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92-484: (Redirected from Mohmand Expedition ) Mohmand expedition or Mohmand campaign may refer to: Early minor military expeditions against the Mohmands in 1851–52 Later minor military expeditions against the Mohmands in 1878–80 Mohmand campaign of 1897–98 , the first major military expedition Mohmand expedition of 1908 , a smaller expedition Mohmand blockade ,

184-667: A diplomatic channel with the British; in 1828, he sent gifts to George IV and in 1831, he sent a mission to Simla to confer with the British Governor General, William Bentinck , which was followed by the Ropar Meeting ; while in 1838, he cooperated with them in removing the hostile Islamic Emir in Afghanistan. As consistent with many Punjabis of that time, Ranjit Singh was a secular king and followed

276-401: A list of just sixteen wives and their pension list. Most of his marriages were performed through chādar andāz. Some scholars note that the information on Ranjit Singh's marriages is unclear, and there is evidence that he had many concubines. Dr. Priya Atwal presents an official list of Ranjit Singh's thirty wives. The women married through chādar andāzī were noted as concubines and were known as

368-546: A military blockade in 1916–17 Mohmand campaign of 1935 , the second major expedition Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Mohmand expedition . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mohmand_expedition&oldid=731161853 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description

460-566: A religious diversity. His army included Polish, Russian, Spanish, Prussian and French officers. In 1835, as his relationship with the British warmed up, he hired a British officer named Foulkes. However, the Khalsa army of Ranjit Singh reflected the regional population, and as he grew his army, he dramatically increased the Rajputs and the Sikhs who became the predominant members of his army. In

552-507: A significant number of tribes and received British backing in the form of the Sikh army against the Barakzai king Dost Muhammad . The civil war in Afghanistan coupled with a British backed assault meant that the Sikhs could virtually walk into Peshawar. They managed to capture some Pashtun territory including Peshawar which was under direct British supervision and control. At the beginning of

644-560: A similar policy by different means. With India's Army de-mobilising, and its Government preoccupied with violent unrest in western India, Amanullah sent his troops across the Frontier in early May. At the end of the month he sought an armistice, which was granted on 3 June. By the Treaty of Rawalpindi signed in August, Afghanistan gained control of its foreign affairs, and in turn, recognised

736-532: A treaty with Russia. The British sent a mission anyway, but the mission and its armed escort were denied passage through the Khyber Pass. The British threatened to invade, and when no apology was forthcoming, did so. Sher Ali died while fleeing to Russian territory, and his son Yakub succeeded him. On May 26, 1879, Amir Yakub signed the Treaty of Gandamak , whereby Afghanistan surrendered its foreign policy to

828-700: A treaty with the British viceroy Lord Auckland to restore Shah Shoja to the Afghan throne in Kabul. In pursuance of this agreement, the British army of the Indus entered Afghanistan from the south, while Ranjit Singh's troops went through the Khyber Pass and took part in the victory parade in Kabul. The Sikh Empire, also known as the Sikh Raj and Sarkar-a-Khalsa, was in the Punjab region, the name of which means "the land of

920-658: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Military history of the North-West Frontier#1849–58 (Second Sikh War to Sepoy Revolt) The two main gateways on the North West Frontier are the Khyber and Bolan Passes . Since ancient times, the Indian subcontinent has been repeatedly invaded through these northwestern routes. With the expansion of

1012-426: Is said that Ishar Singh was not the biological son of Mehtab Kaur and Ranjit Singh, but only procured by Mehtab Kaur and presented to Ranjit Singh who accepted him as his son. Tara Singh and Sher Singh had similar rumours, it is said that Sher Singh was the son of a chintz weaver, Nahala and Tara Singh was the son of Manki, a servant in the household of Sada Kaur . Henry Edward Fane, the nephew and aide-de-camp to

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1104-646: The Second Afghan War in 1878, the Guides Infantry, together with the 1st Sikh Infantry, PFF, took part in forcing the Khyber , and were prominent in seizing the fortress of Ali Masjid . For this and subsequent efforts the Corps of Guides was awarded the battle honours A LI M ASJID , K ABUL 1879 , and A FGHANISTAN 1878–80. The last decade of the 19th century saw the Guides employed in

1196-683: The British . Ranjit Singh's reign introduced reforms, modernisation, investment in infrastructure and general prosperity. His Khalsa army and government included Sikhs , Hindus , Muslims and Europeans . His legacy includes a period of Sikh cultural and artistic renaissance, including the rebuilding of the Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar as well as other major gurdwaras , including Takht Sri Patna Sahib , Bihar and Hazur Sahib Nanded , Maharashtra under his sponsorship. Ranjit Singh

1288-603: The Chitral campaign of 1895, and the Punjab Frontier Revolt of 1897–8. Thus was the corps awarded the battle honours 'C HITRAL ', 'M ALAKAND ' , and 'P UNJAB F RONTIER '. The reforms of 1903 gave to the Queen's Own Corps of Guides (Lumsden's) a subsidiary title in the form of its founders name, but left it numberless. In 1911 the corps took up Frontier Force as its first subsidiary title. During

