Mixed signals on Indian bid to recover Kohinoor diamond Mixed signals on Indian bid to recover Kohinoor diamond Solicitor general surprises many by saying India should forgo claim for jewel from UK Tue, Apr 19, 2016, 16:03 Updated: Tue, Apr 19, 2016, 20:35 Rahul Bedi in New Delhi The Kohinoor diamond, which once belonged to Mughal Emperor Shah Jehan, weighs 105.6 carats and is part of the British crown jewels, stored in the tower of London. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images India has said it will make all possible efforts to get back the Kohinoor diamond from Britain despite comments by New Delhi’s solicitor general that the priceless jewel should stay with the former colonial ruler, the government said on Tuesday. India has repeatedly demanded that Britain return the 105-carat diamond, which was presented to Queen Victoria in 1850 and today sits on display as part of the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London.

India’s solicitor general surprised many on Monday when he told the supreme court that his country should forgo its claims to the jewel because it was given to Britain as a gift by an Indian king in 1851, rather than stolen as many Indians today believe. The government said on Tuesday his view did not represent its own and that it was yet to give its opinion to the court, which is hearing a case demanding the diamond be returned. “The government of India further reiterates its resolve to make all possible efforts to bring back the Kohinoor diamond in an amicable manner,” the ministry of culture said. Light of the world The Kohinoor – meaning light of the world – was at the centre of a long-standing diplomatic row between India and Britain, with New Delhi demanding that London return the “stolen” diamond, as atonement for its colonial excesses. However, during a visit to India in 2010, British prime minister David Cameron categorically declared, like many of his predecessors, that the diamond would remain in London.

“What tends to happen with these questions, is that if you say yes to one, then you would suddenly find the British Museum empty,” he said, referring to the tens of thousands of looted artefacts on display at the London museum. Set in the crown worn by Queen Elizabeth II during her coronation in 1953, the Kohinoor was mined in the 11th century in India’s southern Golconda region, near Hyderabad. ADVERTISEMENT Writing in The Great Mughals, British historian Bamber Gascoigne declared that the Kohinoor first made its appearance in 1526, when the second Mughal emperor Humayun, presented it to his father, Babar. Babar casually calculated that the diamond could provide food for 2½ days to the entire world, and promptly handed the stone back to his son. Humayun in turn presented the stone to Shah Tahmasp of Persia for offering him shelter, after he was militarily defeated and driven out of India by a rival.

After a series of owners and a riveting and bloodstained history, the Kohinoor found its way back into the treasury of Shah Jahan, the fourth Mughal emperor, in the early 17th century. Thereafter, it passed into the hands of the Afghan kings in Kabul and then to Ranjit Singh , India’s first and only Sikh ruler, in the early 19th century. Waistcoat pocket When the Sikh province of Punjab was annexed by the British, the Kohinoor was presented to commissioner Sir John Lawrence, who left it lying in his waistcoat pocket for almost six weeks. His valet chanced upon it and restored it to Lawrence – who later became India’s viceroy – and he forwarded it Ranjit Singh’s minor heir, Dalip Singh, “asking” him to “present” it to Queen Victoria. The diamond arrived in time to become the prime exhibit at the Great Exhibition in London in 1851, after which it ended up in the Tower of London as part of the royal jewels. After independence in 1947, many Indian politicians and others demanded the Kohinoor and numerous treasures back from Britain, but to no avail.

“The British rulers looted India and the government is making a mistake by not supporting our claims [to get the Kohinoor back],” said Nafis Ahmad Siddiqui, who petitioned the supreme court for the diamond’s return.

Ajit Vadakayil: MAHARAJA RANJIT SINGH, THE RISE AND FALL OF THE SIKH EMPIRE - CAPT AJIT VADAKAYIL Monday, February 11, 2013 MAHARAJA RANJIT SINGH, THE RISE AND FALL OF THE SIKH EMPIRE - CAPT AJIT VADAKAYIL MAHARAJA DULEEP SINGH, KOHINOOR DIAMOND, BRITISH EAST INDIA COMPANY EXTERNAL CONSPIRACY, COMPANY OWNER ROTHSCHILD'S DOUBLE AGENTS' INTERNAL CONSPIRACY, WEDGE DRIVEN BETWEEN SIKHS AND RAJPUTS, DISINTEGRATION OF A MIGHTY PUNJAB EMPIRE - CAPT AJIT VADAKAYIL I am afraid that this post will re-write history, in a manner which shocks the denizens of the glorious Punjab empire of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, called tongue in cheek by Western historians as " The Napoleon of the East".

To understand this post, you must know that British East India Company ( shipping company) owner , a German Jew Rothschild , called the shots in India and this planet ever since they laid the hands on the gold of Tipu Sultan in 1799. You must punch into Google search TIPU SULTAN UNMASKED VADAKAYIL, to understand how the enormous gold of Tipu Sultan was shipped away in British East Company ships. This is the base gold asset of the modern banking cartel who rules the planet via the Bilderberg Club. The Tipu Sultan modus operandi was very simple. Imagine a hyper thief and a super thief. The hyper thief does things using his cunning and devious brains in style. He refuses to dirty his hands. He allows the super thief to steal from all the hundreds of banks in Mumbai, all the time watching him using his secret agents.This work is dirty, sweaty and without honour. Once the super thief has looted all the banks and made a nice pile in one single place, the hyper thief just swipes it away in a jiffy , after murdering the super thief . Nobody even knows such a hyper thief existed . End of story.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh made the mistake of trusting Jewish generals ( double agents of Rothschild ) who pulled the carpet from under the feet of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte at battle of Waterloo in 1815. Below: Maharaja Ranjit Singh Today even Wikipedia accepts that there was indeed a Rothschild conspiracy, wherein Napoleon was tricked . Not only that, the wealth of the not so bright John Bull Englishmen, were also swiped away overnight. Punch into Google search NAPOLEON , THE UNKNOWN SIDE VADAKAYIL Just like how Napoleon's personal Jewish doctor betrayed his trust, by medical trickery , same way Maharaja Ranjit Singh's personal Romanian Jewish doctor in the payroll of Rothschild , and tutored by the personal homeopathy German Jew doctor of the mighty Rothschild himself, did away with the Maharaja. The simple Sikhs must know the truth. All this will cause a great deal of heart ache. The British have accused the simple but brave Sikhs of petty politics and squabbling. This is a lie. Every conspiracy was hatched by the owner of British East India Company, micro managed by their king pin agent, the Jewish Romanian personal doctor of Ranjit Singh.

These things will never ever be written by the main stream media , monopolized by big brother. For people whose knowledge of Punjab Sikh Empire history, is purely pedestrian. See below , the disgraceful fall of the glorious Sikh Empire. 1801 April 12, Coronation of Ranjit Singh as Maharaja, formal beginning of the Sikh Empire 1801 to June 27, 1839, Reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh . From 1801 to 1839 he lead the Sikh Khalsa Army , and expanded the Sikh.. ( born December 1807- died September 16, 1843) Maharaja Ranjit Singh died at the age on 59 , due to a 4th stroke. He had 3 strokes before that. The following were the naïve and gullible successors of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who never even knew the cunning Rothschild conspiracy to snatch their wealth and their empire. The following ruled over the Sikh Kingdom for a period of less than ten years from 1839 to 1849 A.D, after the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. : 1.

