142-800: The second Anglo-Sikh war was a military conflict between the Sikh Empire and the East India Company which took place from 1848 to 1849. It resulted in the fall of the Sikh Empire, and the annexation of the Punjab and what subsequently became the North-West Frontier Province , by the East India Company. On 19 April 1848, Patrick Vans Agnew of the civil service and Lieutenant William Anderson of
284-751: A Queen consort of Maharaja Ranjit Singh . A brand new residence, Charburja Durbar , was built in the Thapathali durbar complex and an allowance was set by the Nepali government. The British Resident in Kathmandu kept an eye on her, believing that she was still intriguing to revive the Sikh dynasty. She lived in Nepal for 11 years. In November 1856 Jung Bahadur Rana sent the Governor-General of India
426-520: A breach in the defences, which the infantry stormed. Mulraj surrendered on 22 January. The ending of the siege allowed Whish to reinforce Gough. In particular, Whish's division had large numbers of heavy guns, which the Sikhs lacked. As Gough's army closed in on the Sikh Army, he sent William Hodson to scout the Sikh Army's position. Sher Singh attempted a last outflanking move, sending cavalry to cross
568-453: A cavalry force under Major General Joseph Thackwell to cross the Chenab upstream of Ramnagar and turn the Sikh left, but Thackwell then paused to await infantry reinforcements, allowing the Sikhs to withdraw without interference. Gough claimed this indecisive action as a victory. At the start of 1849, Amir Dost Mohammed Khan of Afghanistan sided with the rebellious Sikhs, who agreed to cede
710-492: A choice between conversion to Islam and death, he chose to die rather than compromise his principles and was executed. Guru Gobind Singh assumed the guruship in 1675 and to avoid battles with Sivalik Hill rajas moved the guruship to Paunta . There he built a large fort to protect the city and garrisoned an army to protect it. The growing power of the Sikh community alarmed the Sivalik Hill rajas , who attempted to attack
852-549: A descendant of Guru Nanak , conducted the coronation. The formation of the empire was followed by the progressive expulsion of Afghans from Punjab by capitalizing off Afghan decline in the Afghan-Sikh Wars , and the unification of the separate Sikh misls. Ranjit Singh rose to power in a very short period, from a leader of a single misl to finally becoming the Maharaja of Punjab. He began to modernise his army, using
994-585: A letter that commanded all Sikhs to join him. After two years of gaining supporters, Banda Singh Bahadur initiated an agrarian uprising by breaking up the large estates of Zamindar families and distributing the land to the poor peasants who farmed the land. Banda Singh Bahadur started his rebellion by defeating the Mughal armies at the Battle of Samana , establishing the First Sikh State in 1709. This
1136-546: A letter which he had intercepted from Duleep Singh to Jind Kaur, suggesting that she come to England. The letter was dismissed as a forgery. However, shortly afterwards Duleep Singh commissioned Pundit Nehemiah Goreh to visit Kathmandu on his behalf and find out how his mother was managing. This attempt was also doomed to failure and the Pundit was forbidden to contact the Maharani. Duleep Singh then decided to go himself, using
1278-614: A major British force should at once move upon Multan. However Gough, supported by Dalhousie, the Governor General, declined to order major units of the East India Company to the Punjab until the end of the hot weather and monsoon seasons, which would not be until November. Instead, Currie ordered only a small force from the Bengal Army under General Whish, and several contingents of locally recruited irregulars and detachments of
1420-567: A memorial to the Maharani was installed at the site. In 2010, The Rebel Queen , a docudrama short was released by Michael Singh and starred Indian actress Diana Pinto as the Maharani. In January 2020, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni released The Last Queen a book inspired of her life. She is also a major character in George MacDonald Fraser's comic historical novel Flashman and the Mountain of Light . Maharani Jind Kaur
1562-453: A petty squabble over seniority and could arrive only when its first commander (who was senior to Whish and refused to serve under him) was replaced by a more junior officer. Whish's army was supplied and reinforced by sea and river transport up the rivers Indus and Chenab. Whish renewed the siege of Multan on 27 December, with 17,000 men and 64 guns. After a heavy bombardment the city was stormed on 2 January 1849. On 22 January, Mulraj surrendered
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#17327649618381704-542: A proclamation declaring war on the Sikhs. The causes and conduct of the First Anglo-Sikh War are described fully elsewhere. The Sikhs lost the war, due, they claimed, to the treachery of their commander-in-chief, Lal Singh and Raja Tej Singh, who failed to attack when the British were at his mercy during the battle of Ferozeshah and later sank the Sikh bridge of boats in the battle of Sobraon . The terms of
1846-548: A pursuit which lasted for four hours. The Sikhs began gradually retreating into rougher territory filled with Muslim villagers who mainly supported the British against the Sikhs. The Sikh loss was estimated at between 3,000 and 5,000 men and 53 guns; the British casualties were 96 killed and 700 wounded. On 12 March, Chattar Singh and Sher Singh surrendered to Sir Walter Gilbert near Rawalpindi . Some 20,000 men (mainly irregular cavalry) laid down their arms. The Afghan contingent hastily withdrew through Attock and Peshawar , which
1988-503: A simple border policy where it did not allow uninvited foreigners into the state. The purpose of this border policy was to dissuade potential foreign spies from entering the country. An example of the policy in-action is the case of Captain Arnold Mathews, who snuck into the Sikh Empire in circa 1808 to spy under the guise of being a tourist headed towards Kashmir but was intercepted and brought to Lahore. The Sikh court observed
2130-474: A small escort. Mulraj handed over the keys of the fortress, but as Vans Agnew's party attempted to take possession, they were attacked by a party of Mulraj's irregular troops, and a mob from the city. Both officers were wounded, and were rescued by Kahan Singh. They were taken to a mosque outside the city. Their escorts defected to Mulraj, and the two officers were murdered by the mob the next day. Mulraj later claimed that he had not instigated these attacks, but he
2272-557: A springboard to advance on the Sikh-held region of Multan, eventually resulted in conflict with the British. After Ranjit Singh's death in 1839, the empire was severely weakened by internal divisions and political mismanagement. This opportunity was used by the British East India Company to launch the First Anglo-Sikh War . The Battle of Ferozeshah in 1845 marked many turning points, the British encountered
2414-412: A total of over 200,000 sq mi (520,000 km ) at its zenith. Another more conservative estimate puts its total surface area during its zenith at 100,436 sq mi (260,124 km sq). The following modern-day political divisions made up the historical Sikh Empire: Jamrud District ( Khyber Agency , Pakistan) was the westernmost limit of the Sikh Empire. The westward expansion was stopped in
2556-568: Is the real sovereign, Duleep Singh or Hira Singh? If the former, then the Khālsā should ensure that he was not a king with an empty title.' The council supported her and she gradually became the symbol of sovereignty. She took control of the government with the approval of the army and cast off her veil. As Regent, she reconstituted the Supreme Council of the Khalsa and restored a balance between
