The Rajas Of The Punjab

· 1873 · Public domain (published pre-1930) · archive.org ↗

1THE PATTIALA STATE.

22 3

3desultory manner ; and it was more the chance of the

4death of Nasir Khan, the Governor, which gave the vic-

5tory to the Sikhs, for the Imperial troops, disheartened

6by the loss of their leader, left the field, and the Bhattis

7were then at once attacked by Ala Singh with all his

8troops, and put to flight with great loss. This engage-

9ment, which did much to consolidate Ala Singh’s power

10and increase his reputation, was fought in 1757.

11For ten years previous to this time, the DuiAni mon- of

12arch of Afghanistan, Ahmad Shah, had made almost Buiml ofKabul -

13annual expeditions into Hindostan, and, in 1748, 1756,

14and 1761, had marched as far south as Sixhind and

15Dehli. The conduct of the Prince towards the Sikhs

16was generally conciliatory, and he would have been glad

17to enlist them on his side, first against the Dehli Govern-

18ment, and then against the Mahrattas, whom he defeated

19in turn. But the Sikhs, although they hated the Dehli

20Government, bore no love to the Afghans. They had no

21wish to aid in building up at Dehli an empire stronger

22than that which preceded it, and to bind the yoke more

23fir ml y on their own necks. They were hoping for a Sikh

24republic, and a time when all Northern India would

25be the heritage of the Khalsa ; when all hostile creeds

26should have fallen before the sword of the Guru. Besides

27this, they were unable to resist the temptation to plunder

28which the presence of a large army, with an immense

29train of baggage and innumerable camp-follow T ers, im-

30plied ; and they hovered about the Afghan line of march,

31cutting off supplies, and doing what damage they could,

32but never making a direct attack, for their own discipline

33was so slight that they entertained a reasonable dread of

34regular troops.

35Ahmad Shah had, in 1761, appointed Zin Khan as