Maharaja Kharak Singh, (Elder son of Maharaja Ranjit Singh) Birth February 20, 1801, Accession June 27, 1839 Deposed in a coup October 8, 1839, Poisoned to death November 5, 1840 Below : Maharaja Kharak Singh 2. Maharaja Naunihal Singh, (son of Maharaja Kharak Singh) Birth February 11, 1820, Became a Maharaja October 8, 1839 (De-facto ruler) Death November 6, 1840, ( Murdered with stone pounded on his head ). Below: Maharaja Naunihal Singh 3. Maharaja Sher Singh., (Second son of Maharaja Ranjit Singh) Occupied the throne November 9, 1840, for 23 days only, Dethroned December 2, 1840 Below : Maharaja Sher Singh 4.

Maharani Chand Kaur ., (Widow of Maharaja Kharak Singh) Proclaimed Malika Mukaddas December 2, 1840 or Queen Empress. Capituated January 17, 1841, Deposed January 18, 1841, Killed June 9, 1842 Below: Maharani Chand Kaur 5. Maharaia Sher Singh, (Again returned to power) Birth 1807 Accession January 18, 1841, Killed September 15, 1843 6. Maharaja Duleep Singh, (Youngest son of Maharaja Ranjit Singh) Birth September 6, 1838, Mounted the throne. September 15, 1843 * Deposed March 29, 1849. * Exiled to England December 21, 1849 Death (in Paris-France) October 22, 1893 Below: Boy king Maharaja Duleep Singh with his mother Jindan Kaur.

Boy king at the age of 5, Maharaja Duleep Singh’s godmother was Kohinoor snatching Queen Victoria of England . Below : the priceless Kohinoor diamond ( presented to the English Queen by Jew Rothschild , the owner of British East India Company ) Below: Queen Victoria Maharaja Duleep Singh was converted to Christianity married twice--first to a honey pot Bamba Müller ( half German Jew - half Ethiopian ) and then to a honey pot chambermaid Ada Douglas Wetherill . Below Maharani Bamba Muller He had eight children in total, six from his first marriage to Bamba, the half breed daughter of a German banker.: Prince Victor Duleep Singh Prince Albert Edward Duleep Singh Princess Bamba Duleep Singh Below : Duleep Singh's attractive daughter Princess Bamba Jr He also had two children from his second marriage to Ada Douglas Wetherill: Princess Pauline Alexandra Duleep Singh Princess Ada Irene Beryl Duleep Singh Below: Duleep Singh's attractive daughter Pauline Alexandra All the above eight children of Maharaja Duleep Singh died without children, (which is astonishing and quite mysterious), ending the direct line of the Sikh Royalty.

WHEN A INDIAN YUV-RAJ IN WAITING MARRIES A WHITE CHRISTIAN FOREIGNER OUT OF LOVE ( SIC) , IN A FOREIGN LAND , IT IS USUALLY MADE TO HAPPEN, BY POWERFUL FORCES. SUCH A WOMAN IS CALLED A HONEY POT. ( KNOW OF ANY SUCH RECENT LIVING HONEY POT ?!?) And Maharaja Duleep Singh is allegedly NOT Ranjit Singh’s biological child.. Below: Maharaja Duleep Singh Maharaja Ranjit Singh , who just recovered from his 3rd stroke , was paralysed below the waist, and was NOT in a any prime physical condition to have a boner and penetrate and seed Rani Jindan Kaur , when Duleep Singh was conceived, as per his doctor. His attractive mother Maharani Jindan Kaur was accused of having a torrid affair with the handsome Raja Lal Singh, behind Ranjit Singh’s back. Below-Jindan Kaur Maharani Jindan Kaur, did NOT have royal blood. She was the daughter of Sardar Manna Singh Aulak, the Royal Kennel Keeper at the Court of Lahore.

She was the ninth and the last regular wife he married, according to Sikh customs in 1835, and who bore him his last son Duleep Singh ( sic ) in 1838, just 10 months before his death in 1839. The British called her the Messalina of the Punjab-- comparing her to Messalina, the wife of the Roman Emperor, Claudius, who was a wanton and licentious seductress Manna used to perch his pretty girl child Jindan kaur on his shoulder, and run alongside the Maharaja’s palki. He used to joke with Ranjit Singh, whenever ever he saw him ogling his attractive but underage daughter “ Sir, when will you marry my daughter and make her your queen?” One day to his utter surprise Ranjit Singh relied “Very well, bring her to my palace !” She made all the other women of Ranjit Singh very jealous. Till the age of 13, his Prime minister Dhian Singh was in charge of her.

In the Memoirs of Alexander Gardner” Ranjit Singh took Jindan into his harem where the little smouldering beauty used to gambol, and frolic and tease and captivated the Maharaja in a way that smote the real wives with jealousy. In 1830, with the object of calming the jealousy of his wives, the Maharaja sent Jindan, then thirteen, to her godfather at Amritsar where her "amorous flirtatious glances and coquettish pranks continued attracting lustful attentions of no small number of erotic truants”. A lot of Sikhs are very proud of this Maharani-- whose shady history is alleged to be a pack of lies. Lal Singh was a Brahmin from Jhelum and entered the service of the Sikh Darbar in 1832 as a lowly writer in the treasury, on the recommendation of the Dogra Prime minister Dhian Singh. Below - Lal Singh It is alleged that in December 1844, Maharani Jindan Kaur broke all pretense and appointed her lover Lal Singh as a member of the Council of Regency under her.

He was made Wazir on 8 November 1845. He was also personally teaching his own son Duleep Singh, as per his mother Jindan Kaur’s her wishes. Lal Singh had designs for his son to be the future emperor of Punjab and Kashmir, and hence he mollycoddled the British, who used him like the proverbial curry leaf .. One fine day he got careless and the British caught him . They found his letter giving secret instructions to Shaikh Imam ud Din, the governor of Kashmir, to thwart the occupation by Gulab Singh Dogra ( brother of Dhian Singh ) of the valley granted him by the British under a treaty signed on 16 March 1846. Below : Gulab Singh Dogra Lal Singh was formally tried by a British Court of Inquiry and found guilty. He was removed from his high office and expelled from the Punjab with a pension of 12,000 rupees per annum. He was sent to Agra and then to Dehra Dun, where he died in 1866. I will NOT eulogize Ranjit Singh, but will attempt to shed true light.

As a child Ranjit Singh suffered from smallpox as a child which resulted in the loss of one eye, and his face was deeply pitted , and it was NOT a pretty sight. He was also a short man, considering Sikhs are tall and huge people. But was was extremely athletic and fast. He was uneducated, could neither read nor write, but had a marvellous memory. He was a born leader and evoked intense loyalty among his subjects and his army consisting of Sikhs, Rajputs, Hindus and Muslims. He never admitted the possibility of failure, and hence held the "awe factor". Ranjit Singh’s father Mahan Singh rose to head the Sukerchakya Misl and by marrying Raj Kaur, daughter of Chief of Jind, Gajpat Singh, made a powerful alliance. Ranjeet Singh saw action at the battle front, when he was hardly 12 years old, when he accompanied his father Mahan Singh on a campaign.

