CU-BA-Eng-SEM-V-History and culture of punjab -Second Draft

BACHELOR OF ARTS ENGLISH SEMESTER-V HISTORY AND CULTURE OF PUNJAB-V

First Published in 2021 All rights reserved. No Part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from Chandigarh University. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this book may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. This book is meant for educational and learning purpose. The authors of the book has/have taken all reasonable care to ensure that the contents of the book do not violate any existing copyright or other intellectual property rights of any person in any manner whatsoever. In the event, Authors has/ have been unable to track any source and if any copyright has been inadvertently infringed, please notify the publisher in writing for corrective action. CONTENT Unit 1 – Anglo Sikh War....................................................................................................... 4 2 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Unit 2 - Second Anglo Sikh War ......................................................................................... 27 Unit 3 - British Policy ......................................................................................................... 71 Unit 4 - Reform Movements................................................................................................ 97 Unit 5 - Arya Samaj .......................................................................................................... 112 Unit 6 - Namdhari And Gaddar Movement........................................................................ 142 Unit 7 - Freedom Struggle Movement Part I: Contribution To The Freedom Struggle With Special Reference To The Gurdwara Reform Movement ................................................... 171 Unit 8 - Freedom Struggle Movement Part Ii..................................................................... 187 3 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

UNIT 1 – ANGLO SIKH WAR STRUCTURE 1.0. LearningObjective 1.1. Introduction 1.2. Causes 1.3. Consequences of 1stanglo Sikh war 1.4. Summary 1.5. Keywords 1.6. Learning Activity 1.7. Unit End Questions 1.8. Reference books 1.0 LEARING OBJECTIVE After studying this unit, you will be able to:  To learn about the causes of the 1st Anglo Sikh war  To learn about the results of 1st Anglo Sikh war  To know about Maharaja Ranjit Singh  To know about Maharaja Duleep Singh 1.1 INTRODUCTION The Sikh Empire was a powerful Indian state that emerged at the end of the 18th century, at a time when India was tormented both by repeated invasions from Afghanistan and the rapid territorial expansion of the British East India Company. Under the charismatic leadership of Ranjit Singh, the Sikhs emerged the most powerful indigenous state on the subcontinent, creating an empire that lasted half a century. In doing so, they ended the perennial Afghan threat from beyond the Khyber Pass, inadvertently serving as a useful buffer for Britain’s Indian holdings. By the 1840s however, the Sikh state itself became a target of British imperialism as the Company set out to subjugate all of India to its writ. After two fiercely- contested wars, the valiant Sikhs were defeated and the Punjab was absorbed into British India. This paper seeks to uncover the reasons for this change in British policy towards the 4 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Sikh Empire, one that heralded the demise of a powerful bulwark against threats to Britain’s Indian empire. 1.2 CAUSES The upward thrust of the Sikhs can be traced again to the chaotic political milieu of northern India precipitated by the disintegration of the Mughal Empire in the early 18th century. Although Mughal power attained its zenith below Emperor Aurangzeb (r. 1658-1707), the seeds of its downfall were additionally sown during his reign. Although a diligent ruler, Aurangzeb became fanatical in advancing the purpose of Islam in India at the expense of his Hindu topics. The re-imposition of the jizya, destruction of Hindu temples and other discriminatory practices towards non-Muslims via nation-issued firmans undermined the delicate compact with their Hindu subjects the Mughal country depended upon to manipulate. Quickly the Marathas, Rajput’s and Jats have been in insurrection, forcing Aurangzeb’s successors to devote giant kingdom resources to quell the uprisings. Capitalizing at the breakdown of imperial authority, Mughal governors (Nizams) across the empire from Bengal to Hyderabad additionally started out to assert their independence. The Marathas especially, underneath their wily chief Shivaji, emerged because the Mughals’ most longsighted foe. As imperial power faded, the Marathas changed them because the preeminent power at the subcontinent. The Sikhs arose in the 15th century as a movement targeted on non-secular and social reform but after the executions in their seventh and 9th authorities by the Mughals, they more and more found themselves sufferers of imperial persecution. In reaction, Guru Gobind Singh organized the Sikhs into the Khalsa, a martial brotherhood primarily based on egalitarian, republican standards and committed them to resist Mughal tyranny and forced conversion to Islam. After his demise, his disciple Banda Singh Bahadur took up the mantle of leadership and persisted the war but his efforts incurred a fierce imperial backlash. In 1716, the Mughals captured and accomplished Banda Singh and scattered the Sikhs, who diminished from the political scene briefly. The invasion of Nadir Shah Afshar in 1738 noticed the destruction of the Mughal military at Karnal (1739) and the sack of Delhi. Mughal authority became now successfully reduced to just Delhi and its surrounds. Earlier than long, another invader crossed into India in the form of Ahmad Shah Durrani. The Afghan noticed India as a clean supply of plunder and undertook 8 invasions of the 5 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

subcontinent between 1748 and 1767, devastating the cities of northern India and attaching the Punjab and Kashmir to his empire. While the Marathas tried to pressure him out, they have been trounced at Panipat in 1761. The Afghans persecuted the Sikhs viciously anywhere they found them; Ahmad Shah, eager to demoralize their proud warriors, demolished their holiest shrine, the Golden Temple in Amritsar and desecrated its sacred pool with the carcasses of lifeless cows. Those affronts but simply galvanized the Sikhs to withstand and following his demise in 1772, Sikh war-bands retook plenty of the Punjab. Here, they gradually coalesced into twelve misls, independent polities gadgets which vied for energy and territory. By way of 1760, the rulers of Sukerchakia established manage over the doab of the Ravi and Chenab rivers. In 1799, its 19-12 month’s vintage misldar, Ranjit Singh captured Lahore, the biggest metropolis of the Punjab and speedy introduced the relaxation of the misls underneath his rule. With the acquisition of Amritsar in 1801, Ranjit Singh additionally claimed the religious legitimacy he had to be topped Maharaja. Ranjit Singh then extended his manage over neighbouring Jammu, which became dominated through the Hindu Dogras. This marketing campaign added into his provider, the Dogra brothers: Dhyan Singh, Gulab Singh and Suchet Singh. Impressed with their management and martial prowess, the Maharaja granted them jagirs and employed them to his courtroom. Owning intelligent political acumen, the brothers quickly won the confidence of the Maharaja, accruing an awful lot wealth and impact inside the Lahore Durbar. In 1822, Ranjit Singh anointed Gulab Singh as Raja of Jammu20 even as Dhyan Singh turned into appointed his Wazir (top Minister) in 1828. Dhyan Singh’s younger son, Hira Singh particularly, became a favorite of the Maharaja and was also appointed to critical positions at court in spite of his gentle age. 6 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

The emergence of the Sikhs as powerful pressure was greeted with alarm with the aid of the corporation. In 1757, the British acquired the province of Bengal and its great agricultural revenues, granting them their first most important foothold at the subcontinent. Over the relaxation of the century, the organisation improved its holdings at the subcontinent, defeating local potentates like Tipu Sultan of Mysore and the Maratha Confederacy of the Deccan. Those rulers not defeated by using force of fingers, they played off every different, thru clever diplomatic manoeuvring; many rulers, fearing abandonment by their Mughal 7 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

overlords, sought British protection. Even the Mughals, who tried to reassert their hegemony under Shah Alam II, have been compelled below British ‘protection’ after being defeated at Buxar in 1764. At the ascent of Ranjit Singh in 1801, sincerely all of India changed into beneath direct British manipulate or dominated by using pliant Indian princes. Moreover, thru their manipulate of ports and change routes, the organization correctly ruled the Indian economy and began a methodical process of exploiting India’s wealth for its very own ends. With their territories abutting several still-unbiased Sikh chiefdoms, together referred to as the Cis- Sutlej States, the British, ensconced no longer a long way from the Punjab at Delhi saw it as imperative to attain some sort of entente with the Maharaja. Lower back in Europe, the upstart Napoleon Bonaparte had restored French electricity after the chaos of the Revolution, topped himself Emperor and launched into a one-guy assignment to subjugate Europe. In 1807, Napoleon and Tsar Alexander signed the Treaty of Tilsit, which created an alliance among their empires and brought about an embargo on British alternate with Europe through the Continental device. Corporation officers in Calcutta had been gripped by way of paranoia over the opportunity of a joint Franco-Russian invasion of Persia and Afghanistan that would culminate in invasion of British India. So that it will pre- empt that final results, in 1808, they sent embassies to Kabul in addition to Ranjit Singh in Lahore, to searching for “not unusual floor for a shielding alliance.” Negotiations between the Sikhs and the British had begun in 1803 whilst there were attempts by way of each powers to demarcate a clear border among their territories. Ranjit Singh initially cautioned the Sutlej persist because the herbal border even though it meant he basically conceded Patiala, Ludhiana, and many others., to the British sphere. British state of no activity in reifying those claims however, allowed Ranjit Singh to continue probing south of the Sutlej. It turned into Tilsit that in the end impelled serious British efforts to persuade the Sikhs right into a protective association have to the French execute their plan. Charles Metcalfe changed into despatched to Lahore in 1808 to deliver the “gravity of the French threat” to Ranjit Singh and to persuade him to abide by way of earlier promises to admire the Sutlej boundary. The Maharaja becomes a hard negotiator and though he promised to assist if France invaded, but he refused to stop his sports in the Cis-Sutlej states. To power home this factor, the Sikhs hastily subjugated Faridkot, shaking the Phoolkian chiefs’ self-belief in the British 8 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

commitments to shield them ought to be concertedly assault them. In March 1808, the chieftains of Patiala, Nabha and Ambala adopted the Cis-Sutlej resolution. In it, they stated their dilemma: beingsqueezed “among two large bold powers.” but whilst they deemed the British increase would be protracted “like faucet-e-diq (tuberculosis),” they feared Ranjit Singh’s ambition greater, “like Sarsam (delirium), which finishes sufferers within hours.” In the long run, they selected British protection to Lahore’s chagrin. With the French nevertheless lingering at the back of their minds however, the British knew they could not have the funds for to alienate the powerful Maharaja and reconciled with him, agreeing the Sutlej Treaty (1809) in which “perpetual friendship” between their states became assured. In return the Sikhs undertook no longer to militarize their facet of the Sutlej more than necessary for “internal obligations” even as completely conceding the Cis-Sutlej to Britain. At some point of Ranjit Singh’s reign, he honoured his dedication to this treaty. In assessing the payoff to Ranjit Singh from the treaty, no matter the truth he had little experience in complex negotiations the British have been masters at, the Maharaja proved adroit at assessing his very own limits and not attain for overly-ambitious desires. His essential goals had been to increase Sikh manipulate to the north and west against their perennial bugbears, the Afghans. The treaty ensured Britain might appearance the alternative manner even as he did so. Even Metcalfe, who had negotiated difficult for the British facet, mentioned the Sikhs’ advantage, remarking how the Maharaja “could achieve the end result of the (treaty)... in a duration of two decades.”36 This he did, much sooner. Within the period following the Afghan invasions of India, the power of the Duran’s had begun to wane. Zaman Shah presided over a diminution of Afghan strength in the Punjab as the Sikhs concomitantly grew in electricity. In his efforts to shore up his strength base, he alienated critical clans by using favouring his own Sadozais in positions of electricity; in 1800, Zaman Shah turned into overthrown and changed by way of his half of-brother Mahmud Shah. He too failed to maintain his guide base and in 1803, Shah Shuja, yet another brother, ruled in Kabul. When Mahmud Shah back to energy in 1809, Shah Shuja fled to Peshawar to rally support among the Barakzai clans. Right here he was captured, and eventually imprisoned in Kashmir by way of its unsympathetic Afghan governor. Into this chaotic milieu stepped Ranjit Singh. He desired both the verdant province of Kashmir and the individual of Shah Shuja, who he saw as beneficial for his very own geopolitical targets. On a raid into Kashmir in 1813, Ranjit Singh freed Shah Shuja, whose thankful spouse presented him with the Koh-I-Noor diamond. To stop an Afghan counter- 9 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

