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A . C S ARK AR
.

at the Pr a b as i P ress ,

91, U pp e r C ircular R oad , C alcutta

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9 1 U pp er C ircul ar R oa d
, , C al cutt a
 CO N T E N T S

I ntroduction
Stru ggles o f di ff ere n t Christian
n atio n s f o r Supremacy

The E n glish in Bengal : Early

History
M eer J a ff er an d his Rule
The Secon d Re v olution in Bengal
M eer C a ssim an d his Rule
Restoration o f M eer Ja fle r
’

E v ents in Ben g al after M e er

Ja ff er s Death 44
’

The A d ministration o f Warren Hastin gs 4 9

The Ri se o f t h e M arath as an d t h e
First M aratha War 52
Hyder Ali 62
T h e Rise o f t h e Nizam s Dy n asty 67
’

The Rise o f th e O u d e Prin cipality 70

Sir John Ma cpherson 72
Lord C ornwalli s 73
Sir John Shore 78
T h e M a rq u ess o f Wellesley 83
W ellesley a n d the Nizam 85
The W a r with Tipu 88
W ellesley an d O ude 92
Wellesley an d th e Carn at ic 96
A ff airs in Surat 1 01
Wellesley and th e Peshwa 1 03
The Tr e a ty o f Bassein 1 08
The C ampai gn of Intrigues 113
The W a r a gainst Sin d hia an d B h on s l e 1 1 6
The War with the H olk a r 1 25

MG 4 0 4 2 1
 Page
The Last Days o f Wellesley in India 1 39
’
Lord Cornwallis s Secon d A d mi n i s
t r a t i on
Sir George Barlo w
Lord M into
The M arques s o f Hastin gs
The Pindari War an d the Last of
t h e Peshwas 1 57
The War with th e B h o n s l e 1 65
The War with the H o lk a r 170
O ther M easures o f Hastings 172
Lord Amherst 1 74
Lord William B entin ck 1 80
The Ren ewal o f the Charter 1 8 33
, 1 87
Lord Aucklan d 1 91
Lord Ellenb or ough 1 95
Lord Harding e 2 07
Lord Dalhousi e 21 2
Acquisitions by Fr aud 223
The Indian M utiny o f 1 8 5 7 2 32
Transfer o f the Go v ernm ent o f
I ndia from the C ompany to t h e
Crown
Referen ces
 IN T R O D U C T I O N

In dia unfort un ately does n ot p ossess a c o mpl e t e

, ,

reliable history of her pas t or e v en of m odern

times D uring the British p eri od of h er history
.
,

In dia has n o t produ c ed any on e wh o would

t ake the trouble o f writing a true c omplete
history o f her past an d presen t To expe c t .

this from the Engli sh historians of In di a

is un“ doubtedly an im possibility for they a r e ,
”
a pt t o make e t es t of truth .

English authors have gen er y spread erro

n eo n s views an d pre tt y h alf tru ths an d so -

, ,

Indian s h ave to sift the truth from a m as s of

preju di ced des crip t ions A gain th e In dian q uest ion i
.
,
“ ”
has never pa ssed out of poli ti c s as Lord Ro s e ,
"
b ery said 0 e r rs h q uestion The Spanish 1 .

Catholi c s probably in a c onfessin g m ood hav e

,
’
,

left a m or e o r less tru e a ccount of th e ir con q uest

o f America but the English Protesta t s have left
, n —

n o record o f their misdeeds Such ofi ce r s of the .

C ompan y as dared t o speak ou t like Capt ain ,

Cun n ingham and M aj or E v an s B ell were disgr a ce d ,

and dismissed Chri stian m issi o nari es had the

.

mission of provin g their c o r e ligi onis t s to b e -

in contrast with the bla c k

heathens o f the land Non offici a l Englishmen had
.
-
'

as a cl a ss n o sympathy
, f or I ndians Sir .

George Tr e velyan wrote in 1 8 6 4 However kind ,

h e might b e to his nati v e servants h owever j ust

'

to his native tenants the re is n ot a si n gle n on

,

offi cial in Indi a who w ould n o t con sider the sen ti

ment that w e hold Indi a f or the b ene fit o f th e
'

” 1
inhabitants a lo a thsome u n E n lish i ee e of can t
fi
-
.

India was to them a lan d t o e flee c e d a n d ex

, ,
 2 H I S T O RY or T HE B RITI SH O CC UP A TI ON or I N D IA

p l o i t e d Any attempt o n the p a rt o f educated

.

I ndian s to unravel the tangled web of I ndian

history during British supremacy is con str ued
as creat ing disaff ection to the Bri t ish Government .

We have also to expose many falsehoods that

ha v e been wilfully spread as truth by English
writers Foremost among these is the on e which
.

represents that India was given over to anarchy

“
until the British assumed its government I ndia .

would n e v er ha v e existed but for Englan d If

left to herself India would degenerate into a bear
,
t g a rden ”2
an d so on an d so forth Another is that
4 7
a
In dia h as been c on q uered by the sword These
.

falsehoods ha v e to be thoroughly exposed by a

con siderati on of the means employed an d the
policy pursued by the Briti sh .

The historian like the scientist has n ot only t o

, ,

classify but to general ise an d explain by m eans

of the ories and hypotheses This requires what .

“ ”
T n d a ll st 19 8 scien t ific i ma nation to discover
°

i
t f e mi s s m g Im ks O f course his t ory should be
.
,

b ased on the solid rock of 0 1 i ‘

records ; but f or th i s purpose I nd i an s

m
,

cess to many unpubli s hed uh

7 do c uments whilst the published on es ar “
, e; d
trustworthy M r James M ill writes of the skill
. .

t h e Court of Directors in s u ppr e s s m g su c I nform

”
ati on as T hey wished“ n ot to appear while M r , .

Cunnin gham mentions alterations in State Papers to

”
suit the temporary views of political warfare an d
counte rfeit documents whic h the ministerial stamp
” 3
forces into curren cy We have to be cautiou s
.

“
of th ese ch ains of dangerous lies So me import .

ance has also to be attached to traditions a n e c ,

dotes and legends though their han dling requires

,

great moderati on The treaties apart from their

.
,

equivo c al language are also of high importan c e

,
.

Contemporary re c ords writ t en by Indians an d ,

 IN TR OD U CTI ON

u n i n flu e n c e d
by foreign ers deserve m ore attenti on
,

an d credit than th ey h ave hither t o attr acted.

U nder t hese circumstan ces a tru e history of

,

British India is sti ll a desideratum ; but i t will be

sheer co wardi c e n o t to attempt writing it be c ause
the di ffi c ulties are great
. The work“
may be in
complete o r imperfe c t ; b ut j ust as it i s better to
,

h ave loved an d lost than n e ver to h ave loved at

”
all s o it i s better to have attempted an d failed in
,

the task th an n ever to have made th e attempt at all .

 HIS T O RY or T HE

B R ITIS H O CCU PATION OF INDIA

S t r uggles of Diff eren t E ur opean N ati on s f or
S upremacy i n In d i a

I n di a has from time i mmemorial played a

, ,

p rominent part in the ci v ilization o f the n ation s

of th e earth Their commercial i n stin ct led the
.

n avigators O f European n ations t oT i s c o x e r the sea r

route to I n dia Golden India the theme of poets

.
—

the wo nderland of travell ers haunted them in their ,

dreams an d hence they set sail unlike the ,

Crusaders to amass earthly riches They preferred

, .

the sea route because it was less risky in those

-

days of bloody wars upon the land an d less

expensive since n o toll n eed be p aid o n the high
ways o i t h e sea .

The sea route to I ndia was disco v ered when

-

V asco da Gama with a handf ul o f daring follo w ers

bra v ed the stormy passage round the Cape of Goo d
H O pe and landed at C ali cut o n the 2 2 n d M a y
“ ,

t 4 49 8 The Z amo ri n BI Calicut extended to the m

a .

th e traditional In dian hospit a lity n ot knowing that ,

his guests woul d in twelve years more plunder

, ,

his city and burn his palace ! By the S uperior '

strength o f their fire arms the Portuguese w o n ,

easy v ictories o v er the I ndians and withi n less ,

than a century their f lag waved triumphantly

,

over M angalore Cochin Ceylon O rmuz Diu G o a

, , , , ,

an d Negapatam M onopolising the profitable traffi c

’

.
—

o f the I n dian seas t h efl i ma s s e d c olossal

, fortunes ,
 '
s rn u e e nn s or D IFF ERE N T E UR O P E AN N A TI ON S 5

though the inhabitants of the Portuguese dominion s

gr oan ed under th eir h ea v y y oke“ In the words .

o f Alfonzo de Souza The Portuguese

entered In dia with t he sword in on e hand and the ;

cru cifix in the other ; findin g much gold th ey ,

laid aside t h e crucifix to fil l their p o c kets an d ,

n o t b ein g able to hold them up with o n e han d

they were grown so h ea v y th ey dr op ed the ,
—

s word too ; b eing fou n d in th is posture y those

’
w h o came after they were e asily o v ercom e
,
.

The Dut ch supplanted the Portugue s e in t h e

Ea stern sea 8s K Dutchman wh o h ad es c aped from a
Portuguese prison was th e first to e lec trify t heir
phlegmatic temperament and dire ct the ir en erg i es
towards the wealth o f the East Eight v essels .
I,
'
a
A
were soon e quipped an d d espatched four by the ,

Cape route and four by the North East passage 5 L -

.

Th e for m er reache d Java ab out 1 5 98 Th e Dut c h .

had established b y 1 6 6 3 fa ctori es at Pulicat

, , ,

Sa dras A gra P atn a Surat an d Ahm edabad In /é

, , ,
.
7 x
1 6 7 5 th ey con structed a a c tory at C hi nsurah .

They prospered as long as they c o n finT their

energies to a steady p rosecu tion of comm erce ;
b ut M eer Ja fiar th e British 11 pet resented the
‘

, ,

extent of their d espotism an d secretl y e n c ou r

age d the Dutch to import troops from Batavia A .

fleet of seven ships with 1 1 00 men arrived in

due course but Cli ve saw through the Dutch plan s
,

an d destroyed th eir army before it rea c hed Chin

.

surah The Dutch p ower hen c eforw a r d rapidly

.

d in 1 805 they ex chan ge d Chinsurah ,

other p ossess i ons i n In dia IQEM L ‘

we have n o reli c in Indi a o f their i m
piration s .

i r a t e s an d adventurers o f Brist ol h a d
j ealous o f the commer cial i mportance
an d as early as 1 5 2 7 Robert Thorn e
, ,

(1 Henry VIII to open a rou te to India

 6 , HI S T O RY on T HE BRITI S H O C C U P A T IO N DF I N D IA .

by the Nort h West but all attempts in that d i r e c

-

tion failed I n 1 5 7 8 Sir Francis Dr a ke cap t ured a

.
, “

Port uguese vessel hailing fro m the East an d ca me

upo n v ery valuable
In 1 5 94 Lan c aster re ao e
,

route and in 1 6 00 t h e East I ndia Co mpany

c a y the Cape
,

re c eived
“
i t s charter from the British Q ueen .

”
The S o c i e t y n L Ad x e n t ur e r s co n stituted into“ the
East I ndia Company resolved o n consultatio n not

W W
“
W
lest a grea num a ven u r e r s m Ig Wi thdraw
o

their con ributions

‘
t I t is n e cessary to note t h at
.

’
adventurers as a rule do n o t obser v e any code
, ,

of m orality or show traits of good breeding .

The first Englishman to set foot o n I n dian soil

was Captain Ha w kins wh o landed M ur a t in ,

Mo “ 6 08 with a letter from James I to the Great

M oghul The ri v alry o f Portuguese Jesuits c o m
.

p e l l e d h i m to return to Surat I n 1 6 1 2 Captai n .

,

fi s t defeated the Por t ugues e squadron off Surat ,

where th e Englis h founded a factory Englis h .

factories soon began t o multiply in v arious

places such as Hug hli where they secur e d a footing

, ,

by means of an English doctor s s uccess in curing ’

the illnesses of Je h a n gi r s d aug ht e n w ’

’

Shah S huj a s wives ’

.

As a tra ding corporation the C ompany m et ,

with great success I mmense fort u nes were made.

by every one connected with the Co mpany in any

capa c ity They had as yet n o a mbitio n to rule
.

India Sir Thomas Roe t h e Eng lish a mbassador

.
,

at the M oghul Court ad v ised the m I f you will , ,

profit seek it at sea and i n q uiet trade But on

,
.
,

the third day o f April 1 66 1 the Company was , ,

authorised to make peace a n d war with n o n

Christian people an d w a s thus investe d wi th
p olitical p owers .

The idea of acquiring supre me po wer i n India

 S TRU GGLES OF D I FF EREN T EUR OP EAN N AT I ON S 7

did n ot originate with th e English The F ren ch

"
.

“
first broke th e S ell which h eld the Euro c a n
”
in subj ection to the n ati ve po w ers The t w o i m .

p ortant disco v eries f or con quer i ng In dia ( 1 ) t h e ,

weakn ess o f the n ative armi es a gainst Europe an

disciplin e an d (2) the facility of imparting d i s cli p 1 ,

lin e t o n ati v es in the European Service were made ,

by the F rench .

han ds of his o wn countrym en

o u t this schem e th e East In dia Com pany
, adopted
it with zeal and v igour .

The French Compagnie des In des was st a rted

by Colbert in 1 6 6 4 un d er very favourable auspices 16 45
an d within four years they secured a factory at “ M

Surat an d f o u n d e d
w
con ciliatory policy o f r a n co i s M artin D r Len oir
an d M Dumas w h o su cceeded him took a world
.
,
by the ( W

“7 9 ,
. .

of pains to m ake Pon dic h erry agreeable t o the

Indian rulers like Dost A l i Khan the Naw a b o f

m
,

a r n a t i c wh o v isited it
, M Dum as went to
. .

o f supp ortin g D ost Al i Khan an d his M

s o n i n law Chan da Sah eb against the M arath as and
- -

for this purpose stre n gth en ed the fortifications of

,

Pondich err y an d form ed the first Sepoy corps

kn own Dumas b ecam e so fam ous f or ousti ng the
.

Marathas that th e e fie m i n a t e representati v e of the

h ouse of Timur conferred on him the title of
Nawab an d t h e comm an d o f 2 000 h orse .

He was succeeded in 1 7 4 1 b y Dupleix a 17 V

'
—

rem arkable leader o f m en like Napoleon and as ,

ambitious But for want of support fro m hom e A t

. .
,

his drea m o f establishin g a European empire in

In dia woul d ha v e succeeded Takin g advantage of .

the E u ropean situation he despat c hed La Bourdon

,

n ais t o M adras t h e prin cipal seat of

,
English
commer c e on the plea that he wanted to restore
,

it to the Na w ab of the Carn ati c La Bourd onn ais .

w as bribed into ransomin g the fort t o th e Englis h

 '

8 HI S T ORY on THE -
BRITI SH O CCUP A TI ON OF IN D IA

and s o the Nawab himself attacked M adras

, .

Dupleix went t o the length o f dispersing his ally s ’

s ol d iers by his o w n guns and dro v e h i m in t o the

arms of the English who att a cked Po n dicherry ,

by sea The at t empt o f the English failed a n d

.

Dupleix sent m essen ger s carrying t h e h appy

tidings t o Arcot Haiderabad and Delhi While in
, .

this self congratulatory m ood n ews of the Peace of

-

Aache n arri v ed and Dupleix was obliged to

surrender M adras .

The armies of the two Companies were n ot long

idle Chan da Sahib
. expelled S ah oj e e from the
I kingdom of Tanj ore T h e M arathas imprisoned the
.

in solent M uslim an d n ominated P e r t a p Singh a ,

very popular ruler for Tanj ore The En g lish began , .

to fulfil their agreement with S ahqj e e by capturing

De v i c o t t a h an d then entering I nto an allian ce
with P e r t a p Singh I t i s only fair to add that .

they granted S a h oj e e a pension !

Not to be be a ten in this gam e D upleix ran ,

s om e d Chanda Sahi b and helped him to de f eat and

kil l A n w a r u d d i n the ally o f the English an d
,

Chanda Sahib s ri v al t o the Nawabship o f A r c o t w

’

h i in t h e battle of A m b o or in 1 7 4 9 All t h e disco n

1 7
'
.

tented princes O f the Deccan n ow f locked to the

7
“
Fren ch camp O n the strength of French alliance
.
,

M uzaff ar Ju n g proclaim ed himself Subedar of the

De fic a n an d Nazir Jung hi s uncle who came down
, , ,

to the south on a campaign of revenge was ,

assassi n a ted M ahome d Ali son of A n war u d d i n

.
, ,

was holding o u t in Tr ichinopoly assisted by Law

rence o f th e English Company Tric h inopoly wa s .

fi D ifi l
“

ruly the rock up on which the m b i t i i

“
t
’

“ ;
a o n e x
2
was wrecked His attempt to capture it f a iled ;
.

a reinforcement o f 7 00 m e n w a s drown ed in the

f
aq
fl ‘1
sea The
. F rench G o v ernm ent considered his plans
3 947 villainous and he was recalled in 1 7 5 4 He was .

1
disgraced an d died in poverty Hi s successor M . .
 S T RU GGLE S OF D IF F EREN T EU R OPEAN N AT I ON S 9

G od ehu c on c luded
peace by which th e t wo
’

“
,

C ompanies agreed n ot to interfere in the diff ere n ces

that might arise among the prin c es of th e
”
c ou r t r y an a g r e e m e t h o n ou r a bl ke t b
“

i
,

th e r e n ch n l y The FTe n c h C ompany came to m

a
.

an e n d I n 1 7 6 9 Pondicherry an d Chan dernagore ’

. i
Z
a r e th eir onl y impo rtant p ossession s in In di a t o
d ay Th e Fren c h Were j uot a great colonising
'

nation prob ably be cause they were to o h on es t

, ,

Bishop Heber has recorded the extreme “

p o pu a r i t y
o f the F ren ch in In di a They had m ore con cilia
.

” 1
ti n g an d popular mann ers M an y of th em adopted .

In dian d ress an d customs Th ey did n ot h ave

CD
.

“
,

”6 '

t h e foolish surly n ational pride

, of
,
th e Engli s h
m an
9
.

The establi shment o f the B ritis h p ower in India

h a s to b e explain ed O n th e pri ci l e o f sur v i v al I
of the fit t e st They p os sesse d the schemi n g
‘
~

an d des i gn i n g n ature to a great exten t Sir .

John M alcolm wrote : F orce an d p ower could n o t

h ave approached the sh ores o f Indi a wi thout
m eeting with resistan ce ; but to the unpretending
‘

m erchant every “
M u r a g e m e n t w a s o ff e r e d i The
”
author of Justi ce f o r In dia writes that t h e
In dian empire I s a creature of m i ght n ot of
It is the obj e c t of this b ook to n arr at e l
,
”
right .

the manner in which the British attai ned

political power h o w they took ad vantage o f L
]
—

the simplicity“ credibility an d faithfulness of 3

,

th e Indian great qualities

,
which form ed
alike the strength an d weakn ess of th ose
races their strength after th ey h ad been con quer
,

ed th eir weakn ess during th e

, William
“
Howit t wri tes The system which for more t ha n ,

a cen t ury was steadily at work to str ip the

,

n ative prin ces of their d omin i on s an d t h a t t o o , ,

under the most sacred pleas of right an d expedi j -

en c y is a system of torture m ore ex q uisite th an

,
?
 10 HI S T ORY OF THE BRITI SH O CC UPA TI ON OF IN D I A

regal or S piritual tyranny e v er before discovered ;

”9
such a s the world has n othing similar t o show -
.

Again a wri ter in the Ca lc u t t a R e v i ew considers

,

the comparison made by the nati v es o f Englishmen

, ,
“
wi th white ants as v ery apt an d says that in our
early connection with I ndia there was much from ,

the contemplat ion of which the m oralist will

” 10
shrink an d the Christian protest w ith abh orrence
, .

They broke treaties whenever con v enient an d

“ ”
acted o n the prin ciple divide and c o n u e r .

According to Sir John Kaye If the v I o Ia t i o n of

,

existing c oven ants e v er i n v ol v ed ipso facto a loss

o f territory the British Government in
,
the East
would n o t n o w possess a roo d o f lan d b et w een
”
the B u r h a mpo o t e r and the I nd us T h e entertain
.

m ent of European o fii c e r s by I ndian prin ces was

a fatal mistake The planting o f British Residents
M
.

F
Q
— ‘ in their capitals was the cause of their ruin ; f or
one o f the duties o f these o fficers was to foment
“
M S .
The system of subs i di a y
was d e S Ig n e d to wipe ou t the I ndepen dent
r allian ce .

r existen ce of In dian States and acc o rding to ,

W . Russell Resident at Hyderabad it l ed

, .

ine v it ably t o the destr u ction Of the State which

,. _

br a ced it Sir Thom as M unro informed the

.

of H astings that if d e s t r o y e d e v ery

n t which it undertook to protect .
 T he E n gli s h i n B en g al E arly Hi s t ory .

D r Wilson n oted the fact that the British esta

.

bli s h e d their domin i on from Bengal an d n ot from

M adras or Bombay as an u n S l e d riddle This

w
.

was because B e n w
ted There was a so n o n avy in the East corres
.

p onding to the M aratha n avy on the West .

Their m ask of san ctimoniousness an d businesslike

habits pleased the n ati v es an d they earne d i n
B engal a reputation better than that at Surat wh ere
2
,

they were regarded as a set of v ile brutes fie r c e r l 7

“

” 12
than the m asti ti s
I
O
.

L
The C o n p a n y S suprem acy in Bengal an d Ii i d i a
’

i s i n s e pa r a g ly con n e cted wi th thei r t r e a c ll e ry i g

towards S i r a j u d d a u l a His m atern al g r a n d E t h e r
Ali Verdi Kh an k new the intr iguing n ature of
—

the British only t o o w ell for they were allying ,

1 4
themsel v es with the dis d R aj as an d M

inhabitants like the Raj

’
of rd w
Chand HIS inform ers
. able
T tell hi m much ab out the C om pany S designs on
his o w n satrapy He was therefore cautious “in “
f
.
, ,

his deal ings wi t h th em an d his plan was to M ’

oblige all“ the European s i n d i fie r e n t l y to ha v e n o

6 ”;
W
”
forts Y o u are m er c han ts h e often sai d to our
’
.
,

(Fren ch ) an d the English v akeels what n eed ha v e ,

you of a fortress ? Being u n der my protection y o u

hav e n o enemies to
his dying speech to his su c
T h e story goes that i n
cessor Siraj he said ,
3
.
()
“
Suff er them n ot m y s on to ha v e fortification s or
, ,
” 14
soldiers :if you do the coun try is n ot y ours
,
.

Wh en the young Siraj ascen ded the thron e ,

he did n ot f i n d Bengal a bed of roses The Eng .

lish never addressed themselves to him an d ,

 12 H I S T O RY O F T HE BRITI SH O CC UPA TI ON OF IN D I A

‘ ” 15
avoided al l comm u nications with him They .

even refused him admission into their factories

an d c o un t r y h ou s e s They in sulted him by n o t
‘

sen di ng him the c ustom ary presents on h i s acces

had already begun intrigues
ve o f Ali Verdi Khan ,

11 who sought t h eir

They issued d u s t u c k s
number of n ati v es i n order to
to the great prejudice o f the
Nawa b s re v enue W orse than all they began to
’
’
.
,

levy duties on goods brought b y th e very go v ern

ment which permitte d them to trade fr e e These .

m easures accordin g to D avi d B annie caused

{9
, ,

eternal clam our and c om plain ts agains t us at

”16
C o u It Setting at naught the N awab s authority ’

m
.
'
,

the English beg a n strengthening the f o t i fic a t i o n s

at ( 2alcu tt 0 g the plea of an i m m
war 1 oug!
,
even i the plea was true they ,

sh ould have obeyed the Court of Directors who

ordered them ou

t e c t i on
M
.

g iraj but the E nglish sent his messengers

’

Obe ye
back an d they
, seem to h a v e sent an Off ensi v e
“
reply th at.
the Ditch will be filled up with the
Zl heads oi M oors At about the same time a
l
,
.
,

ge n tl e man c a lled R a j a B a ll a bh w h o while Dewan

1}
,

j / at Dacca had pro v ed of great help to the English

, ,

fell into disfa v our at Court and s o t o save his

M
,

6
, / property from c o n fis c a t I on , he sent his s o n Kissen
A, Das with all his m oveab l e we a lth to Fort William
j V'
.

l h e Nawab deman ded his surrender but met with a

peremptory refusal In an interview with M r . .

( Watts at Cossimbazar Siraj warn ed hi m O f the

'

w t
,

dangerous consequences o f the policy pursued by

hi s c oun t rymen but that officer n e v er cared
,

to communicate the conversation t o C alcutta“

Insulted an d treated with c onte m pt by th e
 T HE EN G LI SH IN BEN GAL : EARL Y HI S T O RY 13

British traders at Cal c utta S i r a j u d d a ula had n ow ,

n o other reso urce except m akin g an eff or t to

extirpate them from his dominion s So he des .
,

patched troops against Cossimbazar which w a s ,

surren dered wit h out a si ege He spared th e .

English merchants there in the t rue spirit of .

a hum ane r uler This un ex pected su c c ess allowed

.

h i m to m ar c h t o Cal cu tta b efore th e r a ins an d ,

intrepid gen eral a s he was h e c o v ered the d i s ,

tance of 1 6 0 miles in elev en days O n the way h e .

,

re d u ced th e fort of T ann ah after a v ery gallant

fight again st British can n onadi ng from t he
ri v er . Though advan ci n g tr iumph an tly towards
Cal c utta Siraj w a s ready f or a compro mi se on
,

payment of a fine the amount of whi ch he left t o

, ,

the Company t o propose But the English were .

c onfident of their su cc ess espe c ially because t he ,

P o r t ug ese un n e r s g f th e Nawab
m
had been
'
e xhorte by rIfiéStIy adm oniti ons and c u rses t o
d es ert their master Ano t her mean de cision of .

the En glish was to leave the n a t l v e part of the

c ity t o its own resour c es contenting themselves ,

with burning a number o f houses th ere t o m ake

a clear passage for opposing the at t ack .

Th e Nawab reac hed Cal c utta o n th e 1 6 t h Jun e ( 51

4 17 5 6 but he reserved the last attack f o r the 1 9 th 9
, 7
“
,

Ramj an whi c h fell o n the 1 8th Anticipating h i s

, .

attack t h e English issued th e brutal order that n o

,

q uarter was to be given They also kept

. O m y
Chan d a n d Kissen Das un der confinement lest th e y
might betray their plans In the struggle that .

’
a c companied that inhospitable attack O my Chaud s ,

brother i n law lost his arm an d a faithful Jamadar

- -

sav e d the honour of his master s wome n b y kill ’

i n g thirteen o f them w ith his own hand In S pite .

o f everything the Engli sh were m iserably

, bea t en .

“ “
A c rimin al e agerness w as m anifested by some
of t he m fi fi va n t s of th e C ompany to
 14 HI S T ORY OF THE BRITI SH O CC U PA TI ON OF IN D I A

”17

l p
.
ro v ide for their o wn safety at any S a cr i fice
c
s ol d i e r s began t o draw bayonets on their O w n
“
,

o f ficers But the M oors sus pen d ed their opera

.
$7

ti ons as soon a s it was N 0 resou rce was left

but a disgraceful flight The Company s serv ants
“
.
’

considered it as fatal and melanch oly a catastrophe

as e v er the annals of any people suff ered
”19
since t h e days of Adam ; but the British were
n ot expelled from their paradise f or ever Sir a j .

was much too good and forgi v ing M r S C Hill . . . .

belie v es that this was due to the intercession of

his grandmother and mother who carried on trade
with the English in sal tpetre a n arti cle which -

the Sultan of Turkey had exhorted

not to sell to Ch ristians because
“

burnt for the destruc tion of good M a h o m e d a n s

Au
it w s often
,
” 20
b
w .

English historians have associated the captur e

o f C a lcutta with a tragedy design ated by them
“ ”
as T h e Black Hole Th ough th ey h ave failed
w
.

( to prove rra] s I rect compli cit y strong reaso n s

A ,

exist f o disbelieving t h e whole story There is .

no mention o f the in cident in the M uslim

k
,

” 3
”.
chronicles o f the time where it must have found
— ,
A
“£ DE Ce? if true Nor i s it mention ed in the
1
.

M
Proceedings B o ok of th e E ’

or in the Reports o f the a r a s C oun cil or In '

,

the letters of either C l v e or Watson to th e

d oes
Nawab o r in the Treaty of In a a r
g M .

n ot refer to it in hi s letter 0 the D i rectors

explaini n g the re asons for S i r a j s dethron ement ’
.

w e ll wh o first publ i shed the story n ever

M ,

ment i oned it in the n ote he read before th e

,

Select C ommittee in 1 7 6 0 O n the other h an d . ,

Holwell was repu t ed to be a big liar He spread .

certain fal se charges o f mur d er against M eer

J aff ar (from whom he h ad re c eived one lakh of
rupees ) in order to place M eer Kasim on th e
thron e (M eer Kasim gave him 3 lakhs ) Many o f .
 T HE EN GLI SH IN B E N GAL : E ARLY HI S T O RY 15

the person s alleged t o ha v e been murdered were

ali v e when he wrote his report an d the c harges
were rep ted as false by the Calcutta
authorities ! 0 wonder Holwell wanted to
blacken the character of Siraj by other false
in ventions 31 N o compensation f or the relatives of
/
.

the alleged dead were extrac t ed from M eer

'
Jaif ar even when i t could ha v e been very easily
,

don e Again the versions “do n o t all agree If

.
, .

the room was 1 8 feet square G e o me nl g ont m d m ,

” 22
ting arithmeti c gives the lie to the story as Dr , .

B h ol a n a t h C h un d en observed in 1 8 9 5 Captain .

Grant says there were 2 00 p ers ons in a room

1 6 ft s q uare
. whil e Dr C R Wi lson says it . . .

was 1 8 ft b y 1 4 ft 1 0 i n c hsfi O nly the names of

.
i
.

5 6 of the dead seem to h ave been traced Why .

Pe r haps the n umber 1 2 3 is an exaggeration ;

even these 5 6 might be those left behin d by th e
English when they took to“flight O r as S C Hill .
M.
, . .

' '

says it might be that

,
in the careless t a lE OI ,

”
C alcutt a t h e Bla c k Hole an d F ort William
“
,

were often c on f ou n d e d i lgi All that we have said

above in du c es us to believe that the Black
Tragedy was a myth invented by inter
Europeans to serve their ulteri or en ds .
“

After appointing a Hin du govern or over

Calcutta an d renamin g it Al inagar Siraj re t urned ,

to his capital leaving the En glish re f ugees at

,

Ful t a unmolested a n d even opening a market f or

their se c uring provisions until a cc ording to their ,

declared intentio n s the weather permitted them

,

to embark f or M adras But the ungrateful ban d of

.

Englishmen sought to un dermin e S i r a j s position ’

‘
by a c orresp o n dence with some of the prin cip al
people o f the an d askin g the Madras }
,

government for re i nforcements plea d i ng ,

same t ime for furt he r extensions Of the

‘
m ercy To de c eive the Nawab Maj or K I ’
.
2 6
,
 16 HI S T O R Y OF T HE BRITI SH O CC UPA TI ON OF IN D I A

was instru c ted to assure t h e N a w ab of the good

A intentions o f th e Bri t ish an d to ask for a supply
o f provision s .

M eanwhile a de t achment O f 800 Europeans and

,

1 300 Sepo ys under Admiral Wa t son and Colonel

Cli v e arri ved from M adras As soon as he landed .
,

C li v e addressed a let t er to the Nawab through

i
M.
a ni ck C hand the Go v ern
,

finding in it many improper expressi on s

or of Calcutta
”
but
that
,

i offi ce r re t urned it to the English suggesting some

alterations since you write that you are desirous
,

of peac eable But the Euro “

p eans ,

th i rsti ng f or bl ood an d with a force sufficient

,

to vi ndicate o u r cl a im were n ot prepared to

entreat h i s (Nawab s ) favour They despatched
’
.

‘
d i rect to the Nawab letters O f an unmistakably
m threateni ng ch a racter M a n i ck C han d w a s soon
.

won o v er ; he m ade n o stand at Calcutta but

hastily betook hims elf to Hu g hl i whence he sent ,

word to the Nawab at M urshidabad that the

British he had n ow t o d eal with were v ery
di f f erent kind of m en from those he had d efeated
”
at Calcu tta .O f co u rse C al cutta was easily r e,

captured by the C ompany ; bu t t h e descendants

o f the o ld sea king robbers and pirates a tta cked
-

H ug hli ,plundered the gra n aries a nd stores ,

“ ”
( pilla ing t h e
native house s

fi m
.

ne o S i raj k ept up his self ,

c ontrol an d wrote a letter o v erpowering i n its

m o deration .Probably he knew t o o well the ,

qf aw
f
p
f ‘
ra
. v'
ages
H e wrote
o f Bri t ish intrigue in his Court an d Camp
“
,
If the English who are settled in these
.

provin ces will be h ave like merchants obe y my ,

orders an d give me n o off ence y ou may depen d ,

upon it I will ta ke their loss into con sideration

” 8
and adj ust matters to their satisfaction He .

promise d to pay c ompens ation f o r any pillage

f o r whi c h his army w a s responsible an d appe al ed
 T HE E N GLI SH IN BEN G AL : EARL Y H I S T ORY 17

‘
t o their Chris ti an duty o f a c c o mm o d a t i n
x d l sput e .
’
But the in dispen sable c o n d I t i o n s
,

Brit i sh allia nce in cluded m any ’

preposterous
‘

d eman ds whi c h in c reased at every step in the

n egotiation s .

Siraj had en camped near Calcutta to h asten

’
p ea c e negotiat i ons but Colonel Cli v e S t w o d ,

h a d arri v ed i n his c a mp n o t to propose a n

m o d a t i o n but as S pies They esc d u i ht
’
.

a n d early the n e x t day t he English f e l l upon t h e ,

the u nsuspecting Nawab a highly reprehensible —

a c t o f treachery C onscious o f the unwillingness

.

o f his ge n erals an d the appearan c e o f d isaff ectio n

’

i n some of his principal O ffic e r s Siraj con c luded th e ’

2 9
,

Tr eaty of Alin a gar o n 9 t h F ebruary 1 7 0 7 by which ,

a ll the o ld privil eges of the English were r e i t e r a t

and c er t ain n ew ones especially the rights ,

fortifica tion and minting were granted , .

"
But the Treaty did n o t conclude the stru ggle .

m
Th e English disco v ered l o oph oles an d wo v e web s
with con summate hypocrisy Mr Watts th eir ”A . .
,

e n v oy at M urshidabad
«
like all his white ant brood , ,

s tarted his campa i gn by pressin g many an ex a

v agant claim o n th e Nawab s t r easury far b e y on d ’
,

t h e terms o f the Trea t y They remembered verbal .

promises to pay three lakhs of rupees for

c ompens a ting private su ff erers like Cli v e an d
K i ll p a t r i c k Again M r Watts suggested a British
.
, .

a ttack on Chandern agore in the teeth o f the Nawab s

’
.

kn own opposition t o such a s t ep for he had sai d

‘
,

t hat it was contrary to all rule an d c ustom that

y o u sh ould bring y our anim osities an d diff erences
”
into my country 30 The Nawab app e aled t o t heir
.

fait h in a Gospel an d h onesty t o m aintain

'

peace s o lately an d S O s olem n ly con "

cl u ded but ,

a dmiral Watson replie d in a ton e o f inj ured in n o

,

c e n ce.

In order to tes t t he bo n a fid e s of the Britis h

2
 18 H I S T ORY OF T HE BRI T IS H O CCUP A TI ON OF IN D I A

he asked them t o lend him their troops in orde r

to meet the Imperi al forces promis i ng a m onthl y ,

pa yment of a lakh of rup ees This request : .

i n v olved h i m in h i s ruin f o r i t gave the Englis h ,

m oving their troops from C al cutta

W
.

Th a efl i m s e lfl So we fin d t h
y e ,

C ompany I In g u po n the fulfilment of t h e ,

Treaty in e ve r y article within ten days or other

‘
, ,

wise a n s w
, u ces It is n ecess a ry .
’

to add that n o time limit was fixed in th e origin al *

treat y The English diplomati cally observed that

.

they would be ready to march with the Nawab

if they were al lowed to m ake Calcutta se c ure by
’

cap t uring Chan dern a gore ! The Fren ch d eputies ,

in their desire t o avoid war dre w up a v ery ,

ad v antag eous treaty which Watso n refused to »

a cc ept E v en Cl i v e obj ected t o this bloodthirsty
.

‘
attit ude because he (t he Nawab ) and all t h e
,

world will certainly thi n k that we are men of a

trifling i nsignifi c ant dis position or th at we a r e
m e n without prin ciple s
’
.

When Watson refused to sign the Treat y t h e ,

Fren c h appe al ed to the N a wab f or help and R ai

Durlabh w as despatched with a con siderable forc e
to protect Chander nagore An other d i fli c ul t y n ow .

arose T h e C ouncil at F ort Wil liam refused per

.

mission for the troops to m arch u n less the Na wab

permitted the war S O M r\ Watts b o u ht th e »
.
, .

the Nawab s secre t ari at a n d procured a

’

letter which c ould be interpreted as per »

missi v e A charge o f entert aining deserters w a s
.

d i sco v ered against t he j lr e n ch and their fort itsel f

f

ell fter a week s s i ege by the trea c h ry f an

’
f a
“
e o
’

offi cer w h o later o n died b y h i S own hand

‘

s
, ,

N a n d k om a r the Govern or of Hug hl i w a s als o

4
, ,

[
I bribed by O mi ch a n d for the English .

The Nawab W a s a larmed and enraged at t h e

‘

turn even t s had t aken i n his land The E n gli sh . .

 THE E N G LI SH IN BEN G AL : EARL Y H I ST OR Y 19

had committed a gross brea c h of the law o f

n ati ons They had don e wanton outrages on his ( I
,
.

subj ects They even deman ded from him th e

.

s u rrender n ot merely o f Fren c h refugees but even

, ,

o f all the F ren ch fa ctories in his country Stil l ,

Si raj sent away M Jean Law and others from . .

hi s dominions i n par t I a l compli an ce with this

'

audacio u s an d insultin g request He e ven ex .

plained to t e En glish that t h e Fren ch owed

larg e sums to his subj ects an d s o h e could n ot $
.

han d o v er the French factories .

9 4 23 ,

But th e intrigu es and bri b e ry of M r W atts

, .

and his right hand O m i c h a n d were fast under , ,

minin g S i r a j s power an d influen ce Th e prin c ipal

’
.

conspirators were t he Se ths M eer Jaff ar M an i ck , ,

chan d N a n d c om a r Raj a B a lla b h

, an d
,
'
Ram O f these M eer Jah ar was
.
,
v
en c ourag e d since h e was an
while every effort was In
in to e r f e c t security
fr
.

o hi s ser v ices 5 per ce nt on all th e royal .

tr easure that will be plundered lat er o n an d 3 0

lakhs in m oney b esides It i s said th at t here i s .

h on our am on g thie v es but those a t M urshidabad

de c eived O mi c h a n d by the foulest m ean s th at
e v er disgra c ed hum an transa c tion s A treaty of .

1 4 clauses o n red paper in w hich Watson s

’

sign ature was forged under Cli v e s orders was ’

d rawn up to satisfy the heath en I ndian an d

an other o f 1 3 f or a ll real purposes Lord Clive
‘
.
,

the Heav en b orn gen e ral was n ot asham ed to

-

,
’

i n for m a r li a men he th inks it ( forgery )

\
warrantable in such a case an d w ould do it a gain
”
a h undred tim es Within 3 0 days o f h is de
.

c l a r a ti o n as Nawab Meer Ja ff ar was to c onfer ,

u pon the compan y t h e Z e mm d a r i of t h e country

south o f Cal c utt a to deliver all the Fre n ch i
Z
,

fa c tori e s to pay t h e Co mp a n y on e c rore of rup e es ; 3

,
 20 HIST ORY O F T HE BRI TI SH O CC UPAT I ON OF I N DIA

f or c ompensating rece nt losses further sums ,

w ith
f or the d i ff erent section s o f t h e in h abitants of
C al c utta a n d th e several British offiCe r s Thi s .

allian ce was si gn ed by M eer Ja tf a r at dead o f

WM
‘
n i g ht M r
’
, . u s e in a dooley ,

gen erally use iatts on y y women .

When the plot was ri pe M r Watt s an d other , .

European s left the c a pital o n prete xt of taking

” 31
the air in their gardens Siraj S uspected .

tr each ery an d forced M eer Jaff ar t o swear fealty

"
Q
”
t ' I o n the Koran O f course he did it m ost solemnly
.
‘

an d in form ed the English that everythin g w a s

,

ready Clive marched towards Plassey wh ere th e

.
,

Nawab s army was en cam ped O n th e 2 3r d June

’

"
.
,

the battle o f Plassey w a s f OITg hIT T h e

s army was demoralised a n d corrupted by
’

the English M i r M adan h i s greatest gen eral died

.
, ,

wm
early in the d ay His c omman der i h chief M eer
‘
- -
.

’
/V W Jaff ar deserted him in his hour of n eed So as
’

.
,

t hou gh a decisi v e ,
” 32
can n e v er b e con sidered a gr eat loa tt le , Siraj .

fl ed to his capital an d tried to rally h i s t ro op s by

9 lavish payments of gold T h e soldi ers received
his bounty an d des e r t e d h i m I n despair the
.

m
- .
,

Nawab left his capital disg ui s ed a s

‘
O live saluted M eer Ja f f ar as Subah of the
Thre e Provin ces an d as su red him th at the
English w ould most r e li g i ou s i y perform their
‘ ’
treaty w hile han din g h i m t o th e m u s h a d It
m
.

was n o w tim e their

creature an d grow ri ch a t his expense O mi .
‘

C hand was n o w undecei v ed T h e new s overpowered .

‘ “
him like a bl ast of II I hur ; he rema i ned f or
3 3 ’

m any hours i n stup i m elan choly and began to

.

”
S how s i gns O f i nsanity Cli v e ad v ised him .

t o make a pilgrimage a n d a c c ordi n g t o British ,

historian s he died in ab out a year a n d a h alf in

.

, ,

a state Of imbecility M ea n wh i le Siraj was dete c t

.
,
 T HE E N GLI SH IN BE N GAL I EARLY HI S T O RY

ed an d captured at R aj mahal by M eer Ja f f a r s ’

s on . That v ery night h e was murdered in cold

.

blood an d his mangled body was paraded t hrough

'
the streets o f M urshidabad The M usl im auth or .

of Riyaz u s S a l at
- -
n writes that t h e murder was c o m

m i t t e d at t h e insti gation o f the En glish chiefs

J t j t h M eer J fi h was kn own as C ]
“

a g a e . a a r w o , O
’ ”
Clive s Ass must have got the permission of O li v e
f o r the act The Eng lish never con demn ed t h e a c t
. .

Thus ended th e life of S i r a j u d d a u la Hi s only .

faul t seems t o have been a lax private life but ,

wh
“
o amon g his en emi es was a paragon of v irtu e P
W h atever may b e his faults ”
says C ol M alleson
, . ,

S i r a j u d d a u l a n either betray ed h i s m as ter n o r sold ,

his countr y He w a s t h e o n ly o n e o f th e
p rincipal a c tors in that tr a gi c dra ma wh o did n ot
”34
attem pt to de c eive .
 Meer Jaff ar an d Hi s R ule
'
M eer J ah ar like all traitors was a miserable
, ,

creature wit h n o m or al s t amina He had n e v er .

handl ed the state machin e Th e policy i naugurated .

by A li V erdi Khan and con tinued by Siraj

‘

was to gai n the goodwi ll of the people by a d v a n c

ing proper p ersons with out dis tin cti on s of c aste
.

o r creed to positions o f hon our Leaning for sup .

port on fo reig n bayonets M eer J a fia r replaced .

Hi n du fun c tion aries by those of his own creed

n ot kn owin g that his supporte r s wo u ld thro w him
o v erb oard whenever it paid them to do so .

»
u R a m Narai n t h e Go v,ern or o f Bihar was the ,

I/ first Hindu o ff cial to s u ff er He was so loy al to

i
.

y Ali V erdi Khan s f am i ly that he had encouraged

’

,
x M . Jean Law to proceed towards Plassey fro m
Patna but with t h e fall o f Siraj h e proclaimed
, ,

M eer J afia r as Na w ab An expedition under

’

c
"T
M g o t e was sent in pursu i t o f M Law but .

. before it reached Patna he h a d crossed o v er to ,

V
V O ude R a m Narain apolo ised f or his carelessness
H
.

an d informed Coote that e ha d s en t 2000 troops

in pursuit o f the French I nterested partisans .

b rou g ht many a lle g a t i on s t o Coote a gainst Ram '

Nara in an d in a conference that was arranged ,

the Go v ern or swore fe a lty an d a llegiance to M eer

Jaff ar and Coote return ed l e aving Ram N a rain
free f o r the tim e being
,
.

A In a few m onths Ram Narai n was charged

with intrigues in c o n j u c t i on with th e Vi z ier o f
“
O ude C li v e j oined hi s a s s in this expedition
.

but for a widely diff erent purpose F earing a n .

alliance b etween O ude and Behar if extre me ,

’
steps were t aken Cli v e appointed M e e r Jaff ar s
,
 MEE R A AR
J FF A ND HIS R U LE

s on , M e er a n as nominal Govern or an d
,
R am
Narai n as his Depu t y a n a rran gem ent by whi ch
—

C live w a s a ble to pocket 7 lakhs of ru pees ! He

d i d n o t also for g e t that he was the servant o f
a co m pany o f merchants He for ce d the Nawab ‘

t o grant the C ompany t he m onopoly of

w hich was then avail a ble only in t
a b ove Pat n a .

Ra mra m Singh the G o v e W s sa was J u

? [
, ,
W
s umm oned for settlem ent of a cc ounts an d when
h e wisely sent h i s cousin an d nephew they were ,

i m prison ed Ramram Sin gh was n ot the ma n to

.

t a ke this tam ely He wrote that he h ad an army

.

o f 7 000 to defe n d his r i gh ts but that he w a s

p repared to compromise the si t uatio n by payin g
a n u zzer a na O f on e lakh o f rupees a year if Cliv e ,

w ould gu ar a n te e h i s safety This he did m ost .

w illingly . Ra mram Singh interviewed Clive at

C alcutta a n d hi s relativ s were set free .

O g u l s i n g h Govern or of P ur n e a h to ok up arm s IM
’
,
" ,

w h en an attempt w a s m a de to d IS pla c e him an d

M eer Ja ff ar sent an army u nder C o d d u m Huss ein ,

t h e prospecti v e gov e rnor to coerce him The

, .

r ebels were dispiri t e d at the sight of En glis h troops

a n d O g u l s i n g h was im prisoned .

Th e Nawab contemplated the r uin o f R M

Durlabh a lso but fortu nately f o r the c o n
,

a c ivil war was a v oided by each swearin g Oblivion

o f former distr usts .

I n spite O f th ese the Nawab was n ot a happy

,

m an . He h a d promise d i n his greed an d his

i gn or a n ce large sums to the C ompany an d to
,

in di v idual En glishmen When the treasury was .

d iscovered to b e most unexp e c t e dly empty the ,

English Shylocks very generously c onsented t o

r eceive h alf the m oneys imm ediately an d to
a ccept the rest by t h ree equal paym ents in three
His Bri t i s h fr i e nd s were also th e
 24 HI S T ORY O F T HE BRITI SH O CC U PA TI ON OF I N DI A

direct cause of the de cre ase in h i s gen eral r even u es ,

S in ce t h e y b e g a n t o tr ade in arti cles like s al t

‘

which were hitherto yielding re v enue I n v a in .

did their poor puppet plead an d protest a n d

refer to the po v erty o f his people th e emptin es s ,

I of the treasury t h e arre ar s of sal a ry f or his ,

army t h e devastating n ature o f the

, English
trade The Nawab w a s helpless an d h e h a d t o
.

submit The revenues of Bur dwan N u d d e a; a n d

.
,
”
an Hooghly
.
were assigned over f o r p a yment o f t h e
5
'/ [ balan c e o f the bribe .

o
d An other chance f o r fleeci ng the Nawab n ow

c ropped up Th e S h ah Z ada or heir apparent to

.

u the Moghul throne w h o h eld t h e title o f S o u b e d a r ,

of Bengal Bihar an d O ri ss a was march in g with

, ,

r
a large force t o make good his c l ai m M eer .

V J aff ar kne w th at h i s troops lo n g i n arrear s coul d

J n ot be relied o n an d s o h e turn ed to Cli v e f or ,
, ,

an d h elp R a m Narain m an ged t sto the P ri n ce a t

”
.
a o
p
M y Patn “
a by sm a ll presen t s a n d spec i ou s n egotiation s
If and w i th hi s help Cliv e and M e e r a n w e I e a bl e
, ,

to drive off th e Shah Z ada U nb o u nded was t h e .

ratit u de of M eer J a fer j é t an d M ill s a ys th a t

’

g f
he ga v e Clive the j a ghire o f t he territory
.

around C a lcutta a m ountin g to 30 000 a ye a r .

M
,

F or o ur ow n part we are in cl i n ed t o belie v e

,

gi
f t the j a ghir was extorte d from M eer J a ff ar by ’

v e .

T h Is m ethod
pleasi n g his fore i gn
r u 1n o u s of
friends made the Nawab v e ry unp opular with h i s
“
1 ta xpayi n g subj ects They beheld wi th detestation .

t h e gold an d sil v er o f th e capital osten tatiously

“
ca rried away by f or e i g n e r s f fifiL M eer Ja f f a r fel t -

the restraints with abomination wh i ch t uI n e d hi s ,

head to n otion s of emanci pating hi m self from th e

as cendan ce Of the E n g li s h léi a n d n o w on der ’

N o s uc c o i I r could be g ot fro m the Fre n ch f or ,

there were practically n one in B e n gal U n d er

. .
 ME ER JAFFA R A N D HI S RU LE

th ese circumstan c es it appeare d plausibl e that h e

,

i n v ited D utc h help . Anyhow in 1 7

" a fle e t o f ” F f
,

b oats arri v ed from Batavi a an d w a s destroyed on

its way t o C h i n W li v e Br o mf what
M al c olm in his Life Of Clive writes upon t h e ,

s ubj ect , there is n o reason t o suspect the compli

ci t y O f M eer Jah ar in the D utch expedition He
’

writes that the D utch were persistently refusing u / f d

n

“
to r e cognise h i m as Nawab that it r e g ui r e d the
c ontinual good o ffic es o f O li v e to preserve term s
”
b etwixt M oreo v e r in the enquiry befor e
,

the Parliamentar y C ommitt e e in 1 7 7 2 no convin e I,

7 7 L

ing eviden ce w a s brought to substantiate the

charge that th e Nawab i n vited the D ut c h t o
Bengal Wh at seem s pro b able was that the D u t ch
.

were m erely tryin g to strengthen Cl n s ur a h b e n e fit N u 51

°

p
P
-

, ,

t i ng b y the experien ce o f the Fren ch w ho ha d S een at .

b ut re c ently r o t i fim e n g a l They c ould h ave 4

gfifeer Jaf f ar helpin g them I n fact
.

had n o hopes O .
,

the N a w a b s tro op s j oin ed the English in attacking

’

an d defe ati n g the Dutch ‘f

w
.

f m fi
Th e English had n ow n o m 'z
4

ri v als i n Bengal The Hea v en born

. e n cr a l
-
n ow
sailed for Englan d to display his i ll g o t t e n wealth
an d outshin e the aristo c racy o f his n ativ e lan d
an d pass for an I n di an Nawab Clive h a d als o .
’

s o me plan s for th e complete subj ugation

to place b efore “
the ministers at h o me He exhorte d .

th e English to em brace th e first opportunity o f

” “
further a ggrandi sin g oursel v es f or such an, ,
.

opp ortunity
“
will soon o ccur h e wanted the C om
pany t o take th e sovereignty Of Beng al upon
”
themselves f o r M eer J a h ar was Old an d his
‘

s on
“ “
”
so cruel and worthless He said that a s mall
.

force from h ome will be s u fi c i e n t as we always

‘

m ake sure Of an y n um ber we please Of black

But Pitt did n ot see his w ay to secon d
these proposals .
 26 HI S T O RY O F T HE BRITI SH O CC UPATI O N . OF IN D I A

O n Cli v e s departure his po w ers were divided

’
,

because M r Hol w ell was made Govern or till the

.

arri v al O f M r V ansittart from M adras and C olo n el

C a ll i a u d was appoi n ted to the supre me military
c o mmand A n ew danger broke out in the for m
.

)
of a rebellion against Meer Ja tf a r s weak r ule led ’
A !

b y the Shahzada who was in vited by the discontented

,

"
J
chiefs I t was feared that C ud d a m Ho os s e i n
.
,

L Go v ern or o f P ur nea would also j oin the rebel s

,
L /
with 6 000 troops M ea n while the Emperor was
.

m urdered and the Shahzada proclaiming himself

,

Emperor ad v anc ed to w ards Pat n a Ram Narain

, .

v aliantly attac k ed t h e enemy w a s repulsed with ,

h ea v y losses and was besieged in Patna

, C olonel .

C a ll i a u d and Captain K nox totally routed the

e nemy . M eera h u n expec t edly died during the
ca mpaign What e v er might be said regarding t he
.

£ k
9
1,
legality of a C ompan y Of m erchan t s fighting against
'
the Emperor s depu t y in 1 7 5 9 the r e c a n “be n o ,

j ustificatio n for Opposi n g h i m in 1 7 6 0 f o r t o Op pose ,

j 7 4 0 h i m w as undis ui s e d rebellion
”
Agai n the young
h
. ,

M eera h ha d on t he e v i d e ng e f fl n si t t an
“

fi
e g un , .

to plan schemes to shake O h the depen ence O n the

English and to c ontin u al ly urge upon his father
th at until that was e ff e cted his go v er n ment w a s a
n am e only S O his death w a s s o ad v antageo us t o
.
,

t h e English interests that the story O f his bei n g

“
ki lled by a flash o f lightning while lying o n
”41
his bed might really cover a dark and sinister
at t he i n stigation O f the E n glis h
“7 themselves .
 The S econ d R evoluti on i n B engal
E v ery one O f the term s O f the Tre aty that had
been i mposed upon Meer Jah ar had b een faith f ully
‘

m eo
w The English c ould n ot with
an y s ow o f de c en cy expect any thing m ore fro m
him S O they plan n ed to kick h im off an d hoist ( "
.

som e other u e t Mr Hol w ell was b ent upon

f
lu
fi
. .

ef f ectin g a s e c o n revol ution in Bengal f o r it was ,

a rat her profitable gam e He was in t e n t on cutting

.

the throat O f his b enefa c tor by v ile intrigues C olon el .

l
C a l i a u d was at first a gainst the s o
“
in such a c ase i t is very p ossi b le we may rais e
a man to the dignity just a s u nfit t o govern a s
, ,

l ittle to b e depended upon an d in sh ort a s gr ea t

, ,

a rogue as o ur Nabob ; but perha ps n ot S O great

,

a coward n o r so great a fool and Of conse quen ce

, , ,
’
mu ch m ore difficult to m a n a g e lfi M r Holwell .

perpetually found fault with Meer Jaf f ar

measures The situation
. Of the Nawab was d e plo
“
rable fro m the fir s t —
with an exhausted
an d an exhausted coun t ry an d vast
di scharge he was urged to the severest e x a c
“
,

B eng al was ban krupt and was fast n earin g

W hen M r V an sittart suc c eeded Holwell condi

.
,

tions did n ot improve Even C olon el C a lli a u d n ow

.

fell in with the scheme Several secret meetin gs

.

w ere held to hatch t he plot an d in n on e Of these

c ould any charge be made against the Nawab
except hi s w eakn ess The reasons for a change
.

Of Go v ernment were de clared to be the n e ce ssit '

for a greater annual income f o r funds to m a I n t a I n

,

the army the W i d en i n g O f E n glish infl uen ce an d

, ,

t h e want O f m oney f o r the ope r a t i o n s o n the c oast ,

 28 H I S T ORY O F T HE BRITI SH O CCU PATION OF IN D I A

the reduction Of Pondicherry and for loading hom e

l t h e next year s ships ! I n a secret c oncla v e o n
’”

‘
1 5 th Sep 1 7 60 the great Obj ect was said t o b e
’
.

“
the s e c uri ng Of a fund of m on ey for the present
an d fut ure exigencies of this settlemen t as well a s ,

the ot h e r t w o pr e s i d e n ci e s n o m oney being ex pect

,
,

”
ed fro m Europe .

Separate Officer s were deputed to intrigue with

C as sim Ally s on i h law Of M eer Ja fie r and B a i
‘
- -

Durlabh and to report their for t unes to the Com

,
t

mi t t e e
. Accordingly M r V ansittart reported that
.

C assim was ready to cede B M

Chit ta go n g if hi s father i h law
,
“
co d be
to m a ke r o o m f or h i m an d if we could undertake
rem
-
o v ed W
Z overt ure with m uch satisfa ction an d approved i n l -

general Of the
N o w that thei r plan s h a d m a t u r e d t h e Engli sh
'

conspirators presented several charges against M eer

Jaf f a r in three letters a ddressed to hi m o n the ,

p erusal Of whi c h h e w a s much af f ected T h e .

Britis h insist ed o n hi s c omin g to s om e deter min a

”
tion f o r th e immediate reform Of his government ,

b ut t h e Nawab desired t im e t o con sult h i s friends ,

an d n amed Cassi m Ally as o n e o n wh ose true a t

”
t a c h me nt an d fidelity he might safely re ly Cas
I S i m howe v er was extremely apprehensi v e an d the ,

, ,

English refused t o s end him to the Nawab u n til

“

measures were taken for his securi t y AW .

mean while w a s consulting K e n e r a m M o on i t al and

, ,

C heco u persons whom the E D lish ch ara ct eri sed as

—

“
S O the English conspira
”
his greatest e n e mI e s
t om
.
,

7 act especi a lly s i n ce the 1 9t h

,
‘
O ctober was a G e n t u e fe a st when the principal ’

m en would be fat i gue d with their ceremonies .

.

Colone l C a lli a u d with t w o companies o f m i li t a r y

and six o f s e poys j oined Cassi m a n d ai rfich e d into ‘
 T HE SEC ON D REV O LU TI O N IN BEN G A L
’
t he c ourty ard Ja ff a r s pala c e
of M eer
Several .

m essages passed between the aff righted Nawa b and

‘
hi s Britis h fr i ends At last i n his desp a ir he
’
.
, ,

wrote to C assi m resign ing h i s Off ice an d dignity

a n d prayin g f o r a decent pensi on Thes e condi “
.

tions b eing agreed to the Old ally of Plassey ,

deposed b y the C oun c il an d the n ew frien d Of

” 46
C ompan y i nstalled in his place
m
.

Surely C ortez a n
,
n ot guilty O f
base a treachery wh en th ey arrested M ontezum a
an d the Inc a A t h a hu a lpa f o r t he y Off ered the Inca
,

a n Oppor t unity Of a nswering the charges preferre d

against him before a tribun al Holwe ll an d others .

cast c ruel asp ersion s o n t h e character O f M eer

J af f a r which on their o w n statem e n t ha v e n ot the
, ,

least foundation Th ey tried to paint their vi c ti m

.

in m onstrous colours according to the proverb , ,

“ ”
Give a dog a bad name and then hang h i m .

By the s e c on d Revolution in Ben gal the Com

,p any was ri cher by a cash payment O f 2 0 1a kh s
o f ru pe es and money
, c o v ers a multitude O f sins .

They got fir m a n s for Burdwan C hittagon g and ,

M idnapore as well as for half Of the chunam a l

” 47
r eady produ ced a t S y lh e t A g ain the n ew .
t
,

N awah issued a very s e vfi e or der forbidding all

“ '

t h e s h r a f s and m erchants to ref us e the C alcutta

s i c c a s or to ask any batta on t h e mfifi and thus .

the C ompany c ould “

derive huge profits from t he
C al c utta mint A supply of m oney will be s ent
.

with the C olonel f o r the paym ent O f the troops at

Patna an d we have eve n s ome hopes Of Obtaining
3 or 4 lacks besides to sen d do w n to Calcutta to
help O ut the Com pany in their presen t occasions
th e r e an d at A paper was also got from
C a ssim promi sing 2 0 1akhs Of rupees to M essrs .

V ansittart C a l li a u d Holwell Sumn er and M G w i r e

, , ,
’
.

“ ” “
Torren s in h i s E mpire i n Asia writes : The i h
e q u i t y O f th is transa c tio n fi n ds few ap ol ogist s even
 30 HI ST ORY O F T HE BRI T I SH O CCUPA TI ON or IN D I A

among those who h ave taken upon themselves t o

dress an d en amel O riental deeds f or European
” 50
v ie w
. The C ourt O f Dire c t ors ho w ever appear
, ,

ed i h sack cloth and ashes an d dire cted its sub

ordinates i n I ndia to Obser v e faithf ully a ll treaties
a n d agreements n ot kn o w ing or
, as is more pr o
,

bable n o t desirous O f expressin g openly that it

, ,

was by utter disregard an d flagrant violati on o f all

i t e n e t s O f m orality an d j ustice and dis t in ct bad
faith that the En glish su c ceeded in a c quiri n g
politi c al supremacy i n India .
 Moor Cas s i m an d hi s R ule
NO soon er was M eer Cassim seate d on t h e .

mus h ad than he tried t o ful fil all the articles Of th e

treat y h e had con cluded Like M eer Jah ar he t o o
‘

.
,

foun d the M urshidabad Treas ury n ot s o full a s

he expected but true to his eng ag ements h e made
,

every e ff ort to collect m oney even at the ri sk O f ,

hi e po pularity He extor t ed large sums

. om e
lan ded aristocracy and wealthy m er c hants for the
sake of satisfying the E n glis h He con v erte d t h e .

j ewels and plat es Of the state into the curre n t

coin O f the real m and thus he su c cee ded i n payin g
O ff the sums h e had so recklessly promised .

But the Nawa bship of Ben g al was n ot a bed

’

Of roses f or him n ay it was full O f thorns Th e

—

, .

Emperor with th e Vizier O f O ude ren ewed his

, ,

invasion Of Be h ar M aj or Carna c wh o had su cceeded

.
,

Colonel C alli a u d had n o t profited by C a s s i m s

,
’

accession an d his sympathies were still with M eer ‘

Jaff ar n ow living o n the m u n i fice n t pension O f Rs

, .

2 000 7 a m ont h
—
Sti ll M aj or Carnac proceeded t o
.
,

Patn a an d with the help Of R a m Narain defe e

, ,

the enemy troops T h e R a j as Of Bur dwan a n d

.

Birbhum at th e instigati on O f Nan d Kum ar Roy

, ,

forgot th eir m utu al diff erences an d j oined with th e

E pm eror The
. Raj a Of Burdwan was chagrine d
at his t erritory be ing han ded over to the ten de r
m ercies Of the E ng lish an d Nand Kum ar t h e
‘

late F ouj dar Of Hug hli h ad real i sed h i s foolish

,

n ess when he foun d his country sold to t h e

English and th e Nawab m ade a mere puppet In
British hands Captain White march ed against
.

the Raj as wi th much bloo d shed and oppr ession

a n d defeated them in a short time Maj or C arna c .
 32 HI S T O R Y OF T HE BRITI SH O CC UPA TI ON OF IN DIA

f orced the Empe ror t o ac c ept h i s terms an d

b rought him t o Patn a .

l M eanwhile , an even t took place in t h e first

week of 1 7 6 1 whose importan c e f or Bri tish supre ,

m acy h a s n o t
b
been s ufficientl y re c ognised
A re v olution at Delhi

was I n v 1 t e d by A hmed Sh a h A b d al i s go v ern or at ’

Lahore to help him The expediti on to the

a “
.

Pun j ab pro ved fata l Ahmed Shah started in

.
.

i A r e venge an d a writer in the Ga le t t a ew e

es that h e forced

[b etween M uslim
I n dia from being re con v erted into a Hindu
save

k i ri g d om The Afghan s an d M ar athas b oth

’

.
,

h i ghlanders an d sk illed in g ri er i ll a warfare met ,

o n 6t h January 1 7 6 1 in the field Of Pan ipat

, ,
Th e .

'

M arath as were led by S a d a s h e o E how ; their

infantry an d a rtillery were train ed on we stern i “
lines and led by a f O llo w e r Of M
‘

Bp y ;
s s they.
f ?
were j oin ed by the troops O Bhur pore the ,

R aj puts the B o l k a r and Sindhia

, But the Hindu . .

a r my was t O O h e avily en c u mb ered a n d t he t ow

d isplaye d according t o Cas i R a j a P u ndit a
, ,

c ontempor ary chronicler an d eye witn e s s a -

”
c apri cious an d s elf c on ceited-
conduct that
a l ienated t h e sym pathi es Of his a llies I n the .

ba ttle both parti es suff er e d h ea v y losses and the

W
,

W i h3
‘

a 0 -
I .
,
two n at i ons w h o were i n the fie l o r wresting

the sceptre o f I ndia from the M o g h ul e m pemrs .

