ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>MAR&#256&#7788H&#256-SIKH RELATIONS</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="MARlH,SIKH,RELATIONS"> <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">&#65279MAR&#256&#7788H&#256-SIKH RELATIONS spanning a period of half a century from 1758 to 1806 alternated between friendly co-operation and mistrust born out of rivalry of political and military ambition. Although Shiv&#257j&#299 (1627-80), the founder of Mar&#257&#7789h&#257 power, and Gur&#363 Gobind Si&#7749gh (1666-1708), the creator of the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257, both rose against the tyrannical rule of Aura&#7749gz&#299b, and although the Sikhs' real crusade in the Punjab took its birth on the banks of the River God&#257var&#299 in Mah&#257r&#257sh&#7789ra, the two forces did not come in direct contact with each other until the Mar&#257&#7789h&#257s, in a bid to fill the power vacuum caused by the fall of the Mu<u>gh</u>al empire, expanded their influence as far as Delhi. By this time, while the Mar&#257th&#257s had reached the zenith of their power, the Sikhs, caught in the pincer grip of Mu<u>gh</u>al and Af<u>gh</u>&#257n persecutors, were still struggling for survival.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Ahmad Sh&#257h Durr&#257n&#299 during his fourth invasion (November 1756-April 1757) had occupied the Punjab. He appointed his young son, Taim&#363r, his viceroy at Lahore with his trusted general, Jah&#257n <u>Kh</u>&#257n as his deputy. &#256d&#299n&#257 Beg, reinstated as <i>faujd&#257r</i> of the Jalandhar Do&#257b, on being harassed by Taim&#363r and Jah&#257n <u>Kh</u>&#257n, sought the help of the Sikhs. With their help he was about to defeat the Lahore force sent against him in December 1757. But not sure about the Sikh strength that would be available against a heavier force sent or led by Jah&#257n <u>Kh</u>&#257n or Ahmad Sh&#257h Durr&#257n&#299 himself, he also invited in January 1758, Raghun&#257th R&#257o, who was stationed at Delhi at the head of a large Mar&#257&#7789h&#257 army, to invade the Punjab, offering him 1,00,000 rupees for each day's march and 50,000 rupees for each halt. On 8 March 1758, Raghun&#257th R&#257o arrived near Sirhind where &#256d&#299n&#257 Beg and his Sikh allies joined him. Sirhind was besieged. On 21 March the town fell and was sacked thoroughly. The Sikh-Mar&#257&#7789h&#257 coalition was soon strained over the distribution of spoils. Sikhs, owing to their initiative and knowledge of the local geography, took the lion's share; the Mar&#257&#7789h&#257s demanded a share proportionate to the number of troops. The situation was saved by &#256d&#299n&#257 Beg who brought about peace between the two. To avoid any further clash during their march together, it was agreed that Sikhs would remain two marches ahead of the Mar&#257&#7789h&#257s. The combined Sikh-Mar&#257&#7789h&#257 army occupied Lahore on 20 April 1758, the Af<u>gh</u>&#257n prince and his deputy having fled northward the previous day. Raghun&#257th R&#257o appointed &#256d&#299n&#257 Beg governor of Lahore and leaving two small garrisons at A&#7789&#7789ock and Mult&#257n returned to Delhi. In November 1759, Ahmad Sh&#257h Durr&#257n&#299, invading India for the fifth time, wiped out the Mar&#257&#7789h&#257 forces in the Punjab. He inflicted a crushing defeat on the Mar&#257&#7789h&#257s in the third battle of P&#257n&#299pat in January1761.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The next contact of the Sikhs with the Mar&#257&#7789h&#257s was in January-February1765 when they both fought on the side of Jaw&#257har Si&#7749gh of Bharatpur, against Naj&#299b ud-Daul&#257, the Ruh&#299l&#257 chief who had killed the J&#257&#7789 ruler's father, S&#363raj Mall, in a battle at Delhi in December 1763. Jaw&#257har Si&#7749gh hired the services of both the Sikhs and the Mar&#257&#7789h&#257s to avenge himself on Naj&#299b. The Sikhs, 15,000 strong, under Sard&#257r Jass&#257 Si&#7749gh &#256hl&#363v&#257l&#299&#257 defeated the Ruh&#299l&#257s in a battle fought on the northern outskirts of Delhi on 4 February 1765, but Jaw&#257har Si&#7749gh did not succeed in his venture owing to the faithlessness of the Mar&#257&#7789h&#257 commander, Malh&#257r R&#257o, who along with some treacherous J&#257&#7789 officers arrived at a secret understanding with Naj&#299b ud-Daul&#257 forcing the Bharatpur ruler to accept peace. Jaw&#257har Si&#7749gh had another score to settle with the Mar&#257&#7789h&#257s, too. They had supported his brother, N&#257har Si&#7749gh, in his claim to the throne of his father. He now took nearly eight thousand Sikhs into his pay to make another assault. He defeated them in a battle fought near Dholpur on 13-14 March 1766 and occupied Dholpur, formerly held by N&#257har Si&#7749gh as an appanage. Jaw&#257har Si&#7749gh with his Sikh troops then went to the help of the J&#257&#7789 prince of Gohad against the Mar&#257&#7789h&#257s. Together they raided Mar&#257&#7789h&#257 territory in central India.