1380-591: The Durand Line as its border with India. The short-lived war had long-term consequences in Waziristan , where tribesmen rallied to Amanullah's cause. The western militia posts were abandoned. Many of the militia deserted, taking their modern weapons and joining their fellow tribesmen in attacking the remaining posts. As a result, the Indian Army's Waziristan Force was fully engaged in re-establishing

1472-710: The East India Company against the resurgent Punjab, but was rebuffed. So Dost Mohammad turned to Imperial Russia for help. Maharaja Ranjit Singh was a Sikh ruler of the sovereign country of Punjab and the Sikh Empire. His Samadhi is located in Lahore, Pakistan. He then spent the following years fighting the Afghans, driving them out of western Punjab, taking opportunity of the Afghans being embroiled in civil war. The deposed Afghan king Shah Shuja rallied

1564-616: The Khalsa community of Sikh warriors by Guru Gobind Singh accelerated the decay and fragmentation of the Mughal power in the region. Raiding Afghans attacked the Indus river valleys but met resistance from both organised armies of the Khalsa Sikhs as well as irregular Khalsa militias based in villages. The Sikhs had appointed own zamindars , replacing the previous Muslim revenue collectors, which provided resources to feed and strengthen

1656-662: The Khojak and Bolan passes. Meanwhile, the conflict between Afghanistan and the Punjab focused on the Khyber route . Dost Mohammad appealed to the HEIC for aid in recovering Peshawar, but the company could not help him without alienating its treaty ally Ranjit Singh. When Dost Mohammad redirected his appeal to Russia, the Governor-General Lord Auckland resolved to depose Dost Mohammad, and replace him with Shuja Shah Durrani. Restored to his throne in Kabul,

1748-475: The Nakai Misl in 1797 and she turned into Ranjit's most beloved wife. Mehtab Kaur had three sons, Ishar Singh who was born in 1804 and died in infancy. In 1807 she had Sher Singh and Tara Singh . According to historian Jean-Marie Lafont, she was the only one to bear the title of Maharani . She died in 1813, after suffering from failing health. His second marriage was to, Datar Kaur (Born Raj Kaur )

1840-731: The Nihangs , whose leader Akali Phula Singh was the Jathedar of the Akal Takht . When Ranjit Singh visited Amritsar , he was called outside the Akal Takht, where he was made to apologise for his mistakes. Akali Phula Singh took Ranjit Singh to a tamarind tree in front of the Akal Takht and prepared to punish him by flogging him. Then Akali Phula Singh asked the nearby Sikh pilgrims whether they approved of Ranjit Singh's apology. The pilgrims responded with Sat Sri Akal and Ranjit Singh

1932-511: The Punjab region under his leadership through 1839. Before his rise, the Punjab region had numerous warring misls (confederacies), twelve of which were under Sikh rulers and one Muslim. Ranjit Singh successfully absorbed and united the Sikh misls and took over other local kingdoms to create the Sikh Empire. He repeatedly defeated invasions by outside armies , particularly those arriving from Afghanistan, and established friendly relations with

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2024-472: The Russian Empire into Central Asia in the twentieth century, stability of the Frontier and control of Afghanistan became cornerstones of defensive strategy for British India. Much of the Frontier was occupied by Ranjit Singh in the early 19th century, and then taken over by the East India Company when it annexed the Punjab in 1849. Between 1849 and 1947 the military history of the frontier

2116-486: The Sepoy Rebellion broke out Amir Dost Mohammad Khan came under internal pressure to seize the advantage and attack India. However he stood by his treaty obligations. This allowed Indian troops on the frontier to deploy to Delhi and deal with the revolt centered there. In 1877, Amir Sher Ali received a Russian mission in Kabul, but refused to accept one from the British. The following year Sher Ali signed

2208-496: The gurmata and provided significant patronage to the Udasi and Nirmala sect, leading to their prominence and control of Sikh religious affairs. The army under Ranjit Singh was not limited to the Sikh community. The soldiers and troop officers included Sikhs, but also included Hindus, Muslims and Europeans. Hindu Brahmins and people of all creeds and castes served his army, while the composition in his government also reflected

2300-453: The Afghan army. Much of the Afghan army retreated back to Afghanistan. In 1799, Raja Ranjit Singh's army of 25,000 Khalsa , supported by another 25,000 Khalsa led by his mother-in-law Rani Sada Kaur of Kanhaiya misl , in a joint operation attacked the region controlled by Bhangi Sikhs centered around Lahore. The rulers escaped, marking Lahore as the first major conquest of Ranjit Singh. The Sufi Muslim and Hindu population of Lahore welcomed

