Introductory - Global Sikh Studies

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vanquished. This contrast in the attitudes of the Rajputs and the
Khalsa towards Mughal authority arose because of the difference in
their value patterns. The Rajputs were motivated by their feudal
interests and prestige; and these were adjustable in the overall Mughal
feudal set up. The Khalsa were struggling to fight religious and political
domination for a revolutionary cause. Hence, there was for them no
room for compromise. They spurned Abdali’s several offers of peace 25
and fined Ala Singh for having compromised with him. 26
The second trend of Rajput history which offers a marked
contrast to the history of the Khalsa is that the mass of Rajputs had
been robbed of all capacity for initiative. The patriarchal-cum-feudal
constitution of their polity had made the common Rajput soldier lean
heavily on his Thakur, the Thakur on his chief, and the chief on his
overload. Their tradition had also taught them to follow blindly their
leaders in the same hierarchical order. Consequently, the Rajputs
followed their leaders into the Mughal camp without questioning the
propriety of this step. Their fidelity was linked to persons and not to
a cause. Another result of it was that the Rajputs were all at sea when
the Mughal empire was tottering. At that time, many upstart aspirants
to political power cropped up. But, the Rajputs found it difficult to
retain even whatever principalities they had. They became the
plaything of the Marathas. 27 This happened evidently because, by
their continued and long dependence on Mughal authority, even the
Rajput chiefs had lost their political and military initiative. For the
same reason, the Rajputs never took to guerilla warfare; because it
required an inspiration and the conviction of a just-cause, and cohesion
and initiative at all levels of the society. The Rajputs lacked the
required inspiration and initiative.
The Khalsa, on the other hand, owed its loyalty not to persons
but to a cause. The Gurus had been emphasizing this point from the
very beginning. Guru Gobind Singh had bestowed leadership
on the Khalsa as a whole. It was owing to their training that
the Khalsa conveyed to Guru Gobind Singh that they would
not follow Banda if he aspired for sovereignty. And, when he
deviated from the Sikh principles, they parted company with
him even though they knew that the division would be quite