History Of The Panjab

Syed Muhammad Latif · 1891 · Public domain (published pre-1930) · archive.org ↗ · the OCR came from another scan of this work, the boxes may sit a page off

1The Idg’h of Multan

2restored, 1863,

3Lord Elgin, Viceroy

4of India, 1862,

5His death, 1863,

6The Wahabi fanatics

7of Patna and their

8conspiracy with the

9Afghans of the Panjab

10border,

11The trial of Muham-

12mad Shati,

13The ringleaders are

14transported for life,

15The Ambeyla Cam-

16paign, 1863,

17Capture of Malkha,

18The first exhibition

19of arts and mamufac-

20tures at Lahore, 1864,

21586 HISTORY OF THE PANJAB.

22was restored to the Mahomedans, on certain conditions, calculated to

23provide against the outbreak of disputes and injury to the interests of

24Government, The celebrated Idgdh of Multdn, which in, 1848, was the

25scene of the murder of Mr. Vans-Agnew and Lieutenant Anderson by the

26Sikhs, was also restored to the Mahomedans in February, 1863. It had

27been confiscated by the Sikhs, when they took the town of Multdn by

28assault and were exasperated by the resistance of the Pathdns. At the

29time of the murder of the European officers, it was not in the possession

30of the Mahomedans, who fought conspicuously on the British side in the

31war that followed the death of those officers. It was quite clear that this

32place of worship had never been confiscated through any misconduct

33towards the British Government on the part of the Mahomedans of Multdn,

34and, in deference to these considerations, its restoration to the Mahomedans

35was ordered.

36In March, 1862, Lord Canning was succeeded in the office of Viceroy

37of India by Lord Elgin, who had been employed as H. M.’s Ambassador

38Plenipotentiary in China; but Lord Elgin’s reign was of short duration. On

39his return from Simla, he died at Dharamsdldé, on the 20th of November,

401863. During his Viceroyalty a conspiracy was discovered to exist between

41the Wahdbi fanatics of Patna in Bengal and, the Hindostdnis of Sittdnd

42and Mulkhda on the borders of Afganistdn, having for its object a coalition of

43all the Afghsns of the mountains against the British power and an invasion

44of the Panjéb. The centre of operations was Patna, which supplied some

45of the principal leaders of the colony, as well as money, with the object of

46prosecuting a religious war. From thence natives of Bengal were recruited

47and sent up, in parties of five or six at a time, to join the camp in the

48independent hill territories, At Thdnesar they were received by a Rain

49lambarddér named Jaffar, a disciple strongly imbued with Wahdabi tenets.

50Another principal agent in the Panjéb was Mahomed Shaffi, a contractor for

51the supply of meat for Europeans in all the cantonments from Ambdld to

52Naushera. Captain Parsons was specially deputed to Patné to investigate

53the case, and the individuals before mentioned, with some of the principal

54ringleaders, were brought to trial before Sir Herbert Edwardes, Commis-

55sioner of Ambala, and sentenced to transportation for life.

56The campaign against the Sittdénd fanatics, called the Ambeyla Cam-

57paign, from the mountain pass of that name, was conducted with much

58vigour by General Neville Chamberlain, The fanatics resided chiefly in the

59district and town of Malkhd, north of a mountain which divides the Indus

60from the Kabul River. There was much actual hand-to-hand fighting, and

61in one of them General Chamberlain was badly wounded. The enemy

62collected in large numbers, and reinforcements were sent. On 15th December

63General Garmack, who had succeeded to the command, made an attack

64on Ldli, a position strengthened by the enemy, who had collected in

65thousands. It was taken by storm, and the enemy fled. The next morning,

66Ambeyla was assaulted and taken after a desperate fight, when the Afghans

67fled to the hills.

68The Boners submitted, and Malkhdé, the chief town of the fanatics,

69having been captured, the houses were burnt and the powder factory found

70there blown up. After inflicting this merited chastisement, the British

71troops marched back to the plains on Christmas-day, 1863.

72The first exhibition of arts and manufactures was held at Léhore during

731864, under the auspices of Sir Robert Montgomery, and remained open for

74about six weeks, The collection of the products of the Panjéb and Késhmir

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