Sydn ey O w writes W I t h e,
a t t l e o f a n i pa t t
,

the n ative p e r I O 0 In dian history m a y be said

to end Hen ceforth t h e i n terest gathers r o un d
.

t h e progress o f the mercha n t princ e s from the

”51
West
 M EER C A SS IM A N D HIS R ULE

TO
r etur n to our narrative
‘

The Emper or at Patn a was anxious to b e

c o n du c ted t o Del hi by the British but as Mr E
flmc
, .

V an sittart wrote to t h e C ourt O f Dire c tors : W e

fi n d it impossible to spare a suffic ien t deta c hment
for u n dertaking S O distant an d s o im portant a
M eer C a ssim took the opportu nity to
“

please the Emper or b y a promise O f 2 4 la khs O f

r upees a year an d so re c eive formal in vestiture
'

a t his han ds Then th e Emperor left f or his

.

c api t al .

Tran q uillity b eing thus restored in B eng al ,

M eer Cassim had n ow to deal with the problem

O f his E uropean a llies Some m embers O f t h e.

C ommittee O f Fort Will iam were n ever satis fied

w ith the m et hods or re sults of the Se c on d
R evoluti on In a stream Of letters a d dressed to
.
,

t h e C ourt Of D ire c tors t hey violently atta c ked

C a s s i m s administratio n an d the vagari es of the
’
i

m aj ority They S poke O f

. extort i ons a n d c ru el :
”
t ies and base murders They S p oke in an gry r
.

m easures of th e tr e a c herous p o l i ey o f Mr ” M
.

V a ne i t t ar t in handi ng over R a m Narain to

imprisoned b y the N awab i n s pite O f th e fac t ,

th at M aj or Carn a c an d C olon el Coote h ad

s u cc essi vely refused to do it an d against t h e
engagemen t O f Lord Cli ve Ac c ording to Mill .
,

W t extinguished amon g the n ati v es

O f rank al l c onfiden c e in English protection .

T h e English had se c ured by fir m a n ex em ptio n

fr om transit du t i e s but this did n ot ext en d to th e
priva t e trade O f th e servants Of the C o mpan y .

But these l atter a pplied the passport “

Of the
C ompany to prote c t their t rade thus dry ing u p ,
” 54
c u e of t h e sou r c e s of publi c revenue and
“
w hen
anyb ody opposed their pro c edure i t was ,

c ustomary to send a p ar ty O f sepoys to se i z e the .

O fle n d e r an d C a rr y him prison er to t h e n earest

‘

3
 34 HI S T ORY OF T HE B RITI S H O CC U PA TI ON or IN D I A

(
”
é English ) factory M any yo ng writers a c cord
;
! u ,
- A

ing to Ve r e l s t were thus enabled to spen d £ 1 500

,
3

t o £ 2 000 p er annum while infinite Oppression s

‘

were committed on the p e O pleg i The C our t of

“

h Dire c tors c on demn ed this unwarrantable trad e ’

“
as a grand sourc e Of disputes misunderstanding
“
s ,
”
and diffic ulties and want ed that a final a n d
”
e fle cti v e end should be put to i t / This order
‘
5 6 ,

was n e ver obeyed The Englis h flogged o r .

:

c onfined all w h o refu sed to buy their goods or .

sell them theirs They enfor c ed a mon opoly o n

.

m a n y articles O f trade M r Wil liam Ellis

. .

Provin c ial Chief at Patn a was typical O f t h e ,

English tra de agents O f t h e period He had a .

violent and provocative temper and a fir m fa ith

in the u s e O f force b efore everything else I n .

“
1 s h ort a s Burke put it the miserable c ount ry
“4 5
p M
4 — , ,

was torn to pieces by th e horrible rapac iousnes s

P “ of a d ouble tyranny
I n order to dis c
.

uss the pr etensions Of both ‘

parties and form pre v enti v e regulations M essrs , .

V ansittart and W a rren Hastings proceeded to the

Nawab at M on h r an d a fortnight later a Tre a ty ,

w a s c on clude d by which M eer Cassim agreed that

W y
[ ;
I
the English n eed pay a dut y Of only 9 per cent o n .

all a r ti cles Of inland trade such as salt tobacco a n d ,

.

M ongh y r an d ignored its terms w ith impu nity .

Hen ce the Nawah w a s obliged as a measure of

,
;

justi ce t o h i s o w n subj ects an d t o prevent breaches ,

Of t h e peace to ab olish all customs in his domi

,

n i o n s f o r t w o years He had every right an d j usti

.

fic a t i on to do thi s But the E n glis h , greatly

. ,

O fle n d e d h el d various con sultations at F ort William

‘

, .

and during on e Of these M r Watts went to t h e .

“ "
length O f s ayi n g The E n glish E I C ompany
, . .
 M EIE R CA SS IM A ND HIS R UL E

have an undou b ted right to trade in an y arti c les it

produ c ed in the In dostan Empire either for foreign

W
,
”
or inlan d tr ade Mr
. V a nsitt art w a s
. 08
“
si n c e a c cordi ng t o M aj or C arn a c
, hi s c es ,

sion s are so evidently shameful an d disadvan tage

”
o u s to u s that h e must hav e b een b ought O ve r
by the Nawab 5 7

w
.

The newly published Cal

’

fé
4 ,
2 4“
C orr es on d e n c e c onta i n s m an y etters b e t we e n
Heer Cassim an d t h e Govern or an d s o reveal m“an y
phases of the str uggle We kn ow from it that t h e.

Nazi m had begun to suspe c t that the En glish wer e

se cretly n egotiati n g with the Emperor to ac q uir e
the Divan i of his d omi n i on s fifi fi He w r o te to t h e
Governor in 1 7 6 3 that it w a s eviden t to every on e
'

that t h e E uropean s could n ot be t rusted Again a n d .

a gain M eer Cassim compl a ined of h i s Officers bein g

,
.

beaten a n d ch a s ti sed an d he wrote bitterly again st

”
Mr Ellis the mis c hief monger
.
, He h a d realised
.

early enough t hat t h e gam e of the English was

t o h oi a
gg g m w m
provoke 1 s ur b a n ce s in or er to have another
m m gm
Revolution t o their advantage Therefore “
. he took
a desperate
“
lin e calling,
th e C oun c illors serv ant s
an d m e n o f low c h a r a ct e r if§ 9 an d j ustifying his
appellati ons “
.He also wanted to kn ow from the
Governor if he is an Ami] or a W a d a h d a r a , ,

Z emin dar or a G um a s t a h or a M utsaddi that h e ,

cann ot issue ord ers about anythin g exceptin g th e

s m
” 60
cu t n .s Still sin c e it,
was in c reas i ngly evident
th at the E n glish di d n ot desire f or pea c e M eer ,

Cassim tr ied feverishly to settle all disputes

\
ami c ably He wrote sin c ere letters explaining hi s
.

position an d h i s w i llingn ess to allow every th ing .

that could b e interpreted as havin g b een w on by

fir m a n s an d tr eati es After detailing al l their 1
.
,

Ia u i t i e s h e wrote : Judge t herefore from

,
t hese
c ir c umstan c es wh o i s the oppressor an d w h o th e
i
 36 HI S TO RY or T HE BRI TI S H OC C UP ATION O F IN D I A

a ppres s ed The C oun c illo rs e x c ep t ing V an sitta rt

.
,

an d Ha stings were indign a nt at his abolition of

,
:

al l c usto ms and tolls an d they began q uesti oning

his authority t o do s o Two other membe r s w ere ‘

t herefore deputed for insisting without any n ego ,

t i a t i o n or discussion that he sho ul d revoke his,

o rder an d c ollect duties as before The se c on d .

D eputa t i o n pr e sented el even demands whi c h n o

s elf respec ti n g prin ce c ou ld have acceded to s uch
-
—

as reimpos ition of duties c om pe n satio n for the ,

los s suff ere d by English mer ch ants & c The ,

.

E nglish kn ew thi s al rea dy an d the y had warn ed M r .

Elli s t o be ready to attack Pat na to which pla c e ,

a supply o f arms in a fl ot il l zf o f
'

boats w a s sent
"
,

W }T h e Nawab detained the b oats The C oun ci l w rote .

P t o h im that hi s co n d u ct a mou n t e d to a de c larati on

o f war The Dep u tation was withdra wn an d M r
. .

Ellis pr o ce ed ed to assault Patn a .

T h e Nawab w a s n o w a desperat e man Since

“

h i s a cc es sion everything that had a t enden c y t o

,

i n cr eas e hi s own eff i c ien cy was suppo s ed to b e

( les s 4 p .-
lis h t ho ug h as Elphin , ,

s n e says he carri ed on n o intri gues with E uro

,

p ean p ow e rs m ade n o overtures

, to the M arathas ,

an d was less c on cil i ating towar ds Shah Alam and

Shuj a u d daula than the British themselves desire d
- -
.

He m ade enemies of all his Z emin dars a n d at the

c ri sis of his dispute with t h e English he under
t o ok the dis t ant an d dangerous exp e dition to
”6 1 “
Nepal . He c ondu ct ed himself un der i n n u mer
”
able prov oca tions with tem r an d forbear a n ce
l But m atters h a d n ow c om e o s uch a crisis that t
h e had t o sen d his troops t o P atna His b rave .

Patn a an d
r o u ht M r E 111 8 an d o t h ers c apt i ves t o M onghyr
, ,

W i t hi l r a w e e h M e e r Cas sim was informed that h e

‘

had been d e th ron ed an d M eer Jaff a r on c e mor e

'
”
‘
‘
w

pla c e d upon t h e musnud a n d a re g ul ar pro cla ma

“

,
 ME IER CA S S IM AN D HIS R UL E

'

ti o n of war was m ad e b y th e Cal c ut t a C ou n c

: '

Messrs . Warren Hasti ngs an d V e r e l s t 8 od

n eu t ral r egardin g the war , thin kin g i t to be unj us t .

“
Meer Cassim replied : Y o u gentle m e n w e r e w o n d er
W H a v i n g m ade a treaty to whi c h y ou
p l edge d the n ame o f Je sus Christ y ou to ok from
me a country t o pay the ex pe nses of y o ur arm y
‘

w i t h the c on diti on th at your troo p s s h oul d al ways

atten d m e an d pr omo t e my aff airs In eff e c t y ou .
,

k ept up a force for m y

Meer Cassim kne w that Jagat Seth an d other
Hi n dus h ad c onspired agai nst Siraj an d s o h e had
him re moved to Mon ghy r alon g with his brother
’ ’

despi t e u n auth ori s ed protes ts fro m t h e C ompan y .

It m ust b e sai d to his c re di t t hat he b ore .

hi s grievan c es wi t h great pat ien c e When Mr V 213 . .

s i t t a r t warned t h e C oun c illors that if an army w as

s ent a gain s t the Nawab h e might exe c ute the ,

E n glish pr i s on er s un d e r his c ustody the C oun ,

“
ci ll o r s i n d i g n a n t l re d t hat were all t h e pris , °
r
on ers to a m an
'

ed by Meer C as sim ,
<

n o t f or a m oment re c ed e from their proposed '

reven g e or e ve n com e t o t e rm s of a cco mm od ation

.
' *

with i t i jf The English t r O O ps u n d er Maj or Adam s

’
‘
,

an d the Nawa b s un der Tak y Khan h a d m any a

’

fight a n d ski rmish duri n g on e of whi c h T akL Kh an , « La r

k/ g
m k i ll e d Meer . Cassim res o lv e d to m ake a l a st t}

dete rmine d stan d at a n a l m ost i mpregn able for t i

fica ti on c alled O o d w a h Null a h Br own e in his Hi s .

tory o f th e B engal A rm y m e nti on s vario u s steps

t ake n by the Nawah to in c rea s e th e effic ien c y of
h i s troops Hi s Indi a n m ade musk ets are p raised
.

by him a s even s u r e r i or to t he E nglish for they

“ '

g
,

were m a d e of a I r a ble m et al an d wi t h fli n t s ’
“

‘ '

of e x c ell euu n a li ty éé; S o f f rT spite Of a prolon ged l

’

siege o f on e m on th the C ompany c ould n ot ,

m ake an y im pressi on on t h"e Nativ es A t l a st

“

. ,

the Nawab s soldi ers b e cam e n egligen t on a cc ount

’
 38 HI S T O RY or T HE BRITI SH O CC U PATI ON er IN D I A

of over c on fid e n c e ; the o ff icers gorged the msel v e s

-

with wine an d spent their tim e with da n cing women -

.

T r e a ch w lso at work Hence in spi t e O f

M
,

the i fl u j uf Khan whe n an

L ,

i s s E ngli shman in the employ of the Nawab turned

'

,wtr aitor an d c on du c ted the enemy alo n g the ford

a

ri ght in t o the sleeping c amp the Nawab lost fu ll ,

1 5 000 men in the sur prise an d fligh t The siege

of O o d w a h Nullah h a s b een well des c ribed by the
author of S e i r ul M u t a q h er i n .

C o n t e mpoM i é l er s men t ion

’

several
causes for the defeat of th e I ndian army O ne .

s mentioned by n ame Miri a Iraj

e sim e emplo y ment o f Armenians
’

is also severely cri t i cised C oj a .

Petruse a leading C al c utta m er chant an d a n

,
.

Armeni an in du c ed his brother Coj a Gregory an d

,

o ther fellow coun t rymen such a s M arcan

- -
an d
Arratoon t o c ons pire against their empl oyer Many .

Euro pean art illerymen went o ver to the e n emy

”
an d were h ailed by the En glish officers A g ai n .
,

M eer Cassi m was n o t present in O od w a h N u ll a h

‘

t o en courage his sol di er s a n d che c k li c enti ousn es s

“
?
.

x i From Mongh yr Meer Cas sim ca m e W kn ow of

,
a

the tr ea c h ery O f hi s C h ristian servants T h e

. .

author of the Seir writes of a n attempt made by

the Engli sh rebels u nder M r Ellis wh o w er e n ow ,
.

pris on ers m a k ing an attempt to procure muskets ,

an d M eer C a s s i m s hea d S py on e day surp r ised

’

h i m with the n ews Hf ? huge conspiracy t o take

his lif e hat c hed by the Christi an s in his c am p
O fli c e r s a n d prison ers Meer C. a ssim n ow warn ed
“
the En gl ish that if y o u are resolved t o pro c eed —

o n thi s bu s in ess k n ow for , a certainty t h at I will

cut off the he ad s of M r Ellis a nd t h e rest of your
.

” 65
chiefs an d sen d them t o y on O f co ur s e the
.
,

E n gli sh sen t spirited b ut e a pe r a ti n g replies So .

,

at P atn a (wh ere h e h a d ta ke n sh elter) Meer C a ss i m ,

 HE ER CA SS I M A N D HIS RU LE

~
o rdered a ll the Christians in hi s servi c e an d
al n d e r c a ptivity to b e exe c uted The tas k of .

e xe c uti on w a s assigne d to a Germa n p ot es t a n t

g
'

w h o h a d w on th e ni c knam e o f Sombre or Somro

nm
,

a ccor d i ng t o In d j m or s an d the first

, h e ad to
fall was t hat o f C oj a Gregory o r Gurgin K han .

E x ce t D M n o other English rebel was

g
o n ,

left i v e After this Meer Cassim c rossed i nto

.
,

O ude . Thus was c losed t h e Nawab ship of a

v ic ti m o f th e Compan y s greed
’
t yranny ,inj us t i c e
,

a n d c o r ruption .

V1 “
 '

Res t orati on of Meer Jafiar .

The Cal c utt a C oun cil h a d issued a pro clama

,

t ion on 7 t h July 1 7 6 8 de claring that Meer Cassi m

, ,

h a d w antonly be gun t he war an d c all ing up on all

to re a i r to the s t a ndard of M a h omme d Jaff e r
“ '

'P C a w n
W a h a d ur , to as si st him i n defeating th e
'
I

C
desig ns o f the sai d Cassim All e e C a wn a n d finally
”
establishing himself in the S uba h d ar e e He nc e
'

.
,
'
by restoring M eer Jafia r the English in a way ,

a ckn owledged the injusti ce don e to him but a s ,

“
El h i n s t on e wri tes they did n ot s c ruple to impos e
,

n ew a n d sever e terms upon him All the c on .

c essions m a de b y Cassim A l i were retained t h e ,

whole o f the c ommer ci al privileges claim ed by

the Company s servants were insisted on the force
’
,

to b e kept u p by the Nawab w as limited to

horse an d foot an d h e w a s to indemnify
.

the Company and individuals for all the damag e

o cc asion ed t o t h em by the usur per whom thei r
ow n a greement h a d set up to supplant him By .

a separate agreement h e w a s to grant a donatio n

o f 2 5 lakhs o f rupees t o the army an d som e grati
fica ti o n to the n avy which w a s n o t fix ed at t e h .

No wonder his compl aints very soon becam e

loud an d lo n g Among a list o f t hirteen which h e

w
.

1 submitted to Calcutta in S e p t fl m can b e

9 , f ,

found among others the refusa o f the m erchants t o

, ,
“

t pay c u stom s under c ove f t he r o t e cti o n

o t h e
s
r o
( W
“
W
”
8 e or ci b e cap ure 0 V i llage s
Y e m Gom a s has the ,
oc c upation b y the Engli s h
o f serveral houses designed f or the use o f stranger s

W
‘
s o that I c ould n ot have the m in case I should
” want them for myself m famil y and dependants ’

y
.
, ,

the granting by the Company of p r ote ctio n to th e

 RE S T O RA TI ON OF ME E R JA FFA R

de pen dan t s of the Sir c ar d esola t io n o f vill ag es by

,

A s usu al t he Com pan y

’
the Company s sepoys &c 67
.

did n o t tak e any n oti ce O f t hese real an d s ub s t an

ti al g rievan c es .

Mean while Mee r C as si m h ad ta ken ref ug e

,

wi t h S h u inz nd a nl ah Ruler of O ude an d i

fi A e /
-

, r

Vizier o f the mpIr e The Emperor Shah 1

{
’
w a s still in Al l ahabad un der Shah Sh u j a s pr o t e c U s

t i on
. T he V i z ier took a s olem n o at h on the Koran
th at he would espouse Meer C ass im 8 c a use but ’
, ,

sin c e h e co ul d n ot undert ak e a di s t an t expedition

before putt ing down the revolt of t he Raj a
of Bun delkhan d Meer Ca s sim himsel f pro c ee de d
,

ain st him an d c ompelled him to pay a ll arrear s

ag tribu t e Havin g thus w o n the a d mi ra ti on a n d
.

gratitude O f
W C a s s i m pr oc ee d e
-

with them towards B eng on his c am pai g n of

reve nge against the E n glish S huj a ud d a ul a h in .
— -

a lette r t o th e Govern or an d C oun cil at Cal c u t t a

a cc used th em of esta b lish in g an d tu rnin g o u t
Naw abs at pleasure without Imperi al c onsent i n ,
9
«

j ur ing th e re v enues of the Imperi al C ourt an d Of M 5

e n ter t aining a w i c k e d d e s i g n of s e i zi ng th e c oun t ry
”
for y ourselves .He asked t h em t o desis t fr o m
improper desir es and c onfine t hems elves t o
c omm er ci al aff a i I s No o n e c an deny th at ri gh t as 1
well as law w a s on the side o f the E In pe r or an d hi s l
V izier .

The Engli sh were reall y af rai d of t h e c o mb i

n at i on of p ower a n d in fluen c e a gai nst them a n d , ,

rai sin g the ca mp at Buxar t h ey retreated in t o ,

Patn a A z i in a ba d ) From that safe p osition they

.
,

trie d to c re ate dissension s am ongst t h e Musli m

c hiefs an d n obles The auth or of the Seir was
.
.

p erhaps a me dium for c on veyi n g to the E mper o r

the v en erat ion o f the Englis h f or the Imperial
O l d S
bi
’
p e r s n . The V izier s tr o ops were a so i
or d erly and heavily en c umbe re d Mor eo ver .
,
 42 HI S T O R Y O F T HE B RIT I SH O CC UPATI ON or IN D I A

m entioned in the Journ al of the Bihar and O rissa

R esearch S ociety Vol VI the V iz i er was al so
, .
, .

r u i ne d by th e treachery of Maharaj a Kalyan S i ngh ,

of Raj a Shitab Rai who though i n the Vi z ier s

, ,
’

loy gave the English i nformation regarding

number an d movemen ts of his troops “He w a s
‘

ashamed to w rite to the English that he was

the look out to find a n opportunity to tur n
”
e t ide in their favour Gholam H ossei n Kha n .
,

the author of t h e Seir man aged to put the Englis h

«

i n po s session of the fort of R ob thoug h as ,

t h e Go v ern o o a er on com p lained ,

“
n ot one of t he stipulated conditio ns were
”
o bse r ved & by the English The Vizier also .

a l ienated sympathy by oppressing the i n habita n ts

an d a r resting M ee r C assi m him self for no cl ea r ,

rea son The Engli s h had also taken c are to

.

r emo v e N a n d ku ma r from M eer J afia r though

’

a c c ording to M aj or Car nac there was n o suspicio n ,

o f hi s being eng a ged in t r eachery Maj or .

C arn ac was also supersede d by Maj or M u n ro fro m ,

B ombay S in c e he e n co uraged M eer J ah ar to n ego

’

t i a t e with t he Emperor f o r a Royal Fir man .

e s t abli shin g his c laim for N a w a b s hi p The .

C alcu t t a Council ordered M eer Ja fia r to re t urn’

f rom the front to Cal c utta an order whi c h the —

Naw ab had t o obey .

At las t the Bat t le of Buxar was fought o n

W
,

!
a S te mber 1 5 1 7 64 and the Vizier was defeated wit h
,

g rea t oss . e Emperor hoping t o get English ,

h elp in making himself independent ,

f rom his Vizier and en ca mped near the B ritis h
" a t
sep ra ed

é b d in es. M eer Cassim was fortunately lib erated by

S huj a an d he fled i n pre c ipita tio n to A llahabad
and thence to the Rohillas at Barei lly The .

‘
En glish demanded from Shah Shuj a the s urrender
o f M eer Cassim but both the b i rds
‘

h a d flo wn .S O the war w a s c on t inued a n d t h e

,
 RE S T O RATI ON OF M EE R JAF F AR

M besiege d by rE n g lish troops

fi
.
M
W n d em c ompletely r e puls e d g “

t h eir a tt a c s ,n g li s h raised th e siege an d y (W ” ,

m ar c h ed on to A llaha b ad ,
F ortunately for them .
,

Hu juf Khan of O o d w a h Nu l lah f a m e j oin ed t heir

c am p and with his assi s t an c e t h e y su c ceeded in
W f
, ,

i n t c a pt u r i n All a h abad Shuj a also fle d t o the .

R an en e a v o ur e d to pro c ure the help of

Mulb ar Rao Hg lka r B ut after a f e w m o r e
.

es ,
e sub mitt e d to Maj or C arn a c a n d
t hr ough the me d i a
°

Of Ra j a Shita b
pea c e was c on clu e y w c uj a w as 4 N
, 2
c ompelled to pay the English 5 0 lakh s of r upees
to a
J / ,

an d to c ed e th e
f air l a st clause w as
n ot of D ire c tors sinc e ,

t h e f r on t ier of Ghazipur was surrounded

warlike people Thus en ded th e war O f Shuj a
.

wi t h the En glish .

A tr aitor ca n n e v er b e a ha c reat ure f or h e ,

c a n n ever c o mma n r e s pe c even om ose for

whos e sake he c ommits treach ery Su c h wa s t h e
'
.

c ase with Meer J a fla r His l a s t days were mad e

.

miserable by th e in c rea sing an d un authoris e d

d eman ds of the C ompan y upon his diminish i n g
revenues At las t in January 1 7 6 5 hi s s O u l attained
f
.
, ,

t h at fin al pea c e which n o enemy or friend c ould ’7

'
“
e ver disturb Sir W W Hun t er wri t es : Hi s
. . . .

d eath i s s ai d to have been h as ten ed by t h e

unsee mly import unity with which the English at
C al c utta presse d upon h i m their p r ivate c laims
to The man who gave him sola ce
and c omfort i n his last days w as n either a
'

Muslim n or a C h i rs t i a n It w a s N a n d kumar t h e .
,

f aithful servan t .
 E vents i n B t mg al af ter Meer Jaff ar Death
’
s

The Court o f D ire c t ors appoin ted Lo rd Clive

to reform B engal affair s a n d so M r Van sittart .

res i gn e d b efore Cli ve landed in : In dia It wa s .

during t he term of o fli ce O f Mr S pe n c er th at M e er
'
.

Jai f ar di e d T he treaty i m pose d

. on him m ade n o :

m en t ion O f hi s su cc essor an d s o t h e English g ot

'

o ne f urther opport unity of i mpr o ving the i r positi on

T h e C ompany s O ffi ce rs
’
refused t o re c ognise
N aj um u d d a ul a h s on , of Meer Jaf f ar un t i l he ,

c on sen t ed to c re at e an o moe of N a l b o“r De puty k

for the man a gement of all aff airs a a appointe d

—

M ohammed Reza Kh an f o r th e post M o v er.

,

the principal offic es in the Revenu e e p a r t me n t

had to be filled up after gett in g t h e san ctio n o f
the English The payment of 5 lakhs of rupees
.
.

t o the Co mpany f o r m a intenan c e of tr o ops was to

be c ontinued along with t h e res t riction on the
’
Nawab s troops O f course t h e Engli sh were t o
.
,

toms free A sm a ll pres ent O f 2 0 lakhs

.

o f r u ees w a s al s o extorted f or the s a ke of t h e

membe r s o f the Cal c utta Government
»
.

W hen thes e arran gements were ; well nigh

c omplet e Lord Cliv e tou ched at M adr as He heard
,
'
.

o f the death o f Meer Jafie r an d n othing of wh at

“
had happen ed lat er S O “ he was delighted at t he
.

n ews a n d plann ed to set u p a S i x year O ld -

grandson Of Meer Jafier and rule in his n ame ,

the sovereign ty of t he Englis h bei n g hidden from

”7 1
the publi c eye B ut when he r e a c hed Cal c utt a ,

h e was e n t the c orruption of h i s c o r eli g i on

i s t s forgettin g that imitati on is but the m ost
,

sin c ere form of flattery Clive did n ot su c ceed i n

.

maki n g them disgorg e their ill gotten wealth ; f or -

 Ev E NTS IN B E N G AL A F TER R EE R JAr r A R S
’
D E A TH 45

”
m an y resign ed the servi ce a n d , re t urn in g h o me ,
1M
s t art ed an agitation against Cli v e hi ms elf .

Clive h ad b e en sent out to reform th e abuses ‘

o f whi c h the ser v an t s of the C om pany wer e guilt y

‘
-

in carrying o n their private trade and to clean

W
“ ”
in his o wn w or d s the A , N e 8 0 , s oo n .

“
after his arrival h e wr ote 0 I s employers a b out
,
”
the u n w a r r a n t a b le a c q ui s i t i o n o f ri ch es whi c h had
‘

introd uc ed l
“
in its m ost
” “
pernic ious ex c ess T here
. w as n othing t hat
”
b ore the for m o f government “
The arm y s howed .

utt er la c k o f dis c iplin e Ri c hes the b an e of

.
,

dis cipline were daily prom otin g the ruin of our

,
”
army . Soldiers were allowed to plunder an d
“

p o c ket the b ooty realised He report ed also the .

refined brutality whi c h th e English pra c ti s e d on

t h e Indian s through their nu mb erles s agents an d
s ubagents .

Clive s o n e great plan was to se c ure for the

’

C ompan y t h e Di w a n y of Bengal and rule with a

~

puppet on the thro ne lik e Dupl i e x or the Pe shwas , ,

or the N a w a b V izier S o he proc e eded to A llah a

.
,
;
b ad to m eet the Emp eror still living t here under ,

Shah S h uj a s protection O n h i s way he m et I;

’
.
, ,

M ohamm ed Reza K han an d w on hi m over to his

s c he mes He j o i ii ed Gen eral C arn a c a t B enares a n d
.
'

fil
W /
,

t hreateni n g Shah S huj a with ren ewal of h os t i li W

t i e s f or c e d o ut of him Allah aba d an d C orah along
g ,

w ith a large s u m f or ex pen ses I n c urred in t he war h

k n ell of his own Empire by signing t he grant

f rom the n I n s o f the P a r l I a m e n t a r y C ommi tt ee

5 o f 1 7 7 3 appointed to in q uire into the in c ident
”
7
t hat the grant was extorted fro m a h elpless ma n . .

“
LE l phi n s t on e admits t h at there ar e f e w t ransac ti ons '
 46 HI ST O RY OE T HE B RITI SH O CC UP A TI ON OF IN D IA

in ou r Indian history more diffi cult to explain

W
”
8 treaty The author Of the Seir say s
. .

at the Emperor an d t h e Vizier were obliged to

grant the request al t hough reluctantly , .

W The Company be c ame therefore Diwan The, , .

r

a ll owan ce for the support O f the Nawab s di gnity

’

and power an d t h e tribute to His Maj esty must be .

regularly p a id ; the remain der be longs to the

W and this without any resp onsibi l it y
t o defend the coun try or maintai n peace ! Clive
“
said there wi ll stil l be a N a b O b with a n al lowan c e
.
,

suitable for his di gnity an d the t e r r i t or r i al

j urisdiction will still be in the c hiefs O f t he
”
country“ like Shitab Rai an d M ah omed Reza
— ~

K han —
acting un der him and the Presidency
i n c onj un c t ion though th e revenues will belong
, ,

’
Clive s s cheme was n ot
administr ation O f
the lan d for native Officers were cheaper an d
,

m ore honest and e f ficien t He feared al so t h e

disfavour O f the people an d Of the French D utch ,

p an d Danes M oderation as a policy w a s a ls o a

.
, ,
.

n ecessity This double

. system Of government .

produced the worst possible resul t s .

At about thi s time Nawah Naj i m u d d a ul a h ,

- - fl

died under very suspicious circum stances While .

re t urn i ng after a complimentary visit to Clive i n

c ompany with M oham med Reza Khan he was ,

assaulted by some sharp pains in his bowels whi c h

fin di ng no v ent at al l became S O excruciating that
the young Nawab on his ali ghting at his palac e
” 74
depart ed th i s life The general report charged

"
Reza Khan strongly an d V e r e l s t mentions a rumour
L current in Calcutta that it w a s the result Of foul
K Nor was Clive a
1 play on the part Of Cli ve 75
.

friend Of the y oung man He had described him .

to the Directors a s “a man with little a bilities a n d

”
less edu c ation a s mean weak an d ignorant an d
, ,
 E VEN TS IN B E N G AL A FTE R ME IER JAFFA R S
’
D E ATH 41

as the issue Of a pro stitute The C ompany als o A . .

b enefited largely by his death for the all owan c e ,

made t o ma i ntai n the m ilitary establishment Of

t he Nawab was reduced from 55 lakhs to abou t
4 0 With the death o f N aj um u d d a u l a h the semblan c e
.
- -

Of the Nawab s p ower disappears from the ann al s

’

O f B engal From hen ceforth t h e history Of Ben gal

. ,

is in terwo ven with t h e n ames Of governors Of the

'

E nglish ra c e .

Either through incapa c ity o r unpopul ari t y , .

Clive d i d n ot do m u c h to f ulfil his mi ssion Hi s

c ountry men looked upon him as a moral l s r an d 1 4
.

7 6 .

as uns c rupulous an d selfish He did n ot a O l i S h .

'

the n otori ous inlan d t rade but m ade matters worse

by granting t h e m onopol y Of t h e salt trade to t h e
servants O f the Company all owing them to charge , .

the exorbitant du t y Of 3 5 per c en t thus O ppr e s

l
—

sing th e Indians for the ben efit O f his ow n g f s f

c o mpat ri ots With a c urious n oti on O f finan ce
.

he reduce d the tax on such l u xuries as betel a n d a

, Z
tobac c o Al l his refor ms were cal
.

“
c ul ated f or pre
s ent applause rather than f o r perman en t a d v a n 77
A fter feathering his own n est an d that O f
h i s c ountrymen Lord Clive left In dia f or good i n
1 7 67 .
,

His suicide w a s attribu t ed by some to th e l1 6

prickings O f his guilty c ons cien c e at the m em ory W WJ ‘

Of his e v e r a l crim es .

Mr . er els t su c c eeded Cli ve but resigned :

af ter 2 years M r Car ti er his suc c essor had t o 7
[
-

7 2
. .
, ,

"
/
make room in 1 7 7 2 to Warre n Hastings Durin g .

th ese 5 years n o p olitical event O f an y m omen tou s

,

consequen ce happen ed in In dia Ben gal was pass .

in g through a p eriod Of g reat misery under t h e

W
double y oke imposed by
i sh tr aders — The om pa n y s factors
.

ru i n i ng Ben gal in dustrie s in various reprehen sibl e

W hy
were ’

“
a .

way s an d when their m ethod s L

9
he was pr omp dia W h e el e r .

our} ;
48 H I S T O RY O F T HE B RITI S H OC C U PATI ON O F I ND I A

w rites that duri ng t hree years t h e ex ports Of

,

b ullion from Be n gal exc ee d e d fiv e millions ster ling

w hilst th e imports O f bulli on were little more t han
” 78
half a millio n Th e G overn or er elst c omplaine d : ,
“
It is in this S i tu ati on the C u r t O f Di r e ct or s a n d
”

the n ati on in ge n eral h ave been i n du ce d to expe c t

prodigious remittan ce s in species fr om a c oun t ry .

”
w hi c h produ c es li ttle gold a n d n o silver The .

a uthor Of th e Seir writes : La c s piled u pon lacs

” 9
have t herefore b een drain e d o ut O f t he c ountry 7 .

An epi d e mi c O f sm all po x al so c aus e d great mor

-

t ali t y with out distin ction Of a g e s e x or cree d

, , .

tU n f or t u n a t e l
y at su c h a ju n ct ure a drought also
, ,

;ha pened whi c h would sure ly n ot have produ c ed

p
f am in e but for the m isdeeds Of the Com pany s
’

a gents ,
who stored u p ri c e in order to m ake an
un holy profit out O f the mise r ies of th e people .

T hus in B e n gal
, , th e c hang e Of m a ste r s w a s n ot
f ortunate f or the land .
 T he A d mi ni s tr ati on O f Warren Has ti n g s

NO pe ri od O f British I ndian history is S O

w ell kn own as the 1 8 y ears during which Warr en
-

Hastin gs presided over In dian af f airs ; but this is

an indire c t result Of hi s I mpea c hment which ,

revealed many sha dy transactions Had he brought .

any territory un der t h e j urisdicti on O f England ,

it i s highly probab le e ven Burke might n o t ha v e

\
taken suc h pains to attack him f or he eloquently ,
“
aske d . Has h e enlarged the b oun dary O f our
G o v ern ment ? N o ; there are but t o o strong
proofs Of his lessenin g But Warren
Hastings did the great work Of consoli d ating the
E m fir e which Clive had formed by forgery an d

"
fraud .

Hastings s first task in Bengal was to destr oy

’

e v ery trace Of the Native governm ent Redu c ing .

t he Nawab into a mere u ppe t Clive had v ested ,

all p ower in t w o N a i bs at u r s h i d a b a d an d P atn a ,

M ah om ed B eza Khan an d Shi t ab Rai Th ough

a 6
w
.

! ‘

th ese t w the English w e r e syste

’

4
5
” “ u
m a t i c a lly l oya an d wh olly occupie d in thoughts
Of keepin g the in dividuals Of that n ation in good
”81
h um our , Warren Hastin gs a rrested them o n
trumped up charges an d after recei v i n g large
,

sum s Of m on ey ac quitted them Reza Khan was

w
, .

n ot reinstated while S h i t w , fi a A
broken heart N O successor was a ppO In e O t tIe
“
.

N a i b s h i p M ahar a j a N a n d u m a r wh o was Hastings s

k ’

W
.
,

t O O l i n accus i n g the N a i b s w a s disappointe d an d /

W
,

d isgrace d Thu s by o n e ston e Hastings ki lle d l

A J
.
,

m any birds d i s s w w —
m of
G overnm ent dam a ged N a n d k um a r s reputati o n got
’
, ,
 .
50 HI S T ORY OF T HE B R I TI S H O CCU PA TI ON OF IN D I A

rid Of the two N a i b s and enriched himself with

‘

uA g d ten lakh s an ’
d even more Again Hastings .
,

C t t w
r e m o v e d the Ci v il and Cri min al C ourts to Calcutta .

He r e duced the all owance to the Nawab and '

u c ancelled the t r ibute t o Shah A l am o n his remo v al

d c .

V to D elhi in 1 7 7 1 He . wrested Allahabad an d

” ”
N C o r ah from Shah Alam f or t he V izier though as
Mill w ri tes , generosity W
, ,

e spoke o n the
“
forlorn Empe r or But th e calls O f
.

” 82
the heavy attra c tion O f gold turne d
t h e bal ance .

Hastings turn ed his attenti on to foreign aff airs .

He entered into a contract with the Vizier for a — ,

M consideration Of 4 0 lakhs to e x t e r “m i fia t e the

B u b j l l a s According to J H Clarke there
,

is n o
W “ ,
. .
.
,
M
oth er instan ce O f a ci v ilised po w er entering i nto a
Vfl
l war with the avowed Obj ect O f destroying a p e o pl e
with which it had n o 0
Next y e ar Warren Hastings was made Go v ernor
,

General and he was t o be assisted by a C oun cil

Of five The most praiseworthy Of these Councillors
.

w a s Sir Philip Fran cis than who m I ndia h a s had

,
'

no tr uer friend among the B r h race He had

m
.

e m a j or It y Of the Coun cil with him

and re al isi n g the rotte nness O f the administration
, ,

he encoura ged al l t o bring to l i ght t h e corrupt

practi ces Of Hastings M aharaj a N a n d ku m a r s
.
’

let t er charging Hastings with bribery was pl aced

‘

, ,

on the C oun cil table but the Govern or Gen eral

,
-

indignantly denied th e authority Of his Council

and bro u ght a counter charge Of forgery a gainst -

his accuser in the Supreme Court at Calcutta

presided o v er by his school fellow an d b osom -

fri e n d Sir Elij ah Impe y T h e M ahara j a was tried

.
,

con v icted and hange d tho u gh th e Court itself had

—

been cre a ted 3 years after t h e date Of th e alleged

crime and though by n o t wisting Of the law
, ,

could N a n d ku m a r be proved t o hav e ever ,

 THE A D M I N I S T RA TI O N OF WA RREN HA S TIN GS 51

become subj ect to th e En glish law which

punished forgery with death Shade s O f Lord .

;
Chve !
Hastings c ould n ow breat he freely thanks to —

Sir Eli j a h I t is n o t n ecessary to enum erate here

.

all his misdoings since they are foun d in most

,
.

b ooks an d since subse q uent chapters will reveal

som e That h e was griping an d g old t hi r s t y has
.

been admitted by m any British authors like

T a l b oy s W heeler C olebrooke
. w r ites Of the
unboun ded m i sery O f the people under his rule .

He refers to his crooked politi c s an d shameless ’

’
b r ea c h Of faith his deposition o f Z emindars
-

plun deri n g Of Begum s extermin ati o n O f inn ocent

,

t I i be s me n the stretchin g O f the lan d rents to

”
the utmost s u m they c an produce '
N O wonder.

C o l e br O O k e w a s forced to ex claim that Warren

Hastings s yoke was the heaviest that ever c on
’

”
q u e r o r s put upon the necks Of c on q uered n ations .

The best acco u nt Of his rule is that by M r T orren .

“
in his Empire in Asia h o w we came by i t z—
.

”
B O O k Of Confessions a c he a p r epri n t O f W EI c h
-

is n o w available .
 The Ri s e O f t he Marat has an d t he
Fi rs t Marat ha War

The Marathas were a great n ation sin c e t h e

remotest periods Of history Huien Tsang spe a ks .

Of their slee less re v enge and their over poweri ng -

sympathy w he n f ace to face with distress The .

Muslim conquest an d rule had be n e fic e n t eff ects

upon the Hin dus s i n ce high posts were always
,

open to merit and intelligen ce The M uslims

.

were n ever as bad r ulers as the European historian s

h ave painted them According to I bn Batuta the
.
,

Marathas were v ery cultured and skilled in the

arts medicine and astrology T h e M uslim rulers
,
. .

Of the Decca n had to propitiate them in sheer self

defen c e .

S hi v a j i was the founder O f the M arath a Empire .

Th ough illiterate h e was n either a freeb ooter n or

,

a plunderer He had th e enthusi asm and idealism

.

Of M azzini th e military genius Of Garibaldi a n d

,

the s t a t e s m a n s h i Of Ca v our while the n o ble

,

q u al ities which he d I s p Ia y e d as king Of the M ara

assed by any monarch
before o r after h i m He is regarded as an
.

In c a r n a t I on Of G o d since he was instrumental

,

in checkin g the M oghul a d v an ce into the Dec c an He

0,
.

‘
united the M arathas f o r a hi g her pu rpose Ab o v e .
’

all ,
e was intensely re i g i o u s being a v ery ,

f er v ent disciple Of Saint R a ma Das

. Tenderness.

an d humanity enn obled all his wars while h on our ,

tow a rds women disti n guished his w hole life M r . .

R a n a d e h a s gi v en a very illuminating account Of

'

“ ”
his life in his Ris e Of the M a r Pow r .

S hi v a j I s B oar d O ministration consisted Of

’
 T HE RI SE O F THE M A R A T HA i

eight m emb ers the Peshwa or th e Prime M inister

—

the Se n apati o r Comm an der i n chief the A ma t y a - -

, ,

S a c hi v M antri o r F oreign Secretary

, the Pandit ,

R a O in charge Of the ec c lesias t ic al department a n d

,

the N y a y a d h i s h o r C hief Justice an d was there —

fore called th e A s h t a pr a d h a n This system h as its .

coun ter part in the present constituti on O f the

Govern m ent Of India An other a
(
8
.

S hi v aj i was t he refusal to bestow j a ghirs for

c i vil or military servi ce Everyon e w a s dire cted .

to draw his fixe d s alary in W W m o n e y from

”

3 C
'

th e publi c treasury o r gr anari es S h i v a j i s idea O f .

’

deman ding Chaut h an d S a r d e s mu k hi has been

c on de mned by European writers and compared
to the levying O f b l a c km a il by the robber chiefs
Of S c otland But sin ce the M arathas undertook
.
,

to protect those wh o pai d them a gainst foreig n

aggres si on by main ta ining troops for that purpose
L
,

R a n a d e p oints o u t that their le v y resem b les m or e l q

the su b sidiary system o f Wellesley .

S h i v a j i s s on was barbarously tortured an d

’

executed by A u r a n g a z e b wh ile his gran dson

,

S hi v aj i
, nicknam ed Sa b oo was rendered idioti c ,

an d we ak probably by the admini stra t i on O f

,

p o u s t a (des c ribed by Bernier as a slow po i s i O n

administered by th e Emperor to refra c tory n obles
and dangerous subj e c ts ) Sab o o h ad also becom e .

loose in m orals an d S O his minis t ers thought it

proper to limit his a uthority t o Satara alon e ,

conferring the powers Of Go v ernment o n th e

B a stia -nM M Thus t h e Peshwas
were saviours rather than c o n fis ca t or s O f the
M aratha Empire and un der them its dominions
, ,

were extended fro m sea to s e a a n d from the

Himalayas to the Cape .

While the valour O f S hi v a j l laid the foun dations

Of the M aratha Empire the impruden ce an d intr igue
,

Of R a g h o on a t h R a O or R a g h o ba pre c ipita ted its

 54 HIS T O R Y OF THE BRITI SH O CC UP A TI ON O F IN DIA

downfall He was the brother O f B a l a j r Baj i B a O

.
,

the greatest Of the Peshwas an d showed remarkable ,

abil ities a s a soldier He subdued th e M oghuls .

,

entere d D elhi and Lahore an d marched i n tri umph

as ar a s Att o the North Thus by his rash .

expediti on he , 18 nation the wrath Of

Ahmed Shah Abdali O n the fa al . O f Pa ni pa t

‘ R ag h ob a s character foun d full s c ope in his

the M aratha confederacy was bro en in O I e ce s
’
.

dealings with the E n glish His brother died a .

f e w weeks after the disastr ous n ews rea c hed him

and during the minority O f his n ephew R a g h ob a
, ,

became the Regent I n order to stop a threatened .

i nvasion O f the Ni zam B a g h ob a cast c ovetous ,

eyes o n European troops and arms and was

prep a red to sacrifi c e S alsette and Bassein for
them ; but fortunately the attack did n ot take
, ,

place But he concluded a treaty O f perpetual

. .

fri endship with the Company and placed the S e e d e e

Of Janj ira an Abyssinian pirate under British
, ,

protection Freed . from control the S ee d e e ,

c omm enced plundering M aratha v i llages .

When M adhoo Row came Of age his relations ,

with hi s un cle gre w strained and R a g h ob a Wa s kept

“
in confinement This excellent rin
. at
the age O f 2 8 l e a v In g n o c fii ld r e n but nominating
,

his brother as his su cc ess or an d his un cle as

gu ardian R a g h ob a got Narain Row his ward
.
, ,

as sassin ated on 3ot h August 1 7 7 3 M r M ostyn the , . .

,

Bri t ish envoy a t Poona who w a s v ery probably ,

at t h e b ottom O f the entire plot reported to B o m ,

bay t hat R h O b a had proclaimed himself Peshw a .

But several M aratha state smen Nana Fa d n a v i s ,

-

foremost among them all realised the nation al —

‘ danger and rallie

their murdered lord
d round the posthumous
.
son Of

,
a
Bal ji J a n a r d a n Bhanu alias N an a Fa d n a v i s
was a high class n oblem an While y et in his .
 T HE RI S E O F T HE M ARATH AS

teen s he h ad a cc ompanied S a d a s h e s Row B h o w

,

to Panipat as on e Of his s e c retaries with th e

idea O f m ak ing a pilgrimage t o th e h oly pla c es
O f th e North after the battle He lo s t his m other .

an d wife in the route an d travelled to Poon a on

foot an d in disguise Panipat m a d e s u ch a terrible
impress i on on hi s m i n d th at h Q d fl QM k m
.
,

Q , 2 c I“
,
— .

t o the con solidat ion Of the MaraWa n ation He .

took servi ce in Poon a a s a secretary an d rose to ‘

b e the Prime M inister He shrank from the poli ti f ”
f
‘ ‘
.

1
c al embra c e Of th e En glish a n d was steadily
’

a gainst their O ff ers Of armed assistance .

Findi n g Poon a too h ot R a g h ob a fled to t h e ,

G a kwar The Bom bay Govern ment o n the stre n gth

.
,

O f r M o s t y n s representati o n s disputed th e
.
’
,

a u h en t i i t y the birth Of th e po s t h u m ou s son

t
Of
an i so fi
5235
agb oba form ed a hybrid allian ce a t 1 1 4
”

with the B ombay Coun c il by w hi c h he 5 5 1 8

them the two islan d s O f S als ette an d Bassein an d t

a portion Of Surat province o n his instal lation on I 2

4
the Musnud The Dire c tors O f the Company
.

“
had
written t o B ombay as early as 17 6 8 : We r e c o m
m en d to y o u in the stron gest mann er to use your
, ,

endeavours upon every o cc asi on th at m ay Off er to

O btain these places (th e two i slan ds ) which we should
e steem a valuable a c q u i s i t i o n lii 5 M r Mostyn arri v ed
’
.
-
.

from En lan d in 1 7 7 2 with special i n s t r u t i o n s t o

‘
g
s e c ure t e coveted spots by
“
fomen tin g i ome s ti c
’
c
d i i
’
i ss en s o n s é
f fi at the M aratha c apital .

The Treaty Of Surat led to the Fi rst M arath a

“
War Lt Colon el Keati ng w a s sent for th e assist
. .

”
a n ce Of R a g h ob a against all his en emies Th e .

Poon a army un der Hari P a nt P h u r k a y m et R a g h ob a

an d his allies n ear A rras in an in de cisive
battle The coming Of the m on soon an d the defe o
.

o tion
tc Of the Gaekwar compelled Hari Pant to re
1 ’

ross th e N e r b u d d a h and retr eat towards Poona .

The G a e k w a r s w ere valiant c omman ders O f th e

 56 HI S T O R Y OF THE BRITI SH O CC UPA TI ON OF IN D I A

Mar atha Army who had es t ablished them s el v es i m

tt
.

and around Baroda A f t e r P a n i pa t they declared

E a themsel v e f ree d o f allegiance to .
,

s
A pr o on g e d w ar of s u c c e s s I o n e ween four
brothers w a s ruining the lan d when R a g h ob a fled
113 »
W .

t o Guzerat an d so Colonel Keating attem pted t o '

fis h in the trou b led waters He s ent an O ff i c er to .

:

the camp O f F a tih Sing on e Of the rivals ; the ,

envoy was luckily insulted an d thus an opportuni

t y w a s aff orded for reprisals The Bombay Govern .

men t n ow took up the matter in earn est and sent

M r M ostyn
. Of worthy m emory to Baroda since
, , ,

he w a s a past master in the art O f dupli city ali as

l
di p lomacy O f c ourse M ostyn su c ceeded i n put
.
,

ting the idiotic S a y a j e e R a O o n th e throne wit h

Fut i h Sing as Regent getting for the Company i n
,
“
return for its troubles the government an d r e
”

4 M venue O f three pu r g un n a h s around Surat a n d

T heGovernment O f Bomb a y had waged w a r

and concluded treaties without the knowledge and
c bn s e n t Of the Go v ernor General at Calcutta Sir -
.

Phili Francis the redoubtable champion Of the

,

n 1 a n s knew the character Of R a g h o b a and M ostyn

,

only t O O well and s o having the maj ority Of the

,

C oun cil o n his side he call e d f o r an account Of the

,

af f airs in Bombay After a delay Of 24 days a

.
,

meagre and vague reply was sent ; but it was enough

to prove the iniquity Of their transactions S O th e .
,

Supreme Coun cil asked that the f l o o pS b e with ‘ ‘

drawn the treaty rescinded an d all n egotiations

,

suspended O n the 1 8 t h Jul y 1 7 7 5 they sen t

.
, ,

Colonel U pton as their O w n age n t to Poona - .

U pton arri v ed at Purandhar where the Poona

»
,

ministers were s t a y ing but when con v ersations b e

, ,

gan he t o o insisted on W
,
U His .

mission was therefore vehemently resented sin c e the ,

req uest was h ighly i n consistent Warren Hasti ngs .

 TH E RI SE OF THE M ARA THAS

had n o w regain e d power an d he b egan preparat i on s

for a large war Fo r some inexplicable rea sons
.
,

i n June 1 7 7 6 Nan a Fa d n a v i s an d others agreed to 1 7 7 1 4

“

, ,
‘
most Of the proposals O f the Supreme C ommittee 7 .

They agreed to cede Salsette and m ake ample

pro vis i on f o r R a g h o b a The Bombay Go vernm en t S w o
.
“

felt insulted at this Treaty O f Purandhar and E r

w
appealed to the C ourt Of Directors wh o with the l
true b u Si n e s s fi n s t i n ct s u p o t s d t h s mor s pr ofit (f
, ,

fir
-

W t S .M ostyn was on c e
m ore sele c ted for Poona in S pite of th e opposition ,

Of man y Of the ministers .

It w a s n ot long before M r Mostyn disco vered .

that the Fren ch were infl ue n cing aff airs at Poon a !

A certain M St L ubin had arri v ed th ere an d sur e
. .
,

enough pro posed to bring

, European s to
supp ort the ministry an d to tr ain sepoys !
Nan a was r eputed to be j eal ous O f all European s
an d n ever to trust any O f them ; but yet this rum our
was exaggerate d into a huge b ogey M r M ostyn . .

also s u cceeded in fomenting disse n sion s b etween

the m inisters S a k h a r a m B a pO O N an a Fa d n a v i s ,

and hi s c ousin M o r ob a Through his m achin ati ons .

,

M o r O b a became c hief minister in the place O f Nan a

an d immedi a tely requested the English to reinstate
R a g h o b a in q n a Warren Hast ings w a s O v er
.

j oyed at the turn Of e v ents an d in S pi t e Of the

opposition Of Francis a n d C olon el U pton he ,

ga v e orders that Colon el Le sli e sho ul d m arch to

Bombay t raversin g the dominions Of independen t
prin c es .

Hastin gs h a d an ot h er m otive al s o in mind ,

e q uall y sin ister an d selfish The R a j a O f Satara died .

leaving n o issue and so Hastin g s in c ited Mp g d a j e e ,

B h on s la y the Regent Of Berar who was des cended

fro m a bran c h Of the House O f S hi Y a JI to clai m
, ,

the t hrp n e Meanwhile

. the wheel of Poon a , “

p oliti c s had u n dergon e an other revolution .

 58 HI S T O RY OE T HE BRITI SH O CC UPA TI ON OE IN DIA

Aff airs were on c e m ore in the h ands Of N a n a p f

whom M r M li r a n wro t e : g i ve us Nana Fa d n a
0 o

f
.

“
wfii vis and su c h like What poor p ygmies we are .

as I ndian administra t ors wh en c ompar e d with

”
nati v es O f that stamp !
N a n a Fa d n a v i s realised that t h e Ben gal force

"
,
“
though os t ensibly directed against Fren ch
I
“ des
H U ? a r a t ha power 0 he dro v e aw ay S t L u bi n f rom
W
'
”
the es ast were aimed at the ,

.
, . .

Poon a and prepared to m eet t he gatherin g storm ,

.

M ostyn died ab out this time entitled to the

k
,

7 everlasting gratitude Of his cou ntrym en but w ith

n o biography or bust or statue to i mmor t a li s e h i s '

’
glorious name in the annals O f his c ountry s
history though Clive an d Hastings whose work
—

'
,

w a s not m ore brilliant have been hon oured in ,

many ways .

Before t h e arrival O f the B engal Arm y th e ,

B ombay Govern ment despatched troops under

C olonel Egerton with B a g h o b a to Poon a The .

M aratha forces were arrayed at T a lly g a on 1 8 miles ,

from Poona u n der their able an d tried leaders

,
t
1
the
.
H o lk a r and the Sindhia At th e sight Of these .

sturdy hi ghlander s th e British O f ficers became

panic stricken an d though they had pro v isi on s f or
-

m ore than a fortnight resol v ed up on a precipitate ,

retreat to B ombay itself ! The M arathas cut O ff their

retr eat an d captured their gun s an d bagg a ge .

Hen ce the memb ers Of the

, Field Committee
agreed to deli v er R a g h ob a an d surrender “
all
recent cessions b ut as M r Carn ac sai d under a , .
,
”
m ental res ervation ! Th ey were also to send an
order counterman di ng the advan ce Of th e
B engal troops but as s o on as they re t urned to
,

B omb a y they t O O k c are to c an c el the order

,
'

Admirable honesty ! B a g h o b a along with the t wo

English hosta ges were kept in t h e cu s t o d y O f the '

Sindhi a .
 T HE RI SE O F T HE M ARATHAS

C ol Leslie w as opposed i n hi s m ar c h b y t h e
.
-

indepen d ent pri n c es of Bun delkhan d an d S ince ,

his progress was slow his impatie nt master

‘

appointe d C ol Goddard in his stead F ortun ately

. .
,

he did n ot s urvi ve to re c eive the intelligen c e of

his disgra c e C ol ; Goddard gained over the Nawab
.

o f B hopal and was given a free pass age through

.

B erar O n re c eipt of inte l ligen ce regard i n g th e

.

disaster to the B omb ay troops h e m arche d to

"
,

Surat an d authorised by the Su preme Go v ernment

,

to press for a renewal Of t he Treaty of P u r a n d a r

with an additional c lause regardin g the Fren c h ,

b egan n egotiations with P o o n a Warren Hastings

'
. .

too tried to c reate s s e n s i o n s am ong th e M aratha

confederates especi al y t he
, Sin dhi a an d the
H ol k a r .

I t is n e c essary to digress a little an d trace the

growth Of these two p rin c ipali ties When at th e .

M b eginning of the 1 8 t h century Asaf Jah the —

, ,

A»
Govern or o f M alwa invaded the D e cc an the
, ,

‘Emperor appointed a Hin du gov ern or f or the

provin ce B alaj i V i s h a w n a t h seized th e Opportun
.

i ty an d p arcelle d o u t th e pro v in c e into tw o

mili tary fie f s
}
Is

M udia an d co H ol k a r R a n O I was a !

private trooper I n I s s er vi ce wh os e duty was to

take c are o f his master s slippers It is related that ’
.

o n On e o c casio n wh en th e Peshwa had a long in

t e r v i e w with the Raj a B an oj i be c am e weary
,
an d
fell asleep bu t e v e n i n h i s sleep he held the
slippe r s i n b oth h an ds c lasped to his breast Th e .

Pesh wa was Of c ourse m uch pleased with his

c on du c t an d rais e d him to th e Go v ern orship
Of t h e North ern half o f M alwa Wh en R ang i .

died wit h ou t legiti m ate i ss ue the b astard M a d h a v a ,

Rao g ot p ossessio n Of his fath er s fief The ,

’
.

English extol M a d h oj i as a great s oldier an d

s t a t e s ma n b ut t his is only b e c au se h e playe d into
 60 H I S T O RY OE THE BRI TI SH O CCUPA TI ON OE IN D I A

t L English hands and pa v ed the way f or the establish

M ? ment o f their supremacy H G Keen e write s . . .

“
that his illegitimacy caus e d him to con c ei v e a .

prej udi ce against his countrym en an d to S how a

s t rong preference to W arren
‘
67 Hastings did n ot fin d any favour with the
H olka r s State where A h a l y a Bai was stri v ing
’

for the indepen dence and welfare O f her dominion s

with greater strenuousness even th a n her c on
orary Catherin e o f Russia
, .

r o mi s e of the distri c t Of Broa c h an d

forty on e thousand rupees S i n d h fi on n i v e d at
-

the es cape O f R a g h o b a an d the two English

host a g es from hi s custody The . fa c t w a s he h a d
a,
already begun to grow j eal ous O f Nan a s p ower
w
and had a pri v ate s cheme Of his own R a g h o b a to —

retire towards Jhansi lea v i n g under th e

54
” p
,

j oint control Of hi s y oung son an d th e Sindhi a .

TO h i s imm en se m or t i fic a t i o n these se l fish

“( t J ” ,

proposals were rej ected by Goddard wh o went ”

,

to the length Of even attacking the S i n d h i a s ’

camp and driving h s men in h ot pursuit Warren

r .

Hastings indu c ed th e Ran a Of G o h u d t o j oin C ol .

Popham in c a pt ur i ng firw a l i or which fell before ,

their combin ed atta c k I n 1 7 8 0 C ol Carnac. i n v aded .

41
hi s t erritory an d ravaged it from end to end .

The hum iliation Of th e traitor was n ow complete .

Nana was thoroughly disgusted with t h e

perfidious c hara c ter Of the English He sent a .

m essage to Goddard that the surrender o f Salset t e J -

“ 1 u
1 a n d the person o f R a g h o b a were essenti al preliminar
(V
ies to any treaty n egotiation s So Goddard with t h e .
, ,

advi c e Of the Bombay Government put his army ,

in a sta t e of readin ess to take the O fie n s i y e

’

Nana Fa d n a v i s tried to unite the diff erent prin ces

o f I n d i a against En g lish aggression He in v ite d
m
.

V‘
the Nizam Hyder , Nawab Of Arcot an d
even the Emperor O f Delh i He told the latter .
,
 T HE R I SE O F TH E M ARA T HAS
“
The ways O f the E uropeans are unfair an d wily .

It is their c ustom at first t o ingratiate themselves

with the Indian prin c es S ho w them the advantages
,

of their allian ce an d then put t he prin ce himself

i n to pris on and s eiz e hi s should
therefore p ut do w n th e Europeans which course
‘

alon e will preser v e th e dignity O f the princes Of

this c o untry O ther w ise the European foreign ers
.
,

will s eize the kingdoms o n land an d o c cupy the

”
whole country . This attempt at a great
coalitio n of powers alon g with the defeat of the
M adras forces by Hyder an d an other failure to
capture Po ona th e hear t o f the Empire this
, ,
—

tim e by Goddard greatly di s heartened the En glish

, .

M oo d a j e e B h o n s l e re f u sed to mediate f o r terms

but in order to sa v e himself from utter ruin
, ,

M a d h O JI off ered his services After prolonged .

n egotiation s the Treaty O f S a l by e was con c lude d 5

,

i n 1 7 8 2 an d ratifi e d by Nan a Fa d n a v i s o n hearing

m d e a t h o f Hyder All territori es capture d by
.
V 4 :
the British after the Treaty Of Puran dhar were
surrendered ; R a g h o b a was gi v en a pension O f
rup ees ; Gwalior was restore d to M a d h oj i
Sin dhia Thus ended
. the First M aratha War
i n which Nan a h ad eclipsed the statesmanship
of Hastings It was a glorious t r u i m ph for
.

M arat has an d had Nan a s advice been follo w ed

’

by th e C hieftains o f the M aharashtra the Empire ,

foun ded by Shi v an th e Great would ha v e been ,

established o n a m o re secure an d pe r man ent

basis .
 Hyd er A li

In establishing t heir E mpire in I ndia the ,

English had t o fight all their importa n t battles

w it h the Hindus M arathas Jat
—
Gurkhas Sikh

"
,

But there 1 e grea e x c e p i o n to this gen eral

rule , der Ali H y d e r s greatgrandfat her was
.
’

a e at Gulbarga an d his y o u n g e L ssp ,

Ad s
-
n o

m KM y s o r e an d died in 1 61 8 , 16 7
lea v ing four sons th e youngest of whom wa s the
,

celebrated Ruler of M ysore H y d e r s father had

.
’

entered the M y spge army an d had risen to t h e

rank o f a F auj dar recei v ing a j agir for his loyal
,

ser vices The M ysore Raj as in t h ose days had

.

re signed all their power to ministers li ke D e o raj

and N apj e ra j who suppor t ed t h e French in thei r
struggle wit h the English Mysore troops helped
.

the French in Trinchin opoly an d Hyderabad As .

a so ldier Hyder took part in plun der i ng t h e

,

Ni zam a n d pai d a visit to Pon dicherry where h e ,

admired the discipline of the Frenc h troops and '

the S kill Of their engineers I n 1 7 5 5 N a n j e r a j

.
,

appointed him as t h e Fauj dar o r military go v ernor

o f Din di gul He cons t ructed at Dindig ul a great
.

factory t o prepare c a nn on a n d am munition wit h

the ai d of French workmen .

Since he was total ly illiterate Hyder employed ,

a M aratha Brahmin named Khand Rao

Secretary Through his instrumen t ality the Q uee n
.
,

mother tri e d t o induce Hyder to liberate her s on

ministers Hyder eagerly .

ni ty but for t h e Raj a it

, ,

g for King Stork .

The di sappointed Khan de Rao in v ited t h e M arathas

 HYD ER ALI

:"
’

to puni sh the treas on but b ofor o lon g t h e , ,

M aratha for c es were c alled away to P oon a as a J o

resul t of the Pa n t disaster en c e Hyder / J

m h
.
,

c a pt u R kept hi m in an iron
cage Hen c eforth the R a j a was a o n enti
.
,
in -

M ysore pol i tics an d Hyder b ecam e t Ee v i r t u fi

ru ler of M ysore Hyd er strengthen ed his p ositi on
.

by taking advantage Of a dispute between two

ri v al s for the Raj a ship o f B e d n u r He supported
-
.

o n e claim ant c ap t ured B e d n u r an d made himself

,

master o f t h e kingdom .

From 1 7 6 7 till his death in 1 7 8 2 Hyder ,

was engaged in several a c ti ons with th e English

an d he pr ov ed the m ost formidable enem y w hom

m
.

they had ever en counter d in I n dia The brilliancy } .

Of h i his en emies The .

English were the aggressors f or in 1 7 6 7 th ey

in v ade d hi s territory B a r a m a h a l af t er in ducin g th e
“ ,

N i zam an d the Nawab Of Arcot to desert him .

H y d e r s Commander
’
Fazl u lla khan easily recap
,
- -

tur od the f e w forts taken by the English The .

M adras Go v ernment b ecam e al a rmed an d sent

Cap Brooke to Off er terms o f pea c e But Hyd er
.

“
.

repli ed : I am coming t o the gates of M adras an d

I w ill there listen to the propositi ons t h e Govern or
”
an d Coun cil may have to make I n three days .

a n d a h alf h e co v ered

wonderful feat o f militar skill an d l e a d e r s h i

an d appeared suddenly on S t T hom as M ount ’ I7
.
“
,

five miles from M adras The E nglish were s t ru ck.

with con sternation With great m agn animity an d

.

gen erosity Hyder refrain ed fro m capturing th e

city but al lowed the English to con clude a treaty by
which a mutual resti tution of con q uests w a s m ade
an d an allian c e in d efensive wars con c luded Th e .

