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iffit:';;'<!'jair;a;''i:t5'3i;i 


Presented  to  the 

LfflRARY  of  the 

UNIVERSITY  OF  TORONTO 

by 
WUlard  G.  Oxtoby 


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AN  APPRECIATION 


CUNNINGHAM'S  History  of  the  Sikhs  is  a  work 
which  no  serious  student  of  Indian  history  can  do  with- 
out. Cunningham  was  never  a  dilettante;  on  the  other 
hand  he  was  an  expert  and  an  authority.  He  brought 
to  bear  on  the  subject  an  unbiased  mind,  a  fastidious 
fondness  for  accuracy  as  well  as  consummate  erudi- 
tion. No  bias  warps  his  judgement,  no  profitless  profu- 
sion mars  the  beauty  of  his  style,  no  lurking  ignorance 
interrupts  the  fulness  of  the  narrative. 

The  author  had  lived  among  the  Sikhs  for  a  period 
of  eight  years  during  a  very  important  portion  of  their 
history.  And  it  is  to  this  fact  that  the  genesis  of  his 
magnum  opus  is  to  be  traced. 

But — strange  as  it  may  appear — the  author's  un- 
flinching adherence  to  truth  at  first  brought  him  only 
degradation  and  disgrace.  The  circumstances  have 
been  explained  by  Malleson  thus: 

"The  work  (History  of  the  Sikhs)  appeared  in 
1849.  Extremely  well  writeen,  giving  the  fullest  and 
the  most  accurate  details  of  events;  the  book  possessed 
one  quality  which,  in  the  view  of  the  Governor-General 
of  the  day,  the  Marquis  of  Dalhousie,  rendered  the 
publication  of  it  a  crime.  It  told  the  who^e  truth — the 
unpalatable  truth,  regarding  the  first  Sikh  War;  it 
exposed  the  real  strength  of  the  Sikh  army;  the  con- 
duct of,  and  the  negotiations  with,  the  Sikh  chiefs. 

"The  book,  if  unnoticed  by  high  authority,  would 
have  injured  no  one.  The  Punjab  had  been  annexed, 
or  was  in  the  process  of  annexation,  when  it  appeared. 
But  a  despotic  Government  cannot  endure  truths 
which  seem  to  reflect  on  the  justice  of  its  policy.  Look- 
ing at    the   policy    of    annexation    from    the    basis    of 


iv  AN  APPRECIATION 

Cunningham's  book,  that  policy  v/as  undoubtedly  un- 
just. Cunningham's  book  would  be  widely  read,  and 
would  influence  the  general  verdict. . .  .  That  an  officer 
holding  a  high  political  office  should  write  a  book 
which,  by  the  facts  disclosed  in  it,  reflected,  however 
indirectly,  t>n  his  Dalhousie's  policy,  was  not  to  be  en- 
dured. With  one  stroke  of  the  pen,  then,  he  removed 
Cunningham  from  his  appointment  at  Bhopal.  Cun- 
ningham, stunned  by  the  blow,  entirely  unexpected, 
died  of  a  broken  heart!" 

Truth,  however,  has  triumphed  ultimately  as  it 
has  a  way  of  doing.  Lord  Dalhousie  could  crush  Cun- 
ningham, but  he  could  not  crush  his  work.  Posterity 
hastened  not  only  to  remove  from  the  brow  of  this 
conscientious  and  faithful  historian  the  scars  of  the 
stigma  which  Dalhousie  had  tried  l.o  brand  on  it,  but 
also  to  adorn  it  with  the  laurel  crown  which  is  the 
victor's  just  reward.  Cunningham's  place  in  the 
Valhalla  of  historians  is  now  secure. 


EDITOR'S  NOTE 

The  author's  original  spelling  of  Indian  names  is 
archaic  and  almost  intolerable  to  the  modern  reader. 
I  have  therefore  adopted  the  modern  accepted  spelling, 
and  for  the  arduous  work  of  transliteration  I  am 
indebted  to  L.  Tej  Ram,  M.A.,  Professor  of  Mathe- 
matics- at  the  Randhir  College,  Kapurthala. 

The  author's  text  and  notes  have  remained  unal- 
tered, but  where  necessary  I  have  added  additional 
notes,  which  will  be  found  in  brackets. 

By  permission  of  the  Government  of  the  Punjab, 
I  am  enabled  to  reproduce  some  of  the  results  obtained 
by  the  recent,  examination  of  the  manuscript  records 
of  the  Sikh  days,  which  have  long  been  lying  in  the 
archives  of  the  Civil  Secretariat.  In  this  connexion  I 
have  been  greatly  assisted  by  L.  Sita  Ram  Kohli,  M.A., 
the  research  student  in  charge  of  the  work.  Apart  from 
this,  he  has  been  of  great  help  in  preparing  the  entire 
volume  and,  in  particular,  in  the  drawing  up  of  the 
Bibliography.  Finally,  I  tender  my  very  grateful 
thanks  to  the  Hon.  Mr.  J.  P.  Thompson,  I.C.S.,  Chief 
Secretary  to  the  Government  of  the  Punjab,  who  has 
kindly  looked  through  the  manuscript  and  to  whorh  I 
am  indebted  for  many  valuable  hints  and  suggestions. 

H.  L.  C.  GARRETT. 
Lahore, 
November  1915. 


INTRODUCTORY 

The  original  edition  of  Capt.  Cunningham's  book 
appeared  m  1849.  A  second  edition  was  finished  in 
1851,  but,  as  is  explained  in  the  second  preface  by  his 
brother,  this  edition  did  not  make  its  appearance  till 
1853,  after  the  death  of  the  author.  The  second  edition 
did  not  differ  materially  from  the  first  beyond  certain 
re-arrangements  and  certain  additions  to  the  notes, 
with  the  exception  of  Chapter  IX.  This  chapter,  which 
deals  with  the  events  leading  up  to,  and  the  progress 
and  result  of,  the  first  Sikh  War,  was  considerably 
modified  in  the  second  edition.  Even  in  this  form  the 
chapter  contains  many  statements  of  an  injudicious 
nature.  Indeed,  as  the  result  of  certain  strictures 
upon  the  policy  of  the  Government  of  India  in  dealing 
with  Gulab  Singh  of  Jammu,  the  author  was  dismissed 
from  his  employment  in  the  Political  Department  by 
the  Honourable  East  India  Company  and  sent  back  to 
regimental  duty.  These  strictures,  together  with  a 
note  upon  the  subsequent  punishment  meted  out  to 
the  author,  will  be  found  in  their  proper  place  in 
Chapter  IX. 

To  turn  to  the  volume  as  a  whole.  The  author,  as 
he  tells  us  in  his  own  prefatory  note,  spent  eight  years 
of  his  service  (from  1838  to  1846)  in  close  contact  with 
the  Sikhs,  and  that  too  during  a  very  important  period 
of  their  history.  His  experiences  began  with  the  inter- 
view between  Lord  Auckland  and  Ranjit  Singh  in  1838 
and  lasted  down  to  the  close  of  the  first  Sikh  War, 
when  he  became. resident  in  Bhopal.  The  result  of  his 
eight  years'  residence  was  to  give  him  a  great  insight 
into  the  history  of  the  Sikhs  and  to  inspire  in  him  a 
partiality  which  is  only  too  clearly  visible  in  his  hand- 
ling of  the  events  leading  up  to  the  outbreak  of  hosti- 
lities with  the  British.  The  whole  book  bears  evidence 
of  most  meticulous  care,  and  the  voluminous  footnotes 
show;  the  breadth  and  variety  of  the  author's  study. 

Chapter  I  deals  with  the  country  and  its  people. 
There  is  a  detailed  description  of  the  industries  of  the 
Punjab  and  its  dependencies,  much  of  which  has  been 
rendered  archaic  by  the  natural  march  of  events.  The 
ethnological  part   of   this  chapter  has  been   carefully 


INTRODUCTORY  vii 

done,  though  this  again  is  in  need  of  supplementation 
in  the  hght  of  modern  research.  It  seems  hardly 
necessary  to  guide  the  modern  reader  in  this  direction 
when  so  many  excellent  gazetteers  are  now  available, 
but  for  a  very  lucid  summary  of  the  Hill  States  of  the 
Punjab  and  their  peoples,  a  subject  in  which  the  author 
is  a  little  difficult  to  follow,  reference  may  well  be 
made  to  an  article  (in  vol.  iii  of  The  Journal  of  the 
Punjab-  Historical  Society)  by  Messrs.  Hutchison  and 
Vogel,  which  is  admirably  explicit  and  is  supplemented 
by  a  short  bibliography  on  the  subject. 

Chapter  II  is  concerned  with  the  old  religions  of 
India.  Here  again  knowledge  has  moved  forward  and 
much  of  the  author's  information  is  archaic.  His  con- 
ception of  the  lingam  and  its  significance,  for  example, 
is  not  in  consonance  with  modern  theory.  Unfortu- 
nately, too,  he  lived  before  the  days  when  the  labours 
of  the  Archaeological  Department  had  thrown  a  flood 
of  light  upon  the  teaching  of  Buddha  and  the  preva- 
lence of  his  religion  in  India.  Indeed,  his  only  refer- 
ence to  the  British  in  this  connexion  is  an  accusation 
of  iconoclasm  which  reads  strangely-  to  a  modern  gene- 
ration. His  account  of  'modern  reforms'  naturally 
stops  at  an  early  point,  and  he  seems  to  have  been  led 
into  the  somewhat  erroneous  conclusion  that  the  whole 
Indian  world — Hindu  and  Muhammadan — at  the  tim.e 
that  he  wrote,  was  moving  in  the  direction  of  a  new 
revelation.  As  I  have  pointed  out  in  a  supplementary 
note,  the  tendency  is  rather,  in  the  case  of  both  creeds, 
towards  a  reversion  to  ancient  purity  and  the  removal 
of  accretions  and  corruptions.  The  chapter  concludes 
with  an  account  of  Guru  Nanak  and  his  teaching. 

Chapter  III  is  concerned  with  the  lives  and  teach-- 
ing  of  the  Gurus.  The  gradual  spread  of  the  Sikh 
religion  in  the  Punjab  led  to  the  establishment  of  a 
sort  of  imperium  in  imperio.  This  development  caused 
Mughal  emperors  to  follow  a  line  of  policy  much  like 
that  adopted  by  the  Roman  emperors  when  confronted 
by  the  rising  organization  of  the  Christian  Church. 
This  policy — one  of  repression  and  persecution — caused 
a  profound  modification  of  the  whole  Sikh  system.  The 
simple  altruism  of  the  early  days  was  laid  aside  and, 
under  Gobind  Singh,  the  tenth  and  last  Guru,  the  Sikhs 
became  a  definite  fighting  force.  At  first  the  armies 
of  the  Khalsa  met  with  little  success,  and  the  death  of 
Gobind  Singh  in  1708,  followed  by  that  of  Banda.  his 
successor  in  the  command  of  the  armies,  in  1716,  seemed 
to  sound  the  knell  of  Sikh  hopes  and  ambitions.    But 


viii  INTRODUCTORY 

the  fervour  of  their  belief  rose  triumphant  over  perse- 
cution, and  the  Sikhs  found  their  opportunity  in  the 
years  of  disorder  which  followed  the  death  of  the 
Emperor  Bahadur  Shah  in  1712. 

Chapter  IV  relates  the  gradual  establishment  of 
Sikh  independence  down  to  1764.  Northern  India  was 
a  wild  welter  of  confusion.  The  Mughal  Empire  was 
falling  rapidly  to  pieces  under  the  repeated  blows  of 
invaders  from  north  and  south.  First  Nadir  Shah  and 
his  Persian  hosts,  and  then  the  Afghan  Ahmad  Shah 
Durrani,  swept  down  upon  the  imperial  capital.  Like 
Rome  of  old,  Delhi  felt  again  and  again  the  hand  of 
the  spoiler,  and  its  glories  became  a  thing  of  the  past. 
The  advent  of  the  Marathas  upon  the  scene  seemed  at 
first  the  prelude  to  the  establishment  of  Hindu  supre- 
macy in  the  north  of  India.  But  the  battle  of  Panipat 
(1761)  proved  fatal  to  their  ambitions  and  left  the 
stage  open  for  the  development  of  a  new  power  in  the 
Punjab. 

Amid  all  this  confusion  the  Sikhs  gradually 
achieved  their  independence.  At  first  they  were  mere 
bands  of  plunderers,  but  gradually  these  bands  became 
united  into  a  formidable  fighting  force.  In  1748  the 
army  of  the  Khalsa  became  a  recognized  organization 
under  Jassa  Singh,  and  though  it  frequently  suffered 
defeat,  it  never  lost  its  definite  character  after  that 
date.  The  Sikhs  sustained  their  greatest  disaster  at  the 
hands  of  the  Afghans  at  Ludhiana  in  1762,  but  the 
waves  of  Afghan  invasion  had  spent  their  strength.  In 
1763,  at  Sirhind,  the  Sikhs  avenged  their  defeat  of  the 
previous  year  and  permanently  occupied  the  province 
of  Sirhind.  In  the  following  year,  which  witnessed  the 
last  Afghan  invasion,  they  became  masters  of  Lahore, 
and  in  the  same  year,  at  a  meeting  at  Amritsar,  orga- 
nized themselves  into  a  ruling  political  system,  descri- 
bed by  the  author  as  a  'theocratic  confederate  feudal- 
ism'. The  condition  of  the  Punjab  during  these  years 
of  bloodshed  and  disorder  was  miserable  in  the  ex- 
treme. To  find  any  parallel  in  European  history  one 
would  have  to  go  back  to  the  days  of  King  Stephen  in 
England  or  to  some  of  the  worst  episodes  of  the  Thirty 
Years'  War.  Waris  Shah,  the  author  of  the  story  of 
Hir  and  Ranjha,  who  flourished  during  this  period, 
gives,  in  the  epilogue  of  this  poem,  a  vivid  account  of 
the  state  of  the  country  : 

Fools  and  sinners  give  counsel  to  the  world, 
The  words  of  the  wise  are  set  at  naught. 


INTRODUCTORY  ix 

No  man  tells  the  truth  or  cares  for  justice, 

Telling  what  is  untrue  has  become  the  practice  in  the  world. 

With  violence  men  commit  flagrant  iniquity. 

In  the  hands  of  tyrants  there  is  a  sharp  sword. 

There  is  no  Governor,  Ruler,  or  Emperor. 

The  country  and  all  the  people  in  it  have  been  made  desolate. 

Great  confusion  has  fallen  on  the  country. 
There  is  a  sword  in  every  man's  hand. 
The  purdah  of  shame  and  modesty  has  been  lifted 
And  all  the  world  goes  naked  in  the  open  bazaar. 

Thieves  have  become  leaders  of  men. 

Harlots  have  become  mistresses  of  the  household. 

The  company  of  devils  has  multiplied  exceedingly. 

The  state  of  the  noble  is  pitiable. 

Men  of  menial  birth  flourish  and  the  peasants  are  in 

great  prosperity. 

The  Jats  have  become  masters  of  our  country. 
Everywhere  there  is  a  new  Government,  i 

The  Sikhs  had  become  a  nation  and,  in  theory,  a  united 
nation,  but  in  actual  fact  such  was  far  from  being  the 
case.  The  new  State  was  composed  of  a  number — 
twelve  is  the  usually  recognized  total — of  leagues  or 
'Misals'.  Instead  of  uniting  and  forming  a  solid  State, 
these  'Misals'  were  almost  constantly  engaged  in  civil 
war,  grouping  and  regrouping  in  the  struggle  for  pre- 
eminence. It  needed  a  strong  hand  to  check  these  in- 
ternecine disputes,  and,  fortunately  for  the  Punjab, 
Ranjit  Singh  appeared  on  the  scene.  The  career  of  the 
one-eyed  Lion  of  the  Punjab  is  fully  described  in  the 
text  and  needs  but  little  reference  at  this  point.  The 
Maharaja's  real  career  commences  with  his  acquisition 
of  Lahore  in  1799.  From  that  date  he  steadily  extend* 
ed  his  sway  over  the  whole  Punjab.  Many  books  have 
been  written  on  the  career  of  this  remarkable  man 
and  upon  the  system  of  comparatively  orderly  govern- 
ment which  he  introduced.  There  exist  in  the  Secre 
tariat  at  Lahore  a  number  of  manuscript  records 
(accounts,  muster  rolls,  pay  sheets,  &c.)  of  his  govern- 
ment. These  are  now  under  examination,  and  it  is 
hoped  that  a  great  deal  of  additional  light  will  be 
thrown  upon  his  system  of  government  as  a  result.  The 

1  [I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  C.  F.  Usborne,  C.S.,  for  the  above 
translation.] 


X  INTRODUCTORY 

papers  that  have  been  examined  up  to  the  present  time 
(1915)  show  how  actively  Ranjit  Singh  interested  him- 
self in  the  details  of  his  administration.  As  regards  his 
character,  he  was  not  altogether  without  faults.  Tem- 
perance and  chastity  were  not  his  conspicuous  virtues. 
But  with  all  his  shortcomings,  he  was  a  strong  and 
able  ruler  admirably  suited  to  the  conditions  of  the 
time.  The  Maharaja's  territorial  expansion  brougnt 
him  into  contact  with  the  Cis-Sutlej  States,  which 
were  under  English  protection,  and  so  into  contact 
with  the  English.  The  result  of  this  was  the  Treaty 
of  1809,  which  Ranjit  Singh  loyally  observed  down  to 
his  death  in  1839,  although  at  times  he  showed  symp- 
toms of  irritation  at  the  rising  power  of  the  English. 

The  death  of  Ranjit  Singh  in  1839  was  the  signal 
for  the  outbreak  of  a  series  of  palace  revolutions,  in 
which  the  army  of  the  Khalsa  played  a  part  hardly 
dissimilar  from  that  of  the  Praetorian  Guards  at  their 
very  worst.  This  period  of  the  story  is  fully  dealt  with 
by  the  author  in  Chapter  VIII.  The  disorder  culmi- 
nated in  the  crossing  of  the  Sutlej  by  the  Sikh  forces 
and  the  consequent  outbreak  of  the  first  Sikh  War. 
From  this  point  of  the  story  the  partiality  of  the  author 
causes  many  of  his  statements  to  be  viewed  with  sus- 
picion. In  his  eyes  the  war  represents  a  national  tide 
of  self-preservation  rising  against  the  ever-encroaching 
power  of  England.  Such  was  far  from  being  the  case, 
and  very  different  motives  actuated  the  corrupt  admi- 
nistration of  Lahore.  Terrified  of  the  power  of  the 
army,  that  administration  flung  its  legions  across  the 
Sutlej  in  the  hope  that  they  would  be  either  annihi- 
lated or  so  seriously  crippled  as  to  cease  to  be  a  danger 
in  the  future.  At  the  same  time  the  outbreak  of  hosti- 
lities would  divert  attention  from  the  shortcomings 
of  the  central  government — a  political  manoeuvre 
strongly  reminiscent  of  some  of  the  actions  of  Napoleon 
III.  The  author  gives  a  somewhat  turgid  description 
of  the  battles  of  the  war — indeed,  the  language  in  the 
account  of  the  battle  of  Sobraon  reminds  one  of  the 
story  of  the  battle  in  the  poems  of  Mr.  Robert  Mont- 
gomery— and  he  concludes  his  narrative  by  some 
general  remarks  upon  English  policy  in  India.  From 
the  latter  I  have  removed  some  passages  which  are  not 
only  injudicious  but  which  have  been  stultified  by  the 
march  of  events. 

Beyond  a  bare  reference  the  author  does  not  touch 
on  the  second  Sikh  War  and  the  resultant  annexation 
at  all;  but,  as  he  was  transferred  to  Bhopal  at  the  con- 


INTRODUCTORY  xi 

elusion  of  the  first  war,  he  probably  lost  touch  with 
Punjab  politics. 

It  is  not  possible  in  a  short  introduction  of  this 
nature  to  follow  the  history  of  the  Sikhs  in  detail  since 
the  Punjab  came  under  British  control.  That  the  Sikhs 
settled  down  peacefully  and  loyally  under  the  new 
regime  is  sufficiently  borne  out  by  the  records  of  the 
Mutiny,  when  the  newly  raised  Sikh  regiments — many 
of  them  composed  of  the  disbanded  regiments  of  the 
Khalsa  army — did  excellent  service.  The  Sikhs  have 
displayed  their  warlike  aptitude  in  other  fields  since 
1857  and  are  to  be  found  to-day  taking  their  share  in 
the  great  European  War. 

In  1911  the  Sikh  population  of  the  Punjab  num- 
bered a  little  over  two  millions  out  of  a  total  population 
of  some  twenty-three  and  a  half  millions.  As  regards 
modern  conversions  to  Sikhism  and  the  relation  of  that 
religion  to  Hinduism,  Mr.  Candler  has  the  following 
interesting  remarks  in  an  article  which  appeared  in 
Blackwood's  Magazine  in  September  1909  :  'The  truth 
is  that  the  Sikhs  have  only  partially  rid  themselves  of 
caste.  They  were  able  to  suppress  the  instinct  so  long 
as  it  endangered  their  existence,  but  when  they  be- 
came pairamount  in  the  Punjab  and  the  Khalsa  was 
sufficient  for  its  own  needs,  the  old  exclusive  Brahma- 
nical  spirit  returned.  The  influence  of  Ranjit  Singh's 
Court  increased  this  retrogressive  tendency,  and  in 
spite  of  the  Guru's  teaching  it  is  not  always  easy  for 
a  low-caste  Hindu  to  become  a  Sikh  to-day.  Still,  it  is 
not  always  impossible.  The  acceptance  or  rejection  of 
a  convert  is  likely  to  depend  on  whether  the  majority 
in  the  district  Singh  Sabha  or  Sikh  Council  is  conser- 
vative or  progressive.  The  so-called  Conservative 
Party  is  naturally  exclusive,  while  the  so-called  Pro- 
gressive Party  are  really  purists  who  would  revert  to 
the  injunctions  of  Nanak  and  Gobind.  They  are  ready 
to  receive  all  converts  whom  they  believe  to  be 
genuine,  of  whatever  caste.  The  Sikhs  now  number  a 
little  over  two  millions,  and  in  the  last  ten  years  the 
numbers  have  only  risen  in  proportion  to  the  general 
increase  in  the  Punjab.  The  lack  of  converts  is  due  as 
much  to  apathy  as  to  obstacles  placed  in  the  way  b}"" 
the  priests.' 

H.  L.  O.  GARRETT. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  NOTE 
ON  THE  CUNNINGHAM  FAMILY 

Allan  Cunningham,  the  father  of  the  author  of 
this  volume,  was  born  in  the  parish  of  Keir,  Dumfries- 
shire, in  1784.  Although  apprenticed  to  his  elder 
brother,  then  a  stonemason,  he  soon  showed  a  literary 
bent.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  made  the  acquaintance 
of  Hogg,  the  Ettrick  shepherd,  and  the  acquaintance 
ripened  into  a  warm  friendship.  Early  in  the  nineteenth 
century  he  commenced  his  career  as  an  author,  and  his 
poems  began  to  appear  in  various  periodicals.  When 
R.  H.  Cromek,  the  engraver,  was  travelling  in  Scotland 
in  1809,  collecting  Scottish  songs,  he  met  Cunningham., 
who  showed  him  some  of  his  work.  Upon  Cromek's 
advice  Cunningham  then  went  up  to  London  to  try 
his  fortune  at  literature.  For  some  years  he  worked 
both  as  a  mason  and  as  a  literary  man,  producing  a 
number  of  poems  in  the  Day  and  the  Literary  Gazette. 
In  1814,  Chantrey,  the  sculptor,  to  whom  he  had  been 
introduced  by  Cromek,  engaged  him  as  his  superin- 
tendent of  works,  and  this  connexion  lasted  down  to 
Chantrey's  death,  in  1841.  During  this  period  he  pro- 
duced a  quantity  of  literary  work  of  a  varied  nature. 
He  had  become  acquainted  with  Sir  Walter  Scott,  when 
the  latter  was  sitting  for  Chantrey,  and  in  1820  submit- 
ted to  him  a  drama,  Sir  Marmaduke  Maxioell.  It  was 
considered  unsuitable  to  the  stage,  but  Scott  was 
favourably  impressed  with  the  style.  In  1825  appeared 
The  Songs  of  Scotland,  Ancient  and  Modern,  which 
contained  the  well-known  sea  song,  'A  Wet  Sheet  and 
a  Flowing  Sea.'  His  connexion  with  Chantrey  gave 
him  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the  artistic  world,  which 
he  turned  to  account  in  his  Lives  of  the  Most  Eminent 
British  Painters.  Sculptors,  and  Architects,  which  he 
published  from  1829-33.  His  last  important  work  was 
an  edition  of  Burns,  which  appeared  in  1834.  Late  in 
life  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  Caryle,  who  had  a 
warm  regard  for  him.  Cunningham  died  in  1842.  leav- 
ing five  sons  and  a  daughter. 

Joseph  Davey  Cunningham,  the  eldest  son  and  the 


NOTE  ON  THE  CUNNINGHAM  FAMILY     xiir 

author  of  the  present  volume,  was  born  in.  1812.    At  an 
early  age  he  showed  such  aptitude  for  mathematics 
that  his  father  was  advised  to  send  him  to  Cambridge. 
But  as  he  was  keenly  desirous  of  becoming  a  soldier 
a  cadetship  in  the  East  India  Company's  service  was 
procured  for  him,  through  the  good  offices  of  Sir  Walter 
Scott.    After  a  brilliant  career  at  AddiScombe  he  jailed 
for  India  in  1834,  and  was  at  iirst  employed  on  the  staff 
of  the  chief  engineer  of  the  Bengal  Presidency.     In 
1837  he  was  appointed  assistant  to  Colonel  (afterwards 
Sir   Claude)    Wade,   the   political   agent   on   the   Sikh 
frontier.     For  the   next  eight  years  he  held  various 
appointments  under  Colonel  Wade  and  his  successors, 
and  at  the  time  of  the  outbreak  of  the  first  Sikh  War 
was  political  agent  in  the  State  of  Bahawalpur.  Upon 
the  commencement  of  hostilities  he  was  attached  first 
to  the  staff  of  Sir  Charles  Napier  and  then  to  that  of 
Sir  Hugh  Gough.    He  was  present,  as  political  officer, 
with  the  division  of  Sir  Harry  Smith  at  the  battles  of 
Buddawal  and  Aliwal.     At  Sobraon  he  served  as  an 
additional  aide-de-camp  to  the  Governor-General,  Sir 
Henry  Hardinge.    His  services  earned  him  a  brevet  and 
the  appointment    of    political    agent   to   the    State  of 
Bhopal.    In  1849  appeared  his  History  of  the  Sikhs.  As 
has  been  noted  elsewhere  in  this  edition,  the  views 
taken  by  the  author  were  anything  but  pleasing  to  his 
superiors.    As  a  punishment,  he  was  removed  from  his 
political  appointment    and    sent    back    to    regimental 
duty.     The  disgrace  undoubtedly  hastened  his  death, 
and  soon  after  his  appointment  to  the  Meerut  Division 
of  Public  Works  he  died  suddenly  at  Ambala,  in  1851. 
Like    Joseph    Davey    Cunningham,    his    younger 
brothers    inherited    their    father's    literary    abilities. 
Alexander,  the    second  brother,    had    a    distinguished 
career  in  India.  He,  too,  obtained  his  cadetship  through 
the  influence  of  Sir  Walter  Scott,  and  arrived  in  India 
in  1833.     Lord    Auckland    appointed    him  one    of  his 
aides-de-camp,  and  while  on   the  Governor-General's 
staff  he  visited    Kashmir,    then    almost    an    unknown 
country.     He  served  with  distinction  in  the  Gwalior 
campaign  of  1843  and  acted  as  executive  engineer  of 
Gwalior  until  the  outbreak  of  the  first  Sikh  War.     In 
this  war  and  also  in  the  second  Sikh  War  he  did  good 
service   and  then  returned  to  Gwalior.    In  1856  he  was 
appointed  chief  engineer  in  Burma  (after  a  brief  period 
of  service  in    Multan,    where  he    designed    the   Vans 
Agnew  and  Anderson  monument) ,  and  remained  there 
till  1858.     He  was  transferred  to  the  North-Western 


xiv     NOTE  ON  THE  CUNNINGHAM  FAMILY 

Provinces  in  1858,  and  remained  there  till  his  retire- 
ment in  1861  with  the  rank  of  major-general. 

It  was  at  this  stage  that  he  commenced  his  archaeo- 
logical career.  The  Government  of  India  decided  to 
appoint  an  archaeological  surveyor,  and  Cunningham, 
who  during  his  whole  career  in  India  had  displayed 
the  greatest  activity  in  this  direction,  was  appointed 
to  the  post.  This  he  held  (with  an  interval  from  1 865 
to  1870)  down  to  his  final  retirement  in  1885.  His  work 
in  this  capacity  is  too  well  known  to  need  detailed 
treatment  in  a  note  of  this  nature.  He  continued  his 
interest  in  Indian  archaeology  after  his  retirement, 
and  the  collection  of  coins  in  the  British  Museum  bears 
testimony  to  his  generosity.  He  died  in  1893  as  Sir 
Alexander  Cunningham,  having  been  created  a  K.C.I.E. 
in  1887. 

Peter  Cunningham,  the  third  brother,  under  whose 
editorship  the  second  edition  of  this  book  appeared  in 
1853,  was  a  well-known  antiquary.  He  held  an  ap- 
pointment in  the  Audit  Office,  which  he  obtained 
through  Sir  Robert  Peel  in  1834,  His  chief  work  was 
the  Handbook  of  London,  which  first  appeared  in  1849 
and  is  still  regarded  as  a  standard  authority.  He  also 
edited  a  large  number  of  books — the  collected  letters 
of  Horace  Walpole  (1857)  and  the  works  of  Oliver 
Goldsmith  (1854)  being  well-known  examples  of  hii 
work.  He  retired  from  the  public  service  in  1860  and 
died  in  1869. 

Francis  Cunningham,  the  youngest  brother,  also 
served  in  India.  He  joined  the  Madras  army  in  1838 
and  won  distinction  at  the  siege  of  Jalalabad.  He 
retired  from  the  army  In  1861,  and  after  his  retirement 
devoted  himself  to  literature,  for  which  he  displayed 
the  family  aptitude.  He  published  editions  of  Marlowe 
(1870),  Massinger  (1871),  and  Ben  Jonson  (1871).  His 
death  took  place  in  1875. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

SECTION  A.     PRINTED  BOOKS 

(1)  English 

Archer,  J.  H.  Laurence.  Commentaries  on  the  Punjab  Cam- 
paign  (1848-9).    London,  1878. 

Baird,  J.  G.  A.  Private  Letters  of  the  Marquess  of  Dalhousie. 
Blackwood,  1910. 

Banerjee.     Evolution  of  Khalsa. 

Broadfoot,  Major.  Career  of  Major  George  Broadfoot,  C.B., 
in  Afghanistan  and  the  Punjab.  London,  1888. 

Burnes,  Sir  A.     Travels  into  Bokhara.     London,   1834. 

Burton,  Lt.-Col.  R.  G.  The  First  and  Second  Sikh  Wars.  Simla; 
1911. 

Chopra,  G.  L.  The  Punjab  as  a  Sovereign  State.  1928. 

Coley,  J.  Journal  of  the  Sutlej  Campaign  (1845-6).  London, 
1856. 

Cotton,  J.  J.  Life  of  General  Avitabile.  Calcutta,  1906. 

Despatches  of  Lords  Hardinge  and  Gough  and  General  Sir 
Harry  Smith,  &c.,  relative  to  the  Engagements  of  Moodkee, 
Ferozeshah,  &c.  (2nd  edition.)  London,  1846.  (Olivier, 
Pall  Mall.) 

Dunlop,  J.  Multan,  during  and  after  the  Siege.  London,  1849. 

Edwardes,  Sir  H.  B.  (vol.  i),  and  H.  Merivale  (vol.  ii).  Life 
of  Sir  H.  Laurence.    London,  1872. 

Fane,  H.  E.  Five  Years  in  India,  1835-39.  (Author  was  aide- 
de-camp  to  Lord  Auckland.)     London,  1842. 

"Foster,  G.  A  Journey  from  Bengal  to  England  through  North 
India,  Kashmir,  Afghanistan,  and  Persia,  into  Russia 
(1783-4).     London,  1798. 

Ganda  Singh  and  Teja  Singh.     History  of  the  Sikhs. 

Gardner,  A.  Memoirs  of  Col.  A.  Gardner.  London  (re-edit- 
ed), 1898. 

Gazetteer  of  the  Punjab.      Provincial   Series  of  the  Imperial 

Gazetteer  of  India.     Oxford,  1908. 
Gough,  Sir  C,  and  A.  D.  Innes.    The  Sikhs  and  the  Sikh  Wars. 

London,  1897. 
Gough,    Lord.     Despatches    of    Lord    Gough     (Parliamentary 

Papers,  1846). 
Griffin,  L.  H.  Ranjit  Singh  ('Rulers  of  India'  Series).  Oxford, 

1892. 
Gupta,>  H.  R.     History  of  the  Sikhs  in  3  vols. 


xvi  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Hardinge,  Lord.    Despatches  of  Lord  Hardinge  (Parliamentary 

Papers,  1846). 
Honigberger,  J.  M.     Thirty-Five    Years    in    the    East.      (The 

author  was  court  physician   at  Lahore  for  some  time.) 

London,  .1852. 
Huegel,  C.  von.     Travels  in  Kashmir  and  the  Country  of  the 

Sikhs.     Written   in   German,   translated  by  T.   B.  Jervis. 

London,  1845. 
Humbly,  W.  W.  W.     Journal  of  a  Cavalry  Officer  (Sikh  Cam- 
paign, 1845-6).     London,  1854. 
Irvine,  W.     The  Later  Moguls.  Journal  of  the  Asiatic  Society 

of  Bengal,  vols.  Ixiii   (1894),  Ixv   (1896),  Ixvii   (1898). 
Jacquemont,  V.  Letters  from  India  (translated).  London.  1835. 
Kaye,  Sir  J.  W.     Life  and  Correspondence  of  Lord  Metcalfe. 

London,  1854. 
Khazan  Singh.     History  and  Philosophy  of  the  Sikh  Religion. 

Lahore,  1914, 
Latif,  M.  A  History  of  the  Punjab.     Calcutta,  1891. 
Laurence,  J.   The  Sikhs  and  their  Country.     Journal  of  the 

Asiatic  Society  of  Bengal,  vol.  iii. 
Laurence,    Major    W.  M.  Som,e    Passages    of   the    Life    of   an 

Adventurer  in  the  Punjab.  Delhi,  1842. 
Macauliffe,  M.  A.    The  Sikh  Religion,  its  Gurus,  Sacred  Writ- 
ings, and  Authors.  6  vols.  Oxford,  1909. 
Macgregor,  W.  L.  The  History  of  the  Sikhs.  London,  1846. 
Malcolm,  J.  A  Sketch  of  the  Sikhs.  London  and  Bombay,  1812. 
Marshman,  J.  C.  Memoirs  of  Sir  H.  Havelock.  London,  1860. 
Masson,   C.   Narrative   of    Various    Journeys    in    Balochistan, 

Afghanistan,  and  the  Punjab    (1826-38).  3  vols.  London, 

1842. 
Massy,  C.  F.,  and  Griffin,  L.  H.     The  Chiefs  and  Families  of 

Note  in  the  Punjab,  1909.    Revised  ed.,  1907. 
Mohana  Lala.    Travels  in  the  Punjab,  Afghanistan,  Turkistan. 

London,  1846. 
Moorcroft  and  Trebeck.     Travels  in  the  Himalayan  Provinces 

(1819-25),  edited  by  H.  H.  Wilson.  London,  1841. 
Narang,  G.  C.  Transformation  of  Sikhism. 
Osborne,  W.  G.  Court  and  Camp  of  Runjeet  Singh.    (Author 

was  military  secretary  to  Lord  Auckland.)   London,  1840. 
Prinsep,  H.  T.     The  Origin  of  the  Sikh  Power  in  the  Punjab. 

Calcutta,  1834. 
Rait,  R.  S.  Life  of  Hugh,  Viscount  Gough.  Constable,  London, 

1903. 
Sethi,  R.  R.  Lahore  Darbar.  New  Delhi,  1950. 
Sinha,  N.  K.  Ranjit  Singh,  1933. 

Smyth,  G.     History  of  the  Reigning  Family  of  Lahore.  Cal- 
cutta, 1847. 
Steinbach,  Lt.-Col.  H.  The  Punjab.   (Author  was  employed  in 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  xvii 

Ranjit  Singh's  army  for  about  eight  years.)   London,  1845. 
Thackwell,  E.  J.     Narrative  of  the  Second  Sikh  War.  London, 

1851. 
Thorburn,  S.  S.     The  Punjab  in  Peace  and  War.     Blackwood, 

London,  1904. 
Wade,  C.  Our  Relations  with  the  Punjab.  London,  1823, 

(2)     Persian 

Amar  Nath,  Diwan.  Zafar  Nama-i-Ranjit  Singh.  A  very  im- 
portant source  of  information  concerning  the  reign  of 
Ranjit  Singh.  The  author  was  for  some  time  a  paymaster 
of  the  Irregular  Cavalry  forces  of  the  Lahore  Darbar.  The 
book  was  edited  with  notes  and  introduction  by  Sita  Ram 
Kohli  in  1928. 

Buti  Shah.  Tarikh  Punjab.  The  author  Ghulam  Muhiy-ud- 
Din  alias  Buti  Shah,  was  in  the  service  of  the  British  at 
Ludhiana.  He  wrote  his  book  in  1848  at  the  suggestion  of 
Col.  Ochterlony. 

Kanhya  Lai.     Ranjit  Nama.     Lahore,   1876. 

Khafi  Khan.  Muntakhab  ul  lubab.  (Translatien  in  History  of 
India  as  told  by  its  own  Historians.  Elliot  and  Dowson. 
Vol.  vii.  1877.) 

Mohsin  Fani.  Dabistan.  (Translation  by  D.  Shea  and  A. 
Troyer.  London,  1843.)  (Author  was  a  contemporary  of 
Gurus  Har  Gobind  and  Har  Rai,  VI th  and  Vllth  Gurus) 

Sohan  Lai.  Diary  of  Ranjit  Singh  or  Umdat-ul~Tawarikh. 
1885.  The  MS.  copy  of  this  book  in  Bankipur  Oriental 
Public  Library  closes  at  1831.  The  published  copy  goes 
down  to  1849.  (Sohan  Lai  was  Ranjit  Singh's  Court  vakil 
and  historian.  A  very  faithful  narrative  of  Ranjit  Singh's 
life.) 

SECTION  B.       DOCUMENTS,  UNPUBLISHED  MSS. 

1.  Sarup  Lai.     Tarikh-Sikhan.    (MSS.  undated.) 

2.  State  Records.  MSS.  Civil  Secretariat,  Punjab,  1812-49. 

Official  documents  of  Ranjit  Singh's  government. 
Papers  of  various  descriptions.  Civil  and  military  depart- 
ments.    Written  in .  the  Persian  language. 

3.  Records   of  Ludhiana,  Ambala,  and  Delhi   agencies.   MSS. 

Civil  Secretariat,  Punjab,  1804-49. 

Dispatches  and  communications  between  the  Sikh 
Government  and  the  East  India  Company  and  their 
Agents.     Written  in  English. 

4.  In  the  Library  of  the  India  Office. 

M.  Ali  ud  din.  Ibrat  Nama.  M.  Khya  Bux.  Sher  Singh 
Nama.  Tarikh  Mulki-i-Hazara. 


ADVERTISEMENT  TO  THE 
SECOND  EDITION,  1853 

The  sheets  of  this  Edition  were  seen  and  corrected 
by  their  Author,  and  were  ready  for  publication  several 
months  previous  to  his  death,  in  February,  1851.  The 
reasons — of  a  painful,  though  teniporary  character— 
for  the  delay  in  the  appearance  of  the  work  will  be 
found  in  a  Memoir  already  written  and  to  be  published 
hereafter,  when  regard  for  the  living  will  no  longer 
interfere  with  the  truth  of  History. 

The  author  fell  a  victim  to  the  truth  related  in 
this  book.  He  wrote  History  in  advance  of  his  time, 
and  suffered  for  it;  but  posterity  will,  I  feel  assured, 
do  justice  to  his  memory. 

My  brother's  anxiety  to  be  correct  was  evinced  in 
the  unceasing  labour  he  took  to  obtain  the  most  minute 
information.  Wherever  he  has  been  proved  to  be 
wrong — and  this  has  been  in  very  few  instances — he 
has,  with  ready  frankness,  admitted  and  corrected  his 
error.  In  matters  of  opinion  he  made  no  change — not 
from  obstinacy,  but  from  a  firm  conviction  that  he  was 
right. 

The  new  notes  to  this  Edition  contain  some  infor- 
mation of  moment,  contributeli  by  Lord  Gough,  Sir 
Charles  Napier,  and  others,  and  all  received  my 
brother's  sanction. 

The  printed  materials  for  the  recent  History  of 
India  are  not  of  that  character  on  which  historians  can 
rely.  State  Papers,  presented  to  the  people  by  'both 
Houses  of  Parliament',  have  been  altered  to  suit  the 
temporary  views  of  political  warfare,  or  abridged  out 
of  mistaken  regard  to  the  tender  feelings  of  survivors.* 
In  matters  of  private  life,  some  tenderness  may  be 
shown  to  individual  sensitiveness,  but  History,  to  be 

^  The  character  and  career  of  Alexander  Burnes  have  both 
been  misrepresented  in  those  collections  of  State  Papers  which 
are  supposed  to  furnish  the  best  materials  of  history,  but  which 
are  often  only  one-sided-  compilations  of  garbled  documents, 
— counterfeits,  which  the  ministerial  stamp  forces  into  cur- 
rency, defrauding  a  present  generation,  and  handing  dowTi  to 
posterity  a  chain  of  dangerous  lies. — Kaye,  Affghanistan,  ii.  13 


ADVERTISEMENT  xix 

of  any  value,  should  be  written  by  one  superior  to  the 
influences  of  private  or  personal  feelings.  What  Gib- 
bon calls  'truth,  naked,  unblushing  truth,  the  flrst 
virtue  of  more  serious  history',  should  alone  direct  the 
pen  of  the  historian;  and  truth  alone  influenced  the 
mind  and  guided  the  pen  of  the  Author  of  this  book. 

Peter  CuNNTNGIi.^.M. 
Kensington, 

\8th  January,  1853. 


AUTHOR'S  PREFACE  TO  THE 
SECOND  EDITION 

In  this  Second  Edition  the  author  has  made  some 
alterations  in  the  text  of  the  last  chapter,  where  it 
seemed  that  his  readers  had  inferred  more  than  was 
meant,  but  the  sense  and  snirit  of  what  was  originally- 
written  have  been  carefully  preserved,  notwithstand- 
ing the  modifications  of  expression  now  introduced. 
Throughout  the  grammatical  imperfections  detected  on 
reperusal  have  been  removed;  but  no  other  changes 
have  been  made  in  the  text  of  the  first  eight  chapters. 
Some  notes,  however,  altogether  new,  have  been  added, 
while  others  have  been  extended;  and  such  as  by  their 
length  crowded  a  series  of  pages,  and  from  their  sub- 
ject admitted  of  separate  treatment,  have  been  formed 
into  Appendices. 

The  author's  principal  object  in  writing  this  history 
nas  not  always  been  understood,  and  he  therefore 
thinks  it  right  to  say  that  his  main  endeavour  was  to 
give  Sikhism  its  place  in  the  general  hi. 'ory  of  huma- 
nity, by  showing  its  connexion  with  the  different  creeds 
of  India,  by  exhibiting  it  as  a  natural  and  important 
result  of  the  Muhammadan  Conquest,  and  by  impress- 
ing upon  the  people  of  England  the  great  necessity  of 
attending  to  the  mental  changes  now  in  progress 
amongst  their  subject  millions  in  the  East,  who  are 
erroneously  thought  to  be  sunk  in  superstitious  ap'^thy, 
or  to  be  held  spell-bound  in  ignorance  by  a  dark  and 
designing  priesthood.  A  secondary  object  of  the 
author's  was  to  give  some  account  of  the  connexion  of 
the  English  with  the  Sikhs,  and  in  ^jart  with  the 
Afghans,  from  the  time  they  began  to  take  a  direct 
interest  in  the  affairs  of  these  races,  and  to  involve 
them  in  the  web  of  their  policy  for  opening  the  navi- 
gation of  the  Indus,  and  for  bringing  Turkestan  and 
Khorasan  within  theit  commercial  influence.  "^ 

It  has  also  been  remarked  by  some  public  critics  ^ 
and  private  friends,  that  the  author  leans  unduly  to-  I 
wards  the  Sikhs,  and  that  an  officer  in  the  Indian  army  V 
should  appear  to  say  he  sees  aught  unwise  or  objection-  (i 
able  in  the  acts  of  the  East  India  Company  and  its  dele- 
gates is  at  the  least  strange.    The  author  has,  indeed. 


I 


AUTHOR'S  PREFACE  TO  2ND  EDITION       xxi 

constantly  endeavoured  to  keep  his  readers  alive  to 
that  undercurrent  of  feeling  or  principle  which  moves 
the  Sikh  people  collectively,  and  which  will  usually 
rise  superior  to  the  crimes  or  follies  of  individuals.  It 
was  the  history  of  Sikhs,^  a  new  and  peculiar  nation, 
which  he  wished  to  make  known  to  strangers;  and  he 
saw  no  reason  for  continually  recurring  to  the  duty 
or  destiny  of  the  English  in  India,  because  he  was 
addressing  himself  to  his  own  countrymen  who  know 
the  merits  aid  motives  of  their  supremacy  in  the  East, 
and  who  can  themselves  commonly  decide  whether  the 
particular  acts  of  a  viceroy  are  in  accordance  with  the 
general  policy  of  his  government.  The  Sikhs,  more- 
over, are  so  inferior  to  the  English  in  resources  and 
knowledge  that  there  is  no  equality  of  comparison 
between  them. 

The  glory  to  England  is  indeed  great  of  her  Eastern 
Dominion,  and  she  may  justly  feel  proud  of  the  in- 
creasing excellence  of  her  sway  over  subject  nations; 
but  this  general  expression  of  the  sense  and  desire  of 
the  English  people  does  not  show  that  every  proceed- 
ing of  her  delegates  is  necessarily  fitting  and  far-seeing. 
The  wisdom  of  England  is  not  to  be  measured  by  the 
views  and  acts  of  any  one  of  her  sons,  but  is  rather  to 
be  deduced  from  the  characters  of  many.  In  India  it 
is  to  be  gathered  in  part  from  the  high,  but  not  always 
scrupulous,  qualities  which  distinguished  Clive,  Hast- 
ings, and  Wellesley,  who  acquired  and  secured  the 
Empire;  in  part  from  the  generous,  but  not  always 
discerning,  sympathies  of  Burke,  Cornwallis,  and  Ben- 
tinck,  who  gave  to  English  rule  the  stamp  of  modera- 
tion and  humanity;  and  also  in  part  from  the  ignorant 
well-meaning  of  the  people  at  large,  who  justly  depre- 
cating ambition  in  the  abstract  vainly  strive  to  check 
the  progress  of  conquest  before  its  necessary  limits 
have  been  attained,  and  before  the  aspiring  energies  of 
the  conquerors  themselves  have  become  exhausted.  By 
conquest,  I  would  be  understood  to  imply  the  extension 
of  supremacy,  and  not  the  extinction  of  dynasties,  for 
such  imperial  form  of  do'mination  should  be  the  aim 
and  scope  of  English  sway  in  the  East.  England  should 
reign  over  kings  rather  than  rule  over  subjects. 

The  Sikhs  and  the  English  are  each  irresistibly 
urged  forward  in  their  different  ways  and  degrees  to- 
wards remote  and  perhaps  diverse  ends  :  the  Sikhs,  as 
the  leaders  of  a  congenial  mental  change;  the  English, 
as  the  promoters  of  rational  law  and  material  wealth; 
and  individual  chiefs  and  rulers  can  merely  play  their 


xxii    AUTHOR'S  PREFACE  TO  2ND  EDITION 

parts  in  the  great  social  movements  with  more  or  less 
of  effect  and  intelligence.  Of  the  deeds  and  opinions 
of  these  conspicuous  men,  the  Author  has  not  hesitated 
to  speak  plainly  but  soberly,  whether  in  praise  or  dis- 
praise, and  he  trusts  he  may  do  both,  without  either 
idly  flattering  or  malignantly  traducing  his  country, 
and  also  v/ithout  compromising  his  own  character  as  a 
faithful  and  obedient  servant  of  the  State;  for  the 
soldiers  of  India  are  no  longer  mere  sentinels  over 
bales  of  goods,  nor  is  the  East  India  Company  any 
longer  a  private  association  of  traffickers  which  can 
with  reason  object  to  its  mercantile  transactions  being 
subjected  to  open  comment  by  one  of  its  confidential 
factors.  The  merits  of  the  administration  of  the  East 
India  Company  are  many  and  undoubted;  but  its  con- 
stitution is  political,  its  authority  is  derivative,  and 
every  Englishman  has  a  direct  interest  in  the  proceed- 
ings of  his  Government;  while  it  is  likewise  his  coun- 
try's boast  that  her  children  can  at  fitting  times  express 
in  calm  and  considerate  language  their  views  of  her 
career,  and  it  is  her  duty  to  see  that  those  to  w?iom 
she  entrusts  power  rightly  understand  both  their  own 
position  and  her  functions. 

25th  October,  1849. 


PREFACE  TO  THE  FIRST  EDITION  ' 

One  who  possesses  no  claims  to  systematic  scholar- 
ship, and  who  nevertheless  asks  the  public  to  approve 
of  his  labours  in  a  field  of  some  difficulty,  is  bound  to 
show  to  his  readers  that  he  has  at  least  had  fair  means 
of  obtaining  accurate  information  and  of  coming  to 
just  conclusions. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  year  1837,  the  author  re- 
ceived, through  the  unsolicited  favour  of  Lord  Auck- 
land, the  appointment  of  assistant  to  Colonel  Wade,  the 
political  agent  at  Ludhiana,  and  the  officer  in  charge 
of  the  British  relations  with  the  Punjab  and  the  chiefs 
of  Afghanistan.  He  was  at  the  same  time  required  as  an 
engineer  officer,  to  render  Ferozepore  a  defensible  post, 
that  little  place  having  been  declared  a  feudal  escheat, 
and  its  position  being  regarded  as  one  of  military  im- 
portance. His  plans  for  effecting  the  object  in  view 
met  the  approval  of  Sir  Henry  Fane,  the  Commander- 
in-Chief;  but  it  was  not  eventually  thought  proper  to 
do  more  than  cover  the  town  with  a  slight  parapet,  and 
the  scheme  for  reseating  Shah  Shuja  on  his  throne 
seemed  at  the  time  to  make  the  English  and  Sikh  Gov- 
ernments so  wholly  one,  that  the  matter  dropped,  and 
Ferozepore  was  allowed  to  become  a  cantonment  with 
scarcely  the  means  at  hand  of  saving  its  ammunition 
from  a  few  predatory  horse. 

The  author  was  also  present  at  the  interview  which 
took  place  in  1838,  between  Ranjit  Singh  and  Lord 
Auckland.  In  1839  he  accompanied  Shahzada  Taimur 
and  Colonel  Wade  to  Peshawar,  and  he  was  with  them 
when  they  forced  the  Pass  of  Khaibar,  and  laid  open 
the  road  to  Kabul.  In  1840  he  was  placed  in  adminis- 
trative charge  of  the  district  x)f  Ludhiana;  and  towards 
the  end  of  the  same  year,  he  was  deputed  by  the  new 
frontier  agent,  Mr.  Clerk,  to  accompany  Colonel  Shel- 
ton  and  his  relieving  brigade  to  Peshawar,  whence  he 
returned  with  the  troops  escorting  Dost  Muhammad 
Khan  under  Colonel  Wheeler.  During  part  of  1841  he 
was  in  magisterial  charge  of  the  Ferozepore  district, 
and  towards  the  close  of  that  year,  he  was  appointed 

1  Published  in  1  vol.  8vo.   19th  March.  1849. 


xxiv  AUTHOR'S  PREFACE  TO  1ST  EDITION 

—on  the  recommendation  again  of  Mr.  Clerk— to  pro- 
ceed to  Tibet  to  see  that  the  ambitious  Rajas  of  Jammu 
surrendered  certain  territories  which  they  had  seized 
from  the  Chinese  of  Lassa,  and  that  the  British  trade 
with  Ladakh,  &c.,  was  restored  to  its  old  footing.  He 
returned  at  the  end  of  a  year,  and  was  present  at  the 
interviews  between  Lord  Ellenborough  and  Dost 
Muhammad  at  Ludhiana,  and  between  his  lordship  and 
the  Sikh  chiefs  at  Ferozepore  in  December  1842.  During 
part  of  1843  he  was  in  civil  charge  of  Ambala;  but  from 
the  middle  of  that  year  till  towards  the  close  of  1844, 
he  held  the  post  of  personal  assistant  to  Colonel  Rich- 
mond, the  successor  of  Mr.  Clerk.  After  Major  Broad- 
foot's  nomination  to  the  same  office,  and  during  the 
greater  part  of  1845,  the  author  was  employed  in  the 
Bahawalpur  territory  in  connexion  with  refugee  Sin- 
dhians,  and  with  boundary  disputes  between  the  Daud- 
putras  and  the  Rajputs  of  Bikaner  and  Jaisalmer.  When 
war  with  the  Sikhs  broke  out,  the  author  was  required 
by  Sir  Charles  Napier  to  join  his  army  of  co-operation; 
but  after  the  battle  of  Ferozeshah,  he  was  summoned  to 
Lord  Cough's  head-quarters.  He  was  subsequently 
directed  to  accompany  Sir  Harry  Smith,  when  a  diver- 
sion was  made  towards  Ludhiana,  and  he  was  thus 
present  at  the  skirmish  of  Badowal  and  at  the  battle 
of  Aliwal.  He  had  likewise  the  fortune  to  be  a  parti- 
cipator in  the  victory  of  Sobraon,  and  the  further  ad- 
vantage of  acting  on  that  important  day  as  an  aide-de- 
camp to  the  Governor-General.  He  was  then  attached 
to  the  head-quarters  of  the  Commander-in-Chief,  imtil 
the  army  broke  up  at  Lahore,  when  he  accompanied 
Lord  Hardinge's  camp  to  the  Simla  Hills,  preparatory 
to  setting  out  for  Bhopal,  the  political  agency  in  which 
state  and  its  surrounding  districts,  his  lordship  had 
unexpectedly  been  pleased  to  bestow  upon  him. 

The  author  was  thus  living  among  the  Sikh  people 
for  a  period  of  eight  years,  and  during  a  very  important 
portion  of  their  history.  He  had  intercourse,  under 
every  variety  of  circumstances,  with  all  classes  of  men, 
and  he  had  at  the  same  time  free  access  to  all  the  pub- 
lic records  bearing  on  the  affairs  of  the  frontier.  It 
was  after  being  required  in  1844,  to  draw  up  reports 
on  the  British  connexion  generally  with  the  states  on 
the  Sutlej,  and  especially  on  the  military  resources  of 
the  Punjab,  that  he  conceived  the  idea,  and  felt  he  had 
the  means,  of  writing  the  history  whcih  he  now  offers 
to  the  puolic. 

The  author's  residence  in  Malwa  has  been  bene- 


AUTHOR'S  PREFACE  TO  1ST  EDITION       xxv 

ficial  to  him  in  many  ways  personally;  and  it  has  also 
been  of  advantage  in  the  composition  of  this  work,  as 
he  has  had  the  opportunity  of  becoming  acquainted 
with  the  ideas  and  modes  of  life  of  the  military  colonies 
of  Sikhs  scattered  through  Central  India. 

Sehore,  Bhopal, 
December  9,  1848. 


NOTE 

In  the  references,  and  also  in  the  text,  from  Chap.  V  to 
the  end  of  the  volume,  the  names  of  military  officers  and  civil 
functionaries  are  quoted  without  any  nice  regard  to  the  rank 
they  may  have  held  at  the  particular  time,  or  to  the  titles  by 
which  they  may  have  been  subsequently  distinguished.  But 
as  there  is  one  person  onlj-  of  each  name  to  be  referred  to,  no 
doubt  or  inconvenience  can  arise  from  this  laxity.  Thus  the 
youthful,  but  discreet  Mr.  Metcalfe  of  the  treaty  with  Ranjit 
Singh,  and  the  Sir  Charles  Metcalfe  so  honourably  connected 
with  the  history  of  India,  is  the  Lord  Metcalfe  of  riper  years 
and  approved  services  in  another  hemisphere.  Lieutenant- 
Colonel,  or  more  briefly  Colonel,  Pottinger,  is  now  a  Major- 
General  and  a  Grand  Cross  of  the  Bath;  while  Mr  Clerk  has 
been  made  a  knight  of  the  same  Order,  and  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Lawrence  has  been  raised  to  an  equal  title.  Captain,  or  Lieut- 
enant-Colonel, or  Sir  Claude  Wade,  mean  one  and  the  same 
person  :  and  similarly  the  late  Sir  Alexander  Burnes  sometimes 
appears  as  a  simple  lieutenant,  or  as  a  captain,  or  as  a  lieuten- 
ant-colonel. On  the  other  hand,  Sir  David  Ochterlony  is  re- 
ferred to  solely  under  that  title,  although,  when  he  marched 
to  the  Sutlej  in  1809,  he  held  the  rank  of  lieutenant-colonel 
only. 


CONTENTS 


the    Kukas,    Bambas 


CHAPTER  I 
THE  COUNTRY  AND  PEOPLE 

Geographical  Limits  of  Sikh  Occupation,  &c. 
Climate,  Productions,  &c.,  of  the  Sikh  Dominions 

Grain   and   Shawl   wool   of   Ladakh 

Silks,  Indigo,  and  Cotton  of  Multan 

Black  Cattle  of  the  Central  Punjab 

The  Persian  wheel  used  for  Irrigation 

The  Sugar  of  the  Upper  Plains 

The  Saffron  and  Shawls  of  Kashmir 

The  Rice  and  Wheat  of  Peshawar 

The  Drugs,  Dyes,  and  Metals  of  the  Hills 
Inhabitants,   Races,   Tribes  .... 

Immigration  of  the  Jats,  and  Introduction  of  Muham 
madanism 

The  Tartars  of  Tibet 

The  ancient  Dardus 

The  Turkomans  of  Gilgit 

The    Kashmiris 

—  their    western    neighbours, 
Gujars,  &c. 

The  Gakhars  and  Janjuas 

The  Yusufzais,  Afridis,  &c. 

Waziris  and  other  Afghans 

Baluchis,  Jats,  and  Rains  of  the  Middle  Indus 

Juns,  Bhutis,  and  Kathis  of  the  Central  Plains 

Chibs  and  Buhows  of  the  Lower  Hills 

The  Johiyas  and  Langahs  of  the  South 

The  Dogras  and  Kanets  of  the  Himalayas 

The  Kohlis   of  the  Himalayas 

The  Jats  of  the  Central  Plains 

—  mixed  with  Gujars,  Rajputs,  Pathans,  &c.     . 
Relative  Proportions  of  some  principal  Races     . 
Kshattriyas  and  Aroras  of  the  Cities 
The  Wandering  Changars  .... 

The  Religions  of  the  Sikh  Country 
The  Lamaic  Buddhists  of  Ladakh 
The  Shiah  Muhammadans  of  Bultee 
The    Sunni    Muhammadans    of    Kashmir,    Peshawar 

Multan,  &c.  ...... 

The  Brahmanist  Hill  Tribes      .... 

The  Sikhs  of  the  Central  Plains  mixed  with  Brah' 

pianists  and  Muhammadans 
liindu  Shopkeepers  of  Muhammadan  Cities 


PACE 

1 
1 
1 
2 
3 
3 
3 
3 
3 
4 


XXVlll 


CONTENTS 


Village  Population  about  Bhatinda  purely  Sikh 
The   debased    and    secluded    Races,    Worshippers 
Local  Gods  and  Oracular  Divinities 


of 


Characteristics  of  Race  and  Religion     . 

Brahmanism     and     Buddhism     rather     forms     than 
feelings  ...... 

—  yet  strong  to  resist  innovation 
Muhammadanism,   although   corrupted,   has   more  of 

vitality  ....... 

All  are  satisfied  with  their  own  Faith 

—  and  cannot  be  reasoned  into  Christianity 
Sikhism  an  active  and  pervading  Principle 
The  Jats  industrious  and  high-spirited 
The  Rains  and  some  others  scarcely  inferior  as  tillers 

of   the   ground  ..... 

The  peasant  Rajputs  ..... 

The  Gujars,  a  pastoral  people 
The  Baluchis,  pastoral  and  predatory 
The  Afghans,  industrious  but  turbulent 
The  Kshattriyas  and  Aroras,  enterprising  but  frugal 
The  Kashmiris,  skilful  but  tame  and  spiritless  . 
The  unmixed  Rajputs       ..... 
The  Tibetans  plodding  and  debased 
The  Custom  of  Polyandry  one  of  necessity 
The  Juns  and  Kathis  pastoral  and  peaceful 

Partial  Migrations  of  Tribes  .... 

Causes  of  Migrations  .... 

Recent  Migration  of  Baluchis  up  the  Indus,  and  of 

Daudputras   up    the   Sutlej 
Migrations  of  Dogras,  Johiyas,  and  Mehtums     . 
Religious   Pros61ytism  ..... 

Islamism   extending   in   Tibet 
—  and  generally  perhaps  in  Towns  and  Cities 
Lamaic  Buddhism  progressive  in  some  parts  of  the 

Himalayas  ...... 

Brahmanism  likewise  extending  in  the  wilder  parts 

of  the  Plains  ..... 

But  the  peasantry  and  Mechanics  generally  are  be 

coming  seceders  from  Brahmanism 


PAGE 
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9 

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15 

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15 

15 

16 

16 


CHAPTER  n 

OLD  INDIAN  CREEDS,  MODERN  REFORMS,  AND  THE 
TEACHING  OF  NANAK 

UP  TO  A.  D.  1539 


India  and  its  successive  Masters — the  Buddhists,  the 
Brahmans  and  Kshattriyas,  the  Muhammadans, 
and  the  Christians  ...... 

Brahmanism   struggling  with  Buddhism  becomes  ela- 
borated ...... 

— its  achievements  and  characteristics 
Brahmanism  victorious  over  Buddhism 
—  loses  its  unity  and  vigour 
800-1000.  Shankar  Acharj  methodizes  Polytheism 
Reaction  of  Buddhism  on  Brahmanism 


17 

18 
19 
22 
22 
24 
24 


CONTENTS 


XXIX 


A.  D. 

Shankar    Acharj    establishes    ascetic    Orders,    and 

gives  pre-eminence  to  Saivism 
1000-1200.     Ramanuj     establishes    other    Orders,   with 

Vishnu  as  a  tutelary  God 
Spiritual   Teachers   or   Heads   of   Orders   arrogate 

infallibility  ..... 

Scepticism  and  heresy  increase 
The  Dogma  of  'Maya'  receives  a  moral  application 
General  decline  of  Brahmanism 
Early  Arab  incursions  into  India  but  little  felt 
Muhammadanism  receives  a  fresh  impulse  on  the 

conversion  of  the  Turkomans 
1001.  Muhammad  invades  India 
1206.  Hindustan  becomes    a    separate    portion    of  the 

Muhammadan  World  under  the  Ibaks 

—  and  the  conquerors  become  Indianized 
Action    and    reaction    of    Muhammadanism    and 

Brahmanism  ..... 

The  popular  belief  unsettled 
About   1400.   Ramanand    establishes    a   comprehensive 

Sect  at  Benares  .....* 

I —  and  introduces  Hero-worship 

—  but  maintains    the    equality    of   true    believers 
before  God  ..... 

Gorakhnath  establishes  a  Sect  in  the  Ptmjab 

—  and  maintains  the  equalizing  effect  of  religious 
penance  ...... 

—  but  causes  further  diversity  by  adopting  Siva  as 
the  type  of  God  ..... 

About  1450.  The  Vedas  and  Koran  assailed  by  Kabir 
disciple  of  Ramanand  .... 

—  and  the  mother  tongue  of  the  People  used  as  an 
instrur  ent  ..... 

—  but  Asceticism  still  upheld 
1500-50.  Chaitan  preaches  religious  reform  in  Bengal 

> —  insists  upon  the  efficacy  of  Faith 

—  and  admits  of  secular  occupations 

—  Vallabh  extends  the  Reformation  to  the  South 

—  and  further  discountenances  celibacy 
Recapitulation  ..... 
The  reforms  partial,  and  leading  to  Sectarianism 

only 

Nanak's  views  more  comprehensive  and  profound 
1469-1539.  Nanak's  Birth  and  early  Life 
The  mental  struggles  of  Nanak 
He  becomes  a  Teacher  .... 

Dies,  aged  Seventy  .... 

The  excellences  of  Nanak's  Doctrine 

The  Godhead  

Muhammadans  and  Hindus    equally    called    on  to 

worship  God  in  Truth         .... 
1469-  Faith,  Grace  and  Good  Works  all  necessary 
1539.  Nanak   adopts  the  Brahmanical  Philosophy;   but 

in  a  popular  sense,  or  by  way  of  illustration  only 
Nanak  admits  the  Mission  of  Muhammad,  as  well 

as   the  Hindu   Incarnations  .  .  .  . 

Disclaims  miraculous  powers  .  .  .  . 

Discourages  Asceticism  .         .         .         .         . 


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40 
40 
40 


XXX 


CONTENTS 


A.D. 


Conciliatory  between  Muhammadans  and  Hindus  . 
Nanak  fully  extricates  his  followers  from  error 

—  but   his   reformation    necessarily   religious    and 
moral    only  ...... 

Nanak  left    his  Sikhs    or    Disciples    without    new 
social  laws  as  a  separate  People 

—  but  guarded  against  their  narrowing  into  a  Sect 
Nanak    declares    Angad    to    be   his   successor   as    a 

Teacher  of  Men  ...... 


PAGS 
41 
41 

41 

41 
42 

42 


CHAPTER   III 

THE  SIKH  GURUS  OR  TEACHERS,  AND  THE 
MODIFICATION   OF   SIKHISM   UNDER    GOBIND 


A.D.  1539-1716 

Angad  upholds  the  broad  principles  of  Nanaik 
1552.   Dies  

Amar  lias   succeeds  .... 

Separates  the  Sikhs  from  the  Udasis 

His  views  with  regard  to  'Sati' 
1574.    Dies  

Ram    Das    succeeds,     and     establishes     himself     at 
Amritsar                          ..... 
1581.  Dies  

Arjun  succeeds  and  fairly  grasps  the  idea  of  Nanak 

Makes  Amritsar  the  'Holy  City'  of  the  Sikhs 

Compiles  the  Adi  Granth 

Reduces  customary  Offerings  to  a  systematic  Tax 
or   Tithe  

—  and  engages  in  traflfic  .... 
Arjun  provokes  the  enmity  of  Chandu  Shah 
Becomes  a  partisan  of  Prince  Khusru  in  rebellioh 

1606.  Imprisonment  and  death  of  Arjun 

Diffusion    of   Sikhism  .... 

The  Writings  of  Gur  Das  BhuUeh 
The    conceptions    of    Nanak    become    the    moving 
impulses  of  a  People  .... 

—  and  his  real  History  a  Mythical  narrative 
Har     Gobind     becomes     Guru     after     a     disputed 

succession  ..... 

Chandu  Shah  slain  or  put  to  death 
Har  Gobind  arms  the  Sikhs  and  becomes  a  military 

leader  ...... 

The  gradual  modification  of  Sikhism 
1606.   —   and   complete    separation   of   the   Sikhs   from 

Hindu  Dissenters  .... 

Har  Gobind  falls  under  the  displeasure  of  Jahangi 

—  is  imprisoned  ..... 

—  and  released  ..... 
1628.  Jahangir  dies,  and  Har  Gobind  engages  in  a  petty 

warfare  ..... 

Har  Gobind  retires  to  the  wastes  of  Hariana 
Returns  to  the  Punjab  .... 

Slays  in  fight  one  Painda  Khan,  his  friend     . 


44 
44 

44 
44 
45 
45 

45 

46 
46 
46 
46 

47 
47 
47 
48 
48 
48 
48 

49 
49 

49 
50 

50 
50 

51 
51 
51 
51 

51 
52 
52 
52 


CONTENTS 


XXXI 


A.  D. 

1645.   Death  of  Har  Gobind 

Self-sacrifice   of  disciples  on   his  pyre 

The  Body  of  Sikhs  forms  a  separate  Establishment 

within   the   Empire 
Some  anecdotes  of  Har  Gobind 

—  his  philosophical  views 
Har  Rai  succeeds  as  Guru 
Becomes   a   political  partisan 

1661.  Dies  .... 

Har  Kishan  succeeds 
1664.  Dies  .... 

Tegh  Bahadur  succeeds  as  ninth  Guru 

Ram  Rai  disputes  his  claims 

Tegh  Bahadur  retires  for  a  time  to  Bengal 

—  returns  to  the  Punjab 

—  leads  a  life  of  violence 

—  and  is  constrained  to  appear  at  Delhi 
1675.   put  to   death 

—  his  character  and  influence 
The  title  "Sachcha  Padshah'  applied  to  the  Gurus 
Gobind  succeeds  to  the  Apostleship 

—  but  lives  in  retirement  for  several  years   . 
Gobind's  character  becomes  developed 

About   1*695.  He  resolves   on   modifying   the  system  of 

Nanak  and  on  combating  the  Muhammadan  faith 

and   power 

Gobind's  views  and  motives 

—  and  mode  of  presenting  his  Mission 
The  Religions  of  the  world  held  to  be  corrupt,  and 

a  new  Dispensation  to  have  been  vouchsafed 
The  Legend  regarding  Gobind's  reformation  of  the 

Sect  of  Nanak 
The  Principles  inculcated  by  Gobind 
The   'Khalsa'  ... 

Old  Forms  useless.  God  is  One.    All  men  are  equal 

Idolatry  is  to  be  contemned,  and  Pi/Iuhammadan- 

ism  destroyed  ..... 

The  'Pahul'  or  Initiation  of  the  Sect  of  'Singhs' 
The  visible  distinctions  of  Sikhs,  or  Singhs     . 
Lustration  by  Water.   Reverence  for  Nanak.     The 

Exclamation   'Hail    Guru  !  ' 
Unshorn  Locks;  the  Title  of  'Singh' 

—  and  Devotion  to  Arms 
About  1695.  The  character  and  condition  of  the  Mughal 

Empire  when  Gobind   resolved  to  assail  it 
Akbar  ...... 

Aurangzeb  ..... 

Sivaji  the  Maratha  .... 

Guru  Gobind  ..... 

Gobind's  plans  of  active  opposition 

—  his  military  posts 

—  and    leagues    with    the    Chiefs    of    the    Lower 
Himalayas  .... 

—  his  influence  as  a  Religious  Teacher 
Gobind    quarrels    with    the    Rajas    of    Nahan    and 

Nalagarh 

Aids  the  Raja  of  Kuhlur  and  other  Chiefs  against 
the  Imperial  forces 


PAGE 

53 

53 

53 
53 
54 
54 
55 
55 
56 
56 
56 
56 
57 
57 
57 
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58 
59 
59 
59 
60 
60 


60 
80 
81 

62 

62 
63 
63 


63 

65 
65 

66 
66 
66 

67 
67 
67 
68 
68 
68 
68 

69 
69 

69 

69 


XXXll 


CONTENTS 


A.  D.  .  .  PAGE 

About  1701.  Gobind's  proceedings  excite  the  suspicions 
of  the  Hill  Chiefs,  and  cause  the  Emperor  some 

anxiety  .......  70 

Gobind  reduced  to  straits  at  Anandpur  .  .  70 

—  his  children  escape,   but  are  subsequently  put 

to  death  70 

—  he  himself  flies  to  Chamkaur             ...  71 
1705-6.  Gobind  escapes  from  Chamkaur         ...  71 

Successfully  resists  his  pursuers  at  Muktsar  .  71 

—  and  rests  at  Dam-Dama  near  Bhatinda  .  .  71 
Gobind  composes  the  Vichitr  Natak         ...  71 

—  is  summoned  by  Aurangzeb  to  his  presence      .  72 

—  replies  to  the  Emperor  in  a  denunciatory  strain  .  72 

1707.  Aurangzeb  dies,  and  Bahadur  Shah  succeeds  72 
Gobind  proceeds  to  the  South  of  India          .          .  72 

—  enters  the  Imperial  ser^^ice         ....  72 

1708.  Gobind  wounded  by  assassins        ....  73 

—  and  dies,  declaring  his  Mission  to  be  fulfilled, 

and  the  Khalsa  to  be  committed  to  God      .         .  74 

Gobind's  end  untimely,  but  his  labours  not  fruitless  74 
A   new    character    impressed   upon    the    reformed 

Hindus  75 

—  although  not  fully  apparent  to  strangers,  if  so  to 
Indians  .......  76 

Banda  succeeds  Gobind  as  a  temporal  leader         .  77 

1709-10.  Proceeds  to  the  North  and  captures  Sirhind     .  77 

The  Emperor  marches  towards  Lahore  .  .  77 

—  but  Banda  is  in  the  meantime  driven  towards 
Jammu  .......  77 

1712.  Bahadur  Shah  dies  at  Lahore  ...  78 

1713.  Jahandar    Shah    slain    by    Farrukhsiyar,    who 
becomes   Emperor  .....  78 

The   Sikhs   reappear  under   Banda,   and  the  pro- 
vince of  Sirhind  is  plundered              ...  78 
1716.  Banda  eventually  reduced  and  taken  prisoner  78 

—  and  put  to  death  at  Delhi  ....  79 
The  views  of  Banda  confined  and  his  memory  not 

revered  .......  79 

The    Sikhs    generally    much    depressed    after    the 

death  of  Banda 80 

Recapitulation  :    Nanak.    Amar    Das.    Arjun.    Har 

Gobind.    Gobind  Singh  ....  80 


CHAPTER  rV 

THE  ESTABLISHMENT  OF  SIKH  INDEPENDENCE 
A.  D.  1716-64 


1716-38.   The   Mughal   Empire   rapidly   declines.   Nadir 

Shah,  the  Marathas,  &c.  ....         82 

The   weakness   of   the   Muhammadan   Government 

favourable  to  the  Sikhs       .....         83 
The  Sikhs  kept  together   by  the  fervour  of  their 

Belief  83 

1738-9.  The  Sikhs  form  bands  of  plunders  .  .         83 


CONTENTS 


XXXlll 


A.  D.  PAGi: 

About  1745.  Establish  a  fort  at  Dalhwal  on  the  Ravi; 

but  are  at  last  dispersed  ....         84 

1747-8.  Ahmad  Shah's  first  Invasion  of  India         .  .         84 

March,  1748.  ' —  retires  from  Sirhind,  and  is  harassed  by 

the  Sikhs 85 

Mir  Mannu  Governor  of  the  Punjab        ...         85 

—  rules  vigorously,  and  employs  Kaura  Mai  and 
Adina  Beg  Khan  .  .  .  .     '     .         85 

But  the  Sikhs    reappear,    and    Jassa    Singh    Kalal 
proclaims  the  existence  of  the  'Dal'  or  army  of 

the   Khalsa  85 

End  of  1748.  Mir  Mannu  disperses  the  Sikhs         .  86 

—  and  comes  to  terms  with  Ahmad  Shah,  who  had 
again  crossed  the  Indus  ....         86 

1749-51.  Mir  Mannu  breaks  with  Delhi  by  resisting  his 

supersession  in  Multan         .....         86 

—  and  withholds  tribute  from  Ahmad  Shah,  who 
crosses  the  Indus  for  the  third  time  .         87 

1752.  The  Abdali  reaches  Lahore  ....         87 

April,  1752.  The  Abdali  defeats  Mir  Mannu;  but  retains 

him  as  Governor  of  the  Punjab  ...         87 

The  Sikhs  gradually  increase  in  strength         .  .         87 

But  are  defeated  by  Adina  Beg,  who  nevertheless 

gives  them  favourable  terms  ...         87 

Jassa  the  Carpenter        ......         87 

End  of  1752.  Mir  Mannu  dies,  and  Lahore  is  reannexed 

to   Delhi  87 

1755-6.  Ahmad  Shah's  fourth  Invasion:  Prince  Taimur 
Governor  of  the  Punjab,  and  Najib-ud-daula 
placed  at  the  head  of  the  Delhi  army         .  .         88 

Taimur  expels  the  Sikhs  from  Amritsar         .  .         88 

1756-8.  But  the    Afghans    eventually    retire,    and    the 

Sikhs  occupy  Lahore  and  coin  money  .         89 

1758.  The  Marathas  at  Delhi 89 

Maratha  aid  against  the  Afghans  sought  by  Adina 

Beg  Khan 89 

May,  1758.  Raghuba  enters  Lahore,  and  appoints  Adina 

Beg  Governor  of  the  Punjab  ...         89 

End  of  1758.  Adina  Beg  dies 89 

1759-61.  Ahmad  Shah's  fifth  expedition  ...         90 

1760.  Delhi   occupied  by  the  Afghans,  but  afterwards 

taken  by  the  Marathas         .....         90 
Jan.  7,  1761.  The  Marathas  signally  defeated  at  Panipat, 

and  expelled  temporarily  from  Upper  India        .         90 
The  Sikhs  unrestrained  in  the  open  Country  .         91 

1761-2.    Gujranwala    successfully    defended    by    Charat 

Singh,  and  the'  Durranis  confined  to  Lahore        .         91 
The   Sikhs   assemble   at  Amritsar.  and  ravage   the 

country  on  either  side  of  the  Sutlej  .  .         91 

Ahmad  Shah's  sixth  invasion  ....         91 

Feb.  1762.  The  'Ghulu  Ghara',  or  great  Defeat  of  the 

Sikhs  near  Ludhiana  .....         92 

Alha  Singh  of  Patiala 92 

Kabuli  Mai  Governor  of  Lahore  ...         92 

End    of  1762.    Ahmad    Shah    retires    after    committing 

various  excesses  ......         92 

The  Sikhs  continue  to  increase  in  strength      .  .         92 

Kasur  plundered  ......         92 


xrxiv 


CONTENTS 


Ahrrtftc    Saabs    seveotr.     expediUor.    anc    spe«;'jy 

T. 
'  -^ry^  Ine  Sect 


ay  oe  ierzDeci  a  Tlkeocralic  coniederate 


Tnexr  uatoes  ai: 


k.nowm£iy    adopted 
>-mpo»ary 

tx>e     Misais     or 

possessions  of  the  Misais 
Sikhs,    and   the   relative 


c-  of  action 
CHAPTER  V 


FBOK 


1W7.  Tr 


Af 


2 
3 

\ 

i 
3 

3 

S 

> 
F 

i 
y 

9 
8 


TO    TE 
THE 


nt 


Xfi 


AJ-LiANCi    WITH   THt    ENGLJSH 

1765 — 180&-9 
"     '  — sed  into  activity  by  Abmad  Shah's 

■"-"aia   and  the  Rajput   Chief  of 
.0  command  under  the  Abdali 


... .;   Punjab 

terms  with  Bhawaipur 


1770.  Adc  press  ltajii>-ud-dauia    or.    the    Jumna    and 
Garage- 

ang:   "Misa!"   pre-eminent 


"    J  a.  Srngr.  Kanhaya 
^    Singh   Kaia!    expel 

^nhaya  'Misal' 

-^ecovers  Multar. 
ng  the  Sikhs  ma.<:ters  of 
as  Attock 
Hariana 
from   Delhi    agams:    the 


1772    - 

177 

Kfc 

177&.  1i 

1793.  1 

Xu 

.; 

1768-78. 

Th 

1779-80. 

Ar. 

Malwa  Sikhs  succeeds  in  part  only 


101 

102 

102 
102 
102 
102 
102 

102 
103 
103 
103 
103 
103 

103 
103 
104 

104 
104 

105 


CONTENTS 


XXXV 


.  !)•  PAGE 

781.  Amar  Singh  of  Patiala  dies  .  .  .105 

776.  Zabita  Khan,  son  of  Najib-ud-daula,  aided  in  his 

designs  on  the  Ministry  by  the  Sikhs  .  .        105 

781-5.  The  ravages    of  the  Sikhs    in    the    Doab    and 

Rohilkhand  under  Baghel  Singh  Krora  Singhia  .        105 

783.  The  Sikhs  defeated  at  Meerut       .  .  .105 
The    Rajputs    of  the    Lower    Himalayas    rendered 

tributary                          108 

784-5.  Jai  Singh  Kanhaya  pre-eminent  106 

Rise  of  Mahan  Singh  Sukerchukia  106 

785-6.  The  Kanhayas  reduced 106 

Jassa  the  Carpenter    restored,    and  Kangra    made 

over  to  Sansar  Chand  of  Katotch         .  106 

785-92.  Mahan  Singh  pre-eminent  among  the  Sikhs  107 

792.  Mahan  Singh  dies 107 

793.  Shah  Zaman  succeeds  to  the  throne  of  Kabul  107 
795-6.  Invited  to  enter  India  by  the  Rohillas  and  the 

Wazir  of  Oudh 107 

797.  Shah  Zaman  at  Lahore 107 

798-9.  The  Shah's  second  march  to  Lahore  .  108 

799.  Ranjit  Singh   rises   to  eminence  .  .  108 

—  and  obtains  a  cession  of  Lahore  from  the  Afghan 

King  108 

785.  The    power    of  the    Marathas    under    Sindhia    in 

Upper    India  ...  109 

Sindhia's  alUance  with  the  Sikhs  109 

788.  Ghulam  Kadir  blinds  Shah  Alam         ...  109 

Sindhia  masters  Delhi  and  curbs  the  Sikhs  109 

797.  General    Perron    appointed    Sindhia's    deputy    in 

.  Northern  India  ......        109 

Sindhia's  and  Perron's    views    crossed    by    Holkar 

and   George   Thomas  .110 

798.  George  Thomas  establishes  himself  at  Hansi  110 

799.  Engages  in  hostilities   with   the  Sikhs  .  .       Ill 

800.  Thomas  marches  towards  Ludhiana  .  Ill 

800.  Opposed  by  Sahib  Singh  Bedi  .  .  .111 
Retires  to  Hansi,  but  afterwards  masters  Safidon 

near  Delhi  .  .  .  .  .111 

801.  Thomas  rejects  Perron's  overtures,  and  resorts  to 

arms  .  .  .111 

802.  Surrenders  to  Perron  .  .  .  .112 
'802-3.  The  Marathas  under  Perron  paramount  among 

the  Sikhs  of  Sirhind 112 

Perron   forms  an  alliance  with   Ranjit  Singh  112 

Is  distrusted  by  Sindhia  .  .  .  .  .112 

303.    Flees    to    the    English,    then    at    war    with    the 

Marathas  112 

First  intercourse  of  the  English  with  the  Sikhs  112 

715-17.  The  Mission  to  Farrukhsiyar  detained  by  the 

campaign  against  Banda                .          .          .          .112 
'757.  Clive  and  Omichand 113 

784.  Warren  Hastings  tries  to  guard  Oudh  against  the 

Sikhs  113 

1788.  The  Sikhs  ask  English  aid  against  the  Marathas     .        113 
Early  English  estimates  of  the  Sikhs       .  .  .114 

Colonel  Francklin  ......        114 

The  traveller  Forster  .  .  .  .  .114 


xxxiv 


CONTENTS 


A.  D.  PAGE 

Dec..  1763.  The  Afghans  defeated  near  Sirhind  92 
Sirhind    taken    and    destroyed,    and    the    Province 

permanently  occupied  by  the  Sikhs  ...  93 
1764.  The  Sikhs  aid  the  Jats  of  Bhartpur  in  besieging 

Delhi  93 

Ahmad    Shah's    seventh     expedition    and    speedy 

retirement  .......  93 

The  Sikhs  become  masters  of  Lahore  .  .  93 

A  general  assembly  held  at  Amritsar,  and  the  Sect 

established  as  a  ruling  People  ...  93 

The  Sikhs  form  or  fall  into  a  political  system  .  94 

—  which  may  be  termed  a  Theocratic  confederate 

feudalism  .......  94 

Their  "Gurumattas',  or  Diets  ....  94 

The  System  not  devised,    or    knowingly    adopted, 

and  therefore  incomplete  and  temporary     .  95 

The   Confederacies   called    'Misals'  ...  96 

Their  names  and  particular  origin  ...  96 

The     relative     pre-eminence     of     the     Misals     or 

Confederacies  ......  97 

The  original  and  acquired  possessions  of  the  Misals  93 
The   gross    forces   of   the   Sikhs,    and   the   irelative 

strength  of  the  Misals  .....  98 

The  Order  of  Akalis  99 

Their  origin  and  principles  of  action       ...  99 


CHAPTER  V 

FROM  THE  INDEPENDENCE  OF  THE  SIKHS  TO  THE 
ASCENDANCY  OF  RANJIT  SINGH  AND  THE 
ALLIANCE  WITH  THE  ENGLISH 


1765—1808-9 


1767. 


The  Sikhs  hurried  into  activity  by  Ahmad  Shah's 
final   descent  ...... 

Amar   Singh   of  Patiala   and  the  Rajput  Chief  of 

Katotch  appointed  to  command  under  the  Abdali 

Ahmad  Shah  retires  ..... 

1768.  Rhotas  taken  by  the  Sikhs  .... 

The  Sikhs  ravage  the  Lower  Punjab 

—  and  enter  into  terms  with  Bhawalpur 

Threaten   Kashmir  ..... 

1770.  And  press  Najib-ud-daula    on    the    Jumna    and 
Ganges  ....... 

Jhanda   Singh   of  the  Bhangi   'Misal'   pre-eminent 
Jammu   rendered   tributary  .... 

Kasur  reduced  to  submission  .... 

1772.  —  and  Multan  occupied       ..... 

1774.  Jhanda  Singh  assassinated  by  Jai  Singh  Kanhaya 

Jai   Singh  Kanhaya  and  Jassa  Singh  Kalal   expel 

Jassa   the   Carpenter  ..... 

Kangra  falls  to  the  Kanhaya  'Misal'        .        •  . 
1779.  Taimur  Shah  of  Kabul  recovers  Multan 
1793.  Taimur  Shah  dies,  leaving  the  Sikhs  masters  of 

the  Upper  Punjab  as  far  as  Attock 
1768-78.  The  Phulkias  master  Hariana 
1779-80.   An   expedition    sent   from   Delhi    against    the 
Malwa  Sikhs  succeeds  in  part  only 


101 

102 
102 
102 
102 
102 
102 

102 
103 
103 
103 
103 
103 

103 
103 
104 

104 
104 

105 


CONTENTS 


XXXV 


A.  D.  PAGE 

1781.  Amar  Singh  of  Patiala  dies  .  .  .105 

1776.  Zabita  Khan,  son  of  Najib-ud-daula,  aided  in  his 

designs  on  the  Ministry  by  the  Sikhs  .  .        105 

1781-5.  The  ravages    of  the  Sikhs    in    the    Doab    and 

Rohilkhand  under  Baghel  Singh  Krora  Singhia  .        105 

1783.  The  Sikhs  defeated  at  Meerut  .  .  .  .105 
The    Rajputs    of  the    Lower    Himalayas    rendered 

tributary  ......  108 

1784-5.  Jai  Singh  Kanhaya  pre-eminent       .  .  .  106 

Rise  of  Mahan  Singh  Sukerchukia  .  .  .  106 

1785-6.  The  Kanhayas  reduced 106 

Jassa  the  Carpenter    restored,    and  Kangra    made 

over  to  Sansar  Chand  of  Katotch         .  .  .  106 

1785-92.  Mahan  Singh  pre-eminent  among  the  Sikhs     .  107 

1792.  Mahan  Singh  dies 107 

1793.  Shah  Zaman  succeeds  to  the  throne  of  Kabul  107 
1795-6.  Invited  to  enter  India  by  the  Rohillas  and  the 

Wazir  of  Oudh             ......  107 

1797.  Shah  Zaman  at  Lahore 107 

1798-9.  The  Shah's  second  march  to  Lahore         .          .  108 

1799.  Ranjit  Singh  rises  to  eminence  .  .  .  108 
—  and  obtains  a  cession  of  Lahore  from  the  Afghan 

King                      108 

1785.  The    power    of  the    Marathas    under    Sindhia    in 

Upper   India  .  ...  .  .  .  109 

Sindhia's  alliance  with  the  Sikhs  .  .  109 

1788.  Ghulam  Kadir  blinds  Shah  Alam         ...  109 

Sindhia  masters  Delhi  and  curbs  the  Sikhs     .  .  109 

1797.  General    Perron    appointed    Sindhia's    deputy    in 

.  Northern  India  ......        109 

Sindhia's  and  Perron's    views    crossed    by    Holkar 

and  George   Thomas  .  .  .  .110 

1798.  George  Thomas  establishes  himself  at  Hansi        .        110 

1799.  Engages  in  hostilities  with   the  Sikhs  .  .        Ill 

1800.  Thomas  marches  towards  Ludhiana       .  .  .        Ill 

1800.  Opposed  by  Sahib  Singh  Bedi  .  .  .  .111 
Retires   to   Hansi,   but  afterwards   masters   Safidon 

near  Delhi  .......       ill 

1801.  Thomas  rejects  Perron's  overtures,  and  resorts  to 

arms  .  .  .  .  .  .  .111 

1802.  Surrenders  to  Perron 112 

1802-3.  The  Marathas  under  Perron  paramount  among 

the  Sikhs  of  Sirhind 112 

Perron  forms  an  alliance  with  Ranjit  Singh  .        112 

Is  distrusted  by  Sindhia         .  .  .  .  .112 

1803.  Flees    to    the    English,    then    at    war    with    the 
Marathas  112 

First  intercourse  of  the  English  with  the  Sikhs     .        112 
1715-17.  The  Mission  to  Farrukhsiyar  detained  by  the 

campaign  against  Banda               .          .          .          .112 
1757.  Clive  and  Omichand 113 

1784.  Warren  Hastings  tries  to  guard  Oudh  against  the 

Sikhs  113 

1788.  The  Sikhs  ask  English  aid  against  the  Marathas     .        113 
Early  English  estimates  of  the  Sikhs       .  .  .114 

Colonel  Francklin  .  .  .  .  .  .114 

The  traveller  Forster  .  .  .  .  .114 


XXXVI 


CONTENTS 


A.  D.  PAGE 

1803.  Sikhs  opposed  to  Lord  Lake  at  Delhi          .  114 
The    Sikhs    of  Sirhind    tender    their    allegiance    to 

the    English                   114 

The  Chiefs  of  Jind  and  Kaithal  .  .  .115 

Shah  Alam  freed  from  Maratha  thraldom       .  115 
1804-5.  The  English  wars  with  Holkar          .          .          .115 
The  Sikhs  mostly  side  with  the  English,  and  render 

good  service  .  .  .  .  .  .115 

1805.  Holkar  retires  towards  the  Sutlej           .          .          .  115 

Delays  at  Patiala 115 

Halts  at  Amritsar,  but  fails  in  gaining  over  Ranjit 

Singh                     118 

1805-6.  Holkar  comes  to  terms  with  the  English,  and 

marches  to  the  South  .  .  .  .  .116 

1803-8.    Friendly    Relations    of    the    English    with    the 

Sikhs  of  Sirhind                  116 

1806.  Formal    Engagement    entered    into    with    Ranjit 
Singh  and  Fateh  Singh  Ahluwalia        .          .          .  118 

The  English    correspond    with    Sansar    Chand    of 

Katotch                 117 

The     Sikhs     of     Sirhind     regarded     as     virtually 

dependants  of  the  English  by  Lord  Lake     .  117 
But  the  connexion  not  regularly  declared,  or  made 

binding  in  form  .  .  .  .  .  .117 

Retrospect  with  reference  to  Ranjit  Singh's  rise     .  117 

1799.  Ranjit  Singh  masters  Lahore         ....  118 

1801-2.  Reduces  the  Bhangi  Misal  and  the  Pathans  of 

Kasur                   118 

Allies  himself  with  Fateh  Singh  Ahluwalia             .  118 

1802.  Ranjit  Singh  acquires  Amritsar            .          .          .  118 

1803-4.  —  and  confines  Sansar  Chand  to  the  Hills       .  118 

—  who  becomes  involved  with  the  Gurkhas           .  118 
1800-3.  Shah  Zaman  deposed   by    Shah   Mahmud,    and 

the   Durrani   Empire   weakened           .          .          .119 
1805.  —  wherefore  Ranjit  Singh  proceeds  to  the  South- 
west of  the  Punjab 119 

Returns  to  the  North  on  Holkar's  approach            .  119 

1805.  A  Sikh  Gurumatta,  or  National  Council,  held       .  119 

—  but  the  Confederate  system  found  decayed  and 
lifeless                  119 

—  and  a  single  temporal  authority  virtually  ad- 
mitted in  the  person  of  Ranjit  Singh          .          .  120 

1806.  Ranjit  Singh  interferes  in  the  affairs  of  the  Sikhs 

of  Sirhind 120 

1806.  Takes  Ludhiana 120 

—  and  receives  offerings  from  Patiala          .         .  120 
1805.  Sansar  Chand  and  the  Gurkhas           ...  120 

Sansar    Chand    and    his    confederate    of  Nalagarh 

driven  to  the  North  of  the  Sutlej         .          .          .  121 

—  and  the  Gurkhas  invest  Kangra          .          .          .  121 

1807.  Ranjit  Singh  expels  the  Pathan  Ch'ef  of  Kasur     .  121 

—  and  partially  succeeds  against  Multan  .  .  121 
Ranjit  Singh  employs  Mohkam  Chand  .  .  122 
Cr6sses  the  Sutlej  for  the  second  time           .          .  122 

—  and  returns  to  seize  the  territories  of  the  de- 
ceased Dallewala   Chief                 ....  122 

The    Sikhs    of    Sirhind    become    apprehensive    of 

Ranjit  Singh                 122 


CONTENTS 


XXXVII 


A.  D.  PAGE 

1808.  British  Protection  asked  .         .         .         .122 

—  but  not  distinctly  acceded         .         .         .         .123 

—  whereupon  the  Chiefs  repair  to  Ranjit  Singh      .        123 

18G8-9.  The  understood  designs  of  the  French  on  India 
modify  the    policy    of  the    English    towards    the 

Sikhs  123 

The  Chiefs  of  Sirhind  taken  under  protection,  and 

a  close  alliance  sought  with  Ranjit  Singh  .       124 

Mr.  MeicaKe  sent  as  Envoy  to  Lahore  .  .       124 

Aversion   of.  Ranjit   Singh   to   a   restrictive   treaty, 

and  his  third  expedition  across  the  Sutlej  .       124 

1809.  British  troops  moved  to  the  Sutlej         .  .  .       124 
The    views    of    the    English     become     somewhat 

modified  125 

—  but  Ranjit  Singh  still  required  to  keep  to  the 
North  of  the  Sutlej  125 

Ranjit  Singh  yields 126 

—  and  enters  into  a  formal  treaty  .         .         .126 
The  terms  of  Sikh  dependence  and  of  English  sup- 
remacy  in   Sirhind               .....       126 

Sir  David  Ochterlony  shows  that  the  English  re- 
garded themselves  alone  in  offering  Proteciton     .       127 

The  relations  of  the  Protected  Chiefs  among  them- 
selves .......       127 

Perplexities  of  the  British  Authorities  regarding 
the  rights  of  supremacy,  and  the  operation  of 
international   laws  .....       128 

Sir  David  Ochterlony's  frank  admission  of  the  false 

basis  of  his  original  policy  ....       129 

CHAPTER    VI 

FROM  THE  SUPREMACY  OF  RANJIT  SINGH  TO  THE 

REDUCTION  OF  MUI.TAN,  KASHMIR,  AND 

PESHAWAR 

1809—1823-4 


1809.  The  English  suspicious  of  Ranjit  Singh,  notwith- 

standing their  joint  treaty  ....       131 

—  and  Ranjit  Singh  equally  doubtful  on  his  part    .       132 

—  but  distrust  gradually  vanishes  on  either  side     .       132 
Ranjit   Singh    acquires    Kangra,    and   confines    the 

Gurkhas  to  the  left  of  the  Sutlej         .         .         .132 
The  Gurkhas  urge  the    Elnglish    to    effect    a  joint 

conquest  of   the   Punjab  ....       133 

But  Ranjit  Singh  told  he  may  cross  the  Sutlej 
to  resist  the  Nepal  leader  ....       133 

Amar  Singh  Thappa    again   presses    an    alliance 
against  the  Sikhs  .....       133 

1814-15.  The  War  between  the  English  and  Gurkhas  .       133 
Sansar  Chand  of  Katotch,  Ranjit   Singh,  and  the 

English  133 

1809-10.   Shah  Shuja  expelled  from  Afghanistan  .       134 

Ranjit  Singh's  suspicions  and  plans         .         .         •       134 

1810.  The  Maharaja  meets  the  Shah,  but  no  arrange- 
ment come  to  ......       135 


1811. 


1813. 


xxxvm  CONTENTS 

A.  D.  PAGE 

Ranjit  Singh  attempts  Multan,  but  fails  135 

—  and  proposes  to  the  English  a  joint  expedition 
against    it                       ......  135 

1810-12.  Shah  Shuja's  Peshawar  and  Multan  campaign, 

and  subsequent  imprisonment  in  Kashmir           .  135 

1811.  Ranjit  Singh  meets  Shah  Mahmud                          .  136 
The  blind  Shah  Zaman  repairs  for  a  time  to  Lahore  136 

1812.  The  family,  of  Shah  Shuja  repairs  to  Lahore  137 
Ranjit  Singh  uses  the  Shah's  name  for  purposes  of 

his    own                .......  137 

Ranjit  Singh  meets  Fateh  Khan,  the  Kabul  Wazir  137 

—  and  a    joint    enterprise    against    Kashmir    re- 
solved on                       ......  137 

1813.  Fateh   Khan   outstrips  the   Sikhs,   and  holds  the 
valely   for  Mahmud              .....  137 

Shah  Shuja  joins  Ranjit  Singh,  who  acquires  Attock  137 

—  while  Mohkam  Chand  defeats  the  Kabul  Wazir 

in  a  pitched  battle  .  .  .  .  .138 

1813-14.  Ranjit  Singh  obtain^  the  Koh-i-nur  diamond  .  138 

—  and  promises  aid  to  Shah  Shuja  •  .  .  138 
Makes  a  movement  towards  the  Indus  .  .  138 
Shah  Shuja's  distresses            .....  138 

1814.  The  flight  of  his  family  from  Lahore  to  Ludhiana  139 

—  and  his  own  escape  to  Kishtwar  .  .  .  139 
1816.  Fails  against  Kashmir,  and  retires  to  Ludhiana  .  139 
1814.  Ranjit  Singh  attempts  Kashmir,  and  is  repulsed  139 
1815-16.  Various  Chiefs  in  the  Hills,  and  various  places 

towards  the  Indus,  reduced          ....  140 

1818.  Ranjit  Singh  captures  Multan       ....  141 

Fateh  Khan,  Wazir  of  Kabul,  put  to  death       .          .  142 

1818.  Muhammad  Azim  proclaims  Shah  Ayub        .          .  142 
Ranjit  Singh  marches  to  Peshawar         .          .          .  142 

—  which  he  makes  over  to  Jahan  Dad  Khan  .  142 
Ranjit  Singh  intent  upon  Kashmir         .          .          .  142 

1819.  Delayed  by  a  discussion  with  the  English      .          .  143 

—  but  finally  annexes  the  Valley  to  his  dominions  143 
1819-20.  The  Derajat  of  the  Indus  annexed  to  Lahore  .  143 
1818-21.   Muhammad  Azim  Khan  desirous  of  securing 

Peshawar                        ......  144 

1822.  —  from  which  Ranjit  Singh  demands  and  re- 
ceives tribute  .  .  .  .  •  .144 

But  the  prosecution  of  his  plans  interfered  with  by 
a  discussion  with  the  English  about  his  motiier- 

in-law  and  a  place  called  Whadni        .          .          .  144 

1823.  The  Sikhs  march  against  Peshawar       .          .          .  145 

The  Battle  of  Noshahra 145 

Peshawar  reduced,  but  left  as  a  dependency  with 

Yar  Muhammad  Khan                   ....  146 

Death  of  Muhammad  Azim  Khan          .          .          .  146 

1823-4.  Ranjit  Singh  feels  his  way  towards  Sind         .  146 

1824.  Sansar  Chand  of  Katotch  dies  .  .  .147 
Ranjit   Singh's  power   consolidated,   and  the  mass 

of  his  dominion  acquired             ....  147 
1818-21.  Miscellaneous   transactions.   Shah   Shuja's  ex- 
pedition against  Shikarpur  and  Peshawar            .  147 
1821.  The  Shah  returns  to  Ludhiana               .          .          .  148 
—  and  is  followed  by  Shah  Zaman,  who  takes  up 
his  abode  at  the  same  place        ....  148 


CONTENTS 


XXXIX 


A.D.  PAGE 

1820-2.  Appa  Sahib,  Ex-Raja  of  Nagpur         .  .148 

His  idle  schemes  with  the  son  of  Shah  Zaman  148 

1816-17.  The  petty  Ex-Chief  of  Nurpur  causes  Ranjit 
Singh  some  anxiety,  owing  to  his  resort  to  the 
English  .  .  .  .  .  .149 

1820.  The  traveller  Moorcroft  in  the  Punjab  150 
Ranjit  Singh's  general  system  of  government,  and 

view  of  his  means  and  authority  as  leader  of  the 

Sikhs-  150 

The  Sikh  Army  153 

1822.  Arrival  of  French  Officers  at  Lahoie  .  .  153 

Excellences  of  the  Sikhs  as  soldiers  .  .  153 

Characteristics  of  Rajputs  and  Pathans  .  .  153 

—  of   Marathas  153 

—  and  of  Gurkhas  ......  154 

Aversion  of  the  older  military  tribes  of  India  to 

regular    discipline  .....  154 

—  with  the  exception  of  the  Gurkhas,  and,  parti- 
ally, of  the  Muhammadans  ....  154 

The  Sikh  forces  originally  composed  of  horsemen 

armed   with  matchlocks  ....  154 

1783.  Notices  of  the  Sikh  troops,  by  Forster         .  .  154 

1805.  —  by  Malcolm  155 

1810.  —  by  Ochterlon5^ 155 

Characteristic  Arms    of  different  Races,   including 

the  English  155 

The  general  importance  given  to  Artillery  by  the 
Indians,   a   consequence   of   the   victories   of   the 

English  155 

1810.  Ranjit  Singh  labours  to  introduce  discipline        .  155 

—  and    at   length    succeeds    in    making   the    Sikhs 
regular  Infantry  and  Artillery  Soldiers  156 

European    discipline    introduced    into    the    Punjab 

before  the  arrival  of  French  officers  .        ' .  156 

—  whose  services  were    yet    of    value    to  Ranjit 
Singh,  and  honourable  to  themselves  .  .  157 

Ranjit  Singh's  marriages  and  family  relations        .  157 
His  wife  Mehtab   Kaur,   and   mother-in-law   Sada 

Kaur 158 

1807.  Sher  Singh  and  Tara  Singh,  the  declared  sons  of 

Mehtab  Kaur,  not  fully  recognized  .  .  158 

1810.  Sada  Kaur's  vexation  of  spirit  and  hostile  views  158 
1802.   Kharak  Singh  born  to  Ranjit  Smgh  by  another 

wife  158 

1821.  Nau  Nihal  Singh  born  to  Kharak  Singh         .          .  159 
Ranjit  Singh's  personal  licentiousness  and  intem- 
perance,   in  connexicTn    with    the    vices    vaguely 
attributed  to  the  mass  of  the  Sikh  people           .  159 

Ranjit  Singh's  favourites        .....  160 

Khushal  Singh,   a  Brahman  ....  160 

The  Rajputs  of  Jammu  .....  161 

Ranjit  Singh's  chosen  servants        ....  161 

Fakir  Aziz-ud-din  ......  161 

Diwan  Sawan  Mai  ......  161 

Hari  Singh  Nalwa  ......  162 

Fateh  '"ngh  Ahluwalia  ,  .  .  .  .  162 

Desa  Singh  Majithia  .  .  .  .  •  162 


XL 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  VII 

FROM  THE  ACQUISITION  OF  IVIULTAN,  KASHMIR, 

AND  PESHAWAR  TO  THE  DEATH  OF 

RANJIT  SINGH 

1824-39 


A.  D. 

Change  in  the  Position  of  the  Sikhs,  relatively  to 
the  English,  after  the  year  1823 
1824-5.  Miscellaneous  transactions 
Peshawar 

Nepal  .... 

Sindh  .... 

Bharatpur 
Fateh  Singh,  the  Ahluwalia  Chief  ... 

1826.  Ranjit  Singh  falls  sick,  and  is  attended  by  an 
English  surgeon  ...... 

1827.  Anecdotes.  Lord  Amherst,  the  British  Governor- 

General  ....... 

Lord  Combermere,  the  Britsih  Commander-in-Chief 

Captain  Wade  made  the  immediate  Agent  for  the 
affairs   of  Lahore  ..... 

Discussions  about  rights  to  districts  South  of  the 
Sutlej 

Anandpur,  Whadni,  Ferozepore,  &c 
1820-8.  Gradual  ascendancy  of  Dhian  Singh,  his  bro- 
thers, and  his  son  ..... 

1828.  Proposed  marriage  of  Hira  Singh  into  the  family 

of  Sansar  Chand  .... 

Flight  of  Sansar  Chand's  widow  and  son 

1829.  Raja  Hira  Singh's  marriage 
1827.   Insurrection   at  Peshawar  under  Saiyid  Ahmad 

Shah  Ghazi 

History  of  the  Saiyid  .... 

His  doctrines  of  religious  reform 

His  pilgrimage  

His  journey  through  Rajputana  and  Sind  to  Kan 

dahar  and  Peshawar  .... 

Rouses  the  Usufzais  to  a  religious  war 
Saiyid  Ahmad  Shah  fails  against  the  Sikhs  at  Akora 

1829.  But  defeats   Yar    Muhammad,    who   dies    of   his 

wounds  .... 

1830.  Saiyid  Ahmad  Shah  crosses  the  Indus 
He  is  compelled  to  retire,  but  falls  upon  and  routs 

Sultan  Muhammad  Khan,  and  occupies  Peshawar 
The  Saiyid's  influence  decreases 
He  relinquishes  Peshawar 

1831.  And  retires  towards  Kashmir,  and  is  surprised 
and  slain  

Ranjit  Singh  courted  by  various  parties 

The  Baluchis 

Shah  Mahmud  

The  Baiza  Bai  of  Gwalior 
The  Russians  and  the  English  .         • 

Lord  Bentinck,  the  Governor-General,  at  Simla 
A  Meeting  proposed  with  Ranjit  Singh,  and  desured 

by  both  parties  for  different  reasons 
The  Meeting  at  Rupar 


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173 
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CONTENTS 


XLI 


A.  D.  PAGE 

Ranjit  Singh's  anxiety  about  Sind  .  .  .174 

The  scheme  of  opening  the  Indus  to  commerce     .  174 

Proposals  made  to  the  Sindians  and  Sikhs     .  .  175 

Ranjit  Singh's  views  and  suspicions         .  .  .  175 

He  repels  the  Daudputras  from  the  Lower  Punjab  176 

—  and  declares  his  superior  right  to  Shikarpur       .  176 
1832.  Ranjit  Singh  yields  to  the  English  demands        .  176 

Declaring,  however,    that    their    commerce    inter- 
fered with  his  policy  .  .  .  .  .177 

1833-5.  Shah  Shuja's  second  expedition  to  Afghanistan  177 

1827,  &c.  The  Shah's  overtures  to  the  English  .  177 

1831.  His  negotiations  with  the  Sindians         .  .  177 

—  and  with  Ranjit  Singh  .  .  .  .177 
The  gates  of  Somnath  and  the  slaughter  of  kine     .  177 

1832.  Further  negotiations  with  the  Sikhs  and  Sindians  178 
The  English  indifferent  about  the  Shah's  attempts  178 

—  but    Dost    Muhammad    Khan    is    alarmed,    and 
courts  their  friendship         .  .  .  .179 

1833.  The  Shah  sets  out 179 

1834.  Defeats  the  Sindians 180 

—  but  is  routed  at  Kandahar  ....  180 

1835.  The  Shah  returns  to  Ludhiana      .  .  .  .180 
1834.  Ranjit  Singh,  suspicious  of  Shah  Shuja,   streng- 
thens   himself    by    annexing    Peshawar    to    his 
dominions                       .          .          .          •          •          .180 

1832-6.     Huzara     and    the    Derajat    more     completely 

reduced  .......  180 

1833.  Sansar  Chand's  grandson  returns  181 
1834-6.  Ranjit  Singh  sends  a  Mission  to  Calcutta  181 
1821.  Ranjit  Singh  and  Ladakh  .  .  ■  181 
1834-5.  Ladakh  reduced  by  the  Jammu  Rajas  .  181 
1835-6.  Ranjit  Singh  recurs  to  his  claims  on  Shikarpur, 

and  his  designs  on  Sind  .  •  •  •  182 

Negotiations  .  .  •  •  •  .   *      .  182 

Ranjit  Singh's  ambition  displeasing  to  the  English  183 
The  Maharaja  nevertheless  keeps  in  view  his  plans 

of    aggrandizement  .....  184 

1836.  The  objects  of  the  English  become  political  as 
well  as  commercial  .....  184 

—  and  they  resolve  on  mediating  between  Ranjit 

Singh  and  the  Sindians  ....  184 

The  English  desire  to  restrain  Ranjit  Singh  with- 
out threatening  him  .  .  .  .  .184 

The  Sindians  impatient,  and  ready  to  resort  to  arms  185 
Ranjit  Singh  equally  ready              .          .          .          .185 

—  but  yields  to  the  representations  of  the  English  185 
Yet  continues  to  hold  Rojhan  with  ulterior  views  186 

1829-36.  Retrospect.  The  English  and  the  Barakzais.  .  186 
1829.   Sultan  Muhammad  Khan  solicits   the  friendship 

or  protection  of  the  English  against  the  Sikhs     .  186 

1832.  Dost  Muhammad  Khan  does  the  same  .  .  187 

The  Barakzais,  apprehensive  of  Shah  Shuja,  again 

press  for  an  alhance  with  the  English         .  .  187 

—  and  Jabbar  Khan  sends  his  son  to  Ludhiana      .  187 

1834.  Dost  Muhammad  formally  tenders  his  allegiance 

to  the  EngHsh  188 

—  but  defeats  Shah  Shuja,  and  recovers  confidence  188 
Dost  Muhammad  attempts  to  recover  Peshawar  188 


XLIV 


CONTENTS 


A.  D. 

The  Insvurection  at  Kabul   (November  1841) 
The  English  distrustful  of  the  Sikhs,  but  yet  urgent 
upon  them  for  aid  ..... 

1842.  An  army  of  retribution  assembled 

Gulab  Singh  sent  to  co-operate       .... 

Kabul   retaken  ...... 

Discussions  regarding  Jalalabad  and  the  limits  of 

Sikh   dominion  ....-• 

The    Governor-General    meets    the    Sikh    minister 

and  heir-apparent  at  Ferozepore 

1843.  Dost  Muhammad  returns  to  Kabul 

Anxieties  of  Sher  Singh  .  .  .  .  • 

The   Sindhianwala   Chiefs    and   the   Jammu   Rajas 
coalesce  ...... 

Sher  Singh  assassinated   by  Ajit  Singh 

—  who  likewise  puts  Dhian  Singh  to  death 
Hira  Singh  avenges  his  father 
Dahp   Singh   proclaimed  Maharaja 
The  power  of  the  Army  increases 
Raja  Gulab  Singh 
Sardar  Jawahir  Singh 
Fateh  Khan  Tiwana 

1844.  The  insurrection  of  Kashmira  Singh  and  Pesha 

wara   Singh  ... 

Jawahir   Singh  ... 

1844.  The  attempt  of  Raja  Suchet  Singh 

The  insurrection  of  Sardar  Attar  Singh  and  Bhai 

Bir   Singh 
The  Governor  of  Multan  submits 

1843.  Gilgit  reduced 

1844.  Hira  Singh  professes  suspicions  of  the  English 
The  mutiny  of  the  British  Sepoys  ordered  to  Sind 
Discussions  with  the  English 

—  about  the  village  Moran 

—  and  about  treasure  buried  by  Suchet  Singh 
Hira  Singh  guided  by  Pandit  Jalla,  his  preceptor 
Pandit  Jalla  and  Gulab  Singh 

Pandit  Jalla   irritates   the   Sikhs,   and   offends   the 

Queen    Mother 
Hira  Singh  and  Pandit  Jalla  fly,  but  are  overtaken 

and  put  to  death         ..... 
Jawahir  Singh  and  Lai  Singh  attain  power 

1845.  The  Sikh  Army  moves  against  Jammu 
Gulab  Singh  submits,  and  repairs  to  Lahore 
Jawahir  Singh  formally  appointed  Wazir 

1844.  Sawan  Mai  of  Multan  assassinated 
Mulraj,  his  sop,  succeeds         •  •  -  ■ 

1845.  —  and  agrees  to  the  terms  of  the  Lahore  Court 
The  rebellion  of  Peshawara  Singh 

—  who  submits,  but  is  put  to  death 

The  Sikh  soldiery  displeased  and  distrustful 
The   perplexity   of  Jawahir   Singh 
The«Army  condemns  him,  and  puts  him  to  death 
The  Army  all-powerful  .... 

Lai  Singh  made  Wazir,  and  Tej  Singh  Commander 
in-Chief,  in  expectation  of  an  English  war 


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246 


CONTENTS  XLV 

CHAPTER  IX 

THE  WAR  WITH  THE  ENGLISH 

1845-6 

A.D.  PA«= 

1845.  The  Indian  public  prepared  for  a  war  between 

the  Sikhs  and  English  •  •  •  '       111 

The  apprehensions  of  the  English  •  •  '       ^^o 

The  ,  fears  of  the  Sikhs 248 

The  English  advance  bodies  of  troops  towards  the 

Sutlej,  contrary  to  their  policy  of  1809         .  -       249 

The  English  views  about  Peshawar,  and  their  offer 

to  support  Sher  Singh,  all  weigh  with  the  Sikhs  250 
The  Sikhs  further  moved  by  their  estimate  of  the 

British  Agent  of  the  day  .  •  •      ,,  ' 

Major  Broadfoot's  views    and    overt    acts    equally 

displeasing  to  the  Sikhs  •  •  '       „  ' 

Major  Broadfoot's    proceedings    held    to    virtually 

denote    war  253 

1845.  And  Sir  Charles  Napier's  acts  considered  further 

proof  of  hostile  views  ....  256 
The  Lahore  Chiefs  make  use  of  the  persuasion  of 

the  people  for  their  own  ends  .  .  .  255 
And  urge  the  Army  against  the  English  in  order 

that  it  may  be  destroyed  ....  257 
The  Sikhs  cross  the  Sutlej              .          .          .          .258 

The  English  unprepared  for  a  campaign          .          .  260 

The  English  hasten  to  oppose  the  Sikhs           .          .  262 

The   numbers   of   the   Sikhs             ....  262 

Ferozepore  threatened,  but  purposely  not  attacked  263 

The  objects  of  Lai  Singh  and  Tej  Singh         .          .  263 

The  tactics  of  the  Sikhs 263 

The  Battle  of  Mudki               264 

The  Battle  of  P'heerooshuhur,  and  retreat  of  the 

Sikhs                      266 

The   difficulties  and   apprehensions   of  the  English  268 

1846.  The    Sikhs    recross    the    Sutlej,     and    threaten 
Ludhiana              270 

The  Skirmish  of  Badowal 272 

The   Sikhs   encouraged,   and   Gulab   Singh   induced 

to  repair  to  Lahore  .....       274 

The  Battle  of  Aliwal  275 

The  Sikh  Chiefs  anxious  to  treat,  and  the  English 

desirous  of  ending  the  war  ....        278 

An   understanding   come   to,   that   the   Sikh   Army 

shall  be   attacked  by  the   one,  and  deserted  by 

the  other  ..... 

The  defensive  position  of  the  Sikhs 
1846.  The  English  plan  of  attack 
The  Battle  of  Sobraon 
The  passage  of  the  Sutlej;   the  submission  of  the 

Maharaja;  and  the  occupation  of  Lahore 
Negotiations  .... 

Gulab   Singh  .... 

Lai  Singh  ..... 

The  Partition  of  the  Punjab,  and  independence  of 

Gulab  Singh  288 


279 
279 
281 
282 

285 
286 
286 
287 


XI.V1 


CONTENTS 


A-  D-  PAGE 

Supplementary  arrangements  of  1846,  placing  Dalip 

Singh  under  British  tutelage  during  his  minority  289 

The  Sikhs  not  disheartened  by  their  reverses        .  289 

Conclusion.  The  position  of  the  English  in  India      .  290 


APPENDIXES 


PAGE 

APPENDIX  I 
The  Jats  and  Jats  of  Upper  India  ....       299 

APPENDIX  II 
Proportions  of  Races  and  Faiths  :  Population  of  India  .       300 

APPENDIX  III 
The  Kshattriyas  and  Aroras  of  the  Punjab  .  .       302 

APPENDIX  IV 
Caste   in    India  .......       304 

APPENDIX  V 
The  Philosophical  Systems  of  the  Indians  305 

APPENDIX  VI 
On  the  Maya  of  the  Indians  .....       308 

APPENDIX  VII 

The  Metaphysics  of  Indian  Reformers  .       309 

APPENDIX  VIII 

Nanak's     Philosophical     Allusions    Popular     or     Moral 

rather  than  Scientific  .  .  .  .  .310 

APPENDIX  IX 
The  Terms  Raj  and  Jog,  Deg  and  Tegh  .  .       312 

APPENDIX  X 
Caste  among  the   Sikhs  313 

APPENDIX  XI 
Rites  of  Initiation  into  Sikhism  .  .  .314 

APPENDIX  XII 

The  exclamation  Wah  Guru   and  the   expression  Deg, 

Tegh,  Fath  315 

APPENDIX  XIII 
The   Sikh   Devotion   to   Steel,   and   the   Term   'Sachcha 

Padshah'  316 

APPENDIX  XIV 
Distinctive  Usages  of  the  Sikhs  .         •         .317 


CONTENTS 


XLVII 


PAGE 

APPENDIX  XV 

On  the   Use  of  Arabic  and  Sanskrit  for  the  purposes 

of  Education  in  India  .....       318 

APPENDIX   XVI 
On  the  Land-tax  in   India  .....       320 

APPENDIX  XVII 
The  Adi  Granth,  or  First  Book;'  or,  the  Book  of 
Nanak,  the  First  Guru  or  Teacher  of  the  Sikhs 
Preliminary  Note  .  .  .  .  .321 

The  Japji  (or  simply  the  Jap)         ....       322 

Sudar   Rah   Ras  ......       323 

Kirit   Sohila  ......       323 

The  Thirty-one  Metres    (or  Forms  of  Verse)  323 

The  Bhog  324 

Supplement  to  the  Granth  ,  .325 

APPENDIX  XVIII 
The  Daswin  Padshah  Ka  Granth,  or,  Book  of  the  Tenth 
King  or  Sovereign  Pontiff,  i.e.,  of  Guru  Gobind 
Singh 

Preliminary  Note  ......  325 

The  Japji    (or  smiply  the  Jap)  .  326 

Akal  Stut  326 

The  Vichitr  Natak,  or  Wondrous  Tale  .  .  326 

Chandi  Charitr  (the  greater)  ....  327 

Chandi  Charitr    (the  lesser)  ....  327 

Chandi   ki  Var  327 

Gyan  Prabodh  ......  327 

Chaupayan     Chaubis     Avataran     Kiah      (Twenty- 
four  Avatars)  ......  327 

Mihdi  Mir  328 

Avatars  of  Brahma  .....  328 

Avatars  of  Rudr  or  Siva  .....  328 

Shastar   Nam   Mala  328 

Sri  Mukh  Vak,  Sawaya  Battis  ....  328 

Hazara  Shabd  328 

Istri  Charitr,  or  Tales  of  Women  .  .  .  329 

The  Hikayats,  or  Tales   (addressed  to  Aurangzeb)  329 
APPENDIX  XIX 

Some  Principles  of  Belief  and  Practice,  as  exemplified 
in  the  opinions  of  the  Sikh  Kurus  or  Teachers;  with 
an  Addendum  showing  the  modes  in  which  the  Mis- 

I,       sions  of  Nanak  and  Gobind  are  represented  or  re- 

r        garded  by  the  Sikhs. 


God;  the  Godhead 

329 

Incarnations,  Saints,  and  Prophets 

330 

The  Sikh  Gurus  not  to  be  worshipped 

331 

Images,  and  the  Worship  of  Saints 

331 

Miracles                    ...... 

332 

Transmigration                 ..... 

332 

Faith                

332 

Grace              

333 

Predestination                   ..... 

333 

The  Vedas,  the  Purans,  and  the  Koran 

333 

Asceticism                ...... 

333 

XLvni 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Caste  334 

Food  334 

Brahmans,    Saints,   &c.  .....  33J, 

Infanticide  .......  335 

Sati  336 

Addendum. 

Bhai    Gurdas    Bhalla's    mode    of    representing    the 

Mission   of  Nanak  .....  336 

Guru    Gobind's    mode    of    representing    his    own 

Mission  .......  337 

Extract    from   the    Twenty-four   Avatars    and    the 

Mihdi  Mir  of  Gobind's  Granth  .  .  .337 

APPENDIX    XX 

The    Admonitory    Letters    of    Nanak    to    the    fabulous 
monarch   Karun,    and   the   Prescriptive   Letters   of 
Gobind  for  the  guidance  of  the  Sikhs 
Preliminary  Note  ......       340 

The  Nasihat  Nama,  or  Admonition  of  Nanak        .       340 
The  Reply  of  Nanak  to  Karun         .  .341 

The  Rahat  Nama  of  Gobind  .  .343 

The  Tankha  Nama  of  Gobind         .  .  .  .344 

APPENDIX  XXI 

A  List  of  Sikh  Sects,  or  Orders,  or  Denominations  347 

APPENDIX    XXII 

A  Genealogical  Table  of  the  Sikh  Gurus  or  Teachers 

facing       348 

APPENDIX  XXIII 
The  Treaty  with  Lahore  of  1806.  ....       349 

APPENDIX  XXIV 
>Sir  David  Ochterlony's  Proclamation  of  1809         .  .       350 

APPENDIX   XXV 
The  Treaty  with  Lahore  of  1809  .  .  .       352 

APPENDIX  XXVI 

Proclamation  of  Protection  to  Cis-Sutlej .  States  against 

Lahore,   dated   1809  353 

APPENDIX  XXVII 

Proclamation  of  Protection  to  Cis-Sutlej  States  against 

one  another,  dated  1811  ....       354 

APPENDIX  XXVIII 
Indus  Navigation  Treaty  of  1832  .  .356 

APPENDIX  XXIX 
Supplementary  Indus  Navigation  Treaty  of  1834  359 

APPENDIX  XXX 

The    Tripartite    Treaty    with    Ranjit    Singh    and    Shah 

Shuja  of   1838  361 

APPENDIX  XXXI 

Indiis  and  Sutlej  Toll  Agreement  of  1839  .365 


CONTENTS  XLix 

PAGE 

APPENDIX  XXXII 
Indus  and  Sutlej  Toll  Agreement  of  1840  .  .       366 

APPENDIX  XXXIII 
Declaration  of  War  of  1845  ^ 368 

APPENDIX  XXXIV 
First  Treaty  Avith  Lahore  of  1846  .  .371 

APPENDIX  XXXV 

Supplementary  Articles  to  First  Treaty  with  Lahore  of 

1846  375 

APPENDIX  XXXVI 
Treaty  with  Gulab  Singh  of  1846  .  .  .  .       377 

APPENDIX  XXXVII 
Second  Treaty  with  Lahore  of   1846  .  .       378 

APPENDIX   XXXVIII 
Revenues  of  the  Punjab  as  Estimated  in  1844  .  .       383 

APPENDIX  XXXIX 
The  Army  of  Lahore,  as  Recorded  in  1844  .  .       387 

APPENDIX  XL 
The  Lahore  Family  391 

APPENDIX  XLI 
The  Jammu   Family  392 


I 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 

CHAPTER   I 

THE  COUNTRY  AND  PEOPLE 

Geographical  Limits  of  Sikh  Occupation  or  Influence — Climate, 
Productions,  &c.  of  the  Sikh  Dominions — Inhabitants,  Races, 
Tribes — Religions  of  the  .  People — Characteristics  and 
Effects  of  Race  and  Religion — Partial  Migrations  of  Tribes — 
Religious  Proselytism. 

During  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries  of  Geographi- 
the  Christian  era,  Nanak  and  Gobind,  of  the  Kshattriya  cai  limits. 
race,  obtained  a  few  converts  to  their  doctrines  of  reli- 
gious reform  and  social  emancipation  among  the  Jat 
peasants  of  Lahore  and  the  southern  banks  of  the  Sutlej. 
The  'Sikhs',  or  'Disciples',  have  now  become  a  nation; 
and  they  occupy,  or  have  extended  their  influence,  from 
Delhi  to  Peshawar,  and  from  the  plains  of  Sind  to  the 
Karakoram  mountains.  The  dominions  acquired  by  the 
Sikhs  are  thus  included  between  the  28th  and  36th 
parallels  of  north  latitude,  and  between  the  71st  and 
TTth  meridians  of  east  longitude;  and  if  a  base  of  four 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  be  drawn  from  Panipat  to  the 
Khaibar  Pass,  two  triangles,  almost  equilateral,  may 
be  described  upon  it,  which  shall  include  the  conquests 
of  Ranjit  Singh  and  the  fixed  colonies  of  the  Sikh 
people. 

The  country  of  the  Sikhs,  being  thus  situated  in  a  ciimate, 
medium  degree  of  latitude,  corresponding  nearly  with  produc- 
that  of  northern  Africa  and  the  American  States,  and  t'°"s,  &c. 
consisting  either  of  broad  plains  not  much  above  the 
sea  level,  or  of  mountain  ranges  which  rise  two  and 
three  miles  into  the  air,  possesses  every  variety  of  cli- 
mate and  every  description   of   natural   produce.   The 
winter  of  Ladakh  is  long  and"  rigorous,  snow  covers  the 
ground  for  half  the  year,  the  loneliness  of  its  vast  soli- 
tudes appals  the  heart,  and  naught  living  meets  the  eye; 
yet  the  shawl-wool  goat  gives  a   value   to   the   rocky  ^^^^^  ^^^ 
wastes  of  that  elevated  region,  and  its  scanty  acres  yield  shawl' wool 
uneoualled  crops  of  wheat  and  barley,  where  the  stars 'of  Ladakh. 
can  be  discerned  at  midday  and  the  thin  air  scarcely 
bears  the  sound  of  thunder  to  the  ear.^    The  heat  and 


1  Shawl  wool  is  produced  most    abundantly,    and    of   the 


cotton  of 
Multan 


2  HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS  chap,  i 

the  dust  storms  of  Multan  are  perhaps  more  oppressive 
than  the  cold  and  the  drifting  snows  of  Tibet;  but  the 
Silks,  in-  favourable  position  of  the  city,  and  the  several  over- 
?il°^„^"v  flowing  streams  in  its  neighbourhood,  give  an  import- 
ance, the  one  to  its  manufactures  of  silks  and  carpets, 
and  the  other  ta  the  wheat,  the  indigo,  and  the  cotton 
of  its  fields.^    The  southern  slopes  of  the  Himalayas  are 

finest  quality,  in  the  steppes  between  the  Shayuk  and  the  main 
branch  of  the  Indus.  About  lOG.OOO  rupees,  or  £10,000  worth 
may  be  carried  down  the  valley  of  the  Sutlej  to  Ludhiana  and 
Delhi.  (Journal  Asiatic  Society  of  Bengal,  1844,  p.  210.)  The 
importation  into  Kashmir  alone  is  estimated  by  Moorcroft 
(Travels,  ii.  165)  at  about  £75,000,  and  thus  the  Sutlej  trade 
may  represent  less  than  a  tenth  of  the  whole. 

Moorcroft  speaks  highly  of  the  cultivation  of  wheat  and 
barley  in  Tibet,  and  he  once  saw  a  field  of  the  latter  grain  in 
that  country  such  as  he  had  never  before  beheld,  and  which,  he 
says,  an  English  farmer  would  have  ridden  many  miles  to  have 
looked  at.     (Travels,  i.  269,  280.) 

The  gravel  of  the  northern  steppes  of  Tibet  yields  gold  in 
grains,  but  the  value  of  the  crude  borax  of  the  lakes  surpasses, 
as  an  article  of  trade,  that  of  the  precious  metal. 

In  Yarkand  an  intoxicating  drug  named  churrus,  much  used 
in  India,  is  grown  of  a  superior  quality,  and  while  opium  could 
be  taken  across  the  Himalayas,  the  Hindus  and  Chinese  carried 
on  a  brisk  traffic  of  exchange  in  the  two  deleterious  com- 
modities. 

The  trade  in  tea  through  Tibet  to  Kashmir  and  Kabul  is  of 
local  importance.  The  blocks  weigh  about  eight  pounds,  and 
sell  for  12s.  and  16s.  up  to  36s.  and  48s.  each,  according  to  the 
quality.   (Cf.  Moorcroft,  Travels,  i.  350,  351.) 

1  The  wheat  of  Multan  is  beardless,  and  its  grain  is  long 
and  heavy.  It  is  exported  in  large  quantities  to  Rajputana,  and 
also,  since  the  British  occupation,  to  Sind  to  an  increased  extent. 
The  value  of  the  carpets  manufactured  in  Multan  does  not 
perhaps  exceed  50,000  rupees  annually.  The  silk  manufacture 
m.ay  be  worth  five  times  that  sum,  or,  including  that  of  Baha- 
walpur,  400,000  rupees  in  all;  but  the  demand  for  such  fabrics 
has  markedly  declined  since  the  expulsion  of  a  native  dynasty 
from  Sind.  The  raw  silk  of  Bokhara  is  used  in  preference  to 
that  of  Bengal,  as  being  stronger  and  more  glossy. 

English  piece-goods,  or  (more  largely)  cotton  twists  to  be 
woven  into  cloth,  have  been  introduced  everywhere  in  India; 
but  those  well-to-do  in  the  world  can  alone  buy  foreign  articles, 
and  thus  while  about  eighteen,  tons  of  cotton  twist  are  used  by 
the  weavers  of  Bahawalpur,  about  300  tons  of  (cleaned)  cotton 
are  grown  in  the  district,  and  wrought  up  by  the  villagers  or 
exported  to  Rajputana. 

The  Lower  Punjab  and  Bahawalpur  yield  respectively 
about  750  and  150  tons  of  indigo.  It  is  worth  on  the  spot  from 
9d.  to  Is.  6d.  the  pound.  The  principal  market  is  Khorasan;  but 
the  trade  has  declined  of  late,  perhaps  owing  to  the  quantities 
which  may  be  introduced  into  that  country  by  way  of  the  Per- 
sian Gulf  from  India.  The  fondness  of  the  Sikhs,  and  of  the 
poorer  Muhammadans  of  the  Indus,  for  blue  clothing,  will 
always  maintain  a  fair  trade  in  indigo.  [It  seems  hardly  neces- 
sary to  state  that  the  prosperity  of  the  Western  Punjab  to-day 


CHAP.  I        THE  COUNTRY  AND  PEOPLE  3 

periodically  deluged  with  rain,  which    is    almost   un- 
known beyond  the  snow,  and  is  but  little  felt  in  Multan 
or  along  the  Indus.     The  central  Punjab  is  mostly  a 
bushy  jungle  or  a  pastoral  waste-  its  rivers  alone  have 
rescued  it  from  the  desert,  but  its  dryness  keeps  it  free 
from  savage  beasts,  and  its  herds  of  cattle  are  of  staple  ^l^^^  o^ 
value  to  the  country;  while  the  plains  which  imme-  the  central 
diately  bound  the  hills,  or  are  influenced  by  the  Indus  Punjab, 
and  its  tributaries,  are  not  surpassed  in  fertility  by  any 
in  India.  The  many  populous  towns  of  these  tracts  are 
filled  with  busy  weavers  of  cotton  and  silk  and  wool,  ^h^  Per- 
and  with  skilful  workers  in  leather  and  wood  and  iron,  ^^^^q^^ 
Water  is  found  near  the  surface,  and  the  Persian  wheel  irrigation, 
is  in  general  use  for  purposes  of  irrigation.  Sugar  is 
produced  in  abundance,  and  the  markets  of  Sind  and  sugar  of 
Kabul  are  in  part  supplied  with  that  valuable  article  by  the  upper 
the  traders  of  Amritsar,  the  commercial  emporium  of  piai"s. 
Northern  India.^    The  artisans  of  Kashmir,  the  varied 
productions    of    that    famous    valley,    its    harvests    of  The   saffron 
saffron,  and  its  important  manufacture  of  shawls,  are  a^d,the 
well  known  and  need  only  be  alluded  to.-    The  plains  l^^^^^^ 
of  Attock  and  Peshawar  no  longer  shelter  the  rhinoceros 
which  Babar  delighted  to  hunt,  but  are  covered  with  ^^^^^^  ^^ 
rich  crops  of  rice,  of  wheat,  and  of  barley.    The  moun-  peshT-war 

depends  principally  upon  its  grain,    and   that    cultivation   has 
received  a  great  stimulus  from  the  canal  system. 

As  regards  the  second  paragraph  of  the  note  the  statement 
about  the  consumption  of  foreign  cotton,  &c.,  reads  strangely  to 
a  modern  generation. — Ed.] 

1  In  1844  the  customs  and  excise  duties  of  the  Punjab 
amounted  to  £240,000  or  £250,000  or  to  one-thirteenth  of  the 
whole  revenue  of  Ranjit  Singh,  estimated  at  £3,250,000.  ['Under 
the  present  system  of  decentralization  in  finance,  the  Imperial 
Government  delegates  to  the  Punjab  Government  the  control 
of  expenditure  on  the  ordinary  administrative  services,  together 
with  the  whole  or  a  certain  proportion  of  certain  heads  of 
revenue  sufficient  to  meet  those  charges.  Of  the  various  heads 
of  revenue,  post-office,  telegraphs,  railways,  opium,  and  salt  are 
entirely  Imperial.  Land  revenue,  stamps,  excise,  income  tax,  and 
major  irrigation  works  are  divided  between  the  Imperial  and 
Provincial  Governments  in  the  proportion  of  one-half  to  each. 
Minor  irrigation  works  and  some  minor  heads  are  divided  in 
varying  proportions,  while  the  revenue  from  forests,  registra- 
tion, courts  of  law,  jails,  police,  and  education  are  wholly  pro- 
vincial, as  well  as  the  income  of  district  boards  and  municipali- 
ties. The  Budget  for  1914-15  shows  a  total  revenue  (including 
opening  balance)  of  Rs.  6,44,50,000  and  a  total  expenditure  ol 
Rs.  5,00,29,000,  leaving  a  closing  balance  of  Rs.  1,44,21,000.'— 
Indian  Year  Book,  1915.] 

2  Mr.  Moorcroft  (Travels,  ii.  194)  estimates  the  annual 
value  of  the  Kashmir  manufacture  of  shawls  at  £300,000,  but 
this  seems  a  small  estimate  if  the  raw  material  be  worth 
£75,000  alone  (Travels,  ii.  165,  &c.),  that  is,  1,000  horse  loads  of 
300  pounds,  each  pound  being  worth  5s. 


Rice   and 
wheat  of 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP. 


Drugs,  dyes, 
and  metals 
of  the   hills. 


Inhabi- 
tants. 


Immigration 
of  the  Jats, 
and  introdu- 
ction of 
Muhamma- 
danism. 


tains  themselves  produce  drugs  and  dyes  and  fruits; 
their  precipitous  sides  support  forests  of  gigantic  pines, 
and  veins  of  copper,  or  extensive  deposits  of  rock  salt 
and  of  iron  ore  are  contained  within  their  vast  outline. 
The  many  fertile  vales  lying  between  the  Indus  and 
Kashmir  are  perhaps  unsurpassed  in  the  East  for  salu- 
brity and  loveliness;  the  seasons  are  European,  and  the 
violent  'monsoon'  of  India  is  replaced  by  the  genial 
spring  rains  of  temperate  climates. 

The  people  comprised  within  the  limits  of  the  Sikh 
rule  or  influence,  are  various  in  their  origin,  their  lan- 
guage, and  their  faith.  The  plains  of  Upper  India,  in 
which  the  Brahmans  and  Kshattriya  had  developed  a 
peculiar  civilization,  have  been  overrun  by  Persian  or 
Scythic  tribes,  from  the  age  of  Darius  and  Alexander  to 
that  of  Babar  and  Nadir  Shah.  Particular  traces  of  the 
successive  conquerors  may  yet  perhaps  be  found,  but 
the  main  features  are:  (1)  the  introduction  of  the  Muh- 
ammadan  creed;  and  (2)  the  long  antecedent  emigration 
of  hordes  of  Jats  from  the  plains  of  Upper  Asia.  It  is  not 
necessary  to  enter  into  the  antiquities  of  Grecian  'Getae' 
and  Chinese  'Yuechi',  to  discuss  the  asserted  identity 
of  a  peasant  Jat  and  a  moon-descended  Yadu,  or  to  try 
to  trace  the  blood  of  Kadphises  in  the  veins  of  Ran  jit 
Singh.  It  is  sufficient  to  observe  that  the  vigorous  Hindu 
civilization  of  the  first  ages  of  Christianity  soon 
absorbed  its  barbarous  invaders,  and  that  in  the  lapse 
of  centuries  the  Jats  became  essentially  Brahmanical 
in  language  and  belief.  Along  the  southern  Indus  thay 
soon  yielded  their  conscience  to  the  guidance  of  Islam; 
those  of  the  north  longer  retained  their  idolatrous  faith, 
but  they  have  lately  had  a  new  life  breathed  into  them; 
they  now  preach  the  unity  of  God  and  the  equality  of 
man,  and,  after  obeying  Hindu  and  Muhammadan 
rulers,  they  have  themselves  once  more  succeeded  to 
sovereign  power.  ^  The  Musalman  occupation  forms 
the  next  grand  epoch  in  general  Indian  history  after 
the  extinction  of  the  Buddhist  religion;  the  common 
speech  of  the  people  has  been  partially  changed,  and 
the  tenets  of  Muhammad  are  gradually  revolutionizing 
the  whole  fabric  of  Indian  society;  but  the  difference  of 
race,  or  the  savage  manners  of  the  conquerors,  struck 
the  vanquished  even  more  forcibly  than  their  creed, 
and  to  this  day  Jats  and  others  talk  of  'Turks'  as  syno- 
nymous with  oppressors,  and  the  proud  Rajputs  not 
only  bowed  before  the  Musalmans,  but  have  perpetua- 
ted the  remembrance  of  their  servitude  by  adopting 

^  See  Appendix  I. 


CHAP.  I        THE  COUNTRY  AND  PEOPLE  5 

Turkhana',  or  Turk  money,  into  their  language  as  the 
equivalent  of  tribute. 

In  the  valley  of  the  Upper  Indus,  that  is,  in  Ladakh  "^^  Tartar, 
and  Little  Tibet,  the  prevailing  caste  is  the  Bhoti  sub-  °*  '^'*'^*- 
division  of  the  great  Tartar  variety  of  the  human  race. 
Lower  down  that  classical    stream,    or   in    Gilgit   and 
Chulass,  the  remains  of  the  old-  and  secluded  races  of  Dardu"!^  ^^ 
Dardus  and  Dungars  are  still  to  be  found,  but  both  in 
Iskardo  and  in  Gilgit  itself,  there  is  some  mixture  of  Turkomans 
Turkoman  tribes  from  the  wilds  of  Pamer  and  Kash-  °*  °"^*- 
kar.  The  people  of  Kashmir  have  from  time  to  time  been  The  Kash- 
mixed  with  races  from  the  north,  the  south,  and  the  "^"^'^ 
west;  and  while  their  language  is  Hindu  and  their  faith 
Muhammadan,  the  manners  of  the  primitive  Kash  or 
Katch  tribes,  have  been  influenced  by  their  proximity 
to  the  Tartars.  The  hills  westward  from  Kashmir  to  the  and  their 
Indus  are  inhabited  by  Kukas  and  Bambas,  of  whom  western 
little  is  known,  but  towards  the  river  itself  the  Yusuf-  ^^Jj 
zais  and  other  Afghan  tribes  prevail;  while  there  are 
many  secluded  valleys  peopled  by  the  widely  spread  g^^^^gg^ 
Gujars,  whose  history  has  yet  to  be  ascertained,  and  who  oujars.  '&c. 
are  the  vassals  of  Arabian  'saiyids',  or  of  Afghan  and 
Turkoman  lords. 

In  the  hills  south  of  Kashmir,  and  west  of  the  Jhe-  The  Gak- 
lum  to  Attock  and  Kalabagh  on  the  Indus,  are  found  ^^^  ^^ 
Gakhars,  Gujars,  Khattars,  Awans,  Janjuas,  and  others,  ^^  Ja»3"a»- 
all  of  whom  may  be  considered  to  have  from  time  to 
time  merged  into   the  Hindu  stock  in  language  and 
feelings.  Of  these,  some,  as  the  Janjuas  and  especially 
the  Gakhars,  have  a  local  reputation.  Peshawar  and  the 
hills  which  surround  it,  are  peopled  by  variuus  races' 
of  Afghans,  as  Yusufzais  and  Mohmands  in  the  north  The  Yiisuf- 
and  west,  Khalils  and  others  in  the  centre,  and  Afridis,  ^^^ 
Khattaks,  and  others  in  the  south  and  east.    The  hills  Afridis,  &c. 
south  of  Kohat,  and  the  districts  of  Tank  and  Bannu, 
are  likewise  peopled  by  genuine  Afghans,  as  the  pastoral 
Waziris  and  others,  or  by  agricultural  tribes  claiming  waziris. 
such  a  descent;  and,  indeed,  throughout  the  mountains  and  other 
on  either  side  of  the  Indus,  every  valley  has  its  separate  Afghans, 
tribe  or  family,  always  opposed  in  interest,  and  some- 
times differing  in  speech  and  manners.  Generally  it  may 
be  observed,  that  on  the  north,  tVie  Afghans  on  one  side, 
and  the  Turkomans  on  the  other,  are  gradually  pressing 
upon  the  old  but  less  energetic  Dardus,  who  have  been 
already  mentioned. 

In  the  districts  on  either  side  of  the  Indus  south  of  Baiuchis, 
Kalabagh,  and  likewise  around  Multan,  the  population  ^^*^ 
is  partly  Baluch  and  partly  Jat,  intermixed,  however, 


6 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP,   I 


the  Middle 
Indus. 


Juns,   Bhutls, 
and    Kathis, 
of  the  cen- 
tral plains. 

Chibs  and 
Buhows  of 
the  lower 
hills. 


The  Johl- 
yas  and 
L.angahs  of 
the  south. 


The  Dog- 
ras  and 
Kanets  of 
the  Hima- 
layas. 

The  Kohlis 
of  &e  Hi- 
malayas. 


with  other  tribes,  as  Aroras  and  Rains,  and  towards  the 
mountains  of  Suleiman  some  Afghan  tribes  are  likewise 
to  be  found  located.  In  the  waste  tracts  between  the 
Indus  and  Sutlej  are  found  Juns,  Bhutis,  Sials,  Kurruls, 
Kathis,  and  other  tribes,  who  are  both  pastoral  and 
predatory,  and  who,  with  the  Chibs  and  Buhows  south 
of  Kashmir,  between  the  Jhelum  and  Chenab,  may  be 
the  first  inhabitants  of  the  country,  but  little  reclaimed 
in  manners  by  Hindu  or  Muhammadan  conquerors;  or 
one  or  more  of  them,  as  the  Bhutis,  who  boast  of  their 
lunar  descent,  may  represent  a  tribe  of  ancient  invaders 
or  colonizers  who  have  yielded  to  others  more  powerful 
than  themselves.  Indeed,  there  seems  little  doubt  of  the 
former  supremacy  of  the  Bhuti  or  Bhati  race  in  North- 
Western  India:  the  tribe  is  extensively  diffused,  but  the 
only  sovereignty  which  remains  to  it  is  over  the  sands 
of  Jaisalmer.  ^  The  tracts  along  the  Sutlej,  about  Pak- 
pattan,  are  occupied  by  Wattus  and  Johiya  Rajputs,  ^ 
while  lower  down  are  found  some  of  the  Langah  tribe, 
who  were  once  the  masters  of  Uch  and  Multan. 

The  hills  between  Kashmir  and  the  Sutlej  are  pos- 
sessed by  Rajput  families,  and  the  Muhammadan  in- 
vasion seems  to  have  thrust  the  more  warlike  Indians, 
on  one  side  into  the  sands  of  Rajputana  and  the  hills  of 
Bundelkhand,  and  on  the  other  into  the  recesses  of  the 
Himalayas.  But  the  mass  of  the  population  is  a  mixed 
race  called  Dogras  about  Jammu,  and  Kanets  to  the 
eastward,  even  as  far  as  the  Jumna  and  Ganges,  and 
which  boasts  of  some  Rajput  blood.  There  are,  however, 
some  other  tribes  intermixed,  as  the  Gaddis,  who  claim 
to  be  Kshattriya,  and  as  the  Kohlis,  who  may  be  the 
aborigines,  and  who  resemble  in  manners  and  habits, 
and  perhaps  in  language,  the  forest  tribes  of  Central 
India.  Towards  the  snowy  limits  there  is  some  mixture 
of  Bhutis,  and  towards  Kashmir  and  in  the  towns  there 
is  a  similar  mixture  of  the  people  of  that  valley. 


1  The  little  chiefship  of  Karauli,  between  Jaipur  and  Gwa- 
lior,  may  also  be  added.  The  Raja  is  admitted  by  the  genealo- 
gists to  be  of  the  Yadu  or  Lunar  race,  but  people  sometimes  say 
that  his  being  an  Ahir  or  Cowherd  forms  his  only  relationship 
to  Krishna,  the  pastoral  Apollo  of  the  Indians. 

2  Tod  (Rajasthan,  i.  118)  regards  the  Johiyas  as  extinct; 
but  they  still  flourish  as  peasants  on  either  bank  of  the  Sutlej, 
between  Kasur  and  Bahawalpur:  they  are  now  Muhammadans. 
The  Dahia  of  Tod  (i.  118)  are  likewise  to  be  found  as  culti- 
vators and  as  Muhammadans  on  the  Lower  Sutlej,  under  the 
name  of  Deheh,  or  Dahur  and  Duhur;  and  they  and  many  other 
tribes  seem  to  have  yielded  on  one  side  to  Rahtor  Rajputs,  and 
on  the  other  to  Baluchis. 


CHAP.  I        THE  COUNTRY  AND  PEOPLE  7 

The  central  tract  in  the  plains  stretching  from  the  The  Jats  of 
Jhelum  to  Hansi,  Hissar,  and  Panipat,  and  lying  to  the  t^^.  central 
north  of  Khushab  and  the  ancient  Dipalpur,  is  irSiabited  ^^^^"^ 
chiefly  by  Jats;  and  the  particular  country  of  the  Sikh 
people  may  be  said  to  lie  around  Lahore,  Amritsar,  and 
even  Gujrat  to  the  north    of   the   Sutlej,    and   around 
Bhatinda  and  Sunam  to  the  south  of  that  river.  The  one 
tract  is  pre-eminently  called  Manjha  or  the  middle  land, 
and  the  other  is  known  as  Malwa,  from,  it  is  said,  some 
fancied  resemblance  in  greenness  and  fertility  to  the 
Central  Indian  province  of  that  name.     Many  other  mixed  with 
people  are,  however,  intermixed,  as  Bhutis  and  Dogras,  Gujars, 
mostly  to  the  south  and  west,   and  Rains,  Rurs,  and  p^|^"*^' 
others,  mostly  in  the    east.      Gujars    are    everywhere  g^d  ^others, 
numerous,  as  are  also  other  Rajputs  besides  Bhutis, 
while  Pathans  are    found    in    scattered    villages    and 
towns.    Among  the  Pathans  those  of  Kasur  have  long 
been  numerous  and  powerful,  and  the  Rajputs  of  Rahon 
have  a  local  reputation.  Of  the  gross  agricultural  popu-  Relative 
lation  of  this  central    tract,    perhaps    somewhat   more  proportions 
than  four-tenths  may  be  Jat,  and  somewhat  more  than  of  some 
one-tenth  Guiar,  while  nearly  two-tenths  may  be  Rai-  ^"'^'^^p^^ 
puts  more  or  less  pure,  and  less  than  a  tenth  claim  to 
be  Muhammadans  of  foreign  origin,  although  it  is  highly 
probable  that  about  a  third  of  the  whole  people  profess 
the  Musalman  faith. ^ 

In  every  town  and  city  there  are,  moreover,  tribes 
of  religionists,  or  soldiers,  or  traders,  or  handicrafts- 
men, and  thus  whole  divisions  of  a  provincial  capital 
may  be  peopled  by  holy  Brahmans^  or  as  holy  Saiyids, 
by  Afghan  or  Bundela  soldiers,  by  Kshattriyas,  Aroras,  Kshattri- 
and  Banias  engaged  in  trade,  by  Kashmiri  weavers,  and  ^^^^^"'^ 
by  mechanics  and  dealers  of  the  many  degraded  or  in- 
ferior races  of  Hindustan.  None  of  these  are,  however, 
so  powerful,  so  united,  or  so  numerous  as  to  affect  the 
surrounding  rural  population,  although,  after  the  Jats, 
the  Kshattriyas  are  perhaps  the  most  influential  and 
enterprising  race  in  the  country.^ 

1  See  Appendix  II. 

-  In  the  Punjab,  and  along  1;^e  Ganges,  Brahmans  have 
usually  the  appellation  of  Missar  or  Mitter  (i.e.  Mithra)  given 
to  them,  if  not  distinguished  as  Pandits  (i.e.  as  doctors  or  men 
of  learning).  The  title  seems,  according  to  tradition,  or  to  the 
surmise  of  well-informed  native  Indians,  to  have  been  intro- 
duced by  the  first  Muhammadan  invaders,  and  it  may  perhaps 
show  that  the  Brahmans  were  held  to  be  worshippers  of  the 
sun  by  the  Unitarian  iconoclasts. 

3  See  Appendix  III. 


Aroras   of 
the   cities. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.   I 


The   wan- 
dering 
Changars. 


The  reli- 
gions of  the 
Sikh    coun- 
try. 

The    La- 
maic  Bud- 
dhists of 
Ladakh. 

The  Shiah 
Muhamma- 
dans  of 
Bultee. 

The  Sunni 
Muhamma- 
dans  of 
Kashmir, 
Peshawar, 
and  Multan. 

The  Brah- 
manist  hill 
tribes. 

The   Sikhs 
of  the  cen- 
tral plains 
mixed  with 
Brahman - 
ists  and 
Muhamma- 
dans. 

Hindu 
shop- 
keepers of 
Muhamma^- 
dan  cities. 


Of  the  wandering  houseless  races,  the  Changars  are 
the  most  numerous  and  the  best  known,  and  they  seem 
to  deserve  notice  as  being  probably  the  same  as  the 
Chinganehs  of  Turkey,  the  Russian  Tzigans,  the  Ger- 
man Zigueners,  the  Italian  Zingaros,  the  Spanish  Gita- 
nos,  and. the  English  Gypsies.  About  Delhi  the  race  is 
called  Kanjar,  a  word  which,  in  the  Punjab,  properly 
implies  a  courtezan  dancing  girl.' 

The  limits  of  Race  and  Religion  are  not  the  same, 
otherwise  the  two  subjects  might  have  been  considered 
together  with  advantage.  In  Ladakh  the  people  and  the 
dependent  rUlers  profess  Lamaic  Buddhism,  which  is 
so  widely  diffused  throughout  Central  Asia,  but  the 
Tibetans  of  Iskardo,  the  Dardus  of  Gilgit,  and  the  Kukas 
and  Bambas  of  the  rugged  mountains,  are  Muhamma- 
dans  of  the  Shiah  persuasion.  The  people  of  Kashmir, 
of  Kishtwar,  of  Bhimbar,  of  Pakhli,  and  of  the  hills 
south  and  west  to  the  salt  range  and  the  Indus,  are 
mostly  Sunni  Muhammadans,'  as  are  likewise  the  tribes 
of  Peshawar  and  of  the  valley  of  the  Indus  southward, 
and  also  the  inhabitants  of  Multan,  and  of  the  plains 
northward  as  far  as  Pind-Dadan-Khan,  Chiniot,  and 
Dipalpur.  The  people  of  the  Himalayas,  eastward  of 
Kishtwar  and  Bhimbar,  are  Hindus  of  the  Brahmanical 
faith,  with  some  Buddhist  colonies  to  the  north,  and 
some  Muhammadan  families  to  the  south-west.  The  Jats 
of  'Manjha'  and  'Malwa'  are  mostly  Sikhs,  but  perhaps 
not  one-third  of  the  whole  population  between  the  Jhe- 
lum  and  Jumna  has  yet  embraced  the  tenets  of  Nanak 
and  Gobind,  the  other  two-thirds  being  still  equally 
divided  between  Islam  and  Brahmanism. 

In  every  town,  excepting  perhaps  Leh,  and  in  most 
of  the  villages  of  the  Muhammadan  districts  of  Pesha- 
war and  Kashmir,  and  of  the  Sikh  districts  of  .Manjha 
and  Malwa,  there  are  always  to  be  found  Hindu  traders 
and  shopkeepers.  The  Kshattriya  prevail  in  the  north- 
ern towns,  and  the  Aroras  are  numerous  in  the  province 
of  Multan.  The  Kashmiri  Brahmans  emulate  in  intelli- 
gence and  usefulness  the  Maratha  Pandits  and  the 
Babus  of  Bengal;  they  are  a  good  deal  employed  in 

[1  For  the  whole  question  of  Indian  gipsies  the  reader  is 
referred  to  an  article  on  'The  Indian  Origin  of  the  Gipsies  in 
'Europe',  by  Mr.  A.  C.  Woolner,  which  appears  in  vol.  ii  of  the 
Journal  of  the  Punjab  Historical  Society.] 

-  The  author  learns  from  his  brother.  Major  A  Cunnin- 
gham who  has  twice  visited  Kashmir,  that  the  Muhammadans  of 
that  valley  are  nearly  all  Shiah,  instead  of  Sunni,  as  stated  in 
the  text.-^.D.C. 


CHAP.  I        THE  COUNTRY  AND  PEOPLE  9 

official  business,  although  the  Kshattriya  and  the  Aroras 

are  the  ordinary  accountants  and  farmers  of  revenue. 

In  'Malwa'  alone,  that  is,  about  Bhatinda  and  Sunam,  vniage 

can  the  Sikh  population  be  found  unmixed,  and  there  it  population 

has  passed  into  a  saying,  that  the  priest,  the  soldier,  ^^^  ^^^' 

the  mechanic,  the  shopkeeper,  and  the  ploughman  are  purely  sikh. 

all  equally  Sikh. 

There  are,  moreover,  in  the  Punjab,  as  throughout  The  de- 
India,  several  poor    and    contemned    races,    to    whom  based  and 
Brahmans   will    not    administer    the    consolations    of  '^e'^i"^^'^ 
religion,  and  who  have  not  been  sought  as  converts  by  shippers 
the  Muhammadans.  These  worship    village    or    forest  of  locai 
gods,  or  family  progenitors,  or  they  invoke  a  stone  as  gods  and 
typical  of  the  great  mother  of  mankind;  or  some  have  oracular 
become  acquainted  with  the  writings  of  the  later  Hindu  '^^^^'^^*^^^- 
reformers,  and  regard  themselves  as  inferior  members 
of   the   Sikh    community.     In   the   remote   Himalayas, 
again,  where  neither  Mulla,  nor  Lam.a,  nor  Brahman, 
has  yet    cared    to    establish    himself,    the    people    are 
equally  without  instructed  priests  and  a  determinate 
faith;  they  worship  the  Spirit  of  each  lofty  peak,  they 
erect  temples  to  the  limitary    god    of    each    snow-clad 
summit,  and  believe  that  from  time  to  time  the  attend- 
ant  servitor    is   inspired   to   utter   the   divine   will   in 
oracular    sentences,    or  that    when    the    image    of  the 
Daitya  or  Titan  is  borne  in  solemn  procession  on  their 
shoulders,  a  pressure  to  the  right  or  left  denotes  good 
or  evil  fortune.^ 

The  characteristics  of  race  and  religion  are  every-  character- 
where  of  greater    importance    than    the    accidents    of  ^^"  °^ 
position  or  the  achievements  of  contemporary  genius;  ^^"  ^^ 
but  the  influences  of  descent  and  manners,  of  origin 
and  worship,  need  not  be  dwelt  upon  in  all  their  rami- 
fications. The  systems  of  Buddha,  of  Brahma,  and  of 
Muhammad  are  extensively    diffused    in    the    Eastern 
world,  and  they  intimately  affect  the  daily  conduct  of 
millions  of  men.  But,  for  the  most  part,  these  creeds 
no  longer  inspire  their  votaries  with  enthusiasm;  the 

^  In  the  Lower  Himalayas  of  the  Punjab  there  are  many 
shrines  to  Guga  or  Goga,  and  the  poorer  classes  of  the  plains 
likewise  reverence  the  memory  of  the  ancient  hero.  His  birth 
or  appearance  is  variously  related.  One  account  makes  him 
the  chief  of  Ghazni,  and  causes  him  to  war  with  his  brothers 
Arjun  and  Surjan.  He  was  slain  by  them,  but  behold  !  a  rock 
opened  and  Guga  again  sprang  forth  armed  and  mounted. 
Another  account  makes  him  the  lord  of  Durd-Durehra.  in  the 
wastes  of  Rajwara,  and  this  corresponds  in  some  degree  with 
what  Tod  (Rajasthan,  ii.  447)  says  of  the  same  champion,  who 
died  fighting  against  the  armies  of  Mahmud. 


religion. 


10 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.   I 


Brahman- 
ism  and 
Buddhism 
rather 
forms  than 
feelings; 


yet  strong 
to  resist 
innovation. 


Muhamma- 

danlsmi, 

although 

corrupted, 

has  more  of 

vitality. 


All  are 
satisfied 
with  their 
own   faith, 


faith  of  the  people  is  no  longer  a  living  principle,  but 
a  social  custom, — a  rooted,  an  almost  instinctive  defer- 
ence to  what  has  been  the  practice  of  centuries.  The 
Tibetan,  who  unhesitatingly  believes  the  Deity  to  dwell 
incarnate  in  the  world,  and  who  grossly  thinks  he 
perpetuates  a  prayer  by  the  motion  of  a  wheel,  and  the 
Hindu,  who  piously  considers  his  partial  gods  to  delight 
in  forms  of  stone  or  clay,  would  indeed  still  resist  the 
uncongenial  innovations  of  strangers;  but  the  spirit 
which  erected  temples  to  Sakya  the  Seer  from  the 
torrid  to  the  frigid  zone,  or  which  raised  the  Brahmans 
high  above  all  other  Indian  races,  and  which  led  them 
to  triumph  in  poetry  and  philosophy,  is  no  longer  to  be 
found  in  its  ancient  simplicity  and  vigour.  The  Buddh- 
ist and  the  reverer  of  the  Vedas,  is  indeed  each  satisfied 
with  his  own  chance  of  a  happy  immortality,  but  he  is 
indifferent  about  the  general  reception  of  truth,  and, 
while  he  will  not  himself  be  despotically  interfered 
with,  he  cares  not  what  may  be  the  fate  of  others,  or 
what  becomes  of  those  who  differ  from  him.  Even  the 
Muhammadan,  whose  imagination  must  not  be  assisted 
by  any  visible  similitude,  is  prone  to  invest  the  dead 
with  the  powers  of  intercessors,  and  to  make  pilgrim- 
ages to  the  graves  of  departed  mortals;^  and  we  should 
now  look  in  vain  for  any  general  expression  of  that 
feeling  which  animated  the  simple  Arabian  disciple, 
or  the  hardy  Turkoman  convert,  to  plant  thrones  across 
the  fairest  portion  of  the  ancient  hemisphere.  It  is  true 
that,  in  the  Muhammadan  world,  there  are  still  many 
zealous  individuals,  and  many  mountain  and  pastoral 
tribes,  who  will  take  up  arms,  as  well  as  become  passive 
martyrs,  for  their  faith,  and  few  will  deny  that  Turk, 
and  Persian,  and  Pathan  would  more  readily  unite  for 
conscience's  sake  under  the  banner  of  Muhammad,  than 
Russian,  and  Swede,  and  Spaniard  are  ever  likely  to 
march  under  one  common  'Labarum'.  The  Musalman 
feels  proudly  secure  of  his  path  to  salvation;  he  will 
resent  the  exhortations  of  those  whom  he  pities  or  con- 

[1  Such  a  phenomenon  is  not  confined  to  Islam  alone.  It 
would  seem  to  be  a  characteristic  development  in  many  reli- 
gions. When  once  what  one  may  call  the  'human  touch'  weak- 
ens, and  when  the  gulf  separating  the  worshipper  and  the 
founder  of  his  creed  seems  sharply  defined,  there  is  a  tendency 
to  interpose  some  form  of  mediation  to  bridge  such  an  imagin- 
ary gulf.  To  such  a  feeling  Catholic  Europe  owes  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  worship  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  and  the  invocation  of 
countless  saints.  To  such  a  feeling,  also,  Buddhism  owes  the 
introduction  of  the  Bodhisattva  or  Pusas — the  mediators  for  lost 
souls.  And  it  will  further  be  found  that  in  course  of  time  such 
mediating  forces  tend  to  lose  their  general  character  and  to 
become  localized  tutelary  powers. — Ed.] 


CHAP.  I        THE  COUNTRY  AND  PEOPLE  11 

temns  as  wanderers,  and,  unlike  the  Hindu  and  the 
Buddhist,  he  is  still  actively  desirous  of  acquiring  merit 
by  adding  to  the  number  of  true  believers.  But  Buddh-  and  can- 
ist,  and  Brahmanist,  and  Muhammadan  have  each  an  J°^e?inr' 
instructed  body  of  ministers,  and  each  confides  in  an  chrL- 
authoritative  ritual,  or  in  a  revealed  law.  Their  reason  tianity. 
and  their  hopes  are  both  satisfied,  and  hence  the 
difficulty  of  converting  them  to  the  Christian  faith  by 
the  methods  of  the  civilized  moderns.  Our  missionaries, 
earnest  and  devoted  men,  must  be  content  with  the 
cold  arguments  of  science  and  criticism;  they  must  not 
rouse  the  feelings,  or  appeal  to  the  imagination;  they 
cannot  promise  aught  which  their  hearers  were  not 
sure  of  before;  they  cannot  go  into  the  desert  to  fast, 
nor  retire  to  the  mountain-tops  to  pray;  they  cannot 
declare  the  fulfilment  of  any  fondly  cherished  hope  of 
the  people,  nor,  in  announcing  a  great  principle,  can 
they  point  to  the  success  of  the  sword  and  the  visible 
favour  of  the  Divinity.  No  austerity  of  sanctitude  con- 
vinces the  multitude,  and  the  Pandit  and  the  Mulla  can 
each  oppose  dialectics  to  dialectics,  morality  to  mora- 
lity, and  revelation  to  revelation.  Our  zealous  preachers 
may  create  sects  among  ourselves,  half  Quietist  and  half 
Epicurean,  they  may  persevere  in  their  laudable  reso- 
lution of  bringing  up  the  orphans  of  heathen  parents, 
and  they  may  gain  some  converts  among  intelligent 
inquirers  as  well  as  among  the  ignorant  and  the  indi- 
gent, but  it  seems  hopeless  that  they  should  ever 
Christianize  the  Indian  and  Muhammadan  worlds.^ 

The  observers  of  the  ancient  creeds  quietly  pursue 
the  even  tenor  of  their  way,  self  satisfied  and  almost 
indifferent  about  others;  but  the  Sikhs  are  converts  to  sikhism  an 
a  new  religion,  the  seal  of  the  double  dispensation  of  active  and 
Brahma    and    Muhammad:    their    enthusiasm    is    still  ?!f7^.^"^ 
fresh,  and  their  faith  is   still   an    active   and   a   living 
principle.  They  are    persuaded    that    God    himself    is 

1  The  masses  can  only  be  convinced  by  means  repudiated 
by  reason  and  the  instructed  intellect  of  man,  and  the  futility 
of  endeavouring  to  convince  the  learned  by  argument  is  ex- 
emplified in  Martyn's  Persian  Controversies,  translated  by  Dr. 
Lee,  in  the  discussion  carried  on  between  the  Christian  mis- 
sionaries at  Allahabad  and  the  Muhammadan  Mullas  at 
Lucknow,  in  Ram  Mohan  Roy's  work  on  Deism  and  the  Vedas, 
and  in  the  published  correspondence  of  the  Tatubodhni  Subha  of 
Calcutta.  For  an  instance  of  the  satisfaction  of  the  Hindus  with 
their  creed,  see  Moorcroft,  Travels,  i.  118,  where  some  Udasis 
commend  him  for  believing,  like  them,  in  a  God  !  [Col.  Kennedy 
(Res.  Hind.  MythoL,  p.  141)  states  that  the  Brahmans  think 
little  of  the  Christian  missionaries  (as  propagandists),  although 
the  English  have  held  authority  in  India  for  several  genera- 
tions.— J.D.C." 


principle. 


?.2 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.   I 


The  Jats 
Indus- 
trious 
and  high- 
spirited. 


present  with  them,  that  He  supports  them  in  all  their 
endeavours,  and  that  sooner  or  later  He  will  confound 
their  enemies  for  His  own  glory.  This  feeling  of  the 
Sikh  people  deserves  the  attention  of  the  English,  both 
as  a  civilized  nation  and  as  a  paramount  government. 
Those  who  have  heard  a  follower  of  Guru  Gobind 
declaim  -on  the  destinies  of  his  race,  his  eye  wild  with 
enthusiasm  and  every  muscle  quivering  with  excite- 
ment, can  understand  that  spirit  which  impelled  the 
naked  Arab  against  the  mail-clad  troops  of  Rome  and 
Persia,  and  which  led  our  own  chivalrous  and  believing 
forefathers  through  Europe  to  battle  for  the  cross  on 
the  shores  of  Asia.  The  Sikhs  do  not  form  a  numerous 
sect,  yet  their  strength  is  not  to  be  estimated  by  tens 
of  thousands,  but  by  the  unity  and  energy  of  religious 
fervour  and  warlike  temperament.  They  will  dare 
much,  and  they  will  endure  much,  for  the  mystic 
'Khalsa'  or  commonwealth;  they  are  not  discouraged 
by  defeat,  and  they  ardently  look  forward  to  the  day 
when  Indians  and  Arabs  and  Persians  and  Turks  shall 
all  acknowledge  the  double  mission  of  Nanak  and 
Gobind  Singh. 

The  characteristics  of  race  are  perhaps  more  deep- 
seated  and  enduring  than  those  of  religion;  but,  in 
considering  any  people,  the  results  of  birth  and  breed- 
ing, of  descent  and  instruction,  must  be  held  jointly 
in  view.  The  Jats  are  known  in  the  north  and  west  of 
India  as  industrious  and  successful  tillers  of  the  soil, 
and  as  hardy  yeomen  equally  ready  to  take  up  arms 
and  to  follow  the  plough.  They  form,  perhaps,  the 
finest  rural  population  in  India.  On  the  Jumna  their 
general  superiority  is  apparent,  and  Bhartpur  bears 
witness  to  their  merits,  while  on  the  Sutlej  religious 
reformation  and  political  ascendancy  have  each  served 
to  give  spirit  to  their  industry,  and  activity  and  pur- 
pose to  their  courage.^  The  Rains,  the  Malis,  and  some 

1  Under  the  English  system  of  selling  the  proprietary  right 
in  villages  when  the  old  freeholder  or  former  purchaser  may 
be  unable  to  pay  the  land  tax,  the  Jats  of  Upper  India  are 
gradually  becoming  the  possessors  of  the  greater  portion  of  the 
soil,  a  fact  which  the  author  first  heard  on  the  high  authority 
of  Mr.  Thomason,  the  Lieutenant-Governor  of  the  North-West- 
ern  Provinces.  It  is  a  common  saying  that  if  a  Jat  has  fifty 
rupees,  he  will  rather  dig  a  well  or  buy  a  pair  of  bullocks  with 
the  money  than  spend  it  on  the  idle  rejoicings  of  a  marriage. 
['Socially  the  landed  classes  stand  high,  and  of  these  the  Jats, 
numbering  nearly  five  millions,  are  the  most  important. 
Roughly  speaking,  one-half  of  the  Jats  are  Mahomedan,  one- 
third  Sikh,  and  one-sixth  Hindu.  In  distribution  they  are 
ubiquitous  and  are  equally  divided  over  the  five  divisions  of 
the  province.' — hidian  Year  Book,  1915.] 


!    CHAP.  I        THE  COUNTRY  AND  PEOPLE  13 

others,  are  not  inferior   to   the   Jats   in   laboriousness  The  Rains 
and  sobriety,  although  they  are  so  in  enterprise  and  ^^'^  some 
resolution.     The    Rajputs    are     always     brave     men,  °l^^^, 
and    they    form,    too,    a    desirable    peasantry.      The  i^erior  as 
Gujars   everywhere   prefer    pasturage    to    the   plough,  tmers  of  the 
whether     of     the     Hindu     or     Muhammadan     faith,  ground. 
The    Baluchis    do    not     become     careful     cultivators  The  pea- 
even  when  long  settled  in  the  plains,  and  the  tribes  sant  Rajputs, 
adjoining  the  hills  are  of  a  disposition  turbulent  and  '^^  Gujars 
predatory.  They  mostly  devote  themselves  to  the  rea.-  peopie°^^^ 
ing  of  camels,  and  they  traverse  Upper  India  in  charge 
of  herds  of  that  useful  animal.  The  Afghans  are  good  '^.^  ^^'^- 
husbandmen  when  they  have  been  accustomed  to  peace  j.^^  ^^^ 
in  the  plains  of  India,  or  when  they  feel  secure  in  their  predatory, 
own  valleys,  but  they  are  even  of  a  more  turbulent  r^j^g  ^f. 
character  than  the  Baluchis,  and  they  are  everywhere  ghans  in- 
to be  met  with  as  mercenary  soldiers.  Both  races  are,  in  dustrious, 
truth,  in  their    own    country    little    better    than    free-  ^^t  turbu- 
booters,  and  the  Muhammadan  faith  has  mainly  helped  ^^^^' 
them  to  justify  their  excesses  against  unbelievers,  and 
to  keep  them  together  under  a  common  banner  for  pur- 
poses of  defence   or   aggression.    The   Kshattriya    and  The  Kshat- 
Aroras  of  the  cities  and  towns  are  enterprising  as  mer-  ^^^^^  ^"*^ 
chants  and  frugal  as  tradesmen.    They  are  the  principal  ^nt^e^j-p^ris- 
financiers  and  accountants    of    the    country;    but    the  ing  but 
ancient  military  spirit  frequently  reappears   amongst  frugal, 
the  once  royal  'Kshattriya',  and  they  become  able  gov- 
ernors of  provinces  and  skilful  leaders  of  armies.^  The  '^^^.  ■^fjjj" 
mdustry  and  mechanical  skill  of  the  stout-limbed  pro-  ^^^  ^^^^ 
lific  Kashmiris  are  as  well  known  as  their  poverty,  their  tame  and 
tameness  of  spirit,  and  their  loose  morality.  The  people  spiritless. 

1  Hari  Singh,  a  Sikh,  and  the  most  enterprising  of  Ranjit 
Singh's  generals,  was  a  Kshattriya;  and  the  best  of  his  gov- 
ernors, Mohkam  Chand  and  Sawan  Mai,  were  of  the  same  race. 
The  learning  of  Bolu  Mai,  a  Khanna  Kshattriya,  and  a  follower 
of  the  Sikh  chief  of  Ahluwalia,  excites  some  little  jealousy 
among  the  Brahmans  of  Lahore  and  of  the  JuUundur  Doab;  and 
Chandu  Lai,  who  so  long  managed  the  affairs  of  the  NizEun  of 
Hyderabad,  was  a  Khattri  of  Northern  India,  and  greatly  en- 
couraged the  Sikh  mercenajies  in  that  principality,  in  opposition 
to  the  Arabs  and  Afghans.  The  declension  of  the  Kshattriya 
from  soldiers  and  sovereigns  into  traders  and  shopkeepers,  has 
a  parallel  in  the  history  of  the  Jews.  Men  of  active  minds  will 
always  find  emplojonent  for  themselves,  and  thus  we  know 
what  Greeks  became  under  the  victorious  Romans,  and  what 
they  are  under  the  ruling  Turks.  We  likewise  know  that  the 
vanquished  Moors  were  the  most  industrious  of  the  subjects  of 
mediaeval  Spain;  that  the  Mughals  of  British  India  are  gradual- 
ly applying  themselves  to  the  business  of  exchange,  and  it  is 
plain  that  the  traffickers  as  well  as  the  priests  of  Saxon  England, 
Frankish  Gaul,  and  Gothic  Italy  must  have  been  chiefly  of 
Roman  descent. 


14 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.   I 


The  un- 
mixed 
Rajputs. 


The   Tibet- 
ans plod- 
ding and 
debased. 

The  cus- 
tom of 
polyandry 
one  of  ne- 
cessity. 


The  Juns 
and  Kathis 
pastoral 
and 
peaceful. 


of  the  hills  south  and  east  of  Kashmir  are  not  marked 
by  any  peculiar  and  well-determined  character,  except- 
ing that  the  few  unmixed  Rajputs  possess  the  personal 
courage  and  the  pride  of  race  which  distinguish  them 
elsewhere,    and    that    the    Gakhars    still    cherish    the 
remembrance    of  the  times  when  they  resisted  Babar 
and  aided  Humayun.     The  Tibetans,   while  they   are 
careful  cultivators  of  their  diminutive  fields  rising  tier 
upon  tier,  are  utterly  debased  in  spirit,  and  at  present 
they  seem  incapable    of    independence    and    even    of 
resistance  to  gross  oppression.  The  system  of  polyandry 
obtains  among  them,  not  as  a  perverse  law,  but  as  a 
necessary  institution.    Every  spot  of  ground  within  the 
hills  which  can  be  cultivated  has  been  under  the  plough 
for  ages;  the  number  of  mouths  must  remain  adapted 
to  the  number  of  acres,  and  the  proportion  is  preserved 
by  limiting  each  proprietary  family  to  one  giver  of 
children.    The  introduction  of  Muhammadanism.  in  the 
west,  by  enlarging  the  views  of  the  people  and  promot- 
ing emigration,  has  tended  to  modify  this  rule,  and  even 
among  the  Lamaic  Tibetans  any  casual  influx  of  wealth 
as  from  trade  or  other  sources,  immediately  leads  to 
the  formation  of  separate  establishments  by  the  several 
members  of  a  house.^     The  wild  tribes  of  Chibs  and 
Buhows  in  the  hills,  the  Juns  and  Kathis,  and  the  Dog- 
ras  and  Bhutis  of  the  plains,  need  not  be  particularly 
described;  the  idle  and  predatory  habits  of  some,  and 
the  quiet  pastoral  occupations  of  others,  are  equally 
the  result  of  position  as  of  character.     The  Juns  and 
Kathis,  tall,  comely,  and   long-lived   races,    feed   vast 
herds  of  camels  and  black  cattle,  which  furnish  the 
towns  with  the  prepared  butter  of  the  east,  and  provide 
the   people  themselves  with  their  loved  libations   of 
milk.- 

1  Regarding  the  polyandry  of  Ladakh,  Moorcroft  (Travels, 
ii.  321,  322)  may  be  referred  to,  and  also  the  Journal  of  the 
Asiatic  Society  of  Bengal  for  1844,  p.  202,  &c.  The  effects  of  the 
system  on  bastardy  seem  marked,  and  thus  out  of  760  people 
in  the  little  district  of  Hungrung,  around  the  junction  of  the 
Sutlej  and  Pittee  (or  Spiti)  rivers,  there  were  found  to  be 
twenty-six  bastards,  which  gives  a  proportion  of  about  one  in 
twenty-nine;  and  as  few  grown-up  people  admitted  themselves 
to  be  illegitimate,  the  number  may  even  be  greater.  In  1835 
the  population  of  England  and  Wales  was  about  14,750,000  and 
the  number  of  bastards  aflfiliated  (before  the  new  poor  law 
came  into  operation)  was  65,475,  or  1  in  about  226  (Wade's 
British  History,  pp.  1041-55);  and  even  should  the  number  so 
born  double  those  affiliated,  the  proportion  would  still  speak 
agair.-t  polyandry  as  it  affects  female  purity. 

-  On  milk  sustained,  and  blest  with  length  of  days, 
The  Hippomolgi,  peaceful,  just,  and  wise. 

Iliad,  xiii.  Cowper's  Translation. 


CHAP.  I        THE  COUNTRY  AND  PEOPLE  15 

The  limits  of  creeds  and  races  which  have  been  Partial  mi- 
described     must     not     be     regarded     as     permanent,  g^^tions  of 
Throughout  India  there  are  constant  petty  migrations  p"os^eV-" 
of  the  agricultural  population  taking  place.  Political  tism  in 
oppression,  or  droughts,  or  floods  cause  the  inhabitants  religion, 
of  a  village,  or  of  a  district,  to  seek  more  favoured  tracts,  causes  of 
and  there  are  always  chiefs  and  rulers  who  are  ready  migrations, 
to  welcome  industrious  emigrants  and  to  assign  them 
lands  on  easy  terms.     This  causes  some  fluctuation  in 
the  distribution  of  races,  and  as  in  India  the  tendency- 
is  to  a  distinction  or  separation  of  families,  the  number  Recent  mi- 
of  clans  or  tribes  has  become  almost  infinite.  Within  gration  of 
the  Sikh  dominions  the  migrations  of  the  Baluchis  up  ^^-^  ^3'"- 
the  Indus  are    not    of    remote    occurrence,    while    the  ^^'^^^^^ 
occupation  by  the  Sindhian  Daudputras  of  the  Lower  ^^^  ^^  ^^^'^ 
Sutlej  took  place  within  the  last  hundred  years.     The  Daud- 
migration  of  the  Dogras  from  Delhi  to  Ferozepore,  and  putras  up 
of  the  Johiyas  from  IVIarwar  to  Pakpattan,  also  on  the  ^^^  sutiej. 
Sutiej,  are  historical  rather  than  traditional,  while  the  Migrations 
hard-working  Hindu  Mehtums  are  still  moving,  family  '^^^^^ 
by  family  and  village  by  village,  eastward,  away  from  johiyas. 
the  Ravi  and  Chenab,  and  are  insinuating  themselves  and  Meh- 
among  less  industrious  but  more  warlike  tribes.  turns. 

Although  religious  wars  scarcely  take  place  among 
the  Buddhists,  Brahmanists,  and  Muhammadans  of  the 
present  day,  and  although  religious  fervour  has  almost 
disappeared  from  among  the  professors  at  least  of  the 
two  former  faiths,  proselytism  is  not  unknown  to  any 
of  the  three  creeds,  and  Muhammadanism,  as  possessing 
still  a  strong  vitality  within  it,  will  long  continue  to 
find  converts  among  the  ignorant  and  the  barbarous. 
Islamism  is  extending  up  the  Indus  from  Iskardo  to-  isiamism 
wards  Leh,  and  is  thus    encroaching    upon    the    more  extending 
worn-out  Buddhism;  while  the  limits  of  the  idolatrous  in  Tibet: 
'Kafirs',  almost  bordering  on  Peshawar,  are  daily  be- 
coming   narrower.    To    the    south    and    eastward    of 
Kashmir,     Muhammadanism     has     also     had     recent 
triumphs,  and  in  every  large  city  and  in  every  Musal-  and  gene- 
man^  principality  in  India  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  raiiy  per- 
the  religion  of  the  Arabian  prophet  is  gradually  gaining  ^^p^  m 
ground.    In  the  Himalayas  to  the  eastward  of  Kishtwar,  f.^^^  ^""^ 
the  Rajput  conquerors  have  not  carried  Brahmanism 
beyond  the  lower  valleys;  and  into  the  wilder  glens,  ^^^^^^^^ 
occupied  by  the  ignorant  worshippers  of  local  divinities,  progressive 
the  Buddhists  have   recently    begun   to    advance,    and  in  some 
Lamas  of  the  red  or  yellow  sects  are  now  found  where  parts  of 
none  had  set  foot  a  generation  ago.  Among  the  forest  J^^  """^■ 
tribes  of  India  the  influence  of  the  Brahmans  continues   ^^^^' 


10 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.   I 


Brahman- 
ism  like- 
wise 

extending 
in  the 
wilder 
parts  of 
the  plains. 

But  the 
peasantry 
and   me- 
chanics 
generally 
are  becom- 
ing seced- 
ers  from 
Brahma- 
nism. 


to  increase,  and  every  Bhil,  or  Gond,  or  Kohli  who 
acquires  power  or  money,  desires  to  be  thought  a  Hindu 
rather  than  a  'Mlechha';i  but,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
Indian  laity  has,  during  the  last  few  hundred  years, 
largely  assumed  to  itself  the  functions  of  the  priest- 
hood, and  although  Hinduism  may  lose  no  ■  votaries, 
Gusains  and  secular  Sadhs  usurp  the  authority  of 
Brahmans  in  the  direction  of  the  conscience.-  The  Sikhs 
continue  to  make  converts,  but  chiefly  within  the  limits 
of  their  dependent  sway,  for  the  colossal  power  of  the 
English  has  arrested'  the  progress  of  their  arms  to  the 
eastward,  and  has  left  the  Jats  of  the  Jumna  and 
fianges  to  their  old  idolatry. 

1  Half  of  the  principality  of  Bhopal,  in  Central  India,  was 
founded  on  usurpations  from  the  Gonds,  who  appear  to  have 
migrated  in  force  towards  the  west  about  the  middle  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  and  to  have  made  themselves  supreme  in 
the  valley  of  the  Narbada  about  Hoshangabad,  in  spite  of  the 
exertions  of  Aurangzeb,  until  an  Afghan  adventurer  attacked 
them  on  the  decline  of  the  empire,  and  completely  subdued 
them.  The  Afghan  converted  some  of  the  vanquished  to  his 
own  faith,  partly  by  force  and  partly  by  conferring  Jagirs, 
partly  to  acquire  merit  and  partly  to  soothe  his  conscience,  and 
there  are  now  several  families  of  Muhammadan  Gonds  in  the 
possession  of  little  fiefs  on  either  side  of  the  Narbada.  These 
men  have  more  fully  got  over  the  gross  superstition  of  their 
race,  than  the  Gonds  who  have  adopted  Hinduism. 

[-  The  recent  spread  of  the  'Marwari'  traders  over  the  cen- 
tre, and  to  the  south  and  east  of  India,  may  also  be  noticed, 
for  the  greater  number  of  them  are  Jains.  These  traffickers  of 
Rajputana  seem  to  have  received  a  strbng  mercantile  impulse 
about  a  hundred  years  ago,  and  their  spirit  of  enterprise  gives 
them  at  the  same  time  a  social  and  a  religious  influence,  so  that 
many  families  of  Vaishnava  or  Brahmanical  traders  either 
incline  to  Jainism  or  openly  embrace  that  faith.  Jainism  is  thus 
extending  in  India,  and  conversion  is  rendered  the  more  easy 
by  the  similarity  of  origin  and  occupation  of  these  various 
traders,  and  by  the  Quietism  and  other  characteristics  commort 
to  the  Jains  and  Vaishnavas.— JJD.C] 


CHAPTER    II 

OLD  INDIAN  CREEDS,  MODERN  REFORMS,  AND 
THE  TEACHING  OF  NANAK,  UP  TO  1539  a.d. 

The  Buddhists — The  Brahmans  and  Kshattriyas — Reaction  of 
Buddhism  on  victorious  Brahmanism — ^Latitude  of  ortho- 
doxy— Shankar  Acharj  and  Saivism — Monastic  orders — 
Ramanuj  and  Vaishnavism — The  Doctrine  of  'Maya' — The 
Muhammadan  conquest — The  reciprocal  action  of  Brah- 
manism and  Muhammadanism — The  successive  innovations 
of  Ramanand,  Gorakhnath,  Kabir,  Chaitan,  and  Vallabh 
— The  reformation  of  Nanak. 

The  condition  of  India  from    remote    ages    to  the  mdia  and 
present    time,  is    an    episode    in    the    history    of  the  '^^  ^^l' 
world  inferior    only    to    the    fall    of  Rome    and    the  ^ggtlrs 
establishment    of    Christianity.      At    an    early    period 
the  Asiatic   peninsula,   from   the  southern   'Ghats'   to 
Himalayan    mountains,    would    seem    to    have    been 
colonized    by    a    warlike    sub-division    of    the    Cau- 
casian  race,  which   spoke   a   language   similar   to   the 
ancient    Medic    qnd    Persian,    and    which    here    and 
there,   near   the    greater    rivers    and    the    shores    of.-rheBud- 
the  ocean,  formed  orderly  communities  professing  a  dhists. 
religion  resembling  the  worship  of  Babylon  and  Egypt 
— a  creed  which,  under  varying  types,  is  still  the  solace 
of  a  large  portion  of  mankind.  'Aryavarta',  the  land  of 
good  men  or  believers,  comprised  Delhi  and  Lahore, 
Gujrat  and  Bengal;  but  it   was    on   the-  banks    of   the  ^^f^^^' 
Upper  Ganges  that  the  latent  energies  of  the  people  Kghl-^" 
first  received  an  impulse,  which  produced  the  peculiar  triyas. 
civilization  of  the  Brahmans,  and  made  a  few  heroic 
families  supreme  from  Arachosia  to  the  Golden  Cher- 
sonese. India  illustrates  the  power  of  Darius  and  the 
greatness  of  Alexander,  the  philosophy  of  Greece  and 
the  religion  of  China;  and  while  Rome  was  contending 
with  Germans  and  Cimbri,  and  yielding  to  Goths  and 
Huns,  the  Hindus  absorbed,  almost  without  an  effort, 
swarms  of  Scythic  barbarians  :   they  dispersed  Sacae,^ 

i  A^'ikramajit  derived  his  title  of  Sakari  from  his  exploits 
against  the  Sacae  (Sakae).  The  race  is  still  perhaps  preserved 
pure  in  the  wilds  of  Tartary,  between  Yarkand  and  the 
Mansarawar  Lake,  where  the  Sokpos  called  Kelmaks  (Calmucs) 
by  the  Muhammadans,  continue  to  be  dreaded  by  the  people 


18 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.  U 


The 

Muham- 

madans. 

The  Chris- 
tians. 


Brahman- 
ism  strug- 
gling with 
Buddhism 
becomes 
elaborated. 


they  enrolled  Getae  among  their  most  famous  tribes/ 
and  they  made  others  serve  as  their  valiant  defenders.- 
India  afterwards  checked  the  victorious  career  of  Islam, 
but  she  could  not  wholly  resist  the  fierce  enthusiasm 
of  the  Turkoman  hordes;  she  became  one  of  the  most 
splendid  of  Muhammadan  empires,  and  the  character 
of  the  Hindu  mind  has  been  permanently  altered  by  the 
genius  of  the  Arabian  prophet.  The  well-being  of  India's 
industrious  millions  is  nov/  linked  with  the  fate  of 
the  foremost  nation,  of  the  West,  and  the  representa- 
tives of  Judaean  faith  and  Roman  polity  will  long 
wage  a  war  of  principles  with  the  speculative  Brah- 
man, the  authoritative  Mulla,  and  the  hardy  believing 
Sikh. 

The  Brahmans  and  their  valiant  Kshattriyas  had  a 
long  and  arduous  contest  with  that  ancient  faith  of 
India,  which,  as  successively  modified,  became  famous 
as  Buddhi^m.^    When  Manu  wrote,  perhaps  nine  cen- 


of  Tibet.  [A  dread  effectually  removed  by  the  systematic 
conquest  of  Eastern  Turkestan  by  the  Chinese  during  the 
nineteenth  century. — Ed.] 

1  The  Getae  are  referred  to  as  the  same  with  the  ancient 
Chinese  Yuechi  and  the  modern  Jats,  but  their  identity  is  as 
yet,  perhaps,  rather  a  reasonable  conclusion  than  a  logical  or 
critical  deduction. 

'-  The  four  Aghikula  tribes  of  Kshattriyas  or  Rajputs  are 
here  alluded  to,  viz.  the  Chohans,  Solunkees,  Powars  (or  Pru- 
mars),  and  the  Purihars.  The  unnamed  progenitors  of  these 
races  seem  clearly  to  have  been  invaders  who  sided  with  the 
Brahmans  in  their  warfare,  partly  with  the  old  Kshattriyas, 
partly  with  increasing  schismatics,  and  partly  with  invading 
Graeco-Bactrians,  and  whose  warlike  merit,  as  well  as  timely 
aid  and  subsequent  conformity,  got  them  enrolled  as  'fireborn', 
in  contradistinction  to  the  solar  and  lunar  families.  The 
Agnikulas  are  now  mainly  found  in  the  tract  of  country 
extending  from  Ujjain  to  Rewah  near  Benares,  and  Mount 
Abu  is  asserted  to  be  the  place  of  their  miraculous  birth  or 
appearance.  Vikramajit,  the  champion  of  Brahmanism,  was 
a  Powar  according  to  the  common  accounts. 

