by Craig Murray
Burnes tactfully replied that ‘I forgot in the agreeable interview which was now passing the difficulties which I had encountered, that it was not in the hand of man to avert calamities by sea […]’ and reported to Calcutta that he viewed the Amir’s position as satisfactory, whether the motive was amity or fear. The Amirs were preoccupied by Britain’s friendship with Ranjit Singh; as they viewed both Britain and the Sikh empire as a major threat, their alliance caused great concern.
Murad told him that the gifts were most welcome, but the clock and table shades were no use and perhaps he could have more pistols instead. Burnes’ indignant refusal was not understood, and a messenger sent the next morning with the identical request.10 I have felt precisely the same when Central Asians have spurned gifts; we view it as rude; they view it as practical.
Certainly Burnes received gifts much more valuable than he had given, including a beautiful gold and jewel-encrusted Damascus sword, and 1,500 gold Rupees. He divided 200 of these between his own servants and those of the Amir. The gifts had to be surrendered to the Company treasury; the Company might allow the recipient to keep them, but this was increasingly rare. James had been allowed to keep his gifts from Sind.
On 21 April the flotilla left Haidarabad with Burnes and Leech comfortably ensconced in the silk- lined pavilions of the Royal jumli, a vessel with sails and twenty oarsmen, which Burnes noted was just the kind of boat which the Amir had assured them it was impossible to sail up the Indus.11
Murad Ali Khan wrote to Lord Clare detailing the arrangements he was making and that ‘If the wind is fair in 6 or 8 days he will be beyond my borders, and my attendants receiving from him a letter acknowledging their services shall then return. Captain Burnes will have written to tell you all that I have done in friendship.’12 Clare forwarded this and copies of Burnes’ official journal to Bentinck in Simla.
Alexander got no praise for his diplomatic success at Haidarabad. The response handed down from the mountain was distinctly chilly: ‘the above dispatches do not at present call for any particular order or remark from His Lordship’.13
As the party sailed on through Sind, they attracted large crowds. Burnes had a policy of openness: ‘We saw much of the Sindians on our way up the river and did everything to encourage their approach by granting free admission on board […] and it was attended with the happiest results and facilitated our intercourse with the natives.’14 He had a great many conversations with senior visitors, gently probing them for information and found almost universal scepticism that he needed to sail up the river to bring the presents; everybody realised this was a ruse to survey the river. 15 The party sailed out of the territories of Murad Ali Khan and into those of another of the Amirs of Sind, Rustam Khan, whose feudal seat was at Khairpur. They received a less alloyed welcome than in Haidarabad. Rustam, a burly bearded man, received them formally in durbar and invited them to return later in the day. He surprised Alex with his knowledge of woad:
In the evening we […] found him seated on a terrace spread with Persian Carpets surrounded as before by his numerous relatives – he made a long address to me regarding his respect for the British Government […] The Ameer asked numerous questions about England and its power, recalling that he had heard that we were not formerly a military power, and that a few hundred years ago we went naked and painted our bodies. I told him that what he said was true and that we had risen by means of commerce to riches and military renown. On religion he was very inquisitive, and when I said I had read the Koran, he made me repeat the ‘Kulma’ in Persian and Arabic to his inexpressible delight […] He examined my sword, a small cavalry sabre, and commented that it would not do much harm; but I rejoined that the age of fighting with this weapon had passed, which drew a shout and a sigh from many present […] There was such mildness in all that the Ameer said, that I could not believe we were in a Belooch court.16
Repeating the Kalima is the formal act of declaration you are a Muslim. That is why Rustam was delighted, and there is no doubt Burnes knew this. Burnes most certainly had great respect for Islam, but his precise religious views remain uncertain in the absence of his private diaries.
The Baluch tribes still fought with the sword, which was fundamental to their culture:
The Beloochees are a particularly savage race of people, but they are brave barbarians. From childhood they are brought up in arms and I have seen some of the sons of chiefs who had not attained the age of four to five years, strutting about with a shield and a sword of a small size […]17
The Baluch sword’s redundancy was something the British were to prove.
Ten sheep a day were provided for Burnes’ party, while nightly meals of seventy-two different dishes were provided for Burnes and Leckie. They left Khairpur with regret.