2392-590: The Afghan forces of Nadir Shah and later Azim Khan. His court was ecumenical in composition: his prime minister, Dhian Singh , was a Hindu ( Dogra ); his foreign minister, Fakir Azizuddin , was a Muslim; and his finance minister, Dina Nath, was also a Hindu ( Brahmin ). Artillery commanders such as Mian Ghausa were also Muslims. There were no forced conversions in his time. His wives Bibi Mohran, Gilbahar Begum retained their faith and so did his Hindu wives. He also employed and surrounded himself with astrologers and soothsayers in his court. Ranjit Singh had also abolished

2484-581: The British Empire, which in turn promised protection from aggression. Afghanistan ceded some territory and accepted a British Resident in Kabul until 1894. In September 1879, some six weeks after establishing his residency, Sir Louis Cavagnari and his escort were murdered. Hostilities promptly resumed. Yakub's army was defeated in September 1880, and his throne was offered to, and accepted by, Abdur Rahman , who agreed to surrender all claims on

2576-558: The British officer John Masters , Pashtun women in the North-West Frontier Province (1901–1955) of British India during the Anglo-Afghan Wars would brutally castrate non-Muslim soldiers who were captured, especially British and Sikhs. Pashtun women urinated into prisoners' mouths. A method of execution by this is recorded: captured British soldiers were spread out and fastened with restraints to

2668-800: The British officials of the East India Company, in which he agreed that his Sikh forces would not attempt to expand south of the Sutlej River, and the Company agreed that it would not attempt to militarily cross the Sutlej River into the Sikh territory. In 1807, Ranjit Singh's forces attacked the Muslim ruled Kasur and, after a month of fierce fighting in the Battle of Kasur defeated the Afghan chief Qutb-ud-Din, thus expanding his empire northwest towards Afghanistan. He took Multan in 1818, and

2760-828: The Commander-in-Chief, India, General Sir Henry Fane, who spent several days in Ranjit Singh's company, reported, "Though reported to be the Maharaja's son, Sher Singh's father has never thoroughly acknowledged him, though his mother always insisted on his being so. A brother of Sher, Tara Singh by the same mother, has been even worse treated than himself, not being permitted to appear at court, and no office given him, either of profit or honour." Five Years in India , Volume 1, Henry Edward Fane, London, 1842 Multana Singh , Kashmira Singh and Pashaura Singh were sons of

2852-684: The Doaba region his army was composed of the Jat Sikhs, in Jammu and northern Indian hills it was Hindu Rajputs, while relatively more Muslims served his army in the Jhelum river area closer to Afghanistan than other major Panjab rivers. Ranjit Singh changed and improved the training and organisation of his army. He reorganised responsibility and set performance standards in logistical efficiency in troop deployment, manoeuvre , and marksmanship . He reformed

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2944-571: The First World War the cavalry branch of the Corps was deployed overseas to Mesopotamia , but not before winning a further honour in its own territory; 'N.W. F RONTIER I NDIA 1915'. In 1922 the separation became permanent, when the mounted branch was redesignated the 10th Queen Victoria's Own Corps of Guides Cavalry (Frontier Force) , and the infantry was amalgamated as the 5th Battalion, 12th Frontier Force Regiment (Queen Victoria's Own Corps of Guides) . Formed in 1846 to guard

3036-544: The Guides were engaged in most frontier affairs, and from 1857 the corps was included in the Punjab Irregular Force , and subsequently in the Punjab Frontier Force . That same year the Corps of Guides was ordered to Delhi, covering the 930 km from Mardan in twenty-two days and famously going into action on arrival. They were duly honoured with D ELHI 1857 . At the beginning of

3128-822: The Khyber, the Kurram , Sibi , and Pishin . In support of the British war effort, the Indian Army deployed expeditionary forces to the Western Front , East Africa , Gallipoli , Mesopotamia , Sinai and Palestine . India was thus vulnerable to hostile attention from Afghanistan. A Turco-German mission arrived in Kabul in October 1915 with obvious strategic purpose. However, Amir Habibulla abided by his treaty obligations and maintained Afghanistan's neutrality, in

3220-523: The Maharaja or coins being struck in her name. Bibi Moran spent the rest of life in Pathankot. Duleep Singh makes a list of his father's queens which also does not mention Bibi Moran. After the death of Aurangzeb in 1707, the Mughal Empire fell apart and declined in its ability to tax or govern most of the Indian subcontinent. In the northwestern region, particularly the Punjab, the creation of

3312-659: The Manzai brigade relocated to Wana. From 1940 to 1947, Waziristan and indeed most of the Frontier remained relatively calm and the British were able to divert most of their military effort to more important theatres. There were, however, brief periods of trouble on the frontier, which required the British to continue to maintain a military presence in the region, although for the main they were able to employ mainly garrison or rear-area troops during this time, thus allowing them to free up front-line units for active service elsewhere. Trained regular troops were desperately needed for

