1 Decline of the Sikh Monarchy. 145
2 discharged soldiers, scattering over the surrounding
3 districts, threw in their lot with the many robber
4 bands who, in the absence of any settled government,
5 roamed unchecked over the country side, blackmailing
6 the terrified cultivators, driving off their cattle, and
7 pillaging their farmsteads and villages.
8 When news reached the Punjab of the evacuation
9 of Kabul and the destruction of the British garrison,
10 the control of the Sikh army became a more difficult
11 matter than ever. During the remainder of the
12 Afghan war Sher Singh did his best to fulfil the
13 terms of the alliance entered into by Ranjit Singh ;
14 but his action was thoroughly unpopular both with
15 the Sikh sirdars and the troops of the Khalsa, and
16 it required all his influence to prevent the latter from
17 opposing the British army on its return march through
18 the Punjab. Sale's defence of Jalalabad, and the
19 victories of Nott and Pollock, produced a wholesome
20 effect on the Sikh soldiers, and checked for a time
21 their fiery impetuosity. But they clung to their
22 belief that the ultimate aim of the Indian Government
23 was the curtailment, if not the destruction, of the
24 Sikh kingdom ; and splendidly as the Kabul disaster
25 had been retrieved, the fact remained that a British
26 force had suffered defeat at the hands of a foe over
27 whom the troops of the Khalsa had gained more than
28 one decisive victory. Sher Singh paid dearly for his
29 constancy. It was his attitude at this time, combined
30 with his supposed intention of seeking British sup-
31 port or protection, that cost him the allegiance of his
32 army, and thereby hastened his own destruction.
33 In June 1842, Rani Chand Kour was murdered
34 (1,841) 10