10-22-2005, 11:07 PM
www.dailyexcelsior.com/
<b>Maharaja Gulab Singh-character profile
By Major (retd) Dr Brahma Singh</b>
History has, evidently, been unfair to Maharaja Gulab Singh. He has generally been projected as an ''over-grown'' feudatory of the Lahore kingdom, who, taking a rather mean advantage of the confusion that followed the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, was able to carve out a State for himself. It is not that the facts that the historians have presented are wrong but that the interpretations of these facts are biased. Portrayal of Gulab Singh has, as a matter of fact, been based mostly on contemporary writings of British authors who were themselves involved in the Punjab politics of the time. Any wonder then that they looked at Gulab Singh through tinted glasses of self-interest. Unfortunately still, those who wrote subsequently were burdened with vested interests to even a higher degree. <b>They were the champions of the Sikhs who found in Gulab Singh a convenient scapegoat for lending cover to the somewhat shameful period of Sikh history that set in after the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and lasted till the dissolution of the kingdom. </b>
It was thus that the essential greatness of Gulab Singh as a soldier and a statesman was obscured and what should have been termed as his astuteness implying sagacity, sharp insight, and a laudable cleverness in practical matters, was put out as his cunning-ness in the derogatory sense. A careful study of Gulab Singh's character profile would show that if ever there appeared any traces of cunning-ness in him they were borne out of his uncanny instinct for survival rather than out of meanness to gain undue advantage. He, was slandered on this account neverthelsss and the record needs to be set right in the interest of history if not in fairness to Maharaja Gulab Singh's person.
The main controversy on Gulab Singh's character hovers around the circumstances leading to the Treaty of Amritsar in 1846 under which the state of Jammu and Kashmir was established. With the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1839 and that of Kharak Singh and his son Nau Nihal Singh on the same day one year latter, the direct line of ascendancy to the throne of Sikh kingdom was broken resulting in a free for all among the various claimants: Probably because the Jammu Rajas exercised considerable influence over the Sikh Army their support was sought by every Sikh claimant to power, but immediately after gaining ascendancy the same would strive for their destruction.
Raja Dhyan Singh and later his son Raja Hira Singh fell victims to such treacheries before Rani Jindan finally took over on behalf of her minor son Maharaja Dalip Singh. This arrangement did not, however, mean the end of troubles for the only surviving Dogra Raja Gulab Singh, because it only brought to power an ''unscrupulous'' and ''unworthy'' Lal Singh. Though Gulab Singh had till then kept himself aloof from Punjab politics, Lal Singh saw in him a source of threat to his position and determined to pull the lion out of his den.
Jammu was invaded by the Lahore Army in April 1845. To save Jammu from being sacked Gulab Singh surrendered to the Sikh Army to be taken to Lahore as a prisoner on the charge of nonpayment Government dues. How Raja Gulab Singh extricated himself out of this precarious situation and was presented to Maharani Jindan at the Court by the Army as a nobleman rather than a prisoner is a fascinating story which cannot be narrated here for want of space. Suffice it to say that the Rani reduced his dues to nearly a half what he had offered to pay before action was initiated against him and allowed him to return to Jammu after he had politely refused the Rani's offer of taking over as her Prime Minister.
Cunningham's interpretation that Gulab Singh was able to win over the Army through deceit and bribes is, to say the least, most atrocious and only shows a extremely biased mind. The Khalsa Army was an institution peculiar to the Sikhs. It was honest, self-sacrificing and intensely loyal to the State. It was all-powerful and the highest in authority was made accountable to it. It could pass and execute death sentence on any one (including the Prime Minister) suspected of betraying the State. Could it be because of the bribes that Gulab Singh was capable of doling out that the Khalsa was repeatedly requesting him to take over the reigns of the State at the crucial period of their struggle against the British ?
Repeated efforts were, subsequently made by the Durbar to drag Raja Gulab Singh into Punjab politics if only to control the situation created by the near confrontation between the Government and the Army. But the embittered Gulab Singh, very sagaciously, kept himself out of trouble. Foreseeing the doom that the Punjab state would meet as a result of a war with the British he advised the Government against starting it and when no heed was paid to his advice he refused to be drawn into this suicidal exercise.
When the Anglo-Sikh war started to go against the Sikhs, the Punjab Government, on the insistence of the Army, once again asked Gulab Singh to take over as the Prime Minister but this time it was to be more for negotiating peace than continuing the war. It was to be a tough task for Gulab Singh to negotiate peace from a position of weakness but he accepted the offer. Evidently during the course of negotiations the British tried to exploit the fact of Gulab Singh's earlier sufferings at the bands of the Lahore Durbar and reportedly offered to make him an independent ruler of Jammu if only he would take up a pro-British stance.
