British Expansion in India: The Punjab | History Optional for UPSC (Notes) PDF Download

Introduction

• The history of the Sikh Panth in Punjab is as old as that of the Mughal empire.
• Guru Nanak, born in 1469, preached about inner devotion and equality while Babur was founding the Mughal empire.
• Sikhism began within the bhakti and sant tradition and gradually attracted millions under the leadership of successive gurus.

Aurangzeb and the Sikhs

• Aurangzeb was initially not hostile to the Sikhs.
• As the Sikh community grew and challenged Mughal authority, Aurangzeb turned against them.
• Guru Tegbahadur, the ninth guru, was executed in Delhi in 1675.

Origin and Significance of Khalsa

• Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth guru, established the Khalsa in 1699, transforming the Sikhs into a military organization.
• He initiated disciples into the Khalsa, requiring them to maintain five distinctive insignia:
• Kesh: uncut hair.
• Kangha: a wooden comb.
• Kara: an iron or steel bracelet.
• Kirpan: a sword or dagger.
• Kacchera: short breeches.

Reasons for Establishing Khalsa

• The establishment of the Khalsa was influenced by the ongoing conflict with the Mughals.
• It was also likely due to the rise of the jat peasantry among the Sikhs, who were accustomed to carrying arms and resolving disputes through force.

Impact of Khalsa

• The founding of the Khalsa projected the Sikh community as a militant organization.
• The Jat peasants came to dominate the Khalsa, diminishing the influence of the older Khatri leadership.
• Guru Gobind Singh ended the position of guru after his death, vesting power in the Panth and the Granth (sacred texts).

Cultural Resources and Identity

• The Khalsa invoked cultural resources like sacred texts to provide order and construct a distinct Sikh social and political identity.
• It prescribed initiation and life-cycle rituals to unify the Sikh community during the uncertain times of the eighteenth century.

 Conflict with the Mughals: 

• Guru Gobind’s open quarrel with the Mughals followed a complex trajectory.
• From about 1696, he tried to carve out an autonomous domain in and around Anandpur.
• This action brought the hostility of the hill chiefs of Himachal Pradesh.
• The hill chiefs approached the Mughal faujdar for protection.
• The siege of Anandpur by a combined force in 1704 compelled Guru Gobind to leave.
• Aurangzeb, then busy in Deccan, soon reversed the stand and sought to conciliate the guru.
• After Aurangzeb’s death, Guru Gobind met Bahadur Shah at Agra in 1707.
• Bahadur Shah promised to return Anandpur.

Contestation in Punjab (1708-1716)

• Guru Gobind Singh's Assassination: On October 7, 1708, Guru Gobind Singh was assassinated, leading to Banda Bahadur continuing the Sikh resistance.
• Shift in Contestation: The struggle shifted to the Majha and Doab regions, primarily inhabited by Jat peasants.
• Mughal Oppression: Mughal oppression intensified, pressuring small zamindars and peasants.
• Banda Bahadur's Influence: Within a year, Banda Bahadur established control between the Yamuna and Ravi rivers, setting up his own administration, appointing officials, minting coins, and issuing orders.
• Mughal Attempts to Suppress: Bahadur Shah failed to suppress the Sikh revolt in 1710. Farruksiyar, upon becoming emperor in 1713, appointed Abdus Samad Khan to quell the rebellion.
• Internal Sikh Dissent: Internal conflicts within the Sikh community weakened Banda Bahadur's position. Some Jat zamindars, like Churaman Jat of Agra, sided with the Mughals.
• Khatri Business Class: The Khatri business class, crucial for trade stability, opposed the Sikh movement. Many became revenue farmers under the Mughal ijaradari system, aligning their interests with the Mughal state.
• Mughal Manipulation: The Mughals exploited internal dissent, promoting Khatris within the nobility. Farruksiyar attempted to use Guru Gobind's widow to create division within the Sikh ranks.
• Banda Bahadur's Surrender: In 1715, Banda Bahadur surrendered to Abdus Samad Khan. He and his close followers were executed in March 1716.
• Continued Sikh Resistance: The execution of Banda did not extinguish Sikh power in Punjab. Despite the lack of centralized leadership, Sikh bands exploited the breakdown of Mughal control to assert their independence.
• Ahmad Shah Abdali's Failure: Even Afghan invader Ahmad Shah Abdali could not establish control over Punjab, as his governors were soon ousted.

