Anglo-Sikh Wars

In the early nineteenth century, Maharaja Ranjit Singh expanded and solidified the Sikh state of Punjab as British-controlled territories were inadvertently brought closer to Punjab’s borders through conquest or annexation. Who was Maharaja Ranjit Singh?  What was the reason for the Anglo-Sikh wars? Scroll down the page to learn more about the relationship between Punjab and the British.

With the British, Ranjit Singh pursued a circumspect partnership in exchange for some area south of the Sutlej River. Wars broke out as a result of the conflicts between the Sikhs and the British. In northwest India, it led to the British invasion and annexation of Punjab.

Read: Sikhism: History, founders and Beliefs

 Consolidation of Punjab

• Following the murder of Guru Gobind Singh, the last Sikh guru, a group of Sikhs under the leadership of Banda Bahadur rose out against the Mughals during the rule of Bahadur Shah.
• In 1715, Farrukhsiyar overcame Banda Bahadur, and in 1716, he was put to death.
• The Sikh polity subsequently split into the Bandai (Liberal) and Tat Khalsa groupings after becoming leaderless once more (Orthodox).
• In 1721, Bhai Mani Singh was able to repair this division among the disciples.
• Later, in 1784, Kapur Singh Faizullapuria set up the Sikhs under the Dal Khalsa with the intention of unifying Sikhs on a political, cultural, and economic level.
• The Khalsa’s entire body was used to construct Taruna Dal, the army of the young people, and Budha Dal, the army of the veterans.
• Punjab saw a great deal of unrest and instability as a result of the Mughals’ decline and Ahmad Shah Abdali’s invasions.
• These political conditions helped the organised Dal Khalsa to deepen its consolidation.
• The Sikhs united in misls, which were democratically governed military brotherhoods. The Arabic term misl, which meaning “equal” or “alike,” is used.
• Misl is another word for “state.” From Saharanpur in the east to Attock in the west, from the mountainous regions in the north to Multan in the south, many misls started to rule the Punjab region under Sikh chieftains between 1763 and 1773.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh

• The first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, which governed the northwest Indian subcontinent in the first half of the nineteenth century, was Ranjit Singh, also known as Sher-e-Punjab or the “Lion of Punjab” and also known as Sher-e-Punjab.
• He was born in Pakistani Punjab around 1780 to the Sukerchakia misl of the Sikh confederacies chief.
• He united 12 Sikh misls in 1801 and sacked a number of petty kingdoms to establish himself as the “Maharaja of Punjab.”
• Numerous Afghan raids were successfully thwarted, leading to the conquest of cities like Lahore, Peshawar, and Multan.
• His capital was Lahore.
• In the northwest, his Sikh Empire extended south of the Himalayas and north of the Sutlej River. His dominion included the cities of Lahore, Multan, Srinagar (Kashmir), Attock, Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Jammu, Sialkot, Amritsar, and Kangra.
• He kept friendly connections with the British.
• Reforms, modernization, infrastructure investment, and general prosperity characterised Ranjit Singh’s administration. His Khalsa army and government included Sikhs, Hindus, Muslims, and Europeans.
• His legacy includes the reconstruction of the Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar as well as other notable gurudwaras, such as Takht Sri Patna Sahib in Bihar and Hazur Sahib Nanded in Maharashtra. His legacy also includes a period of Sikh cultural and creative renaissance.
• His army had soldiers of various racial and religious backgrounds.
• In terms of fighting, logistics, and infrastructure, his army was quite effective.
• After his passing in 1839, there was a struggle for control among his various relatives. This marked the start of the Empire’s decline.
• When Ranjit Singh passed away in June 1839, the collapse of his empire officially started.
• His legitimate eldest son, Kharak Singh, took over as his successor.

Misl

• At the time of Ranjit Singh’s birth (November 2, 1780), there were 12 important misls: Ahluwaliya, Bhangi, Dallewalia, Faizullapuria, Kanhaiya, Krorasinghia, Nakkai, Nishaniya, Phulakiya, Ramgarhiya Sukharchakiya, and Shaheed.
• The primary government of the misl was the Gurumatta Sangh, which was essentially a political, social, and economic entity.
• Mahan Singh, a Sukerchakia misl ruler, was the father of Ranjit Singh. When Mahan Singh passed away, Ranjit Singh was only 12 years old.
• Ranjit Singh, however, displayed early political astuteness. All of the big misls had fallen apart by the end of the 18th century, except Sukarchakia.