3404-624: The Panjab region into his control through his general Shahanchi Khan and 12,000 soldiers. The battle was fought in the territory that fell in Ranjit Singh's controlled misl, whose regional knowledge and warrior expertise helped resist the invading army. This victory at the Battle of Amritsar (1798) gained him recognition. In 1798, the Afghan ruler sent in another army, which Ranjit Singh did not resist. He let them enter Lahore, then encircled them with his army, blocked off all food and supplies, and burnt all crops and food sources that could have supported

3496-608: The Phulkias misl had switched loyalties in the late 18th century and supported the Afghan army invasion against their Khalsa brethren. The Kasur region, ruled by Muslims, always supported the Afghan invasion forces and joined them in plundering Sikh misls during the war. Ranjit Singh's fame grew in 1797, at age 17, when the Afghan Muslim ruler Shah Zaman, of the Ahmad Shah Abdali dynasty , attempted to annex

3588-492: The Sikh forces against the Afghan forces of Shah Mahmud led by Fateh Khan Barakzai. The Afghans lost their stronghold at Attock in that battle. In 1813–14, Ranjit Singh's first attempt to expand into Kashmir was foiled by Afghan forces led by Azim Khan , due to a heavy downpour, the spread of cholera, and poor food supply to his troops. In 1818, Darbar's forces led by Kharak Singh and Misr Dewan Chand occupied Multan, killing Muzaffar Khan and defeating his forces, leading to

3680-528: The Sikh path. His policies were based on respect for all communities, Hindu, Sikh and Muslim. A devoted Sikh, Ranjit Singh restored and built historic Sikh Gurdwaras – most famously, the Harmandir Sahib , and used to celebrate his victories by offering thanks at the Harmandir. He also joined the Hindus in their temples out of respect for their sentiments. The veneration of cows was promoted and cow slaughter

3772-540: The Sikhs led by him and the Afghans, which displayed the extent of the western boundaries of the Sikh Empire. On 25 November 1838, the two most powerful armies on the Indian subcontinent assembled in a grand review at Ferozepore as Ranjit Singh, the Maharajah of the Punjab brought out the Dal Khalsa to march alongside the sepoy troops of the East India Company and the British troops in India. In 1838, he agreed to

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3864-630: The State. During the expedition to Multan in 1818 , she was given command alongside her son, Kharak Singh . Throughout his life she remained Ranjit Singh's favorite and for no other did he have greater respect for than Datar Kaur, who he affectionately called Mai Nakain. Even though she was his second wife she became his principal wife and chief consort. During a hunting trip with Ranjit Singh, she fell ill and died on 20 June 1838. Ratan Kaur and Daya Kaur were wives of Sahib Singh Bhangi of Gujrat (a misl north of Lahore, not to be confused with

3956-576: The administrative border from where they could keep an eye on things. The unadministered districts would then once again become the responsibility of the local militias. In 1947, following the independence , the North-West Frontier region became a part of the newly formed nation of Dominion of Pakistan . Based upon the recommendations of the Tucker committee in 1944 (see above), the newly formed Pakistani government decided to move away from

4048-435: The cavalry component later expanded to 2½ squadrons , and the infantry to 4½ companies. Two further infantry battalions were raised in 1917. From its inception the corps was clothed in native style, with smock, baggy trousers and turban of home-spun cotton, and jerkin of sheepskin. The cotton was dyed grey with a derivative of a dwarf palm known as mazari , while the leather was dyed khaki with mulberry juice. Thus

4140-555: The end of Afghan influence in the Punjab. In July 1818, an army from the Punjab defeated Jabbar Khan, a younger brother of the governor of Kashmir Azim Khan, and acquired Kashmir, along with a yearly revenue of Rs seventy lacs. Dewan Moti Ram was appointed governor of Kashmir. In 1823, Yusufzai Pashtuns fought the army of Ranjit Sing north of the Kabul River . In 1834, Mohammed Azim Khan once again marched towards Peshawar with an army of 25,000 Khattak and Yasufzai tribesmen in

4232-463: The estates. The first attempt on his life was made when he was 13, by Hashmat Khan, but Ranjit Singh prevailed and killed the assailant instead. At age 18, his mother died and Lakhpat Rai was assassinated, and thereon he was helped by his mother-in-law from his first marriage. In 1789, Ranjit Singh married his first wife Mehtab Kaur , the muklawa happened in 1796. She was the only daughter of Gurbaksh Singh Kanhaiya and his wife Sada Kaur . She

4324-419: The event of external invasion such as from the Muslim armies of Ahmed Shah Abdali from Afghanistan, they would usually unite. Towards the end of 18th century, the five most powerful misls were those of Sukkarchakkia, Kanhayas, Nakkais, Ahluwalias and Bhangi Sikhs. Ranjit Singh belonged to the first, and through marriage had a reliable alliance with Kanhayas and Nakkais. Among the smaller misls, some such as

