The two wars against the Sikh nation (1845-46 and 1848-49) were the last
to be undertaken by the East India Company's army. They resulted in the
demise of the Sikh nation and British annexation of the Punjab. Without
this it is doubtful if the 1857 Uprising could have been scotched. Yet very
little has recently been published about this critical period. Suddenly two
excellent books have appeared to fill the gap. Bright Eyes of Danger, Bill
Whitburn's first complete book, covers both wars, their origins and
aftermath in a single volume; The Second Anglo-Sikh War by the
established author on Sikh affairs, Amarpal Singh Sidhu, is a sequel to his
earlier The First Anglo-Sikh War now also available in paperback.
Bill Whitburn is a former British regular Army officer who was educated in
India until returning to England after Partition. He retired early, earning his
living in Taiwan, but clearly retained a lifelong fascination for the
traditions and history of the British Army. This adds colour to the
thoroughgoing research into his main subject. He has achieved a small
miracle compressing such a colossal story into a single volume. The
historical and political background of the Punjab up to the death of
Maharajah Ranjit Singh in 1839 and the First Afghan War, occupy the
first hundred pages. This is a useful summary leading to the toxic mix of
palace intrigue, family and tribal rivalry and a magnificent but unemployed army that all boiled over until the EIC became involved in the interest of its
security and the prospects for imperial expansion. The subsequent
manoeuvres, ten major engagements and political consequences are told in
an uncomplicated and readable style. The principal characters are
colourfully portrayed with touches of detail that bring them alive. He is
unapologetically frank in his opinions, which adds to the enjoyment. His
accounts of the actual battles are exciting, not elaborate, but detailed
enough for the average reader. By his own admission: 'The background is
invariably more fascinating than the actual war' and he makes it so.
By contrast Amarpal Singh's account is a comprehensive and scholarly
study that delves deeply into the origin of each element of the conflict,
political, personal, military and strategic. At first it appears a somewhat
daunting read: over 500 well-filled pages in a smallish font. But one is led
on by the perceptive portraits of the leading characters, their ambitions and
aspirations, their relationships and the sense of looming catastrophe as
events unfold. His version starts at the end of the First Anglo-Sikh War, the
two-year period of 'peace' leading up to the murder of the newly appointed
British representatives at Multan, the affair that was to polarise the Punjabi
community, Sikh, Muslim and Hindu, into loyalties more complex than
simple religious definition might suggest.
Bill Whitburn also takes us briefly through this incident and the
consequential response leading to two sieges of that city, which engaged
the various available British forces until the main army could be assembled
three months later to take on the well-organised Sikh rebellion further
north. His version presents the whole Multan tale as a single episode before
he turns to the dramatic and concurrent campaign that eventually brought
the war to an end. Amarpal Singh, on a much wider canvas, is able to split
the two periods of the Multan affair to include more detailed accounts of
the origins of the rebellion in Hazara and also to cover the parallel
insurrections across the Indus in Barmu and Peshawar and the disconcerting
Afghan interference of Dost Mohammed. The same advantage of space
defines the treatment by these two authors of the main battles of the
northern campaign leading up to General Gilbert's final chase to Peshawar.
For instance the Whitburn account of Chillianwala occupies fourteen pages
while Amarpal's is spread over fifty. Both authors end their work by
following the fate of the principal players in the drama. Among these
Whitburn neatly includes the East India Company itself. Amarpal adds the
Sikh people as a whole in the words of Governor General Lord Dalhousie
'I like these Sikhs, they are fine manly fellows.'
Which to prefer? For the whole story between two covers, it obviously has
to be Bill Whitburn. This would be a safe choice and an enjoyable read. However, the quality of the product is short of perfect. There are more than
a few minor textual errors and the full-page colour illustrations on the same
paper as the text are disappointing apart from some simple maps and
plentiful small portraits. For those who would prefer a deeper treatment,
Amarpal Singh's absorbing version will certainly answer, albeit for the
second of the wars only. It is a quality product, excellently illustrated. The
maps are a little sketchy, the index has some limitations but overall it is
very impressive. The arrival of both these titles is a most welcome event,
prompting thoughts as to how Britain held on to India so long, let alone
participated successfully in two world wars without this 'humane piece of
rascality' as Sir Charles Napier once referred to the earlier annexation of
Sind.
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