3  The  relative  priority  of  Brahmanism  and  Buddhism 
continues  to  be  argued  and  disputed  among  the  learned.  The 
wide  diffusion  at  one  period  of  Buddhism  in  India  is  as  certain 
as  the  later  predominance  of  Brahmanism,  but  the  truth  seems 
to  be  that  they  are  of  independent  origin,  and  that  they  existed 
for  a  long  time  contemporaneously;  the  former  chiefly  in  the 
south-west,  and  the  latter  about  Oudh  and  Tirhut.  It  is  not, 
however,  necessary  to  suppose,  with  M.  Burnouf,  that  Buddhism 
is  purely  and  originally  Indian  (Introduction  a  V  Histoire  du 
Buddhisme  Indien,  Avertissement  i),  notwithstanding  the  pro- 
bable derivation  of  the  name  from  the  Sanskrit  'Buddhi', 
intelligence;  or  from  the  'bo'  or  'bodee',  i.e.  the  ficus  religiosa 
or  peepul  tree.  The  Brahmanical  genius  gradually  received 
a   development  which   rendered   the  Hindus   proper   supreme 


CHAP.  II  OLD  INDIAN  CREEDS  19 

turies  before  Christ,  when  Alexander  conquered,  and  "^  ^^^^' 
even  seven  hundred  years  afterwards,  when  the  obscure  and"^charac- 
Fahian  travelled  and    studied,    there    were    kingdoms  teristics. 
ruled  by  others  than  'Aryas';  and  ceremonial  Buddhism, 
with  its  indistinct  apprehensions  of  a  divinity,  had  more 
votaries  than  the  monotheism    of    the    Vedas,    which 
admitted  no  similitude  more  gross  than  fire,  or  air,  or 

throughout  the  land;  but  their  superior  learning  became  of 
help  to  their  antagonists,  and  Gautama,  himself  a  Brahman 
or  a  Kshattriya,  would  appear  to  have  taken  advantage  of 
the  knowledge  of  the  hierarchy  to  give  a  purer  and  more 
scientific  form  to  Buddhism,  and  thus  to  become  its  great 
apostle  in  succeeding  times.  [The  whole  subject,  however, 
is  complicated  in  the  extreme;  and  it  is  rendered  the  more  so 
bj'  the  probability  that  the  same  Gautama  is  the  author  of 
the  popular  •  'Nyaya'  system  of  Philosophy,  and  that  Buddha 
himself  is  one  form  of  the  favoiirite  divinity  Vishnu;  although 
the  orthodox  explain  that  circumstance  by  saying  the  Preserv- 
ing Power  assumed  an  heretical  character  to  delude  Deodas, 
king  of  Benares,  who  by  his  virtues  and  authority  endangered 
the  supremacy  of  the  Gods.  (Cf.  Kennedy,  Res.  Hind.  Mythol., 
p.  248,  &c) — J.D.C.]  Of  the  modern  faiths,  Saivism  perhaps 
most  correctly  represents  the  original  Vedic  worship.  (Cf. 
Wilson,  As.  Res.,  xvii.  171,  &c.,  and  Vishnu  Puran,  preface, 
Ixiv.)  Jainism  and  Vaishnavism  are  the  resultants  of  the  two 
beliefs  in  a  Buddhist  and  Brahmanical  dress  respectively, 
while  Saktism  still  vividly  illustrates  the  old  superstition  of 
the  masses  of  the  people,  whose  ignorant  minds  quailed  before 
the  dread  goddess  of  famine,  pestilence,  and  death.  The  most 
important  monument  of  Buddhism  now  remaining  is  perhaps 
the  'tope'  or  hemisphere,  near  Bhilsa  in  Central  India,  which 
it  is  a  disgrace  to  the  English  that  they  partially  destroyed  a 
generation  ago  in  search  of  imaginary  chambers  or  vessels 
containing  relics,  and  are  only  now  about  to  have  delineated, 
and  so  made  available  to  the  learned.  The  numerous  has- 
reliefs  of  its  singular  stone  enclosure  still  vividly  represent 
the  manners  as  well  as  the  belief  of  the  India  of  Asoka,  and 
show  that  the  Tree,  the  Sun,  and  the  Stupa  (or  'tope')  itself 
— apparently  the  type  of  Meru  or  the  Central  Mount  of  the 
World — were,  along  with  the  impersonated  Buddha,  the  prin- 
cipal objects  of  adoration  at  that  period,  and  that  the  country 
was  then  partly  peopled  by  a  race  of  men  wearing  high  caps 
and  short  tunics,  so  different  from  the  ordinary  dress  of 
Hindus.  [It  is  now  usually  accepted  that  by  about  600  B.C. 
Brahmanism  was  ge.ner.ally  the  chief  religion  of  India,  and  the 
probable  date  of  the  birth  of  Gautama  (567  b.c.)  makes 
Buddhism  the  younger  of  the  two  religions.  It  seems  hardly 
necessary  to  add  that,  since  the  author  wrote  the  above  note, 
our  knowledge  of  Buddhism  in  India  has  been  enormously- 
increased  by  the  careful  researches  of  the  Archaeological 
Department.  These  have  resulted  in  the  discovery  of  a  very 
large  niimber  of  Buddhist  remains  which — in  great  contrast 
to  the  iconoclastic  vandalism  mentioned  by  the  author^ — have 
been  carefully  preserved.  Collections  of  such  remains  may 
be  seen  in  many  museums  in  India — there  is  one  typical  collec- 
tion in  the  Central  Museum  in  Lahore — and  to  such  collections 
and  the  various  descriptive  works  on  the  subject  the  reader 
is  referred. — ^Ed.] 


20  HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS  chap,  ii 

the  burning  sun.^  During  this  period  the  genius  of 
Hinduism  became  fully  developed,  and  the  Brahmans 
rivalled  the  Greeks  in  the  greatness  and  the  variety 
of  their  triumphs.  Epic  poems  show  high  imaginative 
and  descriptive  powers,  and  the  Ramayana  and  Maha- 
bharata-  still  move  the  feelings  and  affect  the  character 
of  the  people.  Mathematical  science  was  so  perfect, 
and  astronomical  observation  so  complete,  that  the 
paths  of  the  sun  and  moon  were  accurately  measured.'^ 
The  philosophy  of  the  learned  few  was,  perhaps,  for  the 
first  time,  firmly  allied  with  the  theology  of  the  believ- 
ing many,  and  Brahmanism  laid  down  as  articles  of 
faith,  the  unity  of  God,  the  creation  of  the. world,  the 
immortality  of  the  soul,  and  the  responsibility  of  man. 
The  remote  dwellers  upon  the  Ganges  distinctly  made 

1  'There  seem  to  have  been  no  images  and  no  visible  types 
of  the  objects  of  worship,'  says  Mr.  Elphinstone,  in  his  niost 
useful  and  judicious  History  (i.  73),  quoting  Professor  Wilson, 
Oxford  Lectures,  and  the  Vishnu  Puran;  while,  with  regard  to 
fire,  it  is  to  be  remembei-ed  that  in  the  Old  Testament,  and 
even  in  the  New,  it  is  the  principal  symbol  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
(Strauss,  Life  of  Jesus,  361.)  The  Vedas,  however,  allude  tc 
personified  energies  and  attributes,  but  the  monotheism  of 
the  system  is  not  more  affected  by  the  introduction  of  the 
creating  Brahma,  the  destroying  Siva,  and  other  minor  powers, 
than  the  omnipotence  of  Jehovah  is  interfered  with  by  the 
hierarchies  of  the  Jewish  heaven.  Yet,  in  truth,  much  has  to 
be  learnt  with  regard  to  the  Vedas  and  Vedantism,  notwith- 
standing the  invaluable  labours  of  Colebrooke  and  others,  and 
the  useful  commentary  or  interpretation  of  Ram  Mohan  Roy. 
(Asiatic  Researches,  viii;  Transactions  Royal  Asiatic  Society, 
i  and  ii;  and  Ram  Mohan  Roy  on  the  Vedas.)  The  translation 
of  the  Vedant  Sar  in  Ward's  Hindoos  (ii.  175),  and  the  improv- 
ed version  of  Dr.  Roer  (Journal  Asiatic  Society  of  Bengal, 
February  1845,  No.  108),  may  be  consulted  with  advantage. 
If  translators  would  repeat  the  Sanskrit  terms  with  expanded 
meanings  in  English,  instead  of  using  terms  of  the  scholastic 
or  modern  systems  which  seem  to  them  to  be  equivalent,  they 
would  materially  help  students  to  understand  the  real  doctrine 
of  the  original  speculators. 

[-  These  epics  are  rarely  read  in  extenso  by  a  modern 
generation,  owung  to  a  lack  of  knowledge  of  Sanskrit  and  also 
to  their  enormous  length  and  the  numerous  later  interpolations. 
A  literal  translation  in  English  of  the  Mahabharata  was  made 
by  Mr.  P.  C.  Roy  in  1894.  But  it  is  intolerably  lengthy  and, 
for  a  simple  summary  of  this  Indian  epic,  the  reader  is 
referred  to  The  Great  War  of  India,  by  Thakur  Rajendra  Singh, 
published  in  Allahabad  in  1915. — ^Ed.] 

^  The  so-called  solar  year  in  common  use  in  India  takes 
no  account  of  the  precession  of  the  equinoxes,  but,  as  a  side- 
real year,  it  is  almost  exact.  The  revolution  of  the  points  of 
intersection  of  the  ecliptic  and  equator  nevertheless  appears 
to  have  been  long  known  to  the  Hindus,  and  some  of  their 
epochs  were  obviously  based  on  the  calculated  period  of  the 
phenomenon.  (Cf.  Mr.  Davis's  paper  in  the  As.  Res.,  vol.  ii, 
and  Beritley's  Astronomy  of  the  Hindoos,  pp.  2-6,  88.) 


CHAP.  II  OLD  INDIAN  CREEDS  21 

known  that  future  life  about  which  Moses  is  silent  or 
obscure.^  and  that  unity  and  omnipotence  of  the  Creator 
which  were  unknown  to  the  polytheism  of  the  Greek 
and  Roman  multitude,-  and  to  the  dualism  of  the  Mith- 
raic  legislators;  while  Vyasa  perhaps  surpassed  Plato 
in  keeping  the  people  tremblingly  alive  to  the  punish- 
ment w^hich  awaited  evil  deeds."'  The  immortality  of  the 

^  One  is  almost  more  willing  to  admit  that,  in  effect,  the 
Jews  generally  held  Jehovah  to  be  their  God  only,  or  a  limitary 
divinity,  than  that  the  wise  and  instructed  Moses  (whom 
Strabo  held  to  be  an  Egyptian  priest  and  a  Pantheist,  as  quoted 
in  Volney's  Ruins,  chap,  xxii,  §  9  note)  could  believe  in  the 
perishable  nature  of  the  soul;  but  the  critical  Sadducees  never- 
theless so  interpreted  their  prophet,  although  the  Egyptians 
his  m.asters  were  held  by  Herodotus  (Euterpe,  cxxiii)  to  be  the 
first  who  defended  the  undying  nature  of  the  spirit  of  man. 
Socrates  and  Plato,  with  all  their  longings.  Could  only  feel 
assured  that  the  soul  had  more  of  immortality  than  aught 
else.  (Phaedo,  Sydenham  and  Taylor's  translation,  iv.  324.) 

-  The  unknown  God  of  the  Athenians,  Fate,  the  avenging 
Nemesis,  and  other  powers  independent  of  Zeus  or  Jupiter, 
show  the  dissatisfaction  of  the  ancient  mind  with  the  ordinary 
mythology'  [yet  the  unity  of  the  Godhead  was  the  doctrine  of 
the  obscure  Orpheus,  of  Plato  the  transcendentalist,  and  of 
such  practical  men  as  Cicero  and  Socrates. — J.D.C.];  and  unless 
modern  criticism  has  detected  interpolations,  perhaps  both 
Bishop  Thirlwall  {History  of  Greece,  i.  192,  &c.)  and  Mr. 
Grote  {History  of  Greece  i.  3  and  chap,  xvi,  part  i  generally) 
have  too  much  disregarded  the  sense  which  the  pious  and 
adipiring  Cowper  gave  to  Homer's  occasional  mode  of  using 
'thebs'.  {Odyssey,  xiv  with  Cowper's  note,  p.  48,  vol.  ii,  edition 
of  1802.)  [Cf.  also  the  care  of  the  Greek  or  the  Roman  in 
addressing  a  deity,  and  in  particular  Zeus  or  Jupiter,  in  his 
particular  'capacity'  most  suited  to  the  occasion. — Ed.] 

■'  Ritter  (Ancient  Philosophy,  ii.  387)  labours  to  excuse 
Plato  for  his  'inattention'  to  the  subject  of  duty  or  obligation, 
on  the  plea  that  the  Socratic  system  did  not  admit  of  neces- 
sity or  of  a  compulsory  principle.  [Nevertheless,  Socrates,  as 
represented  hy  Xenophon,  may  be  considered  to  have  held 
Worship  of  the  Gods  to  be  a  Duty  of  Man.  (See  the  Memo- 
rabilia, b.  iv,  c.  iii,  iv,  vi,  and  vii.) — J.D.C]  Bacon  lies  open 
in  an  inferior  degree  to  the  same  objection  as  Plato,  of  under- 
rating the  importance  of  moral  philosophy  (cf.  Hallam's 
Literature  of  Europe,  iii.  191,  and  Macaulay,  Edinburgh.  Re- 
view, July  1837,  p.  84);  and  yet  a  strong  sense  of  duty  towards 
God  is  essential  to  the  well-being  of  society,  if  not  to  systems 
of  transcendental  or  material  philospphy.  In  the  East,  how- 
ever, philosophy  has  always  been  more  closely  allied  to  theo- 
logy than  in  civilized  Greece  or  modern  Europe.  Plato,  indeed, 
arraigns  the  dead  and  torments  the  souls  of  the  wicked  (see 
for  instance  Gorgias.  Sydenham  and  Taylor's  translation,  iv, 
451),  and  practically  among  men  the  doctrine  may  be  effective 
or  sufficient;  but  with  the  Greek  piety  is  simply  justice  to- 
wards the  gods,  and  a  matter  of  choice  or  pleasure  on  the  part 
of  the  imperishable  human  spirit.  (Cf.  Schleiermacher's  In- 
troductions to  Plato's  Dialogues,  p.  181,  &c.,  and  Ritter's  Ancient 
Philosophy,  ii.  374.)  NOr  can  it  be  distinctly .  said  that  Vyasa 
taught  the  principle  of  grateful  righteousness  as  now  under- 


22 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.   II 


Brahman- 
ism   vic- 
torious 
over 
Buddhism. 


soul  was  indeed  encumbered  with  the  doctrine  of  trans- 
migration/ the  active  virtues  were  perhaps  deemed  less 
meritorious  than  bodily  austerities  and  mental  abstrac- 
tion, and  the  Brahman  polity  was  soon  fatally  clogged 
with  the  dogma  of  inequality  among  men,  and  with 
the  institution  of  a  body  of  hereditary  guardians  of 
religion.2 

The  Brahmans  succeeded  in  expelling  the  Buddh- 
ist faith  from  the  Indian  peninsula,  and  when  Shankar 
Acharj  journeyed  and  disputed  nine  hundred  years 
after  Christ,  a  few  learned  men,  and  the  inoffensive 
half-conforming  Jains,''  alone  remained  to  represent  the 

stood  to  be  binding  on  men,  and  to  constitute  their  duty  and 
obligation;  and  probably  the  Indian  may  merely  have  the 
advantage  of  being  a  theological  teacher  instead  of  an  onto- 
logical  speculator. 

1  The  more  zealous  Christian  writers  on  Hindu  theoloey 
seize  upon  the  doctrine  of  transmigration  as  limiting  the  free- 
dom of  the  will  and  the  degree  of  isolation  of  the  soul,  when 
thus  successively  manifested  in  the  world  clouded  with  the 
imperfection  of  previous  appearances.  A  man,  it  is  said,  thus 
becomes  subject  to  the  Fate  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans.  (Cf. 
Ward  on  The  Hindoos,  ii;  Introductory  Remarks,  xxviii,  &c.) 
But  the  soul  so  weighed  down  with  the  sins  of  a  fonrfer 
existence  does  not  seem  to  differ  in  an  ethical  point  of  view, 
and  as  regards  our  conduct  in  the  present  life,  from  the  soul 
encumbered  with  the  sin  of  Adam.  Philosophically,  the  no- 
tions seem  equally  but  modes  of  accounting  for  4he  existence 
of  evil,  or  for  its  sway  over  men.  [See  also  note  7,  p.  39. 
J.D.C.]  [Socrates,  who  inculcated  every  active  virtue,  never- 
theless admitted,  'that  he  who  wanted  least  was  nearest  to  the 
Divinity;  for  to  need  nothing  was'  the  attribute  of  God.' 
{Memorabilia,  b.l,c.vi,s.lO.)   J.D.C.] 

-  See  Appendix  IV,  on  'Caste'. 

3  The  modern  Jains  frankly  admit  the  connexion  of  their 
faith  with  that  of  the  Buddhists,  and  the  Jaini  traders  of 
Eastern  Malwa  claim  the  ancient  'tope'  near  Bhilsa,  as  virtually 
a  temple  of  their  own  creed.  The  date  of  the  general  recogni- 
tion of  the  Jains  as  a  sect  is  doubtful,  but  it  is  curious  that 
the  'Kosh',  or  vocabulary  of  An^ar  Singh,  does  not  contain 
the  word  Jain,  although  the  word  'Jin'  is  enumerated  among 
the  names  of  Mayadevi,  the  regent  goddess  of  the  material 
universe,  and  the  mother  of  Gautama,  the  Buddhist  patriarch 
or  prophet.  In  the  Bhagavad,  again,  Baudh  is  represented  as 
the  son  of  Jin,  and  as  about  to  appear  in  Kikat  Des,  or  Bihar. 
(See  Colonel  Kennedy,  Res.  Hind.  Mythol.,  pp.  243-50.)  Amar 
Singh,  the  author  of  the  Sanskrit  'Kosa',  or  vocabulary,  was 
himself  a  Buddhist;  and  he  is  differently  stated  to  have  flouri- 
shed in  the  first  century  before,  or  in  the  fifth  after,  Christ 
(Colonel  Kennedy,  as  above,  pp.  127,  128),  but  in  Malwa  he 
is  traditionally  said  to  have  been  confuted  in  argument  by 
Shankar  Acharj,  which  would  place  him  in  the  eighth  or  ninth 
century  of  our  era. — J.D.C.]  ['Jainism  is  professed  by  a  com- 
paratively small  sect,  and  it  tends  to  shade  off  into  ordinary 
Hinduism.  Many  Jains  employ  Brahmans  in  their  domestic 
worship,  venerate  the  cow,  and  often  worship  in  Hindu  tem- 


CHAP.  11  OLD  INDIAN  CREEDS  23 

'Mlechhas',  the  barbarians  or  'gentiles'  of  Hinduism. 
The  Kshattriyas  had  acquired  kingdoms,  heathen 
princes  had  been  subdued  or  converted,  and  the  Brah- 
mans,  who  ever  denounced  as  prophets  rather  than 
preached  as  missionaries,  were  powerless  in  foreign 
countries  if  no  royal  inquirer  welcomed  them, 
or  if  no  ambitious  warrior  followed  them.  Hinduism  had 
attained  its  limits,  and  the  victory  brought  with  it  the 
seeds  of  decay.  The  mixture  with  strangers  led  to  a 
partial  adoption  of  their  usages,  and  man's  desire  for 
sympathy  ever  prompted  him  to  seek  an  object  of  wor- 
ship more  nearly  allied  to  himself  in  nature  than  the 
invisible  and  passionless  divinity.^  The  concession  of  a 
simple  black  stone  as  a  mark  of  direction  to  the  senses,^ 
no  longer  satisfied  the  hearts  or  understandings  of  the 

pies.  Jainism  and  Buddhism  have  much  in  common,  and  up 
to  recent  years  Jainism  was  believed  to  be  an  offshoot  of 
Buddhism.  It  is  now  known  that  it  originated  independently 
of,  though  at  the  same  time  as,  Buddhism;  that  is,  in  the  sixth 
century  before  Christ.' — Holderness,  Peoples  and  Problems  of 
India.  (See  Stevenson,  The  Heart  of  Jainism.  Oxford  Univer- 
sity Press,  1915.)— Ed.] 

1  Mr.  Elphinstone  (History  of  India,  i.  189)  observes  that 
Rama  and  Krishna,  with  their  human  feelings  and  congenial 
acts,  attracted  more  votaries  than  the  gloomy  Siva;  and  I  have 
somewhere  noticed,  I  think  in  the  Edinburgh  Review,  the  truth 
well  enlarged  upon,  viz.  that  the  sufferings  of  Jesus  materially 
aided  the  growth  of  Christianity  by  enlisting  the  sympathies 
of  the  multitude  in  favour  of  a  crucified  God.  The  bitter  re- 
mark of  Xenophanes,  that  if  oxen  became  religious  their  gods 
would  be  bovine  in  form,  is  indeed  most  true  as  expressive  of 
a  general  desire  among  men  to  make  their  divinities  anthro7 
pomorphous.  (Grote,  History  of  Greece,  iv.  523,  and  Thirlwall, 
History,  ii.  136.) 

-  Hindu  Saivism,  or  the  worship  of  the  Lingam,  seems 
to  represent  the  compromise  which  the  learned  Brahmans 
made  when  they  endeavoured  to  exalt  and  purify  the  super- 
stition of  the  multitude,  who  throughout  India  continue  to  this 
day  to  see  the  mark  of  the  near  presence  of  the  Divinity  in 
everything.  The  Brahmans  may  thus  have  taught  the  mere 
fetichist,  that  when  regarding  a  simple  black  stone,  they 
should  think  of  the  invisible  ruler  of  the  universe;  and  they 
may  have  wished  to  leave  the  Buddhist  image  worshippers 
some  point  of  direction  for  the  senses.  That  the  Lingam  is 
typical  of  reproductive  energy  seems  wholly  a  notion  of  later 
times,  and  to  be  confined  to  the  few  who  ingeniously  or  per- 
versely see  recondite  meanings  in  ordinary  similitudes.  (Cf. 
Wilson,  Vishnu  Puran.  preface,  Ixiv  [and  Colonel  Kennedy 
{Res.  Hind.  Mythol.,  pp.  284,  308),  who  distinctly  says  the 
Lingam  and  Yoni  are  not  held  to  be  typical  of  the  destructive 
and  reproductive  powers;  and  that  there  is  nothing  in  the 
Purans  to  sanction  such  an  opinion. — J.D.C.].)  [The  latter 
part  of  the  author's  note,  which  begs  the  whole  question  of 
phallic  worship,  is  hardly  in  agreement  with  modern  theory. 
—Ed.] 


Loses  its 
unity  and 
vigour. 


24 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.   II 


Shankar 

Acharj 

methodizes 

polytheism, 

A.    D. 

800-1000 


Reaction  of 
Buddhism 
on  Erah- 
manism. 


Shankar 
Acharj 
establishes 
ascetic 
orders,  and 
gives  pre- 
eminence 
to  Saivism. 


people,  and  Shankar  Acharj,  who  could  silence  the 
Buddha  materialist,  and  confute  the  infidel  Charvak,.^ 
was  compelled  to  admit  the  worship  of  Virtues  and 
Powers,  and  to  allow  images,  as  well  as  formless  types, 
to  be  enshrined  in  temples.  The  'self-existent'  needed 
no  longer  to  be  addressed  direct,  and  the  orthodox 
could  pay  his  devotions  to  the  Preserving  Vishnu,  to 
the  Destroying  Siva,  to  the  Regent  of  the  Sun,  to 
Ganesh,  the  helper  of  men,  or  to  the  reproductive 
energy  of  nature  personified  as  woman,  with  every 
assurance  that  his  prayers  would  be  heard,  and  his 
offerings  accepted,  by  the  Supreme  Being.- 

The  old  Brahman  worship  had  been  domestic  or 
solitary,  and  that  of  the  Buddhists  public  or  congre- 
gational; the  Brahman  ascetic  separated  himself  from 
his  fellows,  but  the  Buddhist  hermit  became  a  coeno- 
bite, the  member  of  a  community  of  devotees;  the 
Brahman  reared  a  family  before  he  became  an  an- 
chorite, but  the  Buddhist  vowed  celibacy  and  renounced 
most  of  the  pleasures  of  sense.  These  customs  of  the 
vanquished  had  their  effect  upon  the  conquerors, 
and  Shankar  Acharj,  in  his  endeavour  to  strengthen 
orthodoxy,  enacted  the  double  part  of  St.  Basil  and  Pope 
Honorius.^   He   established    a   monastery    of  Brahman 

1  Professor  Wilson  (Asiatic  Researches,  xvi.  18)  derives  the 
title  of  the  Charvak  school  from  a  Muni  or  seer  of  that  name; 
but  the  Brahmans,  at  least  of  Malwa,  derive  the  distinctive 
name,  both  of  the  teacher  and  of  the  system,  from  Charu, 
persuasive,  excellent,  and  Vak,  speech — thus  making  the  school 
simply  the  logical  or  dialectic,  or  perhaps  sophistical,  as  it 
has  become  in  fact.  The  Charvakites  are  wholly  materialist, 
and  in  deriving  consciousness  from  a  particular  aggregation 
or  condition  of  the  elements  of  the  body,  they  seem  to  have 
anticipated  the  physiologist,  Dr.  Lawrence,  who  makes  the 
brain  to  secrete  thought  as  the  liver  secretes  bile.  The  system 
is  also  styled  the  Varhusputya,  and  the  name  of  Vrihaspati, 
the  orthodox  Regent,  of  the  planet  Jupiter,  became  connected 
with  Atheism,  say  the  Hindus,  owing  to  the  jealousy  -with 
which  the  secondary  or  delegated  powers  of  Heaven  saw  the 
degree  of  virtue  to  which  man  was  attaining  by  upright  living 
and  a  contemplation  of  the  Divinity;  wherefore  Vrihaspati  des- 
cended to  confound  the  human  understanding  by  diffusing 
error.  (Cf.  Wilson,  As.  Res.,  xvii.  308,  and  Troyer's  Dahistan, 
ii.   198,  note.) 

-  The  five  sects  enumerated  are  still  held  to  represent 
the  most  orthodox  varieties  of  Hinduism,  [and  of  the  eighteen 
Purans,  five  only  give  supremacy  to  one  form  of  Divinity  over 
others.  (Colonel  Kennedy,  Res.  Hind.  Mythol.,  pp.  203,  204.) 
—J.  D.  C] 

"  All  scholars  and  inquirers  are  deeply  indebted  to  Profes- 
sor Wilson  for  the  account  he  has  given  of  the  Hindu  sects  in 
the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  volumes  of  the  Asiatic  Research- 
es. The  works,  indeed,  which  are  abstracted,  are  in  the  hands 


CHAP.  II  OLD  INDIAN  CREEDS  25 

ascetics;  he  converted  the  solitary  'Dandi',  with  his  staff 

and  waterpot,  into  one  of  an  order,  a  monk  or  friar,  at 

once  coenobitic  and  mendicant,  who  lived  upon  alms 

and  who  practised  chastity.^  The  order  was  rendered 

still  further  distinct  by  the  choice  of  Siva  as  the  truest  Ramanuj 

type  of  God,  an  example  which  was  soon  followed;  and,  establishes 

during  the  eleventh    century,   Ramanuj    established    a  other  orders. 

fraternity    of    Brahmans,    named    after    himself,    who  ^"Jj^^  ^^ 

adopted  some  refined  rules  of  conduct,    who    saw    the  ^^^^^^^^y 

Deity  in  Vishnu,  and  who  degraded  the  Supreme  Being  go^,  a.  d. 

by  attributing  to   him   form    and   qualities.-   A   conse-  1000-1200. 

of  many  people  in  India,  particularly  the  Bhagat  Mala  (or  His- 
tory of  the  Saints)  and  its  epitomes;  but  the  advantage  is  great 
of  being  able  to  study  the  subject  with  the  aid  of  the  notes  of 
a  deep  scholar  personally  acquainted  with  the  country.  It  is  only 
to  be  regretted  that  Professor  Wilson  has  not  attempted  to 
trace  the  progress  of  opinion  or  reform  among  sectaries;  but 
neither  does  such  a  project  appear  to  have  occurred  to  Mr. 
Ward,  in  his  elaborate  and  valuable  but  piecemeal  volumes  on 
the  Hindus.  Muhsin  Fani,  who  wrote  the  Dabistan,  has  even  less 
of  sequence  or  of  argument,  but  the  observations  and  views  of 
an  intelligent,  although  garrulous  and  somewhat  credulous, 
Muhammadan,  who  flourished  nearly  two  centuries  ago,  have 
nevertheless  a  peculiar  value;  and  Capt.  Troyer's  careful  trans- 
lation has  now  rendered  the  book  accessible  to  the  English 
public.  [Colonel  Kennedy,  in  his  valuable  Researches,  takes  no 
notice  of  the  modern  reformers  :  and  he  even  says  that  the 
Hindu  religion  has  remained  unchanged  for  three  thousand 
years  (p.  192,  &c.);  meaning,  however,  it  would  seem,  that  the 
Unity  of  the  Godhead  is  still  the  doctrine  of  Philosophy,  and 
that  Brahma,  Vishnu,  and  Siva  are  still  the  principal  divinities 
of  Polytheism. — J.D.C.] 

1  Shankar  Acharj  was  a  Brahman  of  the  south  of  India,  and 
according  to  Professor  V/ilson  (As.  Res.,  xvii.  180),  he  flourished 
during  the  eighth  or  ninth  centjury  :  but  his  date  is  doubtful, 
and  if,  as  is  commonly  said,  Ramanuj  was  his  disciple  and  > 
sister's  son,  he  perhaps  lived  a  century  or  a  centurj^  and  a  half 
la'ter.  He  is  believed  to  have  established  four  muths,  or  monas- 
teries, or  denominations,  headed  by  the  four  out  of  his  ten 
instructed  disciples,  who  faithfully  adhered  to  his  views.  The 
adherents  of  these  four  are  specially  regarded  as  'Dandis',  or, 
including  the  representatives  of  the  six  heretical  schools,  the 
whole  are  called  'Dasnames'.  (Cf.  Wilson,  As.  Res.,  xvii. 
169,  &c.) 

-  Ramanuj  is  variously  stated  to  have  lived  some  time  bet- 
ween the  beginning  of  the  eleventh  and  the  end  of  the  twelfth 
century.  (Wilson,  As.  Res.,  xvi.  28,  note.) In  Central  India  he 
is  understood  to  have  told  his  uncle  that  the  path  which  he, 
Shankar  Acharj,  had  chosen,  was  not  the  right  one;  and 
the  nephew  accordingly  seceded  and  established  the  first  four 
'suinprdaees',  or  congregations,  in  opposition  to  the  four  muths 
or  orders  of  his  teacher,  and  at  the  same  time  chose  Vishnu  as 
the  most  suitable  type  of  God.  Ramanuj  styled  his  congregation 
that  of  Sri,  or  Lakshmi.  The  other  three  were  successively 
founded  Ijy,  first,  Madhav;  secondly,  by  Vishnu  Swami  and  his 
better-known  follower  Vallabh;  and  thirdly,  by  Nimbharak  or 
Nimbhaditya.     These,    although    all    Vaishnavis,    called    their 


26 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.  II 


Spiritual 
teachers  or 
heads   of 
orders  ar- 
rogate in- 
fallibility. 


Scepticism 
and  heresy 
increase. 


quence  of  the  institution  of  an  order  or  fraternity  is  the 
necessity  of  attention  to  its  rules,  or  to  the  injunctions 
of  the  spiritual  superior.  The  person  of  a  Brahman  had 
always  been  held  sacred.  It  was  believed  that  a  pious 
Buddhist  could  disengage  his  soul  or  attain  to  divinity 
even  in  this  world;  and  when  Shankar  Acharj  rejected 
some  of  his  chosen  disciples  for  nonconformity  or  dis- 
obedience, he  contributed  to  centre  the  growing  feelings 
of  reverence  for  the  teacher  solely  upon  a  mortal  man; 
and,  in  a  short  time,  it  was  considered  that  all  things 
were  to  be  abandoned  for  the  sake  of  the  'Guru',  and 
that  to  him  were,  to  be  surrendered  'Tan,  Man,  Dhan',  or 
body,  mind,  and  worldly  wealth.^  Absolute  submission 
to  the  spiritual  master  readily  becomes  a  lively  impres- 
sion of  the  divinity  of  his  mission;  the  inward  evidences 
of  grace  are  too  subtle  for  the  understanding  of  the 
barbaric  convert;  fixed  observances  take  the  place  of 
sentiment,  and  he  justifies  his  change  of  opinion  by 
some  material  act  of  devotion.-  But  faith  is  the  usual 
test  of  sincerity  and  pledge  of  favour  among  the  sec- 
tarians of  peaceful  and  instructed  communities,  and  the 
reformers  of  India  soon  began  to  require  such  a  declara- 
tion of  mystic  belief  and  reliance  from  the  seekers  of 
salvation. 

Philosophic  speculation  had  kept  pace  in  diversity 
with  religious  usage:  learning  and  wealth,  and  an 
extended  intercourse  with  men,  produced  the  ordinary 
tendency  towards'  scepticism,  and  six  orthodox  schools 
opposed  six  heretical  systems,  and  made  devious 
attempts  to  acquire  a  knowledge  of  God  by  logical 
deductions  from  the  phenomena  of  nature  or  of  the 
human  mind.-"*  They  disputed  about  the  reality  and  the 
eternity  of  matter;  about  consciousness  and  understand- 
ing; and  about  life  and  the  soul,  as  separate  from,  or  as 
identical  with  one  another  and  with  God.    The  results 

assemblies  or  schools  respectively  after  Brahma,  and  Siva,  and 
Sannakadik,  a  son  of  Brahma.  (Cf.  Wilson,  As.  Res.,  xvi.  27, 
&c.) 

1  Cf.  Wilson,  As.  Res.,  xvi.  90. 

-  The  reader  will  remember  the  fervent  exclamation  of 
Clovis  when,  listening  after  a  victory  to  the  story  of  the  passing 
and  death  of  Christ,  he  became  a  convert  to  the  faith  of  his 
wife,  and  a  disciple  of  the  ancient  pastor  of  Rheims:  'Had  I  been 
present  at  the  head  of  my  valiant  Franks,  I  would  have  reveng- 
ed his  injuries.'  (Gibbon,  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire, 
vi.  3C2.)  The  Muhammadans  tell  precisely  the  same  story  of 
Taimur  and  Husain  the  son  of  Ali:  'I  would  have  hurried',  said 
the  conquering  Tartar,  'from  remotest  India,  to  have  prevented 
or  avenged  the  death  of  the  martyred  Imam.' 

3>  See  Appendix  V. 


:hap.  II  MODERN  REFORMS  27 

were,  the  atheism  of  some,    the  belief   ol  others   in   a 
limitary  deity,  and  the  more  general  reception  of  the 
ioctrine  of  'Maya'  or  illusion,  which  allows  sensation  to  The  dogma 
oe  a  true  guide  on  this  side  of  the  grave,  but  sees  no-  of  'Maya- 
thing  certaio  or   enduring   in   the   constitution   of   the  receives  a 
material  world;  a  doctrine  eagerly  adopted  by  the  sub-  pi°cation^' 
ijequent  reformers,  who  gave   it   a   moral   or   religious 
application.^ 

Such  was  the  state  of  the  Hindu  faith  or  polity  a  General 
thousand  years  after  Christ.  The  fitness  of  the  original  ^^^^j^;^^^"! 
system  for  general  adoption  had  been  materially  im-  ^^ 
paired  by  the  gradual  recognition  of  a  distinction  of 
race  ;  the  Brahmans  had  isolated  themselves  from  the 
soldiers  and  the  peasants  and  they  destroyed  their  own 
unanimity  by  admitting  a  virtual  plurality  of  gods,  and 
by  giving  assemblies  of  ascetics  a  pre-eminence  over 
communities  of  pious  householders.  In  a  short  time  the 
gods  were  regarded  as  rivals,  and  their  worshippers  as 
antagonists.  The  rude  Kshattriya  warrior  became  a 
politic  chief,  with  objects  of  his  own,  and  ready  to  pre- 
fer one  hierarchy  or  one  divinity  to  another;  while  the 
very  latitude  of  the  orthodox  worship  led  the  multitude 
to  doubt  the  sincerity  and  the  merits  of  a  body  of 
ministers  who  no  longer  harmonized  among  themselves. 

A  new  people  now  entered  the  country,  and  a  new  Early  Arai> 
element  hastened  the  decline  of  corrupted  Hinduism,  incursions 
India  had  but  little  felt  the  earlier  incursions  of  the  *'^*°  ^"J^^ 
Arabs  during  the    first    and    second    centuries    of   the  ^^^*   ^ 
'Hijri';  and  when  the  Abbasides  became  caliphs,  they 
were  more  anxious  to  consolidate  their  vast  empire, 
already  weaknened  by  the  separation  of  Spain,  than  to 
waste  their  means  on  distant  conquests  which  rebellion 
might  soon  dismember.  The  Arab,  moreover,  was  no 
longer  a  single-minded  enthusiastic  soldier,  but  a  selfish 
and  turbulent  viceroy;  the  original  impulse  given  by 
the  prophet  to  his  countrymen  had  achieved  its  limit 
of  conquest,  and  Muhammadanism  required  a  new  in- 
fusion of  faith  and  hardihood  to  enable  it  to  triumph 
over  the  heathens  of  Delhi  and  the  Christians  of  Con- 
stantinople.   This  awakening  spirit  was  acquired  partly  Muham- 
from  the  mountain  Kurds,  but  chiefly  from  the  pastoral  ^^^^^^'^"^ 
Turkomans,  who,  from  causes  imperfectly  understood,  "[^^  ^^_ 
were  once  more  impelled  upon  the  fertile  and  wealthy  puise  on 
south.  During  the  ninth  century,  these  warlike  shep-  the  con- 
herds  began  to  establish  themselves  from   the  Indus  version  of 
to  the  Black  Sea,  and  they  oppressed  and  protected  the  the  Turko- 
empire  of  Muhammad,  as  Goths  and  Vandals  and  their  "'^"^• 

1  See  Appendix  VI. 


28 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.  II 


Muham- 
mad in- 
vades 
India, 
AD.    1001. 


Hindustan 
becomes  a 
separate 
portion  of 
the  Muham- 
madan  world 
under  the 
Ibaks. 
A.D.    1206. 


own  progenitors  had  before  entered  and  defended  and 
absorbed  the  dominions  of  Augustus  and  Trajan. 
Tughril  Beg  and  Saladin  are  the  counterparts  of  Sti- 
licho  and  Theodoric,  and  the  Mullas  and  Saiyids  of 
Bagdad  were  as  anxious  for  the  conversion  of  unbe- 
lievers as  the  bishops  and  deacons  of  the  Greek  and 
Latin  Churches.  The  migratory  barbarians  who  fell 
upon  Europe  became  Christians,  and  those  who  plund- 
ered Asia  adopted,  v/ith  perhaps  greater  ease  and 
ardour,  the  more  congenial  creed  of  Islam.  Their  vague 
unstable  notions  yielded  to  the  authority  of  learning 
and  civilization,  and  to  the  majesty  of  one  omnipotent 
God,  and  thus  armed  with  religion  as  a  motive,  and 
empire  as  an  object,  the  Turks  precipitated  themselves 
upon  India  and  upon  the  diminished  provinces  of  the 
Byzantine  Caesars. 

Muhammad  crossed  the  Indus  in  the  year  1001,  not 
long  after  Shankar  Acharj  had  vainly  endeavoured  to 
arrest  the  progress  of  heresy,  and  to  give  limits  to  the 
diversity  of  faith  which  perplexed  his  countrymen. 
The  Punjab  was  permanently  occupied,  and  before  the 
sultan's  death,  Kanauj  and  Gujrat  had  been  overrun. 
The  Ghaznivides  were  expelled  by  the  Ghoris  about 
1183.  Bengal  was  conquered  by  these  usurpers,  and 
when  the  Ibak  Turks  supplanted  them  in  1206,  Hindu- 
stan became  a  separate  portion  of  the  Muhammadan 
world.  During  the  next  hundred  and  fifty  years  the 
whole  of  India  was  subdued;  a  continued  influx  of 
Mughals  in  the  thirteenth,  and  of  Afghans  in  the 
fifteenth  century,  added  to  their  successive  authority 
as  rulers,  gradually  changed  the  language  and  the 
thoughts  of  the  vanquished.  The  Khiljis  and  Tughlaks 
and  Lodis  were  too  rude  to  be  inquisitorial  bigots;  they 
had  a  lawful  option  in  tribute,  and  taxation  was  more 
profitable,  if  less  meritorious,  than  conversion.  They 
adopted  as  their  own  the  country  which  they  had  con- 
quered. Numerous  mosques  attest  their  piety  and 
munificence,  and  the  introduction  of  the  solar  instead 
of  the  intractable  lunar  year,  proves  their  attention  to 
ordinary  business  and  the  wants  of  agriculture.^    The 

1  The  solar,  i.e.  really  sidereal  year,  called  the  'Shabur 
San',  or  vulgarly  the  'Sur  San',  that  is,  the  year  of  (Arabic) 
months,  was  apparently  introduced  into  the  Deccan  by  Tughlak 
Shah  towards, the  middle  of  the  fourteenth  century  of  Christ, 
or  between  1341  and  1344,  and  it  is  still  used  by  the  Marathas 
in  all  their  more  important  documents,  the  dates  being  inserted 
in  Arabic  words  written  in  Hindi  (Marathi)  characters.  (Cf. 
Prinsep's  Useful  Tables,  ii.  30,  who  refers  to  a  Report  by  Lieut.- 
Colonel  Jervis,  on  Weights  and  Measures.)  The  other  'Fasli'. 
or  'harvest'  years  of  other  parts  of  India,  were  not  introduced 
until  the  reigns  of  Akbar  and  Shah    Jahan,    and    they    mostly 


Muhamma- 
danism  and 
Brah- 
manism. 


CHAP.  II  MODERN  REFORMS  29 

Muhammadans    became    Indianized;    and  in    the    six-  ^"^  ^^^ 
teenth  century  the  great  Akbar  conceived  the  design  conquerors 
of  establishing    a  national    government    or    monarchy  dmmTed^"' 
which  should  unite  the  elements  of  the  two  systems: 
but  political  obedience  does  not  always  denpte  social 
amalgamation,  and  the  reaction  upon  the  Muslim  mind 
perhaps  increased  that  intolerance  of  Aurangzeb  which 
hastened  the  ruin  of  the  dynasty. 

The  influence  of  a  new  people,  who  equalled  or  Action  and 
surpassed  Kshattriyas  in  valour,  who  despised  the  reaction  of 
sanctity  of  Brahmans,  and  who  authoritatively  pro- 
claimed the  unity  of  God  and  his  abhorrence  of  images, 
began  gradually  to  operate  on  the  minds  of  the  multi- 
tudes of  India,  and  recalled  even  the  learned  to  the 
simple  tenets  of  the  Vedas,  which  Shankar  Acharj  had 
disregarded.  The  operation  was  necessarily  slow,  for 
the  irnposing  system  of  powers  and  emanations  had 
been  adapted  with  much  industry  to  the  local  or  pecu- 
liar divinities  of  tribes  and  races,  and  in  the  lapse  of 
ages  the  legislation  of  Manu  had  become  closely  inter- 
woven with  the  thoughts  and  habits  of  the  people.  Nor 
did  the  proud  distinctions  of  caste  and  the  reverence 
shown  to  Brahmans  fail  to  attract  the  notice  and  the 
admiration  of  the  barbarous  victors.  Shaikhs  and 
Saiyids  had  an  innate  holiness  assigned  to  them,  and 
Mughals  and  Pathans  copied  the  exclusiveness  of 
Rajputs.  New  superstition  also  emulated  old  credulity. 
'Pirs'  and  'Shahids',  saints  and  martyrs,  equalled 
Krishna  and  Bhairon  in  the  number  of  their  miracles, 
and  the  Muhammadans  almost  forgot  the  unity  of  God 
in  the  multitude  of  intercessors  whose  aid  they 
implored.  Thus  custom  jarred  with  custom,  anid  The  popu 
opinion  with  opinion,  and  while  the  few  always  fell  lar  belief 
back  with  confidence  upon  their  revelations,  the  Koran  unsettled, 
and  Vedas,  the  public  mind  became  agitated,  and  found 
no  sure  resting-place  with  Brahmans  or  Mullas,  with 
Mahadev  or  Muhammad.^ 

continue  to  this  day  to  be  used,  even  by  the  English,  in  revenue 
accounts.  The  commencement  of  each  might,  without  much 
violence,  be  adapted  to  the  1st  of  July  of  any  year  of  the  Chris- 
tian era,  and  the  Muhammadans  and  Hindus  could  at  the  same 
time  retain,  the  former  the  Hijri,  and  the  latter  the  Shak 
(Saka)  and  Sambat  names  of  the  months  respectively.  No 
greater  degree  of  uniformity  or  simplicity  is  required,  and  the 
general  predominance  of  the  Englisli  would  render  a  measure 
so  obviously  advantageous  of  easy  introduction. 

1  Gibbon  has  shown  (History,  ii.  356)  how  the  scepticism 
of  learned  Greeks  and  Romans  proved  favourable  to  the  growi:h 
of  Christianity,  and  a  writer  in  the  Qtiarterly  Review  (for  June 
1846,  p.  116)  makes  some  just  observations  on  the  same  subject. 
The  cause  of  the  scepticism  is  not  perhaps  sufficiently  attributed 


30 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.  II 


Ramanand 
establishes 
a    compre- 
hensive 
sect  at  Be- 
nares, 
about 
A.D.   1400; 


The  first  result  of  the  conflict  was  the  institution, 
about  the  end  of  the  fourteenth  century,  of  a  compre- 
hensive sect  by  Ramanand  of  Benares,  a  follower  of 
the  tenets  of  Ramanuj.  Unity  of  faith  or  of  worship 
had  already  been  destroyed,  and  the  conquest  of  the 
country  by  foreigners  diminished  unity  of  action  among 
the  ministers  of  religion.  Learning  had  likewise 
declined,  and  poetic  fancy  and  family  tradition  were 
allowed  to  modify  the  ancient  legends  of  the  Turans' 
or  chronicles,  and  to  usurp  the  authority  of  the  Vedas.^ 

to  the  mixture  of  the  Eastern  and  Western  superstitions,  which 
took  place  after  the  conquests  of  Alexander,  and  during  the 
supremacy  of  Rome. 

Similarly,  the  influence  of  Muhammadan  learning  and  civil- 
ization in  moulding  the  European  mind  seems  to  be  underrated 
in  the  present  day,  although  Hallam  (Literature  of  Europe,  i. 
90,  91,  149,  150,  157,  158,  189,  190)  admits  our  obligations  in 
physical  and  even  in  mental  science;  and  a  representative  of 
Oxford,  the  critical  jet  fanciful  William  Gray  (Sketch  of  English 
Prose  Literature,  pp.  22,  37),  not  only  admires  the  fictions  of  the 
East,  but  confesses  their  beneficial  effect  on  the  Gothic  genius. 
The  Arabs,  indeed,  were  the  preservers  and  diffusers  of  that 
science  or  knowledge  which  was  brought  forth  in  Egypt  or 
India,  which  was  reduced  to  order  in  Greece  and  Rome,  and 
which  has  been  so  greatly  extended  in  particular  directions  by 
the  moderns  of  the  West.  The  pre-eminence  of  the  Muhamma- 
dan over  the  Christian  mind  was  long  conspicuous  in  the  meta- 
physics of  the  schoolmen,  and  it  is  still  apparent  in  the  adminis- 
trative system  of  Spain,  in  the  common  terms  of  astronomical 
and  medicinal  science,  and  in  the  popular  songs  of  feudal 
Europe,  which  ever  refer  to  the  Arabian  prophet  and  to  Turks 
and  Saracens,  or  expatiate  on  the  actions  of  the  Cid,  a  Christian 
hero  with  a  Musalman  title. 

Whewell  (History  of  Inductive  Science,  i.  22,  276),  in 
demonstrating  that  the  Arabs  did  very  little,  if  aught,  to 
advance  exact  science,  physical  or  metaphysical,  and  in  liken- 
ing them  to  the  servant  who  had  the  talent  but  put  it  not  to  use, 
might  yet  have  excused  them  on  the  plea  that  the  genius  of  the 
people  was  directed  to  the  propagation  of  religious  truth — to 
subjecting  the  Evil  Principle  to  the  Good  in  Persia,  to  restoring 
Monotheism  in  India,  and  to  the  subversion  of  gross  idolatry  m 
regions  of  Africa  still  untrodden  by  Europeans.  With  this  view 
of  the  English  Professor  jnay  be  contrasted  the  opinion  of  Hum- 
boldt, who  emphatically  says  that  the  Arabs  are  to  be  regarded 
as  the  proper  founders  of  the  physical  sciences,  in  the  sense 
which  we  are  now  accustomed  to  attach  to  the  term.  (Kosmos, 
Sabine's  trans.,  ii.  212.) 

1  Modern  criticism  is  not  disposed  to  allow  an  ancient  date 
to  the  Purans,  and  doubtless  the  interpolations  are  both  numer- 
ous and  recent,  just  as  the  ordinary  copies  of  the  rhapsodies  of 
the  Rajput  Bhat,  or  Bard,  Chand,  contain  allusions  to  dynasties 
and  events  subsequent  to  Pirthi  Raj  and  Mahmud.  The  difficulty 
lies  in  separating  the  old  from  the  new,  and  perhaps  also  ob- 
jectors have  too  much  lost  sight  of  the  circumstance  that  the 
criticized  and  less  corrupted  Ramayana  and  Mahabharata  are 
only  the  chief  of  the  Purans.  They  seem  needlessly  mclmed  to 
reject  entirely  the  authority  or  authenticity  of  the  conventional 


CHAP.  II  MODERN  REFORMS  31 

The  heroic  Rama  was  made  the  object  of  devotion  to  a^d  intro- 
this  new  sect  of  the  Middle  Ganges,  and  as  the  doctrine  ^^^^^  ^^^°- 
of  the  innate  superiority  of  Brahmanas  and  Kshattriyas  ^^'^^^^P; 
had  been  rudely  shaken  by  the  Muhammadan  ascen-  taTns"the" 
dancy,    Ramanand    seized    upon    the    idea    of    man's  equality  of 
equality  before  God.  He  instituted  no  nice  distinctive  true  be- 
observances,  he  admitted  all  classes  of  people  as  his  lievers  be- 
disciples,   and  he  declared  that  the  true  votary  was  ^°^^  ^°^- 
raised  above  mere  social  forms,  and  became  free  or 
liberated.^      During    the    same    century    the    learned 
enthusiast  Gorakhnath  gave  popularity,  especially  in  Gorakh- 
the  Punjab,  to  the  doctrine  of  the  'Yog',  which  belonged  "ath  estab- 
more  properly  as  a  theory  or  practice  to  the  Buddhist  ^^^^^^  ^ 
faith,  but  which  was  equally  adopted  as  a  philosophic  puna^*^^ 
dogma   by  the  followers  of  Vyasa  and  of  Sakya.     It    ""''^  ' 
was,  however,  held  that  in  this  'Kalyug',  or  iron  age,  and  main- 
fallen  man  was  unequal  to  so  great  a  penance,  or  to  the  tams  the 

Eighteen  Chronicles,  merely  because  eulogiums  on  modern 
families  have  been  introduced  by  successive  flatterers.  Never- 
theless, the  Purans  must  rather  be  held  to  illustrate  modes  of 
thought,  than  to  describe  historical  events  with  accuracy.  [Colo- 
nel Kennedy  (Res.  Hitld,  Mythol.  pp.  130,  153,  &c.)  regards 
them  as  complementary  to  the  Vedas,  explaining  religious  and 
moral  doctrines,  and  containing  disquisitions  concerning  the 
illusive  nature  of  the  universe,  and  not  as  in  any  way  intended 
to  be  historical. — J.D.C.] 

1  Cf.  Dabistan,  ii.  179,  and  Wilson,  As.  Res.,  xvi.  36,  &c. 
Professor  Wilson  remarks  (ibid.,  p.  44,  and  also  xvii.  183),  that 
the  sects  of  Shankar  Acharj  and  Ramanuj  included  Brahmans 
only,  and  indeed  chiefly  men  of  learning  of  that  race.  The 
followers  of  Ramanand,  or  the  Vaishnavas,  were  long  violently 
opposed  to  the  Saivic  denominations;  so  much  so,  according  to 
tradition,  that  they  would  not,  on  any  account,  cross  the  Nar- 
bada  river,  which  is  held  to  be  peculiarly  sacred  to  Mahadev 
or  Mahesh,  but  would  rather,  in  performing  a  journey,  go  round 
by  its  sources. 

Among  the  people  of  Central  India  there  is  a' general  per- 
suasion that  the  Narbada  will  one  day  take  the  place  of  the 
Ganges  as  the  most  holy  of  streams;  but  the  origin  of  the  feel- 
ing is  not  clear,  as  neither  is  the  fact  of  the  consecration  of  the 
river  to  Siva.  At  Maheshwar,  indeed,  there  is  a  whirlpool, 
which,  by  rounding  and  polishing  fallen  stones,  rudely  shapes 
them  into  resemblances  of  a  Lingam,  and  which  are  as  fertile 
a  source  of  profit  to  the  resident  priests  as  are  the  Vaishnava 
fossil  ammonites  of  a  particular  part  of  the  Himalayas.  The 
labours  of  the  whirlpool  likewise  diffuse  a  sanctitude  over  all 
the  stones  of  the  rocky  channel,  as  expressed  in  the  vernacular 
sentence,  'Rehwa  ke  kunkur  sub  sunkur  suman,'  i.e.  each  stone 
of  the  Narbada  (Rehwa)  is  divine,  or  equal  to  Siva. 

Maheshwar  was  the  seat  of  Sahsar  Babu,  or  of  the  hundred- 
handed  Kshattriya  king,  who  was  slain  by  Paras  Ram,  of  the 
not  very  far  distant  town  of  Mmawar,  opposite  Hindia;  a  proba- 
ble occurrence,  which  was  soon  made  the  type,  or  the  cause,  of 
the  destruction  of  the  ancient  warrior  race  by  the  Brahmans. 
The  same  is  declared  by  the  Siva  Puran.  (Colonel  Kennedy,  Res. 
Hind.  Mythol.,  p.  309,  note.)—  J.D.C..1 


;{2 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.  II 


equalizing 
effect  of 
religious 
penance; 

but  causes 
.'urther 
diversity 
by    adopting 
Siva  as  the 
type  of  God. 


The  Vedas 
and  Koran 
assailed 
by   Kabir, 
a    disciple 
of  Rama- 
nand,    about 
A.D.   1450; 


and  the 
mother 
tongue    of 
the  people 


attainment  of  complete  beatitude;  but  Gorakh  taught 
that  intense  mental  abstraction  would  etherialize  the 
body  of  the  most  lowly,  and  gradually  unite  his  spirit 
with  the  all-pervading  soul  of  the  world.  He  chose 
Siva  as  the  deity  who  would  thus  bless  the  austere 
perseverance  of  his  votaries  of  whatever  caste;  and,  not 
content  with  the  ordinary  frontal  marks  of  sects  and 
persuasions,  he  distinguished  his  disciples  by  boring 
their  ears,  whence  they  are  familiarly  known  as  the 
'Kanphata',  or  ear-torn  Jogis.^ 

A  step  was  thus  made,  and  faith  and  abandonment 
of  the  pleasures  of  life  were  held  to  abrogate  the  dis- 
tinctions of  race  which  had  taken  so  firm  a  hold  on  the 
pride  and  vanity  of  the  rich  and  powerful.  In  the  next 
generation,  or  about  the  year  1450,  the  mysterious 
weaver  Kabir,  a  disciple  of  Ramanand,  assailed  at  once 
the  worship  of  idols,  the  authority  of  the  Koran  and 
Shastras,  and  the  exclusive  use  of  a  learned  language. 
He  addressed  Muhammadans  as  well  as  Hindus,  he 
urged  them  to  call  upon  him,  the  invisible  Kabir,  and 
to  strive  continually  after  inward  purity.  He  personi- 
fied creation  or  the  world  as   'Maya',   or  as  woman, 


1  Cf.  Wilson  (As.  Res.,  xvii.  183,  &c.)  and  the  Dahistan 
(Troyer's  translation,  i.  123,  &c.).  In  the  latter,  Muhsin  Fani 
shows  some  points  of  conformity  between  the  Jogis  and  the 
Muhammadans.  With  regard  to  Yog,  in  a  scientific  point  of  view, 
it  may  be  observed  that  it  corresponds  with  the  state  of  abstrac- 
tion or  self-consciousness  which  raised  the  soul  above  mortal- 
ity or  chance,  and  enabled  it  to  apprehend  the  'true'  and  to 
grasp  Plato's  'idea',  or  archical  form  of  the  world,  and  that 
neither  Indians  nor  Greeks  considered  man  capable,  in  his  pre- 
sent imperfect  condition,  of  attaining  to  such  a  degree  of  'union 
with  God'  or  'knowledge  of  the  true'.  (Cf.  Ritter,  Ancient  Philo- 
sophy, Morrison's  translation,  ii.  207,  334-6,  and  Wilson,  As. 
Res.,  xvii.  185.)  Were  it  necessary  to  pursue  the  correspondence 
further,  it  would  be  found  that  Plato's  whole  system  is  almost 
identical,  in  its  rudimental  characteristics,  with  the  schemes  of 
Kapil  and  Patanjal  jointly  :  thus,  God  and  matter  are  in  both 
eternal:  Mahat,  or  intelligence,  or  the  informing  spirit  of  the 
world,  is  the  same  with  nous  or  logos,  and  so  on.  With  both 
God,  that  is  'Poorsh'  in  the  one  and  the  Supreme  God  in  the 
other,  would  seem  to  be  separate  from  the  world  as  appreciable 
by  man.  It  may  further  be  observed  that  the  Sankhya  system 
is  divided  into  two  schools  independent  of  that  of  Patanjal,  the 
first  of  which  regards  'Poorsh'  simply  as  life,  depending-  for 
activity  upon  'adrisht',  chance  or  fate,  while  the  second  holds 
the  term  to  denote  an  active  and  provident  ruler  and  gives  to 
vitality  a  distinct  existence.  The  school  of  Patanjal  differs  from 
this  latter,  principally  in  its  terminology  and  in  the  mode  (Yog) 
laid  down  for  attaining  bliss — one  of  the  four  subdivisions  of 
which  mode,  viz.  that  of  stopping  the  breath,  is  allowed  to  be  the 
doctrine  of  Gorakh,  but  is  declared  to  have  been  followed  of  old 
by  Markand,  in  a  manner  more  agreeable  to  the  Vedas,  than  the 
practice  of  the  recent  Reformer. 


CHAP,  n  MODERN  REFORMS  33 

prolific  of  deceit    and    illusion,    and    thus    denounced  used  as  an 

man's  weakness  or  his  proneness  to  evil.     Practically  instrument. 

Kabir  admitted  outward  conformity,  and  leant  towards  ^"j^j^^g^m 

Rama  or  Vishnu  as  the  most  perfect  type  of  God.  Like  Jph^^^ ' 

his  predecessors,  he  erringly  gave  shape  and  attributes 

to  the  divinity,  and  he  further  limited  the  application 

of  his  doctrines  of  reform,  by 'declaring  retirement  from 

the  world  to  be  desirable,  and  the  'Sadh',  or  pure  or 

perfect  -man,  the  passive  or  inoffensive  votary,  to  be 

the  living  resemblance  of  the  Almighty.     The  views, 

however,  of  Kabir  are  not  very  distinctly  laid  down 

or  clearly  understood;  but  the  latitude  of  usage  which 

he  sanctioned,  and  his  employment  of  a  spoken  dialect, 

have  rendered  his  writings  extensively  popular  among 

the  lower  orders  of  India. ^ 

In  the    beginning    of  the    sixteenth    century    the  chaitan 
reforms  of  Ramanand  were  introduced  into  Bengal  by  preaches 
Chaitan,    a  Brahman  of  Nadia.      He  converted  some  ^^''s^°"^ 
Muhammadans,  and  admitted  all  classes  as  members  of  Beng^ 
his  sect.    He  insisted  upon  'Bhakti',  or  faith,  as  chast-  a.d.  isoo. 
ening  the  most    impure;    he    allowed    marriage    and  insists 
secular  occupations;  but  his  followers  abused  the  usual  "po"  t^e 
injunction  of  reverence  for  the  teacher,  and  some  ot  e^'^^'^y  °^ 
them  held   that  the  Guru  was  to  be  invoked  before  admi'ts^of 
God.-    About  the  same  period  Vallabh  Swami,  a  Brah-  secular  oc- 
man    of  Telingana,    gave    a   further    impulse    to    the  cupations. 

'  Cf.  the  Dabistan,  ii.  184,  &c.,  Wilson,  As.  Res.,  xvi.  53,  and 
Ward's  Hindoos,  iii.  406.  Kabir  is  an  Arabic  word,  meaning  the 
greatest,  and  Professor  Wilson  doubts  whether  any  such  person 
ever  existed  and  considers  the  Kabir  of  Muhsin  Fani  to  be  the 
personification  of  an  idea,  or  that  the  title  was  assumed  by  a 
Hindu  free-thinker  as  a  disguise.  The  name,  however,  although 
significant,  is  now  at  least  not  uncommon,  and  perhaps  the  ordi- 
nary story  that  Kabir  was  a  fondling,  reared  by  a  weaver,  and 
subsequently  admitted  as  a  disciple  by  Ramanand,  is  sufficiently 
probable  to  justify  his  identity.  His  body  is  stated  to  have  been 
claimed  both  by  the  Hindus  and  Muhammadans,  and  Muhsin 
Fani  observes  that  many  Muhammadans  became  Bairagis,  i.e. 
ascetics  of  the  modern  yaishnava  sect,  of  which  the  followers 
of  Ramanand  and  Kabir  form  the  principal  subdivisions.  (Dabi- 
stan, ii.  193.)  As  a  further  instance  of  the  fission  of  feeling  then, 
and  now,  going  forward,  the  reply  of  the  Hindu  deist,  Akam- 
nath,  to  the  keepers  of  the  Kaba  at  Mecca  may  be  quoted.  He 
first  scandalized  them  by  asking  where  was  the  master  of  the 
house;  and  he  then  inquired  why  the  idols  had  been  thrown  out. 
He  was  told  that  the  works  of  men  wei-e  not  to  be  worshipped; 
whereupon  he  inquired  whether  the  temple  itself  was  not  rear- 
ed with  hands,  and  therefore  undeserving  of  respect  (Dabistan, 
ii.  117) 

-  For  an  account  of  Chaitan  and  his  followers,  cf.  Wilson, 
Asiatic  Researches,  xvi.  109,  &c.,  and  Ward,  on  The  Hindoos,  iii. 


34 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.  II 


Vallabh 
extends  the 
rei'orma- 
tion  to  the 
south, 

and  fur- 
ther dis- 
counten- 
ances  celi- 
bacy, about 
A.D.    1550. 


Recapitu- 
lation. 


Tlae  re- 
forms par- 
tial, and 
leading  to 
sectarian- 
ism only. 


Nanak's 
views  more 
compre- 
hensive 
and  pro- 
found. 


reformation  in  progress,  and  he  taught  that  married 
teachers  were  not  only  admissible  as  directors  of  the 
conscience,  but  that  the  householder  was  to  be  pre- 
ferred, and  that  the  world  was  to  be  enjoyed  by  both 
master  and  disciple.  This  principle  was  readily  adopted 
by  the  peaceful  mercantile  classes,  and  'Gusains',  as 
the  conductors  of  family  worship,  have  acquired  a 
commanding  influence  over  the  industrious  Quietists 
of  the  country;  but  they  have  at  the  same  time  added 
to  the  diversity  of  the  prevailing  idolatry  by  giving 
pre-eminence  to  Bala  Gopal,  the  infant  Krishna,  as 
the  very  God  of  the  Universe.^ 

Thus,  in  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
the  Hindu  mind  was  no  longer  stagnant  or  retrogres- 
sive; it  had  been  leavened  with  Muhammadanism, 
and  changed  and  quickened  for  a  new  development. 
Ramanand  and  Gorakh  had  preached  religious  equa- 
lity, and  Chaitan  had  repeated  that  faith  levelled  caste. 
Kabir  had  denounced  images,  and  appealed  to  the  peo- 
ple in  their  own  tongue,  and  Vallabh  had  taught  that 
effectual  devotion  was  compatible  with  the  ordinary 
duties  of  the  world.  But  these  good  and  able  men 
appear  to  have  been  so  impressed  with  the  nothingness 
of  this  life,  that  they  deemed  the  amelioration  of  man's 
social  condition  to  be  unworthy  of  a  thought.  They 
aimed  chiefly  at  emancipation  from  priestcraft,  or  from 
the  grossness  of  idolatry  and  polytheism.  They  formed 
pious  associations  of  contented  Quietists,  or  they  gave 
themselves  up  to  the  contemplation  of  futurity  in  the 
hope  of  approaching  bliss,  rather  than  called  upon 
their  fellow  creatures  to  throw  aside  every  social  as 
well  as  religious  trammel,  and  to  arise  a  new  people 
freed  from  the  debasing  corruption  of  ages.  Tey  per- 
fected forms  of  dissent  rather  than  planted  the  germs 
of  nations,  and  their  sects  remain  to  this  day  as  they 
left  them.  It  was  reserved  for  Nanak  to  perceive  the 
true  principles  of  reform,  and  to  lay  those  broad  foun- 
dations which  enabled  his  successor  Gohind  to  fire  the 
minds  of  his  countrymen  with  a  new  nationality,  and 
to  give  practical  effect  to  the  doctrine  that  the  lowest 
is  equal  with  the  highest,  in  race  as  in  creed,  in  poli- 
tical rights  as  in  religious  hopes. 

467,  &c.;  and  for  some  apposite  remarks  on  Bhakti  or  faith,  see 
Wilson,  As.  Res.,  xvii.  312. 

1  See  Wilson,  Asiatic  Researches,  xvi.  85,  &c.;  and  for  an 
account  of  the  corresponding  Vaishnava  sect  of  Madhav,  which 
has,  however,  a  leaning  to  Saivism,  see  also  Wilson,  As.  Res., 
xvi.  100.  (See  also  Appendix  VII  for  some  remarks  on  the  Meta- 
physics of  Indian  Reformers.) 


A.D.  1469. 


CHAP,  n  TEACHING  OF  NANAK  35 

Nanak  was  born  in  the  year  1469,  in  the  neighbour-  i469-i539. 
hood  of  Lahore.^     His  father,  Kalu,  was  a  Hindu  of  Nanak-s 
the  Bedi  subdivision  of  the  once  warlike  Kshattriyas,  birth  and 
and  he  was,  perhaps,  like  most  of  his  race,  a  petty  ^/^y,J'/„®' 
trader  in  his  native  village.^     Nanak  appears  to  have 
been  naturally  of  a  pious  disposition  and  of  a  reflecting 
mind,  and  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  in  his  youth 
he  made  himself  familiar  with  the  popular  creeds  both 
of  the  Muhammadans  and  Hindus,  and  that  he  gained 
a  general-  knowledge  of  the  Koran  and  of  the  Brah- 
manical  Shastras.^    His  good  sense  and  fervid  temper 

1  Nanak  is  generally  said  to  have  been  born  in  Talwandi, 
a  village  on  the  Ravi  above  Lahore,  vi^hich  was  held  by  one 
Rai  Bhua  of  the  Bhutti  tribe.  (Cf.  Malcolm,  Sketch  of  the  Sikhs, 
p.  78,  and  Forster,  Travels,  i.  292-3.)  But  one  manuscript  ac- 
count states  that,  although  the  father  of  Nanak  was  of  Tal- 
wandi, the  teacher  himself  was  born  in  Kanakatch,  about  fifteen 
miles  southerly  from  Lahore,  in  the  house  of  his  mother's  par- 
ents. It  is  indeed  not  uncommon  in  the  Punjab  for  women  to 
choose  their  own  parents'  home  as  the  place  of  their  confine- 
ment, especially  of  their  first  child,  and  the  children  thus  born 
are  frequently  called  Nanak  (or  Nanki,  in  the  feminine),  from 
Nanke,  one's  mother's  parents.  Nanak  is  thus  a  name  of  usual 
occurrence,  both  among  Hindus  and  Muhammadans,  of  the  poor 
or  industrious  classes.  The  accounts  agree  as  to  the  year  of 
Nanak's  birth,  but  differ,  while  they  affect  precision,  with 
regard  to  the  day  of  the  month  on  which  he  was  born.  Thus  one 
narrative  gives  the  13th,  and  another  the  18th,  of  the  month 
Kartik,  of  the  year  1526  of  Vikramajit,  which  corresponds  with 
the  latter  end  of  1469  of  Christ. 

2  In  the  Siar  ul  Mutakharin  (Brigg's  translation,  i.  110)  it 
is  stated  that  Nanak's  father  was  a  grain  merchant,  and  in  the 
Dabistan  (ii.  247)  that  Nanak  himself  was  a  grain  factor.  The 
Sikh  accounts  are  mostly  silent  about  the  occupation  of  the 
lather,  but  they  represent  the  sister  of  Nanak  to  have  been  mar- 
ried to  a  corn  factor,  and  state  that  he  was  himself  placed  with 
iiis  brother-in-law  to  learn,  or  to  give  aid,  in  carrying  on  the 
business. 

•*  A  manuscript  compilation  in  Persian  mentions  that 
Nanak's  first  teacher  was  a  Muhammadan.  The  Siar  ul  Mutak- 
]\arin  (i.  110)  states  that  Nanak  was  carefully  educated  by  one 
Saiyid  Hasan,  a  neighbour  of  his  father's,  who  conceived  a 
regai'd  for  him,  and  who«  was  wealthy  but  childless.  Nanak  is 
iurther  said,  in  the  same  book,  to  have  studied  the  most  approv- 
ed writings  of  the  Muhammadans.  .According  to  Malcolm 
(Sketch,  p.  14),  Nanak  is  reported,  by  the  Muhammadans,  to 
have  learnt  all  earthly  sciences  from  Khizar,  i.e.  the  prophet 
Elias.  The  ordinary  Muhammadan  accounts  also  represent 
Nanak,  when  a  child,  to  have  astonished  his  teacher  by  asking 
him  the  hidden  import  of  the  first  letter  of  the  alphabet,  which 
is  almost  a  straight  stroke  in  Persian  and  Arabic,  and  which  is 
held  even  vulgarly  to  denote  the  unity  of  God.  The  reader  will 
remember  that  the  apocryphal  gospels  state  how  Christ,  before 
he  was  twelve  years  old,  perplexed  his  instructors,  and  explain- 
ed to  them  the  mystical  significance  of  the  alphabetical  charac- 
ters.   (Strauss,  Life  of  Jesus,  i.  272.) 


36 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.  II 


1469-1539.        left  him  displeased  with  the  corruptions  of  the  vulgar 
faith,    and    dissatisfied    with    the    indifference    of    the 
learned,  or  with  the  retuge  which  they  sought  in  the 
specious  abstractions  of  philosophy;  nor  is  it  impro- 
bable that    the    homilies    of    Kabir    and    Gorakh    had 
fallen  upon  his  susceptible  mind  with  a  powerful  and 
The   mental    enduring   effect.^        In   a   moment   of    enthusiasm   the 
struggles  of     ardent  inquirer   abandoned   his   home,   and   strove   to 
Nanak.  attain  wisdom  by  penitent  mediation,  by   study,  and 

by  an  enlarged  intercourse  with  mankind.-  He  travel- 
led, perhaps,  beyond  the  limits  of  India,  he  prayed  in 
solitude,  he  reflected  on  the  Vedas  and  on  the  mission 
of  Muhammad,  and  he  questioned  with  equal  anxietv 
the  learned  priest  and  the  simple  devotee  about  the 
will  of  God  and  the  path  to  happiness."     Plato  and 

1  Extracts  or  selections  from  the  writings  of  Kab?r  appear 
in  the  Adi-Granth,  and  Kabir  is  often,  and  Gorakh  sometimes, 
quoted  or  referred  to. 

2  A  chance  meeting  with  some  Fakirs  (Malcolm,  Sketch. 
pp.  8,  13)  and  the  more  methodical  instructions  of  a  Dervish 
(Dabistan,  ii.  247)  are  each  referred  to  as  having  subdued  the 
mind  of  Nanak,  or  as  having  given  him  the  impulse  which 
determined  the  future  course  of  his  life.  In  Malcolm  may  be 
seen  those  stories  Which  please  the  multitude,  to  the  effect  that 
although  Nanak,  when  the  spirit  of  God  was  upon  him,  bestow- 
ed all  the  grain  in  his  brother-in-law's  stores  by  charity,  they 
were  nevertheless  always  found  replenished;  or  that  Daulat 
Khan  Lodi,  the  employer  of  Nanak's  brother-in-law.  although 
aware  that  much  had  really  been  given  away,  nevertheless 
found  everything  correct  on  balancing  the  accounts  of  receipts 
and  expenditure. 

The  Sikh  accounts  represent  Nanak  to  have  met  the  Empe- 
ror Babar,  and  to  have  greatly  edified  the  adventurous  sovereign 
by  his  demeanour  and  conversation,  while  he  perplexed  him  by 
saying  that  both  were  kings  and  were  about  to  found  dynasties 
of  ten.  I  have  traced  but  two  allusions  to  Babar  by  name,  and 
one  by  obvious  inference,  in  the  Adi-Granth,  viz.  in  the  Asa 
Rag  and  Tailang  portions,  and  these  bear  reference  simply  to 
the  destruction  of  a  village,  and  to  his  incursions  as  a  conqueror. 
Muhsin  Fani  (Dabistan,  ii.  249)  preserves  an  idle  report  that 
Nanak,  being  dissatisfied  with  the  Afghans,  called  the  Mughals 
into  India. 

3  Nanak  is  generally  said  to  have  travelled  over  the  whole 
of.  India,  to  have  gone  through.  Persia,  and  to  have  visited 
Mecca  (cf.  Malcolm,  Sketch,  p.  16,  and  Forster,  Travels,  i. 
295-6),  but  the  number  of  years  he  employed  in  wandering, 
and  the  date  of  his  final  return  to  his  native  province,  are  alike 
uncertain.  He  had  several  companions,  among  whom  Mardana, 
the  rababi  or  harper  (or  rather  a  chanter,  and  player  upon  a 
Stringed  instrument  like  a  guitar),  Lahna,  who  was  his  succes- 
sor, Bala,  a  Sindhu.Jat,  and  Ram  Das,  styled  Buddha  or  the 
Ancient,  are  the  most  frequently  referred  to.  In  pictorial  repre- 
sentations Mardana  always  accompanies  Nanak.  When  at, 
Mecca.,  a  story  is  related  that  Nanak  was  found  sleeping  with  his 
feet  towards  the  temple,  that  he  was  angrily  asked  how  hej 
dared  to  dishonour  the  house  of  the  Lord,  and  that  he  replied 


CHAP.  II  TEACHING  OF  NANAK  37 

Bacon,  Des  Cartes  and  Alghazali,  examined  the  current  i469-i539. 
philosophic   systems  of  the  world,   without  finding  a  - 

sure  basis  of  truth  for  the  operations  of  the  intellect; 
and,  similarly,  the  heart  of  the  pious  Nanak  sought 
hopelessly    for    a    resting-place    amid    the    conflicting 
creeds  and  practices  of  men.    All  was  error,  he  said; 
he  had  read    Korans    and  Purans,    but    God    he    had 
nowhere  found.^     He  returned  to  his  native  land,  he 
threw  aside  the  habit  of  an  ascetic,  he  became  again 
the  father  of  his  family,  and  he  passed  the  remainder  He  be- 
of  his  long  life  in  calling  upon  men  to  worship  the  comes  a 
One  Invisible  God,  to  live  virtuously,  and  to  be  tole-  teacher, 
rant  of  the  failings  of  others.     The  mild  demeanour, 
the  earnest  piety,  and  persuasive  eloquence  of  Nanak, 
are  ever  the  themes  of  praise,  and  he  died  at  the  age  Dies,  aged 
of  seventy,    leaving   behind    him   many    zealous    and  seventy, 
admiring  disciples.-  '^•°-   ^^^^• 

Could  he  turn  his  feet  where  the  house  of  God  was  not?' 
(Malcolm,  Sketch  of  the  Sikhs,  ip.  159.)  Nanak  adopted,  some- 
times at  least,  the  garb  of  a  Muhammadan  Dervish,  and  at  Mul- 
tan  he  visited  an  assembly  of  Musalman  devotees,  saying  he 
was  but  as  the  stream  of  the  Ganges  entering  the  ocean  of 
holiness.  (Cf.  Malcolm,  Sketch,  p.  21.  and  the  Siar  ul  Mutakha- 
rin,  i.  311.) 

1  There  is  current  a  verse  imputed  to  Nanak,  to  the  effect 
that' — 

'Several  scriptures  and  books  had  he  read, 
But  one  (God)  he  had  not  found: 

Several  Korans  and  Purans  had  he  read,    . 

But  faith  he  could  not  put  in  any.' 
The  Adi-Gra7ith  abounds  with  passages  of  a  similar  tenor,  and 
in  the  supplemental  portion,  called  the  Ratan  Mala,  Nanak  says, 
•Man  may  read  Vedas  and  Korans,  and  reach  to  a  temporary- 
bliss,  but  without  God  salvation  is  unattainable.' 

2  The  accounts  mostly  agree  as  to  the  date  of  Nanak's 
death,  and  they  place  it  in  1596  of  Vikramajit,  or  1539  of  Christ. 
A  Gurmukhi  abstract  states  precisely  that  he  was  a  teacher  for 
seven  years,  five  months,  and  seven  days,  and  that  he  died  on 
the  10th  of  the  Hindu  month  Asauj.  Forster  (Travels,  i.  295)  re- 
presents that  he  travelled  for  fifteen  years.  Nanak  died  at 
Kartarpur.  on  the  Ravi,  about  forty  miles  above  Lahore,  where 
there  is  a  place  of  worship  sacred  to  him.  He  left  two  sons,  Sri 
Chand,  an  ascetic,  whose  name  lives  as  the  founder  of  the  Hindu 
sect  of  Udasis,  and  Lachmi  Das,  who  devoted  himself  to 
pleasure,  and  of  whom  nothing  particular  is  known.  The  Nanak- 
putras,  or  descendants  of  Nanak,  called  also  Sahibzadas,  or  sons 
of  the  master,  are  everywhere  reverenced  among  Sikhs,  and  if 
traders,  some  privileges  are  conceded  to  them  by  the  chiefs  of 
their  country.  Muhsin  Fani  observes  (Dabistan.  ii.  253)  that 
the  representatives  of  Nanak  were  known  as  Kartaris,  meaning, 
perhaps,  rather  that  they  were  held  to  be  holy  or  devoted  to 
the  service  of  God,  than  that  they  were  simply  residents  of 
Kartarpur. 


38 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.  II 


1469-1539. 

The  excel- 
lences of 
Nanak's 
doctrine. 


The  god- 
head. 


Muham- 
madans 
and  Hindus 
equally 
called  on 
worship 
God  in 
truth. 


to 


Nanak  combined  the  excellences  of  preceding  re- 
fornners,  and  he  avoided  the  more  grave  errors  into 
which  they  had  fallen.  Instead  of  the  circumscribed 
divinity,  the  anthropomorphous  God  of  Ramanand  and 
Kabir,  he  loftily  invokes  the  Lord  as  the  one.  the  sole, 
the  timeless  being;  the  creator,  the  self-existent,  the 
incomprehensible,  and  the  everlasting.     He  likens  the 
Deity  to  Truth,  which  was  before  the  world  began, 
which  is,  and  which  shall  endure  for  ever,  as  the  ulti- 
mate idea   or  cause   of  all   we  know   or   behold.^    He 
addresses    equally    the    Mulla    and    the    Pandit,    the 
Dervish  and  the  Sannyasi,  and  tells  them  to  remember 
that  Lord  of  Lords  who  has  seen  come  and  go  number- 
less Muhammads,  and  Vishnus,  and  Sivas.^     He  tells 
them    that    virtues    and    charities,    heroic     acts    and 
gathered  wisdom,  are  nought  of  themselves,  that  the 
only  knowledge  which  availeth   is  the  knowledge   of 
God;^  and  then,  as  if  to  rebuke  those  vain  men  who 
saw  eternal  life  in  their  own  act  of  faith,  he  declares 
that  they  only  can  find  the  Lord  on  whom  the  Lord 


1  See  the  Adi-Granth  in,  for  instance,  the  portion  called 
Goivree  Rag,  and  the  prefatory  Jup,  or  prayer  of  admonition 
and  remembrance.  Cf.  also  Wilkins,  Asiatic  Researches,  i.  289. 
&c. 

'Akalpurik',  or  the  Timeless  Being,  is  the  ordinary  Sikh 
appellation  of  God,  corresponding  idiomatically  with  the  Al- 
mighty', in  English.  Yet  Gobind,  in  the  second  Granth  (Hazara 
Shabd  portion),  apostrophizes  Time  itself  as  the  only  true  God, 
for  God  was  the  first  and  the  last,  the  being  without  end,  &c. 

Milton  assigns  to  time  a  casual  or  limited  use  only,  and 
Shakespeare    makes  it  finite: 

'For  time,  though  in  eternity  applied 
To  motion,  measures  all  things  durable 
By  present,  past,  and  future.' 

Paradise  Lost,  v. 
'But  thought's  the  slave  of  life,  and  life,  tinie's  fool; 
And  time,  that  takes  survey  of  all  the  world, 
Must  have  a  stop.' 

I  Henry  IV,  v.  iv. 
Three  of  the  modern  philosophizing  schools  of  India, 
viz.  a  division  of  the  Sankhyas,  the  Puraniks,  and  the  Saivas, 
make  Kal,  or  time,,  one  of  the  twenty-seven,  or  thirty,  or  thirty- 
six  component  essences  or  phenomena  of  the  universe  of  matter 
and  mind,  and  thus  give  it  distinct  functions,  or  a  separate 
existence. 

2  A  passage  of  Nanak's  in  the  supplement  to  the  Adi- 
Granth,  after  saying  that  there  have  been  multitudes  of  pro- 
phets, teachers,  and  holy  men,  concludes  thus: 

The  Lord  of  Lords  is  the  One  God,  the  Almighty  God  him- 
self; 
Oh  Nanak!  his  qualities  are  beyond  comprehension.' 

3  See  the  Adi-Granth,  towards  the  end  of  the  portion  call- 
ed Asa. 


CHAP.  II  TEACHING  OF  NANAK  39 

looks  with  favour. 1     Yet  the    extension    of    grace    is  i469-i539. 
hnked  with  the  exercise  of  our  will  and  the  beneficent  Faith,  grace, 
use  of  our  faculties.    God,  said  Nanak,  places  salvation  and  good 
in  good  works  and  uprightness  of  conduct:    the  Lord  wo^^^s  ^^^ 
will  ask  of  man,  'What  has  he  done?'  ^—and  the  teacher  necessary, 
further  required  timely  repentance  of  men,  saying,  'If 
not  until  the  day  of  reckoning  the  sinner  abaseth  him- 
self, punishment  shall  overtake  him'.=* 

Nanak    adopted   the    philosophical    system    of    his  Nanak 
countrymen,  and  regarded  bliss  as  the  dwelling  of  the  g'J^P*^^*^^ 
soul  with  God  after  its  punitory  transmigrations  should  ^^^^^  ^^.^^_ 
have  ceased.     Life,  he  says,  is  as  the  shadow  of  the  ^^^^y.  ^ut 
passing  bird,  but  the  soul  of  man  is,  as  the  potter's  in  a  popu- 
wheel,  ever  circling  on  its  pivot.^    He  makes  the  same  lar  sense, 
uses  of  the  current  language  or  notions  of  the  time  on  or  by  way 
other  subjects,  and  thus  says,  he  who  remains  bright  °f^^""^j"' 
amid  darkness  (Anjan) ,  unmoved  amid  deceit  (Maya) , 
that  is,  perfect  amid  temptation,  should  attain  happi- 
ness.'^   But  it  would  be  idle  to  suppose  that  he  specu- 
lated upon  being,  or  upon  the  material  world,  after 
the  manner    of  Plato    or  Vyasa; ''    and    it    would    be 
unreasonable  to  condemn  him  because  he  preferred  the 
doctrine  of  a  succession  of  habiliments,  and  the  possible 
purification  of  the  most  sinful  soul,  to  the  resurrection 
of  the  same  body,   and  the  pains  of  everlasting  fire.' 

1  See  the  Adi-Granth,  end  of  the  Asa  Rag,  and  in  the  sup- 
plementary portion  called  the  Ratan  Mala. 

2  The  Adi-Granth,  Prabhati  Ragni,  Cf.  Malcolm  (Sketch, 
p.  161)  and  Wilkins  (As.  Res.,  i.  289,  &c.). 

•'  See  the  Nasihat  Nama,  or  admonition  of  Nanak  to  Karon, 
a  fabulous  monarch,  which,  however,  is  not  admitted  into  the 
Granth,  perhaps  because  its  personal  or  particular  application 
is  not  in  keeping  with  the  abstract  and  general  nature  of  that 
book.  Neither,  indeed,  is  it  certainly  known  to  be  Nanak's  com- 
position, although  it  embodies  many  of  his  notions. 

^  Adi-Granth,  end  of  the  Asa  Rag. 

■*  Adi-Granth.  in  the  Suhi  and  Ramkali  portions. 

6  See  Appendix  VIII. 

'  The  usual  objection  of  the  Muhammadans  to  the  Hindu 
doctrine  of  transmigration  is,  that  the  wicked  soul  of  this  pre- 
sent world  has  no  remembrance  of  its  past' condition  and  by- 
gone punishments,  and  does  not,  therefore,  bring  with  it  any 
inherent  incentive  to  holiness.  The  Muhammadans,  however,  do 
not  show  that  a  knowledge  of  the  sin  of  Adam,  and  consequent 
corruption  of  his  posterity,  is  instinctive  to  a  follower  of  Christ 
or  to  a  disciple  of  their  own  prophet;  and,  metaphysically,  an 
impartial  thinker  will  perhaps  prefer  the  Brahman  doctrine  of 
a  soul  finally  separated  from  the  changeable  matter  of  our 
senses,  to  the  Egyptian  scheme  of  the  resurrection  of  the  cor- 
ruptible body, — a  notion  which  seems  to  have  impressed  itself 
on  the  Israelites,  notwithstanding  the  silence  of  Moses,  and 
which  resisted  for  centuries  the  action  of  other  systems,  and 
which  was  at  length  revived  with  increased  force  in  connexion 
with  the  popular  belief  in  miracles.  See  also  note  2,  p.  24  ante. 


40 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.  U 


1469-1539. 

Nanak  ad- 
mits the 
mission  of 
Muhammad 
as  well  as 
the  Hindu- 
incarna- 
tions. 


Disclaims 

miraculous 

powers. 

Discour- 
ages asce- 
ticism. 


Nanak  also  referred  to  the  Arabian  prophet,  and  to  the 
Hindu  incarnations,  not  as  impostors  and  the  diffusers 
of  evil,  but  as  having  truly  been  sent  by  God  to  instruct 
mankind,  and  he  lamented  that  sin  should  nevertheless 
prevail.  He  asserted  no  special  divinity,  although  he 
may  possibly  have  considered  himself,  as  he  came  to 
be  considered  by  others,  the  successor  of  these  inspired 
teachers  of  his  belief,  sent  to  reclaim  fallen  mortals 
of  all  creeds  and  countries  within  the  limits  of  his 
knowledge.  He  rendered  his  mission  applicable  to  all 
times  and  places,  yet  he  declared  himself  to  be  but  the 
slave,  the  humble  messenger  of  the  Almighty,  making 
use  of  universal  truth  as  his  sole  instrument.^  He  did 
not  claim  for  his  writings,  replete  as  they  were  with 
wisdom  and  devotion,-  the  merit  of  a  direct  transcrip- 
tion of  the  words  of  God;  nor  did  he  say  that  his 
own  preaching  required  or  would  be  sanctioned  by 
miracles.'^  'Fight  with  no  weapon,'  said  he,  'save  the 
word  of  God;  a  holy  teacher  hath  no  means  save  the 
purity  of  his  doctrine.'  ^  He  taught  that  asceticism  or 
abandonment  of  the  world  was  unnecessary,  the  pious 
hermit  and  the  devout  householder  being  equal  in  the 
eyes  of  the  Almighty;  but  he  did  not,  like  his  contem- 
porary Vallabh,  express  any  invidious  preference  for 
married  teachers,  although  his  own  example  showed 
that  he  considered  every  one  should  fulfil  the  functions 

1  The  whole  scope  of  Nanak's  teaching  is  that  God  is  all 
in  all,  and  that  purity  of  mind  is  the  first  of  objects.  He  urges 
all  men  to  practise  devotion,  and  he  refers  to  past  prophets  and 
dispensations  as  being  now  of  no  avail,  but  he  nowhere  attri- 
butes to  himself  any  superiority  over  others.  He  was  a  man 
among  men,  calling  upon  his  fellow  creatures  to  live  a  holy  life. 
(Cf.  the  Dahistan,  ii.  249,  250,  253;  and  see  Wilson,  As.  Res., 
xvii.  234,  for  the  expression  'Nanak  thy  slave  is  a  freewill 
offering  unto  thee'.) 

-  The  Muhammadan  writers  are  loud  in  their  praises  of 
Nanak's  writings.  (Cf.  the  Siar  ul  Mutakharin,  i.  110,  111,  and 
the  Dahistan,  ii.  251,  252.) 

With  these  sober  views  of  the  Orientals  may  be  contrasted 
the  opinion  of  the  European,  Baron  Hugel,  who  says  (Travels, 
p.  283)  that  the  Granth  is  'a  compound  of  mystical  absurdities'. 
He  admits,  however,  that  the  Sikhs  worship  one  God,  abhor 
images,  and  reject  caste,  at  least  in  theory. 

•■'•  See  particularly  the  Sri  Rag  chapter  of  the  Adi-Granth. 
In 'the  Maj  Var  portion  Nanak  says  to  a  pretender  to  miracles, 
'Dwell  thou  in  flame  uninjured,  remain  unharmed  amid  eternal 
ice,  make  blocks  of  stone  thy  food,  spurn  the  solid  earth  before 
thee  with  thy  foot,  weigh  the  lieavens  in  a  balance,  and  then 
ask  thou  that  Nanak  perform  wonders!' 

Strauss  (Life  of  Jesus,  ii.  237)  points  out  that  Christ  cen- 
sured the  seeking  for  miracles  (John  48),  and  observes  that 
the  apostles  in  their  letters  do  not  mention  miracles  at  all. 

^  Malcolm,  Sketch,  pp.  20,  21,  165. 


CHAP.  II  TEACHING  OF  NANAK  41 

of  his  nature.^    In  treating  the  two  prominent  external  1469-1539. 
observances  of  Hindus  and  Muhammadans,  veneration 
for  the  cow  and  abhorrence  of  the  hog,  he  was  equally 
wise  and  conciliatory,  yielding  perhaps  something  to  conciliatory 
the  prejudices  of  his  education  as  well  as  to  the  gentle-  between 
ness  of  his  disposition.     'The  rights  of  strangers,'  said  Muham- 
he,  'are  the  one  the  ox,  and  the  other  the  swine,  but  madans 
"Pirs"  and  "Gurus"  will  praise  those  who  partake  not  ^"*^  Hindus, 
of  that  which  hath  enjoyed  life.'  - 

Thus    Nanak    extricated    his    followers    from    the  Nanak 
accumulated  errors  of  ages,  and  enjoined  upon  th^m.  fuiiy  ex- 
devotion  of  thought  and  excellence  of  conduct  as  the  tncates  his 
first  of  duties.    He  left  them,  erect  and  free,  unbiassed  ^o^ow^'^^ 
in  mind  and  unfettered  by  x'ules,  to  become  an  increas- 
ing body  of  truthful  worshippers.  His  reform  was  in  But  his  re- 
its  immediate  effect  religious  and  moral  only;  believers  formation 
were  regarded  as  'Sikhs'  or  disciples,  not  as  subjects;  necessarily 
and  it  is  neither  probable,  nor  is  it  necessary  to  sup-  ^^I'sious 

,1,1  ^         -,  1  1  .  ■  .  and  moral 

pose,  that  he  possessed  any  clear  and  sagacious  views  ^^j^ 

of  social  amelioration  or  of  political  advancement.  He 

left  the  progress  of  his  people  to  the  operation  of  time:  Nanak  ie:t 

for  his  congregation  was  too  limited,  and  the  state  01  |],'spf\*^5^  "^^ 

society  too  artificial,  to  render   it  either  requisite  or  without 

1  Adi-Granth,  particularly  the  Asa  Ragni  and  Ravikali 
Ragni.   (Cf.  the  Dabistan,  ii.  271.) 

-  Adi-Granth,  Maj  chapter.  Cf.  Malcolm  (Sketch,  p.  36, 
note,  and  p.  137),  where  it  is  said  Nanak  prohibited  swine's 
flesh;  but,  indeed,  the  flesh  of  the  tavie  hog  had  always  been 
forbidden  to  Hindus.  (Manu's  Institutes,  v.  19.)  The. Dabistan 
(ii.  248)  states  that  Nanak  prohibited  wine  and  pork,  and  him- 
self abstained  from  all  flesh  but,  in  truth,  contradictory  pas- 
sages about  food  may  be  quoted,  and  thus  Ward  (The  Hindoos, 
iii.  466)  shows  that  Nanak.  defended  those  who  eat  flesh,  and 
declared  that  the  infant  which  drew  nurture  from  its  mother 
lived  virtually  upon  flesh.  The  author  of  the  Gxir  Ratnavali 
pursues  the  idea,  in  a  somewhat  trivial  manner  indeed,  by  ask- 
ing whether  man  does  not  take  woman  to  wife,  and  whether  the 
holiest  of  books  are  not  bound  with  the  skins  of  animals  ! 

The  general  injunctions  of  Nanak  have  sometimes  been 
misinterpreted  by  sectarian  followers  and  learned  strangers,  to 
mean  'great  chariness  of  animal  life',  almost  in  a  mere  cere- 
monial sense.  (Wilson,  As.  Res.,  xvii.  233.)  But  the  Sikhs  have 
no  such  feeling,  although  the  Jains  and  others  carry  a  pious 
regard  for  worms  and  flies  to  a  ludicrous  extent — a  practice 
which  has  reacted  upon  at  least  some  families  of  Roman  Catho- 
lic Christians  in  India.  Those  in  Bhopal  reject,  during  Lent, 
the  use  of  unrefined  sugar,  an  article  of  daily  consumption,  be- 
cause, in  its  manufacture,  the  lives  of  many  insects  are  neces- 
sarily sacrificed  !  [It  is  curious  that  the  Greeks  and  Romans  be- 
lieved the  life  of  the  ox  to  have  been  held  sacred  during  the 
golden  age;  and  Cicero  quotes  Aratus,  to  show  that  it  was  only 
during  the  iron  age  the  flesh  of  cattle  began  to  be  eaten.  (On  the 
Natiire  of  the  Gods,  Francklin's  translation,  p.  154.) — J.D.C.] 


42 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP,  n 


1469-1539. 

new  social 
laws  as  a 
separate 
people. 

But  guaEd- 
ed  against 
their  nar- 
rowing   into 
a  sect. 


Nanak  de- 
clares 
Angad  to 


possible  for  him  to  become  a  municipal  law-giver,  to 
subvert  the  legislation  of  Manu,  or  to  change  the 
immemorial  usages  of  tribes  or  races.'  His  care  was 
rather  to  prevent  his  followers  contracting  into  a  sect, 
and  his  comprehensive  principles  narrowing  into 
monastic  distinctions.  This  he  effected  by  excluding 
his  son,  a  meditative  and  perhaps  bigoted  ascetic,  from 
the  ministry  when  he  should  himself  be  no  more;  and. 
as  his  end  approached,  he  is  stated  to  have  made  a  trial 
of  the  obedience  or  merits  of  his  chosen  disciples,  and 
to  have  preferred  the  simple  and  sincere  Lahna.  As 
they  journeyed  along,  the  body  of  a  man  was  seen 
lying  by  the  wayside.  Nanak  said,  'Ye  who  trust  in 
me,  eat  of  this  food.'  All  hesitated  save  Lahna;  he 
knelt  and  uncovered  the  dead,  and  touched  without 
tasting  the  flesh  of  man;  but,  behold!  the  corpse  had 
disappeared  and  Nanak  was  in  its  place.  The  Guru 
embraced  his  faithful  follower,  saying  he  was  as  him- 
self, and  that  his  spirit  would  dwell  within  him.-  The 
name  of  Lahna  was  changed  to  Angi-Khud,  or  Angad, 
or  own  body,^  and  whatever  may  be  the  foundation 

1  Malcolm  (Sketch,  pp.  44,  147)  says  Nanak  made  little  or 
no  alteration  in  the  civil  institutions  of  the  Hindus,  and  Ward 
(The  Hindoos,  iii.  463)  says,  the  Sikhs  have  no  written  civil  or 
criminal  laws.  Similar  observations  of  dispraise  or  applause 
might  be  made  with  regard  to  the  code  of  the  early  Christians, 
and  we  know  the  difficulties  under  which  the  apostles  laboured, 
owing  to  the  want  of  a  new  declaratory  law,  or  owing  to  the 
scruples  and  prejudices  of  their  disciples.  (Acts  xv.  20,  28,  29, 
and  other  passages.)  The  seventh  of  the  articles  of  the  Church 
of  England,  and  the  nineteenth  chapter  of  the  Scottish  Confes- 
sion of  Faith,  show  the  existing  perplexity  of  modern  divines, 
and,  doubtless,  it  will  long  continue  to  be  disputed  how  far 
Christians  are  amenable  to  some  portions  of  the  Jewish  law, 
and  whether  Sikhs  should  wholly  reject  the  institutions  of  Manu 
and  the  usages  of  race.  There  were  Judaizing  Christians  and 
there  are  Brahmanizing  Sikhs;  the  swine  was  a  difficulty  with 
one.  the  cow  is  a  difficulty  with  the  other;  and  yet  the  greatest 
obstacle,  perhaps,  to  a  complete  obliteration  of  caste,  is  the  root- 
feeling  that  marriages  should  properly  take  place  only  between 
people  of  the  same  origin  or  nation,  without  much  reference 
to  faith.  (Cf.  Ward  on  The  Hindoos,  ii.  459;  Malcolm,  Sketch, 
p.  157  note;  and  Forster's  Travels,  i.  293,  295,  308.) 

-  This  story  is  related  by  various  Punjabi  compilers,  and 
it  is  given  with  one  of  the  variations  by  Dr.  Macgregor,  in  his 
History  of  the  Sikhs  (i.  48).  In  the  Dabistan  (ii.  268,  269)  there 
is  a  story  of  a  similar  kind  about  the  successive  sacrifice  in  the 
four  ages  of  a  cow,  a  horse,  an  elephant,  and  a  man.  The  pious 
partakers  of  the  flesh  of  the  last  offering  were  declared  to"  be 
saved,  an^  the  victim  himself  again  appeared  in  his  bodily 
shape. 

■5  Cf.  Malcolm,  Sketch  of  the  Sikhs,  p.  24  note.  [Angad, 
however,  is  an  old  Hindu  name,  and  the  ambassador  of  Rama 
to  Ravan  was  so  called.  (Kennedy,  Res.  Hind.  MythoL,  p.  438.) 
— J.D.C.] 


CHAP.  II  TEACHING  OF  NANAK  43 

of  the  story  or  the  truth  of  the  etymology,  it  is  certain  1469-1539. 

that  the  Sikhs  fully  believe  the  spirit  of  Nanak  to  have 

been  incarnate  in  each  succeeding"  Guru.^    Angad  was  ^^  ^*^  ^"'^" 
acknowledged  as    the  teacher    of  the    Sikhs,    and  Sri  teache/o/ 
Chand,  the  son  of  Nanak,  justified  his  father's  fears,  men. 
and  became  the  founder  of  the  Hindu  sect  of  'Udasis', 
a  community  indifferent  to  the  concerns  of  this  world.^ 

1  This  belief  is  an  article  of  faith  with  the  Sikhs.  Cf.  the 
Dahistan  (ii.  253,  281).  The  Guru  Har  Gobind  signed  himself 
•Nanak'  in  a  letter  to  Muhsin  Fani,  the  author  of  that  work. 

-  For  some  account  of  the  Udasis,  see  Wilson,  Asiatic  Re- 
searches, xvii.  232.  The  sect  is  widely  diffused;  its  members  are 
proud  of  their  connexion  with  the  Sikhs,  and  all  reverence,  and 
most  possess  and  use,  the  Granth  of  Nanak. 

Note. — For  many  stories  regarding  Nanak  himself,  which 
it  has  not  been  thought  necessary  to  introduce  into  the  text  or 
notes,  the  curious  reader  may  refer  with  profit  to  Malcolm's 
Sketch,  to  the  second  volume  of  the  Dabistan,  and  to  the  first 
volume  of  Dr.  Macgregor's  recently  published  History. 


CHAPTER    UI 

THE   SIKH   GURUS   OR   TEACHERS,   AND   THE 

MOIDIFICATION  OF  SIKHISM  UNDER  GOBIND 

1539-1716 


1539-52. 

Angad  up- 
holds the 
broad 
principles 
of  Nanak. 
Dies  1552. 


Amar  Das 
succeeds. 


Separates 
the    Sikhs 
from  the 
Udasis. 


Guru  Angad — Guru  Amar  Das  and  the  Udasi  Sect — Guru  Ram 
Das — Guru  Arjun — The  First  Granth  and  Civil  Organisa- 
tion of  the  Sikhs — Guru  Har  Gobind  and  the  Mihtary 
Ordering  of  the  Sikhs — Guru  Har  Rai — Guru  Har  Kishan 
— Guru  Tegh  Bahadur — Guru  Gobind,  and  the  Pohtical 
Establishment  of  the  Sikhs — Banda  Bairagi  the  Temporal 
Successor  of  Gobind — The     Dispersion  of  the  Sikhs. 

Nanak  died  in  1539,  and  Ke  was  succeeded  by  the 
Angad  of  his  choice,  a  Kshattriya  of  the  Tihan  sub- 
division of  the  race,  who  himself  died  in  1552,  at  Kadur, 
near  Goindwal,  on  the  Beas  river.  Little  is  relat-ed  of 
his  ministry,  except  that  he  committed  to  writing  much 
of  what  he  had  heard  about  Nanak  from  the  Guru's 
ancient  companion,  Bala  Sindhu,  as  well  as  some  devo- 
tional observations  of  his  own,  which  were  afterwards 
incorporated  in  the  Granth.  But  Angad  was  true  to 
the  principles  of  his  great  teacher,  and,  not  deeming 
either  of  his  own  sons  worthy  to  succeed  him,  he 
bestowed  his  apostolic  blessing  upon  Amar  Das,  an 
assiduous  follower.^ 

Amar  Das  was  likewise  a  Kshattriya,  but  of  the 
Bhalla  subdivision.  He  was  active  in  preaching,  and 
successful  in  obtaining  converts,  and  it  is  said  that  he 
found  an  attentive  listener  in  the  tolerant  Akbar.  The 
immediate  followers  of  Sri  Chand,  the  son  of  Nanak, 
had  hitherto  been  regarded  as  almost  equally  the  dis- 
ciples of  the  first  teacher  with  the  direct  adherents  of 
Angad;  but  Amar  Das  declared  passive  and  recluse 
'Udasis'  to  be  wholly  separate  from  active  and  domestic 
'Sikhs',  and  thus  finally  preserved  the  infant  church 

1  Angad  was  born,  according  to  most  accounts,  in  1561 
Sambat,  ®r  a.  d.  1504,  but  according  to  others  in  1567  (or  A.  D. 
1510).  His  death  is  usually  placed  in  1609  Sambat  (a.d.  1552), 
but  sometimes  it  is  dated  a  year  earlier,  and  the  Sikh 
accounts  affect  a  precision  as  to  days  and  months  which  can 
never  gain  credence.  Foster  (Travels,  i.  296)  gives  1542, 
perhaps  a  misprint  for  1552,  as  the  period  of  his  death. 


CHAP.  Ill  SIKH  GURUS;  ANGAD  45 

or  state  from  disappearing  as  one  of  many  sects.^     In  1552-74. 
the  spirit  of  Nanak  he  likewise  pronounced  that  the 
'true  Sati  was  she  whom  grief  and  not  flame  consumed,  His  views 
and  that  the  afflicted  should  seek  consolation  with  the  with  regard 
Lord';  thus  mildly  discountenancing  a  perverse  custom,  to  'sati-. 
and  leading  the    way    to    amendment    by    persuasion  ^'^s  1574. 
rather  than  by  positive  enactment.-    Amar  Das  died  in 
1574,  after  a  ministration  of  about  twenty-two  years 
and  a  half.'^    He  had  a  son  and  a  daughter,  and  it  is 
said  that  his  delight  with  the  uniform  filial  love  and 
obedience  of  the  latter  led  him  to  prefer  her  husband 
before   other   disciples,   and   to  bestow   upon   him  his 
'Barkat'    or    apostolic    virtue.      The    fond    mother,    or 
ambitious  woman,  is  further  stated  to  have  obtained 
an  assurance  from  the  Guru  that  the  succession  should 
remain  with  her  posterity. 

Ram  Das,    the    son-in-law    of  Amar    Das,    was  a  Ram  Das 
Kshattriya  of  the  Sodhi  subdivision,  and  he  was  worthy  succeeds 
of  his  master's  choice  and  of  his  wife's  affection.    He  is  f,"*\,^^^t- 
said  to  have  been  held  in  esteem  by  Akbar,  and  to  have  ggjf  ^^ 
received  from  him  a  piece  of  land,  within  the  limits  of  Amritsar. 
which  he  dug  a  reservoir,  since  well  known  as  Amrit- 
sar, or  the  pool  of  immortality;  but  the  temples  and 
surrounding  huts  were  at  first  named  Ramdaspur,  from 
the  founder.^    Ram  Das  is  among  the  most  revered  of 
the   Gurus,   but   no   precepts   of  wide   application,   or 
rules  of  great  practical  value  or  force,  are  attributed  to 

1  Malcolm  (Sketch,  p.  27)  says  distinctly  that  Amar  Das 
made  this  separation.  The  Dahistan  (ii.  271)  states  generally 
that  the  Gurus  had  effected  it,  and  in  the  present  day  some 
educated  Sikhs  think  that  Arjun  first  authoritatively  laid  down 
the  difference  between  an  Udasi  and  a  genuine  follower  of 
Nanak. 

-  The  Adi-Granth,  in  that  part  of  the  Suhi  chapter  which 
is  by  Amar  Das.  Forster  (Travels,  i.  309)  considers  that 
Nanak  prohibited  Sati,  and  allowed  widows  to  marry;  but 
Nanak  did  not  make  positive  laws  of  the  kind,  and  perhaps 
self-sacrifice  was  not  authoritatively  interfered  with  until  first 
Akbar  and  Jahangir  (Mevioirs  of  Jahangir,  p.  28),  and  after- 
wards the  English,  endeavoured  to  put  an  end  to  it. 

■'■  The  accounts  agree  as  to  the  date  of  Amar  Das's  birth, 
placing  it  in  1566  Sambat,  or  a.d.  1509.  The  period  of  his 
death,  1631  Sambat,  or  a.d.  1574,  seems  likewise  certain, 
although  one  places  it  as  late  as  a.  d.  1580. 

^  Malcolm,  Sketch,  p.  29;  Forster,  Travels,  i.  297;  the 
Dabistan,  ii.  275.  The  Sikh  accounts  state  that  the  possession 
of  Akbar's  gift  was  disputed  by  a  Bairagi,  who  claimed  the 
land  as  the  site  of  an  ancient  pool  dedicated  to  Ram  Chandra, 
the  tutelary  deity  of  his  order;  but  the  Sikh  Guru  said  haught- 
ily he  was  himself  the  truer  representative  of  the  hero.  The 
Bairagi  could  produce  no  proof;  but  Ram  Das  dug  deep  into  the 
earth,  and  displayed  to  numerous  admirers  the  ancient  steps 
of  the  demi-god's  reservoir! 


46 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.  lU 


1574-81. 


Dies  1581. 


Arjun  suc- 
ceeds and 
fairly 
grasps  the 
idea  of 
Nanak. 
Makes 
Amritsar 
the  'Holy 
City"    of 
the   Sikhs 


Compiles 
the  Adi- 
Granth. 


him.  His  own  ministry  did  not  extend  beyond  seven 
years,  and  the  slow  progress  of  the  faith  of  Nanak 
seems  apparent  from  the  statement  that  at  the  end  of 
forty-two  years  his  successor  had  not  more  than  double 
that  number  of  disciples  or  instructed  followers.^ 

Arjun  succeeded  his  father  in  1581,  and  the  wishes 
of  his  mother,  the  daughter  of  Amar  Das,  were  thus 
accomplished.^  Arjun  was  perhaps  the  first  who  clearly 
understood  the  wide  import  of  the  teachings  of  Nanak. 
or  who  perceived  how  applicable  they  were  to  every 
state  of  life  and  to  every  condition  of  society.  He  made 
Amritsar  the  proper  seat  of  his  followers,  the  centre 
which  should  attract  their  worldly  longings  for  a 
material  bond  of  union;  and  the  obscure  hamlet,  with 
its  httle  pool,  has  become  a  populous  city  and  the  great 
place  of  pilgrimage  of  the  Sikh  people.^  Arjun  next 
arranged  the  various  writings  of  his  predecessors;*  he 
added  to  them  the  best  known,  or  the  most  suitable, 
compositions  of  some  other  rehgious  reformers  of  the 
few  preceding  centuries,  and  completing  the  whole 
with  a  prayer  and  some  exhortations  of  his  own,  he 
declared  the  compilation  to  be  pre-eminently  the 
'Granth'  or  Book;  and  he  gave  to  his  followers  their 
fixed  rule  of  religious  and  moral  conduct,  with  an  assu- 

1  Such  seems  to  be  the  meaning  of  the  expression.  'He 
held  holy  converse  with  eighty-four  Sikhs,'  used  by  Bhai  Kanh 
Singh  in  a  manuscript  compilation  of  the  beginning  of  this 
century. 

Ram  Das's  birth  is  placed  in  1581  Sambat,  or  a.  d.  1524, 
his  marriage  in  a.  d.  1542,  the  founding  of  Amritsar  in  a.  d. 
1577,  and  his  death  in  a.  d.  1581. 

-  It  seems  doubtful  whether  Ram  Das  had  two  or  three 
sons,  Pirthi  Chand  (or  Bharut  Mai  or  Dhi  Mai),  Arjun,  and 
Mahadev,  and  also  whether  Arjun  was  older  or  younger  than 
Pirthi  Chand.  It  is  more  certain,  however,  that  Pirthi  Chand 
claimed  the  succession  on  the  death  of  his  brother,  if  not  on 
the  death  of  his  father,  and  he  was  also  indeed  accused  of 
endeavouring  to  poison  Arjun.  (Cf.  Malcom,  Sketch,  p.  30,  and 
the  Dabistan,  ii.  273.)  The  descendants  of  Pirthi  Chand  are 
still  to  be  found  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Sutlej,  especially 
at  Kot  Har  Sahai,  south  of  Ferozepore. 

:-  The  ordinary  Sikh  accounts  represent  Arjun  to  have 
taken  up  his  residence  at  Amritsar;  but  he  lived  for  some  time 
at  least  at  Taran  Taran,  which  lies  between  that  city  and  the 
junction  of  the  Beas  and  Sutlej.   (Cf.  the  Dahistan,  ii.  275.) 

^  Malcolm,  Sketch,  p.  30.  General  tradition  and  most 
writers  attribute  the  arrangement  of  the  First  Granth  to  Arjun; 
but  Angad  is  understood  to  have  preserved  many  observations 
of  Nanak,  and  Forster  (Travels,  i.  297)  states  that  Ram  Das 
compiled  the  histories  and  precepts  of  his  predecessors,  and 
annexed  a  commentary  to  the  work.  The  same  author,  mdeed 
(Travels,  i.  296  note),  also  contradictorily  assigns  the  compila- 
tion to  Angad. 


CHAP,  m  SIKH  GURUS;  ARJUN  47 

ranee  that  multitudes  even   of  divine  Brahmans  had  issi-ieoe. 
wearied  themselves  with  reading  the  Vedas,  and  had 
found  not  the  value  of  an  oil-seed  within  them.^    The  Reduces 
Guru  next  reduced  to  a  systematic  tax  the  customary  customary 
offerings  of  his  converts  or  adherents,  who,  under  his  offerings  lo 
ascendancy,  were  to  be  found  in  every  city  and  pro-  ^  systema- 
vince.     The  Sikhs  were  bound  by  social  usage,  and  ^jthl^^  ^^ 
disposed  from  reverential  feelings,  to  make  such  pre- 
sents to  their  spiritual  guide;  but  the  agents  of  Arjun 
were  spread  over  the  country  to  demand  and  receive 
the  contributions  of  the  faithful,  which  they  proceeded 
to  deliver  to  the  Guru  in  person  at  an  annual  assembly. 
Thus  the  Sikhs,  says  the  almost  contemporary  Muhsin 
Fani,   became   accustomed  to   a   regular   government.^ 
Nor  was  Arjun  heedless  of  other  means  of  acquiring  and  engages 
wealth  and  influence;  he  dispatched  his  followers  into  in  traffic, 
foreign  countries  tp  be  as  keen  in  traffic  as  they  were 
zealous  in  belief,  and  it  is  probable  that  his  transactions 
as  a  merchant  were  extensive,  although  confined  to  the 
purch'ase  of  horses  in  Turkestan.^ 

Arjun  became  famous  among  pious  devotees,  and 
his  biographers  dwell  on  the  number  of  saints  and  holy 
men  who  were  edified  by  his  instructions.  Nor  was  ho 
unheeded  by  those  in  high  station,  for  he  is  said  to 
have   refused  to  betroth  his  son  to   the  daughter   of  ^^,.^^^ 
Chandu  Shah,  the  finance  administrator  of  the  Lahore  '^^j^^g  ^j^J' 
province;  '^  and  he  further  appears  to  have  been  sought  enmity  of 
as  a  political  partisan,  and  to  have  offered  up  prayers  chandu 
for  Khusru,  the  son  of  Jahnagir,  when  in  rebellion  and  s'^^'^- 
in  temporary  possession  of  the  Punjab.    The  Guru  was  Becomes  a 

1  Adi-Granth,  in  that  portion  of  the  Suhi  chapter  written 
by  Arjun.  For  some  account  of  the  Adi,  or  First  Granth, 
see  Appendix  I. 

2  The  Dahistan,  ii.  270,  &c.  Cf.    Malcolm,    Sketch,    p.    30. 
•"  The   ordinary   Sikh   accounts  are  to   this   effect.   Cf.   the 

Dahistan,  a.  271. 

^  Cf.  Forster,  Travels,  i.  298.  The  Sikh  accounts  represent 
that  the  son  of  Arjun  was  mentioned  to  Chandu  as  a  suitable 
match  for  his  daughter,  and  that  Chandu  shghtingly  objected, 
saying,  Arjun,  although  a  man  of  name  and  wealth,  was  still 
a  begg&r,  or  one  who  received  alms.  This  v/as  reported  to 
Arjun;  he  resented  the  taunt,  and  would  not  be  reconciled  to 
the  match,  notwithstanding  the  personal  endeavours  of 
Chandu  to  appease  him  and  bring  about  the  union. 

Shah  is  a  corrupted  suffix  to  names,  extensively  adopted 
in  India.  It  is  a  Persian  word  signifying  a  king,  but  applied 
to  Muhammadan  Fakirs  as  Maharaja  is  used  by  or  towards 
Hindu  devotees.  It  is  also  used  to  denote  a  principal  merchant, 
or  as  a  corruption  of  Sahu  or  Sahukar,  and  it  is  further  used 
as  a  name  or  title,  as  a  corruption  of  Sah  or  Sahai.  The  Gond 
converi  Muhammadanism  on  the  Narbada  all  add  the  word 
Shah  "  names. 


48 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP,  III 


1581-1606 

partisan  o£ 
Prince 
Khusru  in 
rebellion. 

Imprison- 
ment   and 
death   of 
Arjun,  1606. 

Diffusion  of 
Sikhism. 

The  writings 
of  Gur  Das 
Bhulleh. 


summoned  to  the  emperor's  presence,  and  fined  and 
imprisoned  at  the  instigation  chiefly,  it  is  said,  of 
Chandu  Shah,  whose  alliance  he  had  rejected,  and  who 
represented  him  as  a  man  of  a  dangerous  ambition.^ 
Arjun  died  in  1606^  and  his  death  is  believed  to  have 
been  hastened  by  the  rigours  of  his  confinement;  but 
his  followers  piously  assert  that,  having  obtained  leave 
to  bathe  in  the  river  Ravi,  he  vanished  in  the  shallow 
stream,  to  the  fear  and  wonder  of  those  guarding  him.- 

During  the  ministry  of  Arjun  the  principles  of 
Nanak  took  a  firm  hold  on  the  minds  of  his  followers,' 
and  a  disciple  named  Gur  Das  gives  a  lofty  and  imagi- 
native view  of  the  mission  of  that  teacher,  He  regards 
him  as  the  successor  of  Vyasa  and  Muhammad,  and  as 
the  destined  restorer  of  purity  and  sanctity;  the  regene- 
rator of  a  world  afflicted  with  the  increasing  wicked- 
ness of  men,  and  with  the  savage  contentions  of  nume- 
rous sects.  He  declaims  against  the  bigotry  of  the 
Muhammadans  and  their  ready  resort  to  violence;  he 
denounces  the  asceticism  cf  the  Hindus,  and  he  urges 
all  men  to  abandon  their  evil  ways,  to  live  peacefully 
and  Virtuously,  and  to  call  upon  the  name  of  the  on'e 
true  God  to  whom  Nanak  had  borne  witness.  Arjun 
is  commonly  said  to  have  refused  to-  give  these  writings 
of  his  stern  but  fervid  disciple  a  place  in  the  Granth. 
perhaps  as  unsuited  to  the  tenor  of  Nanak's  exhorta- 
tions, which  scarcely  condemn  or  threaten  others.  The 
writings  of  Gur  Das  are,  indeed,  rather  figurative  des- 
criptions of  actual  affairs  than  simple  hymns  in  praise 

1  Dabistan,  ii.  272,  273.  The  Sikh  accounts  correspond 
sufficiently  as  to  the  fact  of  the  Guru's  arraignment,  while 
they  are  sileat  about  his  treason.  They  declare  the  emperor 
to  have  been  satisfied  of  his  sanctity  and  innocence  (generally), 
and  attribute  his  continued  imprisonment  to  Chandu's  malig- 
nity and  disobedience  of  orders.  (Cf.  Malcolm,  Sketch,  p.  32.) 
Muhsin  Fani  also  states  that  a  Muhammadan  saint  of  Thane- 
sar  was  banished  by  Jahangir .  for  aiding  Khusru  with  his 
prayers.  (Dabistan,  ii.  273.)  The  emperor  himself  simply 
states  (Memoirs,  p.  88)  that  at  Lahore  he  impaled  seven  hun- 
dred of  the  rebels,  and  on  his  way  to  that  city  he  appears 
(Memoirs,  p.  81)  to  have  bestowed  a  present  on  Shaikh  Nizam 
of  Thanesar;  but  he  may  have  subsequently  become  aware  of 
his  hostility. 

-  Cf.  Malcolm,  Sketch,  p.  33;  the  Dabistan,  ii.  272—3;  and 
Forster  Travels,  i.  298. 

A.  D.  1553  seems  the  most  probable  date  of  Arjun's  birth, 
although  one  account  places  it  as  late  as  a.  d.  1565.  Similarly 
1663  Sambat,  or  1015  Hijri,  or  a.  d.  1606,  seems  the  most  cer- 
tain date  of  his  death. 

•■'  Muhsin  Fani  observes  (Dabistan,  ii.  270)  that  in  the 
time  of  Arjun  Sikhs  were  to  be  found  everywhere  through- 
out the  country. 


CHAP.  Ill       SIKH  GURUS;  HAR  GOBIND  49 

of  God;  but  they    deserve,    attention    as    expounding  issi-ieoe. 
Nanak's  object  of  a  gradual  fusion  of  Muhammadans  Tj^g  ^.o^. 
and  Hindus  into  common  observers  of  a  new  and  a  ceptions  ot 
better  creed,  and  as  an  almost  contemporary  instance  Nanak  be- 
of  the  conversion  of  the  noble  but  obscure  idea  of  an  come  the 
individual  into  the  active  principle  of  a  multitude,  and  moving  im- 
of  the  gradual  investiture  of  a  simple  fact  with  the  ^"^^^i^.^^  ^ 
gorgeous  mythism  of  memory  and  imagination.     The  and^hj's  real 
unpretending  Nanak,  the  deplorer  of  human  frailty  and  history  a 
the  lover  of  his  fellow  men,  becomes,  in  the  mind  of  mythical 
Gur  Das  and  of  the  Sikh  people,  the  first  of  heavenly  narrative, 
powers  and  emanations,  and  the  proclaimed  instrument 
of  God  for  the  redemption  of  the  world;   and  every 
hope  and  feeling  of  the  Indian  races  is  appealed  to  in 
proof  or  in  illustration  of  the  reality  and  the  splendour 
of  his  mission.^ 

On  the  death  of  Arjun,  his  brother  Pirthi  Chand  ^^a^'  Gobind 
made  some  attempts  to  be  recognized  as  Guru,  for  the  Q^^^^^^af^^gj. 
only    son   of   the    deceased   teacher    was    young,    and  ^  disputed 
ecclesiastical  usage  has  everywhere  admitted  a  latitude  succession. 
of  succession.  But  some  suspicion  of  treachery  towards 
Arjun  appears  to  have  attached  to  him,  and  his  nephev/ 
soon  became  the  acknowledged   leader  of  the  Sikhs, 
although  Pirthi  Chand  himself  continued  to-  retain  a 
few  followers,  and  thus  sowed  the  first  fertile  seeds  of 
dissent,   or  elements  of  dispute  or  of  change,  which 
ever  increase  with  the  growth  of  a  sect  or  a  system.- 

^  The  work  of  Bhai  Gur  Das  Bhulleh,  simply  known  as 
such,  or  as  the  Gyan  Ratnavali  (Malcolm,  Sketch,  p.  30,  note), 
is  much  read  by  the  Sikhs.  It  consists  of  forty  chapters,  and 
is  written  in  different  kinds  of  verse.  Some  extracts  may  be 
seen  in  Appendix  XIX,  and  in  Malcolm,  Sketch,  p.  152,  &c. 
Gur  Das  was  the  scribe  of  Arjun,  but  his  pride  and  haughti- 
ness are  said  to  have  displeased  his  master,  and  his  compo- 
sitions were  refused  a  place  in  the  sacred  book.  Time  and 
reflection — and  the  Sikhs  add  a  miracle — made  him  sensible 
of  his  failings  and  inferiority,  and  Arjun  perceiving  his  con- 
trition, said  he  would  include  his  writings  in  the  Granth. 
But  the  final  meekness  of  Gur  Das  was  such,  that  he  himself 
declared  them  to  be  unworthy  of  such  association;  whereupon 
Arjun  enjoined  that  all  Sikhs  should  nevertheless  read  them. 
He  describes  Arjun  (Malcolm,  Sketch,  p.  30,  note)  to  have 
become  Guru  without  any  formal  investiture  or  consecration 
by  his  father,  which  may  further  mark  the  commanding 
character  of  that  teacher. 

Malcolm  {Sketch,  p.  32)  appears  to  confound  Chandu 
Shah   (or  Dhani  Chand)  with  Gur  Das. 

-  Malcolm,  Sketch,  p.  30,  and  Dabistan,  ii.  273.  These 
sectaries  were  called  Mina,  a  term  commonly  used  in  the 
Punjab,  and  which  is  expressive  of  contempt  or  opprobrium, 
as  stated  by  Muhsin  Fani.  The  proneness  to  sectarianism  among 
the  first  Christians  was  noticed  and  deprecated  by  Paul  (1 
Cor.  i.  10-13. 

4 


50 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.  Ill 


1606-40. 


Chandu 
Shah  slain 
or  put  to 
death. 
Har  Gobind 
arms  the 
Siklis  and 
becomes    a 
military 
leader. 


The  gra- 
dual modi- 
fication of 
Sikhism; 


Har  Gobind  was  not,  perhaps,  more  than  eleven  years 
of  age  at  his  father's  death,  but  he  was  moved  by  his 
followers  to  resent  the  enmity  of  Chandu  Shah,  and 
he  is  represented  either  to  have  procured  his  condem- 
nation by  the  emperor,  or  to  have  slain  him  by  open 
force  without  reference  to  authority.^  Whatever  may 
be  the  truth  about  the  death  of  Chandu  and  the  first 
years  of  Har  Gobind's  ministry,  it  is  certain  that,  in  a 
short  time,  he  became  a  military  leader  as  well  as  a 
spiritual  teacher.  Nanak  had  sanctioned  or  enjoined 
secular  occupations,  Arjun  carried  the  injunction  into 
practice,  and  the  impulse  thus  given  speedily  extended 
and  became  general.  The  temper  and  the  circumst- 
ances of  Har  Gobind  both  prompted  him  to  innovation; 
he  had  his  father's  death  to  move  his  feelings,  and  in 
surpassing  the  example  of  his  parent,  even  the  jealous 
dogma  of  the  Hindu  law,  which  allows  the  most  lowly 
to  arm  in  self-defence,  may  not  have  been  without  its 
influence  on  a  mind  acquainted  with  the  precepts  of 
Manu.-  Arjun  trafficked  as  a  merchant,  and  played 
his  part  as  a  priest  in  affairs  of  policy;  but  Har  Gobind 
grasped  a  sword,  and  marched  with  his  devoted  fol- 
lowers among  the  troops  of  the  empire,  or  boldly  led 
them  to  oppose  and  overcome  provincial  governors  or 
personal  enemies.  Nanak  had  himself  abstained  from 
animal  food,  and  the  prudent  Arjun  endeavoured  to 
add  to  his  saintly  merit  or  influence  by  a  similar  mode- 
ration; but  the  adventurous  Har  Gobind  became  a 
hunter  and  an  eater  of  flesh,  and  his  disciples  imitated 
him  in  these  robust  practices.^  The  genial  disposition 
of  the  martial  apostle  led  him  to  rejoice  in  the  compa- 
nionship of  a  camp,  in  the  dangers  of  war,  and  in  the 
excitements  of  the  chase,  nor  is  it  improbable  that  the 
policy  of  a  temporal  chief  mingled  with  the  feelings 
of  an  injured  son  and  with  the  duties  of  a  religious 
guide,  so  as  to  shape  his  acts  to  the  ends  of  his  ambi- 
tion, although  that  may  not  have  aimed  at  more  than 
a  partial  independence  under  the  mild  supremacy  of 
the  son  of  Akbar.  Har  Gobind  appears  to  have  admit- 
ted criminals  and  fugitives  among  his  followers,  and 
where  a  principle  of  antagonism  had  already  arisen, 
they  may  have  served  him  zealously  without  greatly 
reforming  the  practice  of  their  lives;  and,  indeed,  they 
are  stated  to  have  believed  that  the  faithful  Sikh  would 

1  Cf.  Forster,  Travels,  i.  298. 

2  For-  this  last  supposition,  see  Malcolm,  Sketch,  pp.  44„ 
189.  There  is  perhaps  some  straining  after  nicety  of  reason 
in  the  notion,  as  Manu's  injunction  had  long  become  obsolete 
in  such  matters,  especially  under  the  Muhammadan  supremacy. 

?•  The  Dahistan,  ii.  248,  and  Malcolm  Sketch,  p.  36. 


CHAP.  Ill       SIKH  GURUS;  HAR  GOBIND  51 

pass  unquestioned  into  heaven.^     He  had  a  stable  of  16O6-45. 
eight  hundred  horses;  three  hundred  mounted  follow- 
ers  were  constantly  in   attendance  upon  him,   and  a 
guard  of  sixty  matchlock-men  secured  the  safety  of 
his  person,  had  he  ever  feared  or  thought  of  assassina- 
tion.-    The  impulse  which  he  gave  to  the  Sikhs  was  ^^^  ^°^- 
such  as  to  separate  them  a  long  way  from  all  Hindu  ^^^*^  ^^f ^th 
sects,  and  after  the  time  of  Har  Gobind  the  'disciples'  Jkh"  from^ 
were  in  little  danger  of  relapsing  into  the  limited  merit  Hindu  dis- 
or  utility  of  monks  and  mendicants.^  senters. 

Har  Gobind  became    a   follower    of  the   Emperor  Har  Gobind 
Jahangir,  and  to  the  end  of  his  life  his  conduct  partook  ^^^'^  ^^^^^ 
as  much  of  the  military  adventurer  as  of  the  enthu-  ^'^^  '^^^' 
siastic  zealot.     He  accompanied  the-  imperial  camp  to  jahang^;^ 
Kashmir,  and- he  is  at  one  time  represented  as  in  holy 
colloquy  with  the  religious  guide  of  the  Mughal,  and 
at  another  as  involved  in  difficulties  with  the  emperor 
about  retaining  for  himself  that  money  which  he  should 
have  disbursed  to  his  troops.  He  had,  too,  a  multitude 
of  followers,  and  his  passion  for  the  chase,  and  fancied 
independence  as  a  teacher  of  men,  may  have  led  him 
to  offend  against  the  sylvan  laws  of  the  court.     The 
emperor  was  displeased,  the  fine  imposed  on  Arjun  had 
never  been  paid,  and  Har  Gobind  was  placed  as  a  pri-  is  impri- 
soner  on  scanty  food  in  the  fort  of  Gwalior.     But  the  soned, 
faithful    Sikhs    continued    to    revere    the    mysterious 
virtues  or  the  real  merits  of  their  leader.    They  flocked 
to  Gwalior,  and  bowed  themselves  before  the  walls 
which  restrained  their  persecuted  Guru,  till  at  last  the 
,"!!  prince,  moved,  perhaps,  as  much  by  superstition  as  by  ^^'^  ^^' 
pity,  released  him  from  confinement.^ 

On  the  death  of  Jahangir  in  1628,  Har  Gobind  con-  ^^^^^^^ 
tinued  in  the  employ  of  the  Muhammadan  Government, 
but  he  appears  soon  to  have  been  led  into  a  course  of 
armed  resistance  to  the  imperial  officers  in  the  Punjab,  gages  ina 
A  disciple  brought  some  valuable  horses  from  Turke-  petty  war- 
stan;  they  were  seized,  as  was  said,  for  the  emperor,  fare. 

1  The  Dabistan,  ii.  284,  286.  2  The  Dabistan,  ii.  277. 

^  See  Appendix  IX. 

^  Cf.  the  Dabistan,  ii.  273,  274,  arrd  Forster,  Travels,  i. 
298,  299.  But  the  journey  to  Kashmir,  and  the  controversy 
with  Muhammadan  saints  or  Mullas,  are  given  on  the  authority 
:of  the  native  chronicles.  Muhsin  Fani  represents  Har  Gobind 
to  have  been  imprisoned  for  twelve  years,  and  Forster  attri- 
butes his  release  to  the  intervention  of  a  Muhammadan  leader, 
iwho  had  originally  induced  him  to  submit  to  the  emperor. 

The  Emperor  Jahangir,  in  his  Memoirs,  gives  more  than 
lone  instance  of  his  credulity  and  superstitious  reverence  for 
reputed  saints  and  magicians.  See  particularly  his  Memoirs, 
ip.  129,  &c.,  where  his  visit  to  a  worker  of  wonders  is  narrated. 


dies  1628, 
and  Har 
Gobind  en- 


62 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.  Ill 


1606-45. 


Har  Gobind 
retires  to 
the  wastes 
of  Hariana. 

Returns  to 
the    Punjab. 


Slays   in 
fight  one 
Painda 
Khan,   his 
friend. 


and  one  was  conferred  as  a  gift  on  the  Kazi  or  Judge 
of  Lahore.  The  Guru  recovered  this  one  animal  by 
pretending  to  purchase  it;  the  judge  was  deceived,  and 
his  anger  was  further  roused  by  the  abduction  of,  the 
Sikhs  say  his  daughter,  the  Muhammadans  his  favou- 
rite concubine,  who  had  become  enamoured  of  the 
Guru.  Other  things  may  have  rendered  Har  Gobind 
obnoxious,  and  it  was  resolved  to  seize  him  and  to  dis- 
perse his  followers.  He  was  assailed  by  one  Mukhlis 
Khan,  but  he  defeated  the  imperial  troops  near  Amrit- 
sar,  fighting,  it  is  idly  said,  with  five  thousand  men 
against  seven  thousand.  Afterwards  a  Sikh,  a  conver- 
ted robber,  stole  two  of  the  emperor's  prime  horses 
from  Lahore,  and  the  Guru  was  again  attacked  by  the 
provincial  levies,  but  the  detachment  was  routed  and 
its  leaders  slain.  Har  Gobind  now  deemed  it  prudent 
to  retire  for  a  time  to  the  wastes  of  Bhatinda,  south  of 
the  Sutlej,  where  it  might  be  useless  or  dangerous  to 
follow  him;  but  he  watched  his  opportunity  and 
speedily  returned  to  the  Punjab,  only,  however,  to  be- 
come engaged  in  fresh  contentions.  The  mother  of  one 
Painda  Khan,  who  had  subsequently  risen  to  some 
local  eminence,  had  been  the  nurse  of  Har  Gobind,  and 
the  Guru  had  ever  been  liberal  to  his  foster  brother. 
Painda  Khan  was  moved  to  keep  to  himself  a  valuable 
hawk,  belonging  to  the  Guru's  eldest  son,  which  had 
flown  to  his  house  by  chance:  he  was  taxed  with  the 
detention  of  the  bird;  he  equivocated  before  the  Guru, 
and  became  soon  after  his  avowed  enemy.  The  pre- 
sence of  Har  Gobind  seems  ever  to  have  raised  a  com- 
motion, and  Painda  Khan  was  fixed  upon  as  a  suitable 
leader  to  coerce  him.  He  was  attacked;  but  the  warlike 
apostle  slew  the  friend  of  his  youth  with  his  own  hand, 
and  proved  again  a  victor.  In  this  action  a  soldier 
rushed  furiously  upon  the  Guru;  but  he  warded  the 
blow  and  laid  the  man  dead  at  his  feet,  exclaiming, 
'Not  so,  but  thus,  is  the  sword  used';  an  observation 
from  which  the  author  of  the  Dahistan  draws  the 
inference  'that  Har  Gobind  struck  not  in  anger,  but 
deliberately  and  to  give  instruction;  for  the  function 
of  a  Guru  is  to  teach.'  ^ 

Har  Gobind  appears  to  have  had  other  difficulties 
and  adventures  of  a  similar  kind,  "and  occasionally  to 
have  been  reduced  to  great  straits;  but  the  Sikhs 
always  rallied  round  him,  his  religious  reputation  in- 

1  See  the  Dabistan,  ii.  275;  but  native  accounts,  Sikh  and 
Muhammadan,  have  been  mainly  followed  in  narrating  the 
sequence  of  events.  Compare,  however,  the  Dabistan,  ii.  284, 
for  the  seizure  of  horses  belonging  to  a  disciple  of  the  Guru. 


his  pjnre. 


of  Sikhs 
forms  a 
separate 


CHAP.  Ill  SIKH  GURUS;  HAR  GOBIND  53 

creased  daily,  and  immediately  before  his  death  he  was  16O6-45. 
visited  by  a  famous  saint  of  the  ancient  Persian  faith.^ 
He  died  in  peace  in  1645,  at  Kiratpur  on  the  Sutlej,  a  ceath  of 
place  bestowed  upon  him  bv  the  hill  chief  of  Kahlur,  Har  Gobind 
and  the  veneration  of  his  followers  took  the  terrible  '^■°-  ^®*^- 
form  of  self-sacrifice.  A  Rajput  convert  threw  himself  seif-sacri- 
amid  the  flames  of  the  funecal  pyre,  and  walked  several  ^^^  °*  '^^- 
paces  till  he  died  at  the  feet  of  his  master.       A  Jat  I'^^^^J^ 
disciple  did  the  same,  and  others,  wrought  upon  by 
these    examples,    were    ready    to    follow,    when    Har 
Rai,  the  succeeding  Guru,  interfered  and  forbade  them.^ 

During  the  ministry    of    Har    Gobind,    the    Sikhs  The  body 
increased  greatly  in  numbers,  and  the  fiscal  policy  of 
Arjun,  and  the  armed  system  of  his  son,  had  already       _  _ 
formed  them  into  a  kind  of  separate  state  within  the  estabhsh- 
empire.     The  Guru  was,  perhaps,  not  unconscious  of  ment  within 
his  latent  influence,  when  he  played  with  the  credulity  the  empire, 
or  rebuked  the  vanity  of  his  Muhammadan  friend.  'A 
Raja  of  the  north',  said  he,  'has  sent  an  ambassador  to  Some  anec- 
ask  about  a  place  called    Delhi,    and    the    name    and  ^°^^  °^ 
parentage  of  its  king.     I  was  astonished  that  he  had  ^^  Gobmd. 
not  heard  of  the  commander  of  the  faithful,  the  lord 
of  the  ascendant,  Jahangir.'  -^    But  during  his  busy  life 
he  never  forgot    his    genuine    character,    and    always 
styled  himself  'Nanak',  in  deference  to  the  firm  belief 
of  the  Sikhs,  that  the  soul  of  their  great  teacher  ani- 

1  The  Dabistan,  ii.  280. 

-  This  is  related  on  the  authority  of  the  Dabistan,  ii.  280, 
281.  Har  Gobind's  death  is  also  given  agreeably  to  the  text 
of  the  Dabistan  as  having  occurred  on  the  3rd  Mohurrum, 
1055  Hijri,  or  on  the  19th  Feb.,  A.  D.  1645.  Malcolm,  Sketch, 
p.  37,  and  Forster,  Travels,  i.  299,  give  a.  d.  1644  as  the  exact 
or  probable  date,  obviously  from  regarding  1701  Sambat  (which 
Malcolm  also  quotes)  as  identical  throughout,  instead  of  for 
about  the  first  nine  months  only,  with  a.  d.  1644,  an  error  which 
may  similarly  apply  to  several  conversions  of  dates  in  this 
history.  The  manuscript  accounts  consulted  place  the  Guru's 
death  variously  in  a.  d.  1637,  1638,  and  1639;  but  they  lean  to 
the  middle  term.  All,  however,  mffst  be  -too  early,  as  Muhsin 
Fani  (Dabistan,  ii.  281)  says  he  saw  Har  Gobind  in  a.  d.  1643. 
Har  Gobind's  birth  is  placed  by  the  native  accounts  in  the 
early  part  of  1652  Sambat,  corresponding  with  the  middle  of 
A.  D.   1595. 

'■•  See  the  Dabistan,  ii.  276,  277.  The  friend  being  Muhsin 
Fani  himself.  The  story  perhaps  shows  that  the  Sikh  truly 
considered  the  Muhammadan  to  be  a  gossiping  and  somewhat 
credulous  person.  The  dates  would  rather  point  to  Shah 
Jahan  as  the  emperor  alluded  to  than  Jahangir,  as  given 
parenthetically  in  the  translated  text  of  the  Dabistan.  Jahangir 
died  in  a.  d.  1628,  and  Muhsin  Fani's  acquaintance  with  Har 
Gobind  appears  not  to  have  taken  place  till  towards  the  last 
years  of  the  Guru's  life,  or  till  after  a.  d.   1640. 


54 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.  Ill 


1606-45. 

His  philo- 
sophical 


Har  Rai 
succeeds    a 
Guru,   1645. 


mated  each  of  his  successors.^  So  far  as  Har  Gobind 
knew  or  thought  of  philosophy  as  a  science,  he  fell  into 
the  prevailing  views  of  the  period:  God,  he  said,  is  one, 
and  the  world  is  an  illusion,  an  appearance  without  a 
reality;  or  he  would  adopt  the  more  Pantheistic  notion, 
and'  regard  the  universe  as  composing  the  one  Being. 
But  such  reflections  did  not  occupy  his  mind  or  engage 
his  heart,  and  the  rebuke  of  a  Brahman  that  if  the 
world  was  the  same  as  God,  he,  the  Guru,  was  one  with 
the  ass  grazing  hard  by,  provoked  a  laugh  only  from 
the  tolerant  Har  Gobind.^  That  he  thought  conscience 
and  understanding  our  only  divine  guides,  may  pro- 
bably be  inferred  from  his  reply  to  one  who  declared 
the  marriage  of  a  brother  with  a  sister  to  be  forbidden 
by  the  Almighty.  Had  God  prohibited  it,  said  he,  it 
would  be  impossible  for  man  to  accomplish  it."^  His 
contempt  for  idolatry,  and  his  occasional  wide  depar- 
ture from  the  mild  and  conciliatory  ways  of  Nanak, 
may  be  judged  from  the  following  anecdote:  One  of 
his  foll^ji^ers  smote  the  nose  off  an  image;  the  several 
neighbouring  chiefs  complained  to  the  Guru,  who  sum- 
moned the  Sikh  to  his  presence;  the  culprit  denied  the 
act,  but  said  ironically,  that  if  the  god  bore  witness 
against  him,  he  would  die  willingly.  'Oh,  fool  !'  said  the 
Rajas,  'how  should  the  god  speak?'  '.It  is  plain',  ans- 
wered the  Sikh,  'who  is  the  fool;  if  the  god  cannot  save 
his  own  head,  how  will  he  avail  you?'  * 

Gurdit,  the  eldest  son  of  Har  Gobind,  had  acquired 
a  high  reputation,  but  he  died  before  his  father,  leaving 
two  sons,  one  of  whom  succeeded  to  the  apostleship."^ 

1  Cf.  the  Dahistan,  ii.  281. 

2  Cf.  the  Dabistan,  ii.  277,  279,  280. 

3  The  Dabistan,  ii.  280.  [Cicero  seems  to  have  almost  as 
high  an  opinion  of  the  functions  of  conscience.  It  points  out 
to  us,  he  says,  without  Divine  assistance,  the  difference  bet- 
ween virtue  and  vice.  (Nature  of  the  Gods,  Francklin's 
translation,   p.   213.) — J.D.C.] 

•»  The  Dabistan,  ii.  276. 

«'>  For  some  allusions  to  Gurdit  or  Gurditta,  see  the  Dabis- 
tan, ii.  281,  282.  His  memory  is  yet  fondly  preserved,  and 
many  anecdotes  are  current  of  his  personal  strength  and 
dexterity.  His  tomb  is  at  Kiratpur,  on  the  Sutlej,  and  it  has 
now  become  a  place  of  pilgrimage.  In  connexion  with  his 
death,  a  story  is  told,  which  at  least  serves  to  mark  the  aver- 
sion of  the  Sikh  teachers  to  claim  the  obedience  of  the  multi- 
tude by  an  assumption  of  miraculous  powers.  Gurditta  had 
raised  a  slaughtered  cow  to  life,  on  the  prayer,  some  say,  of 
a  poor  man  the  owner,  and  his  father  was  displeased  that  he 
should  so  endeavour  to  glorify  himself.  Gurditta  said  that  as 
a  life  was  required  by  God,  and  as  he  had  withheld  one,  he 
would  yield  his  own;  whereupon  he  lay  down  and  gave  up  his 
spirit.  A  similar  story  is  told  of  Atal  Rai,  the  youngest  son 
of  Har  Gobind,  who  had  raised  the  child  of  a  sorrowing  widow 


CHAP.  Ill  SIKH  GURUS;  HAR  RAI  o5 

Har  Rai,  the  new  Guru,  remained  at  Kiratpur  for  a  1645-61. 
time,  until  the  march  of  troops  to  reduce  the  Kahlur      '^ — 
Raja  to  obedience  induced  him  to  remove  eastward 
into  the  district  of  Sarmor.^     There  he  also  remained 
in  peace  until  he  was  induced,  in  1658-9,  to  take  part, -Becomes  a 
of  a  nature  not  distinctly  laid  down,  with  Dara  Shikoh,  political 
in  the  struggle  between  him  and  his  brothers  for  the  partisan, 
empire  of  India.     Dara  failed,  his  adherents  became 
rebels,  and  Har  Rai  had  to  surrender  his  elder  son  as 
a  hostage.  The  youth  was  treated  with  distinction  and 
soon  released,  and  the  favour  of  the  politic  Aurangzeb 
is  believed  to  have  roused  the  jealousy  of  the  father.^ 
But  the  end  of  Har  Rai  was  at  hand,  and  he  died  at  Dies  a.  d. 
Kiratpur  in  the  year  1661.^     His  ministry. was  mild,  i^ei. 
yet  such  as  won  for  him  general  respect;  and  many  of 
the  'Bhais',  or  brethren,  the  descendants  of  the  chosen 
companions  of  a  Guru,  trace  their  descent  to  one  dis- 
ciple or  other  distinguished  by  Har  Rai.^    Some  sects, 
also  of  Sikhs,  who  affect  more  than  ordinary  precision, 
had  their  origin  during  the  peaceful  supremacy  of  this 
Guru.^ 

to  life.  His  father  reproved  him,  saying  Gurus  should  dis- 
play their  powers  in  purity  of  doctrine  and  holiness  of  living. 
The  youth,  or  child  as  some  say,  replied  as  Gurditta  had  done, 
and  died.  His  tomb  is  in  Amritsar,  and  is  likewise  a  place 
deemed  sacred. 

Gurditta's  younger  son  was  named  Dhirmal,.  and  his  des- 
cendants are  still  to  be  found  at  Kartarpur,  in  the  JuUundur 
Doab. 

1  See  the  Dabistan,  ii.  282.  The  place  meant  seems  to  be 
Taksal  or  Tangsal,  near  the  present  British  station  of  Kasauli  to 
the  northward  of  Ambala. 

The  important  work  of  Muhsin  Fani  brings  down  the 
history  of  the  Sikhs  to  this  point  only. 

-  The  Guru's  leaning  towards  Dara  is  given  on  the  autho- 
rity of  native  accounts  only,  it  is  highly  probable  in  itself, 
considering  Dara's  personal  character  and  religious  principles. 

^  The  authorities  mostly  agree  as  to  the  date  of  Har  Rai's 
death,  but  one  account  places  it  in  a.  d.  1662.  The  Guru's  birth 
is  differently  placed  in  1628  and  1629. 

4  Of  these  Bhai  Bhagtu,  the  founder  of  the  Kaithal  family, 
useful  partisans  of  Lord  Lake,  but  now  reduced  to  comparative 
insignificance  under  the  operation  of  the  British  system  of 
escheat,  was  one  of  the  best  known.  Dharam  Singh,  the  ances- 
tor of  the  respectable  Bhais  of  Bagrian,  a  place  between  the 
Sutlej  and  Jumna,  was  likewise  a  follower  of  Har  Rai. 

Nowadays  the  title  of  Bhai  is  in  practice  frequently  given 
to  any  Sikh  of  eminent  sanctity,  whether  his  ancestor  were  the 
companion  of  a  Guru  or  not.  "The  Bedis  and  Sodhis,  however, 
confine  themselves  to,  the  distinctive  names  of  their  tribes,  or 
the  Bedis  call  themselves  Baba  or  father,  and  the  Sodhis  some- 
times arrogate  to  themselves  the  title  of  Guru,  as  the  represent- 
atives of  Gobind  and  Ram  Das. 

5  Of  these  sects  the  Suthris  or  the  Suthra-Shahis  are  the 
best  known.     Their  founder  was  one  Sucha,  -a  Brahman,  and 


56 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.  Ill 


161J1-6-4. 

Har  Kishan 

succeeds, 

1661. 


Dies  1664. 

Tegh    Baha- 
dur suc- 
ceeds as 
ninth  Guru, 
1664. 


Ram  Rai 
d.sputes 
his    claims. 


Har  Rai  left  two  sons,  Ram  Rai,  about  fifteen,  and 
Har  Kishan,  about  six  years  of  age;  but  the  elder  was 
the  offspring  of  a  handmaiden,  and  not  of  a  wife  of 
equal  degree,  and  Har  Rai  is  further  said  to  have  de- 
clared the  younger  his  successor.  The  disputes  between 
the  partisans  of  the  two  brothers  ran  high,  and  the 
decision  was  at  last  referred  to  the  emperor.  Aurangzeb 
may  have  been  willing  to  allow  the  Sikhs  to  choose 
their  own  Guru,  as  some  accounts  have  it,  but  the  more 
cherished  tradition  relates  that,  being  struck  with  the 
child's  instant  recognition  of  the  empress  among  a 
number  of  ladies  similarly  arrayed,  he  declared  the 
right  of  Har  Kishan  to  be  indisputable,  and  he  was 
accordingly  recognized  as  head  of  the  Sikhs:  but  before 
the  infant  apostle  could  leave  Delhi,  he  was  attacked 
with  small-pox,  and  died,  in  1664,  at  that  place.^ 

When  Har  Kishan  was  about  to  expire,  he  is  stated 
to  have  signified  that  his  successor  would  be  found  in 
the  village  of  Bakala,  near  Goindwal,  on  the  Beas  river. 
In  this  village  there  were  many  of  Har  Gobind's  rela- 
tives, and  his  son,  Tegh  Bahadur,  after  many  wander- 
ings and  a  long  sojourn  at  Patna,  on  the  Ganges,  had 
taken  up  his  residence  at  the  same  place.  Ram  Rai 
continued  to  assert  his  claims,  but  he  never  formed  a 
large  party,  and  Tegh  Bahadur  was  generally  acknow- 
ledged as  the  leader  of  the  Sikhs.  The  son  of  Har 
Gobind  was  rejoiced,  but  he  said  he  was  unworthy  to 
wear  his  father's  sword,  and  in  a  short  time  his  supre- 
macy and  his  life  were  both  endangered  by  the  machi- 
nations of  Ram  Rai,  and  perhaps  by  his  own  suspicious 
proceedings.-     He  was  summoned  to  Delhi  as   a  pre- 

they  have  a  st'han  or  dera,  or  place  under  the  walls  of  the 
citadel  of  Lahore.  (Cf.  Wilson,  As.  Res.,  xvii.  236.)  The  name, 
or  designation,  means  simply  the  pure.  Another  follower  of 
Har  Rai  was  a  Khattri  trader,  named  Fattu,  who  got  the  title, 
or  adopted  the  name  of  Bhai  P'hiru,  and  who,  according  to 
the  belief  of  some  people,  became  the  real  founder  of  the 
Udasis. 

1  Cf.  Malcolm,  Sketch,  p.  38,  and  Forster,  Travels,  i.  299. 
One  native  account  places  Har  Kishan's  death  in  a.  d.  1666,  but 
1664  seems  the  preferable  date.  His  birth  took  place  in  a.  d. 
1656. 

-  Cf.,  generally,  Malcolm,  Sketch,  p.  38;  Forster,  Travels, 
i.  299;  and  Browne's  India  Tracts,  ii.  3,  4.  Tegh  Bahadur's  re- 
fusal to  wear  the  sword  of  his.  father  is  given,  however,  on  the 
authority  of  manuscript  native  accounts,  which  likewise  furnish 
a.  story,  showing  the  particular  act  which  led  to  his  recognition 
as  Guru.  A  follower  of  the  sect,  named  Makhan  Sah  (or  Shah), 
who  was  passing  through  Bakala,  wished  to  make  an  offering 
to  the  Guru  of  his  faith,  but  he  was  perplexed  by  the  number 
of  claimants.  His  offering  was  to  be  525  rupees  in  all,  but  the 
amount  was  known  to  him  alone,  and  he  silently  resolved  to 


CHAP.  Ill     SIKH  GURUS;  TEGH  BAHADUR  57 

tender  to  power  and  as  a  disturber  of  the  peace,  but  1664-75. 
he  had  found  a  Hstener    in    the  chief    of    Jaipur;    the 
Rajput  advocated  his  cause,    saying    such    holy    men 
rather  went  on  pilgrimages  than  aspired  to  sovereignty, 
and  he  would  take  him  with  him  on  his  approaching 
march   to   Bengal.^     Tegh   Bahadur   accompanied    the 
Raja  to  the  eastward.    He  again  resided  for  a  time  at  Tegh  Baha- 
Patna,  but  afterwards  joined  the  army,  to  bring  sue-  ^^^  retires 
cess,  says  the  chronicler,  to  the  expedition  against  the  ^Q^^png'^i^ 
chiefs  of  Assam.     He  meditated  on  the  banks  of  the 
Brahmaputra,  and  he  is  stated  to  have  convinced  the 
heart  of  the  Raja  of  Kamrup,  and  to  have  made  him  a 
believer  in  his  mission.^ 

After  a  time  Tegh  Bahadur  returned  to  the  Pun-  Tegh  Baha- 
jab,  and  bought    a  piece    of    ground,    now    known    as  ^^  ^^- 
Makhowal,  on  the  banks  of  the    Sutlej,    and    close  to  *JJe"pJ°jab 
Kiratpur,  the  chosen  residence  of  his  father.     But  the 
hostility   and  the  influence  of  Ram  Rai  still  pursued 
him,  and  the  ordinary  Sikh  accounts  represent  him,  a 
pious  and  innocent  instructor  of  men,  as  once  more 
arraigned  at  Delhi  in  the  character  of  a  criminal:  but 
the  truth  seems  to  be  that  Tegh  Bahadur  followed  the 
example  of  his  father  with  unequal  footsteps,  and  that, 
choosing  for  his  haunts  the  wastes  between  Hansi  and  Leads  a  life 
the  Sutlej,  he  subsisted  himself  and  his  disciples  by  "^^'"^^"q''^' 
plunder,  in  a  way,  indeed,  that  rendered  him  not  un-  s^ainedTo 
popular   with   the   peasantry.   He   is   further    credibly  appear  at 
represented  to    have    leagued    with    a    Muhammadan  Delhi, 
zealot,  named  Adam  Hafiz,  and  to  have  levied  contri- 
butions upon  rich  Hindus,  while  his  confederate  did 
the  same    upon    wealthy    Musalmans.     They    gave    a 

give  a  rupee  to  each,  and  to  hail  him  as  Guru  who  should  (from 
intuition)  claim  the  remainder.  Tegh  Bahadur  demanded  the 
balance,  and  so  on. 

1  Forster  and  Malcolm,  who  follow  native  Indian  account.*;, 
both  give  Jai  Singh  as  the  name  of  the  prince  who  countenanc- 
ed Tegh  Bahadur,  and  who  went  to  Bengal  on  an  expedition; 
but  one  manuscript  account  refers  to  Bir  Singh  as  the  friendly 
chief.  Tod  {Rajasthan.  ii.  355)  says  Ram  Singh,  the  son' of  the 
first  Jai  Singh,  went  to  Assam,  but  he  is  silent  about  his  actions. 
It  is  not  unusual  in  India  to  talk  of  eminent  men  as  living, 
although  long  since  dead,  as  a  Sikh  will  now  say  he  is  Ranjit 
Singh's  soldier:  and  it  is  probable  that  Ram  Singh  was  nomi- 
nally forgotten,  owing  to  the  fame  of  his  father,  the  'Mirza 
Raja',  and  even  that  the  Sikh  chroniclers  of  the  early  part  of 
the  last  century  confounded  the  first  with  the  second  of  the 
name,  their  contemporary  Sawai  Jai  Singh,  the  noted  astrono- 
mer and  patron  of  the  learned.  Malcolm  (Sketch,  p.  39),  who, 
perhaps,  copies  Forster  (Travels,  i.  299,  300),  says  Tegh  Baha- 
dur was,  at  this  time,  imprisoned  for  two  years. 

-  These  last  two  clauses  are  almost  wholly  on  the  authoritj' 
of  a  manuscript  Gurmukhi  summary  of  Tegh  Bahadur's  life. 


58  HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS  chap,  hi 

1664-75.  ready  asylum  to  all  fugitives,  and  their  power  inter- 

"'  fered  with  the  prosperity  of  the  country;  the  imperial 

troops  marched  against  them,  and  they  were  at  last 

defeated  and  made  prisoners.  The  Muhammadan  saint 

#  was  banished,  but  Aurangzeb  determined  that  the  Sikh 

should  be  put  to  death. ^ 

When  Tegh  Bahadur  was  on  his  way  to  Delhi,  he 
sent  for  his  youthful  son,  and  girding  upon  him  the 
sword  of  Har  Gobind,  he  hailed  him  as  the  Guru  of 
the  Sikhs.  He  told  him  he  was  himself  being  led  to 
death,  he  counselled  him  not  to  leave  his  body  a  prey 
to  dogs,  and  he  enjoined  upon  him  the  necessity  and 
the  merit  of  revenge.  At  Delhi,  the  story  continues, 
he  was  summoned  before  the  emperor,  and  half-insult- 
ingly,  half-credulously,  told  to  exhibit  miracles  in  prqof 
of  the  alleged  divinity  of  his  mission.  Tegh  Bahadur 
answered  that  the  duty  of  man  was  to  pray  to  the  Lord; 
yet  he  would  do  one  thing,  he  would  write  a  charm, 
and  the  sword  should  fall  harmless  on  the  neck  around 
which  it  was  hung.  He  placed  it  around  his  own  neck 
and  inclined  his  head  to  the  executioner:  a  blow 
severed  it,  to  the  surprise  of  a  court  tinged  with  super- 
stition, and  upon  the  paper  was  found  written,  "Sir  Dia, 
Sirr  na  dia,' — he  had  given  his  head  but  not  his  secret; 
his  life  was  gone,  but  his  inspiration  or  apostolic  virtue 
still  remained  in  the  world.  Such  is  the  narrative  of 
a  rude  and  wonder-loving  people;  yet  it  is  more  certain 
Tegh  that  Tegh  Bahadur  was  put  to  death  as  a  rebel  in  1675, 

pahadur  gj^^   ^h^t   the   stern   and  bigoted   Aurangzeb   had  the 

body  of  the  unbeliever  publicly  exposed  in  the  streets 
of  Delhi.2 


'it  to 
dectth, 
1675. 


1  The  author  of  the  Siar  ul  Mutakharin  (i.  112,  113)  men- 
tions these  predatory  or  insurrectionary  proceedings  of  Tegh 
Bahadur,  and  the  ordinary  manuscript  compilations  admit  that 
such  charges  were  made,  but  deprecate  a  belief  in  them.  For 
Makhowal  the  Guru  is  said  to  have  paid  500  rupees  to  the  Raja 
of  Kahlur. 

-  All  the  accounts  agree  that  Tegh  Bahadur  was  ignomi- 
niously  put  to  death.  The  end  of  the  year  a.d.  1675 — as  Maugsar 
is  sometimes  given  as  the  month — seems  the  most  certain  date 
of  his  execution.  His  birth  is  differently  placed  in  a.d.  1612  and 
1621.  [It  was  on  this  occasion  that  the  famous  prophecy  on  the 
ultimate  sovereignty  of  the  white  race  in  Delhi  is  said  to  have 
been  uttered  (though  some  modern  critics  consider  it  a.  later 
invention).  'I  see',  he  said  dauntlessly  to  the  emperor,  'a  power 
rising  in  the  W^st  which  will  sweep  your  empire  into  the  dust.' 
His  body  was  quartered  and  hung  before  the  city  gates;  but  the 
Sikhs  never  forgot  his  prophetic  words.  They  have  accounted 
largely  for  Sikh  loyalty  to  British  rule;  and  they  were  on  the 
lips  of  the  gallant  Punjab  regiments  before  Delhi  in  1857  when 
at  last  they  avenged  in  blood  the  martyrdom  of  their  leader 
(Rawlinson,  Indian  Historical  Studies,  p.  177,  and  Macauliffe, 


CHAP.  Ill  SIKH  GURUS;  GOBIND  59 

Tegh  Bahadur  seems  to  have  been  of  a  character  1675-1708. 
hard  and  moody,  and  to  have  wanted  both  the  genial  Te^rBaha 
temper  of  his  father  and  the  lofty  mind  of  his  son.  Yet  dur-s  char- 
his  own  example  powerfully  aided  in  making  the  dis-  acter  and 
ciples  of  Nanak  a  martial  as  well  as  a  devotional  people,  influence. 
His  reverence  for  the  sword  of  his  father,  and  his  re- 
peated injunction  that  his  disciples  should  obey   the 
bearer  of  his  arrows,  show  more  of  the  kingly  than  of 
the  priestly   spirit;    and,  indeed,   about  this  'time  the 
Sikh  Gurus  came  to  talk  of  themselves,  and  to  be  re- 
garded by  their  followers  as  'Sachcha  Padshahs',  or  as  The  title 
'veritable  kings',  meaning,  perhaps,  that  they  governed  'True  king 
by  just  influence  and  not  by  the  force  of  arms,  or  that  ^pp"^^  to 
they  guided  men  to  salvation,  while  others  controlled  ^^^  ^"'""'' 
their   worldly   actions.   But   the   expression    could   be 
adapted  to  any  circumstances,  and  its  mystic  applica- 
tion seems  to  have  preyed  upon  and  perplexed  the 
minds  of  the  Mughal  princes,  while  it  illustrates  the 
assertion  of  an  intelligent  Muhammadan  v/riter,  that 
Tegh  Bahadur,  being  at  the  head  of  many  thousand 
men,  aspired  to  sovereign  power.^ 

When  Tegh  Bahadur  was  put  to  death,  his  only  Gobmd 
son  was  in  his  fifteenth  year.    The  violent  end  and  the  succeeds 
last  injunction  of  the  martyr  Guru  made  a  deep  im-  *°  ^^^ 
pression  on  the  mind  of  GolDind,  and  in  brooding  over  ^^fr!*^?^ 
his  own  loss  and  the  fallen  condition  of  his  country,  he 
became   the    irreconcilable    foe  of    the    Muhammadan 
name,  and  conceived  the  noble  idea  of  moulding  the 
vanquished  Hindus  into  a  new  and  aspiring  people.  But 
Gobind  was  yet  young,  the  government  was  suspicious 
of  his  followers,  and  among  the  Sikhs  themselves  there 
were  parties  inimical  to  the  son  of  Tegh  Bahadur.  His 
friends  were  therefore  satisfied  that  the  mutilated  body 
of  the  departed  Guru  was  recovered  by  the  zeal  and 
dexterity  of  some  humble  disciples,^  and  that  the  son 

vol.  i,  Preface,  pp.  xiii-xviii  and  vol.  iv,  381).  The  story  is 
related  by  two  Sikh  authors. — Ed.] 

1  Saiyid  Ghulam  Husain,  the  author  of  the  Siar  ul  Mutak- 
harin  (i.  112),  is  the  writer  referred  to. 

Browne,  in  his  India  Tracts  (ii.  2,  3),  and  who  uses  a 
compilation,  attributes  Aurangzeb's  resolution  to  put  Tegh 
Bahadur  to  death,  to  his  assumption  of  the  character  of  a  'true 
king',  and  to  his  use  of  the  title  of  'Bahadur',  expressive  of 
valour,  hirth,  and  dignity.  The  Guru,  in  the  narrative  referred 
to,  disavows  all  claim  to  miraculous  powers.  For  some  remarks 
on  the  term  'Sachcha  Padshah',  see  Appendix  XIII. 

Tegh  Bahadur's  objections  to  wear  his  father's  sword,  and 
his  injunction  to  reverence. his  arrows,  that  is,  to  heed  what  the 
bearer  of  them  should  say,  are  given  on  native  authority. 

?  Certain  men  of  the  unclean  and  despised  caste  of  Sweep- 
ers were  dispatched  to  Delhi  to  bring  away  the  dispersed  limbs 


ship.    1675 


60 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.  Ill 


1675-1708. 

But  lives  in 
retirement 
tor   several 
years. 


Gobind's 
character 
becomes 
developed. 


Her  resolves 
on  modify- 
ing the 
system   of 
Nanak,  and 
on  combat- 
ing the  Mu- 
hammadan 
faith  and 
power. 

Gobind's 
views  and 
TTiolives; 


himself  performed  the  funeral  rites  so  essential  to  the 
welfare  of  the  living  and  the  peace  of  the  dead.  Gobind 
was  placed  in  retirement  amid  the  lower  hills  on  either 
side  of  the  Jumna,  and  for  a  series  of  years  he  occupied 
himself  in  hunting  the  tiger  and  wild  boar,  in  acquiring 
a  knowledge  of  the  Persian  language,  and  in  storing 
his  mind  with  those  ancient  legends  which  describe 
the  mythic  glories  of  his  race.^ 

In  this  obscurity  Gobind  remained  perhaps  twenty 
years;  -  but  his  youthful  promise  gathered  round  him 
the  disciples  of  Nanak,  he  was  acknowledged  as  the 
head  of  the  Sikhs,  the  adherents  of  Ram  Rai  declined 
into  a  sect  of  dissenters,  and  the  neighbouring  chiefs 
became  impressed  with  a  high  sense  of  the  Guru  s 
superiority  and  a  vague  dread  of  his  ambition.  But 
Gobind  ever  dwelt  upon  the  fate  of  his  father,  and  "the 
oppressive  bigotry  of  Aurangzeb;  study  and  reflection 
had  enlarged  his  mind,  experience  of  the  world  had 
matured  his  judgement,  and,  under  the  mixed  impulse 
of  avenging  his  own  and  his  country's  wrongs,  he  re- 
solved upon  awakening  his  followers  to  a  new  life, 
and  upon  giving  precision  and  aim  to  the  broad  and 
general  institutions  of  Nanak.  In  the  heart  of  a  power- 
ful empire  he  set  himself  to  the  task  of  subverting  it, 
and  from  the  midst  of  social  degradation  and  religious 
corruption,  he  called  up  simplicity  of  manners,  single- 
ness of  purpose,  and  enthusiasm  of  desire."^ 

of  Tegh  Bahadur,  and  it  is  said  they  partly  owed  their  success 
to  the  exertions  of  that  Makhan  Shah,  who  had  been  the  first 
to  hail  the  deceased  as  Guru. 

1  The  accounts  mostly  agree  as  to  this  seclusion  and 
occupation  of  Gobind  during  his  early  manhood;  but  Forster 
(Travels,  i.  301)  and  also  some  Gurumukhi  accounts,  state  that 
he  was  taken  to  Patna  in  the  first  instance,  and  that  he  lived 
there  for  some  time  before  he  retired  to  the  Srinagar  hills. 

2  The  period  is  nowhere  definitely  given  by  English  or 
Indian  writers;  but  from  a  comparison  of  dates  and  circum- 
stances, it  seems  probable  that  Gobind  did  not  take  upon  him- 
self a  new  and  special  character  as  a  teacher  of  men  until  about 
the  thirty-fifth  year,  or  until  the  year  1695  of  Christ.  A  Sikh 
author,  indeed,  quoted  by  Malcolm  (Sketch,  p.  186,  note) 
makes  Gobind's  reforms  date  from  a.d.  1696;  but  contradictorily 
one  or  more  of  Gobind's  sayings  or  writings  are  made  to  date 
about  the  same  period  from  the  south  of  India,  whither  he  pro- 
ceeded only  just  before  his  death. 

■'5  The  ordinary  accounts  represent  Gobind,  as  they  repre- 
sent his  grandfather,  to  have  been  mainly  moved  to  wage  war 
against'Muhammadans  by  a  desire  of  avenging  the  death  of  his 
parent.  It  would  be  unreasonable  to  deny  to  Gobind  the  merit 
of  other  motives  likewise;  but,  doubtless,  the  fierce  feeling  in 
question  strongly  impelled  him  in  the  prosecution  of  his  lofty 
and  comprehensive  design.  The  sentiment  is  indeed  common  to 
all  times  and  places  :  it  is  as  common  in  the  present  Indian  as 


CHAP.  Ill  SIKHISM  UNDER  GOBIND  (51 

Gobind  was  equally  bold,  systematic,  and  sanguine;  1675-1708. 
but  it  is  not  necessary  to  suppose  him  either  an  un- 
scrupulous impostor  or  a  self-deluded  enthusiast.     He 
thought  that  the  minds  of  men  might  be  wrought  upon 
to  great  purposes,  he  deplored  the  corruption  of  the 
worid,  he  resented  the  tyranny  which  endangered  his 
own  life,    and    he    believed    the  time    had    come    for 
another  teacher  to  arouse  the  latent  energies  of  the 
human  will.     His  memory   was  filled  with  the  deeds 
of  primaeval  seers  and  heroes;  his  imagination  dwelt 
on  successive  dispensations  for  the  instruction  of  the 
world,  and  his  mind  was  not  perhaps  untinged  with  a 
superstitious  belief  in  his  own  earthly  destiny. ^    In  an 
extant  and  authentic  composition,^  he  traces  his  mortal  and  mode 
descent  to  ancient  kings,  and  he  extols  the  piety  of  his  of  present- 
immediate  parents  which  rendered  them  acceptable  to  ^^^  ^''^^ 
God.     But  his  own  unembodied  soul,  he  says,  reposed  "^'^^i""- 
in  bliss,  wrapt  in  meditation,  and  it  murmured  that  it 
should  appear  on  earth  even  as  the  chosen  messenger 
of  the  Lord — the  inheritor  of  the  spirit  of  Nanak,  trans- 
mitted to  him  as  one  lamp  imparts  its  flame  to  another.^ 

it  was  in  the  ancient  European  world;  and  even  the  'most 
Christian  of  poets'  has  used  it  without  rebuke  to  justify  the 
anger  of  a  shade  in  Hades,  and  his  own  sympathy  as  a  mortal 
man  yet  dwelling  in  the  world  : 

'Oh  guide  beloved  ! 
His  violent  death  yet  unavenged,  said  I, 
By  any  who  are  partners  in  his  shame 
Made  him  contemptuous;  therefore,  as  I  think, 
He  passed  me  speechless  by,  and  doing  so 
Hath  made  me  more  compassionate  his  fate.' 

Dante,  Hell,  xxix.  Gary's  translation. 
1  The  persuasion  of  being  moved  by  something  more  than 
the  mere  human  will  and  reason,  does  not  necessarily  imply 
delusion  or  insanity  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  the  term,  and  the 
belief  is  everywhere  traceable  as  one  of  the  phenomena  of 
'mind',  both  in  the  creation  of  the  poet  and  in  the  recorded 
experience  of  actual  life.  Thus  the  reader  will  remember  the 
'unaccustomed  spirit'  of  Romeo,  and  the  'rebuked  genius'  of 
Macbeth,  as  well  as  the  'star'  of  Napoleon;  and  he  will  call  to 
mind  the  'martial  transports'  of  Ajax  infused  by  Neptune,  as 
well  as  the  'daemon'  of  Socrates  and  the  'inspiration'  of  the 
holy  men  of  Israel. 

-  The  Vichitr  Natak,  or  Wondrous  Tale,  which  forms  a 
portion  of  the  Daswin  Padshah  ka  Granth,  or  Book  of  the  Tenth 
King. 

^  The  reader  will  contrast  what  Virgil  says  of  the  shade  of 
Rome's  'great  emperor',  with  the  devoted  Quietism  of  the  Indian 
reformer  : 

'There  mighty  Caesar  waits  his  vital  hour, 
Impatient  for  the  world,  and  grasps  his  promised  power.' 

Aeneid,  vi. 
He  will  also  call  to  mind  the  sentiment  of  Milton,  which  the 
more  ardent  Gobind  has  greatly  heightened. 


62 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP,  in 


1675-1708. 


The  religions 
of  the  world 
held  to  be 
corrupt, 
and  a  new 
dispensa- 
tion to  have 
been    vou- 
chsafed. 

The  legend 
regarding 
Gobind's 
reforma- 
tion of  the 
sect  of 
Nanak. 


He  describes  how  the  'Daityas'  had  been  vainly  sent 
to  reprove  the  wickedness  of  man,  and  how  the  suc- 
ceeding 'Devtas'  procured  worship  for  themselves  as 
Siva  and  Brahma  and  Vishnu.  How  the  Siddhs  had 
established  diverse  sects,  how  Gorakhnath  and  Rama- 
nand  introduced  other  modes,  and  how  Muhan  mad 
had  required  men  to  repeat  his  own  name  when 
beseeching  the  Almighty.  Each  perversely,  continues 
Gobind,  established  ways  of  his  own  and  misled  the 
world,  but  he  himself  had  come  to  declare  a  perfect 
faith,  to  extend  virtue,  and  to  destroy  evil.  Thus,  he 
said,  had  he  been  manifested,  but  he  was  only  as  other 
men,  the  servant  of  the  supreme,  a  beholder  of  the 
wonders  of  creation,  and  whosoever  worshipped  him 
as  the  Lord  should  assuredly  burn  in  everlasting  flame. 
The  practices  of  Muhammadans  and  Hindus  he  decla- 
red to  be  of  no  avail,  the  reading  of  Korans  and  Purans 
was  all  in  vain,  and  the  votaries  of  idols  and  the  wor- 
shippers of  the  dead  could  never  attain  to  bliss.  God, 
he  said,  was  not  to  be  found  in  texts  or  in  modes,  but 
in  humility  and  sincerity.^ 

Such  is  Gobind's  mode  of  presenting  his  mission; 
but  his  followers  have  extended  the  allegory,  and  have 
variously  given  an  earthly  blose  to  his  celestial  vision. 
He  is  stated  to  have  performed  the  most  austere  devo- 
tions at  the  fane  of  the  goddess-mother  of  mankind 
on  the  summit  of  the  hill  named  Naina,  and  to  have 
asked  how  in  the  olden  times  the  heroic  Arjun  trans- 
pierced multitudes  with  an  arrow.  He  was  told  that 
by  prayer  and  sacrifice  the  power  had  been  attained. 
He  invited  from  Benares  a  Brahman  of  great  fame  for 
piety  and  for  power  over  the  unseen  world.  He  him- 
self carefully  consulted  the  Vedas,  and  he  called  upon 
his  numerous  disciples  to  aid  in  the  awful  ceremony 
he  was  about  to  perform.  Before  all  he  makes  success- 
ful trial  of  the  virtue  of  the  magician,  and  an  ample 
altar  is  labouriously  prepared  for  the  Horn,  or  burnt 
offering.  He  is  told  that  the  goddess  will  appear  to 
him,  an  armed  shade,  and  that,  undaunted,  he  should 
hail  her  and  ask  for  fortune.  The  Guru,  terror-struck, 
could  but  advance  his  sword,  as  if  in  salutation  to  the 

'He  asked,  but  all  the  heavenly  quire  stood  mute. 
And  silence  was  in  heaven:   on  man's  behalf, 
Patron  or  intercessor  none  appeared.' 
Until  Christ  himself  said — 

'Account  me  man,  I  for  his  sake  will  leave 
Thy  bosom,  and  this  glory  next  to  thee 
Freely  put  off.' — Paradise  Lost,  iii. 
1  Cf.  the  extracts  given  by  Malcolm  from  the  Vichitr  Natak 
(Sketch,  p.  173,  &c.) 


CHAP.  Ill         SIKHISM  UNDER  GOBIND  63 

dread  appearance.  The  goddess  touched  it  in  token  of  1675-1708. 
acceptance,  and  a  divine  weapon,  an  axe  of  iron,  was 
seen  amid  the  flames.  The  sign  was  declared  to  ba 
propitious,  but  fear  had  rendered  the  sacrifice  incom- 
plete, and  Gobind  must  die  himself,  or  devote  to  death 
one  dear  to  him,  to  ensure  the  triumph  of  his  faitn. 
The  Guru  smiled  sadly;  he  said  he  had  yet  much  to 
accomplish  in  this  world,  and  that  his  father's  spirit 
was  still  unappeased.  He  looked  towards  his  children, 
but  maternal  affection  withdrew  them:  tvv'-enty-five 
disciples  then  sprang  forward  and  declared  their  readi- 
ness to  perish;  one  was  gladdened  by  being  chosen, 
and  the  fates  were  satisfied.^ 

Gobind  is  next  represented  to  have  again  assem-  The  prin- 
bled  his  followers,  and  made  known  to  them  the  great  cipies  in- 
objects  of  his  mission.    A  new  faith  had  been  declared,  cuicated  by 
and  henceforth  the  'Khalsa'-,  the  saved  or  liberated,-  *^°^',"^' 
should   alone   prevail.     God   must   be   worshipped   in  ^^^ 
truthfulness  and  sincerity,  but  no  material  resemblance  ^^'^  forms 
must  degrade  the  Omnipotent;  the  Lord  could  only  be  00/^3'  o^e 
beheld  by  the  eye  of  faith  in  the  general  body  of  the 
Khalsa.'^    All,  he  said,  must  become  as  one;  the  lowest  au  men  are 
were  equal  with  the  highest;  caste  must  be  forgotten;  equal, 
they  must  accept  the  'Pahul'  or  initiation  from  him,'*  ^"^"^^^^^^f^^^ 
and  the  four  races  must  eat  as  one  out  of  one  vessel 
The  Turks  must  be  destroyed,  and  the  graves  of  those 
called  saints  neglected.    The  ways  of  the  Hindus  must 

1  This  legend  is  given  with  several  variations,  and  one  may 
be  seen  in  Malcolm  (Sketch,  p.  53,  note)  and  another  in  Mac- 
gregor's  History  of  the  Sikhs  (i.  71).  Perhaps  the  true  origin  of 
the  myth  is  to  be  found  in  Gobind's  reputed  vision  during  sleep 
of  the  great  goddess.  (Malcolm,  p.  187.)  The  occurrence  is 
placed  in  the  year  a.d.  1696.  (Malcolm,  Sketch,  p.  86.) 

2  Khalsa,  or  Khalisa,  is  of  Arabic  derivation,  and  has  such 
original  or  secondary  meanings  as  pure,  special,  free,  &c.  It  is 
commonly  used  in  India  to  denote  the  immediate  territories  of 
any  chief  or  state  as  distinguished  from  the  lands  of  tributaries 
and  feudal  followers.  Khalsa  can  thus  be  held  either  to  denote 
the  kingdom  of  Gobind,  or  that  the  Sikhs  are  the  chosen  people. 

•"'  This  assurance  is  given  in  the  Rehet  Nameh,  or  Rule  of 
Life  of  Gobind,  which,  however,  is  not  included  in  the  Granth. 
In  the  same  composition  he  says,  or  is  held  to  have  said,  that 
the  believer  who  wishes  to  see  the  Guru  shall  behold  him  in 
the  Khalsa. 

Those  who  object  to  such  similitudes,  or  to  such  struggles 
of  t^  mind  after  precision,  should  remember  that  Abelard 
likened  the  Trinity  to  a  syllogism  with  its  three  terms;  and  that 
Wallis,  with  admitted  orthodoxy,  compared  the  Godhead  to  a 
mathematical  cube  with  its  three  dimensions.  (Bayle's  Dic- 
tionary, art.  'Abelard'.) 

4  Pahul  (pronounced  nearly  as  Fowl),  means  literally  a 
gate,  a  door,  and  thence  initiation.  The  word  may  have  the 
same  origin  as  the  Greek  word. 


be  contem- 
ned, and 


64 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.  Ill 


1675-1708.  be  abandoned,  their  temples  viewed  as  holy  and  their 
Muhamma-  rivers  looked  upon  as  sacred;  the  Brahman's  thread 
danism  must  be  broken;  by  means  of  the  Khalsa  alone  could 

destroyed.  salvation  be  attained.  They  must  surrender  them- 
selves wholly  to  their  faith  and  to  him  their  guide. 
Their  words  must  be  'Kritnash,  Kulnash,  Dharmnash, 
Karmnash,'  the  forsaking  of  occupation  and  family,  of 
belief  and  ceremonies.  'Do  thus,'  said  Gobind,  'and  the 
world  is  yours.'  ^  Many  Brahman  and  Kshattriya  fol- 
lowers murmured,  but  the  contemned  races  rejoiced; 
they  reminded  Gobind  of  their  devotion  and  services, 
and  asked  that  they  also  should  be  allowed  to  bathe 
in  the  sacred  pool,  and  offer  up  prayers  in  the  temple 
of  Amritsar.  The  murmurings  of  the  twice-born  in- 
creased, and  many  took  their  departure,  but  Gobind 
exclaimed  that  the  lowly  should  be  raised,  and  that 
hereafter  the  despised  should  dwell  next  to  himself.- 

1  The  text  gives  the  substance  and  usually  the  very  words 
of  the  numerous  accounts  to  the  same  purport.  (Cf.  also  Mal- 
colm, Sketch,  pp.  148,  151.) 

-  Churhas,  or  men  of  the  Sweeper  caste,  brought  away  the 
remains  of  Tegh  Bahadur  from  Delhi,  as  has  been  mentioned 
(ante,  pp.  59-60,  note  2).  Many  of  that  despised,  but  no  oppres- 
sed race,  have  adopted  the  Sikh  faith  in  the  Punjab,  and  they 
are  commonly  known  as  Ranghrheta  Sikhs.  Ranghar  is  a  term 
applied  to  the  Rajputs  about  Delhi  who  have  become  Muham- 
madans;  but  in  Malwa  the  predatory  Hindu  Rajputs  are  similar- 
ly styled,  perhaps  from  Rank,  a  poor  man,  in  opposition  to  Rana, 
one  of  high  degree.  Ranghrheta  seems  thus  rather  a  diminutive 
of  Rangghar  than  a  derivative  of  rang  (colour)  as  commonly 
understood.  The  Ranghrheta  Sikhs  are  sometimes  styled 
Mazhahi,  or  of  the  (Muhammadan)  faith,  from  the  circumstance 
that  the  converts  from  Islam  are  so  called,  and  that  many 
Sweepers  throughout  India  have  become  Muhammadans. 

[These  Mazhabis  in  the  past  have  proved  themselves,  and 
are  at  the  present  time,  extremely  good  soldiers.  The  Pioneer 
regiments — 23rd,  32nd,  34th — into  which  they  are  recruited 
have  a  proud  record  of  service  in  many  campaigns.  Mr.  Candler, 
in  an  article  in  Blackwood's  Magazine,  September  1909, 
observes:  'The  general  reluctance  of  the  low-caste  Hindu  to 
elevate  himself  by  becoming  a  Sikh  may  perhaps  be  explained 
by  the  historical  exception  of  the  Mazhabis.  These  Sikhs,  the 
descendants  of  converts  from  the  despised  Sweeper  caste,  were 
welcomed  by  the  Khalsa  at  a  time  when  they  were  engaged 
in  a  desperate  struggle  with  the  forces  of  Islam.  But  when  the 
Sikhs  dominated  the  Punjab  they  found  that  the  equality  their 
religion  promised  them  existed  in  theory  rather  than  in  fact. 
They  occupied  much  the  same  position  among  the  Jat  and 
Khalsa  descended  Sikhs  as  their  ancestors,  the  Sweepers,  en- 
joyed among  Hindus.  They  were  debarred  from  all  privileges 
and  were,  at  one  time,  excluded  from  the  army.' 

According  to  the  census  Report  of  1912  the  Mazhabi  popu- 
lation now  numbers  21,691.  'They  have  taken  to  husbandry 
and  have  been  declared  as  a  separate  agricultural  tribe  in  the 
districts  of  Gujranwala  and  Lyallpur.'  (Census  Report,  1912.) 
—Ed.] 


CHAP.  Ill         SIKHISM  UNDER  GOBIND 


65 


Gobind  then  poured  water  into  a  vessel  and  stirred  it 
with  the  sacrificial  axe,  or  with  the  sword  rendered 
divine  by  the  touch  of  the  goddess.  His  wife  passed 
by,  as  it  were  by  chance,  bearing  confections  of  five 
kinds:  he  hailed  the  omen  as  propitious,  for  the  com- 
ing of  woman  denoted  an  offspring  to  the  Khalsa 
numerous  as  the  leaves  of  the  forest.  He  mingled  the 
sugars  with  the  water,  and  then  sprinkled  a  portion  of 
it  .upon  five  faithful  disciples,  a  Brahman,  a  Kshattriya. 
and  three  Sudras.  He  hailed  them  as  'Singhs',  and 
declared  them  to  be  the  Khalsa.  He  himself  received 
from  them  the  Tahul'  of  his  faith,  and  became  Gobind 
Singh,  saying,  that  hereafter,  whenever  five  Sikhs 
should  be  assembled  together,  there  he  also  would  be 
present.^ 

Gobind  thus  abolished  social  distinctions,-  and  took 
away  from  his  followers  each  ancient  solace  of  super- 
stition; but  he  felt  that  he  must  engage  the  heart  as 
well  as  satisfy  the  reason,  and  that  he  must  give  the 
Sikhs  some  common  bonds  of  union  which  should 
remind  the  weak  of  their  new  life,  and  add  fervour  to 

In  allusion  to  the  design  of  inspiring  the  Hindus  with  a  new 
life,  Gobind  is  reported  to  have  said  that  he  'would  teach  the 
sparrow  to  strike  the  eagle.'  (See  Malcolm,  Sketch,  p.  74,  where 
it  is  used  with  reference  to  Aurangzeb,  but  the  saying  is  attri- 
buted to  Gobind  under  various  circumstances  by  different 
authors.) 

1  The  Brahman  novitiate  is  stated  to  have  been  an  inhabit- 
ant of  the  Deccan,  and  the  Kshattriya  of  the  Punjab;  one  Sudra, 
a  Jhinwar  (Kahar),  was  of  Jaganath,  the  second,  a  Jat,  was  of 
Hastinapur,  and  the  third,  a  Chhimba  or  cloth  printer,  was  of 
Dwarka  in  Gujrat. 

For  the  declaration  about  five  Sikhs  forming  a  congregation, 
or  about  the  assembly  of  five  men  ensuring  the  presence  or  the 
grace  of  the  Guru,  cf.  Malcolm,  Sketch,  p.  186.  [Five  is  also  the 
number  of  the  necessary  attributes  of  the  true  follower  of 
Gobind  Singh,  viz.  Kes,  Khanda,  Kangha,  Kara,  Kach — long 
hair,    dagger,    comb,    bangle,    breeches. — Ed.] 

Gobind  had  originally  the  cognomen,  or  titular  name,  of 
'Rai',  one  in  common  use  among  Hindus,  and  largely  adopted 
under  the  variation  of  'Rao'  by  the  military  Marathas;  but  on 
declaring  the  comprehensive  nature  of  his  reform,  the  Guru 
adopted  for  himself  and  followers  the  distinctive  appellation  of 
'Singh',  meaning  literally  a  lion,. and  metaphorically  a  champion 
or  warrior.  It  is  the  most  common  of  the  distinctive  names  in 
use  among  Rajputs,  and  it  is  now  the  invariable  termination  of 
every  proper  name  among  the  disciples  of  Gobind.  It  is  some- 
times used  alone,  as  Khan  is  used  among  the  Muhammadans, 
to  denote  pre-eminence.  Thus  Sikh  chiefs  would  talk  of  Ranjit 
Singh,  as  ordinary  Sikhs  will  talk  of  their  own  immediate 
leaders,  as  the  'Singh  Sahib',  almost  equivalent  to  'Sir  King', 
or  'Sir  Knight',  in  English.  Strangers  likewise  often  address 
any  Sikh  respectfully  as  'Singhji'. 

-  See  Appendix  X. 


1675-1708. 


The  Pahul 
or  initia- 
tion of  the 
rect  of 
Singhs 


The  visible 
distinct,  ons 
of  Sikhs  or 
Singhs. 


66 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP,   III 


1675-1708. 

Lustration 
by  water. 
Reverence 
for  Nanak. 

The  exclii- 
mation. 
Hail  Guru  ! 


Unshorn 
locks;  the 
title  of 
Singh; 
and  devo- 
tion to 
arms. 


the  devotion  of  the  sincere.  They  should  have  one 
form  of  initiation,  he  said,  the  sprinkling  of  water  by 
five  of  the  faithful;^  they  should  worship  the  One,  In- 
visible God;  they  should  honour  the  memory  of 
Nanak  and  of  his  transanimate  successors;  -  their 
watchword  should  be,  Hail  Guru!  •'  but  they  should 
revere  and  bow  to  nought  visible  save  the  Granth,  the 
book  of  their  belief.^  They  should  bathe,  from  time  to 
time,  in  the  pool  of  Amritsar;  their  locks  should  remain 
unshorn;  they  should  all  name  themselves  'Singhs',  or 
soldiers,  and  of  material  things  they  should  devote 
their  finite  energies  to  steel  alone.''  Arms  should 
dignify  their  person;  they  should  be  ever  waging  war, 
and  great  would  be  his  merit  who  fought  in  the  van, 
who  slew  an  enemy,  and  who  despaired  not  although 
overcome.  He  cut  off  the  three  sects  of  dissenters  from 
all  intercourse:  the  Dhirmalis,  who  had  laboured  to 
destroy  Arjun;  the  Ram  Rais,  who  had  compassed  the 
death  of  his  father;  and  the  Masandis,  who  had  resisted 
his  own  authority.  He  denounced  the  'shaven',  mean- 
ing, perhaps,  all  Muhammadans  and  Hindus;  and  for 
no  reason  which  bears  clearly  on  the  worldly  scope  of 
his  mission,  he  held  up  to  reprobation  those  slaves  of 
a  perverse  custom,  who  impiously  take  the  lives  of 
their  infant  daughters.^ 

Gobind  had  achieved  one  victory,  he  had  made 
himself  master  of  the  imagination  of  his  followers;  but 
a  more  laborious  task  remained,  the  destruction  of  the 
empire  of  unbelieving  oppressors.  He  had  established 
the  Khalsa,  the  theocracy  of  Singhs,  in  the  midst  of 
Hindu  delusion  and  Muhammadan  error;  he  had  con- 
founded Pirs  and  MuUas,  Sadhs  and  Pandits,  but  he 
ha^  yet  to  vanquish  the  armies  of  a  great  emperor,  and 
to  subdue  the  multitudes  whose  faith  he  impugned. 
The  design  of  Gobind  may  seem  wild  and  senseless  to 
those  accustomed  to  consider  the  firm  sway  and  regular 
policy  of  ancient  Rome,  and  who  daily  witness  the 
power  and  resources  of  the  well-ordered  governments 

1  See  Appendix:  XI. 

-  The  use  of  the  word  'transanimate'  may  perhaps  be 
allow^ed.  The  Sikh  belief  in  the  descent  of  the  individual  spirit 
of  Nanak  upon  each  of  his  successors,  is  compared  by  Gobind 
in  the  Vichitr  Natak  to  the  imparting  of  flame  from  one  lamp 
to  another. 

