1 His punishment.
2 His conduct during
3 the second Sikh war
4 satisfactory.
5 His reward.
6 He is created a raja.
7 His death, 1852.
8 RaAjs Randhir Singh
9 succeeds.
10 His services during
11 the Mutiny of 1857.
12 The services of his
13 brother Bikarma Singh.
14 Their reward.
15 Services in Oudh,
16 1858.
17 The rewards for their
18 Bervices.
19 The grant of estates.
20 é
21 The rdjA is invest
22 with the orde: of ay
23 "Star of India,” 1864,
24 Sri Satguru J agjit Singh Ji eLibrary
25 820 HISTORY OF THE PANJAB.
26 and.then to throw in his fortune with the more powerful side on the cessation
27 of hostilities. As a punishment for his conduct, his territories, south of
28 the Sutlej, estimated at Rs. 5,65,000 a year, were confiscated by the Govern-
29 ment, This punishment had a wholesome effect on the sardar, who, in
30 the second war, rendered valuable services to the British Government in
31 collecting supplies. He offered to supply a contingent of troops for service
32 in Multén, but advantage was not taken of their services. When the war
33 was over, the Governor-General honoured the capital of the Ahluwalia chief
34 with his presence, and created Nehal Singh a raja.
35 Nehal Singh died in September 1852, and was succeeded by his eldest
36 son, Randhir Singh, then in his twenty-second year. Randhir Singh was
37 an accomplished and enlightened prince. He rendered conspicuous services
38 to the British Government during the Mutiny of 1857. In Jalandar, his
39 troops guarded the civil station, the treasury and the jail, and he employed the
40 whole of his cavalry in the pursuit of the mutineers. In July, Hoshiarpur
41 was strengthened by his troops, consisting of cavalry, infantry and two guns.
42 Both in the Jalandar Dodb and Cis-Sutlej, he and his brother, Prince
43 Bikarma Singh, rendered important services, The number of their troops
44 employed during the Mutiny in the British interests was 1,200 infantry, and
45 200 cavalry with five guns.
46 The services of the rdjé and his brother were most warmly acknowledged
47 by the British Government. This rdjé paid an annual tribute of Rs. 1,23,000
48 in commutation of military service, but in recognition of the loyalty dis-
49 played by His Highness during the Mutiny, the Viceroy and Governor-
50 General was pleased to remit a full year’s tribute, and, in addition, to reduce
51 the annual sum by Rs, 25,000; Ahtlats worth Rs. 15,000 and Rs. 5,000 were
52 awarded to the rajdé and his brother respectively. The rajd’s salute was
53 increased, and he got the honorary title of Fursand Dilband Rasikhal
54 Itikad, while Prince Bikarma Singh was honoured with the title of Bahd-
55 dur. The rdéjé and his brother, Bikarma Singh, rendered valuable service
56 to the British Government in Oudh during 1838, and, in the words of the
57 Governor-General, fought “with conspicuous bravery.” Their troops
58 engaged the enemy on six different occasions, and captured nine guns.
59 These indefatigable brothers continued for full ten months in the field at
60 the head of their troops. For his devoted services in this part of the
61 country, the réj& was most liberally rewarded. Two rich estates, called
62 Boundi and Bithouli, in Oudh, which yielded Government one lakh of rupees
63 per annum, were granted to the rdjd, on istimrari tenure, at half rates.
64 Prince Bikarma Singh received an estate worth Rs. 45,000 a year in the
65 Bharaech district. The estates in the Bdri Dodb, estimated at Rs. 26,300
66 per annum, which had been resumed on the death of Nehal Singh in 1852,
67 were restored to the raja, and finally he received the most highly valued
68 of the privileges, that of adoption, by a sanad granted by Lord Canning,
69 Viceroy and Governor-General of India. On the recommendation of the
70 Chief Commissioner of Oudh, the Government of India was also pleased
71 to confer on the réjé the honorary title of Rajd-i-Rdjgan, or Raja of Rajas,
72 which title, however, was intended to ‘have local force in Oudh only,
73 in order to place him above the Oudh talukdars, many of whom were
74 inferior to the Kapurthalla chief, although called Rajds or Mahardjas, such
75 as Mahardjé Madu Singh, Mahardja Dirg Biji Singh of Balrampur and others.
76 In October, 1864 Randhir Singh was invested with the insignia of the
77 most exalted order of the “Star of India,” at a darbdr held at Lahore on the
78 occasion, and attended by the Mahardjds of Kashmir and Patidld, the Rajds
79 of Jhind, Faridkot and other independent Panjab chiefs. On this occasion
80 NamdhariElibrary@ gmail.com