I ^53 CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/cletails/cu31924024154308 Cornell University Library DS 485.P2C97 1853 3 1924 024 154 308 London ; SpOTTiBwooDES and Siuw,' New-street-Square. .-.i^A., , . ^M.^-. .Aa .^^^'-a^; Qi%ia. <■< t .^^.i-is A (/ f ^^ ^^rai^^ ,6^8^^ v^-r A/ r't ^''Ur^-^^i-- -•-■.-"I'-t, •;.;v'-r A - ^9. i^■^^y-4■;^,.«^t *- - '"'- 1,-"-*'--3 ^'/t-^- ,rV^,.--"vi-«^'f'-3 1 .e^«, -■-«■.-* . ^A^. ,^.-• ^ ^ '■''■-< '^ ^-r-*'':..- 0\ .>€.-».,.' C i^-4Li4 *.,»/ .f^T. /5^ C^~' A ,,..-..,.. ■$t^y.':f'^^f^rl'i^'^)k-^'---^i-''-^'^*^^ -' ^: HISTORY OF THE SIKHS, ixm % ®rip flf t^i fata TO THE BATTLES OF THE SUTLEJ. BY JOSEPH DAVEY CUNNIIfGHAM, LATE CAPTAIN OP ENGINEERS IN THE INDIAN ABUT. SECOND EDITION. WITH THE author's LAST COEBECTIONS AND ADDITIONS. LONDON: JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET. 1853. i..u i- '' r /c' UK'IVI i; i » Y I l,;kAI;Y 3)J ADVERTISEMENT TO THE PRESENT EDITION. The sheets of this Edition were seen and corrected by their Author, and were ready for publication several months previous to his death, in February, 1851. The reasons — of a painful, though temporary character — for the delay in the appearance of the work wUl be found in a Memoir already written and to be published hereafter, when regard for the living will no longer interfere with the truth of History. The author fell a victim to the truth related in this book. He wrote History in advance of his time, and suffered for it ; but posterity will, I feel assured, do justice to his memory. My brother's anxiety to be correct was evinced in the unceasing labour he took to obtain the most mi- nute information. Wherever he has been proved to be wrong, — and this has been in very few instances, — he has, with ready frankness, admitted and corrected his error. In matters of opinion he made no change — A 3 VI ADVERTISEMENT. not from obstinacy, but from a firm conviction that he was right. The new notes to this Edition are distinguished by square brackets ; some contain information of moment, contributed by Lord Gough, Sir Charles Napier, and others, and all received my brother's sanction. The printed materials for the recent History of India are not of that character on which historians can rely. State Papers, presented to the people by " both Houses of Parliament," have been altered to suit the temporary views of political warfare, or abridged out of mistaken regard to the tender feelings of survivors.* In matters of private life, some ten- derness may be shown to individual sensitiveness, but History, to be of any value, should be written by one superior to the influences of private or personal feelings. What Gibbon calls " truth, naked, un- blushing truth, the first virtue of more serious his- tory," should alone direct the pen of the historian ; and truth alone influenced the mind and guided the pen of the Author of this book. Peter Cunningham. Kensington, 18fA January, 1S53. * The character and career of Alexander Burnes have both been misre- presented in those collections of State Papers which are supposed to furnish the best materials of history, but which are often only onesided compilations of garbled documents, — counterfeits, which the ministerial stamp forces into cur- rency, defrauding a present generation, and handing down to posterity a chain of dangerous lies. — Kaye, Affghaniitan u. 13. AUTHOR'S PREFACE THE SECOND EDITION. In this Second Edition the Author has made some alterations in the text of the last chapter, where it seemed that his readers had inferred more than was meant; but the sense and spirit of what was originally written have been carefully preserved, notwithstand- ing the modifications of expression now introduced. Throughout the grammatical imperfections detected on reperusal have been removed ; but no other changes have been made in the text of the first eight chap- ters. Some notes, however, altogether new, have been added, while others have been extended ; and such as by their length crowded a series of pages, and from their subject admitted of separate treatment, have been formed into Appendices. The Author's principal object in writing this his* tory has not always been understood, and he there- fore thinks it right to say that his main endeavour was to give Sikhism its place in the general history of humanity, by showing its connection with the dif- ferent creeds of India, by exhibiting it as a natural and' important result of the Mahometan Conquest, A 4 viii author's pkeface and by impressing upon the people of England the great necessity of attending to the mental changes now in progress amongst their subject millions in the East, who are erroneously thought to be sunk in superstitious apathy, or to be held spell-bound in ignorance by a dark and designing priesthood. A secondary object of the Author's was to give some ac- count of the connection of the English with the Sikhs, and in part with the Afghans, from the time they began to take a direct interest in the affairs of these races, and to involve them in the web of their policy for opening the navigation of the Indus, and for bringing Toorkistin and Khorass^n within their com- mercial influence. It has also been remarked by some public critics and private friends, that the Author leans unduly towards the Sikhs, and that an officer in the, Indian army should appear to say he sees aught unwise or objec- tionable in the acts of the East India Company and its delegates is at the least strange. The Author has, indeed, constantly endeavoured to keep his readers alive to that under current of feeling or principle which moves the Sikh peoplec oUectively, and which will usually rise superior to the crimes or follies of individuals. It was the history of Sikhs, a new and peculiar nation, which he Avished to make known to strangers ; and he saw no reason for contin- ually recurring to the duty or destiny of the English in India, because he was addressing himself to his own countrymen who know the merits and motives of their supremacy in the East, and who can themselves commonly decide whether the particular acts of a viceroy are in accordance with the general policy of TO THE SECOND EDITION. IX his government. The Sikhs, moreover, are so inferior to the English in resources and knowledge that there is no equality of comparison between them. The glory to England is indeed great of her Eastern Dominion, and she may justly feel proud of the in- creasing excellence of her sway over subject nations ; but this general expression of the sense and desire of the English people does not show that every proceed- ing of her delegates is necessarily fitting and farsee- mg. The wisdom of England is not to be measured by the views and acts of any one of her sons, but is rather to be deduced from the characters of many. In India it is to be gathered in part from the high, but not always scrupulous, qualities Avhich distinguished Clive, Hastings, and Wellesley, who acquired and secured the Empire ; in part from the generous, but not always discerning, sympathies of Burke, Corn- wallis, and Bentinck, who gave to English rule the stamp of moderation and humanity ; and also in part from the ignorant well-meamng" of the people at large, who justly deprecating ambition in the abstract vainly strive to check the progress of conquest before its necessary limits have been attained, and before the aspiring energies of the conquerors themselves have become exhausted. By conquest, I would be under- stood to imply the extension of supremacy, and not the extinction of dynasties, for such imperial form of domination should be the aim and scope of English sway in the East. England should reign over kings rather than rule over subjects. The Sikhs^nd the English_jire each irresistibly urged for:^arjiJn Jheir different waj's and degrees towards remote and perhaps diverse ends: the X author's preface. Sikhs, as the leaders of a congenial mental change ; the English, as the promoters of rational law and material wealth; and individual chiefe and rulers can merely play their parts in the great social move- ttients with more or less of effect and intelligence. Of the deeds and opinions of these conspicuous men, the Author has not hesitated to speak plainly but soberly, whether in praise or dispraise, and he trusts he may do both, without either idly flattering or malignantly traducing his country, and also with- out compromising his own character as a faithful and obedient servant of the State ; — for the soldiers of India are no longer mere sentinels over bales of goods, nor is the East India Company any longer a private association of traffickers which can with reason object to its mercantile transactions being subjected to open comment by one of its confidential factors. The merits of the administration of the East India Company are many and undoubted ; but its constitu- tion is political, its authority is derivative, and every Englishman has a direct interest in the proceedings of his Government ; while it is likewise his Country's boast that her children can at fitting times express in calm and considerate language their views of her career, and it is her duty to see that those to whom she entrusts power rightly understand both their own position and her functions. 2.5th October, 1849. PREFACE THE FIRST EDITION* One who possesses no claims to systematic scholar- ship, and who nevertheless asks the public to approve of his labors in a field of some diflUculty, is bound to show to his readers that he has at least had fair means of obtaining accurate information and of coming to just conclusions. Towards the end of the year 1837, the Author re- ceived, through the unsolicited favour of Lord Auck- land, the appointment of assistant to Colonel Wade, the political agent at Loodiana, and the of&cer in charge of the British relations with the Punjab and the chiefs of Afghanistan. He was at the same time re- quired as an engineer officer, to render Feerozpoor a defensible post, that little place having been declared a feudal escheat, and its position being regarded as one of military importance. His plans for effecting the object in view met the approval of Sir Henry Fane, the Commander-in-Chief; but it was not eventu- ally thought proper to do more than cover the town with a slight parapet, and the scheme for reseating Shah Shooja on his throne seemed at the time to make the English and Sikh Governments so wholly one, that the matter dropped, and Feerozpoor was * Published in 1 vol. 8vo. 19th March, 1849. XU PREFACE. allowed to become a cantonment with scarcely the means at hand of saving its ammunition from a few predatory horse. The Author was also present at the interview which took place in 1838, between Runjeet Singh and Lord Auckland. In 1839 he accompanied Shahzada Tymoor an d Colonel Wade to Peshawur, and he was withthem when they forced the Pass of Khyber, and laid open the road to Caubul. In 1840 he was placed in administrative charge of the district of Loodiana ; and towards the end of the same year, he was deputed by the new frontier agent, Mr. Clerk, to accompany Colonel Shelton and his relieving brigade to Peshawur, whence he returned with the troops escorting Dost Mahomed Khan under Colonel Wheeler. During part of 1841 he was in magisterial charge of the Feerozpoor district, and towards the close of that year, he was appointed — on the recom- mendation again of Mr. Clerk — to proceed to Tibet to see that the ambitious Rajas of Jummoo surrendered certain territories which they had seized from the Chinese of Lassa, and that the British trade with Ludakh, &c. was restored to its old footing. He re- turned at the end of a year, and was present at the interviews between Lord Ellenborough and Dost Mahomed at Loodiana, and between his lordship and the Sikh chiefs at Feerozpoor in December 1842. During part of 1843 he was in civil charge of Am- bala ; but from the middle of that year till towards the close of 1844, he held the post of personal assist- ant to Colonel Richmond, the successor of Mr. Clerk. After Major Broadfoot's nomination to the same office, and during the greater part of 1845, the Author was PREFACE. Xlll employed in the Buhawulpoor territory in connection with refugee Sindhians, and with boundary disputes between the Daoodpotras and the Rajpoots of Beeka- meer and Jeyselmeer. When war with the Sikhs broke out, the Author was required by Sir Charles Napier to join hia army of co-operation ; but after the battle of Pheerooshuhur, he was summoned to Lord Gough's Head Quarters. He was subsequently directed to accompany Sir Harry Smith, when a diversion was made towards Loodiana, and he was thus present at the skirmish of Buddowal and at the battle of Aleewal. He had likewise the fortune to be a participator in the victory of Subraon, and the further advantage of acting on that important day as an aide-de-camp to the Governor-General. He was then attached to the head quarters of the Commander-in-Chief, until the army broke up at Lahore, when he accompanied Lord Hardinge's camp to the Simlah HiUs, preparatory to setting out for Bhop&l, the political agency in which state and its surrounding districts, his lordship had unexpectedly been pleased to bestow upon him. The Author was thus living among the Sikh people for a period of eight years, and during a very im- portant portion of their history. He had intercourse, under every variety of circumstances, with all classes of men, and he had at the same time free access to all the public records bearing on the affairs of the fron- tier. It was after being required in 1844, to draw up reports on the British connection generally Avith the states on the Sutlej, and especially on the military resources of the Punjab, that he conceived the idea, and felt he had the means, of writing the history which he now offers to the public. XIV PREFACE. The Author's residence in Malwa has been bene- ficial to him in many ways personally ; and it has also been of advantage in the composition of this work, as he has had the opportunity of becoming acquainted with the ideas and modes of life of the military colonies of Sikhs scattered through Central India. Sehore, Bhopal, December 9. 1848. XV NOTE. * « »* Names which are familiar to the English reader, and which may be said to have become formed into a conventional vocabulary, are spelt according to the common orthography, or with such little deviation from it as not to require special notice. Thus, Deccan is used throughout for Dukhun, or Dekhin, or Dukshun ; Ma- homet for Mohummud, or Mohammed; Runjeet for Eanjit, and so on. Otherwise it has been attempted to convey the sound of Indian names by giving to English letters their ordinary pronunciation or admitted powers ; and it has not been thought advisable ta endeavor to render letters by their alphabetical equivalents. A is always to be pronounced broad as a in all, father, &c., excepting in such classical names as Akber, Arjoon, &c. where it has the sound of u in up, dull, &c. E, when single, is to be pronounced as e in there, or as a in care. When double (EE), as ee in cheer, or as ea in hear. I, as i in sit, writ, &c. O, as o in only, bone, &c., i. e. generally long. U, as u in up, sun, &c. EI, as ey in eyry. ET7, as eu in Europe. OW, as ow in town, or as ou in round. The letter C is always to be regarded as hard, or as the equivalent of K. Similarly G is always hard, and nowhere represents J. In some names and designations, the modern pronunciation and modes in use in India generally have occasionally been preferred to the ancient classical, or to the present local forms. Thus, Cheitun is written instead of Chaitanya ; Koopel, instead of Capila ; Eaee, instead of Roy or Rao, and so on. On the contrary, the familiar word Siva (Seeva) has been pre- ferred to Shiv, or Sheo, or Shew ; while Krishna and Kishen have been used indiscriminately. With regard to Avatar, there is a difficulty ; for the word is pronounced not as Avahter, but as Awtarh or Owtarh. The usual form does not convey the true sound, and the other is offensive to the unaccustomed eye. *^* In the references, and also in the text, from Chap. V. to the end of the Volume, the name of military officers and civil function- aries are quoted without any nice regard to the rank they may XVI NOTE. have held at the particular time, or to the titles by which they may have been subsequently distinguished. But as there is one per- son only of each name to be referred to, no doubt or inconvenience can arise from this laxity. Thus the youthful, but discreet Mr. Metcalfe of the treaty with Eunjeet Singh, and the Sir Charles Metcalfe so honorably connected with the history of India, is the Lord Metcalfe of riper years and approved services in another hemisphere. Lieutenant Colonel^^ or moEe^Jbriefly. Cfilonglt Pot- tinger^is now a MaJoV~©^girerarand a^rand Cross of the Batli ; while Mr. Clerk has been made a knight of the' same Orcler, and Lieutenant Cojoael -Laurence has been raised to an equal title. Captain, or Lieutenant-Colonel, or Sir Claude Wade, mean "one and the same person : and similarly the late Sir Alexander Burnes, sometimes appears as a simple lieutenant, or as a cap- tain, or as a lieutenant colonel. On the other hand. Sir David Ochterloney is referred to solely under that title, although, when he marched to the Sutlej in 1809, he held the rank of lieutenant colonel only. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. THE COUNTRY AND PEOPLE. A.M. Page Geographical Limits of Sikh Occupation, &c. - - 1 Climate, Productions, &c. of the Sikh Dominions - - 2 Grain and Shawl wool of Ludakh - - - ib. Silks, Indigo, and Cotton of Mooltan - - 3 Black Cattle of the Central Punjab - - - ib. The Persian wheel used for Irrigation - - ib. The Sugar of the Upper Plains - - - ib. The Saffron.and Shawls of Cashmeer - - - 4 The Rice and Wheat of Peshawur - - - ib. The Drugs, Dyes, and Metals of the Hills - - ib. Inhabitants, Races, Tribes - - - - ib. Immigration of the Juts, and Introduction of Mahometanism ib. The Tartars of Tibet - - - - 6 The ancient Durdoos - - - - ib. The Toorkmuns of Ghilghit ... ib. The Cashmeerees - - - - ib. — their western neighbours, the Kukkas, Bumbas, Goojers, &c. - - - - - ib. The Gukkers and Junjoohs - - - - 6 Thei Eusofzaees, Afreedees, &c. - - - ib. Vuzeerees and other Afghans - - - ib. Belotches, Juts, and Raiens, of the Middle Indus - ib. Juns, Bhuttees, and Kathees of the Central Plains - ib. Chibhs and Buhows of the Lower Hills - - ib. The Johyas and Lunggas of the South - - - 7 The Dogras and Kunets of the Himalayas - - ib. The Kohlees of the Himalayas - - - ib. The Juts of the Central Plains - - - 8 — mixed with Goojers, Rajpoots, Puthans, &c. - ib. Relative Proportions of some principal Races - - ib. Kshutrees and XJrqras of the Cities - - - 9 The Wandering Chunggurs - - - ib. a XVm CONTENTS. •* A. D. Page The Religions of the Sikh Country - - - 9 The Lamaic Boodhists of Ludftkh - - - ib. The Sheea Mahometans of Bultee - - - ib. The Soonee Mahometans of Cashmeer, Peshawur, Mooltan, &c. ... - ib. The Brahminist Hill Tribes - - - ib. The Sikhs of the Central Plains mixed with Brahminists and Mahometans - - - - ib. Hindoo Shopkeepers of Mahometan Cities - .10 Village Population about Bhutinda purely Sikh - - ib. The debased and secluded Eacesj Worshippers of Local Gods and Oracular Divinities - - - ib. Characteristics of Race and Religion - - - 1 1 Brahminism and Boodhism rather Forms than Feelings - ib. — yet strong to resist Innovation . . - ib. Mahometanism, although corrupted, has more of vitality - 12 All are satisfied with their own Faith - - - ib. — and cannot be reasoned into Christianity - - ib. Sikhism an active and pervading Principle - - 13 The Juts industrious and high-spirited - - 14 The Raiens and some others scarcely inferior as tillers of the ground - - - - - ib. The Peasant Rajpoots - - - - ib. The Goojers, a pastoral people - - - ib. The Belotches pastoral and predatory - . ib. The Afghans industrious but turbulent - - 15 The Kshiitrees and Uroras, enterprizing but frugal . ib. The Cashmeerees skilful, but tame and spiritless - ib. The unmixed Rajpoots - - . - ib. The Tibetans plodding and debased - - - 16 The Custom of Polyandry one of necessity - . ib. The Juns and Kathees pastoral and peaceful - . ib. Partial Migrations of Tribes - - - 17 Causes of Migrations - - . - ib. Recent Migration of Belotches up the Indus, and of Daood- potras up the Sutlej - . . - ib. Migrations of Doghers, Johyas, and Mehtums - - ib. Religious Proselytism . - - - ib. Islamism extending in Tibet - - - 17 — and generally in Towns and Cities - - - 18 Lamaic Boodhism progressive in some parts of the Hima- layas - - - . . ib. Brahminism likewise extending in the wilder parts of the Plains . . . . . ib. But the Peasantry and Mechanics generally are becoming seceders from Brahminism - - - ib. CONTENTS. XIX CHAPTER II. OLD INDIAN CREEDS. MODERN REFORMS, AND THE TEACHING OF NANUK. UP TO A. D. 1589. A. D. Page India andits successive Masters — TheBoodhists.the Brahmins and Kshutrees, the Mahometans, and the Christians - 19 Brahminism struggling with Boodhism becomes elaborated ; its Achievements and Characteristics - - 20 Brahminism victorious over Boodhism - - - 23 — loses its unity and vigour - - - 24- Shunkur Acharj methodizes Polytheism - - - 25 800 — 1000. Reaction of Boodhism on Brahminism - - ib. Shunkur Acharj establishes ascetic Orders, and gives pre- eminence to Saivism - - - - ib. 1000 — 1200. Ramanooj establishes other Orders, with Vis/moo as a tutelary God - - - - 26 Spiritual Teachers or Heads of Orders arrogate infallibility - 27 Scepticism and heresy increase - - - ib. The Dogma of " Maya " receives a moral application - 28 General decline of Brahminism - - - ib. Early Arab incursions into India but little felt - - ib. Mahometanism receives a fresh impulse on the conversion of the Toorkmuns - - - - 29 JOOl. Mehmood invadesJndia - - - - ib. 1206. Hindoostan becomes a separate Portion of the Mahometan World under the Eibeks - - - ib. — and the Conquerors become Indianized - - 30 Action and reaction of Mahometanism and Brahminism - ib. The popular belief unsettled - - - - 31 about 1400. Ramanund establishes a comprehensive Sect at Benares 32 — and introduces Hero worship - - - ib — but maintains the Equality of true Believers before God - ib. Gorukhnath establishes a Sect in the Punjab - - 33 . — and maintains the equalizing effect of religious penance - ib. — but causes further diversity by adopting Siva as the type of God - - - - - ib. about 1450. TheVeds and Koran assailed byKubeer, a disciple of Ramanund - - - - - 34 — and the mother-tongue of the People used as an Instrument ib. — but Asceticism still upheld - - - ib. 1500 — 1550. Cheitun preaches religious reform in Bengal - 35 — insists upon the efficacy of Faith - - - ib. — and admits of secular occupations - - - lo. a 2 XX CONTENTS. A.D. 1500- 1469- Page ■1550. Vullubh extends the Reformation to the South - 35 — and further discountenances celibacy - - ib. Recapitulation - - - - - 36 The Reforms partial, and leading to Sectarianism only - ib. Nanuk's views more comprehensive and profound - ib. 1529. Nanuk's Birth and early Life - - - ib. iThe mental struggles of Nanuk - - - 38 !Pe becomes a Teacher - - - - 39 Dies, aged Seventy - - - - ib. The excellencies of Nanuk's Doctrine - - - ib. The Godhead - - - - - 40 Mahometans and Hindoos equally called on to worship God in Truth - - - - - ib. Faith, Grace, and Good Works all necessar}' - - ib. Nanuk adopts the Brahminical Philosophy ; but in a popular sense, or by way of illustration only - - 41 Nanuk admits the Mission of Mahomet, as well as the Hindoo Incarnations - - - - 42 Disclaims miraculous powers - - - - ib. Discourages Asceticism - - - - ib. Conciliatory between Mahometans and Hindoos - - 43 Nanuk folly extricates his followers from error - - ib. — but his Reformation necessarily religious and moral only - ib. Nanuk left his Sikhs or Disciples without new social laws as a separate People - - - - 44 — but guarded against their narrowing into a Sect - ib. Nanuk declares -Unggud to be his successor as a Teacher of Men - - - - . ib. y ■ CHAPTER HI. THE SIKH GOOKOOS OR TEACHERS, AND THE MODIFICATION OF SIKHISU UNDER GOVIND. A. D. 1529—1716. Unggud upholds the broad principles of Nanuk 1552. Dies - - - . . Ummer Das succeeds - . . Separates the Sikhs from the Oodassees - His views with regard to " Suttee " - 1574. Dies - - - - . Ram Das succeeds, and establishes himself at Araritsir 1581 Dies .... Arjoon succeeds and fairly grasps the Idea of Nanuk Makes Amritsir the " Holy City " of the Sikhs Compiles the " Adee Grunt'h " . . 46 ib. 47 ib. ib. ib. ib. 48 ib. ib. 49 CONTENTS. XXI Page A.O. 1581. Reduces customary Offerings to a systematic Tax or Tithe - 49 — and engages in traffic - - - - ib. Arjoon provokes the enmity of Chundoo Shah - - 50 Becomes a Partizan of Prince Khoosroo in rebellion - ib. 1606. Imprisonment and death of Arjoon - - - ib. Diffusion of Sikhism ,- - - - 51 The Writings of Goor Das BhuUeh - - - ib. The Conceptions of Nanuk become the moving impulses of a People - - - - - ib. — and his real History a Mythical narrative - - 52 Hur Govind becomes Gooroo after a disputed succession - ib. Chundoo Shah slain or put to death - - - 53 Hur Govind arms the Sikhs and becomes a military leader - ib. The gradual modification of Sikhism - - - ib. — and complete separation of the Sikhs from Hindoo Dissenters 54 Hur Govind falls under the displeasure of Jehangheer - ib. — is imprisoned - - - - - ib. — and released - - - - - ib. 1628. Jehangheer dies, and Hur Govind engages in a petty vi^arfare 55 Hur Govind retires to the wastes of Hurreeana - - ib. Returns to the Punjab - - - - ib. Slays in fight one Payenda Khan, his friend - 56 1645. Death of Hur Govind - - - - ib. Self-sacrifice of disciples on his p3Te - - - ib. The Body of Sikhs forms a separate Establishment within the Empire - - -' - - 57 Some anecdotes of Hur Govind - - - ib. — his philosophical views - - - - ib. Hur Raee succeeds as Gooroo - - - 58 Becomes a political partizan - - - 59 1661. Dies ^- - - - - ib. Hurkishen succeeds - - - - ib. 1664, Dies - - - - - - 60 Tegh Buhadur succeeds as ninth Gooroo - ib. Ram Raee disputes his claims - - ib. Tegh Buhadur retires for a time to Bengal - - 61 — returns to the Punjab - - - - ib. — leads a life of violence - - - - 62 — and is constrained to appear at Delhi - - ib. 1675, —put to death - - - - - 63 — bis character and influence - - - ib. The title " Sutcha Padshah " applied to the Gooroos - ib. Govind succeeds to the Apostleship - - - ib. — but lives in retirement for several years - - 64 Govind's character becomes developed - - - ib. About 1695. He resolves on modifying the system of Nanuk, and on combating the iMahometan faith and power - 65 a 3 XXU CONTENTS A. D. Page About 1695. Govind's views and motives - - - 65 — and mode of presenting his Mission - - - 66 The Religions of the world held to be corrupt, and a new Dispensation to have been vouchsafed - - ib. The Legend regarding Govind's reformation of the Sect of Nanuk - - - - - 67 The Principles inculcated by Govind - - - 68 The"Khalsa" - - - - - ib. Old Forms useless. God is One. All men are equal. Ido- latry is to be contemned, and Mahometanism destroyed ib. The " Pahul " or Initiation of the Sect of " Singhs " - 70 The visible distinctions of Sikhs, or Singhs - - ib Lustration by Water. Reverence for Nanuk. The Exclama- tion " Hail Gooroo ! " - - - ib. Unshorn Locks; the Title of" Singh" - - - 71 — and Devotion to Arms - - - - ib. The character and condition of the Moghul Empire when Govind resolved to assail it - - - 72 Akber - - - - - - ib. Aurungzeb - - - - - ib. Sevajee the Mahratta - - - - 73 Gooroo Govind - - - - - ib. Govind's plans of active opposition - - - 74 — his military posts - - - - - ib. — and leagues with the Chiefs of the Lower Himalayas - ib. — his influence as a Religious Teacher - - - ib. Govind quarrels with the Rajas of Nahun and Nalagurh - ib. Aids the Raja of Kuhloor and other Chiefs against the Im- perial forces - - - - 75 About 1701. Govind's proceedings excite the suspicions of the Hill Chiefs, and cause the Emperor some anxiety - ib. Govind reduced to straits at Anundpoor - - 76 — his children escape, but are subsequently put to death - ib. —he himself flies to Chumkowr - - - ib. * Govind escapes from Chumkowr - - - ib. Successfully rissists his pursuers at Mookutsur - - 77 — and rests at Dumdumma near Bhutinda - - ib. Govind composes the " Vichitr Natuk " - - - ib. — is summoned by Aurungzeb to his presence - - 78 — replies to the Emperor in a denunciatory strain - ib. 1707. Aurungzeb dies, and Buhadur Shah succeeds - - ib. Govind proceeds to the South of India - - - 79 — enters the Imperial service - - - ib. 1708. Govind wounded by assassins - - - 80 —and dies, declaring his Mission to be fulfilled, and the Khalsa to be committed to God - - - ib. Govind's end untimely, but his labors not fruitless - 81 CONTENTS. XXIU A.D. Page 1708. A new character impressed upon the reformed Hindoos - 82 — although not fully apparent to strangers, if so to Indians - ib. Bunda' succeeds Govind as a temporal leader - - 83 1709 — 1710. Proceeds to the North and captures Sirhind - 84 The Emperor marches towards Lahore - - - ib. — but Bunda is in the mean time driven towards Jummoo - ib. 1712. Biihadur Shah dies at Lahore - - - ib. 1713. Jehandar Shah slain by Ferokhseer, who becomes Emperor - 85 The Sikhs reappear under Bunda, and the province of Sirhind plundered - - - - - ib. 1716. Bunda eventually reduced and taken prisoner - - ib. — and put to death at Delhi - - - - 86 The views of Bunda confined and his memory not revered - ib. The Sikhs generally much depressed after the death of Bunda 87 Recapitulation : Nanuk. Ummer Das. Arjoon. Hur Govind. Govind Singh - -. - - ib CHAPTER IV. TUB ESTABLISHMENT OF SIKH INDEPENDENCE. A.D. 1716—1764. 1716 — 1738. The Moghul Empire rapidly declines. Nadir Shah, the Mahrattas, &c. - - - - 89 The weakness of the Mahometan Government favorable to the Sikhs - - - - - 90 The Sikhs kept together by the fervour of their Belief - ib. 1738— 1739. The Sikhs form bands of plunderers - - 91 About 1745. Establish a fort at Dullehwal on the Ravee ; but are at last dispersed - - - - ib. 174,71-174,8. Ahmed Shah' s first i nvasion of India - - 92 March, 1748. — retires from Sirhind, and is harassed by the Sikhs - ib. Meer Munnoo Governor of the Punjab - - . - 93 — rules vigorously and employs Kowra Mull and Adeena " Beg Khan - - - - - ib. But the Sikhs reappear, and Jussa Singh Kullal proclaims the existence of the " Dul" or army of the Khalsa - ib. End of 1748. Meer Munnoo disperses the Sikhs - - ib. — and comes to terms with Ahmed Shah, who had again crossed the Indus - '^ ""-- — . - - 94 1749 — 51. Meer Munnoo breaks with Delhi by resisting his super- cession in Mooltan - - - - ib. — and withholds tribute from Ahmed Shah, who crosses the Indus for the third time ^^^ - - ib. April, 1752. The Abdalee reaches Lahore - - - 95 a 4 XXIV CONTENTS. A. D. Page 1752. The Abdalee defeats Meer Munnoo ; but retains him as Go- vernor of the Punjab - - - 95 The Sikhs gradually increase in strength - - ib. But are defeated by Adeena Beg, who nevertheless gives them favorable terms - - - ib. Jussa the carpenter - - - - ib. End of 1752. Meer Munnoo dies, and Lahore is reannexed to Delhi 96 ,^J3»^'l755, 1756. Ahmed'"Shah^s fourth Invasign: Prince Tymoor Go- vernor of the Puiyab, and Nujeebooddowla placed at the head of the Delhi army - - ib. Tymoor expels the Sikhs from Amritsir - - - 97 1756 — 1758. But the Afghans eventually retire, and the Sikhs occupy Lahore and coin money - - - ib. 1758. The Mahrattas at Delhi - - - - ib. Mahratta aid against the Afghans sought by Adeena Beg Khan - - - - - 98 May, 1758. Ragoba enters Lahore, and appoints Adeena Beg Go- vernor of the Punjab - - - - ib. End of 1758. Adeena Beg dies - - - - ib. 1759 — 1761. Ahmed Shah's fifth expedition - - - ib. 1760. Delhi occupied^)' the Afghans, but afterwards taken by the Mahrattas - - - - 99 Jan. 7. 1761. The Mahrattas signally defeated at Paneeput, and ex- pelled temporarily from Upper India ~ ^ - ib. The Sikhs unrestrained in the open Country - - ib. 1761, 1762. Goojranwala successfully defended by Churrut Singh, and the Dooranees confined to Lahore - - 100 The Sikhs assefiiHe atTtfflfitsir and ravage the country on either side of the Sutlej " - - - ib. Ahmed Shah's sixth invasion - - - ib. Feb. 1762. "TKe"" Ghuloo Ghara" or great Defeat of the Sikhs near Loodiana - - - - ib. Alha Singh of Putteeala - - - -101 Kabulee Mull Governor of Lahore - - - ib. End of 1762. Ahmed Shah retires after committing various excesses ib. -The Sikhs continue to increase in strength - - ib. Kussoor plundered - - - - ib. Dec. 1763. The Afghans defeated near Sirhind - - 102 Sirhind taken and destroyed, and the Province permanently occupied by the Sikhs - - - ib. 1764. The Sikhs aid the Jats of Bhurtpoor in besieging Delhi - ib. Ahmed Shab'l^gjenth expedition and speedy retirement - ib. The Sikhs be€ome maslers of Lahore - - . 103 A general assembly held at Amritsir, and the Sect established as a ruling People ... jb. The Sikhs form or fall into a political sy.stem - - ib. — which may be termed a Theocratic confederate feudalism - 104 CONTENTS XXV •A. D. Page 176i. Their " Gooroomuttas " or Diets - - - 101 The System not devised, or knowingly adopted, and there- fore incomplete and temporary - - 105 The Confederacies called " Misls " - 106 Their names and particular origin - - i b. The relative preeminence of the Misls or Confederacies - 107 The original and acquired possessions of the Misls - - 108 The gross forces of the Sikhs, and the relative strength of the Misls - - - - - 109 The Order of Akalees - - - - ib. Their origin arid prmciples of action - - - 110 CHAPTER V. FROM THE INDEPENDENCE OF THE SIKHS TO THE ASCENDANCY OF RUNJEET SINGH AND THE ALLIANCE WITH THE ENGLISH. 1765—1808-9. 1767. The Sikhs hurried into activity by Ahmed Shah's final descent - - - - -111 Ummer Singh of Putteeala and the Rajpoot Cliief of Kototch appointed to command under the Abdalee - 112 ^hmed Shah retires - - - - ib. _17e?frfth-otfts tafieTBy the Sikhs - - - - il). The Sikhs ravage the Lower Punjab - - - ib. And enter into terms with Buhawulpoor - - 113 Threaten Cashmeer - - - ib. 1770. And press Nujeebooddowla on the Jumna and Ganges - ib. Jhunda Singh of the Bunghee " Misl" preeminent - ib. Jummoo rendered tributary - - - - ib. Kussoor reduced to submission - - - 1 44 1772. And Mooltan occupied - - - - ib. ] 774. Jhunda Singh assassinated by Jaee^Singh Kuneia - - ib. Jaee Singh Kuneia and Jussa Singh Kullal expel Jussa tlie Carpenter - - - - - ib. Kanggra falls to the Kuneia " Misl " - - - ib. 1779. Tympor Shah of Caubul recovers Mooltan - - 115 1793. Tymoor Shah ■dies7 leaving the Sikhs masters of the Upper ib. Punjab as far as Attok ... 1768 — 78. The Phoolkeeas master Hurreeana 1779 — 80. An expedition sent from Delhi against the Malwa Sikhs ib. succeeds in part only - - - - ib. 1781. Ummer Singh of Putteeala dies - - - ib. 1776. Zabita Khan, Son of Nujeebooddowla, aided in his designs on the Ministry by the Sikhs - - - ib. XXYl CONTENTS. A. D. Page 1781—85. The ravages of the Sikhs in the Dooab and Rohilkhund under Bughel Singh Krora Singheea - - 117 1785. The Sikhs defeated at Meerut - - - ib. The Rajpoots of the Lower Himalayas rendered tributary - ib. 1784 — 85. Jaee Singh Kuneia preeminent - - - 1 18 Rise of Muha Singh Sookerchukeea - - - ib. 1785—86. The Kuneias reduced - - - - ib. Jussa the Carpenter restored, and Kanggra made over to Sunsar Chund of Kototch - - - ib. 1785 — 92. Muha Singh preeminent among the Sikhs - - ib. 1792. Muha Singh dies - - - - - ib. 1793. Shah Zuman succeeds to the throne of Caubul - - 119 1795 — 96. Invited to enter India by the Rohillas and the Vuzeer of Oude - - - - - ib. 1797. Shah Zuman at Lahore - - - - ib. 1798 — 99. The Shah's second march to Lahore - - 120 1799. Runjeet Singh rises to eminence - - - ib. And obtains a cession of Lahore from the Afghan King - ib. 1785. The power of the Mahrattas under Sindhia in Upper India 121 Sindhia's alliance with the Sikhs - - - ib. 1788. Gholam Qadir blinds Shah Alum - - - ib. Sindhia masters Delhi and curbs the Sikhs - - ib. 1797. General Perron appointed Sindhia's deputy in Northern India - - - - - 122 Sindhia's and Perron's views crossed by Holkar and George Thomas - - - - . - ib. 1798. George Thomas establishes himself at Hansee - - 123 1799. Engages in hostilities with the Sikhs - - - ib. 1800. Thomas marches towards Loodiana - - ib. Opposed by Sahib Singh Behdee - - - ib. Retires to Hansee, but afterwards masters Sufeed"" near Delhi - - - - - 124. 1801. Thomas rejects Perron's overtures, and resorts to arms - ib. 1802. Surrenders to Perron - - - - ib. 1802 — 3. The Mahrattas under Perron paramount among the Sikhs of Sirhind - - - - - ib. Perron forms an alliance with Runjeet Singh - - 125 Is distrusted by Sindhia - - - - ib. 1803. Flees to the English, then at war with the Mahrattas - ib. First intercourse of the English with the Sikhs - - ib. 1715 — 17. The Mission to Ferokhseer detained by the campaign against Bunda - - - - ib. 1757. Clive and Omichund - - - - 126 1784. Warren Hastings tries to guard Onde against the Sikhs - ib. 1788. The Sikhs ask English aid against the Mahrattas - - ib. Early English estimates of the Sikhs - - - ib. Colonel Francklin - - - - ib. The Traveller Forster - - - ib. CONTENTS. XXVH A . D. Page 1803. Sikhs opposed to Lord Lake at Delhi ... 127 The Sikhs of Sirhind tender their allegiance to the English - ib. The Chiefs of Jeend and Kythul - . .. jb. Shah Alum freed from Mahratta thraldom - - ib. 1804^5. The English wars with Holkar - - - ib. The Sikhs mostly side with the English, and render good ser- vice - - - - - 128 1805. Holkar retires towards the Sutlej ... jb. Delays at Putteeala - - - - ib. Halts at Amritsir, but fails in gaining over Runjeet Singh - ib. 1805 — 6. Holkar comes to terms with the English, and marches to the South - - - - - 129 1803 — 8. Friendly Relations of the English with the Sikhs of Sir- hind - - - - - ib. 1806. Formal Engagements entered into with Runjeet Singh and Futteh Singh Alhoowaleea - - - ib. The English correspond with Sunsar Chund of Kototch - 130 The Sikhs of Sirhind regarded as virtually dependents of the English by Lord Lake - - - ib. But the connection not regularly declared, or made binding in form - - - - - ib. Retrospect with reference to Runjeet Singh's rise - 131 1799. Runjeet Singh masters Lahore - - - ib. 1801 — 2. Reduces the Bunghee Misl and the Puthans of Kussoor - ib. Allies himself with Futteh Singh Alhoowaleea - - ib. 1802. Runjeet Singh acquires Amritsir - - - ib. 1603 — 4. And confines Sunsar Chund to the Hills - - ib. Who becomes involved with the Goorkhas - - ib. 1800 — 1803. Shah Zuman deposed by Shah Mehmood, and the Dooranee Empire weakened ... 132 1805. Wherefore Runjeet Singh proceeds to the South-West of the Punjab - - - - - ib. Returns to the North on Holkar's approach - . ib. A Sikh Gooroomutta, or National Council, held - . 133 But the Confederate system found decayed and lifeless . ib. And a single temporal authority virtually admitted in the per- son of Runjeet Singh - - - - ib. 1806. Runjeet Singh interferes in the affairs of the Sikhs of Sirhind 134 1806. Takes Loodiana - - - - - ib. And receives offerings from Putteeala - - - ib. 1805. Sunsar Chund and the Goorkhas - - - ib. Sunsar Chund and his confederate of Nalagurh driven to the North of the Sutlej - - - - ib. And the Goorkhas invest Kanggra - - - 135 1807. Runjeet Singh expels the Puthan Chief of Kussoor - ib. And partially succeeds against Mooltan . - - ib. 1807. Runjeet Singh employs Mohkum Chund - - 130 XXVIU CONTENTS. A. D. Page 1807. Crosses the Sutlej for the second time . - - 136 And returns to seize the territories of the deceased DuUehwala Chief - - - - - ib. The Sikhs of Sirhind become apprehensive of Runjeet Singh ib. 1808. British Protection asked - - - - 137 But not distinctly acceded - - - - ib. Whereupon the Chiefs repair to Runjeet Singh - - ib. 1808 — 9. The understood designs of the French on India modify the policy of the English towards the Sikhs - ib. The Chiefs of Sirhind taken under Protection, and a close alliance sought with Runjeet Singh - - 138 Mr. Metcalfe sent as Envoy to Lahore - - - ib. Aversion of Runjeet Singh to a restrictive treaty, and his third expedition across the Sutlej - - ib. 1809. British Troops moved to the Sutlej - - - 139 The views of the English become somewhat modified - ib. But Runjeet Singh still required to keep to the North of the Sutlej - - - - - 140 Runjeet Singh yields - - - - ib. And enters into a formal treaty ... 141 The Terms of Sikh dependence and of English supremacy in Sirhind .... ib. Sir David Ochterloney shows that the English regarded them- selves alone in oiFering Protection - - ib. The Relations of the Protected Chiefs among themselves - 142 Perplexities of the British Authorities regarding the rights of supremacy, and the operation of international laws - 143 Sir David Ochterloney's frank admission of the false basis of his original policy .... 144, CHAPTER VI. FROM THE SUPREMACY OF BUNJEET SINGH TO THE REDUCTION OF MOOLTAN, OASHMEEB, AND PESHAVVUR. 1809—1823-24. 1809. The English suspicious of Runjeet Singh, notwithstanding their joint treaty .... 145 And Runjeet Singh equally doubtful on his part - . 147 But distrust gradually vanishes on either side - . ib. Runjeet Singh acquires Kanggra, and confines the Goorkhas to the left of the Sutlej - . - ib. Th tGoorkhas urge the English to effect a joint conquest of the Punjab - - - . . 145 CONTENTS. XXIX A-D. , Page 1811. But Runjeet Singh told he may cross the Sutlej to resist the Nepal leader .... 149 1813. Ummer Singh Thapa again presses an alliance against the Sikhs ib. ' 1814 — 15. The War between the English and Goorkhas - - ib. Sunsar Chund of Kototch, Runjeet Singh and the English - ib. 1809 — 10. Shah Shooja expelled from Afghanistan - - 150 Runjeet Singh's suspicions and plans - - - ib. 1810. The Muharaja meets the Shah, but no arrangement come to ib. Runjeet Singh attempts Mooltan, but fails - - 151 And proposes to the English a joint expedition against it - ib. 1810 — 12. Shah Shooja's Peshawur and Mooltan campaign, and sub- sequent imprisonment in Cashmeer - - ib. J 1811. Runjeet Singh meets Shah Mehmood - - . 152 The blind Shah Zuman repairs for a time to Lahore - 153 1812. The family of Shah Shooja repairs to Lahore - - ib. Runjeet Singh uses the Shah's name for purposes of his own ib. Runjeet Singh meets Futteh Khan, the Caubul Vuzeer - 154 And a joint enterprize against Cashmeer resolved on - ib. 1813. Futteh Khan outstrips the Sikhs, and holds the valley for Mehmood - - - - - ib. Shah Shooja joins Runjeet Singh, who acquires Attok - ib. While Mohkum Chund defeats the Caubul Vuzeer in a pitched battle - - - - - ib. 1813^14. Runjeet Singh obtains the Koh-i-noor diamond - 155 And promises aid to Shah Shooja - - - ib. Makes a movement towards the Indus - - - ib. Shah Shooja's distresses - - - - ib. 1814. The flight of his family from Lahore to Loodiana - ib. And his own escape to Kishtwar - - . 156 1815 — 1816. Fails against Cashmeer, and retires to Loodiana - ib. 1814. Runjeet Singh attempts Cashmeer, and is repulsed - ib. 1815 — 1816. Various Chiefs in the Hills, and various places towards the Indus, reduced - - - 157 1818. Runjeet Singh captures Mooltan - . . 158 Futteh Khan, Vuzeer of Caubul, put to death - - 159 Mahomed Azeem proclaims Shah Ayoob - - 1 60 >- Runjeet Singh marches to Peshawur - - - ib Which he makes over to Jehan Dad Khan - - ib. Runjeet Singh intent upon Cashmeer - - - ib. 1819. Delayed by a discussion with the EngHsh - - ib. But finally annexes the Valley to his dominions - - 161 1819 — 20. The DerajAt of the Indus annexed to Lahore - - ib. 1818 — 21. Mahomed Azeem Khan desirous of securing Peshawur - 162 ' 1822. From which Runjeet Singh demands and receives tribute - ib. But the prosecution of his plans interfered with by a discus- sten with the English about his Mother-in-law and a place called Whudnee - - - - 163 XXX CONTENTS. A . D. Page 1823. The Sikhs march against Peshawur - - - 163 The Battle of Noshehra - - - - 164 Peshawur reduced, but left as a dependency with Yar Ma- homed Khan - - - - jb. >/' Death of Mahomed Azeem Khan - - - ib. 1823 — 24. Runjeet Singh feels his way towards Sindh - - 165 1824. Sunsar Chund ofKototch dies - - - ib. Runjeet Singh's power consolidated, and the mass of his do- minions acquired - - - - ib. 1818 — 1821. Miscellaneous transactions. Shah Shooja's expedi- tion against Shikarpoor and Peshawur - - 166 1821. The Shah returns to Loodiana - - - 167 And is followed by Shah Zuman, who takes up his abode at the same place - - - - ib. 1820 — 22. Appa Sahib, Ex- Raja of Nagpoor - - - ib. His idle schemes with the son of Shah Zuman - - ib. 1816—17. The petty Ex-Chief of Noorpoor causes Runjeet Singh some anxiety, owing to his resort to the English - 168 1820. The Traveller Moorcroft in the Punjab - - 169 Runjeet Singh's general system of Government, and view of his means and authority as Leader of the Sikhs - 170 The Sikh Army - - - - -173 1822. Arrival of French Officers at Lahore - - - ib. Excellencies of the Sikhs as soldiers - - - ib. Characteristics of Rajpoots and Puthans - - ib. — of Mahrattas - - - - - ib. — and of Goorkhas - - - - ib. Aversion of the older military tribes of India to regular dis- cipline - - - - - 174 — with the exception of the Goorkhas, and, partially, tof the Mahometans - - - - ib. The Sikh forces originally composed of horsemen armed with matchlocks - > - - ib. 1783. Notices of the Sikh troops, by Forster - - - ib. 1805. — by Malcolm - - - - - ib. 1810. — by Ochterloney - - - - - ib. Characteristic Arms of different Races, including the English 175 The general importance given to Artillery by the Indians, a consequence of the victories of the English - ib. Runjeet Singh labors to introduce discipline - - ib. And, at length, succeeds in making the Sikhs regular Infantry and Artillery Soldiers - - - - 176 European discipline introduced into the Punjab before the arrival of French officers - - - ib. Whose services were yet of value to Runjeet Singh, and honorable to themselves - - - 177 Runjeet Singh's marriages and family relations - . ib. CONTENTS. XXXI A. D. Pago His wife Mehtab Kour, and mother-in-law, Sudda Kour - 178 1807. Sher Singh and Tara Singh, the declared sons of Mehtab Kour, not fully recognised - - - ib. 1810. Sudda Kour's vexation of spirit and hostile views - - ib. 1802. Khurruk Singh born to Runjeet Singh by another wife - 179 1821. Nao Nihal Singh born to Khurruk Singh - - ib. Runjeet Singh's personal licentiousness and intemperance, in connection with the vices vaguely attributed to the mass of the Sikh people - - - ib. Runjeet Singh's favorites - - - - 181 Khooshhal Singh, a Brahmin - - - - ib. The Rajpoots of Jummoo - - - - ib. Runjeet Singh's chosen servants . . - 182 Fukeer Uzeezooddeen - - - ib. Deewan Sawun Mull - - - - 183 Hurree Singh Nulwa - - - - ib. Futteh Singh Alhoowaleea - - - - ib. Dehsa Singh Mujeetheea - - - ib. CHAPTER VII. FROM THE ACQUISITION OP MOOLTAN, CASHMBEE, AND PESHAWUR TO THE DEATH OF RUNJEET SINGH. 1824—1839. Change in the Position of the Sikhs, relatively to the English, after the year 1823 - - - - 184 1824 — 25. Miscellaneous transactions ... 185 Peshawur - - - - - ib. Nepal - - - - - - ib. Sindh - - - - - - ib. Bhurtpoor - - - - - ib. Futteh Singh, the Alhoowaleea Chief - - - 186 1826. Runjeet Singh falls sick, and is attended by an English surgeon - - - - - ib. 1827. Anecdotes. Lord, Amherst, the British Governor General - ib. Lord Combermere, the British Commander-in-Chief - 187 Captain Wade made the immediate Agent for the affairs of Lahore - - - - - ib. Discussions about rights to districts South of the Sutlej - 188 Anundpoor, Whudnee, Feerozpoor, &c. - - - ib. 1820 — 28. Gradual ascendancy of Dhian Singh, his brothers, and his son - - - - - 189 1828. Proposed marriage of Heera Singh into the family of Sunsar Chund - - - - - ih. XXXU CONTENTS. A. D. Pago Flight of Sunsar Chund's widow and son - - 189 1829. Raja Heera Singh's marriage - - - 190 1827. Insurrection at Peshawur under Syed Ahmed Shah Ghazee - ib. History of the Syed - - - - ib. His doctrines of religious reform - - - ib. His pilgrimage - - - - -191 His journey through Rajpootana and Sindh to Candahar and Peshawur - - - - - ib. Rouses the Eusofzaees to a religious war - - 1 92 Syed Ahmed Shah fails against the Sikhs at Akora - ib. 1829. But defeats Yar Mahomed, who dies of his wounds - 193 1830. Syed Ahmed Shah crosses the Indus - - - ib. He is compelled to retire, but falls upon and routs Sooltan Mahomed Khan, and occupies Peshawur - - ib. The Syed's influence decreases - - - 19i He relinquishes Peshawur - - - - ib. 1831. And retires towards Cashmeer, and is surprised and slain - ib. Runjeet Singh courted by various parties - - 195 The Belotches - - - - - ib. Shah Mehmood - - - - - ib. The Baeeza Baee of Gwalior - - - - ib. The Russians and the English - - - ib. Lord Bentinck, the Governor General, at Simlah - - ib, A Meeting proposed with Runjeet Singh, and desired by both parties for difierent reasons - - - 196 The Meeting at Rooper - - - - ib. Runjeet Singh's anxiety about Sindh - - - ib. The scheme of opening the Indus to commerce - - 197 Proposals made to the Sindhians and Sikhs - - 198 Runjeet Singh's views and suspicions - - - ib. He expels the Daoodpotras from the Lower Punjab - 199 And declares his superior right to Shikarpoor - - ib. 1832. Runjeet Singh yields to the English demands - - ib. Declaring, however, that their commerce interfered with his policy - . . . . 200 1833 — 35. Shah Shooja's second expedition to Afghanistan - ib. 1827, &c. The Shah's overtures to the English - - ib. 1831. His negotiations with the Sindhians - - - ib. And with Runjeet Singh - - - - 20 1 The gates of Somnath and the slaughter of kine - - ib. 1832. Further negotiations with the Sikhs and Sindhians - ib. The English indiiFerent about the Shah's attempts - 202 — but Dost Mahomed Khan is alarmed, and courts their friend- ship - . . . .203 1833. The Shah sets out - - - - . ib. 1834. Defeats the Sindhians - - - - ib. But is routed at Candahar - • - - ib. CONTENTS. XXXm •*• p. Page 1835, And returns to Loodiana . - . . aoi 1834. Runjeet Singh, suspicious of Shah Shooja, strengthens him- self by annexing Peshawur to his dominions - ib. 1832 — 36. Huzara and the Derajat more completely reduced - ib. 1833. Sunsar Chund's grandson returns . - . 205 1834 — 36. Runjeet Singh sends a Mission to Calcutta - - ib. 1821, Runjeet Singh and Ludakh - - - - ib. 1834fr— 35. Ludakh reduced by the Jummoo Rajas - - 206 1835 — 36. Runjeet Singh recurs to his claims on Shikarpoor, and his designs on Sindh - . . - ib. Negotiations - - - - - ib. Runjeet Singh's ambition displeasing to the English - 207 The Muharaja nevertheless keeps in view his plans of ag- grandizement . . , . 208 1836. The objects of the English become political as well as com- mercial - - - - - ib. And they resolve on mediating between Runjeet Singh and the Sindhians .... 209 The English desire to restrain Runjeet Singh without threat- ening him - - - - - ib. The Sindhians impatient, and ready to resort to arms - 210 Runjeet Singh equally ready . . - - ib. But yields to the representations of the English - - ib. Yet continues to hold Rojhan with ulterior views - - 211 Retrospect. The English and the Barukzaees - - ib. 1829. Sooltan Mahomed Khan solicits the friendship or protection of the English against the Sikhs - - 212 1832. Dost Mahomed Khan does the same - - ib. The Barukzaees, apprehensive of Shah Shooja, again press for an alliance with the English - - - 213 And Jubtar Khan sends his son to Loodiana - - ib. 1834. Dost Mahomed formally tenders his allegiance to the English ib. But defeats Shah Shooja, and recovers coniidence . ib. Dost Mahomed attempts to recover Peshawur - - ib. The English decline interfering - - - 214 1835. Runjeet Singh and Dost Mahomed in force at Peshawur - ib. Dost Mahomed retires rather than risk a battle - -215 1836. Dost Mahomed looks towards Persia, but still prefers an Eng- lish alliance - - - - ib. The Candahar Chiefs desirous of English aid - - ib. Runjeet Singh endeavors to gain over Dost Mahomed - 216 1836 — 37. But the Ameer prefers war - - - ib. Hurree Singh's designs - - - - ib. 1837. Battle of Jumrood - - - - - ib. The Sikhs defeated and Hurree Singh killed, but the Afghans retire - - - ■ - ib. Runjeet Singh's efforts to retrieve his affairs at Peshawur - 217 b XXXIV CONTENTS. A. D. _ Page His negotiations with Dost Mahomed and Shah Shooja - 217 The English resolve on mediating between the Sikhs and Afghans - - - - - ib. The more especially as they are apprehensive of Russia - 218 And are further dissatisfied with the proceedings of General AEard - - - - - ib- The marriage of Nao Nihal Singh - - -219 Sir Henry Fane at Lahore - - - - ib. The Sikh Military Order of the Star - - -220 Runjeet Singh's object the gratification of his guests and allies - - - - - lb. Anecdotes showing a similar purpose - - - ib. The British scheme of opening the Indus to commerce ends in the project of restoring Shah Shooja - - 221 1837—38. Sir Alexander Burnes at Caubul - - - 223 Dost Mahomed eventually falls into the views of Persia and Russia - - - - - ib. The original policy of the English erroneous - - ib. But under the circumstances brought about, the Expedition to Caubul wisely and boldly conceived - - 224 1838. Negotiations regarding the restoration of Shah Shooja - ib. Runjeet Singh dissatisfied, but finally assents - - 225 1839. Runjeet Singh apparently at the height of greatness - 226 But chafed in mind and enfeebled in health - - ib. Death of Runjeet Singh - - - - 227 The Political condition of the Sikhs as modified by the genius of Runjeet Singh - - - - ib. The artifices of Dhian Singh to bring about the quiet succes- sion of Khurruk Singh ... 228 CHAPTER Vin. FROM THE DEATH OF MUHARAJA RUNJEET SINGH TO THE DEATH OF VUZEER JOWAHIR SINGH. 1839—1845. 1839. Sher Singh claims the succession ... 229 But Nao Nihal Singh assumes all real power - - 230 And temporarily allies himself with the Jummoo Rajas - ib. The favorite, Cheit Singh, put to death - - ib. 1840. Mr. Clerk succeeds Lieut.-Col. Wade as Agent - - 231 The relief of the British troops in Caubul - - 232 English negotiations about trade ... 233 Nao Nihal Singh's schemes against the Rajas of Jummoo - 234 Interrupted, by discussions with the English about Afgha- nistan ... . 235 CONTENTS. XXXV A. V. Page The death of Muharaja Khurruk Singh ... 236 Death of the Prince Nao Nihal Singh - - - ib. Sher Singh proclaimed Sovereign ... 237 But Chund Koiir, the widow of Khurruk Singh, assumes power, and Sher Singh retires - - - ib. Dhuleep Singh's birth and pretensions made known - 238 The English remain neutral at the time ... 239 Dost Mahomed attempts Caubul, but eventually surrenders to the English . . . . ib. 1841. Sher Singh gains over the troops with Dhian Singh's aid - ib. Sher Singh attacks Lahore .... 240 Chund Kour yields, and Sher Singh proclaimed Muharaja - ib. The SindhaHwala Family - - - .241 The Army becomes uncontrollable - . - ib. Sher Singh alarmed ... 242 The English anxious about the general tranquillity - ib. Undervalue the Sikhs - - . - ib. And are ready to interfere by force of arms - - ib. The military disorders subside, but the people become suspi. cious of the English .... 244 Major Broadfoot's passage across the Punjab . - ib. The Sikhs further irritated against the English . - 245 The changed relation of the Lahore Army to the State . ib. Its Military organization enables it to become the Represen. tative body of the " Khalsa" - - . ib. Negotiations with the English about inland trade - 246 Zorawur Singh, the deputy of the Jummoo Bajas, takes Iskardo ..... 247 And seizes Garo from the Chinese ... 248 The English interfere . . . - 249 The Sikhs defeated by a force from Lassa . . 250 1842. The Chinese recover Garo . . - . ib. Peace between the Chinese and Sikhs ... 251 1841. The ambitious views of the Jummoo Rajas towards the Indus . . . . - ib Clash with the policy of the English ... 252 The Insurrection at Caubul (November 1841) . . ib. The English distrustful of the Sikhs, but yet urgent upon them for aid ..... 253 1842. An army of retribution assembled ... 254 Golab Singh sent to cooperate ... 255 Caubul retaken . - - 256 Discussions regarding Jellalabad, and the limits of Sikh dominion . . . - - ib. The Governor General meets the Sikh minister and heir apparent at Feerozpoor ... 258 1843. Dost Mahomed returns to Caubul - - -261 XXXVl CONTENTS. Anxieties of Sher Singh - - - - 261 The Sindhanwala Chiefs and the Juramoo Rajas coalesce - ib. Sher Singh assassinated by Ajeet Singh - - 262 Who likewise puts Dhian Singh to death - - ib. Heera Singh avenges his father . - - 263 Dhuleep Singh proclaimed Muharaja - - - ib. The power of the army increases . . - 264 Raja Golab Singh - - - - - ib. Sirdar Jowahir Singh - - - - ib. Futteh Khan Towana .... 265 1844. The insurrection of Cashmeera Singh and Peshawura Singh - ib. Jowahir Singh ..... 266 The attempt of Raja Soochet Singh - - - ib. The insurrection of Sirdar Uttur Singh and Bhaee Beer Singh - - - - - ib. The Governor of Mooltan subnrits ... 267 1843. Ghilghit reduced - - - - - 268 1844. Heera Singh professes suspicions of the EngUsh - - ib. The mutiny of the British Sepoys ordered to Sindh - ib. Discussions with the English .... 269 — about the village Mowr^n . . . - ib. — and about treasure buried by Soochet Singh - - ib. Heera Singh guided by Pundit Julia, his preceptor - 271 Pundit Julia and Golab Singh ... 272 Pundit Julia irritates the Sikhs, and offends ' the Queen Mother - . . - - 273 Heera Singh and Pundit Julia fly, but are overtaken and put to death - . . . - ib Jowahir Singh and Lai Singh attain power - - 274 1845. The Sikh Army moves against Jummoo - - ib. Golab Singh submits, and repairs to Lahore - - 275 Jowahir Singh formally appointed Vuzeer - - 276 1844. Sdwun Mull of Mooltan assassinated - - - ib. Mool Raj, his son, succeeds - - - - ib. 1845. And agrees to the terms of the Lahore Court - -277 The rebellion of Peshawura Singh - - - ib. Who submits, but is put to death ... 278 The Sikh soldiery displeased and distrustful - ib. The perplexities of Jowahir Singh ... 279 The army condemns him, and puts him to death - - ib. The army all-powerful .... ggO Lai Singh made Vuzeer, and Tej Singh Commander-in-Chief, in expectation of an English war - - ib. CONTENTS. J5XXV11 CHAPTER IX. THE WAR WITH THE ENGLISH. 1845—46. A. D, ^ ^ ■ Page 1845. The Indian public prepared for a war between the Sikhs and English - - - - - 281 The apprehensions of the English ... 282 The fears of the Sikhs - - - - ib. The English advance bodies of troops towards the Sutlej, contrary to their policy of 1 809 - - 283 The English views about Peshawur, and their offer to support Sher Singh, all weigh with the Sikhs - - 285 The Sikhs further moved by their estimate of the British Agent of the day .... 287 Major Broadfoot's views and overt acts equally displeasing to the Sikhs - - - - ib. Major Broadfoot's proceedings held to virtually denote war 289 And Sir Charles Napier's acts considered further proofs of hostile views . - - - 291 The Lahore Chiefs make use of the persuasion of the people for their own ends - - - - ib. And urge the Army against the English in order that it may be destroyed .... 292 The Sikhs cross the Sutlej .... 294 The English nevertheless mainly to blame for the war - ib. The Sikhs still undervalued by the English - - ib. The English unprepared for a campaign - . 296 The English hasten to oppose the Sikhs . - 297 The numbers of the Sikhs .... 298 Feerozpoor threatened but purposely not attacked . - ib. The objects of Lai Singh and Tej Singh - - 299 The tactics of the Sikhs - - - . ib. The Battle of Moodkee - - . .301 The Battle of P'heerooshuhur, and retreat of the Sikhs . 302 The difficulties and apprehensions of the English . 305 1846. The Sikhs recross the Sutlej, and threaten Loodiana ' 307 The Skirmish of Buddowal "- - - -309 The Sikhs encouraged, and Golab Singh induced to repair to Lahore - - - - - 3 1 1 The Battle of Aleewal - - - -312 The Sikh Chiefs anxious to treat, and the English desirous of ending the war - - - - 315 An understanding come to, that the Sikh Army shall be attacked by the one, and deserted by the other - 317 The defensive position of the Sikhs - - - ib. XXXVIU CONTENTS. A. D, Page 1846. The English plan of attack - - - -319 The Battle of Subraon - - - - 320 The passage of the Sutlej ; the submission of the Muharaja; and the occupation of Lahore - - 320* Negotiations - - - - - 321 Golab Singh - - - - - ib. Lai Singh - - - - - 322 The Partition of the Punjab, and Independence of Golab Singh 323 Supplementary arrangements of 1846, placing Dhuleep Singh under British tutelage during his minority - - 324 The Sikhs not disheartened by their reverses - - 325 Conclusion. The position of the English in India - - 326 Additional Notes and Corrections - . - 333 APPENDICES. APPENDIX L The Juts and Jats of Upper India - . - 341 APPENDIX II. Proportions of Races and Faiths : Population of India - - 342 APPENDIX IIL The Kshutrees and Uroras of the Punjab - . . 345 APPENDIX IV. Caste in India - - 346 APPENDIX V. The Philosophical Systems of the Indians ... 349 APPENDIX VI. On the Maya of the Indians . . . -351 CONTENTS. XXIX APPENDIX VII. The Metaphysics of Indian Reformers - . . 352 APPENDIX VIIL Nanuk's Philosophical Allusions Popular or Moral rather than Scientific ------ 354 APPENDIX IX. The Terms Raj and Jog, Deg and Tegh - - - 356 APPENDIX X. Caste among the Sikhs ----- 357 APPENDIX XI. Rites of Initiation into Sikhism .... 359 APPENDIX XII. The exclamation Wah Gooroo and the expression Deg, Tegh, Futteh - - - - - - 360 APPENDIX XIII. The Sikh Devotion to Steel, and the Term " Sutcha Padshah " - 361 APPENDIX XIV. Distinctive Usages of the Sikhs - - - . 302 APPENDIX XV. On the Use of Arabic and Sanscrit for the purposes of Education in India - - - - -363 APPENDIX XVI. On the Land-Tax in India . . > 365 xl CONTENTS. APPENDIX XVII. The Adee Grunt'h, or First Book ; or, the Book of Nanuk, the First Gooroo or Teacher of the Sikhs. Page Preliminary Note . - . - . 367 The Jupjee (or simply the Jap) - - - - 368 Sodur Reih Ras - - - - - 369 Keerit Sohila - - - - - ib. The Thirty-one Metres (or Forms of Verse) - - ib. The Bhog - - - - - - 370 Supplement to the Grunt'h - - - - 371 APPENDIX XVIIL] 1 The Duswen Padshah Ka Grunt'h, or, Book of the Tenth King or Sovereign Pontiff, i. e. of Gooroo Govind Singh. Preliminary Note - - . . . 372 The Japjee (or simply the Jap) - - . . 373 Akal Stoot - - - - - ib. The Vichitr Natuk, or Wondrous Tale - - - ib. Chundee Churitr (the greater) - - - - ib. Chundee Churitr (the lesser) - - - . 374 Chundee kee Var - - ib. Gheian Pribodh - - - - - ib. Chowpeian Chowbees Owtaran (Twenty -four Avatars) - ib, Mehdee Meer ... - ib. Owtara (Avatars) of Bruhma ■ - « - 375 Owtara (Avatars) of Siva - - - - ib. Shustr Nam Mala - - - - - ib. Sree Mookh Vak Suweia Butees - - - ib. Huzareh Shubd - - - - ib. Tstree Churitr, or Tales of Women ... 376 The Hikayuts, or Tales (addressed to Aurungzeb) - - ib. CONTENTS. xli APPENDIX XIX. Some Principles of Belief and Practice, as exemplified in the writings of the Sikh Gooroos or Teachers ; with an Addendum showing the modes in which the Missions of Nanuk and Govind are represented or re- garded by the Sikhs. Page God ; the Godhead - - - . - 377 Incarnations, Saints, and Prophets ... 375 The Sikh Gooroos not to be worshipped - - . 379 Images and the Worship of Saints ... 38O Miracles - - - - - - ib. Transmigration - - - - .381 Faith - - - - - - ib. Grace - - - - ib Predestination - - - - ib. The Veds, the Poorans, and the Koran - - - 382 Asceticism - - - - - - ib. Caste ... - - 383 Pood ... . 384 Brahmins, Saints, etc. - - - - - ib. Infanticide -.-.-. 385 Suttee ... -386 Addendum. Bhaee Goordas BhuUeh's mode of representing the Mission of Nanuk ..... 386 Gooroo Govind's mode of representing his own Mission - 388 Extract from the Twenty-four Owtars and the Mehdee Meer ofGovind'sGrunt'h" - - - -390 APPENDIX XX. The Admonitory Letters of Nanuk to the fabulous Monarch Karon, and the Prescriptive Letters of Govind for the guidance of the Sikhs. Preliminary Note ..... 391 The Nusseeut Nameh, or Admonition of Nanuk - - 392 TheReply of Nanuk to Karon - - - -393 The Rehet Nameh of Govind - - - - 394 The Tunkha Nameh of Govind - - - 396 APPENDIX XXI. A List of Sikh Sects, or Orders, or Denominations - - 400 xlii CONTENTS. APPENDIX XXII. Page A Genealogical Table of the Sikh G-ooroos or Teachers - 402 APPENDIX XXIII. The Treaty with Lahore of 1806 - - - 403 APPENDIX XXIV. Sir David Ochterloney's Proclamation of 1809 - - 404 APPENDIX XXV. The Treaty with Lahore of 1809 - - - 406 APPENDIX XXVL Proclamation of Protection to Cis Sutlej States against Lahore, dated 1809 - - - - - 407 APPENDIX XXVIL Proclamation of Protection to Cis Sutlej States against one another, dated 1811 ... .409 APPENDIX XXVIIL Indus Navigation Treaty of 1832 - - -411 APPENDIX XXIX. Supplementary Indus Navigation Treaty of 1834 - - 414 APPENDIX XXX. The Tripartite Treaty with Runjeet Singh and Shah Shooja of 1838 - - - . - 417 APPENDIX XXXL Indus and Sutlej Toll Agreement of 1839 - - - 422 CONTENTS. xliii APPENDIX XXXII. Page Indus and Sutlej Toll Agreement of 1840 ... 423 APPENDIX XXXIII. Declarationof Warof J845 - - - -426 APPENDIX XXXIV. First Treaty with Lahore of 1846 ... 428 APPENDIX XXXV. Supplementary Articles to first Treaty with Lahoia of 1846 - 433 APPENDIX XXXVI. Treaty with Golab Singh of 1846 - - . 435 APPENDIX XXXVII. Second Treaty with Lahore of 1846 - - - 437 APPENDIX XXXVIIL Revenues of the Punjab in 1844 - - 442 APPENDIX XXXIX. The Army of Lahore in 1844 - - - - 446 APPENDIX XL. Genealogical Tree : Lahore Family ... 448 APPENDIX XLI. Genealogical Tree : Jummoo Family ... 449 l\x|iliiiinlii)ii (iC tlip Coloiiririj;^* liritish I y^^,^ DoniiiuoiiH I Juiiiiuou ■ Tooi-k IN I II II J IW'loU-liiHiiiii ' Tni'tai'V riibiisiuii hy John Murnn- . AU-i-niuHi' Stnvt. I.on.i-ii . IHU' Kii^Ttivitl \y« .1 .<1 C.M'nJktT HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. CHAPTER I. THE COUNTRY AND PEOPLE. Geographical Limits of Sikh Occupation or Influence. — Climate, Productions, 8fc. of the Sikh Dominions. — InhabitaTits, Races, Tribes. — Religions of the People. — Characteristics and Effects of Race and Religion. — Partial Migrations of Tribes. — Religious Proselytism. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries of the Geographi- • Christian era, Nanuk and Govind, of the Kshutree race, '^^ '""'^ obtained a few converts to their doctrines of religious reform and social emancipation among- the Jut peasants of Lahore and the southern banks of the Sutlej. The " Sikhs," or '* Disciples," have now become a nation ; and they occupy, or have extended their influence, from Delhi to Peshawur, and from the plains of Sindh to the Karakorum mountains. The dominions acquired by the Sikhs are thus included between the 28th and 36th parallels, of north latitude, and between the 71st and 77th meridians of east longitude ; and if a base of four hundred and fifty miles be drawn from Paneeput to the Khyber Pass, two triangles, almost equilateral, 2 HISTORY OP THE SIKHS. [Chap. I. Climate, produc- tions, &e. Grain, and shawl wool of Ludakb. may be described upon it, which shall include the con- quests of Runjeet Singh and the fixed colonies of the Sikh people. The country of the Sikhs being thus situated in a medium degree of latitude, corresponding nearly with that of northern Africa and the American States, and consisting either of broad plains not much above the sea level, or of mountain ranges which rise two and three miles into the air, possesses every variety of cli- mate and every description of natural produce. The winter of Ludakh is long and rigorous, snow covers the ground for half the year, the loneliness of its vast solitudes appals the heart, and nought living meets the eye ; yet the shawl-wool goat gives a value to the rocky wastes of that elevated region, and its scanty acres yield unequalled crops of wheat and barley, where the stars can be discerned at midday and the thin air scarcely bears the sound of thunder to the ear.* The heat and the dust storms of Mooltan are perhaps more oppressive than the cold and the drifting snows of Tibet ; but the favorable position of the city, and the several overflowing streams in its neighborhood, give I , r. * Shawl wool is produced most abundantly, and of the finest quality, in the steppes between the Shayuk and the main branch of the Indus. About 100,000 rupees, or 10,000t worth may be carried down the valley of the Sutlej to Loodiana and Delhi. (Jowmal Asiatic Society of Bengal for 1844, p. 210.) The importation into Cashmeer alone is estimated by Moorcroft ( Travels, ii. 165.) at about 75,000?., and thus the Sutlej trade may represent less than a tenth of the whole. Moorcroft speaks highly of the cultivation of wjheat and barley in Tibet, and he once saw a field of the latter grain in that country such as he had never before beheld, and which he says an English farmer would have ridden many miles to have looked at. — (Travels, i. 269, 280) The gravel of the northern steppes of Tibet yields gold in grains, but the value of the crude borax of the lakes surpasses, as an article of trade, that of the precious metal. In Yarku nd an intoxicating drug named ckurrus, much used in India, is grown of a superior quality, and while opium could be taken across the_ Himalayas, the Hindoos and Chinese carried on a brisk traffic of exchange in the two deleterious commodities. The trade in tea through Tibet to Cashmeer and Caubul is of local im- portance. The blocks weigh about eight pounds, and sell for 12s. and 16s. up to 36«. and 48«. each, ac- cording to the quality. — (Com- pare Moorcroft, Travels, i. 350, 351.) Chap. I.] THE COUNTEY AND PEOPLE. 3 an importance, the one to its manufactures of silks and ^uks, in- carpets, and the other to the wheat, the indigo, and the fotton of cotton of its fields.* The southern slopes of the Hima- Mooitan. layas are periodically deluged with rain, which is almost unknown beyond the snow, and is but little felt in Moolitoj0£ along the Indus. The central Punjab is mostly a bushy jungle or a pastoral waste ; its rivers alone have rescued it from the desert, but its dryness keeps it free from savage beasts, and its herds of cattle siaok cattle are of staple' value to the country ; while the plains toi'pu^ab. I which immediately bound the hills, or are influenced by I the Indus and its tributaries, are not surpassed in ferti- lity by any in India. The many populous towns of these tracts are filled with busy weavers of cotton and silk and wool, and with skilful workers in leather and wood and iron. Water is found near the surface, and the Persian wheel is in general use for purposes of irri- The Per- gation. Sugar is produced in abundance, and the ^^^ot*^' markets of Sindh and Caubul are in part supplied with irrigation. that valuable article by the traders of Amritsir, the Sugar of commercial emporium of Northern India.t The arti- pMi^™^' 1[ * The wheats of Mooltan is beard- are used by the weavers of Buhawul- I ; less, and its grain is long and heavy, poor, about three hundred tons of IFis exported in large quantities to (cleaned) cotton are grown in the Rajpootana, and also, since the Bri- district, and wrought up by the vil- tish occupation, to Sindh to an in- lagers or exported to Rajpootana. creased extent. The value of the The Lower Punjab and Buhawul- carpets manufactured in Mooltan poor yield respectively about 750 and does not perhaps exceed 50,000 ru- 150 tons of indigo. It is worth on pees annually. The silk manufac- the spot from ninepence to eighteen- ture may be worth five times that pence the pound. The principal sum, or, including that of Buhawul- market is Khorassan ; but the trade poor, 400,000 rupees in all ; but the has declined of late, perhaps owing demand for such fabrics has markedly to the quantities which may be intro- declined since the expulsion of a duced into that country by way of the native dynasty &om Sindh. The Persian Gulph from India. The \ raw silk of Bokhara is used in pre- fondness of the Sikhs, and of the 1 ference to that of Bengal, as bemg poorer Mahometans of the Indus, stronger and more glossy. for blue clothing, will always main- £nglish piece-goods, (or more tain a fair trade in indigo, largely) cotton twists to be woven f In 1844 the customs and excise into cloth, have been introduced duties of the Punjab amounted to everywhere in India; but those 240,000^. or 2SO,O0Oi, or to one well to do in the world can alone thirteenth of the whole revenue buy foreign articles, and thus while of Runjeet Singh, estimated at about eighteen tons of cotton twist 3,250,000?. B 2 HISTOBY or THE SIKHS. [Chap. I. The saffron and the shawls of Cashmeer. Kice and wheat of Peshawur. Drugs, dyes, and metals of the hills. Inhabi- tants. Immigra- tion of the , Juts, and introduc- tion of Ma- hometan- ism. sans of Cashmeer, the varied productions of that famous valley, its harvests of saffron, and its important manu- facture of shawls, are well known and need only be alluded to.* The plains of Attok and Peshawur no longer shelter the rhinoceros which Baber delighted to hunt, but are covered with rich crops of rice, of wheat, and of barley. The mountains themselves produce drugs and dyes and fruits ; their precipitous sides sup- port forests of gigantic pines, and veins of copper, or extensive deposits of rock salt and of iron ore are contained within their vast outline. The many fertile vales lying between the Indus and Cashmeer, are per- haps unsurpassed in the East for salubrity and loveliness : the seasons are European, and the violent "monsoon" of India is replaced by the genial spring rains of tem- perate climates. The people comprised within the limits of the Sikh rule or influence, are various in their origin, their language, and their faith. The plains of Upper India, in which the Brahmins and Kshutrees had developed a pecuhar civilization, have been overrun by Persian or Scythic tribes, from the age of Darius and Alexander to that of Baber and Nadir Shah. Particular traces of the successive conquerors may yet perhaps be found, but the main features are, 1. the introduction of the Mahometan creed; and 2. the long antecedent emi- gration of hordes of Juts from the plains of Upper Asia. It is not' necessary to enter into tIiCantii|«Me9 It is nof necessary to enter into tfielant of Grecian " Getse" and Chinese " Yuechi," to discuss the asserted identity of a peasant Jut and a moon- descended Yadoo, or to try to trace the blood of Kad- phises in the veins of Runjeet Singh. It is sufficient to observe that the vigorous Hindoo civilization of the first ages of Christianity soon absorbed its barbarous invaders, and that in the lapse of centuries the Juts * Mr. Moorcroft ( Trawe/s, ii. 194.) be worth 75,0002. alone ( Travels, ii. estimates the annual value of the 165. &c.), that is, 1000 horse loads Cashmeer manufacture of shawls of 300 pounds, each pound being at 300,000Z. ; but this seems a worth five shillings, small estimate if the raw material GuAP. L] THE COUNTRY AND PEOPLE. 5 became essentially Brahminical in language and belief. Along the southern Indus they soon yielded their con- science to the guidance of Islam ; those of the north longer retained their idolatrous faith, but they have lately had a new life breathed into them ; they now preach the unity of God and the equality of man, and, after obeying Hindoo and Mahometan Tulers^ they have themselves once more succeeded to sovereign power.* The Mussulman occupation forms the next grand epoch in general Indian history after the extinction of the Bood- hist religion ; the common speech of the people has been partially changed, and the tenets of Mahomet are gradually revolutionizing the whole fabric of Indian society ; but the difference of race, or the savage man- ners of the conquerors, struck the vanquished even more forcibly than their creed, and to this day Juts and others talk of " Tqorks" as synonymous with op- pressors, and the proud Rajpoots not only bowed before the Mussulmans, but have perpetuated the remembrance of their servitude by adopting " Toorkana," or Turk money, into their language as the equivalent of tribute. In the valley of the Upper Indus, that is, in Ludakh The Tartars and Littl e Tibet, the prevailing caste is the Bhotee^b- ° ^'''^'" division ofThe great Tartar variety of the human race. Lower down that classical stream, or in Ghilghit and Chulass, the remains of the old and secluded races The ancient of Durdoos and Dunghers are still to be found, but ^"''*'"'^* both in Iskardo and in Ghilghit itself, there is some Toorkmuns mixture of Toorkmun tribes from the wilds of Pamer ° ^ ''^'"*' and Kashkar. The people of Cashmeer have from The Cash- time to time been mixed with races from the north, '^"^''^ the south, and the west ; and while their language is Hindoo and their faith Mahometan, the manners of the primitive Kush or Kutch tribes, have been in- fluenced by their proximity to the Tartars. The hills and their westward from Cashmeer to the Indus are inhabited by ne/ghbours, Kukkas and Bumbas, of whom little is known, but Kukkas. Bumbas, • See Appendix I, Goqjers, &c. B 3 HISTOEY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. I. The Guk- kers and the Junjoohs. The Eusof- zaees, Afreedees, &c. Vuzf rpj & and other Afghans. Belotches, Juts, and Kaiens, of the Middle Indus. Juns, Bhuttees, and Ea- thees, of the central plains. Chibhs and Buhows of the lower hills. towards the river itself the Eusofzaees and other Af- ghan tribes prevail ; while there are many secluded val- leys peopled by the widely spread Goojers, whose history has yet to be ascertained, and who are the vassals of Arabian " syeds," or of Afghan and Toorkmun lords. In the hills south of Cashmeer, and west of the Jehlum to Attock and Kalabagh on the Indus, are found Gukkers, Goojers, Khatirs, Awans, Junjoohs and others, all of whom may be considered to have from time to time merged into the Hindoo stock in language and feelings. Of these some, as the Junjoohs and especially the Gukkers, have a local reputation. Peshawur and the hills which surround it, are peopled by various races of Afghans, as Eusofzaees and Mo- munds in the north and west, Khuleels and others in the centre, and Afreedees, Khuttuks and others in the south and east. The hills south of Kohat, and the districts of Tank and Bunnoo, are likewise peopled by genuine Afghans, as the pastoral Vuzeerees and others, or by agricultural tribes claiming such a descent ; and, indeed, throughout the mountains on either side of the Indus, every valley has its separate tribe or family, always opposed in interest, and sometimes differing in speech and manners. Generally it may be observed, that, on the north, the Afghans on one side, and the Toorkmuns on the other, are gradually pressing upon the old but less energetic Durdoos, who have been already mentioned. In the districts on either side of the Indus south of Kalabagh, and likewise around Mooltan, the population is partly Belotch and partly Jut, intermixed however with other tribes, as Ur5ras and Raiens, and towards the mountains of Sooleeman some Afghan tribes are likewise to be found located. In the waste tracts be- tween the Indus and Sutlej are found Juns, Bhuttees, Seeals, Kurruls, Kathees, and other tribes, who are both pastoral and predatory, and who, with the Chibhs and Buhows south of Cashmeer, between the Jehlum and Chenab, may be the first inhabitants of the country, Chap. I.] THE COUNTRY AND PEOPLE. 7 but little reclaimed in manners by Hindoo or Mahometan conquerors ; or one or more of them, as the Bhuttees, who boast of their lunar descent, may represent a tribe of ancient invaders or colonizers who have yielded to others more powerful than themselves. Indeed, there seems little doubt of the former supremacy of the Bhuttee or Bhatee race in North-western India : the tribe is extensively diffused, but the only sovereignty which re- mains to it is over the sands of Jeyselmeer.* The tracts along the Sutlej, about Pakputtun, are occupied by Wut- toos and Johya Rajpoots t, while lower down are found some of the Lungga tribe, who were once the masters of Ootch and Mooltan. The hills between Cashmeer and the Sutlej are pos- The Johyas sessed by Rajpoot families, and the Mahometan invasion ""* ^"^"s- seems to have thrust the more warlike Indians, on one south. side into the sands of Rajpootana and the hills of Bun- delkhund, and on the other into the recesses of the Himalayas. But the mass of the population is a mixed race called Dogras about Jummoo, and Kunets to the The Dograa eastward, even as far as the Jumna and Ganges, and o"ti,f "'''^'^ which boasts of some Rajpoot blood. There are, how- Himalayas. ever, some other tribes intermixed, as the Gudhees, who claim to be Kshutree, and as the Kohlees, who may The be the aborigines, and who resemble in manners and ^e^'mma- habits, and perhaps in language, the forest tribes of layas. Central India. Towards the snowy limits there is some mixture of Bhotees, and towards Cashmeer and in the towns there is a similar mixture of the people of that valley. • [The little chiefship of Kerowlee florish as peasants on either bank of between Jeypoor and Gwalior may the Sutlej, between Kussoor and Bu- also be added. The Raja is admit- hawulpoor : they are now Mahome- ted by the genealogists to be of the tans. TheDahia of Tod (1. 118.) are Yadoo or Lunar race, but people some- likewise to be found as cultivators and times say that his being an Aheer or as Mahometans on the Lower Sutlej, Cowherd forms his only relationship under the name of Deheh, or Dahur to Krishna, the pastoral Apollo of and Diihur; and they and many the Indians.] other tribes seem to have yielded on t Tod (Rajasthan, i. 118.) regards one side to Rahtor Rajpoots, and on the Johyas as extinct; but they still the other to Belotches. B 4 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. I. The Juts of the central plains mixed with Goojers, Rsg'poots, Puthans, and others. Kelative proportions of some principal races. The central tract in the plains stretching from the Jehlum to Hansee, Hissar, and Paneeput, and lying to the north of Khooshab and the ancient Depalpoor, is inhabited chiefly by Juts ; and the particular country of the Sikh people may be said to lie around Lahore, Amritsir, and even Goojrat to the north of the Sutlej, and around Bhutinda and Soonam to the south of that xiver. The one tract is preepninently called Maiyhg, or the middle land, and the other is known as Malwa, from, it is said, some fancied resemblance in greenness and fertility to the central Indian province of that name. Many other people are, however, intermixed, as Bhattees and Doghurs, mostly to the south and west, and Raiens, Rors, and others, mostly in the east. Goo- jers are everywhere numerous, as are also other Raj- poots besides Bhuttees, while Puthans are found in scattered villages and towns. Among the Puthans ! those of Kussoor have long been numerous and power- i ful, and the Rajpoots of Rahoon have a local reputa- tion.- Of the gross agricultural population of this central tract, perhaps somewhat more than four-tenths may be Jut, and somewhat more than one-tenth Goojer, while nearly two-tenths may be Rajpoots more or less pure, and less than a tenth claim to be Mahometans of foreign origin, although it is highly probable that about a third of the whole people profess the Mussulman faith.* In every town and city there are, moreover, tribes of religionists, or soldiers, or traders, or handicraftsmen, and thus whole divisions of a provincial capital may be peopled by holy Brahmin st or as holy Syeds, by Af- ; ghan or Boondehla soldiers, by Kshutrees, Uroras, * >-<,. ' 'T /c^/. • See Appendix II. t In the Punjab, and along the Ganges, Brahmins have usually the appellation of Misser or Mitter, i. t. Mithra, given to them, if not dis- tinguished as Pundits, t. e. as doc- tors or men of learning. The title seems, according to tradition, or to the surmise of well informed native Indians, to have been introduced by the first Mahometan invaders, and it may perhaps show that the Brahmins were held to be worshippers of the sun by the Unitarian iconoclasts. Chap. L] THE COUNTEY AND PEOPLE. and Buneeas engaged in trade, by Cashmeeree weavers, Kshutreea and by mechanics and dealers of the many degraded or onhecities inferior races of Hindostan. None of these are, how- ever, so powerful, so united, or so numerous as to aflfect the surrounding rural population, although, after the Juts, the Kshutrees are perhaps the most influential and enterprising race in the country.* Of the wandering houseless races, the Chunggurs The wan- are the most numerous and the best known, and thev ^^""^ 1 • 1 ■ 1111 Chunggurs. seem to deserve notice as bemg probably the same as the Chinganehs of Turkey, the Russian Tzigans, the German Zigueners, the Italian Zingaros,. the Spanish Gitanos, and the English Gypsies. About Delhi the race is called Kunjur, a word which, in the Punjab, pro- perly implies a courtezan dancing girl. The limits of Race and Religion are not the same, Thereii- otherwise the two subjects might have been considered |j°"^ °^ ""* together with advantage. In Ludakh the people and country. the dependent rulers profess Lamaic Boodhism, which TheLamaic is so widely diffused throughout Central Asia, but the Ludlkh!' °^ Tibetans of Iskardo, the Durdoos of Ghilghit, eaad the Kukkas and Bumbas of the rugged mountains, are Mahometans of the Sheea persuasion. The peoplie of The sheea eael*»*«©r, of Kishtwar, of Bhimbur, of Pukhlee, and of ^^^7^' j the hills south and west to the salt range and the Indus, Buitee. /< i ! are mostly Soonee Mahometans, as are likewise the The soonee j tribes of Peshawur and of the valley of the Indus south- J^ns oT^ ' ward, and also the inhabitants of Mooltan^ and of the Goomumc, plains northward as far as Pind-Dadul-Khan, Chuneeot, ^j''^'^"'^' and Depalpoor. The people of the Himalayas, east- Mooitan. ward of Kishtwar and Bhimbur, are Hindoos of the mMg^hm Brahminical faith, vdth some Boodhist colonies to the tribes. north, and some Mahometan families to the south west. The Juts of" Manjha" and "Malwa" are mostly Sikhs, The sikhs but perhaps not one-third of the whole population be- °^ '''^ ™"- tween the Jehlum and Jumna has yet embraced the mixed * See Appendix III. 10 HISTORY OP THE SIKHS. [Chap. L with Brah- tenets of Nanuk and Govind, the other two-thirds beinff Mahome- Still equally divided between Islam and Brahminism. *^°^- In every tovra, excepting perhaps Leh, and in most SopkTepers °^ *^^ villages of the Mahometan districts of Peshawur of Mahome- and Cashmecr and of the Sikh districts of Manjha and tan cities. M.a\wa, there are always to be found Hindoo traders and shopkeepers. The Kshutrees prevail in the northern towns, and the Uroras are numerous in the province of Mooltan. The Cashmeeree Brahmins emulate in intelli- gence and usefulness the Mahratta Pundits and the Baboos of Bengal ; they are a good deal employed in official business, although the Kshutrees and the Uroras are the ordinary accountants and farmers of revenue. Village I In "Malwa" alone, that is, about Bhutinda and Soo- about^Bhu "^™' '^^ ^^^ Sikh population be found unmixed, and tinda there it has passed into a saying, that the priest, the purely Sikh. gQiJigj., the mechanic, the shopkeeper, and the plough- I man are all equally Sikh. The debased There are, moreover, in the Punjab, as throughout dedrlc'es' I^idia, scvcral poor and contemned races, to whom worshippers Brahmins will not administer the consolations of re- codrand hgion, and who have not been sought as converts by oracular the Mahometans. These worship village or forest divinities, go^g, OT family progenitors, or they invoke a stone as typical of the great mother of mankind ; or some have become acquainted with the writings of the later Hindoo reformers, and regard themselves as inferior members of the Sikh community. In the remote Himalayas, again, where neither Moolla nor Lama, nor Brahmin, has yet cared to estaUish himself, the people are equally without instructed priests and a de- terminate faith J they worship the Spirit of each lofty peak, they erect temples to the limitary god of each snow clad summit, and believe that from time to time the attendant servitor is inspired to utter the divine will in oracular sentences, or that when the image of the Deitya or Titan is borne in solemn procession on Chap. I] THE COUNTRY AM) PEOPLE. 1 1 their shoulders, a pressure to the right or left denotes good or evil fortune.* The characteristics of race and religion are every- character- \ disposition turbulent and predatory. They mostly de- vote themselves to the rearing of camels, and they tra- * Under the English system of selling the proprietary right in vil- lages when the old freeholder or former purchaser may be unable to pay the land tax, the Jats of Upper India are gradually becoming the possessors of the greater portion of the soil, a fact which the author first heard on the high authority of Mr. Thomason, the Lieutenant-Governor of the North-western Provinces. It is a common saying that if a Jat has fifty rupees, he will rather dig a well or buy a pair of bullocks with the money than spend it on the idle rejoicings of a marriage. Chap. L] THE COUNTRY AND PEOPLE. 15 verse Upper India in charge of herds of that useful animal. The Afghans are good husbandmen when they have been accustomed to peace in the plains of India, or when they feel secure in their own valleys, but they are even of a more turbulent character than the Belotches, and they are everjrwhere to be met with as mercenary soldiers. Both races are, in truth, in their own country little better than freebooters, and the Mahometan faith has mainly helped them to justify their excesses against unbelievers, and to keep them to- gether under a common banner for purposes of defence or aggression. The Kshutrees aad Uroras of the cities and towns are enterprizing as merchants and frugal as tradesmen. They are the principal financiers and ac- countants of the country ; but the ancient military spirit frequently reappears amongst the once royal " Kshu- trees," and they become able governors of provinces and skilful leaders of armies.* The industry and me- chanical skill of the stout-limbed prolific Cashmeerees are as well known as their poverty, their tameness of spirit, and their loose morality. The people of the hills south and east of Cashmeer, are not marked by any peculiar and well determined character, excepting that the few immixed Rajpoots possess the personal courage aad the * Hurree Singh, a Sikh, and the most enterprizing of Runjeet Singh's generals, was a Kshutree ; and the best of his governors, Mohkum Chund and Sawun Mull, were of the same race. The learning of Boloo Mull, a Khunna Kshutree, and a foUower of the Sikh chief of Alhoowaleea, excites some little jealousy among the Brahmins of Lahore and of the JalundhUr Dooab; and ChundooLal, who so long managed the affairs of the Nizam of Hydrabad, was a Khu- tree of Northern India, and greatly encouraged the Sikh mercenaries in that principality, in opposition to the Arabs and Afghans. The declension of the Kshutrees from soldiers and The Af- ghans in- dustrious, but turbu- lent. The Kshu- trees and Uroras enterpriz- ing but frugal. The Cash- meerees skilful, but tame and spiritless. The un- mixed Kajpoots. sovereigns into traders and shop- keepers, has a parallel in the history of the Jews. Men of active minds will always find employment for themselves, and thus we know what Greeks became under the victorious Romans, and what they are under the ruling Turks. We likewise know that the vanquished Moors were the most industrious of the subjects of medisBval Spain; that the Bloghuls of British India are gradually applying themselves to the business of exchange, and it is plain that the traffickers as well as the priests of Saxon England, Prankish Gaul, and Gothic Italy, must have been chiefly of Roman descent. 16 HISTOBY OP THE SIKHS, [Chap. I. pride of race which distinguish them elsewhere, and that the Gukkers still cherish the remembrance of the times when they resisted Baber and aided Humayoon. The The Tibe- Tibctans, while they are careful cultivators of their di- tans plod- minutive fields risinsr tier upon tier, are utterly debased ding and . . . o f ] n r • j debased. m Spirit, and at present they seem incapable or inaepen- dence and even of resistance to gross oppression. The The custom System of polyandry obtains among them, not as a per- of poiyan- ygj.gg |g^^ j^^^ ^g ^ neccssarv institution. Every spot of dry one of i . i . i i .n i ■ i i i ■ j i. necessity, ground Within the hills which can be cultivated, has been under the plough for ages ; the number of mouths must remain adapted to the number of acres, and the proportion is preserved by limiting each proprietary family to jone^iver of_jchildren. The introduction of Mahometanism in the west, by enlarging the views of the people and promoting emigration, has tended to modify this rule, and even among the Lamaic Tibetans any casual influx of wealth, as from trade or other sources, immediately leads to the formation of separate establishments by the several members of a house.* The wild tribes of Chibhs and Buhows in the hills, the Juns and Kathees, and the Doghers and Bhuttees of the plains, need not be particularly described ; the idle and predatory habits of some, and the quiet pastoral oc- cupations of others, are equally the result of position as The Juns of character. The Juns and Kathees tall, comely, and p^toai^nd long-lived races, feed vast herds of camels and black peaceful. Cattle, which furnish the towns with the prepared butter * Regarding the polyandry of admitted themselves to be illegiti- Ludakh, Moorcroft ( Travels, ii, mate, the number may even be 321, 322. )may bereferredto, andalso greater. In 1835 the population of the Journal of the Asiatic Society of England and Wales was about Bengal for 1844, p. 202. &c. The 14,750,000 and the number of bas- effects of the system on bastardy tards affiliated (before the nevf poor seem marked, and thus out of 760 law came into operation) was 65,475, people in the little district of Hung- or 1 in about 226 ( Wade's British rung, around the junction of the /fishery, pp. 1041 — 1055. ^i and even Sutlej and Pittee (or Spiti) rivers, should the number so born double there were found to be 26 bastards, those affiliated, the proportion would which gives a proportion of about 1 still speak against polyandry as it in 29 i and as few grown-up people affects female purity. Chap. I.] THE COUNTRY AND PEOPLE. 17 of the east, and provide the people themselves with their loved libations of milk.* The limits of creeds and races which have been de- i"^!''*! mi- scribed must not be regarded as permanent. Through- Mbes," nif out India there are constant petty migrations of the proseiytism agricultural population taking place. Political oppres- "auses^T sion, or droughts, or floods, cause the inhabitants of a migrations. village, or of a district, to seek more favored tracts, and there are always chiefs and rulers who are ready to welcome industrious emigrants and to assign them lands on easy terms. This causes some fluctuation in the distribution of races, and as in India the tendency is to a distinction or separation of families, the number of clans or tribes has become almost infinite. Within decent mi- the Sikh dominions the migrations of the Belotches up ^e b"- ° the Indus are not of remotefificurrence, whilelhe occi> lotctes up pation, by the SindhTan DS&Sdpotras of the Lower Sutlej, and of the' took place within the last hundred years. The migra- Daood- tion of the Doghers from Delhi to Feerozpoor, and of the sut"i^\ the Johyas from Marwar to Pakputtun, also on the Migrations Sutlej, are historical rather than traditional, while the DSghers, hard-working Hindoo Mehtums are still moving, family Johyas, and by family and village by village, eastward, away from ^^*""^- the Rasiee and Chenab, and are insinuating themselves among less industrious but more warlike tribes. Although religious wars scarcely take place among the Boodhists, Brahminists, and Mahometans of the present day, and although religious fervor has almost disappeared from among the professors at least of the two former faiths, proselytism is not unknown to any of the three creeds, and Mahometanism, as possessing still a strong vitality within it, will long continue to find converts among the ignorant and the barbarous. Islamism is extending up the Indus from Iskardo to- f^^^^ wards Leh, and is thus incroaching upon the more worn- in Tibet; * ''On milk sustained, and blest with length of days, The Hippomolgi, peaceful, just, and wise." Iliad, xiii, Cowper't Translation. c 18 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. I. and gene- rally per- haps in towns and cities. Lamaic Boodhism progressive in some parts of the Hima- layas. Brahmin- ism likewise extending In the •wilder parts of the plains. But the peasantry and me- chanics generally are becom- ing seceders from Brah- minism. out Boodhism ; while the limits of the idolatrous " Kafirs," almost bordering on Peshawur, are daily be- coming narrower. To the south and eastward of Cashpieer, Mahometanism has also had recent triumphs, and in every large city and in every Mussulman princi- pality in India, there is reason to believe that the reli- gion of the Arabian prophet is gradually gaining ground. In the Himalayas to the eastward of Kisht- war, the Rajpoot conquerors have not carried Brahmin- ism beyond the lower valleys ; and into the wilder glens, occupied by the ignorant worshippers of local divinities, the Boodhists have recently begun to advance, and Lamas of the red or yellow sects are now found where none had set foot a generation ago. Among the forest tribes of India the influence of the Brahmins continues to increase, and every Bheel, or Gond, or Kohlee who acquires power or money, desires to be thought a ^ Hindoo rather than a "Mletcha;" * but, on the other* hand, the Indian laity has, during the last few hundred ** years, largely assumed to itself the functions of the priesthood, and although Hindooism may lose no vota- ries, Gosayens and secular Sadhs usurp the authority of Brahmins in the direction of the conscience. ^ The Sikhs continue to make converts, but chiefly within the limits of their dependent sway, for the colossal power'' of the English has arrested the progress of their arms to the eastward, and has left the Juts of the Jumna and Ganges to their old idolatry. converted some of the vanquished to his own faith, partly by force and partly by conferring Jagheers, partly to acquire merit and partly to soothe his conscience, and there are now several families of Mahometan Gonds in the possession of little fiefs on either side of the Nerbudda. These men have more fully got over the gross superstition of their race, than the Gonds who have adopted Hin- dooism. * Half of the principality of Bhopal, inCentral India,was founded onusurp- ations from the Gonds, who appear to have migrated i n force towards the west about the middle of the seventeenth century, and to have made themselves sdpreme in the valley of the Nerbud- da about Hoshungabad, in spite of the exertions of Aurungzeb, until an Afghan adventurer attacked them on the decline of the empire, and com. pletely subdued them. The Afghan Chap. II.] OLD INDIAN' CKEEDS. 19 CHAPTER II. OLD INDIAN CREEDS, MODEEN EEFOEMS, AND THE TEACHING OF N^NUK, UP TO 1529 A. D. The Boodhists. — The Brahmins and Kshutrees. — Reaction of Boodhism on victorious Brahminism. — Latitude of orthodoxy. — Shunkur Acharj and Saivism. — Monastic orders. — Ramanooj and Vaishnuvism, — The Doctrine of Maya. — The Mahometan conquest. — The reciprocal action of Brahminism and Mahometanispi. — The suc- cessive innovations of Ramanund, Gorukhnath, Kubeer, Cheitun, and Vulluhh. — The reformation of Ndnuk. o The condition of India from remote ages to the pre- India and sent time, is an episode in the history of the world in- ^^ ^?-'^ ferior only to the fall of Rome and the establishment masters. of Christianity. At an early period, the Asiatic penin- sula, from the southern " Ghats" to the Himalayan mountains, would seem to have been colonized by a warlike subdivision of the Caucasian race, which spoke a language similar to the ancient Medic and Persian, and which here and there, near the greater rivers and the shores of the ocean, formed orderly communities pro- fessing a religion resembhng the worship of Babylon TheBood- and Egypt — a creed which, under varying types, is still ^''''• the solace of a large portion of mankind. " Aryavurt," the.laBd-.of good men or believers, comprised DeThi and LahQi:e*.nQ^aLand Bengalf but it was on the banks TheBrah- of the Upper Ganges that the latent energies of the ^"^t^"^^ people first received an impulse, which produced the peculiar civilization of the Brahmins, and made a few heroic families supreme from Arachosia to the Golden Chersonese. India illustrates the power of Darius and the greatness of Alexander, the philosophy of Greece and the religion of China ; and while Rome was con- c 2 20 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS, [Chap. II. The Ma- hometans. The Chris- tians. Brahmin- ism strug- gling with Boodhism tecomes elaborated. tending with Germans and Cimbri and yielding to Goths and Huns, the Hindoos absorbed, almost without an effort, swarms of Scythic barbarians : they dispersed Sacse*, they enrolled Getse among their most famous tribes t, and they made others serve as their valiant defenders.l India afterwards checked the victorious career of Islam, but she could not wholly resist the fierce enthusiasm of the Toorkmun hordes ; she became one of the most splendid of Mahometan empires, and the character of the Hindoo mind has been permanently altered by the genius of the Arabian prophet. The well-being of India's industrious millions is now linked with the fate of the foremost nation of the West, and the representatives of Judsean faith and Roman polity will long wage a war of principles with the speculative Brahmin, the authoritative Moolla, and the hardy be- lieving Sikh. The Brahmins and their valiant Kshutrees had a long and arduous contest with that ancient faith of India, which, as successively modified, became famous as Bood- hism. § When Munnoo wrote, perhaps nine centuries " increasing schismatics, and partly wkh invading Graco-Bactrians, and whose warlike merit, as well as timely aid and subsequent conformity, got them enrolled as " fireborn," in contradis- /■ tinction to the^ solar and lunar fa- milies. The Agneekoolas are now mainly found iir~nie tract of country extending from Oojein to Rewah * Vikrumajeet derived his title of Sakaree from his exploits against the Sacce (Sakse). The race is still per- haps preserved pure in the wilds of Tartary, between Yarkund and the Mansarawur Lake, where the Sohpos called Kelmaks [Calmucs] by the Mahometans, continue to be dreaded by the people of Tibet. f The Getse are referred to as the same with the ancient Chinese Yue- chi, and the modern Juts or Jats, but their identity is as yet perhaps rather a reasonable conclusion than a logical or critical deduction. ^ The four ^gneekoola tribes of Kshutrees or Rajpoots are here al- luded to, viz. : the Chohans, Solun- kees, Pbwars (or Prtimars), and the Purihars. The unnamed progenitors of these races seem clearly to have been invaders who sided with the Brahmins in their warfare, partly with the old Kshutrees, partly with near Benares, and Mount Aboo is asserted to be the place of their mi- raculous birth or appearance. Vik- rumajeet, the champion of Brahmin- ism, was a Powar according to the common accounts. § The relative priority of Brah- minism and Boodhism continues to be argued and disputed among the learned. The wide dififusion at one period of Boodhism in India is as certain as the later predominance of Brahminism ; but the truth seems to be that they are of independent origin, and that they existed for a long Chap. II.] OLD INDIAN CREEDS. 21 characteris- tics. before Christ, when Alexander conquered, and even its seven hundred years afterwards, when the obscure m^ts^Jnd Fahian travelled and studied, there were kingdoms ruled by others than " Aryas ; " and ceremonial Bood- hism, with its indistinct apprehensions of a divinity, had more votaries than the monotheism of the Veds, which admitted no similitude more gross than fire, or air, or the burning sun.* During this period the genius of Hin- time coutemporaneously ; the former chiefly in the south-west, and the latter about Oude and Tirhoot. It is not, however, necessary to sup- pose, with M. Burnouf, that Bood- hism is purely and originally Indian. (^Introduction d I'Histoire du Budd- hisme Indien, Avertissement i.) Not- withstanding the probable deriva- tion of the name from the Sanscrit "boodee," intelligence; or from the " bo " or bodee," i. e. the Jicus reli- giosa or peepul tree. The Brah- minical genius gradually received a development which rendered the Hindoos proper supreme through- out the land; but their superior learning became of help to their antagonists, and Gowtum, himself a Brahmin or a Kshutree, would ap- pear to have taken advantage of the knowledge of the hierarchy to give a purer and more scientific form to Boodhism, and thus to become its search of imaginary chambers, or vessels containing relics, and are only now about to have delineated, and so made available to the learned. The numerous bas-reliefs of its singular stone inclosure still vividly represent the manners as well as the belief of the India of Asoka, and show that the Tree, the Sun, and -the S'toopa (or " tope") itself — apparently the type of Meroo or the Central Mount of the World — were, along with the impersonated Boodba, the principal objects of adoration at that period, and that the country was then partly peopled by a race of men wearing high caps and short tunics, so dif- ferent from the ordinary dress of Hindoos. * " There seem to have been no images and no visible types of the objects of worship," says Mr. Elphin- stone, in his most useful and judicious History (i. 73.), quoting Professor great apostle in succeeding times?!? Wilson, Oxford Lectures, and the !Of the modern faiths, Saivism per- haps most correctly represents the original Vedic worship. (Compare Wilson, ^s. Res., xvii. 171. &c., and Vishnoo Pooran, Preface, Ixiv.) Jeinism and Faishnuvism sue the resultants of the two beliefs in a Boodhish and Brahminical dress re- spectively, while Saktism still vividly illustrates the old superstition of the masses of the people, whose ignorant minds quailed before the dread god- dess of famine, pestilence, and death. The most important monument of Boodhism now remaining is perhaps the " tope" or hemisphere, near Bhilsa in Central India, which it is a dis- grace to the English that they par- tially destroyed a generation ago in -?**■ 2, A; / A;: Vishnoo Pooran; while, with regard to fire, it is to be remembered that in the Old Testament, and even in the New, it is the principal symbol of the Holy Spirit. ( Strauss, Life of Jesus, 361 . ) The Veds, however, al- lude to personified energies and at- tributes, but the monotheism of the system is not more affected by the introduction of the creating Brumha, the destroying Siva, and other minor powers, than the omnipotence of Je- hovah is interfered with by the hier- archies of the Jewish heaven. Yet, in truth, much has to be learnt with regard to the Veds and Vedantism, notwithstanding the invaluable la- bors of Colebrooke and others, and the useful commentary or interpreta- 3 / A.. 22 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [CfiAP. II. dooism became fully developed, and the Brahmins rivalled the Greeks in the greatness and the variety of their triumphs. Epic poems show high imaginative and desci-iptive powers, and the Ramayoon and Muhabharut still move the feelings and affect the character of the people. Mathematical science was so perfect, and astro- nomical observation so complete, that the paths of the sun and moon were accurately measured.* The philosophy of the learned few was, perhaps, for the first time, firmly allied with the theology of the believing many, and Brah- minism laid down as articles of faith, the unity of God, the creation of the world, the immortality^ the"soul, and~tEe~res^'^Bilityjof man.^~~The''Temote dwellers upon the Ganges distinctly" made known that future life about which Moses is silent or obscure t, and that unity and omnipotence of the Creator which were un- known to the polytheism of the Greek arid Roman multitude t, and to the dualism of the Mithraic legisla- (_: tion of Rammdhun Roy. (^Asiatic Re- searched "viii. ; Transactions Royal Asiatic Societi/, i. and ii. ; and Ram- mofiun Roy on the Veds.) The translation of the Veddnt Sdr in Ward's Hinddos (ii. 175.), and the improved version of Dr. Roer (^Jour- nal Asiatic Society of Bengal, Feb. 1845, No. 108.), may be consulted with advantage. If translaitors "would repeat the Sanscrit terras with ex- panded meanings in English, instead of using terms of the scholastic or modern systems which seem to them to be equivalent, they would materially help students to understand the real doctrine of the original speculators. * The so called solar year in com- mon use in India takes no account of the precession of the equinoxes, but, as a sidereal year, it is almost ex- act. The revolution of the points of intersection of the ecliptic and equa- tor nevertheless appears to have been long known to the Hindoos, and some of their epochs were obviously based on the calculated period of the phenomenon. (Compare Mr. Davis's paper in the As. Res., vol. ii. and Bentley's Astronomy of the Hindoos, pp. 2—6. 88.) t One is almost more willing to admit that, in effect, the Jews gene- rally held Jehovah to be their God only, or a limitary divinity, than that the wise and instructed Moses (whorii Strabo held to be an Egyptian priest alid a Pantheist, as quoted in Volney's Ruins, ch. xxii. sec. 9. note) could belieVe in the perishable nature of the soul ; but the critical Sadducees nevertheless so interpreted their pro- phet, although the Egyptians his masters Vfere held by Herodotus {Euterpe, cxxiii.) to be the first who defended the undying nature of the spirit of man. Socrates and Plato, with all their longings, could only feel assured that the soul had more of immortality than aught else. (Phcedo, Sydenham and Taylor's translation, iv. 324.) I The unknown God of the Athe- nians, Fate, the avenging Nemesis, and other powers independent of Zeus or Jupiter, show the dissatis- faction of the ancient mind with the ordinary mythology; and unless mo-- ^- CnAP. n.] OLD INDIAN CREEDS. 23 tors ; while Vyasa perhaps surpassed Plato in keeping the people tremblingly alive to the punishment which awaited evil deeds.* The immortality of the soul was indeed encumbered with the doctrine of transmigra- tion t, the active virtues were perhaps deemed less meri- W' torious than bodily austerities and mental abstraction^, ' ' and the Brahmin polity was soon fatally clogged with the dogma of inequality among men, and with the insti- " tution of a body of hereditary guardians of religion, t The Brahmins succeeded in expelling the Boodhist Erahmin- faith from the , Indian peninsula, and when Shunkur torio™'ovei Acharj journeyed and disputed nine hundred years after Boodhism. A.Q. dfirn criticism has detected interpo- lations, perhaps both Bishop Thirl- wall (^History of Greece, i. 192. &c.) and Mr. Grote (^History of Greece, i. 3. and chap. xvi. part i. generally), have too much disregarded the sense which the pious and admiring Cow- per gave to Homer's occasional mode of using "theos." (^Odyssey, xiv. ■with Cowper's note, p. 48. vol. iL Edition of 1802.) * Ritter (^Ancient Philosophy, ii. 387.) labors to excuse Plato for his " inattention," to the subject of duty or obligation, on the plea that the So- cratic system did not admit of necesy. sity or of a compulsory principle. Bacon lies open in an inferior degree to the same objection as Plato, of underrating the importance of moral philosophy (compare Hallam's Lite^ rature of Europe, iii. 191. and Ma- caulay, Edinburgh Review, July, 1837, p. 84.); and yet a strong sense of duty towards God is essential to the well-being of society, if not to systems of transcendental or material philosophy. In the East, however, philosophy has always been more closely allied to theology than in civilized Greece or modern Europe. Plato, indeed, arraigns the dead and torments the souls of the wicked (see for instance Gorgias, Syden- ham and Taylor's Translation. simply justice towards the gods, and a matter of choice or pleasure on the part of the imperishable human spi- rit. (Compare Schleiermacher's In~ troductions to Plato's. Dialoffues, p. 181, &c., and Ritter's Ancient Phi- losophy, ii. 374. ) Nor can it be dis- tinctly said that Vyasa taught the principle of grateful righteousness as now understood to be binding on men, and to constitute their duty and obligation ; and probably the Indian may merely have the advantage of being a theological teacher instead of an ontological speculator. f The more zealous Christian writers on Hindoo theology seize upon the doctrine of transmigration as limiting the freedom of the will and the degree of isolation of the soul, when thus successively mani- fested in the world clouded with the imperfection of previous appearances. A man, it is said, thus becomes sub- ject to the Fate of the Greeks and Romans. (Compare Ward on the Hindoos, ii. Introductory Remarks, xxviii. &c.) But the soul so weighed down with the sins of a former ex- istence does not seem to differ in an ethical point of view, and as regards our conduct in the present life, from the soul encumbered with the sin of Adam. Philosophically, the notions seem equally but modes of account- 451.), and practically among men ing for the existence, of evil, or for the doctrine may be effective or su£B- ''•= «wav over men. ■'(',';.■ T i ^ cienti but with the Greek piety is C Its sway over men. \ See Appendix IV., on "Caste." m HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. II. Loses its unity and -.■vigor. Christ, a few learned men, and the inoffensive half con- forming Jeins *, alone remained to represent the "Mletchas," the barbarians or "gentiles" of Hin- dooism. The Kshutrees had acquired kingdoms, hea- then princes had been subdued or converted, and the Brahmins, who ever denounced as prophets rather than preached as missionaries, were powerless in foreign countries if no royal inquirer welcomed them, or if no ambitious warrior followed them. Hindooism had attained its limits, and the victory brought with it the seeds of decay. The mixture with strangers led to a partial adoption of their usages, and man's desire for sympathy ever prompted him to seek an object of wor- ship more nearly allied to himself in nature than the invisible and passionless divinity.t The concession of a simple black stone as a mark of direction to the senses t, no longer satisfied the hearts or understandings ^'. /.- * The modern Jeins frankly admit the connection of their faith with that of the Boodhists, and the Jeinee traders of Eastern Malwa claim the ancient " Tope," near Bhilsa, as vir- tually a temple of their own creed. The date of the general recognition of the Jeins as a sect is douhtful, but it is curious that the " Kosh," or vo- cabulary of Ummer Singh^does not contain the word Jein, although the word "Jin" is enumerated among the names of Mayadeyee, the regent goddess of the material universe, and . the mother of G owtu m, the Bood- hist patriarch or prophet. In the Bhagavut, again, Bowdh is repre- sented as the son of Jin, and as about to appear in Keekut Des, or Behar. v. f" %% ',-■ t Mr. Elphinstone (History of India, i. 1 89. ) observes that Rama and Krishna, with their human feelings and congenial acts, attracted more votaries than the gloomy Siva ; and I have somewhere noticed, I think in the Edinburgh Review, the truth well enlarged upon, viz, that the suf- ferings of Je'ius materially aided the growth of Christianity by enlisting the sympathies of the multitude in favor of a crucified God, The bitter remark of Xenophanes, that if oxen became religious their gods would he bovine in form, is indeed most true as expressive of a general desire among men to make their divinities anthro- pomorphous. (Grote, History of Greece, iv. ,523., and Thirlwall, His- tory, ii. 136.) \ Hindoo Saivism, or the worship of the Lingam, seems to represent the compromise which the learned Brahmins made when they endea~ vored to exalt and purify the su- perstition of the multitude, who throughout India continue to this day to see the mark of the near pre- sence of the Divinity in every thing. The Brahmins may thus have taught the mere Fetichist, that when regard- ing a simple black stone, they should think of the invisible ruler of the universe ; and they may have wished to leave the Boodhist image wor- shippers some point of direction for the senses. That the Lingam is typi- cal of reproductive energy seems wholly a notion of later times, and to be confined to the few who inge- niously or perversely see recondite meanings in ordinary similitudes. - (Compare Wilson, Vishnoo Pooran, Preface, Ixiv.) " - /j . i3 •" Chap. II.] OLD INDIAN CREEDS. 25 of the people, and Shunkur Acharj, who could silence the Bauddha materialist, and confute the infidel Char- vak *, was compelled to admit the worship of Virtues and Powers, and to allow images, as well as formless types, to be enshrined in temples. The " self-existent" needed no longer to be addressed direct, and the ortho- dox could pay his devotions to the Preserving Vishnoo, •-^ to the Destroying Siva, to t|ie Regent of the Sun, to i^'' Gunes, the helper of men, or to the reproductive energy of nature personified as woman, with every assurance that his prayers would be heard, and his oiFerings accepted, by the Suprenie Being, t The old Brahmin worship had been domestic or solitary, and that of the Boodhists public or congre- gational ; the Brahmin ascetic separated himself from his fellows, but the Boodhist hermit became a coeno- bite, the member of a community of devotees ; the Brahmin reared a family before he became an an- chorite, but the Boodhist vowed celibacy and renounced most of the pleasures of sense. These customs of the . '.~- vanquished nad their effect upon the conquerors,^ and Shunkur Acharj, in his endeavor to strengthen or- thodoxy, enacted the double part of St. Basil and Pope Honorius.t He established a monastery of Brahmin * Professor Wilson (Asiatic Re- searches, xvi. 18.) derives the title of the Charvak school from a Moonee or seer of that name; but the Brahmins, at least of Malwa, derive the distinc- tive name, both of the teacher and of the system, from Charms persuasive, excellent, and KaA, speech, — thus making the school simply the logical or dialectic, or perhaps sophistical, as it has become in fact. The Char- vakites are wholly materialist, and in deriving consciousness from a parti- cular aggregation or condition of the elements of the body, they seem to have anticipated the physiologist Dr. Lawrence, who makes the brain to secrete thought as the liver secretes bile. The system is also styled the Varhusputya, and the name of Vri- husputtee, the orthodox Regent of Shunkur Achaij methodizes polytheism, 800 — 1000 Reaction of Bocdhism on Brah- minism. Shunkur Achaij establishes ascetic orders, and gives pre- eminence to Saivism. the planet Jupiter, became connected with Atheism, say the Hindoos, owing to the jealousy with which the se- condary or delegated powers of Hea- ven saw the degree of virtue to which man was obtaining by upright living and a contemplation of the Divinity ; wherefore Vrihusputtee descended to confound the human understanding by diffusing error. ( Compare Wilson, As. Res., xvii. .308. and Troyer's-Da- histan, ii. 1 98, note. ) j" The five sects enumerated are still held to represent the most or- thodox varieties of Hindooism. |: All scholars and inquirers are deeply indebted to Professor Wilson for the account lie has given of theHindoo sects in the sixteenth and seventeenth volumes of the Asiatic Researches. The works, indeed, which are ab- 26 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. II, ascetics; he converted the solitary "Dundee," with his staff and waterpot, into one of an order, a monk or friar, at once coenobitic and mendicant, who Uved upon alms and who practised chastity.* The order was ^ rendered still further distinct by the choice of Siva as, the truest type of God, an example which was soon fol- lowed ; and, during the eleventh century, Ramanooj esta- blished a fraternity of Brahmins, named after himself, orders, with who adopted some refined rules of conduct, who saw tateia*""^^ the Deity in Vishnoo, and who degraded the Supreme Being by attributing to him form and qualities.t A consequence of the institution of an order or fraternity is the necessity of attention to its rules, or to the in- junctions of the spiritual superior. The person of a Brahmin had always been held sacred. It was believed that a pious Boodhist could disengage his soul or attain to divinity even in this world ; and when Shunkur Kamanooj establishes other god, 1000— 1200 A.D, stracted, are in the hands of many people in India, particularly the Bhuggut Mala (or Histoiy of the Saints) and its epitomes; hut the ad- vantage is great of being able to study the subject with the aid of the notes of a deep scholar personally acquainted with the country. It is only to be regretted that Professor Wilson has not attempted to trace the progress of opinion or reform among sectaries ; but neither does such a project ap- pear to have occurred to Mr. Ward, in his elaborate and valuable but piecemeal volumes on the Hindoos. Mohsun Fanee, who wrote the Da- bistan, has even less of sequence or of argument, but the observations and views of an intelligent, although garrulous and somewhat credulous Mahometan, who florished nearly two centuries ago, have nevertheless a peculiar value ; and Capt. Troyer's careful translation has now rendered the book accessible to the English public. * Shunkur Acharj was a Brahmin of the south of India, and according to Professor Wilson (/is. iies., xvii. 1 80. ), he florished during the eighth or ninth century : but his date is doubtful, and if, as is commonly said, Kamanooj was his disciple and sis- ter's son, he perhaps lived a century or a century and a half later. He is believed to have established four muths, or monasteries, or denomina- tions, headed by the four out of his ten instructed disciples, who faith- j* fully adhered to his views. The ad- herents of these four are specially re- ' garded as " Duudees," or, including the representatives of the six heretical sc^iools, the whole are callid " Dus- - names." ( Compare Wilson, .^s. ijcs., xvii. 169. &c.) t Ramanooj is variously stated to have lived some time between the be- ginning of the eleventh, and the end of the twelfth century. (Wilson, As, Res,, xvi. 28, note.) In Central In- dia he is understood to have told, his uncle that the path which he, Shun- kur Acharj, had chosen, was not the right one ; and the nephew accord- ingly seceded and established the first four ** sumprdaees," or congrega- tions, in opposition to the four muths or arders of his teacher, and at the some time chose Vishnoo as the most suitable type of God. Ramanooj styled his congregation that of Sree, Chap.II.] old INDIAN CREEDS. 