Before starting the Ameer and his family sent me two beautiful swords, with belts ornamented by large masses of gold […] To these were added many cloths and native silks – also a purse of a thousand rupees which I did not accept, excusing myself by the remark that I required nothing to make me remember the kindness of Meer Roostum Khan.18
Burnes was perturbed, however, by the gulf between the lifestyle of the Amirs and the abject poverty of their population: ‘They wallow in wealth amidst one of the most miserable bodies of subjects in any land.’
The Indus was a mighty river, in places two miles across. Burnes was impressed when they arrived at Rori, where it narrowed to a historically important ferry crossing, though the current was fierce. In the middle of the river stood the rock outcrop of Sukkur, with its fortress of Baikhar commanding the crossing. Burnes realised that, if the Indus were to become Britain’s western frontier, this was a key defensive position.
Rustam Khan’s vizier had accompanied Burnes, and that evening they sat on the riverbank, looking at the fortress island by moonlight. The vizier chose this moment for a ‘curious interview’. He said that Rustam Khan wished to have a formal treaty with the British, independent of his cousins at Haidarabad. Neighbouring states such as Daudputra, Jaysulmir and Bikaner had treaty relationships with Britain, and Khairpur felt disadvantaged. Looking at the stars, he said that Rustam had been told by his astrologers that one day the British would possess all India. The British might then ask why Khairpur had not offered allegiance, so they wished to do that now. Burnes replied that the British had no intention of ruling all India, and he had no powers to discuss treaties, but the British authorities would be grateful for this proof of friendship.19 On departing Burnes wrote directly to Bentinck commending ‘Meer Roostum Khan of Khyrpor who had never before seen an European, but evinced by his acts towards us most cordial attachment to the British government.’20
On reaching the frontier of Sind, Burnes bade farewell to his escort, and removed the horses, carriage and parcels from Rustam Khan’s state barges. Waiting for them was the Nawab of Dera Ghazi Khan with a fleet of fifteen boats – the fifth set of boats they had used. They had been awaiting Burnes for three months, and immediately summoned their ruler, Bhawal Khan of Bhawalpur, chief of the Daudputras, who hastened in one day forty miles to join them from his capital of Uch.
Burnes declined with difficulty Rs2,000 from Bhawal, but the Khan insisted on providing Rs100 a day plus all their food and drink, and servants even for Burnes’ boatmen. The royal party rode along the shore as the flotilla proceeded upriver to Uch, where there was the customary exchange of gifts, and an eighty-gun salute from the fortress. On 6 June 1831 Burnes wrote to Pottinger:
I presented him with a gun, a watch, a brace of pistols, with several other articles of European manufacture, but he gave me presents of fourfold value, which I could in no way refute; he sent two horses with rich silver and enamel trappings, his own matchlock, ornamented with gold, and one of his hawks with several Cashmere shawls […]
His liberality amounts to munificence, and his hospitality exceeds all bounds, nor was it coupled with a single request on his part […] The British, he said, were his friends.21
The Khan had rea
son to be friends with the British; he was under intense pressure from Ranjit Singh. Burnes noted, however, the Daudputras had traditionally been friendly and Bhawal Khan’s grandfather had assisted Mountstuart Elphinstone on his mission in 1809. As with Rustam, Burnes forged a genuine friendship with Bhawal.
Burnes copied his report to both Clare and Bentinck, and suggested that the Governor-General might send some presents to make up for the disparity in gifts. This expense was declined in Simla, and instead a letter of thanks was sent from Bentinck’s Deputy Secretary.22 The letter made plain that Bhawal should communicate only with the Bengal Presidency, through the Resident in Delhi, and not with Alexander Burnes and Bombay.23 Bentinck remained indifferent to Burnes’ mission, verging on hostile.
In Uch, Burnes had a life-changing encounter, when he met traders and financiers, a mixture of Muslim, Hindu and Jew:
we were visited by some of the principal Merchants of Bhawulpoor […] I was much struck with the intelligence of these people, and the wideness and extent of their travels. Most of them had traversed the Kingdom of Cabool, and visited Balkh and Bhochara, some had been as far as Astracan, and they used the names of these towns with familiarity as if they had been Indian. They had met Russian merchants at Bhochara […] The intervening countries they represented as perfectly safe; and bestowed the highest commendations on Dost Mohammed of Cabool, and the Uzbecs, who encouraged commercial communication.24
Suddenly the fabled lands of Central Asia appeared tantalisingly close.
