The History of India, from the Earliest Period to the Close of Lord Dalhousie's Administration - By John Clark Marshman Volume 2 - Softcover

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1867 edition. Excerpt: ...and the half military half religious community of the Sikhs, who had been oppressed by all the successive rulers of the country, had an opportunity of gradually enlarging and consolidating their power. This country, lying in the track of every invader, from Alexander the Great to Ahmed Shah Abdalee, and which had been subject to greater vicissitudes and a more frequent change of masters than any other Indian province, was now in the hands of the Sikhs. Their commonwealth was divided into fraternities, termed misils, the chief of each of which was the leader in war, and the arbiter in time of peace. Of these clans, twelve were deemed the foremost in rank. Churut Sing, the head of one of the least considerable, had commenced a course of encroachments on his neighbours, which was carried on by his son, Maha Sing. He died in 1792, leaving an only son, Runjeet Sing, who at the early age of seventeen entered upon that career of ambition and aggrandisement, which, by a rare combination of cunning and audacity, resulted in the establishment of a power as great as that of Sevajee or Hyder. He acquired great credit for his prowess when, in 1799, Zemaun Shah entered the Punjab, which was still considered as an appendage of the crown of Cabul. Runjeet Sing had the discretion to aid him in moving his guns across the Jhelum, and was rewarded by the important grant of the town of Lahore, which was the capital of the country even before the Mahomedans crossed the Indus, and had always been associated with the supreme authority in the province. From 1803 to 1806, Runjeet Sing was diligently employed in extending his authority over the different fraternities and chiefs in the Punjab. In 1806, the 220 THE SIKH STATES OF SIRHIND. chap. course of his...