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‘Afghanistan – End Game of the Great Game’
Chapter 1 Light at the end of the tunnel
Three men proceeded along a dark sewer at the dead of night beneath the city of Lahore, in the distance the three men could see a glimmer of light and hoped that they would soon be able to emerge from darkness of the sewer undetected. As the three figures emerged from the darkness into the moonlit sky outside the city walls of Lahore, an observer would have seen the faces of the men and observed that their beards were smeared with ash, their hair unkempt and a loose loin cloth protecting their modesty, like Hindu ascetics. Such men ambled around India and would not be an object of curiosity. However, there was more to these three men than met the eye of the casual observer. For these men included amongst their number, Shah Shuja ul Mulk, grandson of the founder of the Afghan Durrani empire Ahmed Shah Abdali, and Shuja’s two followers. All three were escapees fleeing the persecution of the Sikh ruler of the Punjab, the one eyed emperor, Ranjit Singh. The name Durrani means pearl of pearls but the grandsons of Ahmed Shah had failed to live up to the Durrani name, fleeing instead from Ranjit Singh and the territories Ahmed Shah Abdali had conquered from the once great Moghul empire. Indeed just five years earlier, in 1809 Shuja had met the first embassy to Afghanistan from Great Britain, headed by Mountstuart Elphinstone. Elphinstone had observed Shuja at Court in somewhat different attire:
“His appearance was magnificent and royal: his crown and all his dress were one blaze of jewels – all was silent and motionless
…We thought at first the King had on armour of jewels, but, on close inspection, we found this to be a mistake, and his real dress to consist of a green tunic, with large flowers in gold, and precious stones, over which were a large breast-plate of diamonds , shaped like two fleurs-de-lis, large emerald bracelets on the arms…In one of the bracelets was the Cohi Noor”.
Shah Shuja’s autobiography is silent on his perception of the British vistors:
“On receiving intelligence that the English ambassadors had arrived at Kohat, we sent an appropriate party to meet and do them honour. On their arrival, we gave them suitable dwellings, and ordered their wants and wishes to be attended to. After a few days’ rest the ambassadors came to the presence, and presented various articles of European and Hindostanee workmanship, also many elephants with superb accoutrements. Dresses of honour were conferred on all (Kaye page 91 Vol 1”. However Shuja could not have helped but notice the lack of facial hair on the Mission members. Indeed Kaye states “They had not long crossed the frontier before they discovered that a more liberal display of the facial characteristics of manhood would elevate them greatly in the eyes of a people who are uniformly bearded and moustacheod (page 88 kaye)”.
In a similar situation, another British traveller Mr George Forster who had ventured through Afghanistan twenty years before Elphinstone had fifteen months worth of beard growth on his face. After leaving Afghanistan and feeling safe enough to rid himself of his encumbrance, Forster found that he was confronted by a Muslim who condemned him with the words “of whatever country or sect you may be, your disgrace is complete, and you look like a woman”.(Kaye 88 vol 1)
Elphinstone had hoped to effect an Anglo British Alliance against a possible Franco-Persian Napoleonic invasion of India, but Shuja was preoccupied in the struggle against his siblings to maintain power. Despite Elphinstone and his colleagues being follicle challenged, Shuja assented to a defensive alliance against the imagined Franco-Persian invasion of India via Afghanistan.
Returning to Shuja’s journey along the dark Lahore sewer, how was it, you may wonder, that Shah Shuja ul Mulk, who was known for engaging in pomp and splendour at his Royal Court, had been reduced to adopting the guise of a Hindu ascetic and creeping through a dank Lahore sewer, fleeing like a rat from a city once ruled by his grandfather? The answer to this can be found in events during the rule of Shuja’s father Timur Shah, Shuja’s brother Zaman Shah and lastly Shuja himself whose failings led to the end of the Durrani empire.
The Durrani empire under Ahmed Shah Abdali emerged, as though from a violent caesarean birth, resulting from the bloody turmoil and decay of the Moghul empire and that of the Persians. In 1747, the Persians were besieging Kandahar which had often been contested in the past between Moghul and Persian, but the Moghuls had always wisely fought to retain hold of Kandahar since it was the gateway to India. The Moghuls themselves under their great emperor Babur had been the last successful conquerors of India to emerge from Afghanistan and they were loth to allow another power like the Persians to follow their illustrious example. In their turn the British East India Company too, as the Elphinsotne mission demonstrates, were averse to any invader passing through Afghanistan to unsettle the Indian diamond in the British crown.
