The last kingdom standing
While the British took the rest of India, Punjab stayed free. Then Ranjit Singh died — and it took only ten years for everything to fall apart.
The Anglo-Sikh Wars were two wars fought between the Sikh Empire and the East India Company between 1845 and 1849. The Sikh Empire was the last major independent power in India, and its fall completed the British conquest of the subcontinent.
Ranjit Singh captured Lahore in 1799 and united the Sikh misls — the separate warrior confederacies — into a single strong kingdom. He is called the Lion of Punjab. He kept peace with the British throughout his reign, and while he lived they never dared attack. He died in 1839, and it is his death that opens this story.
Ranjit Singh's death left no strong successor. What followed was a decade of murders, coups and court intrigue — wazirs killed, claimants removed, and real power falling into the hands of an army that no longer obeyed anybody. The kingdom was not conquered from outside first; it broke down from inside, and the British moved into the gap.
First Anglo-Sikh War, 1845 to 1846
The Sikh army crossed the Sutlej in December 1845, and the British declared war. The Sikh soldiers fought extremely well — but they were betrayed by their own commanders, Lal Singh and Tej Singh, who were secretly in touch with the British.
Mudki, Ferozeshah, Aliwal and finally Sobraon. The decisive defeat came at Sobraon in February 1846, after which the British entered Lahore.
Signed on 9 March 1846. The Jalandhar Doab, between the Beas and the Sutlej, was annexed by the Company. The Sikh army was cut down in size. A heavy war indemnity was imposed. Duleep Singh was recognised as Maharaja with Rani Jindan as regent and Lal Singh as wazir.
Because the Sikhs could not pay the full indemnity, Kashmir along with Jammu was sold to Gulab Singh of Jammu for about seventy-five lakh rupees. This sale of Kashmir caused deep and lasting Sikh anger.
Rani Jindan was removed from the regency. A Council of Regency of eight Sikh sardars was set up, presided over by the British Resident, Sir Henry Lawrence. Punjab was now under indirect British control in all but name.
The Treaty of Amritsar of 1846 is the origin of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir under the Dogra ruler Gulab Singh — a fact with consequences that reached all the way to 1947.
Second Anglo-Sikh War, 1848 to 1849
The humiliation of the treaties, the sale of Kashmir and the harsh treatment of Rani Jindan — removed to Benares as a pensioner — left Punjab simmering. The spark came from Multan.
- Mulraj, the governor of Multan, was pressed for higher revenue and replaced by a new governor
- Two British officers who accompanied the new governor were killed at Multan in April 1848
- Sher Singh was sent to put the revolt down, but instead joined it, and the rising spread across Punjab
- Lord Dalhousie, an eager expansionist, used this as the opportunity to finish the Sikh kingdom
| Battle | What happened |
|---|---|
| Ramnagar | An early, indecisive engagement |
| Chillianwala, January 1849 | So bloody and so nearly a British defeat that it shocked opinion in Britain. Sir Hugh Gough commanded |
| Gujrat, February 1849 | The decisive British victory, sometimes called the Battle of the Guns. Sikh resistance ended |
On 29 March 1849, Lord Dalhousie annexed Punjab. The young Maharaja Duleep Singh, then about eleven, was pensioned off and later sent to England. Rani Jindan was separated from him. The Koh-i-Noor diamond passed to the British Crown. Punjab was first governed by a three-member Board including Henry and John Lawrence, and from 1853 by a Chief Commissioner — John Lawrence being the first. Note carefully: Punjab was annexed by conquest, not by the Doctrine of Lapse.
Only eight years after annexation came the Revolt of 1857 — and Punjab did not join it. The Sikh soldiers had been defeated by the British but had no love for the Mughal Emperor at Delhi, in whose name the revolt was raised. The British also recruited heavily from Punjab. This is why Punjab remained calm, and Punjabi troops even helped the British retake Delhi.
Why is Punjab a wrong answer in questions about the Doctrine of Lapse?
Because Punjab was annexed by conquest on 29 March 1849, after the British defeated the Sikhs in the Second Anglo-Sikh War. The Doctrine of Lapse applied only where a ruler died without a natural male heir.
First war treaties in order: Lahore, Amritsar, Bhairowal — L-A-B. Second war battles in order: Ramnagar, Chillianwala, Gujrat — R-C-G, ending in annexation.
Everything on one look
The rulers, the wars, the treaties and the annexation.
- Ranjit Singh died in 1839, leaving no strong successor
- The First Anglo-Sikh War was fought from 1845 to 1846
- Lal Singh and Tej Singh betrayed the Sikh army
- Sobraon in February 1846 was the decisive battle
- The Treaty of Lahore was signed on 9 March 1846
- The Treaty of Bhairowal of December 1846 removed Rani Jindan
- The Second Anglo-Sikh War was fought from 1848 to 1849
- The revolt of Mulraj at Multan began the war
- Chillianwala in January 1849 was fiercely contested
- Gujrat in February 1849 was the decisive British victory
- Dalhousie annexed Punjab on 29 March 1849
- John Lawrence became the first Chief Commissioner of Punjab
- Punjab was annexed by conquest in 1849, not under the Doctrine of Lapse
- Ranjit Singh died in 1839, six years before the First Anglo-Sikh War began
- Ranjit Singh never fought the British — the wars came after his death
- The Treaty of Lahore of 1846 ended the First war, not the second
- Kashmir was sold to Gulab Singh by the Treaty of Amritsar in 1846
- The Treaty of Bhairowal removed Rani Jindan from the regency
- Lal Singh and Tej Singh were Sikh commanders who betrayed their own side
- Mulraj was the governor of Multan whose revolt began the Second war
- Gujrat, not Chillianwala, was the decisive battle of the Second war
- Duleep Singh was the last Maharaja, pensioned off to England as a boy
- The Anglo-Sikh Wars were two wars fought between 1845 and 1849
- Maharaja Ranjit Singh captured Lahore in 1799 and united the Sikh misls
- Ranjit Singh is known as the Lion of Punjab
- Ranjit Singh died in 1839, after which the Sikh kingdom weakened rapidly
- The First Anglo-Sikh War was fought from 1845 to 1846
- Mudki, Ferozeshah, Aliwal and Sobraon were the battles of the First war
- Sobraon in February 1846 was the decisive battle of the First war
- Lal Singh and Tej Singh secretly aided the British during the First war
- The Treaty of Lahore was signed on 9 March 1846
- The Jalandhar Doab was annexed under the Treaty of Lahore
- Duleep Singh was recognised as Maharaja with Rani Jindan as regent
- The Treaty of Amritsar of 1846 sold Kashmir to Gulab Singh
- Gulab Singh paid about seventy-five lakh rupees for Kashmir and Jammu
- The Treaty of Bhairowal was signed in December 1846
- Rani Jindan was removed from the regency by the Treaty of Bhairowal
- Sir Henry Lawrence presided over the Council of Regency at Lahore
- The Second Anglo-Sikh War was fought from 1848 to 1849
- Mulraj, the governor of Multan, revolted in 1848, starting the Second war
- Two British officers were killed at Multan in April 1848
- Sher Singh joined the revolt instead of suppressing it
- Chillianwala in January 1849 was a fiercely contested battle
- Sir Hugh Gough commanded the British at Chillianwala
- Gujrat in February 1849 was the decisive British victory
- Lord Dalhousie annexed Punjab on 29 March 1849
- The Koh-i-Noor diamond passed to the British Crown after the annexation
- Duleep Singh was pensioned off and later sent to England
- John Lawrence became the first Chief Commissioner of Punjab in 1853