The influence of the Sirdars, or chiefs of the Punjab, has decreased in proportion to the supremacy of the ruler. The power of most of the members of the original Seik confederacy has been subverted or neutralised; and the Maharaja has surrounded his person and filled their places by minions of his own, whose fortune, more than their merits, has led to their promotion. The Jemadar Khooshal Sing, and the three Rajas and brothers of Jummoo, Dihan, Ghoolab, and Soojait Sing, are strong instances in point. The first of these individuals once figured as a Hindoo, and in the humble capacity of a cook to a private soldier. He is now a Seik, and a great commander. The others, though of less obscure origin, are descended from a Rajpoot of some small patrimony in the Lower Hemilaya. These individuals now form a social band in the Court of Runjeet Sing, whose favours they have bountifully reaped. None of them possess talent; and, with one exception, they are ignorant of the first rudiments of education. It is not to be supposed that such men have any great influence with such a ruler; yet they have managed to instil that belief into the minds of the people; and make every use of their supposed influence, to fill their coffers, and nourish the arts of corruption. The elder brother, Ghoolab Sing (who can read), manages the salt monopoly, and a large portion of the territory towards the Jelum. He is a cruel and tyrannical man. Dihan Sing exercises his arts in the Court; while his brother enacts his part abroad, but he is devoted to the interests of his master, and is said to be a good man. He is now fortifying his native home, in the vicinity of Bimbur, which he has strengthened by guns taken from Lahore,—a fact which no one discloses to the Maharaja. The favourite judiciously prepares for a future time, when the tenure of his possessions will be weakened with the loss of his patron. The son of Dihan Sing, a boy of nine years, is the only individual, besides a sons and two priests, who is permitted to sit on a chair in Runjeet Sing’s Durbar. It may be imagined, that such a long line of innovation has not been effected without exciting the jealousy, perhaps envy, of the old Seik chieftains.
People.
From the Sirdars, our attention is naturally directed to the Seik people; and, if we find a hollowness and decay in the former, we have here a healthy and vigorous body. The inhabitants are a robust and athletic race, of sinewy limbs and tall stature. The genuine Khalsa, or Sing, knows no occupation but war and agriculture, and he more affects the one than the other. No race of people could have been better constituted to firmly uphold their government; and, with ambition and patriotism (if I can use the word) equal to their power, they are a sufficiently numerous body to defend it. Their ascendency as a nation continues to increase, the numerical strength of the tribe; and, actuated in the common cause by common principles, they are certainly a powerful people. It is not to be doubted that the head of the Seik church, the Bedee, or Sahib Sing, might yet frustrate the designs of any ruler, and, by a crusade in behalf of this religion, overthrow the best laid designs of an ambitious prince. Runjeet Sing is aware of this influence, and, with but little religion, takes care to enlist the church in his cause, by constantly receiving two of its priests with distinction and confidence. Yet the Seiks are a most tolerant nation, and evince a merciful consideration in the differences of religion, that forms a bright contrast to their Mahommedan neighbours. It is with distrust that I attempt an enumeration of the people subject to the Punjab; but I am informed that the Khalsa or Seik population does not exceed 500,000 souls, and the remainder is composed of Seiks, Mahommedans, and Hindoo Juts, who may amount to 3,000,000.
Military strength of the Punjab.
