AKHBARAT-l-LAHAUR-O-MULT4N.

[By Sardar Ganda Singh, M.A.]

It was by a mere aCClden~ that m 11:)31 1 came to know hom a sherbet-seller'
of Jhang of the existence of a. number of Persian manuscripts in :lihe house of a
Muslim potter in Multan. The owner could give" me no
information as to how his people carne to possess them.
He waS an ilhterate man and so was his deceased father who seems to have-
purchased them from the descendants of some old Mun8hi in tha.t lawn. In.
exchange for a maund of old English newspapers I rescued a basketful of manu-
scripts and two bastas of loose papers from the ravages of the old lady of the house
who had, a few minutes before, put as ml}ny 01 them in a tub of water for
reducing them to pulp lor the manufacture of mud baskets.
The leather-bound manuscripts included, among other books, three volumes
of the 0ftice diaries (in l)el'siltll) of the Lahore Darbar, containing copies of
farmaf8 and parwanas Irom the capital to the various sardars and officials during
the month of Mugh Samvat 1904 Bk. and Jetb, Assuj and Phagan, 105 Bk.,
the year preceding the annexation 01 the. Punjab, a Persian account-book of the',
Sikh troops stationed at Peshawar from Chaitra to Bhudon Samvaii 1905, with
the signature of George Lawrence, and an autobiography and correspondence of
Maulavi Sayyad Rajjab Ali Khan, who was for a long time Mir M"unshi to the-
Agent to the Governor-General on the Sikh frontier and later on to the British
Resiclent at Lahore. Another volume which clesp-rves no less mention contains
the correspondence of the Agents to the Governor-Genertll with the Maharajas
or Putialo. and their va7.iTs, officials, etc., etc., from October 8 lE08 to January
8, 1008. ' ,
The ba8tas, called ruma7.8 in Maharashtra, contained, along with many oiller'
Bocuments and booklets, a bundle of Akhbarat or news-letters from Lahore,
Mulnan, Baha.walpur, Ahmadpur, et~., from August, 1848 to January, 1849 when
the Multan rebellion of Diwan Mulraj, wmcD. Ultimately resulted in the annexa
non of the Punjab to the dominions of the East India. Company, wa.s at its
highest pitch. The Multnn rebellion, as we know, started with the murderous,
attacks upon Lleutennnts Vans Agnew and Anderson on April 19, ~848, and
ended with :the dissfllution of the Sikh kingdom of the Punjab on March 301;
1849 by the I)roclamation of Lord Dalhousie. Multan had fallen with the
surrender of Mulraj on January 20, 1849. The Akhbarat, referred to above,
therefore, cover the most eventful period of the great tragedy. They are headed
ali! AkhbariDarbariLahaur, Akhb(T-iMultan, etc., which goes to show that
;they were written for the information of Borne one beyond the boundo,ries of the
Sikh. kingdom, and, from the fact that Diwan Mulra.j, Raja Sher Singh, and. his
fa,~hdr Sardar Ohatar Singh Atariwala, and their friends are referred to as namak.
haram and bail~at, traitors and rascals, and the British Resident a~ Lahore as
Sahiy...i-Kalan, great gentleman. a.nd the officers and soldiers of the British army
as sahiban-i-ali8han and ililawaran-i-jang-i-8arkar-i-ing1ishia bahaaur, splendid
gentlemen and warriors of the brave English government, it is clear than the
miter or the compiler of the Akhbarat is neither a Sikh himself nor Aympatheti-
cally disposed towards the insurgel1:ts. Most of the Akhbarat:i-Darbar.i.LahauT
best at. ~& bottom the name of Rat Harsaran Das akhbar nav.s D(JA'bar Lah(1tUf'.
Although there is no conclusive evidence to say for whom they were wrltten, it ma:Y
be gleaned from occasional references in some of the enclosures and separa.tie
sheets (parr.h.a-i-a1.a,hd.a,) that, in nll probability, they were compiled for ~e in-
formation of the Maharajah of Patiala .