27 Acharj rejected some of his chosen disciples for non- conformity or disobedience, he contributed to centre the growing feeUngs of reverence for the teacher solely upon a mortal man ; and, in a short time, it was con- spiritual sidered that all things were to be abandoned for the ^'g^j,"]'^"^ "^ sake of the " Gooroo," and that to him were to be sur- orders Vro- rendered "Tun, Muu, Dhun," or body, mind, and 1?!*''°^*'"' Worldly wealth.* Absolute submission to the spiritual ' ' ^" master readily becomes a lively impression of the di- vinity of his mission ; the inward evidences of grace are too subtle for the understanding of the barbaric convert ; fixed observances take the place of sentiment, and he justifies his change of opinion by some material act of devotion.t But faith is the usual test of sincerity and pledge of favor among the sectarians of peaceful and instructed communities, and the reformers of India soon began to require such a declaration of mystic belief and reliance from the seekers of salvation. Philosopjiic speculation " had kept pace in diversity Scepticism with religious usage : learning and wealth, and an ex- f"*^ ''"^'^ tended intercourse with men, produced the ordinary tendency towards scepticism, and six orthodox schools opposed six heretical systems, and made devious at- tempts to acquire a knowledge of God by logical de- ductions from the phenomena of nature or of the human mind.t They disputed about the reality and the eternity of matter ; about consciousness and under- standing ; and about life and the soul, as separate from, or Lukshmee. The other three were of the passion and death of Christ, successively founded by 1st, Mad- he became a convert to the faith df huv ; 2dly, by Vishnoo Swamee and his wife, and a disciple of the ancient his better known follower Vullubh ; pastor of Rheims i " Had I been pre- and Sdly, by Nimbharuk or Nimb- sent at the head of my valiant Franks, haditya. These, although all Vaish- I would have revenged his injuries." nuvees, called their assemblies or (Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Mo- ■schools respectively after Brumha, man Empire, vi. 302.) The Maho- and Siva, and Sunnukadik, a son of metans tell precisely the same story of Brumha. ( Compare Wilson, As. Tymoor and Hosein the son of Alee : J?es., xvi. 27, &c. ) "I would have hurried," said the * Compare Wilson, Asiatic Re- conquering Tartar, "from remotest searches, xvi. 90. India, to have prevented or avenged t The reader will remember the the death of the martyred Imam." fervent exclamation of Clovis, when, | See AppLndix V. listening after a victory to the story 28 HISTORY OP THE SIKHS. [Chap. II. The dogma of " Maya" receives a moral appli- nation. General de- cline of Brahmin- ism, Early Arah incursions into India but Uttle felt. or as identical with one another and with God. The results were, the atheism of some, the belief of others in a limitary deity, and the more general reception of the doctrine of "Maya" or illusion, which allows sensation to be a true guide on this side of the grave, but sees nothing certain or enduring in the constitution of the material world ; — a doctrine eagerly adopted by the subsequent reformers, who gave it a moral or re- ligious application.* Such was the state of the Hindoo faith or polity a thousand years after Christ. The fitness of the original system for general adoption had been materially im- paired by the gradual recognition of a distinctiop of race ; the Brahmins had isolated themselves from the soldiers and the peasants, and they destroyed their own unanimity by admitting a virtual plurality of gods, and by giving assemblies of ascetics a preeminence over communities of pious householders. In a short time the gods were regarded as rivals, and their worshippers as antagonists. The rude Kshutree warrior became a politic chief, with objects of his own, and ready to prefer one hierarchy or one divinity to another ; while the very latitude of the orthodox worship, led the mul- titude to doubt the sincerity and the merits of a body of ministers who no longer harmonized among themselves. A new people now entered the country, and a new element hastened the decline of corrupted Hindooism. India had but little felt the earlier incursions of the Arabs during the first and second centuries of the " Hijree ;" and when the Abbasides became caliphs, they were more anxious to consolidate their vast empire, already weakened by the separation of Spain, than to waste their means on distant conquests which rebellion might soon dismember. The Arab, moreover, was no longer a single-minded enthusiastic soldier, but a selfish and turbulent viceroy ; the original impulse given by the prophet to his countrymen had achieved its limit of con- quest, and Mahometanism required a new infusion of * See Appendix VI. CttAp.n.] MODERN EEFORMS. 29 faith and hardihood -to enable it to triumph over the heathens of Delhi and the Christians of Constantinople. This awakening spirit was acquired partly from the Mahomet- njountain Koords, but chiefly from the pastoral Toork- ceives a^" muns, who, from causes imperfectly understood, were ^^^^^ i™- once more impelled upon the fertile and wealthy south, conversion During- the ninth century, these warlike shepherds be- °^ ^^^ Toork- gan to establish themselves from the Indus to the Black muns. Sea, and they oppressed and protected the empire of Mahomet, as Goths and Vandals and their own pro- genitors had before entered and defended and absorbed the dominions of Augustus and Trajan. Toghrul Beg and Saladin are the counterparts of Stilicho and Theo- doric, and the MooUas and Syeds of Bagdad were as anxious for the conversion of unbelievers as the bishops and deacons of the Greek and Latin Churches. The migratory barbarians who fell upon Europe became Christians, and those who plundered Asia adopted, with perhaps greater ease and ardor, the more congenial creed of Islam. Their vague unstable notions yielded to the authority of learning and civilization, and to the majesty of one omnipotent God, and thus armed with religion as a motive, and empire as an object, the Toorks pre- cipitated themselves upon India and upon the diminished provinces of the Byzantine Caesars. Mehmood crossed the Indus in the year 1001, not Mehmood long after Shunkur Acharj had vainly endeavored to i„dia, arrest the progress of heresy, and to give limits to the looi a.d. - diversity of faith which perplexed his countrymen. The -"-''' Punjab was permanently occupied, and before the "' sultan's death, Canouj and Goojrat had been overrun. yV^' ■ > The Ghuznevides were expelled by the -Ghorees about ^. 1183. Bengal was conquered by these usurpers, and when the Eibek Toorks supplanted them in 1206, Hin- f^^^^^^ doostan became a separate portion of the Mahometan separate '^ world. During the next hundred and fifty years the P°f j^^"^ whole of India was subdued ; a continued influx of hometan Moghuls in the thirteenth, and of Afghans in the ^^^'^J^^^' fifteenth century, added to their successive authority as 1206A.1..' 30 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. H. And the conquerors become Indianized. Action and reaction of Mahomet" anism and Brahmin- ism. rulers, gradually changed the language and the thoughts of the vanquished. The Khiljees and Toghluks and Lodees were too rude to be inquisitorial bigots ; they had a lawful option in tribute, and taxation was more pro- fitable, if less meritorious, than conversion. They adopted as their own the country which they had con- quered. Numerous mosques attest their piety and munificence, and the introduction of the solar instead of the intractable lunar year, proves their attention to or^nary business and the wants of agriculture.* The Mahometans became Indianized ; and, in the sixteenth century, the great Akber conceived the design of esta- blishing a national government or monarchy which should unite the elements of the two systems : but political obedience does not always denote social amalga- mation, and the reaction upon the Moslem mind perhaps increased that intolerance of Aurungzeb which hastened the ruin of the djTiasty. The influence of a new people, who equalled or sur- passed Kshutrees in valor, who despised the sanctity of Brahmins, and who authoritatively proclaimed the unity of God and his abhorrence of images, began gradually to operate on the minds of the multitudes of India, and recalled even the learned to the simple tenets of the Veds, which Shunkur Acharj had disregarded. The * The solar, i. e. really 'sidereal year, called the " Shuhoor Sun," or vulgarly the " Soor Sun," that is, the year of (Arabic) months, was ap- parently introduced into the Deccan by Toghluk Shah, towards the middle of the fourteenth century of Christ, or between 1341 and 1344, and it is still used by the Mahrattas in all their more important documents, the dates being inserted in Arabic words writ- ten in Hindee(Mahrattee) characters. (Compare Prinsep's Useful Tables, ii. 30. who refers to a Report, by Lieut. Col. Jervis, on Weights and Mea- sures.) The other " Fuslee," or " harvest " years of other parts of India, were not introduced until the reigns of Akber and Shah Jehan, and they mostly continue to this day to be used, even by the English, in re- venue accounts. The commencement of each might, without much vio- lence, be adapted to the 1st July of any year of the Christian era, and the Mahometans and Hindoos could at the same time retain, the former the Hijree, and the latter the Shuk (Saka) and Sumbut, names of the months respectively. No greater de- gree of uniformity or simplicity is required, and the general predomi- nance of the English would render a measure so obviously advantageous of easy introduction. CHAp.nj MODERN REFOEMS. 31 operation was necessarily slow, for the imposing system of powers and emanations had been adapted with much industry to the local or peculiar divinities of tribes and races, and in the lapse of ages the legislation of Munnoo ' had become closely interwoven with the thoughts and habits of the people. Nor did the proud distinctions of caste and the reverence shown to Brahmins, fail to attract the notice and the admiration of the barbarous victors. Sheklis and Syeds had an innate holiness as- signed to them, and Moghuls and Puthans copied the exclusiveness of Rajpoots. New superstition also /; /, emulated old credulity. "Peers" and " Shuheeds," saints and martyrs, equalled Krishna and Bheiruv in the number of their miracles, and the Mahometans A~, :'■- almost forgot the unity of God in the multitude of in- tercessors whose aid they implored. Thus custom The popular jarred with custom, and opinion with opinion, and while belief un- the few always fell back with confidence upon their re- velations, the Koran and Veds, the public mind became agitated, and found no sure resting-place with Brah- mins or MooUas, with Muhadepw Mahomet.* " ■ • Gibbon has shown (History, ii. p. 22. 37.), not only admires the 35.6.) how the scepticism of learned Jictions of the East, but confesses Greeks and Romans proved favor- their beneficial effect on the Gothic able to the growth of Christianity, genius. The Arabs, indeed, were and-a writer in the Quarterly Review the preservers and difFusers of that (for June, 1846, p. 116.) makes science or knowledge which was some just observations on the same brought forth in Egypt or India, subject. The cause of the scepti- which was reduced to order in Greece cism is not perhaps sufficiently attri- and Rome, and which has been so buted to the mixture of the Eastern greatly extended in particular direc- and Western superstitions, which took tions by the moderns of the West. place after the conquests of Alexan- The preeminence of the Mahometan der, and during the supremacy of over the Christian mind, was long Rome. conspicuous in the metaphysics of the i Similarly the influence of Maho- schoolmen, and it is still apparent in metan learning and civilization in the administrative system of Spain, moulding the European mind, seems in the common terms of astronomical to be underrated in the present day, and medicinal science, and in the although Hallam (Literature of Eu- popular songs of feudal Europe, rope, i. 90, 91. 149, 150. 157, 158. which ever refer to the Arabian pro- 189, 190.) admits our obligations in phet and to Turks and Saracens, or physical, and even in mental, science ; expatiate on the actions of the Cid, a and a representative of Oxford, the Christian hero with a Mussulman critical yet fanciful William Gray title. (sketch of English Prose Literature, Whewell {History of Inductive. sK HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. II. Ramanund establishes a compre- hensive sect at Be- nares, about 1400 A. u.: and intro- duces hero worship ; but main- tains the equality of true be- lievers be- fore God. The first result of the conflict was the institution, about the end of the fourteenth century, of a compre- hensive sect by Ramanund of Benares, a follower of the" tenets of Ramanooj.^ Unity of faith or of worship had^ already been destroyed, and the conquest of the country by foreigners diminished unity of action among- the ministers of religion. Learning had likewise declined, , and poetic fancy and family tradition were allowed to^ modify the ancient legends of the " Poorans " or chro- nicles, and to usurp the authority of the Veds.* The heroic Rama was made the object of devotion to this new sect of the middle Ganges, and as the doctrine of the innate superiority of Brahmins and Kshutrees had been rudely shaken by the Mahometan ascendancy, Ra- manund seized upon the idea of man's equality before God. He instituted no nice distinctive observances, he admitted all classes of people as his disciples, and he declared that the true votary was raised above mere social forms, and became free or liberated.t During Sciences, i. 22. 276.), in demon- strating that the Arabs did very little, if aught, to advance exact science, physical or metaphysical, and in likening them to the servant who had the talent but put it not to use, might yet have excused them on the plea that the genius of the people was directed to the propagation of re- ligious truth — to subjecting the Evil Principle to the Good in Persia, to restoring Monotheism in India, and to the subversion of gross idolatry in regions of Africa still untrodden by Europeans. [With this view of the English professor may be contrasted the opinion of Humboldt, who em- phatically says that the Arabs are to be regarded as the proper founders of the physical sciences, in the sense which we are now accustomed to attach to the term. (^Kosmos, Sabine's Trans, ii. 212-)] * Modern criticism is not disposed to allow an ancient date to the Poo- rans, and doubtless the interpola- tions are both numerous and recent, just as the ordinary copies of the rhapsodies of the Rajpoot Bhat, or Bard, Chund, contain allusions to dy- nasties and events subsequent to Pir- thee Raj and Mehmood. The diffi- culty lies in separating the old from the new, and perhaps also objectors ■'■ have too much lost sight of the cir- cumstance that the criticized and i less corrupted Ramayoon and Mu- habharut are only the chief of the Poorans. They seem needlessly in- clined to reject entirely the authority or' authenticity of the conventional Eighteen Chronicles, merely because eulogiums on modern families have been introduced by successive flat- terers. Nevertheless the Poorans must rather be held to illustrate modes of thought, than to describe historical events with accuracy j*"^ ' t Compare Dabistdn,u. 179. and Wilson, As. Res., xvi. 36. &c. Pro- fessor Wilson remarks (idem. p. 44., and also xvii. 183.), that the sects of Shunkur Acharj and Ramanooj in- cluded Brahmins only, and indeed Chap. H.] MODERN REFORMS. 33 the same century the learned enthusiast Gorukhnath gave popularity, especially in the Punjab, to the doc- trine of the "Yog,"Vhich belonged more properly as a theory or prance to the Boodhist faith, but which was equally adopted as a philosophic dogma by the fol- lowers of Vyasa and of Shakya. It was, however, held that in this "Kulyoog," or iron age, fallen man was unequal to so great a penance, or to the attainment of complete beatitude ; but Gorukh taught that intense mental abstraction would etherialize the body of the most lowly, and gradually unite his spirit with the all- pervading soul of the world. He chose Siva as the deity who would thus bless the austere perseverance of his votaries of whatever caste ; and, not content with the ordinary frontal marks of sects and persuasions, he dis- tinguished his disciples by boring their ears, whence they are familiarly known as the " Kanphutta," or ear- torn Joghees.*^,v (/ 1>-^ >"--'- *' • Gorukh- nath esta- blishes a sect in the Punjab, and main- tains the equalizing effect of religious penance ; but causes further diversity by adopting Siva as the type of God. chiefly men of learning of that race. I The followers of Ramanund, or the Vaishnuvees, were long violently op- posed to the Saivic denominations ; so much so, according to tradition, that they would not, on any account, cross the Nerbudda river, which is held to be peculiarly sacred to Mu- hadeo or Muhes, but would rather, in performing aT journey go round by its sources. Among the people of Central In- dia there is a general persuasion that the Nerbudda will one day take the place of'' the Ganges as the most holy of streams ; but the origin of the feel- ing is not clear, as neither is the fact of the consecration of the river to Siva. At Miiheswur, indeed, there is a whirlpool, wjiich, by rounding and polishing fallen stones, rudely shapes them into resemblances of a Lingam, and which are as fertile a source of profit to the resident priests, as are the Vaishnuvee fossil ammonites of a particular part of the Himalayas. The labors of the whirlpool likewise diffuse a sancti- tude over all the stones of the rocky channel, as expressed in the vernacu- lar sentence, " Rehwa ke kunkur sub sunkur suman," i. e. each stone of the Nerbudda ( Rehwa) is divine, or equal to Siva. Muheswur was the seat of Suhesr B'how, or of the hundred-handed I Kshutree king, (who was slain byf Purs Rairi^jof the not TSy fardistanti' town of Nimawuftpposite Hindia^ " a probable occurrence, which was soon made the type, or the cause, of the destruction of the ancient warrior \ race by the Brahmins. '^ * Compare Wilson (^As. Res., xvii. 183. &c. ) and the Dahistdn (TrO' yer's Translation, i. 123. &c.). In the latter, Mohsun Fanee shows some points of conformity between the JSghees and the Mahometans. With regard to Yog, in a scientific point of view, it may be observed that it cor- responds with the state of abstraction .or self-consciousness which raised the soul above mortality or chance, and enabled it to apprehend the " true," and to grasp Plato's " idea," or archi- cal form of the world, and that neither Indians nor Greeks considered man - J, (Ui , -A^ D s* HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. II. The Veds and Koran assailed by Kubeer, a disciple of Kamanund, about 1450 A.D. I and the mother tongue of the people used as an Instrument. I But asce- ticism still I upheld. A step was thus made, and faith and abandonment of the pleasures of life were held to abrogate the dis- t-- tinctions of race which had taken so firm a hold on the '' pride and vanity of the rich and powerful. In the next generation, or about the year 1450, the mysterious weaver Kubeer, a disciple of Ramanund, assailed at V once the worship of idols, the authority of the Koran and Shasters, and the exclusive use of a learned Ian- \ guage. ^ He addressed Mahometans as well as Hindoos, ' he urged them to call upon him, the invisible Kubeer, and to strive continually after inward purity. He per- sonified creation or the world as " May4" or as woman, - prolific of deceit and illusion, and thus denounced man's weakness or his proneness to evil. Practically, Kubeer admitted outward conformity, and leant towards Rama or Vishnoo as the most perfect type of God. Like his predecessors he erringly gave shape and attributes to the divinity, and he further limited the application of his doctrines of reform, by declaring retirement from the world to be desirable, and the " Sadh," or pure or perfect man, the passive or inoffensive votary, to be the living resemblance of the Almighty. The views, how- ever, of Kubeer are not very distinctly laid down or clearly understood ; but the latitude of usage which he capable, in his present imperfect con- dition, of attaining to such a degree of " union with God," or " know- ledge of the true." (Compare Rltter, Ancient Philosophy/, Morrison's Trans- lation, ii. 207. 334 — 336., and Wilson, As, Mes.tW'iu 185.) Were it necessary to pursue the correspon- dence further, it would be found that Plato's whole system is almost iden- tical, in its rudimental characteristics, with the schemes of Koopfel and Put- tunjul jointly : thus, God and mat- ter are in both eternal; Muhut, or intelligence, or the informing spirit of the world, is the same with notes or logos, and so on. [With both God, that is " Poorsh" in the one and the Supreme God in the other, would seem to be separate from the world as appreciable by man. It may further be observed, that the Sankhya system is divided into two schools, indepen- dent of that of Puttunjul, the first of which regards " Poorsh " simply as life, depending for activity upon " adrisht," chance or fate, while the second holds the term to denote an active and provident ruler, and gives to vitality a distinct existence. The school of Puttunjul differs from this latter, principally in its terminology and in the mode (Yog) laid down for attaining bliss — one of the four sub- divisions of which mode, viz., that of stopping the breath, is allowed to be the doctrine of Gorukh, but is de- clared to have been followed of old by Markund, in a manner more agree- able to the Veds than the practice of the recent Reformer.] Chap. II.] MODERN REFORMS. 35 sanctioned, and his employment of a spoken dialect, have rendered his writings extensively popular among the lower orders of India.* In the beginning of the sixteenth century the reforms of Ramanund were introduced into Bengal by Cheitun, a Brahmin of Nuddeea. He converted some Ma- hometans, and admitted all classes as members of his sect. He insisted upon " Kiuktee," or faith, as chasten- ing the most impure ; he allowed marriage and secular occupations ; but his followers abused the usual injunc- tion of reverence for the teacher, and some of them held that the Gooroo was to be invoked before God.t About the same period Vullubh Swamee, a Brahmin of Telin- gana, gave a further impulse to the reformation in pro- gress, and he taught that married teachers were not only admissible as directors of the conscience, but that the householder was to be preferred, and that the world was to be enjoyed by both master and disciple. This principle was readily adopted by the peaceful mercantile classes, and " Gosayens," as the conductors of family worship, have acquired a commanding influence over the industrious Quietists of the country ; but they have * Compare the DaUatdn, ii. 184. &c., Wilson, As. Ses., xvi. 53., and Ward's Hindoos, iii. 406. Kubeer is an Arabic word, meaning the greatest, and Professor Wilson doubts whether any such person ever existed, and con- siders the Kubeer of Mohsun Fanee to be the personification of an idea, or that the title was assumed by a Hin- doo freethinker as u disguise. The name, however, although significant, is now at least not uncommon, and perhaps the ordinary story that Ku- beer was a foundling, reared by a weaver, and subsequently admitted as a disciple by Ramanund, is suffi- ciently probable to justify his iden- tity. His body is stated to have been claimed both by the Hindoos and Mahometans, and Mohsun Fanee observes that many Mahometans be- came Byraghees, i. e. ascetics of the modem Vaishnuvee sect, of which the followers of Ramanund and Kubeer Cheitun preaches religious reform in Bengal, 1600— 1660 A.D. Insists upon the efficacy of faith, and admits of secular occupations. VuUubh extends the reformation to the south, and further discounte- nances celi- bacy, about 1560 A.D. form the principal subdivisions. (^Da- bistdn, ii. 1 93.) As a further instance of the fusion of feeling then, and now, going forward, the reply of the Hin- doo deist, Akamnath, to the keepers of the Kaaba at Mecca, may be quoted. He first scandalised them by asking where was the master of the house ; and he then iDquired why the idols had been thrown out. He was told that the works of men were not to be worshipped ; where- upon he inquired whether the temple itself was not reared with hands, and therefore undeserving of respect. {Dabistdv, ii. 117.) f For an account of Cheitun and his followers, compare Wilson, /Asi- atic Researches, xvi. 109. &c., and Ward on the Hindoos, iii. 467. &c. ; and for some apposite rem.irks on Bhuktee or faith, see Wiloon, As. Res., xvii. 312. D 2 36 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap.II. Becapitu- lation. The re- forms par- tial, and leading to sectarian- ism only. Nanuk's views more coraprelien-/ sive and profound. I N^nuk's birth and early life, 1469 Ji.D, at the same time added to the diversity of the prevailing idolatry by giving preeminence to Bala Gopal, the infant Krishna, as the very God of the Universe.* Thus, in the beginning of the sixteenth century, the Hindoo mind was no longer stagnant or retrogressive ; it had been leavened with Mahometanism, and changed and quickened for a new development. ^Hamanund and Gorukh had preached religious equality, and Cheitun had repeated that faith levelled caste. Kubeer had denounced images, and appealed to the people in their own tongue, and VuUubh had taught that effectual de- votion was compatible with the ordinary duties of the world. But these good and able men appear to have been so impressed with the nothingness of this life, that they deemed the amelioration of man's social condition to be unworthy of a thought. They aimed chiefly at emancipation from priestcraft, or from the grossness of idolatry and polytheism. They formed pious associa- tions of contented Quietists, or they gave themselves up to the contemplation of futurity in the hope of ap- proaching bliss, rather than called upon their fellow creatures to throw aside every social as well as re- ligious trammel, and to arise a new people freed from the debasing corruption of ages. They perfected forms of dissent rather than planted the germs of nations, and their sects remain to this day as they left them. It was reserved for JVdnuk to perceive the true principles of reform, and to lay those broad foundations which enabled his successor Govind to fire the minds of his countrymen with a new nationality, and to give prac- tical effect to the doctrine that the lowest is equal vdth the highest, in race as in creed, in political rights as in religious hopes. Nanuk was born in the year 1469, in the neighbour- * See Wilson, Asiatic Researches, ing to Saivism, see also Wilson, As. xvi. 85. &c. ; and for an account of Hes., xvi. 100. (See also Appendix the corresponding Vaishnuvee sect of VII., for some remarks on the Meta- MadhuT, which has, however, a lean- physics of Indian Reformers. ) Chap, n.] TEACHING OP NANUK. 37 hood of Lahore.* His father, Kaloo, was a Hindoo of the Behdee subdivision of the once warlike Kshutrees, and he was, perhaps, hke most (3TiTs°1ra(S^irp^tty°tra3er in his native village.t Nanuk appears to have been naturally of a pious disposition and of a reflecting mind, and there is reason to believe that in his youth he made himself familiar with the popular creeds both of the Mahometans and Hindoos, and that he gained a general knowledge of the Koran and of the Brahminical Shas- ters.t His good sense and fervid temper left him displeased with the corruptions of the vulgar faith, and dissatisfied with the indifference of the learned, or with 1469— 1529. • Nanuk is generally said to have been born in Tulwundee, a village on the Ravee above Lahore, which was held by one Raee Bhooa, of the Bhuttee tribe. (Compare Malcolm, Sketch of the SikhSf-p. 78., and Forster, Travels, i. 292-3.) But one manu- script account states that, although the father of Nanuk was of Tulwun- dee, t he tea cher himself was born in Kanakatcb, about fifteen miles south- erly from Lahore, m. tl;ie house of his mother's parents. It is indeed not uncommon in the Punjab for women to choose their own parents' home as the place of their confinement, espe- cially of their first child, and the chil- dren thus born are frequently called Nanuk (or Nanukee, in the femi- nine), from Nankeh, one's mother's parents. Nanuk is thus a name of usual occurrence, both among Hin- doos and Mahometans, of the poor or industrious classes. The accounts agree as to the year of Nanuk's birth, but differ, while they affect precision, with regard to the day of the month on which he was born. Thus one narrative gives the 13th, and another the 18th, of the month Kartik, of the year 1526 of Vikrumajeet, which cor- responds with the latter end of 1469 of Christ. f In the Seir ool Mutakhereen {Briggs* Translation, i. 110.) it is stated that Nanuk's fether was a grain merchant, and in the Dabistan (ii. 247. ) that Nanuk himself was a D grain factor. The Sikh accounts are mostly silent about the occupation of the father, but they represent the sister of Nanuk to have been mar- ried to a corn factor, and state that he was himself placed with his brother- in-law to learn, or to give aid, in car- rying on the business, \ A manuscript compilation in Persian mentions that Nanuk's first teacher was a Mahometan. The Seir ool Mutakhereen (i. 110.) states that Nanuk was carefully educated by one Syed Hussun, a neighbour of his father's, who conceived a regard for him, and who was wealthy but child- less. Nanuk is further said, in the same book, to have studied the most approved writings of the Mahome- tans. According to Malcolnr( liAe^cA, p. 14.), Nanuk is reported, by the Mahometans, to have learnt all earthly sciences from Khizzer, :. e. the pro- phet Elias. The ordinary Maho- metan accounts also represent Nanuk, when a child, to have astonished his teacher, by asking him the hidden import of the first letter of the alpha- bet, which is almost a straight stroke in Persian and Arabic, and which is held even vulgarly to denote the unity of God. The reader will re- member that the apocryphal gospels state how Christ, before he was twelve years old, perplexed his instructors, and explained to them the mystical significance of the alphabetical cha- racters. (SUauss, Life of Jesus,i. 272.) 3 38 HISTORY OB- THE SIKHS. [Chap. II. 1469— the refuge which they sought in the specious abstrac- /^^^' . tions of philosophy; nor is it improbable that the '~~' homilies of Kubeer and Gorukh had fallen upon his susceptible mind with a powerful and enduring effect.* The mental In a moment of enthusiasm the ardent inquirer aban- Nanuk.^' "^ "ioned his home, and strove to attain wisdom by penitent meditation, by study, and by an enlarged intercourse with mankind, t He travelled, perhaps, beyond the limits of India, he prayed in solitude, he reflected on the Veds and on the mission of Mahomet, and he questioned with equal anxiety the learned priest and the simple devotee about the will of God and the path to happiness.^t Plato and Bacon, Des Cartes and Algha- * Extracts or selections from the writings of Kubeer, appear in the Adee Grunt'h, and Kubeer is often, and Gorukh sometimes, quoted or referred to. f A chance meeting with some Fukeers (Malcolm, Sketch, p. 8. 13.) and the more methodical in- structions of a Dervish (^Dabistdn, ii. 247.), are each referred to as having subdued the mind of Nanuk, or as having given him the impulse which determined the fiiture course of his life. In Malcolm may be seen those stories which please the multitude, to the effect that although Nanuk, when the spirit of God was upon him, be- stowed all the grain in his brother-in- law's stores in charity, they were nevertheless always found replenished; or that Dowlut Khan Lodee, the em- ployer of Nanuk's brother-in-law, although aware that much had really been given away, nevertheless found everything correct on balancing the accounts of receipts and expenditure. The Sikh accounts represent Nd- nuk to have met the Emperor Baber, and to have greatly edified the adven- turous sovereign by his demeanor , and conversation, while he perplexed him by saying that both were kings, and were about to found dynasties of ten. I have traced but two allusions to Baber by name, and one by obvious inference, in the Adee Grunt'h, viz. in the Assa Rag and Teiliing por- tions, and these bear reference simply to the destruction of a village, and to his incursions as a conqueror. Moh- sim Fanee (^Ddbistan, '\i. 249.) pre-, serves an idle report that Nanuk, being dissatisfied with the Afghans, called the Moghuls into India. /^ \ Nanuk is generally said to have travelled over the whole of India, to have gone through Persia, and to have visited Mecca (compare Malcolm, Sketch, p. 1 6. and Forster, Travels, i. 295-6. ) ; but the number of years he employed in wandering, and the date of his final return to his native pro- vince, are alike uncertain. He had \ several companions, among whom j Merdana, the rubabee or harper ; (or rather a chaunter, and player ' upon a stringed instrument like a guitar), Lehna, who was his succes- sor, Bala, a Sindhoo Jut, and Ram Das, styled Boodha or the Ancient, are the tnost frequently referred to. In pictorial representations Merdana| always accompanies Nanuk. When* at Mecca, a story is related that Nanuk was found sleeping with his feet towards the temple, that he was angrily asked how he dared to disho- nor the house of the Lord, and that he replied, Could he turn his feet where the house of God was not? (Malcolm, Sketchofthe Sikhs, p. 159.) Nanuk adopted, sometimes at least, the garb of a Mahometan Dervish, and at Mooltan he visited an assem- Ghap. n.] TEACHING OF NAJiTUK. 39 1469— 1529. zali, examined the current philosophic systems of the world, without finding a sure hasis of truth for the operations of the intellect ; and, similarly, the heart of the pious Nanuk sought hopelessly for a resting-place amid the conflicting creeds and practices of men. All was error, he said ; he had read Korans and Poorans, but God he had nowhere found.* He returned to his native land, he threw aside the habit of an ascetic, he became again the father of his family, and he passed the remainder of his long life in calling upon men to worship the One Invisible God, to live virtuously, and a teacher. to be tolerant of the failings of others. The mild de-| ! meanor, the earnest piety, and persuasive eloquence off Nanuk, are ever the themes of praise, and he died at I Dies, aged the age of seventy, leaving behind him many zealousj' i5™9 I'd. I and admiring disciples. t Nanuk combined the excellencies of preceding re- The excei- formers, and he avoided the more grave errors into Nanuk's which they had fallen. Instead of the circumscribed doctrine. divinity, the anthropomorphous God of Ramanund and He becomes bly of Mussulman devotees, saying he was but as the stream of the Ganges entering the ocean of holiness. (Com- pare Malcolm, Sketch, p. 21. and the Seir ool Mutdkhereen, i. 31 1.) * There is current a verse imputed to Nanuk, to the effect that — " Several scriptures and books had he read, But one (God) he had not found : Several Korans and Poorans had he read. But faith he could not put in any." The Adee Grunt'h abounds with pas- sages of a similar tenor, and in the supplemental portion, called the Rut- tun Mala, Nanuk says, " Man may j read Veds and Korans, and reach to a temporary bliss, but without God salvation is unattainable." f The accounts mostly agree as to the date of Nanuk's death, and they place it in 1596 of Vikrumajeet, or 1 539 of Christ. A Goormookhee ab- stract states precisely, that he was a teacher for seven years, five months, P and seven days, and that he died on the 10th of the Hindoo month Asowj. Forster ( Travels, i. 295. ) represents that he travelled for fifteen years. Nanuk died/ at Kurtarpoor, on the Kavee, about forty miles above La- hore, where there is a place of wor- ship sacred to him. He left two sons, Sreechund, an ascetic, whose name lives as the founder of the Hin- doo sect of Oodassees, and Lutchmee Das, who devoted himself to pleasure, and of whom nothing particular is known. The Nanukpotras, or de- scendants of N^nuk, called also Sahib- zadas, or sons of the master, are every where reverenced among Sikhs, and if traders, some privileges are con- ceded to them by the chiefs of their ^ country. Mohsun Fanee observes {Dabistdn,n. 253.), that the represen- tatives of Nanuk were known as Kurtarees, meaning, perhaps, rather that they were held to be holy or de- voted to the service of God, than that they were simply residents of Kur- tarpoor. 4 40 HISTOEY OP THE SIKHS. [Chap. II. 1469— 1529. > , The god- head. Maho- metans and Hindoos equally called on to ■worship God in truth. Faith, grace, and good works all necessary. Kubeer, he loftily invokes the Lord as the one, the sole, the timeless being ; the creator, the self-existent, the incomprehensible, and the everlasting. He likens the Deity to Truth, which was before the world began, which is, and which shall endure for ever, as the ulti- mate idea or cause of all we know or behold.* He addresses equally the MooUa and Ae_.Punditj_jheDer- vish and the Soonyassee, and tells them to remember that Lord of LdF^AvfW^'Eaa seen come and go number- less Mahomets, and Vishnoos, and Sivas.t He tells them that virtues and charities, heroic acts and gathered wisdom, are nought of themselves, that the only know- ledge which availeth is the knowledge of God X ; and then, as if to rebuke those vain men who saw eternal life in their own act of faith, . he declares that they only can find the Lord on whom the Lord looks with favor. § Yet the extension of grace is linked with the exercise of our will and the beneficent use of our faculties. God, said Nanuk, places salvation in good * See the Adee Grunt^h, in, for in- stance, the portion called Gowree Hag, and the prefatory Jup, or prayer of admonition and remembrance. Compare also Wilkins, Asiatic i?e- searches, i. 289. &c. j " Akalpoorik," or the Timeless Be- ing, is the ordinary Sikh appellation of God, corresponding idiomatically with the " Almighty," in English. ^ Yet Govind, in the Second Grunt'h (Huzara Shubd portion), apostro- phizes Time itself as the only true God, for God was the first and the last, the being without end, &c. Milton assigns to 'time a casual or limited use only, and Shakspeare makes it finite : — " For time, though in eternity applied To motion, measures all things dur- able By present, past, and future." Paradise Lost, v. " But thought's the slave of life, and life, time's fool ; And time, that takes survey of all the world, Must have a stop." Henry IV. Part First, v. 4. Three of the modern philosophis- ing schools of India, viz. a division of the Sankhyas, the Pauraniks, and the Saivas, make Kal, or time, one of the twenty-seven, or thirty, or thirty- six component essences or phenomena of the universe of matter and mind, and thus give ft distinct functions, or a separate existence. t A passage of Nanuk's in the supplement to the Adee Grunt'h, after saying that there have been multitudes of prophets, teachers, and holy men, concludes thus : — " The Lord of Lords is the One God, the Almighty God himself; Oh Nanuk I his qualities are be- yond comprehension." \ See the Adee GnmCh, towards the end of the portion called Assa. § See the Adee Grunt'h, end of the Assa ,Rag, and in the supplementary portion called the Ruttun Mala. Chap. U.] TEACHING OP NANUK. 41 Nanuk adopts the Brahmini- works^and uprightness of conduct : the Lord will ask i469— of manr^*~WTiaf has'lrer-doiieT'''^ — and the teacher . further required timely repentance of men, saying, " If not until the day of reckoning the sinner abaseth him- self, punishment shall overtake him." t Nanuk adopted the philosophical system of his coun- trymen, and regarded bliss as the dwelling of the soul with God after its punitory transmigrations should have ''^ p^""' ceased. Life, he says, is as the shadow of the passing in a popular bird, but the soul of man is, as the potter's wheel, ever ^^"''^' ?'" ^^ . ■,. • • J. TT 1 1 CI wayofillus- circlmg on its pivot. + He makes the same uses or the tration current language or notions of the time on other subjects, and thus says, he who remains bright amid darkness (Unjun), unmoved amid deceit (Maya), that is, perfect amid temptation, should attain happiness. § But it would be idle to suppose that he speculated upon being, or upon the material world, after the manner of Plato or Vyasa ][ ; and it would be unreasonable to condemn him because he preferred the doctrine of a suc- cession of habiliments, and the possible purification of the ntiost sinful soul, to the resurrection of the same body, and the pains of everlasting fire.* Nanuk also referred only. * The ^dee Grunfh, Purbhdtee Jtaffinee. Compare Malcolm ( Sketch, p. lei.) and Wilkins {As. Res., i. 289. &c.). I See the Nusseeut Nameh, or ad- monition of Nanuk to Karon, a fabu- lous monarch, which, however, is not admitted into the Grunt'h, perhaps because its personal or particular ap- plication is not in keeping with the abstract and general nature of that book. Neither, indeed, is it certainly known to be Nanuk's composition, although it embodies many of his no- tions. \ Adee Grunfh, end of the Assa Rag. § Adee Grunt'h, in the Sohee and RamkuUee portions. II See Appendix VIII. % The usual objection of the Ma- hometans to the Hindoo doctrine of transmigration, is, that the wicked soul of this present world has no re- membrance of its past condition and bygone punishments, and does not, therefore, bring with it any inherent incentive to holiness. The Blaho- metans, however, do not show that a knowledge of the sin of Adam, and consequent corruption of his posterity, is instinctive to a follower of Christ or to a disciple of their own prophet ; and, metaphysically, an impartial thinker will perhaps prefer the Brah- min doctrine of a soul finally sepa- rated from the changeable matter of our senses, to the ^Egyptian scheme of the resurrection of the corruptible body, — a notion which seems to have impressed itself on the Israelites not- withstanding the silence of Moses, and which resisted for centuries the action of other systems, and which was at length revived with increased force in connection with the popular belief in miracles. See also note f p. 23. anti. 42 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. II. 1469— 1529. Kanuk ad- mits the missioa of Mahomet as well as the Hindoo incarna- tions. Disclaims miraculous powers. Discourages asceticism. to the Arabian prophet, and to the Hindoo incarnations, not as impostors and the diflfusers of evil, but as having truly been sent by God to instruct mankind, and he lamented that sin should nevertheless prevail. He as- serted no special divinity, although he may possibly have considered himself, as he came to be considered by others, the successor of these inspired teachers of his belief, sent to reclaim fallen mortals of all creeds and countries within the limits of his knowledge. He rendered his mission applicable to all times and places, yet he declared himself to be but the slave, the humble i messenger of the Almighty, making use of universal | truth as his sole instrument.* He did not claim for his writings, replete as they were vdth wisdom and devo- tion t, the merit of a direct transcription of the words iof God ; nor did he say that his own preaching- required lor would be sanctioned by miracles. 1^ " Fight with no weapon," said he, " save the word of God ; a holy teacher hath no means save the purity of his doctrine.' He taught that asceticism or abandonment of the world"* was unnecessary, mepious hermit and the devout householder being equal in the eyes of the Almighty ; * The whole scope of Nanuk's teaching is that God is all in all, and that purity of mind is the first of objects. He urges all men to prac- tise devotion, and he refers to past prophets and dispensations as being now of no avail, but he nowhere at- tributes to himself any superiority over others. He was a man among men, calling upon his fellow creatures to live a holy life. (Compare the DaUstdn, ii. 249, 250. 253. ; and see Wilson, As, Res., xvii. 234,, for the expression^" Nanuk thy slave is a free- will oiEfering unto thee.") f The Mahometan writers are loud in their praises of Nanuk's writings. (Compare the Seir ool Mutakhereen, i. 110, 111., and the DaUstdn, ii. 251, 252.) With these sober views . of the Orientals may be contrasted the opi- nion of the European Baron Hugel, who says ( Travels, p. 283.), that the Grunt'h is " a compound of mystical absurdities." He admits, however, that the Sikhs worship one God, abhor images, and reject caste, at least in theory, \ See particularly the Sirree Rag chapter of the Adee Grunth. In the Majh V^ar portion, Nanuk says to a pretender to miracles, " Dwell thou in flame uninjured, remain unharmed amid eternal ice, make blocks of stone thy food, spurn the solid earth before thee with thy foot, weigh the heavens in a balance, and then ask thou that Nanuk perform wonders 1 " Strauss (Xi/e of Jesus, ii. 237.) points out that Christ censured the seeking for miracles (John, iv. 48.), and observes that the apostles in their letters do not mention miracles at all. § Malcolm, Sketch, pp. 20, 21. 165. Chap. H.] TEACHING OP NANUK. 43 but he did not, like his contemporary Vullubh, express any invidious preference for married teachers, although his own example showed that he considered every one should fulfil the functions of his nature.* In treating the two prominent external observances of Hindoos and Mahometans, vener ation for the cow and abhorrence of the hog, he was equally wise and"~SCirICtt]afofy,'~yielding p6fKaps~soaething to the prejudices of his education as well as to the gentleness of his* disposition. " The rights of strangers," said he, " are the one the ox, and the other the swine, but ' Peers ' and ' Gooroos ' will praise those who partake not of that which hath enjoyed life." t Thus Nanuk extricated his followers from the accu- mulated errors of ages, and enjoined upon them de- votion of thought and excellence of conduct as the first of duties. He left them, erect and free, unbiassed in mind and unfettered by rules, to become an increasing bod y of truthful wors hippers. His reform was in its immediate efiect rehgious and moral only ; believers were regarded as " Sikhs" or discipjes, no^ as subjects; and It is neither probable, nor is it necessary to suppose, that he possessed any clear and sagacious views of * Adee GTuni'h, particularly the Assa Saginee and Ramkvlhe Raginee. (Compare the Dahistdn, ii. 271.) f Adee Grunt'h, Majh chapter. Compare Malcolm (^Sketch, p. 36. note, and p. 137.), where it is said Nanuk prohibited swine's flesh ; but, indeed, the flesh of the tame hog had always been forbidden to Hindoos. (Munnoo's Institutes, v. 19.) The Ddbistan (ii. 248.) states that Nanuk prohibited wine and pork, and him- self abstained from all flesh : but, in truth, contradictory passages about food may be quoted, and thus Ward ( On the Hindoos, iii. 466. ) shows that Nanuk defended those who eat flesh, and declared that the infant which drew nurture from its mother lived virtually upon flesh. The author of the Goor RutnaoUe pursues the idea, in a somewhat trivial manner indeed, Concilia- tory be- tween Ma^ hometans and Hin- doos. Nanuk fully extricates his follow- ers from error. But his reformation necessarily religious and moral only. by asking whether man does not take woman to wife, and whether the holiest of books are not bound with the skins of animals ! The general injunctions of Nanuk have sometimes been misinterpreted by sectarian followers and learned strangers, to mean "great chariness of animal life," almost in a mere ceremonial sense. (Wilson, As. Res., xvii. 233. ). But the Sikhs have no such feeling, although the Jeins and others carry a pious regard for worms and flies to a ludicrous extent — a practice which has reacted upon at least some families of Roman Catho- lic Christians in India. Those in Bhopal reject, during Lent, the use of unrefined sugar, an article of daily consumption, because, in its manufac- ture, the lives of many insects are necessarily sacrificed ! 44 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. II. 1469— 1S29. Nanuk left his Sikhs or disciples vdthout new social laws as a separate people. But guarded against their nar- rowing into a sect. NanuX de- clares Unggud to be his suc- cessor as a teacher of men. social amelioration or of political advancement. He left the progress of his people to the operation of time ; for his congregation was too limited and the state of society too artificial, to render it either requisite or pos- sible for him to become a municipal law-giver, to sub- vert the legislation of Munnoo, or to change the im- memorial usages of tribes or races.* His care was rather to prevent his followers contracting into a sect, ; and his comprehensive principles narrowing into mon- \^astic distinctions. This he effected by excluding his son, a meditative and perhaps bigoted ascetic, from the ministry when he should himself be no more ; and, as his end approached, he is stated to have made a trial of the obedience or merits of his chosen disciples, and to have preferred the simple and sincere Lehna. As they journeyed along, the body of a man was seen lying by the way side. Nanuk said, " Ye who trust in me, eat of this food." All hesitated save Lehna ; he knelt and uncovered the dead, and touched without tasting the flesh of man ; but, behold ! the corpse had disappeared and Nanuk was in its place. The Gooroo embraced his faithful follower, saying he was as himself, and that his spirit would dwell within him. t The * Malcolm (Sietch,pp. 44. 147.) says, Nanuk made little or no alteration in the civil institutions of the Hindoos, and Ward (^Hindoos, iii. 463.) says, the Sikhs have no written civil or criminal laws. Si- milar observations of dispraise or applause might be made with regard to the code of the early Christians, and we know the difficulties under which the apostles labored, owing to the want of a new declaratory law, or owing to the scruples and preju- dices of their disciples. ( Acts, xv. 20. 28, 29. and other passages.) The seventh of the articles of the Church of England, and the nineteenth chap- ter of the Scottish Confession of Faith, show the existing perplexity of modern divines, and, doubtless, it will long continue to be disputed how far Christians are amenable to some portions of the Jewish law, and whether Sikhs should wholly reject the institutions of Munnoo and the usages of race. There were Juda- izing Christians and there are Brah- minizing Sikhs ; the swine was a difficulty with one, the cow is a diffi- culty with the other; and yet the greatest obstacle, perhaps, to a com- plete obliteration of caste, is the rooted feeling that marriages should properly take place only between people of the same origin or nation, without much reference to faith. (Compare Ward on the Hindoos, iii. 459. ; Malcolm, Sketch, p. 157. note ; and Forster's Travels, i. 293. 295. 308). f This story is related by various Funjabee compilers, and it is given Chap. II.] TEACHING OF nAnUK, 45 name of Lehna was changed to Ung-i-Khood, or Ung- i469— gud, or own body *, and whatever may be the founda- '^2^- tion of the story or the truth of the etymology, it is '^ " ' certain that the Sikhs fully believe the spirit of Nanuk \ to have been incarnate in each succeeding Gooroo. t / Unggud was acknowledged as the teacher of the Sikhs, and Sree Chund, the son of Nanuk, justified his father's fears, and became the founder of the Hin- doo sect of "Oodassees," a community indifferent to the concerns of this world, t with one of the variations by Dr. f This belief is an article of faith Macgregor, in his History of the with the Sikhs. Compare the Dabis- Sikhs (i. 48.). In the DaUstdn tan (ii. 253, 281.). The Gooroo (ii. 268, 269.) there is a story of a Hur Govind signed himself "Nanuk" similar kind about the successive in a letter to Mohsun Fanee, the sacrifice in the four ages of a cow, a author of that work, horse, an elephant, and a man. The \ For some account of the Oodas- piouspartakersof the flesh of the last sees, see YfiXsoii, Asiatic Researches, offering were declared to be saved, xvii. 232; The sect is widely dif- and the victim himself again ap- fused ; its members are proud of peared in his bodily shape. their connection with the Sikhs, and * Compare Malcolm, Sketch of the all reverence, and most possess and Sikhs, p. 24, note. use, the Grunt'h of Nanuk. Note. — For many stories regarding Nanuk himself, which it has not been thought necessary to introduce into the text or notes, the curious reader may refer with profit to Malcolm's Sketch, to the second volume of the Sabistdn, and to the first volume of Dr. Macgregor's recently published History. 46 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. HI. CHAPTER III. THE SIKH GOOROOS OK TEACHERS, AND THE MODIFI- CATION OF SIKHISM UNDER GOVIND. 1529—1716. Gooroo XJnggud. — Gooroo Ummer Das and the Oodassee Sect. — Gooroo Ram Das. — Gooroo Arjoon. — The First Grunfh and Civil Organization of the Sikhs. — Gooroo Hur Govind and the military ordering of the Sikhs. — Gooroo Hur Raee. — Gooroo Hurkishen. — Gooroo Tegh Buhadur. — Gooroo Govind, and the Political Establishment of the Sikhs. — Sunda Syraghee the temporal successor of Govind. — The Dispersion of the Sikhs. 1529— NInuk died in 1539, and he was succeeded by the/ - ^J^^- Unggud of his choice, a Kshutree of the Teehun subdi- P^ ^^^[ vision of the race, who himself died in 1552, at Kud- hoidsthe door, near Goindwal, on the Beeas river. Little is cMeso/'" related of his ministry, except that he committed to Nanui. Writing much of what he had heard about Nanuk Dies 1652. from the Gooroo's ancient companion Bala Sindhoo, as well as some devotional observations of his own, which were afterwards incorpora^d in the " Grunt'h." But Unggud was true to the principles of his great teacher, and, not deeming either of his own sons worthy to succeed him, he bestowed his apostolic blessing upon Ummer Das, an assiduous follower.* * Unggud was born, according to dated a year earlier, and the Sikh most accounts, in 1561 Sumbut, or accounts affect a precision as to days 1504 A.D., but according to others and months which can never gain in 1567 (or 1510 a.d.). His death is credence. Forster ( Travels, i. 296.) usually placed in 1609 Sumbut gives 1542, perhaps a misprint for (1552 a. D.), but sometimes it is 1552, as the period of his death. Chap. III.] THE SIKH GOOEOOS. 47 Ummer Das was likewise a Kshutree, but of the IS52— BhulIeE^suMrvisioii. He was active in preaching and t . successful in obtaining converts, and it is said that he ummer Das found an attentive listener in the tolerant Akberl-?^' The succeeds. immediate followers of Sree Chund, the son of "Kanuk, , had hitherto been regarded as almost equally the dis- ciples of the first teacher with the direct adherents of ^.Unggud ; but Ummer Das declared passive and recluse " Oodassees " to be wholly separate from active and < domestic " Sikhs," and thus finally preserved the infant separates *, church or state from disappearing as one of many from the* sects.* In the spirit of Nanuk he likewise pronounced pog ^sees. that the " true Suttee was she whom grief and not flame consumed, and that the afflicted should seek con- solation with the Lord ; " thus mildly discountenancing His views a perverse custom, and leading the way to amendment ^'^sutte"" by persuasion rather than by positive enactment.t Ummer Das died in 15'J4i, after a ministration of about Dies 1574. twenty-two years and a half.t He had a son and a daughter, and it is said that his delight with the uni- form filial love and obedience of the latter, led him to prefer her husband before other disciples, and to bestow upon him his " Burkut" or apostolic virtue. The fond mother, or ambitious woman, is further stated to have obtained an assurance from the Gooroo that the succession should remain with her posterity. Ram Das, the son-in-law of Ummer Das, was a Ram Das Kshutree of the Sodhee subdivision, and he was worthy s"<=™^'i* - and esta- * Malcolm (Sketch, p. 27.) says but Nanuk did not make positive distinctly that Ummer Das made laws of the kind, and perhaps self- this separation. The Dabistdn (ii. sacrifice was not authoritatively inter- 271.) states generally that the Goo- fared with, until first Akber and roos had effected itj and in the present Jehangheer {Memoirs of Jehangheerj day some educated Sikhs think that p. 28.), and afterwards the English," Arjoon first authoritatively laid down endeavored to put an end to it. the difference between an Oodassee \ The accounts agree as to the and a genuine follower of Nanuk. date of Ummer Das's birth, placing it ■j- The Adee Grunfh, in that part in 1566 Sumbut, or 1509 a. u. The of the Soohee chapter which is by period of his death, 1631 Sumbut, or Ummer Das.. Forster (Travels, i. 1574 a. u., seems likewise certain, 309. ) considers that Nanuk prohibited although one places it as late as 1 580 Suttee, and allowed widows to marry ; jl. d. 48 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. HI. 1S74— 1581. Wishes him* self at Amrltsir. Dies 1581. Aijoon suc- ceeds and fairly grasps the idea of Nanuk. ; Makes IAmritsir the " Holy of his master's choice and of his wife's affection. He is said to have been held in esteem by Akber, and to have received from him a piece of land, within the limits of which he dug a reservoir, since well known as Amritsjr, or the pool of immortality ; but the temples an3"sur- rounding- huts were at first named Ramdaspoor, from the founder.* Ram Das is among the most revered of the Gooroos, but no precepts of wide application, or rules of great practical value or force, are attributed to him. His own ministry did not extend beyond seven years, and the slow progress of the faith of Nanuk seems apparent from the statement that at the end of ' forty-two years his successor had not more than double" that number of disciples or instructed followers, t ^. Aijoon succeeded his father in 1581, and the wishes z of His mother, the daughter of Ummer Das, were thus accomplished, t Arjoon was perhaps the first who clearly understood the vdde import of the teachings of Nanuk, or who perceived how applicable they were to every state of life and to every condition of society. He made Amritsir the proper seat of his followers, the centre which should attract their worldly longings for a * Malcolm, Sketch, p. 29. ; Fors- ter, Travels, i. 297. ; the Dabis- tan, ii. 275. The Sikh accounts state that the possession of Akber's gift was disputed by a Byraghee, who claimed the land as tlie~site of an ancient pool dedicated to Ram- chunder, the tutelary deity of his order ; but the Sikh Gooroo said haughtily he was himself the truer repi-esentative of the hero. The Byraghee could produce no proof; but Ram Daa dug deep into the earth, and displayed to numerous admirers the ancient steps of the demi-god*s reservoir ! f Such seems to be the meaning of the expression, " He held holy con- verse with eighty-four Sikhs," used by Bhaee Kanh Singh in a manu- script compilation of the beginning of this century. Ram Das's birth is placed in 1581 Sumbut, or 1524 a. n., his marriage in 1 542 A. D. ; the founding of Am- ritsir in 1577 A. D., ^and his death in 1581 A.D. \ It seems doubtful whether Ram Das had two or three sons, Pirt'hee Chund (or Bhurrut Mull or Dheer- mull), Arjoon, and Muhadeo, and also whether Arjoon was older or younger than Pirt'hee Chund. It is more certain, however, that Pirt'hee Chund claimed the succession on the death of his brother, if not on the death of his &ther, and he was also indeed accused of endeavoring to poison Arjoon. (Compare Malcolm, Sketch, p. 30. and the DaKstdn, ii. 273.) The descendants of Pirt'hee Chund are still to be found in the neighborhood of the Sutlej, espc cially at Kot Hur Subaee, south of Feeroipoor. CuAP. ni.J SIKH GOOROOS ; AEJOON. 49 material bond of union ; and the obscure hamlet, with issi— its little pool, has become a populous city and the i ' , great place of pilgrimage of the Sikh people.* Arjoon city "of the next arranged the various writings of his predecessors t ; ^''^^^^ he added to them the best known, or the most suitable, ^°J"^"^^ compositions of some other religious reformers of the Grunth. few preceding centuries, and completing the whole with a prayer and some exhortations of his own, he declared the compilation to be preeminently the " Grunt'h," or Book j and he gave to his followers their fixed rule of religious and moral conduct, with an assurance that multitudes even of divine Brahmins had wearied them- selves with reading the Veds, and had found not the value of an oil-seed within them, t The Gooroo next reduced to a systematic tax the customary offerings of Reduces his converts or adherents, who, under his ascendancy, offerirTTto were to be found in every city and province. The Sikhs a systematic were bound by social usage, and disposed from reve- t'"'*"'*''^'^! rential feelings, to make such presents to their spiritual guide ; but the agents of Arjoon were spread over the country to demand and receive the contributions of the faithful, which they proceeded to deliver to the Gooroo in person at an annual assembly. Thus the Sikhs, says the almost contemporary Mohsun Fanee, became ac- customed to a regular government. § Nor was Arjoon heedless of other means of acquiring wealth and influ- and en- ence ; he despatched his followers into foreign coun- fr^c." tries to be as keen in traffic as they were zealous in * The ordinary Sikh accounts (^Travels, i. 297.) states that Ram represent Arjoon to have taken up Das compiled the histories and pre- his residence at Amritsir ; but he cepts of his predecessors, and an- lived for some time at least at Tur- nexed a commentary to the work, run Tarun, which lies between that The same author, indeed ( Travels, i. city and the junction of the Beeas 296, note), also contradictorily assigns and Sutlej. (Compare the DaUstdn, the compilation to Unggud. ii. 275.) \ Adee Grunt'h, in that portion t Malcolm, Sketch, p. 30. General of the Soohee chapter written by tradition and most writers attribute Arjoon. For some account of the the arrangement of the First Grunt'h Adee, ot First Grunt'h, see Ap- to Arjoon ; but Unggud is under- pendix B >^-/i Aijoon pro- vokes the enmity of Chundoo Shah. '" .^iBecomes a ill ,i -7>partizan of trince Khoosroo in rebellion. Imprison- ment and death of Aijoon, 1606. belief, and it is' probable that Kis transactions as a merchant were extensive, although confined to the purchase of horses in Toorkistan.* Arjoon became famous among pious devotees, and his biographers dwell on the number of saints and holy men who were edified by his instructions. Nor was he unheeded by those in high station, for he is said to have refused to betroth his son to the daughter of Chundoo Shah, the finance administrator of the Lahore province t ; and he further appears to have been sought as a pohtical partizan, and to have offered up prayers for Khoosro6,'^he son of Jehangheer, when in rebellion and in temporary possession~~of the Punjab. The Gooroo was summoned to the emperor's presence, and fined and imprisoned at the instigation chiefly, it is said, of Chundoo Shah, whose alliance he had rejected, and who represented him as a man of a dangerous am- bition.t Arjoon died in 1606, and his death is be- lieved to have been hastened by the rigors of his * The ordinary Sikh accounts are to this effect. Compare tlie Dabistan^ ii. 271. f Compare Forster, Travels, i. 298. The Sikh accounts represent that the son of Arjoon was mentioned to Chundoo as a suitable match for his daughter, and that Chundoo slightingly objected, saying, Arjoon, although a man of name and wealth, was stUl -a. beggar, or one who re- ceived alms. This was reported to Arjoon ; he resented the taunt, and would not be reconciled to the match, notwithstanding the personal endeavours of Chundoo to appease him and bring about the union. Shah is a corrupted sufBx to names, extensively adopted, in India. It is a Persian word signifying a king, but applied to Mahometan Fukeers as Muharaja is used by or towards Hindoo devotees. It is also used to" denote a principal merchant, or as a corruption of Saboo or Sahook^r, and it~ is further used as a name or title, as a corruption of Sah or Suhaee. The Gond converts to Ma- hometanism on the Nerbudda all add the word Shah to their names. X DaUstdn, ii. 272,273. The Sikh accounts correspond sufficiently as to the fact of the Gooroo's arraignment, while they are silent about his treason. They declare the emperor to have been satisfied of his sanctity and innocence (generally), and at- tribute his continued imprisonment to Chundoo's malignity and dis- obedience of orders. ( Compare Mal- colm, Sketch, p. 32.) Mohsun Fanee also states that a Mahometan saint of Thunehsir was banished by Jehan- gheer |for aiding Khoosroo with his prayers. QDabistdn, ii. 273.) The emperor himself simply -states (iWe- moirs, p. 88.), that at LahoreflTe ini-V paled seven hundred of the ' rebels,"^ ' and on his way to that city he appears (^Memoirs, p. 81.) to have bestowed a present on Shekh Nizam of Thunehsir ; but he may have sub- sequently become aware of his hos- tility. i u , •---6 Chap. III.] SIKH GOOEOOS ; ARJOOX. 51 confinement ; but his followers piously assert that, losi— having obtained leave to bathe in the river Ravee, he , '^°^' vanished in the shallow stream, to the fear and wonder of those guarding him.* During the ministry of Arjoon the principles of Diffusion of Nanuk took a firm hold on the minds of his followers t, ' ''™" and a disciple named Goor Das, gives a lofty and imaginative view of the mission of that teacher. He Tiie writ- regards him as the successor of Vyasa and Mahomet, Gfor°Das and as the destined restorer of purity and sanctity*jv BhuUeh. the regenerator of a world afflicted with the increasing wickedness of men, and with the savage contentions of numerous sects. He declaims against the bigotry^of^ :^ the Mahonietans and their ready resort to vioFence ; he denounces t he asceticism of the Hindoos, and he urges all men to abandon their evil ways, to live peacefully and virtuously, and to call upon the name of the one true God to whom Nanuk had borne witness. Arjoon is commonly said to have refused to give these writings of his stern but fervid disciple a place in the Grunt'h, perhaps as"unsuited to the tenor of Nanuk's exhor- tations, which scarcely condemn or threaten others. The writings of Goor Das are, indeed, rather figura- tive descriptions of actual aflfairs, than simple hymns , in praise of God ; but they deserve attention as ex- ^i pounding Nanul^s_o^ectj)f_a^ gradual fusion of Maho-ii ^ metans and Hindoos into common observers of^ a new | (The con ^ - _ , i [ceptions of and a better creed, '^and as an almost contemporary |JNanuk be- ' instance of the conversionof the noble but obscure idea ™™jj^*^?j,_ of an individual into the active principle of a multitude, puises of a and of the gradual investiture of a simple fact with the p™p>«; gorgeous mythism of memory and imagination. The Z-i/Ajjn • Compare Malcolm, StocA, p. 33.; Hijree, or 1606 a. d., seems the most the Dabistdn, ii. 272-3. ; and Forster, certain date of his death. 4* ^c/L-^ Travels, i. 298. f Mohsun Fanee observes (Z)a6ts- t-^r'.^r ISSs'a. D. seems the most probable tan, ii. 270.), that in the time of date of Arjoon's birth, although one Arjoon Sikhs were to be found every- i / account places it as late as 1565 a. d. where throughout the country. [-^ Similarly 1663 Sumbut, or 1015 E 2 52 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. lIi: 1606- 1645. and bis real history a mythical narrative. Hur Govind becomes Gooroo after a dis- puted suc- cession. •/t !.'..' . /'-'M. , f>- ■^f-p- k^ unpretending Nanuk, the deplorer of human frailty and the lover of his fellow men, becomes, in the mind of Goor Das and of the Sikh people, the first of hea- venly powers and emanations, and the proclaimed in- strument of God for the redemption of the world ; and every hope and feeling of the Indian races is appealed to in proof or in illustration of the reality and the splendor of his mission. * On the death of Arjoon, his brother Pirthee Chund made some attempts to be recognized as Gooroo, for the only son of the deceased teacher was young, and ecclesiastical usage has everywhere admitted a latitude of succession. But some suspicion of treachery towards Arjoon appears to have attached to him, and his nephew soon became the acknowledged leader of the Sikhs, although Pirthee Chund himself continued to retain a few followers, and thus sowed the first fertile seeds of dissent, or elements of dispute or of change, which ever increase with the growth of a sect or a system, t Hur j Govind was not, perhaps, more than eleven years of age at his father's death, but he was moved by his followers to resent the enmity of Chundoo Shah, and he is re- presented either to have procured his condemnation by^ * The work of Bhaee Goor Das Bhulleh, «imply known as such, or as the Gny an Rutnaolee ( Malcolm, Sketch, p. 30. note) is much read by the Sikhs. It consists of forty chap- ters, and is written in different kinds of verse. Some extracts may be seen in Appendix XIX. and in Malcolm, Sketchy p. 152. &c. Goor Das was the scribe of Arjoon, but his pride and haughtiness are said to have dis- pleased his master, and his compo- sitions were refused a place in the sacred book. Time and reflection — and the Sikhs add a miracle — made him sensible of his failings and in- feriority, and Arjoon perceiving his contrition, said, he would include his writings in the Grunt'h. But the final meekness of Goor Das was such, that he himself declared them to be unworthy of such association ; where- upon Arjoon enjoined that all Sikhs should nevertheless read them. He describes Arjoon (Malcolm, Sketchy p, 30, jwte) to have become Gooroo without any formal investiture or consecration by his father, which may further mark the commanding cha- racter of that teacher. Malcolm {Sketch, ip. 32.) appears to confound Chundoo Shah (or Dhunnee Chund) with Goor Das. t Malcolm, Sketch, p. 30. and DabistdUf ii. 273. These sectaries were called Meena, a term commonly used in the Punjab, and which is expressive of contempt or oppro- brium, as stated by Mohsun Fanee. The proneness to sectarianism among the first Christians was noticed and deprecated by Paul. (1 Corinthians, i. 10—13.) Chap. KI.] SIKH GOOEOOS ; HUU GOVIND. Al A— ^< , 33 6 1606— 1645. arms the Sikhs and becomes a military leader. the emperor, or to have slain him by open force without reference to authority.* Whatever may be the truth about the death of Chundoo and the first years of Hur chundoo /-lo u.<&z.. Govind's ministry, it is certain that, in a short time, he SMisiain <>^.u.C,, became a military leader as well as a spiritual teacher, death. . , ' Nanuk had sanctioned or enjoined secular occupations, Huroovind Arjoon carried the injunction into practice, and the im- pulse thus given speedily extended and became general. The temper and the circumstances of Hur Govind both prompted him to innovation ; he had his father's death to move his feelings, and in surpassing the example of his parent, even the jealous dogma of the Hindoo law, which allows the most lowly to arm in self-defence, may not have been without its influence on a mind acquainted with the precepts of Munnoo.t Arjoon trafficked as a merchant and played his part as a priest in affairs of policy ; but Hur Govind grasped a sword, and marched with his devoted followers among the troops of the empire, or boldly led them to oppose and overcome provincial governors or personal enemies. Nanuk had himself abstained from animal food, and the prudent Arjoon endeavoured to add to his saintly fication of merit or influence by a similar moderation ; but the ad- sikhism venturous Hur Govind became a hunter and an eater"' of flesh, and his disciples imitated him in these robust '"; • practices.^ The genial disposition of the martial apostle ^^ ' ' led him to rejoice in the companionship of a camp, in '^'"'*^ the dangers of war, and in the excitements of the chase, nor is it improbable that the policy of a temporal chief mingled with the feelings of an injured son and with the duties of a religious guide, so as to shape his acts to the ends of his ambition, although that may not have aimed at more than a partial independence under The gra- dual modi- * Compare Forster, Travels, i. 298. f For this last supposition, see Malcolm, Sketch, pp. 44. 189. There is perhaps some straining after nicety of reason in the notion, as Munnoo's injunction had long be- come obsolete in such matters, espe- cially under the Mahometan supre- macy. I The DaUstdn, ii. 248. and Mal- colm, Sketch, p. 36. E 3 1645 54 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. IIL 1606— the mild supremacy of the son of Akber. Hur Gov'miiM*^ appears to have admitted criminals and fugitives among- his followers, and where a principle of antagonism had already arisen, they may have served him zealously vdthout greatly reforming the practice of their lives ; and, indeed, they are stated to have believed that the faithful Sikh would pass unquestioned into heaven.* He had a stable of eight hundred horses ; three hundred mounted followers were constantly in attendance upon him, and a guard of sixty matchlock-men secured the safety of his person, had he ever feared or thought and com- of assassination. t The impulse which he gave to the ration 0?*' Sikhs was such as to separate them a long way from the Sikhs all Hiudoo sects, and after the time of Hur Govind the dcmdi?-"' "disciples" were in Httle danger of relapsing into the senters. limited merit or utility of monks and mendicants.1^ Hur Govind Hur Govind became a follower of the Emperor Je- A^a^ the'd'is"-^'^' hangheerT^arid to the end of his life his conduct partook c^J^' pleasure of as much of the military adventurer as of the enthusi- a^ g • Jehangheer; ^^^j^ zealot. He accompanied the imperial camp to « Cashmeer, and he is at one time represented as in holy colloquy with the religious guide of the Moghul, and at another as involved in difficulties with, the emperor about retaining for himself that, money which he should have disbursed to his troops. He had, too, a multitude of followers, and his passion for the chase, and fancied independence as a teacher of men, may have led him to offend against the sylvan laws of the court. The em- peror was displeased, the fine imposed on Arjoon had never been paid, and Hur Govind was placed as a piiraed prisoner on scanty food in the fort of Gwalior. But the faithful Sikhs continued to revere the mysterious virtues or the real merits of their leader. They flocked to Gwalior, and bowed themselves before the walls which restrained their persecuted Gooroo, till at last the prince, moved, perhaps, as much by superstition and re leased. as by pity, released him from confinement. § * The Dabistan, ii. 284. 286. \ See Appendix IX. f The Dabistan, ii. 277. § Compare the Dabistan, ii. 273, Chap. UI.] SIKH GOOEOOS ; HUE GOVIND, 55 On the death of Jehangheer in 1628, Hur Govind leoe— continued in the employ of the Mahometan government, ^^* ^' , but he appears soon to have been led into a course of jehangheer armed resistance to the imperial officers in the Punjab, dies i628, A disciple brought some valuable horses from Toor- G^ind en- kistan ; they were seized, as was said, for the emperoiy s^^^ in a- and one was conferred as a gift on the Kazee or Judge faref ^" of Lahore. The Gooroo recovered this one animal ^y /(Qf ^ pretending to purchase it ; the judge was deceived, and his anger was further roused by the abduction of, the Sikhs say his daughter, the Mahometans, his favourite concubine, who had become enamored of the Gooroo. Other things may have rendered Hur Govind obnoxious, and it was resolved to seize him and to disperse his followers. He was assailed by one Mookhlis Khan, but he defeated the imperial troops near Amritsir, fighting, it is idly said, with five thousand men against seven thousand. Afterwards a Sikh, a converted robber, stole two of the emperor's prime horses from Lahore, and the Gooroo was again attacked by the provincial levies, but the detachment was routed and its leaders slain. Hur Govind now deemed it prudent to retire Huroovind for a time to the wastes of Bhutinda, south of the the wLtes Sutlej, where it might be useless or dangerous to ofHurree- foUow him ; but he watched his opportunity and speedily returned to the Punjab, only, however, to Eetumsto become engaged in fresh contentions. The mother of ^ ""^^ ' one Payenda Khan, who had subsequently risen to some local eminence, had been the nurse of Hur Go- vind, and the Gooroo had ever been liberal to his foster brother. Payenda Khan was moved to keep to himself 274.and Forster, IVoBcfe, i. 298, 299. induced him to submit to the em- But the journey to Cashmeer, and the peror. controversy with Mahometan saints The Emperor Jehangheer, in his or MooUas, are given on the authority Memoirs, gives more than one in- of the native chronicles. Mohsun stance of his credulity and super- Fanee represents Hur Govind to stitious reverence for reputed saints have been imprisoned for twelve and magicians. See particularly his years, and Forster attributes his re- Memoirs, p. 129. &c., where his visit lease to the intervention of a Ma- to a worker of wonders is narrated, hometan leader, who had originally £ 4 56 HISTORY 01" THE SIKHS. [Chap. IH. 1606— 1645. Slays in fight one Payenda Khan, his friendj^ i. Death of HurGovind, 1645 A.i,. Self-sacri- ( fice of dis- ciples on his pyre. a valuable hawk, belonging to the Gooroo's eldest son, which had flown to his house by chance : he was taxed with the detention of the bird; he equivocated before the Gooroo, and became soon after his avowed enemy. The presence of Hur Govind seems ever to have raised a commotion, and Payenda Khan was fixed upon as a suitable leader to coerce him. He was attacked ; but the warlike apostle slew the friend of his youth with his own hand, and proved again a victor. In this action a soldier rushed furiously upon the Gooroo ; but he warded the blow and laid the man dead at his feet, exclaiming, "Not so, but thus, is the sword used;" an observation from which the author of the Dabistan draws the inference " that Hur Govind struck not in anger, but deliberately and to give instruction ; for the function of a Gooroo is to teach." * Hur Govind appears to have had other difficulties and adventures of a similar kind, and occasionally to have been reduced to great straits ; but the Sikhs always rallied round him, his religious reputation increased daily, and immediately before his death he was visited by a famous saint of the ancient Persian faith.t He died in peace in 1645, at Keeritpoor on the Sutlej, a place bestowed upon him by the hill chief of Kuhloor, and the veneration of his followers took the terrible form of self-sacrifice. A Rajpoot convert threw him- self amid the flames of the funeral pyre, and walked several paces till he died at the feet of his master. A Jut disciple did the same, and others, wrought upon by these examples, were ready to follow, when Hur Race, L'y-^ ^^^ [the succeeding Gooroo, interfered and forbade them.t '^hA**-'^ * See the Dabistan, ii. 275. ; but native accounts, Sikh and Mahome- tan, have been mainly followed in narrating the sequence of events. Compare, however, the Dahistdn, ii. 284., for the seizure of horses be- longing to a disciple of the Gooroo. t The Dabistdn, ii. 280. i This is related on the authority of the Dabistdn, ii. 280, 281. Hur Govind's death is also given agreeably to the text of the Dabistan as having occurred on the 3d Mohurrum, 1055 Hijree, or on the 1 9th Feb. 1645, A.n. Malcolm, Sketch, p. 37., and Foister, Travels, i. 299., give 1644 A. n. as the exact or probable date, obviously from regarding 1701 Sum- but (which Malcolm also quotes) as identical throughout, instead of for Chap. III.] SIKH GOOROOS ; HUE GOVIND. 57 During the ministry of Hur Govind, the Sikhs in- leos— creased greatly in numbers, and the fiscal policy of . " . Arjoon, and the armed system of his son, had already The body of formed them into a kind of separate state within the sikiis forms rT^\ /^ 1 ^ • i» '^ separate empire. Ine Ijrooroo was perhaps not unconscious or estawish- his latent influence, when he played with the credulity r"'"' ™'^" or rebuked the vanity of his Mahometan friend. " A pue. Raja of the north," said he, " has sent an ambassador some anec- to ask about a place called Delhi, and the name and ^"'^f^fHur i^ -111 111 Crovmd. parentage of its king. I was astonished that he had not heard of the commander of the faithful, the lord of the ascendant, Jehangheer." * But during his busy life he never forgot his genuine character, and always styled himself " Nanuk," in deference to the firm belief of the Sikhs, that the soul of their great teacher animated each of his successors. t So far as Hur Govind knew or thought o'f philosophy as a science, he fell into His puio- the prevailingf views of the period : God, he said, is ^°p'"'^*^ r !::> ^ ^ ^r ' ^ ^ views. one, and the world is an illusion, an appearance without a reality ; \)t, he would adopt the more Pantheistic ^^ r{^ notion, and regard the universe as composing the one ;'. .^/y Being. But such reflections did not occupy his mind or ' ' ■ engage his heart, and the rebuke of a Brahmin that if the world was the same as God, he, the Gooroo, was one with the ass grazing hard by, provoked a laugh only from the tolerant Hur Govind. t That he thought about the first nine months only, with self. The story perhaps shows that 1644 A. D., an error which may the Sikh truly considered the Ma- similarly apply to several conversions hometan to be a gossiping, and some- of dates in this history. The manu- what credulous person. The dates script accounts consulted place the would rather point to Shah Jehan as Gooroo's death variously in 1637, the emperor alluded to than Jehan- 1638, and 1639 a. d. ; but they lean gheer, as given parenthetically iu the to the middle term. All, however, translated text of the Dabistan. must be too early, as Mohsun Fanee Jehangheer died in 1628 a.u., and (Dabistan, ii. 281.) says he saw Hur Mohsun Fanee's acquaintance with Govind in 1643 A. D. Hur Govind's Hur Govind appears not to have birth is placed by the native accounts taken place till towards the last years in the early part of 1652 Sumbut, of the Gooroo's life, or till after 1640 corresponding with the middle of a. u. 1595 A. D. f Compare the Dabistan, ii. 281. * See the Dabistan, ii. 276, 277. | Compare the Dabistan, ii. 277. The friend being Mohsun Fanee him- 279, 280. 58 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. III. 1645— conscience and understanding our only divine guides, . ^^^'' . may probably be inferred from his reply to one who declared the marriage of a brother with a sister to be forbidden by the Almighty. Had God prohibited it, said he, it would be impossible for man to accomplish it.* His contempt for idolatry, and his occasional wide departure from jthe__jnild_ and conciliatory ways, of- Nanuk, may be judged from the following anecdote : — One of his followers smote the nose oflf an image ; the several neighboring chiefs complained to the Gooroo, who summoned the Sikh to his presence ; the culprit denied the act, but said ironically, that if the god bore witness against him, he would die willingly. " Oh, fool ! " said the Rajas, " how should the god speak ? " "It is plain," answered the Sikh, "who is the fool ; if the god cannot save his own head, how will he avail you ? " t Hur Race Goordut, the eldest son of Hur Govind, had acquired Gooroo^ ^ ^ ^%^ reputation, but he died before his father, leaving 1645. ' two sons, one of whom succeeded to the apostleship. t (S ' Jot Hur Raee, the new Gooroo, remained at Keeritpoor for /y^^ £ a time, until the march of troops to reduce the Kuhloor q_^^,^C. Raja to obedience induced him to remove eastward into ,f the district of Sirmoor.§ There he also remained in , '7p * The Z)a6Js to take part, of a nature not distinctly laid down, with Para Sheko k, in the struggle between him and his brothers for the empire of India. Para failed, his adherents became rebels, and Hur Raee had to surrender his elder son as a hostage. The youth was treated with distinction and soon released, and the favor of the politic Aurungzeb is believed to have roused the jealousy of the father.* ■ But the end of Hur Raee was at hand, and he died at Keeritpoor in the year l66l.t His ministry was mild, Dies i66i yet such as won for him general respect ; and many of the " Bhaees," or brethren, the descendants of the chosen companions pf_ a Gooroo, trace their descent to one disciple or other distinguished by Hur Raee.t Some sects also of Sikhs, who affect more than ordinary precision, had their origin during the peaceful supre- macy of this Gooroo. § Hur Raee left two sons, place meant seems to be Tuksal or Tungsal, near the present British station of Kussowlee to the north- ward of Ambala. The important work of Mohsun Fanee brings down the history of the Siklis to this point only. * The Gooroo's leaning towards Dara, is given on the authority of native accounts only, but it is highly probable in itself, considering Dara's personal character and religious prin- ciples. ■(■ The authorities mostly agree as to the date of Hur Raee's death, but one account places it in 1 662 a. d. The Gooroo's birth is differently placed in 1628 and 1629. ^ Of these Bhaee Bhugtoo, the founder of the Kythul family, use- ful partizans of Lord Lake, but now " reduced to comparative insignificance 4'<*-&!*^ trader the operation of the British "* * ^i) system of escheat, was one of the best /— =. known. Dliurrum Singh, the ances- - ^'•'~' tor of the respectable Bhaees of Ba- kil c^gfeean, a place between the Sutlej _, and Jumna, was likewise a follower I Ui't^ of Hur Raee. 1661. ^r Ram Raee, about fifteen, Hurkishen succeeds, Now-a-days the title of Bhaee is in practice frequently given to any Sikh of eminent sanctity, whether his ancestor were the companion pf a Gooroo or not. The Behdees^ and Sodhees, however, confine themselves to the distinctive names of their tribes, or the Behdee s call themselves Baba or father, and the Sodheesf sometimes arrogate to themselve^^the title of Gooroo, as the representatives of Govind and Ram Das. § Of these sects the Soot'hrees or the Soothra-Shahees, are the best known. Their founder was one Sootcba, a Brahmin, and they have a st'hdn or dehra, or place under the walls of the citadel of Lahore. ( Com- pare Wilson, As. Res., xvii. 236.) The name, or designation, means simply the pure. Another follower of Hur Raee, was a Khutree trader, named Futtoo, who got the title, or adopted the name, of Bhaee P'heeroo, and who, according to tlie belief of some people, became the real founder of the Oodassees, A 60 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. HI, 1664— 1675. Dies, 1664. Tegb Ba- hadur suc- ceeds as ninth Goo- roo, 1664. Bam Kaee disputes his claims. and Hurkishen, about six years of age ; but the elder ^' o^ was the offspring of a handmaiden, and not of a wife vA'-t*'<^ of equal degree, and^ Hur Raee is further said to have ^fV^-^ declared the younger his successor. The disputes Sn^U between the partizans of the two brothers ran high, i/^t^u. ^ and the decision was at last referred to the emperor, ^j^ ,^1 Aurungzeb may have been willing to allow the Sikhs to ^^» A.^^ choose their own Gooroo, as some accounts have it, but t^,jj^ j, the more cherished tradition relates that, being struck i^ ^ with the child's instant recognition of the empress ^ /|i,,.v\. among a number of ladies similarly arrayed, he declared ^ Tsic the right of Hurkishen to be indisputable, and he was accordingly recognised as head of the Sikhs : but before the infant apostle could leave Delhi, he was k''^ attacked with small-pox, and died, in 1664, at that ^j^"^ place.* ^^^ti When Hurkishen was about to expire, he is stated '^ to have signified that his successor would be found in the village of Bukkala, near Goindwal, on the Beeas river. In this village there were many of Hur Goy ind' s relatives, and his son Tegh Buhadur, after many wan- derings and a long sojourn at Patna, on the Ganges, had taken up his residence at the same place. Rarn^£^t.Kkti^,k~ J -. Ay * This legend is given with several variations, and one may be seen in Malcolm (^Sketch, p. 53. note), and another in Macgregor's History of the Sikh's (i. 71.). Perhaps the true origin of the myth is to be found in Govind's reputed vision during sleep of the great goddess. (Malcolm, p. 187.) The occurrence is" placed in the year 1696 a. n. (Malcolm, Sketch, p. 86.) f Khalsa or Khallsa, is of Arabic derivation, and has such original or secondary meanings, as pure, special, free, &c. It is commonly used in India to denote the immediate terri- tories of an;y chief or state as distin- guished from the lands of tributaries and feudal followers. Khalsa can thus be held either to denote the kingdom of Govind, or that the Sikhs are the chosen people. I This assurance is given in the Rehet Nameh, or Rule of Life of Govind, which, however, is not in- cluded in the Grunt'h. In the same composition lie says, or is held to have said, that the believer who wishes to see the Gooroo, shall behold him in the Khalsa. Those who object to such simili- tudes, or to such struggles of the mind after precision, should remem- ber that Abelard likened the Trinity to a syllogism with its three terms ; and that Wallis, with admitted or- thodoxy, compared the Godhead to a mathematical cube with its three dimensions. (^BayWs DictioTiary, art. " Abelard.") § Pahul (pronounced nearly as Fowl), means literally a gate, a door, and thence initiation. The word may have the same origin as the Greek trihi). JtWv CHAP.m.] siKHiSM UNDER Govnro,^ 69 \A rivers looked upon as sacred ; the Brahmin's jhread I i675— must be broken ; by means of the Khalsa alone could ''°^ salvation be attained^ They must surrender themselves vi^hoUy to their faith and to him their guide. Their words must be " Kritnash, Koolnash, Dhurmnash, Kurmnash," the forsaking of occupation and family, of belief and ceremonies. " Do thus," said Govind, " and the world is yours."* Many Brahmin and Kshutree followers murmured, but the contemned races rejoiced ; they reminded Govind of their devotion and services, and asked that they also should be allowed to bathe in the sacred pool, and oflfer up prayers in the temple of Amritsir. The murmurings of the twice-born increased, and many took their departure, but Govind exclaimed that the lowly should be raised, and that hereafter the r,~^ , despised should dwell next to himself.t Govind then ^ -*-' poured water into a vessel and stirred it with the sacri- j ficial axe, or with the sword rendered divine by the . \ touch of the goddessl His wife passed by, as it were '^^-^ 1 by chance, bearing confections of five kinds : he hailed ) the omen as propitious, for the coming of woman de- ' noted an offspring to the Khalsa numerous as the leaves * The text gives the substance gret'ha seems thus rather a diminu- and usually the very words of the tive of Runggur, than a derivative of numerous accounts to the same pur- rung (color) as commonly under- port. (Compare also Malcolm, stood. The Rungret'ba Sikhs are | Sketch, p. 14S. ISl.") sometimes styled MazAMiec, or of the fl . , - f Chooras, or men of the Sweeper (Mahometan) faith, from the circum- \ / ' ' caste, brought away the remains of stance thatthe converts from Islam are ', ' , - Tegh Buhadur from Delhi, as has so called, and that many Sweepers J >y •' • been mentioned (ant^, p. 64, note), throughout India have become Ma- \ Many of that despised, but not op- hometans. A, //CX^-'<-v.' _ ■'- pressed race, have adopted the Sikh In allusion to the design of in- ! faith in the Punjab, and they are spiring the Hindoos with a new life, i commonly known as Rungrefha Govind is reported to have said that j Sikhs. Runggur is a term applied he "would teach the sparrow to to the Rajpoots about Delhi who strike the eagle." (See Malcolm, have become Mahometans ; but in Sketch, p. 74., where it is used with Malwa the predatory Hindoo Raj- reference to Aurungzeb, but the say- poots are similarly styled, perhaps ing is attributed to Govind under from Runk a poor man, in opposition various circumstances by different to Rana one of high degree. Run- authors, ) !■ 3 70 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. III. 1675— 1708. ' . ' The Paliul or initia- tion of the sect of Singhs. The visible distinctions of Sikhs or Singhs. Lustration by water. Reverence for Nanulc. of the forest. He mingled the sugars with the water, ■ and then sprinkled a portion of it upon five faithful dis- ciples, a Brahmin, a Kshutree, and three Soodras^ He hailed them as " Singhs, " and declared them to be the Khalsa. He himself received from them the "Pahul" of his faith and became Govind Singh, saying, that hereafter, whenever five Sikhs should be assembled to- gether, there he also would be present.* l ^i, !r^^-'~'-i^ Govind thus abolished social distinctionst, and took away from his followers each ancient solace of super- stition ; but he felt that he must engage the heart as well as satisfy the reason, and that he must give the Sikhs some common bonds of union which should re- mind the weak of their new life, and add fervor to the devotion of the sincere. They should have one form of initiation, he said, the sprinkling of water by five of the faithfull: ; they should worship the One Invisible God; they should honour the memory of Nanuk and of his transaniraate successors §; their watchword should be, • The Brahmin noviciate is stated to have been an inhabitant of the Deccan, and the Kshutree of the Punjab ; one Soodra, a Jeewur (Kuhar), was of Juggernath, the second, a Jat, was of Hustinapoor, and the third, a Cheepa or cloth printer, was of Dwarka in Goojrat. For the declaration about five Sikhs forming a congregation, or about the assembly of five men en- suring the presence or the grace of the Gooroo, compare Malcolm, Sketch, p. 186. Govind had originally the cogno- men, or titular name, of " Race," one in common use among Hindoos, and largely adopted under the varia- tion of " Rao " by the military Mah- rattas; but on declaring the com- prehensive nature of his reform, the .4^ j Gooroo adopted for himself and fol- lowers the distinctive appellation of I " Singh," meaning literally a lion, and i metaphorically a champion or warrior. It is the most common of the dis- tinctive names in use among Raj- poots, and it is now the invariable termination of every proper name among the disciples of Govind. It is sometimes used alone, as Khan is used among the Mahometans, to de- note preeminence. Thus Sikh chiefs would talk of Runjeet Singh, as or- dinary Sikhs will talk of their own immediate leaders, as the " Singh Sahib," almost equivalent to " Sir King," or " Sir Knight," in English. Strangers likewise often address any Sjkh respectfully as " Siughjee." '''i See Appendix X. -/t See Appendix XI. § The use of the word " transani- mate" may perhaps be allowed. The Sikh belief in the descent of the individual spirit of Nanuk upon each of his successors, is compared by Govind in the Vichitr Natuk to the imparting of flame from one lamp to another. Chap, m.] SIKHISM UNDER GOVIND. 71 Hail Gooroo ! * but they should revere and bow to lers— nought visible save the "Grunt^h," the book of their ^^^°^- belief.t They should bathe, from time to time, in the Theexcia- pool of Amritsir ; their locks should remain unshorn ; mation, they should all name themselves " Singhs," or soldiers, j.^^, °°' and of material thing s they should devote their finite unshom energies to steel alone.1i Arms should dignify their Ij^^^jj *® person ; they should be ever waging war, and great singh; would be his merit who fought in the van, who slew an /and de- enemy, and who despaired not although overcome. He I ][^°" cut off the three sects of dissenters from all intercourse : the DheermuUees, who had labored to destroy Arjoon ; the Ram Races, who had compassed the death of his father jTand the Mussundees, who had resisted his own - . authority. He denounced the " shaven," meaning, per- haps, all Mahometans and Hindoos ; and for no reason which bears clearly on the worldly scope of his mission, he held up to reprobation those slaves of a perverse custom, who impiously take the lives of their infant daughters.§ Govind had achieved one victory, he had made him- self master of the imagination of his followers ; but a more laborious task remained, the destruction of the empire of unbelieving oppressors. He had established the Khalsa, the theocracy of Singhs, in the midst of Hindoo delusion and Mahometan error ; he had con- founded Peers and MooUas, Sadhs and Pundits, but he had yet to vanquish the armies of a great emperor, and to subdue the multitudes whose faith he impugned. The design of Govind may seem wild and senseless to those accustomed to consider the firm sway and regular policy of ancient Rome, and who daily witness the * See Appendix XII. idolatry, by denouncing (in the f Obeisance to the Grunt'h alone Vichitr Natuk) all who should re- is inculcated in the Rehet Nameh, or gard him as a god. Rule of Life of Govind, and he en- :[ See Appendix XIII. deavored to guard against being § See Appendix XIV. himself made an object of future F 4 7/ 72 HISTORY or THE SIKHS. [Chap. III. 1675— 1708. The cha- racter and condition of the Moghul empire when Govind re- solved to assail It. Akber. Aurungzeb. power and resources of the well-ordered governments of modern Europe. But the extensive empires of the East, as of semi-barbarism in the West, have never been based on the sober convictions of a numerous people ; they have been mere dynasties of single tribes, rendered triumphant by the rapid development of warlike energy, and by the comprehensive genius of eminent leaders. Hace has succeeded race in dominion, and what Cyrus did with his Persians and Charlemagne with his Franks, Baber began and Akber completed with a few Tartars their personal followers. The Moghuls had even a less firm hold of empire than the-Achsemenides or the Car- lovingians ; the devoted clansmen of Baber were not . numerous, his son was driven from his throne, and ^'r'^^^^Jj Akber became the master of India as much by political sagacity, and the generous sympathy of his nature, as by military enterprize and the courage of his partizans. He perceived the want of the times, and his command- ing genius enabled him to reconcile the conflicting interests and prejudices of Mahometans and Hindoos, of Rajpoots, Toorks, and Puthans. At the end of fifty years he left his heir a broad and well regulated do- minion ; yet one son of Jehangheer contested the em- pire with his father, and Shah Jehati first saw his children waging war with one another for the possession of the crown which he himself still wore, and at length became the prisoner of the ablest and most successful of the combatants. Aurungzeb ever feared the influence of his own example : his temper was cold ; his policy towards Mahometans was one of suspicion, while his bigotry and persecutions rendered him hateful to his Hindoo subjects. In his old age his wearied spirit could find no solace ; no tribe of brave and confiding men gathered round him : yet his vigorous intellect kept him an emperor to the last, and the hollowness of his sway was not apparent to the careless observer until he was laid in his grave. The empire of the Moghuls wanted political fusion, and its fair degree of adminis- chap.iil] sikhism under govind. 73 trative order and subordination was vitiated by the i675— doubt which hung about the succession.* It comprised ^^^^' a number of petty states which rendered an unwilhng obedience to the sovereign power ; it was .also studded over with feudal retainers, and all these hereditary princes and mercenary " Jagheerdars " were ever ready to resist, or to pervert, the measures of the central government. They considered then, as they do now, that a monarch exercised sway for his own interests only, without reference to the general welfare of the country ; no public opinion of an intelligent people systematically governed controlled them, and applause always awaited the successful aspirant to power. Akber did something to remove this antagonism between the rulers and the ruled, but his successors were less wise than himself, and religious discontent was soon added to the love of political independence. The southern o portions of India, too, were at this time recent conquests, and his eldest son, Buhadur Shah, hastened from Caubul to secure the succession. He vanquished and slew one brother near Agra, and, marching to the south, he de- feated a second, Kambukhsh, who died of his wounds. * In this narrative of Govind's warlike actions, reference has been mainly had to the Vichitr Natuk of the Gooroo, to the Gooroo Bilas of Sookha Singh, and to the ordinary modern compilations in Persian and Goormookhee ; transcripts, imperfect apparently, of some of which latter have been put into English by Dr. Macgregor. (^History of the Sihhs, pp. 79—99.) Chap. III.] SIKHISM UNDEE GOVIND. 79 While engaged in this last campaign, Buhadur Shah i675_ summoned Govind to his camp. The Gooroo went ; J^^- he was treated with respect and he received a military Qg^^^^ command in the valley of the Godavery. The emperor ceeds to the perhaps thought that the leader of insurrectionary Juts \'^^ °^ might be usefully employed in opposing rebellious Mah- Enters the rattas, and Govind perhaps saw in the imperial service a i™periai ready way of disarming suspicion and of reorganizing his followers.* At Dumdumma he had again denounced evil upon all who should thenceforward desert him ; in the south he selected the daring Bunda as an instrument, and the Sikhs speedily reappeared in overwhelming force upon the banks of the Sutlej. But Govind's race was run, and he was not himself fated to achieve aught more in person. He had engaged the services of an Afghan, half adventurer, half merchant, and he had procured from him a considerable number of horses, t The merchant, or servant, pleaded his own necessities, and urged the payment of large sums due to him. Impatient with delay, he used an angry gesture, and his mutterings of violence provoked Govind to strike him dead. The body of the slain Puthan was removed and buried, and his family seemed reconciled to the fate of its head. But his sons nursed their revenge, and awaited an opportunity of fulfilling it. They suc- ceeded in stealing upon the Gooroo's retirement, and * The Sikh writers seem unani- end of 1703 a.o., as the date of Go- mous in giving to their great teacher vind's arrival at that place, a military conjmand in the Deccan, f It would be curious to trace how while some recent Mahometan com- far India was colonized in the inter- pilers assert that he died at Patna. vals of great invasions by petty Af- But the liberal conduct of Buhadur ghan and Toorkmun leaders, who Shah is confirmed by the contempo- defrayed their first or occasional ex- rary historian, Khafee Khan, who penses by the sale of horses. Tra- states that he received rank in the dition represents that both the de- Moghul army (see Elphinstone, Hist, stroyer of Manikyala in the Punjab, of India, ii. 566, note), and it is in a and the founder of Bliutneer in Hur- degree corroborated by the undoubted reeana, were emigrants so circum- fact of the Gooroo's death, on the stanced ; and Ameer Khan, the recent banks of the Godavery. The tradi- Indian adventurer, was similarly re- tions preserved at Nuderh, give Kar- duced to sell his steeds for food. {Me- tik, 1765 (Sumbut), or towards the moirs of Ameer K/ian, ip. 16.) 80 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. HI. 1675— 1708. Govind wounded by assassins, and dies de- claring his mission to be ful- filled, and the Khalsa to be com- mitted to God, 1708 Stabbed him mortally when asleep or unguarded. Go- vind sprang up and the assassins were seized ; but a sardonic smile played upon their features, and they justified their act of retribution. The Gooroo heard: he remembered the fate of their father, and he perhaps called to mind his own unavenged parent. He said to the youths that they had done well, and he directed that they should be released uninjured.* The expiring Gooroo was childless, and the assembled disciples asked in sorrow who should inspire them with truth and lead them to victory when he was no more. Govind bade them be of good cheer ; the appointed Ten had indeed fulfilled their mission, but he was about to deliver the Khalsa to God, the never-dying. " He who wishes to behold the Gooroo, let him search the Grunt'h of Nanulc. The Gooroo will dwell with the Khalsa ; be firm and be faithful : wherever five Sikhs are gathered together there will I also be present." t Govind was killed in I7O8, at Nuderh, on the banks * All the common accounts nar- rate the death of Govind as given in the text, but with slight differences of detail, while some add that the widow of the slain Puth^n continu- ally urged her sons to seek revenge. Many accounts, and especially those by Mahometans, likewise represent Govind to have become deranged in his mind, and a story told by some Sikh writers gives a degree of coun- tenance to such a belief. They say that the heart of the Gooroo inclined towards the youths whose father he had slain, that he was wont to play simple games of skill with them, and that he took opportunities of incul- cating upon them the merit of re- venge, as if he was himself weary of life, and wished to fall by their band& The Seir ool Mutakhereen (i. 114.) simply says that Govind died of grief on account of the loss of his children. (Compare Malcolm, Sketch, p. 70. &c., and Elphinstone, History, ii. 564.) The accounts now fur. nished by the priests of the temple at Nuderh, represent the one assassin of the Gooroo to have been the grand- son of the Payenda Khan, slain by f-v~<^l'-. Hur Govind, and they do not give him any further cause of quarrel with Govind himself. f Such is the usual account given of the Gooroo's dying injunctions; and the belief that Govind consummated the mission or dispensation of Nanuk, seems to have been agreeable to the feelings of the times, while it now forms a main article of faith. The mother, and one wife of Govind, are represented to have survived him some years; but each, when dying, de- clared the Goorooship to rest in the general body of the Khalsa, and not in any one mortal; and hence the Sikhs do not give such a designation even to the most revered of their holy men, their highest religious title being " Bhaee," literally " brother," but corresponding in significance with the English term " elder." Chap. HI.] SIKHISM UNDEK GOVIND. 81 of the Godavery.* He was in his forty-eighth year, is's— and if it be thought by any that his obscure end belied . ' " . the promise of his whole life, it should be remembered oovind's that — ^""i ""- timely but " The hand of man labours not Is but a tardy servant of the brain, fruitless. And follows, with its leaden diligence. The fiery steps of fancy ;" f that when Mahomet was a fugitive from Mecca, " the lance of an Arab might have changed the history of the world ;" t and that the Achilles of poetry, the reflection of truth, left Troy untaken. The lord of the Myrmidons^destined to a short life and immortal glory, met an end almost as base as that which he dreaded when struggling with Simois and Scamander ; and the heroic Richard, of eastern and western fame, whose whole soul was bent upon the deliverance of Jerusalem, veiled his face in shame and sorrow that God's holy city should be left in the possession of infidels : he would not behold that which he could not redeem, and he de- scended from the Mount to retire to captivity and a premature grave. § Success is thus not always the measure of greatness. The last apostle of the Sikhs ♦ Govind is stated to have been bom in the month of " Poh," 1718 Sumbut, which may be the end of 1661, or beginning of 1662 a.d., and all accounts agree in placing his death about the middle of 1 765 Sumbut, or towards the end of 1708 A. b. At Nuderh there is a large reli- gious establishment, partly supported by the produce of landed estates, partly by voluntary contributions, and partly by sums levied annually, agreeably to the mode organised by Arjoon. The principal of the esta- blishment despatches a person to show his requisition to the faithful, and all give according to their means. Thus the common horsemen in the employ of Bhopal give a rupee and a quarter each a year, besides offerings on occasions of pilgrimage. Runjeet Singh sent considerable sums to Nuderh, but the buildings commenced with the means which he provided have not been completed. Nuderh is also called Upchulla- nuggur, and in Southern and Central India it is termed pre-eminently " the Goordwara," that is, " the house of the Gooroo." f Sir Marmaduke Maxwell, a dra- matic poem, act iv. scene 6. I Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, ix. 285. § For this story of the lion-like king, see Gibbon {Decline and FaU, xi. 1 43.). See also Turner's compa- rison of the characters of Achilles and Richard {History of England, p. 300.), and Hallam's assent to its superior justness relatively to his own parallel of the Cid and the English hero (^Middle Ages, iii. 482.). G 82 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. IH. although ' not fully apparent to strangers, if so to In- dians. did not live to see his own ends accomplished, but he effectually roused the dormant energies of a vanquished people, and filled them with a lofty although fitful longing for social freedom and national ascendancy, the proper adjuncts of that purity of worship which had been preached by Nanuk. Govind saw what was yet vital, and he relumed it with Promethean fire. A . living spirit possesses the whole Sikh people, and the a °^T impress of Govind has not only elevated and altered \Jj^;.. the constitutioa of their minds, but has'operated mate- '/juUaj^ rially and given amplitude to their physical frames. ^ ^.^^^ — The features and external form of a whole people have_ ,1 r^ been modified, and a Sikh chief is not more distin- guishable by his stately person and free and manly bearing, than a minister of his faith is by a lofty thoughtfulness of look, which marks the fervor of his soul, and his persuasion of the near presence of the Divinity.* Notwithstanding these changes it has been usual to regard the Sikhs as essentially Hindoo, and they_d oubtlgss_ |re so in la nguag e arid~every-i3ay custo ms, for GOTind^did~"norTettep--hre^disciples with political systems or codes of municipal laws ; yet, in religious fait^ and worl dly aspirations, they are wholly different fromother InHrans, andTwey are bound together by a community^ of liJ^rd sentiment and of outward object unknown elsewhere. But the misapprehension need not surprize the public nor condemn our scholars t. • This physical change has been noticed by Sir Alex. Burnes ( Travels, i. 285. and iL 39.), by Elphinstone, {WMory of India, ii. 564.), and it also slightly struck Malcolm {Sketch, p. 129.). Similarly a change of as- pect, as well as of dress, &c., may be observed in the descendants of such members of Hindoo families as be- came Mahometans one or two cen- turies ago, and whose personal ap- pearance may yet be readily compared with that of tbeir imdoubted Brah- minical cousins in many parts of Malwa and Upper India, That Prichard {Physical History of Man- kind, i. 183. and i. 191.) notices no such change in the features, although he does in the characters, of the Hot- tentots' and Esquimaux who have been converted to Christianity, may either show that the attention of our observers and inquirers has not been directed to the subject, or that the savages in question have embraced a new faith with little of living ardor and absorbing enthusiasm. + The author alludes chiefly to Professor H. H. Wilson, whose learning and industry \^ doing so &jJi^ Chap. III.] BUND A. 83 when it is remembered that the learned of Greece and i708— Rome misunderstood the spirit of those humble men ^^^^' who obtained a new life by baptism. Tacitus and Sue- tonius regarded the early Christians as a mere Jewish sect, they failed to perceive the fundamental difference, and to appreciate the latent energy and real excellence, of that doctrine, which has added dignity and purity to modern civilization.* Bunda, the chosen disciple of Govind, was a native Bunda suc- of the south of India, and an ascetic of the Byraghee Qovind as a order t; and the extent of the deceased Gooroo's pre- temporal parations and means will be best understood from the '* "' narrative of the career of his followers, when his own much for Indian History. (See Asi- atic Researches, xvii. 237, 238. and CoTitinuafion of MiUs^ History, vii. 101, 102.) Malcolm holds similar views in one place (^ Sketch, pp. 144. 148. 150.), but somewhat contradicts himself in another. (^Sketch, p. 43.) With these opinions, however, may be compared the more correct views of Elphinstone (^History of India, ii. 562. 564.), and Sir Alex. Burnes (_Travels,i. 284,285.), and also Major Browne's observation (India Tracts, II ii. 4.), that the Sikh doctrine bore "\ the same relation to the Hindoo, as '.■the Protestant does to the Romish. * See the Annals of Tacitus, Mur- phy's Translation (book xv. sect. 44. note IS.). Tacitus calls Christianity a dangerous superstition, and regards its professors as moved by " a sullen hatred of the whole human race " — the Judaic characteristic of the period. Suetonius talks of the Jews raising disturbances in the reign of Claudius, at the instigation of " one Chrestus," thus evidently mistaking the whole of the facts, and further making a Latin name, genuine indeed, but misapplied, of the Greek term for anointed. Again, the obscure historian, Vo- piscus, preserves a letter, written by the Emperor Hadrian, in which the Christians are confounded with the adorers of Serapis, and in which the bishops are said to be especially de- G voted to the worship of that strange god, who was introduced into Egypt by the Ptolemies (Waddington, His- tory of the Church, p. 37.); and even Eusebius himself did not properly distinguish between Christians and the Essenic Therapeutas (Strauss, Life of Jesus, i. 294.), although the latter formed essentially a mere sect, or order, affecting asceticism and mystery. It is proper to add that Mr. New. man quotes the descriptions of Taci- tus and others as referring really to Christians and not to Jews ( On the Devehpment of Christian Doctrine, p. 205, &c.) He may be right, but the grounds of his dissent from the views of preceding scholars are not given. f Some accounts represent Bunda to have been a native of Northern India, and the writer, followed by Major Browne (India Tracts, ii. 9.), says he was born in the Jalundhur Dooab. " Bunda" signifies the slave, and Suroop Chund the author of the Goor Rutnaolee, states that the By- raghee took the name or title when he met Govind in the south, and found that the powers of his tutelary god Vishnoo, were ineffectual in the presence of the Gooroo. Thence- forward, he said, he would be the slave of Govind. 2 84 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. III. 1708— 1716. Proceeds to the north, and cap- tures Sirhind, 1709-10. The em- peror marches towards Lahore. But Bunda is in the mean time driven to- wards Jum- moo. Buhadur Shah dies at Lahore, 1712. commanding spirit was no more. The Sikhs gathered in numbers round Bunda when he reached the north- west, bearing with him the arrows of Govind as the pledge of victory. Bunda put to flight the Moghul authorities in the neighborhood of Sirhind, and then attacked, defeated, and slew the governor of the pro- vince. Sirhind was plundered, and the Hindoo betrayer and Mussulman destroyer of Govind's children, were themselves put to death by the avenging Sikhs.* Bunda next established a stronghold below the hills of Sir- moor t, he occupied the country between the Sutlej and Jumna, and he laid waste the district of Seharunpoor. t Buhadur Shah, the emperor, had subdued his re- bellious brother Kambukhsh, he had come to terms with the Mahrattas, and he was desirous of reducing the princes of Rajpootana to their old dependence, when he heard of the defeat of his troops and the sack of his city by the hitherto unknown Bunda. § He hastened towards the Punjab, and he did not pause to enter his capital after his southern successes ; but in the mean time his generals had defeated a body of Sikhs near Paneeput, and Bunda was surrounded in his new stronghold. A zealous convert, disguised like his leader, allowed himself to be captured during a sally of the besieged, and Bunda withdrew with all his followers. || After some successful skirmishes he established himself near Jummoo in the hills north of Lahore, and laid the fairest part of the Punjab under contribution. Buhadur * For several particulars, true or fanciful, relating to the capture of Sirhind, see Browne, India Tracts, ii. 9, 10. See also Elphinstone, His- tory/ of India, ii. 565, 566. Vuzeer Khan was clearly the name of the governor, and not Fowjdar Khan, as mentioned by Malcolm (^Sketch, p. 77, 78. ). Vuzeer Khan was indeed the " Fowjdar," or military com- mander in the province, and the word is as often used as a proper name as to denote an office. ■f This was at Mookhlispoor, near Sadowra, which lies N. E. from Am- bala, and it appears to be the " Loh- gurh,** that is, the iron or strong fort, of the Seirool Mutakhereen (i.ll5.). t Forster, Travels, i. 304. § Compare Elphinstone, History of India, ii. 561., and Forster, Tra- vels, i. 304. This was in 1709-10 A. D. II Compare Elphinstone, History, ii. 566., and Forster, Travels, i. 305. The zeal of the devotee was applauded without being pardoned by the em- . peror. - ■ - '- Chap. UI.] BUNDA. 85 Shah had by this time advanced to Lahore in person, and he died there in the month of February 1712.* The death of the emperor brought on another contest for the throne. His eldest son, Jehandar Shah, retained power for a year, but in February 1713 he was defeated and put to death by his nephew Ferokhseer. These commotions were favorable to the Sikhs ; they again became united and formidable, and they built for them- selves a considerable fort, named Goordaspoor, between the Beeas and Ravee.t The viceroy of Lahore marched against Bunda, but he was defeated in a pitched battle, and the Sikhs sent forward a party towards Sirhind, the governor of which, Bayezeed Khan, advanced to oppose them. A fanatic crept under his tent and mor- tally wounded him ; the Mahometans dispersed, but the city does not seem to have fallen a second time a prey to the exulting Sikhs. J The emperor now ordered Abdool Summud Khan, the governor of Cashmeer, a Tooranee noble and a skilful general, to assume the command in the Punjab, and he sent to his aid some chosen troops from the eastward. Abdool Summud Khan brought with him some thousands of his own warlike countrymen, and as soon as he was in posses- sion of a train of artillery he left Lahore, and, falling upon the Sikh army, he defeated it, after a fierce resistance on the part of Bunda. The success was followed up, and Bunda retreated from post to post, fighting valiantly and inflicting heavy losses on his victors ; but he was at length compelled to shelter him- self in the fort of Goordaspoor. He was closely be- sieged ; nothing could be conveyed to him from without ; and after consuming all his provisions, and eating horses, asses, and even the forbidden ox, he was re- 1708 — 1716. ■ ■ Jehandar Shah slain by Ferokh- seer, who becomes emperor, 1713. The Sikhs reappear under Bun- da, and the province of Sirhind plundered. Bunda eventually reduced and taken pri- soner, A. D. 1716; * Compare the Seir ool Mutakhe- rem, i. 109. 112. f Goordaspoor is near Kullanowr, where Akber was saluted as emperor, and it appears to be the Lohgurh of the ordinary accounts followed by Forster, Malcolm, and others. It now contains a monastery of Sarsoot Brahmins, who have adopted many of the Sikh modes and tenets. ;j: Some accounts nevertheless re- present Bunda to have again pos,- sessed himself of Sirhind. G 3 86 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap, m. 1708— 1716. and put to death at Delhi. The views ofBunda confined and his memory not revered. duced to submit.* Some of the Sikhs were put to death, and their heads were borne on pikes before Bunda and others as they were marched to Delhi with all the signs of ignominy usual with bigots, and com- mon among barbarous or half civilized conquerors.t A hundred Sikhs were put to death daily, contending among themselves for priority of martyrdom, and on the eighth day Bunda himself was arraigned before his judges. A Mahometan noble asked the ascetic from conviction, how one of his knowledge and understanding could commit crimes which would dash him into hell ; but Bunda answered that he had been as a mere scourge in the hands of God for the chastisement of the wicked, and that he was now receiving the meed of his own crimes against the Almighty. His son was placed upon his knees, — a knife was put into his hands, and he was required to take the life of his child. He did so, silent and unmoved ; his own flesh was then torn with red- hot pincers, and amid these torments he expired, his dark soul, say the Mahometans, winging its way to the regions of the damned.1^ The memory of Bunda is not held in much esteem by the Sikhs ; he appears to have been of a gloomy disposition, and he was obeyed as an energetic and daring leader, without being able to engage the per- sonal sympathies of his followers. He did not perhaps * Compare Malcolm, StocA, p. 79, 80., Forster, Travels, i. 306. and note, and the Seir ool Mutakhereen, i. 116, 117. The ordinary accounts make the Sikh army amount to 35,000 men (Forster says 20,000); they also detain Abdool Summud a year at Lahore before he undertook anything, and they bring down all the hill chiefs to bis aid, both of which circumstances are probable enough. t Seir ool Mutakhereen, i. 118. 120. Elphinstone (History, ii. 574, 575.), quoting the contemporary Kha- fee Khan, says the prisoners amounted to 740. The Seir ool Mutakhereen relates how the old mother of Baye- zeed Khan killed the assassin of her son, by letting fall a stone on his head, as he and the other prisoners were being led through the streets of Lahore. ^ Malcolm (Sketch, p. 82.), who quotes the Seir ool Mutakhereen. The defeat and death of Bunda are placed by the Seir ool Mutakhereen (i. 109.), by Orme (History, ii. 22.), and apparently by Elphinstone (His- tory, ii. 564. ), in the year 1716 a.d. ; but Forster ( Travels, i. 306, note) has the date 1714. Chap. III.] SIKHISM : EECAPITTJLATION. 