During the long siege Mahan Singh fell seriously ill, and knowing very well that his end was approaching, anointed his son Ranjeet Singh as his successor and chief of the Sukerchakia Misl, by applying saffron paste on his forehead. The army of Sukerchakia Misl commanded by young Ranjeet Singh, achieving an astonishing victory against all odds, that amazed everybody. The news of the sons victory reached the ailing Mahan Singh who heaved a sigh of relief just before he breathed his last in 1792. . Once while on a hunting expedition, Ranjit Singh was attacked by one of his father's enemies Hashmat Khan, who had old scores to settle with his father. Out of fear Ranjeet Singh's horse stopped in its tracks, and Khan took the opportunity and wounded Ranjit Singh with his sword. In spite of being wounded Ranjeet Singh moved like greased lightning and with a powerful stroke of his sword cut off Khan's head. 13 year old Ranjeet Singh then picked up the severed head of Hashmat Khan with his spear while on horse back – and this was a tale while would be told a million times from a thousand lips.

Much later he would demonstrate his prowess in “tent pegging” to the British ladies , ( on popular request ) , by making a soldier hold a lime in his palm. He galloped past at full speed and speared the tiny lime with the sharp tip of his long spear. All noted that the soldier’s palm was unharmed, nor was he in a state of fear. The horse was literally an extension of his body. Thus Ranjeet Singh had demonstrated his prowess as an excellent horseman and skilled fighter at a relatively young age, and his fame spread far and wide. He was a master in guerilla tactics, night attacks with very little men , pursuing withdrawing forces, and inflicting crushing and morale shattering defeats. Maharaja Ranjit Singh is included in the list of "Undefeated Military Commanders" Ranjit Singh mobilized an army of 25,000 men that included Sikhs, Hindus as well as Muslims, and marched towards Lahore . In the morning of July 7, 1799, Ranjeet Singh breached the walls of the city, and occupied a large part of it without any resistance. The Afghan forces and their allies either surrendered or were killed.

Immediately after taking possession of the city, Ranjeet Singh paid an visit to the Badshahi Mosque, to pay his respects, a gesture that won the hearts of the Muslims of the City. Thus Ranjeet Singh at the age of 21 was crowned the Maharajah of the Punjab on April 12, 1801. The coronation being conducted by Sahib Singh Bedi, a descendant of Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of the Sikh religion. Ranjit Singh made Lahore the capital of his kingdom. In 1802, he took control of the holy city of Amritsar. The following years he spent fighting the Afghans and driving them out of the Punjab. He then embarked on a campaign of conquest, capturing Pashtun territory that included Peshawar, the province of Multan in southern Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, and the hill states north of Anandpur Sahib, the largest of which was Kangra. He extended his territories upto Ladakh and China.

Maharajah Ranjeet Singh was a devout Sikh, but opted for a secular form of government where equal opportunities were provided for all irrespective of religion The maharajah had a harem of 46 wives. These could be segregated into 4 classes. Firstly 9 of his wives he had married in the orthodox Sikh manner. These wives were considered a cut above other wives. Ranjit Singh also married 9 rich widows by what in Sikh custom is called casting the Chaddar ( blanket) over them. The Chaddar is a peculiar custom in the Punjab where a widow is married to the man who casts a ‘Chaddar’ on the woman after which she becomes his wife. Ranjit had 9 such attractive widows as wives. He also had a third category of courtesan wives who were all Muslim. . The remaining were gorgeous women whom he had fancied and were concubines. Fakir Nuruddin, the Home Minister, was incharge of Maharaja’s palaces and the harem. The Maharajah was not averse to going to war to capture a beautiful woman or princess.

In 1804 he learnt of the beauty of 2 daughters Guddan and Raj Banso of Raja Sansar Chand of Kangra. He wished to marry them and sent his marriage proposal. The Raja turned it down as he could not agree both his daughters marrying the same man—and that too ugly by Rajput standards. Ranjit mounted an expedition and defeated Raja Sansar Chand. He married both the princesses at Jwalalmukhi, a holy place 30 km from Kangra. Jwalalmukhi has one of the most holy temples of Hinduism dedicated to the ‘Goddess of Light. Ranjit Singh spent the wedding night servicing these two girls on the same bed till morning, fortified with aphrodisiacs. Guddan and Rani Raj Banso, the daughters of Raja Sansar Chand were the most stately , dignified and charming women in the Maharajah's entire harem.

Much later one of these Rajput sisters , Maharani Mahtab Devi Sahiba ( Guddan ) who refused to marry this ugly pock faced man , would hold his head in her lap and calmly burn herself ( sati ) on her husband’s , Ranjit Singh’s funeral pyre. Eleven of his wives would burn themselves. His youngest wife, who was also his 9th regular wife, Maharani Jindan Kaur did not commit Sati, saying she had a 10-month old baby Duleep Singh to feed and look after. Probably she had future royal designs for him . One of the dancing girls girls called Kaulan (Lotus) was given seven villages as jagir, but despite this wealth she was one of the ladies who committed sati on Ranjit Singh’s pyre. Today, the ashes of these eleven wives are placed in tiny urns, surrounding the large marble urn, in the shape of a lotus, containing Maharajah Ranjeet Singh's ashes, in the center of the tomb, the Samadhi of Ranjeet Singh, at Lahore. Ranjit was also fond of dance and music.

He had collected a troupe of 125 dancing girls from his kingdom as dancers. The girls were chosen from about the age of 14-16 and retired at 25 after which they were given to the courtiers of Ranjit Singh or the foreign generals who served in Ranjit’s army as a reward. The favorite girls dancer was a drop dead beautiful girl named ‘Billoo’ ( Bashiran ) who Ranjit loved passionately because of her blue eyes. Carried away by the lifestyle of Lahore, the mercenary Jewish Italian General Jean Baptist Ventura, one of the foreign commanders of Ranjit Singh’s army, too kept 50 dancing girls! The elite of the ‘Lahore Darbar’ all were measured by the quality of their harem, for it depicted their power and prestige. The sheer number of courtesans in Lahore in the Sikh era has never been rivalled. They were interested in the arts, in music, in the finest things in life. With the coming of the British, bringing women to sell in Lahore was banned and all women living outside the wedlock as courtesans and keeps were asked to leave the city. Many then decided to marry their masters.

Ranjit Singh had heard of a legendary horse named As-i-Leila. This horse belonged to Dost Mohammed or Yaar Mohammed who were the chiefs of the Orakazi Muslim tribes. The horse was a black stallion of Persian origin. When Ranjit Singh heard of the horse he demanded it from Yaar Mohammed. On his refusal he ordered General Jean Baptist Ventura to mount an offensive against the Tribes. In 1830 Yaar Mohammed was defeated by Ventura who threatened to behead him in case the horse was not handed over to his lord and Master Ranjit Singh. Later Yar Mohammed himself was killed by his tribesmen and Ranjit Singh anointed his brother as the chief. The horse was carried to Lahore in a special wagon and escorted by a large contingent of him Sikh army One of Ranjit Singh’s favoured queens, was Moran, ( Gul Bahar begum ) a dancing girl of Amritsar, with whom he fell passionately in love at first sight when he was just twenty-two in 1832.. Ranjit Singh accepted all the conditions of Moran’s father to marry her as per custom of the courtesan’s family.