By 1737 Persian strength under a Turcoman ruler, Nadir Shah was growing, Herat and Balkh had fallen to him. Nadir Shah now sent emissaries to the Moghul Emperor, Muhammad Shah to convey the message that he proposed to punish the Afghans of Kandahar, who had earlier in the same century invaded Persia occupying Isfahan. Nadir Shah further desired that the Moghul Governor of Kabul should be directed by the Moghul Emperor to close the frontiers of that province to fugitives from Kandahar, but this was not done to Nadir’s satisfaction. Kandahar fell to Nadir Shah in March 1738, who then occupied Ghazni without a fight on 11 June of the same year and then took the city of Kabul on 21 June 1738 and after a short lived resistance, the Kabul Bala Hissar fell into Nadirs’ hands eights days later. Nadir now turned his attentions to the Mughal Emperor.
The Mughal empire was faltering and by 1739 Delhi lay prostrate before Nadir Shah who defeated all ineffectual Mughal attempts to stop his advance. Nadirs’ troops were quartered in and around the city of Delhi and celebrated Nouroz and Eid on 21 March 1739 with the Khutba read in Nadir’s name in all the mosques of Delhi. Traditionally in Mughal India the Eid festivities went on for a number of days and were a time of consuming good food and traditional sugary sweets. However, this Eid was to be an altogether different Eid, since the next day a dispute over payment for food and housing arose between Persian and Indians and some Persians were attacked. Trouble makers spread the rumour that Nadir Shah was dead. An uprising occurred against the Persians many of whom were killed. Nadir was outraged and put an end to the Indian’s festive joy of their Eid and short lived upper hand over the Persians. Persian retribution at Delhi followed and violently interrupted the Eid festivities. Nadirs’ soldiers made this particular Eid, an Eid for the Indians to remember for all the wrong reasons. The Persians swooped on the Indians with glee, murdering Hindu and Muslim alike, from 8am on 23 March 1839 until late evening by which time upwards of 30,000 had been butchered, and the stench of the dead was intolerable. Some sources state that as many as 120,000 met their end. The rug of power had been irrevocably pulled from under the feet of the Mughals by an uncouth desert marauder; such was the end of ostentatious empires. The slaughter, colouring the streets with blood, in a parody of a Holi festival, the centre of Mughal culture lay at the mercy of Nadir Khan, a Turkoman from Central Asia, perhaps not unlike the Central Asian, Babur. Indeed, the Baburnama provides vivid descriptions of pyramids of heads made fom Babur’s fallen enemies. The Delhi slaughter ended only because Mohammed Shah, the Mughal ‘Emperor’ scion of the Great Mughals had been reduced to begging Nadir, to stop the massacre.
Nadir Shah, as victor of Delhi, became wealthy beyond his imagination, “The value of the pearls, diamonds and other jewels…from the imperial treasury was described as being beyond computation” (362 vol 4 The Cambridge Hist of India 1937). In May Nadir left the enfeebled Mughal Delhi and different authorities estimate the cash in his booty at amounts varying from eight to more than thirty million in sterling and included the fabled peacock throne, and the crown jewels of Delhi. Nadir Shah wore the Koh-i-Nur on his wrist and carried away the Mughal Peacock throne which remains in Tehran to this day.
By 1740 Nadir Shah who had become increasingly brutal towards any whom he suspected would unseat him, had embarked on an orgy of violence, blinding his own son and murdering many others. In 1747 Nadir Shah had alienated many of his traditional supporters including his previously loyal Persian followers (Dupree 1973). Nadir Shah finally met his end at the hands of disaffected Persian officers, but his loyal bodyguard of Afghans under Ahmed Shah Abdali fought their way out of the camp. These Afghans fled safely with part of Nadir’s treasury, including the fabled Koh-i-Nur diamond back to Kandahar.
Near Kandahar Ahmed Shah Abdali was crowned as the, Durr-i-durran or “Shah pearl of the age” and after the coronation, the Abdali tribe were from then on known as the Durranis. In part Ahmed Shah was crowned because he came from a minor sub tribe the Saddozai, which the larger tribes felt they could control. Ahmed Shah’s domains included all of modern Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kashmir and parts of Iran. Ahmed Shah’s Indian conquests were not without their challengers. Ahmed Shah Durrani fought and slaughtered the cream of the Mahratta army at Panipat, India during 1761. Ahmed Shah Durrani also strove to bring to heel a Sikh insurgency which broke out in the Punjab. Though the Marathas were crushed the Sikhs grew from strength to strength and by 1767 Lahore was lost to the Sikhs, who held sway over the Punjab up to the Afghan fort of Attock. By 1772 Ahmed Shah Durrani had passed on from this world and the Sikhs had little to worry from his son and successor, Timur Shah.
