Rajas of the punjab

· 1873 · Public domain (published pre-1930) · archive.org ↗

1TH E N A B H A S T A T E .

2405

3Raja Devindar Singh, on the refusal of Sirdar Hnkm |abh%ke«

4Singh

5to surrender the village,

6sent a force against

7it in plunders

8storm arjd^

100

110

12it.

13August 1843, opened fire without delay, and took it by

14storm, refusing to allow any reference to bo made to

15Hnkm Singh or to Lahore. The fort was plundered, and

16a large quantity of valuables, estimated by Sirdar Hnkm

17Singh at more than two lakhs of rupees, was carried off.1

18The Raja’s account of the attack was, of course, different:

19he asserted that the villagers opened fire upon his troops,

20and the capture of the fort was in retaliation for this

21outrage, while no valuables of any description were found

22or removed.3

23Maharaja Sher Singh, who had now succeeded:to the.

24unquiet throne of Lahore, pretended to be, or really was, mdiSDant'

25most indignant at the violence done to one of his depen

26dants, and wrote to the British Government for redress.

27But before any reply could be given, Sher Singh was

28assassinated, and several months of anarchy succeeded,

29during which Mowran was forgotten. But, in July

301844, the question was again raised, and the nature of

31the Lahore demands will be seen from an extract from a

32letter of Maharaja Dalip Singh: 8—“ All the circumstances

33connected with the village of Mowran are understood by Smt,h'

34the English, and it is known to them that it belongs to

35the Khalsa; and yon have also ascertained fully the

36aggression committed, and the deceit practised by the

37authorities of Nabha. Rai Kishan (’hand (the vakil)

38informed me that the case would soon be satisfactorily

39settled; and although it was pleasing to hear this, still,

401 Letter of Kai Kishan Chand, Agent of the Lahore Durbar, 16th July

411844. Statement of Sirdar Hukm Singh Malwai, dated 25th April 1844.

422 Letter from Eaja of Nabha to Agent Governor-General, dated ltith

43July 1844.

443 Received 10 th July 1844.