British in or d of t o widen the b ach between

‘

Hyder an d the N awab O f Arcot granted Hyder the h o e

distri c t Of Karur whi c h belonged to A r c ot The
,
L,

b .
/
 64 HI S T O R Y OP THE BRITI SH O CCUPA TI O N O F IN D I A

British n ever intended t o fulfil the terms Of

t h e treaty wh en they conclude d it The Court o f.

D irectors con d emned the M adras Governm ent for

c ourt ing disaster an d making the East I ndia sto c k
fall 6 0 per cent .

An oc c asion S oon arri v ed to test the faith o f the

‘

English Hyder was eng a ged in wars with the

.

M arathas in n on e Of which he was a ble t o v an q uish

the sturdy highlan ders of the Da cc a n S O when .

they invaded his dominion f or the fo urth ti m e in

1 7 2 7 2 h e deman ded under the treaty help from
, ,

M a ras . He e v en we n t to the length Of r e v ealing

to the foreigners Nana Fa d n a v i s s plan o f a great ’

c ombination of powers again st them but the ,

English refus ed assistan ce Hyd er exhibited his .

want Of statesmanship i n n ot enterin g into an

a lliance w ith Nan a Fa d n a v i s e v en tho u gh the
M arathas agreed to reduce the C hauth paid t o th e
Peshwa s go v ern ment an d to allow him t o keep
’

c erta in districts th at h a d been pledged to them

.
.

H e had n ot the large vision foresight a nd ,

im a gination O f a real sta tesman .

Sin ce the English v i o lat ed their solemn agree

ment Hyder turn ed his attention t o them after
.

, ,

h i s re t urn from a con queri n g expe d ition to Coor g

. .

He dismissed wi t h in sults t h e m issionary

Schwartz and the English envoy M r Gray Then in . .

. July 1 7 8 0 he swooped down upon the Carnatic

, , .

Where v er he went h e was h a iled as a deli mer

'

because th e people h a d been extremely oppressed

an d their min ds completely alien a ted by the sort
.

o f govern ment th a t h a d be en established in that

country bu m s Nawab with the h elp o f the
English The M adras Go v ernment roused th e m sel v es
.

a; from their torpor an d directed C ol Hm f r om .

) an d C 0 1
Wite from P ond ig h e r r y t o
I

l
(
V
.

‘
p r o c e e d towards a d r a s With h i s
. l arge force
an d superior tactics and the able genera lship n o t
“

.
,
 HY D ER ALI

Of himself only b ut Of dis tinguished F ren ch O fi c e r s

,

l ike M L al ly he coul d have succeeded in d r iving

.
,

out the English from Southern In di a .

But such was n ot th e will of pro v iden c e An d .

"
s o it happen ed that Hyder c ommitted a mistake A .

which en able d Brai thwaite to reach M adras ‘

7
.

Warren Hastings purchase d the allian c e o f the

’
l l a

Nizam b y a promise of the distri ct o f Gunt ur an d TM

’
m ade him j ealous Of H y d e r s success by a false
rum our that the Emperor had promi s ed to m ake
Hyder the v iceroy Of the Da c c a n
M e a n while,
Hyder utterly routed the Guntur
f orce capturing Sir D avid Baird an d C ol Baillie
,
.

as prisoners and killing about 7 00 Englishmen .

T his disaster was the m ost fatal that h a d e v er

o v ertaken the E n glish in India H astings .

imm e d iately sent 1 5 lakhs O f rupees and a large force

un der Sir Eyre Coote to M adras He al so put an .

end t
o the M arath a W a
. r Sir Eyre C oote dre w a
pict ure in e ar ke s t colours n ot only o f the
,

weak an d disastrous con dition into which the

country was bro u ght but Of the n egligen ce an d
,

in capacity if n ot the corrupti on and guilt of

, ,

those ser v ants o f the Company under whose mis

managem ent su ch misfortun es had arrived SO .
,

a quarrel natu rall y ensued between Coote

. an d the
M adras Go vernment an d Sir Eyre left for Bengal .

Hyder h a d n ot yet been van quished He was in .

the zenith o f his fame when fort unately f or the

,

B ritish he died o n the 7 t h December 1 1 82

, , .

The death Of Hyder was a great loss to th e

M y s o r e a n s as well as the M arathas The treaty .

o f S a l b y e was n ot n otified by Nana Fa d n a v i s until

h e lost all h opes by Hy d e r s success
’
Though an .

illite r ate M uslim an d a great soldier h e was a l ,

together free from f a n a t i c I s m He appo i nted w

“
.

f
an d Krishn a Rao to the h igh l
"
Hin dus like Purn
m
p osts in the administration an ad never any p
:
66 HI S T O R Y OF THE BRITI SH O CCUPA TI ON OF IN D I A

cause to regret his choi ce He was a b orn soldie r

.

an ex cellent rider an d skilful alike with his sword

an d his g u n A S a sol d ier Hy der in his lifetim e
.
,

was without any equal in India an d without m any

in the world He w a s the only I ndian prince o f
.

his time w h o organised an d maintain ed a n avy

for the d e f e n c e o f his coast lin e
~ -
.

But n o greater mistake can be committed th an

that o f comparing Hyder to S hi v a j I o r Nan a
Fa d n a v i s His statesm an ship was n o t Of a hig h
.

order He was an u pstart an d a usurper w h o

.

tr ied to impose hi s will upon others an d depen ded

on out side help He also commit t ed a great mis
.

take in n ot j oining Nan a Fa d n a v i s and fightin g

the foreign d anger Again he placed confi d en ce
.
,

in unfaithful Frenchm en to whom h e ga v e ofii c e s

,

of trust an d responsibility in hi s army Even .

duri n g his life he had e v ery reason to be dis

,

satisfied with their conduct He rose from the .

rank o f a pri v ate soldier to th at Of a gen eral an d ‘

then an independent sovereign wh ose n ame i n

spired terror an d respect in the minds of t h e
English .
 '
Ri s e of t he N i z am s Dynas t y

Th e N i zam w a s t h e first ser v ant o f t h e

M og h ul E m peror to d eal t h e d e a th bl ow at h i s -

m a ster s s u pr e m acy He was a traitor t o h i s

’
.

s o v e r e i gn an d h i s co u n try an d h i s rise w a s d u e
to treac h ery i n t r i gu e a n d c u n nin g After t h e
,
.

d eath Of Aur a n gz e b t h e Sai d bro t h ers becam e ,

k i n g m a kers
-
s i n cerely d es i ro u s l i ke Cromwell
, , ,

to sa v e t h e Empire from im pen din g ru in A .

Tu r a ni n oblem an calle d Chin Kili ch Khan (t h e,

-

N i z a m u l mulk ) w a s th e Go v ern or o f M ora d abad

- -

w h en t h e broth ers we r e guidi n g the ship o f s t ate

in t h e n a m e o f t h e E m peror F ero k h Siar For .

som e cr i m e C h in K il i c h K h a n w a s depri v ed Of
,
-

hi s Office a n d s o h e co n spired a ga i n st t h e a s ce n
d a n cy Of t h e S a i d s O n a ccount Of t h e p ower of
‘

Hu ss a in A l i K h a n t h e V iceroy Of the Deccan,

t h e y ou n ger S a i d the c o n spirators failed a n d

—

t h e eld er bro t h er b e c a m e Vi zier o r Protector of

the Empire Th e Sa i d V izier sh owed rem a rkable
.

states m a n s h ip by a bolishin g t h e p oll t a x ren ewed -

by Auran gzeb He also a ppoin ted Chin Kilich

.
-

Khan w h o h a d been w o n over by him a s

, ,

Govern or o f Mal w a in 1 7 20 , .

A s soon as h e bec a m e V iceroy in Malwa h e ,

tu rn ed h i s attenti on tow a r d s in creasi n g the number

o f h i s troops filli n g hi s m a g a zin es ex erci si n g his
, ,

o f ficers an d soldi ers a n d m a ki n g n e w acquisiti on s

” 8
in t h e di stri ct o f C h an d eri 8 an d began intri gues
in t h e Imperial C o u rt Therefore it w a s proposed .
,

to tr a n sfer hi m to M ulta n K h a n desh or All a habad , .

“
A t th i s b e resol v ed t o display openly the stan d
” 89
ard of revolt an d in th e w a r that ensued ,
68 HI S T O RY OF T HE BR ITI SH O CC UPA TI O N OE IN D I A

Hussain A li Khan was S lain an d the V izier i m ‘

prisoned Niza m u l mulk became thus th e V iceroy

.
- -

o f the De c can also He proceeded in 1 7 22 towards

.

Delhi in triumph an d the helpless Emperor

created h i m V izier an d gave him the V i ceroyalty
Of Guzerat also Though n ow the greatest m a n
.

in the Empire h e w a s singularly devoid of

,

statesmanlike qualities He was a consu m mate .

hypocri t e a n d so was very u npopular all round .

Hence he resign ed his Office o f V izier an d pro

,

c e e d e d t owards the D eccan The Emperor while .

,

accepti n g his resignation ga v e hi m the Offi c e of ,

V akil i M ut t a k an d the title Asaf J ah

- -
.

He repaid all these acts of kin dness by black

in gratitude He asked the Govern or of Guzerat
.

to ra v age imperial territories with th e help Of the

M aratha leaders S i ll a j i an d K a n t a j i SO Guzerat , ,

an d M al wa were taken away from him an d grant

ed to Hindu n obles Asaf Jah invited B a j i Rao .

Peshwa to attack these pro v in ces The Hin du .

go v ern ors of th ese pro v in ces in significant con t ra st ,

wi th the disloyal M uslim V i ceroys tried their ,

u tmost to repel th e invasions The auth or of the .

“
S eir says : Raj a G i r i d h a r (V iceroy Of M alwa) would
n ot s uf f e r his country to b e ravaged ; an d bein g
an O f ficer o f ch aracter h e engaged B aj l R a o ,

several tim es after having in v ain requeste d

,

assistan ce fr om the capital His repeated repr o .

s e n t a t i on s to the thron e an d to the ministers

availed n othing an d th at brave man ha v ing
, ,

wasted his small force in endless skirmishes at ,

” 80
last fell himself in o n e O f them Here is a '

lesson f o r the ru lers Of I n dia who E h o u l d follo w

the poli c y o f the an cient Roman s an d of the
M oghuls an d repose c on fid e n i n the I ndians
by e n t r u s t i n t h e m l the 5 1 i Offices Of
T
the S t a t éT To i h a t is the only way to safe
g ua r d the Empire .
 ’
RI SE O F T HE N IZ AM S D YN A S TY

Niz a m -
ul -
m u lk is als o suspecte d Of h avi n g A LL
hah t o invade H i n d u s t a n ,
t

troops
th e assista n ce Of th e Emperor a n d h i s lo y al n oble s
d
V i
l ke S aad
w an A S soon as Nadir S h a h return ed t o
.

h I s country h e declared h i s indepe n de n ce tran s

d ?
s
,

ferred his capital from Auran gabad t o H y d erabad a n d

,

I1 u 6
‘
w a s busy in stre n gtheni n g h i s p o w er in the D eccan
'

W
.

At last in 1 7 48 death put an en d to h i s t reacherie s

-
,

a t the repu tE d a g e o f 1 04 He was succeeded by

. U 9
l
“
Nasir Ju n g an d it was this succession w hich
brou ght ab out the first c onfli c t bet ween the a ch
a n d the E n glish in India .
 The Ri s e of t he O ud e Pri n ci pali t y

The history Of O ude can well b e compared to

t h e rising a n d disappearance of a great a n d o mi
n ous comet It rose and became indep endent O f
.

t h e paramount M oghul po w er b y means of trea

c hery an d n e v er did any good either to the India n

p eople or to the M og hul Emperor O n the con .

t r a r y it materially
, co n tributed to t h e growth of
t h e British po w er in I ndia not only by m eans of
i ntrigu es but by furnishing assistance in money
a n d m en Sir
. Henry Lawren ce says that it was
“
periodically u sed as a wet nurse to relie v e the -

d ifficulties of the East I n dia Company s

’
- o
“
A gain O ude sup plied
, the best discipline d i n
f a n t r y in India Three fourths of the B en gal
.

N ative I nfantry come fro m O u de and recr u iti n g

p arties from Bombay are so m eti mes seen to th e
” 92
E ast Of the Ga u ges S O the debt o f the E n glis h
.

t o O ude can never b e estimated

m
.

i s t K han the fou n der of the Prin cipali ty

, ,

w a s a nati v e o f Persia who came into pro mi n ence

— I

d uring the tangle d conspiracies against the Said

b rothers at Delhi The Emperor freed fro m the
.
,

b rothers ga v e him the V iceroyalty O f O ude

,
He .

w as a cap able administrator an d so he soon r e ,

d u c e d the refractory S pirits in O ude an d gre a tly

i ncreased the revenue Th e aggrandisement O f
.

his o w n fa mily was his o n e su preme Obj ect i n

l ife
. Sir Henry La w re n ce b e lIe v e s that h e had
a lso j oined i n the in v itation to Nadir Shah but
t he Seir u l M u t a k h a r e e n does n o t im pute any
- -

t reachery to him When Nadir Shah actu al ly

.

i nvaded Hindus t an Saadat Khan went out t o

,
 T HE R I SE OF T HE OUDH PR IN C I PALI TY 71

li ght with him Saadat Khan die d c omparatively

“

y oung at the age o f 5 0 lea v ing only a daug h ter .

His t w o nephe w s Sher Jung and S uf d e r Jung

c ontested the principality an d Nadir Shah who , ,

w as then in D elhi chose S u f d e r Jung mainly

,

b ecause he had paid him a nuzzer O f t w o million s

s terling When Niza m ul mulk resigned the office
.
- -

o f V izier S u f d e r Jung
,
was made Nawab Vizier
and he sustained for som e tim e t h e tottering
a uthority o f the King o f Delhi S u f d e r died in
.

1 7 5 4 an d was succeeded by his s on S h uj a u d -

d aula whom we ha v e already m et many ti mes

,

i n connectio n with the growt h o f the British p ower

i n Beng al .
 S i r John Macpher s on .

Af t er this ac count O f the rise o f Hyder Ali ,

the Nizam an d the Na w ab O f O ude necessary f or —

a clear understa n ding o f the h istory of the relation s

of t h e Britis h with the m we can resume o ur
n arr ati ve Sir Jo hn M a cpherson who officiated a s
.
,

G o v ern or General Of I n dia on the departure of

-

Wa rren Hastings was first employed as Secretary

,

to the Nawab of Arcot Flattered an d ca j oled by

.

th e English from George III downwards t h e ,

Nawab took every opportunity to pleas e them with

costly presents an d grants of land Lord .

M acartney for example was on ce Off ered

, ,

as a present during a ce rem onial v i s i tj L At last

’
,

M acpherson was asked by the Nawab to plead his

cause in England supported by liberal bribes t o
,

Directors an d Cabinet ministers Nothing came .

,

h owe v er of his attempts except an appointment f or

,

him a s a wri ter in M adras He was dismisse d .

in 1 7 7 6 but he create d su ch an agitation o v er hi s

dismiss al that the Company promoted him to t h e
rank Of M ember Of the Supreme C ouncil a t
Calcutta ! 9 4 Thus on the d eparture Of Hastings ,

h e was e nab led to becom e the Go v ern or General -

.

But h e was n ot made Go v ern or Gen eral for lon g

,
-

because as Lord Cornwallis w r ot e h e was“ notorious

, ,
“ ” “ ”
f o r ill earned money
-
flimsy cunning
,
shameles s ,
” “ ”
fa lseh oods m ean
, j obbin g and peculati on
“
duplicity and l o w in tri gues Even after h i s
retire ment his election to parli
,
“
a ment was cancelled

o n the groun d Of bribery B etween 5 0 and 6 0

.

Of his supporter s had been con victed o f that

Off en c e an d 82 actions had be en brought against
”
h i m which he a v oided by goin g abroad At last ,

h e was found guilty o f bribery and fined

Su ch was the character O f o n e O f the Govern ors
General o f I ndia .
 L or d Corn walli s .

1 7 86 —
1 7 93 .

Lord C ornwallis was Off ered t h e Governor

Gen eralshi p Of India as early as 1 7 8 2 but he d o
cl i n e d it b ecause he wante d to b e an autocrat
in dep e nde n t of his C o un ci l After the defeat o f
.

t h e C oalition M inistry on the q uestion Of F ox s

,
’

India B ill Pitt cam e to p ower an d hi s Bi ll of

,

1 7 8 4 established a Board Of C ontrol t o superinten d

the aff airs of the Co mpany E ve n this n e w A c t did
.

n ot satisfy C or n w allis S O an other l a w (2 6 Geo I I I

. .

was pass ed by which the Govern or Gen er a l -

could act without the consent Of his C oun ci l and

even ag ainst its Opinion .

He w a s an I rish m an a n d ca m e to In di a t o
r e t r i e v e a blasted re putation He h ad surren dered at
.

Y orktown to Washingto n and lo st the American

colonies . He was n ot a g reat man an d h ad n o
stron g pr in ciples He was a repute d drunkard
.
97

an d h i s character was n ot ab o v e suspi cion T he .

ministers at h om e wanted to establis h an E mpire

i n the East to compen sate f or th e loss O f that i n
the W est an d so h e was given a ch an ce
‘ ’
,

He was unsympathetic to Na t ive prin ces from

the very be ginning When M adha y a R a o Sin dhi a
.
,

a s gu a rdian of t h e Delhi Emperor deman ded t he ,

customary tribute he had the sense o f justice a n d

,

honour to refuse it . The Na w ab of O udh had

been burden ed by Hastings wit h British troop s
wh os e servi c es he did n o t re q uire According t o .

contract he wanted that these sh ould b e withdrawn

, ,

but C ornwallis turned a deaf ear to his entrea t ies .

 74 H I S T O RY OF T HE BRITI SH O CC U PA TI ON OF IN D I A

He was in structed by the Court o f Directors to

deman d from the Nizam the su r ren der of t h e circar
o f Guntur . C or n wallis did n ot do this i n a
s traightfor w ard mann er b u t con v eyed a body of
”9
troops to the n eighbo urhood of the C i r an d
s ent Captain K e n n a w a y to Hy d e r a b a O f course ,

Guntur was gi v en back without a S ho w of resista n ce .

But the greatest ambition O f Co r n w allis was

to cross blades wit h Tipu T he E n glish h a d suff er
.

ed much at the hands O f Hyder a n d h i s son a n d

“
terrified at i that E n l i s h m others or

scared their n aughty c i ld r e n w ith EIS n ame ” 89

.

The Go v ernor General was wai t ing for some con

-
,

v e n i e n t pretext to cro p up He delibe r ately v iola

.

‘
ted the treaty concluded with Tip u in 1 7 8 4 an d
‘d
/
b l in a treaty with the Niza m went to the length of
omitting Tipu s name S ignificantly in a list of the
’

this treaty
Since by the
was rec ognised as a n ally
C or n w allis was guilty o f bad
faith an d disobedien ce o f Acts o f Parliam ent .

M oreo v er he made friends with the Pesh w a and

,

the B ho n s l a wh o were enemies o f t h e M ysore

—

rulers He m ade elab orate preparations f o r war

.

an d circulated wild stories regarding Tipu s barba ’

r i t i es
, though they pale into i n s i g n i fic a n c e in
comparison with the cruelties o f Europeans .

The immediate cause which led t o the war was

M
A . the allegation that Tipu was m editating an attack '

a V‘ O n the R aj a o f Tra v an core an ally o f t h e C o m pa n y

,
.

C or n M h a v e suff ered the swallowing up

‘

of Tra v an core a n d he would n ot hav e ra i s ed his

I
little finger to sa v e h i s ally had he n o t considered
that defeating Tipu would retrie v e his reputation
a n d h a d he n o t also been promised assistance by
f the M a r a t h a s a n d t he Nizam M r F ox called this
f
. .

a lliance a plunderin g confeder a cy for the

 L O RD C O RN WALLI S

e xti rpation Of a lawful prin ce for his allies were

each pr o m m
,

«
h e b ooty .

Col Wilks writes that Tipu was unprep ared

.

f or war an d Mr Holland
. ex Go v ern or of,
-

“
M adras that he had n o intention to break with
,

t h e C ompany . Ti pu himself ass u red the English

t h at h e had n o idea o f in vading Travancore an d
re q uested a n amicabl e s ettlem ent by ex change of
«
envoys But C ornw al lis was for takin g ad v antage
.

o f the rare Opportunity

W et

DO an d when a co iti ou had

b een or i o s l re ( 1 against him General .

M e ad u y an insulting reply
an d com men ced operation s But Tip u s oon A
.

p ro v ed more than a matc h for h i m .

S o C orn w allis himself took t h e field B angalore

,
.

“
w a s captured by assault an d a d e pl o r a bl arna e
of its inmates perpetrated S .

peace an d agents were insultingly disregarded an d

the Go v ern or Gen er al proceeded to h i s capital
“

S eringapatam . Tipu sent him a present o f fru it ,

w hich was return ed untou ched The fact was .

,

as
e i t e s the feelings O f the English resembled
.

m ore the rage and fury o f s a v ages than O f

c i v ilised beings 1 02
. Plun der prom otion an d glory l a Z
,

c ould n ot b e ac q uired by the paths o f p eace .

A number o f Europeans especially Frenchmen , ,

“
A m on g them was a m an n amed
departure was a seri ous loss to
s he possessed considerable skill in
Seringapatam was besieged an d
was very n early fallen .

Just then Nan a Fa d n a v i s an d other Marath as

,

p u t pressure upon the G o v ern or General to -

c on clude peace .This was very fort un ate for the

R a j as of M ysore u nder wh om M ysore h as t o day
,
-

become a m o del Stat e f o r h ad C ornwallis destroyed

,

T ipu
, he would never have troubled himself
 H I S T O RY

\
76 OF T HE BRITI SH O CC U PA TI ON or IN DIA

about the rightful sovereign o f the state By t h e

4 ,
4
.

Treaty of Seri n gapatam 2 3 d F ebruary 1 7 92 Tipu

l
'
, , ,

was forced to cede half his dominion pay t hree ,

crores of rupees and deliver two of his sons a s

hostages .

Cornwallis could n ow boast that for the first .

time the British obtain ed some territory by

,

con quest an d n ot merely by fraud diplomacy or ,

i ntrigue His war was v ery popular in England

.
,

w here a loan of was subscribed f o r its

e x pe n s e s though it was against the Act of
7 p Parliament of 1 7 84
,

M
‘
He treated the Act with
/
.

uninterrupted contempt an d recei v ed applause for

every successful violation of
His policy was to have I ndi a n ot for Indian s ,

but for E n gland He excluded the childre n of

.

t h e soil from all high offices in the government

of t h e countr y While the In dian princes were
.

appointing European soldiers a n d officers the ,

Englis h Company excluded Indians from all high

a ppointments The European civil servants o f
“

India were corrupt an d in compe t ent an d a

disgrace to any go v ernment So Cornwalli s .
,

enhan ced their salary i n order to improve them .

As a result of this I ndians b ecame m ere he w ers

,
“
o f wood an d d rawers of water ”
They contin ue d .

in a state o f dreary s t a g n a t i o n fiQ fij o r n on e b ut t he ’

lowest o fii ccs were bestowed upon the n ati v es Hi s

s o called j udicial reforms made the people m or e
litigious and poor f or they rendered j ustic e
“
,
” 1 06
unin tell igible tedi ous an d expen si v e
, Perj ury .

and forgery in creased to an awful extent T h e .

law courts became h o t beds o f corr uption Curi -

.

ously en ough the Go vernment was n ot boun d b y

,

any law .

N o r was h e able to maintain law a n d order

D acoities were prev al ent w ith mur d ers burning s ,
“
an d ex c essive cruelties V olumes might be fille d .
 L O RD C ORN WALLI S
‘

ith the atro c ities of the dacoits every lin e of

w ,

which wo uld make the bl ood ru n cold with

” 1 07
h orror
‘
.There was n o pro tection for p erso n or
property .

Lord C orn wallis i s n ot enti tled to an y credit

for enforcing m easures o f P erman ent Reve n ue
S ettle m ent He w a s n ot in any way the auth or
.
, ,

o r origi n ator o f Th e idea first originated

with Sir P hilip F ran cis an d his plan of finan ce .

was adopted with blin d enthu si asm with a sort of ,

m echa nical an d irresistible Wh en h e

establishe d the system the assessments were very
,

h eavy an d there was wi despread default an d sale

“
of estates so that within t e n years a c omplete
,

revolution took place in th e con stituti on an d

”
own ership o f the estate s .

Thus i n s even years o r n w a l li s

, had re t ri eved
hi s h on our an d becom e a M arquis ; he was able to
c reate s o mu ch faith i n h i s p owers that h e w a s
s ent o u t for a s e co n d t ime to In di
a He c on firm. ed
the usurpation of B en gal Bih ar an d O rissa ; ,
I

he con q uere d territories for his m a sters an d

e xpelle d the F ren ch from In di a ; he debase d the
n atives an d created anarc hy by his j udi cial r e
“
forms To c “all C ornwal lis a m an of s tern re c ti
. .

” ‘
tu de or of high pri n ci ples or of pacific i n t e n ’

’
t io ns i s on e o f those falsehoods whi c h unfortun ately
a b ound i n the pages of In dian history written b y
t h e Englis h .
 S i r John S hor e

In 1 7 9 3
’
the Company s charter was renewe d
,

for twenty years Since Englan d was fighting the

.

French Re v olution she wanted to show the world

,

h er pacific intenti on s ; and so a n e w clause w a s

inserted in the charter b y the exertions o f Sir
“
Philip Francis that to pursue schemes of con
quest an d extension o f dominion in India a r e
measures repugnant to the wish the h onour and ,
”
the policy o f this n ation etc Y et an agitation , .
,

was started by the m anufacturers o f M an cheste r

an d Glasg o w to ruin the cotton industry of I n dia .

Sir J o hn Shore had the reputation of being sancti

m o n i o u s in appearance an d a lo v er of peace So .
,

he w a s ch osen to succeed Cornwallis .

But really speakin g he was n o lo v er of peace

, .

He was the President o f the Board of Revenue

under Warren Hastings an d o n e of his greatest
frien ds Edmund Burke strongly obj ected to h i s
.

appointment and sen t letters to the Chairma n and

D eputy Chairman of the C ompan y as well as t o
M r Dundas
.
“ 1

At first Sir John t urned his attention to t h e

,
“
impro v ement o f Calcutta its police i t s inter n al
, ,
.

m an a gement also f or cleani n g the streets controlling

, ,

sale o f spirituous li quors and other matters whic h

,
”11
contributed to t h e welfare o f the community .

But M a i a t h a a ff airs soon engaged his attention .

A h a l y a Bai h a d died lea v ing the throne to t h e

,

youn g an d pr ofli g a t e T o ok a j e e H olk a r He listened .

to the machin ations of M r M alet the envoy of t h e .

,

C ompany at Poona an d ra v aged the territories o f

,

M a d h on Sindhia when he went on a visit t o t h e

 S IR J OHN SH O RE

Peshwa Mr M al et tru e t o t h e pri n ciples of his

. .
,
“
predecessor M r M osty n wante d to fom e n t d o
.
, 24 “
” 4 7
m e s t i c dis sen si on s in order t o get n of he
t w o ta ll p pp M
’
in th e aharashtra Nan a
'

o re s
—

Fa d n a v i s an d the S c i n d h i a O f these M a d h oj i was.

,

weaken ed by the H ol k a r s attacks an d at last was

’

, ,

way laid by an arm ed gan g empl o y ed for the

purpose by Nan a as som e v ersi ons re l ate but

m
, ,

m ore probably s el i M a d h oj i s
’

dea th greatly g l a d d e n e th e m i n a o f all English

s

m en from Lord Cornwallis downwards

,
.

Charles M alet w rote : A s lo n g a s N an a r emain ed

suprem e at th e Po on a C ourt th ey (the B t i t i s h ) ,

should n e v er dream of obtainin g a firm footi n g

”
in th e Mahratta ki n g d om But M c ou l d b e
.
,

rem oved only b his death i m pris onm ent o r

g
,

grace or by a o an ge in th e Peshwaship O n th e .

2 5 t h O ctober 1 7 9 5 it is stated th e Peshwa M a dho o a

m
, ,

Rao c o mm i u
i i d e by throwin g him self down
f
from th e terrace 0 his p al ace fr acturing t w o of ,

his limbs a n d survi v in g but f or two day s G r a n t fi w ’

fi k
.

Duf f writes that though th e Peshw a c o

,

us s er a h festival with great eclat only t

d a y s earli er a fixe d m elan c h oly seized o n
,

but thi s i s very improbable Ag a in it is .

,
“
said that the Peshwa w a s overwhel m ed with
”
anger disappointm en t an d grief because N an a
, ,

Fad n a v i s h a d kept his cousin B a j l Rao s on of ,

B a gh c ha i n t o o close confin e m ent

, This reas on
w ill scarcely h old water si n ce Nan a h a d been

"
,

given full p ower an d sin ce th e Peshw a himself

m an y tim es insisted on his ex ercising su ch dis i J
D
- .

c retion M o 1 e o v e r B a j 1 Rao d eser v ed th e punish M

.
,

m ent as a trai or Agai n th ose wh o deliberately

.
,

commit s u l cl d e will ge n erally choos e o n ly painless

methods o f death S o if it i s n ot due to accident
.
, ,

it must h a v e been des i gn ed by Mr M alet ; for .

,

ever since hi s birth M adh oo Rao was the enemy ,

 80 H I S T O RY OF T HE B R ITI SH OCC UP ATI ON OF IND I A

Of t h e English stan ding in th e way o f R a g h o b a .

The Bomb ay Governm en t disputed his legitim acy

a n d tacitly su p p orte d Baj i R a o s o n o f R a g h o b a , .

Wh en B a j i Rao becam e Peshwa Nan a s power ,

’

d eclin ed He tri ed to be at th e hel m of aff airs

.

b y askin g the wi dow o f the late Peshwa to adopt

a son but this was re v ealed to Baj i Rao by the
,

C ompany s envoy an d s o Nan a h a d to r u n away

’
,

from Poon a an d spen d some y ears in captivity .

T hus English influence became supreme among

the M ar a thas .

M d ho d i aL i n F e b ru ary
- 1 7 94 an d was ,

~
S u cce e ed by Daulat Rao w h o was v ery ambitious ,

to combin e the M arathas again st the Nizam for

‘

paying O ff m any O l d scores an d to realise arrears

~
o f chauth am ounting to over two crores The .

Nizam was helpless ; b e shut himself up i n

Kurdla an d h a d to surre n der to the confederacy .

The Nizan n aturally resented the treachery of the

English wh o did n ot come to his help an d S O
am
, ,

he en couraged Fren ch Officers like M

t o train h i s t mO ps The protests o f the Go v ern or
.

G eneral the President an d Govern or O f

,
Bombay
fell flat on t h e N izam S O th e English began to .

.apprehen d danger from that corn er an d they i n

d u c e d the N iz am s s o nJ i g Jah to rebel against
’

h i s father The Nizam was compelled to ask for

,

English help to put down his son an d thus they

f orced him to accept all the m easures proposed
t he m
“
. Sir John Sh ore en cour a ged a s e t o f
English ad v enturers to go to Hyderabad and off er
t heir serv ices t o t h e an d the corps they
a ttempted to disciplin e remained but as an
a wkward s q a d compared with the battalions the
”
frenchmen had t r a i n e d M .

mad Ali Nawab of Arcot was very , '

,

the English because he as signed them

yielding four and a half lakhs Of p a godas
 S IR J O HN SH O RE

f or their ser v ices in putting him upon th e

t hron e M oreover he sho w ered gold an d silver
,

upon the m o n a la v ish scale A nu m ber O f .

English ad v enturers like Paul B e n fie l d an d others

ga v e h i m loans o n hig h rates of co mpound inter
e s t for thes e pur poses an d s o when he died at the
,

a g e of 7 9 in 17 95 the amount of his li abiliti es

,

was si mply astou n ding Lord Hobart th e Governor

J
.
,

o f M adras t r ied to force upon his s o n O m d ut u l “ -

,

O mrah a treaty by whic h the Company should

get all the dis t ric t s m ortgaged for the payme n t of 7 ,

the instalm e n t s as well as s om e forts and the

s o v ereig n ty o v er the P oly g a r s The G ov ern or .

G eneral an d h i s Coun cil di d n o t approv e o f

this plunder and s o n othing w as done for th e
pres ent .

The m ann er i n which Sir John Shore dealt wit h

O u dh w a s even m ore atrocious than that O f
Warren Hastings He consi dered O udh to b e 0 44

:
.

a gift fro m }
“ ”
dependency on t he English x
7 ,
.
,

t h e C ompany
”
whate v er its relation s under 5
,
”
t reaties may be ! T h e subsidy O f fifty lakhs was
p aid by t h e Vizier pun ctually an d without c om
plaint but Sir Joh n Shore c ompelled him b y
,

threats administered in person at Lu c kn ow to add

to t h is the expens e of mainta inin g on e European
a n d on e n ati v e regiment of cavalry thus S ham e ,

fully violati ng t h e engagement of Corn wall 1s n ot _

t o increase t he subsi d y They remo v ed his .

96 1 M
m i nister M ahar a j ah M all and
guiltless o f an y crime kept him as a state pri
a l t h ou g h
g ,

S on e r
. Asaf u d daula took these s o mu c h to heart
- -

that he fell ill an d refus ed m edi cin e ex claimin g

f j , .

9
“ ”
There is n “o cure for a broken heart l eaving the ,

C ompany to improve the in c ident o f a fresh

s u c cession .

V izier Ali a n atur al son o f Asaf suc c eeded

,

t o the musnud an d w as re c ognised by the G overn or

 82 HI S T ORY OF THE B RITI SH O CC U PA TI ON OF IND IA

General an d R esiden t B ut shortly after w ards ,

Sir John Shore disco v ered i n Benares a b r ot her

o f the late V izier called ,
Saadat Ali who w as ,
“
a m ore promising sponge t o Jo h n
”1 17
”7 n ow figured m ore in the light Of a n a u ctio n ee r
“
f or the people seemed as it were sold to t h e
“
highest bidder O f course Saadat Ali cheerfully
.
,

consented t o pay u p all a r e a r s to gi v e u p t h e ,

f or fi f
mv f
Allaha bad and Fut t y G ur h wit h eleven
lak s O rupees or e cost of repairing the m t o
51 W ,

if “
in crease the annual subsidy fro m fif t y six to
se v enty six lakhs to pay a ll expenses of m o v i n g
-

,
-

th e Company s troops besides a cas h payme n t o f

’
,

twel v e l akhs and t o banis h fro m O udh all

,

5 10 Europeans ex cept the ser v a n ts O f the Compa u

,

s o that the inj ustice mig h t n ot get win d a broa d .

A

For all these ser v ices t he B r itish Go v er n or

(i t Q ,
’
k General was gi v en the t i t le o f Baron Teig n mouth
‘

in 1 7 9 7 Sir Henry La w re n ce w r ote i n the C a lc u t t a

Q7
.

7 '

R e v i e w for J a IIu a r y 1 84 5 : M uch a s we admir e -

“
,

Lord T e i g n m o u t h s domestic c haracter we are

’
,

obl i ged entire ly to conde mn the whole te n or of

O ud h n egotiati on s Historians ha v e hithe r t o let
.

hi m down sligh t ly but his Lordship may b e ,

judged by the sam e sta n dard as other pu blic

O fficers ; by the right o r by th e w rong that he
c ommitted an d n ot by his suppose d moti v es or
,
”
h i s pri v ate character .
 The Mar ques s of Wellesley .

Ri ch a rd C o lley Wellesley Earl of M ornington , ,

b etter kn o w n as t h e M arquess of W ellesley w a s ,

b orn i n Irelan d in 1 7 6 0 A S a m em ber Of th e .

Irish Parl i a m ent h e w a s a great ad mirer a n d

,

frien d Of Gr a tt a n I n 1 7 8 4 he cam e o v er t o
. .

E n gl a n d a n d en tered t h e House O f Commons as a

L i b e ral bu t w i th t h e progress of t h e F ren ch Re v o
,

l u t i o n h e beca m e a n en emy to a ll reform an d h i s

,

Opini o n s became bi a ssed I n 1 7 9 3 h e becam e .

,

a m ember of t he Board o f C on trol an d

stu d ied In d i an con d iti on s with great en ergy
an d care A ccordin g to M r Hutton hi s b i o g r a
. .
,
“
pher h e h a d
, the a d v ant a ge o f an intimate a c
q u ai nt a n c e with Lord C ornwalli s ”
W hen Lord
Teignm outh res i gn e d Pitt was n ot in clin ed to
.

b estow t h e office o n Lor d Hobart since h e w ante d ,

a stro n ger an d m ore d a ri n g Offi cer He selected .

Corn walli s a gain ; but t h e rebelli on which Pitt h a d

pro v oked in I rel an d an d t h e h ell h e had let loos e
u p on th a t l an d req u i red Cornw a llis s ser v i ces ’
.

S O hi s choi ce fell o n Lord M ornington

,
w h o had ,

O n c e be e n ,
O ff e r e r e d t h e G o v ern orshi p o f M adras
an d w h o w a s o n e O f his few intimate frien ds
“
.

After a week at H ol w o o d with Pitt S pent in ,

a n xi o u s d i sc u ssi o n s of t h e n e e ds an d pros pects

of o u r In d ian possessi o n s M orn i n gton was d e fin i t e
ly a ppo i n ted G o v er n or G en eral o f In dia
-
Lord .

M o r n i n g t o n s pri v ate life was m arked by a rath er

’

h alf h earted respect f o r t h e se v en th com m an dment :

-

He kept a Fre n ch con cu bin e f o r som e ti m e

wh o m h e a f t t r w a r d s m a de h i s wife a n d had
children by h e r b u t sh e did n ot care muc h .

f or h i m an d prob ably this disappointment

,
84 H I S T OR Y OF T HE B RITI SH O CC U PATI ON OF I ND I A

i n lo v e made the hi m
v ictim of mor bid
He broug h t out his brother Henry
Fr a n k o ph o b i a .

as his political secretary while another brother ,

Arthur had already preceded hi m to In dia The .

policy o f th e triumvira t e i s clearly e xpre s sed in

the following extract from a letter t o a frien d
writte n by th “e Go v er n or Gen eral t w o years after -

his arrival I will heap kingdoms upon kingdoms

—

victory upon v i ctory re v enue up on re v enue I ,

will accumulate g lory an d weal th and p ower ,

until the ambi t ion an d avarice even of m y mast ers

”
shal l cry for m ercy .

M r Dundas h a d i n structed the Earl to atten d

.

with the utmost vigilan ce to th e system of

retaining i n Native States Euro pe an O f ficers
, ,

un der whom their troops are trained During .

his sh ort stay at th e C ape o f Good Hope he ,

inter v iewed two I ndian O f fic e r s Da vi d Baird who -

had been forced as a prison er to play the m onkey

for Tipu s pleasure an d M aj or K irkpatrick former
’
, ,

Re sident at Gwalior E n v oy to Nepal and R esident

,

at Hyderabad These t w o poison ed his m ind

.

ag a inst Ti pu the Ni zam and the Fren ch an d des

,

cr i b e d to him the d eranged condition of the N ative

States S O the Earl o f M o nin g ton meant to
.
,
r

follow a S pirited foreign policy from the v ery first .

As soon a s he landed howe v er he took cer , ,

tain measures like the prohibition o f the p ublica

,

tion of n ewspapers o n Sundays cal culated to i m ,

press O n the hea t h ens that the Company s Go v ern ’

ment was a Christian go v ernment The college at .

F ort William was establishe d in order t o h e lp

“ ” 1 18
in further in g the e v angelisation o f I ndia an d
th e chief work don e there was the t r a n s lati On of
the Christian Scriptures into the O riental tongues , .

His biographer Re v d W H Hutton a minister O f

,
. . .

the C hristian faith considers him the first ruler

,
”
ndia to stand forth decis i v ely as a Christian .
 Wellesley an d t he N i z am

We S hall first examin e his relations with th e

Nizam I n a letter fro m the Cape h e had c on
.
,

gratulated M r Dundas on the deranged condition

.

o f the Nati v e States especially the M arathas

, ,

M ysore an d Hyderabad The p osition of the

.

Nizam after K u r d l a h was the most piti a ble T h e .

Resident at his C ourt was the redo u btabl e

M aj or Kirkpatrick s brother Colon el James K i r k pa
g
’ -

trick He h ad reconciled himself s o m uch that

.

h e married a M uhamm adan Cour t ier s d a u g h t e n

fl fi
g
’

but many Hyderabad Nobles accused him Of

.

bribery corru ption an d even murder His assis

, .

tant was Captain John M alcolm who was packed ,

O ff to I n dia as a t e nM a d e t at 1 2 S in ce h e was ,

b old eno ugh to reply to a query before t h e

C ourt o f Directors that if he met Hyder Ali h e 1 ,

would out wi t h his s w ord an d cut O ff his h ead 2 .

,

He had taken part with C ornwallis in the M ysore

cam pa i gn and ha v in g a great ambition to j oi n
,

the Diplom atic Ser v ice had studied Persian an d

man y country l anguages A t last he realised his w p
,

.
, ,

ambition and during a long c areer p l ayed man y n u

parts with credit to himself an d b en efi t t o h i s ,

c ompatriots Against s u ch a co mbin ation of i n
.
3 “

t r i g u i n g skill Hyderabad coul d oppose n o t e v en a

,

third rate s t atesm an S O Lord M o r n i g t“o n wanted

.
,

to try h i s d i plom ati c sn are called the subsidiary S 0 1 1 ; ,

allian ce in Hyderabad first I t was the t h in en d

, .

Of th e wedge introduce d for destroyin g th e ind e

p e n d e n c e o f the Nati v e powers o f India It was a .

m ere delusion to decei v e the Hom e Gover n ment ,

w hich wanted the C ompany to abstain from a g g r e s

 86 HI S T ORY OF T HE B RITI SH OCC UPA TI ON OF I ND I A

S ion . C o u ntries
were n o t ostensibly con quered ;
t h e so v ereig n w a s allo w ed to remai n o n his thro n e ,

w ith all the trap pings o f royal t y bu t su bsta n t ia l

p ower was tra n sfe r r ed from h i m to t he perso n o f
a political age n t B r itish conscie n ce w a s t h e r efore
.
, ,
” 1 19
s oothed .

Lord M ornington wrote to Colonel Kirkpa t rick

W
“
a letter dated ,
8 m a r ked Secre t , ,

i n structing h i m to the Niz a m s C orps ’

1s pl a c e

o fii ce r e d by t h e F r enc h w it h t h e C o m pa n y s t r oo ps
’

beca us e the Niza m s F r e n c h O ffi ce r s mig h t j o i n ’

T ip u i n the e v e n t m e w a r w it h M ysore
M /

T his .

w a s a pre posterous an d gra t uitio us pre s u mpt i o n ,

for accordi n g to the T r i ple A llia n ce o f 1 7 9 3 t h e ,

N izam the Pesh w a and the Com pa n y were to s u p

,

p ort each other against the a gg ressions of

e
Tipu .

Thee Colo n el w a s n o t to p r opose the arrangeme n t to

w
U i z am but only t o his minister Azi m ul

W L4 ,

M an who was already in the pay o f t h e

,

L f C om an ‘
Arthur Wellesley wrote to M aj or
,
S
p f y .

“
S ha w e i n 1 8 03 Y ou will h a v e Obser v ed from my

w
,

l etters to C 0 1 C lOs e t . w ,

p ya the minister in o r er a curate I n

f ormat i on o f what
roba b ility that A z 1
M
m was ls o pa i d to betray h i
y
s
p a
_ _

m aster O f course he recei v ed the proposal

.
,

w it h satisfactio n and according to the E arl s ’

,

p lan for a co u p d e m a i n Gen eral Harris ,

w a s ordered to marc h towards Hyderabad fro m

the G u n t oo Circar with the utmost pro mptitude
a a n d cau t ion
,
So the hel pless Niz a m was compelled
.
,

to dis miss his F r enc h troops whic h he did n ot , ,

w ith o ut so m e di ff iculty and g r eat reluctan ce si n ce ,

t hey h ad ser v ed h i m long a n d lo y ally H e was to .

recei v e a subsidiary force o f 6 000 “sepo y s with

a rtillery o ffic e r e d by the B r itish a n d to pa y f or
”
the men w h o kept h i m a prisoner as M r s Graha m , .

wro t e of B a n R a o Peshwa 1 2 0 The Nizam S igned .

 WELLESLE Y AND T HE N IZ AM

t he death w a rrant Of his

-
n d e n ce on the 1 s t
S epte e v ery pream Of the t r eaty
“
is a s e ho o d S i n ce it s ays t h at t he Niza m ex
,

pressed a desire f o r an increase of the detac h

m e n t of the H o n ble Co mpa n y s troop s at present
’ ’

”
s er v i ng His Hi ghn es s .

M r D u n das a n d the C ourt O f

. Directors were
“
_

high ly satisfied a t the tran saction , co mpleted i n

”
so m asterly an d eff ectual a m ann er and very
a d v antageous to the C om pa n y both posit i v ely an d
‘
n egati v ely . The noble E a rl who stood forth
decisi v ely as a C hristian was a w arded an annuity
’

of £ 5000 for twen t y years beginning f r o m t h e date

o f t h e T r eaty .C olonel K irkpatrick was gi v en the
re m arkable distin ctio n of the Hono r ary Aide de -

C amp to th e Go v e rnor Ge n eral

-
an d C a ptain
M alcol m a m an after th e E arl s o wn heart
—
’

b ecame h is Political Assistan t

 The war wi t h Ti pu

The Earl o f M orning t on n o w laun ched u po rr

the second wa r with Tip u I f the first war w a s
.
‘

unjust this was certa i nly a cri me for there was

,

n o ca us us be ll?) except in the Go v er n or General s -

’

imagination As a m a t t e r o f fact he had made up h i s

.
,

m i n d to wage war wit h Tipu long before he set

his foot o n I ndian soil and for some years h e
was m e rely watchi n g M ysore as the cat watches a
rat M ornington bega n to plot the ruin o f Tip
.

“
u
from the commen cem ent of his ru le After an .

hon ourable and unus u ally pun ctual of

t h e large s u m due t o the English Tipu exerted
,
.

“
all his a cti v ity to repair the r a :a g e s o f war He
‘

began to add t o th e fortifications of his capital to ,

- ~

remount his ca v alry an d discipline his infantry to

punish his refractory tributaries a n d t o en cour a g e
—

the culti v ation O f his country w hich was soon

,
.

”
restored to its former p r o s pe r i t fi z
He h a d n o
.

intenti on Of v iolating t h e Treaty o f 1 7 9 2 In his '

.

letters to Sir John Shore and the E ai I h e s poke o f ‘

:

the firm foundations o f friendship an d harmony

between the two powers Lord M ornington played
.
’

h i s part Of d u plicity extremely well I n June .

,

1 7 9 8 when h e recei v ed an applicati on from Tip u

,

f or the restitution o f W y n a a d he appointed a

commission an d on its recommen dation restored i t ,

to him .

The a llegation a gai n st Tipu was that h e

conspired wit h the Fren ch agai nst the English .

E v en if t his was true he had e v ery r i g ht t o j oin

,

an d that by itself w i t lfi r open

,

f hostil ities can never be a cause f or

, .
 THE WAR W ITH TIP U

war that can b e justifie d I n Jun e 1 7 98, Lord

.

M ornington sent General Harris in M adras a docu

ment sai d to ha v e been published at M auritius a n d
“ ,
implicating Ti pu in such a cons piracy The .

Governor General was n ot quite sure that it might

-

n ot turn into an exaggeration o r misrepresenta tion

an d what “
he then wanted was that it should
become a matter O f serious discu ssion But y et we .
,

find h i m writin g ten days afterwards It is m y

positi v e resolution to assemble the army upo n
”
the coast He had already reduced the Nizam to t h e
.

positi on o f a pris on er a n d th ough his attempt t o

,

in d uce th e Peshwa to e n ter into a su bsidiary

alli an ce faile d h e left the Peshwa to the ten d er
,

m ercies o f the S c i n d i a G u eral Harri s was f o r

. ,

“
an amica ble S ettlement of the question on account .

o f our great want of cas h whil e the secretary to »

the Governmen t O f M adras considered it as un call M
ed f or The Fren ch fleet h a d been destroyed by
.
- «

w
Nelson in t h e B a t t l e o f t h e N i le and so there was n o »
chan ce o f th eir helping Tipu in any way Wit h .
‘

profoun d hypocrisy the Go v ern or Ge n eral wrote “

-
on h a
‘
z

4 t h No v ember 1 7 9 8 to Tipu o f this v i ctory : C o n fi

‘ 7?
J
, ,

en r o m the u m on a n d a ttachm ent s u b s i s t i n gzs

between us th at this intelligen ce w i ll aff ord y o u
sin cere satisfaction I could n o t deny m yself t h e
,
”
pleasure Of com muni cating it Y et four days
.
,

later h e assum ed an insolent ton e a n d talked O f

'

se n din g M a j or D oveton to ask f o r the cession o f

cert a in d i str i cts in th e inter e sts o f peace ! T he
Earl ordered th e Na v y t o b e ready to swoop dow n
o n th e coasts an d a lso pr e par e d t h e troops He .
a ,

himself arri v ed i n M adr a s o n the 3 1 s t De c e mb e r b 7 7

’

,
q 1
his r r l v al h fou nd a letter from Tip
u
On a e ,

“
{

explainin g the M auritiu s in cide t as an exa n r a 7

fi g
n fi

ted report of hi s employ m en t o f c e r t aId B efi c h

‘ v

adventurers an d expressed surp r ise at his s u g g e s

 ‘

90 HI S T ORY O F TH E B RITI SH OCC UPA TI ON OF I ND I A

” 1 23
tion of w a r (1 measures of self d e f e n
M
-

He swore that
the B ritish But the British Go v ern or General
.
-

was n ot to be so glibly cheated Of his war After .

a delay o f nin e days he wrote a reply d eman d ing

,
“
an answer in 2 4 h ours ad d in g Dangerous ,
—

consequen ces result from t h e delay O f ard u ous

The proud spirit o f Tipu would n ot y i e l d t o

'

the coer l n o f the English He did n ot reply

d
- .

M i sti pulated period and so the B r itish

m arched o p h i s territories o n the 3 r d F ebruary
~

1 7 99 o o r Tipu was q uite un prepared t o resist this

u n j us war h e was surroun d ed by sea and l a n d ; t h e

7
iF r O h the N iza the M a rathas n on e came to
M
—

"
d f o r peace o n t h e 1 3 th
M “ F ebruary and san ctioned M a j or Do v e t o n s mission ’
.

1 But peace was insulting to the might an d m a j esty o f

the B ritish po w er as inter preted by the Earl General
, .

Harris proceed e d o n t o Sering a patam ; h e a lso sedu

c e d many Of the tributaries prin cipal O f f i cers , and
subj ects of the Sultan to desert him ; by means of
the ser v ices O f T r emal R o w was also
n egotiated Ge n eral
H arris w a n g a pa t a m ,

s in c e it was reported that it cont a ined en ormous

treasure O n t h e 4 t h M a y 1 7 99 Sering a p a tam fell

m
.
, ,

an d Tipu m e t the glorious d t h o f a soldier The .

city was plun d ered W soldiers and

many excesses w ere commi t ted o n the helpless
inhabitants of the place .

Tipu s d eath rendered the B r itish empire perma

’

nent and secure in I ndia The v ictory was.

c ommemorated by the B ritish by thanks

O ff e ri n gs in their churches The Go v ernor General
.
-

w a s created M arquess o f Wellesley and gi v en the

a ppointme n t o f C aptain Gen eral
,
-
an d Commander
i n chief o f all the forces in the East I ndies
‘

-
.
 T HE W AR WIT H TI P U

G en eral H arris the penn iless s o n of a humble

”
,

clergym an was made General Lord Harris o f

, m :
; i
f
“ t

S eringapatam Tipu s domi n i on s were

.
’

the E n glish g o t the lion s S hare ; the Niza m got a

’

s lice ; a small p orti on was allotted f o r the descen d

ent of the o l d R a j a as a re w ard for h elp rendered

i n be t r ay i n Ti The astute Hin du minister ,

A Pn r n 1 y a resembling
-

,
l le ran d in m any respects) ,

who h ad ser v ed both Hy er a n d Tipu was m ade ,

the D iwan .

Mr. James M ill i 25

has th oroughly exposed all
t h e f a l la c i o u s arguments use d to su p port the F ranko
phobia Of the Go v ern or Gen eral He h as also
-
.

pron oun ced certai n correspond en ce said to ha v e

b een disco v ered i n Seringapatam as inn ocent in
nature but they m ay v ery likel y b e forgeries after 1 7 4 I
,

all I n 1 7 9 9 Ti pu had only 1 2 0 F ren chmen i n l g y l

‘

,
.

his employ for “h e h ad already realised in 1 7 9 2

,

that they were o f a crooked disposition f a ithless 4 4 7

” ” ,

3 and enemies O f m ankind S O to charge him with

w
.

d
.

‘
a
-
conspiracy wit h Fran ce was pr e po s t e r ou s 1
‘

n onsense .

ende d the last w ar w it h the dy n asty of

Hyder Ali in M ysore I n its origin progress an d
.
,

t ermination i t fills o n e Of the

, darkest pages i n
the history of India .
 Wellesley an d O ud e

The M arquess o f W e ll e s l e y s r el a ti o n s w ith »

’

O u de were even m ore blameworthy He rem o v ed .

M r Lumsden from Luckn ow a n d a ppoin t ed a m ore

.

pliable too l Colon el Scott “a s Res i d ent T h en h e

"
, , .

”
" began what h e called his r ef orm which —
me a nt
M
t h e disban dment o f a large p ortion Of the Nawab s
’

regu lar arm y an d t h e substitution of an i n cr e ase d

number of th e Comp a n y s regi m ents o f inf a ntry a n d
'
’

ca v a lry Th e Ob e t was t o e x t i n g ui s hJ he fl a wa b s
.
’

4 military power The a d d i tio n al troops w ere »

,

actually ordered into O u d e w ith o u t a llow i n g a n y

time for t h e N aw ab t o d raw u p a r e m o n s t r a n ce ,.

f o r sin ce the Com p any h a d u n d ert a ken d ur i n g t h e

,

time Of Sir John Sh ore t o d efen d t h e V i zier s ’

possessions the C ompany w a s con si d ered t o h av e

,

th e power O f a u gmentin g British forces in O u d e at

th eir o w n ple a sure a n d co m pelli n g t e N a w ab to
h

pay for the i r m ain ten a n ce sin ce t h ey w ere i n

,

tended for hi s defen ce 1 26

. Th e N awab protested
desp e rately a g a in st th e degr a d ation Of hi s au t h ori ty
an d t h e a pparent i n justi ce o f th e m e a sure but t h e ,

51
'

Gov e rn or Ge n eral c h a rg e d h i m w ith le v ity an d

-

em /( f d respect Hi s m k ere i terpreted

u
3 ,
is . r e a I s w n a s a n

impeac h m ent o f t h e C o mp a n y s h o n o u r a n d justice

’

“
a g u ilt w hich h a r d ly an y p u n i s h m e n t can e x p i a te .

I f t h e p a rty i n jured sub m its wi t h o u t a w or d h i s ,

con sent i s a llege d If h e co m p la i n s h e is treat ed

.
,

as i mp e a c hi n g th e h o n our a n d j u st i ce o f h i s

th i s li n e t h e Go v ern or G e n eral pe r e mp
,
-

ily r e quired S aa d a L A li ei t h er to res i g n h i s

_

n c ely authori t y a n d retire on a pension or

 WELLESLEY AN D O UDE

c ede half his territory by way of i ndemnity f or

t h e expenses of the troops The C om pany in .
,

short wanted besi des the 7 6 lakhs subs i dy

, , ,

territory yielding an ann u al in come of 5 9 lakhs of

rupees The V izier re m onstrated that the demand
.

was in violati on o f an existing treat y but the ,

G o v ern or General in s tru cted th e Resident to take

-

forcible p ossession oL t hi d r i q t s thus instigating

h i m to an act o f d ag g i t y
i s
h e M ar q uess s g r an d
.
,
’

“
obj ect was the s ole administration o f the ci
a n d military govern ment o f all th e territories a
depen dencies o f the state o f O ude together
the f ull and entire right an d title to the reve
t hereof ; but for s ome reason or other he left ,

h a lf the prey to the grasp of future S pg l

“
The Vizier cried Let m e speedily be permit
,

ted to depart o n my travels an d pilgrimage for ,

I shall consider it a disgrace to show m y face

“
t o the people But this i ntention was
t o o h opeless an d d espairin g for adoption a n d ,

e v entually th e V izier con sented to s i gn the

treaty placed before him after d iscussion an d ,
”
e xpostulation had proved to be in l ai n T he .

Treaty was signed o n the 1 4 th No v ember 1 801 45 , ,

0 !
“
by w hich the C o mpany took away hal f his 1 .

possessi on s because th ey h a d exhausted his purse

”
«

an d in token of their fri endship an d union

”
they made him boun d t o the m b y a halter T he —
.

M ar q uess appoin t ed his brother Henry as

Lieutenant Go v ern or o f the Ceded Provin ces but
-

since he was n ot a servant o f the C ompany the

.
~

Directors opposed th e appointm ent an d he w a s

‘

rem o v ed .

Sir Philip F rancis the v igilant supporter o f

,
.

India s cause was yet in Parliament As M r

’
,
.
,
“ “
Howarth said : From y ear to y ear as the m i s ch i e f s t ,

(o f the C omp a n y ) increased his s ,

pace with
a ct c r u “
3

of C n o r m
i a
U ni v e r s i t y a
94 HI S T OR Y OF T HE B R ITI SH OCC UPA TI ON OF I N D IA

almost say fro" m day to day hi s talents a n d h i s ,

.

industry were employ ed in e x po s i n g t h e fa t al

folly o f that d i s t i C t IV G syst em w hich h a s beenn

adopted by y our go v ernm ent in I n d i a a n d e n

c o u r a g e d and protected in Eng l an d and th e rui n
”
o u s con sequ e n ces whi ch would res u lt from it He .

helped M r Paull from O u de to fr a m e a c h a rge

.

f o r impeachment a gain st t h e M a rquess a n d t o »

call f o r the publicatio n o f p a pers O n the 2 8 t h .

M a y 1 806 the charge was read before the H o us e

,

and later on Lord T eign m o u th an d Sir A l ur e d

C larke were examined by the pro m oters befor e
the H ouse M eanwhile a Ge n er a l Election u n
.
,

seated both M r Paull an d Sir Philip Fran cis and

.
,

so it was only i n 1 8 08 that Lord F olkeston e took

,

the matter up His elo qu en t p l e a din g f o r j u s t ice

.

to a n on Christia n pri n ce f e ll fla t u p o n t h e e a rs
-
.

o f the C hristia n s o f E ngla n d Mr R Thorn ton . . .

referred to the Treaty o f 1 801 with th e Vi zier an d

“
said i t was really a sort o f Galli c H u g in w h i ch ,

t h e n oble M arquis had s qu e e zed t h e Nabob to ,

death O ne m i ght as well call a robbery c om

’

m i t t e d by a foot pad o n a tra v eller o n H a n s la w

-

”
Heath a Trea ty ! The M arquess s greatest s u p por
,
’

ters were his t w o brothers Arthur and Henry ,

wh o were in Parliament an d th e ex C h i ef ,
-

Ju stice o f Bengal Sir John Anstruther w h o , ,

Opposed t h e resolution by mystifying and

o pen handed liberality to all the members
-
They “
.

pared the N a bob s p osition as a nalogous t o

’

”
o f the Lord Lieuten ant of I reland and e v en
ded t h e authority of the C ourt o f Direc t ors f or
the acts Of Wellesley But as Sir Thomas Turton .

“
said : How then Sir must th e H ouse hav e b e en , ,

astonished to find that n ot o n e letter n ot o n e , ,

scrap of paper n o t o n e expres s ion in any o n e

,

let t e r which can be tort ured into an instruction to

,
”
the M arquis been pr o d u c e d or read
 W ELLESLE Y AND OUDE

Logic an d rh etoric were o f n o a v ail Th e s o called .

-

M other of P a r li a m e ts rej ected the Re s o l ution s an d

.

passed , instea d a v ote o f thanks for the M arquis

, ,

w hich M r Sheri d an con s i d ered scarcely j us t ifiable

. .

Th e ex Chief Ju s t ice o f Be n gal was the m o v er O f

‘

this a sto u n d ing proposition .

M r P a ull exposed before Parli a m en t a n oth er

.

reprehen sible t r ansaction o f the n o ble M a rq u i s in 1 4 4

4
1 8 06 , v i z , th e annexation o f
. F arrukh ab ad Thi s .

s m all princi pality was gov er ne d “

by M u sli m 7 ’ W L ‘ ’

prin ces o f Afg h an d escen t as tri butaries o f t h e m f /

Nawab Vizier Of O ude payin g ann ually a tribute

,

o f 4 lakhs of rupees I n 1 7 8 7 Corn wallis con clu“d ed 17 3 7

.

a treaty with th e King o f O ude by whi ch t h e

E n glish residen t at Fu r r u kh a b a d s hould be
A
°

recalled an d that n o oth er should af terwards b e Q ~

4
appointed
”
Y et
. i n N o v ember 1 8 01 W ellesley
, , ,

introduced h i s brother Henry there and in stru cted

hi m to bribe the m em bers of the y ou n g Nawab s ’

fam i ly an d h i s friends in order to pre v ail upon

h i m t o aban don h i s prin c i pality an d retire o n a
p en si on of a l a kh o f rupees per year Henry .

succee d ed in his pl an s a n d was rewarded with

t h e charge o f F a rrukhabad
’

.
 Wellesley an d t he Carn at i c

The M arqu ess wanted t o annihilate th e inde

pendent existen ce O i the C a rnatic al so As early .

a s his M ysore Campaign he had written from

,

M adras t o N b of Ar t about the treaty

d
,

” M o f 11 29 2 y wh i ch the o mp a n y was to possess

; ,

r m ; 4 full authority o v er the Carn a tic d u ri n g any war

u t th e irregularities in t h e pa y
1 m ent of subsidies an d in m ortg a ging a n d assign
ing districts to hi s creditors He referred to the
.

6 6 lakhs o f pagodas which th e Nawab owed to t h e

”

Company an d hesitated about the d irect contr ol Of

all Carn atic aff airs by the C om pan y itself . The
Nawab did n o t tamely submit t o thi s directi on .

He denied the charge that h e h a d ass i gn ed the

d istri cts set apart by t h e Treaty o f 1 7 92 an d
appe aled for a just considerati on o f his claims o n
t h e booty after the war with T i pu s i n c e he p a id
, .

nin e lakhs Of pagodas annually f or th e troops

e mployed therein .

Dundas had also in stru cte d Lord M orn i n gton

W M t o
the M
ait f o r favourable O or t un i t i e s t o destroy
h e Carn atic ,

b u t the Go v ern or Gen eral -

sai d that only the
.
death o f O md u t u l O mrah an d th e certain c o m
- -

plications as regards succession w h ich it m ust

bring about would aff ord the chan ce f or English
a ggression .

»
The Go v ern or General so o n di sco v ered th at the
-

? late N awab with the collaboration o f his s o n O m d u t

/
if
i f u l O mrah intrigued with the t w o v a k eels G holam
f
-

l
f 11 and Ali Reza wh o had gon e to M adras w i th the
N w sons f Tipu to be d liver d up as h ostages
” o o e e

U
.

:
 W ELL E SLE Y A ND T HE
'‘
C A R N A I IC

Ma j or E v ans B ell calls this tale e xt ray ag ap t l y

im probable ”
sin ce i t appears absurd to thin k that
,
‘
t he Na w ab will conspire agains t hi s friends o f
“

half a century an d leag u e with his en emies of

.

” “
thir t y years-
with their d i s c o mfit e d foe against
,

t heir triumphant friends an d allies '

” 129
The com
mission O i in q u iry collected only fri v olous eviden ce ,

which but for the strong bias of the Govern or

,

G eneral would have gon e into the

,
waste paper -

basket The Govern or Gen eral howe v er consider

.
-

, ,
“
ed them the most authentic an d indi sputable
e viden ce .

O m d u t u l O mrah luckily fell ill abou t the 5 t h

v -

.
July 1 8 01 and a series o f disgraceful tran sactions 18 ”
, ,

en sued which e n ded i n the ann exation of that

state F or ten days b efore his death the p a la ce fl “f
,
.

.
,

at Chepauk was surroun ded b British troo

under Colon el M a c N e i l an d when t he N awab d i e , d
o n the 1 5 t h July his heir like the lamb in ZE s o p s
’
, ,

Fables w a s called upon t o an swer certai n inter

r og a t or i e s
,

on a char e o f treachery ”
preferred
e“ 1
r ,

agai n st his fath er an gran a er “He was told of

the Govern or Gen eral s resoluti on -
that h i s future
’

situation would b e that o f a pri v ate person c o n

”
s i d e r e d as hostile to th e British interests The .

