Battle of Balakot

Battle of Balakot
Part of Jihad movement of Ahmad Barelvi
Date6 May 1831
Location
Balakot
34°00′12″N 71°22′43″E / 34.0034°N 71.3786°E / 34.0034; 71.3786
Result Sikh victory
Belligerents
Sikh Empire Mujahideen
Commanders and leaders

Maharaja Ranjit Singh

Sher Singh
Ilahi Bakhsh
Akali Hanuman Singh		 Syed Ahmad Barelvi †
Shah Ismail Dehlvi †
Mirza Hayat Dehlvi †
Strength
5,000[1] 700[2]–3,000[1] irregular tribesmen
Casualties and losses
unknown 500[1]

The Battle of Balakot was fought between the forces of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and Syed Ahmad Barelvi in Balakot on 6 May 1831. Barelvi had declared jihad against the Sikhs and established a camp in Balakot along with Shah Ismail Dehlvi and his tribesmen. Kanwar Sher Singh besieged the valley and attacked his camp at night. The battle lasted all day. The Sikh soldiers eventually killed Syed Ahmad Barelvi, along with hundreds of his followers.[3][4][5][1]

  1. ^ a b c d Hari Ram Gupta (1978). History of the Sikhs: The Sikh Lion of Lahore, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, 1799-1839. Munshiram Manoharlal. p. 166. ISBN 978-81-215-0515-4.[1]
  2. ^ Altaf Qadir (2014). Sayyid Ahmad Barailvi: His Movement and Legacy from the Pukhtun Perspective. SAGE Publishing India. p. 144. ISBN 978-93-5150-486-3. Archived
  3. ^ Ahmad, M. (1975). Saiyid Ahmad Shahid: His Life and Mission (No. 93). Lucknow: Academy of Islamic Research and Publications. Page 27.
  4. ^ Adamec, Ludwig W. (2009), Historical Dictionary of Islam, Scarecrow Press, ISBN 978-0-8108-6303-3
  5. ^ Jalal, Ayesha (2009), "The Martyrs of Balakot", Partisans of Allah: Jihad in South Asia, Harvard University Press, pp. 58–113, ISBN 978-0-674-03907-0