It is however a tribute to Gulab Singh's political maturity and unstinted loyalty towards the Sikh ruling dynasty that he refused the offer off hand. Far from taking a pro-British stance, Gulab Singh swept the British off their feet when in a veiled threat he said that <i>''the way to carry on a war with the English was to leave sturdy infantry entrenched and watched and to sweep the open country with cavalry to the gates of Delhi.''</i> By exposing the British vulnerability in the ongoing war he had turned his position of weakness into that of strength and was thus able to secure for Maharaja Dalip Singh and his Sikh Army the most honourable terms possible for one vanquished.
It was only when Lal Singh the new Prime Minister of Punjab tried to dispossess Gulab Singh of his territories including Jammu, Ladakh and Baltistan, by transferring them to the British in lieu of the war idemnity that Gulab Singh turned to the British for his ''reward'' which they had offered him before but which he had been spurning till then. Coincidentally what was agreeable to Raja Gulab Singh was also of much political and military advantage to the British, which made it convenient for them to appease the Raja. Apparently Gulab Singh remained a bit of an enigma to the British, which was exasperating at times.
He was most unpredictable and never allowed them to gauge his intentions. When in September 1850 the tribesmen from Chilas invaded Astore territory Maharaja Gulab Singh sought and received the permission of the Governor General to attack Chilas. Nothing pleased the British more when the Maharaja sought further permission to advance on Chilas via Khagan in British territory. The plan suited the British fine as they were themselves contemplating action against some jagirdars of Khagan who were suspected of planning a revolt against them. By passing through Khagan the Maharaja would only be serving their interests they thought. But Maharaja Gulab Singh's aim in seeking permission for passing through Khagan was only to overawe the Chilasis before the attack by impressing on them the fact of British involvement in the action. So no sooner had the permission been granted and the necessary impression on the tribesmen created, than he changed his plan to advance over his own territory, much to the frustration of the British as could be seen from the minute sheet put up to the Governor General.
Earlier in 1849 when Punjab was annexed the Maharaja some how laid himself open to suspicion that he was in league with the Sikh insurgents and as such he had now become more a source of anxiety for the British than strength. Although Gulab Singh's complicity in the affair was not proved, the Governor General of India was constrained to remark that <i>''we should at the same time be careful not to release to any degree the vigilance with which we watch over the conduct of our new subjects in the districts adjoining His Highness' territories or abandon the proper precautions of keeping ourselves well informed as to all the proceedings of a prince so astute and powerful as the Maharaja has shown himself to be''</i>.
In Gulab Singh the British had, indeed, found a match.
<b>Maharaja Gulab Singh-character profile
By Major (retd) Dr Brahma Singh</b>
History has, evidently, been unfair to Maharaja Gulab Singh. He has generally been projected as an ''over-grown'' feudatory of the Lahore kingdom, who, taking a rather mean advantage of the confusion that followed the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, was able to carve out a State for himself. It is not that the facts that the historians have presented are wrong but that the interpretations of these facts are biased. Portrayal of Gulab Singh has, as a matter of fact, been based mostly on contemporary writings of British authors who were themselves involved in the Punjab politics of the time. Any wonder then that they looked at Gulab Singh through tinted glasses of self-interest. Unfortunately still, those who wrote subsequently were burdened with vested interests to even a higher degree. <b>They were the champions of the Sikhs who found in Gulab Singh a convenient scapegoat for lending cover to the somewhat shameful period of Sikh history that set in after the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and lasted till the dissolution of the kingdom. </b>
It was thus that the essential greatness of Gulab Singh as a soldier and a statesman was obscured and what should have been termed as his astuteness implying sagacity, sharp insight, and a laudable cleverness in practical matters, was put out as his cunning-ness in the derogatory sense. A careful study of Gulab Singh's character profile would show that if ever there appeared any traces of cunning-ness in him they were borne out of his uncanny instinct for survival rather than out of meanness to gain undue advantage. He, was slandered on this account neverthelsss and the record needs to be set right in the interest of history if not in fairness to Maharaja Gulab Singh's person.
The main controversy on Gulab Singh's character hovers around the circumstances leading to the Treaty of Amritsar in 1846 under which the state of Jammu and Kashmir was established. With the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1839 and that of Kharak Singh and his son Nau Nihal Singh on the same day one year latter, the direct line of ascendancy to the throne of Sikh kingdom was broken resulting in a free for all among the various claimants: Probably because the Jammu Rajas exercised considerable influence over the Sikh Army their support was sought by every Sikh claimant to power, but immediately after gaining ascendancy the same would strive for their destruction.
Raja Dhyan Singh and later his son Raja Hira Singh fell victims to such treacheries before Rani Jindan finally took over on behalf of her minor son Maharaja Dalip Singh. This arrangement did not, however, mean the end of troubles for the only surviving Dogra Raja Gulab Singh, because it only brought to power an ''unscrupulous'' and ''unworthy'' Lal Singh. Though Gulab Singh had till then kept himself aloof from Punjab politics, Lal Singh saw in him a source of threat to his position and determined to pull the lion out of his den.
