1757- East of the Cape of Good Hope

by Narendra Mehra

  Britain had a lot of experts on Asian and Indian affairs. One expert, Rawlinson, came up with a new thesis. He wanted to make Hindukush Mountains as the natural barrier between British Indian Empire and Russia. That meant that Britain would have to conquer and occupy Afghanistan. To make matters worse, Sher Ali’s emissary, Said Nur Mohammed, died, during negotiations with the British at Peshawar. Sher Ali suspected fowl play. The British tried to use the Turks. Sher Ali summed up his opinion of the British very bluntly:

  “The English look to nothing but their own interests and bide their time. Whoever’s side they see strongest for the time they turn to him as their friend. I will not waste precious life in entertaining false hopes from the English and will enter into friendships with other governments.”

  The British Viceroy Lytton declared war on Afghanistan on November 21, 1878. In order To establish a scientific frontier between Russia and the British dominion in India, a three pronged force lead by troops of the Empire (Indians) invaded Afghanistan in May 1879. Lytton wanted ‘to dismember Afghanistan and to drive the sense of defeat sufficiently into them’. Sher Ali had died in February in Mazar-i-Sharif and his son Yakub faced the British. The political mission that followed the attack, before serious victory was achieved, met the same fate as during the First Afghan War. The Kabul residency of the political mission, headed by Lord Louis Cavagnari was sieged by Herati soldiers and before nightfall of September 3, Cavagnari and his entire escort were dead. History repeated itself.

  The British sent an army of retribution, hastily assembled of pack animals, Scots, Gurkhas and the like. The Scots were assembled because they were dreadfully poor and aggressive. Yakub left the scene as his predecessor Dost Mohammed did during the First Afghan War. The British Commander Lord Roberts wanted to inflict fitting punishment. Bala Hissar (the presidential palace), the symbol of Afghan power and pride was demolished (It was the same thing as the destruction of Buckingham Palace). For retributions, Afghans were publicly hanged, like they did to Indians in Cawnpore, during the mutiny in 1857. The Afghans were subjected to heavy fines and reduced to paupers. Draconian measures. Afghans rebelled, and demanded Robert’s surrender. Roberts in return gave them an insult instead of begging for a safe passage.

  On July 27, 1880, an Afghan force of 25,000 lead by another of Sher Ali’s sons attacked the British brigade. Complete confusion and pandemonium broke out in the British camp; British lost 1100 soldiers before reaching the safety in Kandahar.

  The Disraeli Government and Lytton with it fell in England. His replacement, Gladstone, realized the failed strategic policies and sought rapprochement with the Afghans. They tried to promote Abdul Rahman, the grandson of Dost Mohamed, as the new Amir and entered into a pact. Promised him subsidies provided by the Indian treasury, guarantees of non-aggression. But, Roberts was allowed to avenge British humiliation and restore “British prestige.” Roberts attacked them again. The British could never subdue the Afghans. In March, 1881, the British gave up the idea of capturing Afghanistan, withdrew their forces from Kandahar and hoped that Afghanistan as the “buffer State “will protect the British dominion in India.

  Punjab Wars

  Punjab was the ultimate reward Britain was seeking in India and it took them almost a century before they could venture to attack it. There was no conflict between Britain and Punjab and the British interest in Punjab was purely predatory gains, loot and plunder, they were also seeking hegemony over Punjab because of their expansionary goals in India and for recruitment of its populace for the British Army. The ultimate aim of the British however was reparations, compensation and annexation. They were salivating that they could extract confiscator terms from the Rulers along with territory and annual payments. They were aiming for a very rich prize with a huge potential for revenue. They were looking for a war with Punjab, with a real vengeance and beastly passion. They were itching to loot the treasuries of Punjab, Kashmir and Sind. They were diehard seasoned, cold blooded buccaneers looking for the riches and treasures of India.