C ompany then quietly pas sed over two of the pm /

n ext in succession an d fished up Ax um u t D owlah 9 A b e e - -

w h o accepted all the terms dictated to him an d

was pla ced o n the M u s n a d on the 2 8 t h J uly ( 4 0 /
1 801 .

Wellesley w a s charged with misdemeanour in

his relations with the Carnatic by Sir Th omas
Turton in the House o f Co mmons in 1 8 08 but his ,
{ a Q
formidable logic an d eloquen ce were o f n o “ avail .

’
S ome partisan of Wellesley quoted D oma t s Com
”
pe n d i u m o f Ci v i l an d Public Law to prove that
a prince was boun d not only by the engagement s
o f his predecessor but to repair the damage c reated
 98 HI S T ORY O F T HE B R ITI SH OCC UPA TI ON or INDI A

’
by predecessor s crimes
111 8
“
M r Sheridan retorted . .

that it had been said that A lly Hussai n had .

forfeited his right to the throne in a s muc h as

he inherited the treason O f his father He could .

n e v er have been a party t o a treason which had

n o t been communicated to him and with whic h
the father had n o t been charged in his life tim e -
.

PM .

“ He ne v er kn ew a m ore monstrous attempt than

thi s to impose o n the credulity o f the public S in
’

R
W
.

mn g
(” h a that d disgrace
w on em w W
c on demned the p ol l c y of the Com pany
hen i t y
n et

M as hat of a highwayman He said : The .

pri n ciple by which we were to be guided

was that t h e nati v es o f I ndia h ad n o rights
tha wed had n o duties and that all w a
t o 1epen t upon the d ecision of o u r majesti es
,
s
”
.

O f course t h e maj ority of the House were n ot

,

for d oing j ustice to a n o n Christian prin ce They -

.

passed a resolution approving W e ll e s l e y s con duct ’

.

We shal l n ow t urn to the aff airs o f Tanj ore ,

This small M aratha principality was established

by S h i v a j i s father Shah ji an d hi s half brother
’
-

5 W P M b V e n k oj i
, ,

S h i v a j i left V e n k on t o himself and by

.

t o k
,
his cuttin g O ff this settlem ent from i t s p r oper plac e
“
in the uni t ed M arath a ki n gdom Tanj ore suff ered
w
,

h g r i e v o u s l yg fi? I n 1 7 4 2 Pratap Si n
, gh beca m e th e
R a j a of Tanj ore and he was ackn owl e d ged by the
6
,

(
E n glish East I ndia Company f or m ore than seve n ;

1, y ears Then. th e exiled

, Raj a S a h uj e e sol i cited
their ai d promisi n g to pay all expen ses an d gran t
,

them the fort o f De v i k ot t a h The English accept .

”
ed the off er They determine d however
. as , ,

M alcol m sa y s
'
that t h e c a pture o f De v i kot t a h
, ,

n ot t h e restoration of S a h uj e e should be their ,

”
A first obj ect ; but n o soon er was the fort captured
t h a n they formed an allian ce with Pratap Singh
“
Thro u ghout the Carnatic wars th e T a jg re
g , . e
 WEL LESLEY AND THE CAR N ATI C 99

"
army un der M a n k oj i pl ayed an importan t part on
?
the side o f t h e E n glish a gain st the i
f ” ) I
,

M ah om ed Ali Nawab of Arcot w a s e a g er f or L u

)
.
, ,

capturing it and w h en h e invaded it in 1 7 6 2 the 1 7 5 2 , ,

English in terven ed an d ar r a n ged that Tan j ore

“ t lt w
should b e a t r i b u t a r y t o t h e Nawab payin g 4 lakhs i ! s/ t

a year Wh en h i s gree d y creditors pressed f or

.

m on ey h e point e d to th e treasures of T a nj ore an d

,

i n 1 7 7 1 the Ma d ras Go v ernment helped hi m to

' '

p l ui i d er T uls a j i s o n of Prat a p Sin gh

,
Further acts £ .

Of S p oliati on were c o mmitted with E n gli s h h el p in 7 a

1778 . Wh en T u l s a j i die d t h e adoption o f S a r b oj i

,

Wa s declared in vali d an d h i s half brother Raj a -

becam e th e ruler In 1 7 9 3 a n e w
.
,
‘4
treaty was co n clu ded w ith him by whi ch a large 7, .

sum o f m on ey was pai d to the Co m pan y for the H

defen “
ce o f his country .

I n th e year 1 7 9 8 a con v eni en t dis c overy w a s

m ade th at Am ar Si n g h was n o t the legal h eir to
the m u s n a d o Th e British began i n t r i

5
gues wi th S a r b oj i thro u gh hi sM D Re v M r ” , “ . .

S wft s Am ar Si n gh o f cruelly 0

tr eai i n g S a r b O j l wh o was rem o v ed to M a dras The

,
‘ .

resident at T a nj ore gave A m ar Sin gh e n orm o u s

trouble a n d C ol Baird w h o w a s sympath eti c to
.
,

t h e ruler w a s tran sferred to th e Cape of Good

,

Hope C ol Baird s a w Lord M orn i ngton o n his

. .

way to Ind i a a n d pleaded the caus e o f Tanj ore but ,

th e Govern or Ge n eral was n ot lo n g i n I n dia before

-

an a ppeal w a s m ade b y S a r b oj i a gain st th e d eci

si on i n validating his adoptio n Learn ed Pan dits .

from B en ares w ere given suitable presents in order

to decl a re it v alid in spite Of a prev i ous disallow
W
,

an ce after careful inves t i gat i on S O R a j a Am ar 1 1

1
.

Sin gh was d eposed a nd co n demn ed unb ard An .

M o w n foun dli ng was p l ace d on t h e Raj a s ’

thron e upon con d ition that h e would cede the

t
revenue of hi s cou ntry t o th e Comp a n y an d
1 00 HI S T ORY OF T HE B RITI SH OCC UPA TI ON OF I N D IA

b e c ome their p ensioner for t h e rest of his pre

carious The fertile provin ce o f Tanj ore
excited
“
the cupidity of the Christian merc ha n t
”
adventurers so mu c h th at they did s cr uple to
adopt any means to get p ossess i on H
M
 A ff ai r s i n S ur at

The Nawab o f Surat w a s also an oth er v icti m O f

British diplom a c y an d i n t rigu e The C ompan y h a d
.

established its factory there by bribing th e

‘

Sidhi officers to arran ge that n o resis t an c e should

be m ade to the En glish on their atta c k on the
” 1 35
Castle T h e M uslim govern or of Surat was
.

m e r eIy a puppet
’

in En glish han ds an d a double

‘

system of governm ent w a s established th ere The .

English continually wru ng con cession s from him

in order to m ake both en ds meet He was asked .

to disban d his troops an d pay for som e b a tt al ions

o f the C ompany s troops At last he was s o great
’
,
.

l y pressed by the C hristian s that h e con sen ted to

pay them a lakh O f rupees annu ally b esides c ertai n
c oncessi on s amou n tin g to about rupees per
year Before the Treat y was sign ed the Nawab
.
,

d i e d in 1 7 9 9 His infant s o n died a m onth after

.

wards S o Nasir u d din h

.
,
— -

governmen t o f Surat The n ew .

to pay a lakh of rupees per year but persevering

l y in si sted that b ey ond th at sum the revenues of
that place would n ot en able him

have left n othin g und on e ; an d pressed h i m to

the utm ost I am co nvin ced he has n ot the mean s
.
,

or I believe h e would really pay m ore but the

, , ,

Govern or Gen eral wr ote to the Go v ern or of Bombay

-

th at h e was resolved n
deen in the Sta tion O f sh all have
agre e d to transfer the w hole c ivil an d military
adm inistrati on an d revenues O f the city into the
han ds of th e Com pany reservin g t o himself an ,
1 02 HI S T ORY OF T HE B RITI SH OCC UPA T ION OF I ND I A

annual stipend sufficient for the mainte n a n ce of

hi mself and his fa mily to b e paid by t he Co mpany
,
” 1 38
from the revenues O f Surat The reasons O f
.

the Go“v er n or Ge n eral to pension the Nawab were

-

that , Wheresoever n ot b o u nd by specifi c treaties ,

the English were at liberty to dethrone a n y

sovereig n who m they 1 39 an d that it was
the duty as well as the right of the Company to
.

ta ke upon itself the entire ci v il and m ilitary

government o f the c ity b ecause i t s security an d
,

good go v ernment c ould be attained by su c h a step .

As a writer
“
in the C a lcu t t a R e v i ew for June 1 8 48 , ,

says : An y impartial pers on who will ta k e the

trouble to investigate this aff air will find that
the h elpl ess Nawab had reason on his side the ,
”
English forc e and S ophistry .
 Wellesley an d t he Pes hwa

The genius of Lord M ornington shone forth in

i t s sple n dour in his dealin gs wit h the M arat h as ,

es pecially i n the m eth ods he took to ensnare the

Pesh w a When he landed B aj l Rao the last Of
4
.
, ,

t he Peshwas w a s ,
r u ling i n Po o n a wit h the help 0 7
a n d s u pport of D o wlat R ao Si n d h ia Nana Fa d n a v i s IN .
L IL . ,

was s p n di n his da 8 i n ca t i v i t an d Lieutena n t

C olonel al me r a replace r Malet . The n oble .

Earl did n o t press t h e Pes h w a or the M ara t has to

j oin in th e M ysore w a r b e c a u s e he was rel u cta n t to
.
,

enhance their p ower b y assig n ing the m a n y s h a r e i n

the b ooty He tried to k eep the M arat h as neutral b y
.

instr u cting the Resident to d i n into the ears of the

w w 4 .

s
Pesh w a that t h e S i y
P
”
er a n d that he was a a n e r o us gally s in ce he
ke pt French O f ficers wh o were sure to attract
E n glis h rese n t me n t F ort unately these plans were
.
,

c hecked by the restor a tion W and

p o w er by the Sin dhia R um ours of a con certed.

plan to attack the Niz a m b e g a n to disturb the

m in ds o f the British but n othing more was don e
by the M arathas .

Hen ce M ornington was anxious that th e Sindhia

,

s h ould retire fro m Po ona into Hindustan a t the ,

time when Ti pu was attacked Fo r t his purpose . .

he sedulously circulated rumours o f a threatened

in v asion of India by Z e m a u n Shah king of ,

bul ° Since th ese threa t s had n o eff ect

Qa 1 4 . on
the i n d hi a it was necessary to foment dissensions
,

as A i /
a
1“
in l i it elf an d C olonel C oll s was despat c hed
‘

r
a o r s n “

O Hin dustan Probably this hr i s t i a u o fficer was

a t the b ott om of
“
.

t h e dissen sion s and disaff e c tions $ “ J fi ev

 1 04 HI S T ORY on T HE B R ITI SH OCC U PATI ON OF I ND I A

which pre v ail a m ong his (S i n d hi a s ) comm anders ’

an d the un settled and precarious state Of hi s :

authority i n H i n d u s t a n w
Lord M ornington
'

also m ade a sudden bu t I mportant discovery th at

a cer tain A mb a j i a comm an d er under t h e Sindhia
, ,

had written a letter to the V izier Ali containi n g

“ a proposal to place hi m o n the mus h ad O O ude
VH
. ,
“ ”
a flagrant act of treachery The Resi ents a t
.

Poon a an d Hyderabad then made many collateral

disco v eries t e n d i n g t o i m pliW fih i w w e ll
{ ih ad } , as B a ji R a o P shwa
-

j I ntri gues
. were also carr
” o n W i t h t he
Ed a O f B erar by Colebrooke t h e ,
J great O r i e n t a h s t
,

A l a rge force u n der the

.

com man d of Sir James Craig was kept faci n g t h e

frontiers of S i n d h i a s dominions ’
I t would i n .

deed be a W onder if i n s pi t e o f all these eff orts

, ,

the Sindhia co n ti n ued i n Poon a He returned t o .

Hin dustan .

U nder the guidan ce o f Nan a Fa d n a v i s t h e Peshw a ,

prepared a con tingent to c o operate with the C o m -

p a n y s
’
t r o o p s in the c a mpaign a gainst Tipu but alm ost ,
.

at the ele v enth h o u r the Go v ern or Gen eral d eclin ed

4 the Of f er I n order t o k eep the M arathas quiet
-

.
,

Lord M ornington wrote to C olon el Palmer j ust before

“
the war that n otw i thstan d ing the per v erse
,

a n d forbidden policy o f the Court Of Poonah I ,

sh a ll n ot fail t o se c ure f or the Peshwa a n equal

participation with th e other allies in any cess i on s
w hich may b e e n force d fro m Tipu Sultan I .

autho r ise y o u to m ake this decl aration in t h e ,

most uneq u i v ocal terms to the Peshwa an d t o ,

Nana I f even this declaration shall fail t o excite

.

the Peshwa to e m ploy e v ery practicable eff ort to

fulfil his defensi v e engagements with the Company I ,

trust it will at least serve to pro v e the disinterest

, , ,

ed attach m ent O i the British Government to

e very bran ch of the triple alliance This promise .

was n ever kept A pretext w a s dis c overed that

.
 WELLESLE Y AND T HE PESH WA

the Peshwa was entertaining a trea c herous design

against the En glish an d con dition s were imposed
M “
upon the fulfil ment of the promise Nan a would .

h ave combin ed the M arathas but a f o r mi d a ble w u

M
,

disturban ce was created m ost probabl y by the ,

M ysore Commission under Arthur Wellesley by the ‘

5 ,

J a g h e e r d a r s O f the S outh who rebelled against the L

A
,
“
Peshwa Nana sen t a force under P ur e s h r a m BM
.
,

but before order an d tran qu il li t y co ul d b e restored A ,

death overtook the great M aratha statesman on

t h e 1 3 t h F ebruary 1 800 With him perished the last 1 1
, .
,

m
dream o f the M arath as to regain their supremacy q
in In dia .

But th e English c oul d n ot yet bre athe freely ,

for D aulat R a o S c i n d h i a was sti l l ali v e L o n g b R 5244

£ .
-
.

b efore the M ysore War M ornington h a d deter ,

mined o u a war with th e Sindhi a His embassy

to B erar was for forming a defensi v e alliance
against Tipu an d Sin dhia He h a d instr ucted Sir .

A l u r e d Clar ke in 1 7 9 9 to keep i n v iew th e proba {7 4 9

b i li t y o f early 0 e n s i v e operation s a gain st the
” “
dominion s o f S c i n d h i a an d to excite the Raj po ots
”
an d other tributaries“ p a —n
He also advised. him to
so o t he Sin t a with lies
.

M eanwhile Baji Rao s min d was being slowly

’

"
,

p oison ed against Daulat Rao S i n d h i a h whom he

“
,

c on sidered as m ore an d m ore hostile The Sin dhia M C .

became v ery indign an t w h en w i t hout hi s af pf j )

m
,

kn owledge t h e Peshwa granted er m i s s w n to

m
,

A rt hur W e ll e s l e
M
“

M arath a territory W ell esley slew n

; I J
.

but did much m ore He espied o u t th e strategical .

p osition s an d weakn esses o f the dominio n s o f t h e

"
“
M arathas After his return he wrote a M e l 0
W fi fi
.
,

r an d um upon th e Op erations o f the M afi“ l a

terri t ory the Openin g words Of which were As , ,

before lon g we m ay look to w a r with the

,

M arath as it i s proper to consider th e m eans O f

,
 1 06 HI S T ORY OF T HE B RITI SH OCC U PATI ON OF IND I A

ca g it on I t was als o v ery generally ex

.

e that at the time when Colonel W ellesley was

inside t he M ara t ha do minions C ol Pal m er might be ,
.

able to bring about a critical state of aff airs i n Poon a

n ecessitating or in viting British interference In .

the Opinion o f the Governor G eneral an d his -

brother Col Palmer was muc h to blame and s o

,
.
,

he was replaced by C olonel Kirk patrick fro m

Hyderabad When ill heal t h obliged h i m to lea v e
.
-

I ndia very soon C olonel Barry C lose W e ll e s l e y s

’
, ,

r ight han d m a n at M ysore was chose n

-
In his last ,
.

O fficial des patch to the Govern or Ge n eral C olonel -

Palmer had writte n : I apprehe n d that n othing short

p f i mminent and cer t ain de truction will ind u ce h i m s

( the Peshwa) to make concessions which militate ,

”
wit h his deep rooted j ealousy and prej udices
-

F ortunately for the British a n e w cause of dis ,

was fo und i n S i n d i a h s defeat O f T HC ’

H ol k a r s of w ho m Y e s w a n t Rao fled to Na ore

,

[
.

M n Colebrooke at Berar was n ot the man 0 let

t h e opport u nity slip f o r we find the Holk a r ,

r aising an army in a short time and le v y ing con

t r i b u t i o n s on S i n d hi a s subj ects probably finan ced
‘
’
,

by the English themsel v es I t is n ot necessary to .

r efer t o all the battles fought bet w een Sindhia and

Holk a r in M alwa F ort une so meti mes fa v oured the.

one , sometimes the other M eanwhile since .

,

Sindhia was absent Poon a was the scene Of wild ,

disord e r W i th oj e e B o lk a r brother of Y e s w a n t
.
, ,

re v olted against the Pesh w a from K ola por e b u t

was captured and ex ecuted Y e s w a n t Rao v“owed .

veng ea n ce and marched towards Poona This .

”
crisis o f aff airs w rote Lord Wellesley t o the
,
“
C ourt of Directors appeared t o m e t o a ff ord the
,

most fa v oura ble opportuni t y for the co mplete os

t a b l i s h me n t o f the interests of t h e Britis h E mpire
without the h a zard O f i n volving us in a con t est
”
with any par t y N O at t e mpt was made to support
.
 W ELLESLE Y AN D T HE PESHW A

t he Peshwa o r check the Ho lk a r N a y C olon el .

,
“
K irkpatrick was s pecially instructed t o preclude
every ris k of hostilities bet w ee n t he Britis h troops
”
and Y e s w a n t Rao H ol ka r I f Tipu could b e
.

attacked for contemplating war on a n ally T r a v a n ,

core w h y could n ot the British help t h e Peshwa

,

when the Ho l ka r in v aded an d o ccupied t he capital

O f their ally ? A battle was foug h t b y the H o l ka r lu n
y ”
g
-

with the troops o f the Si n dhia at Poon a an d t he ,

H o lk a r succeeded in completely routing h i s enemie s

;
Probably t he treachery o f Captain F idele Fil ose
’
had s omethin g to do with the S i n d h i a s defeat .

“ ”
I mminent an d certain destr u ction n ow stared
the Peshwa in the face He rememb ered a pro mise
.

ma d e by the Governor Gen eral years ago that he

-

would al w ays be granted an asylum in Bombay .

Fleeing b efore th e H ol ka r s troops h e at last ’

,

e mbarked in an English ship pro vided for h i s

reception an d proceeded to Bassein where h e
”
,

lan ded on the 6 t h D ecemb er 1 8 02 .

a 2
,

Afte r all the Go v ernor General had succeeded

,
-

i n ensnaring the Peshwa At Bassei n Baj i Rao

.
,

a greed to thos e very terms which he had b e e / h a m n r “

made to decline year after year an d m onth a f t e r w g b z p u
m onth by the great Nana Fa d n a v i s and Daulat
“
,

R a o Sindhia H e put o n his o wn n eck the yoke

.

o f the subsidiary allian ce o n the 3 1 s t D ecember ,

1 8 02 . This treaty sealed the doom O f the i n de

pe n d e n c e O f the M arathas thos e whom t h e genius
,

o f Si v aj i had evolved as a great n ation Nana .

Fa d n a v i s s prophecy came to b e fulfilled for he

’
,
’
had Opposed the accession Of R a g h o b a s s o n o n r
account o f the d anger to b e apprehen ded from (” I f

the conne c tion bet w een his family an d the

”
English .
 The Tr eat y O f B as sei n .

Th e Treaty of Bassein was the thi n en d o f t h e

wedge that fi n ally destroyed t h ei hi ar at hai g g jf d e k
acy As t h e M arqui s of Welles re y believe a those
.

w h o accepted the British allian ce becam e depen

dent O n the English Go v ernment w hile tho se w h o ,

di d n ot became d ependent for want Of

, ,
When
the H o lk a r compelled Baj i Rao to be an exile an d
n ominated his own tool f or th e Peshwaship the ,

B ritish waited a s u S pi c i o u s l y long tim e b efore they

to o k steps f O L J z e i n s t at ing him sin ce they wanted t o ,

extort m ore con cession s from him The British .

had every reason to know th at Baj i Rao was

unpopular The Go v ern or General
.

“
himself
-
had
written but five years back O f the imbecility of hi s
C oun cils the instability an d treachery of his
,

disposition an d the prev alen ce of internal

Elaborate preparati ons h a d therefore
to be made in placing the wrong In ,

i eu t e n a n t e n er a uart asked Lord

w e from M adras to se n d a con siderable propor
ltd
‘
ti on of the M adras army t o en courage M a h r a t h a
”
j g i d to cooperate ! Th e M rquis himself
“
a r a r s a
"

q r ; approached Poon a t o be n ear the pri n c i pal scene of

negotiation The . Comm an der i n C h i e f General - - -
—

Lake a W um
“ ”
,
an £ 4 accordi n g to W T . ..

h elped Pitt t o put down Irelan d s

’

str u ggle against the U n ion was ready in t h e —

N orth Western pro v 1 n h e s The Govern or Gen eral s ’

’

- -
.

real pl a n was to presen t a m ost o w e r f ul nd

men acin g aspect to e v ery Bran ch of the M a hratta

”b y“
e m p i re ” 1 45
tho u gh oste n s ibly to restore Ba j i R a o
, ,

C olon el Close brought th e N iz a m s s u bsi d iary forc e ’

 T HE T REA T Y OF BASSE IN

t a p osition on the f rontier M aj or Gen eral

o
”4 M
.

Wellesley had begun his m arch towards Poon a from

“

w
the South to encourage t h er n J i r d a r s to
declare in favour of the Peshwa s cause an d t
“ ’
“
e stablish in Poon a an order of things favourable
to t h e return o f th e Amrut Rao the 9 ,
” ” V 1 J

Holker fled from the i ,

0
O I t y an B a j l Rao was restored The whole w a s fl f .
fl

an ign ominious and disgraceful aff air .

N o w begin s o n e Of the blackest chapters in the

history o f I ndia The English had n o w deprived
.

the Pesh w a of h i s i n depen den ce by reducin g him

i n to a subsi di a r y al ly but they had the further
,

task of pr ov ok i n the M a r t h s into war When

this poli c y faile d we will fin d t hat they becam e
.

a ggressors t hemselves .

O n e si n gular c ircu m stan c e is that the English

n ever tried to pursue or finish the B ol ka r even
’
tho u gh Auran gabad in th e N izam s territories lay
on hi s way to the North C ompare this wit h .

their a c tion w hen Tipu invaded Travancore This .

stran ge con duct can b e ac c ounted for only o n o n e

hypothesis that the H olk a r w
—
cats aw O f the £ 4
En glish who created d i stracti on s an d h elped them

M
wa Justice an d p olicy deman d
.

e a war a g a l n s e B olk ar the Peshwa asked

for it the N i zam would have b een glad o v er i t f ! “
and even Sindhia an d B h on s l e m i ght h ave c oope rated t p
with the British b ut t h e English were n ot prepared
,

to estrange so pliable a tool .

w l
i l“ D aulat Rao Sindhi a was thoro u ghly alarme d at
t urn of events Hi s tro ops h a d been defeat
.

ed a t Po o n a by the H olk a r ; the Tr eaty of S a l by e

w hich hi s an c estor M a d h oj i S i n d h i am iTg e d
“ ”
with un preten din g merch ants had n ow been re
p l a ced an t wa was i n the pythonic
e m race o f th e E n glish T h e musterin g of troops
~
~

o n th e entire M arath a frontier a l a rm ed him c onsider

e
 1 10 HI S TORY OF THE B RITI SH OCC UPATI ON or I ND I A

ably I n spite of e v erythi n g h i s sta te s m a nship

.
,

directed h i m to b e n eu tral N or did the R a j a O i .

.
.

Berar tak e U p arms despite a ll his aversi on at

British interference in M arath a a ff airs The .

Go v ern or General himself recognised th e si n cerity

-

of thei r pacific i ntentio n s whi l e h i s bro t h er did ,

n o t believe that th e Sindhia would v e n tur e t o

cross the G od a v e r y .

Y et Sindh i a m ov e d to w a rds t h e D ecc a n

, Two .

exp lan ati on s were furn i sh ed by t h e British th em

sel v es O n e was th at Si n dhia tri ed to j oin H olk ar
!
.

A an d B h o n s l e an d form a confederacy as a purely z,

defen si v e m easure again st th e m en aci n g attitude
of t h e British T h e other w a s that th e Peshwa
.

Z in v ited him to Poona S l n c e t h e Go v ern or General

,
-

h a d assured h l m t h at h e would n o t b e compelled

to adhere to t h e f a ith Of h i s e n g a ge m e n t s at the
h az ard Of involving th e Company in a war with the
o m b i n e d M arath a States But w h iche v er theory
.

w a s correct the Go v ernor Gen eral se i zed upon the

,

even t for laun ching a war sin ce he h a d decid e d ,

e v en in 1 7 9 9 o n a policy of reducing t h e power

(7 4 o f Sin dhi a wh en e v er th e opport u n ity sh al l a ppear
a dvant a geous Colon el C ollins the Reside n t at
.
,

S i n d h i a s court
’
p o v ok e d hi m into an ger by a n
,

i nsistent de n d f or d 1 v u l g i n g th e policy about to

be d 1 s c u s s e d with B h onM H ol k ar It seems th e .

Si n d hia remarked th a t after con sulting h i s con f eder

ate s h e woul d tell him whether “
it was peace or

war . This surely does n ot am ount to a posi t i v e

aggression u pon every recei v ed prin ciple of the
A ’
”
law o f n ation s w hich th e Go v ern or Ge n eral chose
— -

to fin d in it as if his m usteri ng o f troops on the

,

frontiers of every M arath a State without a n y

” ‘ ‘

pro v ocat i on was n either insulti

i 1 Pi f ? What right h d t h British t o prevent i n depen d en t ng n o r hostile
’ ’

t
a e
so v ereign s from m e eti n g an d discu ssi n g m eas u res
A c a lculated t o secure their o wn welfare C olonel
 T HE T REA T Y OF BASSEI N

C ollin s an d M aj or Gen eral Wellesley kn ew th at t h e

Peshwa h ad really in v ite d Sin d hia to Poon a an d h e
an d B h o n s le were only obey i n g their legitim ate
s overeign whom t h e Christian s themsel v es h a d
rein s tated as th e ex ecutive head of the M arath a
”
empire Every prin ciple Of th e law of n ation s
.

demanded that the British sh ould punish their o w n

tool f or inviting them to Poon a In stead Of thi s
.
,

when Sindhia began to m ove C ol Collins w a s ,

.

di rected to lea v e the Court as s oon as Arthur

Wellesley w a s ready w ith boats an d pro v isions .

T h e n the latter wrote t o Sindhia an d B h on s l e n o t

, A
t o proce e d to Po o n a t h reateni n g t h em w ith h osti
,

l i t i e s if th ey disob ey ed hi s order C olo n el Collin s

.

left G w ali or w ith e v ery m ark o f disrespect .

Sin dh i a wrote a letter to the Govern or Gen e -

prom i si n g h i m n ot t o subvert the Treaty

Bassein on c on dition that n o design existe d
ruin the Old relati on s b etw een th e Peshwa
other M arath a chiefs The M arquess n e v er c o n
.

descended to tak e n otice Of this very san e letter

an d n e v er forwarded it to th e Secre t Co mmittee
“
in E n gl a n d O n th e other h an d contr a r y to a ll
.
,

pri n ciples o f l a w (accordi n g t o M essrs R R y der .

an d W A d am .
146
b e d elegated to his brother th e
p ower to d eclare w a r or co n clude p e a ce as cir
c u m s t a n c e s an d his m ilit a ry position w ould dictate .

T h e Govern or Gen er a l h a d to be playi n g the

-

h ypo c rite in le tters to the C ourt o f Directors ,

si n ce wars w ere v ery u n p op u lar th ere an d a v a s t .

lo a d of debt h a d a lre ady accumulated He pre .

ten d ed to s u ff er from a n attack Of Fr a n k o ph o b i a

at th e eleventh h our t h e hyp ocrisy o f w h i ch h a s
,
(
7 1
W

been th oro u g h ly exp osed b y Ja m es M ill G e n eral .

L a k e w a s also s u ppli e d wi t h n u m e rous M achi

a v e lli a n m eth o ds f o r corr u pti n g t h e subor d in ate w
Chiefs of the Si n d h i a Sir G eorge Barlow
.

strengthen ed th e han d s o f t h e M arq u i s by a

1 12 HI S T O RY or T HE BRITI SH O CC UPA TI O N or IN D IA

minute in whi ch he said that n o n ative state ,

s hould be left to exist in India which is not

upheld by the British power or the political con
” 147
»duct o f which is n ot under its absolute control .

The M arathas had made n o preparat ions f or

war C olonel Collins himself says that there were
.

n ot troops in the camp o f the M aharaj a

a n d that the prices o f grain an d grass were pro
hibiti v ely high
“
Though Sin dhia an d B h o n s le
.

”
m ade friendly profession s to him during an
i nterview the bl ood thirsty Resident interpreted
,
-

them as in sincere An amicable letter was

.

addressed by th em o n the 1 s t Augus t 1803 t o , ,

General Wellesley but war was e c ared on the m

,

on the 6 t h M a d h on Sindhia and M o o d a j e e B h on s l e

-
.

had help 5 d the foreigners when they were struggling

h ard to gainW Indian soil an d this w a s ,

t h e result I n the words o f S i r Philip Fran cis in

.

Parliam ent C ommerce pro duced factories factories

, ,

produced garrison s garrisons pro du c ed armies , ,

”
.armies produ c ed con q ues t s The pretext“
for this .

Secon d Mahratta War struck him a s absurd an d

”
i n defen s i ble in the highest degree .
 The Campai gn of In t ri gues

O f the five great M aratha

chiefs the G u i c o w a r
f
,

w as the first to j oin the British th e Peshwa w a s ‘ w

fi m
,

already in their hands the H ol k a r n eeded v i g i a l

l ant watching S mooth promises were n o w h e l d y
z “

"
.

out t o
“
h i m to continue in peace with the C om 1 Al a L fl t
-
-

pany as Wellesley wrote to hi m i n 1893 M ore

”
,
70 3 ;

o v er the Niz a m was induced to n egotiate with

,

Ameer Khan a Pa ihan o f fic e r o f the B ol ka r f o r

t
‘

, ,

a ,
f
his de tion n u er th e k) e 1i e f that the Britis h
w o uld dfi ,

r a y the cost of hiring hi m an d his t r o o p s

“
“

Although the scheme fell t hroug h at least t h e ,

W
’
H ol k a r s c hi e f was shaken as ,

Wellesley b el i e v e t is m ore than prob able that

Ameer Khan was in the p a y of the Englis h ,

s in ce h e was at last rewa r ded with the prin cipality

o f flfo g k i n 1 8 1 8
"
.

Intrigues were als o beg u n to r ui n the Sin dhia .

T h e Governo r General mentione d in a s e cr e t T e t t e r

-

t o General Lake the princes an d chiefs whom the [ 146 V‘

C omman der i n chief sh ould bribe

- -
He also dilated .

upon an imaginary Fren ch S t a te formed o n the 7

banks o f the Ju m e v er as yet
f ormed any groun d for negotiations General Lake .

was als o supplied an expert M a c hiavellian M r - “

.

Graeme M ercer an d the C ollectors o f Allahabad

—

C awnp ore an d Etawah were directed to hon our W

H
”

his draf t s on the Go v ernor General f or suc h sums-

o f money a s he might re quire .

The M ar q uis o f Wellesley wanted to possess

t h e person of the M oghul Emperor who was sin ce WJ J , ,
/

Warren Hastings betrayed him i nto the han ds o f

the Sindhi a well take n care o f b y the M arathas
,
.
.

8
 1 14 HI S T ORY or T HE B RITI SH O CCU PA TI ON or IN D I A

The Go ern or General n o w raised fals“e h opes i n

‘

v -

his breast an d off ered Shah Alum an asylu m

f rom the oppressive control Of i n j usti ce rapacity ,
”
a n d inhumani t y Sin“ce the same l e tter contained
.

m any referen ces to the injuries an d indignities

t o which your illustri ous family ha v e been ex
”
posed , Shah Alum must h av e thought that h e
would be restored to p ower by British bayon ets
i n at least a sm all porti on o f his form er empire .

The example Of t h e British rewardi n g the M ysor e

Raj as f or coming forw a rd a gain st Ti s tr e ngthe n e d
his h opes A gain a gross b
.
, c Of f a ith w a s
committed by the Ch r i s tian s because the i k r a r
n amah or written a greement containi n g cert ai n
‘

pledges submitted by Lord Lake t o the E mperor ,

was n ever filed i n th e C o m p a n y s recor d s The “

’
.

lands o f the M ogu l were thu s i m

according to M r Sulli v an t h e C a i rman o f the
.
, e
E ast I ndia Company In 1 84 8 T h u s t h e D elh i .

Emperor was decei v ed by Wellesley an d hi s

vil e i n strument by specious promises “ 8 .

G eneral Lake was al so in stru c t intri gue

w ith Z e b O O Nissa B e u m (S u mr o o s Begum ) a ’

rem a rkable wo m an w h o g a l carved out a prin cipal

,

ity f or herself at S a r d a n h a She was to recall .

her battalions servin g u nder the Sindhia an d t o

influen ce the zemindars O f t h e D oab t o assis t
British arm s Th e M arquess gave elab orate i n s t r u c
.

t ion s to General Lake an d his expert a d v iser o n

t he degree an d nature o f the en courag e men t t o
.

be gi v en t o traito rs from S i n d h i a s l a nds on th e ’

,

ad v isability of tr eati n g with th e W ”

Co n s piracies were set o n foot in S i n d hi a s army ’

.

W e ha v e seen h ow
"
acting under Warren
fl
,

Ha s t i n g s s advice M a d h oj i had entertain ed

’

éf
é
'
w ,

r op e a n off i c ers to train his men Thi s .

w a s a most sui c id a l poli c y and h i s successor had

to pay the penalty for t h e fol ly M r Perron had . .
 T HE CAM PAI GN OF IN T R I G U ES

s u cce e ded D e B oi g n c as C omm ander i n ch ief Of - -

t h e S i n d h i a s forces a n d there were many an other

’

foreign mercen ary Th e Go v ern or Gen e r al h eld o u t

W “
a
-

fig 5
.

pecun i ary re w ards f or all European d eserters a n d ,

h e succe e d ed e v e n be y on d his o w n e x p e c a
f or
A gain
th e s e tr a itors co n sidered Old as t h eir G o d
on e B a mboo K han half Been d epri v e d o f
w ,
.

,
L
t h e Sah a ranpur D i stri ct by t h e Sin d hia an d h e
,

s u pplied to t h e C ollector Of M ora d ab a d a few ,

d a y s after t h e d eclar a tion Of hostilities translation s ,

of a letter alleged t o have been w ritten by th e

Sin d hia t o prove h i s warlike intentions Bamboo .

Khan w a s t o be pro m ised any pecun i ary re w ard

c a lculated to stimulate his ex e n “ 49

The Go v ern or gen er al

-
feared t r oii bl e from '

an other quarter the P u n j a u b where Ran i

, ,
ing h
h a d established h i s in dependen ce from e Kabul
m onarchy a n d w a s h a mm e rj n U Sj g j g w
l i
g
IK
mart ial race Sikh C hieft a in s lik e t e g a m of
.

Patiala w ere i n fluen ced b L a ke to fa v our th e

cause of Briti sh ar m s . P O i t i ca c on s r er a t i on s
A
pre v ented him fro m acc e p t i n g the proposa ls of 3
57
5
G eorge Th omas to con quer and ann ex the Land of
the Sikhs .
1 50 D esertion from enemy armies was {291 3
encour a ged by proclamati on .
 T he War ag ai n s t S i n dhi a an d Bhon s le

Six armies w ere brought i n to the field aga i nst

Sindhia and the B h o n s l e Lieuten ant General —

Smart on the M ys ore frontier overawing the

Sout h ern Jag hirdars C ol Ste v ens on at the head of
, .

Nizam s subsidiary forces proceed i ng to A urangabad

’
,

the mai n army of N India under General Lake .

,

General Wellesley proceeding fro m Poona towards

the n orth the northern d i v isio n O f the M adras
it ,

Presidency ready to pounce upon C u ttack an d the ,

G a e k w a r s subsidiary force engaged in reducing

’

B r oach.

General Wellesley proceeded towards Ahmednagar

an d b y bri bi n g fi the nati v e O f ficers ca ptured the
‘

t .

for t He appointed on his o w n authority C ol .

Graham to manage t h e territories depending upo n

that fort T h e Pesh w a was to b e k ept quiet by
.

false promises O n the 1 3 t h August Wellesley wrote

.
,
.

“
to C olonel Close resident at Poona O f a pro
, ,
”
portion of the re v en ue t o b e gi v en to the Peshwa “
,

‘
but on the 1 4t h he hastened
, to write that it
would b e b etter n ot to hold out any “
promise or
”
1 prospect . O n t h e 1 7 th he wrote I f the Pesh w a
,

should b e satisfied with a general assurance that

the con quered territory is t o be applied t o
the benefi t of the allies it will be most con ,

v e n i en t, as that assura n ce lea v es the question Open

f or future discussio n an d for a decision according
”
to the circumstances Of the war I n order t o .

satisfy the P e sh w a the General urged Colonel,

“
” ”
Close t o pay the ministers upon a large scale .

After capturing Ahme d nagar Wellesley pro ,

c ee d e d to the north to make a j unctio n with

 THE WAR AGA IN S T S IN DHI A AND R HO N S L E 1 17

Steve n son O n his w ay he h eard that S i n d h i a s

.
’

infantry an d artillery lay en camp e d at Assaye an d ,

that Sindhia himself h ad proceeded forw ards t o

wards the Niz a m s territori es a t t h e head o f his
’

cavalry The B attle Of A ss ay e was therefore i n fl ’a

q
. f
‘w

favour of the En glish The reason s f or th e failure

.

Of the M arathas were very significant Sindhi a had l w

a .

”
gi v en up the tradition a l but formi d able m etho d s A
o f M a rath a war fare an d

He had als 3
‘

A ssaye
“
. m ention
sixteen Of their European Officers an d sergeants
”
comi n g over and Gen eral Wellesley felt satisfied
on findin g at all events their European o f ficers
,
’ L
h ave left them
‘
”
Ea c h of these m ust have g ot j
.

4
the pay m ention ed in His Ex cellen cy s proclam a
’ ’

B e g u m Su e
’
tion o f t h e 29 1h A u g ust 1 803 , .
O s
/

batt alion w a s present at Assaye an d w e c an v ery

stron gly suspect that th ey must h ave played
, “
I
the h and s of Gen eral Wellesley .

After the battle of Ass a ye Colon el Steve n son ,

w a s ordered to pursue S i n d h i a s for c es But M r

’
. .

M ill says The en emy had been 8 0 li t t l e b r ok e n or

dispersed by their defeat that they had little to
dread from t h e pursuit Of C ol Stevenson . 152 Stil l . .

the Sindhi a auth orised Baloo K O O D JB I TO open

_

n egoti ations f or peace but General Wellesle y w h o

b ) ’m
, ,

I ,
was anxious f or war did n ot len d any ear t o his
,
0

proposals He ch arged him with being a traitor

.

an d abused him Ste v enson m eanwhil e captured M £

l
m
.
, ,
1
B n rh rnp or an d Asser u r b mostly as a result
of t ge fl a g W
. ,

ers General .

W e lle s ly w rote : Sixteen of th e European officers

“
,

s ergeants & c had com e

, .
,
o n th e terms of the
proclam at ion am o n g whom were C olonel Dupont
, ,

Captain M ercier an d Captain M an n

Th e M aratha chiefs h a d separated their ar mies I M
.

‘
 1 18 HI S TO R Y OF THE B RITI SH OCC UPATI ON or IND IA

M .
[ to fike ad v anta ge o f t hl s c hance by sen ding Steven
and w r in sistiu upon pea Th e British tried

W i) son to watch the movements of the Sindhi a a n d '

W ai n s t the R a of Berar Since both .

A t h e s e ex editions a e W ellesley expre sed his s

desire o recei v e en v oys for peace A s a result Of .

prolonged n egotiations an armis t ice was con

,

cluded with the Sindhia I n order to play off the

.

t w o leade r s o f the Confederacy n o armistice was

A ,

concluded with the B h o n s l e As General Wellesley .

“
himself said ,
The Raj a O f B e r a r s troops are n ot ’

in cluded in it an d conse q uently there becomes a

di v ision Of interest betw een these two c hiefs All .

confidence in S c i n d h i a if it e v er existed must be at

, ,

an end a n d the confederacy is i p s o f a c t o dis , ,

sol v ed .The real purpose O f the armistice h o w ,

e v er was to lull the Sindhia into a false sense o f

,

securi t y and to get some ti me for making further

military preparations T his is e v ident fro m a letter
.

from the General to his brother written on the ,

day n ext after the conclusio n of the armistice in ,

“
which he says I ha v e the power of puttin g an
,

en d to it when I please supposing I am

obliged to put a n en d to it o n the day after I
shall recei v e i t s ratificatio n I shall at least hav e ,

gain ed so much time e v ery w here for my o perations

and shall have succ eded i n dividing the enemy
”
entirely .

Six days later when e v ery thing was ready the

, ,

British General fabricated pretexts for a battle .

He said that the Treaty had n ot y e t been ratified

(though a space of ten days had been given by
the concluding article ) that“ its stipulations had
,

n o t been performed an d that the inter v al of twenty

”
coss between the British and allied a r mies which
had to be kept up had n o t been maintained though ,

in the last case Wellesley made complian ce i m po s s i

ble by follo w ing the S i n d h i a s army ! In v ain did ’
 T HE WAR AGA IN S T S IND HI A A N D B HO N S L E 119

t h e vakeels protest again st t h e wanton attack on

t heir master The Battle of Ar a u was foug h t an d
é
. ,

as wa s only n atural, the l l EIS h troops w o n the ‘

d a y The Go v ern or Gene r al was highly pleased at

.
-

the vi c tory , thoug h he confessed he could n ot

understand why the armisti c e was v iolated for ,

accordi ng to hi m Qua cin q ue v ia a battle is a

, ,
”
profit with the Nati v e Powers Thus ended the .

campaign o f Wellesley in t h e D eccan After this .

peace was conclu ded w ith th e Sin dhia as well as

B h on s le .

We must n o w devote som e attention to the

minor operation s o f the war against the possessions
d
O f the c onfederat es We shall first c hoose the c am ,

;
.

i in Gi f t Guzerat was con quered by “

‘

;f Mt
5
p ga n z e r a .

Akbar th e Great an d Nizam u l mulk en couraged - -

the M arathas to capture it The G ag kwa r s 4 .

e stablished their suprem acy o v er Baroda and the

surroundin g districts M a d h a v Rao Sindhia was .

rewarded by the British for acting as a mediator

at S a l by e with a small district aroun d Broach This afl fi of .
,

p ortion Of G u zerat had therefore to W e a pt u r e d .

C ol M urray the Officer in charge was n o t to su ff er

. , ,

these operation s to be i n t e r u pt e d o r delayed by

”
any n egotiation s wh ate v er Th e Gaek w ar felt some.

s cruples of conscience to hel p the British i n

t heir unj ust w ar but Wellesley pointed o u t that
,
“
although it is n ot immediately specified it can
n e v er have been intended that the C ompany should
protect the G u i c kw a r S t ate unless the G u i c k w a r ,

s h ou d also assist the C ompany with its forces

”
a gain st the enemies Of the British Go v ernment .

So , the G a e k w a r s Obj ections were o f n o a v ail

’
.

I ntrigues were carr ied o n with the B h e el s At last .

Broach fell and a district y ielding an annual

revenue of ele v en lakh s Of rupees was secured
by the Co m pany The Gaekw ar received n o por
.

tion of the b ooty Lt C ol Wo odington also m ade

. . .
1 20 HI S T OR Y OF T HE B RITI SH OCC UPA TI ON OF I ND I A

the garrison at P o w a n g h u r capitulate an d thu s ,

the Bri t ish deprived the Sindhi a of all th e posses

S ions in Guzerat which had been held ou t a s a
bait to M a d ha v Rao Sindhia f or h i s helping them
o u t o f their difficulties an d c on cluding the Treaty
of S a lby e .

Campaign s were also condu cted i n O rissa Cliv e .

obtained the Diwani Of Northern O ri ssa w hile the

rest O f the country was ru led by the M arathas
u n d er B h o n s l e Durin g t h e M aratha con quest O f
. .

O ri ssa the English merchants w h o had m an y

, ,

factories an d trad i ng posts s uf f ered some loss in ,

t heir trade an d an expedition w a s suggested only ,

t o be gi v en up v ery soon When th ey were granted

.

th e Diwa n i the C ompany agreed to pay after

, ,

n egotiations with the B h on s l e s agent U d opu r i ’

Gosai n t o pay arrears of c h ou t h amounting to

,

about 1 3 lakhs Of rupees U nder the M aratha .

adminis t rati on a seer of rice was sold for 1 5

,

gandas or about 7 0 seers t o the r u pe e o pium .

c ost a p a n of cowries per m asha salt 1 4 karas pe r ,

”
seer but with the appearance of the British upo n
,

the s c en e Cuttack n o w begins to b e n oticeable a s ,

i t is at frequent inter v als throughout the early

years o f Briti sh rule as a place in constant w a nt
,

Of supplies and always o n th e verge of famine .

The Go v ern or G e n er al directed t h e military officers

in O rissa to intrigue with t h e O ri y a chiefs Of t h e
“
Hills He wrote : With oth er C hieftains w h o may
.

possess m e a n s of embarrassi n g your progress it may

be ad v isable t o n ego t iate eng a gements o n term s
favourable t o their interests witho ut requiring f or,
”
their absolute submission to the British authority .

Harcourt c a ptured B alasore very easi ly an d afte r ,

t aking possession of Juggernaut occupied Cuttack ,

.

sent into M oh or bh a n j and Nilgiri an d

of the former place with the h eir
e c a me frien d s of the Co m pany Th e .
 T HE WAR A GA IN S T S I N DH I A AND B HO N S L E 1 21

acquisitio n Of O rissa can hardly b e called a

conquest ’
.

The English captured B un d e lk han d by th e e F Eg g ’ .

.

d Bassein but th e provin ce could n o t b e 3 f } ” ”

if
M aken p ossession Of without
,

expelling certain
C hieftains wh o though tributary to the Peshwa
, , ,

w ere a v erse to place themselves un der the British

y oke A detachm ent was sent under Colonel
.

Powell to j oin with a tr ai tor and a soldier o f

for t un e n am ed Gosai n Himmat B a h a d o o r There .

was n o difficulty therefore in reducing the p et ty,

, ,

C hieftain s an d their forts

m
.

the Sindhi a in t h e
k

ag ai n s t
n orth were under Gen eral Lake
, U n der the .

n omin al auth ority of the M oghul Emperor th e ,

Sin dhia was administering the D oab by m ean s of

Fr en ch Office rs like D e B oi g n e an d M Perron . .

”
O n th e 2 9 th August 1 803 Lake occupied C Qe l ,
o n t 9 12 9
'

the frontier Of the Sin dhia s dominions T h e r e w a s u .

I
m any a dastardly t rai t or in th e S i n d h i a s Ca m p
’
.

Gen
“
eral Lake w rote to Wellesley o n the M t
Six O ffi cers Of Perron s secon d brigade are j ust
’

com e in havin g resign ed the service even before

,
”
they knew o f th e proclamation Lake n ext .

“
proposed to capture A li g h u r ; m y Obj ect is to get z fl
5
’

t h e troops o u t Of th e fort b y b r i b e r y w hich I fla t t e r fi

,
” “
myself will be don e f o r the place i s extremely ,
N

stron g an d if regularly besieged will take a m onth i

, ,
”
at least But bribery was o f n o a v ail T r eag he r y 1
.

however came t o th eir help M r Lucan a nati v e

,
M. .
.

,
“
,

o f Grea t ritain wh o lately quitted the ser v ice Of

” B ‘
Sin dhia un dertook to lead Colonel M an son to
,
”
the gate an d p oint ou t the road through the fort ,

an d s o the fort w a s easily reduced M Per ron m

7
.
, .

‘M “
als o left th e service Of Sin dhia f or t h e t r e a c h e r y a n d ,

i n gratitude o f hi s European Officers con v in ced h i m

that further resistan ce t o th e British arm s was
”
useless .
1‘ 1 22 H I S T ORY OF T HE B aY T IS H OCC U PA TI O N or I N D IA

mar che d o n to Kaunga and chuckled to “

rh or General on 8 t h Sep t ember 1 803
-
I
think whe n y o u hear t he SECR E T m a nner I n which
things have bee n conducted y o u will b e much
pleased it is quite a n ew work in the ar my and
,

h a s succeeded hitherto wonderfully wel l I think .

t o be v ery near Delhi i n three m ore marc hes .

Lake s plan was n ot to c a pt ure Gwal ior as the

’
,

Go v ernor General desired but to mo v e on to D el h i

-

i n order to recei v e help from the M oghul E mperor .

He fought a battle with th e S i n d h i a s troo ps under ’

W e d hi m
a result O Shah A lum s steps to corrupt the troops
O f his en emies Lake
’
probably as

n o w entere d Del h i a n d we n t
,

3
?
.

to pay his respects t o the titular E m p eror o n the

t ? l 6 t h September 1 8 03 who was induced for mally to

fi , g
94
, ,

make o v er t h e E mpi r e O f his a n c e s t o r s t o the English .

Lake n o w proceeded to Agra where t w o thousand , ,

fi v e hu n dred men f r om the S i n d h i a s ar my trans ’

ferred their services to t he E n glis h co m mander o n

“ ”
account O f the fi cret manner i n which things
were c o n d u ct cfi r v e n e r d b L a ke O n e other .

mem orable battle had t o be fought at Laswari He

w v wrote to M arquess W ellesley “I ni ad e a general
.

a ttack upon the enemy s position the result of

’
,

which I ha v e the satisfaction Of in f or ming your

Excellen cy has b een a complete though I si n cerely ,

lament to add dear bought v ioto

“
, He added ,

These felons fought l i ke d ev i ls or rather heroes

a n d had we n o t made a disposition f o r attack i n
a style that we should have don e a gainst t h e most
formidable army we could ha v e bee n Op posed to ,

I v erily believe from the position they had taken

, ,
”
we might have f a iled S i n d h i a s troops were
.
’

beaten because they had been deserted in a critical

A”
(
,
”
“
Q t h our by their leaders ; for General Lake w rote If ,

they h a d Been commanded by Fre n ch officers the ,

would have b een I fear extre m ely doubtful

, , .
 T HE WAR AGA IN S T S IN DH I A AND B HO N S L E 1 23

I n e v er was in s o se v ere a busi ness in m y life

o r anythin g like it and pray to God I n e v er m ay
b e i n such a sit u a tio n again C olonel M alleso n .

c alls the Batt le o f Laswari one o f the d ecisive

General L a kM
M
t l e s q f I n dia d
to Gwalior for he W ished to bring the Princes o f K7
.
fl

"
,

Raj putan a t o terms The I n dians suff ere d in 1 8 03.

f rom a severe famin e and so they were n o t abl e

to stand against the B ritis h ar my The Natives .

looked upon the British v ictories with superstitious

d read an d Lake a d d s : I do m ost sin cerely a gree
with them as our successes h ave been beyon d
,

p arallel and m ust have had the as sistan c e of an

,
” 1 54
in v isible hand .

In spite o f Laswari the English were n o w as ,

much anxious for peace as the M aratha confederate

themselves B h o n s le s minis t ers sign ed the Tre aty
.
’

o n beh al f O f their m a ster in D ecember 1 8 03 The ,

.

a mbassadors o f t h e Sin dhia also did the sam e in

the same m onth The greedy serv a nts of the .

C ompan y amputated n ot like surgeons but more

ers Bot h th e co n f ei efiij g g fl fl flm bfl d
, ,

o a the i r fertile pro v in ces an d compelled to pla c e

th e yoke Of d ependence on the British o n th eir
n ecks. Though it was understo od by the ministers
that Gwali or wo uld belon g to the Sindhia an d though ,

this was th e v iew Of Gen eral Wellesley an d M a j or

'

M alcolm G w al rnr a n d G o h u d were n o t r e t ur n e d l

,

G en eral Wellesley wrote : I would sacrifice Gwalior Ii

or e v ery frontier of I ndia ten t imes o v er i n , ,

order to preser v e o ur credit f o r scrupulous good

” “
faith an d I declare th at I a m d ispirited an d
”
disgusted with this tran saction beyon d measure .

But the Go v ern or Gen eral persisted i n his p oli cy

-

“
b e c ause as he wrote We ha v e g ot such a hold in his
, ,

Durbar by the treaty Of peace that if e v er he goes

, .

t o war with the C omp any o n e half o f his chiefs an d ,

”
o f his army will be o n our s i d e ! S O he kne w that ,
1 24 HI S T ORY OF T HE B RITI SH OCC UPA TI ON OF IND I A

the Sindhia was surroun d ed b y traitors See h o w .

b ol dl y h e wrote t o M aj or M alcolm in April 1 804

“
,

I n this expectation (expecting G ow a l i or and G oh u d ) ,

S ci n d hi a s a d v isers and frien ds will be disappointed ;

’ “

t h e y will n ot m ove m e as easily as they ha v e

shaken M aj or M alcolm . I a m perfectly read y to
renew the war to morrow if I find that the peace
-

,
”
is n ot secure ! The Sindhia was also once m ore
induced to employ foreigners in his army like
Jean
“
Baptiste N O wonder therefore that
, ,

Do w lu t Rao c i n d hi a (has) formally renounced

all clai m to the district o f G o h u d and to the
”
fortress of Gwalior .
 The War wi t h t he B olkar

\
Rao B ol har did n ot j oin the c o n f e d e
Je s w a n t
r ates against the British b e c ause General , '

W e ll e s l e S letters beginning fro m the o n e s e n f b n

’

E
the ICt h lu ly 1 803 held out hopes of an a mple
, ,

reward for n eutrality Six m onths after the d e cl a .

ration O f war wfl n d the same Gen eral w riting (

,
a “
‘

to the Gover n or Ge n eral Therefore unless we -

,
.

make war upon Hol ka r and depriv e the Peishwah

of his te r ritories we shall n ot succeed in dri ving
.

o u t the M ahrattas entirely from these countries

”
a lt h ough S c i n d h i a sh ould cede his rights The .

M arquess was also anxious to crush the Ho l k a r .

General Lake knew the v alue Of Holk a r s neutrality ’

,

f o r he confessed I f he (H o l k a r ) had inten ded

,

h ostile meas ures against the British Government ,

”
h e might have ann oyed me most seriously .

As soon as the war was o v er the H olk a r whose ,

min d was fed wit h false hopes began to clai m ,

many pri v ileges throug h his v akeels . sent to

G eneral Lake He asked for permission to collect
.

C h o u t h according to ancien t custom the c ession ,

o f certain districts form erly held by his fa mily

an d a formal guarantee o f hi s territories The ‘
.

Go v ern or General n o w began to talk O f right an d

-
’

‘ ’
j ustice an d disco v ered a flaw in the claim of the

1
“
H olk a r to the thron e He tal ked O f adopting ),
.
f

measures under the sanction Of His Highn ess the

Peishwah s auth ority’ ” “
for the restoration of Kashi M M
Rao H o lk a r s rights either by force o r compro
’

mi s e ‘ V n
x
. The Go v ern or G eneral s oun ded a distin ct -
’

n“ ote Of w ar; for ac c ording t o his point Of v ie w

, ,

the enterprising S pirit military character an d ,

a mbitious v iews O f J e s w a n t Rao K ol h ar render the

 1 26 HI S T ORY O F TH E B R I TI SH OCC UPA TI ON OF I ND I A

reduction of his power a desirable obj ect with

reference to the complete establishment of t r a n q ui l l
ity in I ndi a .

_ The H olk ar too played into English hands He

_ .

executed three British servants i n hi s em ploy

Cap ains V i c ka r s Todd and Ryan
t
,
f o r carry i n g
o n intrigues an d conspiracies agai n st hi m lest th e y
m i g m betray him during any campaign of
war Gen eral Lake n o w began to assume a threaten
.

“
ing attitude f o r he wrote t o the M arquess I ne v er
,
.

W W B S I a m with this devil Suddenly

”
W .
,

as 1 y G o d send some criminal c orrespondence

-
.

all eged t o ha v e been written under the H ol ka r s ’

in structi on s was d isco v ered ! The letters were

m ost pr o b a bl forg eri es They called upon t h e
g
.

Hindus to ta e v e n geance upon the ungrateful “

”
multitude an d th e M uslims to extirpate the
p ofli g a t e i n fid e l s
r The M arquess n o w did n o t
.

hesitate to declare war upon the H olk a r in spite

Of a request from t h e Raja to b e ac q uainted with
the m eans by which the British prepared to settle
all di s putes and establish mutual friendship .

W
ll 11 April l 6 t h 4 the Go v ern or General
it ,
-

a ,

o m mu n i c a e determin ation to commenc e

hostilities against J e s w a n t Rao H ol k a r at the
earliest p r acticable peri od o f ti m e an d als o
directed that steps be taken to induce the Sind hia
“ ”
t o act in con c ert w ith t h e British forces Gen eral
10 W Wellesley was also given instructions to proceed
.

from the south but he desisted from the campaign

,

f or v a ious reasons
r
He was in dignant a t h i s
.

brother s h aggling o v er Gwalior in spite of his

’

special pleading for a sympathetic interpretation

o f the peace He was discontented at not being
.

confirmed in his Staff Appoint ment by t he

authorities at home Agai n he was requi sition ed .

by his brother in a short ti m e near Cal c utta for

, , ,

drawing up rep orts and m emoranda .

 T HE W AR WIT H T HE HO L K A R

Ne v ertheless Sindhia was easily won 0 ,

The Govern or Gen eral tried to apply balsam to

-

wo un d h e had infli c ted He held .

mises to the Sin dhia o f cedin g t o

fertile pro v in ces from th e H ol k a r if h e would ,

h elp the B r i t i s h fi Nolens v olen s the order had ,

to b e obeyed F orces wer e despatc h ed under Bap u

.

Sin dhia an d Jean Baptiste Filose to carry

fire and sword into the B o l k a r s dominions But ’
.

un aided by Well esley Gen eral Lak e w a s n o t able ,

t o get any advantage over th e B o l k a r by in vading

b

the south q uittin g Hin dustan N o r w a s ther e .

great chan ce f o r intrigu e sin ce B ol k a r had a l ,

ready g o t rid O f his forei gn Officers though M eer ,

Khan w a s a likely catch The enthusiasm of t h e .

C om man der i h Chief an d t h e M arquess had gon e

- -

down to such a level that the latter wrote O n

“
1 2 th M a y 1 8 04 It is unn ecessary a n d u n a d
, ,

v i sable that any par t Of the British arm y should

attempt in the present season t o ad v an ce further
, ,
”
into the central an d southern parts o f Hindustan .

There was also a g reat n ecessity to r e lie v e the

“
finances o f I ndia from the burthen o f maintaini n g
h subsistin g m i litary establishmen t in
ii ld
t he
9)
e 0

M ean while , the 2 2 n d e v ents had taken place

on ,

which seri ou sly compromised the prestige Of t he

English i n In d i a About vagrant banditti
.
’

surrounded four battalion s Of sepoys an d 4 5 0

European s in a Bundel khan d v illage an d carried
“
away 5 0 European artillery two 1 2 p ounders ,
-

,
”
t w o h owitzers an d o n e 6 pounder inflicting hea v y
,
-

losses o“n the m en The humiliation an d disgrace .

”
which this unfortun ate bus i n ess inflicted on t he
English were to be wiped o u t at any cost T h e .

Govern or Gen eral als o wrote It was impossibl e

-

t o an ticipate th e flagran t miscon duct by which

th e hon our Of t h e British arms has been di sgrace d
 1 28 HI S T O RY O F T HE BRITI SH O CC UPA TI O N OF IN DIA

and the interests Of th e Britis h Go v ern m ent hazard

cd by an o ff i cer furnished wit h such ample
, ,

means o f maintaining both Lieutenant Colonel .

-

F awcett t he o ff icer in charge was arrested an d

, ,

tried by c ourt marti al The M arquess also directed

-
.

that the arrangements he had previously ordered “

be postponed a n d e v ery p ossible eff ort an d e x e r
tion must b e made to reduce J e s w a n t Rao H o l k a r
.

”
and the predatory chiefs c onnected with him .

Accordingly war was undertaken in right earne st .

“
Three ar mies took the fie ld Ge n eral Lake in —

Hindustan Lieutena n t Colonel Wallace i n t h e

,
-

Deccan an d Colo n el M urray i n Guzerat Besides .

"
t hese fraud and intrigues
, .

The war began with the sign al suc c ess Of

C olonel D on at Ram a but the disas ter at
f C ,

cl Bundelkhan d was an earn est o f many more that

w ere y e t to come Brigadier General M onson in .
-

whose ability and skill General Lake reposed the

f ullest confidence was chosen to pursue the H ol k a r
,

with a l a rg e army and with every oth er facility

for rapid marches an d eff ecti v e attacks B ut when .

M onson fo un d J e s w u n t Rao H o l k a r occupying a

strong position n ear the M u c u n d r a pass wit h an
a rmy stated to consist of a l arge body Of ca v alry ,

. a co rps of regular infantry an d a large train Of

”
a rtillery the Governor Gen eral desired Lake to
,
-

M onson s detach m ent in order that a

’
r ei n f g r ce
decisi v e blow again st H ol k a r s p ower a n d resources
.
’

might be struck He al s o wanted the Commander

.

i n Chief to take t h e field i n pers on

-
.

But the M ar q uess h a d h ardly finished writing

these n otes when he recei v ed intelligence O f the
d isaster that had o v ertaken Colonel M onson .

Lieuten ant Colonel M on son was the younge r s o n

-

”
-
O f a peer an d was therefore a fa v oured child
, ,

o f patron age Lake s plan was t o unite the t w o

’

W W t
. .

f o r ce s under M on son an d M urray b efore a decisive

 T HE W AR WI T H T HE HO L K A R
'

b low was struck O n su c h a union the com mand

.
,

of the tro o ps would have n a t urally de v olved u po n

“
C olonel M u r ray b ut the n oble Lord wrote
, t he ,

C om mander i h C hief m ay probably c on sider the

- -

c ommand Of the united detachments to be t o o

e x t ensi ve f o r an o ff i cer of th e rank o f C olon e l
”
M urray an d s o M onson was promoted to t h e
, ,

t em porary ran k o f a B r igadier General in super -

sessio n o f M urra y s claim s I t was a flag r a n t a c t

’
.

i “
o f n epotism O n the 1 s t of July M onson e n t e r e d V
f f
‘
-
.
,

H o l k a r s dominions through th e M u c u n d r a p a s s
’

and cap ured the fort

t
of H i n g la i s t r by -

e scalade He p rocee d ed 5 0 miles inla n d in se v e n

.

d ays whe n n ews was broug ht to h i m Of Ho l ka r s

’

C rossing the river He wanted to at t a ck h i m

.

cover from the confusio n o f

c rossin g . is chagrin when h was ;

s uddenly that C o l Murray intende d to .

f all back and th at he had only two

d ays Afrai d o f the helplessness
’

of h proposed to retreat with h l S

fi v e battali o y s an d artillery and i r r e g u

lar h orse un d er Lt Lucan an d B a puj e e Sindhia Ta l ;.

T h e i rregular ca v alry was d i sperse d By t fie Ho lka r

“

i
w as imp risoned A mir Khan i n his me moi r s
.
,

written after t h e gra n t t o him by the B r iti s h o f

t he pri n ci pality Of Tonk ac c uses B a puj e e o f ,

treachery in suggestin g flight t o M o n s on and

e xaggera ting the en emy s strength but M on s o n ’
,

mus t h a v e u sed his j u d gmen t before taking t h e

f atal step .

W ith the H o l ka r s horse i n h ot pursuit M onson

’
,

reache d M u c u n d r a pass o n the 9 t h and passing ,

thro ugh K otah a n d the ford across t he C h u m ba l

at G a n m u c h h e r e ached R a mpo o r a o n t h e 2 9 t h
,

J uly . Grant D uff descri bes v ery graphically t h e

m iseries Of M onson an d h i s me n durin g th e
 OF T HE BRITI SH O CC UPA TI ON OF IN DIA

disastrous an d precipitate retreat Guns sa n k .