assault, the Maharaja occupied Attock, situated strategically at the confluence of the Indus and Kabul rivers and then in 1818, captured Multan. The autumn of the metropolis was a big blow to Afghan pleasure; besides being the final bastion of Afghan energy in the Punjab, Ahmad Shah’s preferred cannon, the large Zam-Zama housed there, became additionally Ranjit Singh’s trophy. In 1819, Kashmir became taken; the province’s revenue from the beneficial exchange in best woollen shawls a great addition to the imperial treasury.In 1834, Ladakh turned into annexed by way of the Maharaja’s protégé, Gulab Singh, granting the Sikhs control of the source of the exceptional pashmina wool used in Kashmir’s fabric industry as well as the caravan course into important Asia.The ultimate place of number one issue to the Sikhs were the territories on the far aspect of the Indus. Inhabited with the aid of Pathans, Baluch, Waziris and tribes who harboured a fierce hatred of infidel Hindus and Sikhs, its subjugation was essential to the long-time period safety of the Punjab. It was now not until 1834 however that Peshawar, the vicinity’s main town become subsequently conquered through Hari Singh Nalwa, and delivered to the empire for good. The Afghans rallied one last under Dost Mohammad’s name for ajihad, to get better Peshawar; at Jamrud, they had been thwarted, though the Sikh commander, Hari Singh Nalwa turned into killed in battle. Though, this border between India and Afghanistan set up with the aid of the Sikhs persevered, being finally reified by using Britain through the Durand Line in 1893. Following Ranjit Singh’s conquest of Kashmir and Multan, a slow shift in British policy toward the Sikh country started. Over the early 1800s, Britain’s strategic and industrial pastimes inside the coastal province of Sind had grown significantly and they started to worry the Sikhs could contest the province as properly, no matter the Maharaja’s to this point strict abidance to the 1809 treaty. Some hawkish enterprise officials like Metcalfe but were increasingly more fretful over the Sikhs’ speedy expansion and pushed for competitive British deployments across the Sutlej to curtail them. Likewise, on the Lahore Durbar, many Sikh sardars, buoyed by way of their current military successes, were angry through the Maharaja’s passivity inside the face of increasing British interference in Sind. When they begged him to annex Sind, he dryly reminded them of what occurred to the Marathas, whose considerable armies were humbled by way of the British and their empire destroyed via foolhardy ventures. He knew that in spite of owning a powerful military, he may want to never hope to venture the British; they, if wished, may want to commandeer a certainly 10 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

limitless stream of navy sources from throughout their empire and additionally cripple his economic system by strangling shipping and alternate. Right here, we see the divergence in the fundamental geopolitical desires of Ranjit Singh and the business enterprise. A consummate realist, he knew he may want to by no means conquer India; different hand, this turned into the underlying principle guiding British coverage closer to the subcontinent for at the least fifty years prior. Amid developing tensions, the Governor-standard William Bentinck decided to meet the Maharaja to clear up superb problems and gain full clarity on his intentions. The British proposed an ‘Indus Waters Navigation Treaty’ in December 1832, making certain free navigation at the Indus for all transport and equitable responsibilities on river commerce, averting any capacity for disputes over change revenues. Though he generic, Ranjit Singh remained suspicious of their intentions in Sind; while he wrote to Calcutta for clarity, he become advised curtly that 1809 Treaty regulated best Sikh actions, no longer the business enterprise’s. This blatant hypocrisy embarrassed even officials like Lord Auckland, the incoming governor-fashionable, who in an exclusive letter in 1836, he confessed, “Runjeet Singh has some cause of complaint of us for interfering with him on this side of the Indus. Our treaty with him fixed the Sutlege as the boundary to his ambition on our side...As long as it suited out purpose; we maintained that the treaty made the Sutlege, when it became merged in the Indus, the bar to Runjeet Singh’s power on this side... Are we at liberty to put one construction of treaty at one time and another at another when it suits our convenience? If not, we can hardly say that we have any right to interfere between Runjeet Singh and Sind.” Ranjit Singh knew how the British did things, but he was wise enough to know, that for all his martial prowess, he could never challenge them over it.Ranjit Singh died in June 1839 on the age of 50-eight. Although a Sikh, he had created a kingdom that turned into precise for its time in its secular nature. He hired gifted Hindus, Muslims or even Christian Europeans to serve at his court and educate his army, and honoured all their spiritual traditions equally. Although he became a tough warrior, he changed into remarkably merciful to defeated rulers, reinstating them so long as they promised to be loyal; capital punishment, even for severe crimes, becomes unknown in his nation. As Sir Henry Lawrence, the British Resident later stationed in Lahore noted, ““Members of deposed ruling families may be seen in Delhi and Kabul in a state of penury but in the Punjab there is not to be seen a single ruling house whose territories, conquered by 11 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Ranjit Singh, have been left unprovided by him. With all his rapacity, the Maharaja was not cruel or bloodthirsty; after the capture of a fortress, he treated the vanquished with leniency and kindness, however stout their resistance might have been.” by way of the end of his reign, Ranjit Singh had restored peace and prosperity to a region that had recognized handiest ceaseless violence for a century and created a powerful country that stood because the final obstacle to British supremacy in India. Therefore, the scale of the grief expressed via nobles and commoners alike on the antique Maharaja’s passing changed into amazing, something the foreigners at his court time and again emphasized in their writings. Ranjit Singh’ private behaviour however, had been tons less salubrious. These benefit a few dialogues considering that they greatly motivated how his court become perceived by way of foreign eyes and always inspired the British stance towards the Sikh Empire after his dying. Of the Maharaja’s look, wrote Charles von Hügel “He is short and mean-looking, and had he not distinguished himself by his great talents he would be passed by without being thought worthy of observation. Without exaggeration I must call him the most ugly and unprepossessing man I saw throughout the Punjab. His left eye which is quite closed disfigures him less than the other, which is always rolling about wide open and is much distorted by disease. The scars of his face form many dark pits on his greyish-brown skin...his head is too large for his height and his long white beard gives him a more venerable appearance than his actual age. His costume always contributes to increase his ugliness...but as soon as he mounts his horse, his whole form seemed animated by the spirit within, and assumes a certain grace of which nobody could believe it susceptible. In spite of the paralysis affecting one side, he manages his horse with the utmost ease.” The Maharaja’s fondness for horses supposed he went to brilliant lengths to accumulate quality specimens. In 1831, the British, wanting to acquire intelligence at the navigability of the Indus as a conduit for trade, used this weak point as an possibility. On the pretext of offering the Maharaja with a gift of English horses, they received permission to sail up the Indus to Lahore and managed to survey it surreptitiously. The other superb love of Ranjit Singh was ladies and he had a big harem, marrying women of Sikh, Hindu and Muslim faith, despite the competition of the conservative Akali Takht, the Sikh non-secular status quo (who opposed Sikhs marrying Muslims). 12 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Therefore, intrigues and energy struggles developed within the harem with his queens jostling to location their respective offspring first in line for the succession and conniving courtiers feting numerous princes in hope of advancing their personal careers. adding to the disapproval of his spiritual preceptors and physicians, the Maharaja fed on massive amounts of alcohol to which he delivered crushed pearl, musk and other questionable materials, badly destructive his fragile fitness. After a moderate stroke in 1831, he additionally took to smoking opium. In 1838, he suffered extra strokes that paralyzed the right facet of his frame, confining him to his bed till his loss of life ayr later. Ranjit Singh changed into succeeded with the aid of his eldest son, Kharak Singh in 1839. Weak-willed, he was a hopeless opium addict and beholden to his court docket favourite, the knavish Chet Singh. Chet Singh foolishly attempted to use his influence over the Maharaja to dislodge the Dogras63 whose connections at court docket were as sturdy as ever. Angered, they spread rumours the Maharaja became plotting to just accept British safety and disband the army. Gulab Singh then thoroughly convinced the Crown Prince, Nau Nihal Singh that his father had long past mad and changed into plotting the downfall of the dominion. The Dogras then killed Chet Singh, imprisoned the hapless Kharak Singh and crowned Nau Nihal Singh Maharaja. The deposed Maharaja later poisoned to stop his go back to energy. Nau Nihal Singh was now cultivated as the Dogras’ pawn even as they endured to take advantage of the culmination of courtly privilege. Only a few months into his reign but, the Maharaja turned into injured by means of falling masonry from an archway and in the end died from his wounds. And not using a clean choice for the throne, the wily Wazir, Dhyan Singh now performed court factions off every other. To hedge his bets, Dhyan Singh informed the Dowager, Chand Kaur as well as every other of Ranjit Singh’s surviving sons, Sher Singh that he might help their respective bids to be the following ruler. While Sher Singh seemed at Lahore to say his throne, Chand Kaur panicked and shut the metropolis gates to his forces. A siege ensued, with Gulab Singh, because the Wazir’s secret agent in the Maharani’s coterie, negotiating an agreement with Sher Singh. In the end, conceding her function as hopeless, Chand Kaur surrendered the throne to Sher Singh. Sher Singh’s reign was plagued through turmoil from the begin. The Sandhanwalia clan contested his right to rule while simultaneously the army turned into becoming more and more unwell-discipline in its idleness. 13 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

So that you can butter-up the Khalsa, Sher Singh raised infantrymen’ salaries and allowed them to freely enlist their loved ones in large numbers as properly! Amidst this trend to lawlessness, the squaddies resorted to a Panchayat machine for collective selection-making, inside the manner of a village council, dismissing entirely the command hierarchy and most effective accepting officer command for management in struggle; all decisions have been made by council elections. Sher Singh, as former well-known beneath Ranjit Singh should have halted this development but as Amarinder Singh factors out, due to swirling allegations of him being a bastard and as a result illegitimate, he continuously felt insecure. He changed into additionally keen on indolence and delight, and left topics of presidency in the palms of the Wazir. The Sandhanwalias now determined to strike returned; in September 1843, they assassinated each the Maharaja and Wazir Dhyan Singh. With no different viable claimants, 12 months old Dalip Singh, youngest son of Ranjit Singh become topped Maharaja, with his mother Maharani Jindan as Regent and Dhyan Singh’s son, Hira Singh the new Wazir. Whilst Hira Singh himself became assassinated in 1844, the Maharani changed into left remoted and inclined against the an increasing number of belligerent Khalsa. In desperation, she grew to become to two nefarious characters: Lal Singh, her lover, whom she appointed Wazir, and Tej Singh, an incompetent courtier, who become given command of the navy. Going through a complete lack of control over the Khalsa, the Durbar determined on an intensive direction of motion. Alexander Gardnerdescribed its solution as “throwing the snake into the enemy’s bosom.” The Khalsa, in line with him became “evilly-disposed, violent yet a powerful and fantastic navy;” it changed into to be hurled towards the British and for that reason destroyed. The Maharani hypothesized that if, as expected, the army was defeated, the British could repair the court to dominance with Dalip Singh underneath its protection. Alternatively, if the military in some way triumphed, then her nation should potentially be aggrandized through massive new territory as much as the gates of Delhi. In December 1945, the Khalsa underneath the command of Tej Singh crossed the Sutlej, beginning hostilities with Britain. Although restrained in Ranjit Singh’s lifetime, after his loss of life the British set in movement a nicely-honed strategy to hastily undermine the brotherly love of the Punjab: liaising with individuals of questionable loyalty and fomenting competition amongst its numerous factions. Broader geopolitical events also played a function. The software of the Punjab as a bulwark in opposition to the French had dwindled since the defeat of Napoleon in 1815. The hazard from Persia additionally dwindled after their failed siege of Herat in 1838. 14 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