2698-525: The 19th most populous country at the time ), it was the last major region of the Indian subcontinent to be annexed by the British Empire . The formation of the empire began with the capture of Lahore from its Durrani ruler, Zaman Shah Durrani . Ranjit Singh was proclaimed as Maharaja of the Punjab on 12 April 1801 (to coincide with Vaisakhi ), creating a unified political state. Sahib Singh Bedi,
2840-517: The Battle of Jamrud , in which the Afghans managed to kill the prominent Sikh general Hari Singh Nalwa in an offensive, though the Sikhs successfully held their position at their Jamrud fort. Ranjit Singh sent his General Sirdar Bahadur Gulab Singh Powind thereafter as reinforcement and he crushed the Pashtun rebellion harshly. In 1838, Ranjit Singh with his troops marched into Kabul to take part in
2982-598: The Battle of Ramnagar in November and at the Battle of Chillianwala on 13 January 1849, the stubborn resistance at Multan showed that the task required the utmost resources of the government. At length, on 22 January, Multan was taken by General Whish, who was thus set at liberty to join Gough's army. On 21 February, Gough won a complete victory at the Battle of Gujrat . The Sikh army was pursued to Rawalpindi , where it laid down its arms, and their Afghan allies retreated from
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#17327649618383124-634: The Cis-Sutlej States and also in territory under the British East India Company's rule. Other vakil emissaries of the Sikh court were sent to Rajputana , the Marathas , and Nepal on complimentary missions. Western/European officers from various backgrounds, including Britishers, Frenchmen, Germans, Italians, Spaniards, Americans, and Russians, also rose to high levels within the Sikh court in many instances. However,
3266-899: The Godavari River . Jind Kaur's wishes to be cremated in Lahore had been denied by British authorities. The memorial in Bombay was maintained by the Kapurthala State authorities until 1924, when Princess Bamba Sutherland moved her remains and the memorial to the Samadhi of Ranjit Singh in Lahore. In 1997, a marble headstone with her name was uncovered during restorations at the Dissenters' Chapel in Kensal Green and in 2009
3408-582: The Indian Rebellion of 1857 , against the mutineers and other opponents (mostly high-caste Hindus from Eastern provinces, and forces or loyalists of Shia, Maratha and Mughal rulers). These Punjabi recruits had especially little sympathy with the Hindu mutineers of the Bengal Army, ironically contributed to by the latter's role in helping the British in the Anglo-Sikh wars. A long history of enmity of
3550-639: The Koh-i-Nor diamond for Maharaja Ranjit Singh. He served as governor of Kashmir and Hazara and established a mint on behalf of the Sikh empire to facilitate revenue collection. His frontier policy of holding the Khyber Pass was later used by the British Raj . Nalwa was responsible for expanding the frontier of Sikh empire to the Indus River . At the time of his death, the western boundary of
3692-639: The Muslim call of prayer to go on which had been banned by the Sikhs and the British also reconstructed many mosques which had been desecrated and left under decay by Sikh rule. John McCosh , a surgeon in the Bengal Army , is considered by some historians to be the first war photographer known by name. He produced a series of photographs documenting the Second Anglo-Sikh War. These consisted of portraits of fellow officers, key figures from
3834-517: The Punjab Army , opening with a gun-duel in which the Sikhs "had the better of the British artillery". As the British made advances, Europeans in their army were specially targeted, as the Sikhs believed if the army "became demoralized, the backbone of the enemy's position would be broken". The fighting continued throughout the night. The British position "grew graver as the night wore on", and "suffered terrible casualties with every single member of
3976-484: The Sikh Empire was dissolved on 29 March 1847 the Sikhs claimed her as the Maharani and successor of Maharaja Duleep Singh . However, on the same day the British took full control and refused to accept the claims. She was the youngest wife of the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire , Ranjit Singh , and the mother of the last Maharaja, Duleep Singh . She was renowned for her beauty, energy and strength of purpose and
4118-569: The Sikh Khalsa Army to join the siege. These forces joined Edwardes at Multan between 18 and 28 August. To the alarm of several Political Agents, the force from the Sikh Army included a large contingent commanded by Sardar Sher Singh Attariwalla , Chattar Singh's son. Some Political Agents were already taking action to forestall outbreaks of rebellion. Captain John Nicholson , leading irregular cavalry based at Peshawar , seized
4260-532: The Sikh court at Lahore of the empire's ruling government. However, the term "Lahore Darbar" only gained currency around the time of Ranjit Singh's death, with it not being found in British sources until then. The empire's own Persian chronicles refers to its ruling government as the Sarkar Khalsaji . The foundation of the Sikh Empire can be traced to as early as 1707, the year of Aurangzeb 's death and
4402-579: The Treaty of Lahore , signed in March 1846, were punitive but the seven-year-old Duleep Singh remained as Maharaja and Jind Kaur was to remain as regent. However, in December, she was replaced by a Council of Regency, controlled by a British Resident, and awarded an annual pension of 150,000 rupees. After the war the British rewarded the leaders who had helped them, including Lal Singh and Tej Singh . However,
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4544-580: The Bombay European regiment, having been sent to take charge of Multan from Diwan Mulraj Chopra , were murdered there; within a short time, the Sikh troops joined in open rebellion. Governor-General of India Lord Dalhousie agreed with Sir Hugh Gough , the commander-in-chief, that the British East India Company 's military forces were neither adequately equipped with transport and supplies, nor otherwise prepared to take
4686-610: The British Political Agent in Bannu , had been near Multan in April but was unable to save Vans Agnew. He hastily levied some Pakhtun irregular troops. On 18 June 1848, 8,000 Bhawalpuris under Futteh Mohammed Khan, aided by 3,000 Sikh irregulars under Lieutenant Edwardes, fought 8,000 Sikhs under Rung Ram. The Bhawalpuris were repulsed in an attack on the Sikh positions, but the arrival of Lieutenant Edwardes' guns turned
4828-405: The British reoccupied. Dost Mohammad Khan later signed a treaty acknowledging British possession of these cities. The British had also gained control of the Khyber Pass which became the westernmost boundary of the British Raj . British rule was largely welcomed by the local Muslim population which had detested the rule of the Sikh Empire . This was also due to the fact that the British reallowed
4970-580: The British-controlled Durbar in Lahore to pay an increased tax assessment and revenues which were in arrears, Mulraj attempted to give up power to his son, so as to maintain his family's position as rulers. Currie instead appointed Sardar Kahan Singh Mann to succeed to the governorship and appointed a British Political Agent, Lieutenant Patrick Vans Agnew , to accompany him. On 18 April 1848, Kahan Singh and Vans Agnew arrived at Multan with another officer, Lieutenant William Anderson, and
5112-656: The Central Punjab and ultimately rejoin Chattar Singh. Meanwhile, Whish was forced to raise the siege on 22 September. As the cold weather began in November, substantial contingents from the East India Company's armies at last took the field. A contingent from the Bombay Army (administered separately from the Bengal Army) had been ordered to reinforce Whish and besiege Multan. This force was delayed by