The Misls

• The Misls were the sovereign states of the Sikh Confederacy that emerged in the Punjab region during the 18th century.
• During this time, power within the Sikh polity became more horizontally structured, with misls, based on kinship ties, holding territories as units.
• When a misl conquered new territory, it was distributed among its members according to their contributions to the conquest.
• The chief received the largest share, but even the lowest soldier received a patti, or portion of land, which they could enjoy with absolute freedom.
• By 1770, there were more than sixty misls holding territories, with the Dal Khalsa above them, led by a chosen leader.
• The weakness of the Mughals and invasions by Ahmad Shah Abdali led to confusion and anarchy in Punjab, allowing the organized Dal Khalsa to consolidate further.
• Although the misls occasionally united, such as in 1765 against the Afghans, political authority in Punjab remained decentralized and horizontally dispersed until Ranjit Singh, chief of the Sukerchakia misl, sought to establish a more centralized Sikh state at the end of the 18th century.

Ranjit Singh and His Rise to Power

• Ranjit Singh became a prominent Sikh leader after successfully fighting off the third Afghan invasion led by Zaman Shah in 1798-99. He then conquered Lahore.
• At the time of Ranjit Singh's birth on November 2, 1780, there were twelve major misls in the Punjab region. He was the son of Mahan Singh, leader of the Sukarchakiya misl. Mahan Singh died when Ranjit was only 12 years old.
• By the end of the 18th century,most misls were falling apart, and Afghanistan was in a civil war. Ranjit Singh took advantage of this chaos to build his kingdom in central Punjab through a ruthless policy of 'blood and iron'.
• He improved his army with European-trained artillery and infantry and by 1809, he had expanded his control over large parts of Punjab.
• Through the Treaty of Amritsar, the British recognized him as the sole sovereign ruler of Punjab. This allowed him to oust the Afghans from Multan and Kashmir and subdue other Sikh chiefs.
• By the time of his death, his authority extended between the Sutlej River and the mountain ranges of Ladakh,Karakoram,Hindukush, and Sulaiman. His administration was a mix of Mughal traditions and local practices.
• Trade and commerce flourished under his rule due to the stability he provided. While land revenue was the main source of income, about 40% of it was given as jagir. Local power structures remained intact, creating a balance between national and local governance.
• Ranjit Singh's durbar politics involved balancing the interests of powerful Sikh chiefs and newly recruited military leaders from the peasantry and non-Punjabi nobles. This balance lasted until his death in 1839.
• After Ranjit Singh's death, Punjab fell into political instability, and the British took over amid struggles for power among Sikh chiefs and royal family feuds.
• In response to fears of a Franco-Russian invasion, Ranjit Singh initially sought an alliance with the British but later signed the Treaty of Amritsar in 1809, which recognized him as the ruler of Punjab while limiting his territorial ambitions.
• Ranjit Singh aimed to expand his rule over the entire Sikh nation but was restricted by the treaty, which established the Sutlej River as a boundary. He focused on western conquests, capturing Multan,Kashmir, and Peshawar.
• Despite signing the Tripartite Treaty in 1838 to support the British in their efforts against Afghan Amir Dost Mohammad, Ranjit Singh refused to allow British troops to pass through his territory.
• The British aimed to install a puppet government in Kabul, supporting Shuja Shah against Dost Mohammad. Ranjit Singh's relationship with the British from 1809 to 1839 reflected his weaker position, and after his death, Punjab became politically unstable, marking the decline of his empire.

Punjab After Ranjit Singh

• After Ranjit Singh's death, Punjab saw a rapid succession of rulers, leading to intense and violent power struggles.
• Kharak Singh, Ranjit Singh's only legitimate son and successor, was ineffective.
• His brief reign was marked by active court factions.
• His sudden death in 1839, followed by the accidental death of his son Nav Nihal Singh, created chaos in Punjab.
• There was a fierce contest for the throne between Sher Singh, another son of Ranjit Singh, and Maharani Chand Kaur, the widow of Kharak Singh.
• Sher Singh eventually became maharaja through a conspiracy by the Dogras.
• He was soon dependent on the powerful Dogra wazir, Raja Dhian Singh.
• Sher Singh was murdered in late 1843.
• Shortly after, Daleep Singh, a minor son of Ranjit Singh, was proclaimed Maharaja with Rani Jindan as regent.
• The power struggles and family feuds were due to the breakdown of the balance of power that Ranjit Singh had established.
• Corruption in the bureaucracy and infighting among the sardars devastated the Punjab economy.
• Increased revenue demands after 1839 due to rising army costs led to zamindar resistance in the countryside.
• The kardars exploited the zamindars and defrauded the central treasury, further destabilizing society.
• The commercial classes were frustrated by the political turmoil, creating an opening for British intervention.
• The Sikh army, once a strong pillar of the state, was weakened.
• Ranjit Singh's capable generals were dead, and discontent among troops grew due to irregular pay and unworthy officers.
• The Lahore government, maintaining friendly relations with the British, allowed British troops to traverse its territory.
• This contributed to economic disruption in Punjab.