And even though British efforts to prop up Shah Shuja as their puppet in Kabul faltered, the Afghans had been too preoccupied by way of domestic troubles to foment trouble beyond the Khyber Pass. With the autumn of Sind to Britain in 1843. The Sikh state now represented the closing piece inside the jigsaw to complete British domination of the subcontinent. The possibility to enhance this goal manifested in the instability at Lahore and jingoistic, anti- British slant of the Khalsa. In 1844, Henry Hardinge was appointed Governor-general of India. A veteran of the Peninsula Wars against Napoleon, Hardinge was acknowledged to be consistent and brave. His early writings imply some hesitation on going to war with the Sikhs. The assassination of Hira Singh however, eventually convinced him of the Punjab nation’s incapacity to redeem itself from its personal malaise. In January 1845, he wrote, “If we can’t bolster up this Sikh state, the government of which is carried on by a drunken Prostitute – her councillors- her paramours, the only other alternative is (British) occupation... The treasury has in it, we hear, not more than two months pay... When these means are at an end most of the army will become plunderers and robbers and if we are to arrive at this result I confess I would prefer an abatement of the nuisance at one blow whilst it is an army, rather than be compelled at a later period to have to put it down in the shape of a Pindaree warfare.” While preparing for war, he also corresponded with Gulab Singh, who promised to keep his Dogra troops aloof from the fighting and to attack the Sikhs if the war went badly for the BritishThe closing fashionable of any observe from the government of Ranjit Singh nonetheless alive, Gulab Singh had withdrawn to Jammu, taking with him the treasure he had quietly looted from Lahore’s coffers amidst the chaos of Sher Singh’s reign. Now, he served because the primary turncoat for the British at the same times as he continuously confident the Durbar of his true intentions. Gulab Singh found out by way of now the mutinous Khalsa changed into past redemption and noticed operating with the British as an opportunity to extract a few concessions. He had all started exciting delusions of creating a viable successor nation inside the mountains of Kashmir, even displaying urge for food for growth whilst he legal an invasion of Tibet in1841. The British military turned into commanded by means of the skilled Sir Hugh Gough, like Hardinge, a veteran of the Napoleonic Wars in addition to campaigns in China and in the Deccan against the Marathas. The first Anglo-Sikh warfare opened with the conflict of Mudki 15 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

(December 1845) in which the British laboured to victory in opposition to brave Sikhs. The conflict discovered that in spite of the reputed degeneration of the Khalsa, as soon as in struggle, they have been nevertheless ambitious. Fuelled with the aid of their hatred of the British, the Sikhs have been ruthless and their artillerymen, trained properly in Western techniques of war, induced heavy casualties among Gough’s guys. This fashion did not improve at Ferozeshah (December 1845), however now British inveigling at the Durbar bore fruit. With the British at their mercy, Tej Singh interpreted Gough’s try to withdraw as a flanking manoeuvre, and withdrew to safety, allowing the wearied British to get away being massacred.89 In subsequent battles at Aliwal (January) and Sobraon (February), the Sikhs misplaced as their important gain in artillery as successive defeats noticed most in their cannons fall into British palms. At Sobraon, Tej Singh, who changed into now secretly corresponding with Hardinge, became knowledgeable of a surprise British assault at dawn. Fleeing his camp, he destroyed the bridge over the Sutlej, leaving his guys trapped among the British and the river. In the resulting war, 10,000 Sikhs were cut to pieces; Britain and the corporation had gained the struggle. The positive British delegations become acquired in man or woman by means of the young Maharaja Dalip Singh. All British terms had been unconditionally general by way of the Durbar. Within the Treaty of Lahore, the Jalandar Doab, became ceded to Britain), 15 million rupees in reparation become imposed and Lahore changed into occupied via the British. The Khalsa turned into also decreased to a third of its former electricity, all artillery portions have been confiscated and the Durbar was forbidden from hiring Europeans advisors. Confronted with a depleted treasury (mainly due to the overpaying of infantrymen) the Durbar turned into not able to furnish the reparations. In lieu of charge, the British were ceded the entire province of Kashmir. Hardinge knew but, that governing it was past the company’s gift functionality and as an alternative granted it to Gulab Singh through the Treaty of Amritsar for seven and 1/2 million rupees, paid for paradoxically with the same cash he had pilfered from Lahore’s treasury. Now finally impartial of the Sikhs, the Dogra dynasty ruled Kashmir until 1947. The British also later imposed via the Treaty of Bhyrowal, the proper to post a British Resident in Lahore with whole authority to oversee the walking of the kingdom.After ayr, the Maharani refused to endure such diminution of her powers and reputedly schemed to have the Resident murdered; when this got here to mild, she changed into exiled to Varanasi. This precise pass however became seen by means of the populace as unpardonable British meddling - such disgraceful 16 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

remedy of the Maharaja’s mother and paired with simmering disgruntlement amongst local sardars over arduous British interference in their affairs ultimately erupted in rise up. In April 1848, the governor of Multan rebelled and murdered British officials stationed in his city. Soldiers who had been left without work after the Khalsa’s diminutions, seized by this spirit of rebellion, rallied to his cause. Lord Dalhousie, now Governor-General, was driven to bellicosity by this development, announcing that, “Regards to the preservation of power...it compels us to declare war, and to prosecute it to the entire submission of the Sikh Dynasty. The Government of India has without hesitation resolved that the Punjab can no longer be allowed to exist as a power and must be destroyed. Unarmed by precedents, uninfluenced by example, the Sikh nation has called for war, and on my word they shall have it and with a vengeance!” Surprisingly, under a veteran sardar of the First Anglo-Sikh War, Sher Singh Attariwalla, the rebels initially defeated Gough’s forces at Chillianwala (January 1849). Without further support from the now prostrate Lahore Durbar however, the rebels failed to foment more revolts elsewhere and were subsequently crushed at Gujarat a month later, thereby ending the 2nd Anglo-Sikh War. By now, Dalhousie was in no mood for compromise. A fervent imperialist, Dalhousie had been strident in his criticism of the treaty arrangements after the first war. He had little respect for the Sikhs and the Durbar, and he desired nothing more than to finish them off as a political entity for good. Dalhousie also refused to retain Dalip Singh as the Punjab’s titular ruler. As John Spencer Login, the British-appointed guardian of the Maharaja recounts, “Dalhousie had little sympathy for the boy who was supposedly his protégé and who had now been relieved of his throne and his fortune. He did not see why a person who he had earlier referred to as a child notoriously surreptitious, a brat begotten of a Bhisti, and no more a son of old Runjit Singh than Queen Victoria, should be treated with more than cursory justice.” Dalhousie stripped the Maharaja of all his titles and lands; provided with a pension of 1.2 million rupees, the boy was exiled to Britain, far away from his homeland, to forestall any loyalists rallying around the son of the beloved Ranjit Singh. The Punjab was absorbed into British India; Dalhousie’s dream of turning India red was achieved. The rise of the Sikh Empire was so swift that historians often likened Ranjit Singh to a Napoleon in miniature, no small part due to his remarkable martial prowess and charismatic leadership. However, this association does not fully capture the complexity of his personality. 17 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Ranjit Singh was cautious more often than reckless and avoided antagonizing enemies he was not sure he could defeat. He moulded the brave but impetuous Sikhs through iron discipline into a formidable fighting force since he knew the army could be the only guarantor of Sikh independence against foes lurking on all sides. Yet, even as he was ruthless in battle, he governed his multi-ethnic, multi-religious subjects equitably and effectively. His successors lacked his foresight and his bravery; pandering to noisome forces, they resorting to scheming to entrench their positions, all failing miserably. The Dogras, particularly Gulab Singh, though loyal to the Maharaja during his lifetime, upon his death, seized the opportunity for self-aggrandizement. Finally, the institution of the Khalsa, the prime defender of the state, once free of Ranjit Singh’s restraints, ran wild and brought about its own ignominious demise. Britain saw in Ranjit Singh a reasonable interlocutor, who bore the costs of taming the Afghans; by reducing them to impotency, he served British interests. When these interests were replaced by an uncompromising imperialist ambition in the 1840s however, the Sikh Empire was doomed. 1.3 CONSEQUENCES OF 1ST ANGLO SIKH WAR Fig 1.1 Treaty of Lahore The Treaty of Lahore was signed on 9 March 1846 after the First Sikh War. After the defeat of the Sikhs at the Battle of Sobraon the British were able to march into Lahore without any 18 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

