The Source Book On Sikhism

The Fall of The Sikh Empire (27 June, 1839 - 29 March, 1849)

This period narrates the tragic drama of succession and the annexation of Punjab by the British.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh died on 27 June, 1839 and the Punjab was annexed by the British on 23 March, 1849. In about ten years after the Maharaja’s death , the treacherous and unfaithful Dogras of Jannu with their well-rehearsed plan, double-crossed the Sikh Sardars and sold the Sikh empire to the British.

The main villain of the first act of his bloody drama was Raja Dhian Singh, the Prime Minister, who murdered, in cold blood, four direct heirs of the throne and hundreds of their supporters. He poisoned Kharak Singh, eldest son of Maharaja Ranjit Singh; crushed to death, Naunihal Singh, son of Kharak Singh and murdered Sahib Kaur, wife of Prince Naunihal Singh. He was murdered in 1843. The villains of the second act were two Dogra-Brahmins, Prime Minister Lal Singh and Army Chief Tej Singh.

The turmoil began on the very eve of Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s death. Raja Dhian Dogra had started planning the modes of the killings during the illness of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

Kharak Singh succeeded to the throne after his father’s death. Chet Singh Bajwa, a brother-in-law of the prince and his younger brother were murdered in front of Kharak Singh on 8 October, 1839, in his palace. Other relatives of Chet Singh Majwa were arrested and put into prison and later brutally murdered.

Raja Dhian Singh made Naunihal Singh, the son of Kharak Singh, the de facto Maharaja and put Kharak Singh under house arrest. Kharak Singh was later poisoned to death. He died on 5 November, 1840.

On the same evening, when Prince Naunihal Singh was coming back after cremating his father, an archway of the north gate of Huzuribagh was made to fall on him, at the signal of Raja Dhian Singh. Naunihal Singh was seriously injured and was rushed to the palace under the guard of Raja Dhian Singh. His request for a glass of water was dismissed by Dhian Singh. The Palace gates were closed and not even Rani Chand Kaur, the mother of the Prince and Rani Sahib Daur, wife of the Prince, were allowed in. The Prince was tortured to death in the palace and died the same evening though his death was officially declared on 8 November by Dhian Singh.

Rani Sahib Kaur, the wife of Naunihal Singh, was pregnant at the time of the death of her husband. On 27 November, 1840, Rani Chand Kaur, the mother of Naunihal Singh was made regent till Sahib Kaur delivered her child. Sher Singh, a son of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and Rani Mehtab Kaur, put forward his claim for the succession.

On 9 June, 1842, Rani Chand Kaur was brutally murdered by her maid servant, on the instigation of Raja Dhian Singh. She crushed Rani’s skull with a grinding stone.

Sher Singh became the Maharaja in June 1842. Sandhawalia Sardars were related to Rani Chand Kaur. After the death of the Rani, whom they had supported for her regency, their estates were confiscated and there were rumours of the Royal orders of their arrest and murder.

On the same day, Ajit Singh also killed Raja Dhian Singh, in the Lahore fort.

Hira Singh Dogra, the Dogra chief and a son of Dhian Singh, incited the army generals against the Sandhawalia Sardars. The army ambushed the Sandhwalia Sardar in the Lahore fort on 16 September 1843, and killed him along with his associates.

On 17 September, 1843, Prince Dalip Singh, the youngest son of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and Rani Jind Kaur was proclaimed Maharaja and Hira Singh Dogra as his Prime Minister. Dalip Singh, at this time, was only five years old.

Prince Kashmira Singh and Peshaura Singh proclaimed their right to the throne. The Khalsa army supported the right of Dalip Singh but recommended pensions and estates and for the other two Princes.

Suchet Singh Dogra, an uncle of Hira Singh asked the Sikh army to dismiss the Prime Minister Hira Singh and his associate Panjit Jalla, a Brahmin priest of their misdeeds. The army chiefs rejected Suchet Singh’s petition and decided to remain loyal to the Prime Minister.

In 1844, Pandit Jalla accused Rani Jinda of having illicit relations with Lal Singh Brahmin. The army chiefs called upon Hira Singh and Pandit Jalla to withdraw the accusation. Hira Singh turned down the army’s request and instead requested his uncle Gulab Singh Dogra, of Jannu, for help, to teach the army chiefs a lesson. In the fight which pursued both Hira Singh and Pandit Jalla were slain. In 1845, Dalip Singh was engaged with the daughter of Chattar Singh of Attariwala. Prince Peshaura Singh captured the fort of Attock. Chhatar Singh Attariwala proceeded to Attock. Peshaura Singh submitted to him. The rebel forces later seized the Prince and murdered him.

On 21 September, 1845, the army chiefs at Lahore killed Jawahar Singh, the brother of Rani Jinda for the conspiracy of murdering Prince Peshaura Singh. The army took over the overall control of Punjab and appointed one Diwan Dina Nath as its spokesman. It is surprising to note that, despite the planned killing of the successors of Maharaja Ranjit Singh by the Dogra and the ultimate Sikh resurgence, many of the chiefs of the army council were still Dogras-Brahmins.

