“Sicques, Tigers, or Thieves”: Eyewitness Accounts of the Sikhs (1606–1809)

421 Pages·2004·29.13 MB·English

by  Amandeep Singh Madra

"SICQUES, TIGERS, OR THIEVES"
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"SICQUES, TIGERS, OR THIEVES":
EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS OF THE
SIKHS (1606-1809)
Edited by
Amandeep Singh Madra
and Parmjit Singh
Palgrave
macmillan
* "SICQUES, TIGERS, OR THIEVES"
© Amandeep Singh Madra and Parmjit Singh, 2004.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any
manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief
quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
First published in 2004 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLANTM
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Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, England RG21 6XS
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PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave
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Union and other countries.
ISBN 978-1-4039-6202-7 ISBN 978-1-137-11998-8 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-137-11998-8
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
"Sicques, tigers, or thieves": eyewitness accounts of the Sikhs
(1606-1809) / edited by Amandeep Singh Madra and Parmjit Singh
p.cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Sikhs-History. I. Title: Eyewitness accounts of the Sikhs, 1606-1809.
II. Madra, Amandeep Singh. III.Singh, Parmjit.
DS432.S5S42 2004
954.02'5'0882946-dc22 2003058037
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India.
First edition: November 2004
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
CONTENTS
Chronology ofAccounts lX
List of Illustrations
A'V
Preface
A'Vll
Acknowledgments XXlll
Introduction
XA'V
PART I MISSIONARIES l
l A Jesuit Account of Guru Arjan's Martyrdom, 1606 3
2 Wendel's History ofthe Jats, Pathans, and Sikhs, 1768 9
- Wendel's Letter Recounting a Battle between the
Jats and the Sikhs, 1770 24
3 Du Perron's Indian Researches, 1788 29
PART II COMPANY MEN 41
4 Execution of Banda Singh Bahadur in Delhi, 1716 43
5 Omlchand, the Plassey Protagonist, 175 7 49
6 Of the Seikh's or Sikhan, c. 1760 59
7 Warren Hastings's Memorandum on the Threat of the
Sikhs, 1784 63
8 The Writings of Colonel Polier on the Sikhs, 1776-1802 67
"A Snake with Many Heads": Polier's Warning to the
English, 1776 72
Polier's Mughal Memoirs on the Sikh Incursions, 1776 73
- A Treatise on the History, Religion and Culture
of the Sikhs, 1787 77
- A Character of the Sikhs, 1802 82
9 Browne's Treatise on the Sikhs, 1788 89
10 Ranjlt Singh's Correspondence with the British, 1803 115
11 A Statesman's Note from the Afghan Frontier, 1809 119
vi CONTENTS
PART III TRAVELERS 123
12 "Sicgues, Tigers, or Thieves," George Forster, 1783 125
13 "Extraordinary Modern People": Dominions of the Sikhs,
1794 157
14 Massacre of Fakirs, Hardwicke, 1796 169
15 An Artist's Impressions ofthe Sikhs, Balt Solvyns, 1796 177
PART IV MILITARY MEN 183
16 Francklin's History of the Reign of Shah Alum, 1798 185
17 Memoirs of an Irish Maharaja, 1803 195
18 Standoff in Ranjlt Singh's Punjab, 1806 207
19 A Failed Spying Mission to Lahore, 1808 225
PARTV NEWS 253
20 Sikh Troop Movements in Patiala, 1784 255
21 Maha Singh Sukkarchakla, 1786 261
22 Sikhs Invade Delhi, 1787 263
23 The Collapse of Mughal Power in Lahore, 1789 265
24 Zeman Shah and the Sikhs, 1798 269
25 Submission to Zeman Shah, 1799 271
26 Sikhs Gather to Oppose Afghan Rule, 1800 275
27 Attack on Fakirs at Haridvar by Sikhs, 1801 277
28 An Account of George Thomas, 1802 279
PART VI ORIENTALISTS 283
29 Ferishtah's History of Hindustan, 1770 285
30 Visit to the Takht at Patna, 1781 291
31 Memoirs of a Mughal Nobleman, 1786 301
32 A Muslim Account of Sikh History, 1789 307
33 Afghan Retreat Signals Sikh Prosperity, 1790 327
CONTENTS vii
34 Ferishtah's History ofthe Deccan, 1794 337
35 A Modern History ofHindustan, 1803 343
Glossary of Names 349
Glossary of Terms 361
Bibliography 365
Index 373
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CHRONOLOGY OF ACCOUNTS
1606: A Jesuit Account of Guru Arjan's Martyrdom. Father Jerome
Xavier s.j. to Father Gasper Fernandes s.j., Lahore, September 25, 1606,
RelafUO Anual das Coisas que Fizeram os Padres da Compenhia de Jesus
Nassuas Missos, ed. Father Fernao Guerreiro (Lisbon: 1609. Reprint,
Coimbre Imprensa da Universidade: 1931), 4: 369-70.
1716: Execution of Banda Singh Bahadur in Delhi. Madras Diary and
Consultation Book, 1715-1719, 87 Range 239.
1757: Omichand, the Plassey Protagonist. Robert Orme, A History of
the Military Transactions of the British Nation in Indostan, from the year
MDCCXLV [1745], 2 vols. (London: Printed for John Nourse, 1780),
2: 50-1, 182-3.
1760: Of the Seilrn's or Silman. Eur Mss OV173, part 10, 175-7, Orme
Collection MSS, Oriental and Indian Office Collection, British Library,
London.
1768: Wendel's History of the Jats, Pathans, and Silrns. Francis Xavier
Wendel, Memoires de Forigine et etablissement des Siks, Eur Mss ORME
OV8, part 14, 67-103, Orme Collection MSS, Oriental India Office
Collection, British Library, London. Received by Robert Orme in 1772.
Reprinted in the original French in Fran~ois Xavier Wendel, Les memoires de
Wendel sur les ]at, les Pathan, et les Sikh, ed. Jean Deloche (Paris: Ecole
fran~aise d'Extreme-Orient, 1979), part III.
1770: Wendel's Letter Recounting a Battle between the J ats and the
Sikhs. The Doings of the Sikhs and the fats, Eur Mss ORME OV 147, part 11,
pp. 51--4, Orme Collection MSS, Oriental India Office Collection, British
Library, London.
1770: Ferishtah's History of Hindiistan. Muhammad Kasim Ibn Hindu
Shah [Astarabadi Ferishtah], The History of Hindostan, from the Earliest
Account of Time to the Death of Akbar; Translated from the Persian of
Mahummud Casim Ferishtah ... Together with a Dissertation Concerning the
Religion and Philosophy of the Brahmims, trans. Alexander Dow, 3 vols.
(London: T. Becket and P.A. de Hondt, 1770-1772), 2: 81-3.
1776: "A Snake with Many Heads": Polier's Warning to the English.
Antoine Louis Henri Polier, "Extract of a letter from Major Polier at Delhi
to Colonel Ironside at Belgram, May 22, 1776," Asiatic Annual Review for
the year 1800 (London: 1801), pp. 32-5.
1776: Polier's Mughal Memoirs on the Sikh Incursions. Antoine Louis
Henri Polier, Shah Alam II and his Court: A Narrative of the Transactions at