further battles\"Whereas the treaty of amity and concord, which was concluded between the British Government and the late Maharajah Ranjit Singh, the ruler of Lahore, in 1809, was broken by the unprovoked aggression, on the British Provinces, of the Sikh army, in December last; and whereas, on that occasion, by the proclamation, dated 13th December, the territories then in the occupation of the Maharajah of Lahore, on the left or British bank of the river Sutlej, were confiscated and annexed to the British Provinces; and since that time hostile operations have been prosecuted by the two Governments; the one against the other, which have resulted in the occupation of Lahore by the British troops; And whereas it has been determined that, upon certain conditions, peace shall be re-established between the two Governments, the following treaty of peace between the Honourable English East India Company and Maharajah Dalip Singh Bahadoor, and his children, heirs and successors, has been concluded on the part of the Honourable Company by Frederick Currie, Esquire, and Brevet-Major Henry Montgomery Lawrence, by virtue of full powers to that effect vested in them by the Right Honourable Sir Henry Hardinge, G.C.B., one of her Britannic Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, Governor-General, appointed by the Honourable Company to direct and control all their affairs in the East Indies, and on the part of His Highness Maharajah Dalip Singh by Bhai Ram Singh, Rajah Lal Singh, Sardar Tej Singh, Sardar Chatter Singh Attareewalla, Sardar Runjore Singh Majeethia, Dewan Deena Nath and Fakir Nur-ud-din, vested with full powers and authority on the part of His Highness. Article 1 There shall be perpetual peace and friendship between the British Government on the one part and Maharajah Dalip Singh, his heirs and successors on the other. Article 2 The Maharajah of Lahore renounces for himself, his heirs and successors, all claim to, or connection with, the territories lying to the south of the River Sutlej, and engages never to have any concern with those territories or the inhabitants thereof. Article 3 The Maharajah cedes to the Honourable Company, in perpetual sovereignty, all his forts, territories and rights in the Doab and country, hill and plain, situated between the Rivers Beas and Sutlej. 19 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Article 4 The British Government having demanded from the Lahore State, an indemnification for the expenses of the war, in addition to the cession of territory described in Article 3, payment of one and a half Crore of Rupees, and the Lahore Government being unable to pay the whole of this sum at this time, or to give security satisfactory to the British Government for its eventual payment, the Maharajah cedes to the Honourable Company, in perpetual sovereignty, as equivalent for one crore of Rupees, all his forts, territories, rights and interests in the hill countries, which are situated between the Rivers Beas and Indus, including the Provinces of Kashmir and Hazara. Article 5 The Maharajah will pay to the British Government the sum of 50 lakhs of Rupees on or before the ratification of this Treaty. Article 6 The Maharajah engages to disband the mutinous troops of the Lahore Army, taking from them their arms and His Highness agrees to reorganize the Regular or Ain Regiments of Infantry, upon the system, and according to the Regulations as to pay and allowances, observed in the time of the late Maharajah Ranjit Singh. The Maharajah further engages to pay up all arrears to the soldiers that are discharged, under the provisions of this Article. Article 7 The Regular Army of the Lahore State shall henceforth be limited to 25 Battalions of Infantry, consisting of 800 bayonets each with twelve thousand Cavalry - this number at no time to be exceeded without the concurrence of the British Government. Should it be necessary at any time - for any special cause that this force should be increased, the cause shall be fully explained to the British Government, and when the special necessity shall have passed, the regular troops shall be again reduced to the standard specified in the former Clause of this Article? Article 8 The Maharajah will surrender to the British Government all the guns, thirty-six in number, which have been pointed against the British troops and which, having been placed on the right Bank of the River Sutlej, were not captured at the battle of Subraon. 20 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Article 9 The control of the Rivers Beas and Sutlej, with the continuations of the latter river, commonly called the Gharrah and the Panjnad, to the confluence of the Indus at Mithankot and the control of the Indus from Mithankot to the borders of Beloochistan, shall, in respect to tolls and ferries, rest with the British Government. The provisions of this Article shall not interfere with the passage of boats belonging to the Lahore Government on the said rivers, for the purpose of traffic or the conveyance of passengers up and down their course. Regarding the ferries between the countries respectively, at the several ghats of the said rivers, it is agreed that the British Government, after defraying all the expenses of management and establishments, shall account to the Lahore Government for one-half of the net profits of the ferry collections. The provisions of this Article have no reference to the ferries on that part of the River Sutlej which forms the boundary of Bhawalpur and Lahore respectively. Article 10 If the British Government should, at any time, desire to pass troops through the territories of His Highness the Maharajah, for the protection of the British territories, or those of their Allies, the British troops shall, on such special occasion, due notice being given, be allowed to pass through the Lahore territories. In such case the officers of the Lahore State will afford facilities in providing supplies and boats for the passage of rivers, and the British Government will pay the full price of all such provisions and boats, and will make fair compensation for all private property that may be damaged. The British Government will, moreover, observe all due consideration to the religious feelings of the inhabitants of those tracts through which the army may pass. Article 11 The Maharajah engages never to take or to retain in his service any British subject, nor the subject of any European or American State, without the consent of the British Government. Article 12 In consideration of the services rendered by Raja Gulab Singh of Jammu, to the Lahore State, towards procuring the restoration of the relations of amity between the Lahore and British Governments, the Maharajah hereby agrees to recognize the Independent sovereignty of Raja 21 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Gulab Singh, in such territories and districts in the hills as may be made over to the said Raja Gulab Singh, by separate Agreement between himself and the British Government, with the dependencies thereof, which may have been in the Raja's possession since the time of the late Maharajah Kharak Singh: and the British Government, in consideration of the good conduct of Raja Gulab Singh, also agrees to recognize his independence in such territories, and to admit him to the privileges of a separate Treaty with the British Government. Article 13 In the event of any dispute or difference arising between the Lahore State and Raja Gulab Singh, the same shall be referred to the arbitration of the British Government; and by its decision the Maharajah engages to abide. Article 14 the limits of the Lahore territories shall not be, at any time, changed without the concurrence of the British Government. Article 15 The British Government will not exercise any interference in the internal administration of the Lahore State; but in all cases or questions which may be referred to the British Government, the Governor-General will give the aid of his advice and good offices for the furtherance of the interests of the Lahore Government. Article 16 the subjects of either State shall, on visiting the territories of the other, be on the footing of the subjects of the most favoured nation. This Treaty consisting of sixteen articles, has been this day settled by Frederick Currie, Esq; and Brevet-Major Henry Montgomery Lawrence, acting under the directions of the Right Honourable Sir Henry Hardinge, G.C.B., Governor- General, on the part of the British Government, and by Bhai Ram Singh, Raja Lal Singh, Sardar Tej Singh, Sardar Chattar Singh Attareewalla, Sardar Runjore Singh Majeethia, Dewan Deena Nath, and Fakir Nur-ud- din, on the part of the Maharajah Dhuleep Singh; and the said Treaty has been this day ratified by the seal of the Right Honourable Sir Henry Hardinge, G.C.B., Governor-General, and by that of His Highness Maharajah Dalip Singh. 22 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Done at Lahore, this ninth day of March, in year of Our Lord 1846; corresponding with the, tenth day of Rabbi-ul-awal, 1262 Hijri, and ratified on the same day.” 1.4 SUMMARY  The kingdom established by Ranjit Singh met its doom within ten years after his death. The British occupied it after winning two successive wars, viz, the first and second Anglo-Sikh war. The primary cause of these wars was the policy of imperialism pursued by the English.  The region of Kashmir was sold off to the Dogra chief Gulab Singh. The Sikh army had to be drastically reduced. A British Resident had to be instated at the Lahore court and a big British force was also stationed in Punjab. Rani Jindan was removed according to another treaty concluded in 1846. 1.5 KEYWORDS  Abwabs: In addition to land revenues the cesses collected from the peasants.  Adi Granth: The religious text of the Sikh Panth.  Dal Khalsa: The combination of the forces of more than one Sardar for any specific purpose which was purely temporary in nature.  Dharmarth: Land grant given to religious and charitable institutions.  Faujdar: The administrative head of a Sarkar under the Mughals.  Gurmata: The unanimous resolution taken by the Sikhs present in the Sarbat Khalsa before the Guru Granth Sahib.  Patwari: The village accountant.  Sarbat Khalsa: The entire body of the Khalsa, the Sikh Panth.  Theocratic: The political system based on religion. 1.6 LEARNING ACTIVITY 1. Do vow think there was continuity between the Sikh and t h c Mughal administrative system? Explain your argumentin about 60 words. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 2. How did the Sikh rulers orgarlise the land revenue system? Write in about60 words. 23 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 3. What happened to the Sikh state after Ranjit Singh's death? Answer in about 60 words. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 1.7 UNIT END QUESTIONS A. Descriptive Questions Short Questions 1. Which city was not part of Anglo Sikh war/ 2. Describe! The territorial boundary of Ranjit Singh's kingdom. 3. What happened to the Sikh state after Ranjit Singh's death 4. Do vow think there was continuity between the Sikh and t h c Mughal administrative system? 5. How did the Sikh rulers orgarlise the land revenue system? Long Questions 1. Discuss the causes for the 1st Anglo Sikh war. 2. Discuss in detail about the life of Maharaja Ranjit Singh 3. Discuss the Ladwa battles. 4. Discuss the Lahore battles 5. Discuss the Kangra battles B. Multiple Choice Questions 1. When was First Anglo Sikh War fought? a. 1846 AD. b. 1826 AD. c. 1725 AD. d. 1816 AD. 2. When Maharaja Ranjit Singh invaded Malwa for the first time? the anglo - Sikh wars and annexation of the PunjabPunjab’s contribution towards struggle for freedom British 24 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

expansion in north India and Sikhs contribution ranjitSingh: early life, achievements, andanglo - Sikh relations history a. 1805 A.D. b. 1806 A.D. c. 1807 A.D. d. 1808 A.D. 3. Banda Bahadur, a Sikh leader who led a revolt against the Mughals after the assassination of Guru Gobind Singh, was captured and executed during the reign of a. Bahadur Shah b. Aurangzeb c. Jahandar Shah d. Farrukh Siyar 4.Guru Arjan Dev transferred the headquarters to a. Agra b. Amritsar c. Mathura d. Patiala 5.Sikh guru who wrote book on Guru Nanak a. Angad b. Ramdev c. Tegh Bahadur d. Tejpal Answers 1-a, 2-b, 3-a, 4-b, 5-a 25 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

1.8 REFERENCES  C.A. Bayly; theNew CambridgeHistory of India, Vol. 11.1, Indian Society and the Making tbe British Empire.  P.J. Marshall: The New CambridgeHistory of India, Vol. 11.2, Bengal : The British  Bridgehead, Eastern India 1740-1828. Richard B. Barnett: North India between Empires, Awadh, the Mughals, and the  British, 1720-1801. InduBangai Agrarian system of the Sikhs.  Muzaffar Alam: The crisis of Empire in Mughal North India, Awadh and the Punjab, 1707-48.  Andre Wink: Land and sovereignty in India: Agrarian Society and Politics under the Eighteenth century Maratha Swarajya (Cambridge 1986)  G.S. Sardesai: New History of Marathas, V.2 (Bombay-1948).  Nikhilesh Guha: Pre-British state system in South India. Mysore 1761-1799 (Calcutta, 1985)  Karen Leonard: \"Hyderabad Political Systemand its Participants,” Journal of Asian Studies, 1971. Website  https://www.britannica.com/topic/Sikh-Wars  https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/first-sikh-war 26 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

UNIT 2 - SECOND ANGLO SIKH WAR STRUCTURE 2.0LearningObjective 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Causes 2.3 Consequences 2.4 Annexation of Punjab 2.5 Summary 2.6 Keywords 2.7Learning Activity 2.8Unit End Questions 2.9 References 2.0LEARING OBJECTIVE After studying this unit, you will be able to:  To learn about the cause of the 2nd Anglo Sikh war  To learn about the consequences of the war  To learn about the annexation of Punjab 2.1 INTRODUCTION In 1848-49, British-Indian forces were once again at war with the Sikh Empire. The campaign that raged across the Punjab eventually led to the region's full annexation by the British and the removal of one of the last Indian powers able to challenge British control of the subcontinent. 2.2 CAUSES HoughI he Sikhs had lost the conflict that they had fought stubbornly. After Mudki and Fero 2 eshahHardingewrote: “The republican navy has extra vigor and resolution in it than any 27 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

