In a reckless hand-to-hand fighting at Amritsar, Shah Zaman lost 20,000 of his choicest solidiers against 15,000 Sikhs. During his 3rd invassion, Shah Zaman reached Peshawar in Nov. 1796 and entered Lahore in Jan. 1797. Sikh Sardars vacated Lahore and assembled at Amritsar to face Shah Zaman. Shah Zaman was defeated at Amritsar and returned to Lahore. The Sikhs pusued the retreating Afghans upto the outskirts of Lahore. Ranjit Singh with his 9000 troops was made responsible for security of the holy city. This marked the begining of the rise of Ranjit Singh. Sikhs cut off his supply lines and forced Shah Zaman to returned back.

The British government announced its decision to finally withdraw from the management of Sri Darbar Sahib at Amritsar and leave the administration in the hands of the Sikh community. The government had mistakingly belived that the Sikh community wanted to use the Gurudwara resources for political purposes. Despite its intense efforts, it found no Sikh willing to accept the office of Sarbrah at its hands. Finally, the government was left with no option but to negotiate with the SGPC, conceding the demands of Baba Kharak Singh, the uncrowned King of the Sikhs.

Akalis forcibly captured the Kirtapur Gurdwara, despite the SGPC's disapproval of such measures. The Akalis were helped by the Chakravarti Jatha under the leadership of Kishan Singh Garhgaj.

==> BABBAR AKALI DOABA - newspaper was the organ of the Babbar Akalis and it effectively spread their message in the Doaba. In all 15 issues were released from Aug. 20, 1922 to May 21, 1923. Karam Singh of Daulatpur brought out its two issues, while the rest, except three, were the work of Jathedhar Kishan Singh Garhgaj. Despite best efforts, no copies of this newspapers could be located. However, all available extracts can be traced to contemporary newspapers and the court records.

-Ref. Babbar Akali Movement, A Historical Survey, by Gurcharan Singh, Aman Publications, 1993

Harsimran Singh, Mukh Panch (chief Organiser) of the Dal Khalsa was arrested from Mohali near Chandigarh. The Dal Khalsa leaders believed that that was possible because of a conspiracy by some member of the Organisation. Harsimran Singh was tortured by the police and forced to read out a written statement if he wanted to save his life. The police told him that they had the permission of the Government to kill him in a fake encounter near the Indo-Pakistan border. Such atrocities were perpetrated on various Sikhs arrested during that period.

-Ref. THE SIKHS' STRUGGLE FOR SOVEREIGNTY, An Historical Perspective By Dr. Harjinder Singh Dilgeer and Dr. Awatar Singh Sekhon Edited By: A.T. Kerr Page 110-119