4416-522: The exiled former ruler would accept the Sikh gains west of the Indus, and the Company controlling his foreign policy. The agreement was formalised with the Treaty of Simla signed in June 1838 between Shah Shuja, the HEIC, and Ranjit Singh. In the period following the annexation of the Punjab in 1849 until the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 , several expeditions were undertaken against almost every tribe along

4508-576: The face of internal opposition from factions keen to side with the Ottoman Sultan . Hostilities on the frontier remained local. Having upheld Afghan neutrality while India was engaged in the Great War , Habibulla sought full independence for Afghanistan in February 1919. Such a reward might have consolidated his rule, but later that month he was murdered. His successor Amanullah pursued

4600-400: The few tribal sections in South Waziristan remaining openly hostile were subdued by aircraft alone. For this operation the No. 2 (Indian) Wing of the RAF under Wing Commander Richard Pink was based at Tank and Miranshah . Aircraft comprising the Wana Patrol maintained regular weekly contact with the posts at Wana and Tanai until 1929, when the road from Sarwekai was completed, and

4692-509: The final spouse of Ranjit Singh. Her father, Manna Singh Aulakh, extolled her virtues to Ranjit Singh, who was concerned about the frail health of his only heir Kharak Singh. The Maharaja married her in 1835 by 'sending his arrow and sword to her village'. On 6 September 1838 she gave birth to Duleep Singh , who became the last Maharaja of the Sikh Empire . His other wives included, Mehtab Devi of Kangara also called Guddan or Katochan and Raj Banso, daughters of Raja Sansar Chand of Kangra. He

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4784-535: The five rivers". The five rivers are the Beas , Ravi , Sutlej , Chenab and Jhelum , all of which are tributaries of the river Indus . The geographical reach of the Sikh Empire under Singh included all lands north of Sutlej River, and south of the high valleys of the northwestern Himalayas. The major towns at the time included Srinagar, Attock, Peshawar, Bannu, Rawalpindi, Jammu, Gujrat, Sialkot, Kangra, Amritsar, Lahore and Multan. Muslims formed around 70%, Hindus formed around 24%, and Sikhs formed around 6–7% of

4876-564: The ground, then a stick, or a piece of wood was used to keep their mouth open to prevent swallowing. Pashtun women then squatted and urinated directly into the mouth of the man until he drowned in the urine, taking turns one at a time. This method of execution was reported to have been practiced specifically by the women of the Afridi tribe of the Pashtuns. Corps of cavalry and infantry , raised at Peshawar in 1846 by Lt. Harry Lumsden , and later based at Hoti Mardan . Originally one troop of cavalry and two companies of infantry,

4968-471: The lesser title of Rani (queen). While Mehtab Kaur and Datar Kaur officially bore the title of Maharani (high queen), Datar Kaur officially became the Maharani after the death of Mehtab Kaur in 1813. Throughout her life was referred to as Sarkar Rani . After her death, the title was held by Ranjit's youngest widow Jind Kaur. According to Khushwant Singh in an 1889 interview with the French journal Le Voltaire , his son Dalip (Duleep) Singh remarked, "I am

5060-428: The loss of sight in his left eye and a pockmarked face. He was short in stature, never schooled, and did not learn to read or write anything beyond the Gurmukhi alphabet. However, he was trained at home in horse riding, musketry and other martial arts. At age 12, his father died. He then inherited his father's Sukerchakia Misl estates and was raised by his mother Raj Kaur, who, along with Lakhpat Rai, also managed

5152-405: The name of Guru Nanak named the "NanakShahi" ("of the Emperor Nanak"). In 1802, Ranjit Singh, aged 22, took Amritsar from the Bhangi Sikh misl , paid homage at the Harmandir Sahib temple, which had previously been attacked and desecrated by the invading Afghan army, and announced that he would renovate and rebuild it with marble and gold. On 1 January 1806, Ranjit Singh signed a treaty with

5244-407: The name of jihad, to fight against infidels. The Maharaja defeated the forces. Yar Mohammad was pardoned and was reinvested as governor of Peshawar with an annual revenue of Rs one lac ten thousand to Lahore Darbar. In 1835, the Afghans and Sikhs met again at the Standoff at the Khyber Pass , however it ended without a battle. In 1837, the Battle of Jamrud , became the last confrontation between

5336-410: The nineteenth century, the East India Company controlled southern India, Bengal , Bihar , and Orissa (modern Odisha). Dominance was gained at the expense of its French equivalent, the Compagnie des Indes . Britain and France were at war , and the Franco-Persian alliance of 1807, followed the same year by the Franco-Russian Treaty of Tilsit , alerted the HEIC to the external threat posed from

