Tempo:
Extinction of Afghan Power
243
The Zam Zama arrived in April. This time it proved more effective. With each shot it sent eighty pounds of solid metal hurtling into the wall and tore huge holes in it. While the defend• ers' energies were concentrated in blocking the damage,5 a party of nihangs stole down the moat under cover of darkness and laid a mine under another portion of the wall. The next morning a huge segment of the battlement was blown sky high. Muzaffar Khan was willing to lay down arms, but his men forced rum to retract the terms of surrender he had accepted. The battle recommenced. The nihang leader, Sadhu Singh,6 led his band in a desperate charge through one of the breaches and closed in on the defenders. Muzaffar Khan, his two sons, and a nephew were killed fighting; two younger sons were taken pris• oners. The fort of Multan capitulated on 2 June 1818. The fon of Shujabad fell soon after. The victor, Misr Dewan Chand, was honoured with the title of Zafar Jang Bahadur (the victorious in battle).7 The conquest of Multan ended Afghan influence in the Punjab and broke the solid phalanx of the Muslim states in the south. It subdued the chiefs of Bahawalpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Dera Ismail Khan, and Mankera. And it opened up the road to Sindh. In addition to all these military and _political advantages, Multan 5 A stirring account of the battle is given by Ghulam Jilani in his Jangi -Mullan. Jilani was a spy who mingled with the Durbar u-oops. He states
that a cannon lost one of its wheels and could not be properly fired without support. The Durbar soldiers wrangled among each other to have the honour of supporting the cannon on their shoulders. Many were killed with the recoil of the gun. 6 Many accounts, including that of Prem Singh, give the credit of the victorious assault ro Phula Singh. Sohan Lal correctly states that Pbula Singh was in Attock at the time. 7 Ranjit Singh told the English traveller, William Moorcroft, that I.he lives of five hundred of Muza.tfar Khan's men who surrendered were spared. Griffin (Ranjil Singh, p 187) does not believe this and states (without quoting bis source) that the entire garrison was put to the sword. He also states I.hat Mullan was plundered an4 yielded two million sterling, of which five lacs was recovered by the Durbar.
243
The Zam Zama arrived in April. This time it proved more effective. With each shot it sent eighty pounds of solid metal hurtling into the wall and tore huge holes in it. While the defend• ers' energies were concentrated in blocking the damage,5 a party of nihangs stole down the moat under cover of darkness and laid a mine under another portion of the wall. The next morning a huge segment of the battlement was blown sky high. Muzaffar Khan was willing to lay down arms, but his men forced rum to retract the terms of surrender he had accepted. The battle recommenced. The nihang leader, Sadhu Singh,6 led his band in a desperate charge through one of the breaches and closed in on the defenders. Muzaffar Khan, his two sons, and a nephew were killed fighting; two younger sons were taken pris• oners. The fort of Multan capitulated on 2 June 1818. The fon of Shujabad fell soon after. The victor, Misr Dewan Chand, was honoured with the title of Zafar Jang Bahadur (the victorious in battle).7 The conquest of Multan ended Afghan influence in the Punjab and broke the solid phalanx of the Muslim states in the south. It subdued the chiefs of Bahawalpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Dera Ismail Khan, and Mankera. And it opened up the road to Sindh. In addition to all these military and _political advantages, Multan 5 A stirring account of the battle is given by Ghulam Jilani in his Jangi -Mullan. Jilani was a spy who mingled with the Durbar u-oops. He states
that a cannon lost one of its wheels and could not be properly fired without support. The Durbar soldiers wrangled among each other to have the honour of supporting the cannon on their shoulders. Many were killed with the recoil of the gun. 6 Many accounts, including that of Prem Singh, give the credit of the victorious assault ro Phula Singh. Sohan Lal correctly states that Pbula Singh was in Attock at the time. 7 Ranjit Singh told the English traveller, William Moorcroft, that I.he lives of five hundred of Muza.tfar Khan's men who surrendered were spared. Griffin (Ranjil Singh, p 187) does not believe this and states (without quoting bis source) that the entire garrison was put to the sword. He also states I.hat Mullan was plundered an4 yielded two million sterling, of which five lacs was recovered by the Durbar.
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