Moran had had danced before British Governor General, Lord William Bentinck, at Ropar in October 1831. She rode with the Maharaja on the same elephant, sat in the darbar without veil , while she fondled Ranjit Singh.. Ranjit Singh went to see Moran on arrival in Amritsar, rather than first paying his respects at the Darbar Sabib, as a consequence of which he had to face the wrath of the jathedar of the Akal Takht. He subsequently visited the Golden Temple in an act of contrition for marrying a lady whose status did not match his own. Akali Phula Singh reprimanded Maharaja Ranjit Singh and he presented himself at the Akal Takhat to receive the ‘tankhah’ imposed by the Jathedar, by baring his back to receive the lashes. Much later the British agents of Rothschild operating in Lahore in those days chose to operated through Moran , causing him 4 strokes , the last one final. Unfortunately Ranjit Singh never suspected Moran and even got gold coins struck in her name, samples of which can be seen even today in the Lahore Museum.. She had the ability to extract state secrets from Ranjit Singh while having sex.

When Moran died, the Ranjit Singh decided to favour another courtesan by the name of Jugnoo Begum. She was a very beautiful woman, but did not have the wit of Mooran, and soon the maharaja found her boring. He then found another beauty from Amritsar, a woman Moran had once predicted would win his heart one day. Her name was Gul Begum, and the proud Gul demanded that he not touch her before he walked bare-foot from Lahore to Amritsar to wed her. The maharaja knew well that she would not bend, and so he did as Gul Begum had demanded. It was Gul Begum who looked after the maharaja when he fell ill. She smiled as she sat in the pyre in which Ranjit Singh was cremated. So looks like his barefoot walk did some magic. His consumption of alcohol mixed with crushed pearls was excessive and would contribute to his early death.

Emily Eden (sister of Lord Auckland, the then governor general of India) wrote, “Ranjit produced some of his wine, a sort of liquid fire, that none of our strong spirits approach and, in general, Europeans cannot swallow more than a drop of it.” Among the more important of his regular wives married according to Sikh customs, were Mehtab Kaur of the Kanhia Misl, the daughter of Rani Sada Kaur, whom he married, when he was 16 years old, in the year 1796. Rani Mehtab Kaur gave birth to three sons; the eldest Ishar Singh died young at 1½years of age. The second and third sons were twins, Sher Singh and Tara Singh. Sher Singh was the strongest claimant to the throne after Maharajah Ranjeet Singh, being the eldest surviving son of the senior most wife of the king. Ranjit Singh’s mother did NOT get along with the mother ( Sada Kaur ) of his wife Mehtab Kaur. Mehtab Kaur was a vain and haughty woman.

Sada Kaur took her daughter Mehtab Kaur away with her, where two princes Sher Singh and Tara Singh were born, who thus lived away from their father. Ranjit Singh killed his mother on sensing infidelity to his dead father. Nobody writes or talks about this. His second wife was Raj Kaur of Nakai Misl, the daughter of Khazan Singh Nakai, whom he married in 1798, at the age of 18 years. Rani Raj Kaur gave birth to a son Kharak Singh in 1801 who became the heir-apparent to Maharajah Ranjeet Singh, being the Maharajah's eldest son. Prince Kharak Singh was was utterly lacking in ambition and worldly sense. Though he was trained as heir-apparent and was sent on some military expeditions, his real interest lay in reading the Granth and sitting in the company of holy men. On top of that he was addicted to Opium. Ranjit Singh’s passionate love for horses can be judged from the fact that he had more than 1200 horses in his stable, 1000 reserved for him personally. Riding was his favourite exercise.

Whenever he was burdened with private or state matters, he would abruptly call for a horse, saddled, bridled and go for a long ride. The vanity he lacked about his own appearance was made up in appearance of his horses. They were decked in most expensive and gorgeous trappings. Famous were Gauharbar, Sufaid Pari, Laili – all of Persian breed. There is a fairy tale-like story about Laili for which many expeditions were made and it cost him sixty lakhs of rupees and 1200 soldiers! He used to take pride of this possession and exhibit to his foreign visitors. Another marvel was his bungalow on wheels – decorated, furnished and pulled by eight mighty and richly caparisoned elephants. One of these horses would be his undoing. His Jewish Romanian chemist, Dr. John Martin Honigberger , who was responsible for mixing his gunpowder, infected the leg of his favourite horse causing an ulcer. Below: Honigberger He got into the good books of Ranjit Singh by offering to cure the horse and injected the anti-dote of whatever he had infected the leg with. Later he assumed the role of Ranjit Singh’s personal doctor.

He was responsible for preparing all these aphrodisiac potions with crushed pearls . He treated the Maharaja by dispensing “Dulcamara” in wine and galvanic cell electric shocks. This Romanian Jew was an agent of Rothschild. He took his orders from Rothschild’s personal homeopathy doctor, the German Jew Dr Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann, who is known as “the father of Homeopathy” ( sic ). Below:- Hahnemann Dr. John Martin Honigberger had scrounged around in India for ancient vedic homeopathy texts , which he delivered to his boss in Paris in 1834. The fact that water holds memory is written in our vedic texts . What the hell is “tirtham” and the holy water in a Maharishi's lota? Following the July Revolution of 1830 that saw Louis Philippe come to power in France , James de Rothschild put together the loan package to stabilize the finances of the new government and a huge second banking loan in 1834— all wealth stolen from India. In gratitude for his services to the nation, Louis Philippe elevated him to a grand officer of the Legion of Honor. Here is the golden throne of Ranjit Singh.

He was a simple man and did NOT sit on it too often. Even when he sat on it, it was in a cross legged fashion. Ranjit singh was led into the Treaty of Amritsar in 1809, by Rothschild. The British though they were being very smart. They would make the fierce Ranjit Singh’s Sikh kingdom of Punjab act as a buffer between the marauding Muslims of Afghanistan and themselves. They would allow his to vacuum and squirrel away wealth from the Mughal remnants –a long and dirty job. And one fine day Rothschild would swipe away this nice heap of wealth—just like what they did to Tipu Sultan in 1799. In between Rothschild’s French Generals would hold the key member of the Sikh darbar in their vice grip, by bribes , as their hidden agents. Maharaja Ranjit Singh out thought the British. This is why this man must be admired.. He knew that as long as the Sikhs, Rajputs, Hindus and Muslims people bond together –without the British playing dirty “divide and rule” tactics , as they did in the rest of India, he would be just fine.

His army would be too hard to beat, in a one on one fight. To keep the bonding alive he treated Sikhs, Muslims, Rajputs and Hindus subjects alike. He never discriminated. So he agreed to sign the Treaty of Amritsar of 1809. This would be an insurance policy as far as British attacks were concerned. This treaty was signed by Mr. Charles Theophilus Metcalfe on behalf of British Government , whose Governor General was Lord Minto , and Maharaja Ranjit Singh at Amritsar on April 25, 1809. Charles Theophilus Metcalfe was born in Calcutta in January 1785 and he was the son of Thomas Theophilus Metcalfe who was appointed by Rothschild as the Director of the British East India Company. Below: Charles Metcalfe He was only 23 years old when he was appointed envoy to the court of Maharajah Ranjit Singh, as Rothchild’s hawk’s eye. This was a very young age to be given such a huge responsibility. Later in life Charles Metcalfe would be acting Governor-General of India.

