International Journal of Research in Economics and Social Sciences (IJRESS) Available online at: http://euroasiapub.org Vol. 8 Issue 1, January- 2018 ISSN(o): 2249-7382 | Impact Factor: 6.939 |

Emergence of State Under : A Historical Survey

Dr. Parduman Singh, Associate Professor, GCW, Rohtak

Introduction Maharaja Ranjit Singh was reported to be short and unattractive. He was the only child of Maha Singh, on whose death in 1792 he became chief of the Shukerchakias, . At fifteenth he married the daughter of a chieftain of the Kanhayas, and for many years his ambitious mother-in-law, the widow Sada Kaur, directed his affairs. A second marriage, to a girl of the Nakkais, made Ranjit Singh preeminent among the clans of the Sikh confederacy. In July 1799 he seized Lahore, the political capital of the Punjab. The Afghan king, Zamān Shah, confirmed Ranjit Singh as governor of the city, but in 1801 Ranjit Singh proclaimed himself maharaja of the Punjab. He had coins struck in the name of the first Guru, Guru Nanak, and proceeded to administer the state in the name of the Sikh commonwealth. A year later he captured Amritsar, the most-important commercial center in northern India and sacred city of the Sikhs. Thereafter, he proceeded to subdue the smaller Sikh and Pashtun principalities that were scattered throughout the Punjab.

Keywords: Sardar, Sikh, Misl, Dal, Qazi, Kotwal, Unami, Kotwal, Nwzrana, Panchyat, Granth-Shahib, Nawab, Jihadi.

International Journal of Research in Economics & Social Sciences 931 Email:- [email protected], http://www.euroasiapub.org (An open access scholarly, peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary, monthly, and fully refereed journal.) International Journal of Research in Economics and Social Sciences (IJRESS) Vol. 8 Issue 1, January- 2018 ISSN(o): 2249-7382 | Impact Factor: 6.939

Contents Sardar Mahan Singh had performed the rites of succession of Ranjit Singh during his lifetime. Therefore, after his death Ranjit Singh was accepted as Chief of the Sukarchakia Misl without any challenge and occupied the throne at ten years of age. Although he had seen many battles along with his father, yet it was difficult for him to carry the burden of leading his confederacy at that young age. Ranjit Singh had been engaged to the daughter of the late Gurbakhsh Singh Kanheya. Gurbakhsh Singh's widow, Sardarni Sada Kaur, was an extremely intelligent and far-sighted woman. She voluntarily came to the help of her tender-aged son-in-law. Ranjit Singh's mother also lent a helping hand and this made Ranjit Singh's task easy. Ranjit Singh got married at the age of sixteen. After a few days, he came back to Gujranwala along with his bride. During the same year, Jassa Singh Ramgarhia, taking advantage of the death of Jai Singh Kanheya, started making incursions into the possessions of the Kanheya Misl. Sada Kaur requested Ranjit Singh for help. Ranjit Singh sent Diwan Lakhpat Rai toward the Dhanni, and himself, accompanied by Sardar Fateh Singh Dhari, Sardar Jodh Singh and Sardar Dal Singh Wazirabadia, set out towards Batala, and besieged the Ramgarhia fort of Miani. But incessant rains inundated the surroundings and Ranjit Singh was compelled to lift the siege. While going to Batala Ranjit Singh sent his army ahead and himself stayed at Lahore for some days. He held deliberations with Sardars Chet Singh and Mohar Singh, who looked after him well. On this occasion Ranjit Singh got a chance to see the Lahore fort. By virtue of Ranjit Singh's first marriage, an alliance had been forged between Sukarchakia and Kanheya . In order to further strengthen his position, Ranjit Singh, as a far-sighted person began to make prologue of friendship to the chiefs of Nakai Misl. As a result, Ranjit Singh got married to the sister of Sardar Gian Singh Nakai in 1798. Sardar Gian Singh warmly welcomed it, and saw it depart with huge dowry. Ranjit Singh's eldest son Kharak Singh was born of this marriage. Diwan Lakhpat Rai was a trusted minister and confident of Sardar Mahan Singh. Complete accounts of the income and expenditure of all possessions of the Sukarchakia Misl were maintained by the Diwan Lakhpat Rai. Sardar Mahan Singh had full confidence in the Diwan's honesty. So, at the time of his death, he put Ranjit Singh's hand in the hands of Diwan Lakhpat Rai and his maternal uncle, Sardar Dal Singh of Wazirabad, and declared them Ranjit's guardians. Sardar Dal Singh and Diwan Lakhpat Rai got jealous of each other and Dal Singh began to instigate Ranjit Singh against the Diwan. On the other side Ranjit Singh's mother-in-law Sada Kaur goaded him to take the administration of the Misl in his own hands and Ranjit Singh also began to think in that way. In the time of skirmishes, Diwan Lakhpat Rai was killed while he was on a tour of the Dhani region to collect revenues. Ranjit Singh, in consultation with his mother, took the reins of government in his own hands. After the death of Ahmad Shah Abdali, his son Taimur ascended the throne of Kabal and thereafter Shah Zaman became the ruler of Kabul in 1793 A.D. Shah Zaman decided to conquer Punjab and launched three invasions one after the other between 1795 and 1798 A.D., but every time he had to return without success because of internal problems in his own kingdom. His brother Mahmud was also active to stake claim to the throne. On the other side, the Sikhs had increased their strength and it was not an easy task now for Shah Zaman to overpower them. Whenever the Durrani army entered Punjab, the Sikhs left their respective areas and retired into the jungles. Every time, Zaman’s army advanced further the Sikhs attacked the rear and inflicted heavy losses killing large number of soldiers. Before the King got aware of their attack, the Sikhs would instantly disappear, and strike wherever they got their chance. They killed the hundreds of soldiers and take away their horses, equipment and would disappear again. These tactics of the

