1 THE SECOND SIKH WAR. 563
2 besides Nawdéb Bahdwal Khan’s army of 5,700 infantry and 1,900 cavalry,
3 under Lieutenant Lake, and a Sikh army of 900 infantry and 3,800 cavalry,
4 under Rdéjdé Shér Singh. Thus, the total strength of the army on the side
5 of the British was 32,000 men, with 45 guns and 4 mortars. To encounter
6 these confederate armies, Mul Rdéj had a force of only about 12,000 men,
7 with 54 heavy guns and 4 mortars; but he had rendered the citadel of
8 Multdén one of the strongest forts in India, and it was not inappropriately
9 styled a second Bhartpur. The siege operations commenced on the 7th of
10 September, and an attempt was made on the 9th to take a village and garden
11 near the walls, which had been strongly entrenched, but, after a spirited
12 charge, and a stout resistance on the part of the enemy, the British column
13 was driven back with considerable loss. On the morning of the 12th, another
14 attack was made on the enemy’s position in the suburbs of the town. Mul
15 Raj’s troops fought well, but they suffered heavily in a dharmsdlé which
16 they had strongly fortified. Within the walls of this enclosure 300 men
17 were slaughtered. The British troops, by this success, were enabled to
18 advance within battering distance of the city walls, and it was expected
19 that the city would be reduced in a few days; but an event now happened
20 which disappointed these expectations.
21 Sardar Chattar Singh, Atariwdld, whose daughter was to be married to
22 Dulip Singh, was the Sikh governor of the Hazard province, under the control
23 of Major James Abbot, his counsellor and adviser. Early in August, the
24 Sikh troops under him rebelled and murdered Colonel Canora, an American
25 in the employ of the Sikh Government. The insurgent Sikhs then marched
26 in the direction of Attak with the object of seizing the fort, which commands
27 the passage across the river, but Lieutenant Nicholson, acting under the
28 orders of Major George Lawrence, the British Assistant at Peshawar, suc-
29 ceeded in reaching that place before them, and the fort was saved from falling
30 into their hands. Raj& Shér Singh, whose conduct had long been suspicious,
31 at last cast in his lot with his father, and, early on the morning of 14th
32 September, putting himself at the head of his troops, he ordered the
33 Dharam-kdé-Dhosdé, or religious drum, to be beaten in the name of the
34 ithdlsé and joined the rebels, It was declared that “this war was not a
35 war between Mul Raj and the Darbar, but a strife of religion, and he who
36 wished to go to heaven would die a martyr in defence of his faith” “ Wéh,
37 guru jt kt Fateh!” was the unanimous cry of the Jfhdlsd, who bodily went
38 over to the enemy. Shér Singh’s two colleagues, Sardar Attar Singh and
39 Sardar Shamsher Singh, abandoned him and escaped to Lieutenant Edwardes.
40 Of the 20,000 men under General Whish, 13,000 were irregulars, composed
41 chiefly of Pathdus, whose false Oriental pride would not allow them to dig the
42 ground for the benefit of others. Thus the effective force under General Whish
43 was reduced to 5,800 British infantry and sappers, According to the laws of
44 military science, a besieging army ought to be three times the number of the
45 garrison besieged. Mal Raj had 15,000 excellent soldiers after he had been
46 joined by Sher Singh’s force. Colonel Cheape, the Chief Engineer, who had
47 witnessed the siege of Gwalior, expressed it as his opinion that the fort of
48 Multén was too strong to be assaulted by the force at the disposal of the
49 British General. The regular troops were ‘diminished and a portion of
50 Major Edwardes’ troops had been posted at various stations to prevent their
51 occupation by the rebels. Three thousand men had been despatched to
52 protect the Bengal depét at Shujdbdd and the Bombay depét at Uch, and
53 men had been detached to keep open the road between Multdén and the
54 Sutlej, and to watch the ferries on the right bank of the Chindb, to prevent
55 recruits and supplies from reaching the garrison of Multén, Sheikh Imdm-
56 Sri Satguru J agjit Singh Ji eLibrary NamdhariElibrasy@ gmail
57 The insurrection of
58 Sardar Chattar Singh
59 at Hazara,
60 Sher Singh deserta
61 and joins the rebels,
62 The arrogance of the
63 Pathans,
64 com