Fateh Singh (died July 1716) was a warrior in

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

history. He is known for beheading Wazir Khan who was the

Mughal Mughal or Moghul may refer to: Related to the Mughal Empire * Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries * Mughal dynasty * Mughal emperors * Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia * Mughal architecture * Mug ...

Deputy Governor of

Sirhind Sirhind is a Twin cities, twin city of Fatehgarh Sahib in Punjab, India, Punjab, India. It is hosts the municipal council of Fatehgarh Sahib district. Demographics In the 2011 census of India, 2011 census Sirhind-Fatehgarh had a population of ...

, administering a territory of the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...

between the

Sutlej The Sutlej River or the Satluj River is a major river in Asia, flowing through China, India and Pakistan, and is the longest of the five major rivers of the Punjab region. It is also known as ''Satadru''; and is the easternmost tributary of t ...

and

Yamuna The Yamuna (; ) is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of Bandarpunch peaks of the Low ...

rivers. Wazir Khan was infamous for ordering the execution of the two young sons of

Guru Gobind Singh Guru Gobind Singh (; born Gobind Das; 22 December 1666 – 7 October 1708) was the tenth and last human Sikh gurus, Sikh Guru. He was a warrior, poet, and philosopher. In 1675, at the age of nine he was formally installed as the leader of the ...

Sahibzada Fateh Singh Fateh Singh (, pronunciation: ; 25 February 1699 – 26 December 1704 or 26 December 1705), commonly referred to with honorifics as Baba Fateh Singh or Sahibzada Baba Fateh Singh, was the fourth and youngest son of Guru Gobind Singh. Biograp ...

and

Sahibzada Zorawar Singh Zorawar Singh (, pronunciation: ; 17 November 1696 – 26 December 1704), alternatively spelt as Jorawar Singh, was a son of Guru Gobind Singh who was executed in the court of Wazir Khan, the Mughal Governor of Sirhind. Background In 1699, th ...

in 1704.

Early life and conquest

Bhai Fateh Singh statue on Fatehburj sahib

Not much is known about Fateh Singh’s early life. Bhai Fateh Singh was the great-grandson of prominent Sikh preacher Bhai Bhagtu. Fateh Singh would join

Banda Singh Bahadur Banda Singh Bahadur, born Lachman Dev (27 October 1670 – 9 June 1716), was a Sikh warrior and a Jathedar, general of the Khalsa Fauj, Khalsa Army. At age 15, he left home to become an Sannyasa, ascetic, and was given the name Madho Das Baira ...

in his liberation of

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

. He participated in the

Battle of Samana The Battle of Samana was fought between the Khalsa under the leadership of Banda Singh Bahadur and the Mughal Government of Samana in 1709. Following the battle, Banda Singh Bahadur shook the administration of Delhi. Background Samana was a t ...

in 1709, launching an attack on the town of Samana on 26 November of the same year. Samana was home to Jalad-ud-Din who was the executioner of

Guru Tegh Bahadur Guru Tegh Bahadur ( Punjabi: ਗੁਰੂ ਤੇਗ਼ ਬਹਾਦਰ (Gurmukhi); ; 1 April 1621 – 11 November 1675) was the ninth of ten gurus who founded the Sikh religion and was the leader of Sikhs from 1665 until his beheading in ...

. It was also home to Shasil Beg and Bashil Beg, the executioners of Baba Zorawar Singh and Baba Fateh Singh. Due to this, the town was widely hated among the Sikhs. The town also contained large amounts of treasure and loot that would finance the Sikh war effort. Banda Singh camped around 20 kilometres from Samana where he held a meeting with his generals to plan the attack. Among them was Fateh Singh. Their intelligence told them that the head of Samana was confident that he could repulse the Sikh attack. He did not increase defences out of confidence. Banda Singh, Fateh Singh, and the Sikh forces advanced upon Samana and were able to enter the town before the gates of the town could be closed. Fighting ensued in the streets of Samana between the Sikh and Mughal forces. The Local peasantry who were resentful towards the rich nobles of the town, began setting fire to the various mansions of the town. According to one source, “pools of blood flowed through the drains.” Another says that nearly 10,000 muslims being massacred. Banda Singh, impressed by Fateh Singh’s bravery and spirt in battle, appointed him as

Faujdar Faujdar under the Mughals was an office that combined the functions of a military commander along with judicial and land revenue functions. The term faujdar contained pre-Mughal origins. During those times, the term referred to a military offic ...

of Samana as well as Samana’s 9 parganhas.''Gian Singh, Giani, Panth Prakash''. Patiala, 1970''Bhangu, Ratan Singh, Prachin Panth Prakash. Amritsar, 1914 '' Banda Singh conquered

Ghuram Ghuram is a village in the Patiala district of Punjab, India. History An ancient site called Ram Garh is located in Ghuram. Some coins discovered here were attributed to the ancient Audumbara tribe by archaeologists G. B. Sharma and Manmohan ...

and added it into Fateh Singh’s administration.

Battle of Chappar Chiri

Fateh Singh was in the

Sikh Army Sikh Army may refer to these militias associated with Sikhism: * Akal Sena, before 1699 * Khalsa Fauj The Khalsa Fauj () were the military forces of the Khalsa order of the Sikhs, established by the tenth Sikh gurus, guru, Guru Gobind Singh, i ...

led by

during the Battle of Chappar Chiri in May 1710. Wazir Khan was killed in the battlefield by two Sikhs, Fateh Singh and Baj Singh. Fateh Singh, with the help of Baj Singh, beheaded Wazir Khan, who marched from

and joined the battle against the Sikhs on 10 May 1710, at Chappar Chiri where today

Fateh Burj The Fateh Burj (), a prominent tourist site in Punjab and the tallest victory tower in India, is situated in the historical village of Chappar Chiri in the SAS Nagar district (Mohali district) of Punjab state. It was completed in 2011. The ...

commemorates the battle. A fierce battle ensued between the Sikhs and the Mughals. Wazir Khan was killed by the combined effort of two Sikhs Baj Singh and Fateh Singh who dealt the death blow vertically cutting down Wazir Khan from his shoulder to his waist. The

Mughal Army The army of the Mughal Empire was the force by which the Mughal emperors established their empire in the 16th century and expanded it to its greatest extent at the beginning of the 18th century. Although its origins, like the Mughals themselve ...

of Sirhind took to heel and the

captured Sirhind on 12 May 1710. The city was thoroughly sacked and retribution was wreaked on Wazir Khan's soldiers, officials and anyone even remotely connected with the execution of the younger sons of

. The planned razing of Sirhind could not be carried out as the Sikh Army had to switch over to

guerrilla warfare Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include recruited children, use ambushes, sabotage, terrori ...

once the

came.

Later life and death

Fateh Singh was eventually taken prisoner by the

Lohgarh Lohgarh is a village in Notified Area Committee of Zirakpur in district Mohali in state of Punjab in India. This is not to be confused with another namesake Lohgarh (Bilaspur) in Haryana which was capital of the First Sikh State under Banda ...

in December 1710 and, after several years in jail, he was executed in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

in June 1716 along with Banda Singh Bahadur and his other companions including many famous soldiers of the

.''Ganda Singh, Life of Banda Singh Bahadur''. Amritsar, 1935

References

{{reflist Executions of Sikhs by the Mughal Empire People executed for refusing to convert to Islam 18th-century executions by the Mughal Empire People executed by starvation 1716 deaths 18th-century Indian people