3  See  Appendix  XII. 

4  Obeisance  to  the  Granth  alone  is  inculcated  in  the  Rahat 
Nama  or  Rule  of  Life  of  Gobind,  and  he  endeavoured  to  guard 
against  being  himself  made  an  object  of  future  idolatry,  by 
denouncing  (in  the  Vichitr  Natak)  all  who  should  regard  him 
as  a  god. 

5  See  Appendix  XIII.  ^  gee  Appendix  XIV. 


CHAP.  Ill         SIKHISM  UNDER  GOBIND  67 

of  modern  Europe.     But  the  extensive  empires  of  the  i675-i708. 
East,  as  of  semi-barbarism  in  the  West,  have  never  The  cha- 
been  based   on  the  sober  convictions  of  a  numerous  racter  and 
people;  they  have  been  mere  dynasties  of  single  tribes,  condition 
rendered    triumphant    by    the    rapid    development    of  "^  ^'^^ 
warlike  energy,  and  by  the  .comprehensive  genius  of  ^^g^ai  em- 
eminent  leaders.    Race  has  succeeded  race  in  dominion,  Gobiiid  re- 
and  what    Cyrus   did  with   his  Persians   and   Charle-  solved  to 
magne  with  his  Franks,  Babar  began  and  Akbar  com-  assaii  it. 
pleted  with  a  few  Tartars  their  personal  followers.  The 
Mughals  had  even  a  less  firm  hold  of  empire  than  the 
Achaemenides  or  the  Carlovingians;  the  devoted  clans- 
men of  Babar  were  not  numerous,  his  son  was  driven 
from   his   throne,    and    Akbar   became  the   master   of  Akbar. 
India  as  much  by  political  sagacity,  and  the  generous 
sympathy  of  his  nature,  as  by  military  enterprise  and 
the  courage  of  his  partisans.     He  perceived  the  want 
of  the  times,  and  his  commanding  genius  enabled  him 
to  reconcile  the  conflicting  interests  and  prejudices  of 
Muhammadans  and  Hindus,    of    Rajputs,    Turks,    and 
Pathans.     At  the  end  of  fifty  years  he  left  his  heir  a 
broad   and  well-regulated   dominion;   yet   one  son   of 
Jahangir  contested    the   empire   with    his    father,  and 
Shah  Jahan  first  saw  his  children  waging  war  with  one 
another  for  the  possession  of  the  crown  which  he  him- 
self still  wore,  and  at  length  became  the  prisoner  of 
the    ablest    and    most   successful    of   the   combatants. 
Aurangzeb  ever  feared  the  influence  of  his  own  exam-  Aurangzeb. 
pie:  his  temper  was  cold;  his  policy  towards  Muham- 
madans was  one  of  suspicion,  while  his  bigotry  and 
persecutions  rendered  him  hateful  to  his  Hindu  sub- 
jects.    In  his  old  age  his  wearied  spirit  could  find  no 
solace;  no  tribe  of  brave  and  confiding  men  gathered 
round  him:    yet    his   vigorous    intellect    kept    him  an 
emperor  to  the  last,  and  the  hollowness  of  his  sway 
was  not  apparent  to  the  careless  observer  until  he  was 
laid  in  his  grave.    The  empire  of  the  Mughals  wanted 
political  fusion,  and  its  fair  degree  of-  administrative 
order   and   subordination   was  vitiated   by   the   doubt 
which   hung   about   the    succession.^     It   comprised    a 
number  of  petty  states  which  rendered  an  unwilling 

1  Notwithstanding  this  defect,  the  English  themselves  have 
yet  to  do  much  before  they  can  establish  a  system  which  shall 
last  so  long  and  work  so  well  as  Akbar's  organization  of  Par- 
gana  Chaudris  and  Qanungos,  who  may  be  likened  to  hereditary 
county  sheriffs,  and  registrars  of  landed  property  and  holdings. 
The  objectionable  hereditary  law  was  modified  in  practice  by 
the  adoption  of  the  most  able  or  the  most  upright  as  the  repre- 
sentative of  the  family.  [A  somewhat  pessimistic  statement 
viewing  the  way  in  which  modern  administrators  have  dealt  / 

with  the  land  questions. — Ed.]  ^ 


68 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.   lU 


1675-1708. 


Sivaji  the 
Maratha. 


Guru 
Gobind. 


Gobind's 
plans  of 
active  op- 
position, 
(about) 
1695. 


His  mili- 
tary posts; 


obedience  to  the  sovereign  power;  it  was  also  studded 
over  with  feudal  retainers,  and  all  these  hereditary 
princes  and  mercenary  'Jagirdars'  were  ever  ready  to 
resist,  or  to  pervert,  the  measures  of  the  central  govern- 
ment.   They  considered  then,  as  they  do  now,  that  a 
monarch  exercised  sway  for  his  own  interests  only, 
without  reference  to  the  general  welfare  of  the  coun- 
try; no  public  opinion  of  an  intelligent  people  systema- 
tically governed  controlled  them,  and  applause  always 
awaited  the  successful  aspirant  to  power.  Akbar  did 
something  to  remove    this    antagonism    between    the 
rulers  and  the  ruled,  but  his  successors  were  less  wise 
than  himself,  and  religious  discontent  was  soon  added 
to  the  love  of  political  independence.     The  southern 
portions  of  India,  too,  were  at  this  time  recent  con- 
quests, and  Aurangzeb  had  been  long  absent,^   hope- 
lessly  endeavouring  to   consolidate  his   sway  in   that 
distant  quarter.     The    Himalayas    had    scarcely    been 
penetrated  by  the  Mughals,  except  in  the  direction  of 
Kashmir,    and    rebellion   might    rear  its    head    almost 
unheeded  amid  their  wild  recesses.    Lastly,  during  this 
period,  Sivaji  had  roused  the  slumbering  spirit  of  the 
Maratha  tribes.    He  had  converted  rude  herdsmen  into 
successful  soldiers,  and  had  become  a  territorial  chief 
in  the  very  neighbourhood  of  the  emperor.     Gobind 
added   religious   fervour   to   warlike   temper,    and  his 
design  of  founding  a  kingdom  of  Jats  upon  the  waning 
glories  of  Aurangzeb's  dominion  does  not   appear  to 
have  been  idly  conceived  or  rashly  undertaken. 

Yet  it  is  not  easy  to  place  the  actions  of  Gobind 
in  due  order,  or  to  understand  the  particular  object  of 
each  of  his  proceedings.  He  is  stated  by  a  credible 
Muhammadan  author  to  have  organized  his  follow^ers 
into  troops  and  bands,  and  to  have  placed,  them  under 
the  command  of  trustworthy  disciples.-  He  appears 
to  have  entertained  a  body  of  Pathans,  who  are  every- 
where the  soldiers  of  fortune,^  and  it  is  certain  that 
he  established  two  or  three  forts  along  the  skirts  of  the 
hills  between  the  Sutlej  and  Jumna.  He  had  a  post  at 
Paunta  in  the  Kirda  vale  near  Nahan,  a  place  long 
afterwards  the  scene  of  a  severe  struggle  between  the 

[  1  A  reference  to  the  conquest  by  Aurangzeb  of  the  king- 
dom of  Bijapur  (1686)  and  Golconda  (1687).  From  1681  to 
his  death  in  1707  the  Emperor  was  almost  incessantly  engaged 
in  a  series  of  campaigns  against  these  kingdoms  and  the  rising 
power  of  the  Marathas. — Ed.] 

2  Star  ul  Mutakharin,  i.  113. 

3  The  Maratha  histories  show  that  Sivaji  likewise  hired 
bands  of  Pathans,  who  had  lost  service  in  the  declining  kingdom 
of  Bijapur.  (Grant  Duff,  Hist,  of  the  Marathas,  i.  165.) 


CHAP.  Ill         SIKHISM  UNDER  GOBIND  <)1) 

Gurkhas  and  the  English.     He  had  likewise  a  retreat  i675-i708. 
at  •  Anandpur-Makhowal,  which  had  been  established  and  leagues 
by  his  father/  and  a  third  at  Chamkaur,  fairly  in  the  with  the 
plains   and  lower   down   the   Sutlej    than   the  chosen  chiefs  of 
haunt  of  Tegh  Bahadur.  He  had  thus  got  strongholds  ^^^  Lower 
which  secured  him  against  any  attempts  of  his  hill  Himalayas, 
neighbours,  and  he  would  next  seem  to  have  endeav- 
oured to  mix  himself  up  with  the  affairs  of  these  half- 
independent  chiefs,  and  to  obtain  a  commanding  influ- 
ence over  them,  so  as  by  degrees  to  establish  a  virtual 
principality  amid  mountain  fastnesses  to  serve  as  the 
basis  of  his  operations  against  the  Mughal  government. 
As  a  religious  teacher  he  drew  contributions  and  pro-  His  influ- 
cured  followers  from  all  parts  of  India,  but  as  a  leader  ence  as  a 
he  perceived,  the  necessity  of  a  military  pivot,  and  as  religious 
a  rebel  he  was  not  insensible  to  the  value  of  a  secure  ^^^^her. 
retreat. 

Gobind  has  himself  described  the  several  actions  oobind 
in  which  he  was  engaged,  either  as  a  principal  or  as  quarrels 
an  ally.-    His  pictures  are  animated;  they  are  of  some  ^'**^  *^^ 
value  as  historical  records,  and  their  sequence  seems  Nah^an*and 
more  probable  than  that  of  any  other  narrative.     His  Naiagarh. 
first  contest  was  with  his  old  friend  the  chief  of  Nahan, 
aided  by  the  Raja  of  Hindur,  to  whom  he  had  given 
offence,   and  by  the  mercenary   Pathans  in  his   own 
service,  who  claimed   arrears   of  pay,   and  who  may 
have  hoped  to  satisfy  all  demands  by  the  destruction 
of  Gobind  and  the  plunder  of  his  establishments.  But 
the  Guru  was  victorious,  some  of  the  Pathan  leaders 
fell,  and  Gobind  slew  the  young  warrior,  Hari  Chand 
of  Naiagarh,  with  his  own  hand.  The  Guru  neverthe- 
less deemed    it  prudent    to    move    to  the    Sutlej;    he  Aids  the 
strengthened  Anandpur,  and  became  the  ally  of  Bhim  ^{^j^^^^^^^ 
Chand  of  Kuhlur,  who  was  in  resistance  to  the  impe-  other""cMefs 
rial   authorities   of  Kot    Kangra.     The  Muhammadan  against  the 
commander  was  joined  by  various  hill  chiefs,  but  in  imperial 
the  end  he  was  routed,  and  Bhim  Chand's  rebellion  forces. 

1  Anandpur  is  situated  close  to  Makhowal.  The  first  name 
was  given  by  Gobind  to  his  own  particular  residence  at  Makho- 
wal, as  distinguished  from  the  abode  of  his  father,  and  it 
signified  the  place  of  happiness.  A  knoll,  with  a  seat  upon  it, 
is  here  pointed  out,  whence  it  is  said  Gobind  was  wont  to 
discharge  an  arrow  a  coss  and  a  quarter — about  a  mile  and 
two-thirds  English,  the  Punjabi  coss  being  small. 

-  Namely,  in  the  Vichitr  Natak,  already  quoted  as  a  portion 
of  the  Second  Granih.  The  Guru  Bilas,  by  Sukha  Singh, 
corroborates  Gobind's  account,  and  adds  many  details.  Malcolm 
(Sketch,  p.  58,  &c.)  may  be  referred  to  for  translations  of  some 
portions  of  the  Vichitr  Natak  bearing  on  the  period,  but  Mal- 
colm's own  general  narrative  of  the  events  is  obviously  contra- 
dictory and  inaccurate. 


70 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.    [II 


1675-1708. 


Gobind's 
proceedings 
excite  the 
suspicions 
of  the  hill 
chiefs,  and 
cause  the 
emperor 
some 
anxiety, 
(about) 
1701. 

Gobind  re- 
duced to 
straits  at 
Anandpur. 


His  children 
escape;  but 
are  subse- 
quently put 
to  death. 


seemed  justified  by  success.  A  period  of  rest  ensued, 
during  which,  says  Gobind,  he  punished  such  of  his 
followers  as  were  lukewarm  or  disorderly.  But  the 
aid  which  he  rendered  to  the  chief  of  Kuhlur  was  not 
forgotten,  and  a  body  of  Muhammadan  troops  made 
an  unsuccessful  attack  upon  his  position.  Again  an 
imperial  commander  took  the  field,  partly  to  coerc2 
Gobind,  and  partly  to  reduce  the  hill  rajas,  who,  pro- 
fiting by  the  example  of  Bhim  Chand,  had  refused  lo 
pay  their  usual  tribute.  A  desultory  warfare  ensued; 
some  attempts  at  accommodation  were  made  by  the 
hill  chiefs,  but  these  were  broken  off,  and  the  expedi- 
tion ended  in  the  rout  of  the  Muhammadans. 

The  success  of  Gobind,  for  all  was  attributed  to 
him,  caused  the  Muhammadans  some  anxiety,  and  his 
designs  appear  likewise  to  have  alarmed  the  hill  chiefs, 
for  they  loudly  claimed  the  imperial  aid  against  one 
who  announced  nimself  as  the  True  King.  Aurangzeb 
directed  the  governors  of  Lahore  and  Sirhind  to  march 
against  the  Guru,  and  it  was  rumoured  that  the  empe- 
ror's son,  Bahadur  Shah,  would  himself  take  the  field 
in  their  support.^  Gobind  was  surrounded  at  Anand- 
pur by  the  forces  of  the  empire.  His  own  resolution 
was  equal  to  any  emergency,  but  numbers  of  his  fol- 
lowers deserted  him.  He  cursed  them  in  this  world 
and  in  the  world  to  come,  and  others  who  wavered  he 
caused  to  renounce  their  faith,  and  then  dismissed  them 
with  ignominy.  But  his  difficulties  increased,  desertions 
continued  to  take  place,  and  at  last  he  found  himself 
at  the  head  of  no  more  than  forty  devoted  followers. 
His  mother,  his  wives,  and  his  two  youngest  children 
effected  their  escape  to  Sirhind,  but  the  boys  were 
there  betrayed  to  the  Muhammadans  and  put  to  death.- 
The  faithful  forty  said  they  were  ready  to  die  with 
their  priest  and  king,  and  they  prayed  him  to  recall 
his  curse  upon  their  weaker-hearted  brethren,  and  to 
restore  to  them  the  hope  of  salvation.  Gobind  said  that 


1  Malcolm  (Sketch,  p.  60,  note)  says  that  this  allusion 
would  place  the  warfare  in  a.  d.  1701,  as  Bahadur  Shah  was 
at  that  time  sent  from  the  Deccan  towards  Kabul.  Some  Sikh 
traditions,  indeed,  represent  Gobind  as  having  gained  the  good- 
will of,  or  as  they  put  it,  as  having  shown  favour  to,  Bahadur 
Shah;  and  Gobind  himself,  in  the  Vichiir  Natak,  says  that  a  son 
of  the  emperor  came  iv  u'ppress  the  disturbances,  but  no  name 
is  given.  Neither  does  Mr.  Elphinstone  {History,  ii.  545)  specify 
Bahadur  Shah;  and,  indeed,  he  merely  seems  to  conjecture  that 
a  prince  of  the  blood,  who  was  sent  to  put  down  disturbances 
near  Multan,  was  really  employed  against  the  Sikhs  near 
Sirhind. 

~  The  most  detailed  account  of  this  murder  of  Gobind's 
children  is  given  in  Browne's  India  Tracts,  ii.  6,  7. 


CHAP.  Ill         SIKHISM  UNDER  GOBIND  71 

his  wrath  would  not  endure.  But  he  still  clung  to  tern-  le^s-nos. 
poral  success;  the  fort  of  Chamkaur  remained  in  his  He  himself 
possession,  and  he  fled  during  the  night  and  reached  flies  to 
the  place  in  safety.  chamkaur. 

At  Chamkaur  Gobind  was  again  besieged.^  He  was  Gobind 
called  upon  to  surrender  his  person  and  to  renounce  ^^'^^^^^ 
his  faith,  but  Ajit  Singh,  his  son,  indignantly  silenced  J^'""^  ^"^''" 
the  bearer  of  the  message.     The  troops  pressed  upon  nos-'e. 
the  Sikhs;  the  Guru  was  himself  everywhere  present, 
but  his  two  surviving  sons  fell  before  his  eyes,  and  his 
little  band  was  nearly  destroyed.    He  at  last  resolved 
upon  escape,  and  taking  advantage  of  a  dark  night,  he 
treaded    his   way    to  the    outskirts    of  the   camp,  but 
there  he  was  recognized  and  stopped  by  two  Pathans. 
These  men,  it  is  said,  had  in  former  times  received 
kindness  at  the  hands  of  the  Guru,  and  they  now  as- 
sisted him  in  reaching  the  town  of  Bahlolpur,  where 
he  trusted  his  person  to  a  third  follower  of  Islam,  one 
Pir  Muhammad,  with  whom  it  is  further  said  the  Guru 
had  once  studied  the  Koran.     Here  he  ate  food  from 
Muhammadans,  and  declared  that  such  might  be  done 
by  Sikhs  under  pressing  circumstances.     He  further 
disguised  himself  in   the   blue   dress   of  a   Musalman 
Dervish,  and  speedily  reached  the  wastes  of  Bhatinda. 
His  disciples  again  rallied  round  him,  and  he  succeeded  success- 
in  repulsing    his    pursuers    at    a  place    since    called  ^""^  resists 
'Muktsar',  or  the  Pool  of  Salvation.  He  continued  his  ^'\5'"T^'^ 
flight  to  Dam-Dama,  or  the  Breathing  Place,  half  way 
between   Hansi  and  Ferozepore;  the  imperial  autho-  and  rests 
rities  thought  his  strength  sufficiently  broken,  and  they  ^*  °^™" 
did  not  follow  him  further  into  a  parched  and  barren  2^"l^'i^^^ 

.  Bnatinda. 

country. 

At  Dam-Dama  Gobind  remained  for  some  time   Gobind 
and  he  occupied  himself  in  composing  the  supplemental  composes 
Granth,  'the   Book   of  the   Tenth   King',  to   rouse  the  the  vichitr 
energies  and  sustain  the  hopes  of  the  faithful.  This  ^****'- 
comprises  the  Vichitr  Natnlc,  or  'Wondrous  Tale',  the 
only  historical  portion  of  either  Granth,  and  which  he 
concludes  by  a  hymn  in  praise  of  God,  who  had  ever 
assisted  him.    He  would,  he  says,^  make  known  in  ano- 
ther book  the  things  which  he  had  himself  accompli- 
shed, the  glories  of  the  Lord  which  he  had  witnessed, 

1  At  Chamkaur,  in  one  of  the  towers  of  the  small  brick 
fort,  is  still  shown  the  tomb  of  a  distinguished  warrior,  a  Sikh 
of  the  Sweeper  caste,  named  Jiwan  Singh,  who  fell  during  the 
siege.  The  bastion  itself  is  known  as  that  of  the  Martyr.  A 
temple  now  stands  where  Ajit  Singh  and  Jujhar  Singh,  the 
eldest  sons  of  Gobind,  are  reputed  to  have  fallen. 

Gobind's  defeat  and  flight  are  placed  by  the  Sikhs  in  a.  d. 
1705-6. 


72 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.  Ill 


1675-1708. 


Summoned 
by  Aurang- 
zeb  to  his 
presence. 


Replies   to 
the    em- 
peror in  a 
denuncia- 
tory strain. 


Aurangzeb 
dies,  and 
Bahadur 
Shah  suc- 
ceeds, A.  D, 
1707. 

Gobind 
proceeds  to 
the    south 
of  India. 

Enters  the 
imperial 


and  his  recollections  or  visions  of  his  antecedent  exist- 
ence. All  he  had  done,  he  said,  had  been  done  with 
the  aid  of  the  Almighty;  and  to  'Loh',  or  the  myste- 
rious virtue  of  iron,  he  attributed  his  preservation. 
While  thus  living  in  retirement,  messengers  arrived 
to  summon  him  to  the  emperor's  presence,  but  Gobind 
rephed  to  Aurangzeb  in  a  series  of  parables  admonitory 
of  kings,  partly  in  which,  and  partly  in  a  letter  whicJi 
accompanied  them,  he  remonstrates  rather  than  hum- 
bles himself.  He  denounces  the  wrath  of  God  upon 
the  monarch,  rather  than  deprecates  the  imperial  anger 
against  himself;  he  tells  the  emperor  that  he  puts  no 
trust  in  him,  and  that  the  'Khalsa'  will  avenge  him.  He 
refers  to  Nanak's  religious  reform,  and  he  briefly 
alludes  to  the  death  of  Arjun  and  of  Tegh  Bahadur. 
He  describes  his  own  wrongs  and  his  childless  condi- 
tion. He  was,  as  one  without  earthly  link,  patiently 
awaiting  death,  and  fearing  none  but  the  sole  Em- 
peror, the  King  of  Kings.  Nor,  said  he,  are  the  prayers 
of  the  poor  ineffectual;  and  on  the  day  of  reckoning  it 
would  be  seen  how  the  emperor  would  justify  his 
manifold  cruelties  and  oppressions.  The  Guru  was 
again  desired  to  repair  to  Aurangzeb's  presence,  and 
he  really  appears  to  have  proceeded  to  the  south  some 
time  before  the  aged  monarch  was  removed  by  death.  ^ 
Aurangzeb  died  in  the  beginning  of  1707,  and  his 
eldest  son,  Bahadur  Shah,  hastened  from  Kabul  to 
secure  the  succession.  He  vanquished  and  slew  one 
brother  near  Agfa,  and,  marching  to  the  south,  he 
defeated  a  second,  Kambakhsh,  who  died  of  his 
wounds.  While  engaged  in  this  last  campaign,  Bahadur 
Shah  summoned  Gobind  to  his  camp.  The  Guru  went: 
he  was  treated  with  respect,  and  he  received  a  military 
command  in  the  valley  of  the  Godavari.  The  emperor 
perhaps  thought  that  the  leader  of  insurrectionary 
Jats  might  be  usefully  employed  in  opposing  rebellious 
Marathas,  and  Gobind  perhaps  saw  in  the  imperial 
service  a  ready  way  of  disarming  suspicion  and  of 
reorganizing  his    followers.^     At    Dam-Dama    he    had 

^  In  this  narrative  of  Gobind's  warlike  actions,  reference 
has  been  mainly  had  to  the  Vichitr  Natak  of  the  Guru,  to  the 
Guru  Bilas  of  Sukha  Singh,  and  to  the  ordinary  modern  com- 
pilations in  Persian  and  Gurmukhi;  transcripts,  imperfect 
apparently,  of  some  of  which  latter  have  been  put  into  English 
by  Dr.  Macgregor    (History  of  the  Sikhs,  pp.   79-99). 

2  The  Sikh  writers  seem  unanimous  in  giving  to  their  great 
teacher  a  military  command  in  the  Deccan,  while  some  recent 
Muhammadan  compilers  assert  that  he  died  at  Patna.  But  the 
liberal  conduct  of  Bahadur  Shah  is  confirmed  by  the  contem- 
porary historian,  Khafi  Khan,  who  states  that  he  received  rank 
in   the  Mughal  army    (see  Elphinstone,  Hist,  of  India,  ii.  566 


CHAP.  Ill         SIKHISM  UNDER  GOBIND  73 

again  denounced  evil  upon  all  who  should  thencefor-  1675-1708. 
ward  desert  him;  in  the  south  he  selected  the  daring 
Banda  as  an  instrument,  and  the  Sikhs  speedily  reap- 
peared in  overwhelming  force  upon  the  banks  of  the 
Sutlej.  But  Gobind's  race  was  run,  and  he  was  not 
himself  fated  to  achieve  aught  more  in  person.  He  had 
engaged  the  services  of  an  Afghan,  half-adventurei, 
half-merchant,  and  he  had  procured  from  him  a  con- 
siderable number  of  horses.^  The  merchant,  or  ser- 
vant, pleaded  his  own  necessities,  and  urged  the  pay- 
ment of  large  sums  due  to  him.  Impatient  with  delay, 
he  used  an  angry  gesture,  and  his  mutterings  of 
violence  provoked  Gobind  to  strike  him  dead.  The 
body  of  the  slain  Pathan  was  removed  and  buried,  and 
his  family  seemed  reconciled  to  the  fate  of  its  head. 
But  his  sons  nursed  their  revenge,  and  awaited  an 
opportunity  of  fulfilling  it.  They  succeeded  in  stealing  Gobind 
upon  the  Guru's  retirement,  and  stabbed  him  mortally  wounded  b> 
when  asleep  or  unguarded.  'Gobind  sprang  up  and  the  ^^sassms. 
assassins  were  seized;  but  a  sardonic  smile  played  UDon 
their  features,  and  they  justified  their  act  of  retribu- 
tion. The  Guru  heard:  he  remembered  the  fate  of 
their  father,  and  he  perhaps  called  to  mind  his  own 
unavenged  parent.  He  said  to  the  youths  that  they  had 
done  well,  and  he  directed  that  they  should  be  released 
uninjured."    The  expiring  Guru  was  childless,  and  the 

note),  and  it  is  in  a  degree  corroborated  by  the  undoubted  fact 
of  the  Guru's  death  on  the  banks  of  the  Godavari.  The  traditions 
preserved  at  Nader  give  Kartik,  1765  (Sambat),  or  towards  the 
end  of  A.  D.  1703,  as  the  date  of  Gobind's  arrival  at  that  place. 

1  It  would  be  curious  to  trace  how  far  India  was  colonized 
in  the  intervals  of  great  invasions  by.  petty  Afghan  and  Turko- 
man leaders,  who  defrayed  their  first  or  occasional  expenses  by 
the  sale  of  horses.  Tradition  represents  that  both  the  destroyer 
of  Manikiala  in  the  Punjab,  and  the  founder  of  Bhatnair  in 
Hariana,  were  emigrants  so  circumstanced;  and  Amir  Khan, 
the  recent  Indian  adventurer,  was  similarly  reduced  to  sell  his 
steeds  for  food.     (Memoirs  of  Amir  Khan,  p.  16.) 

-  All  the  common  accounts  narrate  the  death  of  Gobind 
as  given  in  the  text,  but  with  slight  differences  of  detail,  while 
some  add  that  the  widow  of  the  slain  Pathan  continually  urged 
her  sons  to  seek  revenge.  Many  accounts,  and  especially  those 
by  Muhammadans,  likewise  represent  Gobind  to  have  become 
deranged  in  his  mind,  and  a  story  told  by  some  Sikh  writers 
gives  a  degree  of  countenance  to  such  a  belief.  They  say  that 
the  heart  of  the  Guru  inclined  towards  the  youths  whose  father 
he  had  slain,  that  he  was  wont  to  play  simple  games  of  skill 
with  them,  and  that  he  took  opportunities  of  inculcating  upon 
them  the  merit  of  revenge,  as  if  he  v/as  himself  weary  of  life, 
and  wished  to  fall  by  their  hands.  The  Siar  ul  Mutakharin 
(i.  114)  simply  says  that  Gobind  died  of  grief  on  account  of 
the  loss  of  his  children.  (Cf.  Malcolm,  Sketch,  p.  70,  &c.:  and 
Elphinstone,  History,  ii.  564.)     The  accounts  now  furnished  by 


74 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP,  ni 


1675-1708. 


and  dies, 
A.  D.  1708, 
declaring 
his  mission 
to  be  ful- 
filled, and 
the  Khalsa 
to  be  com- 
mitted to 
God. 

Gobind's 
end  un- 
timely, but 
labours    not 
fruitless. 


assembled  disciples  asked  in  sorrow  who  should  inspire 
them  with  truth  and  lead  them  to  victory  when  he  was 
no  more.  Gobind  bade  them  be  of  good  cheer;  the 
appointed  Ten  had  indeed  fulfilled  their  mission,  but 
he  was  about  to  deliver  the  Khalsa  to  God,  the  never- 
dying.  'He  who  wishes  to  behold  the  Guru,  let  him 
search  the  Granth  of  Nanak.  The  Guru  will  dwell 
with  the  Khalsa;  be  firm  and  be  faithful:  wherever 
five  Sikhs  are  gathered  together  there  will  I  also  be 
present.'  ^ 

Gobind  was  killed  in  1708,  at  Nader,  on  the  banks 
of  the  Godavari.-  He  was  in  his  forty-eighth  year,  and 
if  it  be  thought  by  any  that  his  obscure  end  belied  the 
promise  of  his  whole  life,  it  should  be  remembered 
that— 

'The  hand  of  man 
Is  but  a  tardy  servant  of  the  brain, 
And  follows,  with  its  leaden  diligence, 
The  fiery  steps  of  fancy' ;=* 

the  priests  of  the  temple  at  Nader,  represent  the  one  assassin 
of  the  Guru  to  have  been  the  grandson  of  the  Painda  Khan, 
slain  by  Har  Gobind,  and  they  do  not  give  him  any  further 
cause  of  quarrel  with  Gobind  himself. 

1  Such  is  the  usual  account  given  of  the  Guru's  dying 
injunctions;  and  the  belief  that  Gobind  consummated  the 
mission  or  dispensation  of  Nanak  seems  to  have  been  agreeable 
to  the  feelings  of  the  times,  while  it  now  forms  a  main  article 
of  faith.  The  mother,  and  one  wife  of  Gobind,  are  represented 
to  have  survived  him  some  years;  but  each,  when  dying,  de- 
clared the  Guruship  to  rest  in  the  general  body  of  the  Khalsa, 
and  not  in  any  one  mortal;  and  hence  the  Sikhs  do  not  give 
such  a  designation  even  to  the  most  revered  of  their  holy  men, 
their  highest  religious  title  being  'Bhai',  literally  'brother',  but 
corresponding  in  significance  with  the  English  term  'elder'. 

-  Gobind  is  stated  to  have  been  born  in  the  month  of 
Poh,  1718  (Sambat),  which  may  be  the  end  of  a.  d.  1661  or 
beginning  of  1662,  and  all  accounts  agree  in  placing  his  death 
about  the  middle  of  1765  (Sambat),  or  towards  the  end  of 
A.  D.  1708. 

At  Nader  there  is  a  large  religious  establishment,  partly 
supported  by  the  produce  of  landed  estates,  partly  by  volun- 
tary contributions,  and  partly  by  sums  levied  annually,  agree- 
ably to  the  mode  organized  by  Arjun.  The  principal  of  the 
establishment  dispatches  a  person  to  show  his  requisition  to 
the  faithful,  and  all  give  according  to  their  means.  Thus  the 
common  horsemen  in  the  employ  of  Bhopal  give  a  rupee  and 
a  quarter  each  a  year,  besides  offerings  on  occasions  of 
pilgrimage. 

Ranjit  Singh  sent  considerable  sums  to  Nader,  but  the 
buildings  commenced  with  the  means  which  he  provided  have 
not  been  completed.  -- 

Nader  is  also  called  Apchalanagar,  and  in  Southern  and 
Central  India  it  is  termed  pre-eminently  'the  Gurudwara',  that 
is,  'the  house  of  the  Gurus.' 

■i  Sir  Marmaduke  Maxwell,  a  dramatic  poem.  Act  iv. 
scene  6. 


CHAP.  Ill         SIKHISM  UNDER  GOBIND  75 

that  when  Muhammad  was  a  fugitive  from  Mecca,  'the  '^°^_"i!_ 
lance  of  an  Arab  might  have  changed  the  history  of 
the  world';  ^   and    that    the    Achilles    of    poetry,    the 
reflexion  of  truth,  left  Troy  untaken.    The  lord  of  the 
Myrmidons,  destined  to  a  short  life  and  immortal  glory, 
met  an  end  almost  as  base  as  that  which  he  dreaded 
when  struggling  with  Simois  and  Scamander;  and  the 
heroic  Richard,  of  eastern  and  western  fame,  whose 
whole  soul  was  bent  upon  the  deliverance  of  Jerusalem, 
veiled  his  face  in  shame  and  sorrow  that  God's  holy 
city  should  be  left  in  the  possession  of  infidels:  he  would 
not  behold  that  which  he  could  not  redeem,  and  he 
descended  from  the  Mount  to  retire  to  captivity  and  a 
premature  grave.-     Success    is    thus    not    always    the 
measure  of  greatness.     The  last  apostle  of  the  Sikhs 
did  not  live  to  see  his  own  ends  accomplished,  but  he 
effectually  roused  the  dormant  energies  of  a  vanqui-  a  new 
shed    people,    and  filled   them  with   a  lofty  although  character 
fitful   longing  for  social  freedom  and  national  ascen-  impressed 
dancy,  the  proper  adjuncts  of  that  purity  of  worship  ^^j°^j^g^ 
which  had  been  preached  by  Nanak.    Gobind  saw  what  Hindus; 
was  yet  vital,  and  he  relumed  it  with  Promethean  fire. 
A  living  spirit  possesses  the  whole  Sikh  people,  and  the 
impress  of  Gobind  has  not  only  elevated  and  altered 
the  constitution  of  their  minds,  but  has  operated  mate- 
rially and  given  amplitude  to  their  physical  frames. 
The   features    and    external    form  of  a  whole    people 
have  been  modified,  and  a  Sikh  chief  is  not  more  dis- 
tinguishable by  his  stately  person  and  free  and  m.aniy 
bearing,  than  a    minister    of    his    faith    is  by    a  lofty 
thoughtfulness  of  look,  which  marks  the  fervour  of  his 
soul,  and  his  persuasion  of  the  near  presence  of  the 
Divinity.^     Notwithstanding     these     changes     it     has 

1   Gibbon,  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,  ix.  285. 

-  For  this  story  of  the  hon-like  king,  see  Gibbon   (Decline 
and  Fall,  xi.  143).  See  also  Turner's  comparison  of  the  charac-  ' 

ters  of  Achilles  and  Richard  (History  of  England,  p.  300),  and 
Hallam's  assent  to  its  superior  justness  relatively  to  his  own 
parallel  of  the  Cid  and  the  Enghsh  hero  (Middle  Ages,  iii.  482). 

■^  This  physical  change  has  been  noticed  by  Sir  Alexander 
Burnes  (Travels,  i.  285,  and  ii.  39),  by  Elphinstone  (History 
of  India,  ii.  564),  and  it  also  sHghtly  struck  Malcolm  (Sketch, 
p.  129).  Similarly  a  change  of  aspect,  as  well  as  of  dress,  &c., 
may  be  observed  in  the  descendants  of  such  members  of  Hindu 
families  as  became  Muhammadans  one  or  two  centuries  ago, 
and  whose  personal  appearance  may  yet  be  readily  compared 
with  that  of  their  undoubted  Brahmanical  cousins  in  many 
parts  of  Malwa  and  Upper  India.  That  Prichard  (Physical 
History  of  Mankind,  i.  183  and  i.  191)  notices  no  such  change 
in  the  features,  although  he  does  in  the  characters,  of  the 
Hottentots  and  Esquimaux  who  have  been  converted  to  Chris- 
tianity, may  either  show  that  the  attention  of  our  observers 


76 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP,  ni 


1708-16. 


although 
not   fully 
apparent  to 
strangers, 
if  so  to 
Indians. 


been  usual  to  regard  the  Sikhs  as  essentially  Hindu, 
and  they  doubtless  are  so  in  language  and  everyday 
customs,  for  Gobind  did  not  fetter  his  disciples  with 
political  systems  or  codes  of  municipal  laws;  yet,  in 
religious  faith  and  worldly  aspirations,  they  are  wholly 
different  from  other  Indians,  and  they  are  bound  toge- 
ther by  a  community  of  inward  sentiment  and  of  out- 
ward object  unknown  elsewhere.  But  the  misappre- 
hension need  not  surprise  the  public  nor  condemn  our 
scholars,^  when  it  is  remembered  that  the  learned  of 
Greece  and  Rome  misunderstood  the  spirit  of  those 
humble  men  who  obtained  a  new  life  by  baptism. 
Tacitus  and  Suetonius  regarded  the  early  Christians 
as  a  mere  Jewish  sect,  they  failed  to  perceive  the  fun- 
damental difference,  and  to  appreciate  the  latent 
energy  and  real  excellence,  of  that  doctrine,  which  has 
added  dignity  and  purity  to  modern  civilization.^ 

and  inquirers  has  not  been  directed  to  the  subject,  or  that  the 
savages  in  question  have  embraced  a  new  faith  with  little  of 
living  ardour  and  absorbing  enthusiasm. 

1  The  author  alludes  chiefly  to  Professor  H.  H.  Wilson, 
whose  learning  and  industry  are  doing  so  much  for  Indian 
history.  (See  Asiatic  Researches,  xvii.  237,  238;  and  continua- 
tion of  Mill's  History,  vii.  101,  102.)  Malcolm  holds  similar 
views  in  one  place  (Sketch,  pp.  144,  148,  150),  but  somewhat 
contradicts  himself  in  another  {Sketch,  p.  43).  With  these 
opinions,  however,  may  be  compared  the  more  correct  views 
of  Elphinstone  (History  of  India,  ii.  562,  564)  and  Sir  Alexan- 
der Burnes  (Travels,  i.  284,  285),  and  also  Major  Browne's 
observation  (India  Tracts,  ii.  4)  that  the  Sikh  doctrine  bore 
the  same  relation  to  the  Hindus  as  the  Protestant  does  to  the 
Romish. 

-  See  the  Annals  of  Tacitus,  Murphy's  translation  (book 
XV,  sect.  44,  note  15).  Tacitus  calls  Christianity  a  dangerous 
superstition,  and  regards  its  professors  as  moved  by  'a  sullen 
hatred  of  the  whole  .human  race' — ^the  Judaic  characteristic 
of  the  period.  Suetonius  talks  of  the  Jews  raising  disturbances 
in  the  reign  of  Claudius,  at  the  instigation  of  'one  Chrestus', 
thus  evidently  mistaking  the  whole  of  the  facts,  and  further 
making  a  Latin  name,  genuine  indeed,  but  misapplied,  of  the 
Greek  term  for  anointed. 

Again,  the  obscure  historian,  Vopiscus,  preserves  a  letter, 
written  by  the  Emperor  Hadrian,  in  which  the  Christians  are 
confounded  with  the  adorers  of  Serapis,  and  in  which  the 
bishops  are  said  to  be  especially  devoted  to  the  worship  of  that 
strange  god,  who  was  introduced  into  Egypt  by  the  Ptolemies 
(Waddington,  History  of  the  Church,  p.  37);  and  even  Euse- 
bius  himself  did  not  properly  distinguish  between  Christians 
and  the  Essenic  Therapeutae  (Strauss,  Life  of  Jesus,  i.  294), 
although  the  latter  formed  essentially  a  mere  sect,  or  order, 
affecting  asceticism  and  mystery. 

It  is  proper  to  add  that  Mr.  Newman  quotes  the  descriptions 
of  Tacitus  and  others  as  referring  really  to  Christians  and  not 
to  Jews  (On  the  Development  of  Christian  Doctrine,  p.  205, 
&c.).  He  may  be  right,  but  the  grounds  of  his  dissent  from  the 
views  of  preceding  scholars  are  not  given. 


ti    CHAP.  Ill  BANDA  77 

Banda,  the  chosen  disciple  of  Gobind,  was  a  native  ^^o^-^^- 
of  the  South  of  India,  and  an  ascetic  of  the  Bairagi  Banda  suc- 
order;^  and  the  extent  of  the  deceased  Guru's  prepara-  ceeds 
tions  and  means  will  be  best  understood  from  the  nar-  Gobind  as 
rative  of  the  career  of  his  followers,  when  his  own  com-  ^  temporal 
manding  spirit  was  no  more.     The  Sikhs  gathered  in 
numbers   round  Banda    when  he  reached   the  north-  Jj^^g^^^Jth'" 
west,  bearing  with  him  the  arrows  of  Gobind  as  the  ^^^  "^p, ' 
pledge  of  victory.     Banda    put  to    flight   the    Mughal  tures 
authorities  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Sirhind,  and  then  sirhind. 
attacked,  defeated,  and  slew  the  governor  of  the  pro-  1709-10. 
vince.    Sirhind  was  plundered,  and  the  Hindu  betrayer 
and  Musalman   destroyer   of   Gobitid's   children   were 
themselves  put  to  death  by  the  avenging  Sikhs.-  Banda 
next    established    a    stronghold    below    the    hills    of 
Sirmur,-^  he  occupied  the  country  between  the  Sutlej 
and  Jumna,  and  he  laid  waste  the  district  of  Saharan- 
pur.* 

Bahadur    Shah,    the    emperor,    had    subdued    his  The  em- 
rebellious  brother  Kambakhsh,  he  had  come  to  terms  peror 
with  the  Marathas,  and  he  was  desirous  of  reducing  marches 
the  princes  of  Rajputana  to  their  old  dependence,  when  ^a^J^^^g^ 
he  heard  of  the  defeat  of  his  troops  and  the  sack  of  his 
city  by  the  hitherto  unknown  Banda."'     He  hastened 
towards  the  Punjab,  and  he  did  not  pause  to  enter  his  But  Banda 
capital  after  his  southern  successes;  but  in  the  mean-  *^  '"  "^^ 
time  his  generals  had  defeated  a  body  of  Sikhs  near 
Panipat,  and  Banda  was  surrounded  in  his  new  strong-  ^ards 
hold.     A   zealous   convert,   disguised   like  his  leader,  jammu. 

1  Some  accounts  represent  Banda  to  have  been  a  native 
of  Northern  India,  and  the  writer,  followed  by  Major  Browne 
(India  Tracts,  ii.  9),  says  he  was  born  in  the  Jullundur  Doab. 

'Banda'  signifies  the  slave,  and  Sacjap  Chand,  the  author 
of  the  Gur-Ratnavali,  states  that  the  Bairagi  took  the  name  or 
title  when  he  met  Gobind  in  the  south,  and  found  that  the 
powers  of  his  tutelary  god  Vishnu  were  ineffectual  in  the  pre- 
sence of  the  Guru.  Thenceforward,  he  said,  he  would  be  the 
slave  of  Gobind. 

-  For  several  particulars,  true  or  fanciful,  relating  to  the 
capture  of  Sirhind,  see  Browne,  India  Tracts,  ii.  9,  10.  See  also 
Elphinstone,  History  of  India,  ii.  565,  566.  Wazir  Khan  was 
clearly  the  name  of  the  governor,  and  not  Faujdar  Khan,  as 
mentioned  by  Malcolm  {Sketch,  pp.  77,  78).  Wazir  Khan  was 
indeed  the  'Faujdar',  or  military  commander  in  the  province, 
and  the  word  is  as  often  used  as  a  proper  name  as  to  denote 
an  office. 

3  This  was  at  Mukhlispur,  near-  Sadowra,  which  lies 
north-east  from  Ambala,  and  it  appears  to  be  the  'Lohgarh', 
that  is,  the  iron  or  strong  fort,  of  the  Siar  ul  Mutakharin 
(i.   115). 

*  Forster,  Travels,  i.  304. 

*»  Cf.  Elphinstone,  History  of  India,  ii.  561,  and  Forster, 
Travels,  i.  304.   This  was  in  a.  d.  1709-10. 


meantime 
driven    to- 


78 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.   II 


1708-16. 


Bahadaur 
Shah  dies 
at  Lahore, 
1712. 

Jahandar 
Shah  slain 
by  Far- 
TUkhsiyar, 
who 

laecomes 
emperor. 
1713. 


The  Sikhs 
reappear 
under  Ban- 
da,  and  the 
province  of 
Sirhind  is 
plundered. 


Banda 
reduced 
■eventually 
and  taken 
pr.soner, 
A.  D.  1716; 


allowed  himself  to  be  captured  during  a  sally  of  the 
besieged,  and  Banda  withdrew  with  all  his  followers. 
After  some  successful  skirmishes  he  established  him 
self  near  Jammu  in  the  hills  north  of  Lahore,  and  lai: 
the  fairest  part  of  the  Punjab  under  contribution 
Bahadur  Shah  had  by  this  time  advanced  to  Lahon 
in  person,  and  he  died  there  in  the  month  of  February 
1712.2 

The  death  of  the  emperor  brought  on  anothe 
contest  for  the  throne.  His  eldest  son,  Jahandar  Shah 
retained  power  for  a  year,  but  in  February  1713  he  wa: 
defeated  and  put  to  death  by  his  nephew  Farrukhsiyar 
These  commotions  were  favourable  to  the  Sikhs;  the.^ 
again  became  united  and  formidable,  and  they  buil 
for  themselves  a  considerable  fort,  named  Gurdaspur 
between  the  Beas  and  Ravi.^  The  viceroy  of  Lahori 
marched  against  Banda,  but  he  was  defeated  in 
pitched  battle  and  the  Sikhs  sent  forward  a  party-  tc 
wards  Sirhind,  the  governor  of  which,  Bayazid  Kha 
advanced  to  oppose  them.  A  fanatic  crept  under  h. 
tent  and  mortally  wounded  him;  the  Muhammadan 
dispersed,  but  the  city  does  not  seem  to  have  fallen 
second  time  a  prey  to  the  exulting  Sikhs.*  The  em 
peror  now  ordered  Abdus  Samad  Khan,  the  governo 
of  Kashmir,  a  Turani  noble  and  a  skilful  general,  t' 
assume  the  command  in  the  Punjab,  and  he  sent  to  hi: 
aid  some  chosen  troops  from  the  eastward.  Abdu 
Samad  Khan  brought  with  him  some  thousands  of  hi 
own  warlike  countrymen,  and  as  soon  as  he  was  ii 
possession  of  a  train  of  artillery  he  left  Lahore,  ani 
falling  upon  the  Sikh  army  he  defeated  it,  after  ; 
fierce  resistance  on  the  part  of  Banda.  The  succes: 
was  followed  up,  and  Banda  retreated  from  post  t' 
post,  fighting  valiantly  and  inflicting  heavy  losses  oi 
his  victors;  but  he  was  at  length  compelled  to  shelte 
himself  in  the  fort  of  Gurdaspur.  He  was  closely  be 
sieged;  nothing  could  be  conveyed  to  him  from  with 
out;  and  after  consuming  all  his  provisions,  and  eatini 

1  Cf.  Elphinstone,  Historij,  ii.  566,  and  Forster,  Travels 
i.  305.  The  zeal  of  the  devotee  was  applauded  without  beinj 
pardoned  by  the  emperor. 

2Cf.  the  Siar  xd  Mutakharin.  i.  109,  112. 

3  Gurdaspur  is  near  Kalanaur,  where  Akbar  was  salute< 
as  emperoi*,  and  it  appears  to  be  the  Lohgarh  of  the  ordinar; 
accounts  followed  by  Forster,  Malcolm,  and  others.  It  nov 
contains  a  monastery  of  Sarsut  Brahmans,  who  have  adoptee 
many  of  the  Sikh  modes  and  tenets. 

4  Some  accounts  nevertheless  represent  Banda  to  hav 
again  possessed  himself  of  Sirhind. 


CHAP.  Ill      SIKHISM  :  RECAPITULATION  79 

horses,  asses,  and  even  the  forbidden  ox,  he  was  i'^°°-i6. 
reduced  to  submit.^  Some  of  the  Sikhs  were  put  to 
death,  and  their  heads  were  borne  on  pikes  before 
Banda  and  others  as  they  were  marched  to  Delhi  with 
all  the  signs  of  ignominy  usual  with  bigots,  and  common 
among  barbarous  or  half-civilized  conquerors.-  A 
hundred  Sikhs  were  put  to  death  daily,  contending 
among  themselves  for  priority  of  martyrdom,  and  on 
the  eighth  day  Banda  himself  was  arraigned  before  his 
judges.  A  Muhammadan  noble  asked  the  ascetic  from 
conviction,  how  one  of  his  knowledge  and  understand- 
ing could  commit  crimes  which  would  dash  him  into 
hell;  but  Banda  answered  that  he  had  been  as  a  mere 
scourge  in  the  hands  of  God  for  the  chastisement  of 
the  wicked,  and  that  he  was  now  receiving  the  meed 
of  his  own  crimes  against  the  Almighty.  His  son  was 
placed  upon  his  knees,  a  knife  was  put  into  his  hands, 
and  he  was  required  to  take  the  life  of  his  child.  He  and  put  to 
did  so,  silent  and  unmoved;  his  own  flesh  was  then  torn  ^eath  at 
with  red-hot  pincers,  and  amid  these  torments  he  ^^^^^• 
expired,  his  dark  soul,  say  the  Muhammadans,  winging 
its  way  to  the  regions  of  the  damned."^ 

The  memory  of  Banda  is  not  held  in  much  esteem  The  views 
by  the  Sikhs;  be  appears  to  have  been  of  a  gloomy  of  Banda 
disposition,  and  he  was  obeyed  as  an  energetic  and 
daring  leader,  without  being  able  to  engage  the  per- 
sonal sympathies  of  his  followers.  He  did  not  perhaps  not'rev^red. 
comprehend  the  general  nature  of  Nanak's  and 
Gobind's  reforms;  the  spirit  of  sectarianism  possessed 
him,  and  he  endeavoured  to  introduce  changes  into 
the  modes  and  practices  enjoined  by  these  teachers, 
which  should  be  more  in  accordance  with  his  own 
ascetic  and  Hindu  notions.     These  unwise  innovations 

1  Cf.  Malcolm,  Sketch,  pp.  79,  80;  Forster,  Travels,  i.  306 
and  note;  and  the  Siar  ul  Mutakharin,  i.  116,  117.  The  ordi- 
nary accounts  make  the  Sikh  army  amount  to  35,000  men 
(Forster  says  20,000);  they  also  detain  Abdus  Samad  a  year  at 
Lahore  before  he  undertook  anything,  and  they  bring  down 
all  the  hill  chiefs  to  his  aid,  both  of  which  circumstances  are 
probable  enough. 

-  Siar  ul  Mutakharin,  i.  118,  120.  Elphinstone  {History,  ii. 
574,  575),  quoting  the  contemporary  Khafi  Khan,  says  the 
prisoners  amounted  to  740.  The  Siar  ul  Mutakharin  relates 
how  the  old  mother  of  Bayazid  Khan  killed  the  assassin  of  her 
son,  by  letting  fall  a  stone  on  his  head,  as  he  and  the  other 
prisoners  were  being  led  through  the  streets  of  Lahore. 

•■  Malcolm  (Sketch,  p.  82,)  who  quotes  the  Siar  ul  Muta- 
kharin. The  defeat  and  death  of  Banda  are  placed  by  the  Siar 
ul  Mutakharin  (i.  109),  by  Orm.e  (History,  ii.  22),  and 
apparently  by  Elphinstone  (History,  ii.  564),  in  the  year  A.  d. 
1716;  but  Forster  (Travels,  i.  306  note)   has  the  date  1714. 


confined 
and  his 


80 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP,  ni 


1708-16. 


The   Sikhs 
generally 
much  de- 
pressed 
after  the 
death  of 
Banda. 


Recapitu- 
lation. 

Nanak. 


Amar  Das. 
Arjun. 

Har  Gobind. 

Gobind 

Singh. 


and  restrictions  were  resisted  by  the  more  zealous 
Sikhs,  and  they  may  have  caused  the  memory  of  an 
able  and  enterprising  leader  to  be  generally  neglected.^ 

After  the  death  of  Banda  an  active  persecution 
was  kept  up  against  the  Sikhs,  whose  losses  in  battle 
had  been  great  and  depressing.  All  who  could  be 
seized  had  to  suffer  death,  or  to  renounce  their  faith. 
A  price,  indeed,  was  put  upon  their  heads,  and  so  vigo- 
rously were  the  measures  of  prudence,  or  of  vengeance, 
followed  up,  that  many  conformed  to  Hinduism;  others 
abandoned  the  outward  signs  of  their  belief,  and  the 
more  sincere  had  to  seek  a  refuge  among  the  recesses 
of  the  hills.  Or  in  the  woods  to  the  south  of  the  Sutlej. 
The  Sikhs  were  scarcely  again  heard  of  in  history  for 
the  period  of  a  generation.^ 

Thus,  at  the  end  of  two  centuries,  had  the  Sikh 
faith  become  established  as  a  prevailing  sentiment  and 
guiding  principle  to  work  its  way  in  the  world.  Nanak 
disengaged  his  little  society  of  worshippers  from  Hindu 
idolatry  and  Muhammadan  superstition,  and  placed 
them  free  on  a  broad  basis  of  religious  and  moral 
purit}^;  Amar  Das  preserved  the  infant  community 
from  declining  into  a  sect  of  quietists  or  ascetics;  Arjun 
gave  his  increasing  followers  a  written  'rule  of  conduct 
and  a  civil  organization;  Har  Gobind  added  the  use  of 
arms  and  a  military  system;  and  Gobind  Singh  best- 
owed upon  thqm  a  distinct  political  existence,  and  in- 
spired them  with  the  desire  of  being  socially  free  and 
nationally  independent.  No  further  legislation  was 
required;  a  firm  persuasion  had  been  elaborated,  and 
a  vague  feeling  had  acquired  consistence  as  an  active 
principle.  The  operation  of  this  faith  become  a  fact, 
is  only  now  in  progress,  and  the  fruit  it  may  yet  bear 
cannot  be  foreseen.  Sikhism  arose  where  fallen  and 
corrupt  Brahmanical  doctrines  were  most  strongly 
acted  on  by  the  vital  and  spreading  Muhammadan 
belief.  It  has  now  come  into  contact  with  the  civiliza- 


1  Cf.  Malcolm,  Sketch,  pp.  83,  84.  But  Banda  is  sometimes 
styled  Guru  by  Indians,  as  in  the  Siar  ul  Mutakharin  (i.  114), 
and  there  is  still  an  order  of  half-conformist  Sikhs  which  re- 
gards him  as  its  founder.  Banda,  it  is  reported,  wished  to 
establish  a  sect  of  his  own,  saying  that  of  Gobind  could,  not 
endure;  and  he  is  further  declared  to  have  wished  to  change 
the  exclamation  or  salutation,  'Wah  Guru  ke  Fateh!'  which  had 
been  used  or  ordained  by  Gobind,  into  'Fateh  Dharam!'  and 
'Fateh  Darsan!'  (Victory  to  faith!  Victory  to  the  sect!).  Cf. 
Malcolm,  Sketch,  pp.  83,  84. 

-  Cf.  Forster  (Travels,  i.  312.  313),  and  Browne  (India 
Tracts,  ii.  13),  and  also  Malcolm   (Sketch,  pp.  85,  86). 


CHAP,  in      SIKHISM  :  RECAPITULATION  81 

tion  and  Christianity  of  Europe,   and  the  result  can 
only  be  known  to  a  distant  posterity.^ 

1  There  are  also  elements  of  change  within  Sikhism  itself, 
and  dissent  is  everywhere  a  source  of  weakness  and  decay, 
although  sometimes  it  denotes  a  temporary  increase  of  strength 
and  energy.  Sikh  sects,  at  least  of  quietists,  are  already  numer- 
ous, although  the  great  development  of  the  tenets  of  Guru 
Gobind  has  thrown  other  denominations  into  the  shade.  Thus 
the  prominent  division  into  'Khulasa',  meaning  'of  Nanak',  and 
'Khalsa',  meaning  'of-  Gobind',  which  is  noticed  by  Forster 
(Travels,  i.  309),  is  no  longer  in  force.  The  former  term, 
Khulasa,  is  almost  indeed  unknown  in  the  present  day,  while 
all  claim  membership  with  the  Khalsa.  Nevertheless  the  peace- 
ful Sikhs  of  the  first  teacher  are  still  to  be  everywhere  met 
with  in  the  cities  of  India,  although  the  warlike  Singhs  of  the 
tenth  king  have  become  predominant  in  the  Punjab,  and  have 
scattered  themselves  as  soldiers  from  Kabul  to  the  south  of 
India. 


Note. — The  reader  is  referred  to  Appendices  I,  II,  III,  and 
rv  for  some  account  of  the  Granths  of  the  Sikhs,  for  some 
illustrations  of  principles  and  practices  taken  from  the  writings 
of  the  Gurus,  and  for  abstracts  of  certain  letters  attributed  to 
Nanak  and  Gobind,  and  which,  are  descriptive  of  some  views 
and  modes  of  the  Sikh  people.  Appendix  V  may  also  be 
referred  to  for  a  list  of  some  Sikh  sects  or  denominations. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  ESTABLISHMENT  OF  SIKH  INDEPENDENCE 

1716—64 


1716-38. 

The  Mughal 
empire  ra- 
pidly de- 
clines. 

Nadir    Shah, 
the  Mara- 
thas,  &c. 


Decline  of  the  Mughal  Empire — Gradual  reappearance  of  the 
Sikhs — The  Sikhs  coerced  by  Mir  Mannu,  and  persecuted 
by  Taimur  the  son  of  Ahmad  Shah — The  Army  of  the 
'Khalsa'  and  the  State  of  the  'Khalsa'  proclaimed  to  be 
substantive  Powers — Adina  Beg  Khan  and  the  Marathas 
under  Raghuba — Ahmad  Shah's  incursions  and  victories — 
The  provinces  of  Sirhind  and  Lahore  possessed  in  sov- 
ereignty by  the  Sikhs — The  political  organization  of  the 
Sikhs  as  a  feudal  confederacy — The  Order  of  Akalis. 

AuRANGZEB  WHS  the  last  of  the  race  of  Taimur  who 
possessed  a  genius  for  command,  and  in  governing  a 
large  empire  of  incoherent  parts  and  conflicting  princi- 
ples, his  weak  successors  had  to  lean  upon  the  doubtful 
loyalty  of  selfish  and  jealous  ministers,  and  to  prolong 
a  nominal  rule  by  opposing  insurrectionary  subjects  to 
rebellious  dependents.  Within  a  generation  Muhamma- 
dan  adventurers  had  established  separate  dominations 
in  Bengal,  Lucknow,  •  and  Hyderabad;  the  Maratha 
Peshwa  had  startled  the  Muslims  of  India  by  suddenly 
appearing  in  arms  before  the  imperial  city,^  and  the 
stern  usurping  Nadir  had  scornfully  hailed  the  long 
descended  Muhammad  Shah  as  a  brother  Turk  in  the 
heart  of  his  blood-stained  capital.-  The  Afghan  colo- 
nists of  Rohilkhand  and  the  Hindu  Jats  of  Bharatpur 
had  raised  themselves  to  importance  as  substantive 
powers,^    and  when  the  Persian  conqueror   departed 


1  This  was  in  a.  d.  1737,  when  Baji  Rao,  the  Peshwa,  made 
an  incursion  from  Agra  towards  Delhi.  (See  Elphinstone, 
History,  ii.  609,  and  Grant  Duff,  History  of  the  Mahrattas,  i. 
533,  534.) 

2  See  Nadir  Shah's  letter  to  his  son,  relating  his  successful 
invasion  of  -India.    (Asiatic  Researches,  x.   545,   546.) 

3  A  valuable  account  of  the  Rohillas  may  be  found  in 
Forster's  Travels  (i.  115,  &c.),  and  the  public  is  indebted  to 
the  'Oriental  Translation  Committee  of  London  for  the  memoirs 
of  Hafiz  Rahmat  Khan,  one  of  the  most  eminent  of  their  leaders. 

The  Jats  of  Bhartpur  and  Dholpur,  and  of  Hathras  and 
other  minor  places,  deserve  a  separate  history. 


CHAP.  IV  THE  SIKHS  REAPPEAR  83 

with  the  spoils  of  Delhi,'  the  government  was  weaker,  "le-se. 
and  society    was  more    disorganized,  than    when    the 
fugitive  Babar   entered  India   in  search  of   a  throne 
worthy  of  his  lineage  and  his  personal  merits. 

These  commotions  were  favourable  to  the  reap-  The  weak- 
pearance  of  a  depressed  sect;  but  the  delegated  rule  of  "^^s  of  the 
Abdus  Samad  in  Lahore  was  vigorous,  and,  both  under  ^"*^''"^- 
him  and  his  weaker  successor,-  the  Sikhs  comported  ^nment^°^' 
themselves  as  peaceful  subjects  in   their  villages,  or  favourable 
lurked  in  woods  and  valleys  to  obtain  a  precarious  live-  to  the 
lihood  as  robbers.'*  The  tenets  of  Nanak  and  Gobind  sikhs. 
had  nevertheless  taken  root  in  the  hearts  of  the  people;  ^''^^■3^- 
the  peasant  and  the  mechanic   nursed  their  faith  in 
secret,  and  the  more  ardent  clung  to  the  hope  of  ample 
revenge  'and  speedy  victory.     The  departed  Guru  had 
declared  himself  the  last  of  the  prophets;  the  believers 
were  without  a  temporal  guide,  and  rude  untutored 
men,  accustomed  to  defer  to  their  teacher  as  divine, 
were  left  to  work  their  way  to  greatness,  without  an 
ordained  method,  and  without  any  other  bond  of  union  The  sikhs 
!  than  the  sincerity  of  their  common  faith.     The  pro-  ^^p*  ^°" 
gress  of  the  new  religion,  and  the  ascendancy  of  its  fj^g^fJi-^our 
votaries,  had  thus  been  trusted  to  the  pregnancy  of  ^^  t^eir 
the  truths  announced,  and  to  the  fitness  of  the  Indian  belief, 
mind  for  their  reception.     The  general  acknowledge- 
ment of  the  most  simple  and  comprehensive  principle 
i  is  sometimes  uncertain,  and  is  usually  slow  and  irregu- 
I  lar,  and  this  fact  should  be  held  in  view  in  considering 
!  the  history  of  the  Sikhs  from  the  death  of  Gobind  to 
1  the  present  time. 

!         During  the    invasion    of  Nadir    Shah,    the    Sikhs  Jf^^^^;^!;^^ 
I  collected  in    small    bands,  and    plundered    both    the  oT^unXr- 
;  stragglers  of  the  Persian  army  and  the  wealthy  inhabi-  ers.  1738-9. 
tants  who  fled  towards  the  hills  on  the  first  appearance 
of  the  conqueror,    or    when    the    massacre    at    Delhi 
became     generally     known.^     The     impunity     which 

1  [  These  included  the  famous  peacock  throne  of  Shah 
Jahan  and  the  celebrated  Koh-i-Nur.  The  subsequent  history 
of  the  latter  is  too  well  known  to  need  repetition. — ^Ed.  ] 

-  He  was  likewise  the  son  of -the  conqueror  of  Banda.  His 
name  was  Zakariya  Khan,  and  his  title  Khan  Bahadur. 

•"-  Cf.  Forster's  Travels,  i.  313,  and  Browne's  India  Tracts, 
jii.  13. 

4  Browne,  India  Tracts,  ii.  13,  14.  Nadir  acquired  from  the 
Mughal  emperor  the  provinces  of  Sindh  and  Kabul,  and  four 
I  districts  of  the  province  of  Lahore,  lying  near  the  Jhelum  river. 
I  Zakariya  Khan,  son  of  Abdul  Samad,  was  viceroy  of  Lahore 
jat  the  time. 

j  The  defeat  of  the  Delhi  sovereign,  and  Nadir's  entry  into 
I  the  capital,  took  place  on  the  13th  of  February  and  early  in 
[March,  1739,  respectively,  but  were  not  known  in  London  until 


84 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.  IV 


1737-46. 


Establish 
a  fort  at 
Dalhwal  on 
the    Ravi; 


but  are  at 
last  dis- 
persed, 
(about) 
1745-6, 


Ahmad 
Shah's  first 
invasion  of 
India, 
1747-8. 


attended  these  efforts  encouraged  them  to  bolder 
attempts,  and  they  began  to  visit  Amritsar  openly 
instead  of  in  secrecy  and  disguise.  The  Sikh  horseman, 
says  a  Muhammadan  author,  might  be  seen  riding  at 
full  gaUop  to  pay  his  devotions  at  that  holy  shrine. 
Some  rnight  be  slain,  and  some  might  be  captured,  but 
none  were  ever  known  to  abjure  their  creed,  when 
thus  taken  on  their  way  to  that  sacred  place. ^  Some 
Sikhs  next  succeeded  in  establishing  a  small  fort  at 
Dalhwal  on  the  Ravi,  and  they  were  unknown  or  dis- 
regarded, until  considerable  numbers  assembled  and 
proceeded  to  levy  contributions  around  Eminabad, 
which  lies  to  the  north  of  Lahore.  The  marauders  were 
attacked,  but  the  detachment  of  troops  was  repulsed 
and  its  leader  slain.  A  larger  force  pursued  and  defeated 
them;  many  prisoners  were  brought  to  Lahore,  and 
the  scene  of  their  execution  is  now  known  as  'Shahid 
Ganj',  or  the  place  of  martyrs.^  It  is  further  marked 
by  the  tomb  of  Bhai  Taru  Singh,  who  was  required  to 
cut  his  hair  and  to  renounce  his  faith;  but  the  old 
companion  of  Guru  Gobind  would  yield  neither  his 
conscience  nor  the  symbol  of  his  conviction,  and  his 
real  or  pretended  answer  is  preserved  to  the  present 
day.  The  hair,  the  scalp,  and  the  skull,  said  he,  have  a 
mutual  connexion;  the  head  of  man  is  linked  with  life, 
and  he  was  prepared  to  yield  his  breath  with  cheer- 
fulness. 

The  viceroyalty  of  Lahore  was  about  this  time 
contested  between  the  two  sons  of  Zakariya  Khan,  the 
successor  of  Abdus  Samad,  who  defeated  Banda.  The 
younger.  Shah  Nawaz  Khan,  displaced  the  elder,  and 
to  strengthen  himself  in  his  usurpation,  he  opened  a 
correspondence  with  Ahmad  Shah  Abdali,  who  became 
master  of  Afghanistan  on  the  assassination  of  Nadir 
Shah,  in  June  1747.  The  Durrani  king  soon  collected 
round  his  standard  numbers  of  the  hardy  tribes  of 
Central  Asia,  who  delight  in  distant  inroads  and  suc- 
cessful rapine.  He  necessarily  looked  to  India  as  the 
most  productive  field  of  conquest  or  incursion,  and  he 
could  cloak  his  ambition  under  the  double  pretext  of 
the  tendered  allegiance  of  the  governor  of  Lahore,  and 

the  1st  of  October,  so  slow  were  the  communications,  and  of  so 
little  importance  ^yas  Delhi  to  Englishmen,  three  generations 
ago.     (Wade's  Chronological  British  History,  p.  417.) 

1  The  author  is  quoted,  but  not  named  by  Malcolm,  Sketch, 
p.  88. 

2  Cf.  Browne,  India  Tracts,  ii.  13;  Malcolm,  Sketch,  p.  86; 
and  Murray's  Ranjit  Singh,  by  Prinsep,  p.  4.  Yahya  Khan,  the 
elder  son  of  Zakariya  Khan,  was  governor  of  the  Punjab  at 
the  time. 


CHAP.  IV  ARMY  OF  KHALSA  85 

of  the  favourable    reception    at  Delhi    of    his  enemy,  1'^^'^-°- 
Nadir  Shah's  fugitive  governor  of  Kabul. ^  Ahmad  Shah 
crossed  the  Indus:  but  the  usurping  viceroy  of  Lahore 
had  been  taunted  with    his    treason;    generosity    pre- 
vailed over  policy,  and  he  resolved  upon  opposing  the 
advance  of  the  Afghans.     He  was  defeated,   and  the 
Abdali    became    master    of    the    Punjab.      The    Shah 
pursued  his  march  to  Sirhind,  where  he  was  met  by 
the  Wazir  of  the  declining  empire.     Some  desultory  Retires 
skirmishing  and  one  more  decisive  action  took  place,  from  sir- 
but  the  result  of  the  whole  was  so  unfavourable  to  the  ^^"^-  ^^^  ^^ 
invader  that  he  precipitately  recrossed  the  Punjab,  and  the^sikhs^^ 
gave  an  opportunity  to  the  watchful  Sikhs  of  harassing  March 
his  rear  .and  of  gaining  confidence  in  their  own  pro-  1748. 
wess.     The  minister  of  Delhi  was  killed  by  a  cannon 
ball  during  the  short  campaign,  but  the  gallantry  and 
the  services  of  his  son,  Mir  Mannu,  had  been  conspicu-  Mir  Mannu 
ous,  and  he  became  the  viceroy  of  Lahore  and  Multan,  governor  of 
under  the  title  of  Muin-ul-mulk.-  t^e  Punjab. 

The  new  governor  was  a  man  of  vigour  and  ability,  ^i^  Mannu 
but  his  object  was  rather  to  advance  his  own  interests  ^"^^^  ^'^°" 
than  to  serve  the  emperor;  and  in  the  administration  e^pioys^" 
of  his  provinces  he  could  trust  to  no  feelings  save  those  Kaura  Mai 
which  he  personally  inspired.    He  judiciously  retained  and  Adina 
the  services  of  two  experienced  men,  Kaura  Mai  and  ^^  Khan, 
Adina  Beg  Khan,  the  one  as.  his  immediate  deputy,  and  ^''*^- 
the  other  as  the  manager  of  the  Jullundur  Doab.,Both 
had  dealt  skilfully  for  the  times  with  the  insurrection- 
ary Sikhs,  who  continued  to  press  themselves  more 
and  more  on  the  attention  of  their  unloyal  governors.^ 
During  the  invasion  of  Ahmad  Shah  they  had  thrown  But  the 
up  a  fort  close  to  Amritsar,  called  the  Ram  Rauni,  and  ^^'^'^^  ""^^P" 
one  of  their  most  able  leaders  had  arisen,  Jassa  Singh  j^gg'^^gj^  y^ 
Kalal,  a  brewer  or  distiller,  who  boldly  proclaimed  the  Kaiai  pro- 
birth  of  a  new  power  in  the  state — the  'Dal'  of  the  cinims  the 
'Khalsa,'  or  army  of  the  theocracy  of  'Singhs'.^  As  soon  existence  of 

1  Cf.  Murray's  Ranjit  Singh,  by  Prinsep,  p.  9,  and  Browne, 
India  Tracts,  ii.  15.  Nasir  Khan,  the  governor,  hesitated  about 
marrying  his  daughter  to  Ahmad  .Shah,-  one  of  another  race, 
as  well  as  about  rendering  obedience  to  him  as  sovereign.  Cf., 
however,  Elphinstone  (Account  of  Kabul,  ii.  285),  who  makes 
no  mention  of  these  particulars. 

2  Cf.  Elphinstone,  Kabul,  ii.  285,  286,  and  Murray's -Ranjit 
Singh,  pp.  6-8. 

■^  Kaura  Mai  was  himself  a  follower  of  Nanak,  without 
having  adopted  the  tenets  of  Gobind.  (Forster,  Travels,  i. 
314.)  Adina  Beg  Khan  was  appointed  manager  of  the  Jullundur 
Doab  by  Zakariya  Khan,  with  orders  to  coerce  the  Sikhs  after 
Nadir  Shah's  retirement.   (Browne,  India  Tracts,  ii.  14.) 

^  Cf.  Browne,  India  Tracts,  ii.  16,  who  gives  Charsa  Singh, 


86 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.   IV 


1748. 

the   'DaJ' 
or  army  of 
the  Khalsa. 

Mannu  dis- 
perses the 
Sikhs,    and 
comes  to 
terms  with 
Ahmad 
Shah,    who 
had  again 
crossed  the 
Indus,   end 
of  1748. 

Mir  Mannu 
breaks    with 
Delhi  by 
resisting 
his  super- 
cession  in 
Multan; 


as  Mir  Mannu  had  established  his  authority,  he 
marched  against  the  insurgents,  captured  their  fort, 
dispersed  their  troops,  and  took  measures  for  the 
general  preservation  of  good  order.^  His  plans  were 
interrupted  by  the  rumoured  approach  of  a  second 
Afghan  invasion;  he  marched  to  the  Chenab  to  repel 
the  danger,  and  he  dispatched  agents  to  the  Durrani 
camp  to  avert  it  by  promises  and  concessions.  Ahmad 
Shah's  own  rule  was  scarcely  consolidated,  he  respec- 
ted the  ability  of  the  youth  who  had  checked  him  at 
Sirhind,  and  he  retired  across  the  Indus  on  the  stipula- 
tion that  the  revenues  of  four  fruitful  districts  should 
be  paid  to  him  as  they  had  been  paid  to  Nadir  Shah, 
from  whom  he  pretended  to  derive  his  title.- 

Mir  Mannu  gained  applause  at  Delhi  for  the  suc- 
cess of  his  measures,  but  his  ambition  was  justly 
dreaded  by  the  Wazir  Safdar  Jang,  who  knew  his  own 
designs  on  Oudh,  and  felt  that  the  example  would  not 
be  lost  on  the  son  of  his  predecessor.  It  was  proposed 
to  reduce  his  power  by  conferring  the  province  of 
Multan  on  Shah  Nawaz  Khan,  whom  Mir  Mannu  him- 
self had  supplanted  in  Lahore;  ^  but  Mannu  had  an 
accurate  knowledge  of  the  imperial  power  and  of  his 
own  resources,  and  he  sent  his  deputy,  Kaura  Mai,  to 
resist  the  new  governor.  Shah  Nawaz  Khan  was  de- 
feated and  slain,  and  the  elated  viceroy  conferred  the 
title  of  Maharaja  on  his  successful  follower."*  This 
virtual  independence  of  Delhi,  and  the  suppression  of 
Sikh  disturbances,  emboldened  Mannu  to  persevere  in 
his  probably  original  design,  and  to  withhold  the  pro- 

Tuka  Singh,  and  Kirwar  Singh,  as  the  confederates  of  Jassa 
Kalal. 

1  Both  Kaura  Mai  and  Adina  Beg,  but  especially  the 
former,  the  one  from  predilection,  and  the  other  frorn  policy, 
are  understood  to  have  dissuaded  Mir  Mannu  from  proceeding 
to  extremities  against  the  Sikhs.  Cf.  Browne,  Tracts,  ii.  16,  and 
Forster,  Travels,  i.  314,  315,  327,  328,  which  latter,  however, 
justly  observes  that  Mannu  had  objects  in  view  of  greater 
moment  to  himself  than  the  suppression  of  an  infant  sect. 

2  The  Afghans  state  that  Mir  Mannu  also  became  the 
Shah's  tributary  for  the  whole  of  the  Punjab  and,  doubtless, 
he  promised  anything  to  get  the  invader  away  and  to  be  left 
alone.  (Cf.  Elphinstone,  Kabul,  ii.  286,  and  Murray,  Ranjit 
Singh,  pp.  910.) 

3  Hayatulla  Khan,  the  younger  son  of  Zakariya  Khan,  is 
stated  in  local  Multan  chronicles  to  have  held  that  province 
when  Nadir  Shah  entered  Sind,  in  1739-40,  to  fairly  settle 
and  subdue  it,  and  to  have  then  tendered  his  allegiance  to  the 
Persian  conqueror,  from  whom  he  received  the  title  of  Shah 
Nawaz  Khan. 

4  Cf.  Murray's  Ranjit  Singh,  p.  10. 


CHAP.  IV  JASSA  THE  CARPENTER  87 

mised    tribute    from    Ahmad    Shah.      A    pretence    of  i7^2. 
demanding  it  was  made,  and  the  payment  of  all  arrears  and  with- 
was  offered,  but  neither  party  felt  that  the  other  Could  holds  tri- 
be trusted,  and  the    Afghan    king    marched    towards  ^ute  from 
Lahore.     Mannu  made  a  show  of  meeting  him  on  the  a^""^"*^ 
frontier,  but  finally  he  took  up  an  entrenched  position  cro^sses^^the 
under  the  walls  of  the  city.    Had  he  remained  on  the  indus  lor 
defensive  the  Abdali  might  probably  have  been  foiled,  the  third 
but,  after  a  four  months'  beleaguer,  he  was  tempted  to  ^^rne, 
risk  an   action.     Kaura   Mai    was    killed;    Adina    Beg  "^o-si. 
scarcely  exerted  himself;  Mannu  saw  that  a  prolonged  ^a^hes 
contest  would  be  ruinous,  and  he  prudently  retired  to  Lahore, 
the  citadel  and  gave  in  his  adhesion  to  the  conqueror.  1752.  and 
The  Shah  was  satisfied  with  the  surrender  of  a  consi-  defeats 
derable  treasure  and  with  the  annexation  of  Lahore  '^^nnu; 
and  Multan  to  his  dominions.    He  expressed  his  admi-  hi'm'a^J^^"^ 
ration  of  Mannu's  spirit  as  a  leader,  and  efficiency  as  a  governor  of 
manager,  and  he  continued  him  as  his  own  delegate  in  the  Punjab, 
the  new  acquisitions.    The  Shah  took  measuers  to  bring  April  1752. 
Kashmir  also  under  his  sway,  and  then  retired  towards 
his  native  country.^ 

This  second  capture  of  ^jahore  by  strangers  neces-  ^he  sikhs 
sarily  weakened   the   administration  of  the  province,  gradually 
and  the    Sikhs,    ever    ready    to    rise,    again    becama  strength/" 
troublesome;  but  Adina  Beg  found  it  advisable  at  the 
time  to  do  away  with  the  suspicions  which  attached  to 
his  inaction  at  Lahore,  and  to  the  belief  that  he  tem- 
porized with  insurgent  peasantry  for  purposes  of  his 
own.    He  was  required  to  bring  the  Sikhs  to  order,  for 
they  had  virtually  possessed  themselves  of  the  country 
lying  between  Amritsar  and  the  hills.    He  fell  suddenly  "^^^  are  de- 
upon  them  during  a  day  of  festival  at  Makhowal,  and  feated-by 
gave  them  a  total  defeat.  But  his  object  was  still  to  be  th^T^n^er- 
thought  their  friend,  and  he  came  to  an  understanding  7he°esT^^^' 
with  them    that    their    payment    of    their    own    rents  gives  them 
should  be  nominal  or  limited,  and  their  exactions  from  favourable 
others  moderate  or  systematic.     He  took  also  many  of  terms,  a.  d. 
them   into    his  pay;    one   of  the   number   being   Jassa  ^^^^' 
Singh,  a  carpenter,  who  afterwards  became  a  chief  of  J^^sa  the 

consideration.^  carpenter. 

Mir  Mannu  died  a  few  months  after  the  re-esta-  ^ir  Mannu 
blishment   of  his   authority   as  the    deputy    of   a   new  ^'^^'  ^"f 
master.^    His    widcw    succeeded     in     procuring    the  ^^^°^^  ^ 

1  Cf.    Elphinstone,    Kabul,    ii.    288,    and   Murray's    Ranjit 
Singh,  pp.   10,  13. 

2  Cf.  Browne,  India  Tracts,  ii.   17,  and  Malcolm,  Sketch, 
p.  82. 

3  Forster    (Travels,  i.  315)   and  Malcolm    (Sketch,  p.  92), 
£:.y  1752.     Browne   (Tracts,  ii.  18)   gives  the  Hijri  year,  1165, 


88 


HISTOKY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.   IV 


1756-3. 

reannexed 
to  Delhi, 
end   of 
1752. 


Ahmad 
Shah's 
fourth  in- 
vasion. 
Prince  Tai- 
mur,  go- 
vernor of 
the    Punjab, 
and  Najib- 
ud-daula 
placed  at 
the  head   of 
the  Delhi 
army,  1755-6. 

Taimur 
expels  the 
Sikhs  irom 
Amritsar. 


acknowledgement  of  his  infant  son  as  viceroy  under 
her  own  guardianship,  and  she  endeavoured  to  stand 
equally  well  with  the  court  of  Delhi  and  with  the 
Durrani  king.  She  professed  submission  to  both,  and 
she  betrothed  her  daughter  to  Ghazi-ud-din,  the  grand- 
son of  the  first  Nizam  of  the  Deccan,  who  had  sup- 
planted the  viceroy  of  Oudh  as  the  minister  of  the 
enfeebled  empire  of  India. ^  But  the  Wazir  wished  to 
recover  a  province  for  his  sovereign,  as  well  as  to 
obtain  a  bride  for  himself.  He  proceeded  to  Lahore 
and  removed  his  enraged  mother-in-law;  and  the  Pun- 
jab remained  for  a  time  under  the  nominal  rule  of 
Adina  Beg  Khan,  until  Ahmad  Shah  again  marched 
and  made  it  his  own.  The  Durrani  king  passed  through 
Lahore  in  the  winter  of  1755-6,  leaving  his  son  Taimur 
under  the  tutelage  of  a  chief,  named  Jahan  Khan,  as 
governor.  The  Shah  likewise  annexed  Sirhind  to 'his 
territories,  and  although  he  extended  his  pardon  to 
Ghazi-ud-din  personally,  he  did  not  return  to  Kan- 
dahar until  he  had  plundered  Delhi  and  Mathura,  and 
placed  Najib-ud-daula,  a  Rohilla  leader,  near  the  per- 
son of  the  Wazir's  puppet  king,  as  the  titular  com.- 
mander  of  the  forces  of  the  Delhi  empire,  and  as  the 
efficient  representative  of  Abdali  interests.^ 

Prince  Taimur's  first  object  was  to  thoroughly 
disperse  the  insurgent  Sikhs,  and  to  punish  Adina  Beg 
for  the  support  which  he  had  given  to  the  Dellii 
minister  in  recovering  Lahore.  Jassa,  the  carpenter, 
had  restored  the  Ram  Rauni  of  Amritsar;  that  place 
was  accordingly  attacked,  the  fort  was  levelled,  the 
buildings  were  demolished,  and  the  sacred  reservoir 
was  filled  with  the  ruins.  Adina  Beg  would  not  trust 
the. prince,  and  retired  to  the  hills,  secretly  aiding  and 
encouraging  the  Sikhs  in  their  desire  for  revenge.  They 
assembled  in  great  numbers,  for  the  faith  of  Gobind 


which  corresponds  with  a.  d.  1751,  1752.  Murray  (Ranjit  Singh, 
p.  13)  simply  says  Mannu  did  not  long  survive  his  submission, 
but  Elphinstone  {Kabul,  ii.  288)  gives  1756  as  the  date  of  the 
viceroy's  death. 

1  The  original  name  of  Ghazi-ud-din  was  Shahab-ud-din, 
corrupted  into  Sahoodeen  and  Shaodeen  by  the  Marathas. 

'2  Cf.  Forster,  Travels,  i.  316,  317;  Browne,  Tracts,  ii.  48; 
Malcolm,  Sketch,  pp.  92,  94;  Elphinstone,  Kabul,  ii.  288,  289; 
and  Murray,  Ranjit  Singh,  pp.  14,  15. 

During  the  nominal  viceroyalty  of  Mir  Mannu's  widow, 
one  Bikari  Khan  played  a  conspicuous  part  as  her  deputy.  He 
was  finally  put  to  death  by  the  lady  as  one  who  designed  to 
supplant  her  authority;  but  he  was,  nevertheless,  supposed  to 
have  been  her  paramour.  (Cf.  Browne,  ii.  18,  and  Murray, 
p.  14.)  The-  gilt  mosque  at  Lahore  was  built  by  this  Bikari 
Khan. 


CHAP.  IV  THE  SIKHS  COIN  MONEY  89 

was   the    living    conviction    of    hardy    single-minded  I'ss-ei. 
villagers,   rather   than   the   ceremonial  belief   of  busy 
citizens,  with  thoughts  diverted  by  the  opposing  inte- 
rests and  conventional  usages  of  artificial  society.    The 
country  around  Lahore  swarmed  with  horsemen;  the  But  the 
prince  and  his  guardian  were  wearied  with  their  cum-  Afghans 
broUs  efforts  to  scatter  them,  and  they  found  it  prudent  eventually 
to  retire  towards  the  Chenab.    Lahore  was  temporarily  !!*"^jifh"^ 
occupied  by  the  triumphant  Sikhs,  and  the  same  Jassa  occupy 
Singh,  who  had  proclaimed  the  'Khalsa'  to  be  a  state  Lahore 
and  to  possess  an  army,  now  gave  it  another  symbol  and  coin 
of  substantive  power.    He  used  the  mint  of  the  Mughals  money, 
to  strike  a  rupee  bearing  the  inscription,  'Coined  by  ^'^^^"^• 
the  grace  of  the  "Khalsa"  in  the  country  of  Ahmad, 
conquered  by  Jessa  the  Kalal.'  ^ 

The  Delhi  minister  had  about  this  time  called  in  The  Mara- 
the  Marathas  to  enable  him  to  expel'  Najib-ud-daula,  *^^^  .^* 
who,  by  his  own  address  and  power,  and  as  the  agent  ^^^^^-  ^''^^■ 
of  Ahmad  Shah  Abdali,  had  become  paramount  in  the 
imperial  councils.  Ghazi-ud-din  easily  induced  Raghuba, 
the  Peshwa's  brother,  to  advance;  IDelhi  was  occupied 
by  the    Marathas,    and    Najib-ud-daula    escaped    with 
difficulty.     Adina  Beg  found  the  Sikhs  less  willing  to 
defer  to  him  than  he  had  hoped;  they  were,  moreover, 
not  powerful  enough  to  enable  him  to  govern  the  Pun- 
jab unaided,  and  he  accordingly  invited  the  Marathas  Maratha 
to  extend  their  arms  to  the  Indus.    He  had  also  a  body  aid  against 
of  Sikh  followers,  and  he  marched  from  the  Jumna  in  "the  Afghans 
company  with  Raghuba.     Ahmad  Shah's  governor  of  nought  by 
Sirhind    was    expelled,    but   Adina    Beg's    Sikh    allies  tt'I"^  ^^^ 
incensed  the   Marathas   by  anticipatmg  them   in   the 
plunder  of  the  town,  which,  after  two  generations  of  ^fg^g^La- 
rapine,  they  considered  as  peculiarly  their  right.  The  hore,  and 
Sikhs  evacuated  Lahore,  and  the  several  Afghan  gar-  appoints 
risons  retired  and  left  the  Marathas  masters  of  Multan  Adina  Beg 
and  of  Attock,  as  well  as  of  the  capital  itself.    Adina  ^i^eroy  of 
Beg  became  the  governor  of  the  Punjab,  but  his  vision  JJ^  ^n^sJ*^' 
of  complete  independence  was  arrested  by  death,  and  Adina  Beg 
a  few  months  after  he  had  established  his  authority  he  dies,  end 
was  laid  in  his  grave.-    The  Marathas  seemed  to  see  all  of  i758. 

1  Cf.  Browne,  Tracts,  ii.  19:  Malcolm,  Sketch,  p.  93,  &c.; 
Elphinstone,  Kabul,  ii.  289;  and  Murray,  Ranjit  Singh,  p.  15. 

Elphinstone,  using  Afghan  accounts,  says  Adina  Beg  de- 
feated a  body  of  Taimur  troops;  and  Murray,  using  apparently 
the  accounts  of  Punjab  Muhammadans,  omits  the  occupation, 
of  Lahore  by  the  Sikhs. 

-  Cf.  Browne,  India  Tracts,  ii.  19,  20;  Forster,  Travels,  i. 
317,  318;  Elphinstone,  Kabul  ii.  290;  and  Grant  Duff,  History  of 
the  Marathas,  ii.  132.  Adina  Beg  appears  to  have  died  before 
the  end  of  1758. 


90 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.   IV 


1758-61. 


Ahmad 
Shah's    fifth 
expedition, 
J  759-61. 


Delhi  occu- 
pied by  the 
Afghans, 
but  after- 
wards 
taken  by 
the  Mara- 
thas,   1760. 


The  Mara- 
thas    signal- 
ly defeated 
at  Panipat, 
Tnd  expel- 
led tempo- 
rarily from 
Upper 
India,    7th 
Jan.,    1761. 


India  at  their  feet,  and  they  concerted  with  Ghazi- 
ud-din  a  scheme  pleasing  to  both,  the  reduction  of 
Oudh  and  the  expulsion  of  the  Rohillas.^  But  the  loss 
of  the  Punjab  brought  Ahmad  Shah  a  second  time  to 
the  banks  of  the  Jumna,  and  dissipated  for  ever  the 
Maratha  dreams  of  supremacy.- 

The  Durrani  king  marched  from  Baluchistan  up 
the  Indus  to  Peshawar,  and  thence  across  the  Punjab. 
His  presence  caused  Multan  and  Lahore  to  be  evacua- 
ted by  the  Marathas,  and  his  approach  induced  the 
Wazir  Ghazi-ud-din  to  take  the  life  of  the  emperor, 
while  the  young  prince,  afterwards  Shah  Alam,  was 
absent  endeavtDuring  to  gain  strength  by  an  alliance 
with  the  English,  the  new  masters  of  Bengal.  The 
Maratha  commanders,  Sindhia  and  Holkar,  were  sepa- 
rately overpowered;  the  Afghan  king  occupied  Delhi, 
and  then  advanced  towards  the  Ganges  to  engage 
Shuja-ud-daula,  of  Oudh,  in  the  general  confederacy 
against  the  southern  Hindus,  who  were  about  to  makd 
an  effort  for  the  final  extinction  of  the  Muhammadan 
rule.  A  new  commander,  untried  in  the  northern  war.s, 
but  accompanied  by  the  Peshwa's  heir  and  by  all  th2 
Maratha  chiefs  of  name,  was  advancing  from  Poona-, 
confident  in  his  fortune  and  in  his  superior  numbers. 
Sedasheo  Rao  easily  expelled  the  Afghan  detachment 
from  Delhi,  while  the  main  body  was  occupied  in  the 
Doab,  and  he  vainly  talked  of  proclaiming  young 
Wiswas  Rao  to  be  the  paramount  of  India.  But  Ahmad 
Shah  gained  his  great  victory  of  Panipat  in  the  begin 
ning  of  1761,  and  both  the  influence  of  the  Peshwa 
among  his  own  people,  and  the  power  of  the  Marathas 
in  Hindustan,  received  a  blow,  from  which  neither 
fully  recovered,  and  which,  indirectly,  aided  the  ac- 
complishment of  their  desires  by  almost  unheeded 
foreigners.^ 

The  Afghan  king  returned  to  Kabul  immediately 
after  the  battle,  leaving  deputies  in  Sirhind  and 
Lahore,^  and  the  Sikhs  only  appeared,  during  this  cam- 

1  Cf.  Elphinstone,  History  of  India,  ii.  669,  670. 

2  Najib-ud-daula,  and  the  Rohillas  likewise,  urged  Ahmad 
to  return,  when  »they  saw  their  villages  set  on  flames  by  the 
Marathas.  (Elphinstone,  India,  ii.  670,  and  Browne,  Tracts,  ii. 
20.) 

^  Browne,  India  Tracts,  ii.  20,  21;  Elphinstone,  History  of 
India,  ii.  670,  &c.;  and  Murray,  Ranjit  Singh,  pp.  17,  20. 

Elphinstone  says  the  Maratha  leader  only  delayed  to  pro- 
claim Wiswas  the  paramount  of  Hindustan  until  the  Durranis 
shoxild  be  driven  across  the  Indus.  See  also  Grant  Duff,  History 
oj  the  Marathas,  ii.  142  and  note. 

4  Baland  Khan  in  Lahore,  and  Zain  Khan  in  Sirhind, 
according  to  Browne,  India  Tracts,  ii.  21,  23. 


CHAP.  IV     THE  AFGHANS  AND  MARATHAS  01 

paign,  as  predatory  bands  hovering  round  the  Durrani  i76i-2. 
army;  but  the  absence  of  all  regular  government  gave  The  sikhs 
them  additional  strength,  and  they  became  not  only  unre- 
masters  of  their  own  villages,  but  began  to  erect  forts  strained  in 
for  the  purpose  of  keeping  stranger  communities  in  ^'^^  °p^" 
check.     Among  others  Charat  Singh,  the  grandfather  ^°^^  ^^' 
of  Ranjit  Singh,  established  a  stronghold  of  the  kind 
in  his  wife's  village  of  Gujrnauli   (or  Gujranwala),  to 
the  northward  of  Lahore.     The  Durrani  governor,  or 
his  deputy,  Khwaja   Obed,   went   to   reduce   it  in   the 
beginning  of  1762,^  and  the   Sikhs   assembled  for  its 
relief.     The  Afghan  was  repulsed,  he  left  his  baggage  Gujranwaia 
to  be  plundered,  and  fled  to  shut  himself  up  within  the  ^u^^^^efen- 
walls  of  Lahore.-     The  governor  of  Sirhind  held  his  d" /by^  ^"' 
ground  better,  for  he  was  assisted  by  an  active  Muham-  charat 
madan  leader  of  the  country,  Hinghan  Khan  of  Maler  smgh,  and 
Kotla;  but  the  Sikhs  resented  this  hostility  of  an  Indian  the  Durra- 
Pathan  as  they  did  the  treason  of  a  Hindu  religionist  "'^  ^°"" 
of  Jindiala,  who  wore  a  sword  like  themselves,  and  yet  La^ore^ 
adhered  to  Ahmad  Shah.     The  'army  of  the  Khalsa'  1761-2. ' 
assembled   at  Amritsar,  the  faithful  performed  their  The  sikhs 
ablutions  in  the  restored  pool,  and  perhaps  the  first  assemble 
regular  'Gurumatta',  or  diet  for  conclave,  was  held  on  ^*  Amrit- 
this  occasion.    The  possessions  of  Hinghan  Khan  were  ravage'^the 
ravaged,  and    Jindiala    was    invested,    preparatory    to  country 'on 
attempts  of  greater  moment.'^  either  side 

But  the  restless  Ahmad  Shah  was  again  at  hand.  °^  *^^ 
This  prince,  the  very  ideal  of  the  Afghan  genius,  hardy  ^"*^^^- 
and  enterprising,  fitted  for  conquest,  yet  incapable  of  g^Tf^ 
empire,  seemed  but  to  exist  for  the  sake  of  losing  and  gi^th  ^inva- 
recovering  provinces.  He  reached  Lahore  towards  the  sion,  i762. 
end  of  1762,  and  the  Sikhs  retired  to  the  South  of  the 
Sutlej,  perhaps  with  some  design  of  joining  their  bre- 
thren who  were  watching  Sirhind,  and  of  overpowering 
Zain  Khan  the  governor,  before  they  should  be  engaged 
with  Ahmad  Shah  himself;  but  in  two  long  and  rapid 
marches  from  Lahore,  by  way  of  Ludhiana,  the  king 
came  up  with  the  Sikhs  when  they  were  about  to  enter 
into  action  with  his  lieutenant.     He  gave  them  a  total  "^'^^  'Ghuiu 
defeat,  and  the  Muhammadans  were  as  active  in  the  ^^^'^^'^  °^ 

1  Murray  (Ranjit  Singh,  p.  21)  makes  Khwaja  Obed  the 
governor,  and  he  may  have  succeeded  or  represented  Baland 
Khan,  whom  other  accounts  show  to  have  occasionally  resided 
at  Rohtas.  Gujranwala  is  the  more  common,  if  less  ancient, 
form  of  the  name  of  the  village  attacked.  It  was  also  the  place 
of  Ranjit  Singh's  birth,  and  is  now  a  fair-sized  and  thriving 
town.  (Cf.  Munshi  Shahamat  All's  Sikhs  and  Afghans,  p.  51.) 

2  Murray,  Ranjit  Singh,  pp.'  22,  23. 

3  Cf.  Browne,  India  Tracts,  ii.  22,  23;  and  Murray,  Ranjit 
Singh,  p. '23. 


92 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.   IV 


1762-3. 

great   defeat 
of  the  Sikhs 
near    Ludhi- 
ana,  Feb. 
1762. 

Alha    Singh 
of  Patiala. 


Kabuli  Mai 
governor  of 
Lahore. 

Ahmad 
Shah  re- 
t  res  after 
committing 
various  ex- 
cesses, end 
of    1762. 

The  Sikhs 
continue  to 
increase  in 
strength. 


Kasur 
plundered. 


The 

Afghans 
defeated, 
Dec.    1763. 


pursuit  as  they  had  been  ardent  in  the  attack.  The 
Sikhs  are  variously  reported  to  have  lost  from  twelve 
to  twenty-five  thousand  men,  and  the  rout  is  still  fami- 
liarly known  as  the  'Ghulu  Ghara',  or  great  disaster.^ 
Alha  Singh,  the  founder  of  the  present  family  of 
Patiala,  was  among  the  prisoners,  but  his  manly  de- 
portment pleased  the  warlike  king,  and  the  conqueror 
may  not  have  been  insensible  to  the  policy  of  widening 
the  difference  between  a  Malwa  and  a  Manjha  Singh. 
He  was  declared  a  raja  of  the  state  and  dismissed  with 
honour.  The  Shah  had  an  interview  at  Sirhind  with 
his  ally  or  dependent,  Najib-ud-daula;  he  made  a 
Hindu,  named  Kabuli  Mai,  his  governor  of  Lahore,  and 
then  hastened  towards  Kandahar  to  suppress  an  insur- 
rection in  that  distant  quarter;  but  he  first  gratified 
his  own  resentment,  and  indulged  the  savage  bigotry 
of  his  followers,  by  destroying  the  renewed  temples  jf 
Amritsar,  by  polluting  the  pool  with  slaughtered  cows, 
by  encasing  numerous  pyramids  with  the  heads  of  de- 
capitated Sikhs,  and  by  cleansing,  the  walls  of  desecra- 
ted mosques  with  the  blood  of  his  infidel  enemies.^ 

The  Sikhs  were  not  cast  down;  they  received  daily 
accessions  to  their  numbers;  a  vague  feeling  that  they 
were  a  people  had  arisen  among  them;  all  were  bent  on 
revenge,  and  their  leaders  were  ambitious  of  dominion 
and  of  fame.  Their  first  efforts  were  directed  against 
the  Pathan  colony  of  Kasur,  which  place  they  took  and 
plundered,  and  they  then  fell  upon  and  slew  their  old 
enemy  Hinghan  Khan  of  Maler  Kotla.  They  next 
marched  towards  Sirhind,  and  the  court  of  Delhi  was 
incapable  of  raising  an  arm  in  support  of  Muhamma- 
danism.  Zain  Khan,  the  Afghan  governor,  gave  battle 
to  the  true  or  probable  number  of  40,000  Sikhs  in  the 
rhonth  of  December  1763,  but  he  was  defeated  and 
slain,  and  the  plains  of  Sirhind,  from  the  Sutlej  to  the 
Jumna,  were  occupied  by  the  victors  without  further 
opposition.  Tradition  still  describes  how  the  Sikhs 
dispersed  as  soon  as  the  battle  was  won,  and  how, 
riding  day  and  night,  each  horseman  would  throw  his 
belt  and  scabbard,  his  articles  of  dress  and  accoutre- 
ment,   until    he    was    almost    naked,    into    successive 


1  The  scene  of  the  fight  lay  between  Gujerwal  and  Bernala, 
perhaps  twenty  miles  south  from  Ludhiana.  Hmgham  Khan, 
of  Maler  Kotla,  seems  to  have  guided  the  Shah.  Cf.  Browne, 
Tracts,  ii.  23;  Forster,  Travels,  i.  319;  and  Murray,  Ranjit  Singh, 
np.  23,  25.  The  action  appears  to  have  been  fought  in  February 
1762. 

-  Cf.  Forster,  Travels,  i.  320:  and  Murray,  Ranjit  Singh, 
p.  25.  t 


CHAP.  IV        INCREASE  OF  SIKH  POWER  93 

villages,  to  mark  them  as  his.  Sirhind  itself  was  totally  1763-4. 
destroyed,  and  the  feeling,  still  lingers  which  makes  it  sirhind 
meritorious  to  carry  away  a  brick  from  the  place  which  taken  and 
witnessed  the  death    of  the    mother    and    children  of  tiestroyed, 
Gobind  Singh.    The  impulse  of  victory  swept  the  Sikhs  ''"^^./^'^^^ 
across  the  Jumna,  and  their  presence  in   Saharanpur  pe°ma. 
recalled  Najib-ud-daula  from  his  contests  with  the  Jats,  nentiy  oc 
under  Suraj  Mai,  to  protect  his  own  principality,  and  cupied  by 
he  found  it  prudent  to  use  negotiation  as  well  as  force,  ^^^  sikhs. 
to  induce  the  invaders  to  retire.^ 

Najib-ud-daula  was  successful  against  the  Jats,  and  T^e  sikhs 
Suraj  Mai  was  killed  in  fight;  but  the  wazir,  or  regent,  If^^^J,^^^ 
was  himself  besieged  in  Delhi,  in  1764,  by  the  son  of  p^r  in 
the  deceased  chief,  and  the  heir  of  Bhartpur  was  aided  besieging 
by  a  large  body  of  Sikhs,  as  well  as  of  Marathas  more  Delhi.   i764 
accustomed  to  defy  the  imperial  power.-  The  loss  of 
Sirhind    had    brought    Ahmad    Shah    a    seventh    time 
across  the  Indus,  and  the  danger  of  Najib-ud-daula  led 
him  onwards  to  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Jumna;  but 
the  siege   of  Delhi  being  raised — partly   through   the  Ahmad 
mediation    or    the    defection    of  the    Maratha    chief,  shah's 
Holkar,  and  the  Shah    having    perhaps    rebellions    to  seventh  ex- 
suppress  in  his  native  provinces,  hastened  back  without  p^^^^^o"^ 
making  any  effective  attempt  to  recover  Sirhind.     He  ^gWement^ 
was  content  v/ith  acknowledging  Alha  Singh  of  Patiala 
as  governor  of  the  province  on  his  part,  that  chief  hav- 
ing opportunely  procured  the  town  itself  in  exchange 
from  the  descendant  of  an  old  companion  of  the  Guru's, 
to  whom  the  confederates  had  assigned  it.     The  Sikh 
accounts  do  not  allow  that  the  Shah  retired  unmolested, 
but  describe  a  long  and  arduous  contest  in  the  vicinity 
of  Amritsar,  which  ended  without  either  party  being 
able  to  claim  a  victory,  although  it  precipitated  the 
already  hurried  retirement  of  the  Afghans.  The  Sikhs  The  sikhs 
found  little  difficulty  in  ejecting  Kabuli  Mai,  the  gov-  become 
ernor    of  Lahore,    and   the   whole    country,    from    the  ^3^^^*^^  °^ 
Jhelum  to  the  Sutlej,  was  partitioned  among  chiefs  and 
their  followers,    as    the    plains    of    Sirhind    had    been 
divided  in  the  year  previous.  Numerous  mosques  were  ^  general 
demolished,  and  Afghans  in  chains  were  made  to  wash  assembly 
the  foundations  with  the  blood  of  hogs.     The  chiefs  held  at 
then  assembled  at  Amritsar,  and  proclaimed  their  own  Amritsar. 
sway  and  the  prevalence  of  their  faith,  by  striking  a  ^""^  ^^^ 

1  Cf.  Browne,  India  Tracts,  ii.  24,  and  Murray,  Ranjit  Singh, 
pp.  26,  27.  Some  accounts  represent  the  SikHs  to  have  also  be- 
come temporarily  possessed  of  Lahore  at  this  period. 

2  Cf.  Browne,  Tracts,  ii.  24.  Sikh  tradition  still  preserves 
the  names  of  the  chiefs  who  plundered  the  vegetable  market 
at  Delhi  on  this  occasion. 


94 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP,  rv 


1764. 

sect    esta- 
blished as  a 
ruLng  people. 
The  Sikhs 
form  or  fall 
into   a    poli- 
tical  system, 


which  may 
be  termed  n 
theocratic 
confederate 
feudalism. 


Their  Gu- 
rumattas, 
or  diets. 


coin  with  an  inscription  to  the  effect  that  Guru  Gobind 
had  received  from  Nanak  'Deg,  Tegh,  and  Fath',  or 
Grace,  Power,  and  Rapid  Victory.^ 

The  Sikhs  were  not  interfered  with  for  two  years, 
and  the  short  interval  was  employed  in  ascertaining 
their  actual  possessions,  and  in  determining  their 
mutual  relations  in  their  unaccustomed  condition  of 
liberty  and  power.  Every  Sikh  was  free,  and  each  was 
a  substantive  member  of  the  commonwealth;  but  their 
means,  their  abilities,  and  their  opportunities  were 
various  and  unequal,  and  it  was  soon  found  that  all 
could  not  lead,  and  that  there  were  even  then  masters 
as  well  as  servants.  Their  system  naturally  resolved 
itself  into  a  theocratic  confederate  feudalism,  with  all 
the  confusion  and  uncertainty  attendant  upon  a  triple 
alliance  of  the  kind  in  a  society  half-barbarous.  God 
was  their  helper  and  only  judge,  community  of  faith 
or  object  was  their  moving  principle,  and  warlike 
array,  the  devotion  to  steel  of  Gobind,  was  their  mate- 
rial instrument.  Year  by  year  the  'Sarbat  Khalsa',  or 
whole  Sikh  people,  met  once  at  least  at  Amritsar,  on 
the  occasion  of  the  festival  of  the  mythological  Rama, 
when  the  cessation  of  the  periodical  rains  rendered 
military  operations  practicable.  It  was  perhaps  hoped 
that  the  performance  of  religious  duties,  and  the  awe 
inspired  by  so  holy  a  place,  might  cause  selfishness  to 
yield  to  a  regard  for  the  general  welfare,  and  the 
assembly  of  chiefs  was  termed  a  'Gurumatta',  to  denote 
that,  in  conformity  with  Gobind's  injunction,  they 
sought  wisdom  and  unanimity  of  counsel  from  their 
teacher  and  the  book  of  his  word.-    The  leaders  who 

1  Cf.  Browne,  India  Tracts,  ii.  25,  27;  Forster,  Travels,  i. 
321,  323;  Elphinstone,  Kabul,  ii.  296,  297;  and  Murray,  Ranjit 
Singh,  pp.  26,  27. 

The  rupees  struck  were  called  'Gobindshahi',  and  the  use 
of  the  emperor's  name  was  rejected  (Browne,  Tracts,  ii.  28), 
although  existing  coins  show  that  it  was  afterwards  occasionally- 
inserted  by  petty  chiefs.  On  most  coins  struck  by  Ranjit  Singh 
is  the  inscription, 

'Deg,  tegh,  wa  fath,  wa  nasrat  be  darang 
Yaft  az  Nanak  Guru  Gobind  Singh', 

that  is  literally,  'Grace,  power,  and  victory,  victory  without 
pause,  Guru  Gobind  Singh  obtained  from  Nanak.'  For  some 
observations  on  the  words  Deg,  and  Tegh,  and  Fath,  see  Appen- 
dices IX  and  XII.  Browne  (Tracts,  ii.  Introd.  vii)  gives  no 
typical  import  to  'Deg',  and  therefore  leaves  it  meaningless;  but 
he  is  perhaps  more  prudent  than  Col.  Sleeman,  who  writes  of 
'the  sword,  the  pot  victory,  and  conquest  being  quickly  found', 
&c.  &c.  (See  Rambles  of  An  Indiaii  Official,  ii.  233,  note.) 

~  'Mat'  means  understanding,  and  'Malta'  counsel  or  wis- 


CHAP.  IV    INDEPENDENCE  OF  THE  SIKHS  95 

thus  piously  met,  owned  no  subjection  to  one  another,  ^^ 

and  they  were  imperfectly  obeyed  by  the  majority  oJ: 

their  followers;   but   the   obvious   feudal,   or   military 

x'iotion  of  a  chain  of  dependence,  was  acknowledged  as 

the  law,  and  the  federate  chiefs  partitioned  their  joint 

conquests  equally  among  themselves,  and  divided  their 

resplective  shares  in  the  same  manner  among  their  own 

leaders  of  bands,  while  these  again  subdivided  their 

portions   among   their   own   dependents,   agreeably   to 

the  general  custom  of  subinfeudation.^     This  positive 

or  understood  rule  was  not,  however,  always  applicable 

to  actual  conditions,  for  the  Sikhs  were  in  part  of  their 

possessions  'earthborn',  or  many  held  lands  in  which 

the  mere  withdrawal  of  a  central  authority  had  left 

them  wholly  independent  of  control.  In  theory  such 

men  were  neither  the  subjects  nor  the  retainers  of  any 

feudal  chiefs,  and  they  could  transfer  their  services  to 

whom  they  pleased,  or  they  could  themselves  become 

leaders,  and  acquire  new  lands  for  their  own  use  in 

the  name  of  the  Khalsa  or  commonwealth.-     It  would  The  system 

be  idle  to  call  an  everchanging  state  of  alliance  and  ^°^  devised. 

dependence    by  the    name    of    a  constitution,    and   we  ""^  J^^^^- 

must  look  for  the  existence  of  the  faint  outline  of  a  ied,^and°^' 

system,  among  the  emancipated  Sikhs,  rather  in  the  therefore 

,  dom.   Hence  Gurumatta  becomes,   literally,   'the  advice  of  the 
I  Guru.' 

Malcolm  (Sketch,  p.  52)  considers,  and  Browne  (Tracts,  ii. 
vii)  leaves  it  to  be  implied,  that  Gobind  directed  the  assemblage 
of  Gurumatta;  but  there  is  no  authority  for  believing  that  he 
j  ordained  any  formal  or  particular  institution,  although,  doubt- 
"  less,  the  general  scope  of  his  injunctions,  and  the  peculiar 
political  circumstances  of  the  times,  gave  additional  force  to 
the  practice  of  holding  diets  or  conclaves' — a  practice  common 
to  mankind  everywhere,  and  systematized  in  India  from  time 
inxmemorial.  Cf.  Forster,  Travels,  i.  328,  &c.,  for  some  obser- 
vations on  the  transient  Sikh  government  of  the  time,  and  on 
the  more  enduring  characteristics  of  the  people.  See  also  Mal- 
colm, Sketch,  p.  120,  for  the  ceremonial  forms  of  a  Gurumatta. 

1  Cf.  Murray,  Ranjit  Singh,  pp.  33 — 37.  From  tracts  of 
country  which  the  Sikhs  subdued  but  did  not  occupy.  'Rakhi' 
(literally,  protection  money)  was  regularly  levied.  The  Rakhi 
varied  in  amount  from  perhaps  a  fifth  to  a  half  of  the  rental 
or  government  share  of  the  produce.  It  corresponded  with 
the  Maratha  'Chowt',  or  fourth,  and  both  terms  meant  'black- 
mail', or,  in  a  higher  sense,  tribute.  Cf.  Browne,  India  Tracts. 
ii.  viii,  and  Murray,  Ranjit  Singh,  p.  32.  The  subdivisions  of 
property  were  sometimes  so  minute  that  two,  or  three,  or  ten 
Sikhs  might  become  co-partners  in  the  rental  of  one  village, 
or  in  the  house  tax  of  one  street  of  a  town,  while  the  fact  that 
jurisdiction  accompanied  such  right  increased  the  confusion. 

-  Hallam  shows  that  the  Anglo-Saxon  freeholder  had  a 
similar  latitude  of  choice  with  regard  to  a  lord  or  superior. 
(Middle  Ages,  Supplemental  Notes,  p.  210.) 


96 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.   IV 


1764. 

incomplete 
and  tempo- 
rary. 


The  con- 
I'ederacies 
called 
Misals. 


Their 
names  and 
particular 
origin. 


dictates  of  our  common  nature,  than  in  the  enactments 
of  assemblies,  or  in  the  injunctions  of  their  religious 
guides.  It  was  soon  apparent  that  the  strong  were 
ever  ready  to  make  themselves  obeyed,  and  ever 
anxious  to  appropriate  all  within  their  power,  and  that 
unity  of  creed  or  of  race  nowhere  deters  men  from 
preying  upon  one  another.  A  full  persuasion  of  God's 
grace  was  nevertheless  present  to  the  mind  of  a  Sikh, 
and  every  member  of  that  faith  continues  to  defer  to 
the  mystic  Khalsa;  but  it  requires  the  touch  of  genius, 
or  the  operation  of  peculiar  circumstances,  to  give 
direction  and  complete  effect  to  the  enthusiastic  belief 
of  a  multitude. 

The  confederacies  into  which  the  Sikhs  resolved 
themselves  have  been  usually  recorded  as  twelve  in 
number,  and  the  term  used  to  denote  such  a  union  was 
the  Arabic  word  'Misal',  alike  or  equal.  ^  Each  Misal 
obeyed  or  followed  a  'Sirdar',  that  is  simply,  a  chief 
or  leader;  but  so  general  a  title  was  as  applicable  to 
the  head  of  a  small  band  as  to  the  commander  of  a 
large  host  of  the  free  and  equal  'Singhs'  of  the  system. 
The  confederacies  did  not  all  exist  in  their  full  strength 
at  the  same  time,  but  one  'Misal'  gave  birth  to  another; 
for  the  federative  principle  necessarily  pervaded  the 
union,  and  an  aspiring  chief  could  separate  himself 
from  his  immediate  party,  to  form,  perhaps,  a  greater 
one  of  his  own.  The  Misals  were  again  distinguished 
by  titles  derived  from  the  name,  the  village,  the  dist- 
rict, or  the  progeni'tor  of  the  first  or  most  eminent  chief, 
or  from  some  peculiarity  of  custom  or  of  leadership. 
Thus,  of  the  twelve  :  (1)  the  Bhangis  were  so  called 
from  the  real  or  fancied  fondness  of  its  members  for 
the  use  of  an  intoxicating  drug;  -  (2)  the  Nishanias 
followed  the  standard  bearers  of  the  united  army;  (3) 
the  Shahids  and  Nihangs  were  headed,  by  the  descend- 
ants of  honoured  martyrs  and  zealots;  (4)  the  Ram- 
garhias  took  their  name  from  the  Ram  Rauni,  or 
Fortalice  of  God,  at  Amritsar,  enlarged  into  Ramgarh, 
or  Fort  of  the  Lord,  by  Jassa  the  Carpenter;  (5)  the 
Nakkais  arose  in  a  tract  of  country  to  the  south  of 
Lahore  so-called;  (6)  the  Ahluwalias  derived  their  title 

1  Notwithstanding  this  usual  derivation  of  the  term,  it  may- 
be remembered  that  the  Arabic  term  'Musluhut'  (spelt  with 
another  s  than  that  in  'misal')  means  armed  men  and  warlike 
people.  'Misal',  moreover,  means,  in  India,  a  file  of  papers,  or 
indeed  anything  serried  or  placed  in  ranks. 

2  Bhang  is  a  product  of  the  hemp  plant,  and  it  is  to  the 
Sikhs  what  opium  is  to  Rajputs,  and  strong  liquor  to  Europeans. 
Its  qualities  are  abused  to  an  extent  prejudicial  to  the  health 
and  understanding. 


CHAP.  IV  CONFEDERACIES  OF  THE  SIKHS  97 

from  the  village  in  which  Jassa,  who  first  proclaimed  ^_!^f: 
the  existence  of  the  army  of  the  new  theocracy,  had 
helped  his  father  .to  distil  spirits;  (7)  the  Ghanais  or 
Kanhayas;  (8)  the  Feizulapurias  or  Singhpurias ;  (9) 
the  Sukerchukias,  and  (10),  perhaps,  the  Dallehwalas, 
were  similarly  so  denominated  from  the  villages  of 
their  chiefs;  (II)-  the  Krora  Singhias  took  the  name  of 
their  third  leader,  but  they  were  sometimes  called 
Punjgurhias,  from  the  village  of  their  first  chief;  and 
(12)  the  Phulkias  went  back  to  the  common  ancestor 
of  Alha  Singh  and  other  Sirdars  of  his  family.' 

Of  the  Misals,  all  save  that  of  Phulkia  arose  in  the  The  reia- 
Punjab  or  to  the  north  of  the  Sutlej,  and  they  were  **^^  p'"^" 
termed  Manjha  Singhs,  from  the  name  of  the  country  ^h^'^^^a^is" 
around  Lahore,  and  in  contradistinction  to  the  Malwa  qj.  confe- 
Singhs,  so  called  from  the  general  appellation  of  the  deracies. 
districts  lying  between  Sirhind  and  Sirsa.    The  Feizula- 
purias, the  Ahluwalias,  and  the  Ramgarhias,  were  the 
first    who    arose    to    distinction    in    Manjha,    but    the 
Bhangis  soon  became  so  predominant  as  almost  to  be 
supreme;  they  were  succeeded  to  some  extent  in  this 
pre-eminence  by  the  Ghanais,  an  offshoot  of  the  Feizu- 
lapurias, until  all  fell    before    Ranjit    Singh    and    the 
Sukerchukias.  In  Malwa  the  Phulkias  always  admitted 
the  superior  merit  of  the  Patiala  branch;  this  dignity 
was  confirmed  by  Ahmad  Shah's  bestowal  of  a  title  on 
Alha  Singh,  and  the  real  strength  of  the  confederacy 
made  it   perhaps  inferior  to  the  Bhangis   alone.  The 
Nishanias  and  Shahids  scarcely  formed  Misals  in  the 
conventional  meaning  of  the  term,  but  complementary 
bodies  set  apart  and  honoured   by   all  for  particular 
reasons.^    The  Nakkais  never  achieved  a  high  power  or 

1  Capt.  Murray  {Ranjit  Singh,  pp.  29,  &c.)  seems  to  have 
been  the  first  who  perceived  and  pointed  out  the  Sikh  system 
of  'Misals'.  Neither  the  organization  nor  the  term  is  mentioned 
specifically  by  Forster,  or  Browne,  or  Malcolm,  and  at  first  Sir 
David  Ochterlony  considered  and  acted  as  if  'misal'  meant  tribe 
or  race,  instead  of  party  or  confederacy.  (Sir  D.  Ochterlony  to 
the  Government  of  India,  December  30,  1809.)  The  succession 
to  the  leadership  of  the  I^rora  Singhia  confederacy  may  be  men- 
tioned as  an  instance  of  the  uncertainty  and  irregularity  natural 
to  the  system  of  'Misals',  and  indeed  'to  all  powers  in  process 
of  change  or  development.  The  founder  was  succeeded  by  his 
nephew,  but  that  nephew  left  his  authority  to  Krora  Singh,  a 
petty  personal  follower,  who  again  bequeathed  the  command 
to  Baghel  Singh,  his  own  menial  servant.  The  reader  wall'  re- 
m.ember  the  parallel  instance  of  Alfteghin  and  Sebekteghin, 
and  it  is  curious  that  Mr.  Macaulay  notices  a  similar  kind  of 
descent  among  the  English  admirals  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
viz.  from  chief  to  cabin-boy,  in  the  cases  of  Myngs,  Narborough, 
and  Shovel  {History  of  England,  i.  306). 

-  Perhaps  Capt.  Murray  is  scarcely  warranted  in  making 

7 


98 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.   IV 


1764. 


The  origi- 
nal and 
acquired 
possessions 
of  the 
Misals. 


The  gross 
forces  of 
the  Sikhs, 
and   the 
relative 


name,  and  the  Dallehwalas  and  Krora  Singhias,  an 
offshoot  of  the  Feizulapurias,  acquired  nearly  all  their 
possessions  by  the  capture  of  Sirhind;  and  although 
the  last  obtained  a  great  reputation,  it  never  became 
predominant  over  others. 

The  native  possessions  of  the  Bhangis  extended 
north,  from  their  cities  of  Lahore  and  Amritsar  to  the 
Jhelum,  and  then  down  that  river.  The  Ghanais  dwelt 
between  Amritsar  and  the  hills.  The  Sukerchukias 
lived  south  of  the  Bhangis,  between  the  Chenab  and 
Ravi.  The  Nakkais  held  along  the  Ravi,  south-west  of 
Lahore.  The  Feizulapurias  possessed  tracts  along  the 
right  bank  of  the  Beas  and  of  the  Sutlej,  below  its 
junction.  The  Ahluwalias  similarly  occupied  the  left 
bank  of  the  former  river.  The  Dallehwalas  possessed 
themselves  of  the  right  bank  of  the  Upper  Sutlej,  and 
the  Ramgarhias  lay  in  between  these  last  two,  but 
towards  the  hills.  The  Krora  Singhias  also  held  lands 
in  the  Jullundur  Doab.  The  Phulkias  were  native  to 
the  country  about  Sunam  and  Bhatinda,  to  the  south 
of  the  Sutlej,  and  the  Shahids  and  Nishanias  do  not 
seem  to  have  possessed  any  villages  which  they  did  not 
hold  by  conquest;  and  thus  these  two  Misals,  along 
with  those  of  Man j ha,  who  captured  Sirhind,  viz.  the 
Bhangis,  the  Ahluwalias,  the  Dallehwalas,  the  Ram- 
garhias, and  the  Krora  Singhias,  divided  among  them- 
selves the  plains  lying  south  of  the  Sutlej  and  under 
the  hills  from  Ferozepore  to  Karnal,  leaving  to  their 
allies,  the  Phulkias,  the  lands  between  Sirhind  and 
Delhi,  which  adjoined  their  own  possessions  in  Malwa.^ 

The  number  of  horsemen  which  the  Sikhs  could 
muster  have  been  variously  estimated  from  seventy 
thousand  to  four  times  that  amount,  and  the  relative 
strength  of  each  confederacy  is  equally  a  subject  to 
doubt.-    All  that  is  certain  is  the  great  superiority  of 

the  Nishanias  and  Shahids  regular  Misals.  Other  bodies,  espe- 
cially to  the  westward  of  the  Jhelum,  might,  with  equal  reason, 
have  been  held  to  represent  separate  confederacies.  Capt. 
Murray,  indeed,  in  such  matters  of  detail,  merely  expresses  the 
local  opinions  of  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Sutlej. 

1  Dr.  Macgregor,  in  his  History  of  the  Sikhs  (i.  28,  &c.), 
gives  an  abstract  of  some  of  the  ordinary  accounts  of  a  few 
of  the  Misals. 

2  Forster,  in  1783  (Tarvels,  i.  333),  said  the  Sikh  forces 
were  estimated  at  300,000,  but  might  be  taken  at  200,000. 
Browne  (Tracts,  Illustrative  Map)  about  the  same  period 
enumerates  73,000  horsemen  and  25,000  foot.  ■  Twenty  years 
afterwards  Col.  Francklin  said,  in  one  work  (Life  of  Shah  Alam, 
note,  p.  75),  that  the  Sikhs  mustered  248,000  cavalry,  and  in 
another  book  (Life  of  George  Thomas,  p.  68  note)  that  they 
could  not  lead  into  action  more  than  64,000.  George  Thomas 


CHAP.  IV  THE  AKALIS  99 

the  Bhangis,  and  the  low  position  of  the  Nakkais  and  ^*- 
Sukerchukias.  The  first  could  perhaps  assemble  20,000  strength  of 
men,  in  its  widely  scattered  possessions,  and  the  last  the  Misais. 
about  a  tenth  of  that  number;  and  the  most  moderate 
estimate  of  the  total  force  of  the  nation  may  likewise 
be  assumed  to  be  the  truest.  All  the  Sikhs  were  horse- 
men, and  among  a  half-barbarous  people  dwelling  on 
plains,  or  in  action  with  undisciplined  forces,  cavalry 
must  ever  be  the  most  formidable  arm.  The  Sikhs 
speedily  became  famous  for  the  effective  use  of  the 
matchlock  when  mounted,  and  this  skill  is  said  to  have 
descended  to  them  from  their  ancestors,  in  whose  hands 
the  bow  was  a  fatal  weapon.  Infantry  were  almost 
solely  used  to  garrison  forts,  or  a  man  followed  a  misal 
on  foot,  until  plunder  gave  him  a  horse  or  the  means 
of  buying  one.  Cannon  was  not  used  by  the  early 
Sikhs,  and  its  introduction  was  very  gradual,  for  its 
possession  implies  wealth,  or  an  organization  both  civil 
and  military.^ 

Besides    the    regular    confederacies,    with    their* 
moderate  degree  of  subordination,  there  was  a  body  of 
men  who  threw  off  all  subjection  to  earthly  governors, 
and  who  peculiarly  represented  the  religious  element 
of  Sikhism.    These  were  the  'Akalis',  the  immortals,  or  The  order 
rather  the  soldiers  of  God,  who,  with  their  blue  dress  of  Akaiis. 
and  bracelets  of  steel,  claimed  for  themselves  a  direct 
institution   by  Gobind   Singh.     The  Guru  had   called  Their  origin 
upon  men  to  sacrifice   everything    for    their    faith,  to  and  PJ"'"- 
leave  their  homes  and  to  follow  the  profession  of  arms;  '^^p!®^  °^ 
but  he  and  all  his  predecessors  had  likewise  denounced 
the  inert  asceticism  of  the  Hindu  sects,  and  thus  the 
fanatical  feeling  of  a  Sikh  took  a  destructive  turn.  The 
Akalis  formed  themselves  in  their  struggle  to  reconcile 
warlike  activity  with  the  relinquishment  of  the  world. 
The  meek  and  humble  were  satisfied  with  the  assiduous 
performance  of  menial  offices  in  temples,  but  the  fierce 
enthusiasm  of  others  prompted  them  to  act  from  time 
to  time  as  the  armed  guardians  of  Amritsar,  or  sud- 
denly to  go  where  blind  impulse  might  lead  them,  and 
to  win  their  daily  bread,  even  single-handed,  at  the 
point  of  the  sword.^    They  also  took  upon  themselves 

himself  estimated  their  strength  at  60,000  horse  and  5,000  foot. 
(Life,  by  Francklin,  p.  274.) 

1  George  Thomas,  giving  the  supposed  status  of  a.  d.  1800, 
says  the  Sikhs  had  40  pieces  of  field  artillery.  (Life,  by  Franck- 
lin, p.  274.) 

2  cf.  Malcolm  (Sketch,  p.  116),  who  repeats,  and  appa- 
rently acquiesces  in,  the  opinion,  that  the  Akalis  were  insti- 
tuted as  an  order  by  Guru  Gobind.  There  is  not,  however, 
any  writing  of  Gobind's    on    record,    which    shows    that    he 


100  HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS  chap,  iv 

1764^  something  of  the  authority  of  censors,  and,  although 

no  leader  appears  to  have  fallen  by  their  hands  for 
defection  to  the  Khalsa,  they  inspired  awe  as  well  as 
respect,  and  would  sometimes  plunder  those  who  had 
offended  them  or  had  injured  the  commonwealth.  The 
passions  of  the  Akalis  had  full  play  until  Ranjit  Singh 
became  supreme,  and  it  cost  that  able  and  resolute 
chief  much  time  and  trouble,  at  once  to  suppress  them, 
and  to  preserve  his  own  reputation  with  the  people. 

wished  the  Sikh  faith  to  be  represented  by  mere  zealots,  and 
it  seems  clear  that  the  class  of  men  arose  as  stated  in  the  text. 

So  strong  is  the  feeling  that  a  Sikh  should  work,  or  have 
an  occupation,  that  one  who  abandons  the  world,  and  is  not 
of  a  warlike  turn,  will  still  employ  himself  in  some  way  for 
the  benefit  of  the  community.  Thus  the  author  once  found 
an  Akali  repairing,  or  rather  making,  a  road,  among  precipit- 
ous ravines,  from  the  plain  of  the  Sutlej  to  the  petty  town 
of  Kiratpur.  He  avoided  intercourse  with  the  world  generally. 
He  was  highly  esteemed  by  the  people,  who  left  food  and 
clothing  at  particular  places  for  him,  and  his  earnest  persever- 
ing character  had  made  an  evident  impression  on  a  Hindu 
shepherd  boy,  who  had  adopted  part  of  the  Akali  dress,  and 
spoke  with  awe  of  the  devotee. 


CHAPTER   V 

FROM  THE  INDEPENDENCE  OF  THE  SIKHS  TO 
THE  ASCENDANCY  OF  RANJIT  SINGH  AND 
THE  ALLIANCE  WITH  THE  ENGUSH 
1765—1808-9 

Ahmad  Shah's  last  Invasion  of  India — The  Pre-eminence  of 
the  Bhangi  Confederacy  among  the  Sikhs — Taimur  Shah's 
Expeditions — The  Phulkia  Sikhs  in  Mariana — Zabita  Khan 
— The  Kanhaya  Confederacy  paramount  among  the  Sikhs 
— Mahan  Singh  Sukerchukia  becomes  conspicuous — Shah 
Zaman's  Invasions  and  Ranjit  Singh's  rise — The  Marathas 
under  Sindhia  Predominant  in  Northern  India — General 
Perron  and  George  Thomas — Alliances  of  the  Marathas  and 
Sikhs — Intercourse  of  the  English  with  the  Sikhs — ^Lord 
Lake's  Campaigns  against  Sindhia  and  Holkar — First 
Treaty  of  the  English  with  the  Sikhs — Preparations  against 
a  French  Invasion  of  India — Treaty  of  Alliance  with 
Ranjit  Singh,  and  of  Protection  with  Cis-Sutlej  Sikh 
Chiefs. 

The   Sikhs  had   mastered  the  upper   plains  from  i767 
Karnal  and  Hansi  to  the  banks  of  the  Jhelum.     The  ^he  sikhs 
necessity  of  union  was  no  longer  paramount,  and  rude  hurried  intc 
untaught  men  are  ever  prone  to  give  the  rein  to  their  activity  by 
passions,  and  to  prefer  their  own  interests  to  the  wel-  Ahmad 
fare  of  the  community.  Some  dwelt  on  real  or  fancied  ^^^^^^^^^  ^"""^ 
injuries,   and  thought   the  time  had  come  for  ample  j^  ^   i^g?. 
vengeance;  others  were  moved  by  local  associations  to 
grasp   at   neighbouring  towns   and   districts;    and   the 
truer  Sikh  alone  at  once  resolved  to  extend  his  faith, 
and  to  add  to  the  general  domain  of  the  Khalsa,  by 
complete  conquest    or  by    the    imposition    of    tribute. 
When   thus   about  to   arise,   after  their   short   repose, 
refreshed    and    variously    inclined,    they    were    again 
awed  into  unanimity  by  the  final  descent  of  Ahmad 
Shah.     That  monarch,  whose  activity  and  power  de- 
clined with    increase    of  years    and    the    progress    of 
disease,  made  yet  another  attempt  to  recover  the  Pun- 
jab, the  most  fertile  of  his  provinces.    He  crossed  the 
Indus  in  1767,  but  he  avoided  Lahore  and  advanced  no 
farther  than  the  Sutlej.    He  endeavoured  to  conciliate 
when  he  could  no  longer  overcome,  and  he  bestowed 
the  title  of  Maharaja,  and  the  office  of  military  com- 
mander in  Sirhind,  upon  the  warlike  Amar  Singh,  who  Amar 
had  succeeded  his  grandfather  as  chief  of  Patiala,  cr  singh  of 


102 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.    V 


1767-8. 

Patiala, 
and   the 
Rajput 
chief  of 
Katotch, 
appointed 
to  com- 
mand 
under  the 
Abdali. 

Ahmad 
Shah  re- 
tires. 
Rohtas 
taken  by 
the   Sikhs, 
1768. 

The    Sikhs 
ravage  the 
Lower 
Punjab; 


and  enter 
into  terms 
with  Bha- 
walpur ; 


threaten 
Kashmir, 
and    press 
Najib-ud- 


of  the  Malwa  Sikhs.  He  likewise  saw  a  promising  ally 
in  the-  Rajput  chief  of  Katotch,  and  he  made  him  his 
deputy  in  the  Jullundur  Doab  and  adjoining  hills.  His 
measures  were  interrupted  by  the  defection  of  his  own 
troops;  twelve  thousand  men  marched  back  towards 
Kabul,  and  the  Shah  found  it  prudent  to  follow  them. 
He  was  harassed  in  his  retreat,  and  he  had  scarcely 
crossed  the  Indus  before  Sher  Shah's  mountain  strong- 
hold of  Rohtas  was  blockaded  by  the  Sukerchukias, 
under  the  grandfather  of  Ranjit  Singh,  aided  by  a 
detachment  of  the  neighbouring  Bhangi  confederacy. 
The  place  fell  in  1768,  and  the  Bhangis  almost  imme- 
diately afterwards  occupied  the  country  as  far  as 
Rawalpindi  and  the  vale  of  Khanpur,  the  Gakhars 
showing  but  little  of  that  ancient  hardihood  which 
distinguished  them  in  their  contests  with  invading 
Mughals.^ 

The  Bhangis,  under  Hari  Singh,  next  marched 
towards  Multan,  but  they  were  met  by  the  Muham- 
madan  Daudputras,  who  had  migrated  from  Sind  on 
learning  Nadir  Shah's  intention  of  transplanting  them 
to  Ghazni,  and  had  established  the  principality  now 
known  as  Bhawalpur.-  The  chief,  Mobarik  Khan,  after 
a  parley  with  Hari  Singh,  arranged  that  the  neutral 
town  of  Pakpattan,  held  by  a  Musalman  saint  of  emi- 
nence, should  be  the  common  boundary.  Hari  Singh 
then  swept  towards  Dera  Ghazi  Khan  a"nd  the  Indus, 
and  while  thus  employed,  his  feudatory  of  Gujrat,  who 
had  recently  taken  Rawalpindi,  made  an  attempt  to 
penetrate  into  Kashmir  by  the  ordinary  road,  but  was 
repulsed  with  loss.  On  the  Jumna,  and  in  the  great 
Doab,  the  old  Najib-ud-daula  was  so  hard  pressed  by 
Rai  Singh  Bhangi,  who  emulated  him   as  a   paternal 

1  Forster,  Travels,  i.  323;  Elphinstone,  Kabul,  ii.  297; 
Murray,  Ranjit  Singh,  p.  27;  Mooi'croft,  Travels,  ■  i.  127;  and 
manuscript  accounts  consulted  by  the  author. 

-  When  Nadir  Shah  proceeded  to  establish  his  authority 
in  Sindh,  he  found  the  ancestor  of  the  Bhawalpur  family  a  man 
of  reputation  in  his  native  district  of  Shikarpur.  The  Shah 
made  him  the  deputy  of  the  upper  third  of  the  province:  but, 
becoming  suspicious  of  the  whole  clan,  he  resolved  on  remov- 
ing it  to  Ghazni.  The  tribe  then  migrated  up  the  Sutlej,  and 
seized  lands  by  force.  The  Daudputras  are  so  called  from  Daud 
(David),  the  first  of  the  family  who  acquired  a  name.  They 
fabulously  trace  their  origin  to  the  Caliph  Abbas;  but  they  may 
be  regarded  as.  Sindian  Baluchis,  or  as  Baluchis  changed  by  a 
long  residence  in  Sind.  In  establishing  themselves  on  the  Sutlej, 
they  reduced  the  remains  of  the  ancient  Langahs  and  Johiyas 
to  further  insignificance;  but  they  introduced  the  Sindian 
system  of  canals  of  irrigation,  and  both  banks  of  the  river 
below  Pakpattan  bear  witness  to  their  original  industry  and 
love  of  agriculture. 


CHAP.  V  AHMAD  SHAH  DURRANI  103 

governor  in  his    neighbouring    town    and    district    of  1770, 
Jagadhri,  and  by  Baghel  Singh  Krora  Singhia,  that  he  ^~^  ^^ 
proposed  to  the   Marathas  a  joint  expedition  against  the  Jumna 
these  new  lords.    His  death,  in  1770,  put  an  end  to  the  and  Ganges. 
plan,  for  his  succeeding  son  had  other  views,  and  en-  i77o. 
couraged  the  Sikhs  as  useful  allies  upon  an  emergency.' 

Hari  Singh  Bhangi  died,  and  he  was  succeeded  by  Jhanda 
Jhanda  Singh,  who  carried  the  power  of  the  Misal  to  ^"^sii  of 
its  height.     He   rendered    Jammu    tributary,    and    the  ^Jj^sfi^p^g! 
place  was  then  of    considerable    importance,  for    the  eminent. 
repeated  Afghan  invasions,  and  the  continued  insurrec-  1770. 
tions  of  the  Sikhs,  had  driven  the  transit  trade  of  the  jammu 
plans  to  the  circuitous  but  safe  route  of  the  hills;  and  rendered 
the  character  of  the  Rajput  chief,  Ranjit  Deo,  was  such  tributary. 
as  gave  confidence  to  traders,  and  induced  them  to  flock 
to  his  capital  for  protection.     The  Pathans  of  Kasur  Kasur  re- 
were  next  rendered  tributary,  and  Jhanda  Singh  then  ^^^/^ed  to 
deputed  his  lieutenant,  Mujja  Singh,  against  Multan;  ^ubnussion. 
but  that  leader  was  repulsed  and  slain  by  the  united 
forces  of  the  joint  Afghan  governors  and  of  the  Bha- 
walpur    chief.     Next    year,    or    in    1772,    these    joint 
managers  quarrelled,  and  as  one   of  them  asked  the 
assistance  of  Jhanda  Singh,  that  unscrupulous  leader  and  Muitan 
was  enabled  to  possess  himself  of  the  citadel.    On  his  occupied, 
return  to  the  northward,  he  found  that  a  rival  claimant  ^"^' 
of  the  Jammu  chiefship  had  obtained  the  aid  of  Charat 
Singh  Sukerchukia,  and  of  Jai  Singh,  the  rising  leader 
of  the  Kanhaya  Misal.    Charat  Singh  was  killed  by  the 
bursting  of  his  own  matchlock,  and  Jai  Singh  was  then  jhanda 
so  base  as  to  procure  the  assassination  of  Jhanda  Singh,  singh  as- 
Being  satisfied  with  the  removal  of  this  powerful  chief,  sassinated 
the  Kanhaya  left  the  Jammu  claimant  to  prosecute  his  ^  -^^^ 
cause  alone,  and  entered  into  a  league  with  the  old  kanhaya, 
Jassa  Singh  Ahluwalia,  for  the  expulsion  of  the  other  1774, 
Jassa  Singh  the  Carpenter,  who  had  rendered  Ahmad 
Shah's  nominal  deputy,  Ghamand  Chand  of  Katotch,  jai  singh 
and  other  Rajputs  of  the  hills,  his  tributaries.     The  Kanhaya 
Ramgarhia   Jassa   Singh   was   at   last  beaten,   and   he  ^nd  Jassa 
retired  to  the  wastes  of  Hariana  to  live  by  plunder.  At  ^jj'^jj  ^^^^"^ 
this  time,  or  about  1774,  died  the  Muhammadan  gover-  ^hJ  car-^^^ 
nor  of  Kangra.    He  had  contrived  to  maintain  himself  penter. 
in  independence,  or  in  reserved  subjection  to  Delhi  or 
Kabul,,  although  the  rising  chief  of  Katotch  had  long 
desired  to  possess  so  famous  a  stronghold.     Jai  Singh  ^aj^^o  ^-^e 
Kanhaya  was  prevailed  on  to  assist  him',  and  the  place  Kanhaya 
fell;  but  the  Sikh  chose  to  keep  it  to  himself,  and  the  Misai  about 
possession  of  the  imperial  fort  aided  him  in  his  usurpa-  1774. 

1  The  memoirs  of  the  Bhawalpur  family,  and  manuscript 
Sikh  histories.  Cf.  also  Forster,  TravAs,  i.  148. 


104 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.  V 


1779-93. 


Taimur 
Shal^  of 
Kabul  re- 
covers Mui- 
tan.  1779. 


Taimur 
Shah  dies, 
leaving  the 
Sikhs 

masters    of 
the  Upper 
Punjab  as 
far  as  At- 
tock,  1793. 

The  Phul- 
kias   master 
Hariana. 
1768-78. 


An  expedi- 
tion sent 
from  Delhi 
against  the 
Malwa 
Sikhs. 
1779-80. 


tion  of  Jassa  Singh's  authority  over  the  surrounding 
Rajas  and  Thakurs.^ 

In  the  south  of  the  Punjab  the  Bhangi  Sikhs  con- 
tinued predominant;  they  seem  to  have  possessed  the 
strong  fort  of  Mankera  as  well  as  Multan,  and  to  have 
levied  exactions  from  Kalabagh  downwards.  They 
made  an  attempt  to  carry  Shujabad,  a  place  built  by 
the  Afghans  on  losing  Multan,  but  seem  to  have  failed. 
Taimur  Shah,  who  succeeded  his  father  in  1773,  was 
at  last  induced  or  enabled  to  cross  the  Indus,  but  his 
views  were  directed  towards  Sind,  Bhawalpur,  and  the 
Lower  Punjab,  and  he  seems  to  have  had  no  thought  of 
a  reconquest  of  Lahore.  In  the  course  of  1777-8,  two 
detachments  of  the  Kabul  army  unsuccessfully  endea- 
voured to  dislodge  the  Sikhs  from  Multan,  but  in  the 
season  of  1778-9  the  Shah  marched  in  person  against 
the  place.  Ghanda  Singh,  the  new  leader  of  the 
Bhangis,  was  embroiled  with  other  Sikh  chiefs,  and 
his  lieutenant  surrendered  the  citadel  after  a  show  of 
resistance.  Taimur  Shah  reigned  until  1793,  but  he 
was  fully  occupied  with  Sindian,  Kashmiri,  and  Uzbeg 
rebellions;  the  Sikhs  were  even  unmolested  in  their 
possession  of  Rawalpindi,  and  their  predatory  horse 
traversed  the  plains  of  Chach  up  to  the  walls  of 
Attock.2 

In  the  direction  of  Hariana  and  Delhi,  the  young 
Amar  Singh  Phulkia  began  systematically  to  extend 
and  consolidate  his  authority.  He  acquired  Sirsa  and 
Fatehabad,  his  territories  marched  with  those  of  Bika- 
ner  and  Bhawalpur,  and  his  feudatories  of  Jind  and 
Kaithal  possessed  the  open  country  around  Hansi  and 
Rohtak.  He  was  recalled  to  his  capital  of  Patiala  by 
a  final  effort  of  the  Delhi  court  to  re-establish  its  autho- 
rity in  the  province  of  Sirhind.  An  army,  headed  by 
the  minister  of  the  day,  and  by  Farkhunda  Bukht,  one 
of  the  imperial  family,  marched  in  the  season  1779-80. 
Karnal  was  recovered;  some  payments  were  promised; 
and  the  eminent  Krora-Singhia  leader,  Baghel  Singh, 

1  The  memoirs  of  the  Bhawalpur  chief  and  manuscript 
Sikh  accounts.  Cf.  Murray,  Ranjit  Singh,  p.  38,  &c.;  and  Forster, 
Travels,  i.  283,  286,  336. 

Ranjit  Deo,  of  Jammu,  died  in  a.d.  1770. 

Charat  Singh  was  killed  accidentally,  and  Jhanda  Singh 
was  assassinated,,  in  1774. 

Hari  Singh  Bhangi  appears  to  have  been  killed  in  battle 
with  Amar  Singh  of  Patiala,  about  1770. 

-  Memoirs  of  the  Bhawalpur  chief,  and  other  manuscript 
histories.  Cf.  Browne,  India  Tracts,  ii.  28,  and  Forster,  Travels, 
1.  324;  Elphinstone  (Kabul,  ii.  303)  makes  1781,  and  not  1779, 
the  date  of  the  recovery  of  Multan  from  the  Sikhs. 


CHAP.  V       BHANGI  MISAL  PRE-EMINENT  105 

tendered    his    submission.     Dehsu    Singh,    of    Kaithal,  rm-5. 
was  seized  and  heavily  mulcted,  ^nd  the  army  approa- 
ched  Patiala.  Amar  Singh  promised  fealty  and  tribute, 
and  Baghel  Singh  seemed  sincere  in  his  mediation;  but 
suddenly  it  was  learnt  that  a  large  body  of  Sikhs  had 
marched  from  Lahore,  and  the  Mughal  troops  retired  succeeds  in 
with  precipitation  to  Panipat,  not  without  a  suspicion  ^^^^  °"^^" 
that  the  cupidity  of  the  minister  had  been  gratified  with 
Sikh  gold,  and  had  induced  him  to  betray  his  master's 
interests.     Amar  Singh  died  in  1781,  leaving  a  minor  ^^^^ 
son  of  imbecile  mind.    Two  years  afterwards  a  famine  p  "^^,  °^ 
desolated  Hariana;  the  people  perished  or  sought  other  dfes^  nsi 
homes;  Sirsa  was  deserted,  and  a  large  tract  of  country 
passed  at  the  time  from  under  regular  sway,  and  could 
not  afterwards  be  recovered  by  the  Sikhs.^ 

In  the  Doab  of  the  Ganges  and  Jumna,  the  Sikhs  zabita 
rather  subsidized  Zabita  Khan,  the  son  of  Najib-ud-  ff^N^^jb"" 
daula,  than  became  his  deferential  allies.     That  chief  ud-dauia" 
had  designs,  perhaps,  upon  the  titular  ministry  of  the  aided  in  his 
empire,  and  having  obtained  a  partial  success  over  the  designs  on 
imperial  troops,  he  proceeded,  in  1776,  towards  Delhi,  ^^^  niinis- 
with  the  intention  of  laying  siege  to  the  city.     But  ^'^^  ^^  *^^ 
when  the  time   for   action   arrived   he   mistrusted   his 
power;  the  emperor,  on  his  part,  did  not  care  to  pro- 
voke him  too  far;  a  compromise  was  effected,  and  he 
was  confirmed  in  his  possession  of  Saharanpur.  On  this 
occasion  Zabita  Khan  was  accompanied  by  a  body  of 
Sikhs,   and  he  was  so  desirous  of  conciliating  them, 
that  he  is  credibly  said  to  have  adopted  their- dress,  to 
have  received  the  Pahul,  or  initiatory  rite,  and  to  have 
taken  the  new  name  of  Dharam  Singh.- 

Jassa  Singh  Ramgarhia,  when  compelled  to  fly  to  the  '^^^  ravages 
Punjab  by  the  Kanhaya  and  Ahluwalia  confederacies,  °^  ^^  ^^^^ 
was  aided  by  Amar  Singh  Phulkia  in  establishing  him-  ^^^  Rohn- 
self  in  the  country  near  Hissar,  whence  he  proceeded  khand 
to  levy  exactions  up  to  the  walls  of  Delhi.     In  1781  a  under  Ba- 
body  of  Phulkia  and  other  Sikhs  marched  down  the  ghei  singh 
Doab,  but  they  were  successfully  attacked  under  the  ^^°^^ 
walls   of  Meerut   by   the   imperial   commander  Mirza  f^gf.g^^' 
Shafi  Beg,  and  Gajpat  Singh  of  Jind  was  taken  pri-  ^he  sikhs 
soner.     Nevertheless,  in  1783,  Baghel  Singh  and  other  defeated  at 
commanders  were  strong  enough  to  propose  crossing  Meerut. 
the  Ganges,  but  they  were  deterred  by  the  watchful-  ^'^^• 

1  Manuscript  histories,  and  Mr.  Ross  Bell's  report  of  1836, 
on  the  Bhattiana  boundary.  Cf.  Francklin,  Shah  Alam,  pp.  86, 
90,  and  Shah  Nawaz  Khan's  Epitome  of  Indian  History,  called 
Mirrit-i-Aftab  Numa. 

-  Cf.  Forster,  Travels,  i.  325;  Browne,  India  Tracts;  ii.  29; 
and  Francklin,  Shah  Alam,  p.  72. 


106 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.   V 


1784-92. 


AD.    1785. 


The  Raj- 
puts   of    the 
Lower  Hi- 
malayas 
rendered 
tributary. 


Jai  Singh 
Kanhaya 
pre-emi- 
nent, 
1784-5. 

Rise  of 
Mahan 
Singh  Su- 
kerchukia. 


The  Kan- 
hayas  r.e- 
duced, 
1785-6. 
Jassa  the 
Carpenter 
restored, 
and  Kangra 


ness  of  the  Oudh  troops  on  the  opposite  bank.  The 
destructive  famine  already  alluded  to  seems  to  have 
compelled  Jassa  Singh  to  move  into  the  Doab,  and,  in 
1785,  Rohilkhand  was  entered  by  the  confederates  and 
plundered  as  far  as  Chandosi,  which  is  within  forty 
miles  of  Bareilly.  At  this  period  Zabita  Khan  was 
almost  confined  to  the  walls  of  his  fort  of  Ghausgarh, 
and  the  hill  raja  of  Garhwal,  whose  ancestor  had  re- 
ceived Dara  as  a  refugee  in  defiance  of  Aurangzeb,  had 
been  rendered  tributary,  equally  with  all  his  brother 
Rajputs,  in  the  lower  hills  westward  to  the  Chenab. 
The  Sikhs  were  predominant  from  the  frontiers  of 
Oudh  to  the  Indus,  and  the  traveller  Forster  amusingly 
describes  the  alarm  caused  to  a  little  chief  and  his 
people  by  the  appearance  of  two  Sikh  horsemen  under 
the  walls  of  their  fort,  and  the  assiduous  services  aftd 
respectful  attention  which  the  like  number  of  troopers 
met  with  from  the  local  authorities  of  Garhwal,  and 
from  the  assembled  wayfarers  at  a  place  of  public 
reception. 1 

In  the  Punjab  itself  Jai  Singh  Kanhaya  continued 
to  retain  a  paramount  influence.  He  had  taken  Mahan 
Singh,  the  son  of  Charat  Singh  Sukerchukia,  under  his 
protection,  and  he  aided  the  young  chief  in  capturing 
Russulnaggar  on  the  Chenab,  from  a  Muhammadan 
family.  Mahan  Singh's  reputation  continued  to  increase, 
and,  about  1784-5,  he  so  far  threw  off  his  dependence 
upon  Jai  Singh  as  to  interfere  in  the  affairs  of  Jair.mu 
on  his  own  account.  His  interference  is  understood  to 
have  ended  in  the  plunder  of  the  place;  but  the  wealth 
he  had  obtained  and  the  independence  he  had  shown 
both  roused  the  anger  of  Jai  Singh,  who  rudely  repel- 
led Mahan  Singh's  apologies  and  offers  of  atonement, 
and  the  spirit  of  the  young  chief  being  fired,  he  went 
away  resolved  to  appeal  to  arms.  He  sent  to  Jassa 
Singh  Ramgarhia,  and  that  leader  was  glad  of  an 
opportunity  of  recovering  his  lost  possessions.  He 
joined  Mahan  Singh,  and  easily  procured  the  aid  of 
Sansar  Chand,  the  grandson  of  Ghamand  Chand  of 
Katotch.  The  Kanhayas  were  attacked  and  defeated: 
Gurbakhsh  Singh,  the  eldest  son  of  Jai  Singh,  was 
killed,  and  the  spirit  of  the  old  man  was  effectually 
humbled  by  this  double  sorrow.  Jassa  Singh  was 
restored  to  his  territories,  and  Sansar  Chand  obtained 
the  fort'of  Kangra,  which  his  father  and  grandfather 
had  been  so  desirous  of  possessing.    Mahan  Singh  now 

'  Forster,  Travels,  i.  228,  229,  262,  326  and  note.  Cf.  also 
Francklin.  Shah  Alam,  pp.  93,  94,  and  the  Persian  epitome 
Mirrit-i-Aftah  Numa. 


CHAP.  V  SHAH  ZAMAN  107 

became  the  most  influential  chief  in  the  Punjab,  and  1793-7. 
he  gladly  assented  to  the  proposition  of  Sudda  Kour,  ^ade  over 
the  widow  of  Jai  Singh's  son,  that  the  alliance  of  the  to  sansar 
two  families  should  be  cemented  by  the  union  of  her  chand  of 
infant   daughter  with   Ran  jit  Singh,   the   only  son   of  ^j^J^J,^^*^' 
Mahan  Singh,  and  who  was  born  to  him  about  1780.  singhVe- 
Mahan  Singh  next  proceeded  to  attack  Gujrat,  the  old  eminent" 
Bhangi  chief  of  which,  Gujar  Singh,  his  father's  con-  among  the 
federate,  died  in   1791;  but  he  was  himself  taken  ill  sikhs  i785-s2. 
during  the  siege,  and  expired  in  the  beginning  of  the  '^^^'^f'"  .^ 
following  year  at  the  early  age  of  twenty-seven.^  ^^g|      ''^' 

Shah  Zaman  succeeded  to  the   throne   of  Kabul  in  gj^^^ 
the  year  1793,  and  his  mind  seems  always  to  have  been  zaman  suc- 
filled  with  idle  hopes  of  an  Indian  empire.     In  the  end  ceeds  to  the 
of  1795  he  moved  to  Hassan  Abdal,  and  sent  forward  a  throne  of 
party  which  is    said  to    have    recovered    the    fort    of  ^gg"^" 
Rohtas;  but  the  exposed  state  of  his  western  dominions 
induced  him  to  return  to  Kabul.    The  rumours  of  ano- 
ther   Durrani    invasion    do    not    seem    to    have    been 
unheeded  by  the  princes  of  Upper  India,  then  pressed 
by  the  Marathas  and  the  English.     Ghulam  Muham-  invited  to 
mad,  the  defeated  usurper  of  Rohilkhand,  crossed  the  enter  India 
Punjab  in  1795-6,  with    the    view    of    inducing    Shah  ^y  ^^^^^^' 
Zaman  to  prosecute  his  designs,  and  he  was  followed  ^jjg^^^"r 
by  agents  on  the  part  of  Asaf-ud-dauia  of  Oudh,  partly  o/oudh. 
to  counteract,  perhaps,  the  presumed  machinations  of  1795-6. 
his  enemy,  but  mainly  to  urge  upon  his  majesty  that 
all  Muhammadans  would  gladly  hail  him  as  a  deliverer. 
The  Shah  reached  Lahore,   in   the  beginning. of  1797,  shah 
with  thirty  thousand  men,  and  he  endeavoured  to  con-  zaman  at 
ciliate  the  Sikhs  and  to  render  his  visionary  supremacy  ^^^g^""^^" 
an  agreeable  burden.     Several  chiefs  joined  him,  but 
the  proceedings  of  his  brother  Mahmud  recalled  him 
before  he  had  time  to  make  any  progress  in  settling  the 
country,  even  had  the  Sikhs  been  disposed  to  submit 
without  a  struggle;  but  the  Sikhs  were  perhaps  less 
dismayed    than    the    beaten    Marathas      and    the    ill- 
informed  English.    The  latter  lamented,  with  the  Wazir 
of  Oudh,    the    danger    to  which    his    dominions    were 
exposed;  they  prudently    cantoned    a  force    at    Anup- 
shahr  in  the  Doab,  and  their  apprehensions  led  them  to 
depute  a  mission  to  Teheran,  with  the  view  of  insti- 

1  Manuscript  histories  and  chronicles.  Cf.  Forster,  Travels, 
i.  288;  Murray,  Ranjit  Singh,  pp.  42,  48;  and  Moorcroft,  Travels, 
i.  127.  The  date  of  1785-6,  for  the  reduction  of  the  Kanhayas 
and  the  restoration  of  Jassa  Singh,  &c.,  is  preferred  to  1782, 
which  is  given  by  Murray,  partly  because  the  expedition  to 
Rohilkhand  took  place  in  1785,  as  related  by  Forster  (Travels, 
i.  326  note),  and- Jassa  Singh  is  generally  admitted  to  have 
been  engaged  in  it,  being  then  in  banishment. 


108 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.   V 


1798-9. 

The  Shah's 
second 
march  to 
Lahore, 

1798-9. 


Ran  jit 
Singh 
rises  to 
eminence, 


and    obtains 
a  cession  of 
Lahore 
from  the 
Afghan 
king,  1799. 


1785-8. 
The  power 


gating  the  Shah  of  Persia  to  invade  the  Afghan  terri- 
tories. Shah  Zaman  renewed  his  invasion  in  1798;  a 
body  of  five  thousand  men,  sent  far  in  advance,  was 
attacked  and  dispersed  on  the  Jhelum,  but  he  entered 
Lahore  without  opposition,  and  renewed  his  measures 
of  mixed  conciliation  and  threat.  He  found  an  able 
leader,  but  doubtful  partisan,  in  Nizam-ud-din  Khan, 
a  Pathan  of  Kasur,  who  had  acquired  a  high  local 
reputation,  and  he  was  employed  to  coerce  such  of 
the  Sikhs,  including  the  youthful  Ranjit  Singh,  as 
pertinaciously  kept  aloof.  They  distrusted  the  Shah's 
honour;  but  Nizam-ud-din  distrusted  the  permanence 
of  his  power,  and  he  prudently  forbore  to  proceed  to 
extremities  against  neighbours  to  whom  he  might  soon 
be  left  a  prey.  Some  resultless  skirmishing  took  place, 
but  the  designs  of  Mahmud,  who  had  obtained  the  sup- 
port of  Persia,  again  withdrew  the  ill-fated  king  to  the 
west,  and  he  quitted  Lahore  in  the  beginning  of  1799. 
During  this  second  invasion  the  character  of  Ranjit 
Singh  seems  to  have  impressed  itself,  not  only  on  other 
Sikh  leaders,  but  on  the  Durrani  Shah.  He  coveted 
Lahore,  which  was  associated  in  the  minds  of  men 
with  the  possession  of  power,  and,  as  the  king  was 
unable  to  cross  his  heavy  artillery  over  the  flooded 
Jhelum,  he  made  it  known  to  the  aspiring  chief  that 
their  transmission  would  be  an  acceptable  service.  As 
many  pieces  of  cannon  as  could  -be  readily  extricated 
were  sent  after  the  Shah,  and  Ranjit  Singh  procured 
what  he  wanted,  a  royal  investiture  of  the  capital  of 
the  Punjab.  Thenceforward  the  history  of  the  Sikhs 
gradually  centres  in  their  great  Maharaja;  but  the  re- 
vival of  the  Maratha  power  in  Upper  India,  and  the 
appearance  of  the  English  on  the  scene,  require  that 
the  narrative  of  his  achievements  should  be  somewhat 
interrupted.^ 

The    abilities    of    Madhagi    Sindhia    restored    the] 

1  Elphinstone    (Kabul,    ii.    308)    states    that    Shah    Zams 
was  exhorted  to  undertake  his  expedition  of  1795  by  a  refuge 
prince   of   Delhi,   and   encouraged   in   it   by   Tipu   Sultan.   Th« 
journey   of   Ghulam   Muhammad,    the   defeated    Rohilla    chief j 
and  the  mission    of    the    Wazir    of    Oudh,    are    given    on    the 
authority  of  the  Bhawalpur  family  annals,  and  from  the  same 
source  may  be  added  an  interchange  of  deputations  on  the  part] 
of   Shah   Zaman   and   Sindhia,   the    envoys,    as    in    the    other  ( 
instance,  having  passed  through  Bhawalpur  town.  A  suspicion 
of  the  complicity  of  Asaf-ud-daula,  of  Lucknow,  does  not  seem 
to  have  occurred  to  the  English  historians,  who  rather  dilate 
on  the  exertions  made   by   their  government  to  protect  their 
pledged  ally  from  the    northern    invaders.    Nevertheless,    the 
statements  of  the  Bhawalpur   chronicles  on  the  subject  seem 
in  every  way  credible. 


CHAP.  V  SINDHIA  TAKES  DELHI  109 

power  of  the  Marathas  in  Northern  India,  and  the  dis-  ivss-g?. 
cipline  of  his  regular  brigades  seemed  to  place  his  ad-  of  the 
ministration  on  a  firm  and  lasting  basis.    He  mastered  Marathas 
Agra  in  1785,  and  was  made  deputy  vicegerent  of  the  under 
empire  by  the  titular  emperor.  Shah  Alam.    He  entered  sindhia  in 
at  the  same  time  into  an  engagement  with  the  confe-  ^^^^  ^^gj 
derate  Sikh  chiefs,  to  the  effect  that  of  all  their  joint 
conquests  on  either  side  of  the  Jumna,  he  should  have  aj^an^e^ 
two-thirds    and    the    'Khalsa'    the    remainder.^      This  ^^^  ^^e 
alliance  was  considered  to  clearly  point  at  the  kingdom  sikhs. 
of  Oudh,  which  the  English  were  bound  to  defend,  and 
perhaps  to  affect  the  authority  of  Delhi,  which  they 
wished  to  see  strong;  but  the  schemes  of  the  Maratha 
were  for  a  time  interrupted  by  the  Rohilla  Ghulam 
Kadir.     This  chief  succeeded  his  father,  Zabita  Khan, 
in  1785,  and  had  contrived,  by  an  adventurous  step,  to 
become  the  master  of  the  emperor's  person  a  little  more 
than  a  year    afterwards.     He    was    led    on    from    one  chuiam 
excess  to  another,  till  at  last,  in  1788,  he  put  out  the  Kadir 
eyes  of  his  unfortunate  sovereign,  plundered  the  palace  biinds 
in  search  of  imaginary  treasures,  and  declared  an  un-  ^^^^  Aiam. 
heeded  youth    to    be    the    successor    of    Akbar    and  "^^' 
Aurangzeb.     These    proceedings    facilitated    Sindhia's  sindhia 
views,  nor  was  his    supremacy''    unwelcome    in    Delhi  masters 
after  the  atrocities  of  Ghulam  Kadir  and  the  savaga  oeihi  and 
Afghans.    His  regular  administration  soon  curbed  the  ^^^^^  **^® 
predatory  Sikhs,  and  instead  of  being  received  as  allies  j^^^^' 
they  found   that  they  would  merely  be  tolerated   as 
dependants  or  as  servants.    Rai  Singh,  the  patriarchal 
chief  of  Jagadhri,  was  retained  for  the  time  as  farmer 
of  considerable  districts  in  the  Doab,  and,  during  ten 
years,  three    expeditions    of    exaction    were    directed 
against  Patiala   and   other   states   in  the   province   of 
Sirhind.     Patiala  was  managed  with  some  degree  of 
prudence  by    Nanu    Mai,  the    Hindu    Diwan    of    the 
deceased  Amar  Singh;  but  he  seems  to  have  trusted 
for  military  support  to  Baghel  Singh,  the  leader  of  the 
Krora    Singhias,  who    contrived    to    maintain    a  large 
body  of    horse,    partly    as    a  judicious    mediator,    and 
partly  by  helping  Patiala  in  levying  contributions  on 
weaker  brethren,  in  aid  of  the  Mughal  and  Maratha 
demands,    which    could    neither    be   readily    met  nor 
prudently  resisted.^ 

General    Perron    succeeded    his    countryman,    De  General 
Boigne,    in    the    command    of    Daulat    Rao    Sindhia's  Perron 
largest  regular  force,  in  the  year  1797,  and  he  was  soon  appointed 

1  Browne,  India  Tracts,  ii.   29. 

2  Manuscript  accounts.    Cf.    Francklin,    Shah    Alam,    pp. 
179-85. 


110 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.   V 


1787-1800 

Sindhia's 
deputy   in 
Northern 
India,   1797. 

Sindhia's 
and  Per- 
ron's views 
crossed  by 
Holkar  and 
George 
Thomas, 
1787-97. 


George 

Thonr.as 

establishes 

himself  at 

Hansi, 

1798, 


after  appointed  the  Maharaja's  deputy  in  Northern 
India.  His  ambition  surpassed  his  powers;  but  his  i 
plans  -were  nevertheless  systematic,  and  might  have 
temporarily  extended  his  own,  or  the  Maratha,  autho-  | 
rity  to  Lahore,  had  not  Sindhia's  influence  been  endan- 
gered by  Holkar,  and  had  not  Perron's  own  purposes 
been  crossed  by  the  hostility  and  success  of  the  adven- 
turer George  Thomas.^  This  Englishman  was  bred  to 
the  sea,  but  an  eccentricity  of  character,  or  a  restless 
love  of  change,  caused  him  to  desert  from  a  vessel  of 
war  at  Madras  in  1781-2,  and  to  take  military  service 
with  the  petty  chiefs  of  that  presidency.  He  wandered 
to  the  north  of  India,  and  in  1787  he  was  employed  by 
the  well-known  Begum  Samru,^  and  soon  rose  high  in 
favour  with  that  lady.  In  six  years  he  became  dissatis- 
fied, and  entered  the  service  of  Appa  Khande  Rao,  one 
of  Sindhia's  principal  officers,  and  under  whom  De 
Boigne  had  formed  his  first  regiments.  While  in  the 
Maratha  employ,  Thomas  defeated  a  party  of  Sikhs  at 
Karnal,  and  he  performed  various  other  services;  but 
seeing  the  distracted  state  of  the  country,  he  formed 
the  not  impracticable  scheme  of  establishing  a  sepa- 
rate authority  of  his  own.  He  repaired  the  crumbling 
walls  of  the  once  important  Hansi,  he  assembled 
soldiers  about  him,  cast  guns,  and  deliberately  pro- 
ceeded to  acquire  territory.  Perron  was  apprehensive 
of  his  power — the  more  so,  perhaps,  as  Thomas  was 
encouraged  by  Holkar,  and  supported  by  Lakwa  Dada 
and  other  Marathas,  who  entertained  a  great  jealousy 
of  the  French  commandant.-'' 

1  [For  an  excellent  sketch  of  the  life  of  this  adventurer 
see  the  article  'A  Free  Lance  from  Tipperary'  in  Strangers 
within  the  Gates,  by  G.  Festing.  Edinburgh,  and  London,  1914, 
—Ed.] 

2  [This  remarkable  woman,  whose  origin  is  wrapped  in 
mystery,  was  said  to  have  been  a  dancing-girl  in  Delhi.  She 
subsequently  married  'Somru',  a  European  adventurer,  who 
had  entered  the  service  of  the  Emperor  and  had  received  the 
Jagir  of  Sardhana,  a  few  miles  from  Delhi.  'Somru' — whose 
real  name  was  Reinhard — was  a  man  of  the  foulest  antecedents, 
and  among  his  other  exploits  he  had  been  principally  concerned 
in  the  murder  of  the  English  prisoners  at  Patna  in  1763.  Upon 
her  husband's  death  the  Begum;  succeeded  to  his  estate  and 
to  the  leadership  of  the  disreputable  band  of  cut-throats  who 
formed  his  army.  After  the  battle  of  Assaye  he  submitted  to 
the  English,  embraced  Christianity  about  1781,  and  was 
publicly  embraced  by  Lord  Lake,  to  the  great  horror  of  the 
spectators.  She  ended  her  days  in  great  sanctity,  and  was 
buried  in  the  Roman  Catholic  Cathedral  at  Sardhana  which 
she  herself  had  built.  See  also  Sleeman,  Rambles  and  Recollec- 
tions, ed.  V.  A.  Smith,  chap.  75.  Oxford  University  Press, 
1915.— Ed.] 

3  Francklin,  Life  oj  George   Thomas,  pp.   1,   79,   107,  &c., 


CHAF.  V     PERRON  AND  GEORGE  THOMAS  111 

In  1799  Thomas  invested  the  town  of  Jind,  belong-  i787-i800 
ing  to  Bhag  Singh,  of  the  Phulkia  confederacy.     The  and  en- 
old  chief,  Baghel  Singh  Krora  Singhia,  and  the  Ama-  gages  in  hos- 
zonian  sister  of  the  imbecile  Raja  of  Patiala,  relieved  tiuties  with 
the  place,  but  they  were  repulsed  when  they  attacked  *^^  sikhs. 
Thomas  on  his  retreat  to  Hansi.    In  1800  Thomas  took  "^^• 
Fatehabad,  which  had  been  deserted  during  the  famine 
of  1783,  and  subsequently'-  occupied  by  the  predatory 
Bhattis  of  Hariana,  then  rising  into  local  repute,  not- 
withstanding the  efforts  of  the  Patiala  chief,  who,  how- 
ever, affected  to  consider  them  as  his  subjects,  and  gave 
them  some  aid  against  Thomas.    Patiala  was  the  next 
object  of  Thomas's  ambition,  and  he  was  encouraged 
by  the  temporary  secession  of  the  sister  of  the  chief; 
but  the  aged  Tara  Singh,  of  the  Dallehwala  confede- 
racy, interfered,  and  Thomas  had  to  act  with  caution. 
He  obtained,  nevertheless,  a  partial  success  over  Tara  Thomes 
Singh,  he  received  the  submission  of  the  Pathans  of  marches 
Maler  Kotla,  and  he  was  welcomed  as  a  deliverer  bv  towards 
the  converted  Muhammadans  of  Raikot,  who  had  held  ^g'jo^'''"^' 
Ludhiana  for  some  time,  and  all  of  v/hom  were  equally 
jealous  of  the  Sikhs.    At  this  time  Sahib  Singh,  a  Bedi  Opposed  by 
of  the  race  of  Nanak,  pretended  to  religious  inspiration,  sahib  singh 
and,  having  collected  a  large  force,  he  invested  Lud-  ^^^^• 
hiana,  took  the  town  of  Maler  Kotla,  and  called  on  the 
English  adventurer  to  obey  him  as  the  true  represen- 
tative of  the  Sikh  prophet.    But  Sahib  Singh  could  not 
long  impose  even  on  his  countrymen,  and  he  had   to 
retire  across    the  Sutlej.    Thomas's    situation    was  not 
greatly  improved  by  the  absence  of  the  Bedi,  for  the 
combination  against  him  was  general,  and  he  retired  Retires  to 
from    the    neighbourhood    of    Ludhiana    towards    his  ^^^^i-  ^^^ 
stronghold    of  Hansi.     He    again    took    the    field,  and  masters^  ^ 
attacked  Safidon,  an  old  town  belonging  to  the  chief  safidon 
of  Jind.    He  was  repulsed,  but  the  place  not  appearing  near  Delhi, 
tenable,  it  was  evacuated,  and  he  obtained  possession 
of  it.    At  this  time  he  is  said  to  have  had  ten  battalions 
and  sixty  guns,    and    to    have    possessed    a  territory 
yielding  about  450,000  rupees,  two-thirds  of  which  he 
held  by  right  of  seizure,  and  one-third  as  a  Maratha 
feudatory;  but  he  had  rejected  all  Perron's  overtures  Thomas 
with  suspicion,  and  Perr-on  was  resolved  to  crush  him.  rejects  Per- 
Thomas  was  thus  forced  to  come  to  terms  with  the  ^°^'^  °^^^- 
Sikhs,  and  he  washed  it  to  appear  that  he  had  engaged  ^"'^^l^^f 
them  on  his  side  against  Perron;  but  they  were  really  armsAsoi 
desirous  of  getting   rid  of  one  who  plainly  designed 
their  ruin,  or  at  least  th'eir  subjection,  and  the  alacrity 

and  Major  Smith,  Account  of  Regular  Corps  in  the  Service  of 
Indian  Princes,  p.  118,  &c. 


112 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.   V 


1801-3. 


Surrenders 
lo  Perron, 
1802. 

The  Mara- 
thas  under 
Perron 
paramount 
among  the 
Sikhs    of 
Sirhind, 
1802-3. 

Perron 
forms  an 
alliance 
with  Ran- 
jit  Singh. 

Is  'dis- 
trusted by 
Sindhia. 


Flees  to 
the  English 
then  at  war 
with  the 
Marathas, 
1803. 

First  inter- 
course of 
the  English 
With  the 
Sikhs. 

The 

mission  to 
Farrukh- 
siyar  de- 
tained  by 


of  Patiala  in  the  Maratha  service  induced  a  promise, 
on  the  part  of  the  French  commander,  of  the  restitu- 
tion of  the  conquests  of  Amar  Singh  in  Hariana.  After 
twice  beating  back  Perron's  troops  at  points  sixty  miles 
distant,  Thomas  was  compelled  to  surrender  in  the 
beginning  of  1802,  and  he  retired  into  the  British  pro- 
vinces, where  he  died  in  the  course  of  the  same  year.^ 
Perron  had  thus  far  succeeded.  His  lieutenant,  by 
name  Bourquin,  made  a  progress  through  the  Cis- 
Sutlej  states  to  levy  contributions,  and  the  commander 
himself  dreamt  of  a  dominion  reaching  to  the  Afghan 
hills,  and  of  becoming  as  independent  of  Sindhia  as  that 
chief  was  of  the  Peshwa.-  He  formed  an  engagement 
with  Ranjit  Singh  for  a  joint  expedition  to  the  Indus, 
and  for  a  partition  of  the  country  south  of  Lahore;^ 
but  Holkar  had  given  a  rude  shock  to  Sindhia's  power, 
and  Perron  had  long  evaded  a  compliance  with  the 
Maharaja's  urgent  calls  for  troops  to  aid  him  where 
support  was  most  essential.  Sindhia  became  involved 
with  the  English,  and  the  interested  hesitation  of 
Perron  was  punished  by  his  supersession.  He  was  not 
able,  or  he  did  not  try,  to  recover  his  authority  by 
vigorous  military  operations;  he  knew  he  had  commit- 
ted himself,  and  he  effected  his  escape  from  the  suspi- 
cious Marathas  to  the  safety  and  repose  of  the  British 
territories,  which  were  then  about  to  be  extended  by 
the  victories  of  Delhi  and  Laswari,  of  Assaye  and 
Argaon.'* 

In  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century  the 
agents  of  the  infant  company  of  English  merchants 
were  vexatiously  detained  at  the  imperial  court  by  the 
insurrection  of  the  Sikhs  under  Banda,  and  the  discreet 
'factors',  who  were  petitioning  for  some  trading  privi- 
leges, perhaps  witnessed  the  heroic  death  of  the 
national  Singhs,  the  soldiers  of  the  'Khalsa',  without 
comprehending  the  spirit  evoked  by  the  genius  of 
Gobind,  and  without  dreaming  of  the  broad  fabric  of 

1  See  generally  Francklin,  Life  of  George  Thomas,  and 
Major  Smith,  Account  of  Regular  Corps  in  Indian  States,  p.  21, 
&c.  The  Sikh  accounts  attribute  many  exploits  to  the  sister  of 
the  Raja  of  Patiala,  and  among  them  an  expedition  into  the 
hill  territory  of  Nahan,  the  state  from  which  Patiala  wrested 
the  vale  of  Pinjaur,  with  its  hanging  gardens,  not,  however, 
without  the  aid  of  Bourquin,  the  deputy  of  Perron. 

-  Malcolm  (Sketch,  p.  106)  considers  that  Perron  could 
easily  have  reduced  the  Sikhs,  and  mastered  the  Pimjab. 

•"•  This  alliance  is  given  on  the  authority  of  a  representa- 
tion made  to  the  Resident  at  Delhi,  agreeably  to  his  letter  to 
Sir  David  Ochterlony  of  July  5,  1814. 

4  Cf.  Major  Smith,  Account  of  Regular  Corps  in  Indian 
States,  p.  31,  &c. 


CHAP.  V  .    THE  SIKHS  AND  THE  ENGLISH  113 

empire  about  to  be  reared  on  their  own  patient  lab-  1957-88. 
ours.^  Forty  years  afterwards,  the  merchant  Omichand  thT^ampaign 
played  a  conspicuous  part  in  the  revolution  which  was  against 
crowned  by  the  battle  of  Plassey;  but  the  sectarian  Banda, 
Sikh,  the  worldly  votary  of  Nanak,  who  used  religion  "is-iv. 
as  a  garb  of  outward  decorum,  was  outwitted  by  the  ciive  and 
audacious  falsehood  of  Clive;   he  quailed   before  the  omichand. 
stern  scorn  of  the  English  conqueror,  and  he  perished  ^^"• 
the  victim  of  his  own  base  avarice.-    In  1784  the  pro- 
gress of  the    genuine    Sikhs    attracted    the    notice    of  warren 
Hastings,  and  he  seems  to  have  thought  that  the  pre-  Hastings 
sence  of  a  British  agent  at  the  court  of  Delhi  might  ^'^^^^  ^^ 
help  to  deter  them  from  molesting  the  Wazir  of  Oudh.=^  ?ga[nst*^th? 
But  the  Sikhs  had  learnt  to  dread  others  as  well  as  to  sikhs.  1734 
be  a  cause  of- fear,  and  shortly  afterwards  they  asked  ^i^e  315.^5 
the  British  Resident  to  enter  into  a  defensive  alliance  ask   English 
against  the  Marathas,    and    to  accept    the    services  of  aid   against 
thirtv  thousand  horsemen,  who  had  posted  themselves  ^^^  Mara- 
near'  Delhi  to  watch  the  motions  of  Sindhia.-*       The  *''^^  "^^• 

1  See  Orme,  History,  ii.  22,  &c.,  and  Mill,  Wilson's  edition, 
ill.  34,  &c.  The  mission  was  two  years  at  Delhi  during  1715, 
1716,  1717,  and  the  genuine  patriotism  of  Mr.  Hamilton,  the 
surgeon  of  the  deputation,  mainly  contributed  to  procure 
the  cession  of  thirty-seven  villages  near  Calcutta,  and  the 
exemption  from  duty  of  goods  protected  by  English  passes. 
This  latter  privilege  was  a  turning-point  in  the  history  of  the 
English  in  India,  for  it  gave  an  impulse  to  trade,  which  vastly 
increased  the  importance  of  British  subjects,  if  it  added  httle 
to  the  profits  of  the  associated  merchants.  [It  may  be  added 
that  a  dispute  about  the  issue  of  those  passes  brought  about 
an  open  rupture  between  the  East  India  Company  and  Mir 
Kasim,  Nawab  of  Bengal,  in  1763.  The  latter  was  utterly 
defeated  at  the  Battle  of  Bunar  in  1764  and  as  one  of  the  terms 
of  peace  in  the  following  year — the  year  of  Clive's  return  to 
India — the  Diwani  (fiscal  administration)  of  Bengal,  Bihar 
and  Orissa  was  granted  by  the  Emperor  Shah  Alam  tr  the 
Company,  in  return  for  a  yearly  payment  of  26  lakhs,  while 
the  Nawab,  the  successor  of  Mir  Kasim,  was  deprived  of  all 
power  and  pensioned. — Ed.] 

In  the  Granth  of  Guru  Gobind  there  are  at  least  four 
allusions  to  Europeans,  the  last  referring  specially  to  an 
Englishman.  First,  in  the  /\.kai  Stut,  Europeans  are  enumerated 
among  the  tribes  inhabiting  India;  second  and  third,  in  the 
Kalki  chapters  of  the  24  Autars,  apparently  in  praise  of  the 
systematic  modes  of  Europeans;  and  fourth,  in  the  Persian 
Hikayats,  where  both  a  European  and  an  Englishman  appear 
as  champions  for  the  hand  of  a  royal  damsel,  to  be  vanquished, 
of  course,  by  the  hero  of  the  tale. 

-  That  Omichand  was  a  Sikh  is  given  on  the  authority'  of 
Forster,  Travels,  i.  337.  That  he  died  of  a  broken  heart  Is 
doubted  by  Professor  Wilson.  (Mill,  India,  iii.  192  note, 
ed,  1840.) 

-  Browne,  India  Tracts,  ii  29,  30;  and  Francklin,  Shah 
Alam.  pp.  115,  116. 

^  Auber,  Rise  and  Progress  oi  the  British  Power  in  India. 

8 


114 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.   V 


180S-5. 

Early  Eng- 
lish esti- 
mates of 
the  Sikhs. 

Col. 
Francklin. 


The  travel- 
ler Forster. 


Sikhs  op- 
posed to 
Lord  Lake 
at    Delhi. 
1803. 

The  Sikhs 
of  Sirhind 
tender   their 
allegiance 
to   the 
English. 

The  chie£s 


English  had  then  a  slight  knowledge  of  a  new  and 
distant  people,  and  an  estimate,  two  generations  old, 
may  provoke  a  smile  from  the  protectors  of  Lahore. 
'The  Sikhs',  says  Col.  Francklin,  'are  in  their  persons 
tall.  . . .  their  aspect  is  ferocious,  and  their  eyes  pierc- 
ing; . . .  they  resemble  the  Arabs  of  the  Euphrates,  but 
they  speak  the  language  of  the  Afghans;  . . .  their 
collected  army  amounts  to  250,000  men,  a  terrific  force, 
yet  from  want  of  union  not  much  to  be  dreaded.'  ^  The 
judicious  and  observing  Forster  put  some  confidence 
in  similar  statements  of  their  vast  array,  but  he  esti- 
mated more  surely  than  any  other  early  writer  the  real 
character  of  the  Sikhs,  and  the  remark  of  1783,  that 
an  able  chief  would  probably  attain  to  absolute  power 
on  the  ruins  of  the  rude  commonwealth,  and  become 
the  terror  of  his  neighbours,  has  been  amply  borne  out 
by  the  carrer  of  Ranjit  Singh.^ 

The  battle  of  Delhi  ^  was  fought  on  the  11th 
Septemeber,  1803,  and  five  thousand  Sikhs  swelled  an 
army  which  the  speedy  capture  of  Aligarh  had  taken 
by  surprise.*  The  Marathas  were  overthrown,  and  the 
Sikhs  dispersed;  but  the  latter  soon  afterwards  tend- 
ered their  allegiance  to  the  British  commander.  Among 
the  more  important  chiefs  whose  alliance  or  whose 
occasional  services  were  accepted  were  Bhai  Lai  Singh 
of  Kaithal,  who  had  witnessed  the  success  of  Lord 
Lake,  Bhag  Singh,  the  patriarchal  chief  of  Jind,  and, 
after  a  time,  Bhanga  Singh,  the  savage  master  of  Tha- 

ii.  26,  27.  The  chief  who  made  the  overtures  was  Dulcha  Singh 
of  Rudaur  on  the  Jumna,  who  afterwards  entered  Sindhia'is 
service.  Cf.  Francklin,  Shah  Alam,  p.  78  note. 

1  Francklin,  Shah  Alam,  pp.  75,  77,  78. 

2  Forster's  Travels,  ii.  340.  -See  also  p.  324,  where  he  says 
the  Sikhs  had  raised  in  the  Punjab  a  solid  structure  of  religion. 
The  remark  of  the  historian  Robertson  may  also  be  quoted  as 
apposite,  and  with  the  greater  reason  as  prominence  has  lately 
been  given  to  it  in  the  House  of  Commons  on  the  occasion  of 
thanking  the  army  for  its  services  during  the  Sikh  campaign 
of  1848-9.  He  says  that  the  enterprising  commercial  spirit 
of  the  English,  and  the  martial  ardour  of  the  Sikhs,  who  possess 
the  energy  natural  to  men  in  the  earlier  stages  of  society,  can 
hardly  fail  to  lead  sooner  or  later  to  open  hostility.  {Disquisi- 
tion Concerning  Ancient  India,  note  iv,  sect.  1,  written  in 
1789-90.) 

3  [For  an  interesting  discussion  as  to  the  exact  site  of  this 
battle,  the  result  of  which  was  the  occupation  of  Delhi  by  the 
English  and  the  placing  of  the  Emperor  Shah  Alam  under  their 
protection,  the  reader  is  referred  to  an  article  by  Sir  Edward 
Maclagan,  in  the  Journal  of  the  Punjab  Historical  Society,  vol. 
iii. — ^Ed.] 

4  Major  Smith,  Account  of  Regular  Corps  in  Indian  States, 

p.  34. 


CHAP.  V  LORD  LAKE'S  CAMPAIGNS  115 

nesar.*    The  victory  of  Laswari  was  won  within  two  I803-5. 
months,  and  the  Maratha  power  seemed  to  be  annihi-  ^Tjind  and 
lated  in  Northern  India.    The  old  blind  emperor  Shah  Kaithai. 
Alam  was  again  flattered  with  the  semblance  of  kingly  shah  Aiam 
power,  his  pride  was  soothed  by  the  demeanour  of  the  ^eed  from 
conqueror,  and,  as  the  Mughal  name  was  still  imposing,  Maratha 
the  feelings  of  the  free  but  loyal  soldier  were  doubtless  t^^^i^Q'"- 
gratified  by  the  bestowal  of  a  title  which  declared  an 
English  nobleman  to  be  'the  sword  of  the  state'  of  the 
great  Tamerlane.^ 

The  enterprising  Jaswant  Rao  Holkar  had  by  this  "^^^  ^"S" 
time  determined  on  the  invasion  of  Upper  India,  and  Ji^jfh^'^i 
the  retreat  of  Col.  Monson  ^  buoyed  him  up  with  hopes  ^ar.  i804-5. 
of  victory  and  dominion.  Delhi  was  invested,  and  the 
Doab  was  filled  with  troops;  but  the  successful  defence 
of  the  capital  by  Sir  David  Ochterlony,  and  the  reverse 
of  Dig,  drove  the  great  marauder  back  into  Rajputana. 
During  these  operations  a  British  detachment,  under 
Col.  Burn,  was  hard  pressed  at  Shamli,  near  Saharan-  The  sikhs 
pur,   and  the   opportune  assistance   of  Lai   Singh   of  "mostly  side 
Kaithai  and  Bhag  Singh  of  Jind  contributed  to  its  ulti-  !^"^.  !f^ 
mate    relief.*     The    same    Sikh    chiefs    deserved    and  and  render 
received  the  thanks  of  Lord  Lake  for  attacking  and  good  ser- 
killing  one  Ika  Rao,  a  Maratha  commander  who  had  vice, 
taken  up  a  position  between  Delhi  and  Panipat;  but 
others   were   disposed   to    adhere    to    their   sometime 
allies,  and  Sher  Singh  of  Buriya  fell  in  action  with  Col. 
Burn,  and  the  conduct  of  Gurdit  Singh  of  Ladwa  in- 
duced the  British  general  to  deprive  him  of  his  villages 
in  the  Doab,  and  of  the  town  of  Karnal."' 

In  1805  Holkar  and  Amir  Khan  again  moved  north-  Hoikar 
ward,  and  proclaimed  that  they  would  be  joined  by  the  ^^l^^^^  ^^^ 
Sikhs,  and  even  by  the  Afghans;  but  the  rapid  move-  sutiej,  i8o\ 
ments  of  Lord  Lake  converted  their  advance  into  a 
retreat  or  a  flight.    They  delayed  some  time  at  Patiala,  Delays  at 
and  they  did  not  fail  to  make  a  pecuniary  profit  out  of  P^tiaia. 

1  Manuscript  memoranda  of  personal  inquiries. 

-  Mill,  History  of  Britisyi  India,  Wilson's  ed.,  vi.  510. 

•"'  [He  had  made  a  rash  advance  into  Holkar's  territory  in 
July  1804,  to  unite  with  another  English  force  under  Col. 
Murray.  Lack  M  supplies  caused  him  to  retreat,  and  he  only 
reached  Agra  at  the  end  of  August,  after  losing  the  major  part 
of  his  army.  However,  he  took  his  revenge  at  Dig,  as  that 
victory  was  mainly  his  work. — Ed.] 

■*  Manuscript  memoranda.  Both  this  aid  in  1804,  and  the 
opposition  of  the  Sikhs  at  Delhi,  in  1803.  seem  to  have  escaped 
the  notice  of  English  observers,  or  to  have  been  thought  un- 
deserving of  record  by  English  historians.  (Mill,  History,  vi. 
503,  592,  ed.  1840.) 

•"  Manuscript  memoranda  of  written  documents  and  of 
personal  inquiries. 


11(5 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP,   V 


1803-8. 


Halts  at 
Amritsar, 
but  fails  in 
gaining 
over    Ran- 
jit    Singh. 


Holkar 
comes  to 
terms  with 
the  English 
and  marches 
to  the  south, 
1805-6. 

Friendly 
relations    of 
the  English 
with   the 
Sikhs   of 
Sirhind, 
1803-8. 


Formal  en- 
gagement 
entered  into 
with  Ranjit 
Singh    and 
Fateh 

Singh  Ahlu- 
walia,    1806. 


the  differences  then  existing  between  the  imbecile  Raja 
and  his  wife;  ^  but  when  the  English  army  reached 
the  neighbourhood  of  Karnal,  Holkar  continued  his 
retreat  towards  the  north,  levying  contributions  where 
he  could,  but  without  being  joined  by  any  of  the  Sikh 
chiefs  of  the  Cis-Sutlej  states.  In  the  Punjab  itself  he 
is  represented  to  have  induced  some  to  adopt  his  cause, 
but  Ranjit  Singh  long  kept  aloof,  and  when  at  last  he 
met  Holkar  at  Amritsar,  the  astute  young  chief  wanted 
aid  in  reducing  the  Pathans  of  Kasur  before  he  would 
give  the  Marathas  any  assistance  against  the  English. 
Amir  Khan  would  wish  it  to  be  believed,  that  he  was 
unwilling  to  be  a  party  to  an  attack  upon  good  Miiham- 
madans,  and  it  is  certain  that  the  perplexed  Jaswant 
Rao  talked  of  hurrying  on  to  Peshawar;  but  Lord  Lake 
was  in  force  on  the  banks  of  the  Beas,  the  political 
demands  of  the  British  commander  were  moderate, 
and,  on  the  24th  December,  1805,  an  arrangement  was 
come  to,  which  allowed  Holkar  to  return  quietly  to 
Central  India.^ 

Lord  Lake  was  joined  on  his  advance  by  the  two 
chiefs,  Lai  Singh  and  Bhag  Singh,  whose  services  have 
already  been  mentioned,  and  at  Patiala  he  was  wel- 
comed by  the  weak  and  inoffensive  Sahib  Singh,  who 
presented  the  keys  of  his  citadel,  and  expatiated  on  his 
devotion  to  the  British  Government.  Bhag  Singh  was 
the  maternal  uncle  of  Ranjit  Singh,  and  his  services 
were  not  unimportant  in  determining  that  calculating 
leader  to  avoid  an  encounter  with  disciplined  battalions 
and  a  trained  artillery.  Ranjit  Singh  is  believed  to 
have  visited  the  British  camp  in  disguise,  that  he  might 
himself  witness  the  military  array  of  a  leader  who  had 
successively  vanquished  both  Sindhia  and  Holkar,'' 
and  he  was,  moreover,  too  acute  to  see  any  permanent 
advantage  in  linking  his  fortunes  with  those  of  men 
reduced  to  the  condition  of  fugitives.  Fateh  Singh 
Ahluwalia,  the  grand-nephew  of  Jassa  Singh  Kalal, 
and  the  chosen  companion  of  the  future  Maharaja,  was 
the  medium  of  intercourse,  and  an  arrangement  was 
soon  entered  into  with  'Sardars'  Ranjit  Singh  and 
Fateh    Singh    jointly,    which    provided    that    Holkar 


J  Amir  Khan,  in  his  Memoirs  (p.  276),  says  characteristi- 
cally, that  Holkar  remarked  to  him,  on  observing  the  silly 
differences  between  the  Raja  and  the  Rani,  'God  has  assuredly 
sent  us  these  two  pigeons  to  pluck;  do  you  espouse  the  cause 
of  the  one,  while  I  take  up  with  the  other.' 