5428-459: The north-west. By 1819 only Sindh and the Sikh Empire remained outside the company's control. Napoleon was vanquished, but the Empire of the Tsars had begun to expand south and east. Russian influence grew likewise, and by the early 1830s Qajar Irān was within the Tsar's sphere. Attempts by Irān to recover Herat in 1834, and again in 1837, raised the spectre of Russian armies on the road to Kandahar , whence direct access to India through

5520-436: The northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. He survived smallpox in infancy but lost sight in his left eye. He fought his first battle alongside his father at age 10. After his father died around Ranjit's early teenage years, Ranjit subsequently fought several wars to expel the Afghans throughout his teenage years. At the age of 21, he was proclaimed the "Maharaja of Punjab". His empire grew in

5612-399: The posts and restoring the lines of communication from November until May 1920. The western base at Wana was finally reoccupied in December 1920. The long-term plan for control of the district entailed building metalled roads along the lines of communication to a new central base to be established at Razmak . In 1921 work began on the southern road up the Tank Zam from Jandola , under

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5704-411: The previous British policy of 'forward defence' in the North-West Frontier region and ordered the withdrawal of forces from Waziristan, as it was felt that the presence of a regular military force in the region was provoking tensions with the local tribesmen. This withdrawal began on December 6, 1947 and was successfully completed by the end of the month under the codename Operation Curzon. According to

5796-476: The protection of the Waziristan Force. The following year work on the northern road from the Tochi began at Idak , shielded by the Razmak Force advancing to its objective. The two roads met in 1924, linking North and South Waziristan , and enabling the Indian Army to reorganise both areas as one military district. The Waziristan and Razmak Field Forces then devolved into brigades based permanently at Manzai , Razmak, Gardai , and Bannu . The following year

5888-407: The resultant internecine struggles for the throne lasted more than thirty years. During this period the Punjab was effectively ceded to its erstwhile governor Ranjit Singh , Iran recovered Khorassan, and Sindh broke away. In 1813 Sikh forces from the Punjab crossed the Indus and seized the old Mughal fort at Attock . In 1819 Kashmir was lost, and west of the Indus Derajat also. Four years later

5980-444: The rifles joined the Bombay line as the 30th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry . The regiment was honoured for its part in the Second Afghan War with A FGHANISTAN 1878-80 Ranjit Singh Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839) was the founder and first maharaja of the Sikh Empire , serving on the throne of Punjab from 1801; of Jammu from 1808; and of Kashmir from 1819, until his death in 1839. He ruled

6072-552: The rule of Ranjit Singh. In 1800, the ruler of the Jammu region ceded control of his region to Ranjit Singh. In 1801, Ranjit Singh proclaimed himself as the "Maharaja of Punjab", and agreed to a formal investiture ceremony, which was carried out by Baba Sahib Singh Bedi – a descendant of Guru Nanak. On the day of his coronation, prayers were performed across mosques, temples and gurudwaras in his territories for his long life. Ranjit Singh called his rule "Sarkar Khalsa", and his court "Darbar Khalsa". He ordered new coins to be issued in

6164-399: The son of one of my father's forty-six wives." Dr. Priya Atwal notes that Ranjit Singh and his heirs entered a total of 46 marriages. But Ranjit Singh was known not to be a "rash sensualist" and commanded unusual respect in the eyes of others. Faqir Sayyid Vaḥiduddin states: "If there was one thing in which Ranjit Singh failed to excel or even equal the average monarch of oriental history, it

6256-406: The southern part of the North-West Frontier. Initially consisting of just the Scinde Irregular Horse, the force under Capt. John Jacob was part of the Bombay Army . The Scinde Irregular Horse was raised at Hyderabad in 1839 by Capt. Ward. The regiment earned its first battle honour during the Operations in Scinde 1839-42 , when it was awarded the unique distinction 'C UTCHEE '. For

6348-485: The state of Gujarat). After Sahib Singh's death, Ranjit Singh took them under his protection in 1811 by marrying them via the rite of chādar andāzī , in which a cloth sheet was unfurled over each of their heads. The same with Roop Kaur, Gulab Kaur, Saman Kaur, and Lakshmi Kaur who looked after Duleep Singh when his mother Jind Kaur was exiled. Ratan Kaur had a son Multana Singh in 1819, and Daya Kaur had two sons Kashmira Singh and Pashaura Singh in 1821. Jind Kaur ,

6440-448: The subsequent Scinde Campaign of 1843 it was awarded 'M EEANEE ' and 'H YDERABAD ' . A second regiment was raised at Hyderabad in 1846 by Capt. J. Jacob. During the Second Sikh War both the 1st and 2nd Irregular Horse earned further distinction with 'M OOLTAN ', 'G OOJERAT ', and 'P UNJAUB '. A third regiment was raised in 1857, and in 1860 the regiments were designated simply Scinde Horse . The 1st Scinde Horse

6532-459: The total population living in Singh's empire Ranjit Singh allowed men from different religions and races to serve in his army and his government in various positions of authority. His army included a few Europeans, such as the Frenchman Jean-François Allard , though Singh maintained a policy of refraining from recruiting Britons into his service, aware of British designs on the Indian subcontinent. Despite his recruitment policies, he did maintain