The English and Maharaja Ranjit Singh

The idea of a united Franco-Russian invasion of India by land route alarmed the English. In 1807, Charles Metcalfe was sent to Lahore by Lord Minto.

On the condition that the English maintain their neutrality in the case of a Sikh-Afghan confrontation and acknowledge Ranjit Singh as the ruler of the entire Punjab, including the Malwa (cis-Sutlej) provinces, Ranjit Singh accepted Metcalfe’s proposal for an offensive and defensive alliance.

The negotiations failed, though. Ranjit Singh made the decision to ratify the Treaty of Amritsar (April 25, 1809) with the Company in the midst of a new political climate in which the English had gained more sway and the Napoleonic menace had subsided.

Read: The Changes introduced by the British in India

Amritsar Treaty (1809)

The Amritsar Treaty was significant for its immediate and potential effects. It prevented Ranjit Singh from achieving one of his most prized goals, which was to expand his rule over the entire Sikh populace by designating the Sutlej River as the boundary between his and the Company’s domains.

He switched his focus to the west, taking Peshawar (1819), Kashmir (1819), and Multan (1818). (1834). Despite being coerced by political pressures to ratify the Tripartite Treaty with the English in June 1838, Ranjit Singh refused to let British troops enter Dost Mohammad, the Afghan Amir, through his territory.

The dealings between Raja Ranjit Singh and the Company between 1809 and 1839 blatantly show the latter’s precarious status. Even though he was aware of his dangerous position, he took no steps to form a coalition with other Indian rulers or to preserve a balance of power. Punjab Kharak Singh, Ranjit Singh’s lone legitimate son and heir, was ineffective after Ranjit Singh, and during his brief tenure, the court divides appeared.

Punjab After Ranjit Singh

• Punjab fell into disorder as a result of Kharak Singh’s premature death in 1839 and the accidental murder of his son, Prince Nau Nihal Singh.
• The plots and counterplans of several organisations to grab the throne of Lahore gave the English the opportunity to strike forcefully.
• Following its policy of amity with the English company, the Lahore government permitted British forces to pass through its territory twice: once on their way into Afghanistan and once again on their way back to exact revenge for their defeat.
• In Punjab, these marches sparked unrest and economic hardship.
• After Nau Nihal Singh passed away, Sher Singh, another son of Ranjit Singh, took over, but he was killed in late 1843.
• Soon after, Ranjit Singh’s minor son Daleep Singh was crowned as Maharaja, with Hira Singh Dogra serving as wazir and Rani Jindan serving as regent.
• As a result of royal intrigue, Hira Singh was killed in 1844.
• Brother of Rani Jindan and the new wazir, Jawahar Singh, immediately infuriated the army and was deposed and put to death in 1845.
• In the same year, Teja Singh was named commander of the troops, while Lal Singh, a lover of Rani Jindan, won over the army to his cause and was given the title of Wazir.

Now let us move on to the Anglo-Sikh Wars,

Anglo-Sikh War I (1845–46)

• The first Anglo-Sikh war is said to have begun on December 11, 1845, when the Sikh army crossed the Sutlej River.
• This was perceived as an aggressive action that justified England’s entry into the war.
• A power struggle for supremacy between the Lahore court and the ever-powerful and more local army culminated in the unrest that broke out in the Lahore kingdom after Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s death.
• The English military’s attempts to seize Gwalior and Sindh in 1841 and the battle in Afghanistan in 1842 led to mistrust within the Sikh army.
• An increase in the number of English soldiers stationed close to the border with the Lahore kingdom

