ZOOIYAL ISHAQUE

THE CITY SCHOOL, 9t

ANNEXATION OF SINDH BY
BRITISH
The Battle of Hyderabad, also called The Battle of
Dubba (or The Battle of Dubbo in contemporary
references)[3] was fought on 24 March 1843 between the
British colonial empire and
the Talpur Emirs of Sindh near Hyderabad, Sindh, Pakistan
. A small British force, led by Captain James Outram, who
were attacked by the Talpur Balochis and forced to make
a fort of the British residency, which they successfully
defended until they finally escaped to a waiting river
steamer. After the British victory at Meeanee (also spelt
Miani), Sir Charles Napier continued his advance to
the Indus River and attacked the Sindh Capital of
Hyderabad. Hyderabad was defended by 20,000 troops
under the command of Mir Sher Muhammad
Talpur and Hosh Mohammad. Charles Napier with a force
of only 6,000 men but with artillery support stormed the
city. During the battle Hosh Mohammad was killed and his
forces routed; Baluchistani resistance collapsed and Sindh
came under British rule.

PRELUDE
The British became involved in the region of Sindh in
Pakistan (at that time India), under the authority of Lord
Ellenborough. In 1809, The Amirs of Sindh signed a treaty
of "perpetual friendship" with the British and establish a
local representative in the city of Hyderabad. With this
arrival of British influence within the region, the Amirs of
the Sindh lessen their internal struggles and turn instead

to face this foreign presence.[1] In 1838, the British

representative has the Amirs sign a political residency
treaty, allowing a British residency in the city of
Hyderabad, which paves the way for further British
involvement in the area. This same treaty also stipulated
that the British would fix the differences held between the
rulers of the Sindh and those of the Punjab.[2] Soon after,
this would be taken a step further in the signing of a
treaty pushed by the British that would allow British
troops to be stationed permanently in the Sindh

region for the protection of the

Amirs. The Amirs would also have to pay for a British
resident in Hyderabad, who would negotiate all relations
between the British and the Amirs.[3]
The British maintained various policies among the
different Amirs, so as to please each individual and divide
them by dealing with them separately.[2] Captain James
Outram was initially in charge of these dealings, and he
made significant progress with the Amirs, who began
confiding in him. As a result, Outram was able to attain

power over the Amirs foreign policy as well as to station

his troops in the province.[2] Tensions began to rise when
the British, who were involved in the politics in
Afghanistan at the time, started interfering in the internal
affairs of the Amirs as well as asking them for land which
the British desired.The British were supporting Shah
Shujah Durrani to take the throne in Afghanistan.[4] The
Amirs, however, resented this proposal, which added to
their discontentment with the British occupations. The
Amirs, refused to aid Shah Shujah in Afghanistan, and
siding more with the Shah of Persia, angered the British.[5]

These relations took a turn for the worse when allegations

were made of the Amirs communicating with the Shah of
Persia, a rival of Shah Shujah and the British. It was after
this incident that the British made it clear to the Amirs of
the Sindh that any further cooperation with any people
other than the British would lead to their destruction and
their loss of rule in the Sindh.[4] The distrust between the
British and the Amirs of the Sindh continued to worsen, as
both sides grew more and more suspicious of each other.
Both sides continued on, feigning normality while both

were aware of the others mistrust.[6] As a result of their

distrust, the British began to keep a close eye on Noor
Mohammed Khan, one of the most prominent Amirs, at
his residence in Hyderabad.[7]
In 1841, the British appointed Charles Napier for service
in India at the age of 59. The following year Napier
arrived in Bombay on 26 August. Upon his arrival he was
told of the situation that existed between the British and
the Amirs, and that the Amirs were making trouble for the
British. On 10 September 1842 Napier arrived in the
Sindh.[8] Under Napier, British control saw some charity on
their occupation of Sindh and the territory of the Amirs.
There was a belief that the British were, in fact, improving
life for many in the area, as they saw the Amirs as overly
wealthy rulers over a poor people.[9] Napier was also very
much of a mind to expand and tighten British control.
Previously Outram had been in charge of negotiations
between the British and the Amirs and had been very
lenient towards the Amirs, which they appreciated
greatly. Napier, on the other hand, not only longed for
campaign, but was also very authoritarian with regards to
the British rule in the area, and wanted to see full control
by the British.[10] Napier himself was charged by

