Tempo:
Extinction of Afghan Power
245
who knew these lands and the people wen and whose names were fast becoming a terror among the tribes, Hari Singh Nalwa and the nihang Phula Singh. The army passed through Rohtas, Rawalpindi, Hassan Abdal, and arrived in the plains of Hazara. At Hazara, Khattak tribesmen ambushed a reconnaissance party which had crossed the river Attock and killed every man. The region was a part of the Durbar's territories, and the Khattaks paid tribute to Lahore. The ambush was not an act of war but one of treacherous rebellion. The news of this incident roused the Maharajah to one of his rare outbursts of passion. He drew his sword and hurled a trayful of gold coins jnto the Attock as an offering and rode his elephant into the swirling waters.~ His men followed on horseback or swam across. The tribesmen could not withstand the wrath of the Punjabi troops. Tribal strongholds at Khairabad and Jehangiria were oc01pied and the soldiers given permission to plunder Khattak villages. Nevertheless, when their chief, Firoz Khan, made his submission, he was forgiven and reinstated. The Punjabis continued their march to Peshawar. The news of their success against the Kbattaks disheartened Yar Mohammed Khan, the Afghan governor of Peshawar, who fled the city, leaving behind fourteen big guns and other war equipment. In November 1819 the Pu'1jabis entered the famous citadel of the Patbans. Contrary to Lhe practice of most Afghans and Pathans who had usually plundered the towns and cities of northern India, the Maharajah forbade his soldiers to lay their hands on any person or property. The next morning he rode on his elephant through the bazaars. For the first time in eight hundred years the city saw an lndian conqueror ride through its streets. Jahan Dad Khan (who had five years earlier given the Durbar the fort of Attock) was appointed governor of Peshawar. But no 9 One of the legends which became currem in the Punjab and on the nonh-wesl fronlier was I.hat as soon as Ranjit Singh's elephant stepped into the river, the flood subsided. The legend had eno1mous psychological vaJue, a~ il g: .Ye currency to a saying among the tribesmen 'Khudii hu11l Khiil.sii Sud!,_'God is on the side of the Sikhs'.
245
who knew these lands and the people wen and whose names were fast becoming a terror among the tribes, Hari Singh Nalwa and the nihang Phula Singh. The army passed through Rohtas, Rawalpindi, Hassan Abdal, and arrived in the plains of Hazara. At Hazara, Khattak tribesmen ambushed a reconnaissance party which had crossed the river Attock and killed every man. The region was a part of the Durbar's territories, and the Khattaks paid tribute to Lahore. The ambush was not an act of war but one of treacherous rebellion. The news of this incident roused the Maharajah to one of his rare outbursts of passion. He drew his sword and hurled a trayful of gold coins jnto the Attock as an offering and rode his elephant into the swirling waters.~ His men followed on horseback or swam across. The tribesmen could not withstand the wrath of the Punjabi troops. Tribal strongholds at Khairabad and Jehangiria were oc01pied and the soldiers given permission to plunder Khattak villages. Nevertheless, when their chief, Firoz Khan, made his submission, he was forgiven and reinstated. The Punjabis continued their march to Peshawar. The news of their success against the Kbattaks disheartened Yar Mohammed Khan, the Afghan governor of Peshawar, who fled the city, leaving behind fourteen big guns and other war equipment. In November 1819 the Pu'1jabis entered the famous citadel of the Patbans. Contrary to Lhe practice of most Afghans and Pathans who had usually plundered the towns and cities of northern India, the Maharajah forbade his soldiers to lay their hands on any person or property. The next morning he rode on his elephant through the bazaars. For the first time in eight hundred years the city saw an lndian conqueror ride through its streets. Jahan Dad Khan (who had five years earlier given the Durbar the fort of Attock) was appointed governor of Peshawar. But no 9 One of the legends which became currem in the Punjab and on the nonh-wesl fronlier was I.hat as soon as Ranjit Singh's elephant stepped into the river, the flood subsided. The legend had eno1mous psychological vaJue, a~ il g: .Ye currency to a saying among the tribesmen 'Khudii hu11l Khiil.sii Sud!,_'God is on the side of the Sikhs'.
©
2026
Lehal.net