“When you play the Game of Thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground.”
The monsoon winds were waiting to spread the fragrance of first rain in the country of five rivers, then a breaking news spread out of Royal Palace like the fire that after the long protracted illness their King slept the silent death.
Intemperate, excessive drinking habits and a large harem containing more than 44 wives of all ages, denominations and grades hastened to ruin his health.
After his death, his eldest son the Crown Prince Kharak Singh ascended to the throne. Kharak Singh was deemed less than worthy by many in his court, and described by one who served him as a blockhead,
who twice a day he deprived himself of his senses and passed his whole-time in a state of stupefaction.
In Lahore Durbar, there were someone whose names were in the most influential nobles from the time of Maharajah Ranjit Singh and it was much important for the various section within Lahore Durbar to remove them as they were biggest hinderance to the Grand Loot.
They were no other than the Dogra brothers of Jammu Raja Gulab Singh, Raja Dhian Singh and Raja Suchet Singh.
Chet Singh Bajwa, the brother-in-law of Maharaja Kharak Singh advised him to solicite the British protection. He was in the intention that with British interference, he would successfully eliminate the Dogra brothers from whole game and he will rule in actual sense through
Maharaja Kharak Singh. When this news spread, a faction in Khalsa Durbar considered it to be the compromise with the sovereignty of the Punjab decided to dethrone the king and install his son Naunihal Singh who was being once groomed by
Maharaja Ranjit Singh to be the worthy successor. Kunwar Naunihal Singh, determined to assume supreme authority in the state, urged his father to dismiss Chet Singh. But Kharak Singh would neither abjudicate authority in favour of his son nor would he
agree to dispense with his favourite, then at the end Dogra breathen Dhian Singh in concert with Kunwar Naunihal Singh plotted to finish off Chet Singh for the well-being of Khalsa Raj.
In the early hours of 9 October 1839, Dhian Singh and Naunihal Singh, accompanied by 15 other men including Gulab Singh, Suchet Singh, Misr Lal Singh and Attar Singh Sindhanwala, entered the palace in the fort and forced their way into the royal chambers and
Dhian Singh plunged his dagger into heart of Chet Singh in the presence of the Maharaja Kharak Singh who was himself placed under restraint, Kunwar Naunihal Singh running the affairs of the state on his behalf. Kharak Singh was later poisoned with mercury by Sindhanwala Sardars.
Nau Nihal Singh, was far more popular in the realm, but the smoke from his father’s cremation fire had barely cleared when he too met with a violent end. While returning to the palace, after Kharak Singh’s funeral, an accident took place as a massive block of stone fell
mysteriously from an archway. The masonry struck Nau Nihal and Mian Udham Singh, his inseparable companion, eldest son of Raja Gulab Singh who died on the spot whereas Nau Nihal’s skull brutally crushed, and he died a short while later.
After the death of Nau Nihal, her mother, Chand Kaur attempted to lay claim to the throne in the name of her unborn grandson, as did Nau Nihal’s uncle, Sher Singh. Sindhanwala Sardars supported the Chand Kaur as they knew they will secure their power with her whereas
Dhian Singh supported Sher Singh as he was efficient person who can protect Khalsa Raj. The baby was stillborn, and so Sher Singh laid siege to the kingdom until it surrendered to his claim.
After a matter of months, he was shot dead in the palace by his own kinsmen the Sindhanwala Sardars, Ajit Singh and Lehna Singh and the woman who had tried to thwart his claim, like her son, was bludgeoned to death.
Moreover, Dhian Singh and son of Sher Singh (Partap Singh) was also murdered.
They were not the only ones to die in the violent battle to succeed Ranjit Singh. In the four years that followed the Ranjit Singh death, Punjab lost three maharajas, one maharani and numerous aristocrats.
By December 1843, the last man standing was no man at all, but a tiny doe-eyed child by the name of Duleep Singh and he was acceded to throne. Ajit Singh and Lahina Singh Sindhanwala, who had murdered Maharaja Sher Singh and Dhian Singh, proposed that Suchet Singh should
replace his brother as the prime minister but other faction wanted Raja Hira Singh, the son of Dhian Singh being was appointed as Prime minister, so in order to maintain order he was then appointed. Gulab Singh, the eldest of the Dogra brothers, asked Suchet Singh to
support Hira Singh's appointment and he took Suchet Singh with him when he left for Jammu on 5 December 1843.
Murders, treachery, lawlessness and disobedience became the routine work in the court. The soldiers of regiments stationed at Lahore, especially the Sikhs belonging to the Jat clans of Majha, refused to obey the orders of their officers.
They formed themselves into the Panchayats and appointed their own Panchs to negotiate with the prospective claimants to the throne or to the Premiership of the Darbar.