Conflict with the English:

• The British were worried about Punjab due to the unstable government in Lahore.
• In the early 19th century, the British East India Company aimed to keep the Sikh state strong as a buffer between their northern Indian territories and the Muslim powers in Persia and Afghanistan.
• However, ongoing political instability made this plan difficult, leading many to anticipate an inevitable conflict between the British and the Sikhs in the early 1840s.
• Preparations for this conflict on the British side began in 1843.

First Anglo-Sikh War (1845-46)

Causes:

• The immediate cause of the First Anglo-Sikh War was the crossing of the River Sutlej by the Sikh army on December 11, 1845, which the British viewed as an aggressive act justifying war.
• The chaos in the Lahore kingdom after Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s death led to a power struggle between the Lahore court and the increasingly powerful local army.
• Suspicions among the Sikh army were heightened by British military campaigns in Gwalior, Sindh, and Afghanistan.
• The increase of British troops near the Lahore border also contributed to tensions.
• The war began in December 1845, with the British side having 20,000 to 30,000 troops and the Sikhs about 50,000 under Lal Singh.
• However, treachery by Lal Singh and Teja Singh led to five consecutive defeats for the Sikhs.
• Lahore fell to British forces on February 20, 1846, without a fight due to the failure of leadership and betrayal among Sikh leaders.

Treaty of Lahore (March 8, 1846):

• The end of the First Anglo-Sikh War forced the Sikhs to sign a humiliating treaty on March 8, 1846.
• Main Features of the Treaty of Lahore:
• A war indemnity of over 1 crore rupees was to be paid to the British.
• The Jalandhar Doab (between the Beas and Sutlej rivers) was annexed to British territory.
• A British resident was established at Lahore, with Henry Lawrence appointed to the position.
• The strength of the Sikh army was reduced.
• Daleep Singh was recognized as the ruler, with Rani Jindan as regent and Lal Singh as wazir.
• Since the Sikhs could not pay the entire war indemnity, Kashmir, including Jammu, was sold to Gulab Singh for 75 lakh rupees.
• The transfer of Kashmir to Gulab Singh was formalized by a separate treaty on March 16, 1846.

Treaty of Bhairowal:

• The Sikhs were unhappy with the Treaty of Lahore regarding Kashmir, leading to their rebellion. In December 1846, the Treaty of Bhairowal was established.
• The treaty stipulated the removal of Rani Jindan as regent and the formation of a regency council for Punjab. This council, overseen by English Resident Henry Lawrence, included eight Sikh sardars.

Second Anglo-Sikh War (1848-49)

Causes:

• The Sikhs found the outcomes of the first Anglo-Sikh War and the treaties of Lahore and Bhairowal to be deeply humiliating.
• The harsh treatment of Rani Jindan, who was exiled to Benares, fueled further resentment among the Sikhs.
• The rebellion of two Sikh governors,Diwan Mul Raj of Multan and Sardar Chartar Singh Atariwala and his son Raja Sher Singh of Haripur, provided a pretext for action.
• Lord Dalhousie, the then Governor-General of India, seized this opportunity to annex Punjab entirely.
• Three significant battles were fought before the final annexation of Punjab.

Result:

• Surrender of the Sikh army and Sher Singh in 1849.
• Annexation of Punjab.
• On 29 March 1849,Maharaja Dalip Singh signed the document of annexation, making Punjab a province of the East India Company.
• Establishment of a three-member board to govern Punjab, consisting of the Lawrence brothers (Henry and John) and Charles Mansel.
• The Earl of Dalhousie received thanks from the British Parliament and a promotion in the peerage for his services.
• In 1853, the board was disbanded, and Punjab was placed under a chief commissioner, with John Lawrence becoming the first chief commissioner.

The Anglo-Sikh wars fostered a mutual respect between the two sides regarding each other's fighting abilities. The Sikhs would later fight loyally on the British side during the Revolt of 1857 and in various other campaigns and wars until Indian independence in 1947.