. The newsJet,terFl are seventy in number and cover abou:e 860 p'ages of P"x6"
with an average of 17 lineFl to a. paq(l. They are ri~h in details of a very
important na.ture and, in addition to the day-to-dny news D.om different pInees,
bring out The following- -poinns which should be of comliclerable hAlp in the
reconstruction of a detailed history of lihe Mulfun ana Hazara tragedies and'
43
 :2
t d in the illttl1'llretutloll aud uuliel'::>tulldlllg or .lintl policy of
::~~s~~~n~~~:~n~~_:neral, Lord DalhoulOle, towuxl1; the Punjab. ,
~ h ttl,
-
Thtou a ou ue re btlIhou ..."nd the disturua.llctll> Il1 tile llol'th-wtlst,
1 If d' h
tlle l.ahore
1:> 1 f mllllstt::l'S uud chwfs \\ ho ruk'd on be 11.1 Ull In t e nume
Darbar, the COUllCl 0 . ,., 11 -J. tl l' tId',
of the minor MahuraJu DuletlIJ I::)mgh, 1~lUlllllea. fl'lclll ~ tc.)\\lII >i Ie .11'" n Ia
,Company. "
'Ph B'f h Hesldent at Lahore cOlltiuued tu tlXt!l'CISll tl!ll tullc~L l'OW~l' In
. li~t' 1'1 IS d militl:l.ry matters of thu kin cl UOltl, with .. full UUthOl'lty to dll'ellt
aII po len1 an t:> ,' J ' }' I, th
d t 1 all matters in every departmt'lit of till:! 8tate \c"teIJ 11, 11m I.) e
~~ve~~~:'~enel'al under the terms of thtl treHt~ of UhjTIJ\\ ala o I )(,l'ltubcl' 1846..
It was in compliance with hi::; ill::>tl'UCt;OIlK tlmt thl' l>arlml' I't'llt llll'll ural
.munitions of Will' !llld eommisl"ariut sturell rl-'glliarly t1) Multan tlilti ot!ll'r places
lor the suppression of the rebellion. .
It was again in obedience to hi::; Orael'S that tile LnlIOlt\ \)nrbar H.tAlled ordors
on AuO'ust 23 184.8 for the recull of Sonlar Chatn" Kinglt Ahlriw:t1Il, t.he gOVt'rnor
"
of Ra,enra ' his , son S[mln1' Avtnr Smgh,
anrl ,,, 11m1 f or t h (, :lppOIll~mlJl.
. l 1 0 f "ar
I' da1'
ifbdon(;.l Si~gh to officiate in hill place in ae{'or,lalltc with thr wil-\llt'1-\ 1l11!1 lulvice
'ba-mlltabiq 1I!a./'zi-o'-Ra,lall) of ('nptnill~ Abhott 1111(1 ~i!'hol,,('\n, wit:l in"trllctions
rk) Col. Bhup Si.iJ.gh, Col. Bahadur Singh, Col. Budh Sin~h. Htthu Puucloy, Col.
Nur.ud-Din, General Sultan l\.~i1hmud and other lllilitury oJ'fi('('1'1-l "til \)(> fait,Mul
"r
and obedient to the afore-said 8ahib8. A7ch. D. Au~m;t 2:121), lA.IS.,
As desired by the Resident, the Lahore Dnrblll' iSRlIed pa,l'W!lIIClil to their
military a.nd civil officers to send roinfo1'ct'ments to H{'rbel't }~clwl1rd('s nt Mllltnn
and to pay the salaries of the man under his command. rAl~h. r,lllt. ~8.R.18MI.l
Throughout the period, thu DUl'bur kept tIle He~hltmt fully iniorult'cl or the
.happenings at Multan, Hazara and othcl' places. rl'he lJuhore Prime Minil->t,('r,
Raja Tej Singh, regularly sought hill uclvice lind uuhi,l upon it. The other lIwm.
bers of the Oouncil a1100 OllCtlSiOllully IlUW him ttlld llHI!Ill'()d him or their fuithflll
adherence to their engagements with the l~1'itish, kept him in touch with thu
political situation in the country and suggested to him measures for the snppres-
sion of the rising.
As desired by the Resident, the varioul': ~ikh fOl'ts, incllt(ling t;ll!' fort of
Govindgarh at Arnritsar, were evacuated hv the ROldiel'!'l or the no.rbtlr tlnd ronde
ever to British to be occupied and held by their TI'O()PR.
Diwan Mulraj and, liter on, Sal'dal' Chatnr Singh IInu his son!!, !-Inrdnr Avtfll'
Singp and Raja Shar Singh, and their friends like Sllrlllll'~ Lal Singh MllrlU'ilt.
