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Rh ended the struggle. He was an undaunted leader: that is all that can be said in his favour. His memory is not revered by the Sikhs, who looked on him latterly as a heretic. As swords are proved when they bend, so in this case the Sikhs, after having swerved for a time from the path marked out for them by Govind, righted themselves and won in the end.

They now scattered, taking refuge in the hills and jungles, where for about twenty years they remained unorganised, only held together by a common faith and cause, patiently waiting for the opportunity, which came in 1738, when Nadir Shah, the Persian, at the head of his wild host of red-capped warriors, swept through the Punjab to the capture of Delhi. The Sikhs then issued from their retreats and, true to their race traditions, attacked the invaders. On the return march of the conquerors laden with the spoils of the Moghul capital, they fell on the rear of the army and secured much plunder, doubly acceptable to them as