International Journal of Research in Economics & Social Sciences 932 Email:- [email protected], http://www.euroasiapub.org (An open access scholarly, peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary, monthly, and fully refereed journal.) International Journal of Research in Economics and Social Sciences (IJRESS) Vol. 8 Issue 1, January- 2018 ISSN(o): 2249-7382 | Impact Factor: 6.939

Sikhs proved deadly for the Afghanis, who found no way out but to retire their homeland. In December 1798 Shah Zaman advanced towards Lahore, and finding no Sikh chief to oppose him there and occupied the Lahore Fort. Sikhs now started camping around Lahore and began to harass the Durrani army, stationed in the city and deprive them of their rations and armament. As usually, they retired back to their hideouts in sudden. After facing it many a time, Shah Zaman felt helpless and went back to Kabul. As soon as Shah Zaman went back, the three Bhangi Sardars arrived at Lahore and they occupied the city, but there was disunity among these three chiefs and they often remained at war with each other. As a result, population of the town got fed up with the precarious conditions around. Due to such conditions, these Bhangi chiefs, too, did not remain strong enough to hold the town. On hearing this; the Nawab of Qasur got prepared to occupy Lahore. Meanwhile stories of Ranjit Singh's bravery were in air. When people of Lahore came to know of the intentions of the Nawab of Qasur, they preferred to become subjects of Ranjit Singh. Therefore, notable citizens of Lahore i.e. Bhai Gurbakhsh Singh, Hakim Hakam Rai, Mehir Muhkam-ud-Din and Mian Ashaq Mohammad etc., submitted a petition to Ranjit Singh under their signatures in which they described the entire situation and invited him to occupy Lahore. On receipt of this petition Ranjit Singh decided to seize the opportunity. He immediately sent his emissary to Lahore to confirm the facts stated in the petition and himself left for Batala to consult his mother-in-law. Sada Kaur agreed with his plans. The two jointly collected an army of about twenty-five thousand horse and foot and marched towards Amritsar, and after one night's stay at Majitha swiftly reached the outskirts of Lahore, and encamped there. Ranjit Singh arranged his army in two divisions. One portion of the army under the command of Sardami Sada Kaur attacked from the side of the Delhi Gate, and the second formation under Ranjit Singh made an assault on the Lahori Gate. The gate was set on fire by filling gun power below its foundation, but meanwhile the Gates were thrown open by Mehir Mohkam-ud-Din's men. Ranjit Singh thundered like lightening and entered the city with some horsemen and four large guns. The Bhangi officials of three chiefs of the city were so terrorized by the courage of Ranjit Singh that no one came forward to confront him. The Sardars Mohar Singh and Sahib Singh left the city along with their troops, and Chet Singh shut himself up in fort. Ranjit Singh occupied the City, and gave orders to his soldiers not to inflict any excesses on the citizens. Then he turned his attention to the fort and encamped in the open ground in front of it. Due to the insufficient provisions, on the following day Chet Singh finding himself unable to fight back, vacated the fort, and accepted to owe allegiance to Ranjit Singh in return for the grant of a reasonable Jagir. Immediately after this, Ranjit Singh undertook the task of repairing the city. Lahore had always remained the center of political power of the Punjab. The increasing strength of Ranjit Singh alarmed the chiefs of other Misls. Hence they thought of making a bid unitedly to wrest Lahore from Ranjit Singh. A few days after Ranjit Singh had occupied Lahore, Gulab Singh Bhangi, Sahib Singh Bhangi, Sahib Singh Gajrati, Jassa Singh Ramgarhia and Nizam- ud-Din ruler of Qasur, advanced towards Lahore to dislodge. Ranjit Singh also got prepared for the contest. For two months armies of both the sides remained arrayed against each other. A few skirmishes took place but the confederates against Ranjit Singh did not risk a war now. During this period, Bhangi Chief (Gulab Singh), one day drank himself to death and his troopers left ground, following which other allied forces also sweep away and Ranjit Singh gain a great victory. Having settled affairs in Lahore, Ranjit Singh invaded Jammu. On the way, he conquered Mirowal and Narowal and Jassowal. Marching from there, he pitched his camp four miles away from Jammu. The Raja of Jammu was taken unawares. So he came out along with all his officials to meet Ranjit Singh and present twenty thousand rupees in cash and an elephant as Nazrana on