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Jaw&#257har Si&#7749gh was assassinated in June 1768 and his brother, Ratan Si&#7749gh, who succeeded him, was similarly done away the following year. A civil war broke out between their half-brothers, Naval Si&#7749gh and Ra&#7751j&#299t Si&#7749gh. The Sikhs sided with Ra&#7751j&#299t Si&#7749gh while Naval Si&#7749gh invited the Mar&#257&#7789h&#257s and the Ruh&#299l&#257s to assist him. A fierce battle took place on 24 February 1770, in which the Mar&#257&#7789h&#257 cavalry was severely mauled. Naval Si&#7749gh however carried the day and the Sikhs had to retire to the Punjab.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Although the Sikhs were now masters of Punjab, Mar&#257&#7789h&#257s had re-emerged as the strongest power in India. Mah&#257dj&#299 Scind&#299&#257, chief of Gw&#257l&#299or, occupied Delhi in January 1771 and the nominal Mu<u>gh</u>al emperor, Sh&#257h '&#256lam II, who had been living under British protection at All&#257h&#257b&#257d, returned to the imperial capital early in January 1772 as the Mar&#257&#7789h&#257s' protege. Mah&#257dj&#299 was appointed Vak&#299l-i-Mutlaq or Regent Plenipotentiary of the Mu<u>gh</u>al Empire in November 1784. His principal duty was to restore peace and order in the country and to supply the Emperor with sufficient funds which largely came as revenue from the crown-lands. The Sikhs, free from the danger of foreign invasions after the death of Ahmad Sh&#257h Durr&#257n&#299 in April 1772, had been plundering the crown-lands north of Delhi and in the Ga&#7749g&#257-Yamun&#257 Do&#257b, and revenues from these lands had almost completely ceased to come to Delhi. Even the imperial city was no longer secure against their raids. Mah&#257dj&#299 Scind&#299&#257 tried to win over the Sikhs by diplomacy. He despatched several agents, one after the other, to open parleys with the Sikhs; on the other hand, he won over Begam Samr&#363 to his side making over several <i>parganahs</i> to her in <i>j&#257g&#299r</i>. A treaty of "unity of interests and of friendship" with the Sikhs was concluded on 9 May 1785 according to which the Sikhs agreed to forgo <i>r&#257kh&#299</i> in the Ga&#7749g Do&#257b and other crown-lands in exchange for <i>j&#257g&#299rs</i> worth one million rupees a year granted to different <i>sard&#257rs</i>. To meet any external danger or internal disturbance both powers were to help each other. The Sikhs also agreed not to cause any injury to the territories of the British East India Company and the Naw&#257b of Oudh. The treaty, however, did not endure beyond a month and the Sikhs entered the Ga&#7749g Do&#257b in June 1785 to collect <i>r&#257kh&#299</i>.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In December 1785, <u>Kh</u>ush&#257l Si&#7749gh Si&#7749ghpur&#299&#257 occupied Chhat and Ban&#363r which belonged to R&#257j&#257 S&#257hib Si&#7749gh of Pa&#7789i&#257l&#257, who soliciting help from the Mar&#257&#7789h&#257s, regained the territory.In January1786, in the struggle for succession among the sons of R&#257j&#257 Gajpat Si&#7749gh of J&#299nd, Bh&#363p Si&#7749gh sought the Mar&#257th&#257s' help against his brother, Bh&#257g Si&#7749gh, in lieu of which he surrendered Safidon to them.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In April 1789, Mah&#257dj&#299 Scind&#299&#257 deputed two of his generals, R&#257ne <u>Kh</u>&#257n and 'Al&#299 Bah&#257dur, to negotiate alliance with the Sikhs, Sard&#257r Baghel Si&#7749gh Karo&#7771si&#7749gh&#299&#257 and D&#299w&#257n N&#257n&#363 Mall of Pa&#7789i&#257l&#257. The latter, however, doubted their intentions and called reinforcements from beyond the Sutlej.12, 000 Sikhs immediately responded to their call. N&#257n&#363 Mall, however, presented himself before the Mar&#257&#7789h&#257 generals and bought peace by offering 4,00,000 rupees as annual tribute and another 2,00,000 rupees as expenses of their army. Rane <u>Kh</u>&#257n