with which we've but had to contend.’’^ After AUwal and Sobraon, he reported to the secret Committee^ that within the course of those operations, the Sikhs had brought into subject warlike assets of a more ideal device of army agency than any to which the British palms had heretofore been adversarial.* The British had won the warfare at an tremendous value, yet the soldier-statesman gave the Kbalsa soldiery its due: “the Sikh infantrymen are the greatest guys i've visible in Asia, bold and bold republicans.’’* The republican navy failed to win the war, because its behaviour was left in the arms of incompetent commanders, who ought to neither plan nor direct (he operations in opposition to an adversary notoriously imperialist. Lack of tremendous management, therefore, and not of courage at the part of Its squaddies, turned into the main purpose of the defeat of (he Sikhs. The assertion that the Sikhs misplaced the war due to the treachery of their commanders Lai Singh and TejSingh is similarly exaggerated, if not fully unfounded. Tej Singh’s inactiveness after Ferozeshah should be attributed to a tactical blunder or cowardice and now not to treachery.* Lai Singh, it is alleged, changed into in compunctions with Nicholson and Lawrence. Before the battle of Mudki, he is stated to have proposed to Nicholson that for a attention, he turned into organized to hold lower back his forces for two days from becoming a member of up with the Infantry.* it's far in addition alleged, that he awful despatched a sketch of (he entrenchments at Sobraon to Lawrence. His inactivity and disappearance at Sobraon is also extensive Conclusive proof m help of these allegations, however, is missing Public and secret despatches of the government of India, particularly Gough’s despatches and Hardinge s private papers— the latter refer with stagger- ing frankness to worse transactions, as an example, the open and avowed treachery of Gulab Singh— do now not incorporate any connection with the meant overtures made either by way of Lai Singh or Tej Singh Such overtures, if made, have been infrequently taken note of by way of the British Considering the British army arrangements and the resources at their command, the declare, that however for the treachery of their leaders, the Sikhs might had been capable of preserve the Punjab as an independent nation, after getting into warfare with the British, also appears quite inadmissible The very last betrayal 28 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Aliwal and Sobraon had convinced the Darbar that their military was overwhelmed Gulab Smgh become now master of the situation to date he had played his sport nicely As a well- knowncommanding divisions of the Sikh military, and a feudatory vassal of (he Lahore government, he had defied the orders of the Darbar and despatched evasive answers, n chook after Mudki and Ferozeshah, he was ordered to reinforce the Sikh armies at the Sutlej’ After Alwal, on more pressing invitations by the Darbar, he reluctantly arrived, to be ultimately nominated as the Vazier of the kingdom of Lahore because that time he had been in direct communiqué with the British authorities, assuring them of his loyally and presenting them records He changed into prepared to ''act as a British agent for the subversion of the nation, and thedispersal of the Sikh armies, m return for a British re cognition of his impartial sovereignty in the hills , and he persistently demanded a reward for his treachery Henry Lawrence had given him a written warranty on behalf of (he British authorities, that bis pursuits might he considered after the termination of hostilities* earlier than the conflict of Sobraon changed into fought, the ground for rewarding Gulab Singh— \"the handiest guy who had not lifted up his arm in opposition to us,” were organized by means of Hardinge It have become obvious to him, that the territorial power of the Sikhs might be weakened by using rendering Gulab Singh independent He was assured, that his services would be rewarded in a manner, which might render his territories independent of Lahore * On 16 February, he proposed to Lord Ripon, the President of the Board, that the encouragement of Gulab Singh, who had performed precise carrier, were regarded even before he have become aVazierof the Lahore government, and that, it would weaken the warlike Sikh republic if his territories will be separated from the ones of the Sikhs 1 thus it's miles clear, that the mode of the praise to be offered to Gulab Singh for his treachery to the Sikhs, have been indicated to him and the house authorities. The Sikh defeat at Sobraon made Gulab Smgh act right away Inunrighteous indignation, he upbraided the rani and the Darbar to admit their folly and shop the country from rum All his hatred of the navy got here to surface The military, he told them, were the cause of their undoing Its arrogance and violence, winch had almost exterminated him, depriving him of his possessions, energy and prestige, could now additionally break them. until it become disbanded and dispersed, it would lead the Sikh country to extinction They must now confess 29 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

their crimes, and beg mercy from the British to date as he was involved, he talked about, he had taken no element inside the warfare, and become on the high-quality of phrases with the British He may want to now effect an agreement with them, that can possibly save the Sikh government and their sovereign * The ram and (be chiefs stood aghast at these accusations there has been confusion and consternation at the Darbar. The demoralised navy leaders gathered around Gulab Smgh Overawed by way of the skilful knavery of their Vazier, the rani and the chiefs signed an announcement on 15 February, signifying to abide via anything phrases Gulab Singh might determine on with the English ^ Armed, for that reason, with unlimited powers to decide the fate of Ranjit Singh’s state, and surrounded by way of bis Muslim battalions. Gulab Singh arrived at the Governor-Generals Camp at Kasur, the same day. The remnants of the Khalsa navy beneath Lai Singh and TejSmgh, a few 20,000 strong, were saved at a safer distance a collection of slight Darbar ministers along with Diwan Dina Hatband Faqir Nur ud Dm, accompanied the Vazier, prepared to just accept in the call of Maharaja DalipSmgh, such terms because the Governor-standard might dictate. The Darbar Delegation become received by Hardinge with the right solemnity of a soldier statesman Deprecating the injurious conduct of the Sikh country, he praised the prudence of its treacherous Vazier, for having stored himself aloof from folks who had committed the crime of conflict Gulab Singh, he stated ought to on my own settle their affairs with the English, because he had now not taken part in opposition to them He become the handiest healthy and proper individual to shop the Sikhs from the upcoming destruction. Cunningham, who attended on Lord Hardinge as an aide-de-camp at Kasur, observes that Gulab Singh puzzled the Governor fashionable by way of asking what he became to get for all he had carried out to result in a fast peace, and to render the Sikh navy an easy prey’^ Lord Hardinge, however, disregarded the Delegation, and that they remained m conference with Frederick Currie and Henry Lawrence the more a part of the night, and agreed to all that have been demanded. On 18 February, the younger Maharaja was delivered to the Governor- preferred Camp at Kasur for the ratification of the treaty Gulab Singh recommended that the Maharaja should 30 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

not be allowed to return to the ram, intimating it appears that evidently, that it was for theGovernorGeneral to do away with the younger leader as he pleased Hardinge incredulously checked out the functionary of the Sikh government , he praised him for his neutrality, however discreetly omitted his ignominious thought. By the Treaty of Lahore (9 March, 1846), which for obvious reasons, Gulab Singh did not sign, the Lahore Government surrendered to the British all its Cis Sutlej estates It also ceded to them, the Jullundur Doab— the territory lying between the Sutlej and the Beas , and agreed to the payment of crores of rupees as indemnity for the expenses of the war As the Lahore Government was unable to pay this amount additional territory situated between the Beas and the Indus including the province of Kashmir and Hazara, was taken by the British The Sikh army was disbanded, and the strength of the new one to be organised in its place, was restricted to 25 battalions of infantry (20,000 men), and 12 000 cavalry The entire control of the rivers Beas and the Sutlej was to rest with the British Government Under certain specific conditions, British troops were to have free passage through Lahore territories Finally, the Lahore Government agreed to recognise the independent sovereignty of Gulab Singh in his possessions, and in those, which would be made over to him by the British Government. Supplementary articles, added to the treaty two days later, provided that at the solicitation of the Darbar, a British force would remain in occupation of Lahore till the end of the year 1846. It would protect the person of the Maharaja, during the re-organisation of the army. ^ On 16 March, 1846, by a separate treaty, Gulab Singh accepted British supremacy, and in consideration of a payment of 75 lacs of rupees, the British Government transferred to him, the provinces of Kashmir and Hazara, which it had obtained from the Sikhs in part payment of the war indemnity. “Half a million, the total expenses of the war to the E.I. Co.,” reads a cryptic comment by Hardinge on a Statement of War Charges — 17,029,825 rupees set against the 12,500,000 rupees indemnity to be recovered by October 1847.* The treaty of Lahore deprived the Sikhs of more than 1/3 of their territory, added 3,000,000 rupees annually to the Company’s revenues, and Kashmir added to Gulab Singh’s hills, made him independent of the State of 31 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Lahore. The Sikhs were allowed to reconstruct a government for all presumable objects, but they were crushed as a military power. “If it be necessary to extinguish this Hindoo sect,” Hardinge wrote in April, “it can be done comparatively with ease in October 1846 instead of March 1846. 4. Breeze in Parliament Though Hardinge’s measures bad the general approval of Peel’s, the 'Whig opposition attacked them without mercy. Hardinge was sharply criticised for not annexing the Punjab, and for entering into a disgraceful bargain with Gulab Singh. Referring to Sir John Hobhouse’s virulent speech in the House of Commons, in which he had stated that the Government should at least have its own Governor-General in India to carry out its policy, Hardinge bitterly complained: “I had rather go than be turned out.” The breeze in in Parliament, however, proved to be short-lived, and the Home Government did not mterfere with Hardinge’s Punjab policy The Whigs and the Protectionists, who overthrew Peel’s ministry in July 1846, found it unwise to undo what had been done with the approval of Peel and Ripon Lord John Russell, the new prime Minister, and Sir John Hobhouse, who became the President of the Board of Control, let Hardinge stay on to conclude his political experiment in the Punjab. These two measures— the non-annexation of the Punjab, and the honesty of his deal with a minister of the Sikhs, who had come to negotiate terms with the British, called for stubborn defence from Hardinge. The treaty with Gulab Smgh had raised doubts in minds of Lord Rippon and Sir James Weir Hogg, the Chairman of the East India Company Even Lord Ellen borough, Hardinge s closest friend, to whom he wrote candidly on all political matters, condemned it as a rewardfor Gulab Singh’s treachery towards the Sikhs J In February, Hardinge hid forewarned both Ripon and Hogg, that Gulab Singh's encouragement would weaken the Sikhs , it would lead to a measure separating the hills from the plains In reply to Hogg’s communication advocating annexation and condemning the transfer of Kashmir, be justified his policy both on political and financial grounds The transfer of Kashmir, he said, had enabled the Darbar to pay the war indemnity, which « could not otherwise pay Gulab Singh, argued Hardinge, had never been a Minister of the State of Lahore Having nothing in 32 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

common with the Sikhs, he was a much detested man— the Darbar, the ram, the army and the Sikh people were his enemies All bad in past conspired to destroy him and deprive him of bis possessions As such a charge of treason against him, could not be proved. Murmurs against the Kashmir transaction subsided at India House, but critics in the press, and Hardmge's personal friends in England, were never convinced of the honesty of the deal Charges of treachery against Gulab Singh, and insinuations against Hardinge for bribing an accredited minister of the State of Lahore and its feudatory vassal, continued to be hinted at Allegations, that Gulab Singh had bartered away the interests of his sovereign for his own recognition as a ruler independent of Lahore, were to a greater extent true But Hardinge vehemently denied that he had ever been a minister of the Government, and replied angrily to his critics “He had done good service to us, which we recognised before he was a Sikh Commissioner After the war commenced, were we to abandon our policy and treat with indifference the only man who had not lifted up fais arm against us, because he came to the headquarters specially deputed by the Lahore Darbar to confer with us as one who had not joined in this unprovoked invasion? His forbearance was rewarded, because that forbearance was in accordance with an intended policy, and because thecharge of treason could not be substantiated These arguments, however, could not convince Ellen borough, who persistently reminded him that the deal was unworthy of British name Hardinge flung back the accusation. “(You) suggested to (me) to hold out independence to the governor of Mooltan m a manner similar to Golab Singh GolabSmgb’s neutrality was most valuable before crossed the river He was informed that his good conduct to us would be appreciated And yet, after recommending me to bribe the chief of Mooltan by the offer of his independence, you consider it treacherous to make Golab Singh the purchaser of Cashmere and the independent prince of the Hills? At the same time, Hardingewas convince his critics at home that are bad taken the best possible course at Lahore. Annexation of (he Punjab, he suggested, was out of the question, because of the poverty of the Lahore Government, which scarcely enabled it to pay Its troops and civil officers* It would, therefore, be a source of weakness and not of strength * A British force was m occupation of the strong town of Lahore, that position would be 33 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