CHAPTER NINE
The Dazzling Sikhs
The next frontier handover was much more difficult. The Sikhs had recently attacked Bhawal Khan and annexed territory. His vizier was loath to allow the boats to meet the Sikhs, for fear of looting. But Burnes eventually prevailed, and the tense transfer went without trouble.
The Sikh nobles who awaited Burnes gave him a copy of the parwana they had received from Maharaja Ranjit Singh. It demonstrates the importance Ranjit placed on the mission:
When Mr Burnes approaches, you are immediately to dispatch an elephant with a silver houda, in charge of the Diwan, who is to state that the animal has been sent for his own express use […] then shall the sirdar Lann Sing, and Sarwar Mull, seated on other elephants, approach and have an interview with that Englishman, paying him every manner of respect […] and Congratulating him in an hundred ways on his safe arrival […] distributing at the same time 225 rupees to the poor. You are then to present a handsome bow, and each of you 11 gold Venetians, and conduct him to the halting place, and there set before him one thousand one hundred rupees and fifty pots of sweetmeats. You are then to supply the following articles – grass, grain, bran, milk, eggs, fowl, sheep (doombas), curds, vegetables, fruit, roses, spices, water vessels, beds and every other thing that might be necessary, in quantities without bound […] When you visit, you are to parade the two companies, and the horse, and place guards according to Mr Burnes’ pleasure.
When you reach Shoojuabad you are to fire a salute of 11 guns, and furnish everything as before directed, and present one thousand one hundred rupees, with sweetmeats and fruits […] If Mr Burnes desires to look at the fort of Shoojuabad, you are to […] shew it […]
On reaching Mooltan, you are to conduct Mr Burnes with great respect and pitch his camp in whatever garden he should select […] You are then to present him with a purse of 2,500 rupees, and an hundred pots of sweetmeats, and fire a salute of 11 guns from the ramparts of the Fortress […]
In quitting Mooltan, you are to load one hundred camels with provisions for the supply of Mr Burnes to Lahore, and Soobudar Sarwan Mull is to attend him in person for the first stage […]1
The document does not reveal that Lehna Singh had been chosen by Ranjit Singh to greet Burnes because of his strong scientific knowledge, to learn as much as he could about Burnes’ survey of the Indus.2
At Sikh request, Burnes had the drays landed for inspection. The Sikhs were amazed to see such ‘little elephants’. The horses were a dappled gray, considered highly desirable. There was, however, a lack of understanding of the function of a carthorse ‘and for the first time a dray horse was expected to gallop and canter and perform all the movements of the most agile animal’. The shoes were found to weigh four times as much as ordinary horseshoes, and a courier was immediately sent galloping off with one for the Maharaja.3
Leaving the Indus on 12 June, they continued along the Ravi, which meandered through a broad valley. The party were now in twelve boats the Sikhs had provided. These were small and uncomfortable, simply ferries for river crossings, as the Sikhs did not use the river for transport. After a tedious five-week passage, including a lot of stranding, finally on 17 July the tall minarets of the King’s mosque at Lahore came shimmering into view. Burnes was entranced. ‘As the sun set I descried for the first time the lofty mountains which encircle Cashmere, clothed in a mantle of white snow. I felt a nervous sensation of joy as I gazed at the Himilaya, and was about to forget the duties which I owed to the Sirdar, in contemplating the mighty works of nature.’4
They camped outside while a ceremonial entry was prepared.5 This was worth the wait. Ranjit Singh’s chief minister, Aziz al Din, and most powerful noble, Raja Ghulab Singh, arrived accompanied by uniformed cavalry in plumes and curaisses, and a smart regiment of European style infantry. With them came Claude Wade, British Resident at Ludhiana, accompanied by Dr Murray.
