Sham Singh Attariwaala
The original article is published here.
“Tell my Sardarni, her Sardar won’t be coming back home ” – he thundered as he rode into battle, defying the orders of his Commander In Chief. Over 20,000 soldiers of the Khalsa Raj Army roared in his support, the Jaikara war cry. The man was General Sham Singh Attariwala, the date – 10th February 1846. The place – banks of a swollen Sutlej River, in the fields near Village Sabraon.
So the story goes… In December 1845 – A skirmish broke out between the British Indian Army (consisting of soldiers from Bengal, UP and Bihar) and the lone indigenous independent Punjab Kingdom (Khalsa Raj). Punjab under Ranjit Singh (and later his heirs) with Lahore as its capital had been at peace with the British through a Treaty (Amritsar Treaty, 1809) where Sutlej had been frozen as the border between British India and the last independent indigneous Empire. The skirmish was instigated by the Sikh Commander In Chief – Tej Singh who insisted on crossing the Sutlej, giving an excuse to the British to break the Amrtisar Treaty and started what we now know as the First Anglo-Sikh War.
By February 1846, it had been almost three months since the First Anglo-Sikh War had started, with a series of disaasters for the Sikh Armies at the Battle of Aliwal and Battle of Ferozepur; battles that had almost been won, but were suddenly lost when the Commander In Chief – General Tej Singh – inexplicably did something foolish and backed out suddenly or didn’t push in a final punch when needed, thus allowing the British to get away.
The Maharani of Khalsa Raj – Maharani Jinda – ruling in the name of her eight year old son, Maharaja Duleep Singh, was furious in her court and ridiculed the cowardice of the leading Sikhs by throwing her own chunni at them to wear.
And now, stung by the Maharani’s taunt, the Sikh Generals stood on the banks of the River Sutlej, at a place near Sabraon (in what we know now as Tarn Tarn district), with over 20,000 soldiers at their back. With determined hearts, the Sikh Army had crossed the Sutlej on Plantoon Bridges and had established camps and embankments spread over four kilometres on the other side, where the British Army stared them in the face. The rain had been relentless for three days, and even with re-inforcements waiting to cross the plantoon bridge, the strain was showing. For three days, even as the generals and soldiers were itching for war, the Commander in Chief, Tej Singh had not been ordering an attack on British encampments. The British weren’t attacking either. It was later known that they just didn’t have the guns on the first two days and if the Sikhs had attacked on the first two days of the camps, it would have been a walkover for the Sikhs. As the British ranks swelled with arrival of reinforcements and new howitzer guns, Commander in Chief, Tej Singh issued orders for the Sikh armies to withdraw back across the plantoon bridge.
Sham Singh Attariwala, the grand old hero of this story, had had enough of cowardice of Tej Singh. He got up in a huff disobeying Tej Singh and rushed to the tent where Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh holy book, was placed. There with folded hands he thundered- “You must be terribly disappointed, my Guru, that Jackals and Dogs have been placed at the command of Lions“. With this, he shouted a command to his attendant scythe to get the horse ready for action, even as he shouted an added instruction as well – “Tell my Sardarni, her Sardar won’t be coming back home ” .
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The General, Sham Singh Attariwala, was no novice. He had earlier been one of Ranjit Singh’s most trusted generals and his daughter had been married to Ranjit Singh’s grandson – Nau Nihal Singh. He had earlier been part of the Sikh conquests of Peshawar, Attock and Kashmir around 1813-1815. He had also been a part of the campaign on the Balakot mountains of Kashmir in 1830s, wherein a rebel Islamic foothold was defeated and killed. After death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1839, by 1844 – Ranjit’s elder son Kharak Singh had died mysteriously; Ranjit’s grandson (Sham Singh’s Son In Law) Nau Nihal Singh had been murdered on the day of his coronation; and Ranjit’s younger son, Sher Singh was brutally murdered a few years later. What remained by 1844 of Ranjit Singh’s lineage was an eight year old son called Duleep Singh, holding on to reigns with his mother Maharani Jinda as the guardian or Queen Regent, giving orders in the name of her kid.
