Sikhs Rule 

The “triumvir,” died in 1797, after the first appearance of Shah Zaman in Lahore, and was succeeded by his son Mohar Singh, while Lahna Singh was succeeded by Chet Singh. Sahib Singh, son of Gujar Sindh, the only man of energy amongst the triumvirate, was absent at Gujrat ; Chet Singh and Mohar Singh, who were left in Lahore, possessed neigher character nor influence. Their own followers, Hakam Rae, Bhai Gur Bakhsh Singh, Mian ‘Ashfaq Mahomed, and Mir Shadi, colluded with Ranjit Singh, who entered Anarkali with a large force. Mohkam Din, Chaudhri, who was in charge of the Lahori gate, opened it to the invader, who took possession of the city, Chet Singh and Mohar Singh escaping on his approach, 1799. He assumed the title of “Sirkar,” signifying State, and established a mint in 1800, i.e. 1857 Samvat). It is remarkable that, although Ranjit had commenced his career as a sovereign, he never assumed royal titles, or aspired to regal dignity. His coins do not bear his name. He fixed his name on nothing, gave his name to nothing. The fort he built at Amritsar, he called Govind Garh ; the garden he laid out there, he named Ram Bagh. In 1802, he reduced Amritsar, the capital of the Sikhs, evicting the widow of the last Bhangi leader of note. In 1806, he crossed the Sutlej and took Ludhiana ; the following year he conquered Kasur; in 1809, he entered into a treaty with the British Government, which confined his ambition for the future to the north and westward of the river Sutlej. It is to the credit of Ranjit that he observed this treaty with absolute fidelity as long as he lived. The same year he acquired Kangra from Sansar Chand ; in 1813, his army, under Dewan Mohkram Chand, having defeated the Cabul Wazir, Fatteh Khan, and his brother, Dost Mahomed Khan, took possession of Attock ; in 1813-14, he wrested the famous Koh-I-Nur diamond from Shah Shuja, ex-king of Cabul ; in 1818, he captured Multan ; towards the end of the same year, he crossed the Indus and entered Peshawar, which was evacuated on his approach ; in 1819, his army, under Prince Kharak Singh and Misser Dewan Chand, conquered Kashmir ; in 1819-20, the Derajat of the Indus were annexed to his dominions ; in 1834, his commanders, under the Jammu Rajas, reduced Ladakh.

Ranjit Singh died at Lahore on 27th June 1839, aged fifty seven. He died as like the old Lion as he had lived. In the course of forty years of his career, he had not only reduced to subjection the proud and high spirited chiefs of his nation, but he had created an army of 80,000 of all arms, in a high state of discipline, with 300 admirable gunds. He left a country which extended from the confines of Thibet to the great Suleman range, and from beyond the Indus to the extreme limits of Multan.

 Successors of Ranjit Singh.

Ranjit Singh was succeeded by his eldest son, Kharak Singh, an imbecile monarch, who, having died in 1840, was succeeded by his son Naunehal Singh. This latter met his death by the fall of a portion of the archway leading to Hazuri Bagh, as he was returning after performing the funeral rites of his father ; and thus the same day that witnessed his coronation, saw him deprived of life. Sher Singh, a reputed son of Ranjit Singh, was elected sovereign ; but Chand Kour, the widow of Kharak Singh, and mother of the slain prince, assumed power. Sher Singh, who was popular with the army, assaulted Lahore on the 14th January 1841, and, the Mai  Chand Kour having yielded, he was proclaimed Maharaja, with Dehan Singh as his Wazir. The Scindhianwalas, feeling that they must prove obnoxious to the new ruler, formed a plot for his destruction, and Sher Singh was assassinated on the 15th September 1843, by Ajit Singh who likewise put Dehan Singh to death. The death of Dehan Singh was avenged by his son Hira Singh, who besieged Lahore and assaulted the citadel. The army responded to his call, and both places were reduced. Ajit Singh was seized, while attempting to escape from the lofty wall of the fort, and Lahna Singh, his associate in the late conspiracy, was at once slain. Dalip Singh was proclaimed Maharaja, and Hira Singh, his Wazir.

The new minister was virtually ruler of the Panjab, but he was solely guided by Pandit Jalla, his preceptor. Two of the chief enemies of Raja Hira Singh’s rule were Raja Suchet Singh, his uncle, and Sardar Attar Singh Scindhianwalia. A large army marched against the former, and put his little band of followers to flight, and the brave Raja died fighting to the last, near the tomb of Mian Wadda, in the vicinity of Lahore. Attar Singh and Kashmira Singh, a reputed son of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, were attacked near Firozpur by a large body of troops from Lahore, and were both slain. Jalla Pandit, by his haughty conduct, irritated the Sikhs and offended the Queen-Mother. Both he and his master, Hira Singh, had to fly from Lahore, but were overtaken at Shahdera and put to death, 21st December 1844.

 Jawahir Singh

 Jawahir Singh, the brother of the Rani, and Lal Singh, her favorite, became the most influential members of the administration. The former was formally appointed Wazir, but he incurred the displeasure of the Khalsa army, was condemned and put to death, 21st September 1845. The army was now all powerful, and in expectation of the English war, Lal Singh was elected Wazir, and Tej Singh, Commander-in-Chief. War with the English was declared on the 17th November, and the Sikh army crossed the Sutlej on the 11th December 1845. The battles of Mudki (18th December), Feroz Shahr (21st and 22nd December), the skirmish of Baddowal (21st january 1846), the battles of Aliwal (28th January), and Sobraon (10th February), resulted in the total defeat of the Sikhs and the occupation of Lahore by the British troops. The British army arrived at the Sikh capital on the 20th February 1846, and the citadel was garrisoned by English regiments. A convention was entered into for the administration of the government, by a Council at Lahore, under British superintendence, during the minority of Dalip Singh, and Lal Singh, who had excited the late insurrection, was removed from Lahore. The removal of Lal Singh excited the bitterest feelings in the heart of Rani Jindan, and the Sikhs were not satisfied with the settlement of their country as effected by the Governor-General. Mul Raj, the Sikh Governor of Multan, rebelled, and a second Sikh war ensued. Multan was conquered, and the rebel Mul Raj taken prisoner. He was tried by a Military Court-Martial and found guilty. But British elemency prevailed, and his life was spared ; he was imprisoned for life.

 The insurrection of Multan was followed by an open rebellon of the great Sikh army and the Sikh population. The Khalsa army approached within sixty miles of Lahore. Lord Gough being put at the head of the Punjab army, the bloody battle of Chillianwala was fought on the 13th January 1848. This was the last great effort of Ranjit Singh’s army to recover their country, and it was followed by the battle of Gujrat, 21st February 1848, when Lord Gough, advancing with his whole army, utterly routed the Sikhs. Dalip Singh was formally deposed on the 29th March 1848, and the kingdom of Lahore having come to an end, the country was anaxed to the British Empire