Wade had a strong motive to be there, and assiduously attended all Burnes’ formal meetings with Ranjit Singh, although he was absent from some of the ensuing drinking bouts. The short, pugnacious Wade had just won the right to report directly to the Governor-General, rather than through the Resident in Delhi, a major boost to his deep-seated ambition to control British frontier policy. Wade dispensed money to Sikh informers at Lahore with such abandon the Sikhs called him ‘Baksheesh Sahib’.6 To have young Alexander Burnes […] steal his thunder was intensely galling. As Malcolm Yapp put it: ‘In the context of this struggle for the control of British north-west frontier policy […] the choice of Alexander Burnes, the assistant at Bhuj, to conduct a mission to Lahore in 1831, posed a significant threat to Wade’s authority.’7
Wade had therefore come armed with a letter from Bentinck stipulating that he was to be present at Burnes’ interview with Ranjit Singh. The shrewd Maharaja’s diplomatic reply was that ‘Your Lordship’s permission to Captain Wade to be present at the reception by me of Lieutt Burnes and Mr John Leckie has been the source of much pleasure and satisfaction.’8 Wade had also suggested that he, not Burnes, should present Ellenborough’s letter to Ranjit Singh, but been overruled by Bentinck.9
Bentinck was becoming more positive about the notion of a forward policy towards Central Asia. This was from the influence of young Charles Trevelyan, who with Arthur Conolly had written a series of papers on the prospects of expanding British influence by Indus-borne trade. They proposed a strong Afghanistan as the key buffer state between Britain and Russia. Bentinck was also influenced by fellow Whig, Charles Grant, who had replaced Ellenborough as President of the Board of Control in a new government. Grant, a key member of the evangelical ‘Clapham sect’, favoured spread of British influence in Central Asia on grounds of the march of ‘civilisation’. This encouraged Bentinck away from Metcalfe’s isolationism. Bentinck noted that Ranjit was the strongest power on the Indus. Therefore a commercial treaty with Ranjit should be the lynchpin of his new policy.10
While the British had a treaty relationship with Ranjit Singh, it was uneasy. Metcalfe’s mission to Lahore in 1809 had been an exercise in brinkmanship that came close to war before the Sutlej boundary was agreed. Moorcroft’s diplomacy in 1821 had heightened Ranjit’s distrust. In 1830 Jacquemont had written delightedly that the ‘English are nothing’ at Lahore, while Ranjit had a deliberate policy of employing French and other nationals precisely because he viewed them as ‘inimical to the English’.11 The British had allowed the open collection of money, arms and recruits from t
heir territories for the anti-Sikh jihad of the Wahabi Syed Ahmed, who had just been defeated in May 1831. More positively, a Sikh delegation led by Ranjit’s minister Aziz al Din and General Hari Singh had been warmly received by Bentinck in Simla in April 1831, and Bentinck had conceived the idea of meeting directly with Ranjit Singh, and instructed Wade to arrange this.
Burnes, Leckie, Wade and the party now moved on towards Lahore until they came to the residence of Chevalier Allard, since 1822 Commander of Ranjit Singh’s regular cavalry and one of a number of former Napoleonic veterans whom the Maharaja employed to train his army. Allard had risen from the ranks to become Sergeant Major of Joseph Bonaparte’s bodyguard, and by Waterloo a Captain of Curaissiers. Burnes found Allard ‘engaging and gentlemanlike’. Ranjit Singh employed over 100 Europeans, of at least eighteen different nationalities, to officer his army. Most were in the artillery and the largest group were British deserters, while the most senior were Napoleonic French or Italian. Their contracts insisted that they commit to the country by taking a local wife (almost all took several) and allowing their beards to grow.12
Allard lived in great style on an annual salary of Rs60,000, over £6,000, although salaries were greatly in arrears. He had a single, beautiful Kashmiri wife, to whom he was devoted – however, she gave birth to their first child at twelve years old.13 In an upper room of which walls and ceiling were covered entirely in mirrored mosaic, Burnes and Allard ate a buffet breakfast of finest French cuisine, washed down with champagne. The trumpeters of Allard’s Sikh cavalry played; probably not the ideal accompaniment to breakfast.14
On 20 July, Burnes and Leckie were taken to see Ranjit Singh, with a massive escort of Sikh regiments, augmented by Wade’s own escort of Bengal sepoys, although Wade himself had gone ahead to take his place in Ranjit Singh’s durbar: