ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>FANE SIR HENRY (1778-1840)</TITLE> <style type="text/css"> .BODY { background-color: #EAF1F7; background-image: url('images/gtbh.jpg'); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: fixed; background-position: center; color: #0066CC;} .C1{text-align: justify;color: #0066CC;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .BIB{text-align: center;color: #000099;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .CONT{text-align: right;color: #FF0000;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} </style><META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="FANE,SIR,HENRY,Person,Person"> <META http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"></HEAD> <BODY class="BODY" oncontextmenu="return false" ondragstart="return false" onselectstart="return false"> <FONT ALIGN="JUSTIFY" FACE="Tahoma"> <p class="C1">&#65279FANE, SIR HENRY (1778-1840), commander-in- chief of the British Indian army, who visited the Punjab in 1837 on the occasion of the marriage of Ka&#7749var Nau Nih&#257l Si&#7749gh, Mah&#257r&#257j&#257 Ra&#7751j&#299t Si&#7749gh's grandson. Sir Henry Fane's visit to Ra&#7751j&#299t Si&#7749gh was an event of considerable interest. He was highly impressed by the extraordinary discipline of the Mah&#257r&#257j&#257's troops and the splendour of his court. In his several meetings with the British commander-in-chief, Ra&#7751j&#299t Si&#7749gh questioned him on the strength and composition of the British army, on the extent of Russian influence in Persia, and on the ability of the Sh&#257h of Persia to give effective aid to the Russians. The Mah&#257r&#257j&#257 paraded before Sir Henry his troops for a grand review and inspected the contingent of British lancers and horse artillery, which had accompanied the commander-in-chief to Lahore. The latter was invited to participate in the Hol&#299 festival at Lahore and was entertained by a mock battle of the <i>zen&#257n&#257</i> corps of Amazons. He also saw the Sikh crown jewels including the celebrated Koh-i-N&#363r which he described as a badly cut diamond plainly set in gold.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Sir Henry Fane made a detailed appraisal of the Sikhs' military power which, according to him, consisted of 60-70 regiments of infantry, 700 pieces of artillery and innumerable cavalry. His confidential report to Lord Auckland, the Governor-General, contained speculations on the ability of the British to destroy the military might of Ra&#7751j&#299t Si&#7749gh. According to J.D. Cunningham, a young British officer prepared during Sir Henry's visit a map of the Punjab which formed the groundwork of all maps used during the first Anglo-Sikh war. One significant event during the commander-in-chief's visit was the establishment by the Mah&#257r&#257j&#257 of the Order of the Auspicious Star of the Punjab with which he decorated his British guest.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Sir Henry Fane died at sea on board the <i>Malabar</i> off St. Michael's in the Azores on 24 March 1840.</p> </font> <p class="BIB"> BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1"><li class="C1"> Hasrat, Bikramajit, <i>Life and Times of Ranjit Singh</i>. Nabha, 1977<BR> <li class="C1"> Khushwant Singh, <i>A History of the Sikhs</i>, vol.I. Princeton, 1963<BR> <li class="C1"> Buckland, C.E., <i>Dictionary of Indian Biography</i>. London, 1906<BR> </ol><p class="CONT">Sard&#257r Si&#7749gh Bh&#257&#7789&#299&#257<br></p><BR> </font> <img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""> </HTML></BODY>