Battle of Amritsar (1634)

Mukhlis Khan led a plan against Guru Hargobind and the Sikhs on 14 April 1634, which resulted in the Battle of Amritsar. The war lasted two days and was triggered by rising tensions between the Mughal government and Guru Hargobind.

After being abused by the Mughal authorities, the Sikhs started organizing annual training sessions and became a meeting point for those who were dissatisfied with the Mughals. Increasing tensions arose during a clash between two hunting parties, one Sikh and one Mughal. On Vaisaki day, a Sikh hunting party set their hawk on a royal hawk and brought it down. When the Mughal hunting party arrived to collect their hawk, they used aggressive words, and the Sikhs declined to give it up. This altercation resulted in kicks, and the Mughals were forced to flee after their party was decimated. The incident with the hunting parties was used as a pretext to dispatch 7,000 troops, led by Mukhlis Khan, to assault Guru Hargobind. Because of the imminent marriage of Guru Hargobind's daughter, the Sikhs were unprepared to face the Mughal army.

The battle lasted two days in Amritsar. The Sikhs got word of the Mughals' impending assault the day before and fled Lohgarh, a remote mud fort on the outskirts of the district, save for a small garrison. The Mughals overran the garrison at Lohgarh on the first day but were unable to advance.The Mughal force also raided the house where Guru Hargobind was sleeping, but found nothing because it had been vacated earlier.

The second day of the war saw fierce combat near what is now Khalsa College in Amritsar. Bhai Bhanno was killed in the battle, and when he died, Guru Hargobind took over command. Mukhlis Khan's head was "cleft in twain" by a blow from Guru Hargobind, bringing the fight to a close.

This was the second war between the Mughals and the Sikhs, and it legitimized Guru Hargobind's attempts to militarize his followers. Furthermore, the Sikh victory shattered the myth of Mughal invincibility and expanded the Guru's popularity among Punjabi peasants.