Sur~t Si!l8h Ma.jithia., etc., who hl~d tnkcll lip arms nqnin);t tIle I :riti~h in tl\(!
PU~Jab, were looked down upon and declarerl n~ mufRiils, or mischief.ma.k,)1"4,
thelr houses were searched by the officials of the Dal'bur and Liwir pl\Jperty (lOn-
nscated to the sta.;t;e. CA1,k. LItk. Oct. l~S, 4.9, 184R; Bnd also ibid. I-It,184.9
:or other confisca.tIOns.) A parwana WIlS issned on ~ovomb(lr 1 to General Oo.i-
~nd: of th~ Sikh se~ice, then commnncling a sention of tltc Lahnr,' f roop::; '.t
ul an agamst Mulra], to send. in the names of 11.11 tho~n SikhR who hall f,!ono
over to the rebels, so that their hOllses nnd propcrt.V' might he (~ol1f1!';('fllr(J.
~~ the suggestion of the Darbar, the Resident nppointc(l tiwo of his ARsisfn.nt.
Politiaal Office~s to take chnrge of the 21aqol! nnd ja{/irl! of the rE'cnlcif.rnnfi
Sards.~ of Gu]ranwola, Rnn!!'llrh NnnQ'1l1 and 'Mmnrn. nnn nnmini"lt"l" flli'Trt
r
according to the wishes of their chief. Akh. l.Jah. Oct. 4-9, 13.15, 18,18., One
of these officers, on arriVAl a.t Rangarh Nan gat , Ret; nre to tIm h()tlfl(l~ of flte
Bmara. [Oeti. 18.15, 1848.]
Reward'3 iII; ~ash an~ kind wer~ .granted bv the nnl'hnr, on N1C' l'(\C'omml'nllll--
lion of the B1'1tlsh ~eBldent to CIVIl and militnry' o'ffiMl'R, and puh"rdin'llefl find
other :ranks, for sernces rendered by Them in the cause of 'ihe BritiRh. [Ak. L.,
and Dec. 12, 1848.]
 3
}t'ood and fodder were regularly supplled by .the servants of the Darbar to the
iBritish regiments moving from .their ca.ntonments into the Punjab fer the
suppression of the disturbances in the country. [Akh. L. Oc~. 21-24, 1848.J The
Darbar and their agents advanced money to the British officers like John
Nicholson and others whenever they stood m need of it for the expenses of the
.de~acbments and men placed under ~eir command. [Akh. ,Oct. 30, 184;8.]
The bodyguard of MaharaJah Duleep t3ingh consisted of a cavalry regiment
of the East India Company which formed a part of the British garrison of Lahore.
,[Akh. Lah. Oct. 30, 1848.]
The Lahore Darbar ordered Sardar Gulab Singh, son of the "rebel" Sardar
Chatar Singh to convey personally to his father a copy of the Governor-General
Lord Dalhousie'S letter saying that if any harm Came to the lives of the British
officers in Peshawar and Hazara, it would be avenged with the blood of the sons
of the waar, one of whom, the above Sardar GUl11b Singh, was ]hen in Lahore.
[Nov. 1, 1848.J
Under the orders of the Hesident it was proclaimed by bea.t of drum in the
city of Lahore on November 1, 1848, that all the Sikh employees of the Lahore
kingdom, and of the chiefs residing in the capital, should obtain passes signed by
()aptaitt Bowring; these passes they were always to carry with them, as withoub
the;m they would not be permitted to enter the city or r~side :!;herein.
When Maulavi Hajjab Ali, Mir Mun8hi of the British Residency, informed the
Dnrbtu that Lalp. Ham Uhand Mo1tarwala, the custodian of the royal seal of
Maharajah Duleel) Singh had gone, or intended to go over to the rebels at Akal-
gnrh, .the DurbnJ' called hnn to their pl'esence, took back the seal from hlJIl and
sent It on to the Resident. [Nov. 6-8, 1848.J
On the urrival of thE' British Commander-in-Chitlf at Lahore on November 12,
1848, Muhtu'aJah Duleep 8.ingh and the chiefs of the Lahore Darbar received him
with all the usual :friendly formalities and presents, and fired a salute of 17 guns
L.l his honour. In the oourse of conversation, Sir Hugh Gough told the Resident
.. that their object was the protection and mrmngement (hijazit-o-banaoba8t) of the
kil1g(1o~ of the Maharajah, in addition to the encouragement of his friends and-
tlupporters and :l!he suppression of the rebels. [Nov. 12, 1848.]
