Tempo:
HISTORY OF THE SIKHS
11(5
1803-8.
Halts at Amritsar,
but fails in gaining over Ranjit Singh.
Holkar comes to terms with the English
and marches to the south, 1805-6.
the differences then existing between the imbecile Raja and his wife; ^ but when the English army reached the neighbourhood of Karnal, Holkar continued his retreat towards the north, levying contributions where he could, but without being joined by any of the Sikh chiefs of the Cis-Sutlej states. In the Punjab itself he is represented to have induced some to adopt his cause, but Ranjit Singh long kept aloof, and when at last he met Holkar at Amritsar, the astute young chief wanted aid in reducing the Pathans of Kasur before he would give the Marathas any assistance against the English. Amir Khan would wish it to be believed, that he was unwilling to be a party to an attack upon good Miihammadans, and it is certain that the perplexed Jaswant Rao talked of hurrying on to Peshawar; but Lord Lake was in force on the banks of the Beas, the political demands of the British commander were moderate, and, on the 24th December, 1805, an arrangement was come to, which allowed Holkar to return quietly to Central India.^
Friendly relations of
the English
with the Sikhs of Sirhind, 1803-8.
Formal engagement entered into with Ranjit Singh and Fateh Singh Ahluwalia,
1806.
CHAP, V
Lord Lake was joined on his advance by the two chiefs, Lai Singh and Bhag Singh, whose services have already been mentioned, and at Patiala he was wel-
comed by the weak and inoffensive Sahib Singh, who presented the keys of his citadel, and expatiated on his devotion to the British Government. Bhag Singh was the maternal uncle of Ranjit Singh, and his services were not unimportant in determining that calculating leader to avoid an encounter with disciplined battalions and a trained artillery. Ranjit Singh is believed to have visited the British camp in disguise, that he might himself witness the military array of a leader who had successively vanquished both Sindhia and Holkar,'' and he was, moreover, too acute to see any permanent advantage in linking his fortunes with those of men reduced to the condition of fugitives. Fateh Singh Ahluwalia, the grand-nephew of Jassa Singh Kalal, and the chosen companion of the future Maharaja, was the medium of intercourse, and an arrangement was soon entered into with 'Sardars' Ranjit Singh and Fateh Singh jointly, which provided that Holkar J
Amir Khan, in his Memoirs (p. 276), says characteristi-
cally, that
Holkar remarked to him,
on observing the
silly
differences between the Raja and the Rani, 'God has assuredly sent us these two pigeons to pluck; do you espouse the cause of the one, while I take up with the other.' 2 Cf.
Amir Khan, Memoirs, pp.
Ranjit Singh, p. 57, &c. 3 See
Moorcroft, Travels,
i.
102.
276,
285:
and
Murray.
11(5
1803-8.
Halts at Amritsar,
but fails in gaining over Ranjit Singh.
Holkar comes to terms with the English
and marches to the south, 1805-6.
the differences then existing between the imbecile Raja and his wife; ^ but when the English army reached the neighbourhood of Karnal, Holkar continued his retreat towards the north, levying contributions where he could, but without being joined by any of the Sikh chiefs of the Cis-Sutlej states. In the Punjab itself he is represented to have induced some to adopt his cause, but Ranjit Singh long kept aloof, and when at last he met Holkar at Amritsar, the astute young chief wanted aid in reducing the Pathans of Kasur before he would give the Marathas any assistance against the English. Amir Khan would wish it to be believed, that he was unwilling to be a party to an attack upon good Miihammadans, and it is certain that the perplexed Jaswant Rao talked of hurrying on to Peshawar; but Lord Lake was in force on the banks of the Beas, the political demands of the British commander were moderate, and, on the 24th December, 1805, an arrangement was come to, which allowed Holkar to return quietly to Central India.^
Friendly relations of
the English
with the Sikhs of Sirhind, 1803-8.
Formal engagement entered into with Ranjit Singh and Fateh Singh Ahluwalia,
1806.
CHAP, V
Lord Lake was joined on his advance by the two chiefs, Lai Singh and Bhag Singh, whose services have already been mentioned, and at Patiala he was wel-
comed by the weak and inoffensive Sahib Singh, who presented the keys of his citadel, and expatiated on his devotion to the British Government. Bhag Singh was the maternal uncle of Ranjit Singh, and his services were not unimportant in determining that calculating leader to avoid an encounter with disciplined battalions and a trained artillery. Ranjit Singh is believed to have visited the British camp in disguise, that he might himself witness the military array of a leader who had successively vanquished both Sindhia and Holkar,'' and he was, moreover, too acute to see any permanent advantage in linking his fortunes with those of men reduced to the condition of fugitives. Fateh Singh Ahluwalia, the grand-nephew of Jassa Singh Kalal, and the chosen companion of the future Maharaja, was the medium of intercourse, and an arrangement was soon entered into with 'Sardars' Ranjit Singh and Fateh Singh jointly, which provided that Holkar J
Amir Khan, in his Memoirs (p. 276), says characteristi-
cally, that
Holkar remarked to him,
on observing the
silly
differences between the Raja and the Rani, 'God has assuredly sent us these two pigeons to pluck; do you espouse the cause of the one, while I take up with the other.' 2 Cf.
Amir Khan, Memoirs, pp.
Ranjit Singh, p. 57, &c. 3 See
Moorcroft, Travels,
i.
102.
276,
285:
and
Murray.
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