1 142 A Short History of the Sikhs.
2 no part in public affairs ; and before the expiry of
3 the prescribed period, a second candidate for the
4 throne appeared. This was Rani Chand Kour, the
5 widow of Kharak Singh. According to the law of
6 inheritance followed by the Manjha Sikhs, a widow,
7 in the absence of male heirs, succeeded to her
8 husband's estates ; and under this law the Rani
9 claimed the throne in her own right. She was
10 supported by the Sindhanwalia brothers and also by
11 Ghulab Singh and his nephew Hira Singh, a com-
12 bination so powerful that Sher Singh was forced to
13 withdraw to Batala ; and, on the 30th of November,
14 Chand Kour was proclaimed the Rani of Lahore.
15 Dhian retained his post as minister, though he still
16 continued to espouse the cause of Sher Singh.
17 This apparent split in the Jammu camp has puzzled
18 the chroniclers. A simple explanation, however,
19 suggests itself. The issue of the contest for the
20 throne was doubtful. If both the brothers supported
21 the same party and lost, their cause would be done
22 for. But if Dhian took one side and Ghulab the
23 other, either Dhian or Ghulab was safe to win ; and
24 the winner would have little difficulty in securing the
25 loser's restoration to favour. This may not be the
26 correct explanation ; but, at any rate, it is consistent
27 with the characters of the brothers, and is in accord
28 with the subsequent course of events. Dhian was
29 the winner, and Ghulab and Hira Singh shared the
30 winnings.
31 Had Chand Kour been a woman of strong character
32 and ability, she might have succeeded in recon-
33 ciling the Sikhs to female control. But she was