Punjab from 1839 -1849 A.D after Death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

When Maharaja Ranjit Singh died in 1839 A.D, Kharak Singh, his eldest son became Maharaja. He lacked the down to earth personality of his father. Kharak Singh was a heavy opium-eater. He totally neglected state affairs and got himself immersed in wine, opium, and drinking. At this time Prime Minister was still Dhyan Singh Dogra. His son Naunihal Singh though was a favorite with the army. He fought in several battles and was posted as a Governor of North West Frontier Province at this time. Maharaja Ranjit Singh had earlier married Naunihal Singh with the daughter of Sardar Sham Singh Attariwala.

Dogra brothers, Dhyan Singh Dogra, Suchet Singh Dogra, and Gulab Singh Dogra were in total control of administration at this time. Dhyan Singh Dogra son Hira Singh Dogra was also a favorite of Maharaja Ranjit Singh just like Naunihal Singh (his own grandson). Maharaja had given him a title "Farzand-e-Khas", or "a special son". It was rumored that Dhyan Singh Dogra wanted Hira Singh Dogra, his son to become Maharaja of Punjab and thus he started his manipulations. Kharak Singh, the new maharaja did not trust Dogra brothers and started neglecting them. His mentor was one Chet Singh Bajwa who was also his childhood teacher. Kharak Singh started interfering with affairs concerning the state, which was under the jurisdiction of Dogra brothers.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh had earlier looked after all matters himself and had only given some liberty to Dogra brothers while keeping them in check. Maharaja Ranjit Singh's ability to not trust anyone blindly played a major role in the day to day administration of state affairs. Most of his courtiers were scared to do anything wrong. But during the time of Kharak Singh, everything was changed. Dogra suspected that Chet Singh was responsible for their removal from state affairs. Dogras brothers Gulab Singh Dogra and Suchet Singh Dogra got together and decided to remove Chet Singh Bajwa and then subdue Kharak Singh. One night when Chet Singh was sleeping in the same place where Maharaja Kharak Singh lived, Suchet Singh Dogra along with Gulab Singh Dogra entered the palace and hacked Chet Singh to pieces. Dogra brothers now changed servants of the palace and administer a slow poison (mercury) in food to Maharaja Kharak Singh. His son Naunihal Singh who suspected treachery of Dogras did not return to Lahore until Maharaja Kharak Singh died. All this time Dhyan Singh Dogra was faithful to the Maharaja Ranjit Singh's family.

Naunihal Singh came back to Lahore to fulfill his obligation to cremate the body of his father Maharaja Kharak Singh and as well as to become a new Maharaja. Dhyan Singh Dogra declared Naunihal Singh a new Maharaja. On the same day when the party was returning from the cremation ground, a large block of concrete from Archway fell on top of Naunihal Singh. It is said that he was not hurt bad and was able to walk himself but still Gulab Singh Dogra insisted on getting a palki. Two days later Dhyan Singh Dogra declared that Naunihal Singh had died due to complications of his injury. Even Naunihal Singh's mother and wife were not allowed to meet him after injury. English doctor that operated on Naunihal Singh testified to British author Macauliffe that initially Naunihal Singh got some injury on head and he applied bandages but the next day when he went to see Naunihal Singh his head was totally crushed and bandages were changed, he was not breathing. Dhyan Singh Dogra now proclaimed another son of Maharaja Ranjit Singh named Sher Singh as Maharaja of Punjab.

Sher Singh was very popular with the army; he was a good person but not a shrewd politician. His Chief Minister Dhyan Singh Dogra, a trusted friend of Maharaja Ranjit Singh was an intelligent minister, i.e. vazir. He could not sense treachery by his brothers Suchet Singh Dogra and Gulab Singh Dogra. Meanwhile, Sandhawalia Sardars Ajit Singh, Lehna Singh and Attar Singh who had inimical relations with Sher Singh and Dhyan Singh Dogra, fearing them to run away from Lahore and joined the British. In Sher Singh, Punjab got a maharaja who was handsome, dandy and knew more about wine and women then state affairs. Two years later, Sandhanwalia brothers sent a letter to Maharaja Sher Singh that they wanted to return to their motherland. Sher Singh obliged and gave them permission to return to Punjab. 

It is widely believed that Dogra brothers Suchet Singh Dogra and Gulab Singh Dogra were behind Sandhanwalia's return from United Provinces. Sher Singh gave them good ranks in the army and it looked in the beginning as Sandhawalia brothers were pleased. Sher Singh had a ten years old son named Partap Singh. One day when Sher Singh was inspecting his troops, Ajit Singh Sandhawalia asked permission to show him how to fire a new gun he had got from British. Sher Singh allowed and Sandhawalia fired at him, Sher Singh could only say "aah ki Daga", "what treachery?" At the same time, Lehna Singh Sandhawalia killed Ten years old Partap Singh. Sher Singh had good relations with Dogra brothers as well as Khalsa Army. Dhyan Singh Dogra who was about a mile away when all this was happening reached there with 25 of his troops. Sandhawalia brothers Ajit Singh and Lehna Singh killed Dhyan Singh Dogra, cut his body into different pieces and hung all over Lahore City. Gulab Singh Dogra brother of Dhyan Singh Dogra along with Sarkar Khalsa attacked Sandhanwalia's citadel.