87 comprehend the general nature of Nanuk's and Govind's i roe- reforms ; the spirit of sectarianism possessed him, and . ^^' ^" he endeavored to introduce changes into the modes and practices enjoined by these teachers, which should > be more in accordance with his own ascetic and Hindoo ' notions. ' These unwise innovations and restrictions were ' ' resisted by the more zealous Sikhs, and they may have caused the memory of an able and enterprizing leader to be generally neglected.* After the death of Bunda an active persecution was The sikhs kept up against the Sikhs, whose losses in battle had much de- been great and depressing. All who could be seized pressed after had to suffer death, or to renounce their faith. A of Bunda. price, indeed, was put upon their heads, and so vigor- ously were the measures of prudence, or of vengeance, followed up, that many conformed to Hindooism ; others abandoned the outward signs of their belief, and the more sincere had to seek a refuge among the recesses of the hills, or in the woods to the south of the Sutlej. The Sikhs were scarcely again heard of in history for the period of a generation.t Tlius, at the end of two centuries, had the Sikh Kecapitu- faith become established as a prevailing sentiment and ^ '™' guiding principle to work its way in the world. Nanuk Nanut. disengaged his little society of worshippers from Hindoo idolatry and Mahometan superstition, and placed them free on a broad basis of religious and moral purity ; Ummer Das preserved the infant community from de- Ummer chmng mto a sect of quietists or ascetics ; Arjoon gave his increasing followers a written rule of conduct and a • Compare Malcolm, Sketch, p. tion or salutation, " Wah Gooroo ke 83, 84. But Bunda is sometimes Futteh I " which had been used or or- styled Gooroo by Indians, as in the dained by Govind, into " Futteh Seir ool Mutakhereen (i. 114.), and DhurrumJ" and " Futteh Dursun !" I there is still an order of half-con- (Victory to faith! Victory to the j formist Sikhs which regards him as sect 1) Compare Malcolm, Sketch, p. V its founder. Bunda, it is reported, 83, 84. wished to establish a sect of his f Compare Forster (Travels, i. own, saying that of GoTind could not 312, 313.), and Browne ilndia endure; and he is further declared to Tracts, ii. 13.), and also Malcolm have wished to change the exclama- (Sketch, p. 85, 86.). G 4 Das. Aijoon. 88 HISTOEY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. HI. 1708— civil organization ; Hur Govind added the use of arms and a military system ; and Govind Singh bestowed _/ Singh. Hur Go- upon them a distinct political existence, and inspired vind. them virith- the desire of being socially free and nationally ^^^d independent. No further legislation was required ; a firm persuasion had been elaborated, and a vague feel- ing had acquired consistence as an active principle. The operation of this faith become a fact, is only now in progress, and the fruit it may yet bear cannot be fore- seen. Sikhism arose where fallen and corrupt Brah- minical doctrines were most strongly acted on by the vital and spreading Mahometan belief. It has now come into contact with the civilization and Christianity of Europe, and the result can only be known to a distant posterity.* * There are also elements of change by Forster ( Travels, i. 309.), is no within Sikhism itseli^ and dissent is longer in force. The former term, everywhere a source of weakness and Khulasa, is almost indeed unknown decay, although sometimes it denotes in the present day, while all claim a temporary increase of strength and membership with the Khalsa. Never- energy. Sikh sects, at least of qui- theless, the peaceful Sikhs of the first etists, are already numerous, although teacher are still to be everywhere met the great development of the tenets of with in the cities of India, although Gooroo Govind has thrown other de- the warlike Singhs of the tenth king nominations into the shade. Thus the have become predominant in the prominent division into " Khulasa," Punjab, and have scattered them- meaning of Nanuk, and " Khalsa," selves as soldiers from Caubul to the meaning of Govind, which is noticed south of India. / Note. — The reader is referred to Appendices I. II, III. and IV. for some account of the Grunt'hs of the Sikhs, for some illustrations of prin- ciples and practices taken from the writings of the Gooroos, and for abstracts of certain letters attributed to Nanuk and Govind, and which are descrip- tive of some views and modes of the Sikh people. Appendix V. may also be referred to for a list of some Sikh sects or denominations. Chap. IV.] MOGHUL EMPIRE DECLINES. 89 CHAPTER IV. THE ESTABLISHMENT OP SIKH INDEPENDENCE. 1716—1764. Decline of the Moghul Empire. — Gradual reappearance of the Sikhs. — The Sikhs coerced hy Meer Munnoo, and per- secuted hy Tymoor the son of Ahmed Shah. — The Army of the "Khdlsa" and the State of the "Khdlsa" proclaimed to be substantive Powers. — Adeena Bey Khan and the Mahrattas under Ragoba. — Ahmed__Sha^£_iiKmji3jis and victories. — The provinces of Sirhind and Lahore possessed in sovereignty by the Sikhs. — The political organization of the Sikhs as a feudal confederacy. — The Order of Ahalees. AuR UNGZEB was the last of the race of Tymoor who i7i6— possessed a genius for command, and in governing a . ^^^^' . large empire of incoherent parts and conflicting prin- TheMoghui ciples, his weak successors had to lean upon the ^ridrde- doubtful loyalty of selfish and jealous ministers, and cunes. to prolong a nominal rule by opposing insurrectionary ^jfe^f^-*"^ subjects to rebellious dependents. Within a genera- rattas, &c tion Mahometan adventurers had established separate dominations in Bengal, Lucknow, and Hydrabad ; the ^ Mahratta Peshwah had startled the Moslems of India by suddenly appearing in arms before the imperial , city*, and the stern usurping !N Mu: bad scornfully J^ C ©j^a hailed the long descended MahoineafSfiah as a brother Toork in the heart of his blood-stained capital.f The * This was in 1737 A.D., when f '^^^ Nadir Shah's letter to his Bajee Rao, the Peshwah, made an son, relating his successful invasion incursion from Agra towards Delhi, of India. (Asiatic Researches, x. 545, (See Elphinstone, History, ii. 609., 546.) and Grant Duff's History of the Mahrattc^^ 533, 534.) 90 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. IV. 1716- 1738. The weak- ness of the Mahometan government favorable to the Sikhs, 1716 —1738. The Sikhs kept to- gether by the fervor of their be- lief. Afghan colonists of Rohilkhund and the Hindoo Jats of Bhurtpoor, had raised themselves to importance as substantive powers*, and when the Persian conqueror departed with the spoils of Delhi, the government was weaker, and society was more disorganized, than when the fugitive Baber entered India in search of a throne worthy of his lineage and his personal merits. These commotions were favorable to the reappear- ance of a depressed sect ; but the delegated rule of Abdool Summud in Lahore was vigorous, and, both under him and his weaker successor t, the Sikhs com- ported themselves as peaceful subjects in their villages, or lurked in woods and valleys to obtain a precarious livelihood as robbers.t The tenets of Nanuk and Govind had nevertheless taken root in the hearts of the people ; the peasant and the mechanic nursed their faith in secret, and the more ardent clung to the hope of ample revenge and speedy victory. The departed Gooroo had declared himself the last of the prophets ; the believers were without a temporal guide, and rude untutored men, accustomed to defer to their teacher as divine, were left to work their way to greatness, without an ordained method, and without any other bond of union than the sincerity of their common faith. The progress of the new religion, and the ascendancy of its votaries, had thus been trusted to the pregnancy of the truths announced, and to the fitness of the Indian mind for their reception. The general acknowledgment of the most simple and comprehensive principle is sometimes ; uncertain, and is usually slow and irregular, and thisj fact should be held in view in considering the history) • A valuable account of the Ro- hillas may be found in JForster's Tra- vels (i. 11.5. &c.), and the public is indebted to the Oriental Translation Committee of London for the me- moirs of Hafiz Rehmut Khan, one of the most eminent of their leaders. The Jats of Bhurtpoor and Dhol- poor, and of Hattrass and other minor places, deserve a separate history. f He was likewise the son of the conqueror of Bunda. His name was Zukareea Khan, and bis title Khan Bubadur. t Compare Forster's Travels, i. 3 13., and Browne's India Tracts, ii. 1 3. Chap. rV.] THE SIKHS REAPPEAE. 91 of the Sikhs from the death of Govind to the present nss— ^ 1746. time. During the invasion of Nadir Shah, the Sikhs col- lected in small bands, and plirfill:CTed~hoth_the stragglers The sikhs of the Persian army and the wealthy inhabitants who oTpiun'"'*' fleJ~tovraf3ts" the hills on the first appearance of the derevs, conqueror, or when the massacre at Delhi became generally known.* The impunity which attended these efforts encouraged them to bolder attempts, and they began to visit Amritsir openly instead of in secrecy and disguise. The Siklr^orseman, says a Mahometan author, might be seen riding at full gallop to pay his devotions at that holy shrine. Some might be slain, and some might be captured, but none were ever known to abjure their creed, when thus taken on their way to that sacred placet Some Sikhs next succeeded Establish in establishing a small fort at Dullehwal on the Ravee, p'"j[']f'», and they were unknown or disregarded, until consider- on the able numbers assembled and proceeded to levy contri- ^^^'^i butions around Eminabad, which lies to the north of Lahore. The marauders were attacked, but the de- tachment of troops was repulsed and its leader slain. A larger force pursued and defeated them ; many but are at prisoners were brought to Lahore, and the scene of ^^^^^l^ their execution is now known as " Shuheed Gunj," or (about) the place of martyrs.t It is furtheflnarlced by the i^*^-^- tomb of Bhaee Taroo Singh, who was required to cut his hair and to renounce his faith ; but the old com- * Browne, India Tracts, ii. 13, 14. til the 1st of October, so slow were Nadir acquired from the Moghul communications, and of so little im- emperor the provin ces_of Sinjh^and portance was Delhito^Hglishmen, Caubul, and fotir districts of the pro- three generations SgST(Wade's Chro- TfnSBTJf Lahore, lying near the Jeh- nological British History, p. 417.) lum river. t The author is quoted, but not Zukareea Khan, son of Abdool named by Malcolm, Sketch, p. 88. Summud, was viceroy of Lahore at \ Compare Browne, India Tracts, the time. "■ 13. > Malcolm, Sketch, p. 86. ; and The defeat of the Delhi sovereign, Murray's Runjeet Singh, by Prinsep, and Nadir's entry into the capital, p. 4. Yehya Khan, the elder son of took place on the 13th February and Zukareea Khan, was governor of the early in March, 1739, respectively, Punjab at the time, but were not known in London un- 92 HISTOEY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. IV. 1747,1748. Ahmed Shah's first invasion of India, 1747-48. aA^ Betires from Sir- hind, and is harassed by the Sikhs, March, 1748. panion of Gooroo Govind would yield neither his conscience nor the symbol of his conviction, and his real or pretended answer is preserved to the present day. The hair, the scalp, and the skull, said he, have a mutual connection; the head of man is linked with life, and he was prepared to yield his breath with cheerfulness. The viceroyalty of Lahore was about this time con- tested between the two sons of Zukareea Khan, the successor of Abdool Summud, who defeated Bunda. The younger, Shah Nuwaz Eian, displaced the elder, and to strengthen himself in his usurpation, he opened a correspondence with Ahmed Shah Abdalee, who be- came master of Afghanistan on the assassination of Nadir Shah, in June ly^V- The Dooranee king soon cmIecte3™round his standard numbers of the hardy tribes of Central Asia, who delight in distant inroads and successful rapine. He necessarily looked to India as the most productive field of conquest or incursion, and he could cloak his ambition under the double pre- text of the tendered allegiance of the governor of Lahore, and of the favorable reception at Delhi of Ms enemy. Nadir Shah's fugitive governor of Caubul.* Ahmed Shah crossed the Indus : but the usurping viceroy of Lahore had been taunted with his treason ; generosity prevailed over policy, and he resolved upon opposing the advance of the Afghans. He was de- feated, and the Abdalee became master of the Punjab. The Shah pursued his march to Sirhind, where he was met by the Vuzeer of the declining empire. Some desultory skirmishing, and one more decisive actioo took place, but the result of the whole was so unfavor- able to the invader, that he precipitately recrossed the Punjab, and gave an opportunity to the watchful Sikhs * Compare Murray's Runjeet Singh, another race, as well as about ren. by Prinsep, p. 9. and Browne, India dering obedience to him as sovereign. Tracts, ii. 15. Nassir Khan, the Compare, however, Elphinstone (3c- governor, hesitated about marrying count of Caubul, ii. 285.), who makes his daughter to Ahmed Shah, one of no mention of these particulars. //'■' Chap. I\".] ARMY OF THE KHALSA. 93 of harassing his rear and of gaining confidence in their own prowess. The minister of Delhi was killed by a cannon ball during the short campaign, but the gal- lantry and the services of his son, Me^ Munnoo, had been conspicuous, and he became the viceroy"^f1!iahore and Mooltan, under the title of Moyen-ool-Moolk.* The new governor was a man of vigor and ability, but his object was rather to advance his own interests than to serve the emperor ; and in the administration of his provinces, he could trust to no feelings save those wrhich he personally inspired. He judiciously retained the services of two experienced men, Kowra Mull and Adeena Beg Khan, the one as his immediate deputy, and the other as the manager of the Jalundhur Dooab. Both had dealt skilfully for the times with the insur- rectionary Sikhs, who continued to press themselves more and more on the attention of their unloyal gover- nors.t During the invasion of Ahmed Shah_they had thrown up a fort close to ^mritsir^ called the Ram • Rownee, and one of their most able leaders had arisen, Jussa Singh KuUal, a brewer or distiller, who boldly proclaimed the birth of a new power in the state — the "Dul" of the "Khalsa," or army of the theocracy, of " Singhs." X As soon as Meer Munnoo had established his authority, he marched against the insurgents, cap- tured their fort, dispersed their troops, and took mea- sures for the general preservation of good order.§ His 1748. Meei" Mun- noo gover- nor of the Punjab. Meer Mun- noo rules vigorously, and em- ploys Kow- ra Mull and Adeena Beg Khan, 1748. But the Sikhs reap- pear, and Jussa Singh_ KuITarpro" claims the existence of the "Dul" or army of the Khalsa. Munnoo the Sikhs, and comes * Compare Elphinstone, Caubtd, ii. 285, 286. and Murray's Runjeet Singh, p. 6—8. f Kowra Mull was himself a fol- lower of Nanuk, without having adopted the tenets of Govind. ( For- ster. Travels, i. 314.) Adeena Beg Khan was appointed manager of the Jalundhur Dooab by Zukareea Khan, with orders to coerce the Sikhs after Nadir Shah's retire- ment. (Browne, India Tracts, ii. 14.) \ Compare Browne, India Tracts, ii. 16., who gives Chersa Singh, Toka Singh, and Kirwur Singh, as the confederates of Jussa Kulla). § Both Kowra Mull and Adeena Beg, but especially the former, the one from predilection, and the other from policy, are understood to have dissuaded Meer Munnoo from pro- oeeding to extremities against the Sikhs. Compare Browne, Tracts, ii. 16., and Forster, Travels, i. 314, 315. 327, 328., which latter, how- ever, justly observes, that Munnoo had objects in view of greater mo- ment to himself than the suppression of an infant sect. 94 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. IV. 1748. to terms wlthAhmed Shah, who had again crossed the Indus, end of 1748. Munnoo breaks with Delhi by resisting his superces- sion in Mooltan; and with- holds tri- bute from Ahmed Shah, who crosses the Indus for plans were interrupted by the rumored approach of a second Afghan invasion ; he marched to the Chenab to repel the danger, and he despatched agents to the Doo- ranee camp to avert it by promises and concessions. Ahmed Shah's own rule was scarcely consolidated, he respecteH the ability of the youth who had checked him at Sirhind, and he retired across the Indus on the stipulation that the revenues of four fruitful districts should be paid to him as they had been paid to Nadir Shah, from whom he pretended to derive his title.* Meer Munnoo gained applause at Delhi for the suc- cess of his measures, but his ambition was justly dreaded by the Vuzeer Sufder Jung, who knew his own designs on Oude, and felt that the example would not be lost on the son of his predecessor. It was pro- posed to reduce his power by conferring the province of Mooltan on Shah Nuwaz Khan, whom M^ ^ Munnoo himself had supplanted in Lahoret; but MurmgaEadan accurate knowledge of the imperial power and of his own resources, and he sent his deputy, Kowra Mull, to re- sist the new governor. Shah Nuwaz Khan was defeated and slain, and the elated viceroy conferred the title of Muharaja on his successful follower.^ This virtual in- dependence of Delhi, and the suppression of Sikh dis- turbances, emboldened Munnoo . to persevere in his probably original design, and to withhold the promised tribute from Ahmed Shah. A pretence of demanding it was made, a!n3~tEe^ayment of all arrears was offered, but neither party felt that the other could be trusted, and the Afghan king marched towards Lahore. Mun- * The Afghans state that Meer Munnoo also became the Shah's tribu- tary for the whole of the Punjab, and, doubtless, he promised any thing to get the invader away and to be left alone. (Compare Elphinstone, Cait- bul, ii. 286., and Murray, Runjeet Singh,'ip. 9, 10.) •j- HeiatooUa Khan, the younger fon of Zukareea Khan, is stated in local Mooltan chronicles to have held that province when Nadir Shah en- tered Sindh, in 1739-40, to fairly settle and subdue it, and to have then tendered his allegiance to the Persian conqueror, from whom he received the title of Shah Nuwaz Khan. J Compare Murray's Runjeet Singh, p. 10. ■A.- Chap. IV.] JUSSA THE CARPENTEE. 95 noo made a show of meeting him on the frontier, hut 1749— finally he took up an entrenched position under the . ^^^^' . walls of the city. Had he remained on the defensive, the third the Abdalee might probably have been foiled, but, after ^™«'^'49- a four months' beleaguer, he was tempted to risk an ^bdaiee action. Kowra Mull was killed ; Adeena Beg scarcely reaches exerted himself; Munnoo saw that a prolonged contest 1752^^' would be ruinous, and he prudently retired to the citadel and gave in his adhesion to the conqueror. The Shah and defeats was satisfied with the surrender of a considerable trea- ^i™""".; • pTi in/Ti retains sure and with the annexation of Lahore and Mooltan to Mm as his dominions. He expressed his admiration of Mun- t^™p"n'^^a°b noo's spirit as a leader, and efficiency as a manager, and Apru,i752. he continued him as his own delegate in the new acqui- sitions. The Shah took measures to bring Cashmeer also under his sway, and then retired towards his native country.* This second capture of Lahore by strangers neces- The sikhs sarily weakened the administration of the province, and tacres^e^in the Sikhs, ever ready to rise, again became trouble- strength ; some ; but Adeena Beg found it advisable at the time to do away with the suspicions which attached to his in- action at Lahore, and to the belief that he temporized with insurgent peasantry for purposes of his own. He was required to bring the Sikhs to order, for they had virtually possessed themselves of the country lying be- tween Amritsir and the hills. He fell suddenly upon but are de- them during a day of festival at Makhowal, and gave A^tena'Beg, them a total defeat. But his object was still to be who never- thought their friend, and he came to an understanding them f£™^ with them that their payment of their ovsoi rents should vourawe be nominal or limited, and their exactions from others ^™^' moderate or systematic. He took also many of them into his pay ; one of the number being Jussa Singh, a Jussa the carpenter, who afterwards became a chief of conside- '^^^^^ ^^' ration.t * Compare Elphinstone, Cauhul, f Compare Browne, India Tracts, ii. 288., and Murray's Runjeet Singh, ii. 17., and Malcolm, Sketch, p. 82. p. 10. 13. 96 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. IV. 1755,1756. Ahmed Shah's fourth in- vasion. Prince Ty- moor, go- vernor of the Punjab, and Nujeeb- ooddowla placed at the head of the Delhi army, 1755 -56. Meer Munnoo died a few months after the re-esta- blishment of his authority as the deputy of a new master.* His widow succeeded in procuring the ac- knowledgment of his infant son as viceroy under her own guardianship, and she endeavored to stand equally well with the court of Delhi and with the Dooranee king. She professed submission to both, and she be- trothed her daughter to Ghazeeooddeen, the grandson of the first Nizam of the Deccan, who had supplanted the viceroy of Oude, as the minister of the enfeebled empire of India, t But the Vuzeer wished to recover a province for his sovereign, as well as to obtain a bride for himself. He proceeded to Lahore and removed his enraged mother-in-law ; and the Punjab remained for a time under the nominal rule of Adeena Beg Khan, until Ahmed Shah again marched and made it his own. The Dooranee king passed through Lahore in the winter of 1J55-56, leaving his son Tymoor under the tutelage of a chief, named Jehan KhSS^'fB^^overnor. The Shah likewise annexed Sirhind to his territories, and although he extended his pardon to Ghazeeooddeen personally, he did not return to Candahar until he had plundered Delhi and Muttra, ana~piacea Nujeebood- dowla, a Eohilla leader, near the person of the Vuzeer's puppet king, as the titular commander of the forces of the Delhi empire, and as the efficient representative of Abdalee interests, t * Forster (Travels, i. 315.) and Malcolm (Sketch, p. 92.), say 1752. Browne (Tracts, ii. 18.) gives the Hijree year, 1 165, which corresponds with 1751, 1752 a.v. Murray (Rurv- jeet Singh, p. 13.) simply says, Munnoo did not long survive his submission, but Elphinstone ( Cauhvd, ii. 288.) gives 1756 as the date of the viceroy's death. t The original name of Ghazee- ooddeen was Shahab-ood-deen, cor- rupted into Sahoodeen and Shaodeen by the Mahrattas. X Compare Forster, 2>a»efo,i. 316, 317.; Brown, Tracts, ii. 48.; Mal- colm, Sketch, p. 92. 94.; Elphin- stone, Cauhul, ii. 288. 289. ; and Murray, Runjeet Singh, p. 14, 15. During the nominal viceroyalty of Meer Munnoo's widow, one Beekaree Khan played a conspicuous part as her deputy. He was finally put to death by the lady as one who designed to supplant her authority j but be was, nevertheless, supposed to have been her paramour. (Compare Browne, ii. 18., and Murray, p. 14.) The gilt mosque at Lahore was built by thb Beekaree Khan. CaAP.rV.] THE SIKHS COIN MONEY. - ' 'V ' 97 Prince Tymoor's first object was to thoroughly dis- i756— perse the insurgent Sikhs, and to punish Adeena Beg ^^^' for the support which he had given to the Delhi minister rrymoor ex- in recovering Lahore. Jussa, the carpenter, had re- pels the stored the Ram Rownee of Amritsir ; that place was A^riJir™ accordingly attacked, the fort was levelled, the build- ings were demolished, and the sacred reservoir Avas filled with the ruins. Adeena Beg would not trust the prince, and retired to the hills, secretly aiding and encouraging the Sikhs in their desire for revenge. They assembled in great numbers, for the faith of Go- vind was the living conviction of hardy single-minded villagers, rather than the ceremonial belief of busy citizens, with thoughts diverted by the opposing in- terests and conventional usages of artificial society. The country around Lahore swarmed with horsemen ; But the the prince and his gfuardian were wearied with their a's'»^"s 1 If 1 1 1 r 1 ■ eventually cumbrous eiiorts to scatter them, and they lound it retire, and prudent to retire towards the Chenab. Lahore was *^^ ^^^^^ -1 • 1 1 1 • 1 0-1 1 11 occupy La- temporarily occupied by the triumphant >l5ikhs, and the hore and same Jussa Singh, who had proclaimed the " Khalsa " '^^^^°^^' to be a state and to possess an army, now gave it an- other symbol of substantive power. He used the mint of the Moghuls to strike a rupee bearing the inscrip- tion, " Coined by the grace of the ' Khalsa' in the country of Ahmed, conquered by Jussa the Kullal." * The Delhi minister had about this time called in the The Mah- Mahrattas to enable him to expell Nujeebooddowla, Deihi,i768. who, by his own address and power, and as the agent of Ahmed Shah Abdalee, had become paramount in the imperial councils. Ghazeeooddeen easily induced Ragoba, the Peshwah's brother, to advance ; Delhi was occupied by the Mahrattas, and Nujeebooddowla escaped with difficulty. Adeena Beg found the Sikhs less wil- * Compare Browne, Tracts, ii. 1 9. ; counts, says Adeena Beg defeated Malcolm, Sketch, p. 93., &c. ; El- a body of Tymoor's troops; and Mur- phinstone, Caubul, ii. 289. ; and Mur- ray, using apparently the accounts of ray's Runjeet Singh, p. 15. Punjab Mahometans, omits the oc- Elphinstone, using A fghan ac- cupation of Lahore by the Sikhs. H 98 /,- . /, ("Their Goo- roomuttas, or diets. power. Every Sikh was free, and each was a sub- stantive member of the commonwealth ; but their means, their abilities, and their opportunities were various and unequal, and it was soon found that all could not lead, and that there were even then masters as well as servants. Their system naturally resolved itself into a theocratic confederate feudalism, with all the confusion and uncertainty attendant upon a triple alliance of the kind in a society half barbarous. God was their helper and only judge, community of faith or object was their moving principle, and warlike array, the devotion to steel of Govind, was their material instrument. Year ' by year the " Surbut Khalsa," or whole Sikh people, met once at least at Amritsir, on the occasion of the festival of the mythological Rama, when the cessation ; of the periodical rains rendered military operations , practicable. It was perhaps hoped that the performance of religious duties, and the awe inspired by so holy a place, might cause selfishness to yield to a regard for the general welfare, and the assembly of chiefs was termed a " Gooroomutta," to denote that, in conformity with Govind's injunction, they sought wisdom and una- nimity of counsel from their teacher and the book of his word.* The leaders who thus piously met, owned no subjection to one another, and they were imperfectly obeyed by the majority of their followers ; but the obvious feudal, or military notion of a chain of depend- ence, was acknowledged as the law, and the federate * " Mut " means understanding, and " Mutta '' counsel or wisdom. Hence Gooroomutta becomes, lite- rally, "the advice of the Gooroo." Malcolm ( Sketch, p. 52. ) considers, and Browne ( Tracts, ii. vii. ) leaves it to be implied, that Govind directed the assemblage of Gooroomutta ; but there is no authority for believing that he ordained any formal or par- ticular institution, although, doubt- less, the general scope of his in- junctions, and the peculiar political circumstances of the times, gave ad- ditional force to the practice of hold- ing diets or conclaves — a practice dommon to mankind everywhere, and systematised in India from time im- memorial. Compare Forster, Travels, i. 328. &c., for some observations on the transient Sikh government of the time, and on the more enduring characteristics of the people. See also Malcolm, Sketch, p. 120., for the ceremonial forms of a Gooroomutta. Chap. rV.] THE CONFEDERACIES OF THE SIKHS. 105 chiefs partitioned their joint conquests equally among I'^-t. themselves, and divided their respective shares in the same manner among their own leaders of hands, while these again subdivided their portions among their own dependents, agreeably to the general custom of subin- feudation.* This positive or understood rule was not, however, always applicable to actual conditions, for the Sikhs were in part of their possessions " earth-born," or many held lands in which the mere withdrawal of a central authority had left them wholly independent of control. In theory such men were neither the subjects nor the retainers of any feudal chief, and they could transfer their services to whom they pleased, or they could themselves become leaders, and acquire new lands for their own use in the name of the Khalsa or common- ' wealth.t It would be idle to call an everchanging state The system of alliance and dependence by the name of a constitu- or know- ' tion, and we must look for the existence of the faint ingiyadopt- outline of a system, among the emancipated Sikhs, therefore rather in the dictates of our common nature, than in incomplete . the enactments of assemblies, or in the injunctions of rary.^""^ their religious guides. It was soon apparent that the strong were ever ready to make themselves obeyed, and ever anxious to appropriate all within their power, and that unity of creed or of race nowhere deters men from preying upon one another. A full persuasion of God's grace was nevertheless present to the mind of a Sikh, and every member of that faith continues to defer to the mystic Khalsa ; but it requires the touch of genius, * Compare Murray, Eunjeet Singh, Bunjeet Singh, p. 32. The subdivi- p. 33 — 37. From tracts of country sions of property were sometimes so which the Sikhs subdued but did minute that two, or three, or ten not occupy, " Rak'hee, " literally, pro- Sikhs might become copartners in the tection moneyTwas regularly levied, rental of one village, or in the house The Rak'hee varied in amount from tax of one street of a town, while the perhaps a fifth to a half of the rental fact that jurisdiction accompanied such or government share of the produce, right increased the confusion. j It corresponded with the Mahratta f [Hallam shows that the Anglo- I " Chowt," or fourth, and both terms Saxon freeholder had a similar lati- 1 meant " black mail," or, in a higher tude of choice with regard to a lord ^ sense, tribute. Compare Browne, or superior. — Middle Ages, Supple- India Tracts, ii. viii., and Murray's mental Notes, p. 210.] L, ' t'-: >• ^ ^ ' - ■-', '-!- J r -i ^J- -..'.! t-.-- „■.?!, b-'fc"^^ Ill ^ 106 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. IV. The con- federacies called Misls. 1764. or the operation of peculiar circumstances, to give direc- tion and complete effect to the enthusiastic belief of a multitude. The confederacies into which the Sikhs resolved themselves have been usually recorded as twelve in number, and the term used to denote such a union was the Arabic word " Misl," alike or equal.* Each Misl obeyed or followed a " Sirdar," that is, simply, a chief or leader ; but so general a title was as applicable to the head of a small band as to the commander of a large host of the free and equal " Singhs " of the system. The confederacies did not all exist in their full strength at the same time, but one " Misl " gave birth to another ; for the federative principle necessarily pervaded the union, and an aspiring chief could separate himself from his immediate party, to form, perhaps, a greater one of his own. The Misls were again distinguished by titles derived from the name, the village, the district, or the progenitor of the first or most eminent chief, or from some peculiarity of custom or of leadership. Thus, of the twelve, — 1 . the Bunghees were so called from the ci^ "aseaJeorsfiatHfiied fondness of its members for the use of ^ '"' an intoxicating drugt; 2. \!a& Nishdneeas followed the ^„ standard bearers of the united army ; 3. the Shuheeds \ anANihungs were headed by the descendants of honored j '" martyrs and zealots ; 4. the Ramgurheeas took their _ name from the Ram Rownee, or Fortalice of God, ^t,-'*-^-^^^ Amritsir, enlarged into Ramgurh, or Fort of the Lord, by Jussa the Carpenter ; 5. the Nukeias arose in a i tract of country to the south of Lahore so called ;- - 6. the Alhoowaleeas derived their title from the village /9^ in which Jussa, who first proclaimed the existence of ^^^ '^t nJL fcX>.5JjS.'*^^^^''J^y ^^ *^® "^^ theocracy, had helped his father Their names and particular origin. 0^%. * Notwithstanding this usual deri- vation of the term, it may be remem- bered that the Arabic term " Muslu- hut " (spelt with another s than that in misl ),meansarmed men and warlike people. " Misl," moreover, means, in India, a file of papers, or indeed any thing serried or placed in ranks. f Bhung is a product of the hemp plant, and it is to the Sikhs what opium is to Rajpoots, and strong liquor to Europeans. Its qualities are abused to an extent prejudicial to the health and understanding. Chap. IV.] THE CONFEDERACIES OF THE SIKHS. 107 1764. to distil spirits ; J. the Ghuneias or Kuneias, 8. the (, Feizoolapqoreeas or Singhpooreeas, 9. the Sooker-u X^^^^. ' chiikeeas, and 10., perhaps, the DuUehwalas, were simi- larly so denominated from the villages of their chiefs ; all. the Krora Singheeas took the name of their third leader, but they were sometimes caAeA Punjgurheeas, from the village of their first chief; and 12. the Phool- keeas went back to the common ancestor of Alha Singh and other Sirdars of his family.* Of the Misls, all save that of Phoolkeea arose in the The relative Punjab or to the north of the Sutlej, and they were nencTofthe termed Manjha Singhs, from the name of the country misIs or around Lahore, and in contradistinction to the Malwa '^^^^^^^ Singhs, so called from the general appellation of the districts lying between Sirhind and Sirsa. The Feizool- apooreeas, the Alhoowaleeas, and the Ramgurheeas, were the first who arose to distinction in Manjha, but the Bunghees soon became so predominant as almost to be supreme ; they were succeeded to some extent in this preeminence by the Kuneias, an offshoot of the Feizoolapooreeas, until all fell before Runjeet Singh and the Sookerchukeeas. In Malwa the Phoolkeeas always admitted the superior merit of the Putteeala branch ; this dignity was confirmed by Ahmed Shah's bestowal of a title on Alha Singh, and the real strength of the confederacy made it perhaps inferior to the Bunghees alone. The Nishaneeas and Shuheeds, scarcely formed Misls in the conventional meaning of the term, but complementary bodies set apart and honored by all for * Captain Murray (Runjeet Singh, p. 29. &c.) seems to have been the first who perceived and pointed out the Sikh system of " Misls." Nei- ther the organization nor the term is mentioned specifically by Forster, or Browne, or Malcolm, and at first Sir David Ochterloney considered and acted as if " misl" meant tribe or race, instead of party or confederacy. (Sir D. Ochterloney to the Govern- ment of India, ,SOth December, 1809.) [The succession to the leadership of the Krora Singheea confederacy may be mentioned as an instance of the uncertainty and irregularity natural to the system of " Misls," and indeed to all powers in process of change or development. The founder was suc- ceeded by his nephew, but that ne- phew left his authority to Krora Sing, a petty personal follower, who again bequeathed the command to Bughel Singh, his own menial servant. The reader will remember the parallel in- stance of Alftegheen and Sebekteg- 108 HISTOEY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. IV. 1764. particular reasons.* The Nukeias never achieved a *■ • ' high power or name, and the Dullehwalas and Krora Singheeas, an offshoot of the Feizoolapooras, acquired nearly all their possessions by the capture of Sirhind; and although the last obtained a great reputation, it never became predominant over others. The origi- The native possessions of the Bunghees extended acqiSed "orth, from their cities of Lahore and Amritsir, to the possessions Jehlum, and then down that river. The Kuneias dwelt oftheMisis. jjgt^een Amritsir and the hills. The Sookerchukeeas lived south of the Bunghees, between the Chenab and Ravee. The Nukeias held along the Ravee, south- west of Lahore. The Feizoolapooreeas possessed tracts along the right bank of the Beeas and of the Sutlej, be- low its junction. The Alhoowalee&s similarly occupied the left bank of the former river. The Dullehwalas possessed themselves of the right bank of the Upper Sutlej, and the Ramgurheeas lay in between these last two, but towards the hills. The Krora Singheeas also held lands in the Jalundhur Dooab. The Phoolkeeas were native to the country about Soonam and Bhuttinda, to the south of the Sutlej, and the Shuheeds and Nish- aneeas do not seem to have possessed any villages which they did not hold by conquest ; and thus these two Misls, along with those of Manjha, who captured Sirhind, viz. the Bhunghees, the Alhoowaleeas, the Dullehwalas, the Ramgurheeas, and the Krora Singheeas, divided among themselves the plains lying south of the Sutlej and under the hills from Feerozpoor to Kurnal, leaving to their allies, the Phoolkeeas, the lands between Sirhind and Delhi, which adjoined their own possessions in Malwa.t been, and it is curious that Mr. Ma- Misls. Other bodies, especially to caulay notices a similar kind of de- the westward of the Jehlum, might, scent among the English Admirals with equal reason, have been held of the 17th century, viz. from chief to represent separate confederacies, to cabin-boy, in the cases of Mings Captain Murray, indeed, in such Narborough and Shovel (^History of matters of detail, merely expresses England, i. 306.).] the local opinions of the neighbor- * Perhaps Captain Murray is hood of the Sutlej. scarcely warranted in making the f Dr. Macgregor, in liis History Nishaneeas and Shuheeds regular of the Sikhs (i. 28. &c. ), gives an ab- V Chap. IV.] THE AKIxbES. 109 The number of horsemen which the Sikhs could i764. muster have been variously estimated from seventy ^ '— thousand to four times that amount, and the relative J'^^sros^ 11 • forces of strength of each confederacy is equally a subject of the sikhs, doubt.* All that is certain is the great superiority of l^^J^l the Bunghees, and the low position of the Nukeias and strength of Sookerchukeeas. The first could perhaps assemble t'^^^'*^*- 20,000 men, in its widely scattered possessions, and the last about a tenth of that number ; and the most mode- rate estimate of the total force of the nation may like- wise be assumed to be the truest. All the Sikhs were horsemen, and among a half barbarous people dwelling on plains, or in action with undisciplined forces, cavalry must ever be the most formidable arm. The Sikhs speedily became famous for the effective use of the|\ matchlock when mounted, and this skill is said to havef descended to them from their ancestors, in whose hands the bow was a fatal weapon. Infantry were almost solely used to^;M;rison forts, or a~lnan followed a mis! oiimot7 until plunder gave him a horse or the means of buying one. Cannon was not used by the early Sikhs, and its introduction was very gradual, for its possession implies wealth, or an organization both civil and mili- tary, t Besides the regular confederacies, with their moderate degree of subordination, there was a body of men who threw off all subjection to earthly governors, and who peculiarly represented the religious element of Sikhism. These were the " Akalees," the immortals, or rather The order the soldiers of God, who, with their blue dress and o^ ^kaiees. stract of some of the ordinary accounts cavalry, and in another book (^Life of of a few of the Misls. George Thomas, note, p. 68.), that * Forster, in 1783 {^Travels, i. they could not lead into action more 333.), said the Sikh forces were esti- than 64,000. George Thomas him- mated at 300,000, but might be taken self estimated their strength at at 200,000. Browne ( Tracte, /«««. 60,000 horse, and 5000 foot, (it/e, trative Map) about the same period hy FraneUin, p. 274.) enumerates 73,000 horsemen, and t George lliomas, giving the sup- 25,000 foot. Twenty years after- posed status of 1800 a. n., says the wards Colonel Francklin said, in one Sikhs had 40 pieces of field artillery. work {Life of Shah Alum, note, p. (Life, hy Francklin, ^. 9,1 i.) 75.), that the Sikhs mustered 248,000 110 HISTORY OP THE SIKHS. [Chap. IV. 1764. bracelets of steel, claimed for themselves a direct institu- ' . ' . . tion by Govind Sinsfh. The Gooroo had called upon Theirongm •> <=> p i • /< • i ^ i • and prin- men to Sacrifice every thing tor their laitn, to leave tneir cipies of homes and to follow the profession of arms ; but he and all his predecessors had likewise denounced the inert asceticism of the Hindoo sects, and thus the fanatical feeling of a Sikh took a destructive turn. The Akalees formed themselves in their struggle to reconcile warlike activity with the relinquishment of the world. The meek and humble were satisfied with the assiduous per- formance of menial offices in temples, but the fierce enthusiasm of others prompted them to act from time to time as the armed guardians of Amritsir, or suddenly to go where blind impulse might lead them, and to win their daily bread, even single-handed, at the point of the sword.* They also took upon themselves something of the authority of censors, and, although no leader ap- pears to have fallen by their hands for defection to the Khalsa, they inspired awe as well as respect, and would sometimes plunder those who had offended them or had injured the commonwealth. The passions of the Aka- lees had full play until Runjeet Singh became supreme, and it cost that able and resolute chief much time and trouble, at once to suppress them, and to preserve his own reputation with the people. * Compare Malcolm (^SJtetch, p. way for the benefit of the commu- 116.), who repeats, and apparently nity. Thus the author once found acquiesces, in the opinion, that the an Akalee repairing, or rather mak- Akalees were instituted as an order ing, a road, among precipitous ravines, by tjSoroo Govind. There is not, from the plain of the Sutlej to the however, any writing of Govind's on petty town of Keeritpoor. He record, which shows that he wished avoided intercourse with the world the Sikh faith to be represented by generally. He was highly esteemed mere zealots, and it seems clear that by the people, who left food and the class of men arose as stated in the clothing at particular places for him, text. and his earnest persevering character So strong is the feeling that a had made an evident impression on Sikh should work, or have an occu- a Hindoo shepherd boy, who had pation, that one who abandons the adopted part of the Akalee dress, and world, and is not of a warlike turn, spoke with awe of the devotee, will still employ himself in some Chap. v.] AHMED SHAH DOOrInEE. Ill CHAPTER V. FROM THE INDEPENDENCE OF THE SIKHS TO THE ASCENDANCY OF EUNJBET SINGH AND THE ALLIANCE WITH THE ENGLISH. 1765 — 1808-9. Ahmed Shah's last invasion of India. — The preeminence of the Bunghee Confederacy among the Sikhs. — Tymoor Shah's expeditions. — The Phoolkeea Sikhs in Hurree- ana. — Zabita Khan. — The Kuneia Confederacy para- mount among the Sikhs. — Muha Singh Sookerchukeea becomes conspicuous, — Shah Zumdn's invasions and Runjeet Singh's rise. — The Mahrattas under Sindhia predominant in Northern India. — General Perron and George Thomas. — Alliances of the Mahrattas and Sikhs. — Intercourse of the English with the Sikhs. — Lord Lake's campaigns against Sindhia and Holkar. — First treaty of the English with the Sikhs. — Prepara- tions against a French invasion of India. — Treaty of alliance with Runjeet Singh, and of protection with Cis- Sutlej Sikh Chiefs. ^The Sikhs had mastered the upper plains from Kurnal i767. land Hansee to the banks of the Jehlum. The neces- * < ' 'sity of union was no longer paramount, and rude un- ^u^ie^^t^ taught men are ever prone to give the rein to their activity by passions, and to prefer their own interests to the g^^^s'^gnai welfare of the community. Some dwelt on real or descent, fancied injuries, and thought the time had come for '^^^*-"- ample vengeance ; others were moved by local associa- tions to grasp at neighboring towns and districts ; and the truer Sikh alone at once resolved to extend his faith, and to add to the general domain of the Khalsa, by complete conquest or by the imposition of tribute. 112 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. V. 1767,1768. When thus about to arise, after their short repose, ' » ' refreshed and variously inclined, they were again awed into unanimity by the final descent of Ahmed Shah. That monarch, whose activity and power declined with increase of years and the progress of disease, made yet another attempt to recover the Punjab, the most fertile of his provinces. He crossed the Indus in 1767, but he avoided Lahore and advanced no further thaiTthe Sutlej. He endeavored to conciliate when he could no longer overcome, and he bestowed the title of Muharaja, and the office of military commander in Sir- hind, upon the warlike Ummer Singh, who had suc- ceeded his grandfather as chief of Putteeala, or of the Malwa Sikhs. He likewise saw a promising ally in the Rajpoot chief of Kototch, and he made him his deputy in the Jalundhur Dooab and adjoining hills. His measures were interrupted by the defection of his own troops ; twelve thousand men marched back to- wards Caubul, and the Shah found it prudent to follow them. He was harassed in his retreat, and he had scarcely crossed the Indus before Sher Shah's mountain stronghold of Rhotas was blockaded by the Sookerchu- keeas, under the grandfather of Runjeet Singh, aided by a detachment of the neighboring Bunghee confederacy. The place fell in I768, and the Bunghees almost immediately afterwards occupied the country as far as Rawil Pindee and the vale of Khanpoor, the Gukkers showing but little of that ancient hardihood which distinguished them in their contests with invading Moghuls.* The Bunghees, under Hurree Singh, next marched towards Mooltan, but they were met by the Mahometan Daoodpotras, who had migrated from Sindh on learn- , ing Na dir Shah' s intention of transplanting them to / Ghuznee,~ahd had established the principality now Ummer Singh of Putteeala, and the Rajpoot chief of Kototch, ap- pointed to command under the Abdalee. Ahmed Shah re- tires. Khotas talteu by the Sikhs, 1768. The Sikhs ravage the Lower Pun- jab; ' Forster, Travels, i. 323. ; El- Trmek, i. 127., and manuscript ac- phinstone, Caubul, \i. 297. ; Murray's counts consulted by the author. Bunjeet Singh, p. 27. ; Moorcroft's Chap, v.] BUNGEE MISL PREEMINENT. 113 known as Buhawulpoor.* The chief, Mobarik Khan, after a parley with Hurree Singh, arranged that the neutral town of Pakputtun, held by a Mussulman saint of eminence, should be the common boundary. Hurree Singh then swept towards DeraGhaggfiJQian and the Indus, and while thus employed, his feudatory of Goojrat, who had recently taken Rawul Pindee, made an attempt to penetrate into Cashmeer by the ordinary road, but was repulsed with loss. On the Jumna, and in the great Dooab, the old Nujeebooddowla was so hard pressed by Raee Singh Bunghee, who emulated him as a paternal governor in his neighboring town and district of Jugadhree, and by Bughel Singh Krora Singheea, that he proposed to the Mahrattas a joint expedition against these new lords. His death, in 1770, put an end to the plan, for his succeeding son had other views, and encouraged the Sikhs as useful allies upon an emergency, t Hurree Singh Bunghee died, and he was succeeded by Jhunda Singh, who carried the power of the Misl to its height. He rendered Jumraoo tributary, and the place was then of considerable importance, for the repeated Afghan invasions, and the continued insur- rections of the Sikhs, had driven the transit trade of the plains to the circuitous but safe route of the hills ; and the character of the Rajpoot chief, Runjeet Deo, was 1770. Threaten Cashmeer, and press Nujeebood- dowla on the Jumna and Ganges, 1770. Jhunda , Singh of the Bung- hee Misl pre-emi- nent, 1770. Jummoo rendered tributary. * When Nadir Siah proceedi'd to establish his authority "in Sindh, he found the ancestor of the Buhawul- poor family a man of reputation in his native district of Shikarpoor. The Shah made him the deputy of the upper third of the province ; but, becoming suspicious of the whole clan, he resolved on removing it to Ghuznee. The tribe then migrated up the Sutlej, and seized lands by \ force. The Daoodpotras are so called i from Daood (David), the first of the i family who acquired a name. They fabulously trace their origin to the Caliph Abbas ; but they may be regarded as Sindhian Belotches, or as Belotches changed by a long resi- dence in Sindh. In establishing themselves on the Sutlej, they re- duced the remains of the ancient Lunggas and Johyas to further in- significance ; but they introduced the Sindhian system of canals of irriga- tion, and both banks of the river below Pakputtun bear witness to their original industry and love of agricul- ture. f The memoirs of the Buhawul- poor family, and manuscript Sikh histories. Compare also Forstcr, Travels, i. 148. 114 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. V. and Mool- tan occu- pied, 1772. Jtaunda Singli assas- sinated by Jaee Singh Kuneia, 1774. .Taee Singh Kuneia and Jussa Singh Kullal ex- pel Jussa the car- penter. Kanggra falls to the Kuneia Misl about 1774. such as gave confidence to traders, and induced them to flock to his capital for protection. The Puthans of Kussoor were next rendered tributary, and Jhunda Singh then deputed his lieutenant, Mujja Singh, against Mooltan ; but that leader was repulsed and slain by the united' forces of the joint Afghan governors, and of the Buhawulpoor chief. Next year, or in 177^, these joint managers quarrelled, and as one of them asked the assistance of Jhunda Singh, that unscrupulous leader was enabled to possess himself of the citadel. On his return to the northward, he found that a rival claimant of the Jummoo chiefship had obtained the aid of Churrut Singh Sookerchukeea, and of Jaee Singh the rising leader of the Kuneia Misl. Churrut Singh was killed by the bursting of his own matchlock, and Jaee Singh was then so base as to procure the assas- • sination of Jhunda Singh. Being satisfied with the removal of this powerful chief, the Kuneia left the Jummoo claimant to prosecute his cause alone, and entered into a league with the old Jussa Singh Alhoo- waleea, for the expulsion of the other Jussa Singh the Carpenter, who had rendered Ahmed Shah's nominal deputy, Ghumund Chund of Kototch, and other Raj- poots of the hills, his tributaries. The Ramgurheea Jussa Singh was at last beaten, and he retired to the wastes of Hurreeana to live by plunder. At this time, or about 1774, died the Mahometan governor of Kanggra. He had contrived to maintain himself in independence, or in reserved subjection to Delhi or Caubul, although the rising chief of Kototch had long desired to possess so famous a stronghold. Jaee Singh Kuneia was prevailed on to assist him, and the place fell ; but the Sikh chose to keep it to himself, and the possession of the imperial fort aided him in his usurp- ation of Jussa Singh's authority over the surrounding Rajas and Thakoors.* The memoirs of the Buhawulpoor chief and manuscript Sikh ac- Chap, v.] THE PHOOLKEEAH MISL. 115 In the south of the Punjab, the Bunghee Sikhs con- 1779— tinued predominant ; they seem to have possessed the ^ ^^^^' strong fort of Munkehra as well as Mooltan, and to Tymoor have levied exactions from Kalabasrh dovrawards. Thev shah of made an attempt to carry Shooja-abad, a place built by ^oTCrs '^^' the Afghans on losing Mooltan, but to have failed. Mooitan, Tymoor Shah, vi^ho succeeded his father in 1773, was '^^*' at last induced or enabled to cross the InduF,n5ut his views were directed towards Sindh, Buhawulpoor, and the Lower Punjab, and he seems to have had no thought of a reconquest of Lahore. In the course of 1777—78, two detachments of the Caubul army un- successfully endeavored to dislodge the Sikhs from Mooltan, but in the season of 1778-79, the Shah marched in person against the place. Ghunda Singh, the new leader of the Bunghees, was embroiled with other Sikh chiefs, and his lieutenant surrendered the citadel after a show of resistance. Tymoor Shah reigned Tymoor until 1793, but he was fully occupied with Sindhian, leaving' the Cashmeeree, and Oozbek rebellions ; the Sikhs were ^^^^^ ™*^- even unmolested in their possession of Rawil Pindee, opper pun- and their predatory horse traversed the plains of Chutch J*^ *^ ^^^ *^ up to the walls of Attok.* 1793.' In the direction of Hurreeana and Delhi, the young The Phooi- Ummer Singh Phoolkeea began systematically to extend f^r ^u™ g^. and consolidate his authority. He acquired Sir sa^ and ana, 1 768— Futtehabad, his territories marched with those of ^^^®" Beekaneer and Buhawulpoor, and his feudatories of Jeend and Kythul possessed the open country around Hansee and Rohtuk. He was recalled to his capital of counts. Compare Murray's Runjeet * Memoirs of the Buhawulpoor Singh, p. 38. &c., and Forster, Tra- chief, and other manuscript histories. vds, i. 283. 286. 336. Compare Browne, India TVacts, ii. Runjeet Deo, of Jummoo, died in 28., and Forster, Travels, i. 324. ; 1770 A. u. Elphinstone ( Caubul, ii. 303.) makes Churrut Singh was killed acci- 1781, and not 1779, the date of dentally, and Jhunda Singh was the recovery of Mooltan from the assassinated, in 1774. Sikhs. Hurree Singh Bunghee appears to have been killed in battle with Um- mer Singh, of Futteala, about 1770. I 2 116 HISTORY OP THE SIKHS. [Ca J779— 1781, An expe- dition sent from Delhi against the Malwa Sikhs, 1779-80. Succeeds in part only. Ummer Singh of Putteeala dies, 1781. Zahita Khan son ofNunjeeb- ooddowla, aided in his designs on the ministry by the Sikhs, 1776. -Putteeala, by a final eflfort of the Delhi court to re- establish its authority in the province of Sirhind. An army, headed by the minister of the day, and by Furichoonda Bukht, one of the imperial family, marched in the season 1779-BO. Kumal was recovered ; some payments were pr'omised ; and the eminent Klrora- Singheea leader, Bughel Singh, tendered his submis- sion. Dehsoo Singh, of Kythul, was seized and heavily mulcted, and the army approached Putteeala. Ummer Singh promised fealty and tribute, and Bughel Singh seemed sincere in his mediation ; but suddenly it was learnt that a large body of Sikhs had marched from Lahore, and the Moghul troops retired with pre- cipitation to Paneeput, not without a suspicion that the cupidity of the minister had been gratified with Sikh gold, and had induced him to betray his master's interests. Ummer Singh died in 1781, leaving a minor son of imbecile mind. Two years afterwards a famine desolated Hurreeana ; the people perished or sought other homes ; Sirsa was deserted, and a large tract of country passed at the time from under regular sway, and could not afterwards be recovered by the Sikhs. "* In the Dooab of the Ganges and Jumna, the Sikhs rather subsidized Zabita Khan, the son of Nujebood- dowla, than became his deferential allies. That chief had designs, perhaps, upon the titular, ministry of the empire, and having obtained a partial success over the imperial troops, he proceeded, in 1776, towards Delhi, with the intention of laying siege to the city. But when the time for action arrived, he mistrusted his power ; the emperor, on his part, did not care to provoke him too far ; a compromise was efiected, and he was confirmed in his possession of Seharunpoor. On this occasion Zabita Khan was accompanied by a body of * Manuscript histories, and Mr. and Shah Nuwaz Khan's Epitome Ross Bell's report of 1836, on of Indian History, called Mirrit-i-. the Bhutteeana boundary. Compare Aftdb Noama. Francklin's Shah Alum, p. 86. 90., CuAP. v.] THE SIKHS ON THE GANGES. 117 Sikhs, and he was so desirous of conciliating them, i7ei— that he is credibly said to have adopted their dress, to ^'®^' have received the Pahul, or initiatory rite, and to have taken the new name of Dhurrum Singh.* Jussa Singh Ramgurheea, when compelled to fly to the Punjab by the Kuneia and Alhoowaleea con- The ravages federacies, was aided by Ummer Singh Phoolkeea in "nt^e^*^^ establishing himself in the country near Hissar, whence Dooab and he proceeded to levy exactions up to the walls of Delhi-. una"r^Bu-'' In I78I a body of Phoolkeea and other Sikhs marched ghei singh down the Dooab, but they were successfully attacked ^^g^^g^ under the walls of Meerut by the imperial commander 1 781-85. Mirza Shuffee Beg, and Gujput Singh of Jeend was taken prisoner. Nevertheless, in 1783, Bughel Singh defeated at and other commanders were strong enough to propose Meerut, crossing the Ganges, but they were deterred by the watchfulness of the Oude troops on the opposite bank. The destructive famine already alluded to, seems to have compelled Jussa Singh to move into the Dooab, and, in 1785, Rohilkhund was entered by the confederates and plundered as far as Chundosee, which is within forty i^85 ^.n. miles of Bareilly. At this period Zabita Khan was almost confined to the walls of his fort of Ghowsgurh, and the hill raja of Gurhwal, (whose ancestor had re- ceived Dara as a refugee in defiance of Aurungzeb^ had been rendered tributary, equally with all his brother Rajpoots, in the lower hills westward to the Chenab. The Sikhs were predominant from the frontiers of Oude '^"^ ^^■ to the Indus, and the traveller rorster amusmgly Lower Hi- describes the alarm caused to a little chief and his people ""^'ayas * r6nu6r6Q by the appearance of two Sikh horsemen under the walls tributary. of their fort, and the assiduous services and respectful attention which the like number of troopers met with from the local authorities of Gurhwal, and from the assem- bled wayfarers at a place of public reception.! ♦ Compare Forster, Travels, i. 262. 326. and note. Compare also 325.; Browne, India Tracts, ii. 29.; Franeklin's Shah Alum, p. 93, 94., and Francklin's SAaA/i/wm, p. 72. and tlie Persian epitome Mirrit-U t Forster, TraveU, i. 228, 229. Aff db Nooma. I 3 118 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. V. 1784— 1792. Jaee Singh Kuneia pre- eminent, 1784-85. Rise of Mu- ha Singh Sookerchu- fceea. In the Punjab itself Jaee Singh Kuneia continued to re- tain a paramount influence. He had taken Muha Singh, the son of Churrut Singh Sookerchukeea, under his pro- tection, and he aided the young chief in capturing Rus- soolnuggur on the Chenab, from a Mahometan -family. Muha Singh's reputation continued to increase, and, about 1784-85, he so far threw oflf his dependence upon Jaee Singh as to interfere in the aflfairs of Jummoo on his own account. His interference is understood to have ended in the plunder of the place j but the wealth he had obtained and the independence he had shown, both roused the anger of Jaee Singh, who rudely re- pelled Muha Singh's apologies and offers of atonement, and the spirit of the young chief being fired, he went away resolved to appeal to arms. He sent to Jussa Singh Ramgurheea, and that leader was glad of an opportunity of recovering his lost possessions. He joined Muha Singh, and easily procured the aid of Sunsar Chund, the grandson of Ghumund Chund of Kototch. The Kuneias were attacked and defeated ; Goorbukhsh Singh, the eldest son of Jaee Singh, was killed, and the spirit of the old man was effectually humbled by this double sorrow. Jussa Singh was re- stored to his territories, and Sunsar Chund obtained the fort of Kanggra, which his father and grandfather had been so desirous of possessing. Muha Singh now be- came the most influential chief in the Punjab, and he gladly assented to the proposition of Sudda Kour, the widow of Jaee Singh's son, that the alliance of the two families should be cemented by the union of her infant MuhaSingh daughter with Runjeet Singh, the only son of Muha '"°°""' Singh, and who was bom to him about I78O. Muha Singh next proceeded to attack Goojrat, the old Bunghee chief of which, Goojer Singh, his father's confederate, died in 1791 ; but he was himself taken ill during the siege, and expired in the beginning of the following year at the early age of twenty-seven.* * Manuscript histories and chronicles. Compare Forstcr, Travels, The Ku- neias re- duced, 1785-86. Jussa the Carpenter restored, and Kang- gra made over to Sunsar Chund of Kototch. preemi- nent among the Sikhs, 1785-92. Muha Singh dies, 1792. Chap, v.] SHAH ZUmIn. 119 Shah Zuman succeeded to the throne of Caubul in 1793— the year 1793, and his mind seems always to have been ^J^^- filled witnTHlFhopes of an Indian empire. In the end g^^^ ^u- of 1795 he moved to Hussun Abdal, and sent forward man suc- a party which is said to have recovered the fort of throne'or° Rhotas ; but the exposed state of his western dominions caubui, induced him to return to Caubul. The rumors of '^^^' another Dooranee invasion do not seem to have been unheeded by the princes of Upper India, then pressed by the Mahrattas and the English. Gholam Mahomed, the defeated usurper of Rohilkhund, crossed the Punjab invited to in 1795-96, with the view of inducing Shah Zuman lyZe'^^ to prosecute his designs, and he was followed by agents wnasand on the part of Asofooddowla of Oude, partly to coun- of oudr^"^ teract, perhaps, the presumed machinations of his enemy, 1795-96. but mainly to urge upon his majesty, that all Maho- metans would gladly hail him as a deliverer. The Shah shah zu- reached Lahore, in the beginning of 1797> with thirty Lahore, thousand men, and he endeavored to conciliate the i797. Sikhs and to render his visionary supremacy an agree- able burden. Several chiefs joined him, but the pro- ceedings of his brother Mehmood recalled him before he had time to make any progress in settling the coun- try, even had the Sikhs been disposed to submit with- out a struggle ; but the Sikhs were perhaps less dis- mayed than the beaten Mahrattas and the ill-informed English. The latter lamented, with the Vuzeer of Oude, the danger to which his dominions were exposed ; they prudently cantoned a force at Anoopshuhur in the Dooab, and their apprehensions led them to depute a mission to Teheran, with the view of instigating the Shah of Persia to invade the Afghan territories. Shah i. 288., Murray's Runjeet Singh, p. tion to Rohilkbund took place in 42. 48., and Moorcroft's 2Va»efe, i. 1785, as related by Forster ( 2^-a»e&, 127. The date of 178-6, for the i. 326, note), and Jussa Singh is reduction of the Kuneias and the generally admitted to have been en- restoration of Jussa Singh, &c., is gaged in it, being then in banish- preferred to 1782, which is given by ment. Murray, partly because the expedi- I 4 120 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. V- 1798,1799. Eunjeet Singli rises to emi- nence. and obtains a cession of Lahore from the Afghan king, 1799. Zutiian renewed his invasion in 1798 ; a body of five thousand men, sent far in advance, was attacked and dispersed on the Jehlum, but he entered Lahore with- out opposition, and renewed his measures of mixed con- ciUation and threat. He found an able leader, but doubt- ful partizan in Nizamooddeen Khan, a Puthan of Kus- soor, who had acquired a high local reputation, and he was employed to coerce such of the Sikhs, including the youthful Runjeet Singh, as pertinaciously kept aloof. 7%ey distrusted the Shah's honor; but Nizamooddeen distrusted the permanence of his power, and he pru- dently forbore to proceed to extremities against neigh- bors to whom he might soon be left a prey. Some resultless skirmishing took place, but the designs of Mehmood, who had obtained the support of Persia, again withdrew the ill-fated king to the west, and he quitted Lahore in the beginning of 1799- During this second invasion the character of Runjeet Singh seems to have impressed itself, not only on other Sikh leaders, but on the Dooranee Shah. He coveted Lahore, which was associated in the minds of men with the possession of power, and, as the king was unable to cross his heavy artillery over the flooded Jehlum, he made it known to the aspiring chief that their transmission would be an acceptable service. As many pieces of cannon as could be readily extricated were sent after the Shah, and Runjeet Singh procured what he wanted, a royal investiture of the capital of the Punjab. Thence- forward the history of the Sikhs gradually centres in their great Muharaja; but the revival of the Mahratta power in Upper India, and the appearance of the En- glish on the scene, require that the narrative of his achievements should be somewhat interrupted.* * Elphinstone (Caubul, ii. 308.) states that Shah Zuman was exhorted to undertake his expedition of 1795, by a refugee prince of- Delhi, and encouraged in it by Tippoo Sooltan. The journey of Gholam Mahomed, the defeated Rohilla chief, and the mission of the Vuzeer of Oude, are given on the authority of the Buha- wulpoor family annals, and from the same source may be added an inter- change of deputations on the part of Chap, v.] SINDHIA TAKES DELHI. 121 The abilities of Madhaiee Sindhia restored the power nss— ] 788 of the Mahrattas in Northern India, and the discipline . ,J . of his regular brigades seemed to place his administra- ^he power tion on a firm and lasting basis. He mastered Agra rattas under in 1785, and was made deputy vicegerent of the em- sindhia in pire by the titular emperor, Shah Aluni. He entered indk^irss. at the same time into an engagement with the confede- smdhia's rate Sikh chiefs, to the effect that of all their joint con- ^^^^^ quests on either side of the Jumna, he should have two- sikhs. thirds and the " Khalsa" the remainder.* This alli- ance was considered to clearly point at the kingdom of Oude, which the English were bound to defend, and perlmps to affect the authority of Delhi, which they wished to see strong ; but the schemes of the Mahratta were for a time interrupted by the Rohilla, Gholam Qadir. This chief succeeded his father Zabita Khan in 1785, and had contrived, by an adventurous step, to be- come tlie master of the emperor's person a little more than a year afterwards. He was led on from one Ghoiam excess to another, till at last, in I788, he put out the ^^^" „^ ^ ' '. '' f blinds Shah eyes or his uniortunate sovereign, plunderea the palace Aium, in search of imaginary treasures, and declared an un- ''®®' heeded youth to be the successor of Akber and Aurung- zeb. These proceedings facilitated Sindhia's views, nor sindMa was his supremacy unwelcome in Delhi after the atro- ^^^rand cities of Gholam Qadir and the savage Afghans. His curbs the regular administration soon curbed the predatory Sikhs, j^g^^g' and instead of being received as allies they found that they would merely be tolerated as dependants or as serv- ants. Race Singh, the patriarchal chief of Jugadhree, #as retained for the time as farmer of considerable dis- tricts in the Dooab, and, during ten years, three expedi- Shah Zuman and Sindh!a, the en- on the exertions made by their go- voys, as in the other instance, having vernment to protect their pledged passed through Buhawulpoor town, ally from the northern invaders. A suspicion of the complicity of Nevertheless, the statements of the Asofooddowla, of Lucknow, does Bahawulpoor chronicles on the sub- not seem to have occurred to the ject seem in every way credible. English historians, who rather dilate * Browne, India Tracts, ii. 29. (T/ 122 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. V. General Perron ap- pointed Sindhia's deputy in Northern India, 1797. Sindhia's and Per- ron's views crossed l)y Holkar and George Thomas, 1787- 1797. tions of exaction were directed against Putteeala and other states in the province of Sirhind. Putteeala was ma- naged with some degree of prudence by Nanoo Mull, the Hindoo Deewan of the deceased Ummer Singh, but he seems to have trusted for military support to Bughel Singh, the leader of the Krora Singheeas, who contrived to maintain a large body of horse, partly as a judicious mediator, and partly by helping Putteeala in levying contributions on weaker brethren, in aid of the Moghul and Mahratta demands, which could neither be readily met nor prudently resisted.* General Perron succeeded his countryman D,eBoigne, in thS^command of Dowlut Rao Sindhia's largest regu- lar force, in the year 1797j and he was soon after ap- pointed the Muharaja's deputy in Northern India. His ambition surpassed his powers ; but his plans were nevertheless systematic, and he might have temporarily extended his own, or the Mahratta, authority to Lahore, had not Sindhia's influence been endangered by Holkar, and had not Perron's own purposes been crossed by the hostility and success of the^adventurer George Thomas. This Englishman was bred to the sea, but an eccen- tricity of character, or a restless love of change, caused him to desert from a vessel of war at Madras in 1781 —82, and to take military service with the petty chiefs of that presidency. He wandered to the north of India, and in 1787 he was employed by the well known Begum Sumroo, and soon rose high in favor with that lady. Iirsixyears he became dissatisfied, and entered the service of Apa Kunda Rao, one of Sindhia's prin- cipal officers, and under whom De Boigne had formed his first regiments. While in the Mahratta employ, Thomas defeated a party of Sikhs at Kurnal, and he performed various other services ; but seeing the dis- tracted state of the country, he formed the not im- practicable scheme of establishing a separate authority of his own. He repaired the crumbling walls of the * Manuscript accounts. Compare Franeklin's Shah Alum, p. 179 — 185. Chap, v.] GENERAL PERRON AND GEORGE THOMAS. 123 once important Hansee, he assembled soldiers about i798— him, cast guns, and deliberately proceeded to acquire . ^^"' ■ territory. Perron was apprehensive of his power — the George more so, perhaps, as Thomas was encouraged by Holkar, ^taSes and supported by Lukwa Dada and other Mahrattas, himseifat who entertained a great jealousy of the French com- 1798*^' mandant.* In 1799j Thomas invested the town of Jeend, be- and engages longing to Bhag Singh of the Phoolkeea confederacy. '^^^ aT' The old chief, Bughel Singh Krora Singheea, and the sikhs, Amazonian sister of the imbecile Raja of Putteeala, ^ ^^' relieved the place, but they were repulsed when they attacked Thomas on his retreat to Hansee. In 1800 Thomas took Futtehabad, which had been deserted during the famine of 1 783, and subsequently occupied by the predatory Bhuttees of Hurreeana, then rising into local repute, notwithstanding the efforts of the Putteeala chief, who, however, affected to consider them as his subjects, and gave them some aid against Thomas. Putteeala was the next object of Thomas's ambition, and he was encouraged by the temporary secession of the sister of the chief ; but the aged Tara Singh of the Dullehwala confederacy, interfered, and Thomas had to act with caution. He obtained, never- Thomas theless, a partial success over Tara Singh, he received ^^^^ the submission of the Puthans of Malejh Kotla, and he Loodiana, was welcomed as a deliVerEr''16y"The converted Ma- '^°°* hometans of Raeekot, who had held Loodiana for some time, and all of whom were equally jealous of the Sikhs. At this time Sahib Singh, a Behdee of the race of opposed by Nanuk, pretended to religious inspiration, and, having sLgh collected a large force, he invested Loodiana, took the Behdee. town of Malerh Kotla, and called on the English ad- venturer to obey him as the true representative of the Sikh prophet. But Sahib Singh could not long impose even on his countrymen, and he had to retire across the * Francklin's Life of George Tho- Smith's Sketch of Regular Corps in the mas, p. 1. 79.107. &c., and Major Service of Indian Princes, p. 118. &c. 124 HISTORY or THE SIKHS. [Chap. V. Thomas re- jects Per- ron's over- tures and resorts to arms, ISOl. Surrenders to Perron, 1802. The Mah- rattas under Perron paramount among the Sikhs of Sirhind, 1802-3. Sutlej. Thomas's situation was not greatly improved by the absence of the Behdee, for the combination against him was general, and he retired from the neigh- borhood of Loodiana towards his stronghold of Hansee. He again took the field, and attacked Suieedon, an old town belonging to the chief of Jeend. He was repulsed, but the place not appearing tenable, it was evacuated, and he obtained possession of it. At this time he is said to have had ten battalions and sixty guns, arid to have possessed a territory yielding about 450,000 rupees, two-thirds of which he held by right of seizure, and one-third as a Mahratta feudatory ; but he had rejected all Perron's overtures with suspicion, and Per- ron was resolved to crush him. Thomas was thus forced to come to terms with the Sikhs, and he wished it to appear that he had engaged them on his side against Perron ; but they were really desirous of getting rid of oiie~who plainly designed their ruin, or at least their subjection, and the alacrity of Putteeala in the Mahratta service induced a promise, on the part of the French commander, of the restitution of the conquests of Ummer Singh in Hurreeana. After tviace beating back Perron's troops at points sixty miles distant, Thomas^was compelled to surrender in the beginning of 1802, and he retired into the British provinces, where he died in the course of the same year.* PgrrojiJiad thus far succeeded. His lieutenant, by name Bourguin, made a progress through the Cis- Sutlej states to levy contributions, and the commander himself dreamt of a dominion reaching to the Afghan hills, and of becoming as independent of Sindhia as that chief was of the Peshwah.t He formed an en- * See generally Franoklin's Life of Thomas, and p. 21. &c. of Major Smith's Sketch of Regular Corps in Indian States. The Sikh accounts attribute many exploits to the sister of the Raja of Putteeala, and among them an expedition into the hill ter- ritory of Nahun, the state from which Putteeala wrested the vale of Pinjor, with its banging gardens, not, how- ever, without the aid of Bourquin, the deputy of Perron. •)• Malcolm (StocA, p. 106.) consi- ders that Perron could easily have reduced the Sikhs, and mastered the Punjab. Chap, v.] THE SIKHS AND THE ENGLISH. 125 gagement with Runjeet Singh for a joint expedition to 1803. the Indus, and for a partition of the country south of ^^^^j^ Lahore * ; but Holkar had given a rude shock to Sind- forms an hia's power, and Per£on^had long evaded a comphance "H'f^^^ with the Maharaja's urgent calls for troops to aid him jeet singh. where support was most essential. Sindhia became involved with the English, and the interested hesitation is dis- of Perron was punished by his supercession. He was s'i^cfya. ^ not able, or he did not try, to recover his authority by vigorous military operations; he knew he had com- mitted himself, and he effected his escape from the Fiees to suspicious Mahrattas to the safety and repose of the jhen^afwar' British territories, which were then about to be ex- with the tended by the victories of Delhi and Laswaree, of Assye igos"^^****' and Argaum.t In the beginning of the eighteenth century, the agents First intej- of the infant company of English merchants were vex- the English atiously detained at the imperial court by the insur- with the rection of the Sikhs under Bunda, and the discreet ^^^^^\ " factors," who were petitioning for some trading privi- to rerokh- lesres, perhaps witnessed the heroic death of the national s^^"" <^«- • ■ • tained bv Singhs, the soldiers of the " Khalsa," without compre- thecam- hendina: the spirit evoked bv the g-enius of Govind, and p^s" without dreaming of the broad fabric of empire about Bimda, to be reared on their own patient labors. J Forty i7i5-i7. * This alliance is given on the au- passes. This latter privilege was a thority of a representation made to turning point in the history of the the Resident at Delhi, agreeably to English in India, for it gave an im- his letter to Sir David Ochterloney pulse to trade, which vastly increased of 5th July, 1814. the importance of British subjects, if ■f Compare Major Smith's Account it added little to the profits of the of Regular Corps in Indian States, associated merchants, p. 31. &c. - In the Grunt'h of Gooroo Govind ' ^ See Orme, History, ii. 22. &c., there are at least four allusions to ' ' and Mill, Wilson's edition, iii. 34. Europeans, the last referring specially ' . &c. The mission was two years at to an Englishman. 1st, in the AMI ^ Delhi, during 1715, 1716, 1717, and Stoot, Europeans are enumerated the genuine patriotism of Mr. Ham- among the tribes inhabiting India ; ' ^ ilton, the surgeon of the deputation, 2d and 3d, in the Kulkee chapters , , mainly contributed to procure the of the 24 Owtdrs, apparently in i cession of thirty-seven villages near praise of the systematic modes of Eu- Calcutta, and the exemption from ropeans; and 4th, in the Persian duty of goods protected by English Hikayuts, where both a European ■' 126 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. V. 1767— 1788. Clive and Omichund, 1757. ■Warren Hastings tries to guard Oude against the Sikhs, 1784. The Sikhs ask English aid against the Mah- rattas, 1788. Early En- glish esti- mates of the Sikhs. Colonel Francklin. The travel- ler Forster. years afterwards, the merchant Omichund played a conspicuous part in the revolution which was crowned by the battle of Plassey ; but the sectarian Sikh, the worldly votary of Nanuk, who used religion as a garb of outward decorum, was outwitted by the audacious falsehood of Clive ; he quailed before the stern scorn of the English conqueror, and he perished the victim of his own base avarice.* In 1784 the progress of the genuine Sikhs attracted the notice of Hastings, and he seems to have thought that the presence of a British agent at the court of Delhi might help to deter them from molesting the Vizier of Oude. t But the Sikhs had learnt to dread others as well as to be a cause of fear, and shortly afterwards they asked the British Re- sident to enter into a defensive alliance against the Mahrattas, and to accept the services of thirty thousand horsemen, who had posted themselves near Delhi to watch the motions of Sindhia. t The English had then a slight knowledge of a new and distant people, and an estimate, two generations old, may provoke a smile from the protectors of Lahore.*^ " The Sikhs," says Colonel Francklin, " are in their persons tall, .... their aspect is ferocious, and their eyes piercing ; . . . . they re- semble the Arabs of the Euphrates, but they speak the language of the Afghans ; . . . . their collected army amounts tc/ 250,000 men, a terrific force, yet from want of union not much to be dreaded." § The judicious and observing Forster put some confidence in similar statements of their vast array, but he estimated more surely than any other early writer, the real character of and an Englishman appear as cham- pions for the hand of a royal damsel, to be vanquished, of course, by the hero of the tale. * That Omichund was a Sikh, is given on the authority of Forster, Travek, i. S37. That he died of a broken heart, is doubted by Professor Wilson. (Mill's, ltidia,m. 192. note, edition 1840.) f Browne, India Tracts, ii. 29, 30. and Francklin's Shah Alum, p. IIS, 116. \ Auber's Rise and Progress of the British Power in India, ii. 26, 27. The chief who made the overtures was Dooltcha Singh of Rudowr on the Jumna, who afterwards entered Sindhia's service. Compare Franck- lin's Shah Alum, p. 78., note. § Francklin's Shah Alum, p. 75. 77, 78. Chap. V.] LORD lake's campaigns. 127 the Sikhs, and the remark of 1783, that an able chief would probably attain to absolute power on the ruins of the rude commonwealth, and become the terror of his neighbors, has been amply borne out by the career of Runjeet Singh.* The battle of Delhi was fought on the 11th Sep- tember, 1803, and five thousand Sikhs swelled an army which the speedy capture of A llygurh had taken by surprize, t The Mahrattas were overthrown, and the Sikhs dispersed, but the latter soon afterwards tendered their allegiance to the British commander. Among the more important chiefs whose alliance, or whose occasional services were accepted, were Bhaee Lai Singh of Kythul, who had witnessed the success of Lord Lake, Bhag Singh the patriarchal chief of Jeend, and, 'after a time, Bhungga Singh the savage master of Thunehsir.t The victory of Lasw^;ee was fought within two months, and the M ahra tt a power seemed to be_annihilated in Northern India. The old blind emperor ^rnlTlQum was again flattered with the semblance of kingly power, his pride was soothed by the demeanor of the conqueror, and, as the Moghul name was still imposing, the feelings of the free but loyal soldier were doubtless gratified by the bestowal of a title which declared an English nobleman to be " the sword of the state " of the great Tamerlane. § The enterprizing Jeswunt Rao Holkar, had by this time determined on the invasion of Upper India, and the retreat of Colonel Monson buoyed him up with hopes 1803— 1806. Sikhs op- posed to Lord Lake at Delhi, 1803. The Sikhs of Sirhind tender their allegiance to the En- glish. The chiefs of Jeend and Kythul. Shah Alum freed from Mahratta thraldom. The En- glish -wars ■with Hol- kar, 1804- 5. * Forster's Travels, ii. 340. See also p. 324., where he says the Sikhs bad raised in the Punjab a solid struc- ture of religion. [The remark of the historian Robertson may Mso be quo- ted as apposite, and with the greater reason as prominence has lately been given to it in the House of Commons on the occasion of thanking the army for its services during the Sikh cam- paign of 1 848-49. He says that the enterprizing commercial spirit of the English, and the martial ardor of the Sikhs, who possess the energy natural to men in the earlier stages of society, can hardly fail to lead sooner or later to open hostility. — Disquisition Con- cerning Ancient India, note iv. sect. 1 . written in 1789-90.] f Major Smith's Atcount of Regu- lar Corps in Indian States, p. 34. I Manuscript Memoranda of per- sonal inquiries. § Mill's History of British India, Wilson's edition, vi. SIO. 128 HISTORY OV THE SIKHS. [Chap.V. 1805 The Sikhs mostly side ■with the English and render good service. Holkar re- tires to- wards the Sutlej, 1805. Delays at Putteeala. Halts at Amritsir, but fails in of victory and dominion. Delhi was invested, and the Dooab was filled with troops ; but the successful defence of the capital by Sir David Ochterloney, and the reverse of Deeg, drove the great marauder back into Raj- pootana. During these operations a British detachment, under Colonel Burn, was hard pressed at Shamlee, near Seharunpoor, and the opportune assistance of Lai Singh of Kythul and Bhag Singh of Jeend, con- tributed to its ultimate relief.* The same Sikh chiefs deserved and received the thanks of Lord Lake for attacking and killing one Eeka Rao, a Mahratta com- mander who had taken up a position between Delhi and Paneeput ; but others were disposed to adhere to their sometime allies, and Sher Singh of Booreea fell in action with Colonel Burn, and the conduct of Goor- dut Singh of Ladwa induced the British general to deprive him of his villages in the Dooab, and of the town of Kurnal.t In 1805, Holkar and Ameer Khan again moved northward, and proclaimed that they would be joined by the Sikhs, and even by the Afghans; but the rapid movements of Lord Lake converted their advance into a retreat or a flight. They delayed some time at Put- teeala, and they did not fail to make a pecuniary profit out of the difierences then existing between the imbe- cile Raja and his wife! ; but when the English army reached the neighborhood of Kurnal, Holkar continued his retreat towards the north, levying contributions where he could, but without being joined by any of the Sikh chiefs of the Cis- Sutlej states. In the Punjab it- self, he is represented to have induced some to adopt * Manuscript memoranda. Both this aid in 1804, and the opposition of the Sikhs at Delhi, in 1803, seem to have escaped the notice of English observers, or to have been thought undeserving of record by English historians. {Mill's History, vi. 503. S92., edition 1840.) f Manuscript memoranda of writ- ten documents and of personal in- quiries. \ Ameer Khan, in his Memoirs (p. 276. ), says characteristically, that Holkar remarked to him, on observ- ing the silly differences between the Kaja and the Ranee, " God has as- suredly sent us these two pigeons to pluck ; do you espouse the cause of the one, while I take up with the other."- Chap, v.] TREATY WITH THE ENGLISH OF 1806. 129 his cause, but Runje'et Singh long kept aloof, and when i803— at last he met Holkar at Amritsir, the astute young . ^^°^" . chief wanted aid in reducing the Puthans of Kussoor be- gaining fore he would give the Mahrattas any assistance against "J'eTs^Dgh the English. Ameer Khan would wish it to be believed, that he was unwilling to be a party to an attack upon good Mahometans, and it is certain that the perplexed Jeswunt Rao talked of hurrying on to Peshawur ; but Lord Lake Hoikar was in force on the banks of the Beeas, the political ^^'^'^5^^^^ demands of the British commander were moderate, and, the En- on the 24th December, 1805, an arrangement was ^^^(.^"j'^to come to, which allowed Holkar to return quietly to the south, Central India.* '«°^-« Lord Lake was joined on his advance by the two Friendly chiefs, Lai Singh and Bhag Singh, whose services have ^^e^En ush already been mentioned, and at Putteeala he was wel- with the comed by the weak and inoffensive Sahib Singh, who gj^^^^^ presented the keys of his citadel, and expatiated on his isos-s! devotion to the British government. Bhag Singh was the maternal uncle of Runjeet Singh, and his services were not unimportant in determining that calculating leader to avoid an encounter with disciplined battalions and a trained artillery. Runjeet Singh is believed to have visited the British camp in disguise, that he might himself witness the military array of a leader who had successively vanquished both Sindhia and Holkart, and he was, moreover, too acute to see any permanent advan- tage in linking his fortunes with those of men reduced to the condition of fugitives. Futteh Singh Alhoo- waleea, the grand nephew of Jussa Singh Kullal, and / the chosen companion of the future Muharaja, was the medium of intercourse, and an arrangement was soon Formal en- entered into, with " Sirdars" Runieet Sinffhand Futteh gagement o o entered into Singh jointly, which provided that Holkar should be with Run- compelled to retire from Amritsir, and that so long as J^*' ^ "tt^h the two chiefs conducted themselves as friends, the singh Alhoowa- • Compare Ameer Khan's Memoirs, p. 275. 285., and Murray's Runjeet leea, 1806. Singh, p. 57. &c. f See Moorcroft, Travels, i. 102. K 130 HISTORY OP THE SIKHS. [Chap. V. 1804. The En- glish cor- respond with Sun- sar Chund of Kototch. The Sikhs of Sirhind regarded as virtually de- pendents of the English by Lord Lake. But the connection not regu- larly de- clared, or made bind- ing In form. English government would never form any plans for the seizure of their territories.* Lord Lake entered into a friendly correspondence with Sunsar Chund, of Kototch, who was imitating Runjeet Singh by bringing the petty hill chiefs under subjection ; bat no engage- ment was entered into, and the British commander re- turned to the provinces by the road of Ambala and Kurnal.t The connection of Lord Lake with many of the Sikh chiefs of Sirhind had been intimate, and the services of some had been opportune and valuable. Immediately after the battle of Delhi, Bhag Singh of Jeend, was up- held in a jagheer which he possessed near that city, and in 1804 another estate was conferred jointly on him and his friend Lai Singh of Kythul. In 1806, these leaders were further rewarded with life grants, yielding about 11,000^. a year, and Lord Lake was understood to be vdlling to have given them the districts of Hansee and Hissar on the same terms ; but these almosf^iSefnracts were objected to as unprofitable. Other petty chiefs received rewards corresponding with their services, and all were assured that they should continue to enjoy the territorial possessions which they held at the time of British interference, without being liable to the payment of tribute. These declarations or arrangements were made when the policy of Lord Wellesley was suffering under condemnation ; the reign of the English was to be limited by the Jumna, a formal treaty with Jeypoor was abrogated, the relations of the Indian government with Bhurtpoor were left doubtful, and, although nothing was made known to the Sikh chiefs of Sirhind, their connection with the EngKsh came virtually to an end, so far as regarded the reci- procal benefits of aUiance. t * See the treaty itself, Appendix XXIIL t The public records show that a newswriter was maintained for some time in KotStch, and the correspond- ence about Sunsar Chund leaves the impression that Runjeet Singh could never wholly forget the Raja's origi- nal superiority, nor the English divest themselves of a feeling that he was independent of Lahore. 4 The original grants to Jeend, Chap, v.] ASCENDANCY OF RUNJEET SINGH. 131 .o. It is now necessary to return to Runjeet Singh, i799— whose authority had gradually become predominant . ^^"^' , among the Sikh people. His first object was to master Retrospect Lahore from the incapable chiefs of the Bunghee confe- ^J.ence to deracy who possessed it, and before Shah Zuman had Kunjeet been many months gone, effect was given to his grant ^'"s''^"*^- by a dexterous mixture of force and artifice. Runjeet singh mas- Singh made Lahore his capital, and, with the aid of the ters Lahore, Kuneia (or Ghunnee) confederacy, he easily reduced the whole of the Bunghees to submission, although deduces the 7 they were aided by Nizamooddeen Khan of Kussoor. misi and \ In 1801-2 the Puthan had to repent his rashness ; his of"'/^"*^"' i strongholds were difficult of capture, but he found it 1801-2. ' } prudent to become a feudatory, and to send his best men to follow a new master. After this success Run- jeet Singh went to bathe in the holy pool of Turrun Tarun, and, meeting with Futteh Singh Alhoowaleea, ^mes him- he conceived a friendship for him, as has been men- self with tioned, and went through a formal exchange of turbans, gi^g^ symbolical of brotherhood. During 1802 the alliest Aihoowa- took Amritsir from the widow of the last Bunsrheei leader of note, and, of their joint spoil, it fell to the singh ac- share of the master of the other capital of the Sikh 1.™''^ ^™- country. In 1803, Sunsar Chund, of Kototch in pro- J secution of his schemes of aggrandizement, made two attempts to occupy portions of the fertile Dooab of Ja- lundhur, but he was repulsed by Runjeet Singh and his confederate. In 1804 Sunsar Chund again quitted and con- his hills, and captured Hosheearpoor and Bijwara ; but saTchund Runieet Sinsfh's approach once more compelled him to tothehiiis, retreat, and he soon afterwards became involved with ^hote- the Goorkhas, a new people in search of an empire comes in- which should comprise the whole range of Himmala.* the Goor- khas. and Kytbul, and others, and also liness by Lord Lake, Sir John Mai- ^ WCii' i ■ similar papers of assurance, are care- colm, and Sir David Ochterloney. fully preserved by the several fami- * Compare Murray's Runjeet Singh, lies; and the various English docu- p. 51. 55. mentsshow thatBhag Singh, of Jeend, Captain Murray, the political was always regarded with much kind- agent at Ambala,and Captain Wade, K 2 132 HISTORY or THE SIKHS. [Ckap. V. 1803— 1805. ' i ' Shah Zu- man de- posed by Shah Meh- mood, and the Doora- nee empire weakened ; wherefore Kunjeet Singh pro- ceeds to the south-west of the Pun- jab, 1805. Eetums to the north on Holkar's ap- proach, 1805. In little more than a year after Shah Zuman quitted the Punjab, he was deposed and blinde3"by his'brother Mehmood, who was in his turn supplanted by a third brother, Shah Shooja, in the year 1803. These revo- lutions hastened the fall of the exotic empire of Ahmed Shah, and Runjeet Singh was not slow to try his arms against the weakened Dooranee governors of districts and provinces. In 1804-5 he marched to the west- ward ; he received homage and presents from the Ma- hometans of Jhung and Saheewal, and MozuflFer Khan of Mooltan, successfully deprecated an attack by rich offerings. Runjeet Singh had felt his way and was satisfied ; he returned to Lahore, celebrated the festival of the Holee in his capital, and then went to bathe in the Ganges at Hurdwar, or to observe personally the aspect of affairs to the eastward of the Punj&b. To- wards the close of 1805, he made another western in- road, and added weight to the fetters already imposed on the proprietor of Jhung ; but the approachof Holkar and Ameer Khan recalled, first Futteh Singh, and after- wards himself, to the proper city of the whole Sikh people. The danger seemed imminent, for a famed leader of the dominant Mahrattas was desirous of bring- ing down an Afghan host, and the English army, exact in discipline, and representing a power of unknown the political agent at Loodiana, each wrote a narrative of the life of Run- jeet Singh, and that of the former was printed in 1 834, with a few cor- rections and additions, and some notes, hy Mr. Thoby Frinsep, secre- tary to the Indian Government. The author has not seen Captain Wade's report, or narrative, but he believes that it, even in a greater degree than Captain Murray's, was founded on personal recollections and on oral report, rather than on contemporary English documents, which reflected the opinions of the times, and which existed in sufficient abundance after 1803 especially. The two narratives in question were, indeed, mainly pre- pared from accounts drawn up by intelligent Indians, at the requisition of the English functionaries, and of these the chronicles of Boota Shah, a Mahometan, arid Sohun Lai, a Hin- doo, are the best known, and may be had for purchase. The inquiries of Capt. Wade, in especial, were exten- sive, and to both officers the public is indebted for the preservation of a continuous narrative of Runjeet Singh's actions. The latter portion of the present chapter, and also chapters vi. and vii. follow very closely the author's nar- ratives of the British connection with the Sikhs, drawn up for Government, a [literart/^ use which he trusts may be made, without any impropriety, of an unprinted paper of his, own writing. CHiP.V.] ASCENDANCY OP RUNJEET SINGH. 133 views and resources, had reached the neighborhood of 1805. Amritsir.* ' ■ ' A formal council was held by the Sikhs ; but a por- a sikh tion only of their leaders were present. The singleness mutte^or of purpose, the confident belief in the aid of God, which national had animated mechanics and shepherds to resent perse- jig"^? ' cution, and to triumph over Ahmed Shah, no longer possessed the minds of their descendants, born to com- parative power and affluence, and who,- like rude and ignorant men broken loose from all law, gave the rein to their grosser passions. Their ambition was personal and their desire was for worldly enjoyment. The genuine but the spirit of Sikhism had again sought the dwelling of the sy^tem^"^*'* peasant to reproduce itself in another form ; the rude found de- system of mixed independence and confederacy, was un- i^eLs!" suited to an extended dominion ; it had served its ends of immediate agglomeration, and the " Misls" were in effect dissolved. The mass of the people remained satisfied with their village freedom, to which taxation and inquisition were unknown ; but the petty chiefs and their paid followers, to whom their faith was the mere ex- pression of a conventional custom, were anxious for pre- datory licence, and for additions to their temporal power. Some were willing to join the English, others were ready to link their fortunes with the Mahrattas, and all had become jealous of Runjeet Singh, who alone was and a single desirous of excluding the stranger invaders, as the great auufority obstacles to his own ambition of founding a military virtually monarchy which should ensure to the people the con- arpCTson" genial occupation of conquest. In truth, Runjeet Singh of Eunjeet labored, with more or less of intelligent design, to give ®™^^' unity and coherence to diverse atoms and scattered elements ; to mould the increasing Sikh nation into a well-ordered state or commonwealth, as Govind had developed a sect into a people, and had given application and purpose to the general institutions of Nanuk.t * See Elphinstone's CaaJa?, ii. 325. f Malcolm (Sketch, p. 106,107.) and Murray's Ha7i/ee« 5%A, p. 56,57. remarks on the want of unanimity E 3 ISi HISTOEY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. V, 1806. Kunjeet Singh inter- feres in the affairs of the Sikhs of Sirhind, 1806. Takes Loo- diana^ 1806; and receives offerings from Put- teeala. I Sunsar ! Chund and i the Gloor- khas, 1805. Sunsar Chund and his confede- rate of Nalagurh driven to the north of the Sut- lej, 1805; Holkar retired, and Runjeet Singh, as has been men- tioned, entered into a vague but friendly alhance with the British Government. Towards the close of the same year, hejvas invitedjo interfere in a quarrel be- tween the chief of Naba and the raja of Putteeala^ and it would be curious to trace, whether the English authorities had first refused to mediate in the dispute in consequence of the repeated instructions to avoid all ■connection with powers beyond the Jumna. Runjeet I Singh crossed the Sutlej, and took Loodiana from the declining Mahometan family which had sought the Iprotection of the adventurer George Thomas. The place was bestowed upon his uncle, Bhag Singh of Jeend, and as both Jeswunt Singh of Naba, whom he had gone to aid, and Sahib Singh of Putteeala, whom he had gone to coerce, were glad to be rid of his destructive arbitration, he retired with the present of a piece of artillery and some treasure, and went towards the hills of Kanggra, partly that he might pay his superstitious devotions at the natural flames of Jowala Mookhee.* At this time the unscrupulous ambition of Sunsar Chund of Kot5tch had brought him into fatal collision with the Goorkhas. That able chief might have given life to a confederacy against the common enemies of all the old mountain principalities, who were already levy- ing tribute in Gurhwal : but Sunsar Chund, in his desire for supremacy, had reduced the chief of Kuhloor, or Belaspoor, to the desperate expedient of throwing himself on the support of the Nepal commander. Ummer Singh Thapa gladly advanced, and, notwith- standing the gallant resistance offered by the young among the Sikfas at the time of Lord Lake's expedition. Compare Mur- ray's Runjeet Slngh^ p. 57, 58. * See Murray's Runjeet Singh, p. 59, 60. The letter of Sir Charles Metcalfe to Government, of the 17th June, 1809, shows that Runjeet Singh was not strong enough at the time in question, 1806, to interfere. by open force, in the affairs of the Malwa Sikhs, and the letters of Sir David Ochterloney, of 14th Feb., and 7th March, 1809, and 30th July, 1811, show that the English engage- ments of 1805, with the Putteeala and other chiefs, were virtually at an end, so far as regarded the reciprocal benefits of alliance. Chap, v.] ASCENDANCY OF RUNJEET SINGH. 135 chief of Nalagurh, Sunsar Chund's coadjutor in his own i807. aggressions, the Goorkha authority was introduced be- ' ' ' tween the Sutlej and Jumna before the end of 1805, during which year Ummer Singh crossed the former river and laid siege to Kanggra. At the period of and the \ Runjeet Singh's visit to Jowala Mookhee, Sunsar f^"^^^'^ Chund was wiUing to obtain his aid ; but, as the fort was Kanggia. ' strong and the sacrifices required considerable, he was induced to trust to his own resources, and no arrange- ment was then come to for the expulsion of the new enemy.* In I8O7, Runjeet Singh first directed his attention Runjeet to Kussoor, which was again rebellious, and the rela- peifthrpu- tive independence of which caused him disquietude, thancWef although its able chief, Nizamooddeen, had been dead isotT""'' for some time ; nor was he, perhaps, without a feeling that the reduction of a large colony of Puthans, and the annexation of the mythological rival of Lahore, would add to his own merit and importance. The place was invested by Runjeet Singh, and by Jodh Singh Ramgur- heea, the son of his father's old ally, Jussa the Carpenter. Want of unity weakened the resistance of the then chief, Kootubooddeen, and at the end of a month he surren- dered at discretion, and received a tract of land on the opposite side of the Sutlej for his maintenance. Run- ieet Sing-h afterwards proceeded towards Mooltan, and and par- ^7 1 f'lQllTT Clip succeeded in capturing the walled town ; but the citadel ceeds '' resisted such eflforts as he was able to make, and he against was perhaps glad that the payment of a sum of money enabled him to retire with credit ; he was, nevertheless, * Compare Murray's Runjeet Singh, The Goorkhas crossed the Jumna p. 60., and Moorcroft's Travels, i. to aid the chief of Nahun against his 127, &c. subjects, and they crossed the Sutlej Sunsar Chund attributed his over- to aid one Rajpoot prince against throw by the Goorkhas, to his dismis- another — paths always open to new sal of his old Rajpoot troops and and united races. References in employment of Afghans, at the insti- public records show that the latter gation of the fugitive Rohilla chief, river was crossed in 1805 a. jj- Gholam Mahomed, who had sought an asylum with him. K 4 136 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. V. 1807. KuDJeet J Singh em- i ploys Moli-j kum Chund, 1807. Crosses the Sutlej for the second time ; and returns to seize the territories of the de- ceased Dul- lehwala chief. The Silchs of Sirhind become ap- prehensive of Eunjeet Singh. unwilling to admit his failure, and, in the communica- tions which he then held with the Nuwab of Buhawul- poor, the ready improver of opportunities endeavored to impress that chief with the belief, that a regard for him alone had caused the Afghan governor to be left in possession of his stronghold.* During the same year, 1807, Runjeet Singh took into his employ a Kshutree, named Mohkum Chund, an able man, who fully justified the confidence reposed in him. With this new servant in his train he proceeded to interfere in the dissensions between the Raja of Put- teeala and his intriguing wife, which were as lucrative to the master of Lahore as they had before been to Holkar and Ameer Khan. The Ranee wished to force from the weak husband a large assignment for the support of her infant son, and she tempted Runjeet Singh, by the offer of a necklace of diamonds and a piece of brass ordnance, to espouse her cause. He crossed the Sutlej, and decreed to the boy a maintenance of 50,000 rupees per annum. He then attacked Nu- rayengurh, between Ambala and the hills, and held by a family of Rajpoots, but he only secured it after a re- pulse and a heavy loss. Tara Singh, the old chief of the Dullehwala confederacy, who was with the Lahore force on this occasion, died before Nurayengurh, and Runjeet Singh hastened back to secure his possessions in the Julundhur Dooab. The widow of the aged leader equalled the sister of the Raja of Putteeala in spirit, and she is described to have girded up her garments, and to have fought, sword in hand, on the battered walls of the fort of Rahoon. t In the beginning of 1808, various places in the Upper Punjab were taken from their independent Sikh proprietors, and brought under the direct management • Murray's Runjeet Singh, p. 60, 61., and the manuscript memoirs of the Bubawuipoor family. t Compare Murray's Runjeet Singh, p. 61. 63. The gun obtained by Runjeet Singh from Putteeala, on this occasion, was named Kurree Khan, and was captured by the En- glish, during the campaign of 1 845- 46. Chap, v.] BRITISH POLICY, 1808. 137 of the new kingdom of Lahore, and Mohkum Chund i808,i809. was at the same time employed in effecting a settlement ' ' ' of the territories which had been seized on the left bank of the Sutlej. But Runjeet Singh's systematic aggres- sions had begun to excite fear in the minds of the Sikhs of Sirhind, and a formal deputation, consisting of the chiefs of Jeend and Kythul, and the Deewan, or minister, of Putteeala, proceeded to Delhi, in March 1808, to British pro- ask for British protection. The communications of the alke™ English Government with the chiefs of the Cis- Sutlej isos; states had not been altogether broken off, and the Governor General had at this time assured the Maho- metan Khan of Koonjpoora, near Kurnal *, that he need be under no apprehensions with regard to his heredi- tary possessions, while the petty Sikh chief of Seekree had performed some services which were deemed worthy of a pension.t But the deputies of the collective states could obtain no positive assurances from the British tut^not Hs- authorities at Delhi, although they were led to hope ceTedf ^'^ that, in the hour of need, they would not be deserted. This was scarcely sufficient to save them from loss, and perhaps from ruin ; and, as Runjeet Singh had sent whereupon messengers to calm their apprehensions, and to urge repa^rbj' them to join his camp, they left Delhi for the purpose Eunjeet of making their own terms with the acknowledged ^^"^'"' Raja of Lahore, t The Governor General of 1805, who dissolved, or The under- deprecated, treaties with princes beyond the Jumna, and sig^s of the declared that river to be the limit of British dominion, Rench on had no personal knowledge of the hopes and fears with ^jfy t^e which the invasions of Shah Zuman agitated the minds policy "f of men for the period of three or four years ; and had towards^ the the Sikhs of Sirhind sought protection from Lord sikhs, isos Cornwallis, they would doubtless have received a de- " ' * In a document, dated 18th Jan- ^ See Murray's Runjeet Singh, p. uary, 1 808. 64, 65. t Mr. Clerk of Ambala to the agent at Delhi, 19th May, 18S7. 138 HISTOEY OP THE SIKHS. [Chap. V. 1808,1809. The chiefs of Sirhind taken under protection, and a close alliance sought with Runjeet Singh. Mr. Met- calfe sent as envoy to Lahore, 1808-9. Aversion of Runjeet Singh to a restrictive treaty, and his third expedition across the Sutlq. cisive answer in the negative. But the reply of en- couragement given in the beginning of 1808, was prompted by renewed danger ; and the behef that the French, the Turkish, and the Persian emperors medi- tated the subjugation of India, led another new Governor General to seek alliances, not only beyond the Jumna, but beyond the Indus.* The designs or the desires of 1 Napoleon appeared to render a defensive alliance with the Afghans and with the Sikhs imperative ; Mr. El- phinstone was deputed to the court of Shah Shooja, and, in September 1808, Mr. Metcalfe was sent on a mission to Runjeet Singh for the purpose of bringing! about the desired confederation. The chiefs of Put teeala, Jeend, and Kythul, were also verbally assured' that they had become dependent princes of the Bri tish Government ; for the progress of Runjeet Singh ' seemed to render the interposition of some friendly states, between his military domination and the peaceful sway of the English, a measure of prudence and fore-j sight.t Mr. Metcalfe was received by Runjeet Singh at his newly conquered town of Kussoor, but the chief af- fected to consider himself as the head of the whole Sikh people, and to regard the possession of Lahore as giving him an additional claim to supremacy over Sirhind. He did not, perhaps, see that a French invasion would be ruinous to his interests, he rather feared the colossal power on his borders, and he resented the intention of confining him to the Sutlej. X He suddenly broke off negotiations, and made his third inroad to the south of the Sutlej. He seized Fureedkot and Ambala, levied exactions in Malerh Kotla and Thunehsir, and entered * Mr. Auber (^Rise and Progress of the Sritish Power in. India, ii. 461), notices the tripfe alliance which threatened Hindostan. t Government to Sir David Och- terloney, 14th Nov. 1808. Compare Murray's Runjeet Singh, p. 65, 66. \ Moorcroft ascertained ( Travels, L 94.) that Runjeet Singh had seri- ous thoughts of appealing to the sword, so unpalatable was English interference. The well-known Fu- keer Uzeezooddeen was one of the two persons who dissuaded him from war. Chap, v.] BRITISH POLICY IN 1808. 139 into a symbolical brotherhood or alliance with the Raja 1809. of Putteeala. The British envoy remonstrated against ' ' these virtual acts of hostility, and he remained on the banks of the Sutlej until Runjeet Singh recrossed that river.* The proceedings of the ruler of Lahore determined British the Governor General, if doubtful before, to advance a moved to detachment of troops to the Sutlej, to support Mr. the sutiej, Metcalfe in his negotiations, and to effectually confine Runjeet Singh to the northward of that river, t Pro- vision would also be thus made, it was said, for possible warlike operations of a more extensive character, and the British frontier would be covered by a confederacy of friendly chiefs, instead of threatened by a hostile military government. A body of troops was accord- ingly moved across the Jumna in January 1809, under the command of Sir David Ochterloney. The general advanced, by way of Booreea and Putteeala, towards Loodiana ; he was welcomed by all the Sirhind chiefs, save Jodh Singh Kulseea, the nominal head of the Krora-Singheea confederacy : but during his march he was not without apprehensions that Runjeet Singh might openly break with his government, and, after an interview with certain agents whom that chief had sent to him with the view of opening a double negotia- tion, he made a detour and a halt, in order to be near his supplies should hostilities take place, t Runjeet Singh was somewhat discomposed by the Theviewsof near presence of a British force, but he continued to bMome^^'^''' evade compliance with the propositions of the envoy, somewhat and he complained that Mr. Metcalfe was needlessly """J'*^^*' reserved about his acquisitions on the south banks of the * Murray's Runjeet Singh, p. 66. 1S09. Government by no means f Government to Sir David Och- approved of what Sir David Ochter- terloney, 14th Nov. and 29th Dec, loney had done, and he, feeling ag- 1808. grieved, virtually tendered his resig- X Sir David Ochterloney to Govern- nation of his command. (Sir David ment, 20th Jan., and 4th, 9th, and Ochterloney to Government, 19th 14th Feb., 1809, with Government to Apri!,1809.) Sir David Ochterloney, of 1 3th March, 140 HISTORY OP THE SIKHS. [Chap. V. 1809. Sutlej, with regard to which the Government had only " ■ declared that the restoration of his last conquests, and Singh still the absolute withdrawal of his troops to the northward required to of the river, must form the indispensable basis of further north of the negotiations.* Aflfairs were in this way when intelli- sutiq. gence from Europe induced the Governor General to believe that Napoleon must abandon his designs upon India, or at least so far suspend them as to render de- fensive precautions unnecessary.t It was therefore made known, that the object of the English Government had become limited to the security of the country south of the Sutlej from the incroachments of Runjeet Singh ; for that, independent of the possible approach of a European enemy, it was considered advisable on other grounds to aflPord protection to the southern Sikhs. Runjeet Singh must still, nevertheless, withdraw his troops to the right bank of the Sutlej, his last usurpa- tions must also be restored, but the restitution of his first conquests would not be insisted on ; while, to re- move all cause of suspicion, the detachment under Sir David Ochterloney could fall back from Loodiana to Kurnal, and take up its permanent position at the latter place.t But the British commander represented the advantage of keeping the force where it was ; his Government assented to its detention, at least for a time, and Loodiana thus continued uninterruptedly to form a station for British troops.§ Kunjeet Jn the beginning of February 1809, Sir David Och- yieids; terloney had issued a proclamation declaring the Cis- • Sir D. Ochterloney to Govern- trality with respect to encroachments ment, 14th Feb. 1809, and Govern- elsewhere. ment to Sir D. Ochterloney, ."JOth f Government to Sir David Och- July, 1809. Lieut. -Colonel Law- terloney, 30th Jan. 1809. rence {Adventures in the Punjab, p. | Government to Sir David Och- 131. note (g.)) makes Sir Charles terloney, SOth Jan., 6th Feb., and Metcalfe sufficiently communicative 13th March, 1809. on this occasion with regard to other § Sir David Ochterloney to Go- territories, for he is declared to have vernment, 6th May, 1809, and Go- told the Muharaja that, by a compli- vernment to Sir David Ochterloney, ance with the then demands of the 1 3th June, 1 809. English, he would ensure their neu- CttiP. v.] THE TREATY OF 1809. 141 Sutlej states to be under British protection, and that any aggressions of the Chief of Lahore would be re- sisted with arms.* Runjeet Singh then perceived that the British authorities were in earnest, and the fear struck him that the still independent leaders of the Punjab might likewise tender their allegiance and have it accepted. All chance of empire would thus be lost, and he prudently made up his mind without further delay. He withdrew his troops as required, he re- linquished his last acqidsitions, and at Amritsir, on the 25th April 1809, the now single Chief of Lahore signed a treaty which left him the master of the tracts he had originally occupied to the south of the Sutlej, but confined his ambition for the future to the north and westward of that river.t The Sikh, and the few included Hindoo and Ma- hometan chiefs, between the Sutlej and Jumna, having been taken under British protection, it became necessary to define the terms on which they were secured from foreign danger. Sir David Ochterloney observed t, that when the chiefs first sought protection, their jealousy of the English would have yielded to their fears of Run- jeet Singh, and they would have agreed to any con- ditions proposed, including a regular tribute. But their first overtures had been rejected, and the mission to Lahore had taught them to regard their defence as a secondary object, and to think that English apprehen- sions of remote foreigners had saved them from the arbiter of the Punjab., Protection, indeed, had become no longer a matter of choice ; they must have accepted it, or they would have been treated as enemies.§ Where- 1809. • See Appendix, No. XXIV. t See the treaty itself, Appendix, No. XXV. Compare Murray's Run- jeet Singh, p. 67, 68. X Sir David Ochterloney to Go- vernment, 17th March, 1809. § See also Government to Resident at Delhi, 26th Dec. 1808. Baron Hugel ( TVauefe, p. 279.) likewise at- tributes the interference of the En- glish, in part at least, to selfishness, but with him the motive was the petty desire of benefiting by escheats, which the dissipated character of the chiefs was likely to render speedy and numerous I This appetite for morsels of territory, however, really arose at a subsequent date, and did not move the English in 1809. and enters Into a for- mal treaty, 25th April, 1809. The terms of Sikh dependence and of En- glish supre- macy in Slrhind. Sir David Ochterloney shows that the English regarded themselves alone in offering pro- tection. 142 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. V. 1809— 1818. The rela- tions of the protected chie& among themselves. fore, continued Sir David, the chiefs expected that the protection would be gratuitous. The Government, on its part, was inclined to be liberal to its new dependents, and finally a proclamation was issued on the 3d May, 1809, guaranteeing the chiefs of " Sirhind andMalwa" against the power of Runjeet Singh, leaving them absolute in their own territories, exempting them from tribute, but requiring assistance in time of war, and making some minor provisions which need not be recapitulated.* No sooner were the chiefs relieved of their fears of Runjeet Singh, than the more turbulent began to prey upon one another, or upon their weaker neighbors ; and, although the Governor General had not wished them to consider themselves as in absolute subjection to the British power t, Mr. Metcalfe pointed outt that it was necessary to declare the chiefs to be protected singly against one another, as well as collectively against Runjeet Singh; for, if such a degree of security were not guaranteed, the oppressed would necessarily have recourse to the only other person who could use coercion with eflfect, viz. to the Raja of Lahore. The justness of these views was admitted, and, on the 22d August, 1811, a second proclamation was issued, warn- ing the chiefs against attempts at usurpation, and reassuring them of independence and of protection- against Runjeet Singh. § Nevertheless, encroachments did not at once cease, and the Jodh Singh Kulseea, who avoided giving in his adhesion to the British Go- vernment on the advance of Sir David Ochterloney, required to have troops sent against him in 1818, to compel the surrender of tracts which he had forcibly seized. 1 1 * Appendix, No. XXVI. t Government to Sir David Och- terloney, 10th April, 1809. ^ Mr./ Metcalfe to Government, 17th June, 1809. II Resident at Delhi to Agent at Ambala, 27th; Oct. 1818, mulcting the chief in the military eipenses in- curred, 65,000 rupees. The head of the family, Jodh Singh, had recently § See the proclamation, Appendix, returned with Runjeet Singh's army No. XXVII. from the capture of Mooltan, and he Chap, v.] THE PROTECTED SIKHS. 143 The .history of the southern or Malwa Sikhs need 1809— not be continued, although it presents many points of . "^^'"" . interest to the general reader, as well as to the student and to those concerned in the administration of India. The British functionaries soon became involved in intri- Perplexities cate questions about interference between equal chiefs, of British and between chiefs and their confederates or dependents ; regarding' they labored to reconcile the Hindoo laws of inheri- fte rights tance xwith the varied customs of different races, and macy^'aiid with the alleged family usages of peasants suddenly be- ^}^ opera- come princes. They had to decide on questions of es- t'emationai cheat, and being strongly impressed with the superiority laws. of British municipal rule, and with the undoubted claim of the paramount to some benefit in return for the protec- tion it aflForded, they strove to prove that collateral heirs had a limited right only, and that exemption from tribute necessarily implied an enlarged liabihty to confiscation. They had to define the common boundary of the Sikh states and of British rule, and they were prone to show, after the manner of Runjeet Singh, that the present possession of a principal town gave a right to all the villages which had ever been attached to it as the seat of a local authority, and that all waste lands belonged to the supreme power, although the dependent might have last possessed them in sovereignty and interme- diately brought them under the plough. They had to exercise a paramount municipal control, and in the sur- render of criminals, and in the demand for compensa- tion for property stolen from British subjects, the origi- nal arbitrary nature of the decisions enforced, has not yet been entirely replaced by rules of reciprocity. But the government of a large empire will always be open to obloquy, and liable to misconception, from the acts of was always treated with consideration claimed to be the head of the " Krora by the Muharaja ; and, bearing in Singheea " Misl, and to be the mind the different views taken by heir of all childless feudatories. The dependent Sikhs and governing En- British Government, however, made glish, of rights of succession, he had itself the valid or efficient head of the fair grounds of dissatisfaction. He confederacy. 144 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. V. 1809— 1818. Sir David Ocliterlo- ney's frank admission of tile false basis of his original policy. officious and ill-judging servants, who think that they best serve the complicated interests of their own rulers by lessening the material power of others, and that any advantage they may seem to have gained for the state they obey, will surely promote their own objects. Nor, in such matters, are servants alone to blame ; and the whole system of internal government in India requires to be remodelled, and made the subject of a legislation at once wise, considerate, and comprehensive. In the Sikh states ignorance has been the main cause of mis- takes and heart burnings, and in 1818 Sir David Och- terloney frankly owned to the Marquis of Hastings *, that his proclamation of 1809 had been based on an erroneous idea. He thought that a few great chiefs only existed between the Sutlej and Jumna, and that on them would devolve the maintenance of order ; whereas he found that the dissolution of the " Misls," faulty as was their formation, had almost thrown the Sikhs back upon the individual independence of the times of Ahmed Shah. Both in considering the rela- tion of the chiefs to one another, and their relation col- lectively to the British Government, too little regard was perhaps had to the peculiar circumstances of the Sikh people. They were in a state of progression among races as barbarous as themselves, when sud- denly the colossal power of England arrested them, and required the exercise of political moderation and the practice of a just morality from men ignorant alike of despotic control and of regulated freedom. f * In a private communication^ dated 17th May, 1818. •f In the Silth states on either side of the Sutlej, the British Government was long fortunate in being repre- sented by such men as Capt. Murray and Mr. Clerk, Sir David Ochter- loney and Lieut. -Colonel Wade — so diiFerent from one another, and yet so useful to one common purpose of good for the English power. These men, by their personal character or influence, added to the general repu- tation of their countrymen, and they gave adaptation and flexibility to the rigid unsympathising nature of a foreign and civilized supremacy. Sir David Ochterloney will long live in the memory of the people of North- ern India as one of the greatest of the conquering English chiefs ; and he was among the very last of the British leaders who endeared himself, both to the armv which followed him and to Chap, v.] ALLIANCE WITH THE ENGLISH. 