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— HISTORY OF THE SIKHS
164 1824-5.
Miscellaneous transactions,
1824-5
Peshawar.
Nepal.
Sind.
Bharatpur.
Fateh Singh the Ahluwalia chief.
CHAP. VII
In the year 1824, the turbulent Muhammadan tribes on either side of the Indus above Attock arose in rebellion, and the Sikh General, Hari Singh, received
The Maharaja hastened by forced a severe check. marches to that quarter, and again forded the rapid, stony-bedded Indus; but the mountaineers dispersed at his approach, and his display of power was hardly rewarded by Yar Muhammad Khan's renewed protestations of allegiance.^ In 1825 Ranjit Singh's attention was amused with overtures from the Gurkhas, who forgot his former rivalry in the overwhelming greatness of the English; but the precise object of the Nepalese did not transpire, and the restless spirit of the Sikh chief soon led him to the Chenab, with the design of seizing Shikarpur.- The occurrence of a scarcity in Sind, and perhaps the rumours of the hostile preparations of the English against Bharatpur,^ induced him to return to his capital before the end of the year. The Jot usurper of the Jumna asked his brother Jat of the Ravi to aid him; but the Maharaja acted to discredit the mission, and so satisfied the British authorities without compromising himself with the master of a fortress which had successfully resisted the disciplined troops and the dreaded artillery of his neighbours.^ But about the same time Ranjit Singh likewise found, reason to distrust the possessors of strongholds; and Fateh Singh Ahluwalia was constrained by his old brother in arms to leave a masonry citadel unfinished, and was further induced by his own fears to He was assured of fly to the south of the Sutlej. English protection in his ancesti"al estates in the Sir-
hind province, but Ranjit Singh, remembering perhaps the joint treaty with Lord Lake, earnestly endeavoured to allay the fears of the fugitive, and to recall a chief so da*ngerous in the hands of his allies. Fateh Singh Capt. Murray, Ranjit Singh, pp. 141, 142. Delhi to Capt. Murray, 18th March 1825, and Capt. Murray in reply, 28th March. Cf. also Murray, Ranjit Singh, p. 144. ^ [This famous fortress was besieged by the English forces (20,000 men and 100 guns) on 10th Dec. 1825, and fell on 18th Jan. 1826. Its capture made a great impression, as it had been deemed impregnable. The operations were under the direction of Lord Combermere, the Commander-in-Chief who, as Sir Stapleton Cotton, had fought under Wellington in the Peninsula. ^Ed.] 4 Capt. Murray to the Resident at Delhi, 1st and 3rd Oct. 1825, and Capt. Wade to Capt. Murray, 5th Oct. 1825. Capt. Wade, however, in the printed Narrative of his Services, p. 7, represents Ranjit Singh as pausing to take advantage of any disasters which might befall the English. 1
2 Agent at
164 1824-5.
Miscellaneous transactions,
1824-5
Peshawar.
Nepal.
Sind.
Bharatpur.
Fateh Singh the Ahluwalia chief.
CHAP. VII
In the year 1824, the turbulent Muhammadan tribes on either side of the Indus above Attock arose in rebellion, and the Sikh General, Hari Singh, received
The Maharaja hastened by forced a severe check. marches to that quarter, and again forded the rapid, stony-bedded Indus; but the mountaineers dispersed at his approach, and his display of power was hardly rewarded by Yar Muhammad Khan's renewed protestations of allegiance.^ In 1825 Ranjit Singh's attention was amused with overtures from the Gurkhas, who forgot his former rivalry in the overwhelming greatness of the English; but the precise object of the Nepalese did not transpire, and the restless spirit of the Sikh chief soon led him to the Chenab, with the design of seizing Shikarpur.- The occurrence of a scarcity in Sind, and perhaps the rumours of the hostile preparations of the English against Bharatpur,^ induced him to return to his capital before the end of the year. The Jot usurper of the Jumna asked his brother Jat of the Ravi to aid him; but the Maharaja acted to discredit the mission, and so satisfied the British authorities without compromising himself with the master of a fortress which had successfully resisted the disciplined troops and the dreaded artillery of his neighbours.^ But about the same time Ranjit Singh likewise found, reason to distrust the possessors of strongholds; and Fateh Singh Ahluwalia was constrained by his old brother in arms to leave a masonry citadel unfinished, and was further induced by his own fears to He was assured of fly to the south of the Sutlej. English protection in his ancesti"al estates in the Sir-
hind province, but Ranjit Singh, remembering perhaps the joint treaty with Lord Lake, earnestly endeavoured to allay the fears of the fugitive, and to recall a chief so da*ngerous in the hands of his allies. Fateh Singh Capt. Murray, Ranjit Singh, pp. 141, 142. Delhi to Capt. Murray, 18th March 1825, and Capt. Murray in reply, 28th March. Cf. also Murray, Ranjit Singh, p. 144. ^ [This famous fortress was besieged by the English forces (20,000 men and 100 guns) on 10th Dec. 1825, and fell on 18th Jan. 1826. Its capture made a great impression, as it had been deemed impregnable. The operations were under the direction of Lord Combermere, the Commander-in-Chief who, as Sir Stapleton Cotton, had fought under Wellington in the Peninsula. ^Ed.] 4 Capt. Murray to the Resident at Delhi, 1st and 3rd Oct. 1825, and Capt. Wade to Capt. Murray, 5th Oct. 1825. Capt. Wade, however, in the printed Narrative of his Services, p. 7, represents Ranjit Singh as pausing to take advantage of any disasters which might befall the English. 1
2 Agent at
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