Presented to: Miss Fauzia Group Leader: Rabia Anjum Group Members: Mauvara Yawer Rabbiya Shabbir Haneea

Isaad Rida Zahra

Annexation of Sindh by the British

Ranjit Singh Ranjit Singh was born on Nov. 13, 1780 at Gujranwala. He was named Ranjit Singh by his father Mahan Singh. Mahan Singh died in 1792. Ranjit singh was then 12 years old. He was too young to manage the affairs of the estate. His mother Raj Kaur became his natural guardian. He was also helped by Diwan Lakhpat rai. She had full confidence in his integrity but her brother Dal Singh did not like his interference in the administration of the territory. So, Dal singh joined hands with Sada Kaur, Ranjit singh's mother-in-law who exercised a lot of control over him. At the age of 16 Ranjit singh was married to Mehtab Kaur of Kanhaiya misal, thus this marriage brought two great misals together. Then in 1798 he again married to the daughter of Khazan singh Nakai thus also adding his strength. The second marriage annoyed Sada kaur and Mehtab kaur. Mehtab kaur returned to Batala and only returned to Gujrawala occasionally. How the British came to annex Sindh

The British had always feared France as their rival. Now they also began to fear Russia, expanding in Central Asia, northwest of lndia. When France and Russia signed a treaty of alliance in Tilsit in 1807, Britain was alarmed to no end. Noted Lord Ellenborough, the Governor-General: The Directors are much afraid of Russians and so am I ... I feel confident that we shall have to fight the Russians on the Indus.''

The British immediately sent envoys to Sindh, Kabul, .ran, and Jodhpur. In 1808, at the end of April, an agent of the British government arrived at Lahore with presents for the Maharaja from the British government. The purpose of this visit was to strengthen relations between Ranjit Singh's government and the British government, which had been initiated by Eusaf Ali Khan 8 years before. Ranjit Singh was anxious to establish a Sikh monarchy extending from the Indus to the Jamna. The rulers of Malwa and Sirhind were filled with alarm, as they clearly foresaw their own ruin. In March, 1808, the rulers implored the protection of the British government, to solicit the protection of all states south-east of the Sutlej. Moreover, the ambitious Napoleon Buonaparte, Emperor of France, was believed to be meditating the invasion of India. The British wanted to form a defensive alliance with Ranjit Singh, and send C.T. Metcalfe to negotiate a treaty with the Maharaja. Ranjit Singh's highest ambition now was to unite the Sikhs and extend his empire from the banks of the Sutlej to the Jamna. Mr. Metcalfe met with the Maharaja on September 11th, 1808, and brought him gifts. The Maharaja expressed great satisfaction at the prospect of a British alliance, but did not want to confine his empire east of the Sutlej. However, the threat of independent chiefs and rulers going over to the side of the English convinced the Maharaja to withdraw his forces from the south of the Sutlej. A treaty was concluded at Amritsar on April 25th, 1809, by which Ranjit Singh agreed not to occupy territory south of the Sutlej, and withdraw all claims of sovereignty over the rulers of that territory. After the treaty being concluded on May 1st, 1809, the British established at Ludhiana under the command of Colonel

Ochterlony. In 1819, they occupied Kutch. They began to force treaty after unequal treaty on the Mirs, which the latter were in no position to resist. And so they first occupied Karachi and Thatta. By another treaty in 1820, the British got the Mirs to keep all other Europeans and Americans out of Sindh. Although Karachi was a thriving commercial community under the rule of the Talpurs, the Amirs of Sindh, it was relatively unknown till the British colonists put it on the map. The Talpur rule over Sindh extended from 1783 to 1843. This period is regarded as the most peaceful period in the history of Sindh. Talpurs were the most selfless rulers the soil of Sindh has ever seen. There were three States (Sarkars) in the Sindh, the Khairpur (Sohrabani Sarkar), the Hyderabad (Shahdadani Sarkar) and the Mirpurkhas (Mankani Sarkar). The Sindh existed as an independent country from time immemorial to 1843, when it was invaded and captured by the British troops and made part of the British Indian Empire. In the early 1800s, the British were at war in Afghanistan and they needed a defensible port to bring in troops and supplies. Karachi caught their eye because of its natural harbour. The other reason the British wanted Sindh was for the famed wealth of the Amirs of Sindh. Relations with the British started in 1809 when the Talpur Mirs of Sindh agreed with the British not to allow French troops to pass from the Sindh. The Talpur Mirs of the Hyderabad Sarkar and Lord William Bentinck of the British India agreed upon another treaty in 1832. By virtue of this treaty the roads and waterways of the Sindh were thrown open to the merchants and traders of the British India. But under the treaty no military force would pass form the soil of the Sindh.

Lord Auckland of the British India violated the treaty and during the First Afghan War he marched the British troops to Afghanistan through Sindh.

Lord Ellenborough had covetous eye over the Sindh. He assigned Charles Napier to annex Sindh. British gave full civil and military powers to Napier in September 1842. He, with this aim in mind interfered in the succession dispute in Khairpur's Sohrabani Sarkar and imposed a new treaty through which Talpur Mirs were compelled to cede territories and were deprived their right to coin their own money. The warlike Balochs were furious over such interference and in state of excitement attacked the British Residency in February in 1843. Napier got pretext for war. Battle of Miani (Feb. 17, 1843) was a engagement between a British force of about 2,800 troops under Sir Charles Napier and a host of more than 20,000 followers of the amirs of Sindh ending in a British victory and the annexation of most of Sindh. Sher-I-Sindh Mir Sher Muhammad Khan Talpur, however, continued preparation at Mirpurkhas for liberation of motherland Sindh from the British occupation of Hyderabad. He met with the British forces at the Battleground of Dubbo near Hyderabad on March 24, 1843. He and his Baloch forces fought valiantly, but the deception and trickery of the British won the battle and the Independent State of Sindh was annexed to the British India. At the time of annexation in 1843, the round tower of Hyderabad Fort contained sterling 20 million 13 million in coins and the remaining in jewels. Upon the annexation of Sindh in 1843, Napier shifted the capital from Hyderabad to Karachi. As a first step the British established the present cantonments at that time outside the town limits. Municipal limits were extended to 74 square miles to allow for expansion although the town was only 4 square miles. Napier had earlier started a water supply to the city from Malir and established a basic police and judicial level.

Contributions
Rabia Anjum Most information, most pictures and little contribution to cover Mauvara Yawer Most contribution to cover Rabbiya Shabbir Little contribution to pictures and little contribution to cover Haneea Isaad Little contribution to pictures Rida Zahra Little contribution to information

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