Since the death of Ranjit Singh, The Dogra Rajas of Jammu and Kashmir who had been giver Jagirs and fiefdoms by Maharaja Ranjit Singh, had become unwieldly and were being wooed secretly by the British. By 1844 they were having sustained parlays with the British and had been irregular in paying taxes to the young Maharaja in Lahore. They thought that with a weak king in Lahore, the Khalsa Raj held no power. Gulab Singh, the Dogra Raja of Jammu had emptied the Khalsa treasury at Jasrota Fort and had carried off Rs. 3 lakh to Jammu. But the Dogras had not yet accounted for Sham Singh Attariwala. Maharani Jinda seeing open subterfuge by the Dogras, had summoned Sham Singh for help. In the winter of 1844, Sham Singh had ridden to Jammu and had captured Jasrota Fort from the errant Governor of Jammu – Raja Gulab Singh. Again in March 1845, on non-payment of taxes, he had ridden against Gulab Singh. As Gulab Singh saw the Khalsa Army reaching Jammu, he rushed 10 kms before Jammu, met Sham Singh and gave an undertaking to pay not only the arrears of the tributes and taxes but also return the treasury funds that he had taken away earlier from the Jarsota Fort amounting to Rs. 3.5 lakh rupees, which was a princely sum then. But on hindsight now, it seems Sham Singh was a bit naive to not march into Jammu when he should have. This small fault would change the course of history forever.
Anyways, let’s get back to the theatre of war – Sabraon – British and Sikh encampments were staring at each other and the Sikh Commander – Tej Singh – had ordered a withdrawal. Sham Singh Attariwala, bypassing his Commander in Chief, had now decided to take charge and refused to withdraw. He declared an attack on the British formations. As British cannons and guns thundered on Sikh formations, the battle was furious. With 20,000 Sikh soldiers having crossed the Sutlej, the British who were in for a shock as well. The fighting was intense and reinforcements of Sikh soldiers were expected to cross from the other side. The battle was going in favour of Sikhs since unknown to Sikhs, the British were short of artillery as well. The battle was almost won by the Sikhs.
But as earlier, in the battle of Aliwal and Ferozepur where the British Indian Army were on the cusp of a defeat, their Commander in Chief – Tej Singh – did something which favoured the British, yet again. In the thick of the battle, Tej Singh melted away with a big portion of his close troops, back across the bridge. While going back, the fleeing Tej Singh is said to have dismantled the Plantoon Bridge that had been used by the Khalsa Army to cross the river. The Khalsa Army was depleted, and no reinforcements were possible now. Sham Singh Attariwala was surrounded, by the British Indian Army on one side and by the river on the other, no withdrawal was possible as well. It has now been firmly established by historians that Tej Singh, the Sikh Commander In Chief, was under influence of the British and was indirectly taking orders from them. All this while, the kid Maharaja Duleep Singh and his mother, Maharani Jinda were not yet aware of it. Hesketh Pearson has been quoted by the ‘Anglo Sikh War Project’, “A British defeat, was again turned into a victory by the convenient flight of Tej Singh who damaged the bridge of boats over the Sutlej on his way and so helped to drown a large number of his countrymen”.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/Battle_of_Sobraon.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Sobraon#/media/File:Sikh_retreat_at_Sobraon.jpg
The British Indian Army, sensing the bridge gone, went straight for the jugular and caught the Sikh soldiers in a pincer grip with Sham Singh Attariwala leading a glorious fight to the back. However, caught in a jam between the river on one side and cannons on the other, the Sikh army was slowly put down. Sham Singh Attariwala, the grand old man in a white beard sensing an inevitable, riding atop his stallion made a final dash towards the enemy ranks. As he rode in, he was riddled with seven bullets on the chest. He fell down.
Dead, he lay.