pressed on towards Pa&#7789i&#257l&#257. An inconclusive skirmish took place with the Sikhs on 15 April 1789 at Bhunerhe&#7771i, 16 km southeast of Pa&#7789i&#257l&#257. A settlement was at last arrived at according to which Baghel Si&#7749gh was granted a large <i>j&#257g&#299r</i> on the condition that he would keep the Sikh chiefs from assailing the Mar&#257&#7789h&#257s; the cis-Sutlej states acknowledged the supremacy of M&#257h&#257dj&#299 Scind&#299&#257; and several Sard&#257rs were granted <i>j&#257g&#299rs</i> or confirmed in their estates in the Gang Do&#257b against their undertaking not to allow other Sikhs to attack the Do&#257b. This pact, too, was shortlived and the Sikhs resumed, from March 1790 onwards, their depredations without check or hindrance. Only once, in February 1794, the Mar&#257&#7789h&#257s with the support of Begam Samr&#363's well-disciplined artillery regiment could frustrate their attempt to seize Sah&#257ranpur.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Mah&#257dj&#299 Scind&#299&#257 died on 12 February 1794 and was succeeded by Daulat R&#257o Scind&#299&#257. In September 1795, one of his generals, N&#257n&#257 R&#257o came to realize tribute due from the Sikh chiefs, but was beaten back. George Thomas, an Irish adventurer in the Mar&#257&#7789h&#257s' pay was then given charge of the northern region. He kept fighting the Sard&#257rs on both sides of the Yamun&#257 and was often successful because of his artillery, an arm the Sikhs did not then possess. In April 1798, George Thomas gave up Mar&#257&#7789h&#257 service and settled down at Jhajjar and H&#257&#7749s&#299 as an independent chief. He expanded his power and carried out frequent raids on the territories of the cis-Sutlej Sikh chiefs, who in 1801 sought help from Perron, a French general in the service of Scind&#299&#257s and commander of the northern division of the Mar&#257&#7789h&#257 army. He readily agreed, but as the combined Sikh-Mar&#257&#7789h&#257 troops forced George Thomas to surrender by the end of the year, the Sikh chiefs began to resent the heavy exactions imposed upon them by Perron. The short spell of Mar&#257&#7789h&#257 supremacy, however, was broken by the emergence of the British as the dominating power in India. Daulat R&#257o Scind&#299&#257 after his defeat at L&#257sv&#257r&#299 on 1 November 1803, ceded to the British the districts of Delhi, &#256gr&#257, Gurg&#257o&#7749, Rohtak and Hiss&#257r. The British also occupied the Ga&#7749g&#257-Yamun&#257 Do&#257b.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The last Sikh-Mar&#257&#7789h&#257 contact took place in 1805 when Jasvant R&#257o Holk&#257r, Mar&#257&#7789h&#257 chief of Indore, defeated and pursued by the British General, Lord Lake, entered the Punjab and sought help from Mah&#257r&#257j&#257 Ra&#7751j&#299t Si&#7749gh. The Mah&#257r&#257j&#257, after consultation with his principal Sard&#257rs at Amritsar in what is remembered as the last meeting of the Sarbatt <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257, only offered to mediate between Holkar and the British. As a result of the parleys that followed, two treaties were signed. The first treaty signed on 1 January 1806 by Lord Lake and Sard&#257r Fateh Si&#7749gh &#256hl&#363v&#257l&#299&#257 representing the British Governor-General and Mah&#257r&#257j&#257 Ra&#7751j&#299t Si&#7749gh respectively, stipulated Holkar's exit from the Punjab; according to the second, between the British and Jasvant R&#257o Holkar, signed on 11 January 1806, the latter gave up his rights north of the River Chambal while the former undertook not to interfere with his territories south of that river.</p> </font> <p class="BIB"> BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1"><li class="C1"> Bha&#7749g&#363, Ratan Si&#7749gh, <i>Pr&#257ch&#299n Panth Prak&#257sh</i>. Amritsar, 1914<BR> <li class="C1"> Gi&#257n Singh, Gi&#257n&#299, <i>Tw&#257r&#299<u>kh</u> Gur&#363 <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257</i> [Reprint]. Patiala, 1970<BR> <li class="C1"> Gupta, Hari R&#257m, <i>History of the Sikhs</i>. Delhi, 1978-82<BR> <li class="C1"> Sinha, N.K., <i>Rise of the Sikh Power</i>. Calcutta, 1960<BR> <li class="C1"> Harba&#7749s Singh, <i>The Heritage of the Sikhs</i>. Delhi, 1983<BR> <li class="C1"> Khushwant Singh, <i>A History of the Sikh, vol. I</i>. Princeton, 1963<BR> </ol><p class="CONT">Har&#299 R&#257m Gupta<br></p><BR> </font><img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""></HTML></BODY>