maintained till it was certain that the clipped government could take care of itself. Yet, he could not satisfy (he Whig opposition on these two points He asked Ellen borough “I have sent a copy of my letter to Hogg, under cover to Lord Ripon. If the Whigs come m and approve of what had been done at Lahore, do you advise me to remain, or not me offer to resign supervision and Lawrence’s judicious coreference, rendered it extremely Unpopular. The main problem of La! Smgh’sGovernment was to find money for the payment of arrears (o the discharged soldiers The treasury was empty, and the British Political Agent had threatened the Darbar, that unless that was done, he would undertake the task himself^ The stress of financial bankruptcy and the Agent’s pressure compelled Lai Singh to make a fictitious declaration that the soldiery bad agreed to ’’voluntary deductions” from the arrears of their pay Further, be began to confiscate the jagirs and resume Khalsa estates— imprudent steps, which had proved fatal to Jalla’s administration in 1844 Henry Lawrence. Ignored the unpopularity of these measures, but his tacit approval indirectly encouraged the minister to bestow the confiscated jagirs upon himself and his brother. The process once allowed, introduced into the administration an organised system of favouritism, personal graft and greed It also created a serious political crisis at Multan, which bad to be averted by the timely interposition of the British Political Agent Unpopularity of administration By the autumn of 1846, the Lahore administration had become extremely unpopular Lawrence’s complaints against it suggested to Hardinge, the replacement of Lai Singh by Lehna Singh Majithia, a well informed and clever Sikh brought over from Calcutta, but he was considered too timid to shoulder the responsibility. The question,however, was more than the replacement of an obnoxious minister by a popular one As the time of the withdrawal of the British troops drew nearer, doubts began to be entertained as to whether the Sikh Government would be able to stand alone The presence of British troops had served Its purpose It bad disbanded the army and established a government* Military and political considerations made the withdrawal desirable by the end of the year. Prolongation of the occupation of a large town with a warlike population to support aweak and corrupt government was impolitic On military grounds. 34 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Its extension was also undesirable The continued stationing of 10,000 Indian troops with one British battalion at Lahore, involved a great risk From across the border, 40,000 men with 94 field guns and 250 pieces of artillery could equally keep a vigilant check on Lahore politics * The Darbar was, therefore, told that British troops would retire by the end of the year. Lai Singh however insisted on British support to his government, and suggested the prolongation of the Occupation. The question of the withdrawal of British troops, therefore, seemed to be related to the survival of the Sikh Government, Reports from Lahore began to confirm it Littler wrote on 31 August, that the Darbar was divided on the issue , but he recommended the continuation of the occupation on the ground that the roving bands of discharged soldiery would create anarchy^ Lawrence admitted that his previous opinion vsas erroneous , that the ram and the minister, moNed by Ihcir fears, implored its delay for six months.Maegregor concurred with his Chief that the government of Lai Singh could not standalone. Other British functionaries reported that the occupation was most satisfactory, that the people in the city of Lahore would regard the departure of Driiish troops as a calamity Sikh rule was most unpopular, the Vazter was a scoundrel and the regent profligate British troops gave security of life and property to the people “a man now lies down at night expecting to be alive in the morning*' or “a poor man can see a Khalsa soldier for a debt and not be cut down for his audacity That the government of Lai Singh would not last was apparent , nineteen out of twenty civil and military officers on the frontier, were of that opinion It was, therefore, clear to the Government of India that a permanent arrangement would have to be devised to continue (he ex- periment. On the confession of the Darbar s inability to maintain Itself without British support, Hardinge found a solution to the complex problem On instructions from bun, a was thrown out to the Darbar that the troops would soon leave, a few regiments were kept ready for a lateritious move across the Sutlej to Ferozepur. The object behindsuch a step was that the Sikh solicitation for the continued occupation Lahore \"must have the appearance of a national deliberation\", that they should meet in a convocation and agree to accept a British minister to govern their country during the Maharaja's minority “The first step,” wrote Hardinge, “was the occupation of the capital, 35 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

second, occupation on the supplication of the assembled chiefs be conceded by the British Government on the terms which gave to a British minister, the entire management of the Punjab Such a system would enable the Government to govern the Punjab up to Peshawar more easily and cheaply than on any other terms ’ Implications of Bhyrovral The Second Treaty of Lahore, which was signed atBbyrowal on 22 Decemher, 1846, made the Sikh kingdom a virtual British protectorate* The regent was pensioned off, the British Government became the guardian of the young Maharaja during his minority , and a British Resident was to direct and control the administration with a Council of eight Ministers, nominated by himself The British garrison was tocontinue to be stationed at Lahore, and the entire civil and military administration of the country was vested with the British Resident He Could also disband and recruit Sikh armies or replace them by British troops throughout the Punjab “I think,” Hardinge commented, “we can govern the country m all its internal details with the instrumentality of the Sikh sardars, more safely, honorably and cheaply than by any other mode that can be devised ’ The treaty of Bhyrowal changed the entire complexion of Anglo Sikh relations The Darbar ceased to exist as a sovereign political body The Council of Ministers, which replaced it, could only hold office during the pleasure of the British Resident The new Darbar became a willing instrument subservient to the authority of the Resident, who was to conduct the internal as well as external affairs of the State in accordance with the instructions of the Government of India The arrangement has been well described by Marsham : “on officer of the Company’s artillery became, in effect, the successor to Ranjit Singh It IS, however, relevant to examine Hardinge’s policy, which scru- pulously avoided annexation, but without it, aimed at a complete demoralisation of the Sikh Government Hardingeresisted with vigour, the adoption of a contrary course, which was vaguely hinted at, but not pressed upon him from Whitehall Fnends at home, particularly, the Duke of Wellington and Ellen borough advised him to annex the Punjab, but Hardinge did not accept these suggestions. He believed in preserving a nominal Sikh government The experience ofSind in 1843, he admitted, had made him cautious over Punjab 36 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

On these mam considerations, Hardinge has outlined his policy. The impolicy of annexation, he observed, was entirely founded on his sincere conviction of the necessity of a policy of moderation In the first phase, it would be senseless to push the British frontier beyond the Indus For 30 years, the Sikhs had barred the questions of the Afghans into India, and so long as they continued to do so, British interests were secure Secondly, there were political reasons and their military consequences Annexation, he argued, would lead to a perpetual military occupation of (he Punjab at various points between the five rivers and the Kliybcr. Added to these, were administrative problems Expenses military occupation would prove too cumber- some for the civil administration to bear. With Kashmir and the Jullundur Doab excluded, ii was estimated, that the annexation of the Punjab would cost the Indian Government annually £ 1,000,000 more than the expected revenue of £ 900,000 Hardinge was also averse to applying the subsidiary system to the Punjab or breaking it up byannexation up to the Ravi The subsidiary alliance system had been objectionable in Oudh, m the Nizam’s territory and in Mysore, its adoption on the N W Frontier was all the more dangerous The latter course was also beset with numerous difficulties Hardinge, therefore, rejected these suggestions from home Annexation, therefore, was considered by him a source of weakness and not of strength.The arrangements made at Bhyrowal, were a distinct step m the advancement of British aims m the Punjab. He wrote to Hobhouse in April 1847: “It is in reality, annexation brought about by the supplication of the Sikhs, without entailing upon us the present expense and the future inconvenience of a doubtful acquisition It relieves our finances from a heavy pressure, and, in the interval, which may elapse, it it’s a subsidiary system without its injustices or its vices Henry Lawrence, on whose shoulders fell the (ask of enforcing the new policy, was, by far, the best man that could have been selected for this purpose He had come into close contact with Sikh politics since 1840, as a political assistant, first at Ludhiana, and then at Ferozepur. He understood the Sikhs well, as also their virtues and vices. SinceMatch 1846, he had seen to the fulfilment of the treaty obligations at Lahore with tact and firmness. Under the new treaty, Lawrence wielded enormous powers, but is resisted Hardinge’s insistence on active 37 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

interference everywhere ^ A sense of moderation guided him dealings with the Sikhs, whose national traits he understood so well. He Eschewedoverbalance, desisted from overriding the Darbar’s nominal authority, but enforced his decisions judiciously, by the employment of Sikh agency under British political officers in practically all the districts. His newly formed Council (6 Sikhs, 1 Hindu and 1 Muhammadan) had a system of portfolios ; the army was spilt up into regular and irregular forces, a Public Works department was created, and a Sikh ecclesiastical portfolio was placed under BbaiNidhan Singh Henry Lawrence was also fortunate in having political officers, who had varied experience of service on the N W Frontier, and hence, possessed an intimate knowledge of the Punjab affairs Macgregor, Lumsden, George Lawrence, Edwardes, Abbott, and others helped him and John Lawrence in the settlement of the frontier and in the introduction of civil and judicial reforms Lumsden effected the settlement of the Yusafzaicountry, Edwardes of Bannu , Abbott went to Hazara, George Lawrence to Peshawar, and Nicholson to the Sind Sagar Doab These political officers, spread all over the State, did excellent work Some of them bungled, but nonetheless, their vigilance, energy and perseverance kept the Residency informed of the political trends on the frontier. Towards the Array, Lawrence adopted a system of regular payments and strict discipline This, be felt would tend to make British occupation less irksome As soldiers, the Sikhs were considered, decidedly, the finest men in the East Jindan was, no doubt, a clever and ambitious women, but her power to influence Darbar politics since Bhyroyal, seems to be highly exaggerated In November 1846, Hardinge had issued instructions that she must be deprived of ail political power ^ She had played a prominent role in Sikh politics in the past, she was the prime mover ID the plot in which Hira Singh bad been assassinated, she had instigated the Sikh soldiery to cross the Sutlej in 1845. Though Bhyrowal had clipped her wings, she was still considered powerful for mischief “If a good opportunity must occur,’ Hardinge wrote m March 1847, “she must be sent away from Lahore, but up to this moment, the insurrection of her ill temper bad not been so greatly felt as to justify a harsh remedy without a good cause A few months later, it was considered 38 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

necessary to keep her baneful influence from the young Maharaja “It is a measure,” Hardinge said, “for the welfare of the boy under British guardianship ’ * Soon an opportunity occurred At an investiture Darbar held in August 1847, the young Mabaraja refused to pronounce Tej Singh as the raja of Sialkot There was neither any justification nor occasion for it, but the Resident had browbeaten the Council m accepting the proposal, which had originated from the Government of India Embarrassment was caused, but Lawrence performed the investiture ceremony himself Immediately afterwards, he accused that the ram bad instigated the young Maharaja to insult Tej Singh It was also alleged that she was training up her son as an instrument of hatred against the Darbar, and instilling in false mind sentiments of aversion against the Resident and the Council “Maharaja Duleep. At the same time, rani Jindan was suspected of having a hand in what is known as the Preyma Plot In February, Prema, an ex-commandant in Gulab Singh’s service and a soldier of fortune, came toLahore and started intriguing with various officers and sepoys of the Sikh Corps A conspiracy came to light, m which it was alleged that Preyma and his accomplices designed to murder the British Resident and the Sikh Commander in Chief, TejSmgh, on the occasion of a fete at the Shalamar Gardens John Lawrence, who conducted an enquiry, found the evidence in the case ‘worthless,’ without any evidence of the ram's complicity But he held that there were grounds for suspecting her of being cognizant of the intrigue if not its instigator. On these grounds, it was considered desirable to remove her from the capital The Darbar, however, hesitated to share the odium of her expulsion from the Punjab, but it agreed to her removal to Sbeikhupura, 25'railes away from Lahore At the same time, her allowance under the Agreement of December 1846 was reduced to 48,000 rupees. Since the settlement of August 1846 with the Darbar, Mulraj, the governor of Multan, had been chaffing under its stringent terms, expecting from the new administration, a modification financially favourable to him In December 1847, he made representations for the reduction of his annual payments, on the ground that the new export and import duties, which the Council of Regency wanted to introduce into the territories administered by him 39 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Though Mulraj had cleared up his arrears of 18 lacs of rupees to the State, John Lawrence, the Officiating Resident, considered the whole arrangement with regard to Multan unsatisfactory He considered Mulraj “a grasping and avaricious ruler of the old school,’ who would resist the introduction of new financial and judicial reforms into bis province. Numerous complaints against his administration bad accumulated, and his conduct with regard to the introduction of customs and land-tax, was considered obnoxious. Direct administration of Multan, it was estimated, would yield seven or eight lacs more to the Lahore Government. John Lawrence, therefore, wanted to get rid of Muiraj. His replacement by a British officer, he recommended to the Government, could yield 20 lacs of revenue to the State of Lahore. The entire amount could be paid into British treasury to wipe out the accumulated arrears of debt of the British Government. For these reasons, the Resident rejected Mulraj’s representation which led to his resignation on 21 December, 1847. John Lawrence accepted bis resignation, but for administrative reasons, it was agreed that it would take effect from Match, 1848. John Lawrence’s suggestions were accepted by the Government of India, but he was asked to stay his hand till the arrival of Sir Frederick Currie, who had in the meantime, been appointed by the new Governor-General, the Marquess of Dalbousie, to officiate for Henry Lawrence during the latter’s prolonged absence in Europe. The Darbar was soon afterwards pressed for payments of the arrears of the debt due to the British Government. In January 1848, Lord Hardinge left India fairly satisfied with his Punjab policy The Punjab, he reported, had never been so quiet in the memory of man. \"My successor,” he observed, “may march to Peshawar without losing men, whenever the true policy and real interests of Her Majesty render such step politic or proper. These observations were, however, based on a superficial estimate of the political conditions in the Punjab. It is true that the reforms of Henry and John Lawrence had putthe administrative machinery on a somewhat satisfactory basis, reductions m military establishments had afforded financial relief to the government, and summary revenue settlements had benefitted the cultivator. The new agrarian reforms and the adawlats were all considered popular. The country appeared tranquil, and the people were learning to appreciate the benefits of British interference. 40 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