  The British had recognized long before they undertook the Plassey invasion that India was a rich target for loot so they started setting up a circular firing squad all around India and as the subsequent events unfolded, it became apparent that India had no room for escape. The offensive military resources were therefore systematically built up in India by the British. Punjab was the final phase of that operation. Britain also knew the heavy odds of winning the war in Punjab and they therefor mobilized all that they had. They sent Pontoon bridges from England to cross the rivers in Punjab, Field Batteries, Heavy Batteries, Horse Artillery, Foot Artillery, Siege Guns, European Infantry, and Officers experienced in the Napoleonic wars. They brought in soldiers of the Peninsular and Waterloo wars, who then occupied positions of high command in Punjab wars and many of them lost their lives. They included such illustrious names as Sir Henry Hardinge, Sir Hugh Gough, Sir Henry Smith, Sir Robert Sale, Sir John McCaskill, Sir Robert Dick, Sir Joseph Thackwell, Brigadier Cureton and Brigadier Taylor of H.M’s 29th. All served in the peninsular war. And they brought in native infantry, native cavalry. They mobilized the forces from Bombay Presidency, Madras Presidency and Bengal Presidency. Their commander-in –Chief Lord Gough believed that, no force was to be used unless it was really overwhelming and adequate. He recommended raising the strength of the native Infantry regiments to a thousand each. The British Governor- General in India Lord Harding, made his own calculations for reparations and loot and decided to assemble a force calculated to inflict the fullest punishment and exact ample reparations. That was 1848, when the war in Punjab had already lasted for many years.

  Who were the people on the other side? Just the people of Punjab, who were nothing more than a self trained native militia and it would well, serve to describe those people and their land. They fought to defend it with vigor only those could display who were fighting for the soul of their land, their culture and their way of life. The Punjab war therefore became an epic story where Britain almost lost its Empire.

  Punjab is located on the North West corner of India. As its name implies, it is a land of five rivers (Punj) in vernacular language is five and aab in Persian is water). Those five mighty rivers flow from the glaciers of the Himalayas from north east to south westerly direction and merge into Sind (Indus). Of the five rivers, Sutlej is the southern most, followed by Beas, which merges into Sutlej at Sobraon (study map of Punjab for more clarity), as those sites tested the British in its annexation attempts. The next three rivers, Ravi, Chanab and Jhelum flowing from North West to South east unite at Multan and then they join Sutlej near Bhawalpore and finally merge into Sind (Indus). Along those rivers thrived the ancient Indus valley civilization. The extensive excavations at Mohenjo-daro and Harappa showed a highly developed civilization with townships, public baths and drainage system. Between those river valleys the land is very fertile, Punjab produced wheat, rice millets, pulses, corn, sugar cane and oil seeds and all varieties of fruits and flowers. At harvest time, people put on their tunics and ‘lungis’ and sang and danced at midnight to the beat of drums in their fields as if they did not have a care in the world. Their rhythms and their symphonies produced some of the folk dances (bangra) unique to Punjabi culture. And that rhythm was the soul of their lives and they fought to save it and preserve it. The British were intruders, architects of the Slave Empire and hard core predators. They had nothing at stake except overweening greed for gold and treasure.

  Located on the north east of those rivers is the valley of Jammu and Kashmir, a virtual paradise on Earth and on the north west of those mighty rivers are the Hindu Kush mountains and the mountain passes through which came the various raiders, Alexander, Genghis Khan, the Tartars, the Persians and so on, over the centuries to loot the treasures of Hindusthan. The British were next in line; the only difference was that the British did not follow the normal invasion route from West to East, nor did they declare their intention to invade. They were schemers and cowards disgu
ised as traders and waited for the Mughal dynasty to melt away, before invading a trusting defenseless, far eastern region of India. Trickery and treachery was their strongest suit.

  The Punjab populace was inhabited by Jats, Rajputs and some Afghanis. Jats and Rajputs are both Hindus and possibly of Scythian origin, whereas the Afghans were Muslims. The Sikhs are also of Hindu origin; Sikhism was not a separate religion but a sect born of necessity. The Sikh sect was founded by Guru Nanak Das, (1469-1539), who was a man of peace, and borrowed theological leanings both from Hinduism and Islam but later, politics were forced on it. Sikh’s breach with the ruling Mughal kings occurred when Mughal King Aurangzeb executed Guru Teg Bahadur in 1675, for fear of a rising tide of his followers and his successor Guru Gobind Singh, transformed the Sikh sect into a military organization, to fight the Mughal tyranny. The Sikhs therefore became a fighting force, an offshoot of the docile Hindu faith. The conflict between Sikhs and Islam fueled anti Islam bias. The Sikhs eschewed idolatry, their holy book was Granth Sahib like the Koran of Islam and their holy warriors were Akalis and they matched their idea of martyrdom with the jihad or holy war of Islam. The British soon found that Sikhs and Akalis, was a force to reckon with.