They sided with the highest bidders. Increase of pay and promises of big rewards in the shape of golden Kanthe
They sided with the highest bidders. Increase of pay and promises of big rewards in the shape of golden Kanthe
and Kare by power-seeking opportunist nobles of the court ruined the discipline, morale and spirit of team work in the army of Durbar stationed at Lahore. The treasury became empty and Paymaster General or Bakhshi was murdered by Majhails, for he refused payment of stipulated
rewards. The excesses, vagaries and lawlessness of these soldiers broke all limits. They decided among themselves of state and dictated their decisions to the ministers and to the Regent mother Rani Jindan, whose son Maharaja Dalip Singh was put on the throne by the Sindhanwala
Cheifs after murdering Maharaja Sher Singh and Wazir Dhian Singh.
As Maharaja Sher Singh and Raja Dhian Singh was killed at the hands of Sindhanwala Sardars, Raja Hira Singh made a passionate appeal to the Khalsa Army, encouraging them to avenge the killing of Maharaja
As Maharaja Sher Singh and Raja Dhian Singh was killed at the hands of Sindhanwala Sardars, Raja Hira Singh made a passionate appeal to the Khalsa Army, encouraging them to avenge the killing of Maharaja
Sher Singh and Wazir Dhian Singh Dogra. The five-member Khalsa Army "Panchayat" ordered the killing of Sandhawala brothers Attar Singh and Lehna Singh and they were killed.
Maharani Jindan and her brother Jowahar Singh were getting concerned at the increasing influence of Wazir Raja Hira Singh Dogra at Lahore court. So, they encouraged Suchet Singh as they are in will to make him prime minister and he came down front
the hills to Lahore on 26th March 1844. They, however, all failed him and next morning he found himself, with only forty-five followers, opposed to a large portion of the Sikh army, under Hira Singh, numbering 20,000 men and 56 guns.
Even then his dauntless courage did not forsake him, and refusing to flee, he and his brave band of heroes charged, sword in hand, into the midst of their foes, and perished to a man. Hira Singh wanted to save him but he accepted to die in battlefield and
it is said Hira Singh have shed tears on viewing his beloved uncle's body when he was killed, and well he might for his own end was also near.
Sensing trouble, Hira Singh turned to his uncle Raja Gulab Singh Dogra of Jammu for help. Gulab Singh sent 1000 horsemen with his son Miyan Jawahar Singh to assist. Hira Singh escaped from Lahore, crossed river Ravi from Shahdra and were on their way to Jammu. Khalsa army
pursued them and caught them about 14 miles away from city.
The Sikh forces led by Maharani's brother Jawahar Singh and Sham Singh Attariwala overtook Hira Singh on the way and captured him along with his cousin Miyan Jawahar Singh, the son of Raja Gulab Singh.
The Sikh forces led by Maharani's brother Jawahar Singh and Sham Singh Attariwala overtook Hira Singh on the way and captured him along with his cousin Miyan Jawahar Singh, the son of Raja Gulab Singh.
After the tough fight they were killed on 21 December 1844 and their heads were carried on spears at the city streets of Lahore.
In all these melo-dramatic events at Lahore, on the other hands the army Panchs took leading part not from any patriotic sense of duty, but for the sole purpose of amassing wealth by helping those who paid the biggest amounts.
It was very unfortunate, that at such a chaotic period of time, the administration was conducted by the mother of the Child King.
She was at that time barely 22 years of age, whose son was placed on the throne by the Sindhanwala Cheifs for their own selfish ends. She came from a very poor family and her father was a court buffoon to Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
She was presented to the Maharaja by her father in a hilarious mood. With such a poor background, the Rani was ill-equipped for the highest position she held by the virtue of her being the mother of the Child King.
Unfortunately for the Punjab, she appointed her brother Jawahar Singh as the Vazir of this vast kingdom. Jawahar Singh was a dissolutesot, a drunkard, a libertine, who revelled in the company of lewd women. He dispoiled and raped the wives of late Maharaja Sher Singh.
He got Kanwar Peshora Singh, the son of Maharaja Ranjit Singh murdered at Attack. Such was his record of crimes and sins. The army Panchs decides to punish him for his misdeeds. He was murdered in cold-blood before his sister's eyes in the parade-ground.
As a woman, true of her nature, she could not, under any circumstances, swallow such a gross crime committed against her parent's family. She swore vengeance on the murderers of her brother- the Panchs and the soldiers of the army.
Her personal friends and co-sharers in crime, Wazir Lal Singh- a brahman Sikh convert from a village in Pathohar in the Jhelum District and Commander-in-Cheif Tej Singh - a Brahman Sikh convert from Village Kheri in the Saharanpur District, agreed to her secret and nefarious
designs of getting the Khalsa Army, stationed at Lahore, taught a lesson.
A war between the armies of East India Company and Lahore Division of the Lahore Durbar took place in 1845. After the series of battles of Aliwal, Badowal, Mudki, Feroze Shahr and Sabraon, the Durbar Army was routed and defeated.