5254-474: The Chenab, and re-cross in Gough's rear. They were thwarted by heavy rains which made the river difficult to cross, and by British irregular cavalry led by Harry Burnett Lumsden . On 21 February, Gough attacked the Sikh Army at the Battle of Gujrat . Here, he began the battle with a three-hour bombardment from almost 100 guns, which drove the Sikhs from their hasty entrenchments. He then sent his cavalry, led by Sir Joseph Thackwell, and horse artillery after them in
5396-776: The Chinese and Tibetans. The Cis-Sutlej states were a group of Sikh states in the Punjab region lying between the Sutlej River to the north, the Himalayas to the east, the Yamuna River and Delhi district to the south, and Sirsa District to the west. These states fell under the suzerainty of the Maratha Empire after 1785 before the Second Anglo-Maratha War of 1803–1805, after which
5538-461: The Governor General's staff either killed or wounded". Nevertheless, the British army took and held Ferozeshah. British General Sir James Hope Grant recorded: "Truly the night was one of gloom and forbidding and perhaps never in the annals of warfare has a British Army on such a large scale been nearer to a defeat which would have involved annihilation." The reasons for the withdrawal of the Sikhs from Ferozeshah are contentious. Some believe that it
5680-492: The Maharaja when their father, Ghulam Muhiuddin, a physician, was summoned by him to treat an eye ailment soon after his capture of Lahore. The other Fakir brothers were Imamuddin, one of his principal administration officers, and Nuruddin, who served as home minister and personal physician, were also granted jagirs by the Maharaja. Every year, while at Amritsar, Ranjit Singh visited shrines of holy people of other faiths, including several Muslim saints, which did not offend even
5822-470: The Maharani by George Richmond shows her wearing some of the jewels, including the emerald and pearl necklace, which was sold by auction on 8 October 2009 at Bonhams for £55,200. For a while Duleep Singh moved with his mother to Mulgrave Castle in Yorkshire. Attempts were made to arrange a separate establishment for her on the estate, but she was determined not to be separated from her son again. In
Second Anglo-Sikh war - Misplaced Pages Continue
5964-490: The Marathas lost control of the territory to the British East India Company . The Cis-Sutlej states included Kalsia , Kaithal , Patiala State , Nabha State , Jind State , Thanesar , Maler Kotla , Ludhiana , Kapurthala State , Ambala , Ferozpur and Faridkot State , among others. The Sikh Empire of Ranjit Singh occupied Faridkot State in 1807. However, control was restored to Gulab Singh of Faridkot in 1809 due to
6106-660: The Mughals and their administrators , the Mughal-allied Hindu hill-rajas of the Sivalik Hills , and hostile local Muslims siding with other Muslim forces. The Sikhs of the Dal Khalsa eventually formed their own independent Sikh administrative regions, Misls , derived from a Perso-Arabic term meaning 'similar', headed by Misldars . These Misls were united in large part by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. After
6248-462: The Mughals at the Battle of Muktsar . In 1707, Guru Gobind Singh accepted an invitation by Aurangzeb's successor Bahadur Shah I to meet him. The meeting took place at Agra on 23 July 1707. In August 1708, Guru Gobind Singh visited Nanded . There he met a Bairāgī recluse, Madho Das, who converted to Sikhism, rechristened as Banda Singh Bahadur . A short time before his death, Guru Gobind Singh ordered him to reconquer Punjab region and gave him
6390-589: The Political Agent in Hazara , who was convinced that Sardar Chattar Singh Attariwalla was actively plotting a rebellion with other Sirdars . The city of Multan was part of the Sikh kingdom, having been captured by Ranjit Singh in 1818. In 1848, it was governed by a Hindu viceroy, Dewan Mulraj . After the end of the First Anglo-Sikh war, Mulraj had behaved independently. When he was required by
6532-468: The Punjab. After the victory at Gujrat, Lord Dalhousie annexed the Punjab for the East India Company in 1849. For his services the Earl of Dalhousie received the thanks of the British parliament and was advanced in the peerage to marquess , the usual honor for governors general of India. The Sikh Confederacy Misls of the Punjab were consolidated into an Empire and expanded by Maharaja Ranjit Singh during
6674-634: The Sikh Empire began to fall into disorder. There was a succession of short-lived rulers at the central Durbar (court) , and increasing tension between the Army, which also saw itself as the embodiment of the state and religion, and the Durbar. The East India Company began to build up its military strength on the borders of the Punjab. Eventually, the increasing tension goaded the Sikh Army to invade British territory, under weak and possibly treacherous leaders. The hard-fought first Anglo-Sikh war ended in defeat for
6816-399: The Sikh Empire threatened to ally with Dost Mohammed Khan in Afghanistan or to lapse into disorder, and only force of arms could keep them in subjugation. The British were unwilling to incur the financial and manpower costs of using large numbers of British or Bengal Army units for this task. To the contrary, the Governor-General of India , Viscount Hardinge sought to make economies after
6958-524: The Sikh Empire was allowed to retain his throne, but a British Resident, Sir Henry Lawrence , controlled the policy of the Durbar. Duleep Singh's mother, Maharani Jind Kaur , continually tried to regain some of her former influence as Regent and was eventually exiled by Lawrence. While some Sikh generals and courtiers welcomed her dismissal, others resented Lawrence's action. Furthermore, the Sikh Sardars were forced to considerably reduce their territorial and judicial control leaving only four Sardars in charge of
7100-413: The Sikh Empire was the Khyber Pass. The Namgyal dynasty of Ladakh paid regular annual tribute to the Sikh Empire starting 1819 until 1834. The tribute was paid to the local Sikh governors of Kashmir. The Namgyal kingdom would later be conquered by the Dogras , under the leadership of Zorawar Singh. The domain of the Maqpon kingdom of Baltistan, based in Skardu, under the rule of Ahmad Shah Maqpon,
7242-464: The Sikh army. At the end of the war, the Sikh Empire was forced to cede some valuable territory (the Jullundur Doab ) to the East India Company, and Gulab Singh , the ruler of Jammu , was allowed to acquire entire Jammu and Kashmir from the Sikh Empire by a large cash payment to the East India Company. Some of the Sikh Army were forced to make an expedition to oust the Governor of Kashmir in favour of Gulab Singh. The boy Maharaja Duleep Singh of
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#17327649618387384-402: The Sikh commanders were seething at what they saw as his treachery. When in August 1847 Duleep Singh refused to invest Tej Singh as Raja of Sialkot, the British Resident, Henry Lawrence , imprisoned the Maharani in the Samman Tower of the Lahore Fort and, ten days later, moved her to the fortress in Sheikhupura and reduced her pension to 48,000 rupees. The bitterest blow to the Maharani was
7526-431: The Sikh court and nobles also wearing yellow clothing on the day. During Basant, the officials bore gifts for the sovereign ruler, with the ruler in-turn bestowing robe-of-honours to the officials based on their rank and status. During celebrations of Dussehra, the Sikh court assembled itself at Amritsar and the jagirdari troops of the empire's military were paraded and inspected by the maharaja. The Sikh Empire spanned
7668-424: The Sikh court was filled with elaborately garbed and decorated members. Only three individuals were permitted to be seated on chairs within the durbar, them namely being heir-apparent Kharak Singh, kanwar Sher Singh, and Raja Hira Singh. Three sides of the hall of the durbar were covered with golden-pillars, with shawl carpets that were embroidered with golden and silver, and inset with precious stones, decorating