2  Cf.  Amir  Khan,  Memoirs,  pp.  276,  285:  and  Murray. 
Ranjit  Singh,  p.  57,  &c. 

3  See  Moorcroft,  Travels,  i.  102. 


CHAP.  V    TREATY  WITH  ENGLISH  OF  1806  117 

should  be  compelled  to  retire  irom  Amritsar,  and  that  1804. 
so  long  as  the    two    chiefs    conducted    themselves    as 
friends  the  English  Government  would  never  form  any 
plans  for  the  seizure  of  their  territories.^     Lord  Lake  The  Eng- 
entered   into   a   friendly  correspondence  with   Sansar  ^^^^  corre- 
Chand,  of  Katotch,  who  was  imitating  Ranjit  Singh  by  sa"^^/'*^ 
bringing  the  petty  hill  chie'fs  under  subjection;  but  no  chand  of 
engagement  was    entered  into,   and  the  British  com-  Katotch. 
mander    returned    to  the    provinces    by  the    road  of 
Ambala  and  Karnal.^ 

The  connexion   of  Lord    Lake   with   many    of  the  The  sikhs 
Sikh  chiefs  of  Sirhind  had  been  intimate,  and  the  ser-  ^^  ^^ded^^as 
vices  of  some  had  been  opportune  and  valuable.  Imme-  vinuauy 
diately  after  the  battle  of  Delhi,  Bhag  Singh  of  Jind  dependants 
was  upheld  in  a  jagir  which  he  possessed  near  that  city,  of  the  Eng- 
and  in  1804  another  estate  was  conferred  jointly  on  him  lish  by 
and  his  friend  Lai  Singh  of  Kaithal.     In   1806  these  ^^"^^  l^'^^- 
leaders  were  further  rewarded  with  life  grants,  yield- 
ing about  £11,000  a  year,  and  Lord  Lake  was  under- 
stood to  be  willing  to  give  them  the  districts  of  Hansi 
and  Hissar  on  the  same  terms;  but  these  almost  desert 
tracts  were  objected  to  as  unprofitable.     Other  petty 
chiefs    received    rewards    corresponding     with    their 
services,  and  all  were  assured  that  they  should  con- 
tinue to  enjoy  the  territorial  possessions  which  they 
held  at  the  time  of  British  interference  without  being 
liable  to  the  payment  of  tribute.     These  declarations  But  the 
or  arrangements  were  made  when  the  policy  of  Lord  connection 
Wellesley  was  suffering  under  condemnation;  the  reign  ^°^^  ^^^^' 
of  the  EngUsh  was  to  be  limited  by  the  Jumna,  a  for-  c^ared/or 
mal  treaty  with  Jaipur  was  abrogated,  the  relations  of  made  bind- 
the    Indian    Government    with    Bhartpur    were    left  ing  in  form, 
doubtful,  and,  although  nothing  was  made  known  to 
the  Sikh  chiefs  of  Sirhind,  their  connexion  with  the 
English  came  virtually  to  an  end,  so  far  as  regarded 
the  reciprocal  benefits  of  alliance.'' 

It  is  now    necessary    to    return  to    Ranjit    Singh,  Retrospect 
whose  authority   had   gradually  become  predominant  ""^^^  refer- 

'  See  the  treaty  itself.  Appendix  XXIII. 

-  The  public  records  show  that  a  newswriter  was  main- 
tained for  some  time  in  Katotch,  and  the  correspondence 
about  Sansar  Chand  leaves  the  impression  that  Ranjit  Singh 
could  never  wholly  forget  the  Raja's  original  superiority,  nor 
the  English  divest  themselves  of  a  feeling  that  he  was 
independent  of  Lahore. 

•^  The  original  grants  to  Jind,  Kaithal,  and  others,  and 
also  similar  papers  of  assurance,  are  carefully  preserved  by 
the  several  families;  and  the  various  English  documents  show 
that  Bhag  Singh,  of  Jind,  was  always  regarded  with  much 
kindliness  by  Lord  Lake,  Sir  John  Malcolm,  and  Sir  David 
Ochterlony. 


118 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP,   V 


1799-1804. 

Ran  jit 

Singh's   rise. 
Ranjit 
Singh  mas- 
ters  Lahore, 
1799. 
Reduces 
the  Bhangi 
Misal   and 
the    Pathans 
of  Kasur, 
1801-2. 

Allies  him- 
self with 
Fateh 
Singh 
Ahluwalia. 

Ranjit 
Singh  ac- 
quires Am- 
ritsar,    1802; 

and  con- 
fines San- 
sar  Chand 
to   the   hills, 
1803-4, 
who  be- 
comes  in- 
volvpf' 
with   the 
Gurkhas. 


among  the  Sikh  people.  His  first  object  was  to  master 
Lahore  from  the  incapable  chiefs  of  the  Bhangi  con- 
federacy who  possessed  it,  and  before  Shah  Zaman  had 
been  many  months  gone,  effect  was  given  to  his  grant 
by  a  dexterous  mixture  of  force  and  artifice.  Ranjit 
Singh  made  Lahore  his  capital,  and,  with  the  aid  of  the 
Kanhayas  (or  Ghani)  confederacy,  he  easily  reduced 
the  whole  of  the  Bhangis  to  submission,  although  they 
were  aided  by  Nizam-tid-din  Khan  of  Kasur.  In  1801-2 
the  Pathan  had  to  repent  his  rashness;  his  strongholds 
were  difficult  to  capture,  but  he  found  it  prudent  to 
become  a  feudatory,  and  to  send  his  best  men  to  follow 
a  new  master.  After  this  success  Ranjit  Singh  went  to 
bathe  in  the  holy  pool  of  Taran  Taran,  and,  meeting 
with  Fateh  Singh  Ahluwalia,  he  conceived  a  friend- 
ship for  him,  as  has  been  mentioned,  and  went  through 
a  formal  exchange  of  turbans,  symbolical  of  brother- 
hood. During  1802  the  allies  took  Amritsar  from  the 
widow  of  the  last  Bhangi  leader  of  note,  and,  of  their 
joint  spoil,  it  fell  to  the  share  of  the  master  of  thy 
other  capital  of  the  Sikh  country.  In  1803  Sansar 
Chand,  of  Katotch,  in  prosecution  of  his  schemes  of 
aggrandizement,  made  two  attempts  to  occupy  portions 
of  the  fertile  Doab  of  Jullundur,  but  he  was  repulsed 
by  Ranjit  Singh  and  his  confederate.  In  1804  Sansar 
Chand  again  quitted  his  hills,  and  captured  Hoshiarpur 
and  Bajwara;  but  Ranjit  Singh's  approach  once  more 
compelled  him  to  retreat,  and  he  soon  afterwards  be- 
came involved  with  the  Gurkhas,  a  new  people  in 
search  of  an  empire  which  should  comprise  the  whole 
range  of  Himalayas.^ 

1  Cf.  Murray,  Ranjit  Singh,  pp.  51,  55. 

Capt.  Murray,  the  political  agent  at  Ambala,  and  Capt. 
Wade,  the  political  agent  at  Ludhiana,  each  wrote  a  narrative 
of  the  life  of  Ranjit  Singh,  and  that  of  the  former  was  printed 
in  1834,  with  a  few  corrections  and  additions,  and'  some  notes, 
by  Mr.  Thoby  Prinsep,  secretary  to  the  Indian  Government. 
The  author  has  not  seen  Capt.  Wade's  report,  or  narrative,  but 
he  believes  that  it,  even  in  -a  greater  degree  than  Capt. 
Murray's,  was  founded  on  personal  recollections  and  on  oral 
report,  rather  than  on  contemporary  English  documents,  which 
reflected  the  opinions  of  the  times,  and  which  existed  in 
sufficient  abundance  ^fter  1803  especially.  The  two  narratives 
in  auestion  were,  indeed,  mainly  prepared  from  accounts  drawn 
up  by  intelligent  Indians,  at  the  requisition  of  the  English 
functionaries,  and  of  these  the  chronicles  of  Buta  Shah,  a 
Muhammadan,  and  Sohan  Lai,  a  Hindu,  are  the  best  known, 
and  may  be  had  for  purchase.  The  inquiries  of  Capt.  Wade, 
in  especial,  were  extensive,  and  to  both  officers  the  public  is 
indebted  for  the  preservation  of  a  continuous  narrative  of 
Ranjit  Singh's  actions. 

The  latter  portion  of  the  present  chapter,  and  also  chapters 


CHAP.  V   ASCENDANCY  OF  RAN  JIT  SINGH  119 

In  little    more  than    a  year    after    Shah    Zaman  i803-5. 
quitted  the  Punjab,  he  was  deposed  and  blinded  by  his  shah  Za- 
brother  Mahmud,  who  was  in  his  turn  supplanted  by  a  man  de- 
third  brother,  Shah  Shuja,  in  the  year  1803.     These  posed  by 
revolutions  hastened  the  fall  of  the  exotic  empire  of  ^^^^  ^^^j^" 
Ahmad  Shah,  and  Ranjit  Singh  was  not  slow  to  try  his  ^  Durrani 
arms  against  the  weakened  T)urrani  governors  of  dist-  empire 
ricts  and  provinces.    In  1804-5  he  marched  to  the  west-  weakened, 
ward;  he    received    homage    and    presents    from    the 
Miihammadans  of  Jhang  and  Sahiwal,  and  Muzaffar  wherefore 
Khan  of  Multan,  successfully  deprecated  an  attack  by  Ranjit 
rich  offerings.    Ranjit  Singh  had  felt  his  way  and  was  f^^^^  pJ°j_ 
satisfied;  he  returned  to  Lahore,  celebrated  the  festival  soutn-west 
of  the  Holi  in  his  capital,  and  then  went  to  bathe  in  the  of  the  Pun- 
Ganges    at    Hardwar,    or    to    observe    personally    the  jab,   iscs. 
aspect  of  affairs  to  the  eastward  of  the  Punjab.  Towards 
the  close  of  1805  he  made  another  western  inroad,  and 
added  weight  to  the  fetters  already  imposed  on  the 
proprietor  of  Jhang;  but  the  approach  of  Holkar  and  Returns  to 
Amir  Khan  recalled,  first  Fateh  Singh,  and  afterwards  ^'^^  "^"^^^ 
himself,  to  the  proper  city  of  the  whole  Sikh  people.  H^^'llX''^ 
The  danger  seemed  imminent,  for  a  famed  leader  of  the  ^^q^ 
dominant  Marathas  was  desirous  of  bringing  down  an 
Afghan  host,  and  the  English  army,  exact  in  discipline, 
and    representing    a    power    of    unknown    views    and 
resources,  had  reached  the  neighbourhood  of  Amritsar.^ 

A  formal  council  was  held  by  the  Sikhs,  but  a  a  sikh 
portion  only  of  their  leaders  were  present.  The  single-  ^^"J  ^^ 
ness  of  purpose,  the  confident  belief  in  the  aid  of  God,  national 
which    had    animated    mechanics    and     shepherds    to  council, 
resent  persecution,  and  to  triumph  over  Ahmad  Shah,  herid; 
no  longer  possessed  the  minds  of  their  descendants, 
born  to  comparative  power  and  affluence,  and  who,  like 
rude  and  ignorant  men  broken  loose  from  all  law,  gave 
the  rein  to  their  grosser  passions.    Their  ambition  was 
personal  and  their  desire  was  for  worldly  enjoyment. 
The  genuine  spirit  of  Sikhism  had  again  sought  the  but  the 
dwelling  of  the  peasant  to  reproduce  itself  in  another  l^'^l'^^''^^^ 
form;  the  rude  system  of  mixed  independence  and  con-  fou^^de- 
federacy  was  unsuited  to  an  extended  dominion;  it  had  cayed  and 
served  its  ends  of  immediate  agglomeration,  and  the  lifeless. 
'Misals'  were  in  effect  dissolved.  The  mass  of  the  peo- 
ple remained  satisfied  with  their  village  freedom,  to 

VI  and  VII,  follow  very  closely  the  author's  narratives  of  the 
British  connexion  with  the  Sikhs,  drawn  up  for  Government, 
a  [literary]  use  which  he  trusts  may  be  made,  without  any 
impropriety,  of  an  unprinted  paper  of  his  own  writing. 

1  See  Elphinstone,  Kabul,  ii.    '^25;    and    Murray,    Ranjit 
Singh,  pp.  56,  57. 


120 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.   V 


1805. 


and  a  single 
temporal 
authority 
virtually 
admitted  in 
the  person 
of  Ranjit 
Singh. 


Ranjit 

Singh  inter- 
feres in  the 
affairs  of 
the  Sikhs 
of  Sirhind 
1806. 


Takes  Lud- 
hiana,  1806; 


and  receives 
offerings 
from  Patiala. 


Sansar 
Chand  and 


which  taxation  and  inquisition  were  unknown;  but  the 
petty  chiefs  and  their  paid  followers,  to  whom  their 
faith  was  the  mere  expression  of  a  conventional  cus- 
tom, were  anxious  for  predatory  licence,  and  for  addi- 
tions to  their  temporal  power.  Some  were  willing  to 
join  the  English,  others  were  ready  to  link  their  for- 
tunes with  the  Marathas,  and  all  had  become  jealous 
of  Ranjit  Singh,  who  alone  was  desirous  of  excluding 
the  stranger  invaders,  as  the  great  obstacles  to  his  own 
ambition  of  founding  a  military  monarchy  which 
should  ensure  to  the  people  the  congenial  occupation 
of  conquest.  In  truth,  Ranjit  Singh  laboured,  with 
more  or  less  of  intelligent  design,  to  give  unity  and 
coherence  to  diverse  atoms  and  scattered  elements;  to 
mould  the  increasing  Sikh  nation  into  a  well-ordered 
state  or  commonwealth,  as  Gobind  had  developed  a 
sect  into  a  people,  and  had  given  application  and  pur- 
pose to  the  general  institutions  of  Nanak.^ 

Holkar  retired,  and  Ranjit  Singh,  as  has  been 
mentioned,  entered  into  a  vague  but  friendly  alliance 
with  the  British  Government.  Towards  the  close  of 
the  same  year  he  was  invited  to  interfere  in  a  quarrel 
between  the  chief  of  Nabha  and  the  Raja  of  Patiala, 
and  it  would  be  curious  to  trace  whether  the  English 
authorities  had  first  refused  to  mediate  in  the  dispute 
in  consequence  of  the  repeated  instructions  to  avoid  all 
connexion  with  powers  beyond  the  Jumna.  Ranjit 
Singh  crossed  the  Sutlej,  and  took  Ludhiana  from  the 
declining  Muhammadan  far^ily  which  had  sought  the 
protection  of  the  adventurer  George  Thomas.  The 
place  was  bestowed  upon  his  uncle,  Bhag  Singh  of 
Jind,  and  as  both  Jaswant  Singh  of  Nabha,  whom  he 
had  gone  to  aid,  and  Sahib  Singh  of  Patiala,  whom  he 
had  gone  tc  coerce,  were  glad  to  be  rid  of  his  destruc- 
tive arbitration,  he  retired  with  the  present  of  a  piece 
of  artillery  and  some  treasure,  and  went  towards  the 
hills  of.Kangra,  partly  that  he  might  pay  his  supersti- 
tious devotions  at  the  natural  flames  of  Juala  Mukhi.^ 

At  this  time  the  unscrupulous  ambition  of  Sansar 
Chand  of  Katotch  had  brought  him  into  fatal  collision 

1  Malcolm  (Sketch,  pp.  106,  107)  remarks  on  the  want 
of  unanimity  among  the  Sikhs  at  the  time  of  Lord  Lake's 
expedition.  Cf.  Murray,  Ranjit  Singh,  pp.  57,  58. 

2  See  Murray,  Ranjit  Singh,  pp.  59,  60.  The  letter  of  Sir 
Charles  Metcalfe  to  Government,  of  June  17,  1809,  shows  that 
Ranjit  Singh  was  not  strong  enough  at  the  time  in  question, 
1806,  to  interfere,  by  open  force,  in  the  affairs  of  the  Malwa 
Sikhs,  and  the  letters  of  Sir  David  Ochterlony,  of  February  14, 
March  7,  1809  and  July  30,  1811,  show  that  the  English  engage- 
ments of  1805,  with  the  Patiala  and  other  chiefs,  were  virtually 
at  an  end,  so  far  as  regarded  the  reciprocal  benefits  of  alliance. 


Gurkhas 

invest 

Kangra. 


CHAP.  V    ASCENDANCY  OF  RANJIT  SINGH  121 

with  the  Gurkhas.    That  able  chief  might  have  given  isos. 
life  to  a  confederacy  against  the  common  enemies  of  the  Gur- 
all  the  old  mountain  principalities,  who  were  already  khas.  isos. 
levying  tribute  in  Garhwal  :   but  Sansar  Chand  in  his  sansar 
desire  for  supremacy  had  reduced  the  chief  of  Kahlur,  chand  and 
or  Belaspur,   to  the  desperate  expedient  of  throwing  ii  s  con- 
himself  on  the  support  of  the  Nepal  commander.  Amar  ??'^,^'^^^^j^°' 
Singh  Thappa  gladly  advanced,  and,  notwithstanding  ^jr^i^el^'^to 
the  gallant  resistance  offered  by   the  young  chief  of  the  north 
Nalagarh,  Sansar  Chand's  coadjutor  in  his  own  aggres-  of  the  sut- 
sions,  the  Gurkha  authority  was  introduced  betvi/een  ^ej,  isos; 
the  Sutlej  and  Jumna  before  the  end  of  1805,  during 
which  year  Amar  Singh  crossed  the  former  river  and  ^j^^  the 
laid  siege  to  Kangra.     At  the  period  of  Ranjit  Singh's 
visit  to  Juala    Mukhi,    Sansar    Chand    was    willing  lo 
obtain  his  aid;  but,  as  the    fort    was    strong    and    the 
sacrifices  required  considerable,    he  was    induced    to 
trust  to  his  own  resources,  and  no  arrangement  was 
then  come  to  for  the  expulsion  of  the  new  enemy. ^ 

In  1807  Ranjit  Singh  first  directed  his  attention  to  Ra^J** 
Kasur,  which  was  again   rebellious,   and  the  relative  ^'V^'^th''' 
independence     of     which     caused     him     disquietude,  pa^an^ 
although  its  able  chief,  Nizam-ud-din,  had  been  dead  chief  of  Ka- 
for  some  time;  nor  was  he,  perhaps,  without  a  feeling  sur.  i807; 
that  the  reduction  of  a  large  colony  of  Pathans,  and 
the  annexation  of  the  mythological  rival  of   Lahore, 
would  add  to  his  own  merit  and  importance.       The 
place  was  invested  by  Ranjit  Singh,  and' by  Jodh  Singh 
Ramgarhia,  the  son  of  his  father's  old  ally, " Jassa  the 
Carpenter.    Want  of  unity  weakened  the  resistance  of 
the  then  chief,  Kutb-ud-din,  and  at  the  end  of  a  month 
he  surrendered  at  discretion,  and  received  a  tract  of 
land  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Sutlej  for  his  mainten- 
ance.    Ranjit    Singh    afterwards    proceeded    towards  and  partiai- 
Multan,  and  succeeded  in  capturing  the  walled  town;  ^y  succeeds 
but  the  citadel  resisted  such  efforts  as  he  was  able  to  f?^^"^* 
make,  and  he  was  perhaps  glad  that  the  payment  of  a 
sum  of  money  enabled  him  to  retire  with  credit;  he 
was,  nevertheless,  unwilling  to  admit  his  failure,  and, 

-  Cf.  Murray,  Ranjit  Singh,  p.  60;  and  Moorcroft,  Travels, 
I.   127,  &c. 

Sansar  Chand  attributed  his  overthrow  by  the  Gurkhas 
to  his  dismissal  of  his  old  Rajput  troops  and  employment  of 
Afghans,  at  the  instigation  of  the  fugitive  Rohilla  chief,  Ghulam 
Muhammad,  who  had  sought  an  asylum  with  him. 

The  Gurkhas  crossed  the  Jumna  to  aid  the  chief  of  Nahan 
against  his  subjects,  and  they  crossed  the  Sutlej  to  aid  one 
Rajput  prince  against  another — paths  always  open  to  riew  and 
united  races.  References  in  public  records  show  that  the  latter 
river  was  crossed  in  a.d.  1805. 


122 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.    V 


1807. 


Ran  jit 
Singh  em- 
ploys 
Mokham 
Chand. 
1807. 


Crosses  the 
Sutlej    for 
the  second 
time; 


and    returns 

to  seize  the 

territories 

of  the 

deceased 

Dallehwala 

chief. 

The  Sikhs 
of  Sirhind 
become  ap- 
prehensive 
of  Ranjit 
Singh. 


British 
protection 
asked, 
1808; 


in  the  communications  which  he  then  held  with  the 
Nawab  of  Bahawalpur,  the  ready  improver  of  oppor- 
tunities endeavoured  to  impress  that  chief  with  the 
belief  that  a  regard  for  him  alone  had  caused  the 
Afghan  governor  to  be  left  in  possession  of  his  strong- 
hold. ^ 

During  the  same  year,  1807,  Ranjit  Singh  took  into 
his  employ  a  Kshattriya,  named  Mohkam  Chand,  an 
able  man,  who  fully  justified  the  confidence  reposed  in 
him.  With  this  new  servant  in  his  train  he  proceeded 
to  interfere  in  the  dissensions  between  the  Raja  of 
Patiala  and  his  intriguing  wife,  which  were  as  lucrative 
to  the  master  of  Lahore  as  they  had  before  been  to 
Holkar  and  Amir  Khan.  The  Rani  wished  to  force 
from  the  weak  husband  a  large  assignment  for  the 
support  of  her  infant  son,  and  she  tempted  Ranjit 
Singh,  by  the  offer  of  a  necklace  of  diamonds  and  a 
piece  lit  brass  ordnance,  to  espouse  her  cause.  He 
crossed  the  Sutlej,  and  decreed  to  the  boy  a  mainten- 
ance of  50,000  rupees  per  annum.  He  then  attacked 
Naraingarh,  between  Ambala  and  the  hills,  and  held 
by  a  family  of  Rajputs,  but  he  only  secured  it  after 
a  repulse  and  a  heavy,  loss.  Tara  Singh,  the  old  chief 
of  the  Dallehwala  confederacy,  who  was  with  the 
Lahore  force  on  this  occasion,  died  before  N-araingarh, 
and  Ranjit  Singh  hastened  back  to  secure  his  posses- 
sions in  the  Jullundur  Doab.  The  widow  of  the  aged 
leader  equalled^  the  sister  of  the  Raja  of  Patiala  in 
spirit,  and  she  is  described  to  have  girded  up  her  gar- 
ments, and  to  have  fought,  sword  in  hand,  on  the 
battered  walls  of  the  fort  of  Rahon.^ 

In  the  beginning  of  1808  various  places  in  the 
Upper  Punjab  were  taken  from  their  independent  Sikh 
proprietors,  and  brought  under  the  direct  management 
of  the  new  kingdom  of  Lahore,  and  Mohkam  Chand 
was  at  the  same  time  employed  in  effecting  a  settle- 
ment of  the  territories  which  had  been  seized  on  the 
left  bank  of  the  Sutlej.  But  Ranjit  Singh's  systematic 
aggressions  had  begun  to  excite  fear  in  the  minds  of 
the  Sikhs  of  Sirhind,  and  a  formal  deputation,  consist- 
ing of  the  chiefs  of  Jind  and  Kaithal,  and  the  Diwan, 
or  minister,  of  Patiala,  proceeded  to  Delhi,  in  March 
1808,  to  ask  for  British  protection.  The  communiCatiojis 

1  Murray,  Ranjit  Singh,  pp.  60,  61,  and  the  manuscript 
memoirs  of  the  Bahawalpur  family. 

2  Cf.  Murray,  Ranjit  Singh,  pp.  61,  63.  The  gun  obtained 
by  Ranjit  Singh  from  Patiala  on  this  occasion  was  named  Karri 
Khan,  and  was  captured  by  the  English  during  the  campaign 

Qf     1845r6. 


CHAP.  V  BRITISH  POLICY  IN  1808  123 

of  the  English    Government    with    the    chiefs    of  the  i808-9_ 
Cis-Sutlej   states  had  not  been  altogether  brokeh  off, 
and  the  Governor-General  had  at 'this  time  assured  the 
Muhammadan  Khan  of  Kunjpura,  near  Karnal/  that 
he  need  be  under  no  apprehensions  with  regard  to  his 
hereditary  possessions,  while  the  petty  Sikh  chief  of 
Sikri  had  performed  some  services  which  were  deemed 
vorthy  of  a  pension.^    But  the  deputies  of  the  collective  but  not 
states  could   obtain  no   positive  assurances  from  the  distinctly 
British  authorities  at  Delhi,  although  they  were  led  to  ^<^<^«d«^- 
hope  that,  in  the    hour    of  need,    they    would    not  be 
deserted.     This  was  scarcely  sufficient  to  save  them  whereupon' 
from  loss,  and  perhaps  from  ruin;  and,  as  Ranjit  Singh  ^^^  chiefs 
had  sent  messengers  to  calm  their  apprehensions,  and  ^a^^^^  ^° 
to  urge  them  to  join  his  camp,  they  left  Delhi  for  the  singh. 
purpose  of  making  their  own  terms  with  the  acknow- 
ledged Raja  of  Lahore.^ 

The  Governor-General  of  1805,*  who  dissolved  or  Jt'^od'de!'^' 
deprecated  treaties  with  princes   beyond    the    Jumna,  Jjg°s  of^'the 
and  declared  that  river  to  be  the  limit  of  British  domi-  French  on 
nion,   had  no  personal    knowledge   of  the  hopes   and  India 
fears  with  which  the  invasions  of  Shah  Zaman  agitated  "Modify  the 
the  minds  of  men  for  the  period  of  three  or  four  years;  '^j°^''^ri°rsh 
and  had  the  Sikhs  of  Sirhind  sought  protection  from  Awards '^ 
Lord  Cornwallis,  they  would  doubtless  have  received  the  sikhs 
a  decisive  answer  in  the  negative.     But  the  reply  of  iscs-g. 
encouragement   given   in   the   beginning   of   1808    was 
prompted  by  renewed  danger:  and  the  belief  that  the 
French,  the  Turkish,  and  the  Persian  emperors  medi- 
tated the  subjugation  of  India  led  another  new  Gover- 
nor-General to  seek   alliances,   not    only    beyond    the 
Jumna,  but  beyond  the  Indus.-^     The  designs  or  the 
desires   of  Napoleon  appeared  to   render  a   defensive 
alliance  with  the  Afghans  and  with  tiie  Sikhs  impera- 
tive; Mr.  Elphinstone  was  deputed  to  the  court  of  Shah 
Shuja,  and  in  September  1808  Mr.  Metcalfe  was  sent 
on  a  mission  to  Ranjit  Singh  for  the  purpose  of  bring- 

1  In  a  document  dated  18th  "January,   1808. 

-  Mr.  Clerk  of  Ambala  to  the  agent  at  Delhi,  19th  May, 
1837. 

3  See  Murray,  Ranjit  Singh,  pp.  64,  65. 

4 [Lord  CornwalHs  had  been  sent  out  in  1805  with  strict 
orders  to  pursue  a  pacific  and  economizing  policy,  as  the 
Directors  were  alarmed  at  the  expense  of  the  wars  waged  by 
his  predecessor — Lord  Wellesley.  But  Cornwallis  died  two 
months  after  his  arrival,  and  was  temporarily  succeeded  by 
Sir  G.  Barlow. — Ed.] 

•">  Mr.  Auber  (Rise  and  Progress  of  the  British  Power  in 
India,  ii.  461),  notices  the '  triple  alliance  which  threatened 
Hindustan  [Lord  Minto  had  arrived  as  Govern OT'-General  in 
1807.— Ed.] 


124 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.   V 


1808-«. 

The  chiefs 

of  Sirhind 

taken 

under 

protection, 

and  a  close 

alliance 

sought 

with  Ran  jit 

Singh. 

Mr.  Met- 
calfe  sent 
as  envoy  to 
Lahore, 
18C3-9. 
Aversion 
of  Ranjit 
Singh   to   a 
restrictive 
treaty,   and 
his   th.rd 
expedition 
across  the 
Sutlej. 


British 
troops 
moved  to 
the  Sutlej, 
1809. 


ing  about  the  desired  confederation. ^  The  chiefs  of 
Patiala,  Jind,  and  Kaithal  were  also  verbally  assured 
that  they  had  become  dependent  princes  of  the  British 
Government;  for  the  progress  of  Ranjit  Singh  seemed 
to  render  the  interposition  of  some  friendly  states, 
between  his  military  domination  and  the  peaceful 
sway  of  the  English,  a  measure  of  prudence  and 
foresight.- 

Mr.  Metcalfe  was  received  by  Ranjit  Singh  at  his 
newly  conquered  town  of  Kasur,  but  the  chief  affected 
to  consider  himself  as  the  head  of  the  whole  Sikh 
people,  and  to  regard  the  possession  of  Lahore  as 
giving  him  an  additional  claim  to  supremacy  over 
Sirhind.  He  did  not,  perhaps,  see  that  a  French  invasion 
would  be  ruinous  to  his  interests;  he  rather  feared  the 
colossal  power  on  his  borders,  and  he  resented  the 
intention  of  confining  him  to  the  Sutlej.'^  He  suddenly 
broke  off  negotiations,  and  made  his  third  inroad  to 
the  south  of  the  Sutlej.  He  seized  Faridkot  and 
Ambala,  levied  exactions  in  Maler  Kotla  and  Thanesar, 
and  entered  into  a  symbolical  brotherhood  or  alliance 
with  the  Raja  of  Patiala.  The  British  envoy  remon- 
strated against  these  virtual  acts  of  hostility,  and  he 
remained  on  the  banks  of  the  Sutlej  until  Ranjit  Singh 
recrossed  that  river.* 

The  proceedings  of  the  ruler  of  Lahore  determined 
the  Governor-General,  if  doubtful  before,  to  advance 
a  detachment  of  troops  to  the  Sutlej,  to  support  Mr. 
Metcalfe  in  his  negotiations,  and  to  effectually  confine 
Ranjit  Singh  to  the  northward  of  that  river. ^'^  Provision 
would  also  be  thus  made,  it  was  said,  for  possible  war- 
like operations  of  a  more  extensive  character,  and  the 
British  frontier  would  be  covered  by  a  confederacy  of 
friendly  chiefs,  instead  of  threatened  by  a  hostile  mili- 
tary government.  A  body  of  troops  was  accordingly 
moved  across  the  Jumna  in  January  1809,  under  the 
command  of   Sir    David    Ochterlony.       The    General 

1  [Col.  Malcolm  was  dispatched  on  a  similar  mission  to 
Persia  at  the  same  time,  and  concluded  a  treaty  (1809)  which 
did  away  with  the  possibility  of  French  interference  in  that 
quarter. — Ed.] 

-  Government  to  Sir  David  Ochterlony,  14th  Nov.,  1808. 
Cf.  Murray,  Ranjit  Singh,  pp.  65,  66. 

3  IVJoorcroft  ascertained  (Travels,  i.  94)  that  Ranjit  Singh 
had  serious  thoughts  of  appealing  to  the  sword,  so  unpalatable 
was  English  interference.  The  well-known  Fakir  Uziz-ud-din 
was  one  of  the  two  persons  who  dissuaded  him  from  war. 

■*  Murray,  Ranjit  Singh  p.   66. 

5  Government  to  Sir  David  Ochterlony,  14th  Nov.  and  29th 
Dec,  1808. 


CHAP.  V  BRITISH  POLICY  IN  1808  125 

advanced,  by  way  of  Buriya  and  Patiala,  towards  i809^ 
Ludhiana;  he  was  welcomed  by  all  the  Sirhind  chiefs, 
save  Jodh  Singh  Kalsia,  the  nominal  head  .of  the 
Krora-Singhia  confederacy  :  but  during  his  march  he 
was  not  without  apprehensions  that  Ranjit  Singh  might 
openly  break  with  his  government,  and,  after  an  inter- 
view with  certain  agents  whom  that  chief  had  sent  to 
him  with  the  view  of  opening  a  double  negotiation,  he 
made  a  detour  and  a  halt,  in  order  to  be  near  his  sup- 
plies should  hostilities  take  place.^ 

Ranjit  Singh  was  somewhat  discomposed  by  the  '^^^  ^^^^^ 
near  presence  of  a  British  force  but  he  continued  to  f/,*'^^  ^"^^^ 
evade  compliance  with  the  propositions  of  the  envoy,  somewhTt'"^ 
and  he  complained  that  Mr.  Metcalfe  was  needlessly  modified; 
reserved  about  his  acquisitions  on  the  south  banks  of  but  Ranjit 
the  Sutlej,  with  regard  to  which  the  Government  had  singh  stin 
only  declared  that  the  restoration  of  his  last  conquests,  f^^^^^^.^^+hg 
and  the  absolute  withdrawal  of  his  troops  to  the  north-  ^^^^^  °^  ^^^ 
ward  of  the  river,  must  form  the  indispensable  basis  of  sutiej. 
further  negotiations.-    Affairs  were  in  this  way  when 
intelligence  from  Europe  induced  the  Governor-Gene- 
ral to  believe  that  Napoleon  must  abandon  his  designs 
upon  India,  or  at  least  so  far  suspend  them  as  to  render 
defensive  precautions  unnecessary.-^     It  was  therefore 
made  known  that  the  object  of  the  English  Govern- 
ment had  become  limited  to  the  security  of  the  country- 
south  of  the  Sutlej  from  the  encroachments  of  Ranjit 
Singh;  for  that,  independent  of  the  possible  approach 
of  a  European  enemy,  it  was  considered  advisable  on 

J  Sir  David  Ochterlony  to  Government,  20th  Jan.,  and 
4th,  9th,  and  14th  Feb.,  ;809,  with  Government  to  Sir  David 
Ochterlony,  of  13th  March,  1809.  Government  by  no  means 
approved  of  what  Sir  David  Ochterlony  had  done,  and  he, 
feeling  aggrieved,  virtually  tendered  his  resignation  of  his 
command.  (Sir  David  Ochterlony  to  Government,  19th  April, 
1809.) 

2  Sir  David  Ochterlony  to  Government,  14th  Feb.,  1809, 
and  Government  to  Sir  David  Ochterlony,  30th  July,  1809. 
Lieut. -Col.  Lawrence  (Adventures  in  the  Punjab,  p.  131,  note 
g)  makes  Sir  Charles  Metcalfe  sufficiently  communicative  on 
this  occasion  with  regard  to  other  territories,  for  he  is  declared 
to  have  told  the  Maharaja  that  by  a  compliance  with  the  then 
demands  of  the  English,  he  would  ensure  their  neutrality  with 
respect  to  encroachments  elsewhere. 

^  Government  to  Sir  David  Ochterlony,  30th  Jan.,  1809. 
[Probably  the  altered  relations  between  Napoleon  and  Turkey 
were  the  main  cause  of  this.  The  Franco-Turkish  alliance  of 
1807  had  come  to  an  end  with  the  deposition  of  Mustapha  IV 
and  accession  of  Mahmud  II — July  1808 — and  the  improved 
relations  of  England  and  Turkey  led  to  the  signature  by  the 
latter  powers  of  the  Treaty  of  the  Dardanelles  (January  1809). 
— Ed.1 


126 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.  V 


J1809. 


Ranjrt 
Singh 
yields,; 


and  enters 
into  a  for- 
■mal  treaty, 
25th  April. 
1809. 

The  terms 
of  Sikh  de- 
pendence 
and  of 
English  su- 
premacy in 
Sirhind. 


other  grounds  to  afford  protection  to  the  southern 
Sikhs.  Ranjit  Singh  must  still,  nevertheless,  withdraw 
iiis  troops  to  the  right  bank  of  the  Sutlej,  his  last 
usurpations  must  also  be  restored,  but  the  restitution 
of  his  first  conquests  would  not  be  insisted  on;  while, 
to  remove  all  cause  of  suspicion,  the  detachment  under 
Sir  David  Ochterlony  could  fall  back  from  Ludhiana 
to  Karnal,  and  take  up  its  permanent  position  at  the 
latter  place. ^  But  the  British  commander  represented 
the  advantage  of  keeping  the  force  where  it  was;  his 
Government  assented  to  its  detention,  at  least  for  a 
time,  and  Ludhiana  thus  continued  u;ninterruptedly 
to  form  a  station  for  British  troops.^ 

In  the  beginning  of  February  1809,  Sir  David 
Ochterlony  had  issued  a  proclamation  declaring  the 
Cis-Sutlej  states  to  be  under  British  protection,  and 
that  any  aggressions  of  the  Chief  of  Lahore  would  be 
resisted  with  arms.^  Ranjit  Singh  then  perceived  that 
the  British  authorities  were  in  earnest,  and  the  fear 
struck  him  that  the  still  independent  leaders  of  the 
Punjab  might  likewise  tender  their  allegiance  and  have 
it  accepted.  All  chance  of  empire  would  thus  be  lost, 
and  he  prudently  made  up  his  mind  without  further 
delay.  He  withdrew  his  troops  as  required,  he  relin- 
quished his  last  acquisitions,  and  at  Amritsar,  on  the 
25th  April,  1809,  the  now  single  Chief  of  Lahore  signed 
a  treaty  which  left  him  the  master  of  the  tracts  he  had 
originally  occupied  to  the  south  of  the  Sutlej,  but  con- 
fined his  ambition  for  the  future  to  the  north  and  west- 
ward of  that  river.* 

The  Sikh,  and  the  few  included  Hindu  and  Mu- 
hammadan  chiefs,  between  the  Sutlej  and  Jumna, 
having  been  taken  under  British  protection,  it  became 
necessary  to  define  the  terms  on  which  they  were 
secured  from  foreign  danger.  Sir  David  Ochterlony 
observed,^  that  when  the  chiefs  first  sought  protection, 
their  jealousy  of  the  English  would  have  yielded  to 
their  fears  of  Ranjit  Singh,  and  they  would  have  agreed 
to  any  conditions  proposed,  including  a  regular  tribute. 
But  their  first  overtures  had  been  rejected,  and  the 
mission  to  Lahore  had  taught  them  to  regard  their 
defence  as  a  secondary  object,  and  to  think  that  English 

1  Government  to  Sir  David  Ochterlony,  30th  Jan.,  6th  Feb., 
and  13th  March,  1809. 

2  Sir   David   Ochterlony   to   Government,    6th   May,    1809, 
and  Government  to  Sir  David  Ochterlony,  13th  June,  1809. 

3  See  Appendix  XXIV. 

4  See  the  treaty  itself,  Appendix  XXV.  Cf.  Murray,  Ranjit 
Singh,  pp.  67,  68. 

5  Sir  David  Ochterlony  to  Government,  17th  March,  1809 


CHAP.  V  THE  TREATY  OF  1809  127 

apprehensions   of  remote  foreigners  had  saved  them  1809. 
from  the   arbiter  of  the  Punjab.     Protection,  indeed,  sir  David 
had  become  no  longer  a  matter  of  choice;  they  must  ochter- 
have  accepted  it,  or  they  would  have  been  treated  as  lony 
enemies.'     Wherefore,  continued  Sir  David,  the  chiefs  shows  that 
expected  that  the  protection  would  be  gratuitous.  The  ^^gj^ed^^ 
Government,  on  its  part,  was  inclined  to  be  liberal  to  themselves 
its  new  dependants,   and   finally  a  proclamation    was  aione  in 
issued  on  the  3rd  May,  1809,  guaranteeing  the  chiefs  offering 
of  'Sirhind  and  Malwa'  against  the  power  of  Ranjit  protection. 
Singh,  leaving  them  absolute  in  their  own  territories 
exempting  them  from  tribute,  but  requiring  assistance 
in   time  of  war,  and  making  some  minor  provisions 
which  need  not  be  recapitulated.- 

No  sooner  were  the  chiefs  relieved  of  their  fears  J^^  '^!!f '+u 

.  T^        . ■     r~,-       1        1      '      ,  ^      ^  1  tions  Of  the 

of  Ranjit  Smgh,  than  the  more  turbulent  began  to  prey  protected 
upon  one  another,  or  upon  their  weaker  neighbours;  chiefs 
and,  although  the  Governor-General  had  not  wished  among 
them  to  consider  themselves  as  in  absolute  subjection  themselves, 
to  the  'British  power,^  Mr.  Metcalfe  pointed  out  ^  that 
it  was  necessary  to  declare  the  chiefs  to  be  protected 
singly  against  one  another,  as  well  as  collectively 
against  Ranjit  Singh;  for,  if  such  a  degree  of  security 
were  not  guaranteed,  the  oppressed  would  necessarih' 
have  recourse  to  the  only  other  person  who  could  use 
coercion  with  effect,  viz.  to  the  Raja  of  Lahore.  The 
justness  of  these  views  was  admitted,  and,  on  the 
22nd  August,  1811,  a  second  proclamation  was  issued, 
warning  the  chiefs  against  attempts  at  usurpation,  and 
reassuring  them  of  independence  and  of  protection 
against  Ranjit  Singh.'  Nevertheless,  encroachments 
did  not  at  once  cease,  and  the  Jodh  Singh  Kalsia,  who 
avoided  giving  in  his  adhesion  to  the  British  Govern- 
ment on  the  advance  of  Sir  David  Ochterlony,  required 
to  have  troops  sent  against  him  in  1818  to  compel  the 
surrender  of  tracts  which  he  had  forcibly  seized.^' 

1  See  also  Government  to  Resident  at  Delhi,  26th  Dec, 
1808.  Baron  Hugel  (Travels,  p.  279)  likewise  attributes  the 
interference  of  the  English,  in  part  at  least,  to  selfishness,  but 
with  him  the  motive  was  the  petty  desire  of  benefiting  by 
escheats,  which  the  dissipated  character  of  the  chiefs  was  likely 
to  render  speedy  and  numerous!  This  appetite  for  morsels  of 
territory,  however,  really  arose  at  a  subsequent  date,  and  did 
not  move  the  English  in  1809. 

-  See  Appendix  XXVI. 

•"■  Government  to  Sir  David  Ochterlony,   10th  April,   1809. 

•1  Mr.  Metcalfe  to  Government,  17th  June,  1809. 

^  See  the  proclamation.  Appendix  XXVII. 

6  Resident  at  Delhi  to  Agent  at  Ambala,  27th  Oct.,  1818, 
mulcting  the   chief  in  the  military   expenses   incurred,   65,000 


12S 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.    V 


1809-18. 


Perplexi- 
ties  of 
British 
authorities 
regarding 
the  rights 
of  supre- 
macy, and 
the  opera- 
tion of  in- 
ternational 
laws. 


The  history  of  the  southern  or  Malwa  Sikhs  need 
not  be  continued,  although  it  presents  many  points  of 
interest  to  the  general  reader,  as  well  as  to  the  student 
and  to  those  concerned  in  the  administration  of  India. 
The  British- -  functionaries  soon  became  involved  in 
intricate  questions  about  interference  between  equal 
chiefs,  and  between  chiefs  and  their  confederates  or 
dependants;  they  laboured  to  reconcile  the  Hindu  laws 
of  inheritance  with  the  varied  customs  of  different 
races,  and  with  the  alleged  family  usages  of  peasants 
suddenly  become  princes.  They  had  to  decide  on 
questions  of  escheat,  and  being  strongly  impressed  with 
the  superiority  of  British  municipal  rule,  and  with  the 
undoubted  claim  of  the  paramount  to  some  benefit  in 
return  for  the  protection  it  afforded,  they  strove  to 
prove  that  collateral  heirs  had  a  limited  right  only,  and 
that  exemption  from  tribute  necessarily  implied  an 
enlarged  liability  to  confiscation.  They  had  to  define 
the  common  boundary  of  the  Sikh  states  and  of  British 
rule,  and  they  were  prone  to  show,  after  the  m.anner 
of  Ranjit  Singh,  that  the  present  possession  of  a  prin- 
cipal town  gave  a  right  to  all  the  villages  which  had 
ever  been  attached  to  it  as  the  seat  of  a  local  authority, 
and  that  all  waste  lands  belonged  to  the  supreme 
power,  although  the  dependant  might  have  last  posses- 
sed them  in  sovereignty  and  intermediately  brought 
them  under  the  plough.  They  had  to  exercise  a  para- 
mount municipal  control,  and  in  the  surrender  of 
criminals,  and  in  the  demand  for  compensation  for 
property  stolen  from  British  subjects,  the  original 
arbitrary  nature  of  the  decisions  enforced  has  not  yet 
been  entirely  replaced  by  rules  of  reciprocity.  But  the 
government  of  a  large  empire  will  always  be  open  to 
obloquy,  and  liable  to  misconception,  from  the  acts  of 
officious  and  ill-judging  servants,  who  think  that  they 
best  serve  the  complicated  interests  of  their  own  rulers 
by  lessening  the  material  power  of  others,  and  that 
any  advantage  they  may  seem  to  have  gained  for  the 
state  they  obey  will  surely  promote  their  own  objects. 
Nor,  in  such  matters,  are  servants  alone  to  blame,  and 
the  whole    system    of   internal    government    in    India 


rupees.  The  head  of  the  family,  Jodh  Singh,  had  recently 
.returned  with  Ranjit  Singh's  army  from  the  capture  of  Multan, 
and  he  was  always  treated  with  consideration  by  the  Maharaja; 
and,  bearing  in  mind  the  different  views  taken  by  dependent 
Sikhs  and  governing  English,  of  rights  of  succession,  he  had 
fair  grounds  of  dissatisfaction.  He  claimed  to  be  the  head  of 
the  'Krora  Singhia'  Misal,  and  to  be  the  heir  of  all  childless 
feudatories.  The  British  Government,  however,  made  itself  the 
valid  or  efficient  head  of  the  confederacy. 


CHAP.  V  THE  PROTECTED  SIKHS  129 

requires  to  be  remodelled  and  made  the  subject  of  a  isog-is. 
legislation  at  once  wise,  considerate,  and  comprehen- 
sive.     In  the  Sikh  states  ignorance  has  been  the  main 
cause  of  mistakes  and  heart-burnings,  and  in  1818  Sir 
David   Ochterlony  frankly  owned   to  the  Marquis  of  sir  David 
Hastings  ^    that    his    proclamation    of  1809    had    been  Ochter- 
based  on  an  erroneous  idea.     He  thought  that  a  few  ^""y'^ 
great    chiefs    only    existed    between    the    Sutlej    and  a^mls  ■ 
Jumna,  and  that  on  them  would  devolve  the  mainten-  of  t^g  false 
ance  of  order;  whereas  he  found  that  the  dissolution  basis  of  his 
of  the  'Misals',  faulty    as    was    their    formation,    had  original 
almost  thrown  the  Sikhs  back    upon    the    individual  po^'^^y- 
independence  of  the  times  of  Ahmad  Shah.     Both  in 
considering  the  relation  of  the  chiefs  to  one  another, 
and    their    relation    collectively    to    the    British    Gov- 
ernment, too  little  regard    was    perhaps    had    to    the 
peculiar  circumstances  of  the  Sikh  people.    They  were 
in  a  state  of  progression  among  races  as  barbarous  as 
themselves,  when  suddenly  the  colossal  power  of  Eng- 
land arrested  them,  and  required  the  exercise  of  poli- 
tical moderation  and  the  practice  of  a  just  morality 
from  men   ignorant  alike   of  despotic  control   and  of 
regulated  freedom,- 

1  In  a  private  communication,  dated  17th  May,  1818. 

-  In  the  Sikh  States  on  either  side  of  the  Sutlej,  the  British 
Government  was  long  fortunate  in  being  represented  by  such 
nfen  as  Capt.  Murray  and  Mr.  Clerk,  Sir  David  Ochterlony,  and 
Lieut. -Col.  Wade — so  different  from  one  another,  and  yet  so 
useful  to  one  common  purpose  of  good  for  the  English  power. 
These  men,  by  their  personal  character  or  influence,  added  to 
the  general  reputation  of  their  countrymen,  and  they  gave 
adaptation  and  flexibility  to  the  rigid  unsympathizing  nature 
of  a  foreign  and  civilized  supremacy.  Sir  David  Ochterlony  will 
long  live  in  the  memory  of  the  people  of  Northern  India  as  one 
of  the  greatest  of  the  conquering  English  chiefs;  and  he  was 
among  the  very  last  of  the  British  leaders  who  endeared  him- 
self both  to  the  army  which  followed  him  and  to  the  princes 
who  bowed  before  the  colossal  power  of  his  race. 

Nevertheless,  the  best  of  subordinate  authorities,  immersed 
in  details  and  occupied  with  local  affairs,  are  liable  to  be 
biassed  by  views  which  promise  immediate  and  special 
advantage.  They  can  seldom  be  more  than  upright  or  dexterous 
administrators,  and  they  can  still  more  rarely  be  men  whose 
minds  have  been  enlarged  by  study  and  reflexion  as  well  as 
by  actual  experience  of  the  world.  Thus  the  ablest  but  too 
often  resemble  merely  the  practical  man  of  the  moment;  while 
the  supreme  authority,  especially  when  absent  from  his 
councillors  and  intent  upon  some  great  undertaking,  is  of 
necessity  dependent  mainly  upon  the  local  representatives  of 
the  Government,  whose  notions  must  inevitably  be  partial  or 
one-sided,  for  good,  indeed,  as  well  as  for  evil.  The  author  has 
thus,  even  during  his  short  service,  seen  many  reasons  to  be 
thankful  that  there  is  a  remote  deliberative  or  corrective  body, 
which   can   survey   things   through   an   atmosphere   cleared   of 


130  HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS  chap,  v 

1809-18.  mists,  and  which  can  judge  of  measures  with  reference  both 

'  to  the  universal  principles  of  justice  and  statesmanship,  and 

to  their  particular  bearing  on  the  Enghsh  supremacy  in  India, 
which  should  be  characterized  by  certainty  and  consistency  of 
operation,  and  tempered  by  a  spirit  of  forbearance  and 
adaptation. 


CHAPTER   VI 

FROM  THE  SUPREMACY  OF  RANJIT  SINGH  TO 
THE  REDUCTION  OF  MULTAN,  KASHMIR, 
AND  PESHAWAR 

1809-1823-4 

Mutual  distrust,  of  Ranjit  Singh  and  the  English  gradually 
removed — Ranjit  Singh  and  the  Gurkhas — Ranjit  Singh  and 
the  ex-kings  of  Kabul — Ranjit  Singh  and  Fateh  Khan,  the 
Kabul  Wazir — Ranjit  Singh  and  Shah  Shuja  each  fail 
against  Kashmir — Fateh  Khan  put  to  death — Ranjit  Singh 
captures  Multan,  overruns  Peshawar,  occupies  Kashmir, 
and  annexes  the  'Derajat'  of  the  Indus  to  his  dominions — 
The  Afghans  defeated,  and  Peshawar  brought  regularly 
under  tribute — Death  of  Muhammad  Azim  Khan  of  Kabul, 
and,  of  Sansar  Chand  of  Katotch— Ranjit  Singh's  power 
consolidated — Shah  .Shuja 's  expedition  of  1818-21 — ^Appa 
Sahib  of  Nagpur — The  traveller  Moorcroft — Ranjit  Singh's 
Government— The  Sikh  Army— The  Sikhs  and  other  mili- 
tary tribes— French  officers— Ranjit  Singh's  family— Ranjit 
Singh's  failings  and  Sikh  vices— Ranjit  Singh's  personal 
favourites  and  trusted  servants. 

A  TREATY  of  peace  and  friendship  was  thus  formed  i809- 
between   Ranjit  Singh  and  the  English  Government;  The 
but  confidence  is  a  plant  of  slow  growth,  and  doubt  and  English 
suspicion  are  not  always  removed  by  formal  protesta-  suspicious 
tions.     While  arrangements    were    pending    with    the  sin^^^not- 
Maharaja,  the  British  authorities  were  assured  that  he  withstand-' 
had  made  propositions  to  Sindhia;  ^  agents  from  Gwa-  ing  their 
lior,  from  Holkar,  and  from  Amir  Khan,-  continued  to  joint 
show  themselves  for  years  at  Lahore,  and  their  masters  treaty; 
long  dwelt  on  the  hope  that  the  tribes  of  the  Punjab 
and  of  the  Deccan  might  yet  be  united  against  the 
stranger  conquerors.     It  was  further  believed  by  the 
English  rulers  that  Ranjit  Singh  was  anxiously  trying 
to  induce  the  Sikhs  of  Sirhind  to  throw  off  their  alle- 
giance, and  to  join  him  and  Holkar  against  their  pro- 
tectors.^   Other  special  instances  might  also  be  quoted, 

1  Resident  at  Delhi  to  Sir  David  Ochterlony,  28th  June, 
1809. 

2  Sir  D.  Ochterlony  to  Government,  15th  Oct.,  1809;  5th, 
6th,  and  7th  Dec,  1809;  and  5th  and  30th  Jan.,  and  22nd  Aug., 
1810. 

3  Sir  D.  Ochterlony  to  Government,  5th  Jan.  1810. 


i:^2 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.   VI 


1809-11. 

and  Ran  jit 

Singh 
equally 
doubtful    on 
his  part: 

but  distrust 
gradually 
vanishes  on 
either  side. 


Ran  jit 
Singh 
acquires 
Kangra, 
and  con- 
fines the 
Gurkhas  to 
the  left  of 
the  Sutlej, 
1809. 


and  Sir  David  Ochterlony  even  thought  it  prudent  to 
lay  in  supplies  and  to  throw  up  defensive  lines  at 
Ludhiana.^  Ranjit  Singh  had  likewise  his  suspicions, 
but  they  were  necessarily  expressed  in  ambiguous 
terms,  and  were  rather  to  be  deduced  from  his  acts 
and  correspondence,  and  from  a  consideration  of  his 
position,  than  to  be  looked  for  in  overt  statements  or 
remonstrances.  By  degrees  the  apprehensions  of  the 
two  governments  mutually  vanished,  and,  while  Ranjit 
Singh  felt  he  could  freely  exercise  his  ambition  beyond 
the  Sutlej,  the  English  were  persuaded  he  would  not 
embroil  himself  with  its  restless  allies  in  the  south,  so 
long  as  he  had  occupation  elsewhere.  In  1811  presents 
were  exchanged  between  the  Governor-General  and 
the  Maharaja,-  and  during  the  following  year  Sir  David 
Ochterlony  became  his  guest  at  the  marriage  of  his 
son,  Kharak  Singh,'^  and  from  that  period  until  within 
a  year  of  the  late  war,  the  rumours  of  a  Sikh  invasion 
served  to  amuse  the  idle  and  to  alarm  the  credulous, 
without  causing  uneasiness  to  the  British  viceroy. 

On  the  departure  of  Mr.  Metcalfe,  the  first  care 
of  Ranjit  Singh  was  to  strengthen  both  his  frontier 
post  of  Phillaur  opposite  Ludhiana,  and  Gobindgarh 
the  citadel  of  Amritsar,  which  he  had  begun  to  build 
as  soon  as  he  got  possession  of  the  religious  capital  of 
his  people.^  He  was  invited,  almost  at  the  same  time, 
by  Sansar  Chand  of  Katotch,  to  aid  in  resisting  the 
Gurkhas,  who  were  still  pressing  their  long-continued 
siege  of  Kangra,  and  who  had  effectually  dispelled  the 
Rajput  prince's  dreams  of  a  supremacy  reaching  from 
the  Jumna  to  the  Jhelum.  The  stronghold  was  offered 
to  the  Sikh  ruler  as  the  price  of  his  assistance,  bui 
Sansar  Chand  hoped,  in  the  meantime,  to  gain  admit- 
tance himself,  by  showing  to  the  Gurkhas  the  futility 
of  resisting  Ranjit  Singh,  and  by  promising  to  sur- 
render the  fort  to  the  Nepal  commander,  if  allowed  to 
withdraw  his  family.  The  Maharaja  saw  through  the 
schemes  of  Sansar  Chand,  and  he  made  the  son  of  his 
ally  a  prisoner,  while  he  dexterously  cajoled  the  Khat- 
mandu  general,  Amar  Singh  Thappa.  who  proposed  a 
joint  warfare  against  the  Rajput  mountaineers,  and  to 
take,  or  receive,  in  the  meantime,  the  fort  of  Kangra 

1  Sir  D.  Ochterlony  to  Government,  31st  Dec,  1809  and 
7th  Sept.,   1810. 

-  A  carriage  was  at  this  time  sent  to  Lahore.  See,  further, 
Resident  of  Delhi  to  Sir  D.  Ochterlony,  25th  Feb.,  1811,  and 
Sir  D.  Ochterlony  to  Government,  15th  Nov.,  1811. 

■'Sir  D.  Ochterlony  to  Government,  18th  July,  1811  and 
23rd  Jan.,  1812. 

•»  Cf.  Murray,  Ranjit  Singh,  p.  76. 


CHAP.  VI      DISTRUST  OF  RANJIT  SINGH  133 

as  part  of  the  Gurkha  share  of  the  general  spoil.    The  i809. 
Sikhs  got  possession  of  the  place  by  suddenly  demand- 
ing  admittance  as  the  expected  relief.     Sansar  Chand 
was  foiled,  and  Amar  Singh  retreated  across  the  Sutlej, 
loudly  exclaiming   that  he  had  been   grossly   duped^ 
The  active  Nepalese  commander  soon  put  down  some  The  Gur- 
disorders  which  had  arisen  in  his  rear,  but  the  disgrace  khas  urge 
of  his  failure  before  Kangra  rankled  in  his  mind,  and  the  English 
he  made  preparations  for  another  expedition  against  *°.  ^^^^^  ^ 
it.    He  proposed  to  Sir  David  Ochterlony  a  joint  march  qu^st  oTthe 
to  the  Indus,  and  a  separate  appropriation  of  the  plains  Punjab, 
and  the  hills;  -    and    Ranjit    Singh,    ignorant    alike    of  1809. 
English  moderation  and  of  international  law,  became 
apprehensive  lest  the  allies  of  Nepal  should  be  glad  of 
a  pretext  for  coercing  one    who    had    so    unwillingly 
acceded  to  their  limitation  of  his  ambition.     He  made 
known  that  he  was  desirous  of  meeting  Amar  Singh 
Thappa  on  his  own  ground;  and  the  reply  of  the  Gov-  But  Ranjit 
ernor-General  that  he  might  not  only  himself  cross  the  singh  toid 
Sutlej  to  chastise  the  invading  Gurkhas  in  the  hills,  he  may 
but  that,  if  they  descended  into  the  plains  of  Sirhind,  cross  the 
he  would  receive  English  assistance,  gave  him  another  ^^^^-^^^ +1° 
proof  that  the  river  of  the  treaty  was  really  to  be  an  Nepal 
impassable   barrier.      He   had    got   the   assurance    he  leader, 
wanted,  and  he  talked  no  more  of  carrying  his  horse-  1811. 
men  into  mountain  recesses."'     But  Amar  Singh  long  Amar  singh 
brooded  over  his  reverse,  and  tried  in  various  ways  to  Thappa 
induce  the  British  authorities  to  join  him  in  assailing  again 
the  Punjab.    The   treaty   with   Nepal,    he   would   say,  presses  an 
made  all  strangers  the  mutual  friends  or  enemies  of  ^"^^"'f ti- 
the two  governments,  and  Ranjit  Singh  had  wantonly  s^^"^  1813. 
attacked  the  Gurkha  possessions  in  Katotch.     Besides. 
he  would  argue,  to  advance  is  the  safest  policy,  and 
what  could  have  brought  the  English  to  the  Sutlej  but 
the  intention  of  going  beyond  it?^    The  Nepal  war  of  war  be- 
1814  followed,  and  the  English  became  the  neighbours  ween  the 
of  the  Sikhs  in  the  hills  as  well  as  in  the  plains,  and  English 
the  Gurkhas,  instead  of  grasping  Kashmir,  trembled  ^  ^"'^" 
for  their  homes  in  Khatmandu.  Ranjit  Singh  was  not  1814.15 
then  asked  to  give  his  assistance,  but  Sansar  Chand  gg^sar 
was  directly  called  upon  by  the  English  representativa  chand  of 

Katotch, 

1  Murray,  Ranjit  Singh,  pp.  76,  77.  The  Maharaja  told 
Capt.  Wade  that  the  Gurkhas  wanted  to  share  Kashmir  with 
him.  but  that  he  thought  it  best  to  keep  them  out  of  the  Punjab 
altogether.     (Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  25th  May,  1831.) 

-  Sir  D.   Ochterlony  to  Government,   16th   and  30th  Dec 
1809. 

'■'■  Sir  D.  Ochterlony  to  Government,  12th  Sept.,  1811,  and 
Government  to  Sir  D.  Ochterlony,  4th  Oct.  and  22nd  Nov.,  IS  11. 

^  Sir  D.  Ochterlony  to  Government,  20th  December,'  1813. 


134 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.    VI 


1811-15. 

Ranjit 
Singh  and 
the    English. 


Shah    Shuja 
expelled 
from  Af- 
ghanistan, 
1809-10. 


Ranjit 
Singh's 
suspicions 
and  plans. 


The  Maha- 
raja meets 
the   Shah. 


to  attack  the  Gurkhas  and  their  allies,— a  hasty  requi- 
sition, which  produced  a  remonstrance  from  the 
Maharaja,  and  an  admission,  on  the  part  of  Sir  Pavid 
Ochterlony,  that  his  supremacy  was  not  questioned; 
while  the  experienced  Hindu  chief  had  forborne  to 
commit  himself  with  either  state,  by  promising  much 
and  doing  little.^ 

Ranjit  Singh  felt  secure  on  the  Upper  Sutlej,  but 
a  new  danger  assailed  him  in  the  beginning  of  1810, 
and  again  set  him  to  work  to  dive  to  the  bottom  of 
British  counsels.     Mr.  Elphinstone  had  scarcely  con- 
cluded a  treaty  with  Shah  Shuja  against  the  Persians 
and  French,  before  that  prince  was  driven  out  of  his 
kingdom  by  the  brother  whom  he  had  himself  sup- 
planted, and  who  had  placed  his  affairs  in  the  hands  of 
the  able  minister,  Fateh  Khan.    The  Maharaja  was  at 
Wazirabad,  sequestering  that  place  from  the  family  of 
a  deceased  Sikh  chief,  when  he  heard  of  Shah  Shuja's 
progress  to  the  eastward  with  vague  hopes  of  procuring 
assistance  from  one  friendly  power  or  another.  Ranjit 
Singh  remembered  the   use  he  had  himself  made  of 
Shah  Zaman's  grant  of  Lahore,  he  feared  the  whole 
Punjab  might  similarly  be  surrendered  to  the  English 
in  return  for  a  few  battalions,  and  he  desired  to  keep 
a  representative   of  imperial    power    within    his    own 
grasp.-    He  amused  the  ex-king  with  the  offer  of  co- 
operation in  the  recovery  of  Multan  and  Kashmir,  and 
he  said  he  would  himself  proceed  to  meet  the  Shah  to 
save  him  further  journeying,  towards  Hindustan.^  They 
saw    one    another    at    Sahiwal,    but    no    determinate 
arrangement  was  come  to,  for  some  prospects  of  suc- 

1  Government  to  Sir  D.  Ochterlony,  1st  and  20th  Oct., 
1814.  Resident  at  Delhi  to  Sir  D.  Ochterlony,  11th  Oct.,  1814, 
and  Sir  David's  letter  to  Ranjit  Singh,  dated  29th  Nov.,  1814. 

During  the  war  of  1814  Sir  David  Ochterlony  sometimes 
almost  despaired  of  success;  and,  amid  his  vexations,  he  once 
at  least  recorded  his  opinion  that  the  Sepoys  of  the  Indian  army 
were  unequal  to  such  mountain  warfare  as  was  being  waged. 
(Sir  D.  Ochterlony  to  Government,  22nd  Dec,  1814.)  The  most 
active  and  useful  ally  of  the  English  during  the  war  was  Raja 
Ram  Saran  of  Hindur  (or  Nalagarh),  the  descendant  of  the 
Hari  Chand  slain  by  Guru  Gobind  and  who  was  himself  the 
ready  coadjutor  of  Sansar  Chand  in  many  aggressions  upon 
others,  as  well  as  in  resistance  to  the  Gurkhas.  The  venerable 
chief  was  still  alive  in  1846,  and  he  continued  to  talk  with 
admiration  of-  Sir  David  Ochterlony  and  his  'eighteen  pounders', 
and  to  expatiate  upon  the  aid  he  himself  rendered  in  dragging 
them  up  the  steeps  of  the  Himalayas. 

2  Sir  D.  Ochterlony  to  Government,  10th  and  30th  Dec, 
1809. 

3  Sir  D.  Ochterlony  to  Government,  7th,  10th,  17th,  and 
30th  Dec,  1809,  and  30th  Jan.,  1810. 


CHAP.  VI     RAN  JIT  SINGH  AND  GURKHAS  135 

cess  dawned  upon    the    Shah,    and    he  felt    reason  to  1809-1C. 
distrust    Ranjit    Singh's    sincerity. ^     The    conferences  b^t  no  ar- 
were  broken  off;    but  the  Maharaja   hastened,  while  rangement 
there  was  yet  an  appearance  of  union,  to  demand  the  come  to. 
surrender  of  Multan  for  himself  in  the  name  of  the  ^^^°- 
king.    The  great  gun  called  'Zamzam',-  or  the  'Bhangi  Ranjit  singh 
Top',  was  brought  from  La'hore  to  batter  the  walls  of  attempts 
the  citadel;  but  all  his   efforts   were   in  vain,    and   he  fal'/s^Feb'"* 
retired,  foiled,  in  the  month  of  April,    with    no    more  April,  isio" 
than  180,000  rupees  to  soothe  his  mortified  vanity.  The 
Governor,  Muzaffar  Khan,  was  by  this  time  in  corres- 
pondence  with   the   British  viceroy   in   Calcutta,   and 
Ranjit  Singh  feared  that  a  tender  of  allegiance  might 
not  only  be  made  but  accepted.^  He  therefore  proposed  and  pro- 
to  Sir  David  Ochterlony  that  the  two  "allied  powers"  poses  to  the 
should  march  against  Multan  and  divide  the  conquest  ^"g^^sh  a 
equally."*     It  was  surmised  that  he  wanted  the  siege  ^°^"q^  ^^^^' 
train  of  the  English,  but  he  may  likewise  have  wished  against  it. 
to  know  whether  the  Sutlej  was  to  be  as  good  a  bound- 
ary   in    the    south    as    in    the    north.      He    was    told 
reprovingly  that  the    English    committed    aggressions 
upon  no  one,  but  otherwise  the  tenor  of  the  corres- 
pondence was  such  as  to  lead  him  to  believe  that  he 
would  not  be    interfered    with    in    his    designs    upon 
Multan.^ 

Shah  Shuja  proceeded   towards    Attock    after  his  shah 
interview    with    Ranjit    Singh,    and  having    procured  shuja's 
some  aid  from  the  rebellious  brother  of  the  Governor  and^^Mu^tan 
of  Kashmir,  he  crossed  the  Indus,  and,  in  March  1810,  campaign.  " 
made  himself  master  of  Peshawar.  He  retained  posses-  and  subse- 
sion  of  the  place  for  about  six  months,  when  he  was  quent  im- 
compelled  to  retreat  southward  by  the  Wazir's  brother,  Drisonmeat 
Muhammad  Azim  Khan.    He  made  an  attempt  to  gain  i8i^.72^"^* 
over  the  Governor  of    Multan,    but    he    was    refused 
admittance  within  its  walls,  and  was  barely  treated 
with  courtesy,  even  when  he  encamped  a  few  miles 

1  Shah  Shuja's  'Autobiography',  chap,  xxii,  published  in 
the  Calcutta  Monthly  Journal  for  1839.The  original  was  un- 
doubtedly, revised,  if  not  really  written,  by  the  Shah. 

-  [Known  to  all  the  world  as  'Kim's'  gun,  it  now  reposes 
in  its  last  resting-place  outside  the  Central  Museum  in  Lahore. 
—Ed.] 

3  Sir  D.  Ochterlony  to  Government,  29th  March  and  23rd 
May,  1810.  In  the  latter  it  is  stated  that  250,000  rupees  were 
paid,  and  the  sum  of  180,000  is  given  on  Capt.  Murray's  autho- 
rity.   (Life  of  Ranjit  Singh,  p.  81.) 

■*  Sir  D.  Ochterlony  to  Government,  23rd  July  and  13th 
Aug.,  1810. 

^Sir  D.  Ochterlony  to  Government,  29th  March  and  17th 
Sept.,  1810,  and  Government  to  Sir  D.  Ochterlony,  25th  Sept., 
1840.  (Cf.  Murray,  Ranjit  Singh,  pp.  «0,  81.) 


136 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.   VI 


1810-12. 


Ranjit  Singh 
meets    Shah 
Mahmud, 
1811. 


The  blind 
Shah  Za- 
man   repairs 
for  a  time 
to  Lahore, 
1811. 


distant.  He  again  moved  northward,  and,  as  the  ene- 
mies of  Mahmud  were  numerous,  he  succeeded  in 
mastering  Peshawar  a  second  time,  after  two  actions, 
one  a  reverse  and  the  other  a  victory.  But  those  who 
had  aided  him  became  suspicious  that  he  was  in  secret 
league  with  Fateh  Khan  the  Wazir,  or,  like  Ranjit 
Singh,  they  wished  to  possess  his  person;  and,  in  the 
course  of  1812,  he  was  seized  in  Peshawar  by  Jahan 
Dad  Khan,  Governor  of  Attock,  and  removed,  first  to 
that  fort,  and  afterwards  to  Kashmir,  \yhere  he  re- 
mained as  a  prisoner  for  more  than  twelve  months. ^ 

After  the  failure  before  Multan,  Ranjit  Singh  and 
his  minister,  Mohkam  Chand,  were  employed  in  bring- 
ing more  fully  under  subjection  various  Sikh  and 
Muhammadan  chiefs  in  the  plains,  and  also  the  hill 
Rajas  of  Bhimbar,  Rajaori,  and  other  places.  In  the 
month  of  February  1811,  the  Maharaja  had  reached  the 
salt  mines  between  the  Jhelum  and  Indus,  and  hearing 
that  Shah  Mahmud  had  crossed  the  latter  river,  he 
moved  in  force  to  Rawalpindi,  and  sent  to  ascertain  his 
intentions.  The  Shah  had  already  deputed  agents  to 
state  that  his  object  was  to  punish  or  overawe  the 
Governor  of  Kashmir,  who  had  sided  with  his  brother, 
Shah  Shuja,  then  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Multan;  and 
the  two  princes  being  satisfied,  they  had  a  meeting  of 
ceremony  before  the  Maharaja  returned  \o  Lahore,  to 
renew  his  confiscation  of  lands  held  by  the  many  petty 
chiefs  who  had  achieved  independence  or  sovereignty 
while  the  country  was  without  a  general  controlling 
power,  but  who  now  fell  unresistingly  beiore  the  sys- 
tematic activity  of  the  young  Maharaja.^ 

In  the  year  1811,  the  blind  Shah  Zaman  crossed  the 
Punjab,  and  was  visited  by  Ranjit  Singh.  He  took  up 
his  residence  in  Lahore  for  a  time,  and  deputed  his  son 
Eunus  to  Ludhiana,  where  he  was  received  with  atten- 
tion by  Sir  David  Ochterlony;  but  as  the  prince  per- 
ceived that  he  was  not  a  welcome  guest,  his  father 

1  Sir.  D.  Ochterlony  to  Government,  10th  Jan.  and  26th 
Feb.,  1810,  and  27th  April,  1812.  Shah  Shuja's  'Autobiography' 
chaps,  xxiii-xxv,  in  the  Calcutta  Monthly  Journal  for  1839,  and 
Murray,  Ranjit  Singh,  pp.  79,  87,  92. 

Shah  Shuja's  second  appearance  before  Multan  in  1810-11 
is  given  mainly  on  Capt.  Murray's  authority,  and  the  attempt 
is  not  mentioned  in  the  Shah's  memoirs  although  it  is  admitted 
that  he  went  into  the  Derajat  of  the  Indus,  i.e.  to  Dera  Ismail 
Khan,  &c. 

2  Murray,  Ranjit  Singh,  p.  83,  &c.  The  principal  of  the 
chiefs  whose  territories  were  usurped  was  Budh  Singh,  of  the 
Singhpuria  or  Feizulapuria  Misal.  See  also  Sir  D.  Ochterlony  to 
Government,  15th  Oct.,  1811. 


CHAP.  VI  ATTEMPT  ON  MULTAN  137 

quitted  Ranjit  Singh's  city,  and  became  a  wanderer  for  1811-12. 
a  time  in  Central  Asia.^     In  the-  following  year  the 
families  of  the  two  ex-kings  took  up  their  abode  at  The  famiij 
Lahore,  and  as  the  Maharaja  was  preparing  to  bring  oi  shah 
the  hill  chiefs  south  of  Kashmir  under  his  power,  with  ^huja^  ^^ 
a  view  to  the  reduction  of  the  valley  itself,  and  as  he  l^^^^J 
always  endeavoured  to  make  success  more  complete  1812. 
or  more  easy  by  appearing  to  labour  in  the  cause  of 
others,  he  professed  to  the  wife  of  Shah  Shuja  that  he 
would  release  her  husband  and  replace  Kashmir  under 
the  Shah's  sway;  but  he  hoped  the  gratitude  of  the  Ranjit  smgh 
distressed  lady  would  make  the  great  diamond,  Koh-i-  "ses  the 
nur,  the  reward  of  his  chivalrous  labours  when  they  f^^^^^l'^J^ 
should   be  crowned    with  success.     His   principal   ob-  ^7  h^'own 
ject  was  doubtless  the  possession  of  the  Shah's  person, 
and  when,  after  his  preliminary  successes  against  the 
hill  chiefs,  including    the    capture    of  Jammu    by    his 
newly  married  son,  Kharak  Singh,  he  heard,  towards 
the  end  of  1812,  that  Fateh  Khan  the  Kabul  Wazir  had  Ranjit  singh 
crossed  the  Indus  with  the  design  of  marching  against  meets  rateii 
Kashmir,  he  sought  an  interview  with  him,  and  said  he  ^^^[|j  *^^ 
w-ould  assist  in  bringing  to  punishment  both  the  rebel,  wazir.  1812; 
who  detained  the  king's  brother,  and  likewise  the  Gov- 
ernor   of    Multan,    who    had    refused    obedience    to 
Mahmud.     Fateh  Khan  had  been  equally  desirous  of 
an  interview,  for  he  felt  that  he  could  not  take  Kash-  and  a  joint 
mir  if  opposed  by  Ranjit  Singh,  and  he  readily  pro-  enterprise 
mised  anything  to  facilitate  his  immediate  object.  The  ^^^^^^^ 
Maharaja  and  the  Wazir  each  hoped  to  use  the  other  j-^soived  on. 
as  a  tool,    yet    the   success    of    neither    was   complete. 
Kashmir  was   occupied  in  February   1813;   but  Fateh  Fateh  Khan 
Khan  outstripped    the  Sikhs   under    Mohkam    Chand,  outstrips  the 
and  he  maintained  that  as  he  alone  had  achieved  the  ^jjj^g^^"^ 
conquest,  the  Maharaja  could  not  sRare  in  the  spoils.  ^^^^^^  ^^j. 
The   only   advantage  which   accrued  to  Ranjit   Singh  Mahmud. 
was  the  possession  of  Shah  Shuja's  person,  for  the  ill-  isis. 
fated  king  was  allowed  by  Fateh  Khan  to  go  whither  shah   shuja 
he  pleased,  and  he  preferred  joining  the  Sikh  army,  Jo.ns  Ranjit 
which     he     accompanied     to     Lahore,     to     becoming  singh   who 

acquires 
Attock; 
1  Murray,  Ranjit  Singh,  p.  87.  The  visit  of  the  prince  was 
considered  very  embarrassing  with  reference  to  Ranjit  Singh: 
for  Shah  Shuja  might  follow,  and  he  was  one  who  claimed 
British  aid  under  the  treaty  of  1809.  It  was  regretted  that  the 
'obligations  of  political  necessity  should  supersede  the  dictates 
of  compassion';  it  was  argued  that  the  treaty  referred  to  defence 
against  the  French,  and  not  against  a  brother:  and  the  loyal- 
hearted  Sir  David  Ochterldny  was  chidden  for  the  reception  he 
gave  to  the  distressed  Shahzada.  (Government  to  Sir  D.  Ochter- 
lonv:  19th  Jan.,  1811,  and  the  correspondence  generally  of  Dec 
1810  and  Jan.  1811.) 


138 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.   VI 


1813-14. 


while    Moh- 
Kam  Chand 
defeats  the 
Kabul  Wazir 
in  a  pitched 
battle. 

Ranjit 
Singh   ob- 
tains the 
Koh-i-nur 
diamond. 
1813-14: 


and  pro- 
mises aid 
to  Shah 
Shuja. 

Makes  a 
movement 
towards    the 
Indus. 


Siiah  Shuja's 
distresses. 


virtually  a  prisoner  in  Kabul. ^  But  the  Maharaja's 
expedients  did  not  entirely  fail  him,  and  as  the  rebel 
Governor  of  Attock  was  alarmed  by  the  success  of 
Shah  Mahmud's  party  in  Kashmir,  he  was  easily  per- 
suaded to  yield  the  fort  to  Ranjit  Singh.  This  unlook- 
ed-for stroke  incensed  Fateh  Khan,  who  accused  the 
Maharaja  of  barefaced  treachery,  and  endeavoured 
further  to  intimidate  him  by  pretending  to  make  over- 
tures to  Shah  Shuja;  but  the  Maharaja  felt  confident 
of  his  strength,  and  a  battle  was  fought  on  the  13th 
July,  1813,  near  Attock,  in  which  the  Kabul  Wazir,  and 
his  brother  Dost  Muhammad  Khan,  were  defeated  by 
Mohkam  Chand  and  the  Sikhs.- 

Ranjit  Singh  was  equally  desirous  of  detaining 
Shah  Shuja  in  Lahore,  and  of  securing  the  great  dia- 
mond which  had  adorned  the  throne  of  the  Mughais. 
The  king  evaded  a  compliance  with  all  demands  for 
a  time,  and  rejected  even  the  actual  offer  of  moderate 
sums  of  money;  but  at  last  the  Maharaja  visited  the 
Shah  in  person,  mutual  friendship  was  declared,  an 
exchange  of  turbans  took  place,  the  diamond  was  sur- 
rendered,^ and  the  king  received  the  assignment  of 
a  jagir  in  the  Punjab  for  his  maintenance,  and  a  pro- 
mise of  aid  in  recovering  Kabul.  Ranjit  Singh  then 
moved  towards  the  Indus  to  watch  the  proceedings  of 
Fateh  Khan,  who  was  gradually  consolidating  the 
power  of  Mahmud,  and  he  required  Shah  Shuja  to 
join  him,  pertjaps  with  some  design  of  making  an 
attempt  on  Kashmir;  but  Fateh  Khan  was  likewise 
watchful,  the  season  was  advanced,  and  the  Maharaja 
suddenly  returned.  Shah  Shuja  followed  slowly,  and 
on  the  way  he  was  plundered  of  many  valuables,  by 
ordinary  robbers,  as  the  Sikhs  said,  but  by  the  Sikhs 
themselves,  as  the  Shah  believed.  The  inferior  agents 
of  Ranjit  Singh  may  not  have  been  very  scrupulous, 
but  the  Shah  had  traitors  in  his  own  household,  and 
the  high  officer  who  had  been  sent  to  conduct  Mr. 
Elphinstone    to    Peshawar,    embezzled    much    of    the 

1  Murray,  Ranjit  Singh,  pp.  92,  95;  Sir  D.  Ochterlony  to 
Government,  4th  March,  1813;  and  Shah  Shuja's  'Autobiogra- 
phy', chap.  XXV. 

2  Murray,  Ranjit  Singh,  pp.  95,  100;  Sir  D.  Ochterlony  to 
Government,  1st  July,  1813. 

3  Murray,  Ranjit  Singh,  p.  96,  &c.:  Shah  Shuja's  'Autobio- 
graphy', chap.  XX v;  Sir  D.  Ochterlony  to  Government,  16th  and 
23rd  April,  1813,  and  to  the  Resident  at  Delhi,  15th  Oct.,  1813. 
The  Shah's  own  account  of  the  methods  practised  to  get  pos- 
session of  the  diamond  is  more  favourable  than  Capt.  Murray's 
to  Ranjit  Singh.  The  Shah  wanted  a  jagir  of  100,000  rupees, 
and  one  of  50,000  was  assigned  to  him;  but  effect  to  the  assign- 
ment was  never  given,  nor  perhaps  expected. 


CHAP.  VI   RAN  JIT  SINGH  AND  FATEH  KHAN        13« 

Shah's  property  when  misfortune  overtook  him.  This  isH-ie. 
Mir  Abdul  Hassan  had  originally  informed  the  Sikh 
chief  of  the  safety  of  the  Koh-i-nur  and  other  valu- 
ables, he  plotted  when  in  Lahore  to  make  it  appear 
the  king  was  in  league  with  the  Governor  of  Kashmir, 
and  he  finally    threw    difficulties    in  the    way    of  the 
escape  of  his  master's  family  from  the  Sikh   capital. 
The  flight    of  the   Begums    to  Ludhiana    was    at    last  The  flight  of 
effected  in  December  1814;  for  Shah  Shuja  perceived  f^  f^'^jj^ 
the  design  of  the  Maharaja  to  detain  him  a  prisoner,  J^^^^^Lnr 
and  to  make  use  of  his  name  for  purposes  of  his  own.  ^^^^. 
A  few  months  afterwards  the  Shah  himself  escaped  to  ^^^^ 

the  hills;  he  was  joined  by  some  Sikhs  discontented     p"  • 
with  Ranjit  Singh,  and  he  was  aided  by  the  chief  of  and  his  own 
Kishtwar  in  an  attack  upon  Kashmir.     He  penetrated  ^TsXar" 
into  the  valley,  but  he  had  to  retreat,  and,  after  resid- 
ing for  some  time  longer  with  his  simple,  but  zealous.  Fails  against 
mountain  host,  he  marched  through  Kulu,  crossed  the  ^^^^^^^'^^'j^;^^ 
Sutlej,  and  joined  his  family  at  Ludhiana  in  Septem-  t^^^Ludhiana, 
ber  1816.^     His  presence  on  the  frontier  was  regarded  ^^^q 
as  embarrassing   by    the    British    Government,    which 
desired  that  he  should  be  urged  to  retire  to  Karnal  or 
Saharanpur,  and  Sir    David    Ochterlony    was    further 
discretionally  authorized  to  tell  Ranjit  Singh  that  the 
ex-king  of  Kabul  was  not  a  welcome  guest  within  the 
limits  of  Hindustan.    Nevertheless  the  annual  sum  of 
18,000  rupees,  which  had  been  assigned  for  the  support 
of  his  family,  was  raised  to  50,000  on  his  arrival,  and 
personally  he  was  treated  with  becoming  respect  and 
consideration.^ 

Shah  Shuja  thus  slipped   from   the   hands    of  the  Ranjit  singh 
Maharaja,  and  no  use  could  be  made  of  his  name  in  attempts 
further  attempts  upon  Kashmir;  but  Ranjit  Singh  con-  ^^^i^repui- 
tinued  as  anxious  as  ever  to  obtain  possession  of  the  ged,  1814. 
valley,  although  the  Governor  had,  in  the  meantime, 
put  himself  in  communication  with  the  English.^    The 
chiefs    south    of  the   Pir    Panjal    range    having   been 
brought    under    subjection,    military    operations    were 
commenced  towards  the  middle  of  the  year  1814.  Sick- 
ness detained  the  experienced  Mohkam  Chand  at  the 

1  Murray,  Ranjit  Singh,  pp.  102,  103;  Shah  Shuja's  'Auto- 
biography', chaps.  XXV,  xxvi. 

'-  Government  to  Sir  D.  Ochterlony,  2nd  and  20th  Aug., 
1815,  and  14th,  21st,  and  28th  Sept.,  1816.  The  Wafa  Begam 
had  before  been  told  that  the  Shah's  family  had  no  claims  to 
British  protection  or  intervention.  (Government  to  Resident 
at  Delhi,  19th  Dec,  1812,  and  1st  July,  1813.) 

3  Government  to  Sir  D.  Ochterlony,  29th  Oct.  and  23rd 
Nov.,  1813. 


140 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.  VI 


1815-16. 


Various 
chiefs  in 
the  hills, 
and  various 
places  to- 
wards the 
Indus, 
reduced, 
1815-16. 


capital,  but  he  warned  the  Maharaja  of  the  difficulties 
which  would  beset  him  as  soon  as  the  rains  set  in,  and 
he  almost  urged  the  postponement  of  the  expedition. 
But  the  necessary  arrangements  had  been  completed, 
and  the  approach  was  made  in  two  columns.  The  more 
advanced  division  surmounted  the  lofty  barrier,  a  de- 
tachment of  the  Afghan  force  was  repulsed,  and  the 
town  of  Supain  was  attacked;  but  the  assault  failed, 
and  the  Sikhs  retired  to  the  mountain  passes.  Muham- 
mad Azim  Khan,  the  Governor,  then  fell  on  the  main 
body  of  Ranjit  Singh,  which  had  been  long  in  view 
on  the  skirts  of  the  valley,  and  compelled  the  Maharaja 
to  retreat  with  precipitation.  The  rainy  season  had 
fairly  set  in,  the  army  became  disorganized,  a  brave 
chief,  Mit'h  Singh  Behrania,  was  slain,  and  Ranjit 
Singh  reached  his  capital  almost  alone  about  the  mid- 
dle of  August.  The  advanced  detachment  was  spared 
by  Muhammad  Azim  Khan,  out  of  regard,  he  said,  for 
Mohkam  Chand,  the  grandfather  of  its  commander; 
and  as  doubtless  the  aspiring  brother  of  the  Wazir 
Fateh  Khan  had  views  of  his  own  amid  the  struggles 
then  going  on  for  power,  he  may  have  thought  it 
prudent  to  improve  ev.ery  opportunity  to  the  advant- 
age of  his  own  reputation,^ 

The  efforts  made  during  the  expedition  to  Kashmir 
had  been  great,  and  the  Maharaja  took  some  time  to 
reorganize  his  means.  Towards  the  middle  of  1815  he 
sent  detachments  of  troops  to  levy  exactions  arouna 
Multan,  but  he  himself  remained  at  Adinanagar,  busy 
with  internal  arrangements,  and  perhaps  intent  upon 
the  war  then  in  progress  between  the  British  and  the 
Nepalese,  which,  for  a  period  of  six  months,  was 
scarcely  worthy  of  the  English  name.  The  end  of  the 
same  year  was  employed  in  again  reducing  the  Mu- 
hammadan  tribes  south-east  of  Kashmir,  who  had 
thrown  off  their  allegiance  during  the  retreat  of  the 
Sikhs.  In  the  beginning  of  1816  the  refractory  hill 
Raja  of  Nurpur  sought  poverty  and  an  asylum  in  the 
British  dominions,  rather  than  resign  his  territories 
and  accept  a  maintenance.  The  Muhammadan  chief- 
ship  of  Jhang  was  next  finally  confiscated,  and  Leiah, 
a  dependency  of  Dera  Ismail  Khan,  was  laid  under 
contribution.  Uch  on  the  Chenab,  the  seat  of  families 
of  Saiyids,  was  temporarily  occupied  by  Fateh  Singh 
Ahluwalia,  and  the  possessions  of  Jodh  Singh  Ram- 
garhia,  lately  deceased,  the  son  of  Jassa  the  Carpenter 

1  Murray,  Ranjit  Singh,  pp.  104,  108,  and  Sir  D.  Ochterlony 
to  Government,  13th  Aug.,  1814.  Diwan  Mohkam  Chand  died 
soon  after  Ranjit  Singh's  return. 


CHAP.  VI  EXPEDITION  AGAINST  KASHMIR  141 

(the  confederate  of  the  Maharaja's  father) ,  were  seized  isie-is. 
and  annexed  to  the  territories  of  the  Lahore  govern-  '~ 
ment.    Sansar  Chand  was  honoured  and  alarmed  by  a 
visit  from  his  old  ally,  and  the  year  1816  terminated 
with  the  Maharaja's  triumphant  return  to  Amritsar.* 

The  northern  plains  and  lower  hills  of  the  Punjab  Ranjit 
had  been  fairly  reduced  to  obedience  and  order,  and  ^ingh  cap- 
Ranjit  Singh's  territories  were  bounded  on  the  south  tan^^j^g^" 
and  west  by  the  real  or  nominal  dependencies  of  Kabul, 
but  the  Maharaja's  meditated  attacks  upon  them  were 
postponed  for  a  year  by  impaired  health.  His  first 
object  was  Multan,  and  early  in  1818  an  army  marched 
to  attack  it,  under  the  nominal  command  of  his  son, 
Kharak  Singh,  the  titular  reducer  of  Jammu.  To  ask 
what  were  the  Maharaja's  reasons  for  attacking  Multan 
would  be  futile;  he  thought  the  Sikhs  had  as  good  a 
right  as  the  Afghans  to  take  what  they  could,  and  the 
actual  possessor  of  Multan  had  rather  asserted  his  own 
independence  than  faithfully  served  the  heirs  of 
Ahrnad  Shah.  A  large  sum  of  money  was  demanded 
and  refused.  In  the  course  of  February,  the  city  was 
in  possession  of  he  Sikhs,  but  the  fort  held  out  until 
the  beginning  of  June,  and  chance  had  then  some 
share  in  its  capture.  An  Akali,  named  Sadhu  Singh, 
went  forth  to  do  battle  for  the  'Khalsa',  and  the  very 
suddenness  of  the  onset  of  his  small  band  led  to  suc- 
cess. The  Sikhs,  seeing  the  impression  thus  strangely 
made,  arose  together,  carried  the  outwork,  and  found 
an  easy  entry  through  the  breaches  of  a  four  months' 
batter.  Muzaffar  Khan,  the  governor,  and  two  of  his 
sons,  were  slain  in  the  assault,  and  two  others  were 
made  prisoners.  A  considerable  booty  fell  to  the  share 
of  the  soldiery,  but  when  the  army  reached  Lahore,  the  " 
Maharaja  directed  that  the  plunder  should  be  restored. 
He  may  have  felt  some  pride  that  his  commands  were 
not  altogether  unheeded,  but  he  complained  that  they 
were  not  so  productive  as  he  had  expected.^ 

^  Cf.  Murray,  Rayijit  Singh,  pp.  108,  111. 

-  The  place  fell  on  the  2nd  June,  1818.  See  Murray,  Ranjit 
Singh,  p.  114,  &c.  The  Maharaja  told  Mr.  Moorcroft  that  he 
got  very  little  of  the  booty  he  attempted  to  recover.  (Moorcroft, 
Travels,  i.  102.)  Muhammad  Muzaffar  Khan,  the  governor,  had 
held  Multan  from  the  time  of  the  expulsion  of  the  Sikhs  of  the 
Bhangi  'Misal',  in  1779.  In  1807  he  went  on  a  pilgrimage  to 
Mecca,  and,  although  he  returned  in  two  years,  he  left  the 
nominal  control  of  affairs  with  his  son.  Sarafraz  Khan.  On 
the  last  approach  of  Ranjit  Singh,  the  old  man  refused,  accord- 
ing to  the  Bahawalpur  annals,  to  send  his  family  to  the  south 
of  the  Sutlej,  as  on  other  occasions  of  siege;  but  whether  he 
did  so  in  the  confidence,  or  in  the  despair,  of  a  successful  resist- 
ance is  not  clear. 


142 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.  VI 


1818-19. 

Fateh . 

Khan,  Wazir 
of  Kabul, 
put  to 
death,  1818. 


Muhammad 
Azim  pro- 
claims  Shah 
Ayub. 


Ranjit  Singh 
marches  to 
Peshawar, 


which  he 
makes  over 
to  Jahan 
Dad  Khan, 
1818. 

Ranjit  Singh 
intent  upon 
Kashmir. 


During  the  same  year,  1818,  Fateh  Khan,  the  Kabul 
Wazir,  was    put    to  death    by  Kamran,    the    son    of 
Mahmud,  the  nominal  ruler.    He  had  gone  to  Herat  to 
repel  an  attack   of  the  Persians,  and  he  was  accom- 
panied  by  his  brother,  Dost  Muhammad,  who  again 
had  among    his    followers    a  Sikh    chief,    Jai    Singh 
Atariwala,   who    had   left  the  Punjab  in  displeasure. 
Fateh  Khan  was  successful,  and  applause  was  freely 
bestowed  upon  his  measures;  but  he  wished  to  place 
Herat,  then  held  by  a  member  of  Aiimad  Shah's  family, 
within  his  own  grasp,  and  Dost  Muhammad  and  his 
Sikh  .ally  wer©   employed    to    eject  and    despoil    the 
prince-governors     Dost  Muhammad  effected  his  pur- 
pose somewhat  rudely,  the  person  of  a  royal  lady  was 
touchisd  in  the  eagerness  of  the  riflers  to  secure  her 
jewels,  and  Kamran    made    this    affront    offered    to  a 
sister  a  pretext  for  getting  rid  of  the  man  who  from 
the  stay  had  become  the  tyrant  of  his  family.     Fateh 
Khan  was  first  blinded  and  then  murdered;  and  the 
crime  saved  Herat,  indeed,  to  Ahmad  Shah's  heirs,  but 
deprived  them  for  a  time,  and  now  perhaps  for  ever, 
of  the  rest  of  his  possessions.    Muhammad  Azim  Khan 
hastened  from  Kashmir,  which  he  left  in  charge  of 
Jabbar  Khan,  another  of  the  many  brothers.     He  at 
first  thought  of  reinstating  Shah  Shuja,  but  he  at  last 
proclaimed  Shah  Ayub  as  king,  and  in  a  few  months 
he  was  master  of  Peshawar  and  Ghazni,  of  Kabul  and 
Kandahar.     This  change  of  rulers  favoured,  if  it  did 
not  justify,  the  views  of  Ranjit  Singh,  and  towards  the 
end  of  1818  he  crossed  the  Indus  and  entered  Peshawar, 
which  was  evacuated  on  his  approach.    But  it  did  not 
suit  his  purposes,  at  the  time,  to  endeavour  to  retain 
the  district;  he  garrisoned  Khairabad,  which  lies  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  river,  so  as  to  command  the  passage 
for  the  future,  and  then  retired,  placing  Jahan  Dad 
Khan,  his  old  ally  of  Attock,  in  possession  of  Peshawar 
itself,  to  hold  it  as  he  could  by  his  own  means.  The 
Barakzai  governor,  Yar  Muhammad  Khan,  returned  as 
soon  as  Ranjit    Singh    had    gone,    and   the    powerless 
Jahan  Dad  made  no  attempt  to  defend  his  gift.^ 

Ranjit  Singh's  thoughts  were  now  directed  towards 
the  annexation  of  Kashmir,  the  garrison  of  which  had 
been  reduced  by  the  withdrawal  of  some  good  troops 

1  Cf.  Murray,  Ranjit  Singh,  pp.  117,  120;  Shah  Shuja's 
'Autobiography',  chap,  xxvii;  and  Munshi  Mohan  Lai,  Life  of 
Dost  Muhammad,  i.  99,  104. 

Capt.  Murray  (p.  131)  places  the  defection  of  Jai  Singh 
of  Atari  in  the  year  1822;  but  cf.  also  Mr.  Masson,  Travels,  iii. 
21,  32,  in  support  of  the  earlier  date  assigned. 


CHAP.  VI  KASHMIR  ANNEXED  143 

by  Muhammad  Azim   Khan;   but   the  proceedings  of  18I8-19. 
Desa  Singh  Majithia  and  Sansar  Chand  for  a  moment 
changed  his  designs  upon  others  into  fears  for  himself. 
These  chiefs  were  employed  on  an  expedition  in  the 
hills  to  collect  the  tribute  due  to  the  Maharaja;  and  the 
Raja  of  Kahlur,  who  held  territories  on  both  sides  of 
the  Sutlej,  ventured  to  resist  the  demands  made.  San-  Delayed  by 
sar  Chand  rejoiced  in  this  opportunity  of  revenge  upon  a  discussion 
the  friend  of  the  Gurkhas;  the  river  was  crossed,  but  with  the 
the  British  authorities  were  prompt,  and  a  detachment  ^"f^^J^'jg^g 
of  troops  stood  ready  to  oppose  force  to  force.    Ranjit 
Singh  directed  the  immediate  recall  of  his  men,  and 
he  desired  Sirdar  Desa  Singh  to  go  in  person,  and  offer 
his  apologies  to  the  English  agent.  ^     This  alarm  being 
over,   the  Maharaja  proceeded  with  his  preparations 
against  Kashmir,  the  troops  occupying  which  had,  in 
the  meantime,  been  reinforced  by  a  detachment  from 
Kabul.     The  Brahman,  Diwan  Chand,  who  had  exer- 
cised the  real  command  at  Multan,  was  placed  in  ad- 
vance,-the  Prince  Kharak  Singh  headed  a  supporting 
column,   and   Ranjit   Singh  himself   remained   behind 
with  a  reserve  and  for  the  purpose  of  expediting  the 
transit  of  the  various  munitions  of  war.     The  choice 
of  the  Sikh  cavalry  marched  on  foot  over  the  moun- 
tains along  with  the  infantry  soldiers,  and  they  dragged  ^^^  p^any 
with  them  a  few  light  guns;  the  passes  were  scaled  on  annexes  the 
the  5th  July  1819,  but  Jabbar  Khan  was  found  ready  to  vaiiey   to 
receive  them.    The  Afghans  repulsed  the  invaders,  and  ^is  domi- 
mastered  two  guns;  but    they    did   not   improve  their  "*°"^-   ^^^*- 
success,  and  the  rallied  Sikhs  again  attacked  them,  and 
won  an  almost  bloodless  victory.- 

A  few  months  after  Kashmir  had  been  added  to  The  Dera- 
the  Lahore  dominions,  Ranjit  Singh  moved  in  person  Jat  of  the 
to  the  south  of  the  Punjab,  and  Dera  Ghazi  Khan  on  the  ^"'^"^  ^^' 
Indus,  another  dependency  of  Kabul,  was  seized  by  the  ^^'^  ^° 
victorious  Sikhs.    The  Nawab  of  Bahawalpur,  who  held  i8^ig?2o 
lands  under  Ranjit  Singh  in  the  fork  of  the  Indus  and 
Chenab,  had  two  years  before  made  a  successful  attack 
on  the  Durrani  chief  of  the    place,    and    it    was    now 
transferred  to  him    in    form,    although   his    Cis-Sutlej 
possessions  had  virtually,  but  not  formally,  been  taken 
under  British  protection  in  the  year  1815,  and  he  had 
thus  become,  in  a  measure,  independent  of  the  Maha- 
raja's power.^    During  the  year  1820  partial  attempts 

1  Cf.  Murray,  Ranjit  Sinqh,  pp.  121,  122,  and  Moorcroft, 
Travels,  110,  for  the  duration  of  the  Maharaja's  displeasure  with 
Desa   Singh. 

-  Cf.  Murray,  Ranjit  Singh,  pp.  122-4. 

"  Government  to  Superintendent  Ambala.  15th  Jan.,  1815. 


144 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP,   vl 


1819-20. 


Muham- 
mad Azim 
Khan  de- 
sirous of 
securing 
Peshawar, 
1818-21; 

lYom    which 
Ranjit 
Singh   de- 
minds  and 
receives 
tribute, 
1822. 


But   the 
prosecution 
of  his  plans 
interfered 
with  by  a 
discussion 
with   the 
English 
about  his 
mother-in- 
law,   and  a 
place  called 
Whadni. 
1822. 


were  made  to  reduce  the  turbulent  Muhammadan 
tribes  to  the  south-west  of  Kashmir,  and,  in  1821,  Ranjit 
Singh  proceeded  to  complete  his  conquests  on  the  Cen- 
tral Indus  by  the  reduction  of  Dera  Ismail  Khan.  The 
strong  fort  of  Mankera,  situated  between  the  two 
westernmost  rivers  of  the  Punjab,  was  held  out  for  a 
time  by  Hafiz  Ahmad  Khan,  the  father  of  the  titular 
governor,  who  scarcely  owned  a  nominal  subjection 
to  Kabul;  but  the  promise  of  honourable  terms  induced 
him  to  surrender  before  the  end  of  the  year,  and  the 
country  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Indus,  including  Dera 
Ismail  Khan,  was  left  to  him  as  a  feudatory  of  Lahore.^ 

Muhammad  Azim  had  succeeded  to  the  power  of 
his  brother,  Fateh  Khan,  and,  being  desirous  of  keeping 
Ranjit  Singh  to  the  left  bank  of  the  Indus,  he  moved  to 
Peshawar  in  the  year  1822,  accompanied  by  Jai  Singh, 
the  fugitive  Sikh  chief,  with  the  intention  of  attackim^ 
Khairabad  opposite  Attock.  Other  matters  caused  him 
hastily  to  retrace  his  steps,  but  his  proceedings  had 
brought  the  Maharaja  to  the  westward,  who  sent  to 
Yar  Muhammad  Khan,  the  governor  of  Peshawar,  and 
demanded  tribute.  This  leader,  who  apprehended  the 
designs  of  his  brother,  Muhammad  Azim  Khan,  almost 
as  much  as  he  dreaded  Ranjit  Singh,  made  an  offering 
of  some  valuable  horses.-  The  Maharaja  was  satisfied 
and  withdrew  perhaps  the  more  readily,  as  some  dif- 
ferences had  arisen  with  the  British  authorities  regard- 
ing the  right  to  a  place  named  Whadni,  to  the  south  of 
the  Sutlej,  which  had  been  transferred  by  Ranjit  Singh 
to  his  intriguing  and  ambitious  mother-in-law,  Sada 
Kaur,  in  the  year  1808.  The  lady  was  regarded  by  the 
English  agents  as  being  the  independent  representative 
of  the  interests  of  the  Kanhaya  (or  Ghani)  confederacy 
of  Sikhs  on  their  side  of  the  river,  and  therefore  as 
having  a  right  to  their  protection..  But  Ranjit  Singh 
had  quarrelled  with  and  imprisoned  his  mother-in-law, 
and  had  taken  possession  of  the  fort  of  Whadni.  It  was 
resolved  to  eject  him  by  force,  and  a  detachment  of 
troops  marched  from  Ludhiana  and  restored  the  autho- 
rity of  the  captive  widow.  Ranjit  Singh  prudently 
made  no  attempt  to  resist  the  British  agent,  but  he  was 

and  Sir  D.  Ochterlony  to  Government,  23rd  July,  1815.  Cf. 
Murray,  Ranjit  Singh,  p.  124.  The  Bahawalpur  Memoirs  state 
that  Ranjit  Singh  came  down  the  Sutlej  as  far  as  Pakpattan, 
with  the  view  of  seizing  Bahawalpur,  but  that  show  of  resist- 
ance having  been  made,  and  some  presents  offered,  the  Maha- 
raja  moved  westward. 

1  Cf.  Murray,  Ranjit  Singh,  pp.  129,  130,  and  Sir  A.  Burnes' 
Kabul  p.  92. 

-  Cf.  Murray,  Ranjit  Singh,  pp.  134-7. 


CHAP.  VI      MARCH  AGAINST  PESHAWAR  145 

not  without  apprehensions  that  his  occupation  of  the  1823. 
place  would  be  construed  into  a  breach  of  the  treaty,  ~ 
and  he  busied  himself  with  defensive  preparations.  A 
friendly  letter  from  the  superior  authorities  at  Delhi 
relieved  him  of  his  fears,  and  allowed  him  to  prosecute 
his  designs  against  Peshawar  without  further  inter- 
ruption.^ 

Muhammad  Azim  Khan  disapproved  of  the  pre-  The  sikhs 
sentation  of  horses  to  Ranjit  Singh  by  Yar  Muhammad  "^ar^h 
Khan,  and  he  repaired  to  Peshawar  in  January  1823.  p^^^Twar 
Yar  Muhammad  fled  into  the  Usufzai  hills  rather  than  18^23.^ 
meet  his  brother,  and  the  province  seemed  lost  to  one 
branch  of  the  numerous  family;  but  the  chief  of  the 
Sikhs  was  at  hand,  resolved  to  assert  his  equality  of 
right    or   his"  superiority    of   power.     The    Indus    was 
forded  on  the  13th  March,  the  guns  being  carried  across 
on  elephants.    The  territory  of  the  Khattaks  bordering 
the  river  was  occupied,  and  at  Akora  the  Maharaja 
received  and  pardoned  the  fugitive  Jai  Singh  Atari- 
wala.    A  religious  war  had  been  preached,  and  twenty 
thousand  men,  of  the  Khattak  and  Usufzai  tribes,  had 
been  assembled  by  their  priests  and  devotees  to  fight 
for  their  faith  against  the  unbelieving  invaders.  This 
body  of  men  was  posted  on  and  around  heights  near 
Noshahra,  but  on  the  left  bank   of  the  Kabul  river, 
while  Muhammad  Azim  Khan,  distrustful  of  his  influ- 
ence over  the  independent  militia,  and  of  the  fidelity 
of  his  brothers,  occupied  a  position  higher  up  on  the 
right  bank  of  the   stream.     Ranjit  Singh  detached   a  The  battle 
force  to  keep  the  Wazir  in  check,  and  crossed  the  river  of  Noshahra. 
to  attack  the  armed  peasantry.     The  Sikh  'Akalis'  at  ^"^^h  March. 
once  rushed  upon  the  Muhammadan  'Ghazis',  but  Phula  ^^^^' 
Singh,  the  wild  leader  of  the  fanatics  of  Amritsar.  was 
slain,  and  his  horsemen  made  no  impression  on  masses 

1  Cf.  Murray.  Ranjit  Singh,  p.  134,  where  the  proceedings 
are  given  very  briefly,  and  scarcely  with  accuracy.  Capt. 
Murray's  and  Capt.  Ross's  letters  to  the  Resident  at  Delhi, 
from  Feb.  to  Sept.  1822,  give  details,  and  other  information  is 
obtainable  from  the  letters  of  Sir  D.  Ochterlony  to  Capt.  Ross, 
dated  7th  Nov.,  1821,  and  of  the  Governor-General's  Agent 
at  Delhi  to  Capt.  Murray,  of  22nd  June.,  and  to  Government  of 
the  23rd  Aug.  1822;  and  from  those  of  Government  to  the 
Governor-General's  Agent,  24th  April,  13th  July,  and  18th  Oct., 
1822.  On  this  occasion  the  Akali  Phula  Singh  is  reported  by 
Capt.  Murray  to  have  offered  to  retake  Whadni  single-handed, 
and  Ranjit  Singh  to  have  commissioned  him  to  embody  a 
thousand  of  his  brethren.  Sir  Claude  Wade  (Narrative  of 
Personal  Services,  p.  10  note)  represents  Sir  Charles  Metcalfe 
to  have  considered  the  proceedings  of  the  English  with  regard 
to  Whadni  as  unwarranted — for  with  the  domestic  concerns  of 
the  Maharaja  they  had  no  political  concern. 


146 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.  VI 


1823-4. 


Peshawar 
reduced, 
but  left  as 
a  depen- 
dency with 
Yar  Mu- 
hammad 
Khan. 

Death   of 
Muham- 
mad Azim 
Khan. 
1823. 

Ran  jit  Singh 
feels  his 
way  towards 
Sind. 
1823-4. 


of  footmen  advantageously  posted.  The  Afghans  then 
exultingly  advanced,  and  threw  the  drilled  infantry 
of  the  Lahore  ruler  into  confusion.  They  were  checked 
by  the  fire  of  the  rallying  battalions,  and  by  the  play 
of  the  artillery  drawn  up  on  the  opposite  bank  of  the 
river,  and  at  length  Ranjit  Singh's  personal  exertions 
with  his  cavalry  converted  the  check  into  a  victory. 
The  brave  and  believing  mountaineers  reassembled 
after  their  rout,  and  next  day  they  were  willing  to 
renew  the  fight  under  their  'Pirzada',  Muhammad 
Akbar;  but  the  Kabul  Wazir  had  fled  with  percipita- 
tion,  and  they  were  without  countenance  or  support. 
Peshawar  was  sacked,  and  the  country  plundered  up 
to  the  Khaibar  Pass;  but  the  hostile  spirit  of  the  popu- 
lation rendered  the  province  of  difficult  retention,  and 
the  prudent  Maharaja  gladly  accepted  Yar  Muham- 
mad's tender  of  submission.  Muhammad  Azim  Khan 
died  shortly  afterwards,  and  with  him  expired  all  show 
of  unanimity  among  the  bands  of  brothers  who  pos- 
sessed the  three  capitals  of  Peshawar,  Kabul,  and 
Kandahar;  while  Shah  Mahmud  and  his  son  Kamran 
exercised  a  precarious  authority  in  Herat,  and  Shan 
Ayub,  who  had  been  proclaimed  titular  monarch  of 
Afghanistan,  remained  a  cipher  in  his  chief  city.^ 

Towards  the  end  of  the  year  1823,  Ranjit  Singh 
marched  to  the  south-west  corner  of  his  territories,  to 
reduce  refractory  Muhammadan  Jagirdars,  and  to 
create  an  impression  of  his  power  on  the  frontiers  of 

1  Cf.  Murray,  Ranjit  Singh,  p.  137,  &c.;  Moorcroft,  Travels, 
ii.  333,  334;  and  Masson,  Journeys,  iii.  58-60.  Ranjit  Singh  told 
Capt.  Wade  that,  of  his  disciplined  troops,  his  Gurkhas  alone 
stood  firm  under  the  assault  of  the  Muhammadans.  (Capt. 
Wade  to  Resident  at  Delhi,  3rd  April,  1839.) 

The  fanatic,  Phula  Singh,  already  referred  to  in  the  pre- 
ceding note,  was  a  man  of  some  notoriety.  In  1809  he  attacked 
Sir  Charles  Metcalfe's  camp,  and  afterwards  the  party  of  a 
British  officer  employed  in  surveying  the  Cis-Sutlej  states.  In 
1814-15  he  fortified  himself  in  Abohar  (between  Ferozepur 
and  Bhatnair),  since  construed  into  a  British  possession  (Capt. 
Murray  to  Agent,  Delhi,  15th  May,  1823);  and  in  1820  he  told 
Mr.  Moorcroft  that  he  was  dissatisfied  with  Ranjit  Singh,  that 
he  was  ready  to  join  the  English,  and  that,  indeed,  he  would 
carry  fire  and  sword  wherever  Mr.  Moorcroft  might  desire. 
{Travels,  i.  110.) 

With  regard  to  Dost  Muhammad  Khan  it  is  well  known, 
and  Mr.  Masson  (Journeys,  iii.  59,  60)  and  .Munshi  Mohan  Lai 
(Life  of  Dost  Muhammad,  i.  127,  128)  both  show  the  extent 
to  which  he  was  an  intriguer  on  this  occasion.  This  circum- 
stance was  subsequently  lost  sight  of  by  the  British  negotiators 
and  the  British  public,  and  Sikh  and  Afghan  leaders  were 
regarded  as  essentially  antagonistic,  instead  of  as  ready  to 
coalesce  for  their  selfish  ends  under  any  of  several  probable 
contingencies. 


CHAP.  VI         DEATH  OF  SANSAR  CHAND  147 

Sind — to  tribute  from  the  Amirs  of  which  country  he  i824 
had-  already  advanced  some  claims.^    He  likewise  pre- 
tended    to   regard    Shikarpur    as    a  usurpation    of  the 
Talpur  dynasty;  but  his  plans  were  not  yet  matured, 
and  he  returned  to  his  capital  to  learn  of  the  death  of  sansar 
Sansar  Chand.    He  gave  his  consent  to  the  succession  chand  of 
of  the  son  of  a  chief  whose  power  once  surpassed  his  ^^to*'^^ 
own,  and  the  Prince  Kharak  Singh  exchanged  turbans,  of^is^" 
in   token  of   brotherhood,  with  the  heir  of  tributary 
Katotch.- 

Ranjit  Singh  had  now  brought  under  his  sway  the  Ranjit 
three  Muhammadan    provinces   of   Kashmir,   Multan,  Singh's 
and  Peshawar  :  he  was  supreme  in  the  hills  and  plains  ^"i^cSted'^' 
of  ttie  Punjab  proper;  the  mass  of  his  dominion  had  and  the  ' 
been  acquired;  and  although  his  designs  on  Ladakh  and  mass  of  his 
Sind  were  obvious,    a  pause    in    the   narrative    of  his  dominion 
actions  may  conveniently  take  place,  for  the  purpose  acquired, 
of  relating  other  matters  necessary  to  a  right  under- 
standing of  his  character,  and  which  intimately  bear 
on  the  general  history  of  the  country. 

Shah  Shuja  reached  jLudhiana,  as  has  been  men-  MisceUane- 
tioned,  in  the  year  1816,  and  secured  for  himself  an  °"s  trans- 
honoured  repose  :    but    his    thoughts    were    intent  on  ^^**°'^s. 
Kabul  and  Kandahar;  he  disliked  the  British  notion  33^6x5^- 
that  he  had  tamely  sought  an  asylum,  and  he  wished  dition  ag- 
to  be  regarded  as  a  prince  in  distress,  seeking  for  aid  ainst  shucar- 
to  enable  him  to  recover  his  crown.     He  had  hopes  p"'"  ^^^ 
held  out  to  him    by    the   Amirs    of  Sind    when    hard  ^^shawar. 
pressed,  perhaps,  by    Fateh  Khan,    and    he  conceived  ^^^^"^^• 
that  an  invasion  of  Afghanistan  might  be  successfully 
prosecuted  from  the  southward.     He  made  offers   of 
advantage  to  the  English,  but  he  was  told  that  they 
had  no    concern    with    the    affairs    of    strangers,    and 
desired  to  live  in  peace  with  all  their  neighbours.  He 
was  thus  casting  about  for  means  when  Fateh  Khan 
was  murdered,   and  the  tenders  of  allegiance  which 
he  received  from    Muhammad    Azim    Khan    at    once 
induced  him  to  quit  Ludhiana.     He  left  that  place  in 
October  1818:  with  the  'aid  of  the  Nawab  of  Bahawal- 
pur,  he  mastered  Dera  Ghazi  Khan;  he  sent  his  son 
Timur  to  occupy  Shikarpur,  and  he  proceeded  in  per- 
son towards  Peshawar,  to  become,  as  he  believed,  the 
king  of  the  Durranis.     But    Muhammad    Azim    Khan 
had,  in  the  meantime,  seen  fit  to  proclaim  himself  the 

1  Capt.  Murray  to  the  Governor-General's  Agent,  Delhi, 
15th  Dec.  1825,  and  Capt.  Wade  to  the  same,  7th  Aug..l823. 

-  Murray,  Ranjit  Singh,  p.  141.  For  an  interesting  account 
of  Sansar  Chand,  his  family,  and  his  country,  see  Moorcroft, 
Travels,  i.  126-46. 


148 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.  VI 


1821-2. 


The  Shah 
returns  to 
Ludhiana, 
1821; 

and  is 

followed    by 
Shah  Za- 
man,  who 
takes  up 
his  abode 
at  the  sElme 
place. 


Appa 
Sahib,  ex- 
Raja  of 
I'Tagpur, 
1820-2. 


His    idle 
schemes 
wtih  the  son 
of  Shah 
Zaman. 


Wazir  of  Ayub,  and  Shah  Shuja,  hard  pressed,  sought 
safety  among  some  friendly  clans  in  the  Khaibar  hills. 
He  was  driven  thence  at  the  end  of  two  months,  and 
had  scarcely  entered  Shikarpur  when  Muhammad  Azim 
Khan's  approach  compelled  him  to  retire.  He  went 
first  to  Khairpur,  and  afterwards  to  Hyderabad,  and, 
having  procured  some  money  from  the  Sindians,  he 
returned  and  recovered  Shikarpur,  where  he  resided 
for  a  year.  But  Muhammad  Azim  Khan  again  approa- 
ched, the  Hyderabad  chiefs  pretended  that  the  Shah 
was  plotting  to  bring  in  thvi  English,  and  their  money 
was  this  time  paid  for  his  expulsion.  The  ex-king, 
finding  his  position  untenable,  retired  through  RaJ- 
putana  to  Delhi,  and  eventually  took  up  his  residence 
a  second  time  at  Ludhiana,  in  June  1821.  His  brother, 
the  blind  Shah  Zaman,  after  visiting  Persia,  and  per- 
haps Arabia,  arrived  at  the  same  place  about  the  samo 
time  and  nearly  by  the  same  road.  Shah  Shuja's 
stipend  had  all  along  been  drawn  by  his  family,  repre- 
sented by  the  able  and  faithful  Wafa  Begum,  and  an 
allowance,  first  of  18,000,  and  afterwards  of  24,(!00 
rupees  a  year,  was  assigned  for  the  support  of  Shah 
Zaman,  when  he  also  became  a  petitioner  to  the  Eng- 
lish Government.^ 

In  the  year  1820,  Appa  Sahib,  the  deposed  Raja  of 
the  Maratha  kingdom  of  Nagpur,  escaped  from  the 
custody  of  the  British'  authorities  and  repaired  to 
Amritsar.  He  would  seem  to  have  had  the  command 
of  large  sums  of  money,  and  he  endeavoured  to  engage 
Ranjit  Singh  in  his  cause;  but  the  Maharaja  had  been 
told  the  fugitive  was  the  violent  enemy  of  his  English 
allies,  and  he  ordered  him  to  quit  his  territories.  The 
chief  took  up  his  abode  for  a  time  in  Sansar  Chand's 
principality  of  Katotch,  and  while  there  he  would 
appear  to  have  entered  into  some  idle  schemes  with 
Prince  Haidar,  a  son  of  Shah  Zaman,  for  the  subjuga- 
tion of  India  south  and  east  of  the  Sutlej.  The  Durrani 
was  to  be  monarch  of  the  whole,  frorn  Delhi  to  Cape 
Comorin;  but  the  Maratha  was  to  be  Wazir  of  the  em- 
pire, and  to  hold  the  Deccan  as  a  dependent  sovereign. 

1  Cf.  Shah  Shuja's  'Autobiography',  chaps,  xxvii,  xxviii, 
xxix,  in  the  Calcutta  Monthly  Journal  for  1839,  and  the  Baha- 
walpur  Family  Annals  (Manuscript).  Capt.  Murray  (History 
of  Ranjit  Singh,  p.  103)  merely  states  that  Shah  Shuja  made 
an  unsuccessful  attempt  to  recover  his  throne;  but  the  following 
letters  may  be  referred  to  in  support  of  all  that  is  included  in 
the  paragraph  :  Government  to  Resident,  Delhi,  10th  May  and  | 
7th  June  1817;  Capt.  Murray  to  Resident,  Delhi,  22nd  Sept.  and 
10th  Oct.  1818,  and  1st  April  1825;  and  Capt.  Murray  to  Sir 
D.  Ochteilony,  29th  April,  30th  June,  and  27th  Aug.  1821. 


CHAP.  VI  APPA  SAHIB  OF  NAGPUR  149 

The  Punjab  was  not  included;  but  it  did  not  transpire  ^^^^- 
that  either  Ranjit  Singh,  or  Sansar  Chand,  or  the  two 
ex-kings  of  Kabul,  were  privy  to  the  design,  and,  as 
soon  as  the  circumstance  became  known,  Sansar  Chand 
compelled  his  guest  to  proceed  elsewhere.  Appa  Sahib 
repaired,  in  1822,  to  Mandi,  jvhich  lies  between  Kangra 
and  the  Sutlej;  but  he  wandered  to  Amritsar  about 
1828,  and  only  finally  quitted  the  country  during  the 
following  year;  to  find  an  asylum  with  the  Raja  of 
Jodhpur.  That  state  had  become  an  English  depend- 
ency, and  the  ex-Raja's  surrender  was  required;  bu;t 
the  strong  objections  of  the  Rajput  induced  the  Gov- 
ernment to  be  satisfied  with  a  promise  of  his  safe 
custody,  and  he  died  almost  forgotten  in  the  year  1840.^ 

As  has  been  mentioned,   the   Raja   Bir   Singh,    of  The  petty 
Nurpur,  in  the  hills,  had  been  dispossessed  of  his  chief-  ^^'^p^^ 
ship  in  the  year  1816.     He  sought  refuge  to  the  south  causes  Ran- 
of  the  Sutlej,  and  immediately  made  proposals  to  Shah  jit  smgh 
Shuja,  who  had  just  reached  Ludhiana,  to  enter  into  a  some 
combination  against  Ranjit  Singh.    The  Maharaja  had  anxiety 
not  altogether   despised  similar  tenders  of  allegiance  ^]^^"esort 
from  various  discontented  chiefs,  when  the  Shah  was  to  the 
his  prisoner-guest  in  Lahore;  he  remembered  the  treaty  EngUsh. 
between  the  Shah  and  the  English,  and  he  knew  how 
readily  dethroned  kings  might  be  made  use  of  by  the 
ambitious.     He  wished  to  ascertain  the  views  of  the 
English   authorities,   but   he  veiled   his   suspicions   of 
them  in  terms  of  apprehension  of  the  Nurpur  Raja.  His 
troops,  he  said,  were  absent  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Multan,  and  Bir  Singh  might  cross  the  Sutlej  and  raise 
disturbances.     The    reception    of    emissaries    by    Shah 
Shuja  was  then  discountenanced,  and  the  residence  of 
the  exiled    Raja    at    Ludhiana    was    discouraged;    but 
Ranjit  Singh  was  told  that  his  right  to  attempt  the 
recovery  of  his  chiefship  was  admitted,  although  he 
would  not  be  allowed  to  organize  the  means  of  doing 
so  within  the  British  limits.     The  Maharaja  seemed 
satisfied  that    Lahore    would    be    safe    while    he    was 
absent  in  the  south  or  west,  and  he  said  no  more.^ 

1  Cf.  Murray,  Ranjit  Sing}\  p.  126;  Moorcroft,  Travels,  i. 
109;  and  the  quasi-official  authority,  the  Bengal  and  Agra 
Gazetteer  for  1841,  1842  (articles  'Nagpur'  and  'Jodhpur').  See 
also  Capt.  Murray,  letters  to  Resident  at  Delhi,  24th  Nov.  and 
22nd  Dec.  1821,  the  13th  Jan.  1822,  and  16th  June  1824;  and 
likewise  Capt.  Wade  to  Resident  at  Delhi,  15th  March  1828. 

2  The  public  correspondence  generally  of  1816 — 17  has 
here  been  referred  to,  and  especially  the  letter  of  Government 
to  Resident  at  Delhi,  dated  11th  April  1817.  In  1826  Bir  Singh 
made  another  attempt  to  recover  his  principality;  but  he  was 
seized  and  imprisoned.      (Mvirray,  Ranjit  Singh,  p.   145,  and 


160 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.  VI 


1819-20. 

The  travel- 
ler Moor- 
croft  in  the 
Punjab, 
1820. 


Ran  jit 
Singh's 
general 
system  of 
govern- 
ment, and 
view  of  his 


In  the  year  1819  the  able  and  adventurous  tra- 
veller, Moorcroft,  left  the  plains  of  India  in  the  hope 
of  reaching  Yarkand  and  Bukhara.  In  the  hills  of  the 
Punjab  he  experienced  difficulties,  and  he  was  induced 
to  repair  to  Lahore  to  wait  upon  Ranjit  Singh.  He  was 
honourably  received,  and  any  lurking  suspicions  of  his 
own  designs,  or  of  the  views  of  his  Government,  were 
soon  dispelled.  The  Maharaja  conversed  with  frank- 
ness of  the  events  of  his  life;  he  showed  the  traveller 
his  bands  of  horsemen  and  battalions  of  infantry,  and 
encouraged  him  to  visit  any  part  of  the  capital  without 
hesitation,  and  at  his  own  leisure.  Mr.  Moorcroft's 
medical  skill  and  general  knowledge,  his  candid  man- 
ner and  personal  activity,  produced  an  impression 
favourable  to  himself  and  advantageous  to  his  country- 
men; but  his  proposition  that  British  merchandise 
should  be  admitted  into  the  Punjab  at  a  fixed  scale 
of  duties  was  received  with  evasion.  The  Maharaja's 
revenues  might  be  affected,  it  was  said,  and  his  prin- 
cipal officers,  whose  advice  was  necessary,  were  absent 
on  distant  expeditions.  Every  facility  was  afforded  to 
Mr.  Moorcroft  in  prosecuting  his  journey,  and  it  was 
arranged  that,  if  he  could  not  reach  Yarkand  from 
Tibet,  he  might  proceed  through  Kashmir  to  Kabul 
and  Bukhara,  the  route  which  it  was-  eventually  found 
necessary  to  pursue.  Mr.  Moorcroft  rjeached  Ladakh 
in  safety,  and  in  1821  he  became  possessed  of  a  letter 
from  the  Russian  minister.  Price  Nesselrode,  recom- 
mending a  merchant  to  the  good  offices  of- Ranjit  Singh 
and  assuring  him  that  the  traders  of  the  Punjab  would 
be  well  received  in  the  Russian  dominions — for  the 
emperor  was  himself  a  benign  ruler,  he  earnestly 
desired  the  prosperity  of  other  countries,  and  he  was 
especially  the  well-wisher  of  that  reigned  over  by  the 
King  of  the  Sikhs.  The  person  recommended  had  died 
on  his  way  southward  from  Russia;  and  it  appeared 
that,  six  years  previously,  he  had  been  the  bearer  of 
similar  communications  for  the  Maharaja  of  Lahore, 
and  the  Raja  of  Ladakh.^ 

Ranjit  Singh  now  possessed  a  broad  dominion,  and 
an  instructed  intellect  might  have  rejoiced  in  the  op- 
portunity accorded  for  wise  legislation,  and  for  consoli- 
dating aggregated  provinces  into  one  harmonious 
empire.  But  such  a  task  neither  suited  the  Maharaja's 
genius  nor  that  of  the  Sikh  nation;  nor  is  it,  perhaps, 

Capt.  Murray  to  Resident  at  Delhi,  25th  Feb.   1827.)    He  was' 
subsequently  released,  and  was  alive,  but  unheeded,  in  1844. 

1  Moorcroft,  Travels,  i.  99,  103;  and  see  also  pp.  383,  387, 
with  respect  to  a  previous  letter  to  Ranjit  Singh. 


CHAP.  VI     RANJIT  SINGH'S  GOVERNMENT  lol 

agreeable  to  the  constitution  of  any  political  society,  mi. 
th^t  its  limits  shall  be  fixed,  or  that  the  pervading  means  and 
spirit  of  a  people  shall  rest,  until  its  expansive  force  is  authority 
destroyed  and  becomes  obnoxious  to  change  and  decay,  as  leader  of 
Ranjit  Singh  grasped  the  more  obvious  characteristics  ^^^  ^■^'^^• 
of  the  impulse  given  by  N^nak  and  Gobind;  he  dexter- 
ously turned  them  to  the  purposes  of  his  own  material 
ambition,  and  he  appeared  to  be  an  absolute  monarch 
in  the  midst  of  willing  and  obedient  subjects.  But  he 
knew  that  he  merely  directed  into  a  particular  channel 
a  power  which  he  could  neither  destroy  nor  control, 
and  that,  to  prevent  the  Sikhs  turning  upon  himself,  or 
contending  with  one  another,  he  must  regularly  engage 
them  in  conquest  and  remote  warfare.  The  first  poli- 
tical system  of  the  emancipated  Sikhs  had  crumbled  to 
pieces,  partly  through  its  own  defects,  partly  owing 
to  its  contact  with  a  well-ordered  and  civilized  govern- 
ment, and  partly  in  consequence  of  the  ascendancy  of 
one  superior  mind.  The  'Misals'  had  vanished,  or  were 
only  represented  by  Ahluwalia  and  Patiala  (or  Phul- 
kia),  the  one  depending  on  the  personal  friendship  oi 
Ranjit  Singh  for  its  chief,  and  the  other  upheld  in 
separate  portions  by  the  expediency  of  the  English. 
But  Ranjit  Singh  never  thought  his  own  or  the  Sikh 
sway  was  to  be  confined  to  the  Punjab,  and  his  only 
wish  was  to  lead  armies  as  far  as  faith  in  the  Khalsa 
and  confidence  in  his  skill  would  take  brave  and 
believing  men.  He  troubled  himself  not  at  all  with  the 
theory  or  the  practical  niceties  of  administration,  and 
he  would  rather  have  added  a  province  to  his  rule  .than 
have  received  the  assurances  of  his  English  neighbours 
that  he  legislated  with  discrimination  in  commercial 
affairs  and  with  a  just  regard  for  the  amelioration  of 
liis  ignorant  and  fanatical  subjects  of  various  persua- 
sions. He  took  from  the  land  as  much  as  it  could 
readily  yield,  and  he  took  from  merchants  as  much  as 
they  could  profitably  give:  he  put  down  open  maraud- 
ing; the  Sikh  peasantry  enjoyed  a  light  assessment;  no 
local  officer  dared  to  oppress  a  member  of  the  Khalsa; 
and  if  elsewhere  the  farmers  of  revenue  were  resisted 
in  their  tyrannical  proceedings,  they  were  more  likely 
to  be  changed  than  to  be  supported  by  battalions.  He 
did  not  ordinarily  punish  men  who  took  redress  into 
their  own  hands,  for  which,  indeed  his  subordi  ites 
were  prepared,  and  which  they  guarded  against  as  they 
could.  The  whole  wealth  and  the  whole  energies  of 
the  people  were  devoted  to  war,  and  to  the  preparation 
of  military  means  and  equipment.  The  system  is  that 
common  to  all  feudal  governments,  and  it  gives  much 


152  HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS  chap,  vi 

1821.  scope  to   individual    ambition,  and    tends   to   produce 

independence  of  character.  It  suited  the  mass  of  the 
Sikh  population;  they  had  ample  employment,  they 
loved  contention,  and  they  were  pleased  that  city  after 
city  admitted  the  supremacy  of  the  Khalsa  and  ena- 
bled them  to  enrich  their  families.  But  Ranjit  Singh 
never  arrogated  to  himself  the  title  or  the  powers  of 
despot  or  tyrant.  He  was  assiduous  in  his  devotions; 
he  honoured  men  of  reputed  sanctity,  and  enabled  them 
to  practise  an  enlarged  charity;  he  attributed  every 
success  to  the  favour  of  God,  and  he  styled  himself  and 
people  collectively  the  'Khalsa',  or  commonwealth  of 
Gobind.  Whether  in  walking  barefooted  to  make  his 
obeisance  to  a  collateral  representative  of  his  prophets, 
or  in  rewarding  a  soldier  distinguished  by  that  symbol 
of  his  faith,  a  long  and  ample  beard,  or  in  restraining 
the  excesses  of  the  fanatical  Akalis,  or  in  beating  an 
army  and  acquiring  a  province,  his  own  name  and  his 
own  motives  were  kept  carefully  concealed,  and  every- 
thing was  done  for  the  sake  of  the  Guru,  for  the  advan- 
tage of  the  Khalsa,  and  in  the  name  of  the  Lord.^ 

1  Ranjit  Singh,  in  writing  or  in  talking  of  his  government, 
always  used  the  term  'Khalsa'.  On  his  seal  he  wrote,  as  any 
Sikh  usually  writes,  his  name,  with  the  prefix  'Akal  Sahai',  that 
is,  for  instance,  'God  the  helper,  Ranjit  Sihgh' — an  inscription 
strongly  resembling  the  'God  with  us'  of  the  Commonwealth  of 
England.  Professor  Wilson  (Journal  Royal  Asiatic  Society.  No. 
xvii,  p.  51)  thus  seems  scarcely  justified  in  saying  that  Ranjit 
Singh  deposed  Nanak  and  Gobind,  and  the  supreme  ruler  of 
the  universe,  and  held  himself  to  be  the  impersonation  of  the 
Khalsa  ! 

With  respect  to  the  abstract  excellence  or  moderation,  or 
the  practical  efficiency  or  suitableness  of  the  Sikh  government, 
opinions  will  always  differ,  as  they  will  about  all  other  govern- 
ments. It  is  not  simply  an  unmeaning  truism  to  say  that  the 
Sikh  government  suited  the  Sikhs  well,  for  such  a  degree  of 
fitness  is  one  of  the  ends  of  all  governments  of  ruling  classes, 
and  the  adaptation  has  thus  a  degree  of  positive  merit.  In 
judging  of  individuals,  moreover,  the  extent  and  the  peculia- 
rities of  the  civilization  of  their  times  should  be  remembered, 
and  the  present  condition  of  the  Punjab  shows  a  combination 
of  the  characteristics  of  rising  mediaeval  Europe  and  of  the 
decaying  Byzantine  empire — semi-barbarous  in  either  light, 
but  possessed  at  once  of  a  native  youthful  vigour,  and  of  an 
extraneous  knowledge  of  many  of  the  arts  which  adorn  life  in 
the  most  advanced  stages  of  society. 

The  fact,  again,  that  a  city  like  Amritsar  is  the  creation 
of  the  Sikhs  at  once  refutes  many  charges  of  oppression  or 
misgovernment,  and  Col.  Francklin  only  repeats  the  general 
opinion  of  the  time  when  he  says  (Life  of  Shah  Alam,  p.  77) 
that  the  lands  under  Sikh  rule  were  cultivated  with  great 
assiduity.  Mr.  Masson  could  hear  of  no  complaints  in  Multan 
(Journeys,  i.  30,  398),  and  although  Moorcroft  notices  the 
depressed  condition  of  the  Kashmiris  (Travels,  i.  123)  he  does 


Pathans,    of 
Marathas, 


CHAP.  VI  THE  SIKH  ARMY  163 

In  the  year  1822  the  French  Generals,  Ventura  and  1822. 
AUard,  reached  Lahore  by  way  of  Persia  and  Afgha-  -nT^sikh 
nistan,    and,  after    some    little    hesitation,    they    were  army, 
employed  and  treated  with  distinction.'^     It  has  been 
usual  to  attribute  the  superiority  of  the  Sikh  army  to 
the  labours  of  these  two  officers,  and  of  their  subsequent 
coadjutors,  the  Generals  Court  and  Avitabile;  but,  in  Arrival  of 
truth,  the  Sikh  owes  his  excellence  as  a  soldier  to  his  ^^"'^'^ 
own  hardihood  of  character,  to  that  spirit  of  adaptation  Lahore  1822 
which   distinguishes   every   new   people,    and   to    that  ^^^^^ 
feeling  of  a  common  interest  and  destiny  implanted  lences  of 
in  him  by  his  great  teachers.    The  Rajputs  and  Pathans  the  sikhs 
are  valiant  and  high-minded  warriors:  but  their  pride  as  soldiers, 
and  their  courage  are  personal  only,  and  concern  them  character- 
as  men  of  ancient  family  and  noble  lineage;  they  will  istics  of 
do    nothing    unworthy    of  their    birth,    but    they    are  ^^^"^^  ^"f 
indifferent  to  the  political  advancement  of  their  race. 
The  efforts   of  the  Marathas,   in   emancipating  them- 
selves from  a  foreign  yoke,  were  neither  guided  nor 
strengthened  by  any  distinct  hope  or  desire.       Thej'- 
became  free,  but  knew  not  how  to  remain  independent, 
and  they  allowed   a   crafty   Brahman  -   to   turn   their 

not  notice  the  circumstance  of  a  grievous  famine  having 
occurred  shortly  before  his  visit,  which  drove  thousands  of  the 
people  to  the  plains  of  India,  and  he  forgets  that  the  valley 
had  been  under  the  sway  of  Afghan  adventurers  for  many 
years,  the  severity  of  whose  rule  is  noticed  by  Forster  (Travels, 
ii.  26,  &c.).  The  ancestors  of  the  numerous  families  of  Kashmiri 
Brahmans,  now  settled  in  Delhi,  Lucknow,  Scc,  were  likewise 
refugees  from  Afghan  oppression;  and  it  is  curious  that  the 
consolidation  of  Ran  jit  Singh's  power  should  have  induced 
several  of  these  families  to  repair  to  the  Punjab,  and  even  to 
return  to  their  original  country.  This,  notwithstanding  the 
Hinduism  of  the  Sikh  faith,  is  still  somewhat  in  favour  of  Sikh 
rule. 

1  Murray,  Ranjit  Singh,  p.  131,  &c. 

-  [The  reference  is  to  Nana  Farnavis,  who  became  Prime 
Minister  of  the  Peshwa  in  1775  and  who  died  in  1800,  having 
exercised  an  extraordinary  influence  over  Maratha  politics 
during  his  years  of  ascendancy.  'He  had  consistently  been 
opposed  to  the  political  progress  of  the  English  as  subversive 
of  Maratha  power,  and  he  objected  to  the  employment  of 
foreign  troops  under  any  conditions;  but  he  was  faithful  to  his 
political  engagements,  and  his  devotion  to  the  maintenance  of 
the  honour  of  his  own  nation  is  attested  by  the  respect  of  all 
his  contemporaries.  The  faithless  materials  with  which  he  had 
to  deal  at  the  close  of  his  life  threw  him  into  intrigues  and 
combinations  for  his  own  preservation  which  would  otherwise 
have  been  avoided  and  left  him  at  liberty  to  continue  the  able 
administration  he  had  conducted  for  twenty-five  years' 
(Meadows  Taylor).  On  the  occasion  of  his  death  the  English 
Resident  at  Poona  wrote:  'With  him  has  departed  all  the 
wiMom  and  moderation  of  the  Maratha  Government.'  See 
Grant  Duff,  History  of  the  Marathas,  ed.  1826,  p.  188.— Ed.] 


154 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.  VI 


1822. 


and   of 
Gurkhas. 


Aversion 
of  the  older 
military 
tribes  of 
India  to 
regular 
u.;  cipline, 
with   the 
exception  of 
the  Gurkhas, 
and  parti- 
ally of  the 
Muham- 
madans. 
The  Sikh 
forces  origi- 
nally com- 
posed of 
horsemen 
armed   with 
matchlocks. 
Notices  of 
the  Sikh 
troops',  by 
Forster, 
1783; 


aimless  aspirations  to  his  own  profit,  and  to  found  a 
dynasty  of  'Peshwas'  on  the  achievements  of  unlettered 
Sudras.  Ambitious  soldiers  took  a  further  advantage 
of  the  spirit  called  up  by  Sivaji,  but  as  it  was  not 
sustained  by  any  pervading  religious  principle  of 
action,  a  few  generations  saw  the  race  yield  to  the 
expiring  efforts  of  Muhammadanism,  and  the  Marathas 
owe  their  present  position,  as  rulers,  to  the  intervention 
of  European  strangers.  The  genuine  Maratha  can 
scarcely  be  said  to  exist,  and  the  two  hundred  thousand 
spearmen  of  the  last  century  are  once  more  shepherds 
and  tillers  of  the  ground.  Similar  remarks  apply  to 
the  Gurkhas,  that  other  Indian  people  which  has  risen 
to  greatness  in  latter  times  by  its  own  innate  power, 
unmingled  with  religious  hope.  They  became  masters, 
but  no  peculiar  institution  formed  the  landmark  of 
their  thoughts,  and  the  vitality  of  the  original  impulse 
seems  fast  waning  before  the  superstition  of  an  ignor- 
ant priesthood  and  the  turbuLence  of  a  feudal  nobility. 
The  difference  between  these  races  and  the  fifth  tribe 
of  Indian  warriors  will  be  ^t  once  apparent.  The  Sikh 
looks  before  him  only,  the  ductility  of  his  youthful 
intellect  readily  receives  the  most  useful  impression, 
or  takes  the  most  advantageous  form,  and  religious 
faith  is  ever  present  to  sustain  him  under  any  adver- 
sity, and  to  assure  him  of  an  ultimate  triumph. 

The  Rajput  and  Pathan  will  fight  as  Pirthi  Raj  and 
Jenghiz  Khan*  waged  war;  they  will  ride  on  horses  in 
tumultuous  array,  and  they  will  wield  a  sword  and 
spear  with  individual  dexterity  :  but  neither  of  these 
cavaliers  will  deign  to  stand  in  regular  ranks  and  to 
handle  the  musket  of  the  infantry  soldier,  although  the 
Muhammadan  has  always  been  a  brave  and  skilful 
server  of  heavy  cannon.  The  Maratha  is  equally 
averse  to  the  European  system,  of  warfare,  and  the  less 
stiffened  Gurkha  has  only  had  the  power  or  the  oppor- 
tunity df  forming  battalions  of  footmen,  unsupported 
by  an  active  cavalry  and  a  trained  artillery.  The  early 
force  of  the  Sikhs  was  composed  of  horsemen,  but  they 
seem  intuitively  to  have  adopted  the  new  and  formi- 
dable matchlock  of  recent  times,  instead  of  their 
ancestral  bows,  and  the  spear  common  to  every  nation. 
Mr.  Forster  noticed  this  peculiarity  in  1783,  and.  the 
advantage  it  gave  in  desultory  warfare.^  In  1805,  Sir 
John  Malcolm  did  not  think  the  Sikh  was  better 
mounted  than  the  Maratha;  -  but,  in  1810,  Sir  David 
Ochterlony  considered  that,  in  the  confidence  of  un- 

1  Forster,  Travels,  i.  332. 

2  Malcolm,  Sketch  of  the  Sikhs,  pp.  150,  151. 


CHAP.  VI  THE  SIKH  ARMY  156 

tried  strength,   his  great  native  courage  would  show  1822. 
him  more  formidable  than  a  follower  of  Sindhia  or  by^ai- 
Holkar,  and  readily  lead  him  to  face  a  battery  of  well-  coim.  i805; 
.erved    guns.^     Thie   peculiar    arm    of  the    contending  and  by 
nations  of  the  last  century  passed  into  a  proverb,  and  ochteriony, 
the  phrase,  the  Maratha  spear,  the  Afghan  sword,  the  ^^i^- 
Sikh  matchlock,    and    the    English    cannon,    is  still  of  character- 
common  repetition;  nor  does  it  gratify  the  pride  of  the  Jstic  arms 
present  masters  of  India  to  hear  their  success  attributed  °^  different 
rather  to  the  number  and  excellence  of  their  artillery,  ctudinr'the 
than  to  that  dauntless  courage  and  firm  array  which  English, 
have  enabled  the  humble  footmen  to  win  most  of  those  The  general 
distant  victories  which  add  glory  to  the  English  name,  importance 
Nevertheless  it  has   always  been  the  object   of  rival  given  to 
powers  to  obtain  a  numerous  artillery;  the  battalions  artillery  by 
of  De  Boigne  would  never  separate  themselves  from  ^^^  mdians. 
their  cannon,  and  the  presence  of  that'  formidable  arm  quencr'of 
is  yet,  perhaps,  essential  to  the  full  confidence  of  the  the  victo- 
British  Sepoy.-  ries  of  the 

Ranjit  Singh  said  that,  in  1805,  he  went  to  see  the  English. 
order  of  Lord  Lake's  army,"  and  it  is  known  that  in  Ranjit  singh 
1809  he    admired    and    praised    the    discipline    of  Mr.  labours  to 
Metcalfe's  small  escort,  who  repulsed  the  sudden  onset  'J'^''^^''^^ 

^  discipline; 

1  Sir  D.  Ochteriony  to  Government,  1st  Dec.  1810. 
-  This  feeling  is  well  known  to  all  who  have  had  any 
experience  of  Indian  troops.  A  gunner  is  a  prouder  man  than 
a  musketeer:  when  battalions  are  mutinous,  they  will  not  allow 
strangers  to  approach  their  guns,  and  the  best-dispositioned 
regiments  will  scarcely  leave  them  in  the  rear  to  go  into  action 
unencumbered,  an  instance  of  which  happened  in  Perron's 
warfare  with  George  Thomas.  (Major  Smith,  Regular  Corps  in 
Indian  Employ,  p.   24.) 

The  ranks  of  the  British  Army  are  indeed  filled  with 
Rajputs  and  Pathans  so  called,  and  alsQ  with  Brahmans;  but 
nearly  all  are  from  the  provinces  of  tne  Upper  Ganges,  the 
inhabitants  of  which  have  become  greatly  modified  in  character 
by  complete  conquest  and  mixture  with  strangers;  and,  while 
they  retain  some  of  the  distinguishing  marks  of  their  races, 
they  are,  as  soldiers,  the  merest  mercenaries,  and  do  not 
possess  the  ardent  and  restless  feeling,  or  that  spirit  of  clanship, 
which  characterize  the  more  genuine  descendants  of  Kshat- 
triyas  and  Afghans.  The  remarks  in  the  text  thus  refer 
especially  to  the  Pathans  of  Rohilkhand  and  Hariana  and 
similar  scattered  colonies,  and  to  the  yeomanry  and  little 
proprietors  of  Rajputana.  [Much  of  this  is  of  course  incorrect 
and  refers  to  the  pre-Mutiny  conditions  of  the  Army.  With  the 
exception  of  a  few  mountain  batteries  the  artillery  is  now 
entirely  in  the  hands  of  British  troops.  -The  Brahman  element 
in  the  Army  has  also  been  greatly  reduced.  At  the  present, 
time  63  per  cent,  of  the  efficient  fighting  forces  of  the  Indian 
Army  came  from  the  Punjab. — Ed.] 

•^  Moorcroft,  Travels,  i.  102.  [The  fact  of  this  visit  having 
been  made  is  also  borne  out  by  a  passage  in  the  Diary  of 
li.  Sohan  Lai.  The  latter  was  Court  Vakil  to  Ranjit  Singh. — Ed  I 


156 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.  VI 


1820. 


and  at 
length    fully 
succeeds 
in  making 
the  Sikhs 
regular  in- 
fantry and 
artillery 
soldiers. 

European 
discipline 
introduced 
into  the 


of  a  body  of  eViraged  Akalis.^  He  began,  after  that 
period,  to  give  his  attention  to  the  formation  of  regular 
infantry,  and  in  1812  Sir  David  Ochterlony  saw  two 
regiments  of  Sikhs,  besides  several  of  Hindustanis, 
drilled  by  men  who  had  resigned  or  deserted  the 
British  service.^  The  next  year  the  Maharaja  talked 
of  raising  twenty-five  battalions,'^  and  his  confidence 
in  discipline  was  increased  by  the  resistance  which  the 
Gurkhas  offered  to  the  British  arms.  He  enlisted  peo- 
ple of  that  nation,  but  his  attention  was  chiefly  given 
to  the  instruction  of  his  own  countrymen,  and  in  1820 
Mr.  Moorcroft  noticed  with  approbation  the  appearance 
of  the  Sikh  foot-soldier.^  Ran  jit  Singh  had  not  got  his 
people  to  resign  their  customary  weapons  and  order 
of  battle  without  some  trouble.  He  encouraged  them 
by  good  pay,  by  personal  attention  to  their  drill  and 
equipment,  and  by  himself  wearing  the  strange  dress, 
and  going  through  the  formal  exercise.-''  The  old  chiefs 
disliked  the  innovation,  and  Desa  Singh  Majithia,  the 
father  of  the  present  mechanic  and  disciplinarian 
Lahna  Singh,  assured  the  companions  of  Mr.  Moorcroft 
that  Multan  and  Peshawar  and  Kashmir  had  all  been 
won  by  the  free  Khalsa  cavalier.''  By  degrees  the 
infantry  service  came  to  be  preferred,  and,  before 
Ranjit  Singh  died,  he  saw  it  regarded  as  the  proper 
warlike  array  of  his  people.  Nor  did  they  give  their 
heart  to  the  musket  alone,  but  were  perhaps  more 
readily  brought  to  serve  guns  than  to  stand  in  even 
ranks  as  footmen. 

Such  was  the  state  of  change  of  the  Sikh  army,  and 
such  were  the  views  of  Ranjit  Singh,  when  Generals 
Allard  and  Ventura  obtained  service  in  the  Punjab. 

1  Murray,  Ranjit  Singh,  p.  68. 

2  Sir  D.  Ochterlony  to  Government,  27th  Feb.  1812. 

3  Sir  D.  Ochterlony  to  Government,  4th  March   1813. 

4  Moorcroft,  Travels,  i.  98.  There  were  at.  that  time,  as 
there  are  still,  Gurkhas  in  the  service  of  Lahore. 

5  The  author  owes  this  anecdote  to  Munshi  Shahamat  Ali, 
otherwise  favourably  known  to  the  public  by  his  book  on  the 
Sikhs  and  Afghans. 

6  Moorcroft,  Travels,  i.  98.  Ranjit  Singh  usually  required 
his  feudatories  to  provide  for  constant  service,  a  horseman  for 
every  500  rupees  which  they  held  in  land,  besides  being  ready 
with  other  fighting-men  on  an  emergency.  This  propqrtion 
left  the  Jagirdar  one-half  only  of  his  estate  untaxed,  as  an 
efficient' horseman  cost  about  250  rupees  annually.  The  Turks 
(Ranke,  Ottoman  Empire,  ed.  1843,  Introd.,  p.  5)  required  a 
horseman  for  the  first  3,000  aspers,  or  50  dollars,  or  say  125 
rupees,  and  an  additional  one  for  every  other  5,000  aspers,  or 
208  rupees.  In  England,  in  the  seventeenth  century,  a  horseman 
was  assessed  on  every  five  hundred  pounds  of  income. 
(Macaulay,.  History  of  England,  i.  29'.) 


CHAP.  VI  RANJIT  SINGH'S  FAMILY  J  57 

They  were  fortunate  in  having  an  excellent  material  I820. 
to  work  with,  and,  like  skilful  officers,  they  made  a  Punjab 
good  use  of  their  means  and  opportunities.    They  gav3  before  the 
a  moderate  degree  of  precision  and  completeness  to  a  arrival  of 
system  already  introduced;  but  their  labours  are  more  ^^'^i'* 
conspicuous  in  French  words  of  command,  in  treble  whosr'ser- 
ranks,  and  in  squares  salient  with  guns,  than  in  the  vices  were 
ardent  courage,  the  alert  obedience,  and  the  long  en-  yet  of  value 
durance     of   fatigue,    which    distinguished    the    Sikh  to  Ranjit 
horsemen   sixty  years  ago,    and  which  pre-eminently  singh,  and 
characterize    the    Sikh    footman    of  the    present    day  ^°"hem-  ^ 
among  the  other  soldiers  of  India. ^    Neither  did  Gene-  selves, 
rals  Ventura  and    Allard,    Court    and    Avitabile,  ever 
assume  to  themselves  the  merit  of  having  created  the 
Sikh  army,  and  perhaps  their  ability  and  independence 
of  character  added  more  to  the  general  belief  in  Euro- 
pean superiority,  than  all  their  instructions  to  the  real 
efficiency  of  the  Sikhs  as  soldiers. 

When  a  boy,  Ranjit  Singh  was  betrothed,  as  has  Ranjit 
been  related,  to  Mehtab  Kaur,  the  daughter  of  Gur-  smgh-s 
bakhsh  Singh,  the    young    heir    of  the    Kanhaya    (or  ^^TfaSy 
Ghani)    chiefship,  who  fell  in  battle  with  his  father  relations. 
Mahan   Singh.     Sada  Kaur,   the   mother   of   the   girl, 
possessed  a  high  spirit  and  was  ambitious  of  power, 
and,  on  the  death  of  the  Kanhaya  leader,  Jai  Singh, 
about  1793,  her  influence  in  the  affairs  of  the  confede- 

1  For  notices  of  this  endurance  of  fatigue,  see  Forster, 
Travels,  i.  332,  333;  Malcolm,  Sketch,  p.  141;  Mr.  Masson, 
Journeys,  i.  433;  and  Col.  Steinbach,  Punjab,  pp.  63,  64. 

The  general  constitution  of  a  Sikh  regiment  was  a 
commandant  and  adjutant,  with  subordinate  officers  to  each 
company.  The  men  were  paid  by  deputies  of  the  'Bakshi',  or 
paymaster;  but  the  rolls  were  checked  by  'Mutasaddis',  or 
clerks,  who  daily  noted  down  whether  the  men  were  absent 
or  present.  To  each  regiment  at  least  one  'Granthi',  or  reader 
of  the  scriptures,  was  attached,  who,  when  not  paid  by  the 
government,  was  sure  of  being  supported  by  the  men.  The 
Granth  was  usually  deposited  near  the  'jhanda',  or  flag,  which 
belonged  to  the  regiment,  and  which  represented  its  head- 
quarters. Light  tents  and  beasts  of  burden  were  allowed  in 
fixed  proportions  to  each  battalion,  and  the  state  also  provided 
two  cooks,  or  rather  bakers,  for  each  company,  who  baked 
the  men's  cakes  after  they  had  themselves  kneaded  them,  or 
who,  in  some  instances,  provided  unleavened  loaves  for  those 
of  their  own  or  an  inferior  race.  In  cantonments  the  Sikh 
soldiers  lived  to  some  extent  in  barracks,  and  not  each  man 
in  a  separate  hut,  a  custom  which  should  be  introduced  into 
the  British  service.  [The  barrack  system  has  been  introduced. 
The  whole  organization  of  the  Sikh  army  under  Ranjit  Singh 
is  of  much  interest.  Quite  recently  some  research  has  been 
initiated  and  is  still  in  progress  upon  the  Sikh  records  in  the 
Secretariat  at  Lahore.  The  result  of  this,  as  far  as  it  concerns 
the  army,  will  be  found  in  the  Appendix,  section  XXXIX. — En.] 


158 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.  VI 


1807-20. 

His  wife, 
Mehtab 
Kaur,  and 
mother-in- 
law,  Sada 
Kaur. 


Sher  Singh 
and  Tara 
Singh,  the 
declared 
sons    of 
Mehtab 
Kaur,  not 
fully  recog- 
nized,  1807. 
Sada   Kaur's 
vexation  of 
.spirit    and 
hostile 
views,  1810. 


Kharak 
Singh  born 
to  Ranjit 
Singh  by 
another 
■wife,  1802. 


racy  became  paramount.  She  encouraged  her  young 
son-in-law  to  set  aside  the  authority  of  his  own  widow 
mother,  and  at  the  age  of  seventeen  the  future  Maha- 
raja is  not  only  said  to  have  taken  upon  himself  the 
management  of  his  affairs,  but  to  have  had  his  mother 
put  to  death  as  an  adultress.  The  support  of  Sada 
Kaur  was  of  great  use  to  Ranjit  Singh  in  the  beginning 
of  his  career,  and  the  cooperation  of  the  Kanhaya  Misal 
mainly  enabled  him  to  master  Lahore  and  Amritsar. 
Her  hope  seems  to  have  been  that,  as  the  grandmother 
of  the  chosen  heir  of  Ranjit  Singh,  and  as  a  chieftainess 
in  her  own  right,  she  would  be  able  to  exercise  a  com- 
manding influence  in  the  affairs  of  the  Sikhs;  but  her 
daughter  was  childless,  and  Ranjit  Singh  himself  was 
equally  able  and  wary.  In  1807  it  was  understood  that 
Mehtab  Kaur  was  pregnant,  and  it  is  believed  that  she 
was  really  delivered  of  a  daughter;  but,  on  Ranjit 
Singh's  return  from  an  expedition,  he  was  presented 
with  two  boys  as  his  offspring.  The  Maharaja  doubted  : 
and  perhaps  he  always  gave  credence  to  the  report 
that  Sher  Singh  was  the  son  of  a  carpenter,  and  Tara 
Singh  the  child  of  a  weaver,  yet  they  continued  to  be 
brought  up  under  the  care  of  their  reputed  grand- 
mother, as  if  their  parentage  had  been  admitted.  But 
Sada  Kaur  perceived  that  she  could  obtain  no  power 
in  the  names  of  the  children,  and  the  disappointed 
woman  addressed  the'  English  authorities  in  1810,  and 
denounced  her  son-in-law  as  having  usurped  her  rights, 
and  as  resolved  on  war  with  his  new  allies.  Her 
communications  received  some  attention,  but  she  was 
unable  to  organize  an  insurrection,  and  she  became  in 
a  manner  reconciled  to  her  position.  In  1820,  Sher 
Singh  was  virtually  adopted  by  the  Maharaja,  with  the 
aoparent  object  of  finally  setting  aside  the  power  of 
his  mother-in-law.  She  was  required  to  assign  half  of 
the  lands  of  the  Kanhaya  chiefship  for  the  mainten- 
ance of  the  youth;  but  she  refused,  and  she  was  in 
consequence  seized  and  imprisoned,  and  her  whole 
possessions  confiscated.  The  little  estate  of  Whadni,  to 
the  south  of  the  Sutlej,  was  however  restored  to  her 
through  British  intervention,  as  has  already  been 
mentioned.^ 

Ranjit  Singh  was  also  betrothed,  when  a  boy,  to 
the  daughter  of  Khazan  Singh,  a  chief  of  the  Nakkais 
confederacy,  and  by  her  he  had  a  son  in  the  year  1802, 
who  was  named  Kharak  Singh,  and  brought  up  as  his 

1  Cf.  Murray,  Ranjit  Singh,  pp.  46-51,  63,  127,  128,  134,  135. 
See  also  Sir  D.  Ochterlony  to  Government,  1st  and  10th  Dec. 
1810,  and  p.  144  of  this  volume. 


CHAP.  VI         RANJIT  SINGH'S  FAILINGS  159 

heir.    The  youth  was  married,  in  the  year  1812,  to  the  i802-2i_ 

daughter  of  a  Kanhaya  leader,  and  the  nuptials  were 

celebrated  amid  many  rejoicings.  In  1816  the  Maharaja 

placed  the    mother    under    some    degree    of    restraint 

owing  to  her  mismanagement  of  the  estates  assigned 

for  the  maintenance  of  the  prince,  and  he  endeavoured 

to  rouse  the  spirit  of  his  son  to  exertion  and  enterprise; 

but  he  was  of  a  weak  and  indolent  character,  and  the  ^^^  ^^^^^ 

attempt  was  vain.    In  the  year  1821  a  son  was  born  to  smgn  born 

Kharak  Singh,  and  the  child,  Nau  Nihal  Singh,  soon  to  Kharak 

came  to  be  regarded  as  the  heir  of  the  Punjab.^  singh.  i82i. 

Such  were  the  domestic  relations  of  Ranjit  Singh,  Ranjit 
but  he  shared  largely  in  the  opprobrium  heaped  upon  Singh's  per- 
his  countrymen  as  the  practisers  of  every  immorality,  ^^^^JJ^gg^"' 
and  he  is  not    only    represented    to    have    frequently  ^°^  intem- 
indulged  in  strong  drink,  but  to  have  occasionally  out-  perance,  in 
raged  decency  by  appearing  in  public  inebriated,  and  connexion 
surrounded  with  courtesans.-     In  his  earlier  days  one  with  the 
of  these  women,  named  Mohra,  obtained  a  great  ascen-  ^^^^^^^^ 
dancy  over  him,  and,  in  1811,  he  caused  coins  or  medals  retributed 
to  be  struck  bearing  her  name;  but  it  would  be  idle  to  to  the  mass 
regard  Ranjit  Singh  as  an  habitual  drunkard  or  as  one  of  the  sikh 
greatly  devoted  to  sensual  pleasures;  and  it  would  be  people, 
equally  unreasonable  to  believe  the  mass  of  the  Sikh 
people  as  wholly   lost   to    shame,    and  as    revellers  in 
every  vice  which  disgraces  hunjanity.     Doubtless  the 
sense  of  personal  honour  and  of  female  purity  is  less 
high  among  the  rude  and  ignorant  of  every  age,  than 
among  the  informed  and  the  civilized;  and  when  the 
whole  peasantry  of  a  country  suddenly  attain  to  power 
and  wealth,  and  are  freed  from  many  of  the  restraints 
of    society,    an    unusual    proportion    will    necessarily 
resign  themselves  to  the  seductions  of  pleasure,  and 
freely  give  way  to  their  most  depraved  appetites.  But 
such  excesses  are  nevertheless  exceptional  to  the  gene- 
ral usage,  and  those  who  vilify  the  Sikhs  at  one  time, 
and  describe  their  long  and  rapid  marches  at  another, 
should   remember  the  contradiction,   and  reflect  that 
what  common-sense    and    the    better    feelings    of  our 
nature   have    always    condemned,    can    never    be    the 
ordinary  practice  of  a  nation.    The  armed  defenders  of 
a  country  cannot  be  kept  under  the  same  degree  of 
moral  restraint  as  ordinary  citizens,  with  quiet  habits, 
fixed  abodes,  and  watchful  pastors,  and  it  is  illogical 
to  apply  the  character  of  a  few  dissolute  chiefs  and 
licentious  soldiers  to  the  thousands  of  hardy  peasants 
and  industrious  mechanics,  and  even  generally  to  that 

1  Cf.  Murray,  Ranjit  Singh,  pp.  48,  53,  90,  91,  112,  129. 
2Cf.  Murray,  Ranjit  Singh,  p.  85. 


160 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.  VI 


1802-21. 


Ran  jit 
Singh's  fa- 
vourites. 


Khushal 
Singh,  a 
Brahman, 

ion-20. 


body  of  brave  and  banded  men  which  furnishes  the 
most  obvious  examples  of  degradation.^  The  husband- 
man of  the  Punjab,  as  of  other  provinces  in  Upper 
India,  is  confined  to  his  cakes  of  millet  or  wheat  and 
to  a  draught  of  water  from  the  well;  the  soldier  fares 
not  much  better,  and  neither  indulge  in  strong  liquors, 
except  upon  occasions  of  rejoicing.  The  indolent  man 
of  wealth  or  station,  or  the  more  idle  religious  fanatic, 
may  seek  excitement,  or  a  refuge  from  the  vacancy  of 
his  mind,  in  drugs  and  drink;  but  expensiveness  of  diet 
is  rather  a  Muhammadan  than  an  Indian  characteristic, 
and  the  Europeans  carry  their  potations  and  the  plea- 
sures of  the  table  to  an  excess  unknown  to  the  Turk 
and  Persian,  and  which  greatly  scandalize  the  frugal 
Hindu.- 

Yet  Ran  jit  Singh  not  only  yielded  more  than  was 
becoming  to  the  promptings  of  his  appetites,  but,  like 
all  despots  and  solitary  authorities,  he  laid  himself 
open  to  the  charge  of  extravagant  partiality  and  favou- 
ritism. He  had  placed  himself  in  some  degree  in 
opposition  to  the  whole  Sikh  people;  the  free  followers 
of  Gobind  could  not  be  the  observant  slaves  of  an 
equal  member  of  the  Kh'alsa,  and  he  sought  for 
strangers  whose  applause  would  be  more  ready  if  less 
sincere,  and  in  whom  he  could  repose  some  confidenje 
as  the  creatures  of  his  favour.  The  first  who  thus  rose 
to  distinction  was  Khushal  Singh,  a  Brahman  from 
near  Saharanpur,  who  enlisted  in  one  of  the  first  raised 
regiments,  and  next  became  a  runner  or  footman  on 
the  Maharaja's  establishment.  He  attracted  Ranjit 
Singh's  notice,  and  was  made  Jamadar  of  the  Devni, 

1  Col.  Steinbach  (Punjab,  pp.  76,  77)  admits  general 
simplicity  of  diet,  but  he  also  makes  some  revolting  practices 
universal.  Capt.  Murray  (Ranjit  Singh,  p.  85)  and  Mr.  Masson 
(Journeys,  i.  435)  are  likewise  somewhgt  sweeping  in  their 
condemnations,  and  even  Mr.  Elphinstone  (Historij  of  India, 
ii.  565)  makes  the  charge  of  culpable  devotion  to  sensual 
pleasures  very  comprehensive.  The  morals,  or  the  manners,  of 
a  people,  however,  should  not  be  deduced  from  a  few  examples 
of  profligacy;  but  the  Indians  equally  exaggerate  with  regard 
to  Europeans,  and,  in  pictorial  or  pantomimic  pieces,  they 
usually  represent  Englishmen  drinking  and  swearing  in  the 
society  of  courtesans,  and  as  equally  prompt  to  use  their 
weapons  with  or  without  a  reason. 

-  Forster  (Travels,  i.  333)  notices  the  temperance  of  the 
Sikhs,  and  their  forbearance  from  many  enervating  sensual 
pleasures,  and  he  quotes,  he  thinks,  Col.  Poller  to  a  similar 
effect.  Malcolm  (Sketch,  p.  141)  likewise  describes  the  Sikhs 
as  hardy  and  simple;  but,  doubtless,  as  the  power  of  the 
nation  has  increased  since  these  times,  luxuries  and  vicious 
pleasures  have,  in  numerous  instances,  followed  wealth  and 
indolence. 


CHAP.  VI      RAN  JIT  SINGH'S  FAVOURITES  161 

or  master  of  the  entry,  about  the  year  1811.    His  bro-  1802-21^ 
ther  seemed  likely  to   supplant  him,   but  his  refusal 
to  become  a  Sikh  favoured  Khushal  Singh's  continu- 
ance in  power,  until  both  yielded  to  the  Jammu  Raj-  '^^^  '^si- 
puts  in  the  year  1820.    Gulab  Singh,  the  eldest  of  three  J"^^^^ 
sons,  claimed  that  his  grandfather  was  the  brother  of  iggo    "' 
the  well-known  Ranjit  Deo;  but  the  family  was  perhaps 
illegitimate,  and  had  become  impoverished,  and  Gulab 
Singh  took  service  as  a  horseman  in  a  band  commanded 
by  Jamadar  Khushal  Singh.     He  sent  for  his  second 
brother,  Dhian  Singh,  and  then,  again  like  the  reigning 
favourite,  they  both  became  running    footmen    under 
Ranjit  Singh's    eye.     Their    joint    assiduity,    and    the 
graceful  bearing  of  the  younger  man,  again  attracted 
the  Maharaja's  notice,  and  Dhian  Singh  speedily  took 
the  place  of  the  Brahman  chamberlain,  without,  how- 
ever,  consigning  him  to  neglect,  for  he  retained   his 
estates    and    his  position    as    a  noble.     Gulab    Singh 
obtained  a  petty  command  and  signalized  himself  by 
the  seizure   of  the  turbulent  Muhammadan   Chief  of 
Rajauri.     Jammu  was  then  conferred  in  jagir  or  fief 
upon  the  family,  and  the    youngest    brother.    Suchet 
Singh,  as  well  as  the  two  elder,  were  one  by  one  raised 
to  the  rank  of  Raja,  and  rapidly  obtained  an  engrossing 
and  prejudicial  influence  in  the  counsels  of  the  Maha- 
raja, excepting,  perhaps,  in  connexion  with  his  Eng- 
lish relations,  the  importance  of  which  required  and 
obtained  the  exercise  of  his  own  unbiassed  opinion. 
The  smooth  and  crafty    Gulab    Singh    ordinarily    re- 
mained in  the  hills,  using  Sikh  means  to  extend  his 
own  authority  over  his  brother  Rajputs,  and  eventually 
into  Ladakh;  the  less  able,  but  more  polished,  Dhian 
Singh,  remained  continually  in   attendance  upon  the 
Maharaja,  ever  on  the  watch,  in  order  that  he  might 
anticipate  his  wishes;  while  the  elegant  Suchet  Singh  Ranjit 
fluttered  as  a  gay  courtier  and  gallant  soldier,  without  Singh's 
grasping  at  power  or  creating  enemies.     The  nominal  <^hosen 
fakir  or  devotee,  the  Muhammadan  Aziz-ud-din,  never  ^^''^3'^*^.  . 
held  the  place  of  an  ordinary  favourite,  but  he  attached  ud-din. 
himself  at  an  early  period  to  Ranjit  Singh's  person,  and 
was  honoured  and  trusted  as  one  equally  prudent  and 
faithful;  and,  during  the  ascendancy  both  of  Khushal 
Singh  and  Dhian  Singh,  he  was  always  consulted,  and 
invariably  made  the  medium  of  communication  with 
the    British    authorities.     The    above    were    the    most 
conspicuous  persons  in  the  Lahore  court;  but  the  mind 
of  Ranjit  Singh  was    never    prostrate    before    that    of 
others,   and  ne  conferred  the  government  of  Multan  Diwan 
on  the  discreet  Sawan  Mai,  and  rewarded  the  military  sawan  Mai. 


162 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.  VI 


1802-21. 

Hari   Singh 

Nalwa. 

Fateh 

Singh  Ah- 

luwalia. 

Desa  Singh 

Majithia. 


talents  and  genuine  Sikh  feelings  of  Hari  Singh  Nalwa 
by  giving  him  the  command  on  the  Peshawar  frontier; 
while  his  ancient  companion,  Fateh  Singh  Ahluwalia, 
remained,  with  increased  wealth,  the  only  representa- 
tive of  the  original  'Misals',  and  Desa  Singh  Majithia 
enjoyed  the  Maharaja's  esteem  and  confidence  as  gov- 
ernor of  Amritsar  and  of  the  Jullundur  Doab.' 

1  Cf.  Murray,  Ranjit  Singh,  pp.  84,  113,  125,  147;  Munshi 
Shahamat  All's  Sikhs  and  Afghans,  chaps,  iv  and  vii;  and, 
with  regard  to  Aziz-ud-din  and  Desa  Singh,  see  Moorcroft, 
Travels,  i.  94,  98,  110,  &c.  Lieut.-Col.  Lawrence's  work,  The 
Adventurer  in  the  Punjab,  and  Capt.  Osborne's  Court  and 
Camp  of  Ranjit  Singh,  likewise  contain  some  curious  information 
about  the  Maharaja's  chiefs  and  favourites;  and  the  author  has 
had  the  further  advantage  of  referring  to  a  memorandum  on 
the  subject,  drawn  up  by  Mr.  Clerk  for  Lord  Ellenborough. 
Mohkam  Chand  has  already  been  alluded  to  (see  ante,  p.  136), 
and  the  Brahman  Diwan  Chand  may  also  be  mentioned.  He 
was  the  real  commander  when  Multan  was  stormed,  and  he 
led  the  advance  when  Kashmir  was  at  last  seized.  Of  genuine 
Sikhs,  too,  Mit'h  Singh  Behrania  was  distinguished  as  a  brave 
and  generous  soldier. 


CHAPTER    VII 

FROM  THE  ACQUISITION  OF  MULTAN,  KASHMIR, 
AND  PESHAWAR,  TO  THE  DEATH  OF  RANJIT 
SINGH 

1824-39 

Changed  Relations  of  the  EngUsh  and  Sikhs— Miscellaneous 
Transactions — Capt.  Wade,  the  Political  Agent  for  Sikh 
Affairs — The  Jammu  Rajas — Syed  Ahmad  Shah's  Insurrec- 
tion at  Peshawar — The  Fame  of  Ranjit  Singh— The 
Meeting  at  Rupar  with  Lord  William  Bentinck — Ranjit 
Singh's  views  on  Sindh,  and  the  English  Scheme  of 
Navigating  the  Indus— Shah  Shuja's  Expeditioh  of  1833-5, 
and  Ranjit  Singh's  Regular  Occupation  of  Peshawar — 
Ladakh  reduced  by  Raja  Gulab  Singh— Ranjit  Singh's 
Claims  on  Shikarpur  and  designs  on  Sindh  crossed  by  the 
Commercial  Policy  of  the  English — The  connexion  of  the 
English  with  the  Barakzais  of  Afghanistan — Dost 
Muhammad  retires  before  Ranjit  Singh — The  Sikhs 
defeated  by  the  Afghans — The  Marriage  of  Nau  Nihal 
Singh — Sir  Henry  Fane — The  English,  Dost  Muhammad, 
and  the  Russians,  and  the  Restoration  of  Shah  Shuja — 
Ranjit  Singh  feels  curbed  by  the  English — The  Death  of 
Ranjit  Singh. 

Ranjit  Singh  had   brought    Peshawar    under    his  1823 
sway,  but  the  complete  reduction  of  the  province  was  change  m 
yet  to  cost  him  an  arduous  warfare  of  many  years.  He  the  posi- 
had  become  master  of  the  Punjab  almost  unheeded  by  tion  of  the 
the  English;  but  the  position  and  views  of  that  people  ^^^^^  ^^la- 
had  changed    since   they    asked    his    aid    against   the  **^^^^  *°. 
armies  of  Napoleon.    The  Jumna  and  the  sea-coast  of  2t^er^"he^^ 
Bombay  were  no  longer  the  proclaimed  limits  of  their  year  1823. 
empire;  the  Narbada  had  been  crossed,  the  states  of 
Rajputana  had  been  rendered  tributary,  and,  w^ith  the 
laudable  design  of    diffusing    wealth    and    of    linking 
remote  provinces   together  in  thfe  strong   and  useful 
bonds  of  commerce,  they  were  about  to  enter  upon 
schemes  of  navigation  and  of  trade,  which  caused  them 
to  deprecate  the  ambition  of  the  king  of  the  Sikhs,  and 
led  them,  by  sure  yet  unforeseen  steps,  to  absorb  his 
dominion  in  their  own,  and  to  grasp,  perhaps  inscrut- 
ably to    chasten,    with    the    cold    unfeeling    hand    of 
worldly  rule,  the  youthful  spirit  of  social  change  and 
religious  reformation  evoked  by  the  genius  of  Nanak 
and  Gobind. 


164 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.   VII 


1824-5. 

Miscel- 
laneous 
trans- 
actions, 
1824-5 
Peshawar. 


Nepal. 


Sind. 
Bharatpur. 


Fateh 
Singh  the 
Ahluwalia 
chief. 


In  the  year  1824,  the  turbulent  Muhammadan 
tribes  on  either  side  of  the  Indus  above  Attock  arose 
in  rebellion,  and  the  Sikh  General,  Hari  Singh,  received 
a  severe  check.  The  Maharaja  hastened  by  forced 
marches  to  that  quarter,  and  again  forded  the  rapid, 
stony-bedded  Indus;  but  the  mountaineers  dispersed 
at  his  approach,  and  his  display  of  power  was  hardly 
rewarded  by  Yar  Muhammad  Khan's  renewed  pro- 
testations of  allegiance.^  In  1825  Ranjit  Singh's  atten- 
tion was  amused  with  overtures  from  the  Gurkhas, 
who  forgot  his  former  rivalry  in  the  overwhelming 
greatness  of  the  English;  but  the  precise  object  of  the 
Nepalese  did  not  transpire,  and  the  restless  spirit  of 
the  Sikh  chief  soon  led  him  to  the  Chenab,  with  the 
design  of  seizing  Shikarpur.-  The  occurrence  of  a 
scarcity  in  Sind,  and  perhaps  the  rumours  of  the  hostile 
preparations  of  the  English  against  Bharatpur,^  induced 
him  to  return  to  his  capital  before  the  end  of  the  year. 
The  Jot  usurper  of  the  Jumna  asked  his  brother  Jat 
of  the  Ravi  to  aid  him;  but  the  Maharaja  acted  to  dis- 
credit the  mission,  and  so  satisfied  the  British  authori- 
ties without  compromising  himself  with  the  master  of 
a  fortress  which  had  successfully  resisted  the  disci- 
plined troops  and  the  dreaded  artillery  of  his  neigh- 
bours.^ But  about  the  same  time  Ranjit  Singh  like- 
wise found,  reason  to  distrust  the  possessors  of  strong- 
holds; and  Fateh  Singh  Ahluwalia  was  constrained  by 
his  old  brother  in  arms  to  leave  a  masonry  citadel  un- 
finished, and  was  further  induced  by  his  own  fears  to 
fly  to  the  south  of  the  Sutlej.  He  was  assured  of 
English  protection  in  his  ancesti"al  estates  in  the  Sir- 
hind  province,  but  Ranjit  Singh,  remembering  perhaps 
the  joint  treaty  with  Lord  Lake,  earnestly  endeavoured 
to  allay  the  fears  of  the  fugitive,  and  to  recall  a  chief 
so  da*ngerous  in  the  hands  of  his  allies.    Fateh  Singh 

1  Capt.  Murray,  Ranjit  Singh,  pp.  141,  142. 

2  Agent  at  Delhi  to  Capt.  Murray,  18th  March  1825,  and 
Capt.  Murray  in  reply,  28th  March.  Cf.  also  Murray,  Ranjit 
Singh,  p.  144. 

^  [This  famous  fortress  was  besieged  by  the  English  forces 
(20,000  men  and  100  guns)  on  10th  Dec.  1825,  and  fell  on  18th 
Jan.  1826.  Its  capture  made  a  great  impression,  as  it  had  been 
deemed  impregnable.  The  operations  were  under  the  direction 
of  Lord  Combermere,  the  Commander-in-Chief  who,  as  Sir 
Stapleton  Cotton,  had  fought  under  Wellington  in  the 
Peninsula. — ^Ed.] 

4  Capt.  Murray  to  the  Resident  at  Delhi,  1st  and  3rd  Oct. 
1825,  and  Capt.  Wade  to  Capt.  Murray,  5th  Oct.  1825.  Capt. 
Wade,  however,  in  the  printed  Narrative  of  his  Services,  p.  7, 
represents  Ranjit  Singh  as  pausing  to  take  advantage  of  any 
disasters  which  might  befall  the  English. 


CHAP.  VII  CAPTAIN  WADE  165 

returned  to  Lahore    in  1827;    he    was    received    with  i827._ 
marked  honour,  and  he  was  confirmed  in  nearly  all  his 
possessions.^ 

Towards  the  end  of  1826,  Ranjit  Singh  was  attack-  Ranjit 
ed  with  sickness,  and  he  sought  the  aid  of  European  ^'^^sh  fails 
skill.  Dr.  Murray,  a  surgeon  in  the  British-Indian  army,  g^g^^ed  ^ 
was  sent  to  attend  him,  and  Jie  remained  at  Lahore  for  ^y  an 
some  time,  although  the  Maharaja  was  more  disposed  English 
to  trust  to  time  and  abstinence,  or  to  the  empirical  surgeon, 
remedies  of  his  own  physicians,  than  to  the  prescribers  ^^^^• 
of  unknown  drugs  and  the  practisers  of  new  ways. 
Ranjit  Singh,  nevertheless,  liked  to  have  his  foreign 
medical  adviser  near  him,  as  one  from  whom  informa- 
tion could  be  gained,  and  whom  it  might  be  advanta-  Anecdotes. 
geous  to  please.     He  seemed  anxious  about  the  pro- 
posed visit  of  Lord  Amherst,   the  Governor-General, 
to  the  northern  provinces;  he  asked  about  the  qualities 
of  the  Burmese  troops,-   and  the   amount   of   money 
demanded  by  the  English  victors  at  the  end  of  the  war 
with  that  people;  he  was  inquisitive  about  the  mutiny 
of  a  regiment  of  Sepoys  at  Barrackpore,  and  he  wished 
to  know  whether  native  troops  had  been  employed  ^^d 
in  quelling  it.^     On  the  arrival   of  Lord  Amherst  at  Amherst. 
Simla,  in  1827,  a  further  degree  of  intimacy  became  Governor- 
inevitable,  a  mission  of  welcome  and  inquiry  was  sent  General, 
to  wait   upon  his  lordship,  and  the  compliment  was  1827. 

1  Resident  at  Delhi  to  Capt.  Murray,  13th  Jan.  1826,  and 
Capt.  Murray,  Ranjit  Singh,  p.  144.  The  old  chief  had,  as  early 
as  1811,  desired  to  be  regarded  as  separately  connected  with 
the  English,  so  fearful  had  he  become  of  his  'turban-brother' 
(Government  to  Sir  D.  Ochterlony,  4th  Oct.  1811.) 

The  Cis-Sutlej  Muhammadan  Chief  of  Mamdot,  formerly 
of  Kasur,  fled  and  returned  about  the  same  time  as  Fateh 
Singh,  for  similar  reasons,  and  after  making  similar  endea- 
vours to  be  recognized  as  an  English  dependant.  (Government 
to  Resident  at  Delhi,  28th  April  1827,  with  correspondence  to 
which  it  relates,  and  cf.  Murray,  Ranjit  Singh,  p.  145.) 

-  [The  Burmese  War  broke  out  on  24th  Feb.  1824  as  the 
result  of  disturbed  relations  going  back  as  far  as  1818.  It  lasted 
till  24th  Feb.  1826,  when,  by  the  Treaty  of  Yandabu,  the 
Burmese  Government  ceded  the  provinces  of  Tenasserim, 
Aracan,  and  Assam,  and  paid  an  indemnity  of  one  million 
sterling. — Ed.] 

■"•  Capt.  Wade  to  the  Resident  at  Delhi,  24th  Sept.  and  30th 
Nov.  1826,  and  1st  Jan.  1827.  Cff.  Murray,  Ranjit  Singh,  p.  145. 
[The  mutiny  at  Barrackpore  was  the  result  of  the  disinclination 
of  the  troops  to  go  on  service  in  Burma.  There  were  three 
native  regiments  at  this  station — 26th,  47th,  and  62nd — and  all 
of  them  became  disaffected.  On  1st  Nov.  1824,  the  47th  broke 
into  open  mutiny.  English  troops  were  sent  to  the  station,  and 
the  47th  were  dispersed  by  artillery  and  the  regiment  was  struck 
off  the  army  list.  The  other  two  regiments  escaped  without 
punishment. — ^Ed.] 


!66 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.   VII 


1827-8. 

Lord  Com- 
bermere, 
the  British 
Command- 
er-in-Chief. 

Capt.  Wade 
made  the 
immediate 
agent  for 
the  affairs 
of  Lahore, 
1827. 


Discussions 

about 

rights  to 

districts 

sou  til   of 

the  Sutlej. 

1827-8. 

Anandpur, 

Whadni. 

Feroze- 

pore,  &c. 


returned  by  the  deputation  of  Capt.  Wade,  the  British 
frontier  authority,  to  the  Maharaja's  court. ^  During 
the  following  year  the  English.  Commander-in-Chief 
arrived  at  Ludhiana,  and  Ranjit  Singh  sent  an  agent 
to  convey  to  him  his  good  wishes;  but  an  expected  invi- 
tation, to  visit  the  strongholds  of  the  Punjab  was  not 
given  to  the  captor  of  Bharatpur.- 

The  little  business  to  be  transacted  between  the 
British  and  Sikh  governments  was  entrusted  to  the 
management  of  the  Resident  at  Delhi,  who  gave  his 
orders  to  Capt.  Murray,  the  political  agent  at  Ambala, 
who  again  had  under  him  an  assistant,  Capt.  Wade,  at 
Ludhiana,  mainly  in  connexion  with  the  affairs  of  the 
garrison  of  that  place.  When  Capt.  Wade  was  at 
Lahore,  the  Maharaja  expressed  a  wish  that,  for  the 
sake  of  dispatch  in  business,  the  agency  for  his  Cis- 
Sutlej  possessions  should  be  vested  in  the  officer  at 
Ludhiana  subordinate  to  the  resident  at  Delhi,  but 
independent  of  the  officer  at  Ambala.^  This  wish  was 
complied  with;  ^  but  in  attempting  to  define  the  extent 
of  the  territories  in  question,  it  was  found  that  there 
were  several  doubtful  points  to  be  settled.  Ranjit 
Singh  claimed  supremacy  over  Chamkaur,  and  Anand- 
pur Makhowal,  and  other  places  belonging  to  the 
Sodhis,  or  collateral  representatives  of  Guru  Gobind. 
He  also  claimed  Whadni,which,  a  few  years  before,  had 
been  wrested  from  him  on  the  plea  that  it  was  his 
mother-in-law's;  and  he  claimed  Ferozepore,  then  held 

1  Government  to  Capt.  Wade,  2nd  May,  1827. 

2  Murray,  Ranjit  Ranjit,  p.  147.  About  this  time  the 
journeyings  and  studies  of  the  enthusiastic  scholar  Csoma  de 
Koros',  and  the  establishment  of  Simla  as  a  British  post,  had 
made  the  Chinese  of  Tibet  as  curious  about  the  English  in  one 
way  as  Ranjit  Singh  was  in  another.  Thus  the  authorities  at 
Garo  appear  to  have  addressed  the  authorities  of  Bissehir,  an 
English  dependency,  saying,  'that  in  ancient  times  there  was 
no  mention  of  the  "Filingha"  (i.e.  Faranghis  or  Franks),  a  bad 
and  small  people,  whereas  now  many  visited  the  upper 
countries  every  year,  and  had  caused  the  chief  of  Bissehir  to 
make  preparations  for  their  movements.  The  Great  Lama  was 
displeased,  and  armies  had  been  ordered  to  be  watched.  The 
English  should  be  urged  to  keep  within  their  own  limits,  or, 
if  they  wanted  an  alliance,  they  could  go  by  sea  to  Pekin.  The 
people  of  Bissehir  should  not  rely  on  the  wealth  and  the 
expertness  in  warfaring  of  the  English:  the  emperor  was  30 
paktsat  (120  miles)  higher  than  they;  he  ruled  over  the  four 
elements;  a  war  would  involve  the  six  nations  of  Asia  in 
calamities;  the  English  should  remain  within  their  boundaries;' 
— and  so  on,  in  a  ptrain  of  deprecation  and  hyperbole.  (Political 
Agent,  Sabathu,  to  Resident  at  Delhi,  26th  March  1827.) 

3  Capt.  Wade  to  Resident  at  Delhi,  20th  June  1827. 

4  Government  to  Resident  at  Delhi,  4th  Oct.  1827. 


CHAP,  VII  THE  JAMMU  RAJAS  167 

by  a  childless  widow,  and  also  all  the  Ahluwalia  dist-  i828. 
ricts,  besides  others  which  need  not  be  particularized.^ 
The  claims  of  the  Maharaja  over  Ferozepore  and  the 
ancestral  possessions  of  Fateh  Singh  Ahluwalia  were 
rejected;  but  the  British  title  to  supremacy  over 
Whadni  could  no  longer,  it  was  found,  be  maintained. 
The  claims  of  Lahore  to  Chamkaur  and  Anandpur 
Makhowal  were  expediently  admitted,  for  the  British 
right  did  not  seem  worth  maintaining,  and  the  affairs 
of  the  priestly  class  of  Sikhs  could  be  best  managed  by 
a  ruler  of  their  own  faith,-  Ranjit  Singh  disliked  the 
loss  of  Ferozepore,  which  the  English  long  contin;ied 
to  admire  as  a  commanding  position;^  but  the  settle- 
ment generally  was  such  as  seemed  to  lessen  the 
chances  of  future  collision  between  the  two  govern- 
ments. 

Ranjit   Singh's   connexion   with   the   English  thus  Gradual 
became  more  and  more  close,  and  about  the  same  time  ascendancy 
he  began  to  resign  himself  in  many  instances  to  the  g-^gh'^jj^is 
views  of  his  new  favourites  of  Jammu.    The  Maharaja  brothers. 
had  begun  to  notice  the  boyish  promise  of  Hira  Singh,  and  his  son. 
the  son  of  Dhian  Singh,  and  he  may  have  been  equally  1820-8. 
pleased  with  the  native  simplicity,  and  with  the  tutored 
deference,  of  the  child.    He  gave  him  the  title  of  Raja, 
and  his  father,  true  to  the  Indian  feeling,  was  desirous 
of  establishing  the  purity  of  his  descent  by  marrying 
his  son  into  a  family  of  local  power  and  of  spotless  proposed 
genealogy.    The  betrothal  of  a  daughter  of  the  decea-  marriage  of 
sed  Sansar  Chand  of  Kangra  was  demanded  in  the  year  ^jj^  ^^ingh 
1828,  and    the    reluctant    consent    of    the    new    chief, 

Anrudh  Chand,  was  obtained  when  he  unwittingly  had  

put  himself  wholly  in  the  power  of  Dhian  Singh  by  chand,  i828. 

1  Capt.  Wade  to  the  Resident  at  Delhi,  20th  Jan.  1828,  and 
Capt.  Murray  to  the  same,  19th  Feb.  1828. 

In  the  case  of  Ferozepore,  Government  subsequently 
decided  (Government  to  Agent  at  Delhi,  24th  Nov.  1838)  that 
certain  collateral  heirs  (who  had  put  in  a  claim)  could  not 
succeed,  as,  according  to  Hindu  law  and  Sikh  usage,  no  right 
of  descent  existed  after  a  division  had  taken  place.  So 
uncertain,  however,  is  the  practice  of  the  English,  that  one  or 
more  precedents  in  favour  of  the  Ferozepore  claimants  might 
readily  be  found  within  the  range  of  cases  connected  with  the 
Sikh  states. 

-  Government  to  the  Resident  at  Delhi,   14th  Nov.   1828. 

3  In  1823  Capt.  Murray  talked  of  the  'strong  and  important 
fortress'  of  Ferozepore  having  been  recovered  by  Ranjit  Singh, 
for  the  widow  proprietress  from  whom  it  had  been  seized  by 
a  claimant  (Capt.  Murray  to  the  Agent  at  Delhi,  20th  July 
1823),  and  the  supreme  authorities  similarly  talked  (Govern- 
ment to  Agent  at  Delhi,  30th  Jan.  1824^  of  the  political  and 
military  advantages  of  Ferozepore  over  Ludhiana. 


into  the 
.'amily    of 
Sansar 


168 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS         chap,  vii 


1829. 