Timur moved his capital away from Kandahar to Kabul, because Timur was inclined towards Persian culture and sought to weaken tribal Pashtun influences. Timur Shah concentrated on suppressing Afghan tribal leaders who may challenge his throne. He delighted in the arts and particularly in the embellishment of buildings and the lay-out of formal gardens (P260 The Pathans Caroe). Indeed, his fine tastes were undoubtedly also influenced by his wives, one of whom was a Mughal Princess. The beautiful buildings erected by Timur were still standing at the time of the First Anglo Afghan War and can be seen in the watercolours of James Rattray. Timur’s more lasting creative legacy was a vast brood of 24 sons ( S Q Reshtia page 14 Between Two Giants 1990; see also Caroe p 260 who states there were 23 sons but see also the table opposite page 266 in Caroe which states Timur had 26 sons.). Timur also assigned responsibility of governorships to some of his sons of Kandahar, Herat, Peshawar, Kabul Ghazni and Kashmir and set the seeds for discord( Ghani 230-231). Timur died in 1793 and at that time the Durrani empire included Lahore, Kashmir, Multan, Peshawar, Afghanistan south of the Hindu Kush and much of Northern India while his sovereignty was acknowledged by Kalat, Baluchistan and Persian Khurasan. Sind and the Sikhs in the Punjab remained subordinate to Afghan influence.
After Timur’s death in 1793 there followed a period of badshahgardi or palace revolutions, as his sons fought each other in a vicious civil war and were not up to the task of maintaining the Empire which fell to pieces. As each Prince sought power for himself, so the actual power of the Durrani empire ironically diminished. The main beneficiary from Afghan decline was Ranjit Singh who gradually swallowed up the Fort of Attock, Multan, and Kashmir. Ranjit Singh became undisputed Emperor of the Punjab with an army trained by Napoleonic officers which included two Generals. For the Sikhs this was a moment of glory and nationhood never since attained.
Timur’s successor and son from his favourite Yusufzai wife was Zaman Shah tried to establish a centralised Afghanistan including having a national army and thereby alienated Pashtun nobles who had traditionally provided tribal levies for the Afghan military. This in turn led to Pashtun tribal uprisings which needed to be quashed and all the time the Sikhs were increasing in power. At the same time Zaman Shah’s wazir ,chief minister, Payendah Khan Barakzai, who had also been Wazir to Timur Shah, was not seeing eye to eye with the young Zaman Shah. In particular Payendah was not prepared to accept a centralised Afghanistan free from tribal influences. Zaman Shah was a leader with a vision who hoped to outwit his foreign rivals: and while the British and Russians contested for power with Napoleon in Europe, Zaman sought to create a great army and conquer India thereby keeping the Europeans out( page 16 Reshtia 1990). Indeed Napoleon and Tipu-Sultan ruler of Mysore, in Southern India, had joined together against the British and had wanted to persuade Zaman Shah to attack India with them in order to put an end to British power in India(see: Henry Marion Durand P10 The First Afghan War and its causes).
Since Payendah and Zaman were striving for different agendas, Payendah resolved to overthrow Zaman Shah and instead appoint Zaman’s full brother Prince Shuja ul Mulk as the new Shah. Payendah sought an elected system of leadership whereby the Shah could be replaced if he was deemed unfit for office (Ghani p240). Regretfully for Payendah his coup plans were leaked and Payendah paid with his head. The execution of Payendah heralded deep tribal splits between the Saddozai leaders and the Barakzai tribe of which Payendah Khan had been leader.
When Zaman Shah mustered his forces near Attock for the planned entry into India, Britain was minded to encourage “the Persians to attack Herat and Kabul and so draw off Zaman Shah, the King of Kabul from the Panjab( Barton India’ North West Frontier 1939”. However, Zaman’s step brother, precluded the necessity of Persian attack, for Mahmud had occupied Kandahar. Zaman Shah hurriedly returned to Kabul but the Kabuli Qizilbash, Turkish Shi’ites, conspired against him and allied themselves to Mahmud. Zaman was forced to flee. He reached Shinwari territory not too far from the Khyber Pass and the safety of Prince Shuja’s domain but he stopped at the home of a Mulla named Ashiq, a dependant of his, but this man prevented Zaman fleeing onwards. This Macbeth like host handed over Zaman to Mahmud’s men. Along the road between Kabul and Jalalabad the party stopped with the captive Zaman Shah, some three miles from Jagdalak, where Zaman Shah saw his last grove of trees. This had once been a place of beauty where Zaman’s father Timur had planted a garden, where Zaman and his father, no doubt, enjoyed the delights of nature. No longer was this to be a place of tranquility for this was the venue chosen for the gruesome business of thrusting lancets into Zaman’s eyes to blind him (Burnes 1834 1;127 or Burnes Sang-e-meel page 59, 2003 see also Masson vol 3).
