Dulla Bhatti (Rai Abdullah Bhatti) was a famous legendary Muslim Rajput hero of Punjab. He is referred to as the “ Son of Punjab “ or “ Robin Hood of Punjab “ who came from Punjab region of medieval India and led a revolt against Mughal rule during the regime of the Mughal Emperor Akbar. He is entirely absent from the recorded history of the time, and the only evidence of his existence comes from Punjab folk songs. Dulla’s family is among the first few families of Punjab who revolted and fought for the freedom of the people.
Dulla Bhatti was born in a Punjabi family to mother Ladhi and father Farid Khan in the area of Sandal Baar, near Faisalabad. He belonged to the warrior like Rajput clan Bhatti. He following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, and waged a guerrilla war fair against the Mughal Empire. He refused to accept the legitimacy of Mughal King Akbar and refused to pay any tax. Such was the level of resistance put up by the rebels, which made Akbar shift to Imperial Capital to Lahore for nearly 20 years. When Akbar came to Lahore, he ordered the execution of the rebels. Akbar got the skins of rebels stuffed with wheat hay (Toori) and hung the dead bodies on the main doors. Dulla was not even born yet. For some reason, he was never told of the cause of his father’s and grandfather’s death until he was a young man.
Dulla was born at the same time as Akbar’s son Salim (Emperor Jahangir). The doctor advised to feed Salim from a strong Rajput woman who was breast feeding to make him strong and brave. Ladhi was asked to come to Delhi for this purpose. So both Dulla and Salim were practically brought up by Ladhi. As adolescents, these two had a good friendship. After a few years, Dulla and his mother went back to their homeland (Punjab). All the Sikhs, Hindus, and Muslim families mark Dulla Bhatti's social and humanitarian contributions made to rescue and then reintegrate the abducted children and women from the Mughal forces.
A chance led to Ladhi having to explain the fate of Farid (father) and Bijili (grandfather) to her son Dulla, although not as a means of revenge specially for the death of his relatives but in a wider sense of the sacrifices made by the rural people generally. Bhatti saw this as a peasant war. Bhatti’s class war took the form of social banditry, taking from the rich and giving to the poor. Folklore gave him a legendary presence for preventing girls from being abducted and sold as slaves. He arranged marriages for them and provided their dowries.
Dulla kidnapped two of Akbar’s wives who were going for the Haj Pilgrimage. This infuriated Akbar and he ordered immediate capture or killing of Dulla and safe releases for his queens. A huge army was sent for this task. People of that area wanted to save Dulla and tried to distract the army. Dulla fought bravely and for once the Mughal army had to call for reinforcements because the rebels and the public support were too hot to handle. Dulla’s son was killed in the war. Dulla was deceitfully captured and brought to Emperor’s court in Delhi. The end of Dulla came in 1599 when he was hanged in Lahore. Akbar had hoped to make an example of him at the public execution, expecting that he would quake with fear, but Dulla was steadfast in his resistance to the end.
Shah Husain, a contemporary Sufi poet who wrote about him, recorded his last words as being “No honourable son of Punjab will ever sell the soil of Punjab“. The memory of Dulla as a saviour of Punjabi girls is recalled at the annual Lohri Celebrations in the region to this day. The song “Sunderi- Mundri“ is sung during the celebration and is a tribute to him.
Films of Dulla Bhatti:
1956 : Pakistan
1966 : Baldev India
1998 : Pammi Varinder India
2016 : Minar Malhotra India
Takht-e-Lahore, play written by Najaf Hussein in 1973
A novel of Dulla Bhatti, written by Baldev Singh Sadaknama
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