In 1836 Dost Mohammad's forces, under the command of his son Akbar Khan, defeated the Sikhs at the Battle of Jamrud, a post fifteen kilometres west of Peshawar.

That year, the Sikhs, under Ranjit Singh, annexed Kashmir.

In 1819, the Kashmir valley passed from the control of the Durrani Empire of Afghanistan, and four centuries of Muslim rule under the Mughals and the Afghans, to the conquering armies of the Sikhs under Ranjit Singh of Lahore.

Kashmir had also now begun to attract European visitors, several of whom wrote of the abject poverty of the vast Muslim peasantry and of the exorbitant taxes under the Sikhs.

However, the firangi was widely used by the Mughals and those peoples who came under their rule, including Sikhs and Rajputs.

At the peak of their political power the Sikhs under Maharaja Ranjit Singh controlled a large kingdom centered in Lahore which was also secular and egalitarian.

Historically, a dhimmi was a person who is protected under Islamic law by a pact contracted between non-Muslims and authorities from their Muslim government: this status was first made available to non-Muslims who were People of the Book ( e. g. Jews and Christians ), but was later extended to include Sikhs, Zoroastrians, Mandeans, Hindus and Buddhists.

The accord recognised the religious, territorial and economic demands of the Sikhs that were thought to be non-negotiable under Indira Gandhi's tenure.

Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists come under Hindu law, whereas Muslims and Christians have their own laws.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh of Punjab province annexed a major part of the Kashmir Valley, including Srinagar, to his kingdom in the year 1814 and the city came under the influence of the Sikhs.

Sikhs started to form an arm Millitia by the late 17th century, under various leaders Sikhs started to gain more and more strength.

( James Duffield Harding ) Sheikh Imam-ud-din was the governor of Kashmir under the Sikhs, and fought on the side of the English in the battle of Multan during the First Anglo-Sikh War ( 1845-46 ).

Earlier, in 1780, after the death of Ranjit Deo, the Raja of Jammu, the kingdom of Jammu ( to the south of the Kashmir valley ) was captured by the Sikhs under Ranjit Singh of Lahore and afterwards, until 1846, became a tributary to the Sikh power.

A number of Maratha warriors, including Shivaji's father Shahaji served the various Muslim kingdoms of the day .< ref > Mahrattas, Sikhs and Southern Sultans of India: Their Fight Against Foreign Cite: < i >" Shahji served with distinction and valour under Malik Ambar, the able minister of the Muslim kings of Ahmadnagar.

In 1798, Ludhiana was attacked by the Sikhs under Bedi Sahib Singh of Una.

Following the decline of the Mughals, turbulence in Kangra and Gorkha invasions, the hill states fell one by one under the dominance of the Sikhs under Ranjit Singh.

The Granth Sahib rested on a seat under the canopy, whereas the Guru and the Sikhs slept on the ground.

At the time, much of Punjab was ruled by the Sikhs under a Confederate Sarbat Khalsa system, who had divided the territory among factions known as misls.

The Gurudwaras in the form of memorials were built in 1783 after Delhi, the then Mughal capital, was captured by the Khalsa ( the corporate body of Sikhs ) under the command of Baba Baghel Singh.

started conquests to reclaim the Punjabi lands from invaders and he recruited local Punjabis and established a formidable army and under his command not only Sikhs but Punjabi Muslims were united and he started a conquest of Reclaiming the lands of Punjab and also as a retribution of Afghan Empire he attacked Peshawar and defeated all Pukhtoon tribes up to Khyber Pass and formed the secular Sikh Empire and later as a result of Wars between Sikh Empire and British out of which the most famous were First Anglo-Sikh War and the Second Anglo-Sikh War the Sikh Empire came to an end but until the Britishers came no Pukhtoon tribe was able to recapture Peshawar from Sikh Punjabi forces.

After fighting Ahmad Shah Durrani, the Sikhs wrested control of the Punjab from his descendants and ruled in a confederacy, which later became the Sikh Empire of the Punjab under Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

The Sikhs became particularly troublesome, and after several unsuccessful efforts to subdue them, Zaman Shah made the mistake of appointing a forceful young Sikh chief, Ranjit Singh, as his governor in the Punjab.

In 1838 Auckland, Ranjit Singh, and Shuja signed an agreement stating that Shuja would regain control of Kabul and Kandahar with the help of the British and Sikhs ; he would accept Sikh rule of the former Afghan provinces already controlled by Ranjit Singh, and that Herat would remain independent.