With such materials, it may be imagined that there is little difficulty in forming an efficient army; and that of Runjeet Sing amounts to about 75,000 men. Of these, 25,000 consist of regular infantry, drilled as Europeans, fully equal to the troops of the Indian army. Their discipline might be improved by increasing the power of the native officers, and removing a just ground of discontent, which arises from giving different pay to individuals of the same rank, according to the caprice of the ruler. Without commissions, these men do not possess a respect for themselves, nor are they respected by their soldiers. The regular cavalry and artillery may be reckoned at 5000, with 150 guns; and the irregular troops, which are all cavalry, fall little short of 50,000. These are denominated “Ghorchuras,”—which simply means horsemen,—and are paid by assignments of land, in return for their military service. A regular muster of these forces is exacted, with a few favoured exceptions; and, as a native soldiery, they are an efficient, well-mounted, and serviceable body. Their superiority is said to consist in being easily rallied; while their neighbours, the Afghans, terminate a battle with the first discomfiture. The pay of the regular troops is superior to that of the Company’s army; they are clothed by the state; and the Seik portion live in messes, which are supplied by government, at a deduction of two rupees a month for each man. For some years past the army has been irregularly paid, and their affections have been alienated from their prince; but the Seiks make good soldiers, and are inured to long marches and every fatigue. This inattention on the part of Runjeet Sing to his army is traced by the soldiers themselves, and perhaps with truth, to his growing friendship with the British Government; but may be yet explained by the increasing avarice of age. If some change for the better does not take place in this branch of his economy, we shall either find the regular force of the Punjab in a state of mutiny, or greatly diminished; nor do I hazard the opinion unadvisedly.
Revenues and resources.
The productions of the Punjab, together with the nature of its population, are favourable to its separate existence as a government. The nett revenue of the country amounts to about two and a half crores of rupees per annum. Of this sum, thirty-one lacs are derived from Cashmeer, exclusive of ten expended in its defence; but that province forms a kingdom of itself, and could yield double the amount. An individual, who lately held Cashmeer for three years, and paid his thirty-one lacs regularly, was found to have carried upwards of thirty lacs of rupees out of the country in goods and money, the whole of which have been confiscated; but his successors in office, some Cashmeer Pundits, are said to have rivalled in the following year this extensive peculator. The plains of the Punjab, which are diagonally intersected by so many rivers, might be successfully irrigated from canals; as is proved by the existence of some, and the remains of others, which are the work of the Emperors, in the eastern portion of the country. The land is not less fruitful in the munitions of war, than in corn and money. It abounds in horses, mules, and camels. The Dunnee horse, found between the Jelum (Hydaspes) and Indus, is well known, but no attention is paid to rearing it; and from the horses of Runjeet Sing’s regular cavalry, one could not imagine that his country produced that noble animal. The mules from the banks of the Jelum are strong, and capable of bearing great burdens; while the camels on the southern parts of the Punjab are equally serviceable. The cattle are small and ill-conditioned, but numerous. The rude structure of boats on the rivers of the Punjab does not indicate that it ever carried on an inland trade by water to any extent; but these rivers, though all of them be fordable (even the Indus) in the dry season, form so many lines of routes to commerce and an army. The craft on them are not numerous, and little wood is produced in the plain; but the rains yearly wash down trees from the mountains to increase their number, or construct bridges across them. We can readily discover the capabilities of the Punjab, not only to support its own army, but that of another country; and an enemy, whether native or European, if defeated in the plains, might defy, in the valley of Cashmere, every attempt at subjection, since it could subsist without foreign aid, in a natural fortress, abounding in resource, that might be rendered impregnable.
Foreign policy of Runjeet Sing.
The influence of Runjeet Sing’s power is felt on all sides of his kingdom; and his policy seems to consist in exciting as much as possible the angry feelings of one neighbour towards another. As regards the British Government, he may be considered a most friendly ally, for his distrust has disappeared in the strict and continued preservation of our treaties. It is not to be doubted that he was long unable to appreciate the disposition of his formidable neighbours, and that his court formed a nucleus to the disaffected so late as the fall of Bhurtpore; but his better judgment always guided him, and, in later years, his experience has been aided by a few intelligent and enlightened French officers, who have schooled him in a knowledge of the European character and the British policy. The Maharaja is entitled to every praise for the extreme prudence which has guided his actions. Nothing is more improbable than a violation of friendship on his part; and we may rest assured, that his acumen and intimate knowledge of mankind will retain him as our faithful friend and ally. The advantages which he has derived from the good understanding with the British Government are not inconsiderable: he has been able to remove his troops from that frontier, and reduce their number; and he now employs them, and the name of his all-powerful neighbours, in perfecting his other designs.
With the Khan of Bhawulpoor.