Attar Singh Sandhawalia and Ajit Singh Sandhawalia stormed into Lahore with a great show of strength. On 2 December, 1840 Chand Kaur was proclaimed Maharani of Punjab with the title ‘Malika Muqaddas’ (Respected Empress). The young Pratap Singh was taken hostage, to be held at Lahore until an heir was born to Sahib Kaur. An agreement was then signed by the notables of the court.
In his work The Panjab Chiefs, Lepel Griffin provides a copy of the original document signed by of Dhian Singh Dogra, Gulab Singh Dogra, Bhai Ram Singh, Attar Singh Sandhawalia, Lehna Singh Majithia, Bhai Gurmukh Singh, Hamadar Khushhal Singh, Fatah Singh Man, Mangal Singh Sindhu, Tej Singh, Sham Singh Attariwala, Diwan Dinanath and Ghulam Mohiuddin. Griffin offers the following translation:
At this time we all with one heart and one tongue swear to abide by the stipulations agreed upon amongst us that Singh Sahib Sher Singh Ji shall remain on his own jagir and that Pratap Singh Ji, son of the Singh Sahib shall sit for eight months in the Council of State. If Singh Sahib Sher Singh Ji shall agree to this, it is well; if not, we taking joint action will compel him to agree. Likewise we will make the Bibi Sahib Rani Chand Kaur consent. What has been above arranged will hold good until the birth of a son or otherwise, when we will make other arrangements.
Sher Singh returned to Batala and a month later, Dhian Singh Dogra retired to his estates in Jammu. It appeared that the ambitions of the Sandhawalias had finally been realised. They seemed to be in total control of the Lahore court.
It didn’t take very long for the new order to unravel. Chand Kaur proved to be an inept leader. Vain, ill-tempered and sharp-tongued she hastened to alienate all the senior courtiers, who were already chafing at the notion of being ruled by a woman. Bedi Bikram Singh of Una, a respected Sikh elder who had descended from Guru Nanak, had been invited to Lahore to apply the saffron mark of royalty upon the forehead of the new ruler. When he learned that a woman was to be the ruler of Punjab, he flatly refused to carry out the investiture, much to the chagrin of Chand Kaur!
A bigger problem for her was the loyalty of the army which had a great fondness for Sher Singh. Dhian Singh Dogra, who had already seen the growing dissension within the Queen’s council before he left Lahore, had not been sitting idle and had started to reach out to senior army commanders, lobbying on Sher Singh’s behalf even as he was journeying back to Jammu, promising them rich rewards and salary increases in return for their loyalty.
Desertions began immediately and the trickle turned into a flood as all the crack regiments flocked to Sher Singh’s side to the point that the queen’s loyalists were denied access to the armory and magazine. The queen posted two battalions inside the Lahore Fort for her personal protection and rumours of an impending confrontation began to swirl. The British sensed an opportunity and began to plot the dismemberment of the empire, suggesting that Peshawar be ceded to the Afghans, the hills be handed over to the Dogras and the plains to the Sandhawalias!
Sher Singh moved decisively. He sent an envoy to the British Political Agent in Ludhiana, George Russel Clerk, to sound him out. Clerk, more practical than his superiors in Calcutta, saw a potential ally in Sher Singh, who was an Anglophile, in sharp contrast to the late Naunihal Singh and assured him of British support. Sher Singh, further emboldened, marched upon Lahore at the head of a large army.
Chand Kaur, rather than being disheartened began to gird up for battle. She appointed Dhian Singh’s older brother, Gulab Singh Dogra, her Commander-in-chief and charged him with defending the fort of Lahore. She hastily paid four months of wages, which were in arrears to the troops that remained at her side and lavished expensive gifts on the officers. She issued instructions to the bankers of Lahore, forbidding them to make any loans to Sher Singh who certainly did not have the resources to sustain a long campaign. The prince, however, was confident of a quick victory and promised the soldiers a permanent increase in salary and huge rewards if he took the throne.
There is a broadly-held view that as Chand Kaur, supported by the Sandhawalias and Sher Singh jockeyed for position, the Dogra brothers played a cynical game to further their own interests. Latif, in the History Of the Punjab, as well as George Carmichael Smyth in his work, A History of the Reigning Family of Lahore, both suggest this. Gulab Singh Dogra stayed loyal to the queen while Dhian Singh Dogra was clearly in Sher Singh’s camp. Thus it appeared that collectively, the Dogras had ensured their own survival by making sure that no matter who prevailed, one of them would be in favour and thus able to ensure the continued dominance of the family!
