu king of Guler and routed the Muslim army.^[95] The commander sent his general Hussain Khan against the armies of the Guru and the Guler kingdom, a war fought near Pathankot, and Hussain Khan was defeated and killed by the joint forces.^[95]

After the creation of the Khalsa the Hill Rajas, who had previously lost in battle to Guru Gobind Singh, sent a petition to Delhi requesting they act immediately and join them in battle against the Guru.l^[96]

• Battle of Anandpur (1699), was against two Rajas of the hills.
• Battle of Anandpur (1700), against the Mughal army of Aurangzeb, who had sent 10,000 soldiers, in response to the Hill Rajas letter, under the command of Painda Khan and Dina Beg.^[97] In direct combat between Gobind Singh and Painda Khan, the latter was killed. His death led to the Mughal army fleeing the battlefield.^[97]
• First siege of Anandpur, The hill Rajas of northern Punjab regrouped after defeat at Anandpur the previous year and resumed their campaign against Gobind Singh, joining forces with Gujar and other tribesmens to besiege Anandpur, northeast of Ludhiana. Gujar leader Jagatullah was killed on the first day and the Rajas were driven off after a brilliant defence led by the Guru’s son Ajit Singh.^[97][98][94]
• Battle of Taragarh was a battle fought in defence during the Siege of Anandpur.
• Battle of Basoli (1702), against the Mughal army; named after the kingdom of Basoli whose Raja Dharampul supported the Guru in the battle.^[99] The Mughal army was supported by rival kingdom of Kahlur led by Raja Ajmer Chand. The battle ended when the two sides reached a tactical peace.^[99]
• First Battle of Chamkaur (1702), Mughal Army was repulsed.^[97]
• First Battle of Anandpur (1704), Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb sent a fresh force into northern Punjab under General Saiyad Khan, later replaced by Ramjan Khan. Ramjan was mortally wounded in further very heavy fighting around the Sikh stronghold at Anandpur, northeast of Ludhiana, and his force again withdrew.^[97]
• Second siege of Anandpur, According to scholars, this siege was triggered by the proliferation of armed Sikhs in Anandpur, the increasing numbers creating a shortage of supplies. This led the Sikhs to raid local villages for supplies, food, and forage, which in turn dramatically frustrated the local pahari rajas who forged alliances and mounted an attack on Guru Gobind Singh’s patrimony.^[100][91] The Mughal general was fatally wounded by Sikh soldiers, and the army withdrew. Aurangzeb then sent a larger army with two generals, Wazir Khan and Zaberdast Khan in May 1704, to destroy the Sikh resistance.^[97] The approach the Islamic army took in this battle was to lay a protracted siege against Anandpur, from May to December, cutting off all food and other supplies moving in and out, along with repeated battles.^[16] Some Sikh men deserted the Guru during the Anandpur siege in 1704 and escaped to their homes where their women shamed them and they rejoined the Guru’s army and died fighting with him in 1705.^[101][102] Towards the end, the Guru, his family, and followers accepted an offer by Aurangzeb of safe passage out of Anandpur.^[103] However, as they left Anandpur in two batches, they were attacked, and one of the batches with Mata Gujari and Guru’s two sons – Zorawar Singh aged 8 and Fateh Singh aged 5 – were taken captive by the Mughal army.^[98][104] Both his children were executed by burying them alive into a wall.^[16][105] The grandmother Mata Gujari died there as well.^[98]
• Battle of Sarsa (1704), against the Mughal army led by general Wazir Khan; the Muslim commander had conveyed Aurangzeb’s promise of a safe passage to Guru Gobind Singh and his family in early December.^[104] However, when the Guru accepted the offer and left, Wazir Khan took captives, executed them and pursued the Guru.^[106] The retreating troops he was with were repeatedly attacked from behind, with heavy casualties to the Sikhs, particularly while crossing the Sarsa river.^[106]
• Battle of Chamkaur (1704) Regarded as one of the most important battles in Sikh history. It was against the Mughal army led by Nahar Khan;^[107] the Muslim commander was killed,^[107] while on Sikh side the remaining two elder sons of the Guru – Ajit Singh and Jujhar Singh, along with other Sikh soldiers were killed in this battle.^[108][98]