1 The accident to
2 Prince Nau Nehal
3 Singh,
4 His death, 5th
5 November, 1840.
6 It is concealed for a
7 time.
8 Shér Singh summon-
9 ed to Lahore,
10 Surmiise as to the
11 true nate of Nau
12 Nehal Singh’s accident.
13 500 HISTORY OF THE PANJAB.
14 he bathed in a nallah, a short distance from the pyre, the elephants and
15 other paraphernalia of royalty following close behind. The party were nob
16 mounted, ostensibly out of reverence for the dead monarch, Having
17 bathed, the prince with his suite made his way back to the fort. As he
18 approached the archway of the northern gate of the Hazfri Bagh, close
19 to the samddh, he took the hand of Mian Udham Singh, the eldest son
20 of Gulab Singh and nephew of Dhidu Singh. They continued walking on
21 slowly, the prince making some humorous remarks to his companion, quite
22 unconscious of the fatal moment which awaited him. As both entered
23 the archway, a loud crash was heard, and it was found that a fragment of
24 the upper wall had fallen and crushed the two young men, who were walking
25 close under it.* Udham Singh died immediately. The prince, whose head was
26 frightfully crushed, was taken up senseless by Dhidén Singh, who placed
27 him in a palanquin and conveyed him to the fortress, Sardar Lahnd Singh,
28 Majithia, attempted to follow the palanquin; but Dhidn Singh stopped
29 him. Other sardars tried to follow, but were prevented by the minister
30 from entering the fort, the gates of which were at once closed. In vain did
31 the Mahardéni Chand Kour, the mother of the injured prince, beat her
32 head against the gates of the fortress and raise heart-rending shrieks and
33 cries to be allowed to see her beloved and only child. Admittance was
34 refused to all. Nau Nehal Singh was kept in an inner apartment, in a state
35 of insensibility, and strict secrecy was observed as to his condition, the only
36 person attendant on him being the minister, two of his followers and a few
37 chosen hillmen. The sardars who waited at the gates outside were inform-
38 ed that there was no reason to apprehend danger; that the prince would in
39 all likelihood shortly recover, as he had received but a slight wound, which,
40 having caused a severe shock to the brain, had rendered him unconscious
41 for the time being ; that he required a short repose, and that his rest should
42 not be disturbed. He therefore ordered them quietly to-retire and mind
43 their own business.
44 Two hours afterwards Chand Kour was informed by the minister that
45 her son had breathed his last, but that, if she desired to take the reins
46 of government into her own hands (to attain which object the minister
47 promised to exert himself in her favour), she must keep the matter a strict
48 secret until such time as he considered it proper to announce it. He did
49 not quit the lady before obtaining from her a solemn promise that she
50 would act as desired. Thus the death of Nau Nehal Singh was kept a
51 secret for three days. The minister availed himself of this interval to send
52 for Shér Singh, with whom he had previously corresponded from Mukeria,
53 and whom he intended to place on the vacant throne. Shér Singh having
54 made his appearance, the death of the royal prince was made public, and pre-
55 parations were made for his funeral ceremonies. The ceremony of cremation
56 took place close to the spot at which he had witnessed the funeral obsequies
57 of his grandfather. Two beattiful young ladies, the widows. of the de-
58 ceased, burnt themselves alive with the body of their lord. One female,
59 twelve years of age, was prevented by Shér Singh from undergoing the
60 fatal trial, on account of her youth and exquisite beauty.
61 Historians have differed as to the real cause of Nau Nehal Singh’s death.
62 Some think that he and his companion, Udham Singh, were accidentally
63 * Major McGregor, in his History of the Sikhs, writes that Udham Singh, the eldest
64 son of Raj4 Guldb Singh, of Jammu, who was on the same elephant, shared the same fate.
65 This is not a fact. Both walked on foot, hand-in-hand, and, as they passed the covered
66 gateway, a portion of the structure fell, killing the minister’s nephew on the spot, and
67 injuring the prince so seriously that he became senseless. This account fully agrees with the
68 English, ag well as the vernacular, texts.
69 Sri Satguru J agjit Singh Ji eLibrary NamdhariElibrary@ gmail.com