7810-484: The Sikh court was wary of the Westerners within the court, and kept them therefore under strict regulation. These foreign Western members of the court were persuaded by the state to integrate themselves by marrying a local woman, settling down within the empire, and adopt the cultural customs of the locals, such as growing out a beard or wearing a turban. The Western members of the court were also banned from publicly consuming beef or smoking . The Sikh Empire did enact
7952-408: The Sikh court were treated with respect and hospitality, with many contemporary accounts of foreign visitors to the court noting the good-treatment afforded to them by the state. When a foreign visitor arrived, they would be greeted by a protocol officer, who would arrange for their temporary residence, which was based upon the status of the visitor. The state government paid for the expenses regarding
8094-514: The Sikh victory at Sirhind . He ruled the territory between the Sutlej river and the Yamuna river , established a capital in the Himalayas at Lohgarh and struck coinage in the names of Guru Nanak and Guru Gobind Singh. In 1716, his army was defeated by the Mughals after he attempted to defend his fort at Gurdas Nangal . He was captured along with 700 of his men and sent to Delhi , where they were all tortured and executed after refusing to convert to Islam . The period from 1716 to 1799
8236-418: The Sikhs with Mughal rule did not help the mutineers' cause either, given their choice of Bahadur Shah Zafar as a symbolic leader. The battle honour " Punjaub " was distributed with a free hand to all regiments employed in the operations of the Anglo-Sikh Wars during 1848–49 vide Gazette of the Governor General 277 of 1849, and the list of regiments honoured was issued vide. GoGG 803 of 1853. The Bombay Army
8378-453: The action, both withdrew. Sher Singh continued northwards to join Chattar Singh, which made the battle into a strategic British defeat. Gough nevertheless claimed a victory, which Dalhousie scornfully dubbed as "perhaps poetical." There was much alarm at the losses Gough had suffered. His tactics were severely criticised. Military experts in Britain described him as a "superannuated general who could not mount his horse without assistance" and he
8520-470: The aftermath of Chillianwala , Sher Singh Attariwalla sent a force of 100 cavalries along with 500 infantry of the Sikh Regiment and fought another battle with British on 16th January 1849 at Heights of Dullah, the Sikh chiefs supported Ram Singh Pathania and his Rajput men. In return, the British sent a huge force under the command of Brigadier Wheeler . Meanwhile, Whish's force completed their siege works around Multan, their batteries opened fire and made
8662-418: The age of 46. She was temporarily buried in Kensal Green Cemetery and cremated the following year at Nashik , near Bombay . Her ashes were finally taken to the samadh (memorial) in Lahore of her husband, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, by her granddaughter, Princess Bamba Sofia Jindan Duleep Singh . Jind Kaur Aulakh was born in Chachar, Gujranwala, the daughter of Manna Singh Aulakh, into an Aulakh Jat family
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#17327649618388804-505: The army and the civil administration. She held court, transacted State business in public and reviewed and addressed the troops. The young Maharani was faced with many problems. Pashaura Singh Kanvar , half brother of Duleep Singh, was seeking to replace Duleep Singh as Maharaja. The feudal chiefs wanted a reduction in the taxation imposed on them by Hira Singh and the restoration of their jagirs , land grants from which they received income. The army wanted an increase in pay. The cost of
8946-577: The battle but soon they surrendered as there was a very small force. On the night of 14 August 1848, Wazir Ram Singh Pathania with his small Rajput army attacked the fort of Shahpur Kandi which was situated on the bank of river Ravi and held it, but after the seige of fort from 3rd to 18th September 1848 by a strong force of John Lawrence from Hoshiarpur, he alongside with 400 of his band took shelter at Rasual (Gujrat) Camp of The Sikh Commander Sher Singh Attariwalla and Basakha singh. Sir Hugh Gough led his main force against Sher Singh's army, which defended
9088-415: The campaigns, administrators and their wives and daughters, including Patrick Alexander Vans Agnew, Generals Gough and Napier, and Dewan Mulraj of Multan. He also photographed local people and architecture, artillery emplacements and the destructive aftermath. Lord Dalhousie proclaimed Britain's annexation of the Punjab on April 2nd, 1849. His foreign secretary, Henry Meirs Elliot, arrived at Lahore to obtain
9230-471: The citadel. He was imprisoned for the remainder of his life. The ending of the siege allowed Whish, with large numbers of heavy guns, to reinforce the army under Sir Hugh Gough. The British loss during the siege was 210 killed and 910 wounded. Rungur Muzl fort was controlled by Sher Singh Attariwalla and was the first sign of revolt from the Lahore Durbar. The Sikhs from the army saw the British troops coming in and attacked them with full force. The Sikhs won
9372-605: The city of Peshawar and its surrounding area which had been conquered by Ranjit Singh early in the nineteenth century. Dost Mohammed Khan's support of the Sikhs was cautious, but when 3,500 Afghan horsemen approached the vital fort of Attock on the Indus River, its garrison of Muslim troops installed earlier by Nicholson defected. This allowed Chattar Singh to move out of Hazara and march west and then south, intending to link up with Sher Singh's army. Dalhousie had earlier ordered Gough to halt operations while waiting for Multan to fall, which would allow Whish to reinforce him. Learning of
9514-461: The city, but Guru Gobind Singh 's forces routed them at the Battle of Bhangani . He moved on to Anandpur and established the Khalsa , a collective army of baptised Sikhs, on 30 March 1699. The establishment of the Khalsa united the Sikh community against various Mughal-backed claimants to the guruship. In 1701, a combined army of the Sivalik Hill rajas and the Mughals under Wazir Khan attacked Anandpur. The Khalsa retreated but regrouped to defeat
9656-402: The civil and military administration had increased and Gulab Singh Dogra , Raja of Jammu and uncle of Hira Singh, had taken most of the Lahore Treasury. The power struggle between the various Sikh factions was continuing and some were secretly negotiating with the British East India Company forces amassing on the border. In tackling these problems, the Maharani had the advice and support of
9798-401: The court include high-level civil and military appointments, reports from the provincial satraps and kardars . When matters of the court were read-out, royal decrees made orally were transferred into writing for final approval. Tributes and nazaranas were also exchanged or bestowed within the court. Supplicants to the court were dismissed with khill'ats (robes) or monetary gifts. When
9940-584: The customary law of the districts and socio-ethnic groups, and were open to all who wanted to be governed by customary religious law, whether Hindu, Sikh, or Muslim. One of Ranjit Singh's first acts after the 1799 capture of Lahore was to revive the offices of the hereditary Qazis and Muftis which had been prevalent in Mughal times. Kazi Nizamuddin was appointed to decide marital issues among Muslims, while Muftis Mohammad Shahpuri and Sadulla Chishti were entrusted with powers to draw up title-deeds relating to transfers of immovable property. The old mohalladari system
10082-402: The death of Jahangir in 1627. The succeeding son of Jahangir, Shah Jahan , took offence at Guru Hargobind's "sovereignty" and after a series of assaults on Amritsar forced the Sikhs to retreat to the Sivalik Hills . The next guru, Guru Har Rai , maintained the guruship in these hills by defeating local attempts to seize Sikh land and playing a neutral role in the power struggle between two of