On 14 January, 1841, Sher Singh arrived at an old brick kiln near Lahore, known as Budhu-ka-awa. A large force of soldiers had assembled there to greet him. Four battalions of infantry, two cavalry battalions and a smattering of cannons provided protection. A steady stream of officers as well as panches or informal leaders elected by the soldiers knelt before him and publicly declared him to be the new ruler of Punjab.
The citizenry of Lahore cheered in excitement at the new king’s approach but the boom of artillery struck fear in their hearts as they began to understand that there might be battle for the city. The queen, terrified, ordered the gates of the city to be closed and summoned her council, which consisted of Gulab Singh Dogra, Jemadar Khushal Singh, Tej Singh and the Sandhawalia Sardars. Gulab Singh hastily summoned his forces which had been camped at Shahdra, across the Ravi river into the fort to bolster its defense. Gulab Singh proceeded to personally direct the defence of the city and inspected every post. He thrust fistfuls of money at the soldiers who had remained loyal to the Queen and had them swear oaths of fidelity.
Meanwhile, Sher Singh’s forces continued to grow. Suchet Singh Dogra, the youngest of the Dogra brothers, known to be a gallant fighter and commander joined him with his men, as did General Ventura, the French commander of Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s infantry. Sher Singh now commanded 70,000 men whose eagerness to join the battle and engage in the plunder that would inevitably ensue was very apparent. That evening, Sher Singh entered Lahore through a wicket gate close to the Badshahi Mosque. Several of the queen’s guards defected and the Yakki, Delhi and Taksali gates were thrown open to the invading force. By daybreak, Sher Singh controlled most of the city, with the queen and her council sheltering behind the walls of the fort of Lahore.
That whole night, the soldiers plundered the main bazaars of Lahore, breaking into the shuttered shops closed for the night and pillaging them with impunity. At daybreak, the 70,000 soldiers and their camp followers who numbered around 50,000 laid siege to the fort of Lahore. More than 230 pieces of artillery were trained on the fort and more guns were being added. Twelve guns were pointed at the western gate of the fort known as the Hazuri Bagh Gate, which, the attackers felt, was vulnerable. The besieging force, in one body, smashed into the fort like the mighty waves of a tempest as the thick walls of the fort were shaken by volley after volley as the big guns boomed.
The account of Alexander Gardner, a Scottish soldier of fortune who had served Ranjit Singh and now was under the command of Gulab Singh Dogra and one of the defenders of the fort, describes the siege in his memoir.70
Once the gates of the outer wall leading into the Hazuri Bagh had been breached, Sher Singh entered in person and took shelter in an underground room. Gulab Singh Dogra was now asked to surrender. Gardner then crept to a chink in the Hazuri Bagh gate, which he had blocked up with carts, and saw fourteen field guns loaded, planted within 20 yards of the gate, and aimed straight at it. The Dogras on the walls began to look over, and were mocked by Sher Singh’s troops. The little fort was surrounded by a sea of soldiers. Gulab Singh boldly challenged Sher Singh, and asked him to surrender instead. The fourteen guns fired in unison and the gate was smashed to smithereens. Seventeen of Gardner’s soldiers were blown to bits and body parts were flying everywhere. Gardner had barely wiped the blood and gore off his face when he saw 300 Akalis storming the breached gate. They were tightly packed and could barely move because of the rubble and the smashed carts that s
till blocked their way. With the help of three gunners who had survived the shelling, Gardner fired his ten guns with deadly accuracy, slaughtering many of the Akali attackers. The next discharge decimated Sher Singh’s artillerymen who stood transfixed, horrified at the slaughter of the Akalis. Gardner counted the bodies of more than 2800 soldiers, 200 artillerymen, and 180 horses. By then Sher Singh had retreated and deployed the rest of the artillery and the tide of battle turned.
The bombardment continued incessantly for three days and nights weakening the mighty walls of the fort and creating several breaches. Sher Singh placed forty marksmen at the minarets of the Badhshahi mosque, which provided a commanding view of the fort. They took a heavy toll on the defenders. The small band of defenders doggedly held on until Dhian Singh Dogra arrived from Jammu on what was the fifth day of the siege. All hostilities ceased at Dhian Singh’s command and he started negotiations with the queen’s council.