Ellenborough
to look into the matter of the Amirs duplicity, to find
evidence of their suspicious behaviour, and to compile it
into a report which he would submit to Ellenborough. [11]
However, due to the fact that Napier was fresh to the
Sindh and knew none of the language which would allow
him to understand the pieces of alleged evidence against
the Amirs, Napier was left with a difficult task.[12]
Napiers 200-page report, once completed was submitted
to Ellenborough, who received the report on November 3.
The report was fairly inaccurate in its information about
the Amirs, and Ellenborough sent his reply the day after
as well as draft of a new treaty to be made with the
Amirs.[13] The speed of the reply, as well as the fact that it
was accompanied by a drafted treaty, would indicate that
Ellenborough had made his decision and the draft even
before receiving Napiers report.[14] Ellenboroughs reply
urged Napier to find convicting evidence of the actions of
the Amirs - of which he had fairly little. His most
incriminating piece of evidence was a letter supposedly

written by the Amir, but which might easily have been a

forgery, of which Napier was aware. As a result, Napier
wrote to Ellenborough again, telling him of the small
pieces of evidence that he had and asked for
Ellenboroughs help in the situation. However,
Ellenborough relied saying that he agreed with the verdict
made by Napier - though he had not concretely
insinuated one.[15]

CONFLICT
In February 1843, Amir Sodbar resided at Hyderabad Fort.
While Sodbar was cooperative with the British, Napier
was wary of him, and felt Sodbar was too much of a

liability
for the British,
though the Amir was unaware of these feelings.[1] As a
result, when Napier asked Sodbar to send away Balochi
troops from the Fort, Amir Sodbar complied. Napier then
took control of the fort himself, raising the British flag and
stationing troops there.[1] At first Napier was hesitant to
hold Sodbar prisoner. However, after some of Sodbars
men resisted the British, against Sodbars will, Napier
decided to hold the Amir as a prisoner in Hyderabad Fort.
[2]
Ellenborough gave orders for all treasure and articles of

wealth to be seized from the Amirs residence in

Hyderabad, except that which the women chose to retain
as their own jewelry or possessions. Collection agents
were appointed to mediate the confiscation of the wealth.
Some of the women made good use of this opportunity to
take large amounts of wealth with them, while others,
fearful of the British appointees, gave up much of their
possessions.[3] Around this time, Napier heard word of one
of the Amirs, Sher Mohammad, mustering troops to resist
the British forces. Napier was under the impression that
Sher Mohammad would offer little resistance as he had
very little funds or weapons, and was therefore surprised
to hear that he had almost 30,000 troops ready to be
brought against the British.[4]
Upon hearing of Sher Mohammads foreboding army,
Napier immediately sent for reinforcements to be sent
from Ferozepur and Sukkur. Around the same time,
Balochi soldiers began to attack British supply routes
along the Indus as well as those from Karachi to other
British holdings.[5] It was Napiers intent to hold off battle
as long as he could so as to get the most reinforcements
that he could manage. He was sent a message from Sher
Mohammad, promising the safety of Napier and his men if
he would give up the fort and the confiscated wealth. In
reply, Napier fired cannons from the fort as a sign that he
would not surrender.[5]
On 20 March, Sir Charles Napier went out to reconnotire
Sher Mohammads position near Tando Ali Jam, finding
the Amirs army to be strong and holding excellent
territory for defense. The next day, Napier received much

needed reinforcements who arrived by ship, coming down

the Indus from Sukkur.

BATTLE
On 24 March 1843 British troops, led by Sir Charles
Napier, set out from Hyderabad to meet Sher
Mohammad. After marching for some time, the British
forces came upon the Amirs army.[1] While waiting for the
rest of the British army, the Scinde Horse, one of Napiers

cavalry
regiments, began to position
themselves in a line opposite the Balochi troops, who
began to fire on the regiment. Napier himself had to do
much of the positioning of the troops, as he lacked
experienced commanders within his regiments. As each
regiment made its way to the battle, and into position,
the fighting grew fierce between both sides.[1] The Balochi
troops were well entrenched in their position and, due to
the terrain, Napier was unable to get an idea of just how
far the Balochi line was and how well it was supported.
Soon the British had brought up artillery as well, which
opened fire on the Balochi troops in their trenches. As the
British approached the left side of Balochi forces, they
found themselves faced with heavy attack from the trees,
where a large number of troops had positioned
themselves.[2]

