after defeat of khalsa against british, jathedar decided to re-group nihang singh fauj against the britishers at the patiala chauni. raja karam singh was ruler of patiala and other malwa kingdom was in alliance with british. there were strict orders to shoot nihangs on sight. when jathedar hanuman singh arrived at patiala, raja karam singh launched a cannon attack on nihangs, in which many nihang singhs were killed. rest were forced to move to the forests nearby. hanuman singh and around 500 nihang warriors survived this attack, and continued to fight the heavy cannon fire of the british, with swords, bows and arrows, axes and matchlock fire.