A history of the Sikhs, from the origin of the nation to the battles of the Sutlej.

INTRODUCTORY

xi

Punjab, Ranjit Singh appeared on the scene. The career of
the one-eyed Lion of the Punjab is fully described in the
text and needs but little reference at this point. The
Maharaja's real career commences with his acquisition of
Lahore in 1799. From that date he steadily extended his
sway over the whole Punjab. Many books have been written
on the career of this remarkable man and upon the system
of comparatively orderly government which he introduced.
There exist in the Secretariat at Lahore a number of manuscript records (accounts, muster rolls, pay sheets, &c.) of
his government. These are now under examination, and
it is hoped that a great deal of additional light will be thrown
upon his system of government as a result. The papers
that have been examined up to the present time (1915)
show how actively Ranjit Singh interested himself in the
details of his administration. As regards his character,
he was not altogether without faults. Temperance and
chastity were not his conspicuous virtues. But with all his
shortcomings, he was a strong and able ruler admirably
suited to the conditions of the time. The Maharaja's
territorial expansion brought him into contact with the
Cis-Sutlej States, which were under English protection, and
so into contact with the English. The result of this was the
Treaty of 1809, which Ranjit Singh loyally observed down
to his death in 1839, although at times he showed symptoms
of irritation at the rising power of the English.
The death of Ranjit Singh in 1839 was the signal for the
outbreak bf a series of palace revolutions, in which the army
of the Khalsa played a part hardly dissimilar from that of
the Praetorian Guards at their very worst. This period of
the story is fully dealt with by the author in Chapter VIII.
The disorder culminated in the crossing of the Sutlej by the
Sikh forces and the consequent outbreak of the first Sikh
War. From this point of the story the partiality of the
author causes many of his statements to be viewed with
suspicion. In his eyes the war represents a national tide of
self-preservation rising against the ever-encroaching power
of England. Such was far from being the case, and very
different motives actuated the corrupt administration of
Lahore. Terrified of the power of the army, that adminis