6624-427: The two widows of Sahib Singh, Daya Kaur and Ratan Kaur, whom Ranjit Singh took under his protection and married. These sons, are said to be, not biologically born to the queens and only procured and later presented to and accepted by Ranjit Singh as his sons. In 1802, Ranjit Singh married Moran Sarkar , a Muslim nautch girl . This action, and other non- Sikh activities of the Maharaja, upset orthodox Sikhs, including

6716-547: The war against Germany and Japan. Razmak, Wana and Bannu were garrisoned with half-trained units which suffered serious reverses, losing men, rifles, and light machine-guns. In 1944, a British committee under Lieutenant-General Sir Francis Tuker was set up to review future policy for the region. As part of its findings, it recommended a return to the Curzon Plan , which advocated the withdrawal of all regular forces from tribal territory into outposts, or cantonments, along

6808-449: The warriors aligned with Sikh interests. Meanwhile, colonial traders and the East India Company had begun operations in India on its eastern and western coasts. By the second half of the 18th century, the northwestern parts of the Indian subcontinent (now Pakistan and parts of north India) were a collection of fourteen small warring regions. Of the fourteen, twelve were Sikh-controlled misls (confederacies), one named Kasur (near Lahore)

6900-608: The whole Bari Doab came under his rule with that conquest. In 1819 at the Battle of Shopian , he successfully defeated the Afghan Sunni Muslim rulers and annexed Srinagar and Kashmir , stretching his rule into the north and the Jhelum valley, beyond the foothills of the Himalayas. The most significant encounters between the Sikhs in the command of the Maharaja and the Afghans were in 1813, 1823, 1834 and 1837. In 1813, Ranjit Singh's general Dewan Mokham Chand led

6992-462: The whole of the North-West Frontier, most notably under Sir Charles Napier and Sir Colin Campbell , under orders from the governor-general, Lord Dalhousie . Disgusted at being instructed to burn Pathan villages, first Napier and then Campbell resigned and returned to England. Campbell had already decided that the best method of dealing with the tribesmen on the frontier was through bribery. When

7084-468: The winter capital at Peshawar came under attack. In 1826 Dost Mohammad Khan emerged as undisputed ruler in Kabul, and was there proclaimed Emir . He defeated a further attempt to oust him by his exiled rival Shuja Shah Durrani in 1833; however the Sikhs seized all of Peshawar the following year. In 1837 Dost Mohammad launched a counter-attack through the Khyber, but the Afghan force was halted at Jamrud Fort . Dost Mohammad had sought assistance from

7176-494: The youngest child and only daughter of Ran Singh Nakai , the third ruler of the Nakai Misl and his wife Karman Kaur . They were betrothed in childhood by Datar Kaur's eldest brother, Sardar Bhagwan Singh, who briefly became the chief of the Nakai Misl, and Ranjit Singh's father Maha Singh. They were married in 1797; this marriage was a happy one and Ranjit Singh always treated Raj Kaur with love and respect. Since Raj Kaur

7268-438: Was Muslim controlled, and one in the southeast was led by an Englishman named George Thomas. This region constituted the fertile and productive valleys of the five rivers – Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Bias and Sutlej. The Sikh misls were all under the control of the Khalsa fraternity of Sikh warriors, but they were not united and constantly warred with each other over revenue collection, disagreements, and local priorities; however, in

7360-538: Was a succession of punitive expeditions against offending Pashtun (or Pathan ) tribes, punctuated by three wars against Afghanistan. Many British officers who went on to distinguished command in the First and Second World Wars learnt their soldiering on the North-West Frontier, which they called the Grim . In 1747 when Ahmad Khān Abdālī seized control of Kandahar , Kabul , and Peshawar , and, as Ahmad Shah Durrani ,

7452-549: Was also married to Rani Har Devi of Atalgarh, Rani Aso Sircar and Rani Jag Deo According to the diaries, that Duleep Singh kept towards the end of his life, these women presented the Maharaja with four daughters. Dr. Priya Atwal notes that the daughters could be adopted. Ranjit Singh was also married to Jind Bani or Jind Kulan, daughter of Muhammad Pathan from Mankera and Gul Bano, daughter of Malik Akhtar from Amritsar. Ranjit Singh married many times, in various ceremonies, and had twenty wives. Sir Lepel Griffin , however, provides

7544-466: Was also the name of Ranjit Singh's mother, his wife was renamed Datar Kaur. In 1801, she gave birth to their son and heir apparent, Kharak Singh . Datar Kaur bore Ranjit Singh two other sons, Rattan Singh and Fateh Singh. Like his first marriage, the second marriage also brought him a strategic military alliance. Along with wisdom and all the chaste virtues of a noblewoman, Datar Kaur was exceptionally intelligent and assisted Ranjit Singh in affairs of