Flight  of 
Sansar 
Chand's 
widow  and 
son. 


Raja  Hira 
Singh's 
marriage, 
1829. 


Insurruc- 
tion   at 
Peshawar 
under  Sai- 
yid  Ahmad 
Shah 

Ghazi,     1827. 
History    of 
the  Saiyid. 


His  doc- 
trines of 
religious 
reform. 


visiting  Lahore  with  his  sisters  for  the  purpose  of 
joining  in  the  nuptial  ceremonies  of  the  gon  of  Fateh 
Singh  Ahluwalia.  The  proposed  degradation  rendered 
the  mother  of  the  girls  more  indignant  perhaps  than 
the  head  of  the  family,  and  she  contrived  to  escape 
with  them  to  the  south  of  the  Sutlej.  Anrudh  Chand 
was  required  to  bring  them  back,  but  he  himself  also 
fled,  and  his  possessions  were  seized.  The  mother 
died  of  grief  and  vexation,  and  the  son  followed  her  to 
the  grave,  after  idly  attempting  to  induce  the  English 
to  restore  him  by  force  of  arms  to  his  little  principalit3^ 
Sarcsar  Chand  had  left  several  illegitimate  children, 
and  in  1829  the  disappointed  Maharaja  endeavoured  to 
obtain  some  revenge  by  marrying  two  of  the  daughters 
himself,  and  by  elevating  a  son  to  the  rank  of  Raja,  and 
investing  him  with  an  estate  out  of  his  father's  chief- 
ship.  The  marriage  of  Hira  Singh  to  a  maiden  of  his 
own  degree  was  celebrated  during  the  same  year  with 
much  splendour,  and  the  greatness  of  Ranjit  Singh's 
name  induced  even  the  chiefs  living  under  British  pro- 
tection to  offer  their  congratulations  and  their  presents 
on  the  occasion.^ 

In  the  meanwhile  a  formidable  insurrection  had 
been  organized  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Peshawar,  by 
an  unheeded  person  and  in  an  unlooked-for  manner. 
One  Ahmad  Shah,  a  Muhammadan  of-  a  family  of 
Saiyids  of  Bareilly  in  Upper  India,  had  been  a  follower 
of  the  great  mercenary  leader,  Amir  Khan,  but  he  lost 
his  employment  when  the  military  force  of  his  chief 
was  broken  up  on  the  successful  termination  of  the 
campaign  against  the  joint  Maratha  and  Pindari 
powers,  and  after  Amir  Khan's  own  recognition  by  the 
English  as  a  dependent  prince.  The  Saiyid  went  to 
Delhi,  and  a  preacher  of  that  city,  named  Abdul  Aziz, 
declared  himself  greatly  edified  by  the  superior  sanc- 
tity of  Ahmad,  who  denounced  the  corrupt  forms  of 
worship  then  prevalent,  and  endeavoured  to.  enforce 
attention  to  the  precepts  of  the  Koran  alone,  without 
reference  to  the  expositions  of  the  early  Fathers.  His 
reputation  increased,  and  two  Maulais,  Ismail  and 
Abdul  Hai,  of  some  learning,  but  doubtful  views, 
attached  themselves  to  the  Saiyid  as  his  humble  dis- 
ciples   and    devoted    followers.^     A    pilgrimage    was 

1  Murray,  Ranjit  Singh,  pp.  147,  148,  and  Resident  at 
Delhi  to  Government,  28th  Oct.  1828. 

-  A  book  was  composed  by  Mauli  Ismail,  on  the  part  of 
Saiyid  Ahmad,  in  the  Urdu,  or  vernacular  language  of  Upper 
India,  at  once  exhortative  and  justificatory  of  his  views.  It  is 
called  the  Takvia-ul-Iman,  or  'Basis  of  the  Faith',  and  it  was 


CHAP.  VII  SAIYID  AHMAD  SHAH  1»>9 

preached  as  a  suitable  beginning  for  all  undertakings,  1822-6. 
and  Ahmad's  journey  to  Calcutta,  in  1822,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  embarkation,  was  one  of  triumph,  although  his 
proceedings  were  little  noticed  until  his  presence  in  a 
large  city  gave  him  numerous  congregations.     He  set  h.s  pUgri- 
sail  for  Mecca  and  Medina,  and  he  is  commonly  be-  mage, 
lieved,  but  without  reason,  to  have  visited  Constanti- 
nople.   After  an  absence  of  four  years  he  returned  to 
Delhi,  and  called  upon  the  faithful  to  follow  him  in  a 
war  against  infidels.    He  acted  as  if  he  meant  by  un- 
believers the  Sikhs  alone,  but  his  precise  objects  are 
imperfectly  understood.    He  was  careful  not  to  offend 
the   English;    but    the   mere    supremacy    of  a    remote 
nation  over  a  wide   and  populous  country  gave  him 
ample  opportunities  for  unheeded  agitation.     In  1826  His  journey 
he  left  Delhi  with   perhaps  five  hundred   attendants,  *'^'^o"Sh 
and  it  was  arranged  that  other  bands  should  follow  in  ^a^sind^ 
succession   under   appointed   leaders.     He  made  some  to  Kanda- 
stay  at  Tonk,  the  residence  of  his  old  master.  Amir  har  and 
Khan,  and  the  son  of  the  chief,  the  present  Nawab,  was  Peshawar, 
enrolled   among   the  disciples  of  the  new  saint.     He 
obtained  considerable    assistance,    at  least    in    money, 

printed  in  Calcutta.  It  is  divided  into  two  portions,  of  which 
the  first  only  is  understood  to  be  the  work  of  Ismail,  the  second 
part  being  inferior,  and  the  production  of  another  person. 

In  the  preface  the  writer  deprecates  the  opinion  'that  the 
wise  and  learned  alone  can  comprehend  God's  word.  God  him- 
self had  said  a  prophet  had  been  raised  up  among  the  rude 
and  ignorant  for  their  instruction,  and  that  He,  the  Lord,  had 
rendered  obedience  easy.  There  were  two  things  essential :  a 
belief  in  the  unity  of  God,  which  was  to  know  no  other,  and 
a  knowledge  of  the  Prophet,  which  was  obedience  to  the  law. 
Many  held  the  sayings  of  the  saints  to  be  their  guide;  but  the 
word  of  God  was  alone  to  be  attended  to,  although  the  writings 
of  the  pious,  which  agreed  with  the  Scriptures,  might  be  read 
for  edification.' 

The  first  chapter  treats  of  the  unity  of  God,  and  in  it  the 
writer  deprecates  the  supplication  of  saints,  angels,  &c.,  as 
impious.  He  declares  the  reasons  given  for  such  worship  to  be 
futile,  and  to  show  an  utter  ignorance  of  God's  word.  'The 
ancient  idolaters  had  likewise  said  that  they  merely  venerated 
powers  and  divinities,  and  did  not  regard  them  as  the  equal 
of  the  Almighty;  but  God  himself  had  answered  these  heath- 
ens. Likewise  the  Christians  had  been  admonished  for  giving 
to  dead  monks  and  friars  the  honour  due  to  the  Lord.  God  is 
alone,  and  companion  he  has  none;  prostration  and  adoration 
are  due  to  him,  and  to  no  other.'  The  writer  proceeds  in  a 
similar  strain,  but  assumes  some  doubtful  positions,  as  that 
Muhammad  says  God  is  one,  and  man  learns  from  his  parents 
that  he  was  born;  he  believes  his  mother,  and  yet  he  distrusts 
the  apostle:  or  that  an  evil-doer  who  has  faith  is  a  better  man 
than  the  most  pious  idolater. 

The  printed  Urdu  Korans  are  eagerly  bought  by  all  who 
can  afford  the  money,  and  who  know  of  their  existence. 


170 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.    VII 


1827-9. 


Rouses  the 
Usufzais  to 
a  religious 
war. 


Saiyid  Ah- 
mad Shah 
fails 
against 
the    Sikhs 
at  Akora, 
1827. 


from  the  youthful  convert,  and  he  proceeded  through 
the  desert  to  Khairpur  in  Sind,  where  he  was  well 
received  by  Mir  Rustam  Khan,  and  where  he  awaited 
the  junction  of  the  'Ghazis',  or  fighters  for  the  faith, 
who  were  following  him.  Ahmad  marched  to  Kanda- 
har, but  his  projects  were  mistrusted  or  misunder- 
stood; he  received  no  encouragement  from  the  Barakzai 
brothers  in  possession,  and  he  proceeded  northward 
through  the  Ghilzai  country,  and  in  the  beginning  of 
1827  he  crossed  the  Kabul  river  to  Panjtar  in  the 
Usufzai  hills,  between  Peshawar  and  the  Indus.^ 

The  Panjtar  family  is  of  some  consequence  among 
the  warlike  Usufzais,  and  as  the  tribe  had  become 
apprehensive  of  the  designs  of  Yar  Muhammad  Khan, 
whose  dependence  on  Ranjit  Singh  secured  him  from 
danger  on  the  side  of  Kabul,  the  Saiyid  and  his  'Ghazis' 
were  hailed  as  deliverers,  and  the  authority  or  supre- 
macy of  Ahmad  was  generally  admitted.  He  led  his 
ill-equipped  host  to  attack  a  detachment  of  Sikhs,  which 
had  been  moved  forward  to  Akora,  a  few  miles  above 
Attock,  under  the  command  of  Budh  Singh  Sindhan- 
wala,  of  the  same  family  as  the  Maharaja.  The  Sikh 
commander  entrenched  his  position,  and  repulsed  the 
tumultuous  assault  of  the  mountaineers  with  conside- 
rable loss,  but  as  he  could  not  follow  up  his  success, 
the  fame  and  the  strength  of  the  Saiyid  continued  to 
increase,  and  Yar  Muhammad  deemed  it  prudent  to 
enter  into  an  agreement  obliging  him  to  respect  the 
territories  of  the  Usufzais.  The  curbed  governor  of 
Peshawar  is  accused  of  a  base  attempt  to  remove 
Ahmad  by  poison,  and,  in  the  year  1829,  the  fact  or  the 
report  was  made  use  of  by  the  Saiyid  as  a  reason  for 
appealing  to  arms.  Yar  Muhammad  was  defeated  and 
mortally  wounded,  and  Peshawar  was  perhaps  saved 


1  Cf.  Murray,  Ranjit  Singh,  pp.  145,  146.  About  Saiyid 
Ahmad,  the  author  has  learnt  much  from  the  'Ghazi's'  brother- 
in-law,  and  from  a  respectable  Mauli,  who  likewise  followed 
his  fortunes,  and  both  of  whom  are  now  in  honourable  employ 
in  the  chiefship  of  Tonk.  He  has  likewise  learnt  many  parti- 
culars from  Munshi  Shahamat  Ali,  and  especially  from  Pir 
Ibrahim  Khan,  a  straightforward  and  intelligent  Pathan  of 
Kasur,  in  the  British  service,  who  thinks  Ahmad  right,  not- 
withstanding the  holy  neighbourhood  of  Pakpattan,  Multan, 
and  Utch  !  Indeed,  most  educated  Muhammadans  admit  the 
reasonableness  of  his  doctrines,  and  the  able  Regent-Begum  of 
Bhopal  is  not  indisposed  to  emulate  the  strictness  of  the  Chief 
of  Tonk,  as  an  abhorrer  of  vain  ceremonies.  Among  humbler 
people  the  Saiyid  likewise  obtained  many  admirers,  and  it  is 
said  that  his  exhortations  generally  were  so  efficacious,  that 
even  the  tailors  of  Delhi  were  moved  to  scrupulously  return 
remnants  of  cloth  to  their  employers  I 


CHAP.  VII  SAIYID  AHMAD  AT  PESHAWAR  i7l 

to  his  brother.  Sultan  Muhammad,  by  the  presence  of  i830. 
a  Sikh  force  under  the  Prince  Sher.  Singh  and  General  But  defeats 
Ventura,  which  had  been  moved  to  that  quarter  under  Yar  mu- 
pretence  of  securing  for  the  Maharaja  a  long-promised  hammad. 
horse  of  famous  breed  named  Laila,  the  match  of  one  J^'.^'^^^'J^^g' 
of  equal   renown  named  Kahar,  which  Ranjit  Singh  1^29!^°" 
had  already  prided    himself    on    obtaining    from    the 
Barakzai  brothers.^ 

The  Sikh  troops  withdrew  to  the  Indus,  leaving  ^""g'^'g^^jj" 
Sultan  Muhammad  Khan  and  his   brothers  to   guard  ^^^^g^  ^^^ 
their  fief  or  dependency  as  they  could,  and  it  would  mdus. 
even  seem  that  Ranjit  Singh  hoped  the  difficulties  of  isso. 
,  their  position,  and  the  insecurity  of  the  province,  would 
justify  its  complete  reduction.-     But  the  influence  of 
;   Saiyid   Ahmad   reached  to   Kashmir,   and   the   moun- 
^  taineers  between  that  valley  and  the  Indus  were  un- 
i)  willing  subjects  of  Lahore.     Ahmad  crossed  the  river 
,  in  June  1830,  and  planned  an  attack  upon  the  Sikh 
]  force  commanded  by  Hari  Singh  Nalwa  and  General 
''  Allard;  but  he  was  beaten  off,  and  forced  to  retire  to  He  is  com- 
i:   the  west  of  the  river.    In  a  few  months  he  was  strong  p^i^^^  ^° 
1;   enough  to  attack   Sultan  Muhammad  Khan;  the  Ba-  ;"3jjg^;,p"„* 
r  rakzai  was  defeated,  and  Peshawar  was  occupied   by  ^^id  routs 
I.   the  Saiyid  and  his  'Ghazis'.    His  elation  kept  pace  with  suitan  mu- 
!t  his  success,  and,  according  to  tradition,  already  busy  hammad 
i  with   his   career,   he   proclaimed   himself   Khalif,   and  Khan,  and 
struck  a  coin   in  the   name   of   'Ahmad   the   Just,   the  p^^JJ^j^^j. 
defender  of  the  faith,  the  glitter  of  whose  sword  scat-  Jg^ 
tereth  destruction  among  infidels'.    The  fall  of  Pesha- 
»i  war  caused  some  alarm  in  Lahore,  and  the  force  on  the 
Indus  was  strengthened,  and  placed  under  the  com- 
,  mand  of  Prince  Sher  Singh.    The  petty  Muhammadan  The  saiyid-s 
:   chiefs    generally,  with    whom    self-interest    overcame  influence 
]   faith,  were  averse  to  the  domination  o?  the  Indian  ad- 
1^   venturer,  and  the  imprudence  of  Saiyid  Ahmad  gave 
;   umbrage  to  his  Usufzai  adherents.       He   had  levied 
from  the  peasants  a  tithe  of  their  goods,  and  this  mea- 
sure caused  little  or  no  dissatisfaction,  for  it  agreed 

1  Cf.  Murray,  Ranjit  Singh,  pp.  146,  149.  The  followers  of 
Saiyid  Ahmad  believe  that  poison  was  administered,  and 
describe  the  'Ghazi'  as  suffering  much  from  its  effects. 

General  Ventura  at  last  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  Laila,  but 
that  the  real  horse,  so  named,  was  transferred,  is  doubtful,  and 
at  one  time  it  was  declared  to  be  dead.  (Capt.  Wade  to  the 
Resident,  Delhi,  17th  May  1829.) 

2  Capt.  Wade  to  the  Resident,  Delhi,  13th  Sept.  1830.  The 
Maharaja  also  reserved  a  cause  of  quarrel  with  the  Barakzais, 
on  account  of  their  reduction  of  the  Khattaks,  a  tribe  which 
Ranjit  Singh  said  Fateh  Khan,  the  Wazir,  had  agreed  to  leave 
independent.  (Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  9th  Dec.  1831.) 


n 


172 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP,  vn 


1831. 


He    relin- 
quishes 
Peshawar, 
1830; 


and  retires 
towards 
Kashmir, 
and  is  sur- 
prised and 
slain.  May 
1831. 


Ranjit 
Singh 
courted  by 
various 
parties. 

The  Balu- 
ch  s. 

Shah  Mah- 
mud. 


with  their  notion  of  the  rights  of  a  religious  teacher;  ! 
but  his  decree  that  all  the  young  women  of  marriage- 
able age  should  be  at  once  wedded,  interfered  with  the 
profits  of  Afghan  parents,  proverbially  avaricious,  and 
who  usually  disposed  of  their  daughters  to  the  wealth- 
iest bridegrooms.  But  when  Saiyid  Ahmad  wa? 
accused,  perhaps  unjustly,  of  assigning  the  maidens 
one  by  one  to  his  needy  Indian  followers,  his  motives 
were  impugned,  and  the  discontent  was  loud.  Early 
in  November  1830  he  was  constrained  to  relinquish 
Peshawar  to  Sultan  Muhammad  at  a  fixed  tribute,  and 
he  proceeded  to  the  left  bank  of  the  Indus  to  give 
battle  to  the  Sikhs.  The  Saiyid  depended  chiefly  on 
the  few  'Ghazis'  who  had  followed  his  fortunes 
throughout,  and  on  the  insurrectionary  spirit  of  the 
Muzalfarabad  and  other  chiefs,  for  his  Usufzai  adhe- 
rents had  greatly  decreased.  The  hill  'khans'  were 
soon  brought  under  subjection  by  the  efforts  of  Sher 
Singh  and  the  governor  of  Kashmir;  yet  Ahmad- con- 
tinued active,  and,  in  a  desultory  warfare  amid  rugged 
mountains,  success  for  a  time  attended  him;  but,  during 
a  cessation  of  the  frequent  conflicts,  he  was  surprised, 
early  in  May  1831,  at  a  place  called  Balakot,  and  fallen 
upon  and  slain.  The  Usufzais  at  once  expelled  his 
deputies,  the  'Ghazis'  dispersed  in  disguise,  and  the 
family  of  the  Saiyid  hastened  to  Hindustan  to  find  an 
honourable  asylum  with  their  friend  the  Nawab  of 
Tonk.i 

The  fame  of  Ranjit  Singh  was  now  at  its  height, 
and  his  friendship  was  sought  by  distant  sovereigns. 
In  1829,  agents  from  Baluchistan  brought  horses  to  the 
Sikh  ruler,  and  hoped  that  the  frontier  posts  of  Harrand 
and  Dajal,  westward  of  the  Indus,  which  his  feudatory 
of  Bahawalpur  had  usurped,  would  be  restored  to  the 
Khan.^  The  Maharaja  was  likewise  in  communication 
with    Shah   Mahmud  of  Herat,^   and   in    1830   he  was 

1  Capt.  Wade  to  Resident  at  Delhi,  21st  March  1831,  and 
other  dates  in  that  and  the  previous  year.  Cf.  Murray,  Ranjit 
Singh,  p.  150.  The  followers  of  the  Saiyid  strenuously  deny  his 
assumption  of  the  title  of  Khalif,  his  new  coinage,  and  his 
bestowal  of  Usufzai  maidens  on  his  Indian  followers. 

2  Capt.  Wade  to  the  Resident  at  Delhi,  3rd  May  1829,  and 
29th  April  1830.  Harrand  was  once  a  place  of  considerable 
repute.  (See  Munshi  Mohan  Lai,  Journal,  under  date  3rd  March 
1836.)  The  Bahawalpur  Memoirs  show  that  the  Nawab  was 
aided  by  the  treachery  of  others  in  acquiring  it.  The  place  had 
to  be  retaken  by  General  Ventura  (as  the  author  learnt  from 
that  officer),  when  Bahawal  Khan  was  deprived  of  his 
territories  west  of  the  Sutlej. 

3  Capt.  Wade  to  Resident  at  Delhi,  21st  Jan.  1829,  and  3rd 
Dec.  1830. 


CHAP.  VII       LORD  WILLIAM  BENTINCK  173 

invited,  by  the  Baiza  Bai  of  Gwalior,  to  honour  the  i83i. 
nuptials  of  the  young  Sindhia  with  his  presence.^  The  The  Baiza 
English  were  at  the  same  time  not  without  a  suspicion  Bai  of 
that  he  had  opened  a  correspondence  with  Russia,-  and  Gwaiior. 
they  were  themselves    about    to  flatter    him    as  one    The  rus- 
necessary  to  the  fulfilment  of  their  expanding  views  sians  and 
of  just  influence  and  profitable  commerce.  *'^*^   'nghsh. 

In  the  beginning  of  1831,  Lord  William  Bentinck,  Lord  Ben- 
the  Governor-General  of  India,  arrived  at  Simla,  and  ^"^'^^^  ^^^ 
a  Sikh  deputation  waited  upon  his  Lordship  to  convey  Ge^er^^at 
to  him  Ranjit   Singh's  complimentary  wishes  for  his  simia, 
own  welfare  and  the  prosperity  of  his  Government.  The  issi. 
increasing  warmth   of  the  season  prevented  the  dis- 
patch of  a  formal  return  mission,  but  Capt.  Wade,  the 
political  agent  at  Ludhiana,  was  made  the  bearer  of  a 
letter  to  the  Maharaja,  thanking  him  for  his  attention. 
The  principal  duty  of  the  agent  was,  however,  to  ascer- 
tain whether  Ranjit  Singh  wished,  and  would  propose, 
to  have  an  interview  with  Lord  William  Bentinck,  for 
it  was  a  matter  in  which  it  was  thought  the  English 
Viceroy  could  not  take  the  initiative.^     The  object  of  a  meeting 
the  Governor-General  was  mainly  to  give  the  world  ^'^°^°1^'^ 
an  impression  of  complete  unanimity  between  the  two  J^l  singh," 
states;  but  the  Maharaja  wished  to  strengthen  his  own  and  desired 
authority,  and  to  lead  the  Sikh  public  to  believe  his  by  both 
dynasty  was  acknowledged  as  the  proper  head  of  the  parties  for 
'Khalsa',  by  the  predominant  English  rulers.    The  able  ^^f^Jf"* 
chief,  Hari  Singh,  was  one  of  those  most  averse  to  the 
recognition  of  the  right  of  the  Prince  Kharak  Singh, 
and  the  heir  apparent  himself  would  seem  to  have  been 
aware  of  the  feelings  of  the  Sikh  people,  for  he  had  the 
year  before  opened  a  correspondence  with  the  Gover- 
nor of  Bombay,  as  if  to  derive  hope  from  the  vague 
lerms  of  a  complimentary  reply.*     Ranjit  Singh  thus 

1  Capt.  Wade  to  Resident  at  Delhi,  7th  April  1830.  The 
Maharaja  declined  the  invitation,  saying  Sindhia  was  not  at 
Lahore  when  his  son  was  married. 

2  Capt.  Wade  to  Resident  at  Delhi,  24th  August  1830. 

3  Government  to  Capt.  Wade,  28th  April  1831,  and  Murray, 
Ranjit  Singh,  p.  162. 

■*  With  regard  to  this  interchange  of  letters,  see  the  Persian 
Secretary  to  the  Political  Secretary  at  Bombay,  6th  July  1830. 

That  Ranjit  Singh  was  jealous,  personally,  of  Hari  Singh, 
or  that  the  servant  would  have  proved  a  traitor  to  the  living 
master,  is  not  probable  :  but  Hari  Singh  was  a  zealous  Sikh 
and  an  ambitious  man,  and  Kharak  Singh  was  always  full  of 
doubts  and  apprehensions  with  respect  to  his  succession  and 
even  his  safety.  Ranjit  Singh's  anxiety  with  regard  to  the 
meeting  at  Rupar,  exaggerated,  perhaps,  by  Mr.  Allard,  may 
be  learnt  from  Mr.  Prinsep's  account  in  Murray,  Ranjit  Singh, 
p.  162.  Col.  Wade  has  informed  the  author  that  the  whole  of 


reasons. 


174 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.   VII 


1831. 


The 

meet 

ing 

at 

Rup 

ar. 

17tli 

July 

1831 

31st 

Oct. 

1831 

Ranjit 
Singh's 
anx.ety 
about  Sind. 


The  scheme 
of   opening 
the  Indus  to 
commerce. 


readily  proposed  a  meeting,  and  one  took  place  at 
Rupar,  on  the  banks  of  the  Sutlej,  in  the  month  of 
October  (1831).  A  present  of  horses  from  the  King 
of  England  had,  in  the  meantime,  reached  Lahore,  by 
the  Indus  and  Ravi  rivers,  under  the  escort  of  Lieut. 
Burnes,  and  during  one  of  the  several  interviews  with 
the  Governor-General,  Ranjit  Singh  had  sought  for  and 
obtained  a  written  assurance  of  perpetual  friendship.' 
The  impression  went  abroad  that  his  family  would  be 
supported  by  the  English  Government,  and  ostensibly 
Ranjit  Singh's  objects  seemed  wholly,  as  they  had  been 
partly,  gained.  But  his  mind  was  not  set  at  ease  about 
Sind:  vague  accounts  had  reached  him  of  some  design 
with  regard  to  that  country;  he  plainly  hinted  his  own 
schemes,  and  observed  the  Amirs  had  no  efficient 
troops,  and  that  they  could  not  be  well  disposed  to- 
wards the  English,  as  they  had  thrown  difficulties  in 
the  way  of  Lieut.  Burnes's  progress.-  But  the  Governor- 
General  would  not  divulge  to  his  inquiring  guest  and 
ally  the  tenor  of  propositions  already  on  their  way  to 
the  chiefs  of  Sind,  confessedly  lest  the  Maharaja  should 
at  once  endeavour  to  counteract  his  peaceful  and  bene- 
ficial intentions.'^  Ranjit  Singh  may  or  may  not  have 
felt  that  he  was  distrusted,  but  as  he  was  to  be  a  party 
to  the  opening  of  the  navigation  of  the  Indus,  and  as  the 
project  had  been  matured,  it  would  have  better  suited 
the  character  and  the  position  of  the  British  Govern- 
ment had  no  concealment  been  attempted. 

The  traveller  Moorcroft  had  been  impressed  with 
the  use  which  might  be  made  of  the  Indus  as  a  channel 
of  British  commerce,^  and  the  scheme  of  navigating 
that  river  and  its  tributaries  was  eagerly  adopted  by 
the  Indian  Government,  and  by  the  advocates  of  mate- 
rial utilitarianism.  One  object  of  sending  King  Wil- 
liam's presents  for  Ranjit  Singh  bv  water  was  to 
ascertain,  as  if  undesignedly,  the  trading  value  of  the 

the  Sikh  chiefs  were  said  by  Ranjit  Singh  himself  to  be  averse 
to  the  meeting  with  the  British  Governor-General. 

1  Murray,  Ranjit  Singh,  p.  166. 

-  Murray,  Ranjit  Singh,  p.  167.  This  opinion  of  Ranjit 
Singh  about  Sindian  troops  may  not  be  pleasing  to  the  victors 
of  Dabo  and  Miani,  although  the  Maharaja  impugned  not  their 
courage,  but  their  discipline  and  equipment.  Shah  Shuja's 
expedition  of  1834,  nevertheless,  served  to  show  the  fairness 
of  Ranjit  Singh's  conclusions. 

•■■Murray,  Ranjit  Singh,  pp.  167,  168.  The  whole  of  the 
tenth  chapter  of  Capt.  Murray's  book,  which  includes  the 
meeting  at  Rupar,  may  be  regarded  as  the  composition  of  Mr. 
Prinsep,  the  Secretarj^  to  Government,  with  the  Governor- 
General. 

4  Moorcroft,  Travels,  ii.   338. 


CHAP.  VII     NAVIGATION  OF  THE  INDUS 


175 


classical  stream,^  and  the  result  of  Lieut.  Burnes's  i83i. 
observations  convinced  Lord  William  Bentinck  of  its 
superiority  over  the  Ganges.  There  seemed  also,  in  his 
Lordship's  opinion,  good  reason  to  believe  that  the 
great  western  valley  had  at  one  time  been  as  populous 
as  that  of  the  east,  and  it  v^^as  thought  that  the  judi- 
cious exercise  of  the  paramount  influence  of  the  British 
Government  might  remove  those  political  obstacles 
which  had  banished  commerce  from  the  rivers  of  Ale- 
xander.- It  was  therefore  resolved,  in  the  current 
language  of  the  day,  to  open  the  Indus  to  the  naviga- 
tion of  the  world. 

Before   the   Governor-General  met  Ranjit  Singh,  proposal 
he  had  directed  Col.  Pottinger  •'•  to  proceed  to  Hydera-  made  to  the 
bad,  to  negotiate  with  the  Amirs  of  Sind  the  opening  sindians 
of  the  lower  portion  of  the  river  to  all  boats  on  the  g^jfj^g*^^ 
payment  of  a  fixed  toll;  ^  and,  two  months  afterwards, 
or  towards  the  end  of  1831,  he  wrote  to  the  Maharaja  isth  Dec. 
that  the  desire  he  had  formerly  expressed  to  see  a  i83i. 
steamboat,  was  a  proof  of  his  enlightened  understand- 
ing, and  was  likely  to  be  gratified  before  long,  as  it 
was  wished  to  draw  closer  the  commercial  relations  of 
the  two  states.    Capt.  Wade  was  at  the  same  time  sent 
to  explain,  in   person,   the  object   of  Col.  Pottinger's 
mission  to  Sind,  to  propose  the  free  navigation  of  the 
Sutlej  in  continuation  of  that  of  the  Lower  Indus,  and 
to  assure  the  Maharaja  that,  by  the  extension  of  British 
commerce,  was  not  meant  the  extension  of  the  British 
power.'    But  Ranjit  Singh,  also,  had  his  views  and  his  Ranjit 
suspicions.''  In  the  south  of  the  Punjab  he  had  wrought  singh's 
by  indirect  means,  as  long  as  it  was  necessary  to  do  so  ^'^^^  ^"^ 
among  a  newly    conquered    people.     The    Nawab    of 
Bahawalpur,  his  manager  of  the  country  across  to  Dera 
Ghazi  Khan,  was  less  regular  in  his  payments  than  he 
should  have  been,  and  his  expulsion  from  the  Punjab 
Proper  would  be  profitable,  and  unaccompanied  with 
danger,  if  the  English  remained  neutral.    Again,  Baha- 

^  Government  to  Col.  Pottinger,  22nd  Oct.  1831,  and 
Murray,  Ranjit  Singh,  p.  153. 

-Government  to  Col.  Pottinger,  22nd  Oct.   1831. 

■5  [Afterwards  Sir  H.  E.  Pottinger,  Bart.,  first  Governor  of 
Hong  Kong. — Ed.  ] 

•*  Murray,  Ranjit  Singh,  p.  168. 

"Government  to  Capt.  Wade,  19th  Dec.  1831.  It  is  admit- 
ted that  the  mission,  or  the  schemes,  had  a  political  reference  to 
Russia  and  her  designs,  but  the  Governor-General  would  not 
avow  his  motives.   (Murray,  Ranjit  Singh,  p.  168.) 

'•  Ranjit  Singh's  attention  was  mainly  directed  to  Sind,  and 
a  rumoured  matrimonial  alliance  between  one  of  the  Amirs, 
or  the  son  of  one  of  them,  and  a  Persian  princess,  caused  him 
some  anxiety.     (Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  5th  Aug.  1831.) 


suspicions. 


176 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.   VII 


1831-2. 


He   repels 

the  ::aud- 

putras    from 

the  Loxwer 

Punjab, 

1831. 

and  declares 

his   superior 

right  to 

Shikarpur. 


Ranjit 
Singh 
yields  to 
the  English 
demands, 
1832. 


wal  Khan  was  virtually  a  chief  protected  by  the 
British  Government  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Sutlej,  and 
Lieut.  Burnes  was  on  his  way  up  the  Indus.  The  Maha- 
raja, ever  mistrustful,  conceived  that  the  politcial 
status  of  that  officer's  observation  would  be  referred 
to  and  upheld  by  his  Government  as  the  true  and  per- 
manent one,^  and  hence  the  envoy  found  affairs  in 
process  of  change  when  he  left  the  main  stream  of  the 
Indus,  and  previous  to  the  interview  at  Rupar,  General 
Ventura  had  dispossessed  Bahawal  Khan  both  of  his 
Lahore  farms  and  of  his  ancestral  territories  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  Sutlej.-  Further,  Shikarpur  formed 
no  part  of  the  Sind  of  the  Kalhoras  or  Talpurs;  it  had 
only  fallen  to  the  latter  usurpers  after  the  death  of 
Muhammad  Azim  Khan,  the  wazir  of  the  titular  king, 
Shah  Ayub,  and  it  continued  to  be  held  jointly  by  the 
three  families  of  Khairpur,  Mirpur,  and  Hyderabad, 
as  a  fortuitous  possession.  Ranjit  Singh  considered 
that  he,  as  the  paramount  of  the  Barakzais  of  the  Indus, 
had  a  better  right  to  the  district  than  the  Amirs  of 
south-eastern  Sind,  and  he  was  bent  upon  annexing 
it  to  his  dominions.^ 

Such  was  Ranjit  Singh's  temper  of  mind  when 
visited  by  Capt.  Wade  to  negotiate  the  opening  of  the 
Sutlej  to  British  traders.  The  Maharaja  avowed  him- 
self well  pleased,  but  he  had  hoped  that  the  English 
were  about  to  force  their  way  through  Sind;  he  asked 
how  many  regiments  Col.  Pottinger  had  with  him,  and 
he  urged  his  readiness  to  march  and  coerce  the  Amirs.'* 
It  was  further  ascertained  that  he  had  made  proposi- 
tions to  Mir  Ali  Murad  of  Mirpur,  to  farm  Dera  Ghazi 
Khan,  as  if  to  sow  dissensions  among  the  Talpurs,  and 
to  gain  friends  for  Lahore,  while  Col.  Pottinger  was 
winning  allies  for  the  English.-"^  But  he  perceived  that 
the  Governor-General  had  resolved  upon  his  course, 
and  he  gave  his  assent  to  the  common  use  of  the  Sutlej 
and  Indus,  and  to  the  residence  of  a  British  officer  at 
Mithankot  to  superintend  the  navigation;^  He  did  not 

1  This  view  appears  to  have  subsequently  occurred  to 
Capt.  Wade  as  having  influenced  the  Maharaja.  See  his  letter, 
to  Government,  18th  Oct.  1836. 

2  Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  5th  Nov.  1831. 

3  This  argument  was  continually  used  by  Ranjit  Singh. 
See,  for  instance.  Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  15th  Jan.  1837. 

4  Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  1st  and  13th  Feb.  1832. 
■^Capt.    Wade    to   Government,    21st   Dec.    1831;    and    Col. 

Pottinger  to  Government,  23rd  Sept.   1837. 

cSee  Appendices  XXVIII  and  XXIX.  A  tariff  on  goods 
was  at  first  talked  of.  bj;t  subsequently  a  toll  on  boats  was 
preferred.    From  the  Himalayas  to  tb'^  sea  the  whole  toll  was 


CHAP.  VII   RAN  JIT  SINGH'S  DESIGNS  ON  SIND     i77 

desire  to   appear  as  if  in   opposition  to  his  allies  of  1 833-5. 
many  years,  but  he  did  not  seek  to  conceal  from  Capt.  Declaring, 
Wade  his  opinion  that  the  commercial  measures  of  the  however, 
English  had  really  abridged  his  political  power,  when  that  their 
he    gave    up  for    the    time    the    intention    of  seizing  ^^^^^^^"^^ 
Shikarpur.'  wit^h'Ss 

The  connexion  of  the  English  with  the  nations  of  policy, 
the  Indus  was  about  to  be  rendered  more  complicated  shah  shu- 
by  the  revived  hopes  of  Shah  Shuja.     That  ill-fated  ja-s  second 
king  had    taken   up  his   abode,    as  before    related,    at  expedition 
Ludhiana,  in  the  year  1821,  and  he  brooded  at  his  leisure  ^°  ^^^^/"'; 

«  ,  in  T7-1  T       ino'i   Stan,     1833-5. 

over  schemes  for  the  reconquest  of  Khorasan.    In  1o2d 
he  was  in  correspondence  with  Ranjit  Singh,  who  ever 
regretted  that  the  Shah  was  not  his  guest  or  his  pri-  The  shahs 
soner.-     In  1827  he  made  propositions  to  the  British  overtures 
Government,  and  he  was  told  that  he  was  welcome  to  ^°h'^^827."^' 
recover  his  kingdom  with  the  aid  of  Ranjit  Singh  or  of 
the  Sindians,  but  that,  if  he  failed,  his  present  hosts 
might  not  again  receive  him.^     In  1820  the  Shah  was 
induced,  by  the  strange  state  of  affairs  in  Peshawar 
consequent  on  Saiyid  Ahmad's  ascendancy,  to  suggest 
to  Ranjit  Singh  that,  with  Sikh  aid,  he  could  readily 
master  it,  and  reign  once  more  an  independent  sove- 
reign.    The  Maharaja  amused  him  with  vain  hopes, 
but  the  English  repeated  their  warning,  and  the  ex- 
king's  hopes  soon  fell."*     In  1831  they  again  rose,  for  his  nego- 
the  Talpur   Amirs    disliked    the    approach    of  English  ^^'.it*i'°"he 
envoys,  and  they  gave  encouragement  to  the  tenders  sindians. 
of  their  titular  monarch."'    Negotiations  were  reopened  issi;  and 
with  Ranjit  Singh,  who  was  likewise  out  of  humour  with   Raniit 
with  the  English  about  Sind,  and  he  was  not  unwilling  smgh,    issi. 
to  aid  the  Shah  in  the  recovery  of  his  rightful  throne; 
but  the  views  of  the  Sikh  reached  to  the  Persian  fron- 
tier as  well  as  to  the  shores  of  the  ocean,  and  he  sug- 
gested that  it  would  be  well  if  the  slaughter  of  kine  "^^^  ^^^%h 
were   prohibited   throughout   Afghanistan,   and   if  the  °^^^  °^^^ 
gates  of  Somnath  were  restored  to  their  original  tern-  slaughter 
pie.    The  Shah  was  not  prepared  for  these  concessions,  of  kine. 
and  he  evaded  theni  by  reminding  the  Maharaja  that 
his  chosen  allies,  the  English,  freely  took  the  lives  of 

fixed  at  570  rupees,  of  which  the  Lahore  Government  got  Rs. 
155,  4,  0  for  territories  on  the  right  bank,  and  Rs.  39,  5,  1  for 
territories  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Sutlej.  (Government  to  Capt. 
Wade,  9th  June  1834,  and  Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  13th 
Dec.  1835.) 

1  Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  13th  Feb.  1832. 

-  Ca-t.  Wade  to  the  Resident  at  Delhi,  25th  July  1826. 

^  Resident  at  Delhi  to  Capt.  Wade,  25th  July  1827. 

■*  Government  to  Resident  at  Delhi,  12th  June  1829. 

•'•Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  9th  Sept.  1831. 


12 


iM 


178 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.    VII 


1832. 


Further  ne- 
gotiations 
with    the 
Sikhs   and 
Sindians, 
1332. 


The 

English 

indifferent 

about  the 

Shah's 

attempts; 


COWS,  and  that  a  prophecy  foreboded  the  downfall  of 
the  Sikh  empire  on  the  removal  of  the  gates  from 
Ghazni.^ 

In  1832  a  rumoured  advance  of  the  Persians  against 
Herat  gave  further  encouragement  to  Shah  Shuja  in 
his  designs.-  The  perplexed  Amirs  of  Sind  offered  him 
assistance  if  he  would  relinquish  his  supremacy,  and 
the  Shah  promised  acquiescence  if  he  succeeded.'  To 
Ranjit  Singh  the  Shah  offered  to  waive  his  right  to 
Peshawar  and  other  districts  beyond  the  Indus,  and 
also  to  give  an  acquittance  for  the  Koh-i-nur  diamond, 
in  return  for  assistance  in  men  and  money.  The  Maha- 
raja was  doubtful  what  to  do;  he  was  willing  to  secure 
an  additional  title  to  Peshawar,  but  he  was  apprehen- 
sive of  the  Shah's  designs,  should  the  expedition  be 
successful.^  He  wished,  moreover,  to  know  the  precise 
views  of  the  English,  and  he  therefore  proposed  that 
they  should  be  parties  to  any  engagement  entered  into, 
for  he  had  no  confidence,  he  said,  in  Afghans.''  Each 
of  the  three  parties  had  distinct  and  incompatible 
objects.  Ranjit  Singh  wished  to  get  rid  of  the  English 
commercial  objections  to  disturbing  the  Amirs  of  Sind, 
by  offering  to  aid  the  rightful  political  paramount  in 
its  recovery.  The  ex-king  thought  the  Maharaja  really 
wished  to  get  him  into  his  power,  and  the  project  of 
dividing  Sind  fell  to  the  ground."  The  Talpur  Amirs, 
on  their  part,  thought  that  they  would  save  Shikarpur 
by  playing  into  the  Shah's  hands,  and  they  therefore 
endeavoured  to  prevent  a  coalition  between  him  and 
the  Sikh  ruler."^ 

The  Shah  could  not  come  to  any  satisfactory  terms 
with  Ranjit  Singh,  but  as  his  neutrality  was  essential, 
especially  with  regard  to  Shikarpur,  a  treaty  of  alliance 

1  Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  21st  Nov.  1831. — Considering 
the  ridicule  occasioned  by  the  subsequent  removal  by  the  Eng- 
lish of  these  traditional  gates,  it  may  gratify  the  approvers  and 
originators  of  the  measure  to  know  that  they  were  of  some 
local  importance.  When  "the  author  was  at  Bahawalpur  in 
1845,  a  number  of  Afghan  merchants  came  to  ask  him  whether 
their  restoration  could  be  brought  about — for  the  repute  of  the 
fane  (a  tomb  made  a  temple  by  superstition),  and  the  income 
of  its  pir  or  saint,  had  much  declined.  They  would  carefully 
convey  them  back,  they  said,  and  they  added  that  they  under- 
stood the  Hindus  did  not  want  them,  and  that  of  course  they 
could  be  of  no  value  to  the  Christians  ! 

-  Government  to  Capt.  Wade,   19th  Oct.   1832. 

•"^Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  15th  Sept.   1832. 

4  Capt.  Wade  to  Government,   ^.3th  Dec.   1832. 

5  Capt.  Wade  to  Government.  31st    Dec.  1832. 
"  Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  9th  April  1833. 

"  Capt.  Wade  to  Government  27th  March   1833. 


CHAP.  VII    EXPEDITION  OF  SHAH  SHUJA  179 

was   entered  into  by  which  the  districts  beyond  the  i832. 


Indus,  and  in  the  possession  of  the  Sikhs,  were  formally 
ceded  to  the  Maharaja.^    The  English  had  also  become 
less  averse  to  his  attempt,  and  he  was  assured  that  his 
annual  stipend  would  be  continued  to  his  family,  and 
no  warning  was  held  out  to  him  against  returning,  as 
had  before  been  done.-    A  third  of  his  yearly  allowance 
was  even  advanced  to  him:  but  the  political  agent  was 
at  the  same  time  desired  to  impress  upon  all  people, 
that  the  British  Government  had  no  interest  in  the 
Shah's  proceedings,  that  its  policy  was  one  of  complete 
neutrality,  and  it  was    added    that    Dost    Muhammad  but  Dost 
could  be  so  assured  in  reply  to  a  letter  received  from  Muham- 
him.-'     Dost  Muhammad  had  mastered  Kabul  shortly  ^^^  Khan 
after  Muhamriiad  Azim   Khan's    death,    and    he    soon  ^^  alarmed, 
learnt  to  become  apprehensive  of  the  English.  In  1832  their ''°'"^*^ 
he  cautioned  the  Amirs  of  Sind  against  allowing  them  friendship, 
to  establish  a  commercial  factory  in  Shikarpur,  as  Shah 
Shuja  would  certainly  soon  follow  to  guard  it  with  an 
army,^  and  he  next  sought,  in  the  usual  way,  to  ascer- 
tain the  views  of  the  paramounts  of  India  by  entering 
into  a  correspondence  with  them. 

Shah  Shuja  left  Ludhiana  in  the  middle  of  Feb-  The  Shah 
ruary  1833.    He  had  with  him  about  200,000  rupees  in  sets  out. 
treasure,  and  nearly  3,000  armed  followers.^    He  got  a  ^^^-  ^^^' 
gun  and  some  camels  from  Bahawal  Khan,  he  crossed 
the  Indus  towards  the  middle  of  May,  and  he  entered 
Shikarpur  without  opposition.     The  Sindians  did  not 
oppose  him,  but  they  rendered  him  no  assistance,  and 
they  at  last  thought  it  better  to  break  with  him  at  once 
than  to  put  their  means  into  his  hands  for  their  own 

1  This  treaty,  which  became  the  foundation  of  the  Tripar- 
tite Treaty  of  1838,  was  drawn  up  in  March  1833,  axid  finally 
agreed  to  in  August  of  that  year.  (Capt.  Wade  to  Government. 
17th  June  1834.) 

-  Government  to  Capt.  Wade,  19th  Dec.  1832. 

3  Government  to  Capt.  Faithful,  Acting  Political  Agent, 
13th  Dec.  1832,  and  to  Capt.  Wade,  5th  and  9th  of  March  1833. 

■*  The  Bahawalpur  Memoirs  state  that  such  a  recommen- 
dation was  pressed  by  Dost  Muhammad  on  the  Amirs;  the  belief 
in  the  gradual  conversion  of  'Kothis',  or  residencies  or  commer- 
cial houses,  into  'Chaonis',  or  military  cantonments,  having,  it 
may  be  inferred,  become  notorious  as  far  as  Kabul.  Dost 
Muhammad's  main  object,  however,  was  to  keep  Shah  Shuj? 
at  a  distance;  and  he  always  seems  to  have  held  that  he  was 
safe  from  the  English  themselves  so  long  as  Lahore  remained 
unshaken.  For  another  instance  of  the  extent  to  which  the 
English  were  thought  to  be  identified  with  Shah  Shuja,  see 
the  Asiatic  Journal,  xix.  38,  as  quoted  by  Professor  Wilson  in 
Moorcroft's  Travels,  p.  340  n.,  vol.  ii. 

^  Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  9th  April  1833. 


180 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS         chap,  vii 


1833-5. 

Defeats  the 
Sindians, 
9th  Jan. 
1834. 


But  is 
routed  at 
Kandahar, 
1st  July 
1834, 

and  returns 
to  Ludhia- 
na,  1835. 


Ranjit 
Singh 
suspicious 
of  Shah 
Shuja. 
Strengthens 
himself  by 
reigularly 
annexing 
Peshawar 
to  his  domi- 
nions, 1834. 


20th  July 
1832. 

The  Huzara 
and  the 
Derajat 
more  com- 
pletely 
reduced, 
1832-6. 


more  assured  destruction.^  But  they  were  signally 
defeated  near  Shikarpur  on  the  9th  January  1834,  and 
they  willingly  paid  500,000  rupees  in  cash,  and  gave 
a  promise  of  tribute  for  Shikarpur,  to  get  rid  of  the 
victor's  presence.-  The  Shah  proceeded  towards  Kan- 
dahar, and  he  maintained  himself  in  the  neighbourhopd 
of  that  city  for  a  few  months;  but,  on  the  1st  July,  he 
was  brought  to  action  by  Dost  Muhammad  Khan  and 
his  brothers,  and  fairly  routed.^  After  many  wander- 
ings, and  an  appeal  to  Persia  and  to  Shah  Kamran  of 
Herat,  and  also  an  attempt  upon  Shikarpur,^  he  re- 
turned to  his  old  asylum  at  Ludhiana  in  March  1835, 
bringing  with  him  about  250,000  rupees  in  money  and 
valuables.^ 

Ranjit  Singh,  on  his  part,  was  apprehensive  that 
Shah  Shuja  might  set  aside  their  treaty  of  alliance,  so 
he  resolved  to  guard  against  the  possible  consequences 
of  the  ex-king's  probable  success,  and  to  seize  Pesha- 
war before  his  tributaries  could  tender  their  allegiance 
to  Kabul.^  A  large  force,  under  the  nominal  command 
of  the  Maharaja's  grandson,  Nau  Nihal  Singh,  but 
really  led  by  Sirdar  Hari  Singh,  crossed  the  Indus,  and 
an  increased  tribute  of  horses  was  demanded  on  the 
plea  of  the  prince's  presence,  for  the  first  time,  at  the 
head  of  an  army.  The  demand  would  seem  to  have 
been  complied  with,  but  the  citadel  of  Peshawar  was 
nevertheless  assaulted  and  taken  on  the  6th  May  1834.'^ 
The  hollow  negotiations  with  Sultan  Muhammad  Khan 
are  understood  to  have  been  precipitated  by  the  impe- 
tuous Hari  Singh,  who  openly  expressed  his  contempt 
for  all  Afghans,  and  did  not  conceal  his  design  to  carry 
the  Sikh  arms  beyond  Peshawar.^ 

The  Sikhs  were,  in  the  meantime,  busy  else- 
where as  well  as  in  Peshawar  itself.  In  1832  Hari 
Singh  had  finally  routed  the  Muhammadan  tribes 
above  Attock,  and  to  better  ensure  their  obedience,  he 
built  a  fort  on  the  right  side  of  the  Indus.^    In  1834  a 

1  Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  25th  Aug.  1833,  and  the 
Memoirs  of  the  Bahawalpur  Family. 

2  Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  30th  Jan.  1834. 

3  Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  25th  July  1834, 

4  Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  21st  Oct.  and  29th  Dec.  1834, 
and  &th  Feb.  1845. 

5  Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  19th  March  1835. 

6  Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  17th  June  1834. 

7  Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  19th  May  1834. 

8  These  viewS'  of  Hari  Singh's  were  sufficiently  notorious 
in  the  Pxmjab  some  years  ago,  when  that  chief  was  a  person 
before  the  public. 

9  Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  7th  Aug.  1832. 


CHAP.  VII    SIKH  MISSION  TO  CALCUTTA  181 

force  was  employed  against  the  Afghans  of  Tak  and  1832-6. 


Bannu,  beyond  Dera  Ismail  Khan;  but  a  considerable 
detachment  signally  failed  in  an  attack  upon  a  moun- 
tain stronghold,  and  a  chief  of  rank  and  upwards  of 
300  men  were  slain.    The  ill  success  vexed  the  Maha- 
raja, and  he  desired  his  agent  to  explain  to  the  British 
authorities  the  several  particulars;  but  lest  they  should 
still  be    disposed   to   reflect    upon    the    quality    of  his 
troops,  he  reminded  Capt.  Wade  that  such  things  had 
happened  before,  that  his  rash  officers   did  not  wait 
until  a  breach  had  been  effected,  and  that,  indeed,  the 
instance  of  General  Gillespie  and  the  Gurkhas  at  Ka- 
langa  afforded  an  exact  illustration  of  what  had  taken 
place  !  1     In  1833    the    grandson    of    Sansar   Chand,  of  sansar 
Katotch,  was  induced  to  return  to  his  country,  and  on  ^^^^^jJ^J^'^j^ 
liis  way  through  Ludhiana  he  was  received  with  con-  ^tm-ns" 
siderable  ceremony  by  the  British  authorities,  for  the  ^833. 
fame  of  Sansar  Chand  gave  to  his  posterity  some  sem- 
blance of  power  and  regal  dignity.     A  jagir  or  fief  of 
50,000  rupees  was  conferred  upon  the  young  chief,  for 
the  Maharaja    was  not    disposed    from    nature    to  be 
wantonly  harsh,  nor  from  policy  to  drive  any  one  to 
desperation.-    During  the  same  year  Ranjit  Singh  pro-  Ranjit 
posed  to  send  a  chief  to  Calcutta  with  presents  for  the  ^^^sh 
King  of  England,  and  not  improbably  with  the  view  of  ^j^gfo^  ^^ 
ascertaining  the  general  opinion  about  his  designs  on  Calcutta. 
Sind.    The  mission,  under  Gujar  Singh  Majithia,  finally  1834-6. 
took  its  departure  in  September  1834,  and  was  absent  a 
year  and  a  half.^ 

When  Mr.  Moorcroft  was  in  Ladakh  (in  1821,  &c.),  Ranji* 
the  fear  of  Ranjit  Singh  was  general  in  that  country,  smgh  and 
and  the  Sikh  governor  of  Kashmir  had  already  de-  ^g^gl^'^^' 
manded  the  payment  of  tribute;  ^  but  the  weak  and 
distant  state  was  little  molested  until  the  new  Rajas 
of  Jammu  had  obtained  the  government   of  the  hill 
principalities  between  the  Ravi  and  Jhelum,  and  felt 
that  their  influence  with  Ranjit  Singh  was  secure  and 
commanding.     In    1834    Zorawar    Singh,    Raja    Gulab  Ladakh 
Singh's  commander    in    Kishtwar,  took    advantage  of  reduced  by 
internal  disorders  in  Leh,  and  declared  that  an  estate,  ^^  ^^"^'^ 
anciently  held  by  the  Kishtwar  chief,  must  be  restored.  1334-5. 


1  Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  ICth  May  1834.  Dera  Ismail 
Khan  and  the  country  about  it  was  not  fairly  brought  into 
order  until  two  years  aftetwards.  (Capt.  Wade  to  Government, 
7th  and  13th  July  1836.) 

2  Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  9th  Oct.  1833,  and  3rd  Jan. 
1835. 

3  Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  11th  Sept.  1834,  and  4th 
April  1836. 

4  Moorcroft,  Travels,  i.  420. 


182 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAF.    VII 


1833-6. 


Ranjit  Singh 
recurs  to  his 
claims   on 
Shikarpur, 
and  his 
designs  on 
Sind, 
1835-6. 

Negotia- 
tions, 


He  crossed  into  the  southern  districts,  but  did  not 
reach  the  capital  until  early  in  1835.  He  sided  with 
one  of  the  contending  parties,  deposed  the  reigning 
Raja,  and  set  up  his  rebellious  minister  in  his  stead. 
He  fixed  a  tribute  of  30,000  rupees,  he  placed  a  garrison 
in- the  fort,  he  retained  some  districts  along  the  nor- 
thern slopes  of  the  Himalayas,  and  reached  Jammu 
with  his  spoils  towards  the  close  of  1835.  The  dispos- 
sessed Raja  complained  to  the  Chinese  authorities  in 
Lassa;  but,  as  the  tribute  continued  to  be  regularly 
paid  by  his  successor,  no  notice  was  taken  of  the  usur- 
pation. The  Governor  of  Kashmir  complained  that 
Gulab  Singh's  commercial  regulations  interfered  with 
the  regular  supply  of  shawl  wool,  and  that  matter  was 
at  once  adjusted;  yet  the  grasping  ambition  of  the 
favourites  nevertheless  caused  Ranjit  Singh  some  mis- 
givings amid  all  their  protestations  of  devotion  and 
loyalty.^ 

But  Ranjit  Singh's  main  apprehensions  were  on  the 
side  of  Peshawar,  and  his  fondest  hopes  in  the  direc- 
tion of  Sind.  The  defeat  which  the  Amirs  had  sustained 
diminished  their  confidence  in  themselves,  and  when 
Shah  Shuja  returned  beaten  from  Kandahar,  Nur 
Muhammad  of  Hyderabad  was  understood  to  be  willing 
to  surrender  Shikarpur  to  the  Maharaja,  on  condition 
of  his  guarantee  against  the  attempJts  of  the  ex-king.- 
But  this  pretext  would  not  get  rid  of  the  English 
objections;  and  Ranjit  Singh,  moreover,  had  little 
confidence  in  the  Sindians.  He  kept,  as  a  check  over 
them,  a  representative  of  the  expelled  Kalhoras,  as  a 
pensioner  on  his  bounty,  in  Rajanpur  beyond  the 
Indus;  ^  and,  at  once  to  overawe  both  them  and  the 
Barakzais,  he  again  opened  a  negotiation  with  Shah 
Shuja  as  soon  as  he  returned  to  Ludhiana.^     But  his 

1  Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  27th  Jan.  1835,  and  Mr. 
Vigne,  Travels  in  Kashmir  and  Tibet,  ii.  352;  their  statements 
being  corrected  or  amplified  from  the  author's  manuscript  notes. 
The  Prince  Kharak  Singh  became  especially  apprehensive  of 
the  designs  of  the  Jammu  family.  (Capt.  Wade  to  Government, 
10th  Aug.  1836.) 

-  Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  6th  Feb.  1835. 

3  Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  17th  June  1834.  Sarafraz 
Khan,  otherwise  called  Ghulam  Shah,  was  the  Kalhora  expelled 
by  the  Talp'urs.  He  received  Rajanpur  in  jagir  from  Kabul, 
and  was  maintained  in  it  by  Ranjit  Singh.  The  place  was  held 
to  yield  100,000  rupees,  including  certain  rents  reserved  by 
the  state,  but  the  district  was  not  really  worth  30,000  rupees. 

4  Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  17th  April  1835,  and  other 
letters  of  the  same  year.  The  Maharaja  still  urged  that  the 
English  should  guarantee,  as  it  were,  Shah  Shuja's  moderation 
in  success;  partly,  perhaps,  because  the  greatness  of  the  dynasty 


CHAP.  VII       RAN  JIT  SINGH  THWARTED  183 

main  difficulty  was  with  his  British  allies;  and,  to  prove  i»35-6. 
to  them  the  reasonableness  of  his  discontent,  he  would 
instance  the  secret  aid  which  the  Mazari  freebooters 
received  from  the  Amirs;  ^  he  would  again  insist  that 
Shikarpur  was  a  dependency  of  the  chiefs  of  Khoras- 
san,-  and  he  would  hint  that  the  river  below  Mithankot 
was  not  the  Indus  but  the  Sutlej,  the  river  of  the  treaty, 
— the  stream  which  had  so  long  given  freshness  and 
beauty  to  the  emblematic  garden  of  their  friendship, 
and  which  continued  its  fertilizing  way  to  the  ocean, 
separating,  yet  uniting,  the  realms  of  the  two  brotherly 
powers  of  the  East!  ^ 

But  the  English  had  formed  a  treaty  of  navigation  gf^^gh^s 
with  Sind,  and  the  designs  of  Ranjit  Singh  were  dis-  ambition 
pleasing  to  them.  They  said  they  could  not  view  with-  displeasing 
out  regret  and  disapprobation  the  prosecution  of  plans  to  the 
of  unprovoked  hostility  against  states  to  which  they  ^^e^^sh. 
were  bound  by  ties  of  interest  and  goodwill.^  They 
therefore  wished  to  dissuade  Ranjit  Singh  against  any 
attempt  on  Shikarpur;  but  they  felt  that  this  must  be 
done  discreetly,  for  their  object  was  to  remain  on 
terms  of  friendship  with  every  one,  and  to  make  their 
influence  available  for  the  preservation  of  the  general 
peace/'  Such  were  the  sentiments  of  the  English;  but, 
in  the  meantime,  the  border  disputes  between  the 
Sikhs  and  Sindians  were  fast  tending  to  produce  a 
rupture.  In  1833  the  predatory  tribe  of  Mazaris,  lying 
along  the  right  bank  of  the  Indus,  below  Mithankot, 
had  been  chastised  by  the  Governor  of  Multan,  who 
proposed  to  put  a  garrison  in  their  stronghold  of 
Rojhan,  but  was  restrained  by  the  Maharaja  from  so 
doing.6  Iyi  1835  the  Amirs  of  Khairpur  were  believed 
to  be  instigating  the  Mazaris  in  their  attacks  on  the 
Sikh  posts;  and  as  the  tribe  was  regarded  by  the  Eng- 
lish as  dependent  on  Sind,  although  possessed  of  such 
a  degree  of  separate  existence  as  to  warrant  its  mention 
in  the  commercial  arrangements  as  being  entitled  to  a 
fixed  portion  of  the  whole  toll,  the  Amirs  were  inform- 

of  Ahmad  Shah  still  dwelt  in  the  mind  of  the  first  paramount 
of  the  Sikhs,  but  partly  also  with  the  view  of  sounding  his 
European  allies  as  to  their  real  intentions. 

1  Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  5th  Oct.  1836. 

2  Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  15th  Jan.  1837. 

3  Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  5th  Oct.  1836. 

*  Government  to  Capt.  Wade,  22nd  Aug.  1836. — This  plea 
will  recall  to  mind  the  usual  argument  of  the  Romans  for 
interference,  viz.  that  their  friends  were  not  to  be  molested  by 
strangers. 

"'  Government  to  Capt.  Wade,  22nd  Aug.   1836. 

6  Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  27th  May   1835. 


184 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.    VII 


1835-6. 

The   Mahai 
raja  never- 
theless 
keeps   in 
view  his 
plans  of 
aggrandize- 
ment. 

The    objects 
of  the   Eng- 
lish   become 
political  as 
well  as  com- 
mercial, 
1836. 


and  they 
resolve  on 
niediating 
between 
Ranjit 
Singh  and 
the  Sindians. 

The 
EngUsh 
desire 
to  restrain 
Ranjit 
Singh 
without 
threaten- 
ing him. 


ed  that  the  English  looked  to  them  to  restrain  the 
Mazaris,  so  as  to  deprive  Ranjit  Singh  of  all  pretext 
for  interference.^  The  aggressions  nevertheless  con- 
tinued, or  were  alleged  to  be  continued;  and  in  August 
1836,  the  Multan  Governor  took  formal  possession  of 
Rdjhan.-  In  the  October  following  the  Mazaris  were 
brought  to  action  and  defeated,  and  the  Sikhs  occupied 
a  fort  called  Ken,  to  the  south  of  Rojhan,  and  beyond 
the  proper  limit  of  that  tribe.^ 

Thus  was  Ranjit  Singh  gradually  feeling  his  way 
by  force;  but  the  English  had,  in  the  meantime,  resol- 
ved to  go  far  beyond  him  in  diplomacy.  It  had  been 
determined  that  Capt.  Burnes  should  proceed  on  a 
commercial  mission  to  the  countries  bordering  on  the 
Indus,  with  the  view  of  completing  the  reopening  of 
that  river  to  the  traffic  of  the  world.'*  But  the  Maha- 
raja, it  was  said,  should  understand  that  their  objects 
were  purely  mercantile,  and  that,  indeed,  his  aid  was 
looked  for  in  establishing  somewhere  a  great  entrepot 
of  trade,  such  as,  it  had  once  been  hoped,  might  have 
been  commenced  at  Mithankot."^  Yet  the  views  of  the 
British  authorities  with  regard  to  Sind  were  inevitably 
becoming  political  as  well  as  commercial.  The  condi- 
tion of  that  country,  said  the  Governor-General,  had 
been  much  thought  about,  and  the  result  was  a  convic- 
tion that  the  connexion  with  it  should  be  drawn  closer.® 
The  Amirs,  he  continued,  might  desire  the  protection 
of  the  English  against  Ranjit  Singh,  and  previous  nego- 
tiations, which  their  fears  or-  their  hostility  had  broken 
off,  might  be  renewed  with  a  view  to  giving  them 
assistance;  and,  finally,  it  was  determined  that  the 
English  Government  should  mediate  between  Ranjit 
Singh  and  the  Sindians,  and  afterwards  adjust  the 
other  external  relations  of  the  Amirs  when  a  Resident 
should  be  stationed  at  Hyderabad. 

With  regard  to  Ranjit  Singh,  the  English  rulers 
observed  that  they  were  bound  by  the  strongest  consi- 
derations of  political  interest  to  prevent  the  extension 
of  the  Sikh  power  along  the  course  of  the  Indus,  and 
that,  although  they  would  respect  the  acknowledged 
territories  of  the  Maharaja,  they  desired  that  his  exist- 
ing relations  of  peace  should  not  be  disturbed;  for,  if 

1  Government  to  Capt.  Wade,  27th  May  1835,  and  5th  Sept. 
1836;  and  Government  to  Col:  Pottinger,  19th  Sept.  1836. 

2  Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  29th  Aug.   1836. 

3  Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  2nd  Nov.   1836. 

*  Government  to  Capt.  Wade,  5th  Sept.   1836. 
5  Government  to  Capt.  Wade,  5th  Sept.  1836. 

*  Government  to  Col.  Pottinger,  26th  Sept.  1836. 


CHAP.  VII         POLICY  OF  THE  ENGLISH  185 

war  took  place,  the  Indus  would  never  be  opened  to  183b. 


commerce.  The  political  agent  was  directed  to  use 
every  means  short  of  menace  to  induce  Ran  jit  Singh 
to  abandon  his  designs  against  Shikarpur;  and  Shah 
Shuja,  whose  hopes  were  still  great,  and  whose  nego- 
tiations were  still  talked  of,  was  to  be  told  that  if  he 
left  Ludhiana  he  must  not  return,  and  that  the  main- 
tenance for  his  family  would  be  at  once  discontinued. 
With  regard  to  the  Mazaris,  whose  lands  had  been 
actually  occupied  by  the  Sikhs,  it  was  said  that  their 
reduction  had  effected  an  object  of  general  benefit;  and 
that  the  question  of  their  permanent  control  could  be 
determined  at  a  future  period.^ 

The  Sindians,  on  their  part,  complained  that  the  The  smdians 
fort  of  Ken  had  been  occupied,  and  in  reply  to  Ranjit  impatient, 
Singh's  demand  that  their    annual    complimentary    or  ^'^'^^.g^Q^^^^ 
prudential  offerings    should    be    increased,    or  that  a  ^  ^^g 
large  oum  should  be  paid  for  the  restoration  of  their 
captured  fort,    they    avowed    their    determination    to 
resort  to  arms.-    Nor  can  there  be  any  doubt  that  Sind 
would  have  been  invaded  by  the  Sikhs,  had  not  Col. 
Pottinger's  negotiations  for  their  protection  deterred 
the  Maharaja  from  an  act  which  he  apprehended  the 
English  might  seize  upon  to  declare  their  alliance  at 
an  end.     The  princes  Kahrak   Singh  and   Nau  Nihal 
Singh  were  each  on  the  Indus,  at  the  head  of  consi- 
derable armies,  and  the  remonstrances  of  the  Britisn 
political  agent  alone  detained  the  Maharaja  himself  at  Ranjit 
Lahore.    Nevertheless,  so  evenly  were  peace  and  war  singh 
balanced  in    Ranjit    Singh's    mind,    that    Capt.  Wade  equally 
thought  it  advisable  to  proceed  to  his  capital  to  ex~  ready; 
plain  to  him  in  person  the  risks  he  would  incur  by 
acting  in  open  opposition  to  the  British  Government. 
He  listened,  and  at  last  yielded.    His  deference,  he  said,  but  yields 
to  the  wishes  of  his  allies  took  place  of  every  other  to  the  re- 
consideration;   he  would    let  his    relations    with    the  presenta- 
Amirs  of  Sind  remain  on  their  old  footing,  he  would  J^j^^EngUsh 
destroy  the  fort  of  Ken,   but    he  would  continue  to  d^c.  isse.  ' 
occupy    Rojhan    and    the    Mazari    territory.^     Ranjit 
Singh  was  urged  by  his  chiefs  not  to  yield  to  the  de- 
mands of  the  English,  for  to  their  understanding  it  was 
not  clear  where  such  dernands  would  stop;  but  he  shook 
his  head;  and  asked  them  what  had  become  of  the  two 
hundred  thousand  spears  of  the  Marathas  !  * — and,  as 


1  Government  to  Capt.  Wade,  26th  Sept.  1836. 

2  Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  2nd  Nov.  and  13th  Dec.  1836. 

3  Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  3rd  Jan.  1837. 

4  Cf.  Capt.  Wade  to   Government,   11th  Jan.   1837.  Ranjit 
Sihgh  not  unfrequently  referred  to  the  overthrow  of  the  Mara- 


\ 


186 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.   VII 


1836. 


Yet  con- 
tinues   to 
hold  Rojhan 
with  ulterior 
views. 

Retrospect. 
The    English 
and    Barak- 
za,s, 
1829-36. 


Sultan  Mu- 
hammad 
Khan   soli- 
cits the 


if  to  show  how  completely  he  professed  to  forget  or 
forgive  the  check  imposed  on  him,  he  invited  ths 
Governor-General  to  be  present  at  Lahore  on  the  oc- 
casion of  the  marriage  of  the  grandson  whom  he  had 
hoped  to  hail  as  the  conqueror  of  Sind.^  Nevertheless 
he  continued  to  entertain  a  hope  that  his  objects  might 
one  day  be  attained;  he  avoided  a  distinct  settlement 
of  the  boundary  with  the  Amirs,  and  of  the  question 
of  supremacy  over  the  Mazaris.-  Neither  was  he  dis- 
posed to  relinquish  Rojhan;  the  place  remained  a  Sikh 
possession,  and  it  may  be  regarded  to  have  become  for- 
mally such  by  the  submission  of  the  chief  of  the  tribe 
in  the  year  1838.'^ 

It  is  now  necessary  to  go  back  for  some  years  to 
trace  the  connexion  of  the  English  Government  with 
the  Barakzai  rulers  of  Afghanistan.  Muhammad  Azim 
Khan  died  in  1823,  as  has  been  mentioned,  immediately 
after  Peshawar  became  tributary  to  the  Sikhs.  His  son 
Habib-ullah  nominally  succeeded  to  the  supremacy 
which  Fateh  Khan  and  Muhammad  Azim  had  both 
exercised;  but  it  soon  became  evident  that  the  mind  of 
the  youth  was  unsettled,  and  his  violent  proceedings 
enabled  his  crafty  and  unscrupulous  uncle,  Dost  Mu- 
hammad Khan,  to  seize  Kabul,  Ghazni,  and  Jalalabad 
as  his  own,  while  a  second  set  of  his  brothers  held 
Kandahar  in  virtual  independence,  and  a  third  gover- 
ned Peshawar  as  the  tributaries  of  Ranjit  Singh.**  In 
the  year  1824  Mr.  Moorcroft,  the  traveller,  was  upon  the 
whole  well  Satisfied  with  the  treatment  he  received 
from  the  Barakzais,  although  their  patronage  cost  him 
money."^  A  few  years  afterwards  Sultan  Muhammad 
Khan  of  Peshawar,  who  had  most  to  fear  from  strang- 
ers, opened  a  communication  with  the  political  agent 
at  Ludhiana,''  and  in  1829  he  wished  to  negotiate  as  an 

tha  power  as  a  reason  for  remaining,  under  all  and  any  cir- 
cumstances, on  good  terms  with  his  European  allies.  See  also 
Col.  Wade's  Narrative  of  Personal  Services,  p.  44,  note.  [Though 
the  Maharaja  kept  loyally  to  his  treaty  of  friendship  with  the 
English,  he  occasionally  manifested  some  suspicion  of  their 
victorious  advance  in  India.  On  one  occasion  he  was  shown 
a  map  of  the  country  in  which  the  English  possessions  were 
marked  in  red.  The  Maharaja  asked  what  the  red  portions 
indicated,  and  on  being  told  tossed  the  map  aside  with  the 
impatient  remark.  Sab  lal  hojaega  (All  will  become  red). — Ed.] 

1  Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  5th  Jan.  1837. 

2  Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  13th  and  15th  Feb.,  8th  July, 
and  10th  Aug.  1837. 

•■'  Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  9th  Jan.  1838. 
-t  Cf.   Moorcroft,  Travels,  ii.   345,  &c,  and  Munshi  Mohan 
Lal,  Life  of  Dost  Muhammad  Khan,  i.  130,  153,  &c. 
^  Moorcroft,  Travels,  ii.  346,  347. 
"Capt.  Wade  to  the  Resident  at  Delhi,  21st  April  1828. 


CHAP.  VII    RETROSPECT  :   AFGHANISTAN  187 

independent  chief  with  the  British  Government. ^    But  1829-32. 
the  several  brothers  were  jealous  of  one  another,  many  fri^dship 
desired  separate  principalities,  Dost  Muhammad  aimed  or  protec- 
at  supremacy,  rumours    of    Persian    designs    alarmed  ^'o"  "^  the 
them  on  the  west,  the  aggressive  policy  of  Ranjit  Singh  English 
gave  them  greater  cause  of  fear  on  the  east,  and  the  s!khT*  mo 
chance  presence  of  English  travellers  in  Afghanistan 
again   led  them  to  hope  that  the  foreign  masters  of 
India  might  be  induced  to  give  them  stability  between 
contending  powers.-    In  1832  Sultan  Muhammad  Khan 
again  attempted  to  open  a  negotiation,  if  only  for  the 
release  of  his    son,  who    was    a  hostage    with    Ranjit 
Singh.-^    The  Nawab,  Jabbar  Khan  of  Kabul,  likewise 
addressed  letters  to  the  British  frontier  authority,  and 
in  1832  Dost  Muhammad  himself  directly  asked  for  the  ^ost  mu- 
friendship  of  the  English.^     All  these  communications  '"'^'"'"^d 
were  politely  acknowledged,   but  at  the  time   it  was  the^'^ame^ 
held  desirable  to  avoid  all  intimacy  of  connexion  with  1832. 
rulers  so  remote.^^ 

In  1834  new  dangers  threatened  the  usurping  Ba-  The  Barak- 
rakzais.     Shah  Shuja  had  defeated  the  Sindians  and  "*^' .  ^pp""^- 
had   arrived  in  force  at  Kandahar,   and  the  brothers  Qf^gjj^ah 
once  again  endeavoured  to  bring  themselves  within  thfe  shuja, 
verge  of  British  supremacy.     They  had  heard  of  Eng-  again  press 
lish  arts  as  well  as  of  English  arms;  they  knew  that  -or  an  aiu- 
all  were  accessible  of  flattery,  and  Jabbar  Khan  sud-  ^'^^^  ^^^^ 
denly  proposed  to  send  his  son  to  Ludhiana,  in  order,  ^^d  Jabbar" 
he  said,  that  his  mind  might  be  improved  by  European  Khan  sends 
science  and  civilization.*'     But  Jabbar  Khan,  while  he  his  son  to 

Ludhiana, 

1  Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  19th  May  1832.  The  brothers  eth  Mayi834. 
had  already   (1823,  1824)   made  similar  proposals  through  Mr. 
Moorcroft.   (See  Travels,  ii.  340.) 

2  Mr.  Fraser  and  Mr.  Stirling,  of  the  Bengal  Civil  Service, 
were  in  Afghanistan,  the  former  in  18fi6,  apparently,  and  the 
latter  in  1828.  Mr.  Masson  also  entered  the  country  by  way  of 
the  Lower  Punjab  in  1827,  and  the  American,  Dr.  Harlan, 
followed  him  in  a  year  by  the  same  route.  I)r.  Harlan  came 
to  Lahore  in  1929,  after  leading  the  English  authorities  to  be- 
lieve that  he  desired  to  constitute  himself  an  agent  between 
their  Government  and  Shah  Shuja,  with  reference  doubtless 
to  the  ex-king's  designs  on  Kabul.  (Resident  at  Delhi  to  Capt. 
Wade,  3rd  Feb.  1829.)  The  Rev.  Mr.  Wolff  should  be  included 
among  the  travellers  in  Central  Asia  at  the  time  in  question. 

3  Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  19th  May  and  3rd  July  1832. 
■*  Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  9th  July  1832,  and  17th  Jan. 

1833.  Col.  Wade  in  the  Narrative  of  Personal  Services,  p  23, 
note,  regards  these  overtures  of  Dost  Muhammad,  and  also 
the  increased  interest  of  Russia  and  Persia  in  Afghan  affairs, 
to  Lieut.  Burnes's  Journey  (to  Bokhara,  in  1832)  and  to  Shah 
Shuja's  designs. 

5  Government  to  Capt.  Wade,  28th  Fab.  1833. 

6  Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  9th  March   1834. 


188 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.  VII 


1834. 


Dost    Mu- 
hammad 
formally 
tenders  his 
allegiance 
to    the 
English, 
1st  July 
1834; 

but  defeats 
Shah     Shuja 
and  recovers 
confidence. 


Dost   Mu- 
hammad 
attempts 
to    recover 
Peshawar. 


The    English 
decline  in- 
terfering. 


appeared  to  adhere  to  Dost  Muhammad  rather  than  to 
others,  had  nevertheless  an  ambition  of  his  own,  and 
he  was  more  than  suspected  of  a  wish  to  make  his 
admiration  of  the  amenities  of  English  life  the  means 
of  acquiring  political  power.^  Thus,  doubtful  of  all 
about  him,  Dost  Muhammad  left  Kabul  to  oppose  Shah 
Shuja,  but  the  Sikhs  had,  in  the  meantime,  occupied 
Peshawar,  and  the  perplexed  ruler  grasped  once  more 
at  British  aid  as  his  only  sure  resource.^  He  tendered 
his  submission  as  a  dependent  of  Great  Britain,  and 
having  thus  endeavoured  to  put  his  dominions  in  trust, 
he  gave  Shah  Shuja  battle.  But  the  Shah  was  defeated, 
and  the  rejoicing  victor  forgot  his  difficulties.  He 
declared  war  against  the  Sikhs  on  account  of  their  cap- 
ture of  Peshawar  and  he  endeavoured  to  make  it  a 
religious  contest  bv  rousing  the  population  generally 
to  destroy  infidel  invaders.^  He  assumed  the  proud 
distinction  of  'Ghazi',  or  champion  of  the  faith,  and  the 
vague  title  of  'Amir',  which  he  interpreted  'the  noble', 
for  he  did  not  care  to  wholly  offend  his  brothers,  whose 
submission  he  desired,  and  whose  assistance  was 
necessary  to  him."* 

Dost  Muhammad  Khan,  amid  all  his  exultation, 
was  still  willing  to  use  the  intervention  of  unbelievers 
as  well  as  the  arms  of  the  faithful,  and  he  asked  the 
^.nglish  masters  of  India  to  help  him  in  recovering 
Peshawar.^  The  youth  who  had  been  sent  to  Ludhiana 
to  become  a  student,  was  invested  with  the  powers  of  a 
diplomatist,  and  the  Amir  sought  to  prejudice  the  Bri- 
tish authorities  against  the  Sikhs,  bv  urging  that  his 
nephew  and  their  guest  had  been  treated  with  sus- 
picion, and  had  suffered  restraint  on  his  way  across  the 
Punjab.  But  the  English  had  not  yet  thought  of  re- 
quiring him  to  be  an  ally  for  purposes  of  their  own, 
and  Dost  Muhammad  was  simply  assured  that  the  son 
of  Nawab  Jabbar  Khan  should  be  well  taken  care  of 
on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Sutlej.  A  direct  reply  to  his 
solicitation  was  avoided,  by  enlarging  on  the  partial 
truth  that  the  Afghans  were  a  commercial  people 
equally  with  the  English,  and  on  the  favourite  scheme 
of  the  ereat  traffickers  of  the  world,  the  opening  of  the 
Indus  to  commerce.  It  was  hoped,  it  was  added,  that 
the  new  impulse  given  to  trade  would  better  help  the 

1  Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  17th  May  1834.  Cf.  Masson, 
Journeys,  iii.  218,  220. 

2  Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  17th  June  1834. 
•'^Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  25th  Sept.  1834. 
*  Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  27th  Jan.  1835. 

5  Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  4th  Jan.  and  13th  Feb.  1835. 


I 


CHAP.  VII  DOST  MUHAMMAD  189 

two  governments  to  cuuivate  a  profitable  friendship,  isss. 
and  the  wondering  Amir,  full  of  warlike  schemes,  was 
naively  asked,  whether  he  had  any  suggestions  to  offer 
about  a  direct  route  for  merchandise  between  Kabul 
and  the  great  boundary  river  of  the  Afghans  !  ^  The 
English  rulers  had  also  to  reply  to  Ranjit  Singh,  who 
was  naturally  suspicious  of  the  increasing  intimacy 
between  his  allies  and  his  enemies,  and  who  desired 
that  the  European  lords  might  appear  rather  as  his 
than  as  Dost  Muhammad's  supporters;  but  the 
Governor-General  observed  that  any  endeavours  to 
mediate  would  lead  to  consequences  seriously  embar- 
rassing, and  that  Dost  Muhammad  would  seem  to  have 
interpreted  general  professions  6f  amity  into  promises 
of  assistance." 

The  two  parties  Were  thus  left  to  their  own  means.  Ranjit 
Ranjit  Singh  began  by  detaching  Sultan  Muhammad  singh  and 
Khan  from  the  Amir,  with  whom  he  had  sought  a  re-  ^°^*  ^"'. 
fuge  on-  the  occupation  of  Peshawar  by  the  Sikhs;  and  J^^^l^ 
the  ejected  tributary  listened  the  more  readily  to  the  peshawar. 
Maharaja's  propositions,  as  he  apprehended  that  Dost  isas. 
Muhammad  would  retain  Peshawar  for  himself,  should 
Ranjit  Singh  be  beaten.  Dost  Muhammad  came  to  the 
eastern  entrance  of  the  Khaibar  Pass,  and  Ranjit  Singh 
amused  him  with  proposals  until  he  had  concentrated 
his  forces.     On  the  11th  of  May  ,1835,  the  Amir  was 
almost  surrounded.    He  was  to  have  been  attacked  on  ^ost  mu- 
the  12th,  but  he  thought  it  prudent  to  retreat,  which  hammad 
he    did  with  the  loss  of  two  guns  and  some  baggage,  retires 
He  had  designed  to  carry  off  the  Sikh  envoys,  and  to  rather 
profit  by   their  presence  as  hostages  or  as  prisoners;  ^attie'^'iith 
but  his  brother,  Sultan  Muhammad  Khan,  to  whom  th^  May  isas. 
execution  of  the  project  had  been  entrusted,  had  deter- 
mined on  joining  Ranjit  Singh,  and  the  rescue  of  the 
agents  gave  him  a  favourable  introduction  to  the  vic- 
tor.   Sultan  Muhammad  and  his  brothers  had  conside- 
rable jagirs  conferred  on  them  in  the  Peshawar  district, 
but  the  military  control  and  civil  management  of  the 
province  was  vested  solely  in  an  officer  appointed  from 
Lahore.^ 

1  Government  to  Capt.  Wade,  19th  April  1834,  and  11th 
Feb.  1835.  Abdul  Ghias  Khan,  the  son  of  Jabbar  Khan,  reached 
Ludhiana  in  June  1834,  and  the  original  intention  of  sending 
him  to  study  at  Delhi  was  abandoned. 

2  Government  to  Capt.  Wade,  20th  April  1835. 
^  Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  25th  April,  and  1st,  15th,  and 

19th  May  1835.  Cf.  Masson,  Journeys,  iii.  342,  &c.;  Mohan  Lai, 
Life  of  Dost  Mtihammad,  i.  172,  &c.;  and  also  Dr.  Harlan's  India 
and  Afghanistan,  pp.  124,  158.    Dr.  Harlan  himself  was  one  of 


190 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS  chap,  vii 


1835-6. 

Bost   Mu- 
hammad 
looks   to- 
wards 
Persia,   but 
still  prefers 
an  English 
alliance, 
1836. 

The   Kanda- 
har chiefs 
desirous  of 
English  aid. 
Ranjit 
Singh   en- 
deavours to 
gain    over 
Dost    Mu- 
hammad. 


But   the 
Amir  pre- 
fers war, 
1836-7. 

Hari 

Singh's 

designs. 


Battle  of 
Jamrud. 
30th  April 
1837. 


Dost  Muhammad  suffered  much  in  general  estima- 
tion by  withdrawing  from  an  encounter  with  the  Sikhs. 
His  hopes  in  the  English  had  not  borne  fruit,  and  he 
was  disposed  to  court  Persia;  ^  but  the  connexion  was 
of  less  political  credit  and  utility  than  one  with  the 
English,  and  he  tried  once  more  to  move  the  Governor- 
General  in  his  favour.  The  Sikhs,  he  said,  were  faith- 
less, and  he  was  wholly  devoted  to  the  interests  of  the 
British  Government.-  The  Kandahar  brothers,  also, 
being  pressed  by  Shah  Kamran  of  Herat,  and  unable 
to  obtain  aid  from  Dost  Muhammad,  made  propositions 
to  the  English  authorities;  but  Kamran's  own  appre- 
hensions of  Persia  soon  relieved  them  of  their  fears, 
and  they  -did  not  press  their  solicitations  for  European 
aid."-  Ranjit  Singh,  on  his  part,  disliked  an  English 
and  Afghan  alliance,  and  sought  to  draw  Dost  Muham- 
mad within  the  vortex  of  his  own  influence.  He  gave 
the  Amir  vague  hopes  of  obtaining  Peshawar,  and  he 
asked  him  to  send  him  some  horses,  which  he  had 
learnt  was  a  sure  way  of  leading  others  to  believe  they 
had  won  his  favour.  Dost  Muhammad  was  not  unwill- 
ing to  obtain  a  hold  on  Peshawar,  even  as  a  tributary, 
but  he  felt  that  the  presentation  of  horses  would  be 
declared  by  the  Sikh  to  refer  to  Kabul  and  not  to  that 
province.^  The  disgrace  of  his  retreat  rankled  in  his 
mind,  and  he  at  last  said  that  a  battle  must  be  fought 
at  all  risks.'"  He  was  the  more  inclined  to  resort  to 
arms,  as  the  Sikhs  had  sounded  his  brother,  Jabbar 
Khan,  and  as  Sirdar  Hari  Singh  had  occupied  the 
entrance  of  the  Khaibar  Pass  and  entrenched  a  position 
at  Jamrud,  as  the  basis  of  his  scheme  for  getting 
through  the  formidable  defile.''  The  Kabul  troops 
marched  and  assembled  on  the  eastern  side  of  Khaibar, 
under  the  command  of  Muhammad  Akbar  Khan,'^  the 
most  warlike  of  the  Amir's  sons.  An  attack  was  made 
on  the  post  at  Jamrud,  on  the  30th  of  April  1837;  but 
the  Afghans  could  not  carry  it,  although  they  threw 

the  envoys  sent  to  Dost  Muhammad  on  the  occasion. 

The  Sikhs  are  commonly  said  to  have  had  80,000  men  in 
the  Peshawar  valley  at  this  time. 

1  Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  23rd  Feb.  1836.  Dost 
Muhammad's  overtures  to  Persia  seem  to  have  commenced  in 
Sept.  1835. 

-'Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  19th  July  1836. 

•<  Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  9th  March  1836. 

4  Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  12th  April  1837. 

•'">  Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  1st  May  1837. 

cCapt.  Wade  to  Government,  13th  Jan.  1837. 

"  [Afterwards  the  murderer  of  Sir  W.  Macnaghten  and  the 
chief  actor  in  the  tragedy  of  the  retreat  from  Kabul  (1842). 
— Ed."| 


CHAP.  VII    RETREAT  OF  DOST  MUHAMMAD  191 

the  Sikhs   into   disorder.     Hari   Singh,   by  feigning  a  1836-7. 
retreat,   drew  the  enemy  more  fully  into  the  plains;  The  sikhs 
the    brave   leader   was   present   everywhere   amid  his  defeated, 
retiring    and    rallying    masses,    but    he    fell    mortally  and  Hari 
wounded,  and  the  opportune  arrival  of  another  portion  singh 
of  the  Kabul  forces  converted    the    confusion    of  the  J'he^Afghans 
Sikhs  into  a  total  defeat.    But  two  guns  only  were  lost;  retire, 
the  Afghans  could  not  master   Jamrud  or  Peshawar 
itself,  and,  after  plundering  the  valley  for  a  few  days, 
they  retreated  rather  than  risk  a  second  battle  with  the 
reinforced  army  of  Lahore.^ 

The  death  of  Hari  Singh  and  the  defeat  of  his  army  R^^Jit 
caused  some  anxiety    in    Lahore;    but    the    Maharaja  g^^^ts^^o 
promptly  roused  his  people  to  exertion,  and  all  readily  retrieve  his 
responded  to  his  call.    It  is  stated  that  field  guns  were  affairs  at 
dragged  from  Ramnagar,  on  the  Chenab,  to  Peshawar  Peshawar, 
in  six  days,  a  distance  by  road  of  more  than  two  hund- 
red miles.-  Ranjit  Singh  advanced  in  person  to  Rohtas, 
and  the  active  Dhian  Singh  hastened  to  the  frontier, 
and  set  an  example  of  devotion  and  labour  by  working 
with  his  own  hands  on  the  foundations  of  a  regular 
fort  at  Jamrud.'    Dost  Muhammad  was  buoyed  up  by  ^is  nego- 
his  fruitless  victory,  and  he  became  more  than  ever  ^^^t^^^^ost 
desirous  of  recovering  a  province  so  wholly  Afghan;  Muham- 
but   Ranjit   Singh   contrived   to   amuse   him,   and   the  mad  and 
Maharaja  was  found  to  be  again  in  treaty  with  the  shah  shuja. 
Amir,  and  again  in  treaty  with  Shah  Shuja,  and  with 
both  at  the  same  time."*  But  the  commercial  envoy  of  "^^^  Engush 
the  English  had  gradually  sailed  high  up  the  Indus  of  ^gdiaung" 
their  imaginary  commerce,  and  to  his  Government  the  between  the 
time  seemed  to  have  come  when  political  interference  sikhs  and 

Afghans, 
1  Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  13th  and  23rd  May  and  5th  jgg^. 
July  1837.     Cf.  Masson,  Journeys,  iii.  382,  387,  and  Mohan  Lai, 
Life  of  Dost  Muhammad,  i.  226,  &c. 

It  seems  that  the  Afghans  were  at  first  routed  or  repulsed 
with  the  loss  of  some  guns,  but  that  the  opportune  arrival  of 
Shams-ud-din  Khan,  a  relation  of  the  Amir,  with  a  considerable 
detachment,  turned  the  battle  in  their  favour.  It  is  neverthe- 
less believed  that  had  not  Hari  Singh  been  killed,  the  Sikhs 
would  have  retrieved  the  day.  The  troops  in  the  Peshawar 
valley  had  been  considerably  reduced  by  the  withdrawal  of 
large  parties  to  Lahore,  to  make  a  display  on  the  occasion  of 
Nau  Nihal  Singh's  marriage,  and  of  the  expected  visit  of  the 
English  Governor-General  and  Commander-in-Chief. 

2  Lieut. -Col.  Steinbach  (Punjab,  pp.  64,  68)  mentions  that 
he  had  himself  marched  with  his  Sikh  regiment  300  miles  in 
twelve  days,  and  that  the  distance  had  been  performed  by 
others  in  eleven. 

"  Mr.  Clerk's  Memorandum  of  1842,  regarding  the  Sikh 
chiefs,  drawn  up  for  Lord  EUenborough. 

^  Cf.    Capt.   Wade   to     Government,     3rd     June     1837,   and  \ 

Government  to  Capt.  Wade,  7th  Aug.  1837.  \      , 


19J 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.  VII 


1837. 


the  more 
especially 
as  they  are 
apprehen- 
sive of 
Russia, 


and  are 

lurther 

dissatisfied 

with  the 

proceedings 

of  General 

Allard. 


would  no  longer  be  embarrassing,  but,  on  the  contrary,! 
highly  advantageous  to  schemes  of  peaceful  trade  and  * 
beneficial  intercourse.  It  was  made  known  that  the 
British  rulers  would  be  glad  to  be  the  means  of  nego- 
tiating a  peace  honourable  to  both  parties,  yet  the  scale 
was  turned  in  favour  of  the  Afghan,  by  the  simulta- 
neous admission  that  Peshawar  was  a  place  to  which 
Dost  Muhammad  could  scarcely  be  expected  to  resign 
all  claim. ^  Nevertheless,  it  was  said,  the  wishes  of 
Ranjit  Singh  could  be  ascertained  by  Capt.  Wade,  and 
Capt.  Burnes  could  similarly  inquire  about  the  views 
of  the  Amir.  The  latter  officer  was  formally  invested 
with  diplomatic  powers,-  and  the  idle  designs  or  rest- 
less intrigues,  of  Persians  and  Russians,  soon  caused 
the  disputes  of  Sikhs  and  Afghans  to  merge  in  the 
British  scheme  of  reseating  Shah  Shuja  on  the  throne 
of  Kabul.  At  the  end  of  a  generation  the  repose  of  the 
English  masters  of  India  was  again  disturbed  by  the 
rumoured  march  of  European  armies,*^  and  their  sus- 
picions were  further  roused  by  the  conduct  of  the 
French  General,  Allard.  That  officer,  after  a  residence 
of  several  years  in  the  Punjab,  had  been  enabled  to 
visit  his  native  country,  and  he  returned  by  way  of 
Calcutta  in  the  year  1836.  While  in  France  he  had 
induced  his  Government  to  give  him  a  document, 
accrediting  him  to  Ranjit  Singh,  in  case  his  life  should 
be  endangered,  or  in  case  he  should  be  refused  per- 
mission to  quit  the  Lahore  dominions.  It  was  under- 
stood by  the  English  that  the  paper  was  only  to  be 
produced  to  the  Maharaja  in  an  extremity  of  the  kind 
me'ntioned;  but  General  Allard  himself  considered  that 
it  was  only  to  be  so  laid  in  form  before  the  English 
authorities,  in  support  of  a  demand  for  aid  when  he 
might  chance  to  be  straitened.  He  at  once  delivered 
his  credentials  to  the  Sikh  ruler;  it  was  rumoured  that 
General  Allard  had  become  a  French  ambassador,  and 
it  was  some  time  before  the  British  authorities  forgave 
the  fancied  deceit,  or  the  vain  effrontery  of  their  guest  •* 

1  Government  to  Capt.  Wade,  31st  July  1837. 

2  Government  to  Capt.  Wade,  11th  Sept.  1837. 

^  The  idea  of  Russian  designs  on  India  engaged  the  atten- 
tion of  the  British  viceroy  in  1831  (see  Murray,  Ranjit  Singh, 
by  Prinsep,  p.  168),  and  it  at  the  same  time  possessed  the 
inquiring  but  sanguine  mind  of  Capt.  Burnes,  who  afterwards 
gave  the  notion  so  much  notoriety.  (See  Capt.  Wade  to  Gov- 
ernment, 3rd  Aug.  1831.) 

4  The  author  gives  what  the  French  officers  held  to  be  the 
intended  use  of  the  credentials,  on  the  competent  authority  of 
General  Ventura,  with  whom  he  formerly  had  conversations 
on  the  subject.    The  Enghsh  view,  however,  is  that  which  was 


CHAP  vn    MARRIAGE  OF  NAU  NIHAL  SINGH     193 

Ranjit  Singh  had  invited  the  Governor-General  of  iss?^ 
India,  the  Governor  of  Agra    (Sir  Charles  Metcalfe) ,  ^he  mar- 
ahd  the  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  British  forces  to  r.age  of 
be  present  at  the  nuptials  of  his  grandson,  which  he  Nau  Nihai 
designed  to  celebrate  with  much  splendour.  The  prince  smgh,   i83? 
was  wedded   to   a   daughter   of  the   Sikh  chief,    Sham 
Singh  Atariwala,  in  the  beginning  of  March  1837,  but 
of  the  English  authorities  Sir  Henry  Fane  alone  was  sir  Henry 
able  to  attend.    That  able  commander  was  ever  a  care-  Fane  at 
ful  observer  of  military  means  and  of  soldierly  quah-  Lahore, 
ties;  he  formed  an  estimate  of  the  force  which  would 
be  required  for  the  complete  subjugation  of  the  Punjab, 
but  at  the  same  time  he  laid  it  down  as  a  principle,  that 
the  Sutlej  and  the  wastes  of  Rajputana  and  Sind  were 
the  best  boundaries  which  the  English  could  have  in 
the  east.^     The  prospect  of  a  war  with  the  Sikhs  was 
then  remote,  and  hostile  designs  could  not  with  honour 

taken  by  the  British  ambassador  in  Paris,  as  well  as  by  the 
authorities  in  Calcutta,  with  whom  General  Allard  was  in  per- 
sonal communication.  (Government  to  Capt.  Wade,  16th  Jan. 
and  3rd  April  1837.) 

Of  the  two  views,  that  of  the  English  is  the  less  honourable, 
with  reference  to  their  duty  towards  Ranjit  Singh,  who  m-ight 
have  justly  resented  any  attempt  on  the  part  of  a  servant  to 
put  himself  beyond  the  power  of  his  master,  and  any  interfer- 
ence in  that  servant's  behalf  on  the  part  of  the  British 
Government. 

In  the  letter  to  Ranjit  Singh,  Louis  Philippe, is  styled,  in 
French,  'Empereur'  (Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  15th  Sept. 
1837);  a  title  which,  at  the  time,  may  have  pleased  the  vanity 
of  the  French,  although  it  could  not  have  informed  the  under- 
standings of  the  Sikhs,  as,  agreeably  to  Persian  and  Indian 
practice,  king  or  queen  is  always  translated  'Padshah*  equally 
with  emperor.  Sir  Claude  Wade  seems  to  think  that  the  real 
design  of  the  French  was  to  open  a  regular  intercourse  with 
Ranjit  Singh,  and  to  obtain  a  political  influence  in  the  Punjab. 
The  Maharaja,  however,  after  consulting  the  British  Agent, 
decided  on  not  taking  any  notice  of  the  overtures.  (Sir  Claude 
Wade,  Narrative,  p.  38,  note.)  [A  piece  of  diplomacy  on  the 
Dart  of  the  French  Government,  tj-pical  of  the  chicanery  of 
Louis  Philippe  and  his  advisers.  The  monarch  who  could 
perpetrate  the  sordid  scandal  of  the  Spanish  marriage  was 
eoually  capable  of  an  underhand  intrigue  with  Ranjit  Singh. 
—Ed.] 

1  These  views  of  Sir  Henry  Fane's  may  not  be  on  record, 
but  they  were  well  known  to  those  "about  his  Excellency.  His 
estimate  was,  as  I  remember  to  have  heard  from  Capt.  Wade, 
67,000  men,  and  he  thought  there  might  be  a  two  years'  active 
warfare. 

This  visit  to  Lahore  was  perhaps  mainly  useful  in 
enabling  Lieut.-Col.  Garden,  the  indefatigable  quarter- 
m.aster-general  of  the  Bengal  Army,  to  compile  a  detailed 
map  of  that  part  of  the  country,  and  which  formed  the 
groundwork  of  all  the  maps  used  when  hostilities  did  at  last 
break  out  with   the   Sikhs. 


V 


194 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.   VII 


1837. 


The  Sikh 
military 
Order  of 
the  Star. 

Ranjit 
Singh's 
object  the 
gratifica- 
tion of  his 
guests  and 
allies. 


Anecdotes 
showing   a 
similar 
purpose. 


be  entertained  by  a  guest.  Sir  Henry  Fane,  therefore, 
entered  heartily  into  the  marriage  festivities  of  Lahore, 
and  his  active  mind  was  amused  with  giving  shape  to 
a  scheme,  which  the  intuitive  sagacity  of  Ranjit  Singh 
had  acquiesced  in  as  pleasing  to  the  just  pride  or  useful 
vanity  of  English  soldiers.  The  project  of  establishing 
an  Order  of  merit  similar  to  those  dying  exponents  of 
warlike  skill  and  chivalrous  fraternity  among  Euro- 
pean nations,  had  been  for  some  time  entertained,  and 
although  such  a  system  of  distinction  can  be  adapted 
to  the  genius  of  any  people,  the  object  of  the  Maharaja 
was  simply  to  gratify  his  English  neighbours,  and 
advantage  was  accordingly  taken  of  Sir  Henry  Fane's 
presence  to  establish  the  'Order  of  the  auspicious  Star 
of  the  Punjab'  on  a  purely  British  model.^  This  method 
of  pleasing,  or  occupying  the  attention  of  the  English 
authorities,  was  not  unusual  with  Ranjit  Singh,  and  he 
was  always  ready  to  inquire  concerning  matters  which 
interested  them,  or  which  might  be  turned  to  account 
by  himself.  He  would  ask  for  specimens  of,  and  for 
information  about,  the  manufacture  of  Sambhar  salt 
and  Malwa  opium.-  So  early  as  1812  he  had  made 
trial  of  the  sincerity  of  his  new  allies,  or  had  shown  his 
admiration  of  their  skill,  by  asking  for  five  hundred 
muskets.  These  were  at  once  furnished  to  him,  but  a 
subsequent  request  for  a  supply  of  fifty  thousand  such 
weapons  excited  a  passing  suspicion."^  He  readily 
entered  into  a  scheme  of  freighting  a  number  of  boats 
with  merchandise  for  Bombay,  and  he  was  praised  for 
the  interest  he  took  in  commerce,  until  it  was  known 
that  he  wished  the  return  cargo  to  consist  of  arms  for 
his  infantry.^  He  would  have  his  artillerymen  learn 
gunnery  at  Ludhiana,^  and  he  would  send  shells  of 
zinc  to  be  inspected  in  the  hope  that  he  might  receive 
some  hints  about  the  manufacture  of  iron  shrapnels.*' 

1  Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  7th  April  1837.  [On  the 
occasion  of  this  visit  the  Maharaja  displayed  considerable 
interest  in  the  great  wars  of  Europe.  He  was  particularly- 
interested  in  the  career  of  Napoleon.  Col.  Wallis,  one  of  Sir 
Henry's  staff,  had  fortunately  been  at  Waterloo,  and  the 
Maharaja  asked  him  many  questions  concerning  the  battle. 
—Ed.] 

2  Capt.  Wade  to  the  Resident  at  Delhi,  2nd  Jan.  1831, 
and  to   Government,   25th  Dec.   1835. 

3  Capt.   Wade   to  Government,   22nd  July   1836. 

4  Cf.   Government  to  Capt.  Wade,   11th   Sept.   1837. 
•'"'  Capt.   Wade  to   Government,   7th   Dec.    1831. 

fi  When  the  restoration  of  Shah  Shuja  was  resolved  on, 
Ranjit  Singh  sent  shells  to  Ludhiana  to  be  looked  at  and 
commented  on,  as  if,  being  engaged  in  one  political  cause, 
there  should  not  be  any  reserve  about  military  secrets! 


CHAP.  VII       REJOICINGS  INTERRUPTED  195 

He  would  inquire  about  the  details  of  European  war-  i837. 
fare,  and  he  sought  for  copies  of  the  pay  regulations  of 
the  Indian  army  and  of  the  English  practice  of  courts 
martial,  and  bestowed  dresses  of  honour  on  the  trans- 
lator of  these  complicated  and  inapplicable  systems;^ 
while,  to  further  satisfy  himself,  he  would  ask  what 
punishment  had  been  found  an  efficient  substitute  for 
flogging.-  He  sent  a  lad,  the  relation  of  one  of  his 
chiefs,  to  learn  English  at  the  Ludhiana  school,  in 
order,  he  said,  that  the  youth  might  aid  him  in  his  cor- 
respondence with  the  British  Government,  which  Lord 
William  Bentinck  had  wished  to  carry  on  in  the  English 
tongue  instead  of  in  Persian;  ^  and  he  sent  a  number 
of  young  men  to  learn  something  of  medicine  at  the 
Ludhiana  dispensary,  which  had  been  set  on  foot  by 
the  political  agent — but  in  order,  the  Maharaja  said, 
that  they  might  be  useful  in  his  battalions.*  In  such 
ways,  half-serious,  half-idle,  did  Ranjit  Singh  endea- 
vour to  ingratiate  himself  with  the  representatives  of 
a  power  he  could  not  withstand  and  never  wholly 
trusted. 

Ranjit   Singh's  rejoicings  over  the  marriage  and  The  British 
youthful  promise  of  -his  grandson  were  rudely  inter-  scheme  of 
rupted  by  the  success  of  the  Afghans  at  Jamrud,  and  °p^"^8  ^^^ 
the  death  of  his  able  leader  Hari  Singh^  as  has  been  coinmerce 
already  related.    The   old   man   was   moved   to   tears  ends  in  the 
when  he  heard  of  the  fate  of  the  only  genuine  Sikh  project  of 
chief  of  his  creation;  °  and  he  had  scarcely  vindicated  restoring 
his  supremacy  on  the  frontier,  by  filling  the  valley  of  ^^^  shuja. 
Peshawar  with  troops,  when  the  English  interfered  to 
embitter  the  short  remainder  of  his  life,  and  to  set 
bounds  to  his  ambition  on  the  west,  as  they  had  already 
done  on  the  east  and  south.    The  commercial  policy  of 

1  Major  Hough,  who  has  added  to  the  reputation  of  the 
Indian  army  by  his  useful  publications,  put  the  practice  of 
courts  martial  into  a  Sikh  dress  for  Ranjit  Singh.  (Govern- 
ment to  Capt.  Wade,  21st  November   1834.) 

2  Government  to  Capt.  Wade,  18th  May  1835,  intimating 
that  solitary  confinement  had  been  found  a  good  substitute. 

3  Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  11th  April.  1835.  Some  of 
the  princes  of  India,  all  of  whom  are  ever  pron  suspicion, 
were  not  without  a  belief  that,  by  writing  in  English,  it  was 
designed  to  keep  them  in  ignorance  of  the  real  views  and 
declarations   of  their  paramount. 

4  Some  of  these  young  men  were  employed  with  the 
force  raised  at  Peshawar,  in  1839,  to  enable  Prince  Taimur 
to  march  through  Khaibar. 

5  Capt.  Wade  to  Government,  13th  May  1837,  quoting 
Dr.  Wood,  a  surgeon  in  the  British  army,  temporarily  deputed 
to  attend  on  Ranjit  Singh,  and  who  was  with  his  camp  at 
Rohtis  on  this  occasion. 


r 


Sir  Alex 
Burnes   at 


196  HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS  chap,  vii 

1837.  the  British  people  required  that  peace  and  industry 

— '  should  at  once  be  introduced  among  the  half-barbar- 

ous tribes  of  Sind,  Khorasan,  and  the  Punjab;  and  it 
was  vainly  sought  to  give  fixed  limits  to  newly-found- 
ed feudal  governments,  and  to  impress  moderation  of 
desire  upon  grasping  military  sovereigns.  It  was 
wished  that  Ran  jit  Singh  should  be  content  with  his 
past  achievements;  that  the  Amirs  of  Sindh,  and  the 
chiefs  of  Herat,  Kandahar,  and  Kabul  should  feel  them- 
selves secure  in  what  they  held,  but  incapable  of  ob- 
taining more;  and  that  the  restless  Shah  Shuja  should 
quietly  abandon  all  hope  of  regaining  the  crown  of  his 
daily  dreams.^  These  were  the  views  which  the  Eng- 
lish viceroy  required  his  agents  to  impress  on  Talpurs, 
Barakzais,  and  Sikhs;  and  their  impracticability  might 
have  quietly  and  harmlessly  become  apparent,  had  not 
Russia  founci  reason  and  opportunity  to  push  her  intri- 
gues, through  Persia  and  Turkestan,  to  the  banks  of 
the  Indus.^  The  desire  of  effecting  a  reconciliation 
between  Ranjit  Singh  and  Dost  Muhammad  induced 
the  British  Government  to  offer  its  mediation;  '■'  the 
predilections  of  its  frank  and  enterprising  envoy  led 
Kabul,  him  to  seize  upon  the  admission  that  the  Amir  could 

1837-8.  scarcely  be  expected  to  resign  all  pretensions  to  Pesha- 

war.'*    The  crafty   chief  made  use  of  this  partiality, 

1  Cf.  Government  to  Capt.  Wade,  13th  Nov.  1837,  and  to 
Capt.  Burnes  and  Capt.  Wade,  both  of  the  20th  January  1838. 
With  regard  to  Sind,  also,  the  views  of  Ranjit  Singh  were  not 
held  to  be  pleasing,  and  the  terms  of  his  communication  with 
the  Amirs  were  thought  equivocal,  or  denotative  of  a 
reservation,  or  of  the  expression  of  a  right  he  did  not  possess. 
(Government  to  Capt.  Wade,  25th  Sept.  and  13th  Nov.  1837.) 

~  Without  reference  to  the  settled  policy  of  Russia,  or  to 
what  she  may  always  have  thought  of  the  virtual  support 
which  England  gives  to  Persia  and  Turkey  against  her  power, 
the  presence  of  inquiring  agents  in  Khorasan  and  Turkestan, 
and  the  progressive  extension  of  the  British  Indian  dominion, 
must  have  put  her  on  the  alert,  if  they  did  not  fill  her  with 
reasonable   suspicions. 

3  Government  to  Capt.  Wade,   31st  July   1837. 

4  These  predilections  of  Sir  Alex.  Burnes,  and  the  hopes 
founded  on  them  by  Dost  Muhammad,  were  sufficiently 
notorious  to  those  in  personal  communication  with  that 
valuable  pioneer  of  the  English;  and  his  strong  wish  to 
recover  Peshawar,  at  least  for  Sultan  Muhammad  Khan,  is 
distinctly  stated  in  his  own  words,  in  Masson,  Journeys, 
iii.  423.  The  idea  of  taking  the  district  from  the  Sikhs,  either 
for  Dost  Muhammad  or  his  brothers,  is-  moreover  apparent 
from  Sir  Alex.  Burnes's  published  letters  of  5th  Oct.  1837, 
and  26th  Jan.  and  13th  March  1838  (Parliamentary  Papers, 
1839),  from  the  Government  replies  of  remark  and  caution, 
dated  20th  Jan.,  and  especially  of  27th  April  1838,  and  from 
Mr.  Masson's  statement   (Journeys,  iii.  423,  448).     Mr.  Masson 


CHAP.  VII    ENGLISH  POLICY  ERRONEOUS  197 

and  of  the  fact  that  his  friendship  was  courted,  to  try  is^t-b. 

and  secure  himself  against  the  only  power  he  really 
feared,  viz.  that  of  the  Sikhs;  and  he  renewed  his  over- 
tures to  Persia  and  welcomed  a  Russian  emissary,  witn  °ost  mu. 
the  view  of  intimidating  the  English  into  the  surrender  ^^^'JJfa^iy 
of  Peshawar,  and  into  a  guarantee  against  Ranjit^ingh.  ^^^^^  ^^10 
Friendly  assurances  to  the  .Kandahar  brothers,  and  a  the  views  of 
hint  that  the  Sikhs  were  at  liberty  to  march  on  Kabul,  Persia  and 
would  have  given  Dost  Muhammad  a  proper  sense  of  Russia, 
his  insignificance;  ^  but  the  truth  and  the  importance  The  origi- 
of  his  hostile  designs  were  both  believed  or  assumed  ^^  policy 
by  the  British  Government,  while  the  rumours  of  a  ^^g^gj^ 
northern  invasion  were  eagerly  received  and  industri-  erroneous, 
ously  spread  by  the  vanquished  princes  of  India,  and 
the  whole   country  vibrated   with   the  hope  that  the 
uncongenial  domination  of  the  English  was  about  to 
yield  to  the  ascendancy  of  another  and  less  dissimilar 
race.-     The  recall  of  Capt.  Burnes  from  Kabul  gave  But,  under 
speciousness  to  the  wildest  statements;  the  advantage  the  circum- 
of  striking  some  great  blow  became  more  and  more  brought 
obvious;  for  the  sake  of  consistency  it  was  necessary  about,  the 
to    maintain  peace  on  the  Indus,   and   it  was  wisely  expedition 
resolved  to  make  a  triumphant  progress  through  Cen-  to  Kabul 
tral   Asia,   and  to  leave   Shah   Shuja   as  a  dependent  ^^^fZ  f.!!!* 
prince  on  his   ancestral  throne.     The  conception  was 
bold  and  perfect;  and  had  it  been  steadily  adhered  to, 
the  whole  project  would  have  eminently  answered  the 
ends  intended,  and  would  have  been,  in  every  way, 
worthy  of  the  English  name.-^ 

In  the  beginning  of  1838  the  Governor-General  did  fegotia- 

tions  rC" 

not  contemplate  the  restoration  of  Shah  Shuja;  *  but  in  garbing  the 

himself  thought  it  would  be  but  justice  to  restore  the  district 
to  Sultan  Muhammad  Khan,  while  Munshi  Mohan  Lai  (Life 
of  Dost  Muhammad,  i.  257,  &c.)  represents  the  Amir  to  have 
thought  that  the  surrender  of  Peshawar  to  his  brother  would 
have  been  more  prejudicial  to  his  interests  than  its  retention 
by  the  Sikhs. 

1  Such  were  Capt.  Wade's  views,  and  they  are  sketched 
in  his  letters  of  the  15th  May  and  28th  Oct.  1837,  with 
reference  to  commercial  objects,  although  the  line  of  policy 
may  not  have  been  steadily  adhered  to,  or  fully  developed. 

-  The  extent  to  which  this  feeling  was  prevalent  is 
known  to  those  who  were  observers  of  Indian  affairs  at  the 
time,  and  it  is  dwelt  upon  in  the  Governor-General's  minute 
of  the  20th  Aug.   1839. 

■"■The  Governor-General's  minute  of  12th  May  1838,  and 
his  declaration  of  the  1st  October  of  the  same  year,  may  be 
referred  to  as  summing  up  the  views  which  moved  the 
British  Government  on  the  occasion.  Both  were  published  by 
order  of  Parliament  in  March   1839. 

■*  Government  to  Capt.  Wade,  20th  Jan.  1838. 


boldly  con- 
ceived. 


198 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.   VII 


1838. 


Ran  jit 
Singh  dis- 
satisfied; 
but  finally 
assents. 


four  months  the  scheme  was  adopted,  and  in  May  of 
that  year  Sir  William  Macnaghten  was  sent  to  Ranjit 
Singh  to  unfold  the  views  of  the  British  Government.^ 
The  Maharaja  grasped  at  the  first  idea  which  presented 
itself,  of  making  use  of  the  Shah  at  the  head  Pf  his 
armies,  with  the  proclaimed  support  of  the  paramount 
power  in  India;  but  he  disliked  the  complete  view  of 
the  scheme,  and  the  active  co-operation  of  his  old  allies. 
It  chafed  him  that  he  was  to  resign  all  hope  of  Shikar- 
pur,  and  that  he  was  to  be  enclosed  within  the  iron 
arms  of  the  English  rule.  He  suddenly  broke  up  his 
camp  at  Dinanagar,  leaving  the  British  envoys  to 
follow  at  their  leisure,  or  to  return,  if  they  pleased, 
to  Simla;  and  it  was  not  until  he  was  told  the  expedi- 
tion would  be  undertaken  whether  he  chose  to  share 
in  it  or  not,  that  he  assented  to  a  modification  of  his 
own  treaty  with  Shah  Shuja,  and  that  the  triple  alli- 
ance was  formed  for  the  subversion  of  the  power  of 
the  Barakzais.2  The  English,  on  their  part,  insisted 
on  a  double  invasion  of  Afghanistan  :  first,  because  the 
Amirs  of  Sind  disliked  a  proffered  treaty  of  alliance  or 
dependence,  and  they  could  conveniently  be  coerced  as 
tributaries  by  Shah  Shuja  on  his  way  to  Kandahar 

1  The  proximate  cause  of  the  resolution  to  restore  Shah 
Shuja  was,  of  course,  the  preference'  given  by  Dost 
Muhammad  to  a  Persian  and  Russian  over  a  British  alliance, 
and  the  immediate  object  of  deputing  Sir  W.  Macnaghten  to 
Lahore  was  to  make  Ranjit  Singh  as  much  as  possible  a  party 
to  the  policy  adopted.  (See,  among  other  letters,  Govern- 
ment to  Capt.  Wade,  15th  May  1838.)  The  deputation  crossed 
into  the  Punjab  at  Rupar  on  the  20th  May.  It  remained  some 
time  at  Dinanagar,  and  afterwards  went  to  Lahore.  The  first 
interview  with  Ranjit  Singh  was  on  the  31st  May,  the  last 
on  the  13th  July.  Sir  William  Macnaghten  recrossed  the 
Sutlej  at  Ludhiana  on  the  15th  July,  and  on  that  and  the 
following  day  he  arranged  with  Shah  Shuja  in  person  the 
terms  of  his  restoration. 

Two  months  before  the  deputation  waited  upon  Ranjit 
Singh,  he  had  visited  Jammu  for  apparently  the  first  time  in 
his  life,  and  the  same  may  be  regarded  as  the  last-  in  which 
the  worn-out  prince  tasted  of  unalloyed  happiness.  Gulab 
Singh  received  his  sovereign  with  every  demonstration  of 
loyalty,  and,  bowing  to  the  Maharaja's  feet,  he  laid  before 
him  presents  worth  nearly  forty  thousand  pounds,  saying  he 
was  the  humblest  of  his  slaves,  and  the  most  grateful  of  those 
on  whom  he  had  heaped  favours.  Ranjit  Singh  shed  tears, 
but  afterwards  pertinently  observed  that,  in  Jammu,  gold 
might  be  seen  where  formerly-  there  was  naught  but  stones. 
(Major  Mackeson's  letter  to  Capt.  Wade  of  31st  March  1838.) 

2  That  Ranjit  Singh  was  told  he  would  be  left  out  if  he 
did  not  choose  to  come  in,  does  not  appear  on  public  record. 
It  was,  however,  the  only  convincing  argument  used  during 
the  long  discussions,  and  I  think  Major  Mackeson  was  made 
the  bearer  of  the  message  to  that  effect. 


.HAP.  VII  THE  KABUL  CAMPAIGN  199 

and,  secondly,  because  it  was  not  deemed  prudent  to  i838-9. 
place  the  ex-king  in  the  hands  of  Ranjit  Singh,  who 
might  be  tempted  to  use  him  for  Sikh  rather  than  for 
British  objects.^       It  was  therefore  arranged  that  the 
Shah  himself  should  march  by  way  of  Shikarpur  and 
Quetta,  while  his  son  moved  on  Kabul  by  the  road  of 
Peshawar,  and  at  the  head  of  a  force  provided  by  the 
Maharaja  of  the  Punjab.    The  British  force  assembled 
at  Ferozepore  towards  the  close  of  1838,  and  further 
eclat  was  given  to  the  opening  of  a  memorable  cam- 
paign, by  an  interchange  of  hospitalities  between  the 
English  viceroy  and  the  Sikh  ruler.-    Ostensibly  Ranjit  RanJit 
Singh  had  reached  the  summit  of  his  ambition;  he  was  p^gn^iy^at 
acknowledged  to  be  an  arbiter  in  the  fate  of  that  em-  ^he  height 
pire  which  had  tyrannized  over  his  peasant  forefathers,  of  great- 
and  he  was  treated  with  the  greatest  distinction  by  the  ness; 
foreign  paramounts  of  India:    but  his  health  had  be- 
come seriously  impaired;  he  felt  that  he  was  in  truth 

1  Cf:  the  Governor-General's  minute  of  12th  of  May  1838, 
and  his  instructions  to  Sir  William  Macnaghten  of  the  15th 
of  the  same  month.  Ranjit  Singh  was  anxious  to  get  some- 
thing lasting  and  tangible  as  his  share  of  the  profit  of  the 
expedition,  and  he  wanted  Jalalabad,  as  there  seemed  to  be 
a  difficulty  about  Shikarpur.  The  Maharaja  got,  indeed,  a 
subsidy  of  two  hundred  thousand  rupees  a  year  from  the 
Shah  for  the  use  of  his  troops;  a  concession  which  did  not 
altogether  satisfy  the  Governor-General  (see  letter  to  Sir 
William  Macnaghten,  2nd  July,  1838),  and  the  article  became, 
in  fact,  a  dead  letter. 

The  idea  of  creating  a  friendly  power  in  Afghanistan,  by 
guiding  Ranjit  Singh  upon  Kabul,  seems  to  have  been 
seriously  entertained,  and  it  was  a  scheme  which  promised 
many  solid  advantages.  Cf.  the  Governor-General's  minute, 
12th  May  183S,  the  author's  abstract  of  which  differs  some- 
what from  the  copy  printed  by  order  of  Parliament  in  1839, 
and  Mr.  Masson  (Journeys,  iii.  487,  488)  who  refers  to  a 
communication  from  Sir  William  Macnaghten  on  the  subject. 
For  the  treaty  about  the  restoration  of  Shah  Shuja,  see 
Appendix  XXX. 

-  At  one  of  the  several  meetings  which  took  place  on 
this  occasion,  there  was  an  interchange  of  compliments,  which 
may  be  noticed.  Ranjit  Singh  likened  the  friendship  of  the 
two  states  to  an  apple,  the  red  and  yellow  colours  of  which 
were,  he  said,  so  blended,  that  although  the  semblance  was 
twofold  the  reality  was  one.  Lord  Auckland  replied  that  the 
Maharaja's  simile  was  very  happy,  inasmuch  as  red  and 
yellow  were  the  national  colours  of  the  English  and  Sikhs 
respectively;  to  which  Ranjit  Singh  rejoined  in  the  same 
strain  that  the  comparison  was  indeed  in  every  way  appro- 
priate, for  the  friendship  of  the  two  powers  was,  like  the 
apple,  fair  and  delicious.  The  translations  were  given  in 
English  and  Urdu  with  elegance  and  emphasis  by  Sir  William 
Macnaghten  and  Fakir  Aziz-ud-din,  both  of  whom  were 
masters,  although  in  different  ways,  of  language,  whether 
written  or  spoken. 


200 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.    VII 


1839. 

but  chafed 
in   mind, 
and    en- 
feebled in_ 
health. 


Death  of 
Ran]  it 
Singh, 
27*h   June 
1839. 


The  political 
condition  of 
the  Sikhs,  as 
modified  by 
the  genius 
of  Ran  jit 
Singh. 


fairly  in  collision  with  the  English,  and  he  became 
indifferent  about  the  careful  fulfilment  of  the  engage- 
ments into  which  he  had  entered.  Shahzada  Taimur 
marched  from  Lahore  in  January  1839,  accompanied 
by  Col.  Wade  as  the  British  representative;  but  it  was 
with  difficulty  the  stipulated  auxiliary  force  was  got 
together  at  Peshawar,  and  although  a  considerable 
army  at  last  encamped  in  the  valley,  the  commander, 
the  Maharaja's  grandson,  thwarted  the  negotiations  of 
Prince  Taimur  and  the  English  agent,  by  endeavouring 
to  gain  friends  for  Lahore  rather  than  for  the  pro- 
claimed sovereign  of  the  Afghans.^  Ranjit  Singh's 
health  continued  to  decline.  He  heard  of  the  fall  of 
Kandahar  in  April,  and  the  delay  at  that  place  may 
have  served  to  cheer  his  vexed  spirit  with  the  hope 
that  the  English  would  yet  be  baffled;  but  he  died  on 
the  27th  of  June,  at  the  age  of  fifty-nine,  before  the 
capture  of  Ghazni  and  the  occupation  of  Kabul,  and  the 
forcing  of  the  Khaibar  Pass  with  the  aid  of  his  own 
troops,  placed  the  seal  of  success  on  a  campaign  in 
which  he  was  an  unwilling  sharer. 

Ranjit  Singh  found  the  Punjab  a  waning  confede- 
racy, a  prey  to  the  factions  of  its  chiefs,  pressed  by  the 
Afghans  and  the  Marathas,  and  ready  to  submit  to 
English  supremacy.  He  consolidated  .the  numerous 
petty  states  into  a  kingdom,  he  wrested  from  Kabul 
the  fairest  of  its  provinces,  and  he  gave  the  potent 
English  no  cause  for  interference.  He  found  the  mili- 
tary array  of  his  country  a  mass  of  horsemen,  brave 
indeed,  but  ignorant  of  war  as  an  art,  and  he  left  it 
mustering  fifty  thousand  disciplined  soldiers,  fifty 
thousand  well-armed  yeomanry  and  militia,  and  more 
than  three  hundred  pieces  of  cannon  for  the  field.  His 
rule  was  founded  on  the  feelings  of  a  people,  but  it  in- 
volved the  joint  action  of  the  necessary  principles  of 
military  order  and  territorial  extension;  and  when  a 
limit  had  been  set  to  Sikh  dominion,  and  his  own  com- 
manding genius  was  no  more,  the  vital  spirit  of  his 
race  began  to  consume  itself  in  domestic  contentions.'' 

1  See,  among  other  letters,  Capt.  Wade  to  Government, 
18th  Aug.  1839.  For  some  interesting  details  regarding  Capt. 
Wade's  military  proceedings,  see  Lieut.  Barr's  published 
Journal;  and  for  the  diplomatic  history,  so  to  speak,  of  his 
mission,  see  Munshi  Shahamat  Ali,  Sikhs  and  Afghans. 

2  In  1831,  Capt.  Murray  estimated  the  Sikh  revenue  at 
little  more  than  2|  millions  sterling,  and  the  army  at  82,000 
men,  including  15,000  regular  infantry  and  376  guns.  (Murray, 
Ranjit  Singh,  by  Prinsep,  pp.  185,  186.)  In  the  same  year 
Capt.  Burnes  (Travels,  i.  289,  291)  gives  the  revenue  at  2^ 
millions,   and   the  army    at    75,000,    including    25,000    regular 


CHAP.  VII       DEATH  OF  RANJIT  SINGH  201 

When  Ran  jit  Singh  was  Lord  Auckland's  host  at  i839^ 

Lahore  and  Amritsar,  his  utterance  was  difficult,  and 
the  powers  of  his  body  feeble;  he  gradually  lost  the  use 
of  his  speech,  and  of  the  faculties  of  his  mind;   and, 
before  his  death,  the  Rajas  of  Jammu  had  usurped  to 
themselves  the  whole  of  the  functions  of  government, 
which  the  absence  of  Nau  Nihal  Singh  enabled  them 
to  do  with  little  difficulty.     The  army  was  assembled, 
and  a  litter,  said  to  contain  the  dying  Maharaja,  was  The  artifices 
carried  along  the    extended    line.     Dhian    Singh    was  of  Dhian 
assiduous  in  his  mournful  attentions^  he  seemed  to  take  singh  to 
orders  as  if  from  his  departing  sovereign,  and  from  ^""^^^  about 
time  to  time,  during  the  solemn  procession,  he  made  ^^^^^^jon 
known  that  Ran  jit  Singh  declared  the  Prince  Kharak  of  Karak 
Singh   his   successor,   and   himself,   Dhian    Singh,   the  smgh. 
wazir  or    minister    of    the    kingdom.^     The    soldiery 
acquiesced  in  silence,  and  the  British  Government  was 
perhaps  more  sincere  than  the  Sikh  people  in  the  con- 
gratulations offered,,  agreeably  to  custom,  to  the  new 
and  unworthy  master  of  the  Punjab. 

infantry.  Mr.  Masson  (Journeys,  i.  430)  gives  the  same 
revenue;  but  fixes  the  army  at  7C,000  men,  of  whom  20,000 
were  disciphned.  This  may  be  assumed  as  an  estimate  of  1838, 
when  Mr.  Masson  returned  from  Kabul.  In  1845,  Lieut. -Col. 
Steinbach  (Punjab,  p.  58)  states  the  army  to  have  amounted 
to  110,000  men,  of  whom  70,000  were  regulars.  The  returns 
procured  for  Government  in  1844,  and  which  cannot  be  far 
wrong,  show  that  there  were  upwards  of  40,000  regularly 
drilled  infantry,  and  a  force  of  about  125.000  men  in  all, 
maintained  with  about  375  guns  or  field  carriages.  Cf.  the 
Calcutta  Review,  iii.  176;  Dr.  Macgregor,  Sikhs,  ii.  86,  and 
Major  Smith,  Reigning  Family  of  Lahore,  appendices, 
p.  xxxvii,  for  estimates,  •  correct  in  some  particulars,  and 
moderate  in  others. 

For  a  statement  of  the  Lahore  revenues,  see  Appendix 
XXXVIII;  and  for  a  list  o£  the  Lahore  army,  see  Appendix 
XXXIX. 

Many  descriptions  of  Ranjit  Singh's  person  and  manners 
have  been  written,  of  which  the  fullest  is  perhaps 
that  in  Prinsep's  edition  of  Murray,  Life,  p.  187,  &c.;  while 
Capt.  Osborne's  Court  and  Camp,  and  Col.  Lawrence's 
Adventurer  in  the  Punjab,  contain  many  illustrative  touches 
and  anecdotes.  The  only  good  likeness  of  the  Maharaja  which 
has  been  published  is  that  taken  by  the  Hon.  Miss  Eden;  and 
it,  especially  in  the  original  drawing,  is  true  and  expressive. 
Ranjit  Singh  was  of  small  stature.  When  young  he  was  dex- 
terous in  all  manly  exercises,  but  in  his  old  age  he  became 
weak  and  inclined  to  corpulency.  He  lost  an  eye  when  a  child 
by  the  small-pox,  and  the  most  marked  characteristic  of  his 
mental  powers  was  a  broad  and  massive  forehead,  which  the 
ordinary  portraits  do  not  show. 

1  Mr.  Clerk's  memorandum  of  1842  for  Lord  Ellenborough. 


CHAPTER   VIII 

FROM  THE  DEATH  OF  MAHARAJA  RANJIT 
SINGH  TO  THE  DEATH  OF  WAZIR  JAWAHIR 
SINGH 

1839—45 


1839. 

Sher    Singh 
claims  the 
succession, 
June -July 
1839;   but 
Nau  Nihal 
Singh   as- 
sumes all 
real  power, 
and  tempo- 
rarily   allies 
himself- 
with   the 
Jammu 
Rajas. 


Kharak  Singh's  power  usurped  by  his  son  Nau  Nihal  Singh — 
Lieut.-Col.  Wade  and  Mr.  Clerk — Nau  Nihal  Singh  %nd 
the  Rajas  of  Jammu — The  death  of  Kharak  Singh — The 
death  of  Nau  Nihal  Singh — Sher  Singh  proclaimed 
Maharaja,  but  the  authority  of  sovereign  assumed  by  the 
mother  of  Nau  Nihal  Singh — Sher  Singh  gains  over  the 
troops  and  succeeds  to  power-^The  army  assumes  a  voice 
in  affairs,  and  becomes  an  organized  political  body — The 
English  willing  to  interfere — The  English  undervalue  the 
Sikhs — The  Sikhs  in  Tibet: — opposed  by  the  Chinese, 
and  restrained  by  the  English — The  English  in  Kabul — 
General  Pollock's  campaign — The  Sindhianwala  and 
Jammu  families — The  death  of  Sher  Singh — The  death  of 
Raja  Dhian  Singh — Dalip  Singh  proclaimed  Maharaja 
with  Hira  Singh  as  Wazir — Unsuccessful  insurrections — 
Pandit  Jail's  proceedings  and  views — Hira  Singh  expelled 
and  slain — Jawahir  Singh  nominated  Wazir — Gulab 
Singh  submits  —  Pishaura  Singh  in  rebellion  —  Jawahir 
Singh  put  to  death  by  the  army. 

The  imbecile  Kharak  Singh  was  acknowledged  as 
the  master  of  the  Punjab;  but  Sher  Singh,  the  reputed 
son  of  the  deceased  king,  at  once  urged  his  superior 
claims  or  merits  on  the  attention  of  the  British  vice- 
roy; ^  and  Nau  Nihal  Singh,  the  real  offspring  of  the 
titular  sovereign,  hastened  from  Peshawar  to  take  upon 
himself  the  duties  of  ruler.  The  prince,  a  youth  of 
eighteen,  was  in  his  heart  opposed  to  the  proclaimed 
minister  and  the  Rajas  of  Jammu;  but  the  ascendancy 
of  one  Chet  Singh  over  the  weak  mind  of  the  Maharaja, 
and  Kharak  Singh's  own  desire  of  resting  upon  the 
influence  of  the  British  agent,  induced  the  two  parties 
to  coalesce,  first  for  the  destruction  of  the  minion,  and 

1  Government  to  Mr.  Clerk,  12th  July  1839.  Mr.  Clerk, 
who  was  acting  for  Col.  Wade  while  absent  at  Peshawar,  seems 
to  have  detained  Sher  Singh's  messenger,  and  1  ■>  have  sent 
his  letter  to  the  Governor-General  somewhat  in  that  ordinary 
spirit  of  Indian  correspondence,  which  'transmits'  everything 
'for  information  and  for  such  orders  as  may  seem  necessary*. 
Lord  Auckland  hastily  desired  Sher  Singh  to  be  told  Kharak 
Singh  was  his  master. 


CHAP,  viii  KARAKH  SINGH  203 

afterwards  for  the  removal  of  Col.  Wade.  That  officer  1839. 
had  stood  high  with  Ran  jit  Singh  as  a  liberal  construer 
of  Sikh  rights,  or  as  one  who  would  carefully  show 
how  a  collision  with  the  English  was  to  be  avoided;  he 
had  steadily  refused  to  make  Dhian  Singh  the  medium 
of  his  communications  with  the  old  Maharaja;  he  had 
offended  '^he  heir-apparent  by  unceremoniously  accus- 
ing him  of  machinations  with  Afghan  chiefs;  and  in  the 
eyes  of  the  Sikhs  he  was  pledged  to  Kharak  Singh  at 
all  hazards,  by  the  prominent  part  he  had  taken  in  the 
meeting  at  Rupar  before  noticed.  His  presence  was 
thus  disliked,  and  his  interference  dreaded,  by  men 
not  inclined  to  wholly  yield  themselves  to  English 
counsels,  and  yet  accustomed  to  see  the  suggestions  of 
the  Governor-General  regularly  carried  into  effect  by 

?  the  sovereign  of  Lahore. 

'         The    privacy    of    the    Maharaja's    household    was  The  favou- 
rudely  violated  by  the  prince  and  minister  at  daybreak  rite,  chet 
on  the  8th  of  October  1839,  and  Chet  Singh  was  awak-  f"f^'  ^"^ 
ened  from  his  slumbers  to  be  put  to  death,  within  a  3^^  oct.' 
few  paces  of  his  terrified  master.^    The  removal  of  Col.  1339. 
Wade  was  mixed  up  with  the  passage  of  British  troops 
across  the  Punjab,  and  had  to  be  effected  in  another 
manner. 

The    Governor-General    had    designed    that    the  mt.  cierk 
Anglo-Indian   army   which   accompanied   Shah   Shuja  JJeuttcoi 

!  should  return  by  way  of  Peshawar,  instead  of  retracing  wade  as 

:  its  steps  through  the  Bolan  Pass;  and  when  his  lord-  Agent. 
ship  visited  Ranjit  Singh   at  Lahore,   the  proposition  ^^^^^^p"^^- 

:  was  verbally  conceded,  although  not  definitively  set- 

'  tied  by  an  interchange  of  letters.-  In  September  1839, 
Mr.  Clerk  was  sent  on  a  mission  of  condolence  and  con- 

'  gratulation  to  the  new  Maharaja,  and  to  finally  arrange 
about  the  return  of  Lord  Keane  with  the  stormers  of 
Ghazni.^    The  prince  and  minister  were  each  conscious 

1  Gulab  Singh  was  perhaps  the  most  prominent  and 
resolute  actor  in  this  tragedy  although  his  brother  and  Nau 
Nihal  Singh  were  both  present.  Col.  Wade  was  desired  to 
express  to  the  Lahore  Court  the  regret  of  the  British  Gkivern- 
ment  that  such  a  scene  of  violence  should  have  occurred 
(Government  to  Col.  Wade,  28th  Oct.  1839);  and  similarly 
Mr.  Clerk  had  been  directed  to  explain  to  Kharak  Singh  the 
disapprobation  with  which  the  English  viewed  the  practice  of 
sati,  with  reference  to  what  had  taken  place  at  his  father's 
funeral.  (Government  to  Mr.  Clerk,  20th  Aug.  1839.)  [For  a 
detailed  account  of  this  sati  the  reader  is  referred  to  Latif, 
History  of  the  Punjab,  pp.  492-6 — Ed.]. 

2  Government  to  Mr.  Clerk,  20th  Aug.  1839. 
^  [Kandahar  had  been   eniered  by  the  English  and.  Shah 

Shuja  proclaimed  Amir  on  May  8th.  1839.  Ghazni  was  stormed 
in  July.  Kabul  was  entered  in  August,  and  ii  was  then  arranged 


1840. 


204  HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS         chap,  vii: 

18-50.         of  their  mutual  enmity  and  secret  design  of  grasping 

supremacy,  but  they  were  even  more  averse  to  th( 
presence  of  a  British  army  in  the  heart  of  the  Punjal 
than  to  one  hovering  on  a  distant  frontier.  It  migh", 
be  used  to  take  part  with  one  or  other  claimant,  or  ii| 
might  be  turned  against  both  in  favour  of  the  con  ' 
temned  Kharak  Singh  :  but  the  passage  of  the  troop; 
could  not  be  wholly  refused,  and  they  therefore  urgec 
a  march  by  the  difficult  route  of  Dera  Ismail  Khan,  anc 
they  succeeded  in  fixing  upon  a  line  which  prudentlj 
avoided  the  capital,  and  also  in  obtaining  a  prematun 
assurance  that  an  English  force  should  not  again  marcl' 
through  the  Sikh  country. ^  The  chiefs  were  pleasec^ 
with  the  new  English  negotiator,  as  all  have  ever  beer- 
with  that  prompt  and  approved  functionary.  Some- 
thing is  always  expected  from  a  change,  and  when  ei 
return  mission  was  deputed  to  Simla,  it  was  whisperec' 
that  Col.  Wade  had  made  himself  personally  objection- 
able to  those  who  exercised  sway  at  Lahore;  and  th{ 
complaint  was  repeated  to  Lord  Keane,  when  ht 
quitted  his  army  for  a  few  days  to  visit  the  Maharaja. 
In  the  month  of  November  (1839),  Col.  Wade  was  him- 
self at  the  Sikh  metropolis  on  his  way  from  Kabul 
but  Kharak  Singh  was  kept  at  a  distance  on  pretenc?' 
of  devotional  observances,  lest  he  should  throw  him- 
self on  the  protection  of  one  believed  to  be  ill-disposec 
towards  those  who  sought  his  life,  or  his  virtual  relin-^ 
quishment  of  power.''  ] 

The  relief  A    portion    of  the    British    army    of  invasion    had' 

Lh  S-o^ps      eventually  to  be  left  in  Afghanistan,  as  it  was  thought 
in  Kabul.        that  Shah  Shuja  could  not  maintain  himself  without 
support.     The  wants  of  regular   forces  are  manifold, 

that  the  bulk  of  the  army  should  return  to  India,  leaving  an 
army  of  occupation  to  maintain  Shah  Shuja  upon  his  throne 
— Ed.] 

iMr.  Clerk  to  Government,  14th  Sept.  1839.  The 
Governor-General  was  not  satisfied  that  a  kind  of  pledge  had 
been  given  that  British  troops  should  not '  again  cross  the 
Punjab.    (Government  to  Mr.  Clerk,   14th  Oct.   1839.) 

-  See,  particularly,  Government  to  Col.  Wade,  29th  Jan. 
1840,  and  Col.  Wade  to  Government,  1st  April  1840. 

■■'  Cf.  Munshi  Shahamat  Ali,  Sikhs  and  Afghans,  p.  543, 
&c.,  and  some  remarks  in  a  note,  p.  545,  about  the  English 
policy  generally  towards  Kharak  Singh,  which  note  may  safelyj 
be  held, to  be  Col.  Wade's  own.  Doubtless  had  Col.  Wade  conti-i 
nued  to  enjoy  the  complete  confidence  or  support  of  the 
Governor-General,  the  subsequent  history  of  the  Punjab  would 
have  been  different  from,  if  not  better  than,  that  which  all 
have  witnessed.  So  much  may  the  British  representative  effect 
at  an  Indian  court,  without  directly  interfering,  provided  he 
is  at  once,  firm,  judicious,  and  well-informed. 


HAP.  VIII     COL.  WADE  AND  MR.  CLERK  205 

md  a  supply  of  stores  and  ammunition  had  to  be  col-  i84o. 
ected  for  transmission  to  Kabul  on  Col.  Wade's 
'esumption  of  his  duties  at  Ludhiana,  towards,  the  end 
3f  1839.  It  was  desired  to  send  a  regiment  of  Sepoys 
as  a  guard  with  the  convoy,  but  the  Sikh  minister  and 
leir  apoarent  urged  that  such  could  not  be  done  under 
;he  terms  of  the  agreement  concluded  a  few  months 
previously.  Their  aversion  to  their  old  English  repre- 
sentative was  mixed  up  with  the  general  objection  to 
making  their  country  a  common  highway  for  foreign 
armies,  and  they  thus  ventured  to  offer  obstructions  to 
the  speedy  equipment  of  the  isolated  British  forces, 
mainly  with  the  view  of  discrediting  Col.  Wade.  The 
Governor-General  was  justly  impressed  with  the 
necessity  of  keeping  open  the  straight  road  to  Kabul, 
and  he  yielded  to  the  wishes  of  the  Lahore  factions 
and  removed  his  agent,  but  not  before  Dhian  Singh 
and  the  prince  had  despaired  of  effecting  their  object, 
and  had  allowed  the  convoy  bristling  with  bayonets, 
to  proceed  on  its  way.^  In  the  beginning  of  April  1840, 
Mr.  Clerk  succeeded  to  the  charge  of  the  British  rela- 
tions with  the  Punjab;  and,  independent  of  his  general 
qualifications,  he  was  the  person  best  suited  to  the 
requirements  of  the  time;  for  the  verj'  reason  which 
rendered  the  agency  of  Col.  Wade  invaluable  when  it 
was  desired  to  preserve  Sind  and  to  invade  Afghani- 
stan, now  rendered  that  of  Mr.  Clerk  equally  beneficial 
to  the  indeterminate  policy  of  the  English  in  India. 
Both  officers  had  the  confidence  of  the  de  facto  Sikh 
rulers  of  the  time,  and  all  their  recommendations  wer? 
held  to  be  given  in  a  spirit  of  goodwill  towards  the 
Government  of  the  Punjab,  as  well  as  in  obedience  to 
the  dictates  of  British  interests. 

The  Sikh  prince  and  the  English  viceroy  had  thus  English  ne- 
each  accomplished  the  objects  of  the  moment.    On  the  gotiations 
one  hand,  the  Maharaja  was  overawed  by  the  vigour  ^^°^t  trade. 
and  success  of  his  aspiring  son,  and,  on  the  other,  the 
Punjab  was  freely  opened  to   the  passage  of  British 
troops,  in  support  of  a  policy  which  connected  the  west 
of  Europe  with  the  south  of  Asia  by  an  unbroken  chain 
of  alliances.     The  attention   of  each  party  was  next 
turned  to  other  matters  of  near  concern,  and  the  Eng- 
lish recurred  to  their  favourite  scheme  of  navigating 
the  Indus,  and  of  forming  an  entrepot  on  that  river, 

1  The  Governor-General  was  about  lo  proceed  to  Calcutta, 
which  made  him  the  more  desirous  of  having  an  agent  on  the 
frontier,  at  once  approved  of  by  himself  and  agreeable  to  the 
Sikhs,  i.e.  to  the  influential  parties  for  the  time  being  at 
Lahore.   (Government  to  Col.  Wade,  29th  Jan.  1840.) 


n) 

1-: 


hi 


206  HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS        chap,  vml 

^^- which  should   at   once   become   the   centre    oi  a  vast 

traffic.^  The  treaty  of  1834  had  placed  a  toll  on  boats 
which  used  the  channels  of  the  Indus  and  Sutlej,  and 
in  1839  the  Sikhs  deferred  to  the  changing  views  of! 
their  allies,  and  put  the  duty  on  the  goods  themselves,! 
according  to  an  assumed  ad  valorem  scale,  instead  ni 
on  the  containing  vessels.^  This  scheme  inevitably 
gave  rise  to  a  system  of  search  and  detention,  and  in 
June  1840  the  tolls  upon  the  boats  were  again  reim- 
posed,  but  at  reduced  rates,  and  with  the  omission  of 
such  as  contained  grain,  wood,  and  limestone.^  B  t  in 
spite  of  every  government  endeavour,  and  of  the  ad 
ventitious  aid  of  large  consuming  armies,  the  expecta 
tion  of  creating  an  active  and  valuable  commerce  by 
the  Indus  has  not  yet  been  fulfilled;  partly  because 
Sind  and  Afghanistan  are,  in  truth,  unproductive  coun- 
tries on  the  whole,  and  are  inhabited  by  half-savage 
races,  with  few  wants  and  scanty  means;  and  partly 
because  a  large  capital,  has  for  ages  been  embarked  in 
the  land  trade  which  connects  the  north  of  India  with 
the  south,  which  traverses  the  old  principalities  of 
Rajputana  and  the  fertile  plains  of  Malwa.,  and  which 
gives  a  livelihood  to  the  owners  of  numerous  herds  of 
camels  and  black  cattle.  To  change  the  established 
economy  of  prudent  merchants  must  be  the  work  of 
time  in  a  country  long  subject  to  political  comm.otion, 
and  the  idea  of  forming  an  emporium  by  proclamation 
savours  more  of  Eastern  vanity  than  of  English  sense 
and  soberness.^ 

'  Government  to  Mr.  Clerk,  4th  May  1840.  The  establish- 
ment of  a  great  entrepot  of  trade  was  a  main  feature  of  the 
scheme  for  opening  the  navigation  of  the  Indus.  (Government 
to  Capt.  Wade,  5th  Sept.  1836.) 

2  Mr.  Clerk  to  Government,  19th  May  and  18th  Sept.  1839, 
and  Government  to  Mr.  Clerk,  20th  Aug.  1839.  For  the  agree- 
ment itself,  see  Appendix  XXXI. 

3  Mr.  Clerk  to  Government,  5th  May  and  15th  July  1840. 
For  the  agreement  itself,  see  Appendix  XXXII.  Subsequently, 
idle  discussions  occasionally  arose  with  local  authorities,  as  to 
whether  lime  was  included  under  limestone,  whether  bamboos 
were  wood,  and  whether  rice  was  comprehended  under  the 
technical  term  'grain',  which  it  is  not  in  India.  Similarly  the 
limited  meaning  of  'corn'  in  England  has,  perhaps,  given  rise 
to  the  modern  phrase  'bread-stuffs'. 

4  Nevertheless  the  experiment  was  repeated  in  1846,  on 
the  annexation  of  the  Jullundur  Doab,  when  it  was  hoped,  but 
equally  in  vain,  that  Hoshiarpur  might  suddenly  become  a 
centre  of  exchange.  Every  part  of  India  bears  various  marks 
of  the  unrealized  hopes  of  sanguine  individuals  with  reference 
to  the  expected  benefits  of  English  sway,  which  diffuses,  indeed, 
some  moral  as  well  as  material  blessings,  but  which  must 
effect  its  work  by  slow  and  laborious  means. 


CHAP.  VIII  NAU  NIHAL  SINGH'S  SCHEMES  207 

Nau  Nihal  Singh's    great    aim    to    destroy,    or    to  i84o. 
reduce  to  insignificance,  the  potent  Rajas  of  Jammu,  Nau  Nihai 
who  wished  to  engross  the  whole  power  of  the  state,  singhs 
and  who  jointly  held  Ladakh  and  the  hill  prihcipali-  schemes 
ties  betw^een    the    Ravi    and    Jhelum    in  fief,    besides  Ra^'j^^^oJ^^ 
numerous  estates  in  various  parts  of  the  Punjab.     He  jammu. 
took    advantage    of    the   repeated    dilatoriness    of  the 
landi  and  other  Rajput  chiefs  around  Kangra  in  pay- 
ing their  stipulated  tribute,  to  move  a  large  force  into 
the  eastern  hills,  and  the  resistance  his  troops  experi- 
enced amid  mountain  fastnesses  seemed  fully  to  justify 
the  continuous  dispatch  of  reinforcements.    His  design 
was,  to  place  a  considerable  army  immediately  to  the 
north-east  of  Jammu,  to  be  read}'  to  co-operate  with 
the  troops  which    could    reach    that    place    in    a    few 
^.arches  from  Lahore.     The  commanders  chosen  were 
e  skilful  General  Ventura  and  the  ardent  young  chief 
A  jit  Singh  Sindhianwala,  neither  of  whom  bore  good- 
will  towards  Raja   Dhian  Singh.'     The  plans  of  the 
youthful  prince  thus  seemed  in  every  way  well  devised 
for  placing  the  rajas  in  his  grasp,  but  his  attention  was  interrupted 
distracted    by    disputes    with   the    English    authorities  ^y  discus- 
about  the  limits  of  the  expanding  dominion  of  Lahore  J^^Engush 
and  of  the  restored  empire  of  Kabul,  and  by  a  direct  about  Af- 
accusation  not  only  of  encouraging  turbulent  refugees  gharistan. 
from  Shah  Shuja's  power,  but  of  giving  friendly  assur- 
ances to  Dost  Muhammad  Khan,  who  was  then  prepar- 
ing for  that  inroad  which  fluttered  the  English  autho- 
rities  in  Khorasan,    and   yet  paved   the   way  for  the 
surrender  of  their  dreaded  enemy.  Shah  Shuja  claimied 
all  places  not  specified  in  the  treaty,  or  not  directly 
held  by  Lahore;  nor  can  it  be  denied  that  the  English 
functionaries  about  the  Shah  were  disposed  to  consider 
old  Durrani  claims  as  more  valid  than  the  new  rights 
of  Sikh  conquerors;  and  thus  the  vrovince  of  Peshawar, 
which  the  Punjab  Government  further  maintained  to 
have  been  ceded  in  form  by  the  Shah  separately  in 
1834,  as  well  as  by  the  treaty  of  1838,  was  proposed  to 
be  reduced  to  strips   of  land  along  the  banks  of  its 
dividing  river.-       Intercepted  papers  were  produced, 
bearing  the  seals  of  Nau  Nihal  Singh,  and  promising 
pecuniary  aid  to  Dost  Muhammad;  but  the  charge  of 
treachery  was  calmly  repelled,  the  seals  were  alleged 
to  be  forgeries,  and  the  British  agent  for  the  Punjab 
admitted  that  it  was  not  the  character  of  the  free  and 
confident  Sikhs  to  resort  to  secret  and  traitorous  cor- 

1  Cf.  Mr.  Clerk  to  Government,  6th  Sept.  1840. 
-  See    particularly    Sir    William    Macnagthen    to    Govern- 
ment, 28th  Feb.  and  12th  March  1840. 


208 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS         chap,  viii 


1840. 


Death   of 
Maharaja 
Kharak 
Singh.  5th 
Nov.    1840. 


Death  of 
the   Prince 
Nau  Nihal 
Singh,  5th 
Nov.   1840. 


respondence.^  The  Barakzai  chief,  Sultan  Muhammad 
Khan,  was,  however,  made  to  lead  as  prisoners  to 
Ludhiana  the  Ghilzai  rebels  who  had  sought  an  asylum 
in  his  fief  ol  Kohat,  near  Peshawar,  and  whose  near 
presence  disturbed  the  antagonistic  rule  of  the  arbitrary 
Shah  and  his  moderate  English  allies.- 

Nau  Nihal*  Singh  thus  seemed  to  have  overcome 
the  danger  which  threatened  him  on  the  side  of  Eng- 
land, and  to  be  on  the  eve  of  reducing  the  overgrown 
power  of  his  grandfather's  favourites.  At  the  same 
time  the  end  of  the  Maharaja's  life  was  evidently 
approaching;  and  although  his  decline  was  credibly 
declared  to  have  been  hastened  by  drugs  as  well  as  by 
unfilial  harshness,  there  were  none  who  cared  for  a 
ruler  so  feeble  and  unworthy.  Karak  Singh  at  last 
died  on  the  5th  November  1840,  prematurely  old  and 
care-worn,  at  the  age  of  thirty-eight,  and  Nau  Nihal 
Singh  became  a  king  in  name  as  well  as  in  power;  but; 
the  same  day  dazzled  him  with  a  crown  and  deprived 
him  of  life.  He  had  performed  the  last  rites  at  the 
funeral  pyre  of  his  father,  and  he  was  passing  under 
a  covered  gateway  with  the  eldest  son  of  Gulab  Singh 
by  his  side,  when  a  portion  of  the  structure  fell,  and 
killed  the  minister's  nephew  on  the  spot,  and  so  seri- 
ously injured  the  prince  that  he  became  senseless  at 
the  time,  and  expired  during  the  night.  It  is  not  posi- 
tively known  that  the  Rajas  of  Jammu  thus  designed 
to  remove  Nau  Nihal  Singh;  but  it  is  difficult  to  acquit 
them  of  the  crime,  and  it  is  certain  that  they  were 
capable  of  committing  it.  Self-defence  is-  the  only 
palliation,  for  it  is  equally  certain  that  the  prince  was 
compassing  their  degradation,  and,  perhaps,  their  des- 
truction."^   Nau  Nihal  Singh  was  killed  in  his  twentieth 

1  Government  to  Mr.  Clerk,  1st  Oct.  1840,  and  Mr.  Clerk 
to  Government,  9th  Dec.  1840.  Cf.,  however,  Col.  Steinbach 
(Punjab,  p.  23),  who  states  that  the  prince  was  rousing  Nepal 
as  well  as  Kabul  to  aid  him  in  expelling  the  English;  forgetful 
that  Nau  Nihal  Singh's  first  object  was  to  make  himself  master 
of  the  Punjab  by  destroying  the  Jammu  Rajas. 

-  Government  to  Mr.  Clerk,  12th  Oct.,  and  Mr.  Clerk  to 
Government,  14th  May,  10th  Sept.,  and  24th  Oct.  1840. 

"'  Cf.  Mr.  Clerk  to  Governm.ent,  6th,  7th,  and  10th  Nov. 
1840,  who,  further,  in  his  memorandum  of  1842,  drawn  up  for 
Lord  Ellenborough,  mentions  Gen.  Ventura's  opinion  that  the 
fall  of  the  gateway  was  accidental.  Lieut -Col.  Steinbach, 
Punjab  (p.  24),  and  Major  Smith,  Reigning  Family  of  Lahore 
(p.  35,  &c.)  may  be  quoted  as  giving  some  particulars,  the 
latter  on  the  authority  of  an  eye-witness,  a  European  adven- 
turer, known  as  Capt.  Gardner,  who  was  present  a  part  of  the 
time,  and  whose  testimony  is  unfavourable  to  Raja  Dhian 
Singh.   [The  scene  of  this  tragedy  was  the  gateway  in  the  fort 


CHAP,  vin  MAI  CHAND  KAUR  2o9 

year;  he  promised  to  be  an  able  and  vigorous  ruler;  ]^ 

aijd  had  his  life  been  spared,  and  had  not  English  policy 
partly  forestalled  him,  he  would  have  found  an  ample 
field  for  his  ambition  in  Sind,  in  Afghanistan,  and 
beyond  the  Hindu  Kush;  and  he  might,  perhaps,  at  last 
have  boasted  that  the  inroads  of  Mahmud  and  of 
Taimur  had  been  fully  avenged  by  the  aroused  peasants 
of  India. 

The  good-natured    voluptuary,    Sher    Singh,    was  sher  singh 
regarded  by  the  Sikh  minister  and  by  the  British  agent  proclaimed 
as  the  only  person  who  could  succeed  to  the  sovereignty  ^^^^^^'^n. 
of  the  Punjab;  and  as  he  was  absent  from  Lahore  when 
the  Maharaja  died  and  his  son  was  killed,  Dhian  Singh 
concealed  the  latter  circumstance  as  long  as  possible, 
to  give  Sher    Singh    time    to    collect    his    immediate 
friends;  and  the  English  representative  urged  him  by 
message  to  maintain  good  order  along  the  frontier,  as 
men's  minds  were  likely  to  be  excited  by  what  had 
taken  place.^       But  Sher  Singh's  paternity  was  more 
than  doubtful;  he  possessed  no  commanding  and  few 
popular  qualities;  the  Rajas  of  Jammu  were  odious  to 
the  majority  of  the  Sikh  chiefs;  and  thus  Chand  Kaur,  but  chand 
the  widow  of  Kharak  Singh,  and  the  mother  of  the  ^aur.  the 
slain  prince,  assumed  to  herself  the  functions  of  regent 
or    ruler,    somewhat    unexpectedly    indeed,    but    still 
unopposed  at  the  moment  by  those  whom  she  had  sur-  assumes 
prised.    She  was  supported  by  several  men  of  reputa-  power,   and 
tion,  but  mainly  by  the  Sindhianwala  family,  which  ^'^^^  ^'"^h 
traced  to   a   near  and   common   ancestor  with   Ranjit  ^^^""^^■ 
Singh.    The  lady  herself  talked  of  adding  to  the  claims 
of  the  youthful  Hira  Singh,  by  adopting  him,  as  he 
had  really,  if  not  formally,  been  adopted  by  the  old 
Maharaja.     She  further  distracted  the  factions  by  de- 
claring  that  her   daughter-in-law   was  pregnant;    and 
one  party  tried    to    gain    her    over    by    suggesting    a 
marriage  with  Sher  Singh,  an  alliance  which  she  spur- 
ned, and  the  other  more  reasonably  proposed  Atar  Singh 
Sindhianwala  as  a  suitable  partner,  for  she  might  have 
taken  an  honoured  station  in  his  household  agreeably 
to  the  latitude  of  village  custom  in  the  north-west  of 
India.    But  the  widow  of  the  Maharaja  loudly  asserted 
her  own  right  to  supreme  power,  and  after  a  few  weeks 
the  government  was  stated  to  be  composed,  1st,  of  the 
'Mai',  or  'Mother',   pre-eminently  as  sovereign,   or  as 

at  Lahore  facing  the  Hazuri  Bagh  and  the  Badshahi  Musjid. 
It  is  now  closed,  but  may  be  easily  recognised  by  its  prominent 
towers. — Ed.] 

1  Cf.  Mr.   Clerk  to  Government,  7th  Nov.   1840,  and  also 
Mr.  Clerk's  Memorandum  of  1842. 

14 


widow    of 

Kharak 

Singh, 


210 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS        chap,  viii 


1840. 


Dalip  Singh's 
birth  and 
pretensions 
made  known. 

The    English 
remain 
neutral  at 
the  time. 


Dost 

Muhammad 
Khan  at- 
tempts 
Kabul,  but 
eventually 
surrenders 
to  the 
English. 


regent  for  the  expected  offspring  of  Nau  Nihal  Singh; 
2ncl,  of  Sher  Singh  as  vicegerent,  or  as  president  of 
the  council  of  state;  and,  3rd,  of  Dhian  Singh  as  wazir, 
or  executive  minister.  The  compromise  was  a  mere 
temporary  expedient,  and  Dhian  Singh  and  Sher  Singh 
soon  afterwards  began  to  absent  themselves  for  vary- 
ing periods  from  Lahore  :  the  one  partly  in  the  hope 
that  the  mass  of  business  which  had  arisen  with  the 
English,  and  with  which  he  was  familiar,  would  show 
to  all  that  his  aid  was  essential  to  the  government;  and 
the  other,  or  indeed  both  of  them,  to  silently  take 
measures  for  gaining  over  the  army  with  promises  of 
donatives  and  increased  pay,  so  that  force  might  be 
resorted  to  at  a  fitting  time.  But  the  scorn  with  which 
Sher  Singh's  hereditary  claim  was  treated  made  the 
minister  doubtful  whether  a  more  suitable  instrurhent 
might  not  be  necessary,  and  the  English  authorities 
were  accordingly  reminded  of  what  perhaps  they  had 
never  known,  viz.  that  Rani  Jindan,  a  favourite  wife 
or  concubine  of  Ranjit  Singh,  had  borne  to  him  a  son 
named  Dalip,  a  few  months  before  the  conferences  took 
place  about  reseating  Shah  Shuja  on  the  throne  of 
Kabul.i 

The  British  viceroy  did  not  acknowledge  Mai 
Chand  Kaur  as  the  undoubted  successor  of  her  hus- 
band and  son,  or  as  the  sovereign  of  the  country;  but 
he  treated  her  government  as  one  de  facto,  so  far  as 
to  carry  on  business  as  usual  through  the  accredited 
agents  of  either  power.  The  Governor-General's 
anxiety  for  the  preservation  of  order  in  the  Punjab 
was  nevertheless  considerable;  and  it  was  increased  by 
the  state  of  affairs  in  Afghanistan,  for  the  attempts  oC 
Dost  Muhammad  and  the  resolution  of  meeting  him 
with  English  means  alone,  rendered  the  dispatch  of 
additional  troops  necessary,  and  before  Kharak  Singh's 
death  three  thousand  men  had  reached  Ferozepore  on 
their  way  to  Kabul.^  The  progress  of  this  strong  bri- 
gade was  not  delayed  by  the  contentions  at  Lahore;  it 
pursued  its  march  without  interruption,  and  on  its 
arrival  at  Peshawar  it  found  Dost  Muhammad  a  pri- 
soner instead  of  a  victor.  The  ex-Amir  journeyed 
through  the  Punjab  escorted  by  a  relieved  brigade; 
and  although  Sher  Singh  was  then  laying  siege  to  the 

1  Cf.  Mr.  Clerk  to  Government,  of  dates  between  the  10th 
Nov.  1840,  and  2nd  Ja^.  1841,  inclusive,  particularly  of  the  11th 
and  24th  Nov.  and  11th  Dec,  besides  those  specified.  It  seems 
almost  certain  that  the  existence  of  the  boy  Dalip  was  not 
before  known  to  the  British  authorities. 

-  Government  to  Mr.  Clerk,  1st  and  2nd  Nov.  1840,  and 
other  letters  to  and  from  that  functionary. 


CHAP.  VIII      CONTENTION  FOR  THRONE  211 

citadel   of  Lahore,   the  original  prudence  of  fixing  a  i840. 

route  for  British  troops  clear  of  the  Sikh  capital,  and 
the  complete  subjugation  of  the  Muhammadan  tribes, 
left  the  English  commander  unaware  of  the  struggle 
going  on,  except  from  ordinary  reports  and  news- 
writers.^ 

The  English  Government  made,  indeed,  no  de-  sher  singh 
claration  with  regard  to  the  Lahore  succession;  but  it  fj^e"troTT 
was  believed  by  all  that  Sher  Singh  was  looked  upon  wuh  Dhfan 
as  the  proper  representative  of  the  kingdom,  and  the  singh-s  aid. 
advisers  of  Mai  Chand  Kaur  soon  found  that  they  could 
not  withstand  the  specious  claims  of  the  prince,  and 
the  commanding  influence  of  the  British  name,  without 
throwing  themselves  wholly  on  the  support  of  Raja 
Dhian  Singh.  That  chief  was  at  one  time  not  unwilling 
to  be  the  sole  minister  of  the  Maharani,  and  the  more 
sagacious  Gulab  Singh  saw  advantages  to  his  family 
amid  the  complex  modes  necessary  in  a  female  rule, 
which  might  not  attend  the  direct  sway  of  a  prince  of 
average  understanding,  inclined  to  favouritism,  and 
pledged  to  Sikh  principles.  But  the  Mai's  councillors 
would  not  consent  to  be  thrown  wholly  into  the  shade, 
and  Dhian  Singh  thus  kept  aloof,  and  secretly  assured 
Sher  Singh  of  his  support  at  a  fitting  time.  The  prince, 
on  his  part,  endeavoured  to  sound  the  English  agent 
as  to  his  eventual  recognition,  and  he  was  satisfied  with 
the  reply,  although  he  merely  received  an  assurance 
that  the  allies  of  thirty-two  years  wished  to  see  a  strong 
government  in  the  Punjab.^ 

Sher  Singh  had,  with  the  minister's  aid,   gained  sher  singh 
over  some  divisions  of  the  army,  and  he  believed  that  Lahore 
all  would  declare  for  him  if  he  boldly  put  himself  at  i4^th-i8th 
their  head.    The  eagerness  of  the  prince,  or  of  his  im-  jan.  i84i. 
mediate   followers,    somewhat    precipitated    measures; 
and   when  he  suddenly   appeared   at  Lahore,   on  the 
14th  January  1841,  he  found  that  Dhian  Singh  had  not 
arrived   from   Jammu,   and   that   Gulab   Singh  would 
rather  fight  for  the  Maharani,  the  acknowledged  head 
of  the  state,  than  tamely  become  a  party  on  compul- 
sion to  his  ill-arranged  schemes.    But  Sher  Singh  was 
no  longer  his  own  master,  and  the  impetuous  soldiery 
at  once  proceeded  to  breach  the  citadel.    Gulab  Singh 

1  The  returning  brigade  was  commanded  by  the  veteran 
Col.  Wheeler  [afterwards  Sir  Hugh  Wheeler,  the  ill-fated 
commander  of  the  garrison  of  Cawnpore — Ed.],  whose  name  is 
familiar  to  the  public  in  connexion  both  with  Afghan  and 
Sikh  wars. 

-  See  Mr.  Clerk's  letters  to  Government  of  Dec.  1840  and 
Jan.  1841,  generally,  particularly  that  of  the  9th  Jan. 


212 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.  VIII 


1841. 


Chand  Kaur 
yields,    and 
Sher   Singh 
proclaimed 
Maharaja. 


The  Sind- 

hianwala 

family. 


The  army- 
becomes 
uncontrol- 
lable. 


Sher  Singh 
alarmed. 


in  vain  urged  some  delay,  or  a  suspension  of  hostilities; 
but  on  the  18th  January  Dhian  Singh  and  most  of  the 
principal  chiefs  had  arrived  and  ranged  themselves  on 
one  side  or  the  other.  A  compromise  took  place;  the 
Mai  was   outwardly  treated  with   every  honour,   and 
large  estates  were  conferred  upon  her;  but  Sher  Singh 
was  proclaimed  Maharaja  of  the  Punjab,  Dhian  Singh 
was  declared  once  more  to  be  wazir  of  the  state,  and 
the  pay  of  the  soldiery  was  permanently  raised  by  one 
rupee  per  mensem.  The  Sindhianwalas  felt  that  they 
must  be  obnoxious  to  the  new  ruler;  and  Atar  Singh 
and  Ajit  Singh  took    early    measures    to    effect    their 
escape  from  the  capital,  and  eventually  into  the  British 
territories;    but    Lehna    Singh,    the     other    principal 
member,    remained    with    the    division    of  the    army 
which  he  commanded  in  the  hills  of  Kulu  and  Mandi.^ 
Sher  Singh  had  induced  the  troops  of  the  state  to 
make  him  a  king,  but  he  was  unable  to  command  them 
as  soldiers,  or  to  sway  them  as  men,  and  they  took 
advantage  of  his  incapacity  and  of  their  own  strength 
to  wreak  their  vengeance  upon  various  officers  who 
had  offended  them,  and  upon  various  regimental  ac- 
countants and  muster-masters  who  may  have  defrauded 
them  of  their  pay.    Some  houses  were  plundered,  and 
several  individuals  were  seized  and  slain.    A  few  Euro- 
peans had  likewise  rendered  themselves  obnoxious;  and 
General  Court,  a  moderate  and  high-minded  man,  had 
to  fly  for  his  life,  and  a  brave  young  Englishman  named 
Foulkes  was  cruelly  put  to  death.     Nor  was  this  spirit 
of  violence  confined  .to  the  troops  at  the  capital,  or  to 
those  in  the  eastern  hills,  but  it  spread  to  Kashmir  and 
Peshawar;  and  in  the  former  place  Mian  Singh,  the 
governor,  was  killed  by  the  soldiery;  and  in  the  latter, 
General  Avitabile  was  so  hard  pressed   that  he  was 
ready  to  abandon  his  post  and  to  seek  safety  in  Jalala- 
bad.-   It  was  believed  at  the  time,  that  the  army  would 
not  rest  satisfied  with  avenging  what  it  considered  its 
own  injuries;   it   was   thought   it  might   proceed   to  a 
general  plunder  or  confiscation  of  property;  the  popu- 
lation of  either  side  of  the  Sutlej  was  prepared  for  an 
extensive  commotion,  and  the  wealthy  merchants  of 
Amritsar  prophesied  the  pillage  of  their  warehouses, 
and  were  claniorous  for  British  protection.    Sher  Singh 
shrank  within  himself  appalled,  and  he  seemed  timor- 
ously to  resort  to  the  English  agent  for  support  against 

1  See  Mr.  Clerk's  letters,  of  dates  from  17th  to  30th  Jan. 
1841. 

2Cf.  Mr.  Clerk  to  Government,  26th  Jan.,  8th  and  14th, 
Feb.,  28th  April,  and  30th  May  1841. 


CHAP.  VIII    APPREHENSIONS  OF  SHER  SINGH     213 

the  fierce  spirit  he  had  roused  and  could  not  control;  or  i84i. 

he  doubtfully  endeavoured  to  learn  whether  such  dis- 
orders would  be  held  equally  to  end  his  reign  and  the 
British  alliance.     The  English  watched  the  confusion  The  English 
with  much  interest  and  some  anxiety,  and  when  cities  anxious 
seemed  about  to  be  plundered,  and  provinces  ravaged,  ""^^g^J^^ 
the  question  of  the  duty  of  a  civilized  and  powerful  f^Tn."''' 
neighbour  naturally  suggested  itself,  and  was  answered  quiinty. 
by  .a  cry  for  interference;  but  the  shapes  which  the  wish 
took  were  various  and  contradictory.    Nevertheless,  the 
natural  desire  for  aggrandizement,  added  to  the  appa- 
rently disorganized  state  of  the  army,  contributed  to 
strengthen  a  willing  belief  in  the  inferiority  of  the  Sikhs 
as  soldiers,  and  in  the  great  excellence  of  the  mountain 
levies  of  the  chiefs  of  Jammu,  who  alone  seemed  to  re- 
main the  masters  of  their  own  servants.    To  the  appre-  undervalue 
hension  of  the  English  authorities,  the  Sikhs  were  mere  ^^e  sikhs, 
upstart  peasants  of  doubtful  courage,  except  when  mad- 
dened by  religious  persecution;  but  the  ancient  name 
of  Rajput  was  sufficient  to  invest  the  motley  followers 
of  a  few  valiant  chiefs  with  every  warlike  quality.  This 
erroneous  estimate  of  the  Sikhs  tainted  British  counsels 
until  the  day  of  P'heerooshuhur.^ 

The  English  seemed  thus  called  upon  to  do  some-  ^"^^y'^Jo 
thing,  and  their  agent  in  Kabul,  who  was  committed  to  interfere  by 
make  Shah  Shuja  a  monarch  in  means  as  well  as  in  force  of 
rank,  grasped  at  the  death  of  Ran  jit  Singh's  last  repre-  arms,  Feb. 
sentative;  he  pronounced  the  treaties  with  Lahore  to  be  i^^- 
at  an  end,  and  he  wanted  to  annex  Peshawar  to  the 
Afghan  sway.     The   British    Government    in  Calcutta 
rebuked  this  hasty  conclusion,  but  cheered  itself  with 
the  prospect  of  eventually  adding  the  Derajat  of  the 
Indus,  as  well  as  Peshawar,  to  the  unproductive  Durrani 
kingdom,  without  any  breach  of  faith  towards  the  Sikhs; 
for  it  was  considered  that  their  dominions  might  soon 
be  rent  in  two  by  the  Sindhianwala  Sirdars  and  the 

1  This  erroneous  estimate  of  the  troops  of  the  Jammu 
Rajas  and  other  hill  chiefs  of  the  Punjab  relatively  to  the  Sikhs, 
may  be  seen  insisted  on  in  Mr.  Clerk's  letters  to  Government 
of  the  2nd  Jan.  and  13th  April  1841,  and  especially  in  those  of 
the  8th  and  10th  Dec.  of  that  year,  and  of  the  15th  Jan.,  10th 
Feb.,  and  23rd  April,  1842.  Mr.  Clerk's  expressions  are  very 
decided,  such  as  that  the  Sikhs  feared  the  hill-men,  who  were 
braver,  and  that  Rajputs  might  hold  Afghans  in  check,  which 
Sikhs  could  not  do;  but  he  seems  to  have  forgotten  that  the 
ancient  Rajputs  had,  during  the  century  gone  by,  yielded  on 
either  side  to  the  new  and  aspiring  Gurkhas  and  Marathas, 
and  even  that  the  Sikhs  themselves  had  laid  the  twice-bom 
princes  of  the  Himalayas  under  contribution  from  the  Ganges 
to  Kashm.ir. 


214 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS         chap,  viii 


1841. 


The  mili- 
tary dis- 
orders sub- 
side, but 
the  people 
become 
suspicious 
of  the 
English. 

Major 
Broadfoot's 
passage 
across  the 
Punjab. 


Jammu  Rajas.'  The  British  agent  on  the  Sutlej  did 
not  think  the  Lahore  empire  so  near  its  dissolution  in 
that  mode,  and  confident  in  his'  own  dexterity,  in,  the 
superiority  of  his  troops,  and  in  the  greatness  of  the 
English  name,  he  proposed  to  march  to  the  Sikh  capi- 
tal with  12,000  men,  to  beat  and  disperse  a  rebel  army 
four  times  more  numerous,  to  restore  order,  to  stren- 
gthen the  sovereignty  of  Sher  Singh,  and  take  the  cis- 
Sutlej  districts  and  forty  lakhs  of  rupees  in  coin  as  the 
price  of  his  aid.-  This  promptitude  made  the  Maharaja 
think  himself  in  danger  of  his  life  at  the  hands  of  his 
subjects,  and  of  his  kingdom  at  the  hands  of  his  allies;  •' 
nor  was  the  Governor-General  prepared  for  a  virtual 
invasion,  although  he  was  ready  to  use  force  if  a  large 
majority  of  the  Sikhs  as  well  as  the  Maharaja  himself 
desired  such  intervention.^  After  this,  the  disorders 
in  the  army  near  Lahore  gradually  subsided;  but  the 
opinion  got  abroad  that  overtures  had  been  made  to 
the  eager  English;  and  so  far  were  the  Sikh  soldiery 
from  desiring  foreign  assistance,  that  Lehna  Singh 
Sindhianwala  was  imprisoned  by  his  own  men,  in  the 
Mandi  hills,  on  a  charge  of  conspiracy  with  his  refugee 
brother  to  introduce  the  supremacy  of  strangers."' 

The  suspicions  and  hatred  of  the  Sikhs  were  fur- 
ther roused  by  the  proceedings  of  an  officer,  afterwards 
nominated  to  represent  British  friendship  and  mode- 
ration. Major  Broadfoot  had  been  appointed  to  recruit 
a  corps  of  Sappers  and  Miners  for  the  service  of  Shah 
Shuja,  and  as  the  family  of  that  sovereign,  and  also 
the  blind  Shah  Zaman  with  his  wives  and  children, 
were  about  to  proceed  to  Kabul,  he  was  charged  with 
the  care  of  the  large  and  motley  convoy.  He  entered  the 

1  See  especially  Government  to  Sir  William  Macnaghten, 
of  28th  Dec.  1840,  in  reply  to  his  proposals  of  the  26th  Nov. 
The  Governor-General  justly  observed  that  the  treaty  was  not 
formed  with  an  individual  chief,  but  with  the  Sikh  state,  so 
long  as  it  might  last  and  fulfil  the  obligations  of  its  alliance. 

-  Mr.  Clerk  to  Government,  of  the  26th  March   1841. 

'  When  Sher  Singh  became  aware  of  Mr.  Clerk's  propo- 
sitions, he  is  said  simply  to  have  drawn  his  finger  across  his 
throat,  meaning  that  the  Sikhs  would  at  once  take  his  life 
if  he  assented  to  such  measures.  The  readiness  of  the  English 
to  co-operate  was  first  propounded  to  Fakir  Aziz-ud-din,  and 
that  wary  negotiator  said  the  matter  could  not  be  trusted  to 
paper;  he  would  himself  go  and  tell  Sher  Singh  of  it.  He  went, 
but  he  did  not  return,  his  object  being  to  keep  clear  of  schemes 
so  hazardous. 

-♦  Government  to  Mr.  Clerk,  18th  Feb.  and  29th  March 
1841.  The  Governor-General  truly  remarked  that  Mr.  Clerk, 
rather  than  the  Maharaja,  had  proposed  an  armed  interference. 

-'Mr.  Clerk  to  Government,  25th  March  1841. 


"» 


CHAP.  VIII  THE  SIKH  ARMY  215 

Punjab  in  April  1841,  when  the  mutinous  spirit  of  the  i84i^ 

Sikh  army  was  spreading  from  the  capital  to  the  pro- 
vinces. A  body  of  mixed  or  Muhammadan  troops  had 
been  directed  by  the  Lahore  Government  to  accom- 
pany the  royal  families  as  an  escort  of  protection,  but 
Major  Broadfoot  became  suspicious  of  the  good  faith 
of  this  detachment,  and  on  the  banks  of  the  Ravi  he 
prepared  to  resist,  with  his  newly  recruited  regiment, 
an  attack  on  the  part  of  those  who  had  been  sent  to 
conduct  him  in  safety.  On  his  way  to  the  Indus  he 
was  even  more  suspicious  of  other  bodies  of  troops 
which  he  met  or  passed;  he  believed  them  to  be  intent 
on  plundering  his  camp,  and  he  considered  that  he  only 
avoided  collisions  by  dexterous  negotiations  and  by 
timely  demonstrations  of  force.  On  crossing  the  river 
at  Attock,  his  persuasion  of  the  hostile  designs  of  the 
battalions  in  that  neighbourhood  and  towards  Pesha- 
war was  so  strong,  that  he  put  his  camp  in  a  complete 
state  of  defence,  broke  up  the  bridge  of  boats,  and 
called  upon  the  Afghan  population  to  rise  and  aid  him 
against  the  troops  of  their  government.  But  it  does 
not  appear  that  his  apprehensions  had  even  a  plausible 
foundation,  until  at  this  time  he  seized  certain  deputies 
from  a  mutinous  regiment  when  on  their  way  back 
from  a  conference  with  their  commander,  and  who 
appear  to  have  come  within  the  limits  of  the  British 
pickets.  This  proceeding  alarmed  both  General  Avita- 
bile,  the  governor  of  Peshawar,  and  the  British  agent 
at  that  place;  and  a  brigade,  already  warned,  was 
hurried  from  Jalalabad  to  overawe  the  Sikh  forces 
encamped  near  the  Indus.  But  the  Shah's  families  and 
their  numerous  followers  had  passed  on  unmolested 
before  the  auxiliary  troops  had  cleared  the  Khaibar 
Pass,  and  the  whole  proceeding  merely  served  to 
irritate  and  excite  the  distrust  of  the  Sikhs  generally,  The  sikhs 
and  to  give  Sher  Singh  an  opportunity  of  pointing  out  further 
to  his  tumultuous  soldiers  that  the  Punjab  was  sur-  imitated 
rounded  by  English  armies,  both  ready  and  willing  to  e^-T^IJ^  *^^ 
make  war  upon  them.^  "^  *^ 

Before  the  middle  of  1841  the  more  violent  pro-  The 
ceedings  of  the  Lahore    troops    had    ceased,    but    the  changed 
relation  of  the  army  to  the  state  had  become  wholly  relation  of 
altered;  it  was  no  longer  the  willing  instrument  of  an  ^'"'^  Lahore 
arbitrary  and  genial  government,  but  it  looked  upon  th^^sta^e 
itself,  and  was  regarded  by  others,  as  the  representa-  its  miii- 
tive   body  of  the   Sikh   people,   as  the   'Khalsa'  itself  tary  orga- 
assembled  by  tribes  or  centuries  to  take  its  part  in  "Jzat'on 

1  Cf.  Mr.  Clerk  to  Government,  25th  May  and  10th  June 
1841. 


216 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS        chap,  viii 


1841. 

enables  it 
to  become 
the    repre- 
sentative 
body  of  the 
Khalsa. 


Negotia- 
tions with 
the  English 
about  in- 
land trade, 
1841. 


public  affairs.  The  efficiency  of  the  army  as  a  disci- 
plined force  was  not  much  impaired,  for  a  higher 
feeling  possessed  the  men,  and  increased  alacrity  and 
resolution  supplied  the  place  of  exact  training.  They 
were'  sensible  of  the  advantages  of  systematic  union, 
and  they  were  proud  of  their  armed  array  as  the  visible 
body  of  Gobind's  commonwealth.  As  a  general  rule, 
the  troops  were  obedient  to  their  appointed  officers,  so 
far  as  concerned  their  ordinary  military  duties,  but 
the  position  of  a  regiment,  of  a  brigade,  of  a  division, 
or  of  the  whole  army,  relatively  to  the  executive  gov- 
ernment of  the  country,  was  determined  by  a  commit- 
tee or  assemblage  of  committees,  termed  a  'Panch'  or 
Tanchayat',  i.e.  a  jury  or  committee  of  five,  composed 
of  men  selected  from  each  battalion,  or  each  company, 
in  consideration  of  their  general  character  as  faithful 
Sikh  soldiers,  or  from  their  particular  influence  in 
their  native  villages. ^  The  system  of  Panchayats  is 
common  throughout  India,  and  every  tribe,  or  section 
of  a  tribe,  or  trade,  or  calling,  readily  submits  to  the 
decisions  of  its  elders  or  superiors  seated  together  in 
consultation.  In  the  Punjab  the  custom  received  a 
further  development  from  the  organization  necessary 
to  an  army;  and  even  in  the  crude  form  of  representa- 
tion thus  achieved,  the  Sikh  people  wepe  enabled  to 
interfere  with  effect,  and  with  some  degree  of  consist- 
ency, in  the  nomination  and  in  the  removal  of  their 
rulers.  But  these  large  assemblies  sometimes  added 
military  licence  to  popular  tumult,  and  the  corrupt 
spirit  of  mercenaries  to  the  barbarous  ignorance  of 
ploughmen.  Their  resolutions  were  often  unstable  or 
unwise,  and  the  representatives  of  different  divisions 
might  take  opposite  sides  from  sober  conviction  or 
self-willed  prejudice,  or  they  might  be  bribed  and 
cajoled  by  such  able  and  unscrupulous  men  as  Raja 
Gulab  Singh. - 

The  partial  repose  in  the  autumn  of  1841  was 
taken  advantage  of  to  recur  to  those  mercantile  objects, 
of  which  the  British  Government  never  lost  sight. 
The  facilities  of  navigating  the  Indus  and  Sutlej  had 

[1  One  is  strongly  reminded  of  the  organization  of  the 
Parliamentary  army  under  Cromwell,  with  its  regimental 
'elders',  &c. — Ed.] 

-  See  Mr.  Clerk's  letter  of  the  14th  March  1841,  for  Fakir 
Aziz-ud-din's  admission,  that  even  then  the  army  was  united 
and  ruled  by  its  panchayats.  With  reference  to  the  Panchayats 
of  India,  it  may  be  observed  that  Hallam  shows,  chiefly  from 
Palgrave,  that  English  juries  likewise  were  originally  as  much 
arbitrators  as  investigators  of  facts.  Middle  Ages,  Notes  to 
Chap.  VTII.) 


CHAP.  VIII  JSKARDO  TAKEN  217 

been  increased,  and  it  was  now  sought'  to  extend  cor-  I84i. 

responding  advantages  to  the  land  trade  of  the  Punjab. 
Twenty  years  before,  Mr.  Moorcroft  had,  of  his  own 
instance,  made  proposals  to  Ranjit  Singh  for  the  admis- 
sion of  British  goods  into  the  Lahore  dominions  at 
fixed  rates  of  duty.^  In  1832,  Col.  Wade  again  brought 
forward  the  subject  of  a  general  tariff  for  the  Punjab, 
and  the  Maharaja  appeared  to  be  not  indisposed  to 
meet  the  views  of  his  allies;  but  he  really  disliked  to 
make  arrangements  of  which  he  did  not  fully  see  the 
scope  and  tendency,  and  he  thus  tried  to  evade  even 
a  settlement  of  the  river  tolls,  by  saying  that  the 
prosperity  of  Amritsar  would  be  affected,  and  by 
recurring  to  that  ever  ready  objection,  the  slaughter 
of  kine.  Cows,  he  said,  might  be  used  as  food  by  those 
who  traversed  the  Punjab  under  a  British  guarantee,^ 
In  1840,  when  Afghanistan  was  garrisoned  by  Indian 
troops,  the  Governor-General  pressed  the  subject  a 
second  time  on  the  notice  of  the  Lahore  autho- 
rities; and  after  a  delay  of  more  than  a  year,  Sher 
Singh  assented  to  a  reduced  scale  and  to  a  fixed  rate  of 
duty,  and  also  to  levy  the  whole  sum  at  one  place;  but 
the  charges  still  appeared  excessive,  and  the  British 
viceroy  lamented  the  ignorance  displayed  by  the  Sikh 
Maharaja,  and  the  disregard  which  he  evinced  for  the 
true  interests  of  his  subjects." 

The    Lahore    Government    was    convulsed    at  its  zorawar 
centre,  but  its  spirit  of  progress  and  aggrandizement  singh,  the 
was  active  on  the  frontiers,  where  not  hemmed  in  by  deputy  of 
British  armies.     The  deputies  in  Kashmir  had  always  ^'^®.  Ja"^"!" 
been   jealous   of  the   usurpations   of   Gulab   Singh    in  ^^ardo^'^^^ 
Tibet,  but  Mian  Singh,  a  rude  soldier,  the  governor  of  i84o. 
the    valley    during    the    commotions    at    Lahore,    was 
alarmed  into  concessions  by  the  powerful  and  ambiti- 
ous Rajas  of  Jammu,  and  he  left  Iskardo,  and  the  whole 
valley  of  the  Upper  Indus,  a  free  field  for  the  aggres- 
sions of  their  lieutenants.'*    Ahmad  Shah,  the  reigning 

1  Moorcroft,  Travels,  i.   103. 

-  Cf.  Col.  Wade  to  Government,  7th  Nov.  and  5th  Dec. 
1832.  These  objections  are  often  urged  in  India,  not  because 
they  are  felt  to  be  reasonable  in  themselves,  or  applicable  to 
the  point  at  issue,  but  because  religion  is  always  a  strong 
ground  to  stand  on,  and  because  it  is  the  only  thing  which  the 
EngUsh  do  not  virtually  profess  a  desire  to  change.  Religion 
is  thus  brought  in  upon  all  occasions  of  apprehension  or 
disinclination. 

3  Government  to  Mr.  Clerk,  4th  May  1840  and  11th  Oct. 
1841,  and  Mr.  Clerk  to  Government  of  20th  Sept.  1841. 

*  Sir  Claude  Wade  (Narrative  of  Services,  p.  33,  note) 
represents  the  Jammu  family  to  have  obtained  from  the  British 


21S 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS         chap,  viii 


1841. 


Zorawar 
Singh  seizes 
Garo   from 
iiie  Chinese 
of  Lassa, 
1841. 


chief  of  Balti,  had  differences  with  his  family,  and  hej 
proposed  to  pass  over  his  eldest  son  in  favour  of  a' 
younger  one,  in  fixing  the  succession.  The  natural 
heir  would  seem  to  have  endeavoured  to  interest  the 
Governor  of  Kashmir,  and  also  Zorawar  Singh,  the 
Jammu  deputy  in  Ladakh,  in  his  favour;  and  in  1840 
he  fled  from  his  father  and  sought  refuge  and  assis- 
tance in  Leh.  Gnodup  Tanzin,  the  puppet  king  of 
Ladakh,  had  conceived  the  idea  of  throwing  off  the 
Jammu  authority;  he  had  been  trying  to  engage  Ahmad 
Shah  in  the  design;  the  absence  of  Zorawar  Singh  was 
opportune,  and  he  allowed  a  party  of  Iskardo  troops  to 
march  on  Leh,  and  to  carry  off  the  son  of  their  chief. 
Zorawar  Singh  made  this  inroad  a  pretext  for  war; 
and  before  the  middle  of  the  year  1840  he  was  master 
of  Little  Tibet,  but  he  left  the  chiefship  in  the  family 
of  Ahmad  Shah,  on  the  payment  of  a  petty  yearly 
tribute  of  seven  thousand  rupees,  so  barren  are  the 
rocky  principalities  between  Imaus  and  Emodus.^ 
Zorawar  Singh  was  emboldened  by  his  own  success 
and  by  the  dissensions  at  Lahore;  he  claimed  fealty 
from  Gilgit;  he  was  understood  to  be  desirous  of 
quarrelling  with  the  Chinese  governor  of  Yarkand; 
and  he  renewed  antiquated  claims  of  Ladakh  supre- 
macy, and  demanded  the  surrender  of  Rohtak,  Garo; 
and  the  lakes  of  Mansarowar,  from  the  priestly  king 
of  Lhasa.- 

Zorawar  Singh  was  desirous  of  acquiring  territory, 
and  he  was  also  intent  on  monopolizing  the  trade  in 
shawl-wool,  a  considerable  branch  of  which  followed 
the  Sutlej  and  more  eastern  roads  to  Ludhiana  and 
Delhi,  and  added  nothing  to  the  treasury  of  Jammu.'* 
In  May  and  June  1841,  he  occupied  the  valleys  of  the 
Indus  and  Sutlej,  to  the  sources  of  those  rivers,  and 
he  fixed  a  garrison  close  to  the  frontiers  of  Nepal,  and 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  snowy  range  from  the 
British  post  of  Almora.  The  petty  Rajput  princes  bet- 
ween the  Kali  and  Sutlej  suffered  in  their  revenues, 
and  trembled  for  their  territories;  the  Nepal  Govern- 

Government  an  assurance  that  the  hmitations  put  upon  Sikh 
conquests  to  the  west  and  south  by  the  Tripartite  Treaty  of 
1839  would  not  be  held  to  apply  to  the  north  or  Tibetan  side, 
in  which  ^direction,  it  was  said,  the  Sikhs  were  free  to  act  as 
they  might  please. 

1  Cf.  Mr.  Clerk  to  Government,  26th  April,  9th  and  31st 
May.  and  29th  Aug.  1840. 

-  Cf.  Mr.  Clerk  to  Government,  25th  Aug.  and  8th  Oct. 
1840,  and  2nd  Jan.  and  5th  June  1841. 

^  Cf.  Mr.  Clerk  to  Government,  5th  and  22nd  June.  1841. 


