Within six years of his assumption of power, after seizing Lahore and Amritsar, Ranjit Singh found himself placed in a predicament which exasperated him. In 1807 the Treaty of Silsit was signed between Napoleon and the Czar of Russia, Alexander I.
Thereafter, Russia began to extend her influence in Persia and Afghanistan. It was also stipulated that the Shah of Persia was required to give a passage to the French army, should Napoleon decide to attack India. The Governor-General, Lord Minto, felt alarmed by Napoleon's ambitious schemes in Persia. He thought it necessary to make the Punjab a strong bulwark against foreign invasions from Central Asia and Africa. And for this purpose, Lord Minto dispatched John Malcolm to Persia, Mountstruct Elphinstone to Kabul, and Charles Metcalfe to Amritsar to cement friendly ties in order to ward off foreign invasion.
By the time Metcalfe arrived in Amritsar for negotiating a treaty on September 19, 1808 there was a striking change in European politics. The French danger of invasion over India had passed away. The British object was therefore limited to only the security of the country south of the river Sutlej, in order to give protection to the Southern Sikhs who were the rulers of small principalities. Ranjit Singh was thus required to withdraw his troops to the right bank of the Sutlej.
On February 8, 1809 Colonel David Ochterlony declared all states on the left of the river Sutlej under British protection. Ranjit Singh did not want his freedom of action to be curtailed. He required from the British envoy the acknowledgement of his sovereignty over all Sikh states and people lying between the Sutlej and the Yamuna so that he could consolidate them into a great empire. The British were determined not to allow the subjection of the Cis-Sutlej states—these principalities were already under British protection. Confronted with such pressure from the British envoy Metcalfe to sign a treaty, what was Ranjit Singh to do.
"Ranjit Singh kept Metcalfe on tenterhooks for about six months. He used all possible means to circumvent British designs. He procrastinated. He dilly-dallied: He flattered Metcalfe in order to win him over by his smiles and humour. But Metcalfe stood firm. "
In January, 1809 the British government ordered Ochterlony to advance a military force to the banks of the Sutlej. Ranjit Singh realized the danger of war. He distrusted the British but knew that he did not possess sufficient power to withstand them. Therefore he signed the Treaty of Amritsar on April 25, 1809 with the British government which confined his territory to the south bank of the river Sutlej with exclusion of a strip of territory on the south bank in which he was bound not to place troops. The broad line of demarcation was the river Sutlej. This arrangement preserved the peace of northern frontier for 40 years.
For signing the treaty Ranjit Singh has been strongly criticized by historians like Patwant Singh and Sangat Singh on the ground that he had tamely succumbed to the British pressure and forfeited his independence. I think this criticism is totally unjustified. Ranjit Singh was a realist in politics who could never mistake a shadow for substance.
He knew the limits of his powers. He realized that he could not fight the British. Nor could he find any Indian ally to support him in his resistance to the British. By this treaty Ranjit Singh managed to retain the independence of his kingdom. He also had a free hand to expand his territory in the North and the North-West undeterred by the British.
to be continued...
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