7636-476: Was converted into "Moti Mandir" (Pearl Temple) by the Sikh army, and Sonehri Mosque was converted into a Sikh Gurdwara , but upon the request of Sufi Fakir (Satar Shah Bukhari), Ranjit Singh restored the latter to a mosque. Lahore's Begum Shahi Mosque was also used as a gunpowder factory, earning it the nickname Barudkhana Wali Masjid , or "Gunpowder Mosque." Singh's sovereignty was accepted by Afghan and Punjabi Muslims, who fought under his banner against

7728-739: Was deployed to suppress the Sepoy Revolt of 1857–8, and was duly awarded C ENTRAL I NDIA . All three regiments were rewarded for their part in the Second Afghan War :- Its hard-won honours notwithstanding, the third regiment was disbanded in 1882. The 1st and 2nd Regiments joined the Bombay line in 1885 as the 5th and 6th Bombay Cavalry respectively. In the reformed Indian Army in 1903 they were likewise redesignated 35th Scinde Horse and 36th Jacob's Horse . Jacob's Rifles , raised in 1858 by Maj. John Jacob. In 1861

7820-508: Was military dress first coloured khaki for its camouflage effect, and the Guides were the first troops to wear it. The drab colour is well suited to the barren rocky terrain of the North-West Frontier, and all but one of the other Punjab frontier units soon followed the Guides example. In 1848 the Second Sikh War broke out and the corps won its first battle honours ; 'M OOLTAN ', 'G OOJERAT ' , and 'P UNJAUB '. Thereafter

7912-561: Was proclaimed Shah of the Afghans . He went on to conquer Herat and Khorassan , and established an empire from the Oxus to the Indus . On his death in 1773, the Afghan domain included Baluchistan , Sindh , the Punjab , and Kashmir . Ahmad Shah was succeeded by his son Timur Shah Durrani , whose rule of twenty years saw the Afghan tide begin to ebb. Timur left many sons but no heir, and

8004-596: Was punishable by death under his rule. He ordered his soldiers to neither loot nor molest civilians. He built several gurdwaras, Hindu temples and even mosques, and one in particular was Mai Moran Masjid, built at the behest of his beloved Muslim wife, Moran Sarkar . The Sikhs led by Singh never razed places of worship to the ground belonging to the enemy. However, he did convert Muslim mosques into other uses. For example, Ranjit Singh's army desecrated Lahore's Badshahi Mosque and converted it into an ammunition store, and horse stables. Lahore's Moti Masjid (Pearl Mosque)

8096-506: Was released and forgiven. An alternative holds that Ranjit went to visit Moran on his arrival in Amritsar before paying his respects at Harmandir Sahib Gurdwara , which upset orthodox Sikhs and hence was punished by Akali Phula Singh. Iqbal Qaiser and Manveen Sandhu make alternative accounts of the relationship between Moran and the Maharaja; the former states they never married, while the latter states that they married. Court chronicler, Sohan Lal Suri makes no mention of Moran's marriage to

8188-616: Was succeeded by his son Kharak Singh . Ranjit Singh also founded the Order of the Propitious Star of Punjab in 1837 . Singh is known by several titles such as Sher-e-Punjab ("Lion of Punjab") and Sarkar-e Wallah (Head of Government). Ranjit Singh was born in a Sandhawalia Jat Sikh family on 13 November 1780 to Maha Singh and Raj Kaur in Gujranwala , Punjab region (present-day Punjab, Pakistan ). His mother Raj Kaur

8280-547: Was the daughter of Sidhu Jat Sikh ruler Raja Gajpat Singh of Jind . Upon his birth, he was named Buddh Singh after his ancestor who was first in line to take Amrit Sanchaar . The child's name was changed to Ranjit (literally, "victor in battle") Singh ("lion") by his father to commemorate his army's victory over the Chattha chieftain Pir Muhammad. Ranjit Singh contracted smallpox as an infant, which resulted in

8372-547: Was the granddaughter of Jai Singh Kanhaiya , the founder of the Kanhaiya Misl . This marriage was pre-arranged in an attempt to reconcile warring Sikh misls , Mehtab Kaur was betrothed to Ranjit Singh in 1786. The marriage, however, failed, with Mehtab Kaur never forgiving the fact that her father had been killed in battle with Ranjit Singh's father, and she mainly resided with her mother after marriage. The separation became complete when Ranjit Singh married Datar Kaur of

8464-463: Was the size of his harem." George Keene noted, "In hundreds and in thousands the orderly crowds stream on. Not a bough is broken off a wayside tree, not a rude remark to a woman". According to the pedigree table and Duleep Singh 's diaries that he kept towards the end of his life another son Fateh Singh was born to Mai Nakain, who died in infancy. According to Henry Edward only Datar Kaur and Jind Kaur's sons are Ranjit Singh's biological sons. It

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