The Sikh army was butchered mercilessly and hardly any of the 20,000 warriors survived. According to British Historian, J.C. Cunningham, says – “No Sikh offered to submit and no disciple of Gobind asked for quarter. They everywhere showed a front to the victor and stalked slowly and sullenly away while many rushed singly forth to meet assured death by contending with a multitude.’ According to Lord Hardinge who was present in the battle, “Few escaped; none, it may be said, surrendered. The Sikhs met their fate with the resignation which distinguishes their race”.
Anyways, pretty soon, the news of the defeat reached Attari, the hometown of Sham Singh. (The town lies around 3 kms from the current Indo-Pak Border near Wagah). The news of the defeat was given to his wife and she was told that there was no news yet of where her husband was. But she knew her husband well, as she said: ‘my Sardar can’t lose a battle if alive; if the battle is lost it can be only after his death’, saying which she set the stage for a Sati and sat on a pyre, without waiting for her husband’s dead body to reach Attari. Sati was a ceremonial suicide of widows, prevalant then amongst warrior families, which I don’t condone but so was it, so it happened, so I say. The British, out of respect for the man, allowed his body to be taken to Attari in a procession, which is said to have reached Attari in 7 days.
The British historian Griffin writes in his book
“… Had there been more chiefs like him, the Sikh nation would have preserved the independence, which it madly threw away”.
The British historian J.D. Cunningham’s wrote a book in 1850s – History of the Sikhs– where he writes as under
“The dangers which threatened the Sikh people pressed upon their mind and they saw no escape from foreign subjection. The grey headed chief, Sham Singh of Attari, made known his resolution to die in the first conflict with the enemies of his race and so to offer himself as a sacrifice of propitiation to the spirit of Gobind Singh ji and to the genius of his mystic Commonwealth”.
And so died the Last Independent General of the Last Independent Kingdom of India as the British won their last prize in India. In the aftermath of the Battle of Sabraon:
- The British Army after the massacre, crossed the Sutlej without much effort and marched to the Lahore Fort with their army. Parleys were held, where the Minor Maharaja was forced to sign the Treaty of Lahore wherein the independence of Khalsa Raj was curtailed and they were forced to pay tribute to the British Raj, thus ending the First Anglo Sikh War.
- Tej Singh, the defeated Commander In Chief of Sikh Army was rewarded by British by being made the Raja of Sialkot. Wonder what he was rewarded for, if not for treachery? The question is answered by Reginald Bosworth Smith where he writes in his book – ‘Life of Lord Lawrence’ – “The Sikh troops, basely betrayed by their leaders who had come so it was said, and not without some appearance of truth……to a secret understanding with us, fought like heroes”.
- The Dogra Governor of Lahore Darbar of Khalsa Raja – Raja Gulab Singh was made the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir by the British; and therein lies yet another tale. Ironically, he had been given the responsibility by Maharani Jinda to lead the negotiations on behalf of the kid Maharaja Duleep Singh. He was rewarded by the British, for his subterfuge, a few days later by machinating a separate ‘Riyasat’ of Jammu Kashmir, once the Sikhs had been signed their treaty.
- ‘Khalsa Raj’ under Maharaja Duleep Singh and his mother Maharani Jinda rose back to rebel within four years in 1849 to fight the Second Anglo Sikh War, which is a different story for another day.
More reading– The Anglo Sikh War Project – http://www.anglosikhwars.com/battle-of-sobroan-10-feb-1846/ – a fascinating website.
Post Script:
The Samadhi (cremation memorial) of Sham Singh Attari and his family has been restored around a decade back and it adequately displays the glory of the place.
Just around 3 kms from the main-road to Attari Border is the glorious Attari Village, which is still home to Sham Singh Attariwala’s descendants. Herein lies a picture of the crumbling fort/haveli of Sham Singh which I took from a neighbouring rooftop, during a visit about a decade back. Check it out before it falls to the ground, no one is maintaining it.