CHAP,  vin        EVACUATION  OF  LASSA  219 

ment  had  renewed  intrigues  set  on  foot  in  1838,  and  ^^ 

was  in  correspondence  with  the  crafty  minister  of 
Lahore,  and  with  the  disaffected  Sindhianwala  chiefs;  ^ 
and  the  English  Government  itself  was  at  war  with 
China,  at  the  distance  of  half  the  earth's  circumfer- 
ence.- It  was  held  that  the  trade  of  British  Indian  sub- 
jects must  not  be  interfered  with  by  Jammu  conquests 
in  Chinese  Tibet;  it  was  deemed  unadvisable  to  allow 
the  Lahore  and  Nepal  dominions  to  march  with  one 
another  behind  the  Himalayas;  and  it  was  thought  the 
Emperor  of  Pekin  might  confound  independent  Sikhs 
with  the  predominant  English,  and  throw  additional 
difficulties  in  the  way  of  pending  or  probable  negotia- 
tions.'^ It  was,  therefore,  decided  that  Sher  Singh  The  English 
should  require  his  feudatories  to  evacuate  the  Lassa  interfere, 
territories;  a  day,  the  10th  of  December  1841,  was  fixed 
for  the  surrender  of  Garo;  and  a  British  officer  was  sent 
to  see  that  the  Grand  Lama's  authority  was  fully  re- 
established. The  Maharaja  and  his  tributaries  yielded, 
and  Zorawar  Singh  was  recalled;  but  before  the  order 
could  reach  him,  or  be  acted  on,  he  was  surrounded 
in  the   depth    of   winter,    and   at    a   height    of  twelve 

'  Cf.  Mr.  Clerk  to  Government,  16th  Aug.  and  23rd  Nov. 
1840,  and"  17th  Jan.  1841;  and  Governmertt  to  Mr.  Clerk,  19th 
Oct.  1840.  The  correspondence  of  Nepal  with  the  Sikhs,  or 
rather  with  the  Jammu  faction,  doubtless  arose  in  part  from 
the  presence  of  Matabar  Singh,  an  eminent  Gurkha,  as  a 
refugee  in  the  Punjab.  He  crossed  the  Sutlej  in  1838,  and  soon 
got  a  high  command  in  the  Lahore  service,  or  rather;  perhaps, 
a  high  position  at  the  court.  His  success  in  this  way,  and  his 
necessary  correspondence  with  British  functionaries,  made  the 
Nepal  Government  apprehensive  of  him,  and  at  last  he  became 
so  important  in  the  eyes  of  the  English  themselves,  that  in  1840, 
when  differences  with  Katmandu  seemed  likely  to  lead  to 
hostilities,  overtures  were  virtually  made  to  him,  and  he  was 
kept  in  hand,  as  it  were^  to  be  supported  as  a  claimant  for 
power,  or  as  a  partisan  leader,  should  active  measures  be 
necessary.  He  was  thus  induced  to  quit  the  Punjab,  where  his 
presence,  indeed,  was  not  otherwise  satisfactory;  but  the 
differences  with  the  Gurkhas  were  composed,  and  Matabar 
Singh  was  cast  aside  with  an  allowance  of  a  thousand  rupees 
a  month  from  the  potent  government  which  had  demeaned 
itself  by  using  him  as  a  tool.  (Cf.  particularly  Government  to 
Mr.  Clerk,  4th  May  and  26th  Oct.  1840;  and  Mr.  Clerk  to 
Government,  22nd  Oct.  1840.) 

[-  The  first  China  or  Opium  War  ended  by  the  Treaty  of 
Nankin  (1842),  which  resulted  in  the  cession  of  Hong  Kong 
and  the  opening  of  the  first  five  treaty  .ports. — Ed.1 

3  Cf.  Government  to  Mr.  Clerk,  16th  Aug.  and  6th  and  20th 
Sept.  1841.  The  Sikhs,  too,  had  their  views  with  regard  to 
China,  and  naively  proposed  co-operation  with  the  English,  or 
a  diversion  in  Tartary  in  favour  of  the  war  then  in  progress 
on  the  sea  coast!  (Mr.  Clerk  to  Government,  18th  Aug.  and 
20th  Oct.  1841.) 


2i>o 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS        chap,  vm 


1841. 

The  Sikhs 
defeated  by 
a    I'orce 
from    Lassa. 


The  Chinese 

recover 

Garo. 


Peace  be- 
tween the 
Chinese 
and    Sikhs. 


thousand  feet  or  more  above  the  sea,  by  a  superior  force 
from  Lassa  inured  to  frost  and  snow.  The  men  of  the 
Indian  plains  and  southern  Himalayas  were  straitened 
for  fuel — as  necessary  as  food  in  such  a  climate  and  at 
such  a  season;  some  even  burnt  the  stocks  of  their 
muskets  to  warm  their  hands;  and  on  the  day  of  battle, 
in  the  middle  of  December,  they  were  benumbed  in 
their  ranks  during  a  fatal  pause;  their  leader  was 
slain,  a  few  principal  men  were  reserved  as  prisoners, 
but  the  mass  was  left  to  perish,  huddled  in  heaps  be- 
hind rocks,  or  at  the  bottoms  of  ravines.  The  neigh- 
bouring garrison  on  the  Nepal  frontier  fled  on  hearing 
of  the  defeat;  the  men  were  not  pursued,  but  in  passing 
over  ranges  sixteen  thousand  feet  high,  on  their  way 
to  Almora,  the  deadly  cold  reduced  them  to  half  thei? 
numbers,  and  left  a  moiety  of  the  remainder  maimed 
for  life.^ 

During  the  spring  of  1842  the  victorious  Chinese 
advanced  along  the  Indus,  and  not  only  recovered  their 
own  province,  but  occupied  Ladakh  and  laid  siege  to 
the  citadel  of  Leh.  The  Kaimaks  and  the  ancient 
Sokpos,  or  Sacae,  talked  of  another  invasion  of  Kash- 
mir, and  the  Tartars  of  the  Greater  and  Lesser  Tibet 
were  elate  with  the  prospect  of  revenge  and  plunder  : 
but  troops  were  poured  across  the  Himalayas;  the 
swordsmen  and  cannoneers  of  the  south  were  dreaded 
by  the  unwarlike  Bhotias;  the  siege  of  Leh  was  raised, 
and  in  the  month  of  September  (1842)  Gulab  Singh's 
commander  seized  the  Lassa  Wazir  by  treachery,  and 
dislodged  his  troops  by  stratagem  from  a  position  bet- 
ween Leh  and  Rohtak,  where  they  had  proposed  to 
await  the  return  of  winter.  An  arrangement  was  then 
come  to  between  the  Lassa  and  Lahore  authorities, 
which  placed  matters  on  their  old  footing,  agreeably 
to  the  desire  of  the  English;  and  as  the  shawl-wool 
trade  to  the  British  provinces  was  also  revived,  no 
further  intervention  was  considered  necessary  between 
the  jealous  Chinese  and  the  restrained  Sikhs.- 

1  In  this  rapid  sketch  of  Ladakh  affairs,  the  author  has 
necessarily  depended  for  the  most  part  on  his  own  personal 
knowledge.  After  the  battle  on  the  Mansarowar  Lake,  the 
western  passes  remained  closed  for  five  weeks,  and  the  defeat 
of  the  Sikhs  wa^  thus  made  known  in  Calcutta  and  Peshawar, 
through  tHe  reports  of  the  fugitives  to  Almora,  before  it  was 
heard  of  in  the  neighbouring  Garo.  From  the  observations  of 
Lieut.  H.  Strachey  it  would  appear  that  the  height  of  the 
Mansarowar  Lake  is  15,250  feet.  (Jour.  As.  Soc,  Bengal,  Aug. 
1848,  p.  155.) 

-  At  Amritsar  in  March  1846,  when  Gulab  Singh  was 
formally  inaugurated  as    Maharaja    of    Jammu,    he    exhibited 


CHAP.  VIII  AMBITION  OF  THE  JAMMU  RAJAS     221 

When,  in  April  1841,  the  troops  in  Kashmir  put  i84i 
their  governor  to  death.  Raja  Gulab  Singh  was  sent  to  The  ambi- 
restore  order,  and  to  place  the  authority  of  the  new  tious  views 
manager,  Ghulam  Muhi-ud-din,  on  a  firm  footing.  The  °f  ^^^  J^'"- 
mutinous   regiments   were   overpowered    by   numbers  J^^^^^g^^^he 
and  punished  with  severity,  and  it  was  soon  apparent  indus. 
that  Gulab  Singh  had  made  the  governor  whom  he  was 
aiding   a   creature   of  his   own,   and   had   become  the 
virtual  master  of  the  valley.^    Neither  the  minister  nor 
his  brother  had  ever  been  thought  well  pleased  with 
English  interference  in  the  affairs  of  the  Punjab;  they 
were  at   the  time  in  suspicious  communication  with 
Nepal;  and  they    were    held    to    be    bound    to  Sultan 
Muhammad  Khan,  whose  real  or  presumed  intrigues 
with  the  enemies  of  Shah  Shuja  had  occasioned  his 
removal  to  Lahore  a  year  previously.-    General  Avita- 
bile  had  become  more  and  more  urgent  to  be  relieved 
from   his  dangerous  post  at  Peshawar;  the  influence 
of  Dhian  Singh  was  predominant  in  Sikh  counsels;  and 
the  -English  opinion  of  the  ability  of  the  Jammu  Rajas 
and  of  the  excellence  of  their  troops  was  well  known, 
and  induced  a  belief  in  partiality  to  be  presumed.^     It 
was  therefore  proposed  by  Sher  Singh  to  bestow  the 
Afghan  province  on  the  restorer  of  order  in  Kashmir. 
But  this  arrangement  would  have  placed  the  hills  from  ciash  with, 
the  neighbourhood  of  Kangra  to  the  Kaibar  Pass  in  the  policy 
the  hands  of  men  averse  to  the  English  and  hostile  to  of  the 
Shah   Shuja;   and  as  their  troublesome  ambition  had  ^nghsh. 
been  checked  in  Tibet,  so  it  was  resolved  that  their 
more  dangerous    establishment    on    the    Kabul    river 
should  be  prevented.    In  the  autumn  of  1841,  therefore, 

the  engagements  with  the  Lama  of  Lassa,  drawn  out  on  his 
part  in  yellow,  and  on  the  part  of  the  Chinese  in  red  ink,  and 
each  impressed  with  the  open  hand  of  the  negotiators  dipped 
in  either  colour  instead  of  a  regular  seal  or  written  signature. 
The  'Panja'.  or  hand,  seems  in  general  vse  in  Asia  as  typical 
of  a  covenant,  and  it  is,  moreover,  a  common  emblem  on  the 
standards  of  the  eastern  Afghans. 

1  Cf.  Mr.  Clerk  to  Government,  13th  May,  9th  July,  and 
3rd  Sept.  1840. 

-  For  this  presumed  understanding  between  the  Jammu 
Rajas  and  the  Barakzais  of  Peshawar,  Mr.  Clerk's  letter  of  the 
8th  Oct.  1840,  may  be  referred  to  among  others. 

•"•  Mr.  Clerk  leant  upon  and  perhaps  much  overrated  Dhian 
Singh's  capacity,  'his  military  talents,  and  aptitude  for  busi- 
ness.' (Mr.  Clerk  to  Government,  7th  Nov.  1840,  and  13th  May 
1841.)  General  Ventura,  for  instance,  considered  the  Raja  to 
possess  a  very  slender  understanding,  and  in  such  a  matter  he 
may  be  held  to  be  a  fair  as  well  as  a  competent  judge, 
although  personally  averse  to  the  minister. 


222 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS         chap,  viii 


1841. 

The   Insur- 
rection 
at  Kabul, 
Nov.    1841. 


the  veto  of  the  English  agent  was  put  upon  Raja  Gulab 
Singh's  nomination  to  Peshawar.^ 

About  two  months  afterwards,  or  on  the  2nd 
November  (1841),  that  insurrection  broke  out  in  Kabul 
which  forms  so  painful  a  passage  in  British  history. 
No  valiant  youth  arose  superior  to  the  fatal  influence 
of  military  subordination,  to  render  illustrious  the  re- 
treat of  a  handful  of  Englishmen,  or,  more  illustrious 
still,  the  successful  defence  of  their  position.-  The 
brave  spirit  of  Sir  William  Macnaghten  laboured 
perseveringly,  but  in  vain,  against  the  unworthy  fear 
which  possessed  the  highest  officers  of  the  army;  and 
the  dismay  of  the  distant  commanders  imparted  some 
of  its  poison  to  the  supreme  authorities  in  India,  who 
were  weary  of  the  useless  and  burdensome  occupation 
of  Khorasan.  The  first  generous  impulse  was  awed 
into  a  desire  of  annulling  the  Durrani  alliance,  and  of 
collecting  a  force  on  the  Indus,  or  even  so  far  back  as 
the  Sutlej,  there  to  fight  for  the  empire  of  Hindustan 
with  the  torrents  of  exulting  Afghans  which  the  start- 
led imaginations  of  Englishmen  readily  conjured  up.-"* 
No  confidence  was  placed  in  the  efficiency  or  the 
friendship  of  the  Sikhs;  "*  and  although  their  aid  was 
always  considered  of  importance,  the  mode  in  which 

1  Government  to  Mr.  Clerk,  2nd  Aug.,  and  Mr.  Clerk  to 
Government,  20th  Aug.  .1841. 

-  There  was  no  want  of  gallant  and  capable  men  in  the 
subordinate  ranks  of  the  army,  and  it  is  known  that  the 
lamented  Major  Pottinger  recorded  his  disapprobation  of  the 
retreat  so  fatuously  commenced  and  so  fatally  ended,'  although, 
to  give  validity  to  documents,  or  an  appearance  of  unanimity 
to  counsels,  he  unfortunately  put  his  name  to  the  orders 
requiring  the  surrender  of  Kandahar  and  Jalalabad. 

•'  Cf.  Government  to  the  Commander-in-Chief,  2nd  Dec. 
1841,  and  10th  Feb.  1842;  Government  to  Mr.  Clerk,  10th  Feb. 
1842;  and  Government  to  General  Pollock,  24th  Feb.  1842.  Of 
those  who  recorded  their  opinions  about  the  policy  to  be 
followed  at  the  moment,  it  may  be  mentioned  that  Mr. 
Robertson,  the  Lieutenant-Governor  of  Agra,  and  Sir  Herbert 
Maddock,  the  Political  Secretary,  advised  a  stand  at  Peshawar; 
and  that  Mr.  Prinsep,  a  member  of  council,  and  Mr.  Colvin,  the 
Governor-General's  private  secretary,  recommended  a  with- 
drawal to  the  Sutlej.  All,  however,  contemplated  ulterior 
operations. 

The  Commander-in-Chief,  it  is  well  known,  thought  the 
rneans  of  the  English  for  defending  India  itself  somewhat 
scanty,  and  Mr.  Clerk  thought  the  Sikhs  would  be  unable  to 
check  the  invasion  of  mountaineers,  which  would  assuredly 
take  place  were  Jalalabad  to  fall.  (Mr.  Clerk  to  Government, 
15th  Jan.  1842.) 

•*  Government  to  the  Commander-in-Chief,  15th  March 
1842. 


CHAP.  VIII        DISTRUST  OF  THE  SIKHS  223 

it  was  asked  and  used  only  served  to  sink  the  Lahore  i84i. 
army  lower  than  before  in  British  estimation.^ 

Four  regiments  of  sepoys  marched  from  Feroze-  The 
pore   without   guns,    and    unsupported    by   cavalry,  to  English 
vainly  endeavour  to  force  the  Pass  of  Khaibar;  and  the  distrustful 
Sikh  troops  at  Peshawar  were  urged  by  the  local  Bri-  eVu^  i,  . 

...  J1--  I-  •  ..1  Sikhs,   but 

tish  authorities  m  their  praiseworthy  ardour,  rather  y^  urged 
than  deliberately  ordered  by  their  own  government  at  upon  them 
the  instance  of  its  ally,  to  co-operate  in  the  attempt,  or  ^o^  aid. 
indeed  to  march  alone  to  Jalalabad.  The  fact  that  the 
English  had  been  beaten  was  notorious,  and  the  belief 
in  their  alarm  was  welcome  :  the  Sikh  governor  was 
obliged,  in  the  absence  of  orders,  to  take  the  sense  ot 
the  regimental  'punches'  or  committees;  and  the  hasty 
requisition  to  march  was  rejected,  through  fear  alone, 
as  the  English  said,  but  really  with  feelings  in  which 
contempt,  distrust,  and  apprehension  were  all  mixed. 
The  district  Governor-General,  Avitabile,  who  fortu- 
nately still  retained  his  province,  freely  gave  what  aid 
he  could;  some  pieces  of  artillery  were  furnished  as 
well  as  abundance  of  ordinary  supplies,  and  the  British 
detachment  effected  the  relief  of  Ali  Musjid.  But  the 
unpardonable  neglect  of  going  to  the  fort  without  the 
food  which  had  been  provided,  obliged  the  garrison  to 
retreat  after  a  few  days,  and  the  disinclination  of  the 
Sikhs  to  fight  the  battles  of  strangers  communicated 
itself  to  the  mercenary  soldiers  of  the  English,  and  thus 
added  to  the  Governor-General's  dislike  of  the  Afghan 
connexion.- 

'  Mr.  Colvin,  in  the  minute  referred  to  in  the  preceding 
note,  grounds  his  proposition  for  withdrawing  to  the  Sutlej 
partly  on  Mr.  Clerk's  low  estimate  of  the  Sikhs,  and  their 
presumed  inability  to  resist  the  Afghans.  Col.  Wade  seems  to 
hav^e  had  a  somewhat  similar  opinion  of  the  comparative 
prowess  of  the  two  races,  on  the  fair  presumption  that  the  note 
(p.  535)  of  Munshi  Shahamat  All's  Sikhs  and  Afghans  is  his. 
He  says  the  Sikhs  always  dreaded  the  Khaibaris;  and,  indeed, 
General  Avitabile  could  also  take  up  the  notion  with  some 
reason,  in  one  sense,  as  the  magistrate  of  a  district  surrounded 
by  marauding  highlanders,  and  with  sufficient  adroitness  in 
another  when  he  did  not  desire  to  see  Sikh  regiments  hurried 
into  mountain  defiles  at  the  instance  of  the  English  authorities. 
(Cf.  the  Calcutta  Review,  No.  Ill,  p.  182.) 

-  The  statements  in  this  paragraph  are  mainly  taken  from 
the  author's  notes  of  official  and  demi-official  correspondence. 
The  letter  of  Government  to  Mr.  Clerk,  of  the  7th  Feb.  1842, 
may  also  be  referred  to  about  the  failure  to  hold  Ali  Musjid: 
and,  further,  it  may  be  mentioned  that  Mr.  Clerk,  in  his  letter 
of  the  10th  February,  pointed  out,  that  although  the  Sikhs 
might  not  willingly  co-operate  in  any  sudden  assault  planned 
by  the  English,  they  would  be  found  ready  to  give  assistance 


224 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS         chap,  viii 


1841 


assembled 
1842. 


Gulab 
Singh   sent 
to  co- 
operate. 


The  necessity  of  at  least  relieving  the  garrison  oi 

An  army  of  Jalalabad  was  paramount,  and  in  the  spring  of  1842  a 
retribution  well-equipped  British  force  arrived  at  Peshawar;  but 
the  active  co-operation  of  the  Sikhs  was  still  desirable, 
and  it  was  sought  for  under  the  terms  of  an  obsolete 
article  of  the  tripartite  treaty  with  Shah  Shuja,  which 
gave  Lahore  a  subsidy  of  two  lakhs  of  rupees  in  ex 
change  for  the  services  of  5,000  men.i  Sher  Singh  was 
willing  to  assist  beyond  this  limited  degree;  he  greatly 
facilitated  the  purchase  of  grain  and  the  hire  of  carri 
age  cattle  in  the  Punjab,  and  his  auxiliaries  could  be 
made  to  outnumber  the  troops  of  his  allies;  but  he  felt 
uneasy  about  the  proceedings  of  the  Sindhianwala- 
chiefs,  one  of  whom  had  gone  to  Calcutta  to  urge  his 
own  claims,  or  those  of  Mai  Chand  Kaur,  and  all  of 
whom  retained  influence  in  the  Sikh  ranks.  He  was 
assured  that  the  refugees  should  not  be  allowed  to  dis- 
turb his  reign,  and  there  thus  seemed  to  be  no  obstacle 
in  the  way  of  his  full  co-operation.-  But  the  genuine 
Sikhs  were  held  by  the  English  to  be  both  mutinous  in 
disposition  and  inferior  in  warlike  spirit;  the  soldiers 
of  Jammu  v/ere  preferred,  and  Gulab  Singh  was  re 
quired  to  proceed  to  Peshawar  to  repress  the  insubor- 
dinate 'Khalsa',  and  to  give  General  Pollock  the 
assurance  of  efficient  aid.^  The  Raja  was  at  the  time 
completing  the  reduction  of  some  insurgent  tribes 
between  Kashmir  and  Attock,  and  his  heart  was  in 
Tibet,  where  he  had  himself  lost  an  army  and  a  king- 
dom. He  went,  but  he  knew  the  temper  of  his  own 
hill  levies  :   he  was    naturally   unwilling   to-  run    any 

during  the  campaign  in  the  ways  their  experience  taught  them 
to  be  the  most  likely  to  lead  to  success. 

^  See  Government  to  Mr.  Clerk,  3rd  May  and  23rd  July 
1842.  The  English  agents,  however,  rather  tauntingly  and 
imploringly  reminded  the  Sikh  authorities  that  they  were 
bound  to  have  such  a  force  I'eady  by  agreement  as  well  as  by 
friendship,  than  formally  revived  the  demand  for  its  production 
under  the  stipulations  of  the  treaty. 

-  Cf.  Mr.  Clerk  to  Government,  2nd  Jan.  and  31st  March 
1842,  and  Government  to  Mr.  Clerk,  17th  Jan.  and  12th  May 
1842.  With  regard  to  assistance  I'endered  by  the  Sikhs  during 
the  Afghan  War  in  furnishing  escorts,  grain,  and  carriage  for 
the  British  troops,  Mr.  Clerk's  letters  of  the  15th  Jan.,  18th 
May,  and  14th  June  1842  may  be  quoted.  In  the  last  it  is  stated 
that  17,381  camels  had  been  procured  through  Sikh  agency 
between  1839  and  1842. 

'^  Cf.  Mr.  Clerk  to  Government,  15th  Jan.,  10th  Feb.,  and 
6th  May,  1842.  Government  at  first  seemed  indifferent  whether 
Gulab  Singh  went  or  not;  and,  indeed,  Mr.  Clerk  himself  rather 
suggested  than  required  the  Raja's  employment;  but  sugges- 
tions or  wishes  could  not,  under  the  circumstances,  be 
misconstrued. 


CHAP,  vin    CO-OPERATION  OF  GULAB  SINGH     225 

risk  by  following  the  modes  of  strangers  to  which  he  im2. 

was  unused,  and  he  failed  in  rendering  the  Sikh  batta- 
lions as  decorous  and  orderly  as  English  regiments.  His 
prudence  and  ill  success  were  looked  upon  as  collusion 
and  insincerity,  and  he  was  thought  to  be  in  league 
with  Akbar  Khan  for  the  destruction  of  the  army  of 
an  obnoxious  European  power. ^  Still  his  aid  was  held 
to  be  essential,  and  the  local  British  officers  proposed 
to  bribe  him  by  the  offer  of  Jalalabad,  independent  of 
his  sovereign  Sher  Singh.  The  scheme  was  justly  con- 
demned by  Mr.  Clerk,^  the  Khaibar  Pass  was  forced  in 
the  month  of  April,  and  the  auxiliary  Sikhs  acquitted 
themselves  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  English  general, 
without  any  promise  having  been  made  to  the  Raja  of 
Jammu,  who  gladly  hurried  to  the  Ladakh  frontier  to 
look  after  interests  dearer  to  him  than  the  success  or 
the  vengeance  of  foreigners.  It  was  designed  by  Gene-  Kabul  re- 
ral  Pollock  to  leave  the  whole  of  the  Sikh  division  t^^^"- 
at  Jalalabad,  to  assist  in  holding  that  district,  while 
the  main  English  army  went  to  Kabul;  but  the  proper 
interposition  of  Col.  Lawrence  ^  enabled  a  portion  of 
the  Lahore  troops  to  share  in  that  retributive  march, 
as  they  had  before  shared  in  the  first  invasion,  and 
fully  shown  their  fitness  for  meeting  difficulties  when 
left  to  do  so  in  their  own  way. 

The  proposition  of  conferring  Jalalabad  on  Gulab  Discussions 
Singh  was  taken  up  in  a  modified  form  by  the  new  j^fg^abad 
Governor-General,    Lord    Ellenborough.    As   his   lord-  and  the 
ship's  views  became  formed,  he  laid  it  down  as  a  prin-  limits  of 
ciple  that  neither  the  English  nor  the  Sikh  Government  sikh  domi- 
should  hold  dominion  beyond  the  Himalayas  and  the  "*°"- 
'Safed   Koh'   of  Kabul;   and   as  the  Durrani   alliance 
seemed  to  be  severed,  there  was  little  to  apprehend 
from  Jammu  and  Barakzai  intrigues.  It  was,  therefore, 
urged  that   Gulab   Singh   should   be  required  by   the 
Maharaja  to  relinquish  Ladakh,  and  to  accept  Jalala- 
bad on  equal   terms   of  dependency   on   the   Punjab.^ 

1  Cf.  Mr.  Clerk  to  Government,  19th  March  1842. 

2  Mr.  Clerk  to  Government,  13th  Feb.  1842.  The  officers 
referred  to  are  Major  Mackeson*  and  Lieut. -Col.  Sir  Henry 
Lawrence,  whose  names  are  so  intimately,  and  in  so  many 
ways  honourably,  identified  with  the  career  of  the  English  in 
the  north-west  of  India. 

3Lieut.-Col.  Lawrence  to  Major  Mackeson,  23rd  Aufe.  1842. 
Lieut.-Col.  Lawrence's  article  in  the  Calcutta  Review  (No.  Ill, 
p.  180)  may  also  be  advantageously  referred  to  about  the  pro- 
ceedings at  Peshawar  under  Col.  Wild,  Sir  George  Pollock,  and 
Raja  Gulab  Singh. 

*  Government  to  Mr.  Clerk,  27th  April  1842. 

15 


226  HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS         chap,  viii 

J842.  The  Sikhs  were  sufficiently  f\  sirous  of  adding  to  their 

dominion  another  Afghan  district;  but  the  terms  did 
not  satisf}^  Gulab  Singh,  nor  did  Sher  Singh  see  fit  to 
come  to  any  conclusion  until  he  should  know  the  final 
views  of  the  English  with  regard  to  the  recognition  of 
a  government  in  Kabul. ^  The  death  of  Shah  Shuja 
and  his  suspicious  proceedings  were  held  to  render  the 
re-occupation  of  the  country  unnecessary,  and  the  tri- 
partite treaty  was  declared  to  be  at  an  end;-  but  the 
policy  of  a  march  on  the  Afghan  capital  was  stronglj'- 
urged  and  wisely  adopted.-'  There  seemed  to  be  a 
prospect  of  wintering  in  Kabul,  and  it  was  not  until 
the  victorious  troops  were  on  their  return  to  India 
that  it  was  believed  the  English  would  ever  forgo  the 
possession  of  an  empire.  The  Sikhs  then  consented  to 
take  Jalalabad,  but  before  the  order  transferring  it 
could  reach  General  Pollock,^  that  commander  had 
destroyed  the  fortifications,  and  nominally  abandoned 
the  place  to  the  king  whom  he  had  expediently  set  up 
in  the  Bala  Hisar.''  It  is  probable  that  Sher  Singh 
was  not  unwilling  to  be  relieved  of  the  invidious  gift, 
for  his  own  sway  in  Lahore  was  distracted,  and  Dost 

1  Mr.  Clerk  to  Government,  18th  May  1842. 

-  Government  to  Mr.  Clerk,  27th  May  and  29th  July  1842. 
In  the  treaty  drafted  by  the  Sikhs  to  take  the  place  of  the 
tripartite  one,  they  put  forward  a  claim  of  superiority  over 
Sind,  and  somewhat  evaded  the  question  of  being  parties  only, 
instead  of  principals,  to  the  acknowledgement  of  a  ruler  in 
Kabul.     The  treaty,  however,  never  took  a  definite  shape. 

■"'  Even  the  Sikhs  talked  of  the  impolicy,  or,  at  least,  the 
disgrace,  of  suddenly  and  wholly  withdrawing  from  Afghan- 
istan in  the  manner  proposed.  (Mr.  Clerk  to  Government,  19th 
July  1842.)  Mr.  Clerk  himself  was  among  the  most  prominent 
of  those  who  at  first  modestly  urged  a  march  on  Kctbul,  and 
afterwards  manfully  remonstrated  against  a  hasty  abandon- 
ment of  the  country.  (See  his  letter  above  quoted  and  also 
that  of  the  23rd  April  1842.) 

4  The  order  was  dated  the  18th  Oct.  1942.  Lord  Ellen- 
borough  himself  was  not  without  a  suspicion  that  the  victorious 
generals  might  frame  'excuses  for  wintering  in  Kabul,  and  the 
expedition  of  Sir  John  M'Caskill  into  the  Kohistan  was  less 
pleasing  to  him  on  that  account  than  it  would  otherwise  have 
been. 

■'  The  Calcutta  Review  for  June  1849  (p.  539)  points  out 
that  the  king.  \-i;^.  Shahpur,  son  of  Shah. Shuja,  was  rather  set 
up  solely  by  the  chiefs  at  Kabul  than  in  any  way  by  Sir  George 
Pollock,  who  had  no  authority  to  recognise  any  sovereign  in 
Afghanistan.  My  expression  has,  indeed,  reference  mainly  to 
the  prudent  countenance  afforded  to  a  native  prince  by  a 
foreign  conqueror  about  to  retrace  his  steps  through  a  difficult 
country,  inhabited  by  a  warlike  people;  but  as  it  may  misleat. 
as  to  Sir  George  Pollock's  actual  proceedings,  I  gladly  insert 
this  note. 


CHAP,  vin       JALALABAD  :    THE  SIKHS  227 

Muhammad  was  about  to  be  released  under  the  pledge  J842^ 

of  a  safe  passage  through  the  Punjab  dominions;  and 
it  may  have  been  thought  prudent  to  conciliate  the 
father  of  Akbar  Khan,  so  famous  for  his  successes 
against  the  English,  by  the  surrender  of  a  possession 
it  was  inconvenient  to  hold.^ 

The  Governor-General  had  prudently  resolved  to  The 
assemble  an  army  at  Ferozepore,  as  a  reserve  in  case  covernor- 
of  further  disasters  in  Afghanistan,  and  to  make  known  General 
to  the  princes  of  India  that  their  English  masters  had  ^^^ 
the  ready  means  of  beating    any    who    might    rebel.^  minister 
Lord  Ellenborough  was  also  desirous  of  an  interview  and  heir- 
with  Sher  Singh,  and  as  gratitude  was  uppermost  for  apparent  at 
the  time,  and  added  a  grace  even  to  success,  it  was  ^^^^pore, 
proposed  to  thank    the    Maharaja    in    person    for   the 
proofs  which  he  had  afforded  of  his  continued  friend- 
ship.    To  invest  the  scene  with  greater  eclat,  it  was 
further  determined,  in  the  spirit  of  the  moment,  to 
give  expression  to  British  sincerity  and  moderation  at 

1  The  Sikhs  were  not  unwilling  to  acquire  territory,  but 
they  wished  to  see  their  way  clearly,  and  they  were  unable 
to  do  so  until  the  English  had  determined  on  their  own  line 
of  policy.  The  Sikhs  knew,  indeed,  of  the  resolution  of  the 
Governor-General  to  sever  all  connexion  with  Afghanistan, 
but  they  also  knew  the  sentiments  of  the  majority  of  English- 
men about  at  least  temporarily  retaining  it.  They  saw,  more- 
over, that  recruited  armies  were  still  in  possession  of  every 
stronghold,  and  the  policy  was  new  to  them  of  voluntarily  relin- 
quishing dominion.  They  therefore  paused,  and  the  subsequent 
release  of  Dost  Muhammad  again  fettered  them  when  the 
retirement  of  the  troops  seemed  to  leave  them  free  to  act, 
for  they  were  bound  to  escort  the  Amir  safely  across  the 
Punjab,  and  could  not  therefore  make  terms  with  him.  The 
Sikhs  would  have  worked  through  Sultan  Muhammad  Khan 
and  other  chiefs  until  they  were  in  a  condition  to  use  the  fre- 
quent plea  of  the  English,  of  being  able  to  govern  better  than 
dependants.   (Cf.  Mr.  Clerk  to  Government,  2nd  Sept.  1842.) 

-  Lord  Auckland  had  likewise  thought  that  such  a  demons- 
tration might  be  advisable.  (Government  to  Mr.  Clerk,  3rd 
Dec.  1841.)  Of  measures  practically  identified  with  Lord 
Ellenborough's  administration.  Lord  Auckland  may  further 
claim  the  merit  of  giving  the  generals  commanding  in 
Afghanistan  supreme  authority  (Resolution  of  Government, 
6th  Jan.  1842),  and  of  directing  Sir  William  Nott  to  act  without 
reference  to  previous  instructions,  and  as  he  might  deem  b«^st 
for  the  safety  of  his  troops  and  the  honour  of  the  British  name. 
(Government  to  Sir  William  Nott,  10th  Feb.  1842.)  To  Lord 
Auckland,  however,  is  due  the  doubtful  praise  of  suggesting  the 
release  of  Dost  Muhammad  (Government  to  Mr.  Clerk,  24th 
Feb.  1842);  and  he  must  certainly  bear  a  share  of  the  blame 
attached  to  the  exaggerated  estimate  formed  of  the  dangers 
which  threatened  the  English  after  the  retreat  from  Kabul,  and 
to  the  timorous  rather  than  prudent  design  of  falling  back  on 
the  Indus,  or  even  on  the  Sutlej. 


1842. 


228  HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS        chap,  '/in 

the  head  of  the  two  armies  returning  victorious  from 
Kabul,  with  their  numbers  increased  to  nearly  forty 
thousand  men  by  the  force  assembled  on  the  Sutlej. 
The  native  English  portion  of  this  array  was  consider- 
able, and  perhaps  so  many  Europeans  had  never  stood 
together  under  arms  on  Indian  ground  since  Alexan- 
der and  his  Greeks  made  the  Punjab  a  province  of 
Macedon.  The  Sikhs  generally  were  pleased  with  one 
cause  of  this  assemblage,  and  they  were  glad  to  be 
relieved  of  the  presence  of  the  English  on  their  western 
frontier;  but  Sher  Singh  himself  did  not  look  forward 
to  his  visit  to  Lord  Ellenborough  without  some  mis- 
givings, although  under  other  circumstances  his  vanity 
would  have  been  gratified  by  the  opportunity  of  dis- 
playing his  power  and  magnificence.  He  felt  his 
incapacity  as  a  ruler,  and  he  needlessly  feared  that  he 
might  be  called  to  account  for  Sikh  excesses  and  for  a 
suspected  intercourse  with  the  hostile  Amirs  of  Sind 
then  trembling  for  their  fate,  and  even  that  the  subju- 
gation of  the  Punjab  was  to  be  made  the  stepping-stone 
to  the  complete  reduction  of  Afghanistan.  He  had  no 
confidence  in  himself;  and  he  dreaded  the  vengeance 
of  his  followers,  who  believed  him  capable  of  sacri- 
ficing the  Khalsa  to  his  own  interests.  Nor  was  Dhian 
Singh  supposed  to  be  willing  that  the  Maharaja  should 
meet  the  Governor-General,  and  his  suspicious  temper 
made  him  apprehensive  that  His  sovereign  might  in- 
duce the  English  viceroy  to  accede  to  his  ruin,  or  to  the 
reduction  of  his  exotic  influence.  Thus  both  Sher 
Singh  and  his  minister  perhaps  rejoiced  that  a  misun- 
derstanding which  prevented  the  reception  at  Ludhiana 
of  Lahna  Singh  Majithia,  was  seized  hold  of  by  the 
English  to  render  a  meeting  doubtful  or  impossible.^ 

1  On  several  occasions  Raja  Dhian  Singh  expressed  his 
apprehensions  of  an  English  invasion,  as  also  did  Maharaja 
Sher  Singh.  (See,  for  instance,  Mr.  Clerk  to  Government,  2nd 
Jan.  1842.) 'The  writer  of  the  article  in  the  Calcutta  Review 
(No.  II,  p.  493),  who  is  believed  to  be  Lieut.-Col.  Lawrence, 
admits  Dhian  Singh's  aversion  to  a  meeting  between  his 
sovereign  and  the  British  Governor-General.  The  reviewer 
likewise  describes  Sher  Singh's  anxiety  at  the  time,  but  con- 
siders him  to  have  been  desirous  of  throwing  himself 
unreservedly  on  English  protection,  as  doubtless  he  might  have 
been,  had  he  thought  himself  secure  from  assassination,  and 
that  Lord  Ellenborough'  would  have  kept  him  seated  on  the 
throne  of  Lahore;  at  all  hazards. 

About  the  suspected  hostile  intercourse  with  the  Amirs 
of  Sind,  see  Thornton's  History  of  India  vi.  447  The  Sikhs, 
however,  were  never  required  to  give  any  explanation  of  the 
charges. 

The  misunderstanding  to  which  Sardar  Lahna  Singh  was 


CHAP.  VIII  LORD  ELLENBOROUGH:  SHER  SINGH  229 

Lord  Ellenborough  justly  took  offence  at  a  slight  i842. 
which,  however  unwittingly,  had  been  really  offered 
to  him;  he  was  not  easily  appeased;  and  when  the  per- 
sonal apologies  of  the  minister,  accompanied  by  the 
young  heir-apparent,  had  removed  every  ground  of 
displeasure,  the  appointed  time,  the  beginning  of  Jan- 
uary 1843,  for  the  breaking-up  of  the  large  army  had 
arrived,  and  the  Governor-General  did  not  care  to 
detain  his  war-worn  regiments  any  longer  from  their 
distant  stations.  No  interview  thus  took  place  with 
Sher  Singh;  but  the  boy  prince,  Pertab  Singh,  was 
visited  by  Lord  Ellenborough;  and  the  rapidity  with 
which  a  large  escort  of  Sikh  troops  was  crossed  over 
the  Sutlej  when  swollen  with  rain,  and  the  alacrity 
and  precision  with  which  they  manoeuvred,  deserved 
to  have  been  well  noted  by  the  English  captains,  proud 
as  they  had  reason  to  be  of  the  numbers  and  achieve- 
ments of  their  own  troops.  The  prince  likewise  re- 
viewed the  Anglo-Indian  forces,  and  the  Sikh  chiefs 
looked  with  interest  upon  the  defenders  of  Jalalabad, 
and  with  unmixed  admiration  upon  General  Nott  fol- 
lowed by  his  valiant  and  compact  band.  At  last  the 
armed  host  broke  up;  the  plains  of  Ferozepore  were 
no  longer  white  with  numerous  camps;  and  the  relieved 
Sher  Singh  hastened,  or  was  hurried,  to  Amritsar  to 
return  thanks  to  God  that  a  great  danger  had  passed 
away.  This  being  over,  he  received  Dost  Muhammad  ^ost  mu- 
Khan  with  distinction  at  Lahore,  and  in  February  hammad 
(1843)  entered  into  a  formal  treaty  of  friendship  with  returns  to 
the  released  Amir,  which  said  nothing  about  the  Eng-  ^abui. 
lish  gift  of  Jalalabad.^ 

a  party  was  simply  as  follows;  The  Sardar  had  been  sent  to 
wait  upon  the  Governor-General  on  his  arrival  on  the  frontier, 
according  to  ordinary  ceremonial.  It  was  arranged  that  the 
Sardar  should  be  received  by  his  lordship  at  Ludhiana,  and 
the  day  and  hour  were  fixed,  and  preparations  duly  made.  Mr. 
Clerk  went  in  person  to  meet  the  chief,  and  conduct  him  to  the 
Governor-General's  presence,  his  understanding  being  that  he 
was  to  go  half  the  distance  or  so  towards  the  Sikh  encampment. 
The  Sardar  understood  or  held  that  Mr.  Clerk  should  or  would 
come  to  his  tent,  and  thus  he  sat  still  while  Mr.  Clerk  rested 
half-way  for  two  hours  or  more,  i^ord  Ellenborough  thought 
the  excuse  of  the  Sardar  frivolous,  and  that  offence  was  wan- 
tonly given,  and  he  accordingly  required  an  explanation  to  be 
afforded.  (Government  to  Mr.  Clerk,  15th  Dec.  1842.)  There 
is  some  reason  to  believe  that  the  Lahore  Vakil,  who  was  in 
the  interest  of  Raja  Dhian  Singh,  misled  the  obnoxious  t.ahna 
Singh  about  the  arrangements  for  conducting  him  to  the 
Governor-General's  tents,  with  the  view  of  discrediting  him 
both  with  his  own  master  and  with  the  English. 

1  Government' to  Mr.  Clerk.  15th  Feb.  and  17th  Mar.  1843. 


230 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS         chap,  viii 


1843. 

Anxieties 
of  Sher 
Singh. 


Tlie  Sind- 
hianwala 
chiefs  and 
the  Jammu 
Rajas 
coalesce. 


But  Sher  Singh  principally  feared  his  own  chiefs 
and  subjects,  and  although  the  designed  or  fortuitous 
murder  of  Mai  Chand  Kaur,  in  June  1842,'  relieved  him 
of  some  of  his  apprehensions,  he  felt  uneasy  under  the 
jealous  domination  of  Dhian  Singh,  and  began  to  listen 
readily  to  the  smooth  suggestions  of  Bhai  Gurmukh 
Singh,  his  priest  so  to  speak,  and  who  was  himself  of 
some  religious  reputation,  as  well  as  the  son  of  a  man 
of  acknowledged  sanctity  and  influence.^  The  English 
Government,  in  its  well-meant  but  impracticable  de- 
sire to  unite  all  parties  in  the  country,  had  urged  the 
restoration  to  favour  of  the  Sindhianwala  chiefs,  who 
kept  its  own  agents  on  the  alert,  and  the  Maharaja 
himself  in  a  state  of  doubt  or  alarm. ^  Sher  Singh,  from 
his  easiness  of  nature,  was  not  averse  to  a  reconcilia- 
tion, and  by  degrees  he  even  became  not  unwilling  to 
have  the  family  about  him  as  some  counterpoise  to  the 
Rajas  of  Jammu.  Neither  v/as  Dhian  Singh  opposed  to 
their  return,  for  he  thought  they  might  be  made  some 
use  of  since  Mai  Chand  Kaur  was  no  more,  and  thus 
Ajit  Singh  and  his  uncles  again  took  their  accustomed 
places  in  the  court  of  Lahore.  Nevertheless,  during 
the  summer  of  1843,  Dhian  Singh  perceived  t*hat  his 
influence  over  the  Maharaja  was  fairly  on  the  wane; 
and  he  had  good  reason  to  dread  the  hiachinations  of 
Gurmukh  Singh  and  the  passions  of  the  multitude 
when  roused  by  a  man  of  his  character.  The  minister 
then  again  began  to  talk  of  the  boy,  Dalip  Singh,  and 
to  endeavour  to  possess  the  minds  of  the  Sindhianwala 

1  Mr.  Clerk  to  Government,  15th  June  1842.  The  widow 
of  Maharaja  Kharak  Singh  was  so  severely  beaten,  as  was  said 
by  her  female  attendants,  that  she  almost  immediately  expired. 
The  only  explanation  offered,  was  that  she  had  chidden  the 
servants  in  question  for  some  fault,  and  the  •  public  was 
naturally  unwilling  to  believe  Sher  Singh,  at  least,  guiltless  of 
instigating  the  murder. 

-  In  the  beginning  of  his  reign  Sher  Singh  had  leant 
much  upon  an  active  and  ambitious  follower,  named  Jawala 
Singh,  whose  bravery  was  conspicuous  during  the  attack  on 
Lahore.  This  petty'  leader  hoped  to  supplant  both  the  Sindhian- 
wala chiefs  and  the  Jammu  Rajas  as  leading  courtiers,  but  he 
proceeded  too  hastily;  he  was  seized  and  imprisoned  by  Dhian 
Singh  in  May  1841,  and  died  by  foul  means  immediately  after- 
wards. (Cf.  Mr.  Clerk  to  Government,  7th  May  and  lOth  June 
1841.) 

3  Mr.  Clerk  to  Government,  7th  April  1842,  and  Govern- 
ment to  Mr.  Clerk,  12th  May  1842;  see  also  Lieut.-Col. 
Richmond  to  Government,  5th  Sept.  1843.  Mr.  Clerk  became 
Lieutenant-Governor  of  Agra  in  June  1843,  and  he  was  suc- 
ceeded as  Agent  on  the  frontier  by  Lieut.-Col.  Richmond,  an 
officer  of  repute,  who  had  recently  distinguished  himself  under 
Sir  George  Pollock. 


CHAP.  VIII    THE  SINDHIANWALA  CHIEFS  231 

chiefs  with  the  belief  that  they  had  been  inveigled  to  i843. 
Lahore  for  their  more  assured  destruction.    Ajit  Singh  ~ 

had  by  this  time  become  the  boon  companion  of  the 
Maharaja;  but  he  was  himself  ambitious  of  power,  and 
he  and  his  uncle  Lahna  Singh  grasped  at  the  idea  of 
making  the  minister  a  party  to  their  own  designs.  They 
appeared  to  fall  wholly  into  his  views;  and  they  would, 
they  said,  take  Sher  Singh's  life  to  save  their  own.  On 
the   15th   September    (1843),  Ajit   Singh   induced   the  sher  singh 
Maharaja  to  inspect  some  levies  he  had  newly  raised;  asasssina- 
he  approached,  as  if  to  make  an  offering  of  a  choice  ^^^  ^^  ^^^^^ 
carbine,  and  to  receive  the  commendations  usual  on  fl"f^',- 

'  sept,  lo, 

such  occasions,  but  he  raised  the  weapon  and  shot  his  i843; 
sovereign   dead.     The  remorseless  Lahna   Singh  took 
the  life  of  the  boy  Pertab  Singh,  at  the  same  time,  and 
the  kinsmen  then  joined  Dhian  Singh,  and  proceeded 
with  him  to  the  citadel  to  proclaim  a  new  king.  The 
hitherto  wary  minister  was  now  caught  in  his  own  toils,  who  like- 
and  he  became  the  dupe  of  his  accomplices.    He  was  wise  puts 
separated  from  his  immediate  attendants,  as  if  for  the  ^'^'^/^ 
sake  of  greater  privacy,  and  shot  by  the  same  audacious  ^53^^ 
chief  who  had  just  imbrued  his  hands  in  the  blood  of  sept.  15. 
their  common  master.'  The  conspirators  were  thus  far  1843. 
successful  in  their  daring  and  in  their  crimes,  but  they 
neglected    to  slay    0     imprison   the   son    of  their   last 
victim;  and  the  minds  of  the  soldiers  do  not  seem  to 
have  been  prepared  for  the  death  of  Dhian  Singh,  as  Hira  singh 
they  were  for  that  of  the  Maharaja.    The  youthful  Hira  avenges  his 
Singh  was  roused  by  his   own   danger  and  his  filial  *^^^^''- 
duty;  he  could  plausibly  accuse  the  Sindhianwalas  of 
being  alone    guilty   of  the   treble   murder   which   had 
taken  place,  and  he  largely  promised  rewards  to  the 
troops  if  they  would  avenge  the  death  of  their  friend 
and  his  father.     The  army  generally  responded  to  his 
call,  and  the  citadel  was  immediately  assaulted;  yet  so 
strong  was  the  feeling  of  aversion  to  Jammu  ascend- 
ancy among  the    Sikh   people,    that   could    the   feeble 
garrison  have  held  out  for  three  or  four  days,  until  the 
first  impulse  of  anger  and  surprise  had  passed  away,  it 
is  almost  certain  that  Hira  Singh  must  have  fled  for  his 
life.    But  the  place  was  entered  on  the  second  evening; 
the  wounded  Lahna  Singh  was  at  once  slain;  and  Ajit 
Singh,  in  attempting  to  boldly  escape  over  the  lofty 
walls,  fell  and  was  also  killed.-    Dalip  Singh  was  then 
proclaimed  Maharaja,   and  Hira  Singh  was  raised  to 

1  Lieut. -Col.   Richmond    to    Government,     17th    and    18th 
Sept.  1843. 

2  Lieut.-Col.  Richmond  to  Government,  20th  Sept.  1843. 


232 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP,  vin      ^ 


1843. 

Dalip  Singh 
proclaimed 
Maharaja. 
Sept.  1843. 


The  power 
of  the  army 
increases. 


Raja   Gulab 
Singh. 


the  high  and  fatal  office  of  Wazir;  but  he  was  all- 
powerful  for  the  moment;  the  Sindhianwala  possessions 
were  confiscated,  and  their  dwellings  razed  to  the 
ground  :  nor  did  the  youthful  avenger  stay  until  he 
had  found  out  and  put  to  death  Bhai  Gurmukh  Singn 
and  Missar  Beli  Ram,  the  former  of  whom  was  believed 
to  have  connived  at  the  death  of  his  confiding  master, 
and  to  have  instigated  the  assassination  of  the  minister; 
and  the  latter  of  whom  had  always  stood  high  in  the 
favour  of  the  great  Maharaja,  although  strongly  op- 
posed to  the  aggrandizement  of  the  Jammu  family. 
Sardar  Atar  Singh  Sindhianwala,  who  was  hurrying 
to  Lahore  when  he  heard  of  the  capture  of  the  citadel, 
made  a  hasty  attempt  to  rouse  the  village  population 
in  his  favour  through  the  influence  of  Bhai  Bir  Singh, 
a  devotee  of  great  repute;  but  the  'Khalsa'  was  almost 
wholly  represented  by  the  army,  and  he  crossed  at  once 
into  the  British  territories  to  avoid  the  emissaries  of 
Hira  Singh. ^ 

The  new  minister  added  two  rupees  and  a  half,  or 
five  shillings  a  month,  to  the  pay  of  the  common  sol- 
diers, and  he  also  discharged  some  arrears  due  to  them. 
The  army  felt  that  it  had  become  the  master  of  the 
state,  and  it  endeavoured  to  procure  donatives,  or  to 
place  itself  right  in  public  estimation,  by  threatening 
to  eject  the  Jammu  faction,  and  to  make  the  Bhai  Bir 
Singh,  already  mentioned,  a  king  as  well  as  a  priest.^ 
Jawahir  Singh,  the  maternal  uncle  of  the  boy  Maha- 
raja, already  grasped  the  highest 'post  he  could  occupy; 
nor  was  the  minister's  family  united  within  itself. 
Suchet  Singh's  vanity  was  mortified  by  the  ascendancy 
of  his  nephew,  a  stripling,  unacquainted  with  war,  and 
inexperienced  in  business;  and  he  endeavoured  to  form 
a  party  which  should  place  him  in  power.^  The  youth- 
ful Wazir  naturally  turned  to  his  other  uncle,  Gulab 
Singh,  for  support,  and  that  astute  chief  cared  not  who 
held  titles  so  long  as  he  was  deferred  to  and  left  un- 
restrained; but  the  Sikhs  were  still  averse  to  him  per- 
sonally, and  jealous  lest  he  should  attempt  to  garrison 
every  stronghold  with  his  own  followers.  Gulab  Singh 
was,  therefore,  cautious  in  his  proceedings,  and  before 
he  reached  Lahore,  on  the  10th  of  November,  he  had 
sought  to  ingratiate  himself  with  all  parties,  save 
Jawahir  Singh,  whom  he  Tnay  have  despised  as  of  no 

1  Lieut.-Col.   Richmond's   letters   from   21st   Sept.   to   2nd 
Oct.  1843. 

2  Ldeut.-Col.  Richmond  to  Government,  26th  Sept.  1843. 

3  Ldeut.-Col.   Richmond  to    Government,    16th    and    22nd 
Oct.  1843. 


CHAP,  vm  INSURRECTION  OFKASHMIRA  SINGH  233 

capacity.^     Jawahir  Singh  resented  this  conduct,  and,  1843-4.      ^ 
taking  advantage  of  the  ready  access- to  the  Maharaja's  sardar  Ja- 
person  which  his  relationship  gave  him,  he  went  with  wahir 
the  child  in  his  arms,  on  the  occasion  of  a  review  of  singh,   Nov. 
some  troops,  and  urged  the  assembled   regiments  to  ^'^'  '^^'*^' 
depose  the  Jammu  Rajas,  otherwise  he  would  fly  with 
his  nephew,  their  acknowledged  prince,  into  the  British 
territories.    But  the  design  of  procuring  aid  from  the 
English  was  displeasing  to  the  Sikhs,  both  as  an  inde- 
pendent people  and  as  a  licentious  soldiery,  and  Jawa- 
hir Singh  was  immediately  made  a  prisoner,  and  thus 
received  a  lesson  which  influenced  his  conduct  during 
the  short  remainder  of  his  life.- 

Nevertheless,  Hira    Singh    continued    to  be    beset  rateh 
with  difficulties.     There  was  one  Fateh  Khan  Tiwana,  "^^^^ 
a  personal  follower  of  Dhian  Singh,  who  was  supposed  '^^^^"^• 
to  have  been  privy  to  the  intended  assassination  of  his 
master,  and  to  have  designedly  held  back  when  Ajit 
Singh  took  the  Raja  to  one  side.    This  petty  leader  fled 
as  soon  as  the  army  attacked  the  citadel,  and  endeav- 
oured to  raise  an  insurrection  in  his  native  province  of 
Dera  Ismail  Khan,  which  caused  the  greater  anxiety, 
as  the  attempt  was  supposed  to  be  countenanced  by 
the  able  and  hostile  Governor  of  Multan.-'-     Scarcely 
had   measures   been   adopted   for    reducing   the  petty  r^^^  insur- 
rebellion,  when  Kashmira  Singh  and  Peshawara  Singh,  rection  of 
sons  born  to,  or  adopted  by,  Ranjit  Singh  at  the  period  Kashmira 
of   his   conquest   of   the   two   Afghan   provinces  .from  singh  and 
which  they  were  named,  started  up  as  the  rivals  of  the  g^^^^^"^^ 
child  Dalip,  and  endeavoured  to  form  a  party  by  ap-  1843.4'. 
pearing  in  open  opposition  at  Sialkot.    Some  regiments 
ordered    to    Peshawar    joined    the    two    princes;    the 
Muhammadan  regim.ents  at  Lahore  refused  to  march 
against  them  unless  a  pure  Sikh  force  did  the  same; 
and  it  was  with  difficulty,  and  only  with  the  aid  of 
Raja  Gulab  Singh,  that  the  siege  of  Sialkot  was  formed. 
The  two  young  men  soon   showed  themselves  to   be 
incapable  of  heading  a  party;  Hira  Singh  relaxed  in 
his  efforts  against  them;  and  towards  the  end  of  March 
he  raised  the  siege,  and  allowed  them  to  go  at  large.^ 
The  minister  had,  however,  less  reason  to  be  satisfled  jawaWr 
with  the  success  of  Jawahir  Singh,  who,  about  the  same  singh. 

1  Cf.  Lieut.-Col.  Richmond  to  Government,  26th  Sept.  and 
16th  Nov.  1843. 

-  Lieut.-Col.  Richmond  to  Government,  28th  Nov.   1843. 

3  Lieut.-Col.  Richmond  to  Government,  12th  Dec.  1843. 

^  Lieut.-Col.  Richmond  to  Government,  23rd  and  27th 
March  1844. 


234 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.  VIII 


1844. 


The 

attempt  of 

Raja 

Suchet 

Singh, 

March 

1844. 


"he  insur- 
rection  of 
Sardar 
Atar    Singh 
and  Bhai 
Bir  Singh, 
May  1844. 


time,  induced  his  guards  to  release  him,  and  he  was 
unwillingly  allowed  to  assume  his  place  in  the  court 
as  the  uncle  of  the  child  to  whose  sovereignty  in  the 
abstract  all  nominally  deferred.^ 

Raja  Suchet  Singh  was  believed  to  have  been  a 
secret  party  to  the  attempts  of  Kashmira  Singh,  and 
the  release  of  Jawahir  Singh  was  also  probably  effected 
with  his  cognizance.  The  Raja  believed  himself  to  be 
popular  with  the  army,  and  especially  with  the  cavalry 
portion  of  it,  which,  having  an  inferior  organization, 
began  to  show  some  jealousy  of  the  systematic  pro- 
ceedings of  the  regular  infantry  and  artillery.  He  had 
retired  to  the  hills  with  great  reluctance;  he  continued 
intent  upon  supplanting  his  nephew;  and  suddenly,  on 
the  evening  of  the  26th  of  March  1844,  he  appeared  at 
Lahore  with  a  few  followers;  but  he  appealed  in  vain 
to  the  mass  of  the  troops,  partly  because  Hira  Singh 
had  been  liberal  in  gifts  and  profuse  in  promises,,  and 
partly  because  the  shrewd  deputies  who  formed  the 
Panchayats  of  the  regiments  had  a  sense  of  their  own 
importance,  and  were  not  to  be  won  for  purposes  of 
mere  faction,  without  diligent  and  judicious  seeking. 
Hence,  on  the  morning  after  the  arrival  of  the  sanguine 
and  hasty  Raja,  a  large  force  marched  against  him 
without  demur;  but  the  chief  was  brave  :  he  endeav- 
oured to  make  a  stand  in  a  ruinous  building,  and  he 
died  fighting  to  the  last,  although  his  little  band  was 
almost  destroyed  by  the  fire  of  a  numerous  artillery 
before  the  assailants  could  reach  the  enclosure.- 

Within  two  months  after  this  rash  undertaking, 
Atar  Singh  Sindhianwala,  who  had  been  residing  at 
Thanesar,  made  a  similar  ill-judged  attempt  to  gain 
over  the  army,  and  to  expel  Hira  Singh.  He  crossed 
the  Sutlej  on  the  2nd  May,  but  instead  of  moving  to  a 
distance,  so  as  to  avoid  premature  collisions,  and  to 
enable  him  to  appeal  to  the  feelings  of  the  Sikhs,  he 
at  once  joined  Bhai  Bir  Singh,  whose  religious  repute 
attracted  numbers  of  the  agricultural  population  and 
took  up  a  position  almost  opposite  Ferozepore,  and 
within  forty  miles  of  the  capital.  The  disaffected 
'Kashmira  Singh  joined  the  chief,  but  Hira  Singh  stood 
as  a  suppliant  before  the  assembled  Khalsa,  and  roused 
the  feelings  of  the  troops  by  reminding  them  that  the 
Sindhianwalas  looked  to  the  English  for  support.  A 
large  force  promptly  marched  from  Lahore,  but  it  was 
wished  to  detach  Bhai  Bir  Singh  from  the  rebel,  for 

1  Lieut. -Col.  Richmond   to  Government,   27th  March   1844. 
2Lieut.-Col.  Richmond    to  Government,  29th  March   1844. 


I    CHAP.  VIII     INSURRECTIONISTS  KILLED  235 

to  assail  so  holy  a  man  was  held  to  be  sacrilege  by  the  i844. 


soldiers,  and  on  the  seventh  of  the  month  deputies  were 
sent  to  induce  the  Bhai  to  retire.  Some  expressions 
moved  the  anger  of  Sardar  Atar  Singh,  and  he  slew 
one  of  the  deputies  with  his  own  hand.  This  act  led 
to  an  immediate  attack.  Atar  Singh  and  Kashmira 
Singh  were  both  killed,  and  it  was  found  that  a  can- 
non-shot had  likewise  numbered  Bhai  Bir  Singh  with 
the  slain.  The  commander  on  this  occasion  was  Labii 
Singh,  a  Rajput  of  Jammu,  and  the  possession  of  the 
family  of  Kashmira  Singh  seemed  to  render  his  suc- 
cess more  complete;  but  the  Sikh  infantry  refused  to 
allow  the  women  and  children  to  be  removed  to 
Lahore;  and  Labh  Singh,  alarmed  by  this  proceeding 
and  by  the  lamentations  over  the  death  of  Bir  Singh, 
hastened  to  the  capital  to  ensure  his  own  safety.^ 

Hira  Singh  was  thus  successful  against  two  main  The 
enemies  of  his  rule,  and  as  he  had  also  come  to  an  Governor 
understanding  with  the  Governor  of  Multan.  the  pro-  "^^^^.j"^" 
ceedings  of  Fateh  Khan  Tiwana  gave  him  little  uneasi-  ^"  "^^ """ 
ness.-    The  army  itself  was  his  great  cause  of  anxiety, 
not  lest  the  Sikh  dominion  should  be  contracted,  but 
lest  he  should  be  rejected  as  its  master;  for  the  Pan- 
chayats,  although  bent  on  retaining  their  own  power, 
and  on  acquiring  additional  pay  and  privileges  for  their 
constituents    the    soldiers,    were    equally    resolved  on 
maintaining    the    integrity    of    the    empire,    and    they 
arranged  among    themselves    about    the  relief,  of  the 
troops  in  the  provinces.     On  the  frontiers,  indeed,  the 
Sikhs   continued   to   exhibit   their   innate   vigour,   and 
towards  the  end  of  1843  the  secluded  principality  of 
Gilgit    was    overrun    and    annexed    to   Kashmir.     The  Giigit  re- 
Panchayats  likewise  felt  that  it  was  the  design  of  the  duced.  i843 
Raja  and  his  advisers  to  disperse  the  Sikh  army  over 
the  country,  and  to  raise  additional  corps  of  hill  men, 
but  the  committees  would  not  allow  a  single  regiment 
to  quit  Lahore  without  satisfying  themselves  of  the 
necessity  of  the  measure;    and  thus   Hira   Singh  was  mra  smgh 
induced  to  take  advantage  of  a  projected  relief  of  the  professes 
British  troops  in  Sind,  and  the  consequent  march   of  suspicions 
several  battalions  towards  the  Sutlej.  to  heighten  or  English 
give  a  colour  to  his  own  actual  suspicions,  and  to  hint 
that  a  near  danger  threatened  the  Sikhs  on  the  side  of 
the  English.    The  'Khalsa'  was  most  willing  to  encouii- 

1  Lieut.-Col.   Richmond   to   Government,     10th,     11th,    and 
12th  May  1844. 

-Cf.  Lieut.-Col.  Richmond  to  Government,  29th  April  1844. 


230 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS         chap,  vni 


1844. 


The 

mutiny  of 
the  British 
Sepoys 
ordered  to 
Sind. 


Discussions 
with  the 
English 
about   the 
village 
Moran, 


ter  that  neighbour,  and  a  brigade  was  induced  to  move 
to  Kasur,  and  others  to  shorter  distances  from  the  capi- 
tal, under  the  plea,  as  avowed  to  the  British  authori- 
ties, of  procuring  forage  and  supplies  with  greater 
facility.!  Such  had  indeed  been  Ranjit  Singh's  occa- 
sional practice  when  no  assemblage  of  British  forces 
could  add  to  his  ever  present  fears;  -  but  Hira  Singh's 
apprehensions  of  his  own  army  and  of  his  English  allies 
were  lessened  by  his  rapid  successes,  and  by  the  dis- 
graceful spirit  which  then  animated  the  regular  regi- 
ments in  the  British  service.  The  Sepoys  refused  to 
proceed  to  Sind,  and  the  Sikhs  watched  the  progress  of 
the  mutiny  with  a  pleased  surprise.  It  was  new  to 
them  to  see  these  renowned  soldiers  in  opposition  to 
their  government;  but  any  glimmering  hopes  of  fatal 
embarrassment  to  the  colossal  power  of  the  foreigners 
were  dispelled  by  the  march  of  European  troops,  by 
the  good  example  of  the  irregular  cavalry,  and  by  the 
returning  sense  of  obedience  of  the  sepoys  themselves. 
The  British  forces  proceeded  to  Sind,  and  the  Lahore 
detachment  was  withdrawn  from  Kasur.^ 

Nevertheless  there  were  not  wanting  causes  of  real 
or  alleged  dissatisfaction  with  the  British  Govern- 
ment, which  at  last  served  the  useful  purpose  of 
engaging  the  attention  of  the  Lahore  soldiery.  The 
protected  Sikh  Raja  of  Nabha  had  given  a  village, 
named  Moran,  to  Ranjit  Singh  at  the  Maharaja's  re- 
quest, in  order  that  it  might  be  bestowed  on  Dhanna 
Singh,  a  Nabha  subject,  but  who  stood  high  in  favour 
with  the  master  of  the  Punjab.  The  village  was  so 
given  in  1819,  or  after  the  introduction  of  the  English 
supremacy,  but  without  the  knowledge  of  the  English 
authorities,  which  circumstance  rendered  the  aliena- 
tion invalid,  if  it  were  argued  that  the  village  had 
become  separated  from  tlie  British  sovereignty.  The 
Raja  of  Nabha  became  displeased  with  Dhanna  Singh, 
and  he  resumed  his  gift  in  the  year  1843;  but  in  so 
doing  his  soldiers  wantonly  plundered  the  property  of 
the  feudatory,  and  thus  gave  the  Lahore  Government 
a  ground  of  complaint,  of  which  advantage  was  taken 
for  party  purposes.'*    But  Hira  Singh  and  his  advisers 

1  Cf.  Lieut.-Col.  Richmond  to  Government,  20th  Dec  1843 
and  23rd  March  1844. 

-  See,  for  instance,  Sir  David  Ochterlony  to  Government 
16th  Oct.  1812. 

3  Cf.  Lieut.-Col.  Richmond  to  Government,  29th  April 
1844. 

•*  Lieut.-Col!  Richmond  to  Government,  18th  and  28th 
May  1844. 


CHAP.  VIII   DISCUSSIONS  WITH  THE  SIKHS  237 

took  greater  exception  still  to  the  decision  of  the  Bri-  i8-i4. 
tish  Government  with  regard  to  a  quantity  of  coin  and  and  about 
bullion  which  Raja  Suchet  Singh  had  secretly  depo-  treasure 
sited  in  Ferozepore,  and  which  his  servants  were  buried  by 
detected  in  endeavouring  to  remove  after  his  death.  ^""^^^^ 
The  treasure  was  estimated  at  1,500,000  rupees,  and  it  ^"^  ' 
was  understood  to  have  been  sent  to  Ferozepore  during 
the  recent  Afghan  War,  for  the  purpose  of  being 
offered  as  part  of  an  ingratiatory  loan  to  the  English 
Government,  which  was  borrowing  money  at  the  time 
from  the  protected  Sikh  chiefs.  The  Lahore  minister 
claimed  the  treasure  both  as  the  escheated  property  of 
a  feudatory  without  male  heirs  of  his  body,  and  as  the 
confiscated  property  of  a  rebel  killed  in  arms  against 
his  sovereign;  but  the  British  Government  considered 
the  right  to  the  property  to  be  unaffected  by  the  own- 
er's treason,  and  required  that  the  title  to  it,  according 
to  the  laws  of  Jammu  or  of  the  Punjab,  should  be 
regularly  pleaded  and  proved  in  a  British  court.  It 
was  argued  in  favour  of  Lahore  that  no  British  subject 
or  dependent  claimed  the  treasure,  and  that  it  might 
be  expediently  made  over  to  the  ruler  of  the  Punjab 
for  surrender  to  the  legal  or  customary  owner;  but 
the  supreme  British  authorities  would  not  relax  fur- 
ther from  the  conventional  law  of  Europe  than  to  say 
that  if  the  Maharaja  would  write  that  the  Rajas  Gulab 
Singh  and  Hira  Singh  assented  to  the  delivery  of  the 
treasure  to  the  Sikh  state  for  the  purpose  of  being 
transferred  to  the  rightful  owners,  it  would  no  longer 
be  detained.  This  proposal  was  not  agreed  to,  partly 
because  differences  had  in  the  meantime  arisen  bet- 
ween the  uncle  and  nephew,  and  partly  because  the 
Lahore  councillors  considered  their  original  grounds  of 
claim  to  be  irrefragable,  according  to  Indian  law  and 
usage,  and  thus  the  money  remained  a  source  of  dis- 
satisfaction, until  the  English  stood  masters  in  Lahore, 
and  accepted  it  as  part  of  the  price  of  Kashmir,  when 
the  valley  was  alienated  to  Raja  Gulab  Singh. ^ 

1  For  the  discussions  about  the  surrender  or  the  detention 
of  the  treasure,  see  the  letters  of  Lieut.-Col.  Richmond  to 
Government  of  the  7th  April,  3rd  and  27th  May,  25th  July, 
10th  Sept.,  and  5th  and  25th  Oct.  1844;  and  of  Government  to 
Lieut.-Col.  Richmond  of  the  19th  and  22nd  April,  17th  May, 
and  10th  Aug.  of  the  same  year. 

The  principle  laid  down  of  deciding  the  claim  to  the 
treasure  at  a  British  tribunal,  and  according  to  the  laws  of 
Lahore  or  of  Jammu,  does  not  distinguish  between  public  and 
individual  right  of  heirship;  or  rather  it  decides  the  question 
with  reference  solely  to  the  law  in  private  cases.  Throughout 
India,  the  practical  rule  has  ever  been  that  such  property  shall 


23s 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS         chap,  viii 


1844. 

Hira   Singh 
guided  by 
Pandit 
Jalla,    his 
preceptor. 


Hira  Singh  had,-  in  his  acts  and  successes,  surpas- 
sed the  general  expectation,  and  the  manner  in  which 
affairs  were  carried  on  seemed  to  argue  unlooked-for 
abilities  of  a  high  order;  but  the  Raja  himself  had  little 
more  than  a  noble  presence  and  a  conciliatory  address 
to  recommend  him,  and  the  person  who  directed  every 
measure  was  a  Brahman  Pandit,  named  Jalla,  the 
family  priest,  so  to  speak,  of  the  Jammu  brothers,  and 
the  tutor  of  Dhian  Singh's  sons.  This  crafty  and  ambi- 
tious man  retained  all  the  influence  over  the  youthful 
minister  which  he  had  exercised  over  the  boyish  pupil 
on  whom  Ranjit  Singh  lavished  favours.  Armies  had 
marched,  and  chiefs  had  been  vanquished,  as  if  at  the 
bidding  of  the  preceptor  become  councillor.  His  views 
expanded,  and  he  seems  to  have  entertained  the  idea 

be  administered  agreeably  to  the  customs  of  the  tribe  or 
province  to  which  the  deceased  belonged;  and  very  frequently, 
when  the  only  litigants  are  subjects  of  one  and  the  same  foreign 
state,  it  is  expediently  made  over  to  the  sovereign  of  that  state 
for  adjudication,  on  the  plea  that  the  rights  of  the  parties  can 
be  best  ascertained  on  the  spot,  and  that  every  ruler  is  a 
Tenderer  of  justice. 

In  the  present  instance  the  imperfection  of  the  Inter- 
national Law  of  Europe  may  be  more  to  blame  than  the 
Government  of  India  and  the  legal  authorities  of  Calcutta,  for 
refusing  to  acknowledge  the  right  of  an  allied  and  friendly 
state  to  the  property  of  a  childless  rebel;  to  which  property, 
moreover,  no  British  subject  or  dependent  preferred  a  claim. 
Vattel  lays  it  down  that  a  stranger's  property  remains  a  part" 
of  the  aggregate  wealth  of  his  nation,  and  that  the  right  to  it 
is  to  be  determined  according  to  the  laws  of  his  own  country 
(Book  II,  chap,  viii,  §§  109  and  110);  but  in  the  section  in 
question  reference  is  solely  had  to  cases  in  which  subjects  or 
private  parties  are  litigants;  although  Mr.  Chitty,  in  his  note  to 
§  103  (ed.  1834),  shows  that  foreign  sovereigns  can  in  England 
sue,  at  least,  British  subjects. 

The  oriental  customary  law  with  regard  to  the  estates  and 
property  of  Jagirdars  (feudal  beneficiaries)  may  be  seen  in 
Bernier's  Travels  (p.  181),  and  it  almost  seems  identical  with 
that  anciently  in  force  among  the  Anglo-Saxons  with  refer- 
ence to  'nobles  by  service',  the  followers  of  a  lord  or  king.  (See 
Kemble's  Saxons  in  England,  i.  178,  &c.)  The  right  of  the 
Government  is  full,  and  it  is  based  on  the  feeling  or  principle 
that  a  beneficiary  has  only  the  use  during  life  of  estates  or 
offices,  and  that  all  he  may  have  accumulated,  through  parsi- 
mony or  oppression,  is  the  property  of  the  state.  It  may  be 
difficult  to  decide  between  a  people  and  an  expelled  sovereign, 
about  his  guilt  or  his  tyranny,  but  there  can  be  none  in  decid- 
ing between  an  allied  state  and  its  subject  about  treason  or 
rebellion.  Neither  refugee  traitors  nor  patriots  are  allowed  to 
abuse  their  asylum  by  plotting  against  the  Government  which 
has  cast  them  out;  and  an  extension  of  the  principle  would 
prevent  desperate  adventurers  defrauding  the  state  which  has 
reared  and  heaped  favours  on  them,  by  removing  their 
property  previc   s  to  engaging  in  rash  and  criminal  enterprises. 


CHAP.  VIII    PANDIT  JALLA'S  INFLUENCE  -^3n 

of  founding  a  dynasty  of  'Peshwas'  among  the  rude  Jats  i844^ 

of  the  Punjab,  as  had  been  done  by  one  of  his  tribe 
among  the  equally  rude  Marathas  of  the  south.  He 
fully  perceived  that  the  Sikh  army  must  be  concihated, 
and  also  that  it  must  be  employed.  He  despised,  and 
with  some  reason,  the  spirit  and  capacity  of  most  of 
the  titular  chiefs  of  the  country;  and  he  felt  that  Raja 
Gulab  Singh  absorbed  a  large  proportion  of  the  rev- 
enues of  the  country,  and  seriously  embarrassed  the 
central  government  by  his  overgrown  power  and  influ- 
ence. It  was  primarily  requisite  to  keep  the  army 
well  and  regularly  paid,  and  hence  the  Pandit 
proceeded  without  scruple  to  sequester  several  of  the 
fiefs  of  the  sirdars,  and  gradually  to  inspire  the  soldiery 
with  the  necessity  of  a  march  against  Jammu.  Nor  was 
he  without  a  pretext  for  denouncing  Gulab  Singh,  as 
that  unscrupulous  chief  had  lately  taken  possession  of 
the  estates  of  Raja  Suchet  Singh,  to  which  he  regarded 
himself  as  the  only  heir.^ 

Jalla  showed  vigour  and  capacity  in  all  he  did,  but  Pandit 
he  proceeded  too  hastily  in  some  matters,  and  he  at-  '^^^^^^^^ 
tempted  too  much  at  one  time.     He  did  not,  perhaps,  gjngh. 
understand  the  Sikh   character  in  all  its  depths  and 
ramifications,  and   he  probably  undervalued  the  sub- 
tlety of  Gulab  Singh.     The  Raja,  indeed,  was  induced 
to  divide  the  Jagirs  of  Suchet  Singh  with  his  nephew,- 
but  Fateh  Khan  Tiwana  again  excited  an  insurrection 
in  the  Derajat; ''  Chattar  Singh  Atariwala  took  up  arms 
near  Rawalpindi,^  and  the  Muhammadan  tribes  south- 
west of  Kashmir  were  encouraged  in  rebellion  by  the 
dexterous  and  experienced  chief  whom  Pandit  Jalla 
sought  to  crush."'     Peshawara  Singh  again  aspired  to 
the  sovereignty  of  the  Punjab;  he  was  supported  by 
Gulab  Singh,  and  Jalla  at  last  perceived  the  necessity 
of  coming  to  terms  with  one  so  formidable.*'    A  recon- 
ciliation   was   accordingly   patched   up,   and   the  Raja 
sent  his  son  Sohan  Singh  to  Lahore."       The  hopes  of 
Peshawara  Singh  then  vanished,  and- he  fied  for  safety 
to  the  south  of  the  Sutlej.^ 

1  Cf.  Lieut. -Col.  Richmond  to  Government,  13th  Aug.  and 
10th  Oct.   1844. 

-  Lieut.-Col.   Richmond  to  Government,   30th  Oct.   1844. 

-  Lieut.-Col.  Richmond  to  Government,  14th  June  1844. 
4  Lieut.-Col.  Richmond  to  Government,  16th  Oct.  1844. 

■"  Major  Broadfoot  to  Government,  24th  Nov.  1844. 

'•  Lieut.-Col.  Richmond  to  Government,  16th  Oct.  1844, 
and  Major  Broadfoot  to  Government,  24th  Nov.   1844. 

•   Lieut.-Col.  Richmond  to  Government,  30th  Oct.  1844,  and 

Major  Broadfoot  to  Government,  13th  Nov.  and  16th  Dec.  1844. 

"  *  Major    Broadfoot    to    Government,    14th    and    18th   Nov. 


240 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKKS 


CHAP.  VIII 


1844. 

Pandit 
Jalla   irri- 
tates the 
Sikhs,  and 
offends  the 
Queen- 
mother. 


Hira  Singh 
and  Pandit 
Jalla  fly, 
but  are 
overtaken 
and  put  to 
death,  21st 
Dec.  1844. 


Jawahir 
Singh  and 
Lai   Singh 
attain 
power. 


Pandit  Jalla  made  the  additional  mistake  of  for- 
getting that  the  Sikhs  were  not  jealous  of  Gulab  Singh 
alone,  but  of  all  strangers  to  their  faith  and  race;  and 
in  trying  to  crush  the  chiefs,  he  had  forgotten  that  they 
were  Sikhs  equally  with  the  soldiers,  and  that  the 
'Khalsa'  was  a  word  which  could  be  used  to  unite  the 
high  and  low.  He  showed  no  respect  even  to  sardars 
of  ability  and  means.  Lahna  Singh  Majithia  quitted 
the  Punjab,  on  pretence  of  a  pilgrimage,  in  the  month 
of  March  1844,^  and  the  only  person  who  was  raised  to 
any  distinction  was  the  unworthy  Lai  Singh,  a  Brah- 
man, and  a  follower  of  the  Rajas  of  Jammu,  but  who 
was  understood  to  have  gained  a  disgraceful  influence 
over  the  impure  mind  of  Rani  Jindan.  The  Pandit 
again,  in  his  arrogance,  had  ventured  to  use  some 
expressions  of  impatience  and  disrespect  towards  the 
mother  of  the  Maharaja,  and  he  had  habitually  treated 
Jawahir  Singh,  her  brother,  with  neglect  and  contempt. 
The  impulsive  soldiery  was  wrought  upon  by  the  in- 
censed woman  and  ambitious  man;  the  relict  of  the 
great  Maharaja  appealed  to  the  children  of  the  Khalsa, 
already  excited  by  the  proscribed  chiefs,  and  Hira 
Singh  and  Pandit  Jalla  perceived  that  their  rule  was 
at  an  end.  On  the  21st  December  1844  they  endeavoured 
to  avoid  the  wrath  of  the  Sikh  soldiery  by  a  sudden 
^fiight  from  the  capital,  but  they  were  overtaken  and 
slain  before  they  could  reach  Jammu,  along  with 
Sohan  Singh,  the  cousin  of  the  minister,  and  Labh 
Singh,  so  lately  hailed  as  a  victorious  commander.  The 
memory  of  Pandit  Jalla  continued  to  be  execrated,  but 
the  fate  of  Hira  Singh  excited  some  few  regrets,  for  ha 
had  well  avenged  the  death  of  his  father,  and  he  had 
borne  his  dignities  with  grace  and  modesty .^ 

The  sudden  breaking  up  of  Hira  Singh's  govern- 
ment caused  some  confusion  for  a  time,  and  the  state 
seemed  to  be  without  a  responsible  head;  but  it  was 
gradually  perceived  that  Jawahir  Smgh,  the  brother, 
and  Lai  Singh,  the  favourite  of  the  Rani,  would  form 
the  most  influential  members  of  the  administration.^ 

1844.  Major  Broadfoot,  who  succeeded  Lieut. -Col.  Richmond 
as  agent  on  the  frontier  on  the  1st  Nov.  1844,  received 
Peshawara  Singh  with  civilities  unusual  under  the  circum- 
stances, and  proposed  to  assign  him  an  allowance  of  a 
thousand  rupees  a  month. 

1  Lahna  Singh  went  first  to  Hardwar  and  afterwards  to 
Benares.  He  next  visited  Gaya  and  Jagannath  and  Calcutta, 
and  he  was  residing  in  the  last-named  place  when  hostilities 
broke  out  with  the  Sikhs. 

2  Cf.  Major  Broadfoot  to  Government,  24th  and  28th  Dec. 
1844. 


CHAP,  vm        PANDIT  JALLA'S  POUCY  241 

Peshawara  Singh,  indeed,  escaped  from  the  custody  of  i844. 
the  British  authorities,  by  whom  he  had  been  placed 
under  surveillance,  when  he  fled  across  the  Sutlej ;  but 
he  made  no  attempt  at  the  moment  to  become  supreme, 
and  he  seemed  to  adhere  to  those  who  had  so  signally 
avenged  him  on  Hira  Singh. ^  The  services  of  the  troops 
were  rewarded  by  the  addition  of  half  a  rupee  a  month 
to  the  pay  of  the  common  soldier,  many  fiefs  were 
restored,  and  the  cupidity  of  all  parties  in  the  state  was 
excited  by  a  renewal  of  the  designs  against  Gulao 
Singh.-  The  disturbances  in  the  mountains  of  Kashmir 
were  put  down,  the  insurgent  Fateh  Khan  was  taken 
into  favour,  Peshawar  was  secure  against  the  power  of 
all  the  Afghans,  although  it  was  known  that  Gulab 
Singh  encouraged  the  reduced  Barakzais  with  promises 
of  support;  ^  but  it  was  essential  to  the  government 
that  the  troops  should  be  employed  :  it  was  pleasing 
to  the  men  to  be  able  to  gratify  their  avarice  or  their 
vengeance,  and  they  therefore  marched  against  Jammu 
with  edacrity.* 

Gulab  Singh,  who  knew  the  relative  inferiority  of  The  sikh 
his  soldiers,  brought  all  his  arts  into  play.    He  distri-  ^""^ 
buted  his  money  freely  among  the  Panchayats  of  regi-  ^g^^st 
ments,  he  gratified  the  members  of  these  committees  jammu. 
by    his    personal    attentions,    and    he    again    inspired 
Peshawara  Singh  with  designs  upon  the  sovereignty 
itself.    He  promised  a  gratuity  to  the  army  which  had  Feb.  to 
marched  to  urge  upon  him  the  propriety  of  submission,  March 
he  agreed  to  surrender  certain  portions  of  the  general  ^*'*^- 
possessions  of  the  family,  and  to  pay  to  the  state  a  fine 
of  3,500,000  rupees.^    But  an  altercation  arose  between 
the  Lahore  and  Jammu  followers  when  the  promised 
donative  was  being  removed,  which  ended  in  a  fatal 
affray;  and  afterwards  an  old  Sikh  chief,  Fateh  Singh 
Man,  and  one  Bachna,  who  had  deserted  Gulab  Singh's 
service,  were  waylaid  and  slain.*'    The  Raja  protested 
against  the  accusation  of  connivance  or  treachery;  nor 

1  Cf.  Major  Broadfoot  to  Government,  28th  Dec.  1844,  and 
4th  Jan.  1845.  As  Major  Broadfoot,  however,  points  out,  the 
prince  seemed  ready  enough  to  grasp  at  poWer  even  so  early 
as  January. 

2  Cf.  Major  Broadfoot  to  Government,  28lh  Dec.  1844,  and 
2nd  Jan.  1845. 

3  Major  Broadfoot  to  Government,  16th  Jan.  1845. 

4  The  troops  further  rejected  the  terms  to  which  the 
Lahore  court  seemed  inclined  to  come  with  Gulab  Singh. 
(Major  Broadfoot  to  Government,  22nd  Jan.  1845.) 

^  Major  Broadfoot  to  Government,  18th  March  1845. 
♦•  Major  Broadfoot  to  Government,  3rd  March  1845. 

16 


242 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.  VIII 


1845. 


Gulab 
Singh  sub- 
mits and 
repairs  to 
Lahore. 
April  1845. 


Jawahir 
Singh  for- 
mally ap- 
pointed 
Wazlr, 
May   14. 
1845. 


is  it  probable  that  at  the  time  he  desired  to  take  the  life 
of  any  one  except  Bachna,  who  had  been  variously 
employed  by  him,  and  who  knew  the  extent  of  his  re- 
sources. The  act  nevertheless  greatly  excited  the  Sikh 
soldiery,  and  Gulab  Singh  perceived  that  submission 
alone  would  save  Jammu  from  being  sacked.  He  suc- 
ceeded in  partially  gaining  over  two  brigades,  he  joined 
their  camp,  and  he  arrived  at  Lahore  early  in  April 
1845,  half  a  prisoner,  and  yet  not  without  a  reasonable 
prospect  of  becoming  the  minister  of  the  country;  for 
the  mass  of  the  Sikh  soldiery  thought  that  one  so  great 
had  been  sufficiently  humbled,  the  Panchayats  had 
been  won  by  his  money  and  his  blandishments,  and 
many  of  the  old  servants  of  Ranjit  Singh  had  confid- 
ence in  his  ability  and  in  his  goodwill  towards  the  state 
generally.^  There  yet,  however,  existed  some  rem- 
nants of  the  animosity  which  had  proved  fatal  to  Hira 
Singh;  the  representatives  of  many  expelled  hill  chiefs 
were  ready  to  compass  the  death  of  their  greatest 
enemy;  and  an  Akali  fanatic  could  take  the  life  of  the 
'Dogra'  Raja  with  applause  and  impunity.  Jawahir 
Singh  plainly  aimed  at  the  office  of  Wazir,  and  Lai 
Singh's  own  ambition  prompted  him  to  use  his  influ- 
ence with  the  mother  of  the  Maharaja  to  resist  the 
growing  feeling  in  favour  of  the  chief  whose  capacity 
for  affairs  all  envied  and  dreaded.  Hence  Gulab  Singh 
deemed  it  prudent  to  avoid  a  contest  for  power  at  that 
time,  and  to  remove  from  Lahore  to  a  place  of  greater 
safety.  He  agreed  to  pay  in  all  a  fine  of  6,800,000 
rupees,  to  yield  up  nearly  all  the  districts  which 
had  been  held  by  his  family,  excepting  his  own 
proper  fiefs,  and  to  renew  his  lease  of  the  salt  mines 
between  the  Indus  and  Jhelum,  on  terms  which  vir- 
tually deprived  him  of  a  large  profit,  and  of  the  politi- 
cal superiority  in  the  hills  of  Rohtas.-  He  was  present 
at  the  installation  of  Jawahir  Singh  as  Wazir  on  the 
14th  May,-^  and  at  the  betrothal  of  the  Maharaja  to  a 
daughter  of  the  Atari  chief  Chattar  Singh  on  the  10th 
July;  *  and  towards  the  end  of  the  following  month 
he  retired  to  Jammu,  shorn  of  much  real  power,  but 
become  acceptable  to  the  troops  by  his  humility,  and 
to  the  final  conviction  of  the  English  authorities,  that 


1  Cf.  Major  Broadfoot  to  Government,  8th  and  9th  April 
and  5th  May  1845. 

-  Major  Broadfoot  to  Government,  5th  May  1845. 
3  Major  Broadfoot  to  Government,  24th  May  1845. 
•*  Major  Broadfoot  to  Government,   14th  July   1845. 


CHAP.  VIII   SUBMISSION  OF  GULAB  SINGH  243 

the  levies  of  the  mountain  Rajputs  were  unequal  to  a  i845. 
contest  even  with  the  Sikh  soldiery.  ^ 

The  able  Governor  of  Multan  was  assassinated  in  sawan  Mai, 
the  month  of  September  1844  by  a  man  accused  of  °^  Muitan. 
marauding,  and  yet  imprudently  allowed  a  consider-  ^a^teJ^'ge  t 
able  degree  of  liberty.^      Mulraj,  the  son  of  the  Diwan,  "344  '     ^^  ' 
had  been  appointed  or  permitted  to  succeed  his  father  Mui^aj 
by  the  declining  government  of  Hira  Singh,  and  he  his  son, 
showed  more  aptitude  for  affairs  than  was  expected,  succeeds; 
He  suppressed  a  mutiny  among  the  provincial  troops, 
partly  composed   of   Sikhs,  with  vigour  and  success; 
and  he  was  equally  prompt  in  dealing  with  a  younger 
brother,  who  desired  to  have  half  the  province  assigned 
to  him  as  the  equal  heir  of  the  deceased  Diwan.  Mulraj 
put  his  brother  in  prison,  and  thus  freed  himself  from 
all  local  dangers;  but  he  had  steadily  evaded  the  de- 
mands of  the  Lahore  court  for  an  increased  farm  or 
contract,  and  he  had  likewise  objected  to  the  large 
'Nazarana',  or  relief,  which  was  required  as  the  usual 
condition  of  succession.    As  soon,  therefore,  as  Gulab 
Singh  had  been  reduced  to  obedience,  it  was  proposed 
.to  dispatch  a  force  against  Multan,  and  the  'Khalsa' 
approved  of  the  measure  through  the  assembled  Pan- 
chayats  of   regiments  and  brigades.     This  resolution  ^^^  agrees 
induced  the  new  governor  to  yield,  and  in  September  ^^  the 
(1845)   it  was  arranged  that  he  should  pay  a  fine  of  terms  of 
1,800,000  rupees.    He  escaped  an  addition  to  his  contract  the  Lahore 
sum,  but  he  was  deprived  of  some  petty  districts  to  ^°^^^-  ^^^• 
satisfy  in  a  measure  the  letter  of  the  original  demand.'^ 

The  proceedings  of  Peshawara  Singh  caused  more  The  rebei- 
disquietude   to    the   new   Wazir    personally   than   the  lion  of 
hostility  of  Gulab  Singh,  or  the  resistance  of  the  Gov-  Peshawara 

•^  Singh; 

1  Major  Broadfoot  confessed  that  'late  events  had  shown 
the  Raja's  weakness  in  the  hills',  where  he  should  have  been 
strongest,  had  his  followers  been  brave  and  trusty.  (Major 
Broadfoot  to  Government,  5th  May -1845.) 

-  Lieut.-Col.  Richmond  to  Government,  10th  Oct.   1844. 

3  In  this  paragraph  the  author  has  followed  mainly  his 
own  notes  of  occurrences.  The  mutiny  of  the  Multan  troops 
took  place  in  Nov.  1844.  The  Governor  at  once  surrounded 
them,  and  demanded  the  ringleaders,  and  on  their  surrender 
being  refused,  he  opened  a  fire  upon  their  whole  body,  and 
killed,  as  was  said,  nearly  400  of  them.  Diwan  Mulraj  seized 
and  confined  his  brother  in  Aug.  1845,  and  in  the  following 
month  the  terms  of  his  succession  were  settled  with  the  Lahore 
court.  [Mulraj  never  paid  his  fine.  In  April  1848,  when 
threatened  with  force,  he  resigned,  and  Kahn  Singh  was  sent 
from  Lahore  to  relieve  him,  accompanied  by  Mr.  Vans  Agnew 
and  Lieut.  Anderson.  The  murder  of  these  officers  on  their 
arrival  at  Multan  led  to  the  second  Sikh  War  and  the  final 
extinction  of  Sikh  independence. — ^Ed.] 


244 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS         chap,  viii 


1845. 


March 
1845; 


who  sub- 
mits,  but 
put  to 
death 
Aug.-Sept. 
1845. 


The  Sikh 
soldiery 
displeased 
and  dis- 
trustful. 


ernor  of  Multan.  The  prince  was  vain  and  of  slender 
capacity,  but  his  relationship  to  Ranjit  Singh  gave  him 
some  hold  upon  the  minds  of  the  Sikhs.  He  was  en- 
couraged by  Gulab  Singh,  then  safe  in  the  hills,  and 
he  was  assured  of  support  by  the  brigade  of  troops 
which  had  made  Jawahir  Singh  a  prisoner,  when  that 
chief  threatened  to  fly  with  the  Maharaja  into  the 
British  territories.  Jawahir  iSingh  had  not  heeded  the 
value  to  the  state  of  the  prudence  of  the  soldiers  in 
restraining  him;  he  thought  only  of  the  personal  indig- 
nity, and  soon  after  his  accession  to  power  he  barbar- 
ously mutilated  the  commander  of  the  offending  divi- 
sion, by  depriving  him  of  his  nose  and  ears.  Peshawara 
Singh  felt  himself  countenanced,  and  he  endeavoured 
to  rally  a  party  around  him  at  Sialkot,  which  he  held 
in  fief.  But  the  Sikhs  were  not  disposed  to  thus  sud- 
denly admit  his  pretensions;  he  was  reduced  to  straits; 
and  in  the  month  of  June  he  fled,  and  lived  at  large 
on  the  country,  until  towards  the  end  of  July,  when 
he  surprised  the  fort  of  Attock,  proclaimed  himself 
Maharaja,  and  entered  into  a  correspondence  with  Dost 
Muhammad  Khan.  Sardar  Chattar  Singh  of  Atari  was 
sent  against  the  pretender,  and  troops  were  moved 
from  Dera  Ismail  Khan  to  aid  in  reducing  him.  The 
prince  was  beleaguered  in  his  fort,  and  became  aware 
of  his  insignificance;  he  submitted  on  the  30th  August, 
and  was  directed  to  be  removed  to  Lahore,  but  he  was 
secretly  put  to  death  at  the  instigation  of  Jawahir 
Singh,  and  through  the  instrumentality,  as  understood, 
of  Fateh  Khan  Tiwana,  who  sought  by  rendering  an 
important  service  to  further  ingratiate  himself  with 
that  master  for  the  time  being  who  had  restored  him 
to  favour,  and  who  had  appointed  him  to  the  manage- 
ment of  the  upper  Deraj'at  of  the  Indus.^ 

This  last  triumph  was  fatal  to  Jawahir  Singh,  and 
anger  was  added  to  the  contempt  in  which  he  had 
always  been  held.  He  had  sometimes  displayed  both 
energy  and  perseverance,  but  his  vigour  was  the  im- 
pulse of  personal  resentment,  and  it  was  never  charac- 
terized by  judgement  or  by  superior  intelligence.  His 
original  design  of  flying  to  the  English  had  displeased 
the  Sikhs,  and  rendered  them  suspicious  of  his  good 
faith  as  a  member  of  the  Khalsa;  and  no  sooner  had 
his  revenge  oeen  gratified  by  the  expulsion  of  Hira 
Singh  and  Pandit  Jalla,  than  he  found  himself  the  mere 
sport  and  plaything  of  the  army,  which  had  only  united 

1  Cf.  Major  Broadfoot  to  Government,  14th  and  26th  July 
and  8th  and  18th  Sept.  1845. 


CHAP.  VIII    DEATH  OF  JAWAHIR  SINGH  245 

with  him  for  the  attainment  of  a  common  object.  The  i845. 


soldiery  began  to  talk  of  themselves  as  pre-eminently 
the  'Panth    Khalsagi',    or    congregation    of  believers;  ^ 
and  Jawahir  Singh  was  overawed  by  the  spirit  which  The  per- 
animated  the  armed  host.    In  the  midst  of  the  successes  piexity  of 
against  Jammu,  he  trembled  for  his  fate,  and  he  twice  ^^^^ 
laid  plans  for  escaping  to  the  south  of  the  Sutlej;  but 
the  troops  were  jealous  of  such  a  step  on  the  part  of 
their  nominal  master.     He  felt  that  he  was  watched, 
and  he  abandoned  the  hope  of  escape  to  seek  relief  in 
dissipation,   in   the  levy  of  Muhammadan   regiments, 
and  in  idle  or  desperate  threats  of  war  with  his  British 
allies.-    Jawahir  Singh  was  thus  despised  and  distrust- 
ed by  the  Sikhs  themselves;  their  enmity  to  him  was 
fomented  by  Lai  Singh,  who    aimed    at    the    post    of 
wazir;  and  the  murder  of  Peshawara  Singh  added  to 
the  general  exasperation,  for  the  act  was  condemned 
as  insulting  to  the  people,  and  it  was  held  up  to  repro- 
bation by  the  chiefs  as  one  which  would  compromise 
their  own  safety,  if  allowed  to  pass  with  impunity.^ 
The  Panchayats  of  regiments  met  in  council,  and  they  The  army 
resolved  that  Jawahir  Singh  should  die  as  a  traitor  to  condemns 
the  commonwealth,  for  death  is  almost  the  only  mode  ^^  ^^^ 
by  which  tumultuous,  half-barbarous  governments  can  ^^Jh*^""  *° 
remove  an  obnoxious  minister.     He  was  accordingly  gept.  '21, 
required  to  appear  on  the  21st  September  before  the  1845. 
assembled  Khalsa  to  answer  for  his  misdeeds.  He  went, 
seated  upon  an  elephant;  but  fearing  his  fate,  he  took 
with  him  the  young  Maharaja  and  a  quantity  of  gold 
and  jewels.    On  his  arrival  in  front  of  the  troops,  he 
endeavoured  to  gain    over    some    influential    deputies 
and  officers  by  present  donatives  and  by  lavish  pro- 
mises, but  he  was  sternly  desired  to  let  the  Maharaja 
be  removed  from  his  side,   and  to  be  himself  silent. 
The  boy  was  placed  in  a  tent  near  at  hand,  and  a  party 
of  soldiers  advanced  and  put  the  wazir  to  death  by  a 
discharge  of  musketry. ■*    Two  other  persons,  the  syco- 
phants of  the  minister,  were  killed  at  the  same  time. 

1  Or,  as  the  'Sarbat  Khalsa',  the  body  of  the  elect.  Major 
Broadfoot  (letter  of  2nd  Feb.  1845)  thought  this  title,  which 
the  soldiers  arrogated  to  themselves,  was  new  in  correspond- 
ence; but  Government  pointed  out,  in  reply,  that  it  was  an  old 
term  according  to  the  Calcutta  records. 

-  Cf.  Major  Broadfoot  to  Government,  23rd  and  28th  Feb., 
5th  April  (a  demi-official  letter),  and  15th  and  18th  Sept.  1845. 

3  Cf.  Major  Broadfoot  to  Government,  22nd  Sept.  1845. 

■*  Cf .  Major  Broadfoot  to  Government.  26th  Sept.  1845.  It 
may  be  added  that  the  Sikhs  generally  regarded  Jawahir  Singh 
as  one  ready  to  bring  in  the  English,  and  as  faithless  to  the 
Khalsa. 


246 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS         chap,  viii 


1845. 


The  army 
all-power- 
ful. 


Lai  Singh 
made 
wazir,  and 
Tej    Singh 
Comman- 
der-in- 
Chief,   in 
expectation 
of  an  Eng- 
lish war. 


but  no  pillage  or  massacre  occurred;  the  act  partook 
of  the  solemnity  and  moderation  of  a  judicial  process, 
ordained  and  witnessed  by  a  whole  people;  and  the 
body  of  Jawahir  Singh  was  allowed  to  be  removed  and 
burnt  with  the  dreadful  honours  of  the  Sati  sacrifice, 
among  the  last,  perhaps,  which  will  take  place  in  India. 
For  some  time  after  the  death  of  Jawahir  Singh, 
no  one  seemed  willing  to  become  the  supreme  admi- 
nistrative authority  in  the  state,  or  to  place  himself  at 
the  head  of  that  self-dependent  army,  which  in  a  few 
months  had  led  captive  the  formidable  chief  of  Jammu, 
reduced  to  submission  the  powerful  governor  of  Mul- 
tan,  put  down  the  rebellion  of  one  recognized  as  the 
brother  of  the  Maharaja,  and  pronounced  and  executed 
judgement  on  the  highest  functionary  in  the  kingdom, 
and  which  had  also  without  effort  contrived  to  keep 
the  famed  Afghans  in  check  at  Peshawar  and  along 
the  frontier.     Raja  Gulab  Singh  was  urged  to  repair 
to  the  capital,  but  he  and  all  others  were  overawed, 
and  the  Rani  Jindan  held  herself  for  a  time  a  regular 
court,  in  the  absence  of  a  wazir.    The  army  was  partly 
satisfied   with   this   arrangement,   for   the   committees 
considered  that  they  could  keep  the  provinces  obedient, 
and  they  reposed  confidence  in  the  talents  or  the  inte- 
grity of  the  accountant  Dina  Nath,  of  the  paymaster 
Bhagat  Ram,  and  of  Nur-ud-din,  almost  as  familiar  as 
his  old  and  infirm  brother  Aziz-ud-din,  with  the  parti- 
culars of  the  treaties  and  engagements  with  the  Eng- 
lish.   The  army  had  formerly  required  that  these  threa 
men  should  be  consulted  by  Jawahir  Singh;  but  the 
advantage    of  a    responsible    head    was,    nevertheless, 
apparent,  and  as  the  soldiers  were  by  degrees  wrought 
upon   to  wage  war  with  their  European   neighbours, 
Raja  Lai  Singh  was  nominated  wazir,  and  Sardar  Tej 
Singh  was  reconfirmed  in  his  office  of  Commander-in- 
Chief.      These    appointments     were    made    early    in 
November  1845.^ 

1  In  this  paragraph  the  author  has    followed    mainly    his 
own  notes  of  occurrences. 


CHAPTER   IX 

THE  WAR  WITH  THE  ENGLISH 
1845—6 

Causes  leading  to  a  war  between  the  Sikhs  and  English — The 
English,  being  apprehensive  of  frontier  disturbances,  adopt 
defensive  measures  on  a  scale  opposed  to  the  spirit  of  the 
policy  of  1809 — The  Sikhs,  being  prone  to  suspicion, 
consider  themselves  in  danger  of  invasion — And  are 
further  moved  by  their  want  of  confidence  in  the  English 
representative — The  Sikhs  resolve  to  anticipate  the  English, 
and  wage  war  by  crossing  the  Sutlej — The  tactics  of  the 
Sikhs — The  views  of  the  Sikh  leaders — Ferozepore 
purposely  spared — The  Battle  of  Mudki — The  Battle  of 
P'heerooshuhur,  and  retreat  of  the  Sikhs — The  effect  of 
these  barren  victories  upon  the  Indians  and  the  English 
themselves — The  Sikhs  again  cross  the  Sutlej — The 
Skirmish  of  Badowal — The  Battle  of  Aliwal — Negotiations 
through  Raja  Gulab  Singh — The  Battle  of  Sobraon — The 
submission  of  the  Sikh  Chiefs,  and  the  occupation  of 
Lahore — The  partition  of  the  Punjab — The  Treaty  with 
Dalip  Singh — The  Treaty  with  Gulab  Singh— Conclusion, 
relative  to  the  position  of  the  English  in  India. 

The  English  Government  had  long  expected  that  1845-6. 
it  would  be  forced  into  a  war  with  the  overbearing  Tjie  indiaiT 
soldiery  of  the  Punjab  :  the  Indian  public,  which  con-  public  pre- 
sidered  only  the  fact  of  the  progressive  aggrandize-  pared  for 
ment  of  the  strangers,  was  prepared  to  hear  of  the  ^^^^^j^ 
annexation    of    another    kingdom    without    minutely  ^^^  ^^^.^^ 
inquiring  or  caring  about  the  causes  which  led  to  it;  and 
and  the  more  selfish  chiefs  of  the  Sikhs  had  always  English, 
desired  that  such  a  degree  of  interference  should  be 
exercised    in  the    affairs    of    their    country    as    would 
guarantee  to  them  the  easy  enjoyment  of  their  posses- 
sions. These  wealthy  and  incapable  men  stood  rebuked 
before  the  superior  genius  of  Ranjit  Singh,  and  before 
the    mysterious    spirit    which    animated    the    people 
arrayed  in  arms,  and  they  thus  fondly  hoped  that  a 
change  would  give  them  all  they  could  desire;  but  it 
is  doubtful  whether  the  Sikh  soldiery  ever  seriously 
thought,  although  they    often    vauntingly    boasted,  of 
fighting  with  the  paramount  power  of  Hindustan,  until 
within  two  or  three  months  of  the  first  battles,   and 
even  then  the  rude  and  illiterate  yeomen  considered 


248 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.  IX 


The  appre- 
hensions of 
the    English. 


1845-6.  that  they  were    about    to    enter    upon    a  war    purely 

defensive,  although  one  in  every  way  congenial  to  their 
feelings  of  youthful  pride  and  national  jealousy. 

From  the  moment  the  Sikh  army  became  predo- 
minant in  the  state,  the  English  authorities  had  been 
persuaded  that  the  machinery  of  government  would  be 
broken  up,  that  bands  of  plunderers  would  everywhere 
arise,  and  that  the  duty  of  a  civilized  people  to  society 
generally,  and  of  a  governing  power  to  its  own  sub- 
jects, would  all  combine  to  bring  on^  a  collision;  and 
thus  measures  which  seemed  sufficient  were  adopted 
for  strengthening  the  frontier  posts,  and  for  having  a 
force  at  hand  which  might  prevent  aggression,  or 
which  would  at  least  exact  retribution  and  vindicate 
the  supremacy  of  the  English  name.^    These  were  the 

jPhe  fears  of    fair  and  moderate  objects  of  the  British  Government; 

the  Sikhs,  but  the  Sikhs  took  a  different  view  of  the  relative  con- 
ditions of  the  two  states;  they  feared  the  ambition  of 
their  great  and  growing  neighbour,  they  did  not  under- 
stand why  they  should  be  dreaded  when  intestine  com- 
motions had  reduced  their  comparative  inferiority 
still  lower;  or  why  inefficiency  of  rule  should  be  con- 
strued into  hostility  of  purpose;  defensive  measures 
took  in  their  eyes  the  form  of  aggr-essive  preparations, 
and  they  came  to  the  conclusion  that  their  country  was 
to  be  invaded.  Nor  does  this  conviction  of  the  weaker 
and  less  intelligent  power  appear  to  be  strange  or  un- 
reasonable, although  erroneous — for  it  is  always  to  be 
borne  in  mind  that  India  is  far  behind  Europe  in  civili- 
zation, and  that  political  morality  or  moderation  is  as 
little  appreciated  in  the  East  in  these  days  as  it  was 
in  Christendom  in  the  Middle  Ages.  Hindustan,  more- 
over, from  Kabul  to  the  valley  of  Assam  and  the  island 
of  Ceylon,  is  regarded  as  one  country,  and  dominion  in 
it  is  associated  in  the  minds  of  the  people  with  the 
predominance  of  one  monarch  or  of  one  race.  The 
supremacy  of  Vikramajit  and  Chandra  Gupta,  of  the 
Turkomans  and  Mughals,  is  familiar  to  all,  and  thus  on 
hearing  of  further  acquisitions  by  the  English,  a  Hindu 
or  Muhammadan  will  simply  observe  that  the  destiny 
of  the  nation  is  great,  or  that  its  cannon  is  irresistible. 
A  prince  may  chafe  that  he  loses  a  province  or  is  ren- 
dered tributary;  but  the  public  will  never  accuse  the 
conquerors  of  unjust  aggression,  or  at  least  of  un- 
righteous and  unprincipled  ambition. 

1  Cf.  Minute  by  the  Governor-General,  of  the  16th  June 
1845,  and  the  Governor-General  to  the  Secret  Committee,  1st 
October  1845.   (Parliamentary  Paper,  1846.) 


CHAP.  IX         WAR  WITH  THE  ENGLISH  249 

To  this  general  persuasion  of  the  Sikhs,  in  common  iS'^s-s. 


with  other  Indian  nations,  that  the  English  were  and  The  English 
are  ever  ready  to  extend  their  power,  is  to  be  added  advance- 
the  particular  bearing  of  the  British  Government  to-  bodies  of 
wards  the  Punjab  itself.    In  1809,  when  the  apprehen-  ^°°J^^  J°; 
sions  of  a  French  invasion  of  the  East  had  subsided,  sutiej  con- 
when  the  resolution  of  making  the  Jumna  a  boundary  trary  to 
was  still  approved,  and  when  the  policy  of  forming  their  policy 
the  province  of  Sirhind  into  a  neutral  or  separating  °^  ^^°^- 
tract  between  two  dissimilar  powers  had  been  wisely 
adopted,  the  English  Viceroy  had  said  that  rather  than 
irritate  Ranjit  Singh,  the  detachment  of  troops  which 
had  been  advanced  to  Ludhiana  might  be  withdrawn 
to  Karnal.i     It  was  not  indeed  thought  advisable  to 
carry  out  the  proposition;  but  up  to  the  period  of  the 
Afghan  war  of  1838,  the  garrison  of  Ludhiana  formed, 
the  only  body  of  armed  men  near  the  Sikh  frontier, 
excepting  the  provincial  regiment  raised  ar  Sabathu 
for  the  police  of  the  hills  after  the  Gurkha  war.    The 
advanced  post  on  the  Sutiej  was  of  little  military  or 
political  use;   but  it  served  as  the  most  conspicuous 
symbol  of  the  compact  with  the  Sikhs;  and  they,  as  the 
inferior  power,  were  always  disposed  to  lean  upon  old 
engagements  as  those  which  warranted  the  least  degree 
of  intimacy  or  dictation.    In  1835  the  petty  chiefship  of 
Ferozepore,  seventy  miles  lower  down  the  Sutiej  than 
Ludhiana,  was  occupied  by  the  English  as  an  escheat 
due  to  their  protection  of  all  Sikh  lordships  save  that 
of  Lahore.    The  advantages  of  the  place  in  a  military 
point  of  view  had  been  perseveringly  extolled,  and  its 
proximity  to  the  capital  of  the  Punjab  made  Ranjit 
Singh,  in  his  prophetic  fear,  claim  it  as  a  dependency 
of  his    own.-     In    1838    the   Maharaja's    apprehensions 
that  the  insignificant  town  would  become  a  cantonment 
were  fully  realized;  for  twelve  thousand  men  assem- 
bled at  Ferozepore  to  march  to  Khorasan;  and  as  it  was 
learnt,  before  the  date  fixed  for  the  departure  of  the 
army,  that  the  Persians  had  raised  the  siege  of  Herat, 
it  was  determined  that  a  small  division  should  be  left 
behind,    until    the    success    of  the   projected    invasion 
rendered  its  presence  no  longer  necessary.''     But  the 
succeeding  warfare  in  Afghanistan  and  Sind  gave  the 

1  Government  to  Sir  David  Ochterlony,  30th  Jan.   1809. 
-  See  chap.  vii. 

•^  This  was  the  understanding  at  the  time,  but  no  document 
appears  to  have  been  drawn  up  to  that  effect.  It  was  indeed 
expected  that  Shah  Shuja  would  be  seated  on  his  throne,  and 
the  British  ai'my  withdrawn,  all  within  a   twelvemonth.' 


250 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.  TX 


1845-6. 


The    English 
views   about 
Peshawar, 
and  their 
offer   to 
support 
Sher  Singh, 
all  weigh 
with   the 
Sikhs. 


new  cantonment  a  character  of  permanency,  and  in 
1842  the  remoteness  from  support  of  the  two  posts  on 
the  Sutlej  was  one  of  the  arguments  used  for  advancing 
a  considerable  body  of  troops  to  Ambala  as  a  reserve, 
and  for  placing  European  regiments  in  the  hills  still 
closer  to  the  Sikh  frontier.'  The  relations  of  1809  were 
nevertheless  cherished  by  the  Sikhs,  although  they 
may  have  been  Httle  heeded  by  the  English  amid  the 
multifarious  considerations  attendant  on  their  changed 
position  in  India,  and  who,  assured  of  the  rectitude  of 
their  intentions,  persuaded  of  the  general  advantage  of 
their  measures,  and  conscious  of  their  overwhelming 
power,  are  naturally  prone  to  disregard  the  less  obvi- 
ous feelings  of  their  dependants,  and  to  be  careless  of 
the  light  in  which  their  acts  may  be  viewed  by  thcrse 
whose  aims  and  apprehensions  are  totally  different 
from  their  own. 

It  had  never  been  concealed  from  the  Sikh  autho- 
rities, that  the  helpless  condition  of  the  acknowledged 
government  of  the  country  was  held  to  justify  such 
additions  to  the  troops  at  Ludhiana  and  Ferozepore  as 
would  give  confidence  to  the  inhabitants  of  these  dist- 
ricts, and  ensure  the  successful  defence  of  the  posts 
themselves  against  predatory  bands.-  Nor  did  the 
Sikhs  deny  the  abstract  right  of  the  English  to  make 
what  military  arrangements  they  pleased  for  the  secu- 
rity of  their  proper  territories  :  but  that  any  danger 
was  to  be  apprehended  from  Lahore  was  not  admitted 
by  men  conscious  of  their  weakness;  and  thus  l-y  every 
process  of  reasoning  employed,  the  Sikhs  still  came  to 
the  same  conclusion  that  they  were  threatened.  Many 
circumstances,  unheeded  or  undervalued  by  the  Eng- 
lish, gave  further  strength  to  this  conviction.  It  had 
not  indeed  been  made  known  to  the  Sikhs  that  Sir 
William  Macnaghten  and  others  had  proposed  to  dis- 

■>  The  author  cannot  refer  to  any  written  record  of  these 
reasons,  but  he  knows  that  they  were  used.  When  the  step  in 
advance  was  resolved  on,  it  is  only  to  be  regretted  that  the 
cantonment  was  not  formed  at  Sirhind,  the  advantages  of 
which  as  a  military  post  with  reference  to  the  Punjab,  as  being 
central  to  all  the  principal  passages  of  the  Sutlej,  Sir  David 
Ochterlony  had  long  before  pointed  out.  (Sir  D.  Ochterlony 
to  Government,  3rd  May  1810.)  Some  delicacy,  however,  -(Vas 
felt  towards  the  Sikhs  of  Patiala,  to  whom  Sirhind  belonged; 
although  {he  more  important  and  less  defensible  step  of  alarm- 
ing the  Sikhs  of  Lahore  had  been  taken  without  heed  or 
hesitation. 

-  Cf.  the  Governor-General  to  the  Secret  Committee.  2nd 
Dec.  1845,  (Parliamentary  Papers,  1846) ;  and  also  his  dispatch 
of  the  31st  Dec.  1845   (Parliamentary  Papers,  p.  28). 


CHAP.  IX         WAR  WITH  THE  ENGLISH  251 

member  their  kingdom  by  bestowing  Peshawar  on  1845-6. 
Shah  Shuja,  when  Ranjit  Singh's  line  was  held  to  end 
with  the  death  of  his  grandson;  but  it  would  be  idle 
to  suppose  the  Lahore  government  ignorant  of  a 
scheme  which  was  discussed  in  official  correspondence, 
and  doubtless  in  private  society,  or  of  the  previous 
desire  of  Sir  Alexander  Burnes  to  bestow  the  same 
tract  on  Dost  Muhammad  Khan,  which  was  equally  a 
topic  of  conversation;  and  the  Sikh  authorities  must 
at  least  have  had  a  lively  remembrance  of  the  English 
offer  of  1843,  to  march  upon  their  capital,  and  to 'dis- 
perse their  army.  Again,  in  1844  and  1845,  the  facts 
were  whispered  abroad  and  treasured  up,  that  the 
English  were  preparing  boats  at  Bombay  to  make 
bridges  across  the  Sutlej,  that  troops  in  Sind  were 
being  equipped  for  a  march  on  Multan,i  and  that  the 
various  garrisons  of  the  north-west  provinces  were 
being  gradually  reinforced,  while  some  of  them  were 
being  abundantly  supplied  with  the  munitions  of  war 
as  well  as  with  troops.-  None  of  these  things  were 
communicated  to  the  Sikh  government,  but  they  were 
nevertheless  believed   by   aH   parties,   and   they  were 

^  The  collection  of  ordnance  and  ammunition  at  Sakhar 
for  the  equipment  of  a  force  of  five  thousand  men,  to  march 
towards  Multan,  was  a  subject  of  ordinary  oflficial  correspond- 
ence in  1844-5,  as,  for  instance,  between  the  Military  Board  in 
Calcutta  and  the  officers  of  departments  under  its  control.  Sir 
Charles  Napier  assures  the  author  that  he,  although  Governor, 
had  no  cognizance  of  the  correspondence  in  question,  and  made 
no  preparations  for  equipping  a  force  for  service.  Of  the  fact 
of  the  correspondence  the  author  has  no  doubt;  but  the  expres- 
sion 'collection  of  the  means',  used  in  the  first  edition,  can  be 
held  to  imply  too  much,  •  and  the  meaning  is  now  correctly 
restored  to  'ordnance  and  ammunition'^  The  object  of  the 
Supreme  Government  was  not  to  march  on  Multan  at  that 
time,  but  to  be  prepared^  at  least  in  part,  for  future  hostilities. 

-  The  details  of  the  preparations  made  by  Lords  Ellen- 
borough  and  Hardinge  may  be  seen  in  an  article  on  the 
administration  of  the  latter  nobleman,  in  the  Calcutta  Review, 
which  is  understood  to  be  the  production  of  Lieut. -Col. 
Lawrence. 

Up  to  1838  the  troops  on  the  frontier  amounted  to  one 
regiment  at  Sabathu,  and  two  at  Ludhiana,  with  six  pieces  of 
artillery,  equalling  in  all  little  more  than  2,500  men.  Lord 
Auckland  made  the  total  about  8,000,  by  increasing  Ludhiana 
and  creating  Ferozepore.  Lord  Ellenborough  formed  further 
new  stations  at  Ambala,  Kasauli,  and  Simla,  and  placed  in  all 
about  14,000  men  and  48  field  guns  oh  the  frontier.  Lord 
Hardinge  increased  the  aggregate  force  to  about  32,000  men, 
with  68  field  guns,  besides  having  10,000  men  with  artillery  at 
Meerut.  After  1843,  however,  the  station  of  Karnal,  on  the 
Jumna,  was  abandoned,  which  in  1838  and  preceding  years 
may  have  mustered  about  4,000  men. 


1845-6. 

The  Sikhs 
further 
moved  by 
their  esti- 
mate of  the 
British 
Agent  of 
the  day. 


Major 
Broadfoot's 
views  and 
overt  acts 
equally    dis- 
pleasing to 
the  Sikhs. 


9.\y 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.  IX 


a  campaign,    not   of  defence,    but    of 


held  to    denote 
aggression.^ 

The  Sikhs  thus  considered  that  the  fixed  policy  of 
the  English  was  territorial  aggrandizement,  and  that 
the  immediate  object  of  their  ambition  was  the  con- 
quest of  Lahore.  This  persuasion  of  the  people  was 
brought  home  to  them  by  the  acts  of  the  British 
representative  for  the  time,  and  by  the  opinion  v/hich 
they  had  preformed  of  his  views.  Mr.  Clerk  became 
Lieutenant-Governor  of  Agra  in  June  1843,  and  he  was 
succeeded  as  Agent  for  the  affairs  of  the  Sikhs  by 
Lieut.-Col.  Richmond,  whose  place  again  was  taken  by  | 
Major  Broadfoot,  a  man  of  undoubted  energy  and  abi- 
lity, in  November  of  the  following  year.  In  India  the 
views  of  the  British  Government  are,  by  custom,  made 
known  to  allies  and  dependants  through  one  channel 
only,  namely  that  of  an  accredited  English  officer.  The 
personal  character  of  such  a  functionary  gives  a  colour 
to  all  he  does  and  says;  the  policy  of  the  government 
is  indeed  judged  of  by  the  bearing  of  its  representa- 
tive, and  it  is  certain  that  the  Sikh  authorities  did  not 
derive  any  assurance  of  an  increasing  desire  for  peace, 
from  the  nomination  of  an  officer  who,  thirty  months 
before,  had  made  so  stormy  a  passage  through  their 
country. - 

One  of  Major  Broadfoot's  ^  first  acts  was  to  declare 
the  Cis-Sutlej  possessions  of  Lahore  to  be  under  British 
protection  equally  with  Patiala  and  other  chiefships, 
and  also  to  be  liable  to  escheat  on  the  death  or  deposi- 
tion of  Maharaja  Dalip  Singh.^  This  view  was  not 
formally  announced  to  the  Sikh  government,  but  it  was 
notorious,  and  Major  Broadfoot  acted  on  it  when  he 
proceeded  to  interfere  authoritatively,  and  by  a  display 

1  Cf.  the  Governor-General  to  the  Secret  Committee,  Dec. 
2,  1845. 

-  Sir  Claude  Wade,  in  his  Narrative  of  Services  (p.  19, 
note),  well  observes  it  to  be  essential  to  the  preservation  of  the 
English  system  of  alliances  in  India,  that  political  representa- 
tives should  be  regarded  as  friends  by  the  chiefs  with  whom 
they  reside,  rather  than  as  the  mere  instruments  of  conveying 
the  orders  or  of  enforcing  the  policy  of  foreign  masters. 

•"•  See  p.  214,  with  regard  to  Major  Broadfoot'3  passage  of 
the  Punjab  in  1841. 

•*  Major  Broadfoot's  letters  to  Government,  of  the  7th  Dec. 
1844,  eoth  Jan.  and  28th  Feb.  1845,  may  be  referred  to  as 
explanatory  of  his  views.  In  the  last  letter  he  distinctly  says 
that  if  the  young  Maharaja  Dalip  Singh,  who  was  then  ill  of 
the  small-pox,  should  die,  he  would  direct  the  reports  regard- 
ing the  Cis-Sutlej  districts  to  be  made  to  himself  (through  the 
Lahore  vakil  or  agent  indeed),  and  not  to  any  one  in  the 
Punjab. 


oi{( 


I  CHAP.  IX         WAR  WITH  THE  ENGLISH  253 

of  force,    in   the    affairs   of  the    priest-Uke    Sodhis    of  1845-6. 


Anandpur-Makhowal,  a  fief  to  which  some  years  before 
it  had  been  declared  to  be  expedient  to  waive  all 
claim,  especially  as  Ranjit  Singh  could  best  deal  with 
the  privileged  proprietors.^  Again,  a  troop  of  horse 
had  crossed  the  Sutlej  near  Ferozepore,  to  proceed  to 
Kot  Kapura,  a  Lahore  town,  to  relieve  or  strengthen 
the  mounted  police  ordinarily  stationed  there;  but  the 
party  had  crossed  without  the  previous  sanction  of  the 
British  Agent  having  been  obtained,  agreeably  to  an 
understanding  between  the  two  governments,  based  on 
an  article  of  the  treaty  of  1809,  but  which  modified 
arrangement  was  scarcely  applicable  to  so  small  a  body 
of  men  proceeding  for  such  a  purpose.  Major  Broad- 
foot  nevertheless  required  the  horsemen  to  recross; 
and  as  he  considered  them  dialtory  in  their  obedience, 
he  followed  them  with  his  escort,  and  overtook  them  as 
they  were  about  to  ford  the  river.  A  shot  was  fired  by 
the  English  party,  and  tHe  extreme  desire  of  the  Sikh 
commandant  to  avoid  doing  anything  which  might  be 
held  to  compromise  his  government,  alone  prevented 
a  collision.-  Further,  the  bridge-boats  which  had  been 
-prepared  at  Bombay  were  dispatched  towards  Feroze- 
pore in  the  autumn  of  1845,  and  Major  Broadfoot 
almost  avowed  that  hostilities  had  broken  out  when 
he  manifested  an  apprehension  of  danger  to  these 
armed  vessels,  bj''  ordering  strong  guards  of  soldiers  to 
escort  them  safely  to  their  destination,  and  when  he 
began  to  exercise  their  crews  in  the  formation  of 
bridges  after  their  arrival  at  Ferozepore."^ 

1  With  regard  to  Anandpur,  see  chap.  vii.  About  the 
particular  dispute  noticed  in  the  text,  Major  Broadfoot's  letter 
to  Government  of  the  13th  Sept.  1845  may  be  referred  to.  It 
labours  in  a  halting  way  to  justify  his  proceedings  and  his 
assumption  of  jurisdiction  under  ordinary  circumstances. 

-Cf.  Major  Broadfoot  to  Government,  27th  March  1845.  It 
is  understood  that  the  Government  disapproved  of  these 
proceedings. 

The  Calcutta  Review  for  June  1849  (p.  547)  states  that  the 
Governor-General  did  not,  as  represented,  disapprove,  but,  on 
the  contrary,  entirely  approved,  of  Major  Broadfoot's  proceed- 
ings in  this  matter.  The  Reviewer  writes  like  one  possessed  of 
official  knowledge,  but  I  am  nevertheless  unwilling  to  believe 
that  the  Governor-General  could  have  been  pleased  with  the 
violent  and  unbecoming  act  of  his  agent,  although  his  lordship 
may  have  desired  to  see  the  irregular  conduct  of  the  Sikhs 
firmly  checked. 

3  A  detachment  of  troops  under  a  European  officer  was 
required  to  be  sent  with  each  batch  of  boats,  owing  to  the  state 
of  the  Punjab.  Nevertheless,  small  iron  steamers  were  allowed 
to  navigate  the  Sutlej  at  the  time  without  guards,  and  one  lay 


254 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.  IX 


1845-g. 


Major 
Broadfoot's 
proceed- 
ings held  to 
virtually 
denote  war. 


The  views  held  by  Major  Broadfoot,  and  virtually 
adopted  by  the  supreme  government,  with  respect  to 
the  Cis-Sutlej  districts,  and  also  the  measures  follow- 
ed in  particular  instances,  may  all  be  defended  to  a 
certain  extent,  as  they  indeed  were,  on  specious 
grounds,  as  on  the  vague  declarations  of  Sir  David 
Ochterlony  or  on  the  deferential  injunctions  of  Ranjit 
Singh.i  It  is  even  believed  that  if  the  cession  of  the 
tracts  in  question  had  been  desired,  their  relinquish- 
ment might  have  been  effected  without  a  resort  to 
arms;  but  every  act  of  Major  Broadfoot  was  considered 
to  denote  a  foregone  resolution,  and  to  be  conceived 

under  the  guns  of.Phillaur  for  several  days  without  meeting 
aught  except  civility  on  the  part  of  the  Sikhs. 

^  Major  Broadfoot    is  understood    to  have    quoted    to  the 
Sikhs  a  letter  of  Sir  David  Ochterlony's,   dated   the   7th  May 
1809,  to  Mohkam  Chand,  Ranjit  Singh's  representative,  to  the 
effect  that   the   Cis-Sutlej    Lahore   states  were   equally  under 
British  protection  with  other  states;  and  also  an  order  of  April 
1824,  from  Ranjit  Singh,  requiring  his  authorities  south  of  the 
Sutlej  to  obey  the  English  Agent,  on  pain  of  having  their  noses 
slit.  It  is  not  improbable  that  Sir  David  Ochterlony  may,  at  the 
early  date  quoted,  have  so  understood  the  nature  of  the  British 
connexion  with  reference  to  some  particular  case  then  before 
him,  but  that  the  Cis-Sutlej  states  of  Lahore  were  held  under 
feudal  obligations  to   the  English   seems  scarcely  tenable,  for 
the   following  reasons  :     ( 1 )    The   protection  extended   by   the 
English  to  the  chiefs  of  Sirhind  was  declared  to  mean  protec- 
tion to  them  against  Ranjit  Singh,  and  therefore  not  protection 
of  the  whole  country  between  the  Sutlej  and  Jumna,  a  portion 
of  which   belonged  to   Lahore.    (See   the  Treaty  of   1809,  and 
Article   I   of   the   declaration   of   the   3rd   May    1809;    arid   also 
Government    to     Sir    David     Ochterlony,     10th    April     1809.) 
Further,  when  convenient,  the  British  Government  could  even 
maintain,   that  although   the   Treaty  of   1809   was   binding  on 
Ranjit  Singh,   with  reference  to  Cis-Sutlej   states,  it  was  not 
binding  on  the  English,  whom  it  simply  authorized  to  interfere 
at  their   discretion.    (Government   to   Capt.   Wade,   23rd  April 
1833.)  This  was  indeed  written  with  reference  to  Bahawalpur, 
but  the  application  was  made    general.     (2)     The    protection 
accorded  to  the  chiefs  of  Sirhind  was  afterwards  extended  so 
as  to  give  them  security    in   the   plains,   but   not   in   the   hills, 
against  the  Gurkhas  as  well  as  against  Ranjit  Singh   (Govern- 
ment  to   Sir  David   Ochterlony,   23rd  Jan.    1810) ;   while  with 
regard   to   Ranjit   Singh's   own   Cis-Sutlej    possessions,    it   was 
declared  that  he  himself  must  defend  them   (against  Nepal), 
leaving  it  a  question  of  policy  as    to    whether    he    should    or 
should  not  be  aided  in  their  defence.  It  was  further  added,  that 
he  might  march  through  his  Cis-Sutlej  districts,  to  enable  him 
to  attack  the  Gurkhas  in  the  hills  near  the  Jumna,  in  defence 
of  the  districts  in  question,  should  he  so  wish.  (Government  to 
Sir  David  Ochterlony,  4th  Oct.    and    22nd    Nov.    1811.)     The 
opinion  of  Sir  Charles  Metcalfe,  about  the  proceedings  of  the 
English  with  regard  to  Whadni    (see  ante,  p.  163,  note),  may 
also  be  quoted  as  bearing  on  the  case  in    a    way    adverse    to 
Major  Broadfoot. 


CHAP.  IX         WAR  WITH  THE  ENGLISH  2^5 

in  a  spirit  of  enmity  rather  than  of  goodwill.  ^    Nor  did  1845-6. 
the  Sikhs  seem  to  be  menaced  by  their  allies  on  one 
side  only.    In  the  summer  of  1845  some  horsemen  from 
Multan  crossed  a  few  miles  into  the  Sind  territory  in 

1  It  was  generally  held  by  the  English  in  India  that  Major 
Broadfoot's  appointment  greatly  increased  the  probabilities  of 
a  war  with  the  Sikhs;  and  the  impression  was  equally  strong 
that  had  Mr.  Clerk,  for  instance,  remained  as  Agent,  there 
would  have  been  no  war.  Had  Mr.  Clerk  again,  or  Col.  Wade, 
been  the  British  representative  in  1845,  either  would  have  gone 
to  Lahore  in  person,  and  would  have  remonstrated  against  the 
selfish  and  unscrupulous  proceedings  of  the  managers  of 
affairs  as  obviously  tending  to  bring  on  a  rupture.  They  would 
also  have  taken  measures  to  show  to  the  troops  that  the  British 
Government  would  not  be  aggressors;  they  would  have  told 
the  chiefs  that  a  war  would  compromise  them. with  the  English, 
nor  would  they  have  come  away  until  every  personal  risk  had 
been  run,  and  every  exertion  used  to  avert  a  resort  to  arms. 
That  Major  Broadfoot  was  regarded  as  hostile  to  the  Sikhs  may, 
perhaps,  almost  be  gatheired  from  his  own  letters.  On  the  19th 
March  1845  he  wrote  that  the  Governor  of  Multan  had  asked 
what  course  he,  the  Governor,  should  pursue,  if  the  Lahore 
troops  marched  against  him,  to  enforce  obedience  to  demands 
made.  The  question  does  not  seem  one  which  a  recusant 
servant  would  put  under  ordinary  circumstances  to  the 
preserver  of  friendship  between  his  master  and  the  English. 
Major  Broadfoot,  however,  would  appear  to  have  recurred 
to  the  virtual  overtures  of  Diwan  Mulraj,  for  on  the  20th  Nov. 
1845,  when  he  wrote  to  all  authorities  in  any  way  connected 
with  the  Punjab,  that  the  British  provinces  were  threatened 
with  invasion,  he  told  the  Major-General  at  Sakhar  that  the 
Governor  of  Multan  would  defend  Sind  with  his  provincials 
against  the  Sikhs! — thus  leading  to  the  belief  that  he  had 
succeeded  in  detaching  the  Governor  from  his  allegiance  to 
Lahore.  When  this  note  was  originally  written,  the  author 
thought  that  Major  Broadfoot's  warning  in  question  had  been 
addressed  to  Sir  Charles  Napier  himself,  but  he  has  subse- 
quently ascertained  that  the  letter  was  sent  to  his  Excellency's 
deputy  in  the  upper  portion  of  the  country,  and  that  Sir  Charles 
Napier  has  no  recollection  of  receiving  a  similar  communi- 
cation. 

Some  allusion  may  also  be  made  to  a  falsified  speech  of 
Sir  Charles  Napier's,  which  ran  the  round  of  the  papers  at  the 
time,  about  the  British  army  being  called  on  to  move  into  the 
Punjab,  especially  as  Major  Broadfoot  considered  the  Sikh  * 
leaders  to  be  moved  in  a  greater  degree  by  the  Indian  news- 
papers than  is  implied  in  a  passing  attention  to  reiterated 
paragraphs  about  invasion.  He  thought,  for  instance,  that 
Pandit  Jalla  understood  the  extent  to  which  Government 
deferred  to  public  opinion,  and  that  the  Brahman  himself 
designed  to  make  use  of  the  press  as  an  instrument.  (Major 
Broadfoot  to  Government,  30th  Jan.  1845.) 

In  the  first  edition  of  this  history  the  speech  of  Sir  Charles 
Napier  was  referred  to  as  if  it  had  really  been  made  in  the  terms 
reported,  but  the  author  has  now  learnt  from  his  Excellency 
that  nothing  whatever  was  said  about  leading  troops  into  the 
Punjab,  or  about  engaging  in  war  with  the  Sikhs.  The  author 
has    likewise    ascertained   from    Sir   Charles   Napier,   that   the 


256 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.  IX 


1845-6. 


Sir  Charles 
Napier's 
acts   con- 
sidered 
further 
proof   of 
hostile 
views. 


The    Lahore 
chiefs  make 
use  of  the 
persuasion 
of  the 
people    for 
their  own 
ends. 


pursuit  of  certain  marauders,  and  in  seizing  them,  the 
Lahore  soldiers  were  reported  to  have  used  needless 
violence,  and  perhaps  to  have  committed  other  exces- 
ses. Nevertheless,  the  object  of  the  troopers  was 
evident;  and  the  boundary  of  the  two  provinces  bet- 
ween the  Indus  and  the  hills  is  nowhere  defined,  but 
the  governor.  Sir  Charles  Napier,  immediately  ordered 
the  wing  of  a  regiment  to  Kashmor,  a  few  miles  below 
Rojhan,  to  preserve  the  integrity  of  his  frontier  from 
violation.  The  Lahore  authorities  were  thus  indeed 
put  upon  their  guard,  but  the  motives  of  Sir  Charles 
Napier  were  not  appreciated,  and  the  prompt  measures 
of  the  conqueror  of  Sind  were  mistakenly  looked 
upon  as  one  more  proof  of  a  desire  to  bring  about  a 
war  with  the  Punjab. 

The  Sikh  army,  and  the  population  generally,  were 
convinced  that  war  was  inevitable;  but  the  better  in- 
formed members  of  the  government  knew  that  no 
interference  was  likely  to  be  exercised  without  an 
overt  act  of  hostility  on  their  part.^  When  moved  as 
much  by  jealousy  of  one  another  as  by  a  common  dread 
of  the  army,  the  chiefs  of  the  Punjab  had  clung  to 
wealth  and  ease  rather  than  to  honour  and  indepen- 
dence, and  thus  Maharaja  Sher  Singh,  the  Sindhian- 
walas,  and  others,  had  been  ready  to  become  tributary, 
and  to  lean  for  support  upon  foreigners.  As  the 
authority  of  the  army  began  to  predominate,  and  to 
derive  force  from  its  system  of  committees,  a  new 
danger  threatened  the  territorial  chiefs  and  the  ad- 
venturers in  the  employ  of  the  government.  They 
might  successively  fall  before  the  cupidity  of  the 
organized  body  which  none  could  control,  or  an  able 
leader  might  arise  who  would  absorb  the  power  of  all 
others,  and  gratify  his  followers  by  the  sacrifice  of  the 
rich,  the  selfish,    and    the  feeble.     Even    the    Raja  of 

.mention  made  in  the  first  edition  about  a  proposal  to  station 
a  considerable  force  at  Kashmor  having  been  disapproved  by 
the  Supreme  Government  is  incorrect,  and  he  offers  his  apolo- 
gies to  the  distinguished  leader  misrepresented  for  giving 
original  or  additional  currency  to  the  errors  in  question. 

1  Cf.  Enclosure  No.  6  of  the  Governor-General's  letter  to 
the  Secret  Committee  of  the  2nd  Dec.  1845.  (Parliamentary 
Papers,  26th  Feb.  1846,  p.  21.)  Major  Broadfoot,  however, 
states  of  Gulab  Singh,  what  was  doubtless  true  of  many  others, 
viz.  that  he  believed  the  English  had  designs  on  the  Punjab. 
(Major  Broadfoot  to  Government,  5th  May  1845.)  It  is  indeed 
notorious  that  Sikhs  and  Afghans  commonly  said  the  English 
abandoned  Kabul  because  they  did  not  hold  Lahore,  and  that 
having  once  established  themselves  in  the  Punjab,  they  would 
soon  set  about  the  regular  reduction  of  Khorasan. 


CHAP.  IX         WAR  WITH  THE  ENGLISH  257 

Jammu,  always  so  reasonably  averse  to  a  close  con-  1845-6. 
nexion  with  the  English,  began  to  despair  of  safety  as  " 

a  feudatory  in  the  hills,  or  of  authority  as  a  minister 
at  Lahore  without  the  aid  of  the  British  name,  and 
Lai   Singh,  Tej   Singh,   and  many  others,  all  equally 
felt  their  incapacity  to  control  the  troops.    These  men  and  urge 
considered  that  their  only  chance  of  retaining  power  the  army 
was  to  have    the    army    removed    by    inducing    it    to  against  the 
engage  in  a  contest  which  they  believed  would  end  in  English,  in 
its  dispersion,  and  pave  the  way  for  their  recognition  """^^  ^^^^ 
as  ministers  more  surely  than  if  they  did  their  duty  by  destroyed, 
the  people,  and  earnestly  deprecated  a  war  which  must 
destroy  the  independence  of  the  Punjab.^       Had  the 
shrewd  committees  of  the  armies  observed  no  military 
preparations  on  the  part  of  the  English,  they  would 
not  have  heeded  the   insidious  exhortations   of   such 
mercenary  men  as  Lai  Singh  and  Tej  Singh,  althougii 
in  former  days  they  would  have  marched  uninquiringly 
towards  Delhi  at  the  bidding  of  their  great  Maharaja. 
But  the  views  of  the  government  functionaries  coin- 

1  Cf.  Enclosures  to  the  Governor-General's  letter  to  the 
Secret  Committee  of  the  31st  Dec.  1845.  (Parliamentary  Papers, 
26th  Feb.  1846,  p.  29.)  It  has  not  been  thought  necessary  to' 
refer  to  the  intemperance  of  the  desperate  Jawahir  Singh,  or 
to  the  amours  of  the  Maharani,  \vhich,  in  the  papers  laid  before 
the  British  Parliament,  have  been  used  to  heighten  the  folly 
and  worthlessness  of  the  Lahore  court.  Jawahir  Singh  may  have 
sometimes  been  seen  intoxicated,  and  the  Maharani  may  have 
attempted  little  concealment  for  her  debaucheries,  but  decency 
was  seldom  violated  in  public;  and  the  essential  forms  of  a  court 
were  preserved  to  the  last,  especially  when  strangers  were  pre- 
sent. The  private  life  of  princes  may  be  scandalous  enough, 
while  the  moral  tone  of  the  people  is  high,  and  is,  moreover, 
applauded  and  upheld  by  the  transgressors  themselves,  in  their 
capacity  of  magistrates.  Hence  the  domestic  vices  of  the  power- 
ful have,  comparatively,  little  influence  on  public  affairs.  Fur- 
ther, the  proneness  of  news-mongers  to  enlarge  upon  such  per- 
sonal failings  is  sufficiently  notorious;  and  the  diplomatic  service 
of  India  has  been  often  reproached  for  dwelling  pruriently  or 
maliciously  on  such  matters.  Finally,  it  is  well  known  that  the 
native  servants  of  the  English  in  Hindustan,  who  in  too  many 
instances  are  hirelings  of  little  education  or  respectability, 
think  they  best  please  their  employers,  or  chime  in  with  their 
notions,  when  they  traduce  all  others,  and  especially  those  with 
whom  there  may  be  a  rivalry  or  a  collision.  So  inveterate  is 
the  habit  of  flattery,  and  so  strong  is  the  belief  that  Englishmeh 
love  to  be  themselves  praised  and  to  hear  others  slighted, 
that  even  petty  local  authorities  scarcely  refer  to  allied  or 
dependent  princes,  their  neighbours,  in  verbal  or  in  written 
reports,  without  using  some  terms  of  disparagement  towards 
them.  Hence  the  scenes  of  debauchery  described  by  the  Lahore 
news-writer  are  partly  due  to  his  professional  character,  and 
partly  to  his  belief  that  he  was  saying  what  the  English  wanted 
to  hear. 

17 


258 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.  IX 


1845-6. 


The  Sikhs 
cross  the 
Sutlej, 
11th  Dec. 
1845. 


cided  with  the  belief  of  the  impulsive  soldierj^;  and 
when  the  men  were  tauntingly  asked  whether  tl^ej' 
would  quietly  look  on  while  the  limits  of  the  Khalsa 
dominion  were  being  reduced,  and  the  plains  of  Lahore 
occupied  by  the  remote  strangers  of  Europe,  they 
answered  that  they  would  defend  with  their  lives  all 
belonging  to  the  commonwealth  of  Gobind,  and  that 
they  would  march  and  give  battle  to  the  invaders  on 
their  own  ground.^  At  the  time  in  question,  or  early 
in  November,  two  Sikh  villages  near  Ludhiana  were 
placed  under  sequestration,  on  the  plea  that  criminals 
concealed  in  them  had  not  been  surrendered.-  The 
measure  was  an  unusual  one,  even  when  the  Sikhs  and 
the  English  were  equally  at  their  ease  with  regard  to 
one  another;  and  the  circumstance,  added  to  the  rapid 
approach  of  the  Governor-General  to  the  frontier,  re- 
moved any  doubts  which  may  have  lingered  in  the 
minds  of  the  Panchayats.  The  men  would  assemble  in 
groups  and  talk  of  the  great  battle  they  must  soon 
wage,  and  they  would  meet  round  the  tomb  of  Ranjit 
Singh  and  vow  fidelity  to  the  Khalsa.'^  Thus  wrought 
upon,  war  with  the  English  was  virtually  declared  on 
the  17th  November;  a  few  days  afterwards  the  troops 
began  to  move  in  detachments  from  Lahore;  they 
commenced  crossing  the  Sutlej  between  Hariki  and 
Kasur  on  the  11th  December,  and  on  the  14th  of  that 
month  a  portion  of  the  army  took  up  a  position  within 
a  few  miles  of  Ferozepore.^ 

The  initiative  was  thus  taken  by  the  Sikhs,  who 
by  an  overt  act  broke  a  solemn  treaty,  and  invaded 
the  territories  of  their  allies.  It  is  further  certain  that 
the  English  people  had  all  along  been  sincerely  desir- 
ous of  living  at  peace  with  the  Punjab,  and  to  a  casual 
observer  the  aggression  of  the  Sikhs  may  thus  appear 
as  unaccountable  as  it  was  fatal;  yet  further  inquiry 
will  show  that  the  policy  pursued  by  the  English  them- 
selves for  several  years  was  not  in  reality  well  calcu- 
lated to  ensure  a  continuance  of  pacific  relations,  and 
that  they  cannot  therefore  be  held  wholly  blameless 


1  The  ordinary  private  correspondence  of  the  period 
contained  many  statements  of  the  kind  given  in  the  text. 

2  Major  Broadfoot's  o//iciGl  correspondence  seems  to  have 
ceased  after  the  21st  Nov.  1845;  and  there  is  no  report  on  this 
affair  among  his  recorded  letters. 

3  The  Lahore  news-letters  of  the  24th  Nov.  1845,  prepared 
for  Government. 

•*  Cf.  the  Governor-General  to  the  Secret  Committee,  2nd 
and  31st  Dec.  1845,  with  enclosures.  (Parliamentary  Papers, 
1846.) 


CHAP.  IX         WAR  WITH  THE  ENGLISH  259 

for  a  war  which  they  expected  and  deprecated,  and  1845-6. 
whicji  they  knew  could  only  tend  to  their  own  aggran- 
dizement. The  proceedings  of  the  English,  indeed,  do 
not  exhibit  that  punctilious  adherence  to  the  spirit  of 
first  relations  which  allows  no  change  of  circumstances 
to  cause  a  departure  from  arrangements  which  had,  in 
the  progress  of  time,  come  to  be  regarded  by  a  .weaker 
power  as  essentially  bound  up  with  its  independence. 
Neither  do  the  acts  of  the  English  seem  marked  by 
that  high  wisdom  and  sure  foresight,  which  should 
distinguish  the  career  of  intelligent  rulers  acquainted 
with  actual  life,  and  the  examples  of  history.  Treaties 
of  commerce  and  navigation  had  been  urged  upon  the 
Sikhs,  notwithstanding  their  dislike  to  such  bonds  of 
unequal  union;  they  were  chafed  that  they  had  been 
withheld  from  Sind,  from  Afghanistan,  and  from  Tibet, 
merely,  they  would  argue,  that  these  countries  might 
be  left  open  to  the  ambition  of  the  English;  and  they 
were  rendered  suspicious  by  the  formation  of  new 
military  posts  on  their  frontier  contrary  to  prescriptive 
usage,  and  for  reasons  of  which  they  did  not  perceive 
the  force  or  admit  the  validity.  The  English  looked 
upon  these  measures  with  reference  to  their  own 
schemes  of  amelioration;  and  they  did  not  heed  the 
conclusions  which  the  Sikhs  might  draw  from  them, 
although  such  conclusions,  how  erroneous  soever, 
would  necessarily  become  motives  of  action  to  a  rude 
and  warlike  race.  Thus,  at  the  last,  regard  was  mainly 
had  to  the  chance  of  predatory  inroads,  or  to  the  possi- 
bility that  sovereign  and  nobles  and  people,  all  com- 
bined, would  fatuitously  court  destruction  by  assailing 
their  gigantic  neighbour',  and  little  thought  was  given 
to  the  selfish  views  of  factious  Sikh  chiefs,  or  to  the 
natural  effects  of  the  suspicions  of  the  Sikh  common- 
alty when  wrought  upon  by  base  men  for  their  own 
ends.  Thus,  too,  the  original  agreement  which  left 
the  province  of  Sirhind  free  of  troops  and  of  British 
subjects,  and  which  provided  a  confederacy  of  depend- 
ent states  to  soften  the  mutual  action  of  a  half-barbar- 
ous military  dominion  and  of  a  humane  and  civilized 
government,  had  been  set  aside  by  the  English  for 
objects  which  seemed  urgent  and  expedient,  but  which 
were  good  in  their  motive  rather  than  wise  in  their 
scope.  The  measure  was  misconstrued  by  the  Sikhs 
to  denote  a  gradual  but  settled  plan  of  conquest;  and 
hence  the  subjective  mode  of  reasoning  employed  was 
not  only  vicious  in  logic,  but,  being  met  by  arguments 
even  more  narrow    and    one-sided,    became    faulty  in 


260 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.  IX 


1845-6. 


The 
English 
unprepared 
for  a 

campaign. 


policy,  and,  in  truth,  tended  to  bring  about  that  colli- 
sion which  it  was  so  much  desired  to  avoid. 

A  corresponding  singleness  of  apprehension  also 
led  the  confident  English  to  persevere  in  despising  or 
misunderstanding  the  spirit  of  the  disciples  of  Gobind. 
The  unity  and  depth  of  feeling,  derived  from  a  young 
and  fervid  faith,  were  hardly  recognized,  and  no  histo- 
rical associations  exalted  the  Sikhs  to  the  dignity  of 
Rajputs  and  Pathans. 

In  1842  they  were  held,  as  has  been  mentioned,  to 
be  unequal  to  cope  with  the  Afghans,  and  even  to  be 
inferior  in  martial  qualities  to  the  population  of  the 
Jammu  hiils.  In  1845  the  Lahore  soldiery  was  called  a 
'rabble'  in  sober  official  dispatches,  and  although  suo- 
sequent  descriptions  allowed  the  regiments  to  be  com- 
posed'of  the  yeomanry  of  the  country,  the  army  was 
still  d*eclared  to  be  daily  deteriorating  as  a  military 
body.^  It  is,  indeed,  certain  that  English  officers  and 
Indian  sepoys  equally  believed  they  were  about  to  win 
battles  by  marching  steadily  and  by  the  discharge  of 
a  few  artillery  shots,  rather  than  by  skilful  dispositions 
hard  fighting,  and  a  prolonged  contest. - 

The  English  not  only  undervalued  their  enemy, 
but,  as  has  been  hinted,  they  likewise  mistook  the  form 
which  the  long-expected  aggressions  of  the  Sikhs 
would    assume.''      It    was    scarcely    thought    that    the 

1  Major  Broadfoot  to  Government,  18th  and  25th  Jan. 
1845.  A  year  before,  Lieut.-Col.  Lawrence  (Calcutta  Review, 
No.  Ill,  pp.  176,  177)  considered  the  Sikh  army  as  good  as  that 
of  any  other  Indian  power,  and  not  inferior,  indeed,  to  the 
Gwalior  tro'ops  which  fought  at  Maharajpur.  The  Lahore 
artillery,  however,  he  held  to  be  very  bad,  although  he  was  of 
opinion  that  in  position  the  guns  would  be  well  served.  In 
his  Adventiirer  in  the  Punjab  (p.  47,  note  k)  he  had  previously 
given  a  decided  preference  to  the  Maratha  artillerv. 

2  Major  Smyth  is,  however,  of  opinion  that  the  sepoys  in 
the  British  service  had  a  high  opinion  of  the  Sikh  troops, 
although  the  English  themselves  talked  of  them  as  boasters 
and  cowards.  (Major  Smyth,  Reigning  Family  of  Lahore.  In- 
troduction, pp.  xxiv  and  xxv.)  Cf.  Dr.  Macgregor,  History  of 
the  Sikhs,  ii.  89,  90. 

3  Cf.  the  Governor-General  to  the  Secret  Committee,  31st 
Dec.  1845  (Parliamentary  Papers,  1846),  and  the  Calcutta  Re- 
view, No.  XVL  p.  475.  A  f-ew  words  may  here  be  said  on  a 
subject  which  occasioned  some  discussion  in  India  at  the  time, 
viz.  Major  Broadfoot's  reputed  persevering  disbelief  that  the 
Sikhs  would  cross  the  Sutlej,  although  his  assistant,  Capt. 
Nicolson,  stationed  at  Ferozepore,  had  repeatedly  said  the> 
would.  The  matter  was  taKen  up  by  the  Indian  public  as 
if  Capt.  Nicolson  had  for  several  months,  or  for  a  year  and 
more,  held  that  the  British  provinces  would  assuredly  be  in- 


CHAP.  IX         WAR  WITH  THE  ENGLISH  261 

ministry,  or  even  that  the  army,  would  have  the  cour-  ^845-6. 
age  to  cross  the  river  in  force,  and  to  court  an  equal 
contest;  the  known  treasonable  views  of  the  chiefs, 
and  the  unity  and  depth  of  feeling  which  possessed  the 
troops,  were  not  fully  appreciated,  and  it  continued  to 
be  believed  that  a  desultory  warfare  would  sooner  or 
later  ensue,  which  would  indeed  require  the  British  to 
interfere,  but  which  would  still  enable  them  to  do  so 
at  their  own  convenience.  Thus  boats  for  bridges,  and 
regiments  and  guns,  the  natural  and  undesigned  pro- 
vocatives to  a  war,  were  sufficiently  numerous;  but 
food  and  ammunition,  and  carriage  and  hospital  stores, 
such  as  were  necessary  for  a  campaign,  were  all  behind 
at  Delhi  or  Agra,  or  still  remained  to  be  collected;  for 
the  desire  of  the  English  was,  it  is  said,  peace,  and  they 
had  hoped  that  an  assemblage  of  troops  would  prevent 
predatory  aggression,  or  deter  the  Sikhs  from  engaging 
in  suicidal  hostilities.^ 

vaded  within  a  definite  pei'iod;  whereas,  with  regard  to  what 
the  Sikh  army  might  eventually  do,  Capt.  Nicolson  was  as 
uncertain  as  others,  up  to  within  a  week  or  so  of  the  passage 
of  the  Sutlej  in  December  1845.  The  truth  seems  to  be,  that 
Major  Broadfoot  affected  to  disbeheve  Capt.  Nicolson's  report 
of  the  actual  march  and  near  approach  of  the  Lahore  army, 
of  its  encampment  on  the  Sutlej,  and  of  its  evident  resolution 
to  cross  the  river,  giving  the  preference  to  intelligence  of  a 
contrary  nature  received  direct  from  the  Sikh  capital,  and 
which  tallied  with  his  own  views  of  what  the  Sikhs  would 
finally  do.  That  such  was  the  case,  may  indeed  be  gathered  from 
the  Governor-General's  dispatch  to  the  Secret  Committee  of 
the  31st  Dec.  1845.     (Parliamentary  Papers,  1846,  pp.  26,  27.) 

The  writer  of  the  article  in  the  Calcutta  Review,  No.  XVI, 
endeavours  to  justify  Major  Broadfoot's  views  by  showing  that 
all  the  officers  on  the  frontier  held  similar  opinions.  The  point 
really  at  issue,  however,  is  not  whether,  generally  "-peaking, 
invasion  were  probable,  but  whether  in  the  beginning  of  Dec- 
ember 1845  Major  Broadfoot  should  not  have  held  that  the 
Sutlej  would  be  crossed.  The  Reviewer  forgets  to  add  that  of 
the  local  officers  Major  Broadfoot  alone  knew  at  the  time  the 
extenL  of  provocation  which  the  Sikhs  had  received;  and  that 
the  officers  wrote  with  no  later  news  before  them  than  that 
of  the  17th  of  November.  Hence  all,  save  Major  Broadfoot 
himself  had  very  imperfect  means  of  forming  a  judgement  of 
what  was  likely  to  take  place.  With  regard  to  what  the  English 
should  have  been  prepared  against,  Lieut. -Col.  Richmond's 
letter  of  the  3i-d  April  1844,  to  the  address  of  the  Commander- 
in-Chief,  may  be  referred  to  as  in  favour  of  having  stations 
strong  if  they  were  to  be  kept  up  at  all. 

1  It  was  a  common  and  a  just  remark  at  the  time,  that 
although  the  Indian  Government  was  fortunate  in  having  a 
practical  and  approved  soldier  like  Lord  Hardinge  at  its  head, 
under  the  circumstances  of  a  war  in  progress,  yet  that  had 
Lord  Ellenborough  remained  Governor-General,  the  army 
would  have  taken  the  field  better  equipped  than  it  did. 


262 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.  IX 


1845-6. 

The 
English 
nasten  to 
oppose 
the   Sikhs. 


The 

numbers  of 
the   Sikhs. 


The  Governor-General  '  joined  the  Commander-in- 
Chief  at  Ambala  early  in  December  1845,  and  as  soon 
as  it  seemed  certain  that  the  Sikhs  were  marching  in 
force  towards  the  Sutlej,  the  English  troops  in  the 
upper  provinces  were  all  put  in  motion.  The  nearest 
divisions  were  those  of  Ambala,  Ludhiana,  and  Feroze- 
pore,  which  numbered  in  all  about  17,000  available 
men,  with  69  field  guns;  and  as  the  last-mentioned 
force  was  the  most  exposed,  the  Ambala  troops  were 
moved  straight  to  its  support,  and  Lord  Hardinge  fur- 
ther prudently  resolved  to  leave  Ludhiana  with  a  mere 
garrison  for  its  petty  fort,  and  to  give  Lord  Gough  as 
large  a  force  as  possible,  with  which  to  meet  the  Sikhs, 
should  they  cross  the  Sutlej  as  they  threatened. - 

The  Lahore  army  of  invasion  may  have  equalled 
35,000  or  40,000  men,  with  a  hundred  and  fifty  pieces 
of  artillery,  exclusive  of  a  force  detached  towards 
Ludhiana  to  act  as  circumstances  might  render  advant- 
ageous. The  numbers  of  the  Sikhs  were  understood  at 
the  time  to  greatly  exceed  those  given,  but  the  strength 
of  armies  is  usually  exaggerated  both  by  the  victors 
and  the  vanquished;  and  there  is  no  satisfactory  proof 
that  the  regular  troops  of  the  Sikhs  exceeded  those  of 
the  English  by  more  than  a  half,  although  numerous 
bodies  of  undisciplined  horse  swelled  the  army  of  thr? 
invaders  to  more  than  double  that  of  their  opponents.^ 

[^  Sir  Henry  Hardinge  had  succeeded  Lord  Ellenborough 
as> Governor-General  in  July  1844.  The  Commander-in-Chief 
was  Sir  Hugh  Gough. — Ed.] 

-The  effective  force  at  Ferozeshah  was  17.727  men,  accord- 
ing to  the  Calcutta  Review  (No.  XVI,  p.  472),  and  16,70ft 
according  to  Lord  Hardinge's  dispatch  of  the  31st  Dec.  1845. 
This  was  the  available  force,  out  of  32,479  men  in  all,  posteo 
from  Ambala  to  the  Sutlej.  The  author  has  learnt  that  Lord 
Gough  is  satisfied  the  number  of  the  enemy  at  Ferozeshah  and 
the  other  battles  of  the  campaign  have  been  underestimated  in 
this  narrative.  There  cannot,  indeed,  be  any  statements  of 
decisive  authority  referred  to,  but  the  settlea  conviction  of 
the  Commander-in-Chief  is  of  primary  consideration,  and 
requires  to  be  recorded  in  this  new  edition;  especially  as,  with  a 
characteristic  singleness  of  heart,  his  lordship,  in  noticing  the 
probable  error,  had  regard  rather  to  the  reputation  of  the 
army  he  led  than  to  his  own  fame. 

"^  The  Governor-General,  in  his  dispatch  of  the  31st  Dec. 
1845,  estimates  the  Sikhs  at  from  48.000  to  60,000  men;  but 
with  regard  to  efficient  troops,  it  may  be  observed  that  the 
whole  regular  army  of  the  country  did  not  exceed  42,000  infan- 
try, including  the  regiments  at  Lahore,  Multan,  Peshawar,  and 
Kashmir,  as  well  as  those  forming  the  main  army  of  invasion. 
Perhaps  an  estimate  of  30,000  embodied  troops  of  all  kinds 
would  be  nearer  the  truth  than  any  other. 


CHAP.  IX         WAR  WITH  THE  ENGLISH  2&3 

The  Sikh  leaders  threatened    Ferozepore,  but    no  1845-6. 
attack  was  made  upon  its  seven  thousand  defenders,  Ferozepore 
which  with  a  proper  spirit  were  led  out  by  their  com-  threatened, 
mander,  Sir  John  Littler,  and  showed  a  bold  front  to  ^"t  p^- 
the  overwhelming  force  of  the  enemy.     The   object,  P°^^^y  "°* 
indeed,  of  Lai  Singh  and  Tej  Singh  was  not  to  compro-  ^"^^^*^- 
mise   themselves  with   the  English   by   destroying  an  ^*^"^^"^*^ 
isolated  division,  but  to  get  their  own  troops  dispersed  and^Tej'"^ 
by  the  converging  forces  of  their  opponents.       Their  singh. 
desire  was  to  be  upheld  as  the  ministers  of  a  dependent 
kingdom  by  grateful  conquerors,  and  they  thus  depre- 
cated an  attack  on  Ferozepore,  and  assured  the  local 
British  authorities  of  their  secret  and  efficient  goodwill. 
But  these  men  had  also  to  keep  up  an  appearance  of 
devotion  to  the  interests  of  their   country,  and  they 
urged  the  necessity  of  leaving  the  eas}^  prey  of  a  can-  ^he  tactics 
tonment  untouched,  until  the  leaders  of  the  English  of  the  sikhs. 
should  be  attacked,  and  the  fame  of  the  Khalsa  exalted 
by  the  captivity  or  death  of  a  Governor-General.^  The 
Sikh  army  itself  understood  the  necessity  of  unity  of 
counsel  in  the  affairs  of  war,  and  the  power  of  the  regi- 
mental  and   other   committees  was   temporarily   sus- 
pended by  an  agreement  with  the  executive  heads  of 
the  state,  which  enabled  these  unworthy  men  to  effect 
their  base  objects  with  comparative  ease.-  Nevertheless, 
in  the   ordinary   militarj''   arrangements  of  occupying 
positions  and    distributing    infantry    and    cavalry,  the 
generals    and    inferior    commanders    acted    for    them- 

^  It  was  sufficiently  certain  and  notorious  at  the  tinje  that 
Lai  Singh  was  in  communication  with  Capt.  Nicolson,  the 
British  Agent  at  Ferozepore,  but,  owing  to  the  untimely  death 
of  that  officer,  the  details  of  the  overtures  made,  and  expec- 
tations held  out,  cannot  now  be  satisfactorily  known.  (Cf.  Dr. 
Macgregor's  History  of  the  Sikhs,  ii.  80.) 

The  Calcutta  Review  for  June  1849  (p.  549),  while  doubt- 
ing the  fact,  or  at  least  the  extent  and  importance,  of  Lai 
Singh's  and  Tej  Singh's  treachery,  admits  that  the  former  was 
not  only  in  communication  with  Capt.  Nicolson,  as  stated,  but 
that  on  the  7th  Feb.  1846  he  was  understood  to  have  sent  a  plan 
of  the  Sikh  position  at  Sobraon  to  Col.  Lawrence,  and  that  on 
the  19th  Dec.  1845,  the  day  after  the  battle  of  Mudki,  Lai 
Singh's  agent  came  to  Major  Broadfoot,  and  was  dismissed 
with  a  rebuke.  [As  regards  Tej  Singh's  treachery  it  may  be 
stated  that,  according  to  a  reliable  tradition,  that  officer  dis- 
covered early  in  the  operations  that  his  artillery  ammunition 
had  been  tampered  with  and  much  of  it  rendered  useless.  Such 
treachery  on  the  part  of  his  own  side  doubtless  had  consider- 
able effect  upon  his  subsequent  conduct.-  -Ed.] 

-  Lai  Singh  was  appointed  wazir,  and  Tej  Singh  com- 
mander-in-chief of  the  army  on  or  about  the  8th  Nov.  1845, 
according  to  the  Lahore  News-Letter  of  that  date,  prepared  for 
Government. 


264  HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS  chap,  ix 

1845-6^ selves,  and  all  had  to  pay  some  respect  to  the  spirit 

which  animated  the  private  soldifers  in  their  readiness 
to  do  battle  for  the  commonwealth  of  Gobind.     The 
effects  of  this  enthusiastic  unity  of  purpose  in  an  army, 
headed  by  men    not    only    ignorant    of    warfare,    but 
studiously  treacherous    towards    their    followers,  was 
conspicuously    visible    in  the    speediness    with    whicn 
numerous  heavy  guns    and    abundance    of  grain  and 
ammunition  were  brought  across  a  large  river.  Every 
Sikh  considered  the  cause  as  his  own,  and  he  would 
work  as  a  labourer  as  well  as  carry  a  musket;  he  would 
drag  guns,  drive  bullocks,  lead  camels,  and  load  and 
unload  boats  with  a  cheerful  alacrity,  which  contrasted 
strongly  with  the  inapt  and  sluggish  obedience  of  mere 
mercenaries,   drilled,  indeed,   and  fed  with   skill   and 
care,  but  unwarmed  by  one  generous  feeling  for  their 
country    or    their    foreign    employers.     The    youthful 
Khalsa  was  active  and  strong  of  heart,  but  the  soldiers 
had  never  before  met  so  great  a  foe,  and  their  tactics 
were  modified  by  involuntary  awe  of  the  British  army, 
renowned  in  the  East  for  achievements  in  war.     The 
river  had  been  crossed,  and    the    treaty    broken;    but 
the   Sikhs    were  startled   at   their   own   audacity,   and 
they  partially  entrenched  one  portion  of.  their  forces, 
while  they  timorously  kept  the  other  as  a^  reserve  out 
of  danger's  way.    Thus  the  valiant  Swedes,  when  they 
threw  themselves  into  Germany  under  their  king,  the 
great  Gustavus,  revived  the  castrametation  of  Roman 
armies  in  the  presence  of  the  experienced  commanders 
of  Austria;  ^   and  thus  the  young  Telemachus,  tremu- 
lously bold,  hurled  his  unaccustomed  spear  against  the 
princes   of  Ithaca,  and  sprang  for  shelter  behind  the 
shield  of  his  heroic  father  !  - 
The  battle  The  Ambala  and  Ludhiana  divisions  of  the  British 

18  i^^i>^'        armv  arrived  at  Mudki,  twenty  miles  from  Ferozepore, 
1845     ^  *^^  *^^  l^t^  December;  and  they  had  scarcely  taken  up 

^  As  at  Werben.  before  the  battle  of  Leipzig.  Col.  Mitchell 
says  Gustavus  owed  his  success  almost  as  much  to  the  spade 
as  to  the  sword.      (Life  of  Wallenstein,  p.  210.) 

-  Odyssey,  xxii.  The  practice  of  the  Sikhs  would  probably 
have  resolved  itself  into  the  system  of  fortified  camps  of  the 
Romans  at  night  and  during  halts,  and  into  the  Greek  custom 
of  impenetrable  phalanxes  on  the  battle-field,  while  it  almost 
anticipates  the  European  tendencies  of  the  day  about  future 
warfare — which  are,  to  mass  artillery,  and  make  it  overwhelm- 
ing. The  Sikhs  would  have  moved  with  their  infantry  and 
guns  together,  while  they  swept  the  country  wiih  their  cavalry; 
and  it  is  clear  that  no  troops  in  India  or  in  Southern  Asia,  save 
the  movable  brigades  of  the  English,  could  have  successfully 
assailed  them. 


CHAP.  IX         WAR  WITH  THE  ENGLISH  265 

their  ground  before  they  were  attacked  by  a  detach-  1845-6. 
ment  of  the  Sikh  army,  believed  at  the  time  to  be 
upwards  of  thirty  thousand  strong,  but  which  really 
seems  to  have  consisted  of  less  than  two  thousand 
infantry,  supported  by  about  twenty-two  pieces  of 
artillery,  and  eight  or  ten  thousand  horsemen.'  Lai 
Singh  headed  the  attack,  but,  in  accordance  with  his 
original  design,  he  involved  his  followers  in  an  en- 
gagement, and  then  left  them  to  fight  as  their 
undirected  valour  might  prompt.  The  Sikhs  were  re- 
pulsed with  the  loss  of  seventeen  guns,-  but  the  success 
of  the  English  was  not  so  complete  as  should  have 
been  achieved  b}^  the  victors  in  so  many  battles;  and 
it  was  wisely  determined  to  effect  a  junction  with  the 
division  of  Sir  John  Littler  before  assailing  the  ad- 
vanced wing  of  the  Sikh  army,  which  was  encamped 
in  a  deep  horse-shoe  form  around  the  village  of 
P'beerooshuhur,  about  ten  miles  both  from  Mudki  and 
from  Ferozepore.-'  This  position  was  strengthened  by 
more  than  a  hundred  pieces  of  artillery,  and  its  slight 
and  imperfect  entrenchments  had,  here  and  there,  been 
raised  almost  waist  high  since  the  action  at  Mudki.  It 
was  believed  at  the  time  to  contain  about  fifty 
thousand  men,  but  subsequent  inquiries  reduced  the 
infantry  to  twelve  regiments,  and  the  cavalry  to  the 

^  See  Lord  Cough's  dispatch  of  the  19th  December  1845 
for  the  estimate  of  30,000  men,  with  40  guns.  Capt.  Nicolson 
in  his  private  correspondence  of  the  period,  and  writing  from 
Ferozepore,  gives  the  Sikh  force  at  about  3,500  only,  which  is 
doubtless  too  low,  although  subsequent  inquiries  all  tended 
to  show  that  the  infantry  portion  was  weak,  having  been 
composed  of  small  detachments  from  each  of  the  regiments  in 
position  at  Ferozeshah.  The  Calcutta  Review,  No.  XVI,  p.  489, 
estimiates  the  guns  at  22  only,  and,  the  estimate  being  moderate, 
it  is  probably  correct. 

-  The  British  loss  in  the  action  was  215  killed  and  657 
wounded.  (See  Lord  Cough's  dispatch  of  the  19th  Dec.  1845.) 
The  force  under  Lord  Cough  at  the  time  amounted  to  about 
11,000  men.  In  this  action  the  English  may,  in  a  military  sense, 
be  said  to  have  been  surprised.  Their  defective  system  of 
spies  left  them  ignorant  of  the  general  position  and  probable 
objects  of  the  enemy;  and  the  little  use  their  commanders  have 
usually  made  of  cavalry  left  the  near  approach  of  the  Sikhs 
unknown,  and  therefore  unchecked.  [Among  the  killed  was 
Sir  Robert  Sale,  the  defender  of  Jalalabad. — Ed.] 

■^  The  correct  name  of  the  place,  which  has  become  iden- 
tihed  with  an  important  battle,  is  as  given  in  the  text:  — 
'P'heeroo'  being  the  not  uncommon  name  of  a  man,  and  'shuhur' 
an  ordinary  termination,  signifying  place  or  city.  The  name 
'Ferozeshah'  is  erroneous,  but  it  is  one  likely  to  be  taken  up 
on  hearing  'P'beerooshuhur'  badly  pronounced  by  peasants  and 
others.  The  Sikhs  call  the  battle  'P'heeroo  ka  larai',  or  the 
fight  of  P'heeroo  simply,  without  the  addition  of  'shuhur'. 


266 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.   IX 


The 

battle   of 
P'heeroo 


the   Sikhs, 
21st    and 
22nd    Dec. 
1845. 


1845-6.  eight  or  ten  thousand  which  had  before  been  engaged. 

The  wing  of  the  Sikh  army  attacked  did  not,  therefore' 
greatly  surpass  its  assailants,  except  in  the  number 
and  size  of  its  guns,  the  English  artillery  consisting 
almost  wholly  of  six  and  nine  pounders.'  But  the  belief 
m  the  fortune  of  the  British  arms  was  strong,  and  the 
Sepoys  would  then  have  marched  with  alacrity  against 
ten  times  their  own  numbers. 

A  junction  was  effected  with  Sir  John  Littler's 
division  about  midday  on  the  21st  December,  and  at  a 
shuhur,  and  distance  of  four  miles  from  the  enemy's  position.  Con- 
retreat  of  siderable  delay  occurred  in  arranging  \he  details  of  the 
assault,  which  was  not  commenced  until  within  an 
hour  of  sunset.  The  confident  English  had  at  last  got 
the  field  they  wanted;  they  marched  in  even  array,  and 
tneir  famed  artillery  opened  its  steady  fire.  But  the 
gims  of  the  Sikhs  were  served  with  rapidity  and  pre- 
cision, and  the  foot-soldiers  stood  between  and  behind 
the  batteries,  firm  in  their  order,  and  active  with  their 
muskets.  The  resistance  met  was  wholly  unexpected, 
and  aJl  started  with  astonishment.  Guns  were  dis- 
mounted, and  their  ammunition  was  blown  into  the 
air;  squadrons  were  checked  in  mid  career;  battalion 
after  battalion  was  hurled  back  with  shattered  ranks, 
and  it  was  not  until  after  sunset  that  portions  of  the 
enemy's  position  were  finally  carried.  Darkness,  and 
the  obstinacy  of  the  contest,  threw  the  English  into 
confusion;  men  of  all  regiments  and  arms  were  mixed 
together;  generals  were  doubtful  of  the  fact  or  of  the 
extent  of  their  own  success,  and  colonels  knew  not 
what  had  become  of  the  regiments  they  commanded, 
or  of  the  army  of  which  they  formed  a  part.  Some 
portions  of  the  enemy's  line  had  not  been  broken,  and 

1  Both  the  Sikhs  and  the  European  officers  in  the  Lahore 
service  agree  in  saying  that  there  were  only  twelve  battalions 
in  the  lines  of  P'heerooshuhur,  and  such  indeed  seems  to  have 
been  the  truth.  The  Governor-General  and  Commander-in- 
Chief  vaguely  estimated  the  whole  Sikh  army  on  the  left  bank 
of  the  Sutlej  at  60,000  strong,  and  Lord  Gough  makes  Tej  Singh 
bring  30,000  horse,  besides  fresh  battalions,  and  a  large  park  of 
artillery  into  action  on  the  22nd  December,  which  would  leave 
but  a  small  remainder  for  the  previous  defence  of  P'heerooshu- 
hur. (See  the  dispatches  of  the  22nd  and  31st  Dec.  1845,)  The 
author  has  learnt  that,  after  the  war.  Lord  Gough  ascertained, 
through  the  British  authorities  at  Lahore,  that  the  Sikhs 
esimated  their  numbers  at  P'heerooshuhur  at  46,808  men,  of 
all  kinds,  with  88  guns,  'including  those  brought  up  and  taken 
away  by  Tej  Singh'.  This  low  estimate  of  the  strength  of  the 
Sikhs  in  artillery  is  in  favour  of  the  credibility  of  the  statement, 
and  if  Tej  Singh's  men  are  likewise  included  in  the  numbers 
given,  the  estimate  may  perhaps  be  fully  trusted. 


CHAP.  IX         WAR  WITH  THE  ENGLISH  267 

the  uncaptured  guns  were  turned  by  the  Sikhs  upon  1845-6. 
masses  of  soldiers,  oppressed  with  cold  and  thirst  and 
fatigue,  and  who  attracted  the  attention  of  the  watch- 
ful enemy  by  lighting  fires  of  brushwood  to  warm  their 
stiffened  limbs.     The  position  of  the  English  was  one 
of  real  danger  and  great  perplexity;  their  mercenaries 
had  proved  themselves  good  soldiers  in  foreign  coun- 
tries as  well  as  in  India   itself,  when  discipline  was 
little  known,  or  while  success  was  continuous;  but  in 
a  few  hours  the  five  thousand   children  of  a  distant 
land  found  that  their  art  had  been  learnt,  and  that  an 
emergency  had  arisen  which  would  tax  their  energies 
to  the  utmost.    On  that  memorable  night  the  English 
were  hardly  masters    of  the    ground    on    which    they 
stood;  they  had  no  reserve  at  hand,  while  the  enemy 
had  fallen  back  upon  a  second  army,  and  could  renew 
the  fight  with  increased  numbers.    The  not  imprudent 
thought  occurred  of  retiring  upon  Ferozepore;  but  Lord 
Gough's  dauntless  spirit  counselled  otherwise,  and  his 
own    and    Lord    Hardinge's    personal    intrepidity    in 
storming  batteries,   at  the  head  of  troops  of  English 
gentlemen    and    bands    of   hardy   yeomen,    eventually 
achieved  a  partial  success  and  a  temporary  repose.  On 
the  morning  of  the  22nd  December,  the  last  remnants 
of  the  Sikhs  were  driven  from  their  camp;  but  as  the 
day  advanced  the  second  wing  of  their  army  approach- 
ed in  battle-array,  and  the  wearied  and  famished  Eng- 
lish saw  before  them  a  desperate  and,  perhaps,  useless 
struggle.    This  reserve  was  commanded  by  Tej  Singh; 
he  had  been  urged  by  his  zealous  and  sincere  soldiery 
to  fall  upon  the  English  at  daybreak,  but  his  object 
was  to  have  the  dreaded  army  of  the  Khalsa  overcome 
and  dispersed,  and  he  delayed  until  Lai  Singh's  force 
was  everywhere  put  to  flight,  -and  until  his  opponents 
had  again  ranged  themselves  round  their  colours.  Even 
at  the  last  moment   he  rather   skirmished  and  made 
feints  than  led  his  men  to  a  resolute  attack,  and  after 
a  time  he  precipitately  fled,  leaving  his  subordinates 
without   orders  and  without  an  object,   at   a  moment 
when    the    artillery   ammunition    of   the    English   had 
failed,  when  a  portion  of  their  force  was  retiring  upon 
Ferozepore,   and  when  no  exertions  could  have  pre- 
vented the  remainder  frohi  retreating  likewise,  if  the 
Sikhs  had  boldly  pressed  forward.^ 

■■  For  the  battle  of  P'heerooshuhur,  see  Lord  Gough's 
dispatch  of  the  22nd,  and  Lord  Hardinge's  of  the  31st  Dec. 
1845.  The  Governor-General  notices  in  especial  the  exertions 
of  the  infantry  soldiers;  and  one  of  the  charges  made  by  the 


26S 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.  IX 


1845-6. A  battle  had  thus  been  won,  and  more  than  seventy 

The  diffi-  pieces  of  artillery  and  some  conquered  or  confiscated 
cuities  and  territories  graced  the  success;  but  the  victors  had  lost 
apprehen-  ^  seventh  of  their  numbers,  they  were  paralysed  after 
En^Hsh^  *^®    their  prodigious  exertions  and  intense  excitement,  and 

3rd  Light  Dragoons  has  been  a  theme  of  general  admiration. 
The  loss  sustained  was  694  killed,  and  1,721  wounded.  [The 
casualties  among  the  officers  were  very  heavy — 103  in  all. 
Among  them  was  the  political  officer.  Major  Broadfoot,  who 
has  figured  so  prominently  in  previous  pages. — Ed.] 

After  the  war.  Lord  Gough  learnt  that  the  loss  of  the 
Sikhs  in  killed  probably  amounted  to  2,000  in  all,  as  the  heirs 
of  1,782  men  of  the  regular  troops  alone  claimed  balances  of 
pay  due  to  relatives  slain.  This  argues  a  great  slaughter;  and 
yet  it  was  a  common  remark  at  the  time,  that  very  few  dead 
bodies  were  to  be  seen  on  the  field  after  the  action. 

The  statements  of  the  Quarterly  Review  for  June  1846,  pp. 
203-6,  and  of  the  Calcutta  Review  for  Dec.  1847,  p.  498,  may^be 
referred  to  about  certain  points  still  but  imperfectly  known, 
and  which  it  is  only  necessary  to  allude  to  in  a  general  way 
in  this  history.  Two  of  the  points  are:  (1)  the  proposal  to  fall 
back  on  Ferozepore  during  the  night  of  the  21st  December; 
and  (2)  the  actual  movement  of  a  considerable  portion  of  tho 
British  army  towards  that  place  on  the  forenoon  of  the  follow- 
ing day. 

Had  the  Sikhs  been  efficiently  commanded,  a  retirement 
on  Ferozepore  would  have  been  judicious  in  a  military  point 
of  view,  but  as  the  enemy  was  led  by  traitors,  it  was  best  to 
fearlessly  keep  the  field.  Perhaps  neither  the  incapacity  nor 
the  treason  of  Lai  Singh  and  Tej  Singh  were  fully  perceived 
or  credited  by  the  English  chiefs,  and  hence  the  anxiety  of  the 
one  on  whom  the  maintenance  of  the  British  dominion  intact 
mainly  depended. 

At  P'heerooshuhur  the  larger  calibre  and  greater  weight 
of  metal  of  the  mass  of  the  Sikh  artillery,  and  consequently  the 
superiority  of  practice  relatively  to  that  of  the  field  guns  of  the 
English,  was  markedly  apparent  in  the  condition  of  the  two 
parks  after  the  battle.  The  captured  cannon  showed  scarcely 
any  marks  of  round  shot  or  shells,  while  nearly  a  third  of  the 
British  guns  were  disabled  in  their  carriages  or  tumbrils. 

With  regard  to  this  battle  it  may  be  observed  that  the 
English  had  not  that  exact  knowledge  of  the  Sikh  strength  and 
position  which  might  have  been  obtained  even  by  means  of 
reconnoitring;  and  it  may  also  perhaps  be  said  that  the  attack 
should  have  been  made  in  column  rather  than  in  line,  and  after 
the  long  flanks  of  the  enemy's  position  had  been  enfiladed  by 
artillery.  The  extent,  indeed,  to  which  the  English  were  un- 
prepared for  a  campaign,  and  the  manner  in  which  their  forces 
were  commanded  in  most  of  the  actions  of  the  war,  should  be 
carefully  borne  in  mind;  for  it  was  defective  tactics  and  the 
abolute  want  of  ammuiiition,  as  much  as  the  native  valour  and 
aptitude  of  the  Sikhs,  which  gave  for  a  time  a  character  of 
equality  to  the  struggle,  and  which  in  this  history  seems  to 
make  a  comparatively  petty  power  dispute  with  the  English 
supremacy  in  Northern  India.  Had  the  English  been  better  led 
and  better  equipped,  the  fame  of  the  Sikhs  would  not  have 
been  so  great  as  it  is,  and  the  British  chronicler  would  have 
been  spared  the  ungracious  task  of  declaring  unpleasing  truths. 


CHAP.  IX         WAR  WITH  THE  ENGLISH  269 

the  Sikhs  were  allowed  to  cross  the  Sutlej  at  their  1845-6. 
leisure  to  prepare  for  fresh  contests.  The  sepoy  mer- 
cenaries had  for  the  first  time  met  an  equal  antagonist 
with  their  own  weapons — even  ranks  and  the  fire  of 
artillery.  They  loudly  complained  of  the  inferiority  of 
their  cannon;  they  magnified  banks  two  and  three  feet 
high  into  formidable  ramparts,  and  exploding  tumbrils 
and  stores  of  powder  became,  in  their  imaginations, 
designed  and  deadly  mines.  Nor  was  this  feeling  of 
respect  and  exaggeration  confined  to  the  Indians  alone; 
the  European  soldiers  partook  of  it;  and  the  British 
public,  as  well  as  the  dignitaries  of  the  church  and  the 
heads  of  the  state,  became  impressed  with  the  immen- 
sity of  the  danger  which  had  threatened  the  peace,  and 
perhaps  the  safety,  of  their  exotic  dominion. ^  Regi- 
ments of  men,  and  numerous  single  officers  variously 
employed,  were  summoned  from  the  most  distant  pro- 
vinces to  aid  in  vindicating  the  military  renown   of 

No  one,  however,  can  be  insensible  to  the  claims  which  the 
veteran  chief  of  the  army  has  established  to  his  country's 
gratitude,  by  his  cheering  hardihood  under  every  circumstance 
of  danger,  and  by  his  great  successes  over  all  opponents.  The 
robust  character  of  Lord  Gough  has  on  many  occasions  stood 
England  in  good  stead. 

^  The  alarm  of  the  English  about  the  occupation  of  Delhi 
and  the  passage  of  the  Jumna,  may  be  likened  to  the  nervous 
dread  of  Augustus,  when  he  heard  of  the  defeat  of  Varus  and 
the  destruction  of  his  legions;  and  that  one  so  astute,  and  so 
familiar  with  the  sources  of  Roman  power  and  the  causes  of 
Roman  weakness,  should  have  feared  the  consequences  of  a 
German  invasion  of  Italy,  at  once  palliates  the  apprehensions 
of  the  English  in  India  and  shows  upon  what  slight  foundations 
and  undreamt-of  chances  the  mightiest  fabrics  of  dominion 
sometimes  rest.  Yet  it  is  not  clear  that  Augustus  was  not 
alarmed  rather  for  himself  than  for  Rome.  He  may  have 
thought  that  a  successful  inroad  of  barbarians  would  encourage 
domestic  enemies,  and  so  lead  to  his  own  downfall,  without 
sensibly  affecting  the  real  power  of  his  country.  Similarly,  the 
apprehensions  of  the  English  after  P'heerooshuhur  may  be 
said  to  have  had  a  personal  as  much  as  a  national  reference, 
and  there  is  no  good  reason  for  believing  that  one  or  two  or 
even  three  defeats  on  the  Sutlej  would  have  shaken  the 
stability  of  the  British  rule  to  the  east  and  south  of  Delhi.  All 
the  chiefs  of  India,  indeed,  are  willing  enough  to  be  independ- 
ent but  no  union  for  any  such  purpose  yet  exists  among  them, 
and  only  one  or  two  are  at  any  mioment  ready  to  take  up  arms; 
whereas  the  resources  of  the  English  are  vast,  obedience  among 
them  is  perfect,  and  victory  would  soon  return  to  valour  and 
unanimity.  Still,  an  unsuccessful  warfare  on  the  part  of  the 
English  of  three  or  four  consecutive  years,  might  justly  be 
regarded  as  the  commencement  of  their  decline;  although  it  is 
very  doubtful  whether  any  combination  of  the  present  powers 
of  India  could  drive  them  froi*'  Bengal,  or  from  the  coasts  of 
the  Deccan. 


•210 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP,  DC 


1843-6. 


The   Sikhs 
recross  the 
Sutlej,  and 
threaten 
Ludhiana, 
Jan.  1846. 


the  English  race,  and  the  political  supremacy  of  three 
generations.  All  longed  for  retribution,  and  all  were 
cheered  amid  their  difficulties  by  the  genial  temper 
and  lofty  bearing  of  one  chief;  and  by  the  systematic 
industry  and  full  knowledge  of  military  requirements 
possessed  by  the  other.  But  joy  and  gratitude  were 
yet  uppermost  for  the  moment;  the  hope  of  revenge 
was  disturbed  by  the  remembrance  of  danger;  and, 
unmindful  of  the  rebuke  of  the  wise  Ulysses,  a  partial 
Divinity  was  praised  by  proclamation,  for  the  delive- 
rance he  had  vouchsafed  to  his  votaries. 

Unholy  is  the  voice 
Of  loud  thanksgiving  over  slaughtered  men.' 

The  British  army  was  gradually  reinforced,  and  it 
took  up  a  position  stretching  from  Ferozepore  towards 
Hariki,  and  parallel  to  that  held  by  the  Sikhs  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  Sutlej.  But  the  want  of  ammunition 
and  heavy  guns  reduced  the  English  to  inactivity,  and 
delay  produced  negligence  on  their  part  and  embold- 
ened the  enemy  to  fresh  acts  of  daring.  The  Cis-Sutlej 
feudatories  kept  aloof  from  their  new  masters,  or  they 
excited  disturbances;  and  the  Raja  of  Ladwa,  a  petty 
prince  dependent  on  the  English,  but  who  had  been 
denounced  as  a  traitor  for  a  year  past,-  openly  pro- 

1  Odyssey,  xxii.  The  Governor-General's  notification  of 
the  25th  December  1845  calls  upon  the  troops  to  render 
acknowledgements  to  God,  and  the  ecclesiastical  authorities  in 
Calcutta  subsequently  circulated  a  form  of  thanksgiving.  The 
anxiety  of  the  Governor-General  may  be  further  inferred  from 
his  proclamation,  encouraging  desertion  from  the  Sikh  ranks, 
with  the  assurance  of  present  rewards  and  future  pensions,  and 
the  immediate  decision  of  any  lawsuits  in  which  the  deserters 
Tuight  be  engaged  in  the  British  provinces!  (Major  Smith, 
Reigyiing  Family  of  Lahore,  Introduction,  p.  xxvi  n.) 

The  feeling  which  prompted  the  troops  of  Cromwell  or 
Gustavus  to  kneel  and  return  thanks  to  God  on  the  field  of 
victory  must  ever  be  admired  and  honoured;  for  it  was 
genuine,  and  pervaded  all  ranks,  from  the  leader  downwards, 
and  it  would  equally  have  moved  the  soldiers  to  reproaches 
and  humiliation  had  they  been  beaten.  But  such  tokens  of 
reverence  and  abasement  come  coldly  and  without  a.  vital 
meaning  in  the  guise  of  a  'general  order'  or  'circular  memo- 
randum'; and  perhaps  a  civilized  and  intelligent  government 
might  with  advantage  refrain  from  such  tame  and  passionless 
assurances  of  devotion  and  gratitude,  while  it  gave  more 
attention  to  religious  exercises  in  its  regimental  regulations. 
God  should  rather  be  kept  ever  present  to  the  minds  of  the 
armed  servants  of  the  state  by  daily  worship  and  instruction, 
than  ostentatiously  lauded  on  the  rare  occasion  of  a  victory. 

2  Major  Broadfoot  to  Government,  13th  Dec.  1844.  This 
chief  received  the  title  of  Raja  from  Lord  Auckland,  partly  as 
a  compliment  to  Ranjit  Singh,  to  whom  he  was  related,  and 


CHAP.  IX         WAR  WITH  THE  ENGLISH  271 

ceeded  from  the  neighbourhood  of  Karnal,  and  joined  1845-6. 
the  division  of  the  Sikh  army  under  Ranjor  Singh, 
which  had  crossed  the  JuUundur  Doab,  to  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Ludhiana.  This  important  town  had  been 
denuded  of  its  troops  to  swell  the  first  army  of  defence, 
and  it  was  but  slowly  and  partially  garrisoned  by  fresh 
regiments  arriving  from  the  eastward,  although  it 
covered  the  several  lines  of  approach  from  the  Jumna 
towards  Ferozepore.^  Early  in  January  the  Raja  of 
Ladwa  returned  to  withdraw  his  family  from  his  fief 
of  Eadowal  near  Ludhiana,  and  he  took  the  opportunity 
of  burning  a  portion  of  the  cantonment  at  the  latter 
place,  which  the  paucity  of  infantry  and  the  want  of 
cavalry  on  the  spot  enabled  him  to  do  with  impunity. 
About  the  same  time,  the  main  army  of  the  Sikhs, 
observing  the  supineness  of  their  opponents,  began  to 
recross  the  Sutlej  and  to  construct  a  bridge-head  to 
secure  the  freedom  of  their  passage.  The  English  were 
unwillingly  induced  to  let  the  Sikhs  labour  at  this 
work,  for  it  was  feared  that  an  attack  would  bring 
on  a  general  engagement,  and  that  the  want  of  ammu- 
nition would  prevent  a  battle  being  won  or  a  victory 
being  completed.  The  Sikhs  naturally  exulted,  and 
they  proclaimed  that  they  would  again  fall  upon  the 
hated  foreigners.  Nor  were  their  boasts  altogether 
disbelieved;  the  disadvantages  of  Ferozepore  as  a 
frontier  post  became  more  and  more  apparent,  and 
the  English  began  to  experience  difficulty  in  obtaining 

partly  in  approbation  of  his  liberality  in  providing  the  means 
of  throwing  a  bridge  across  the  classical  Sarsuti,  at  Thanesar. 
He  was  a  reckless,  dissipated  man,  of  moderate  capacity;  but 
he  inherited  the  unsettled  disposition  of  his  father,  Gurdut 
Singh,  who  once  held  Karnal  and  some  villages  to  the  east  of 
the  Jumna,  and  who  caused  the  English  some  trouble  between 
1803  and   1809. 