The city of Lahore was in tatters. Nearly half the houses in the city had been demolished, their timbers used for erecting batteries and shields for the protection of the artillery. The stench of burning flesh and hair pervaded the city as the thousands of dead were cremated.
Gulab Singh Dogra deputed Hira Singh, his nephew and Dhian Singh Dogra’s son to negotiate the terms on behalf of the queen. On the seventh day of the siege, Hira Singh emerged from the Samman Burj with the Sandhawalia Chiefs and peace was agreed to. Maharani Chand Kaur was to cede Lahore Fort to Sher Singh, acknowledge him as the new king and give up all her claims to the throne of Lahore. In return, Sher Singh was to confer upon her a large estate which would yield annual revenue of 900,000 rupees, which would be managed by Gulab Singh Dogra. Sher Singh was to refrain from any attempts to marry his brother’s widow, which was permissible by custom. The Dogra troops would be allowed to leave unharmed and security measures would be put in place to guarantee the treaty.
Sher Singh was now in control of Lahore and the undisputed master of Punjab.
Gulab Singh Dogra hastened to mend fences with the new king. According to Alexander Gardner:
Raja Dhian Singh Dogra’s next task was to bring about a reconciliation between the new Maharaj and his brother, Gulab Singh Dogra. Gulab Singh Dogra managed to secure a good portion of the treasure in the fort and very cunningly presented the Kohinoor diamond to Sher Singh, taking credit for keeping the royal treasure safe from plunderers. Sher Singh readily forgave him and Gulab Singh left for his home in Jammu laden with treasure worth two million rupees, that he had misappropriated.
Sher Singh had triumphed but the Dogras had not done shabbily for themselves either! Dhian Singh Dogra had the new king, who owed his succession to him, in his debt. Gulab Singh Dogra was forgiven and in fact, rewarded with new grants of land. Under the guise of protecting Chand Kaur’s property, he decamped with treasure worth millions of rupees, which he would put to good use in the future!
The biggest losers seemed to be the Sandhawalia Sardars. Their dreams of placing a puppet queen on the throne of Punjab had been dashed and their enemies, the Dogras, had emerged wealthier and more powerful. Ajit Singh Sandhawalia fled the kingdom and went to Ludhiana to seek the help of the British Agent, Clerk. When Clerk refused to receive him, he proceeded to Calcutta to petition the British Governor General. His uncle, Attar Singh Sandhawalia, followed him into British territory. Another uncle, Lehna Singh Sandhawalia was brought to Lahore in chains and imprisoned.
On 18 January, 1841, Bedi Bikram Singh applied the royal saffron mark to Sher Singh’s forehead, anointing him the new Maharaja. Dhian Singh Dogra would continue as Prime Minister and Pratap Singh was declared the heir apparent.
The former queen’s life ended tragically. In June the same year, her head was crushed with a flagstone by her maidservants. The women were apprehended but before they could be interrogated, their tongues were cut off and they were executed at the command of Dhian Singh Dogra. Gardner lays the blame at Sher Singh’s door, as does British historian J.D. Cunningham, but most historians believe that Sher Singh, who was not cruel by nature, would have had no reason to have his sister-in-law murdered. The Dogras benefited enormously, taking control of her estates and keeping the treasure that they had purloined in her name.
Maharaja Sher Singh’s rule did not begin well. The soldiery, acutely aware of its role in the ascension of the new monarch, had become insubordinate and intractable. Panches or representatives of soldiers from each company were invited to an audience with Maharaja Sher Singh and Dhian Singh Dogra to air their grievances. The meeting ended stormily when the king refused to dismiss unpopular officers, with the panches sullen and recalcitrant. The king, at a complete loss, threw up his hands in despair.
Lieutenant Colonel Henry Steinbach, who also served in Ranjit Singh’s forces, and stayed in Punjab following his death was an eyewitness to what happened. He describes what happened in his book, The Punjaub; being a brief account of the country of the Sikhs.