The Text of the Treaty:Treaty with the Rajah of Lahore - 1809 Whereas certain differences which had arisen between the British Government and the Rajah of Lahore have been happily and amicably adjusted, and both parties being anxious to maintain the relations of perfect amity and-concord, the following Articles of treaty, which shall be binding on the heirs and successors of the two parties, have been concluded by Rajah Runjeet Sing on his own part, and by the agency of Charles Theophilus Metcalfe, Esquire, on the part of the British Government. Article 1. Perpetual friendship shall subsist between the British Government and the State of Lahore. The latter shall be considered, with respect to the former, to be on the footing of the most favoured powers; and the British Government will have no concern with the territories and subjects of the Rajah to the northward of the Sutlej. Article 2.

The Rajah will never maintain in the territory occupied by him and his dependents .on the left bank of the River Sutlej, more troops than are necessary for the internal duties of that territory, nor commit or suffer any encroachments on the possessions or rights of the Chiefs in its vicinity. Article 3. In the event of a violation of any of the preceding Articles, or of a departure from the rules of friendship on the part of either State, this Treaty shall be considered to be null and void. Article 4. This Treaty, consisting of four Articles, having been settled and concluded at Amritsar, on the 25th day of April, 1809, Mr. Charles Theophilus Metcalfe has delivered to the Rajah of Lahore a copy of the same, in English and Persian, under his seal and signature, and the said Rajah has delivered another copy of the same, under his seal and signature; and Mr.

Charles Theophilus Metcalfe engages to procure, within the space of two months, a copy of the same duly ratified by the Right Honourable the Governor-General in Council, on the receipt of which by the Rajah, the present Treaty shall be deemed complete and binding on both parties, and the copy of it now delivered to the Rajah shall be returned. Seal and signature of Company's 'Seal MINTO (Sd) Ratified by the Governor-General in Council on 30th May, 1809. This treaty though would put a limit on extending the Sikh kingdom to the south, already occupied by the British, it would in theory allow expansion to the North and West without any interference from the British. This rough terrain was where all the Mughal treasures were , including the Kohinoor diamond, originally stolen from India. The British kept low , even after Ranjit Singh vacuumed all the wealth from the North West areas , including the Kohinoor diamond and kept it in a nice pile. They would at the right time murder him by inducing a stroke by putting extra crushed pearls in his daily aphrodisiac drink, he got addicted to. Addiction was achieved by adding opium in increasing quantities.

The stoke would be achieved by clogging his kidneys with crushed pearls. This potion was prepared daily by the Romanian Jew quack doctor. Once Ranjit Singh was out of the way they would drive an irreversible wedge between the Rajputs and the Sikhs by making the gullible Sikhs suspect the loyal Rajput members of Ranjit Singh’s inner darbar and army. Sir Lepel Griffin a British propaganda mouthpiece for Rothschild wrote “There are perhaps no characters in Punjab history more repulsive than Rajputs Dhian Singh and Gulab Singh Dogra “. Nothing is further than the truth , as both these loyal men were handpicked by Ranjit Singh himself-- and Ranjit Singh has the capability to gauge men. A distraught Prime Minister Dhian Singh nearly jumped into the funeral pyre of Ranjit Singh, and he was held back by force. Gulab Singh's own son Udam Singh was killed along with Naunihal Singh while returning from the funeral of his father Maharaja Kharak Singh. Dhian Singh , the blood brother of Gulab Singh , too was badly injured . Naunihal was a great leader at a young age, and he had the potential to be even greater than Ranjit Singh.

Below Dhian Singh It was the Rothschild's British agents who collapsed the stone archway over the passing elephant. They did this to drive a wedge between Rajputs and Sikhs. In Sikh history Dhian Singh is Ram, Gulab Singh is Lakshman and Tej singh is Ravan. See how Rothschild monopolized encyclopedias, media , historians , movie and TV , have converted Ram to Ravan and vice versa, in a disgraceful manner. They never anticipated an Internet age, right? The purpose of this blog site is to reverse such white lies , as I have told from the outset. Lepel's son Sir Lancelot Cecil Lepel Griffin later would be appointed by Rothschild as the last political secretary of British India. Even today the naïve Sikhs think that Dhian Singh and Gulab Singh are the real culprits for the astonishing disintegration of the mighty Sikh empire. None of them even know that such a Jew owner of British East India Company by the name of Rothschild exists. The King of England never dared to cross Rothschild, as he held the money.

When Rothschild, the owner of British East India Company, who grew opium in India and sold it in China, screamed at the King or Queen of England to jump , they never dared to ask WHY? They only whispered “ How high , Sir?” Now let me tell how Ranjit Singh got his hands on the fabulous Kohinoor diamond. Lord Krishna received this diamond called Syamantakam from his father in law Jambavan as dowry in 4100 BC. It passed through many hands over the years. Nadir Shah was assassinated and the Kohinoor diamond fell into the hands of Ahmad Shah Abdali, one of his ablest generals, who later became the King of Afghanistan. After his death in 1772, the Koh-i-noor diamond passed into the hands of his successors. In the battle for succession that followed, the Koh-i-noor ended in possession of one of his sons Shah Shuja Mirza. In the changing fortunes of war, Shuja Mirza was defeated and made prisoner by the allies of his brother, Mahmud Shah. However, before being captured, he managed to send his family to Punjab to seek refuge with Maharaja Ranjit Singh .

Wafa Begum, Shuja Mirza’s wife, carried the Koh-i-noor diamond with her to Lahore. Wafa Begum became greatly distressed when she heard the dreadful news of her husband. She sent envoys to Ranjit Singh and implored him to use his influence to get her husband released and in return for his help promised him the Koh-i-noor diamond. Ranjit Singh marched against the Afghans and got Shah Shuja released. After securing the Koh-i-noor diamond, Ranjit Singh had the prized jewel fitted in his turban. Later he had it sewn into an armlet, which he wore on all the important state occasions, where it remained for twenty years. Before Ranjit Singh died in 1839, his priests tried to get him to donate the diamond to the Temple of Jaggannath. Apparently he agreed, but by this time he was unable to speak due to a stroke , and the keeper of the royal treasure refused to release the stone, on the grounds that he has not received such orders. Kohinoor signed away to queen Victoria in 1849 by 11 year old boy King Duleep Singh while in exile.

As a reward he could play with the royal kids in London. The terms of the treaty, at the end of the Second Anglo-Sikh War specified that: "The gem called Koh-I-noor, which was taken from Shah Shuja-ul-Mulk by Maharajah Ranjit Singh shall be surrendered by the Maharajah of Lahore to the Queen of England. John Lawrence, the colonial administrator, put it in his waistcoat pocket and forgot about it. When asked for the prize, Lawrence had no idea where it was. Racing home, he asked his servant- who said, yes, he had found a small box, containing a piece of glass in his master’s waistcoat! After gaining the famous diamond, the Governor General, Lord Dalhousie immediately sent the Koh-i-noor to England after taking every care to ensure its safe passage over the land and the sea-routes. On 6 April 1850 the Koh-i-noor left the shores of India on board of the HMS Medea. So shrouded in mystery was its departure that even the Captain of the Medea did not know the precious cargo his ship carried. It was delivered to Sir J. W.