Jammu was invaded by the Lahore Army in April 1845. To save Jammu from being sacked Gulab Singh surrendered to the Sikh Army to be taken to Lahore as a prisoner on the charge of nonpayment Government dues. How Raja Gulab Singh extricated himself out of this precarious situation and was presented to Maharani Jindan at the Court by the Army as a nobleman rather than a prisoner is a fascinating story which cannot be narrated here for want of space. Suffice it to say that the Rani reduced his dues to nearly a half what he had offered to pay before action was initiated against him and allowed him to return to Jammu after he had politely refused the Rani's offer of taking over as her Prime Minister.
Cunningham's interpretation that Gulab Singh was able to win over the Army through deceit and bribes is, to say the least, most atrocious and only shows a extremely biased mind. The Khalsa Army was an institution peculiar to the Sikhs. It was honest, self-sacrificing and intensely loyal to the State. It was all-powerful and the highest in authority was made accountable to it. It could pass and execute death sentence on any one (including the Prime Minister) suspected of betraying the State. Could it be because of the bribes that Gulab Singh was capable of doling out that the Khalsa was repeatedly requesting him to take over the reigns of the State at the crucial period of their struggle against the British ?
Repeated efforts were, subsequently made by the Durbar to drag Raja Gulab Singh into Punjab politics if only to control the situation created by the near confrontation between the Government and the Army. But the embittered Gulab Singh, very sagaciously, kept himself out of trouble. Foreseeing the doom that the Punjab state would meet as a result of a war with the British he advised the Government against starting it and when no heed was paid to his advice he refused to be drawn into this suicidal exercise.
When the Anglo-Sikh war started to go against the Sikhs, the Punjab Government, on the insistence of the Army, once again asked Gulab Singh to take over as the Prime Minister but this time it was to be more for negotiating peace than continuing the war. It was to be a tough task for Gulab Singh to negotiate peace from a position of weakness but he accepted the offer. Evidently during the course of negotiations the British tried to exploit the fact of Gulab Singh's earlier sufferings at the bands of the Lahore Durbar and reportedly offered to make him an independent ruler of Jammu if only he would take up a pro-British stance.
It is however a tribute to Gulab Singh's political maturity and unstinted loyalty towards the Sikh ruling dynasty that he refused the offer off hand. Far from taking a pro-British stance, Gulab Singh swept the British off their feet when in a veiled threat he said that <i>''the way to carry on a war with the English was to leave sturdy infantry entrenched and watched and to sweep the open country with cavalry to the gates of Delhi.''</i> By exposing the British vulnerability in the ongoing war he had turned his position of weakness into that of strength and was thus able to secure for Maharaja Dalip Singh and his Sikh Army the most honourable terms possible for one vanquished.
It was only when Lal Singh the new Prime Minister of Punjab tried to dispossess Gulab Singh of his territories including Jammu, Ladakh and Baltistan, by transferring them to the British in lieu of the war idemnity that Gulab Singh turned to the British for his ''reward'' which they had offered him before but which he had been spurning till then. Coincidentally what was agreeable to Raja Gulab Singh was also of much political and military advantage to the British, which made it convenient for them to appease the Raja. Apparently Gulab Singh remained a bit of an enigma to the British, which was exasperating at times.
He was most unpredictable and never allowed them to gauge his intentions. When in September 1850 the tribesmen from Chilas invaded Astore territory Maharaja Gulab Singh sought and received the permission of the Governor General to attack Chilas. Nothing pleased the British more when the Maharaja sought further permission to advance on Chilas via Khagan in British territory. The plan suited the British fine as they were themselves contemplating action against some jagirdars of Khagan who were suspected of planning a revolt against them. By passing through Khagan the Maharaja would only be serving their interests they thought. But Maharaja Gulab Singh's aim in seeking permission for passing through Khagan was only to overawe the Chilasis before the attack by impressing on them the fact of British involvement in the action. So no sooner had the permission been granted and the necessary impression on the tribesmen created, than he changed his plan to advance over his own territory, much to the frustration of the British as could be seen from the minute sheet put up to the Governor General.
Earlier in 1849 when Punjab was annexed the Maharaja some how laid himself open to suspicion that he was in league with the Sikh insurgents and as such he had now become more a source of anxiety for the British than strength. Although Gulab Singh's complicity in the affair was not proved, the Governor General of India was constrained to remark that <i>''we should at the same time be careful not to release to any degree the vigilance with which we watch over the conduct of our new subjects in the districts adjoining His Highness' territories or abandon the proper precautions of keeping ourselves well informed as to all the proceedings of a prince so astute and powerful as the Maharaja has shown himself to be''</i>.
In Gulab Singh the British had, indeed, found a match.