But an eager assumption of the success of the reforms had given to the illusory nature of the calm m the Punjab, an appearance of reality. An attitude of complacent incredulity was, therefore, adopted towards the reports from the Lahore Residency, which belied such presumption Lord Hardinge’s despatches to the Home Government differ materially from those of Henry Lawrence to the Government of India. For months, Lawrence had been sounding a continual note of warning to dispel the belief that all was well m the Punjab 50,000 Sikh soldiers had been disbanded and dispersed to their villages. Sikh generals and colonels of yesterday struggled for bare existence The discharged Jat soldiery of Manjba still drifted on the surface, sullen, discontented and unemployed. The Sikhs, Lawrence had warned his superiors, were accustomed to revolution and excitement; the people had settled down but were still restive. “The discontented will grumble and talk and cabal, they will consult their priests when the khalsa may again be victorious.” There were rumours and alarms, and a general desire among the population to escape the foreign yoke. “The animus of unrest and insurrection,” be had summed up, “slumbers, but IS not yet dead In sharp contrast to the reports of British political officers all over the Punjab, Hardinge’s public despatches and private communications had given an impression of perpetual tranquillity m the Punjab.^ Dis- missing the “wild rumours” from Lahore as incredible, he had assured the Home Government that the situation in the Punjab could never had been better. Politically, every advantage of the most successful spirit of aggrandizement had been secured, and militarily, the backbone of the Sikh army had been broken.* An overwhelming force over 40,000 strong on the Sutlej frontier was ready to crush any combination against British power® Lawrence’s repeated warnings against further reductions in the strength of the Sikh army already brought down from 85,000 to 34,000, and Littler’s reports* that the accumulations of large bodies of disbanded soldiers at the capital created a feeling of insecurity among the people, were not heeded to Unmindful of these warnings, Hardinge assured his successor that the Punjab was quiet and tranquil. Consequently, the Marquis of Dalhousie, who arrived in India on 12 January, 1848 full of these ideas, found everything quiet m the Punjab, except that the young Maharaja complied of being given too many lessons and the rant of the restrictions preventing her bathing m the Ganges 41 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Lord Dalhousie had also accepted Hardinge’s advice regarding the appointment of Sir Frederick Currie at Lahore, though the Board had been content to let John Lawrence continue locating during his brother’s absence m Europe Currie possessed little knowledge of the Punjab and the Sikhs. His officious competency lacked Henry’s moderation or John’s political wisdom. In January 1848 Lord Hardinge left India fairly satisfied with his Punjab policy The Punjab, he reported, had never been so quiet in the memory of man “My successor,” he observed, “may march to Peshawar without losing L men, whenever the true policy and real interests of Her Majesty render such step politic or proper These observations were however based on a superficial estimate of the political conditions in the Punjab It is true that the reforms of Henry and John Lawrence had put the administrative machinery on a somewhat satisfactory basis , reductions in military establishments had afforded financial relief to the government, and summary revenue settlements had benefited the cultivator The new agrarian reforms and the adawlats were all considered popular The country appeared tranquil, and the people were learning to appreciate the benefits of British interference. But an eager assumption of the success of the reforms had given to the illusory nature of the calm m the Punjab, an appearance of reality An attitude of complacent incredulity was, therefore, adoptedtowards the reports from the Lahore Residency, which belied such presumption Lord Hardinge s despatches to the Home Government differ materially from those of Henry Lawrence to the Government of India For months, Lawrence bad been sounding a continual note of warning to dispel the belief that all was well in the Punjab 50,000 Sikh soldiers had been disbanded and dispersed to their villages Sikh generals and colonels of yesterday struggled for bare existence. The discharged Jat soldiery of Manjha still drifted on the surface, sullen, discontented and unemployed The Sikhs, Lawrence had warned bis superiors, were accustomed to revolution and excitement, the people had settled down but were still restive \"The discontented will grumble and talk and cabal , they will consult their priests when the khalsa may again be victorious ” There were rumours and alarms, and a general desire among the population to escape the foreign yoke ‘ The animus of unrest and insurrection *’ he had summed up, “slumbers but IS not yet dead. Dalhousie took the entire responsibility of inaction upon himself. There was no positive proof that Mulraj had plotted against British power. The Resident’s view that the rebellion would 42 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

not extend if immediately suppressed had been overruled by the military authorities, with the hope, that it would spread and culminate into a war with the Sikhs, for which immediate preparations should be undertaken. Prompt military action, he explained to the Horae Government, was inexpedient on political grounds alone. The British Resident, he said, was in full control of the civil and military administration, A British force was in possession of the capital of the country and the person of the sovereign. It would, therefore, be of advantage to postpone the squaring of accounts with the State of Lahore. Excuses for the delay did not lag behind the inaction. The season was hot and the fort of Multan very strong-, it could not be invested without a siege-train. Movable columns kept by Hardinge at Fcrozepur lacked carriage and heavy guns. Preparations for full scale military operations were necessary, and both the season and distance forbade immediate action. Dalhousie summed up his argument in a subsequent private despatch: “I had before us two great evils. Delay, giving temporary immunity to a rebel, was an evil. Action, involving loss of life and possible failure for a time, was another evil. 1 think the latter was much the greater peril of the two; and I am satisfied that we have rightly chosen the lesser of the two evils in resolving to delay and bide our time. These arguments that the Multan affair would become a national uprising in the Punjab, requiring military preparations for a full-scale war, convinced no one in England. Eyebrows were raised and surprise expressed at the so-called national wrong done by the Sikhs, for which, a national reparation was to be exacted from the State of Lahore. Henry Lawrence condemned the delay as a resolution by the Government of India to have a grand hunt in the cold season. Writing to Dalhousie, he said, that be would not have allowed the rebellion to make any headway even for a day ; that he would have left JohnLawrence in charge at Lahore and marched himself to Multan with the Lahore and Frozepur brigades ^ The general opinion at India House seemed to be for immediate action Besides Henry Lawrence, the Duke of Wellington, Lord Hardinge and Charles Napier bad been consulted by Sir John Hobbouse, therefore, wrote to the Governor General on 24 June that the fear of a wide spread rebellion was exaggerated, and the inaction uncalled for , that the force which Dalhousie proposed to send against Multan, appeared to everybody he had consulted, excessive and unnecessary* British political officers in the Punjab — Currie, John Lance, Taylor, 43 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Edwardes, Abbott and Nicholson, all pressed in vain upon the Government the necessity of taking instant action “It was my belief at the time,” records Sir Herbert Edwardes, “that had the Mooltanrebellion been put down at once the Sikh insurrection would never have grown out of it , it was a belief shared, moreover, by every officer in the Punjab. Dalhousie allowed the rebellion to spread for 5 months Evidence of the spirit of revolt among the sardars and military officers was lacking from the earlier reports of the Resident at Lahore Nicholson from Hazara, George Lawrence from Peshawar, and other political officers in the far flung districts, vouchsafed for the loyalty of the officers of the Sikh army. Dalhousie, however, did not accept these opinions He dismissed all criticism for want of energy with the tacit observation “It IS astonishing how vigorous gentlemen are who have no responsibility ’’’ Refuting further the charge of inaction and pusillanimity on the part of the Government of India, he remarked “War as much as you please if have can’t help it, but J decline a war against God Almighty and His elements, for they would be our real antagonists, and not the Sikhs ’ * From May onwards, full scale military preparations for a costly war were taken in hand These, he pointed out, were essential, for. from past experience they had known bow the Sikhs could light behind Their guns and walls “if they make up their mind to stand u out a garrison of Sikhs and Akalis, hemmed in by desperation, will bile hard before they cither die or give in’* But the real motive of his policy became clear, when he wrote to Ins friend George Couper: “If not in m> day, assuredly in my successor’s, the curtain will fall on the Sikh dynasty If it be not sponged out now, there will be no real Meanwhile, dramatic events in the northwest began to explode the much of the invincibility of Multan Lieutenant Herbert Edvvardes, the Resident’s Assistant at Bannu, who had received on 22 April, Van Agnew's pencilled message at Dcra Patch Khan, decided to march on Multan at once * Few British military annals in India provide a more exciting task undertaken by a young subaltern, with so inadequate means Two days later, he received further intelligence that both Agnew and Anderson were dead, and that Mulraj was a prisoner m the hands of the rebels Edvvardes lost no time in raising levies from among the Pathan mercenaries, and summoning Von Cortlandt, the Lahore commander al Bannu, called upon Mulraj to submit. He occupied Leibia and Oera Ghazi Khan, and timely help was sought 44 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

from the Daudpotas of Bahawalpur As he was getting ready to cross the Indus, he received a private note (dated 29 April) from Currie, directing him to keep his troops away from Multan Edvard’s* diary (8 May) showshis amazement at these instructions, but in spite of them, he proceededwith his preparations, pointing out to the Resident, that if Multan was not invested at once, the Derajat would be engulfed m revolt Soon, the officialdespatch from the Residency informed him of the meaning of the private note’ Angrily he wrote to Hodsoo, the Resident's Assistant at Lahore, observing cynically that the rebellion could not be put like a champagne tiffm, with a corner note to Mulraj, to name a date more agreeable Both at Whitehall and Leadenhall Street allowances were-made for these ‘ wild outbursts *, but Dalhousic’s fantastic accusations cut no ice with statesmen closely associated with the political affairs of the Punjab Along with the Lord John Russell s Government they agreed to the necessity of putting^ down a rebellion, but pointed out to the absolute immorality of holding the Parbar and the young Maharaja responsible The India Board tersely reminded Dalhousie that since the entire control over the civil and military matters in the Punjab vested in the Government of India, it could not escape Its responsibility “As the real supreme authority,” wrote the President of the Board, ‘ was vested m our Resident and the Army of Occupation, It IS fair to say that the British functionaries are to the full accountable as the Sikh Darbar for any mismanagement that may have led to the present revolt In short, Dalhousie was told that the& political solution suggested by him did not find favour with those in authority at Whitehall General opinion in England, in the press and both Houses of Parliament seemed averse to the course suggested The British Cabinet, going into the whole question of relations with the Punjab, decided that although the treaty of Bhyiowal allowed room for change m policy, It could out favour deposing the son and heir of Ranjit Smgb, despite the prospect of a rebellion* The home authorities informed Dalhousie in unequivocal terms that his suggestion to over throw the Sikh dynasty was premature, immoral and unjustified * Call to arms 45 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