Mahmud gained the Kabul throne in 1801 and was supported by Payendah Khan’s son Fateh Khan. However, Mahmud enjoyed power for two short lived years because Prince Shuja ul Mulk now took up the challenge and ousted his step brother from power and became Shah Shujah ul Mulk in July 1803. 15,000 Kabuli citizens warmly greeted the arrival of Shah Shuja at the Babur Gardens in Kabul, hoping for a better and more prosperous future than had been the case under the pleasure loving Mahmud. Sadly for Shuja, Fateh Khan kept organising uprisings against him and eventually like a game of musical chairs, Fateh’s favourite Mahmud, was back in power in 1809. Real power however lay with the Fateh Khan and his Barakzai brothers. Shuja meanwhile was left out in the cold and now began his wanderings in the Punjab.
Shuja’s initial reception at Sahiwal by Ranjit Singh in 1809 had been warm (Shuja’s autobiography chap xxii Calcutta monthly journal 1839 and Cunningham page 192). The Sikh ruler who had carved himself out an empire from the former Durrani domains came to meet Shuja in person. Ranjit even provided Shuja with a Sikh military detachment to help Shuja conquer Multan. Multan was the birth place of Shuja’s grandfather Ahmed Shah Abdali and was being ruled by, Muzaffer Khan. Muzaffer was from the same Durrani sub-tribe as Shuja, the Saddozai. Muzaffer Khan had formerly been a Durrani empire governor appointed over Multan but eventually became an independent ruler. Shuja despatched his Harem to Multan who were gracefully received and allocated quarters in the citadel of that historic city known to this day for its many sufi shrines. Two months later Shuja arrived at the city gates of Multan demanding to be allowed into this former Durrani domain with his 1,000 strong Sikh force (Ahmed Nabi Khan page 30). Shuja sent a message to Muzaffar Khan to the effect that, “The Nawab should be considerate of his position and allow him to reside in the fort with his family and prepare himself to regain his throne ( page: Ahmed Nabi Khan).” Shuja’s request was refused and Muzuffar Khan told him to stop being Ranjit’s pawn. Whilst Shuja’s ploy to take Multan failed, Ranjit was not one to give up and annual efforts against Multan were finally crowned with success in 1818. Muzuffur Khan, his close relatives, servants and five sons fought the Sikhs gallantly to the bitter end. They were assisted by Muzuffar Khan’s daughter who was shot dead fighting alongside her father (page 41. Ahmed Nabi Khan). In the years to come many more brave Afghan women would rise to the challenge and fight against invading forces as Afghanistan struggled to remain free of colonialism.
The fate of the citizens of Multan was most disturbing:
“Hundreds were stripped, even of their clothes. Outrages were committed on the women, many of whom committed suicide by drowning themselves in the wells, or otherwise putting an end to their lives, in order to save themselves from dishonour”. Hundreds were killed in the sack of the city, and indeed there was hardly a soul who escaped both loss and violence. So great , in short, were the horrors inflicted upon the inhabitants, that the terrible incidents attendant on the sack of Multan are recollected to this day, and are recollected to this day , and still not infrequently form the topic of conversation( page 367 S M Latif History of the Punjab 1891”.
After his failure to take Multan, Shuja seized Peshawar for himself, only to lose it and find himself captive by those who had been his erstwhile supporters.
“He was for some time confined in the fortress of Atock. The lancet was frequently held over his eyes; and his keeper once took him into the middle of the Indus with his arms bound, threatening him with instant death. The object of such severity was to extract from him the celebrated diamond, called Koh-i-noor, or mountain of light, which he was known to possess”. (P213 Burnes: Bokhara 2003)
Shuja was then carted off to detention to the former mughal pleasure grounds of Kashmir. Ranjit himself was hoping to capture Kashmir and proposed to Shuja’s wife that “that he would release her husband and replace Kashmir under the Shah’s sway” in return for the Koh-i-Nur (page 194 Cunningham). However, Shuja’s step brother Mahmud despatched an Afghan force that freed Shuja before the Sikh army could do so. Shuja felt compelled to return to his family and ensure their wellbeing. Whilst Ranjit was a host of sorts, he was a colourful rogue who could not be trusted with women. Ranjit Singh was a rampant womaniser who even performed sexual antics with women whilst riding atop his elephant through the streets of Lahore. Runjeet Singh’s attention soon turned to Shuja’s harem and he thought that Shujas’ daughters could benefit from the attention of the “Noble Sarkar” by becoming his concubines. Shuja would have been horrified to find what his womenfolk were enduring at Runjeets’ hands:
“At Lahore, while at the mercy of the Seiks, and absent fom her husband she(Wuffa Begum) preserved her own and his honour in a heroic manner. Runjeet Singh pressed her urgently to surrender the Koh-i-noor, or valuable diamond, which was in her possession; and evinced intentions of forcing it from her. He also sought to transfer the daughters of the unfortunate King to his own harem. The queen seized on the person who conveyed the message, and had him soundly chastised. She also intimated to the Maharaja, that if he continued his dishonourable demands, she would pound the diamond in a mortar, and first administer it to her daughters, and those under her protection , and then swallow it herself; adding, “May the blood of all of us be on your head!” (312-313 Burnes- Bokhara 2003)
Meanwhile Wuffa Begum was urgently writing to Lord Hastings detailing Runjeet Singh’s refusal to allow her family to move on to British territory (page 96 A H Tabibi Afghanistan a Nation in love with Freedom 1984). However, precious little assistance was forthcoming from the British.