10224-508: The death of his first wife he married Ada Wetherill, daughter of Charles and Sarah Wetherill, and had two more daughters. All his children died without issue. One, by Duleep Singh's first marriage, Princess Sophia Alexandra Duleep Singh , was active in the suffragette movement in the United Kingdom. After the death of Ranjit Singh, Jind Kaur and her son lived in relative obscurity under the care of Raja Dhian Siṅgh at Jammu that
10366-498: The early years of the nineteenth century. During the same period, the British East India Company's territories had been expanded until they were adjacent to the Punjab. Ranjit Singh maintained an uneasy alliance with the East India Company, while increasing the military strength of the Sikh Khalsa Army to deter British aggression against his state and to expand Sikh territory to the north and north west, capturing territory from Afghanistan and Kashmir . When Ranjit Singh died in 1839,
10508-489: The empire was from the Punjab region to Khyber Pass in the west, to Kashmir in the north, Sindh in the south, and Tibet in the east. In 1799, Ranjit Singh moved the capital to Lahore from Gujranwala , where it had been established in 1763 by his grandfather, Charat Singh . Ranjit Singh annexed the Sial State , a local Muslim-ruled chieftaincy, after invading Jhang in 1807. The basis for this annexation
10650-533: The empire's existing territory south of the Sutlej), following attempts by Ranjit Singh to wrest control of these states from the British between 1806 and 1809 The Sikh crossing of the Sutlej, following British militarization of the border with Punjab (from 2,500 men and six guns in 1838 to 17,612 men and 66 guns in 1844, and 40,523 men and 94 guns in 1845), and plans on using the newly conquered territory of Sindh as
10792-491: The fall of Attock, he instead ordered Gough to destroy Sher Singh's army before Chattar Singh could join him. Gough unexpectedly encountered Sher Singh's position near the Jhelum River on 13 January 1849. Sher Singh had cunningly concealed his army, and Gough was faced with the choice of withdrawing, or attacking when it was late in the day. Gough unhesitatingly took the latter course. The resulting Battle of Chillianwala
10934-410: The festivals of Vaisakhi , Dussehra , Basant , Holi , and Diwali . Vaisakhi was considered an especially auspicious celebration within the Sikh court, with it giving and distributing gifts of money, gold, silver, cows, horses, elephants, gold-bangles, and food to Brahmins and the poor. During Basant celebrations, the military troops of the empire were paraded donning yellow uniforms, with members of
11076-438: The field immediately. He also foresaw the spread of the rebellion, and the necessity that must arise, not merely for the capture of Multan, but also for the entire subjugation of the Punjab . He therefore resolutely delayed to strike, organized a strong army for operations in November, and himself proceeded to the Punjab. Despite the brilliant successes gained by Herbert Edwardes against Mulraj, and Gough's indecisive victories at
11218-491: The floor. The maharaja was seated on a golden throne , with Ranjit Singh preferring to sit cross-legged on it. The member of the court allowed to be seated behind the maharaja was Raja Dhian Singh. The rest of the members of the court were seated as per their rank and status. The colours of the Sikh court were yellow and green. Thus, most of its members donned yellow-coloured dressings made from Kashmiri silk or woollens. However, there existed no strict categorization scheme of
11360-486: The fort and forced him to surrender on the promise of a safe conduct. However Jawahar Singh had decided that he posed too great a risk to the young Maharaja and he was secretly taken back to Attock and strangled. For his involvement in this, Jawahar Singh was stabbed to death in front of his sister, the agonised Maharani. On 13 December 1845 the British Governor-General , Sir Henry Hardinge , issued
11502-626: The happenings of surrounding regions, including remote parts of its territory and foreign countries, the Sikh court received reports from the waqa'nawis (news-writers) located in the empire's provinces ( subas ). The reports were dispatched to the Lahore Darbar at regular intervals. Furtheremore, the vakils (agents) of foreign countries were associated with the Sikh court on a reciprocal basis. The Sikh court had news-writers located in Afghanistan and also had its own vakil emissaries in
11644-704: The judiciary, with Sardar Chattar Singh Attariwalla controlling the area between the Jhelum and the Indus , Sardar Kahan Singh Mann controlling Lahore , Sardar Ram Singh Jallawala controlling the Chaj Doab , and Sardar Lehna Singh Majithia controlling the Majha including lands south east of the Ravi up to the hills and down to Kasur . Some of the Sikh Army had to be kept in being, since many predominantly Muslim areas of
11786-529: The langar and the Mughals did not have any conflict with Sikh gurus until his death in 1605. His successor Jahangir , saw the Sikhs as a political threat. He ordered Guru Arjan , who had been arrested for supporting the rebellious Khusrau Mirza , to change the passage about Islam in the Adi Granth . When the Guru refused, Jahangir ordered him to be put to death by torture. Guru Arjan's martyrdom led to
11928-564: The last two years of her life she reminded the Maharaja of his Sikh heritage and told him of the empire that had once been his, sowing the seeds that twenty years later led him to research for weeks in the British Library and to petition Queen Victoria, hoping naïvely to remedy the injustice he had suffered. In the morning of 1 August 1863 Maharani Jind Kaur died peacefully in her sleep in Abingdon House, Kensington. Cremation
12070-492: The latest training as well as weapons and artillery . After the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the empire was weakened by the British East India Company stoking internal divisions and political mismanagement. Finally, in 1849, the state was dissolved after the defeat in the Second Anglo-Sikh War. The empire is also referred to as the Lahore State , such as in contemporary British maps. The term Lahore Darbar refers to
12212-480: The line of the River Chenab for several weeks. On 22 November, the Sikhs repelled a British cavalry attack on a bridgehead on the eastern side of the river at the Battle of Ramnagar . Although they subsequently withdrew from their exposed bridgehead, the Sikhs captured a British gun and inflicted heavy losses. They regarded the battle as a victory and their morale was raised. On 3 December 1848, Gough despatched
12354-615: The maharaja was travelling, the court ceased to be static and was held at whatever location the ruler's retinue decided to hold-up at, often under a tree or whilst moving on horseback. The ruler would dictate orders to provincial governors whilst inspecting their troops or even in the midst of battle. Noble members of the court, including relatives of the royal family, resided in palatial haveli structures and donned expensive clothing and accessories (such as jewelry). The Sikh princes, and also Raja Dhian Singh, were permitted to hold their own miniature durbars (courts). Foreign visitors to
12496-732: The most religious Sikhs of his administration. As relayed by Fakir Nuruddin, orders were issued to treat people of all faith groups, occupations, and social levels equally and in accordance with the doctrines of their faith, per the Shastras and the Quran , as well as local authorities like judges and panches (local elder councils), as well as banning forcible possession of others' land or of inhabited houses to be demolished. There were special courts for Muslims which ruled in accordance to Muslim law in personal matters, and common courts preceded over by judicial officers which administered justice under
12638-497: The newly appointed council of elder statesmen and military leaders. To strengthen her power base, Jind Kaur betrothed Duleep Singh to the daughter of Chattar Singh Attariwalla , the Governor of Hazara province and a powerful and influential member of the Sikh nobility. Army pay was increased. Gulab Singh was brought to Lahore to face charges of treachery and his nephew, Hira Singh, was replaced as wazir by Jawahar Singh. Gulab Singh
