ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>PREM&#256 PLOT</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="PREM,PLOT"> <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">&#65279PREM&#256 PLOT, a conspiracy allegedly engineered by Mah&#257r&#257&#7751&#299 Jind Kaur with the help of some Sikh <i>sard&#257rs</i> to assassinate Sir Henry Lawrence, the first British Resident at Lahore, and the Sikh commander-in-chief, Tej Si&#7749gh, and to topple the British control of the Punjab. One of the factors responsible for the general unrest was the treaty of Bharov&#257l (December 1846) by which Mah&#257r&#257n&#299 Jind Kaur had been deprived of all authority and the Resident had been invested with unrestricted powers. The Mah&#257r&#257&#7751&#299, who was opposed to the British assuming any concessions beyond stationing a few of their regiments at Lahore, chafed at the new treaty which conferred on them the right to remain in the Punjab up to the time Mah&#257r&#257j&#257 Duleep Si&#7749gh attained the age of majority and which made them the virtual rulers. Prem&#257, a Br&#257hma&#7751 desperado, who had been a soldier in Gul&#257b Si&#7749gh's service, came to Lahore in February 1847 and set up a secret campaign against the British and started associating himself with the officers and sepoys of the Sikh army. He met B&#363&#7789&#257 Si&#7749gh, <i>d&#299w&#257n</i> to Mah&#257r&#257&#7751&#299 Jind Kaur, in the Lahore Fort in the presence of Bh&#257&#299 Budh Si&#7749gh. Later, he visited Amritsar and received the approbation of Bh&#257&#299 Mah&#257r&#257j Si&#7749gh, who was widely revered for his piety and who at the time of the second Anglo-Sikh war raised the standard of revolt against the British. The Bh&#257&#299, irt is said bestowed upon Prem&#257 a sword, a turban and a <i>shawl</i> as a mark of his blessing. Amongst other covert helpers were Atar Si&#7749gh K&#257li&#257&#7749m&#257l&#257, Sher Si&#7749gh A&#7789&#257r&#299v&#257l&#257, Ra&#7751jodh Si&#7749gh and Mi&#257&#7749 Jaw&#257har Si&#7749gh, a nephew of R&#257j&#257 Gul&#257b Si&#7749gh.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The prime motive of the plan was to restore the power of Mah&#257r&#257&#7751&#299 Jind Kaur as the Regent of the minor Mah&#257r&#257j&#257 Duleep Si&#7749gh and terminate British control by assassinating the Resident and his subservient council of ministers. Prem&#257's nephew, Nih&#257l Chand, accompanied by nine others carrying swords and shields, entered the Sh&#257l&#257m&#257r Gardens on 12 February 1847 with a view to finishing off Sir Henry Lawrence and Sard&#257r Tej Si&#7749gh, who were then attending a fete. The band was playing and everyone was lost in merriment. But the plotters' hearts misgave them and they stealthily slunk away. The British authorities arrested eleven persons. After a trial in which twenty five witnesses were examined, Prem&#257 and three others were sentenced to life imprisonment and deported out of the Punjab; four persons received imprisonment from 3 to 7 years and three were let off.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; John Lawrence, who conducted the enquiry, found the evidence in the case &#8216worthless' without any proof of the Mah&#257r&#257&#7751&#299's complicity. But he held that "there were grounds for suspecting her of being cognizant of the intrigue if not its instigator."</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A sequel to the Prem&#257 plot was the unjustified removal of the Mah&#257r&#257&#7751&#299 from the capital of the Sikhs. The Resident's council, chary of expelling her from the Punjab, decided to send her to Shei<u>kh</u>&#363pur&#257,40 km away from Lahore. Her allowance was reduced from Rs 1,50,000 to Rs 48,000 annually.</p> </font> <p class="BIB"> BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1"><li class="C1"> Chopra, Barkat R&#257i, <i>Kingdom of the Punjab</i>. Hoshiarpur, 1969<BR> <li class="C1"> Innes, J.J.M., <i>Sir Henry M. Lawrence</i>. Oxford, 1898<BR> <li class="C1"> Nahar Si&#7749gh, <i>Documents Relating to Bhai Maharaj Singh</i>. Karamsar, 1968<BR> <li class="C1"> Ganda Si&#7749gh, "Some New Light on the Treaty of Bharowal (December 16,1846)", <i>Proceedings Indian Historical Records Commission</i>.1940<BR> <li class="C1"> Ahluwalia, M.L., <i>Bhai Maharaj Singh</i>. Patiala, 1972<BR> </ol><p class="CONT">Gudi&#257l Si&#7749gh <br></p><BR> </font><img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""></HTML></BODY>