145 the princes who bowed before the colossal power of his race. Nevertheless, the best of subordi- nate authorities, immersed in details and occupied with local affairs, are liable to be biassed by views which promise immediate and special ad- vantage. They can seldom be more than upright or dexterous adminis- trators, and they can still more rarely be men whose minds have been en- larged by study -and reBection as well as by actual experience of the world. Thus the ablest but too often resem- ble merely the practical man of the moment ; while the supreme au- thority, especially when absent from his councillors and intent upon some great undertaking, is of necessity de- pendent mainly upon the local repre- sentatives of the Government, whose notions must inevitably be partial or one-sided, for good, indeed, as well as for evil. The author has thus, even during his short service, seen many reasons to be thankful that there is a remote deliberative or corrective body, which can survey things through an atmosphere cleared of mists, and which can judge of mea- sures with reference both to the uni- versal principles of justice and states- manship, and to their particular bearing on the English supremacy in India, which should be characterized by certainty and consistency of ope- ration, and tempered by a spirit of forbearance and adaptation. 1809- 1818. 11.6 HISTORY or THE SIKHS. [Chap. VI. CHAPTER VI. 1809. The En- glish suspi- cious of Runjeet Singh, not- withstand- ing their joint treaty; TEOM THE SUPREMACY OF RUNJEET SINGH TO THE RE- DUCTION OF MOOLTAN, CASHMEER, AND PESHAWUR. 1809 — 1823-24. Mutual distrust of Runjeet Singh and the English gra- dually removed. — Runjeet Singh and the Goorkhas. — Runjeet Singh and the Ex-kings of Caubul. — Runjeet Singh and Futteh Khan, the Caubul Vuzeer. — Runjeet Singh and Shah Shooja each fail against Cashmeer. — Futteh Khan put to death. — Runjeet Singh captures Mooltan, overruns Peshawur, occupies Cashmeer, and annexes the " Derajdt" of the Indus to his dominions. — The Afghans defeated, and Peshawur brought regularly under tribute. — Death of Mahomed Azeem Khan of Caubul, and of Sunsdr Chund of Kototch. — Runjeet SingKs power consolidated. — Shah Shooja's expedition of 1818-21. — Appa Sahib of Nagpoor The tra- veller Moorcroft, — Runjeet Singh's Government. — The Sikh Army. — The Sikhs and other military tribes. — French officers, — Runjeet Singh's family. — Runjeet Singh's failings and Sikh vices. — Runjeet Singh's per- sonal favorites and trusted servants. A TREATY of peace and friendship was thus formed between Runjeet Singh and the English Government ; but confidence is a plant of slow growth, and doubt and suspicion are not always removed by formal protesta- tions. While arrangements were pending with the Muharaja, the British authorities were assured that he had made propositions to Sindhia * ; agents from Gwa- lior, from Holkar, and from Ameer Khan t, continued to • Resident at Delhi to Sir David ment, 15th Oct., 1809 ; 5th, 6th, ind Ochterloney, 28th June, 1809. 7th Dec. 1809; and 5th and 30th t Sir D. Ochterloney to Govern- Jan., and 22nd Aug, 1810. Chap. VI.] DISTBUST OF EUNJEET SINGH. 147 show themselves for years at Lahore, and their masters 1809— long dwelt on the hope that the tribes of the Punjab . ^^|^' . and of the Deccan, might yet be united against the stranger conquerors. It was further believed by the English rulers, that Runjeet Singh was anxiously try- ing to induce the Sikhs of Sirhind to throw off their allegiance, and to join him and Holkar against their protectors.* Other special instances might also be quoted, and Sir David Ochterloney even thought it prudent to lay in supplies, and to throw up defensive lines at Loodiana.t Runjeet Singh had likewise Ms andRanjeet suspicions, but they were necessarily expressed in ambi- equaUy guous terms, and were rather to be deduced from his doubtful on acts and correspondence, and from a consideration of "^p^""'- his position, than to be looked for in oyert statements or remonstrances. By degrees the apprehensions of but distrust the two governments mutually vanished, and, while f^^^^*^"/ Runjeet Singh felt he could freely exercise his ambi- either side. tion beyond the Sutlej, the English were persuaded he would not embroil himself with its restless allies in the south, so long as he had occupation elsewhere. In 1811 presents were exchanged between the Governor Gene- ral and the Muharajat, and during the following year Sir David Ochterloney became his guest at the marriage of his son, Khurruk Singh §, and from that period until within a year of the late war, the rumors of a Sikh invasion served to amuse the idle and to alarm the cre- dulous, without causing uneasiness to the British vice- roy. On the departure of Mr. Metcalfe, the first care of Runjeet Runjeet Singh was to strengthen both his frontier post ^™^^ ^' of Filor opposite Loodiana, and Govindgurh the citadel Kanggra, * Sir D. Ochterloney to Govern- of Delhi to Sir D. Ochterloney, ment, 5th Jan. 1810. 25th Feb. 1811, and Sir D. Ochter- t Sir D. Ochterloney to Govern- loney to Government, 15th Nov. ment, 31st Dec. 1809, and 7th Sept. 1811. 1810. § Sir D. Ochterloney to Govern- \ A carriage was at this time sent ment, 18th July, 1811, and 23d to Lahore. See, further. Resident January, 1812. L 2 148 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. VI. 1809. of Amritsir, which he had begun to build as soon as he and confines S^^ possession of the religious capita] of his people.* theGoor- He was invited, almost at the same time, by Sunsar leftofthe^ Chund of Kototch, to aid in resisting the Goorkhas, sutiqj, who were still pressing their long continued siege of Kanggra, and who had ejBfectually dispelled the Rajpoot prince's dreams of a supremacy reaching from the Jumna to the Jehlum. The stronghold was offered to the Sikh ruler as the price of his assistance, but Sunsar Chund hoped, in the meantime, to gain ad- mittance himself, by showing to the Goorkhas the futility of resisting Runjeet Singh, and by promising to surrender the fort to the Nepal commander, if allowed to withdraw his family. The Muharaja saw through the schemes of Sunsar Chund, and he made the son of his ally a prisoner, while he dexterously cajoled the Kath- mandoo general, Ummer Singh Thapa, who proposed a joint warfare against the Rajpoot mountaineers, and to take, or receive, in the meantime, the fort of Kanggra as part of the Goorkha share of the general spoil. The Sikhs got possession of the place by suddenly demanding admittance as the expected relief. Sunsar Chund was foiled, and Ummer Singh retreated across the Sutlej, loudly exclairhing that he had been grossly duped, t khi urT '^^ active Nepalese commander soon put down some the English disorders which had arisen in his rear, but the disgrace *oinfcon^ of his failure before Kanggra rankled in his mind, and quest of the he made preparations for another expedition against it. jgp^^''' He proposed to Sir David Ochterloney a joint march to the Indus, and a separate appropriation of the plains and the hills t ; and Runjeet Singh, ignorant alike of English moderation and of international law, became * Compare Murray's Runjeet Singh, of the Punjab altogether. (Capt, p. 75. Wade to Government, 25 th May, ■f Murray's Runjeet Singh, p. 76, 1831.) 77. The Muharaja told Captain J Sir D. Ochterloney to Govern- Wade that the Goorkhas wanted to ment, 16th and 30th December, share Cashmeer with him, but that 1809. he thought it best to keep them out Chat. VI.] RUNJEET SINGH AND THE GOOEKHAS. 149 apprehensive lest the allies of Nepal should be glad of a pretext for coercing one who had so unwillingly ac- ceded to their limitation of his ambition. He made known that he was desirous of meeting Ummer Singh Thapa on his own ground ; and the reply of the Governor General that he might not only himself cross the Sutlej to chastise the invading Goorkhas in the hills, but that, if they descended into the plains of Sirhind, he would receive English assistance, gave him another proof that the river of the treaty was really to be an impassable barrier. He had got the assurance he wanted, and he talked no more of carrying his horsemen into mountain recesses.* But Ummer Singh long brooded over his reverse, and tried in various ways to induce the British authorities to join him in assailing the Punjab. The treaty with Nepal, he would say, made all strangers the mutual friends or enemies of the two governments, and Runjeet Singh had wantonly attacked the Goorkha possessions in Kotdtch. Besides, he would argue, to advance is the safest policy, and what could have brought the English to the Sutlej but the intention of going beyond it ? t The Nepal war of 1814 followed, and the English became the neighbors of the Sikhs in the hills as well as in the plains, and the Goorkhas, in- stead of grasping Cashmeer, trembled for their homes in Kathmandoo. Runjeet Singh was not then asked to give his assistance, but Sunsar Chund was directly called upon by the English representative to attack the Goorkhas and their allies, — a hasty requisition, which produced a remonstrance from the Muharaja, and an admission, on the part of Sir David Ochterloney, that his supremacy was not questioned ; while the expe- rienced Hindoo chief had forborne to commit himself with either state, by promising much and doing little, t * Sir D. Ochterloney to Govern- ment, 12th September, J811, and Government to Sir D. Ochterloney, 4th October, and 22d November, 1811. 18U— 1815. But Eunjeet Singh told he may cross the Sutlej to resist the Nepal leader, 1811. Ummer Singh Thapa again presses an alliance against the Sikhs,1813. War be- tween the English and Goorkhas, 1814-15. Sunsar Chund of Kototch, Runjeet Singh and the English. f Sir D. Ochterloney to Govern- ment, 20th December, 1813. X Government to Sir David Och- terloney, Island 20th October, 1814. Resident at Delhi to Sir D. Och- i. 3 150 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. VI. 1809, 1810. Shah Shooja expelled from Af- ghanistan, 1809-10. Eunjeet Singh's sus- picions and plans. The Muha- rsua meets the Shah, but no ar- rangement come to, 1810. Runjeet Singh felt secure on the Upper Sutlej, but a new danger assailed him in the beginning of 1810, and again set him to work to dive to the bottom of British counsels. Mr. Elphinstone had scarcely con- cluded a treaty with Shah Shooja against the Persians and French, before that prince was driven out of his kingdom by the brother whom be had himself sup- planted, and who had placed his affairs in the hands of the able minister, Futteh Khan. The Muharaja was at Vuzeerabad, sequestering that place from the family of a deceased Sikh chief, when he heard of Shah Shooja's progress to the eastward with vague hopes of procuring assistance from one friendly power or another. Runjeet Singh remembered the use he had himself made of Shah Zuman's grant of Lahore, he feared the whole Punjab might similarly be surrendered to the English in return for a few battalions, and he desired to keep a representative of imperial power within his own grasp.* He amused the ex-king with the offer of co-operation in the recovery of Mooltan and Cashmeer, and he said he would himself proceed to meet the Shah to save him further journeying towards Hindostan.t They saw one another at Saheewal, but no determinate arrangement was come to, for some prospects of success dawned upon the Shah, and he felt reason to distrust Runjeet terloney, 11th October, 1814, and Sir David's letter to Runjeet Singh, dated 29th November, 1814. Ouring the war of 1814 Sir David Ochterloney sometimes almost de- spaired of success; and, amid his vexatious, he once at least recorded his opinion that the Sepoys of the Indian army were unequal to such mountain warfare as was being waged. (Sir D. Ochterloney to Go- vernment, 22d December, 1814.) The most active and useful ally of the English during the war, was Raja Ramsurrun of Hindoor (or Nala- gurh), the descendant of the Hurree Chund slain by Gooroo Govind, and who was himself the ready coadjutor of Sunsar Chund in many aggressions upon others, as well as in resistance to the Goorkhas. The venerable chief was still alive in 1846, and he continued to talk with admiration of Sir David Ochterloney and his "eighteen pounders," and to expa- tiate upon the aid he himself rendered in dragging them up the steeps of the Himalayas. * Sir D. Ochterloney to Govern- ment, J 0th and 30th December, 1809. ■f Sir D. Ochterloney to Govern- ment, 7th, 10th, 17tb, and 30th Dec, 1809, and 30th Jan. 1810. Chap. VI.] ATTEMPT ON MOOLTAN. 151 Singh's sincerity.* The conferences were broken off; isio— but the Muharaja hastened, while there was yet an ap- ^^^^' pearance of union, to demand the surrender of Mooltan Kunjeet for himself in the name of the king". The great gun f'°siiat- / o o o tempts called " Zem Zem," or the " Bunghee Tope," was Mooitan, (brought from Lahore to batter the walls of the citadel ; jgb'^^Aiii but all his efforts were in vain, and he retired, foiled, in isio ; the month of April, with no more than 180,000 rupees to sooth his mortified vanity. The governor, MozutFer Khan, was by this time in correspondence with the British viceroy in Calcutta, and Runjeet Singh feared that a tender of allegiance might not only be made but accepted, t He therefore proposed to Sir David Och- and pio- terloney that the two "allied powers" should march En^iis^a*^ against Mooltan and divide the conquest equally, t It joint expe- was surmised that he wanted the siege train of the fgaTiist it. English, but he may likewise have wished to know whether the Sutlej was to be as good a boundary in the south as in the north. He was told reprovingly that the English committed aggressions upon no one, but otherwise the tenor of the correspondence was such as to lead him to believe that he would not be interfered with in his designs upon Mooltan. § Shah Shooja proceeded towards Attok after his inter- shah view with Runjeet Singh, and having procured some pes°ha^ur aid from the rebellious brother of the governor of Cash- and mooi- meer, he crossed the Indus, and, in March 1810, made ^^^^^ himself master of Peshawur. He retained possession subsequent of the place for about six months, when he was com- ™en"^™' pelled to retreat southward by the Vuzeer's brother, cashmeer, '^ ■' 1810-12. * Shah Shooja's AvtoKography, Murray's authority. ( Life of Runjeet chap, xxii., published in the Cal- Singh, p. 81.) cutta Monthly Journal for 1839. J Sir D. Ochterloney to Govern- The original was undoubtedly re- ment, 23rd July, and 13th Aug. vised, if not really written, by the 1810. Shah. § Sir D. Ochterloney to Govern- f Sir D. Ochterloney to Govern- ment, 29th March and 17th Sept., ment, 29th March, and 23d May, 1810, and Government to Sir D. 1810. In the latter it is stated that Ochterloney, 25th Sept., 1840. Com- 250,000 rupees were paid, and the pare Murray's Runjeet Singh, p. 80, sum of 180,000 is given on Capf. 81. I. 4 152 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. VI. 1811,1812. Mahomed Azeem Khan. He made an attempt to gain " " ' over the governor of Mooltan, but he was refused ad- mittance within its walls, and was barely treated with courtesy, even when he encamped a few miles distant. He again moved northward, and, as the enemies of Mehmood were numerous, he succeeded in mastering Peshawur a second time, after two actions, one a re- verse and the other victory. But those who had aided him became suspicious that he was in secret league with Futteh Khan the Vuzeer, or, like Runjeet Singh, they wished to possess his person ; and, in the course of 1812, he was seized in Peshawur by Jehan Dad Khan, governor of Attok, and removed, first, to that fort, and afterwards to Cashmeer, where he remained as a pri- soner for more than twelve months.* After the failure before Mooltan, Runjeet Singh and his minister, Mohkum Chund, were employed in bring- ing more fully under subjection various Sikh and Ma- hometan chiefs in the plains, and also the hill rajas of Bhimbur, Rajaoree, and other places. In the month of February, 1811, the Muharaja had reached the salt mines between the Jehlum and Indus, and hearing that Shah Mehmood had crossed the latter river, he moved in force to Kawil Pindee, and sent to ascertain his in- tentions. The Shah had already deputed agents to state that his object was to punish or overawe the governor of Cashmeer, who had sided with his brother. Shah Shooja, then in the neighbourhood of Mooltan ; Eunjeet and the two princes being satisfied, they had a meeting simh^Meh'* of Ceremony before the Muharaja returned to Lahore, to jnood,i8ii. renew his confiscation of lands held by the many petty chiefs who had achieved independence or sovereignty * Sir D. Ochterloney to Govern- ment, 10th Jan. and 26th Feb. 1810, and 27th April, 1812. Shah Shooja's Autobiography f chap, xxiii — xxv. in the Calcutta Monthly Journal for 1839, and Murray's Bunjeei Singh, p. 79. 87. 92. Shah Shooja's second appearance before Mooltan in 1810-11, is given mainly on Captain Murray's authority, and the attempt is not mentioned in the Shah's memoirs, although it is admitted that he went into the Derajat of the Indus, i. e. to Dera Ismaeel Khan, &c. Chap. VI.] THE EX-KINGS OF CAUBUL. 153 while the country was without a general controlling I8ii,i8i2. power, but who now fell unresistingly before the sys- ■ tematic activity of the young Muharaja.* In the year 1811, the blind Shah Zuman crossed the The blind Punjab, and was visited by Runjeet Singh. He took ^^^^ ^"■. up his residence in Lahore for a time, and deputed his for a time to son Eunus to Loodiana, where he was received with ^fJ""^' attention by Sir David Ochterloney ; but as the prince perceived that he was not a welcome guest, his father quitted Runjeet Singh's city, and became a wanderer for a time in Central Asia.t In the following year the The family families of the two ex-kings took up their abode at shooja re- Lahore, and as the Muharaja was preparing to bring pairs to the hill chiefs south of Cashmeer under his power, 1812^' with a view to the reduction of the valley itself, and as he always endeavored to make success more complete or more easy by appearing to labor in the cause of others, he professed to the wife of Shah Shooja that he would release her husband and replace Cashmeer under the Shah's sway ; but he hoped the gratitude of the Eimjeet distressed lady would make the great diamond, Koh-i- the^shS^s noor, the reward of his chivalrous labors when they "^me for should be crowned with success. His principal object hS^own. was doubtless the possession of the Shah's person, and 1 when, after his preliminary successes against the hill chiefs, including the capture of Jummoo by his newly miarried son, Khurruk Singh, he heard, towards the end of ISiS, that Futteh Khan the Caubul Vuzeer * Murray's Runjeet Singh, p. 83, of 1809. It was regretted that the &c. The principal of the chiefs " obligations of political necessity whose territories were usurped, was should supersede the dictates of com- Boodh Singh, of the Singhpooreea passion ; " it was argued that the or Feizoolapoorea Misl. See also treaty referred to defence against the Sir D. Ochterloney to Government, French, and not against a brother ; 15th Oct., 1811. and the loyal-hearted Sir David Och- f Murray's Runjeet Singh, p. 87. terloney was chidden for the reception The visit of the prince was considered he gave to the distressed Shahzada. very embarrassing with reference to ( Government to Sir D. 'Ochterloney, Runjeet Singh; for Shah Shooja 19th Jan., 1811, and the correspond- raight follow, and he was one who ence generally of Dec. 1810, and claimed British aid under the treaty Jan. 1811.) r-v'U'C -^ .:. . -, /-^ -■<----- I..-' 154 HISTOKY OP THE SIKHS. [Chap, VI. 1812,1813. Kunjeet Singh meets Futteh Khan, the Caubul Yuzeer, 1812 ; and a joint enterprize against • Cashmeer resolved on. Futteh Khan out- strips the Sikhs, and holds the valley for Mehmood, 1813. Shah Shoo- ja joins Runjeet Singh, who acquires Attolt ; while Moh- kum Chund defeats the Caubul Vu-, zeer in a pitched battle. had crossed the Indus with the design of marching against Cashmeer, he sought an interview with him, and said he would assist in bringing to punishment both the rebel, who detained the king's brother, and hkewise the governor of Mooltau, who had refused obedience to Mehmood. Futteh Khan had been equally- desirous of an interview, for he felt that he could not take Cashmeer if opposed by Runjeet Singh, and he readily promised anything to facilitate his immediate object. The Muharaja and the Vuzeer each hoped to use the other as a tool, yet the success of neither was complete. Cashmeer was occupied in February 1813 ; but Futteh Khan outstripped the Sikhs under Mohkum Chund, and he maintained that as he alone had achieved the conquest, the Muharaja could not share in the spoils. The only advantage which accrued to Runjeet Singh was the possession of Shah Shooja's person, for the ill- fated king was allowed by Futteh Khan to go whither he pleased, and he preferred joining the Sikh army, which he accompanied to Lahore, to becoming virtually a prisoner in Caubul.* But the Muharaja's expedients did not entirely fail him, and as the rebel governor of Attok was alarmed by the success of Shah Mebmood's party in Cashmeer, he was easily persuaded to yield the fort to Runjeet Singh. This unlooked-for stroke in- censed Futteh Khan, who accused the Muharaja of bare- faced treachery, and endeavored further to intimidate him by pretending to make overtures to Shah Shooja ; but the Muharaja felt confident of his strength, and a battle was fought on the 13th July, 1813, near Attok, in which the Caubul Vuzeer, and his brother Dost Ma- homed Khan, were defeated by Mohkum Chund and the Sikhs.t * Murray's Runjeet SiTigh, p. 92. f Murray's Runjeet Singh, p. 95. 95.; Sir David Ochterloney to Go- 100.;, Sir D. Ochterloney to Go- vernment, 4th March, 1813; and vernment, 1st July, 1813, Shah Shooja's Autobiography, chap. Chap. VI.] RUNJEET SINGH AND FUTTEH KHAN. 155 ^ Runjeet Singh was equally desirous of detaining I8i3,i8i4. Shah Shooja in Lahore, and of securing the great dia- ' ' mond which had adorned the throne of the Moghuls. Kunjeet The king evaded a compliance with all demands for a fahfs^he' time, and rejected even the actual offer of moderate Koh-i-noor sums of money ; but at last the Muharaja visited the igj™"" 4 . Shah in person, mutual friendship was declared, an ex- change of turbans took place, the diamond was sur- rendered, and the king received the assignment of a jagheer in the Punjab for his maintenance, and a pro- and pro- mise of aid in recovering Caubul. Runjeet Singh then ™|hah moved towards the Indus to watch the proceedings of shooja. Futteh Khan, who was gradually consolidating the Makes a power of Mehmood, and he required Shah Shooja to towardTIhe join him, perhaps with some design of making an at- Indus, tempt on Cashmeer ; but Futteh Khan was likewise watchful, the season was advanced, and the Muharaja suddenly returned. Shah Shooja followed slowly, and shah shoo- on the way he was plundered of many valuables, by or- dinary robbers, as the Sikhs said, but by the Sikhs themselves, as the Shah believed. The inferior agents of Runjeet Singh may not have been very scrupulous, but the Shah had traitors in his own household, and the high officer who had been sent to conduct Mr. El- phinstone to Peshawur, embezzled much of the Shah's property when misfortune overtook him. This Meer Abool Hussun had originally informed the Sikh chief of the safety of the Koh-i-noor and other valuables, he plotted when in Lahore, to make it appear the king was in league with the governor of Cashmeer, and he finally threw difficulties in the way of the escape of his master's family from the Sikh capital. The flight of The flight of * Murray's Runjeet Singh, p. 96., get possession of the diamond, is &c. ; Shah Shooja*s Autobiography, more favorable than Capt. Murray's chap. XXV. ; Sir D. Ochtfirloney to to Runjeet Singh. The Shah wanted Government, 16th and 23rd April, a jagheer of 100,000 rupees, and one 1813, and to the Resident at Delhi, of 50,000 was assigned to him; but 1 5th Oct., 1813. The Shah's own effect to the assignment was never account of the methods practised to given, nor perhaps expected. ja's dis- tresses. 156 HISTOEY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. VI. 1814— 1816. his family from La- hore to Loodiana, 1814 ; April, 1815; and his own escape to Kishtwar. to Loodi- ana, 1816. I Kunjeet I Singh at- tempts ' Cashraeer and is re- [ pulsed, 1814. the Begums to Loodiana was at last eflFected in Decem- ber 1814 ; for Shah Shooja perceived the design of the Muharaja to detain him a prisoner, and to make use of his name for purposes of his own. A few months after- wards the Shah himself escaped to the hills ; he was joined by some Sikhs discontented with Runjeet Singh, and he was aided by the chief of Kishtwar in an attack upon Cashmeer. He penetrated into the valley, but he 4- had to retreat, and, after residing for some time^onger ^*-* '" cihme^r '* ^^*^ ^^® simple, but zealous, mountain host, he marched l^'^^" and retires through Kooloo, crosscd the Sutlcj, and joined his family at Loodiana in September, 1816.* His presence on the frontier was regarded as embarrassing by the British Government, which desired that he should be urged to retire to Kurnal or Seharunpoor, and Sir David Ochterlpney was further discretionally authorized to tell Runjeet Singh that the ex-king of Caubul was not a welcome guest within the limits of Hindostan. Nevertheless the annual sum of 18,000 rupees, which had been assigned for the support of his family, was raised to 50,000 on his arrival, and personally he was treated with becoming respect and consideration, t )^ Shah Shooja thus slipped from the hands of the Mu- haraja, and no use could be made of his name in further attempts upon Cashmeer ; but Runjeet Singh continued as anxious as ever to obtain possession of the valley, although the governor had, in the mean time, put him- self in communication with the English.t The chiefs south of the Peer Punjal range having been brought under subjection, military operations were commenced towards the middle of the year 1814. Sickness de- tained the experienced Mohkum Chund at the capital. * Murray's Runjeet Singh, p. 102, 103. ; Shah Shooja's Autobiography, chap. XXV., xxvi, f Government to Sir D. Ochter- loney, 2nd and 20th Aug., 1815, and 14th, 21st, and 28th Sept., 1816. The WufTa Begum had before been told that the Shah's family had no claims to British protection or inter- vention. (Government to Resident at Delhi, 19th Dec, 1812, and 1st July, 1813.) \ Government to Sir D. Ochter- loney, 29th Oct. and 23rd Nov., 1813. Chap. VI.] EXPEDITION AGAINST CASHMEEE. 157 but he warned the Muharaja of the difficulties which I8i5,i8i6. would beset him as soon as the rains set in, and he al- ' ' ' most urged the postponement of the expedition. But the necessary arrangements had been completed, and the approach was made in two columns. The more ad- vanced division surmounted the lofty barrier, a detach- ment of the Afghan force was repulsed, and the town of Soopein was attacked ; but the assault failed, and the Sikhs retired to the mountain passes. Mahomed 5 Azeem Khan, the governor, then fell on the main body of Runjeet Singh, which had been long in view on the skirts of the valley, and compelled the Muharaja to re- treat with precipitation. The rainy season had fairly set in, the army became disorganised, a brave chief, Mit'h Singh Behraneea, was slain, and Runjeet Singh reached his capital almost alone about the middle of August. The advanced detachment was spared by Mahomed Azeem Khan, out of regard, he said, for Mohkum Chund, the grandfather of its commander ; and as doubtless the aspiring brother of the Vuzeer Futteh Khan had views of his own amid the struggles then going on for power, he may have thought it pru- dent to improve every opportunity to the advantage of his own reputation.* The eflforts made during the expedition to Cashmeer Various had been great, and the Muharaja took some time to the^^^™ reorganize his means. Towards the middle of 1815, and various he sent detachments of troops to levy exactions around ^arSthe Mooltan, but he himself remained at Adeenanuggur, Indus, re- busy with internal arrangements, and perhaps intent jgis'llie. upon the war then in progress between the British and the Nepalese, and which, for a period of six months, was scarcely worthy of the English name. The end of the same year was employed in again reducing the Mahometan tribes south-east of Cashmeer, who had • Murray's Eunjeet Singh, p. 104. wan Mohkum Chund died soon after 108., and Sir D. Ochterloney to Runjeet Singh's return. Government, 13th Aug., 1814. Dee- ( 158 HISTORY 0¥ THE SIKHS. [Chap. VI. 1816— thrown off their allegiance durinff the retreat of the ^ • ■ Sikhs. In the beginning of 181 6, the refractory hill raja of Noorpoor sought poverty and an asylum in the British dominions, rather than resign his territories and accept a maintenance. The Mahometan chiefship of Jhung was next finally confiscated, and Leia, a depen- V dency of Dera Ismaeel Khan, was laid under contri- bution. Ootch on the Chenab, the seat of femilies of Syeds, was temporarily occupied by Futteh Singh Alhoowaleea, and the possessions of Jodh Singh Ram- gurheea, lately deceased, the son of Jussa the Car- penter the confederate of the Muharaja's father, were seized and annexed to the territories of the Lahore government. Sunsar Chund was honored and alarmed by a visit from his old ally, and the year I8I6 termi- nated with the Muharaja's triumphant return to Amritsir.* Ruiyeet The northern plains and lower hills of the Punjab furfs^Mooi- ^^^ ^^®" fairly reduced to obedience and order, and tan, 1818. Runjeet Singh's territories were bounded on the south / . .^ and west by the real or nominal dependencies of Caubul, but the Muharaja's meditated attacks upon them were ,1 postponed for a year by impaired health. His first object was Mooltan, and early in 1818, an army marched to attack it, under the nominal command of his ■ '. son, Khurruk Singh, the titular reducer of Jummoo. To ask what were the Muharaja's reasons for attacking Mooltan, would be futile ; he thought the Sikhs had as good a right as the Afghans to take what they could, and the actual possessor of Mooltan had rather asserted his own independence than faithfully served the heirs of Ahmed Shah. A large sum of money was demanded and refused. In the course of February, the city was in possession of the Sikhs, but the fort held out until the beginning of June, and chance had then some share in its capture. An Akalee, named Sadhoo Singh, went forth to do battle for the " Khalsa," and the very • Compare Murray's Runjeet Singh, p. 108. 111. Chap. VI.] FUTTEH KHAN PUT TO DEATH. 159 suddenness of the onset of his sniall band led to success. isia The Sikhs, seeing the impression thus strangely made, ■ . ' arose together, carried the outwork, and found an easy entry through the breaches of a four months batter. Mozuffer Khan, the governor, and two of his sons, were slain in the assault, and two others were made prisoners. A considerable booty fell to the share of the soldiery, but when the army reached Lahore, the Muharaja directed that the plunder should be restored. He may have felt some pride that his commands were not alto- gether unheeded, but he complained that they were not so productive as he had expected.* During the same year, 1818, Futteh Khan, the Futteh a: u: Caubul Vuzeer, was put to death by Kamran, the son of ^i^^"' ^^^ Mehmood, the nominal ruler. He had gone to H eera t to cauuui, put repel an attack of the Persians, and he was accompanied *" ''*'**• by his brother, Dost MaKorned, who again had among his followers a Sikh chief, Jaee Singh Atareewala, who had left the Punjab in displeasure. Futteh Khan was successful, and applause was freely bestowed upon his measures ; but he wished to place Heerat, then held by Mahomed Azeem E-han de- sirous of securing Pesliawur, 1818-21; from which Kunjeet Singh de- mands and receives tribute, 1822-. attempts were made to reduce the turbulent Mahometan tribes to the south-west of Cashmeer, and, in 1821, ^ Runjeet Singh proceeded to complete his conquests on the Central Indus by the reduction of Dera Ismaeel KJian. The strong fort of Munkehra, situated between the two westernmost rivers of the Punjab, was held 1 out for a time by Hafiz Ahmed Khan, the father of i the titular governor, who scarcely owned a nominal subjection to Caubul ; but the promise of honorable terms induced him to surrender before the end of the year, and the country on the right bank of the Indus, j including Dera Ismaeel Khan, was left to him as a feudatory of Lahore.* Mahomed Azeem had succeeded to the power of his brother, Futteh Khan, and, being desirous of keeping Runjeet Singh to the left bank of the Indus, he moved to Peshawur in the year 1822, accompanied by Jaee Singh, the fugitive Sikh chief, with the intention of attacking Khyrabad opposite Attok. Other matters caused him hastily to retrace his steps, but his pro- ceedings had brought the Muharaja to the westward, who sent to Yar Mahoffied Khan, the g-overnor of Peshawur, and demanded trib\ite. This leader, who apprehended the designs of his brother, Mahomed Azeem Khan, almost as much as he dreaded Runjeet Singh, made an offering of some valuable horses. t The Muharaja was satisfied and withdrew, perhaps the more readily, as some differences had arisen with the British authorities regarding the right to a place named Whud- nee, to the south of the Sutlej, which had been trans- ferred by Runjeet Singh to his intriguing and ambitious mother-in-law, Sudda Kour, in the year 1808. The D. Ochterloney to Government, 23d July, 1815. Compare Murray's Runjeet Singh, p, 124. The Buha- wulpoor Memoirs state that Runjeet Singh came down the Sutlej as far as Pakputtun, with the view of seizing Buhawulpoor, but that a show of re- sistance having been made, and some presents offered, the Muharaja moved westward. * Compare Murray's Runjeet Singh, p. 129, 130., and Sir A. Bumes' Cau- bul, p. 92. j- Compare Murray's Runjeet Singh, p. 134—137. Chap. VI.] MARCH AGAINST PESHAWUU. 163 lady was regarded by the English agents as being the 1822,1823. independent representative of the interests of the Kuneia ' • ' . t . But the (or Ghunee) confederacy of Sikhs on their side of the prosecution river, and therefore as having a right to their pro- f ^'^ p'™' tection. But Runjeet Singh had quarrelled with and with by a imprisoned his mother-in-law, and had taken possession A grimage was preached as a suitable beginning for all undertakings, and Ahmed's journey to Calcutta in 1822 for the purpose of embarkation, was one of triumph, although his proceedings were little noticed until his presence in a large city gave him numerous congrega- tions. He set .sail for Mecca and Medina, and he is commonly believed, but without reason, to have visited; Constantinople. After an absence of four years he re- turned to Delhi, and called upon the faithful to follow hitn in a war against infidels. He acted as if he meant by unbelievers the Sikhs alone, but his precise objects are imperfectly understood. He was careful not to offend the English ; but the mere supremacy of a remote nation over a wide and populous country, gave him ample opportunities for unheeded agitation. In 1826 he left Delhi with perhaps five hundred attendants, and it was arranged that other bands should follow in succession under appointed leaders. He made some stay at Tonk, the residence of his old master. Ameer Khan, and the son of the chief, the present Nuwab, was enrolled among the disciples of the new saint. He obtained considerable assistance, at least in money, from the youthful convert, and he proceeded through the desert to Kheirp o or in^^ndh , where he was well re- ceived by Meer .^H ^stum J^ian , and where he awaited the junction of the '' Gha^se^s," or fighters for the faith, who were followinsr hife:'"!^Ahmed— 41faTpcRed""t6 Can- His pil- grimage. " although the writings of the pious, "which agreed with the Scriptures, " might be read for edi6cation. " The first chapter treats of the unity of God, and in it the writer deprecates the supplication of saints, angels, &c. as impious. He declares the reasons given for such worship to be futile, and to show an utter igno- rance of God's word. " The ancient " idolaters had likewise said that they *^ merely venerated powers and divini- " ties, and did not regard them as the " equal of the Almighty ; but God "himself had answered these heathens. > ^ KU-' -J His journey through Kajpootana and Sindh, to Candahar and Pesha- " Likewise the Christians had been ad- \ " monished for giving to dead monks 1 " and friars the honor due to the Lord. I " God is alone, and companion he has "none ; prostration and adoration are "due to him, and to no other." The writer proceeds in a similar strain, but assumes some doubtful positions, as that Mahomet says God is one, and man learns from his parents that he was born ; he believes his mother, and yet he distrusts the apostle; or that an evil-doer who has faith is a better man than the most, pious idolater. ^ 192 r -^■/-'t'"~A. /cny. HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. VII. 1827— 1829. * 1 ' Rouses the Eusofzaees to a reli- gious war. Syed Ah- med Shah foils against the Sil^hs at Akora, 1827. d^iar, but his projects were mistrusted or misunder- stood ; he received no encouragement from the Barukzaee brothers in possession, and he proceeded northward through the Ghiljaee country, and in the beginning of 1827 he crossed the Caubul river to Punjtar in the Eusofzaee hills, between Peshawur and.the Indus-* The~-E»^ar family is of some consequence among the warlike Eusofzaees, and as the tribe had become apprehensive or "tlie"'Hesigns of Yar Mahomed Khan, whose dependence on Runjeet Singh secured him from danger on the side of Caubul, the Syed and his " Gha- zees" were hailed as deliverers, and the authority or supremacy of Ahmed was generally admitted. He led his ill-equipped host to attack a detachment of Sikhs, which had been moved forward to Akora, a few miles above Attok, under the command of Boodh Singh Sind- hairsvalarof the same family as the Muharaja. The Sikh commander entrenched his position, and repulsed the tumultuous assault of the mountaineers with con- siderable loss, but as he could not follow up his success, the fame and the strength of the Syed continued to in- crease, and Yar Mahomed deemed it prudent to enter into an agreement obliging him to respect the territories of the Eusofzaees. The curbed governor of Peshawur is accus^^-ffl^'fese attempt to remove Ahmed by poi- son, and, in the year 1829j the fact or the report was made use of by the Syed as a reason for appealing to * Compare Murray's Runjeet Singh, p. 145, 146. About Syed Ahmed, the author has learnt much from the " Ghazee's " brother-in-law, and from a respectable Molvee, who likewise followed his fortunes, and both of whom are now in lionorable em- ploy in the chiefship of Tonk. He has likewise learnt many particulars from Moonshee Shahamut Alee, and especially from Peer Ibrahim Khan, a straight-forward and intelligent Puthan of Kussoor, in the British service, who thinks Ahmed right, notwithstanding the holy neighbor- hood of Pakputtun, Mooltan, and Ootch ! Indeed, most educated Ma- hometans admit the reasonableness of his doctrines, and the able Regent- Begum of Bhopal, is not indisposed to emulate the strictness of the Chief of Tonk, as an abhorrer of vain cere- monies. Among humbler people the Syed likewise obtained many admi- rers, and it is said that his exhortations generally were so efficacious, that even the tailors of Delhi were moved to scrupulously return remnants ofcloth to their employers ! ; / Chap. Vn.] SYED AHMED AT PESHAWUE. 193 arms, Yar Mahomed was defeated and mortally i830. wounded, and Peshawur was perhaps saved to his ' . ' brother, Sooltan Mahomed, by the presence of a Sikh y"' ^^^*' force under the Prince Sher Singh and General Ven- homed, who tura, which had been moved to that quarter under pre- rounds tence of securing for the Muharaja a long promised 1829. horse of famous breed named Leilee, the match of one of equal renown named Kuhhar, which Runjeet Singh had already prized himself on obtaining from the Ba- rukzaee brothers.* The Sikh troops withdrew to the Indus, leaving SyedAh- Sooltan Mahomed Khan and his brothers to guard their ™osses the fief or dependency as they could, and it would even Indus, seem that Runjeet Singh hoped the difficulties of their ^ position, and the insecurity of the province, would jus- tify its complete reduction. t But the influence of Syed Ahme d reached to Casljcoeer, and the mountaineers be- tween that valley and the Indus were unwilling subjects of Lahore. Ahmed crossed the river in June, 1830, and planned an attack upon the Sikh force commanded by Hurree Singh Nulwa and General Allard ; but he He is com- was beaten off, and forced to retire to tlie'~West of the ^re,^bu"^ river. In a few months he was strong enough to at- fa^s upon tack Sooltan Mahomed Khan ; the Barukzaee was |ooi4n defeated, and Peshawur was occupied bytBe^yed and Mahomed ^ his " Gjiazees." His elation kept pace with his sue- occupies cess, and, according to tradition, already busy with his Peshawur, career, he proclaimed himself Caliph, and struck a coin in the name of " Ahniedjhejniistjjyhg.iiefende^^ faith, the glij ter of whoseswOT3"^c Stfii£th_3estrj^;tion among infidels." The fall ^f Peshawur caused some * Compare Murray's iJ«7y'ert SzMj/i, the Resident, Delhi, May 17th, p. 146. 149. The followers of Syed 1829.) Ahmed believe that poison was ad- f Capt. Wade to the Resident, ministered, and describe the " Gha- Delhi, 13th Sept., 1830. The Muha- zee," as suifering much from its raja also reserved a cause of quarrel effects. with the Barukzaees, on account of General Ventura at last succeeded their reduction of the Khuttuks, a in obtaining u Leilee, but that the tribe which Runjeet Singh said Fut- real horse, so named, was transferred, teh Khan, the Vuzeer, had agreed to is doubtful, and at one time it was leave independent. ( Capt. Wade to declared to be dead. (Capt. Wade to Government, 9th Dec, 1S31.) 1830. 194 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. VH. 1830, 1831. The Syed's influence decreases. He relin- quislies Peshawur, 1830 ; and retires towards Cashmeer, and is sur- prised and slain, May, 1831. alarm in Lahore, and the force on the Indus was strengthened, and placed under the command of Prince Sher Singh. The petty Mahometan chiefs generally, with whom self-interest overcame faith, were averse to the domination of the Indian adventurer, and the im- prudence of Syed Ahmed gave umbrage to his Eu- so ^jge^^^db erents. He had levied from the peasants a titlie'oi tTieir goods, and this measure caused little or no dissatisfaction, for it agreed with their notion of the rights of a religious teacher ; but his decree that all the young women of marriageable age should be at once wedded, interfered with the profits of Afghanparents, proverbially avaricious, and who usually di^o^d of their daughters to the wealthiest bridegrooms. But when Syed Ahmed was accused, perhaps unjustly, of assigning the maidens one by one to his needy Indian followers, his motives were impugned, and the dis- content was loud. Early in November, 1830, he was constrained to relinquish Peshawur to Sooltan Ma- homed at a fixed tribute, and he proceeded to the left bank of the Indus to give battle to the Sikhs. The Syed depended chiefly on the few " Ghazees" who had followed his fortunes throughout, and on the insurrec- tionary spirit of the Mozuflerabad and other chiefs, for his Eu sofzaee adherents had greatly decreased. The hill " khans^-werc^oon brought under subjection by the efforts of Sher Singh and the governor of Cashmeer ; yet Ahmed continued active, and, in a desultory warfare amid rugged mountains, success for a time attended him ; but, during a cessation of the frequent conflicts, he was surprised early in May, 1831, at a place called Balakot, and fallen upon and slain. The Eusofzaees at once expelled his deputies, the " Ghazees" dispersed in disguise, and the family of the Syed hastened to Hindostan to find an honorable asylum with their friend the Nuwab of Tonk.* J , • Capt. Wade to Resident at Delhi, 21st March, 1831, and other dates in that and the previous year. Compare Murray's Runjeet Singh, p. • ISO. The followers of the Syed strenuously deny his assumption of CHAP.Vrr.] LORD WILLIAM BENTINCK. 195 The fame of Runjeet Singh was now at Jts height, ^^^i. and his friendship was sought by distant sovereigns. Eunjggt In 1829, agents from Belotchistan brought horses to singh the Sikh ruler, and hoped tlm^cEeTrontfer-posts of ""p^. HurrunyaiiiH Dajel, westward of the Indus, which his ties. fei!3a?CSry^f "Buhawulpoor had usurped, would be re- The Be- stored to the Khan.* The Muharaja was likewise in °^^' communication with Shah Mehmood of Heeratt, and mood. in 1830 he was invited, by theBaeeza"Baeeof Gwa- The Baeeza lior, to honor the nuptials of the young Sindhia with q^^;"^ his presence.^ The English were at the same time not The rus- without a suspicion that he had opened a correspondence sians and with Russia §, and they were themselves about to flatter *^®^"siish. him as one necessary to the fulfilment of their expand- ing views of just influence and profitable commerce. ■- In the beginning of 1831, Lord William Bentinck, LordBen- the Governor General of India, arrived at Simlab, and ^"''^' *'^^ Governor a Sikh deputation waited upon his Lordship to convey General, at to him Runjeet Singh's complimentary wishes for his f^^f^' own welfere and the prosperity of his Government. The increasing warmth of the season prevented the despatch of a formal return mission, but Captain Wade, the political agent at Loodiana, was made the bearer of a letter to the Muharaja, thanking him for his attention. The principal duty of the agent was, however, to as- certain whether Runjeet Singh wished, and would pro- pose, to have an interview with Lord William Bentinck, for it was a matter in which it was thought the English the title of Caliph, his new coinage, tura (as the author learnt from that and his bestowal of Eusofzaee maidens officer), when Buhawul Khan was on his Indian followers. deprived of his territories west of the * Capt. Wade to the Resident at Sutlej. Delhi, 3rd May, 1829, and 29th f Capt. Wade to Resident at Delhi, April, 1830. Hurrund was once a 21st Jan., 1829, and 3rd Dec, 1830. place of considerable repute. (See ^ Capt. Wade to Resident at Delhi, Moonshee Mohun Lai's /owrmffii, under 7th April, 1830. The Muharaja de- date 3rd March, 1836.) The Buha- clined. the invitation, saying Sindhia wulpoor Memoirs show that the was not at Lahore when his son was Nuwab was aided by the treachery of married. others in acquiring it. The place § Capt. Wade to Resident at Delhi, had to be retaken by General Ven- 24th August, 1830. o 2 196 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. VII. 1831. A meeting proposed with Kun- jeet Singh, and desired by both parties for different reasons. The meet- ing at Kooper. 17th July, 1831. 31st Oct., 1831. Runjeet Singh's anxiety about Sindb. viceroy could not take the initiative.* The object of the Governor General was mainly to give the world an impression of complete unanimity between the two states ; but the Muharaja wished to strengthen his own authority, and to lead the Sikh public to believe his dynasty was acknowledged as the proper head of the " Khalsa," by the predominant English rulers. The able chief, Hurree Singh, was one of those most averse to the recognition of the right of the Prince Khurruk Singh, and the heir apparent himself would seem to have been aware of the feelings of the Sikh people, for he had the year before opened a correspondence with the Governor of Bombay, as if to derive hope from the vague terms of a complimentary reply.t Runjeet Singh thus readily proposed a meeting, and one took place at Rooper, on the banks of the Sutlej, in the month of October (1831). A present_of horses from the King of EnglajidJiad, in the mean time, reacheTXIahore, by the Indus and Ravee rivers, under the escort of Lieu- tenant Burnes, and during one of the several interviews with the Governor General, Runjeet Singh had sought for and obtained a written assurance of perpetual friend- ship.t The impression went abroad that his family would be supported by the English Government, and ostensibly Runjeet Singh's objects seemed wholly, as they had been partly, gained. But his mind was not \ set at ease about Sindh : vague accounts had reached i him of some design with regard to that country ; he / plainly hinted his own schemes, and observed, the * Government to Capt. Wade, 28th April, 1831, and Murray's Run- jeet Singh, p. 162. ■f With regard to this interchange of letters, see the Persian Secretary to the Political Secretary at Bombay, 6th July, 1830. That Runjeet Singh was jealous, personally, of Hurree Singh, or that the servant would have proved a traitor to the living master, is not probable : but Hurree Singh was a zealous Sikh and an ambitious man, and Khurruk Singh was always full of doubts and apprehensions with respect to his succession and even his safety. Runjeet Singh's anxiety with regard to the meeting at Rooper, ex- aggerated, perhaps, by M. Allard, may be learnt from Mr. Prinsep's account in Murray's Runjeet Singh, p. 162. [Colonel Wade has informed the author that the whole of the SikhA chiefs were said by Runjeet Singh t himself to be averse to the meeting 1 with the Britisli Governor General.] ' \ Murray's Runjeet Singh, p. 166. Chap. Vn.] NAVIGATION OF THE INDUS. 197 Ameers had no efficient troops, anS that they could not be well disposed towards the English, as they had thrown difficulties in the way of Lieutenant Burnes' progress.* But the Governor General would not divulge to his in- quiring guest and ally, the tenor of propositions already on their way to the chiefs of Sindh, confessedly lest the Muharaja should at once endeavor to counteract his peaceful and beneficial intentions. t Runjeet Singh may or may not have felt that he was distrusted, but as he \ was to be a party to the opening of the navigation of the Indus, and as the project had been matured, it would have better suited the character and the position of the British Government had no concealment been i attempted. The traveller Moorcroft had been impressed with the use which might be made of the Indus as a channel of British commerce t, and the scheme of navigating that river and its tributaries was eagerly adopted by the Indian Government, and by the advocates of material utilitarianism. One object of sending King William's presents for Runjeet Singh by water, was to ascertain, as if undesignedly, the trading value of the classical stream §, and the result of Lieutenant Burnes' obser- vations convinced Lord William Bentinck of its supe- riority over the Ganges. There seemed also, in his Lordship's opinion, good reason to believe that the great western valley had at one time been as populous as that of the east, and it was thought that the judicious exer- cise of the paramount influence of the British Govern- ment, might remove those political obstacles which had 1831. * Murray's Runjeet Singh, p. 167. This opinion of Runjeet Singh about Sindhian troops, may not be pleasing to the victors of Dubba and Meeanee, although the Muharaja impugned not their courage, but their discipline and equipment. Shah Shooja's expedition, of 1834, nevertheless, served to show the fairness of Runjeet Singh's con- clusions. f Murray's Runjeet Singh, p. 167, The scheme of opening the Indus to com- merce. 168. The whole of the tenth chapter of Capt. Murray's book, which in- cludes the meeting at Rooper, may be regarded as the composition of Mr. Prinsep, the Secretary to Govern- ment, with the Governor General. If Moorcroft, Travels, ii. 338. j Government to Colonel Poltin- ger, Oct. 22nd., 1831, and Murray's Runjeet Singh, p. 153. o .3 198 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap.VII. 1831. Proposals made to the Sindhians and the Sikhs. 19th Dec, 1831. Stmjeet Singh's ■views and suspicions. banished commerce from the rivers of Alexander.* It was therefore resolved, in the current language of the day, to open the Indus to the navigation of the world. Before the Governor General met Runjeet Singh, he had directed Colonel j rottinger t o proceed to Hydrabad, to negotiate with the rinqeerl'"bf Sindh the opening of the lower portion of the river°tO"''ain)oats on the pay- ment of a fixed toll t ; and, two months afterwards, or towards the end of 1831, he wrote to the Muharaja that the desire he had formerly expressed to see a steam- boat, was a proof of his enlightened understanding, and was likely to be gratified before long, as it was wished to draw closer the commercial relations of the two states. Captain Wade was at the same time sent to explain, in person, the object of Col onel Potting er's mission to Sindh, to propose the free navigation of Sutlej in continuation of that of the Lower Indus, and to assure the Muharaja that, by the extension of British com- merce, was not meant the extension of the British power.t But Runjeet Singh, also, had his views and his suspi- cions.§ In the south of the Punjab he had wrought by indirect means, as long as it was necessary to do so among a newly conquered people. The Nuwab of Buhawulpoor, his manager of the country across to Dera Ghazee Khan, was less regular in his payments than he should have been, and his expulsion from the Punjab Proper would be profitable, and unaccompanied with danger, if the English remained neuter. Again, Buhawul Khan was virtually a chief protected by the British Government on the left bank of the Sutlej, and Lieutenant Burnes was on his way up the Indus. The • Government to Col. Pottinger, 22nd Oct., 1831. f Murray's Runjeet Singh, p. 168. :|: Government to Capt. Wade, 19th Dec, 1831. It is admitted that the mission, or the schemes, had a political reference to Russia and her designs, but the Governor General would not avow his motives. (Mur- ray's Runjeet Singh, p. 168.) § Runjeet Singh's attention was mainly directed to Sindh, and a ru- mored matrimonial alliance between one of the Ameers, or the son of one of them, and a Persian princess, caused him some anxiety. (Capt. Wade toGovernment,5thAug., 1831.) Chap. VII.] EUNJEET SINGH'S DESIGNS ON SINDH. 199 Muharaja, ever mistrustful, conceived that the pohtical issi, issa. status of that officer's observation, would be referred to ' ' ' and upheld by his Government as the true and permanent one *, and hence the envoy found affairs in process of change when he (eft the main stream of the Indus, and previous to the interview at Rooper, General Ventura, He repels had dispossessed Buhawul Khan both oThK' Lahore potr^^rom farms, and of his ancestral territories on the right bank the Lower of the Sutlej.t Further, Shikarpoor formed no part ^ggf'' of the Sindh of the Kulhoras or Tal^iors ; it had only and declares fallen to the latter usufpEfsafter" the death of Mahomed ^s superior Azeem Khan, the vuzeer of the titidar king, Shah "hikarpoor. Ayoob, and it continued to be held jointly by the three families of Kheirpoor^ Meergoor, and H ydraba d, as a fortuitous possession; RunjgSfoingh considered that he, as the paramount of the^Ba rukzaees of the Indus, had a better right to the distriSfthan^the Ameers of south-eastern Sindh, and he was bent upon annexing it to his dominions.t Such was Runjeet Singh's temper of mind when Eunjeet visited by Captain Wade to negotiate the opening of f(,'"th^En['^' the Sutlej to British traders. The Muharaja avowed giish de- himself well pleased, but he had hoped that the English "ggg^' were about to force their way through Sindh ; he asked how many regiments Colon el Pott inger had with him, and he urged his readiness to march and coerce the Ameers. § It was further ascertained that he had made propositions to Meer Alee Moorad of Meerpoor, to farm Dera Ghazee Khan, as if to sow dissensions among the Talpoors, and to gain friends for Lahore, while Colonel Po ttinger w as winning allies for the English. || *BuTne" perceived that the Governor General had resolved upon * This view appears to have sub- used by Runjeet Singh. See, for seqnently occurred to Capt. Wade as instance, Capt. Wade to Govern- baving Influenced the Muharaja. ment, 15th Jan, 1837. See his letter to Government, 18th § Capt. Wade to Government, 1st Oct., 1836. and 13th Feb., 1832. f Capt. Wade to Government, || Capt. Wade to Government, Sth Nov., 1831. 21st Dec, 1831 ; and Col. Pottinger :f This argument was continually to Government, 23d Sept. 1837. o 4 200 HISTOEY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. VII. Declaring, however, that their commerce interfered with his policy. Shah Shoo- ja's second expedition to Afghan- istan, 1833-35. The Shah's overtures to the English, 1827. His nego- tiations with the Sindhians, 1831; his course, and he gave his assent to the common use of the Sutlej and Indus, and to the residence of a Bri- tish officer at Ma^enkot to superintend the navigation.* He did not dt^nf^^^pear as if in opposition to his allies of many years, but he did not seek to conceal from Captain Wade his opinion that the commercial measures of the English had really abridged his political power, when he gave up for the time the inten ti on o f, seizing Shikarpoor.t The connection of the English with the nations of the Indus was about to be rendered more complicated by the revived hopes of Shah Shooja. That ill-fated king had taken up his abode, as before related, at Loodi ana, in the year 1821, and he brooded at his^eisure over' schemes for the reconquest of Khorassan. In 1826 he was in correspondence with Runjeet Singh, who ever regretted that the Shah was not his guest or his pri- soner.! In 1827 he made propositions to the British Government, and he was told that he was welcome to recover his kingdom with the aid of Runjeet Singh, or of the Sindhians, but that, if he failed, his present hosts might not again receive him.§ In 1 829 the Shah was induced, by the strange state of afiairs in Peshawur consequent on Syed Ahmed's ascendancy, to suggest to Runjeet Singh that, with Sikh aid, he could readily master it, and reign once more an independent sove- reign. The Muharaja amused him with vain hopes, but the English repeated their warning, and the ex- king's hopes soon fell.y In 1831 they again rose, for the Talpoor Ameers disliked the approach of English • See Appendices, XXVIII. and XXIX, A tariff on goods was at first talked of, but subsequently a toll on boats was preferred. From the Hima- layas to the sea the whole toll was iixed at 570 rupees, of which the Lahore government got Rs. 1 5S, 4, for territories on the right bank, and Rs. 39, 5, 1 for territories on tfae left bank of the Sutlej. ( Government to Capt. Wade, 9th June, IBS'), and Capt. Wade to Government, 13th Dec. 1835.) f Capt. Wade to Government, 13th Feb. 1832. ^ Capt. Wade to the Resident at Delhi, 25th July, 1826. § Resident at Delhi to Capt. Wade, 25th July, 1827. II Government to Resident at Delhi, 12th June, 1829. /• CHAP.Vn.] SHAH SHOOJA AND RUNJEBT SINGH. 201 envoys, and they gave encouragement to the tenders of I83i,i832. their titular monarch.* Negotiations weie reopened with Runjeet ^ingh, who was Ukewise out of humor and with with the English about Sindh, and he was not unwilling sinX'* to aid the Shah in the recovery of his rightful throne ; i83i. but the views of the Sikh reached to the Persian fron- tier as well as to the shores of the ocean, and he sug- gested that it would be well if the slaughter of kine The gates of were prohibited throughout Afghanistan, and if the f^'^the"^ gates of Somnath were restored to their original tem- slaughter of pie. The Shah was not prepared for these concessions, ^"^' and he evaded them, by reminding the Muharaja that his chosen allies, the English, freely took the lives of cows, and that a prophecy foreboded the downfall of the Sikh empire on the removal of the gates from Ghuznee.t In 183!2 a rumored advance of the Persians against Further w TT * i i" ii. ' " i^~L — CTr~-T — -£it--^_— • negotiations jS, Heerat^gaye lurtner encouragement to onan kSnocija: m ^j^ji jjig / ^ his designs.^ The perplexed Ameers of Sindh offered sikhsand him assistance if he would relinquish his supremacy, 1832.'*°^ and the Shah promised acquiescence if he succeeded.§ To Runjeet Singh the Shah offered to waive his right to Peshawur and other districts beyond the Indus, and also to give an acquittance for the Koh-i-noor diamond, in return for assistance in men and money. The Mu- haraja was doubtful what to do ; he was willing to secure an additional title to Peshawur, but he was apprehensive of the Shah's designs, should the expedi- * Capt. Wade to Government, 9th be brought about — for the repute Sept., 1831. of the fane (a tomb made a temple f Capt. Wade to Government, by superstition), and the income of 21st Nov., 1831. — Considering the its peer or saint, had much declined, ridicule occasioned by the subsequent They would carefully conyey them removal by the English of these tra- back, they said, and they added that ditional gates, it may gratify the ap- they understood the Hindoos did not provers and originators of that mea- want them, and that of course they sure to know that they were of some could be of no valueto the Christians! local importance. When the author X Government to Capt. Wade, was at Buhawulpoor in 1845, anum- 19th Oct., 1832. ber of Afghan merchants came to ask § Capt. Wade to Government, him whether their restoration could 15th Sept., 1832. 202 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. VH. . ^^^^- tion be successful.* He wished, moreover, to know the precise views of the English, and he therefore pro- i posed that they should be parties to any engagement entered into, for he had no confidence, he said, in Af- J ^aiis.t Each of the three parties had distinct and incompatible objects. Runjeet Singh wished to get rid of the English commercial objections to disturbing the Ameers of Sindh, by offering to aid the rightful poli- tical T^avaraoxmt in its recovery. The ex-king thought the Muharaja really wished to get him into his power, and the project of dividing Sindh fell to the ground.t The TaJgoQr_Aj3g|gers, on their part, thought that they would ^^ve^ "Siliicarpoor by plapng into the Shah's hands, and they therefore endeavored to prevent a coalition between him and the Sikh ruler.§ T?'t^°Jvp The Shah could not come to any satisfactory terms V. ^f-' glish indif- . , -r, . c^■ 1 1 i • ^• • ^ i ferent about With Kunjcet omgh, but as his neutrahty was essential, 3M- h' attem Is ^ especially with regard to Shikarpoor, a treaty of alliance /^m^^ ^ was entered into by which the districts beyond the Indus, and in the possession of the Sikhs, were formally ceded r^-^. to the Muharaja. II The English had also become less averse to his attempt, and he was assured that his annual stipend would be continued to his family, and no warn- ing was held out to him against returning, as had be- fore been done.^ A third of his yearly allowance was even advanced to him : but the political agent was at the same time desired to impress upon all people, that the British Government had no interest in the Shah's pro- ceedings, that its policy was one of complete neutrality, but Dost ? and it was added that Dost Mahomed could be so assured in reply to a letter received^Troiinum.** Dost Mahomed / Mahomed Kbau is * Capt. Wade to Government, 1838, was drawn up in Marcli, 1833, 13th Dec, 1832. and" finally agreed to in August of ■(• Capt. Wade to Government, that year. (Capt. Wade to Govern- 31st Dec, 1832. ment, 17th June, 1834.) :f Capt. Wade to Government, H Government to Capt. Wade, 9th April, 1833. 19th Dec, 1832. § Capt Wade to Government, ** Government to Capt. Faithful, 27th March, 1833. Acting Political Agent, 13th Dec, I II This treaty, which became the 1832, and to Capt. Wade, Sth and foundation of the Tripartite Treaty of 9th of March, 1833. CHAP.Vn.] EXPEDITION OF SHAH SHOOJA. 203 had mastered Caubul shortly after Mahomed Azeem \l^f~ Khan's death, and he soon learnt to become apprehensive v_.,J — . of the Enfflish. In 1832, he cautioned the Ameers of alarmed, 3iicl couirtis Sindh against allowing them to establish a commercial their friend- factory in Shikarpoor, as Shah Shooja would certainly ^i"'?' soon follow to guard it with an army *, and he next sought, in the usual way, to ascertain the views of the paramounts of India by entering into a correspondence with them. Shah Shooja left Loodiana in the middle of February, The shah 1833. He had with him about 200,000 rupees in trea- FebJ'isas. sure, and nearly 3000 armed foUowers.t He got a gun and some camels from Buhawul Khan, he crossed the Indus towards the middle of May, and he entered Shikarpoor without opposition. The Sindhians did not oppose him, but they rendered him no assistance, and they at last thought it better to break with him at once than to put their means into his hands for their own more assured destruction.t But they were signally defeated near Shikarpoor on the 9th January, 1834, Defeats the and they willingly paid 500,000 rupees in cash, and qIIJ'^?^''"^' gave a promise of tribute for Shikarpoor, to get rid of i834. the victor's presence. § The Shah proceeded towards Candahar, and he maintained himself in the neighbor- hood of that city for a few months ; but, on the 1 st July, But is rout- he was brought to action by Dost Mahomed Khan and dahar^^ist his brothers, and fairly routed.JiAfteT'linaliy wander- July, i834, * The Buhawulpoor Memoirs state stance of the extent to which the that such a recommendation was English were thought to be identi6ed pressed by Dost Mahomed on the with Shah Shooja, see the Asiatic Ameers ; the belief in the gradual Journal, xix. 38., as quoted by .Pro- conversion of " Kotees," or resi- fessor Wilson in Moorcroft's Travels, dencies or commercial houses, into note, p. 340. vol. ii. " Chaonees," or military cantonments, f Capt. Wade to Government, having, it may be inferred, become 9th April, 1833. notorious as fer as Caubul, Dost ;f Capt. Wade to Government, Mahomed's main object, however, 25th Aug., 1833, and the Memoirs of was to keep Shah Shooja at a dis- the Buhawulpoor Family, tance; and he always seems to] have § Capt. Wade to Government, held that he was safe from the En- 30th Jan., 1834. glish themselves so long as Lahore || Capt. Wade to Government, remained unshaken. For another in- 2Sth July, 1834. 204 HISTORY OF THK SIKHS. [Chap. VH. 1834— 1836. and returns to Loodi- ana, 1835. Kunjeet Singh sus- picious of Shah ShoQJa. Strength- ens himself by regularly annexing Peshawur to his do- minions, 1834. 20th July, 1832. The Huzara and the Derajat more com- pletely re- duced, 1832-36. ings, and an appeal to Persia and to Shah Kamran of Heerat, and also an attempt upon Shikarpoo?^*^'*Kere~ tuTHecT to his old asylum at Loodiana in March, 1835, bringing with him about 250,000 rupees in money and valuables, t Runjeet Singh, on his part, was apprehensive that Shah Shooja might set aside their treaty of alliance, so he resolved to guard against the possible conse- quences of the ex-king's probable success, and to seize Peshawur before his tributaries could tender their allegiance to Caubul4 A large force, under the nominal command of the Muharaja's grandson, Nao Nihal Singh, but really led by Sirdar Hurree Singh, crossed the Indus, and an increased tribute of horses was demanded on the plea of the prince's presence, for the first time, at the head of an army. The demand would v seem to have been complied with, but the citadel of Peshawur was nevertheless assaulted and taken on the 6th May, 1834. § The hollow negotiations with Sooltan Mahomed Khan, are understood to have been precipitated by the impetuous Hurree Singh, who openly expressed his contempt for all Afghans, and did not conceal his design to carry the Sikh arms beyond Peshawur.|| The Sikhs were, in the meantime, busy elsewhere as well as in Peshawur itself. In 1832 Hurree Singh had finally routed the Mahometan tribes above Attok, and to better ensure their obedience, he built a fort on the right side of the Indus. ^ In 1 834 a force was em- ] ; ployed against the Afghans of Tak and Bunnoo, beyond Dera Ismaeel Khan ; but a considerable detachment sig- nally failed in an attack upon a mountain stronghold, and a chief of rank and upwards of 300 men were '"./', '<^'i * Capt. Wade to Government, 21st Oct. and 29th Dec, 1834, and 6th Feb., 1835. f Capt. Wade to Government, 19th March, 1835. J Capt. Wade to Government, nth June, 1834. § Capt. Wade to Government, 19th May, 1834. II These views of Hurree Singh's were sufficiently notorious in the Punjab some years ago, when that chief was a person before the public- ^ Capt. Wade to Government, 7th Aug., 1832. Chap. Vn.] SIKH MISSION TO CALCUTTA. 205 '- ■ . . . . . . ^ . . .■L sired his agent to explain to the British authorities the ^^^^' 0./XA?nJslain. The ill success vexed the Muharaia, and he de- isss— i several particulars ; but lest they should still be disposed to reflect upon the quality of his troops, he reminded i Captain Wade that such things had happened before, that his rash officers did not wait until a breach had been effected, and that, indeed, the instance of General . Gillespie and the Goorkhas at Kalungga, afforded an I exact illustration of what had taken place I * In 1833 K /-'■ '' "/ the grandson of Sunsar Chund, of Kototch, was induced sunsar to return to his country, and on his way through Loo- chund's diana he was received with considerable ceremony by return*, the British authorities, for the fame of Sunsar Chund i®^^- gave to his posterity some semblance of power and regal dignity. A jagheer or fief of 50,000 rupees was conferred upon the young chief, for the Muharaja was / not disposed from nature to be wantonly harsh, nor \ from policy to drive any one to desperation.t During the same year Runjeet Singh proposed to send a chief Runjeet to Calcutta with presents for the King- of England, and singh sends r . o.. o ' a mission to not improbably with the view of ascertaining the general Calcutta, t ' opinion about his designs on Sindh. The mission, 1834-36. - under Goojer Singh Mujeetheea, finally took its depar- ture in September, 1834, and was absent a year and a half.t When Mr.Moorcroft was in Ludakh (in 1821, &c.), Runjeet the fear of Runjeet Singh was general in that country, and ^"d'kii"' the Sikh governor of Cashmeer had already demanded i82i. the payment of tribute § ; but the weak and distant state was little molested until the new Rajas of Jummoo had obtained the government of the hill principalities between the Ravee and Jehlum, and felt that their influence with * Capt. Wade to Government, f Capt. Wade to Government, 10th May, 1834. Dera Ismaeel 9th Oct. , 1 833, and 3d Jan. , 1 835. Khan and the country about it was ^ Capt. Wade to Government, not fairly brought into order until 11th Sept., 1834, and 4th April, two years afterwards. (Capt. Wade 1836. to Government, 7th and 13th July, § Moorcroft, Travels, i. 420. 1836.) 206 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. VII. 1835,1836. Ludakh reduced by the Jum- moo K^as, 1834-35. Runjeet Singh re- curs to his claims on Shikarpoor, and his de- signs on Sindh, 1835-36. Negotia- tions. Runjeet Singh was secure and commanding-. In 1834 Zorawur Singh, Raja Golab Singh's commander in Kishtwar, took advantage of internal disorders in Leh, and declared that an estate, anciently held by the Kisht- war chief, must be restored. He crossed into the southern districts, but did not reach the capital until early in 1835. He sided with one of the contending parties, deposed the reigning Raja, and set up his re- bellious minister in his stead. He fixed a tribute of 30,000 rupees, he placed a garrison in the fort, he retained some districts along the northern slopes of the Himalayas, and reached Jummoo with his spoils towards the close of 1835. The dispossessed Raja complained to the Chinese authorities in Lussa ; but, as the tribute continued to be regularly paid by his succes- sor, no notice was taken of the usurpation. The governor of Cashmeer complained that Golab Singh's commercial regulations interfered with the regular supply of shawl-wool, and that matter was at once ad- justed; yet the grasping ambition of the favorites never- theless caused Runjeet Singh some misgivings amid all their protestations of devotion and loyalty.* But Runjeet Singh's main apprehensions were on the side of Peshawur, and his fondest hopes in the direction of Sindh. The defeat which the Ameers had sustained diminished their confidence in themselves, and when Shah Shooja returned beaten fro m Canj| tha/r, Noor Mahomed of Hydrabad was understood to he vdlling to surrender Shikarpoor to the Muharaja, on condition of his guarantee against the attempts of the ex-king, t But this pretext would not get rid of the English objections ; and Runjeet Singh, moreover, had little confidence in the Sindhians. He kept, as a check • Capt. Wade to Government, ruk Singh became especially appre-) 27th Jan., 18S5, and Mr. Vigne, hensive of the designs of the Jum-I Travels in Cashmeer and Tibet, ii. moo family. (Capt. Wade to Govern- 352. ; their statements being cor- ment, 10th Aug., 1836.) rected or amplified from the author's ^ Capt. Wade to Government, manuscript notes. The pri nce Khur- 6th Feb., 1835. Ch. Vn.] RUNJEET SINGH THWARTED BY THE ENGLISH. 207 over them, a representative of the expelled Kulhoras, i835, i836. as a pensioner on his bounty, in Rajenpoor beyond the Indus* j and, at once to overawe both them and the Bar ukzaees , he again opened a negotiation with Shah Sfe^a as soon as he returned to Loodiana.t But his main difficulty was with his British allies ; and, to prove to them the reasonableness of his discontent, he would instance the secret aid which the Muzaree free- booters received from the Ameers t ; he would""again insist that Shikarpoor was a dependency of the chiefs of Khorassan§, and he would hint that the river below i Mithenkot was not the Indus but the Sutlej, the river f p^ ■ '■ , of the treaty, — the stream which had so long given freshness and beauty to the emblematic garden of their friendship, and which continued its fertilizing way to j the ocean, separating, yet uniting, the realms of the two t brotherly powers of the East ! 1| But the English had formed a treaty of navigation Kunjeet with Sindh, and the designs of Runjeet Singh were ^iOoQ^is™' displeasing to them. They said they could not view pleasing to without regret and disapprobation the prosecution of *i'« Ingush. plans of unprovoked hostility against states to which they were bound by ties of interest and good will.*]y They therefore wished to dissuade Runjeet Singh against any attempt on Shikarpoor ; but they felt that • Capt. Wade to Government, dynasty of Ahmed Shah still dwelt in 17th June, 1834. Surufraz Khan, the mind of the first paramount of otherwise called Gholam Shah, was the Sikhs, but partly also with the the Kulhora expelled by the Tal- view of sounding his European allies 1 poors. He received Rajenpoor in as to their real intentions. Jagheer from Caubul, and was main- J Capt. Wade to Government, tained in it by Runjeet Singh. The 5th Oct., 1836. place was held to yield 100,000 ru- § Capt. Wade to Government, pees, including certain rents reserved 15th Jan., 1837. by the state, but the district was not || Capt Wade to Government, really worth 30,000 rupees. 5th Oct., 1836. f Capt. Wade to Government, ^ Government to Capt. Wade, 17th April, 1835, and other letters 22d Aug., 1836. — This plea will re- ef the same year. The Muharaja call to mind the usual argument of still urged that the English should the Romans for interference, viz. that guarantee, as it were, Shah Shooja's their friends were not to be molested moderation in success ; partly, perhaps, by strangers, because the greatness of the elder 208 HISTOEY OP THE SIKHS. [Chap. VH. 1836. t The Muha- raja neyer- theless keeps in view his plans of aggrandize- ment. The olgects of the En- glish be- come politi- cal as well as commer- cial, 1836 ; this must be done discreetly, for their object was to remain on terms of friendship with every one, and to make their influence available for the preservation of the general peace. * Such were the sentiments of the English ; but, in the meantime, the border disputes between the Sikhs and Sindhians were fast tending to produce a rupture. In 1833 the predatory tribe of Muzarees, lying along the right bank of the Indus, "betowT^ithenkot, had been chastised by the governor of Mooltah, who proposed to put a garrison in their stronghold of Rojhan, but was restrained by the Muha- raja from so doing, t In 1835 the An^ gers of poor were believed to be instigfatinff the Muzarele tneir attacks on the Sikh posts ; and as thetri1fe'"Was regarded by the English as dependent on Sindh, although possessed of such a degree of separate exist- ence as to warrant its mention in the commercial arrangements as being entitled to a fixed portion of the whole toll, the Ameers were informed that the English looked to them to restrain the Muzare^ y so as to deprive Runjeet Singh of all pretext ft>r interference, t The aggressions nevertheless continued, or were alleged to be continued ; and in August, 1 836, the Mooltan governor took formal possessi®n of Rojhan. § In the October following the M^zareggVere brought to action, and defeated, and the Sikhs occupied a fort called Ken, to the south of Rojhan, and beyond the proper limit of that tribe. |) Thus was Runjeet Singh gradually feeling his way by force ; but the English had, in the mean time, resolved to go far beyond him in diplomacy. It had been de- termined that Captain Burnes should proceed on a commercial mission to the countries bordering on the » Government to Capt. Wade, 22d Aug., 1836. f Capt. Wade to Government, 27th May, 1835. i Government to Capt. Wade, 27th May, 1835, and 5th Sept., 1836 ; and Government to Col. Pottinger, 19th Sept., 1836. § Capt. Wade to Government, 29th Aug., 1836. II Capt. Wade 2d Nov., 1836. to Government, Chap. Vn.] COMMERCIAL POLICY OF THE ENGLISH. 209 Indus, with the view of completing the reopening of isse. that river to the traffic of the world.* But the Muha- ' " raja, it was said, should understand that their objects were purely mercantile, and that, indeed, his aid was looked for in establishing somewhere a great entrepot of trade, such as, it had once been hoped, might have been commenced at Mithenkot.t Yet the views of the British authorities with regard" to Sindh were inevitably be- coming political as well as commercial. The condition of that country, said the Governor General, had been much thought about, and the result was a conviction that the connection with it should be drawn closer, t The Ameers, he continued, might desire the protection of the iiqghsh against Runieet Singh, and previous negotiations, whiclPtheir^feaT^s^or their hostility had broken off, might be renewed with a view to giving and they le- them assistance ; and, finally, it was determined that medlatrng the English Government should mediate between Run- between jeet Singh and the Sindhians, and afterwards adjust sin'gTand the other external relations of the Ameers when a the sind- Resident should be stationed at Hydrabad. With regard to Runjeet Singh, the English rulers TheEngUsh observed that they were bound by the strongest con- to restrain siderations of political interest to prevent the extension Runjeet of the Sikh power along the course of the Indus, and ouMhre'at- that, although they would respect the acknowledged eninghim. territories of the Muharaja, they desired that his exist- ing relations of peace should not be disturbed ; for, if war took place, the Indus would never be opened to commerce. The political agent was directed to use every means short of menace to induce Runjeet Singh to abandon his designs against Shikarpoor ; and Shah Shooja, whose hopes were still great, and whose ne- gotiations were still talked of, was to be told that if he left Loodiana he must not return, and that the main- * Government to Capt. Wade, f Government to Col. Pottinger, 5th Sept., 1836. 26th Sept., 1836. f Government to Capt. Wade, Ith Sept., 1836. P 210 HISTORY OF THE SIICHS. [Chap. VII. 1836. The Sind- hians im- patient, and ready to re- sort to arms. Eunjeet Singh equally ready ; but yields to the re- presenta- tions of the English: Dec, 1836. tenance for his family woukLbe at once discontinued. With regard to the MuzaiBes, whose lands had been actually occupied by the Sikhs, it was said that their reduction had effected an object of general benefit, and that the question of their permanent control could be determined at a future period.* The Sindhians, on their part, complained that the fort of Ken had been occupied, and in reply to Runjeet Singh's demand that their annual complimentary or prudential offerings should be increased, or that a large sum should be paid for the restoration of their captured fort, they avowed their determination to resort to arms.t Nor can there be any doubt that Sindh would have been invaded by the Sikhs, had not C olonejJRottin ger^s negotiations for their protection deterred tne Muharajs from an act which he apprehended the English might seize upon to declare their alliance at an end. The princes Khurruk Singh and Nao Nihal Singh were each on the Indus, at the head of considerable armies, and the remonstrances of the British jiolitical agent alone detained the Muharaja himself at Lahore. Nevertheless, so evenly were peace and war balanced in Runjeet Singh's mind, that Captain Wade thought it advisable to proceed to his capital to explain to him in person the risks he would incur by acting in open opposition to the British Government. He listened, and at last yielded. His deference, he said, to the wishes of his allies took place of every other consideration ; he would let his relations with the Ameers of Sindh remain on their old footing, he would destroy the fort of Ken, but he would continue to occupy Rojlmn and__the_Mu^aree_ territory.^ Runjeet Singh was urged by his cme^not^ to yield to the demands of the English, for to their understanding it was not clear where such demands would stop ; but he shook his head, and asked them * Government to Capt. Wade, \ Capt. Wade to Government, 26th Sept., 1836. 3d Jan., 1837. t Capt. Wade to Government, 2d Nov. and 13th Dec, 1836. Chap. Vn.] RETROSPECT: AFGHANISTAN. 211 what had become of the two hundred thousand spears i836. of the Mahrattas ! * — and, as if to show how completely ' ' he professed to for-get Or forgive the check imposed on him, he invited the Governor General to be present at Lahore on the occasion of the marriage of the grandson whom he had hoped to hail as the conqueror of Sindh.t Nevertheless he continued to entertain a hope that his objects might one day be attained ; he avoided a distinct settlement of the boundary with the Ameers, and of the question of supremacy over the Muzarees. t/ Neither Tet con- was he disposed to relinquish Rojhan ; the /place re- hoidKojhan mained a Sikh possession, and it may be regarded to with uite- have become formally such by the submission of the ^ "''"^' chief of the tribe in the year 1838.§ It is now necessary to go back for some years to Retrospect. trace the connection of the English Government with gUsh and the Barukzaee rulers of Afghanistan. Mahomed Azeem Barak- •'v^ — "i — * _ _■ ■ TT- • • . zaees 1829 Khan died in rS^3, as has been mentioned, immediately -iss'e. after Peshawur became tributary to the Sikhs. His son Hubeeboolla nominally succeeded to the supremacy which Futteh Khan and Mahomed Azeem had both exercised ; but it soon become evident that the mind of the youth was unsettled, and his violent proceedings enabled his crafty and unscrupulous uncle. Dost Ma- homgd Kbaa,_to seize Caubul, Ghuznee, and Jellalabad as his"own, while a second set of his brothers held Candahar in virtual independence, and a third governed Peshawur as the tributaries of Runjeet Singh. || In the year 1824, Mr. Moorcroft, the traveller, was upon the whole well satisfied with the treatment he received from the Barukzaees, although their patronage cost him • Compare Capt. Wade to Govern- ^ Capt. Wade to Government, ment, 11th Jan., 1837. Runjeet Singh 13th and 15th Feb., 8th July, and not unfrequently referred to the over- 10th Aug., 1837. throw of the Mahratta power as a § Capt. Wade to Government, reason for remaining, under all and 9th Jan., 1838. any circumstances, on good terms || Compare Moorcroft, Travels, ii. with his European allies. [See also 345, &c., and Moonshee Mohun Lai, Colonel Wade's Narrative of his Ser- Life of Dost Mahomed Khan, i, 130. vices, p. 44. note.] 153, &c. j- Capt. Wade to Government, Sth Jan., 1837. p 2 212 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. VH. money.* A few years afterwards Sooltan_JjIahomed Khan of Peshawur, who had most to fearfrom strangers, opiened a^ommunication with the political agent at Loo- dianat, and in 1829 he wished to negotiate as an inde- pendent chief with the British Government, t But the several brothers were jealous of one another, many de- sired separate principalities, Dost Mahomed aimed at supremacy, rumors of Persian designs alarmed them on the west, the aggressive policy of Runjeet Singh gave them greater cause of fear on the east, and the chance presence of English travellers in Afghanistan again led them to hope that the foreign masters of India might be induced to- give them stability between contending powers. § In 1832 Sooltan Mahomed Khan again attempted to open a negotiation, if only for the release of his son, who was a hostage with Runjeet Singh. II The Nuwab, Juhltar Khan of^Caubul, hke- wise addressed letters to the Dost Ma- homed Khan does the same, 1832. The Baruk- iritish frontier aut and in 1832 DostJMahomedhinjs^lf^ directly asked for the friendship of the"EngUsh. ^ All ^H^ecommunica- tions were politely acknowledged, but at the time it was held desirable to avoid all intimacy of connection with rulers so remote.** In 1834 new dangers threatened the usurping Ba- * Moorcroft, Travels, ii. 346, 347. f Capt. Wade to the Resident at Delhi, 21st April, 1828. f Capt. Wade to Government, 19th May, 1832. Tlie brothers had already (1823, 1824) made similar proposals through Mr. Moorcroft. (See Travels, ii. 340.) § Mr. Fraser and Mr. Stirling, of the Bengal civil service, were in Afghanistan, the former in 1826, apparently, and the latter in 1828. Mr. Masson also entered the country by way of the Lower Punjab, in 1827, and the American, Dr. Harlan, followed him in a year by the same route. Dr. Harlan came to Lahore in 1829, after leading the English authorities to believe that he desired to constitute himself an agent be- tween their Government and Shah Shooja, with reference doubtless to the ex-king's designs on Caubul. (Resident at Delhi to Capt. Wade, 3d Feb., 1829.) [The Rev. Mr. Wolflf" should be included among the travellers in Central Asia at the time in question.] II Capt. Wade to Government, 19th May, and Sd July, 1832. H Capt. Wade to Government, 9th July, 1832, and 17th Jan., 1833. [Col. Wade in the Narrative of his Services, p. 23. note, regards these overtures of Dost Mahomed, and also the increased interest of Russia and Persia in Afghan affairs, to Lieut. Burnes' Journey (to Bokhara, in 1832) and to Shah Shooja's designs.] ** Government to Capt. Wade, 28th Feb., 1833. Chap. VU.] DOST MAHOMED. 213 rukzaees. Shah Shooja had defeated the Sindhians i834. and had arrived in force at Candahar, and the brothers ''„„ once again endeavored to bring themselves within the prehensive verge of British supremacy. They had heard of En- ghooj? glish arts as well as of English arms ; they knew that all again press were accessible of flattery, and Jubbar Khan suddenly [°ance with proposed to send his son to Loodiana, in order, he said, theEngiish; that his mind might be improved by European science andJubbar and civilization.* But Jubbar Khan, while he appeared ^.''^° ^^"<'* to adhere to D^tMahomedlfatKeT than to others, had Loodiana, nevertheless an ambitioiTofhis own, and he was more j?!?*^^' than suspected of a wish to make his admiration of the amenities of English life the. means of acquiring political power, t Thus, doubtful of all about him. Dost Ma- homed left Caubul to oppose Shah Shooja, but the Sikhs had, in the meantime, occupied Peshawur, and the perplexed ruler grasped once more at British aid as his only sure resource, t He tendered his submission Dost Ma- as a dependent of Great Britain, and having thus en- ^""^^ deavored to put his dominions in trust, he gave Shah tenders ws Shooja battle. But the Shah was defeated, and the ^"j^g"''^ rejoicing victor forgot his difficulties. He declared English, war against the Sikhs on account of their capture of Jag^"'^' Peshawur, and he endeavored to make it a religious but defeats contest by rousing the population generally to destroy shahshooja infidel invaders. § He assumed the proud distinction covers con- of " Ghazee," or champion of the faith, and the vague fldence. ■ title of^'* Ameer," which he interpreted " the noble," ; for he did not care to wholly offend his brothers, whose i submission he desired, and whose assistance was neces- \saTY to him. II Dost Mahomed Khan, amid all his exultation, was Dost Ma- still willing to use the intervention of unbelievers as ^^^^ l^ well as the arms of the faithful, and he asked the En- recover Peshawur. * Capt. Wade to Government, f Capt. Wade to Government, 9th March, 1834. 17th June, 1834. t Capt. Wade to Government, § Capt. Wade to Government, 17th May, 1834. Compare Masson, 25th Sept., 1834. Jourmys, iii. 218. 220. || Capt. Wade to Government, 27th Jan., 1835. p 3 214 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. VII. 1835. The En- glish de- cline inter- fering. Eunjcet Singh and Dost Ma- glish masters of India to help him in recovering Pesha- wur.* The youth who had been sent to Loodiana to become a student, was invested with the powers of a diplomatist, and the Ameer sought to prejudice the British authorities against the Sikhs, by urging that his nephew and their guest had been treated with sus- picion, and had suffered restraint on his way across the Punjab. But the English had not yet thought of re- quiring him to be an ally for purposes of their own, and Dost Mahomed was sinjply assured that the son of Nuwab Jubbar Khan should be well taken care of on the eastern side of the Sutlej. A direct reply to his solicitation was avoided, by enlarging on the partial truth that the Afghans were a commercial people equally with the English, and on the favorite scheme of the great traffickers of the world, the opening of the Indus to commerce. It was hoped, it was added, that the new impulse given to trade would better help the two governments to cultivate a profitable friendship, and the wondering Ameer, full of warlike schemes, was naively asked, whether he had any suggestions to offer about a direct route for merchandize between Caubul and the great boundary river of the Afghans ! t The English rulers had also to reply to Runjeet Singh, who was naturally suspicious of the increasing intimacy be- tween his allies and his enemies, and who desired that the European lords might appear rather as his than as Dost Mahomed's supporters ; but the Governor General observed that any endeavors to mediate would lead to consequences seriously embarrassing, and that Dost Ma- homed would seem to have interpreted general profes- sions of amity into promises of assistance, t The two parties were thus left to their own means. Runjeet Singh began by detaching Sooltan Mahomed * Capt. Wade to Government, 4th Jan. and 13th Feb., 1835. ■f Government to Capt. Wade, 19th April, 1834, and 11th Feb., 1835. Abdool Gheias Khan, the son of Jubbar Khan, reached Loodiana in June, 1834, and the original intention of sending him to study at Delhi, was abandoned. I Government to Capt. Wade, 20th April, 1835. Chap. VU.] KETREAT OF DOST MAHOMED. 215 Khan from the Ameer, with whom he had sought a re- i835, i836. fuge on the occupation of Peshawur by the Sikhs ; and homed in the ejected tributary listened the more readily to the force at Muharaja's propositions, as he apprehended that Dost igsat''"'' Mahomed would retain Peshawur for himself, should Runjeet Singh be beaten. Dost Mahomed came to the eastern entrance of the Khyber Pass, and Runjeet Singh amused him with proposals until he had concen- trated his forces. On the 11th of May, 1835, the Ameer was almost surrounded. He was to have been Dost Ma- attacked on the 12th, but he thought it prudent to re- tires^rat'her treat, which he did with the loss of two guns and some than risk a baggage. He had designed to carry off" the Sikh en- Mayrisss. voys, and to profit by their presence as hostages or as prisoners ; but his brother, Sooltan Mahomed Khan, to whom the execution of the project had been entrusted, had determined on joining Runjeet Singh, and the rescue of the agents gave him a favorable introduction to the victor. Sooltan Mahomed and his brothers had considerable Jagheers conferred on them in the Pesha- wur district, but the military control and civil manage- ment of the province was vested solely in an officer appointed from Lahore.* Dost Mahomed suffered much in general estimation Dost Ma- by withdrawing from an encounter with the Sikhs, towards His hopes in the English had not borne fruit, and he Pfsia, but was disposed to court Persia t ; but the connection was anEn^ush of less political credit and utility than one with the En- alliance, glish, and he tried once more to move the Governor General in his favor. The Sikhs, he said, were faithless, and he was wholly devoted to the interests of the British Government.t The Candahar brothers. The Can- * Capt. Wade to Government, 25th The Sikhs are commonly said to April, and 1st, 15th, and 19th May, have had 80,000 men in the IPeshawur 1835. Compare Masson, Journeys, valley at this time, iii. 342, &o. ; Mohun Lai's Life of f Capt. Wade to Government, 23rd Bast Mahomed, i.172, &o.; and also Feb., 1836. Dost Mahomed's over- Dr. Harlan's India and Afghanistan, tures to Persia seem to have com- p. 124. 158. Dr. Harlan himself menced in Sept., 1835. was one of the envoys sent to Dost % Capt. Wade to Government, 19th Mahomed on the occasion. July; 1836. p 4 216 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [ChAP. VU. 1836,1837. dahar chiefs desirous of English aid. Kunjeet Singh en- deavors to gain oyer Dost Ma- homed. But the Ameer pre- fers war, 1836-37. Hurree Singh's de- signs. Battle of Jumrood, 30th April, 1837. The Sikhs defeated, and Hurree Singh killed ; but the Afghans retire. also, being pressed by Shah Kamran q£ Heerat, and unable to obtain aid from Dost Mahomed, mtiSe propo- sitions to the English authorities ; but^ ^mran's own apprehensions of Persia soon relieved themoFtEelr fears, and they did not press their solicitations for European aid.* Runjeet Singh, on his part, disliked an English and Afghan alliance, and sought to draw Dost Mahomed within the vortex of his own influence. He gave the Ameer vague hopes of obtaining Peshawur, and he asked him to send him some horses, which he had learnt was a sure way of leading others to believe they had won his favor. Dost Mahomed was not unwilling to obtain a hold on Peshawur, even as a tributary, but he felt that the presentation of horses would be declared by the Sikh to refer to Caubul and not to that pro- vince.! The disgrace of his retreat rankled in his mind, and he at last said that a battle must be fought at all risks.t He was the more inclined to resort to arms, as the Sikhs had sounded his brother, Jubbar Khan, and as Sirdar Hurree Singh had occupied the entrance of the Khyber Pass and entrenched a position at Jumrood, as the basis of his scheme for getting through the for- midable defile. § The Caubul troops marched and assembled on the eastern side of Khyber, under the command of Mahomed Akber Khan, the most warlike of the Ameer's sons. ' An-atl^S^was made on the post at Jumrood, on the 30th of April, 1837 j but the Af- ghans could not carry it, although they threw the Sikhs into disorder. Hurree Singh, by feigning a retreat, drew the enemy more fully into the plains ; the brave leader was present every where amid his retiring and rallying masses, but he fell mortally wounded, and the opportune arrival of another portion of the Caubul forces converted the confusion of the Sikhs into a total defeat. But two guns only were lost ; the Afghans * Capt. Wade to Government, 9th ^ Capt. Wade to Government, 1st March, 1836. May, 1837. f Capt. Wade to Government, 12th § Capt. Wade to Government, 13th April, 1837. Jan., 1837. Chap. VII.] DOST MAHOMED AND SHAH SHOOJA. 217 could not master Jumrood or Peshawur itself, and, after plundering the valley for a few days, they retreated rather than risk a second battle with the reinforced army of Lahore.* The death of Hurree Singh and the defeat of his army caused some anxiety in Lahore ; but the Muha- raja promptly roused his people to exertion, and all readily responded to his call. It is stated that field guns were dragged from Ramnuggur, on the Chenab, to Peshawur, in six days, a distance by road of more than two hundred miles.t Runjeet Singh advanced in person to Rhotas, and the active Dhian Singh hastened to the frontier, and set an example of devotion and labor by working with his own hands on the founda- tions of a regular fort at Jumrood.t Dost Mahomed was buoyed up by his fruitless victory, and he became more than ever desirous of recovering a province so wholly Afghan ; but Runjeet Singh contrived to amuse him, and the Muharaja was found to be again in treaty with the Ameer, and again in treaty with Shah Shooja, and with both at the same time. § But the commercial envoy of the English had gradually sailed high up the Indus of their imaginary commerce, and to his govern- ment the time seemed to have come when political inter- ference would no longer be embarrassing, but, 011 the contrary, highly advantageous to schemes of peaceful trade and beneficial intercourse. It was made known 1.37. Kunjeet Singh's efforts to retrieve his affairs at Peshawur. His nego- tiations with Dost Mahomed and Shah Shooja. The English resolve on mediating between the Sikhs and Afghans, 1837; * Capt, Wade to Government, 13th and 23rd May, and 5th July, 1837. Compare Masson, Journeys, iii. 382. 387., and Mohun Lai's Life of Dost Mahomed, i. 226. &c. It seems that the Afghans were at first routed or repulsed with the loss of some guns, but that the opportune arrival of Shumsooddeen Khan, a re- lation of the Ameer, with a consi- derable detachment, turned the battle in their favor. It is nevertheless believed that had not Hurree Singh been killed, the Sikhs would have retrieved the day. The troops in the Peshawur valley had been conside- rably reduced by the withdrawal of large parties to Lahore, to make a display on the occasion of Nao Nihal Singh's marriage, and of the expected visit of the English Governor General and Commander-in-chief. f Lieut. Col. Steinbach {Punjab, p. 64. 68.) mentions that he had himself marched with his Sikh regi- ment 300 miles in twelve days, and that the distance had been performed by others in eleven. \ Mr. Clerk's Memorandum of 1 842, regarding the Sikh chiefs, drawn up for Lord EUenborough. § Compare Capt. Wade to Govern- ment, 3rd June, 1 837, and Government to Capt. Wade, 7th Aug., 1837. 218 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. Vn. 1837. the more especially as they are apprehen- sive of Russia, and are fur- ther dis- satisfied ■with the proceedings of General Allard. that the British rulers would be glad to be the means of negotiating a peace honorable to both parties, yet the scale was turned in favor of the Afghan, by the simul- taneous admission that Peshawur was a place to which Dost Mahomed could scarcely be expected to resign all claim.* Nevertheless, it was said, the wishes of Runjeet Singh could be ascertained by Captain Wade, and Captain Burnes could similarly inquire about the views of the Ameer. The latter officer was formally invested with diplomatic powers t, and the idle de- signs, or restless intrigues, of Persians and Russians, soon caused the disputes of Sikhs and Afghans to merge in the British scheme of reseating Shah Shooja on the throne of Caubul. At the end of a generation the repose of the English masters of India was again disturbed by the rumored march of European armies t, and their suspicions were further roused by the conduct of the French general, .^pard. That officer, after a residence of several years in the Punjab, had been enabled^ta visit his native country, and he retiifiied by way of Calcutta in the year 1836. While in France he had induced his government to give him a document, accrediting him to Runjeet Singh, in case his life should be endangered, or in case he should be refused permission to quit the Lahore dominions. It was un- derstood by the English that the paper was only to be produced to the Muharaja in an extremity of the kind mentioned ; but General Allard himself considered that it was only to be so laid in form before the English authorities, in support of a demand for aid when he might chance to be straitened. He at once delivered his credentials to the Sikh ruler ; it was rumored that General Allard had become a French ambassador, and * Government to Capt. Wade, 31st July, 1837. t Government to Capt. Wade, 1 1 th Sept., 1837. \ The idea of Russian designs on India engaged the attention of the British viceroy in 1831 (see Murray's Runjeet Singh, by Prinsep, p. 168.), and it at the same time possessed the inquiring but sanguine mind of Capt. Burnes, who afterwards gave the notion so much notoriety. (See Capt. Wade to Government, 3rd Aug., 1831.) Chap. VII.] MARRIAGE OP NAO NIHAL SINGH. 219 it was some time before the British authorities forgave i837. the fancied deceit, or the vain efirontery of their guest.* ' Runjeet Singh had invited the Governor General of The mar- India, the Governor of Agra (Sir Charles Metcalfe), NafNihai and the Commander-in-Chief of the British forces to singh, be present at the nuptials of his grandson, which he designed to celebrate with much splendor. The prince was wedded to a daughter of the Sikh chief. Sham Singh Atareewala, in the beginning of March 1837, but of the English authorities Sir Henry Fane alone was su- Henvy able to attend. That able commander was ever a care- ?'*°^ ** ful observer of military means and of soldierly qualities ; he formed an estimate of the force which would be re- quired for the complete subjugation of the Punjab, but at the same time he laid it down as a principle, that the Sutlej and the wastes of Rajpootana and Sindh, were the best boundaries which the English could have in the east.t The prospect of a war with the Sikhs * The author gives what the French officers held to be the intended use of the credentials, on the compe- tent authority of General Ventura, with whom he formerly had conver- sations on the subject. The English view, however, is that which was taken by the British ambassador in Paris, as well as by the authorities in Calcutta, with whom General Allard was in personal communication. (Go- vernment to Capt. Wade, 16th Jan. and 3rd April, 1 837. ) Of the two views, that of the En- glish is the less honorable, with reference to their duty towards Run- jeet Singh, who might have justly resented any attempt on the part of a servant to put himself beyond the power of his master, and any inter- ference in that servant's behalf on the part of the British Government. In the letter to Runjeet Singh, Louis Philippe is styled, in French, " Empereur" (Capt. Wade to Go- vernment, 15th Sept., 1837); a title which, at the time, may have pleased the vanity of the French, although it could not have informed the under- standings of the Sikhs, as, agreeably to Persian and Indian practice, king or queen is always translated " Pad- shah" equally with emperor. [Sir Claude Wade seems to think that the real design of the French was to open a regular intercourse with Runjeet Singh, and to obtain a political in- fluence in the Punjab. The Muha- raja, however, after consulting the British Agent, decided on not taking any notice of the overtures. (Sir Claude Wade's Narrative^ p. 38. note. )] f These views of Sir Henry Fane's may not be on record, but they were well known to those about his Excel- lency. His estimate was, as I re- member to have heard from Capt. Wade, 67,000 men, and he thought there might be a two years' active warfare. This visit to Lahore was perhaps mainly useful in enabling Lieut. -Col. . Garden, the indefatigable quarter- master-general of the Bengal Army, to compile a detailed map of that part of the country, and which formed the groundwork of all the maps used when hostilities did at last break out with the Sikhs. 220 HISTOET OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. YU. 1837. Runjeet Singh's ob- ject the gratification of his guests and allies. Anecdotes showing a similar purpose. was then remote, and hostile designs could not with honor be entertained by a guest. Sir Henry Fane, therefore, entered heartily into the marriage festivities of Lahore, and his active mind was amused with giving shape to a scheme, which the intuitive sagacity of Run- jeet Singh had acquiesced in as pleasing to the just pride or useful vanity of English soldiers. The project of establishing an Order of merit similar to those dying exponents of warlike skill and chivalrous fraternity among European nations, had been for some time entertained, and although such a system of distinction can be adapted to the genius of any people, the object of the Muharaja was simply to gratify his English neighbors, and advantage was accordingly taken of Sir Henry Fane's presence to establish the " Order of the auspicious Star of the Punjab" on a purely British model.* This method of pleasing, or occupying the attention of the English authorities, was not unusual with Runjeet Singh, and he was always ready to inquire concerning matters which interested them, or which might be turned to account by himself. He would ask for specimens of, and for information about, the manu- facture of Sambhur salt and Malwa opium, t So early as 1812 he had made trial of the sincerity of his new allies, or had shown his admiration of their skill, by asking for five hundred muskets. These were at once furnished to him ; but a subsequent request for a supply of fifty thousand such weapons, excited a passing sus- picion, t He readily entered into a scheme of freighting a number of boats with merchandize for Bombay, and he was praised for the interest he took in commerce, until it was known that he wished the return cargo to consist of arms for his infantry. § He would have his artillerymen learn gunnery at Loodiana || , and he would * Capt. Wade to Government, 7th April, 1837. f Capt. Wade to the Resident at Delhi, 2nd Jan., 1831, and to Govern- ment, 25th Dec, 1835. t Capt. Wade to Government, 22nd July, 1836. § Compare Government to Capt. Wade, nth Sept., 1837. II Capt. Wade to Government, 7th Dec, 1831. Chap. VII.] ANECDOTES OF EUNJEET SINGH. 221 send shells of zinc to be inspected in the hope that he might receive some hints about the manufacture of iron shrapnells.* He would inquire about the details of European warfare, and he sought for copies of the pay regulations of the Indian army and of the English prac- tice of courts martial, and bestowed dresses of honor on the translator of these complicated and inapplicable systems t ; while, to further satisfy himself, he would ask what punishment had been found an efficient sub- stitute for flogging, t He sent a lad, the relation of one of his chiefs, to learn English at the Loodiana school, in order, he said, that the youth might aid him in his correspondence with the British Government, which Lord William Bentinck had wished to carry on in the English tongue instead of in Persian § ; and he sent a number of young men to learn something of medicine at the Loodiana dispensary, which had been set on foot by the political agent — but in order, theMuharaja said, that they might be useful in his battalions. 1| In such ways, half serious, half idle, did Runjeet Singh endeavor to ingratiate himself with the representatives of a_;^wer h e could not withs tand jndjieyer wholly trusted. Runjeet Singh's rejoicings over the marriage and youthful promise of his grandson were rudely inter- rupted by the success of the Afghans at Jumrood, and the death of his able leader Hurree Singh, as has been already related. The old man was moved to tears when he heard of the fate of the only genuine Sikh 1837. * When the restoration of Shah Shooja was resolved on, Runjeet Singh sent shells to Loodiana to be looked at and commented on, as if, being engaged in one political cause, there should not be any reserve about military secrets ! f Major Hough, who has added to the reputation of the Indian army by his useful publications, put the prac- tice of courts martial into a Sikh dress for Runjeet Singh. (Government to Capt. Wade, 21st November, 1 834.) ^ Government to Capt. Wade, 18th May, 1835, intimating that solitary confinement had been found a good substitute. § Capt. Wade to Government, 11th April, 1835. Some of the princes of India, all of whom are ever prone to suspicion, were not without a belief that, by writing in English, it was designed to keep them in ignorance of the real views and declarations of their paramount. II Some of these young men were employed with the force raised at Peshawur, in 1839, to enable Prince Tymoor to march through Khyber. The British scheme of opening the Indus to commerce ends in the project of restoring Shah Shooja, 222 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap.VII. 1837. p}jjgf gf jjjg creation* ; and he had scarcely vindicated his supremacy on the frontier, by filling the valley of Peshawur with troops, when the English interfered to embitter the short remainder of his life, and to set bounds to his ambition on the west, as they had already done on the east and south. The commercial policy of the British people required that peace and industry should at once be introduced among the half-barbarous tribes of Sindh, Khorassan, and the Punjab ; and it was vainly sought to give fixed limits to newly-founded feudal governments, and to impress moderation of desire upon grasping military sovereigns. It was wished that Runjeet Singh should be content with his past achievements ; that the Ameers of Sindh, and the chiefs of Heerat, Candahar, and Caubul~^h6uld feel themselves "^^cuTe iirwKat~they held, but incapable of obtaining more ; and that the restless Shah Shooja should quietly abandon all hope of regaining the crown of his daily dreams, t These were the views which ' the English viceroy required his agents to impress on T alpoors, Barukzaees, and Sikhs ; and their imprac- ; tiffacmlity' mignt 'Eave'^quietlyand harmlessly become apparent, had not Russia found reason and opportunity : to push her intrigues, through Persia and Toprkistan, to the banks of the Indus, t The desire of effecting a j reconciliation between Runjeet Singh and Dost Ma- homed induced the British Government to oflfer its t * Capt. Wade to Government, 1 3th a reservation, or of the expression of May, 1837, quoting Dr. Wood, a a rigm he did not possess. (Govern- surgeon in the British army, tempo- ment to Capt. Wade, 2Sth Sept., rarily deputed to attend on Runjeet and 13th Nov., 1837.) Singh, and who was with his camp at ^ Without reference to the settled Rhotas on this occasion. policy of Russia, or to what she may t Compare Government to Capt. always have thought of the virtual Wade, 13th Nov., 1837, and to Capt. supportwhich England gives to Persia Bumes and Capt. Wade, both of and Turkey against her power, the pre- the 20th January, 1838. With re- sence of inquiring agents in Khoras- gard to Sindh, also, the views of san and Toorkistan, and the progres- Runjeet Singh were not held to be sive extension of the British Indian pleasing, and the terms of his com- dominion, must have put her on the munication with the Ameers were alert, if they did not fill her with thought equivocal, or denotative of reasonable ^suspicions. CuAP. VII.] ENGLISH POLICY ERRONEOUS. 223 mediation* ; the predilections of its frank and enter- prizing envoy led him to seize upon the admission that the Ameer could scarcely be expected to resign all pre- tensions to Peshawur. t The crafty chief made use of this partiality, and of the fact that his friendship was courted, to try and secure himself against the only power he really feared, viz. that of the Sikhs ; and he renewed his overtures to Persia and welcomed a Russian emissary, with the view of intimidating the (English into the surrender of Peshawur, and into a gua- rantee against Runjeet Singh. Friendly assurances to the Candahar brothers, and a hint that the Sikhs were at liberty to march on Caubul, would have given Dost Mahomed a proper sense of his insignificance t ; but the truth and the importance of his hostile designs were both believed or assumed by the British Govern- ment, while the rumors of a northern invasion were eagerly received and industriously spread by the van- quished princes of India, and the whole country vi- brated with the hope that the uncongenial domination of the English was about to yield to the ascendancy of another and less dissimilar race.§ The recall of Cap- 1837,1838. Dost Ma- homed eventually falls into the views of Persia and Russia. The origi- nal policy of the English erroneous. X. /J /- ' ■ - * Government to Capt, Wade, 31st July, 1837. f These predilections of Sir Alex. Burnes, and the hopes founded on them by Dost Mahomed, were su6B- ciently notorious to those in personal communication with that valuable pioneer of the English ; and his strong wish to recover Peshawur, at least for Sooltan Mahomed Khan, is distinctly stated in his own words, in Masson's Journeys (iii. 423.). The idea of taking the district from the Sikhs, either for Dost Mahomed or his brothers, is moreover apparent from Sir Alex. Burnes' published letters, of 5th Oct. 1837, and 26th Jan. and 13th March, 1838 (Parlia- mentary Papers, 1839), from the Go- vernment replies of remark and cau- tion, dated 20th Jan., and especially of 27th April, 1838, and from Mr. Masson's statements (^Journeys, iii. 423. 448.). Mr. Masson himself thought it would be but justice to restore the district to Sooltan Moha- med Khan, while Moonshee Mohun Lai (_Life of Dost Mahomed, i. 257, &c.) represents the Ameer to have thought that the surrender of Pesh- awur to his brother, would have been more prejudicial to his interests than its retention by the Sikhs. ^ Such were Capt. Wade's views, and they are sketched in his letters of the 15th May, and 28th Oct., 1837, with reference to commercial objects, although the line of policy may not have been steadily adhered to, or fully developed. § The extent to which this feeling was prevalent is known to those who were observers of Indian affairs at the time, and it is dwelt upon in the Governor General's minute of the 20th Aug., 1839. 224 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. Vn. 1838. But, under the circum- stances HTwujbt ateNt, the expedition to Caubul ■wisely and boldly con- ceired. Negotia- tions re- garding the restoration of Shah Shooja, May, July, 1838. tain Burnes from Caubul gave speciousness to the Avildest statements ; the advantage of striking some great blow became more and more obvious ; for the sake of consistency it was necessary to maintain peace on the Indus, and it was wisely resolved to make a triumphant progress through Central Asia, and to leave Shah Shooja as a dependent prince on his ancestral throne. The conception was bold and perfect ; and had it been steadily adhered to, the whole project would have eminently answered the ends intended, and would have been, in every way, worthy of the English name.* In the beginning of 1838 the Governor General did not contemplate the restoration of Shah Shooja t ; but in four months the scheme was adopted, and in May of that year Sir William Macnaghten was sent to Runjeet Singh to unfold the views of the British Government.^ The Muharaja grasped at the first idea which presented itself, of making use of the Shah at the head of his * The Governor General's minute of 12th May, 1 838, and his declara- tion of the 1st October, of the same year, may be referred to as summing up the views which moved the British Government on the occasion. Both were published by order of parliament in March, 1 839. f Government to Capt. Wade, 20th January, 1838. \ The proximate cause of the re- solution to restore Shah Shooja, was, of course, the preference given by Dost Mahomed to a Persian and \ Russian over a British alliance, and the immediate object of deputing Sir W. Macnaghten to Lahore, was to make Runjeet Singh as much as pos- sible a party to the policy adopted. (See, among other letters, Govern- ment to Capt. Wade, 1 5th May, 1838.') The deputation crossed into the Punjab at Rooper on the 20th May. It remained some time at Adeenanuggur, and afterwards went to Lahore. The first interview with Runjeet Singh was on the 31st May, the last on the 13th July. Sir Wil- liam Macnaghten recrossed the Sutlej at Loodiana on the 15th July, and on that and the following day he arranged with Shah Shooja in person the terms of his restoration. Two months before the deputation waited upon Runjeet Singh, he had visited Jummoo for apparently the first tinie in his life, and the same may be regarded as the last in which the worn-out prince tasted of unal- loyed happiness. Golab Singh re- ceived his sovereign with every de- monstration of loyalty, and, bowing to the Muharaja's feet, he laid before him presents worth nearly forty thousand pounds, saying he was the humblest of his slaves, and the most grateful of those on whom he had heaped favors. Runjeet Singh shed tears, but afterwards pertinently ob- served that, in Jummoo, gold might be seen where formerly there was nought but stones. (Major Macke- son's letter to Capt. Wade, of 31st March, 1838). CHAr. VII.] DISSATISFACTION OF EUNJEET SINGH. 225 armies, with the proclaimed support of the paramount power in India; but he disUked the complete view of the scheme, and the active cooperation of his old allies. It chafed him that he was to resign all hope of Shikar- poor, and that he was to be inclosed within the iron arms of the English rule. He suddenly broke up his camp at Adeenanuggur, leaving the British envoys to follow at their leisure, or to return, if they pleased, to Simlah ; and it was not until he was told the expedition would be undertaken whether he chose to share in it or not, that he assented to a modification of his own treaty with Shah Shooja, and that the triple alliance was formed for the subversion of the power of the Baruk- zaees.* TheJEnglish, on their part, insisted on a double invasion of Afghanistan : first, because the Ameers of Sindh disliked a proffered treaty of alliance or depen- dence, and they could conveniently be coerced as tribu- taries by Shah Shooja on his way to Candahar ; and, secondly, because it was not deemed prudent to place the ex-king in the hands of Runjeet Singh, who might be tempted to use him for Sikh rather than for British objects, t It was therefore arranged that the Shah 1838. Eunjeet Singh dis- satisfied ; but finally assents. * That Runjeet Singh was told he would be left out if he did not choose to come in, does not ap- pear on public record. It was, how- ever, the only convincing argument used during the long discussions, and I thinlc Major Mackeson was made the bearer of the message to that effect. t Compare the Governor General's minute of 12th of May, 1838, and his instructions to Sir William Mac- naghten of the 15th of the same month. Runjeet Singh was anxious to get something lasting and tangible as his share of the profit of the expe- dition, and he wanted Jellalabad, as there seemed to be a difficulty about Shikarpoor. The Muharaja got, in- deed, a subsidy of two hundred thou- sand rupees a year from the Shah for the use of his troops ; a conces- sion which did not altogether satisfy the Governor General (see letter to Sir William Macnaghten, 2nd July, 1838), and the article became, in fact, a dead letter. The idea of creating a friendly power in Afghanistan, by guiding Runjeet Singh upon Caubul, seems to have been seriously entertained, and it was a scheme which promised many solid advantages. Compare the Governor General's minute, i2th May, 1838, the author's abstract of which differs somewhat from the copy printed by order of parliament in 1839, and Mr. Masson (^Journeys, iii. 487, 488. ) who refers to a communi- cation from Sir William Macnaghten on the subject. For the treaty about the restoration of Shah Shooja, see Appendix XXX. 226 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. VII. 1838. Bunjeet Singh ap- parently at the height of great- ness ; but chafed in mind, and en- feebled in health. himself should march by way of Shikarpoor and Quetta, while his son moved on Caubul by the road of Pesha- wur, and at the head of a force provided by the Muha- raja of the Punjab. The British force assembled at Feerozpoor towards the close of 1838, and further eclat was given to the opening of a memorable campaign, by an interchange of hospitalities between the English viceroy and the Sikh ruler.* Ostensibly Runjeet Singh had reached the summit of his ambition ; he was ac- knowledged to be an arbiter in the fate of that empire which had tyrannized over his peasant forefathers, and he was treated with the greatest distinction by the foreign paramounts of India : but his health had become seriously impaired ; he felt that he was in truth fairly in collision with the English, and he became indifferent about the careful fulfilment of the engagements into which he had entered. Shazada Tyraoor marched from Lahore in January, 1839, accompanied by Colonel Wade as the British representative ; but it was with difficulty the stipulated auxiliary force was got together at Peshawur, and although a considerable army at last encamped in the valley, the commander, the Muharaja's grandson, thwarted the negotiations of Prince Tymoor and the English agent, by endeavoring to gain friends for Lahore rather than for the proclaimed sovereign of the Afghans.t Runjeet Singh's health continued to * At one of the several meetings which took place on this occasion, there was an interchange of compli- ments, which may be noticed. Run- jeet Singh likened the friendship of the two states to an apple, the red and yellow colors of which were, he said, so blended, that although the sem- blance was twofold the reality was one. Lord Auckland replied that the Muharaja's simile was very happy, inasmuch as red and yellow were the national colors of the English and Sikhs respectively ; to which Runjeet Singh rejoined in the same strain that the comparison was indeed in every way appropriate, for the friendship of the two powers was, like the apple, fair and delicious. The translations were given in English and Oordoo with elegance and emphasis by Sir William Macnaghten and Fukeer Uzeezooddeen, both of whom were masters, although in different ways, of language, whether written or spoken. ■f" See, among other letters, Capt. Wade to Government, 18th Aug., 1839. For some interesting details regarding Capt. Wade's military proceedings, see Lieut. Barr's pul>- lished Journal; and for the diplomatic history, so to speak, of his mission, see Moonshee Shahamut Alee's Sihha arid Afghans, Chap. VII.] DEATH OF RUNJEET SINGH. 