12780-404: The next boat. During the passage to England, Duleep Singh wrote to Sir John Login, who had been his guardian throughout his adolescence in British hands, asking him to find a house for his mother near Lancaster Gate . Soon after her arrival, Lady Login visited with her three youngest children. She had heard tales of the Maharani's beauty and influence and strength of will and was curious to meet
12922-424: The north of the river, and setting the Sutlej as the dividing boundary between the Sikh and British empires; negotiating with Dost Muhammad Khan during his unsuccessful attempt to retake Peshawar , and ensuring the succession of the throne during the Maharaja's last days in addition to caretaking after a stroke, as well as occasional military assignments throughout his career. The Fakir brothers were introduced to
13064-470: The north to the deserts of Sindh in the south and from the Khyber Pass in the west to the Sutlej in the east as far as Oudh ; holding the thrones of Punjab , Kashmir , and Jammu in personal union. It was divided into four provinces: Lahore , which became the capital; Multan ; Peshawar ; and Kashmir . Ethnically and religiously diverse, with an estimated population of 4.5 million in 1831 (making it
13206-722: The overseer of the royal kennels. She had an elder brother, Jawahar Singh Aulakh and an elder sister, who married Sardar Jawala Singh Padhania, the Chief of Padhana in the Lahore District. Manna Singh extolled Jind Kaur's beauty and virtues to Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who summoned and married her in 1835 by sending his 'arrow and sword' to the village. On 6 September 1838 she gave birth to her only child, Duleep Singh. On 7 June 1864 her son Duleep Singh married Bamba Müller, daughter of Ludwig and Sofia Müller, by whom he had four sons, one of whom died in infancy, and three daughters. After
13348-551: The passes through the hills, he nevertheless failed to take advantage of this (possibly because of dissension among his senior officers and continual harassment by pro-British irregulars), and retreated into Hazara. On 14 September, Sher Singh's army openly rebelled at Multan. He did not join Mulraj however. He and Mulraj conferred at a carefully chosen neutral site, at which it was agreed that Mulraj would give some money from his treasury to Sher Singh's army, which would march north into
13490-465: The period from 1762 to 1799, Sikh commanders of the misls appeared to be coming into their own as independent. Sikhism began during the conquest of North India by Babur , the founder of the Mughal Empire . His grandson, Akbar , supported religious freedom and after visiting the langar of Guru Amar Das got a favourable impression of Sikhism. As a result of his visit, he donated land to
13632-404: The positions of foreign minister of the empire and translator for the maharaja, and played important roles in such important events as the negotiations with the British, during which he convinced Ranjit Singh to maintain diplomatic ties with the British and not to go to war with them in 1808, as British troops were moved along the Sutlej in pursuance of the British policy of confining Ranjit Singh to
13774-588: The pretext of a tiger shoot in Bengal. In 1860 he wrote to the British Resident in Kathmandu, enclosing his letter in one from Sir John Login so that it would not be intercepted or dismissed as a forgery. The Resident reported that the Rani had 'much changed, was blind and had lost much of the energy which formerly characterised her.' The British decided that she was no longer a threat and on 16 January 1861 she
13916-411: The rankings of the constituent members of the Lahore Darbar, thus the rankings of its members was determined by the level of trust the maharaja held in them. The court also granted awards upon its members, with most of these essentially being bestowed titles in the form of honourifics, however some members were granted jagirs (estate grant). Laziness was heavily looked-down upon with the court, with
14058-575: The reign of Jassa Singh Ramgarhia , the Sikh Misls became divided and fought each other. A sort of 'Cold War' broke out with the Bhangi , Nakkai , Dalelwala and Ramgharia Misls verses Sukerchakia , Ahluwalia , Karor Singhia and Kaniyeha . The Shaheedan , Nishania and Singhpuria also allied but did not engage in warfare with the others and continued the Dal Khalsa. The Phulkian Misl
14200-506: The residence of Amar Bikram Shah, son of General Chautariya Pushkar Shah , who had been Nepal's Prime Minister in 1838-39. Amar Bikram Shah's residence in the Narayanhiti area provided her with the facilities and dignity offered to royalty. But whenever outsiders came, she would disguise herself and was introduced as a “maid from Hindusthan”. “Rani Jind Kaur had chosen to stay at Amar Bikram Shah's residence because Chautariya Pushkar Shah
14342-412: The return of the Maharani's jewellery, which had been kept in the treasury at Benares . These arrived at Lancaster Gate just before the Maharani returned Lady Login's visit, and her delight was so great that "she forthwith decorated herself, and her attendants, with an assortment of the most wonderful necklaces and earrings, strings of lovely pearls and emeralds" , to wear during the visit. The portrait of
14484-588: The ruling maharaja , who was the "drum of the Khalsa". In-theory, the Sikh court was based on the Khalsa ideals propounded by Guru Gobind Singh yet the court was secular in-practice. As an example of this secularism, members of the court came from various religious background, including Sikhs, Hindus, Muslims, and Christians. Furthermore, the members also came from various ethnic, regional, and caste backgrounds, such as Dogras, Rajputs, Brahmins, Jats, and Europeans. Whilst Ranjit Singh himself preferred to dress modestly,
14626-662: The ruling maharaja often sending out the court's members on military or diplomatic missions. The business of the ruling government was carried out in Lahore, specifically the Musamman Burj located within the Lahore Fort . A public court was held from morning until noon in the Diwan-i-Aam ("hall of audience"), with the court being attended by important members of the court, including princes, ministers, nobles, and civil and military officers. Some matters discussed in
14768-503: The scale towards the favour of the Bhawalpuris, and at a second attempt the entrenchments were stormed and captured, with a loss to the victors of 300 men. The Sikhs lost 500 killed in the action, and many more during their flight to Multan. Fought 1 July 1848, when a force of Bhawalpuris and British 18,000 strong, under Lieutenant Edwardes, encountered 12,000 Sikhs under Malraj. The Sikhs attacked, but were beaten off, largely owing to
14910-449: The separation from her 9-year-old son. She wrote to Lawrence imploring him to return Duleep to her. "He has no sister, no brother. He has no uncle, senior or junior. His father he has lost. To whose care has he been entrusted?" She did not see her son again for thirteen and a half years. The following year, the new British Resident, Sir Frederick Currie , described her as "the rallying point of rebellion" and exiled her from Punjab. She
15052-534: The signatures of the members of the Council of Regency and Duleep Singh . A durbar was held in the Lahore Fort where Singh affixed his signatures to the document which confirmed the annexation. The Sikh defeat had several causes. Their administration of the population of the Punjab had been poor, which meant that their large armies found it difficult to find enough food while the East India Company had brought overwhelming force against them. The Anglo-Sikh wars gave
