1 The widow of Bhagel
2 Singh expelled from
3 Bahadurpur, 1810.
4 Nidhan Singh, Hattu,
5 chief of Maraka,
6 reduced,
7 His fort of Daska ig
8 be sieged,
9 He is himself taken
10 a prisoner, 1810.
11 Hallow4élia posses-
12 sions in Richna Doab
13 seized, 1810,
14 The expedition of
15 Dewin Mohkam
16 Chand,
17 Capture of the forts
18 of oe and Gang,
19 388 HISTORY OF THE PANJAT,
20 was indeed made that, when the minor sons of Jodh Singh should
21 attain age of discretion, Wazirdbad- would be restored to them; but the
22 promise was never fulfilled. A jagir of Rs. 10,000 in Thib, was allowed ag
23 subsistence to Amrik Singh and Gandé Singh, sons of the deceased sardar.
24 About the same time, Rani Rém Kour, widow of Sardar Bhagel Singh, was
25 expelled from Bahddurgarh, which she had held as a jagtr for her main-
26 tenance,
27 The Dasahra being over, the Mahardjd marched, in person, in October
28 1810, to Ramnagar, on the banks of the Chindb, and summoned Nidhdn
29 Singh, Hattu, so called on account of his courage (Hat), to his presence,
30 This chief, whose head-quarters were in Maraka, a few miles below Léhore,
31 on the Ravi, had risen, to eminence in the latter days of Maha Singh, Suker-
32 chakia, and was looked upon with jealousy, not only by the Sukerchakia
33 chief, but also by Sahib Singh of Gujrat, Panjdb Singh of Sidlkot, and
34 Jodh Singh, of Wazirdbad, with whom he had constant feuds, When Shah
35 Zaman invaded the Panjéb, in 1797, Nidhdn Singh was one of the few Sikh
36 chiefs who welcomed the Shah’s approach, and was honorably received by the
37 Shah, on the banks of the Chindb, and confirmed in all his possessions, He
38 kept the road from Lahore to Wazirdbdd open for the Kabul monarch,
39 and rendered many other important services to his powerful ally. When
40 Ranjft Singh invaded Multdn, in the beginning of 1810, Nidhdn Singh was,
41 after some difficulty, induced to accompany the Mahardjd, with a contingent
42 of 250 horsemen, and, at the close of the campaign, he went to his fort at
43 Daska, contrary to the Mahardjd’s instructions, Ranjit Singh summoned
44 him to his presence; but the spirited chief refused to attend, except under
45 the guarantee of a Sodhi, or Sikh priest. This conduct incensed the Maha-
46 réjé, who, on the 17th of October, closely invested the fort, bringing against
47 it the famous gun zamzama, which was brought to operate only on occasions
48 of unusual emergency, The siege lasted a month, but no impression was
49 made on the fort, after which resort was had to ill-treatment of the wives
50 and families of the besieged who had fallen into the hands of the invaders ;
51 but this mode of revenge also failed to influence the garrison. At length,
52 on a guarantee being given by Bd&bé Mulak Rj and Jamiat Singh, Beclis,
53 or high Sikh priests, and a promise made to him of a munificent jdgir, the
54 refractory old chief surrendered, He came into the camp of the Maharaja,
55 who instantly put him in irons, unmindfal of the solemnity of the engage-
56 ment entered into with the priests, who were naturally highly indignant
57 at this breach of faith.
58 In the month of November, Bhdg Singh, of Hallowdl, in the Richna
59 Dodb, who, with his son, Sobha Singh, was present in camp, having incurred
60 the displeasure of the Mahardj4, was put in chains, all his estates being at the
61 same time sequestered, The Mahardjd then returned to Lahore, and sent his
62 minister, Mohkam Chand, at the head of 5,000 horse, to bring Sultan Khan of
63 Bhimbar, and the chief of Rajauri, as well as other hill tribes who had become
64 refractory, more fully under subjection. The Bhimbar chief offered a gallant
65 resistance ; but the fort was at length captured, Sultan Khan agreeing to pay
66 Rs. 40,000 per annum as tribute. Ismail Khan, a relation of his, was left
67 in possession of a large portion of the territory reduced by the Sikh general.
68 The hill fort of Gang, in Katas, was then attacked. The besieged offered a
69 desperate resistance, but the Mahardjd cut off the only watercourse, called
70 Choya Sedan Shah, which supplied water to the fort, and the besieged were
71 consequently forced to surrender, upon which the fort was occupied by the
72 Sikh troops. The month of December of the same year (1810) was marked
73 b is of x ? ; as a 4 2
74 SriSatgufagii Sindh Tie Dray oe cessionR a AMR AMetGmaeeoT of Sabib