1 56

d eep i n the mud an d had to be spiked a n d

abandon ed ; rivers were swollen an d could be
crossed on l y with great delay an d greater pri v a
ti ons ; gr ain was exhausted in the a d j oining
vill a ges they h a d to repulse se v eral persevering
att a cks o f the Ho lk a r s ca v alry many men were
’

drown e d wom en an d chil d ren had t o be left o n

the op posite banks to be massacred by B h e e ls fro m
the hills I n short there was so much mismanage
.
,

ment and neglect O f ordinary precautions that

had M onson n ot been a protege o f the higher
authoriti e s he would ha v e been court martialled
,
-
.

F ortunat ely for the Briti sh the Hol k a r was n ot ,

.

able to take full advantage Of the retreat because ,

his cavalry was severely handi c apped by rain a n d

floods an d because his troops were not r e a lly s o
num erous a s M onso n fo olishly feared " .
M

Th e hum i liation of the British ar m y c ause d

grave alarm o n all sides But General Lake wro t e
.

fro m Cawnpore Rest assured my dear Lord

, , ,

n othi n g shall be wanting on m y part t o pre

v ent the glory o f our late campaig n being tar
n i s h e d by an y advantage that can be gained by
this freeboo t er He ce rtainly h a s n ot at presen t
.

on e m a n Of power or cons e q uence attached t O hi m

an d, I think it will be in my power to prevent
any o n e f r om j oining him But the c u p w a s
.

n ot y e t full M onson c ommitted

. the fatal mis
t ake o f remaining at R a m po or a till 22 n d Augus t ,

on whi c h dat e he proceeded to K o o s h alg u r h to

meet S i n d h i a s troops H olk a r s cavalry n e w c ame
’
.
’

up when M onson was attempting to cross the

Ban nas and n early an nihilated his force M on son .

fled on to Agra leaving his baggag e and wounded

,

to the mercy of the en emy There was so muc h .

discontent in the Doab under British r ule that the

H ol ka r w a s j oine d by many men of consequence .
 T HE W AR WI TH T HE B O LH AR

Again S i n d hi a s O ff i cers were so disgusted with

’ S L
f éL ‘
e
,

th e policy o f th e British that th ey refrain ed from

actual c o operation with M onson M ons on s own
-
.
’

tro ops were very m uch dispirited an d disaff ected .

Grant Duff says M on son did n ot kn o w the sepoys

, ,
”
they had n o c ofid e n c e in him n or he in the m ! ,

The positi on of the B r i t t s h at this m oment

.

“ '
was m ost criti cal Lake called the retreat t h i s c
.

’
,

disgra c eful and d i s a s M

“ ”
a finer deta c h ment n ever m ar c hed an d he laments , .

I ha v e lost 5 battalions an d S i x c ompanies the ,

flower O f the army and h ow they are to be r e pl a c

,
”
ed at this day God only kn ows
, But yet n o .
,

en q uiry w as m ade in t o t h e c auses O f the retreat .

“
T h e Governor Gen eral wro t e to Lake : I fear m y
-

p oor friend M onson is I wil l endeav our to

shield his c hara c ter from Oblo quy n or will I ,

attempt the m ean purpose Of sa crificing his

reputati on to sav e min e Hi s form er services an d
.

ze a l entitle h i m to in dulgence an d h owe v er I m ay ,

lamen t or su ff er for his errors I will n ot reproa c h ,

his m em ory if h e b e lost or his c hara cter if he

, , ,
”
survi v e. General Lake replied Y our senti ments ,

respectin g M onson are n oble an d are worthy of

”
the great min d you possess an d later I c ertainly , ,

become the respon sible person i n the first instan c e

an d shall u po n every oc c asion de c lare publicly
, ,

an d privately b oth here an d a t hom e that y ou

, ,

had n othing to do with the m ar c h of that detach

ment an d that all c ensure for that m easure must
”
be att ributed to m e a n d m e alon e .

The en ergies O f th e British were now directed

t o retri e v e their reputation for as the M arquess ,
“
wrote : Every hour that shall be left to this plunder
g
er w ill b e marked by s om e calamity ; we must
expect a general defection O f the al l ies an d even 7
confusion in o u r territories u n l e s we can atta c k,

H o lk a r s main force immediately w ith de c isive

’
1 32 HI S T ORY on T HE BRIT I SH O CC U PATI ON or IN D I A

su c cess , M onson
discovered a secre t corres
p o n d e n c e bet w ee n the H o l k a r and t h e Jat
Raj a R u n j e e t Sing h of B h ur t p or e a n ally ,

of the English T h e intercepted letters a n d

‘

'

communications pro v ed accor d ing

, to t he
M arquess , only that the Raj a and his s o n
were merely the instru ments of the mean pr o ,

fli g a t e an d in digent contrivers of t he o r ig i n al
”
plot an d three months later he asked Lake t o
, ,

procee d against t h e Raj a if his treachery s h o uld

”
be proved .The real cause O f t h e proj ec t ed
campaign was t h at the Britis h desired to retrie v e
their fa m e by beating some o n e an d they chose
“
B hu r t por e because the po wer or reso urces of
Raj a Ranj it Sing h ca n not reasonably gi v e a n y
”
ca use O f al arm for t h e result E v e n assu mi n g
.

the letters to be genuine the correspo n de n c e ,

dis closes nothing but the dis co n te n t an d d i s a ff e c

tion of all the a llies and s ubj ects of the Compan y .

The Ho l k a r at t he worst wa s me r el y
'

, ,

flattering the British by i mitating their tactics !

The Britis h had made t h e ms e lv e s o bn ox i ou s i n the '

Doab by their enhance me n t of the land reven u e

“ ”
their cow killin g propensi t ies O ppressive a d mi n i s
-

t r a t i o n o f t h e salt depart ment 1 5 7

a n d a n atte m pt to
introdu c e the W of courts T h ey .

also wanted the surre n der of all those suspec t ed

b y them o f c onspiracy .

Again the Sindhia was getting more and more

,

sullen an d discontented He pr o t e s t e d i n a long

.
,
.

letter dated 1 8 t h O ctober 1 8 04 against “ma n y a , ,

serious inj ury and insult He asked for .

p e c u n i
ary assistance to the extent which might be
”
requisite t O prosecute the war in consideratio n
“ ”
of the embarrassed s t ate of his fi n a n ces i n the ,

shape at le a st Of a loan without i n terest the ,

a mount to h e deduc t ed from the annual s u m O f

twenty lacs fifty thousand rupees due to h i m f ro m
the C ompany He protested again st th e u nwarrant
.

ed assumption oi th e Govern or Gen eral an d others

-
-

‘
th at h e h a d ren oun ced all claims to Gwalior a n d ’
.

G ohu d . He complain ed of th e connivan ce of the

E n glish Resident at the disorders in hi s domin ion s ,

n o t kn owi n g that in the w ords o f the Ho n bl e M r

’
.
,
“
F J Sh ore R esi d ents are m aintained for t h e
. .
,

express purp os e o f prom oti n g misgovernm ent an d

c o n fusion i n the di ff eren t pri n cipaliti es s o as to
a ff ord pla u sible ex c uses for o u r taki n g possession
\
” 1 58 “ ” “
of them . If I propose h e wrote to Mr ,
.

W e bb e th a t I sh ould despat c h troops from h e n ce to

,

th ose pergu n n ahs he will n ot conse n t n or will h e

, ,
”
h i m self apply a remedy He c h alle n g ed t h e
.

G o v ern or Ge n eral to sh ow c ause why n o assistan c e

-

or prote c tion was given h i m by C o ] M urray .

w h en t h e H ol ka r c a ptured M u n d a s o or an d Amir
’
Kh a n in v ested Bhilsa He explain ed M onson s
.

retr e a t a s du e solely to h i s cow a rdi c e an d n ot to N

any d efection of t h e S i n d hi a s tr oops as was ’

u
,

s u ggeste d , f o r while Mon son with t h e infan try

,

re m ai ned b ehin d B a puj e e Sin dhia advan c ed an d

,

e n cou n tered t h e en emy losin g 7 00 m en in t h e ,

stru ggle M o n son s treac h ery alon g with fi n an c ial

.
’

d ifficulties h e sa i d
, i n d u ced B a pu j e e to seek
,

protecti on w ith th e B olka r In the c on clud ing .

part o f the letter h e s a i d that h e was collecting

,

h i s troops an d m o v i n g from B u r h a n po r e as a ,
”
result of t h e d elay an d evasi on s in every point
an d m an y violation s o f treaty stipulation s The .

Si n d hia w a s s o exasper a ted at the policy of M r .

J e n ki n s w h o succeeded Webb s o n h i s death that

, ,

he i n c a rcerated h i m a n act which in spite o f —

, ,

exten u a ti n g ci rcu mst a n ces w as a gain st e v ery

,

recei v ed pri n c i ple of t h e Law o f N a tio n s Thus .

,

w h ere ver t h e E n gl i s h looked a roun d th e prospect ,

appear ed g l o o my f o r t h em ; their state of aff a irs

in In dia w a s extr e m ely criti c al T h e Raj a of .
 1 34 HI S T ORY OF T HE BRITI SH O CC UPATI O N OF I N DI A

Berar was also suspected o f meditating war o n the

English Ho w they m anaged to get out of this
.

mesh which they had themselves woven can n o w

be studied .

The M arquess of Welles ley handled the situatio n

v ery cleverly He tri ed to conciliate the Raj a of
.

B hu r t por e in S pite of all Lake s blood thirsty

’
-

e a gern ess to wipe that prin cipality from the “map

of I ndia He proposed to assure hi m of the
.

d eter minatio n o f the B r itish go v ern ment to dis

charge all the obl i gati ons o f the existing treaty
”
with him He suggested to General Lake many
.

openings for intrigues agai n st the H olka r His .

army it was noted was composed of Pathans a n d

, ,
“ ”
M uslims . Y ou will also take every ste p ad v ised ,

the Christi an Lord for en cour a ging desertion

,

from B ol har by ren ewing the proclamatio n of last

”
y ear or by other encouragements O f course Lake .
,

was
“
a past m aster i n th a t art an d so he replied ,

Som e of them (H ol k a r s troops ) are agai n m aki n g’

proposals to come o v er ; they shall be recei v ed if

'
they like d i s a fie c t i o n a mong the m
has its weigh t an d may be o f use therefore it
sh all be en couraged I ntrigues were also carried
.

S i n d hi a s Christian Commander Jean

’
on
f U with
‘

“
Bapt i ste Lake wrote Jean Baptiste would
o

.
,

j oin him ( Col M urray ) but cannot m ove fro m

.

his present situati on for want of s ubsiste n ce \for

his troops He is desirous o f coming t o m e but
.
,

requires a lac and a hal f of rupees to pay his

he does anything worth n oti c e it will ,
”
b e tim e enough to pay hi m then Sik h C hieftains
.

like Dol c h a Singh an d others were also subsidised

to protect the D oab A fter elaborating this huge .

M a c h i a v e lli a n plan the M arquess made preparations

p for defending Agra Delhi an d other places a n d
,

d rew a n et o f fiv e armies around the H ol ka r fro m

G uzerat M alwa C a w n p or e B un d le k h a n d and Delhi
, , ,
.
 T HE W AR W IT H TH E B O L HA R

Though the Hol ka r W fis h

a n d ca ptured M u t t r a i n the n ort h his p ossessions ,

s o u th of t he T a pt e e ri v er w ere all eas ily captured ,

e s pec ially since t h e Raj a of M a r was c o m , -

p e l l e d to yield on p ai n e L m a r many pro v in ces a s

— .

a result of a cha r ge of conspiracy C olonel Wallace .

with the Pes h wa s con t ingent captured C ha n d or e “ ( C

’
.

C olonel M u r ray p r oceeded to U jj ain an d I ndore ? z

fell w i t h o u t a n y r es i s t a n ce a clear p r oof that the } 3
—
,
I “

B r itis h i n t r ig u e s h a d s u cceede dW ell 8 0 5 .

the H o lk a r s e n t v akee ls to Poona to m ediate for

peace b u t Ge n e r a l L a ke w a s deter mined to cru s h “ e t
,
ef L -

the pl u n derer He n ce Ho lka r fell back upon

.
,

Le bi
) 1 t h e n u n de r t h e co m m a n d of O c h t e r lo n y
L
_ , ,

w h o had scre w ed h i mself into popularity by keep M

i n g a hare m a n d studyi ng t h e lang u ages a n d
man n ers of the people B ol har ret r eated for
.
,

/ '
t

D el h i also an d soug h t ref uge w i t h the Raj a o f f f

f f n

B h u r t por e Gene r a l F r ase r M onso n and L a ke went

—
.
,
“ m m - A .
)

i n ES E purs ui t T h e fi r st t w o o ff i c ers won a dearly

.

’
b ought v ictory a t Deeg an d secured H o l ka r s
i f “
?
“
o rd n ance . The g r e a t a n d gloriou s v i ctory gai ned w ”

” “
a t D eeg ap peared to L a ke to sur pa ss any t hing
” “
that has hith erto bee n done i n In d i a The ra pidi t y
/
.

” “
o f my march (2 3 miles a day ! ) ha s a s t o n i s n e d J
all the nati v es beyond i magin atio n and made the m
”
thin k th ere i s n ot h ing we a r e n ot e q ual to The .

Gover n or G e n eral reci procated these po m pous a n d

-

“
pleasing se n ti me n ts No g r e ti tfia i fll el hfis hfl e nj
g y
.
— —

made o f o u r po w er v alour or S k1q said he

‘

, .

B ut all these m u tual cong r atulations o f t h e two f

s elf s u ffic i e n t
-
perso n s were pre mature for the M
m ;
,
“
H o lka r had esca ped and u n til his perso n b e eith er
dest r oyed o r i mp r is o ned w e shal l ha v e n o res t
A f t e r ten day s of siege D eeg fell ,
,

Ge n e r al L a ke
”

.
p
,
)
wh o had been empo w e r ed to decide for the co n cl u
s io n of peace or t h e co n tinuation of w a r under ,

r ated the po w er o f his ene my and planned their

 1 36 HI S T O R Y OF T HE BRI TISH O CCU PA TI ON OF IN D I A

utter an nihilation The Go v ern or General was “als o

.
-

i e l a t e d a t the turn Of t h e tide He wrote T he .

,

e n ti r e reduction o f t h e power an d resources of the

R a j a o f B h u r t por e howe v er is n ow beco me i n
, ,
~

d ispensably n ecessary an d I accor d ingly authorise

,

a n d direct Y o u r Ex cellency to adopt imm e diat e

a rra n gements for the attainment of that desirabl e
o bj ect and f o r the annexation to the British power ,

of all t h e forts te r ritories an d possession s

,
”
belongin g to the R a j a of B hu r t p or e .

The Hol ka r had taken refuge in th e B hu r t por e

fort itself an d so its siege w as beg un The tow n .

o f B hu r t po r e was eight s q uare m i les in ex tent an d

w a s surrounded by a mud wall of great thi ckn ess -

a n d h eight an d a v ery wide an d deep d itch fi lled

with water The wh ole force of the R a j a with
.

m any of the in habita nts of the surroun din g

c ountry together with the
,
shattered battalion s o f
H o lka r s infantry were thrown into the place
’
, .

Gen eral La k e arrived before its walls on the 3 r d

?
a v“ J anua r y , 1 8 05 ; batteries were open ed on the Nb ;
“

a bre ach i n the w a ll was reported practicable on

” “obstacles of an in surmounta ble nature ” com
2
the 9 t h and storming was determined u pon But .

e ll e d the column to retire with h ea v y loss

p “
.

Circ u mstances o f an un expecte d and unfortunate

n a ture occurred w hich their utmost eff orts could
” “
n o t surm ount B u t Lake d i d n ot lose h ope
. I .

h O pe in a very f e w days their excellent conduc t

, ,
”
w i ll be rew a r ded by the possession of the place .

A second attempt w as ma d e o n the 2 l s t January

t? but General Lake wrote “ I am s orry to add that ,

f ’ ,

the d itch was found s o broad an d deep that every

attempt to pass it pro v ed un succes s ful an d t h e
par t y was obliged to re t ur n to the tren ches with
”
o u t e ff e c t n their obj ect Af t er elaborate pre
.

p a r a t i o n s for about a month an o t h er attempt was

,
“
m ade o n the 2 ot h F ebruary The Europeans .
,
 T HE W AR W IT H T HE HO L K A R

h owever , of His M a j esty s 7 5 t h an d 7 6 t h w h o ’

were at th e h ead o f t h e colum n re f used to a d

v a n ce The entreaties an d exp ostu lati ons of
th eir officers faili n g to produce a n y eff ect two ,

regiments o f Native Infantry the 1 2 th an d th e 1 5 th , ,

were sum mon ed t o the fort a n d gallan tly ad v an ced

”
to th e storm says Horace Hayman Wilson
, .

w a s t h e m uch a b u s e L In dian w h o preserved t h e l “

M
English from utter ru in .

It i s very d fi c ult to discover the c au ses of t h e

f a ilure of t h e English be c au se th e comm an der i n
,
-

a r e lacon ic as M I11 says a n d u n r e l i a b l e

’
chief
“
s reports ’
.

A S gen eral causes he ( Lake ) alleges th e exten t o f t h e

,

pl ace the number of i t s defen ders the stre n gth

, ,

Of its works an d lastly the in capa city o f h i s ,

e n gin eers ; as if a comman d er i n chief w ere fit - -

for h i s Office wh o is n ot himself an engi n eer ;

but th e g reatest cause w as th a t th ere was n o Britis h
O ff i cer or soldier in t h e em ploy o f t h e e nemy side ”
th e fort O n t h e fail u re of three formi a e
.
h
atte m pts t h e, Govern or Gen eral becam e m u c h
-

“
depress ed a n d con cern ed He wrote I fear that
A
.
,

w e h ave despised t h e p l a ce a n d en e my SO mu ch
”
a s to re n der both fo r mi d able Therefore i ntri gu e s
.
,

were begun with the Raj a Of B h ur tp or e to deta ch

h i m from the Ho lk ar L a ke h a d meanwhile been
.

r a ised to th e peerage an d h e was asked by t h e

,

M a r qu ess to in form R u n j e e t Si n gh that hi s only

c er tain ty of escap e from British wrath l a y in
throwin g h imself upon the clemen cy o f the
Bri tish Governm ent an d r e n o n c i n g Holk e r in ,
“
w hich cas e h e w i ll be a d mitted to p a rdon an d
restored to hi s possessi on s A c c ordi n g to L a ke s
’
.

report t h e corresp o n den c e w a s hopeful A mir

, .

K h a n w a s a ls o pro m i se d j a gh irs a n d fun d s t o

d e sert t h e Holk e r while t h e Sin d hi a w a s m a de
,

p o werless by t h e defe c ti on o f Je a n B a pt i s t e
t
a

Filos e .
’
1 38 HI S T O RY OF T HE B R ITI SH O CC U PA TI ON OF IN D IA

The negotiations which Lord Lake had opened

w ith the Raj a terminated in the Treaty of A pril
, ,

1 8 05 I t is highly c r e d i g b l e to the Ra a of Bhurt

j
.

pore that h e did n ot curry a v our w 1 the English

by surrendering the person of the Holk e r I n order .

to S h o w the world that the Raj a had been

suffi ciently punished for h i s alleged treachery ,

i t w as l a i d do w n on paper that the Raj a sh oul d

pay twenty lak h s of rupees an d be depri v ed of
Deeg and the country granted to him the pre v ious
y ear But the Raj a actually paid only three lakhs
.
,

of ru pees and t h e fortress o f Deeg w a s restored

to him v ery soon .

The H olk a r should be looked upon as the

n d i a at this critical j u ncture F or had
M
.

he e dued the Britis h would ha v e annexed

,

n ot only his dominions b ut they would ha v e gone

t o war with the other n ati v e princes of I ndia and
depri v ed them of their possessions T h e supre .

macy of the English in I n dia in the ti me of .

W e lle s l y w ould ha v e been atten ded with c on s e

q u e n c e s fatal to the v ery existence o f Indian s .

Half a cen t ury later durin g the time O f Lord

,

Dalho u sie the nati v es o f I ndia had come to k n o w

,

the character of the n ewcomers their language , ,

literature an d science and s o they set in

,

operation forc es which sa v ed In dia fro m utter

an n i h ila t ion b u t broug h t her u nder th e C ro w n a n d
,

Parliament o f Engla n d .
 T he L as t Days of Welles ley i n In d i a

We have n oted h ow when his grievances were

,

n o t l i stene d to ,the Sindhia move d o u t towards

B hu r t po r e an d h o w as a result of treachery in
h i s arm y h e was made ine f f ecti v e a s
, an en emy .

The Sindhia assumed th e refore a con cilia

, ,

t ory ton e and h e w a s pro mised f u n ds pro v ided h e

would return an d apologise f o r his con duc t ,

t owards the Resi dent Som e time late

. Holka
j oined him for
as the S i ndh i a ex plained The .o v e r n o r Gen eral / a

t o o was n ot f er pursuing him especially sin ce b

,

the H olk a r had already proceeded to w ards A j me r e .

He th ought it only n ecessary to can t on th e troops

in such a manne r as would be easily availab l e for
ren e w in g the w a r at an y m o ment .

Had W ellesley remain ed in I ndia till Aug ust ,

1 8 05 h e would ha v e ren e w ed the war i n right

,

e arnest in order to wipe o u t the disgrace at

B hu r t po r e but he had to lea v e I ndia for good v ery
,

s oon
.
. The Directors were alarmed at the huge
d ebt created by his wars Dividen ds began t o
.

d isappear . Regardin g the war with t h e Ho lk a r ,

M r Pitt was decidedly o f opi n io n

. that h e had
a cted m ost imprudently an d illegally an d that
he could n ot b e s ufie r e d to remain in th e Govern
’

”
m ent . C orn w allis p ointed out an other caus e for
dissatisfaction in the fact that he di d n ot secure
the concurre n ce o f hi s C ouncil b efore th e c o m
m e n c e m e n t o f h ostilit i es T h e C ourt Of Directors
.

severely an d ad v ersely criti cised th e I n dian p oli c y

o f th e Go v ern or Gen eral
-
It has to b e remem bered
.

that the n oble Lord had intimated his in t ention of

1 40 HI S T O R Y OF T HE BRITI SH O CC UP A TI ON OB IN D I A

res i gni n g the ser v i ce o f the Company an d o f

embarking f o r Engl and in t h e month O f January
1 803 . But t h e confusion an d d i sorder w h i ch h e
succee ded in cr e ati n g in the M ara tha polity by
his m achin ati on s made hi m chan ge his mind and
,

ask the permission o f the Court o f Directors to stay

o n in I ndia an d to i mpro v e the interests of t h e
British i n India Wellesley s ubmitte d o n the 1 8 t h
.

M a y 1 805 his explanati on s in reply to the Court s

’
, ,
“
attacks a n d a d ded : The present state o f aff airs i n
,

India appearing to admit o f my e a rly resignation of

th e ofii c e o f Go v ern or General a n d my health bein g
-

extreme ly preca r i ous I propose to embark f or ,

”
Englan d etc B u t already on January 1 8 t h Lord
'

, .
,

Cas t lere a gh h a d s ent a letter to India appointin g

Lord Cornwallis a s Go v ernor Gen eral C ornwallis
-
.

w a s supposed to b e a lo v er of peace but he had ,

“
evin c ed great sati s facti on at the im p ortant a n d
”
glori ous achie v ements of Lake an d Wellesley and
"
“
O f the statesm en and generals entrusted wit h t h e
pre ser v atio n o f o u r A s i a s t i c Em pire Corn wallis .

arri v ed in Calc u t t a o n the 30t h Jul y and Wellesley

left it on t h e 1 5 t h Au gust H the greates t
e was .

follower of M achia v elli wh om England ever sen t

o u t to India .

After hi s ret urn to Englan d an attempt w a s

m ade to impeach h i m H i s greatest crim e was M r .
, .

Paull said that h i s a d ministrati on depri v ed Eng an d

,
l

of an annual s u m o f n ot less than o n e million

poun d s sterlin g w h i ch h a d t o be remitted h o me unde r
,
“
the Act o f 1 7 93 Si n ce 1 7 9 8 n o sum w h ate v er has
. ,

been applied t o commercial purposes an d the l a w

h a s been v i ol a ted in thi s S ingle instance to a sum ,

exceeding 8 millions T o this exte nt an d to thi s

.
,

am ount h a s t h is commercial nation bee n depri v ed

o f such an imp ort from o u r col onies which t h e ,
”
l a w enj oined an d ordered .
 L or d Oorn walli s S econ d A dmi ni s t r at i on
’
s

When Lord C or n w allis lan ded in Indi a he ,

foun d the aff airs of the C o m pany terri bly d i s .

“ ’
p r g a ni sed
. The Treasury w a s empty Lake s army .
,

the pay of w hich a m ounts t o about 5 lakhs per

m onth is ab ove fi v e m onths in arrears
, An army .

of irregulars composed chiefly of deserters

from the enemy whi ch wit h th e approbation o f
, ,

G o v ern ment the General asse mb led by proclama

,

tion an d w hich costs abou t 6 lak hs per m onth is ,

”
likewise som ewhat i n arrear Lord Willia m
.

Bentinck has borrowed twenty lakhs from th e Vizir

a n d h a s written to pre s s him for ten more O ur .

c redit has I b elie v e bee n tried to the utm ost at

, ,

Ben ares an d other places C orn w allis hit on the

.

e x pedient o f takin g the b ulli on o u t o f the ships at

M adras w hi ch was d estin e d f o r C hina and also
to reduce the number of tro ops ; f o r as he satisfied ,

t h e Court o f Directors su ch i s the astonishing

,

in crease o f the exports from India espe c ially in ,

t h e articles of opium and cotto n from this pla c e

”
within these f e w years th at there c a n n ot be a
,

d ou bt o f the a m pl e s t s u ppl i e s b e i n g tendered for

'

the acceptance o f the bills o n Bengal drawn by

C hinese agents of the Company .

C ornwallis proceeded by river to t h e U pper

Pro v in ces in order to endea v our for peace whi c h
, ,

was essential for these condition

“
s He deprecated .

in a letter to M alet the uni v er al frenzy which

,
s
,

h a s seized e v en some of the heads which

I th ought the soundest in the country for con ,

quest an d victory as opposed to the interests as

,

i t is to the la w s O f our c ountry In a very .

1 42 HI S T O R Y OF T HE BRI TI SH O CC U PA TI ON OF IN D I A

lon g letter h e u n fo l ded to hi m h i s plan for termi

,

n ati n g d isputes an d bri n gin g ab out pe a ce w ith

the M arath a States He w a nt e d to r e store a ll
.

co n quests to th e Hol k a r t o give back Gw a li or to ,

Sindhia on c ertain condition s an d w hile t e r mi n a t ,

i n g all conn ecti o n s w ith th e R a n a of G o h u d to ,

en sure th at th e R an a was e n s ur e d a p e nsi on o f ,

about 3 1akhs of rupees per year He w a n t e dl .

also to promulgate the gen eral principles of policy

towards al l the States of In dia w ith a view ta .
“
restore to t h e Nati v e States that confiden c e in t h e
j ustice a n d moderation of t h e British govern m ent .
”

which past events have con siderably i mpaired a n d t

w hi ch appears to m e to b e essential to th e security:

”
a n d tran quillity of the C om pany s dominio n s
’
.

Lord C ornwalli s h a d so m e experience o f La ke s ’

.

acti v ities in I relan d at t h e ti me o f the I rish

Reb ellion an d U n ion an d sin c e h e h a d com e to ,
.

I ndia in the dual c a p a city of Govern or Gen e r al -

.

an d Comman der i n Chief disse n sio n s broke o ut

- -

between them O n the 2 5t h Ju ly the Govern or

.
,
,

Gen eral in C ou n cil M a rquess W e ll e s l e y h a d or d ered

“
, ,

him to be prepared to co mm en ce active opera -

u

“
tion s an d to tra nsmit a plan o f operation s f or
” “
th e even t ual prosec u tion of h ostilitie s at th e
”
earliest practi c able peri od of tim e But five d“ay s . .

later o n t h e 2 9t h C ornwalli s wrote to h i m n ot

, ,

to e n g a ge in any act o f a ggressi on u nless it might

be necessary in or d er to se c ure your o w n ar m y
'
”
fr om s em ou s dan ger N o w on d er this w a s felt
.
,

by Lake a s a b olt from the blue The disappointed .

Comman der i n Chief began to rem on strate with hi s

- -

superior wh om he accused of usurpi n g his author

,
s .

ity Lord C ornwallis firmly told him that h e

.

should Obey his commands The a ged lord s .

’
.

“
f a st letter w a s o n e of regret a n d co n cern at t he
” “
a tt i tude taken by th a t truculen t r u f fia n especi a lly ,

a fter the f ull p ersu a s ion I h ad been impre s sed wit h ,

 L ORD C ORN WA LLI S S SEC ON D
’
A D M IN I S T RA TI ON 1 43

of the thorough cordiality with which y ou h a d

con templated my arr ival in In dia in the station s of
”
of Govern or General and
-
C ommander i n Chief - -
.

Lord Lake intended to resig n his c omman d an d

return to E ngland His un compromisin g attitud e
.

preyed on the min d o f his old m aster an d hasten ed

h i s death . He died at Ghazipur in O ctobe r 1 805 ,

n ot able eith er to eff ect an y reform or commit

-

a ny m is c hief in the administratio n of India .

 Si r Geor ge B arlow ( 1805 1807) -

The death of Corn wallis was w elcomed by Lord

Lake for the Commander i n Chief abandoned his
,
- -

intention of returning t o England Sir George .

Barlo w the senior member of the C oun cil acted

, ,

a s Govern or Gen eral-

Though he w a s an apt pupil
.

o f the M arquess o f Wellesley he could n ot carry

,

o n the traditions of his master War was opposed .

by the public and by t h e authorities at home and

w a s positively disallowed by the empty treasu r y .

N evertheless Sir George adopted a dishon est an d

,

mean policy towards the Nati v e States He wanted .

to separate the Sin dhia an d Ho lk a r T he former .

was m ade to understand throug h a very pliable ,

a gent called M unshi Ka v el N y n e that all his ,

p ossessions which had been capt ured by Wellesley

would be return ed to him if h e separated fro m the
H o l ka r . Therefore the B olk a r had to find an asy
,

lu m somewhere else He directed his steps to the

.

'

P u n a b from A j me r e expecting assistance from the

,

mg 0 a 111 and the Sikh chieftains M ean while .

a treaty w a s concluded wit h Sindhia on 2 3 r d

November 1 805 , Several items o f the Treaty of
.

S ur j i A r j e n g a o n were modified There was n o

Jlonger to be any defensive or subsidia ry allian ce
y
-
.

b etween the Engli sh and Sindhia Gwalior a n d the .

provin ce o f G o h u d were likewise ceded to him .

R a n JIt Singh because he counted o n Br i tish help

, ,

d i d n o t help the H olk a r and Lord Lake pursued

,

him i nto the P unj ab Ho w does the character of

.

the Jat Prin ce Ranj it Singh o f B h ur tp or e compare

w ith that of t h e Sikh chief Ranj it S ingh of the
Punj ab The autob i ogr aphy of Amir Khan
 S IR GE O R GE BARL OW (1 805 -
1 807 ) 1 45

r elates the m ethod by which Lord Lake s e nt

1 60
“ ”
an intelligent an d skil f ul negotiator t o the
Holk a r s camp in order to indu c e him to s u e f or
’

peace O n the 2 4t h December 1 805 a t r e a t y was sign ed

.
, ,

o n the terms which Lord Cornwallis had proposed .

Thus ended the Secon d M arath a w a r With the 2 "

M .

ex c epti on of n o o t her M aratha state f

was drawn into the ab ominable subsidiary or s o
c alled defensive allian ce But al l the .

Prin c es the Peshwa Sin dhia the Raj a of Berar

, , , ,

B olh ar were m ost unjustly deprived of some o f

,

their m ost fertil v in c es

H
.

Sir George arlow f ollowed a policy of Obtainin g

p ower by playin g on e Raj a a gainst an other H eé a
t
.

w ithdrew from t h e defensive allian ce con cluded

w ith the Raj put Prin ces by Wellesley an d Lake .

“
A c c ording to M a l c ol mflél his policy w a s a ,

p oli c y whi c h declaredly looks t o the disputes an d

,

wars of its n eighb ours as on e of the c hief so ur c es [ x

o f its security an d whi c h if it does n ot dir ectly ,

e xcite su ch wars shapes its p oliti c al relati ons with

,

inferior States in a mann er calculated to create

”
an d continue them M etcalfe wrote that Sir George
c ontemplated in th e discord of th e na“t ive powers M
a n addition al s ource o f stren gth and if I am n ot
mistake n som e o f his plan s go directly an d are
,

design ed to fom ent discord amon g th ose

” 1 62
S tates.

The V e llore Mutiny broke out during Barlow s ’

term of o f fice Wellesley was the pioneer among the

.

C ompan y s officers to laun c h on a schem e of

’

evan gelising I ndi a an d in M adras

, where ,

Ch r istiani t y had found a w arm welcom e from the

earliest times the religion was thr i v ing very well
,

a n d v igorously There were many zealots among

1 63 .

th e Christian 0 cers In the beginnin g of the .

nin eteenth century Lord William Ben t in ck was the

,

G overn or o f M adras an d Sir J ohn Craddo c k the ,

1 46 HI S T ORY OF T HE BRITI SH O CC UPA TION OF IN D I A

Commander in
Chief an d both these rode rough sho rt
’

- - -

o v er the religious a n d social scruples o f t he people .

Without consulting the n ative officers certain ,

c hanges were made in the dress an d social usage s

of the M adras Sepoy The Sepoy w a s ordere d
.

“
n o t to mark hi s face t o denote his caste or wear ,

ear rin gs when dressed in his uniform ; and it I s

-

further dire c ted that at all parades and upon a l l

,

duties every sol d ier of the battalion shall b e

,

clean shaved on th e chin I t is directed also that .

uniformity shall be preserv ed in regard to t h e

q uantity an d shape of the hair upon the upper lip ,
”
as far as may be practicable .

Ab out 2 A M on the l 0t h July the nati v e

. .
,

t roops appointed to guard Tipu s son s at V ellore

’

awakened the commandin g officer with a lou d '

firing and in the disturbance he was m ortally

, ,

wounded The mutin y was eas i ly suppressed an d

.

a mixed Commission was set up to inquire in to

the inciden t The civilians att ributed it to t h e
absurd and f oolish military measures ; while t h e
military officers regarded it as a conspiracy in
fa v our of the sons of Tipu who were therefore ,

rem oved to Bengal The Govern or Gen eral how

.
-

ever was satisfied O i the good condu c t an d i n

,

n ocen ce of the hostages .

I t should be remembered th at the authorities

were then trying to c onvert the heathen s of I ndia .

Re v erend Sydney Smith in an ar t icle published i n ,

the E d i n bu r g h R ev i ew for 1 807 wrote that Govern »

,

ment was very willing to forward the mission aries ’

v iews an d to supply them with passpor ts He say s .

that the plan an d Obj ects of their m ission were

printed free of expense at t h e Governm e nt Press .

H e re fers to t he determined and fearless inter

”
positio n of t h e Residents in their favo ur .

Sir George Barlow was n o t co n firm ed H e

was greatl y disappointed at the appointment of
 S I R GE O RGE B A R L ow (1 805 -
1 807 ) 14 7

Lord Minto f o r the pla c e However as a

.
,

s olatium, Sir George B ar low w a s m ade Govern or

o f M adras in th e place o f Lord
, William Bentin c k ,

w h o w a s re c alled.
 L or d Mi nto

When Lord M into arri v ed the finan c es o f the ,

Company were tottering under the burden of the

late war ; internal rebellion and external invasion
had b oth to be guarded against Eff ecti v e steps .

had n ot been taken to discourage or suppress the

dacoities in B engal w hich increased to a degree
,

surpassing what was e v er witnessed i n any country

in which law and govern ment could with any
degree o f propriety be said to The
Govern or Gener al explained away this fact by the
-

v enality of I ndian police o fficials an d the t e mpt a

tion of superior wealth in the hands of an
emasculated race BEE I t is really surprising how
.

soon the Sir Gilbert Elliott of the impeachment

had become an Anglo Indian bureaucrat There -
.

is n o eviden ce of the superior wealth of Bengal ;

the weakness of the subj ect race is a damaging
confession ; while o f the venality the Native
, ,

States employing I n dian officers were peculiarly

free from the infamy T he fact was that the British
.

rulers never cared for the welfare or prosperity

o f their subj ects .

The danger of a M aratha combination t o

a v enge the late war was fortu n ately a v er t ed
by t he insanity O f t h e Holk e r i n 1 808 as a result
”
o f continued disa ppoi n tme n ts Hi s do minion s were
.

admi n istered by a regency n o minally un der

,

Tulsi Ba i the favourite mistress o f J e s wa n t Rao

, ,

u really controlled by Ameer K h a n T h e .

H ol k a r s dominions a lternately swayed bet w een

’

t w o fa c tions
—
the M aratha and the Pathan and ,

7’ A meer K han anxious to be i n the good gra c e s

,
 L O RD M IN T O

the Christian Govern m ent s e w

of

an d kep t up the an ar c h y an d dis order Th e other

,

z
’
.
l .

Maratha p owers h owever,

seem ed formidable ,

en ough But the fin an ces o f the C ompan y did

.

n o t allow them to keep large armi es on t h e f ronti ers

and s o they resort ed to the poli cy of c rea ti n dis

tra c ti on s by en c ouraging the Pin dari s to p u n er
46 4
the d ominions of the Sin dhia an d th e Holk e r e x
g
-

p oli c y pursued by the Iron Duke himself in M

I t appears highly pro b able that the En glish ,

in their anxiety to indu c e the Raj ah o f Berar to

enter into t h e subsidi ary al lian ce indire c tly invited ,

Am eer Khan throu h their u p et t he w N i z a m to IPJ

g pp Z
-
, ,

invade Ber an hen ex 1 He its d i s m t e r e s t e d

,

n ess in coming to B e r ar s res c ue s u ggesting at ’

,

the sam e time the sub sidiar y allian c e as a pan a ce a

for all his ills —
.

Sin c e L O I d Minto s regime is n oted for his

’

W
'

”
forei gn poli c y it deserves greater attenti on thoug h Z
,
? ,
-

h e gave eff e c t t o what had been al ready in iti ated ,

’
by the Mar q uess of Wellesley During th e l a t t e r s q .

regim e the N W Fr onti er assumed d an g e r ou sK

, . .

prominen c e for the first tim e an d then the ,

M arquess had embassies sent to Persia an d opened

intrigues in Sindh an d the Punj ab Capta in .

M al colm h a d been sent t o Persia in 1 7 9 9 in order

to te m pt the King to betray a pr i n cm h i s cr eed
with an annual bri b e o f three lakhs of 8
He had also to intrigue with the exiled
o f t h e Amir li v ing under th e Shah s e ti on
’
.

Th ese p urposes hi dden under th e cloak o f a

,

c omm er c ial embassy succeeded only t o o well ;

'— '
,

sin c e m t IIT II T ye a r s the Am ir was b li n ded an d

‘

, ,

imprison ed by his h a lf brother wh o was in his -

turn deth ron ed b y his brother Sh a h Shuj a Mal co l m

, .

had also instru c t i on s to engage t he S hah in his

favour s o as to c he c k the Fren ch but this ' ,

Fr a n k oph ob i a had during the time Of M i n t o gi ven

-

, ,
 1 50 HI S T ORY OF T HE BRITI SH O CC UPA TI O N OF IN D IA
t
w “ a
place to R u s s o ph o bI a The Peace o f T i l s It upset
fi .

7 M the plans of Englis h statesmen and they began to *

fear a c ombined Russian a

I ndia .
1 6 7 g d French atta c k up on
0 , after some bickerings w ith the Home
Gover nment to set aside technical obj ec tions BE ,

Sir Jo h n M alcolm was on c e more chosen for his

campaign O f But
I; by his inj udi c ious haste and I I m e d arrogance ”

in asking the Shah to send away the Fre n c h

embassy the
, mission from which so much was
1 f expected ended in miserable failure
‘
.
,

Lord M into despatched a mission to the Amirs

O f S i n d h ostensibly against a Fr e n ch invasion but in
reality a g ai rw m W l l
w leyi
’
4
'
e e s .

idea was to c ultivate the me n ship of the Sikhs and

,

r a ise them into a buff er State against the Afghan s

1 and the M arathas Ranjit Singh adhered to a .

1
p olicy of s t rict n eu t rality and even off ered to
hand o v er t e 18 ut l ej chieftainships to the
“
British o n condition of mutual defen ce against
Am
,

their respe c ti ve en emies ”

. mt
the Bri t i sh Ranj it sought to bring the territories
,

more closely under his control The Sikh States .

appealed for British help an d M r M etcalfe a .

,

con firmed Jingoist was sent to Lahore

, the ,

C ommander i n chief receiving pri vate orders t o be

- -

prepa red for an a d v a n c e fi M etcalfe endeavoured

l

t o instil confidence into R a n j i t s min d but sin ce

’
,

he could give n o answer to the q uestion of R a n j i t s

’ montrol over the C i s Sutlej tracts the Sikh Raj a -

0
,

w y ‘ invaded the Sta tes

the lan d an d noted the mil ita
The British had . spied
wea knesses of t h e
out

Sikhs and hen c e they declare ,

the Su tlej as the d
b oundary of R a n j i t s dominions an d asked for a ’ ‘

military outpost on the left bank of the river to '

0 J
prev nt future encroach m ent s N o wonder Ranj it
e‘ ”
had S erious oug s o f appealing to the sword
f ,

c
/
w r
 L O RD M IN T O

b ut
‘

at last for v arious reason s a treaty was c o n (p y

”
r
, , ,

c lu ded in April 1 8 9 by whi c h the Cis Sutlej

,
-

States were r e t ai n e by the British The unstates M

M
.

m anlike Ranj it felt amply c on pe n s a t e d when he '

was given a free han d o v er t h e dominio n s North

a n d West o f the Sutlej Little did he re c ognise
.

t h a t t h i s very freedom served an ulterior purpose

O f the B ritish to ren der t h e P u n j a u b a M e r 9 '

S t ate .

I t was o n this a cc ount that an embassy to Shah

S huj a sent un der Elphi nst on e di d n ot con clude
‘

a ny definite tr eaty The Afghan mission w a s

.

r egarded from the very firs t

, with strong prej udice
,

and distrust Shah S hu j a s best advi c e to th e

.
’

“
English was t o go home as fast as they could ,

u nless they were i n c lined to help him agai nst his

”
ene m i es enemies created partly
—
by British
d i pl o m a c in Persia Moreover the English desired
.
,

to compensa e R a n p t Singh an d so they did n ot

fi
d esire to e s t r l c t his ambition s fully re a lising that ,

it would b e very di cult f o r such a heteroge n eous

e mpire to outlive t h e Lion o f the P un j a u b .

Th e Briti sh apprehended danger from the sea 2

a lso Hen c e t h e isle o f Fran c e Bourb on an d
.
,

Rodri guez in the Indian O cean an d the Dutch 7 A .

p ossession s in the Eastern Ar c hipelago were

an n ex ed in 1 81 0 at great c ost to the In dian
t ax pay er-
.

I t is but fair to remark that great credit i s due

to Lord M into f o r doing much to discour ag e the
invasion of India by Christian mission aries He .

pla c ed the Serampore M ission under stri c t control

.

in regard t o preachi n g propagan da an d the publica

tion of vernacul ar pamphlets and b ooks .

An other in cident though sm all has to be n oted

, , ,

s in ce it reve al s on e important asp ect o f Christi an

ru le in In dia In order to relieve an acute fin a n
.

c iel crisis Sir George Barlow the Governor of

, ,
1 52 H I S T O RY OF THE BRITI SH O CC UPA TI ON OF IN D I A

M adras abolished in 1 8 08 a monthly allowance f or

,
”
camp equipage called , Tent Contract given t o ,

commanders o f Nati v e Troops This induced t he .

British o ff icers to rise in mutiny at M asulipatam ,

Seringapatam an d Hyderabad Blood w as s h e d l l in l ‘

.

M ysore in a free fight between a loyal regim ent

from Chitaldrug m ar c hing towards Seringapatam
and the mu t ineers M V ictor J a c q u e m on t writes
. .

“
that the Government had the weakne s s n ot to
” 17 1
shoot a single office r The most distinguished
.

politic a l officers like Colonel Barry Close M al colm

, , ,

H o n bl e Arthur Cole and even Lord Mi nto hurried

’
,

to the scenes o f mutiny to pacify the o f ficers N o .

Christian o ff icer w a s hanged or blown from t h e

m outh of a c annon .
 The Mar ques s of Has t i n g s

'

Lord M in t o s greatest fault w a s that he did n o t

’

h ave earth hunger Moreo v er he had to make roo m

-
.
,

f or a personal fri en d of th e Prince Regent SO .

,

the M ar q uess o f Hastings was app oi n ted in order to

win the applause of the British by m ore c on q uests and
exploitation Sir George Birdwoo d ha s said that it
.

was the Company s po s s e s s ro n 0 In dia whi c h en abled

’

Englan d successful ly to resist the p ower of Napoleon

I It w a s by bleeding In dia an d flooding her
.

markets with c otton goods an d ruin i ng her i ndus

tries that Englan d secured en ough m on ey to i a
trigue with other European powers a gainst os .

Hen c e Lord Hastings came to I n di a with a

,

han d in the dou b le capacity of Govern or General -

an d C ommander i n chief He must also have had

- -
.

a desire to w i n m ilitary glory to wipe o u t his

disgra c e at Y orktown .

’
The ren ew al Of the C ompany s charter w a s
eff e c ted during his voyage to In dia in 1 8 1 3 The .

“ ”
shop keeper rule o f the British dates f rom this
-

ye ar s i n c e after it the C ompany becam e a d e li b e r a t e

,

destr oyer o f Indian in dustries Th e n e w charte r .

degraded the plain living In dian s an d flooded the

-

Indian m arket with n eedless luxuries an d danger

ou s drinks 1 7 2
M oreover while in 1 7 93 the
, ,

exertions of Sir Philip Fran cis had inserted a

clause in the charter disavowin g any desire f o r
extension of dominion the c harter o f 1 8 1 3 w a s ,

signifi c a n tly silent on t his crucial p oi nt of

pol icy Again the c hart er very unfa irly saddle d
.
,

Indi a with the c ost of the Cleri c al Establishmen t

o f the Co mpany I t also en c ouraged settlements of
.
 1 54 H I S T ORY OF T HE BRITI SH O CC UPA TI ON OF IN D I A

E uropeans in I ndia All t hese indefensible

.

m e asures were sought to be j ustified by m oti v es

of philanth r opy an d altruism I n fact the s um .
,

and substance o f the charter was that I ndia was

n ot f or I ndi an s but f o r Englishmen .

X The M arquess of Hastings declared war with

Nepal soon after he lan d ed in India The disp u tes .

which broug ht about this war were caused b y

M/ M some frontier claims The Gurkhas are admitted.

l to ha v e been open to reason and even prepared

73 t o make usual method of dealing
with such disputes was by appointing representa
ti v e commissioners and one such under M r , .

B radsha w was actually sitting when the M ar q uess

,

appeared o n the scen e Then sudde nly M r.

, .

Bradshaw began using improper language the ,

M agistrate o f Gorakhpur was empowered t o order

an advan ce o f troops into Nepal an d th e Gurkhas ,

were asked to e v acuate th e disputed lands within

t wenty fiv e days ! The Governor Genera l pro ceede d
- -

to Luckn o w to shake the pago d a“tree an d succeed -

”
ed s o far that the N a wab Vizir o u t of gratitud e
advanced him a loan o f crores o f r u p e e s l
fl t
.

The Gurkhas rem embered this till 1 8 5 7 when they ,

c arried fire and sword through O ude in their

c ampai gn o f re v enge .

The Nepalese had to guard a large frontier

a gainst an enemy wh o possessed superior forces
an d the subtler weap ons o f i ntrigu e and corruption .

Still they deliberately an d bol d ly took up the

c hallenge Again st
. troops an d 60 gun s
m arching in 5 division s from the Sutlej down t o
the K o o s e e in th e East they could collect only ,

ill arm ed an d-
i l l disciplined men -
But .

i y et according to S
t
, se the
English fou n d in Nepa w at the Hin dus were
like in early days n ot demoralised by defeat an d
,
”
d isorder . General Gillespie died in the her oic ,
 T HE MA R QUE SS OF HAS T IN GS
‘
“

seige o f a v ery weak position taken up by the

brave B al a b h a d r a Sin h 1 7 5 an d 3 00 o f his m en ,

exh orting W I IE his last breat h his c o w a r d ly l l f

British regiment to follow him B al a bh a d r a i s .

a n even greater her than Leonidas ree c e .

So it w as foun d n ecessary t o supplem ent th e

,

sw ord by fraudulen t intrigues with discontented

h ill tribes and disp ossessed Royal
-
families i n
Nepalese Territory Dr Rutherford a trade agent
. .
, ,

s upplied very usef ul informati on deri ved through

hi s system of spies Gen eral O ch t e r l on y w h o kept
‘

.
,

a harem himself an d lived in the sup er oriental -

style persuaded the Raj as of Hin d ur an d B i l a S po r e

,

to j oin the Britis h an d mar c h ed towards Amar

Singh the Gurkh a leader at the head of 7 00 t r o ops fl l
,

With less tha n half the n umb er Am ar Sing h ,

i nflicted heavy defeats o n th e British but in their ,

t hat generosity to the v a n g u i s h e d for whi ch the

Hin dus alon e o f all n atio ns of th e earth are n oted .

A Bri t ish off icer wh o had deserted the Hol k ar s ’

We
,

s ervice and married a M uslim l ady w on over the ,

Raj a o f S ikkim the chief of Kum aon an d the

,

people of Garh w al into n eutrality Thus the .

,

failure o f British arm s all along the frontier o f

Nepal was counteracted t o a certain exten t .

As the war continued t h e En glish learnt the ,

“
pe c uliar Gurkha methods o f warfare and so the ,

i ssue w a s pla c ed i n the p ower o f continuan ce ,

t hat i s in the leng t h of the

, u se ”
The Raj a O f .
f “
N epal realis ed t h rs earl y en ough an d h e sent h i s
family priest to Mr Bradshaw the politi c al a gen t
.
, ,

in spite o f the warn ings o f Amar S i n g h i In

—
fll

the t rue Shylo c k S pirit the Christian s required the

,

perpetu al cession o f all the hil l countr y c aptured

by them an d of the Terai the relin q uishm ent
o f N a g r e e and Nagarkot to Si kkim th e a c ceptan ce
o f a Resident an d a sti pulation n o t to entertain
 1 56 HI S T O RY OF T HE BRITI SH O CC UPATI ON OF IN DIA

’
Europeans in serv i c e Shades of Tipu s fat e
.

ho v ered over the Raj a of Nepal and all patrio t i c ,

Gurkhas like Am ar Singh desired to keep the

E ng lish out of N epal at all costs , .

Recurren ce of hostilities was therefore i n e v i t , ,

able an d a S harper and shorter campaign began

in "1 8 1 6 I t ended in M arch an d a very ad v antage
.

ous t reaty was c on c luded The Gurkhas were .

;

A cru shed n ever to rise again The British became .

the m asters of the pleasant Himalayan heights

and v alleys which they thought they c ould in
, , ,
.

tim e colonise .

Lord Hastings extended British influence in ‘

an other q u arter by concluding a treaty w ith C u t ch w

prom i sing to protect its ruler He must b e given .

credit for being foresighted en ough to declare that

the British Empire should not be pushed to t he
ri v er Indus and the countries beyo n d He could .

have easily conqu ered Sindh without enhan cin g ,

the reputation of the British for bad faith had “

he ,

been s o in clined But Lord Has t ings said

. Few
things would be m ore impolitic than a war with
5 M L Sindh as its su c cess f ul prosecuti on would not only
,

b e unprofitable but an evil The c ountry was n ot

.

worth possessing an d its o c cupati on would in volve

»
us in all the intrigues an d wars and incalculable ,

em b arrassments of the coun t ries beyon d the In d u s i i fi ’

.

H o w devoutly on e could have wished th a t these

v iews had pre v ailed in t h e Coun cils of his
successors like B entin c k Auckland Ellenborough
, ,

o r Dalhousie !
 The Pi n d ari War an d t he L as t of t he
Pes hwas

The Pin daris were a sort of unp a id m ilitia

'
w hose serv i 66s had long b ee n re quisition ed by the
M aratha prin ces but who in times o f peace
,
were ,

p ea c eful an d loyal Since they

w ere the auxiliaries Of the regular M aratha
f orces the British enterta ined ill feeling towards
,
-

them O f course too much credence should n ot

.
,

b e placed in British accounts o f Pindari ferocity .

E ven Sir John M alcolm is compelled to admit

t heir humanity to prison ers 181
The P in d a ri
—“
.

T hus N u s r o o an d his s o w
leaders were m ostly A f Hind military adventure
-I
under Sivaji an d G h a z i u d d i n the son o f the latter 1
ii
,

died fightin g f or the Peshwa His s on G ur d e e j

Khan t m / M
.

Mul b ar Rao Holk e r an d

un der him the n umb er an d importan ce o f the
Pindaris developed greatly Amir K han T uko o
as H olka r Sh ahee I 2
.
,
1
a n d Bahadur Khan were kn own

(adherents of B olka r ) The Sin"

. dhi a engaged th e
y ounger son o f G h a z i u d d i n Whose descen dant
Wasil made som e in cursion s I nto British territory .

Sin dhia h a d also given titles an d j agirs to C h e e t o o

'
l
,

a Jat o f very romantic antecedents and a rrm ,

4
Khan a Path an soldier of rare courage an d ex cel
,

len ce The v a i o u s M aratha pri n ces had to engage

.

more an d m ore free h ooters as a result of the con

-

fusion created by Barlow s M achiavellian poli c y

’

t ow ards the Native States .

The Pindaris r e Spe ct e d th e British possessions

for a long time on the testi m ony o f n o less a
p ersonage than Grant Duff Amir Khan was even
.
 1 58 H I S T O RY OF T HE BR ITI SH O CC UPA TI ON OF IN D I A

patronised by them and n o steps were taken to ~

punish them wh en bet w een 1 808 an d 1 8 12 they

,
-

committed su n dry dacoities in G uz r a t M i r z a pu r

M
4
{4
v

3 an d Shahabad But in 1 8 1 5 a p a rty of Pindari s

.
, .

4 were routed by M aj or Fraser on the plea that they

were medita ting an in cursion into the Southern
Pro v inces M r P r i n s e p n at urally attrib utes the
. .

Pindari plan to the instigation of the M arathas ,

though n o e v idence is o r can be addu c ed This .

provoked them to a plundering progress thr ough

British territories a ll along the Kistna ri v er T he .

Bri t i sh preparations f o r war without any consul ,

t a t i o n of the princes were so largely out of

,

proportion to the obj ect against which they were

presumably directed that the M arathas were natur ‘
ally al armed N o r was this a baseless suspicion
.
’
,

sin ce prospects of a huge war with the M arathas

w ere tal ked of with delight in every English
camp .

The u lt e r i of t indari War was t o

destroy ar a t h a power for which eff ort t h e
B r i t i sh were n o w better e quipp ed than e v er bef ore '
.

Central In dia was for many years a terra incog

nita to them but thanks to the meritorious ser v ices o f
‘

Colonel James Tod his map of Central India ,

an d R a j pu t n a presented to Hastings in 1 8 1 5
, ,
“
was o f vas t utility to the Government being mad e ,

o n e o f the foun dations o f Lord H a stings plan o f ’ ‘

operations in the year Colonel Tod

fanned the flam es o f hatred between the Raj puts
on the on e hand and the M arathas and the M uslims
on the He did n ot even spare on e of t h e
greatest b est an d noblest of all the mon a rchs in
,

I ndia Akbar the Great i n this disgraceful c a m

— -

n e igu o f fomenting dissensions Thus ar m ed with

.

54 an accurate map an d confident of Rajput n e u t r a l i t

s
3

/ if n ot help Hasti n gs entered u pon hi s exte n siv e

,

war .
 THE PI N DAR I WAR AND T HE LAS T OF T HE PE S H WAS 1 5 th

The Sindhia w a s first dealt with A former treat y .

with him by which the C ompany h a d underta ken

n ot to correspond with th e Raj puts was de clared

w m m
,

b fl w s
’
a enfl lfl n s e an d
“
eman c ipated rom t i s i n j ur i ou s shackle
i
t he
Govern or Gen eral received all the Raj puts as feu
-

M
WW
e B ritish taking
, con solation i n t h e
“
h ope that their reciprocal estrangem ents wil l
”
pre v ent the i r ever formin an union T he .

Sin dhia was for c e d t o accept t hrs n ew treaty as a

result of some skilful military manoeu v res So .

th e Governor General in a proclamation to the

-

“
army con soled it f o r the d iminished prospe c t of 1
,
f -

s e ri ous exertion . Sir John Kay e 0 serves with

referen c e to this s t a t me n t It proves h o w little
h e desired to con ceal the fact that t h e arm y was
longing for a war
W
4

It was n ot s o easy for the r o v e r n or Gen eral to -

deal with the J at prin ces o f the D oab He did n ot .

consider it expedient “to court an other disaster at

Bhurtpur ; but for refusin g to let any of the
” 1 85
Company s ser v ants
’
to go into the fort
/ f
{
(cons t ruc t ed on th e m odel o f Bhurtpur) Daya Ram , ,

Raj a of H a t t r a s w a s wantonly atta cked an d th e

On M
,

pla c e was captured after a protra c ted seige I .

this the Raj a of M o or s a n surrendere d without an y 1

resistance .

The P es hwa w a s th e m ain lin k of the chain

which held together the M aratha confederacy an d aW ,
e
“
s o it had to be stru ck out firs t Though a .

”
pri son er in the hands o f the English in the words ,

o f Lady C a lde ott Baj i , Rao w a s n ever tired o f

expressing 51 s gratitude to the C ompany Lord .

V alenti a had three interviews with him at Poon a

an d he w a s satisfied that he valued the Briti sh
allian ce very highly Sir James M ackinto sh the
.
,

Chief Justice of Bombay conside r ed hi m superi o r

,

t o George I I I an d even Napoleon Sir Barry .

 1 60 HI S T O R Y OF T HE BRITI SH O CC UPA TI ON OF IN D IA

C lose the Briti s h Resident at Poona in spite of

, ,

the persistent campai gn of General Wellesley ~

a nd his school of M a c hi a v a lll i a n s to misrepresent

the Peshwa belie v ed in his S incere gratitude But
, .

M
with the appointment o f M M
as Resident at Poona troubles egan , p h i n s t o n
. e
was in the diplomatic ser v ice during those event
ful years when the Peshwa was persuaded to
place the yoke of subsidiary al liance o n his ne c k .

Throughout the second M aratha War he served on ,

the staf f of Sir Arth u r Wellesley an d later for 4

years as Resident at N agpur when he confessed , ,
“ ”
he became dreadfully coarse and unfeeling In .

1 8 09 he went on an aborti v e mission to Afghanistan

,

and suggested the c ap t ure o f Sind With su c h a .

glorious record of double dealing and diplomacy ,

he became Resident at Poona His first public act .

was to dismiss Jam s e d j i M odi a very shrewd Parsi ,

agent through whom Sir Barry had manag ed all

his dealings with the Peshwa with success a -

c han ge n ot very welcome to the Peshwa hi mself .

Again the Pesh w a had certain claims of arrears

,

o f tribute a moun ting to a crore of r upees from

the Gaekwar along , with the lease of the
1 Ahme d abad farm to continue or ren ew Elphin .

4 ,
s ton e after much delay approved of the
, , appoint
ment by the Gaekwar of a most undesirable an d
irritatin g Brahmin named G a n g a d h a r a S a stri who - “

was reputed throughout the De cm

'

h i s sneak
ing servi ces to the British an d who in the words ,
“
o f Elphinstone himself called the Peshwa and ,

his ministers ol d fools an d damned rascals or

-

rather dam rascals 1 8 6 The Sastri had many

.
’

e nemies sin ce he betrayed

, the Hindu cause a n
recei v ed liberal allowances from the C o mpa n y fi
' ’
J
J a n d Elphinstone had to issue a guarantee for his
s afety before h e could set foot in the Deccan .

A S soon as Gangadhar arrived in Poona he ,

 T HE P I N DAR I WAR AND T HE LAS T OF T HE PESHWAS 161

a d v ised the e x t e r n me n t of M o d i f i ; but b efore M odi

i

left for the North he was foun d dead in Poon a

,

itself It was certainly n ot a c a se o f suicide it

.

is very ab surd to allege that t h e Peshwa had a han d

i n murderi ng his m ost faithful officer it is v ery
probable that h e was pois oned by some emissaries
o f the Resident and the Sastri .

The lease o f th e Ahm edab ad farm was O f great

i nterest to the English for it touched the B o mbay
,

d istrict o n man y p oints ; but Baj i Rao granted

it to T r i mb u c kj r Da n g l i a a great an d loyal
,

minister The Peshwa also m ade great eff orts

.

to win over th e Sastri by Off erin g him a

m inistership (which was refused ) an d by proposing
a m arriage allian ce which was first accepted
,

a n d then refused in a very in sultin g m ann er The .

Sas t ri prevented his wife from v isitin g the palace .

M eanwhile his fin a l arrangem ent to cede to t h e

,

Peshwa estates w orth 7 lakhs f o r p ayment o f a l l

a rrears was n ot san ction ed by the Gaekwar and S O
the Sastri foun d himself in a very awkward
p ositio n .

While m atters had com e to s u ch a pass

G angadhar Sastri was m u rdered at Pan dharpur
while in the Peshwa s c amp The Peshwa had gone
’
.

th ere o n o n e o f his pilgrim ages to ex piate for h i s

father s murder of Narayan a R a o It i s th erefore
’
.
, ,

unlikely that in such a holy place while en gaged ,

i n such a missi on Baj i Rao would h a v e committed

,

a d e e d b oth d ast a rdly an d abh orrent t o Hin du

religion an d custo m T r i m bu c kj e e Da n g l i a from
.
,

w hom a confession s e ems t o ha v e b een ex porte d

by m eth ods t o o patent h a d also n o m otive f or the
crime Th e truth see m s to be th at th e de e d was
.

d one by certain o f th e S a s t r i s Baroda enemies

’

wh o had com e to Pan d h arpur a n d from w h om t h e

S a stri had recei v ed letters threatening personal
i n jury an d even loss of life .
 1 62 H I S T O RY O F T HE BRITI SH O CC U PATI ON or IN D I A

Elphinstone knew h o w to make capital o ut of

this murder an d pose as the a v engers of a martyred
Brahman Politi c al instinct told hi m to connect
.

the Peshwa an d his fa v orite T r i mbu c kj e e with the , ,

murder He therefore demanded the surrender of

.
, ,

T r i m bu c kj e e forgetting that e v en if he were t h e

true crimin al the Peshwa w a s the proper perso n
,

t o deal with him S o as in hon our b ou n d

. th e
, ,

Peshwa resisted the demand b ut E l e ph i n s t o n e was .

inexorable He surrounded Poona with troops and

.

poor Baji R a o s u rren dered his minister t o be i n

carcerated in the Thana fort Thus the Peshwa .

was depri v ed o f h i s sec o n d great minister .

An other source of tro u ble was the exact relation

éh i p between the Peshwa an d the Gaekwar T h e
‘
f
.

Company maintain ed that by the Treaty o f Bassein

the Peshwa had lost all powers except the formal
one of recognising the Gaekwar while the Pesh w a
held that the Gaekwar was still but a t e u d a t or y .

No definite steps were take n by the Christians t o

settle this sin ce peace an d amity were n ot to their
interest and already in April 1 8 1 7 they wer e
, ,
“
holding themselves in readines s to seiz e the
’
Peshwa s portion o f Guzerat and the N or t h er n
I} portion o f the K onkan We find Elphinstone a l
ready writing o n 6 t h April 1 8 1 7 I t h i n k a quarrel ,
”
with the Peshwa desirable .

T r i mb u c kj e e escaped from British cu stod y an d

14 17 the Peshwa was forced to cede the three hill forts
of S i n g h a d Purandhar and B aigad as a pledg e
, ,

M that he would b e surren dered o n discovery In

‘

Januar 1 8 1 7 h e e n t e r e d into a n ew Treaty by

,

w Ic h he ceded his share o f the revenues o f

Guzerat in compen sation f or the murder of the
Sastri The Peshwa was so much disgusted at t h e
.

t urn o f e v ents th at he left f or M ahuli a sacred ,

place o f pilgrim age Here he interviewed Sir John .

M al colm and told him his desire f or friendshi p

T HE P I N DAR I W AR AN D THE LAS T OF TH E PESHWAS 1 63

with the Britis h though he did n ot kn ow then h o w

,

much their espionage system had re v eal ed e v en th e

dishes of his m eals M alcolm ad v is ed him to make
.

a gestu r e by sen din g a co n tingent to h elp th e

British again st the Pin daris but th i s advi c e only
in creased the s u S pi c i o n s Of the Peshwa an d his
C ommander i n Chief Bapu G o k hla
- -
.