227 decline. He heard of the fall of Candahar in April, and i839. the delay at that place may have served to cheer his ' ' vexed spirit with the hope that the English would yet be baffled ; but he died on the 27th of June, at the age Death of of fifty-nine, before the capture of Ghuznee and the occu- Kimjeet pation of Caubul, and the forcing of the Khyber Pass 27th June wdth the aid of his own troops, placed the seal of success 1S39- on a campaign in which he was an unwilling sharer. ■;^ Runjeet Singh found the Punjab a waning confe- deracy, a prey to the factions of its chiefs, pressed by the Afghans and the Mahrattas, and ready to sub- mit to English supremacy. He consolidated the nu- merous petty states into a kingdom, he wrested from Caubul the fairest of its provinces, and he gave the potent English no cause for interference. He found the military array of his country a mass of horsemen, brave indeed, but ignorant of war as an art, and he left it mustering fifty thousand disciplined soldiers, fifty thousand well-armed yeomanry and militia, and more than three hundred pieces of cannon for the field. His rule was founded on the feelings of a people, but 1 it involved the joint action of the necessary principles of military order and territorial extension ; and when '•. a limit had been set to Sikh dominion, and his own i commanding genius was no more, the vital spirit of \ his race began to consume itself in domestic conten- ' tions.* The politi- cal con- dition of the Sikhs, as modified by the genius of Kunjeet Singh. * In 1831, Capt. Murray estimated the Silch revenue at little more than 2^ millions sterling, and the army at 82,000 men, including 15,000 regular infantry and .S76 guns. (Murray's Runjeet Singh, by Prinsep, p. ISS, 186.) In the same year Capt. Burnes (^Travels, i. 289. 291.), gives the revenue at 2^ millions, and the army at 75,000, including 25,000 regular infantry. Mr. Masson {Journeys, i. 430.) gives the same revenue ; but fixes the army at 70,000 men, of whom 20,000 were disciplined. This may be assumed as an estimate of 1838, when Mr. Masson returned from Caubul. In 1845, Lieut.- Col. Steinbach {Punjab, p. 58.) states the army to have amounted to 110,000 men, of whom 70,000 were regulars. The returns procured for Govern- ment in 1844, and which cannot be far wrong, show that there were upwards of 40,000 regularly drDled infantry, and a force of about 125,000 men in all, maintained with about 375 guns or field carriages. Compare the Calcutta Review, iii. 176.; Dr. Macgre- gor's Sikhs, ii. 86., and Major Smith's Reigning Family of Lahore, appendices, Q 2 228 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. VII. 1839^ When Runjeet Singh was Lord Auckland's host at ~ Lahore and Amritsir, his utterance was difficult, and the powers of his body feeble ; he gradually lost the use of his speech, and of the faculties of his mind ; and, bring about before his death, the Rajas of Jummoo had usurped to Succession themselves the whole of the functions of government, of Khurruk which the absence of Nao Nihal Singh enabled them ^'°^^' to do with little difficulty. The army was assembled, and a litter, said to contain the dying Muharaja, was carried along the extended line. Dhian Singh was assiduous in his mournful attentions ; he seemed to take orders as if from his departing sovereign, and from time to time, during the solemn procession, he made known that Runjeet Singh declared the Prince Khurruk Singh his successor, and himself, Dhian Singh, the vuzeer or minister of the kingdom.* The sol- diery acquiesced in silence, and the British Government was perhaps more sincere than the Sikh people in the congratulations offered, agreeably to custom, to the new and unworthy master of the Punjab. p. xxxvii. For estimates, correct in has been published, is that taken / some particulars, and moderate in by the Hon. Miss Kden ; and it, es- others. pecially in the original drawing, is For a statement of the Lahore reve- true and expressive. Runjeet Singh nues, see Appendix XXXVITI. ; and was of small statm;e. When young for a list of the Lahore army, see he"was dexterous in all manly exer- Appendix XXXIX. cises, but in his old age he became ' Many descriptions of Runjeet weak and inclined to corpulency. ; Singh's person and manners have He lost an eye when a child by the : been written, of which the fullest is small-pox, and the most marked i perhaps that in Prinsep's edition of characteristic of his mental powers i Murray's Life, p. 178., &c. ; while was a broad and massive forehead, '■ Capt. Osborne's Court and Camp, which the ordinary portraits do not ; and Col. Lawrence's Adventurer in show. the Punjab, contain many illustrative * Mr. Clerk's memorandum of touches and anecdotes. The only I 1 842 for Lord EUenborough. good likeness of the Muharaja which| Chap. VIII.] KHURRUK SINGH. 229 CHAPTER VIII. FROM THE DEATH OF MUHARAJA EUNJEET SINGH TO THE DEATH OF VUZEER JOWAHIR SINGH. 1839—1845. Khurruk SinglCs power usurped by his son Nao Nilidl Singh. — Lieut- Colonel Wade and Mr, Clerk. — Nao Nihdl Singh and the Rajas of Jummoo. — The death of Khurruk Singh. — The death of Nao Nihdl Singh. — Sher Singh proclaimed Muharaja, but the authority of sovereign assumed by the mother of Nao Nihdl Singh. — Sher Singh gains over the troops and succeeds to power. — The army assumes a voice ill ajfairs, and becomes an organized political body. — The English willing to interfere. — The English undervalue the Sikhs. ■ — The Sikhs in Tibet : ■ — opposed by the Chinese, and restrained by the English. — The English in Caubul. — General PollocKs campaign. — The Sindhaiiwala and Jummoo families. — The death of Sher Singh. — The death of Raja Dhidn Singh. — Dhuleep Singh proclaimed Muharaja with Heera Singh as Vuzeer. — ^Unsuccessful insurrections. — Pundit Julians proceedings and views. ■ — - Heera Singh expelled and slain. — Jowdhir Singh nominated Vuzeer. — Golab Singh submits. — Peshawura Singh in rebellion. — Jowdhir Singh put to death by the Army. The imbecile Khurruk Singh was acknowledged as the issg. master of the Punjab ; but Sher Singh, the reputed siier'singh son of the deceased king, at once urged his superior claims thp claims or merits on the attention of the British vice- ju^"^ ^°"' roy*; and Nao Nihal Singh, the real offspring of the July, 1 839; * Government to Mr. Clerk, 12th of Indian correspondence, which July, 1839. Mr. Clerk, who was " transmits" every thing "for inform- acting for Col. Wade while absent at ation and for such orders as may seem Peshawur, seems to have detained necessary." Lord Auckland hastily Sher Singh's messenger, and to have desired Sher Singh to be told Khur- sent his letter to the Governor Gene- ruk Singh was his master. ral somewhat in that ordinary spirit a 3 230 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. VIIL . 1839. titular sovereign, hastened from Peshawur to take upon jj^jjjj^g himself the duties of ruler. The prince, a youth of Ni-hai Singh eighteen, was in his heart opposed to the proclaimed rea^powe^ minister and the Rajas of Jummoo ; hut the ascendancy and tempo- of One Cheit Singh over the weak mind of the Muha- htoieif""^ raja, and Khurruk Singh's own desire of resting upon with the the influence of the British agent, induced the two par- K^>9™°° t'^s to coalesce, first for the destruction of the minion, and afterwards for the removal of Colonel Wade. That officer had stood high with Runjeet Singh as a liberal construer of Sikh rights, or as one who would care- fully show how a collision with the English was to be avoided ; he had steadily refused to make Dhian Singh the medium of his communications with the old Muha- raja ; he had offended the heir-apparent by unceremoni- ously accusing him of machinations with Afghan chiefs; and in the eyes of the Sikhs he was pledged to Khur- ruk Singh at all hazards, by the prominent part he had taken in the meeting at Rooper before noticed. His presence was thus disliked, and his interference dreaded, by men not inclined to wholly yield themselves to En- glish counsels, and yet accustomed to see the sugges- tions of the Governor General regularly carried into effect by the sovereign of Lahore. Thefavour- The privacy of the Muharaja's household was rudely sS h'^^ut vio^^'^^d by the prince and minister at daybreak on the to death, 8th of October, 1839, and Cheit Singh was awakened from his slumbers to be put to death, within a few paces of his terrified master.* The removal of Colonel Wade was mixed up with the passage of British troops across the Punjab, and had to be effected in another manner. * Golab Singh was perhaps the 28th Oct. 1839); and similarly Mr. most prominent and resolute actor in Clerk had been directed to explain to this tragedy, although his brother Khurruk Singh the disapprobation and Nao Nihal Singh were both pre- with which the English viewed the sent. Col. Wade was desired to eK- practice of suttee with reference to press to the Lahore Court the regret what had taken place at his father's of the British Government that such funeral. (Government to Mr. Clerk, a. scene of violence should have oc- 20th Aug. 1839). curred (Government to Col. Wade, 8th Oct. 1839. Chap.VIII.] col. wade AND ME. CLEEK. 231 The Governor General had designed that the Anglo- i840. Indian army which accompanied Shah Shooja, should ^T~^. ' return by way of Peshawur, instead of retracing its steps succeeds through the Bolan pass : and when his Lordship visited }'^^^^'9°' -D • o- 1 Til • • 1 11 lonelWade Kunjeet tsmgn at Lahore, the proposition was verbally as agent, conceded, although not definitively settled by an inter- }g',Q^"'' change of letters.* In September, 1839, Mr. Clerk was sent on a mission of condolence and congratulation to the new Muharaja, and to finally arrange about the return of Lord Keane with the stormers of Ghuznee. The prince and minister were each conscious of their mutual enmity and secret design of grasping supre- macy, but they were even more averse to the presence of a British army in the heart of the Punjab than to one hovering on a distant frontier. It might be used to take part with one or other claimant, or it might be turned against both in favor of the contemned Khurruk Singh : but the passage of the troops could not be wholly refused, and they therefore urged a march by the difficult route of Dera Ismaeel Khan, and they succeeded in fixing upon a line which prudently avoided the capi- tal, and also in obtaining a premature assurance that an English force should not again march through the Sikh country.t The chiefs were pleased with the new En- glish negotiator, as all have ever been with that prompt and approved functionary. Something is always ex- pected from a change, and when a return mission was deputed to Simlah, it was whispered that Colonel Wade had made himself personally objectionable to those who exercised sway at Lahore ; and the complaint was re- peated to Lord Keane, when he quitted his army for a few days to visit the Muharaja. 1^ In the month of No- vember (1839), Colonel Wade was himself at the Sikh * Government to Mr. Clerk, 20th should not again cross the Punjab. Aug. 1839. (Government to Mr. Clerk, 1 4th f Mr. Clerk to Gorernment, 14th Oct. 1839.) Sept. 1 839. The Governor General \ See, particularly, Government to was not satisfied that a kind of pledge Col. Wade, 29th Jan. 1 840, and Col. had been given that British troops Wade to Government, 1st April, 1840. Q 4 232 HISTOEY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. VIII. 1840. The relief of the Bri- tish troops in Caubul. metropolis on his way from Caubul, butKhurruk Singh was kept at a distance on pretence of devotional observ- ances, lest he should throw himself on the protection of one believed to be ill-disposed towards those who sought his life, or his virtual relinquishment of power. * A portion of the British army of invasion had even- tually to be left in Afghanistan, as it was thought that Shah Shooja could not maintain himself without sup- port. The wants of regular forces are manifold, and a supply of stores and ammunition had to be collected for transmission to Caubul on Colonel Wade's resumption of his duties at Loodiana, towards the end of 1839. It was desired to send a regiment of Sepoys as a guard with the convoy, but the Sikh minister and heir appa- rent urged that such could not be done under the terms of the agreement concluded a few months previously. Their aversion to their old English representative was mixed up with the general objection to making their country a common highway for foreign armies, and they thus ventured to offer obstructions to the speedy equip- ment of the isolated British forces, mainly with the view of discrediting Colonel Wade. The Governor General was justly impressed with the necessity of keeping open the straight road to Caubul, and he yielded to the wishes of the Lahore factions and removed his agent, but not before Dhian Singh and the prince had despaired of effecting their object, and had allowed the convoy, bristling with bayonets, to proceed on its way.t In the beginning of April, 1840, Mr. Clerk succeeded to the * Compare Moonshee Shahamut Alee's Sikhs and AfghanSf-g. 543, &c., and some remarks in a note, p. 545., about the English policy gene- rally towards Khurruk Singh, which note may safely be held to be Col, Wade's own. Doubtless had Col. Wade continued to enjoy the complete confidence or support of the Governor General, the subsequent history of the Punjab would have been differ- ent from, if not better than that which all have witnessed. So much may the British representative effect at an Indian court, without directly interfering, provided he is at once firm, judicious, and well-informed. I The Governor General was about to proceed to Calcutta, which made him the more desirous of having an agent on the frontier, at once approved of by himself and agreeable to the Sikhs, i. e. to the influential parties for the time being at Lahore. ( Go- vernment to Col. Wade, 29th Jan. 1840.) Chap, Vni.] NEGOTIATIONS ABOUT TEADE. 233 charge of the British relations with the Punjab; and, i840. independent of his general qualifications, he was the ^ " person best suited to the requirements of the time ; for the very reason which rendered the agency of Colonel Wade invaluable when it was desired to preserve Sindh and to invade Afghanistan, now rendered that of Mr. Clerk equally beneficial to the indeterminate policy of the English in India. Both officers had the confidence of the dejacto Sikh rulers of the time, and all their recom- mendations were held to be given in a spirit of good will towards the Government of the Punjab, as well as in obedience to the dictates of British interests. The Sikh prince and the English viceroy had thus English ne- each accomplished the objects of the moment. On the f^outtade one hand, the Muharaja was overawed by the vigor and success of his aspiring son, and, on the other, the Punjab was freely opened to the passage of British troops, in support of a policy which connected the west of Europe with the south of Asia by an unbroken chain of alliances. The attention of each party was next turned to other matters of near concern, and the English recurred to their favorite scheme of navi- gating the Indus, and of forming an entrepot on that river, which should at once become the centre of a vast traffic* The treaty of 1834 had placed a toll on boats which used the channels of the Indus and Sutlej, and in 1839 the Sikhs deferred to the changing views of their allies, and put the duty on the goods themselves, accord- ing to an assumed ad valorem scale, instead of on the containing vessels. t This scheme inevitably gave rise to a system of search and detention, and in June, 1840, the tolls upon the boats were again re-imposed, but at re- duced rates, and with the omission of such as contained * Government to Mr. Clerk, 4th \ Mr, Clerk to Government, 19th May, 1840. The establishment of a May and 18th Sept. 1839, and Go- great entrepSt of trade was a main vernment to Mr. Clerk, 20th Aug. feature of the scheme for opening the 1839. For the agreement itself, see navigationof thelndus. (Government Appendix XXXI. to Capt. Wade, Sth Sept. 1836.) 234 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. Vm. 1840. grain, wood, and limestone.* But in spite of every governnaent endeavor, and of the adventitious aid of large consuming armies, the expectation of creating an active and valuable commerce by the Indus has not yet been fulfilled ; partly because Sindh and Afghanistan are, in truth, unproductive countries on the whole, and are inhabited by half savage races, with few wants and scanty means ; and partly because a large capital has for ages been embarked in the land trade which connects the north of India with the south, which traverses' the old principalities of Rajpootana and the fertile plains of Malwa, and which gives a livelihood to the owners of numerous herds of camels and black cattle. To change the established economy of prudent merchants must be the work of time in a country long subject to political commotion, and the idea of forming an emporium by proclamation savors more of Eastern vanity than of English sense and soberness. t Nao Nihal Singh's great aim was to destroy, or to reduce to insignificance, the potent Rajas of Jummoo, against the who wished to engross the whole power of the state, Jummoo. S'"'! w^^o jointly held Ludakh and the hill principalities between the Ravee and Jehlum in fief, besides numerous estates in various parts of the Punjab. He took advantage of the repeated dilatoriness of the Mundee and other Rajpoot chiefs around Kanggra in paying their stipulated tribute, to move a large force into the eastern hills, and the resistance his troops experienced Nao Nihal Singh's schemes * Mr. Clerk to Government, Sth May, and 15th July, 1840. For the agreement itself, see Appendix XXXII. Subsequently, idle discus- sions occasionally arose with local authorities, as to whether lime was in- cluded under limestone, whether bam- boos were wood, and whether rice was comprehended under the technical term "grain," which it is not in India. Similarly the limited meaning of " corn " in England has, perhaps, given rise to the modern phrase "bread-stuffs." f Nevertheless the experiment was repeated in 1846, on the annexation of the Jalundhur Dooab, when it was hoped, but equally in vain, that Ho- sheearpoor might suddenly become a centre of exchange. Every part of India bears various marks of the unrealized hopes of sanguine indivi- duals with reference to the expected benefits of English sway, which dif- tuses indeed some moral as well as material blessings, but which must eifect its work by slow and laborious means. CHAP.Vm.] SCHEMES OF NAO NIHAL SINGH. 235 amid mountain fastnesses seemed fully to justify the con- 1^40. tinuous dispatch of reinforcements. His design was, to place a considerable army immediately to the north- east of Jummoo, to be ready to co-operate with the troops which could reach that place in a few marches from Lahore. The commanders chosen were the skilful General Ventura and the ardent young chief Ajeet Singh Sindhan^^lSf*^ither of whom bore good will towards Raja Dhian Singh.* The plans of the youthful interrupted prince thus seemed in every way well devised for s^ns'*^"th placing the rajas in his grasp, but his attention was the English distracted by disputes with the English authorities ghanistn. about the limits of the expanding dominion of Lahore and of the restored empire of Caubul, and by a direct accusation not only of encouraging turbulent refugees from Shah Shooja's power, but of giving friendly assurances to Dost Mahomed Khan, who was then pre- paring for that inroad which fluttered the English authorities in Khorassan, and yet paved the way for the surrender of their dreaded enemy. Shah Shooja claimed all places not specified in the treaty, or not directly held by Lahore ; nor can it be denied that the English functionaries about the Shah were disposed to consider old Dooranee claims as more valid than the new rights of Sikh conquerors ; and thus the province of Peshawur, which the Punjab government further maintained to have been ceded in form by the Shah separately in 1834, as well as by the treaty of 1838, was proposed to be reduced to strips of land along the banks of its dividing river.f Intercepted papers were produced, bearing the seals of Nao Nihal Singh, and promising pecuniary aid to Dost Mahomed ; but the charge of treachery was calmly repelled, the seals were alleged to be forgeries, and the British agent for the Punjab admitted that it was not the character of the * Compare Mr. Clerk to Govern- naghten to Government, 28th Feb. ment, 6th Sept. 1840. and 12th March, 1840. f See particularly Sir Wm. Mac- 236 Si,. , 6 HISTORY OP THE SIKHS. [Chap. VHT. 1840. Death of Muhar^'a Khurruk. Singh, 5th Nov. 1840. Death of the Prince Nao Nihal Singh, 5th Nov. 1840. free and confident Sikhs to resort to secret and traitor- ous correspondence.* The Barukzaee chief, Sooltan Mahomed Khan, was, however, made to lead as pri- soners to Loodiana the Ghiljaee' rebels who had sought an asylum in his fief of Kohat, near Peshawur, and whose near presence disturbed the antagonistic rule of the arbitrary Shah and his moderate English allies, t Nao Nihal Singh thus seemed to have overcome the danger which threatened him on the side of England, and to be on the eve of reducing the overgrown power of his grandfather's favorites. At the same time the end of the Muharaja's life was evidently approaching ; and although his decline was credibly declared to have been hastened by drugs as well as by unfiiial harshness, there were none who cared for a ruler so feeble and un- worthy. Khurruk Singh at last died on the 5th Novem- ber, 1840, prematurely old and care-worn, at the age of thirty-eight, and Nao Nihal Singh became a king in name as well as in power ; but the same day dazzled him with a crown and deprived him of life. He had performed the last rites at the funeral pyre of his father, and he was passing under a covered gateway with the eldest son of Golab Singh by his side, when a portion of the structure fell, and killed the minister's nephew on the spot, and so seriously injured the prince, that he became senseless at the time, and expired during the night. It is not positively known that the Rajas of Jummoo thus designed to remove Nao Nihal Singh ; but it is difficult to acquit them of the crime, and it is certain that they were capable of committing it. Self-defence is the only palliation, for it is equally certain that the prince was compassing their degradation, and, perhaps, their de- * Government to Mr. Clerk, 1st Oct. 1840, and Mr. Clerk to Govern- ment, 9th Dec. 1840. Compare, however. Col. Steinbach {Punjab, p. 23.), who states that the prince was rousing Nepal as well as Caubul to aid him in expelling the English ; forgetful that Nao Nihal Singh's first object was to make himself master of the Punjab by destroying the Jum- moo Rajas. t Government to Mr. Clerk, 1 2th Oct., and Mr. Clerk to Government, 14th May, 10th Sept., and 24tli Oct., 1840. Chap. Vm.] SHER SINGH PROCLAIMED. 237 struction.* Nao Nihal Singh was killed in his tweu- iS4o. tieth year ; he promised to be an able and vigorous ' ' ' ruler ; and had his life been spared, and had not En- glish policy partly forestalled him, he would have found an ample held for his ambition in Siudh, in Afghanistan, and beyond the Hindoo Koosh ; and he might perhaps, at last have boasted that the inroads of Mehmood and of Tymoor had been fully avenged by the aroused peasants of India, The good-natured voluptuary, Sher Singh, was re- sher singh garded by the Sikh minister and bv the British assent proclaimed 11 1 11 1 1 ■ sovereign ; as the only person who coukl succeed to the sovereignty of the Punjab ; and as he was absent from Lahore when the Muharaja died and his son was killed, Dhian Singh concealed the latter circumstance as long as possible, to give Sher Singh time to collect his immediate friends; and the English representative urged him by message to maintain good order along the frontier, as men's minds were likely to be excited by what had taken placet But Sher Singh's pateraity was more than ^' doubtful ; he possessed no commanding and few popular qualities ; the Rajas of Jummoo were odious to the majority of the Sikh chiefs ; and thus Chund Kour, the but chund widow of Khurruk Singh, and the mother of the slain ^P"'"' *e prince, assumed to herself the functions of regent or Khurruk ruler, somewhat unexpectedly indeed, but still unopposed ^'^s"^- '^- at the moment by those whom she had surprized. She power, and was supported by several men of reputation, but mainly ^'^f^ ^'^°s^ by the Sindhaxiwala family, which traced to a near and common ancestor with Runjeet Singh. The lady her- * Compare Mr. Clerk to Govern- particulars, the latter on the authority ment, b'th, 7th, and 10th Nov. 1840, of an eye-witness, n European adven- ^<-^ who further, in his memorandum of turer, known as Capt. Gardner, who 1842, drawn up for Lord Ellenbo- was present a part of the time, and rough, mentions Gen. Ventura's opi- whose testimony is unfavorable to nion that the fall of the gateway was Raja Dhian Singh, accidental. Lieut.- Col. Steinbach, f Compare Mr. Clerk to Govern- Panjab (p. 24.), and Major Smyth, ment, 7th Nov. IS40, and also Mr. Reigning Family of Lahore (p. 35, Clerk's Memorandum of 1842. &c. ), may be c[uoted as giving some 238 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. VIII. 1840. self talked of adding to the claims of the youthful Heera ' • ' Singh, by adopting him, as he had really, if not formally, been adopted by the old Muharaja. She fur- ther distracted the factions by declaring that her daugh- ter-in-law was pregnant ; and one party tried to gain her over by suggesting a marriage with Sher Singh, an alliance which she spurned, and the other more reason- ably proposed Uttur Singh Sindhanwala as a suitable partner, for she might have taken an honored station in his household agreeably to the latitude of village custom in the north-west of India. But the widow of the Muharaja loudly asserted her own right to supreme power, and after a few weeks the government was stated to be composed, 1st, of the " Maee," or *' Mother," pre-eminently as sovereign, or as regent for the ex- pected oflFspring of Nao Nihal Singh ; 2d, of Sher Singh as vicegerent, or as president of the council of state ; and 3d, of Dhian Singh as vuzeer, or executive minis- ter. The compromise was a mere temporary expedient, and Dhian Singh and Sher Singh soon afterwards be- gan to absent themselves for varying periods from Lahore : the one partly in the hope that the mass of business which had arisen with the English, and with which he was familiar, would show to all that his aid was essential to the government; and the other, or indeed both of them, to silently take measures for gaining over the army with promises of donatives and increased pay, so that force might be resorted to at a fitting time. But the scorn with which Sher Singh's hereditary claim was treated made the minister doubtful whether a more suitable instrument might not be neces- sary, and the English authorities were accordingly re- minded of what perhaps they had never known, viz. Dhuieep 'that Ranee Jindan, a^vorite wife or concubine^of birth and Runjeet Singh, had borne toTiirn a son named Dhuleep, pretensions j g^ £g^ months beforc the conferences took place about known. j reseating Shah Shooja on the throne of Caubul.* * Compare Mr. Clerk to Govern- 1840, and 2d Jan. 1841, inclusive, ment, of dates between the loth Nov. particularly of the 11th and 24th Chap. Vm.] MADE CHUND KOUR. 239 The British viceroy did not acknowledge Maee i^^o. Chund Kour as the undoubted successor of her husband The English and son, or as the sovereign of the country ; but he remain treated her government as one de facto, so far as to thrume! carry on business as usual through the accredited agents of either power. The Governor General's anxiety for Dost Ma- the preservation of order in the Punjab was nevertheless ^^ ^<^ considerable ; and it was increased by the state of tempts cau- afFairs in Afghanistan, for the attempts of Dost Ma- eventually homed and the resolution of meeting him with English surrenders /" means alone, rendered the despatch of additional troops "j^jj* necessary, and before Khurruk Singh's death three thousand men had reached Feerozpoor on their way to Caubul.* The progress of this strong brigade was not delayed by the contentions at Lahore ; it pursued its march without interruption, and on its arrival at Pesha- wur it found Dost Mahomed a prisoner instead of a victor. The ex- Ameer journeyed through the PunjaF escorted by a relfeved brigade ; and although Sher Singh was then laying siege to the citadel of Lahore, the original prudence of fixing a route for British troops clear of the Sikh capital, and the complete subjugation of the Mahometan tribes, left the English commander unaware of the struggle going on, except from ordinary reports and news-writers.t The English Government made indeed no declaration sher singh with regard to the Lahore succession ; but it was be- fbHroopI lieved by all that Sher Singh was looked upon as the withDinan proper representative of the kingdom, and the advisers S'°siisai(i. of Maee Chund Kour soon found that they could not withstand the specious claims of the prince, and the commanding influence of the British name, without Nov. and 11th Dec, hesides those and 2d Nov. 1840, and other letters specified. It seems almost certain to and from that functionary, that the existence of the boy Dhuleep f The returning brigade was com- was not before Icnown to the British manded by the veteran Col. Wheeler, ^ authorities. whose name is familiar to the public * Government to Mr. Clerk, 1st in connection both with Afghan and Sikh wars. 240 HISTOEY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. VIH. 1841. Sher Singh attacks La- hore, 14 — ISth Jan. 1841. Chund Kdur yields, and Sher Singh proclaimed Muharaja. throwing themselves wholly on the support of Raja Dhian Singh. That chief was at one time not un- willing to be the sole minister of the Maharanee, and the more sagacious Golab Singh saw advantages to his family amid the complex modes necessary in a female rule, which might not attend the direct sway of a prince of average understanding, inclined to favoritism, and pledged to Sikh principles. But the Maee's coun- cillors would not consent to be thrown wholly into the shade, and Dhian Singh thus kept aloof, and secretly assured Sher Singh of his support at a fitting time. The prince, on his part, endeavored to sound the English agent as to his eventual recognition, and he was satisfied with the reply, although he merely re- ceived an assurance that the allies of thirty-two years wished to see a strong government in the Punjab.* Sher Singh had, with the minister's aid, gained over some divisions of the army, and he believed that all would declare for him if he boldly put himself at their head. The eagerness of the prince, or of his immediate followers, somewhat precipitated measures ; and when he suddenly appeared at Lahore on the 14th January, 1841, he found that Dhian Singh had not arrived from Jummoo, and that Golab Singh would rather fight for the Muharanee, the acknowledged head of the state, than tamely become a party on compulsion to his ill-arranged schemes. But Sher Singh was no longer his own master, and the impetuous soldiery at once proceeded to breach the citadel. Golab Singh in vain urged some delay, or a suspension of hostilities ; but on the 18th January, Dhian Singh and most of the principal chiefs had arrived and ranged themselves on one side or the other. A compromise took place ; the Maee was out- wardly treated with every honor, and large estates were conferred upon her ; but Sher Singh was pro- claimed Muharaja of the Punjab, Dhian Singh was de- * See Mr. Clerk's letters to Go- vernment of Dec. 1840andJan. 1841, generally, particularly that of the 9th Jan. becomes un- controllable. Chap. Vm.] SHER SINGH ACKNOWLEDGED. 241 clared once more to be vuzeer of the state, and the pay i84i. of the soldiery was permanently raised by one rupee per " «. ' mensem. The Sindhanwalas felt that they must be hanwaia obnoxious to the new ruler ; and Uttur Singh and ^^™i'y- ' . . Ajeet Singh took early measures to effect their escape - from the capital, and eventually into the British ter- ritories ; but Lehna Singh, the other principal member, remained with the division of the army which he com- manded in the hills of Kooloo and Mundee.* Sher Singh had induced the troops of the state to The army make him a king, but he was unable to command them as soldiers, or to sway them as men, and they took advantage of his incapacity and of their own strength to wreak their vengeance upon various officers who had offended them, and upon various regimental account- ants and muster-masters who may have defrauded them of their pay. Some houses were plundered, and several individuals were seized and slain. A few Europeans had likewise rendered themselves obnoxious ; and Ge- neral Court, a moderate and high-minded man, had to fly for his life, and a brave young Englishman named Foulkes was cruelly put to death. Nor was this spirit of violence confined to the troops at the capital, or to those in the eastern hills, but it spread to Cashmeer and Peshawur ; and in the former place, Meehan Singh the governor was killed by the soldiery ; and in the latter. General Avitabile was so hard pressed, that he was ready to abandon his post and to seek safety in Jellalabad.t It was believed at the time, that the arraiy would not rest satisfied with avenging what it considered its own injuries ; it was thought it might proceed to a general plunder or confiscation of pro- perty ; the population of either side of the Sutlej was prepared for an extensive commotion, and the wealthy merchants of Amritsir prophesied the pillage of their * See Mr. Clerk's letters, of dates ment, 26th Jan., 8th and 14th Feb. from 17th to 30th Jan. 1841. 28th April, and 30th May, 1841 f Compare Mr. Clerk to Govern- R 242 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Cb VIII. .1841. The En- glish an- xious about the general tranquillity, undervalue the Sikhs, and are ready to in- terfere by warehouses, and were clamorous for British protection. Sher Sing-h shrunk within himself appalled, and he seemed timorously to resort to the English agent for support against the fierce spirit he had roused and could not control ; or he doubtfully endeavored to learn whether such disorders would be held equally to end his reign and the British alliance. The English watched the confusion with much interest and some anxiety, and when cities seemed about to be plundered, and pro- vinces ravaged, the question of the duty of a civilized and powerful neighbor naturally suggested itself, and was answered by a cry for interference : but the shapes which the wish took were various and contradictory. Nevertheless, the natural desire for aggrandizement, added to the apparently disorganized state of the army, contributed to strengthen a willing belief in the inferiority f of the Sikhs as soldiers, and in the great excellence of the mountain levies of the chiefs of Jummoo, who alone seemed to remain the masters of their own servants. jTo the apprehension] of the English authorities, the Sikhs were mere upstart peasants of doubtful courage, except when maddened by religious persecution ; but the ancient name of Rajpoot was sufficient to invest the motley followers of a few valiant chiefs with every war- hke quality. -! This erroneou^s estimate of the Sikhs tainted British counsels until the day of Pheeroo- shuhur.* ;)ie^ I .r. The English seemed thus called upon to do some- thing, and their agent in Caubul, who was committed * This erroneous estimate of the troops of the Jummoo Rajas and other hill chiefs of the Punjab rela- tively to the Sikhs, may be seen in- sisted on in Mr. Clerk's letters to Go- vernment of the 2d Jan. and 13th April, 1841, and especially in those of the 8th and 10th Dec. of that year, and of the 15th Jan., 10th Feb., and 23d April, 1842. Mr. Clerk's ex- pressions are very decided, such as that the Sikhs feared the hill-men, who were braver, and that Rajpoots^ might hold Afghans in check which Sikhs could not do ; but he seems to have forgotten that the ancient Raj- poots had, during the century gone by, yielded on either side to the new and aspiring Goorkhas and Mahrat- tas, and even that the Sikhs themselves had laid the twice-born princes of the Himalayas under contribution from the Ganges to Cashmeer. f/ ' Chap. Vin.] APPREHENSIONS OE SHER SINGH. 243 to make Shah Shooja a monarch in means as well as i84i. in rank, grasped at the death of Runjeet Singh's last ' ' — ' - representative ; he pronounced the treaties with Lahore arms, Feb. to be at an end, and he wanted to annex Peshawur to '^*^- -j:^^ the Afghan sway. The British Government in Cal- ;:- '- cutta rebuked this hasty conclusion, but cheered itself with the prospect of eventually adding the Derajat of the Indus, as well as Peshawur, to the unproductive Dooranee kingdom, without any breach of faith towards the Sikhs ; for it was considered that their dominions might soon be rent in two by the Sindhaiiwala Sirdars and the Jummoo Rajas.* The British agent on the Sutlej did not think the Lahore empire so near its dis- solution in that mode, and confident in his own dexterity, in the superiority of his troops, and in the greatness of the English name, he proposed to march to the Sikh capital with 12,000 men, to beat and disperse a rebel army four times more numerous, to restore order, to strengthen the sovereignty of Sher Singh, and take the cis-Sutlej districts and forty lakhs of rupees in coin as the price of his aid.t This promptitude made the Muharaja think himself in danger of his life at the hands of his subjects, and of his kingdom at the hands of his allies I; nor was the Governor General prepared for a virtual invasion, although he was ready to use force if a large majority of the Sikhs as well as the Muharaja himself desired such intervention, § After * See especially Government to he assented to such measures. The Sir Wm. Macnaghten, of 28th Dec. readiness of the English to co-operate 1840, in reply to his proposals of the was first propounded to FukeerUzeez- 26th Nov. The Governor General ooddeen, and that wary negotiator justly observed that the treaty was said the matter could not be trusted not formed with an individual chief, to paper, he would himself go and but with the Sikh state, so long as it tell Sher Singh of it. He went, but might last and fiilfil the obligations he did not return, his object being to of its alliance. keep clear of schemes so hazardous. ' f Mr. Clerk to Government, of the § Government to Mr. Clerk, 1 8th 26th March, 1841. Feb. and 29th March, 1841. The ^ When Sher Singh became aware Governor General truly remarked of Mr. Clerk's propositions, he is that Mr. Clerk, rather than the Mu- said simply to have drawn his finger haraja, had proposed an armed inter- across his throat, meaning that the ference, Sikhs would at once take his life if E 2 244 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. Vin. 1^41. The mili- tary disor- ders sub- side, but the people tecome sus- picious of the English. Major Broadfoot's passage across the Punjab. Si- - . ..' . ■ this, the disorders in the army near Lahore gradually subsided ; but the opinion got abroad that overtures had been made to the eager English ; and so far were the Sikh soldiery from desiring foreign assistance, that Lehna Singh SindhaSwala was imprisoned by his own men in the Mundee hills, on a charge of conspiracy with his refugee brother to introduce the supremacy of strangers.* The suspicions and hatred of the Sikhs were further roused by the proceedings of an officer, afterwards nominated to represent British friendship and modera- tion. Major Broadfoot had been appointed to recruit a corps of Sappers and Miners for the service of Shah Shooja, and as the family of that sovereign, and also the blind Shah Zuman with his wives and children, were about to proceed to Caubul, he was charged with the care of the large and motley convoy. He entered the Punjab in April, 1841, when the mutinous spirit of the Sikh army was spreading from the capital to the provinces. A body of mixed or Mahometan troops had been directed by the Lahore Government to accom- pany the royal families as an escort of protection, but Major Broadfoot became suspicious of the good faith of this detachment, and on the banks of the Ravee he prepared to resist, with his newly recruited regiment, an attack on the part of those who had been sent to conduct him in safety. On his way to the Indus he was even more suspicious of other bodies of troops which he met or passed ; he believed them to be intent on plundering his camp, and he considered that he only avoided collisions by dexterous negotiations and by timely demonstrations of force. On crossing the river at Attok, his persuasion of the hostile designs of the battalions in that neighborhood and towards Peshawur was so strong, that he put his camp in a complete state of defence, broke up the bridge of boats, and called upon the Afghan population to rise and aid him against the troops of their government. But it * Mr. Clerk to Government, 25th March, 1841. Chap. VIII.] THE SIKH AEMT. 21).7 does not appear that his apprehensions had even a plausible foundation, until at this time he seized certain deputies from a mutinous regiment when on their way back from a conference with their commander, and who appear to have come within the limits of the British pickets. This proceeding alarmed both General Avitabile, the governor of Peshawur, and the British agent at that place ; and a brigade, already warned, was hurried from Jellalabad to overawe the Sikh forces encamped near the Indus. But the Shah's families and their numerous followers had passed on unmolested before the auxiliary troops had cleared the Khyber Pass, and the whole proceeding merely served to irritate and excite the distrust of the Sikhs generally, and to give Sher Singh an opportunity of pointing out to his tumultuous soldiers that the Punjab was surrounded by English armies, both ready and willing to make war upon them.* Before the middle of 1841 the more violent pro- ceedings of the Lahore troops had ceased, but the relation of the army to the state had become wholly altered ; it was no longer the willing instrument of an arbitrary and genial government, but it looked upon itself, and was regarded by others, as the representative body of the Sikh people, as the " Khalsa " itself assem- bled by tribes or centuries to take its part in public affairs. The efficiency of the army as a disciplined force was not much impaired, for a higher feeling possessed the men, and increased alacrity and resolution supplied the place of exact training. They were sen- sible of the advantages of systematic union, and they were proud of their armed array as the visible body of Govind's commonwealth. As a general rule, the troops were obedient to their appointed officers, so far as con- cerned their ordinary military duties, but the position of a regiment, of a brigade, of a division, or of the whole army, relatively to the executive government of the country, was determined by a committee or assemblage • Compare Mr. Clerk to Government, 25th May and 10th Juno, 1841. B 3 1841. The Sikhs further irritated against the English. The changed relation of the Lahore army to the state. Its military organiza- tion enables it to become the repre- sentative body of the Khalsa. 246 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. VIII. 1841. of committees, termed a " Punch" or " Punchayet," i.e. • ' a jury or committee of five, composed of men selected i,.t"T from each battaUon, or each company, in consideration ^ of their general character as faithful Sikh soldiers, or from their particular influence in their native villages. The system of Punchayets is common throughout India, and every tribe, or section of a tribe, or trade, or calling, readily submits to the decisions of its elders or superiors seated together in consultation. In the Punjab the custom received a further development from the organization necessary to an army ; and even in the crude form of representation thus achieved, the Sikh people were enabled to interfere with effect, and with some degree of consistency, in the nomination and in the removal of their rulers. But these large assemblies sometimes added military licence to popular tumult, and the corrupt spirit of mercenaries to the barbarous ignorance of ploughmen. Their resolutions were often unstable or unwise, and the representatives of different divisions might take opposite sides from sober convic- tion or self-willed prejudice, or they might be bribed and cajoled by such able and unscrupulous men as Raja Golab Singh.* The partial rej.ise in the autumn of 1841 was taken advantage of to recur to those mercantile objects, of which the British Government never lost sight. The facihties of navigating the Indus and Sutlej had been increased, and it was now sought to extend correspond- ing advantages to the land trade of the Punjab. Twenty years before, Mr. Moorcroft had, of his own instance, made proposals to Runjeet Singh for the admission of British goods into the Lahore dominions at fixed rates of duty.t In 1832, Colonel Wade again brought Negotia- tions with tlie English about in- land trade, 1841. * See Mr. Clerk's letter of the 14th March, 1841, for Fukeer Uzeezood- deen's admission, that even then the army was united and ruled by its punchayets. [With reference to the Punchayets of India, it may be ob- served, that Hallam shows, chiefly from Palgrave, that English juries likewise were originally as much arbi- trators as investigators of facts. (Mid. Ages, Supplemental Notes, p. 241—7.)] f Moorcroft, Travels, i. 103. Chap. VHI.] ISKAEDO TAKEN. 247 forward tbe subject of a general tariff for the Punjab, i****- and the Muharaja appeared to be not indisposed to ■ meet the views of his allies ; but he really disliked to make arrangements of which he did not fully see the scope and tendency, and he thus tried to evade even a settlement of the river tolls, by saying that the pros- perity of Amritsir would be afi'ected, and by recurring to that ev er re ady objection, the slaughter^of^Jiine. Cows, Tie said, might be used as food by those who traversed the Punjab under a British guarantee.* In 1840, when Afghanistan was garrisoned by Indian troops, the Governor General pressed the subject a second time on the notice of the Lahore authorities ; and after a delay of more than a year, Sher Singh assented to a reduced scale and to a fixed rate of duty, and also to levy the whole sum at one place ; but the charges still appeared excessive, and the British viceroy lamented the ignorance displayed by the Sikh Muharaja, and the disregard which he evinced for the true interests of his subjects.t The Lahore Government was convulsed at its centre, zorawur but its spirit of progress and ao-grandizement was active ^'"sh, the . ^ . . . . deputy of on the frontiers, where not hemmed in by British armies, the jum- The deputies in Cashmeer had always' been jealous of "iw R^as, the usurpations of Golab Singh in Tibet, but Meehan kar(io,i840. Singh, a rude soldier, the governor of the valley during the commotions at Lahore, was alarmed into conces- sions by the powerful and ambitious Rajas of Jummoo, and he left Iskardo, and the whole valley of the Upper Indus, a free field for the aggressions of their lieuten- ants.t Ahmed Shah, the reigning chief of Baltee, had * Compare Col. Wade to Govern- ment, 7th Nov. and 5th Dec. 1832. These objections are often urged in Religion is thus brought in upon all occasions of apprehension or disinclir nation . U-iU^ (^ tK,. A^i i^w, '- ( , '~ '/a^S', India, not because they are felt to be + Government to Mr. Clerk, 4th reasonable in themselves, or applicable May, 1840, and Uth Oct. 1841, and to the point at issue, but because re- Mr. Clerk to Government of 20th ligion is always a s&ong ground to Sept. 1841. stand on, and because it is the only j Sir Claude Wade {Narrative of thing which the English do not vir- Services, p. 3S. note) represents the tually profess a desire to change. Jummoo family to have obtained from B 4 248 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. VIIT. 1841. differences with his family, and he proposed to pass over his eldest son in favor of a younger one, in fix- ing- the succession. The natural heir would seem to have endeavored to interest the Governor of Cash- meer, and also Zorawur Singh, the Jummoo deputy in Ludakh, in his favor ; and in 1840 he fled from his father and sought refuge and assistance in Leh. Gno- doop Tunzin, the puppet king of Ludakh, had con- ceived the idea of throwing off the Jummoo authority; he had been trying to engage Ahmed Shah in the design ; the absence of Zorawur Singh was oppor- tune, and he allowed a party of Iskardo troops to march on Leh, and to carry off the son of their chief. Zora- wur Singh made this inroad a pretext for war ; and before the middle of the year 1840 he was master of Little Tibet, but he left the chiefship in the family of Ahmed Shah, on the payment of a petty yearly tribute of seven thousand rupees, so barren are the rocky prin- cipalities between Imaus and Emodus.* Zorawur Singh was emboldened by his own success and by the dissensions at Lahore; he claimed fealty from Ghilghit; he was understood to be desirous of quarrelling with the Chinese governor of Yarkund ; and he renewed anti- quated claims of Ludakh supremacy, and demanded the surrender of Rohtuk, Garo, and the lakes of Mansara- wur, from the priestly king of Lassa.t Zorawur Zorawur Singh was desirous of acquiring territory, Garo'frorcf^ and he was also intent on monopolizing the trade in the Chinese shawl-wool, a considerable branch of which followed the i84iT*' Sutlej and more eastern roads to Loodiana and Delhi, and added nothing to the treasury of Jummoo.t In May and June, 1841, he occupied the valleys of the Ijidus and Sutlej, to the sources of those rivers, and he the British government an assurance * Compare Mr. Clerk to Govern- that the limitations put upon Sikh ment, 26th April, 9th and 31st May, conquests to the west and south by and 25th Aug. 1840, tlie Tripartite Treaty of 1839, would f Compare Mr. Clerk to Govern- not be held to apply to the north or ment, 25th Aug. and Sth Oct. 1840, Tibetan side, in which direction, it and 2d Jan. and Sth June, 1841. was said, the Sikhs were free to act J Compare Mr. Clerk to Govern- as they might please. ment, Sth and 22d June, 1841. Cuvp. VIII.] EVACUATION OF LASSA. 24<9 fixed a garrison close to the frontiers of Nepal, and on i84i. the opposite side of the snowy range from the British ' ' ' post of Almora. The petty Rajpoot princes between the Kalee and Sutlej suffered in their revenues, and trembled for their territories ; the Nepal Government had renewed intrigues set on foot in 1838, and was in corre- spondence with the crafty minister of Lahore, and with the disaffected Sindhahwala chiefs * ; and the English Government itself was at war with China, at the distance of half the earth's circumference. It was held that the trade of British Indian subjects must not be interfered with by Jummoo conquests in Chinese Tibet ; it was deemed unadvisable to allow the Lahore and Nepal dominions to march with one another behind the Hima- layas ; and it was thought the Emperor of Pekin might confound independent Sikhs with the predominant English, and throw additional difficulties in the way of pending or probable negotiations. t It was therefore TheEnsiish decided that Sher Singh should require his feudatories ™ " ^"'' to evacuate the Lassa territories ; a day, the 10th of December, 1841, was fixed for the surrender of Garo ; and a British officer was sent to see that the grand * Compare Mr. Clerk to Govern- for power, or as a partizan leader, ment, 16th Aug. and 23d Nov. 1840, should active measures be necessary, and 17th Jan. 1841 ; and Govern- He was thus induced to quit the ment to Mr. Clerk, 19th Oct. 1840. Punjab, where his presence, indeed. The correspondence of Nepal with was not otherwise satisfactory ; but the Sikhs, or rather with the Jummoo the differences with the Goorkhas were faction, doubtless arose in part from composed, and Matabar Singh was cast the presence of Matabur Singh,' an aside with an allowance of a thousand eminent Goorkha, as a refugee in the rupees a month from the potent go- Punjab. He crossed the Sutlej in vernment which had demeaned itself 1838, and soon got a high command by using bim as a tool. (Comparepar- in the Lahore service, or rather, per- ticularly Government to Mr. Clerk, haps, a high position at the court. 4thMay and 26th Oct. 1840; and Mr. His success in this way, and his ne- Clerk to Government, 22d Oct. 1 840.) cessary correspondence with British ^ Compare Government to Mr. functionaries, made the Nepal Go- Clerk, 16tb Aug, and 6 th and 20th vernment apprehensive of him, and at Sept. 1841. The Sikhs, too, had last he became so important in the their views with regard to China; and eyes of the English themselves, that . naively proposed co-operation with in 1 840, when differences with Kath- the English, or a diversion in Tartary mandoo seemed likely to lead to hos- in favor of the war then in progress tilities, overtures were virtually made on the sea coast! (Mr. Clerk to Go- to bim, and he was kept in hand, as it vernment, 1 8th Aug. and 20th Oct. were, to be supported as a claimant 1841.) 250 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [CHAP.Vin. 1841. Lama's authority was fully re-established. TheMuharaja and his tributaries yielded, and Zorawur Singh was recalled ; but before the order could reach him, or be acted on, he was surrounded in the depth of winter, and at a height of twelve thousand feet or more above the sea, by a superior force from Lassa enured to frost The Sikhs and snow. The men of the Indian plains and southern defeated by Himalayas were straitened for fuel — as necessary as 3. force ironi • * Lassa. food in such a climate and at such a season ; some even burnt the stocks of their muskets to warm their hands ; and on the day of battle, in the middle of December, they were benumbed in their ranks during a fatal pause ; their leader was slain, a few principal men were reserved as prisoners, but the mass was left to perish, huddled in heaps behind rocks, or at the bottoms of ravines. The neighboring garrison on the Nepal frontier fled on hearing of the defeat ; the men were not pursued, but in passing over ranges 16,000 feet high, on their way to Almora, the deadly cold reduced them to half their numbers, and left a moiety of the remainder maimed for life.* The Chi- During the spring of 1842 the victorious Chinese nese recover advanced along the Indus, and not only recovered their own province, but occupied Ludakh and laid siege to the citadel of Leh. The Kalmuks and the ancient Sokpos, or Sacse, talked of another invasion of Cashmeer, and the Tartars of the Greater and Lesser Tibet were elate with the prospect of revenge and plunder : but troops were poured across the Himalayas ; the swordsmen and cannoneers of the south were dreaded by the unwarlike Bhotees ; the siege of Leh was raised, and in the month of September (1842) Golab Singh's commander seized the Lassa Vuzeer by treachery, and dislodged his troops * In this rapid sketch of Ludakh wur, through the reports of the fugi- affairs, the author has necessarily de- lives to Almora, before it was heard pended for the most part on his own of in the neighbouring Garo. [From | personal knowledge. After the battle the observations of Lient^H-Strachey 1 on the Mansarawar Lake, the western it would appear that the height oftKe passes remained closed for five weeks, Mansarawar Lake is 15,250 feet, and the defeat of the Sikhs was thus {Jour, As. Soc, Bengal, Aug. 1848, made known in Calcutta and Pesha- p. 155.)] Chap. VIII.] AMBITION OF THE JUMMOO RAJAS. 251 1841. Peace be- tween the Chinese and Sikhs. The ambi- tious views of the Jum- by stratagem from a position between Leh and Rohtuk, where they had proposed to await the return of winter. An arrangement was then come to between the Lassa and Lahore authorities, which placed matters on their old footing, agreeably to the desire of the English ; and as the shawl- wool trade to the British provinces was also revived, no further intervention was considered necessary between the jealous Chinese and the restrained Sikhs.* When in April, 1841, the troops in Cashmeer put their governor to death, Raja Golab Singh was sent to restore order, and to place the authority of the new moo Rajas manager, Gholam Moheiooddeen on a firm footing. j^^„f''''® The mutinous regiments were overpowered by numbers and punished with severity, and it was soon apparent that Golab Singh had made the governor whom he was aiding a creature of his own, and had become the virtual master of the valley.t Neither the minister nor his brother had ever been thought well pleased with English interference in the affairs of the Punjab ; they were at the time in suspicious communication with Nepal ; and they were held to be bound to Sooltan Mahomed Khan, whose real or presumed intrigues with the enemies of Shah Shooja had occasioned his removal to Lahore a year previously.^ General Avitabile had become more and more urgent to be relieved from his dangerous post at Peshawur ; the influence of Dhian Singh was pre- dominant in Sikh counsels ; and the English opinion of the ability of the Jummoo Rajas and of the excellence * At Amritsir in March, 1846, when Golab Singh was formally in- augurated as Muharaja of Jummoo, he exhibited the engagements with the Lama of Lassa, drawn out on his part in yellow, and on the part of the Chinese in red ink, and each im- pressed with the open hand of the negotiators dipped in either color in- stead of a regular seal or written sig- nature. The " Punja," or hand, seems in general use in"Asia as typical of a covenant, and it is moreover a com- mon emblem on the standards of the eastern Afghans. f Compare Mr. Clerk to Govern- ment, 13th May, 9th July, and 3d Sept. 1840. \ For this presumed understand- ing between the Jummoo Rajas and the Barukzaees of Peshawur, Mr. Clerk's letter of the 8th Oct. 1840, may be referred to among others. 252 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. VHI. 841. Clash with the policy of the English. The insur- rection at Criubul, Nov. 1841. of their troops was well known, and induced a belief in partiality to be presumed.* It was therefore pro- ' posed by Sher Singh to bestow the Afghan province on the restorer of order in Cashmeer. But this arrange- ment would have placed the hills from the neighbor- hood of Kanggra to the Khyber Pass in the hands of men averse to the English and hostile to Shah Shooja ; and as their troublesome ambition had been checked in Tibet, so it was resolved that their more dangerous establishment on the Caubul river should be prevented. In the autumn of 1841, therefore, the veto of the English agent was put upon Raja Golab Singh's nomi- nation to Peshawur.t About two months afterwards, or on the 2d Novem- ber (1841), that insurrection broke out in Caubul which forms so painful a passage in British history. \ No valiant youth arose superior to the fatal influence of ] military subordination, to render illustrious the retreat ! of a handful of Englishmen, or more illustrious still, the successful defence of their position. 1^ The brave spirit of Sir William Macnaghten labored perse- veringly, but in vain, against the unworthy fear which possessed the highest officers of the army ; and the dis- . may of the distant commanders imparted some of its poison to the supreme authorities in India, who were i weary of the useless and burdensome occupation of J Khorassan. The first generous impulse was awed into a^desire of annulling the Dooranee alliance, and of col- * Mr. Clerk leant upon and per- haps much overrated Dhian Singh's capacity, "his military talents, and aptitude for business." (Mr. Clerk to Government, 7th Nov. 1840, and ISth May, 1841.) General Ventura, for instance, considered the raja to possess a very slender understanding, and in such a matter he may be held to be a fair as well as a competent judge, although personally averse to the minister. t Government to Mr. Clerk, 2d Aug., and Mr. Clerk to Government, 20th Aug. 1841. I There was no want of gallant and capable men in the subordinate ranks of the army, and it is known that the lamented Major Pottinger recorded his disapprobation of the re- treat so fatuitously commenced and so fatally ended, although, to give validity to documents, or an appear- ance of imanimity to counsels, he un- fortunately put his name to the orders requiring the surrender of Candahar and Jellalabad. Chap. Vin.] DISTRUST OF THE SIKHS. 253 lecting a force on the Indus, or even so far back as the\ 1841. Sutlej, there to fight for the empire of Hindostan with ' * ' the torrents of exulting Afghans which the startled) imaginations of Englishmen readily conjured up.* Noj confidence was placed in the efficiency or the frieudshipl of the Sikhs t ; and although their aid was always considered of importance, the mode in which it was asked and used only served to sink the Lahore army lower than before in British estimation.^ Four regiments of Sepoys marched from Feerozpoor The English without guns, and unsupported by cavalry, to vainly oJ^thesTkhs endeavor to force the Pass of Khyber ; and the Sikh but yet ur- troops at Peshawur were urged by the local British fhem'for" authorities in their praiseworthy ardor, rather than aid. deliberately ordered by their own government at the instance of its ally, to co-operate in the attempt, or in- deed to march alone to Jellalabad. The fact that the English had been beaten was notorious, and. the belief * Compare Government to the Commander-in-Chief, 2d Dec. 1841, and 10th Feb. 1842; Government to Mr. Clerk, 10th Feb. 1842; and Government to Gen. Pollock, 24th Feb. 1842. Of those who recorded their opinions about the policy to be followed at the moment, it may be mentioned that Mr. Robertson, the lieutenatit governor of Agra, and Sir Herbert Maddock, the political secretary, advised a stand at Pesha- wur ; and that Mr, Prinsep, a mem- ber of council, and Mr. Colvin, the Governor General's private secre- tary, recommended ^ withdrawal to the Sutlej. All, however, contem- plated ulterior operations. The Commander-in-Chief, it is well known, thought the means of the English for defending India itself somewhat scanty, and Mr. Clerk thought the Sikhs would be unable to check the invasion of moun- taineers, which would assuredly take place were Jellalabad to fall. ( Mr. Clerk to Government, ISth Jan, 1842.) ■f Government to the Commander- in-Chief, 15th March, 1842. \ Mr. Colvin, in the minute re- ferred to in the preceding note, grounds his proposition for with- drawing to the Sutlej partly on Mr. Clerk's low estimate of the Sikhs, and their presumed inability to re- sist the Afghans. Colonel Wade seems to have had a somewhat similar opinion of the comparative prowess of the two races, on the fair pre- sumption that the note (p. 535.) of Moonshee Shahamut Alee's Sikhs and \ Afghans is his. He says the Sikhs j always dreaded the Khyberees ; and, | indeed. General Avitabile could also take up the notion with some reason, in one sense, as the magistrate of a dis- trict surrounded by marauding high- landers, and with sufficient adroit- ness in another when he did not desire to see Sikh regiments hurried into mountain deiiles at the instance of the English authorities, (Com- pare the Calcutta Review, No. HI. p, 182.) 254 HISTOEY 01' THE SIKHS. [Chap. VHI. 1841. in their alarm was welcome : the Sikh governor was ' obliged, in the absence of orders, to take the sense of the regimental " punches" or committees ; and the hasty requisition to march was rejected, through fear alone, as the English said, but really with feelings in which contempt, distrust, and apprehension were all mixed. The district Governor General, Avitabile, who fortu- nately still retained his province, freely gave what aid he could ; some pieces of artillery were furnished as well as abundance of ordinary supplies, and the British detachment effected the relief of Alee Musjid. But the unpardonable neglect of going to the fort without the food which had been provided, obliged the garrison to retreat after a few days, and the disinclination of the Sikhs to fight the battles of strangers communicated itself to the mercenary soldiers of the English, and thus added to the Governor General's dislike of the Afghan connection.* An army of The necessity of at least relieving the garrison of assembled Jellalabad was paramount, and in the spring of 1842 a 1 842. well equipped British force arrived at Peshawur ; but the active co-operation of the Sikhs was still desirable, and it was sought for under the terms of an obsolete article of the tripartite treaty with Shah Shooja, which gave Lahore a subsidy of two lakhs of rupees in ex- change for the services of 5000 men.t Sher Singh was willing to assist beyond this limited degree ; he greatly facilitated the purchase of grain and the hire of * The statements in this paragraph anoe during the campaign in the are mainly taken from the author's ways their experience taught them notes of official and demi-official to be the most likely to lead to correspondence. The letter of Go- success. vernment to Mr. Clerk, of the 7th f See Government to Mr. Clerk, Feb. 1842, may also be referred to 3d May and 23d July, 1842. The about the failure to hold Alee Mus- English agents, however, rather jid; and, further, it may be men- tauntingly and imploringly reminded tioned that Mr, Clerk, in his letter the Sikh authorities that they were of the 10th February, pointed out, bound to have such a force ready by that although the Sikhs might not agreement as well as by friendship, willingly co-operate in any sudden than formally revived the demand assault planned by the English, they for its production under the stipu- would be found ready to give assist- lations of the treaty. Chap. VIII.] CO-OPERATION OF GOLAB SINGH. 255 carriage cattle in the Punjab, and his auxiliaries could be made to outnumber the troops of his allies ; but he felt uneasy about the proceedings of the Sindhanvvala chiefs, one of whom had gone to Calcutta to urge his own claims, or those of Maee Chund Kpur, and all of whom retained influence in the Sikh ranks. He was assured that the refugees should not be allowed to dis- turb his reign, and there thus seemed to be no obstacle in the way of his full co-operation.* But the_^enuine Sjkhs were held by_the English to he both mutinous in disposition and inferior in warlike spirit ; the soldiers ofJummoo vvere ^preferred, and Golab Singh was re- quired to proceed to ^eshawur to repress the insub- ordinate " Khalsa," and to give General Pollock the assurance of efficient aid.t The raja was at the time completing the reduction of some insurgent tribes be- tween Cashmeer and Attok, and his heart was in Tibet, where he had himself lost an army and a kingdom. He went, but he knew the temper of his own hill levies : he was naturally unwilling to run any risk by following the modes of strangers to which he was unused, and he failed in rendering the Sikh battalions as decorous and orderly as English regiments. His prudence and ill success were looked upon as collusion and insincerity, and he was thought to be in league with AkberJ&han for the destruction of the army of an obnoxious~Euro- pean power.t Still his aid was held to be essential, and the local British officers proposed to bribe him by 1841. * Compare Mr. Clerk to Govern- ment, 2d Jan. and 31st March, 1842, and Government to Mr. Clerk, 17tli Jan. and 12th May, 1842. With regard to assistance rendered by the Sikhs during the Afghan war in furnishing escorts, grain, and carriage for the British troops, Mr. Clerk's letters of the 15th Jan., 18th May, and 14th June, 1842, may be quoted. In the last it is stated that 17,381 camels had been procured through Sikh agency be- tween 1839 and 1842, Golab Singh sent to co- operate. t Compare Mr. Clerk to Govern- ment, 15th Jan., 10th Feb., and 6th May, 1842. Government at first seemed indifferent whether Golab Singh went or not; and, indeed, Mr. Clerk himself rather suggested than required the raja's employment ; but suggestions or wishes could not, under the circumstances, be mis- construed. i Compare Mr. Clerk to Govern- ment, 19th March, 1842. 256 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. VIII. 1S41. Caubul re- taken. Discussions regarding -4^j Jellalabad, and the limits of Silch domi- nion. the offer of Jellalabad, independent of his sovereign Sher Singh. The scheme was justly condemned by Mr. Clerk *, the Khyber Pass was forced in the month of April, and the auxiliary Sikhs acquitted themselves to the satisfaction of the English general, without any promises having been made to the Raja of Jummoo, who gladily hurried to the Ludakh frontier to look after interests dearer to him than the success or the vengeance of foreigners. It was designed by General Pollock to leave the whole of the Sikh division at Jellalabad, to assist in holding that district, while the main English army went to Caubul ; butj he proper in- t erposition of Colonel La wr ence t enabled a portiorToT the Laho re troops to share m that retributive mar ch, as they ha d "befo re share d in the first invasion, and fully shown their titness tor meeting difficulties when left to do so in their own way. The proposition of conferring Jellalabad on Golab Singh was taken up in a modified form by the new Governor General Lord EUenborough. As his lord- ship's views became formed, he laid it down as a prin- ciple, that neither the English nor the Sikh Government should hold dominion beyond the Himalayas and the " Suffed Koh" of Caubul ; and as the Dooranee alli- ance seemed to be severed, there was little to apprehend from Jummoo and Barukzaee intrigues. It was, there- fore, urged that Golab Singh should be required by the Muharaja to relinquish Ludakh, and to accept Jella- labad on equal terms of dependency on the Punjab.t The Sikhs were sufficiently desirous of adding to their dominion another Afghan district ; but the terms did * Mr. Clerk to Government, 1 3th Feb. 1842. ITie officers referred to are Major Mackeson and Lieut.-Col. Sir Henry Lawrence, wliose names are so intimately, and in so many ways honorably, identified with the career of the English in the north- west of India. f Lient.-Col. Lawrence to Major Mackeson, 23d Aug. 1842. Lieut.- •) Col. Lawrence's article in the CaU I cutia Review (No. III. p. 180.) may J also be advantageously referred to / about the proceedings at Pesbawur) under Col. Wild, Sir George Pol-J lock, and Raja Golab Singh. \ Government to Mr. Clerk, 27th April, 1842. Chap. VTII.] JELLALABAD : THE SIKHS. 257 not satisfy Golab Singh, nor did Sher Singh see fit to come to any conclusion until he should know the final views of the English with regard to the recognition of a government in Caubul.* The death of Shah Shooja and his suspicious proceedings were held to render the re-occupation of the country unnecessary, and the tri- partite treaty was declared to be at an endt ; but the policy of a march on the Afghan capital was strongly urged and wisely adopted.^ There seemed to be a pros- pect of wintering in Caubul, and it was not until the victorious troops were on their return to India, that it was believed the English would ever forego the posses- sion of an empire. The Sikhs then consented to take Jellalabad, but before the order transferring it could reach General Pollock §, that commander had destroyed the fortifications, and nominally abandoned the place to the king whom he had expediently set up in the Bala Hissar. || It is probable that Sher Singh was not un- willing to be relieved of the invidious gift, for his own sway in Lahore was distracted, and Dost Mahomed was 1841. • Mr. Clerk to Government, 18th May, 1842. t Government to Mr. Clerk, 27th May and 29th July, 1842. In the treaty drafted by the Sikhs to take the place of the tripartite one, they put for- ward a claim of superiority over Sindh, and somewhat evaded the que^ion of being parties only, instead of prin- cipals, to the acknowledgment of a ruler in Caubul. The treaty, how- ever, never took a definite shape. I Even the Sikhs talked of the impolicy, or, at least, the disgrace, of suddenly and wholly withdrawing from Afghanistan in the manner proposed. (Mr. Clerk to Govern- ment, 19th July, 1842.) Mr. Clerk himself was among themost prominent of those who at first modestly urged a march on Caubul, and afterwards manfully remonstrated against a hasty abandonment of the country. (See his letter above quoted, and also that of the 2.3d April, 1842.) § The order was dated the 1 8th Oct. 1842. Lord EUenborough himself was not without a suspicion that the victorious generals might frame ex- cuses for wintering in Caubul, and the expedition of Sir John M'Caskill into the Kohistan was less pleasing to him on that account than it would otherwise have been. II [The Calcutta Review for June, 1 849, (p. 539. ) points out that the king, viz, Shabpoor, son of Shah Soojah, was rather set up solely by the chiefs at Caubul than in any way by Sir George Pollock, who had no autho- rity to recognize any sovereign in Afghanistan. My expression has, in- deed, reference mainly to the prudent countenance afforded to a native prince by a foreign conqueror about to re- trace his steps through a difficult country, inhabited by a . warlike people ; but as it may mislead as to Sir George Pollock's actual proceed- ings, I gladly insert this note.] S T' 258 HISTORY or THE SIKHS. [Chap. VIII. 1842. The Gover- nor-General meets the Sikh minis- ter and heir- apparent at Feerozpoor, 1842. about to be released under the pledge of a safe passage through the Punjab dominions ; and it may have been thought prudent to conciliate the father of Akber Khan, so famous for his successes against the English, by the surrender of a possession it was inconvenient to hold.* The Governor-General had prudently resolved to assemble an army at Feerozpoor, as a reserve in case of further disasters in Afghanistan, and to make known to the princes of India that their English masters had the ready means of beafeag any who might rebel.t Lord ^ Ellenborough was also desirous of an interview with Sher Singh, and as gratitude was uppermost for the time, and added a grace even to success, it was pro- posed to thank the Muharaja in person for the proofs which he had afforded of his continued friendship. To invest the scene with greater eclat, it was further de- termined, ill the spirit of the moment, to give expres- sion to British sincerity and moderation at the head of * The Sikhs were not unwilling to acquire territory, but they wished to see their way clearly, and they were unable to do so until the En- glish had determined on their own line of policy. The Sikhs knew in- deed of the resolution of the Go- vernor-General to sever all connec- tion with Afghanistan, but they also knew the sentiments of the majority of Englishmen about at least tem- porarily retaining it. They saw, moreover, that recruited armies were still in possession of every stronghold, and the policy was new to them of voluntarily relinquishing dominion. They therefore paused, and the subse- quent release of Dost Mahomed again fettered them when the retirement of the troops seemed to leave them free to act, for they were bound to escort the Ameer safely across the Punjab, and could not therefore make terms with him. The Sikhs would have worked through Sooltan Mahomed Khan and other chie&, until they were in a condition to use the frequent plea of the English, of being able to go- vern better than dependents. (Com- pare Mr. Clerk to Government, 2d Sept, 1842.) ''H f Lord Auckland had likewise thought 'that such a demonstration might be advisable. (Government to Mr. Clerk, 3d Dec. 1841.) Of measures practically identified with Lord Ellenborough's administration, Lord Auckland may further claim the merit of giving the generals commanding in Afghanistan su- preme authority (Resolution of Go- vernment, 6th Jan. 1842), and of directing Sir William Nott to act without reference to previous in- structions, and as he might deem best for the safety of his troops and the honor of the British name. (Government to Sir William Nott, 10th Feb. 1842.) To Lord Auckland however, is due the doubtful praise of suggesting the release of Dost Mahomed (Government to Mr. Clerk, 24th Feb. 1842); and he must certainly bear a share of the blame attached to the exaggerated estimate formed of the dangers which threat- ened the English after the retreat from Caubul, and to the timorous rather than prudent design of falling back on the Indus, or even on the Sutlej. Chap. VIH,] LORD ELLENBOROUGH : SHER SINGH. 259 the two armies returning victorious from Caubul, with i842. their numbers increased to nearly forty thousand men ' ' by the force assembled on the Sutlej. The native English portion of this array was considerable, and perhaps so many Europeans had never stood together under arms on Indian ground since Alexander and his Greeks made the Punjab a province of Macedon. The Sikhs generally were pleased with one cause of this assemblage, and they were glad to be relieved of the presence of the English on their western frontier ; but Sher Singh himself did not look forward to his visit to Lord Ellenborough without some misgivings, although under other circumstances his vanity would have been gratified by the opportunity of displaying his power and magnificence. He felt his incapacity as a ruler, and he needlessly feared that he might be called to account for Sikh excesses and for a suspected intercourse with the hostile Ameers of Sindh then trembling for their fate, and even that the subjugation of the Punjab was to be made the stepping-stone to the complete reduction of Afghanistan. He had no confidence in himself; and he dreaded the vengeance of his followers, who believed him capable of sacrificing the Khalsa to his own inter- ests; Nor was Dhian Singh supposed to be willing that the Muharaja should meet the Governor-General, and his suspicious temper made him apprehensive that his sovereign might induce the English viceroy to accede to his ruin, or to the reduction of his exotic in- fluence. Thus both Sher Singh and his minister per- haps rejoiced that a misunderstanding which prevented the reception at Loodiana of Lehna Singh Mujeetheea, was seized hold of by the English to render a meeting doubtful or impossible.* Lord Ellenborough justly * On several occasions Raja Dhian p. 493.), whoisbelievedto beLieut.- Singh expressed his apprehensions of Col. Lawrence, admits Dhian Singh's an English invasion, as also did aversion to a meeting between his Muharaja Sher Singh. (See, for in- sovereign and the British Governor- stance, Mr. Clerk to Government, General. The reviewer likewise de- 2d Jan. 1842.) The writer of the scribes Sher Singh's anxiety at the article in the Calcutta Review (No. II. time, bnt considers him to have been s 2 ^260 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap.VIII. 1842. took oflFence at a slight which, however unwittingly, ' ' ' had been really offered to hira ; he was not easily ap- peased ; and when the personal apologies of the minister, accompanied by the young heir-apparent, had removed every ground of displeasure, the appointed time, the beginning of January, 1 843, for the breaking-up of the large army had arrived, and the Governor-General did not care to detain his war-worn regiments any longer from their distant stations. No interview thus took place with Sher Singh ; but the boy prince, Pertab Singh, was visited by Lord EUenborough ; and the rapidity with which a large escort of Sikh troops was crossed over the Sutlej when swollen with rain, and the alacrity and precision with which they manoeuvred, deserved to have been well noted by the English cap- tains, proud as they had reason to be of the numbers and achievements of their own troops. The prince likewise reviewed the Anglo-Indian forces, and the Sikh chiefs looked with interest upon the defenders of Jdla- labad, and with unmixed admiration upon General Nott followed by his valiant and compact band. At last the armed host broke up ; the plains of Feerozpoor were no desirous of throwing himself unre- meet the chief, and conduct him to Bervedly on English protection, as the Governor- General's presence, his doubtless he might have been, had understanding being that he was to he thought himself secure from as- go half the distance or so towards sassination, and that Lord Ellen- the Sikh encampment. The Sirdar borough would have kept Mm seated understood or held that Mr. Clerk on the throne of Lahore at all should or would come to his tent, hazards. and thus he sat still while Mr. Clerk About the suspected hostile inter- rested half way for two hours or course with the Ameers of Sindh, more. Lord EUenborough thought see Thornton's History of India, vi. the excuse of the Sirdar frivolous, 447. The Sikhs, however, were and that offence was wantonly given, never required to give any explana- and he accordingly required an ex- tion of the charges. planation to be afforded. ( Govern - The misunderstanding to which ment to Mr. Clerk, 15th Dec. 1842. ) Sirdar Lehna Singh was a party was There is some reason to believe that simply as follows : — The Sirdar had the Lahore Vukeel, who was in the been sent to wait upon the Governor- interest of Raja Dhian Singh, misled General on his arrival on the frontier, the obnoxious Lehna Singh about according to ordinary ceremoniaL the arrangements for conducting him It was arranged that the Sirdar to the Governor- General's tents, with should be received by his lordship at the view of discrediting him both Loodiana, and the day and hour with his own master and with the were fixed, and preparations duly English, made. Mr. Clerk went in person to C-Ct •<-'-<■■-*■■ ' /#-^2 . Chap. Vm.] THE SINDHANWALA CHIEFS. 261 longer white with numerous camps ; and the reHeved Sher Singh hastened, or was hurried, to Amritsir to return thanks to God that a great danger had passed away. This being over, he received Dost Mahomed Khan with distinction at Lahore, and in February (1843), entered into a formal treaty of friendship with the released Ameer, which said nothing about the English gift of Jellalabad.* But Sher Singh principally feared his own chiefs and subjects, and although_jhe_^esigned_or fortuitous mur- deroOlaee Chund Kour^ in June,_l 842 1, relievedTTim of some of his apprehensions, he felt uneasy under the jealous domination of Dhian Singh, and began to listen readily to the smooth suggestions of Bhaee Goormookh Singh, his priest so to speak, and who was himself of some religious reputation, as well as the son of a man of acknowledged sanctity and influence.t The English Government, in its well meant but impracticable desire to unite all parties in the country, had urged the restoration to favor of the Sindhanwala chiefs, who kept its own agents on the alert, and the Muharaja himself in a state of doubt or a]arm.§ Sher Singh, froin his easiness of nature, was not averse to a recon- ciliation, and by degrees he even became not unwilling 1843. Dost Maho- med returns to Caubul, 1843. Anxieties of Sher Singh. The Sind- haiiwala chiefs and theJummoo Riyas co- alesce. * Government to Mr. Clerk, ISth Feb. and 17th March, 1843. t Mr. Clerk to Government, 15th June, 1842. The widow of Muha- raja Khurruk Singh was so severely beaten, as was said by her female attendants, that she almost imme- diately expired. The only explana- tion offered, was that she had chidden the servants in question for some fault, and the public was naturally unwilling to believe Sher Singh, at least, guiltless of instigating the murder. J In the beginning of his reign Sher Singh had leant much upon an active and ambitious follower, named Jowala Singh, whose bravery was conspicuous during the attack on La- hore. This petty leader hoped to supplant both the Sindhanwala chiefs and the Jummoo Rajas as leading courtiers, but he proceeded too has- tily ; he was seized and imprisoned by Dhian Singh in May, 1841, and died by foul means immediately after- wards. (Compare Mr. Clerk to Go- vernment, 7th May and 10th June, 1841.) § Mr. Clerk to Government, 7th April, 1 842, and Government to Mr. Clerk, 12th May, 1842; see also Lieut.-Col. Richmond to Govern- ment, 5th Sept. 1843. Mr. Clerk became lieutenant governor of Agra in June 1843, and he was succeeded as agent on the frontier by Lieut.- Col. Richmond, an officer of repute, who had recently distinguished him- self under Sir George Pollock. s 3 ^ OS.'T-^ i'v_-i(«C-'faJ&>'C' ■ ' a62 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [CHAP.Vm. 1843. to have the family about him as some counterpoise to ' > — ' the Rajas of Jummoo. Neither was Dhian Singh op- posed to their return, for he thought they might be made some use of since Maee Chund Kour was no k:, /) • 1C(/. more, and thus Ajeet Singh and his uncles again took their accustomed places in the court of Lahore. Never- theless during the summer of 1843, Dhian Singh perceived that his influence over the Muharaja was fairly on the wane ; and he had good reason to dread the machinations of Goormookh Singh and the pas- sions of the multitude when roused by a man of his character. The minister then again began to talk of the boy, Dhuleep Singh, and to endeavor to possess the minds of the Sindhanwala chiefs with the belief, that they had been inveigled to Lahore for their more assured destruction. Ajeet. Singh had by this time become the boon companion of the Muharaja ; but he was himself ambitious of power, and he and his uncle Lehna Singh grasped at the idea of making the minister a party to their own designs. They appeared to fall wholly into his views ; and they would, they said, take sher Singh Shcr Singh's life to save their own. On the 15th as^sa^inated ggptember (1843), Ajeet Singh induced the Muharaja Singh, Sept. to iuspcct somc Icvics he had newly raised ; he ap- 15. 1843 ; ppoached, as if to make an ofl^ering of a choice carbine, U %'■ ■'■^^"To- wana. personal follower of Dhian Singh, who was supposed to have been privy to the intended assassination of his master, and to have designedly held back when Ajeet Singh took the raja to one side. This petty leader fled as soon as the army attacked the citadel, and endea- vored to raise an insurrection in his native province of Dera Ismaeel Khan, which caused the greater anxiety, as the attempt was supposed to be countenanced by the able and hostile Governor of Mooltan.t Scarcely had The insur- measures been adopted for reducing the petty rebellion, citrneera when Cashmeera Singh and Peshawura Singh, sons born singh and to, or adopted by, Runjeet Singh at the period of his staghrma conquest of the two Afghan provinces from which they — 1844. were named, started up as the rivals of the child Dhuleep, and endeavored to form a party by appearing in open opposition at Seealkot. Some regiments ordered to Peshawur joined the two princes ; the Mahometan regi- ments at Lahore refused to march against them unless a pure Sikh force did the same ; and it was with diffi- culty, and only with the aid of Raja Golab Singh, that the siege of Seealkot was formed. The two young men soon showed themselves to be incapable of heading a party ; Heera Singh relaxed in his efforts against them ; and towards the end of March he raised the siege, and • Lieut.-Col. Richmond to Go- t Lieut.-Col. Richmond to Go- vernment, 28th Nov. 1843. vernment, )2th Dec. 1843. March, 1844. 266 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [CHAr. VIII. 1844. allowed them to go at large.* The minister had, how- Jowahir ^ver, less reason to be satisfied with the success of Jowa- singh. hir Singh, who, about the same time, induced his guards to release him, and he was unwillingly allowed to assume his place in the court as the uncle of the child to whose sovereignty in the abstract all nominally deferred.t The at- Raja Soochet Singh was believed to have been a tanpt of secret party to the attempts of Cashmeera Singh, and the chct Singh, release of Jowahir Singh was also probably effected with his cognizance. The raja believed himself to be popular with the army, and especially with the cavalry portion of it, which having an inferior organization began to ,^how some jealousy of the systematic proceedings of the regular infantry and artillery. He had' retired to the hills with great reluctance ; he continued intent upon supplanting his nephew ; and suddenly, on the evening of the 26th of March, 1844, he appeared at Lahore with a few followers ; but he appealed in vain to the mass of the troops, partly because Heera Singh had been liberal in gifts and profuse in promises, and partly be- cause the shrewd deputies who formed the Punchayets of the regiments, had a sense of their own importance, and were not to be won for purposes of mere faction, without diligent and judicious seeking. Hence, on the morning after the arrival of the sanguine and hasty raja, a large force marched against him without demur ; but the chief was brave, he endeavored to make a stand in a ruinous building, and he died fighting to the last, although his little band was almost destroyed by the fire of a numerous artillery before the assailants could reach the inclosure.t The insur- Within two months after this rash undertaking, Uttur recHonof Singh SindhsSiwala, who had been residing at Tha- uttur Singh nehsir, made a similar ill-judged attempt to gain over the army, and to expel Heera Singh. He crossed the and Bhaee Beer Singh. May 1 844. * Lieut -Col. Richmond to Go- J Lieut.-Col. Richmond to Go- vernment, 23d and 27th March, 1844. vernment, 29th March, 1844. f LieuL-CoI. Richmond to Go- Ternment, 27th March, 1844. ■ .J Chap. Vni.] SXJBMISSION OF MOOLTAN. 267 Sutlej on the 2d May, but instead of moving to a dis- 1844. tance so as to avoid premature collisions, and to enable ' ■ — ' him to appeal to the feelings of the Sikhs, he at once joined Bhaee Beer Singh, whose religious repute at- tracted numbers of the agricultural population, and took up a position almost opposite Feerozpoor, and within forty miles of the capital. The disaflfected Cash- meera Singh joined the chief, but Heera Singh stood as a suppliant before the assembled Khalsa, and roused the feelings of the troops by reminding them that the Sindr hanwalas looked to the English for support. A large force promptly marched from Lahore, but it was wished to detach Bhaee Beer Singh from the rebek for to assail so holy a man was held to be sacrilege by the soldiers, and on the seventh of the month deputies were sent to induce the Bhaee to retire. Some expressions moved the anger of Sirdar Uttur Singh, and he slew one of the deputies with his own hand. This act led to an immediate attack. Uttur Singh and Cashmeera Singh were both killed, and it was found that a cannon shot had likewise numbered Bhaee Beer Singh with the slain. The commander on this occasion was Labh Singh, a Rajpoot of Jummoo, and the possession of the family of Cashmeera Singh seemed to render his suc- cess more complete ; but the Sikh infantry refused to allow the women and children to be removed to Lahore ; and Labh Singh, alarmed by this proceeding and by the lamentations over the death of Beer Singh, hastened to the capital to ensure his own safety.* Heera Singh was thus successful against two main The Cover- enemies of his rule, and as he had also come to an ??''°' understanding with the Governor of Mooltan, the pro-, submits. ceedings of Futteh Khan Towana gave him little un- easiness, t The army itself was his great cause of anxiety, not lest the Sikh dominion should be contracted, but lest he should be rejected as its master; for the * Lieut. -Col. Richmond to Go- f Compare Lieut.- Col. Richmond vernment, 10th, 11th, and 12th May, to Government, 29th April, 1844. 1844. ^68 HISTOKY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. VIII. 1844. Punchayets, although bent on retaining their own power, ' ■ ' and on acquiring additional pay and privileges for their constituents the soldiers, were equally resolved on main- taining the integrity of the empire, and they arranged among themselves about the relief of the troops in the provinces. On the frontiers, indeed, the Sikhs con- tinued to exhibit their innate vigor, and towards the Ghiighitre- end of 1843 the secluded principality of Ghilghit was duced,i843. overrun and annexed to Cashmeer. The Punchayets likewise felt that it was the design of the raja and his advisers to disperse the Sikh army over the country, and to raise additional corps of hill men, but the com- mittees would not allow a single regiment to quit Lahore without satisfying themselves of the necessity of Heera Singh the measure ; and thus Heera Singh was induced to professes ^^^ advantage of a proiected relief of the British troops suspicions . o- 11 °i 1 ^ 1 r i i of the m iSmah, and the consequent march or several bat- EngUsh. talions towards the Sutlej, to heighten or give a color to his own actual suspicions, and to hint that a near danger threatened the Sikhs on the side of the English. The " KJialsa" was most willing to encounter that neighbor, and a brigade was induced to move to Kussoor, and others to shorter distances from the capi- tal, under the plea, as avowed to the British authorities, of procuring forage and supplies with greater facility.* Such had indeed been Runjeet Singh's occasional prac- tice when no assemblage of British forces could add to Themutiny Jiig ever present fears t; but Heera Singh's apprehen- tish Sepoys sions of his own army and of his English allies were ordered to lessened by his rapid successes, and by the disgraceful spirit which then animated the regular regiments in the British service. The Sepoys refused to proceed to Sindh, and the Sikhs watched the progress of the mutiny with a pleased surprize. It was new to theml 'Xcri Ji ?i to see these renowned soldiers in opposition to their] /^'^^ government ; but any glimmering hopes of fatal embar- * Compare Lieut. -Col. Richmond | See for instance Sir David Och- to Government, 20th Dec. 1843, and terloney to Government, 16th Oct. 23d March, 1844. - 1812. Chap. VIII.] DISCUSSIONS WITH THE SIKHS. 269 rassment to the colossal power of the foreigners were i844. dispelled by the march of European troops, by the good ' ' ' example of the irregular cavalry, and by the returning sense of obedience of the Sepoys themselves. The British forces proceeded to Sindh, and the Lahore de- tachment was, withdrawn from Kussoor.* Nevertheless there were not wanting causes of real Discussions or alleged dissatisfaction vt^ith the British Government, EngUsjj* which at last served the useful purpose of engaging the about tiie attention of the Lahore soldiery. The protected Sikh Mom^ah Raja of Naba had given a village, named Mowran, to Runjeet Singh at the Muharaja's request, in order that it might be bestowed on Dhunna Singh, a Naba subject, but who stood high in favour with the master of the Punjab. The village was so given in 1819, or after the introduction of the English supremacy, but without the knowledge of the English authorities, which circum- stance rendered the alienation invalid, if it were argued that the village had become separated from the British sovereignty. The Raja of Naba became displeased with Dhunna Singh, and he resumed his gift in the year 1845 ; but in so doing his soldiers wantonly plundered the property of the feudatory, and thus gave the Lahore Government a ground of complaint, of which advantage was taken for party purposes.t But Heera ami about Singh and his advisers took greater exception still at buried' by the decision of the British Government with regard to soochet a quantity of coin and bullion which Raja Soochet Singh '"^ " had secretly deposited in Feerozpoor, and which his servants were detected in endeavoring to remove after his death. The treasure was estimated at 1,500,000 . - rupees, and it was understood to have been sent to Feerozpoor during the recent Afghan war, for the pur- pose of being offered as part of an ingratiatory loan to the English Government, which was borrowing money at the time from the protected Sikh chiefs. The Lahore * Compare Lieut.-Col. Riclimond f Lieut. -Col. Riclimond to Go- to Government, 29th April, 1844. vernment, 18th and '28th May, 1844. 270 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. VIH. 1844. minister claimed the treasure both as the escheated pro- " " ' perty of a feudatory without male heirs of his body, and as the confiscated property of a rebel killed in arms against his sovereign ; but the British Government con- sidered the right to the property to be unaffected by the owner's treason, and required that the title to it, accord- ing to the laws of Jummoo or of the Punjab, should be regularly pleaded and proved in a British court. It was argued in favor of Lahore that no British subject or dependent claimed the treasure, and that it might be expediently made over to the ruler of the Punjab for surrender to the legal or customary owner ; but the supreme British authorities would not relax further from the conventional law of Europe than to say, that if the Muharaja would write that the Rajas Golab Singh and Heera Singh assented to the delivery of the treasure to the Sikh state for the purpose of being transferred to the rightful owners, it would no longer be detained.^ This proposal was not agreed to, partly because differ- ences had in the mean time arisen between the uncle and nephew, and partly because the Lahore councillors considered their original grounds of claim to be irre- fragable, according to Indian law and usage, and thus the money remained a source of dissatisfaction, until the English stood masters in Lahore, and accepted it as part of the price of Cashmeer, when the valley was alienated to Raja Golab Singh.* * For the discussions about the dual right of heirship ; or rather it surrender or the detention of the decides the question with reference treasure, see the letters of Lieut.- solely to the law in private cases. Colonel Richmond to Government Throughout India, the practical rule of the 7th April, 3d and 27th May, has ever been that such property shall 25th .July, 1 0th September, and Sth be administered to agreeably to the and 25th October, 1 844 ; and of Go- customs of the tribe or province to vernment to Lieut. -Colonel Rich- which the deceased belonged ; and mond of the 19th and 2 2d April, 17th very frequently, when the only liti- May, and 1 0th August of the same gants are subjects of one and the year. same foreign state, it is expediently The principle laid down'of deciding made over to the sovereign of that the claim to the treasure at a British state for adjudication, on the plea tribunal, and according to the laws of that the rights of the parties can be Lahore or of Jummoo, does not dis- best ascertained on the spot, and that tinguish between public and indivi- every ruler is a renderer of justice. Chap. VIII.] PUNDIT JULLA AND HIS INFLUENCE. 271 Heera Singh had, in his acts and successes, sur- i844. passed the general expectation, and the manner in which affairs were carried on seemed to argue unloolced- guided by for abihties of a high order ; but the Raja himself had Pundit httle more than a noble presence and a conciliatory preceptor. address to recommend him, and the person who directed every measure was a Brahmin Pundit, named Julia, the family priest, so to speak, of the Jummoo brothers, and the tutor of Dhian Singh's sons. This crafty and ambitious man retained all the influence over the youthful minister which he had exercised over the boyish pupil on whom Runjeet Singh lavished favors. /' '-. Armies had marched, and chiefs had been vanquished, as if at the bidding of the preceptor become councillor. His views expanded, and he seems to have entertained the idea of founding a dynasty of " Peshwahs " among the rude Juts of the Punjab, as had been done by one of his tribe among the equally rude Mahrattas of the south. He fully perceived that the Sikh army must be In the present instance, the imper- identical with that anciently in force fection of the International Law of among the Anglo-Saxons with refer- Europe may be more to blame than ence to " nobles by service," the fol- the Government of India and the lowers of a lord or king. (See legal authorities of Calcutta, for re- Kemble's Saxons in England, i. 178. fusing to acknowledge the right of an &c. )] The right of the Govern- allied and friendly state to the pro- ment is full, and it is based on the perty of a childless rebel ; to which feeling or principle that a beneficiary .property, moreover, no British sub- has only the use during life of estates ject or dependent preferred a claim, or offices, and that all he may have Vattel lays it down that a stranger's accumulated, through parsimony or property remains a part of the aggre- oppression, is the property of the gate wealth of his nation, and that state. It may be difficult to decide the right to it is to be determined between a people and an expelled so- according to the laws of his own vereign, about his guilt or his ty- country (book II. chap.viii. sects, ranny, but there can be none in 109 and IJO. ); but in the section in deciding between an allied state and question reference is solely had to its subject about treason or rebellion, cases in which subjects or private Neither refugee traitors nor patriots parties are litigants; although Mr. are allowed to abuse their asylum by Chitty, in his note to sect. 103. (ed. plotting against the Government 1834) shows that foreign sovereigns which has cast them out; and an ex- can in England sue, at least, British tension of the principle would pre- subjects, - / vent desperate adventurers defrauding The oriental customary law with the state which has reared and heaped regard to the estates and property of favors on them, by removing their Jagheerdars (feudal beneficiaries) property previous to engaging in rash may be seen in Bernier's Travels (i. and criminal enterprizes. 183 — 187.), [and it almost seems ^2 HISTOBY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. VIII. 1844. conciliated, and also that it must be employed. He despised, and with some reason, the spirit and capacity of most of the titular chiefs of the country ; and he felt that Raja Golab Singh absorbed a large proportion of the revenues of the country, and seriously embarrassed the central government by his overgrown power and influence. It was primarily requisite to keep the army well and regularly paid, and hence the Pundit pro- ceeded without scruple to sequester several of the fiefs of the sirdars, and gradually to inspire the soldiery with the necessity of a march against Jummoo. Nor was he without a pretext for denouncing Golab Singh, as that unscrupulous chief had lately taken possession of the estates of Raja Soochet Singh, to which he re- garded himself as. the only heir.* Pundit Julia showed \isour and capacity in all he did, but Julia and , i i ° i -i • ^ i i Golab ne proceeaetl too nastily m some matters, and he Singh. attempted too much at one time. He did not, perhaps, understand the Sikh character in all its depths and ramifications, and he probably undervalued the subtlety of Golab Singh. The raja, indeed, was induced to divide the Jagheers of Soochet Singh with his nephew t, but Futteh Khan Towana again excited an insurrection in the Derajat t ; Chutter Singh Atareewala took up arms near Rawil Pindee §, and the Mahometan tribes south-west of Cashmeer were encouraged in rebellion by the dexterous and experienced chief whom Pundit Julia sought to crush. || Peshawura Singh again aspired to the sovereignty of the Punjab ; he was supported by Golab Singh, and Julia at last perceived the necessity of coming to terms vidth one so formidable. ^ A recon- ciliation was accordingly patched up, and the raja sent his son Sohun Singh to Lahore.** The hopes of * Compare Lieut.-Col, Richmond Major Broadfoot to Govern- to Government, 13th Aug. and 10th ment, 24th Nov. 1844. Oct., 1844. If Lt.-Col. Richmond to Govern- f Lieut,-Col. Richmond to Go- ment,] 6th Oct. 1844,andMajorBroad- vernment, SOth Oct. 1844. foot to Government, 24th Nov. 1844. ^ Lieut.-Col. Richmond to Go- ** Lieut.-Col. Richmond to Go- vernment, 14th June, 1844. vernment, SOth Oct. 1844, and Major § Lieut.-Col. Richmond to Go- Broadfoot to Government, 13th Nov. vernment, 16th Oct. 1844. and 16th Deo. 1844. i 7- Chap. VIII.] PUNDIT julla's Policy. 273 Peshawura Singh then vanished, and he fled for safety to the south of the Sutlej.* Pundit Julia made the additional mistake of forget- ting- that the Sikhs were not jealous of Golab Singh alone, but of all strangers to their faith and race ; and in trying to crush the chiefs, he had forgotten that they were Sikhs equally with the soldiers, and that the " Khalsa " was a word which could be used to unite the high and low. He showed no respect even to sirdars of ability and means. Lehna Singh Mujeetheea quitted the Punjab, on pretence of a pilgrimage, in the month of March, 1844t, and the only person who was raised to any distinction was the unworthy Lai Singh, a Brahmin, and a follower of the Rajas of Jummoo, but who was understood to have gained^ a^^disgraceful influ- ence over the impure mind of Raiiee Jindan. The Pundit again, in his arrogance, had ventured to use some expressions of impatience and disrespect towards the mother of the Muharaja, and he had habitually treated Jowahir Singh, her brother, with neglect and contempt. The impulsive soldiery was wrought upon by the incensed woman and ambitious man ; the relict of the great Muharaja appealed to the children of the Khalsa, already excited by the proscribed chiefs, and Heera Singh and Pundit Julia perceived that their rule was at an end. On the 21st December, 1844, they endeavored to avoid the wrath of the Sikh soldiery by a sudden flight from the capital, but they were over- taken and slain before they could reach Jummoo, along with Sohun Singh, the cousin of the minister, and Labh Singh, so lately hailed as a victorious commander. The memory of Pundit Julia continued to be execrated, but the fate of Heera Singh excited some few regrets. * Major Broadfoot to Govern- ment, 14th and 18th Nov. 1844. Major Broadfoot, who succeeded Lieut.-Col. Richmond as agent on the frontier on the 1st Nov. 1844, re- ceived Peshawura Singh with civili- ties unusual under the circumstances, and proposed to assign him an al- 1844. Pundit Julia Irri- tates the Sikhs, and offends the Queen-mo- ther. lowance of a thousand rupees a month. f Lehna Singh went first toHurd- war and afterwards to Benares. He next visited Gya and Juggernath and Calcutta, and he was residing in the last named place when hostilities broke out with the Sikhs. Heera Singh and Pundit Julia fly, but are overtaken and put to death, 21st Dec. 1844. 274 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. V HI.- 1844. Jowahir Singh and Lai Singli attain povfer. The Sikh army moves against Jummo. for he had well avenged the death of his father, and he had borne his dignities with grace and modesty.* The sudden breaking up of Heera Singh's govern- ment caused some confusion for a time, and the state seemed to be without a responsible head ; but it was gradually perceived that Jowahir Singh, the brother, and Lai Singh, the favorite of the Ranee, would form the most influential members of the administration.t Peshawura Singh, indeed, escaped from the custody of the British authorities, by whom he had been placed under surveillance, when he fled across the Sutlej ; but he made no attempt at the moment to become supreme, and he seemed to adhere to those who had so signally avenged him on Heera Singh, t The services of the troops were rewarded by the addition of^half a rupee a month to the ^Sif of the^common soldier, many fiefs were restored, and the cupidity of all parties in the state was excited by a renewal of the designs against Golab Singh. § The disturbances in the mountains of Cashmeer were put down, the insurgent Futteh Khan was taken into favor, Peshawur was secure against the power of all the Afghans, although it was known that Golab Singh encouraged the reduced Barukzaees with promises of support 1| ; but it was essential to the government that the troops should be employed : it was pleasing to the men to be able to gratify their avarice or their vengeance, and they therefore marched against Jummoo with alacrity. ^ Golab Singh, who knew the relative inferiority of his soldiers, brought all his arts into play. He distributed his money freely among the Punchayets of regiments, he gratified the members of these committees by his * Compare Major Broadfootto Go- vernment, 24th and 28th Dec. 1844. •)- Compare Major Broadfoot to Government, 24th and 28th Deo. 1844. \ Compare Major Broadfoot to Government, 28th Dec. 1844, and 4th Jan. 1845. As Major Broad- foot, however, points out, the prince seemed ready enough to grasp at power even so early as January. § Compare Major Broadfoot to Government, 28th Dec. 1844, and 2d Jan. 1845. II Major Broadfoot to Govern- ment, 16th Jan. 1845. ^ The troops further rejected the terms to which the Lahore court seemed inclined to come with Golab Singh. (Major Broadfootto Govern- ment, 22d Jan. 1845.) Chap. VIII.]' SUBMISSION OF GOLAB SINGH. 275 personal attentions, and he again inspired Peshawura ^^^^- Singh with designs upon the sovereignty itself. He Feb.— promised a gratuity to the army which had marched to March, urge upon him the propriety of submission, he agreed to surrender certain portions of the general possessions of the family, and to pay to the state a fine of 3,500,000 ' "^ ' . rupees.* But an altercation arose between the Lahore and Jummoo followers when the promised donative was being removed, which ended in a fatal affray ; and afterwards an old Sikh chief, Futteh Singh Man, and one Butchna, who had deserted Golab Singh's service, were waylaid and slain.t The raja protested against the accusation of connivance or treachery ; nor is it pro- bable that at the time he desired to take the life of any one except Butchna, who had been variously employed by him, and who knew the extent of his resources. The act nevertheless greatly excited the Sikh soldiery, and Golab Singh perceived that submission alone would save Jummoo from being sacked. He succeeded in partially GoiabSinRh gaining over two brigades, he joined their camp, and submits and he arrived at Lahore early in April, 1845, half a Lahore, ° prisoner, and yet not without a reasonable prospect of Apiii,i845. becoming the minister of the country ; for the mass of the Sikh soldiery thought that one so great had been sufficiently humbled, the Punchayets had been won by his money and his blandishments, and many of the old servants of Runjeet Singh had confidence in his ability and in his good will towards the state generally.t There yet, however, existed some remnants of the animosity which had proved fatal to Heera Singh ; the repre- sentatives of many expelled hill chiefs were ready to compass the death of their greatest enemy ; and an Akalee fanatic could take the life of the "Dogra" Raja with applause and impunity. Jowahir Singh plainly aimed at the office of Vuzeer, and Lai Singh's * Major Broadfoot to Govern- J Compare Major Broadfoot to ment, 18th March, 1845. Government, 8th and 9th April, and ■f Major Broadfoot to Govern- 5th May, 1845. ment, 3d March, 1845. T 2 276 '^ ' HISTORY OF-i'HE SIKHS. [Chap. Vni, 1845. own ambition prompted him to use his influence with the mother of the Muharaja to resist the growing feel- ing in favor of the chief whose capacity for affairs all envied and dreaded. Hence Golab Singh deemed it prudent to avoid a contest for power at that time, and to remove from Lahore to a place of greater safety. He agreed to pay in all a fine of 6,800,000 rupees, to yield up nearly all the districts which had been held by his family, excepting his own proper fiefs, and to renew his lease of the salt mines between the Indus and Jehlum, on terms which virtually deprived him of a large profit, and of the political superiority in the hills jowahir of Rhotas.* He was present at the installation of singn for. Jo^^hir Siuffh as Vuzeer on the 14th May t, and at inally ap- " , *' - pointed the betrothal of the Muharaja to a daughter of the ^^"l Attaree chief Chutter Singh on the 10th Julyl:; and 1845. towards the end of the following month he retired to Jummoo, shorn of much real power, but become ac- ceptable^ the troops by his humility, and ^rtSk^finaK J convi«iM« «£ the English authorities, that the levies of ' | the mountain Rajpoots were unequal to a contest even ' with the Sikh soldiery. § sawunMuii, The able Governor of Mooltan was assassinated in t^AnT' the month of September, 1844, by a man accused of ated, Sept. marauding, and yet imprudently allowed a considerable 1844. degreeofliberty.il Mool Raj, the son of the Deewan, hirson, ' had been appointed or permitted to succeed his father succeeds ; i)y the decfiuing government of Heera Singh, and he showed more aptitude for affairs than was expected. He suppressed a mutiny among the provincial troops, partly composed of Sikhs, with vigor and success ; and he was equally prompt in dealing with a younger brother, who desired to have half the province assigned to him as the equal heir of the deceased Deewan. Mod • Major Broadfoot to Govern- weakness in the hills," where he ment, 5th May, 1845. should have been strongest, had his f Major Broadfoot to Govern- followers been brave and trusty, ment, 24th May, 1845. (Major Broadfoot to Government, \ Major Broadfoot to Govern- 5th May, 1845.) ment, 14th July, 1845. || Lieut.-Col. Richmond to Go- § Major Broadfoot confessed that vernment, 10th Oct. 1844. " late events had shown the raja's Chap. VIII.] EEBELLION OF PESHAWURA SINGH, 277 Raj put his brother in prison, and thus freed himself 1845. from all local dangers ; but he had steadily evaded the *~~" ' demands of the Lahore court for an increased farm or contract, and he had likewise objected to the large " Nuzzerana," or relief, which was required as the usual condition of succession. As soon, therefore, as Golab Singh had been reduced to obedience, it was pro- posed to dispatch a force against Mooltan, and the "Khalsa" approved of the measure through the as- sembled Punchayets of regiments and brigades. This and agrees resolution induced the new governor to yield, and in Sep- tg^ms^of tember (1845) it was arranged that he should pay a fine the Lahore of 1,800,000 rupees. He escaped an addition to his <=°"rt,i845. contract sum, but he was deprived of some petty districts to satisfy in a measure the letter ofthe original demand.* The proceedings of Peshawura Singh caused more Therehei- disquietude to the new vuzeer personally than the hos- Pe°hawura tility of Golab Singh, or the resistance of the Governor singh ; of Mooltan. The prince was vain and of slender ca- pacity, but his relationship to Runjeet Singh gave him some hold upon the minds of the Sikhs. He was en- couraged by Golab Singh then safe in the hills, and he was assured of support by the brigade of troops which had made Jowahir Singh a prisoner, when that chief threatened to fly with the Muharaja into the British territories. Jowahir Singh had not heeded the value to the state of the prudence of the soldiers in restraining him ; he thought only of the personal indignity, and soon after his accession to power he barbarously muti- lated the commander of the offending division, by de- priving him of his nose and ears. Peshawura Singh March, felt himself countenanced, and he endeavored to rally i^*^ ; * In this paragraph the author their whole body, and killed, as was has followed mainly his own notes of said, nearly 400 of them. Deewan occurrences. The mutiny of the Mool Raj seized and confined his Mooltan troops took place in Nov. brother in Aug. 1845, and in the 1844. The Governor at once sur- following month the terms of his rounded them, and demanded the succession were settled with the La- ringleaders, and on their surrender bore court, being refused, he opened a fire upon T 3 278 - — ' UISTOEY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. VIII. 1845. a party around him at Seealkot, which he held in fief. ' ' ' But the Sikhs were not disposed to thus suddenly ad- mit his pretensions ; he was reduced to straits ; and in the month of June he fled, and lived at large on the country, until towards the end of July, when he sur- prised the fort of Attok, proclaimed himself Muharaja, and entered into a correspondence with Dost Mahomed Khan. Sirdar Ch utter Singh of Attaree was sent against the pretender, and troops were moved from Dera Ismaeel Khan to aid in reducing him. The prince was beleaguered in his fort, and became aware who sub- of his insignificance ; he submitted on the 30tli August, mits,butis and was directed to be removed to Lahore, but he was Aug. _ ' secretly put to death at the instigation of Jowahir Singh, sepf. 1845. and through the instrumentality, as understood, of Futteh Khan Towana, who sought by rendering an important service to further ingratiate himself with that master for the time being who had restored him to favor, and who had appointed him to the manage- ment of the upper Derajat of the Indus.* The Sikh This last triumph was fatal to Jowahir Singh, and soldiery dis- anger was added to the contempt in which he had distrustful, always been held. He had sometimes displayed both energy and perseverance, but his vigor was the impulse of personal resentment, and it was never characterized by judgment or by superior intelligence. His original design of flying to the English had displeased the Sikhs, and rendered them suspicious of his good faith as a member of the Khalsa ; and no sooner had his revenge been gratified by the expulsion of Heera Singh and Pundit Julia, than he found himself the mere s{)ort and plaything of the army, which had only united with him for the attainment of a common object. The soldiery began to talk of themselves as pre-eminently the "Punt'h Klialsajee," or congregation of believers t ; and Jowahir * Compare Major Broadfoot to title, which the soldiers arrogated to Government, 14th and 26th July themselves, was new in correspond- and 8th and 1 8th Sept. 1845. ence ; but Government pointed out, t Or, as the " Surbut Khalsa," the in reply, that it was an old term ac- body of the elect. Major Broadfoot cording to the Calcutta records, (letter of 2d Feb. 1845) thought this Chap. VIII.] DEATH OF, JOWAHIR SINGH. /^fY^ C^" 279 Singh was overawed by tlie spirit which animated the i845. armed host. In the midst of the successes against ^ ' ' Jummoo, he trembled for his fate, and he twice laid piexity of plans for escaping to the south of the Sutlej ; but the J^^^^ir troops were jealous of such a step on the part of their nominal master. He felt that he was watched, and he abandoned the hope of escape to seek relief in dissi- pation, in the levy of Mahometan regiments, and in idle or desperate threats of war with his British allies.* Jowahir Singh was thus despised and distrusted by the Sikhs themselves ; their enmity to him was fomented by Lai Singh, who aimed at the post of vuzeer ; and the murder of Peshawura Singh added to the general ex- asperation, for the act was condemned as insulting to the people, and it was held up to reprobation by the chiefs as one which would compromise their own safety, if allowed to pass with impunity, t The Punchayets of TheaiTOy J. L J J condcinns regiments met in council, and they resolved that Jowahir him and Singh should die as a traitor to the commonwealth, for ?"'!^'*'^*? death is almost the only mode by which tumultuous, 21. i845. half-barbarous governments can remove an obnoxious minister. He was accordingly required to appear on the 21st September before the assembled Khalsa to answer for his misdeeds. He went, seated upon an elephant ; but fearing his fate, he took with him the young Muharaja and a quantity of gold and jewels. On his arrival in front of the troops, he endeavored to gain over some influential deputies and officers by present donatives and by lavish promises, but he was sternly desired to let the Muharaja be removed from his side, and to be himself silent. The boy was placed in a tent near at hand, and a party of soldiers advanced and put the vuzeer to death by a discharge of mus- ketry.t Two other persons, the sycophants of the * Compare Major Broadfoot to if Compare Major Bfoadfoot to Government, 23d and 28th Feb., Sth Government, 26th Sept. 1845. It April (a demi-official letter), and may be added that the Sikhs gene- 15th and 18th Sept. 1845. rally regarded Jowahir Singh as one t Compare Major Broadfoot to ready to bring in the English, and as Government, 22d Sept, 1845. faithless to the Khalsa. T 4 280 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. VIIL 1845. minister, were killed at the same time, but no pillage or massacre occurred ; the act partook of the solemnity and moderation of a judicial process, ordained and wit- nessed by a whole people ; and the body of Jowahir Singh was allowed to be removed and burnt with the dreadful honors of the Suttee sacrifice, among the last, perhaps, which will take place in India. The army YoT some time after the death of Jowahir Singh, no fui. one seemed willing to become the supreme adminis- trative authority in the state, or to place himself at the head of that self-dependent army, which in a few months had led captive the formidable chief of Jumraoo, reduced to submission the powerful governor of Mool- tan, put down the rebellion of one recognized as the brother of the Muharaja, and pronounced and executed judgment on the highest functionary in the kingdom, and which had also without effort contrived to keep the famed Afghans in check at Peshawur and along the frontier. Raja Golab Singh was urged to repair to the capital, but he and all others were overawed, and the Ranee Jindan held herself for a time a regular court, in the absence oF*a vuzeer.' The army was partly satisfied with this arrangement, for the committees con- sidered that they could keep the provinces obedient, and they reposed confidence in the talents or the integrity of the accountant Deenanath, of the paymaster Bhuggut Ram, and of Noorooddeen, almost as familiar as his old and infirm brother Uzeezooddeen with the particulars of the treaties and engagements with the English. The army had formerly required that these three men should be consulted by Jowahir Singh ; but the advantage of a made vf^ responsible head was, nevertheless, apparent, and as the zeer, and soldicrs were by degrees wrought upon to wage war rammTn^ ^^^^ *^^'^ European neighbors. Rajah Lai Singh was der-in- nominated vuzeer, and Sirdar Tej Singh^was recon- expectetion ^rmed in his office of commander-in-chief. These ap- ofauEn- poiutmcuts Were made early in November, 1845.* glish war. • In this paragraph the author has followed mainly his own notes of occurrences. '7'- k. ^1 */< - ■'* K >.. L- f_i 1 ,-..?; .-* \A '-"■■ 281 CHAPTEK IX. THE WAR WITH THE ENGLISH. 