In the previous post, we have discussed Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Now, we will discuss Punjab after the death of Ranjit Singh.
Punjab in the late 1840s
After the death of Ranjit Singh, the Sikh army started playing the role of the kingmaker in Punjab. So, within 6years Punjab government got 4 rulers. So, after Ranjit Singh, Punjab was in a political crisis. In this situation, Queen of Ranjit Singh, Rani Zindan, and her associates Lal Singh and Teja Singh approached EIC. They asked EIC to help them against their own Sikh army.
This was a very big opportunity for EIC to enter into the affairs of Punjab. So, EIC being the opportunist, started making preparations to handle the Sikh army. The two steps of EIC instigated Sikh army,
- Construction of bridge on river Ravi in Firozpur.
- Major Broadfoot’s declaration in which he said that all Sikh shrines will be under the control of English.
First Anglo-Sikh War
The steps of EIC instigated the Sikh army and they attacked English leading to First Anglo-Sikh War in 1845-46. The Sikh army was defeated and compelled to accept the treaty of Lahore on March 9, 1846. The important provisions of the treaty were,
- Dilip Singh became the ruler of Punjab under the supervision of Rani Zindan.
- Punjab was to pay one and a half crore rupees as was compensation.
- EIC took Kashmir from Punjab.
- EIC banned a large part of Sikh army.
The treaty of Lahore was followed by a supplementary treaty on 11th March 1846. In which EIC decided to stay in Punjab until December to strengthen the position of Rani Zindan and Dilip Singh.
But in these nine months, after the treaty of March 11, EIC smartly removed Lal Singh, Teja Singh and Rani Zindan from the regency of Dilip Singh. So, the new question in front of EIC was who will be the new take care of Maharaja. So, by the treaty of Bghrowal in December 1846 EIC became the regent of Dilip Singh.
Second Anglo-Sikh War
In this way, after the treaty of Bghrowal EIC became the ruler of Punjab. This situation continued until the arrival of Dalhousie. So, after the First Anglo-Sikh War, Dalhousie wanted to completely eliminate the Sikh rule in Punjab. He wanted to overthrow the mask of indirect rule and bring Punjab under the direct rule of Britishers.
So, this led to second Anglo-Sikh war in 1848. In this Mulraj was the governor of Multan, who resigned because of the three reasons,
- East India Company asked for 20 lakhs rupees extra from him, apart from the tribute he was paying to Lahore Darbar.
- The two-third land of Ravi doab was snatched away from him.
- For the next 3years land revenue was increased by one-third.
In this scenario, Dalhousie sent two British officials to handle Multan. These officials started the suppression and exploitation of people in Multan. So, this was the main reason for the second Anglo-Sikh war. In this war, the Sikh army was crushed and Punjab was incorporated in East India Company’s direct rule.
Dalhousie and Modernisation of India
Napoleon played an important role in the emergence of Modern Europe. Dalhousie played the same role in India. He led the foundation of Modern Industrialised India.
Revolution in Transportation and Communication
To strengthen the defense and economy in the interest of Britain, Dalhousie came with the revolution in the field of transportation and communication. Under communication important development was the telegraph and postal system in India. While in transportation Railways have the most important place.
It is said Mauryans and Mughals in spite of their dominance on the Indian subcontinent failed to turn India as the nation. But this task was completed by the spreading network of Railways in India.
Public Works Department and Public Education Department
Woods Despatch of 1854 came in India with a new educational policy. It recommended the government take charge of overall education in India.
Conquest of Burma
To safeguard India’s border from the French threat from the north-east, Dalhousie conquered Burma. In this way, Dalhousie completed the task of British imperialism in India. But this 100 years (from 1757-1857) of suppression and exploitation ended the patience of Indian people. So, the outburst of the revolt of 1857 took place. The doctrine of the Lapse of Dalhousie was one of the immediate causes of this revolt.
In the upcoming post, we will discuss the Revolt of 1857. Till then enjoy learning.
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