After almost an hour of fire between both sides, Napier

began to see an opportunity to break through a weak
spot in the Amirs lines. The Scinde Horse and 3rd
Bombay Light Cavalry made a move to attack the left
wing of the British troops and crashed into the Balochis
before they could do significant damage.[3] Meanwhile, on
the right wing British soldiers charged the Balochi lines,
piling over their trenches where the tightly packed
Balochis found difficulty in using their swords against the
British. Seeing the desperation of the Balochis plight Amir
Sher Mohammad left the battle at the suggestion of his
commander, Hosh Mohammad Kambrani (Also called
Hosh Muhammad Shidi), with hopes that he might obtain
another chance at victory over the British. Hosh
Muhammad, on the other hand, stayed behind with the
troops, fighting the British to the death

The British troops, seeing the centre

of the Balochi line giving way, charged through the
middle, dividing the Amirs line. About this time, Napier
was almost killed when a magazine exploded near by,
killing some British soldiers near him, but sparing his life.
[5]
One of Napiers commanders, after breaking through
the Balochi left wing then left the field, perhaps aiding
later in cutting off the Balochi retreat. The Amirs men,
routed and disorganized, began to flee, and Napier with

the Bengal Cavalry pressed on after them, cutting them

off from escaping across the Indus. This strategic move
on the part of the British stopped the Balochis from
regrouping with others and posing a threat to the British.
With the Balochis dispersed, Napier returned to his men
who celebrated their victor with three cheers.[5] This
battle would be one of the last major efforts by Sher
Mohammad to resist against the British, which ended on
14 June when British troops surprised the Amir and
captured three of his cannons. Sher Mohammad himself
escaped to Afghanistan.
Q:DESCRIBE THE ANNEXATION OF SINDH BY THE
BRITISH.
The province of Sind was an enormous one, going back
into history for thousands of years,
even to preChrist period. Due to its richness in every sphere of daily
life, it has been a point of interest to invaders, resulting in
umpteen wars and capturings by royals. The British
Empire, was also no exception to this rule. Sind had been
in dispute, since the arrival of the British East India
Company on Asian soil. During the times of 1842-43,
plans were underway to annex the province into
the Bengal Presidency. The absolute unrest which Sind
faced, paved way for further British disturbances.
The British were extremely upset with the local amirs'
attitude during theFirst Afgan War (1839-42). As a
result, Napier initially gained military control of the region
by forcing an agreement with the Sindh Amirs. Thus

began the annexation process of Sind.

In August 1842, Lord Ellenborough placed Major-General
Sir Charles J. Napier (1782-1853) in command of Sind,
with the mission of assisting the evacuation of British
forces from Kandahar. On 11th January 1843, MajorGeneral Napier detonated the desert fortress of
Imamgarh in Upper Sind to which the young Amirs of
Khairpur had fled.
Within the dates of 14th to 15th February, a body of
Baluchis attacked the British Residence at Hyderabad.
Sir James Outram (1803-1863), a British resident,
escaped by means of a steamer down the Indus River.
On 17th February, with a force of 2800, Major-General
Napier attacked and defeated a force of 20,000 to 30,000
near Miani. The British suffered 256 casualties against
5000 to 6000 tribesmen, representing the combined
forces of Hyderabad, Khalpur, and Mrrpur. Napier's victory
was pretty decisive. It won for the British entire control of
Sind. The annexation process was wrapped up.
On 5th March, Lord Ellenborough announced in general
orders that from Sukkur to the sea, both banks of the
Indus belonged to the British. This act was tantamount to
the annexation of Sind to the British India. On 13th
March, Lord Ellenborough appointed Major-General Napier
as Governor of Sind, a role in which he served until 1847.
He also announced reforms which included the
suppression of slave trade, abolition of transit duties and

open navigation of the Indus to all nations.

On 26th March, Major-General Napier defeated tribal
forces led by Sher Muhammad at Hyderabad. On 13th
June, Major John Jacob (1812- 1858) led his regiment in
the defeat of tribesmen led by Sher Muhammad at
Shahadadpur.
On 28th August, the Governor-General of India in Council
formally decided on the annexation of Sind to British
India. By Act V of the year 1843, the Government of India
abolished slavery in India.
On 26th April, Lord Ellenborough issued a circular letter to
the political agents of the Indian Government. It sought
greater respect to be shown to the princely courts, the
practice of justice and moderation and an avoidance of
interference with family and court life. A subsequent
testing of this policy regarded the administration of Brian
Houghton Hodgson (1800-1894), British Resident in
Nepal, which resulted in the controversial replacement of
Houghton by Henry M. Lawrence.