15194-470: The signing of a treaty between the Lahore Darbar and the British East India Company. While these Sikh states had been set up by the Dal Khalsa , they did not become part of the Sikh Empire. There was a mutual ban on warfare following the treaty of Amritsar in 1809 (in which the empire forfeited the claim to the Cis-Sutlej States, and the British were not to interfere north of the Sutlej or in
15336-531: The sixth Guru, Guru Hargobind , declaring Sikh sovereignty in the creation of the Akal Takht and the establishment of a fort to defend Amritsar . Jahangir attempted to assert authority over the Sikhs by jailing Guru Hargobind at Gwalior Fort , but released him after a number of years when he no longer felt threatened. The Sikh community did not have any further issues with the Mughal Empire until
15478-405: The sons of Shah Jahan, Aurangzeb and Dara Shikoh , for control of the Mughal Empire. The ninth Guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur , moved the Sikh community to Anandpur and travelled extensively to visit and preach in defiance of Aurangzeb, who attempted to install Ram Rai as new guru. Guru Tegh Bahadur aided Kashmiri Pandits in avoiding conversion to Islam and was arrested by Aurangzeb. When offered
15620-497: The start of the downfall of the Mughal Empire . With the Mughals significantly weakened, the Sikh army, known as the Dal Khalsa , a rearrangement of the Khalsa inaugurated by Guru Gobind Singh , led expeditions against them and the Afghans in the west. This led to a growth of the army which split into different confederacies or semi-independent misls . Each of these component armies controlled different areas and cities. However, in
15762-526: The superiority of the British artillery, and defeated with heavy loss. The Bhawalpuris then proceeded to chase the remaining scattered Sikhs all the way to Multan . Multan, defended by the Sikhs, under Mulraj, was besieged by Lieutenant Edwardes with about 1,200 men in July 1848. On learning of the events at Multan, Currie wrote to Sir Hugh Gough , the Commander in Chief of the Bengal Army, recommending that
15904-487: The two sides a mutual respect for each other's fighting prowess (although the war itself had been unchivalrously fought; the Sikhs took no prisoners at Chillianwala, and the British had taken no prisoners at Gujrat ). There was an increased recruitment of people from various communities of the Punjab in the Punjab Irregular Force under British command. These recruits fought for the East India Company during
16046-517: The victory parade along with the British after restoring Shah Shoja to the Afghan throne at Kabul. The empire was divided into various provinces (known as Subas ), them namely being: The Sikh Empire allowed men from religions other than their own to rise to commanding positions of authority. The Fakir brothers were trusted personal advisors and assistants as well as close friends to Ranjit Singh, particularly Fakir Azizuddin , who would serve in
16188-406: The visitor's entertainment. There exists accounts of visitors being gifted by the state, with presents such as fruit, sweets, wines, and also money. Full displays of the empire's regalia and military forces were displayed during important ceremonial functions, such as the marriages of important nobles or when receiving high-level foreign diplomatic dignatories. In order to keep tabs and updated on
16330-573: The vital fort of Attock on the Indus River from its Sikh garrison while they were still unprepared, or undecided on rebellion. Nicholson's force then linked up with James Abbott's local Hazara levies to capture the Margalla Hills which separated Hazara from the other parts of the Punjab. When Chattar Singh openly rebelled in August, his force was unable to leave Hazara without fighting a battle. Although Chattar Singh twice succeeded in capturing
16472-494: The war by reducing the size of the Bengal Army by 50,000 men. The Sardars (generals) of the Sikh Army naturally resented carrying out the orders of comparatively junior British administrators . Early in 1848, Sir Henry Lawrence, who was ill, departed on leave to England. Although it was assumed that his younger brother John Lawrence would be appointed in his place, Lord Dalhousie , who had replaced Lord Hardinge as Governor-General, appointed Sir Frederick Currie instead. Currie
16614-527: The woman who had wielded such power. Her compassion was aroused when she met a tired half-blind woman, her health broken and her beauty vanished. "Yet the moment she grew interested and excited in a subject, unexpected gleams and glimpses through the haze of indifference and the torpor of advancing age revealed the shrewd and plotting brain of her, who had once been known as the 'Messalina of the Punjab'." While in India Duleep Singh had negotiated
16756-445: Was a Nepalese Gurkha, and European generals included Jean-Francois Allard , Jean-Baptiste Ventura , and Paolo Avitabile . other notable generals of the Sikh Khalsa Army were Veer Singh Dhillon , Sham Singh Attariwala , Mahan Singh Mirpuri , and Zorawar Singh Kahluria , among others. Jind Kaur Maharani Jind Kaur ( c. 1817 – 1 August 1863) was regent of the Sikh Empire from 1843 until 29 March 1847. After
16898-481: Was a highly turbulent time politically and militarily in the Punjab region. This was caused by the overall decline of the Mughal empire that left a power vacuum in the region that was eventually filled by the Sikhs of the Dal Khalsa , meaning " Khalsa army" or " Khalsa party". In the late 18th century, after defeating several invasions by the Afghan rulers of the Durrani Empire and their allies, remnants of
17040-526: Was a legalist, based in Calcutta , who was unfamiliar with military matters and with the Punjab. While the Lawrences were comparatively informal and familiar with the junior officers who were Residents and Agents in the various districts of the Punjab, Currie was stiffer in manner and was inclined to treat his subordinates' reports with caution. In particular, he refused to act on reports from James Abbott ,
17182-551: Was a regional power based in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent . It existed from 1799, when Ranjit Singh captured Lahore , to 1849, when it was defeated and conquered by the British East India Company in the Second Anglo-Sikh War . It was forged on the foundations of the Khalsa from a collection of autonomous misls . At its peak in the 19th century, the empire extended from Gilgit and Tibet in
17324-481: Was a time of great political upheaval in the Indian subcontinent with expanding British power. Noting the common adversary in the British, Nepal's Prime Minister Bhimsen Thapa and Maharaja Ranjit Singh forged a secret alliance against the British. However, Maharaja Ranjit Singh died suddenly in 1839 and the Sikh Kingdom started to disintegrate. Rani Jind Kaur became the regent in 1843, as her son King Duleep Singh
17466-498: Was allowed to return to Jammu after paying a fine of 6,800,000 rupees (68 lakh ) and promising future good behaviour. Pashaura Singh arrived in Lahore in January 1845. He was received with honour but was persuaded to return to his estates by the army and a promise of an increase in his jagir. However, in July he took the fort at Attock and declared himself to be the ruler of the Punjab. A force commanded by Chatar Singh besieged
17608-618: Was awarded separately and the spelling was changed from 'Punjaub' to 'Punjab' vide Gazette of India No. 1079 of 1910. Forty of the honoured units of the Bengal Army were consumed by the Mutiny. India has now raised a memorial at Ferozepore to pay homage to men of the Sikh Khalsa Army who laid down their lives in the Anglo-Sikh Wars and the battle honour is considered to be repugnant . Sikh Empire The Sikh Empire , officially known as Sarkār-i-Khālsa and Khālasa Rāj ,
17750-408: Was committed to rebellion because of them. He presented Vans Agnew's head to Kahan Singh and told him to take it back to Lahore. The news of the killings spread over the Punjab, and unrest and disquiet increased. Large numbers of Sikh soldiers deserted the regiments loyal to the Durbar to join those prepared to rebel under the leadership of Mulraj and disaffected Sirdars. Lieutenant Herbert Edwardes ,