  The British waited until 1840 to attack Punjab. The timing was interesting as well as critical, and there lies our story. Northwestern Frontier Provinces (NWFP) of India are the gateway to Afghanistan and the oil riches of the Middle East and somehow, NWFP (North Western Frontier Province) appeared to be the pivotal point in the defense and expansion of the British Empire. But Punjab was an obstacle in the way. During the First Afghanistan War in 1840, where Britain suffered a humiliating defeat, Britain had to bypass Punjab, afraid of its ruler and took a southerly route to Sind and then followed north along the western bank of the Sind (Indus) river. The long tortuous journey through the Sind dessert and hostile tribes partly were responsible for the tragic outcome for the British and so they eyed Punjab for a while, and the opportunity presented itself after the sudden death of its ruler Ranjit Singh in 1839.

  The fighting power of the Sikhs was consolidated by Ranjit Singh, in the early part of the Nineteenth century and very soon Ranjit Singh extended his sway from Peshawar in the North to Jammu and Kashmir in the north, to Sutlej River in the East (The British had set up its tent on the Eastern bank of the Sutlej River and Ranjit Singh on the Western Bank) and up to Multan and Sind in the South. The British were afraid of the Sikhs, who were more than a match for them and the British feigned hypocritical friendship with Ranjit Singh. Until that time, the British never really had to do much of a fighting in India and where ever they did, they never ever prevailed militarily. They just intimidated the local regional rulers who maintained nothing more than a police force to enforce their boarders with the other regional rulers, and they just caved in to the British threats knowing that the odds were against them.

  Ranjit Singh’s health was no secret to the British. He used to take in compounds made from crushed pearls and foods wrapped in silver and gold foil. It was not uncommon for people in India to take some Unani and Ayurvedic medicinal compounds involving silver and gold and people still practice that system of medicine. Ranjit Singh’s health was of concern and his debilitating condition was well known. The British waited for him to die.

  The Sikhs were not sleeping at the wheel either. Even during Maharaja Ranjit singh’s lifetime, the British preparations were viewed with concern but the British always feigned friendship with the Maharaja. The ministers in Ranjit Singh’s Court even mocked Ranjit Singh that he was a sissy and that he should engage the British & send them packing back to Bengal. Ranjit Singh was an astute ruler, he knew the odds. He often said that the ‘land will get red with blood all over Hindustan’. He knew that the British had stockpiled men, material, guns and equipment all over India, at their Bengal, Bombay and Madras presidencies, a real circular firing squad, and the Sikh supply lines could not reach all over India. At best, he could push them back by 300 or 400 miles up to Aligarh. The stalemate continued till Ranjit Singh died.

  At the time of the death of Ranjit Singh, the British were fighting the First Afghan War and the British resorted to the usual treacherous tricks, which they had employed so successfully in Bengal. The British tried to interpose in the succession battles after the death of the monarch Ranjit Singh. Kharak Singh, Ranjit Singh’s son was accepted as his father’s successor. The British agent Major Broadfoot, who was stationed at the Court of Ranjit Singh as a friend of the Court, played a part in the anarchy that followed. Kharak Singh was assassinated and the second son Nao Nihal Singh became the new Maharaja but on the day he was to be sworn in, he also met with a fatal accident. Then the third son, Shere Singh took over but the British interposed on behalf of the widow of Nao Nihal Singh with the help of some local Sindhanwala Chiefs, and put Shere Singh to death as well. This lead to a war with the British and in its first phase, it is popularly known as the ‘Sutlej Campaign’.

