1 SHER SINGH. 515
2 horse close to that of the minister, took him by the hand, and, with seeming
3 frankness, asked, ‘“‘ Who is now to be the king?” to which question the Raja
4 replied, “There is no one better entitled than Dulip Singh.”* Ajit Singh
5 rejoined, “ And so he is to be made king and you become his wazir. What are
6 we to get for all this trouble?” The Raja was annoyed at these bantering
7 remarks, and was about to move off. The old Bhdi Girmukh Singh, who was
8 near, observed, “ Deeds are better than words. Despatch the Rajaas you have
9 done Shér Singh and his son, and then your path will be clear,”
10 Ajit Singh thereupon made a signal with his fingers, and instantly the
11 minister was shot dead from behind, as he was scanning the men who had
12 taken up their position on the ramparts of the fort. The first shot was
13 immediately followed by another from a blunderbuss, though the first had
14 closed his career. No sooner had he dropped dead from his horse, than
15 the mercenary soldiery hacked his body to pieces with their swords. A
16 Mahomedan orderly of the minister, one of the few of his immediate
17 attendants who had obtained access to the interior of the fort, made a
18 show of resistance, but he was immediately despatched, and his body, with
19 that of his master, was thrown upon a heap of rubbish in a gun foundry pit
20 in the fort.
21 Shortly after these occurrences, Lahnd Singh arrived with his followers,
22 On learning what had happened during the brief interval of his absence, he
23 remonstrated with his brother for his hasty conduct, as the plan of the
24 Sindhianwdldé brothers was to collect Rajé Dhidn Singh, his son Radja
25 Hird Singh, and brother, Rajé Suchet Singh, at one place, on some pretence,
26 and to destroy them all together. As matters stood, the son and the bro-
27 ther of the late Raja were at large, and, as they exercised considerable
28 influence over the Khdlsé troops, the object of the Sindhianwélés would
29 not be attained as easily as it would have been: had the scheme originally
30 laid down by them been strictly followed out. This, however, did not
31 dishearten them, and they resolved to accomplish, at any cost, the task they
32 had already begun. An-express was sent through Misr Lal Sing (who
33 afterward became so conspicuous in the war with the British), to Rajas Hird
34 Singh and Suchet Singh at Budhu-kd-dwd, where they: were stationed with
35 their troops, in the minister’s name, requesting their attendance at the fort
36 for consultation on affairs of State. The rdjds and their counsellors, the
37 principal of whom was Rai Kesri Singh (who subsequently distinguished
38 himself by deeds of valour, fighting on the side of his master Suchet Singh),
39 were too acute to be deceived by the Sindhianwdlds. They, therefore,
40 asked for an order in the handwriting of Dhidn Singh, or signed by him,
41 calling upon them to attend the fort. The Sindhianwdlés now sent 500
42 horsemen to compel the rdjdés to comply with their mandate; but the
43 latter, collecting all their troops, presented such a threatening front that
44 the Sindhianwalé cavalry deemed it prudent to return as quietly as it had
45 come, without venturing to attack them.
46 The young Raja, Hird Singh, had heard of the death of Shér Singh, but
47 he never suspected that his own father had shared the same fate. When
48 Misr Ldl Singh waited on him, and asked his attendance at the fort, Hird
49 Singh was addressing his troops and exhorting them not to mind the death
50 of the Mahardjd. He and his uncle had purposely retired to Monsieur
51 Avitabile’s house to keep aloof from the bloody scenes which they expected
52 * McGregor assumes that both Ajit Singh and Lahndé Singh had accompanied Dhian Singh
53 to the fort on this occasion, and describes this dialogue as having taken place between Lahna
54 Singh and Dhidn Singh; but Lahna Singh did not come to the fort until after the minister had
55 been despatched.
56 Dhida Singh is shot
57 dead,
58 The proceedings of
59 the Sindhianwala
60 sardars,
61 Misr Lal Singh |
62 brings the news of his
63 father’s death to Hira
64 Singh,
65 Sri Satguru J agjit Singh Ji eLibrary NamdhariEliBBary@ gmail.com