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CHAP. IV
THE SIKHS REAPPEAR
83
with the spoils of Delhi,' the government was weaker, "le-se. and society was more disorganized, than when the fugitive Babar entered India in search of a throne
worthy of his lineage and his personal merits. These commotions were favourable to the reap- The weakpearance of a depressed sect; but the delegated rule of "^^s of the Abdus Samad in Lahore was vigorous, and, both under ^"*^''"^him and his weaker successor,- the Sikhs comported ^nment^°^' themselves as peaceful subjects in their villages, or favourable lurked in woods and valleys to obtain a precarious live- to the
The tenets of Nanak and Gobind sikhs. ^''^^3^had nevertheless taken root in the hearts of the people; the peasant and the mechanic nursed their faith in secret, and the more ardent clung to the hope of ample revenge 'and speedy victory. The departed Guru had lihood as robbers.'*
declared himself the last of the prophets; the believers
were without a temporal guide, and rude untutored men, accustomed to defer to their teacher as divine, were left to work their way to greatness, without an ordained method, and without any other bond of union The sikhs !
i
I
!
1
!
I
;
than the sincerity of their common faith. The pro- ^^p* ^°" gress of the new religion, and the ascendancy of its fj^g^fJi-^our votaries, had thus been trusted to the pregnancy of ^^ t^eir the truths announced, and to the fitness of the Indian belief, mind for their reception. The general acknowledgement of the most simple and comprehensive principle is sometimes uncertain, and is usually slow and irregular, and this fact should be held in view in considering the history of the Sikhs from the death of Gobind to the present time. During the invasion of Nadir Shah, the Sikhs Jf^^^^;^!;^^ collected in small bands, and plundered both the oT^unXrstragglers of the Persian army and the wealthy inhabi- ers. 1738-9. tants who fled towards the hills on the first appearance of the conqueror, or when the massacre at Delhi became generally known.^ The impunity which 1 included the famous peacock throne of Shah [ These Jahan and the celebrated Koh-i-Nur. The subsequent history ^Ed. ] of the latter is too well known to need repetition. - He was likewise the son of -the conqueror of Banda. His name was Zakariya Khan, and his title Khan Bahadur. Cf. Forster's Travels, i. 313, and Browne's India Tracts, •"-
jii.
I
I
13.
4 Browne, India Tracts, ii. 13, 14. Nadir acquired from the Mughal emperor the provinces of Sindh and Kabul, and four districts of the province of Lahore, lying near the Jhelum river. Zakariya Khan, son of Abdul Samad, was viceroy of Lahore
jat the time.
The defeat of the Delhi sovereign, and Nadir's entry into the capital, took place on the 13th of February and early in [March, 1739, respectively, but were not known in London until j
I
CHAP. IV
THE SIKHS REAPPEAR
83
with the spoils of Delhi,' the government was weaker, "le-se. and society was more disorganized, than when the fugitive Babar entered India in search of a throne
worthy of his lineage and his personal merits. These commotions were favourable to the reap- The weakpearance of a depressed sect; but the delegated rule of "^^s of the Abdus Samad in Lahore was vigorous, and, both under ^"*^''"^him and his weaker successor,- the Sikhs comported ^nment^°^' themselves as peaceful subjects in their villages, or favourable lurked in woods and valleys to obtain a precarious live- to the
The tenets of Nanak and Gobind sikhs. ^''^^3^had nevertheless taken root in the hearts of the people; the peasant and the mechanic nursed their faith in secret, and the more ardent clung to the hope of ample revenge 'and speedy victory. The departed Guru had lihood as robbers.'*
declared himself the last of the prophets; the believers
were without a temporal guide, and rude untutored men, accustomed to defer to their teacher as divine, were left to work their way to greatness, without an ordained method, and without any other bond of union The sikhs !
i
I
!
1
!
I
;
than the sincerity of their common faith. The pro- ^^p* ^°" gress of the new religion, and the ascendancy of its fj^g^fJi-^our votaries, had thus been trusted to the pregnancy of ^^ t^eir the truths announced, and to the fitness of the Indian belief, mind for their reception. The general acknowledgement of the most simple and comprehensive principle is sometimes uncertain, and is usually slow and irregular, and this fact should be held in view in considering the history of the Sikhs from the death of Gobind to the present time. During the invasion of Nadir Shah, the Sikhs Jf^^^^;^!;^^ collected in small bands, and plundered both the oT^unXrstragglers of the Persian army and the wealthy inhabi- ers. 1738-9. tants who fled towards the hills on the first appearance of the conqueror, or when the massacre at Delhi became generally known.^ The impunity which 1 included the famous peacock throne of Shah [ These Jahan and the celebrated Koh-i-Nur. The subsequent history ^Ed. ] of the latter is too well known to need repetition. - He was likewise the son of -the conqueror of Banda. His name was Zakariya Khan, and his title Khan Bahadur. Cf. Forster's Travels, i. 313, and Browne's India Tracts, •"-
jii.
I
I
13.
4 Browne, India Tracts, ii. 13, 14. Nadir acquired from the Mughal emperor the provinces of Sindh and Kabul, and four districts of the province of Lahore, lying near the Jhelum river. Zakariya Khan, son of Abdul Samad, was viceroy of Lahore
jat the time.
The defeat of the Delhi sovereign, and Nadir's entry into the capital, took place on the 13th of February and early in [March, 1739, respectively, but were not known in London until j
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