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seeing this co-operation, Ranjit Singh return to Lahore. Bhangis were deeply aggrieved at the loss of Lahore and after ensuring support from Sardar Dal Singh of Akalgarh; they prepared to attack Gujranwala, which was considered under the control of Ranjit. When Ranjit Singh became aware of these developments, he got furious and attacked Gujrat. The Bhangi Chiefs shut the gates of the town and began shelling Ranjit Singh's contingents from within the city walls. Ranjit Singh's artillery also came into action and paid the Bhangis in the same coin. On seeing the courage of Ranjit’s force they unable to withstand there and sent for Baba Sahib Singh who negotiated peace with Ranjit Singh and saved the city.

During these days of struggle, an agent of the British government, appear before Ranjit Singh with the offer of friendship. Ranjit Singh gave special favor and honor to the British agent. He was given robe of honor and was seen off with a letter of goodwill and costly presents. Due to the victories and prosperity, on the day of Baisakhi, Ranjit Singh held a grand assembly at Lahore and it was decided therein that Ranjit Singh should assume the title of Maharaja. On that day a grand court was held in Diwan-i-Aam inside the Fort in which Sikh Chiefs from far and near participated and were given robes of honor according to their ranks. On the same day during the function, it was proposed that a new coin should be struck with Maharaja's name to be inscribed on, but the Maharaja did not like that any verse should include his name and he stuck the coin in Guru Nanak.

Now Maharaja Ranjit Singh concentrated on the improvement of administration. Panchayats were appointed to decide mutual disputes according to customary law. Cases of Muslim subjects were ordered to be decided according to their religious law of Shariat. Salaries were fixed of all officials and for Qazis, Muftis and Ulema. Nizam-ud-Din was appointed chief Qazi at Lahore, Mohammad Shahpur and Sadd-ud-Ullah were appointed as Muftis. The city was divided into wards and a Chaudhari was appointed for each ward. A Kotwal was also appointed and police forces were posted for the protection of the city under him. A department of health was organized and hospitals were opened where free treatment was given under the Unani system of medicine. A new wall was constructed around the city and new guards were appointed at the gates.

Nawab Nizam-ud-Din, the Afghan chief of Qasur’s eyes were on Lahore. Therefore, Nizam- ud-Din became jealous of Ranjit Singh and even organised a confederacy along with the Sikh Misl chiefs and participated in the battle of Bhasin. After that, Nizam continued to incite Sahib Singh of Gujrat. Ranjit SIngh, in his first opportunity decided to punish Nizam the, chief of Kasurand a strong army was sent towards Qasur. The Afghans faced the attacking forces fiercely, but they could not give a pitched battle. After about seven-hour long fight, the Afghans lost ground and returned to take shelter inside the fort. Sikhs smashed the city gates and forced enter into it. Nizam-ud-Din thought it better to come to terms and raised the white flagged and the fighting thus stopped. Nizam-ud-Din accepted all conditions put before him and agreed to become a tributary of the Maharaja and paid a huge sum towards expenses of war, and as a guarantee for future good conduct sent his brothers Qutb-ud-Din Raja Khan and Vasil Khan as hostages to Lahore. Now at that time Ahluwalias' remained the only strong Misl in the Punjab. The head of this Misl, Sardar Jassa Singh Kalal had founded the Dal Khalsa and Sardar Fateh Singh was then the chief of the Ahluwalia Misl. Ranjit Singh, in his own interest, thought it to establish healthy relations with this Misl. Ranjit Singh expressed his desire to meet Sardar Fateh Singh, through a messenger. Thereupon Guru Granth Sahib was placed between the two, and the following terms