17892-586: Was conquered in 1839–40 and its local ruler was deposed. The Dogras at this time were under the suzerainty of the Sikh Empire. During the Sino-Sikh War of 1841, the forces of the empire invaded the Tibetan Plateau , which was then under the control of the Qing dynasty . However, this control was short-lived and the military of the empire was forced to retreat to Ladakh due to a counterattack by
18034-534: Was desperately fought. Gough's troops, attacking into thick scrub without effective artillery support, suffered heavy losses. Some units lost their colours (which was regarded as a disgrace) and part of one British cavalry regiment fled in panic, resulting in the loss of four guns, also reckoned a humiliation. Sher Singh's army was also hard hit, losing twelve of its own guns. Three days of heavy rain followed, discouraging both sides from renewing battle. After both armies had faced each other for three days without renewing
18176-716: Was excommunicated from the confederacy. Rani Sada Kaur of the Kanhaiya Misl rose in the vacuum and destroyed the power of the Bhangis. She later gave her throne to Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The formal start of the Sikh Empire began with the unification of the Misls by 1801, creating a unified political state. All the Misl leaders, who were affiliated with the army, were the nobility with usually long and prestigious family backgrounds in Sikh history. The main geographical footprint of
18318-461: Was followed the next year by another Sikh victory at the Battle of Sadhaura . The rebellion culminated following their defeat at the Siege of Gurdaspur . During the rebellion, Banda Singh Bahadur made a point of destroying the cities in which Mughals had been cruel to the supporters of Guru Gobind Singh. He executed Wazir Khan in revenge for the deaths of Guru Gobind Singh's sons and Pir Budhu Shah after
18460-665: Was formed in Lahore as a direct representative of the British Crown . The empire's ruling court based out of Lahore is termed the Lahore Darbar or Khalsa Darbar . Faqir Saifuddin of the Fakir Khana Museum prefers to use the term Punjab Darbar rather than "Khalsa Darbar", owing to the large role Muslims played in Ranjit Singh's court. The ruling court was diverse and under the ultimate command of
18602-436: Was governed by his brother Gulab Singh . On 16 September 1843, after the assassination of Maharaja Sher Singh and his wazir (vizier), the army proclaimed the 5-year-old Duleep Singh as sovereign. At first the new wazir, Hira Singh, took little notice of the young Maharaja and his mother. Jind Kaur became fiercely defensive of the rights of her son and pleaded with the regimental committees to protect his position asking 'who
18744-647: Was illegal in Great Britain before 1885 and Duleep Singh was refused permission to take his mother's body to the Punjab, so it was kept for a while in the Dissenters' Chapel in Kensal Green Cemetery . In the spring of 1864 the Maharaja obtained permission to take the body to Bombay in India, where it was cremated, and he erected a small samadhi in memory of his mother on the Panchavati side of
18886-534: Was one of the key officials engaged in forging an alliance between Nepal and Punjab against the British when Maharaja Ranjit Singh was alive. She stayed in Amar Bikram Shah's house for a few months before she decided to come out of her hiding and approach the then Prime Minister Jung Bahadur Rana. The Rani was given asylum by the Prime Minister of Nepal and Jung Bahadur Rana with full dignity as
19028-479: Was permitted to join her son at Spence's Hotel , in Calcutta. At the time several Sikh regiments were returning home via Calcutta at the end of the Chinese war. The presence of Sikh royalty in the city gave rise to demonstrations of joy and loyalty. The hotel was surrounded by thousands of armed Sikhs and the Governor-General, Lord Canning , requested Duleep Singh, as a favour, to leave for England with his mother by
19170-522: Was popularly known as Rani Jindan , but her fame is derived chiefly from the fear she engendered in the British in India, who described her as "the Messalina of the Punjab". After the assassinations of Ranjit Singh's first three successors, Duleep Singh came to power in September 1843 at the age of 5 and Jind Kaur became Regent on her son's behalf. After the Sikhs lost the First Anglo-Sikh War she
19312-624: Was reintroduced with each mahallah , or neighborhood subdivision, placed under the charge of one of its members. The office of Kotwal, or prefect of police, was conferred upon a Muslim, Imam Bakhsh. Generals were also drawn from a variety of communities, along with prominent Sikh generals like Hari Singh Nalwa , Fateh Singh Dullewalia, Nihal Singh Atariwala, Chattar Singh Attariwalla , and Fateh Singh Kalianwala; Hindu generals included Misr Diwan Chand and Dewan Mokham Chand Nayyar , his son, and his grandson; and Muslim generals included Ilahi Bakhsh and Mian Ghaus Khan; one general, Balbhadra Kunwar ,
19454-492: Was replaced by General Charles James Napier , who would require several weeks to arrive from England. Some junior officers reckoned that the true cause of the setback lay lower down the ranks. Promotion in both the British and Bengal armies came slowly, and by the time officers were appointed to command regiments and brigades, they were too old, and worn out by harsh climate and disease. At Chillianwala, several senior officers had proved unable to command their units effectively. In
19596-554: Was replaced in December 1846 by a Council of Regency, under the control of a British Resident. However, her power and influence continued and, to counter this, the British imprisoned and exiled her. Over thirteen years passed before she was again permitted to see her son, who was taken to England. In January 1861 Duleep Singh was allowed to meet his mother in Calcutta and took her with him back to England, where she remained until her death in Kensington, London , on 1 August 1863 at
19738-526: Was still an infant. Led by her, Punjab went to war with the British in 1845. Lahore sent for help to Kathmandu, but the court in Kathmandu was divided and King Rajendra Bikram Shah did not respond positively. Following Punjab's annexation, the British imprisoned the Rani in Chunnar fort near Varanasi. However, two years later in 1849, she managed to escape from the fort disguised as a maid and traveled 800 km north to reach Kathmandu. Initially, she stayed at
19880-635: Was taken to the Chunar Fort , about 45 km from Varanasi , and her jewellery was taken from her. Her treatment by the two Residents caused deep resentment among Sikhs. The Muslim ruler of neighbouring Afghanistan, Dost Mohammad Khan , protested that such treatment is objectionable to all creeds. A year later she escaped from the Chunar Fort, disguised as a servant, and travelled through 800 miles of forest to ask for sanctuary in Nepal. She arrived at Kathmandu in April 1849. The mid-19th century
20022-428: Was that the local ruler of Jhang, Ahmad Khan Sial, was conspiring with Nawab Muzaffar Khan of Multan and had signed a secret treaty with the latter. Hari Singh Nalwa was Commander-in-Chief of the Sikh Khalsa Army from 1825 to 1837. He is known for his role in the conquests of Kasur , Sialkot , Multan , Kashmir , Attock and Peshawar . Nalwa led the Sikh army in freeing Shah Shuja from Kashmir and secured
20164-411: Was treachery of the non-Sikh high command of their own army which led to them marching away from a British force in a precarious and battered state. Others believe that a tactical withdrawal was the best policy. The Sikh empire was finally dissolved at the end of the Second Anglo-Sikh War in 1849 into separate princely states and the British province of Punjab . Eventually, a Lieutenant Governorship
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