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| Ghanta Ghar, the clock tower of Multan |
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| Diwan Sawan Mal Chopra |
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| Diwan Mulraj Chpora |
Anglo-Sikh Wars
After the death of Maharaj Ranjit Singh, the British had to face seven hard-fought battles with the Khalsa of the Sikh Army before they could annex Punjab.These battles lasted a period of four years from 1945 to 1949. The bravery and courage of Sikhs surprised the British who have had a smooth run so far in capturing the rest of the India.- Battle of Mudki (18 December 1845) - Lal Singh vs Hugh Gough/Henry Hardinge
- Battle of Firozshahr (21-22 December 1845) Lal Singh/Tej Singh vs. Gough/Hardinge
- Battle of Aliwal (28 January 1846) - Ranjodh Singh Majithia vs. Harry Smith
- Battle of Sabhraon (10 February 1846) Sham Singh Attariwale vs. Gough/Hardinge
- Battle of Ramnagar (22 November 1848) Sher Singh Attariwale vs. Hugh Gough
- Battle of Chillianwala (13 January 1849) Sher Singh Attariwale vs. Hugh Gough
- Battle of Multan (27 December - 22 January 1849) Diwan Mulraj vs. General Whish
Background
In 1848, Multan had a population of 80,000. It was the center of trade for a wide region, and was renowned for its wealth. It became a rallying place for Sikh rebellion against the British annexation of Lahore Darbar. The religious ferver and anti-British feeling as running high in Multan.
The newly appointed Commissioner in the Punjab, Sir Frederick Currie, demanded that Mulraj pay East India Company the duties and taxes previously paid to the Khalsa Darbar and now in arrears. Mulraj abdicated in favor of his son but Currie nevertheless decided to impose a new governor. A compliant Sikh leader, Kahn Singh was to be accompanied by a British Political Agent, Patrick Vans Agnew to take over Multan.
Revolt in Multan
On 18 April, Patrick Vans Agnew and another officer, Lieutenant Anderson from the East India Company's Bombay Army, arrived outside Multan with a small escort of Gurkhas. The next day, Mulraj invited Kahn Singh and the two British officers to the citadel and handed over the keys, with no sign of hostility. As the two officers began to ride out of the citadel, a soldier from Mulraj's army attacked Vans Agnew. This may have been the sign for a concerted attack, as a mob surrounded and attacked them. Both officers were wounded, and they and Kahn Singh took refuge in a Mosque outside the city, where Anderson wrote a plea for help. A dispatch rider carried it to Currie in Lahore, while a second took a copy via a different route, across the Indus River.
During the night, most of Vans Agnew's escort left. Next morning, the mob pushed Kahn Singh aside and hacked the two British officers to death. Mulraj was now committed to rebellion and he presented Vans Agnew's head to Kahn Singh and told him to take it back to Currie.
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| Monument Patick Van Agnew (Multan) |
British Response
The British Political Agent in Bannu, Lieutenant Herbert Edwardes, took the first steps to suppress Mulraj's revolt. He prepared his troops supported by Pashtun irregulars, decided to approach Multan. Meanwhile, Mulraj was reinforced by several other regiments of the Khalsa, the former army of the Sikh kingdom, which rebelled or deserted. He also took other measures to strengthen his defenses, digging up guns which had previously been buried and enlisting more troops. After inflicting decisive blow to the British army, the Sikhs retreated to the safety of the Multan
Currie learned of this defeat, and ordered East India Company's Bengal Army under General Whish to begin the siege of Multan. Realizing the size of rebellion, Currie decided to reinforce with a detachment of the Khalsa under Sher Singh Attariwala.
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| British Siege of Multan and welcome by Sikh cannons |
On 14 September, Sher Singh openly rebelled against the East India Company. This left the East India Company's forces too weak to maintain the siege, and they were forced to retreat. Most of Edwardes's troops and the Bahawalpur troops dispersed to their homes. Despite this victory, Sher Singh and Mulraj nevertheless were not prepared to cooperate. At a meeting at a neutral place outside the city, it was agreed that Sher Singh would leave for the Sikh-populated areas of the Punjab. Late in November, Whish was reinforced by a substantial force from the East India Company's Bombay Army.
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| British artillery attack on the suburbs of Multan |
On 30 December, Mulraj sent a defiant message to Whish, stating that he still had enough powder to last a year. He even mounted a surprise sortie against the besiegers on 31 December. Frustrated by the stoic defense of Sikhs from Multan, Whish ordered British troops to blow up the residential homes in the suburbs of Multan.
Whish ordered a general assault on 2 January 1849. The attackers successfully scaled the breaches, and the battle became a bloody house-to-house fight in the city, in which many defenders and civilians were killed indiscriminately. Whish ordered the civilians to be herded into the main square; he may have intended to spare them from further fighting but the action of corralling them was also accompanied by further casualties.
With the fall of the city, and its citizens massacred by the British, only the already-scarred citadel remained, but it held out for another fortnight against heavy bombardment. Mulraj offered to surrender if the citizens of Multan city were spared, but Whish insisted on unconditional surrender, and on 22 January, Mulraj gave himself up, with 550 men on 22 January, 1849.
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| Surrender of Diwan Mulraj |
This concluded the last stand of Mulraj and Sikhs against the British and all Punjab now belonged to the British. Corporal John Ryder of the (European) Bombay Fusiliers later wrote of the city after the siege,
“Mountains of dead lay in every part of the town, and heaps of human ashes in every square, where the bodies had been burnt as they were killed. Some were only half-consumed. Many had been gnawed and pulled to pieces by dogs; and arms, legs, heads and other parts lay in every place. The town swarmed with millions of flies.”
The British gained vast quantities of loot. Mulraj's treasury was worth three million pounds, a huge sum for the time. There was also much looting in the town, by both British and Indian soldiers.
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| Diwan Mulraj after his capture by British |
Diwan Mulraj was placed on trial for the murders of Vans Agnew and Anderson. He was cleared of premeditated murder, but was found guilty of being an accessory after the fact, in that he had rewarded the murderers and openly used the deaths as pretext for rebellion. (Under British law at the time, an "accessory after the fact" of a crime was liable to the same punishment as the criminal.) Mulraj was sentenced to death, but the sentence was later commuted to exile for life. He later died on 4th June at Parbatpore, 40 miles from Buxar, where he was imprisoned by he British.
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| Diwan Mulraj in British Custody |
In August 1849, the Indus and Chenab rivers overflowed, and the heavily damaged citadel was washed away, eventually resembling an "island of mud" amidst the floods.
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| Samadh of Diwan Mulraj - Akalgarh |
Mulraj did not die in Calcutta, he died near Buxar on the boat towed by the Ganges steamer Lord Bentinck on 11 August 1851.
ReplyDeleteThanks, I researched further and you are right. I will make that correction.
DeleteWhat an interesting story
ReplyDeleteJohn Ryder was my Great Uncle, he is burried in Twyford Leicestershire with a very detailed headstone. He mentions the seige and "the battle of goojerat" (thats how its spelt on the stone). John was quite a remarkable man from a remarkable family.He was a policeman before going into the army, His father and uncle were at Waterloo in the 1st kings dragoons. His brother (my 3 x great grandfather) and his Uncle were at Dagshai with the 22nd Cheshires. His sister Mary was one of the first Australian settlers, she had nine daughters after marrying a mr joseph hill. Corperal John Ryder later worked the remains of his life at Belvoir castle as a porter and leader of the local militia. He was a most remarkable man.
ReplyDelete