“
I f Baj i Rao h a d been mu ch exasperated b y
”
the recent tran sactions the people were disgusted ,
”
at the grasping police of the British an d they
clam oured f or war Elphin ston e at Poon a was
.

liber al ly supplied with exaggerated reports of th e

’
Peshwa s doings by the former s mis c reant agents
’

B a l a j e e Pant N a t o o and Y a s v an t r a o G h or pa d e .

T h e Resident asked for Gen er al Smith an d Colonel

Burr to come to his assista n c e an d with dre w his
troops to a position four miles fro m the city a n —

act which everybody un derstood as a preparati on

f or war . The Peshwa an d Bapu G ok h l a had n ever
contemplated seriously t o go to war with the
British an d s o they were easily defeated by th e
Company at Kirkee This batt le is m em orable .

sin ce Bapu G ok h la displayed “

such j udgment an d
”
v alour that the author o f Fifteen Y ears “
in I ndia
who took part in the action writes the M use of ,

History will en circle h i s n am e with a laurel for

”
fidelity an d de v otion in hi s country s cause 1 9 0 ’
.

The Peshwa left P o on a a fugitive Bapu G o k h la die d ,

very soon .

’
E l phi n s t on e s diplomacy had secured for the
Christian s a v aluable trump c a rd the Raj a of —

Satara the u doubted so v ereign of

—
all th e
M arathas . Through Ba aj ee Pan t N a t o o he had ”
,

induced this prin ce t o d es e r t into the English

camp an d publish a proclam ati on calling upon all
to disown th e Peshwa an d S ide with the English .

Hen ce Baj i Rao was dri v e n t o seek a second i n

t e r v i e w with Sir John M a lcolm though he h ad ,
1 64 HI S T O R Y OF T HE BRITI SH O CC UPA TI ON OF IN D I A

about 6 000 good horses an d 5000 infan t ry and

the fort of A s s e r g a r h an d h osts o f faith f ul follow
ers Sir Joh n M alcolm con sidered the o ppor t u
n ity pro v idential an d agreed to grant h i m a
’

pension of eight lakhs o f rupees per year 1 91

.

Rao was sent to B i t h o o r o n th e Ganges where he

died i n 1 85 0 after a protected life o f enforced
idleness E n glish hist o rian s foun d fault with his
.

debauchery not re membering their own contempo

rary Georges But his administration was in deed
.

skilful S in ce P oon a is described by M r Richards

.

“
who saw it in 1 8 01 as displaying sy mptoms of
comfort an d happiness o f busin e ss an d indu stry
,

n ot to be exceeded in any of ou r c ommercial

”
towns 1 9 2
.
 The War wi t h t he B honsle .

Another M aratha Prince rui n ed by British

d i plom acy was the Raj a o f N a gpur Duri n g .

E lph i n s t o n e s period o f i ntrigues at his court th e

’
,

R a j a held ou t resolutely an d would n ot enter

into a subsidiary allian ce But the R a j a died in
.
,

1 81 6 lea v i n g an i d ioti c s o n Bala Sah eb enabling ,

th e Comp a ny t o e ff ect that which h a s b een fruit

”
lessly laboured at f or the last 1 2 years A .

Cou n cil o f Regen cy was for m ed under Appa Saheb ,

M r Jenki n s th e Resi dent entered i n to a labyrinth

.
, ,
“
o f intrigues ; dexterity h a s b een requ i site an d
m o n ey h as re m oved ob s t ructio n s an d o n t h e
night o f t h e 2 4t h A pri l 1 81 6 the n efariou s busi ,

n ess unpopular to the n obl e s an d people was

, ,

transacte d The con d ition s Of the treaty were

.

“ ”
Some w hat Se v ere th e w h ole charge o f t h e subsidy
,

a n d contingent being a t hird o f the re v enue ! 1 93

M inisters h a d to be appro v ed by th e British

’
an d Appa Sa h eb s corresp on den ce with th e Peshwa
was regarded with suspicion He was p erpetual ly .

cr i t i s i s e d f o r m aintaini n g hi s contingent at a
lower standard D espite all this h arshn ess Appa
.
,

Saheb who was ac c ordin g to Sir Joh n M al colm

,

S“ in c ere in his pr os f e s s i on s called M r Jenkin s, .

hi s brother an d said th at his Lordship th e

”
Govern or Gen eral stood i n the relation o f a father
-
.

In Janu ary 1 8 1 7 during the absen ce o f A ppa

Saheb the i di oti c Raj a was foun d dead in his
bed apparently as a result of vi olen c e M r . .

Jenkin s to ok n o n otice o f this an d did n ot even

refer to it in his corresponden ce wit h th e Gov ern
o r Gen eral
-
N o investigation was m ade by him
.
1 66 HI S T ORY OF T HE BRITI SH O CC U PATI O N OF IN D IA

at the time but t w o years later it occur r ed t o

h i m t o charge Appa Saheb wi th t h e crime Like .

“ ”
a crowd of crows pecking a v ul t ure to death ,

pro ofs could then be easily fabricated again st a

man whom e v erybody knew the British w anted
to ruin We can therefore suspect the English
.
, ,

also sin ce the murder served their purposes an d

,

plan s most .

In No v ember 1 8 1 7 the Peshwa with the know

,

ledge and approval of M r Elphinston e th e kindred .

,

spirit of Jenkins at Poona sent a K hi ll ut to Appa ,

Saheb and a ceremoni al durbar was according ,

to custom to be held in hon our O f the e v ent In

,
.

reply to the Raj a s invitation M r Jenkins went

’
, .

t o the length of positively prohibiting the cere

m onies sin ce the subsequent relation s of the
British with the Peshwa h a d becom e strained .

Howe v er the R a j a recei v ed t h e khi llu t in p u blic

,
“
durbar an d re v iewed his troops with un common
”
dem onstration s o f pomp an d S how .

E v er sin ce his accessi on Appa Saheb w a s ,

pressin g f o r a modified treaty especially as regards

the equipment o f the con tinge nt th e remission ,

of duties o n corn intended f or th e British army ,

the excess of troops maintained by the C ompany

in his kingdom an d his o w n h ea v y debts c o n s e
,

quent in the h arsh terms o f the treaty M r . .

Jenkins looked “
upon any public mention of these
grie v a n ces as a full admission o f an hostile pur
”
pose 1 9 4 in spite o f continued professions a n d pro
testation s of goodwill an d frien dship “on the part
of the Raj a U n doubtedly th e Raj a
. h ad some ,

grounds for compl aining of the costliness of his

”
n ew friends .

But worse was yet t o come Wh en Appa .

Saheb pressed f o r a re v ision o f the treaty his ,

“ ”
brother called in t r oops to N ag pur in order to
’
procure n othing S hort Of the Raj a s entire
 T HE WAR W IT H T HE B HO N S L E 167

s ub mission an d full security f or t h e fu t ure w hi ch ,

c a n be a work I con cei v e n either o f , time n or of

”
difficulty Naturally the Raj a s
.
,
troops were ’

pro v oked an d got ou t o f control An attack o n .

the Re s iden cy was repulsed The Raj a regretted .

t h e in cident an d declared his readiness to abide

,
“ ”
by such terms as his C hristian brother “
pro p osed .

Mr Jenkin s als o required s om

.

“
e time to get ex
”
p e c t e d reinforcem ents an d to relie v e the harass
”
e d con dition O i t h e troops S o he asked Appa
.
,

Sahe b to withdraw his forces in to Nagpur an d

s e e that n ot a single sh ot was fired o n pain of
i mmediate an d total ruin A few d ay s later a .
,

c atal ogue of m ost humiliating conditions was

o ff ered for A ppa S aheb s acceptan ce a con fession
’ —

o f his guilt an a ppeal f o r mercy surrender o f all

, ,

ordin a nce a n d ammunition stores disban dment o f ,

Arab troops e v acuation of N agpur for the British

,

soldiers an d the en t ry o f the R a j a i nto the Resi

,

d e n c y ! After a desperate attempt t o display his

self res pect t he Raj a was intimidated into sub
-

mission but his troops were n ot to be so eas i ly

c oe r ced T he Arab troops inflicted hea v y los ses
.

o n the Brit i sh an d after a disorder l y but prolon g

ed struggle Na g pur w a s occupied by
, the
Christians .

M r Jenkin s n o w com mitted a flagrant breach

.

o f faith wit h his helpless pr i son er The Raj a had .

b een made t o un derstan d that n o co n s i derable

p ortion o f territory would be taken from him ex cept
f or t h e payment Of the subs i dy an d the m a i n t e n
a n ce o f t h e contin gent as fixed by the for mer
treaty But a n e w en gagem en t w a s n ow m ade by
.

whi ch th e R a j a was forced t o cede a ll hi s territories

N or t h o f th e Nerbudda a n d all hi s ri g hts i n Berar
G w a l i g a r h an d S i n g o oj a h ; to ce de S i t a b a l d i Hill
‘

an d any other fort which British m ight dem and

to appoint only such ministers as have the
1 68 HI S T ORY OF T HE BRITI SH O CC UPA TI ON OF IN D IA

c onfidence o f the Company ; t o pay all arrears o f the

subsidy and t o remain in his palace at N ag pur
“ ”
under the protection of British tro o p s Thus .

Appa Saheb shorn o f most of his territory a n d

,

power became a prisoner in his own capital

,
“ “
.

”
His father howe v er had a determin “
ation to
” ”
remove him from power and his brother was
only too glad to please the Go v ern or General by -

trumping up charges which Appa Saheb had n o

longer the power to be guilty of The treaty .

which was promised in lieu o f the engagem en t

referred to abo v e was never concluded Appa
,
.

Saheb s proposal t o cede his principality a n d retire

’

on pension was n ot acceded to since it wo uld n ot ,

have paid th e British M r Jenkins we n t o n as

. .

s i d u o u s ly disco v ering treasonable desig n s The .

resistan ce o f certain khi ll e d a r s in handing over

their forts was attributed to the Raj a s insinua ’

tions ; treason able correspondence with t h e Pes hwa

was suspec t ed ; he at t ributed to the Raj a a desire
to escape from Nagpur At last the murder o f
.
,

B ala Saheb was S pr ung upo n h i m a n d th e miser

a ble R aj a was suddenly con v eye d to the R esiden cy
“
f o r according to the Go v ernor Ge n eral
, the cir
-

c ums t a n c e s did n o t amount t o suc h proof as

”
would j ustify so decisi v e a course o f proceeding .

The Resident h a d n o t e v en the shado w o f a

j urisdiction to try t h e Raj a w h o w a s a n a lly ;
but e v en apart from t his the R a j a w a s ne v e r gi v e n
,

an Opportunity to kno w the na t ure o f t h e charges

and the e vidence by which they were to b e sub
s tanti ated . He was a b out to b e con demned u n
heard o u manufac t ured e v idence procured after
the loss o f his prestige and his arrest T he .

k h i ll e d a r s n ow professed secret orders fr om Appa

Saheb to propitiate B ritish greed At last it was
, .
,
“ ” “
decided by his brother an d on e who stood in
”
the relation o f father to h i m that he should b e
 T HE W AR WIT H T HE B HO N S L E 1 69 '

kept a state prison er i n Allah abad an d that the

-

infant grandson o f R a g h u j e e B h o n s l e be placed

on the throne . The infant promised a lon g
period of min ority an d plenty o f happy
years t o the Re s ident at Nagpur O n the whole
.
,

2 8 lakhs worth o f lan d was ceded to the British

o u t o f a total revenue of 6 0 1akhs ! N O won de r
Appa Saheb proposed the cede the whole estat e
an d live o n a pension .

The subse q uent history o f A ppa Saheb read s

like a n o v el He eluded the vigilan ce of his escort
.

an d escaped in the dress o f a sep oy to his loy al

Gon ds in the M ahadeo Hills w ith whose help he
captured C h o ur a g a r h fort By n egotiations with
Sir John M alcolm h e assured him self that t he
Company was prepared to pa y him on surren der w

an annual pen sion of a lakh of rupees A combined .

irruption of several d e t a t ch me n t s into the hills of

was m ade in order to arrest him an d when at .

last surroun ded in A s e e r g a r h h e fled in t h e

,

guise o f a Fakir to Lah ore where h e recei v ed a

s c anty allowan ce from Ran jit Singh From there
.

h e fled b ey on d t h e first ra n ge o f th e Him alay as

to the R a j a o f M u n di and after m an y y ears
, ,

r eturned to th e plains . He took san ctu ary in t h e

temple of M a h a m a n d i r a in Jodhpur and when the ,

Christians compelled t h e Raj a to give him up h e ,

n obly pleaded his in ability t o infri n ge upon the

pri v il e ges o f the temple . The demand was urged
n o further Thus Beuke s statement m ade in 1 7 8 3
’
.

“
that there is n o t a single prin ce o r state w h o
ever put any trust i n t h e Company w h o is n o t
utterly ruin ed came true in his case also .
 T he War wi t h t he Holkar

The H ol ka r was an other prin ce t o be handled .

J aswant Rao Holk e r died insane and in the c o n

fu sion that ensued the British carried o n intrigues
,

with A m eer Khan and other Path an o fli c e r s 1 95 .

Nawab Ab dul G a ff o or Khan“ in the Battle of ,

M ahidpur in D ecember 1 8 1 7 , played th e part of

,

a traitor t o his master an d deserted th e field of

” 1 96
battle with the forces under his co m mand The
.

Britis h later assign ed t o h i m the district of Jaora .

The Treaty o f M u n d i s o o r n egotiated by Sir John

M alcolm redu ced the H o lk a r t o the positi o n O f a
feudatory and henceforth h e n e ver app e a rs i n t h e
pages o f Indian history as a men a ce t o British
power .

As regards the Pindaris h o w th e Gra n d Army

,

commanded by Lord Hastings an d strong

marched from N orth ern In dia in th ree d e t a t c h
ments an d the arm y o f the Decca n , strong
ad v anced like o n e o f T i m o u r s o r C h e n g i z Khan s
’ ’

”
gigantic hunts has been described in several
words o n I ndian history . Those P i n dari leaders
wh o sub mitted or betrayed their comrades w e re
rewarded with costly j a gi r s . C h e t o o alon e h e ld
o u t an d at last met a trag i c f a te being d e v oured
,

by a Tiger .

Duri n g the war th e i mpregn able hill fortresses

o f I ndia R a j d e i r T r i m b u c k T al n e i r A s e e r g a r h
, , , ,

fell into British“

han d s t hro u gh treachery o r pus h
”
l a n i mi t y
. Th irty fortresses in the words of
“
Lak e each o f w h i ch w i th a S e e v a j e e as m a ster
would ha v e defied the whole Anglo I n d i an army -

fell unresistingly in a few weeks an d this v ast

 T HE WAR WIT H T HE HO L K A R 171

M aratha empire which had overshadowed the

East an d before which the star of the M ogul had
become pale was destined to furnish in its o wn
,
'
fr om an other great example o f the v i cissitudes
” 197
o f future
.
 O t her Meas ures of Has t i n g s

To the w arlike policy o f Lord Hastings O ude ,

”

was an exception to all a ppe a r e n c e s

, F or e v en .

thoug h the Vizier was allo w ed to assume the title

of King i n orde 1 to insult the Emperor 1 98 an d ,

was awarded the lan ds got from the Gurkhas

(yiel d ing o n e six t h of the pr oper interest on his
loan o f o n e crore of rupees ) the Go v ernor General
,
-

h a d n o lo v e f o r him His life was m ade misera ble

.

by a R es i dent called M aj or Bailie w h o with

i mperious domination an d magisteri a l tone ,
“
fixed his c r e a t m e s upon his Excellency with
”
large salaries an d dictated t o him in the meres t '

” 1 99
t r i fle s .

The M arquess o f Hastin gs drew up in hi s

P ri v ate Journ al an elaborate scheme o f an I ndian
Confederacy boun d by two feudal duties (i ) s upper t
f or the Param ount Power with all forces in any
c al l and ( 2) appeal t o the Paramount Power in all
cases of mu t u al diff erence But he actual ly
.

accomplished something very diff erent He added .

to the Company s territory ’

s quare miles .

and w o n f or himself for the purchase

o f a pri v at e estate N o r did he help the dumb
.

million s whose lives were entru sted to his care

“
.

M r Ludlow says
. The man ufactures of I ndia were
,

deliberately ruined by a general l owering or total .

aboliti on of import duties o n ar t icles the produce

or manufacture of Great Britain without any r e
c i pr o c a l advantages being given to I ndian produce
”
or manufacture when brought home I n dia s .
’

interests were thus sacrificed to enrich England .

Hastings also san ction ed the Ryot wari system i n

 O THER M EAS URES or HAS TIN GS 173

M adras which has done m ore than anything else

‘

“ ”
to abase the people o f that Presidency
,
2 01
Of.

c ourse the Court o f

,
D irectors h ave a lso to S h are
part of the blame b u t Hastin gs sh ould have pr o
tested o r resign ed rather th an b e an instrum ent
in destroying milli on s o f p eople Lord Hastings
.

was also n otori ous for his dish on est deal i ngs a s
«
can be foun d for example from a study o f his
, ,

r elations with Palmer and C o of Hyderabad 2 02

, .
 L or d A mher s t

Lord Amherst landed in I ndia seven mon t h s

after the departure o f Hastings and during t h e
interim M r, Adams the officiating Go v er n or
.
,

General had j ust enough time to gain notoriety

,

by shi pping off M r J B B u ckingham for pu b

‘
. . .
,

l i s h i n g in the Calcutta Journ al some remarks o n

’

a clergyman frien d o f his .

Lord Am herst had been a few m onths only

i n I n di a when h e decl ared war a gainst Burma .

T h e problem o f Anglo Burm an relation s h a d b e -

com e acute as early as the time o f Lord M int o .

when K i n g b e r r i n g and h i s M ugs carried on their

periodi c al raids into Burm a from the Britis h
territory of Chittagong The Burman s believed .

that the invasion s were instigated an d en couraged

by the British and de m anded the surren der o f the
insurgents and of Dr M Rae the Ci v il Surgoen o f
.
’
,

Chittago n g Lord M into while admitting to the

.
,
“
Court of Directors that the State of A v a had
sustain ed a deep injury at the hands of men who
”
were un der o u“r authority an d protec t ion sent an ,

en v oy t o Ava to undeceive the Burmese Go v ern

”
ment of their reasonable suspicions Another .

complaint of Burma was the grants of land made

by the British to re f ugees from A r a c a n It is o n .

record that in 1 7 9 7 1 7 9 8 30 t o 4 0 thous a n d per

-

sons were thus tempted away fro m their land int o

Bengal .

Captain Cunning the C h ristian envoy chosen by

,

Lord M into had a shr e wd eye f or military weak

,

nesses and hence he suggested t o his masters

‘ “
Conquest .
’
Should it enter into th e v ie w s of
 LO RD A M HERS T 175

Government to obtain a preponderating influence

in the Burmese dominions th e present was
,

certainly the m ost favourable m oment as the ,

weakness o f the Go v ern ment an d general discontent ,

o f the people would put the wh ole country at th e

”
d isposal of a v ery small Br itish force ! Lord
M into added while writing to the C o urt o f Directors
, ,
“
of o ur complete an d speedy su c c ess in the w a r ,
”
little doub t could be entertained .

K i n g b e r r i n g died in 1 8 1 5 but the British de

c l i n e d to deli v er up his followers Therefore the .
,

ignorant arrogant an d b arbarous go v ernment o f

,

Burm a began to n egotiate with In dian p o w ers lik e

the M arathas f or a j oint eff ort at des t roying British
power They obtain ed control of the
. U pper
Brahmaputra valley by the military occupation of
Assam They carried on an indiscrimin ate capture
.

o f the C ompany s elephant hunters and o f b oatmen

’
-

on the Naf ri v er Sir Edwar d Paget th e n ewly

.
,

arri v ed Comm ander i n C hief was eager f or war the

- - -

roy al road to fortune hon our and glory His plan

,
.

was to keep the operations o n t h e Assa m frontier

purely defe n si v e whil e an attac k w a s to be m ade
on Ran goon by sea Sir Thom as M unro advised
.

the diametrically Opposite plan but Paget s plan ’

prevailed Th e M adras sepoy n ot s o scrupulous

.
,

ab out caste as his Bengali brother was sent to ,

Rango on in e v en larger numbers than Am herst

w anted . The Be n gal a n d M adras tro ops met at
the ren dez v ous a n d o n the 1 0t h M a y 1 8 24 a n ,

chored off Ran go on The city was easily captured

.

f or it was entirely deserted It was like Napoleon

.

before Mosco w T he Burmese relied m ore upon

.

guerilla warfare They con structed stockades in

.

the m ost di f ficult an d in accessibl e recesses of t h e

j ungle and carrie d o n nightly attacks on the enemy .

The state of aff airs o n the Assam an d A r a ca n

frontier was n o better T h e British under Capta in
.
 176 HI S T ORY on T HE BRITI SH O CC UPATI ON or IN D I A

N orton were defeat ed with heav y losses by the

famous Burmese warrior M ah a M e n g B u n d o ol a
‘

and there was f or som e time a real panic in

, ,

C alcutta expecting an in v asion The rains and

t h e rise o f the rivers prevented further catastrophe s .

The chi ef groun d for the declaration o f hostilities

had been t h e in cidents o n an other fie ld Shahpuri at
the mout h of the Nap ri v er The Burmese had .

c aptured M r . Chew the commander o f a pilot vessel

,

stati oned th ere an d held him as a hostage f or the

M u g i nsurgents The war was n ot very successful
.

e v en here F ailure thus stared at Government in

.
,

al l directi ons B u n d o o l a was h astening to Rangoon

. .

So the British began to create discontent among

t h e Burmese garrison s or foster a n y that existed .

T hey induced the Siamese to m ake military

d emo n strat i on s They persuaded the G u r o o of the
.

R a j a to induce a peace treaty to be drafted whose

clau ses were so unfa v ourable that th e king refused
to a ccept them M eanwhile .M ah a B u n d o ol a ,

hi m self was killed in 1 8 2 5 by the bursting o f a

shell The British now marched strai ght o n A va
.

and the king feeli n g hi s powerless n ess and hearing

, ,

of the fall o f B h ur t por e con cluded peace at

G a n d a b o o within 4 days
,
march o f A v a Thus ’
.

en ded a war which b e n e fit t e d the Govern or General -

m ore than anybody else The w a r i nflicted v ery .

hea v y finan cial expenditure an d awful loss o f life

on India an d “Burm a lost som e of its m ost precious
”
p ossessions . The history o f th i s war says ,

M aj or Archer is di v ested o f all h on ourable

,

ch a r a c t e r i s t i c s .
’

W e h ave t o n ote o n e dark episode that stained

the annal s of Lord A m h erst s career i n I n d i a ’

t h e Barrackpore M assacre The swarthy sepoy h a s .

”
been praised as s i m ple a n d easily m an a geable
by Sir Jasper Nicoll s Comman der i n Chief as - -

,
“
patient obedient and efficien t by {M aj or General
,
” L
 L ORD A M H ER S T 177

S i r Thomas R e y n e ll an d b oth these pla c ed him i n

o r d e r li n e s s and amenability to dis c iplin e
t
But yet .

t hey were n ot free from ill treatm ent of every -

kin d The Bengal troops were as regards pay an d

.
,

a l lowan ces , worse O ff than their comrades of

B omb ay or M adras Again as a class they were
.
, ,

worse treated than t h e European section O f t he

a rmy The insults o f the alien O f ficers and soldiery
.

a n d the depression o f the n atives to the l owest

O f fices cre a ted deep dis c ontent The European .

t roops were bein g pampered with an d they did

“ ”
n othing except o v erawing the n ative army .

Durin g the Burmese War the 4 7 t h Regim ent ,

s tationed at Barrackp ore was ordered to march ,

t hough n obody cared to supply c arriage cattle for

t h e heavy loads o f th e regim ent The sepoys .

.
h ad to pay f or their transport w h en ever
2 03
they were ordered to m ove But at that .
,
“
t im e n o bullocks could be provided n on e could
, ,

b e hired ; an d they could only b e pur c hased at

”
a n extravagant pri c e . The Commissariat Depart
m ent refused to con sider an application for h elp .

T h e regiment refused again to tr avel by sea for

, ,

f ear of losin g their caste They also dem anded

.

d ouble batta because pri c es were reputed to be

h igh in Burm a . Instead of some s we et an d
persuasive words o f re c on c iliation which w ould .

h ave bro u gh t them roun d Sir Edward P a get

,
“
s urr ounded the regiment with 2 batta lion s The
s ign al f or slaughter was There was n o
a ttempt at ba t tle . Non e had been contemplated .

T h e m uskets (o f th e sepoys ) with whi c h the groun d

” 2 04
was strewn were foun d t o be unloaded .

T h e b rut al C o m man d er i n chief court m arti al led many

‘
- -

s urv ivors an d the regiment was str uck ou t of t h e army

d ist
.

Dur i n g the ti m e o f Lord Amherst t h e repu ,

st a tion of British arm s w a s [r etrieved b y t h e

178 HI S T ORY OF T HE B RITI SH O CC UPA TI ON OF I ND IA

c apture B h a r a t por e
of by Lord C ombermere ,
the Comma n der i n Chief -
General Lake s failure
-
’
.

to capt ure it by repeated assaults was being

thrown into the teeth O f the English by the natives
an d so , Sir Charles M etcalfe dre w up an elab orat e
report regarding the question advising interference ,

in some su c cession dispute and winning a glorious

v ictory A n Opportu nity cropped up in 1 825 ;
.

the C ompany supporte d one R ana B ul w a n t Singh ;

and despatched the C ommander i n Chief wit h - -

men an d a large artillery Bribery was .

very probably used among the b e l e a g u r e d army

Superstit ion too created a panic since a story
w a s current that when an alligator from the sea
b esieges the fort it must fall an d since t h e
,

Commander i n Chief s name was usually pronounced

- -
’

“ ”
Kumbhir meaning al ligator ! After a month
Of siege operations the fort was
, mined
an d the British committed many atr o citi e s an d
cruelties upo n the people .

To meet t h e expenses o f these campaigns ,

Lord Amherst obtained large loans from Native

Prin ces and even pensioners According to M r . .

T M Ludlow the Nawab of O ud e lent

. .
,

the Sindhia the Raj a O f N a g h pu r £

the R aj a of Benares an d even the u n f or
“
t un a t e ex Peshwa Baj i Rao refunded
-
a very
”
considerable sum out of the savings from h i s
p ension ? 2 06

I n 1 8 27 Lord Amherst pro c eeded to Delhi

,

and unnecessarily humiliated the M ogh ul E mperor

by sitting at ri ght angles to His M aj esty in a
State Chair in front of the thone “
o n the right .

He did n ot pay any n uz z a r and set as ide the

ceremonials an d forms of address His conduct .

was consider ed s o derogatory to His M aj esty

that he sent Raj a Ram M ohon Roy to Englan d
to plead his whole case before the British
 L O RD AM H ERS T 179

2 07
authorities
. A fter degrading the Emperor ,

Amherst spent the summer i n Siml a wh e re h e

re c ei ved a friendly m i s s s o n from R anjit Singh .

In M arch 1 8 28 h e left In dia

, .
 L or d Willi am B enti nck

Lord Will ia m B e n t i n k was recal led fro m India

when he was the Go v ernor o f M adras , in connec “
tio n with the mutiny at V ellore and since he
wi shed that the c ountry which had b een the scene O f hi s
undeser v ed humiliatio n should also be the sce n e
o f hi s administrati v e triumphs 2 °8 "
he applied for
,

the p ost of Govern or General

-
on the retire m ent O f
“
Lord Amherst . He had devoted his a c tive min d
with great ardour “to the study o f Indian politi c s
and discovered that in ma n y respects the M u ha ,

m ma d a n s surpassed our rule and that our policy ,

on the c ontrary has been the reverse of this cold

,
—
,
”
selfis h and unfeeling It was easy for hi m to
.

diagn ose the disease but he di d n ot propose to

apply the remedy .

Indian historians consider h i m a peace loving -

Governor General but this was only b ecause the

-

finances of the company were so precarious that he

c ould n ot in d ulge in the costly luxury of war O n .

the other hand he h a d to carry out retrenchments by

,

redu c ing the salaries o f civil an d military o fficers

in spite of the hatred of his own c o religionists -
.

But enough number O f events took place in his

time to indi c ate that h e was as much a Jingoist
a s any other Governor Gen eral
-
Take for exa mple
.

Coorg a pla c e long co v eted by Anglo I ndians a s

— -

a veritable paradise on earth D uring the M ysore

.

wars a Treaty had been c on cluded with its princes

,

in 1 7 9 0 by which its independence was guaranteed .

But during Bentinck s time the Raj a s sister

’
,
’

De mm aj l an d her h u sband sought protection

a gainst the exaggerated cru elties of the brother
 LO RD W IL L IA M BEN TIN CK 1 81

with the R es ident at Mysore War was declared .

the Raj a hoping that a recon c iliati on m ight yet be

“
p ossible sent orders prohibiti n g the C o or g s from
,
” '2 09
en countering the tro ops of the C ompany Of
course th e Raj a was easily d ethron ed an d sent
,

to Benares Later on h e went to Englan d to com

.
,

plain personal ly to the authorities ab ou t hi s un j ust

dethron ement an d ill treatment Bentin ck without
-
.
,

in q uiring into the claim s O f th e sister ann exed ,

th e fertile an d beautiful provin ce on the plea th at

th e C o or g s un anim ou sly desired t o b e“ placed
under the protection of th e C ompan y The i n .

habitants are hereby assured that they sh al l n ot

again be subj ected to n ative ru le th at their civil ,

an d religiou s usages will b e respected a n d that the

greatest desire will invariably b e sh own by the
British Go v ernment to augm ent their securi t y ,

comfort an d h a ppin ess declared B entin ck in a

,

pro c lam ati on But this pro mise w a s n ot kept u p

. .

Cash p aym ent O f re v enu e was insisted on instead ,

of kin d an d an in surrecti on broke o u t

, .

Th e distribution o f the Pri ze m on ey on the c ap t ure

of C oorg was m ade according to the Asiati c
,

Journ al May 1 8 3 6 in th e following m an ner

, ,

Rs .

C olon els each

Lieutenant C olonels
M aj ors
C aptain s
Sub alterns
“
No w onder the i nhabitants unanimously
desired to place themselves un der British p ower .

Bentin c k deprived the Raj a of Mysore of all

power of m an aging th e aff airs of his pri n cipality
in 1 8 31 an d further gave hi m n o opp ortunity to
an swer the al legati on s again st h i m He summ arily .

su bsti t ute d direct British m an agement a step con —

d e mn e d as unjust an d impoliti c by M aj or Evan s

1 82 HI S TO RY O F T HE B R ITI SH O CC U PA TI ON OF IND IA

Bell . He interfered in the intern al af f airs of

J o y p or e and his appointmen t o f Jo otha Ram as
“
minister w a s ascrib ed to a desire o n the p art of
the British Government to annex the country on
”
account of the c ertain ensuing anarchy He also .

took poss ession O f t h e S ambhar District an d a

share of the Salt Lake as security f or the tribute
“
due from JO d h por e a n act which —
gave great
”
off ence to both prin ce and people leading to an ,

attack on the Resident and the death of his

Assistan t Govinda Chan dra the ruler of Kach a r , ,

was assassinated in 1 8 30 an d since he had n o

‘ ’
male heir the Ben evo l ent Bentin ck annexed it
,

under a doctrin e th at b ecam e notorious under

Dalhousie He also confiscated p art of t h e posses
.

sio n s O f the Raj a of Jy n t e a h on the ground Of

the in fraction of som e treaty .

Bentinck visited “
O udh in 1 8 3 1 an d threatene d
the king with the direct assumpti on of the
man ag ement of O udh territories by the British
”
Government if a decided reform in administra
tion was n ot eff ected This threat alarmed the
.

vizier and s o he sent C olonel Du B ois and a native

gentleman 211
to proceed to Englan d and represent
his case to the authorities The Governor General.
-

trumped up a ch arge of conspiracy against the

Company upon the C olonel s o that he could b e
o f n o use to the king on lan di ng in En gland ‘
.

T h e n at ive gentleman was thus left alon e i n a

helpless c on dition friendless an d in a strange
,
”
c ountry where he kne w n ot a w o rd O f the language
and s o w a s obliged to return He died o n hi s .

way to Luckn ow at Poona Bentin ck also gave .

m uch trouble to Raj a Ram Mohan B a y the envoy ,

of the M oghul Emperor When he p a ssed by .

Delhi he studiedly insulted the Emp eror by n ot

,
~

visiting him These in c idents rankled in the minds

.

Of the king an d his loyal subj ects an d w ere

 LO RD W ILLI AM BEN TIN C K 1 83

p robably the reason s that c ontributed to the Indian

m utiny of 1 8 5 7 .

B en t in c k was als o the author o f a plot to

ann ex Gwalior The Residen t was directed t o ask
.

the M aharaj a whether i n view o f the troubles e u

circlin g hi m (created b y the Compan y itself ) he ,

wo ul d like to retire on a pen sion assign in g

G walior to the Company Mr Ca v endish the
. .
,

Resident declin ed the deli c ate j ob and s o was

,
“
reprimanded thus Y o u hav e thus allowed a favour
,

a ble chance t o escape o f connectin g th e Agra to

”
th e Bombay Presiden cy He was also removed
.

in a f e w m onths an d a certain Maj or Sutherlan d

was app ointed B efore leavin g for Gwalio r he
.
,

waited upon the Go v ern or Gen eral to kn ow h i s -

p olicy at Gwalior : was it to b e i ntervention or

n on interven tion
-
Lord B entin ck whose disposi ,

tion like th at of Lord P a lm erston lo v ed a j oke ,

q ui ckly replied Lo ok h ere M a j or an d hi s lord , ,

ship threw b ack h i s h ead open ed wide h i s mouth ,

and placed his th u mb an d finger together like a

b oy ab o u t to swallow a sugar plum Then t urn i n g -
.

“
to the astonishing M aj or h e said If the Gwalior ,

State w i ll fall down y our throat y ou are n ot t o ,

shut y our m outh as M r C avendish d i d but , .

,
”212
s wallow it th at is m y p o licy
, Again Ben tin ck .
,

n omin ated without an y in q uiry into an alleged

,

adoption th e deceased Raj a s un cle to t h e thron e

,
’

of Jh a nsi a circu msta n c e whi c h served D al housie

,

.
a s a pre c edent in 1 8 5 3 .

The A fghanis t an imbroglio an d d isasters of

1 8 39 42 the subsequent u n justifiable wars with
-

Sin d an d the Punj ab an d als o t h e an nexati on of

the two pro v in ces w ere in n o small measure due
to the part B en tin ck played in th e sch e m e e u ph e ,
“
m i s t i c al ly styled the n avigation o f the Indus
,
”
It .

was M oorcroft the traveller wh o first sugges ted

, ,

it 2 1 3
b ut Sir John M al c olm adopted it as his o w n
1 84 HI S TO RY OF T HE B RITI SH OCC UPA TI ON OF IND I A

pet scheme He suggested that the capture O f

.

Sind was easy and profi t a ble beyond measure T h e .

pl a n caught Bentin ck s fancy an d it was to be ’

ostensibly undertaken for the purpose of con v ey

ing to Ranj it Sing h King William s present Of a ’

coach and horses Sir Charles M etcalfe c ondemned

“
the sur v ey The schem e o f surveying the I ndus
,

under the pre t en c e of sending a present to Raj a

R u n j e e t Sing h see ms to me highly Obj ectionable .

It is a trick in m y Opinion unwort h y of our

, ,

Government which cannot fai l when detected a s ,

most probably it will be to exci t e the j ealousy ,

and indignation of the powers on whom we ply

”2i 4
it. But all protests were vain the Britis h ,

took their boats an d troops “

upon the I ndus and
completed the sur v ey The survey of the I n dus
.

a n d the C ommerci al Agen c y were the pr ole g o

m ena so to speak O f the great epic of the Afgha n
, ,
”
War . Even the plan of supporting Shah S h ooj a
seems to have been settled at an intervie w
between Ranj it Singh and Bentinck at Roopur in
1 83 1 a n d the idea of extend i ng t h e Britis h
215

b oundary to t h e I n dus an d e v en to the mountains

beyond w a s enter t ained by many respo n si ble Officers
in cluding probably the Govern or General himself -
.

As Commander i n Chief Bentinck pro v ed to be

- -

, ,

very incompetent for ill discip line an d di sconten t -

were rampant among the ranks 216

.

In t h e ad mi nistration of domestic aff airs ,

Bentinck d i d little to promote the interests of

the nati v es of India He com bined the executive .

and j udicial functions a measure that has bee n —

a great curse t o the people o f Hindustan He .

resumed rent free lands - 2 17

after cruelly repealing an ,

old regulation re q uiring before every resumption a

j udicial investigation and a final decree by the
Supreme Court The collector of each district w a s
.

aut h orised to dispossess holders on his o wn authori t y

 LO RD W ILLI AM BEN TIN CK 1 85

an d thus man y families “

that were in com
p a r a t i v e af f luen ce were hurled into the depth s
”
of poverty ; hun dreds an d thousan ds wh o
c onsidered themselves beyond the rea c h of a d v e r s
” “
ity were cast upon the world to seek their
”
bread Sin ce Bentin ck did n ot want the existen c e
.

of an Indian aristocra c y he resumed al so estate s

,

an d j aghirs on failure of male issue in S pite of t h e

vehement protests of Sir John M a lcol m the ,

Govern or of Bombay .
2 18

I n order to anglicise an d denational ise the n atives

of Indi a he selected M acaulay to decide the c e ntr e
,

v e r s y between the oc c identalists an d the orientalist s

an d to fix upon English as the m edium O f instru o

tion in In dia . Bentin ck en couraged Chr isti a n
m ission aries t o convert the heathen s of In dia an d
’
M acaulay s measure was also taken i n furtheran ce
o f th e sam e purpose Of un d erminin g the religious
an d so cial life Of In d i a 2
.
1 9 Bentinck is also c on s i
dered a great philanthropist because he passed a n
Act ab olishin g Suttee but the credit really belong s
,

to Raj a Ram M ohan Ray 2

,
2 0 wh o educated publi c
Opinion on th e matt er by exposin g the c ruelty
an d i n j ustice of the pra c tice in spite of t h e
ridi c ule an d abuse of his c o religionists Again -
.
,

h e is c on sidered a s a great frien d of India becaus e

h e employed n ati v es in the s ervi c e o f t h e State
but w e s e e n o reason f or thanking him since all ,

the appoin t ments in the publi c servi c e b elon g

o f ri ght to th e tax payers an d the son s o f the so i l
-
.

Moreover Bentin c k w a s for c ed to employ natives

,

on account of fi n an ci al n ecessity an d the orders of

th e Court of Dire c tors He was also n o frien d O f
'

higher education f or In dian s Bentin c k i s also .

given c redit f or granting liberty to the Press b ut

h e duped the Press with the S hadow only While .

“
i n M adras h e h a d on ce said , It is n ecessary in .

m y opin io n , for the p u bli c safety that the Press

,
1 8 6 HI S T ORY OF THE B R ITI SH OCC UPATIO N OF I ND I A

in India S hould be kept u n d er t he m os t r i g i d

2 2 1 It
co n t r o l . m atters n ot from what pen the
dangerous matter may issue the higher the a u t h o
,
”
rity t h e greater the mischief That Bentinck s
, .
’

seven years rule from 1 828 1 8 3 5 was o n the

’
-

whole ben eficial to the n ati v es o f the country is a

myth His foreign policy was aggressive a n d his
.

domestic policy was destructive of the best

interests of the c hildren of the soil .
 The R enewal Of t he Char t er , 1833

During the Govern or Gen eralship o f Lord

-

William Bentin ck the C o m pany s charter was

,
’

renewed in 1 8 3 3 for a furth er period of twenty

years The Reformin g Era o f Englan d did n ot
.

a ugu r any good f or India n o n o t ion can b e m ore

,

mistaken than that of M r R C Dutt w h o wrote . . .

“
t hat t h e administration of India is determined
”
b y the c urrent Opini on s o f Englan d an d that
English history a n d In dian history have run in
arallel stream s Avarice said Sir Joh n M alcolm
p .
,

a v ari c e, the most obstin ate an d harden ed p assion

O f the human mind being the first prin ciple O f
,

comm erce was the origin al b on d of their (the

,

Company s ) union an d hum anity j usti c e and ev en

’
,

p olicy gave way to the prospe c t o r lo v e of

” 222
gain . Therefore th e c harter of 1 8 33 was m ore
,

a dvantageous to the English than to the people o f

India It imposed heavy finan cial burdens on
.

India ; it amplified and extended th e provision s of the

C harter A c t of 1 8 1 3 ; it intensified the exploitation
Of In dia Again in a se c ret c onclave of Whig
.
,
’
ministers an d magn ates at Lord Lansdo w n e s pla c e ,
“
B owood , it was decided that we sh ould avail
o urselves of all opportunities for add i ng to our
territories an d revenues a t th e expense of our alli es
and of stipendiary prin ces like th e Raj ah of
Tanj ore an d the Nawabs of the Carn ati c and
” 22 2
B engal .

The India Reform Socie t y established in 1 8 5 3

“
published a tract entitled Th e Go v ernm ent of
”
India sin c e 1 8 34 to prove that the Company did n ot
d eserve to have its c h a r ter ren e wed any more .
1 88 HI S T ORY or T HE BRI TIS H OCC U P AT I O N OF IND IA

This pamphlet will repay c areful study It i s .

said that during the 2 0 years since 1 834 the ,

Company wa s engaged in wars that were not nece

ssary for the safety “
o f the country f or 1 5 long
years These wars have retarded the impro v ement
.
,

and diminished the happiness O f the natives O f

In dia whilst they hav e exhausted the resources of
,

the Governmen t ; but they were the nat ural result .

of the system established in The military

expenditure w a s in creased durin g the period from
eight to twelve millions sterling and so the Govern ,

ment had little to spen d o n public works of

perman ent utility Th e pamph let describes “the
.

moral debasement of the pe ople an d says T o

In d ia it is ruin and destr u ction ; to Englan d it is
danger an d disgrace The progress of justice w a s
.

hampered by cumbrous legal forms and “

legal
“
tax. Judges as M r Campbell confesses were a
, .
,

scandal to the British n ame The Police accordin g .

,

to a petition of more than a thousan d Christian

inhabitants of Calcutta sent to the House o f
C ommons n ot only failed to eff ect the preventi o n
,

of crimes the apprehension o f o f f enders an d t h e

,

protection o f life an d property ; it has become the

engin e of oppression an d a great cause o f t h e
corru ption Of the people O ut o f 2 2 million s of .

p eople the Indian Go v ernm ent in 1 8 5 3 educated

,
“
on e hundred an d sixty whereas in Hindu time s ,

every village community had its school Ev ery .

post of profit of trus t O f v alue had been transferred

, ,

at en ormous addition to the cost Of Go v ernment

to Englishman The division between covenanted
.

an d un coven anted servants was kept up in order

to exclude the nati ves howeve r educat ed able and , ,

competent from all high an d lucrati ve employ

,

ments though the Charter Act of 1 8 33 enacted that

,

non e should be excluded from a n y o ffic e by reason

o f religion pla c e o f birth
, des c ent or c olour Dr ,
. .
 THE R ENEW AL O F T HE CHA RT ER , 1 8 33 1 89

C h u ck e r b ut t y w h o c arried off several m edical priz es

(

at U niversity C ollege an d re c ei v ed the diploma O f

”
M D was refused a C ommission as Surgeon i n a
.

N ative Regiment in spite o f repeate d

, appli c ation s
to individual Directors an d to the Court whi c h
in cluded some of the m ost eminent o f the retired
p ubli c servan ts o f In dia Thus ‘
the I ndians were
.

c on demned to inferiori ty Salt, the only con di ment .

f or t h e i r tasteless rice , was a Government M on opoly

’
.

N o t only were they taxed for th eir S hops in towns

“
an d f or stalls an d sheds on road S ides but for -

e ach tool and implement, o f their trades ; n ay for

‘
their v ery knives the cost of which is fre q uently
,

e xceeded S i x times over by the M o t u r ph a (tax )

”
u n d er which the u s e o f them is perm itted The .

p e O pl e of In d i a complained that the Gov ernment

”
is forcing drunkenn ess on th em in order to raise ,

r evenue from ardent spirits .

O f c ourse much cant was delivered in n oble

,

vein by Lord Macaulay an d others who in the , ,

words of Digby said much of the ton gu e m erely

,

an d n ot of the heart Macaulay was a n eedy a d

.

v enturer wh o cam e o u t to India to s hake the

p agoda tree The“ p ost of Law M ember that he
.

a c q uired tho u gh unfa miliar with the law o r the

pra c tice o f In dian c ourts and recomm ended by n o
” 2 24
r em arkable forensi c q u a li fic a t i o n s carried a
“
s al ary o f a year I may therefore“ hope .
, ,

t o return to England he wrote to his sister at only , ,

t hirty nin e in the full vigour Of l ife with a fortun e

-

»O f thirty thousan d pou n ds A larger fortune I .

”
n ever desired Besides his p ost as Law Com mis
.
,

s i on e r brought him an addition al £ 5000 a year

‘

His only q ualification “

was suprem e contempt for
e ve r y thin g I n dian Lord Macaulay s t r ui mph over
.
’

the O r i e n t i al S c hool h eaded by Dr Wilson w as .

really the t ri umph Of a deliberate intenti on to under

”
m in e the religious an d so c ial life of In di a
; O ne .
1 90 HI S TO RY OF THE B R ITI SH O CC UP ATI ON or IN D IA

of his duties as Law M e mber was t o make laws

f o r the nati v es Of I ndia and a ccordingly h e drew
up the I ndi an Penal Code When one reads it on e is
.
,

reminded O f Burke s description o f th e Irish Penal

’

Code as a machine of wise a n d elaborate c ontri

vance a n d as well fitted for the oppression i m ,

poverishment an d degradation o f a people an d the

debasement in th em of human n ature itself as e v er
”
proceeded from the perv erted ingenuity O f m a n .

M r Theobold a C al cutta B ar rister

.
, informed a ,

Parliam
“
entary C ommittee Of 1 8 5 8 that the C ode
establishes an irrespo n sibility upon the p art of
”
all persons ha v ing powers o f any kind by law .

The punishments laid down are very s evere an d

unsympathetic The prin ciple un derlying th e law
.

is once a j ail bird always a j ail bird The Law

—
-

,
-
.

C ommission set up in 1 8 33 s pen t nearly 3 5 lakh s

of rupees from In dian re v enues till 1 8 5 3 an d a t
last the Pen al C ode was the result .
 L or d A ucklan d (1836 1841) -

F or twelve months after the departure of

Bentin ck Sir Charles M etcalfe a c ted as the Govern or
,

General o f In dia Had he b een m ade perman ent

. ,

h e would ha v e followed the footstep s o f his political

Guru the Marquess o f Wellesley He c on demn ed
—
.

the p olicy of Sir George Barlow There is a loud .

c ry that we are in danger fro m exten ded dominion .

F or my part I can contemp l ate universal dominion

,
”
in India without much fear But the authoriti es.

were displeased with him it is alleged for his , ,

liberating the In dian Press Th e Peel M inistry .

of 1 8 3 1 1 85 3 c hose M r M o n s t ua r t Elphin s t one to

-
.

su cc eed h i m but he declin ed t h e Off er beca us e

“
the chan ce O f great events occurring i s n ot
c onsiderable an d he had n o visible scope for his
ambition A c cordin g to Lord Ellenb orough the
.
,

state o f his health prevented hi m fro m acceptin g

that position Therefore Peel s ch oi c e fell up on
.
,
’

Lord Heytesbury bu t the M elbourn e M inistry did

n ot like h i m be c au se of his P r o Russian pr o cli v i t -

ies 225
an d his disapproval of th e p oli c y then i n v og u e
to ann ex In di an States on every possible occasion .

So Sir John Hobh ouse can c elled his appointment

,
’
an d ,on B entin ck s advice Lord Au cklan d w a s ,

c hosen a s the Go v ern or G en er al -

.

Lord Au c klan d s admi nistration is an i m portant

’

lan dmark in the history Of British In dia be ca us e

“ ”
the proble m of a s c i e n t fic fron t ier assumed
importan ce in his t ime A fghanistan the Switz er
.
,

lan d o f Asia was then ruled by D ost M uhammad

,

who had driven Shah Shuj a to live u pon the

bo unty of the C ompany an d R un j i t Singh at
1 92 HI S TO RY OE T HE B RITI SH OCC U P ATI ON OE I ND IA

Ludhiana As early as 1 8 3 2 an exploring expedi

.
,

tion under Lieutenant Burnes who had presented ,

t h e coach a n d horses to R un JI t Singh traversed ,

Afghanistan and C entral Asi a being received ,

hospitably by every man o f rank and importance ,

including D ost M uhammad “Burn es returned to .

England in 1 8 33 and he was killed with honours

” 226
an d kindness . He int e rviewed the king
“
a n d the ministers and talked o f the designs
of Russia her , treaties in trigu es , agencies , ,

am b assadors , c om merce &c th e facilities

, .
, ,
”
the obstacles regarding the advan ce o f armies
“
& O Lord Au c kland sent Burn es o n a
. commercial
” “
mission to Kabul ; Kaye wrote Commerce in t h e
vocabulary of the East i s only another name for
”
c on q ues t The missi on was recei v ed in Kabul
with great p om p an d splen d our Its m ain Obj ect .

was to indu ce D ost M uhammad t o throw in his

lot with the English a gainst Russia an d Burnes
n early su cceeded in his task He w rote yet in .
,

al l that has passed o r is daily t r a n S pr i r i n g the ,

chief o f Kabul declares that he prefers the

s ympathy an d frien dly O ff ices o f the British
to all these O ff ers (Russian an d Persi an ) howe v er
a l lurin g they may seem from Persia or from the
Emperor . But these reports of Burnes “
were
“ ”
emasculated and mutilated by“ the unsparin g
”
hand o f the state an atomist -
T h e character Of .

D ost M ahomed had b een lied away ; the character

Of Burus h a s been l i ed away ; b oth by the ,

mutilation o f th e correspon den ce o f the latter ,

h ave been fearfully misrepresented .

The reason f or this was a new plan regarding

Afghanistan .As Kaye writes O ther counsels ,

were pre v ailing at Sim l a that g “reat hot bed o f

— -

i ntrigue o n the Himalayan hills Th e y conceived

t h e idea of reinstati n g the Old deposed dynasty of
”

S hah S o oj a h and they picked him o u t o f the dust

 L O RD A U C K LA ND (1 8 36 -
1 8 41 ) 1 93

of Lu dhian a to m ake him a fool an d a pupp et S o .

B urn es was re c alled in 1 8 38 an d a Tripartite

Treaty con cluded between Shah S o oj a the Company ,

a n d R u n j i t Singh . In spite o f the death of the

last the first Afghan war con tinu ed Troops were
, .

m oved fro m Bombay through Sind h up the

In dus to B al uchistan . They were also despatched
d i re c t to Kabul through the Khyb er Pass The .

Amirs of Sin dh in ac c ordan ce with an ol d treaty

,

refused pass a g e for the tro ops b ut were th reaten ed

into su b mission an d even forced to pay 227
contri
b ution s to support their legitimate sovereign Shah " -

S h o oj a
. An annual tribute Of ru pees an d
a ready payment o f two million on e hundred
t housan d rupees f or the immedi ate expense of
the army was collected 2 28
. Th e British officers
c ommitted great excesses o n the lin e o f m arch .

They rein stated Shah S c oi a in Kabul an d sent

D ost M uham mad as a prison er to In dia .

But the Briti sh interfered in all transa c ti ons

contrary to th e terms o f o u r ow n engagement with
”
t h e Shah while outwardly they w ore the m ask of
n eutrality .
2 2 9 They v iolated their e n gagem ents
with the chief o f Afghanistan an d wanted to rule
o ver t h e country as Clive did in Bengal during
the time o f M eer J a f f ar Tho u gh Mohan L al who
.
,
“
had a genius f or traitor m aking -
the rebel chiefs
,

were either attracted by large bribes o r assassin ated

by the off er o f rewards for th eir heads 2 30
The English .

o ffi c ers ,
a c cording to Kaye did n ot kn ow h ow to
,

r esist the attraction s o f the women O f Kabul 2 3 1

.

“ ”
The scan dal was Open undisguised n otorious
, , .

T h e infuri ated Afghans t herefore revolted against

, ,

their foreign y oke an d killed Sh a h Sh u j a a n d

Sir Al exan der Burn es the leader of the O l d ,
“ ”
c o mm ercial mission .

M a c n a g h t e n the Resident
,
desired to re t reat
,

a nd promised i n a t reaty with Akbar Khan to

1 94 H I S TO RY OF T HE B RITI SH OCC U P ATI ON OE I ND IA

restore hi s father D ost M uhammad to the th rone .

In a recent b ook named N a r t e n g a A f g ha m s t a n

’

written by Syed F eda Hussain a n authoritative ,

accou n t is given of the death o f M a cn a g ht e n It .

appears that he wrote to c ertain Sirdars in citing

them to rebel against Akbar Khan an d wrote to
Akbar Khan himself warning him against these
very Sirdars He also arranged for an intervie w
.

an d took with him a portion of his tr oops to be

in ambush an d to pounce upon the enemy at
a given signal Akbar Khan disco v ered his trea
.

c hery an d an altercation ensued during which

M a cn a g h t e n was k i lled 2 3 2
Thus the three prin cipal
.

actors in the drama of Afghan politics perished

at the hands of the Afghans They allowed th e .

British to retreat after keeping c ertain officers with

their wives as their h ostages An army of .

men began the d i s a t r o u s retreat in the depth of

winter through the perilous passes Except Dr . .

Bry don the entire army either perished on the

,

road or were made captives by the Af ghans The .

first Afghan war was n ot only a blun der but a

crime a n d a sin Kaye c on clu des his chapter
.

“
on the retreat from Kabul th u s In the pages —

of a heathen writer over such a story as this

.

would be cast the shadow of a tremen dous neme

si s
. The Christian historian used other words but
the same prevailing idea run s like a great ,

river through his n arrative an d the reader r e

, ,

cognises on e great truth that the wisdom of our ,

statesmen is but foolishness and the might Of an

armies is but weakn ess when the curse of “God is
sitting heavily upon an un holy cause For the .

”
Lord G o d of re c ompenses shall surely requite .
 L or d E llenbor ough (1842 1844) -

The muddle an d c o n q I O n I n which the Afghan

and In dian aff airs w ere thro w n required a m an at
the hel m O f the suprem e l o cal governm ent in
I n d ia who was w ell acquainted with I n dian p oliti c s
an d not a mere n ovice in In dian statecraft Lord .

Ellenb orough had b een three tim es President of

the B oard o f C on t rol an d playe d a pro min ent part
in the debates of 1 8 33 He had deno un ced the .

finan cial embarrassm ents brought ab out by th e ,

Afghan war . The two Im perial ists Wellesley ,

brothers were his friends guides an d phil os ophers

, , .

His ambiti on a c cording to Lord C olchester was

, ,
” 2 33
to b ecom e a great military s tatesm an From .

his p ublic utteran ces in the House o f Lords ,

people could understan “

d his In dian poli c y very
clearly He said
. O ur very existen c e in In dia
,

depen ded upon the ex clusion of th e n atives from

military and p olitical p ower in that
had won the empire by th e sword an d we must
preserve it by the sam e m eans doi n g at the sam e ,

tim e everything that was consistent with our exist

” 2 34
en ce there for the good of the people He .

c onsulted the Iron Duke l ong before his departur e

fr om Englan d on the best plan o f operati on s up on
which any war sho ul d be c on ducted with the
Punj ab an d Nepal Y et in a dinn er given by the
.
,

Court of Directors j ust before he started he could ,

“
coolly s a y Hen c e forth my fir st duty i s to the
,
”
people of Indi a an d that he wanted to restore
, ,
” “
pea c e to Asia to emulate the
, m agnifi c ent
b e n e fic en ce o f the Muhammadan Emperors in their
”
great works of publi c utility et c et c . .
1 96 HI S TO RY OF T HE B RITI S H O CC UP ATI ON OF IND I A

Ellenborough arri v ed in Calcutta on the 2 8t h

F ebru ary 1 8 42 an d proceede d towards the N W
, . .

Frontier where General Pollo ck had forc e d through

the Khyber Pass an d c aptured Ali M usjid The .

Govern or General declared the“ Tri partite Treaty to

-

ha ve come t o an en d sin ce there was n o cons t i

t ut e d
”
authority capable o f executin g the treaty
in Afghanistan I n order to avenge M a cn a g ht e n s
.
’

death a price was put on Akb

,
“
ar Khan s head ’

an d Polloc k was instructed i n the event of

’
Mahomed Akb ar Khan s coming into his han d with
o u t any pre v ious con di tion for the preservation of
his lif e to con v ict h i m of murder General .

Pollock was ordere d to withdraw h i s tr oops after

an ex c hange o f prisoners but he disobeyed a n d
“
mar ched o n Kabul He gave an order f or the.

destru c ti on of the b azaar and two m os ques at

”
Kabul and many excesses were committed by the
revenge f ul British s oldiers After this pruden ce .
,

was con sidered t h e better part of valour an d the

British withdrew leaving all prisoners free i n
, ,

clu di ng D ost M uhammad .

In order to all ay the suspi c ions o f the declin e

of Briti sh military prestige at the courts of
Hyderabad Sin dh Nepal B un delkhan d & c Lord
, , , .
,

Ellenborough made m ost o f the vi c tories in

Afghanistan issued gen eral orders a little in the
,
”
Fren ch Style an d gave hon ours an d rewards with
,

a lavish hand He also blustered much about the

.

bringing ba c k fr om Kabul of what were alleged to

b e the gates of the S omn ath Temple taken by
Mahmud O f G hazni 6 00 years earlier The carved
gates were c arried in regular procession preceded
by a b ombastic proclamation of the Govern or
General in order to con ciliate the “
Hindus Lord .

Ellenborough wrote to the Queen their restoratio n ,

to I ndia will en dear the Govern ment to the whole

”
p eople , but this w as n ot true He himself wrote .
 L O RD ELLE N B OR OU GH (1 842 1 844) 1 97
-

to the Duke of Wellington The Hin do os on the , ,

oth er hand are delighted It seem s to m e m ost

,
.

unwise when we are sure of th e hostility Of on e

,

tenth n ot to secure the ent husias ti c support O f

,
”
the nin e tenths which are faithful
-
He c onsidered .

"
“
the M uslim ra ce as f un damentally h os t ile to
us , probably because his wife h ad deserted him
for an Arab Chief of Damas cus The Christian .

c om patriots of the Govern or Gen eral were enraged -

at all this reveren c e pai d to th e gates of a heathen

temple as it w a s u nwise inde c orous an d r e pr e ,

h e n s i bl e M acaulay con demned h i m f or insulting

.

“
the religion o f hi s o w n c ountry an d the religion
O f millions o f the Queen s Asiati c subj ects in order
’

”
to pay h on or to an idol But Ellenb orough .

j“usti fied it on the grounds of expedien c y adding , ,

I ha v e only been able to m eet those di f ficulties

by acts an d langu ag e whi c h even in India I ,

should n ot myself have adopted un der ordin ary

c ircumstan c es .

We shal l n ow c onsider E lle n b or oug h s relation s ’

with the Ameers of Sindh A Hin d u mer chan t .

n am ed De r r y a n a p ointed ou t a ft er the Treaty o f ,

“ ”
1 809 by whi ch etern al f rien dship was c on c luded
“
b etween the C ompany and th e Am eers that this ,

trib e ( the English ) n ever b egan as frien ds without

“ ”
en ding as en emies A shrewd dog
.
’
adds Sir —

Jam es Ma c kintosh I n his j ourn al where h e relates

the remark Later on when Burnes sailed up th e
.
,

Indus with the c oach an d h orses a Syn d on the ,

water s edge lifted u p his ha n ds an d ex claimed

’
,
“
Sin d i s n ow gon e sin c e the English have seen
,
”
th e ri ver which i s the road to its c on q uest Th e .

Tripartite Treat y di d n o t mention the Am eers at

all an d its co n clusion was held b y the British to
suspen d necessarily the original tr eaty with th e
Chiefs . Kaye w rites in t h e Cal c utta Review V ol I , . .

“
The w olf in the fab le did n ot S h ow greater
1 98 H I S T O RY O F T HE BR ITI SH O CC UP ATI ON OF I ND IA

cleverness in the discovery of a pretext for

devourin g the lamb than the British Government has
” 2 35
shown in all its dealin g s with the Ameers .

I n January 1 8 39 Captain E a s t r i ck forced upon the

,

Am eers a n ew treaty for an annual tri bute o f

rupees but for various reasons Sind was
,

coveted by the Christians First of all the .

,

Ameers were reputed to be very ri ch an d as Sir ,

Charles Dilke writes O ur men in India can hardly

,

s e t eyes on a native prin ce or a Hin doo palace

‘
bef ore they cry what a pla c e to break up
‘

what a fellow to Again the English ,

wanted to get comman d o f the I ndus for military

and commercial purposes The Governor General s .
-
’

hatred of M uslim s might have also contributed

a reason for the war The Iron Duke also started
.

the bogey of French intrigues with the

Sikh s and the tri bes of Sind He also appealed .

to h i s frien d to restore the reputat ion of British

“
arms in the East S O the real course of this
.
,

chastisement o f the Ameers consisted in the

“
c hastisem ent says Kaye which the British had
, ,

received from the Afghans I t was deeme d ex .

p e d i e n t at this stage of the great politi c al j ourney

to S how th at the British c ould beat someone ,

an d so it was determin ed to beat the Ameers O f

”
Sindh .

Som e charges Of treasonable corresponden c e

with Persia and vi ol ation of tr eaties were “
fast
trumped up Ellenborough c onfesses
. It w as ,

really impossible for m e to form a decided Opinion

”
as
“
to the authent i city o f Persian letters but yet , ,
” ’
I left the m atter i n Sir Charles Napier s hands
Sir Charles N apier s uperseded the sympathetic
M aj or O utram in Sin d Napier succeeded in raising
o n e of the Ameers as a traitor and in the Battle o f
“
M e e a n e 1 7 th F ebruary 1 84 3 the M ulatto who had
, , ,

c harged Of th e Amir s guns had been persuaded to

’
 LO RD ELLE N B OR O U GH (1 842 -
1 8 44) 1 99

” “
fire high the T alp o or Traitor wh o c ommanded
,

the c avalry dre w off his m en an d showed the

” 237
shameless example o f flight So we c an con .
,
“ ”
was well
,

clud e that the secret service money

disbursed .

The ex c esses c ommitte d by the Europ ean soldiers

after this victory was very disgraceful J P . . .

F errier 2 38
,the author of a “History of the Afghans ,

in Fren ch has re c orded : The offic ers of General

,

Napier invaded even the harems of these

unfortunate prin c esses an d carried off the
treasures j ewels an d , even the c lothes of
their women Sin dh w as ann exed to the Bri t i sh
.

d ominions an d Sir Charles Napier was“ amply

rewarded for what he himself des cri bed a s a very
”
a dvantageous useful hum an,e pie c e O f ras c al ity
, ,
“
for as he said we h av e n o right to seize S cinde
, , ,
”
y et we shall do s o Sir Charles Napier himself .

h a s written in the L Ig h t s an d Shadows of M ilitary

( page 3 23)
”
Life O ur Obj e c t in c on q uering
India the Obj e c t of all our cruelties w as money
, .

M ore than a thousan d mill ion s sterling are said

to h ave been s q ueezed ou t o f India in the last ,

S ixty years Every shilling o f this h a s been picked

.

of
’
o ut blood wiped and put int o the murderers
,

p ockets ; but wipe an d wash the m on ey as y ou

”
wi ll the damned spot will n ot out
, But yet in .
,

a proclam ation to all the M ah ommedan inhabitants

of Sind dated 6 t h August 1 844 Sir Charles Napier , ,
“
foun d courage to s a y B e it kn o w n to all t h e
—

M a h o m e d a n inhabitants Of Scin de that I am the ,

con q u eror of S cinde but I do n o t in tend to inter ,

fere with y our religion I respe c t y our r eligi on .

,

but it i s n ecessary that y ou should also respect

”
mi ne W e b oth worship on e God & c &c
.
, .
, .

Now for E llen b or ou g h s treat ment O f the ’

Sin dhia Sin d and Sindhia ha v e n o aff init y with

.

ea c h other although th e n ames soun d alike but

, ,
2 00 HI S T ORY OF T HE B RITI SH O CC UP ATI ON OF I ND I A

Ellenborough tried to treat them b oth alike .

Gwalior the richest an d strongest o f all the M aratha

,

States was an independent po wer thanks to the ,

exertions o f M a d h oj i Sindhia an d D owlat Rao

Sindhia and so the Govern ment o f I ndia had n o
right to interfere in its internal a ff airs But Ellen .

borough wanted to ann ex it so th at i n the even t ,

Of a w a r with the Sikhs the flank o f the C ompany s

,
’

army might b e free from a powerful an d i n d e pe n d

ent p r in ce at the head of a well trained -

army .