International Journal of Research in Economics & Social Sciences 934 Email:- [email protected], http://www.euroasiapub.org (An open access scholarly, peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary, monthly, and fully refereed journal.) International Journal of Research in Economics and Social Sciences (IJRESS) Vol. 8 Issue 1, January- 2018 ISSN(o): 2249-7382 | Impact Factor: 6.939

of friends forever. By this agreement Ranjit Singh not only removed a great obstruction from his path, but also followed the way to fully use the military resources of the Ahluwalia Misl to his benefit. Nizam-ud-Din was waiting for an opportunity to get independent of Ranjit Singh. Therefore, when he found the Maharaja engaged in the siege of Chaniot, he started loot and plunder in the vicinity of Lahore, and collected a large body of Afghan Jehadis for his own defence. The Maharaja came to know that a pitched battle ensued. Maharaja himself led the assault and resorted to general massacre of the Afghanis. Many Afghan warriors fought with ferocity and zeal, but unable to with stand the pressure of attacking Sikh forces, they were compelled to take refuge within the fort. Sikh's army started shelling the fort, on seeing that, Nizam-ud- Din was left with no other alternative but again to sue for peace and made a humble submission and presented a petition in writing to remain obedient to the Sikh ruler in future. He also paid a heavy amount as penalty in addition to expenses of war.

Ranjit Singh proceeded towards Multan in the beginning of 1803 A.D. After a few days of marching, they entered the territory of Multan. Nawab Muzaffar Khan was not prepared to face the attacking forces. Therefore he thought it proper to deal with the situation wisely. He sent his minister and other courtiers to the Maharaja, ‘to accord a warm welcome to the Maharaja’, twenty- five miles ahead of Multan. The Maharaja treated them with usual mercilessly, and having got a written pledge of loyalty and tribute, the Ranjit Singh returned to Lahore.

Amritsar, at that time, called religious capital and the holy place of the Sikhs. Thet is why; urge to conquer Amritsar had been repeatedly engaging the mind of Ranjit SIngh. As has been stated earlier, Gulab Singh Bhangi had suddenly died of hard drinking at Bhasin village. His widow, Mai Sukhan and her son Gurdit Singh of tender age were in occupation of Amritsar and they had the support of Ramgarhia Sardars. The Maharaja advanced towards Amritsar along with Sardar Fateh Singh Ahluwalia and Sardarni Sada Kaur at the head of a large army. Therefore none dared the Maharaja in the open field. However, city gates were closed and the Bhangi sardars started shelling Maharaja's forces from behind the city wall. The Maharaja, too, deployed artillery. But this situation lasted only for a day. Next day, on Phalgun, 14, 1861 Bikrami Samvat the Bhangis vacated the fort at the intercession of Jodh Singh Ramgarhia and Akali Phoola Singh. Jagirs for maintenance were granted to Gurdit Singh and his mother.

References: 1. Bute Shah, Tarikh-i-Punjab. 2. Bhai (Baba) and Prem Singh Hoti, Maharaja Ranjit Singh. 3. Munshi Kanheya Lal, Tarik-i-Punjab . 4. Munshi Kanheya Lal, Zafarnamah Ranjit Singh. 5. Diwan Amar Nath, Zafur Namah-i-Ranjit Singh. 6. Munshi Sohan Lal, Umdat-ut-Twarikh. 7. Surinder Singh Johar, The Secular Maharaja. 8. Harbans Singh, The Heritage of The Sikhs. 9. Khushwant Singh, History of The Sikhs. 10. J. S. Grewal, The Sikh of The Punjab. 11. S.R. Bakshi, Rashmi Pathak. 12. Patwant Singh, Empire of the Sikh.

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