An historical sketch of the native states of India/Bhawalpur
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in subsidiary alliance with the British government (1875)
Author: George Bruce Malleson (1825-1898)
Publisher: Longmans, Green & Co. London
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of Bhawal Khan. His death paved the way for the secession of his brother, Sadik Mahomed. But this prince had to fight for the throne with his nephews and brothers, and it was not until he had disposed of these that he felt secure in his seat.
The rule of Sadik Mahomed was mainly noticeable for his disputes with his kinsmen and the too powerful chiefs of the country. But as he, by degrees, felt his power, he shook off the suzerainty of Kandahar and asserted his independence. His son and successor, Bhawal Khan, had, however, to fear the encroachment of a new power that had risen. During the first two decades of the present century the overshadowing power of Ranjit Singh filled him with dismay, and he made several applications to the British, tendering his allegiance and asking their protection. The applications were, however, declined, but the treaty made in 1809 with Ranjit Singh, referred to in the first chapter of this part, really did give him the protection he sought, as it confined Ranjit Singh to the right bank of the Satlaj.
The British subsequently (1830) entered into a commercial treaty with Bhawal Khan, by which his independence within his own territories was acknowledged. The terms of this treaty, which related mainly to the tolls to be levied on the traffic passing through his territories, were modified in 1835, 1838, 1840, 1843, 1847, and 1855. But it is a treaty of another sort, negotiated in 1838 to which it is necessary more particularly to refer. The Nawabs of Bhawalpur had always been de jure vassals of the lords of Kandahar and Kabul, and although the predecessor of Bhawal Khan had broken the yoke from off his neck, yet the prospect of restoring, in the person of Shah Suja, the Durani family, naturally filled him with concern. To maintain his independence the Nawab then negotiated a treaty with the British Government (October 1838), by the terms of which he placed himself under its supremacy, and bound himself to act in
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subordinate co-operation with it, receiving its protection and being recognised as the absolute ruler of the county.
In the war which followed, the Nawab acted in perfect good faith, and rendered no unimportant assistance in the way of supplies and in facilitating the passage of the British troops. For the services thus rendered he was rewarded by receiving as an addition to his dominions a portion of the northern part of Sindh, including Subzulkot and the fertile district of Bhung Bara.
In the first contest of the British with the Sikhs the Nawab of Bhawalpur was not concerned, but on the breaking out of the second war, 1848, he volunteered to aid the British with the whole of his disposable force. The offer was accepted. In May of that year, therefore, his army, amounting to about 9,000 men, crossed the Satlaj, and effecting a junction with Captain Herbert Edwardes and General Cortlandt, sustained an attack at the village of Kineri from the army of Mulraj, amounting to 8,000 men and four guns, and repulsed them at all points, forcing them to retire into Multan. For this service the Nawab was rewarded with a life pension of a lakh of rupees per annum, besides being reimbursed the expenses of the campaign.
Nawab Bhawal Khan died in 1852. He was succeeded by his third son, Sadik Khan the eldest, Futteh Khan, having been disinherited by his father. Futteh Khan did not, however, acquiesce in this arrangement, but, escaping from the place in which he had been confined, began to levy troops. A large number of the chiefs rallied to his standard, and Sadik Khan was driven out. An appeal was then made to the British Government, but it refused to interfere in the internal affairs of the country, Finally it was arranged that Sadik Khan should reside in British territory, receiving from his brother an allowance of 1,600 rupees per mensem, he relinquishing for ever, on the part of himself and his heirs,
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all claim to the principality. Subsequently, however, it became necessary to place him in confinement.
Futteh Khan died in October 1858, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Rahim Yar Mahomed, seventeen years old, who took the name of his grandfather, Bhawal Khan.
The short reign of this prince, lasting only eight years, was wild and stormy. For the first moiety of this period he ruled wisely and well, attending to the counsels of the vizir of his father. But lie then fell into bad courses, put the vizir, who remonstrated, to death, and provoked a rebellion on the part of the leading nobles of his clan. In the course of the contest which followed he caused, it is believed, his three uncles to be murdered, and was only induced by the threats of the British Government to send to the safe custody of British authorities the widow of his grandfather and the two children of one of the murdered uncles. Even then he sent them in an impoverished condition and without decent clothing.
The following year, 1865, another outbreak took place, which though contemptible as to strength, yet, by showing the Nawab to be pusillanimous and nerveless, encouraged a more effective demonstration. This took place in 1866, and was yet undecided when the Nawab died. An interregnum followed. Factions were rampant. Adventurers had clambered into high places, and the safety of the State seemed involved in the maintenance of the legitimate heir, the son of the late Nawab, supported by a power sufficient to put down disorder. After a short interval, during which many changes of fortune occurred, and scenes, sensational if not tragical, were enacted, this policy was followed. The young Nawnb, then a mere child, was nominated successor to his father, whilst, during his minority and until he should attain the age of eighteen, the administration was entrusted to a British officer appointed by the British Government.