F ortu nately for the British Jun k oj e e Sindhia ,

died on the 7 t h F ebruary 1 843 l ea vi n g a widow of

, ,

eleven and n o child A boy o f 8 years was soo n

.

adopted an d the young M aharanee was appointed

Regent the ministers the Gw alior Durbar
“of
,

h elping her to rule peaceably an d properly ’

O n the 1 9t h Lord Ellenborough proceeded t o

Agra in order to be n e a 1 Gwalior an d m ade som e
changes “in the disposition Of the regiments ,
’

be c ause ne c essity might possibly arise f or in stant

There was a contest i n Gwalior
for the real control of aff airs between Dada
K h a s j e e w a ll a an a b le an d popular c hief an d M ama
,

S a hi b whose repulsive manners and character

,

al ien ated all sympathy Just at this critical time

.
,

a letter arrived from his Lordship which conveyed

these w ords The Govern or Gen eral would gladly
,
-

see the Regen cy c onferred U pon the M ama Sahib .

Through the intrigues of Colon el S pr i e s the Resident , ,

“ ”
M ama Sahib was e lected Regent an d his nie c e
was m arried to the young M aharaj a .

The English had n ow only to wait until the

in evitable breaki n g o u t of disturban ces to remedy
the wrong they had infli c ted by a w a I Strain ed .

relations in e v itably broke out between the p eople

an d the M aharani on the on e h an d and M am a
Sahib o n the other Ell enborough sure en ough
.
, ,
 LO RD E LLE N B O R OUG H (1 84 2 -
1 8 44) 2 01

began to deplore these events Th ey may have . ,

“
h e wrote to the Q ueen of England very inj urious ,

results upo n the tran quillity of t he common

.Lord Ellenborough still hopes h owever , ,

that no outrage will occur which will render

n e c essary the bringing together of troops
for the v i n d i éa t i o n of the hono ur of t he
”
British Go v ernment M ama Sahib was s o weak
.

that he c ould n ot put down a small disturban c e

b et ween a p ar t y of villagers an d some sepoys an d
the revolt of a slave girl in t he pla c e ! At last h e ,

was packed out of the c ountry with all hi s

baggage without even th e c ommon Asiat i c c erem on y
”
of the best o f a tom tom 2 39 -
.

This was a great blunder for it proved f a r ,

m ore cer t ain to cause the c ollapse o f the i n d e pe n d

en ce of this State tha n the worst acts of a
”
wretched imbecile c ould possibly bring ab out .

Lord Ellenborough must h ave rej oiced at t h e

expulsion of his n ominee an d the ins t allation of
D ada K h a s j e e w a lla in his place He c omplained .

from A gra that the needs of a tran quillity on t h e

“
frontier would n ot tolerate him to permit the
growing up o f a lax system of rule generating ,
”
ha b its O f plunder along its frontier n ot c aring t o ,

rememb er that the Bri t ish provin ces adj oinin g

Gwalior were f or two years in a Stat e of open
’
insurre c tion an d that Dada s govern ment w a s s o
strong that S i n d h i a s soldiers were as the very
’
,

day of his penning the letter repelli ng raiders an d ,

rebels fro m the C ompany s territories 1 00 m iles a w ay

’

fro m G w alio r at K hi ml a s s a an d B a la be h u t ! E llen

b orough also “
ordered the Resident to withdra w to
”
Dh ol e p ur e for a change o f air and b efore long ,

C ol Sleeman superseded Col Spiers Sleeman was a

. . .

fit tool for E l le n b or o ug h s w ork for has he n ot

’
, ,
“
wri tt en in his Ra mbles an d Recollection s As
a c itizen of the world I c ould n ot help thin kin g
,
2 02 HI S T O R Y OF T HE B R ITI S H O CC U P ATI ON OF IND I A

that it would have been a great blessing upon a

large portion of ou r species if an earth q uake were ,

to swallow up this court O f G w alior and the

a rmy that surroun ds it
The n ew minister was an able man but the ,

Governor General discovered many faults in him

-
.

His paym ent of all arrears to the troops of di s missed ,

European a n d half blo od offi cers appoint ment -

of persons notorious for t h eir hostil ity to British

in teres t s and for their conne ction with plunderers
” “
upon our frontier his strict control over the
,

condu c t and person of the widow of the late

” “
M aharaj ah an d of the present sovereign It .

said that the minister of the Stat e had i n ter

c e pt e d a letter from his lordship to his dear young
‘ ’ ‘
sister th e Maharanee A high c rime against the .

M aharanee declared the Governor General The

’
-
.
,

letter w a s written in the Persian language and

t h e M aharan ee a c hild O f fourteen could neither
, ,

read n or write any language at all The r e was onl y .

o ne man in the capital who by vir t ue of his ,

hereditary ofii ce of Great Chamberlain and keeper

o f t he crown j ewels could enter the most sacred
of the female apartments and that man was the
”
D ada K h a s j e e w alla Wh “
o then except this man ,

a sks M r J o hn H o pe had the privilege to open

.
’ ,

a n d read the Go v ernor General s letter Y et

’
-

Lord Ellenb orough who had formed an army at ,

Agra Of men besides artillery under Sir

,

H ugh Gough demanded the surrender of Dada

,
.

In vain did th e D urbar protest again s t the dis

h on our At l ast th ey agreed to place Dada in
.
,

c o n finement and appointed Rama Rao P h a lk e a ,

w h o had fought f or the English by the side of

Lord Lake i n h i s stead This did not appease
, .

E l le n b or o u g h s wrath ’
He assembled armies o n .

the Northern an d Eastern frontiers of the S i n d h i a s ’

d ominions an d compelled the Government to

 LO RD ELLE N B O R OU GH ( 1 842 -
1 844)

surrender the fallen minister He died aft er ten .

,

y ears of exile at
, Ben ares .

The Govern or Gen eral w a s n ot yet satisfied

-

,
“
f or there is still n o app earan c e Of a settlement
without authoritativ e intervention of the British
“
Govern ment . He wanted the disban dment an d
disarmin g of a disaff ected porti on o f the Gw al ior
”
army for (here the cat is at last let out of the
,
“
b a g ) the existen c e O f an army Of su ch stren gth
i n that position must very seriously embarrass the
d isp ositi on o f tro ops we might b e desirous of
”
m aking to m eet a c omin g dan ger from the Sutlej .

T h e British troops in Gwalior were to b e in creased

an d a f urther assignment of revenues Obtained
for their m ainten an ce In the Treaty c on cluded
.

with D owlat“
Rao Sin dhi a th ere was a c lause by
which if at any tim e S ci n d i a should b e un able
to c ope with his enemies the British Government ,

was obli ged to ren der him military assista n c e on ,

t h e requisitio n O f the M ah araj ah but as the ,

Govern or Gen eral told Ram a Rao P h a lk e a

-
It is ,

imp ossible on a cc ount O f his tender years for

, ,

G y a j e e S ci n d e a to m ake the re q uisitio n and as , ,

I am th e o nly j udge o f his n e c essiti es I shall ,

-

”
m ar ch my a rmy t o Gwalior Al l t h e arguments
.
“
and pr otestati on s of Ram a Rao failed as would ,

th ose O f a goose who wi th e q ual pertinacity de

” 24 1
cl i n e d the pro ff ered a i d of a hu n gry f o x ! r

S O Ellenb orough in v aded the S c i n d i a s domin

’

ion s defeated th e ill prepared recruits in two

‘

battles o n the same day a n d compelled the Durbar

to fall at hi s feet The Go v ern or Gen eral was
.
-

n o t b old en ough to an n ex the State f o r fear o f

“
ro usin g on ce m ore t h e resentment o f powerf ul
“
in di vidu als in Parliam ent an d of a gen eral risin g
”
o f t h e Nati v e princes S O a n ew treat y was c on
.
,

c luded by whi ch the Sin dhi a became a feudatory

u n der th e British Governm ent The S ele c t .
204 H I S T O RY OE T HE BRITI S H OCCU PA TIO N OF IND IA

Committee “
o f the House o f C omm ons had rep orted
in 1 8 32 Within the Penin sula S c i n d i a is the only
, ,

prince wh o preser v es the semblan c e of i n d e pen d

”
ence . But in 1 844
Lord Ellenb orough annexed the small Cis
Sutlej State of K y t h ul which had sought British
protection in 1 809 Its Chief died without heir s
.

in 1 8 4 3 and the St a te was ann exed under the ,

“ ”
euphemistic phrase of lapse as if the State w a s -

originally granted by th e British to th e K y t h ul

Chief O f course t h e annexation was eff ected
.
,

only at the point o f the sword Th e politi cal . ,

“
agent was repulsed with som e loss an d c ompelled
“
to retire to K u r n a ul but the place wa s soon ,
”
approa che d by a preponderating force and so the ,

aff air did n ot become very serious .

Lord Ellenborough intrigued against t h e Punj ab

an d suc c eeded s o well that he could write hom e
“
in 1 844 E v ery thing is going o n there a s we
could desire if we looked forward
,
to the ul t imate
“
possession o f th e Punj ab The British Frien d O f
.

”
India published in Lo n don wrote in D e c ember
, ,

1 84 3, we h ave n o proof that the Compan y insti

gated all the king killin g whi c h has been p e r pe
-

t r a t e d in the Punj ab S in ce R u n j e e t died We .

” “
must say we smell a rat A mercenary Company
.

wi elding a hireling army cannot live but by

”
Plunder .We have however e v i dence of Ellen
, ,

b orough s en coura gi ng the Sikhs to o c cupy

’

Jella la b a d a n d the Afghan frontier i n order that ,

ll b e
“

th ey might court Afgh a n hatred They

“
wi .

”
obliged wrote the Governor General to keep that
,
-

prin cipal force in that quarter and Lahore an d

U mr i t s i r will remain with i n su f ficient garriso n
within a f e w marches of the Sutlej G en er aI .

V entura of the Sikh army was als o in du c ed to .

“
be c ome a traitor f or Ventura anti c ipates a long
,

an archy from whi c h the ultimate refuge will b e

 LOR D ELLEN B OR OU GH (1 842 -
8844) 2 05

”
"
inour (British) prote cti o n ! A division w as c reat
f

edbetween Raj a G h ol a b Singh o n the Hills and

Raj a He e r a Singh o f th e plain s Seventy b oats .

o f thirty fiv e -
ton s each were lai d o n th e Sutlej
to serve b oth as p onto ons an d f o r transport
purpose An attack was also organ ised o n Lahore
.

o n behalf o f U ttur Singh the surviving brother o f ,

the murderer Of R u n j e e t Singh Therefore Lord .

,

Ellenb oro u gh can be charged with creatin g dis

order i n the Sikh R a j “ 2
.

’
The Govern or General s corresp onden c e also
-

sh ows his great desire to absorb the

State of Hyderabad in an attempt to relieve ,

the Nizam O f his fin an c ial di fficulties an d to

d rive away the Arab s from hi s dominion But .

as h e wrote to the Queen in Jun e 1 84 3 Lord ,

Ellenb orough deem s it advisable to do o n e thing

a t a tim e an d cir c umstan c es do n ot yet allow of
o f o ur devoting our force to the perman ent pa ci fic a
”
ti on O f the D e c can He did n o t also get an
.

opportunity to c on q uer N e pa u l though he was ,

e ar g e r l y looking forward for an opportunity to

deprive it of its in dependence He h ad to be .

c ontent with smal l fry O n e such was Jy t p or e in

.

Bundelkh and for evin cing h ostilit y to the British

,
”
Government .

Ellenb orough issued instru ction s forbidding the

presenta tion in future to the kin g (Emperor O f
D elhi) o f any Off erings by British subj ects M r
“
”
. .

Edwar ds says 2 4 3 U p to 1 84 2
, the Govern ors ,

General wh o visited D elhi were in th e habit of

presenting through their se cretaries a nuzzer O f
, ,

1 01 gold Mohurs to the Emperor as a mark of

” “
feal ty . He had also a mbition s to h ave in o ur
han ds the an cient seat of empire a n d to administer
”
the govern m ent fro m it The humiliati on Of the
.

Emperor would the n h ave b een c omplete .

It w a s n ot c onvenient for Ellen b orough to

2 06 H I S T O RY OF THE BRITI SH OC C UPA TI ON OE I ND IA

annex O ude and thus kill th e goose that laid the

golden eggs E llenb orough al s o b led the Nawah
.

Vizier f or he writes
,
“
to t h e D uke of We llington in
September 1 842 , ,I have g ot the king of O ude to
len d 1 0 lacs m ore .

E ll e n b or o ug h s foreign poli cy was aggressive and

’

ruinous to th e country he did n othing to restore

“ ”
pea c e in Asia or for creating a surplus revenue .

He enhan c ed the s al t t a x in order to promote the

-

happiness of the people of India The Court of .

Di r e c tors had many complaints against him such ,

as the Somnath gates in cident his separation for ,

long periods fro m the C ouncil and large expenses

incurre d without the knowledge an d c onsent of
t h e C ourt S O after all the autocrat was asked to
.
, ,

resign his office and han d over the administrat ion

to Lord Hardinge in 1 844 He was given ac c ord .
,

ing to Sir Robert Peel a c old welco me though , ,

“
he w a s a great performer on the In dian t h r e a t r e .
 L or d Har di n ge (1844 1848) -

Lord Ellenb orough wrote to a fr ien d My ,

su cc ess or will carry out all my views He is my .

most confidential friend with wh om I have com ,

m un i c a t e d up on all publi c subj e c ts for thirty

”
years . Lord Hardin ge was als o a kinsman o f
“
Ellenb oroug h b y marriage The selecti on of a .

disti nguished s oldier wh o al so p ossesse d the ex

perien c e O f a cabinet minister rather p ointed to -

,
”
H ar d i n g e s ambition
’
the anticipatio
“
n of war .

was to gl ide into elevati on he has woun d and

” 2 44
will win d like a s e rpent u p the pillar o f fam e .

As s oon as he cam e to I n dia he amassed about ,

addition al troops an d 2 8 gun s on the Sutlej

front i er preparing for November 1 8 4 5 wh en
, , ,
“ ”
Ellenb orough had pre di c ted th e game of cap ,

turin g the Punj ab w ould b e ready Raj a Dh u l e e p .

Singh ab out whos e p arentage there was a good

,

deal of mystery was reign i ng in Lahore with

, ,

Lal Singh on e O f the paramours of th e Queen

,

m oth er as V izier The B ritish agent at Lu dhian a

, .
,

Maj or Broadfoot intrigued with this m an as well

,

as the C omm an der i n Chief Tej Sin gh The Raj put

- -

Chiefs of the Hills especially Gulab Singh of ,

J a mm o o w ere “also in duced to act tr ea c herously

"
.
,
” “
Broadfoot was an E llenborough m an a n d only
”
to o pron e f o r war Broadfoot i s in his elem ent
.

”
on th e f rontier wrote Hardin ge , The M a j or .

play e d a v ery promi n ent part in exasperatin g an d

p rovoking th e Sikhs to war Captain Cunningh am .

“
has s c athingly exposed som e o f these in h i s
”
History o f the Sikhs F or ex am ple he de clared
.
,

the C i s Sutlej tra ct s to b e liable to es c heat on the

-
2 08 HI S T ORY O E T HE BRITI SH O CC U PA TI ON OE IND I A

death or deposi t ion of Dh ul e e p Singh H e exercised .

the crews o f the Sutlej boats in “

t h e form ation o f
bridges A S Hardinge wrote M oderati on will do
.

us n o harm if in the inter v al, the hills an d plains

,
“
weaken each other But h o w are we to justify
.

the seizure o f our frien d s territory who in ou r ’

,
”
a dversity assisted us to retrieve our aff airs ?
This was the problem for M aj or Broadfoot an d
his assistants t o solve He tried to exaggerate
.

every small act into a d eliberate attemp t at a

s erious v iolati on of the frontier M ole hills .
-

becam e m ounta in s Th e Lahore Durbar complained

.

of the infli c tion of indignity of the seizure of ,

treasure etc especially sin ce the Durbar had at

.,

great c ost twice i nvaded Afghanistan for the bene

”
fit o f the British The English recognising the
.
,

worthl essness of Dh ul e e p Singh an d even believing

in his illegitim acy did n ot want to re c ognise any
,

o ther stronger ruler for Lahore .

In Oc tober 1 84 5 Hardinge m oved towards th e

, ,

S ikh frontier though n o pretext f o r war had as

y e t bee n d i s c overed Captai n Cunningham writes
.

“
that the in sidious exertion s of such m ercenary
m en as L al Singh an d Tej Singh coin cided with ’

a n d they
”
the b eliefs of the impulsive soldi ery ,
“
c rossed t h e frontier to g i ve battle to the r e mote
s trangers of Europe who were disturbin g their
lan d . Captain Nicolson from the F erozpur
suspected collusion though Broa d foot denied the
,
”
a llegatio n .

A S soon as n ew s reached Hardinge O f the Sikhs

c rossing the Sutlej he proclai m ed all th e ,

p ossessions Of M ah araj a Dh u l e e p Si n gh o n the

left or British bank Of the Sutlej co n fis c ated an d
a nn exed to th e British territories He issued a .

“
proclam ation en couraging desertion from t he
”
S ikh ran ks .The Sikh leaders instead O f m a r c hi n g ,

towar ds F erozepur led the soldier s of the Kh a lsa

,
 L OR D HA RD I N G E ( 1 8 44 -
1 8 48) 2 09

to M ood ke e In t h e b a ttle that took pl ace there the

.
,

S ikhs were defeate d There were traitors in the

.

c amp who i n ste a d o f supplyin g sh ot an d powder

g ave t hem m ustard seeds an d fl o ur The Sikhs
retired t o Feroze s h a h w h ere i n a very severe ,

battl e t h e E n glish m e t w ith d isasters unparalleled

,

i n t h e history o f th eir warfa re i n In dia .

E v en Lor d E ll e n boro u gh h a d n o co n fiden c e i n

t h e Co m m a n d er i n Chief Sir H u gh Goug h
- -

,
who ,
“
wou l d d o a d m i r a bly at t h e head of a n a d v an ced
” 2 45
g u a rd T h i s w a s o n e o f th e reason s w h y he
w a s a nxi ous n o t to be called su d denly into the
field Ellenb oro u gh h a d s u ggested f o r the Sikh War
.
,

t h e n a m e of Sir C h arl e s N a p i er After F erozeshah

.
,

S i r Henry H a r d inge wrote to t h e Pri m e M inister ,

Sir R ob ert Peel t h at h e w a s an ex cellent leader o f

a b r i g a d e o r a d iv i si on a n d n othi n g m ore Moreover
’
.
,

t h e British c h eri s h ed s u prem e contem pt for the

“
military c a paci t y o f t h e Sik h s T h e La h ore so ldiery .

‘
w a s c a lled a r a b ble i n sob er off i ci al d espatches
’
.

T h e Si kh s d i d n o t take a d vant a ge Of the disaster

as t he British expecte d bec a u se their leaders ,

restrai n e d t h e men o n t h e pretext th at the day

was i n a u spi ci o u s f or a battle M a j or Broadfoot
.

died at F erozeshah a v a liant m an w h o di d hi s

—

d uty as h e was m a d e to u nderst a n d it T h e n ews .

Of th e Briti sh dis a ster S pread ra pid ly a ro u nd T he .

R a j a Of Pati a la w a s poiso n e d probably becau se

,

o f hi s steady a d here n ce to
'
British interests M r . .

Edwar d s w a s sen t there to i n st a l th e n ew R a j a an d

to pacify h i m by t h e pro mi se o f e n l arged territory
a n d by t h e gr a n t o f a tit l e to s u ch a n u mber of
“
g un s a s w o u ld p l a ce hi m at on ce o n a l e v e l with
” 246
th e gr e a t a n d a n c i e n t R a j a s o f Hi n d u s t h a n !
Tw o m ore battl e s Aliw a l a n d Sobra on t h e first
,
—

” 2 47
b e i n g a b a ttl e o f t h e o fficial d e sp a tch sin ce the
a ctu a l o n e was a v ery i n s i g n i fic a n t s k i rm i s h were ,

fo u ght b e fore the British c ould cr o s s t h e Su t lej an d

210 H I S T O RY OR THE BRITI SH OCCU PA TI ON OF I ND I A

proceed to Lahore M r Ed w . ards writes

. that be
“
fore the battle o f Sobrao n emissaries fro m Raj a
'

Lall Singh arri v ed and gave us valuable

’
information respecting the enemy s position
Sikhs made gallant an d desperate
resistance but were drive n towards the ri v er
,

an d their bridge Of boats which as soon as th e ,

a ction had become general their leaders Raj a ,

Lall Sing h an d Tej Singh had by previous con

s ent broken down taking the
, , precaution first to
”2 8
retire across it themselves 4 No humanity w a s
.

S hown to the Sikhs wh o were wantonly a n d

“
c ruelly massacred O f course n o Sikh off ered to
.
,

submit and n o disciple of Go v in d asked f or

”
quarter Ha r d i n g e s son j ustifies the c arnag e
’
.

by pointing o u t that the men vowed v engeance

” 249
and inflicted i t .The English captured 2 2 0
pieces o f artillery out of whi c h 8 0 exceeded in
c al ibre according to the Governor General any
,
-

thing known in European warfare Thus the army .

raised by the genius of M ah ara j a R u n j e e t Singh and

for whose efficien cy he S pared n o pains and n o ex
penses if n ot wholly annihilated was m ostly destroyed ,
,

After Sobraon Lord Hardinge lost n o time in

,

crossing the Sutlej an d mar c hed towards Lahore .

O n account of the a droit management of Raj a

Gulab Singh the British m arched o n unmolested
,
.

Hardinge did n ot consi d er it advisable to annex

the c ountry for annex ation of the c ountry w a s
wi t h the for c e at our disposal perfectly out of the
” “
Q uestion and the P unj ab w ould n ever repay the
cost o f its administration S O a treaty was c on
.
“

cluded in M arch 1 8 46 by which t h e Sikh Raj n ot

, ,

only lost i t s independence but was shorn Of some

of its most v alued possessions But the ink o n the .

treaty was hardly dry when a secon d treaty w a s

forced at the L ah ore Durbar Raj a Lall Singh . ,

probably be c au se h e was n ot rewarded f or h i s

 LO RD HA R D IN C E (1 844 -
1 8 48) 21 1

trea chery as Gulab Sin gh h a d been intri gued ,

wit h the M uslim Govern or of Kashmir to prevent

“
its t ransfer to Gulab Singh Th e K ashmir
‘

insurre c tion an d t he trea c hery of Lal Si n gh led

” “
to a revision of th e treaty The Rani was ex .

cluded from p ower recei v in g a pen sion of ,

a y ear A Coun cil of Regen cy consisti n g of eight

.

Sirdars was app ointed durin g the m in ority of

Dh u l i p Sin gh an d it w a s stipulated that they
,

should a c t under the c ontrol an d guidan ce of t h e

”
British Regiment .

H ar d i n g e s treatment of th e Raj a of Satara w as

’

als o very unsympatheti c Maj or Carpen ter the keeper , ,

of the dep osed R a j a Prat a p Singh in forwarding

, ,

a letter o f the Raj a to Hardi n ge protesti n g h i s

in n o c en c e wrote that t h e Ra j a was in a p osition
,

to prove his guiltlessn ess By this letter for the .

—

like of whi ch in the case of an y ordin ary felon

, ,

any Govern or of a gaol in E n glan d would be

thanked by the Hom e Se c retary M aj or c ar p enter ,

only e arned to himself a rebuke from Lord

”
Hardin ge The Raj a died in 1 8 47
. protestin g to
the last that h e was inn ocent Off eri n g to prove ,

his innocen c e w ith this evil deed Lord Har d i n g e s ,

’

” 250
n ame is insep a rably c on n ected .

Hardi n ge was raise d to the p eer a ge for his

servi c es an d granted from the In di an reven ues ,
,

a pension O f £ 3000 a y ear The foreign p olicy o f .

Hardinge was so aggressive that h e had n o ti m e ,

even if he h ad th e d esire to devote to improve the ,

i ntern al aff airs of India He professe d to be a v ery

.

zealous Christi an 25 1
a n d prohibite d Sun d ay labour .

He took great interest in providi n g for the c om

forts of the European soldier an d offi c e In January .

1 84 8 he left I ndia after having resigned h i s

,

office on a cc ount of a ch a n ge of m inistry in

E n gland .
 L or d Dalhous i e

Lord Dalhousie was the last o f the makers of

the British Empire He Wa s an unscru pulous land
.

grabber acti n on the policy Of the ministers

,
g
in Englan d That we should a v ail oursel v es o f
all opportun ities for addi n g to our territories an d
revenues at the expense Of our alli es an d o f
”
stipendiary Prin c es U nfortunately f or
. India ,

the man charged with the portfolios o f a f f airs in

“
I ndia was Sir John Hobhouse a man Of ability ,

but wanting in discretion w h o h ad on ce be en

”
imprison ed for breach of pri v ilege During the .

regim e o f Dalhousie two provinces the Punj ab

, ,

an d Pegu were brought under the Empire by war

t and many m ore b y fraud Although n o t i n chro n o
.

l i ca l order we shall deal with his wars

éfi
,

.t
U nder the arran gements inaugurated by
Hardinge Dh ul e e p Singh was the n ominal r uler of
,

t he Punj ab with Sir Henry Lawrence as the

Re sident Sir Henry left I ndia along with Hardinge
.

an d his brother Sir John was a ppointed to o ffici a t e

f o r him Very soon Sir Frederic Currie than whom
.
,

n o worse can didate could be chosen for the place

was
“
n o minated Resid ent Sir F rederic
. h a d written ,

I t woul d be m ad n ess in us t o think o f expending

blood a n d treasure t o b olster up the puppet
Dh ul e e p Singh o r to get u p such a government -

as could b e formed o u t of the elements that n o w

e xist at Lah ore which must o w e its continuan ce
,
”2 2
henceforth to o u r p ower alone 5 His mission
.

w a s probably to pro v oke h ostilities an d thus hasten

the ann exation o f the pro vince After 1 8 46
.
,
 L ORD DALH O U S I E 213

the Punj ab h a d be c om e a feudatory S t ate an d

the English had taken up the Executi ve administra
‘
tion. The o cc upation of th e aristo c ra c y w a s gon e
an d into every situ ation o f hon our an d trust an
undesirable a nd un sym pathetic alien of th e Ch r istian
”
persuasion w a s thrust A S C olon el Sleem an wrote
.
,

It is Captain This an d M r That who do or are .

e x pe c t e d t o do everything .

Tr ouble b roke Out first in Multa n R u n JIt Si n gh .

farmed o u t this provin ce after the con quest to

D ewan Sawun M ull f or an annu al rent o f half ,

th e reven “
u e v iz seventeen,
an d a.h alf lakhs of
rupees He dug can als an d in d uced the people
.

from n eighbouri n g state s to settle un der his

”
auspi c es O n his death Raj a Lall Singh demande d
.
,

an imm ense n uz e r a n a f r o m his successor Mulraj but

he to ok advantage of th e disorders in the Punj a b
an d defeated the troops sen t again st him V ery .

soon h owever the district O f Ju n n a k yielding eight

, , ,

l a khs a year was wrested fr om him an d assigned

,
’
to Lal Singh s brother His annual payment was .

also in creased by two lakhs an d the Resident had

an idea o f even in creasing it to 30 lakhs Englis h .

com missioners j udges an d collecto rs were als o

,

to be introduced into M ultan Therefore Mulra j .

,

se c retly c ommuni c ate d to Sir John Lawren ce his ,

determin ation to resign hi s Govern m ent after o n e

y ear .
253

Sir Frederi c k C urrie who cam e to Lahore soo n ,

after this published th e n ews o f M ulr a j s resign a

,
’

ti on an d appointed Khan Sin gh M a n as the

n ominal Go v ern or o f M u ltan to rule under the
con t rol o f two E n glish Off icers M r Agn ew an d —
.

Lieuten ant An derson Mulraj went through the

.

cerem ony o f h anding over the place to them but

later in the day when they were all i ssuing out o f
,

the fort the t w o English offi cers were killed a n d

,

Khan S i n g h w a s boun d hand and fo ot

.
2 5 4
.
2 14 H I S T O RY OR T HE BRITI SH O CC UPA TI O N OF I ND I A

Sin c e the English wanted t o swallo w up the

Punj ab an d hence they did n o t try to nip the
,

M ultan re v olt in the bud They exasperated the

.

Sikhs by banishi ng the Queen mother fro m Lahore -

an d keeping her a prisoner in Benares o n t h e

charge o f h elping the M ultan insurrection The .

Resident did n o t consul t the C oun cil o f Regen cy

and he a d mi t t e d t h a t n o legal proof of her g uilt
o

was obtainable and that a formal trial w a s u n

de
“
s irable .The Si kh soldiers said that S he was the
”
mother o f the Khalsa and that the English had
“
broken the treaty by i mprisoning and sending
away to Hindustan the Maharan ee the M other of
, ,
” 255
h e r people . E v en Dost M uhammad wrote to
“
Captain A bbott There can be n o d oubt that the
,

Sikhs are daily becoming m ore an d more discontent

ed So me ha v e bee n dismissed from service
.
,

W hile others have been banis h ed to Hindustan in ,

particular the m other o f M ahara j ah Dull e e p Singh

who has been imprisoned and ill treated Such -
.

treatment i s considered Obj ectionable by all creeds

”
an d both high an d low prefer death .

Sirdar C hu t t ur Singh the Go v ern or of the,

Hazara Provin ce was also pro v oked into rebellion .

Hi s daughter was betrothed to the M aharaj ah

Du l le e p Singh an d when the Resident was asked to
fix a day for the marriage he caused so much
evasion and delay that C h u t t ur Singh suspected
the evil designs o f the Company This step was .

taken by the Re s ident in spite Of the warning of

“
Lt. Edward es : I t would I think be a wise a n d, ,

timely m easure t o give such public assuran ce o f

British good faith a n d intention to adhere to the
Treaty as would b e invol v ed in au t h oritative
preparations f o pro v idi n g the young M aharaj ah
r
’
with a Queen I t would n o doubt settle men s
.
, ,
” 256
minds greatly . A gain C a ptain Abb ott the
, ,

Resident s Assistant with C h u t t ur Singh suspecte d

’
 L ORD DAL H O U S I E 21 5

his fidelity f or n o reason at al l and retiring to a , ,

d istan c e perse c uted him by raisi n g up the M uslim

,

peasantry through h opes of bribery “an d opportun

ities f or revenge The Muslims . assembled i n
great numb ers an d surroun ded the town o f
”
H u r r i p or e . I n self defen ce the Sikh Govern or
-

ordered the troops sta tioned f or the protection o f

,

the town to en camp under t he fort But his

, .

commandan t an Am eri c an Christian called C olonel

,
'
C a nora refused to obey
, orders and standing
“
b et ween h i s gun s with a lighted p ort fir e in hi s
h an d sai d he would fire on the first m an w h o
,

came n ear He killed o n e Of the h a b i l d ar s who

.

refused to fire o n the s oldiers sent by C h u t t u r

S ingh to capture the guns an d was killed His .

c on du c t was a great military crime yet Captain ,

Abb ott was n ot as h amed to call his deat h

” “ " ”
atrociou s deed and a cold blooded murder -

T h e Resident wrote to the Cap t a i n that the s e

rem arks were unjustifiable an d that h e had n o
authority either t o raise le v ies an d organise soldiers 4’

o r to keep the Govern or a t a distan ce but n othin g ,

m ore was done prob ably because he was s ecr e tly

,

glad at the con du c t o f the Christi an Officer Abb ott .

was determin e d up on d e s t r o y i u g C h u t t u r Singh ,

“
d espite everything SO .I assembled th e ch iefs of
,

Hazara explaine d what had happened an d called

,

upon them by th e m emory o f th eir murdered

parents frien ds an d relatives to rise an d aid m e in
,

d estroyin g th e Sikh forces in d eta il I i ssued .

p u r w a n n a s to this eff ect through out the lan d an d

”
m arched to a stro n g p osition M a j or Ev a ns Bell
.

writes when C hu t t ur Singh fou n d that his appeal

,

to t h e Resident a n d the Durbar was fr uitless

t h at Captain Abb ott s procee d i n gs were n o t d i s
’

a llowed o r to his kn owle d ge disappro v ed and th at

, , ,

no term s were Off ere d to h i m but bare life w hat ,

c ould h e think but that he h a d been m arked down

 21 6 H IS T ORY O F T HE BRIT ISH O CC UPATI O N OE I ND I A

as the fi r st v icti m i n the gen eral ruin o f t he

Pun jab S t ate
According to the Treaty O f 1 8 46 Dewan
’

M u l r a j s re v olt oug h t to have been crushed by t he

’

Resident wit h the help of the contingent maintained

from the revenues o f the “Punj ab f or the ex
press purpose o f preser v ing t h e peace o f t he
”

“
country . A c cordin g to M arshman Lord Harding e ,

organised three moveable Brigades complete in

” “
carriage a n d e q uipment to provide f or t h e promp t
suppression o f any insurrectionary m ovements
” 2 58
which migh t arise .But Currie“ with an u n,

scrupulous d isregard for tr uth wrote The co e rcion ,

!

must com e from the Sikh Government u naided b y ,

”
British troops f or D ewan M o olr aj is an o fficer o f
,

the Sikh Gove rn ment h e is in rebellion to th e

”
Sikh Durbar an d the orders of that Government
S i r Henry Lawren“ ce wro t e i n the Calcutta Revie w
for March 1 85 6 Had the
, , men that had been
told O ff on the N W Fron tier t o meet disturb a n ce
. .
,

0 promptly mar c hed o n M o ol t a n in 1 8 4 8 th ere would ,

probably have been n o S iege o r at least t h e aff ai r

would have been as i nsignificant as it proved
”
m omentous . The delay in cr ushing the rebellio n
S prang as Captain Trotter suggests
,
2 59
from a ,

secret hope of its S preading far enough to furnis h

Government with a fair excuse for ann exi n g the
dominions of R un j i t Singh S o Currie did n ot .
,
“ ”
move a British soldier .

Raj a Shere Singh the s on of C h u t t u r Singh

,

marched to Multa n at the head o f the Durbar

troops ac c ompanied by Ed w ardes at the head o f
som e M uslim recru i t s A rri v ing before M ultan
.
,

Ed w ardes made a final appe al f or a f e w hea v y

gun s an d a n engineering O f ficer w i t h a d e t a ch me n t o f
sappers B u t the Resident could n ot be infl uenced
. .

M eanwhile ,
Shere Sing h felt that duty required
him to be near hi s perse cuted father an d he trac e d
 L O RD D A E H O U S IE 21 ?

his steps n orthward The Sikh s rallied roun d

.

those devoted leaders for their K halsa Raj T h e .

siege o f M ultan was raised C onfusion prevailed . .

The British were glad .

During the war th e British turn ed into ve ry

,

good account the o l d standing hatred b etween

Sikh an d M uslim The M uslims allied themselves
’

wit h the English i n their design to su b ve r t the

Sikh R aj Ranj it Singh s mos t p owerful ministe r
.
’

was a M uslim n amed Fakir Azizuddin But h i s .

brother Noor u d din a member of the C oun cil of

-

Regen cy was s o loyal to th e C ompany that S i r “

Lepel G r i fli n wro t e of him he at all t im e s was ,
’
ready to facilitate m atters for th e British Resi dent .

His secon d son F akir Shamsuddin m a d e over

the fort of Gobindgarh to th e E u r o pe a n v

”
troops at a time wh en an y hesitation
on his part might h ave produ c ed seriou s
” 2 60
results . It is n o t n ecessary to enter into
details regarding the battl es of Ramnagar ,

C hi lli a n w a ll a an d G o oj r a t here Lord Goug h .

was outmanoeuvred by Shere Sing h an d

“
C h i lli a n w a ll a was on e of th e m ost
disastrous engagements th e British h ave
fought in I ndia Mr . M arshman
. writes
in th e Calcutta Review f or D ecember 1 8 49 tha t
“
th e Sikh army waited for es c aped from or m oved ,

round th e British with the most perfect facility ;

c rossed rivers whi ch occupied British troo ps
,

many days ; a n d i n every imagin able mode

, ,

dem onstrated t hat the ex c ellen ce o f the Britis h

.

commissariat was n o matc h for the simplicity o f

the Sikh an d that men wh o c a n bivouac in the
open air and li v e on parched grain will march ,

much faster than those who must have doubl e

”
tents an d carry their luxuries w i t h them Multa n .

also fell after a resistan ce of nin e months si n c e

M ulraj ran short o f provisions an d powder a n d
2 18 H I S T O RY on T HE BRITI SH O C C UPA TI O N or I N DI A

shot his m agazin e having c aught fire an d being

,
”
destroyed .

E v er sin ce the begi nning of h ostilities English ,

men like Sir George Campbe ll w h o wrote un der

the pseudonym Econ omist were advising
‘ ’
2 6 1
.

D alh ousie to ann ex th e Pu n j ab sin ce th at would

finally settle the F rontier Problem an d a v oid the
“
dangers of a double system of go v ernment It .

is easier to h old in ch eck disarmed tha n

” “
a n armed people Again . I f we do n ot keep the
,
”
P unj ab what —
the n ? We m ust abandon
the country an d retire our prestige
—
will
”
be ruined an d our n am e will lose i t s spell .

An other argu m ent was t h at an n exation alon e

would sa v e the Muslims for the reven ge of the
S ikhs Th e ol d they said had died a
“ treaty
.
, ,
”
n a t ural dea th Du le e p Sin g w a s a m ere piece
.

o f paper m on ey an d i s n ow a s v alueless as a
n o t e when the ban k has broken Against the .

a rgument o f fear a t th e m artial tribes residing in

the
“
pro vi nce Sir , G e o l g e Campbell asked Dalhousie
”
B ut y o u are n ot afrai d ! The strongest reason
“
was , We ha v i n g the greatest might ha v e
“
a l s o the b est right So . th e occupation mu s t
,

b e complete as a manner n o con c u r r en t but an —

e x clu s i v e p o s s e s i o n ; complete as to place ,

o f 11 0

p o r t i o n o f the country but o f t h e w h o l e ; complete

as to time f o r n o t er m of years but for a
,
”
p r m d n e n cy
e O n the 2 9 t h M arch 1 8 49 Dalhousie
.
, ,

iss u ed a proclamation tollin g the death knell o f t h e -

Sikh R a j T h e ann exati on cannot b e j ustified o n

.

a ny m oral consideration whatsoever M aj or .

“ ’
E van s Bell obser v es Lord Da l h o u s i e s pr o cedure
,

in settling the future relation s o f the Punj ab with

B i i t i s h I ndia af t er t h e Company o f 1 8 4 9 just
a m ounts to this a guardian
—
ha v ing u ndertaken ,

f o r a valuable con si d eration a troublesom e and,

d a n gerous tr u st d e cl a res o n t h e first occurren ce

, ,
 L ORD DALH OU S I E 219

of th ose troubles an d dangers of whi c h he had,

full kn owledge an d forewarnin g th at as a c o mpe n

‘

sation for hi s exertions an d a protection for the

’
fu t ure he shall appropria te his Ward s est a t e an d
,

personal Property to his o w n purposes An d this .

,

a lthough the guardian h olds a m pl e security in

his o w n h an ds for th e re pay m en t o f an y outlay
an d th e satisfaction o f an y d a m a ges h e might
h a v e in curred i n exe c utin g th e con dition s o f th e
,
” 2 62
trust.

’
We shall n o w turn to Da l h ou s i e s war with
Burma which were also eq u ally unm oral In
,
.

Jun e 1 8 5 1 Captain Shepper d the master an d

, , ,

ow n er of t h e British ship M on a r ch lying in

Ran goon harb o u r was t a k en b efore th e p olice
o n a charge o f h a v i n g thrown o v erb oard the pilot
E s o ph a n ative o f C hitt a go n g an d an d was fined
,

£ 1 01 . I n A u gu s t o f t h e sam e year a simi lar ,

charge was dire cted a g a In s t Captain Len is an d h e

“
was fined £ 7 0 It m u st b e b orn e i n min d that
.

all the parties to these suits were British

” 2 63
subj ects . Th e G o v ern or o f Ran go on h a d n ot
been adj udi catin g in m atters wh ere Burmese i n
t e r e s t s were at stake But the t w o gallant
.

captain s appealed to the Govern men t o f Indi a for

redress an d compen sation a m ounti n g to £ 1 92 0
w h i c h w a s later redu ced by the Governm ent to
£ 92 0 . The In dian Governm en t was glad at the
pretext of the mu ddied stream a gainst the
Burmese lamb th o u gh a cc ording t o Intern ation al
,

Law it could n o t sit i n appeal over th e decision s o f

the court o f a n i ndep en dent country D alhousie .

s ent t w o o f t h e Queen s ships th at h a d appropriate

’

n am es (th e F o x an d th e S e r p en t ) under t h e com

m an d o f C omm odo r e La m bert to Ran goon t o
.

“
dem an d reparation though h e kn ew t h at
, th ese
C omm odores are t o o combustible {for n egotiations ”
.
22 0 H I S T O RY OF T HE BRITI SH O CC U PA TI O N or 1 1111 1 1 .

Lambert was to inquire on the spot wh ether “

t he
c ompensatio n clai med was j ust an d if t h e
”
G o v e r n or r e f u s e d o r e v ade d complian c e to forward
a letter to the king an d o n n o account t o
commit any act o f hostility until d efinite i n s

s t r u c t i o n s were gi v en by the Go v ern or General -

.

Lambert n ever obeyed these orders As s o on .

as he landed ,h e e n c o u1 a g e d the British resident s

“ ”
Do n P a c i fic o s , as Lord Ellenb orough named them ,

to bring to him their complaints an d grievan c e s

against the Go v ernor o f Rangoon a n d prepared a
long list o f 3 8 m a j or heads with n o signatures
or dates . Of course any stick ,
is good
en ough to beat a d og with He wrote an
.

insulting letter to the Governor and the n ext

day desp a tched through him the letter to
“
His M a j esty addin g I hold y o u responsible for
an an swer being delivered in these waters within
5 weeks from this day
”
The reply ca me wi t hin
.

the stip ulated time the Governor was recalled an d

,

dismissed ; another n obleman was selected for the

place ; on the 1 8 t h January 1 8 52 Lambert ,

wrote to In dia I a m o f Opinio n that the king is

,

sin cere and that his Go v ern ment will fully act u p
”
t o what he has promised The n ew Govern or r e
.

m oved the embargo by whic h the inhabitants of

Rangoon had been prevented from holdin g
com municati on w it h the boats of t he squadron .

“
But the Commo dore w a s too combustible
he wanted to pick a q uarrel som ehow an d s o h e
“ ”
exagger“a ted the disrespect sho w n by the Go v ern or
”
to the“ d eputation carrying to him h i s letter by
their h aving been kept wai t ing for a full quarter
of an h our i n the sun an d o f recei v ing it without
’’

due ceremonial . Lambert immediately warned

the B ritish subj ects o f the town to take refuge o u
b oard the“ shi pping in th e rive r an d issued orders
”
to seize t h e Y ello w Ship b elonging to the Kin g
 L O RD D A LH OU S IE 22 1

“
C f B urma This w a s t h e firs t act Of th e war
. As .

”
i n very d e r i s o n an d m ockery o f h i s superi or s
’
if
orders h e proclaim ed th e s a m e d a y in virtue o f
,

a u t h O I i t y from th e Go v ern or Gen eral o f In di a I

-

d o hereby declare the rivers o f Ran goo n t h e ,

B assein an d th e S a l w e i n ab o v e M o u l mein to b e
”
in a state o f blockade . I t is a m os t perplexing
fact that there does n o t appear o n e w ord o r syllable
oi
~
rem onstran ce from th e Govern or Ge n era l to -

v in dicate his own auth ority 2 6 4

Di d Lambert
.

ossess secret in str cti on s 9

‘

p u
I n v ain di d the Burmese offi ci als entreat Lambert
t o release th e ki n g s shi p The Go v ern or o f
’
.

R angoon sen t respon sible offi cers apologising f o r

h i s f a u lt . But th e C om m odore was n o t m o v ed .

The Burmese open ed a shar p c ann on ade whe n the

k in g s ship was take n i n t ow This w a s instantly
’
.

returned
“
with shot an d shell Lambert
. chuckled ,

C u r fire I h ave n o doubt must ha v e do n e great

, ,

e x ecuti on for I h ave reason to belie v e that at

,
”
least m en were opposed a g a inst us .

The Gov ern or o f Rangoon wrote a letter to

D alhousie in v iti n g an i m partial i n q uiry into the
charge of d isrespect to th e d e pu t a t i on a n d proposing ,

a satisfactory a n d a micable arran gemen t o f t h e

q ues t ion o f compe n sation But
. t h e n oble Lord w as
t hristi n g f or war and s o h e or d ered an armed ex
p e d i t i o n to comp el the Bu r mese to accede n o t only
t o all previ ous dem an d s but to pay ten lak hs o f
rupees i n consideration of the exp enses o f the
”
e xpediti on an d Of compen sation f or property This .

w as don e with su ch in decen t h aste that th e kin g

o f Burma again st wh ose Go v ernm ent war wa s d e
,

c l a r e d had n o
, tim e to explain m atters f or from ,

Janu ary 6 t h the date o f th e seizure of th e Y ello w

,

Ship to F ebruary 1 2 t h th e d ate of De lh o u s i e s

,
’

Minute i s just 3 6 days w here a s the n ews h a d to

, ,

t ra v el t o A va an d the reply from Ava t o Calcutta

2 22 H I S T ORY OF T HE BRITI SH O CCUPA TI O N or I N DIA

a distance that takes up 4 2 days ! A S a matter o f

”

’
fact D a lhousie received the king s reply seven
,

day s after the despatch of the arm ed squadron .

The war was prosec u t ed with great vig our A .

war it can hardly be c alle d A rout a m a ssacre

te r m
.
,

o r a visitation would be a more appropriate .

Every thing yielded like toy w ork to the terrible

” 2 65
broadsides o f our ships I n the end Pegu was
.
,
.

’
annexed to the Company s possession s mainly
b ecause it was reputed t o contain many
gold mines and its ancient name was S w a r n a
Bhumi ! The Engl ish wanted to enri c h themselves
’
a n d cripple Burm a s finan cial re s our c es .

Cobden the great English

,
patriot very ,

scathingly exposed the imm orality and inj u stic e

o f the Bur m ese War i n a publication which he
“
v ery aptly named H o w wars are g o t up i n
”
India . It is a pity th at n on e of the Christian
writers of Indian history or of the biography o f
‘

Lord Dalhousie has ever referred to C o bd e n s ’

pamphlet on the Secon d Burm ese War No .

.

attempt was made b y D alhousie to controv ert o r

den y the serious allegations made against the
Indian government by Cobden though t h e b ook ,

was published three years before“ his depart ure

from India M r Cobden writes : These wars are
. .
:

carried o n at the ex pense o f the people of I ndia

-
what exclusive interest had the half naked -

peasant o f Bengal in the settlement of the claims

Of Captains S h e ff e r d an d L e ui s that he should alon e
,

be m ade to b ear the expense o f the war w h ich grew

”
o u t o f them ? M r C obden has als o given i n his
.
.

book a speech delivered by General Cass in the

Senate o f the U nited States in Decemb er 1 8 52 , ,

on the Se con d B urmese War in which th e ch a r a c e

”
t er i s e d i t as real rapacity .
fic an c e in his eyes i s
.

n othing s hort of etern al

c o n de mn ati on 2 6 6 A S far
.
’’
back as 1 8 84 the Court o f
,

class th e Co mp a n y ha d no r
'

.
2 24 HI S T O RY OF
" 1 HE
‘
BRITI SH O CC U PA TI ON IN IN DIA

The fi r s t Indian prin cipal i ty whi c h Dalhousie

“ ”
t r eated as lapse was the State o f Satara M r . .

Robert Knight the author o f T he I na m Commission

,
”
U nmasked had recognised that the Pesh w a was
d efe a ted in 1 8 1 8 m ostly by t h e opportune pr o
‘
c lamation i ssued by the R a j a o f Satara who fell
’

i nto British h a nds T h e assurances o f the pr o

.
,

C l a mation an d the re 1 n s t a t e m e n t o f the Raj a

”
o f Satara ruined the Peshwa R a j a Pr atab Sing h .

proved to b e a very intelligent and shrewed man ,

f a r abo v e the average O f I ndian pri n ces He .

began t o worry the Residen t about t he f u l fil

m ent o f a ssuran ces a n d s o th e Go v ernor of B ombay
deposed him and sent h i m t o Benares placing his ,

brother on the thron e I n 1 8 4 7 Pratab Singh died .

,

lea v ing an adop t ed s o n Sir John Hobh ouse n o w .

“
w rote to his n ephew : The reigning Raj a is I hear , ,

in very bad healt h an d it is n o t at all i mpossible

w e ma y soon ha v e to decide upon the fate o f his
territory I h a v e a v ery strong opinion that o n
.

the d eat h of the present prin ce without a son and ,

n o a doption should be permitted this pet t y princi ,

” 2 67
p a l i t y should be merged in the British Empire .

I n 1 848 ,
the b r ot h er also died lea v ing an ,

a dopted s on .
The ‘
sons adopted ac cording
to Hin du Law and Religion were s et

a si de a n d
,
tho u gh the Satara R a j was paying n o
,

tribute to the British it was ann exed under the .

D octri n e o f Lapse The Story of. Satara

.
shows
“ ”
only a l a pse in public m orality among the
c om pany s ser v ants
’
.

S a tara ser v ed as a precedent f or the a nn exation

of Nagpur i n 1 8 5 4 O n the 1 1 t h December 1 8 5 3
.
, ,

R a g h o j e e B h o n s l e III d i ed witho u t leaving a son

and his gran d m other wh o h a d acted as Regent ,
’
durin g his min ority adopted the deceased R a j a s ,

ran d nep h ew w ith the consent of his widows

g .

S i r Ri chard Jenkins in h i s N a g po1 e Report o f

 A Q U I S IT IO N S B Y FRAUD 22 5

1 82 7 had p ointed out in n o un c ert ai n terms

the rule“
regulating su c cession the B h o n s l e s family
’
,

viz in cas e he should die without leaving a s on

.
,

to choose the nearest male descendant of the

”
Ra j ah wh o h a d any an d Y e s h w a n t Rao Ah er
’
Rao s adopti on w a s made a c cording to this imm e '

morial c ustom D alhousie himself had written to

.

the Resident in 1 844 re c ognising the rights o f an

”
a dopted s o n In the event of the death o f the
.
,

present Raj ah with out le avin g c hildren or a n

a d op t ed s on y ou should m ake arrangemen t s for
,

c ondu c tin g the Govern m ent o f Nagpore pending the ,

orders o f the Governm ent of India But n ow .

” ‘
D alhousie laid down th at th e Ran ees n atur al
‘
j eal ousies their feelin gs an d interes ts m us t make
,
’ ’

th em a v erse to the c ontinuance o f the Raj in the

p erson of an adopted s o n an d it would really b e
”
inh um an to en c ourage them to adopt So wi th ,

o ut an y in quiry or n oti c e h e pro claimed on th e

.

,
“
2 5 t h Jan 1 8 5 4 that Nagpore had lapsed into the
.

p a r a m ot p ower for there was n o heir o r r e

,

presen tative of the B h o n s la family or even a

claim ant to the thron e o f Nagpore In 1 8 2 6 .
,

Nagp ore had been o f ficially re c ogn ised a s on e of

”
t h e substantive powers o f India In 1 8 54 .

General Low gallantly opposed this infri n g e

m ent of treaties an d pleaded th at th e C ompany
sh ould m ost c arefully avoid unn e c essaril y a c cel e r a t
in g th e pace with which In di a was c on q uered .

He suggested th at the ann exati on o f provin ces

with out an y ostensible crime m i g h t m a k e the n atives
discontented but his protes t s fell o n deaf ears in
,

Indi a an d Englan d Sir Charles Wood wrote to .

D al housie : I h av e h eard of n o obj e c tio n even from ,

John M ill wh o i s th e great S upporter of In dian

”
In depen “
den ce i n th e East India House Hogg .

wrote there n e ver w a s an d co uld n ot b e a c learer

,
”
c ase .
 2 26 HI S T O R Y O F T HE B RI TI SH O CC U PATI ON IN IN D IA

1
The reasons for th e
an exation of N a pore did
n g

n ot appear in the re c ords minutes Nagpore wa s .

“
a g reat cotton prod uc ing provin ce and n ot mu c h ,

inferior t o “O ude or t h e P unj ab i n resour c es or

” ”
c apa c it ies i t was superior to the m in c lima t e
There are many hill resort s whi c h ca n e q ual
, .

S i mla h D arj eelin g or the N ee lg h e r r i e s Moreover

, .
,

t h e provin c e w a s very diffi c ul t to c on q uer a n d

very easy to ret ain A n d a cc“or d i n t o a writer
I
.
.

in the Cal c utta Revie w for 1 8 63 T h e y t he people of ,

”
Nagp ore) were not “ea sily sedu c ed .

Kaye wri t es : The spoliation o f the pal a c e

foll owed cl osely upon t he ex t in c ti on of the Raj .

The l ive sto c k a n d dead sto c k of the B h on s la h

were sen t to t h e hammer It mus t have b e e n a .

s a d day in dee d in the R oyal Household whe n

t h e venerab le Bankha Bale with all t h e wisdo m ,

an d m oderati on of four s c ore well spen t year s

- -

upon her w as ,
so s t ung b y a sense o f t he
indignity Off ered t o h er t hat s he threatened t o
fir e the pala c e if t h e f urni t ure w ere removed
, .

But the f urniture w as rem oved and t h e j ewels of

‘

t he B h on s la h fam ily with a few propitiatory

”
e x c ep t ions were sent to t h e Cal c u t t a m ar ke t .

J hansi was also ann exe d on the sam e plea T h e .

Su b edar s of Jhansi i n B un d le kh a n d h a d mad e

their o ffic e hereditary but were yet tri b u t ary to
the Peshwa Th e C ompan y negotiated a treat y
.

with t h e“ Ruler in 1 8 1 7 by t h e se c ond arti cle of

w hi c h t h e Bri t ish Gove rn ment c on sente d t o
a cknowledge Row R a m Chand h i s heirs and su cc es ,

sors a s heredi t a ry r ulers of th e t erritory enj oyed

by the lat e R ow Sheo E ho w a t the per iod of the
”
c ommen c ement of the British governmen t SO .

Jhans i w a s n ot a gran t ; nor w as any stipulation

m ade to a nn ex th e t erritory on failure of heirs of ‘

’ “
the Sub edar s b ody N 0 other law was intended
.

or tho u ght o f ex c ept the Hindoo Law of i n h e r i

 A QUI S IT IO N S BY F R AU D 22 7

t an ce i n whi c h adop t i o n i s an ordin ar y a n d e ss en

,

ti al i n c ident N 0 art i c le or stipulation i n the

.

trea t y gave us the right t o in t erfere wit h t h e

operation of the Hin do o Law to mutilate it or to ,
” 2 68
sub sti t u t e a n y o the r la w o f de s c ent
‘
.

O n e c an not fa il to be s t ru c k wi t h the f r e q u en
c y of d eath with out heirs among In di a n S o vereign s
fr om t h e m om ent when the p oli c y of an n exat ion
”
i s pro c laim ed by a Govern or Ge n eral says -
,

Ludlow 2 69
. The l a st Raj a of J h ansi di ed i n
Nov 1 8 5 3 ; the k i nsman whom he had adop t e d
.

a s his s o n was
“
n ot re c ogni s ed D alhousie . de
e l a r e d t hat the ado p t ion w a s go o d for t h e c on
v e y a n c e of private righ t s though n ot for t h e ,

transfer of the Prin ci p a lity an d s o Jhan si w as ,

D alhous i e relied for this

‘
d e clar ed ann ex ed .
’

de c isio n u pon a minu t e drawn b y Sir C h arles

Met c alfe i n 1 8 37 b ut Maj o r Bell has proved t h a t
,

Metc alfe all owe d only a r es t ri c ted right of r e s u mp

tion E ve n i n the c as e of j a g h e e r d a r s who held
.

gran t s of lan d or reven u e b y gift he c onsidered ,

th a t the sovereig n h a s the p o wer of refusin g to

sa n ct ion adopti o ns o n ly w hen t he t er ms of t he
g r a n t li m i t s u c ce s s i on t o h e i r s m a l e o f t he bod y .

“
B ut in the c as e of J hansi
, there w a s n o gi ft ,

be c ause Ram Chand Rao w as already in p os s ession ;

t he re was n o p r e t ensions to the rela t ions of sove
reign an d su b j e c t for there al ready existed relation s
,

of a mity an d de f e n si ve alli a n c e ; t h ere w a s n o 3

gr a nt made n o s u n u d issued b ut a n ew tr eat y
,
~

w a s co n c luded b et w een t w o S t at es The Raj a of .

‘ ’ ‘ ’
J hansi w a s n o j agheerdar but a her e ditary ruler ,

a Hin du Prin c e D alhousie a lso relied on an

.

alleged prec e dent o f 1 8 3 5 but in 1 8 8 5 the adop t ion,

or n omin ation w as doub t ful ; in 1 8 5 3 t h e adop t ion ,

was n ot doubtf ul The only de c ision at whi c h our

.

go vern men t arrive d ( in 1 8 5 5 ) w a s the de c ision of

n o t de c idi n g in t erp osing or even advisin g
,
in t h e
2 28 HI S T O R Y OF T HE BR I TI SH O CC UPA TI ON IN IN D I A

dispute Thu s th e C ompany s serv an t s an nexed ’

Jhansi wi th a light heart an d the Rani of Jhansi

felt so deeply m ortified that s h e took u p arms
i n 1 8 58 .

In 1 84 9 Samb alpur in the Central Provin c es

,

and Jaitpur in Bun delk han d h a d already been

ann exed“ on the sam e prin ciple Tanj ore fell in .

1 85 5 .The highest legal authority in England ,

th e Judicial C ommittee of the Privy Coun cil

”
emphati c ally den oun c ed the Tan j ore spoliation '
.

Lord Kings down s a i d : T h e Ra j ah was an in de

pendent sovereign o f territories undoubtedly
minute an d b oun d b y tr eati es to a powerful
n eighbour whi c h left hi m pra c ti c a lly li t t le power
,

of free a c t ion ; b ut h e di d n ot hold h i s territory ,

su c h as it was as a fi ef of th e British Crown or

,

o f the East I ndia C om pan y ; n or does th ere appear

to h ave b een an y preten ce for claiming i t on th e ,

death o f the Raj ah without a s on by any legal ,

” 2 70
title either a s a n es c h eat or as b ona va c antia
,
. .

O n the death of M ohamed Ghaus Nawab of ,

the Carn ati c i n O ctober 1 85 5 Azim Ja h w a s not , ,

granted “
that title by the Compa ny though it w as ,

itself techni c ally an d form al ly feudatories of the

N a w a b an d h old all their territory except the ,

town of M adras as j aghirs un der s un n a d from

,
”
him as sovereign o f th e countr y Lord Ha rris . ,
“
Govern or of M adras wrote if the semblan
,
ce
,
of
” “ ”
royal ty an d m ockery of authority be all owed
to continue it might at an y ti me become a
,
”
nu cleus for s edition an d agitat ion D alh ousie .

endorsed this view a n d s o o n e an c ient roy al

h ouse of In di a w a s wiped ou t of “existen c e .

M r Rob ert Knight writes : Ab out the year

.

1 8 5 1 the p o li c y in th e ascen d ant at Calcutta w a s

,
‘ ”
that
“
of getti n g ri d of interv eni ng pri n cipalities .

The t w o gre at M ussulman States Hyderabad a n d ,

O ude were marked d own for ann exation an d the

 A Q U IS IT IO N S B Y FRAU D 2 29

pro c ess of un dermi ning them as the Blue Books ,

te ll u s w a s only delay ed b y the w a rs in t h e

,
” 271
Punj ab an d Burm ah Dal ho u sie wrote a le t t er
.

to the Nizam in Jun e 1 8 5 1 b y whi c h he

ad v is e d the Nizam to disban d those t urbulent
m ercenaries the Arab Sol diery
, an d also to make an
“
eff ort for the early li q uidati on of the a cc u mul ated
debt reminding him at t h e same time that it
was d angerous to provoke t h e resentment of
the British Government whose p ower c an c rush
”
you at i t s w il l an d that the independen c e of
”
s overeignty stood in i mminent danger ! Th e Nizam
was asked to employ a British c ontinen t to suppress
lo c al revolts a c ontingent called by Mr Knight
, .

“
as the m ost prep osterous example of our n ati on al
”
n ep otism . D alhousie al so o cc upied Berar
temp orarily for th e de b ts of th e Nizam an d 5 0
years later another British Lord the s on o f a
, ,

c lergym a n c ompelled th e Niza m to give

, up Berar
in perm a n ent lease to the Britis h Indian Govern
m en t Berar was only to b e the thin en d of the
.

wedge but thanks to Sir Salar Jung an d his

,

t a es m a n s h i p Hyderab ad es c aped t h e fate o f

g ti
,

u e
.

The annexation o f O u de was Da lh ou s i e s last ’

an d m ost unj usti fiable a c t Historian s have r e

ferre d to it as the most i mp ortant c on t ributi n g
ca use of the Sep oy Mutiny It ha d b een c ondemn ed
.

“ ”
on all h a n ds as Dacoity in Ex c elsis & c .

The English en c ouraged the N a w a b V iziers to thr ow

off the y oke Of th e Moghul Emperor only to i m
p ose upon t hem their O w n h eavier one Th e .

M ar q uess o f Hastings sty le d th e ruler O f O ude

“ ” “ ”
K i n g a n d His M aj es t y Sir Henry Lawren“c e in
.

t h e C al c utta Review for Janu ary 1 845 wri t es O ude ,

aff ords b ut a dis creditable c hapter i n our In di an

an n als an d furnishes a fearful warn in g of the
leng t hs to whi c h a statesm an may b e c arried when
2 30 HI ST ORY O F T HE B RITI SH O CC UP ATI ON IN IN D IA

on ce he subs t itutes expedien c y an d his own v ie w

of publi c advantage for t h e simple rule of right .

and wron g The fa c ts f urnished by e very writer

.

on Ou de aff airs all testify to the sa me p oint that ,

Bri t ish interfe r en c e w it h that provin ce h a s be en

as prejudi c ial to i t s c ourt and people as it has
” 27 2
been di sgraceful t o the Bri t i sh nam e By the .

Treat y of 1 8 01 the English b ound themsel ves to

.

defen d the Vizier s terri t ori es against all foreign

’

and dom esti c en emies and this led the way to a

destru ctive half c entury of interference Colonel .

Sleeman was the Resident a t Lu c kn ow during the

time of D alhousie O ude w a s c oveted by the
.

English for its fin e clim ate a n d extraordinary

fertility and for th e opportunities it aff orded for the
planter an d m er c han t Without annexation ex .
,

pl o i t a t i on was impossible S O the Europeans began

.
,

to work up the authorities“ into rage and abuse

the King b y such books as the Privat e Life o f an
Easter n King b y a memb er Of the Ho u sehol d of
,
”
his late Majes t y N u s s i r uddin King of O ude -
a ,
-

b ook writ t en by an ungrateful B r iti sh employed

as a portrait painter Dr Duff th e c elebrated . .
,

S c ot c h M issionary pointed out 273

that the ann“ exa
t ion o f O ude w a s both ri ght an d inevitable Two .

” “
lines , said the Reveren d Chri stian two lines in ,

the Gaz ette would banish the whole c rew king, ,

eunuchs women and

, c h u ckl a d a r s into their
” “
n atural i n s i g n i fic a n c e Two regiments of Europeans
.

would b e suffic ient an d t w o regiments of Europeans

we can spare ”
Sir Charles Napier relates an
.
»

ane c dote about Da l h ou s i e s father who as t h e ’

, ,

C o mmander i h Chief in Indi a had o cc asion to visit

- -

,
’
the V izier gett ing an gry at the i n no c ent Nawab s
,

imagining that the c omman der s wife was being ’

off ered for sale when S he w a s only being intro

“
d uce d Napier adds This should c ertainly have
figured among the r eason s for ann exing
 AC QUI S IT I ON BY FR AU D 2 31

O ude . He woul d h ave b een s t r o n ger {t h a n any

t h at S poliat io n
’
thin g y et addu c ed for 2
.
7 4

After t h e an n ex ation o f O ude D“al hou si e left

In dia Sir Edwi n A r n od w rit e s : Ben eath h i s
.

ru le th e territory of the B riti sh mer ch ants tr adin g

’
i n the East re c eived its latest exte n sio n an d
, at
h i s d ep a rt ure t h e r u n of t heir po w er verged t o a
,

s t rong se t ti n g
 The In di an Muti ny O f 1857

It did n ot re q uire i n Lord Can n ing the v i sio n

of a prophet to s ee the cloud o n the politi c al
horizon of In di a n ot bigger than a ma n s han d ’

med
,

\
threatening the fate of that land He ass u .

office in M arch 1 8 5 6 an d not long after wards ,

the Indian M utiny broke o ut The Company w as

r iding in spite o f the M u tin y at
, V ellore r O g h
,

shod over the r e li g ou s usages and customs of t he

people M issionaries were being openly pa t r o n i te d
. .