1845—1846. Causes leading to a war between the Sikhs and English. — The English, heing apprehensive of frontier disturbances, adopt defensive measures on a scale opposed to the spirit of the policy q/'1809. — The Sikhs, being prone to sus- picion, consider themselves in danger of invasion. — And are further moved by their want of confidence in the English representative. — The Sikhs resolve to anticipate the English, and wage war by crossing the Sutlcj. — The tactics of the Sikhs. — The views of the Sikh leaders. — Feerozpoor purposely spared. — The battle of Moodkee. — The battle of P'heerooshuhur, and re- treat of the Sikhs. — The effect of these barren victories upon the Indians and the English themselves. — The Sikhs again cross the Sutlej. — The skirmish of Buddowal. — The battle of Aleewdl. — Negotiations through Raja Golab Singh. — The battle of Subrdon. — The sub- mission of the Sikh Chiefs, and the occupation of Lahore. — The partition of the Punjab, — The treaty with Dhuleep Singh. — The treaty with Golab Singh. — Conclusion, relative to the position of the English in India. The English government had long expected that it i845,i846. would be forced into a war with the overbearing *-^ ' soldiery of the Punjab : the Indian public, which con- '^^^ Indian , * t ^ public pre- sidered only the fact of the progressive aggrandizement pared for a of the strangers, was prepared to hear of the annexation ^Jf'^^^^r^^'' of another kingdom without minutely inquiring or and En- caring about the causes which led to it ; and the more ^"^*'* selfish chiefs of the Sikhs had always desired that such a degree of interference should be exercised in the affairs of their country as would guarantee to them 282 HISTOEY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. IX. 1845,1846. the easy enjoyment of their possessions. These wealthy ^* ' and incapable men stood rebuked before the superior genius of Runjeet Singh, and before the mysterious spirit which animated the people arrayed in arms, and they thus fondly hoped that a change would give them all they could desire ; but it is doubtful whether the Sikh soldiery ever seriously thought, although they often vauntingly boasted, of fighting with the para- mount power of Hindostan, until within two or three months of the first battles, and even then the rude and illiterate yeomen considered that they were about to enter upon a war purely defensive, although one in every way congenial to their feelings of youthful pride and national jealousy. The appre- From the moment the Sikh army became predo- hensionsof mjnant in the state, the English authorities had been theEnglish. iii i i-/> iii persuaded that the machinery of government would be broken up, that bands of plunderers would everywhere arise, and that the duty of a civilized people to society genei'ally, and of a governing power to its own subjects, would all combine to bring on a collision ; and thus measures which seemed sufficient were adopted for strengthening the frontier posts, and for having a force at hand which might prevent aggression, or which would at least exact retribution and vindicate the su- premacy of the English name.* These were the fair The fears of and moderate objects of the British government; but the Sikhs, ^^le Sikhs took a different view of the relative con- ditions of the two states ; they feared the ambition of their great and growing neighbor, they did not under- stand why they should be dreaded when intestine com- motions had reduced their comparative inferiority still lower ; or why inefficiency of rule should be construed into hostility of purpose ; defensive measures took in their eyes the form of aggressive preparations, and they * Compare Minute by the Go- the Secret Committee, 1st October, vernor- General, of the 16th June, 1845. {Parliamentary Paper, \846.) 1845, and the Governor-General to j ChIp. IX.] THE WAK WITH THE ENGLISH. 283 came to the conclusion that their country was to be in- J845,i84a'; vaded. Nor does this conviction of the weaker and '~~"^' ' less inteUigent power appear to be strange or unrea- sonable, although erroneous — for it is always to be borne in mind that India is far behind Europe in civili- zation, and that political morality or. moderation is as little appreciated in the East in these days as it was in Christendom in the middle ages. Hindostan, more- over, from Caubul to the valley of Assam and the island of Ceylon, is regarded as one country, and dominion in it is associated in the minds of the people with the pre-i dominance of one monarch or of one race. The su- premacy of Vicrumajeet and Chundragoopta, of the Toorkmuns and Moghuls, is familiar to all, and thus on hearing of further acquisitions by the English, a Hindoo or Mahometan will simply observe that the des- tiny of the nation is great, or that its cannon is irre- sistible. A prince may chafe that he looses a province or is rendered tributary ; but the public will never accuse the conquerors of unjust aggression, or at least of unrighteous and unprincipled ambition. To this general persuasion of the Sikhs, in common TheEn- with other Indian nations, that the English were and s"^^ ^'^• are ever ready to extend their power, is to be added bodies of the particular bearing of the British Government *™''p* *"■ towards the Punjab itself. In 1809, when the appre- suti^ con- hensions of a French invasion of the East had. subsided, traryto when the resolution of making the Jumna a boundary of i809. was still approved, and when the policy of forming the province of Sirhind into a neutral or separating tract between two dissimilar powers had been wisely adopted, the English viceroy had said that rather than irritate ,, Runjeet Singh, the detachment of troops which had II been advanced to Loodiana might be withdrawn to Kurnal.* It was not indeed thought advisable to carry out the proposition ; but up to the period of the Afghan • Government to Sir David Ochterloney, 30th January, 1809, 284 HISTOEY OF THE SIKHS. CChap.I 1845,1846. ^ar of 1838, the garrison of Loodiana formed the only " body of armed men near the Sikh frontier, excepting tiiC^L- the p fwdn dal regiment raised at Subathoo for the pohce of the hills after the Goorkha war. The advanced post on the Sutlej was of little military or political use ; but it served as the most conspicuous symbol of the com- pact with the Sikhs ; and they, as the inferior power, were always disposed to lean upon old engagements as those which warranted the least degree of intimacy or dictation. In 1835 the petty chiefship of Feerozpoor, seventy miles lower down the Sutlej than Loodiana, was occupied by the English as an escheat due to their protection of all Sikh lordships save that of Lahore. The advantages of the place in a military point of view had been perseveringly extolled, and its proximity to the capital of the Punjab made Runjeet Singh, in his prophetic fear, claim it as a dependency of his own.* In 1838 the Muharaja's apprehensions that the insig- nificant town would become a cantonment were fully realized ; for twelve thousand men assembled at Fee- rozpoor to march to Khorassan ; and as it was learnt, before the date fixed for the departure of the army, that the Persians had raised the siege of Heerat, it was de- termined that a small divison should be left behind, until the success of the projected invasion rendered its presence no longer necessary.t But the succeeding warfare in Afghanistan and Sindh gave the new can- tonment a character of permanency, and in 1842 the remoteness from support of the two posts on the Sutlej was one of the arguments used for advancing a con- siderable body of troops to Ambala as a reserve, and for placing European regiments in the hills still closer to the Sikh frontier, t The relations of 1809 were • See Chap. VII., and also note ||, Shooja would be seated on his throne, p. 1 88. and the British army withdrawn, all f This was the understanding at within a twelvemonth, the time, but no document appears to \ The author cannot refer to any have been drawn up to that effect. written record of these reasons, but It was indeed expectid that Shah he knows that they were used. When Chap. IX.] THE WAR WITH THE ENGLISH. 285 nevertheless cherished by the Sikhs, although they may 1845,1846. have been little heeded by the English amid the multi- * " ' farious considerations attendant on their changed posi- tion in India, ^b. who, assured of the rectitude of their intentions, persuaded of the general advantage of their measures, and conscious of their overwhelming power, are naturally prone to disregard the less obvious feelings of their dependants, and to be careless of the light in which their acta may be viewed by those whose aims and apprehensions are totally different from their own. It had never been concealed from the Sikh authori- The En- ties, that the helpless condition of the acknowledged aboutTel- government of the country was held to justify such hawur, and additions to the troops at Loodiana and Feerozpoor, as to^guppOTt would give confidence to the inhabitants of these dis- shersingh, tricts, and ensure the successful defence of the posts ^jt^ tifi* themselves against predatory bands.* Nor did the sikhs. Sikhs deny the abstract right of the English to make what military arrangements they pleased for the security of their proper territories : but that any danger was to be apprehended from Lahore was not admitted by men conscious of their weakness ; and thus by every process of reasoning employed, the Sikhs still came to the same conclusion that they were threatened. Many circum- stances, unheeded or undervalued by the English, gave further strength to this conviction. It had not indeed been made known to the Sikhs that Sir William Macnaghten and others had proposed to dismember their kingdom by bestowing Peshawur on Shah Shooja, when Runjeet Singh's line was held to end with the death of his the step in advance was resolved the Sikhs of Pulteeala, to whom Sir- on, it is only to be regretted that hind belonged ; although the more the cantonment was not formed at important and less defensible step of Sirhind, the advantages of which as a alarming the Sikhs of Lahore had military post with reference to the been taken without heed or hesita- Funjab, as being central to all the tion. principal passages of the Sutlej, Sir * Compare the Governor- General David Ochterloney had long before to the Secret Committee, 2d Decem- pointed out. (Sir D. Ochterloney to ber 1845. (Pari Papers, 1846.); and Government, 3d May, 1810.) Some also his despatch of the 31st Decem- delicacy, however, was felt towards her, 1845. (^Farl. Papers, p. 28,'). 286 *HIST0EY OF THE SIKTHS. [Chap. ES; 1845,1846. grandson; but it would be idle to suppose the Lahore ' government ignorant of a scheme which was discussed in official correspondence, and doubtless in private society, or of the previous desire of Sir Alexander Burnes to bestow the same tract on Dost Mahommed Khan, which was equally a topic of conversation ; and the Sikh authorities must at least have had a lively remembrance . ■. y ).j of the English offer of 1843, to march upon their 2-^5. capital, and to disperse their army. Again, in 1844 and 1845, the facts were whispered abroad and treasured up, that the English were preparing boats at Bombay to make bridges across the Sutlej, that troops in Sindfr were being equipped for a march on Mooltan*, and that the various garrisons of the north-west provinces were being gradually reinforced, while some of them were being abundantly supplied with the munitions of war as well as with troops, t None of these things were com- municated to the Sikh government, but they were never- theless believed by all parties, and they were held to denote a campaign, not of defence, but of aggression.^ * The collection of ordnance and Hardinge maybe seen in an article ammunition at Sukkur for the equip- on the administration of the latter no- ' ment of a force of five thousand men, bleman, in the Calcutta Review, which to march towards Mooltan, was a sub- is understood to be the production of ject of ordinary official correspondence Lieutenant- Colonel Lawrence, in 1844-5, as, for instance, between Up to 1838, the troops on the fron- the Military Board in Calcutta and tier amounted to one regiment at Su- the officers of departments under its bathoo, and two at Loodiana, with six control. [Sir Charles Napier assures pieces ofartillery, equalling in all little the author that he, although Gover- more than 2500 men. Lord Auckland nor, had no cognizance of the cor- made the total about 8000, by in- respondence in question, and made creasing Loodiana and creating Fee- no preparations for equipping a force rozpoor. Lord Elleuborough formed for service. Of the fact of the cor- further new stations at Ambala, Kus- reapondenee the author has no doubt ; sowlee, and Simla^, and placed in all but the expression " collection of the about 14,000 men and 48 field guns means," used in the first edition, can on the frontier. Lord Hardinge in- be held to imply too much, and the creased the aggregate force to about Ci. V meaning is now correctly restored to 32,000 men, with 68 field guns, be- " ordnance and ammunition." The sides having 10,000 men with artil- 1 1?, ■^ object of the Supreme Government lery at Meerut. After 1 84S, however, | 5 "^ was not to march on Mooltan at that the station of Kurnal, on the Jumna, |jj> \", time, but to be prepared, at least in was abandoned, which in 18P8 and r part, for future hostilities.] preceding years may have mustered I f The details of the preparations about 4000 men. made by Lords EUenborough and :f Compare the Governor- General Chap. IX.] THE WAE WITH THE ENGtlfeH. 287 -M <-, The Sikhs thus considered that the fixed policy of the Enghsh was territorial aggrandizement, and that the immediate object of their ambition was the conquest of Lahore. This persuasion of the people was brought home to them by the acts of the British representative for the time, and by the opinion which they had pre- formed of his views. Mr. Clerk became Lieutenant- Governor of Agra in June 1843, and he was succeeded as agent for the afi^irs of the Sikhs by Lieutenant- Colonel Richmond, whose place again was taken by Major Broadfoot, a man of undoubted energy and ability, in November of the following year. In India the views of the British Government are, by custom, made known to allies and dependants through one chan- nel only, namely, that of an accredited English officer. The personal character of such a functionary gives a color to all he does and says ; the policy of the go- vernment is indeed judged of by the bearing of its representative, and it is certain that the Sikh authorities (did not derive any assurance of an increasing desire for ■peace, from the nomination of an officer who, thirty months before, had made so stormy a passage through their country.* One of Major Broadfoot'st first acts was to declare the Cis-Sutlej possessions of Lahore to be under British protection equally with Putteeala and other chiefships, and also to be liable to escheat on the death or deposi- tion of Muharaja Dhuleep Singh, t This view was not 1845,1846. The Sikhs further moved by their esti- mate of the British agent of the day. Major Broadfoot's views and overt acts equally dis- pleasing to the Silihs. •to the Secret Committee, December 2. 1845. * Sir Claude Wade, in his Narra- 'five of Services {p. 19. note), well ob- serves it to be essential to the preser- vation of the English system of alli- ances in India, that political repre- ■sentatives should be regarded as friends by the chiefs with whom they •reside, rather than as the mere in- struments of conveying the orders or of enforcing the policy ^f foreign masters. f See p. 244. with regard to Ma- jor Broadfoot's passage of the Punjab in 1841. I Major Broadfoot's Letters to Go- vernment, of the 7th December, 1 844, 30th January, and 28th February, 1845, may be referred to as explana- •tory of his views. In the last letter he .distinctly says that if the young Mu- haraja Dhuleep Singh, who was then ill of the small.pox, should die, he would direct the reports regarding the Cis-Sutlej districts to be made to 288 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. IX. 1845,1846. formally announced to the Sikh government, but it was " " ' notorious, and Major Broadfoot acted on it when he proceeded to interfere authoritatively, and by a dis- play of force, in the affairs of the priest-like Sodhees of Anundpoor Makhowal, a fief to which some years before it had been declared to be expedient to waive all claim, especially as Runjeet Singh could best deal with the privileged proprietors.* Again, a troop of horse had crossed the Sutlej near Feerozpoor, to proceed to Kotkupoora, a Lahore town, to relieve or strengthen the mounted police ordinarily stationed there ; but the party had crossed without the previous sanction of the British agent having been obtained, agreeably to an understanding between the two governments, based on an article of the treaty of 1 809, but which modified arrangement was scarcely applicable to so small a body of men proceeding for such a purpose. Major Broad- foot nevertheless required the horsemen to recross ; and as he considered them dilatory in their obedience, he followed them with his escort, and overtook them as they were about to ford the river. A shot was fired by the English party, and the extreme desire of the Sikh commandant to avoid doing any thing which might be held to compromise his government, alone prevented a collision.! Further, the bridge-boats which had been prepared at Bombay were despatched towards Feeroz- hitnself (through the Lahore vukeel [The Calcutta Review for June, or agent indeed), and not to any one 1849, (p. 547.) states that the Gover- in the Punjab. nor- General did not, as represented, * With regard to Anundpoor, see disapprove, but, on the contrary, en- Chap. VII., with note §, p. 196. tirely approved, of Major Broadfoot's About the particular dispute noticed proceedings in this matter. The Re- in the text, Major Broadfoot's letter viewer writes like one possessed of to Government of the 13th September, ofHcial knowledge, but I am never- ] 845, may be referred to. It labors theless unwilling to believe that the in a halting way to justify his pro- Governor- General could have been eeedings and his assumption of juris- pleased with the violent and unbe- diction under ordinary circumstances, coming act of his agent, although his ■f Compare Major Broadfoot to lordship may have desired to see the Government, 27th March, ] 845. It irregular conduct of the Sikhs firmly is understood that the Government checked.] disapDroved of these proceedings. Chap. IX.] THE WAE WITH THE ENGLISH. 289 poor in the autumn of 1845, and Major Broadfoot 1845,184g. almost avowed that hostilities had broken out when he ^"^ ' ' manifested an apprehension of danger to these armed vessels, by ordering strong guards of soldiers to escort them safely to their destination, and when he began to exercise their crews in the formation of bridges after their arrival at Feerozpoor.* The views held by Major Broadfoot, and virtually Major adopted by the supreme eroverument, with respect to sroadfoot's i_ rr ci 1 • 1- • 11 1 p 11 1 proceedings the L/is-Outlej districts, and also the measures tollowea held to in particular instances, may all be defended to a cer- ^""'"^"y . r I'll • 1 denote war. tain extent, as they indeed were, on specious grounds, as on the vague declarations of Sir David Ochterloney or on the deferential injunctions of Runjeet Singh. t It ■^ A detachment of troops under a European officer was required to be sent with each batch of boats, owing to the state of the Punjab. Never- theless small iron steamers were al- lowed to navigate the Sutlej at the time without guards, and one lay "fl^^j under the guns of -piJ^w for several days, without meeting aught except civility on the part of the Sikhs. f Major Broadfoot is understood to have quoted to the Sikhs, a letter of Sir David Ochterloney's, dated the 7th May, 1809, to Mokum Chund, ' Runjeet Singh's representative, to the effect that the Cis-Sutlej Lahore states were equally under British protection with other states ; and also an order of April, 1824, from Run- jeet Singh, requiring his authorities south of the Sutlej to obey the Eng- lish agent, on pain of having their noses slit. It is not improbable that Sir David Ochterloney may at the early date quoted, have so understood the nature of the British connection with reference to some particular case then before him, but that the Cis-Sutlej states of Lahore were held under feudal obligations to the Eng- lish seems scarcely tenable, for the following reasons: — T. The protec- tion extended by the English to the chiefs of Sirhind was declared to mean protection to them against Rungeet Singh, and therefore not protection of the whole country between the Sutlej and Jumna, a portion of which be- longed to Lahore. (See the Treaty of 1809, and Article I. of the declara- tion of the 3d May, 1809 ; and also Government to Sir D. Ochterloney, 10th April, 1809.) Further, when convenient, the British government could even maintain, that although the treaty of 1809 was binding on Runjeet Singh, with reference to Cis- Sutlej states, it was not binding on the English, whom it simply author- ised to interfere at their discretion. (Government to Captain Wade, 23d April, 1833.) This was indeed writ- ten with reference to Buhawulpoor, but the application was made general. 2. The protection, accorded to the chiefs of Sirhind, was afterwards ex- tended so as to give them security in the plains, but not in the hills, against the Goorkhas as well as against Run- jeet Singh (Government to Sir D. Ochterloney, 23d. January, 1810); while with regard to Runjeet Singh's own Cis-Sutlej possessions, it was de- clared that he himself must defend them (against Nepal), leaving it aques- tion of policy as to whether he should or should not be aided in their defence; It was further added, that he might march through his Cis Sutlej districts, to enable him to attack the Goorkhas /- /49 u 290 HISTOEY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. IX. 1845,1846. js even believed that if the cession of the tracts in ques- tion had been desired, their relinquishment might have been effected without a resort to arms ; but every act of Major Broadfoot was considered to denote a foregone resolution, and to be conceived in a spirit of enmity rather than of good will.* Nor did the Sikhs seem to in the hillsnear the Jumna, in defence of the districts in question, should he so wish. (Government to Sir David Ochterloney, 4th Octoher, and 22 d November, 1811.) [The opinion of Sir Charles Metcalfe about the pro- ceedings of the English with regard to Whudnee (see anti, note p. 1 63. ) may also be quoted as bearing on the case in a way adverse to Major Broadfoot.] * It was generally held by the English in India that Major Broad- foot's appointment greatly increased the probabilities of a war with the Sikhs; and the impression was equally strong, that had Mr, Clerk, for in- stance, remained as agent, there would have been no war. [Had Mr. Clerk again, or Colonel Wade, been the British representative in 1845, either would have gone to Lahore in person, and would have remonstrated against the seliish and unscrupulous proceedings of the managers of affairs as obviously tending to bring on a rupture. They would also have taken measures to show to the troops that the British government would not be aggressors ; they would have told the chiefs that a war would compromise them with the English, nor would they have come away until every per- sonal risk had been run, and every exertion used to avert a resort to arms.] That Major Broadfoot was regarded as hostile to the Sikhs, may perhaps almost be gathered from his own letters. On the 19th March, 1845j he wrote that the governor of Mooltan had asked what course he, the governor, should pursue, if the Lahore troops marched against him, to enforce obedience to demands made. The question does not seem one which a recusant servant would put under ordinary circumstances to the preserver of friendship between his master and the English. Major Broadfoot, however, would appear to have recurred to the virtual overtures of Deewan Mool Raj, for on the 20th November, 1845, when he wrote to all authorities in any way connected with the Punjab, that the British provinces were threatened with in- vasion, he told the Major- General at Sukkur, that the governor of Mool- tan would defend Sindh with his pro- vincials against the Sikhs I — thus leading to the belief that he had suc- ceeded in detaching the governor from his allegiance to Lahore. [When this note was originally written, the au- thor thought that Major Broadfoot's warning in question had been ad- dressed to Sir Charles Napier him- self, but he has subsequently ascer- tained that the letter was sent to his Excellency's deputy in the upper portion of the country, and that Sir Charles Napier has no recollection of receiving a similar communication.] [Some allusion may also be made to a falsified speech of Sir Charles Na- pier's, which ran the round of the papers at the time, about the British army being called on to move into the Punjab, especially as Major Broadfoot considered the Sikh lead- ers to be moved in a greater degree by the Indian newspapers than is im- plied in a passing attention to reite- rated paragraphs about invasion. He thought, for instance, that Pundit Julia understood the extent to which Government deferred to public opi- nion, and that the Brahmin himself designed to make use of the press as an instrument. (Major Broadfoot to Government, 30th January, 1845.) In the first edition of this history the speech of Sir Charles Napier was referred to as if it had really been Chap. IX.] THE WAR WITH THE ENGLISH. 291 be menaced by their allies on one side only. In the i845,i846. summer of 1845 some horsemen from Mooltan crossed *■ * ' a few miles into the Sindh territory in pursuit of certain marauders, and in seizing them, the Lahore soldiers were reported to have used needless violence, and perhaps to have committed other excesses. Nevertheless, the object of the troopers was evident ; and the boundary of the two provinces between the Indus and the hills is no where defined, hut the governor. Sir Charles Napier, sir charies immediately ordered the wins: of a reg-iment to ^^p^^^'^ J ^ " 3.cts con- Kushmor, a few miles below Rojhan, to preserve the sidered integrity of his frontier from violation. The Lahore '"'""J^'' ~ . ■', , . proof of authorities were thus indeed put upon their guard, but hostile the motives of Sir Charles Napier were not appreciated, ^'*"'' and the prompt measures of the conqueror of Sindh were mistakenly looked upon as one more proof of a desire to bring about a war with the Punjab. The Sikh army, and the population generally, were me Laiiore convinced that war was inevitable ; but the better in- chiefs maice formed members of the government knew that no inter- persuasion ference was likely to be exercised without an overt act °^J^Y f of hostility on their part.* When moved as much by their own jealousy of one another as by a common dread of the ^"''^' army, the chiefs of the Punjab had clung to wealth and ease rather than to honor and independence, and thus Muharaja Sher Singh, the Sindhanwalas, and others, made In the terms reported, but the Governor- General's Letter to the author has now learnt from his Ex- Secret Committee of the 2d Decem- cellency that nothing whatever was ber, 1845. {Pari. Papers, Feb. 26. said about leading troops into the 1846, p. 21.) Major Broadfoot, how- Punjab, or about engaging in war ever, states of Golab Singh, what was with the Sikhs. The author has like- doubtless true of many others, viz. wise ascertained from Sir Charles that he believed the English had de- Napier, that the mention made in the signs on the Punjab. (Major Broad- first edition about a proposal to sta- foot to Government, 5th May, 184.'!.) tion a considerable force at KushmSr, [It is indeed notorious that Sikhs and ft having been disapproved by the Su- Afghans commonly said the English \ preme Government, is incorrect, and abandoned Caubul because they did lie offers his apologies to the distin- not hold Lahore, and that having once guished leader misrepresented for established themselves in the Punjab, giving original or additional currency they would soon set about the regu- to the errors in question.] lar reduction of Khorassan. ] * Compare Inclosure, No. 6. of the u 2 292 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. IX, 1845; i,i846. }iad been ready to become tributary, and to lean for "" ' support upon foreigners. As the authority of the army began to predominate, and to derive force from its system of committees, a new danger threatened the ter- ritorial chiefs and the adventurers in the employ of the .^ government. They might successively fall before the cupidity of the organized body which none could control, ^ or an able leader might arise who would absorb the ^ power of all others, and gratify his followers by the sacrifice of the rich, the selfish, and the feeble. Even the Raja of Jummoo, always so reasonably averse to a close connection with the English, began to despair of safety as a feudatory in the hills, or of authority as a minister at Lahore without the aid of the British name, and Lai Singh, Tej Singh, and many others, all equally felt their incapacity to control the troops. These men considered that their only chance of retaining power was to have the army removed by inducing it to engage in a contest which they believed would end in its dis- persion, and pave the way for their recognition as ministers more surely than if they did their duty by the people, and earnestly deprecated a war which must de- stroy the independence of the Punjab.* Had the shrewd and urge the army against the English, in order that it may be destroyed. * Compare Inclosures to the Go- vernor-General's letter to the Secret Committee of the 3Jst December, 1845. {Farl. Papers, 26th Feb. 1846, p. 29.) It has not been thought ne- cessary to refer to the intemperance of the desperate Jowahir Singh, or to the amours of the Muharanee, which in the papers laid before the British parliament, have been used to heighten the folly and worthless- ness of the Lahore court. Jowahir Singh may have sometimes been seen intoicicated, and the Muharanee may have attempted little concealment of her debaucheries, but decency was seldom violated in public; and the essential forms of a court were pre- served to the last, especially when strangers were present. The private life of princes may be scandalous enough, while the moral tone of the people is high, and is, moreover, ap- plauded and upheld by the trans- gressors themselves, in their capacity of magistrates. Hence the domestic vices of the powerful have, compara- tively, little influence on public af- fairs. Further, the proneness of news- mongers to enlarge upon such personal failings is sufficiently notorious ; and the diplomatic service of India has been often reproached for dwelling pruriently or maliciously on such matters. Finally, it is well known that the native servants of the En- glish in Hindostan, who in too many instances are hirelings of little educa- tion or respectability, think they best please their employers, or chime in with their notions, when they traduce all others, and especially those with Chap. IX.] THE WAR WITH THE ENGLISH. 293 committees of the armies observed no military piepara- i845,i846, tions on the part of the English, they would not have ' * ' heeded the insidious exhortations of such mercenary men as Lai Singh and Tej Singh, although in former days they would have marched uninquiringly towards Delhi at the bidding of their great Muharaja. But the views of the government functionaries coincided with the belief of the impulsive soldiery ; and when the men iwere tauntingly asked whether they would quietly look ^y , ,on while the limits of the Khalsa dominion were being „, j iTeduced, and the plains of Lahore occupied by the re- pmote strangers of Europe, they answered that they ■ I would defend with their lives all belonging to the com- jinonwealth of Govind, and that they would march and give battle to the invaders on their own ground.* At the time in question, or early in November, two Sikh villages near Loodiana were placed under sequestration, on the plea that criminals concealed in them had not been surrendered. t The measure was an unusual one, even when the Sikhs and the English were equally at their ease with regard to one another ; and the circum- stance, added to the rapid approach of the Governor- General to the frontier, removed any doubts which may have lingered in the minds of the Punchayets. The men would assemble in groups and talk of the great battle they must soon wage, and they would meet round the tomb of Runjeet Singh and vow fidelity to the Khalsa. X Thus wrought upon, war with the English was virtually j whom tliere may be a rivalry or a his belief that he was saying what the collision. So inveterate is the habit English wanted to hear, of flattery, and s o stro ng isjie belief * The ordinary private correspon- that^Englidiraeii^ love to be thent. dence of the period contained many selves^j)ra,ised- and to hear others statements of the kind given in the slighted that even petty local autho- text. rities scarcely' refer to allied or de- "f" Major Broadfobt's official corre- pendent princes, their neighbors, in spondence seems to have ceased after verbal or in written reports, without the 2Ist November, 1845; and there using some terms of disparagement is no report on this affair among his towards them. Hence the scenes of recorded letters. debauchery described by the Lahore % The Lahore news-letters of the news-writer are partly due to his 24th November, 1845, prepared for professional character, and partly to government. u 3 294 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. IX. 1845,1846. declared on the 17th November ; a few days afterwards " ■ the troops began to move in detachments from Lahore ; cross the they Commenced crossing the Sutlej between Hurreekee liithDec ^^^ Kussoor on the 11th December, and on the 14th 1 1845. of that month a portion of the army took up a position within a few miles of Feerozpoor.* The initiative was thus taken by the Sikhs, who by an overt act broke a solemn treaty, and invaded the ter- ritories of their allies. It is further certain that the English people had all along been sincerely desirous of living at peace with the Punjab, and to a casual observer the aggression of the Sikhs may thus appear as unac- countable as it was fatal ; yet further inquiry will show that the policy pursued by the English themselves for several years was not in reality well calculated to insure a continuance of pacific relations, and that they cannot therefore be held wholly blameless for a war which they expected and deprecated, and which they knew could only tend to their own aggrandizement. The pro- ceedings of the English, indeed, do not exhibit that punctilious adherence to the spirit of first relations which allows no change of circumstances to cause a departure from arrangements which had, in the progress of time, come to be regarded by a weaker power as essentially bound up with its independence. Neither do the acts of the English seem marked by that high wisdom and sure foresight, which should distinguish the career of intelligent rulers acquainted with actual life, and the examples of history. Treaties of commerce and navi- gation had been urged upon the Sikhs, notwithstanding their dislike to such bonds of unequal union ; they were chafed that they had been withheld from Sindh, from Afghanistan, and from Tibet, merely, they would argue, that these countries might be left open to the ambition of the English ; and they were rendered suspicious by the formation of new military posts on their frontier con- » Compare the Governor- General December, 1845, with inclosures. lo the Secret Committee, 2d and 31st (Por/. Papers, 1846.) Chap. IX.] THE WAR WITH THE ENGLISH. 295 trary to prescriptive usage, and for reasons of which i845,i846. they did not perceive the force or admit the validity. ' ' ' The English looked upon these measures with reference to their own schemes of amelioration ; and they did not heed the conclusions which the Sikhs might draw from them, although such conclusions, how erroneous soever, would necessarily become motives of action to a rude and warlike race. Thus, at the last, regard was mainly had to the chance of predatory inroads, or to the possi- bility that sovereign and nobles and people, all combined, would fatuitously court destruction by assailing their gigantic neighbor, and little thought was given to the selfish views of factious Sikh chiefs, or to the natural effects of the suspicions of the Sikh commonalty when wrought upon by base men for their own ends. Thus, too, the original agreement which left the province of Sirhind free of troops and of British subjects, and which ^^* ' > provided a confederacy of dependent states to soften the '' 9, ^ mutual action of a half-barbarous military dominion and '' of a humane and civilized government, had been set aside by the English for objects which seemed urgent and expedient, but which were good in their motive rather than wise in their scope. The measure was misconstrued by the Sikhs to denote a gradual but settled plan of conquest ; and hence the subjective mode of reasoning employed was not only vicious in logic, but being met by arguments even more narrow and one- sided, became faulty in policy, and, in truth, tended to bring about that collision which it was so much desired to avoid. A corresponding singleness of apprehension also led the confident English to persevere in despising or mis- understanding the spirit of the disciples of Govind, The unity and depth of feeling, derived from a young and fervid faith, were hardly recognised, and no historical associations exalted Sikhs to the dignity of Rajpoots and Puthans. In 1842 they were held, as has been mentioned, to u 4 296 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. IX. 1845,1846. be unequal to cope with the Afghans, and even to be " """^ inferior in martial qualities to the population of the Jummoo hills.* In 1845 the Lahore soldiery was called a " rabble" in sober official despatches, and al- though subsequent descriptions allowed the regiments to be composed of the yeomanry of the country, the army was still declared to be daily deteriorating as a military body.t It is, indeed, certain that English officers and Indian Sepoys equally believed they were about to win battles by marching steadily and by the discharge of a few artillery shots, rather than by skilful dispositions, hard fighting, and a prolonged contest.1^ The Eng- The English not only undervalued their enemy, but ijsh uupre- as has been hinted, they likewise mistook the form which campaign, the long-expected aggressions of the Sikhs would as- sume. It was scarcely thought that the ministry, or even that the army would have the courage to cross the river in force, and to court an equal contest ; the known treasonable views of the chiefs, and the unity and depth of feeling which possessed the troops, were not fully appreciated, and it continued to be believed that a desultory warfare would sooner or later ensue, which would indeed require the British to interfere, but which would still enable them to do so at their own convenience. ~~' to place their valor and unanimity under the direction of one able man. The English, therefore, intimated to Golab Singh their readiness to acknowledge a Sikh sovereignty in Lahore after the army should have been disbanded ; but the raja declared his inability to deal with the troops, which still overawed him and other well-wishers to the family of Runjeet Singh. This helplessness was partly exaggerated for selfish objects ; but time pressed ; the speedy dictation of a treaty under the walls of Lahore was essential to the British reputa- tion ; and the views of either party were in some sort met by an understanding that the Sikh anny should be An under- attacked by the English, and that when beaten it should comf t? be openly abandoned by its own government ; and fur- that the ther, that the passage of the Sutlej should be unop- shaub™'^ posed and the road to the capital laid open to the victors, attacked by Under such circumstances of discreet policy and shame- aesertedTy less treason was the battle of Subraon fought.* tiie otter. The Sikhs had gradually brought the greater part The de- of their force into the intrenchment on the left bank of *^f°^'™ p°" sition or the Sutlej, which had been enlarged as impulse prompted the sikhs. or as opportunity seemed to offer. They placed sixty- seven pieces of artillery in battery, and their strength was estimated at thirty-five thousand fighting men ; but it is probable that twenty thousand would exceed the truth ; and of that reduced number, it is certain that all were not regular troops. The intrenchment likewise showed a fatal want of unity of command and of design; and at Subraon, as in the other battles of * Compare the Governor- General's chiefly, if not entirely, that the author letter to the Secret Committee, of the was removed from political employ- 19th February, 1846; from which, ment by the East India Company, however, those only who were mixed This was the author's own conviction, up with the negotiations can extract from careful inquiries made in India ; aught indicative of the understanding and has been the result of equally with Golab Singh which is alluded careful inquiries made by me in to in the text. [It was for this note England P. C] 318 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. IX. 1845,1846. the campaign, the soldiers did everything and the leaders nothing. Hearts to dare and hands to execute were numerous ; but there was no mind to guide and animate the whole : — each inferior commander defended his front according to his skill and his means, and the centre and left, where the disciplined battalions were mainly stationed, had batteries and salient points as high as the stature of a man, and ditches which an armed soldier could not leap without exertion ; but a consfderable part of the line exhibited at intervals the petty obstacles of a succession of such banks and trenches as would shelter a crouching marksman or help him to sleep in security when no longer a watcher. This was especially the case on the right flank, where the looseness of the river sand rendered it impossible to throw up parapets without art and labour, and where irregular troops, the least able to remedy such disad- vantages, had been allowed or compelled to take up their position. The flank in question was mainly guarded by a line of two hundred " zumbooruks " or falconets ; but it derived some support from a salient battery, and from the heavy guns retained on the oppo- site bank of the river.* Tej Singh commanded in this intrenchment, and Lai Singh lay with his horse in loose order higher up the stream, watched by a body of British cavalry. The Sikhs, generally, were some- what cast down by the defeat at Aleewal, and by the sight of the unhonored remains of their comrades float- ing down the Sutlej ; but the self-confidence of a multitude soon returns : they had been cheered by the capture of a post of observation established by the * The ordinary belief that the in- and Mouton the Frenchman, who trenchments of Subraon were jointly were at Subraon, doubtless exerted planned and executed by a French themselves where they could, but and a Spanish colonel, is as devoid of their authority or their influence did foundation as that the Sikh army was not extend beyond a regiment or a rendered effective solely by the la- brigade, and the lines showed no bors and skill of French and Italian trace whatever of scientific skill or of generals. Hurbon the brave Spaniard, unity of design. Chap. IX.] THE "WAR WITH THE ENGLISH. 319 English and left unoccupied at night, and they resumed i845,i846. their vaunting practice of performing their military * ' exercises almost within hail of the British pickets. Yet the judgment of the old and experienced could not be deceived ; the dangers which threatened the Sikh people pressed upon their minds ; they saw no escape from domestic anarchy or from foreign subjection, and the grey-headed chief Sham Singh of Ataree, made known his resolution to die in the first conflict with the enemies of his race, and so to offer himself up as a sacrifice of propitiation to the spirit of Govind and to the genius of his mystic commonwealth. In the British camp the confidence of the soldiery The En- was likewise great, and none there despaired of the f/attTck" fortune of England. The spirits of the men had been raised by the victory of Aleewal, and early in February a formidable siege train and ample stores of ammunition arrived from Delhi. The Sepoys looked with delight upon the long array of stately elephants dragging the huge and heavy ordnance of their predilections, and the heart of the Englishman himself swelled with pride as he beheld these dread symbols of the wide dominion of his race. It was determined that the Sikh position should be attacked on the 10th February, and various plans were laid down for making victory sure, and for the speedy gratification of a burning resentment. The officers of artillery naturally desired that their guns, the representatives of a high art, should be used agree- ably to the established rules of the engineer, or that ramparts should be breached in front and swept in flank before they were stormed by defenceless battalions ; but such deliberate tediousness of process did not satisfy the judgment or the impatience of the commanders, and it was arranged that the whole of the heavy ordnance should be planted in masses opposite particular points of the enemy's intrenchment, and that when the Sikhs had been shaken by a continuous storm of shot and shell, the right or weakest part of the position should 320 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS, [Chap. IX. 1845,1846. be assaulted in line by the strongest of the three in- ' * ' vesting divisions, which together mustered nearly fif- teen thousand men. A large body of British cavalry vv^as likewise placed to watch the movements of Lai Singh, and the two divisions which lay near Feerozpoor were held ready to push across the Sutlej as soon as victory should declare itself. The precise mode of attack was not divulged, or indeed finally settled, until noon of the preceding day, for it was desired to sur- prize the commanding post of observation, which indif- ference or negligence had allowed to fall into the hands of the Sikhs a short time before. The evening and the early hours of darkness of the 9th February were thus occupied with busy preparations ; the hitherto silent camp poured all its numbers abroad ; soldiers stood in groups, talking of the task to be achieved by their valor ; officers rode hastily along to receive or deliver orders ; and on that night what Englishman passed battalion after battalion to seek a short repose, or a moment's solitary communion, and listened as he went to the hammeiing of shells and the piling of iron shot, or beheld the sentinel pacing silently along by the gleam of renewed fires, without recalling to mind his heroic king and the eve of Agincourt, ren- dered doubly immortal by the genius of Shakspeare ? The battle The British divisions advanced in silence, amid the lofh rTb"' darkness of night and the additional gloom of a thick 1846. haze. The coveted post was found unoccupied ; the Sikhs seemed everywhere taken by surprize, and they beat clamorously to arms when they saw themselves about to be assailed. The English batteries opened at sunrise, and for upwards of three hours an incessant play of artillery was kept up upon the general mass of the enemy. The round shot exploded tumbrils, or dashed heaps of sand into the air ; the hollow shells cast their fatal contents fully before them, and the de- vious rockets sprang aloft with fury to fall hissing amid a flood of men ; but all was in vain, the Sikhs stood Chap. IX.] THE WAR WITH THE ENGLISH. 317* unappalled, and " flash for flash retmjifida._an4 fire for i845,i846. fire;"^ T helfield was resplendent with embattled war- ' '^~' riors, one moment umbered in volumes of sulphurous smoke, and another brightly apparent amid the splendor of beaming brass and the cold and piercing rays of polished steel. The roar and loud reverberation of the ponderous ordnance added to the impressive interest of the scene, and fell gratefully upon the ear of the intent and enduring soldier. But as the sun rose higher, it was felt that a distant and aimless cannonade would still leave the strife to be begun, and victory to be achieved by the valiant hearts of the close-fighting infantry. The guns ceased for a time, and each war- rior addressed himself in silence to the coming conflict — a glimmering eye and a firmer grasp of his weapon alone telling of the mighty spirit which wrought ■within him. The left division of the British army advanced in even order and with a light step to the attack, but the original error of forming the regiments in line instead of in column rendered the contest more unequal than such assaults need necessarily be. Every shot from the enemy's lines told upon the expanse of men, and the greater part of the division was driven back by the deadly fire of muskets and swivels and enfilading artillery. On the extreme left, the regiments effected an entrance amid the advanced banks and trenches of petty outworks where possession could be of little avail ; but their comrades on the right were animated by the partial success ; they chafed under the disgrace of re- pulse, and forming themselves instinctively into wedges and masses, and headed by an old and fearless leader, they rushed forward in wrath.* With a shout they leaped the ditch, and upswarming, they mounted the rampart, and stood victorious amid captured cannon. But the effort was great ; the Sikhs fought with steadi- * sir Robert Dick was mortally wounded close to the trenches while cheering on his ardent followers. [X] 318* HISTOEY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. IX. «. 1845,1846. ness and resolution ; guns in the interior were turned ~^ upon the exhausted assailants, and the line of trench alone was gained. Nor was this achievement the work of a moment. The repulse of the first assailants re- quired that the central division should he brought for- ward, and these supporting regiments also moved in line against ramparts higher and more continuous than the barriers which had foiled the first efforts of their comrades. They too recoiled in confusion before the fire of the exulting Sikhs ; but at the distance of a fur- long they showed both their innate valor and habitual discipline by rallying and returning to the charge. Their second assault was aided on the left by the presence, in the trenches of that flank, of the victorious first division ; and thus the regiments of the centre likewise became, after a fierce struggle on their own right, possessed of as many of the enemy's batteries as lay to their immediate front. The unlooked-for repulse of the second division, and the arduous contest in which the first was engaged, might have led a casual witness of the strife to ponder on the multitude of varying cir- cumstances which determine success in war ; but the leaders were collected and prompt, and the battalions on the right, the victors of Aleewal, were impelled against the opposite flank of the Sikhs ; but there, as on all other points attacked, destruction awaited brave men. They fell in heaps, and the first line was thrown back upon the second, which, nothing daunted, moved rapidly to the assault. The two lines mingled their ranks and rushed forward in masses, just as the second division had retrieved its fame, and as a body of cavalry had been poured into the camp from the left to form that line of advance which surpassed the strength of the exhausted infantry. Openings were thus everywhere effected in the Sikh intrenchments, but single batteries still held out ; the interior was filled with courageous men, who took ad- vantage of every obstacle, and fought fiercely for every Chap. IX.] THE WAR WITH THE ENGLISH. 319* spot of ground. The traitor, Tej Singh, indeed, instead i845,i846. of leading fresh men to sustain the faiHng strength of > the troops on his right, fled on the first assault, and, either accidentally or by design, sank a boat in the mid- dle of the bridge of communication. But the ancient Sham Singh remembered his vow ; he clothed himself in simple white attire, as one devoted to death, and calling on all around him to fight for the Gooroo, who had promised everlasting bliss to the brave, he repeat- edly rallied his shattered ranks, and at last fell a martyr on a heap of his slain countrymen. Others might be seen standing on the ramparts amid showers of- balls, waving defiance with their swords, or telling the gun- ners where the fair-haired English pressed thickest together. Along the stronger half of the battlements, and for the period of half an hour, the conflict raged sublime in all its terrors. The parapets were sprinkled with blood from end to end ; the trenches were filled with the dead and the dying. Amid the deafening roar of cannon, and the multitudinous fire of musketry, the shouts of triumph or of scorn were yet heard, and the flashing of innumerable swords was yet visible ; or from time to time exploding magazines of powder threw bursting shells and beams of wood and banks of earth high above the agitated sea of smoke and flame which enveloped the host of combatants, and for a moment arrested the attention amid all the din and tumult of the tremendous conflict. But gradually each defensible position was captured, and the enemy was pressed to- wards the scarcely fordable river ; yet, although assailed o n eithe r si de by squadrons of horse sn d battalinns nf foot, no !Sikh offe red to submit, and no disciple of Govind asked tor^quarterT They everywhere showed a front to the victors, and stalked slowly and sullenly away, while many rushed singly forth to meet assured death by contending with a multitude. The victors looked with stolid wonderment upon the indomitable courage of the vanquished, and forbore to strike where the helpless and the dying frowned unavailing hatred. 320=' THE WAR WITH THE ENGLISH. [Chap. IX. 1846,1846. But the necessities of war pressed upon the command- " " ' ers, and th&y had effectually to disperse that army which had so long scorned their power. Thd fire of batteries and battalions precipitated the flight of the Sikhs through the waters of the Sutlej, and the triumph of the English became full and manifest. The troops defiled with dust and smoke and carnage, thus stood mute indeed for a moment, until the glory of their success rushing upon their minds, they gave expression to their feelings, and hailed their victorious commanders with reiterated shouts of triumph and congratulation.* On- the night of the victory some regiments were pushed across the Sutlej opposite Feerozpoor ; no enemy was visible ; and on the 12th February the fort of Kussoor was occupied without opposition. On the following day the army encamped under the walls of that ancient town, and it was ascertained that the Sikhs still held together to the number of twenty thou- sand men in the direction of Araritsir. But the power The pas- sage of the Sutlca, the submission of the Muharaja, and the occupation of Lahore. * Compare Lord Gough's de- spatch of the 13th February, 1846, and MacgregoT^s History of the Sikhs, ii. 1 54, &c. The casualties on the side of the British were 320 killed, and 2,083 wounded. The loss of the Sikhs, perhaps, exceeded 5,000, and possibly amounted to 8,000, the lower estimate of the English despatches. The Commander-in-chief esti- mated the force of the Sikhs at 30,000 men, and it was frequently said they had 36 regiments in position ; but it is nevertheless doubtful whether there were so many as 20,000 armed men in the trenches. The numbers of the actual assailants may be estimated at 15,000 effective soldiers. [After the war Lord Gough ascertained through the British authorities at Lahore, that the Sikhs admitted their strength at Subraon to have been 42,626 men. Perhaps, however, this estimate in- cludes all the troops on the right bank of the river, as well as those in the in- trenched position on the opposite side. If so, the statement seems in every way credible. Similarly Lord Gough learnt that 3,125 heirs of soldiers killed claimed arrears of pay, from which fact and other circumstances which came to his knowledge, his Lordship thinks the Sikhs may have lost from 1 2 to 1 5,000 men in this decisive victory,] Subraon, or correctly Subrahan, the name by which the battle is known, is taken from that of a small village, or rather two small villages, in the neighbourhood. The villages in question were inhabited by the subdivision of a tribe called Subrah, or, in the plural, Subrahan ; and hence the name became applied to their place of residence, and has at last become identified with a great and important victory. [This mode of de- signating villages by means of the plural form of a patronymic is com- mon in India, and it was once fre- quent in our own country, as noticed by Mr, Kemble {Saxons in England, i. 59. note and appendix A. p. 478. ) in 1329 instances, such as Tooting in Surrey, Mailing in Kent, &c., from the Totingas, Meallingas, and other families or clans.} Chap. IX.] THE WAR WITH THE ENGLISH. 321 of the armed representatives of tlie Khalsa was gone ; 1845, i846. the holders of treas ure and food, and all the munition s ^"^ — « of war , had lirst pass ivel y hwlp pH tn flpfpat thi^m, qiiH then openl y joined the enemy ; and the soldiery readily assented to the requisition of the court that Golab Singh, their chosen minister, should have full powers to treat with the English on the already admitted basis of re- cognizing a Sikh government in Lahore. On the 15th of the month the Raja and several other chiefs were received by the Governor-General at Kussoor, and they were told that Dhuleep Singh would continue to be regarded as a friendly sovereign, but that the country between the Beeas and Sutlej would be retained by the conquerors, and that a million and a half sterling must be paid as some indemnity for the expenses of the war, in order, it was said, that all might hear of the punishment which had overtaken aggressors, and be- come fully aware that inevitable loss followed vain hostilities with the unoffending English. After a long discussion the terms were reluctantly agreed to, the young Muharaja came and tendered his submission in person, and on the 20th February the British army arrived at the Sikh capital. Two days afterwards a portion of the citadel was garrisoned by English regi- ments, to mark more plainly to the Indian world that a vaunting enemy had been effectually humbled ; for throughout the breadth of the land the chiefs talked, in the Ijitterness of their hearts, of the approaching down- fall of the stern unharmonizing foreigners.* The Qovernor-General desired not only to chastise xegotia- the Sikhs for their past aggressions, but to overawe *'""'' them for the future, and he had thus chosen the Beeas, as ofiFering more commanding positions with reference to Lahore than the old boundary of the Sutlej. With the same object in view, he had originally thought Raja ^^^^^ Golab Singh might advantageously be made independent singh. * Compare the Governor- General the 19th February, and 4th March, to the Secret Committee, under dates 1846. Y 322 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. IX. 1845, 1846. in the hills of Jummoo.* Such a recognition by theBritish ' V ' government had, indeed, always been one of the wishes of that ambitious family ; but it was not, perhaps, remem- bered that Golab Singh was still more desirous of be- coming the acknowledged minister of the dependent Punjabi; nor was it perhaps thought that the overtures of the Raja — after the battle of Aleewal had foreboded the total rout of the Sikh army — were all made in the hope of assuring, to himself a virtual viceroyalty over the whole dominion of Lahore. Golab Singh had been appointed Vuzeer by the chiefs and people when danger pressed them, and he had been formally treated with as minister by the English when the Governor-General thought time was short, and his own resources dis- Lai Singh, tantt; but when Lai Singh saw that after four pitched battles the English viceroy was content or compelled to leave Lahore a dependent ally, he rejoiced that his un- diminished influence with the mother of the Muharaja would soon enable him to supplant the obnoxious chief of Jummoo. The base sycophant thus congratulated himself on the approaching success of all his treasons, which had simply for their object his own personal aggrandizement at the expense of Sikh independence. * Compare the Governor- General whether Lai Singh lived or was to the Secret Committee, of 3d and put to death, it is highly probable 19th February, 1846. that a fair and vigorous government ■)■ This had been the aim of the would have been formed, and also family for many years ; or, at least, that the occupation of Lahore, and from the time that Dhian Singh ex- perhaps the second treaty of 1 846, erted himself to remove Colonel need never have taken place. Wade, in the hope that a British re- ^ Compare the Governor- General's presenta'tive might be appointed who letter to the Secret Committee, of the would be well disposed towards him- 3d and 19th February, 1846. In self, which he thought Colonel Wade both of these despatches Lord Har- was not. Mr. Clerk was aware of dinge indicates that he intended to do both schemes of the Lahore minister, something for Golab Singh, but he although the greater prominence was does not state that he designed to naturally given to the project of ren- make him independent of Lahore, nor dering the Jummoo chiefs indepen- does he say that he told the Sikh dent, owing to the aversion with which Chiefs the arrangements then on foot they were regarded after Nao Nihal might include the separation of Jum- Singh's death. moo ; and the truth would seem to Had the English said that they be, that in the first joy of success the desired to see Golab Singh remain scheme of conciliating the powerfijl minister, and had they been careless Raja remained in a manner forgotten. Chap. IX.] THE WAR WITH THE ENGLISH. 323 Golab Singh felt his inability to support himself without i845,i846. the countenance of the English ; but they had offered " »~^ no assurance of support as minister, and he suddenly perplexed the Governor-General by asking what he was to get for all he had done to bring about a speedy peace, and to render the army an easy prey. It was remembered that at Kussoor he had said the way to carry on a war with the English was to leave the sturdy infantry intrenched and watched, and to sweep the open country with cavalry to the gates of Delhi ; and while negotiations were still pending, and the season advancing, it was desired to conciliate one who might render himself formidable in a day, by join- ing the remains of the Sikh forces, and by opening his treasures and arsenals to a warlike population. The low state of the Lahore treasury, and the anxiety The par- of Lai Singh to get a dreaded rival out of the way, titionofthe enabled the Governor-General to appease Golab Singh indepen- in a manner sufficiently agreeable to the Raja himself, ^^"^ f and which still further reduced the importance of the singh. successor of Runjeet Singh. The Raja of Jummoo did not care to be simply the master of his native moun- tains ; but as two thirds of the pecuniary indemnity required from Lahore could not be made good, territory was taken instead of money, and Cashmeer and the hill states from the Beeas to the Indus were cut off from the Punjab Proper, and transferred to Golab Singh as a separate sovereign for a million of pounds sterling. The arrangement was a dexterous one, if reference be only had to the policy of reducing the power of the Sikhs ; but the transaction scarcely seems worthy of the British name and greatness, and the objections become stronger when it is considered that Golab Singh had agreed to pay sixty-eight lakhs of rupees (680,000^.), as a fine to his paramount, before the war broke out*, and that the custom of the East as well as * Major Broadfoot to Govern- that this money was paid by Golab raent, 5th May, 1845. The author Singh, never heard, and does not believe, Y 2 324 HISTOEY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. IX. 1845,1846. of the West requires the feudatory to aid his lord in ' « ' foreign war and domestic strife. Golab Singh ought thus to have paid the deficient million of money as a Lahore subject, instead of being put in possession of Lahore provinces as an independent prince. The suc- cession of the Raja was displeasing to the Sikhs gene- rally, and his separation was less in accordance with his own aspirations than the ministry of Runjeet Singh's empire ; but his rise to sovereign power excited never- theless the ambition of others, and Tej Singh, who knew his own wealth, and was fully persuaded of the potency of gold, offered twenty-five lakhs of rupees for a princely crown and another dismembered province. He was chid for his presumptuous misinterpretation of English principles of action ; the arrangement with Golab Singh was the only one of the kind which took place, and the new ally was formally invested with the title of Muharajaat Amritsir on the 15th March, 1846.* But a portion of the territory at first proposed to be made over to him was reserved by his masters, the payments required from him were reduced by a fourth, and they were rendered still more easy of liquidation by considering him to be the heir to the money which his brother Soochet Singh had buried in Feerozpoor.t Supple- Lai Singh became minister once more ; but he and mentary j^jj ^j^^ traitorous chicfs kriew that thev could not main- arrange- • , 1 -111 1 mentaof tain themsclves, even agamst the reduced army, when 1846, " On this occasion "Muharaja" the accumulation of money he will Golab Singh stood up, and with joined exercise many oppressions ; but he hands, expressed his gratitude to the must be judged with reference to the British viceroy, — adding, without morality of his age and race, and to however any ironical meaning, that the necessities of his own position, he was indeed his " Zur-khureed," or If these allowances be made, Golab gold-boughten slave ! Singh will be found an able and mo- In the course of this history there derate man, who does little in an idle has, more than once, been occasion to or wanton spirit, and who is not with- allude to the unscrupulous character out some traits both of good humor of Raja Golab Singh ; but it must and generosity of temper, not therefore be supposed that he is ■[■ See Appendices XXXIV. a man malevolently evil. He will, XXXV. and XXX VI., for the trea- indeed, deceive an enemy and take ties with Lahore and Jummoo. his life without hesitation, and in Chap. IX.] THE WAR WITH THE ENGLISH. S25 the English should have fairly left the country, and 1845,1846, thus the separation of Golab Singh led to a further ^— v— ' departure from the original scheme. It was agreed Dhuieep that a British force should remain at the capital until Smghun- the last day of December 1846, to enable the chiefs tutelage to feel secure while they reorganized the army and during Ms- introduced order and efficiency into the administration. The end of the year came ; but the chiefs were still helpless ; they clung to their foreign support, and gladly assented to an arrangement which leaves the English in immediate possession of the reduced domi- nion of Runjeet Singh, until his reputed son and feeble successor shall attain the age of manhood.* While the Governor-General and Commander-in-chief The sikhs remained at Lahore at the head of twenty thousand heartened men, portions of the Sikh army came to the capital to ty their be paid up and disbanded. The soldiers showed nei- '■®^^"^'- ther the despondency of mutinous rebels nor the ef- frontery and indifference of mercenaries, and their manly deportment added lustre to that valor which the victors had dearly felt and generously extolled. The men talked of their defeat as the chance of war, or they would say that they were mere imitators of unapproachable masters. But, amid all their humilia- tion, they inwardly dwelt upon their future destiny with unabated confidence ; and while gaily calling themselves inapt and youthful^ scholars, they would sometimes add, with a significant and sardonic smile, that the "Khalsa" itself was yet a child, and that as the commonwealth of Sikhs grew in stature, Govind would clothe his disciples with irresistible might and guide them with unequalled skill. Thus brave men sought consolation, and the spirit of progress which collectively animated them yielded with a murmur ta the superior genius of England and civilization, to be chastened by the rough hand of power, and perhaps * See Appendix XXXVII., for the second treaty with Lahore. V 3 326 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. IX. 1845,1846. to be moulded to noblest purposes by the informing ' touch of knowledge and philosophy.* Conclusion. The Separate sway of the Sikhs and the independence sitim oftte °^ ^^^ Punjab have come to an end, and England reigns English in the undisputed mistress of the broad and classic land ^'^'*' of India. Her political supremacy is more regular and systematic than the antique rule of the Brahmins and Kshutrees, and it is less assailable from without than the imperfect domination of the Mahometans j for in disciplined power and vastness of resources, in unity of action and intelligence of design, her government surpasses the experience of the East, and emulates the magnificent prototype of Rome. But the Hindoos made the country wholly their own, and from sea to sea, from the snowy mountains almost to the fabled bridge of Rama, the language of the peasant is still that of the twice-born races ; the speech of the wild foresters and mountaineers of the centre and south has been permanently tinged by the old predominance of the Kshutrees, and the hopes and fears and daily habits of myriads of men still vividly represent the genial myths and deep philosophy of the Brahmins, which more than two thousand years ago arrested the atten- tion of the Greeks. The Mahometans entered the country to destroy, but they remained to colonize, and swarms of the victorious races long continued to pour themselves over its rich plains, modifying the language and ideas of the vanquished, and becoming themselves altered by the contact, until, in the time of Akber, the * In March, 1846, or immediately Khalsa was intended for all countries after the war, the author visited the and times j and added, by way of Sikh temples and establishments at compliment, that the disciples of Keeritpoor and Anundpoor-Makho- Nanuk would ever be grateful for wal. At the latter place, the chosen the aid, which the stranger English seat of Govind, reliance upon the had rendered in subverting the em- future was likewise strong ; and the pire of the intolerant and oppressive grave priests or ministers said, by way Mahometans ! of assurance, that the pure faith of the Chap. IX.] THE WAR WITH THE ENGLISH. 32? " Islam" of India was a national system, and until, in i845,i846. the present day, the Hindoo and Mahometan do not practically diflPer more from one another than did the Brahmins and Kshutrees and Veisyas of the time of Munnoo and Alexander. They are different races with different religious systems, but harmonizing together in social life, and mutually understanding and respecting and taking a part in each other's modes and ways and doings. They are thus silently but surely removing one another's differences and peculiarities, so that a Anew element results from the common destruction, to / P ] Ijbecome developed into a faith or a fact in future ages. ^ * ^ *rhe rise to power of contemned Soodra tribes, in the persons of Mahrattas, Goorkhas, and Sikhs, has brought about a further mixture of the rural population and of the lower orders in towns and cities, and has thus given another blow to the reverence for antiquity. The re- ligious creed of the people seems to be even more inde- terminate than their spoken dialects, and neither the religion of the Arabian prophet, nor the theology of the Veds and Poorans, is to be found pure except among professed Moollas and educated Brahmins, or among the rich and great of either persuasion. Over this seething and fusing mass, the power of England has been extended and her spirit sits brooding. Her pre-eminence in the modern world may well excite the envy of the nations ; but it behoves her to ponder well upon the mighty task which her adventurous children have set her in the East, and to be certain that her sympathizing labors in the cause of humanity are guided by intelligence towards a true and attainable end. She rules supreme as the welcome composer of political troubles ; but the thin superficies of her domi- nion rests tremblingly upon the convulsed ocean of social change and mental revolution. Her own high civilization and the circumstances of her intervention isolate her in all her greatness ; she'^can a ppeal to the .^ , reason only of her subjects, and can never lean upon Y"4 328 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. IX. 1845,1846, thejenthusiasm of their gratitude or predilections.* To preserve her political ascendancy she must be ever pru- dent and circumspect ; and to leave a lasting impress she must do more than erect palaces and temples, the mere material monuments of dominion. Like Greece and Rome, she may rear edifices of surpassing beauty, she may bridge gulphs and pierce mountains with the wand of wealth and science. Like these ancient peoples, she may even give birth in strange lands to such kings as Herod the Great and to such historians as Flavins Josephus ; but, like imperial Rome, she may live to behold a Vortigern call in a Hengist, and a Syagrius yield to a Clovis. She may teach another Cymbeline the amenities of civilized life, and she may move another Attains to bequeath to her another Pergamus. These are tasks of easy achievement ; but she must also endeavor to give her poets and her sages an immortality among nations unborn, to introduce laws which shall still be in force at the end of sixty genera- tions, and to tinge the faith and the minds of the people with her sober science and just morality, as Christianity was affected by the adoptive policy of Rome and by the plastic philosophy of Greece. Of all these things England must sow the seeds and lay the foundations before she can hope to equal or surpass her great exemplars.! * [Mr. Macaulay's comparison (^is- admits "the many defects inherent tory of England, i. 364, &c.) between in a system of foreign administration, the manners of the earlier Georges in which language, color, religion, and Charles II., as bearing on the customs, and laws preclude all natu- kingly office, is peculiarly applicable ral sympathy between sovereign and to the British rule in India. The subject ; " but he at the same time English, like their own stranger so- declares the English have, neverthe- vereigns of the last century, govern less, done more in fifty years for the in the East according to law, but substantial benefit of the people, at they cannot give themselves a place least of Upper India, than the Mus- in the hearts of their subjects, while sulmans did in ten times that period, those whom reason can convince are — an opinion that requires to be sup- neither numerous nor influential in ported by a more extended compari- politieal affairs. Sir H. M. Elliot, son of material works than is given in the introduction (p. xxix. ) to his by the learned writer.] important and interesting volume on f See Appendix XV. the Mahometan Historians of India, Chap. IX.] THE WAR WITH THE ENGLISH, 329 But England can do nothing until she has rendered i84S,i846. her dominion secure, and hitherto all her thoughts have * » ' been given to the extension of her supremacy. Up to this time she has been a rising power, the welcome supplanter of Moghuls and Mahrattas, and the ally which the remote weak sought against the neighboring strong. But her greatness is at its height ; it has come to her turn to be feared instead of courted, and the hopes of men are about to be built on her wished-for destruction. The princes of India can no longer ac- quire fame or territory by preying upon one another. Under the exact sway of their new paramount, they must divest themselves of ambition and of all the violent passions of their nature, and they must try to remain kings without exercising the most loved of the functions of rulers. The Indians, indeed, will themselves politely liken England and her dependent sovereigns to the benignant moon accompanied by hosts of rejoicing stars in her nightly progress, rather than to the fierce sun which rides the heavens in solitude scarcely visible amidst intolerable brightness ; but men covet power asjwdl as ease, and crave distinction as well as wealth '; and thus it is with those who endeavor tcTjest with adversity. England has immediately to make her at- tendant princes feel, that while resistance is vain, they are themselves honored, and hold a substantive position in the economy of the imperial government, instead of being merely tolerated as bad rulers or regarded with contempt and aversion as half-barbarous men. Her rule has hitherto mainly tended to the benefit of the trading community ; men of family name find no place in the society of their masters, and no employment in the service of the state j and while the peasants have been freed from occasional ruinous exaction, and from more rare personal torture, they are oppressed and impoverished by a well-meant but cumbrous and inefficient law*, and by an excessive and * The police of India is notoii- even the useful establishments for ously corrupt and oppressive ; and tracing Thugs and Dalcoits, or banded 330 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. IX. 1845,1 846. partial taxation, which looks almost wholly to the land for the necessary revenue of a government.* The husbandman is sullen and indiflferent t, the gentleman nurses his wrath in secrecy, kings idly chafe and in- trigue, and all are ready to hope for everything from a change of masters. The merchant alone sits partly happy in the reflection, that if he is not honored with titles and office, the path to wealth has been made smooth, and its enjoyment rendered secure. Princes and nobles and yeomen can all be kept in obedience for generations by overwhelming means, and by a more complete military system than at present assassins and confederate robbers, may before long become as great an evil in one way as the gangs of criminals they are breaking up are in another. The British rule is most defective in the prevention and detection of crime; and while supremely powerful in mi- litary means, the government is com- paratively valueless as the guardian of the private property of its citizens. Thus a feeling of insecurity arises, which gives birth to a want of confi- dence, and will finally lead to an ac- tive desire for a change of masters. England has identified herself so little with the people of India, that she leans solely on hireling agency, and trusts the preservation of internal order to men who fear her, indeed, but who hate her at the same time, and can deceive her with ease and impunity. The people themselves, as well as the mass of paid servants, have yet to be enlisted in the cause of justice and order ; and some middle class landholders should have powers of committal, while others should form juries or punchayets within their " pergunnehs " and " zillahs," or hun- dreds and shires. Within such limits the zemindars of India are as much alive to public opinion as the land- holders of other countries. (For some apposite remarks on the subject, see Lieut. -Colonel Sleeman's Bambles and Recollections of an Indian Officiate ii. 313, &c,) • See Appendix XVI. f Lieutenant-Colonel Sleeman con- siders (^Rambles of an Indian Of- ficial, ii. 175.) that neither have the English gained, nor did other rulers possess, the good-will of the peasantry and landholders of the country. In considering the position of the English, or of any ruling power, in India, it should always be borne in mind that no bodies of peasantry, ex- cepting perhaps the Sikhs, and, in a lesser degree, the Rajpoots of the West, and no classes of men, ex- cepting perhaps the Mahometans, and, in a lesser degree, the Brahmins, take any interest in the government of their country, or have collectively any wish to be dominant. The masses of the population, whether of towns or villages, are ready to submit to any master, native or foreign ; and the multitudes of submissive subjects pos- sessed by England, contribute nothing to her strength except as tax-payers, and, during an insurrection or afier a conquest, would at once give the " government share of the produce " to the wielder of power for the time being, and would thereby consider themselves freed from all obligations and liabilities. England must be just and generous towards these tame my- riads; but the men whom she has pre-eminently to keep employed, ho- nored, and overawed, are the turbulent military classes, who are ever ready to rebel and ever desirous of acquiring power. Chap. IX.] CONCLUSION : THE ENGLISH IN INDIA. 331 obtains. Numerous forts and citadels*, the occasional i845,i846. assemblage of armies, and the formation of regiments * — '""' separately composed of diiferent tribes and races t, will long serve to ensure supremacy and to crush the efforts of individuals ; but England has carefully to w^atch the progress of that change in social relations and religious feelings of which Sikhism is^the most marked exponent, vv & v Among all ranks of men there is a spirit at work which rejects as vain the ancient forms and ideas whether of Brahminism or MahometanismJ, and which clings for * The fewness of places of strength, and indeed of places of ordinary se- curity, for magazines of arms and ammunition, is a radical defect in the military system of the English in India. The want of extensive gra- naries is also much felt, both as a measure of the most ordinary pru- dence in case of insurrection or any military operation ; and as some check upon prices on the common recurrence of droughts in a country in which capitalists do not yet go hand in hand with the government, and are but little amenable to public opinion beyond their order. Such was, and is, the custom of the native princes, and no practice exists with- out a reason, f The Englbh have not succeeded in making their well ordered army a separate caste or section of the community, except very partially in the Madras presidency, where a Se- poy's home is his regiment. It is moreover but too apparent that the active military spirit of the Sepoys, when on service in India, is not now what it was when the system of the •* Company " was new and the for- tune of the Strangers beginning. This is partly due to the general paci- fication of the country, partly to the practice of largely enlisting tame- spirited men of inferior caste because they are well behaved, or pliant in- triguing Brahmins because they can write and are intelligent ; and partly because the system of central or ra- ther single management has been carried too fer. The Indian is emi- nently a partizaiij and his predilection \ for hislmmediate superior should be ; encouraged, the more especially as i there can be no doubt of the loyalty } of the English commandant. The clannish, or feudal, or mercenary, at- tachments do not in India yield to rational conviction or political prin- ciple, and colonels of battalions should have very large powers. Re- giments separately composed of men of one or other of the military classes might sometimes give trouble within themselves, and sometimes come into collision with other regiments; but a high warlike feeling would be en- gendered; and unless England chooses to identify herself with some of the inferior races, and to evoke a new spirit by becoming a religious re- former, she must keep the empire she has won by working upon the feelings she finds prevalent in the country. J [The following remark of the Hindoos, regarding some of their most sacred persons, has now a wider application than smart sayings com- monly possess. They describe Purs- Kam, Vyasa, Rama, and Krishna, as " Sirree, Siftee, Dana, and Deew- ana,"— or Furs- Ram as hasty, heed- less; because, for the fault of one ruler, he proceeded to slay a whole generation of men : — Vydsa, as wordy, or a flatterer; because he would make all to resemble gods ; — Mama, alone, as wise, or politic ; be- cause all his actions denoted fore- thought ; and Krishna, as eminently silly or trivial ; because all he did was OccCiu, } I C«- t^ 33'2 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Chap. IX„ 1845,1846. present solace and future happiness to new intercessors * r— ' and to another manifestation of divine power and mercy. This laboring spirit has developed itself most strongly on the confines of the two antagonist creeds ; but the feeling pervades the Indian world, and the ex- tension of Sikh arms would speedily lead to the recog- nition of Nanuk and Govind as the long looked-for Comforters.* The Sikhs have now been struck by the petrific hand of material power, and the ascendancy of a third race has everywhere infused new ideas, and modified the aspirations of the people. The confusion has thus been increased for a time ; but the pregnant fermentation of mind must eventually body itself forth in new shapes ; and a prophet of name unknown may arise to diffuse a system which shall consign the Veds arid Koran to the oblivion of the Zendavest and the Sibylline Leaves, and which may not perhaps absorb one ray of light from the wisdom and morality of that faith which adorns the civilization of the Christian rulers of the country. But England must hope that she is not to exercise an unfruitful sway ; and she will add fresh lustre to her renown, and derive an additional claim to the gratitude of posterity, if she can seize upon the essential principles of that element which dis- turbs her multitudes of Indian subjects, and imbue the mental agitation with new qualities of beneficent fer- tility, so as to give to it an impulse and a direction, which shall surely lead to the prevalence of a religion of truth and to the adoption of a government of freedom- and progress, 'v.^^^ ,. ., _^ ■' u^.^.^-^-- --, .--^''|;,,^>' of that character. That names still the successive rulers of India as fol- revered are sometimes so treated, de- lows: — 1st. The Yavvans (Greeks), notes a readiness for change.] eight kings. 2d. The Tooshkurs * [Widely spread notions, how er- (Turks or Mahometans), fourteen roneous soever they be, in one sense, kings. 3d. The Goorund (the fair, always deserve attention, as based on i. e. the English), ten kings ; and 4th, some truth or conviction. Thus the The Mowna (or silent, i. e. the dis- Hindoos quote an altered or spurious ciples of Nanuk the Seer), eleven passage of the Bhagavut, describing kings.] ADDITIONAL NOTES. 333 ADDITIONAL NOTES AND CORRECTIONS. P. 9., after the words " The people of Cashmere," add : — " The Author learns from his brother. Major A. Cunning- ham, who has twice visited Cashmere, that the Mahometans of that valley are nearly all Sheea," instead of Soonea, as stated in the text. P. 13., to note *, add, in continuation : — " Colonel Kennedy {Res. Hind. MythoL, p. 141.) states that the Brahmins think little of the Christian missionaries (as propagandists), although the English have held authority in India for several generations." P. 20., to note §, add, before the sentence beginning " Of the modem faiths : " — " The whole subject, however, is complicated in the ex- treme; and it is rendered the more so by the probability that the same Gowtum is the author of the popular ' Nyaya' system of Philosophy, and that Boodha himself is one form of the favourite divinity Vishnoo; although the orthodox explain that circumstance by saying the Preserving Power assumed an heretical character to delude Deodas, king of Benares, who by his virtues and authority endangered the supremacy of the Gods. (Compare Kennedy, Res. Hind. Mythol, p. 248., &c.)" /?' P. 26., a new note, at the words "direction of the con- science" (end of the 1st chapter): — " fThe recent spread of the " Marwaree" traders over the centre, and to the south and east of India, may also be no'^ 334 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. ticed, for the greater number of them are Jelns. These traf- fickers of Eajpootaua seem to have received a strong mercantile impulse about a hundred years ago, and their spirit of enter- prise gives them at the same time a social and a religious influence, so that many families of Vaishnuvee or Brahminical traders either incline to Jeinism, or openly embrace that faith. Jeinism is thus extending in India, and conversion is ren- dered the more easy by the similarity of origin and occupation of these various traders, and by the Quietism and other cha- racteristics common to the Jeins and Vaishnuvees. P. 22., to note f, after the words "vrith the ordinary mythology," add : — " Yet the unity of the Godhead was the doctrine of the obscure Orpheus, of Plato the transcendentalisti and of such practical men as Cicero and Socrates, and these," and " unless modem criticism," &c. &c., as printed. P. 23., in note *, after the words " of a compulsory prin- ciple," add : — " Nevertheless, Socrates, as represented by Xenophon, may be considered to have held Worship of the Gods to be a Duty of Man. (See the Memorabilia, b. iv. o. iii. iv. vi. & vii.)" P. 23., at end of note f, add, as a reference: — " See also note 1[, p. 41." P. 23., at note on the words of the text, " bodily aus- terities and mental abstraction:" — " Socrates, who inculcated every active virtue, nevertheless admitted, ' that he who wanted least was nearest to the Divi- nity ; for to need nothing was the attribute of God.' {Memo- rabilia, b. 1. c. vi. s. 10.)" P. 24., to note *, about the modern Jeins, add, in con- tinuation : — " (See Colonel Kennedy, Res. Hind. Mythol, p. 243 — 250.) Ummer Singh, the author of the Sanscrit ' Kosh,' or vocabulary, was himself a Boodhist; and he is differently stated to have flourished in the first century before, or in the ADDITIONAL NOTES. 335 fifth after, Christ (Col. Kennedy, as above, p. 127, 128.) but in Malwa he is traditionally said to have been confuted in argument by Shunkur Acharj, which would place him in the eighth or ninth century of our era. P. 24., at the end of note J, add : — " and Colonel Kennedy {Res. Hind. Mythol, p. 284. 308.), who distinctly says the Lingam and Youi are not held to be typical of the destructive and reproductive powers ; and that there is nothing in the Poor^ns to sanction such an opinion." P. 25., to note f, add, in continuation : — " and of the eighteen Poor§,ns, five only give supremacy to one form of Divinity over others. (Colonel Kennedy, ^e*. Hind. Mythol, p. 203, 204.)" P. 25., to note %, add, in continuation : — " Colonel Kennedy, in his valuable ' Researches,' takes no notice of the modern reformers : and he even says that the Hindoo religion has remained unchanged for three thousand years (p. 192, &c.); meaning, however, it would seem, that the Unity of the Godhead is still the doctrine of Philosophy, and that Brahma, Yishnoo, and Siva are still the principal divinities of Polytheism." P. 32., to note *, add : — " Colonel Kennedy {Res. Hind. Mythol, p. 130. 153, &c.) regards them mainly as complimentary to the Veds, explain- ing religious and moral doctrines, and containing disquisitions concerning the illusive nature of the universe, and not as in any way intended to be hisljorical." P. 32., to note fj add : — " The same is declared by the Siva Pooran. (Colonel Ken- nedy, Res. Hind. Mythol, p. 309. note.)" P. 43., to note \, add : — " It is curious that the Greeks and Romans believed the life of the ox to have been held sacred during the golden age ; 3S6 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. and Cicero quotes Aratus, to show that it was only during the iron age the flesh of cattle began to be eaten. (Ow the Nature of the Gods. Francklin's Trans., p. 154.)" P. 45., to note *, add : — " Unggud, however, is an old Hindoo name ; and the am- bassador of Eama to Eavun was so called. (Kennedy, Res. Hind. Mythol, p. 438.) " P. 58., to note *, add : — " Cicero seems to have almost as high an opinion of the functions of conscience. It points out to us, he says, without Divine assistance, the difference between virtue and vice. {Nature of the Gods. Francklin's Trans., p. 213.)" ^/.■^ P, 180., in continuation of note *, about Sikh government, after the present concluding words " noticed by Forster {Travels, u. 26. &c.) " " The ancestors of the numerous families of Cashmeeree Brahmins, now settled in Delhi, Lucknow, &c., were like- wise refugees from Afghan oppression ; and it is curious that the consolidation of Eunjeet Singh's power should have in- duced several of these families to repair to the Punjab, and even to return to their original country. This, notwith- standing the Hindooism of the Sikh faith, is still somewhat in favour of Sikh rule." P. 19i3^, to note f, add a paragraph as follows : — " As an instance of the effect of the teaching of Syed Ahmed and others, coupled with the perusal of the translated Koran, it is often mentioned that the very tailors of Delhi were thereby moved to return remnants and cuttings of cloth to their employers. The printed Oordoo Kerens are eagerly bought by all who can afford the money, and who know of their existence." Additional paragraph to Appendix IV., about Caste in India. " Mr. Hodgson {Aborigines of India, p. 144.), shows that the Kocch princes of Assam were admitted to be Rajpoots on ADDITIONAL NOTES. 337 embracing Hindooism, although they are of the TImul and not of the Arya race ; but even the Jews were not altogether inflexible in former times, and Bossuet notices the conversion of the Idumaeans and Philistines, and sees their change of faith foretold by the prophets. (^Universal History, Trans- lation of 1810, p. 142 and 154.) APPENDICES. z 2 APPENDICES. APPENDIX I. THE JUTS AND jItS OF UPPEE INDIA. AccOBDiNG to the dictionaries, Jdt means a race, a tribe, or a particular race so called, while Jut means manner, kind, and likewise matted hair. But throughout the Punjab Jut also implies a fleece, a fell of hair ; and in Upper Sindh a Jut now means a rearer of camels or of black cattle, or a shepherd in opposition to a husbandman. In the Punjab generally a Jut means still a villager, a rustic par excellence, as one of the race by far the most numerous, and as opposed to one engaged in trade or handicraft. This was observed by the author of the Dabistan nearly two centuries ago {Da- bistdn, ii. 252.) ; but since the Jwfsrf Lahore and the Jafsjaf the Jumna have acquired power, the term is becoming more restricted, and is occasionally employed to mean simply one of that particular race. The Juts merge on one side into the Rajpoots, and on the other into the Afghans, the names of the Jut subdivisions being the same with those of Rajpoots in the east, and again with those of Afghans, and even Belotches, in the west, and many obscure tribes hmasg able to show plausibly that at least they are as likely to be Rajpoots or Afghans as to be Juts. The_Juts are indeed enumerated among the arbitrary or con- ventional thirty-six royal races of the local bards of Rajpoo- tana (Tod's Rajasthan, i. 106.), and they themselves claim affinity with the Bhuttees, and aspire to a lunar origin, as is z 3 342 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [App. II. done by the Raja of Putteeala. J As instances of the narrow and confused state of our knowledge regarding the people of India, it may be mentioned that the Birks (or Virks), one of the most distinguished tribes of Juts, is admitted among the Chalook Eajpoots by Tod (i. 100.), and that there are Kuhker and Kahur Juts, Kukher Kokur, and Kahur Afghans, besides Guhkers, not included in any of the three races. Further the family of Oomerkot in Sindh is stated by Tod {^Rajasthan, i, 92, 93.) to be Pram^r (or Powar), while the Emperor Humayoon's chronicler talks of the followers (i. e. brethren) of that chief as being Juts. {Memoirs of Humayoon, p. 45.) The editors of the Journal of the Geographical Society (xiv. 207, note) derive Jut from the Sanscrit Jyestha, old, ancient, and so make the term equivalent to aborigines ; but this ety- mology perhaps too hastily sets aside the sufficiently esta- bhshed facts of Getse and Yuechi emigrations, and the cir- cumstance of Tymoor's warfare with Jettehs in Central Asia. Some of the most eminent of the Jut subdivisions in the Punjab are named Sindhoo, Cheeneh, Vuraitch, Chuttheh, Sidhoo, Kurreeal, Gondul, &c. &c. For some notices of the Juts bf the Indus by early Mahometan writers (about 977 and 1100 a.d.), see Sir H. M. EUiot's Historians of India, pp. 69. and 270. APPENDIX II. PKOPORTIONS OF KACES AND FAITHS : POPULATION OF INDIA. Out of 1030 villages lying here and there between the Jumna and Sutlej, and which were under British manage- ment in 1844, there were found to be forty-one different tribes of agriculturists, in proportions as follows, after adding .A^:, up fractions where any race composed a portion only of the whole community of any one village. App. II.] RACES, FAITH, AND POPULATION OF INDIA, 343 villages. Juts . _ _ _ . - 443 Eajpoots - - - _ . - 194 , Goqjers - - - . _ - 109 Syeds - - _ _ _ - 17 Shekhs - 25 Puthas&.^^_j^ - - - - ^~-~ 8 Mbghuls - - - _ _ ' 1 5 Brahmins - - - _ _ - 28 Kshutrees - - - - 6 Eaiens (or Aralens) - - - _ - 47 Kumbos - . - _ _ - 19 Melees - - _ . _ - 12 E5rs - _ _ . . - 33 D5ghurs (Mahometans claiming Kshutree origin) - 28 KuMs 5 Gosayen religionists - - - - 3 V, ^ .3^Bairaghee do. - . _ _ 2 ■^^4 miscellaneous tribes occupying equal to - 46 Total 1,030 A classification of the tribes of India according to position, origin, and faith is much wanted, and is indeed necessary to a proper comprehension of the. history of the country. The Kevenue Survey, as conducted in the upper provinces of the Ganges, enumerates several castes, or at least the predo- minant ones, in each village, and the lists might easily be rendered more complete, and afterwards made available by publication for purposes of inquiry and deduction. The Sikh population of the Punjab and adjoining districts has usually been estimated at 500,000 souls in all (compare Burnes, Travels, i. 289. and Elphinstone, History of India, ii. 275, note) ; but the number seems too small by a half or a third. There are, indeed, no exact data on which to found an opinion; but the Sikh armies have never been held to contain fewer than 70,000 fighting men, they have been given as high as 250,000, and there is no reason to doubt that between the Jehlum and Jumna they could muster nearly half the latter number of soldiers of their own faith, z 4 344 HISTOEY OP THE SIKHS. [App. 11. while it is certain that of an agricultural people no member of some families may engage in arms, and that one adult at least of other families wUl always remain behind to till the ground. The gross Sikh population may probably be con- sidered to amount to a million and a quarter or a million and a half of souls, men, women, and children. The proportion of Hindoos to Mahometans throughout •*^' '^< India generally has been variously estimated. The Emperor Jehangheer {Memoirs, p. 29.) held them to be as five to one,,/: which is perhaps more unequal than the present proportion j., ^A in the valley of the Ganges. Mr. Elphinstone {History of India, ii. 238. and notes') takes the relative numbers for the whole country to be eight to one. [From p. 169. of the " Statistics of the N. W. Provinces," printed in 1848, and published in 1849 by the Indian Government, it appears that out of a population of 23,199,668 dwelling between Ghazee- poor and Hurdwar, and in the direct or active occupation of about 72,000 square miles of country, there are 19,452,646 Hindoos and 3,747,022 Mahometans, " and others not Hin- doos" — the others forming, doubtless, a fraction so small that they may be here disregarded. This gives somewhat more than five Hindoos to one Ma- hometan, and so difiers but little from the estimate of the Emperor Jehangheer above quoted, and which probably had reference to the same tract of country. The revenue of the Upper Provinces amounts to about £4,700,000, which gives a taxation of about five shillings a head. Throughout India the state of industry and the system of revenue is nearly the same ; and taking the gross income of the whole country at 40 millions sterling (22 British and 18 native princes), it will result that the population amounts to 200 millions in all, or double what it is commonly believed to be. The calcula- tion, however, is borne out by the analogous condition of affairs in Germany. In Prussia the taxation is about 1 1 shillings a head, and the proportion seems to hold good in the other component states of the empire.] Aep. m.] THE KSHUTRBES AND UEORAS OP PUNJAB. 345 APPENDIX III. THE KSHUTBEES AND UEORAS OF THE PUNJAB. The Kshutrees of the Punjab maintain the purity of their '^'^ ' descent, and the legend is that they represent those of the '^^'^ '& warrior race who yielded to Purs^Ilam*^nd were spared by "^^ him. The tribe is numerous in the Upper Punjab, and about Delhi and Hurdwar. Kshutrees are found in towns along the '" ' Ganges as far as Benares and Patna; but in Bengal, in Cen- ^ A. ^' tral India, and in the Deccan they seem to be strangers, or only to be represented by ruling families claiming a solar or lunar origin. In the Punjab the religious capital of the Kshutrees seems to be the ancient Depalpoor. The Kshutrees divide themselves into three principal classes : I. the Ch&r- jatees, or the four clans ; II. the B^raj^tees, or the twelve clans; and III. the Bawunjaees, or fifty-two clans. The Chdrjatees are 1st, the Seths; 2d, the Merhotas; 3d, the Khunnas ; and 4th, the Kuppoors, who are again divided, the first into two, and the others into three classes. The principal of the Barajatee subdivisions are Chopra, Talwar, Tunnuhn, Seighul, Kukker, Meihta, &c. Some of the Bawunjaees are as follows : Bundaree, Meindrao, Sehtee, Sooree, Sanee, Unnud, Buhseen, Sohdee, Behdee, Teehun, Bhulleh,&c. The Uroras claim to be the offspring of Kshutree fathers and of Veisya or Soodra mothers, and their legend is that they were settled in numbers about Ootch, when the Kshu- trees, being expelled from Delhi, migrated to Tatta and other places in Sindh, and subsequently to MooltS,n. During their wars the Kshutrees asked the aid of the Uroras, but they were refused assistance. The Kshutrees in consequence induced the Brahmins to debar the Uroras from the exercise of religious rites, and they thus remained proscribed for three hundred years, until Sidh Bhoja and Sidh Seeama of Depal- poor readmitted them within the pale of Hindooism. The 346 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Apf. IV. Hindoo bankers of Shikarpoor are TJroras, and the Hindoo shopkeepers of Khorassan and Bokhara are likewise held by the people of the Punjab to be of the same race. The Uroras divide themselves into two main classes : I. Ootradee, or of the north, and II. Dukhunee, or of the south, and the latter has likewise an important subdivision named Duhunee. In the Lower Punjab and in Sindh, the whole Hindoo trading population is included by the Mahometans under the term " Kerar." In the Upper Punjab the word is used to denote a coward or one base and abject, and about Mooltan it is likewise expressive of contempt as well of a Hindoo or a trafficker. In Central India the Ker&rs form a tribe, but the term there literally means dalesmen or foresters, although it has become the name of a class or tribe in the lapse of centuries. Professor Wilson somewhere, I think, identifies them with the Chirrhadse of the ancients, and indeed Kerdt is one of the five Prust'has or regions of the Hindoos, these being Cheen Prusth, Yavun Prusth, Indr Prusth, Dukshun Prusth, and Kerat Prusth, which last is understood by the Indians to apply to the country between Oojein and Orissa, (Compare Wilson, Vishnoo Pooran, p. 175, note, for the Keratas of that book.) Farther the Brahminical Gonds of the Nerbudda are styled " Eaj Gonds," while those who have not adopted Hindooism continue to be called " Kirreea Gonds," a term which seems to have a relation to their unal- tered condition. APPENDIX IV. CASTE IN INDIA. The system of caste, as it has become developed in India, as it obtained in Egypt and in Persia, as it was exemplified in an ancient " Grens " with its separate religious rites and here- ditary usages, as it partially obtained in Europe during the Middle Ages, and as it exists even now. Is worthy of an essay Ai'P. IV.] CASTE m INDIA. 347 distinguished by the ripest scholarship, and by the widest experience of life and knowledge of the human mind. In India it has evidently been an institution of gradual progress up to the pernicious perfection of later days, and in early times the bounds were less markedly defined, or less carefully observed, than during the last few hundred years. The in- stance of Viswamitr's acquisition of Brahminhood is well known, as is Vikrumajeet's almost successful desire of at- taining to the same eminence. Vy^sa likewise raised a Soodra to an equality with the priestly class, and his descendants are still looked upon as Brahmins, although inferior in degree. (Ward on the Hindoos, i. 85. and see Munnoo's Institutes, chap. X. 42 — 72. &c., for admissions that merit could open the ranks of caste.) Even in the present generation, some members of the Jut Sikh family of Sinanhwala, related to I that of Eunjeet Singh, made an attempt to be admitted to a V participation in the social rites of Kshutrees ; and it may be assumed as certain that had the conquering Moghuls and PuthS,ns been without a vivid belief and an organized priest- hood, they would have adopted Vedism and have become enrolled among the Kshutrees or ruling ra;ces. Perhaps the reformer Ramanimd expressed the original principle of Indian sacerdotal caste when he said that Kubeer the weaver had become a Brahmin by knowing Bruhm or God. (The Dabistdn, il 188.) /^ •I The Mahometans of India fancifully divide themselves into ' four classes, after the manner of the Hindoos, viz. Syeds, \ Shekhs, Moghuls, and Puthslns. All are noble, indeed, but I the former two, as representmg the tribe of Mahomet, and the direct progeny of Alee his son-in-law, are pre-eminent. It is likewise a fact, at least in the north-west, that a Kshu- , tree convert from Hindooism, or any convert from Sikhism, ' '^ is styled a Shekh, and that converts of inferior races are , classed as Moghuls and Puthins. Doubtless a Brahmin who ''\ should become a Mahometan would at once be classed among ' (the Syeds. 348 HISTORY OV THE SIKHS. [App. V, APPENDIX V. THE PHILOSOPHICAL SYSTEMS OF THE INDIANS. The six orthodo^ schools will be found, among them, to par- tially represent the three great philosophic systems of the Greeks, — the ethical, jthe logiral|;jjjd^ the physical ; or to be severally founded, in more modern language, on revelation or morality, reason, and sense. Thus the first and second Mi- m^ns, being based on the Veds, correspond in a measure with the school of Pythagoras, which identified itself so closely with the belief and institutions of the age. The NySya and Weisheshik systems of Gowtum and Kanad, which treat pri- marily of mind or reason, resemble the dialectics of Xeno- phanes, while the Sankhya doctrines of KoopSl and Puttun- jul, which labour with the inertness and modifications'of matter, correspond with the physical school of Thales, as taught by Anaxagoras. Mr. Elphinstone (^History of India, i, 234.) has some good observations on the marked correspondence of the Indian and Greek metaphysics, and Mr. Ward {Hindoos, ii. 113.) attempts a specific comparison with a series of indi- vidual reasoners, but too little is yet known, especially of Brahminical speculation, to render such parallels either exact or important. The triple division of the schools which is adopted by the Indians themselves may here be given as some help to a better understanding of the doctrines of the modern reformers. They separate the systems into Arumbwad, Purn^mwad, and VeevurtwM, or the simple atomicj the modified material, and the illusory. The " Arumbwad " includes the first Mi- vakas, the Nyaya, and the Weisheshik, and it teaches the , indestructibility of matter, while it leaves the atoms without '■ any other inherent quality, and attributes their various shapes i and developments to the exercise of God's will. The " Pur- | n^mwad " includes the Sankhya and Y5g systems, and teaches ' that matter has not only a power of resistance, but a law of \ aggregation or development, or that it can only have forms i , ""«:* App. v.] philosophical systems of the INDIANS. 349 ^ given to it by God in accordance with its inherent nature. The modern Vaishnuvees are mostly adherents of this doc- V trine, but they somewhat modify it, and say that the sensible world is God, so imbued with matter that he is himself ma- nifest in all things, but under such varying forms and appear- ances as may suit his design. The " Veewurtw^d," or the - second Mimans, and which is orthodox Vedantism, or the i system of Shunkur Acharj, teaches that God changes not] ^ r'^'^-' his shape, but is himself at once both spirit and matter, al- though to the sense of man he is variously manifested by means of " Maya," his power or essence, his image or reflec- tion — under the guise of the heavens and the earth, or as , inorganic rocks and as sentient animals. Another division of the schools is also made into " Astik," and " Kastik," or deist and atheist, so as to include doctrines not Brahminical. Thus the Astik comprehends all the six " Dursuns," and some modem reasoners further admit Maho- metanism and Christianity, considered as speculative systems, into this theistic or partially orthodox pale. The Nastik comprehends primarily the Boodhist and Jein systems, with the addition sometimes of the Charvak, which has never been popularized ; but Hindoo zealots make it secondarily to in- clude not only Mahometanism and Christianity, but also the sects of Gorukh, Kubear, and Nanuk, as being irrespective of or repugnant to the Veds, while similarly they place the Poorv and Ootur Mimans above the mere deism of reason, as being the direct revelation of God. The Boodhists are subdivided into four schools, — the Sas- trantik, the Weibashlk, the Yogaohdr, and the Madeeamit. All agree in compounding animal existence of five essences or qualities. 1st, Independent consciousness, or soul, or self. 2d, Perception of form, or of external objects. 3d, Sensa- tion, pleasure, or pain, — the action of matter on mind. 4th, Understanding or comprehension, the reaction of mind on matter, or mind pervaded with the qualities of matter. 5th, Passion, volition, action, or mind, vital and motive. Scholars thus consider the present subjection of matter to mind as the greatest happiness of which man is capable, and they declare death to be the utter dissolution of the individual ; while the /^,. 350 HISTORY OF TIIE SIKHS. [App.VI. Boodhas of vulgar adoration become simply revered me- mories or remembrances with the learned. The first section holds that intelligence, or the joint perception of the object and subject, is the soul or distinguishing characteristic of humanity ; the second gives the preference to simple con- sciousness; the third prefers objective sensation, and the fourth teaches that the fact, or the phenomenon of the as- semblage of the component qualities is the only spirit ; or, indeed, that there is nought permanent or characteristic save nonentity, or the void of non-being. This last evidently merges into the Charv^k school, and it is also called the " Shoonyabad " system, or the doctrine of vacuity or non- existence, and an attempt was recently made to popularize it in Upper India, by one Bukhtawur, and his patron, the Chief of Hattrass (Wilson, As. Res. xvii. 305.) ; nor is it difficult to perceive, that practically it would resolve itself into the principle of self-reliance, or perhaps the "know- thyself " of the Greek sage. - >- The Jeins base human existence on the aggregation of nine phenomena, or principles, one of which, Jeev, vitality, may by merit become a Jin, or an immortal spirit. The two great divisions " Swetamber," the white clothed, and " Degum- ber," the naked, seem to have few important metaphysical differences, except that the latter refuses emancipation to the Jeev, or vital power in woman, or denies that woman has a soul capable of immortality. The six heretical systems of Indian speculation thus com- prize the four Boodhist and two Jein schools ; or, if the Jein be held to be one, the sixth is obtained by including the Charvak. The tendency of Indian speculation lies doubtless towards materialism, and the learned say the mind cannot grasp that which is without qualities, or which has force without form, and is irrespective of space. In how much does the philo- i^ophy of Humboldt differ from this, when he says he con- fidently expects what Socrates once desired, " that Reason shall be the sole interpreter of Nature ? " (Kosmos, Sabine's Trans, i. 154.) App. VI.] ON THE mIyA OF THE INDIANS, 351 APPENDIX VL ON THE mIyA of the INDIANS. The Maya of the Hindoos may be considered under a three- fold aspect, or morally, poetically, and philosophically. Morally, it means no more than the vanity of Solomon (Ecclesiastes, i. and ii.), or the nothingness of this world ; and 1>if thus Kubeer likens it to delusion or evil, or to moral error in the abstract. {Asiatic Researches, xvi. 161.) The Indian re- formers, indeed, made a use ot Maya corresponding with the use made by the Apostle Saint John of the Logos of Plato, as Mr. Milman very judiciously observes. (Note in Gibbon's History, iii. 312.) The one adapted Maya to the Hindoo notions of a sinful world, and the other explained to Greek and Koman understandings the nature of Christ's relation to God by representing the divine intelligence to be manifested in the Messiah. Poetically, M^ya is used to denote a film before the eyes of gods and heroes, which limits their sight or sets bounds to their senses (Heereen's Asiatic Nations, iii. 203.); and simi- larly PaUas dispels a mist from before the eyes of Diomed, and makes the ethereal forms of divinities apparent to a mortal. {Iliad, v.) The popular speech of all countries con- tains proof of the persuasion that the imperfect powers of men render them unable to appreciate the world around them. Philosophically, the Maya of the Vedant system (which corresponds to a certain extent with the Prukrittee of the Sankhya school, and with the Cosmic substance of Xeno- phanes, or more exactly with the Play of the Infinite Being of Heraclitus), seems identical with the idgalism of Berkeley. The doctrine seems also to have had the same origin as the " Idola" system of Bacon ; and thus, as an illusion or a false appearance, Maya is the opposite of Plato's " Idea," or the True. Ordinarily, M^ya is simply held to denote the ap- parent or sensible in opposition to the real, as when, accord- N-1 A /•■ A "■J lU J, . S52 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [App. VII. ing to the common illustration, a rope is taken for a snake, while in another point of view it is regarded as the Agent or Medium of God's manifestation in the universe, either as merely exhibiting images, or as really and actively mixed up with the production of worlds. It is curious that in England and in India the same material argument should have been used to confute Berkeley's theory of dreams, and the Brah- minical theory of illusion. An elephant was impelled against Shunkur Acharj, who maintained the unreal nature of his own body, and of all around him ; and Dr. Johnson con- sidered that he demolished the doctrine when, striking a stone with his foot, he showed that he recoiled from it. But Shunkur Acharj had a readier wit than the supporters of the bishop, and he retorted upon his adversaries when they ridiculed his nimble steps to avoid the beast, that all was a fancy ; there was no Shunkur, no elephant, no flight, — all was a delusion. {Dabistdn, ii. 103.) Maya may also be said to be used in a fourth or political sense by the Indians, as in the Sahit or Neetee section of the '' Urth Shastr," or fourth " Oopv^d," which treats, among other things, of the duties of rulers, it is allowed as one of the modes of gaining an end. But Maya, in the science in question, is used to signify rather secrecy, or strategy, or dexterous diplomacy, than gross deceit ; for fraud and false- hood are among the prohibited ways. Mslya, it is said, may be employed to delude an enemy or to secute the obedience of subjects. Socrates admits that, under similar circumsta,nces, such deceit would be fitting and proper, or that in his scheme it would come under the category of justice. {Memorabilia, b. iv. c. ii.) APPENDIX VII. THE METAPHYSICS OF INDIAN REFORMERS. What has been said in the text about the modern reformers relates chiefly to the popular theology. Some of them, how- ever, likewise philosophised or speculated on the origin of things, and thus the " Ootur Mimans" school is sometimes App. Vn.] METAPHYSICS OF INDIAN REFORMERS. 353 subdivided into four branches, known, 1st, as the " Adweit," or pure system of Shunkur ; and, 2d, as the " Madhuv- adweit," the " Vusisht-adweit," and the " Shood-adweit," or modified systems of Unity of Madhuv, E.S,manooj, and Vul- lubh respectively. Shunkur Acharj taught that God is the original of all things, and is in reality unchangeable in form ; wherefore, when oblivious (agheean) of himself, he variously becomes manifest as vitality and matter, he does so as "Maya," or as Images, or as the mirror reflecting all things, yet re- maining itself the same. Life and the Soul are one in this system, and salvation becomes absorption, while, as a proof that the same vitality may put on different shapes, he quotes the instance of the caterpillar, the chrysalis, and the butterfly. Madhuv holds Life to be distinct from Spirit, and with him the purified soul dwells with God without being absorbed, but he gives prominence to " Maya" as coexistent with God, or as the moving and brooding spirit which gives form to matter ; and thus the followers of Kamanooj extend Mad- huv's notion, and talk of God, M^ya, and Life, as well as of Atoms. Vallubh and the Vishnooswamees or the Shood- adweits, likewise maintain the distinct nature of Life or of the human Soul, and make Salvation a dwelling with God without liability to'reappearance; but the doctrine of "Maya" is almost wholly rejected in favor of a Material Pantheism, as that the light which illumines a room is the same with the illuminating principle of the transmitting flame, and hence that what man perceives is actual and not illusory. For some partial notices of these reasonings, see Wilson, As. Res., .xvi. 34. 89. and 104. ; and they may be perused at length in the Commentaries of the several Speculators on the " Bha- gavut Gheeta," In the " Urth Punchuk" of Ramanooj, and In the " Dusha Sl5k" of Vishnooswamee. A A 354 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [App. VIII. APPENDIX VIII. nInuk's philosophical allusions popular ok moral eathee than scientific. Peofessoe Wilson {As. Res., xvii. 233., and continuation of Mill's History of India, vii. 101, 102.), would appear to think slightingly of the doctrines of NSnuk, as being mere me- taphysical notions founded on the abstractions of Soefeeism and the Vedant philosophy ; but it is difficult for any one to write about the omnipotence of God and the hopes of man, without laying himself open to a charge of belonging to one speculative school or another. Milton, «the poet and states- man, indeed, may have had a particular leaning, when he thought of " body working up to spirit " (Paradise Lost, v.) ; but is St. Paul, the reformer and enthusiast, to be contemned, or is he to be misunderstood when he says, "It is sown a natural body, and is raised a spiritual body"? (1 Corinthians, XV. 44.) Similarly such expressions as " Doth not the Lord fill heaven and earth" (Jeremiah, xxiii. 24.), " God, in whom we live and move and have our being" (Acts, xvii. 28.) ; and " Of him, and to him, and through him are all things" (Ro- mans, xi. 36.), might be used to declare the prophet and the apostle to be Pantheists or Materialists ; but it nevertheless seems plain that Jeremiah and Paul, and likewise NSnuk, had another object in view than scholastic dogmatism, and that they simply desired to impress mankind with exalted notions of the greatness and goodness of God, by a vague employment of general language which they knew would never mislead the multitude. Professor Wilson {As. Res., xvii. 233. 237, 238.) and Mohsun Fslnee {Dabistdn, ii. 269, 270. 285, 286.) may be compared together, and the Seir ool Mutakhereen (i. 110.) may be compared with both, with reference to the contra- dictory views taken of the similarity or difference respectively between Sikhism and Brahminlsm. Each is right, the one App. vm.] nAnuk's philosophical allusions. 355 with regard to the imperfect faith or the corrupt practices, especially of the Sikhs in the Gangetic provinces, and the other with regard to the admitted doctrines of Nanuk, as they will always be explained by any qualified person. It is to be remembered that the Sikhs regard the mission of N§,nuk and Govind as the consummation of other dispensa- tions including that of Mahomet ; and their talk, therefore, of Brumha and Vishnoo, and various heavenly powers, is no more unreasonable than the deference of Christians to Moses and Abraham, and to the archangels Michael and Gabriel. Such allusions are perhaps, indeed, more excusable in the Sikhs, than "that singular polytheism" of our mediasval di- vines, which they " grafted on the language rather (indeed) than on the principles of Christianity." — Hallam, Middle Ages, Hi. 346. For an instance of the moral application which NS,nuk was wont to give to mythological stories, see Ward on the Hindoos (iii. 465.). Nanuk, indeed, refers continually to Hindoo notions, but he was not therefore an idolater; and it should further be borne in mind that, as St. John could draw illus- trations from Greek philosophy, so could St. Paul make an advantageous use of the Greek poets, as was long ago ob- served upon in a right spirit by Milton (Speech for the Liberty of unlicensed Printing). In the early ages of Chris- tianity, moreover, the sibylline leaves were referred to as foretelling the mission of Jesus ; but although the spurious- ness of the passages is now admitted, the fathers are not accused of polytheism, or of holding Amalthsea, the nurse of Jupiter, to be a real type of the Virgin Mary ! In truth, all religious systems not possessed of a body of literature or philo- sophy proper to themselves seek elsewhere for support in such matters. Thus the Chevalier Bunsen {Egypt, i. 194, &c.) observes that the early Christians were even 'desirous of re- conciling Scripture with Greek history ; and Kanke {Hist, of the Popes, p. 125. ed. 1843) says that the Church, so late as the sixteenth century, was willing to rest its dogmas and doctrines on the metaphysics of the Ancients. 