Lal Singh and Tej Singh, two Dogras-Brahmins, respectively, became the next Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief of the Sikh forces. Immediately after taking charge, they, along with Gulab Singh Dogra of Jannu, communicated with the British to sell them the Sikh military secrets for personal favours and money. They invited the British to annex Punjab and in return gave them the top posts in the new set up.

In July 1844, Lord Hardinge was appointed the new Governor General of India. In September, 1844, Broadfoot was appointed a military agent in Ludhiana. In December, 1845, Lord Gough brought some elite military units from Meerut and Ambala to Ferozepur. General Littler was in command at Ferozepur cantonment. He had assembled a large number of boats to bridge the Sutlej to attack Punjab.

The first Anglo-Sikh war (1845-46) was thrust upon the Sikhs by the British. It consisted of five battles: battle of Mudki (December 18, 1845), battle of Ferozepur (December 21, 1845), battle of Buddowal (January 21, 1846), battle of Aliwal (January 28, 1846), and battle of Sabrao (February 10, 1846). All five battles brought havoc and destruction for the Sikh army for Tej Singh and Lal Singh had already communicated to the British the strength, layout, numbers and weak spots of the Sikh army. They deliberately directed the Sikh force to advance towards those targets, where they could easily fall into the enemy’s ambush. They led many crack Sikh-army units directly into the death cell. It was not the British who defeated the Sikh army, it was the treachery of the Dogra minister and the Dogra Chief. Thousands of Sikh soldiers were killed and drowned in the Sutlej. The Sikh hero Sham Singh Attariwala died in this war. The battle of Ferozepur (December 21), which the Sikhs had won, was turned into their defeat by the ugly and unpardonable designs of the Dogras.

The war was brought to a close by the Treaty of Lahore, 1846. The main provisions of the treaty were:

a. The Jullandar Doab and all the Sikh territories to the left of the Sutlej were transferred to the British.

b. An Englishman, Sir Henry Lawrence, was stationed at Lahore as a British resident.

c. The numbers of the Sikh army and its guns were restricted and were to be decided by the British.

d. A British army contingent was stationed at Lahore to maintain peace and order in the state.

e. Dalip Singh was recognized as the ruler of Punjab with a Council of Regency. Lal Singh was re-affirmed as the Prime Minister for his ugly and treacherous role.

f. A war indemnity of 15 million rupees was to be paid to the British.

As the Sikh treasury did not contain sufficient funds to pay off the war debt, the state of Kashmir was sold to Raja Gulab Singh, by the British, for 10 million rupees. Thus, Raja Gulab Singh, who helped the British to defeat the Sikhs was rewarded by the British by making him the ruler of the most beautiful part of Ranjit Singh’s Punjab.

In December 1846, Sir Henry Lawrence was given more powers to control the internal affairs of the Punjab.

In 1848, Lord Dalhousie was made the Governor General of India. He had hardly been in India a few months when the second Anglo-Sikh war broke out.

Maharani Jinda was put under house arrest on 9 August, 1847, and was deported to Benares in 1848. In the province of Multan, Diwan Mulchard was replaced by General Kalan Singh, in December, 1847. In the changeover two Englishmen, Vans Agnews and Lieutenant Anderson were murdered.

After the Treaty of Lahore, 1846, the highest posts in the province were filled by the British and the salaries of the Punjabi employees were greatly reduced. These acts brought discontent and distrust in the army ranks and they called upon their leaders to liberate Punjab from the British. This led to a revolt and an uprising by the Sikhs at a number of strategic places in Punjab. This revolt later turned into the second Anglo-Sikh war.

The second war was fought at three fronts: Battles of Ramnagar and Sadullapur (November, 1848), Battle of Chillianwala (January 13, 1849), and Battle of Gujarat (February 21, 1849). The first two battles of Ramnagar and Sadullapur were faced by Sher Singh Attariwala in the North and Dewan Mulraj in the South. General Campbell and Lord Gough ambushed the Sikh rebellions forces and they had to retreat to Jhelum.

On 13 January, 1849, the third battle was fought near the village of Chillanwala. The Sikh army gave a crushing defeat to the British despite the fact that the British had a much larger and well equipped army. The British retreated across the Chaj to the banks of the Chenab.

The British collected all their power and support and fought the battle of Gujrat with the advancing Sikh forces. The Sikh soldiers fought heroically but the weight of numbers and superior armoury decided the day. The Sikh resistance was completely crushed on 11 March, 1849, and by a proclamation dated 29 March, 1949, the Sikh kingdom was liquidated and Punjab annexed to the British India. Maharaja Dalip Singh stepped down from the illustrious throne of Maharaja Ranjit Singh never to sit on it again.