Zain Khan (d. 1764), an Afghan, was appointed governor of Sirhind in March 1761 by Ahmad Shah Durrani. Earlier, he served as Faujdar of the Char Mahal (Sialkot, Gujrat, Pasrur, and Aurangabad) since 1759, when Karim Dad Khan was appointed governor of Punjab by the Afghan invader. For his harsh campaigns against the Sikhs and his role in the Wadda Ghallughara (Great Carnage) on February 5, 1762, at Kup Rahira near Malerkotla, Zain Khan became a prime target of Sikh retaliation. Four months after the massacre, the Sikhs launched a strong attack on Sirhind, dealt him a heavy defeat, and forced him to pay tribute.
In January 1764, under the leadership of Jassa Singh Ahluwalia, the Sikhs attacked Kurali and looted Zain Khan’s diwan, Lachhmi Narain. Fearing an assault on his capital, Zain Khan negotiated with Ala Singh of Patiala, offering jagirs to the Sikhs in exchange for retreating from his territory. According to Ratan Singh Bhangu’s Prachin Panth Prakash, Ala Singh sent his representative, Nanu Singh Grewal, to the Sikh leaders, but the Sikhs rejected the offer, declaring, “Authority cannot be given as charity… The Guru has entrusted sovereignty to us. The Khalsa has earned it by sacrificing their heads.”
On January 14, 1764, the Sikhs laid siege to Sirhind. Jassa Singh Ahluwalia led 10,000 horsemen from his own misl. As the head of the Dal Khalsa, he commanded troops from seven misls, six from the Budha Dal and the Bhangi misl from the Taruna Dal. A battle ensued at Pir Jain, 10 km from Sirhind, where Zain Khan was wounded. He fled on horseback and hid in a mango grove, but Tara Singh of Man, who was pursuing him, spotted and beheaded him.
The vast territory of Sirhind, stretching 350 km in length and 250 km in width—from the Sirmur hills and River Yamuna in the east to the borders of Rajasthan in the west, and from the River Sutlej in the north to Panipat in the south—fell under Sikh control.