A good deal of bad feeling was thus created

whi c h w a s q uie t ly but a c tively diff used 274
. It
in t his spirit of n e g le c t in g to consul t the relig
prej udi c es of Hindu and M uslim sepoys
greased c artridges were served o u t to the m .

M r Drummon d pointed out in his s pe ech e

.

Parliame n t various causes for M u n ity .

c onduct of m any of our young o f ficers t ow

”
the N a t i v es is c ruel an d tyranni c al ; Be
Ob se rvat ion w a s that the European generally k n ew
little or n othing o f the c ustoms an d manners o f
the people ; he said that th e root o f the whol e
“
evil was the doctrin e that India is a country to
b e ex p loi t ed for the benefit of the Civil Servi c e .

If we are going to look upon India a s w e hav e

,

looked upon it hitherto as a mere place o f

,

plunder for English o ffic i al s we shall surely

,

lose it and shall surely deserve to los e

”
it. Herbert Spen cer the philosopher sai d
, ,
“
The Anglo Indians of the last century who m
-

‘
Burke des cribed as birds of prey and passage
in I ndia showed themselves only a S hade les s
’

cruel than their prototypes of Peru and

 T HE IN D IA N MU TIN Y OF 1 857 2 33

Even down to our own day k indred ini q ui t i es are ,

c onti nued D own to our o wn day too are c ontinue d

.
, ,

th e grievous s al t m on op oly an d th e pitil ess

tax ation that wring fro m the po or ry ots n early
half the produ c e of the An d down t o our
o w n day it
, is c ommon with th e people i n t h e
interior to r un into the woods at the S ight of a
”275
E uropean .

A gain the Chart er A c t of 1 8 5 6 was

, sing ul arly
w anti n g in any se c ti on w hi c h may b e construed
as c on f erring privileges on t h e n atives of In dia .

Th e Act of 1 8 33 en a ct ed at leas t o n paper that

“
, ,

n o n at ive Of the said by reas on

only of his religion place o f bir th des c ent c olour
, , , ,

o r any of them b e disabled from holdin g an y

pla c e o f fic e or employment un der the
, said
”
Company . The A c t of 1 8 1 3 wan te d a s um of n ot
less than a l a kh o f rupees a year to b e s e t apar t
for the improvement of literature an d en c ourage
m ent of th e n atives o f India But th e m as k o f .

philanthropy was at last thrown a w ay in 1 8 5 3 .

Sir John Kaye i n des cribing “

the w ork of Lord
D alhousie in In dia writes : But in n either way
di d D alhousie even c om e to un derstan d the geniu s
o f the people am ong whom h i s l o t was c as t He .

h a d but on e idea of them an idea of —

a people
h abituated to the despotism of a domin an t race .

He c ould n ot un derstan d th e ten a c ity of a ff e c tion

with w hi ch they clun g to their old tr adi t ions He .

c ould n ot s y mpat hise with th e venerati on w hi c h

they felt for their an c ient dyn asti es He c ould .

n ot appre c iate their fidelity to the tim e hon oured -

”
insti t uti on s a n d t h e immemorial usages O f the lan d .

His advisers “b elong e d to th e n ew s c hool of p oli

t i ci an s wh o insiste d upon the du t y o f universal
”
usurpation However sy m patheti c they were t o
.

European b ondsmen lik “e the Itali an th e Swi tz e r ,

or the Pole Kay e say s : But th e sight O f the dark

,
2 34 HI S T O RY OF THE BR ITI SH O CC UPAT I ON IN IN D IA

skin sealed their sympat hies They c onte nded n ot .

m erely that t h e love of cou nt ry that t h e spirit of ,

liberty a s c herished b y European ra c es is in India

wholly unknown but th at Asiatic nations an d
,

es pe ci a ll y th e n a tion s of India h ave n o right to ,

j u d ge what is best for themselves n o ri ght to ,

revolt against the b e n e fic e n c e O f a m ore c ivilised

ra c e O f white m en wh o woul d thin k and a c t for
them an d deprive them f or their o w n good of all
, ,

t heir m ost cherishe d rights an d their mos t value d

”
p ossession s .

An other En gli sh w riter says For generation

a fter generati on t h e great a i m an d o b j e c t o f
, t he
s ervants o f the C ompan y from the high c iv i l an d
m ilitary f un ction aries downwards was to s q ueeze
a s large as possible a fo r tu n e o u t of t h e country
as q ui c kly as might b e an d turn th eir ba c ks u pon
i t for ever s o s oon as th at Obj ect h a d been atta in ed
,

and th e last golden harvest had b een s h aken

down fr om t h e pagoda tree In perfe c t truth it .

h a s been sai d that if t h e n ative ru lers chas t ised

t h e peopl e with w h ips t h e Europ ean, m a ster
”
c hastised them w ith scorpions .

A c c ording to Ludlow the Govern m ent o f th e,

East India C ompa n y w a s c umbrous wasteful , ,

ineffi c ient an d dish on est a s a piece o f a dministra

ti v e m achin ery as a form o f ru le pec uli a rly i ll
,

adapted to fix th e a ff e c tio n s a n d loy a lty of t h e

”
n ati v e ra c es Of In d ia He says tha t i t failed t o
.

give se c urity to p erson or property its judi ci al

.

system was dilatory c ostly an d i n efii ci e n t a n d

. ,

its revenu e system bred corrupti o n extortion an d ,

imm orality ; publi c works were n o t used to pre

ven t fami n es Dru n kenn ess w a s i ntrodu c ed a n d
.

fostered by th e ex i gen ci es o f public reven u e N o .

“
won der M r Fraser sa i d : There I s d i s a fie Ct i on e n o u gh
’

, .

”
for h alf a dozen reb ellion s for V e n g en c e sleeps
,
”
lo n g but n ever dies .
 T HE IN D I AN MUT IN Y OF 1 8 57 2 35

Wh o were the muti n eers They were pri nci

pally (a ) th e Marathas wh o h a d b een perhaps t h e
g reatest suff erers for t h e Peshwa had bee n deposed
,

a n d his adopted s on treated with s c an t j usti c e ;

the M arat ha States Of S atara Nagpur an d J hansi ,

were annexed (b ) The Mu slim s of the Nort h West

,
-

Provin c es who wi tn essed th e overthro w of th e '

Royal Houses of D elhi a n d Lu c kn ow an d (c) the ,

P ur b i a s or the Hindus of O ude .

It is n ot n e c essar y to write i n de t a il ab out the

S pread O f the revolt an d th e m an n er in whi c h it
was put down by th e English sin c e there are
s everal admirable work s o n th e su bj e c t like that
of Kaye a n d M alles on Th e Mutin y c ould n ot .

h ave b een suppressed but for t h e h elp rendered

to th e C ompany b y th e Sikh s a n d the Gurkhas .

T h e people o f th e Punj a b w ere kep t loyal by S i r

J ohn Lawren c e by b ein g plun dered of th eir wealth .

“
T h e Sikh Chiefs were stripped o f all rank deprived ,

of all property an d redu c ed ea c h of th em to

”
a m onthly pittan c e of 200 rupees
‘
He raised .

w it h s om e di fficulty a for c e d loan at th e rate

’
,

o f 6 per c ent intere st. An d i t proved a m aster

.

stroke o f poli c y for it s upplied us with fun ds

,

when we n eeded th em m ost sorely an d b oun d the

l an down ers an d m er c hants for t h e c ause of o u r
G overn ment b y ties th e force of whi c h they c ould
” 2 76
n o t fail to r e o o g n i s e .He al s o in cited them to
ta ke revenge up on t h e Muslim s o f D elhi for the
murder of their ol d Gurus Nepal too h a d some .

priva t e s c ores to pay O ff against O ude Sir —

.

J ong B ah adur b oasted of h avin g m assa c red five

.

to six t housan d su b j e c ts of O ude o n his way to

L u c kn ow .

There can b e n o doubt that th ere i s a great

d e al o f fal seh oo d an d e x aggeratio n i n British
n arratives ab out In dian atro c it ies an d b arb arities
,

d uring th e M utiny Mr Jus t in M c C a r t h y writes :

. .
2 36 HI S T O R Y on T HE B RITI S H O CC U P A T I ON IN IN D I A

The elementary passions of manhood were inflame d

by t he stories ha pp i ly n o t t r u e of the wholesal e
, ,
“

”
dishonour an d barbarous mutilatio n of women .

Granti ng even that the mutineers were “

guilty of
cruel t i e s we have to remember that there is not
,

anything pe c uliarly Asiati c ”

in i t 2 7 7 W e ca n .

“
als o note that it i s o n the re c ords O f our British
Parliament in papers sent ho m e by the Gover n or .

‘
General in Coun cil that the aged women an d
c hildren are sa c rifi c ed as well a s those guilty of
’
re b ellion Th ey were n ot deliberately hanged but
.

burnt to death in their villages Englishmen did . .

n ot hesitate to b oast or to re c ord their boasting :

writing that they h ad sp ared n o on e an d that pepper

ing away at D i g g e r s was very pleasant pasti me ,

enj oyed amazingly An Englishm an is almos t

suff o cated with indignation when h e reads that M r .

Chambers or M iss Jennings was hacked to death

by a dusty r u fii a n but i n Native histories or ,

history being wanting in legen ds an d traditions

,

it may b e recorded am ongst o u r people that m others .

an d wives an d children with le s s familiar n ame s

fell miserable victims to the first swoop o f English
ve n gean ce an d these stories may have as d e ep a
,
2 78
pathos as any that ren d o u r own h e arts Sir .

“
Charles Di l ke says An O f fi c er in h igh c ommand ‘
during the march up on C awnpore rep orte d good
“
bag today polish ed O ff rebel s
, It is certain
’

that in the suppression Of the Mutiny hun dreds o f

n atives were hanged by the Queen s O ffic ers who ’
.
.

” 2 7 9"
unable to speak any word o f any n ative lan guage ‘

c ould neither understan d eviden c e n or defen c e .

 T r an sf er of the Govern men t O f In di a f r om
t he Company t o t he Cr own
’
Wh en the C ompan y s Charter was ren ewed in
1 8 53 the usual pra c ti c e of ena c ti ng it for twenty
,

y ears was de parted from an d thus it w a s d oomed

t o extin ct ion in the m inds o f the people F or
. .
,
“ ”
freedom of trade re q uired fu ller developm ent Of
t h e reso ur c es O f India in a m ore rapid an d dire c t
.
,

m ann er The English also wanted

.

“
to colonise ,
India .

”
Met c alfe had pointed out that the C omp any s h old ’

’
was n ot likely to b e s o p erm an ent as the King s
a nd that the European s set t led in In dia would
n ever b e sat isfied with C ompany Govern ment Th e .

d ay s of C om pany mon op oly were temporarily over .

“ ”
This enlighten ed selfish n ess seized the Sep oy
Muti n y as a c onvenient pretext an d agitated for
‘

the transfer o f the Go vern ment of India to the

C rown .

The C ompany pres en ted a pe t ition drawn up ,

b y n o less a p erson th an John S t uart Mill in ,

b oth Houses of Parli am ent through Mr J Bari n g, . .

a n d the Earl of Grey Th ey said that they had

.

“
at their o w n expense an d the agen c y o f their
o w n c ivil an d military s ervants a cq uired th e
m agnifi c ent Empire i n th e E ast at a tim e when a
s u cc ession of administration s under the c ontrol of
P arliamen t were losin g t o th e Crown of Great
B ri tain another great E m pire on the opposi t e side
”
o f the Atlanti c ! Th ey p ointed o ut with great
emph asis that their gov ern m ent an d defen c e of
of In di a had b een d on e f or a c entury without the
sm allest cost to the British E x ch e q uer a n uni q ue
—

example they claimed Of that ar t They had

, , .
2 38 HI ST O RY OF THE B RITI S H O C C U P A r IO N IN IN D I A

tolerated a system of p arliamentary c o n tro l as

early a s 1 7 8 3 w hi ch fih a d worked with m odifi c ati on s
to the advantage of al l p arties and re q uested tha t
t h e C hart er A c t of 1 8 5 3 m ust be given a fair t r ial .

The Comp any ch alleng e d the m o s t s ear c hing i n

quiry int o the M uti n y and protested that even ,

i f it were proved t hat th e Muti ny was tra c eabl e

to the C ompany s arrange ments that w a s n o reason
’
,

to divest it of i t s fun c ti ons sin c e t heir M aj esty s

,
’

Government had the de c idi ng voi c e i n al l m att ers

relatin g t o Indi“a They b oas t ed of their Gove r n
.

ment in India whi c h has n ot on l y b ee n on e o f

the purest in in t en t i o n b ut on e of the m os t
”
b e n efice n t in a ct ever kn own among man kind
, ,

and t h ey felt it highly ungrat eful if Par liam ent

pro posed to c reate the im pressio n i n Englan d and
“
In dia that t hey have s o a b use d t heir trust a s t o
have produ c ed a sanguin ary insu r re c tion a n d
near ly los t In di a t o the B ri t ish Empire ; an d that .

h a ving thus c rowned a lon g c areer of m isgovern

ment th ey have i n d e feren c e to pu b li c in di gnat io n
,
”
b een deservedly ca shi e r e d for their mi s condu c t .

They warned the Houses again st a gen era l ri sin g

in In di a on t h e intro du c tion of a new governmen t ,
“
espe c i a lly sin c e demonstration s of indiscriminate
animosity had grown up in England an d Indi a
since t h e Mutiny Th en t hey b eg an i n a sympa
‘ ”

.
,
“
thet i c s t rain. That y our peti t ion ers ca nn o t .

c on t em plate withou t d i sm ay the do c trin e n ow

widely promulgate d that In di a should be a d
minister ed with a n esp e c ial v iew t o the ben efit
”
of t h e English wh o reside there (S O .
,

the t ru t h is ou t at las t ) Th ey were

'

prepared “t o a cc ept any c orr e ctio n Of defe c ts

or even t o relin q uis h their trust altogether ,

if a better system for the c ontr ol of t h e Govern

”
ment of India c an b e devised But s in c e they
.

were n ot confident in th e opp ortun eness or benefits

 A
T R N S FE R O F T HE G OV E RN ME N T OF IN D IA 2 39

of the sys t e m prop osed they w ere c on str a in ed t o ,

o ppo s e t h e meas ure They s uggeste d a large an d .

'

indepe n de n t c oun c il of e x perien c ed O ffic ers t o

c he c k the Ministe r of t he Cr ow n b ut s ta ted th at ,

t he n ew c oun c il s o c on s t it uted w a s exa ct l y t he

Co u rt O f D ire ctor s So they pra y e d for a full a n d
.
,

f re e i n q ui r y pen din g th e p r opos e d tr an sfer

,
.

T h is pe titi o n w as O f n o av a il T h e Gov e rn m en t .

of I n di a w a s t ra n s f e rr ed from t he C ompan y to the

Cro wn A c on c ili a tory pro c lamati on in t ended t o
.
,

smooth the ruffled feelings of t h e p eople w a s pre ,

pared The n ativ es of India look u pon t h e pro

.

cl a mat ion a s the Magn a Ch ar t a of their li b erti e s .

Mu c h n onsens e is talke d b y those wh o tak e

th eir stan d o n this pro c lam at ion an d de man d
e q u al rights an d privileges “
w ith Bri ti sh c i t izens .

M r Fr eeman writes
. whe n w e c om e to man i f e s
,

toes pro clamat ions we are on th e very c h ose n region s

, ,
” 2 30
of his S i r J ames Stephen an eminent lawyer
'

.
,

an d j uri s t said that t h e pro clam at ion w a s merely

,

a c erem onial do c ument It was n ot a treaty an d .

so i t di d n o t imp ose any resp onsi b ili t y an d obli

gati e n on the En g lis h people .

The fa c t w a s In dia w a s n ot t o b e govern ed f or

,

the b en efit of the n at ives A Sele ct C om mittee of .

“
t h e House of C o m m ons was appointed in 1 8 5 8 t o
i n q uire in t o t h e progress an d prospe c ts an d the b e s t
means t o b e adop t ed for the prom oti on of Eu ropean
c olonisat ion a n d se tt lemen t in India esp e c ially in ,

th e Hill dis t ri ct s a n d h ealth ier c lim at es of t hat

c o un t ry as well as for the e x tensi on o f ou r
c o mm er c e with C entral A sia Th e pro b lem o f .

In dian c olo n isat ion engaged the attention of Indian

ru lers of t h e C ompany ever sin c e Warren Hastings s ’

regime when Sir Philip Fran c is an d Monson opp osed

'

th e m easure B ut after 1 8 1 3 an a gitati on w a s

.
, ,

star t ed for“ c olonisat i on osten si b ly for philanthrop i c ,

m o t i ves A c oun t ry wi t h out c apit al kn owledge

.
,
,
2 40 H I S T O RY OF THE B R ITI SH O CC U PA TI ON OF IN D I A

m orals or O ur countrymen living

am ongst them wi ll instruct them i n arts in scien ce ,

an d in m orals th e wealt h an d resour c es O f the

,

country wi l l be improved ; the Hindus will rise

in the s c al e of civilisation ”
M r F ederi ck Shore
. .

adv ocated colonisatio n for a di ff e r e n t m otive

“
The
probability is that India will b e in depen dent of
.

En gland lon g before that eve n t could b e produced

by c olonisati on an d that s o far from b eing a ,

m eans O f a cc eleratin g that c atastrophe it would ,

r ather ret ard it

”
B H Hodgson of Nepal fame
. . .

advised the starving peasantry of Irelan d a nd of

”
the Scotch “
highlan ds to c olonize t h e Himalayas
as a durable s a fe an d c heap barrier against
,
”
Russian aggression The . Mutin y itsel f w as
p ointed out a s a result o f the want o f coloniser s .

S o e v ery en couragem ent w a s Off ered by Go v ern

,

m ent to European settlers tea planters cotton ,

-

growers in digo plan ters , steel m an u fa ct urers etc

, .

H ill stations were m ade accessible by railway

from the plains Chan ges were m ade in the law
.

Of lan d tenure Larger numbers o f Englis h men

.

were recruite d for o ffic es in I ndi a Still si n ce .

,

the lan d i s already ov er p opulated an d sin ce possi

-

bi li t i e s of industrialisati on were n ot great India ,

i s n o t very attractive to European“ gold h u n g e r e r s .

A gai n as M eredith Townsen d says an u n c on t r olla ble

, ,

disgust an overp oweri n g sense o f being aliens

, ,
”
in ex orably divided from the people Of the lan d
c om es upon them (th e E n glishman i n India) an d
” 281
t hey glide silently away
I n order t o hide selfish desires to exploit In dia
u n der a pleasant m a sk th e Pro cl a mati on w a s
,

i ssued Even assumi n g that t h e Queen judging

.
,

from s om e ch ara cteristi c m odification s m ade by

H e r M a j esty in order to ton e down th e arrogan ce
an d s everity Of t h e ori gi n al d raft 282
issued the ,

P roclam ation on a cc ou nt of her love f or the people

 TRA N S F E R O F T HE G OV ER N M E N T OF IN DIA 24 1

of In dia we must rem emb er that sh e was p ower

,

less against h e r ministers a n d c ould n ot set right

any wro n g don e by them The Procl a mation o f .

th e Queen was read by Lord Canning o n the 1 8 t h

November 1 8 5 8 in Allahabad "
, , m em orabl e as the p l ace
—

where on t h e 1 2 th A u gust 1 7 6 Cli v e Obta ined from

,

Sh ah A la Hi the Diwani Bengal B ehar a nd ,

O ri ssa Th us en d ed the rule of t h e E a s t l n d i a

.

“
-

C ompany The story b egins

. in fee blen ess an d
cowardice it is pervaded by r a pacity it closes with
, ,

a course of fraud an d falseh oo d of f orgery a n d ,

treason a s stup end ous as e ver lay at t h e f oun d a

,
” 28 3
tion O f a gre at Fmp1 r e N o o n e can d e n y the
fact that India h a s b enefited by the abolit i on of
the Society of Adventurers c all ed t h e East In dia
”

C ompany .
 Ref eren ces
Th e vol um e and e nu mbers r efe r to M” aj or B D
ri s t i a n P o we r i n I n d ia
. .

B a su s R i s e o f t h e 5 Vols
’ ‘ .

, .

1 . a C o m p eti ti on W al lah V ol I XXV I , . .

2 . L ord W ellesley Vo l I XXX . .

3 . Ka y e A t i sta n II
, q uo t ed in Vol I X IVI , . . .

’
4 B r uc s s of t h e E as t I n d ia C o mpa n y I 1 2 8
fé
. nn , , .

g O] I
5 . M i ll H i s to ry of In dia IV ch i Vol I 2 3 , . . . . . .

6 . B ishop H eber s Jo ur na l Vo l I 34
’
. . .

7 P oh t i ca l H s t o r y of In d i a Intr oducti on 2
i
—
.
p r . .

v O l I z37
8 C o lo l M alles on Dec i s i v e B a ttles in Indi a Vol I
ii e
—
. . .

9 . The E ng l ish i n Ind i a S y ste m of T er ritorial —

A c ui s mon W i l liam Ho w i t V ol I 43
q
. . .

10 T he C ut t a R e v i ew v ol V II 1 84 7 p 2 2 6 V ol
zc
. . . . . .
,

II 4
G r a n t u H Hi s t or y o f the M ahrat tas 1 8 7 3 p 340
DZ
11 . , . .

vO I Z
W estern In di a R e v P hilip
.

12 . T h e E n g lish in , .

An de rson p 22 Vol I 5 4 , . . .

13 . S C H i ll B eng al In 1 7 5 6 7 v ol III 1 6 1 1 62
. .
— -
, . .
-
.

Vo l I 6 6 .

14 . I bid II p 1 6 Vol I 6 4
. . . . . .

15 . Ibi d III p 1 6 2 Vol I 6 7

. . . . . .

16 . S C Hi ll v ol III p 3 84 Vol I 6 9
. .
, . , . , .

Thorn t on History Of the B ri ti sh E mpire i n Ind i a

0

17 .
—
,

v ol I p 1 9 0 Vol I 89
. , . . . .

S C Hi’ll v ol III p 296 Vol I 9 1

.

18 . . . . . . . . .

Hol w e l l s L ett e r t o the C ourt of Directors 30 1 1 -

1 7 5 6 Vol I 9 3 . , .

T a l b oy s W h e eler E arl y R e cords o f B ri ti s h I ndi a

0

20 .
—
,

p 16 2 V o l I 9 5
. . . .

App endix IX F irs t R e por t 1 7 7 2 V ol I 1 02

.

21 . . , . . .

22 . C alcu t ta U ni v er s i ty M ag a z m e 1 8 95 V p l I 98 , . . .

23 . O ld Fort W i lliam i n B en g al C R W i lson v ol II —

. . , . ,

p 59 Vo l I 9 8
.
, . .

24 . B e n g al i n 1 7 56 1 7 5 7 Vol I p X C IV , Vol I 1 06 -
, .
, .
, .

25 . M aj or K i r k a t r i ck t o t h e C ourt of Di rectors , 2 5 t h
Jan 1 75 7 , Vol I 1 09
. . ,
 R E F EREN C E S 2 43

S .C Hill v ol I p C XV V o l:I 1 1 1
. , .
, .
,
.

S C H i ll Vol i i p p 7 4 7 6 Vo l I 1 1 6
. . . , .
-
. . .

Iv e s Voy a g e s p 1 09 V o l I 1 2 7
’
, .
, . .

S craf t on R e fle c t i on s p 6 6 Vo l I 1 33
—
, . . . , .

Iv e’s v oy ag es p 1 19 1 2 0 Vo l I 1 4 4 45
’
, . . .
,
-
.

Iv e s Vo y ag es p 1 45 V ol I 1 85 , . . .
, .

De cisi v e B a t t l es 7 3 Vo l I . 1 8 9 , . .

O rm e His t ory of
—
d us t a n v o l II p 8 2 Vol I , .
, . . .
,

De cisive B at tl es p 7 1 Vo l I 2 06 —

M il l v ol III p 1 35 Vol I 2 9 0
.
,
—
. . .
,

M i ll v ol II I p 2 03 Vo l I 22 8
—
.
, . , . .
.

O rme v o l II p 1 95 Vo l I 2 2 4
—
.
, .
,
.
,

\
.

I bid . VO L I1 2 2 3
M alcolm Li f e of O li v e v ol Il p 7 0 7 2 Vol I 2 3 0
.

p
-
, , . . .
, .

I bid Vo l II p p 1 1 9 e t s e q 0 1 I 2 35
.
,
.
, . .
, .

First R e po r t 1 7 7 2 p p 1 5 8 1 5 9 V ol T , , .
, .

First R e lpoort 1 7 7 2 p 1 6 0 V o l I 2 48 , , .
, .
, .

M ill vol III p

—
2 1 3 2 1 4 Vo l ,
-

, .

M aulvi B ad rud Ahm e d C alen d ar o P ersian

—

e n c e C alcutt a 1 9 1 9 Vol II Ir i p viii

C ggg
ei r es p , , . . . .

rO i I o

Fi r s t R ep ort l 7 7 2 np 23 0 1 V ol I 2 5 9, ,
-
. .

M aul vi B ad ruddin A h m e d I bid v oi 1 2 6 1

.

—
. . .

F i rs t R e por t 1 7 7 2 p 2 32 V o l I 2 70 , , . . , .

Ibi d V o l I 2 7 0
. . , .

I bi d Vol I 2 7 1 .

Torren s j E m i r e i n Asia p p 45 46 (Panini O fii c e

°

p
—
,

R e p r i nt) T I
Professor Sy dne O wen India —
on t he E ve of
the B ri tish on q u e s t Vol I . .
, 2 97
W heeler E ar ly R eco r ds —
p 2 75 2 7 6 Vol I 2 99 .
-
.

M ill v ol III
—
2 24 V o l 3 04 .

2 9 23 0 V o l
. .

M ill III 1 3 08 .

V e r els t i e w s o f B e n g a l p p 8 and 46 V ol I , 3 09 .

L e t ter to t h e Presid en t and C o uncil of B en g al

. .

8 2 1 7 64 Vol I 3 09
- -
. .
, .

M alcol m Life o f O li v e v ol II p 2 83 V o l I 323 . , .

C alendar o i P er s ian C orres po ndence p X Vol I 3 3 7

, , .
, .

Ibid P 2 06 V ol I
.
, .
, .

I bid P 2 07 ’ N O 1 7 80 Vol
.
.
, ,

E l phinstone 8 R ise o f B ritish P ower in In di a p p

. . .
,

.
,

39 0 1 Vol I 3 3 1 -
. .
, .

62 . Lon g s Selections for the

’
U n p ublish ed R ecords
o f Go v ern m ent f o r the y ears 1 7 48 1 7 6 7 p p -
, .

3 25 3 2 6 . V ol I , 3 36 .
244 HI ST OR Y OF T HE BRI TI SH O CC UPATI ON OF I N D IA

63 . Seir ul-
—
M ut a q ue r i n .
T rans . C ol . B rig g s . P an i n i
R e pri nt Vo l
g ge
fii , 1 924, v ol . .
0

4 78 4 7 9 -
. .

zg
64 . B roo me Hi story o f the R ise an d Prog re ss of t h e
,

B e n g al Ar my , p 35 1 V l I 35 1: . . . ,

65 . Vans i t tar t Nar rat i v e O f t he r an sa ct i on s In B en g al

. ,

v ol III, 3 68 3 69 Vo l I 36 2
. -

P o w er
. . .
,
.
.

66 .
Ri se ’ of B r l lZl S
p 3 9 7 V o l I 3 , . . . . .

67 Lon g s Sel e cti on s p p 3 5 6 3 5 8 Vol I 3 7 6 7 8

.

- -
. . . . .
, ,

68 . Sei r II, p 53 6 Vol I 3 9 2

. . . .
, .

69 . L on g pp 55 3 5 5 4
. 3 96
.
-
.

S ta n n Account of B en g al , vol IX p 1 9 1 V ol
f f l
. .
.
,

i )
71 . W heeler E arl y R e cords Vol I, 4 1 4
—
. .
.
.

72 . Sei r III p 9 V o l I 4 2 6
.
, . . ,
.

73 . T h i r d R e po r t 1 7 7 3 3 94 V l I , 427 , , . . .

74 . Sei r vol III

, 01 I. 2 , .
, .

75 . T h ird Repo r t , p 325 , Vol I 43 2

C a r a C C i O h Li fe o f O li v e v ol I p 447 Vo l I
. . .

76 .
—
. , . . . .

77 . M ill v ol III p 3 05 Vo l I 443

, .
, . . . . .

78 E ar l y R eco r ds p 3 7 5 Vo l I 45 1 , . . . . .

79 . Sei r , v’ol II I p 3 2 V ol I 45 1
. , .
, . , ,

80 B urke s S e ech e s v o l I , 1 3 1 , Vol II, 2

f
. . . .
, .

81 . S ei r , vol I 6 5 Vol I 5 .
,
. . , .

82 . M i ll III 3 9“7 0 1 II:

,
'
. .

83 . J C larke Bri t is h I n d i a and E n g land s R es pons i

.
—
’

bi h t i e s p 2 5 Vol II 7 . . . . . .

84 . Gr ant Duf f p 32 V ol II 3 9 , . . .
, .

M ill 11 1 p 43 2 V o l II 4 7
. . . .
,

Gr ant D uff p 3 40 Vo l II 40 , . . .
, .

87 . K een e M a d ha v R a o S in d hia R ulers

. ,
of I n dia S e r i e s .

Vol II 86 .
, .

S e i r p 2 05 V o l II 1 44
‘

.
, . . ,

89 . I b id P 2 06’ Vo l II, 1 46
. . . . . . .

90 . S e i r B r i g S T r an s lat ion p 3 5 4 V ol II 1 5 1
, , . . . . .

a c J an V II 9 9
,

91 . C l u t t a e v 1 e w 1 8 45 o l , . . .
, ,

92 . Ibid Vol II 1 00 . . .

93 M em o i r s o f M a d r a s S i r C harles L aws o n p 6 8 . , . .

Vol II 1 6 0 . . .

I d i E m ire L on d o
OE n
n
94 . r a n p ,

l Bz
Vol I 4 1 5 V l II 1 6 4
fia g gg $5 f §g
95 . o n v al 0 s
e i i n tl c e p o . . . . . .

96 i 5 1 l l
L echm Hi s t Or y o f E hg la n d Vol III P 1 9 7
.

97 .
'

Vol . . , . . .

98 . Mi l V ol .
II , 1 75 .
 R E F ERE N C E S 245

99 R e vd H u t ton M a r q u cs s W ellesle y R o f P
W H
S e rie s P 32 Vol II 9 9
. . . . . . .

. . . .
, .

1 00 W i l k s
. Historical s ke t c h of t h e So ut h o f I n dia
. .

V o l III 13 38 Vo l II 1 00 .
, . .
, .

1 01 .M ill V o l V VO I II 1 89
. .
, .
, .

1 02 M i ll Vo l V p 2 7 8 Vo l II 1 90
. . .
, . . , .

1 03 T horn t on
. Hi st o r y o f B i i t i s h I n dia.V ol II 1 6 3 . .
, .

1 04 M ill V 3 2 7 t u Vol II 1 96
. . . . . .
, .

1 05 K ay e Ad minis t ra t i on O f t h e E ast India C o m p an y

. . ,

pp 4 19 42 1 V o l II 1 9 8 -

M i ll V p 3 5 5 V o l II 2 01
. . . .

1 06 . . o . .

1 07 Fi f t h R e p m t M r Dow d e s w e l l s E vidence
’
1 81 2 , , . ,

V o l II 2 06
108 K ay e I bi d P 2 00 V o l
. , .

. . . . . .

1 09 M ill V 3 32 V ol II 2 08
. . . .
, .

1 1 0 M a c N e i le M e m o r a n d um on t i e R e v en u e A d m i n i s
’

t r a t i on o f t h e L ow e r Pro vin ce o f B e n g al p 9
. .

. . .

V ol II 2 09 . . .

111 L i f e Of L ord Teig n mou th Vo l I p p 2 2 6 23 0

. . .
-
.

Vol II 2 1 7
Pate r Aube r R is e and Prog r es s o f t h e B r iti s h
, .

1 12
Pow e r i n India L ondon 1 83 7 Vol II p 1 40
. .

. .
, , .

V ol II 2 18 .

G r an t Du f f p 5 2 1 V ol II 23 7
. ,

1 13
6
. .
. .
,

M a cFa r la n e Vo l Il p
,

1 14 . V O L II 2 4 . . ,

M a j o r Bi r d Ass t R e siden t f o r O i i d e
, .
“
1 15 . Dacoi t y i n
, . .

E x c e l s is p p 32 3 4 Vo l II 2 5 4 .
-
. .
,

1 16 Sir H e n r y L a wren ce C alcutt a R e view Ja n 1 845

. , , . .

Vol II 25 7 .
, .

1 17 M a c Fa r Ja n e Vo l II p 3 1 V ol II 255 .
, . .

Pe arc e L i f e an d C orr e s pon dence o f t h e

.
. , .

1 18 R R . . . .

33 0 8 8 8 of W e lle sle y
1 Vol II p 2 89 Vo l
1 26
. . .
, , .

7
1 1 9 A s i a t i c Q uarterl y R evi e w Jan 1 8 87 Vol II 29 3
. . . .

12 0 M a r ia G i a h a m Jo u r n al o f a R es i d e n c e i n India
. .
,

1 8 13 P I p 8 4 8 5 V o l II 3 0 7 . .
-
. .
, .

1 21 Wel le y De s p a t c h e s Vol I App e ndix p p 6 6 8

.l e s
. . .
,

6 6 9 V ol II 3 1 5 . . , .

1 2 2 I bi d V o l II 3 1 5
. . . . .

1 23 l b id I 3 8 2 V o l II 3 3 0
. . , . .
, .

1 24 I hi d I 4 00 V ol II 3 3 2
M i ll VI , p 1 09 V o l II 342
. . . . . , .

1 25 . . . . , , .

1 26 B i r d Dac oity i n E x c el s is
. V ol II 348. . .
,

12 7 M i l l V I p 1 9 1 Vol II 350
. , .
, . . .

1 28 B i r d I bi d
. V o l II 3 5 9
, , , .

1 29 M a j o r E van s e ll T h e E mpi r e o f I n dia pp 1 07

. .
. , .

1 08 V ol I 388 . .
, .
246 HI S T O RY OF T HE BRITI SH O CC UPATI ON CF IN DI A

R an a d e R is e of the M a r a t ha P owe r p 246 V ol

.
, .
, .

II 3 98
. .

T o r r e n s E m pir e i n Asia p 2 0 2 1 Vol II 3 9 9 , .

-
.
, .

R a n ad e p 2 5 0 1 V ol 1
. 400 -
.
,

M i ll v i p 21 6 V o l II 4 01
. .

, , .
, .

L i f e o f Ge n e r a l t h e R t B ou ble S i r Dav id B aird

’
.

B a r t L o n d on 1 83 2 v o l I p p 1 60 1 6 2 , , .
, .
-
.

V o l II , 4 12 .

in e of B o mbay G az ett e e r p 1 2 7 m V ol
.

S ur a t
qg , . . .

II
I bid P l 2 9n Vol I I 41 6
. . . . .

M i ll vi 207 - 208 Vo l II 4 1 7 .

W e ll e s l e y De s pa t ch e s II p 2 2 2 2 23 Vol II 4 1 9
. .

-
, .
,

M i ll v i p 2 08 2 1 1 V o l II 4 2 2
‘
—
. .

G i a nt Duff p 5 40 V ol II 44 0
. .

, , .
, .

M i l l v i p 1 3 0 Vol II 445
, . . . .

ll v i p 27 1 V o l
, .

Ibi d p 2 8 1 V o l II I
I

. . .

R e vi e w o f R eviews Jul y 1 8 98 Vo l III 1 , .

,

W e lle s le y Des pat ch e s v ol IV p 13 2 8 29 V0 1 III, 1 3 , . .

-
. . .

Pe a i c s W e ll e s le y v ol II
’
3 43 e t s e q V O L
fi
p , , . .

l 82
W e l le i De p a t ches v ol II I p 1 8 5 e t s e q V ol
i
- .
, , . . .

II
As i a t i c Journ al Jan 1 845 p p 305 3 1 0 Vol III 1 45 , .
, . . .
, .

As ia tic Q uar te r ly R e v i e w A p r 1 889 V ol III 1 5 0 . . . .

,

E uro p e an M i li t a r y Adv e nture s i n H in d us t a n .

C o m p ton p p 1 7 3 1 7 4 V o l II 1 6 0 , .
-
, . , .

Ah m e d n a g ar G a ze t t ee r p 6 95 01 III 1 6 9 . . .
, .

M i ll v i 3 5 8 Vol III 1 95
, . .

J B e i i n e Jou r n al o f t h e Asia t i c Socie t y of B en g al

. .

1 8 83 V o l . .

i e y De s pa t c h e s v ol I V p 6 4 V ol III 2 64 . . . . , . , .

M i l l v i p 4 00, V o l III 2 99
I

, . ,

G r an t v ol .

M il l vi Vo l IIL 4 01
N o t e s on In d i a n Af f a i r s F J Shore
. .

—
. . V ol III 3 6 0 ,

M e m oi i s o f Am ee r K h an tr a n s by Pr i n s e p , p
2 1 5 Vo l .

A m e e r K h an p 2 8 6 V o l III 4 7 6
Po li t i a l Hi s tory of In d i a V ol, III 4 7 9
.
, . , . ,

K ay ‘ s S e le c ti on s f r o m t h e P a p er s ‘

of L ord
M e t r a lf e p 7 V o l III 4 80 , . . . .

E d i n l u i g h R e v i ew 1 8 07 V o l III 4 84 .

M
“
i ll V 3 8 7 V o l IV 9
‘

”
.

L OI n t o i n In d i a by L a d y M i n t o p 1 8 5 Vol
VMi , . . .

I
 RE FE RE N C E S 2 47

1 66 W ellin g ton De s p a t c li e s I p 1 20 1 2 1 Vol I V 23 -

O fii c ers Vo l I p 1 6 9 Vol

. , . . , ,

Indian
IV lli
167 . R ay L ‘ eS of . .
, . . .

1 68 M in t o i n In d i a p p 9 8 1 01 Vol IV 42 -
,

I bid P 1 5 4 V o l IV 6 6
. . . . .

1 69 . . . .
, .

1 70 . M a c Fa r lan e V o l II p 1 8 1 Vol I V 9 0 . . . , .
, .

17 1 . M Victor Ja c q u e mon t L e tters fr o m In d ia V ol

.
-

, . I .

p p 32 3 324 Vol I V 9 2
. . . , .

17 2 . W ilson s No te M ill VIL ’

3 85 Vol I V 9 8 . 13
p . . . ,

1 73 . Pr i n s e p Hi s t ory o f the P o li t i ca l and M ilit ary

,

Tra n sactions in In di a durin g th e ad m inis t r ati on

o f the M ar q uess o f Ha s t i n g s p 6 3 V ol, I V 1 1 6
'

. . , .
,

1 74 . Dacoity C hap ter I V V ol IV 1 2 3

. . .
, .

R C W i lliam s Histo ry Of De hra Dun M otila

’ l
1 75
1 9 6 A B Patrik a 1 6 t h Fe b 1 900 Vol I V
. .
, .

3199 :
1 93
. . . . .
,

5
176 . W ilson on M ill V ol V III Vol IV 1 34 . . . .
, .

177 P r i n s e p I V ol I V 1 3 7
I bid P 1 9 2 V o l Iv 1 5 4
. . .

178 . . . .

W ilson M ill VIII p 31 6 Vo l I V 1 5 6

.

1 79 .
-
, . . .

1 80 M a lcol i n 8 R e po rt on C entr al I nd i a V ol I p 436

’ ~

. . . .
,

2 n d E d i ion) Vo l IV 1 6 3
I bi d P
. .
, .

181 . . . 43 3n Vol . . IV .

1 82 A nn B i o g r ap h y and O bit uary f or 1 835 Vo l IV

l73
. l . .
,

1 83 . Journal the P oona S a r v a j anik Sa va V ol IV 1 8 1

of . , .

K ay e s Life and C orre sp on d e n ce Of M alcol m V o l

’
1 84 . . .

II p 1 9 3 11 V ol I V 1 88
, . . .
.

1 85 Pr i v n e J o u r n al o f t he M a r uess o f Has t in g s
Pa n i n i O f fii c e R ep r i n t p 2 7 Vol I V 1 9 6
. .

.
,

1 86 C o l e b r O O k e s E lph i ns t on e l 27 6 Vo l I V 2 09
’
. . . .
, .

1 87 . His t o r y o f t h e R i s e and Dec line o f t h e p r es ent

Sta t e o f t h e S h a s t r e e Fa mily 1 86 8 B o mbay , .

DD 6 8 Vol I V 224
. . . . , .

B aro d a G a z e t t e e r p V ol I V 2 2 7 . . .

1 89 B arod a G a z e t t e e r p 22 2 Vo l I V 2 40
i r s i n In d i a L ondon 1 82 3 p 4 92 Vol
. . . , .

Fli i Tl
OfV géa
1 90 .
, , , . . .

K a y e s Li f e o f M a l c ol m II, 2 5 7 V ol I V 2 7 0
’
191
‘

Di g by P r o s e r ou s Indi a 4 5 0 V ol W 27 2
.
, . . . .

1 92 . . . .

0 V ol I V 2 9 0
.

1 93 P r i n s e p Vo I , pp 42 7 -

Pa pe r s relati n g to t h e war in In d ia presented t o

. . . .
,

1 94 .

P a r li am ent by com mand of the Prince R eg ent ,

p 70 V o l I V 2 9 9
Nolan s His to of t h e B rit ish E mpire Vol II
. .

1 95
’
. . .
,

pp 5 1 0 1 1 .0 1 I V, 3 3 7 -
. . .
2 48 H I S T ORY OF T HE BRITI SH O CC UPA TI O N or IN DI A

1 96 . Au t ob iog r aph y o f Lutfullah T r a s n b y C ap tain .

E a s t wi c k p p 1 03 1 04 V o l IV 3 3 7 .
-
, .

1 97 . L t L a k e J o u r n a l o f t h e S e 1g e s of t h e M ad ras
.
,

A r m y , p 1 07 V o l IV 3 41
T ou r s i n U p pe r In d ia I p 2 Vol
. . .

1 98 . M a j or A r c h e r .
, , . .

IV 3 45
P r i va t e Jou r n al
.
,

1 99 . V ol I V 34 4 . , .

2 00 . I h1d P p
.
2
4 et 1 IV 3 5 2
. .
, .

L ud B r l t l s h In d Vol II pp 3 7 3 8 V ol I V
lg gg
20 1 . o . .
, .
-
. .
,

2 02 T or r e n I ) 2 90 1 V o l I V 3 6 2
V
.
. , .
, .

T h orn t o n 1 05 V o l IV 4 1 7
W
. . , ’

2 04 K ay e H 1s t o r y of the S e p o y a r pp ; 2 7 9 2 7 1 1101
‘

. . . .

IV 4 2 3
2 05 M ili t a r y R e mini s cen c es W e lsh V ol II p p 2 40 4 1
. . . .
, . .

Vo l IV 4 .
,

2 06 L ud lo w II ) 26 5 Vo l IV 440
I
.
. , .
, . .

2 07 A u b e r V o l I, p 606 N 0 1 IV 4 44
. . . . . .
, .

f a y e C a lc ut t a R e v i e W V o l I , p 3 4 1 Vol
Rfi
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2 12 J oh n Hop e T h e H ou se o f S i n d h i a a Sketch
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1 8 63 L on g ma n s V o l IV 4 68 . . .
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213 C a pta i n
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,

p ’ 2 05 V 0 1 I V, 4 7 2 . . .

2 14 K a y e s Se le ct io n s p p 2 11 2 1 7 V ol I V 4 7 4
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2 15 Lu dlow Vol II p 9 7 V ol IV, 4 8 1

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. , .

2 16 M e e r 11t U ni v er s a l M ag az i ne 1 83 5 Vol IV, 4 86

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2 17 1 b 1d V o l I p 1 2 V o l I V
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. . .

2 23 . M e moi r of Ge ner al John B ri g g s by M aj or E van s

B e ll p 2 7 7 , . .

Mil l a n d Wi ls on ix , p 39 4 V ol V , 2 2 . . . .

Dr . G a rn et t A f or g o t t en E p i sode of
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 RE FERE N CE S 2 49

2 26 K a y e s I V Q S of Indian O fficer s Vol II p 2 6

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2 36 . Gr e at e r B r it ain Vol V 9 4 . .
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L ondon 1 893 p 1 4 1 V ol V 1 05 .

His t ory o f t h e Af g hans by J P F err ier T ran s la t e d

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2 42 M i r S h ah i n u t Ali Sikhs a n d Afg hans M urray 1 8 4 7

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. . .

Vol V, 1 48 .

E d ards R em i niscenc es a B en g al C i vi lian

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24 7 Wan d eri ng s of a Nat uralist i n In d i a Dr A d a m s,

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1 86 7 Vol V 201 . .
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248 R e m i n i s c e n c es p
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253 . Sir Georg e L awr e nce fort y th ree y ears in I ndia —

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p 2 4 1 V o l V, 2 3 1 . . .

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P unj ab Pap e rs p 362 Vol V 2 41

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255
P un j ab Pap e rs 1 2 7 1 Vol V 2 43
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256
Pros p e cts of Indian P oli cy 5
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25 7. R e t ros p e c t s an ,

p p 1 2 6 27 Vol V 2 5 I
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2 5 8 Hi s t ory o f India, V ol III p 3 05 Vol V 2 52

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25 0 H I ST O R Y OF T HE BR ITI SH O CC U PA TI ON OF I N D IA

25 9 . Hi story of the B ritish E mp ire i n I ndia Vol I . .

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p 1 3 4 Vo l V 2 5 4
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p 3 0 Vol V 2 83
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270 E m p i re i n In di a p 9 7 V o l V 3 42
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27 1 .
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272 . C alcut ta R e vi e w Ja n uar y 1 845 Vol V 3 0 6 , , . .

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2 73 .
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274 . Li fe o f S i r C har l e s N a p i er 1 857 V ol I V , . . ,

p 2 96 V ol V
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27 5 S O C I3 1 S t ati sti cs V ol , V 3 7 2
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p 3 08 V ol V 3 7 9
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, O ] V 3 85 . . . . ,
.

279 Great er Bri ta i n Vol V 386

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pp 2 5 8 2
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2 82 . R e view of R e vie w s A p 1 8 9 7 V ol V 4 1 6 ,
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2 83 . Ludlow Vol I p p 1 9 8 99 Vol V 4 1 4

.
.
. .
-
. . . .
 IN DE X

Pa g e
Afgh anistan 1 5 0, 1 5 4, 1 60, 1 8 3, 1 9 1 4 , 1 9 6
—

A h a l y a B h ai 6 0, 7 8
Akb a r Khan 1 93 4, 1 9 6
-

Amh e rs t Lord 1 7 4 1 7 9, 1 80
-

Appa Saheb 1 6 5 6 , 1 68, 1 69

-

Arcot Na w a b o f
,
6 0 ,
6 3 , 7 2 , 80, 8 1 , 9 6 9-
8, 2 2 8
Aucklan d Lord 1 5 6, 1 9 1 1 94 -

u ran g az e b 5 3, 6 7
Baj i R a o Pes h w a 1 03 7 , 1 59 , 1 6 1 , 1 62, 1 6 3,
-

1 6 4, 1 7 8
B a l a b h a d r a Singh 1 5C
B al a j i V is hwanath 5 3, 5 9
Barrackpore M assa c re 1 7 6, 1 7 7
B A TT LE O F
Aliwal

Deeg
F erozeshah
G o oj r a t
Kir k ee
Kurdla
Laswari
M ahidpur
M e ean e
IIo o d k e e
& Panipat
Plassey
2 52 H IS T OR Y O F T HE BR ITI S H O CC U PATI O N OE I N DI A .

Pa g e
Ramnagar 217
Batuta I bn 52
Bell M aj or Evans
. 1 , 9 7 , 1 8 2, 2 1 8 , 2 2 7
B e n fie l d Paul 81
Ben tin ck Lord William 1 41 , 1 4 5, 1 4 6 1 80 9 0, 2 32,
-

Best Captain
,
6
B h o n s l e The ,
57 , , 1 1 2 1 1 6 , 1 2 4, 1 6 5 9 2 2 4 6
,
- -

B h ur t por e , 1 32 , 1 34 7 , 1 38, 1 39 , 1 44, 1 5 9 1 7 8

-
,

Bir d woo d Sir George , 1 4 4, 1 4 7 , 1 5 1

Black Hole Tragedy T h e ,
14 1 5 -

B o i g n e de 1 1 5, 1 21
Bro a dfoot M a j or 2 07 2 09 -

Broome 37
B u n d o o la h M ah a M en g 17 6
Burke 34 49 7 8 1 6 9 , , ,

Burma 1 7 4 7 2 19 22 - -

Calcutta R eview 1 0 32 , , 8 2 102 , 1 9 7 , 2 1 6 , 2 1 7 ,

,

2 26, 2 29
Canning Lord , 2 3 2, 2 4 1
Carnatic 7 8, 6 3, 64, 9 6 9 8 1 8 7 , 2 2 8
- -

Casi R aj a Pun d it 52
Charter Renewal o f, 1 5 3, 1 8 7 9 0, 2 3 3 2 3 7
-

C h u t t ur Singh Raj a 2 14 2 1 6 -

Cli v e Lord 5 1 4 20 22 ,
-

, , 2 3 5 , 3 3 44 4 6 , 4 7 ,
-

,
-

4 9 , 1 2 0 1 9 3, 2 4 1
,

Cobden 22 2
Colebrooke
C oorg -
81
Coote M aj or
.
~

Cornwallis Lord , ,

Cunningham M aj or ,

Cutch 1 56
Dalhousie Lord 1 38, 1 5 6 , 2 1 2 2 3 1 , 2 33 -

de Souza A lfonso 5
Dh u l e e p Singh 2 07 8 , 2 11 1 2 , 214, 2 1 6
- -
 I N D EX 2 53

Dire c tors C ourt o f , 2 , 1 2 ,

3 0 , 3 3 3 4 4 3 44 , 4 6 , , , ,

4 8 , 6 4 , 7 4, 87 , 93, 94 1 39 , 1 4 0, 1 4 1 1 7 3, 1 8 5 , , ,

1 95 ,

Diwani The , 3 5, 4 5 , 4 6 , 1 2 0 2 4 1 ,

D octrin e o f Lapse 1 8 2 2 2 3, 2 2 4 ,

D ost M uhammad 1 9 1 , 1 92 , 1 9 3 1 9 4 , 1 9 6 , 2 1 4 ,

Duff Grant
, 1 3 1 , 1 5 7 2 3 0 7 2 , 1 29 , ,

Dupleix 7 , 8 45 ,

Dutch The , 5 , 2 5 , 4 6 1 5 1 ,

Dutt R C
. . .
,
1 8 7 , 2 30
h
E d i n ou r g h Revie w 1 46
Ellenborough Lord 1 5 6 1 9 1 , 1 9 5 2 06 2 07 2 2 0 ,
-

, ,

Elphin ston e 3 6, 4 0, 4 5 1 5 1 , 1 6 0 1 6 2 , 1 6 3 1 6 5 , , , ,

1 66 1 91 ,

Emperor Moghul 2 4, 2 6 32 3 3 3 5 4 1 4 5, 46 , , .
, ,

5 9 , 6 0 7 3 , 1 1 3 1 1 4 , 1 2 1 , 1 7 8 1 8 2 2 05
, , , ,

Filose Fi dele C a ptain

, , 1 07
Fi lose Jean B aptiste
, 1 24 1 2 7 1 3 4 ,
, , 1 37
F ox s India Bill
’
73
Fran cis Sir Philip 5 0
,
1 5 3,
, 5 6 , 7 7 , 9 3, 9 4, 1 1 2 ,

1 9 8 2 39 ,

Fren c h , The 7 9 1 2 17 8 , 1 9 , 2 4, 46 , 5 7 8 5 9,
-

, ,
- -
,

6 2 , 6 5 , 6 6 , 7 5 , 8 8, 8 9, 9 0 9 1 , 1 03, 1 1 3 , 1 2 1 1 2 2 , 1 4 9 -

G aekwar The ,
5 5, 5 6 , 1 1 3 1 1 9 , 1 6 0, 1 6 2
,

Gangadhar Sastri , 1 6 0, 1 6 1
G a tes o f Somn ath 1 9 6 2 02 , 2 06 ,

Goug h Sir Hugh

,
2 09 1 1 , 2 1 7 -

Gulab Singh R a j a , 2 05 2 07 -

G w ali or 2 00 4, 2 06 -

Hardinge Lord ,
2 06 , 2 07 2 1 1 -
.

216
Hastings M ar q uess of 1 53 1 7 3 -

Hastin gs , Warren 34 3 6 37 4 7 4 9 5 1 , , , ,
-
. 7 2, 7 3 , 7 8 ,

1 1 3, 2 3 9
Heb er Bish op 9
Hi u e n Tsan g 52
2 54 H I S T O RY OR T HE BRITI SH O CCU PATI ON C F IN D I A

Pa g e
H ol k a r The 4 3 5 8 5 9 7 8 1 06 9 1 1 3 1 2 5 1 3 8
, , , , ,
-

, ,
-

1 3 9 , 1 4 2 , 1 4 4 , 1 4 5, 1 4 8 1 57 , 1 7 0 7 1 ,
-

Holwell 1 4 1 5 , 2 6, 2 7 28, 2 9 .
,

Hunter, Sir W W . . 43
Hyder Ali 60, 6 1 , 6 2 , 6 3 6 5 , 6 6, 9 1 -

Im pe y Sir El ij a h
, 5 0, 5 1
I n am Commission , 22 4
I ndus , Na v iga t ion o f the , 1 83, 2 1 6
J e nkin s 1 3 3, 1 6 5, 1 6 6 , 1 6 7 ,
Jeypore 1 82
Jhansi 6 0, 1 8 3, 2 2 6, 2 2 8
Jodhpur 1 82
Kaye , S i r Joh n 1 0 1 59, 1 92 1 9 3, 1 9 4 , 1 9 7 1 9 8 ,
, ,

2 3 , 2 2 6 2 33, 2 3 5
" ,
,

Keene , H G . . 60
Lake , General 1 08 1 1 1 , 1 1 3 1 1 5 , 1 2 1 , 1 2 2, 1 2 5
,
-

3 8 1 4 1 , 1 4 2 1 4 4 , 1 4 5 , 1 7 0, 1 7 8 , 2 02
, , .

Lally Count 65
L awr e nce , Sir Henry 7 0, 8 2 , 2 1 2 , 2 1 6 , 2 2 9 .

Lawren ce Sir John

, 2 1 2, 2 1 3 2 3 5, ,

M acaulay 1 97
M a c P h e r s o n , Sir John 72
M a d h a v a Rao Sin d hia 5 4, 59 , 6 0, 6 1 7 3, 7 9 , ,

1 1 9 , 1 2 0 2 00 , .

M ahomed Ali 8, 81 99 ,

M a homed Reza Khan 4 4, 4 5 , 4 6 4 9 ,

M al c olm , Sir John 9 , 25 8 5 8 7 , , 1 24, ,

1 4 5 , 1 4 9 , 1 5 0, 1 52 , 1 5 7 , 1 6 2 , 1 6 3, 1 6 4 , 1 6 5,
1 69 1 7 0, 1 8 3, 1 8 5 , 1 8 7 ,
,

M alet 7 8 , 7 9 1 03 1 4 1 , ,

M alleson Col . 2 0 2 1 , 3 6 6 2 , 6 3, 1 2 3 2 3 5 , , ,

M or a t h a s 3 2 , 5 2 6 1 6 5 , 9 0, 1 02 1 42 , 1 4 8 , 1 4 9 , 1 5 8
- -

2 35
M ars h man 2 1 6, 2 1 7
'
M eer Jafie r 5 , 1 4 1 5, 1 9, ,
2 5, 2 7 , 2 s ,
29 , 3 1 , 4 2 44 , 1 9 3 , .

M eer Kas im 1 4 , 2 8 , 2 9, 31 , 4 2 ,
 IN DE x 255

M etcalf e , Sir Charles 1 4 5 , 1 5 0, 1 7 8

1 9 1, . 1 84 ,

2 2 7 , 2 37
M ill J a m es
, 2 2 4, 33 5 0, 7 5 9 1 , 1 1 1 , 1 1 7 , 1 3 7
, , ,

M ill , Joh n Stu a rt , 2 2 5 , 2 37

M i n to L o rd
, 1 4 7 1 4 8 1 5 2 , 1 5 3, 1 7 4 ,
—

M on s o n C o l . 1 28 9 , 1 3 0, 1 3 1 1 32 1 33 1 3 5
-

, , ,

M ostyn 5 4 5 6 , 5 7 5 8, 7 9 -

M unro Sir Thomas ,

, 10 175 , .

M uti n y , The Indian 2 3 2 6 2 37 , 2 3 8 , 2 4 0 -

, .

M ysore 6 2 6 7 4 7 5 88 9 0, 9 1 , 1 1 4 , 1 5 2 1 8 1
-

, . ,
-

N a dir Sh a h 6 9 , 7 0, 7 1
N a j i mu d d a ul a h
-
44 4 6 7 ,
-

Nana Fa d n a v i s 5 4, 5 7 5 8 6 0 6 1 , 6 5 6 6 7 5 , , , , , ,

7 9, 8 0 1 03 4 ,
-

N a n d ku m a r 18 3 1 , 42 ,

Napier, Sir Charles , 1 9 8 1 99 2 09, 2 30 , ,

N epal 1 5 4 5 6 1 9 5 1 9 6 , 2 05 2 3 5 -

, , ,

Nizam , The 5 4 6 2 6 5 6 7 9 , 7 4 8 0, 8 4 8 5 8
, , ,
-

, ,
-

8 9 , 9 0 1 08 9 1 1 6 2 05 , 2 28 2 2 9
,
-

, , ,

O my ch a n d 1 1 , 1 3, 1 8, 1 9, 2 0
O o d w a n ulla h 38
O ude 3 1 , 3 9 7 0 7 3 8 1 , 9 2 9 5 1 04 1 5 4
, , , , , , ,

1 7 0, 1 7 8 , 1 8 2 , 2 06 , 2 2 8 , 3 1 2 3 5 -

O wen Sydney 32
P a get , Sir Edw a rd ,
1 7 5, 1 7 7
Palm er CO . 173
Peel 1 9 1 , 2 06 , 2 09
Penal C ode , 1 90
Perman ent Revenue Settlement 77
Perron 1 1 4, 1 2 1 ,
Persia 1 4 9 , 1 50 1 5 1 , 1 9 8 , ,

Peshwa , The 1 03 7 , 1 09, 1 1 3, 1 1 6 , 1 2 5 1 3 5 , 1 4 5 ,

-
,

1 59 1 6 1 , 1 6 5 , 1 6 6 ,

Pindaris , The 1 57 17 0
Pitt 8 3, 1 08, 1 3 9
Port u guese , The 4, 5, 6 , 1 3
P ou s t a 5 3,
2 56 H I S T O RY OE T HE BRITI S H .
OU

Procla matio n The Q ueen s , 2 40, 2 4 1

’
,

R a g h o ba 5 3 5 4, 5 6 , 5 7 , 5 8 , 6 0, 6 1 , 8 6 , 1 07 ,

R a j a Ram M ohan Roy 1 7 8 , 1 82 , 1 8 5

R an ad e M G . . 5 2, 5 3
Ranj it Singh 1 1 5 1 44, 1 5 0, 1 6 9 , 1 7 9 , 1 8 4, 1 9 1 1 9 2 ,
, ,

1 9 3, 2 04 , 2 1 0, 2 1 3, 2 1 6 , 2 1 7
Resident s B riti sh ,

Roe Sir Thom a s ,

, 6
o h i ll a s
‘

Salar Jung , Sir 2 29

Saltpetre
Satar a , R aj a of
S ci n d h i a 58 5 9, 60 6 1 , 7 7 9 , 8 0,
, , 1 03, 1 04 1 05 , ,

1 09 , 1 1 0 1 1 3 1 1 4 , 1 1 5 1 1 6 , 1 2 4
, , , 1 26 1 29 1 31
, , , ,

1 3 2, 1 3 9 , 1 4 2, 1 4 4, 1 4 5 1 4 9 . 1 57 1 5 9 , 1 7 8
-
.

1 9 9 2 04 -

Seir u l M u t a g ue r i n
- -
4 1 , 4 2 , 4 6 , 4 8 , 6 8, 7 0
Shah Alam 36 , 4 1, 4 5 , 1 1 5 1 2 2 , 24 1
-

Shah Shuj a 1 4 9 , 1 5 1 , 1 84 , 1 9 1 9 2 1 9 3 -

Sheridan
Shitab Rai 49
S hi v aj i 52 , 5 3, 5 7 , 6 1 , 6 5, 6 6, 9 8 , 1 07 1 5 7 1 7 0 , ,

Shore , Sir John 7 8 8 3 88 9 2 , ,

Shuj a u d d a u l a h
- -
36 ,

Sikhs 2 00 2 04 05 , 2 07 2 1 1 , 2 1 2 2 1 9 , ,
- - -

Sikkim 1 55
Sin dh , Ameers of 1 49, 1 5 0, 1 5 6 , 1 6 0 1 8 3 1 8 4 , , ,

1 9 3, 1 9 7 1 99 ,

Sleeman Col .

Somro
Spe n cer Herbert 2 32 .

Subsi d i a r y Allian ce 1 0, 5 3 8 5 , 1 4 5
. .

Surat 1 01 , 1 02 .

Tanj ore 8, 9 8 1 00, 1 8 7 , 2 2 8

-
.

Tipu . 74 , 88 1 04 1 46 , 1 5 6
.

Tod C ol James
, . 1 58 .

Torrens ,
 I N DEX 2 57

Travan core ,
7 4 , 7 5 , 1 09 .

T REA T Y O F
Alinagar
Bassein 1 08 1 1 2 ,
-

IIa d r a s
M an g a lore
M onghyr
M un d i s o o r
Puran dhar
S a lb y e 6 1 , 6 5,
Seri n gapatam
Surat
S u r j i A r j a n g a on 1 44
Tre v ely an S i r George
, 1
T r i m b u c kj e e D a n g li a 1 6 1 1 62 ,

Tri part ite Treaty 1 9 3, 1 9 6 1 9 7 ,

Trotter Captain
, 21 6
V ellore M utiny at
, 1 4 5 1 4 6 , 1 80, 2 2 1 .

V entura Gen eral

,
2 04
Watso n Admir al
,
1 4 1 6, 1 7 , 1 8 ,

Wellesley Art hur

,
86 84
9 4 1,0 5 7 , 1 09 1 1 ,
, ,
-

1 1 3, 1 1 6 1 1 7 , 1 2 3 1 2 5 , 1 6 0
, ,

Wellesley Henry , 84 , 9 3 9 4, 9 5 ,

W ellesley M arquess of 8 3 1 40, 1 4 2 1 4 5 , 1 91

,
-
.

Wheeler T a l bo y s
, 47 , 5 1
Wi lks 7 4, 7 5
W i lson 1 1 , 1 1 4, 1 3 7 , 1 8 9
Z e b n u Nissa Be g um
- -

, 1 14
 E RR ATA

error correction
28 l as t line a m r ch e d marched
40 4 l i nes fro m botto m ser v eral se ve r al
80 1 9 lin es Ni z an Ni z am
fr ench French
92 13 d e spa r a t e des p erate
1 53 1 s t ar a las t th ree l i nes o mi t
4 t h us fro m botto m B ur ke s
o

1 69 B e n ke
’ ’
s
171 last l i ne f utu r e fortune
2 n d l i n e f r o m bottom f r om f or m
1 78 6th T h one T h r one
2 0th line fro m t op aft er p eo pl e reference
‘
178 ’ ~

N o 2 05
. .

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. B en t i n k B enti n ck
1 8 1 2 n d l i n e fro m bo t t o m after manag em ent referen ce
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No 2 1 0
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1 82 2 n d line of p ag e Jey pore

1 84 1 3 t h l i ne o f p ag e p la y
1 87 1 5 t h l i n e fr o m b o t to m 2 23
7 t h l i ne fr o m bo t t o m E n g lishman E n g lis h m en
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1 88
1 92 9th B ur us B ur n e s
1 93 1 4t h T h oug h T hroug h
1 94 4th an ou r
1 97 9t h Sy n d S ind
1 98 la st l i n e charg e d ch arg e
2 01 1 0t h l i n e fro m botto m as on
2 06 last line t h re a t r e th eatre
211 1 4 t h l ine fro m b o t t o m Wi th W it h
4 t h li n e office o ffice r
2 17 p ga e t itle D ac h a n s 1 e D a l h g u s i e
2 23 T i t le A q u1 3 1 t i on s A cq ui s i t i ons
23 1 l i ne 4 Armo d A rnold