Essentially, the soldiers demanded that their salaries be increased and that unpopular officers be dismissed. When their demands were not met, they rioted and murdered many of their officers. They formed committees of five to represent each regiment and parley on their behalf. Wholesale plunder of the city of Lahore followed, during which more than two thousand were killed, including many government officials and scribes who had been accused of embezzlement or had otherwise aroused the soldiers’ ire. General Court, one of the most highly respected French officers in the army, barely escaped with his life and his home was totally ransacked. Like most of the other European officers, he had not aligned himself with any faction during the civil war, but that did not help him. General Ventura, who was the supreme commander of the empire’s army by then, had a narrow escape as well. Resentment against the European officers seemed to rise to fever pitch.
The rebellion spread beyond the walls of Lahore as well. Mutinous soldiers murdered the Governor of Kashmir in open court, upon his refusing to comply with their demands. Lieutenant-Colonel Foulkes, stationed with a large body of cavalry at Mandi, was also killed. Lieutenant-Colonel Ford, another British officer, after having been relieved of all his possessions, even the ring on his finger, died at Peshawar from illness and ill-treatment. This state of anarchy continued for months, during which period there seemed to be no government at all, the soldiers doing whatever they pleased.
Maharaja Sher Singh was known to be a voluptuary and he sought refuge in his favorite pursuits, hunting, wrestling and carousing, and indulging in champagne while Dhian Singh Dogra took total control of the state. While the affairs of the empire seemed to be somewhat settled, trouble was brewing.
The Sandhawalia Chiefs, either exiled or imprisoned, were constantly seeking ways to return to the court. Maharaja Sher Singh had in attendance two Sikh spiritual leaders, Bhai Ram Singh and Bhai Gurmukh Singh, both of who exercised considerable influence in the court as well as in the royal harem. Bhai Ram Singh supported the Dogras while Bhai Gurmukh Singh was bitterly opposed to them. The Sandhawalias appealed to the Maharaja’s generous and affable nature, approaching him through Bhai Ram Singh as well as the king’s harem to beg for forgiveness. Sher Singh decided to forgive his uncles Attar Singh Sandhawalia and Lehna Singh Sandhawalia as well as his cousin Ajit Singh Sandhawalia. Attar Singh and Ajit Singh were recalled from exile and Lehna Singh was released from prison. Fresh honours were heaped upon them and their estates were restored. Lehna Singh and Attar Singh resumed their positions in court and Ajit Singh went to the family seat at Raja Sansi.
The Sandhawalias became the King’s boon companions. In the words of Latif:
The familiarity and feigned courtesy which existed between the Maharajah and the Sandhawalias was great. There were times of festive mirth and familiar jollity in which all were treated like. The Sardars quarrelled with the Maharaja and harsh words were even exchanged between them, but all this was taken in a good part. In these hours of revelry, Ajit Singh was known to have frequently threatened to take
the life of the Maharaja but the latter paid no heed to his threats. Sher Singh was repeatedly cautioned by his friends to be on his guard and not place implicit confidence in the Sandhawalias but he took no heed of these warnings.71
Two personalities played an unwitting role in the fall of Maharaja Sher Singh. Maharaja Ranjit Singh, in his dotage, had added to his harem a young woman named Jindan, who bore him a son in September of 1837, who was named Duleep Singh. Historians disagree on whether Jindan was one of Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s wives or merely a concubine. Khushwant Singh introduces her somewhat blandly as ‘the daughter of an officer in charge of the royal kennels’ who was married to Ranjit Singh in 1837.
George Carmichael Smyth’s account of Jindan is a little more colourful. He first offers a somewhat salacious story about her origins and then goes on to offer a second version, which according to him, gives Jindan a ‘more exalted origin than fortune had in store for her’.72
In the year 1828, Ranjit Singh, while visiting his ancestral home near Gujranwala, was told of the beauty of the third and youngest daughter of one Manna Singh Aulakh, a cavalryman and headman of Char, a small village about three miles south-east of Gujranwala. He sent for Jwala Singh Fuddana, who was married to the eldest daughter of Manna Singh, and made inquiries about the family. Satisfied with what he had heard, he sent a marriage proposal to Munna Singh for his daughter, and deputed a harem attendant named Dai Kurmoo to bring the young woman to his harem. When the girl was brought into the Maharaja’s presence in Amritsar, he was chagrined to find that she was nine or ten and not sixteen or seventeen years of age, as he had been led to believe. As the child was beautiful and seemed to be quick-witted, Ranjit Singh ordered that she be allowed to stay in his harem on a daily stipend of two rupees. The girl’s name was Jindan and she grew up in the royal harem.
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