'  It  is  not  clear  why  Ludhiana  was  not  adequately 
garrisoned,  or  rather  covered,  by  the  troops  which  marched 
from  Meerut  after  the  battle  of  P'heerooshuhur.  The  Governor- 
General's  attention  was,  indeed,  chiefly  given  to  strengthening 
the  main  army  in  its  unsupported  position  of  Ferozepore — the 
real  military  disadvantage  of  which  he  had  ample  reason  to 
deplore;  while  amidst  his  difficulties  it  may  possibly  have 
occurred  to  his  Lordship,  that  the  original  policy  of  1809 — of 
being  strong  on  the  Jumna  rather  than  on  the  Sutlej — was 
a  truly  wise  one  with  reference  to  the  avoidance  of  a  war  with 
the  Sikhs. 

The  desire  of  being  in  force  near  the  capitals  of  the  Punjab 
and  the  main  army  of  the  Sikhs  likewise  induced  Lord  Hardinge 
to  direct  Sir  Charles  Napier  to  march  from  Sind,  without  heed- 
ing Multan,  although,  as  his  Lordship  publicly  acknowledged, 
that  victorious  commander  had  been  sent  for  when  it  was 
thought  the  campaign  might  become  a  series  of  sieges. 


272  HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS  chap,  ix 

1845-6.  supplies  from  the  country  they  had  annexed  by  the 

pen  without  having  secured  by  the  sword.  The  petty 
fort  of  Muktsar,  where  Gobind  repulsed  his  Mughal 
pursuers  after  his  flight  from  Chamkaur,  was  success- 
fully defended  for  a  time  against  some  provincial  com- 
panies and  the  auxiliaries  of  Bikanir,  which,  like  the 
legionaries  themselves,  were  deficient  in  artillery  am- 
munition. The  equally  petty  fort  of  Dharmkot  was 
held,  in  defiance  of  the  near  presence  of  the  right  wing 
of  the  English  army;  and  other  defensible  places  to- 
wards Sirhind  overawed  the  population,  and  interfered 
with  the  peaceful  march  of  convoys  and  detachments.^ 
The  skir-  On  the  17th  January  1846,  Major-General  Sir  Harry 

Badowii  Smith  -  was  sent  with  a  brigade  to  capture  Dharmkot, 
Jan.  21, '  which  was  surrendered  without  bloodshed,  and  the 
1846.  transit  of  grain  to  the  army  was  thus  rendered  more 

secure.  The  original  object  of  Sir  Harry  Smith's  diver- 
sion was  to  cover  the  march  of  the  large  convoy  of 
guns,  ammunition,  and  treasure  in  progress  to  Feroze- 
pore,  as  well  as  to  clear  the  country  of  partisan  troops 
which  restricted  the  freedom  of  traffic;  but  when  it 
became  known  that  Ranjor  Singh  had  crossed  the  Sut- 
lej  in  force  and  threatened  Ludhiana,  the  General  was 
ordered  to  proceed  to  the  relief  of  that  place.  On  the 
20th  of  January  he  encamped  at  the  trading  town  of 
Jugraon,  within  twenty-five  miles  of  his  destination, 
and  the  authorities  of  the  son  of  Fateh  Singh  Ahlu- 
walia,  of  the  treaty  of  1805,  to  whom  the  place  belong- 
ed, readily  allowed  him  to  occupy  its  well-built  fort. 
It  was  known  on  that  day  that  Ranjor  Singh  was  in 
position  immediately  to  the  westward  of  Ludhiana, 
and  that  he  had  thrown  a  small  garrison  into  Badowal, 
which  lay  about  eighteen  miles  distant  on  the  direct 
road  from  Jugraon.     The  British  detachment,  which 

1  The  hill  station  of  Simla,  where  many  English  families 
reside,  and  which  is  near  the  Sutlej,  and  the  equally  accessible 
posts  of  Kasauli  and  Sabathu,.  were  at  this  time  likewise 
threatened  by  the  Lahore  feudatory  of  Mandi,  and  some  Sikh 
partisans;  and  as  the  regiments  usually  stationed  at  these  places 
had  been  wholly  withdrawn,  it  would  not  have  been  difficult 
to  have  destroyed  them.  But  the  local  British  authorities  were 
active  in  collecting  the  quotas  of  the  hill  Rajputs,  and  judicious 
in  making  use  of  their  means;  and  no  actual  incursion  took 
place,  although  a  turbulent  sharer  in  the  sequestered  Anand- 
pur-Makhowal  had  to  be  called  to  account. 

[-  This  distinguished  officer,  who  fought  through  the 
Peninsular  War,  afterwards  served  in  South  Africa,  where  his 
memory  is  commemorated  by  the  towns  of  Aliway  and  Harri- 
smith.  His  wife,  a  Spanish  lady,  who  accompanied  him  through 
the  Peninsular  campaigns,  also  gave  her  name  to  a  South 
African  town,   'Ladysmith', — a  place  not  without   fame. — Ed.] 


CHAP.  IX         WAR  WITH  THE  ENGLISH  273 

had  been  swelled  by  reinforcements  to  four  regiments  i845-6. 
of  infantry,  three  regiments  of  cavalry,  and  eighteen 
guns,  marched  soon  after  midnight;  and  early  on  the 
morning  of  the  21st  January  it  was  learnt  that  the 
whole  Sikh  army,  estimated  at  ten  thousand  men,  had 
moved  to  Badowal  during  the  preceding  day.     That 
place  was  then  distant  eight  miles  from  the  head  of 
the  column,  and  Sir  Harry  Smith  considered  that  if  he 
had  made  a  detour  to  the  right,  so  as  to  leave  the 
Sikhs  about  three  miles  on  his  other  flank,  he  would 
be  able    to    effect    his   junction   with    the    Ludhiana 
brigade  without  molestation.  A  short  halt  took  place  to 
enable  the  baggage  to  get  somewhat  afiead,  and  it  was 
arranged  that  the  long  strings  of  animals  should  move 
parallel  to  the  troops  and  on  the  right  flank,  so  as  to 
be  covered  by  the  column.    As  Badowal  was  approach- 
ed, the  Sikhs  were  seen  to  be  in  motion  likewise,  and 
apparently  to  be  bent  on  intercepting  the  English;  but 
as  it  was  not  wished  to  give  them  battle,  Sir  Harry 
Smith  continued    his    march,    inclining   however    still 
more  to  his  right,  and  making  occasional  halts  with  the 
cavalry  to  enable  the  infantry  to  close  up,  it  having 
fallen  behind  owing  to  the  heavy  nature  of  the  ground. 
But  the  Sikhs  were  resolved  on  fighting,  and  they  com- 
menced a  fire  of  artillery  on  the  British  horse,  which 
obtained  a  partial  cover  under  sand-banks,  while  the 
guns  of  the  detachment  opened  upon  the  Sikhs  and 
served  to  keep  their  line  in  check.    By  the  time  that 
the  British  infantry  and  small  rear-guard  of  cavalry 
had  closed  up,  the  fire  of  the  Sikhs  had  begun  to  tell, 
and  it  was  thought  that  a  steady  charge  by  the  infan- 
try would  throw  them  into  disorder,  and  would  allow 
the  baggage  to  pass  on,  and  give  time  to  the  Ludhiana 
troops  to  come  to  the  aid  of  their  comrades.    A  close 
contest  was  indeed  the  prompting  of  every  one's  heart 
at  the  moment;  but  as  the  regiments  of  foot  were  being 
formed  into  line,  it  was  found  that  the  active  Siklis 
had  dragged  guns,  ijnperceived,  behind  sand  hillocks  to 
the  rear  of  the  column — or,  as  matters  then  stood,  that 
they  had  turned  their  enemy's. left  flank.     These  guns 
threw  their  enfilading  shot    with   great   rapidity   and 
precision,  and  whole  sections  of  men  were  seen  to  fall 
at  a  time  without  an  audible  groan   amid  the  hiss- 
ing of  the  iron  storm.    The  ground  was  heavy,  the  men 
were  wearied  with  a  march  of  nine  hours  and  eighteen 
miles,  and  it  became  evident  that  a  charge  might  prove 
fatal  to  the  exhausted  victors.    The  infantry  once  more 
resumed  its  march,  and  its  retirement  or  retreat  upon 

13 


274 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS  chap,  ix 


1S4S-6. 


The  Sikhs 
encour- 
aged, 

and  Gulab 
Singh  in- 
duced to 
repair  to 
Lahore. 


Ludhiana  was  covered  with  skill  and  steadiness  by  the 
•cavalry.!  The  Sikhs  did  not  pursue,  for  they  were 
without  a  leader,  or  without  one  who  wished  to  see  the 
English  beaten.  Ranjor  Singh  let  his  soldiers  engage 
in  battle,  but  that  he  accompanied  them  into  the  fight 
is  more  than  doubtful,  and  it  is  certain  that  he  did  not 
essay  the  easy  task  of  improving  the  success  of  his  own 
men  into  the  complete  reverse  of  his  enemy.  The  mass 
of  the  British  baggage  was  at  hand,  and  the  tempta- 
tion to  plunder  could  not  be  resisted  by  men  who  were 
without  orders  to  conquer.  Every  beast  of  burden 
which  had  not  got  within  sight  of  Ludhiana,  or  which 
had  not,  timorously  but  prudently,  been  taken  back 
to  Jugraon,  when  the  firing  was  heard,  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  Sikhs,  and  they  were  enabled  boastfully 
to  exhibit  artillery  store  carts  as  if  they  had  captured 
British  cannon.^ 

Ludhiana  was  relieved,  but  an  unsuccessful  skir- 
mish added  to  the  belief  so  pleasing  to  the  prostrate 
princes  of  India,  that  the  dreaded  army  of  their  foreign 
masters  had  at  last  been  foiled  by  the  skill  and  valour 
of  the  disciples  of  Gobind,  the  kindred  children  of  their 
own  soil.  The  British  sepoys  glanced  furtively  at  one 
another,  or  looked  towards  the  east,  their  home;  and 
the  brows  of  Engiishm.en  themselves  grew  darker  as 
they  thought  of  struggles  rather  than  triumphs.  The 
Governor-General  and  Commander-in-Chief  trembled 
for  the  safety  of  that  siege  train  and  convoy  of  ammu- 
nition, so  necessary  to  the  efficiency  of  an  army  which 
they  had  launched  in  haste  against  aggressors  and  re- 
ceived back  shattered  by  the  shock  of  opposing  arms. 
The  leader  of  the  beaten  brigades  saw  before  him  a 
tarnished  name  after  the  labours  of  a  life,  nor  was  he 
met  by  many  encouraging  hopes  of  rapid  retribution. 
The  Sikhs  on  their  side  were  correspondingly  elated; 
the  presence  of  European  prisoners  added  to  their 
triumph;  Lai  Singh  and  Tej  Singh  shrank  within  them- 
selves with  fear,  an,d  Gulab  Singh,  who  had  been 
spontaneously  hailed  as  minister  and  leader,  began  to 
think  that  the  Khalsa  was  really  formidable  to  one 

[1  Under  Col.  Cureton.— Ed.] 

2  Cf.  the  Governor-General  to  the  Secret  Committee,  19th 
Jan.  and  3rd  Feb.,  and  L-)rd  Gough's  dispatch  of  the  1st  Feb. 
1845.  After  the  skirmish  of  the  21st  January  there  were  found 
to  be  sixty-nine  killed,  sixty-eight  wounded,  and  seventy-seven 
missing;  o-f  which  last,,  several  were  taken  iorisoners,  while 
others  rejoined  their  corps  in  a  day  or  two.  Of  the  prisoners, 
Mr.  Barron,  an  assistant-surgeon,  and  some  European  soldiers 
were  taken  to  Lahore. 


CHAP.  DC         WAK  WITH  THE  ENGLISH  275 

greater  far  than  himself,  and  he  arrived  at  liahore  on  1845-6. 
the  •27th  of  January,  to  give  unity  and  vigour  to  the 
counsels  of  the  Sikhs.  ^  The  army  under  Tej  Singh  had 
recrossed  the  Sutlej  in  force;  it  had  enlarged  the 
bridge-head  before  alluded  to,  and  so  entrenched  a 
strong  position  in  the  face  of  the  British  divisions.  The 
Sikhs  seemed  again  to  be  about  to  carry  the  war  into 
the  country  of  their  enemy;  but  Gulab  Singh  came  too 
late — their  fame  had  reached  its  height,  and  defeat  and 
subjection  speedily  overtook  them. 

During  the  night  of  the  22nd  January,  Ranjor  The  battle 
Singh  marched  from  Badowal  to  a  place  on  the  Sutlej  °^  Aiiwai, 
about  fifteen  miles  below  Ludhiana,  where  he  imme-  jj^g  ^^"" 
diately  collected  a  number  of  boats  as  if  to  secure  the 
passage  of  the  river.  The  object  of  this  movement  is 
not  known;  but  it  may  have  been  caused  by  a  want  of 
confidence  on  the  part  of  the  Sikhs  themselves,  as  there 
were  few  regular  regiments  among  them,  until  joined 
by  a  brigade  of  four  battaUons  and  some  guns  from 
the  main  army,  which  gave  them  a  force  of  not  less 
than  fifteen  thousand  combatants.  Sir  Harry  Smith 
immediately  occupied  the  deserted  position  of  the 
enemy,  and  he  was  himself  reinforced  simultaneously 
with  the  Sikhs  by  a  brigade  from  the  main  army  of 
the  English.  On  the  28th  January  the  General  marched 
with  his  eleven  thousand  men,  to  give  the  enemy  bat- 
tle, or  to  reconnoitre  his  position  and  assail  it  in  some 
degree  of  form,  should  circumstances  render  such  a 
course  the  most  prudent.  The  Sikhs  were  nearly  ten 
miles  distant,  and  midway  it  was  learnt  that  they  were 
about  to  move  with  the  avowed  object  of  proceeding 
with  a  part  or  the  whole  of  their  force  to  relieve  the 
fort  of  Gungrana  or  to  occupy  the  neighbouring  town 
of  Jugraon,  both  of  which  posts  were  close  to  the  line 
of  the  British  communications  with  the  Jumna.  On 
reaching  the  edge  of  the  table-land,  bounding  the  sun- 
ken belt  of  many  miles  in  breadth  within  which  the 
narrower  channel  of  the  Sutlej  proper  winds  irregu- 
larly, a  portion  of  the  Sikhs  were  observed  to  be  in 
motion  in  a  direction  whirh  would  take  them  clear  of 
the  left  of  the  British  api^roach;  but  as  soon  as  they  saw 
that  they  were  liable  to  t>e  attacked  in  flank,  they  faced 
towards  their  enemy-  and  occupied  with  their  right  the 
village  of  Bundri,  and  with  their  left  the  little  'lamlet 
of  Aliwal,  while  with  that  activity  necessary  to  their 
system,  and  characteristic  of  the  spirit  of  the  common 

1  Cf.  the  Governor-General  to  the  Secret  Gonunittee,  3rd 
Feb.  1846. 


276  HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS  chap,  ix 

1846-6.  soldiers,  they  immediately  began  to  throw  up  banks  of 

earth  before  their  guns,  where  not  otherwise  protected, 
such  as  would  afford  some  cover  to  themselves  and 
offer  some  impediment  to  their  assailants.    An  imme- 
diate collision   was   inevitable,   and   the  British  com- 
mander promptly  gave  the  order  for  battle.    The  regi-  . 
ments  of  cavalry  which  headed  the  advance  opened 
their  glittering  ranks  to  the  right  and  left,  and  made 
apparent   the  serried  battalions  of  infantry   and  the 
frowning  batteries  of  cannon.    The  scene  was  magni- 
ficent and  yet  overawing  :  the  eye  included  the  whole 
field,  and  glanced  approvingly  from  the  steady  order 
of  one  foe  to  the  even  array  of  the  other;  all  bespoke 
gladness  of  mind  and  strength  of  heart;  but  beneath 
the  elate  looks  of  the  advancing  warriors  there  lurked 
that  fierce  desire  for  the  death  of  his  fellows  which 
must  ever  impel  the  valiant  soldier.     When  thus  de- 
ployed, the  lines  of  battle  were  not  truly  parallel.  The 
Sikh  line  inclined  towards  and  extended  beyond  the 
British  right,  while  the  other  flanks  were,  for  a  time, 
comparatively  distant.  The  English  had  scarcely  halted 
during  their  march  of  eight  miles,  even  to  form  their 
line;  but  the  Sikhs  nevertheless  commenced  the  action. 
It  was  perceived  by  Sir  Harry  Smith  that  the  capture 
of  the  village  of  Aliwal  was  of  the  first  importance, 
and  the  right  of  the  infantry  was  led  against  it.     A 
deadly  struggle  seemed  impending;  for  the  Sikh  ranks 
wete  steady  and  the  play  of  their  guns  incessant;  but 
the  holders  of  the  post  were  battalions  of  hill-men, 
raised  because  their  demeanour  was  sober,  and  their 
hearts  indifferent    to  the    Khalsa,    and    after    firing  a 
straggling  volley,  they  fled  in  confusion,   headed  by 
Ranjor  Singh,  their  immediate  leader,  and  leaving  the 
brave  Sikh  artillerymen  to  be  slaughtered  by  the  con- 
querors.   The  British  cavalry  of  the  right  made  at  the 
same  time  a  sweeping  and  successful  charge,  and  one- 
half  of  the  opposing  army  was  fairly  broken  and  dis- 
persed; but  the  "Sikhs  on  their  own  right  seemed  to 
be  outflanking  their  opponents  in  spite  of  the  exertions 
of  the  English  infantry  and   artillery;   for  there  the 
more  regular  battalions  were  in  line,  and  the  true  Sikh 
was  not  easily  cowed.    A  prompt  and  powerful  effort 
was  necessary,  and  a  regiment  of  European  lancers,^ 
supported  by    one    of  Indian   cavalry,    was    launched 
against  the  even  ranks  of  the  Lahore  infantry.     The 
Sikhs   knelt    to    receive    the    orderly   but    impetuous 
charge  of  the  English  warriors,  moved  alike  by  noble 

[1  H.M.'s  16th  Lancers,  under  Col.  Cureton. — Ed.] 


CHAP.  IX         WAR  WITH  THE  ENGLISH  277 

recollections  of  their  country,  by  military  emulation,  i845-e. 
and  by  personal  feelings  of  revenge;  but  at  the  critical 
moment,  the  unaccustomed  discipline  of  many  of 
Gobind's  champions  failed  them.  They  rose,  yet  they 
reserved  their  fire,  and  delivered  it  together  at  the 
distance  of  a  spear's  throw;  nor  was  it  until  the  mass 
had  been  three  times  ridden  •  through  that  the  Sikhs 
dispersed.  The  charge  was  timely  and  bold;  but  the 
ground  was  more  thickly  strewn  with  the  bodies  of 
victorious  horsemen  than  of  beaten  infantry.  An  at- 
tempt was  made  to  rally  behind  Bundri;  but  all  resist- 
ance was  unavailing,  the  Sikhs  were  driven  across  the 
Sutlej,  more  than  fifty  pieces^  of  cannon  were  taken, 
and  the  General  forgot  his  sorrows,  and  the  soldiers 
their  sufferings  and  indignities,  in  the  fullness  of  their 
common  triumph  over  a  worthy  enemy,  in  a  well- 
planned  and  bravely  fought  battle.^ 

[1  Sixty-seven  is  the  official  number  given. — Ed.] 
-  Cf.  Sir  Harry  Smith's  dispatch  of  the  30th  January,  and 
Lord  Gough's  dispatch  of  the  1st  February  1846.   (Parliamen- 
tary Papers,   1846.)    The  loss  sustained  was     151    killed,    413 
wounded,  and  25  missing. 

The  Calcutta  Review,  No.  XVI,  p.  499,  states  that  Sir  Harry 
Smith  required  some  pressing  before  he  would  engage  the 
Sikhs,  after  his  reverse  at  Badowal.  That  active  leader,  how- 
ever, was  in  no  need  of  such  promptings,  and  had  adequate 
reinforcements  reached  him  sooner  than  they  did,  the  battle  of 
Aliwal  would  have  been  sooner  fought.  It  may  likewise  be 
here  mentioned,  that  neither  does  the  reviewer  throughout 
his  article  do  fair  justice  to  Lord  Gough,  nor,  in  a  particulai- 
instance,  to  the  commissariat  department  of  the  army.  Thus, 
with  regard  to  the  Commander-in-Chief,  it  is  more  than  hinted 
(see  p.  497),  that  Lord  Hardinge  was  in  no  way  to  blame — that 
is,  that  Lord  Gough  was  to  blame — for  the  delay  which 
occurred  in  attacking  the  Sikhs  at  P'heerooshuhur.  It  may  be 
difficult  to  ascertain  the  causes,  or  to  apportion  the  blame,  but 
the  Governor- General  can  proudly  stand  on  his  acknowledged 
merits  and  services,  and  wants  no  support  at  the  expense  of 
an  ancient  comrade-in-arms.  Again,  with  regard  to  the  com- 
missariat, it  is  stated,  at  p.  488,  that  supplies,  which  the  head 
of  the  department  in  the  field  asked  six  weeks  to  furnish,  were 
procured  by  Major  Broadfoot  in  six  days.  'The  commissariat 
department  could  only  use  money  and  effect  purchases  by 
contract,  or  in  the  open  market;  but  Major  Broadfoot  could 
summarily  require  'protected  chiefs',  on  pain  of  confiscation, 
to  meet  all  his  demands;  and  th4  writer  of  the  article  might 
have  learnt,  or  must  have  been  aware,  that  the  requisitions  in 
question  led  to  one  chief  being  disgraced  by  the  imposition  of 
a  fine,  and  had  some  share  in  the  subsequent  deposal  of 
another.  Had  the  British  magistrates  of  Delhi,  Saharanpur, 
Bareilly,  and  other  places,  been  similarly  empowered  to  seize 
by  force  the  grain  and  carriage  within  their  limits,  there  would 
have  been  no  occasion  to  disparage  the  commissariat  depart- 
ment. Further,  it  is  known  to  many,  and  it  is  in  itself  plain, 
that  had  tlie  miUtary  authorities  been  Required,  or  allowed,  to 


278 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.   IX 


1845-6. 

The  Sikh 
chiefs 
anxious  to 
treat,    and 
the  English 
desirous   bi 
ending  the 
war. 


The  victory  was  equally  important  and  opportune, 
and  the  time-serving  Gulab  Singh,  whose  skill  and 
capacity  might  have  protracted  the  war,  first  reproa- 
ched the  vanquished  Sikhs  for  rashly  engaging  in 
hostilities  with  their  colossal  neighbour,  and  then 
entered  into  negotiations  with  the  English  leaders.^ 
The  Governor-General  was  not  displeased  that  the 
Lahore  authorities  should  be  ready  to  yield;  for  he 
truly  felt  that  to  subjugate  the  Punjab  in  one  season, 
to  defeat  an  army  as  numerous  as  his  own,  to  take  two 
capitals,  and  to  lay  siege  to  Multan,  arid  Jammu,  and 
Peshawar — all  within  a  few  months — was  a  task  of 
difficult  achievement  and  full  of  imminent  risks.  The 
dominion  of  the  English  in  India  hinges  mainly  upon 
the  number  and  efficiency  of  the  troops  of  their  own 
race  which  they  can  bring  into  the  field;  and  a  cam- 
paign in  the  hot  weather  would  have  thinned  the 
ranks  of  the  European  regiments  under  the  most 
favourable  circumstances,  and  the  ordinary  recurrence 
of  an  epidemic  disease  would  have  proved  as  fatal  to 
the  officers  of  every  corps  present  as  to  the  common 
soldiers.  But  besides  this  important  consideration,  it 
was  felt  that  the  minds  of  men  throughout  India  were 
agitated,  and  that  protracted  hostilities  would  not  only 
jeopardize  the  communications  with  the  Jumna,  but 
might  disturb  the  whole  of  the  north-western  pro- 
vinces, swarming  with  a  military  population  which 
is  ready  to  follow  any  standard  affording  pay  or 
allowing  plunder,  and  which  already  sighs  for  the 
end  of  a  dull  reign  of  peace.  Bright  visions  of 
standing  triumphant  on  the  Indus  and  of  numbering 
the  remotest  conquests  of  Alexander  among  the  pro- 
vinces of  Britain,  doubtless  warmed  the  imagination 
of  the  Governor-General;  but  the  first  object  was  to 
drive  the  Sikhs  across  the  Sutlej  by  force  of  arms,  or 
to  have  them  withdrawn  to  their  own  side  of  the  river 
by  the  unconditional  submission  of  the  chiefs-  and  the 

prepare  themselves  as  they  wished,  they  as  simple  soldiers, 
who  had  no  financial  difficulties  to  consider,  would  have  been 
amply  prepared  with  all  that  an  army  of  invasion  or  defence 
could  have  required,  long  before  the  Sikhs  crossed  the  Sutlej. 
Lord  Hardinge  was  chiefly  responsible  for  the  timely  and 
adequate  equipment  of  the  army,  in  anticipation  of  a  probable 
war;  and  with  the  Governor-General  in  the  field,  p>ossessed  of 
superior  and  anomalous  powers,  the  Commander-in-Chief 
could  only  be  held  responsible — and  that  but  to  a  limited 
extent — for  the  strategy  of  a  campaign  or  the  conduct  of  a 
battle. 

1  Cf.  the  Governor-General  to  the  Secret  Committee,  of 
the  19th  Feb.  1846. 


CHAP.  IX         WAR  WITH  THE  ENGLISH  279 

delegates  of  the  army;  for,  until  that  were  done,  no  1845-6. 
progress  could  be  said  to  have  been  made  in  the  war, 
and  every  petty  chief  in  Hindustan  would  have  silently 
prepared  for  asserting  his  independence,  or  for  enlarg- 
ing his  territory  on  the  first  opportunity.    But  the  total 
dispersion  of  so  large  and  So  well  equipped  a  body  of 
brave  men,  as  that  which  lay  within  sight  of  the  avail- 
able force  of  the  British  Government,   could  not  be 
accomplished  by  one  defeat,  if  the  chiefs  of  the  country 
were  to  be  rendered  desperate,  and  if  all  were  to  place 
their  valour  and  unanimity  under  the  direction  of  one 
able  man.     The  English,  therefore,  intimated  to  Gulab 
Singh   their   readiness   to    acknowledge   a   Sikh   sove- 
reignty in   Lahore  after  the  army  should  have  been 
disbanded;  but  the  Raja  declared  his  inability  to  deal 
with  the  troops,  which  still  overawed  him  and  other 
well-wishers  to  the  family  of  Ran  jit  Singh.    This  help- 
lessness was  partly  exaggerated  for  selfish  objects;  but 
time  pressed;  the  speedy  dictation  of  a  treaty  under 
the  walls  of  Lahore  was  essential  to  the  British  repu- 
tation;  and  the  views  of  either  party  were  in  some  An  under- 
sort  met    by  an    understanding    that  the    Sikh    army  standing 
should  be  attacked    by  the    English,    and    that    when  «=°™^  *°' 
beaten  it  should  be  openly  abandoned  by  its  own  gov-  g^^^^ 
ernment;  and  further,  that  the  passage  of  the  Sutlej  ghau  t>e 
should  be  unopposed  and  the  road  to  the  capital  laid  attacked  by 
open  to  the  victors.    Under  such  circumstances  of  dis-  the  one  and 
creet  policy  and  shameless  treason  was  the  battle  of  deserted  by 
Sobraon  fought.^  ^^  °*^^^- 

The  Sikhs  had  gradually  brought  the  greater  part  The 
j)f  their  force  into  the  entrenchment  on  the  left  bank  defensive 
of  the  Sutlej,  which    had    been    enlarged    as  impulse  ^*su*s* 
prompted    or   as   opportunity  seemed  to   offer.     They 
placed  sixty-seven  pieces  of  artillerj^  in  battery,  and 
their   strength   was  estimated  at  thirty-five  thousand 
fighting  men;  but  it  is  probable  that  twenty  thousand 
would  exceed  the  truth;  and  of  that  reduced  number, 
it  is  certain  that  all  were  not  regular  troops.    The  en- 
trenchment likewise  showed  a  fatal  want  of  unity  of 
command   and   of  design;  ^and   at   Sobraon,  as  in  the 
other  battles  of  the  campaign,  the  soldiers  did  every- 

1  Cf.  the  Governor-General's  letter  to  the  Secret  Com- 
mittee, of  the  19th  Feb.  1846;  from  which,  however,  those  only 
who  were  mixed  up  with  the  negotiations  can  extract  aught 
indicative  of  the  understandng  with  Gulab  Singh  which  is 
alluded  to  in  the  text.  It  was  for  this  note  chiefly,  if  not 
entirely,  that  the  author  was  removed  from  political  employ- 
ment by  the  East  India  Company.  This  was  the  author's  own 
conviction,  from  careful  inquiries  made  in  India;  and  has  been 
the  result  of  equally  careful  inquiries  made  by  men  in  England. 


280  HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS  chap,  ix 

1845-6.  thing  and   the  leaders  nothing.     Hearts  to   dare  and 

hands  to  execute  were  numerous;  but  there  was  no 
mind  to  guide  and  animate  the  whole  :  each  inferior 
commander  defended  his  front  according  to  his  skill 
and  his  means,  and  the  centre  and  left,  where  the  dis- 
ciplined battalions  were  mainly  stationed,  had  batteries 
and  salient  points  as  high  as  the  stature  of  a  man,  and 
ditches  which  an  armed  soldier  could  not  leap  without 
exertion;  but  a  considerable  part  of  the  line  exhibited 
at  intervals  the  petty  obstacles  of  a  succession  of  such 
banks  and  trenches  as  would  shelter  a  crouching 
marksman  or  help  him  to  sleep  in  security  when  no 
longer  a  watcher.  This  was  especially  the  case  on  the 
right  fiank,  where  the  looseness  of  the  river  sand 
rendered  it  impossible  to  throw  up  parapets  without 
art  and  labour,  and  where  irregular  troops,  the  least 
able  to  remedy  such  disadvantages,  had  been  allowed 
or  compelled  to  take  up  their  position.  The  flank  in 
question  was  mainly  guarded  by  a  line  of  two  hundred 
'zamburuks'  or  falconets;  ^  but  it  derived  some  support 
from  a  salient  battery,  and  from  the  heavy  guns  re- 
tained on  the  opposite  bank  of  the  river.-  Tej  Singh 
commanded  in  this  entrenchment,  and  Lai  Singh  lay 
with  his  horse  in  loose  order  higher  up  the  stream, 
watched  by  a  body  of  British  cavalry.  The  Sikhs, 
generally,  were  somewhat  cast  down  by  the  defeat  at 

[1  These  were  light  swivel  guns — usually  mounted  on 
camels.  In  the  muster-rolls  of  the  Sikh  army  they  are  shown  as 
organized  into  regular  batteries  like  field  artillery.  Specimens 
of  these  guns  may  be  seen  in  the  Armourj'^  in  the  Fort  at 
Lahore. — Ed.] 

-  The  ordinary  belief  that  the  entrenchments  of  Sobraon 
were  jointly  plarmed  and  executed  by  a  French  and  a  Spanish 
colonel,  is  as  devoid  of  foundation  as  that  the  Sikh  army  was 
rendered  effective  solely  by  the  labours  and  skill  of  French  and 
Italian  generals.  Hurbon  the  brave  Spaniard,  and  Mouton  the 
Frenchman,  who  were  at  Sobraon,  doubtless  exerted  them- 
selves where  they  could,  but  their  authority  or  their  inJ^uence 
did  not  extend  beyond  a  regiment  or  a  brigade,  and  the  lines 
showed  no  trace  whatever  of  scientific  skill  or  of  unity  of 
design.  [This  note  is  typical  of  the  author's  belittling  style.  The 
works  were  really  of  an  extremely  strong  nature.  'For  some 
weeks  the  Sikhs  under  the  direction  of  a  Spanish  officer  named 
Huerha  had  been  employed  in  constructing  a  remarkably 
powerful  tete  de  pent  at  the  village  of  Sobraon  to  cover  a 
bridge  of  boats  which  they  had  thrown  across  the  river  Sutlej 
....  and  it  was  now  completed  in  a  series  of  half-moon 
bastions,  connected  by  curtains,  and  covered  by  a  ditch  in 
front,  both  flanks  resting  on  the  river.  This  great  work,  two  and 
a  half  miles  in  length,  was  protected  by  batteries  on  the  right 
bank  of  the  river,  so  as  to  command  the  passage,  and  manned 
by  35,000  of  the  best  of  the  Sikh  troops  with  67  guns.' 
(Meadows  Taylor.) — Ed.] 


CHAP.  IX         WAR  WITH  THE  ENGLISH  281 

Aliwal,  and  by  the  sight  of  the  unhonoured  remains  of  1845-6. 
their  comrades  floating  down  the  Sutlej;  but  the  self- 
eonfidence  of  a  multitude  soon  returns  :  they  had  been 
cheered  by  the  capture  of  a  post  of  observation  esta- 
blished by  the  English  and  left  unoccupied  at  night, 
and  they  resumed  their  vaunting  practice  of  perform- 
ing their  military  exercises  almost  within  hail  of  the 
British  pickets.  Yet  the  judgement  of  the  old  and 
experienced  could  not  be  deceived;  the  dangers  which 
threatened  the  Sikh  people  pressed  upon  their  minds; 
they  saw  no  escape  from  domestic  anarchy  or  froni 
foreign  subjection,  and  the  grey-headed  chief  Sham 
Singh  of  Atari  made^known  his  resolution  to  die  in  the 
first  conflict  with  the  enemies  of  his  race,  and  so  to 
offer  himself  up  as  a  sacrifice  of  propitiation  to  the 
spirit  of  Gobind  and  to  the  genius  of  his  mystic  com- 
monwealth. 

In  the  British  camp  the  confidence  of  the  soldiery  The 
was  likewise  great,  and -'none  there  despaired  of  the  ^"S^^ 
fortune  of  England.  The  spirits  of  the  men  had  been  attack, 
raised  by  the  victory  of  Aliwal,  and  early  in  February 
a  formidable  siege  train  and  ample  stores  of  ammuni- 
tion arrived  from  Delhi.  The  sepoys  looked  with 
delight  upon  the  long  array  of  stately  elephants  drag- 
ging the  huge  and  heavy  ordnance  of  their  predilec- 
tions, and  the  heart  of  the  Englishman  himself  swelled 
with  pride  as  he  beheld  these  dread  symbols  of  the 
wide  dominion  of  his  race.  It  was  determined  that 
the  Sikh  position  should  be  attacked  on  the  10th  Feb- 
ruary, and  various  plans  were  laid  down  for  making 
victory  sure,  and  for  the  speedy  gratification  of  a  burn- 
ing resentment.  The  officers  of  artillery  naturallj' 
desired  that  their  guns,  the  representatives  of  a  high 
art,  should  be  used  agreeably  to  the  established  rules 
of  the  engineer,  or  that  ramparts  should  be  breached 
in  front  and  swept  in  flank  before  they  were  stormed 
by  defenceless  battalions;  but  such  deliberate  tedious- 
ness  of  process  did  not  satisfy  the  judgement  or  the 
impatience  of  the  commanders,  and  it  was  arranged 
that  the  wholo  of  the  heavy  ordnance  should  be  planted 
in  masses  opposite  particular  points  of  the  enemy's 
entrenchment,  and  that  w^en  the  Sikhs  had  been 
shaken  by  a  continuous  storm  of  shot  and  shell,  the 
right  or  weakest  part  of  the  position  should  be  assaul- 
ted in  line  by  the  strongest  of  the  three  investing 
envisions,  which  together  mustered  nearly  fifteen 
thousand  men.  A  large  body  of  British  cavalry  was 
likewise  placed  to  watch  the  movements  of  Lai  Sinf?' 


282  HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS  chap,  ix 

1845-6.  and  the  two  divisions  which  lay  near  Ferozepore  were 

held  ready  to  push  across  the  Sutlej  as  soon  as  victory 
should  declare  itself.  The  precise  mode  of  attack  was 
not  divulged,  or  indeed  finally  settled,  until  noon  of  the 
preceding  day,  for  it  was  desired  to  surprise  the  com- 
manding post  of  observation,  which  indifference  or 
negligence  had  allowed  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the 
Sikhs  a  short  time  before.  The  evening  and  the  early 
hours  of  darkness  of  the  9th  February  were  thus  occu- 
pied with  busy  preparations;  the  hitherto  silent  camp 
poured  all  its  numbers  abroad;  soldiers  stood  in  groups, 
talking  of  the  task  to  be  achieved  by  their  valour; 
officers  rode  hastily  along  to  receive  or  deliver  orders; 
and  on  that  night  what  Englishman  passed  battalion 
after  battalion  to  seek  a  short  repose,  or  a  momerrt's 
solitary  communion,  and  listened  as  he  went  to  the 
hammering  of  shells  and  the  piling  of  iron  shot,  or 
beheld  the  sentinel  pacing  silently  along  by  the  gleam 
of  renewed  fires,  without  recalling  to  mind  his  heroic 
king  and  the  eve  of  Agincourt,  rendered  doubly  im- 
mortal by  the  genius  of  Shakespeare? 

The  battle  The  British  divisions  advanced  in  silence,  amid  the 

of  sobraon,  darkness  of  night  and  the  additional  gloom  of  a  thick 
!r1r  ^^^  haze.  The  coveted  post  was  found  unoccupied;  the 
Sikhs  seemed  everywhere  taken  by  surprise,  and  they 
beat  clamorously  to  arms  when  they  saw  themselves 
about  to  be  assailed.  The  English  batteries  opened  at 
sunrise,  and  for  upwards  of  three  hours  an  incessant 
olay  of  artillery  was  kept  up  upon  the  general  mass  of 
the  enem.y.  The  round  shot  exploded  tumbrils,  or 
dashed  heaps  of  sand  into  the  air;  the  hollow  shells 
cast  their  fatal  contents  fully  before  them,  and  the 
devious  rockets  sprang  aloft  with  fury  to  fall  hissing 
amid  a  flood  of  men;  but  all  was  in  vain,  the  Sikhs 
stood  unappalled,  and  'flash  for  flash  returned,  and  fire 
for  fire'.  The  field  was  resplendent  with  embattled 
warriors,  one  moment  umbered  in  volumes  of  sulphur- 
ous smoke,  and  another  brightly  apparent  amid  the 
splendour  of  beaming  brass  and  the  cold  and  piercing 
rays  of  polished  steel.  The  roar  and  loud  reverbera- 
tion of  the  ponderous  ordnance  added  to  the  impressive 
interest  of  the  scene,  and  fell  gratefully  upon  the  ear 
of  the  intent  and  enduring  soldier.  But  as  the  sun  rose 
higher,  it  was  felt  that  a  distant  and  aimless  cannonade 
would  still  leave  the  strife  to  be  begun,  and  victory  to 
be  achieved  by  the  valiant  hearts  of  the  close-fighting 
infantry.  The  guns  ceased  for  a  time,  and  each  warrior 
addressed  himself  in  silence  to  the  coming  conflict — 


1846 


CHAP.  IX         WAR  WITH- THE  ENGLISH  283 

a  glimmering  eye  and  a  firmer  grasp  of  his  weapon  ^^'^i 
alone  telling  of  the  mighty  spirit  which  wrought  within 
him.  The  left  division  of  the  British  army  advanced  in 
even  order  and  witn  a  light  step  to  the  attack,  but  the 
original  error  of  forming  the  regiments  m  line  instead 
of  in  column  rendered  the  contest  more  unequal  than 
such  assaults  need  necessarily  be.  Every  shot  from 
the  enemy's  lines  told  upon  the  expanse  of  men,  and 
the  greater  part  of  the  division  was  driven  back  by  the 
deadly  fire  of  muskets  and  swivels  and  enfilading 
artillery.  On  the  extreme  left,  the  regiments  effected 
an  entrance  amid  the  advanced  banks  and  trenches  of 
petty  outworks  where  possession  could  be  of  little 
avail;  but  their  comrades  on  the  right  were  animated 
by  the  partial  success;  they  chafed  under  the  disgrace 
of  repulse,  and  forming  themselves  instinctively  into 
wedges  and  masses,  and  headed  by  an  old  and  fearless 
leader,  they  rushed  forward  in  wrath. ^  With  a  shout 
they  leaped  the  ditch,  and  upswarming,  they  mounted 
the  rampart,  and  stood  victorious  amid  captured  can- 
non. But  the  effort  was  great;  the  Sikhs  fought  with 
steadiness  arid  resolution;  guns  in  the  interior  were 
turned  upon  the  exhausted  assailants,  and  the  line  of 
trench  alone  was  gained.  Nor  was  this  achievement 
the  work  of  a  moment.  The  repulse  of  the  first  assail- 
ants required  that  the  central  division  should  be 
brought  forward,  and  these  supporting  regiments  also 
moved  in  line  against  ramparts  higher  and  more  con- 
tinuous than  the  barriers  which  had  foiled  the  first 
efforts  of  their  comrades.  They  too  recoiled  in  confu- 
sion before  the  fire  of  the  exulting  Sikhs;  but  at  the 
distance  of  a  furlong  they  showed  both  their  innate 
valour  and  habitual  discipline  by  rallying  and  return- 
ing to  the  charge.  Their  second  assault  was  aided  on 
the  left  by  the  presence,  in  the  trenches  of  that  flank, 
of  the  victorious  first  division;  and  thus  the  regiments 
of  the  centre  likewise  became,  after  a  fierce  struggle 
on  their  own  right,  possessed  of  as  many  of  the  enemy's 
batteries  as  lay  to  their  immediate  front.  The  un- 
looked-for repulse  of  the  second  division,  and  the 
arduous  contest  in  which  the  first  was  engaged,  might 
have  led  a  casual  witness  of  the  strife  to  ponder  on  the 
multitude  of  varying  circumstances  which  determine 
success  in  war;  but  the  leaders  were  collected  and 
prompt,  and  the  battalions  on  the  right,  the  victors  of 
Aliwal,  were  impelled  against  the  opposite  flank  of  the 

1  Sir  Robert  Dick    was    mortally    wounded    close    to    the 
trenches  while  cheering  on  his  ardent  followers. 


.  284  HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS  chap,  ix 

i8«-6- Sikhs;  but  there,  as  on  all  other  points  attacked,  des- 
truction awaited  brave  men.  They  fell  in  heaps,  and 
the  first  line  was  thrown  back  upon  the  second,  which, 
nothing  daunted,  moved  rapidly  to  the  assault.  The 
two  lines  mingled  their  ranks  and  rushed  forward  in 
masses,  just  as  the  second  division  had  retrieved  its 
fame,  and  as  a  body  of  cavalry  had  been  poured  into 
the  camp  from  the  left  to  form  that  line  of  advance 
which  surpassed  the  strength  of  the  exhausted  infantry. 

Openings  were  thus  everywhere  effected  in  the  Sikh 
entrenchments,  but  single  batteries  still  held  out;  the 
interior  was  filled  with  courageous  men,  who  took  ad- 
vantage of  every  obstacle,  and  fought  fiercely  for  every 
spot  of  ground.  The  traitor,  Tej  Singh,  indeed,  instead 
of  leading  fresh  men  to  sustain  the  failing  strength  oL 
the  troops  on  his  right,  fled  on  the  first  assault,  and, 
either  accidentally  or  by  design,  sank  a  boat  in  the 
middle  of  the  bridge  of  communication.  But  the  ancient 
Sham  Singh  remembered  his  vow;  he  clothed  himself 
in  simple  white  attire,  as  one  devoted  to  death,  and 
calling  on  all  around  him  to  fight  for  the  Guru,'  who 
had  promised  everlasting  bliss  to  the  brave,  he  repeat- 
edly rallied  his  shattered  ranks,  and  at  last  fell  a 
martyr  on  a  heap,  of  his  slain  countrymen.  Others 
might  be  seen  standing  on  the  ramparts  amid  showers 
of  balls,  waving  defiance  with  their  swords,  or  telling 
the  gunners  where  the  fair-haired  English  pressed 
thickest  together.  Along  the  stronger  half  of  the  bat- 
tlements, and  for  the  period  of  half  an  hour,  the  conflict 
raged  sublime  in  all  its  terrors.  The  trenches  were 
filled  with  the  dead  and  the  dying.  Amid  the  deafening 
roar  of  cannon,  and  the  multitudinous  fire  of  musketry, 
the  shouts  of  triumph  or  of  scorn  were  yet  heard,  and 
the  flashing  of  innumerable  swords  was  yet  visible;  or 
from  time  to  time  exploding  magazines  of  powder 
threw  bursting  shells  and  beams  of  wood  and  banks 
of  earth  high  above  the  agitated  sea  of  smoke  and 
flame  which  enveloped  the  host  of  combatants,  and  for 
a  moment  arrested  the  attention  amid  all  the  din 
and  tumult  of  the  tremendous  conflict.  But  gradually 
each  defensible  position  was  captured,  and  the  enemy 
was  pressed  towards  the  scarcely  fordable  river;  yet. 
although  assailed  on  either  side  by  squadrons  of  horse 
and  battalions  of  foot,  no  Sikh  offered  to  submit,  and 
no  disciple  of  Gobind  asked  for  quarter.  They  every- 
where showed  a  front  to  the  victors,  and  stalked  slowly 
and  sullenly  away,  while  many  rushed  singly  forth  to 
meet  assured  death  by  contending  with  a  multitude. 


CHAP.  IX         WAR  WITH  THE  ENGLISH  285 

The  victors  looked  with  stolid  wonderment  upon  the  1845-6. 
indomitable  courage  of  the  vanquished,  and  forbore  to 
strike  where  the  helpless  and  the  dying  frowned  un- 
availing hatred.  But  the  necessities  of  war  pressed 
upon  the  commanders,  and  they  had  effectually  to  dis- 
perse that  army  which  had  so  long  scorned  their  power. 
The  fire  of  'batteries  and  battalions  precipitated  the 
flight  of  the  Sikhs  through  the  waters  of  the  Sutlej, 
and  the  triumph  of  the  English  became  full  and  mani- 
fest. The  troops,  defiled  with  dust  and  smoke  and 
carnage,  thus  stood  mute  indeed  for  a  moment,  until 
the  glory  of  their  success  rushing  upon  their  minds, 
they  gave  expression  to  their  feelings,  and  hailed  their 
victorious  commanders  with  reiterated  shouts  of 
triumph  and  congratulation.^ 

On  the  night  of  the  victory  some  regiments  were  The 
pushed    across    the    Sutlej    opposite    Ferozepore;    no  passage  of 
enemy  was  visible;  and  on  the  12th  February  the  fort  ^^  gu'bmis- 
of  Kasur  was  occupied  without  opposition.    On  the  fol-  sjon  of  the" 
lowing  day  the  army  encamped  under  the  walls  of  that  Maharaja. 

1  Cf  Lord  Cough's  dispatch  of  the  13th  Feb.  1846,  and 
Macgregor,  History  of  the  Sikhs,  ii.  154,  &c.  The  casualties  on 
the  side  of  the  British  were  320  killed,  and  2,083  wounded.  The 
loss  of  the  Sikhs,  perhaps,  exceeded  5,000,  and  po.ssibly 
amounted  to  8,000,  the  lower  estimate  of  the  English  dispatches. 

The  Commander-in-Chief  estimated  the  force  of  the  Sikhs 
at  30,000  men,  and  it  was  frequently  said  they  had  36  regiments 
in  position;  but  it  is  nevertheless  doubtful  whether  there  were 
so  many  as  20,000  armed  men  in  the  trenches.  The  numbers  of 
the  actual  assailants  may  be  estimated  at  15,000  effective 
soldiers.  After  the  war,  Lord  Gough  ascertained,  through  the 
British  authorities  at  Lahore,  that  the  Sikhs  admitted  their 
strength  at  Sobraon  to  have  been  42,626  men.  Perhaps,  how- 
ever, this  estimate  includes  all  the  troops  on  the  right  bank  of 
the  river,  as  well  as  those  in  the  entrenched  position  on  the 
opposite  side.  If  so,  the  statement  seems  in  every  way  credible. 
Similarly,  Lord  Gough  learnt  that  3,125  heirs  of  soldiers  killed 
claimed  arrears  of  pay,  from  which  fact  and  other  circum- 
stances which  came  to  his  knowledge,  his  Lordship  thinks  the 
Sikhs  may  have  lost  from  12,000  to  15,000  men  in  this  decisive 
victory. 

Sobraon,  or  correctly  Subrahan,  the  name  by  which  the 
battle  is  known,  is  taken  from  that  of  a  small  village,  or  rather 
two  small  villages,  in  the  neighbourhood.  The  villages  in 
question  were  inhabited  by  the  subdivision  of  a  tribe  called 
Subrah,  or,  in  the  plural,  Subrahan;  and  hence  the  name 
became  applied  to  their  place  of  residence,  and  has  at  last 
become  identified  with  a  great  and  important  victory.  This 
mode  of  designating  villages  by  means  of  the  plural  form-  of 
a  patronymic  is  common  in  India,  and  it  was  once  frequent  in 
our  own  country,  as  noticed  by  Mr.  Kemble  (Saxons  in 
England,  i.  59  n.,  and  Appendix  A,  p.  478)  in  1,329  instances, 
such  as  Tooting  in  Surrey,  Mailing  in  Kent,  &c.,  from  the 
Totingas,  Meallingas,  and  other  families  or  clans. 


286 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.  DC 


1845-6. 

and  the 
occupation 
of  Lahore. 


Negotia- 
tions. 


Gulab 
Singh. 


ancient  town,  and  it  was  ascertained  that  the  Sikhs 
still  held  together  to  the  number  of  twenty  thousand 
men  in  the  direction  of  Amritsar.  But  the  power  of 
the  armed  representatives  of  the  Khalsa  was  gone;  the 
holders  of  treasure  and  food,  and  all  the  munitions  of 
war,  had  first  passively  helped  to  defeat  them,  and 
then  openly  joined  the  enemy;  and  the  soldiery  readily 
assented  to  the  requisition  of  the  court  that  Gulab 
Singh,  their  chosen  minister,  should  have  full  powers 
to  treat  with  the  English  on  the  already  admitted  basis 
of  recognizing  a  Sikh  government  in  Lahore.  On  the 
15th  of  the  month  the  Raja  and  several  other  chiefs 
were  received  by  the  Governor-General  at  Kasur,  and 
they  were  told  that  Dalip  Singh  would  continue  to  be 
regarded  as  a  friendly  sovereign,  but  that  the  country 
between  the  Beas  and  Sutlej  would  be  retained  by  the 
conquerors,  and  that  a  million  and  a  half  sterling  must 
be  paid  as  some  indemnity  for  the  expenses  of  the  war, 
in  order,  it  was  said,  that  all  might  hear  of  the  punish- 
ment which  had  overtaken  aggressors,  and  become 
fully  aware  that  inevitable  loss  followed  vain  hostilities 
with  the  unoffending  English.  After  a  long  discussion 
the  terms  were  reluctantly  agreed  to,  the  young  Maha- 
raja came  and  tendered  his  submission  in  person,  and 
on  the  20th  February  the  British  army  arrived  at  the 
Sikh  capital.  Two  days  afterwards  a  portion  of  the 
citadel  was  garrisoned  by  English  regiments,  to  mark 
more  plainly  to  the  Indian  world  that  a  vaunting 
enemy  had  been  effectually  humbled;  for  throughout 
the  breadth  of  the  land  the  chiefs  talked,  in  the  bit- 
terness of  their  hearts,  of  the  approaching  downfall  of 
the  stern  unharmonizing  foreigners.^ 

The  Governor-General  desired  not  only  to  chastise 
the  Sikhs  for  their  past  aggressions,  but  to  overawe 
them  for  the  future,  and  he  had  thus  chosen  the  Beas, 
as  offering  more  commanding  positions  with  reference 
to  Lahore  than  the  old  boundary  of  the  Sutlej.  With 
the  same  object  in  view,  he  had  originally  thought  Raja 
Gulab  Singh  might  advantageously  be  made  independ- 
ent in  the  hills  of  Jammu.-  Such  a  recognition  by  the 
British  Government  had,  indeed,  always  been  one  of 
the  wishes  of  that  ambitious  family;  but  it  was  not, 
perhaps,  remembered  that  Gulab  Singh  was  still  more 
dcMrous  of  becoming  the  acknowledged  minister  of  the 

1  Cf.  the  Governor-General  to  the  Secret  Committee, 
under  dates  the  19th  Feb.  and  4th  March  1846. 

2  Cf.  the  Governor-General  to  the  Secret  Committee,  of 
3rd  and  19th  Feb.  1846. 


CHAP.  IX         WAR  WITH  THE  ENGLISH  287 

dependent  Punjab;  ^  nor  was  it  perhaps  thought  that  the  1845-6. 
overtures  of  the  Raja — after  the  battle  of  Aliwal  had 
foreboded  the  total  rout  of  the  Sikh  army — were  all 
made  in  the  hope  of  assuring  to  himself  a  virtual  vice- 
royalty  over  the  whole  dominion  of  Lahore.  Gulab 
Singh  had  been  appointed  Wazir  by  the  chiefs  and 
people  when  danger  pressed  them,  and  he  had  been 
formally  treated  with  as  minister  bj'  the  English  when 
the  Governor-General  thought  time  was  short,  and  his 
own  resources  distant;  -  but  when  Lai  Singh  saw  that  Lai  singh. 
after  four  pitched  battles  the  English  viceroy  was  con- 
tent or  compelled  to  leave  Lahore  a  dependent  ally,  he 
rejoiced  that  his  undiminished  influence  with  the 
mother  of  the  Maharaja  would  soon  enable  him  to  sup- 
plant the  obnoxious  chief  of  Jammu.  The  base  syco- 
phant thus  congratulated  himself  on  the  approaching 
success  of  all  his  treasons,  which  had  simply  for  their 
object  his  own  personal  aggrandizement  at  the  expense 
of  Sikh  independence.  Gulab  Singh  felt  his  inability 
to  support  himself  without  the  countenance  of  the 
English;  but  they  had  offered  no  assurance  of  support 
as  minister,  and  he  suddenly  perplexed  the  Governor- 
General  by  asking  what  he  was  to  get  for  all  he  had 
done  to  bring  about  a  speedy  peace,  and  to  render  the 
army  an  easy  prey.  It  was  remembered  that  at  Kasur 
he  had  said  the  way  to  carry  on  a  war  with  the  English 
was  to  leave  the  sturdy  infantry  entrenched  and  wat- 
ched, and  to  sweep  the  open  country  with  cavalry  to 

1  This  had  been  the  aim  of  the  family  for  many  years; 
or,  at  least,  from  the  time  that  Dhian  Singh  exerted  himself  to 
remove  Col.  Wade,  in  the  hope  that  a  British  representative 
might  be  appointed  who  would  be  well  disposed  towards  him- 
self, which  he  thought  Col.  Wade  was  not.  Mr.  Clerk  was  aware 
of  both  schemes  of  the  Lahore  minister,  although  the  greater 
prominence  was  naturally  given  to  the  project  of  rendering 
the  Jammu  chiefs  independent,  owing  to  the  aversion  with 
which  they  were  regarded  after  Nau  Nihal  Singh's  death. 

Had  the  English  said  that  they  desired  to  see  Gulab  Singh 
remain  minister,  and  had  they  been  careless  whether  Lai  Singh 
lived  or  was  put  to  death,  it  is  highly  probable  that  a  fair  and 
vigorous  government  would  have  been  formed,  and  also  that 
the  occupation  of  Lahore,  and  perhaps  the  second  treaty  of 
1846,  need  never  have  taken  place. 

-  Cf.  the  Governor-General's  letter  to  the  Secret  Com- 
mittee, of  the  3rd  and  19th  Feb.  1846.  In  both  of  these  dis- 
patches Lord  Hardinge  indicates  that  he  intended  to  do  some- 
thing for  Gulab  Singh,  but  he  does  not  state  that  he  designed 
to  make  him  independent  of  Lahore,  nor  does  he  say  that  he 
told  the  Sikh  chiefs  the  arrangements  then  on  foot  might  include 
the  separation  of  Jammu;  and  the  truth  would  seem  to  be,  that 
in  the  first  joj  of  success  the  scheme  of  conciliating  the  power- 
ful Raja  remained  in  a  manner  forgotten. 


288 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SHCHS 


CHAP.  IX 


ia45-6. 


Tlie  parti- 
tion of  the 
Punjab,   and 
indepen- 
dence  of 
Gulab 
Singh. 


the  gates  of  Delhi;  and  while  negotiations  were  stiU 
pending,  and  the  season  advancing,  it  was  desired  to 
conciliate  one  who  might  render  himself  formidable  in 
a  day,  by  joining  the  remains  of  the  Sikh  forces,  and 
by  opening  his  treasures  and  arsenals  to  a  warlike 
population. 

The  low  state  of  the  Lahore  treasury,  and  the 
anxiety  of  Lai  Singh  to  get  a  dreaded  rival  out  of  the 
way,  enabled  the  Governor-General  to  appease  Gulab 
Singh  in  a  manner  sufficiently  agreeable  to  the  P^aja 
himself,  and  which  still  further  reduced  the  importance 
of  the  successor  of  Ranjit  Singh.  The  Raja  of  Jammu 
did  not  care  to  be  simply  the  master  of  his  native 
mountains,  but  as  two-thirds  of  the  pecuniary  indem- 
nity required  from  Lahore  could  not  be  made  good, 
territory  was  taken  instead  of  money,  and  Kashmir 
and  the  hill  states  from  the  Beas  to  the  Indus  were 
cut  off  from  the  Punjab  Proper,  and  transferred  to 
Gulab  Singh  as  a  separate  sovereign  for  a  million  of 
pounds  sterling.  The  arrangement  was  a  dexterous 
one,  if  reference  be  only  had  to  the  policy  of  reducing 
the  power  of  the  Sikhs;  but  the  transaction  scarcely 
seems  worthy  of  the  British  name  and  greatness,  and 
the  objections  become  stronger  when  it  is  considered 
that  ^  Gulab  Singh  had  agreed  to  pay  sixty-eight  lakhs 
of  rupees  (£680  000),  as  a  fine  to  his  paramount,  be- 
fore the  war  broke  out,^  and  that  the  custom  of  the 
East  as  well  as  of  the  West  requires  the  feudatory  to 
aid  his  lord  in  foreign  war  and  domestic  strife.  Gulab 
Singh  ought  thus  to  have  paid  the  deficient  million  of 
money  as  a  Lahore  subject,  instead  of  being  put  in 
possession  of  Lahore  provinces  as  an  independent 
prince.  The  succession  of  the  Raja  was  displeasing  to 
the  Sikhs  generally,  and  his  separation  was  les  n  ac- 
cordance with  his  own  aspirations  than  the  ministry  of 
Ranjit  Singh's  empire;  but  his  rise  to  sovereign  power 
excited  nevertheless  the  ambition  of  others,  and  Tej 
Singh,  who  knew  his  own  wealth,  and  was  fully  per- 
suaded of  the  potency  of  gold,  offered  twenty-five  lakhs 
of  rupees  for  a  princely  crown  and  another  dismem- 
bered province.  He  was  chid  for  his  presumptuous 
misinterpretation  of  English  principles  of  action;  the 
arrangement  with  Gulab  Singh  was  the  only  one  of 
the  kind  which  took  place,  and  the  new  ally  was  for- 
mally invested  with  the  title  of  Maharaja  at  Amritsar 

1  Major  Broadfoot  to  Government,  5th  May  1845.  The 
author  never  heard,  and  does  not  believe,  that  this  money  was 
paid  by  Gulab  Singh. 


CHAP.  IX         WAR  WITH  THE  ENGLISH  289 

on  the  15th  March  1846.^  But  a  portion  of  the  territory  1845-6. 
at  first  proposed  to  be  made  over  to  him  was  reserved 
by  his  masters,  the  payments  required  from  him  were 
reduced  by  a  fourth,  and  they  were  rendered  still  more 
easy  of  liquidation  by  considering  him  to  be  the  heir 
to  the  money  which  his  brother  Suchet  Singh  had 
buried  in  Ferozepore.^ 

Lai  Singh  became  minister  once  more;  but  he  and  suppie- 
all  the  traitorous    chiefs    knew    that    they    could    not  ^entary 
maintain  themselves,  even  against  the  reduced  army,  j^^^j^^g^^J^. 
when  the  English  should  have  fairly  left  the  country,  2846. 
and  thus  the  separation  of  Gulab  Singh  led  to  a  further  placing 
departure  from  the  original  scheme.     It  was  agreed  ^^^^p 
that  a  British- force  should  remain  at  the  capital  until  ^'"^'^  "';^" 
the  last  day  of  December  1846,  to  enable  the  chiefs  to  tutelage '^^ 
feel  secure  while  they  reorganized  the  army  and  intro-  during  his 
duced  order  and    efficiency    into    the    administration,  minority. 
The  end  of  the  year  came;  but  the  chiefs  were^  still 
helpless;  they  clung  to  their  foreign  support,  and  gladly 
assented  to  an  arrangement  which  leaves  the  English 
in  immediate  possession  of  the  reduced  dominion  of 
Ranjit  Singh,  until  his  reputed  son  and  feeble  successor 
shall  attain  the  age  of  manhood.^ 

While  the  Governor-General  and  Commander-in-  The  siuhs 
Chief  remained  at  Lahore  at  the  head  of  twenty  thou-  "o*  ^^s- 
sand  men,  portions  of  the  Sikh  army  came  to  the  capital  ^^^^Jf^J^'^ 
to  be  paid  up   and  disbanded.    The  soldiers   showed  revers^eT 
neither  the  despondency  of  mutinous  rebels  nor  the 
effrontery  and  indifference  of  mercenaries,  and  their 
manly  deportment  added  lustre  to  that  valour  which 
the  victors  had  dearly   felt   and   generously    extolled. 
The  men  talked  of  their  defeat  as  the  chance  of  war, 

1  On  this  occasion  'Maharaja'  Gulab  Singh  stood  up,  and, 
with  joined  hands,  expressed  his  gratitude  to  the  British 
viceroy^ — adding,  without  however  any  ironical  meaning,  that 
he  was  indeed  his  'Zurkharid',  or  gold-boughten  slave! 

In  the  course  of  this  history  there  has,  n\pre  than  once, 
been  occasion  to  allude  to  the  unscrupulous  character  of  Raja 
Gulab  Singh;  but  it  must  not  therefore  be  supposed  that  he  is 
a  man  malevolently  evil.  He  will,  indeed,,  deceive  an  enemy  and 
take  his  life  without  hesitation,  and  in  the  accumulation  of 
money  he  will  exercise  many  oppressions;  but  he  must  be  judg- 
ed with  reference  to  the  morality  of  his  age  and  race,  and  to 
the  necessities  of  his  own  position.  If  these  allowances  be 
made,  Gulab  Singh  will  be  found  an  able  and  moderate  man, 
who  does  little  in  an  idle  or  wanton  spirit,  and  who  is  not  with- 
out some  traits  both  of  good  humour  and  generosity  of  temper. 

2  See  Appendices  XXXIV,  XXXV,  and  XXXVI,  for  the 
treaties  with  Lahore  and  Jammu. 

3  See  Appendix  XXXVII  for  the  second  treaty  with 
Lahore. 


1845-6. 


Conclusion. 
— The  posi- 
tion of  the 
English  in 
India. 


290 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


CHAP.  IK 


or  they  would  say  that  they  were  mere  imitators  of 
unapproachable  masters.  But,  amid  all  their  humilia- 
tion, they  inwardly  dwelt  upon  their  future  destiny 
with  unabated  confidence;  and  while  gaily  calling 
themselves  inapt  and  youthful  scholars,  they  would 
sometimes  add,  with  a  significant  and  sardonic  smile, 
that  the  'Khalsa'  itself  was  yet  a  child,  and  that  as  the 
commonwealth  of  Sikhs  grew  in  stature,  Gobind  would 
clothe  his  disciples  with  irresistible  might  and  guide 
them  with  unequalled  skill.  Thus  brave  men  sought 
consolation,  and  the  spirit  of  progress  which  collec- 
tively animated  them  yielded  with  a  murmur  to  the 
superior  genius  of  England  and  civilization,  to  be 
chastened  by  the  rough  hand  of  power,  and  perhaps 
to  be  moulded  to  noblest  purposes  by  the  informing 
touch  of  knowledge  and  philosophy.^ 


The  separate  sway  of  the  Sikhs  and  the  independ- 
ence of  the  Punjab  have  come  to  an  end,  and  England 
reigns  the  undisputed  mistress  of  the  broad  and  classic 
land  of  India.    Her  political  supremacy  is  more  regular 
and  systematic  than  the  antique  rule  of  the  Brahmans 
and  Kshattriyas,  and  it  is  less  assailable  from  without 
than   the   imperfect   dominion   of  the  Muhammadans; 
for  in  disciplined  power  and  vastness  of  resources,  in 
unity  of  action  and  intelligence  of  design,  her  govern- 
ment   surpasses    the    experience    of    the    East,    and 
emulates  the  magnificent  prototype  of  Rome.    But  the 
Hindus  made  the  country  wholly  their  own,  and  from 
sea  to  sea,  from  the  snowy  mountains  almost  to  the 
fabled  bridge  of  Rama,  the  language  of  the  peasant  is 
still  that  of  the  twice-born  races;  the  speech  of  the 
wild  foresters  and  mountaineers   of  the   centre   and 
south  has  been  permanently  tinged  by  the  old  predo- 
minance of  the  Kshattriyas,  and  the  hopes  and  fears 
and  daily  habits  of  myriads  of  men  still  vividly  repre- 
sent  the   genial   myths   and   deep   philosophy    of  the 
Brahmans,  which  more  than  two  thousand  years  ago 
arrested  the  attention  of  the  Greeks.    The  Muhamma- 
dans entered  the  country  to  destroy,  but  they  remained 

1  In  March  1846,  or  immediately  after  the  war,  the  author 
visited  the  Sikh  temples  and  establishments  at  Kiratpur  and 
Anandpur-Makhowal.  At  the  latter  place,  the  chosen  seat  of 
Gobind,  reliance  upon  the  future  was  likewise  strong;  and  the 
grave  priests  or  ministers  said,  by  way  of  assurance,  that  the 
pure  faith  of  the  Khalsa  was  intended  for  all  countries  and 
times-  and  added,  by  way  of  compliment,  that  the  disciples  of 
Nanak  would  ever  be  grateful  for  the  aid  which  the  stranger 
English  had  rendered  in  subverting  the  empire  of  the  intolerant 
and  oppressive  Muhammadans! 


CHAP.- IX         WAR  WITH  THE  ENGLISH  291 

to  colonize,  and  swarms  of  the  victorious  races  long  isis-s. 
continued    to    pour    themselves    over    its   rich    plains, 
modifying  the  language  and  ideas  of  the  vanquished, 
and  becoming  themselves  altered  by  the  contact,  until, 
in  the  time  of  Akbar,  the  'Islam'  of  India  was  a  national 
system,  and  until,  in  the  present  day,  the  Hindu  and 
Muhammadan  do  not  practically  differ  more  from  one 
another  than  did  the  Brahmans  and  Kshattriyas  and 
Veisyas  of  the  time  of  Manu  and  Alexander.  They  are 
different  -races  with    different    religious    systems,    but 
harmonizing    together    in    social    life,    and    mutually 
understanding  and   respecting    and   taking   a  part   in 
each  other's  modes  and  ways  and  doings.     They  are 
thus  silently  but  surely  removing  one  another's  differ- 
ences and  peculiarities,  so  that  a  new  element  results 
from  the  common    destruction,    to  become    developed 
into  a  faith  or  a  fact  in  future  ages.    The  rise  to  power 
of  contemned  Sudra  tribes,  in  the  persons  of  Marathas, 
Gurkhas,  and  Sikhs,  has  brought  about  a  further  mix- 
ture of  the  rural  population  and  of  the  lower  orders 
in  towns  and  cities,  and  has  thus  given  another  blow 
to  the  reverence  for  antiquity.    The  religious  creed  of 
the  people  seems  to  be  even  more  indeterminate  than 
their  spoken  dialects,  and  neither  the  religion  of  the 
Arabian  prophet,  nor  the  theology  of  the  Vedas  and 
Purans,  is  to  be  found  pure  except  among  professed 
Mullas  and  educated  Brahmans,  or  among  the  rich  and 
great  of  either    persuasion.     Over    this    seething    and 
fusing  mass,  the  power  of  England  has  been  extended 
and  her  spirit  sits  brooding.  Her  pre-eminence  in  the 
modern  world  may  well  excite  the  envy  of  the  nations; 
but  it  behoves  her  to  ponder  well  upon  the  mighty 
task  which  her  adventurous  children  have  set  her  in 
the  East,  and  to  be  certain  that  her  sympathizing  lab- 
ours in  the  cause  of  humanity  are  guided  by  intelli- 
gence towards  a  true  and  attainable  end.     She  rules 
supreme  as  the  welcome  composer  of  political  troubles; 
but  the  thin  superficies  of  her  dominion  rests  trem- 
blingly upon  the  convulsed  ocean  of  social  change  and 
mental  revolution.    Her  own  high  civilization  and  the 
circumstances  of  her  intervention  isolate  her  in  all  her 
greatness;  she  can  appeal  to  the  reason  only  of  her 
subjects,  and  can  never  lean  upon  the  enthusiasm  of 
their  gratitude  or  predilections.^    To  preserve  her  poli- 
1  Mr.  Macaulay's  comparison   (History  of  England,  i.  364, 
&c  )   between  the  manners  of  the  earlier  Georges  and  Charles 
II  as  bearing  on  the  kingly  office,  is  peculiarly  applicable  to  the 
British  rule  in  India.  The  English,  like  their  own  stranger  sove- 
reigns of  tfie  last  century,  govern  in  the  East  accordmg  to  law. 


V»2  HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS  chap,  ix 

1845-6.  tical  ascendancy  she  must  be  ever  prudent  and  cir- 

cum&pect;  and -to  leave  a  lasting  impress  she  must  do 
more  than  erect  palaces  and  temples,  the  mere  material 
monuments  of  dominion.  Like  Greece  and  Rome,  she 
may  rear  edifices  of  surpassing  beauty,  she  may  bridge 
gulis  and  pierce  mountains  with  the  wand  ot  wealth 
ai  d  science.  Like  these  ancient  peoples,  she  may  even 
give  birth  in  strange  lands  to  such  kings  as  Herod  the 
Great  and  to  such  historians  as  Flavius  Josephus;  but, 
like  imperial  Rome,  she  may  live  to  behold  a  Vortigern 
call  in  a  Hengist,  and  a  Syagrius  yield  to  a  Clovis.  She 
may  teach  another  Cymbeline  the  amenities  of  civilized 
life,  and  she  may  move  another  Attains  to  bequeath 
to  her  another  Pergamus.  These  are  tasks  of  easy 
achievement;  but  she  must  also  endeavour  to  give  her 
poets  and  her  sages  an  immortality  among  nations  un- 
born, to  introduce  laws  which  shall  still  be  in  force  at 
the  end  of  sixty  generations,  and  to  tinge  the  faith  and 
the  minds  of  the  people  with  her  sober  science  and 
just  morality,  as  Christianity  was  affected  by  the  adop- 
tive policy  of  Rome  and  by  the  plastic  philosophy  of 
Greece.  Of  all  these  things  England  must  sow  the 
seeds  and  lay  the  foundations  before  she  can  hope  to 
equal  or  surpass  her  great  exemplars.^ 

But  England  can  do  nothing  until  she  has  rendered 
her  dominion  secure,  and  hitherto  all  her  thoughts 
have  been  given  to  the  extension  of  her  supremacy. 
Up  to  this  time  she  has  been  a  rising  power,  the  wel- 
come supplanter  of  Mughals  and  Marathas,  and  the 
ally  which  the  remote  weak  sought  against  the  neigh- 
bouring strong.  But  her  greatness  is  at  its  height  :  it 
has  come  to  her  turn  to  be  feared  instead  of  courted, 
and  the  hopes  of  men  are  about  to  be  built  on  her 

but  they  cannot  give  themselves  a  place  in  the  hearts  of  their 
subjects,  while  those  whom  reason  can  convince  are  neither 
numerous  nor  influential  in  political  affairs.  Sir  H.  M.  Elliot, 
in  the  Introduction  (p.  xxix)  to  his  important  and  interesting 
volume  on  the  Muhammadan  Historians  of  India,  admits  *the 
many  defects  inherent  in  a  system  of  foreign  administration, 
in  which  language,  colour,  religion,  customs,  and  laws  preclude 
all  natural  sympathy  between  sovereign  and  subject';  but  he 
at  the  same  time  declares  the  English  have,  nevertheless,  done 
more  in  fifty  years  for  the  substantial  benefit  of  the  people, 
at  least  of  Upper  India,  than  the  Musalmans  did  in  ten  times 
that  period — an  opinion  that  requires  to  be  supported  to  a  more 
extended  comparison  of  material  works  than  is  given  by  the 
learned  writer.  [The  author's  gloomy  prognostications  have 
been  rudely  shaken  by  the  events  of  1914-15,  and  the  spontane- 
ous loyalty  shown  by  all  classes  during  the  great  European 
War.— Ed.] 

1  See  Appendix  XV. 


CHAP.  IX         WAR  WITH  THE  ENGLISH  298 

wished-for  destruction.  The  princes  of  India  can  no  1845-6. 
longer  acquire  fame  or  territory  by  preying  upon  one 
another.  Under  the  exact  sway  of  their  new  para- 
mount, they  must  divest  themselves  of  ambition  and 
of  all  the  violent  passions  of  their  nature,  and  they 
must  try  to  remain  kings  without  exercising  the  most 
loved  of  the  functions  of  rulers.  The  Indians,  indeed, 
will  themselves  politely  liken  England  and  her  depend- 
ent sovereigns  to  the  benignant  moon  accompanied 
by  hosts  of  rejoicing  stars  in  hei  nightly  progress, 
rather  than  to  the  fierce  sun  which  rides  the  heavens 
in  solitude  scarcely  visible  amidst  intolerable  bright- 
ness; but  men  covet  power  as  well  as  ease,  and  crave 
distinction  as  well  as  wealth;  and  thus  it  is  with  those 
who  endeavour  to  jest  with  adversity.  England  has 
immediately  to  make  her  attendant  princes  feel,  that 
while  resistance  is  vain,  they  are  themselves  honoured, 
and  hold  a  substantive  position  in  the  economy  of  the 
imperial  government,  instead  of  being  merely  tolerated 
as  bad  rulers  or  regarded  with  contempt  and  aversion 
as  half-barbarous  men.  Her  rule  has  hitherto  mainly 
tended  to  the  benefit  of  the  trading  community; 
men  of  family  name  find  no  place  in  the  society  of  their 
masters,  and  no  employment  in  the  service  of  the 
state;  and  while  the  peasants  have  been  freed  from 
occasional  rainous  exaction,  and  from  more  rare  per- 
sonal torture,  they  are  oppressed  and  impoverished  by 
a  well-meant  but  cumbrous  and  inefficient  law,^  and 
by  an  excessive  and  partial  taxation,  which  looks 
almost  wholly  to  the  land  for  the  necessary  revenue 
of  a  government.-  The  husbandman  is  sullen  and 
indifferent,-^  the  gentleman  nurses  his  wrath  in  secrecy, 

[1  I  have  removed  a  footnote  here  inserted  by  the  author 
in  elaboration  of  this  statement.  The  note  is  quite  untrue 
under  modern  conditions  and  has  ceased  to  have  any  practical 
value.  The  views  of  both  the  author  and  of  Sleeman,  whom 
he  quotes  (Ramhles  and  Recollections  of  an  Indian  Official, 
Oxford  Edition,  p.  544),  are  typical  of  a  point  of  view  which 
has  now  happily  passed  away. — ED.] 

-  See  Appendix  XVI. 

■'  Lieut.-Col.  Sleeman  considers  (Rambles  and  Recollec- 
tions of  an  Indian  Official,  p.  432)  that  neither  have  the 
English  gained,  nor  did  other  rulers  possess,  the  goodwill  of 
the  peasantry  and  landholders  of  the  country. 

In  considering  the  position  of  the  English,  or  of  any  ruling 
power,  in  Inida,  it  should  always  be  borne  in  mind  that  no 
bodies  of  peasantry,  excepting  perhaps  the  Sikhs  and,  in  a 
lesser  degree,  the  Rajputs  of  the  west,  and  no  classes  of  men, 
excepting  perhaps  the  Muhammadans  and,  in  a  lesser  degree, 
the  Brahmans,  take  any  interest  in  the  government  of  their 
country,   or  have  collectively  any  wish  to  be  dominant.    The 


294  HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS  chap,  ix 

^^^*-  kings  idly  chafe  and  intrigue,  and  all  are  ready  to  hope 

for  everything  from  a  change  of  masters.  The  mer- 
chant alone  sits  partly  happy  in  the  reflection,  that  if 
he  is  not  honoured  with  titles  and  office,  the  path  to 
wealth  has  been  made  smooth,  and  its  enjoyment 
rendered  secure. 

Princes  and  nobles  and  yeomen  can  all  be  kept  in 
obedience  for  generations  by  overwhelming  means, 
and  by  a  more  complete  military  system  than  at  pre- 
sent obtains.  Numerous  forts  and  citadels,^  the  occa- 
sional assemblage  of  armies,  and  the  formation  of 
regiments  separately  composed  of  different  tribes  and 
races,-  will    long  serve  to  ensure  supremacy   and  to 

masses  of  the  population,  whether  of  towns  or  villages,  are 
ready  to  submit  to  any  master,  native  'or  foreign;  and  the 
multitudes  of  submissive  subjects  possessed  by  England  con- 
tribute nothing  to  her  strength  except  as  tax-payers,  and, 
during  an  insurrection  or  after  a  conquest,  would  at  once  give 
the  'government  share  of  the  produce'  to  the  wielder  of  power 
for  the  time  being,  and  would  thereby  consider  themselves  freed 
from  all  obligations  and  liabilities.  England  must  be  just  arid 
generous  towards  these  tame  myriads;  but  the  men  whom  she 
has  pre-eminently  to  keep  employed,  honoured,  and  overawed 
are  the  turbulent  military  classes,  who  are  ever  ready  to  rebel 
and  ever  desirous  of  acquiring  power. 

1  The  fewness  of  places  of  strength,  and  indeed  of  places 
of  ordinary  security,  for  magazines  of  arms  and  ammunition 
is  a  radical  defect  in  the  military  system  of  the  English  in 
India.  The  want  of  extensive  granaries  is  also  n>uch  felt,  both 
as  a  measure  of  the  most  ordinary  prudence  in  case  of  insur- 
rection or  any  military  operation,  and  as  some  check  lipon 
prices  on  the  common  recurrence  of  droughts  in  a  country  in 
which  capitalists  do  not  yet  go  hand  in  hand  with  the  govern- 
ment, and  are  but  little  amenable  to  public  opinion  beyond 
their  order.  Such  was,  and  is,  the  custom  of  the  native  princes, 
•and  no  practice  exists  without  a  reason.  [The  first  defect  was 
realised  and  remedied  as  one  of  the  lessons  of  the  Mutiny, 
while  the  question  of  the  check  on  prices  is  one  of  the  common- 
places of  a  modern  administration. — Ed.] 

2  The  English  have  not  succeeded  in  making  their  well-, 
ordered  army  a  separate  caste  or  section  of  the  community, 
except  very  partially  in  the  Madras  presidency,  where  a 
sepoy's  home  is  his  regiment.  It  is,  moreover,  but  too  apparent 
that  the  active  military  spirit  of  the  sepoys,  when  on  service 
in  India,  is  not  .now  what  it  was  when  the  system  of  the 
'Company'  was  new  and  the  fortune  of  the  Strangers  beginning. 
This  is  partly  due  to  the  general  pacification  of  the  country, 
partly  to  the  practice  of  largely  enlisting  tame-spirited  men  of 
inferior  caste  because  they  are  well  behaved,  or  pliant  intrigu- 
ing Brahmans  because  they  can  write  and  are  intelligent;  and 
partly  because  the  system  of  central  or  rather  single  manage- 
ment has  been  carried  tpo  far.  The  Indian  is  eminently  a 
partisan,  and  his  predilection  for  his  immediate  superior  should 
be  encouraged,  the  more  especially  as  there  can  be  no  doubt 
of  the  loyalty  qf  the  English  commandant.  The  clannish,  or 
feudal,   or  mercenary,   attachment   do  not  in.  India  yield   to 


CHAP.  IX         WAR  WITH  THE  ENGLISH  295 

crush  the  efforts  of  individuals;  but  England  has  care-  ims-&. 
fully  to  watch  the  progress  of  that  change  in  social 
relations  and  religious  feelings  of  which  Sikhism  is 
the  most  marked  exponent.  Among  all  ranks  of  men 
there  is  a  spirit  at  work  which  rejects  as  vain  the 
ancient  forms  and  ideas  whether  of  Brahmanism  or 
Muhammadanism,!  and  which  clings  for  present  solace 

rational  conviction  or  political  principle,  and  colonels  of  batta- 
lions should  have  very  large  powers.  Regiments  separately 
composed  of  men  of  one  or  other  of  the  military  classes  might 
sometimes  give  trouble  within  themselves,  and  sometimes  come 
into  collision  with  other  regiments;  but  a  high  warlike  feeling 
would  be  engendered;  and  unless  England  chooses  to  identify 
herself  with  some  of  the  inferior  races,  and  to  evoke  a  new 
spirit  by  becoming  a  religious  reformer,  she  must  keep  the 
empire  she  has  won  by  working  upon  the  feelings  she  finds 
prevalent  in  the  country.  [The  suggestion  in  the  text  has  long 
since  been  dismissed  as  impracticable  by  modem  military 
administrators. — Ed.] 

1  The  following  remark  of  the  Hindus,  regarding  some 
of  their  most  sacred  persons,  has  now  a  wider  application  than 
smart  sayings  commonly  possess.  They  describe  Purs-Ram, 
Vyasa,  Rama,  and  Krishna  as  'Sirree,  Siftee,  Dana,  and  Dee- 
wana' — or  Purs-Ram  as  hasty,"  heedless;  because,  for  the  fault 
of  one  ruler,  he  proceeded  to  slay  a  whole  generation  of  men; 
Vyasa,  as  wordy,  or  a  flatterer,  because  he  would  make  all  to 
resemble  gods;  Rajna,  alone,  as  wise,  or  politic,  because  all  his 
actions  denoted  forethought;  and  Krishna,  as  eminently  silly 
or  trivial,  because  all  he  did  was  of  that  character.  That  names 
still  revered  are  sometimes  so  treated  denotes  a  readiness  for 
change.  [The  most  common  phenomenon  now  apparent  in 
both  Hindu  and  Muhammadan  worlds  is  somewhat  akin  to 
that  which  inspired  the  Reformation  in  Europe — a  movemenjt 
on  the  part  of  certain  sections  of  the  community  in  favour  of 
the  removal  of  accretions  and  the  reversion  to  the  more  simple, 
patriarchal,  and  puritanical  regime  of  an  earlier  epoch.  To 
such  a  conception  is  due  such  a  movement,  in  the  Hindu  world, 
as  that  of  the  Arya  Somaj,  which  has  so  many  supportei's  and 
so  wide  an  influence  in  India  to-day.  This  movement  has  for 
its  primary  object  a  return  to  the  Vedas — as  alone  sufficient  for 
the  salvation  of  man — and  to  the  simple  existence  of  the 
earlier  days.  Space  does  not  permit  of  a  detailed  examination 
of  the  whole  history  and  progTess  of  the  Arya  Sbmaj  movement 
and  of  the  life  and  teaching  of  its  founder  Swami  Dayananda 
Saraswati.  For  a  further  study  of  the  subject  the  reader  is 
i-ef erred  to  the  recently  published  history  of  the  Arya  Somaj 
by  L.  Lajpat  Rai. 

-Another  modern  development  has  been  that  of  the  Brahmo 
Somaj — a  body  of  Unitarian  tendency  and  teaching.  In  the 
Muhammadan  world  the  same  tendency  towards  reform  may 
be  noticed.  In  modern  times  the  most  extensive  reform  move- 
ment within  the  borders  of  Islam  has  been  the  Senussi  move- 
ment. But  while  this  has  become  a  distinct  force  among  the 
Muhammadans  of  Africa  it  has  had  little  or  no  effect  upon 
India.  Many  intelligent  Muhammadans  in  India  have  assured 
me  that  they  consider  the  position  of  their  Church  in  India 
to-day  very  analogous  to  that  of  the  Church  of  England  on  the 


296  HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS  chap,  ix 

1845-6.  and  future  happiness  to  new  intercessors  and  to  an- 

other manifestation  of  divine  power  and  mercy.  This 
labouring  spirit  has  developed  itself  most  strongly  on 
the  confines  of  the  two  antagonist  creeds;  but  the  feel- 
ing pervades  the  Indian  world,  and  the  extension  of 
Sikh  arms  would  speedily  lead  to  the  recognition  of 
Nanak  and  Gobind  as  the  long-looked-for  Comforters.^ 
The  Sikhs  have  now  been  struck  by  the  petrific  hand 

eve  of  the  Reformation.  The  'dead  hand'  of  mediaeval  England 
has  in  their  judgement  its  counterpart  in  India  to-day.  Isolation 
and  environment  have  both  played  their  part  in  bringing  about 
this  state  of  affairs.  As  regards  the  first  of  these  factors  one 
may  take  the  analogy  a  little  farther  back  historically.  It  may 
be  taken  as  an  admitted  fact  that  the  Church  in  England  ante- 
rior to  the  Norman  Conquest  suffered  considerably  from  its 
isolation,  and  that  one  of  the  benefits  of  that  conquest  was  the 
removal  of  that  barrier.  Cut  off  from  the  religious  life  of  the 
rest  of  the  Continent,  except  in  so  far  as  the  rather  uncertain 
link  of  pilgrimage  maintained  the  connexion,  the  Saxon  Church 
became  local,  formalized,  perhaps  indifferent.  And  when  we 
turn  to  Muhammadan  India  we  find  a  similar  state  of  things. 
The  link  of  pilgrimage  exists — made  stronger  by  modern 
facilities  for  travel — but  in  the  main  the  isolation  exists.  This 
isolation  has  resulted  in  the  gradual  growth  of  a  host  of  local 
traditions  and  local  cults.  And  here  the  second  factor — envi- 
ronment— comes  into  play.  Liying  in  close  association  with 
Hinduism,  drawing  at  an  earlier  period  a  number  of  converts 
from  that  religion,  the  followers  of  Islam  in  India  have  been 
profoundly  affected.  To  take  a  single  instance,  caste.  The 
Muhammadan  of  to-day  of  Rajput  descent  cannot,  in  many 
cases,  forget  his  original  caste.  Despite  the  democratic  nature 
of  the  religion  to  which  he  now  belongs,  his  whole  life  is  largely 
influenced  by  the  traditions  of  the  creed  of  his  ancestors.  One 
could  give  many  instances  of  this  from  one's  own  experience. 
They  are  common  phenomena  of  India  to-day  in  the  face  of 
modern  development.  The  intelligent  Muhammadan  of  to-day 
view  the  state  of  his  religion  with  the  feelings  of  an  English- 
man just  before  the  Reforn^ation.  He  is  fully  conscious  of 
imperfections,  of  accretions,  of  a  departure  from  the  pure 
tenets  of  his  religion.  Islam  in  modern  India  is  looking  for  a 
Luther,  but  the  desire  for  internal  reform  is  not  associated 
with  any  feeling  of  hostility  towards  other  creeds.  The  idea  is 
rather  that  it  is  because  of  its  imperfections  that  Islam  stands 
now  where  it  does,  and  that  reform  is  necessary  to  enable  it 
to  hold  its  place  successfully  amid  other  organised  religions  of 
to-day.  A  detailed  description  of  the  various  reformed  sects 
which  do  exist  among  the  Punjabi  Muhammadans  to-day  may 
be  found  in  the  Census  Report  of  1912.— Ed.] 

1  Widely  spread  notions,  how  erroneous  soever  they  be,  in 
one  sense,  always  deserve  attention,  as  based  on  some  truth 
or  conviction.  Thus  the  Hindus  quote  an  altered  or  spurious 
passage  of  the  Bhagavat,  describing  the  successive  rulers  of 
India  as  follows:     (1)     the    Yavvans     (Greeks),    eight    kings; 

(2)  the  Tooshkurs   (Turks  or  Muhammadans),  fourteen  kings; 

(3)  the  Gurand    (the  fair,   i.e.   the  English),   ten  kings;   and 

(4)  the  Mowna  (or  silent,  i.e.  the  disciples  of  Nanak  the  Seer), 
eleven  kings. 


CHAP.  IX         WAR  WITH  THE  ENGLISH  297 

of  material  power,  and  the  ascendancy  of  a  third  race  1845-6. 
has  everywhere  infused  new  ideas,  and  modified  the 
aspirations  of  the  people.  The  confusion  has  thus 
been  increased  for  a  time;  but  the  pregnant  fermenta- 
tion of  mind  must  eventually  body  itself  forth  in  new 
shapes;  and  a  prophet  of  name  unknown  may  arise  to 
diffuse  a  system  which  shall  consign  the  Vedas  and 
Koran  to  the  oblivion  of  the  Zendavest  and  the  Sibyl- 
line Leaves,  and  which  may  not  perhaps  absorb  one 
ray  of  light  from  the  -Wisdom  and  morality  of  that 
faith  which  adorns  the  civilization  of  the  Christian 
rulers  of  the  country.  But  England  must  hope  that  she 
is  not  to  exercise  an  unfruitful  sway;  and  she  will  add 
fresh  lustre  to  her  renown,  and  derive  an  additional 
claim  to  the  gratitude  of  posterity,  if  she  can  seize 
upon  the  essential  principles  of  that  element  which 
disturbs  her  multitudes  of  Indian  subjects,  and  imbue 
the  mental  agitation  with  new  qualities  of  beneficent 
fertility,  so  as  to  give  to  it  an  impulse  and  a  direction, 
which  shall  surely  lead  to  the  prevalence  of  a  religion 
of  truth  and  to  the  adoption  of  a  government  of 
freedom  and  progress. 


APPENDIXES 

APPENDIX   I 
THE  JATS  ANET  JATS  OF  UPPER  INDIA 

According  to  the  dictionaries  Jat  means  a  race,  a 
tribe,  or  a  particular  race  so  called,  while  Jat  means 
manner,  kind,  and  likewise  matted  hair.  But  through- 
out Punjab  Jat  also  implies  a  fleece,  a  fell  of  hair;  and 
in  Upper  Sind  a  Jat  now  means  a  rearer  of  camels  or 
of  black  cattle,  or  a  shepherd  in  opposition  to  a  hus- 
bandman. In  the  Punjab  generally  a  Jat  means  still 
a  villager,  a  rustic  par  excellence,  as  one  of  the  race 
by  far  the  most  numerous,  and  as  opposed  to  one  en- 
gaged in  trade  or  handicraft.  This  was  observed  by 
the  author  of  the  Dahistan  nearly  two  centuries  ago 
{Dahistan,  ii.  252);  but  since  the  Jats  of  Lahore  and 
the  Jats  of  the  Jumna  have  acquired  power,  the  term 
is  becoming  more  restricted,  and  is  occasionally  em- 
ployed to  -mean  simply  one  of  that  particular  race. 

The  Jats  merge  on  one  side  into  the  Rajput§,  and 
on  the  other  into  the  Afghans,  the  names  of  the  Jat 
subdivisions  being  the  same  with  those  of  Rajputs  in 
the  east,  and  again  with  those  of  Afghans,  and  even 
Baluchis,  in  the  west,  and  many  obscure  tribes  being 
able  to  show  plausibly  that  at  least  they  are  as  likely 
to  be  Rajputs  or  Afghans  as  to  be  Jats.  The  Jats  are 
indeed  enumerated  among  the  arbitrary  or  conven- 
tional thirty-six  royal  races  of  the  local  bards  of  Raj- 
putana  (Tod's  Rajasthan,  i.  106),  and  they  themselves 
claim  affinity  with  the  Bhotias,  and  aspire  to  a  lunar 
origin,  as  is  done  by  the  Raja  of  Patiala.  As  instances 
of  the  narrow  and  confused  state  of  our  knowledge 
regarding  the  people  of  India,  it  may  be  mentioned 
that  the  Birks  (or  Virks) ,  one  of  the  most  distinguished 
tribes  of  Jats,  is  admitted  among  the  Chaluk  Rajputs 
by  Tod  (i.  100) ,  and  that  there  are  Kukker  and  Kakar 
Jats,  Kukker  Kokur,  and  Kakar  Afghans,  besides  Gak- 
hars,  not  included  in  any  of  the  three  races.  Further, 
the  family  of  Umarkot  in  Sind  is  stated  by  Tod  (Raja- 
sthan,'!. 92,  93)  to  be  Pramar   (or  Powar),  while  the 


300 


HISTORY   OF   THE    SIKHS 


APP.   I 


Emperor  Humayun's  chronicler  talks  of  the  followers 
(i.e.  brethren)  of  that  chief  as  being  Jats.  (Memoirs  oj 
Humayun,  p.  45).  The  editors  of  the  Journal  of  the 
Geographical  Society  (xiv.  207  n.)  derive  Jat  from  the 
Sanskrit  Jyesfha,  old,  ancient,  and  so  make  the  term 
equivalent  to  aborigines;  but  this  etymology  perhaps 
too  hastily  sets  aside  the  sufficiently  established  facts 
of  Getae  and  Yuechi  emigrations,  and  the  circumstance 
of  Taimur's  warfare  with  Jettehs  in  Central  Asia. 

Some  of  the  most  eminent  of  the  Jat  subdivisions 
in  the  Punjab  are  named  Sindhu,  Chineh,  Varaitch, 
Chattheh,  Sidhu,  Kurrial,  Gondul,  &c.  For  some 
notices  of  the  Jats  of  the  Indus  by  early  Muhammadan 
writers  (about  a.d.  977  and  1100)  see  Sir  H.  M.  Elliot, 
Historians  of  India,  pp.  69  and  270. 


APPENDIX    II 

PROPORTIONS  OF  RACES  AND  FAITHS 
POPULATION  OF  INDIA 


Out  of  1,030  villages  lying  here  and  there  between 
the  Jumna  and  Sutlej,  and  which  were  under  Britisn 
management  in  1844,  there  were  found  to  be  forty-one 
different  tribes  of  agriculturists,  in  proportions  as  fol- 
lows, after  adding  up  fractions  where  any  race  com- 
posed a  portion  only  of  the  whole  community  of  any 
one  village. 


Villages 

Jats 

443 

Rajputs                     

194 

Gujars                       

109 

Saiyids                       

17 

Shaikhs 

25 

Pathans                     

8 

Mughals                    

5 

Brahmans 

28 

Kshattriyas 

6 

Rains    (or  Arains) 

47 

Kambos 

19 

MaUs                          

12 

Rors                           

33 

Dogras   (Muhammadans  claiming 

0 

Kshattriya  origin) 

28 

Kalals                       

5 

APP    II.  RACES,   FAITH   AND   POPULATION  3(j2 

Villages 
Gusain  religionists  . .         . .         . .  3 

Bairagi  religionists  . .         . .         . .  2 

24  miscellaneous  tribes  occupying  equal  to     46 


Total        1,030 

A  classification  of  the  tribes  of  India  according  to  posi- 
tion, origin,  and  faith  is  much  wanted,  and  is  indeed 
necessary  to  a  proper  comprehension  of  the  history  of 
the  country.  The  Revenue  Survey,  as  conducted  in  the 
upper  provinces  of  the  Ganges,  enumerates  several 
castes  or  at  least  the  predominant  ones,  in  each  village, 
and  the  lists  might  easily  be  rendered  more  complete, 
and  afterwards  made  available  by  publication  for  pur- 
poses of  inquiry  and  deduction. 

The  Sikh  population  of  the  Punjab  and  adjoining 
districts  has  usually  been  estimated  at  500,000  souls  in 
all  (cf.-Burnes,  Travels,  i.  289;  and  Elphinstone,  History 
of  India,  ii.  275  n.) ,  but  the  number  seems  too  small  by 
a  half  or  a  third.  There  are,  indeed,  no  exact  data  on 
which  to  found  an  opinion;  but  the  Sikh  armies  have 
never  been  held  to  contain  fewer  than  70,000  fighting 
men;  they  have  been  given  as  high  as  250,000,  and  there 
is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  between  the  Jhelum  and 
Jumna  they  could  muster  nearly  half  the  latter  num- 
ber of  soldiers  of  their  own  faith,  while  it  is  certain 
that  of  an  agricultural  people  no  member  of  some 
families  may  engage  in  arms,  and  that  one  adult  at 
least  of  other  families  wull  always  remain  behind  to 
till  the  ground.  The  gross  Sikh  population  may  pro- 
bably be  considered  to  amount  to  a  million  and  a 
quarter  or  a  million  and  a  half  of  souls,  men,  women, 
and  children. 

The  proportion  of  Hindus  to  Muhammadans 
throughout  India  generally  has  been  variously  esti- 
mated. The  Emperor  Jahingir  (Memoirs,  p.  29)  held 
them  to  be  as  five  to  one,  which  is  perhaps  more  un- 
equal than  the  present  proportion  in  the  valley  of  the 
Ganges.  Mr.  Elphinstone  (History  of  India,  ii.  238  and 
notes)  takes  the  relative  numbers  for  the  whole  coun- 
try to  be  eight  to  one.  From  p.  169  of  the  Statistics  of 
the  NW.  Provinces,  printed  in  1848  and  published  in 
1849  by  the  Indian  Government,  it  appears  that  out  of 
a  population  of  23,199,668  dwelling  between  Ghazipur 
and  Hardwar,  and  in  the  direct  or  active  occupation 
of  about  72,000  square  miles  of  country,  there  are 
19,452,646    Hindus    and    3,747,022   Muhammadans,  'and 


302  HISTORY   or   THK   SIKHS  ^pp    jj 

others  not  Hindus' — the  others  forming,  doubtless,  a 
fraction  so  small  that  they  may  be  here  disregarded. 

This  gives  somewhat  more  than  five  Hindus  to  one 
Muhammadan,  and  so  differs  but  little  from  the  esti- 
mate of  the  Emperor  Jahangir  above  quoted,  and 
which  probably  had  reference  to  the  same  tract  of 
country.  The  revenue  of  the  Upper  Provinces  amounts 
to  about  £4,700,000,  which  gives  a  taxation  of  about 
five  shillings  a  head.  Throughout  India  the  state  of 
industry  and  the  system  of  revenue  is  nearly  the  same; 
and  taking  the  gross  income  of  the  whole  country  at 
forty  millions  sterling  (22  British  and  18  native 
princes),  it  will  result  that  the  population  amounts  to 
two  hundred  millions  in  all,  or  double  what  it  is  com- 
monly believed  to  be.  The  calculation,  however,  is 
borne  out  by  the  analogous  condition  of  affairs  in  Ger- 
many. In  Prussia  the  taxation  is  about  eleven  shillings 
a  head,  and  the  proportion  seems  to  hold  good  in  the 
other  component  states  of  the  empire. 

[The  Census  of  1911  shows  the  population  and 
proportion  as  follows.  A  total  population  of  23,807,750, 
distributed  in  the  following  proportions  : 

Muhammadans  roughly  one-half. 
Hindus  "        three-eighths. 

Sikhs  "        one-eighth. — Ed.] 


APPENDIX   III 

THE  KSHATTRIYAS  AND  ARORAS  OF 
THE  PUNJAB 

The  Kshattriyas  of  the  Punjab  maintain  the  purity 
of  their  descent,  and  the  legend  is  that  they  represent 
those  of  the  warrior  race  who  yielded  to  Paras  Ram 
and  were  spared  by  him.  The  tribe  is  numerous  in  the 
Upper  Punjab  and  about  Delhi  and  Hardwar.  Kshat- 
triyas are  found  in  towns  along  the  Ganges  as  far  as 
Benares  and  Patna;  but  in  Bengal,  in  Central  India, 
and  in  the  Deccan  they  seem  to  be  strangers,  or  only  to 
be  represented  by  ruling  families  claiming  a  solar  or 
lunar  origin.  In  the  Punjab  the  religious  capital  of 
the  Kshattriyas  seems  to  be  the  ancient  Dipalpur.  The 
Kshattriyas  divide  themselves  into  three  principal 
classes  :  (1)  the  Charjatis,  or  the  four  clans;  (2)  the 
Barajatis,  or  the  twelve  clans;  and  (3)  the  Bawanjais, 
or  fifty-two  clans.     The  Charjatis  are,  1st,  the  Seths; 


APP.  Ill  "^^^  KSHATTRIYAS   AND  ARORAS  30;^ 

2nd,  the  Merhotas;  3rd,  the  Khannas;  and  4th,  the 
Kapurs,  who  are  again  divided,  the  first  into  two,  and 
the  others  into  three  classes.  The  principal  of  the 
Barajati  subdivisions  are  Chopra,  Talwar,  Tunnuhn, 
Seighul,  Kakar,  Mahta,  &c.  Some  of  the  Bawanjais  are 
as  follows  :  Bhandari,  Mahendro,  Sethis,  Suri,  Sahni, 
Anand,  Bhasin,  Sodhi,  Bedi,  Tihan,  Bhallah,  &c. 

The  Aroras  claim  to  be  the  offspring  of  Kshattriya 
lathers  and  of  Vaisya  or  Sudra  mothers,  and  their 
legend  is  that  they  were  settled  in  numbers  about  Uch, 
when  the  Kshattriyas,  being  expelled  from  Delhi, 
migrated  to  Tatta  and  other  places  in  Sind,  and  sub- 
sequently to  Multan.  During  their  wars  the  Kshat- 
triyas asked  the  aid  of  the  Aroras,  but  they  were 
refused  assistance.  The  Kshattriyas  in  consequence 
induced  the  Brahmans  to  debar  the  Aroras  from  the 
exercise  of  religious  rites,  and  they  thus  remained 
proscribed  for  three  hundred  years,  until  Sidh  Bhoja 
and  Sidh  Siama  of  Dipalpur  readmitted  them  within 
the  pale  of  Hinduism.  The  Hindu  bankers  of  Shikar- 
pur  are  Aroras,  and  the  Hindu  shopkeepers  of  Khora- 
san  and  Bokhara  are  likewise  held  by  the  people  of 
the  Punjab  to  be  of  the  same  race.  The  Aroras  divide 
themselves  into  two  main  classes  :  (1)  Utradi,  or  of 
the  north,  and  (2)'  Dakhni,  or  of  the  south,  and  the 
latter  has  likewise  an  important  subdivision  named 
Duhuni. 

In  the  Lower  Punjab  and  in  Sind  the  whole  Hindu 
trading  population  is  included  by  the  Muhammadans 
under  the  term  'Kirar'.  In  the  Upper  Punjab  the  word 
is  used  to  denote  a  coward  or  one  base  and  abject,  and 
about  Multan  it  is  likewise  expressive  of  contempt  as 
well  of  a  Hindu  or  a  trafficker.  In  Central  India  the 
Kirars  form  a  tribe,  but  the  term  there  literally  means 
dalesmen  or  foresters,  although  it  has  become  the  name 
of  a  class  or  tribe  in  the  lapse  of  centuries.  Professor 
Wilson  somewhere,  I  think,  identifies  them  with  the 
Chirrhadae  of  the  ancients,  and  indeed  Kerat  is  one 
of  the  five  Prasthas  or  regions  of  the  Hindus,  these 
being  Chin  Prasth,  Yavan  Prasth,  Indr  Prasth,  Dak- 
shan  Prasth,  and  Kerat  Prasth,  which  last  is  understood 
by  the  Indians  to  apply  to  the  country  between  Ujjain 
and  Orissa.  (Cf.  Wilson,  Vishnu  Pur  an,  p.  175  n.,  for 
the  Keratas  of  that  book) .  Further,  the  Brahmanical 
Gonds  of  the  Nerbudda  are  styled  'Raj  Gonds',  while 
those  who  have  not  adopted  Hinduism  continue  to  be 
called  'Kirria  Gonds',  a  term  which  seems  to  have  a 
relation  to  their  unaltered  condition. 


304  HISTORY    OF    THE    SIKHS  ^pp    jy 

APPENDIX  IV 
CASTE  IN  INDIA 

The  system  of  caste,  as  it  has  become  developed  in 
India,  as  it  obtained  in  Egypt  and  in  Persia,  as  it  was 
exemplified  in  an  ancient  'Gens'  with  its  separate  reli- 
gious rites  and  hereditary  usages,  as  it  partially  ob- 
tained in  Europe  during  the  Middle  Ages,  and  as  it 
exists  even  now,  is  worthy  of  an  essay  distinguished 
by  the  ripest  scholarship,  and  by  the  widest  experience 
of  life  and  knowledge  of  the  human  mind.  In  India  it 
has  evidently  been  an  institution  of  gradual  progress 
up  to  the  pernicious  perfection  of  later  days,  and  in 
early  times  the  bounds  were  less  markedly  defined,  or 
less  carefully  observed,  than  during  the  last  few 
hundred  years.  The  instance  of  Viswamitra's  acquisi- 
tion of  Brahmanhood  is  well  known,  as  is  Vikramajit's 
almost  successful  desire  of  attaining  to  the  same  emi- 
nence. Vyasa  likewise  raised  a  Sudra  to  an  equality 
with  the  priestly  class,  and  his  descendants  are  still 
looked  upon  as  Brahmans,  although  inferior  in  degree. 
(Ward,  The  Hindus,  i.  85;  and  see  Manu,  Institutes, 
chap.  X,  42-72,  &c.,  for  admissions  that  merit  could 
open  the  ranks  of  caste.)  Even  in  the  present  genera- 
tion some  members  of  the  Jat  Sikh  family  of  Sindhian- 
wala,  related  to  that  of  Ranjit  Singh,  made  an  attempt 
to  be  admitted  to  a  participation  in  the  social  rites  of 
Kshattriyas;  and  it  may  be  assumed  as  certain  that 
had  the  conquering  Mughals  and  Pathans  been  with- 
out a  vivid  belief  and  an  organized  priesthood,  they 
would  have  adopted  Vedism  and  have  become  enrolled 
among  the  Kshattriyas  or  ruling  races. 

Perhaps  the  reformer  Ramanand  expressed  the 
original  principle  of  Indian  sacerdotal  caste  when  he 
said  that  Kabir  the  weaver  had  become  a  Brahman 
by  knowing  Brahm  or  God.   (The  Dahistan,  ii.  188.) 

The  Muhammadans  of  India  fancifully  divide 
themselves  into  four  classes,  after  the  manner  of  the 
Hindus,  viz.  Saiyids,  Shaikhs,  Mughals,  and  Pathans. 
All  are  noble,  indeed,  but  the  former  two,  as  repre- 
senting the  tribe  of  Muhammad  and  the  direct  progeny 
of  Ali  his  son-in-law,  are  pre-eminent.  It  is  likewise 
a  fact,  at  least  in  the  north-west,  that  a  Kshattriya 
convert  from  Hinduism,  or  any  convert  from  Sikhism., 
is  styled  a  Shaikh,  and  that  converts  of  inferior  races 
are  classed  as  Mughals  and  Pathans.  Doubtless  a 
Brahman  who  should  become  a  Muhammadan  would 
at  once  be  classed  among  the  Saiyids. 


APP.  IV 


CASTE    IN    INDIA  305 


Mr.  Hodgson  (Aborigines  of  India,  p.  144)  shows 
that  the  Koch  princes  of  Assam  were  admitted  to  be 
Rajputs  on  embracing  Hinduism,  although  they  are  of 
the  Tamil  and  not  of  the  Arya  race;  but  even  the  Jews 
were  not  altogether  inflexible  in  former  times,  and 
Bossuet  notices  the  conversion  of  the  Idumaeans  and 
Philistines,  and  sees  their  change  of  faith  foretold  by 
the  prophets  (Universal  History,  Translation  of  1810, 
pp.  142  and  154). 

[Possibly  in  his  reference  to  Society  in  mediaeval 
Europe  the  author  has  not  laid  sufficient  stress  upon  the 
rigid  nature  of  what  has  been  called  the  'horizontal' 
division  of  Society  during  that  period.  The  caste 
barrier  that  separated  the  knight  from  the  merchant 
of  his  own  country  was  a  very  real  thing. — Ed.] 


APPENDIX  V 
THE  PHILOSOPHICAL  SYSTEMS  OF  THE  INDIANS 

The  six  orthodox  schools  will  be  found,  among 
them,  to  partially  represent  the  three  great  philoso- 
phic systems  of  the  Greeks — the  ethical,  the  logical, 
and  the  physical;  or  to  be  severally  founded,  in  more 
modern  language,  on  revelation  or  morality,  reason, 
and  sense.  Thus  the  first  and  second  Mimamsa,  being 
based  on  the  Vedas,  correspond  in  a  measure  with  the 
school  of  Pythagoras,  which  identified  itself  so  closelj' 
with  the  belief  and  institutions  of  the  age.  The  Nyaya 
and  Vaiseshika  systems  of  Gautama  and  Kanadia 
which  treat  primarily  of  mind  or  reason,  resemble  tb 
dialectics  of  Xenophanes,  v/hile  the  Sankhya  doctrines 
of  Kapal  and  Patanjali,  which  labour  with  the  inert- 
ness and  modifications  of  matter,  correspond  with  the 
physical  school  of  Thales,  as  taught  by  Anaxagoras. 
Mr.  Elphinstone  (History  of  India,  i.  234)  has  some 
good  observations  on  the  marked  correspondence  of  the 
Indian  and  Greek  metaphysics,  and  Mr.  Ward  (Hindus, 
ii.  113)  attempts  a  specific  comparison  with  a  series  of 
individual  reasoners,  but  too  little  is  yet  known,  espe- 
cially of  Brahmanical  speculation,  to  render  such 
parallels  either  exact  or  important. 

The  triple  division  of  the  schools  which  is  adopted 
by  the  Indians  themselves  may  here  be  given  as  some 
l.elp  to  a  better  understanding  of  the  doctrines  of  the 
rr,  odern  reformers.  They  separate  the  systems  into 
Arumbwad.  Purnamwad,  and  Vivurtwad,  or  the  siin- 


306  HISTORY   OF   THE    SIKHS  ^pp    y 

pie  atomic,  tiie  modified  material,  and  the  illusory.  The 
'Arumbwad'  includes  the  first  Mimamsa,  the  Nyaya, 
and  the  Vaiseshika,  and  it  teaches  the  indestructibility 
of  matter,  while  it  leaves  the  atoms  without  any  other 
inherent  quality,  and  attributes  their  various  shapes  and 
developments  to  the  exercise  of  God's  will.  The  'Pur- 
namwad'  includes  the  Sankhya  and  Yoga  systems,  and 
teaches  that  matter  has  not  only  a  power  of  resistance, 
but  a  law  of  aggregation  or  development,  or  that  it  can 
only  have  forms  given  to  it  by  God  in  accordance  with 
its  inherent  nature.  The  modern  Vaishnavas  are 
mostly  adherents  of  this  doctrine,  but  they  somewhat 
modify  it,  and  say  that  the  sensible  world  is  God,  so 
imbued  with  matter  that  he  is  himself  manifest  in  ail 
things,  but  under  such  varying  forms  and  appearances 
as  may  suit  his  design.  The  'Vivurtwad',  or  the  second 
Mimamsa,  which  is  orthodox  Vedantism,  or  the  system 
of  Shankar  Acharj,  teaches  that  God  changes  not  his 
shape,  but  is  himself  at  once  both  spirit  and  matter, 
although  to  the  sense  of  man  he  is  variously  manifested 
by  means  of  'Maya',  his  power  or  essence,  his  image 
or  reflection — under  the  guise  of  the  heavens  and  the 
earth,  or  as  inorganic  rocks  and  as  sentient  animals. 

Another  division  of  the  schools  is  also  made  into 
'Astik',  and  'Nastik',  or  deist  and  atheist;  so  as  to  in- 
clude doctrines  not  Brahmanical.  Thus  the  Astik  com- 
prehends all  the  six  'Dursuns',  and  some  modern  rea- 
soners  further  admit  Muhammadanism  and  Christia- 
nity, considered  as  speculative  systems,  into  this  the- 
istic  or  partially  orthodox  pale.  The  Nastik  compre- 
hends primarily  the  Buddhist  and  Jain  systems,  with 
the  addition  sometimes  of  the  Gharvak,  which  has 
never  been  popularized;  but  Hindu  zealots  make  it 
secondarily  to  include  not  only  Muhammadanism  and 
Christianity,  but  also  the  sects  of  Gorakh,  Kabir,  and 
Nanak,  as  being  irrespective  of  or  repugnant  to  the 
Vedas,  while  similarly  they  place  the  Poorv  and  Utar 
Mimamsa  above  the  mere  deism  of  reason,  as  being  tha 
direct  revelation  of  God. 

The  Buddhists  are  subdivided  into  four  schools 
—the  Sautrantik,  the  Waibhashik,  the  Yogachar,  and 
the  Madiamit.  All  agree  in  compounding  animal 
existence  of  five  essences  or  qualities  :  (1)  independent 
consciousness,  or  soul,  or  self;  (2)  perception  of  form, 
or  of  external  objects;  (3)  sensation,  pleasure,  or  pain 
—the  action  of  matter  on  mind;  (4)  understanding  or 
comprehension,  the  reaction  of  mind  on  matter,  or 
mind    pervaded    with    the    qualities    of    matter;     (5) 


App    V  PHILOSOPHICAL  SYSTEMS  OF  INDIANS  397 

passion,  volition,  action,  or  mind,  vital  and  motive 
Scholars  thus  consider  the  present  subjection  of  mat- 
ter to  mind  as  the  greatest  happiness  of  which  man  is 
capable,  and  they  declare  death  to  be  the  utter  disso- 
lution of  the  individual;  while  the  Buddhas  of  vulgar 
adoration  become  simply  revered  memories  or  remem- 
brances with  the  learned.  The*  first  section  holds  that 
intelligence,  or  the  joint  perception  of  the  object  and 
subject,  is  the  soul  or  distinguishing  characteristic  of 
humanity;  the  second  gives  the  preference  to  simple 
consciousness;  the  third  prefers  objective  sensation, 
and  the  fourth  teaches  that  the  fact  or  the  phenomenon 
of  the  assemblage  of  the  component  qualities  is  the 
only  spirit;  or,  indeed,  that  there  is  naught  permanent 
or  characteristic  save  nonentity,  or  the  void  of  non- 
being-.  This  last  evidently  merges  into  the  Charvak 
school,  and  it  is  also  called  the  'Shunyabad'  system,  or 
the  doctrine  of  vacuity  or  non-existence,  and  an  at- 
tempt was  recently  made  to  popularize  it  in  Upper 
India,  by  one  Bakhtawar,  and  his  patron,  the  Chief  of 
Hattrass  (Wilson,  As.  Res.,  xvii.  305) ;  nor  is  it  difficult 
to  perceive  that  practically  it  would  resolve  itself  into 
the  principle  of  self-reliance,  or  perhaps  the  'know- 
thyself  of  the  Greek  sage. 

The  Jains  base  human  existence  on  the  aggregation 
of  nine  phenomena,  c^  principles,  one  of  which,  Jiv, 
vitality,  may  by  merit  become  a  Jin,  or  an  immortal 
spirit.  The  two  great  divisions,  'Swetambar',  the  white 
clothed,  and  'Digambar',  the  naked,  seem  to  have  few 
important  metaphysical  differences,  except  that  the 
latter  refuses  emancipation  to  the  Jiv,  or  vital  power, 
in  woman,  or  denies  that  woman  has  a  soul  capable  of 
immortality. 

The  six  heretical  systems  of  Indian  speculation 
thus  comprise  the  four  Buddhist  and  two  Jain  schools; 
or,  if  the  Jain  be  held  to  be  one,  the  sixth  is  obtained 
by  including  the  Charvak. 

The  tendency  of  Indian  speculation  lies  doubtless 
towards  materialism,  and  the  learned  say  the  mind 
cannot  grasp  that  which  is  without  qualities,  or  which 
has  force  without  form,  and  iS  irrespective  of  space. 
In  how  much  does  the  philosophy  of  Humboldt  differ 
from  this,  when  he  says  he  confidently  expects  what 
Socrates  once  desired,  'that  Reason  shall  be  the  sole 
interpreter  of  Nature'  ?  (Kosmos.  Sabine's  trans., 
i.  154.) 


308  HISTORY    OF    THE    SIKHS  ^^pp    y^ 

APPENDIX  VI 
ON  THE  MAYA  OF  THE  INDIANS 

The  Maya  of  the  Hindus  may  be  considered  under 
a  threefold  aspect,  or  morally,  poetically,  and  philoso- 
phically. 

Morally,  it  means  no  more  than  the  vanity  of 
Solomon  (Ecclesiastes  i  and  ii),  or  the  nothingness  of 
this  world;  and  thus  Kabir  likens  it  to  delusion  or  evil, 
or  to  moral  error  in  the  abstract.  {As.  Res.,  xvi.  161.) 
The  Indian  reformers,  indeed,  made  a  use  of  Maya  cor- 
responding with  the  use  made  by  the  Apostle  Saint 
John  of  the  Logos  of  Plato,  as  Mr.  Milman  very  judi- 
ciously observes.  (Note  in  Gibbon,  History,  iii.  312.) 
The  one  adapted  Maya  to  the  Hindu  notions  of  a  sinful 
world,  and  the  other  explained  to  Greek  and  Roman 
understandings  the  nature  of  Christ's  relation  to  God 
by  representing  the  divine  intellience  to  be  manifested 
in  the  Messiah. 

Poetically,  Maya  is  used  to  denote  a  film  before  the 
eyes  of  gods  and  heroes,  which  limits  their  sight  or 
sets  bounds  to  their  senses  (Heereen,  Asiatic  Nations. 
iii.  203) ;  and  similarly  Pallas  dispels  a  mist  from  be- 
fore the  eyes  of  Diomed,  and  makes  the  ethereal  forms 
of  divinities  apparent  to  a  mortal.  (Iliad,  v.)  The 
popular  speech  of  all  countries  contains  proof  of  the 
persuasion  that  the  imperfect  powers  of  men  render 
them  unable  to  appreciate  the  world  around  them. 

Philosophically,  the  Maya  of  the  Vedant  system 
(which  corresponds  to  a  certain  extent  with  the  Pra- 
kriti  of  the  Sankhya  school,  and  with  the  Cosmic 
substance  of  Xenophanes,  or  more  exactly  with  the 
Play  of  the  Infinite  Being  of  Heraclitus) ,  seems  identi- 
cal with  the  idealism  of  Berkeley.  The  doctrine  seems 
also  to  have  had  the  same  origin  as  the  'Idola'  sys- 
tem of  Bacon;  and  thus,  as  an  illusion  or  a  false  appear- 
ance, Maya  is  the  opposite  of  Plato's  'Idea'  or  the  True. 
Ordinarily,  Maya  is  simply  held  to  denote  the  apparent 
or  sensible  in  opposition  to  the  real,  as  when,  according 
to  the  common  illustration,  a  rope  is  taken  for  a  snake, 
while  in  another  point  of  view  it  is  regarded  as  the 
Agent  or  Medium  of  God's  manifestation  in  the  uni- 
verse, either  as  merely  exhibiting  images,  or  as  really 
and  actively  mixed  up  with  the  production  of  worlds. 
It  is  curious  that  in  England  and  in  India  the  same 
material  argument  should  have  been  used  to  confute 
Berkeley's    theory    of    dreams   -and    the    Brahmanical 


APP.  VI  °^  '"'^  MAYA  OF  THE  INDIANS  309 

theory  of  illusion.  An  elephant  was  impelled  against 
Shankar  Acharj,  who  maintained  the  unreal  nature  of 
his  own  body  and  of  all  around  him;  and  Dr.  Johnson 
considered  that  he  demolished  the  doctrine  when, 
striking  a  stone  with  his  foot,  he  showed  that  he  re- 
coiled from  it.  But  Shankar  Acharj  had  a  readier  wit 
than  the  supporters  of  the  bishop,  and  he  retorted  upon 
his  adversaries  when  they  ridiculed  his  nimble  steps 
to  avoid  the  beast,  that  all  was  a  fancy;  there  was  no 
Shankar^  no  elephant,  no  flight — all  was  a  delusion 
(Dahistan,  ii.  103.) 

Maya  may  also  be  said  to  be  used  in  a  fourth  or 
political  sense  by  the  Indians,  as  in  the  Sahit  or  Niti 
section  of  the  'Arth  Shastra',  or  fourth  'UpvCd',  which 
treats,  among  other  things,  of  the  duties  of  rulers,  it  is 
allowed  as  one  of  the  modes  of  gaining  an  end.  But 
Maya,  in  the  science  in  question,  is  used  to  signify 
rather  secrecy,  or  strategy,  or  dexterous  diplomacy, 
than  gross  deceit;  for  fraud  and  falsehood  are  among 
the  prohibited  ways.  Maya,  it  is  said,  may  be  employed 
to  delude  an  enemy  or  to  secure  the  obedience  of  sub- 
jects. Socrates  admits  that,  under  similar  circumst- 
ances, such  deceit  would  be  fitting  and  proper,  or  that 
in  his  scheme  it  would  come  under  the  category  of 
justice.   {Memorabilia,  book  iv,  chap,  ii.) 


APPENDIX  VII 
THE  METAPHYSICS  OF  INDIAN  REFORMERS 

What  has  been  said  in  the  text  about  the  modern 
reformers  relates  chiefly  to  the  popular  theology.  Some 
of  them,  however,  likewise  philosophized  or  speculated 
on  the  origin  of  things,  and  thus  the  'Utar  Mimamsa' 
school  is  sometimes  subdivided  into  several  branches, 
known  (1)  as  the  'Adweit',  or  pure  system  of  Shan- 
kar; and  (2)  as  the  'Madhavadweit',  the  'Vusisht- 
adweit',  and  the  'Shud-adweit',  or  modified  systems  of 
Unity  of  Madhav,  Ramanuj,  and  Vallabh  respectively. 
Shankar  Acharj  taught  that  God  is  the  original  of  all 
things,  and  is  in  reality  unchangeable  in  form;  where- 
fore, when  oblivious  (aghian)  of  himself,  he  variously 
becomes  manifest  as  vitality  and  matter,  he  does  so  as 
'Maya',  or  as  Images,  or  as  the  mirror  reflecting  all 
things,  yet  remaining  itself  the  same.  Life  and  the 
Soul  are  one  in  this  system,  and  salvation  becomes 
absorption,  while,  as  a  proof  that  the  same  vitality 


310  HISTORY   OF   THE   SIKHS  ^^p    y^J 

may  put  on  different  shapes,  he  quotes  the  instance  of! 
the  caterpilla,r,  the  chrysalis,  and  the  butterfly.  Madhav 
holds  Life  to  be  distinct  from  Spirit,  and  with  him  the,, 
purified  soul  dwells  with  God  without  being  absorbed,! 
but  he  gives  prominence  to  'Maya'  as  coexistent  with! 
God,  or  as  the  moving  and  brooding  spirit  which  gives'^ 
form  to  matter;  and  thus  the  followers  of  Ramanuj 
extend  Madhav's  notion,  and  talk  of  God,  Maya,  and 
Life,  as  well  as  of  Atoms.     Vallabh  and  the  Yishnu- 
swamins   or   the   Shudadweits   likewise  maintain  the 
distinct  nature  of  Life  or  of  the  human  Soul,  and  make  - 
salvation  a  dwelling  with  God  without  liability  to  reap- 
pearance; but  the  doctrine  of  'Maya'  is  almost  wholly 
rejected  4n  favour  of  a  Material  Pantheism,  as  that  the 
light  which  illumines  a  room  is  the  same  with  the  illu- 
minating principle  of  the  transmitting  flame,  and  hence 
that  what  man  perceives  is  actual  and  not  illusory.    For 
some  partial  notices  of  these  reasonings  see  Wilson, 
As.  Res.,  xvi.  34,  89,  and  104;  and  they  may  be  perused 
at  length  in  the  Commentaries  of  the  several  specula- 
tors on  the  'Bhagavadgita',  in  the  'Urth  Punchuk"  of 
Ramanuj,  and  in  the  'Dusha  Slok'  of  Vishnuswami. 


APPENDIX   VIII 

NANAK'S  PHILOSOPHICAL  ALLUSIONS 

POPULAR  OR  MORAL  RATHER 

THAN  SCIENTIFIC 

Professor  Wilson  (As.  Res.,  xvii.  233,  and  conti- 
nuation of  Mill's  History  of  India,  vii.  101,  102)  would 
appear  to  think  slightingly  of  the  doctrines  of  Nanak, 
as  being  mere  ipetaphysical  notions  founded  on  the 
abstractions  of  Sufism  and  the  Vedant  philosophy;  but 
it  is  difficult  for-  any  one  to  write  about  the  omnipot- 
ence of  God  and  the  hopes  of  man,  without  laying  him- 
self open  to  a  charge  of  belonging  to  one  speculative 
school  or  another.  Milton,  the  poet  and  statesman, 
indeed,  may  have  had  a  particular  leaning,  when  he 
thought  of  'body  working  up  to  spirit'  (Paradise  Lost, 
v) ;  but  is  St.  Paul,  the  reformer  and  enthusiast,  to  be 
contemned,  or  is  he  to  be  misunderstood  when  he  says, 
'It  is  sown  a  natural  body,  and  is  raised  a  spiritual 
body'  ?  (1  Corinthians  xv.  44).  Similarly  such  expres- 
sions as  'Doth  not  the  Lord  fill  heaven  and  earth?' 
(Jeremiah  xxiii.  24) ,  'God,  in  whom  we  live  and  move 


APP.   VTTT  NANAK'S  PHILOSOPHICAL,  ALLUSIONS  ^JJ 

and  have  our  being'  (Acts,  xvii.  28) ,  and  'Of  him,  and 
to  him,  and  through  him  are  all  things'  (Romans  xi. 
36),  might  be  used  to  declare  the  prophet  and  the 
apostle  to  bo  Pantheists  or  Materialists;  but  it  never- 
theless seems  plain  that  Jeremiah  and  Paul,  and  like- 
wise Nanak,  had  another  object  in  view  than  scholastic 
dogmatism,  and  that  they  simply  desired  to  impress 
mankind  with  exalted  notions  of  the  greatness  and 
goodness  of  God,  by  a  vague  employment  of  general 
language  which  they  knew  would  never  mislead  the 
multitude. 

Professor  Wilson  (As.  Res.,  xvii.  233,  237,  238)  and 
Muhsin  Fani  (Dahistan,  ii.  269,  270,  285,  286)  may  be 
compared  together,  and  the  Siar  ul  Mutakharin  (i.  110) 
may  be  compared  with  both,  with  reference  to  the  con- 
tradictory views  taken  of  the  similarity  or  difference 
respectively  between  Sikhism  and  Brahmanism.  Each 
is  right,  the  one  with  regard  to  the  imperfect  faith  or 
the  corrupt  practices,  especially  of  the  Sikhs  in  the 
Gangetic  provinces,  and  the  other  with  regard  to  the 
admitted  doctrines  of  Nanak,  as  they  will  always  be 
explained  by  any  qualified  person. 

It  is  to  be  remembered  that  the  Sikhs  regard  the 
mission  of  Nanak  and  Gobind  as  the  consummation  of 
other  dispensations,  including  that  of  Muhammad;  and 
their  talk,  therefore,  of  Brahma  and  Vishnu  and  vari- 
ous heavenly  powers  is  no  more  unreasonable  than  the 
deference  of  Christians  to  Moses  and  Abraham  and  to 
the  archangels  Michael  and  Gabriel.  Such  allusions 
are  perhaps,  indeed,  more  excusable  in  the  Sikhs  than 
'that  singular  polytheism'  of  our  mediaeval  divines, 
which  they  'grafted  on  the  language  rather  (indeed) 
than  on  the  principles  of  Christianity'.  (Hallam,  Mid- 
dle Ages.  iii.  346.) 

For  an  instance  of  the  moral  application  which 
Nanak  was  wont  to  give  to  mythological  stories  see 
Ward,  Hindus,  iii.  465.  Nanak,  indeed,  refers  continu- 
ally to  Hindu  notions,  but  he  was  not  therefore  an 
idolater;  and  it  should  further  be  borne  in  mind  that 
as  St.  John  could  draw  illustrations  from  Greek  philo- 
sophy, so  could  St.  Paul  make  an  advantageous  use  of 
the  Greek  poets,  as  was  long  ago  observed  upon  in  a 
right  spirit  by  Milton  (Speech  for  the  Liberty  of  un- 
licensed Printing).  In  the  early  ages  of  Christianity, 
moreover,  the  Sibylline  leaves  were  referred  to  as  fore- 
telling the  mission  of  Jesus;  but  although  the  spurious- 
ness  of  the  passages  is  How  admitted,  the  fathers  are 
not  accused  of  polytheism,  or  of  holding  Amalthaea, 


312  HISTORY    OF   THE    SIKHS  ^pp     yjjj 

the  nurse  of  Jupiter,  to  be  a  real  type  of  the  Virgin 
Mary!  In  truth,  all  religious  systems  not  possessed  of 
a  body  of  literature  or  philosophy  proper  to  themselves 
seek  elsewhere  for  support  in  such  matters.  Thus  the 
Chevalier  Bunsen  (Egypt,  i.  194,  &c.)  observes  that  the 
early  Christians  were  even  desirous  of  reconciling 
Scripture  with  Greek  history;  and  Ranke  (Hist,  of  the 
Popes,  ed.  1843,  p.  125)  says  that  the  Church,  so  late 
as  the  sixteenth  century,  was  willing  to  rest  its  dogmas 
and  doctrines  on  the  metaphysics  of  the  Ancients. 


APPENDIX    IX 

THE  TERMS  RAJ  AND  JOG,  DEG  AND  TEGH 

The  warlike  resistance  of  Har  Gobind,  or  the  arm- 
ing of  the  Sikhs  by  that  teacher,  is  mainly  attributed 
by  Malcolm  (Sketch,  pp.  34,  35)  and  Forster  (Travels, 
i.  298,  299)  to  his  personal  feelings  of  revenge  for  the 
death  of  his  father,  although  religious  animosity 
against  Muhammadans  is  allowed  to  have  had  some 
share  in  bringing  about  the  change.  The  circumstance 
of  the  Guru's  military  array  does  not  appear  to  have 
struck  Muhsin  Fani  as  strange  or  unusual,  and  his 
work,  the  Dahistan,  does  not  therefore  endeavour  to 
account  for  it.  The  Sikhs  themselves  connect  the 
modification  of  Nanak's  system  with  the  double  nature 
of  the  mythological  Janak  of  Mithila,  whose  released 
soul,  indeed,  is  held  to  have  animated  the  body  of  their 
first  teacher  (Dahistan,  ii.  268),  and  they  have  encum- 
bered their  ideal  of  a  ruler  with  the  following  personal 
anecdote:  The  wife  of  Arjun  was  without  ch  dren,  and 
she  began  to  despair  of  ever  becoming  a  mo  her.  She 
went  to  Bhai  Buddha,  the  ancient  and  only  surviving 
companion  of  Nanak,  to  beseech  his  blessing;  but  he, 
disliking  the  degree  of  state  she  assumed  and  her  costly 
offerings,  would  not  notice  her.  She  afterwards  went 
barefooted  and  alone  to  his  presence,  carrying  on  her 
head  the  ordinary  food  of  peasants.  The  Bhai  smiled 
benignly  upon  her,  and  said  she  should  have  a  son,  who 
would  be  master  both  of  the  Deg  and  Tegh;  that  is, 
simply  of  a  vessel  for  food  and  a  sword,  but  typically 
of  grace  and  power,  the  terms  corresponding  in  signi- 
ficance with  the  'Raj'  and  'Jog'  of  Janak,^  the  'Piri' 

1  'Raj  men  jog  kumaio,'  to  attain  immortal  purity  or  vir- 
tue, or  to  dwell  in  grace  while  exercising  earthly  sway.  It  is 
an  expression  of  not  infrequent  use,  and  which  occurs  in  the 


^pp    jj^  THE  TERMS  RAJ  AND  JOG,   DEG  AND   TEGH  3)3 

and  'Miri'  of  Indian  Muhanimadans,  and  with  the  idea 
of  the  priesthood  and  kingship  residing  in  Melchisedec 
and  in  the  expected  Messiah  of  the  Jews.  Thus  Har 
Gobind  is  commonly  said  to  have  worn  two  swords,  one 
to  denote  his  spiritual,  and  the  other  his  temporal 
power;  or,  as  he  may  sometimes  have  chosen  to  express 
it,  one  to  avenge  his  father,  and  the  other  to  destroy 
Muhammadanism.    (See  Malcolm,  Sketch,  p.  35.) 

The  fate  of  Arjun,  and  the  personal  character  of 
his  son,  had  doubtless  some  share  in  leading  the  Sikhs 
to  take  up  arms;  but  the  whole  progress  of  the  change 
is  not  yet  apparent,  nor  perhaps  do  the  means  exist  of 
tracing  it.  The  same  remark  applies  to  the  early 
Christian  history,  and  we  are  left  in  ignorance  of  how 
that  modification  of  feeling  and  principle  was  brought 
about,  which  made  those  who  were  so  averse  to  the 
'business  of  war  and  government'  in  the  time  of  the 
[early]  Caesars,  fill  the  armies  of  the  empire  in  the 
reign  of  Diocletian,  and  at  last  give  a  military  master 
to  the  western  world  in  the  person  of  Constantine.  (Cf. 
Gibbon,  History,  ed.  1838,  ii.  325,  375.) 


APPENDIX  X 

CASTE  AMONG  THE  SIKHS 

It  may  nevertheless  be  justly  observed  that  Gobind 
abolished  caste  rather  by  implication  than  by  a  direct 
enactment,  and  it  may  be  justly  objected  that  the  Sikhs 
still  uphold  the  principal  distinctions  at  least  of  race. 
Thus  the  Gurus  nowhere  say  that  Brahmans  and  Sudras 
are  to  inter-marry,  or  that  they  are  daily  to  partake 
together  of  the  same  food;  but  that  they  laid  a  good 
foundation  for  the  practical  obliteration  of  all  differ- 
ences will  be  evident  from  the  following  quotations, 
bearing  in  mind  the  vast  pre-eminence  which  they 
assign  to  religious  unity  and  truth  over  social  same- 
ness or  political  equality: 

Adi  Granth,  in  the  'Sawayas',  by  certain  Bhats.  Thus  one  Bika 
says,  Ram  Das  (the  fourth  Guru)  got  the  'Takht',  or  throne, 
of  Tlaj'  an(4  'Jog',  from  Amar  Das.  "Deg',  as  above  stated, 
means  simply  a  vessel  for  food,  and  thence,  metaphorically, 
abundaiice  on  earth,  and  grace  on  the  part  of  God.  The  two 
terms  are  clearly  synonymous,  and  thus  Thomson  writes  of 
the  sun  as  the 

.    .    .   'great   delegated   source 

Of  light,  and  life,  and  grace,  and  joy  below.' 

The  Seasons — Summer. 


314  HISTORY    OF   THE    SIKHS  ^pp    y^ 

'Think  not  of  caste  :  abase  thvself,  and  attain  to 
salvation.'— Nanak.  Sarang  Rag. 

'God  will  not  ask  man  of  what  race  he  is;  he  will 
ask  him  what  has  he  done?'— Nanak,  Parbhati  Ragvi. 

'  Of  the  impure  among  the  noblest, 
Heed  not  the  injunction; 
Of  one  pure  among  the  most  despised, 
Nanak  will  become  the  footstool.' 

Nanak,  Malhar  Rag. 
'  All  of  the  seed  of  Brahm   (God)  are  Brahmans  : 
They  say  there  are  four  races, 
But  all  are  of  the  seed  of  Brahm.' 

Amar  Das,  Bhairav. 
'Kshattriya,    Brahman,    Sudra,     Veisya,    whoever 
remembers    the    name    of    God.    who    worships    him 
always,  &c.,  &c.,  shall  attain  to  salvation.'— Ram  Das, 
BUawal. 

'  The  four  races  shall  be  one, 
All  shall  call  on  the  Guru.' 

GoBiND,  in  the  Rahat  Nama 
(not  in  the  Granth) . 

Compare  Malcolm  (Sketch,  p.  45  n.)  for  a  saying 
attributed  to  Gobind,  that  the  castes  would  become  one 
when  well  mixed,  as  the  four  components  of  the  'Pan- 
Supari",  or  betel,  of  the  Hindus,  became  of  one  colour 
when  well  chewed. 

The  Sikhs  of  course  partake  in  common  of  the 
Prasad  (vulg.  Parshad)  or  consecrated  food,  which  is 
ordinarily  composed  of  flour,  coarse  sugar,  and  clarified 
butter.  Several,  perhaps  all,  Hindu  sects,  however,  do 
the  same.  (See  Wilson,  As.  Res.,  xvi.  83  n.,  and  xvii. 
23f9  n.) 


APPENDIX   XI 

RITES  OF  INITIATION  INTO  SIKHISM 

Sikhs  are  not  ordinarily  initiated  until  they  reach 
the  age  of  discrimination  and  remembrance,  or  not  be- 
fore they  are  seven  years  of  age,  or  sometimes  until 
they  have  attained  to  manhood.  But  there  is  no  auth> 
ritative  rule  on  the  subject,  nor  is  there  any  declara- 
tory ceremonial  of  detail  which  can  be  followed.  The 
essentials  are  that  five  Sikhs  at  least  should  be  assem- 
bled, and  it  is  generally  arranged  that  one  of  the  num- 


APP.   XI  RITES    OF    INITIATION    INTO    SIKHISM  .{I5 

ber  is  of  some  religious  repute.  Some  sugar  and  water 
are  stirred  together  in  a  vessel  of  any  kind,  commonly 
with  a  two-edged  dagger,  but  any  iron  weapon  will 
answer.  The  noviciate  stands  with  his  hands  joiped 
in  an  attitude  of  humility  or  supplication,  and  he  re- 
peats after  the  elder  or  minister  the  main  articles  of 
his  faith.  Some  of  the  water  is  sprinkled  on  his  face 
and  person;  he  drinks  the  remainder,  and  exclaims. 
Hail  Guru!  and  the  ceremony  concludes  with  an  injunc- 
tion that  he  be  true  to  God  and  to  his  duty  as  a  Sikh. 
For  details  of  particular  modes  followed,  see  Forster 
(Travels,  i.  307),  Malcolm  (Sketch,  p.  182),  and  Prin- 
sep's  edition  of  Murray's  Life  of  Ranjit  Singh  (p.  217), 
where  an  Indian  compiler  is  quoted. 

The  original  practice  of  using  the  water  in  which 
the  feet  of  a  Sikh  had  been  washed  was  soon  aban- 
doned, and  the  subsequent  custom  of  touching  the 
water  with  the  toe  seems  now  almost  wholly  forgotten. 
The  first  rule  was  perhaps  instituted  to  denote  the 
humbleness  of  spirit  of  the  disciples,  or  both  it  and  the 
second  practice  may  have  originated  in  that  feeling  of 
the  Hindus  which  attaches  virtue  to  water  in  which 
the  thumb  of  a  Brahman  has  been  dipped.  It  seems 
in  every  way  probable  that  Gobind  substituted  the 
dagger  for  the  foot  or  the  toe,  thus  giving  further  pre- 
eminence to  his  emblematic  iron. 

Women  are  not  usually,  but  they  are  sometimes, 
initiated  in  form  as  professors  of  the  Sikh  faith.  In 
mingling  the  sugar  and  water  for  women,  a  one-edged, 
and  not  a  two-edged,  dagger  is  used. 


APPENDIX   XII 

THE  EXCLAMATION  WAH  GURU  AND 
THE  EXPRESSION  DEG,  TEGH,  FATH 

The  proper  exclamation  of  community  of  faith  of 
the  Sikhs  as  a  sect  is  simply,  'Wah  Guru  !'  that  is,  O 
Guru  !  or  Hail  Guru  !  The  lengthened  exclamations 
of  'Wah  !  Guru  ki  Fath  !'  and  'Wah  !  Guru  ka  Khalsa  !' 
(Hail  !  Virtue  or  power  of  the  Guru  !  or  Hail  !  Guru 
and  Victory  !  and  Hail  to  the  state  or  church  of  the 
Guru  !)  are  not  authoritative,  although  the  former  has 
become  customary,  and  its  use,  as  completing  the  idea 
embraced  in  'Deg'  and  'Tegh'  (see  ante.  Appendix  IX) 
naturally  arose  out  of  the  notions  diffused  by  Gobind, 


316  HISTORY   OF    THE   SIKHS  ^pp     xil 

if  he  did  not  ordain  it  as  the  proper  salutation  of 
believers. 

Many  of  the  chapters  or  books  into  which  the  Adi 
Granth  is  divided,  begin  with  the  expression  'Eko 
Unkar,  Sat  Guru  Prasad',  which  may  be  interpreted  to 
mean,  'The  One  God,  and  the  grace  of  the  blessed 
Guru'.  Spme  of  the  chapters  of  the  Daswen  Padshah 
ka  Granth  begin  with  'Eko  Unkar,  Wah  Guru  ki  Fath', 
that  is,  'The  One  God  and  the  power  of  the  Guru*. 

The  Sikh  author  of  the  Gur  Ratnawali  gives  the 
following  fanciful  and  trivial  origin  of  the  salutation 
Wah  Guru  ! 

Wasdev,  the  exclamation  of  the  first  age,  or  Satyug; 

Har  Har,  the  exclamation  of  the  second  age; 

Gobind  Gobind,  the  exclamation  of  the  third  age; 

Ram  Ram,  the  exclamation  of  the  fourth  age,  or 
Kalyug;  whence  Wah  Guru  in  the  fifth  age,  or  under 
the  new  dispensation. 


APPENDIX   XIII 

THE  SIKH  DEVOTION  TO  STEEL,  AND 
THE  TERM  'SACHCHA  PADSHAH' 

For  allusions  to  this  devotion  to  steel  see  Malcolm, 
Sketch,  pp.  48,  117  n.,  182  n. 

The  meaning  given  in  the  text  to  the  principle 
inculcated  seems  to  be  the  true  one.  Throughout  India 
the  implements  of  any  calling  are  in  a  manner  wor- 
shipped, or  in  Western  moderation  of  phrase,  they  are 
blessed  or  consecrated.  This  is  especially  noticeable 
among  merchants,  who  annually  perform  religious 
ceremonies  before  a  heap  of  gold;  among  hereditary 
clerks  or  writers,  who  similarly  idolize  their  inkhorn; 
and  among  soldiers  and  military  leaders,  who  on  the 
festival  of  the  Das-hara  consecrate  their  banners  and 
piled-up  weapons.  Gobind  withdrew  his  followers 
from  that  undivided  attention  which  their  fathers  had 
given  to  the  plough,  the  loom,  and  the  pen,  and  he 
urged  them  to  regard  the  sword  as  their  principal  stay 
in  this  world.  The  sentiment  of  veneration  for  that 
which  gives  us  power,  or  safety,  or  our  daily  bread, 
may  be  traced  in  all  countries.  In  our  own  a  sailor 
impersonates,  or  almost  deifies,  his  ship,  and  in  India 
the  custom  of  hereditary  callings  has  heightened  that 
feeling,  which,  expressed  in  the  language  of  philosophy, 


APP    Xni  SIKH   DEVOTION    TO    STEEL  31 7 

becomes  the  dogma  admitting  the  soul  to  be  increate 
indeed,  but  enveloped  in  the  understanding,  which 
again  is  designed  for  our  use  in  human  affairs,  or  until 
our  bliss  is  perfect.  It  is  this  external  or  inferior  spirit, 
so  to  speak,  which  must  devote  its  energies  to  the  ser- 
vice and  contemplation  of  steel,  while  the  increate  soul 
contemplates  God.  [Compare  also  the  mediaeval  cere- 
mony of  'watching  his  arms'  regularly  undergone  by 
the  candidate  for  knighthood. — Ed.] 

The  import  of  the  term  Sachcha  Padshah,  or  True 
King,  seems  to  be  explained  in  the  same  way.  A  spiri- 
tual king,  or  Guru,  rules  the  eternal  soul,  or  guides  it 
to  salvation,  while  a  temporal  monarch  controls  our 
finite  faculties  only,  or  puts  restraints  upon  the  play 
of  our  passions  and  the  enjoyment  of  our  senses.  The 
Muhammadans  have  the  same  idea  and  a  corresponding 
term,  viz.  Malik  Hakiki. 


APPENDIX   XIV 
DISTINCTIVE  USAGES  OF  THE  SIKHS 

These  and  many  other  distinctions  of  Sikhs  may 
be  seen  in  the  Rehet  and  Tankha  Namas  of  Gobind, 
forming  part  of  Appendix  XX  of  this  volume. 

Unshorn  locks  and  a  blue  dress,  as  the  character- 
istics of  a  believer,  do  not  appear  as  direct  injunctions 
in  any  extant  writing  attributed  to  Gobind,  and  they 
seem  chiefly  to  have  derived  their  distinction  as  marks 
from  custom  or  usage,  while  the  propriety  of  wearing 
a  blue  dress  is  now  regarded  as  less  obligatory  than 
formerly.  Both  usages  appear  to  have  originated  in  a 
spirit  of  opposition  to  Hinduism,  for  many  Brahmanical 
devotees  keep  their  heads  carefully  shaved,  and  all 
Hindus  are  shaven  when  initiated  into  their  religious 
duties  or  responsibilities,  or  on  the  death  of  a  near 
relative.  It  is  also  curious,  with  regard  to  colour,  that 
many  religious,  or  indeed  simply  respectable  Hindus, 
have  still  an  aversion  to  blue,  so  much  so  indeed  that 
a  Rajput  farmer  will  demur  about  sowing  his  fields 
with  indigo.  The  Muhammadans,  again,  prefer  blue 
dresses,  and  perhaps  the  dislike  of  the  Hindus  arose 
during  the  Musalman  conquest,  as  Krishna  himself, 
among  others,  is  described  as  blue  clothed.  Thus  the 
Sikh  author,  Bhai  Gurdas  Bhalla,  says  of  Nanak,  'Again 
he  went  to  Mecca,  blue  clothing  he  had  like  Krishna'. 


:)]^  HISTORY    OF   THE    SIKHS  ^pp    xiV 

Similarly,  no  Sikh  will  wear  clothes  of  a  'suhi'  colour, 
i.e.  dyed  with  safflower,  such  having  long  been  the 
favourite  colour  with  Hindu  devotees,  as  it  is  gradu- 
ally becoming  with  Muhammadan  ascetics.  As  a  dis- 
tinction of  race,  if  not  of  creed,  the  unshorn  locks  of 
Sikhs  have  a  parallel  in  the  long  hair  of  the  Frankish 
nobles  and  freemen.  The  contrasting  terms  'crinosus' 
and  'tonsoratus'  arose  in  mediaeval  Europe,  and  the 
virtue  or  privilege  due  to  flowing  hair  was  so  great 
that  Childebert  talked  of  having  his  brother's  children 
either  cropped  or  put  to  death.  (Hallam,  Middle  Ages, 
notes  to  Chap.  II.) 

The  Sikhs  continue  to  refrain  from  tobacco,  nor  do 
they  smoke  drugs  of  any  kind,  although  tobacco  itself 
seems  to  have  been  originally  included  as  snuff  only 
among  proscribed  things.  Tobacco  was  first  introdu- 
ced into  India  about  1517.  (M'Culloc,  Commercial 
Dictionary,  art.  'Tobacco'.)  It  was.  I  think,  idly  de- 
nounced in  form  by  one  of  Akbar's  successors,  but  its 
use  is  now  universal  among  Indian ^Muhammadans. 

Another  point  of  difference  which  may  be  noticed 
is  that  the  Sikhs  wear  a  kind  of  breeches,  or  now  many 
wear  a  sort  of  pantaloons,  instead  of  girding  up  their 
loins  after  the  manner  of  the  Hindus.  The  adoption 
of  the  'kachh',  or  breeches,  is  of  as  much  importance 
to  a  Sikh  boy  as  was  the  investiture  with  the  'toga 
virilis'  to  a  Roman  youth. 

The  Sikh  women  are  distinguished  from  Hindus 
of  their  sex  by  some  variety  of  dress,  but  chiefly  by  a 
higher  topknot  of  hair. 


APPENDIX  XV 

ON  THE  USE  OF  ARABIC  AND  SANSKRIT  FOR 
THE  PURPOSES  OF  EDUCATION  IN  INDIA 

Up  to  the  present  time  England  has  made  no  great 
and  lasting  impress  on  the  Indians,  except  as  the  intro- 
ducer of  an  improved  and  effective  military  system; 
although  she  has  also  done  much  to  exalt  her  charac- 
ter as  a  governing  power,  by  her  generally  scrupulous 
adherence  to  formal  engagements. 

The  Indian  mind  has  not  yet  been  suffused  or 
saturated  by  the  genuis  of  the  English,  nor  can  the 
light  of  European  knowledge  be  spread  over  the  coun- 
try, until  both  the  Sanskrit  and  Arabic   (Persian)  Ian- 


APP    XV  "^^^   ^^^  °^   ARABIC   AND   SANSKRIT  3^9 

guages  are  made  the  vehicles  of  instructing,  the  learned. 
These  tongues  should  thus  be  aSsidAiously  cultivated, 
although  not  so  much  for  what  they  contain  as  for  what 
they    may    be    made    the    means    of  conveying.     The 
hierarchies   of   'Gymnosophists'   and   'Uiema'   will   the 
more  readily  assent  to  mathematical  or  logical  deduc- 
tions, if  couched  in  words  identified  in  their  eyes  with 
scientific  research;  and  they  in  time  must  of  necessity 
make  known   the  truths  learned  to   the  mass  of  the 
people.    The  present  system  of  endeavouring  to  diffuse 
knowledge  by  means  of  the  rude  and  imperfect  verna- 
cular tongues  can  succeed  but  slowly,  for  it  seems  to 
be  undertaken  in  a  spirit  of  opposition  to  the  influential 
classes;  and  it  is  not  likely  to  succeed  at  all  until  expo- 
sitions of  the  sciences,  with  ample  proofs  and  illustra- 
tions, are  rendered    complete,    instead    of  partial    and 
elementary  only,  or  indeed  meagre  and  inaccurate  in 
the  extreme,  as  many  of  the  authorized  school-books 
are.     If  there  was  Sanskrit  or  Arabic  counterparts  to 
these  much-required  elaborate  treatises,  the  predilec- 
tions of  the  learned  Indians  would  be  overcome  with 
comparative  ease. 

The  fact  that  the  astronomy  of  Ptolemy  and  the 
geometry  of  Euclid  are  recognized  in  their  Sanskrit 
dress  as  text-books  of  science  even  among  the  Brah- 
mans,  should  not  be  lost  upon  the  promoters  of  educa- 
tion in  the  present  age.  The  philosophy  of  facts  and 
the  truths  of  physical  science  had  to  be  made  known 
by  Copernicus  and  Galileo,  Bacon  and  Newton,  through 
the  medium  of  the  Latin  tongue;  and  the  first  teachers 
and  upholders  of  Christianity  preferred  the  admired 
and  widely  spoken  Roman  and  Greek,  both  to  the 
antique  Hebrew  and  to  the  imperfect  dialects  of  Gaul 
and  Syria,  Africa,  and  Asia  Minor.  In  either  case  the 
language  recommended  the  doctrine,  and  added  to  the 
conviction  of  Origen  and  Irenaeus,  Tertullian  and 
Clement  of  Rome,  as  well  as  to  the  belief  of  the  scholar 
of  more  modern  times.  Similarly  in  India  the  use  of 
Sanskrit  and  Arabic  and  iPersian  would  give  weight  to 
the  most  obvious  principles  and  completeness  to  the 
most  logical  demonstrations. 
!  That  in  Calcutta  the  study  of  the  sciences  is  pur- 

sued with  some  success  through  the  joint  medium  of 
!  the  English  language  and  local  dialects,  and  that  in 
especial  the  tact  and  perseverance  of  the  professors  of 
the  Medical  College  have  induced  Indians  of  family  or 
caste  to  dissect  the  human  body,  do  not  militate  against 
the  views  expressed  above,  but  rather  serve  as  excep- 


320  HISTORY   OF   THE    SIKHS  y^pp    ^^y 

tions  to  prove  their  truth.  In  Calcutta  Englishmen 
are  numerous,  and  their  wealth,  intelligence,  and  poli- 
tical position  render  their  influence  overwhelming; 
but  this  mental  predominance  decreases  so  rapidly 
tha+  it  is  unfelt  in  fair-sized  towns  within  fifty  miles' 
of  the  capital,  and  is  but  faintly  revived  in  the  populous 
cities  of  Benares,  Delhi,  Puna,  and  Hyderabad. 


APPENDIX  XVI 

ON  THE  LAND-TAX  IN  INDIA 

The  proportions  of  the  land-tax  to  the  general 
revenues  of  British  India  are  nearly  as  follows  : 

Bengal,  2/5;  Bombay,  2/3;  Madras,  3/5;  Agra,  4/5. 
Average  =  3/5  of  the  whole. 

In  some  European  states  the  proportions  are  nearly 
as  below  : 

England,  1/24;  France,  1/4;  Spain,  1/17  (perhaps 
some  error);  Belgium,  2/11;  Prussia,  2/11;  Naples,  1/4; 
Austria,  1/2.     _ 

In  the  United  States  of  America  the  revenue  is 
almost  wholly  derived  from  customs. 

It  is  now  idle  to  revert  to  the  theory  of  the  ancient 
laws  of  the  Hindus,  or  of  the  more  recent  institutes  of 
the  Muhammadans,  although  much  clearness  of  view 
has  resulted  from  the  learned  researches  or  laborious 
inquiries  of  Briggs  and  Munro,  of  Sykes  and  Halhed 
and  Galloway.  It  is  also  idle  to  dispute  whether  the 
Indian  farmer  pays  a  'rent'  or  a  'tax'  in  a  technical 
sense,  since,  practically,  it  is  certain  (1)  that  the  gov- 
ernment (or  its  assign,  the  jagirdar  or  grantee)  gets 
in  nearly  all  instances  almost  the  whole  surplus  pro- 
duce of  the  land;  and  (2)  that  the  state,  if  the  owner, 
does  not  perform  its  duty  by  not  furnishing  from  its 
capital  wells  and  other  things,  which  correspond  in 
difficulty  of  provision  with  barns  and  drains  in  Eng- 
land. In  India  no  one  thinks  of  investing  capital  or  of 
spending  money  on  the  improvement  of  the  land, 
excepting,  directly,  a  few  patriarchal  chiefs  through 
love  of  their  homes;  and  indirectly,  the  wealthy 
speculators  in  opium,  sugar,  &c.,  through  the  love 
of  gain.  An  ordinary  village  'head-man',  or  the  still 
poorer  'ryot',  whether  paying  direct  to  government  or 
through  a  revenue  farmer,  has  just  so  much  of  the  pro- 
duce left  as  will  enable  him  to  provide  the  necessary 


APP.   XVI  ON   ^"^"^^  LAND-TAX  IN  INDIA  321 

seed,  his  own  inferior  food,  and  the  most  sijtnple  requi- 
sites of  tillage;  and  as  he  has  thus  no  means,  he  cannot 
incur  the  expense  or  run  the  risk  of  introducing 
improvements. 

Hence  it  behoves  England,  if  in  doubt  about 
Oriental  'socage'  and  'freehold'  tenures,  to  redistribute 
her  taxation,  to  diminish  her  assessment  on  the  soil, 
and  to  give  her  multitudes  of  subjects,  who  are  prac- 
tically 'copyholders',  at  least  a  permanent  interest  in 
the  land,  as  she  has  done  so  largely  by  customary' 
leaseholders  within  her  own  proper  dominion.  There 
should  likewise  be  a  limit  to  which  such  estates  might 
be  divided,  and  this  could  be  advantageously  done,  b}^ 
allowing  the  owner  of  a  petty  holding  to  dispose  as  he 
pleased,  not  of  the  land  itself,  but  of  what  it  might 
bring  when  sold. 

For  some  just  observations  on  the  land  tenures  of 
India  see  Lieut.-Col.  Sleeman's  Rambles  and  Recollec- 
tions of  an  Indian  Official  (Oxford,  1915),  pp.  58,  561, 
571;  while,  ^or  a  fiscal  description  of  the  transition  sys- 
tem now  in  force  in  the  North-Western  Provinces,  the 
present  Lieut.-Governor's  Directions  for  Settlement 
Officers  and  his  Remarks  on  the  Revenue  System  may 
be  profitably  consulted    (1849). 


APPENDIX  XVII 

THE  ADI  GRANTH,    OR    FIRST    BOOK;    OR,    THE 

BOOK  OF  NANAK,  THE  FIRST  GURU,  OR 

TEACHER  OF  THE  SIKHS 

Note. — The  first  Granth  is  nowhere  narrative  or 
historical.  It  throws  no  light,  by  direct  exposition, 
upon  the  political  state  of  India  during  the  sixteenth 
and  seventeenth  centuries,  although  it  contains  many 
allusions  illustrative  of  the  condition  of  society  and  of 
the  religious  feelings  of  the  times.  Its  teaching  is  to 
the  general  purport  that  God  ie  to  be  worshipped  in 
spirit  and  in  truth,  with  little  reference  to  particular 
forms,  and  that  salvation  is  unattainable  without  grace, 
faith,  and  good  works. 

The  Adi  Granth  comprises,  first,  the  writings 
attributed  to  Nanak,  and  the  succeeding  teachers  of 
the  Sikh  faith  up  to  the  ninth  Guru,  Tegh  Bahadur, 
omitting  the  sixth,  seventh,  and  eighth,  but  with  per- 
haps   some    additions    and    emendations    by    Gobind; 

21 


322  HISTORY   OF   THE    SIKHS  y^pp    XVII 

secondly,  the  compositions  of  certain  'Bhagats',  or 
saints,  mostly  sectarian  Hindus,  and  who  are  usually 
given  as  sixteen  in  number;  and,  thirdly,  the  verses  of 
certain  'Bhats',  or  rhapsodists,  followers  of  Nanak  and 
of  some  of  his  successors.  The  numbers,  and  even  the 
names  of  the  'Bhagats'.  or  saints,  are  not  always  the 
same  in  copies  of  the  Granth;  and  thus  modern  com- 
pilers; or  copyists  have  assumed  to  themselves  the 
power  of  rejecting  or  sanctioning  particular  writings. 
To  the  sixteen  Bhagats  are  usually  added  two  'Doms', 
or  chanters,  who  recited  before  Arjun,  and  who  cau'^ht 
some  of  his  spirit;  and  a  'Rababi',  or  player  upon  a 
stringed  instrument,  who  became  similarly  inspired. 

The  Granth  sometimes  includes  an  appendix,  con- 
taining works  the  authenticity  of  which  is  doubtful, 
or  the  propriety  of  admitting  which  is  disputed  on 
other  grounds. 

The  Granth  was  originally  compiled  by  Arjun,  the 
fifth  Guru;  but  it  subsequently  received  a  few  additions 
at  the  hands  of  his  successors.  * 

The  Granth  is  written  wholly  in  verse;  but  the 
forms  of  versification  are  numerous.  The  language 
used  is  rather  the  Hindi  of  Upper  India  generally,  than 
the  particular  dialect  of  the  Punjab;  but  some  portions, 
especially  of  the  last  section,  are  composed  in  Sanskrit. 
The  written  character  is  nevertheless  throughout  the 
Punjabi,  one  of  the  several  varieties  of  alphabets  now 
current  in  India,  and  which,  from  its  use  by  the  Sikh 
Gurus,  is  sometimes  called  'Gurmukhi',  a  term  like- 
wise applied  to  the  dialect  of  the  Punjab.  The  languaga 
of  the  writings  of  Nanak  is  thought  by  modern  Sikhs 
to  abound  with  provincialisms  of  the  country  south- 
west of  Lahore,  and  the  dialect  of  Arjun  is  held  to  be 
the  most  pure. 

The  Granth  usually  forms  a  quarto  volume  of  about 
1,232  pages,  each  page  containing  24  lines,  and  each 
line  containing  about  35  letters.  The  extra  books  in- 
crease the  pages  to  1,240  only. 

Contents  of  the  Adi  Granth 

1st.  The  'Japji',  or  simply  the  'Jap,  called  also  Guru 
Mantr,  or  the  special  prayer  of  initiation  of  the  Guru. 
It  occupies  about  7  pages,  and  consists  of  40  sloks, 
called  Pauri,  of  irregular  lengths,  some  of  two,  and 
some  of  several  lines.  It  means,  literally,  the  remem- 
brancer or  admonisher,  from  jap,  to  remember.    It  was 


APP.  XVII  "T"^   A^*    GRANTH  323 

written  by  Nanak,  and  is  believed  to  have  been  ap- 
pointed by  him  to  be  repeated  each  morning,  as  every 
pious  Sikh  now  does.  The  mode  of  composition  implies 
the  presence  of  a  questioner  and  an  answerer,  and  the 
Sikhs  believe  the  questioner  to  have  been  the  disciple 
Angad. 

2nd.  'Sudar  Rah  Ras^ — the  evening  prayer  of  the 
Sikhs.  It  occupies  about  3V2  pages,  and  it  wa^  com- 
posed by  Nanak,  but  has  additions  by  Ram  Das  and 
Arjun,  and  some,  it  is  said,  by  Guru  Gobind.  The  addi- 
tions attributed  to  Gobind  are,  however,  more  frequen- 
tly given  when  the  Rah  Ras  forms  a  separate  pamphlet 
or  book.  Sardar,  a  particular  kind  of  verse;  Rah.  admo- 
nisher;  Ras,  the  expression  used  for  the  play  or 
recitative  of  Krishna.  It  is  sometimes  corruptly  called 
the  'Rowh  Ras',  from  Rowh,  the  Punjabi  for  a  road. 

3rd.  'Kirit  Sohila' — a  prayer  repeated  before  going 
to  rest.  It  occupies  a  page  and  a  line  or  two  more.  It 
was  composed  by  Nanak,  but  has  additions  by  Ram  Das 
and  Arjun.  and  one  verse  is  attributed  to  Gobind. 
Kirit,  from  Sanskrit  Kirti,  to  praise,  to  celebrate;  and 
Sohila,  a  marriage  song,  a  song  of  rejoicing. 

4th.  The  next  portion  of  the  Granth  is  divided 
into  thirty-one  sections,  known  by  their  distinguishing 
forms  of  verse,  as  follows  : 

1.  Sri  Rag.  17.  Gaund. 

2.  Maj.  18.  Ram  Kali. 

3.  Gauri.  19.  Nat  Narayan. 

4.  Asa.  20.  Mali  Gaura. 

5.  Gujri.  21.  Maru. 

6.  Dev  Gandhari.  22.  Tukhari. 

7.  Bihagra.  23.  Kedara. 

8.  Wad  Hans.  24.  Bhairon. 

9.  Sorath   (or  Sort).  25.  Basant. 

10.  Dhanasri.  26.  Sarang. 

11.  Jait  Sri.  27.  Malhar. 

12.  Todi.  28.  Kanhra. 

13.  Bairari.  29.  Kalian. 

14.  Tailang.  30.  Parbhati. 

15.  Sudhi.  31.  Jai  Jaiwanti. 

16.  Bilawal. 

The  whole  occupies  about  1,154  pages,  or  by  far 
the  greater  portion  of  the  entire  Granth.  Each  sub- 
division is  the  composition  of  one  or  more  Gurus,  or  of 
one  or  more  Bhagats  or  holy  men,  or  of  a  Guru  with 
or  without  the  aid  of  a  Bhagat. 


324  HISTORY  OF   THE   SIKHS  ^^p    xvil 

The  contributors  among  the  Gurus  were  as  follows: 

1.  Nanak.  5.  Arjun. 

2.  Angad.  6.  Tegh     Bahadur     (with, 

3.  Amar  Das.  perhaps,      emendations 

4.  Ram'  Das.  by  Gobind) . 

The  Bhagats  or  saints,  and  others  who  contributed 
agreeably  to  the  ordinary  copies  of  the  Granth,  are 
enumerated  below  : 

1.  Kabir    (the  well-known   13.  Ram.anand   Bairagi    (a 
reformer) .  well-known  reformer) . 

2.  Trilochan,  a  Brahman.     14.  Parmanand. 

3.  Beni.  15.  Sur  Das  (a  blind  man). 

4.  Rav  Das,  a  Chamar,  or  16.  Miran  Bai,  a  Bhagatni, 

leather  dresser.  or  holy  woman. 

5.  Namdev,    a   Chhipa,   or  17.  Balwand,  and 

cloth  printer.  18.  Satta,  'Doms'  or  chan- 

6.  Dhanna,  a  Jat.  ters    who    recited    be- 

7.  Shah  Farid,  a  Muham-  fore  Arjun. 

madan  pir,  or  saint.  19.  Sundar  Das,  Rababi,  or 

8.  Jaidev,  a  Brahman.  player  upon  a  stringed 

9.  Bhikan.  instrument.  He  is  not 

10.  Sain,  a  barber.  *  properly    one    of    the 

11.  Pipa  (a  Jogi?).  Bhagats. 

12.  Sadhna,  a  butcher. 

5th.  The  'Bhog'.  In  Sanskrit  this  word  means  to 
enjoy  anything,  but  it  is  commonly  used  to  denote  the 
conclusion  of  any  sacred  writing,  both  by  Hindus  and 
Sikhs.  The  Bhog  occupies  about  66  pages,  and  besides 
the  writings  of  Nanak  and  Arjun,  of  Kabir,  Shah  Farid, 
and  other  reformers,  it  contains  the  compositions  of 
nine  Bhats  or  rhapsodists  who  attached  themselves  to 
Amar  Das,  Ram  Das,  and  Arjun. 

The  Bhog  commences  with  4  sloks  in  Sanskrit  by 
Nanak,  which  are  followed  by  67  Sanskrit  sloks  in 
one  metre  by  Arjun,  and  then  by  24  in  another  metre 
by  the  same  Guru.  There  are  also  23  sloks  in  Punjabi 
or  Hindi  by  Arjun,  which  contain  praises  of  Amritsar. 
These  are  soon  followed  by  243  sloks  by  Kabir,  and 
130  by  Shah  Farid,  and  others,  containing  some  sayings 
of  Arjun.  Afterwards  the  writings  of  Kail  and  the 
other  Bhats  follow,  intermixed  with  portions  by  Arjun, 
and  so  on  to  the  end. 

The  nine  Bhats  who  contributed  to  the  Bhog  are 
named  as  follows  : 

1.  Bhikha,    a    follovver  of    2.  Kail,  a  follower  of  Ram 
Amar  Das.  Das. 


App.  xvn                    "^^^  "*'°' 

GRANTH 

3.  KaU  Sahar. 

4.  Jalap,     a   follower     of 
Arjun. 

5.  Sail,     a     follower     of 
Arjun. 

6.  Nail. 

7.  Mathra. 

8.  Ball. 

9.  Kirit. 

825 


The  names  are  evidently  fanciful,  and  perhaps 
fictitious.  In  the  book  called  the  Guru  Bilas  eight  Bhats 
only  are  enumerated,  and  all  the  names  except  Ball 
are  different  from  those  in  the  Granth. 

Supplement  to  the  Granth 

6th.  'Bhog  ki  Bani',  or  Epilogue  or  the  Conclusion. 
It  comprises  about  7  pages,  and  contains,  first,  some 
preliminary  sloks,  called  'Slok  Mahal  Pahla',  or  Hymn 
of  the  first  Woman  or  Slave;  secondly,  Nanak's  Admo- 
nition to  Malhar  Raja;  thirdly,  the  'Ratan  Mala'  of 
Nanak,  i.e.  the  Rosary  of  Jewels,  or  string  of  (reli- 
gious) worthies,  which  simply  shows,  however,  what 
should  be  the  true  characteristics  or  qualities  of  reli- 
gious devotees;  and,  fourthly,  the  'Hakikat',  or  Circum- 
stances of  Sivnab,  Raja  of  Ceylon,  with  reference  to  a 
Tothi'  or  sacred  writing  known  as  'Pran  Sangli'.  This 
last  is  said  to  have  been  composed  by  one  Bhai  Bhannu 
in  the  time  of  Gobind. 

The  Ratem  Mala  is  said  to  have  been  originally 
written  in  Turki,  or  to  have  been  abstracted  from  a 
Turki  original. 


APPENDIX  XVin 

THE  DASWIN  PADSHAH  KA  GRANTH,  OR,  BOOK 

OF  THE  TENTH  KING,  OR  SOVEREIGN  PONTIFF, 

THAT  IS,  OF  GURU  GOBIND  SINGH 

Note. — Like  the  Adi  Granth,  the  book  of  Gobind  is 
metrical  throughout,  but  the  versification  frequently 
varies. 

It  is  written  in  the  Hindi  dialect,  and  in  the  Pun- 
jabi character,  excepting  the  concluding  portion,  the 
language  of  which  is  Persian,  while  the  alphabet  con- 
tinues the  Gurmukhi,  The  Hindi  of  Gobind  is  almost 
such  as  is  spoken  in  the  Gangetic  provinces,  and  has 
few  peculiarities  of  the  Punjabi  dialect. 

One  chapter  of  the  Book  of  the  Tenth  King  may 
be  considered  to  be  narrative  and  historical,  viz,  the 


326  HISTORY    OF    THE    SIKHS  ^PP.   XVIII 

Vichitr  Natak,  written  by  Gobind  himself;  but  the 
Persian  Hikayats,  or  stories,  also  partake  of  that  cha- 
racter, from  the  circumstances  attending  their  com- 
position and  the  nature  of  some  allusions  made  in 
them.  The  other  portions  of  this  Granth  are  more 
mythological  than  the  first  book,  and  it  also  partakes 
more  of  a  worldly  character  throughout,  although  it 
contains  many  noble  allusions  to  the  unity  of  the  God- 
head, and  to  the  greatness  and  goodness  of  the  Ruler 
of  the  Universe. 

Five  chapters,  or  portions  only,  and  the  com- 
mencement of  a  sixth,  are  attributed  to  Gobind  him- 
self; the  remainder,  i.e.  by  far  the  larger  portion,  is 
said  to  have  been  composed  by  four  scribes  in  the 
service  of  the  Guru;  partly,  perhaps,  agreeably  to  his 
dictation.  The  names  of  Sham  and  Ram  occur  as  two 
of  the  writers,  but,  in  truth,  little  is  known  of  the 
authorship  of  the  portions  in  question. 

The  Daswin  Padshah  ka  Granth  forms  a  quarto 
volume  of  1,066  pages,  each  page  consisting  of  23  lines, 
and  each  line  of  from  38  to  41  letters. 


Contents  of  the  Book  of  the  Tenth  King 

1st.  The  ^Japji',  or  simply  the  'Jap',  the  supple- 
ment or  complement  of  the  Japji  of  Nanak — a  prayer 
to  be  read  or  repeated  in  the  morning,  as  it  continues 
to  be  by  pious  Sikhs.  It  comprises  198  distichs,  and 
occupies  about  7  pages,  the  termination  of  a  vejrse  and 
the  end  of  a  line  not  being  the  same.  The  Japji  was 
composed  by  Guru  Gobind. 

2nd.  'Akal  Stuf,  or  the  Praises  of  the  Almighty— 
a  hymn  commonly  read  in  the  morning.  It  occupies 
23  pages,  and  the  initiatory  verse  alone  is  the  compo- 
sition of  Gobind. 

3rd.  The  'Vichitr  Natak',  i.e.  the  Wondrous  Tale. 
This  was  written  by  Gobind  himself,  and  it  gives,  first, 
the  mythological  history  of  his  family  or  race; 
secondly,  an  account  of  his  mission  of  reformation; 
and,  thirdly,  a  description  of  his  warfare  with  the 
Himalayan  chiefs  and  the  Imperial  forces.  It  is  divided 
into  fourteen  sections;  but  the  first  is  devoted  to  the 
praises  of  the  Almighty,  and  the  last  is  of  a  similar 
tenor,  with  an  addition  to  the  effect  that  he  would 
hereafter  relate  his  visions  of  the  past  and  his  experi- 
ence of  the  present  world.  The  Vichitr  Natak  occupies 
about  24  pages  of  the  Granth. 


APP     XVIII        "^^^    DASWIN    PADSHAH    KA    GRANTH  327 

4th.  'Chandi  Charitr\  or  the  Wonders  of  Chandi 
or  the  Goddess.  There  are  two  portions  called  Chandi 
Charitr,  of  which  this  is  considered  the  greater.  It 
relates  the  destruction  of  eight  Titans  or  Deityas  by 
Chandi  the  Goddess.  It  occupies  about  20  pages,  and 
it  is  understood  to  be  the  translation  of  a  Sanskrit 
legend,  executed,  some  are  wi]ling  to  believe,  by 
Gobind  himself. 

The  namco  of  the  Deityas  destroyed  are  as  follows: 

1.  Madhu  Kaitab.  6.  Raka^  Bij. 

2.  Mah  Khasur.  7.  Nishumbh. 

3.  Dhumar  Lochan.  8.  Shumbh. 
4  and  5.  Chand  and  Mund. 

5th.  'Chandi  Charitr  the  lesser.  The  same  legends 
as  the  greater  Chandi,  narrated  in  a  different  metre.  It 
occupies  about  14  pages. 

6th.  'Chandi  ki  Var.'  A  supplement  to  the  legends 
of  Chandi.     It  occupies  about  6  pages. 

7th.  'Gyan  Prabodh'.  or  the  Excellence  of  Wisdom. 
Praises  of  the  Almighty,  with  allusions  to  ancient  kings, 
taken  mostly  from  the  Mahabharat.  It  occupies  about 
21  pages. 

8th.  Chaiipayan  Chaithis  Avataran  Kian'.  or  Qua- 
trains relating  to  the  Twenty-four  Manifestations 
(Avatars) .  These  Chaupays'  occupy  about  348  pages, 
and  they  are  considered  to  be  the  work  of  one  by 
name  Sham. 

The  names  of  the  incarnations  are  as  follows  : 

1.  The  fish,  or  Machh.  14.  No  name  specified,  but 

2.  The  tortoise,  or  Kachh.  understood  to  be  a  ma- 

3.  The  lion,  or  Nar.  nifestation  of  Vishnu. 

4.  Narayan.  15.  Arhant  Dev  (consider- 

5.  Mohani.  ed  to  be  the  founder  of 

6.  The  boar,  or  Varah.  the  sect  of  Saraugis  of 

7.  The   man-lion,    or   Nur-  the  Jain  persuasion,  or, 
singh.  indeed  the  great  Jain 

8.  The  dwarf,  or  Bawan.  prophet  himself) 

9.  Paras  Ram.  16.  Man  Raja. 

10.  Brahma.  17.  Dhanantai   (the  doctor, 

11.  Rudr.  or  physician). 

12.  Jalandhar.  18.  The  sun,  or  Suraj. 

13.  Vishnu.  19.  The  moon,  or  Chandai^- 

ma. 


328  HISTORY   OF   THE   SIKHS  AFF.  X\T1I 

20.  Rama.  24.  Kalki;     to    appear    at 

21.  Krishna.  the  end  of  the  Kalyug, 

22.  Nar  (meaning  Arjun) .  or  when     the  sins  of 

23.  Bodh.  men      are      at      their 

height. 
9th.  No  name  entered,  but  known  as  'Mihdi  Mn 
A  supplement  to  the  Twenty-four  Incarnations.  Mihdi, 
it  is  said,  will  appear  when  the  mission  of  Kalki  is  ful- 
filled. The  name  and  the  idea  are  borrowed  from  the 
Shia  Muhammadans.  It  occupies  somewhat  less  than 
a  page. 

10th.  No  name  entered,  but  known  as  the  'Avatars 
of  Brahma'.  An  account  of  seven  incarnations  of 
Brahma,  followed  by  some  account  of  eight  Rajas  of 
bygone  times.    It  occupies  about  18  pages. 

The  names  of  the  incarnations  are  as  follows  : 

1.  Valmik.  5.  Vyasi. 

2.  Kashap.  6.  Khasht    Rikhi     (or    the 

3.  Shukar.  Six  Sages). 

4.  Batchess.  7.  Kaul  Das. 
The  kings  are  enumerated  below  : 

1.  Manu.  5.  Mandhat. 

2.  Prithu.  6.  Dalip. 

3.  Sagar.  7.  Ragh. 

4.  Ben.  8.  Aj. 

11th.  No  name  entered,  but  known  as  the  'Avatars 
of  Rudr  or  Siva'.  It  comprises  56  pages;  and  two  incar- 
nations only  are  mentioned,  namely,  Dat  and  Parasnath. 

12th.  'Shastr  Nam  Mala',  or  the  Name-string  of 
Weapons.  The  names  of  the  various  weapons  are  re- 
capitulated, the  weapons  are  praised,  and  Gobind 
terms  them  collectively  his  Guru  or  guide.  The  com- 
position nevertheless  is  not  attributed  to  Gobind.  It 
occupies  about  68  pages. 

13th.  'Sri  Mukh  Vak,  Sawaya  Battis\  or  the  Voice 
of  the  Guru  (Gobind)  himself,  in  thirty-two  verses. 
These  verses  were  composed  by  Gobind  as  declared, 
and  they  are  condemnatory  of  the  Vedas,  the  Purans, 
and  the  Kuran.     They  occupy  about  SVa  pages. 

14th.  'Hazara  Shahd',  or  the  Thousand  Verses  of 
the  Metre  called  Shabd.  There  are,  however,  but  ten 
verses  only  in  most  Granths,  occupying  about  2  pages. 
Hazar  is  not  understood  in  its  literal  sense  of  a  thou- 
sand, but  as  implying  invaluable  or  excellent.  They 
are  laudatory  of  the  Creator  and  creation,  and  depre- 


APP.    XVIII        ^^^    DASWIN    PADSKAK    KA    GRANTH  329 

cate  the  adoration    of  saints    and    limitary    divinities. 

j        They  were  written  by  Guru  Gobind. 

^  15th.     'Istri  Charitr\  or  Tales  of  Women.     There 

are  404  stories,  illustrative  of  the  character  and  dispo- 
sition of  women.  A  stepmother  became  enamoured  of 
her  stepson,  the  heir  of  a  monarchy,  who,  however, 
would  not  gratify  her  desires,  whereupon  she  repre- 
sented to  her  husband  that  his  first-born  had  made 
attempts  upon  her  honour.  The  Raja  ordered  his  son 
to  be  put  to  death;  but  his  ministers  interfered,  and 
procured  a  respite.  They  then  enlarged  in  a  series  of 
stories  upon  the  nature  of  women,  and  at  length  the 
Raja  became  sensible  of  the  guilt  of  his  wife's  mind, 
and  of  his  own  rashness.  These  stories  occupy  446 
pages,  or  nearly  half  of  the  Granth.  The  name  of  Sham 
also  occurs  as  the  writer  of  one  or  more  of  them. 

16th.  The  'Hikayats',  or  Tales.  These  comprise 
twelve  stories  in  866  sloks  of  two  lines  each.  They  are 
\yritten  in  the  Persian  language  and  Gurmukhi  charac- 
ter, and  they  were  composed  by  Gobind  himself  as 
admonitory  of  Aurangzeb,  and  were  sent  to  the  em- 
peror by  the  hands  of  Daya  Singh  and  four  other  Sikhs. 
The  tales  were  accompanied  by  a  letter  written  in  a 
pointed  manner,  which,  however,  does  not  form  a 
portion  of  the  Granth. 

These  tales  occupy  about  30  pages,  and  conclude 

ji        the  Granth  of  Guru  Gobind. 

APPENDIX   XIX 

SOME  PRINCIPLES  OF  BELIEF  AND  PRACTICE, 

AS  EXEMPLIFIED  IN  THE  OPINIONS  OF 

THE  SIKH  GURUS  OR  TEACHERS 

With  an  Addendum,  showing  the  modes  in  which 

the  missions  of  Nanak  and  Gobind  are 

represented  or  regarded  by  the  Sikhs 

1.     God — the  Godhead 

The  True  Name  is  God;  without  fear,  without  enmity; 

the  Being  without  Death,  the  Giver  of  Salvation; 

the  Guru  and  Grace. 
Remember  the  primal  Truth;  Truth  which  was  before 

the  world  began, 
Truth    which  is,  and    Truth,    O    Nanak  !    which    will 

remain. 


330  HISTORY  OF   THE   SIKHS  ^pp     ^IX 

By  reflection  it  cannot  be  understood,  if  times  innu- 
merable it  be  considered. 

By  meditation  it  cannot  be  attained,  how  much  soever 
the  attention  be  fixed. 

A  hundred  wisdoms,  even  a  hundred  thousand,  not  one 
accompanies  the  dead. 

How  can  Truth  be  told,  how  can  falsehood  be  un- 
ravelled ? 

O  Nanak  !  by  following  the  will  of  God,  as  by  Him 
ordained. 

Nanak,  Adi  Granth,  Japji  (commencement  of-. 

One,  Self-existent,  Himself  the  Creator. 
O    Nanak  !    one    continueth,    another    never    was    and 
never  will  be. 

Nanak,  Adi  Granth,  Gauri  Rag. 

Thou  art  in  each  thing,  and  in  all  places. 
O  God  !  thou  art  the  one  Existent  Being. 

Ram  Das,  Adi  Granth,  Asa  Rag. 

My  mind  jiwells  upon  One, 

He  who  gave  the  Soul  and  the  body. 

Arjun,  Adi  Granth,  Sri  Rag. 

Time  is  the  only  God;  the  First  and  the  Last,  the  End- 
less Being;  the  Creator,  the  Destroyer;  He  who 
can  make  and  unmake. 

God  who  created  Angels  and  Demons,  who  created  the 
East  and  the  West,  the  North  and  the  South,  how 
can  He  be  expressed  by  words? 

Gobind,  Hazar  t  Shahd. 

God  is  one  image  (or  Being) ,  how  can  He  be  conceived 
in  another  form?  Gobind,  Vichitr  Natak. 


2.     Incarnations,  Saints,  and  Prophets;  the  Hindu 
Avatars,  Muhammad,  and  Sidhs,  and  Pirs 

Numerous  Muhammads  have  there  been,   and  multi- 
tudes of  Brahrnas,  Vishnus,  and  Sivas, 

Thousands  nf  pirs  and  Prophets,  and  tens  of  thousands 
of  Saints  and  Holy  men  : 

But  the  Chief  of  Lords  is  the  One  Lord,  the  true  Name 
of  God. 

O  Nanak  !  of  God,  His  qualities,  without  end,  beyond 
reckoning,  who  can  understand  ? 

Nanak,  Ratan  Mala  (extra  to  the  Granth) . 


APP.    XIX  PRINCIPLES    OF    BELIEF,    ETC.  33 j 

Many  Brahmas    wearied    themselves    with    the  study 

of  the  Vedas,  but  found  not  the  value  of  an  oil  seed. 
Holy  men  and  Saints  sought  about  anxiously,  but  they 

were  deceived  by  Maya. 
There  have  been,    and    there  have     passed    away,  ten 

regent  Avatars  and  the  wondrous  Mahadev. 
Even  they,  wearied  with  the  application  of  ashes,  could 

not  find  Thee.  Arjun,  Adi  Granth,  Suhi. 

Surs  and  Sidhs  and  the  Devtas  of  Siva;  Shaikhs  and 

Pirs  and  men  of  might. 
Have  come  and  have  gone,   and   others   are  likewise 

passing  by.  Arjun,  Adi  Granth,  Sri  Rag. 

Krishna  indeed  slew  demons;  he  performed  wond- 
ers, and  he  declared  himself  to  be  Brahm;  yet  he 
should  not  be  regarded  as  the  Lord.  He  himself  died; 
how  can  he  save  those  who  put  faith  in  him?  How  can 
one  sunk  in  the  ocean  sustain  another  above  the  waves? 
God  alone  is  all-powerful  :  he  can  create,  and  he  can 
destroy.  Gobind,  Hazara  Shahd. 

God,  without  friends,  without  enemies. 
Who  heeds  not  praise,  nor  is  moved  by  curses, 
How  could  He  become  manifest  as  Krishna  ? 
How  could  He,  without  parents,  without  offspring,  be- 
come borfi  to  a  'Devki'  ? 

GoBiND,  Hazara  Shahd. 
Ram     and     Rahim  ^     (names    repeated)    cannot     give 

salvation. 
Brahma,  Vishnu  and  Siva,  the  Sun  and  the  Moon,  all 
are  in  the  power  of  Death. 

GoBiND,  Hazara  Shahd. 

3.     The  Sikh  Gurus  not  to  he  worshipped 

He  who  speaks  of  me  as  the  Lord. 
Him  will  I  sink  into  the  pit  of  Hell  ! 
Consider  me  as  the  slave  of  God  : 
Of  that  have  no  doubt  in  thy  mind. 
I  am  but  the  slave  of  the  Lord, 
Come  to  behold  the  wonders  of  Creation. 

GoBiND,  Vichitr  Natak. 

4.    Images,  and  the  Worship  of  Saints 

Worship  not  another  (than  God) ;  bow  not  to  the  Dead. 
Nanak,  Adi  Granth,  Sorth  Ragni. 

1  The  Merciful,  i.e.  the  God  of  the  Muhammadans. 


332  HISTORY   OF   THE  SIKHS  ^pp     ^IX 

To  worship  an  image,  to  make  pilgrimages  to  a 
shrine,  to  remain  in  a  desert  and  yet  to  have  the  mind 
impure,  is  all  in  vain,  and  thus  thou  canst  not  be  ac- 
cepted. To  be  saved  thou  must  worship  Truth  (God) . 
— Nanak,  Adi  Granth,  Bhog;  in  which,  however,  he 
professes  to  qubte  a  learned  Brahman. 

Man,  who  is  a  beast  of  the  field,  cannot  compre- 
hend Him  whose  power  is  of  the  Past,  the  Present,  and 
the  Future. 

God  is  worshipped,  that  by  worship  salvation  may  be 

attained. 
Fall  at  the  feet  of  God;  in  senseless  stone  Got  is  not. 

GoBiND,  Vichitr  Natak. 

5,    Miracles 

To  possess  the  power  of  a  Sidhi  (or  changer  of  shapes) , 
To  be  as  a  Ridhi  (or  giver  away  of  never-ending  stores) , 
And  yet  to  be  ignorant  of  God,  I  do  not  desire. 
All  such  things  are  vain. 

Nanak,  Adi  Granth,  Sri  Rag. 

Dwell  thou  in  flames  uninjured. 
Remain  unharmed  amid  ice  eternal, 
Make  blocks  of  stone  thy  daily  food, 
Spurn  the  Earth  before  thee  with  thy  foot, 
Weigh  the  Heavens  in  a  balance; 
And  then  ask  of  me  to  perform  miracles. 

Nanak,  to  a  challenger  about  miracles; 
Adi  Granth,  Majh  Var. 

6.     Transmigration 

Life  is  like  the  wheel  circling  on  its  pivot, 
O  Nanak  !  of  going  and  coming  there  is  no  end. 
Nanak,  Adi  Granth,  Asa.  (Numerous  other 
passages  of  a  like  kind  might  be  quoted 
from  Nanak  and  his  successors.) 

He  who  knows  not  the  One  God 
Will  be  born  again  times  innumerable. 

GrOBiND,  Mihdi  Mir. 

7.     Faith 

Eat  and  clothe  thyself,  and  thou  may'st  be  happy; 
But  without  fear  and  faith  there  is  no  salvation. 

Nanak,  Adi  Granth,  Sohila  Maru  Rag. 


\PP  XIX        PRINCIPLES  OF  BELIEF.  ETC.  333 

8.    Grace 

O  Nanak  !  he,  on  whom  God  looks,  finds  the  Lord. 

Nanak,  Adi  Granth,  Asa  Rag. 

O  Nanak  !  he  on  whom  God  looks,  will  fix  his  mind 
on  the  Lord. 

Amar  Das,  Adi  Granth,  Bilawal. 


9.     Predestination 

According  to  the  fate  of  each,  dependent  on  his 
actions,  are  his  coming  and  going  determined. 

Nanak,  Adi  Granth,  Asa. 

How    can    Truth    be    told  ?    how    can    falsehood    be 

unravelled  ? 
O  Nanak  !   by  following  the  will  of  God,  as  by  Him 

ordained.  » 

Nanak,  Adi  Granth,  Japji. 


10.     The  Vedas,  the  Purans,  and  the  Koran. 

Pothis,  Simrats    Vedas,  Purans, 

Are  all  as  nothing,  if  unleavened  by  God. 

Nanak,  Adi  Granth,  Gauri  Rag. 

Give  ear  to  Shastars  and  Vedas,  and  Korans, 
And  thou  may'st  reach  'Swarg  and  Nark'. 

(i.e.  to  the  necessity  of  coming  back  again.) 
Without  God,  salvation  is  unattainable. 

Nanak,  Ratan  Mala  (an  Extra  book 
of  the  Adi  Granth). 

Since  he  fell  at  the  feet  of  God,  no  one  has  appeared 

great  in  his  eyes. 
Ram  and  Rahim,  the    Purans,    and    the  Koran,    have 

many  votaries,  but  neither  does  he  regard. 
Simrats,  Shastars,  and  Vedas,  differ  in  many  things; 

not  one  does  he  heed. 
O  God  !  under  Thy  favour  has  all  been  done;  naught 

is  of  myself.  Gk>BiND,  Rah  Ras. 


11.    Asceticism 

A  householder  ^  who  does  no  evil, 
Who  is  ever  intent  upon  good, 

1  I.e.  in  English  idiom,  one  of  the  laity;  one  who  fulfils  the 
ordinary  duties  of  life. 


335  HISTORY   OF  THE   SIKHS  ^pp     ^^ 

16.    Sati 
They  are  not  Satis  who  perish  in  the  flames. 
O  Nanak  !  Satis  are  those  who  die  of  a  broken  heart. 
And  again — 

The  loving  wife  perishes  with  the  body  of  her  husband. 
But  were  her  thoughts  bent  upon  God,  her  sorrows 
would  be  alleviated. 