For Afghan men the dignity of their women is all important and Shuja duly sought to return to his family in Sikh hands (p45 Ahmad Ali Kohzad Men and Events in 18th and 19th Century Afghanistan), which was against the advice of his wife Wuffa Begum. However, he found that instead of reuniting with his family, he was placed in a mansion in Lahore while his wife was on the other side of the river in the old Mughal town of Shah Dara (see: Page 179 Travels in India and Kashmir (1853):Baron Erich Von Schonberg)
On the second day after his arrival in Lahore, Shuja received an emissary from Runjeet Singh who demanded the Koh-i-Nur. Shuja fobbed him off and duly received a follow up visit the next day to no avail. Runjeet was getting frustrated with the delay and resolved upon firmer measures to obtain Shuja’s acquiescence to yield the mountain of light. Shuja tells us, “We then experienced privations of life and sentinels were placed over our dwelling. A month passed in this way. Confidential servants of Runjeet Singh then waited on us, and inquired if we wanted ready cash and would enter into an agreement and treaty for the above mentioned jewel. We answered in the affirmative and the next day, Ram Singh brought 40,000 or 50,000 rupees, and asked again for the Koh-i-noor, which we promised to procure when some treaty was agreed upon. Two days after this, Runjeet Singh came in person, and, after friendly protestations, he stained a paper with safflower, and swearing by the Grunth of Baba Nanuk and his own sword, he wrote the following security and compact:- That he delivered over the provinces of Kote Cumaleeh, Jung Shawl, and Khuleh Nooor, to us and our heirs for ever; also offering assistance in troops and treasure for the purpose of again recovering our throne, to consider Runjeet Singh always in the light of an ally. He then proposed himself that we should exchange turbans which is among the Sikhs a pledge of eternal friendship,” (page 100 Vol1 kaye ).
Finally the Koh-i-Nur was yielded:/p>
“The Shah …beckoned to a eunuch who quited the room and presently returned with a small packet, which he laid on a carpet spread between them. Ranjit Singh ordered one of his attendants to open it, and having satisfied himself that it really was what he came for, he …left the place.”(page 372-373 Hugel).
Runjeet was overjoyed with the diamond, but something still troubled him. He had no idea about the value of the diamond. The next day Runjeet’s court diary records, Runjeet “kept showing the koh-i-nur, which had been very kindly given to him by Hazrat Shah Shujah ul-Mulk, to the jewellers from whom he asked its price. ..in value it was declared priceless as no other similar jewel existed anywhere else.” (page 69 events at the court of ranjit singh 1810-1817 edited by Lt Col H L O Garrett and G L Chopra) “
Shuja soon found that Runjeet’s had made empty promises about the grants of land in return for the Koh-i-Nur. Very soon Runjeet’s mind was turning to further schemes to enhance his collection of valuables at Shuja’s expense. Runjeet Singh launched a feigned move on Peshawar promising to restore Shuja to the possession of that city. At Rawalpindi Runjeet deserted Shuja to the custody of Ram Singh. “Left alone with the chief he was shamelessly plundered by robbers of higher note than the Sikh chiefs would willingly admit”(kaye 101 vol 1). Accompanied by Ram Singh, Shuja was then forced to return to Lahore.
Runjeet would now use further underhand means to secure the assets of Shuja’s wives. On 24.2.1814 Runjeet entrusted a muslim holy man, a Pir, named Baksh Kotwal to enter “the house of the Begum Hazrat Shah Shuja ul Mulk, with instructions that he should gain influence with her and should steal out of her possession whatever cash, articles and jewellery be with her and bring the same to the Noble Sarkar who would suitably reward him for this service.”(24th Feb 1814 pages 132-133 events at the court of ranjit singh 1810-1817 edited by Lt Col H L O Garrett and G L Chopra). However, apparently the Pir was not a very good or expeditious thief, because just nine days later the bailiff, in the form of Ram Singh, was upon attendance of Shuja ul Mulk. Ram Singh told Shuja
“according to the order of the Noble Sarkar (Runjeet Singh’s Government) … he should himself surrender whatever articles of jewellery, turquoise and emeralds,etc., were with his begums, that otherwise they would be seized in some other way, and that the Shah had replied that at that time he had nothing with him, that whatever he had possessed, had already been seized by them, and that he was left only with his life which also they could destroy if they liked (page 135 events at the court of ranjit singh 1810-1817 edited by Lt Col H L O Garrett and G L Chopra) ”.