Logg, Deputy Chairman of the British East India Company, who presented the diamond to Her Majesty, Queen Victoria, in the presence of Sir John Hobhouse, at Buckingham Palace on July 3 1850. Prince Albert hired stupid "experts" at Coster Diamonds in Amsterdam to cut the diamond into a brilliant, reducing it by up to 43% of its original size, which made it lose its natural divine moonlight blue glow. Probably they tried to get rid of the curse attached to the diamond. Little do the British know that their great empire went into decline and the mental acquity of their people eroded ( MAD COW ) as a result of the curse of the Kohinoor. Such great stones cannot be mined but are found on riverbeds in their natural state. 6100 years ago a slave stole it from Lord Krishna when he was sleeping. Edward VIII , abdicated the throne to his brother King George VI ( Ruler of India ) within 362 days . George was a misfit, terribly shy with a stutter. He would cry and was prone to melancholy. His English subjects never knew that he could NOT speak without a endless stammer.

This suited Rothschild , as he could conduct 2nd World War to carve out the state of Israel, as he wanted , with Winston Churchill whose Jewish mother Jenny Jerome, was of Rothschild blood. King George’s wife Elizabeth ( present queen’s Elizabeth II’s mother ) was very shrewd and managed all affairs with an iron will. She got the great Kohinoor diamond stolen from India for her own crown , and was most of the time sozzled on leg bucklin' ZAZA ( this is 30% gin and 70% dubonnet --neat-- with a slice of lime ). Maharaja Gulab Singh came from a distinguished Dogra-Rajput Royal lineage, unlike Ranjit Singh who was a commoner. Gulab Singh was a Ikshvaku Surya Vansi blue blooded Rajput, one of the most ancient and respected lineages of India . Lord Rama is the 'kuldevta' (family deity) of the Dogras. Gulab Singh Dogra and was born on October 21, 1792 to Kishore Singh, whose grandfather was the brother of the illustrious king of Jammu namely, Raja Ranjit Dev.

In his childhood Gulab Singh was sent by his father for martial training to his grandfather Zorawar Singh, who was one of the most ferocious tough warriors of this planet. Gulab Singh learnt martial arts at a very young age, and in course matured into a great soldier. In a single combat Ranjit Singh with one eye, stood no chance against Gulab Singh on foot or on horse. Maharaja Ranjit Singh had dispatched Bhai Hukma Singh (Chimni) to annex Jammu in the year 1808. A young and reckless 16 year old Gulab Singh ( without informing his grandfather ) quietly joined in the battle and due to the astonishing resistance put forward by him and his small group against the superior Sikh forces, the Sikh forces were forced to withdraw to Saidgarh. Eventually,Maharaja Ranjit Singh sent re-inforcements and was able to annex Jammu to his Sikh empire. Bhai Hukma Singh was greatly impressed by the outstanding leadership and exceptional fighting abilities of this young prince Gulab Singh and told about this to Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

In in the year 1809 Maharaja Ranjit Singh invited Gulab Singh to Daska a village situated a few miles from Sialkot and personally requested him to join his army. Ultimately due to the services rendered and loyalty displayed by Gulab Singh, Maharaja Ranjit Singh made Gulab Singh, the Raja of Jammu. Any other vested version by British and Sikh historians is wrong, and was written more to make the Sikhs hate the Rajpiuts, and break their alliance. Ranjit Singh was NOT the type to be arm twisted against his better judgement. The widow of Kharak Singh, Mai Chand Kaur was crowned as the reagent thereafter on 2nd December, 1840 and she retained the able , wise and loyal Dhian Singh as her prime minister. Unfortunately soon Mai Chand Kaur and the son of Maharaja Ranjit Singh (from Mehtab Kaur), namely Sher Singh came into conflict due to a Rothschild conspiracy and Mai Chand Kaur abdicated and Sher Singh was declared as the Maharaja. Mai Chand Kaur was poisoned and then stoned to death by her maid servants on 11 June, 1842.

Though historians say that , Mai Chand Kaur was put to death by the orders of Maharaja Sher Singh, it is well known that this was again a British conspiracy—to divide the Sikhs into various warring camps. Soon enough Maharaja Sher Singh along with his son Prince Pratap Singh and Dhian Singh were also killed by the Sikh Chiefs, the Sandhanwalias on 15th September 1843 after being bribed by the British. The British official Joseph Davey Cunningham, residing in Ludhiana during that period circulated the propaganda that Maharaja Sher Singh was killed by Dhian Singh and then the Sandhanwalias killed Raja Dhian Singh. The gullible Sikhs got confused and angry and nobody trusted a Rajput or even a fellow Sikh. Poison was indeed injected in the simple minds of the Sikhs. How quickly the Sikhs forgot the loyal services of Dhian Singh. Retribution would be quick. The son of Dhian Singh ( and nephew of Maharaja Gulab Singh) aided by his uncle Suchet Singh took revenge on the Sandhanwalia chiefs.

The Sandhanwalia culprits Ajit Singh, Lehna Singh and about 600 of their gang were mercilessly put to the sword by the tough Rajputs. Interestingly when the widow of Dhian Singh heard that her son had avenged the murder (in the true Rajput tradition) of his father she mentioned to her son ,"I will tell your father that you acted as a brave and a dutiful son", and she committed Sati. Dhian Singh’s son Hira Singh, was handsome, wise and brave and was a favourite of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The British who were looking for an opportunity to seize the territories of the late Maharaja Ranjit Singh were obviously delighted.

Lord Ellenborough the Governor General of India during that period wrote to her Majesty Queen Victoria on October 20, 1843, "...it is impossible not to preceive that the ultimate tendency of the late events at Lahore is without, any effort on our part, to bring the plains first, and at somewhat later period the hills, under our protection or control." After this the youngest wife Maharani Jindan Kaur crowned her son Duleep Singh as the Maharaja on September 18, 1843. Hira Singh , the son of the slain Shian Singh who was made the prime minister. Hira Singh was killed on December 21, 1844, along with his relatives, another of Rothchild’s conspiracies – for Hira Singh was as wise , loyal and level headed as his father Dhian Singh. However, brave Hira Singh died after giving a fierce fight. Maharani Jindan Kaur now made her own sweet brother Jawaher Singh the prime minister . She surprisingly goaded on by her own ambitious brother, "the son of the dog keeper", made all efforts were made to beleaguer Raja Gulab Singh. .

Eventually a conflict developed between the Lahore Sikh Durbar and Raja Gulab Singh. Things got from bad to worse and shove became push. Eventually a great battle took place on the plain of the Satwari and the Jammu forces commanded by Diwan Hari Chand routed the Sikhs. The divide was now complete and the British were very happy. Remote controlled intrigue in the Lahore Durbar continued and Jawahar Singh “the ambitious to be king” commoner brother of Maharani Jindan was killed by the orders of the Panch (military council) for his role in the killing of Prince Peshora Singh one of the sons of the late Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Jawahar Singh was beheaded, right in front of Maharani Jindan Kaur and her young son Maharajah Duleep Singh, on September 21, 1845. The death of her own brother right in front of her eyes, was something too much for the Maharani to bear, who gave vent to her anguish with loud cries of lamentation.