The war’s progress

• At the start of the fight in December 1845, the British side had between 20,000 and 30,000 soldiers, but the Sikhs, led by Lal Singh, had about 50,000 men.
• Lal Singh and Teja Singh’s treachery, however, caused the Sikhs to lose five battles in a succession at Mudki (December 18, 1845), Ferozeshah (December 21–22, 1845), Buddelwal, Aliwal (January 28, 1846), and Sobraon (February 10, 1846).
• On February 20, 1846, Lahore submitted to British troops without a battle.
• Treaty of Lahore as a result of the war The First Anglo-Sikh War ended on March 8, 1846, and the Sikhs were forced to accept a demeaning peace.
• The English were supposed to receive a more significant war compensation.
• Treaty of Lahore as a result of the war The First Anglo-Sikh War ended on March 8, 1846, and the Sikhs were forced to accept a demeaning peace.
• More than one crore rupees in war indemnity was to be awarded to the English.
• The Company aimed to annex the Jalandhar Doab (located between the Beas and the Sutlej).
• Henry Lawrence planned to establish a British residency in Lahore. The Sikh army’s power was diminished.
• Rani Jindan served as the regent, Lal Singh as the wazir, and Daleep Singh was acknowledged as the sovereign.
• Gulab Singh was forced to pay the Company 75 lakh rupees as the purchase price because the Sikhs were unable to pay the entire war indemnity and Kashmir, including Jammu, was sold to him.
• The formal handover of Kashmir to Gulab Singh was made possible by a second treaty signed on March 16, 1846.
• The Sikhs rebelled against the Treaty of Lahore because they were unhappy with its resolution of the Kashmir issue.
• The Treaty of Bhairowal was signed in December 1846. A council of regency for Punjab was constituted in accordance with the treaty’s conditions after Rani Jindan’s removal as regent.
• Eight Sikh sardars made up the council, which was presided over by Henry Lawrence, the English Resident.

Read: Socio-Religious Movements in India

Anglo-Sikh War II (1848–49)

• The First Anglo-Sikh War’s defeat of the Sikhs and the terms of the treaties of Lahore and Bhairowal left them in a very humiliating position.
• Sikh rage was stoked by the cruel treatment shown to Rani Jindan, a pensioner transferred to Benares.
• Due to a rise in yearly earnings, Mulraj, Multan’s previous governor, was replaced by a new Sikh governor.
• Mulraj overthrew the new governor and murdered two English officers who were with him.
• Sher Singh was sent to put an end to the uprising, but instead, he joined Mulraj, which caused a general uprising throughout Multan.
• One could argue that this is what started the dispute.
• Lord Dalhousie, India’s then-Governor General and a fervent expansionist was given the green light to seize Punjab completely.
• Lord Dalhousie went to Punjab on his own throughout the war. There were three significant conflicts fought before the final conquest of the Punjab.
• Here are the details of these three fights: In January 1849, Sir Hugh Gough, the Company’s prominent commander, commanded the Battle of Ramnagar, Chillianwala Battle, January 1849, Gujarat Battle, February 21, 1849, On February 21, 1849, the Sikh army capitulated at Rawalpindi, and their Afghan allies were driven from India.

 The outcome of the conflict

• The Sikh army’s surrender and Sher Singh’s annexation of Punjab in 1849; as a result of his efforts, the British Parliament thanked the Earl of Dalhousie and promoted him to the peerage to the title of Marquess.
• The Lawrence brothers (Henry and John) and Charles Mansel were appointed to a three-person board to rule Punjab.
• In 1853, the board was disbanded, and a chief commissioner was granted control of Punjab.
• The first Chief Commissioner was chosen, and his name was John Lawrence.

Conclusion

Following Queen Victoria Queen’s Proclamation, Punjab and the rest of British India came under the direct rule of the British crown in 1858. The region was formerly known as Sapta Sindhu, the Vedic nation of the seven rivers that flowed into the ocean. One of the last areas of the Indian subcontinent to come under British control was the Punjab region, which was mostly taken over by the East India Company in 1849.

In 1858, Punjab was placed under direct British rule along with the rest of British India. The Anglo-Sikh fights fostered respect for one another’s fighting skills. The Sikhs fought alongside the British in the Revolt of 1857 and a number of other battles and conflicts up until  Indian independence in 1947.

Article Written By: Atheena Fathima Riyas