Ram Singh had been foiled by Shujas’ words and now sought guidance from Runjeet Singh who “asked him to take some maid servants along with him at about the third quarter of the day to send them inside the Harem, and to tell them to snatch and bring out whatever articles of jewellery pearls and such other boxes they might find here.” Ram Singh consequently sent five female maids into Shuja’s harem quarters attended by a wife of Runjeet Singh himself
“they had brought every thing that they could find in the interior such as jewellery, turquoise, pearls, small boxes, carpets and the like, and that Hazrat Shah Shujah-ul-Mulk had wept and cried aloud that he could not resist the will of God saying that they could take away whatever they liked (p 136 events at the court of Ranjit Singh 1810-1817 edited by Lt Col H L O Garrett and G L Chopra; see also Connolly vol 2 pages 298-299).”
Runjeet of course wanted to see these luxury items fit for a king and directed that these ill gotten gains be presented to him the following day. Runjeet’s spoils obtained from Shuja included the darya-i- nur, the river of light, sister diamond of the Koh- i-Nur. the Daria-i-Noor was valued at Rs 63,000, the equivalent of £6,000 in 1840 and more than £100 million today .
Amongst the other precious stones yielded by Shuja included a veritable autograph book of the great rulers of the age, consisting of a precious ruby once belonging to Timur, signed by the Mughal Emperor Jehangir, creator of the Taj Mahal, as well as by Ahmed Shah Abdali: .
“A pommel of one of the saddles struck me as particularly worthy of remark, having a ruby two inches square bearing on it the name of Jehangir…Many other names are now engraven on it, the best known being Ahmed Shah’s (Abdali), who found it in the famous peacock throne (takht-i-taus) page 302-303 Von Hugel”
Other visitors to the Punjab noted the trophies obtained from Shuja that Ranjit was fond of showing:. For example see Burnes page 11 vol 1 2003 Sang-e-meel during a hunting trip Runjit was using a “light metal shield, the gift of the ex-King of Cabool.”
The following year Runjeet Singh discovered that not all of Shuja’s valuables had come into his grasp. Shuja still had funds that were in the hands of Indian money lenders and held a promissory note known as a hundi. Runjeet now sent his men to demand the hundi, which Shuja refused to give up because he said it was with his harem.
The enterprising Wuffa Begum, senior wife of Shuja, sought to escape from Runjeet Singh:
“A pathan horse dealer named Arab Ali Khan, was the person who assisted the ladies of the harem to escape; providing horses upon which they made a forced marc h to the Sutlej. The following account of their flight was written by a native then resident at the court of Lahore…The princesses and their female attendants dressed themselves as women of the country, leaving the palace which had been allotted to them as a residence, repaired in the evening to the house of a banker in the city, from whence they went to the residences of two other persons, in order to elude pursuit. Their departure from the palace, and their disguise, had been noticed, and it was judged necessary to acquaint the Maharajah with the circumstances, but the King has drunk wine and was asleep, and the Jemadar Khooshaul Sing dreaded to intrude upon his privacy; however as the case was urgent, he sought the advice of Fakeer (or Hakeem) Azizoodeen, a … minister, who possessing the entire confidence of his master, scrupled not to rouse him: the monarch therefore being awakened, and told of the necessity, immediately gave orders to secure the fugitives, and they were taken before they had set out from the city. But notwithstanding this failure, they
Page 300
immediately after contrived to elude the vigilance of the palace-guards, and through the assistance of the Pathan horse-merchant mentioned, safely effected their escape across the Sutlej into the British territory. On the 2nd December 1814, it was announced to the political agent at Loodeeana, that Wuffa Begum, and the females of Shah Shooja’s harem had arrived in the town of that place.”
(Arthur Connolly vol 2)
It remained open to question whether the Honourable East India Company would be any more honourable in their dealings with Shuja ul-Mulk’s harem.
In the meantime Shuja still needed to prise himself free from the dubious hospitality of Runjeet Singh’s grip, which was rapidly impoverishing him. Runjeet Singh increased the guards over Shuja at the ironically named Welcome Mansion, (Mubarek Haveli) a Mughal era mansion close to the Mochi Darwaza, or shoe maker’s gate, of Lahore.
