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Rh confusion and tumult arising from these repeated invasions enabled the Sikh associations to acquire fresh strength by preying on both Moghul and Afghan. No other course was now left to them but to conquer or be conquered. It was war to the knife between them and their new and more robust masters, the Afghans. No quarter was given or asked. Time after time was Amritsar captured, but after each defeat Sikh enthusiasm rose with unabated vigour. When their temple was razed to the ground and the sacred tank filled up with pollution by the blood and entrails of slaughtered cows, they were roused to such a degree that they gathered in thousands, ravaged the country round Lahore, defeated the Afghan troops there, and forced the Viceroy to retreat.

In 1758 the triumphant Sikhs occupied the capital under the leadership of one Jussa Singh, a carpenter, who declared the Khalsa a state. The Moghuls now attempted to recover their lost province,