Banda Singh Bahadur

 Banda Singh Bahadur (born Lachman Dev)[2][1][3] (27 October 1670 – 9 June 1716, Delhi), was a Sikh warrior and a commander of Khalsa army. At age 15 he left home to become a Hindu ascetic, and was given the name ‘’Madho Das’’. He established a monastery at Nānded, on the bank of the river Godāvarī, where in September 1708 he was visited by, and became a disciple of, Guru Gobind Singh, who gave him the new name of Banda Bahadur. He came to Khanda in Sonipat and assembled a fighting force and led the struggle against the Mughal Empire. His first major action was the sacking of the Mughal provincial capital, Samana, in November 1709.[1] After establishing his authority and Khalsa rule in Punjab[4], Banda Singh Bahadur abolished the zamindari system, and granted property rights to the tillers of the land. Banda Singh was captured by the Mughals and tortured to death in 1715-1716.

Banda Singh was born in a Hindu family to farmer Ram Dev, at Rajouri (now in Jammu and Kashmir). Sources variously describe his father as a Rajput of Bhardwaj clan,[5][6] or a Dogra Rajput.[7][8] Hakim Rai's Ahwāl-i-Lachhmaṇ Dās urf Bandā Sāhib ("Ballad of Banda Bahadur") claims that his family belonged to the Sodhi sub-caste of the Khatris.[1][9] However, this claim appears to have been an attempt to portray him as Guru Gobind's successor, since the preceding Sikh Gurus were Sodhis.[6] He is also called Banda Bairagi as he was originally a followers of Vaishnavite sampradaya who are called Bairagi or Vairagi.[10]