P102 Kaye vol 1:
“Seven ranges of guards were put upon our person, and armed men with lighted torches watched our bed. When we went as far as the banks of the river at night, the sentinels upon the ramparts lighted flambeaux until we returned. Several months passed in this manner, and our own attendants were with difficulty allowed to come into the presence. No relief was left but that of our holy religion , and God alone could give us assistance”. In these difficult times Shuja demonstrated a Houdini like ingenuity:
“We ordered the roof of the apartment containing our camp equipage to be opened, so as to admit of a person passing through; apertures were formed by mining through seven other chambers to the outside of the building. (page 102 vol 1 Kaye)”
He made one of his own trusted servants to put on his own dress, and occupy and use his own room, while he himself assumed the guise of a Hindu fakir, rubbed ashes over his body, wore a turban of long hair, and made himself look just like a Fakir. Two of his trusted servants assumed a similar disguise, so that they might be considered his chelas, or disciples. (276-277 a brief political history of Afghanistan Abdul Ghani p 276-277). Shuja and his chelas disappeared down the tunnel that his followers had faithfully dug and then through the Lahore sewer to get beneath the walls of Lahore.
The following day the Sikhs discovered the ruse and demanded to know from the Shuja impostor, where his leader was, but the impostor simply replied, that had he known Shuja was fleeing, he would have fled too and had no idea where Shujah was (Family oral history). Insult was added to the injury of the guard’s incompetence, when shortly thereafter all the remaining Afghan followers of Shuja escaped from the Mubarek Haveli and met Shuja at a prearranged location outside Lahore.
Shuja proceeded away from Lahore towards Kashmir. On the way at Dinanagar the Shah was recognised by a musician who said you are not a fakir, but the Shah whom the Government are hunting. As the price of his silence, the musician demanded that Shuja marry one of his daughters and that one of Shuja’s followers marry his other daughter(Husain family oral history). So two women were now added to the company of these merry men and for once lady luck enhanced Shuja’s fortune, temporarily at least, for he received an invitation from the Raja of Kishtwar.
Shuja received genuine hospitality and assistance from the Rajah of Kishtwar. Shuja’s luck seemed to be improving and Shuja’s mind developed schemes of aggrandisement and “we laid plans for an attack upon Cashmere.(kaye vol 1 103 quoting Shuja’s biography)” Many have fought for and aspired for Kashmir, but few since Mughal times have enjoyed the tranquillity of the valley. The Rajah of Kishtwar happily provided the funds and troops for the Kashmir mission, which ultimately ended in disaster. This was because Shuja advanced into Kashmir in winter and the Indian troops were unable to cope with the cold winter snow. Though Srinagar was tantalizingly in view the snow had halted Shuja’s advance and, “Our Hindostanees were benumbed with a cold unfelt in their sultry regions; the road to our rear was blocked up with snow, and the supplies still far distant. For three days our troops were almost famished, and many Hindostanees died. We could not advance, and retreat was hazardous. Many lost their hands and feet from being frost bitten, before we determined to retreat (Kaye 103 vol 1).” The episode could have provided useful evidence for the hawks in the Honourable East India Company for the reason why the Anglo-Indian forces should never step foot into Afghanistan, which also experienced similar weather conditions to Kashmir. However, history is ignored by war mongers conceited in their sense of invincibility, through their presumed superiority of arms. Such hawks ignore the human factor, wars are fought and won by determined people with the ability to successfully fight on, despite set backs, and with their perseverance can strike a death knell to the very best of armed forces.
A combination of the mediocre leadership offered by Shuja, his lack of luck and his failure to wait for a more favourable season meant disaster for his mission in Kashmir was inevitable. Kaye writes about this poor ‘kumbukht’ ( unlucky) man, “But it was not written in the Shah’s book of life that his enterprises should result in anything but failure ( p.104 vol 1)”. To this day no Afghan mother has courted fate by giving her child the name of such an unfortunate king. Shuja now resolved to rejoin his family in Ludhianah and Afghanistan would have been better served had he remained there peaceably, but such was not to be the case and before Shuja met his maker countless thousands would perish.
The Iranians however consider that the Daria-i-nur remains in their treasury.
http://www.sikhnugget.com/2012/03/meet-daria-i-noor-koh-i-noors-little.html
other persons, in order to elude pursuit. Their departure from the palace, and their disguise, had been noticed, and it was judged necessary to acquaint the Maharajah with the circumstances, but the King has drunk wine and was asleep, and the Jemadar Khooshaul Sing dreaded to intrude upon his privacy; however as the case was urgent, he sought the advice of Fakeer (or Hakeem) Azizoodeen, a … minister, who possessing the entire confidence of his master, scrupled not to rouse him: the monarch therefore being awakened, and told of the necessity, immediately gave orders to secure the fugitives, and they were taken before they had set out from the city. But notwithstanding this failure, they Page 300
immediately after contrived to elude the vigilance of the palace-guards, and through the assistance of the Pathan horse-merchant mentioned, safely effected their escape across the Sutlej into the British territory. On the 2nd December 1814, it was announced to the political agent at Loodeeana, that Wuffa Begum, and the females of Shah Shooja’s harem had arrived in the town of that place.” (Arthur Connolly vol 2)
It remained open to question whether the Honourable East India Company would be any more honourable in their dealings with Shuja ul-Mulk’s harem.