With the defection of Sher Smgb events, began to move towards north He had soon ^been disgusted by tbe suspicious behaviour of Mulraj, and had left Multan on 9 October with 900 infantry and 3,400 horse He proceeded northwards to joinhis father at Gujarat. It seems surprising ^that not the slightest attempt vias made either by General Whish with his 7,200 men or Lieutenant Edwardes with bis 20,000 Muslim mercenaries to bar his passage, to attack or to follow Him. He was a brave and an energetic soldier, but he had CO idea that bis defection would gather a storm around him. He had resented the affronts to his father and had been aggrieved by the Resident’s refusal to allow the marriage of his sister to the young Maharaja. As he marched northwards, Mulraj’s troops deserted and joined his force. Motely crowds of malcontents and disbanded soldiers swelled bis ranks, proclaiming him a leader of the Khalstx. Once his spirits were aroused, he began to believe this himself. He whipped up enthusiasm for the Khalsa, proclaiming himself to be its servant and that of Maharaja Balip Singh and calling the people to rise in arms and expel the firangees from the Punjab.' Simultaneously in the northwest, the rising under Sardar Cbattar Singh had gained momentum. The Sikhs responded well to his call to arms. In the Sind Sagar Doab, multitudes of disbanded soldiers flocked to his standard. The soldiers of the Khalsa crossed the Ravi in large numbers out of the Manjfaa to join him. He wrote to Gulab Singh, Telling'him to move his troops from Jammu into the Rechna Doab. An offer of Peshawar was made (o Dost Muhammad Khan, to obtain Afghan support.* News of disaffection spread rapidly and widely. Very soon the northern districts heard of the rising of the Khalsa. The contingent at Bannu revolted, murdered their European oSicers, and marched to join rebel Sher Singh.* The Sikh force at Peshawar also revolted and added their number to the cause. Major George Lawrence and other British officers fled for their lives to Kohat in the northwest.' There Sultan Muhammad Khau Barakzai, its fickle governor was hobnobbing with the rebels. But in hazara, Jamex Abbott, who had by Ida stupidity and arrogance raised the storm, continued the game of inflaming Muslim population against the Sikh ^‘infidels.” Attock held out precariously under Lieutenant Herbert’s hard-pressed Muslim mercenary garrison. 46 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

The north was seething with revolt. Currie sent the frantic report; “All I believe are disaffected— Chiefs, Datbar officials, army and the Sikh population.’’® The rebellion of (he Sikh nation, Dalhousie wrote, had at last become open, flagrant and universalThe mam column of tbe Army of the Punjab under the command of General Gough, consisted of 2 Infantry Divisons (14,419 men), a Cavalry Division (3,369 horse) and an Artillery Division with 66 guns, including ten 18 pounder batteries and six 8 inch howitzers drawn by elephants In addition, there were 6 troops of Horse Artillery, 3 light and 2 heavy field batteries Its total strength amounted to 24,404 men (6 396 Europeans) of all arms and 66 guns ‘ At the same time, three other columns of the Army of the Punjab were in simultaneous operation At Lahore, in the centre, Brigadier- General Wheeler s Occupation Force, 10,000 strong held firmly the capital of the Sikhs In the extreme south, before the citadel of Multan was the 1st Infantry Division (76 00 men) under Major General Whish, with 93 field and siege guns The arrival of the Bombay Column under Brigadier-General H Dundas had augmented its strength to over 21,000 men of all arms In addition, 5,300 men of the Lahore infantry were under British control at Multan This brought the total regular force at the disposal of General at Multan to 26,330 men.The cavalry force at Multan amounted to 10,173 horse— 1st Division, 2,173 , Bombay Column 3,000, and Edwardes* irregular horse, 5000 And above all, there were irregular Muslim levies and mercenaries raised by the British to fight the Sikhs Ac Multan, Edwardes bad the largest number, 20,000 men inclusive of 9,000 Bahawalpur Baluch troops , at Hazara Abbott had got together 8 000 irregulars , at Attock, Herbert had raised 3 000 men, at Peshawar, George Lawrence had raised another 3,000 , and at Bannu, Taylor had amassed 4,000— an overall total of 38,000 mercenaries, Muslims, Afghans, Balucbs and tribesmen with over 5,000 horse and camel corps. At finally, on the frontier at Gobiodgbar, JuUundur, Hosbiarpur, and Bodipur bad been left a force 5,962 strong with 22 guns to guard the frontier Taken in all these figures add up to the staggering total of 104, 666 men— 61,366 of the regular British army, 5,300 of the Lahore army, and 38,000 irregular troops , 13,542 cavlary (excluding 10 troops of horse artillery), 123 field guns and 22 heavy guns. These and the following retire are based on official British papers published and unpublic shed (PP)XLI 1819 LPDs private papers of Lord Dalhousie Broughton (DM) MS No 36476 and Dalbousie 47 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

Muniments Sec 6 and among the latter No 366 (1819) is a augustly informative document entitled Return of theTreept engaged. In sharp contrast to these figures, the numerical superiority of the Sikhs, as claimed by the British, appears. The Sikh force which ultimately mustered could not even be equivalent to the shadow of the Khalsa republican army which fought the British at Ferozeshah, Aliwal and Sobraon. The army of the late Ranjit Singh, a powerful resurgent force between 1842-45 and once m control of the State, was completely broken up after Its capitulation at Sobraon in 1846 Lord Hardinge had meticulously seen to the complete annihilation of the military power of the Sikhs The treaties of Lahore and Bbyrowal had broken the back of the Khalsa republican army of 92,000 men, 31,800 cavalry with over 384 guns , and the Peace Settlement of 1846 bad envisaged its systematic destruction Its soldiers had been disbanded and dispersed, its generals discharged or won over, its jagirdari force starved to extinction, and the pride of Its artillery— 36 guns of the highest calibre, dismantled and carted away to the arsenal of Fort William. The claim that the Army of the Khalsa or of the entire Sikb nation opposed and fought the British m the military operations of the Punjab Campaign of 1848-49, therefore, IS hardly admissible for the simple reason that no such force existed. A skeleton army of 25 battalions (20,000 men) and 12,000 cavalry permitted to the State of Lahore under the treaty of March 1846 was a mere reflection of the Khalsa, and the British were its masters Dispersed to far-flIn sharp contrast to these figures, the numerical superiority of the Sikhs, as claimed by the British, appears tobesmjth^ The Sikh force which ultimately mustered could not even be equivalent to the shadow of the Khalsa republican army which fought the British at Ferozeshah, Aliwal and Sobraon. The army of the late Ranjit Singh, a powerful resurgent force between 1842-45 and once m control of the State, was completely broken up after Its capitulation at Sobraon in 1846 Lord Hardinge had meticulously seen to the complete annihilation of the military power of the Sikhs The treaties of Lahore and Bbyrowal had broken the back of the Khalsa republican army of 92,000 men, 31,800 cavalry with over 384 guns , and the Peace Settlement of 1846 bad envisaged its systematic destruction Its soldiers had been disbanded and dispersed, its 48 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

generals discharged or won over, its jagirdari force starved to extinction, and the pride of Its artillery— 36 guns of the highest calibre, dismantled and carted away to the arsenal of Fort William. The claim that the Army of the Khalsa or of the entire Sikb nation opposed and fought the British inthe military operations of the Punjab Campaign of 1848-49, therefore, IS hardly admissible for the simple reason that no such force existed. A skeleton army of 25 battalions (20,000 men) and 12,000 cavalry per- mitted to the State of Lahore under the treaty of March 1846 was a mere reflection of the Khalsa, and the British were its masters Dispersed to far-flung districts for garrison duly under the observing eyes of the British political officers, it possessed neither will nor effective fighting power. Lahore had a garrison strength of 6,500 men, but the citadel was under British military occupation Peshawar had a garrison of 3,000 men, Hazara 3,000 men, the fortress of Gobindgach 2,000 men, Bannu and Tank 1,300 men, Attock 700 men and Kohat 500 men ; the remaining 3,000 men of the entire force were at numerous small posts throughout the Punjab. Now, the contingents of the Lahore army which ultimately revolted in districts for garrison duly under the observing eyes of the British political officers, it possessed neither will nor effective fighting and joined the rebels were those of Hazara, Peshawar, Kohat and Attock— 9,400 men inclusive ofSher Singh’s force defected at Multan (900 infantry and 3,400 horse). The garrison at Gobindgarh had been disarmed and the fort occupied Allowing that Che 3,000 men stationed at various isolated places throughout the Punjab could gel through and join those in the north, the obvious strength of the regular Sikh force could hardly exceed 13,000 men and 9,000 horse. Disbanded soldiers and the Khalsa free-lance which flocked scarcely exceed 10,000 men With Lahore and Amritsar m the hands of the British and the passage inthe Doab blocked by Wheeler’s force, the trickle of unarmed soldiery of Goind from the Manjha and Malwa regions, the home of the late republican army, could hardly exceed the above figure The disbanded soldiery would merely augment the strength of the Sikh force, which had few generals and fewer arms , it had no access to the slate arsenals situated in the British occupied area, and no means of procurement of arms or supplies in the predominantly Muslim districts, the population of which was already aroused against the Sikhs 49 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

The above figures show that the strength of the entire Khalsa force would hardly exceed ^S.OOO men, at any rate, it is hardly possible to accept the statement of Lord Gough that the Sikh army which fought the 'British at Gujarat was 60,000 Strong’s That these figures are highly exaggerated is evidenced by the fact that the whole Sikh army under Shcr Singh and Chattar Singh which, a few days after the battle, surrendered to General Gilbert at Rawalpindi amounted to 16,000 menpower. Lahore had a garrison strength of 6,500 men, but the citadel was under British military occupation Peshawar had a garrison of 3,000 men, Hazara 3,000 men, the fortress of Gobindgach 2,000 men, Bannu and Tank 1,300 men, Attock 700 men and Kohat 500 men ; the remaining 3,000 men of the entire force were at numerous small posts throughout the Punjab. Now, the contingents of the Lahore army which ultimately revolted Genera! Gough crossed the Ravi on 16 November He marched on rapidly into the .Rcchna Doab towards Ramnagar, where on arrival on 22 November, be discovered ^lierSmgh’s entire force on the Jight bank of the Chenab. But in the Rapid forward movement heavy held artillery had been left behind, and immediately afterwards, an action bad to be fought with the Sikhs which was neither brilliant nor complete In fact, it was bad affair with distressing results ’ Anticipating the difficult situation 'which might arise, Gough had, a day earlier, ordered Brigadier General Campbell to move out the 3rd Infantry Division from Sahatun to disperse the Sikh force reported to be m the vicinity of Ramnagar A cavalry division with three troops of horse artillery under Brigadier General Cureton, the Commander of the Cavalry, accompanied Campbell’s force ' On arrival at Ramnagar, Campbell found the Sikh force in position on the opposite bank of the river, though small parties of Sikh soldiers were observed retreating from the town towards the ford in front of the Sikh encampment Cureton had numerous cavalry but in guns, and as the situation was pressing, he ordered the horse artillery to charge the retreating parties Lieut Col Lane, who commanded the horse artillery, in his eagerness to overtake the withdrawing Sikh troops through the deep and heavy sand of the river, met with a disaster. The Sikh artillery on the opposite bank of the river opened up with disastrous effect, and 50 CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)