Earlier, in 1780, after the death of Ranjit Deo, the Raja of Jammu, the kingdom of Jammu ( to the south of the Kashmir valley ) was also captured by the Sikhs and afterwards, until 1846, became a tributary to the Sikh power.

Ranjit Deo's grandnephew, Gulab Singh, subsequently sought service at the court of Ranjit Singh, distinguished himself in later campaigns, especially the annexation of the Kashmir valley by the Sikhs army in 1819, and, for his services, was created Raja of Jammu in 1820.

The chakram was later used extensively by the Sikhs as recently as the days of Ranjit Singh.

At the start of 1849, Amir Dost Mohammed Khan of Afghanistan sided with the rebellious Sikhs, who agreed to cede the city of Peshawar and its surrounding area which had been conquered by Ranjit Singh early in the nineteenth century.

When Gurbachan Singh, the Nirankari Baba responsible for what Sikhs perceived to be the innocent deaths of the aforementioned thirteen, was shot dead on April 24, 1980, it was a member of the Akhand Kirtani Jatha, Ranjit Singh who surrendered and admitted to the assassination.

The fall of the Durranis led way for the Sikhs to rise to power under Ranjit Singh.

In 1833 he struck a deal with Maharaja Ranjit Singh of the Punjab: He was allowed to march his troops through Punjab, and in return he would cede Peshawar to the Sikhs if they could manage to take it.

His son-in-law, Hafiz Ahmad Khan, surrendered at Mankera to Ranjit Singh in 1821, and at the same time tribute was imposed by the Sikhs on the chiefs of Tank ( Sarwar Khan ) and Sagar.

After the takeover of the Punjab by the Sikhs, the Maharaja Ranjit Singh gave the fort to Sardar Mohar Singh who was succeeded by Gurmukh Singh.

The Sikhs during the rule of Maharaja Ranjit Singh made a stone pond here in his memory.

The Janjua Sultan of Watli, Sultan Fateh Muhammad Khan ( descendant of Raja Jodh through Raja Sun Pal ) played an important role in keeping the Muslims safe from Sikhs and fought with Sikhs for six months and the Sikh armies French General's Surrounded the kusak Fort from all four sides in January 1810 but still Sultan Fateh Muhammad's army fought bravely against the Sikhs and kept the Sikhs away from the Kusak Fort. In the End Ranjit Singh offered Ceasefire which was accepted by the Sultan. During this cease fire Ranjit Singh once came below the Eastern wall of the Fort in search of weak points of Fort. When Sultan Fateh Muhammad was informed he reached this place with his soldiers.

Not only had Durrani invaded the Punjab region many times, but had destroyed the holiest shrine of the Sikhs – the Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar, defiling its sarowar with the blood of cows and decapitating Baba Deep Singh in 1757.

With the help of his officer, Zorawar Singh, Gulab Singh soon captured for the Sikhs the lands of Ladakh and Baltistan to the east and north-east, respectively, of Jammu.

Most male Sikhs have Singh ( lion ) and most female Sikhs Kaur ( princess ) as their middle names.

Guru Gobind Singh Ji, the 10th and final living Guru, gave Sikhs their outer physical form and established a new order called the Khalsa.

This resulted in an explosion of violence against the Sikh communities in the anti-Sikh riots which resulted in the massacre of thousands of Sikhs throughout India ; Khushwant Singh described the actions as being a Sikh pogrom in which he " felt like a refugee in my country.

The Dilruba was made by Guru Gobind Singh Ji at the request of his Sikhs.

Sikhs are represented in Indian politics by the current Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is the head of the government ( the nominal head is the President of India ) and wields the supreme authority, including the nuclear button, and the Deputy Chairman of the Indian Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia.

In Malaysia, two Sikhs were elected as MPs during the 2008 general elections ; Karpal Singh ( Bukit Gelugor ) and his son Gobind Singh Deo ( Puchong ).

Two Sikhs were elected as assemblymen: Jagdeep Singh Deo ( Datuk Keramat ) and Keshvinder Singh ( Malim Nawar ).

Sikhs use the word " Singh " distinct from the word " Sing " that is used by Hindu Groups.

The tenth guru, Guru Gobind Singh, however, prohibited " Amritdhari " Sikhs, or those that follow the Sikh Rehat Maryada ( the Official Sikh Code of Conduct ) from eating Kutha meat, or meat which has been obtained from animals which have been killed in a ritualistic way.

** Guru Gobind Singh becomes the tenth Guru of the Sikhs.

* The Sikhs adopted the name Singh in 1699 during the Birth of the Khalsa.