In the meantime Shuja still needed to prise himself free from the dubious hospitality of Runjeet Singh’s grip, which was rapidly impoverishing him. Runjeet Singh increased the guards over Shuja at the ironically named Welcome Mansion, (Mubarek Haveli) a Mughal era mansion close to the Mochi Darwaza, or shoe maker’s gate, of Lahore. P102 Kaye vol 1:
“Seven ranges of guards were put upon our person, and armed men with lighted torches watched our bed. When we went as far as the banks of the river at night, the sentinels upon the ramparts lighted flambeaux until we returned. Several months passed in this manner, and our own attendants were with difficulty allowed to come into the presence. No relief was left but that of our holy religion , and God alone could give us assistance”. In these difficult times Shuja demonstrated a Houdini like ingenuity:
“We ordered the roof of the apartment containing our camp equipage to be opened, so as to admit of a person passing through; apertures were formed by mining through seven other chambers to the outside of the building. (page 102 vol 1 Kaye)”
He made one of his own trusted servants to put on his own dress, and occupy and use his own room, while he himself assumed the guise of a Hindu fakir, rubbed ashes over his body, wore a turban of long hair, and made himself look just like a Fakir. Two of his trusted servants assumed a similar disguise, so that they might be considered his chelas, or disciples. (276-277 a brief political history of Afghanistan Abdul Ghani p 276-277). Shuja and his chelas disappeared down the tunnel that his followers had faithfully dug and then through the Lahore sewer to get beneath the walls of Lahore.
The following day the Sikhs discovered the ruse and demanded to know from the Shuja impostor, where his leader was, but the impostor simply replied, that had he known Shuja was fleeing, he would have fled too and had no idea where Shujah was (Family oral history). Insult was added to the injury of the guard’s incompetence, when shortly thereafter all the remaining Afghan followers of Shuja escaped from the Mubarek Haveli and met Shuja at a prearranged location outside Lahore.
Shuja proceeded away from Lahore towards Kashmir. On the way at Dinanagar the Shah was recognised by a musician who said you are not a fakir, but the Shah whom the Government are hunting. As the price of his silence, the musician demanded that Shuja marry one of his daughters and that one of Shuja’s followers marry his other daughter(Husain family oral history). So two women were now added to the company of these merry men and for once lady luck enhanced Shuja’s fortune, temporarily at least, for he received an invitation from the Raja of Kishtwar.
Shuja received genuine hospitality and assistance from the Rajah of Kishtwar. Shuja’s luck seemed to be improving and Shuja’s mind developed schemes of aggrandisement and “we laid plans for an attack upon Cashmere.(kaye vol 1 103 quoting Shuja’s biography)” Many have fought for and aspired for Kashmir, but few since Mughal times have enjoyed the tranquillity of the valley. The Rajah of Kishtwar happily provided the funds and troops for the Kashmir mission, which ultimately ended in disaster. This was because Shuja advanced into Kashmir in winter and the Indian troops were unable to cope with the cold winter snow. Though Srinagar was tantalizingly in view the snow had halted Shuja’s advance and, “Our Hindostanees were benumbed with a cold unfelt in their sultry regions; the road to our rear was blocked up with snow, and the supplies still far distant. For three days our troops were almost famished, and many Hindostanees died. We could not advance, and retreat was hazardous. Many lost their hands and feet from being frost bitten, before we determined to retreat (Kaye 103 vol 1).” The episode could have provided useful evidence for the hawks in the Honourable East India Company for the reason why the Anglo-Indian forces should never step foot into Afghanistan, which also experienced similar weather conditions to Kashmir. However, history is ignored by war mongers conceited in their sense of invincibility, through their presumed superiority of arms. Such hawks ignore the human factor, wars are fought and won by determined people with the ability to successfully fight on, despite set backs, and with their perseverance can strike a death knell to the very best of armed forces.
A combination of the mediocre leadership offered by Shuja, his lack of luck and his failure to wait for a more favourable season meant disaster for his mission in Kashmir was inevitable. Kaye writes about this poor ‘kumbukht’ ( unlucky) man, “But it was not written in the Shah’s book of life that his enterprises should result in anything but failure ( p.104 vol 1)”. To this day no Afghan mother has courted fate by giving her child the name of such an unfortunate king. Shuja now resolved to rejoin his family in Ludhianah and Afghanistan would have been better served had he remained there peaceably, but such was not to be the case and before Shuja met his maker countless thousands would perish.