On November 15, the Lahore Darbar, as desired by the Resident, ordered two
of itl officials, S'o.rdu.r Door Singh and Diwan Kishan Lal, to accompany the
Commander-in-Chief and hiA force to l~am Nagar (against Baja Sher 8ingh) to
look after their comforts and supply ~hem with food and fodder. [Nov. 16.17,
1848.]
Neith~lr the A'khbarat of L8.hore nor .those of Multan throw any ligh.t on the
-circumstances under which Raja Sher SlUgh had to leave Multan to which ple.?S
h h d been deputed by the Darbar with a view to helping Lt. :a:. Edwardes 1n
the r:duction of the stronghold of Mulraj ...In the,las~ week of Novembm; he sent
from the neighbourhood of Ram Nagar, his vaktl Wlth two documents, one
&ddrE'ssed to the Governor-General desiriD:g, him to re~n faitbiul to the t~~!
of the treaty then existing between the Bntlsh and ihe Sikh governments, failin o
which thc Sikh army rnot of the Lahore kingnom, but the followers of $. few of
the Sardarf! who WOlllrl join him1 would c1eclare. ~ar. Th~ seco~ .doc~enll
enun1erated his complaints against the prime mInIster, RaJa. TeJ Smgh, who
along with other members of tl1e Dnrbar denied the correctness of the;::har~es
and sliia that Aher Sin~h and llis ft'iel1fls were arch-rebels ben~ upon mIschIef.
r Akh. IJ. Nov. 27. 1MS.]
On the 27th of November, 1848, after Sher Singh's docume:r:ts had been
l'eaeived and (lifl('.llFlRA(\ with tll(\ members of the. Dar~ar, the. Re~ldellt orderod
Sardnr AtA;r: Singh Knlianwnln, Khalifa Nnr-lld-Dl;Il, Dlwl1n AJudhla Prasad. an~
Wav.lr Nihal Singh to remnin wit.h the MaharaJa. throughout day and night.
~
 ~
This order was literally obeyed by these officials of the State. [Akh. L. Noy.
27, 1848.]
The last news-sheet in the collection, dated Lahore the :a5th o J anuury ,
1849, contains the news of the fall of Multan on Magh 12, 1905, Bk., January
22, 1849, As desired by the Resldent, the Lahore j)arbar fired 21 guns to
celebrate the victory of Multo.n, and issued orders to .l!'uqir l::)hu,lUus-ud-Din,
the commander ef the Govindgarh fort at Amritsar, to do th~ same. Khalifa..
Nur-ud-Din was sent to convey to the ltesident congratulatiollS 011 behalf of
the Darbar. [January 25, 1849.]
All these points, and several others which huve been omitted for W!l.llt of
space, show that throughout the Multan rebellioll the Lahore Dm'bar remained
faithful to the terms of the treaty with the Gov~l'l1or-General and was.
devotedly attached and obedient to the liritish Hesident, who continued to stay
undisturbed at the Sikh Oapital of Lahore, contl'olliug 311<1 directing, with full
authority, all matters in every departx;:tent of the 13tate. '1'he Daroo.r, through-
out the period, upto tpe eve of the annexation of their country, was under
the impression that the British troops were engaged at Multan and other placeR
in the suppression of the rebellion of Diwan Mulruj and others on their behalf
in the performance of their duty for "the pl'esel'Vation of the peace of the
coun'bry" "during the minority of His Highness Maharlljllh Duloep Singh" 8,A
sgreed upon by articles 7, 8 find 11 of the treaty of DeC!emher, 184.6, and for
which an. annual amount bf 22 lakhs of rupees were paid to them according to-
article 9. It could not have been otherwise, .ns never was nn indico.tion to the
contrary given to the Darbar either by the Residenh or the Governor-Genera.l.
To the last the Governor-General did not even make the formal declaration of
war against Maharajah DUleep Singh or the kingdom of Lahore. Is it not a.
misnome~, therefore, ~o call the ~epel1ion of Diwnn Mulraj Ilnd otherA n war
of the SIkh state agamst the Bntlsh Governmpnt whmle representative, tho
Resident, was all along, controlling and directing Tl'lp./l.sures for 'its sUI'Ilression
from the Oapital itself?