356 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [App. IX. APPENDIX IX. THE TERMS RAJ AND j6&, DE6 AND TEGH. The warlike resistance of Hur Govind, or the arming of the Sikhs by that teacher, is mainly attributed by Malcolm {Sketch, p. 34, 35.) and Forster (Travels, i. 298, 299.) to his personal feelings of revenge for the death of his father, although religious animosity against Mahometans is allowed to have had some share in bringing about the change. The circumstance of the Gooroo's military array does not appear to have struck Mohsun F^nee as strange or unusual, and his work, the Dabistdn, does not therefore endeavour to account for it. The Sikhs themselves connect the modification of N^nuk's system with the double nature of the mythological Junnuk of Mithila, whose released soul, indeed, is held to have animated the body of their .first teacher {Dabistdn, ii. 268.), and they have encumbered their ideal of a ruler with the following personal anecdote : The wife of Arjoon was without children, and she began to despair of ever becoming a mother. She went to Bhaee Boodha, the ancient and only surviving companion of N4nuk, to beseech his blessing ; but he, disliking the degree of state she assumed and her costly offerings, would not notice her. She afterwards went bare- footed and alone to his presence, carrying on her head the ordinary food of peasants. The Bahee smiled benignly upon her, and said she should have a son, who would be master both of the Deg and Tegh ; that is, simply of a vessel for food and a sword, but typically of grace and jiower, the terms corresponding in significance with the "Raj" and "Jog" of Junnuk', the "Peeree" and "Meeree" of Indian Maho- ' " Raj men jog koomaio," to attain immortal purity or virtue, or to dwell in grace while exercising earthly sway. It is an expression of not unfrequent use, and which occurs in the A dee Grunt'h, in the " Suweias," by certain Bhats. Thus one Keeka says. Ram Das (the fourth Gooroo) got the " Tukht," or throne, of " Raj " and " Jog," from Ummer Das. " Deg," as above stated, means simply a vessel for food, and thence, metaphorically, abundance on earth, and Apr. X.] CASTE AMONG THE SIKHS. 357 metans, and with the idea of the priesthood and kingship residing in Melchisedec and in the expected Messiah of the ; Jews. Thus Hur Govind is commonly said to have worn two swords, one to denote his spiritual, and the other his temporal power; or, as he may sometimes have chosen to express it, one to avenge his father, and the other to destroy Mahometanism. (See Malcolm, Sketch, p. 35.) The fate of Arjoon, and the personal character of his son, had doubtless some share in leading the Sikhs to take up arms ; but the whole progress of the change is not yet apparent, nor perhaps do the means exist of tracing it. The same remark applies to the early Christian history, and we are left in ignorance of how that modification of feeling and principle was brought about, which made those who were so averse to the " business of war and government" in the time of the [early] Caesars, fiU the armies of the empire in the reign of Diocletian, and at last give a military master to the western world in the person of Constantine. (Compare Gibbon, History, ii. 325. 375. Ed. of 1838.) APPENDIX X. /" ' - CASTE AMONG THE SIKHS. It may nevertheless be justly observed that Govind abolished caste rather by implication than by a direct enactment, and it may be justly objected that the Sikhs still uphold the prin- cipal distinctions at least of race. Thus the Gooroos no- where say that Brahmins and Soodras are to intermarry, or that they are daily to partake together of the same food ; but that they laid a good foundation for the practical obliteration grace on the part of God. The two terms are clearly synonymous, and thus Thomson writes of the sun as the • " great delegated source Of light, and life, and grace, and joy below." The Seasons — Summer, A A 3 358 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [App, X. of all differences will be evident from the following quota- tions, always bearing in mind the vast preeminence which they assign to religious unity and truth over social sameness or political equality : — " Think not of caste : abase thyself, and attain to salva- tion." — Ndnuk, Sarung Rag. " God will not ask man of what race he is ; he will ask him what has he done ? " — NAnuk, Purbhatee Raginee. " Of the impure among the noblest. Heed not the injunction ; Of one pure among the most despised, Nanuk will become the footstool." NAnuk, Mulhar Rag. " All of the seed of Bruhm (God) are Brahmins : They say there are four races. But all are of the seed of Bruhm." Ummer Das, Bheiruv. " Kshutree, Brahmin, Soodra, Veisya, whoever remembers the name of God, who worships him always, &c. &c., shall attain to salvation." — Ram Das, Bilawul. " The four races shall be one. All shall call on the Gooroo." GOYIND, in the Rehet Nameh (not in the Grunfh). Compare Malcolm (^Sketch, p. 45^ note), for a saying attri- buted to Govind, that the castes would become one when well mixed, as the four components of the " Pan-Sooparee," or betel, of the Hindoos, became of one colour when well chewed. The Sikhs" of course partake in common of the Prusad (vulg. Pershad) or consecrated food, which is ordinarily com- / posed of flour, coarse sugar, and clarified butter. Several, » ^ perhaps all, Hindoo sects, however, do the same. (See Wil- son, As, Res., xvi. 83, note, and xvii. 239. note.) App. XI.] RITES OF INITIATION INTO SIKHISM. 359 APPENDIX XL lo , RITES OF INITIATION INTO SIKHISM. Sikhs are not ordinarily initiated until they reach the age of discrimination and remembrance, or not before they are seven years of age, or sometimes until they have attained to manhood. But there is no authoritative rule on the subject, nor is there any declaratory ceremonial of detail which can be followed. The essentials are that five Sikhs at least should be assembled, and it is generally arranged that one of the number is of some religious repute. Some sugar and water are stirred together in a vessel of any kind, commonly with a two-edged dagger ; but any iron weapon will answer. The noviciate stands with his hands joined in an attitude of hu- mility or supplication, and he repeats after the elder or mi- nister the main articles of his faith. Some of the water is sprinkled on his face and person ; he drinks the remainder, and exclaims. Hail Gooroo ! and the ceremony concludes with an injunction that he be true to God, and to his duty as a Sikh. For details of particular modes followed, see Forster {Travels, i. 307.), MaXcxAm {Sketch, p. 182.), and Prinsep's edition of Murray's Life of Runjeet Singh (p. 217.), where an Indian compiler is quoted. The original practice of rising the water in which the feet ^: ^^. ^^7 of. a Sikh had been washed was soon abandoned, and the sub- .'t ,^ L . sequent custom of touching the water with the toe seems now almost wholly forgotten. The first rule was perhaps instituted to denote the humbleness of spirit of the disciples, or both it and the second practice may have originated in that feelins: of the Hindoos which attaches virtue to water in which the thumb of a Brahmin has been dipped. It seems in every way probable that Govind substituted the dagger for the foot or the toe, thus giving further preeminence to his emblematic iron. Women are not usually, but they are sometimes, initiated A A 4 360 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [App. XII. in form as professors of the Sikh faith. In mingling the\ sugar and water for women, a one-edged, and not a two- j edged, dagger is used. APPENDIX XII. 7/. THE EXCLAMATION WAR GOOKOO AND THE EXPRESSION DEG, TEGH, FUTTEH. The proper exclamation of community of faith of the Sikhs as a sect is simply, " Wah Gooroo ! " that is, O Gooroo ! or Hail Gooroo ! The lengthened exclamations of " Wah ! Gooroo ke Futteh ! " and " Wah ! Gooroo ka Khalsa ! " (Hail ! Virtue or power of the Gooroo ! or. Hail ! Gooroo and Vic- tory ! and Hail to the state or church of the Gooroo !), are not authoritative, although the former has become customary, and its use, as completing the idea embraced in " Deg " and " Tegh " (see ante, Appendix IX.) naturally arose out of the notions diffused by Govind, if he did not ordain it as the proper salutation of believers. Many of the chapters or books into which the Adee GruntTi is divided, begin with the expression " Eko Oonkar, Sut Gooroo Prusad," which may be interpreted to mean, " the One God, and the grace of the blessed Gooroo." Some of the chapters of the Duswen Padshah ka Grunt'h begin with " Eko Oonkar, Wah Gooroo ke Futteh," that is, " The One God and the power of the Gooroo." The Sikh author of the Goor Eutnaolee gives the follow- ing fanciful and trivial origin of the salutation "Wah Gooroo ! "Wasdeo, the exclamation of the first age, or Sutyoog ; Hur Hur, the exclamation of the second age ; Govind Govind, the exclamation of the third age ; Eam Ham, the exclamation of the fourth age, or Kulyoof ; whence WaH GooKoo in the fifth age, or under the new dispensation. App. XIII.] SIKH DEVOTION TO STEEL. 361 APPENDIX XIII. THE SIKH DEVOTION TO STEEL, AND THE TEEM " SUTCHA pAdSHAH." Foe allusions to this devotion to steel, see Malcolm, Sketch, p. 48. p. 117, note, and p. 182, note. The meaning given in thfe text to the principle inculcated seems to be the true one. Throughout India the implements of any calling are in a manner worshipped, or in western moderation of phrase, they are blessed or consecrated. This is especially noticeable among merchants, who annually per- form religious ceremonies before a heap of gold ; among hereditary clerks or writers, who similarly idolize their ink- horn ; and among soldiers and military leaders, who on the festival of the Dussehra consecrate their banners and piled-up weapons. Govind withdrew his followers from that un- divided attention which their fathers had ^ven to the plough, the loom, and the pen, and he urged them to regard the sword as their principal stay in this world. The sentiment of veneration for that which gives us power, or safety, or our daily bread, may be traced in all countries. In our own a sailor impersonates, or almost deifies his ship, and in India the custom of hereditary callings has heightened that feeling, which, expressed in the language of philosophy, becomes the dogma admitting the soul to be increate indeed, but enve- loped in the understanding, which again is designed for our use in human afikirs, or until our bliss is perfect. It is this external or inferior spirit, so to speak, which must devote its energies to the service and contemplation of steel, while the increate soul contemplates God. The import of the term Sutcha Padshah, or True King, seems to be explained in the same way. A spiritual king, or Gooroo, rules the eternal soul, or guides it to salvation, while a temporal monarch controls our finite faculties only, or puts restraints upon the play of our passions and the enjoyment of our senses. The Mahometans have the same idea and a cor- responding term, viz. : Malik Hukeekee, 362 HISTOEY OP THE SIKHS. [App. XIY. APPENDIX XIV. DISTINCTIVE USAGES OF THE SIKHS. These and many other distinctions of Sikhs, may be seen in the Kehet and Tunkha Namehs of Govind, forming part of Appendix XX. of this volume. Unshorn locks and a blue dress, as the characteristics of a Jbeliever, do not appear as direct injunctions in any extant Avriting attributed to Govind, and they seem chiefly to have derived their distinction as marks from custom or usage, while the propriety of wearing a blue dress is now regarded as less obliga,tory than formerly. Both usages appear to have originated in a spirit of opposition to Hindooism, for many Brahminical devotees keep their heads carefully shaved, and all Hindoos are shaven when initiated into their religious duties or responsibilities, or on the death of a near relative. It is also curious, with regard to color, that many rehgious, or indeed simply respectable Hindoos, have still an aversion to blue, so much so indeed that a Rajpoot farmer will demur about sowing his fields with indigo. The Mahometans, again, prefer blue dresses, and perhaps the dislike of the Hindoos arose during the Mussulman conquest, as Krishna himself, among others, is described as blue clothed. Thus, the Sikh author, Bhaee Goordas BhuUeh, says of Nsinuk, " Again he went to Mecca, blue clothing he had like Krishna." Simi- larly no Sikh will wear clothes of a "soohee" color, i. e. dyed with safflower, such having long been the favorite color with Hindoo devotees as it is gradually becoming with Mahometan ascetics. [As a distinction of race, if not of creed, the unshorn locks of the Sikhs have a parallel in the long hair of the Frankish nobles and freemen. The con- trasting terms "crinosus" and " tonsoratus" arose in medi- aeval Europe, and the virtue or privilege due to flowing hair was so great that Childebert talked of having his brother's App. XV.] ON THE USE OF ARABIC AND SANSCRIT. 363 children either cropped or put to death. (Hallam's Middle Ages, supplemental notes, p. 110, 111.)] The Sikhs continue to refrain from tobacco, nor do they smoke^rugs^fan^^^ud, although tobacco itself seems to ' have been originally included as snuff only among proscribed things. Tobacco was first introduced into India about 1617. (M'CuUoch's Commercial Dictionary, art. " Tobacco.") It was, I think, idly denounced in form by one of Akber's successors, but its use is now universal among Indian Mar hometans. Another point of difference which may be noticed is, that the Sikhs wear a kind of breeches, or now many wear a sort of pantaloons, instead of girding up their loins after the manner of the Hindoos. The adoption of the " kutch," or breeches, is of as much importance to a Sikh boy as was the i investiture with the " toga virUis " to a Eoman youth. The Sikh women are distinguished from Hindoos of their / sex by some variety of dress, but chiefly by a higher top' knot of hair. APPENDIX XV. L, ON THE USE OP ARABIC AND SANSCRIT TOR THE PURPOSES OP EDUCATION IN INDIA. Up to the present time England has made no great and last- ing impress on the Indians, except as the introducer of an improved and effective military system ; although she has also done much to exalt her character as a governing power, by her generally scrupulous adherence to formal engagements. The Indian mind has not yet been suffused or saturated by the genius of the English, nor can the light of European knowledge be spread over the country, until both the San- 364 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [App. XV. scrit and Arabic (Persian) languages are made the vehicles of instructing the learned. These tongues should thus be assiduously cultivated, although not so much for what they contain as for what they may be made the me.ans of con- veying. The hierarchies of " Gymnosophists" and " Ulema" will the more readily assent to mathematical or logical deduc- tions, if couched in words identified in their eyes with scientific research ; and they in time must of necessity make known the truths learned to the mass of the people. The present system of endeavoring to dlfiuse knowledge by means of the rude and imperfect vernacular tongues can succeed but slowly, for it seems to be undertaken in a spirit of opposition to the influential classes ; and it is not likely to succeed at all until expositions of the sciences, with ample proofs and illustrations, are .rendered complete, instead of partial and elementary only, or indeed meagre and inaccurate in the extreme, as many of the authorized school-books are. If there were Sanscrit or Arabic counterparts to these much- required, elaborate treatises, the predilections of the learned Indians would be overcome with comparative ease. The fact that the astronomy of Ptolemy, and the geometry of Euclid, are recognized in their Sanscrit dress, as text books of science even among the Brahmins, should not be lost upon the promoters of education In the present age. The philosophy of facts and the truths of physical science had to be made known by Copernicus and GalUeo, Bacon and New- ton, through the medium of the Latin tongue ; and the first teachers and upholders of Christianity preferred the ad- mired and widely spoken Roman and Greek, both to the antique Hebrew and to the imperfect dialects of Gaul and Syria, Africa and Asia Minor. In either case the language recommended the doctrine, and added to the conviction of Origen and Irenfeus, Tertullian and Clement of Home, as well as to the belief of the scholar of more modern times. Similarly in India, the use of Sanscrit, and Arabic, and Persian, would give weight to the most obvious principles, and completeness to the most logical demonstrations. That In Calcutta the study of the sciences is pursued with App. XVI.] ON THE LAND-TAX IN INDIA. 365 some success, through the joint medium of the English lan- guage and local dialects, and that in especial the tact and perseverance of the professors of the Medical College have induced Indians of family or caste to dissect the human body, do not militate against the views expressed above, but rather serve as exceptions to prove their truth. In Calcutta En- glishmen are numerous, and their wealth, intelligence, and political position render their influence overwhelming ; but this mental predominance decreases so rapidly, that it is un- felt in fair sized towns within fifty miles of the capital, and is but faintly revived in the populous cities of Benares and Delhi, Poonah and Hydrabad. APPENDIX XVI. ON THE LAND-TAX IN INDIA. Thk proportions of the land-tax to the general revenues of British India are nearly as follows : — Bengal, f ; Bombay, f ; Madras, § ; Agra, |. Average = J of the whole. In some European states the proportions are nearly as below : — England, ^\ ; France, ^ ; Spain, yV (perhaps some error) ; Belgium, y^y ; Prussia, y^y ; Naples, ^ ; Austria, |. In the United States of America the revenue is almost wholly derived from customs. It is now idle to revert to the theory of the ancient laws of the Hindoos^ or of the more recent institutes of the Maho- metans, although much clearness of view has resulted from 366 HISTOEY OF THE SIKHS. [App. XVI. the learned researches or laborious inquiries of Briggs and Munro, of Sykes and Halhed and Galloway. It is also idle to dispute whether the Indian farmer pays a "rent" or a " tax," in a technical sense, since, practically, it is certain, 1. that the government (or its assign, the jagheerdar or grantee,) gets, in nearly all instances, almost the whole surplus produce of the land ; and, 2. that the state, if the owner, does not perform its duty by not furnishing from its capital wells and other things, which correspond in difficulty of provision with barns and drains in England. In India no one thinks of investing capital or of spending money on the improve- ment of the land, excepting, directly, a few patriarchal chiefs through love of their homes ; and, indirectly, the wealthy speculators in opium, sugar, &c., through the love of gain. An ordinary village " head-man," or the still poorer " ryot," whether paying direct to government or through a revenue farmer, has just so much of the produce left as will enable him to provide the necessary seed, his own inferior food, and the most simple requisites of tillage ; and as he has thus no means, he cannot incur the expense or run the risk of intro- ducing improvements. , Hence it behoves England, if in doubt about Oriental " socage " and " freehold" tenures, to redistribute her taxa- tion, to diminish her assessment on the soil, and to give her multitudes of subjects, who are practically " copyholders," at least a permanent interest in the land, as she has done so largely by "customary" leaseholders within her own proper dominion. There should likewise be a limit to which such estates might be divided, and this could be advantageously done, by allowing the owner of a petty holding to dispose as he pleased, not of the land itself, but of what it might bring when sold. For some just observations on the land tenures of India, see Lieutenant-Colonel Sleeman's Rambles and Recollections of an Indian Official, i. 80, &c. ; and ii. 346, &c. ; while, for a^scaZ description of the transition system now in force in the north-western provinces, the present Lieutenant-Go- vernor's Directions for Settlement Officers, and his Remarks on the Revenue System, may be profitably consulted. App. XVII.] THE ADEE GRUNT'H. 367 APPENDIX XVII. THE "ADEE GEUNT'h," OE MEST BOOK; OE, THE BOOK OP nInUK, the FIEST GOOEOO OE TBACHEE OF THE SIKHS. Note. — The First Grunt'h is nowhere narrative or his- torical. It throws no light, by direct exposition, upon the political state of India during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, although it contains many allusions illustrative of the condition of society, and of the religious feelings of the times. Its teaching is to the general purport that God is to be worshipped in spirit and in truth, with little reference to particular forms, and that salvation is unattainable without grace, faith, and good works. The " Adee Grunt'h " comprises, first, the writings attri- buted "to N^nuk, and the succeeding teachers of the Sikh faith up to the ninth Gooroo, Tegh Buhadur, omitting the sixth, seventh, and eighth,* but with perhaps some ■ additions and emendations by Govind ; secondly, the com- positions of certain " Bhugguts," or saints, mostly sec- tarian Hindoos, and who are usually given as sixteen in number ; and, thirdly, the verses of certain " Bhdts," or rhapsodists, followers of N§,nuk and of some of his succes- sors. The numbers, and even the names of the " Bhugguts," or saints, are not always the same in copies of the Grunt'h ; and thus modern compilers or copyists have assumed to themselves the power of rejecting or sanctioning particular writings. To the sixteen Bhugguts are usually added two " D5ms," or chanters, who recited before Arjoon, and who caught some of his spirit ; and a " Eubabee," or player upon a stringed instrument, who became similarly inspired. The Grunt'h sometimes includes an appendix, containing works the authenticity of which is doubtful, or the propriety of admitting which is disputed on other grounds. 368 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [App. XVII. The Grunt'h was originally compiled by Arjoon, the fifth Gooroo ; but it subsequently received a few additions at the hands of his successors. The Grunt'h is written wholly in verse ; but the forms of versification are numerous. The language used is rather the I Hindee of Upper India generally, than the particular dialect ' of the Punjab ; but some portions, especially of the last sec- \ tion, are composed in Sanscrit. The written character is nevertheless throughout the Punjabee, one of the several varieties of alphabets now current in India, and which, from i its use by the Sikh Gooroos, is sometimes called " Goor- mookhee," a term likewise applied to the dialect of the ' Punjab. The language of the writings of Nflnuk is thought by modern Sikhs to abound with provincialisms of the coun- try S. W. of Lahore, and the dialect of Arjoon is held to be the most pure. The Grunt'h usually forms a quarto volume of about 'if 232 pages, each page containing 24 lines, and each line contain- ing about 35 letters. The extra books increase the pages to 1240 only. Contents of the Adee Grunfh. 1st. The "Jupjee" or simply the " Jup" called also Gooroo Muntr, or the special prayer of initiation of the Gooroo. It occupies about seven pages, and consists of 40 sl5ks, called Powree, of irregular lengths, some of two, and some of several lines. It means, literally, the remembrancer or admonisher, from jup, to remember. It was written by Nanuk, and is believed to have been appointed by him to be repeated each morning, as every pious Sikh now does. The mode of com- position implies the presence of a questioner and an answerer, and the Sikhs believe the questioner to have been the disciple Unggud. 2d. " Sodur Reih Eds," — the evening prayer of the Sikhs. It occupies about 3^ pages, and it was composed by App. XVII.] THE "ADEE GEUNT'h.' 369 Mnuk, but has additions by Rflm Das and Arjoon, and some, it is said, by Gooroo Govind. The additions at- tributed to Govind are, however, more frequently given when the B,eih Ras forms a separate pamphlet or book. Sodur, a particular kind of verse ; Reih, admonisher ; Ras, the expression used for the play or recitative of Krishna. It is sometimes corruptly Called the " E,owh Ras," from Rowh, the Punjabee for a road. 3d. " Keerit Sohila," — a prayer repeated before going to rest. It occupies a page, and a line or two more. It was composed by N^nuk, but has additions by R&m Das and Arjoon, and one verse is attributed to Govind. Keerit, from Sanscrit Keertee, to praise, to celebrate; and Sohila, a marriage song, a song of rejoicing. 4th. The next portion of the Grunt'h is divided into thirty-one sections, known by their distinguishing forms veriif as follows : — 1. Sirree Rag. 2. Majh. 3. Gowree. 4. Assa. 5. Goojree. 6. Deo Gundharee. 7. Bih^gra. ». Wud Huns. 9. Sorut'h(orSort). 10. Dhunisree. 11. Jeit Sirree. 12. Todee. 13. Beiraree. 14. Teilung. 15. Sodhee. 16. Biiawul. 17. Gowd. 18. Ram Kullee. 19. NutNurayen. 20. Malee Gowra. 21. Maroo. 22. Tokharee. 23. Ked^ra. 24. Bheiron. 25. Bussunt. 26. Sarung. 27. Mulhar. 28. K^nra. 29. Kulleean. 30. Purbhatee. 31. Jei Jeiwuntee. The whole occupies about 1154 pages, or by far the greater portion of the entire Grunt'h. Each subdivision is the com- position of one or more Gooroos, or of one or more Bhugguts or holy men, or of a Gooroo with or without the aid of a \ Bhuggut. B B ** 370 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [App. xvn. The contributors among the Gooroos were as follows : — 1. Mnuk. 2. Unggud. 3. Ummer Das. 4. Ram Das. 5. Arjoon. 6. Tegh Buhadur, with, per- haps, emendations by Govind. The Bhugguts or saints, and agreeably to the ordinary copies of rated below. 1. Kubeer (the well-known reformer). 2. Treelotchun, a Brahmin. 3. Behnee. 4. Eao Das, a Chum^r, or leather dresser. 5. Nam Deo, a Cheepa, or cloth printer. 6. Dhunna, a Jat. 7. Shekh Furreed, a Maho- metan peer or saint. 8. Jeideo, a Brahmin. 9. Bheekun. 10. S^n, a barber. 11. Peepa (a Joghee ?). 12. Sudhna, a butcher. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. others who contributed the Grunt'h, are enume- Ramanund Byraghee (a well-known reformer). Purmanund. Soor Das (a blind man). Meeran Baee, a Bhug- gutnee, or holy woman. Bulwund, and Sutta, "Doms " or chan- ters who recited before Arjoon. Soonder Das, Eubabee, or player upon a string- ed instrument. He is not properly one of the Bhugguts. .5th. " The Bhog." In Sanscrit this word means to enjoy any thing, but it is commonly used to denote the conclusion of any sacred writing, both by Hindoos and Sikhs. The Bhog occupies about 66 pages, and besides the writings of N^nuk and Arjoon, of Kubeer, Shekh Furreed, and other reformers, it contains the compositions of nine Bhats or rhapsodists who attached themselves to Ummer Das, Ram Das, and Arjoon. The Bhog commences with four sloks in Sanscrit by Na- nuk, which are followed by 67 Sanscrit sloks in one metre by Arjoon, and then by 24 in another metre by the same Gooroo. There are also 23 sloks in Punjabee or Hindee by App. XVIL] THE "ADEE GRUNt'h." 371 Arjoon, which contain praises of Amritsir. These are soon followed by 243 sloks by Kubeer, and 130 by Shekh Fur- reed, and others, containing some sayings of Arjoon. Af- terwards the writings of KuU and the other BMts follow, intermixed with portions by Arjoon, and so on to the end. The nine Bhats who contributed to the Bhog are named as follows : — 1. Bhikha, a follower of 5. SuU, a follower of Ar- Ummer Das. joon. 2. Kull, afollowerofR^m 6. Nulh Das. 7. Muthra. 3. KuU Suhdr. 8. BuU. 4. Jalup, a follower of 9. Keerit. Arjoon. The names are evidently fanciful, and perhaps fictitious. In the book called the " Gooroo Bilas " eight Bhats only are enumerated, and all the names except Bull are different from those in the Grunt'h. Supplement of the Grunfh. 6th. " Bliog ka Banee," or. Epilogue of the Conclusion. It comprises about seven pages, and contains, ^rs^, some preli- minary sloks, called " Slok Meihl Peihla," or. Hymn of the first Woman or Slave ; sccowrf/y,N^nuk's Admonition to Mulh^r £>aja ; thirdly, the " Ruttun Mala " of Nanuk, i. e. the Rosary of Jewels, or string of (religious) worthies, which simply shows, however, what should be the true characteristics or qualities of religious devotees ; ?inA, fourthly, the " Hukeekut," or. Circumstances of Sivnab, Raja of Ceylon, with reference to a f' Potee " or sacred writing known as " Pran Slnghlee." This last is said to have been composed by one Bhaee Bhunnoo in the time of Govind. The Ruttun Mala is said to have been originally written in Toorkee, or to have been abstracted from a Toorkee original. B B 2 372 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [Apf. XVIII. APPENDIX XVIII. THE "DUSWEN PADSHAH KA GEUNT'h," OE, BOOK; OF THE TENTH KING, OR SOVEREIGN PONTIFFj THAT IS, OF GOOROO GOVIND SINGH. Note. — Like the " Adee Grunt'h," the book of Govind is metrical throughout, but the versification frequently varies. It is written in the Hindee dialect, and in the Punjabee character, excepting the concluding portion, the language of which is Persian, while the alphabet continues the Goor- mookhee. The Hindee of Govind is almost such as is spoken in the Gangetic provinces, and has few peculiarities of the Punjabee dialect. One chapter of the Book of the Tenth King may be con- sidered to be narrative and historical, viz. the " Vichitr N§,tuk," written by Govind himself; but the Persian " Hikayuts," or stories, also partake of that character, from the circumstances attending their composition and the nature of some allusions made in them. The other portions of this" Grunt'h are more mythological than the first book, and it also partakes more of a worldly character throughout, although it contains many noble allusions to the unity of the Godhead, and to the greatness and goodness of the Iluler of the Universe. Five chapters, or portions only, and the commencement of a sixth, are attributed to Govind himself; the remainder, i. e. by far the larger portion, is said to have been composed by four scribes in the service of the Gooroo ; partly, perhaps, agreeably to his dictation. The names of Sham and Kam occur as two of the writers, but, in truth, little is known of the authorship of the portions in question. The "Duswen Padshah ka Grunt'h" forms a quarto volume of 1,066 pages, each page consisting of 23 lines, and each line of from 38 to 41 letters. App. XVIU.] the " DUSWEN PADSHAH KA GRUNT'h." 373 Contents of the Book of the Tenth King. 1st. " The Japjee," or, simply, the " J^p," the supplement or complement of the " Jupjee " of Nanuk, — a prayer to be read or repeated in the morning, as it continues to be by pious Sikhs. It comprises 198 distichs, and occupies about seven pages, the termination of a verse and the end of a line not being the same. The Jupjee was composed by Gooroo Govind. 2d. " Akdl Stoot" or, the Praises of the Almighty, — a hymn commonly read in the morning. It occupies 23 pages, and the initiatory verse alone is the composition of Govind. 3d. « The Vichitr Ndtuh;' i. e. the "Wondrous Tale. This was written by Govind himself, and it gives, ^rs^, the mytho- logical history of his family or race ; secondly, an account of his mission of reformation ; and, thirdly, a description of his warfare with the Himalayan chiefs and the Imperial forces. It is divided into fourteen sections ; but the first is devoted to the praises of the Almighty, and the last is of a similar tenor, with an addition to the effect that he would hereafter relate his visions of the past and his experience of the present world. The Vichitr Natuk occupies about 24 pages of the Grunt'h. 4th. "Chundee Churitr," or, the Wonders of Chundee or the Goddess. There are two portions called Chundee Churitr, of which this is considered the greater. It relates the de- struction of eight Titans or Deltyas by Chundee the Goddess. It occupies about 20 pages, and it is understood to be the translation of a Sanscrit legend, executed, some are willing to believe, by Govind himself. The names of the Deityas destroyed are as follows : — 1. Mudhoo Keitub. 6. Eukt Beej. 2. Meih Khasoor. • 7. Nishoonbh. 3. Dhoomur Lotchun. 8. Shoonbh. 4. and 5. Chund and Moond. B B 3 374 HISTORY or THE SIKHS. [app. xvin. 5th. " Chundee Churitr" the lesser. The same legends as the greater Chundee, narrated in a different metre. It occu- pies about 14 pages. 6th. " Chundee hee Var." A supplement to the legends of Chundee. It occupies about six pages. 7th. " Gheian Prilodh," or, the Excellence (rf" Wisdom. Praises of the Almighty, with allusions to ancient kings, taken mostly from the Muhabh^rut. It occupies about 21 pages. 8th. " Chowpeian Chowhees Owtaran Keean,^'' or. Quatrains relating to the Twenty-four Manifestations (Owtars or Avatars). These " Chowpeys" occupy about 348 pages, and they are considered to be the work of one by name Sham. The names of the incarnations are as follows : — 1. The fish, or Much'h. 2. The tortoise, or Kuch'h. 3. The lion, or Nurr. 4. Nurayen. 5. Mohiinee. 6. The boar, or Vdrah. 7. The man-lion, or Nur- singh. 8. The dwarf, or Bawun. 9. Purs Ram. 10. Bruhma. 11. Eoodr. 12. Jalundhur. 13. Vishnoo. 14. (No name specified, but understood to be a manifestation of Vish- noo.) 15. Arhunt Deo (considered to be the founder of the sect of Seraoghees of the Jein persuasion, or, indeed, the great Jein prophet himself. Mun Raja. Dhununtur (the doctor, or physician). 18. The sun, or Sooruj. 19. The moon, or Chunder- mah. Rama. Krishna. Nur (meaning Arjoon). Bodha. 24. Kulkee ; to appear at the end of the Kul- yoog, or when the sins of men are at their height. 16, 17 20. 21. 22. 23. 9th. (No name entered, but known as) " Mehdee Meer." A App. XVni.] THE " DUSWEN PADSHAH KA GRUNT'h." 375 supplement to the Twenty-four Incarnations. Mehdee it is said will appear when the mission of Kulkee is fulfilled. The name and the idea are borrowed from the Sheea Mahome- tans. It occupies somewhat less than a page. 10th. (No name entered, but known as) " the Owtars of Bruhma." An account of seven incarnations of Bruhma, followed by some account of eight Bajas of bygone times. It occupies about 18 pages. The names of the incarnations are as follows : — 1. 2. 3. 4, Valmeek. Kushup. Shookur. Batchess. 5. 6. 7. Veias (Vyasa). K'husht Bikhee Six Sages). Km Das. (or the The kings are enumerated below — 1. Mun. 6. Mdndhata. 2. Pirth. 3. Suggur. 4. B^n. 6. Dhuleep. 7. Eugh. 8. Uj. Ilth. (No name entered, but known as) " the Owtars of Roodr or Siva." It comprises 56 pages ; and two incarna- tions only are mentioned, namely, Dutt and Parisnath. 12th. " Shustr Nam Malaj'' or, the Name-string of Wea- pons. The names of the various weapons are recapitulated, the weapons are praised, and Govind terms them collectively his Gooroo or guide. The composition nevertheless is not attributed to Govind. It occupies about 68 pages. 13th. " Sree Mookh Vdk, Suweia Butees," or, the Voice of the Gooroo (Govind) himself, in thirty-two verses. These verses were composed by Govind as declared, and they are condemnatory of the Veds, the Poor^ns, and the Kor^n. They occupy about 3^ pages. 14th. " Huzdreh Shubd" or, the Thousand Verses of the Metre called Shubd. There are, however, but ten verses B B 4 376 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [App. XVIH. only in most Grunt'hs, occupying about two pages. Huz^r is not understood in its literal sense of a thousand, but as im- plying invaluable or excellent. They are laudatory of the Creator and creation, and deprecate the adoration of saints and limitary divinities. They were written by Gooroo Govind. 15th. " Istree Churitr" or. Tales of Women. There are 404 stories, illustrative of the character and disposition of women. A stepmother became enamored of her stepson, the heir of a monarchy, who, however, would not gratify her desires, whereupon she represented to her husband that his first-born had made attempts upon her honor. The E.aja ordered his son to be put to death ; but his ministers interfered, and pro- cured a respite. They then enlarged in a series of stories upon the nature of women, and at length the Kaja became sensible of the guilt of his wife's mind, and of his own rash- ness. These stories occupy 446 pages, or nearly half of the Grunt'h. The name of Sham also occurs as the writer of one or more of them. 16th. The " Hihayuts,^' or Tales. These comprise twelve stories in 866 sl5ks of two lines each. They are written in the Persian language and Goormookhee character, and they were composed by Govind himself as admonitory of Aurungzeb, and were sent to the emperor by the hands of Deia Singh and four other Sikhs. The tales were accompanied by a letter written in a pointed manner, which, however, does not form a portion of the Grunt'h. These tales occupy about 30 pages, and conclude the Grunt'h of Gooroo Govind. App. XIX.] PRINCIPLES OF BELIEF, ETC. 377 APPENDIX XIX. SOME PEINCIPLES OP BELIEF AND PEACTICE, AS EXEM- PLIFIED IN THE OPINIONS OF THE SIKH GOOROOS OK TEACHEES. With an Addendum, showing the modes in which the missions of Nanuk and Govind are represented or regarded by the Sikhs. 1. God — the Godhead. The True Name is God ; without fear, without enmity ; the Being without Death, the Giver of Salvation ; the Gooroo and Grace. Remember the primal Truth ; Truth which was before the world began, Truth which is, and Truth, O Nanuk ! which wiU remain. By reflection it cannot be understood, if times innumerable it be considered. By meditation it cannot be attained, how much soever the attention be fixed. A hundred wisdoms, even a hundred thousand, not one ac- companies the dead. How can Truth be told, how can falsehood be unravelled? O N^nuk! by following the will of God, as by Him or- dained. NInuk, Adee Crrunfh, Jupjee, (commencement of). One, Self-existent, Himself the Creator. O N^nuk! one continueth, another never was and never will be. NInuk, Adee Grunth, Gowree Rag. Thou art in each thing, and in all places. O God ! thou art the one Existent Being. Ram Das, Adee Grunfh, Assa Rag. 378 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [App. XIX. My mind dwells upon One, He who gave the Soul and the body. Aejoon, Adee Grunfh, Sree Rag. Time is the only God; the First and the Last, the Endless Being ; the Creator, the Destroyer ; He who can make and unmake. God who created Angels and Demons, who created the East and the West, the North and the South, How can He be expressed by words ? GoviND, Huzareh Shubd. God is one image (or Being), how can He be conceived in another form ? GoviNl), Vichitr Ndtuk. 2. Incarnations, Saints, and Prophets ; the Hindoo Owtdrs {^Avatars), Mahomet, and Siddhs, and Peers. Numerous Mahomets have there been, and multitudes of Bruhmas, Vishnoos, and Sivas, Thousands of Peers and Prophets, and tens of thousands of Saints and Holy men : But the Chief of Lords is the One Lord, the true Name of God. O Nanuk ! of God, His qualities, without end, beyond reckon- ing, who can understand ? NInuk, Ruttun Mala, (Extra to the Grunt'h). Many Bruhmas wearied themselves with the study of the Veds, but found not the value of an oil seed. Holy men and Saints sought about anxiously, but they were deceived by Maya. There have been, and there have passed away, ten regent Owtars and the wondrous Muhadeo. Even they, wearied with the application of ashes, could not find Thee. Arjoon, Adee Grunfh, Soohee. App. xix.j principles op belief, etc. 379 Soors and Siddhs and the Deotas of Siva ; Shekhs and Peers and men of might. Have come and have gone, and others are likewise passing by. Akjoon, Adee Gruufh, Sree Eag. Krishna indeed slew demons ; he performed wonders, and he declared himself to be Bruhm ; yet he should not be re- garded as the Lord. He himself died; How can he save those who put faith in him? How can one sunk in the ocean sustain another above the waves ? God alone is all- powerful : He can create, and He can destroy. GoviND, Huzareh Skubd, God, without friends, without enemies, Who heeds not praise, nor is moved by curses. How could He become manifest as Krishna ? How could He, without parents, without oiFspring, become born to a " Devkee ? " Govind, Huzareh Sliubd. B^m and Kuheem* (names repeated) cannot give salvation. Bruhma, Vishnoo and Siva, the Sun and the Moon, all are in the power of Death. Govind, Huzareh Shubd. 3. The Sikh Gooroos not to be worshipped. He who speaks of me as the Lord, Him will I sink into the pit of HeU ! Consider me as the slave of God : Of that have no doubt in thy mind. I am but the slave of the Lord, Come to behold the wonders of Creation. Govind, Vichitr NdtUk. * The Merciful, i. c the God of the Mahometans. 380 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [App. XIX. 4. Images, and the Worship of Saints. Worship not another (than God) ; bow not to the Dead. NInuKj Adee Grunth, Sort Eaginee. To worship an image, to make pilgrimages to a shrine, to remain in a desert and yet to have the mind impure, is all in vain, and thus thou canst not be accepted. To be saved thou must worship Truth (God). NAntjk, Adee Grunfh, Bh5g ; in which, however, he professes to quote a learned Brahmin. Man, who is a beast of the field, cannot comprehend Him whose power is of the Past, the Present, and the Future. God is worshipped, that by worship salvation may be at- tained. Fall at the feet of God ; in senseless stone God is not. GoviND, Vichitr Natuk. 5. Miracles. To possess the power of a Siddhee, (or changer of shapes,) To be as a Ridhee, (or giver away of never-ending stores,) And yet to be ignorant of God, I do not desire. All such things are vain. NInuk, Adee Grunfh, Sree Hag. Dwell thou in flames uninjured. Remain unharmed amid ice eternal. Make blocks of stone thy daily food. Spurn the Earth before thee with thy foot. Weigh the Heavens in a balance ; And then ask of me to perform miracles. NInuk, to a challenger about miracles ; Adee Grunth, Maj Var. App. XIX.] PRINCIPLES OF BELIEF, ETC. 381 6. Transmigration. Life is like the wheel circling on its pivot, O NSnuk ! of going and coming there is no end. NAnuk, Adee Grunfh, Assa. (Numerous other passages of a like kind might be quoted from Nanuk and his successors.) He who knows not the One God WiU be born again times innumerable. GoviND, Mehdee Meer. 1. Faith. Eat and clothe thyself, and thou may'st be happy ; But without fear and faith there is no salvation. NInuk, Adee Grunfh, Sohila Maroo Eag. 8. Grace. O N^nuk ! he, on whom God looks, finds the Lord. NInuk, Adee Grunfh, Assa Rag. O Nanuk ! he, on whom God looks, will fix his mind on the Lord. Ummee Das, Adee Grunfh, Bilawul. 9. Predestination. According to the fate of each, dependent on his actions, are his coming and going determined. NAnuk, Adee Grunfh, Assa. 382 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [App. XIX. How can Truth be told ? how can falsehood be unravelled ? O Mnuk ! by following the will of God, as by Him or- dained. NInuk, Adee Grunfh, Jupjee. 10. The VMs, the Poorans, and the Koran, Potees, Simruts, Veds, Poorans, Are all as nothing, if unleavened by God. NInuk, Adee Grunfh, Gowree Eag. Give ear to Shasters and Veds and Korans, And thou may'st reach " Swurg and Nurk." (i. e. to the necessity of coming back again.) Without God, salvation is unattainable. NAndk, Ruttun Mala, (an Extra book of the Adee Grunt'h.) Since he fell at the feet of God, no one has appeared great in his eyes. Ram and Ruheem, the Poorans, and the KorSn, have many votaries, but neither does he regard. Simruts, Shasters, and Veds, differ in many things ; not one does he heed. O God ! under Thy favor has all been done ; nought is of myself. GoviND, Reih Ras. 11. Asceticism. A householder* who does no evil. Who is ever intent upon good. Who continually exerciseth charity. Such a householder is pure as the Ganges. NInuk, Adee Grunfh, RamkuUee Raginee. » i. e. in English idiom, one of the laity ; one who fulfils the ordinary duties of life. App. XIX.] PRINCIPLES OF BELIEF, ETC. 383 Householders and Hermits are equal, whoever calls on the name of the Lord. NAnuk, Adee Grunfh, Assa Eaginee. Be " Oodds" {i. e. disinterested) in thy mind in the midst of householdership. Ummek Das, Adee Grunfh, Sree E%. 12. Caste. Think not of race, abase thyself, and attain to salvation. NInuk, Adee Grunfh, Sarung Rag. God will not ask man of his birth, He will ask him what has he done. NAnuk, Adee Grunfh, Purbhatee Raginee. Of the impure among the noblest Heed not the injunction ; Of one pure among the most despised N^nuk will become the footstool. NAnxjk, Adee Grunfh, Mulhar Rag. All say that there are four races. But all are of the seed of Bruhm. The world is but clay. And of similar clay many pots are made. Mnuk says man will be judged by his actions. And that without finding God there will be no salvation. The body of man is composed of the five elements ; Who can say that one is high and another low ? Ummek Das, Adee Grunfh, Bheiruv. 384 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [App. XIX. I will make the four races of one color, I will cause them to remember the words " Wah Gooroo." GoviND, in the Rehet Nameh, which, however, is not included in the Grunt'h. 13. Food. O N^nuk! the right of strangers is the one the Ox, and the other the Swine. Gooroos and Peers will bear witness to their disciples when they eat naught which hath enjoyed life. NInuk, Adee Grunfh, Msij.. An animal slain without cause cannot be proper food. O N^nuk ! from evil doth evil ever come. NInuk, Adee Grunfh, Maj. 14. Brahmins, Saints, Sfc. That Brahmin is a son of Bruhm, Whose rules of action are devotion, prayer, and purity ; Whose principles of faith are humility, and contentment. Such a Brahmin may break prescribed rules, and yet find salvation. NAnxtk, Adee Grunfh, Bhog. The cotton* should be mercy, the thread contentedness, and the seven knots virtue. If there is such a " Juneeoo" of the heart, wear it; • Viz. the cotton of the Brahminical thread, or juneeoo. App. XIX.] PRINCIPLES OF BELIEF, ETC. 385 It will neither break, nor burn, nor decay, nor become impure. O Ntouk I he who wears such a thread is to be numbered with the holy. NIntjk, Adee Grunfh, Assa. Devotion is not in the Kinta (or ragged garment), nor in the Dunda (or staff), nor in Bhusm (or ashes), nor in the shaven head (Moondee), nor in the sounding of horns (Singheh weieh). NInuk, Adee Grunfh, Soohee. In this age few Brahmins are of Bruhm (i. e. are pure and holy). Ummek Das, Adee Grunfh, BiUwul. The Soony§,ssee should consider his home the jungle. His heart should not yearn after material forms; Gheian (or Truth) should be his Gooroo. His Viboot (or ashes) should be the name of God, And he should neither be held to be " Sut-joonee," nor " Euj-joonee," nor " Tumuh-joonee " (that is, should neither seem good for his own profit only, nor good or bad as seemed expedient at the time, nor bad that he might thereby gain his ends). GoviND, Huzdreh Shubd. 15. Infanticide. With the slayers of daughters Whoever has intercourse, him do I curse. And again, — Whosoever takes food from the slayers of daughters. Shall die unabsolved. GoviND, Eehet Nameh. (Extra to the Grunt'h.) C C 386 HISTOBY OF THE SIKHS. [App. XIX. 16. Suttee, They are not Suttees who perish in the flames. O N^nuk ! Suttees are those who die of a broken heart. And again, — The loving wife perishes with the body of her husband. But were her thoughts bent upon God, her sorrows would be alleviated. Ummek Das, Adee Grunfh, Soohee. Addendum. Bhaee Goordas Bhulleh's mode of representing the Mission of Ndnuk. There were four races and four creeds* in the world among Hindoos and Mahometans; Selfishness, jealousy, and pride drew all of them strongly : The Hindoos dwelt on Benares and the Ganges, the Maho- metans on the Kaaba; The Mahometans held by circumcision, the Hindoos by strings and frontal marks. They each called on Ram and Buheem, one name, and yet both forgot the road. Forgetting the Veds and the Kor^n, they were inveigled In the snares of the world. Truth remained on one side, while Moollas and Brahmins disputed. And Salvation was not attained. * The four races of Syeds, Shekhs, Moghuls, and Puthans, are here termed as of four creeds, and likened to the four castes or races of the Hindoos. It is, indeed, a common saying that such a thing is " huram-i-char Muzhub," or forbidden among the four faiths or sects of Mahometans. [Originally the expres- sion had reference to the four orthodox schools of Soonees, formed by the expounders Aboo Hunee&, Hunbul, Shafei, and Malik, and it still has such an application among the learned, but the commonalty of India understand it to apply to the four castes or races into which they have divided themselves.] A pp. XIX.] PRINCIPLES OF BELIEF, ETC. 387 God heard the complaint (of virtue or truth), and Nanuk was sent into the world. He established the custom that the disciple should wash the ' feet of his Gooroo, and drink the water ; ^ ,;? ' P^r Bruhm and Poorun Bruhm, in this Kulyoog, he showed ', ■were one. The four Feet (of the animal sustaining the world) were made of Faith ; the four castes were made one ; The high and the low became equal; the salutation of the feet (among disciples) he estabhshed in the world*: cL c\. Contrary to the nature of man, the feet were exalted above f,, ,. , the head. In the Kulyoog he gave salvation : using the only true Name, he taught men to worship the Lord. To give salvation in the Kulyoog Gooroo Nanuk came. Note. — The above extracts, and several others from the book of Bhaee Goordas, may be seen in Malcolm's " Sketch of the Sikhs," p. 152. &c. ; rendered, however, in a less literal manner than has here been attempted. The book contains forty chapters, written in different kinds of verse, and it is the repositary of many stories about N^nuk which the Sikhs delight to repeat. One of these is as foUows : — N^nuk again went to Mecca; blue clothing he wore, like Krishna ; A staff in his hand, a book by his side ; the pot, the cup, and the mat, he also took : He sat where the Pilgrims completed the final act of their pilgrimage. And when he slept at night he lay with his feet towards the front. Jeewun struck him with his foot, saying, " Ho ! what infidel sleeps here, * The Akalees still follow this custom. C C 2 388 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS, [App. XIX. With his feet towards the Lord^ like an evil doer ?" — Seizing him by the leg, he drew him aside ; then Mecca also turned, and a miracle was declared. All were astonished, &c., &c. Gooroo GovinSs mode of representing his Mission. (From the Vichitr Natuk, with an extract from the Twenty-four Incarnations, regarding the last Avatar and the succeeding Mehdee Meer.) Note. — The first four chapters are occupied with a mytho- logical account of the Sodhee and Behdee subdivisions of the Kshutree race, the rulers of the Punjab at Lahore and Kussoor, and the descendants of Low and Koosoo, the sons of ES.m, who traced his descent through Dusruth, Kughoo, Sooruj, and others, to Kals^n, a primeval monarch. So far as regards the present object, the contents may be summed up in the promise or prophecy, that in the Kulyoog Nanuk would bestow blessings on the Sodhees, and would, on hia fourth mortal appearance, become one of that tribe.* Chapter V. (abstract). — The Brahmins began to follow the ways of Soodras, and Kshutrees of Veisyas, and, simi- larly, the Soodras did as Brahmins, and the Veisyas as Kshu- trees. In the fulness of time Nanuk came and established his own sect in the world. He died, but he was born again as Unggud, and a third time as Ummer Das, and at last he appeared as Kam Das, as had been declared, and the Goorooship became inherent in the Sodhees. NS,nuk thus put on other habiliments, as one lamp is lighted at another. Apparently there were four Gooroos, but, in truth, in each body there was the soul of Gooroo Nanuk. When Ram Das departed, his son Arjoon became Gooroo, who was fol- lowed successively by Hur Govind, Hur Race, Hur Kishen, and Tegh Buhadur, who gave his life for his faith in Delhi, having been put to death by the Mahometans. * Compare the translations given in Malcolm's Sketch, p. 174, &c. App. XIX.] govind's representation of his MISSION.SSy Chapter VI. (abstract). --- In the Bheem Khoond, near the Seven Shuringhee (or Peaks), where the Pandoos exer- cised sovereignty, (the unembodied soul of) Gooroo Govind Singh implored the Almighty, and became absorbed in the Divine essence (or obtained salvation without the necessity of again appearing on earth). Likewise the parents of the Gooroo prayed to the Lord continually. God looked on them with favor, and (the soul of) Govind was called from the Seven Peaks to become one of mankind. Then my wish was not to reappear. For my thoughts were bent upon the feet of the Almighty ; But God made known to me his desires. The Lord said, " When mankind was created, the Deityas were sent for the punishment of the wicked, but the Deityas being strong, forgot me their God. Then the Deotas were sent, but they caused themselves to be worshipped by men as Siva, and Brumha, and Vishnoo. The Sidhs were after- wards born, but they, following different ways, established many sects'. Afterwards Gorukhnelth appeared in the world, and he, making many kings his disciples, established the sect of Joghees. Ramanund then came into the world, and he established the sect of Byraghees after his own fashion. Muhadeen (Mahomet) too was born, and became lord of Arabia. He established a sect, and required his followers to repeat his name. Thus, they who were sent to guide mankind, perversely adopted modes of tlieir own, and misled the world. None taught the right way to the ignorant ; wherefore thou, O Govind ! hast been called, that thou mayst propagate the worship of the One True God, and guide those who have lost the road." Hence I, Govind, have come into the world, and have established a sect, and have laid down its customs ; but whosoever regards me as the Lord shall be dashed into the pit of hell, for 1 am but as other men, a beholder of the wonders of creation. [Govind goes on to declare that he regarded the religions of the Hindoos and Mahometans as naught ; that JSghees, c c 3 390 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [App. XIX. and the readers of Kornas and Poorans, were but deceivers ; that no faith was to be put in the worship of images and stones. All religions, he says, had become corrupt; the Soonyassee and Byraghee equally showed the wrong way, and the modes of worship of Brahmins and Kshutrees and others were idle and vain. "All shall pass into hell, for God is not in books and scriptures, but in humility and truth- fulness." ^ The subsequent chapters, to the 13th inclusive, relate the wars in which Govind was engaged with the Rajas of the hills and the imperial forces.] Chapter XIV. (abstract). — O God ! thou who hast always preserved thy worshippers from evil, and hast inflicted pu- nishment on the wicked ; who hast regarded me as thy devoted slave and hast served me with thine own hand, now all that I have beheld, and all thy glories which I have wit- nessed, will I faithfully relate. What I beheld in the former world, by the blessing of God will I make known. In all my undertakings the goodness of the Lord hath been showered upon me. Loh (iron) has been my preserver. Through the goodness of God have I been strong, and all that I have seen during the various ages will I put in a book ; every thing shall be fully made known. Extract from the Twenty-four Avatars. Kulkee, (conclusion of). — ■ Kulkee at last became strong and proud, and the Lord was displeased, and created another Being. Mehdee Meer was created, great and powerful, who destroyed Kulkee, and became master of the world. All is in the hands of God. In this manner passed away the twenty-four manifestations. Mehdee Meer. — In such manner was Kulkee destroyed, but God manifests himself at all times, and at the end of the Kulyoog, all will be his own. * When Mehdee Meer had vanquished the world he became raised up in his mind. He assumed to himself the crown of greatness and power, and • Nij jot, jot suman. App. XX.] ADMONITOKY LETTERS OF NANUK. 391 all bowed to him. He regarded himself as supreme. He thought not of God, but considered himself to be in all things and to exist everywhere. Then the Almighty seized the fool. God is One. He is without a second. He is every- where, in the water and under the earth. He who knows not the One God, will be born again times innumerable. In the end God took away the power of Mehdee Meer, and destroyed him utterly. A creeping worm did the Lord create ; By the ear of Mehdee it went and stayed : The worm entered by his ear. And he was wholly subdued. APPENDIX XX. THE ADMOUriTORY LETTERS OP NANDK TO THE FABT3L0US MONARCH KARON ; AND THE PRESCRIPTIVE LETTERS OP GOVIND FOR THE GUIDANCE OP THE SIKHS. Note. — Two letters to Karon are attributed to Nanuk. The first is styled the " Nusseeut Nameh," or Letter of Ad- monition and Advice. The second is styled simply the "Keply of Nanuk," and professes to be spoken. Karon may possibly be a corruption of Haroon, the 'Haroun el Easchid' of European and Asiatic fame. Both compositions are of course fabulous as regards Nanuk, and appear to be the compositions of the commencement or middle of the last century. The two letters of Govind are termed the " Eehet Nameh " and the " Tunkha Nameh," or the Letter of Kules c c 4 392 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS.> [App. XX. and the Letter of Fines respectively ; and while they are adapted for general guidance, they profess to have been drawn up in reply to questions put by individuals, or for the satisfaction of particular inquirers. There is no evidence that. they were composed by Govind himself ; but they may be held to represent his views and the principles of Sikbism. 1. The Nusseent Nameh of Nanuk, or the Letter to Karon, the Mighty Prince, possessing forty Capital Cities replenished with Treasure. (Extracts from.) Alone man comes, alone he goes. When he departs naught will avail him (or bear him witness). "When the reckoning is taken, what answer will he give ? If then only he repents, he shall be punished. Karon paid no devotions ; he kept not faith : The world exclaimed he ruled not justly. He was called a Kuler, but he governed not well. For the pleasures of the world ensnared him. He plundered the earth : hell-fire shall torment him. Man should do good, so that he be not ashamed. Repent — and oppress not, Otherwise hell-fire shall seize thee, even in the grave. * * * * # Holy men. Prophets, Shahs, and Khans, The mark of not one remaineth in the world ; For man is but as the passing shade of the flying bird. ***** Thou rejoicest in thy Forty Treasures, But thou hast not kept faith. See, oh people ! Karon utterly confounded. O N^nuk I pray unto God, and seek God as thy refuge. App. XX.] ADMONITORY LETTERS OF nInUK. 393 2. The Reply of Ndnuk to Karon, the Lord of Medina. First, N^nuk went to Mecca ; Medina he afterwards visited. The lord of Mecca and Medina, Karon, he made his disciple. When N^nuk was about to depart, Karon, the fortunate, thus spoke : Now thou art about to go. But when wilt thou return ? Then the Gooroo thus answered : When I put on my tenth dress I shall be called Govind Singh ; Then shall all Singhs wear their hair ; They shall accept the " Pahul " of the two-edged dagger : Then shall the sect of the Khalsa be established ; Then shall men exclaim, " Victory, O Gooroo ! " The four races shall become one and the same ; The five weapons shall be worn by all. In the Kulyoog they shall array themselves in vestments of blue; The name of the Khalsa shall be everywhere. In the time of Aurungzeb The Wondrous Khalsa shall arise. Then shall battles be waged. Endless war shall ensue, And fighting shall follow year after year. They shall place the name of Govind Singh in their hearts ; Many heads shall be rendered up. And the empire of the Khalsa shall prevail. First, the Punjab shall become the land of the Sikhs ; Then other countries shall be theirs ; Hindostan and the North shall be possessed by them ; Then the West shall bow to them. When they enter Khorass^n, Caubul and Candahar shall lie low. When Iran* has been laid prostrate, Mecca shall be beheld. And Medina shall be seized. * Persia. 394) HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [App. XX. Mighty shall be the rejoicing, And all shall exclaim, " Hail, Gooroo ! " Unbelievers shall everywhere be destroyed ; The holy Khalsa shall be exalted ; Beasts, and birds, and creeping things, shall tremble (In the presence of the Lord). Men and women shall everywhere call on God. The earth, the ocean, and the heavens, shall call on God. By calling on the Gooroo shall men be blessed. Every faith shall become of the Khalsa ; No other religion will remain. " Wah Gooroo" shall everywhere be repeated. And Pain and Trouble shall depart. In the Kulyoog shall the Kingdom be established Which N^nuk received from the Lord. Worthless, I fall before God ; Nanuk, the slave, cannot comprehend the ways of the Lord. 3. The Rehet Nameh of Gooroo Govind. (Extracts from, and abstracts of portions.) Written for Durreellee Oodassee, and repeated to Pruhlad Singh at Up- chullunuggur (Nuderh on the Godavery). The Gooroo being seated at UpchuUunuggur, spake to PruhMd Singh, saying, that through the favor of Nanuk there was a sect or faith In the world for which rules (rehet) should be established A Sikh who puts a cap (topee) * on his head, shall die seven deaths of dropsy. Whosoever wears a thread round his neck Is on the way to damnation. [It is forbidden to take off the turban (pug) while eating, to have intercourse with Meenas, Mussundees, and Kooree- mars (children slayers), and to play at chess with women. No prayers are to be offered up without using the name of * Referring particularly to Hindoo ascetics ; but, perhaps, also to the Maho- metans, who formerly wore skull-caps alone, and now generally wind their turbans round a covering of the bind. The Sikh contempt for either kind of " topee " has been thrown into the shade by their repugnance, in common with all other Indians, to the English cap or hat. App. XX.] govind's letters of kules. 395 the Gooroo, and he who heeds not the Gooroo, and serves not the disciples faithfully, is a Mletoha indeed. A Sikh who does not acknowledge the Hookumnameh (requisition for benevolences or contributions) of the Gooroo, shall faU under displeasure]. First the Gooroo (Grunt'h or Book) and Khalsa, which I have placed in the world. Whosoever denies or betrays either shall be driven forth and dashed into hell. [It is forbidden to wear clothing dyed with safflower (i. e. of a " Soohee " colour), to wear charms on the head, to break the fast without reciting the Jup (the prayer of N^nuk), to neg- lect reading prayers in the morning, to take the evening meal without reciting the Eeih Has, to leave Akal Poorik (the Timeless Being), and worship other Gods, to worship stones, to make obeisance to any not a Sikh, to forget the Grunt'h, and to deceive the Khalsa. All Hookumnamehs (calls for tithes or contributions) given by the posterity of Nanuk, of Unggud, and of Ummer Das, shall be heeded as his own : whosoever disregards them shall perish. The things which he had placed in the world (viz. the Grunt'h and the Khilsa) are to be worshipped. Strange Gods are not to be heeded, and the Sikh who forsakes his faith shall be punished In the world to come. He who worships graves and dead men (" gor " and " mur- ree," referring to Mahometans and Hindoos), or he who worships temples (mosques) or stones (images), is not a Sikh. The Sikh who makes obeisance or bows down to the wearer of a cap (topee) is a resident of hell.] Consider the Khalsa as the Gooroo, as the very embodi- ment of the Gooroo : He who wishes to see the Gooroo will find him in the Kh3,lsa. [Trust not Joghees or Toorks. Remember the writings of the Gooroo only. Eegard not the six Dursuns (or systems of faith or speculation). Without the Gooroo, all Deities are as 396 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS [App. XX. naught. The Image of the Almighty Is the visible body (pruggut deh) of the immortal Kh^lsa (Akal). The Khalsa is everything, other divinities are as sand, which slips through the fingers. By the order of God the Punt'h (or sect) of Sikhs has been established. All Sikhs must believe the Gooroo and the Grunt'h. They should bow to the Grunt'h alone. All prayers save the prayers of the Gooroo are idle and vain. He who gives the " P^hul " to another shall reap innumer- able blessings. He who instructs in the prayers and scrip- tures of the Gooroos shall attain salvation. Govind will reverence the Sikh who chafes the hands and the feet of the wearied Sikh traveller. The Sikh who gives food to other Sikhs, on him will the Gooroo look with favor. Delivered on Thursday the 5th day of the dark phase of the Moon of Magh in the Sumbut year 1752 (beginning of 1696 a. D.). He who heeds these injunctions is a Sikh of Gooroo Govind Singh. The orders of the Gooroo are as himself. Depend on God.] 4. TTie Tunkha Nameh, or Rules of Fines or Restrictions on Sikhs. (Abstract of.) Written in reply to the question of Bhaee Nund Lai, who had asked Gooroo Govind what it was proper for a Sikh to do, and what to re- frain from. Nund Lai asked, &c. : and the Gooroo replied that such were to be the acts of the Sikhs. A Sikh should set his heart on God, on charity, and on purity (Nam, Dan, Ish- nan). He who in the morning does not repair to some temple, or visit some holy man, is greatly to blame. He who does not allow the poor a place (in his heart) is to blame. With- out the favor of God nothing can be accomplished. He who bows his head (i. e. humbles himself) after having offered up prayers is a man of holiness. Charity (Kurra Prusad, i. e. food) should be distributed in singleness of mind to all comers equally. Prusad should be prepared of equal parts of flour sugar, and butter. The preparer should first bathe, and A pp. XX.] GOVIKD's letters of EUIiES. 397 while cooking it he should repeat "Wah Gooroo" continually. When ready, the food should be put on a round place. The Sikh who wears the (written) charms of the Toorks, or who touches iron with his feet, is to be condemned. He who wears clothing dyed with safflower (of the colour called Soohee), and he who takes snuff (niswar) is to be condemned.* He who looks lustfully upon the mother or sister of one of the brethren — he who does not bestow his daughter becom- ingly in marriage — he who takes to himself the property of a sister or daughter — he who wears not iron in some shape — he who robs or oppresses the poor, and he who makes obeisance to a Toork, is to be punished. A Sikh should comb his locks, and fold and unfold his turban twice a day. Twice also should he wash his mouth. One tenth of all goods should be given (in charity) in the name of the Gooroo. Sikhs should bathe in cold water : they should not break their fast until they have repeated the Jup. In the morning, Jup, in the evening, Eeih Eas, and before retiring to rest, Sohila should always be repeated. No Sikh should speak false of his neighbor. Promises should be carefully fulfilled. No Sikh should eat flesh from the hands of the Toorks. A Sikh should not delight in women, nor give himself up to them. The Sikh who calls himself a Seidh (or Holy man) should act in strict accordance with his professions. A journey should not be undertaken, nor should business be set about, nor should food be eaten, without first remem- bering or calling on God. A Sikh should enjoy the society of his own wife only. He should not desire other women. He who sees a poor man and gives him not something, shall not behold the presence of God. He who neglects to pray, or who abuses the holy, or who ♦ This is the only recorded prohibition against tobacco, to refrain from which in every shape is now a rule. The Afghans of Peshawur and Caubul continue to take snufF, a practice but little known to the Indians. 398 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [App. XX. gambles, or who listens to those who speak evil of the Gooroos, is no Sikh. Daily, some portion of what is gained is to be set aside in the name of the Lord, but all business must be carried on in sincerity and truth. Flame should not be extinguished with the breath, nor should fire be put out with water, a portion of which has been drunk. Before meals the name of the Gooroo should be repeated. The society of prostitutes is to be avoided, nor is adultery to be committed with the wife of another. The Gooroo is not to be forsaken, and others followed. No Sikh should expose his person ; he should not bathe in a state of nudity, nor when distributing food should he be naked.* His head should always be covered. He is of the Kh^lsa, Who speaks evil to none. Who combats in the van. Who gives in charity. Who slays a Khan, Who subdues his passions. Who burns the " Kurms," t Who does not yield to superstitions |, Who is awake day and night. Who delights in the sayings of the Gooroos, And who never fears, although often overcome. Considering all as created by the Lord, Give offence to none, otherwise the Lord will himself be offended. He is of the Khalsa, Who protects the poor, W^ho combats evil, * The practices of many Hindoo ascetics are mainly aimed at. f i. e. who despises the ceremonial forms of the Brahmins. ^ Hindee, Aan, said to correspond with the meaning of the Arabic Aar, — one who does not affect to be in any way protected by Saints or others. The same term is applied to the brotherhood or mutual dependence of a chief and his followers. App. XX.J govind's letters of rules. 399 Who remembers God, Who achieves greatness*. Who is intent upon the Lord, Who is wholly unfettered. Who mounts the war horse. Who is ever waging battle. Who is continually armed. Who slays the Toorks, Who extends the faith. And who gives his head with what is upon it. The name of God shall be proclaimed ; No one shall speak against Him ; The rivers and the mountains shall remember Him ; All who call upon Him shall be saved. Nund Lai ! attend to what is said ; My own rule will I establish. The four races shall be one, 1 will cause all to repeat the prayer of " Wah Gooroo." The Sikhs of Govind shall bestride horses, and bear hawks upon their hands. The Toorks who behold them shall fly. One shall combat a multitude. And the Sikh who thus perishes shall be blessed for ever. At the doorway of a Sikh shall wait elephants caparisoned. And horsemen with spears, and there shall be music over his gateway. When myriads oif matches burn together. Then shall the Kh^lsa conquer East and West. The Khdlsa shall rule ; none can resist : The rebellious shall be destroyed, and the obedient shall have favors heaped upon them. * Literally, who resides in state. 400 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [App. XXI. APPENDIX XXI. A LIST OF SOME SIKH SECTS OR DENOMINATIONS, (In which, however, some Names or Titles not properly distinctive of an Order are also inserted.) 1st. Ooddsee. — Founded by Sree Chund, a son of NS,nuk. The Oodasees were rejected by Ummer Das, as not being genuine Sikhs, 2d. Behdee, founded by Lukshmee Das, another son of Nanuk. 3d. Teehun, founded by Gooroo Unggud. 4th. Bhulleh, founded by Gooroo Ummer Das. 5th. Sodhee, founded by Gooroo Eam Das. Nute. — The Behdees, Teehuns, Bhullehs, and Sodhees are rather Sikhs of the subdivisions of Kshntrees, so called, (i. e. of the tribes of certain Gooroos,) than distinct sects. 6th. Ram B,ayee, seceders who adhered to Eam Kaee when Tegh Buhadur became Gooroo. They have a con- siderable establishment in the Lower Himalayas, near Hur- dw^r. 7th. Bunda-Pun(hee, i. e. of the sect of Bunda, who suc- ceeded Govind as a temporal leader. 8th. Mussundee. — Mussund is simply the name of a sub- division of the Kshutree race ; but it is also specially applied to the followers of those who resisted Govind ; some say as adherents of B,am Kaee, and others as instigators of the Gooroo's son to opposition. The more common story, how- ever, is that the Mussunds were the hereditary stewards of the household of the several Gooroos, and that they became proud and dissipated, but nevertheless arrogated sanctity App. XXI.J SIKH SECTS OR DENOMINATIONS. 401 to themselves, and personally ill-used many Sikhs for not deferring to them; whereupon Govind, regarding them as irreclaimable, expelled them all except two or three. 9th. Rungrefha. — Converts of the Sweeper and some other inferior castes are so called. (See Note fj p. 69. ante.) 10th. Rumddsee, i. e. Rao or Eaee D^ee. — Sikhs of the class of Chum^rs, or leather-dressers, and who trace to the Eao Das, or Raee Das, whose writings are inserted in the Grunt'h. 11th. Muzhubee. — Converts from Mahometanism are so called. 12th. Akdlee. — Worshippers of Akal (God), the most eminent of the orders of Purists or Ascetics. 13th. Nihung. — The naked, or pure. 14th. Nirmulleh. — The sinless. One who has acquired this title usually administers the Pahul to others. 15 th. Gheianee. — The wise, or perfect. A term some- times applied to Sikhs who are at once learned and pious. 16th. Soothra Shahee. — The true, or pure : said to have been founded by one Sootcha, a Brahmin. (See ante, Note §, p. 59.) I7th. Sutcheedaree. — Likewise the true, or pure: the founder not ascertained. 18th. Bhdee. — Literally, brother. The ordinary title of all Sikhs who have acquired a name for holiness ; and it is scarcely the distinctive title of a sect, or even of an order. To these may perhaps be added bodies of men who attach themselves to particular temples, or who claim to have been founded by particular disciples of eminence, or by followers who obtained any distinctive title from a Gooroo. Thus some claim to represent Rdm Das, the companion of Ndnuk, who lived tiU the time of Arjoon, and who obtained the title of "Boodha," or Ancient. Also many hereditary musicians call themselves Rubdbee Sikhs, from the Rub^b, or particular instrument on which they play ; and these affect to regard Murdana, the companion of N^nuk, as their founder. Others 40^ HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [App. XXI; are called Deewana, or the Simple or Mad, from one assiduous as a collector of the contributions of the faithful for the service of the Gooroos, and who, while so employed, placed a peacock's feather in his turban. Another class is called Moossuddee (or, perhaps, Mootsuddee, i. e. the clerk or writer order), and it is stated to be composed of devotees of the lyiahometan religion, who have adopted the " Jup " of NS,nuk as their rule of faith. The Moossuddees are further said to have fixed abodes in the countries westward of the Indus. APPENDIX XXII. To face page 402. GENEALOGICAL TABLE OF THE GOOROOS. Nauuk. (1) Sree Chund. (" Oodasees.") Lukshmee Oas. {" Behdees.") Descendants at Nauuk's "Dehra," on the Ravee. Unggud. (2) Datoo. ("Teehuns.") Descendants near Khuddoor. Ummer Das. Note. — The names of the Gooroos are in- cluded in rectangles of continuous lines ; and the p'etenders to apostolical succession to the prese^it time are shown in rectangles of waved lines. (3) Mohree. {"BhuUehs.") Descendants near Goindwal. Bhanee. := (Daughter,') Earn Das. (4) Of the "Sodhee" tribe; married the daughter of Ummer Das. 1 (5) Aqoon. 1 (6) Hut Govind. Pirthee Chund. I Goorditta. Tegh Buhadur. (9) Soorut Singh. Umb Eaee. Uttul Race. I Merhban. I 1 (7) Hur Eaee. 1 1 RamRaee. HurMshen. DheermuU Govind Singh. Dheep Chund. (10) Kurrun Mull. Descendants at Buttala. (8) Puhar Chund. Nirjoon Das. Bhopa. Dhunput. Golab Singh. Sadhoo Singh. Alive 1846. Of KnrtarpooT, near Jalundkur. Ajeet Singh. Joojarh Singh. Futteh Singh. Zorawur Singh. Golab Eaee. Man Singh. Nahur Singh. Oodeh Singh. Khem Singh. I ^ \ Sooruj Singh. Hmjee. 1 I Hur Gopal. I Goorditta. Muhadeo. Chutterbooj. Descendants at SbthawcUa, Tiear Sirhijid. Shama. I Jeewun. TeelOk Singh. Deedai Singh. Jaee Singh. Ootum Singh. Kurtar Singh. Hur Suhaee. OfKot Hur Svhaee, south of Feerospoor. Brijender Sfngh. Of Anundpoor-Makkowal. App. XXIII.] TREATY WITH LAHORE OF 1806. 403 APPENDIX XXIII. THE TREATY WITH LAHORE OF 1806. Treaty of Friendship and Unity between the Honorable East India Company and the Sirdars Runjeet Singh and Futteh Singh, (1st January, 1806.) SiRDAE Runjeet Singh and Sirdar Futteh Singh have con- sented to the following articles of agreement, concluded by Lieutenant- Colonel John Malcolm, under the special autho- rity of the Kight Honorable Lord Lake, himself duly authorized by the Honorable Sir George Hilaro Barlow, Bart., Governor General, and Sirdar Futteh Singh, as prin- cipal on the part of himself, and plenipotentiary on the part of Runjeet Singh : — Article 1. — Sirdar Runjeet Singh and Sirdar Futteh Singh Aloowalla, hereby agree that they will cause Jeswunt Rao Holkar to remove with his army to the distance of thirty coss from Amrutsir immediately, and will never here- after hold any further connection with him, or aid or assist him with troops, or in any other manner whatever ; and they further agree that they will not in any way molest such of Jeswunt Rao Holkar's followers or troops as are desirous of retiurning to their homes in the Dekkan, but, on the con- trary, will render them every assistance in their power for carrying such intention into execution. Article 2. — The British Government hereby agrees, that in case a pacification should not be effected between that Government and Jeswunt Rao Holkar, the British army shall move from its present encampment, on the banks of the river Biah, as soon as Jeswunt Rao Holkar aforesaid shall have marched his army to the distance of thirty coss from Amrutsir ; and that, in any treaty which^. may hereafter be J> D 2 404 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [App. XXIV. concluded between the British Government and Jeswunt Rao Holkar, it shall be stipulated that, immediately after the conclusion of the said treaty, Holkar shall evacuate the terri- tories of the Sikhs, and march towards his own, and that he shall in no way whatever injure or destroy such parts of the Sikh country as may lie in his route. The British Govern- ment further agrees that, as long as the said Chieftains, Run- jeet Singh and Futteh Singh, abstain from holding any friendly connection with the enemies of that Government, or from committing any act of hostility on their own parts against the said Government, the British armies shall never enter the territories of the said Chieftains, nor will the British Government form any plans for the seizure or sequestration of their possessions or property. Dated 1st January, 1806. APPENDIX XXIV. SIR DAVID OCHTERLOSrET'S PROCLAMATION OF 1809. Precept or " Ittillah Nameh,^^ under the Seal of General St. Leger, and under the Seal and Signature of Colonel Och- terloney ; written the 9th of February, 1809, corresponding to the 23d Zee Hijeh, 1223, Hijereh. The British army having encamped near the frontiers of the Muharaja Bunjeet Singh, it has been thought proper to signify the pleasure of the British Government, by means of this precept, in order to make all the Chiefs of the Muharaja acquainted with the sentiments of the British Government, which have solely for their object and aim to confirm the friendship with the Muhg,raja, and to prevent any injury to App. XXrV.] BRITISH PROCLAMATION OF 1809. 405 his country, the preservation of friendship between the two States depending on particular conditions which are hereby- detailed. The Th&nnahs in the fortress of Khur'r, Khanpore, and other places on this side of the river Sutlej, which have been placed in the hands of the dependents of the Muharaja, shall be razed, and the same places restored to their ancient possessors. The force of cavalry and infantry which may have crossed to this side of the Sutlej must be recalled to the other side, to the country of the Muharaja. The troops stationed at the Grhaut of Philoiir must march thence, and depart to the other side of the river as described, and in future the troops of the Muharaja shall never advance into the country of the Chiefs situated on this side of the river, who have called in for their security and protection Thannahs of the British Government ; but if in the manner that the British have placed Thannahs of moderate number on this side of the Sutlej, if in like manner a small force by way of Thannah be stationed at the Ghaut of Philour, it will not be objected to. If the Muharaja persevere in the fulfilment of the above stipulations, which he so repeatedly professed to do in pre- sence of Mr. Metcalfe, such fulfilment will confirm the mutual friendship. In case of non-compliance with these stipulations, then shall it be plain that the Muharaja has no regard for the friendship of the British, but, on the contrary, resolves on enmity. In such case the victorious British army shall commence every mode of defence. The communication of this precept is solely with the view of publishing the sentiments of the British, and to know those of the Muharaja. The British are confident that the Muharaja will consider the contents of this precept as abounding to his real advantage, and as affording a conspicu- ous proof of their friendship; that with their capacity for war, they are also intent on peace. Note. The recorded translation of this document has been preserved, al- though somewhat defective in style. S D 3 406 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [App. XXV. APPENDIX XXV. THE TREATY WITH LAHORE OF 1809. Treaty between the British Government and the Raja of Lahore. (Dated 25th April, 1809.) Whereas certain differences which had arisen between the British Government and the Raja of Lahore have^been hap- pily and amicably adjusted ; and both partiesT^eing anxious to maintain relations of perfect amity and concord, the following articles of treaty, which shall bej binding on the heirs and successors of the two parties, have been concluded by the Raja Eunjeet Singh in person, and by the agency of C. T. Metcalfe, Esquire, on the part of the British Grovem- ment. Article 1. — Perpetual friendship shall subsist between the British Government and the State of Lahore : the latter shall be considered, with respect to the former, to be on the footing of the most favored powers, and the British Government will have no concern with the territories and subjects of the Raja to the northward of the river Sutlej. Article 2. — The Raja will never maintain in the territory which he occupies on the left bank of the river Sutlej more troops than are necessary for the internal duties of that territory, nor commit or suffer any incroachments on the pos- sessions or rights of the Chiefs in its vicinity. Article 3. — In the event of a violation of any of the pre- ceding articles, or of a departure from the rules of friendship, this treaty shall be considered null and void. Article 4. — This treaty, consisting of four articles, having been settled and concluded at Amrutslr, on the 25th day of April, 1809, Mr. C. T. Metcalfe has delivered to the Raja of Lahore a copy of the same in English and Persian, under App. XXVI.] PKOCLAMATION OF PEOTECTION. 407 his seal and signature ; and the Eaja has delivered another copy of the same under his seal and signature, and Mr. C. T. Metcalfe engages to procure within the space of two months a copy of the same, duly ratified by the Eight Honorable the Governor General in Council, on the receipt of which by the Kaja, the present treaty shall be deemed complete and binding on both parties, and the copy of it now delivered to the Eaja shall be returned. APPENDIX XXVI. PKOCLAMATION OF PROTECTION TO CIS SUTLEJ STATES AGAINST LAHORE. (Dated, 1809.) Translation of an " Ittilah Nameh," addressed to the Chiefs of the Country of Malwah and Sirhind, on this Side of the River Sutlej. (3d May, 1809.) It is clearer than the sun, and better proved than the exist- ence of yesterday, that the marching of a detachment of British troops to this side of the river Sutlej was entirely at the application and earnest entreaty of the several Chiefs> and originated solely from friendly considerations in the British Government, to preserve them in their jiossessions and independence. A treaty having been concluded, on the 25th of AprU, 1809, between Mr. Metcalfe on the part of the British Government, and Maharaja Eunjeet Singh, agreeably to the orders of the Eight Honorable the Governor General in Council, I have the pleasure of publishing, for the satis- faction of the Chiefs of the country of Malwah and Sirhind, the pleasure and resolutions of the British Government, as contained in the seven following articles : — B D 4 408 HISTOKY or THE SIKHS. [App. XXVI. Article 1. — The country of the Chiefs of Malwah and Sirhind having entered under the British protection, they shall in future be secured from the authority and influence of Muharaja Runjeet Singh, conformably to the terms of the treaty. Article 2. — All the country of the Chiefs thus taken under protection shall be exempted from all pecuniary tribute to the British Government. Article 3. — The Chiefs shall remain in the full exercise of the same rights and authority in their own possessions which they enjoyed before they were received under the British protection. Article 4. — Should a British force, on purposes of general welfare, be required to march through the country of the said Chiefs, it is necessary and incumbent that every Chief shall, within his own possessions, assist and furnish, to the full of his power, such force with supplies of grain and other neces- saries which may be demanded. Article 5. — Should an enemy approach from any quarter, for the purpose of conquering this country, friendship and mutual interest require that the Chiefs join the British army with all their force, and, exerting themselves in ex- pelling the enemy, act under discipline and proper obedience. Article 6. — All Europe articles brought by merchants from the eastern districts, for the use of the army, shall be allowed to pass, by the Thannahdars and Sayerdars of the several Chiefs, withoiit molestation and the demand of duty. Article 7. — All horses purchased for the use of cavalry regiments, whether in the district of Sirhind or elsewhere, the bringers of which being provided with sealed " Bahdaries " from the Resident at Delhi, or officer commanding at Sirhind, shall be allowed to pass through the country of the said Chiefs without molestation or the demand of duty. App. XXVII.] PROCLAMATION OF PKOTECTION, 1811. 409 APPENDIX XXVII. PEOCLAMATION OF PROTECTION TO CIS SUTLEJ STATES AGAINST ONE ANOTHER. (Dated 1811.) For the Information and Assurance of the Protected Chiefs of the Plains between the Sutlej and Jumna. (22d August, 1811.) V g , On the 3d of May, 1809, an " Etlanama," comprised of seven articles, was issued by the orders of the British Government, purporting that the country of the Sirdars of Sirhind and Malwa having come under their protection, Eaja Eunjeet Singh, agreeably to treaty, had no concern with the posses- sions of the above Sirdars ; That the British Government had no intention of claiming Peishkushs or Nuzerana, and that t hey should continue in the full control and enjoyment of their respective possessions : The publication of the above " Etlanama" was intended to afford every confidence to the Sirdars, that the protection of the country was the sole object, that they had no intention of control, and that those having possessions should remain in full and complete enjoy- ment thereof. Whereas several Zemindars and other subjects of the Chiefs of this country have preferred complaints to the officers of the British Government, who, having in view the tenor of the above " Etlanama," have not attended, and will not in future pay attention to them; — for instance, on the 15th of June, 1811, Delawur Ali Khan of Samana complained to the Resident of Delhi against the ofiicers of Raja Sahib Singh for jewels and other property said to have been seized by them, who, in reply, observed, that the " Cusba of Samana being in the Ameeldary of Raja Sahib Singh, his complaint should be made to him ;" and also, on the 12th of July, 1811, Dussowndha Singh and Goormook Singh com- 410 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [App. XXVH. plained to Colonel Ochterloney, Agent to the Governor General, against Sirdar Churrut Singh, for their shares of property, &c. ; and, in reply. It was written on the back of their urzee, '■ that since, during the period of three years, no claim was preferred against Churrut Singh by any of his brothers, nor even the name of any co-partner mentioned; and since it was advertised in the ' Etlanama' delivered to the Sirdars, that every Chief should remain in the quiet and fuU enjoyment of his domains, the petition could not be attended to," — the insertion of these answers to complaints is In- tended as examples, and also that it may be impressed on the minds of every Zemindar and other subject,' that the attain- ment of justice is to be expected from their respective Chiefs only, that they may not, in the smallest degree, swerve from the observation of subordination, — It is, therefore, highly incumbent upon the Kajas and other Sirdars of this side of the river Sutlej, that they explain this to their respective subjects, and court their confidence, that it may be clear to them, that complaints to the officers of the British Govern- ment will be of no avail, and that they consider their re- spective Sirdars as the source of justice, and that, of their free will and accord, they observe uniform obedience. And whereas, according to the first proclamation. It Is not the intention of the British Government to interfere In the possessions of the Sirdars of this country, it is never- theless, for the purpose of meliorating the condition of the community, particularly necessary to give general Informa- tion, that several Sirdars have, since the last incursion of Kaja Runjeet Singh, wrested the estates of others, and de- prived them of their lawful possessions, and that In the restoration, they have used delays until detachments of the British army have been sent to effect restitution, as in the case of the Ranee of Terah, the Sikhs of Cholian, the Talookas of Karowley and Chehloundy, and the vUlage of Cheeba ; and the reason of such delays and evasions can only be attributed to the temporary enjoyment of the revenues, and subjecting the owners to irremediable losses, — It is, therefore, by order of the British Government, hereby pro- claimed that if any one of the Sirdars or others has forcibly taken possession of the estates of others, or otherwise App. XXVm.] INDUS NAVIGATION TREATY. 411 injured the lawful owners, it is necessary that, before the occurrence of any complaint, the proprietor should be satisfied, and by no means to defer the restoration of the property, — in which, however, should delays be made, and the inter ference of the British authority become requisite, the revenues of the estate from the date of ejection of the lawful pro- prietor, together with whatever other losses the inhabitants of that place may sustain from the march of troops, shall without scruple be demanded from the offending party ; and for disobedience of the present orders, a penalty, according to the circumstances of the case and of the offender, shall be levied, agreeably to the decision of the British Government. APPENDIX XXVIII. INDUS NAVIGATION TREATY OF 1832. Articles of a Convention established between the Honorable the East India Compamj, and his Highness the Muharaja Runjeet Singh, the Ruler of the Punjab, for the opening of the Navigation of the Rivers Indus and Sutlej. (Originally - drafted 26th December, 1832.) By the grace of God, the relations of firm alliance and indissoluble ties of friendship existing between the Honor- able the East India Company and his Highness the Muha- raja Hunjeet Singh, founded on the auspicious treaty for- merly concluded by Sir T. C. Metcalfe, Bart., and since confirmed in the written pledge of sincere amity presented by the Eight Honorable Lord W. G. Bentinck, G.C.B. and G.C.H., Governor General of British India, at the meeting at Booper, are, like the sun, clear and manifest to the whole world, and will continue unimpaired, and increasing in strength from generation to generation : — By virtue of these 412 HISTORY OP THE SIKHS. [App. XXVIII. firmly established bonds of friendship, since the opening of the navigation of the rivers Indus proper (i. e. Indus below the confluence of the Penjnud) and Sutlej, (a measure deemed expedient by both States, with a view to promote the general intei'ests of commerce), — has lately been effected through the agency of Captain C. M. Wade, Political Agent at Loodhiana, deputed by the Eight Honorable the Governor General for that purpose. The following Articles, explana- tory of the conditions by which the said navigation is to be regulated, as concerns the nomination of officers, the mode of collecting the duties, and the protection of the trade by that route, have been framed, in order that the officers of the two States employed in their execution may act accord- ingly : — Article 1. — The provisions of the existing treaty relative to the right bank of the river Sutlej and all its stipula- tions, together with the contents of the friendly pledge already mentioned, shall remain binding, and a strict regard to preserve the relations of friendship between the two" States shall be the ruling principle of action. In accordance with that treaty, the Honorable Company has not, nor will have any concern with the right bank of the river Sutlej. Article 2. — The tariff which is to be established for the line of navigation in question is intended to apply exclusively to the passage of merchandise by that route, and not to in- terfere with the transit duties levied on goods proceeding from one bank of the river to the other, nor with the places fixed for their collection : they are to remain as heretofore. Article 3. — Merchants frequenting the same route, while within the limits of the Muharaja's government, are required to show a due regard to his authority, as is done by merchants generally, and not to commit any acts offensive to the civU and religious institutions of the Sikhs. Article 4. — Any one purposing to go the said route will intimate his intention to the agent of either State, and apply for a passport, agreeably to a form to be laid down ; having obtained which, he may proceed on his journey. The mer- chants coming from Amrutsir, and other parts on. the right bank of the . river Sutlej, are to intimate their intentions to App. XXVni.] INDUS NAVIGATION TREATY. 413 the agent of the Muharaja, at Hurree-kee, or other appointed places, and obtain a passport through him ; and merchants coming from Hindoostan, or other parts on the left bank of the river Sutlej, wiU intimate their intentions to the Honor- able Company's agent, and obtain a passport through him. As foreigners, and Hindoostanees, and Sirdars of the pro- tected Sikh States and elsewhere, are not in the habit of crossing the Sutlej without a passport from the Muha- raja's officers, it is expected that such persons will hereafter also conform to the same rule, and not cross without the usual passports. Article 5. — A tariif shall be established exhibiting the rate of duties leviable on each description of merchandise, which, after Laving been approved by both Governments, is to be the standard by which the superintendents and collec- tors of customs are to be guided. Article 6. — Merchants are invited to adopt the new route with perfect confidence : no one shall be suffered to molest them or unnecessarily impede their progress, care being taken that they are only detained for the collection of the duties, in the manner stipulated, at the established stations. Article 7. — The officers who are to be entrusted with the collection of the duties and examination of the goods on the right bank of the river shall be stationed at Mithenkot and Hurree-kee ; at no other places but these two shall boats in transit on the river be liable to examination or stoppage. When the persons in charge of boats stop of their own accord to take In or give out cargo, the goods will be liable to the local transit duty of the Muharaja's government, pre- viously to their being landed, as provided in Article 2. The superintendent stationed at Mithenkot having examined the cargo, will levy the established duty, and grant a pass- port, with a written account of the cargo and freight. On the arrival of the boat at Hurree-kee, the superintendent of that station will compare the passport with the cargo ; and whatever goods are found in excess will be liable to the pay- ment of the established duty, while the rest, having already paid duty at Mithenkot, will pass on free. The same rule fihaU be observed In respect to merchandize conveyed from 414 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [App. XXIX, Hurree-kee by the way of the rivers towards Sindh, that whatever may be fixed as the share of duties on the right bank of the river Sutlej, in right of the Muharaja's own do- minions and of those in allegiance to him, the Muharaja's officers will collect it at the places appointed. With regard to the security and safety of merchants who may adopt this route, the Muharaja's officers shall afford them every protec- tion in their power ; and merchants, on halting for the night on either bank of the Sutlej, are required, with reference to the treaty of friendship which exists between the two States, to give notice, and to show their passport to the Thanedar, or officers in authority at the place, and request protection for themselves : if, notwithstanding this precaution, loss should at any time occur, a strict inquiry will be made, and recla- mation sought from those who are blameable. The articles of the present treaty for opening the navigation of the rivers above mentioned having, agreeably to subsisting relations, been approved by the Right Honorable the Governor General, shall be carried into execution accordingly. Dated at Lahore the 26th of December, 1832, (Seal and signature at the top.) APPENDIX XXIX. SUPPLEMENT AET INDUS NAVIGATION TREATY OF 1834. Draft of a Supplementary Treaty letween tfie British Govern- ment and Muharaja Runjeet Singh for establishing a Toll on the Indus. (29th November, 1834.) In conformity with the subsisting relations of friendship, as established and confirmed by former treaties, between the Honorable the East India Company and his Highness Mu- App. XXIX.] SUPPLEMENTARY TREATY. 415 haraja Runjeet Singh ; and whereas in the 5th article of the treaty concluded at Lahore on the 26th day of Decem- ber, 1832, it was stipulated that a moderate scale of duties should be fixed by the two Governments in concert, to be levied on all merchandize on transit up and down the rivers Indus and Sutlej ; the said Governments being now of opinion that, owing to the inexperience of the people of these coun- tries in such matters, the mode of levying duties then pro- posed (viz. on the value and quantity of goods) could not fail to give rise to mutual misunderstandings and reclamations, have, with a view to prevent these results, determined to substitute a toll, which shall be levied on all boats, with whatever merchandize laden. The following articles have therefore been adopted as supplementary to the former treaty ; and, in conformity with them, each Government en- gages that the toll shall be levied, and its amount neither be increased nor diminished except by mutual consent. Article 1. — A toll of 570 E.s. shall be levied on all boats laden with merchandize in transit on the rivers Indus and Sutlej between the sea and Eoper, without reference to their size, or to the weight or value of their cargo ; the above toll to be divided among the different States in proportion to the extent of territory which they possess on the banks of these rivers. Article 2. — The portion of the above toll appertaining to the Lahore Chief in right of his territory on both banks of these rivers, as determined in the subjoined scale, shall be levied opposite to Mithenkot on boats coming from the sea towards Koper, and in the vicinity of Hurree-kee-Petten on boats going from Roper towards the sea, and at no other place : — In right of territory on the In right of territory on the right bank of the rivers left bank of the rivers In- Indus and Sutlej, 155 Es. dus and Sutlej, the Mu- 4 ans, haraja's share, of 67 Ks. 15 ans. 9 pie. Article 3. — In order to facilitate the realization of the toll due to the different States, as well as for the speedy and 416 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [App. XXIX. satisfactory adjustment of any disputes which may arise con- nected with the safety of the navigation and the welfare of the trade by the new route, a British officer will reside opposite to Mithenkot, and a native agent on the part of the British Government opposite to Hurree-kee-Petten. These officei's will be subject to the orders of the British agent at Lioodhiana ; and the agents who may be appointed to reside at those places on the part of the other States concerned in the navigation, viz. Bhawlpoor and Sindh, together with those of Lahore, will co-operate with them in the execution of their duties. Article 4. — In order to guard against imposition on the part of merchants in making false complaints of being plun- dered of property which formed no part of their cargoes, they are required, when taking out their passports, to pro- duce an invoice of their cargo, which, being duly authenti- cated, a copy of it will be annexed to their passports ; and wherever their boats may be brought to for the night, they are required to give immediate notice to the Thanadars or officers of the place, and to request protection for themselves, at the same time showing the passports they may have re- ceived at Mithenkot or Hurree-kee, as the case may be. Article 6. — Such parts of the 5th, 7th, 9th, and 10th articles of the treaty of the 26th of December, 1832, as have reference to the fixing a duty on the value and quantity of merchandize, and to the mode of its collection, are hereby rescinded, and the foregoing articles substituted in their place, agreeably to which and the conditions of the preamble, the toll will be levied. N.B. — A distribution of the shares due to the British protected States and the feudatories of the Muharaja on the left bank of the Sutlej will be determined hereafter. Arp. XXX.] TRIPARTITE TREATY. 417 APPENDIX XXX. THE TEIPAKTITE TREATY WITH KUNJEET SINGH AND SHAH SHOOJA OF 1838. Treaty of Alliance and Friendship between Muharaja Runjeet Singh and ShahShooja-ool-Moolk, with the approbation of, and in concert^i:oWrthe^^^im~€fovSv^ment. (Done at Lahore, 26th June, 1838, signed at Simla, 25th June, 1838.) ? 2.3*? -^ Whereas a treaty was formerly concluded between Muha- raja Eunjeet Singh and Shah Shooja-ool-Moolk, consisting of fourteen articles, exclusive of the preamble and the conclu- sion : And whereas the execution of the provisions of the said treaty was suspended for certain reasons : And whereas at this time, Mr. W. H. Macnaghten having been deputed by the Right Honorable George Lord Auckland, G. C. B., Go- vernor General of India, to the presence of Muharaja Run- jeet Singh, and vested with fuU powers to form a treaty, in a manner consistent with the friendly engagements su"bsisting between the two States, the treaty aforesaid is revived, and concluded with certain modifications, and four new articles have been added thereto, with the approbation of, and in con- cert with the British Government, the provisions whereof, ascertained in the following eighteen articles, will be duly and faithfully observed : — ^ Article 1. — Shah Shooja-ool-Moolk disclaims all title on !^> tVi cy. , 'the part of himself, his heirs and successors, and all the Sud- ^t ;', ,.,. /fj^ dozies, to all the territories lying on either bank of the river /-u^ Ai.-^ ^ / Indus, that may be possessed by the Muharaja, viz., fJjs />, Wv- c •'^ !^ Cashmeer, including limits, E., its W., N., S., together with ^Xo ^ '-'■' the fort of Attok, Chuch Huzara, Khubul, Umb, with its v' ^'^ dependencies, on the left bank of the aforesaid river, and on the right bank Peshawur, with the Eusufzaee territory, the 4)18 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [App. XXX. Khutuksj Husht Nuggur, JVIitchneej Kohat, Hunggoo, and all places dependent on Peshawur, as far as the Khyber pass, Bunnoo, the Vuzeeree territory, Dowr-T^k, Gurang, K alabag h, and Khoo^alghur, with their dependent districts, Derah Ismaeel Khan, and its dependency, Kot Mithen, OomuFKot,'"and their dependent territory ; Sunghur, Hur- rund-Dajul, Hajeepore, Rajenpore , and the ffiree Kutches, as well as Munkehra, with its district, and the province of Mooltan, situated on the left bank. These countries and places are considered to be the property, and to form the estate, of the Muharaja : the Shah neither has nor will have any concern with them ; they belong to the Muharaja and his posterity from generation to generation. Article 2. — The people of the country on the other side of Khyber will not be suffered to commit robberies, or ag- gressions, or any disturbances on this side. If any defaulter of either State, who has embezzled the revenue, take refuge in the territory of the other, each party engages to surrender • him, and no person shall obstruct the passage of the stream which issues out of the Khyber defile, and supplies the fort of Futtigurh with water according to ancient usage. Article 3. ^ — As, agreeably to the treaty established be- tween the British Government and the Muharaja, no one can cross from the left to the right bank of the Sutlej without a passport from the Muharaja, the same rule shall be ob- served regarding the passage of the Indus, whose waters join the Sutlej, and no one shall be allowed to cross the Indus without the Muharaja's permission. Article 4. — Regarding Shikarpore and the territory of Scinde, on the right bank of the Indus, the Shah will agree to abide by whatever may be settled as right and proper, in conformity with the happy relations of friendship subsisting between the British Government and the Muharaja through Captain Wade. Article 5. — When the Shah shall have established his au- thority in Cabool and Candahar, he will annually send the Muharaja the following articles, viz., — 55 high-bred horses of approved color, and pleasant paces ; 1 1 Persian scimetars ; 7 Persian poignards ; 25 good mules ; fruits of various kinds, App. XXX.] TRIPARTITE TREATY. 419 both dry and fresh ; and Sir(fas or Musk melons, of a sweet and delicate flavour (to be sent throughout the year by the wajr of the Cabool river to Peshawur) ; grapes, pomegranates, apples, quinces, almonds, raisins, pistahs or chestnuts, an abundant supply of each ; as well as pieces of satin of every colour; chogas of fur; kimkhabs wrought with gold and silver; and Persian carpets, altogether to the number of 101 pieces, — all these articles the Shah wiU continue to send every year to the Muharaja. Article 6. — Each party shall address the other on terms of equality. Article 7. — Merchants of Afghanistan who may be de- sirous of trading to Lahore, Umrutsir, or any other parts of the Muharaja's possessions, shall not be stopped or molested on their way ; on the contrary, strict orders shall be issued to facilitate their intercourse, and the Muharaja engages to observe the same line of conduct on his part, in respect to traders who may wish to proceed to Afghanistan. Article 8. — The Muharaja will yearly send to the Shah the following articles in the way of friendship : — 55 pieces of shawls ; 25 pieces of muslin ; 1 1 dooputtahs ; 5 pieces of kimkhab ; 5 scarfs ; 5 turbans ; 55 loads of Bareh rice (pe- culiar to Peshawur). Article 9. — Any of the Muharaja's officers, who may be deputed to Afghanistan to purchase horses, or on any other business, as well as those who may be sent by the Shah into the Punjab, for the purpose of purchasing piece goods, or shawls, &c. to the amount of 11,000 rupees, will be treated by both sides with due attention, and every facility will be afforded to them in the execution of their commission. Article 10. — Whenever the armies of the two States may happen to be assembled at the same place, on no account ' shall the slaughter of kine be permitted to take place. Article 11. — In the event of the Shah taking an auxiliary force from the Muharaja, whatever booty may be acquired from the Barekzais in jewels, horses, arms, great and small, shall be equally divided between the two contracting parties. If the Shah should succeed in obtaining possession of their property, without the assistance of the Muharaja's troops, E E 2 420 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [App. XXX. the Shah agrees to send a portion of it by his own agent to the Muharaja in the way of friendship. Article 12. — An exchange of missions charged with letters and presents shall constantly take place between the two parties. Article 13. — Should the Muharaja require the aid of any of the Shah's troops in furtherance of the objects contem- plated by this treaty, the Shah engages to send a force com- manded by one of his principal officers : in like manner the Muharaja will furnish the Shah, when required, with an auxiliary force, composed of Mahomedans, and commanded by one of the principal officers, as far as Cabool, in further- ance of the objects contemplated by this treaty. When the Muharaja may go to Peshawur, the Shah will depute a Shahzadah to visit him, on which occasions the Muharaja will receive and dismiss him with the honor and considera- tion due to his rank and dignity. Article 14. — The friends and enemies of each of the three high powers, that is to say, the British and Sikh Govern- ments, and Shah Shooja-ool-Moolk, shall be the friends and enemies of all. Article 15. — Shah Shooja-ool-Moolk engages, after the attainment of his object, to pay without fail to the Muha- raja the sum of two laks of rupees, of the Nanukshahee or Kuldar currency, calculating from the date on which the Sikh troops may be dispatched for the purpose of reinstating his Majesty in Cabool, in consideration of the Muharaja stationing a force of not less than 5000 nien, cavalry and infantry, of^ the Mahomedan persuasion, within the limits of the Peshawur territory, for the support of the Shah, and to be sent to the aid of his Majesty, whenever the British Go- vernment, in concert and counsel with the Muharaja, shall deem their aid necessary ; and when any matter of great im- portance may arise to the westward, such measures will be adopted with regard to it as may seem expedient and proper at the time to the British and Sikh Governments. In the event of the Muharaja's requiring the aid of any of the Shah's troops, a deduction shall be made from the subsidy proportioned to the period for which such aid may be afforded. App. XXX.] TRIPARTITE TREATY. 421 and the British Government holds Itself responsible for the punctual payment of the above sum annually to the Muha- raja, so long as the provisions of this treaty are duly ob- served. Article 16. — Shah Shooja-ool-Moolk agrees to relinquish for himself, his heirs, and successors, all claims of supremacy and arrears of tribute ' over the country now held by the Ameers of Scinde, (which will continue to belong to the Ameers and their successors in perpetuity,) on condition of the payment to him by the Ameers of such a sum as may be determined under the mediation of the British Government ; 1,500,000 of rupees of such payment being made over by him to Muharaja Eunjeet Singh. On these payments being completed, article 4th of the treaty of the 12th March, 1833 *, will be considered cancelled, and the customary inter- change of letters and suitable presents between the Muha- raja and the Ameers of Scinde shall be maintained as here- tofore. Article 17. — When Shah Shooja-ool-Moolk shall have succeeded in establishing his authority in Afghanistan, he shall not attack or molest his nephew, the ruler of Herat, in the possession ©f the territories now subject to his Go- vernment. Article 18. — Shah Shooja-ool-Moolk binds himself, his I heirs, and successors, to refrain from entering into nego- tiations with any foreign State without the knowledge and consent of the British and Sikh Governments, and_tojogpqse any power having the^ design to invade the British and Sikh territories by force of arms, to the utmost of his ability. The~tliree powers, parties to this treaty, namely, the British Government, Muharaja Eunjeet Singh, and Shah Shooja-ool-Moolk, cordially agree to the foregoing articles. There shall be no deviations from them, and in that casfe the present treaty shall be considered binding for ever, and this treaty shall come into operation from and after the date on which the seals and signatures of the three contracting par- ties shall have been affixed thereto. Done at Lahore, this 26th day of June, in the year of * Between Shah Shooja and Runjeet Singh. E £ 3 422 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [App. XXXI. our Lord 1838, corresponding with the 15th of the month of Assarh 1895, era of Bikurmajeet. Ratified by the Eight Honorable the Governor General at Simla, on the 23d day of July, A. D. 1838. (Signed) Auckland. KuNJEET Singh. Shooja-ool-Moolk. APPENDIX XXXI. INDUS AND SUTLEJ TOLL AGREEMENT OP 1839. Agreement entered into with the Govei-nment of Lahore, re- garding the Duties to he levied on the Transit of Merchandize hy the Rivers Sutlej and Indus, in modification of the Sup- plementary Articles of the Treaty q/'1832. (Dated 19th May, 1839.) Objections having been urged against the levy of the same duty on a boat of a small as on one of a large size, and the merchants having solicited that the duties might be levied on the maundage, or measurement, of the boats, or on the value of the goods, it is therefore agreed, that hereafter the whole duty shall be paid at one place, and either at Loodiana, or Ferozpoor, or at Mithenkot ;- and that the duty be levied on the merchandize, and not on the boats, as follows : — Pushmeena, - - per maund 10 rupees. Opium - - - — 1\ rupees. Indigo - - - — 2^ rupees. Dried fruits - - — 1 rupee. Superior silks, muslins, broad cloth, &c. 6 annas. Inferior silks, cottons, chintzes — 4 annas. App. XXXII.] INDUS AND SITTLEJ TOLL AGREEMENT. 423 On Exports from the Punjab. Sugar, ghee, oil, drugs, ginger, saffron, and cotton - - per maund 4 annas. Madder - - _ — g annas. Grain - . . — 2 annas. On Imports from Bombay. All imports whatever, - per maund 4 annas. APPENDIX XXXII. INDUS AND SUTLEJ TOLL AGREEMENT OP 1840. Treaty between the Lahore and British Governments, regarding the levy of Transit Duties on Boats navigating the Sutlej and Indus. (Dated 27th June, 1840.) FoEMEELY a treaty was executed by the Eight Honorable Lord W. Cavendish Bentlnck, the Governor General of India, on the 14th of Poos Sumbut, 1889 (corresponding with A.D. 1832), through Colonel, then Captain Wade, con- cerning the navigation of the Sutlej and the Scinde rivers in the Khalsa territory, in concurrence with the wishes of both the friendly and allied Governments. Another treaty on the subject was subsequently executed, through the same officer, in Simbit, 1891 (corresponding with A. D. 1834), fixing a duty on every mercantile boat, independent of the quantity of its freight and the nature of its merchandize. A third treaty was executed on this subject, in accordance with the wishes of both Governments, on the arrival of Mr. Clerk, E E 4 424 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [App. XXXH. Agent to the Governor General at the Durbar, In May, 1839, adjusting the rate of duties on merchandize according to quantity and kind ; and it was also specified, that no further reduction of those rates should be proposed between the two Governments. On the visit of that gentleman to the Kh^lsa Durbar at Amrutsir, in Jith Sumbut, 1897 (corresponding with May, 1840), the difficulties and inconveniences which seemed to result to trade under the system proposed last year, in consequence of the obstruction to boats for the purpose of search, and the ignorance of traders, and the difficulty of ad- justing duties according to the different kinds of articles freighted in these boats, were all stated ; and that gentleman proposed to revise that system, by fixing a scale of duties proportionate to the measurement of boats, and not on the kind of commodities, if this arrangement should be approved of by both Governments. Having reported to his Govern- ment the circumstance of the case, he now drew up a sche- dule of the rate of duties on the mercantile boats navigating the rivers Scinde and Sutlej, and forwarded it for the con- sideration of this friendly Durbar ; the Khalsa Government, therefore, with a due regard to the established alliance, having added* a few sentences in accordance with the late treaties, and agreeably to what is already well understood, has signed and sealed the schedule ; and it shall never be liable to any contradiction, difierence, ehange, or alteration without the concurrence and consent of both Governments, in con- sideration of mutual advantages, upon condition it does not interfere with the established custom duties at Amrutsir, Lahore, and other inland places, or the other rivers in the Khalsa territory. Article 1. — Grain, wood, limestone, will be free from duty. Article 2. — With exception of the above, every commo- dity to pay duty according to the measurement of the boat. Article 3. — Duty on a boat not exceeding 50 maunds of freight proceeding from the foot of the Hills, E,ooper, or Loodiana to Mithenkot or E.ojhan, or from Kojhan or Mi- thenkot to the foot of the Hills, Kooper, 5r Loodiana, will be 50 rupees ; viz. App. XXXn.] INDUS AND SUTLEJ TOLL AGREEMENT. 425 From the foot of the Hills to Ferozepoor, or back 20 Rupees From Ferozepoor to Buh^wulpoor, or back - 15 From Buh^wulpoor to Mithenkot or Rojh^n, or back - - - - - 15 The whole trip, up or down 50 Rupees. Duty on a boat above 250 maunds, but not exceeding 500 maunds : from the foot of the Hills, Eooper, or Loodiana to Mithenkot or Rojhan, or from Eojh^n or Mithenkot to the foot of the Hills, Rooper, or Loodiana, will be 100 rupees, viz. From the foot of the HUls to Ferozepoor, or back 40 Rupees From Ferozepoor to Buhawulpoor, or back - 30 From Buhawulpoor to Mithenkot or Rojh§,n, or back - - - - - 30 The whole trip, up or down 100 Rupees. Duty on all boats above 500 maunds will be 150 rupees: viz. From the foot of the Hills to Ferozepoor, or back 60 Rupees From Ferozepoor to Buhawulpoor, or back - 45 From BuhS,wulpoor to Mithenkot or Rojhan, or back - - - - - 45 The whole trip, up or down 150 Rupees. Article 4. — Boats to be classed 1, 2, or 3, and the same to be written on the boat, and every boat to be registered. Article 5. — These duties on merchandize frequenting the Sutlej and Scinde are not to interfere with the duties on the banks of other rivers, or with the established inland custom- houses throughout the KhS,lsa territory, which will remain on their usual footing. Dated 13th Assar Sumbut, 1897, corresponding with 27th June, 1840. 426 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [App. XXXIIL APPENDIX XXXIIL DECLAEATION OF WAE OF 1845. Proclamation by the Governor General of India. Camp, Lushkuree Khan ke Serai, December 13th, 1845. The British GoTernment has ever been on terms of friend- ship with that of the Punjab, In the year 1809, a treaty of amity and concord was con- cluded between the British Government and the late Mu- haraja Runjeet Singh, the conditions of which have always been faithfully observed by the British Government, and were scrupulously fulfilled by the late Muharaja. The same friendly relations have been maintained with the successors of Muharaja Eunjeet Singh by the British Go- vernment up to the present time. Since the death of the late Muharaja Shere Singh, the disorganized state of the Lahore Government has made it incumbent on the Governor General in Council to adopt pre- cautionary measures for the protection of the British frontier : the nature of these measures, and the cause of their adop- tion, were, at the time, fully explained to the Lahore Durbar. Notwithstanding the disorganized state of the Lahore Go- vernment during the last two years, and many most un- friendly proceedings on the part of the Durbar, the Governor General in Council has continued to evince his desire to maintain the relations of amity and concord which had so long existed between the two States, for the mutual interests and happiness of both. He has shown, on every occasion, the utmost forbearance, from consideratien to the helpless state of the infant Muharaja, Dhuleep Singh, whom the British Government had recognized as the successor to the late Mu- haraja Shere Singh. App. XXXni.] DECLARATION OF WAR. 427 The Governor General in Council sincerely desired to see a strong Sikh Government reestablished in the Punjab, able to control its army, and to protect its subjects ; he had not, up to the present moment, abandoned the hope of seeing that important object effected by the patriotic efforts of the Chiefs and people of that country. The Sikh army recently marched from Lahore towards the British frontier, as it was alleged, by the orders of the Durbar, for the purpose of invading the British territory. The Governor General's agent, by direction of the Go- vernor General, demanded an explanation of this movement, and no reply being returned within a reasonable time, the demand was repeated. The Governor General, unwilling to believe in the hostile intentions of the Sikh Government, to which no provocation had been given, refrained from taking any measures which might have a tendency to embarrass the Government of the Muharaja, or to induce collision between the two States. When no reply was given to the repeated demand for explanation, while active military preparations were continued at Lahore, the Governor General considered it necessary to order the advance of troops towards the frontier, to reinforce the frontier posts. The Sikh army has now, without a shadow of provocation, invaded the British territories. The Governor General must therefore take measures for effectually protecting the British provinces, for vindicating the authority of the British Government, and for punishing the violators of treaties and the disturbers of the public peace. The Governor General hereby declares the possessions of Muharaja Dhuleep Singh, on the left or British bank of the Sutlej, confiscated and annexed to the British territories. The Governor General will respect the existing rights of all Jagheerdars, Zemindars, and tenants in the said posses- sions, who, by the course they now pursue, evince their fidelity to the British Government. The Governor General hereby calls upon all the Chiefs and Sirdars in the protected territories to co-operate cordially 428 HISTOKY OF THE SIKHS. [App. XXXIV. with the British Government for the punishment of the common enemy, and for the maintenance of order in these States. Those of the Chiefs who show alacrity and fidelity in the discharge of this duty, which they owe to the protecting power, will find their interests promoted thereby ; and those who take a contrary course will be treated as enemies to the British Government, and will be punished accordingly. The inhabitants of all the territories on the left bank of the Sutlej are hereby directed to abide peaceably in their respective villages, where they will receive efficient protec- tion by the British Government. All parties of men found in armed bands, who can give no satisfactory account of their proceedings, will be treated as disturbers of the public peace. All subjects of the British Government, and those who possess estates on both sides the river Sutlej, who, by their faithful adherence to the British Government, may be liable to sustain loss, shall be indemnified and secured in all their just rights and privileges. On the other hand, all subjects of the British Government who shall continue in the service of the Lahore State, and who disobey the proclamation by not immediately returning to their allegiance, will be liable to have their property on this side the Sutlej confiscated, and themselves declared to be aliens and enemies of the British Government. APPENDIX XXXIV. FIRST TEEATT WITH LAHORE OP 1846. Treaty between the British Government and the State of La- hore, concluded at Lahore, on March 9th, 1846. Whereas the treaty of amity and concord, which was con- cluded between the British Government and the late Muharaja App. XXXIV.] FIRST TEBATY OF 1846. 