The Sikhs by Patwant Singh

Author:Patwant Singh
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction
ISBN: 9780307429339
Publisher: The Crown Publishing Group
Published: 2007-12-18T05:00:00+00:00

5

From Annexation to Partition 1849–1947

Sikh loss of sovereignty underscored the recurring ironies of history, since Britain herself had lost America 66 years earlier through irresponsible leadership. If the leading British figures of the time “had been other than they were, there might have been statesmanship instead of folly, with a train of altered consequences reaching to the present.” So also in the case of the Sikhs, but with a significant difference. The Sikhs, unlike the British, were not just let down by irresponsible political leaders, they were continuously subverted even on the battlefield by the treachery and amorality of those who had risen to powerful positions under them.

“. . . despite the deceitfulness of courtiers such as Lal Singh and Tej Singh, they [the Sikhs] had fought the ferringhi [white foreigner] squarely, and maintained their manly demeanour even in defeat.” In the ominous silence that descended on the vanquished Punjab, no Sikh voices were raised in supplication, though this fact was rarely recorded either by Western historians or Sikhs themselves since they were not great communicators. The adversaries of the Sikhs, more often than not, depicted even their victories as defeats. The British, for their part, understood all too well the power of the written word; the art of skilfully manipulating facts to enthral audiences at home and abroad. “No nation has ever produced a military history of such verbal nobility as the British,” observes Barbara Tuchman. “Retreat or advance, win or lose, blunder or bravery, murderous folly or unyielding resolution, all emerge alike clothed in dignity and touched with glory . . . Other nations attempt but never quite achieve the same self-esteem. It was not by might but by the power of her self-image that Britain in her century dominated the world.”

When the Sikhs’ climactic moment in history was at an end, the British improved on the brashness of men like Dalhousie. After their annexation of the Sikh Kingdom, British self-interest was served by a more flexible and far-ranging policy. Its foremost priority was the dismantling of the Sikh army, followed by the establishment of an elaborate governmental structure which included executive, judicial, revenue-collection and developmental functions. The administration of the Province of Punjab was entrusted to a Board of Commissioners, of whom there were three: Sir Henry Lawrence, his brother John Lawrence, and Charles Mansell. The Punjab was divided into seven Commissionerships and 27 Districts, and by 1 June 1849 the new administrative system had been set up in most areas.

The District Officer’s job was collection of revenue, keeping the peace, the dispensation of justice, and the economic development of his District. Revenue in Punjab was collected from water rates, land revenue, malikana (fees for recognizing proprietary titles), and various other forms of duties, rents and taxes. When it came to constructing canals, however, the cost of their development was largely financed by the Punjabis rather than the colonial administration although the revenue collected went to its treasury, and from there to the British exchequer as charges for administering India.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.