Travels Into Bokhara (Volume 2 of 3) / Being the Account of A Journey from India to Cabool, Tartary, and Persia; Also, Narrative of a Voyage on the Indus, From the Sea to Lahore, With Presents From the King of Great Britain; Performed Under the Orders of the Supreme Government of India, in the Years 1831, 1832, and 1833

by Sir Alexander Burnes

With his neighbour on the south, the Khan of Bhawulpoor, his demonstrations of hostility have been more evident; and the whole of the territories of that petty state lying north of the Sutledge have been this year (1832) seized by the Seiks. The territories south of that river would long ere this have shared a similar fate, did not such a step infringe the treaty with the British Government. It is but just to remark, that the Khan held these lands as a tributary to Lahore, and that his arrears had not been paid; yet he was secretly encouraged by the highest officers of Runjeet Sing’s government to withhold the amount from a French officer being sent to collect it. This chief has now forfeited his paternal estates, as well as the farm of Dera Ghazee Khan, across the Indus, for both of which he paid about six lacs of rupees per annum. There is little cordiality between the Punjab and Sindian Governments; and if the Maharaja is prevented from attacking the Ameers of Sinde, it is more from this remote position than his want of inclination. It is certain that Runjeet Sing entertains designs against Shikarpoor, in which he has been encouraged by some chiefs on the right bank of the Indus; but it is very questionable if he will ever mature his plans. He has, however, succeeded in exciting suspicion, and raising dissension among the chiefs of Sinde; and it is a matter of little doubt that, if he assembled his army at Mooltan, the country about Shikarpoor would fall a prey to the disciplined valour of the Seiks in one campaign.

With the countries west of the Indus.

To the westward, Runjeet Sing has prudently bounded his territories by the Indus: his troops have frequently passed that grand barrier of Hindoostan; the city of Peshawur has been in their hands, and the Seiks might have marched to Cabool, but their ruler has contented himself with the forts on either side of the great ferry at Attok. Though the Afghan nation is without a head, that people are not without power; and such is their bigotry and hatred to the Seiks, that it would be impossible for them to retain the country, which they have so often overrun, without a large armed force. Runjeet Sing derives a yearly tribute of some horses and rice from Peshawur and the surrounding districts, and he holds a son of the chief as a hostage at Lahore; yet that country is far from settled, and the allegiance is most unwillingly paid. He, however, works on the fears of the Dooranees, by keeping up negotiations with two of their ex-kings, one of whom is his pensioner at Lahore. The Seiks are deterred from pushing their conquests beyond the Indus by a prediction in their Holy Book, or “Grinth,” that foretells a bloody conflict in the neighbourhood of Ghuzni and Cabool. The territory of Dera Ghazee Khan, which lies lower down the Indus, forms an exception to this line of policy; but it has been farmed to a Mahommedan chief since its conquest; and now that it is held immediately subject to Lahore, five regiments of regular infantry are cantoned in the country. The cupidity of the Maharaja has been excited by the prospect of an increased revenue; and he may also rejoice in the means of employing so large a division of his army. He lately made a pretended offer of this farm to one of the Sinde Ameers, much to the displeasure of the other chiefs.

With the hill states.

There is no frontier of the Punjab that bears the yoke of the Seiks so unwillingly as the hill states that form its northern boundary. They were formerly ruled by a tribe of Rajpoots, converted to Mahommedanism, who retained the Hindoo title of Raja. I have not visited that portion of the country, but am informed that the people entertain a respect for their former Rajas bordering on veneration. Most of these have been displaced: those of Rajour and Bimbur (two of the principal states) are now confined in chains at Lahore. The country of both, even to the verge of Cashmere, has been transferred to the trio of Rajpoot brothers, for whom it will become a safe resting-place on a revolution of the government. The whole line of hills from the Sutledge to the Indus has been subdued by the Seiks, and either pays tribute, or is held directly subject to their government. The strength of the fastnesses in such mountains is very great, and the people have a tradition, that the fortress of Kumla, in Mundee, has never been captured by an army: that of Kot Kangra, to the eastward, which is surrounded by the Beas on three sides, is also described as impregnable.

General character of Runjeet Sing’s government.

With many defects, Runjeet Sing’s government is most vigorous, and well consolidated for a native state. The failings in it partake of the country and its customs; but its virtues (and it certainly has some) belong to a higher scale of civilisation. The greatest blemish in the character of the ruler himself may be found in his universal distrust of those around him; but he only shares this quality in common with his countrymen. To such an extent is this feeling carried, that none of the French officers are ever intrusted with a gun, and the different gates of Attok, and other important fortresses, are confided to separate individuals, who command independent of one another. Cunning is the chief weapon in the politics of Runjeet Sing, and he uses it at all times. Little addicted to speaking truth, and less given to the performance than the making of promises, he yet rules with an unprecedented moderation for an Indian prince. Few men, with such despotic power, have ever used it so mildly; and when we remember that he is without education, our estimate of his character must rise with the reflection, that he never sheds the blood of his subjects, and even spares the lives, (though not the persons,) of those who have perpetrated the blackest deeds. Runjeet Sing has now lost much of his personal activity; yet he manages all the concerns of his state, from matters of the highest importance to the merest trifle, without a minister, and without advice. With a frame enfeebled by age and premature decay, the pleasures of the world have long since palled upon this man; and though he still retains the full exercise of his faculties, his ambitious views seem to have departed with the inability to command and conquer in person.

Its probable termination.

Since the demise of such a man is fraught with much political importance, and his infirmities and habits hold out but faint hopes of longevity, we turn, with increased interest, to speculate on the probable termination of this kingdom. Nature has implanted in the breast of man, and, perhaps, more strongly in that of a king, a desire of transmitting his patrimony and his power to his children; but the character of Kurruck Sing, Runjeet’s only son, who has attained his thirtieth year, can hold out no hope to the father of his being able to follow his footsteps, even at the remotest distance. With a cast of features resembling his parent in a most striking degree, ends all comparison between them. He is imbecile, illiterate, and inanimate. With few favourites or enemies, he takes no share in the politics of the state, and conciliates no party which may avail him in the hour of difficulty. The blighted hopes of the father in so degenerate an offspring, may have rendered him indifferent and regardless to the increasing prosperity of his kingdom: but there is also a grandson, Noor Nihal Sing, who has attained the age of ten years. Besides Kurruck Sing, there are two adopted sons, and one of them, Shere Sing, now about twenty-six, is unquestionably the most rising person in the Punjab. To a commanding mien, and a disposition the most generous, he has already added the reputation of a brave and frank soldier. He has dissipated his treasures in riot and luxury; but he has been gaining the good opinion of the people, in particular the soldiery, to whom he has endeared himself by many sacrifices. His talents and acquirements (for a Seik) are said to be respectable; and, while he has obtained the esteem of the chiefs, he has equally secured the friendly offices of the French gentlemen in his father’s service. He now holds the government of Cashmere; and if he retains that important post on the demise of the Maharaja, he may be inducted, without much difficulty, into the extensive realm of his father. But it is to be remembered that he is a spurious child, and, with many friends, he has some enemies, and will have to contend with the legitimate son, and, perhaps, the treasures of his adopted father. It is believed by the people that Runjeet Sing might bequeath his government to any favourite, with a hope of its continuing permanent; but I cannot, for my own part, subscribe to the opinion. If Shere Sing does not secure a supremacy, this kingdom will probably relapse into its former state of anarchy and small republics; or be reduced to subjection by some neighbouring power.