Britain now declared war on the Sikhs , giving the lame excuse that the Sikhs did NOT allow the passage of the British troops through their territory during the first Afghan War of the 1839-1842. The Sikh army commanded by Tej Singh ( appointed by Jindan Kaur ) had crossed the Sutlej on December 11, 1845, ostensibly to occupy a former Sikh possession, the village of Moran, named after one of Maharajah Ranjeet Singh's favorite Muslim courtesans, on the east side of the river. Tej Singh and Lal Singh DELIBERATELY broke the Amritsar Treaty signed by Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1809. The British considered this as a hostile move , breaking the Amristar treaty of 1809, and hence declared war. Tej Singh was bribed by the British to do this. Lal Singh the clandestine lover of the Queen Jindan kaur and the army chief Tej were in direct communication with the British, giving away camp and battle positions and tactic . The cannons would not fire as our Romanian Jew Dr. John Martin Honigberger made sure they would NOT fire.

This was exactly the same modus operandi with Tipu Sultan in 1799, when Rothschild’s French arm fiddled around with the gunpowder. Tej Singh led his own dang army to deliberate defeat, during the First Angle Sikh war on December 13th 1845 . 60,000 ferocious Sikhs who fought their hearts out, could NOT handle 8,000 British , lowering the proud Sikh army morale for ever. The British troops showed no mercy and the result was a massacre of thousands of Sikh soldiers. The Rothschild planted Jewish French and Italian mercenary commanders were involved in this too . Below Tej Singh. Tej Singh whilst fleeing the battlefield destroyed bridges and even planted guns on his side of the river to shot any escaping Sikhs! — Well, well ! how do you like Rothschild’s conspiracies now? All this came to light only in 1857, during the First war of Independence , when the whole of India fought mutinied against the British except the Sikhs. YES! Tej Singh , the traitor raised Sikh cavalry regiments to aid the British.

His scattered Jagirs were consolidated and he was rewarded with the new title Raja of Batala. Gulab Singh had tried in vain to convince Maharani Jindan to avoid a conflict with the British. Raja Gulab Singh during this conflict took no sides but still had sympathy for the Sikhs and sent them food and animals. He then left for a pilgrimage to Vaishno Devi and Purmandel. Maharani Jindan fervently summoned Raja Gulab Singh . Eventually Raja Gulab Singh, his son Ranbir Singh, nephew Jawahar Singh along with four thousand horsemen and about five thousand Rajputs of his clan left for Lahore. On arriving in Lahore Raja Gulab Singh was informed by Maharani Jindan that she had lost control of the affairs of the State. In the Durbar held on January 31, 1846, Maharani Jindan was cursed by the Panchas . The Punchas mentioned that Maharani Jindan was pushing the Sikh kingdom towards destruction by moving the army across the Sutlej River, against the British.

In addition the Panchas also made it clear to Maharani Jindan that they would kill her if she did not make Raja Gulab Singh the prime minister. The battles between the Sikhs and the British were not decisive intially but with time the British started to make gains. Eventually on February 10, 1846, Sir Hugh Gough attacked the Sikhs at Sobraon with heavy artillery and the Sikhs suffered bad reverses. On accepting the prime ministership, Raja Gulab Singh made it clear he would only continue in this position only if the court officials gave it in written that they would not interfere with his peace efforts with the British. By now Maharani Jindan who was inexperienced in matters of the state became panicky. Sir Hugh Gough was supported by Lord Hardinge, the governor-general, who volunteered to serve under him. The Sikhs were overwhelmed and Gulab Singh sued for peace at Lahore.

(The services of Sir Hugh Gough were rewarded by Rothschild and he was elevated to the peerage of the United Kingdom as Baron of Maharajpore and the Sutlej in April 1846.) Below : Baron Gough While Raja Gulab Singh continued to be the prime minister he and Lal Singh, the lover of Maharani Jindan Kaur ( and the biological father of Duleep Singh ) did not get along. Lal Singh made several attempts were made on the life of Raja Gulab Singh. Finally Lal Singh forced Maharani Jindan Kaur to dismiss Gulab Singh and he became Prime Minister on 26 February, 1847. The British were firm in their demand of two crore rupees from the Lahore Durbar as a fine and also wanted the Doab territory as reparation. Eventually the boy king Maharaja Dalip Singh was bought to Lahore for forcing a treaty.

Some of the conditions of the peace treaty that was signed in Lahore between the Lahore Darbar and the British East India Company, on March 9, 1846, soon after the war ended, are as follows :- 1) The Jullundur Doab between the Beas River and the Sutlej River to be surrendered to the British. 2) The Lahore Darbar to pay an indemnity of 15 million (1.5 crore) rupees. 3) Maharajah DULEEP SINGH to continue as ruler of Punjab, with his mother Maharani Jindan Kaur remaining as regent. 4) The Sikh army was greatly reduced in size from its original 80,000 to around 20,000 thousand troops, that set the stage for the second Anglo-Sikh war. 5) The British troops were to be withdrawn from Lahore by the end of the year 1846. Lal Singh now the Prime Minister could not come up with the money which he was supposed to pay to the British. A conniving Lal Singh hence decided to kill two birds with one stone and one of the birds being Raja Gulab Singh.

Lal Singh subsequently made an offer to the British that he, Lal Singh was willing to offer all the hill territory to them between the rivers Sindh and Beas including Kashmir and Hazara in place of rupees one crore. As this included the territory of Jammu this was indeed a clever way of marginalizing Gulab Singh. When Gulab Singh learnt about this he felt felt double-crossed. He then met the Governor General to access the situation. The clever Governor General realized that it was a good thing to have the Rajputs as allies and he knew the loyalty Gulab Singh commanded with Sikhs, Rajputs, Muslims and Hindus. Eventually after discussions with the British, Raja Gulab Singh sent Diwan Jwala Sahai his confidant to the British with the request that the territory of Jammu be handed over to his dependents for their support, while Raja Gulab Singh would himself lead a retired life in the holy city of Varanasi. However, it seems that Lord Hardinge had his own plans and informed Diwan Jwala Sahai that he would be willing to hand over the territories lying between the source of Beas including the areas of Kashmir and Hazara to Raja Gulab Singh.

In exchange for these territories Raja Gulab Singh was to pay rupees one crore to the British. Since Raja Gulab Singh could not come up with this kind of money, hence, he decided to trade some territory on the the right side of the Beas River for less money. On receiving this proposal from Raja Gulab Singh, Lord Hardinge wrote the following to a secret committee, "that the trans Beas portion of Kulu and Mandi with the fertile district and strong position of Nurpur and the celebrated fort of Kangra and the key to the Himalayas in native estimation with its districts and its dependencies should be in our possession". Eventually it was accepted that Raja Gulab Singh would pay 75 lakhs to the British for the smaller territory. On finding out that they had been outwitted and the tables turned on them, Lal Singh and Maharani Jindan dispatched the loyal but wily Kashmiri Brahmin Diwan Dina Nath to Henry Lawrence and Frederic Currie. The aim being to request the British to cancel their deal with Raja Gulab Singh and that they (Lahore Durbar) was willing to pay all the money in order to retain their territory.