In these battles, the following prominent generals and officers of the Lahore Durbar laid their lives for the defence and honour of their motherland: General Makhe Khan, Mewa Singh Majitha,Col. Imam Shah, Heera Singh Topee,Dewan Ram Ditta, Mian Mungloo,
Hukam Singh Malwai, Sardar Kishan Singh, Sardar Sham Singh Attariwala at Sabraon, Sardar Chuttur Singh Kalianwala, Sardar Ganda Singh Koonjahia and Sardar Gulab Singh Kaputta at Feroze Shahr.
The treachery of Wazir Lal Singh and Commander-in-Cheif Tej Singh with connivance of an ambitious young widow, the Rani, bent on punishing and ruining the murderers of her dissolute brother, resulted in bringing the Punjab in the brazen claws of the British.
In between series of battle, a Durbar was held to discuss the strategy against the British which was also attended by Raja Gulab Singh. Maharani Jindan and the Sikh Sardars favored crossing the Sutluj river to attack the British camps while Raja Gulab Singh favored caution and
felt that Maharani Jindan was pushing the Sikh kingdom towards destruction by moving the army across the Sutlej River but she didn't took him seriously. Gulab Singh decided not to join the Sikhs and withdrew as he knew the fate.
After the defeat at Sabhraon, Maharani Jindan summoned Raja Gulab Singh for consultation. Gulab Singh accepted the role of prime minister on condition that court officials gave it in written that they would not interfere with his peace efforts with the British.
With the efforts of Gulab Singh, the title of Maharaja was restored on Maharaja Kharak Singh. Following this, a treaty was signed on March 9, 1846 between the Sikhs and the British which was referred to as the Treaty of Lahore due to which the British
were able to further their political interests and also get some territory from the Lahore Durbar.
Maharani Jindan surprised the British and Dogra by dismissing Gulab Singh and appointing Wazir Lal Singh as the prime minister. A conniving Lal Singh tried to eliminate the Raja Gulab Singh from whole scene. He made an offer to the British to cede all the hill territory to them
between the rivers Sindh and Beas including Kashmir for Rupees one crore. Raja Gulab Singh was able to obtain information about Lal Singh's motives and immediately met the Governor General and after some important incidents, Raja Gulab Singh was bestowed with the title
of "Maharaja" and the Treaty of Amritsar was signed between the British and Maharaja Gulab Singh on March 16, 1846. As a result of this treaty Maharaja Gulab Singh found himself in possession of the State of Jammu and Kashmir.
Moreover, Wazir Lal Singh soon reaped the fruit of his treachery. The Kashmir Governor Sheikh Imam Din of Hoshiarpur had resisted the possession of Kashmir by Raja Gulab Singh. The Sheikh, explaining his conduct, revealed that Wazir Lal Singh had ordered him to act in the
manner as he had acted. As a result of further investigation, he was removed from Punjab and kept in British Territory of Mathura as the state prisoner.
Then, by another treaty of December 1846 with the Lahore Darbar, it was stipulated, that the British forces would stay in the Punjab territory upto 1856, or the year, when Maharaja Dalip Singh became 18 years of age and took up the administration of his kingdom.
But the fate had decided something else. The British had entered the Punjab as friends, allies and guardians in the interest of minor Maharaja Dalip Singh. With passage of time, they hijacked the whole Raj and the Punjab was declared annexed to
British Possession of India in March 1849. The Child Maharaja was disposed. Soon after he, his nephew Shehzada SheoDev Singh and Shehzada 's mother Rani Dukhnoo were taken to Bareilly in the British Territory and were kept there as state prisoners.
Later on the infant Maharaja was taken to England. He died there.
From these events, its clear that the intrigues of Lahore court had also reached inside the Dogra clan. The Dogra brothers were powerful during the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
From these events, its clear that the intrigues of Lahore court had also reached inside the Dogra clan. The Dogra brothers were powerful during the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
After his death, they tried to stay loyal to Maharaja's family but the series of events turned them against each other. The only surviving Dogra was Raja Gulab Singh because he deliberately stayed away from Lahore and he was the one who was the winner of this Grand Game of Throne
who was able to protect the sovereignty of his land and establish himself the independent ruler of vast kingdom of Jammu and Kashmir.
Maharajah Gulab Singh has taught us a thing that Chaos isn't a pit, Chaos is a ladder and it's all on us how we act that time.
Maharajah Gulab Singh has taught us a thing that Chaos isn't a pit, Chaos is a ladder and it's all on us how we act that time.
Anyways, if someone is thinking, this was the happy ending of this Game of Thrones, then he should know a thing that it was the beginning of real Game as Throne of Durgara is again vacant now and it needs it's heir.Oh! my people be ready for one another interesting game of Throne
