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| Nepal-Sikh war | |||||||||
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 Arki Fort inHimachal Pradesh, India | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Kangra State | Nepali Army Under Amar singh Thapa inArki Fort | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
 Maharaja Ranjit SinghMokham Chand | .svg) Amar Singh Thapa | ||||||||
TheNepal–Sikh war was a small conflict in 1809 between the forces of the Western Province ofKingdom of Nepal under GeneralAmar Singh Thapa and theSikh Empire underMaharaja Ranjit Singh.[1][2][3]
The confrontation between Nepal and theSikhs had its genesis in the expansionist policy of the Nepalesemukhtiyar (head of government)Bhimsen Thapa.[4] He endeavored to addKumaon Kingdom, having been incorporated into Nepal in 1791, to its west as far as the riverSutlej. This expedition was entrusted to theKajiAmar Singh Thapa, who was later reinforced by theKajiNain Singh Thapa. In 1807,Kangra Fort, on the west bank of the Sutlej, was put under siege. By early 1809, most of the land ofKangrajagir had been incorporated into Nepal, although the fort still held out.RajaSansar Chand ofKangra took refuge among theSikhs in thePunjab.[5]
At first, theSikhMaharajaRanjit Singh was reluctant to assist the ruler of Kangra,[6] but a Nepalese push towards theKashmir Valley changed his mind.[7] Kashmir was effectively an independent territory, riven byAfghan factions and coveted by both Sikhs and Gurkhas. The Sikh ruler dispatched a force which raised the siege of Kangra on 24 August 1809 and forced the Gurkha forces back across the Sutlej. Ranjit Singh then sent a proposal to Amar Singh Thapa to make the Sutlej the boundary between their states. Thapa forwarded the proposal to theKathmandu Durbar, but Bhimsen Thapa rejected.
The Maharaja recalledDiwan Mohkam Chand from the Kangra expedition in March 1809 and directed him to reach Phillaur. After the settlement of affairs with the British government, Maharaja Ranjit Singh again turned his attention towards Kangra. The Gurkha generalAmar Singh Thapa had been at war for quite some time with Raja Sansar Chand in the Kangra valley and had besieged the fort of Kangra. Sansar Chand lost hope for life. Therefore, he sent his brother, Krishan Chand to the Maharaja to seek help. The Maharaja demanded the possession of the fort of Kangra in return for help; to which Sansar Chand agreed. The Maharaja set-out with full preparations and reached Kangra accompanied by a large army by the end of May.[8] All the feudal chiefs were present with their respective militias. According to Munshi Sohan Lal's estimate, there were about ten thousand irregular horse and foot with the Nepalese at that time.[9] The hill Chiefs who were well- acquainted with the routes of the hilly terrain were ordered to block all passages so as to stop all means of procurement of provisions and equipment for the Gorkha army.
Amar Singh Thapa sent a letter to Maharaja Ranjit Singh asking him to surrender and let them keep the fort from his forces and let the Gurkhas capture Kashmir.[10] Ranjit Singh did not accept.[11] The next morning, supply routes of the Gurkha army had been closed by the Sikhs.[11] They waited for ammunition and food of the Gurkhas to run out and after a few weeks the Gurkhas started eating their horses and camels,[12] most Gurkha soldiers died in battle.[13]
The Gurkhas in their mad frenzy of their 'last fight' before death madly ran into the muzzles of the Sikh forces, unplanned.[13] After a month of starvation and bad conditions the Gurkhas made a charge onto the Ganesh Valley,[14] Sikhs conquered the Kangra Fort and fired their superior artillery onto the Gurkhas, massacring them in the thousands.[15] Their bow and arrows could not match to the Sikh cannons, after the gunpowder had finished, 2,000 Sikh cavalrymen attacked the Gurkhas.[15]The remaining forces of Nain Singh Thapa arrived at Guler Fort. The violence ended after some time.[16]
The Maharaja finding an opportune time to drive them out of Guler[16] launched an attack and occupied their positions about a mile (1.06 km.) in front of the fort. A pitched battle ensued. The Gurkhas fought dauntlessly but they had to retreat. Thereafter, they gave a pitched battle near the Satluj where most Gurkhas retreat.[16]
After both side suffered heavy losses, with Nepalese retreating fromKangara to the sutlej river in exchange for the Sikhs to end eastward expansion pastSangla, which had been where the Gurkhas had retreated past due to Sikh borders encompassing the town of Sangla.[16]
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