As the British were keen to get rid of the volatile Sikh threat to their Empire, hence, they found that the best strategy was to stick with Raja Gulab Singh. Eventually Raja Gulab Singh was invited by the Governor General at a camp on March 15, 1846. Following this Raja Gulab Singh was bestowed with the title of a Maharaja and the Treaty of Amritsar was signed between the British and Maharaja Gulab Singh on March 16, 1846. As a result of this treaty Maharaja Gulab Singh found himself in possession of the State of Jammu and Kashmir.

By Article 1 of the Amritsar Treaty, Gulab Singh acquired "all the hilly or mountainous country with its dependencies situated to the eastward of the River Indus and the westward of the River Ravi including Chamba and excluding Lahul, being part of the territories ceded to the British Government by the Lahore State according to the provisions of Article IV of the Treaty of Lahore, dated 9th March, 1846." Under Article 3, Gulab Singh was to pay 75 lakhs (7.5 million) of Nanak Shahi rupees (the ruling currency of Punjab) to the British Government, along with other annual tributes. The Treaty of Amritsar marked the beginning of Dogra rule in Kashmir, which was to end in 1948 after an attack by the Pakistani army which led to Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. Lord Hardinge gave the following reason for the transfer of Jammu and Kashmir to Maharaja Gulab Singh, " It was necessary last March to weaken the Sikhs by depriving them of Kashmir".

Getting back a bit in time — Maharajah Ranjeet Singh was succeeded by his eldest son Kharak Singh from his second wife, Raj Kaur, instead of his eldest surviving son Sher Singh by his most senior wife, Mehtab Kaur, daughter of Rani Sada Kaur. The succession caused a lot of bitterness among Ranjit Singh's heirs. Opium addict ,spiritual and soft, Kharak Singh was not fit and prepared to rule his father's vast empire, and was unable to control the various factions within his kingdom. Therefore, Kharak Singh's eldest son Nau Nihal Singh, who was just 18 years old took control of the kingdom himself from his father, on October 8, 1839. Kharak Singh died of poisoning on November 5, 1840, and Nau Nihal Singh was to formally take over as king after his father's death. However, unfortunately when Nau Nihal Singh was returning from his father's funeral, he was fatally injured by debris from a collapsing archway that smashed his head. It is not known whether the building collapse was accidental or deliberate.

Nau Nihal Singh, was succeeded by Sher Singh, the eldest surviving son of Ranjeet Singh by his most senior wife Rani Mehtab Kaur, who was believed by many to be the actual claimant to the throne of the Punjab, after Ranjeet Singh's death. Sher Singh's succession did not come automatically. He won the throne only after a protracted siege of the Lahore fort, that was held by the Royal family. He was installed as king, in January 1841, but was himself killed just two years after taking office, in September 1843, together with Prime Minister Dhian Singh in a plot hatched by the Sandhawalias, cousins of Sher Singh. Raja Dian Singh's son . Raja Hira Singh, with the support of the army, wiped out the Sandhawalia faction, and captured the fort of Lahore. Then on September 16, 1943, the army proclaimed Ranjeet Singh's youngest son, Duleep Singh who was just five years old, as king, with his mother Jindan Kaur as regent and Dhian Singh’s son Hira Singh was appointed as Wazir.

The Treaty of Bhyroval was intended to tighten the noose on the Punjab, and to supercede the clause of withdrawing the British troops from Lahore as agreed by the first treaty of Amritsar in 1809 with Maharaja Ranjit Singh.. According to this new treaty signed on December 16, 1846, Maharani Jindan Kaur was removed as regent to her son Maharajah Duleep Singh, and replaced by a British Resident in Lahore Sir Henry Lawrence, supported by a Regency Council. This was ironically headed by the traitor Tej Singh, ( the double agent of Rothschild ) the former commander of the Sikh army, who treacherously facilitated the British victory in the first Anglo-Sikh war. The appointment of Tej Singh caused a lot of anger and resentment among the Sikh population. Below: Sir Henry Lawrence Meanwhile the British were waiting for the slightest pretext to separate the mother and the son. The pretext was cooked up when the boy king refused to confer the title as Raja of Sialkot in Aug 1847, at instigation of his mother Jindan Kaur.

The British tried to implicate the Maharani in a conspiracy known as the Premilla Plot, in which Sir Henry Lawrence and Tej Singh were to be murdered at a fete at the Shalimar Gardens. A sham inquiry held into both incidents and on the orders of Henry Lawrence, the mother and son were separated, and Maharani Jindan Kaur was sent to the Summan Tower of Lahore Fort, from where she was transferred to the fort at Sheikhurpura, for incarceration in September 1847. Whither honour? Her annual allowance was drastically reduced from Rs 150,000 to a mere Rs. 48,000. She was then moved to the Fort of Chunar in Uttar Pradesh, from where she escaped to Nepal disguised as a maid-servant, on April 19, 1849. he fled to the Himalayas disguised as a beggar woman, and moved to Kathmandu, in Nepal, where she was given political asylum by the Prime Minister Jung Bahadur, mainly as a mark of respect to the memory of the late Maharajah Ranjeet Singh.

The British authorities confiscated all her gold and jewelry, said to be worth around a fortune which also included the fabulous emerald and seed-pearl necklace, that had been left in the government treasury at Benares, and rescinded her pension. Maharani Jindan Kaur's exile in Kathmandu, Nepal, lasted for over ten years, until 1860. The second Anglo-Sikh war began as a localized rebellion on April 18, 1848, in the Muslim dominated Multan in southern Punjab. It was sparked by the killing of two British officers who accompanied the new governor, General Khan Singh Man to Multan. This started a rebellion and pent up feelings of the Sikhs spilled over. Sikh soldiers who escorted the new governor and the British officers from Lahore, defected and joined Mulraj's rebel army. As news of the rebellion spread, large numbers of Sikh soldiers deserted the regiments loyal to the Lahore Durbar, and joined the rebels under the leadership of Mulraj. None of the Sikh soldiers were properly paid.

The news of the rebellion reached Lahore on April 21, 1848, and Currie sought for assistance from Governor-General Dalhousie and Hugh Gough, the commander of the Bengal army, to suppress the rebellion at Multan. However, Gough and Dalhousie decided not to send any assistance until the end of the hot weather and the monsoon seasons, which would be in November. The "Battle of Gujrat" has gone down in the history of British imperialism in India, as the biggest battle in terms of men and weaponry, and came to be known as the "Battle of Guns." Here also the bribed foreign mercenary commanders of the Sikhs deliberately provided poor leadership allowing the British to slaughter the Sikh army. The Sikhs fled in confusion, pursued by the cavalry and horse artillery. The battle was over within a few hours. The Sikhs lost more than 5000 men, and the British casualties were less than 100. Ranjit Singh’s European mercenary generals were: Jean-François Allard-- French

Question: Which diamond, given by the Sikh ruler of the Punjab to Sir John Lawrence became the prize exhibit at the Great Exhibition?
Answer: KOH-I-NOOR