429 Runjeet Singh, the ruler of Lahore, in 1809, was broken by the unprovoked aggression on the British provinces of the Sikh army, in December last : And whereas, on that occasion, by the proclamation dated the 13th of December, the ter- ritories then in the occupation of the Muharaja of Lahore, on the left or British bank of the river Sutlej, were confis- cated and annexed to the British provinces ; and, since that time, hostile operations have been prosecuted by the two Governments, the one against the other, which have resulted in the occupation of Lahore by the British troops: And whereas it has been determined that, upon certain conditions, peace shaU be re-established between the two Governments, the following treaty of peace between the Honorable English East India Company, and Muharaja Dhuleep Singh Bahadoor, and his children, heirs, and successors, has been concluded, on the part of the Honorable Company, by Fre- derick Currie, Esq., and Brevet Major Henry Montgomery Lawrence, by virtue of full powers to that effect vested in them by the Eight Honorable Sir Henry Hardinge, G. C. B., one of Her Britannic Majesty's most Honorable Privy Coun- cil, Governor General, appointed by the Honorable Com- pany to direct and control aU their affairs in the East Indies ; and, on the part of his Highness the Muharaja Dhuleep Singh, by Bhaee Bam Singh, Raja Lai Singh, Sirdar Tej Singh, Sirdar Chutter Singh Attaree walla. Sirdar Runjore Singh Mujeetheea, Dewan Deena Nath, and Fakeer Noor-ood- deen, vested with full powers and authority on the part of his Highness. Article 1. — There shall be perpetual peace and friendship between the British Government, on the one part, and Muha- raja Dhuleep Singh, his heirs and successors, on the other. Article-2. — The Muharaja of Lahore renounces for him- self, his heirs and successors, all claim to, or connection with, the territories lying to the south of the river Sutlej, and en- gages never to have any concern with those territories, or the inhabitants thereof. Article 3. — The Muharaja cedes to the Honorable Com- pany, in perpetual sovereignty, all his forts, territories, and 430 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [App. XXXIV. rights, in the Dooab, or country, hill and plain, situate be- tween the rivers Beas and Sutlej. Article 4. — The British Government having demanded from the Lahore State, as indemnification for the expenses of the war, in addition to the cession of territory described in Article 3, payment of one and a half crores of rupees ; and the Lahore Government being unable to pay the whole of this sum at this time, or to give security satisfactory to the British Government for its eventual payment; the Muha- raja cedes to the Honorable Company, in perpetual so- vereignty, as equivalent for one crore of rupees, all his forts, territories, rights, and interests, in the hill countries which are situate between the rivers Beas and Indus, including the provinces of Cashmere and Hazarah. Article 5. — The Muharaja will pay to the British Go- vernment the sum of fifty lacs of rupees, on or before the ratification of this treaty. Article 6. — The Muharaja engages to disband the muti- nous troops of the Lahore army, taking from them their arms ; and his Highness agrees to reorganize the regular, or Aieen, regiments of infantry, upon the system, and according to the regulations as to pay and allowances, observed in the time of the late Muharaja Bunjeet Singh. The Muharaja further engages to pay up all arrears to the soldiers that are discharged under the provisions of this article. Article 7. — The regular army of the Lahore State shall henceforth be limited to 25 battalions of infantry, consisting of 800 bayonets each, with 12,000 cavalry: this number at no time to be exceeded without the concurrence of the British Government. Should it be necessary at any time, for any special cause, that this force should be increased, the cause shall be fully explained to the British' Government ; and, when the special necessity shall have passed, the regular troops shall be again reduced to the standard specified in the former clause of this article. Articles. — The Muharaja will surrender to the British ■Government all the guns, thirty-six in number, which have .been pointed against the British troops, and which, having App. XXXIV.] FIEST TREATY OF 1846. 431 / been placed on the right bank of the river Sutlej, were not captured at the battle of Sobraon. Article 9. — The control of the rivers Beas and Sutlej, with the continuations of the latter river, commonly called the Garrah and Punjnud, to the confluence of the Indus at Mlthenkot, and the control of the Indus from Mithenkot to the borders of Beloochistan, shall, in respect to tolls and ferries, rest with the British Government. The provisions of this article shall not interfere with the passage of boats belonging to the Lahore Government on the said rivers, for the purposes of traffic, or the conveyance of passengers up and down their course. Regarding the ferries between the two countries respectively, at the several ghats of the said rivers, it is agreed that the British Government, after de- fraying all the expenses of management and establishments, shall account to the Lahore Government for one half of the net profits of the ferry collections. The provisions of this article have no reference to the ferries on that part of the river Sutlej which forms the boundary of Bahdwulpore and Lahore respectively. Article 10. — If the British Government should, at any time, desire to pass troops through the territories of his High- ness the Muharaja for the protection of the British terri- tories, or those of their allies, the British troops shall, on such special occasions, due notice being given, be allowed to pass through the Lahore territories. In such case, the officers of the Lahore State will afford facilities in providing supplies and boats for the passage of rivers ; and the British Govern- ment will pay the full price of all such provisions and boats, and will make fair compensation for all private property that may be endamaged. The British Government will more- over observe all due consideration to the religious feelings of the inhabitants of those tracts through which the army may pass. / Article 11. — The Muharaja engages never to take, or [ retain, in his service, any British subject, nor the subject of any European or American State, without the consent of the \ British Government. Article 12. — In consideration of the services rendered by 432 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [App. XXXIV. Eaja Golab Singh of Jummoo to the Lahore State, to- wards procuring the restoration of the relations of amity between the Lahore and British Governments, the Muharaja hereby agrees to recognize the independent sovereignty of E.aja Golab Singh, in such territories and districts in the hills as may be made over to the said Raja Golab Singh by separate agreement between himself and the British Govern- ment, with the dependencies thereof, which may have been in the Eaja's possession since the time of the late Muha- raja Kurruk Singh : and the British Government, in consi- deration of the good conduct' of Eaja Golab Singh, also agrees to recognize his independence in such territories, and to admit him to the privileges of a separate treaty with the British Government. Article 13. — In the event of any dispute or difference arising between the Lahore State and Raja Golab Singh, the same shall be referred to the arbitration of the British Govern- ment ; and by its decision the Muharaja engages to abide. Article 14.' — The limits of the Lahore territories shall not be, at any time, changed, without the concurrence of the British Government. Article 15. — The British Government will not exercise any interference in the internal administration of the Lahore State ; but in all cases or questions which may be referred to the British Government, the Governor General will give the aid of his advice and good offices for the furtherance of the interests of the Lahore Government. Article 16. — The subjects of either State shall, on visit- ing the territories of the other, be on the footing of the sub- jects of the most favored nation. This treaty, consisting of sixteen articles, has been this day settled by Frederick Currie, Esq., and Brevet Major Henry Montgomery Lawrence, acting under the directions of the Eight Honorable Sir Henry Hardinge, G. C. B., Governor General, on the part of the British Government ; and by Bhaee Ram Singh, Raja Lai Singh, Sirdar Tej Singh, Sirdar Chutter Singh Attareewalla, Sirdar Runjore Singh Mujeetheea, Dewan Deena Nath, and Fakeer Noor-ood-deen, on the part of the Muharaja Dhuleep Singh ; and the said App. XXXV.] SUPPLEMENTARY ARTICLES. 433 treaty has been this day ratified by the seal of the Right Honorable Sir Henry Hardinge, Gr. C. B., Governor Ge- neral, and by that of his Highness Muharaja Dhuleep Singh. Done at Lahore, this 9th day of March, in the year of our Lord 1846, corresponding with the 10th day of Eubbee- ool-awul, 1262, Hijree, and ratified on the same day. APPENDIX XXXV. SUPPLEMENTARY ARTICLES TO FIRST TREATY WITH LAHORE OP 1846. Articles of Agreement concluded between the British Govern- ment and the Lahore Durbar, on the Wth of March, 1846. Whereas the Lahore Government has solicited the Governor General to leave a British force at Lahore, for the protec- tion of the Muharaja's person and of the capital, till the re- organization of the Lahore army, according to the provisions of article 6 of the treaty of Lahore, dated the 9th instant : And whereas the Governor General has, on certain condi- tions, consented to the measure : And whereas it is expedient that certain matters concerning the territories ceded by articles 3 and 4 of the aforesaid treaty should be speci- fically determined ; the following eight articles of agreement have this day been concluded between the afore-mentioned contracting parties. Article 1. — The British Government shall leave at La- hore, till the close of the current year, A. D. 1846, such force as shall seem to the Governor General adequate for the pur- pose of protecting the person of the Muharaja, and the in- habitants of the city of Lahore, during the reorganization 434 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [App. XXXV, of the Sikh army, in accordance with the provisions of article 6 of the treaty! of Lahore ; that force to be withdrawn at any convenient time before the expiration of the year, if the object to be fulfilled shall, in the opinion of the Durbar, have been obtained ; but the force shall not be detained at Lahore beyond the expiration of the current year. Article 2. — The Lahore Government agrees that the force left at Lahore, for the purpose specified in the foregoing article, shall be placed in full possession of the fort and the city of Lahore, and that the Lahore troops shall be removed from within the city. The Lahore Government engages to furnish convenient quarters for the officers and men of the said force, and to pay to the British Government all the extra expences, in regard to the said force, which may be incurred by the British Government, in consequence of their troops being employed away from their own cantonments, and in a foreign territory. Article 3. — The Lahore Government engages to apply itself immediately and earnestly to the reorganization of its army, according to the prescribed conditions, and to commu- nicate fully with the British authorities left at Lahore, as to the progress of such reorganization, and as tathe location of the troops. Article 4. — If the Lahore Government fails in the per- formance of the conditions of the foregoing article, the Bri- tish Government shall be at liberty to withdraw the force from Lahore, at any time before the expiration of the period specified in article 1. Article 5. — The British Government agrees to respect the bona fide rights of those Jagheerdars within the territories ceded by articles 3 and 4 of the treaty of Lahore, dated 9th instant, who were attached to the families of the late Muha- raja Eunjeet Singh, Kurruk Singh, and Shere Singh ; and the British Government will maintain those Jagheerdars in their bona fide possessions, during their lives. Article 6. — The Lahore Government shall receive the assistance of the British local authorities in recovering the arrears of revenue justly due to the Lahore Government from their Kardars and managers In the territories ceded by the App.XXXVT.] treaty with GOLAB SINGH. 435 provisions of articles 3 and 4 of the treaty of Lahore, to the close of the Khureef harvest of the current year, viz. 1902, of the Sumbut Bikramajeet. Article 7. — The Lahore Government shall be at liberty to remove from the forts in the territories specified in the foregoing article, all treasure and state property, with the exception of guns. Should, however, the British Govern- ment desire to retain any part of the said property, they shall be at liberty to do so, paying for the same at a fair valuation ; and the British officers shall give their assistance to the La- hore Government, in disposing on the spot of such part of the aforesaid property as the Lahore Government may not wish to remove, and the British officers may not desire to retain. Article 8. — Commissioners shall be immediately appointed by the two Governments, to settle and lay down the boundary between the two States, as defined by article 4 of the treaty of Lahore, dated March 9th, 1846. APPENDIX XXXVL TREATY WITH GOLAB SINGH OF 1846. Treaty between the British Government and Muharaja Golab Singh, concluded at Umrutsir, on March \Qth, 1846. Treaty between the British Government on the one part, and Muharaja Golab Singh of Jummoo on the other, con- cluded, on the part of the British Government, by Frederick Currie, Esq., and Brevet Major Henry Montgomery Law- rence, acting under the orders of the Right Honorable Sir Henry Hardinge, G. C. B., one of Her Britannic Majesty's most Honorable Privy Council, Governor General, ap- F F 2 436 HISTORY OS" THE SIKHS. [App. XXXVI. pointed by the Honorable Company to direct and control all their affairs in the East Indies, and by Muharaja Golab Singh in person. Article 1. — The British Government transfers and makes over, for ever, in independent possession, to Muharaja Golab Singh, and the heirs male of his body, all the hilly or moun- tainous country, with its dependencies, situated to the east- ward of the river Indus, and westward of the river Kavee, including Chumba and excluding Lahool, being part of the territory ceded to the British Government by the Lahore State, according to the provisions of article 4 of the treaty of Lahore, dated March 9th, 1846. Article 2. — The eastern boundary of the tract transferred by the foregoing article to Muharaja Golab Singh shall be laid down by commissioners appointed by the British Govern- ment and Muharaja Golab Singh respectively, for that pur- pose, and shall be defined in a separate engagement, after survey. Article 3. — In consideration of the transfer made to him and his heirs by the provisions of the foregoing articles, Mu- haraja Golab Singh will pay to the British Government the sum of seventy-five lacs of rupees (Nanukshahee), fifty lacs to be paid on ratification of this treaty, and twenty-five lacs on or before the 1st of October of the current year, a.d. 1846. Article 4. — The limits of the territories of Muharaja Golab Singh shall not be at any time changed without the concurrence of the British Government. Article 5. — Muharaja Golab Singh will refer to the arbitration of the British Government any disputes or ques- tions that may arise between himself and the Government of Lahore, or any other neighbouring State, and will abide by the decision of the British Government. Article 6. — Muharaja Golab Singh engages for himself and heirs, to join, with the whole of his military force, the British troops, when employed within the hills, or in the ter- ritories adjoining his possessions. Article 7. — Muharaja Golab Singh engages never to take, or retain, in his service any British subject, nor the subject App. XXXVn.] SECOND TREATY OF 1846. 437 of any European or American State, without the consent of the British Government. Article 8. — Muharaja Golab Singh engages to respect, in regard to the territory transferred to him, the provisions of articles 5, 6, and 7, of the separate engagement between the British Government and the Lahore Durbar, dated March 1 1th, 1846. Article 9. — The British Government will give its aid to Muharaja Golab Singh,- in protecting his territories from external enemies. Article 10. — Muharaja Golab Singh acknowledges the supremacy of the British Government, and will, in token of such supremacy, present annually to the British Government one horse, twelve perfect shawl goats of approved breed (six male, and six female), and three pairs of Cashmere shawls. This treaty, consisting of ten articles, has been this day settled by Frederick Currie, Esq., and Brevet Major Henry Montgomery Lawrence, acting under the directions of the Eight Honorable Sir Henry Hardinge, G. C. B., Governor General, on the part of the British Government, and by Mu- haraja Golab Singh in person ; and the said treaty has been this day ratified by the seal of the Right Honorable Sir Henry Hardinge, G. C. B., Governor General. Done at Umrutsir, this 16th day of March, in the year of our Lord 1846, corresponding with the 17th day of Rubbee- ool-awul, 1262, Hijree. APPENDIX XXXVII. SECOND TEEATT WITH LAHORE OF 1846. Foreign Department, Camp, Bhyrowal Ghat, on the left Bank of the Beas, the 22d December, 1846. The late Governor of Cashmere, on the part of the Lahore State, Sheik Imam Ooddeen, having resisted by force of arms F F 3 438 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [App. XXXVn. the occupation of the province of Cashmere by Muharaja Golab Singh, the Lahore Government was called upon to coerce their subject, and to make over the province to the representative of the British Government, in fulfilment of the conditions of the treaty of Lahore, dated 9th March, 1846. A British force was employed to support and aid, if neces- sary, the combined forces of the Lahore State and Muharaja Golab Singh in the above operations. Sheik Imam Ooddeen intimated to the British Govern- ment that he was acting under orders received from the La- hore Durbar in the course he was pursuing ; and stated that the insurrection had been instigated by written instructions received by him from the Vizier Raja Lall Singh. Sheik Imam Ooddeen surrendered to the British agent on a guarantee from that officer, that if the Sheik could, as he asserted, prove that his acts were in accordance with his in- structions, and that the opposition was instigated by the Lahore minister, the Durbar should not be permitted to in- flict upon him, either in his person or his property, any penalty on account of his conduct on this occasion. The British agent pledged his Government to a full and impar- tial investigation of the matter. A public inquiry was instituted into the facts adduced by Sbeik Imam Ooddeen, and it was fully established that Baja Lall Singh did secretly instigate the Sheik to oppose the occu- pation by Muharaja Golab Singh of the province of Cashmere. TheGovernor General immediately demanded that the ministers and Chiefs of the LS&ore State should depose and \ exile to the British provinces the Vizier Baja Lall Singh. His Lordship consented to accept the deposition of Eaja Lall Singh as an atonement for the attempt to infringe the treaty by the secret intrigues and machinations of the Vizier. It was not proved that the other members of the Durbar had cognizance of the Vizier's proceedings; and the conduct of the Sirdars, and of the Sikh army in the late operations for quelling the Cashmere insurrection, and removing the ob- stacles to the fulfilment of the treaty, proved that the crimi- nality of the Vizier was not participated in by the Sikh nation. App. XXXVn.] SECOND TREATY OF 1846. 439 The Ministers and Chiefs unanimously decreed, and carried into immediate effect, the deposition of the Vizier. After a few days' deliberations, relative to the means of forming a government at Lahore, the remaining members of the Durbar, In concert with all the Sirdars and Chiefs of the State, solicited the Interference and aid of the British Govern- ment for the maintenance of an administration, and the pro- tection of the MuEaraja Dhuleep Singh during the minority I orhii Hlghnesi^ ""This solicitation by the Durbar and Chiefs has led to the temporary modification of the relations between the British Government and that of Lahore, established by the treaty of the 9th March of the present year. The terms and conditions of this modification are set forth in the following articles of agreement. Articles of Agreement concluded between the British Govern- ment and the Lahore Durbar on \Qth December, 1846, Whereas the Lahore Durbar and the principal Chiefs and Sirdars of the State have, In express terms, communicated to the British Government their anxious desire that the Gover- nor General should give his aid and his assistance to maintain the administration of the Lahore State during the minority of Muharaja Dhuleep Singh, and have declared this measure to be Indispensable for the maintenance of the government : And whereas the Governor General has, under certain con- ditions, consented to give the aid and assistance solicited, the following articles of agreement, in modification of the articles of agreement executed at Lahore on the 11th March last, have been concluded, on the part of the British Government, by Frederick Currie, Esq., Secretary to the Government of India, and Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Montgomery Law- rence, C. B., agent to the Governor General, North West Frontier, by virtue of full powers to that effect vested in them by the Eight Honorable Viscount Hardlnge, G. C. B., Go- vernor General, and on the part of his Highness Muharaja Dhuleep Singh, by Sirdar Tej Singh, Sirdar Shere Singh, Dewan Deena Nath, Fakeer Noor-ood-deen, Race KisheH F F 4 440 HISTOBY OF THE SIKHS. [App. XXXVIL Chund, Sirdar Eunjore Singh Mujeetheea, Sirdar Utter SingK Kaleewalla, Bhaee Nidhan Singh, Sirdar Khan Singh Mujee- theea, Sirdar Shumshere Singh, Sirdar Lall Singh Morarea, Sirdar Kher Singh Sindhan walla, Sirdar Urjun Singh Rungr- nungleea, acting with the unanimous consent and concur- rence of the Chiefs and Sirdars of the State assembled at Lahore. Article 1. — All and every part of the treaty of peace between the British Government and the State of Lahore, bearing date the 9th day of March, 1846, except in so far as it may be temporarily modified in respect to clause 15 of the said treaty by this engagement, shall remain binding upon the two Governments. Article 2. — A British officer, with an efiicient establish- ment of assistants, shall be appointed by the Governor General to remain at Lahore, which officer shall have full authority to direct and control all matters in every department of the State. Article 3. — Every attention shall be paid, in conducting the administration to the feelings of the people, to preserving the national institutions and customs, and to maintain the just rights of all classes. Article 4. — Changes in the mode and details of adminis- tration shall not be made, except when found necessary for efiecting the objects set forth in the foregoing clause, and for securing the just dues of the Lahore Government. These details shaU be conducted by native officers, as at present, who shall be appointed and superintended by a Council of Re- gency, composed of leading Chiefs and Sirdars, acting under the control and guida.nce of the British Resident, Article 5. — The following persons shall in the first in- stance constitute the Council of Regency, viz.j — Sirdar Tej Singh, Sirdar Shere Singh Attareewalla, Dewan Deena Nath, Fakeer Noor-ood-deen, Sirdar Runjore Singh Mujeetheea, Bhaee Nidh§,n Singh, Sirdar Utter Singh Kaleewalla, Sirdar Shumshere_Sin^h Sindhanwalla; and no change shall be made in the persons thus nominated, without the consent of the British Resident, acting under the orders of the Governor General. App. XXXVn.] SECOND TEEATY OF 1846. 441 Article 6. — The administration of the country shall be conducted by this Council of Regency in such manner as may be determined on by themselves in consultation with the British Resident, who shall have full authority to direct and control the duties of every department. Article 7. — A British force, of such strength and num- bers, and in such positions, as the Governor General may think fit, shall remain at Lahore for the protection of the Muharaja, and the preservation of the peace of the country. Article 8. — The Governor General shall be at liberty to occupy vpith British soldiers any fort or military post in the Lahore territories, the occupation of which may be deemed necessary by the British Government for the security of the capital, or for maintaining the peace of the country. Article 9. — The Lahore State shall pay to the British Government twenty-two lacs of new Nanukshahee rupees of full tale and weight per annum, for the maintenance of this force, and to meet the expenses incurred by the British Government; such sum to be paid by two instalments, or 13 lacs and 20,000 in May or June, and 8 lacs and 80,000 in November or December of each year. Article 10, — Inasmuch as it is fitting that her Highness the Muharanee, the mother of Muharaja Dhuleep Singh, should have a proper provision made for the maintenance of herself and dependents, the sum of 1 lac and 50,000 rupees shall be set apart annually for that purpose, and shall be at her Highness's disposal. Article 11. — The provisions of this engagement shall have effect during the minority of his Highness Muharaja Dhu- leep Singh, and shall cease and terminate on his Hjghaess attaining the fulljige of 16 years^or on the 4th September oQ he yiarl854 ; but itshall be competent to the Governor General to cause the arrangement to cease, at any period prior to the coming of age of his Highness, at which the Governor General and the Lahore Durbar may be satisfied that the interposition of the British Government is no longer necessary for maintaining the government of his Highness the Muharaja. 442 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. [App. XXXVIH. This agreement, consisting of eleven articles, was settled and executed at Lahore, by the officers and Chiefs and Sirdars above named, on the 16th day of December, 1846. APPENDIX XXXYIIL REVENUES OF THE PUNJAB, AS ESTIMATED IN 1844. TRIBUTARY STATES. Belaspoor. Tribute, 10,000. Under Lehna Rupees. Rupees. Singh ------- 70,000 Sooket. Do. 25,000. Do. 70,000 Chumba. Not known. JJnder Golab Singh - 2,00,000 Rajaoree. Do. Do. 1,00,000 Ludakh. Tribute, 42,000. Do. 1,00,000 Iskardo. Do. 7,000. Do. 25,000 5,65,000 Note. — ^All of these States, excepting Belas- poor, may be regarded rather as farms held by the Chiefs than as tributary principalities ; and, ordinarily, all the resources of the Chiefs being at the disposal of the government re- presentative, the probable revenues have therefore been entered in full, instead of the mere pecuniary payment. LAND REVENUE. Farms. Mundee. Farm with the Raja of Mundee, who was allowed one lakh out of the four for his expenses ----- 4,00,000 Kooloo. The members of the family had pen- sions - . - .... 1,20,000 Juswan. The family had a Jagheer 1,25,000 Kanggra. Do. not included in the farm -----. 6,00,000 Kotlehr. The family had a Jagheer 25,000 Carried forward - - . . 12,70,000 5,65,000 App. XXXVIII.] KEVENUBS OE THE PUNJAB. 443 Land Revenue — Farms (contimied). Brought forward .... Seeba. The family may almost be regarded as Jagheerdars for the whole estate : they served with horse ..... Noorpoor. The family had a Jagheer - Hurreepoor. Do. Dutarpoor. Do. Kotluh. Do. Note. — The above were all under Lehna Singh Mujeetheea. Bissohlee. Family at large : was held by Kaja Heera Singh ..... Cashmeer. Shekh Gholam Moheiooddeen : Contract - 21,00,000 Troops . - 5,00,000 Assignments . 4,00,000 Rupees. Chutch Huzara and Pukhlee- Dhumtowr. Mozufferabad, &c. (Under Cashmeer.) The Mozuiferabad Chief a Jagheerdar Raja Golab Singh. The Gundghur and Turnowlee Chiefs have Jagheers; but they are almost indepen- dent freebooters Rawil Pindee. Deewan Hakim Raee Hussun Abdal, fDeewan Mool Raj: hel Khatir, and i lately held Chutch Huzara >■ Ghehpee. [ ^1^° - ■ " "J Dhunnee, Kutass, 1 ■r>„.„ ri„i„i, o- andChukkowaip^J^^°^''^S'"g " " Peshawur. Sirdar Tej Singh. The Barukzaees have Jagheers ..... Tank-Bunnoo. Deewan Dowlut Raee. The Chief fled ; his brother a Jagheer - Dera Ismaeel Khan. Deewan Dowlut Raee. Chief a Jagheer ..... Mool tan, Dera Ghazee"! Khan, Munkehra. J Contract . . 36,00,000 Troops . . 7,00,000 Assignments, &c. 2,00,000 Ramnuggur, &c. Deewan Sawun MuU - Mitta Towana. The late Dhian Singh . Bhereh Khooshab. Raja Golab Singh - Pind Dadul Khan. Do. Goojrat. Do. Viizeerabad, &c. The late Soochet Singh Seealkot. Raja Golab Singh . . . Carried forward - Deewan Sawtm Mull Rupees. 12,70,000 5,65,000 20,000 3,00,000 1,00,000 50,000 20,000 75,000 30,00,000 1,00,000 1,50,000 1,00,000 1,00,000 1,00,000 10,00,000 2,50,000 4,50,000 45,00,000 3,00,000 1,00,000 1,00,000 50,000 3,00,000 9,00,000 50,000 - 1,33,85,000 5,65,000 444 HISTORY OP THE SIKHS. [App, XXXVUI. Land Kevbnde — Farms {continued). Brought forward - - - - Jalundhur Dooab. Shekh Emamooddeen Shekhoopoora, &c. Shekh Emamooddeen Cis Sutlej farms -.-..- Miscellaneous farms in the Punjab Beligious Cfrants. Heldby"Sodhees" Heldby "Behdees" Miscellaneous ; viz. Akalees, Eukeers, Brah- mins, and the lands attached to Amritsir, &c. &c. Hill Jagheers of the Jummoo Rajas. Jesrota, &e. Heera Singh. The Chief a Jagheer Pader, and other dis- "1 ri i v o- i. tricis of Chumba. } _^°^^^ ^'"S"^ " _ ' Bhudurwah. Golab Singh (in Jagheer with uncle of Chumba Kaj a) - - - - Mankot. The late Soochet Singh. Family a Jagheer ---... Bhuddoo. Do. Do. - Bundralta. Do. Do. - Chuneinee (Ram^ nuggur). Jummoo and f Golab Singh. Families mo itly Reeassee. \ refugees - Samba. The late Soochet Singh. Family ex- tinct or fled ------ Kishtwar. Golab Singh. Family refugees Ukhnoor, including f Chukkana, with] Golab Singh. Family a "1 Kesree Singh's j Jagheer. J family ( Bhimbur. The late Dhian Singh. Some mem- bers of family Jagheers ; others refugees - The Chibh-Bhow tribes. The late Dhian Singh. Family Jagheers ----- Kotlee. The late Dhian Singh. Fam. Jagheers Soonutch. Do. Family perhaps refugees ------ DanguUee, Khanpoor, &c. Golab Singh. Some members of family Jagheers ; others pri- soners ; others refugees - - - - Total — HillJagheers - Carried forward - . . . ■ Golab Singh. Do. '■} Rupees. 1,33,85,000 22,00,000 2,50,000 6,50,000 15,00,000 Rupees. 5,00,000 4,00,000 11,00,000 1,25,000 1,00,000 50,000 50,000 50,000 1,25,000 30,000 4,00,000 40,000 1,50,000 50,000 1,50,000 1,00,000 30,000 ro,ooo 1,00,000 5,65,000 1,79,85,000 16,20,000 20,00,000 16,20,000 2,05,50,000 App. XXXVni.] BBVENUES OF THE PUNJAB. 445 Land KEVENrE — JagJieers. Brought forward . - - . Various Jagheers held by the Jummoo Rajas (in the plains) . - . . . Tlie Kanggra Rajas (Runbeer Chund, &c.) Sirdar Lehna Singh Mujeetheea ... Sirdar Nihal Singh Alhoowaleea - - - Sirdar Kishen Singh (son of Jemadar Khooshal Singh) Sirdar Tej Singh Sirdars Sham Singh and Chutter Singh Attaree- wallas - . - Sirdar Shumsher Singh Sindhanwala Sirdar Urjoon Singh, and other sons of Hurree Singh ---.--. Konwur Peshawura Singh . . - - Konwur Tara Singh - - . . . Sirdar Jowahir Singh (uncle of Dhuleep Singh) Sirdar Munggul Singh - - - . - Sirdar Futteh Singh Man .... Sirdar Uttur Singh Kaleeanwala ... Sirdar Hookum Singh Mulwaee ... Sirdar Behla Singh Mokul - - . - Sirdars Sooltan Mahomed, Syed Mahomed, and Peer Mahomed Khans .... Sirdar Jumalooddeen Khan .... Shekh Gholam Moheeooddeen ... Fukeer Uzeezooddeen and his brothers - Deewan Sawun Mull ..... Miscellaneous ...... /: CLFSTOMS, &c. Salt Mines. Raja Golab Singh ... Town Duties. Amritsir. The late Dhian Singh Do. Lahore. Do. Miscellaneous Town Duties - . . - " Abkaree " (Excise), &c. &c. Lahore - Transit Duties. Loodiana to Peshawur . "Mohurana" (Stamps) . . . . Total Rupees. 16,20,000 5,00,000 1,00,000 3,50,000 9,00,000 1,20,000 60,000 1,20,000 15,000 15,000 5,000 20,000 50,000 50,000 50,000 50,000 50,000 50,000 1,50,000 1,00,000 30,000 1,00,000 20,000 50,00,000 8,00,000 5,50,000 1,50,000 1,00,000 50,000 5,00,000 2,50,000 Rupees. 2,05,50,000 95,25,000 24,00,000 3,24,75,000 446 HISTORY OP THE SIKHS. [App. XXXIX. RECAPITULATION. Land Kevence : — Tributary States Farms Eleemosynary Jagheers CnsTOMS, &c. Total Rapees, 5,65,000 - 1,79,85,000 - 20,00,000 - 95,25,000 - 24,00,000 - 3,24,75,000 ^ itCtJS~0^ S^^tHJ^--^ APPENDIX XXXIX. THE AEMT OP LAHOEB, AS EECOEDED IN 1844. ^ "S°- The Regular Army. ^1 Heavj Gun>. (2 2 ■^•s. Commandants of Corps. Description or Race of Men. St? 5t ^1 Field Garri- son. Sirdar Tej Singh - Sikhs . . - . 4 1 10 Gen. Pertab Singh Puttee- wala. Gen. Jowala Singh - Sikhs ... - 3 Inf. Sikhs; Art. Sikhs 2 4 and Mahometans. Shekh Emamooddeen Mahometans 3 4 Sirdar Lehna Singh Mu- Infantry, Sikhs ; Guns, 2 10 3 2 jeetheea. chieHy Sikhs. Gen. Bishen Singh - Mahometans ; a few Sikhs 2 3 Gen. Golab Singh Pohoo- 3 Mahometans ; Guns, 3* 14 vindheea. Sikhs and Mahometans Gen. Mehtab Singh Mu- Inf. Sikhs; Cav. mixed; 4 1 12 jeetheea. Art. Sikhs and Mah. Gen. Goordut Singh Mu- r Inf. chiefly Sikhs ; " 3 jeetheea. 1 Guns, S. and M. Col. John Holmes Formerly under Gen. |_ Court. J 1 10 Gen. Dhowkul Singh Hindoostanees ; a few Sikhs. 2 Colonel Cortlandt (dis- Inf. Sikhs and Hind. ; 2 10 charged). Guns, Sikhs and Mah. Shekh Gholam Moheiood- Inf. Sikhs? Guns, Sikhs 1 6 8 deen. and Mahometans. Carriec forward 32 2 83 11 2 Shekh Emamooddeen subsequently raised a fourth regiment. App. XXXIX.] THE ARMY OF LAHORE. Abmt or Lahobe, (continued). 447 The Regular Army, &s 4 -& Heavy Guns. \ 1.1 ^1 11 ^1 Commandants of Corps. Description or Race of Men. Field. Garri- son. Brought forward - 32 2 83 11 2 Deewan Adjoodheea Per- Inf. Sikhs; Art. Sikhs 4 2 12 22 shad; Guns under Ila- and Mahometans ( Gen. hee Bukhsh, General - Ventura). Gen. Golab Singh Cal- Sikhs 4 1 16 cuttawala (deceased). 'Deewan Jodha Ram Sikhs, Mahom., Hill men (Gen. Avitabile). 4 1 12 3 Gen. Kanh Singh Man - Sikhs and Mahometans - 4 10 Sirdar Nehal Singh Al- Inf. Sikhs and Mahom. ; 1 4 11 hoowaleea. Art. chiefly Mahom. - Deewan Sawun Mull Mahom. and some Sikhs 3 6 40 Raja Heera Singh - Hill men, some Mah., &e. 2 1 3 5 Raja Golah Singh - Do. » Do. 3 IS 40 Raja Soocbet Singh (dec.) Do. Do. 2 1 4 10 Capt. Kooldeep Singh Goorkhas 1 Commandant Bhag Singh Sikhs and Mahometans 6 Commandant Sheo Fersbad Do. Do. 8 Misser Lai Singh - Dd. Do. 10 Sirdar Kishen Singh Mah. and Hindoostanees 2 Gen. Kishen Singh - Sikhs and Mahometans - 22 Sirdar Sham Singh Attaree- Do. Do. 10 walla. Meean Pirthee Singh Chiefly Mahometans 56 Gen. Mehwa Singh Sikhs and Mahometans - 10 10 Col. Ameer Chund Chiefly Mahometans 10 Commandant Muzbur Alee Mah. and Hindoostanees 10 Jowahir Mull Mistree Mahometans ; a few 20 12 (Lahore). Sikhs. Commandant Sookhoo Sikhs, and some Hindoos- 10 Singh (Amritsir). tanees. Miscellan. Garrison Guns 50 60 8 228 156 171 Abstract of the whole Army. Sixty Regiments Infantry, at 700 - Kamghols, Akalees . - - lireg. Levies, Garrison Companies, &c. Eight Regiments Cavalry, at 600 - " Ghorchucras " (Horse) Jagheerdaree Horse . . - Field Artillery . - - - 42,000 5,000 45,000 4,800 12,000 15,000 92,000 Infantry. 31,800 Cavalry. 384 Guns. ■=■2 "/Si IE 2S n ' X l-H P bq o'S, II .s s .S SiS •ai •p ■a J ■a q in s .i^ s rt .a s 6 s ^ .y> nq SB U « H H X H Hi M I— I ft I?; p-t s Q SB ■ j.Sw m^ .=q _M 3. t i •9 1 Devee e protect tales. 'S >er Dev. efusees in tJ Sikh S a •s — 1 I f I,"? • 1 G G INDEX. Abdooi. Gheias Khan, son of Jubbar Khan, sent to Loodiana, 21S. Use attempted to be made of him, 214, and note. Abdool Summud Khan defeats the Sikhs, 85. Their conduct under his rule, 90. Adee Grunt'h, compilation of the, by Arjoon, 49. Its mention of English- men, 125. note. Its composition and extent, 367, 368. Synopsis of its contents, 368—371. The Book of Govind, 372. Synopsis of its con- tents, 373 — 376. Extracts exhibit- ing points of belief and practice, . 377-391. Adeena Beg Khan enters Munnoo's service, 93. and note. His equi- vocal conduct ; he defeats and paci- fies the Sikhs, 95. Becomes nomi- nal ruler of the Punjab, 96. His contest with Tymoor, 97. and note. He invites aid from the Mahrattas ; his death, 98. Afghans, localities peopled by the, 6. Their characteristics, IS. Their con- tests with the Sikhs. See "Ahmed Shah." Their treatment by their Sikh conquerors, 103. Their battle with the Sikhs at Jumrood, 216, 217. and note. Reasons why trade cannot yet be extended among them, 234. and Jiote. Afreedees, the race of, 6. Agneekoolas, origin of the, 20. note. Localities now peopled by tbem, ib. Ahmed Shah Abdalee, result of his firpt invasion of India, 92. His second in- vasion and treaty with Munnoo, 94. His third invasion and conquest of Munnoo, 95. His proceedings on his fourth invasion, 96. Expulsion of his agent from Delhi, 97. His fifth expedition and victory at Pa. neeput, 9Sl, 99. His sixth invasion, 100. His excesses at Amritsir, 101. His seventh expedition and speedy return, 102, 103. His last expedi- tion; its failure, 112. Ahmed Shah of Bailee disinherits his eldest son, 247. Advantage taken of the incident by Zorawur Singh, 248. Ahmed Shah Ghazee. See " Syed Ahmed Shah." Ajeet Singh chosen to command against the Jummoo Bajas, 235. He escapes from Lahore, 241. He assassinates Sher Singh and Dhian Singh, 262. His death, 263. Akalees, the order of, 109. Their enthusiasm and asceticism, 110, Anecdote of one of them, ib. note. Akamnath, anecdote of, 35. note. Akber, 47, 48. His character, 72. His wise system, 73. and note. Akber Khan, 258. Aleewal, Battle of, 312—315. Alha Singh taken prisoner and en- nobled by Ahmed Shah, 101. Ahmed's recognition of his autho- rity, 103. Alhoowaleeas, the, 106. Their rank among the Misls, J 07. Their pos- sessions, 108. AUard, General, 173. 177. 193. 196. note. Dissatisfaction of the English at his proceedings, 218. His pre- sumed motives and objects, 219. note. Alum (Shah) seeks an alliance witli the English, 98. Nominates Sindhia his vicegerent, 121. Gholam Qadir's atrocity towards him, ii. Restoration of his authority, 127. Ameer Khan put to flight by Lord Lake, 128. Anecdote related by him, ib. note. Attempts to gain over Runjeet Singh, 129. Joins in Holkar's renewed incursion, 132. Amherst, Lord, receives a mission from Runjeet Singh, 187. INDEX. 451 Amritsir, the commercial emporium of northern India, 3. Its founda- tion by Ram Das, 48. and note. Its elevation into the " holy city " of the Sikhs, 48, 49. Its desecration and destruction by Tymoor, 97. Its restoration, 100. Pollution of its temples by Ahmed Shah, 101. Reassemblage of the Sikhs within its walls, 103. Appa Sahib's futile designs, 167. His death, 168. Arabic language; its advantages as an educational adjunct, 363, 364. Arabs, early incursions of the, into India little felt, 28. Their services in the cause of science, 31. note. Contrast of the views of Whewell and Humboldt thereon, 32. note. Arjoon succeeds Ram Das ; he grasps Nanuk's ideas, and makes Amritsir the " holy city " of the Sikhs, 48. Compiles the Adee Grunt'h, levies taxes, and engages in commerce, 49. Chundoo Shah's enmity towards him ; his imprisonment and death; and legend connected therewith, 50, 51. and note. Struggles for the vacant Goorooship, 52. Extent of his re- forms, 87. Traditionary anecdote of his wife, 356. Artillery, English victories in India attributed to, 175. Superiority of the Sikh cannon at P'herooshuhur, 304, 305. notes. Asceticism inculcated amongst the Sikhs, 382. Asofooddowla invites Shah Zuman to enter India, 119. See also 120, 121. note. Attok; its rice, wheat, dyes, drugs &c., 4. Auckland, Lord, visits Runjeet Singh, 226. Expressive interchange of compliments on the occasion, li. note. His reply to Mr. Clerk, 229. note. Degree of merit attaching to portions of his policy, 258. note. His additions to the forces in the Punjab, 286. note. Aurungzeb; his significant mode of deciding on Hurkishen's succes- sion to the Goorooship; he puts Gooroo Tegh Buhadur to death, 62, 63. Probable cause of his so acting, 63. note. His character, 72. State of his empire, 72, 73. His G proceedings against Govind, 76. Govind's replies to his summons, 78. His death, ih. His genius as a ruler, 89. Avitabile, General, 173. 177. His perilous position amongst the Sikh soldiers, 241. His apprehensions of Major Broadfoot's doings, 245. His urgent desire for relief, 251. His notions of Sikh prowess, 253, note. He aids the British in Caubul, 254. Awans, the, >6. Ayoob ( Shah) proclaimed by Mahomed Arzeem Khan, 160. Is a mere cypher, 165. Barukzaees and Baruksaee Brothers. Hee " Dost Mahomed," " Futteh Khan," " Jubbar Khan," " Mahomed Azeem," " Sooltan Mahomed," " Yar Mahomed." Bayezeed Khan, opposes the Sikhs i mode of his death, 85. Beekaree Khan, put to death by Munnoo's widow, and why, 96. note. Beer Singh, ex- Raja of Noorpoor, ex- cites Runjeet Singh's apprehensions, 168. Is subsequently imprisoned, 169. note. Beer Singh (the Bhaee), great repute of, as a . devotee, 264. He joins Uttur Singh's insurrection. Is slain, 267. Belotches, the, 6. Their habits and dispositions 14. Their recent mi- grations, 17. Bentinck, Lord William, receives a complimentary mission from Run- jeet Singh, 195. Diplomacy on the occasion, 195, 196. Meetings of his Lordship and Runjeet Singh, and their object, 196. 197. Their negotiations respecting the naviga- tion of the Indus, 197, 198. Bhaee, signification of the term, SO. n. Bhag Singh tenders his allegiance to the English, 127. Receives Lord Lake's thanks, 128. Again joins his Lordship ; influence of his con- duct on Runjeet Singh's proceed- ings, 129. Is substantially rewarded by the British, 130. and note. Bheem Chund joined in rebellion by Govind, 75. Bhopal, the principality of, how found- ed, 18. note. G 2 %^ 452 INDEX. Bhotees, the, 7. Bhung, composition and properties of, 106. and note Bhungga Singh tenders his services to the English, 127. Bbuttees, or Bhatees, localities peo- pled by them, 6. Ancient supre- macy of the tribe, 7. Boodh Singh Sindhanwala repulses Syed Ahmed Shah, 192. Boodhism degenerate in modern times, yet strong to resist innova- tion, 1 1. Progressive in some parts of the Himalaya, 18. Its origin and early contemporaneity with Brahminism, 20,21. notes. Triumph of the latter, 23. Its reaction on Brahminism, 25. Its philosophical system, 349. Boloo Mull, the learned Kshutree, 15. note. Brahmins and Brahminism. — Position of the Brahmins in Cashmeer, 10. Secluded races disregarded by them, ib. Degeneration of their faith into a social custom, II. Increase of its influence in certain localities, 1 8. Seceders from Brah- minism, ih. Its contests with Boodhism, 20. and notes. Its achievements and characteristics, iil, 22. Its ultimate triumph over Boodhism, 3S. Deteriorating con- sequences of its compromise with other creeds, 24. and note. Intro- duction of polytheism by Shunkur Acharj, 25. Causes of the decline of Brahminism, 28. Action and reaction of it and Mahometanism, SO. Use made by Nanuk of the Brahminical philosophy, 41. Ex- tracts from the Grunt'h relative to Brahmins, 384, 385. British, the. See " English." Broadfdot, Major, irritates the Sikhs by his proceedings, 244, 245. His reception of Peshawura Singh, 273. note, 274. note. His observation on Golab Singh's military weakness, 276. note. His Note on the " Sur- but Khalsa," 278. note. Becomes British agent for Sikh affairs, 287. His unwise declaration concerning Dhuleep Singh, ibid, and Twte. In- stances of arbitrary conduct on bis part, 288, 289. His proceedings held to denote enmity towards the Sikhs, 289, 290. Animadversions on the policy involved therein, ibid, notes. His impressions regarding Pundit Julia and Golab Singh, 290, 291. notes. Cessation of his official correspondence, 293. His disbelief relative to the Sikhs, 296. note. His views clash with those of Captain Nicolson, 297. note. He rebukes Lai Singh's agent. 299. note. His exclusive facilities for furnishing the commissariat, 315. note, Buddowal, the Skirmish of, and its untoward results, 309—311. Bughel Singh pretends submission to the Delhi Court, 1 16. His opera- tions in the Dooab, 117. He ren- ders military aid to Nanoo Mull, 1 22. Is defeated by George Tho- mas, 123. Buhadur Shah, proceedings of, rela- tive to Govind, 76. and note. He succeeds Aurungzeb ; his conflicts with his brothers, 78. His libera- lity to Govind, 79. and note. He repulses Bunda, 84. His death, 85. Buhawul Khan becomes obnoxious to Runjeet Singh, 1 98. Is dispossessed of his territories, 199. Assists Shah Shooja, 203. Buhawulpoor, quantities of cotton used by its weavers ; its indigo, S. note. Nadir Shah's intentions re- garding it, 1 1 3. and note. Buhows, the, 6. 16. Bumbas, the, 5. Bunda succeeds Govind as a temporal leader, 83. His origin, ib. note. His military successes, 84. His reverses and imprisonment, 85. His sufferings and death, 86. and note. His character and position in the esteem of the Sikhs, 86, 87. note. Effect of his insurrection upon the English mission, 125. 'Q'h/y^^ Bunghees, the, why so caTledV ICw. * Their preeminence among the Misls, 107. Localities possessed by them, 108. Their military import- ance, 109. Their exploits under Hurree Singh, 112, 113. Burn, Colonel, aided by Sikh Chiefs, 188. Burnes, Lieutenant and Captain, after- wards Sir Alexander, conveys pre- sents liromWm. IV. to Runjeet Singh, 196. Reports to the Governor- INDEX. 453 General on the scheme of opening the Indus, 197. Proceeds on a commercial mission, 208. Is form- ally invested with diplomatic powers, 218. and Ttote, His predilections concerning Dost Mahomed, 223. and tiote. Impressions produced by his recall from Caubul, 223, 224. His estimate of Runjeet Singh's re- venue and forces, 227. note. His proposal to bestow Pcshawur on Dost Mahomed, 286. Butchna, slain bv Golab Singh's troops, 275. Cashmeer ; its safifron-harvests s im- portance of its shawl manufac- tures, 4. and Mote. Language and faith of its people, 5. Their cha- racteristics, IS. It falls into Futteh Khan's hands, 1S4. Failure of Shah Shooja's attempt on it, 156. Runjeet Singh repulsed, 156, 157. His renewed attempt, 160. It is annexed to his dominions, 161, Cashmeera Singh attempts an insur- rection, 265. Soochet Singh privy thereto, 266. He joins Utter Singh, and is slain, 267. Caste in India; its ramifications and peculiarities, 346, 347. Extent of its, prevalence among the Sikhs, 357, 358. Discountenanced by the Gooroos, 383, 384. Caubul ; supply of sugar to its mar- fcets, 3> Discussion relative to the relief of the British troops there, 232. Tlie memorable insurrection there, 252. and note, 253. and note. Assembly of the army of retribu- tion, 254. and note. Help rendered by the Sikhs, 254, 255. Caubul re-taken, 256. Celibacy discountenanced by Cbeitun and VuUubh, 35. Charvakites; natureof their creed, 25. note. Cbeit Singh obtains ascendency over Khurruk Singh ; his assassination, 230. and note. Cheitun, introduction of religious re- forms by, 35. Chibhs, the, 6. 16. Chinese of Tibet, curiosity of the, concerning the English, 187. note. Their conflicts with the Sikhs, 247. Zorawur Singh's attacks on them, G a 248, 249. They defeat and slay him, 250. They recover their pos- sessions and make peace with the Sikhs, 250, 251. Chooras, peculiarities of the, 69. note. Christianity; impediments to its gaining converts amongst the Hin- doos and Mahometans, 12, 13. and note. View taken by its writers of the doctrine of transmigration, 23. note. Its growth accelerated by Pagan scepticism, 31. note. Its mission misunderstood by Tacitus and Suetonius, 83. and note. Prac- tice of its early professors paralleled by Nanuk, 355. Chund. See " Deewan Chund ; " " Mohkum Chund." Chund Kijur, widow of Khurruk Singh, assumes the regency, 237. Her tactics, 238. Attitude of the British viceroy towards her, 239. Insecurity of her position; slie yields to Sher Singh, 239, 240. She is put to death, 261. and note. Chundoo Lai, the Kshutrce, 15. note. Chundoo Shah, animosity of, towards Arjoon, 50. Put to death at the instance of Hur Govind, 52, 53. Chunggurs, the wandering ; their pro- bable identity with the Gypsies, 9. Churrut Singh fortifies Goojranwala, 99. He repulses the Afghans, ICO. Cause of his death, 114. Its date, 115. note. Chutter Singh Atareewala takes up ^rms against Heera Singh, 272. Betrothal of his daughter to Dhu- leep Singh, 276. He subdues Peshawura Singh, 278. Clerk, Mr., afterwards Sir George, proceeds on a mission to Khur- ruk Singh, 231. He succeeds Col. Wade, 232. His capabilities for his post, 233. He undervalues the Sikh soldiers, 242. note. His proposals relative to Sher Singh's position, 243. Sher Singh's panto- mimic comment thereon, ib. note. His view of Sikh prowess, 253. note. His views regarding the march on Caubul, 257. note. His misunder- standing with Lehna Singh, 260. note. He becomes Lieutenant-Go- vernor of Agra, 261. note. His suc- cessor, 287. 454 INDEX. Clive and Omichund, 126. Cloyis ; a Mahometan parallel to Gib- bon's anecdote of his religious fer- vor, 27. Tiote. Colvin, Mr., recommends a withdrawal to the Sutlej, 253. notes. Combermere,Lord, arrives at Loodiana, 187. Court, General, 173. 177. Obliged to fly for his life, 241. Cowper, the poet ; his rendering of the term theos as used by Homer, 23. ' VBaoodpotras, migrations of the, 17. Their league with the Bunghees, t^..-f ]]2, 113. Origin of their tribe; their agricultural skill, 113, note. Ceewan Chund leads the assault on Cashmeer, 161. See also 1 83. note. " Deg," " Tegh," and " Futteh," various explanations of the terms, 103, and note. 356, 357. 360. •^ Behsa Singh Mujeetheea embarrasses 'r Runjeet Singh, 160., who compels him to apologise to the English, 161. His dislike of military innovations, 1 76. Made governor of Amritsir, 183. Dehsoo Singh, seizure of, 116. Delhi ; captured by Nadir Shah ; its comparative unimportance to Eng- land then, 91. note. Its occupation by the Afghans, and capture by the Mahrattas, 99. Effect of Syed Ahmed's exhortations on its tailors, 1 92. 7iote. Dhian Singh becomes one of Runjeet Singh's favourites, 1 82. Increase of his ascendency, 189. Instance of his devotion to his chief, 217. His artifices for ensuring Khurruk Singh's quiet succession, 228. His dislike of Colonel Wade, 230. 232. His complicity in Cheit Singh's assassination, 230. and note. He prepares for Sher Singh's accession, 237. His office under Chund Kour, 238. He secretly encourages Sher Singh, 240. He becomes Vuzeer under Sher Singh, 240, 241. Pre- dominance of bis influence in Sikh councils, 251. His aversion to Sher Singh's meeting the English, 259. and note. His domination irksome to Sher Singh, 261. He imprisons and procures the assassination of Jowala Singh, ib. note. His influence wanes ; he is outwitted and shot, 262. His assassination avenged by his son, 263, Dhuleep Singh's birth and pretensions made known, 238. and note. Dhian Singh's ambitious use of his name, 262. He is proclaimed Muharaja, 263. Jowahir Singh presumes on his relationship to him, 264, 265. Peshawura Singh and Cashmeera Singh attempt a rivalry with him, 265. His betrothal to Chutter Singh's daughter, 276. Jowahir Singh put to death in his presence, 279. Major Broadfoot's declaration relative to him, 287. and note. He submits to the British authorities, 321. Dick, Sir Robert, death of, 31 7*. note. Doghers, the, 16 ; their migrations, 17. Dogras of the Himalayas, the, 7. Dost Mahomed Khan ; advantage taken of his indiscretion, 1 59. His intriguing character, 165. note. Ap- prehensive of Shah Shooja's designs, he seeks the countenance of the English, 202, 203. and note. He defeats the Shah, 203. He dispos- sesses his nephew, 211. His over- tures to the English, 212. His hostile movements after defeating Shah Shooja, 213. Cautious atti- tude of the English towards him, 214. He retreats from before Pe- shawur ; makes overtures to Per- sia, 21^. He evades Runjeet Singh's endeavours to overreach him, 216. He defeats the Sikhs at Jumrood, 216, 217. note. His re- treat: renewed negotiations with Runjeet Singh, 217. His over- tures to Persia and Russia, 223. and note. Consequences of his prefer- ence of an alliance with those powers, 224. note. The Sikh chief accused of aiding him, 235. He fails in his attempt on Caubul and surrenders to the English, 239. His contemplated release, 257. Its po- licy questioned, 258. note. Sher Singh's public reception of him, 261. He corresponds with Peshawura Singh, 278. Proposition to bestow Peshawur on him, 286. " Dul," Proclamation of the, 93. Durdoos and Dunghers, 5, 6. Eden, Miss ; character of her portrait of Runjeet Singh, 228. note. Eeka Rao killed by the Sikh Chiefs, 128. Ellenborough, Lord, embraces the INDEX. 455 project of conferring Jellalabad on Golab Singh, 2S6. His feeling re- garding Sir John McCaskill's expe- dition, S57. note. Proposes a public meeting with Sher Singh, 258. and note. Unwillingness of Sher Singh to meet him, 259. and note. He visits Prince Pertab Singh, 260. His additions to the military forces, 286. note. See also note* on p, 297. Elphinstone, Mr., proceeds to Shah Shooja's court, 138. English, first intercourse of the, with the Sikhs, 125. Detention of the English mission to Ferokhseer; Mr. Hamilton's services, ib. and note. Effect of French designs on their policy, 137, L-JS. Mr. Metcalfe proceeds as envoy to Lahore, 138. and note. Troops sent to support him, 1S9. Negotiations and ulti- mate treaty concluded with Runjeet Singh, 140, 141. Terms of the ar- rangement with the Sikh chiefs ; British policy on the occasion, 141, and note. 142. Perplexities of Bri- tish authorities regarding the course to be pursued, 143, 144. High cha- racter of the representatives em- ployed by the British in their nego- tiations, 144. note. Observations pertinent to the subject, 1 45. Con- fidence in Runjeet Singh slowly developed, 146, 147. War with the Goorkhas, 149. Runjeet Singh's invitation declined, 151. Sudda Kiiur restored to her possessions by English aid, 163. Attachment of the native troops in their service to artillery, 175. and note. Effect of their commercial designs on the re- lative position of themselves and the Sikhs, 184, 1S5. Their suspicions of Runjeet Singh's correspondence with Russia, 195. Their negotia- tions with him and the Sindhians relative to opening the Indus, 197, 198. Their demands acceded to, 199,200. Their warnings to Shah Shooja, 200. Their reassurances to him; Dost Mahomed seeks their countenance, 202, 203. Their dis- pleasure at Runjeet Singh's am- bition ; theircautious remonstrances, 207, 208. Their views become po- litical as well as commercial ; they mediate between Runjeet Singh and G a the Sindhians, 208, 209, 210. Their connection with the Barukzaees, 211. Sooltan Mahomed Khan and his brothers solicit their protection and alliance, 212, 213. Their re- plies to Dost Mahomed, 214 ; who renews his solicitations, 215. They mediate between the Sikhs and Af- ghans, 217, 218. Their suspicions of General Allard's proceedings, 218. Result of their scheme for opening i the Indus, 221 — 224. The restora- tion of Shah Shooja determined on, 224. Sir William Macnaghten's ne- gotiations, 224, 225. Interchange of hospitalities between Runjeet Singh and Lord Auckland, 226. Re- lief of the British troops in Caubul, 232. Negotiations respecting the traffic on the Indus, 233, 234. and note. Neutrality of the English towards Chund Kiiur ; Dost Ma- homed surrenders to their forces, 239. Their fears for general tran- quillity during the outbreak of the Sikh army, 242. Their erroneous estimate of Sikh prowess, ib. and note. Their proposed interference in Sikh affairs ; Sher Singh's ex- pressive dissent, 243. Consequences of Major Broadfoot's movements, 244, 245. They compel Zorawur Singh to relinquish his conquests, 249. Their connection with MSta- bur Singh, 249. note. Their policy clashes with the projects of the Jum- moo Rajas, 251,252. The Caubul disasters. See " Caubul." Their con- tinuous distrust of the Sikhs, 253* and note. They appeal to the Sikhs, who aid them, 253—256. Mutiny and return to duty of their Sepoys, 268, 269. Their discussions with Heera Singh concerning the Naba Raja's conduct, 269 ; and also con- cerning Soochet Singh's buried trea- sure, 269, 270. Observations on the principles involved in the latter dis- cussion, 270, 271. notes. Imminence of a war between them and the Sikhs, 281. Their apprehensions of the con- sequences of the predominance of the Sikh army, 282. They repudiate their policy of 1809, 283. Their cantonment at Feerozpoor, 284. and note. Their views relative to Pcsha- wur, 285, 286. Gradual increase 456 INDEX. . of their troops stationed in the Fun- jab, 286. note. Influence of the character of their agent on the Sikhs, 287. Importance of due attention to the qualifications of their political representatives, ibid. note. Their faulty policy the main cause of the -war with the Sikhs, 294, 295. Their continued low opinion of the arma- ment and skill of the Sikhs, 295, 296. and note. Their unpreparedness for a campaign, 296, 297. and notes.. Extent of their forces, 298. and note. The action at Moodkee a military surprise, 301. note'f. Their battles with the Sikhs. See " Alee- wal," " Buddowal," " Moodkee," " P'heerooshuhur," " Subraon." Submission of the Sikhs, 320*, 321. Katification of terms with their chiefs, 321 — 326. Inefficiency of their police, 329. note. Necessity for magazines and granaries, 331, note. Modi6cations required in their . military system, i6. note. Limited ex- tent of their intellectual influence in India, 365. See " Proclamations," " Treaties." £usofzaees. — Localities occupied by them, 6. They become adherents of Syed Ahmed Shah, 1 92. Cause of their abandoning him, 194. and note. Fane, Sir Henry, visits Lahore; his military suggestions, 219. and note. His transactions with Runjeet Singh, 220.' Feerozshah. See " P'heerooshuhur." Feerozpoor, rejectionof Runjeet Singh's claim to, 188. and note. Its import- ance in the esteem of the British agents, 188, and note. Its occupa- tion by the British, 284. The Sikhs march thither, 294. Ma- noeuvres of their leaders there, 298. Sir John Littler confronts them, 929. Feizoolapooreeas, the, 107. Their rank among the Misls, ib. Their posses- .sions, 108. Ferokhseer slays Jehandar Shah, 85. He overthrows the Sikhs, ib. De- tention of the English mission to him, 125. Food, scriptural injunctions relative to, 384. . Forster, the traveller ; estimate of the Sikhs by, 126. His prophetic re- mark, 127. and note. Foulkes, Mr., killed by the Sikh sol- diers, 241. France; effect of its designs on India on the policy of the English towaids the Sikhs, 137, 138. Francklin, Colonel, description of the Sikhs by, 126. Fraser, Mr., 212. note. French officers arrive at Lahore, 173. They aid in disciplining the Sikhs, 1 77. See " AUard," " Avitabile," " Court," " Ventura." Futteh Khan becomes Shah Mehmood's Vuzeer, 150. Issuspected of leaguing with Shah Shooja, 152, Marches against Cashmeer, 153. ' Attempts to overreach Runjeet Singh ; takes Cashmeer ; is defeated, by Mokhum Chund, 154. His cautious proceed, ings, 155. Kamran (murders him; the assassin's pretext, 159, 160. Futteh Khan Towana attempts an in- surrection, 265. Insignificance of his proceedings, 267. Renews his attempts, 272. Is taken into favour, 274. He procures the assassination of Peshawura Singh, 278. Futteh Singh Alhoowaleea allies him- self with the English, 129 ; and with Runjeet Singh, 131. Is re> called by Holkar's movements, 132. Occupies Ootch, 158. His position in Runjeet Singh's esteem, 183. His flight and recall, 186. and note. His title tohis possessions confirmed, 188. Futteh Singh M^n, waylaid and slain by Golab Singh's troops, 275. Garden, Lieutenant-Colonel, compiles a map of Lahore, 219. Gardner, Captain, 237. note. Getse, supposed identity of the modern Juts with the, 20, note. Ghazeeooddeen, conduct of, towards Munnoo's widow, 96. and note. His submission to Ahmed, ib. His al- liance with the Mahrattas, 97, 98. He. kills the emperor, 98. Gholam Mahomed invites Shah Zu- man to invade India, 119, 120. note. Consequences of his impolitic ad- vice to Sunsar Chund, 135. note. Gholdm Moheiooddeen, governor of Cashmeer, 251. Gholam QAdir thwarts the schemes of INDEX. 457 the Mahrattas, 121. His atrocity vt.<.i> '. towards Shah Alum, ib. ' Ghunda Singh surrenders Mooltan, US. /. Ghuneias, jSee " Kuneias." Gnodoop Tunzin, King of Ludakh, failure of the design of, 248. God — the Godhead — Sikh defini- tions relative to, 377, 378. Golab Singh, ( Raja of Jummoo) ori- gin of, 181. Enters Runjeet Singh's service; becomes one of his favour- ites, 182. His forces reduce Ludakh ; the Cashmeer governor's complaint against him, 206. His complicity in Cheit Singh's murder, 230. Tiote. Death of his sou, 236. His views regarding Chund Kbur's regency, 240. His usurpations in Tibet, 247. His deputy Zorawur Singh's proceedings, defeat, and death, 247 — 250, His commander seizes the Lassa Vuzeer; he signs a treaty of peace, 250, 251. Ceremonies observed between the contracting parties, 251. note. His transac- tions in Cashmeer, 251. His no- mination to Peshawur vetoed by the English, 252. He proceeds to aid the English ; they doubt his sincerity, 255. and note. Confer- ences regarding his acceptance of Jellalabad, 256, 257. His conduct under Heera Singh, 264. He forms the siege of Seealkot, 265. His contention and reconciliation with Pundit Julia, 272. His tactics after the elevation of Jowahir Singh ; he bribes the Punchayets, 274. His share in Butchna's murder, 275. He submits to the Sikh army, 275, 276. He encourages Peshawura Singh's rebellion, 277. He holds aloof after Jowahir Singh's assassination, 280. Major Broadfoot's statement relative to him, 291. note. He joins in urging the Sikhs against the English, 292. The soldiers hail him as minister, 3] 2. His fruitless jour- ney to Lahore, ibid. His double- faced conduct, 315. He negotiates with the English, 317. 321. Objects desired by him, 322. and note. He brings the Governor-General to ac- count, .S23. Arrangements come to, 323, 324. His recognition as an in- dependent ruler, 324. His per- sonal characteristics, ibid, note. His treaty with the British, 435. 437. Gonga, or Goga, a local deity ; tra- dition concerning him, 11. note. Goojers, the, localities inhabited by them ; their history yet unknown, 6. Pastoral life preferred by them, 14. Goojranwala fortified by Churrut Singh, 99. Its successful defence, 100. Its present state, ib. note. Goorbukksh Singh killed, 118. Be- trothal of his daughter to Runjeet Singh, ib. Goor Das ; character and influence of his teachings, 51. Exclusion of his writings from the Grunt'h, 52. Tiote. Goordut or Goorditta ; legend of his death, 58. note. Goordut Singh deprived of his posses- sions, 128. Goorkhas, the, invest Kanggra, and overthrow Sunsar Chund, 134, 135. and note. Their characteristics, 165. note. 173, 174. Their military de- ficiencies, 174 Their overtures to Runjeet Singh, 185. See " Ummer Singh Thapa." Goormookh Singh ingratiates himself with Sher Singh, 261. Excites Dhian Singh's apprehensions, 262. Heera Singh puts him to death, 263. Gooroomutta, first celebration of the, 100. Its character and constitution, 104. and note. Gooroos — The title of " true King " assumed by them, 63. Their deifi- cation forbidden, 379. See " Nanuk," " Unggud," " Ummer Das," " Ram Das," " Arjoon," " Hur Govind," " Hur Raee," " Hurkishen," " Tegh Buhadur," " Govind," and Appen- dix XIX. 377, 391. Gorukhnath ; peculiarities of the sect established by him, S3, and note. Gough, Lord, joined at Ambala by Lord Hardinge, 297, 298. His vic- tory at Moodkee, 301. His esti- mate of the Sikh forces, ib. note. The engagement at P'heerooshuhur, 302 — 304. His alleged amenability to the charge of delay at P'heeroo- shuhur, 315. note. His victory at Subraon, 320 — 320*. His estimate of the Sikh forces, 320'*. note, Govind succeeds Tegh Buhadur, 63. 458 INDEX. Impression produced on him by his father's fate ; his twenty years' se- clusion; development of his cha- racter, 64. and note. His resolu- tions, views, and motives, 65. and note. His mode of presenting his mission, 66. and notes. Legend re- garding his reformation of Nanuk's Sect, 67. Principles inculcated by him ; the " Khalsa," and the " Pahul," 68. His watchwords for his followers; his omen, 69. He founds the sect of " Singhs ; " his form of initiation, TO. He de- nounces opposing sects, 71. Feasi- bility of his designs, 73. His plan of opposition, military resources, and influence as a religious teacher, 74. His victory over the Pu- thans; his allies on the occasion 75. Suspicion excited by his suc- cesses, 75, 76. His reverses ; as- sassination of his children ; his flight, 76. He repulses his pur- suers ; composes the Vichitr Natuk, 77. His replies to Aurungzeb's summons, 78. He enters the im- perial service; his rashness, 79. His assassination' and dying injunc- tions, 80. Legends relating to his last moments, ih. note. Results of his labours on the character of the reformed Hindoos, 8 1 , 82. 88. Com- position and synopsis of the contents of the book of Govind, 372 — 376. He discountenances infanticide, 385. His narrative of his mission, 388. 390. His Rehet Nameh, 394-^396, His Tunkha Nameh, 396—399. See " Adee Grunt'h." Grunt'h, the. See " Adee Grunt'h.'" Gudhees, the, 7. Gukkers ; localities inhabited by them, 6. Their characteristics, 1 6. Their waning valour, 112. Hafiz Ahmed Khan succumbs to Run- jeet Singh, 162. Hamilton, Mr., surgeon to the En- glish mission to Ferokhseer; value of his services, 125. note. Hardinge, Viscount, increases his mi- litary forces, 286. note. He joins Lord Gough at Ambala, 297. His equipment of the army, ibid. note. His estimate of the Sikh forces, 298. notes. His intrepidity at P'hee- rooshuhur, 303. His compliment to the infantry, 304. note. His Pro- clamation after the battle, 306. note. His direction to SirCharles Napier, 308. Tiote. He ofiens negotiations with Golab Singh, 315. His re- sponsibility relative to the commis- sariat, ibid. note. Understanding come to with the Sikh chiefs, 317. He receives the submission of Dhuleep Singh, 321. His views towards the Sikhs, ib. His inten- tions regarding Golab Singh, 322, and mote. Golab Singh's application to him ; completion of arrange- ments between them, 323. 324. Harlan, Dr., course pursued by him, 212. note. Proceeds as envoy to Dost Mahomed, 215. Hastings, Warren ; his plan for guard- ing Oude against the Sikhs, 126. Heera Singh attracts Runjeet Singh's notice, 189. His marriage, 1 90. He avenges his father's assassination; becomes Vuzeer to Dhuleep Singh 263. He increases the pay of the Sikh army, 264. His difficulties ; he suppresses various attempts at insurrection, 265, 266, 267. His tactics towards the army, 268. His discussions with the English con- cerning Soochet Singh's buried trea- sure, 269, 270. His confidential ad- viser Pundit Julia, 271, 272. He loses the confidence of the army and is slain, 273. Regret excited by his fate, 274. HeiatooUa Khan ; story concerning him, 94. note. Hero-worship, introduction of, by Ramanund, 32. Hindoos ; their prevalence as ■ shop- keepers in certain districts, 10. In- fluence of Mahometanism on their national character, 20. Effects' of Govind's labours, 82. Hindooism, influence of, amongst the forest tribes, 18. See "Brahminism." Hindoostan becomes a portion of the Mahometan World, 29. Hinghun Khan's possessions ravaged by the Sikhs, 100. He is slain, 101. and note. Holkar, Jeswunt Rao, the Mahratta Chief, overpowered by Ahmed Shah, 98 ; participates in the siege of Delhi, 102. He thwarts Sindhia's INDEX. 459 influence, 122, 123. Projects the invasion of Upper India, 127. He is repulsed, 128. Characteristic anecdote of him, ib. note. Again advances on Upper India, 132. He retires, 134. Hough, Major, services of, to Runjeet Singh, 221. and itote, Humboldt, testimony of, to the value of the scientific labour of the ArabSi 32. note. Hur Govind, succeeds Arjoon, 52. His revenge upon Chundoo Shah, 52, 53. He leads the Sikhs to battle, and modifies their religious tenets, 53. His body guard ; his influence on Sikhism ; his imprisonment, 54, and 55. note. His petty warfare ; retirement to the Wastes, 55. He kills his friend Payenda ; his death, S6. and note. Self-immolation of his disciples on the occasion, ib. His philosophical views ; characteristic anecdotes of him, 57, 58. His ad- ditions to the reforms of his pre- decessors, 88. See Appendix IX., 356, 357. Hurkishen succeeds Hur Race ; his succession settled by Aurungzeb; his early death, 59, 60. Hur Raee succeeds Hur Govind, 58. He becomes a political partizan ; his death, 59. Sanctity of his name ; sects claiming descent from him, ib, note, Hurree Singh, 15. note. Heads the Bunghees, 112. Comes to terms with the Daoodpotras; his death, 113. Its cause and date, 115. note. Hurree Singh Nulwa, receives a mili- tary command from Runjeet Singh, 183. His forces receive a check, 185. They oppose Syed Ahmed Shah, 193. His jealousy of Khur- ruk Singh, 196. and note. He op- poses Dost Mahomed ; is slain, 216, 217. and note. Runjeet Singh's grief at his death, 221. Hurreeana desolated by famine, 116. Image worship forbidden amongst the Sikhs, 380. Incarnations according to the Sikh Scriptures, 378, 379. India, early history and vicissitudes of, 19. Influence of Mahometanism on its people, 20. Backward state of its civilization, 283. Its popula- tion, 342 — 344. Its system of caste, 346, 347. Its land-tax and land- tenure, 365, 366. Indians, philosophical systems of the, S4R — 350. Characteristics of their " Maya," 351, 352. Metaphysics of their reformers, 352, 353. Indigo, Rajpoot aversion to the culti- vation of, 362. Indus, the ; scheme of the English for opening it to commerce, 197. Their proposals to the Sindhians and the Sikhs, 198, Project in which the scheme ended, 221. et seq. Nego- tiations regarding the tolls to be levied, 233, 234. and note. Infanticide discountenanced by Govind, 385. Iskardo taken by Zorawur Singh, 247. Islamism. See " Mahometanism." Jaee Singh assassinates Jhunda Singh ; his league withjussa Singh Alhoo- waleea, 1 1 4. His contest with Muha Singh; his son slain, 118. Jaee Singh Atareewala follows Dost Mahomed Khan, 1 59. See also 160. note. Joins Mahomed Azeem Khan, 162. Is pardoned by Runjeet Singh, 164. Jats. See Juts. Jehan Dad Khan seizes Shah Shooja, 152. Peshawur made over to him by Runjeet Singh, 160. He surrenders it without attempting a defence, ib, Jehandar Shah succeedsBuhadur Shah ; is defeated and slain, 85. Jeins, connection of the sect of, with the Boodhists, 24. note. Their pious regard for insects, 43. note. Their philosophical tenets, 350. Jeinism, extension of, by the Mar- waree traders, 334, 335. Jellalabad ; discussions regarding its bestowal on Golab Singh, 256, 257. Jeswunt Singh of Naba rids himself of Runjeet Singh's mediation, 134. Jhunda Singh reduces Jummoo, 113. Occupies Mooltan; is assassinated, 114. Jindan, Ranee, a wife of Runjeet Singh, (afterwards Muharanee), 238. Her connection with Lai Singh ; she excites the soldiers 460 INDEX. against Pundit Julia, 273. She ex- ercises supreme power, 280. Her alleged immoralities, 292. Jodh Singh Ramgurheea invests Kus- soor, 135. Seizure of his posses- sions after his death, 158. Jodh Singh Kulseea reiiiscs to wel- come the British troops, 139. Hos- tilities commenced against him, 142. His grounds of complaint, ib, note, Joghees, characteristics of the sect of, 33. and note, Johyas, localities occupied by the, 7. Error of Tod regarding them, ib. note. Their migrations, 1 7. Jonahir Singh possesses himself of Dhuleep Singh, 264. He attempts to gain over the Sikhs, and is im- prisoned, 265. His release and re- sumption of his place at court, 266. Is treated with contempt hy Fundit Julia, 273. He attains an influen- tial position, 274. His aim, 275. Appointed Vuzeer, 276. His anx- iety relative to Peshawura Singh, 277. He instigates the assassination of Peshawura Singh, 278. He ex- cites the anger of the soldiery, ib. His perplexities, condemnation, and execution, 279. Impression pro- duced by his trial ; bis funeral, 280. His intemperate habits, 292. note, Jowala Singh imprisoned and slain, 261. note, Jubbar Khan charged with the defence of Cashmeer, 160. H is defeat, 161. He seeks an alliance with the Brit- ish, 212. Sends his son to Loodi- ana, 213, 214. and note. Julia, the Pundit, directs the move- ments of Heera Singh ; his ambition, 271. His animosity towards Golab Singh, 272. He excites the enmity of Ranee Jindan and Jowabir; at- tempts flight and is slain, 273. Ma" jor Broadlbot's impression regard ing him, 290. note, Jummoo rendered tributary to Jhunda Singh, 113. Jummoo Rajas. See " Dhian Singh," "GolabSingh," and " SoochetSingh." Their ambitious views clash with English policy, 251, 252. Pedigree of their family, 449. Jumrood, thebattle of, 216. Junjoohs, the, 6. Juns, personal appearance and occupa- tions of the, 16. Jussa Singh Kullal, the brewer, pro- claims the " Dul" of the " Khalsa," 93. He coins money, 97. His league with Jaee Singh, 114. Jussa Singh, the carpenter, enters Adeena Beg's service, 95. His for- tifications destroyed, 97. His de- feat and expulsion, 114. His pre- datory exactions, 117. His restor- ation to his possessions, 118, 119. note. Juts, or Jats, immigration of the ; their supposed origin, 4. Their religious changes; effect of the in- troduction of Islamisra, 3. The Juts of the central plains and the races intermixed with them, 8. Their industry and courage, 14. Characteristic ' saying regarding them, f&. note. Their supposed iden- tity with the Getae, 20. note. Their contests with Nujeebooddowla, 102. Particular description of the Juts and Jats, App. I. 341, 342. Kabulee Mull, nominated governor of Lahore, 101. The Sikhs eject him, 103. Kamran assassinates Futteh Khan ; his pretext for the crime, 159, 1 60. His precarious rule, 164. Kanphutta, origin of the term, 33. Kathees, the, 6. Their personal ap- pearance and occupations, 16. Keane, Lord, complaint made relative to Colonel Wade, to, 231. Kerowlee, origin of the chiefship of, 7. note. Khalsa, signification of the term, 68. note. Extent of its adherents, SS. note. Its "dul," or army, 93. 100. Khatirs, the, 6. Khooshhal Singh becomes one of Run- jeet Singh's favorites, 181. Is ho- norably superseded, 1 82. Khorassan, the chief market for the indigo of Buhawulpoor and the lower Punjab, 3. note. Its occupa- tion by the British, 252. Khulasa, the, 88. Khuleels, the, 6. Khurruk Singh, marriage of, 147. 179. He captures Jummoo, 153. Attacks Mooltan, 158. Aids in the capture INDEX. 461 of Cashraeer, 161. Exchanges ci- vilities with Sunsar Chund's son, 165. His indolent habits; birth of his son, Nao Nihal Singh, 179. His apprehensions as to the recog- nition of his rights, 196. and note. 206. note. His succession secured by Dhian Singh's artifice, 228. His right disputed by Sher Singh, 229. and note. Nao Nihal Singh usurps his power, 229, 330. Assassination of his favorite, 230. and note. Cause of his forced absence, 232. and note. His death, 236. Khuttulcs, the, 6. Koh-i-noor. — Runjeet Singh attempts to obtain the celebrated diamond so named, 153. He succeeds, 155, and note. Shah Shooja offers to confirm his title to it, 201. Kohlees, the, 7. Kootubooddeen expelled from Kus- soor by Runjeet Singh, 135. Kowra MuU, enters Munno's service, 93. His origin, ib. note. Defeats Shah Nuwaz Khan, 94. Is killed, 95. Krora Singheeas, origin of the, 107; their military acquisitions, 108. Kshutrees of the cities, 8. Their en- terprising character, 9. Their pre- valence as traders in the ' northern towns, 10. - Their eminence as finan- ciers, military leaders and govern- ors, 15. and note. Their descent; localities inhabited by them, 345. Kubeer ; peculiarities of the creed in- troduced by him, 34. Speculations as to his actual existence, 35. note. See also p. 347. Kukkas, the, 5. Their religion, 9. Kuneias, the, 107. Their rank among the Misls, ib. Localities peopled by them, 108. Their defeat by Muha Singh, lis, 119. and note. Kunets, the, of the Himalayas, 7. Kunjur. See " Chunggurs." Kurruls, the, 6. Kwaja Obeid attacks Goojranwala, 99. His defeat and flight, 100. and note. Labh Singh defeats Uttur Singh and his confederates ; his perils, 267. Is slain by the Sikh soldiery, 273. Ladwa, defection of the Raja of, 307. His personal character, ib. note. He burns a portion of the British can- tonment, 308. Lahore, contest for the viccroyalty of, 93. Its re-annexation to Delhi, 96. Kabulee Mull nominated its go- vernor, 101. It falls into the hands of the Sikhs, 103. Its cession to Runjeet Singh, 120. Sher Singh's attack on it, 240. Its army; tabular statement, 446, 447. Pedigree of its reigning family, 448. See " Procla- mations," " Treaties." Lake, Lord, receives allegiance and aid from the Sikh chiefs, 127, 128. Repulses Holkar, 128. Comes to terms with him, 129. Forms al- liances with Sikh leaders, 129, ISO. Lai Singh of Kythul tenders his alle- giance to the English, 127. Re- ceives Lord Lake's thanks, 128. Renders further aid, 129. Is sub- stantially rewarded, 130. and note. Lai Singh, the Brahmin, his connec- tion with Ranee Jindan, 273. His elevation to power, 274. He fo- ments the enmity of the soldiery against Jowahir Singh, 279. Is no- minated Vuzeer, 280. Date of his appointment, 299. note f. His scheme for depriving the Sikh army of power, 292, 293. 299. His com- munications with Captain Nicolson, 299. note *. His treachery to his troops, .301. Their discomfiture, 304. His treason probably unknown to the English chiefs, ibid, note. His fear, 312. His position and move- ments at Subraon, 318. 320. His self-gratulations, 322. His appre- hensions of Golab Singh, 323. His restoration to power, 324. Lamaic Boodhism, See " Boodism." Land-tax in India, S65. Land, tenure of, in India, 366. j Lawrence, Col onel, afte rwards Sir ^^"''Ml J"'°P°''''^ ^" uuiil b" Jdlala- bad on Golab Sm gh. 3b b. and note'. Lehna, or Unggud See " Unggud." Lehna Singh Sindhanwala imprisoned by his own soldiers, 244. He mur- ders Pertab Singh, 262. Is slain at the instance of Heera Singh, 263. Lehna Singh Mujeetheea, consequences of a misunderstanding concerning him, 259. Cause of the misunder- standing, 360. note. He quits La- hore under pretence of pilgrimage, 273. and note. 462 INDEX. Lingam, characteristics of the worship of the, 34. note. Littler, Sir John, confronts the Sikhs at Feerozpoor, 299. Junction of his troops with those of Lord Gough, 301, 302. Ludakh ; its rigorous winters ; its va- luable shawl wools and crops of grain, 2. and note. Its people, 5. Their religion, 9. Its reduction by the Jummoo Rajas, 206. Lunggas, the, of the South, 7. McCaskill, Sir John ; Lord Ellen- borough's feelings regarding his ex- pedition into Kohistan, 257. note. Mackeson, Major, 256. note. Macnaghten, Sir William, deputed to negotiate with Runjeet Singh, 224, and nofef 225. and note, 226. note. His conduct relative to the Cau- bul disasters, 252. His proposition regarding Peshawur, 285- Maddock, Sir Herbert ; advice given by him, 253. note. Mahomed Azeem Khan compels Shah Shooja to retreat, 151. He defeats Runjeet Singh's forces; his cle- mency, 157. He proclaims Shah Ayoob, 160. Endeavours to secure Peshawur, 162, 163. Is defeated, 164. He trifles with Shah Shooja, 166, 167. His death, 164. Mahometanism ; its introduction into India, 4, 5. Localities in which its professors seek no converts, 10. Corrupt, yet possessing vitality, and proselytising, 12. 17. Its gradual extension in Tibet, and generally in towns and cities, 17, 18. Impulse given to it by the conversion of the 'Toorkmuns, 29. Action and reac- tion of it and Brahminism, 30. Its influence on European institutions, 31. note. Mahometans ; fondness of those of the Indus for blue clothing, 3, note. Conquest of India by them, 29. Evidences of their piety and muni- ficence ; they become Indianized, 30. Their astronomical reforms, ib. and note. Their class divisions, 347. Mahrattas, invitation of the, by Gha- zeeooddeen, 97. Their union with the Sikhs, 98. Their defeat and e:!pulsion from the Punjab, 98, 99.' Restoration of their power under Sindbia, 121. Their characteristics and present position, 173. Their military deficiencies, 174. Malees, characteristics of the, 1 4. Malwa, the Sikh district of j reason of its beingi so called, 8. Marwaree Traders, recent spread of the, 333. Extension of Jeinism by them, 334. Masson, Mr., 212; his estimate of Runjeet Singh's forces and reve- nue, 227. note. Matabur Singh ; sketch of bis career, 249. note. Maya, moral application of the doctrine of, 28. Kubeer's use of the term, 34. 351. Its particular character- istics, 351, 352. Meer Ahool Hassan robs Shah Shooja, and impedes the escape of his family, 155. Meehan Singh abandons Iskardo to Zorawur Singh, 247. Is killed by the Sikh soldiers, 241. Mehmood, Invasion of India by, 29. Mehraood (brother of Shah Zuman) th warts the Shah's designs, 1 1 9; 1 20. Deposes and blinds his brother, 1 32. Is himself deposed, zi. Regains the throne, 150. His conference with Runjeet Singh, 1 52. Results of operations against Cashmeer, 154. Futteh Khan's services to him, 154, 155. His precarious rule, 164. Mehtab Kiiur (Sudda Kbur's daugh- ter) betrothed to Runjeet Singh, 118. 177. Her accouchment ; stratagem on the occasion, 178. Mehtums, characteristics and migra- tions of the, 17. Metaphysics of Indian reformers, 352, 353. Metcalfe, Mr. (afterwards Sir Charles, and subsequently Lord Metcalfe) proceeds on a ,niission to Runjeet Singh, 138 — 141. His politic sug- gestions, 142. Migrations of the tribes of India, and their causes, 17. Miraculous powers disclaimed by Na- nuk, 42. and note. 380. Misls ; nature of the Sikh confederacies so called, 106. Their names and ori- gin, 106, 107. note. Their relative preeminence, 107. Their posses- sions, 108. Their ihilitary strength, 109. Cessation of their importance. INDEX. 463 133. Sir D. Ochterlony's views re- garding them, 144. Misser Beblee Ram, assassinated, 363, Mit'h Singh Behraneea, 183. note. Mobarik Khan comes to terms with Hurree Singh, 113. Moghul Empire, character and con- dition of the, at the date of Go- vind's intended assault on it, 72, 73. Causes and consequences of its de- cay, 89, 90. Mohkum Chund, 1 5. note; enters Run- jeet Singh's service, 136. Hisemploy- ment, 137. 152. Is outstripped by Futteh Khan. Defeats the latter, 154. Runjeet Singh neglects his warning, 156, 157. His death, 157. TWte, Monastic orders of India, 25, 26. In- fallibility assumed by their supe- riors, 27. The establishment at Nu- derh, 81. note. Moodkee, the battle of, 301. British loss in killed and wounded, ibid, note, Mool Raj succeeds Sawun Miill as go- vernor of Mooltan, 276. Submits to the terms dictated by the Lahore Court, 277. and note. Mooltan ; its heat and dust-storms ; importance of its position, 2. Value of its products; its freedom from periodical rains, 3. and note. Its surrender to Jhunda Singh, 114. Its capture by Runjeet Singh, 158, 159. Mutiny of its troops, 276, 277. and note. Moorcroft, the traveller ; his anecdote of the Oodassees, 13. note. His re- ception by Runjeet Singh, 1 69. Ob- tains a Russian letter to the Muha- raja, 170. Moufan, disputes relative to, 269. Moyen-ool-mook. See " Munnoo." MozufFer Khan, governor of Mool- tan, corresponds with the British, 151. Is slain with his sons, 159. and note, Muha Singh protected by Jaee Singh ; he wars against him ; his rising in- fluence and early death, 118. Mujja Singh repulsed and slain, 114. Munnoo becomes governor of the Punjab ; his policy j he disperses the Sikhs, 93. and note. Capitu- lates with Ahmed Shah ; defeats Shah Nuwaz Khan, 94. and note. violates his treaty ; is defeated by Ahmed, and becomes his vassal, 94, 95. His death, 96. Strategetic pro- ceedings of his widow ; Ghazeeood- deen's retaliation ; her treatment of Bekaree Khan, Q6. and note. Murray, Captain, his estimate of Run- jeet Singh's forces and revenue, 227. note. Murray, Dr., nominated surgeon to Runjeet Singh, 186. Naba, disputes of the Raja of, with the English, 269. Nadir Shah, 92. 112, 113. note. Nanuk, birth and early life of, 36, 37. Legends connected therewith, 37. note. His mental struggles and wanderings, 38. Traditional anec- dotes, ib. note. His advent as a teacher; his death, 39. and note. Elevating tendencies of his sys. tem, 40. Use made by him of Brahminism, 41 . Miraculous pow- ers disclaimed, and asceticism dis- couraged by him, 42. and note. 380. His conciliatory treatment of opposite sects ; extent of his reformation, 43. His care for his Sikhs, or disciples; their position at his death, 44. Legend of Leh- na's faith in him, ib. and note. His reported dislike • of " Suttee," 47. note. His ideas comprehended by Arjoon, 48 ; and popularised by Goor Das, 51. Measure of his la- bours, 87. Character of his philo- sophical allusions, 354, 355. His mission described, 386, 387. His admonitory letters to Karon, 391— 394. Nao Nihal Singh, grandson of Runjeet Singh, birth ofj 179. Commands the forces against Peshawur, 204. Celebration of his marriage, 219, 220. Usurps his father's sove- reignty, 229, 230. Procures Cheit Singh's assassination, 230. and note. His schemes against the Rajas of Jummoo, 234. His discussions with the English, who charge him with treachery, 235. His accidental death, 236, 237. note. His character, 237. Napier, Sir Charles, note relative to a falsified speech of, 290. note. He orders troops to Kushmor, 291. Receives orders to march from Sindh, 308. note. 464 INDEX. Nasslr Khan, conduct of, towards Ahmed Shah, 92. note. Is killed, 93. Nerbudda, the river; peculiar sanctity attributed to it, and legends relating thereto, 33. note. Nicolson, Captain, views of, regarding the probable movements of the Sikhs, 297. note. Lai Singh's com- munications with him, 299. note. His death, ib. His estimate of the Sikh force, 301. rmte. Nihungs, the. See " Shuheeds." Nisbaneeas, the, 106. Their rank among the Misls, 107. Their pos- sessions, lOS. and note. Nizamooddeen Khan ; character of his services to Shah Zuman, 120. Is defeated by, and becomes a feuda- tory of, Runjeet Singh, 131. Noor Mahomed offers to surrender Shikarpoor, 206. Nott, Sir William, receives carte blanche from Lord Auckland, 1258. note. Admiration of the Sikhs for him, 260. Nuderh, Covind killed at, 80. Cha- racter of its religious establish- ment, 81. note. Nujeebooddowla commands the Delhi army, 96. His defeat, 97. His victory over the Jats, 102. Frustra- tion of his plans by death, 113. Nukeias, the, 106. Their rank among the Misls ; their possessions, 108. Nuwaz Khan usurps the vice-royalty of Lahore; his correspondence with, and defeat by, Ahmed Shah, 92. Opposes Munnoo, and is slain, 94. Ochterloney, Sir David, successfully defends Delhi, 128. Leads troops across the Jumna, 139. His pro- ceedings disapproved of, ib. note. His representations to government, 140. His proclamation, 140, 141. His report on the feelings of the Sikh chiefs, 141, 142. His admis- sion regarding his original policy towards the Sikhs, 144. Popularity of his name in Northern India, ii. note. Is present at Khurruk Singh's marriage, 147. His apprehensions of success ; his ally Rajah Ram- surrun, 150. note. His treatment of Shah Zuman's son, 1 53. and note. His policy used as a precedent by M^"or Broadfoot, 289. note. See " Proclamations." Omichund outwitted by Clive, 126. His death, 2*6. note. Oodassees; patronising compliment paid by them to Moorcroft, 13. note. Nature of their creed, 45. and note. Their separation from the Sikh?, - 47. /L'^.Jt-'a.^MA^ I'-^-v •'■.' '''f^ <-'--'„ Pahul, signification of the terra; 68, ^ note. 70. Perron, General, operations of, crossed by George Thomas, 122. Over- comes Thomas, 124. Forms an alliance with Runjeet Singh ; is superseded by Sindhia ; flees to the English, 125. Persian wheel used for irrigation in the Punjab, 3. Pertab Singh (son of Sher Singh) vi- sited by Lord EUenborough, 260. Murdered by Lehna Singh, 262. Peshawur; value of its cereal products, its dyes, drugs, &c., 4. Captured by Shah Shooja, 151. Sacked by Runjeet Singh, 164. Sir William Macnaghten's and Sir Alexander Burnes's proposals regarding it, 285. Pesbawura Singh attempts an insur- rection against Dhuleep Singh, 265. Renews hb efforts for the sove- reignty, 272. His flight, and re- ception by the British agent, 273. and note. He escapes from British surveillance, 274. Golab Singh re- inspires him with hope, 275. Effect of hb proceedings on Jowahir Singh, 277. His checkered movements, flight, surrender, and assassination, 278. Indignation excited by the act, 279. Pherooshuhur, effective force at, 298. Tiote. Encampment of the Sikhsthere, 301. Derivation of the name, ib. note. The battle; defeat of the Sikhs, 302, 303. Its influence on the victors, 305. Philosophical systems of the Indians ; their divbio'ns and tenets, 348 — 350. Phoola Singh, the Akalee, 163. note. Is slain, 164. His character, 165. note. Phoolkeas, origin and rank of the, 107. Their possessions, 108. Firt'hee Cbund; his origin and de- INDEX. 465 seendants, 48. note. He disputes the succession to Arjoon, 52. Plato, comparison of the theories of, with Brahminism, 22. note, 23. and note. Identity of certain Oriental doctrines with his system, 33, 34. note. Political representatives in India ; due discharge of the duties of, dependent on personal character, 287. and note. Pollock, General Sir George, receives aid from Golab Singh, 255. His proposed disposition of the Sikh le- vies at Caubul, 256. He abandons Jellalabad, and countenances Shah- poor's accession, 257. and Tiote. Polyandry, necessity of the custom of,amongst the Tibetans,16. andno^e. Polytheism methodised by Shunkur Acharj, 25. Poorans ; character of the legends so named, 32. and note. Pottinger, Major, disapproves of the Caubul retreat, 252. note. Pottinger, Colonel, afterwards Sir Henry, proceeds to negotiate wiflr-' the Sindhians, 198. Prinsep, Mr., views of, in reference to the Caubul policy, 253. note. Proclamations; protection of the Cis Sutlej states against Lahore (Feb. 1809), 404, 405.; (May, 1809), 407, 408. Protection to the Cis Sutlej states against one another (Aug. 1811), 409^111. Declara- tion of war (1845), 426 — 428. " Punch," or " Punchayet," character and constitution of the, 246. Punjab, the; amount of its customs and excise duties, temp. Runjeet Singh, 3. note. Its Sikh population, 343. Its revenues as estimated in 1844, 442 — 446. Punjab, the central; its rivers; freedom from savage beasts ; value of its cattle; and the products of its ar- tisans, 3. Punjab, the lower ; importance of its indigo, 3. note. Ravaged by the Sikhs under Hurree Singh, 112. Punjgurheeas. See " Krora Singheeas." Puthans, the, 8. Their employment by Govind, 74. Their defection and defeat, 75. Their military and political character, 173, 174. Cha- racter of those in the British array, 175. note. Futteeala, the imbecile Raja of, suc- ceeds Ummer Singh, 116. His Amazonian sister repulsed by George Thomas, 123. Her exploits, 124. note. Holkar and Ameer Khan profit by the Raja's differences with his wife, 128. Anecdote in refer- ence thereto, ib. Ttote. Delivers his keys to Lord Lake, 129. He makes presents to Runjeet Singh, 134: who takes advantage of the dissen- sions between the Raja and Ranee, 1 36. and note. Races of the Sikh country; their limits not identical with those of its religions, 9. Debased and secluded races, and worshippers of local deities, 10. Characteristics of race and religion, 1 1 — 14. Proportions of races and faiths in India, App. IL, 342—344. Raee Singh harasses Kujeebooddowla, 113. Receives employment under Sindhia, 121. Ragoba advances against Delhi, 97. Enters Lahore and makes Adeena Beg viceroy, 98. Raiens, location of the, 6. Their characteristics, 14. " Raj " and " Jog," signification of the terms, 356. Rajpoots, characteristics of the, 14, 15. 173, 174. Character of those in the British army, 175. note. Rama, deification of, 32. Ramanooj establishes a monastic fra- ternity, 26. Date of his existence, ib. note. Ramanund ; characteristics of the re- ligious innovations introduced by him, 32. Antipathy of his followers to the River Nerbudda, 33. note. Ram Das succeeds Ummer Das, 47. Amritsir founded by him; his death; his sons, 48. and note. Ramgurheeas, the, 106. Their rank among the Misls, 107. Their pos- sessions, 108. Ram Raee disputes Tegh Buhadur's succession to the Goorooship, 60. His hostility renewed, 6 1 . Decline of his sect, 64. Ram Surrun renders active aid to the English ; his recollections of Sir D. Ochterloney, 150. note. Religions of India; spread of scepticism H H 466 INDEX. and heresy, 27. The doctrine of " Maya," 28. Action and reaction of Mahometanism and Brahminisxn, 30. Unsettlement of the popular belief, 3 1 . Result of the coneict of creeds, 32. Innovations of Rama- nund, ib. Gorukhnath's reforms, 33. Kubeer's system, 34. Labours of Cheitun iu Bengal, and of Vul- lubh in the south, 35. Character and tendency of the various systems, 36. Advent of Nanuk and com- prehensiveness of his views, ib. See " Nanuk." Govind's reforms. See " Govind." Religious hallucinations not necessarily au indication of in- sanity, 66. note. Advantage taken of religious prejudices, 247. note. See Appendices II., III., IV., 342—347. Revenues of the Punjab as estimated in 1 844, 442 — 446. Richmond, Lieut.-Colonel, succeeds Mr. Clerk as agent on the frontier, 261. note. Is succeeded by Major Broadfoot, 287. Robertson, the historian, confirmation of his view of the Sikh character, 127. note. Robertson, Mr., Lieutenant-Governor of Agra, 253. note. Rohillas, scheme for the expulsion of the, 98. and note. Runjeet Deo, of Jummo, date of the death of, 115. note. Runjeet Singh betrothed to Sudda Kour's daughter, 118. Develop- ment of his character ; he obtains a cession of Lahore, 1 20. H is alliance with Perron, 125. Holds aloof from Holkar; visits the British camp in disguise, 129. Becomes an ally of the British, 129, 130. Reduces the Bunghees and Futhans to submission ; allies himself with Futteh Singh; repulses Sunsar Chund, 131. Marches south-west of the Punjab ; is recalled by Hol- kar's approach, 132. His projects of sovereignty, 133. Captures Loodiana, 134. and note. ' Attacks Kussoor and expels its chief, 135. Receives gifts from the Ranee of Putteeala ; captures Nurayengurh, 136. and note. Sikh fears excited by his aggressions, 137. His aver- sion to treat with the English envoy, 138. and note. Renews hos- tilities across the Sutlej, 138, 139. British troops oppose his progress, 139, 140. He agrees to a treaty, 141. Development of confidence between him and the English, 146, 147. His defensive preparations, 147. He outwits Sunsar Chund and Ummer Singh Thapa, and ac- quires Kanggra, 148. Permitted to cross the Sutlej, 149. His manoeuvres towards Shah Shpoja, ISO. Is foiled in his attempt on Mooltan, 151. His interview with Shah Mehnjood, 152. Is visited by Shah Zuman ; covets the Koh-i-noor diamond, 153. His conference and subse- quent altercation with Futteh Khan, 154. He obtains the diamond, 155. Is repulsed from Cashmeer, 156, 157. He subdues various hill chiefs, 157, 158. Captures Mool- tan, 158, 159. Renews his eiForts against Cashmeer; infringes his treaty with the English; captures Cashmeer, 160, 161. The Derajat of the Indus annexed to his domi- nions, 161. Also Dera Ismaeel Khan, 1 62. His quarrel with his mother- in-law ; interference of the English, 162, 163. 178, 179. He marches against Peshawur, 163. Battle of Noshehra ; Peshawur sacked, 164. He compels Appa Sahib to quit his territories, 167. His apprehensions of Beer Singh's machinations, 168, 169. Mr. Moorcroft visits him, 169. His system of government, 170. Its fitness for his people, 171. .His assiduity in religious matters, 172. and note. Arrival of French officers at Lahore, 173. His efforts to introduce discipline amongst his troops, 175, 176. His military re- quisitions from his feudatories, 176. note. His French officers, 177. His marriages and family relations, ib. His wife Mehtab Kour ; sup- posititious children imposed on him, 178. His other wife ; his son and grandson, 179. Degree of im- morality chargeable on him, 179. 180. His favorites, 181, 182. His confidential servants and advisers, 182, 183. and note. His position and military operations in 1 824,1 825, 184, 185. His conduct towards INDEX. 467 Futteh -Singh, 186. He seeks English medical aid ; his inquisitive- ness on the occasion, 186, 187. Interchanges compliments Arjth the British representatives, 187. His discussions with them as to the limits of his territories, 188. As- cendency of his favorites i his pro- teg£, Heera Singh, 189. Splendour of his court at Heera Singh's mar- riage, 190. His forces repel and ultimately annihilate Syed Ahmed Shah, 192—194. Height of his fame ; court paid to him by Indian princes, 195. His mission to, and conferences with. Lord William Bentinck, 195, 196. Their nego- tiations for opening the Indus to commerce, 197, 198. His specula- tions and suspicions concerning the negotiations of the English with the Sindhians, 1 98, 199. Dispossesses Buhawul Khan of part of his terri- tories, 199. His interviews with Captain Wade, 199, 200. His cor- respondence with Shah Shooja, 200. Result of their discussions, 201,202, His apprehensions of Shah Shooja ; his troops assault Peshawur, 204. Failure of an attack on the Afghans, ib. His explanations to Captain Wade; he sends presents to King William, 205. Ludakh reduced hy his forces, 206. His ambitious designs on Sindh, 206, 207. and itote. He is held in check by the English; skirmishes of the Sikhs and the Sindhians, 207, 208. The English mediate between the belli- gerent parties, 209. He defers re- luctantly to English representations, 210, 21 1. His position towards Dost Mahomed, 214. Dost Mahomed's retreat, 215. Dost Mahomed defeats hisforcesat Jumrood, 216. His ne- gotiations with Dost Mahomed and Shah Shooja, 217. His display at his grandson's marriage, 219. Insti- tutes a military order, 220. His dexterous endeavours to ingratiate himself with his English allies, 220, 221. and note. His grief at Hurree Singh's death, 221. Interference of the English with his designs, 222. Sir William Maenaghten's mission to him, 224. and note. His visit to Jummooj Golab Singh'? magnifi- cent homage to him, 224. note. He finally accedes to the requisitions of the English, 225. and note. His friendly meetings with Lord Auck- land, 226. Expressive interchange of compliments on the occasion, ib. note. His death ; results of his influence on the condition of the Sikhs, 227. Contemporary estimates of his revenue, forces, &c., ib. note. His personal habits and appearance, 228. note. Artifices resorted to to ensure his son's succession, 228. Pedigree of his family, 448. See " Proclamations," " Treaties." Runjor Singh ; his division joined by the Raja of Ladwa, 307. His move- ments near Loodiana, 309. His un- faithfulness to his troops, 311, His march from Buddowal, S12. His flight from Aleewal, 314, Russia seeks commercial relations with the Sikhs, 170. She sends agents to the banks of the Indus, 222. and note. Dost Mahomed welcomes her emissary, 223. Sacae, or Sakae, characteristics of the race of, 20. and note. Sadhoo Singh; effect of his enthusiasm in an assault on Mooltan, 158, 159. Sahib Singh Behdee invests Loodiana and opposes George Thomas, 123. Sahib Singh, Raja of Puttecala. See " Putteeala." Saint worship forbidden amongst the Sikhs, 380. Saivism, characteristics of, 24. note. Sanscrit, advantage of, as a vehicle of education in India, 363, 364. SaWun Mui], 15. note. Made governor of Mooltan, 183. His assassination, 276. Scandalmongers, prevalence of, in British India, 292. note. Scriptural writings of the Sikhs, Ap- pendices XVII., XVIII., XIX,, XX., 367—399. Sedasheo Rao expels the Afghans from Delhi, 99. and note. Sepoys, mutiny and return to duty of the, 268, 269. Their notions of the prowess of the Sikhs, 294. and note. Their belief in the invulnerability of the British, 302. Their com- plaints, 305. Their despondency, I 311. Revival of their hopes, S19. H 2 468 INDEX. Sevajee, the Maliratta chief, 73. His mercenaries, 74. note. Sbah, various significations of the tenn, 50. note. [Note. — The several names which bear the prefix of " Shah " are inserted in their places alpha- betically without such prefix.] Shahpoor succeeds Shah Sbooja, 257. and nate. Sham Singh's resolution, 319. His heroic adherence to it, 319*. Sher Shah's stronghold blockaded by the Sikhs, 1 12. Sher Singh of Booreea killed in ac- tion, 128. Sher Singh, birth of ; virtually adopted by Runjeet Singh, 178. Aids Sool- tan Mahomed Khan, 193. His suc- cessful military operations, 194, He claims to succeed Runjeet Singh, 329. Lord Auckland's reply thereto, ib. note. He renews his pretensions; Chund Kour supersedes him, 237. He is named her vicegerent, 238. He lays siege to Lahore, 239. The soldiers declare for him ; he is pro- claimed as Muharaja, 240. His army becomes uncontrollable, 241. He appeals to the English for help, 242. His pantomimic dissent from Mr. Clerk's proposals, 243. note. His ignorance of the commercial in- terests of his people, 247. He yields to English requisitions, and with- draws his troops from Lassa, 249, 250. His proposal to reward Golab Singh vetoed by the English, 252. He hesitates regnrdin^ the exchange of Jellalabad for Lu£kh, 256, 257. Interview between him and Lord Ellenborough proposed, 258. His misgivings concerning it, 259. and vote. The interview prevented, 260. He proceeds to Amritsir, 261. He mistrusts Dhian Singh, ib. As- sassination of his follower Jowala Singh, ib. note. His death by the hand of Ajeet Singh, 262. Shooja, Shah, deposes Shah Mehmood, 132. Receives Mr. Elphinstone as British Envoy, 138. Is ejected by Shah Mehmood, 150. His confer- encrs with Runjeet Singh, 150, 151. Captures Peshawur; is subsequently driven out, 151. Recaptures Pesh- awur; is seized and imprisoned, 152. His family repairs to Lahore; in- terviews of his wife with Runjeet Singh, 153. He falls into Runjeet Singh's hands, 154 ; who obtains from him the Koh-i-noor diamond, 155. Jiote. His misfortunes, ib. Flight of his family; his attempt on Cashmeer; is honorably dismissed, 1 56. and note. Failure of his efforts to reinstate himself, 166, 167. Beer Singh's proposals to him, 168. Re- vival of his hopes ; his correspond- ence with various powers, 200. His negotiations with Runjeet Singh, and with the Sindhians, 201. En- glish indifference concerning his at- tempts, which excite Dost Maho- med's apprehensions, 203, 203. and note. He defeats the Sindhians, but is routed by Dost Mahomed, 203. 213. He returns to Loodiana, 204. Runjeet Singh again trifles with him, 217. Wishes of the En- glish regarding him, 222. They resolve to replace him on his throne, 224. Negotiations consequent thereon; Runjeet Singh's acquies- cence gained, 224, 225. and notes. His maintenance dependent on British aid, 232. Discussions there- upon, 235. His family placed un- der Major Broadfuot's charge, 244. Steps deemed advisable on his death, 257. Sir William Macnagh- ten's proposal, 285. Shoojaooddowla aids Ahmed Shah, 99< Shuheeds, the, 106. Their rank among the Misls, 107, 108. note. Their possessions, 108. Shunkur Acharj methodizes poly- theism, and establishes ascetic or- ders, 25. His origin, 26. nate. Sikh country, geographical limits of the, I. Its climate, productions, &c., 2, 3, 4. Variety of tribes and races by which it is peopled, 4 — 9. Various religions professed by its peoples, 9. Hindoo shopkeepers; village population of certain dis- tricts purely Sikh, 10. Sikhs, or "disciples," origin of the, 1. Their fondness for blue clothing, 3. note. Particular localities occupied by them, &. Relative proportions of the principal races, ib. Their religions ; the Sikhs of the central plains, 9. Of "Malwa," 10. Character of INDEX. 469 their religious faith, 13. Their en- thusiasm, energy, and anticipations of the future, 14. Nanuk's injunc- tions to them, 43. Their position at his death, 44, and note. Taxation introduced by Arjoon, 49. Im- pulse given to their progress by the writings of Goor Das. 51. They become a distinct state within the empire, 57. Elevating tendencies of Govind's labours, 82. They rally round Bunda, and avenge the slaughter of Govind's children, 84. Their exploits and fortunes under Bunda, 85. Indignities inflicted upon them in captivity, 86. Their position after Bunda's death. 87> 88. note. Their conduct whilst un- der subjection ; cause of the vitality of their sect, 90. Renewal of their struggles for independence; their heroism and martyrdoms, 91. Their attack on Ahmed Shah, 92, 93. , Their dispersal by Munnoo, 93. and note. Their defeat by Adeena Beg, 95. Their expubion from Amritsir ; their triumph at Lahore, 97. Their junction with the Mahrattas, 98. They erect forts, 99. Their victory under Churrut Singh, 100. Their first " Gooroomutta," 100. Their great defeat in 1762, 100, 101. 1%eir attack on Kussoor, 101. They capture and destroy Sirhind, 103. They possess Lahore; their assembly at Amritsir, 103. and note. Feudal nature of their fede- ration; their Gooroomuttas, 103, 104. Defects of their political sys- tem, 105. and note. Their " Misis; " 106—109. See "Misls." Their internal disagreements, 111. Ahmed Shah's renewed attacks, 112. Ex- pedition from Delhi against them, 116. Zabita Khan's conciliatory advances, 117. Amusing instance of fear excited by their presence, ib. and note. Dawn of Runjeet Singh's power, 120. Their alliance with Sindhia, 121. Their conflicts with George Thomas, 123. Their first intercourse with the English, 125. and note. English aid solicited by them, 126. Early English es- timates of their character and ap- pearance, 126, 127. and note. Their chiefs proffer allegiance to Lord H H Lake, 127. Their services, 128, 1 29. Nature of their alliance with the English, 130. Dissensions among their chiefs ; a Gooroomutta held ; Rui\jeet Singh's projects, 133. Fears excited by his aggres- sions, 136, 137. Tlie Sirhind chiefs protected by the British, 138. . Terms agreed on between the par- ties, 141. Relations of the protected chiefs towards each other, 143. Perplexities of the British authori- ties concerning their various rights ' and customs, 1 43, 1 44. Character- istics of the Sikh soldiers, 173, 174. Contemporary notices ; their match- locks, 174, 175. Runjeet Singh in- troduces military discipline, 175, 176. Completion thereof under the French generals, 177. Their regimental arrangements, 26. note. Extent of their amenability to charges of immorality, 180, 181. and notes. Effect of the commercial designs of the English on their po- sition and prospects, 184, 185. Their condition and progress under Runjeet Singh. See "Runjeet Singh." Their dislike of Colonel Wade, 230. Their commercial negotiations with the English, 233, 234. note. Ex- cesses committed by their army, 241. Their worth as soldiers undervalued by the English, 243. and note. They become suspicious of the English, 244. Major Broadfoot's proceedings irritate them, 244, 245. Altered position of their army in relation to the State, 245. Its military organ- ization ; their " Punchayets," 24,5, 246, and note. Their negotiations with the ^English relative to inland trade, 246, 247. Character of the religious obstacles interposed, 247. and Tiote. Their conflicts with the Chinese, 348, 349. Their curious proposal of co-operation with the English, 249. note. Their defeat by the Chinese ; sufferings of their troops from cold, 250. Cessation of hostilities, 251. Their military ca- pabilities still distrusted by the English, 253. Aid rendered by them to the English, 253 — 256. Their view of the policy of aban- doning Afghanistan, 257. and note, 258. note. Skilful movements of 470 INDEX. their troops before Lord Ellenbo- rough ; their admiration of Sir. W. Nott, 260. Their army increases its political influence, 264. Heera Singh's tactics towards their sol- diers, 268. Their discussions with the English concerning Soochet Singh's buried treasure, 269, 270. and note. The soldiers contemn Jowahir Singh's conduct, 278. They bring him to trial and execute him, 279. Their army all-powerfiil, 280. The Indian public prepared for war be- tween them and the English, 281. Their fears of the English prepar- ations, 282 — 286. Influence of their estimate of the British agent on their feelings, 287. See " Broad- foot, Major." Tactics of their chiefe towards their army, 291, 292. and note. Their enthusiasm towards the " Khalsa," 293. They virtually de- clare war, 293, 294. Their soldierly capabilities still undervalued, by the English, 295, 296. and notef. Their designs discredited by the English authorities, 296. Mute§. Extent of their forces ; base objects contem- plated by their commanders,299. and notes. Unity and determination of their troops, 300. Their repulse at the battle of Moodkee, 301 . and note. Their intrepidity at P'herooshuhur, 303. Treachery and flight of their leaders, 304. andTiote. They threaten Loodiana, and harass the British outposts, 307, 308. Their conflict with Sir Harry Smith's troops at Buddowal, 309, 310. They plunder the British baggage, 311. Their elaltion at their temporary success, 312. Their preparations for the battle of Aleewal, 312, 313. Their defeat, 314. Their chiefs desire to treat with the British, 315. Dis- graceful arrangement come to, 317. Their position preparatory to the battle of Subraon, 317, 318. The battle, 320—320'*. Tej Singh's treachery and flight, 319*. Sham Singh's heroism, 319, 319*. Indo- mitable bravery of their troops, ibid. Estimateof their forces, and of their loss, 320*. note. Their manly bear- ing imder defeat, 325- Existence of the principle of caste among them, 357. Religious injunctions concerning it, 358. Description ot their rites of initiation, 359. Their devotion to steel, 361. Their dis- tinctive usages, 362. Govind's or- dinances and restrictions relative thereto, 394 — 399. List of their various sects, 400—402. See " Pro- clamations," ;' Treaties." Sindh ; supply of sugar to its markets, 3. It becomes a source of solicitude to Runjeet Singh, 1 96. ( See Sindh- ians. ) Reasons why its commercial transactions are not more important, 234. SiJrjSjyuM^^ i^' i>. Hi}! Siudhanwala chiefs. See "Ajeet Singh," " Lehna Singh," and " Uttur Singh. '- Sindhia overpowered by Ahmed Shah, 98. He restores the IWahratta power in Upper India ; his alliance with the Sikhs ; Delhi succumbs to him, 121. His views thwarted by Holkar and George Thomas, 122. He supersedes Perron, 125. Sindhians, the, receive commercial overtures from the English, 198. Shah Shooja's negotiations with them, 200 — 202. They oppose and are defeated by him, 203. Runjeet Singh's check upon them, 206, 207. note. Their disputes with the Sikhs, 208. The English mediate between them, 209, 210. " Singhpooreeas." See " Feizioolapoo- " Singhs; " initiation of their sect, 70, Meaning of the epithet, ib. note. Their rules of conduct, 7 1 . Sirdar, explanation of the term, 106. Sirhind destroyed by the Sikhs, 102. Its importance as a military post, 284. note. Nature of the protection afforded to its chiefs, 289. ru>te. Siva; chosen by Shunkur Acharj as a type of Deity, 26 ; and by Go- rukhnath, 33. Smith, Sir Harry ; skirmish of his bri- gade with the Sikhs at Buddowal, 309, 310. Sikh boastings on the occasion, 31 1. His preparations for the battle of Aleewal, 312. Posi- tion taken by his troops, ibid. His victory, 314. Loss in killed and wounded, 315. no^e. His reported unwillingness to engage the enemy at Buddowal, ibid. note. Smyth, Major ; impression of, relative to the sepoys, 296. note j^. INDEX; 471 Sobraon. See " Subraon." Sohun Singh proceeds to Lahore on a mission of reconciliation, 272. Is slain by the Sikh soldiers, 273. Somnath, the gates of; Runjeet Singh advocates their restoration, 201 . and note, Soochet Singh enters Kunjeet Singh's service; his character, 182. His mortification at Heera Singh's ele- vation to power, 264. Failure of his attempt at insurrection ; his death, 266. Contentions concerning his buried treasure, 269, 270. and note, ■ 271. note. His estates taken by Golab Singh, 272. Ultimate dis- position of his treasure, 324. Sookerchukeeas, rank of the, among the Misls, 107. Their possessions, 108. Their military strength, 1 09. They blockade Rhotas, 112. Sooltan Mahomed Khan succeeds Ya Mahomed; is defeated by Syed Ahmed Shah, 1 93. Regains Fesha- wur, 194. Attempts to open nego- tiations with the English, 21 2. He becomes a tributary of Runjeet Singh, 315. Is compelled to impri- son fugitives who seek his protection, 236. His connection with the Jum- moo Rajas, 351. Intention of the Sikhs regarding him, 358. note. Sooruj Mull opposes Nujeebooddowla, and is slain, 103. Sree Chund founds the sect of Oo- dassees, 45. Steel an object of devotion amongst the Sikhs, 71. 104. 110. Rationale of the custom, 361. Steinbach, Lieut.- Col., rapid march performed byhisSikhregiment,217. note. His estimate of Runjeet Singh's forces and revenue, 227. nofe. See also 236. note, and 237. note. Stirling, Mr., date of his residence in AfghaiHstan, 212. Subraon, plan of the Sikh position at, sent to Colonel Lawrence by the Sikh traitor Lai Singh, 299. note. Disgraceful compact of the Sikh chiefs regarding the contemplated battle, 317. Fosition and condition of the Sikh troops, 3 17, 3 18. axAnote. Plan of attack on the part of the British, 319. Commencement of the fight, 320. The battle, ibid. In- doiinitable bearing of the Sikhs, 319*. Passage of the Sutlej, 320"'. Loss in killed and wounded ; derivation of the word Subraon, ih, notes. Sub- mission of the Muharaja, 331. Sudda Kour, betroths her daughter to Runjeet Singh, 118. Her dis- sensions with him; he imprisons her, 162, 163. 179. Her trick upon him ; her disappointment, 178. Sufder Jung becomes alarmed at Meer Munnoo's designs, 94. Sugar produced in the Punjab ; its value, 3. Sunsar Chund joins Muha Singh ; becomes possessor of Katiggra, 118. Corresponds with the English, 130. Is twice repulsed by Runjeet Singh, 131. Hiscollision with the Goorkhas, 1 34. Is overthrown by them, 1 35. and note. Is foiled in his attempt to make use of Runjeet Singh, who imprisoils his son, 148. Is called on by the English to attack the Goor- khas, 149, 150. note. Is alarmed by Runjeet Singh's proceedings, 158. Consequences of his crossing the Sutlej, 160, 161. His death, 165. and note. Fliglit of his daughters and widow ; death of the latter, and of Unrodh Chund, his son, 189. Surufraz Khan maintained in Rajen- poor by Runjeet Singh, 207. and jiote. Sutcha Padsha, signification of the term, 361. Sutlej, Races located near the, 7. Crossed by the Sikhs, 294. Its passage by the British troops, 320*. Suttee discountenanced by Ummer Das, 47. 386. Practised at Jowahir Singh's obsequies, 280. Syed Ahmed Shah Ghazee, early his- tory of, 190. He preaches religious reform; his disciples, 190. and note. His pilgrimage; substantial devo- tion of his converts, 191. Effect ot his exhortations on the Delhi tailors, 1 92. note. Attacks and is repulsed by a body of Sikhs, 193. Takes advantage of the report of an at- tempt to poison him, 193, 193. note. He takes Peshawur, 1 93. Decrease of his influence ; gives umbrage to the Eusofzaees ; is surprised and slain, 194. and note. Tailors of Delhi, effect of Syed Ah- 472 INDEX. med Shah's exhortations on the, 192. note. Tara Singh opposes and is overcome by George Thomas, 1 23. His death ; heroism of his widow, 136. Tara Singh imposed as a son of Run- jeet Singh, 178. Taroo Singh, religious heroism of, 91, 92. Tartars of Tibet, S. Tegh Buhadur succeeds Hurkishen; his claims disputed, 60. Anecdote of his accession, ib. note. His pilgrimage and return, 61, His predatory incur- sions ; Aurungzeb defeats him ; his injunction to his son, 63. Legend of his execution, 62, 63. note. His character and in6uence, 63. Reco- very of his remains, 64. and note. Tej Singh made commander-in-chief, 280. His treacherous design against the Sikh army, 292. 293, 299. and Tiote. He deserts his troops on the field, 304. His apprehensions, 312. His troops recross the Sutlej, ibid. His position at Subraon, 318. His treachery at Subraon, 319*. His mercenary offer to, and rebuff by, the English, 324. Thanksgivings for victory, general im- propriety of, 307. note. Thomas, George, becomes an Indian adventurer ; enters Begum Sumroo's . employment ; transfers his services to Sindhia, 122. Fortifies Hansee, casts artillery, and engages in hos- tilities with the Sikhs, 122, 123. His successes and reverses ; is de- feated ; his death, 124. Tibetans, characteristics of the, 16. Prevalence of polyandry amongst them, ib. and note. Time ; position assigned to it in some theological systems, 40. Tiofe. Tobacco proscribed among the Sikhs, 363. 397. note. Tod's " Rajasthan.'' See 7. note. Toorks, Toorkmuns; lasting impres- sion produced by their conquests, 5. Localities occupied by them, ib. Impulse derived by Mahometanism from their conversion, 29. Trade, obstacles to, in Sindh and Af- ghanistan, 234, Transmigration, the doctrine of, 23. note. Its merits discussed, 41. note. Sikh scriptural allusions to it, 3S1. Treaties ; Runjeet Singh and tlie East India Company (1806), 403. Runjeet Singh and the British Government (1809), 406. For the navigation of the Indus (1832), 41 1. (1834) 414. Runjeet Singh and Shah Shooja (1838), 417. Indus and Sutlej tolls (1839), 422, (1840) 423. British Government and Dhuleep Singh (first Laliore treaty, 1846), 428—43.'$. Supplementary articles, 433 — 435. British Govern- ment and Golab Singh (1846), 435 — 437. British Government and Dhuleep Singh (second Lahore treaty 1 846), 437 — 442. See " Pro- clamations." Tymoor, son of Ahmed Shah, appointed Governor of the Punjab, 96. His conflicts with the Sikhs, 97. He retakes Mooltan ; bis death, 115. Ummer Das succeeds Unggud, 46. He disclaims the Oodassees, and discoimtenances Suttee, 47. His death, ib. Extent of his reforms, 87. Ummer Singh, of Putteala, created Muharaja l)y Ahmed Shah, 112. His territorial acquisitions, 115. Promises fealty to the Delhi court, 116. His death, A. Ummer Singh Thapa opposes Sunsar Chund, 134. Invests Kanggra, 135. and note. Is outwitted by Runjeet Singh, 148. Attempts to obtain English aid, 148, 149. The Goor- khas and the English at war, 149. Unggud; characteristic legend of his faith in Nanuk, who names him as his successor, 44, 45. His birth and death, 46. and note. Unrodh Chund, misfortunes and death o^ 189. Uroras, the, 6. Those of the cities, 8, 9. Their origin and relation to the Kshutrees, 345, 346. Uttur Singh Sindhanwala suggested as a husband for Chund Kbur, 238. He escapes from Lahore, 241. At- tempts to rouse the people in his behalf; fails and escapes, 263, 264. Renews his attempt, 266. Is slain, 267. Uzeezooddeen becomes Runjeet Singh's confidential adviser, 182. Assists in his sovereign's conferences with Lord Auckland, 226, note. His cautious INDEX. 473 conduct, 243. note. His admission relatireto the Punchayets, 246. note. Ventura, General, reaches Lahore, 173. He aids in disciplining the Sikhs, 177. Obtains a celebrated horse for Runjeet Singh, 193. and note. Recaptures Hurrund, 195. note. Dispossesses Buhawul Khan of part of his territories, 199. Re- ceives a military command from Nao Nihal Singh, 235. His opinion on the cause of Nao Nihal's death, 237, note. His estimate of Dhian Singh, 252. note. Vikrumajeet ; source of his title of Sa- karee, SO. note. Vishnoo made a type of the Deity by Ramancoj, 26. VuUubh, character of the teachings of, 35. Vuzeerees, localities inhabited by the, 6. Wade, Captain (afterwards Sir Claude) ; note on his life of Runjeet Singh, 131, 132. note. Appointed English agent at Lahore, 187, 188. He ne- gotiates a meeting between the Go- vernor-General and Runjeet Singh, 195, 196. Explains to Runjeet Singh the object of Colonel Pot- tinger's mission to Sindh, 198. Re- monstrates with Runjeet Singh, 210. His view of the designs of the French, 219. note. He accompanies Shazada Tymoor, 226. and note. Becomes obnoxious to Nao Nihal Singh; Runjeet Singh's esteem for him, 230. Sikh insinuations against him, 231, 232. note. Resumes his duties at Loodiana; he is replaced by Mr. Clerk, 232, 233. He en- deavours to negotiate a tariff for the Punjab, 247. His estimate of Sikh prowess, 253. note. His observa- tion on the position of political re- presentatives, 287. note. " Wah Goroo ! " signification of the exclamation, 360. Wheeler, Colonel, 239. note. Whewell, Professor; contrast of his view of the value of the scientific labors of the Arabs with that of Humboldt, 31, 32. note. ■/- Whudnee ; dissensions of Runjeet Singh and Sudda Kbur regarding it, 162, 163. 188. William the Fourth sends presents to Runjeet Singh, 196. Wilson (Professor H. H.), value of his researches into the history of the Hindoo sects, 25. note, 82. note. His view of the doctrines of N^nuk, 354. Wuttoos, location of the, 7. Yar Mahomed Khan retakes Pesh- > awur, 160. Becomes tributary to Runjeet Singh, 162. Offends Ma- homed Azeem Khan, 163. Is al- lowed to hold Feshawur, 164. His renewed protestations of allegiance, . 185. His agreement with the Eu- sofzaees ; accused of an attempt to poison Syed Ahmed Shah, 192. Is attacked and slain, 193. Yog, nature of the doctrine so named, iX ^ ^ ^ S3, and note. ^ . Zabtta Khan, aided by the Sikhs, be- ^:_ sieges Delhi, 116. Adopts the Sikh ^^ costume, 117. His straitened po- ^ , sition, ih. X'^"' ' /' Zorawur Singh reduces Ludakh to submission, 206. He takes Iskardo, ^ ^ ^^^t^ 247. His pretext for warring on the Tibetans, 248. He pursues his iXj>i-^ => .-- conquests; is stopped by English interference, 248, 249. He is de- feated and slain by the Lassa forces, 250. Zukareea Khan succeeds Abdool Sum- mud, 90, 91. Botet. Contest between his sons for the viceroyalty of La- hore, 92. Zuman, Shah, succeeds to the throne of Caubul ; his designs ; his bro- ther's disloyalty, 119. His renewed attempts at conquest ; cedes Lahore to Runjeet Singh, 120. Is deposed and blinded, 132. Visits Lahore; result of his son's interview with Sir David Ochterloney, 153. and note. Is pensioned by the English, 167. and note. Proceeds under con- voy with Major Broadfoot, 244. 'If^U- THE END. ERRATUM, Last line of page 82., for "is" read " are.'^ London:' Spottiswoodes and Shaw, N ew-streec- Square.