Amar  Das,  Adi  Granth,  Suhi. 

Addendum 

Bhai  Gurdoi  Bhalla's  mode  of  representing  the 
Mission  of  Nanak 

There  were  four  races  and  four  creeds  ^  in  the  world 

among  Hindus  and  Muhammadans; 
Selfishness,    jealousy,    and    pride    drew    all    of    them 

strongly  • 
The   Hindus  dwelt   on  Benares   and  the   Ganges,   the 

Muhammadans  on  the  Kaba; 
The  Muhammadans  held  by  circumcision,  the  Hindus 

by  strings  and  frontal  marks. 
They  each  called  on  Ram  and  Rahim,  one  name,  and 

yet  both  forgot  the  road. 
Forgetting  the  Vedas  and  the  Koran,  they  were  inveig- 
led in  the  snares  of  the  world. 
Truth  remained  on  one  side,  while  Mullas  and  Brah- 

mans  disputed,* 
And  Salvation  was  not  attained. 


God  heard  the    complaint     (of  virtue    or    truth),  and 

Nanak  was  sent  into  the  world. 
He  established  the  custom  that  the  disciple  should  wash 

the  feet  of  his  Guru,  and  drink  the  water; 
Par    Brahm    and    Puran    Brahm,    in  this    Kalyug,    he 

showed  were  one, 
The  four  Feet    (of  the  animal  sustaining  the  world) 

were  made  of  Faith;  the  four  castes  were  made  one; 

1  The  four  races  of  Saiyids,  Shaikhs,  Mughals,  and  Pathans 
are  here  termed  as  of  four  creeds,  and  likened  to  the  four 
castes  or  races  of  the  Hindus.  It  is,  indeed,  a  common  saying 
that  such  a  thing  is  'haram-i~char  Mazhab',  or  forbidden 
among  the  four  faiths  or  sects  of  Muhammadans.  Originally 
the  expression  had  reference  to  the  four  orthodox  schools  of 
Sunnis,  formed  by  the  expounders  Abu  Hanifa,  Hanbal,  Shafei, 
and  Malik,  and  it  still  has  such  an  application  among  the 
learned,  but  the  commonalty  of  India  understand  it  to  apply 
to  the  four  castes  or  races  into  which  they  have  divided  them- 
selves. 


APP.    XIX  PRINCIPLES   OF   BELIEF,    ETC.  33-7 

The  high  and  the  low  became  equal;  the  salutation  of 
the  feet  (among  disciples)  he  established  in  the 
world  :  ^ 

Contrary  to  the  nature  of  man,  the  feet  were  exalted 

above  the  head. 
In  the  Kalyug  he  gave  salvation  :  using  the  only  true 

Name,  he  taught  men  to  worship  the  Lord. 
To  give  salvation  in  the  Kalyug  Guru  Nanak  came. 

Note. — The  above  extracts,  and  several  others  from 
the  book  of  Bhai  Gurdas,  may  be  seen  in  Malcolm's 
Sketch  of  the  Sikhs,  p.  152,  &c.;  rendered,  however,  in 
a  less  literal  manner  than  has  here  been  attempted. 

The  book -contains  forty  chapters,  written  in  dif- 
ferent kinds  of  verse,  and  it  is  the  repository  of  many 
stories  about  Nanak  which  the  Sikhs  delight  to  repeat. 
One  of  these  is  as  follows  : 

Nanak  again  went  to  Mecca;  blue  clothing  he  wore. 

like  Krishna; 
A  staff  in  his  hand,  a  book  by  his  side;  the  pot,  the 

cup,  and  the  mat,  he  also  took  : 
He  sat  where  the  Pilgrims  completed  the  final  act  of 

their  pilgrimage, 
And  when  he  slept  at  night  he  lay  with  his  feet  towards 

the  front. 
Jiwan   struck  him   with  his   foot,   saying,   'Ho  !   what 

infidel  sleeps  here, 
With  his  feet  towards  the  Lord,  like  an  evil  doer?' 
— Seizing  him  by    the  leg,    he   drew  him    aside;  then 

Mecca  also  turned,  and  a  miracle  was  declared. 
All  were  astonished,  &c.,  &c. 


Guru  Gohind's  raode  of  representing  his  Mission. 
(From  the  Vichitr  Natak,  with  an  extract  from  the 
Twenty-four  Incarnations,  regarding  the  last  Ava- 
tar and  the  succeeding  Mihdi  Mir.) 

Note. — The  first  four  chapters  are  occupied  with  a 
mythological  account  of  the  Sodhi  and  Bedi  subdivi- 
sions of  the  Kshattriya  race,  the  rulers  of  the  Punjab 
at  Lahore  and  Kasur,  and  the  descendants  of  Lau  and 
Kusu,  the  sons  of  Ram,  who  traced  his  descent  through 
Dasrath,  Raghu,  Suraj,  and  others,  to  Kalsain,  a  pri- 
maeval monarch.  So  far  as  regards  the  present  object, 
the  contents  may  be  summed  up  in  the  promise  or  pro- 

1  The  Akalis  still  follow  this  custom. 

22 


338  HISTORY  OF   THE   SIKHS  ^pp     ^IX 

phecy,  that  in  the  Kalyug  Nanak  would  bestow  bless- 
ings on  the  Sodhis,  and  would,  on  his  fourth  mortal 
appearance,  become  one  of  that  tribe.' 

Chapter  V  (abstract)  .—The  Brahmans  began  to 
follow  the  ways  of  Sudras,  and  Kshattriya  of  Vaisas, 
and,  similarly,  the  Sudras  did  as  Brahmans,  and  the 
Vaisas  as  Kshattriyas.  In  the  fullness  of  tirne  Nanak 
came  and  established  his  own  sect  in  the  world.  He 
died,  but  he  was  born  again  as  Angad,  and  a  third  time 
as  Amar  Das,  and  at  last  he  appeared  as  Ram  Das,  as 
had  been  declared,  and  the  Guruship  became  inherent 
in  the  Sodhis.  Nanak  thus  put  on  other  habiliments, 
as  one  lamp  is  lighted  at  another.  Apparently  there 
were  four  Gurus,  but,  in  truth,  in  each  body  there  was 
the  soul  of  Guru  Nanak.  When  Ram  Das  departed, 
his  son  Arjun  became  Guru,  who  was  followed  succes- 
sively by  Har  Gobind,  Har  Rai,  Har  Kishan,  and  Tegh 
Bahadur,  who  gave  his  life  for  his  faith  in  Delhi,  hav- 
ing been  put  to  death  by  the  Muhammadans. 

Chapter  VI  (abstract). — In  the  Bhim  Khund,  near 
the  Seven  Sring  (or  Peaks) ,  where  the  Pandus  exer- 
cised sovereignty  (the  unembodied  soul  of)  Guru 
Gobind  Singh  implored  the  Almightj'-,  and  became 
absorbed  in  the  Divine  essence  (or  obtained  salvation 
without  the  necessity  of  again  appearing  on  earth) . 
Likewise  the  parents  of  the  Guru  prayed  to  the  Lord 
continually.  God  looked  on  them  with  favour,  and 
(the  soul  of)  Gobind  was  called  from  the  Seven  Peaks 
to  become  one  of  mankind. 

Then  my  wish  was  not  to  reappear, 

For  my  thoughts    were    bent    upon    the    feet    of  the 

Almighty; 
But  God  made  known  to  me  his  desires. 

The  Lord  said,  'When  mankind  was  created,  the 
Daitayas  were  sent  for  the  punishment  of  the  wicked, 
but  the  Daitayas  being  strong,  forgot  me  their  God. 
Then  the  Devtas  were  sent,  but  they  caused  themselves 
to  be  worshipped  by  men  as  Siva,  and  Brahma,  and 
Vishnu.  The  Sidhs  were  afterwards  born,  but  they, 
following  different  ways,  established  many  sects. 
Afterwards  Gorakhnath  appeared  in  the  world,  and  he, 
making  many  kings  his  disciples,  established  the  sect 
of  Joghis.  Ramanand  then  came  into  the  world,  and 
he  established  the    Sect    of    Bairagis    after    his    own 

1  Cf.  the  translations  given  in  Malcolm's  Sketch,  p.  174,  &c. 


APP     XIX  GOBINDS   REPRESENTATION  339 

fashion.  Muhadin  (Muhammad)  too  was  born,  and  be- 
came lord  of  Arabia.  He  established  a  sect,  and  re- 
quired his  followers  to  repeat  his  name.  Thus,  they 
who  were  sent  to  guide  mankind,  perversely  adopted 
modes  of  their  own,  and  misled  the  world.  None 
taught  the  right  way  to  the  ignorant;  wherefore  thou, 
O  Gobind  !  hast  been  called,  that  thou  mayst  propa- 
gate the  worship  of  the  One  True  God,  and  guide  those 
who  have  lost  the  road.'  Hence  I,  Gobind,  have  come 
into  the  world,  and  have  established  a  sect,  and  have 
laid  down  its  customs;  but  whosoever  regards  me  as 
the  Lord  shall  be  dashed  into  the  pit  of  hell,  for  I  am 
but  as  other  men,  a  beholder  of  the  wonders  of  creation. 

[Gobind  goes  on  to  declare  that  he  regarded  the 
religions  of  the  Hindus  and  Muhammadans  as  naught; 
that  Jogis,  and  the  readers  of  Korans  and  Purans,  were 
but  deceivers;  that  no  faith  was  to  be  put  in  the  wor- 
ship of  images  and  stones.  All  reUgions,  he  says,  had 
become  corrupt;  the  Sannyasi  and  Bairagi  equally 
showed  the  wrong  way,  and  the  modes  of  worship  of 
Brahmans  and  Kshattriyas  and  others  were  idle  and 
vain.  'All  shall  pass  into  hell,  for  God  is  not  in  books 
and  scriptures,  but  in  humility  and  truthfulness.' 

The  subsequent  chapters,  to  the  13th  inclusive,  re- 
late the  wars  in  which  Gobind  was  engaged  with  the 
Rajas  of  the  hills  and  the  imperial  forces.] 

Chapter  XIV  (abstract) .— O  God !  thou  who 
hast  always  preserved  thy  worshippers  from  evil,  and 
hast  inflicted  punishment  on  the  wicked;  who  hast  re- 
garded me  as  thy  devoted  slave  and  hast  served  me 
with  thine  own  hand,  now  all  that  I  have  beheld,  and 
all  thy  glories  which  I  have  witnessed,  will  I  faithfully 
relate.  What  I  beheld  in  the  former  world,  by  the 
blessing  of  God  will  I  make  known.  In  all  my  under- 
takings the  goodness  of  the  Lord  hath  been  showered 
upon  me.  Loh  (iron)  has  been  my  preserver.  Tlirough 
the  goodness  of  God  have  I  been  strong,  and  all  that  I 
have  seen  during  the  various  ages  will  I  put  in  a  book; 
everything  shall  be  fully  made  kncrwn. 

Extract  from  the  Twenty-four  Avatars 

Kalki  (conclusion  of).— Kalki  at  last  became 
strong  and  proud,  and  the  Lord  was  displeased,  and 
created  another  Being.  Mihdi  Mir  was  created,  great 
and  powerful,  who  destroyed  Kalki,  and  became  mas- 


340  HISTORY  OF   THE   SIKHS  ^p     ^^ 

ter  of  the  world.  All  is  in  the  hands  of  God.  In  this 
manner  passed  away  the  ^twenty-four  manifestations. 
Mihdi  Mir.— In  such  manner  was  Kalki  destroyed 
but  God  manifests  himself  at  all  times,  and  at  the  end 
of  the  Kalyug,  all  will  be  his  own.^  When  Mihdi  Mir 
had  vanquished  the  world  he  became  raised  up  in  his 
mind.  He  assumed  to  himself  the  crown  of  greatness 
and  power,  and  all  bowed  to  him.  He  regarded  him- 
self as  supreme.  He  taught  not  of  God,  but  considered 
himself  to  be  in  all  things  and  to  exist  everywhere. 
Then  the  Almighty  seized  the  fool.  God  is  One.  He 
is  without  a  second.  He  is  everywhere,  in  the  water 
and  under  the  earth.  He  who  knows  not  the  One  God, 
will  be  born  again  times  innumerable.  In  the  end  God 
took  away  the  power  of  Mihdi  Mir,  and  destroyed  him 
utterly. 

A  creeping  worm  did  the  Lord  create; 
By  the  ear  of  Mihdi  it  went  and  stayed  : 
The  worm  entered  by  his  ear. 
And  he  was  wholly  subdued. 

APPENDIX  XX 

THE  ADMONITORY  LETTERS  OF  NANAK  TO  THE 
FABULOUS  MONARCH  KARUN;  AND  THE 
PRESCRIPTIVE  LETTERS  OF  GOBIND  FOR 
THE  GUIDANCE  OF  THE  SIKHS. 

Note. — Two  letters  to  Karun  are  attributed  to 
Nanak.  The  first  is  styled  the  'Nasihat  Nama',  or  Letter 
of  Admonition  and  Advice.  The  second  is  styled  sim- 
ply the  'Reply  of  Nanak',  and  professes  to  be  spoken. 
Karun  may  possibly  be  a  corruption  of  Harun,  the 
'Harun  el  Rashid'  of  European  and  Asiatic  fame.  Both 
compositions  are  of  course  fabulous  as  regards  Nanak, 
and  appear  to  be  the  compositions  of  the  commence- 
ment or  middle  of  the  last  century. 

The  two  letters  of  Gobind  are  termed  the  'Rabat 
Nama'  and  the  'Tankha  Narria',  or  the  Letter  of  Rules 
and  the  Letter  of  Fines  respectively;  and  while  they 
are  adapted  for  general  guidance,  they  profess  to  have 
been  drawn  up  in  reply  to  questions  put  by  individuals, 
or  for  the  satisfaction  of  particular  inquirers.  There 
is  no  evidence  that  they  were  composed  by  Gobind 
himself;  but  they  may  be  held  to  represent  his  views 
and  the  principles  of  Sikhism. 

1  Nij  jot,  jot  suman. 


APP     XX  ADMONITORY   LETTERS    OF    NANAK  34] 

1.  The  Nasihat  Nama  of  Nanak,  or  the  Letter  to 
Karun,  the  Mighty  Prince,  possessing  forty  Capital 
Cities  replenished  with  Treasure.  (Extracts  from.) 

Alone  man  comes,  alone  he  goes. 

When  he  departs  naught  .will  avail  him   (or  bear  him 

witness) . 
When  the  reckoning  is  taken,  what  answer  will  he  give  ? 
If  then  only  he  repents,  he  shall  be  punished. 


Karun  paid  no  devotions;  he  kept  not  faith  : 

The  world  exclaimed  he  ruled  not  justly. 

He  was  called  a  Ruler,  but  he  governed  not  well. 

For  the  pleasures  of  the  world  ensnared  him. 

He  plundered  the  earth  :   hell-fire  shall  torment  him. 


Man  should  do  good,  so  that  he  be  not  ashamed. 

Repent — and  oppress  jiot. 

Otherwise  hell-fire  shall  seize  thee,  even  in  the  grave. 

Holy  men.  Prophets,  Shahs,  and  Khans, 

The  mark  of  not  one  remaineth  in  the  world; 

For  man  is  but  as  the  passing  shade  of  the  flying  bird. 

Thou  rejoicest  in  thy  Forty  Treasures, 
See,  oh  people  !  Karun  utterly  confounded. 

0  Nanak  !  pray  unto  God,  and  seek  God  as  thy  refuge. 

2.     The  Reply  of  Nanak  to  Karun,  the  Lord  of  Medina. 

First,  Nanak  went  to  Mecca; 
Medina  he  afterwards  visited. 
The  lord  of  Mecca  and  Medina, 
Karun,  he  made  his  disciple. 
When  Nanak  was  about  to  depart, 
Karun,  the  fortunate,  thus  spoke  : 
Now  thou  art  about  to  go. 
But  when  wilt  thou  return? 
Then  the  Guru  thus  answered  : 
When  I  put  on  my  tenth  dress 

1  shall  be  called  Gobind  Singh; 
Then  shall  all  Singhs  wear  their  hair; 

They  shall  accept  the  'Pahal'  of  the  two-edged  dagger 
Then  shall  the  sect  of  the  Khalsa  be  established: 


342  HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS  ^pp     xX 

Then  shall  men  exclaim,  'Victory,  O  Guru  !' 

The  four  races  shall  become  6ne  and  the  same; 

The  five  weapons  shall  be  worn  by  all. 

In  the  Kalyug  they  shall  array  themselves  in  vestments 

of  blue; 
The  name  of  the  Khalsa  shall  be  everywhere. 
In  the  time  of  Aurangzeb 
The  wondrous  Khalsa  shall  arise. 
Then  shall  battles  be  waged, 
Endless  war  shall  ensue. 
And  fighting  shall  follow  year  after  year. 
They  shall  place  the  name  of  Gobind  Singh  in  their 

hearts; 
Many  heads  shall  be  rendered  up, 
And  the  empire  of  the  Khalsa  shall  prevail. 
First,  the  Punjab  shall  become  the  land  of  the  Sikhs; 
Then  other  countries  shall  be  theirs; 
Hindustan  and  the  North  shall  be  possessed  by  them; 
Then  the  West  shall  bow  to  them. 
When  they  enter  Khorasan, 
Kabul  and  Kandahar  shall  lie  low. 
When  Iran  ^  has  been  laid  prostrate, 
Mecca  shall  be  beheld, 
And  Medina  shall  be  seized. 
Mighty  shall  be  the  rejoicing. 
And  all  shall  exclaim,  'Hail,  Guru  !' 
Unbelievers  shall  everywhere  be  destroyed; 
The  holy  Khalsa  shall  be  exalted; 
Beasts,  and  birds,  and  creeping  things,  shall  tremble 

(in  the  presence  of  the  Lord) . 
Men  and  women  shall  everywhere  call  on  God. 
The  earth,  the  ocean,  and  the  heavens,  shall  call  on  God. 
By  calling  on  the  Guru  shall  men  be  blessed. 
Every  faith  shall  become  of  the  Khalsa; 
No  other  religion  will  remain. 
'Wah  Guru'  shall  everywhere  be  repeated. 
And  Pain  and  Trouble  shall  depart. 
In  the  Kalyug  shall  the  Kingdom  be  established 
Which  Nanak  received  from  the  Lord. 
Worthless,  I  fall  before  God; 
Nanak,  the  slave,  cannot  comprehend  the  ways  of  the 

Lord. 

1  Persia. 


APP    XX  GOBIND'S  LETTER  OF  RUI^S  343 

3.     The  Rdhat  Nama  of  Guru  Gohind.   (Extracts  from, 
and  abstracts  of  portions.) 

Written  for  Dariyai  Udasi,  and  i-epeated  to  Prahlad  Singh   at 
Apchalnagar    (Nader  on   the  Godavery). 

The  Guru,  being  seated  at  Apchalnagar,  spake  to 
Prahlad  Singh,  saying,  that  through  the  favour  of 
Nanak  there  was  a  sect  or  faith  in  the  world  for  which 
rules   (rahat)   should  be  established. 

A  Sikh  who  puts  a  cap   (topi) '  on  his  head,  shall  die 

seven  deaths  of  dropsy. 
Whosoever  wears  a  thread  round  his  neck  is  on  the 

way  to  damnation. 

[It  is  forbidden  to  take  off  the  turban  (pag)  while 
eating,  to  have  intercourse  with  Minas,  Massandis,  and 
Kurimars  (children  slayers) ,  and  to  play  at  chess  with 
women. 

No  prayers  are  to  be  offered  up  without  using  the 
name  of  the  Guru,  and  he  who  heeds  not  the  Guru, 
and  serves  not  the  diSciples  faithfully,  is  a  Mlechh 
indeed. 

A  Sikh  who  does  not  acknowledge  the  Hukamnama 
(requisition  for  benevolences  or  contributions)   of  the 
Guru  shall  fall  under  displeasure.] 
First  the  Guru  {Granth  or  Book)  and  Khalsa,  which  I 

have  placed  in  the  world, 
Whosoever  denies  or    betrays    either    shall    be  driven 

forth  and  dashed  into  hell. 

[It  is  forbidden  to  wear  clothing  dyed  with  safRo- 
wer  (i.e.  of  a  'Suhi'  colour) ,  to  wear  charms  on  the  head, 
to  bre^k  the  fast  without  reciting  the  Jap  (the  prayer 
of  Nanak) ,  to  neglect  reading  prayers  in  the  morning, 
to  take,  the  evening  meal  without  reciting  the  Rah  Ras, 
to  leave  Akal  Purukh  (the  Timeless  ^Being)  and  wor- 
ship other  Gods,  to  worship  stones,  to  make  obeisance 
to  any  not  a  Sikh,  to  forget  the  Granth,  and  to  deceive 
the  Khalsa. 

All  Hukamnamas  (calls'for  tithes  or  contributions; 
given  by  the  posterity  of  Nanak,  of  Angad,  and  of 
Amar  Das,  shall  be  heeded  as  his  own  :  whosoever 
disregards  them  shall  perish. 

1  Referring  partciularly  to  Hindu  ascetics;  but  perhaps, 
also  to  the  Muhammadans,  who  formerly  wore  skull-caps 
alone,  and  now  generally  wind  their  turbans  round  a  covering 
of  the  kind.  The  Sikh  contempt  for  either  kind  of  'topi'  has 
been  thrown  into  thS  shade  by  theii*  repugnance,  in  common 
with  all  other  Indians,  to  the  English  cap  or  hat. 


344  HIST'^HY  OF  THE  SIKHS  ^^p    ^X 

The  things  which  he  had  placed  in  the  world  (viz , 
the  Granth  and  the  Khalsa)  are  to  be  worshipped. 
Strange  Gods  are  not  to  be  heeded,  and  the  Sikh  who 
forsakes  his  faith  shall  be  punished  in  the  world  to 
coine. 

He  who  worships  graves  and  dead  men  ('gor'  and 
'murri',  referring  to  Muhammadans  and  Hindus),  or 
he  who  worships  temples  (mosques)  or  stones  (ima- 
ges) ,  is  not  a  Sikh. . 

The  Sikh  who  makes  obeisance  ox  bows  down  to 
the  wearer  of  a  cap  (topi)  is  a  resident  of  hell.] 

Consider  the  Khalsa  as  the  Guru,  as  the  very  embodi- 
ment of  the  Guru  : 

He  who  wishes  to  see  the  Guru  will  find  him  in  the 
Khalsa, 

[Trust  not  Jogi  or  Turks.  Remember  the  writings 
of  the  Guru  only.  Regard  not  the  six  Darsans  (or  sys- 
tems of  faith  or  speculation).  Without  the  Guru,  all 
Deities  are  as  naught.  The  Image  of  the  Almighty  is 
the  visible  body  (pragat  deh)  of  the  immortal  Khalsa 
(Akal) .  The  Khalsa  is  everything,  other  divinities  are 
as  sand,  which  slips  through  the  fingers.  By  the  order 
of  God  the  Panth  (or  sect)  of  Sikhs  has  been  establish- 
ed. All  Sikhs  must  believe  the  Guru  and  the  Granth. 
They  should  bow  to  the  Granth  alone.  All  prayers  save 
the  prayers  of  the  Guru  are  idle  and  vain. 

He  who  gives  the  'Pahal'  to  another  shall  reap 
innumerable  blessings.  He  who  instructs  in  the  prayers 
and  scriptures  of  the  Gurus  shall  attain  salvation. 
Gobind  will  reverence  the  Sikh  who  chafes  the  hands 
and  the  feet  of  the  wearied  Sikh  traveller.  The  Sikh 
who  gives  food  to  other  Sikhs,  on  him  will  the  Guru 
look  with  favour. 

Delivered  on  Thursday  the  5th  day  of  the  dark 
phase  of  the  Moon  of  Magh  in  the  Sambat  year  1752 
(beginning  of  a.d.  1696).  He  who  heeds  these  injunc- 
tions is  a  Sikh  of  Guru  Gobind  Singh.  The  orders  of 
the  Guru  are  as  himself.  Depend  on  God.] 

4.     The  Tankha  Nama,  or  Letter  of  Fines  or 
Restrictions  on  Sikhs.    (Abstract  of.) 

Written  in  reply  to  the  question  of  Bhai  Nand  Lai,  who  had 
asked  Guru  Gobind  what  it  was  proper  for  a  Sikh  to  do, 
and  what  to  refrain  from. 

Nand  Lai  asked,  &c.  :  and  the  Guru  replied  that 
such  were  to  be  the  acts  of  the  Sikhs.    A  Sikh  should 


APP     XX  GOBIND'S  LETTER  OF  FINES  345 

set  his  heart  on  God,  on  charity,  and  on  purity  (Nam, 
Dan,  Ishnan) .  He  who  in  the  morning  does  not  repair 
to  some  temple,  or  visit  some  holy  man,  is  greatly  to 
blame.  He  who  does  not  allow  the  poor  a  place  (in  his 
heart)  i«  to  blame.  Without  the  favour  of  God  nothing 
can  be  accomplished.  He  who  bows  his  head  (i.e. 
humbles  himself)  after  having  offered  up  prayers  is  a 
man  of  holiness.  Charity  (Karah  Prasad,  i.e.  food) 
should  be  distributed  in  singleness  of  mind  to  all 
comers  equally.  Prasad  should  be  prepared  of  equal 
parts  of  flour,  sugar,  and  butter.  The  preparer  should 
first  bathe,  and  while  cooking  it  he  should  repeat  'Wah 
Guru'  continually.  When  ready,  the  food  should  be 
put  on  a  round  place. 

The  Sikh  who  wears  the  (written)  charms  of  the 
Turks,  or  who  touches  iron  with  his  feet,  is  to  be  con- 
demned. He  who  wears  clothing  dyed  with  safflower 
(of  the  colour  called  'Suhi) ,  and  he  who  takes  snuff 
(naswar) ,  is  to  be  condemned.^ 

He  who  looks  lustfully  upon  the  mother  or  sister 
of  one  of  the  brethren— he  who  does  not  bestow  his 
daughter  becomingly  in  marriage — he  who  takes  to 
himself  the  property  of  a  sister  or  daughter — he  who 
wears  not  iron  in  some  shape — he  who  robs  or  oppresses 
the  poor,  and  he  who  makes  obeisance  to  a  Turk,  is  to 
be  punished. 

A  Sikh  should  comb  his  locks,  and  fold  and  unfold 
his  turban  twice  a  day.  Twice  also  should  he  wash  his 
mouth. 

One  tenth  of  all  goods  should  be  given  (in  charity) 
in  the  name  of  the  Guru. 

Sikhs  should  bathe  in  cold  water  :  they  should  not 
break  their  fast  until  they  have  repeated  the  Jap.  In 
the  morning  Jap,  in  the  evening,  Rah  Ras,  and  before 
retiring  to  rest,  Sohila  should  always  be  repeated. 

No  Sikh  should  speak  false  of  his  neighbour.  Pro- 
mises should  be  carefully  fulfilled. 

No  Sikh  should  .eat  flesh  from  the  hands  of  the 
Turks. 

A  Sikh  should  not  delight  in  women,  nor  give  him- 
self up  to  them. 

The  Sikh  who  calls  himself  a  Sadh  (or  Holy  man) 
should  act  in  strict  accordance  with  his  professions. 

A  journey  should  not  be  undertaken,  nor  should 

1  This  is  the  only  recorded  prohibition  against  tobacco,  to 
refrain  from  which  in  every  shape  is  now  a  rule.  The  Afghans 
of' Peshawar  and  Kabul  continue  to  take  snuff,  a  practice  but 
little  known  to  the  Indians. 


346  HISTORY  OF   THE   SIKHS  ^PP.   XX 

business  be  set  about,  nor  should  food  be  eaten,  with- 
out first  remembering  or  calling  on  God. 

A  Sikh  should  enjoy  the  society  of  his  own  wife 
only.     He  should  not  desire  other  women. 

He  who.  sees  a  poor  man  and  gives  him  not  some- 
thing, shall  not  behold  the  presence  of  God. 

He  who  neglects  to  pray,  or  who  abuses  the  holy, 
or  who  gambles,  or  who  listens  to  those  who  speak  evil 
of  the  Gurus,  is  no  Sikh. 

Daily,  some  portion  of  what  is  gained  is  to  be  set 
aside  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  but  all  business  must  be 
carried  on  in  sincerity  and  truth. 

Flame  should  not  be  extinguished  with  the  breath, 
nor  should  fire  be  put  out  with  water,  a  portion  of 
which  has  been  drunk. 

Before  meals  the  name  of  the  Guru  should  be  re- 
peated. The  society  of  prostitutes  is  to  be  avoided,  nor 
is  adultery  to  be  committed  with  the  wife  of  another. 
The  Guru  is  not  to  be  forsaken,  and  others  followed. 
No  Sikh  should  expose  his  person;  he  should  not  bathe 
in  a  state  of  nudity,  nor  when  distributing  food  should 
he  be  naked.^     His  head  should  always  be  covered. 

He  is  of  the  Khalsa, 

Who  speaks  6vil  to  none. 

Who  combats  in  the  van, 

Who  gives  in  charity, 

W^ho  slays  a  Khan, 

Who  subdues  his  passions. 

Who  burns  the  'Karms',- 

Who  does  not  yield  to  superstitions,-^ 

Who  is  awake  day  and  night, 

Who  delights  in  the  sayings  of  the  Gurus, 

And  who  never  fears,  although  often  overcome. 
Considering  all  as  created  by  the  Lord, 
Give  offence  to  none,  otherwise  the  Lord  will  Himself 

be  offended. 

He  is  of  the  Khalsa, 
Who  protects  the  poor, 
Who  combats  evil, 
Who  remembers  God, 

1  The  practices  of  many  Hindu  ascetics  are  mainly  aimed  at. 

-  i.e.  who  despises  the  ceremonial  forms  of  the  Brahmans. 

•*  Hindi  Aan,  said  to  correspond  with  the  meaning  of  the 
Arabic  Aar — one  who  does  not  affect  to  be  in  any  way  protec- 
ted by  saints  or  others.  The  same  term  is  applied  to  the 
brotherhood  or  mutual  dependence  of  a  chief  and  his  followers. 


APP.   XX  GOBINDS  LETTER  OF  FUfES  347 

Who  achieves  greatness,^ 

Who  is  intent  upon  the  Lord, 

Who  is  wholly  unfettered, 

Who  mounts  the  war  horse, 

Who  is  ever  waging  battle, 

Who  is  continually  armed, 

Who  slays  the  Turks, 

Who  extends  the  faith, 

And  who  gives  his  head  with  what  is  upon  it. 
The  name  of  God  shall  be  proclaimed; 
No  one  shall  speak  against  Him; 
The  rivers  and  the  mountains  shall  remember  Him; 
All  who  call  upon  Him  shall  be  saved. 

0  Nand  Lai  !  attend  to  what  is  said; 
My  own  rule  will  I  establish, 

The  four  races  shall  be  one, 

1  will  cause  all  to  repeat  the  prayer  of  'Wah  Guru'. 
The  Sikhs  of  Gobind  shall  bestride  horses,  and  bear 

hawks  upon  their  hands. 
The  Turks  who  behold  them  shall  fiy, 
One  shall  combat  a  multitude, 
And  the  Sikh  who  thus  perishes  shall  be  blessed  for 

ever. 
At    the    doorway    of    a    Sikh    shall    wait    elephants 

caparisoned, 
And  horsemen  with  spears,  and  there  shall  be  music 

over  his  gateway. 
When  myriads  of  matches  burn  together. 
Then  shall  the  Khalsa  conquer  East  and  West. 
The  Khalsa  shall  rule;  .none  can  resist  : 
The  rebellious  shall  be    destroyed,    and    the    obedient 

shall  have  favours  heaped  upon  them. 


APPENDIX   XXI 

A  LIST  OF  SOME  SIKH  SECTS  OR 
DENOMINATIONS 

(In  which,  however,  some  Names  or  Titles  not  properly- 
distinctive  of  an  Order  are  also  inserted) 

1st.  Udasi. — Founded  by  Sri  Chand,  a  son  of 
Nanak.  The  Udasis  were  rejectad  by  Amar  Das,  as  not 
being  genuine  Sikhs. 

2nd.  Bedi. — Founded  by  Ijakshmi  Das,  another 
son  of  Nanak. 

Literally,  who  resides  in  state. 


348  HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS  y^pp    ^XI 

3rd.     Tehun. — Founded  by  Guru  Angad. 
4th.     Bhalla. — Founded  by  Guru  Amar  Das. 
5th.     Sodhi. — Founded  by  Guru  Ram  Das. 

Note. — The  Bedis,  Tihans,  Bhallas,  and  Sodhis  are 
rather  Sikhs  of  the  subdivisions  of  Kshattriyas,  so 
called  (i.e.  of  the  tribes  of  certain  Gurus) ,  than  distinct 
sects. 

6th.  Ramraiya,  seceders  who  adhered  to  Ram  Rai 
when  Tegh  Bahadur  became  Guru.  They  have  a  con- 
siderable establishment  in  the  Lower  Himalayas,  near 
Hardwar. 

7th.  Banda-Panthi,  i.e.  of  the  sect  of  Banda,  who 
succeeded  Gobind  as  a  temporal  leader. 

8th.  Masandi. — Masand  is  simply  the  name  of  a 
sub-division  of  the  Kshattriya  race;  but  it  is  also  spe- 
cially applied  to  the  followers  of  those  who  resisted 
Gobind;  some  say  as  adherents  of  Ram  Rai,  and  others 
as  instigators  of  the  Guru's  son  to  opposition.  The 
more  common  story,  however,  is  that  the  Masands  were 
the  hereditary  stewards  of  the  household  of  the  several 
Gurus,  and  that  they  became  proud  and  dissipated,  but 
nevertheless  arrogated  sanctity  to  themselves,  and  per- 
sonally ill-used  many  Sikhs  for  not  deferring  to  them; 
whereupon  Gobind,  regarding  them  as  irreclaimable, 
expelled  them  all  except  two  or  three. 

9th.  Rangrheta. — Converts  of  the  Sweeper  and 
some  other  inferior  castes  are  so  called.  (See  note  2, 
p.  64,  ante.) 

10th.  Ramdasi,  i.e.  Rao  or  Rai  Dasi. — Sikhs  of  the 
class  of  Chamars,  or  leather-dressers,  and  who  trace  to 
the  Rao  Das,  or  Rai  Das,  whose  writings  are  inserted 
in  the  Granth. 

11th.  Mazhahi. — Converts  from  Muhammadanism 
are  so  called. 

12th.  Akali.— Worshippers  of  Akal  (God),  the 
most  eminent  of  the  orders  of  Purists  or  Ascetics. 

13th.     Nihang.— The  naked,  or  pure. 

14th.  Nirmale. — The  sinless.  One  who  has  ac- 
quired this  title  usually  administers  the  Pahal  to  others. 

15th.  Gyani.— The  wise,  or  perfect.  A  term  some- 
times applied  to  Sikhs  who  are  at  once  learned  and 
pious, 

16th.  Suthra  ShoTii.— The  true,  or  pure  :  said  to 
have  been  founded  by  one  Sucha,  a  Brahman.  (See 
ante,  note  5,  p.  55.) 

17th.  Suchidari. — Likewise  the  true,  or  pure  :  the 
founder  not  ascertained. 


"i 


APP.   XXI  SIKH    SECTS   OR   DENOMINATIONS 


349 


18th.  Bhai.— Literally,  brother.  The  ordinary  title 
of  all  Sikhs  who  have  acquired  a  name  for  holiness; 
and  it  is  scarcely  the  distinctive  title  of  a  sect,  or  even 
of  an  order. 

To  these  may  perhaps  be  added  bodies  of  men  who 
attach  themselves  to  particular  temples,  or  who  claim 
to  have  been  founded  by  particular  disciples  of  emi- 
nence, or  by  followers  who  obtained  any  distinctive 
title  from  a  Guru.  Thus  some  claim  to  represent  Ram 
Das,  the  companion  of  Nanak,  who  lived  till  the  time 
of  Arjun,  and  who  obtained  the  title  of  'Budha',  or 
Ancient.  Also  many  hereditary  musicians  call  them- 
selves Rahahi  Sikhs,  from  the  Rabab,  or  particular 
instrument  on  which  they  play;  and  these  affect  to  re- 
gard Mardana,  the  companion  of  Nanak,  as  their 
founder.  Others  are  called  Diwane,  or  the  Simple  or 
Mad,  from  one  assiduous  as  a  collector  of  the  contri- 
butions of  the  faithful  fop  the  service  of  the  Gurus,  and 
who,  while  so  employed,  placed  a  peacock's  feather  in 
his  turban.  Another  class  is  called  Musaddi  (or,  per- 
haps, Mutasaddi,  i.e.  the  clerk  or  writer  order),  and 
it  is  stated  to  be  composed  of  devotees  of  the  Muham- 
madan  religion,  who  have  adopted  the  'Jap'  of  Nanak 
as  their  rule  of  faith.  The  Musaddis  are  further  said 
to  have  fixed  abodes  in  the  countries  westward  of  the 
Indus. 


APPENDIX    XXIII 

THE  TREATY  WITH  LAHORE  OF  1806 

Treaty  oj  Friendship  and  Unity  between  the  Honour- 
able East  India  Company  and  the  Sardars  Ranjit 
Singh  and  Fateh  Singh.    (1st  January  1806.) 

Sardar  Ranjit  Singh  and  Sardar  Fateh  Singh  have 
consented  to  the  following  articles  of  agreement,  con- 
cluded by  Lieutenant-Colonel  John  Malcolm,  under  the 
special  authority  of  the  Right  Honourable  Lord  Lake, 
himself  duly  authorized  by  the  Honourable  Sir  George 
Hilaro  Barlow,  Bart.,  Governor-General,  and  Sardar 
Fateh  Singh,  as  principal  on  the  part  of  himself,  and 
plenipotentiary  on  the  part  of  Ranjit  Singh  : 

Article  1. — Sardar  Ranjit  Singh  and  Sardar  Faten 
Singh  Ahluwalia,  hereby  agree  that  they  will  cause 
Jaswant  Rao  Holkar  to  remove  with  his  army  to  the 
distance  of  thirty  coss  from  Amritsar  immediately,  and 


350  HISTORY  OF  THE   SIKHS  ^PP.   XXIII 

will  never  hereafter  hold  any  further  connexion  with 
him,  or  aid  or  assist  him  with  troops,  or  in  any  other 
manner  whatever;  and  they  further  agree  that  they 
will  not  in  any  way  molest  such  of  Jaswant  Rao  Hol- 
kar's  followers  or  troops  as  are  desirous  of  returning 
to  their  homes  in  the  Deccan,  but,  on  the  contrary, 
will  render  them  every  assistance  in  their  power  for 
carrying  such  intention  into  execution. 

Article  2.— The  British  Government  hereby  agrees, 
that  in  case  a  pacification  should  not  be  effected  bet- 
ween that  Government  and  Jaswant  Rao  Holkar,  the 
British  army  shall  move  from  its  present  encampment, 
on  the  banks  of  the  river  Biah,  as  soon  as  Jaswant  Rao 
Holkar  aforesaid  shall  have  marched  his  army  to  the 
distance  of  thirty  coss  from  Amritsar;  and  that,  in  any 
treaty  which  may  hereafter  be  concludea  between  the 
British  Government  and  Jaswant  Rao  Holkar,  it  shall 
be  stipulated  that,  immediately  after  the  conclusion  of 
the  said  treaty,  Holkar  shall  evacuate  the  territories  of 
the  Sikhs,  and  march  towards  his  own,  and  that  he 
shall  in  no  way  whatever  injure  or  destroy  such  parts 
of  the  Sikh  country  as  may  lie  in  his  route.  The  British 
Government  further  agrees  that,  as  long  as  the  said 
Chieftains,  Ranjit  Singh  and  Fateh  Singh,  abstain  from 
holding  any  friendly  connexion  with  the  enemies  of 
that  Government,  or  from  committing  any  act  of  hosti- 
lity on  their  own  parts  against  the  said  Government, 
the  British  armies  shall  never  enter  the  territories  of 
the  said  Chieftains,  nor  will  the  British  Government 
form  any  plans  for  the  seizure  or  sequestratiori -of  their 
possessions  or  property. 

Dated  1st  January  1806. 


APPENDIX    XXIV 

SIR  DAVID  OCHTERLONY'S  PROCLAMATION 
OF  1809 

Precept  or  'Ittila  Nama',  under  the  Seal  of  General  St. 
Leger,  and  under  the  Seal  and  Signature  of  Colonel 
Ochterlony;  written  the  9th  of  February  1809, 
corresponding  to  the'  23rd  Zi  Hijeh,  1223,  Hijri. 

The  British  army  having  encamped  near  the  fron- 
tiers of  the  Maharaja  Ranjit  Singh,  it  has  been  thought 
proper  to  signify  the  pleasure  of  the  British  Govern- 
ment, by  means  of  this  precept,  in  order  to  make  all 


APP     XXIV  BRITISH   PROCLAMATION    OF    1809  35I 

the  Chiefs  of  the  Maharaja  acquainted  with  the  senti- 
ments of  the  British  Government,  which  have  solely 
for  their  object  and  aim  to  confirm  the  friendship  with 
the  Maharaja,  and  to  prevent  any  injury  to  his  country, 
the  preservation  of  friendship  between  the  two  States 
depending  on  particular  conditions  which  are  hereby 
detailed. 

The  Thanas  in  the  fortress  of  Kharar,  Khanpur, 
and  other  places  on  this  side  of  the  river  Sutlej,  which 
have  been  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  dependants  of  the 
Maharaja,  shall  be  razed,  and  the  same  places  restored 
to  their  ancient  possessors. 

The  force  of  cavalry  and  infantry  which  may  have 
crossed  to  this  side  of  the  Sutlej  must  be  recalled  to 
the  other  side,  to  the  country  of  the  Maharaja. 

The  troops  stationed  at  the  Ghat  of  Phillaur  must 
march  thence,  and  depart  to  the  other  side  of  the  river 
as  described,  and  in  future  the  troops  of  the  Maharaja 
shall  never  advance  into  the  country  of  the  Chiefs 
situated  on  this  side  of  the  river,  who  have  called  in 
for  their  security  and  protection  Thanas  of  the  British 
Government;  but  if  in  the  manner  that  the  British 
have  placed  Thanas  of  moderate  number  on  this  side 
of  the  Sutlej,  if  in  like  manner  a  small  force  by  way 
of  Thana  be  stationed  at  the  Ghat  of  Phillaur,  it  will 
not  be  objected  to. 

If  the  Maharaja  persevere  in  the  fulfilment  of  the 
above  stipulations,  which  he  so  repeatedly  professed 
to  do  in  presence  of  Mr.  Metcalfe,  such  fulfilment  will 
confirm  the  mutual  friendship.  In  case  of  non-com- 
pliance with  these  stipulations,  then  shall  it  be  plain 
that  the  Maharaja  has  no  regard  for  the  friendship  of 
the  British,  but,  on  the  contrary,  resolves  on  enmity. 
In  such  case  the  victorious  British  army  shall  com- 
mence every  mode  of  defence. 

The  communication  of  this  precept  is  solely  with 
the  view  of  publishing  the  sentiments  of  the  British, 
and  to  know^  those  of  the  Maharaja.  The  British  are 
confident  that  the  Maharaja  will  consider  the  contents 
of  this  precept  as  abounding  to  his  real  advantage,  and 
as  affording  a  conspicuous  proof  of  their  friendship; 
that  with  their  capacity  for  war,  they  are  also  intent 
on  peace. 

Note. — The  recorded  translation  of  this  document  has  been 
preserved,  although  somewhat  defective  in  style. 


35;^  HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS  ^pp     xXV 

APPENDIX    XXV 

THE  TREATY  WITH  LAHORE  OF  1809 

Treaty  between  the  British  Government  and  the  Raja 
of  Lahore.     (Dated  25th  April  1809.) 

Whereas  certain  differences  which  had  arisen  bet- 
ween the  British  Government  and  the  Raja  of  Lahore 
have  been  happily  and  amicably  adjusted;  and  both 
parties  being  anxious  to  maintain  relations  of  perfect 
amity  and  concord,  the  following  articles  of  treaty, 
which  shall  be  binding  on  the  heirs  and  successors  of 
the  two  parties^  have  been  concluded  by  the  Raja 
Ran  jit  Singh  in  person,  and  by  the  agency  of  C.  T. 
Metcalfe,  Esquire,  on  the  part  of  the  British 
Government. 

Article  1.— Perpetual  friendship  shall  subsist  bet- 
ween the  British  Government  and  the  State  of  Lahore  : 
the  latter  shall  be  considered,  with  respect  to  the  for- 
mer, to  be  on  the  footing  of  the  most  favoured  powers, 
and  the  British  Government  will  have  no  concern  with 
the  territories  and  subjectc  of  the  Raja  to  the  north- 
ward of  the  river  Sutlej. 

Article  2.— The  Raja  will  never  maintain  in  the 
territory  which  he  occupies  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
river  Sutlej  more  troops  than  are  necessary  for  the 
internal  duties  of  that  territory,  nor  commit  or  suffer 
any  encroachments  on  the  possessions  or  rights  of  the 
Chiefs  in  its  vicinity. 

Article  3.— In  the  event  of  a  violation  of  any  of  the 
preceding  articles,  or  of  a  departure  from  the  rules  of 
friendship,  this  treaty  shall  be  considered  null  and  void. 
Article  4.— This  treaty,  consisting  of  four  articles, 
having  been  settled  and  concluded  at  .'^  .nritsar,  on  the 
25th  day  of  April  1809,  Mr.  C.  T.  Metcalfe  has  delivered 
to  the  Raja  of  Lahore  a  copy  of  the  same  m  English 
and  Persian,  under  his  seal  and  signature;  and  the 
Raia  has  delivered  another  copy  of  the  same  under  his 
seal  and  signature,  and  Mr.  C.  T.  Metcalfe  engages  to 
procure  within  the  space  of  two  months  a  copy  of  the 
same  duly  ratified  by  the  Right  Honourable  the  Gov- 
ernor-General in  Council,  on  the  receipt  of  which  by 
the  Raja,  the  present  treaty  shall  be  deemed  complete 
and  binding  on  both  parties,  and  the  copy  of  it  now 
delivered  to  the  Raja  shall  be  returned. 


APP     XXVI  PROCLAMATION   OF   PROTECTION  353 

APPENDIX    XXVI 

PROCLAMATION  OF  PROTECTION  TO  CIS-SUTLEJ 
STATES  AGAINST  LAHORE.  (Dated  1809) 

Translation  of  an  ^Ittila  Nama',  addressed  to  the  Chiefs 
of  the  Country  of  Malwa  and  Sirhind,  on  this  Side 
of  the  River  Sutlej.     (3rd  May  1809.) 

It  is  clearer  than  the  sun,  and  better  proved  thai 
the  existence  of  yesterday,  that  the  marching  of  a  de- 
tachment of  British  troops  to  this  side  of  the  river 
Sutlej  was  entirely  at  the  application  and  earnest 
entreaty  of  the  several  Chiefs,  and  originated  solely 
from  friendly  considerations  in  the  British  Govern- 
ment, to  preserve  them  in  their  possessions  and  inde- 
pendence. A  treaty  having  been  concluded,  on  the 
25th  of  April  1809,  between  Mr.  Metcalfe  on  the  part 
of  the  British  Government,  and  Maharaja  Ranjit  Singh, 
agreeably  to  the  orders  of  the  Right  Honourable  the 
Governor-General  in  Council,  1  have  the  pleasure  of 
publishmg,  for  the  satisfaction  of  the  Chiefs  of  the 
country  of  Malwa  and  Sirhind,  the  pleasure  and  reso- 
lutions of  the  British  Government,  as  contained  in  the 
seven  following  articles  : 

Article  1. — The  country  of  the  Chiefs  of  Malwa 
and  Sirhind  having  entered  under  the  British  protec- 
tion, they  shall  in  future  be  secured  from  the  authority 
and  influence  of  Maharaja  Ranjit  Singh,  conformably 
to  the  terms  of  the  treaty. 

Article  2. — All  the  country  of  the  Chiefs  thus  taken 
under  protection  shall  be  exempted  from  all  pecuniary 
tribute  to  the  British  Government. 

Article  3. — The  Chiefs  shall  remain  in  the  full 
exercise  of  the  same  rights  and  authority  in  their  own 
possessions  which  they  enjoyed  before  they  were  re- 
ceived under  the  British  protection. 

Article  4. — Should  a  British  force,  on  purposes  of 
general  welfare,  be  required  to  march  through  the 
country  of  the  said  Chiefs,  it  is  necessary  and  incum- 
bent that  every  Chief  shall,  within  his  own  possessions, 
assist  and  furnish,  to  the  full  of  his  power,  such  force 
with  supplies  of  grain  and  other  necessaries  which  may 
be  demanded. 

Article  5. — Should  an  enemy  approach  from  any 
quarter,  for  the  purpose  of  conquering  this  country, 
Iriendship  and  mutual  interest  require  that  the  Chiefs 
join  the  British  army  with  all  their  force,  and,  exerting 


354  HISTORY  OF   THE   SIKHS  ^pp     xXVI 

themselves  in  expelling  the  enemy,  act  under  disci- 
pline and  proper  obedience. 

Article  6. — All  European  articles  brought  by  mer- 
chants from  the  eastern  districts,  for  the  use  of  the 
army,  shall  be  allowed  to  pass,  by  the  Thanedars  and 
Sardars  of  the  several  Chiefs,  without  molestation  or 
the  demand  of  duty. 

Article  7. — All  horses  purchased  for  the  use  of 
cavalry  regiments,  whether  in  the  district  of  Sirhind 
or  elsewhere,  the  bringers  of  which  being  provided 
with  sealed  'Rahdaris'  from  the  Resident  at  Delhi,  or 
officer  commanding  at  Sirhind,  shall  be  allowed  to  pass 
through  the  country  of  the  said  Chiefs  without  mole- 
station or  the  demand  of  duty. 


APPENDIX  XXVII 

PROCLAMATION  OF  PROTECTION  TO  CIS-SUTLEJ 
STATES  AGAINST  ONE  ANOTHER.   (Dated  1811) 

For  the  Information  and  Assurance  of  the  Protected 
Chiefs  of  the  Plains  between  the  Sutlej  and  Jumna. 
(22nd  August,  1811.) 

On  the  3rd  of  May  1809  an  'Ittila  Nama'  comprised 
of  seven  articles,  was  issued  by  the  orders  of  the  British 
Government,  purporting  that  the  country  of  the  Sar- 
dars of  Sirhind  and  Malwa  having  come  under  their 
protection,  Raja  Ranjit  Singh,  agreeably  to  treaty,  had 
no  concern  with  the  possessions  of  the  above  Sardars; 
That  the  British  Government  had  no  intention  of 
claiming.  Peshkashs  or  Nazarana,  and  that  they  should 
continue  in  the  full  control  and  enjoyment  of  their 
respective  possessions  :  The  publication  of  the  above 
Ittila  Nama'  was  intended  to  afford  every  confidence 
to  the  Sardars,  that  the  protection  of  the  country  was 
the  sole  object,  that  they  had  no  intention  of  control, 
and  that  those  having  possessions  should  remain  in  full 
and  complete  enjoyment  thereof. 

Whereas  several  Zamindars  and  other  subjects  of 
the  Chiefs  of  this  country  have  preferred  complaints 
to  the  officers  of  the  British  Government,  who,  having 
in  view  the  tenor  of  the  above  'Ittila  Nama',  have  not 
attended,  and  will  not  in  future  pay  attention  to  them; 
for  instance,  on  the  15th  of  June  1811,  Dilawar  Ali 
Khan  of  Samana  complained  to  the  Resident  of  Delhi 
against  the  officers  of  Raja  Sahib  Singh  for  jewels  and 


APP.    XXVII         PROCLAMATION    OF   PROTECTION  355 

other  property  said  to  have  been  seized  by  them,  who, 
in  reply,  observed  that  the  'Kasba  of  Samana  being  in 
the  Amaldari  of  Raja  Sahib  Singh,  his  complaint  should 
be  made  to  him';  and  also,  on  the  12th  of  July  1811, 
Dasaundha  Singh  and  Gurmukh  Singh  complained  to 
Colonel  Ochterlony,  agent  to  the  Governor-General, 
against  Sardar  Charat  Singh,  for  their  shares-  of  pro- 
perty, &c.;  and,  in  reply,  it  was  written  on  the  back  of 
their  arzi,  'that  since,  during  the  period  of  three  years, 
no  claim  was  preferred  against  Charat  Singh  by  any 
of  his  brothers,  nor  even  the  name  of  any  co-partner 
mentioned;  and  since  it  was  advertised  in  the  'Ittila 
Nama'  delivered  to  the  Sardars,  that  every  Chief 
should  remain  in  the  quiet  and  full  enjoyment  of  his 
domains,  the  petition  could  not  be  attended  to,' — the 
insertion  of  these  answers  to  complaints  is  intended 
as  examples,  and  also  that  it  may  be  impressed  on  the 
minds  of  every  Zamindar  and  other  subject,  that  the 
attainment  of  justice  is  to  be  expected  from  their  res- 
pective Chiefs  only,  that  they  may  not,  in  the  smallest 
degree,  swerve  from  the  observation  of  subordination, 
— It  is,  therefore,  highly  incumbent  upon  the  Rajas  and 
other  Sardars  of  this  side  of  the  river  Sutlej,  that  they 
explain  this  to  their  respective  subjects,  and  court  their 
confidence,  that  it  may  be  clear  to  them,  that  com- 
plaints to  the  officers  of  the  British  Government  will  be 
of  no  avail,  and  that  they  consider  their  respective 
Sardars  as  the  source  of  justice,  and  that,  of  their  free 
will  and  accord,  they  observe  uniform  obedience. 

And  whereas,  according  to  the  first  proclamation, 
it  is  not  the  intention  of  the  British  Government  to 
interfere  in  the  possessions  of  the  Sardars  of  this  coun- 
try, it  is  nevertheless,  for  the  purpose  of  meliorating 
the  condition  of  the  community,  particularly  necessary 
to  give  general  information,  that  several  Sardars  have, 
since  the  last  incursion  of  Raja  Ranjit  Singh,  wrested 
the  estates  of  others,  and  deprived  them  of  their  law- 
ful possessions,  and  that  in  the  restoration,  they  have 
used  delays  until  detachments  of  the  British  army  have 
been  sent  to  effect  restitution,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Rani 
of  Tirah,  the  Sikhs  of  Chulian,  the  Talukas  of  Karauli 
and  Chehloundy,  and  the  village  of  Chiba;  and  the 
reason  of  such  delays  and  evasions  can  only  be  attri^ 
buted  to  the  temporary  enjoyment  of  the  revenues,  and 
subjecting  the  owners  to  irremediable  losses, — It  is, 
therefore,  by  order  of  the  British  Government,  hereby 
proclaimed  that  if  any  one  of  the  Sardars  or  others  has 
forcibly  taken  possession  of  the  estates  of  others,  or 


356  HISTORY  OF  THE   SIKHS  ^pp     XXVII 

otherwise  injured  the  lawful  owners,  it  is  necessary 
that,  before  the  occurrence  of  any  complaint,  the  pro- 
prietor should  be  satisfied,  and  by  no  means  to  defer 
the  restoration  of  the  property, — in  which,  however, 
should  delays  be  made,  and  the  interference  of  the 
British  authority  become  requisite,  the  revenues  of  the 
estate  from  the  date  of  ejection  of  the  lawful  proprie- 
tor, together  with  whatever  other  losses  the  inhabi- 
tants of  that  place  may  sustain  from  the  march  of 
troops,  shall  without  scruple  be  demanded  from  the 
offending  party;  and  for  disobedience  of  the  present 
orders,  a  penalty,  according  to  the  circumstances  of 
the  case  and  of  the  offender,  shall  be  levied,  agreeably 
to  the  decision  of  the  British  Government. 


APPENDIX    XXVIII 

INDUS  NAVIGATION  TREATY  OF  1832 

Articles  of  a  Convention  established  between  the 
-  Honourable  the  East  India  Company,  and  his  High- 
ness the  Maharaja  Ranjit  Singh,  the  Ruler  of  the 
Punjab,  for  the  opening  of  the  Navigation  of  the 
Rivers  Indus  and  Sutlej.  (Originally  drafted  26th 
December  1832.) 

By  the  grace  of  God,  the  relations  of  firm  alliance 
and  indissoluble  ties  of  friendship  existing  between 
the  Honourable  the  East  India  Company  and  his  High- 
ness the  Maharaja  Ranjit  Singh,  founded  on  the  auspi- 
cious treaty  formerly  concluded  by  Sir  T.  C.  Metcalfe, 
Bart.,  and  since  confirmed  in  the  written  pledge  of 
sincere  amity  presented  by  the  Right  Honourable  Lord 
W.  G.  Bentinck,  G.C.B.  and  G.C.H.,  Governor-General 
of  British  India,  at  the  meeting  at  Rupar,  are,  like  the 
sun,  clear  and  manifest  to  the  whole  world,  and  will 
continue  unimpaired,  and  increasing  in  strength  from 
generation  to  generation  : — By  virtue  of  these  firmly 
established  bonds  of  friendship,  since  the  opening  of 
the  navigation  of  the  rivers  Indus  proper  (i.e.  Indus 
below  the  confluence  of  the  Panjnad)  and  Sutlej  (a 
measure  deemed  expedient  by  both 'States,  with  a  view 
to  promote  the  general  interests  of  commerce), — ^has 
lately  been  effected  through  the  agency  of  Captain  C. 
M.  Wade,  Political  Agent  at  Ludhiana,  deputed  by  the 
Right  Honourable  the  Governor-General  for  that  pur- 
pose.   The  following  Articles,  explanatory  of  the  con- 


\PP     XXVrn  INDUS   NAVIGATION  TREATY  357 

ditions  by  which  the  said  navigation  is  to  be  regulated, 
as  concerns  the  nomination  of  officers,  the  mode  of  col- 
lecting the  duties,  and  the  protection  of  the  trade  by 
that  route,  have  been  framed,' in  order  that  the  officers 
of  the  two  States  employed  in  their  execution  may 
act  accordingly  : 

Article  1.— The  provisions  of  the  existing  treaty 
relative  to  the  right  bank  of  the  river  Sutlej  and  all  its 
stipulations,  together  with  the  contents  of  the  friendly 
pledge  already  mentioned,  shall  remain  binding,  and  a 
strict  regard  to  preserve  the  relations  of  friendship 
between  the  two  States  shall  be  the  ruling  principle  of 
action.  In  accordance  with  that  treaty,  the  Honourable 
Company  has  not,  nor  will  have  any  concern  with  the 
right  bank  of  the  river  Sutlej. 

Article  2.— The  tariff  which  is  to  be  established  for 
the  line  of  navigation  in  question  is  intended  to  apply 
exclusively  to  the  passage  of  merchandise  by  that 
route,  and  not  to  interfere  with  the  transit  duties 
levied  on  goods  proceeding  from  one  bank  of  the  river 
to  the  other,  nor  with  the  places  fixed  for  their 
collection  :  they  are  to  remain  as  heretofore. 

Article  3. — Merchants  frequenting  the  same  route, 
while  within  the  limits  of  the  Maharaja's  government, 
are  required  to  show  a  due  regard  to  his  authority,  as 
is  done  by  merchants  generally,  and  not  to  commit  any 
acts  offensive  to  the  civil  and  religious  institutions  of 
the  Sikhs. 

Article  4. — Any  one  purposing  to  go  the  said  route 
will  intimate  his  intention  to  the  agent  of  either  State, 
and  apply  for  a  passport,  agreeably  to  a  form  to  be 
laid  down;  having  obtained  which,  he  may  proceed  on 
his  journey.  The  merchants  coming  from  Amritsar, 
and  other  parts  on  the  right  bank  of  the  river  Sutlej, 
are  to  intimate  their  intentions  to  the  agent  of  the 
Maharaja,  at  Harike,  or  other  appointed  places,  and 
obtain  a  passport  through  him;  and  merchants  coming 
from  Hindustan,  or  other  parts  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
river  Sutlej,  will  intimate  their  intentions  to  the 
Honourable  Company's  agent,  and  obtain  a  passport 
through  him.  As  foreigners,  and  Hindustanis,  and 
Sardars  of  the  protected  Sikh  States  and  elsewhere, 
are  not  in  the  habit  of  crossing  the  Sutlej  without  a 
passport  from  the  Maharaja's  officers,  it  is  expected 
that  such  persons  will  hereafter  also  conform  to  the 
same  rule,  and  not  cross  without  the  usual  passports. 

Article  5. — A  tariff  shall  be  established  exhibiting 
the  rate  of  duties  leviable  on  each  description  of  mer- 


358  HISTORY  OF   THE   SIKHS  APP.  XXVIII 

chandise,  which,  after  having  been  approved  by  both 
Governments,  is  to  be  the  standard  by  which  the  super- 
intendents and  collectors  of  customs  are  to  be  guided. 

Article  6. — Merchants  are  invited  to  adopt  the  new 
route  with  perfect  confidence  :  no  one  shall  be  suffered 
to  molest  them  or  unnecessarily  impede  their  progress, 
care  being  taken  that  they  are  only  detained  for  the 
collection  of  the  duties,  in  the  manner  stipulated,  at 
the  established  stations. 

Article  7.— The  officers  who  are  to  be  entrusted 
with  the  collection  of  the  duties  and  examination  of  the 
goods  on  the  right  bank  of  the  river  shall  be  stationed 
at  Mithankot  and  Harike;  at  no  other  places  but  these 
two  shall  boats  in  transit  on  the  river  be  liable  to  exa- 
mination or  stoppage.  When  the  persons  in  charge  of 
boats  stop  of  their  own  accord  to  take  in  or  give  out 
cargo,  the  goods  will  be  liable  to  the  local  transit  duty 
of  the  Maharaja's  government,  previously  to  their 
being  landed,  as  provided  in  Article  2.  The  superin- 
tendent stationed  at  Mithankot,  having  examined  the 
cargo,  will  levy  the  established  duty,  and  grant  a  pass- 
port, with  a  written  account  of  the  cargo  and  freight. 
On  the  arrival  of  the  boat  at  Harike,  the  superinten- 
dent of  that  station  will  compare  the  passport  with  the 
cargo;  and  whatever  goods  are  found  in  excess  will  be 
liable  to  the  payment  of  the  established  duty,  while 
the  rest,  having  already  paid  duty  at  Mithankot,  will 
pass  on  free.  The  same  rule  shall  be  observed  in  res- 
pect to  merchandise  conveyed  from  Harike  by  the  way 
of  the  rivers  towa  ds  Sind,  that  whatever  may  be  fixed 
as  the  share  of  duties  on  the  right  bank  of  the  river 
Sutlej,  in  right  of  the  Maharaja's  own  dominions  and 
of  those  in  allegiance  to  him,  the  Maharaja's  officers 
will  collect  it  at  the  places  appointed.  With  regard  to 
the  security  and  safety  of  merchants  who  may  adopt 
this  route,  the  Maharaja's  officers  shall  afford  them 
every  protection  in  their  power;  and  merchants,  on 
halting  for  the  night  on  either  bank  of  the  Sutlej,  are 
required,  with  reference  to  the  treaty  of  friendship 
which  exists  between  the  two  States,  to  give  notice, 
and  to  show  their  passport  to  the  Thanedar,  or  officers 
in  authority  at  the  place,  and  request  protectiDn  for 
themselves  :  if,  notwithstanding  this  precaution,  loss 
should  at  any  time  occur,  a  strict  inquiry  will  be  made, 
and  reclamation  sought  from  those  who  are  blameable. 
The  articles  of  the  present  treaty  for  opening  the  navi- 
gation of  the  rivers  above  mentioned,  having,  agreeably 
to   subsisting  relations,   been  approved  by   the   Right 


APP     XXVIII  INDUS   NAVIGATION   TREATY  359 

Honourable  the  Governor-General,  shall  be  carried  into 
execution  accordingly. 

Dated  at  Lahore  the  26th  of  December  1832. 

[Seal  and  signature  at  the  top.] 


APPENDIX    XXIX 

SUPPLEMENTARY  INDUS  NAVIGATION  TREATY 

OF  1834 

Draft  c/  a  Supplementary  Treaty  between  the  British 
Government  and  Maharaja  Ranjit  Singh  for  esta- 
blishing a  Toll  on  the  Indus.  (29th  November  1834.) 

In  conformity  with  the  subsisting  relations  of 
friendship,  as  established  and  confirmed  by  former 
treaties,  between  the  Honourable  the  East  India  Com- 
pany and  his  Highness  Maharaja  Ranjit  Singh;  and 
whereas  in  the  5th  article  of  the  treaty  concluded  at 
Lahore  on  the  26th  day  of  December  1832,  it  was  stipu- 
lated that  a  moderate  scale  of  duties  should  be  fixed 
by  the  two  Governments  in  concert,  to  be  levied  on 
all  merchandise  on  transit  up  and  down  the  rivers 
Indus  and  Sutlej;  the  said  Governments,  being  now  of 
opinion  that,  owing  to  the  inexperience  of  the  people 
of  these  countries  in  such  matters,  the  mode  of  levying 
duties  then  proposed  (viz.  on  the  value  and  quantity 
of  goods)  could  not  fail  to  give  rise  to  mutual  misun- 
derstandings and  reclamations,  have,  with  a  view  to 
prevent  these  results,  determined  to  substitute  a  toll, 
which  shall  be  levied  on  all  boats,  with  whatever  mer- 
chandise laden.  The  following  articles  have  therefore 
been  adopted  as  supplementary  to  the  former  treaty; 
and,  in  conformity  with  them,  each  Government  enga- 
ges that  the  toll  shall  be  levied,  and  its  amount  neither 
be  increased  nor  diminished  except  by  mutual  consent. 

Article  1. — A  toll  of  570  Rs.  shall  be  levied  on  all 
boats  laden  with  merchandise  in  transit  on  the  rivers 
Indus  and  Sutlej  between  the  sea  and  Rupar,  without 
reference  to  their  size,  or  to  the  weight  or  value  of 
their  cargo;  the  above  toll  to  be  divided  among  the 
different  States  in  proportion  to  the  extent  of  territory 
which  they  possess  on  the  banks  of  these  rivers. 

Article  2. — The  portion  of  the  above  toll  apper- 
taining to  the  Lahore  Chief  in  right  of  his  territory  on 
both  banks  of  these  rivers,  as  determined  in  the  sub- 
joined scale,  shall  be  levied  opposite  to  Mithankot  on 


360  HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS  ^^p     XXIX 

boats  coming  from  the  sea  towards  Rupar,  and  in  the 
vicinity  of  Harike-Pattan  on  boats  going  from  Rupar 
towards  the  sea,  and  at  no  other  place  :  — 

In  right  of  territory  on  the  In  right  of  territory  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  rivers  left  bank  of  the  river? 
Indus  and  Sutlej,  155  Rs.  Indus  and  Sutlej,  the 
4  ans.  Maharaja's   share,  of  67 

Rs.  15  ans.  9  pie. 

Article  3. — In  order  to  facilitate  the  realization  of 
the  toll  due  to  the  different  States,  as  well  as  for  the 
speedy  and  satisfactory  adjustment  of  any  disputes 
which  may  arise  connected  with  the  safety  of  the  navi- 
gation and  the  welfare  of  the  trade  by  the  new  route, 
a  British  officer  will  reside  opposite  to  Mithankot,  and 
a  native  agent  on  the  part  of  the  British  Government 
opposite  to  Harike-Pattan.  These  officers  will  be  sub- 
ject to  the  orders  of  the  British  agent  at  Ludhiana; 
and  the  agents  who  may  be  appointed  to  reside  at  those 
places  on  the  part  of  the  other  States  concerned  in  the 
navigation,  viz.  Bahawalpur  and  Sind,  together  with 
those  of  Lahore,  will  co-operate  with  them  in  the 
execution  of  their  duties. 

Article  4. — In  order  to  guard  against  imposition  on 
the  part  of  merchants  in  making  false  complaints  of 
being  plundered  of  property  which  formed  no  part  of 
their  cargoes,  they  are  required,  when  taking  out  their 
passports,  to  produce  an  invoice  of  their  cargo,  which 
being  duly  authenticated,  a  copy  of  it  will  be  annexed 
to  their  passports;  and  wherever  their  boats  may  be 
brought  to  for  the  night,  they  are  required  to  give 
immediate  notice  to  the  Thanedars  or  officers  of  the 
place,  and  to  request  protection  for  themselves,  at  the 
same  time  showing  the  passports  they  may  have  re- 
ceived at  Mithankot  or  Harike,  as  the  case  may  be. 

Article  5.— Such  parts  of  the  5th,  7th,  9th,  and  10th 
articles  of  the  treaty  of  the  26th  of  December'  1832  as 
have  reference  to  the  fixing  a  duty  on  the  value  and 
quantity  of  merchandise,  and  to  the  mode  of  its  collec- 
tion, are  hereby  rescinded,  and  the  foregoing  articles 
substituted  in  their  place,  agreeably  to  which  and  the 
conditions  of  the  preamble  the  toll  will  be  levied. 

N.B. — A  distribution  of  the  shares  due  to  the  Bri- 
tish protected  States  and  the  feudatories  of  the 
Maharaja  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Sutlej  will  be  deter- 
mined hereafter. 


APP.  XXX  TRIPARTITE   TREATY  361 

APPENDIX   XXX 

THE  TRIPARTITE  TREATY  WITH  RANJIT  SINGH 
AND  SHAH  SHUJA  OF  1838 

Treaty  of  Alliance  and  Friendship  between  Maharaja 
Ranjit  Singh  and  Shah  Shuja-ul-Mulk,  with  the 
approbation  of  and  in  concert  with  the  British 
Government. 

(Done  at  Lahore,  26th  June  1838,  signed 
at  Simla,  25th  June  1838.) 

Whereas  a  treaty  was  formerly  concluded  between 
Maharaja  Ranjit  Singh  and  Shah  Shuja-ul-Mulk,  con- 
sisting of  fourteen  articles,  exclusive  of  the  preamble 
and  the  conclusion  :  And  whereas  the  execution  of  the 
provisions  of  the  said  treaty  was  suspended  for  certain 
reasons  :  And  whereas  at  this  time,  Mr.  W.  H. 
Macnaghten  having  been  deputed  by  the  Right  Honour- 
able George,  Lord  Auckland,  G.C.B.,  Governor-Gene- 
ral of  India,  to  the  presence  of  Maharaja  Ranjit  Singh, 
and  vested  with  full  powers  to  form  a  treaty,  in  a 
manner  consistent  with  the  friendly  engagements  sub- 
sisting between  the  two  States,  the  treaty  aforesaid 
is  revived,  and  concluded  with  certain  modifications, 
and  four  new  articles  have  been  added  thereto,  with 
the  approbation  of  and  in  concert  with  the  British 
Government,  the  provisions  whereof,  ascertained  in 
the  following  eighteen  articles,  will  be  duly  and  faith- 
fully observed  : 

Article  1. — Shah  Shuja-ul-Mulk  disclaims  all  title 
on  the  part  of  hirriself,  his  heirs  and- successor.?,  and  all 
the  Saddozies,  to  all  the  territories  lying  on  either  bank 
of  the  river  Indus,  that  may  be  possessed  by  the  Maha- 
raja, viz.  Kashmir,  including  its  limits,  E.,  W.,  N.,  S., 
together  with  the  fort  of  Attock,  Chach-Hazara,  Kha- 
bal,  Amb,  with  its  dependencies,  on  the  left  bank  of 
the  aforesaid  river,  and  on  the  right  bank  Peshawar, 
with  the  Usufzais  territory,  the  Khataks,  Hashtnagar, 
Michni,  Kohat,  Hanggu,  and  all  places  dependent  on 
Peshawar,  as  far  as  the  Khaibar  pass,  Bannu,  the 
Vaziri's  territory,  Daur-Tank,  Garang,  Kalabagh.  and 
Khushalgarh,  with  their  dependent  districts,  Dera 
Ismail  Khan,  and  its  dependency,  Kot  Mithan,  Umar 
Kot,  and  their  dependent  territory;  Sanghar,  Harrand- 
Dajal,  Hajipur,  Rajanpur,  and  the  three  Kaches,  as 
well  as  Mankehra,  with  its  district,  and  the  province  of 
Multan.  situated  on  the  left  bank.    These  countries  and 


362  HISTORY  OF   THE   SIKHS  ^^p    j^^X 

places  are  considered  to  be  the  property,  and  to  form 
the  estate,  of  the  Maharaja  :  the  Shah  neither  has  nor 
will  have  any  concern  with  them;  they  belong  to  the 
Maharaja  and  his  posterity  from  generation  to 
generation. 

Article  2. — The  people  of  the  country  on  the  other 
side  of  Khaibar  will  not  be  suffered  to  commit  rob- 
beries, or  aggressions,  or  any  disturbances  on  this  side. 
If  any  defaulter  of  either  State,  who  has  embezzled 
the  revenue,  take  refuge  in  the  territory  of  the  other, 
each  party  engages  to  surrender  him,  and  no  person 
shall  obstruct  the  passage  of  the  stream  which  issues 
out  of  the  Khaibar  defile,  and  supplies  the  fort  ol 
Fatehgarh  with  water  according  to  ancient  usage. 

Article  3. — As,  agreeably  to  the  treaty  estabhshed 
between  the  British  Government  and  the  Maharaja, 
no  one  can  cross  from  the  left  to  the  right  bank  .of  the 
Sutlej  without  a  passport  from  the  Maharaja,  the  same 
rule  shall  be  observed  regarding  the  passage  of  the 
Indus,  whose  waters  join  the  Sutlej,  and  no  one  shall 
be  allowed  to  cross  the  Indus  without  the  Maharaja's 
permission. 

Article  4. — Regarding  Shikarpur  and  the  territory 
of  Sind,  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Indus,  the  Shah  will 
agree  to  abide  by  whatever  may  be  settled  as  right 
and  proper,  in  conformity  with  the  happy  relations  of 
friendship  subsisting  between  the  British  Government 
and  the  Maharaja  through  Captain  Wade. 

Article  5. — When  the  Shah  shall  have  established 
his  authority  in  Kabul  and  Kandahar,  he  will  annually 
send  the  Maharaja  the  following  articles,  viz.  55  high- 
bred horses  of  approved  colour,  and  pleasant  paces;  11 
Persian  scimetars;  7  Persian  poniards;  25  good  mules: 
fruits  of  various  kinds,  both  dry  and  fresh;  and  Sardas 
or  Musk  melons,  of  a  sweet  and  delicate  flavour  (to  be 
sent  throughout  the  year  by  the  way  of  the  Kabul  river 
to  Peshawar) ;  grapes,  pomegranates,  apples,  quinces, 
almonds,  raisins,  pistahs  or  chestnuts,  an  abundant 
supply  of  each;  as  well  as  pieces  of  satin  of  every 
colour;  chogas  of  fur;  kimkhabs  wrought  with  gold  and 
silver;  and  Persian  carpets,  altogether  to  the  number 
of  101  pieces, — all  these  articles  the  Shah  will  continue 
to  send  every  year  to  the  Maharaja. 

Article  6. — Each  party  shall  address  the  other  on 
terms  of  equality. 

Article  7. — Merchants  of  Afghanistan  who  may  be 
desirous  of  trading  to  Lahore,  Amritsar,  or  any  other 
parts  of  the  Maharaja's  possessions,  shall  not  be  stop- 


APP.  XXX  TRIPARTITE    TREATY  363 

ped  or  molested  on  their  way;  on  the  contrary,  strict 
orders  shall  be  issued  to  facilitate  their  intercourse, 
and  the  Maharaja  engages  to  observe  the  same  line  of 
conduct  on  his  part,  in  respect  to  traders  who  may  wish 
to  proceed  to  Afghanistan. 

Article  8. — The  Maharaja  will  yearly  send  to  the 
Shah  the  following  articles  in  the  way  of  friendship  : 
55  pieces  of  shawls;  25  pieces  of  muslin;  11  dupattas; 
5  pieces  of  kamkhab;  5  scrafs;  5  turbans;  55  loads  of 
Bara  rice   (peculiar  to  Peshawar) . 

Article  9. — Any  of  the  Maharaja's  officers,  who 
may  be  deputed  to  Afghanistan  to  purchase  horses,  or 
on  any  other  business,  as  well  as  those  who  may  be  sent 
by  the  Shah  into  the  Punjab,  for  the  purpose  of  pur- 
chasing piece  goods,  or  shawls,  &c.,  to  the  amount  of 
11,000  rupees,  will  be  treated  by  both  sides  with  due 
attention,  and  every  facility  will  be  afforded  to  them  in 
the  execution  of  their  commission. 

Article  10. — Whenever  the  armies  of  the  two  States 
may  happen  to  be  assembled  at  the  same  place,  on  no 
account  shall  the  slaughter  of  kine  be  permitted  to 
take  place. 

Article  11. — In  the  event  of  the  Shah  taking  an 
auxiliary  force  from  the  Maharaja,  whatever  booty 
may  be  acquired  from  the  Barakzais  in  jewels,  horses, 
arms,  great  and  small,  shall  be  equally  divided  between 
the  two  contracting  parties.  If  the  Shah  should  suc- 
ceed in  obtaining  possession  of  their  property,  without 
the  assistance  of  the  Maharaja's  troops,  the  Shah  agrees 
to  send  a  portion  of  it  by  his  own  agent  to  the  Maharaja 
in  the  way  of  friendship. 

Article  12. — An  exchange  of  missions  charged  with 
letters  and  presents  shall  constantly  take  place  bet- 
ween the  two  parties. 

Article  13. — Should  the  Maharaja  require  the  aid 
of  any  of  the  Shah's  troops  in  furtherance  of  the  objects 
contemplated  by  this  treaty,  the  Shah  engages  to  send 
a  force  commanded  by  one  of  his  principal  officers  : 
in  like  manner  the  Maharaja  will  furnish  the  Shah, 
when  required,  with  an  auxiliary  force,  composed  of 
Muhammadans,  and  commanded  by  one  of  the  princi- 
pal officers,  as  far  as  Kabul,  in.  furtherance  of  the 
objects  contemplated  by  this  treaty.  When  the  Maha- 
raja may  go  to  Peshawar,  the  Shah  will  depute  a 
Shahzada  to  visit  him,  on  which  occasions  the  Maha- 
raja will  receive  and  dismiss  him  with  the  honour  and 
consideration  due  to  his  rank  and  dignity. 


364  HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS  ^pp    ^XX 

Article  14.— The  friends  and  enemies  of  each  of 
the  three  high  powers,  that  is.  to  say,  the  British  and 
Sikh  Governments,  and  Shah  Shuja-ul-Mulk,  shall  be 
the  friends  and  enemies  of  all. 

Article  15.— Shah  Shuja-ul-Mulk  engages,  after  the 
attainment  of  his  object,  to  pay  without  fail  to  the 
Maharaja  the  sum  of  two  lacs  of  rupees,  of  the  Nanak- 
shahi  or  Kaldar  currency,  calo  lating  from  the  date  on 
which  the  Sikh  troops  may  be  dispatched  for  the  pur- 
pose of  reinstating  his  Majesty  in  Kabul,  in  considera- 
tion of  the  Maharaja  stationing  a  force  of  not  less  than 
5,000  men,  cavalry  and  infantry,  of  the  Muhammadan 
persuasion,  within  the  limits  of  the  Peshawar  territory, 
for  the  support  of  the  Shah,  and  to  be  sent  to  the  aid 
of  his  Majesty,  whenever  the  British  Government,  ih 
concert  and  counsel  with  the  Maharaja,  shall  deem 
their  aid  necessary;  and  when  any  matter  of  great 
irnportance  may  arise  to  the  westward,  such  measures 
will  be  adopted  with  regard  to  it  as  may  seem  expe- 
dient and  proper  at  the  time  to  the  British  and  Sikh 
Governments.  In  the  event  of  the  Maharaja's  requir- 
ing the  aid  of  any  of  the  Shah's  troops,  a  deduction 
shall  be  made  from  the  subsidy  proportioned  to  the 
period  for  which  such  aid  may  be  afforded,  and  the 
British  Government  holds  itself  responsible  for  the 
punctual  payment  of  the  above  sum  annually  to  the 
Maharaja,  so  long  as  the  provisions  of  this  treaty  are 
duly  observed. 

Article  16. — Shah  Shuja-ul-Mulk  agrees  to  relin- 
quish for  himself,  his  heirs,  and  successors,  all  claims 
of  supremacy  and  arrears  of  tribute  over  the  country 
now  held  by  the  Amirs  of  Sind  (which  will  continue 
to  belong  to  the  Amirs  and  their  successors  i.i  perpe- 
tuity), on  condition  of  the  payment  to  him  by  the 
Amirs  of  such  a  sum  as  may  be  determined  under  the 
mediation  of  the  British  Government;  1,500,000  of 
rupees  of  such  payment  being  made  over  by  him  to 
Maharaja  Ranjit  Singh.  On  these  payments  being 
completed,  article  4th  of  the  treaty  of  the  12th  March 
1833  ^  will  be  considered  cancelled,  and  the  customary 
interchange  of  letters  and  suitable  presents  between 
the  Maharaja  and  the  Amirs  of  Sind  shall  be  main- 
tained as  heretofore. 

Article  17.— When  Shah  Shuja-ul-Mulk  shall  have 
succeeded  in  establishing  his  authority  in  Afghanistan, 
he  shall  not  attack  or  molest  his  nephew,  the  ruler  of 

1  Between  Shah  Shuja  and  Ranjit  Singh. 


APP.  XXX  TRIPARTITE   TREATY  3gg 

Herat,  in  the  possession  of  the  territories  now  subject 
to  his  Government. 

Article  18.— Shah  Shuja-ul-Mulk  binds  •  himself , 
his  heirs,  and  successors,  to  refrain  from  entering  into 
negotiations  with  any  foreign  State  without  the  know- 
ledge and  consent  of  the  British  and  Sikh  Governments, 
and  to  oppose  any  power  having  the  design  to  invade 
the  British  and  Sikh  territories  by  force  of  arms,  to 
the  utmost  of  his  ability. 

The  .three  powers,  parties  to  this  treaty,  namely, 
the  British  Government,  Maharaja  Ranjit  Sipgh,  and 
Shah  Shuja-ul-Mulk,  cordially  agree  to  the  foregoing 
articles.  There  shall  be  no  deviations  from  them,  and 
in  that  case  the  present  treaty  shall  be  considered 
binding  for  ever,  and  this  treaty  shall  come  into  opera- 
tion from  and  after  the  date  on  which  the  seals  and 
signatures  of  the  three  contracting  parties  shall  have 
been  affixed  thereto. 

Done  at  Lahore,  this  26th  day  of  June,  in  the  year 
of  our  Lord  1838,  corresponding  with  the  15th  of  the 
month  of  Asarh  1895,  era  of  ^Bikarmajit. 

Ratified  by  the  Right  Honourable  the  Governor- 
General  at  Simla,  on  the  23rd  day  of  July,  a.d.  1838. 

(Signed)     Auckland. 

Ranjit  Singh. 
Shuja-ul-Mulk. 


APPENDIX  XXXI 

INDUS  AND  SUTLEJ  TOLL  AGREEMENT  OF  1839 

Agreement  entered  into  with  the  Government  of 
Lahore,  regarding  the  Duties  to  he  levied  on  the 
Transit  of  Merchandise  by  the  Rivers  Sutleg  and 
Indus,  in  modification  of  the  Supplementary 
Articles  of  the  Treaty  of  1832.  (Dated  19th  May 
1839.) 

Objections  having  been  urged  against  the  levy  of 
the  same  duty  on  a  boat  of  a  small  as  on  one  of  a  large 
size,  and  the  merchants  having  solicited  that  the  duties 
might  be  levied  on  the  maundage,  or  measurement,  of 
the  boats,  or  on  the  value  of  the  goods,  it  is  therefore 
agreed,  that  hereafter  the  whole  duty  shall  be  paid  at 
one  place,  and  either  at  Ludhiana,  or  Ferozepore,  or  at 


3(56 


HISTORY    OF   THE   SIKHS 


APP.    XXXI 


Mithankot;  and  that  the  duty  be  levied  on  the  mer- 
chandise, and  not  on  the  boats,  as  follows  :  — 
Pashmina  .         .     per  maund     10 


Opium 

Indigo 

Dried  fruits 

Superior  silks,  muslins 

broad-cloth,  &c. 
Inferior    silks,    cottons 

chintzes 


71/2 
21/2 
1 

6 

4 


On  Exports  from  the  Punjah 
Sugar,  ghi,     oil,  drugs, 

ginger,    saffron,    and 

cotton        .         .         .     per  maund       4 
Madder         ..."  8 

Grain  ..."  2 

On  Imports  from  Bombay 
All  imports  whatever     .  per  maund       4 


rupees, 
rupees, 
rupees, 
rupee. 

annas. 

annas. 


annas, 
annas, 
annas. 


annas. 


APPENDIX  XXXII 

INDUS  AND  SUTLEJ  TOLL  AGREEMENT  OF  1840 

Treaty  hetioeen  the  Lahore  and  British  Governments, 
regarding  the  levy  of  Transit  Duties  on  Boats  navi- 
gating the  Sutle'j  and  Indus.  (Dated  27th  June 
1840.) 

Formerly  a  treaty  was  executed  by  the  Right 
Honourable  Lord  W.  Cavendish  Bentinck,  the  Gover- 
nor-General of  India,  on  the  14th  of  Pus  Sambat  1889 
(corresponding  with  a.d.  1832)  through  Colonel,  then 
Captain,  Wade,  concerning  the  navigation  of  the  Sutlej 
and  the  Sind  rivers  in  the  Khalsa  territory,  in  concur- 
rence with  the  wishes  of  both  the  friendly  and  allied 
Governments.  Another  treaty  on  the  subject  was  sub- 
sequently executed,  through  the  same  officer,  in  Sam- 
bat  1891  (corresponding  with  a.d.  1834),  fixing  a  duty 
on  every  mercantile  boat,  independent  of  the  quantity 
of  its  freight  and  the  nature  of  its  merchandise.  A  third 
treaty  was  executed  on  this  subject,  in  accordance  with 
the  wishes  of  both  Governments,  on  the  arrival  of  Mr. 
Clerk,  Agent  to  the  Governor-General  at  the  Durbar, 
in  May  1839,  adjusting  the  rate  of  duties  on  merchan- 
dise according  to  quantity  and  kind;  and  it  was  also 


APP     XXXn  INDUS    AND    SUTLEJ    TOLLS  3^.7 

specified  that  no  further  reduction  of  those  rates  should 
be  proposed  between  the  two  Governments.  On  the 
visit  of  that  gentleman  to  the  Khalsa  Durbar  at  Amrit- 
sar,  in  Jith  Sambat  1897  (corresponding  with  May 
1840) ,  the  difficulties  and  inconveniences  which  seemed 
to  result  to  trade  under  the  system  proposed  last  year, 
in  consequence  of  the  obstruction  to  boats  for  the  pur- 
pose of  search,  and  the  ignorance  of  traders,  and  the 
difficulty  of  adjusting  duties  according  to  the  different 
kinds  of  articles  freighted  in  these  boats,  were  all 
stated;  and  that  gentleman  proposed  to  revise  that 
system,  by  fixing  a  scale  of  duties  proportionate  to  the 
measurement  of  boats,  and  not  on  the  kind  of  com- 
modities, if  this  arrangement  should  "be  approved  of 
by  both  Governments.  Having  reported  to  his  Govern- 
ment the  circumstance  of  the  case,  he  now  drew  up  a 
schedule  of  the  rate  of  duties  on  the  mercantile  boats 
navigating  the  rivers  Sind  and  Sutlej,  and  forwarded  it 
for  the  consideration  of  this  friendly  Durbar;  the 
Khalsa'  Government,  therefore,  with  a  due  regard  to 
the  established  alliance,  having  added  a  few  sentences 
in  accordance  with  the  late  treaties,  and  agreeably  to 
what  is  already  well  understood,  has  signed  and  sealed 
the  schedule;  and  it  shall  never  be  liable  to  any  contra- 
diction, difference,  change,  or  alteration  without  the 
concurrence  and  consent  of  both  Governments,  in  con- 
sideration of  mutual  advantages,  upon  condition  it  does 
not  interfere  with  the  established  custom  duties  at 
Amritsar,  Lahore,  and  other  inland  places,  or  the  other 
rivers  in  the  Khalsa  territory. 

Article  1. — Grain,  wood,  limestone,  will  be  free 
from  duty. 

Article  2. — With  exception  of  the  above,  every 
commodity  to  pay  duty  according  to  the  measurement 
of  the  boat. 

Article  3. — Duty  on  a  boat  not  exceeding  50  maunds 
of  freight  proceeding  from  the  foot  of  the  Hills,  Rupar, 
or  Ludhiana  to  Mithankot  or  Rojhan,  or  from  Rojhan 
or  Mithankot  to  the  foot  of  the  Hills,  Rupar,  or 
Ludhiana,  will  be  50  rupees;  viz. 

From  the  foot  of  the  Hills  to  Ferozepore, 

or  back  .         .         .         .  .20  rupees. 

From  Ferozepore  to  Bahawalpur,  or  back       15        „ 
From  Bahawalpur  to  Mithankot  or  Rojhan, 

or  back  .         .         .         .     15        „ 

The  whole  trip,  up  or  down   ^0^  rupees. 


368  lilSTORY  OF  THE   SIKHS  ^^p     xXXH 

Duty  on  a  boat  above  250  maunds,  but  not  exced- 
ing  500  maunds  :  from  the  foot  of  the  Hills,  Rupar,  or 
Ludhiana  to  Mithankot  or  Rojhan,  or  from  Rojhan  or 
Mithankot  to  the  foot  of  the  Hills,  Rupar,  or  Ludhiana, 
will  be  100  rupees,  viz. 

From  the  foot  of  the  Hills  to  Ferozepore 

or  back  .         .         .         .         .40  rupees. 

From  Ferozepore  to  Bahawalpur  or  back      30        „ 
From  Bahawalpur  to  Mithankot  or  Rojhan, 

or   back  .  .         .     30        „ 

The  whole  trip,  up  or  down  100        „ 

Duty  on  all  boats  above  500  maunds  will  be  150 
rupees,  viz. 

From  the  foot  of  the  Hills  to  Ferozepore, 

or   back  .         .         .         .  .60  rupees. 

From  Ferozepore  to  Bahawalpur,  or  back       45        „ 
From  Bahawalpur  to  Mithankot  or  Rojhan, 

or  back  .         .         .         .     45        „ 

The  whole  trip,  up  or  down     150^  rupees. 

Article  4. — Boats  to  be  classed  1,  2,  or  3,  and  the 
same  to  be  written  on  the  boat,  and  every  boat  to  be 
registered. 

Article  5. — These  duties  on  merchandise  frequent- 
ing the  Sutlej  and  Sind  are  not  to  interfere  with  the 
duties  on  the  banks  of  other  rivers,  or  with  the  esta- 
blished inland  custom-houses  throughout  the  Khalsa 
territory,  which  will  remain  on  their  usual  footing. 

Dated  13th  Asar  Sambat  1897,  corresponding  with 
27th  June  1840. 


APPENDIX    XXXIII 
DECLARATION  OF  WAR  OF  1845 

Proclamation  hy  the  Governor-General  of  India 

Camp,  Lashkari  Khan  ki  Sarai, 
December  13th,  1845. 

The  British  Government  has  ever  been  on  terms 
of  friendship  with  that  of  the  Punjab. 

In  the  year  1809,  a  treaty  of  amity  and  concord  was 
concluded  between  the  British  Government  and  the 
late  Maharaja  Ranjit  Singh,  the  conditions  of  which 
have  always  been  faithfully  observed  by  the  British 


APP.   XXXm  DECLARATION  OF  WAR  3gg 

Government,  and  were  scrupulously  fulfilled  by  the 
late  Maharaja. 

The  same  friendly  relations  have  been  maintained 
with  the  successors  of  Maharaja  Ranjit  Singh  by  the 
British  Government  up  to  the  present  time. 

Since  the  death  of  the  late  Maharaja  Sher  Singh, 
the  disorganized  state  of  the  Lahore  Government  has 
made  it  incumbent  on  the  Governor-General  in  Council 
to  adopt  precautionary  measures  for  the  protection  of 
the  British  frontier  :  the  nature  of  these  measures,  and 
the  cause  of  their  adoption,  were,  at  the  time,  fully 
explaired  to  the  Lahore  Durbar. 

Notwithstanding  the  disorganized  state  of  the 
Lahore  Government  during  the  last  two  years,  and 
many  most  unfriendly  proceedings  on  the  part  of  the 
Durbar,  the  Governor-General  in  Council  has  continued 
to  evince  his  desire  to  maintain  the  relations  of  amity 
and  concord  which  had  so  long  existed  between  the 
two  States,  for  the  mutual  interests  and  happiness  of 
both.  He  has  shown,  on  every  occasion,  the  utmost 
forbearance,  and  consideration  to  the  helpless  state  of 
the  infant  Maharaja  Dalip  Singh,  whom  the  British 
Government  had  recognized  as  the  successor  to  the 
late  Maharaja  Sher  Singh. 

The  Governor-General  in  Council  sincerely  desired 
to  see  a  strong  Sikh  Government  re-established  in  the 
Punjab,  able  to  control  its  army,  and  to  protect  its  sub- 
jects; he  had  not,  up  to  the  present  moment,  abandoned 
the  hope  of  seeing  that  important  object  effected  by 
the  patriotic  efforts  of  the  Chiefs  and  people  of  that 
country. 

The  Sikh  army  recently  marched  from  Lahore 
towards  the  British  frontier,  as  it  was  alleged,  by  the 
orders  of  the  Durbar,  for  the  purpose  of  invading  the 
British  territory. 

The  Governor-General's  agent,  by  direction  of  the 
Governor-General,  demanded  an  explanation  of  this 
movement,  and  no  reply  being  returned  wi,thin  a  rea- 
sonable time,  the  demand  was  repeated.  The  Governor- 
General,  unwilling  to  believe  in  the  hostile  intentions 
of  the  Sikh  Government,  to  which  no  provocation  had 
been  given,  refrained  from  taking  any  measures  which 
might  have  a  tendency  to  embarrass  the  Governrrient 
of  the  Maharaja,  or  to  induce  collision  between  the 
two  States. 

When  no  reply  was  given  to  the  repeated  demand 
for  explanation,  while  active  military  preparations 
were  continued  at  Lahore,  the  Governor-General  con- 
24 


370  HISTORY   OF  THE  SIKHS  ^pp    XXXHI 

sidered  it  necessary  to  order  the  advance  of  troops 
towards  the  frontier,  to  reinforce  the  frontier  posts. 

The  Sikh  army  has  now,  without  a  shadow  of  pro- 
vocation, invaded  the  British  territories. 

The  Governor-General  must  therefore  take  mea- 
sures for  effectually  protecting  the  British  provinces, 
for  vindicating  the  authority  of  the  British  Govern- 
ment, and  for  punishing  the  violators  of  treaties  and 
the  disturbers  of  the  public  peace. 

The  Governor-General  hereby  declares  the  posses- 
sions of  Maharaja  Dalip  Singh,  on  the  left  or  British 
bank  of  the  Sutlej,  confiscated  and  annexed  to  the 
British  territories. 

The  Governor-General  will  respect  the  existing 
rights  of  all  Jasirdars.  Zamindars.  and  tenants  in  the 
said  possessions,  who,  by  the  course  they  now  pursue, 
evince  their  fidelity  to  the  British  Government. 

The  Governor-General  hereby  calls  upon  all  the 
Chiefs  and  Sardars  in  the  protected  territories  to  co- 
operate cordially  with  the  British  Government  for  the 
punishment  of  the  common  enemy,  and  for  the  main- 
tenance of  order  in  these  States.  Those  of  the  Chiefs 
who  show  alacrity  and  fidelity  in  the  discharge  of  this 
duty,  which  they  owe  to  the  protecting  power,  will 
find  their  interests  promoted  thereby;  and  those  who 
take  a  contrary  course  will  be  treated  as  enemies  to  the 
British  Government,  and  will  be  punished  accordingly. 

The  inhabitants  of  all  the  territories  on  the  left 
bank  of  the  Sutlej  are  hereby  directed  to  abide  peace- 
ably in  their  respective  villages,  where  they  will 
receive  efficient  protection  by  the  British  Government. 
All  parties  of  men  found  in  armed  bands,  who  can  give 
no  satisfactory  account  of  their  proceedings,  will  be 
treated  as  disturbers  of  the  public  peace. 

All  subjects  of  the  British  Government,  and  those 
who  possess  estates  on  both  sides  the  river  Sutlej,  who, 
by  their  faithful  adherence  to  the  British  Government, 
may  be  liable  to  sustain  loss,  shall  be  indemnified  and 
secured  in  all  their  just  rights  and  privileges. 

On  the  other  hand,  all  subjects  of  the  British 
Government  who  shall  continue  in  the  service  of  the 
Lahore  State,  and  who  disobey  the  proclamation  by 
not  immediately  returning  to  their  allegiance,  will  be 
liable  to  have  their  property  on  this  side  the  Sutlej 
confiscated,  and  themselves  declared  to  be  aliens  and 
enemies  of  the  British  Government. 


APP.    XXXIV  FIRST  TREATY  OF  1846  37  ^ 

APPENDIX  XXXIV 
FIRST  TREATY  WITH  LAHORE  OF  1846 

Treaty  between  the  British  Government  and  the  State 
of  Lahore,  concluded  at  Lahore,  on  March  9th,  1846. 

Whereas  the  treaty  of  amity  and  concord,  which 
was  concluded  between  the  British  Government  and 
the  late  Maharaja  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  proclama- 
tion dated  the  13th  of  December,  the  territories  then  in 
the  occupation  of  the  Maharaja  of  Lahore,  on  the  left 
or  British  bapk  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-esta- 
blished between  the  two  Governments,  the  following 
treaty  of  peace  between  the  Honourable  English  East 
India  Company,  and  Maharaja  Dalip  Singh  Bahadur, 
and  his  children,  heirs,  and  successors,  has  been  con- 
cluded, on  the  part  of  the  Honourable  Company,  by 
Frederick  Currie,  Esq.,  and  Brevet-Major  Henry  Mont- 
gomery 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  the  Maharaja  Dalip  Singh,  by 
Bhai  Ram  Singh,  Raja  Lai  Singh,  Sardar  Tej  Singh, 
Sardar  Chattar  Singh  Atariwala,  Sardar  Ranjor  Singn 
Majithia,  Diwan  Dina  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  Maharaja  Dalip  Singh,  his  heirs  and  succes- 
sors, on  the  other. 

Article  2. — The  Maharaja  of  Lahore  renounces  for 
himself,  bis  heirs  and  successors,  all  claim  to,  or  con- 
nexion 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. 


372  HISTORY  OF   THE   SIKHS  aPP.    XXXIV 

Article  3. — The  Maharaja  cedes  to  the  Honourable 
Company,  in  perpetual  sovereignty,  all  his  forts,  terri- 
tories, and  rights,  in  the  Doab,  or  country,  hill  and 
plain,  situate  between  the  rivers  Beas  and  Sutlej. 

Article  4. — The  British  Government  having  de- 
manded from  the  Lahore  State,  as  indemnification  for 
the  expenses  of  the  war,  in  addition  to  the  cession  of 
territory  described  in  Article  3,  payment  of  one  and  a 
half  crores  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  Govern- 
ment for  its  eventual  payment;  the  Maharaja  cedes  to 
the  Honourable  Company,  in  perpetual  sovereignty,  as 
equivalent  for  one  crore  of  rupees,  all  his  forts,  terri- 
tories, rights,  and  interests,  in  the  hill  countries  which 
are  situate  between  thte  rivers  Beas  and  Indus,  includ- 
ing the  provinces  of  Kashmir  and  Hazara. 

Article  5. — The  Maharaja  will  pay  to  the  British 
Government  the  sum  of  fifty  lacs  of  rupees,  on  or  be- 
fore the  ratification  of  this  treaty. 

Article  6. — The  Maharaja  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  allow- 
ances, observed  in  the  time  of  the  late  Maharaja  Ranjit 
Singh.  The  Maharaja  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  12,000  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  ex- 
plained 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  Maharaja  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 
Sobraon. 

Article  9.— The   control   of   the   rivers   Beas   and 


APP.   XXXIV  FIRST  TREATY  OF  1846  373 

Sutlej,  with  the  continuations  of  the  latter  river,  com- 
monly called  the  Ghara  and  Panjnad,  to  the  confluence 
of  the  Indus  at  Mithankot,  and  the  control  of  the  Indus 
from  Mithankot  to  the  borders  of  Baluchistan,  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  purposes 
of  traffic,  or  the  conveyance  of  passengers  up  and  down 
their  course.  Regarding  the  ferries  between  the  two 
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  esta- 
blishments, 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  qf  Bahawalpur  and  Lahore  respectively. 

Article  10. — If  the  British  Government  should,  at 
any  time,  desire  to  pass  troops  through  the  territories 
of  his  Highness  the  Maharaja  for  the  protection  of  the 
British  territories,  or  those  of  their  allies,  the  British 
troops  shall,  on  such  special  occasions,  due  notice  being 
given,  be  allowed  to  pass  through  the  Lahore  terri- 
tories. 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  pro- 
perty that  may  be  endamaged.  The  British  Govern- 
ment 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  Maharaja  engages  never  to  take, 
or  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  rend- 
ered by  Raja  Gulab  Singh  of  Jammu  to  the  Lahore 
State,  towards  procuring  the  restoration  of  the  rela- 
tions of  amity  between  the  Lahore  and  British  Govern- 
ments, the  Maharaja  hereby  agrees  to  recognize  the 
independent  sovereignty  of  Raja  Gulab  Singh,  in  such 
territories  and  districts  in  the  hills  as  may  be  made 
over  to  the  said  Raja  Gulab  Singh  by  separate  agree- 
ment 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 


374  HISTORY   OF   THE    SEKHS  y^p     XXXIV 

Maharaja  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  diffe- 
rence 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  Maha- 
raja engages  to  abide. 

Article  14. — The  limits  of  the  Lahore  territories 
shall  not  be,  at  any  time,  changed,  without  the  concur- 
rence 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  Gov- 
ernor-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  Lai  Singh, 
Sardar  Tej  Singh,  Sardar  Chattar  Singh  Atariwala, 
Sardar  Ranjor  Singh  Majithia,  Diwan  Dina  Nath,  and 
Fakir  Nur-ud-din,  on  the  part  of  the  Maharaja  Dalip 
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 
Maharaja  Dalip  Singh. 

Done  at  Lahore,  this  9th  day  of  March,  in  the  year 
of  our  Lord  1846,  corresponding  with  the  10th  day  of 
Rabi-ul-awal  1262,  Hijri,  and  ratified  on  the  same  day. 


APP    XXXV  SUPPLEMENTARY  ARTICLES  375 

APPENDIX   XXXV 

SUPPLEMENTARY  ARTICLES  TO  FIRST  TREATY 
WITH  LAHORE  OF  1846 

Articles  of  Agreement  concluded  between  the  British 

Government  and  the  Lahore  Durbar,  on  the  11th.  of 

March  1846. 

Whereas  the  Lahore  Government  has  solicited  the 
Governor-General  to  leave  a  British  force  at  Lahore, 
for  the  protection  of  the  Maharaja's  person  and  of  the 
capital,  till  the  reorganization  of  the  Lahore  army, 
according  to  the  provisions  of  Article  6  of  the  treaty  of 
Lahore,  dated  the  9th  instant  :  And  whereas  the  Gover- 
nor-General has,  on  certain  conditions,  consented  to  the 
measure  :  And  whereas  it  is  expedient  that  certain 
matters  concerning  the  territories  ceded  by  Articles 
3  and  4  of  the  aforesaid  treaty  should  be  specifically 
determined;  the  following  eight  articles  of  agreement 
have  this  day  been  concluded  between  the  afore- 
mentioned contracting  parties. 

Article  1. — The  British  Government  shall  leave  at 
Lahore,  till  the  close  of  the  current  year,  a.d.  1846,  such 
force  as  shall  seem  to  the  Governor-General  adequate 
for  the  purpose  of  protecting  the  person  of  the  Maha- 
raja, and  the  inhabitants  of  the  city  of  Lahore,  during 
the  reorganization  of  the  Sikh  army,  in  accordance 
with  the  provisions  of  Article  6  of  the  treaty  of  Lahore; 
that  force  to  be  withdrawan  at  any  convenient  time 
before  the  expiration  of  the  year,  if  the  object  to  be 
fulfilled  shall,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Durbar,  have  been 
obtained;  but  the  force  shall  not  be  detained  at  Lahore 
beyond  the  expiration  of  the  current  year. 

Article  2. — The  Lahore  Government  agrees  that 
the  force  left  at  Lahore,  for  the  purpose  specified  in  the 
foregoing  article,  shall  be  placed  in  full  possession  of  the 
fort  and  the  city  of  Lahore,  and  that  the  Lahore  troops 
shall  be  removed  from  within  the  city.  The  Lahore 
Government  engages  to  furnish  convenient  quarters 
for  the  officers  and  men  gf  the  said  force,  and  to  pay 
the  British  Government  all  the  extra  expenses,  in 
regard  to  the  said  force,  which  may  be  incurred  by  the 
British  Government,  in  consequence  of  their  troops 
being  employed  away  from  their  own  cantonments, 
i   and  in  a  foreign  territory. 

Article  3. — The  Lahore  Government  engages  to 
apply  itself  immediately  and  earnestly  to  the  reorgani- 


376  HISTORY   OF  THE   SIKHS  ^^p    xXXV 

zation  of  its  army,  according  to  the  prescribed  condi- 
tions, and  to  communicate  fully  with  the  British 
authorities  left  at  Lahore,  as  to  the  progress  of  such 
reorganization,  and  as  to  the  location  of  the  troops. 

Article  4. — If  the  Lahore  Government  fails  in  the 
performance  of  the  conditions  of  the  foregoing  article, 
the  British  Government  shall  be  at  liberty  to  withdraw 
the  force  from  Lahore,  at  any  time  before  the  expira- 
tion of  the  period  specified  in  Article  1. 

Article  5. — The  British  Government  agrees  to 
respect  the  bona  fide  rights  of  those  Jagirdars  within 
the  territories  ceded  bv  Articles  3  and  4  of  the  treatv  of 
Lahore,  dated  9th  instant,  who  were  attached  to  the 
families  of  the  late  Maharaja  Ranjit  Singh,  Kliarak 
Singh,  and  Sher  Singh;  and  the  British  Government 
will  maintain  those  Jagirdars  in  their  bona  fide  posses- 
sions, during  their  lives. 

Article  6. — The  Lahore  Government  shall  receive 
the  assistance  of  the  British  local  authorities  in  re- 
covering the  arrears  of  revenue  justly  due  to  the 
Lahore  Government  from  their  Kardars  and  managers 
in  the  territories  ceded  by  the  provisions  of  Articles 
3  and  4  of  the  treaty  of  Lahore,  to  the  close  of  the 
Kharif  harvest  of  the  current  year,  viz.  1902  of  the 
Sambat  Bikarmajit. 

Article  7. — The  Lahore  Government  shall  be  at 
liberty  to  remove  from  the  forts  in  the  territories  spe- 
cified in  the  foregoing  article,  all  treasure  and  state 
property,  with  the  exception  of  guns.  Should,  how- 
ever, the  British  Government  desire  to  retain  any  part 
of  the  said  property,  they  shall  be  at  liberty  to  do  so, 
paying  for  the  same  at  a  fair  valuation;  and  the  British 
officers  shall  give  their  assistance  to  the  Lahore  Gov- 
ernment, in  disposing  on  the  spot  of  such  part  of  the 
aforesaid  property  as  the  Lahore  Government  may  not 
wish  to  remove,  and  the  British  officers  may  not  desire 
to  retain. 

Article  8. — Commissioners  shall  be  immediately 
appointed  by  the  two  Governments,  to  settle  and  lay 
down  the  boundary  between  the  two  States,  as  defined 
by  Article  4  of  the  treaty  of  Lahore,  dated  9th  March 
1846. 


I 


APP     XXXVI  TREATY   WITH   GULAB    SINGH  377 

APPENDIX  XXXVI 

TREATY  WITH  GULAB  SINGH  OF  1846 

Treaty  between  the  British  Government  and  Maharaja 

Gulah  Singh,  concluded  at  Annritsar,  on 

16th  March  1846. 

Treaty  between  the  British  Government  on  the 
one  part,  and  Maharaja  Gulab  Singh  of  Jammu  on  the 
other,  concluded,  on  the  part  of  the  British  Govern- 
ment, by  Frederick  Currie,  Esq.,  and  Brevet-Major 
Henry  Montgomery  Lawrence,  acting  under  the  orders 
of  the  Right  Honourable  Sir  Henry  Hardinge,  G.C.B., 
one  of  Her  Britannic  Majesty's  most  Honourable  Privy 
Council,  Governor-General,  appointed  by  the  Honour- 
able Company  to  direct  and  control  all  their  affairs  in 
the  East  Indies,  and  by  Maharaja  Gulab  Singh  in 
person. 

Article  1. — The  British  Government  transfers  and 
makes  over,  for  ever,  in  independent  possession,  to 
Maharaja  Gulab  Singh,  and  the  heirs  male  of  his  body, 
all  the  hilly  or  mountainous  country,  with  its  depend- 
encies, situated  to  the  eastward  of  the  river  Indus,  and 
westward  of  the  river  Ravi,  including  Chamba  and 
excluding  Lahul,  being  part  of  the  territory  ceded  to 
the  British  Government  by  the  Lahore  State,  accord- 
ing to  the  provisions  of  Article  4  of  the  treaty  of 
Lahore,  dated  9th  March  1846. 

Article  2. — The  eastern  boundary  of  the  tract 
transferred  by  the  foregoing  article  to  Maharaja  Gulab 
Singh  shall  be  laid  down  by  commissioners  appointed 
by  the  British  Government  and  Maharaja  Gulab  Singh 
respectively,  for  that  purpose,  and  shall  be  defined  in 
a  separate  engagement,  after  survey. 

Article  3. — In  consideration  of  the  transfer  made 
to  him  and  his  heirs  by  the  provisions  of  the  foregoing 
articles,  Maharaja  Gulab  Singh  will  pay  to  the  British 
Government  the  sum  of  seventy-five  lacs  of  rupees 
(Nanakshahi) ,  fifty  lacs  to  be  paid  on  ratification  of 
this  treaty,  and  twenty-five  lacs  on  or  before  the  1st  of 
October  of  the  current  year,  a.d.  1846.    . 

Article  4. — The  limits  of  the.  territories  of  Maha- 
raja Gulab  Singh  shall  not  be  at  any  time  changed 
without  the  concurrence  of  the  British  Government. 

Article  5. — Maharaja  Gulab  Singh  will  refer  to  the 
arbitration  of  the  British  Government  any  disputes  or 
questions  that  may  arise  between  himself  and  the  Gov- 


378  HISTORY   OF   THE   SIKHS  ^PP.   XXXVU 

ernment  of  Lahore,  or  any  other  neighbouring  State, 
and  will  abide  by  the  decision  of  the  British 
Government, 

Article  6. — Maharaja  Gulab  Singh  engages  for 
himself  and  heirs,  to  join,  with  the  whole  of  his  mili- 
tary force,  the  British  troops,  when  employed  within 
the  hills,  or  in  the  territories  adjoining  his  possessions. 

Article  7. — Maharaja  Gulab  Singh  .engages  never 
to  take,  or  retain,  in  his  service  any  British  subject,  nor 
the  subject  of  any  European  or  American  State,  with- 
out the  consent  of  the  British  Government. 

Article  8.— Maharaja  Gulab  Singh  engages  to 
respect,  in  regard  to  the  territory  transferred  to  him, 
the  provisions  of  Articles  5,  6  and  7,  of  the  separate 
engagement  between  the  British  Government  and  tha 
Lahore  Durbar,  dated  Uth  March  1846. 

Article  9. — The  British  Government  will  give  its 
aid  to  Maharaja  Gulab  Singh,  in  protecting  his  terri- 
tories from  external  enemies. 

Article  10. — Maharaja  Gulab  Singh  acknowledges 
the  supremacy  of  the  British  Government,  and  will, 
in  token  of  such  supremacy,  present  annually  to  the 
British  Government  one  horse,  twelve  perfect  shawl 
goats  of  approved  breed  (six  male  and  six  female)  -,  and 
three  pairs  of  Kashmir  shawls. 

This  treaty,  consisting  of  ten  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  Maharaja  Gulab  Singh  in  person; 
and  the  said  treaty  has  been  this  day  ratified  by  the 
seal  of  the  Right  Honourable  Sir  Henry  Hardinge, 
G.C.B.,  Governor-General. 

Done  at  Amritsar,  this  16th  day  of  March,  in  the 
year  of  our  Lord  1846,  corresponding  with  the  17th  day 
of  Rabi-ul-awal,  1262,  Hijri. 

APPENDIX    XXXVn 
SECOND  TREATY  WITH  LAHORE  OF  1846 

Foreign  Department,  Camp,  Bhyroival  Ghat,  on  the 
left  Bank  of  the  Beas,  the  22nd  December  1846. 

The  late  Governor  of  Kashmir,  on  the  part  of  the 
Lahore  State,  Shaikh  Imam-ud-din,  having  resisted  by 
force  of  arms  the  occupation  of  the  province  of  Kash- 


APP.   XXXVII  SECOND  TREATY   OF   1846  3-79 

mir  by  Maharaja  Gulab  Singh,  th-e  Lahore  Govern- 
ment was  called  upon  to  coerce  their  subject,  and  to 
make  over  the  province  to  the  representative  of  the 
British  Government,  in  fulfilment  of  the  conditions  of 
the  treaty  of  Lahore,  dated  9th  March  1846. 

A  British  force  was  employed  to  support  and  aid, 
if  necessary,  the  combined  forces  of  the  Lahore  State 
and  Maharaja  Gulab  Singh  in  the  above  operations. 

Shaikh  Imam-ud-rdin  intimated  to  the  British  Gov- 
ernment that  he  was  acting  under  orders  received  from 
the -Lahore  Durbar  in  the  course  he  was  pursuing;  and 
stated  that  the  insurrection  had  been  instigated  by 
written  instructions  received  by  him  from  the  Wazir 
Raja  Lai  Singh. 

Shaikh  Imam-ud-din  surrendered  to  the  British 
agent  on  a  guarantee  from  that  officer,  that  if  the 
Shaikh  could,  as  he  asserted,  prove  that  his  acts  were  in 
accordance  with  his  instructions,  and  that  the  opposi- 
tion was  instigated  by  the  Lahore  minister,  the  Durbar 
should  not  be  permitted  to  inflict  upon  him,  either  in 
his  person  or  his  property,  any  penalty  on  account  of 
his  conduct  on  this  occasion.  The  British  agent  pledged 
his  Government  to  a  full  and  impartial  investigation 
of  the  matter. 

A  public  inquiry  was  instituted  into  the  facts 
adduced  by  Shaikh  Imam-ud-din,  and  it  was  fully 
established  that  Raja  Lai  Singh  did  secretly  instigate 
the  Shaikh  to  oppose  the  occupation  by  Maharaja 
Gulab  Singh  of  the  province  of  Kashmir. 

The  Governor-General  immediately  demanded 
that  the  Ministers  and  Chiefs  of  the  Lahore  State 
should  depose  and  fexile  to  the  British  provinces  the 
Wazir  Raja  Lai  Singh. 

His  Lordship  consented  to  accept  the  deposition  of 
Raja  Lai  Singh  as  an  atonement  for  the  attempt  to 
infringe  the  treaty  by  the  secret  intrigues  and  machi- 
nations of  the  Wazir.  It  was  not  proved  that  the  other 
members  of  the  Durbar  had  cognizance  of  the  Wazir's 
proceedings;  and  the  conduct  of  the  Sardars,  and  of  the 
Sikh  army  in  the  late  operations  for  quelling  the  Kash- 
mir insurrection,  and  removing  the  obstacles  to  the 
fulfilment  of  the  treaty,  proved  that  the  criminality  of 
the  Wazir  was  not  participated  in  by  the  Sikh  nation. 

The  Ministers  and  Chiefs  unanimously  decreed, 
and  carried  into  immediate  effect,  the  deposition  of 
the  Wazir. 

After  a  few  days'  deliberations,  relative  to  the 
means  of  forming  a  government  at  Lahore,  the  remain 


380  HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS  ^^p^  XXXVH 

ing  members  of  the  Durbar,  in  concert  with  all  the 
Sardars  and  Chiefs  of  the  State,  solicited  the  inter- 
ference and  aid  of  the  British  Government  for  the 
maintenance  of  an  administration,  and  the  protection 
of  the  Maharaja  Dalip  Singh  during  the  minority  of 
his  Highness. 

This  solicitation  by  the  Durbar  and  Chiefs  has  led 
to  the  temporary  modification  of  the  relations  between 
the  British  Government  and  that  of  Lahore,  established 
by  the  treaty  of  the  9th  March  of  the  present  year. 

The  terms  and  conditions  of  this  modification  are 
set  forth  in  the  following  articles  of  agreement. 

Articles  of  Agreement  concluded  between  the  British 

Government  and  the-  Lahore  Durbar  on 

16th  December  1846. 

Whereas  the  Lahore  Durbar  and  the  principal 
Chiefs  and  Sardars  of  the  State' have,  in  express  terms, 
communicated  to  the  British  Government  their  anxious 
desire  that  the  Governor-General  should  give  his  aid 
and  his  assistance  to  maintain  the  administration  of 
the  Lahore  State  during  the  minority  of  Maharaja 
Dalip  Singh,  and  have  declared  this  measure  to  be  in- 
dispensable for  the  maintenance  of  the  government  : 
And  whereas  the  Governor-General  has,  under  certain 
conditions,  consented  to  give  the  aid  and  assistance 
solicited,  the  following  articles  of  agreement,  in  modi- 
fication of  the  articles  of  agreement  executed  at  Lahore 
on  the  11th  March  last,  have  been  concluded,  on  the 
part  of  the  British  Government,  by  Frederick  Currie, 
"Esq.,  Secretary  to  the  Government  of  India,  and 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Henry  Montgomery  Lawrence, 
C.B.,  Agent  to  the  Governor-General,  North-West 
Frontier,  by  virtue  of  full  powers  to  that  effect  vested 
in  them  by  the  Right  Honourable  Viscourit  Hardinge, 
G.C.B.,  Governor-General,  and  on  the  part  of  his 
Highness  Maharaja  Dalip  Singh,  by  Sardar  Tej  Singh, 
Sardar  Sher  Singh,  Diwan  Dina  Nath,  Fakir  Nur-ud- 
din,  Rai  Kishan  Chand.  Sardar  Ranjor  Singh  Majithia, 
Sardar  Atar  Singh  Kaliwala,  Bhai  Nidhan  Singh, 
Sardar  Khan  Singh  Majithia,  Sardar  Shamsher  Singh, 
Sardar  Lai  Singh  Muraria,  Sardar  Kehar  Singh  Sih- 
dhianwala,  Sardar  Arjun  Singh  Rangrangha,  acting 
with  the  unanimous  consent  and  concurrence  of  the 
Chiefs  and  Sardars  of  the  State  assembled  at  Lahore. 

Article  1. — All  and  every  part  of  the  treaty  of 
peace  between  the  British  Government  and  the  State 


APP.  XXXVn  SECOND  TREATY   OF   1846  ^g  1^ 

of  Lahcfre,  bearing  date  the  9th  day  of  March  1846^ 
except  in  so  far  as  it  may  be  temporarily  modified  in 
respect  to  clause  15  of  the  said  treaty  by  this  engage- 
ment, shall  remain  binding  upon  the  two  Governments. 

Article  2. — A  British  officer,  with  an  efficient  esta- 
blishment of  assistants,  shall  be  appointed  by  the 
Governor-General  to  remain  at  Lahore,  which  officer 
shair  have  full  authority  to  direct  and  control  all  mat- 
ters in  every  department  of  the  State. 

Article  3. — Every  attention  shall  be  paid,  in  con- 
ducting the  administration,  to  the  feelings  of  the  peo- 
ple, to  preserving  the  national  institutions  and  customs, 
and  to  maintain  the  just  rights  of  all  classes. 

Article  4. — Changes  in  the  mode  and  details  of 
administration  shall  not  be  made,  except  when  found 
necessary  for  effecting  the  objects  set  forth  in  the 
foregoing  clause,  and  for  securing  the  just  dues  of  the 
Lahore  Government.  These  details  shall  be  conducted 
by  native  officers  as  at  present,  who  shall  be  appointed 
and  superintended  by  a  Council  of  Regency,  composed 
of  leading  Chiefs  and  Sajrdars,  acting  under  the  control 
and  guidance  of  the  British  Resident. 

Article  5. — The  following  persons  shall  in  the  first 
instance  constitute  the  Council  of  Regency,  viz.,  Sardar 
Tej  Singh,  Sardar  Sher  Singh  Atariwala,  Diwan  Dinu 
Nath,  Fakir  Nur-ud-din,  Sardar  Ranjor  Singh  Majithia, 
Ehai  Nihan  Singh,  Sardar  Atar  Singh  Kaliwala, 
Sardar  Shamsher  Singh  Sindhianwala;  and  no  change 
shall  be  made  in  the  persons  thus  nominated,  without 
the  consent  of  the  British  Resident,  acting  under  the 
orders  of  the  Governor-General, 

Article  6. — The  administration  of  the  country  shall 
be  conducted  by  this  Council  of  Regency  in  such  man- 
ner as  may  be  determined  on  by  themselves  in  consul- 
tation with  the  British  Resident,  who  shall  have  full 
authority  to  direct  and  control  the  duties  of  every 
department. 

Article  7. — A  British  force,  of  such  strength  and 
numbers,  and  in  such  positions,  as  the  Governor-Gene- 
ral may  think  fit,  shall  remain  at  Lahore  for  the  pro- 
tection of  the  Maharaja,  and  the  preservation  of  the 
peace  of  the  country. 

Article  8. — The  Governor-General  shall  be  at 
liberty  to  occupy  with  British  soldiers  any  fort  or  mili- 
tary post  in  the  Lahore  territories,  the  occupation  of 
which  may  be  deemed  necessary  by  the  British  Gov- 
ernment for  the  security  of  the  capital,  or  for  main- 
taining the  peace  of  the  country. 


382  HISTORY   OF   THE  SIKHS  ^^p    xXXVn 

Article  9. — The  Lahore  State  shall  pay  to  the 
British  Government  twenty-two  lacs  of  new  Nanak- 
shahi  rupees  of  full  tale  and  weight  per  annum  for  the 
maintenance  of  this  force,  and  to  meet  the  expenses 
incurred  by  the  British  Government;  such  sum  to  be 
paid  by  two  instalments,  or  13  lacs  and  20,000  in  May 
or  June,  and  ^8  lacs  and  80,000  in  November  or  Decem- 
ber of  each  year. 

Article  10. — Inasmuch  as  it  is  fitting  that  her  High- 
ness the  Maharani,  the  mother  of  Maharaja  Dalip 
Singh,  should  have  a  proper  provision  made  for  the 
maintenance  of  herself  and  dependents,  the  sum  of 
1  lac  and  50,000  rupees  shall  be  set  apart  annually  for 
that  purpose,  and  shall  be  at  her  Highness's  disposal. 

Article  11. — ^The  provisions  of  this  engagement 
shall  have  effect  during  the  minority  of  his  Highness 
Maharaja  Dalip  Singh,  and  shall  cease  and  terminate 
on  his  Highness  attaining  the  full  age  of  16  years,  or 
on  the  4th  September  of  the  year  1854;  but  it  shall  be 
competent  to  the  Governor-General  to  cause  the 
arrangement  to  cease,  at  any  period  prior  to  the  coming 
of  age  of  his  Highness,  at  which  the  Governor-General 
and  the  Lahore  Durbar  may  be  satisfied  that  the  inter- 
position of  the  British  Government  is  no  longer  neces- 
sary for  maintaining  the  government  of  his  Highness 
the  Maharaja. 

This  agreement,  consisting  of  eleven  articles,  was 
settled  and  executed  at  Lahore,  by  the  officers  and 
Chiefs  and  Sardars  above  named,  on  the  16th  day  of 
December  1846. 


APP.  XXX  Vni    REVENUES  OF  THE  PUNJAB 


383 


APPENDIX    XXXVIII 


REVENUES  OF  THE  PUNJAB,  AS  ESTIMATED  IN 

1844 


TRIBUTARY     STATES 

Bilaspur.   Tribute,   IC.OOO.   Under  Lahna 

Singh 

Suket.    Tribute.    25,000.      Under    Lahna 

Singh  

Chamba.    Not    known.       Under    Gulab 

Singh 

Rajauri.       Not    known.       Under    Gulab 

Singh 

Ladakh.    Tribute,    42,000.    Under    Gulab 

Singh  

Iskardu.   Tribute,   7,000.      Under  Gulab 

Singh  


Note.. — All  of  these  States,  excepting 
Bilaspur,  may  be  regarded  rather  as 
farms  held  by  the  Chiefs  than  as  tribu- 
tary principalities;  and,  ordinarily,  all 
the  resources  of  the  Chiefs  being  at  the 
disposal  of  the  government  representa- 
tive, the  probable  revenues  have  there- 
fore been  entered  in  full,  instead  of 
the  mere  pecuniary  payment. 


LAND  REVENUE 

Farms. 

Mandi.  Farm  with  the  Raja  of  Mandi, 

who    was    allowed    one    lac    out    of 

the  four  for  his  expenses 

KuUu.  The  members  of  the  family  had 

pensions  .... 

Jaswan.    The  family  had  a  Jagir  . 
Kangra.    The    family    had    a    Jagir,    not 

included   in  the  farm 
Kutlahar.  The   family   had   a   Jagir 
Siba.    The    family    may    almost   be    re- 
garded  as   Jagirdars  for   the  whole 
estate  :  they  served  with  horse 
Nurpur.  The  family  had  a  Jagir 
Haripur.   The  family  had   a  Jagir 
Datarpur.  Tlie  family  had  a  Jagir 
Katlah.  The  family  had  a  Jagir 


Rupees. 

70,000 

70,000 

2,00,000 

1,00,000 

1,00,000 

25,000 


4,00,000 

1,20,000 
1,25,000 

6.00,000 
25,000 


20,000 

3,00,000 

1,00,000 

50,000 

20,000 


Rupees. 


5.65,000 


Note. — The     above     were     all     under 
Lahna  Singh  Majithia. 


384 


HISTORY  OF   THE   SIKHS 


App.  xxxvm 


Bisohli.  Family  at  large  :  was  held  by 
Raja  Hira  Singh  .... 

Kashmir.  Shaikh  Ghulam  Muhi-ud-din: 
Contract  .         .     21,00.000 

Troops  .         .       5.00.00O 

Assigrmients  4,00.000 

Muzaflarabad,  &c.  (Under  Kashmir.) 
The  Muzaflfarabad  Chief  a  Jagirdar 


Chach-Hazara 
and  Pakhli 


Dhamtaur. 


rRajaGulab  Singh.  The  "^ 
j     Gandghar    and    Tar-  l 


nauli      Chiefs      have 


1  Jagirs;  but  they  are  j 
I  almost  independent  I 
L   freebooters  J 


Rawalpindi.  Diwan  Hakim  Rai 


Hasan  Abdal, 
Khatir,  and 
Ghipi. 


Diwan  Mvd  Raj:  he 
lately  held  Chatch 
Hazara  also 


-1 


Ch^kwl.      }   Raja  Gulab  Singh 


Dhanni,  Katas 
and 


Peshawar.     Sardar     Tej     Smgh.      The 

Barakzais  have  Jagirs 
Tank-Bannu.    Diwan    Daulat   Rai.    The 

Chief  fled;  his  brother  a  Jagir 
Dera  Ismail  Khan.  Diwan  Daulat  Rai. 

Chief  a  Jagir  .... 

Multan.  Dera  Ghazl^  j^.^^^^  Sawan  Mai 
Khan,  Mankera.   J 


Contract 

,     36,00,000 

Troops 

.      7.00,000 

Assignments,    &c. 

2,00,000 

Ramnagar,  &c.  Diwan  Sawan  Mai 
Mitta  Tuwana.   The  late  Dhian  Smgh 
Bhera  Khushab.  Raja  Gulab  Singh 
Pind  Dadan  Khan,  Raja  Gulab  Singh 
Gujrat.  Raja  Gulab  Singh 
Wazirabad,  &c.  The  late  Suchet  Singh 
Sialkot.   Raja    Gulab    Singh 
Jullundur   Doab.    Shaikh   Imam-ud-dm 
Shekhupura,  &c.  Shaikh  Imam-ud-dm 

Cis-Sutlej  farms 

Miscellaneous  farms  in  the  Punjab 


Rupees. 


75,000 

30,00,000 
l.OO.OOO 

1.50,000 

1,00,000 
1.00,000 

1,00.000 

10.00,000 
2.50,000 
4.50,000 


45,00.000 

3.00.000 
1,00.000 
1, 00.000 

50.000 
3.0O.0O0 
9.00.000 

50.000 

22.00,000 

2.50.000 

6,50.000 

15,00.000 


Rupees. 


1,79.85,000 


App.  xxxvm 


REVENUES  OF  THE  PUNJAB 


386 


LAND  REVENUE   (ContiiMied) 


Religions  Grants. 

Held  by  'Sodhis'  .... 

Held  by  'Bedis' 

Miscellaneous;      viz.      Akalis,      Fakirs, 

Brahmans,  and  the  lands  attached 

to  Axoritsar,  &c.  &c. 


Hill  Jaglrs  of  the  Janunn  Rajas. 

Jesrota,  &c.  Hira  Singh.  The  Chief  a 

Jagir  

Pader.  and  other  dis-   |  culab  Smgh 

tricts  of  Chamba.       J 
Bhadarwa.  Gulab  Singh  (in  Jagir  with 

uncle  of  Chamba  Raja) 
Mankot.  The  late  Suchet  Singh.  Family 

a  Jagir  

Bhaddu.  The  late  Suchet  Singh.  Family 

a  Jagir  

Bandralta.      The   late   Suchet      Smgh. 

Family  a  Jagir  

Chanini  (Ram-    1  Gulab  Singh.  Family 

nagar).  /    a  Jagir 

Jammu  and         -»  Gulab  Singh.  Family 

Riasi.  J     mostly  refugees 

Samba.  The  late  Suchet  Singh.  Family 
extinct   or  fled  .... 

Kishtwar.  Gulab  Singh.  Family  refugees 

Akhniir,  including*^ 
Chakkana.  with    i  Gulab  Singh.  Fa- 
Kesri       Singh's    r     mlly  a  Jagir     . 
family.  J 

Bhimbar.  The  late  Dhian  Singh.  Some 

members   of  family  Jagirs;   others 

refugees  

The  Chibh-Bhau  tribes.  The  late  Dhian 

Singh.  Family  Jag.rs 
Kotli.   The   late   Dhian   Singh,   Family 

Jagirs 

Sunach.  The  late  Dhian  Singh.  Family 

perhaps  refugees        .... 
DangU,    Khanpur,    &c.    Gulab       Singh. 

Some- members  of  family     Jagirs; 

others  prisoners;  others  refugees  . 

Jagirs. 

Various    Jagirs    held    by    the    Jammu 
Rajas  (in  the  plains) 

The  Kangra  Rajas  (Ranbir  Chand,  &c.) 
25 


Rupees. 


Rupees. 


5.00,000 
4,00,000 


11,00,000 


1,25,000 
1,00,000 

50,000 

50,000 

50.000 

1,25.000 

30,000 

4,00,000 

40.000 
1,50.000 

50,000 

1,50,000 

1,00,000 

30,000 

70,000 

1,00,000 


20,00,000 


16.20,000- 


5,00,000 
1,00,000 


386 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


APP.   XXXVIII 


LAND  REVENUE— Jagirs    (continued) 

Rupees. 

Rupees. 

Sardar  Lahna  Singh  Majithia 

3,50.000 

Sardar  Nihial  Singh  Ahluwaha 

9.00,000 

Sardar  Kishan  Singh   (son  of  Jamadar 

Khushal  Singh)           .... 

1^.000 

Sardar  Tej    Singh              .... 

60,000 

Sardars  Sham  Singh  and  Chattar  Singh 

Atariwala             

1,20,000 

Sardar  Shamsher  Singh  Sindhianwala 

15,000 

Sardar    Arjun    Singh,    and    other    sons 

of  Hari   Singh             .... 

15.000 

Kanwar  Peshaura  Singh 

5.000 

Kanwar  Tara  Singh          .... 

20,000 

Sardar  Jawahar  Singh   (uncle  of  Dalip 

Singh)          

50,000 

Sardar  Mangal   Singh 

50,000 

Sardar  Fateh  Singh  Man 

50,000 

Sardar  Attar  Singh  Kalanwala     . 

50,000 

Sardar  Hukam  Singh  Mulwai 

50,000 

Sardar  Bela  Singh  Mokal 

50.000 

Sardars     Sultan     Muhammad,     Saiyid 

Muhammad.      and  Pir   Muhammad 

Khans 

1,50,000 

Sardar  Jamal-ud-din  Khan 

1,10.000 

Shaikh  Ghulam  Muhi-ud-din 

30,000 

Fakir  Aziz-ud-din  and  his  brothers     . 

1,00,000 

Diwan   Sawan   Mai           .... 

20,000 

Miscellaneous 

50,00,000 

79.15.000 

CUSTOMS.  &c. 

Salt  Mines.  Raja  Gulab  Singh 

8.00,000 

Town  Duties.  Amritsar.  The  late  Dhian 

Smgh 

5,50,000 

Town  Duties.  Lahore.  The  late  Dhian 

Singh 

1,50,000 

Miscellaneous  Town  Duties     . 

1,00,000 

'Abkari*   (Exc.se),  &c.  &c.  Lahore 

50,000 

Transit  Duties.  Ludhianato  Peshawar 

5.00.000 

'Mohurana'  (Stamps)        .... 

2,50.000 

24,00.000 

Total             

3.24.75.000 

Note.— As  noted  in  the  Preface,  the  whole  of  the  papers  of  the 
administration  of  Ranjit  Singh  now  under  examination  and  subsequent 
investigation   may    considerably   modify   some   of   these   figures.— Ed. 


APP.   XXXVIII 


THE  ARMY  OF   LAHORE 


387 


RECAPITULATION 

Land  Revenue  :  Rupees. 

Tributary   States                   5,65,000 

Farms                      1,79,85,000 

Eleemosynary                        20,00,000 

Jagirs                      95.25,000 

Customs,    &c 24,00,000 


Total 


3,24,75.000 


APPENDIX  XXXIX 
THE  ARMY  OF  LAHORE,  AS  RECORDED  IN  1844 


The  Regular  Army. 

in 

It 

-i 

>> 

Commandants  of  Corps. 

Description  or  Race  of 
Men. 

10 

Sardar  Tej  Singh 

Sikhs            .... 

.4 

1 

Gen.  Pertab  Singh  Patti- 

wala          .... 

Sikhs            .... 

3 

0 

0 

Gen.  Jawala  Singh     . 

Inf.  Sikhs:  Art.  Sikhs  and 

Muhammadans 

2 

0 

4 

Shaikh  Imam-ud-din 

Muhammadans 

3 

0 

4 

Sardar  Lahna  Singh  Majl- 

Inf.    Sikhs;    Guns,    chiefly 

thia           .... 

Sikhs        .... 

2 

0 

10 

Gen.  Bishan  Singh     . 

Muhammadans;       a      few 

Sikhs         .... 

2 

0 

3 

Gen.   Gulab    Singh   Puhu- 

3   Muhammadans;      Guns, 

vindhia    .... 

Sikhs  &  Muhammadans 

3* 

0 

14 

Gen.  Mahtab  Singh  Maji- 

Inf.    Sikhs;       Cav.   mixed; 

thia           .... 

Art.  Sikhs  and  Muham. 
r  Inf.       chiefly       Sikhs; 
Guns,    Sikhs  &   Mu- 
<        hammadans 

Formerly      under   Ge- 
l^      neral  Court 

4 

1 

''! 

Gen.  Gurdut  Singh  Majl- 

thia           .... 

3 

0 

0  1 

Col.  John  Holmes 

1 

0 

10 

Gen.  Dhaukal  Singh 

Hindustanis;  a  few  Sikhs; 

2 

0 

0 

Col.    Cortlandt    (discharg- 

Inf. Sikhs  &  Hind.;  Guns, 

ed)             .... 

Sikhs  &  Muhanunadans 

2 

0 

10 

Shaikh  Ghulam  Muhi-ud- 

Inf.   Sikhs?      Guns.   Sikhs 

din            .... 

and  Muhammadans 
Carried  forward 

1 

0 

6 

32 

2 

83 

Heavy 
Guns. 


h  tt 

c4  O 
;5  IB 


0  I      0 


0  1  0 
8  I  0 
11  1      2 


*  Shaikh  Imam-ud-din  subsequently  raised  a  fourth  regiment. 


388 


HISTORY  OF  THE  SIKHS 


APP.   XXXIX 


Tbe  Regular  Army. 


J 

*i  4) 


3 


Commandants  of  Corps. 


Diwan  Adjudhia  Parshad; 

Guns   under    Ilahi   Bak- 

hsh.  General 
Gen.    Gulab    Singh       Cal- 

cuttawala    (deceased) 
Diwan  Jodha  Ram 

Gen.  Kanh  Singh  Man     . 

Sardar  Nihal  Singh  Ahlu- 
walia         .... 

Diwan  Sawan  Mai 

Raja  Hira  Singh 

Raja  Gulab  Singh 

Raja   Suchet  Singh    (dec.) 

Capt.  Kuldip  Singh   . 

Commandant   Bhag   Singh 

Commandant  Shev  Par- 
shad 

Missar  Lai  Singh 

Sardar  Kishan   Singh 

Gen  Kishan  Singh 

Sardar  Sham  Smgh  Atari- 
wala 

Mian  Pirthi  Singh 

Gen.  Mahwa  Singh    . 

Col.  Amir  Chand 

Commandant  Mazhar  All 

Jawahir  Mai  Mistri  (La- 
hore)        .         .         .         . 

Commandant  Sukhu  Sin^ 
(Amritsar) 

Miscellan.  Garrison  Guns 


Description  or  Race 
of  Men. 

Brought  forward 
Inf.  Sikhs;  Art.  SJths  and 
Muhammadans         (Gen 
Ventura) 

Sikhs 

Sikhs,    Muham.,   Hill   men 

(Gen.  Avitabile) 
Sikhs  &  Muhammadans 
Inf.  Sikhs  &  Muham.;  Art 

chiefly  Muhanunadans 
Muham.  and  some  Sikhs 
Hill  men,  some  Muh.,  &c 


Gurkhas 

Sikhs  and  Muhammadans 


Muham.  and  Hindustanis 
Sikhs  and  Muhammadans 


Chiefly  Muhammadans 
Sikhs  and  Muhammadans 
Chiefly  Muhammadans 
Muham.  and  Hindustanis 
Muhammadans;       a      few 
Sikhs         .         .         .         . 
Sikhs,    and    some    Hindu- 
stanis       .... 


§1    51 

*J  he      >  M 


M^ 


Total 


32 

4 
4 

4 

4 

1 
3 
2 
3 
2 
1 
0 

0 
0 
0 
0 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 


60 


<    2 


Heavy 
Guns. 


83 

12 
16 

12 
10 

4 
6 
0 
15 
4 
0 
6 

S 
10 

0 
22 

0 
0 

10 
0 

10 


0 
0 

228 


ri 


22 
0 

3 

0 

11 

0 
3 

0 
0 
0 
0 

0 
0 
0 
0 

10 
56 
10 
10 
0 

20 

0 
0 


156 


u  S 

a  o 


0 
0 

0 
0 

0 
40 

5 
40 
10 

0 

0 

0 
0 
2 
0 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 

12 

10 
50 


171 


Abstract  of  the  whole  Army. 

Sixty  Regiments  Infantry,  at  700  42,000 

Ramghols.  Akalis  5.000 

Irreg.  Levies,   Garrison  Companies,   &c.  45,000 


Eight   Regiments    Cavalry,    at   600 
Ghurcharhas'    (Horse) 
Jagirdari    Horse 


Field    Artillery 


92,000  Infantry. 


4,800 
12,000 
15,000 


31300  Cavalry. 
384  Guns. 


APP.  x:xxix 


THE  ARMY  OF  LAIiORE 


389 


[By  the  courtesy  of  the  Government  of  the  Punjab 
I  am  enabled  to  add  to  this  appendix  the  statement 
recently  compiled  by  L.  Sita  Ram  Kohly,  M.A.,  who 
has  been  conducting  some  researches  into  the  MS. 
records  lying  in  the  Punjab  Secretariat.  There  are 
many  hundreds  of  these  records  still  to  be  examined, 
and  further  investigation  will  no  doubt  yield  important 
results.  In  the  meantime  it  may  be  of  interest  to  the 
reader  to  .compare  the  actual  figures  for  1844,  as 
obtained  from  these  records,  with  those  given  by  the 
author. — Ed.] 

Year  coMMENcrNG  with  Katik  1900  and  ending  with  Hsuj 
1901  B.S.  (A.D.  1844) 


Commandant. 

Inf. 
batts. 

Cav. 

regts. 

Artillery. 

Total 
strength. 

Expenditure 

Rs.  A.  P. 

Special      Brigade:       Gen. 

Belonging    to 

Ventura 

4 

3 

niahi    Baksh 

4,415 

83.609    8    0 

Diwan  Jodha  Ram      . 

4 

1 

10    guns,    294 
men 

4.374 

58.952  12    0 

Gen.   Gulab  Singh,   acting 

for   CJen.   Court.      . 

4 

1 

392 

3,882 

54.751    4    0 

Gen.  Dhaukal  Singh 

2 

0 

0 

1,76S 

23.159  15    0 

Gen.  Jawala  Singh 

2 

0 

0 

1,811 

22.285  12    0 

Gen.  S.  Tei  Sxngh 

4 

0 

2  field  gtms, 

293  men, 
Ught  artiUery 

3,602 

45,171  13    6 

Gen.  Kanh  Singh  Man     . 

4 

1 

264 

4.154 

61.248    0    0 

Gen.  Mahtab  Singh  Maji- 

thia           .... 

4 

1 

366 

3.879 

59,582    1    0 

Gen.     Pertab     Singh     of 

Punach 

3 

0 

250 

2.690 

32.743    1    0 

Gen.   Gurdit  Singh   Maji- 

thia           .... 

3 

0 

194 

2,872 

35.679    7    0 

Gen.   Courtlandt 

2* 

0 

0 

1,698 

14.163  14    6 

Gen.   Gulab   Singh  Puhu- 

vindhia 

4 

0 

360 

3,467 

43.273    6    0 

G^n.  Bishan  Singh     . 

2 

0 

0 

1,581 

19.191    8    0 

Gen.  Kishan  Singh    . 

1 

1 

467 

1,381 

20.782    1    0 

Raja   Hira      S^ngh   under 

Col.  Jagat  Singh 

0 

2 

0 

1,030 

29.572    8    0 

Rai  Kesari  Singh  of  Nau- 

lakha    Cantt,      formerly 

nr.      Railway       Station, 

Lahore 

0 

1 

90 

444 

20.894    0    0 

Sardar  Lahna  Singh  Maji- 

thia 

1 

0 

3^ 

1,258 

11.865  14    0 

Missa  Lai  Singh  t 

Dif 

ferent 

Companies 

303 

3.477    6    0 

Miscellaneous     Companies 

and  soldiers 

1 

17  Com 

pames 

1,577 

18.410  11    0 

Total   No.   of   Battalions  :    45.   Round  No.   40.000  men. 
„        „        ,,    Regiments  :     11.  Approx.  No.    6,000  men. 
„    Artillery  :     104  plus  126  =  230. 
A  number  of  mortars  and  Camel  Swivels  ,are  not  included  in  these  computations. 


•  Plus  8th  Company  of  Ramghoal  Battalion. 

t  It  seems  that  Lai  Singh  had  to  pay  tliese  soldiers  quartered  on    his  farms. 


390 


HISTORY   OF  THE  SIKHS 


APP.  XXXIX 


Year  commencing  with  Katik  1900  and  ending  with  Hsuj 

1901  B.s.  (A.D.  1844) 

Artillery  Corps 


Commandant. 


Rs. 


Lai  Jawahir  Mai  in  charge 
of  Mistri  Khana. 

1.  M.  Muz^hr  Ali  Beg. 

2.  B.  Ishwar  Singh,  Col. 

3.  Meva    Singh,    Gen. 

Sultan  Muhd.,   Gen.  Com- 
manding   heavy    guns. 

1.  Bakhtawarkhan. 

2.  Muhammad        Baksh, 

Col. 

3.  

Illahi  Baksh  Khan,   Gen 

1.  M.    Illahi   Baksh 

2.  Sikandar  Khan,  son  of 

Illahi  Baksh. 

3.  Fateh  Khan  and 

Lahora  Singh. 

Amir  Chand.  Col. 

Amir    Chand,    Col. 

Fateh  Singh  and  Mubarak 
Khan. 
Fateh   Singh. 
Mubarak  Khan. 


Guns. 


390 

13 

210 

10 

100 

12 

^35 

165 

13* 

205 

12 

—25 

510 

18* 

125-1 
120  j' 

12 

Strength.' 


Expendi- 
ture. 


1.014 


Rs. 


10,284  10 


Jagir 
assignments. 


Rs. 

Per  Year. 
620 


5,400 


622  6,673     0 


—30*  1.026  10,842    4 


15 

—15  400     !         3.436    0 


9,000 


1,980 
1.140 


4.120 


310 
210 


Total  number  of  guns 


21 
—21* 

126 


620 


6,237     0 


3.040 


2.580 
(made  up  o 
smaller  as 
signments 


Rs.   A.   P. 


Infantry.     Monthly  expenditure  .... 

Cavalry.  ..  ..  .... 

Artillery.  ..  „  .... 

Grand  Total  : 

(a)  Annual        land       assignment       to        the       military 

officers  ...... 

(b)  Cash    disbursement  ..... 


4,43.892  14 

1,62,811     5 

67,030  10 


2,02,439     4     0 
83,69,109  10     0 

85,71,448  14     0 


Total   number   of   men.    51.050  15.22,627     9    9 

Total    number    of   guns,    230,    not    including    mor- 
tars   and   swivels. 
Total    for    the    Year  .         .  1,00,94,076    7     9 


*  Plus  one  mortar. 


^'5 


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INDEX 


Abdul  Aziz,  168. 

Abdus  Samad  KLhan,  80. 

Adam  Hafiz,  57 

Adi  Granth,  36  n.,  37  n.,  38  n., 
39  n.,  40  n.,  41  n. 

Adina  Beg  Khan  85,  87;  defeats 

the  Sikhs,  87;  Viceroy  of  the 

Punjab,  89;     supports  Sikhs, 

88;  calls  in  the  Marathas,  39; 

death,  89. 

Afghans,  5,  7;  as  husbandmen, 
13;  invade  India,  28,  107;  sub- 
stantive power,  82;  of  Tak  and 
Bannu,  181;  and  the  English, 
186,  204. 

Afridis,  5, 

Agnikula,  18  n. 

Agra  taken  by  Marathas,  109. 

Agriculture  in  Tibet,  2  n. 

Ahluwalia,  13,  96,  151. 

Ahmad  Shah,  168;  spread  of  his 
teaching,  169;  checked  at 
Akora,  170;  victories,  171;  de- 
feat and  death,  172. 

Ahmad  Shah  Abdali,  84,  85; 
defeats  Mir  Mannu,  87;  fourth 
invasion,  88;  fifth,  90;. defeats 
the  Sikhs,  91;  seventh  inva- 
sion, 93;  final  descent,  101. 

Ajit  Singh,  71. 

Ajit  Singh  Sindhianwala,  207, 
212,  230. 

Akalis,  99. 

Akamnath,  33  n. 

Akbar,  29,  44,  45,  67,  68. 

Akbar  Khan,  225,  227. 

Akora,  170. 

Alam,  Shah,  90,  109,  115. 

Alha  Singh,  92,  93,  97. 

Ali  Masjid,  223. 

Allard,  General,  153,  156,  171, 
192. 

Almora,  218. 

Amar  Das,  44,  80;  defines  Sikhs, 
45. 

Amar  Singh,  22  n,  101,  105, 

Amar  Singh  Thappa  (Gurkha), 
120,  132. 


Amherst,  Lord,  165. 

Arnir  Khan,  73  n.,  119. 

Amritsar,  3,  7;  pool  of  immort- 
ality, 45;  centre  of  Sikhism, 
46;  Har  Gobind  wins  battle 
near,  52;  tomb  of  Atal  Rai, 
55  n.;  Sikhs  again  frequent, 
84;  fort  near,  85;  destroyed, 
88,  92;  restored,  91,  93;  taken 
by  Ranjit  Singh,  118;  treaty 
between  British  and  Ranjit 
Singh,  126. 

Anandpur-Makhowal,  69;  Go- 
bind  besieged  in,  70;  English 
interfere  with  affairs  of,  253. 

Angad  (Angi-Khud),  42,  44, 
46  n. 

Anrudh  Chand,  168. 

Appa  Khande  Rao,  110. 

Appa  Sahib,  148. 

Arjun,  45  n.,  46,  72,  80;  arranges 
the  Granth,  46. 

Army,  Sikh,  trained  by  Ranjit 
Singh,  155;  constitution  of  a 
regiment,  156;  relations  to  the 
State,  215,  232;  effectiveness 
of,  229,  260;  in  1844,  387. 

Aroras,  5,  7,  8,  9,  302;  traders, 
15t 

Aryavarta,  17. 

Asaf-ud-Daula,  107. 

Asoka,  19  n. 

Atal  Rai,  54  n. 

Atar  Singh  Sindhianwala,  209, 
232;  attempt  on  the  throne, 
234. 

Attock,  3,  5;  seized  by  the  Ma- 
rathas, 89;  Sikhs  masters  as 
far  as,  104;  occupied  by  Ran- 
jit Singh,   137. 

Auckland,  Lord,  227  n. 

Aurangzeb,  29,  55,  56,  82;  and 
Tiegh  Bahadur,  58;  Gobind 
and,  60;  seizes  the  throne,  67; 
and  Gobind  Singh,  70,  72. 

Avatars,  327,  337. 

Avitabile,  General,  153,  157,  212, 
215,  221. 


394 


INDEX 


Awans,  5. 

Ayub,  Shah,  142,  146. 

Aziz-ud-din,   161,  246. 


Babar,  14,  36  n.,  67,  83. 

Babus,  8. 

Baghel     Singh  Krora     Singhia, 

103,  104,  105,  109,  111. 
'Bahadur',  59  n. 
Bahadur  Shah,  70,  72;  emperor, 

77,  78. 
Bahawal  Khan,  176,  179. 
Bahawalpur,  2  n.,  6  n. 
Bahlopur,  71. 
Bairagis,  33  n. 
Bakala,  56. 
Bala  Sindhu,  44 
Balti,  chiefs  of,  218. 
Baluchis,  5,  6  n.,  13;  migrations, 

15;  and  Ranjit  Singh,  172. 
Bambas,  5,  8. 
Banda,  successor  of  Gobind,  77, 

80  n.;  war  with  the  emperor, 

78;  death,  79. 
Banias,  7. 
Bannu,  5,  181. 
Barakzais,  142,  145,  171;  and  the 

English,  186. 
Barlow,  Sir  G.,  123  n. 
Bayazid  Khan,  78,  79  n. 
Beas,  286. 
Benares,  30. 
Bengal,   2n.,   17;   conquered  by 

Muhammadans,  28. 
Bentinck,   Lord      William,    173, 

175    195 
Bhag'singh,   111,   114,  115,  116, 

117,  120. 
Bhai  Bhagtu,  55  n. 
Bhai  Bir  Singh,  232,  235. 
Bhai  Gurmukh  Singh,  230,  232. 
Bhai  Lai  Singh,  115. 
Bhai  Taru  Singh,  84. 
Bhanga  Singh,  114. 
Bhangis,   96,    102;   power  at  its 

height,  103;  reduced  by  Ranjit 

Singh,  118. 
Bharatpur,  164. 
Bhartpur,  12. 
Bhatinda,  7,  9,  52,  71. 
Bhawalpur,  2  n.,  102,  143,  175. 
Bhilsa,  19  n.,  22  n. 
Bhimbar,  8. 
Bhim  Chand,  69. 
Bhopal,  16  n.,  41  n. 
Bhutis   (Bhatis),  6,  7,  14. 
Bikari  Khan,  88  n. 
Bir  Singh,  57  n. 


Bir  Singh,  Raja  of  Nurpur,  140. 
149,   149  n. 

Bokhara,  2  n. 

Bolu  Mai,   13  n. 

Bourquin,  112. 

Brahmanism,  8,  10,  15,  39; 
growth  and  extent  of,  18, 
18  n.;  Nanak  adopts  the  phi- 
losophy, 39. 

Brahmans,  4,  7,  7  n.,  8,  10. 

Broadfoot,  Major,  214,  252, 
260  n. 

Buddhism,  8,  10;  growth  of,  18, 
18  n.;  schools  of,  306. 

Buddhist,  4,  8,  15. 

Budh  Singh,  136  n. 

Buhows,  6,  14. 

Bundela,  7. 

Bundelkhand,  6. 

Burnes,  174,  175,  184. 

Burnouf,  M.,  quoted,  18  n. 


Caste,  304,  313. 

Chaitan,  33. 

Chamkaur,  69;  Gobind  besieged 

at,  71. 
Chand   Kaur,   209;      murdered, 

234. 
Chandosi,  105. 
Chandu  Lai,  13  n. 
Chandu  Shah,  48,  50. 
Changars,  8. 
Charat   Singh,      grandfather  of 

Ranjit  Singh,  91,  103,  106. 
Charvak,  24,  24  n. 
Chattar  Singh  Atariwala,  240. 
Chenab,  6,  15,  86. 
Chet  Singh,  203. 
Chibs,  6,  14. 
Chinese,  18  n.,  219. 
Chohans,  18  n. 
Christianity,   11;  beginnings  of, 

compared  with  Sikhism,  76. 
Churrus,  2  n. 
Cis-Sutlej  States,  115,  124,  252, 

353,  354. 
Clerk,  Mr.,  203,  225. 
Coinage  (Sikh),  struck,  89,  93. 
Combermere,  Lord,  166. 
Cornwallis,  Lord,  123. 
Court,  General,  153,  157,  212. 
Customs  duties,  206,  217. 


Bhopal,  16  n.,  41  n. 
Dal,  or  army  of  the  Khalsa,  85. 
Dalip    Singh,    210,    230;    Maha- 
raja 232. 


INDEX 


395 


Dallehwalas,  97. 

Dara  Shikoh,  55,  106. 

Dardus,  5,  8. 

Daudputras,  15,  102. 

De  Boigne,   109,  155. 

Dehsu  Singh,  105. 

Delhi,  1,  2  n.,  8,  15,  17;  Tegh 
Bahadur  killed  at,  58;  plund- 
ered by  Ahmad  Shah,  88;  oc- 
cupied by  the  Marathas,  89: 
battle  of,  114;  invested,  115. 

Dera  Ghazi  Khan,  102,  143,  147. 

Dera  Ismail  Khan,  144. 

Desa  Singh  Majithia,  143,  156, 
162. 

Dharmkot,  272. 

Dhian  Singh,  161,  167,  191,  201, 
203,  208  n.:  unwilling  to  meet 
English,  228;  conspiracy  and 
murder,  231. 

Dhirmalis,  66. 

Dipalpur,  7,  8. 

Dissenting  Sikh  sects,  66. 

Diwan  Chand,  143,  162  n. 

Dogras,  6,  7,  14;  migration,  15. 

Dost  Muhammad  Khan,  137,  142, 
146  n.,  207;  masters  Kabul, 
179,  186;  defeats  Shah  Shuja, 
180;  and  the  English,  187; 
'Ghazi'  and  'amir',  188;  war 
with  Ranjit  Singh,  189;  re- 
lease of,  227;  and  Peshawara 
Singh,  244. 

Dungars,  5. 

Durranis,  84;  invasions,  84,  107; 
empire  weakened,  119. 


Education,  in  India,  318. 

Ellenborough,  Lord,  225;  meet- 
ing with  Sher  Singh,  227. 

Eminabad,  84. 

English,  masters  of  Bengal,  90; 
and  Upper  India,  107;  at 
Delhi,  112;  referred  to  in  the 
Granth,  113  n.;  agreement 
with  Ranjit  Singh,  116;  and 
the  Cis-Sutlej  States,  122;  fear 
of  French,  Turkish,  and  Per- 
sian invasion,  123;  missions 
to  various  courts,  124;  troops 
moved  to  Sutlej,  124;  treaty 
with  Ranjit  Singh,  126,  131, 
133,  135,  143,  144,  213;  and  the 
southern  Sikhs,  126,  128;  war 
with  the  Gurkhas,  133,  140; 
and  ex-Shah  Zaman,  137'  n.; 
and  Shah  Shuja,  139;  Indian 
army,  155  n.;  spread  of  their 


power,  163;  and  the  Tibetans, 
166  n.;  anxiety  about  Ranjit 
Singh,  173;  open  the  Indus  to 
commerce  177;  and  Afghani- 
stan, 186;  mediation  between 
Sikhs  and  Afghans,  191,  196; 
commercial  designs,  196;  Af- 
ghan war,  197;  army  left  in 
Afghanistan,  204;  and  Sikh 
disturbances,  213;  at  war  with 
China,  219;  retreat  from 
Kabul,  225;  and  war  with  the 
Sikhs,  247;  war  breaks'  out, 
258,  368;  peace,  371;  position 
in  India,  292. 
Eunus,  son  of  Shah  Zaman,  137. 


Fane,  Sir  Henry,  193. 
Farrukhsiyar,  78. 
Fatehabad,  111. 
Fateh  Khan,  134;     alliance  and 

war  with  Ranjit  Singh,    137; 

put  to  death,  142. 
Fateh  Khan  Tiwana,    233,   239, 

244. 
Fateh  Singh  Ahluwalia,  116,  168, 

272;   friendship      with  Ranjit 

Singh,  118,  162,  164,  349. 
Feizulapurias,  97. 
Ferozepore,    15,   46   n.;      Ranjit 

Singh's     claim  to,   166,     249; 

English  in,  249;  Sikhs  advance 

on,  258. 
Ferozeshah        (P'heerooshuhur, 

see  265  n.),  265. 
Foulkes,  killed,  212.' 
French,  English  fears  of,  123-5, 

163,  192. 


Gaddis,  6. 

Gajpat  Singh,  105. 

Gakhars,  5,  14,  102. 

Garhwal,  106. 

Getae,  18. 

Ghamand  Chand,   103,  106. 

Ghanais,  97. 

Ghanda  Singh,  103. 

Ghazis,   170.  172. 

Ghazi-ud-din,   88;   calls   in   the 

Marathas,     90;     murders  the 

emperor,  90. 
Ghazni,  9  n.,  102,  102  n. 
Ghaznivides,    28. 
Ghoris,   28. 
Ghulam  Kadir,  109. 
Ghulam  Muhammad,   107. 
Ghulam  Mohi-ud-din,  221. 


396 


INDEX 


Ghulu  Ghara,  92. 

Gilgit,  5,  8,  285. 

Gobind,  Guru,  founder  of  Sikh- 
ism,  1,  8,  12,  34,  80,  120,  134  n.; 
idea  of  Time,  38  n.;  brought 
up  in  obscurity,  60;  his  teach- 
ing,'61,  74;  war  with  Aurang- 
zeb,  70;  joins  the  imperial 
army,  72;  death,  74;  and 
Banda,  80  n.;  founder  of  the 
Akalis,  99;  and  Ranjit  Singh, 
151;  and  war,  312;  and  caste, 
313;  and  iron  and  steel,  314- 
6;  the  Granth,  325;  extracts 
from,  329,  343. 

Godavari,  73  n. 

Goindwal,  44,  56. 

Gonds,  16  n, 

Gorakhnath,  31,  32  n.,  62,  306. 

Gough,  Lord,  262,  267,  269  n. 

Granth,  46,  71,  321. 

Guga  [Goga],  9  n. 

Gujar  Singh,  107. 

Gujar  Singh  Majithia,  181. 

Gujars,  5,  7;  on  the  land,  13. 

Gujrat,  7,  17;  taken  by  Mxiham- 
madans,  28. 

Gulab  Singh,  161,  181,  217; 
defeats  Chinese  220;  "restores 
order  in  Kashmir,  221;  vetoed 
by  the  English,  222;  called  on 
for  help,  224;  position  in  the 
State,  232;  designs  against, 
241;  and  the  English,  256,  274, 
278,  286;  character,  289  n.; 
treaty  with  the  English,  377. 

Gurbaksh  Singh,  106,  157. 

Gur  Das,  48. 

Gurdaspur,  78;  siege  of,  78. 

Gurdit,  54. 

Gurkhas,  118,  154;  advance 
from  Nepal,  121;  siege  of 
Kangra,  121,  132;  and  the 
Enghsh,  133,  164. 

Gurumatta,  91,  94,  94  n.,  119. 

Gurus,  44;  kingly  power,  59; 
table  of,  facing  348. 

Gusains,  34. 

Gwalior,  6  n.,  51,  172. 


Habib-ullah,  186. 
Haidar,  Prince,  148. 
Hansi,  7,  110. 
Hardinge,  Lord,  262,  267. 
Har  Gobind,  43  n.,  49,  80. 
Hariana,  52,  104. 
Hari  Chand,  69,  134  n. 
Hari  Singh  Bhangi,  102,  103. 


Hari  Singh  Nalwa,   13  n.,   162, 

164,  171,  173,  180,  190. 
Har  Kishan,  56. 
Har  Rai,  53. 
Herat,  142,  178. 

Himalayas,  2  n.,  2,  6;  religion 
in  the,  8,  9;  and  the  Mughals, 
68. 
Hindur,  69. 

Hindus,    8;   religion,    10,    19   n., 
Nanak  and,  42  n.;  proportion 
of,  in  India,  300. 
Hindustan,  28,  248. 
Hinghan  Khan,  91,  92. 
Hira  Singh,  167,  209,  231,  240. 
Hissar,  7. 

Holkar,  defeated,  90;  defection, 
93;  endangers  Sindhia's  ipflu- 
I  ence,  110;  invades  Upper 
I  India,  115,  120;  retreat  before 
1  Lord  Lake,  115,  119;  comes  to 
}  terms,  116;  mentioned'in  Eng- 
I  lish  treaty  with  Lahore,  349. 
i  Hyderabad,  13  n.,  182. 


!  Ibak  Turks,  28. 

India,  peoples  of,  299;  creeds  of, 
300,  305;  caste  in,  304,  313; 
education  in,  318;  land-tax 
in,  320. 

Indian  races,  distinction  bet- 
ween fighting  qualities  of,  153. 

Indian  troops,  155  n. 

Indus,  2  n.,  3,  8;  navigation  of 
174,  184,  205;  navigation 
treaty,  356,  365. 

Initiation,  66,   105,  314,  322. 

Irrigation,  102  n. 

Iskardo,  5,  8,  15,  217. 

Islam,  spread  of,  5,  10,  15,  18, 
27;  extent  of,  in  the  Punjab, 
8,  13;  entrance  into  India,  27. 


Jabbar  Khan,  142,  143,  187,  190. 

Jagadhri,   103. 

Jahan  Dad  Khan,  136,  142. 

Jahandar  Shah,  78. 

Jahangir,  47,  51,  67. 

Jahan  Khan,  88. 

Jahan  Shah,  28  n.,  67. 

Jai  Singh,  57  n. 

Jai  Singh,  of  the  Kanhaya 
Misal,  103,  106,  157;  grand- 
daughter married  to  Ranjit 
Singh,  107. 

Jai  Singh  Atariwala,  142,  144, 
145. 


INDEX 


397 


Jains,  16  n.,  19  n.,  22,  22  n., 
41  n.,  307. 

Jaipur,  6  n.,  57. 

Jalalabad,  surrender  of,  222  n.; 
question  of,  225. 

Jalla,  239,  240. 

Jammu,  6,  77,  106;  tributary  to 
the  Sikhs,  103;  Ran  jit  Singh 
confers  it  on  his  favourites, 
161,  167;  Rajas  reduce  L,a- 
dakh,  181;  independent,  201; 
and  Nau  Nihal  Singh,.  207. 

Jamrud,  battle  of,  190. 

Janjuas,  5. 

Jassa  Singh,  the  Carpenter,  87; 
leads  the  Sikhs,  89,  96;  de- 
feated, 103,  105;  his  son,  121. 

Jassa  Singh  Kalal  (Ahluwalia) , 
85,  103. 

Jats,  299. 

Jats,  1,  4,  5,  7,  299;  religion,  8, 
16;  yeomen,  12;  origin,  18, n., 
Gobind  intends  to  form  a 
kingdom  of,  68;  rise  of,  82; 
defeated,  93. 

Jawahir  Singh,  233,  240;  Wazir, 
242;  execution,  246;  intemper- 
ance, 257  n. 

Jawala  Singh,  230  n. 

Jhanda  Singh,  103. 

Jhelum,  6,  7,  8. 

Jind,  111. 

Jindiala,  91. 

Jodh  Singh  Kalsia,  125,  127. 

Jodh  Singh  Ramgarhia,  121,  140. 

Jodhpur,  149. 

Jogis,  32. 

Johiyas,  6,  6  n.,  102  n.;  migra- 
tion, 15. 

Jullundur  Doab,  13  n.,  55  n.,  85. 

Juns,  6,  14. 


Kabir,  32,  33  n.,  304,  306,  308. 
Kabul,  2n.,     3;     taken  by  the 

English,  200;  insurrection  in, 

222;  recapture,  225. 
Kabuli  Mai,  92,  93. 
Kafirs,  15. 

Kahlur,  Raja  of,  143. 
Kaithal,  family,  55  n. 
Kalabagh,  5,  104. 
Kalhoras,  176,  182. 
Kamran,  142,  190. 
Kanauj,  28. 
Kandahar,  170. 
Kanets,  6. 
Kangra.  103;  obtained  by  San- 

sar  Chand,  106;    besieged  by 


the  Gurkhas,  121. 

Kanhayas,  97,  103,  118. 

Kanjar,  8. 

Karauli,  6  n. 

Kamal  retaken,  104. 

Kartarpur,  37  n.,  55  n. 

Karon,  39  n.,  340. 

Kasauli,  55  n.,  272  n. 

Kash  [Katch]  tribes,  5. 

Kashkar,  5. 

Kashmir,  2  n.,  3,  3  n.,  5,  8,  51, 
68,  78;  annexed  by  Ahmad 
Shah,  87;  Shah  Shuja,  a  pri- 
soner in,  135;  Ran  jit  Singh 
and,  139,  142;  the  English  in, 
237;  transferred  to  Gulab 
Singh,  288. 

Kashmira  Singh,  233. 

Kashmiri,  7;  mechanics,  13. 

Kasur,  6  n.,  7,  92,  103.  121. 

Kathis,  6,  14. 

Katotch,  102,  103,  147. 

Kaura  Mai,  85,  87;  foUo'ver  of 
Nanak,  85  n.;  killed,  87. 

Kelmaks,  17  n. 

Khaibar  Pass,  1,  223. 

Khairabad,  142,  144. 

Khairpur,  148,  170. 

Khalils,  5. 

Khalsa,  12,  63;  derivation,  63  n.; 
Gobind '  founds,  65,  74,  81  n., 
army  of  the,  85;  coinage,  89; 
meetings  of,  94;  Ran  jit  Singh 
and,  151,  152;  army  becomes 
the,  216. 

Kharak  Singh,  132,  173;  attacks 
Multan,  141;  invasion  of 
Kashmir,  142;  friendly  to 
Katotch,  147;  married,  159; 
apprehensive  of  Jammu  Ra- 
jas, 182  n.;  threat  to  Sindh, 
185;  proclaimed  Maharaja, 
202. 

Khattaks,  5. 

Khattars,  5. 

Khiljis,  28. 

Khorasan,  3  n.,  249,  256  n. 

Khushab,  7. 

Khushal  Singh,  160. 

Khusru,  47. 

Khwaja  Obed,  91. 

Kiratpur,  53,  55,  57. 

Kishtwar,   8. 

Kohat,  5. 

Koh-i-nur,   137,   138. 

Kohlis,  6. 

Kot  Kapura,  incident  at,  253. 

Krishna,  6  n.;  the  infant  Kri- 
shna, 34. 


398 


INDEX 


Krora  Singhias,  97. 

Kshattriya  race,  1,  4,  6,  7,  8,  9, 
23,  302;  merchants,  13;  gene- 
rals and  governors,  13  n.;  re- 
ligion, 18;  four  tribes,  18  n.; 
Nanak  born  of,  35;  Mohkam 
Chand  born  of,  122. 

Kukas,  5. 

Kurruls,  6. 


Labh  Singh,  235,  240. 

Ladakh,  1,  5,  14  n.,  150;  reduced 
by  the  Jammu  Rajas,  181,  218; 
by  Chinese,  220. 

Ladwa,  Raja  of,  270. 

Lahna   (see  Angad),  36  n.,  42. 

Lahna  Singh  Majithia,  228,  240. 

Lahna  Singh  Sindhianwala,  231. 

Lahore,  1,  17,  19  n.,  52;  Nanak, 
birth  and  death  near,  35, 
37  n.;  wars  near,  78,  84;  Sikhs 
executed  at,  84;  annexed  by 
Ahmad  Shah,  87;  lost  and  re- 
covered by  him,  88;  Sikhs  in, 
88;  Shah  Zaman  enters,  107; 
Mr.  Moorcroft  at,  150;  treaties 
of,  349,  352,  371. 

Lake,  Lord,  55  n.,  114,  115,  116. 

Lakwa  Dada,  Maratha  chief, 
110. 

Lai  Singh,  240,  246,  257,  263, 
265,  274,  289;  deposition,  379. 

Lai  Singh,  of  Kaithal,  115,  116, 
117. 

Laiid  Tax,  320. 

Langahs,  6,  102  n. 

Language,  318. 

Lassa,   182. 

Leh,  8,  15,  182,  218,  220. 

Lhasa,  220;  Wazir  seized,  220. 

Lingam,  23  n.,  31  n. 

Littler,  Sir  John,  263,  265,  266. 

Lodis,  28. 

'Loh',  virtues  of  iron,  72. 

Ludhiana,  2  n.;  defeat  of  the 
Sikhs  near,  92;  Thomas  at, 
111;  seized  by  Ranjit  Singh, 
120;  station  for  ritish  troops, 
125,  249. 


Macnaghten,     Sir  William,  198, 

222. 
Madhagi  Sindhia,  108. 
Madhav,  25,  34  n. 
Mahan  Singh,  106;  victories  and 

death,  107. 
Maheshwar,  31  n. 


Mahmud,  Shah,  107,  172;  meets 
Ranjit  Singh,  136;  in  Herat, 
146. 

Makhan  Sah,  56  n.,  60  n. 

Makhowal,  57,  58  n.,  69  n.,  87. 

Maler  Kotla  (Shah),  111. 

Malis,  12. 

Malwa,  7,  8,  9;  history  of  Mal- 
wa  Sikhs,  128. 

Manjha,  7,  8. 

Mankera,  104,  144. 

Mansarawar,  Lake,  17  n. 

Manu,  18,  29,  42,  50. 

Marathas,  28  n.,  68,  77,  82,  153; 
overrun  India,  89;  defeated, 
90;  at  Panipat,  90;  and  Dur- 
rani invasion,  107;  power  re- 
stored, 108;  destroyed,  114, 
185. 

Mardana,  36  n. 

Markand,  32  n. 

Marwar,  15. 

Marwari,  16  n. 

Masandis,  66. 

Matabar  Singh,  219  n. 

Mathura,  88. 

Maulai  Ismail,  168  n. 

Maya,  27,  32,  308. 

Mazaris,  184. 

Mazhabis,  64  n. 

Mecca.  33  n.,  36  n. 

Mehtab  Kaur,  158. 

Mehtums,  15. 

Meru,  19  n. 

Metcalfe,  Mr.,  mission  to  Ranjit 
Singh,  123,  132. 

Mian  Singh,  217. 

Mina,  49  n. 

Minto,  Lord,   123  n. 

Mir  Abdul  Hassan,  139. 

Mir  Mannu  (Muin-ul-mulk), 
85;  defeats  the  Sikhs,  86;  in- 
dependent of  Delhi,  86;  de- 
feated by  Afghans,  87;  death, 
87. 

Mir  Rustam  Khan,  170, 

Mirpur.  176. 

Mirza  Shafi  Beg,  105. 

Misal,  96,  119,  129,  151. 

Missar  Beli  Ram,  232. 

Mithankot,  177,  183. 

Mit'h  Singh  Behrania,  140, 
162  n. 

Mobarik  Khan,  102. 

Mohkam  Chand,  13  n.,  122,  136, 
137,  138,  139,  140  n.,  162  n., 
254  71. 

Mohmands,  5. 

Monson,  Colonel,  retreat  of,  115. 


INDEX 


399 


Moorcroft,  Mr.   150. 

Moran,  236. 

Mudki,  battle  of,  264. 

Mughal  Empire,  67,  82. 

Mughals,  28,  248. 

Muhammad  Akbar,  146. 

Muhammad  Azim  Khan,  135, 
140,  142,  144;  defeat  of,  146; 
death,  147. 

Muhammad  Khan,  Sultan,  171, 
186,   189,   208,   221. 

Muhammadans,  4,  10;  Shiah  and 
Sunni  8;  invade  India,  28;  in- 
fluence on  Europe,  30  n.;  pro- 
portion of,  in  India,  300. 

Muhsin  Fani,  25  n.,  33  n.,  36  n., 
37  n.,  43  n.,  47  n.,  48  n.,  49  n., 
51  n.,  53  n.,  311;  end  of  his 
work,  55  n. 

Mujja  Singh,  103. 

Mukhlis  Khan,  52. 

Muktsar,  71,  272. 

Mulraji  243. 

Multan,  2,   3,   5,   6,  8,   102;  ex- 
ports of,  2n.;  Nanak  at,  37  n. 
independence   of   Delhi,      86 
annexed  by  Ahmed  Shah,  87 
by  the  Marathas,  89;  attacked 
103;  captured,  103;  and  Ranjit 
Singh,      121,    135,    141;      and 
Shah  Shuja,  135;  governor  of, 
assassinated,   243. 

Murray,  Capt.,  166. 

Muzaffar  Khan,  135.  141,  141  n. 


Nabha,  236. 

Nader  ( Apshalanagar) ,  Gobind 
killed  at,  74,  religious  esta- 
blishment at,  74  Ti. 

Nadir,  82,  83,  84,  85,  86. 

Nadir  Shah,  84,  102  n. 

Nagpur,  148. 

Nahan,  chief  of,  69. 

Naina,  Gobind  at,  62. 

Najib-ud-daula,  88,  89,  93,  102; 
his  son,  105. 

Nakkais,  96. 

Nana  Famavis,  153, 

Nanak,  Giu-u,  founder  of  Sikh- 
ism,  1,  8,  12,  34,  80,  120,  306; 
life  of,  35,  35  n.;  descendants, 
37  n.;  his  teaching,  38,  75; 
Gobind  and,  60;  inspires  later 
Gurus,  66;  in  relation  to 
Ranjit  Singh,  151;  philoso- 
phical allusions,  310;  book  of, 
321,  329;  letters  of,  340. 


Nanakputras,  37  n. 

Nanu  Mai,  109. 

Napier,  Sir  Charles,;  255  n.,  256. 

Nasir  Khan,  85  n. 

Nau  Nihal  Singh,  159,  180; 
threat  to  Sindh,  185;  marri- 
age, 193;  succeeds  Ranjit 
Singh,  202;  and  the  Rajas  of 
Jammu,  207;  death,  208. 

Nawaz  Khan,  Shah,  84,  86. 

Nepal,  intrigues  of,  219;  war 
with,   133,   140. 

Nesselrode,  Prince,  150. 

Nihangs,  96. 

Nimbharak,  25  n. 

Nishanias,  96. 

Nizam-ud-din  Khan,  108,  118. 
121. 

Noshahra,  145. 

Nurpur,  Raja  oi,  140,  149. 


Ochterlony,  Sir  David,  115, 
117  n.,  254;  advance  towards 
Ludhiana,  124;  proclamation, 
126,  129,  350;  doubt  of  Ranjit 
Singh,  132;  guest  of  Ranjit 
Singh,  132;  Gurkhas  propose 
alliance  to,  133;  Ranjit 
Singh's  proposals  to,  133,  135; 
opinion  of  Sikh  soldiers,  154. 

Omichand,  113. 


Pahul,  63,  65. 

Painda  Khan,  52. 

Pakhli,  8. 

Pakpattan,  6,  15,  102  n.,  102. 

Pamer,  5. 

Panch  (Panchayat),  216,  235. 

Pandits,  7  n.,  8. 

Panipat,  1,  7,  77, 

Panjtar,  170. 

Paras  Ram,  31  n. 

Patanjal,  32  n. 

Pathans,  7,  68,   103,  153,  154. 

Patiala,  92,  101,  109,  116;  Raja 
of,  and  his  wife,  115,  122; 
brotherhood  with  Ranjit 
Singh,  124,  151. 

Patna,  56. 

Paunta,  68. 

Perron,  General,  109,  155  n.; 
Thomas  moves  against,  112, 
agreement  with  Ranjit  Singh, 
112;  escapes  to  British  terri- 
tories, 112. 

Pertab  Singh,  229,  231. 


400 


INDEX 


Peshawar,   1,  3,  8,   15;  entered 

by  Ranjit  Singh,  142,  180;  at- 
tacked by  Ahmad  Shah,  170; 
English  proposal  to  bestow  it 
on  Shah  Shuja,  251. 

Peshawara  Singh,  233,  239,  243. 

Peshwa,  89. 

P'heerooshuhur,  213,  266. 

Phillaur,  post  opposite  Ludhi- 
ana,  132. 

Philosophies  of  India,  305. 

Phula  Singh,  145  n.,  145,  146  n. 

Phulkias,  97,  104,  151. 

Pirthi  Chand,  46  n.,  49. 

Pollock,  General,  225. 

Pottinger,  175. 

Powars   (Prumars),  18  n. 

Punjab,  races  of,  1,  302;  invaded 
by  Muhammadans,  28;  cus- 
toms duties,  3;  religions  of, 
301;  revenues  of,  383. 

Punjgurhias,  97. 

Puraniks,  38  n. 

Piirihars,  18  n. 


Races  of  the  Punjab,  3.  302. 

Raghuba,  89. 

Rai  Singh  Bhangi,  102,  109. 

Rajputana,  2  n.,  16  n,,  77,  163. 

Rajputs,  4,  6,  13,  153,  154,  300; 
of  Rahon,  7;  as  peasants.  13: 
chief  of  Katotch,  102. 

Rajw^ara,  9  n. 

Rakhi,  95  n. 

Rama,  94. 

Ramanand,  30,  62;  Kabir  his 
disciple,  32. 

Ramanuj,  25,  25  n.,  30;  his  sect, 
30  n. 

Ram  Das,  45. 

Ramgarhias,  96. 

Ram  Rai,  56,  60,  66. 

Ram  Rauni,  85,  96. 

Ram  Saran,  134  n. 

Ram  Singh,  57  n, 

Rangghar,  64  n. 

Ranjit  Deo,  103. 

Ranjit  Singh,  13  n.;  his  grand- 
father 102;  born,  107;  keeps 
aloof  from  Shah  Zaman,  108; 
gains  Lahore,  108,  118;  agree- 
ment with  Perron,  112;  and 
the  British,  116,  120;  rise  of 
his  power,  117;  lives  of,  118; 
seizes  provinces,  119;  idea  of 
Sikh  unity,  120;  seizes  Lu- 
dhiana,  120;  and  Patiala,  122; 
and  Sirhind,   112,    124;   third 


\  raid  across  the  Sutlej,  124; 
treaty  with  British,  126,  131, 
133,  144,  149,  349,  352;  ob- 
tains Kangra,  132;  and  the 
deposed  Shah  Shuja,  134; 
attacks  Multan,  135;  and 
Fateh  Khan,  137;  attack  on 
Kashmir,  139,  142;  and  Appa 
Sahib,  148;  and  the  Raja  of 
Nurpur,  149;  and  Moorcroft, 
150;  forms  regular  infantry, 
156;  his  marriage  and  mother- 
in-law,  157,  158;  his  charac- 
ter, 159;  favourites,  160;  fame 
of,  172;  British  opinion  of, 
173;  and  Shikarpur,  176;  war 
with  Dost  Muhammad,  189; 
attempts  to  please  the  Eng- 
lish, 194;  Afghan  war,  199; 
illness  and  death,  200;  sum-, 
mary,  200;  adopted  sons,  233; 
family,  391. 

Ranjor  Singh^  271,  272. 

Ravi,  15,  84. 

Rawalpindi,  102. 

Reinhard,  110 

Religion,  8;  history  of,  in  India, 
17. 

Rohilkhand,  82,  105,  107. 

Rohillas,  82  n.,  90  n. 

Rohtas,  l62;  taken  by  Shah 
Zaman,  107. 

Rojhan,  184,  186. 

Rupar,  meeting  of  Ranjit  Singh 
and  Lord  Wm.  Bentinck,  174. 

Rurs,  7. 

Russia,  150,  173,  192,  197. 


Sabathu,  249. 

Sacae,  17,  17  n. 

Sada  Kaur,  144,  158. 

Sadh,  'the  perfect  man',  33. 

Sadhu  Singh,  141. 

Safdar  Jang,  86. 

Saharanpur,  77,  105. 

Sahib  Singh,  111,  116,  120. 

Sahiwal,  134. 

Sahsar  Bahu,  31  n. 

Saivism,    19    n.,    23    n.,    31    n., 
34  n.,  38  n. 

Saktism,  19  n. 
I  Sakya,  10,  31. 
;  Samru,  Begtmi,  110. 
I  Sankhya  system,  38  n.,  305. 
I  Sansar  Chand,  106;  and  Lord 
Lake,  117;  and  Ranjit  Singh. 
118,  141;  and  the  Gurkhas, 
121,   132;   called     on  by  the 


INDEX 


401 


English,  133;  crosses  the  Sut- 
lej,  143;  death,  147;  and  Appa 
Sahib,  148;  his  family,  167. 

Sarmor,  55. 

Sarup  Chand,  77  n. 

Sawan  Mai,  13  n.,  161,  243. 

Sedasheo  Rao,  90. 

Seharunpur,  93. 

Shah,  the  word,  47  n. 

Shahpur,  226  n. 

Sham  Singh,  281. 

Shankar  Acharj,  22,  22  n.,  24, 
25  n.,  29;  his  sect,  31  n.,  306. 

Sher  Shah,  102. 

Sher  Singh,  158,  171;  claims 
throne,  202,  209;  Maharaja, 
212;  assists  English,  225,  256; 
proposed  meeting  with  Lord 
Ellenborough,  227;  murder, 
231. 

Shikarpur,  147,  148,  164,  176, 
185. 

Shujabad,  104. 

Shuja,  Shah,  119,  123,  134;  and 
Ranjit  Singh,  134,  138;  cam- 
paigns, 135;  imprisonment, 
135;  attempt  to  regain  his 
crown,  147,  177,  187;  English 
propose  to  restore,  198; 
treaty  with,  361. 

Shuja-ud-daula,  90. 

Sials,  6. 

Sikhism,  founded,  X,  descrip- 
tion of,  11,  41;  spread  of,  44, 
60;  modification,  50;  creed 
and  ritual,  65,  321,  328;  per- 
secuted, 79;  summary,  79,  80; 

.  establishment,  94;  position 
under  Ranjit  Singh,  150,  200; 
the  Granth,  321. 

Sikhs,  country  of,  1,  7,  9;  'dis- 
ciples,' founded,  1,  41;  religion, 
8,  11,  41;  invasion  by  Mu- 
hammadans,  28;  beginnings, 
44;  divided  from  Udasis,  44; 
payments  to  the  Gurus,  47; 
under  Har  Gobind,  50;  form 
a  separate  body,  53;  mantial 
character,  59;  Gobind  their 
Guru,  60;  creed  and  interest, 
65;  to  be  warriors,  66;  effect 
of  Gobind's  teaching  on,  75; 
persecuted,  78,  79,  83;  rise 
and  defeat,  87;  occupy  Lahore, 
89;  coinage  struck,  89;  de- 
feated by  Ahmad  Shah,  92; 
conquest  of  Sirhind,  92;  con- 
federacies,  96;     strength,   98; 


attract  Hastings'  notice,  113; 
propose  alliance  with  Eng- 
lish, 113;  chieftains  and  the 
English,  115,  117,  212;  na- 
tional council,  119;  expansion 
under  Ranjit  Singh  143,  144; 
position  under  him,  150;  as 
soldiers,  153;  Order  of  the 
Star,  194;  position  under 
Ranjit  Singh,  200;  aid  Eng- 
lish, 223,  247;  war  breaks  out, 
258,  368;  proportion  of,  302; 
distinctive  usages,  317;  sects, 
347. 

Sikh  War,  258. 
Simla,  272  n. 

Sind,  102;  Ranjit  Singh,  146 
Amirs  of,  and  the  Indus,  175 
Shah  Shuja's  attempt  on,  179 
English  treaty  of  navigation, 
182;  mediation  between,  and 
Ranjit  Singh,  184. 

Sindhia,  109;  General  Perron, 
his  deputy,  109;  power 
shaken,  112. 

Sindhianwala   family,  209,  230, 

231,  256,   304. 
Singh,  use  of  the  name,  65  n. 

Singhpurias,  97. 

Sirdar,  96. 

Sirhind,  77,  85;  destroyed,  93; 
Delhi  court  attempt  to  re- 
cover province  of,  104;  Bri- 
tish and  the  chiefs  of,.  117, 
122,  124,  249;  fear  of  Ranjit 
Singh,  122;  English  supre- 
macy in,  126. 

Sirsa,  104. 

Siva,  24;  adopted  by  Gorakh,  32. 

Sivaji,  68. 

Smith,  Sir  Harry,  272. 

Sobraron,  Battle  of,  282. 

Sohan  Singh,   240. 

Sokpos,  17  n. 

Solunkees,  18  n. 

Somnath,  gates  of,  177. 

Sri  Chand,  Nanak's  son,  37  n., 

43,  44. 
Suchet  Singh,  161,  232;  attempt 

on  the  tlfrone,   234;  treasure, 

237. 
Sukerchukias,  97,  102. 
Sunam,  7,  9. 
Sui3ain,  140. 
Suraj  Mai,  93. 
Sweepers,  59  n.,  64  n.,  71  n. 


402 


INDEX 


Taimur,  son  of     Ahmad  Shah, 

88,  104. 
Tak,  181. 

Taksal  (Tangsal),  55  n. 
Talpur,   176. 
Talwandi,  35  n. 
Tank,  5. 

Tara  Singh,   111,   122. 
Tara  .  Singh      (son     of     Ran  jit 

Singh),  158. 
Taxation  of  feudatories,   156  n. 
Tegh  Bahadur,  57;  death,  58,  72; 

character,  59. 
Teheran,      English   mission   at, 

107. 
Tej   Singh,      246,   257,  263,  267, 

274. 
Telingana,  33. 

Thomas,      George,      110,      120, 
155  n.;  surrender  and  death 
112. 
Tibet,  2  n. 
Tibet,- Little,  5,  218. 
Tibetans  8;  religion  of,  10;  cul- 
tivators,      14;   and   Kelmaks, 
17  n.;  and  the  English,  166  n. 
Tughlak  Shah,  28  n. 
Tughlaks,  28. 
Turkhana,  5. 
Turkomans,  5,  18,  27. 


Ventura,  General,  153,  156,  171, 

176,  207. 
Vikramajit,   17  n. 
Vishnu,     25;     Kabir's     leaning 

towards,  33. 
Vishnu  Swami,  25  n. 
Vyasa,  21,  21  n.,  31,  39. 


Wade,  Capt.,  166,  173;  removed, 

203. 
War,  Sikhs  and.  66. 
Wattus.  6. 
Wazirabad,   134. 
Waziris,  5. 
Wazir  Khan,  77  n. 
Wellesley,    Lord,    117,    123    n. 
Whadni,    144,    158. 
Wiswas  Rao,  90. 


Yadu  race,  4,  6  n. 

Yarkand,  2,  17  n. 

Yar  Muhammad  Khan,  142,  144, 
170;  flight  of,  145;  submits  to 
Ranjit  Singh,  146,  164;  defeat 
and  death,  171. 

Yog,  31. 

Yusufzais,  5. 


Uch,  6. 

Udasis,  37  n.,  43,  43  n.,  56  n. 

divided  from  Sikhs,  44. 
Usufzais,  170. 


Vaishnavism,  16  n.,  19  n.,  31  n., 

33  n.,  34  n. 
VaUabh,  25  n.,  34,  40. 

Vedas,   19,  20  n. 


Zabita  Khan,  105;  succeeded  by 
his  son,  Ghulam  Kadir,  109. 

Zain  Khan,  91,  92. 

Zakariya  Khan,  83  n.,  84. 

Zaman,  Shah,  107,  123;  invests 
Ranjit  Singh  with  Lahore, 
108;  deposed,  119;  comes  to 
Lahore,  136;  to  Ludhiana,  139, 
148;  goes  to  Kabul,  214. 

Zorawar  Singh,  181,  217;  defeat 
and   death,   220.