  Sutlej Campaign:

  The Sikh army also had regular European officers in its ranks, as many of the French soldiers had traveled to Punjab for work after the loss of the Napoleonic and Peninsular wars. Punjab also had heavy guns and artillery and the Punjabis were a fierce fighting force. The British also brought in reinforcements and set up their garrison at Ferozpore and at Ludhiana. The Ludhiana garrison was manned by the governor-general, Sir Henry Hardinge. He was a very distinguished soldier himself, who had won approbation of the Duke of Wellington at the Peninsular War. The Commander - in - Chief, Sir Hugh Gough was in command at Umbala, 80 miles to the south east and Major Genl. Sir John Littler was in charge of the garrison at Ferozepore. The British had been building up their garrisons. They brought in more reinforcements in 1845 and stationed about fifteen thousand fighting men at Ferozpore and about ten thousand each at Ludhiana and Umballa under Major-General Walter Raleigh Gilbert, which was supported by several regiments of the British regular forces. Further reinforcements were brought in from Meerut, near Delhi, about ten thousand with supporting guns and other weapons of war and additional regiments, both British and Gurkhas were ordered in from Kaussauli (The British preferred staying in the Simla foothills, where it was cooler). The British hired many natives as their infantry as they did not want to spill their own blood.

  It was remarkable that the British were able to build up native infantry regiments. Throughout their rule, they used the Indian sepoys for their predatory and imperial wars including the Mutiny of 1857 where India was fighting for Independence. It may appear odd to some but the truth was that the southern states in India were far removed from political main stream and were mostly ignorant. Besides people in southern part of India did not enjoy the economic prosperity of the North and were easily hired by the British. They built bonds with the people form the south and near the end of their rule, they were able to create separate socio-economic groups by granting them favors, which supported them and hurt the cause of India’s freedom movement.

  Coming back to the Sutlej Campaign, the Sikh army crossed into the British held territory on the East bank of the River Sutlej and they stayed there. The offensive was started by the declaration of war by the British governor- General on December 13, 1845. The British losses were many; Sir Robert Sale, Quarter Master General of the British forces was killed; Sir John McCaskill killed, Brigidier Bolton, killed; Brigidier Mactier and Wheeler severally wounded and many more. A total of 15 officers and 200 men were killed and 657 wounded. The Sikh army was far smaller, as they were unaware of the British reinforcements from far and wide; their numbers have been put at two to twenty thousand and a small number of guns. After the initial encounter at Moodkee, the forces moved to Ferozeshah where the British almost lost their dominion in India.

  The British army quietly moved out of Moodkee on December 21st 1845 at mid night leaving behind all heavy baggage and equipment in pitch darkness and in utter silence and they moved to the west. Their aim was to group with the forces of Sir John Littler wh
o had withdrawn from Ferozepore, leaving his baggage too. They opened fire on the Sikh positions at Ferozeshah on December 21st, 1845 and got a pounding response and suffered awful casualties; regiments were thrown into confusion and Sir John’s division had to retreat. Major Broadfoot, the Governor Generals’s political agent in Punjab, with immense knowledge of the NWFP region, and who was instrumental for the anarchy that prevailed after the death of Ranjit Singh, was shot in the forehead and killed. Littler’s division was repulsed and its position fell helter, skelter with little idea of their whereabouts. Sir Harry Smith and his brigade was missing and there followed huge explosions and there were many casualties. Nightfall brought utter confusions. Regiments were mixed up and the Governor General and the Commander-in-Chief spent the night in utter confusion while the fate of their dominion in India hung in the balance.

  The night bought them reprieve. They assembled their heavy guns and rocket batteries and regrouped their regiments and waited for the dawn. Then, they attacked the Sikh positions and some of the Sikh forces withdrew. The British were exhausted and they paused too, but their rest and respite did not last long, as there appeared on the horizon, forces of the Sikh, commanded by their general Tej Singh. This Sikh force was fresh and they rode from Ferozpore to join the forces and the battle commenced again. The British were in no position to fight, they were without ammunition, food or drink and they had suffered heavy casualties. After a while, the Sikh commander Tej Singh, for some inexplicable reason decided to march away suddenly and completely towards north of the Sutlej River. Tej Singh’s inexplicable move saved the British or else they would have signed the surrender terms. Total British losses were heavy, many of their officers lost their lives and the injured and the killed ran up to several thousand and the worst of all, the Governor General who was not in command, had to over rule the commander in chief, Sir Hugh Gough, in the midst of the battle. They even lost confidence in their commander in chief.