1 «. £220D-DIN ALAMGIR IL. ° | 227
2 “act of cruelty; prompted by personal pique. on.the part of the Begum, dis-
3 ~gisted all the ‘old Omeiahs, who were themselves ignominiously treated.
4 _. Almost all gave up attending the darbdr, wliere not only honor but life
5 ."-avas.at stake, and petitions were sent to the Court at Dehli, complaining of
6 ‘the: conduct of the Begum: ‘At thé same time, the enfeebled and distracted
7 state of the government. of Lahore encouraged the Sikh associations to
8 ‘Yaise their heads again.and renew their acts of depredation. These bearded
9 _ freebootérs. traversed ‘various parts of the province, laying’ waste the country,
10 - depopulatinig villages..and.towns and carrying off flocks and herds. All
11 order; both civil: and military, was at an end. Nota pice could be levied
12 _.. from the zemindars ob‘ account of government demands. Disorder, anarchy and
13 confusion prévailéd throughowt-thé country. Ghazi-ud-din, the Dehli wazir,
14 who, had some respect-for his intended* mother-in-law, deputed Sayad
15 Jamil to help the Begum in the administration of the country, and the
16 ‘Sayad, ‘arriving at Lahore; introduced some measures of reform, but the
17 lady became jealous of his powér, and begged Ghazi-ud-din to remove him.
18 .. The young wwazir. was inflexible. The incensed lady, who had a thirst for
19 _ authority, thereupon sent her agents to the Abdali king, complaining
20 _ of the encrodchments‘of the Delhi Court, and the slight she had received at
21 the hands of the imperial officers” Her duplicity being soon discovered,
22 _ Ghazi-ud-din marched from Dehli, ‘‘acedmpanied by Mirza Ali Gohar;
23 Alamgir’s. eldest ‘son; at..the..héad.of a large army, in the beginning of
24 1169 Hijri... The force’ had reached. Machiwara, seventy os from Sirhind,
25 when the wazir opened negotiations for the marriage; and, with a handful
26 . of followers, advanced to Léhore as if to celebrate the nuptials; When all
27 ' suspicion had been completely lulled,.he surprised the town by a stratagem,
28 and “surrounded ‘the house. ‘of the Begum, who found herself a prisoner in
29 _- her own bed: When lie perceived that all his entreaties failed to obtain her
30 . consent to the marriage; he unscrupulously seized her, and placing her in ‘close
31 confinement, deprived her of her rank and liberty, and, carried her to Dehli
32 as. ai State prisoner. . The government of La&hore was given by the wazir to
33 Adina Beg. Khan for a tribute. of thirty lakhs of rupees. Prince Ali Gohar
34 was annoyed by the complaints of the widow, and tried to persuade Ghazi-
35 ud-din to re-instate her, but the young. minister. paid no regard to his re-
36 monstrabces, and annoyed the lady in every possible.way. On her way to Dehli,.
37 the.incensed mother-in-law reproached: Ghazi-ud-din for his treachery in the
38 -' most poignant diatribes, and ‘prophesied. the fall. of the Indian empire,
39 the destruction dnd the ruin of the country, and the: massacre of its people
40 by -the Northern invader, .whd, she maintained, would, on no account,
41 . forgive the ungallant act of. the officers of the imperial Government towards
42 her. The unabashed minister married her ‘daughter, and bore the brunt
43 of his mother-in-law’s rage as best as hé could. The old lady’s prediction
44 was soon realised, for, no sooner did: Ahmad Shah hear of the occupation of
45 Léhore by. the Dehli Governrient, and the. outrage committed on his regent;
46 than: he left Kandahar, in the season of 1755-56,. crossed ‘the. Indus, drove
47 :» Adina -Beg Khan, thé govérnor,.out of Léhore and garrisoned. the place with
48 his .own: troops. Adina; unable to resist, fled to the north of Lahore and zn
49 . sought protection. undér the hill 74jas..-
50 The Sikhs renew ~
51 their depredations in
52 the Panjab,
53 Sayad Jamil sent to
54 Lahore as deputy
55 governor,
56 The heir apparent
57 Ali Gohar marches
58 to Lahore. ‘
59 Ghazi-ud-din’s
60 treacherous seizure
61 of Murad Begum,1756.
62 Adina Beg Khan
63 appointed Viceroy of
64 Lahore, :
65 Fourth invasion of -
66 Ahmad Shah 1755-56.
67 Flight of Adina Beg
68 an. ‘
69 “Ahmad Shah then hastened to-Debili, through Sirhind, and reached the
70 neighbourhood’ of the capital: -.without--encountering. the. least obstacle,
71 Nawab: Najib-ud-doula, ‘who ‘is: believed .to ‘have: been.in secret correspon-
72 an It seems that Mir Manni, to strengthen his interest at the Court of Debli, had; before his —
73 r , promised his ‘daughter to Ghazi-ud:-din; who'still held out hopes of- securing the youn
74 lady, though, after the viceroy’s death, both she'and her mother. were extremely averse to if. . :
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