Sandhawalia brothers had got themselves shut in the fort with about 500 of their supporters. But enraged Khalsa Army attacked and killed both Sandhanwalia brothers on spot. While all this was going on, other Dogra Brother named Suchet Singh Dogra got 22 carts load of Khalsa treasury through the back door and transported it on its way to Batala and then subsequently to Jammu. Gulab Singh Dogra now openly supported making his son a Maharaja of Punjab. He even asked Maharani Chand Kaur, widow of Maharaja Ranjit Singh to adopt Hira Singh Dogra. Khalsa Army and other Sikh noblemen intervened and made the youngest son of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, born of Maharani Jindan, and named Dilip Singh, a 5 years old boy, new Maharaja of Punjab with Hira Singh Dogra as new Prime Minister. A few days later, Maharani Chand Kaur was found murdered in her bed, her head crushed. It was suspected that Gulab Singh Dogra got her killed since she refused to adopt Hira Singh Dogra.

Peshaura Singh and Kashmira Singh, elder sons of Maharaja Ranjit Singh questioned the validity of 5-year-old Dilip Singh as Maharaja of Punjab, but with any effect. Hira Singh Dogra appointed Tej Singh Dogra and Lal Singh Dogra as general of Khalsa army. So now, the command of Khalsa army was passed from Sikh generals to Hindu generals, only one Sikh general named Ranjodh Singh Majithia remained at the highest command level. Even though able generals like Sham Singh Attari were always there but never considered for top posts. It is believed that Dogra Brothers were responsible for appointing generals so that to keep negotiations open with the British during the war, which increasingly was becoming inevitable. British forward post was in Ferozepur and then at Jalandhar and Ambala being other major cantonments. British requested Hira Singh Dogra to allow transport of Afghani women to Afghanistan through Punjab under Major Wolcroft. Hira Singh obliged and supplied some of the Punjabi troops for an escort. Major Wolcroft was a paranoid major and on more than one occasion he ordered his troops to fire at Punjabi troops. Later British Governor-General apologized for his behavior.

Hira Singh Dogra and his advisor, one Brahmin named Pundit Jalla had the whole administration in their hands; Maharaja Dilip Singh was just a figurative head of state. Hira Singh Dogra Uncle Suchet Singh Dogra did not like Pundit Jalla and asked for his removal. He came to Lahore along with his general Rai Kesari Singh and camped at the mausoleum of Mian Wadda, outside the city. Hira Singh Dogra was irked at the suggestion of his uncle for removal of Pundit Jalla and he ordered Punjabi Troops to storm their citadel of Mian Wadda. Suchet Singh Dogra and Rai Kesari Singh were killed. Hira Singh Dogra then broke down on sight of his uncle's bullet-ridden body and gives him a huge funeral. At the same time, two camps were seen emerging, one at Sarkar Khalsa at Lahore and another little bit away close to Batala under Bhai Bir Singh. Many Sikh Sardars like Majhitias, Attariwala were although loyal to Sarkar Khalsa at Lahore but in communications with Bhai Bir Singh. Attar Singh Sandhawalia who had earlier fled to Thanesar slipped into Punjab and came to Bhai Bir Singh's camp. Bhai Bir Singh welcomed him and assured him that he will be made Maharaja of Punjab. Soon Prince Kashmir Singh and Prince Peshaura Singh also joined Bhai Bir Singh and supported Attar Singh Sandhawalia on his bid for kingship. So, mostly Sikhs who were against Dogras got themselves under Bhai Bir Singh. Thus creates two camps of Dogras vs Sikhs. 

More than 70% of Punjab army under Hira Singh Dogra was Khalsa or pure Sikh. Hira Singh Dogra through his promises of more salary and gifts of gold for each soldier manage to keep most of them with him, and above all king of Punjab was still a Khalsa Sikh child named Dilip Singh, to whom army was loyal. Hira Singh Dogra reminded army of the murders of Prince Sher Singh by Sandhawalia brothers and how Attar Singh had fled Punjab after his brothers were killed by the army. Then in an apparent move to win over Khalsa of Sarkar Khalsa army, Bhai Bir Singh invited army at his camp for a feast. More than 5000 goats were sacrificed for this party. Attar Singh Sandhawalia in a fit of rage over an argument fired on one of the Sikh officers named Attar Singh Kalkattia killing him on spot. A riot followed in which one by one other guest of Bhai Bir Singh were murdered by Army. Bhai Bir Singh died, as well as Attar Singh Sandhawalia and Prince Kashmira Singh. The main culprit for this riot was one battalion under major Croft, one of the foreign officers employed by Sarkar Khalsa. His battalion was aptly named "Gurumar". Hira Singh Dogra understood the grave mistake and apologized for the murder of princes and Bhai Bir Singh to Army as well as the whole nation. On April 9, 1944, a huge earthquake hit Amritsar and Lahore and was believed to be a sign of bad luck by the general populace

British forward post at Ferozepur was being strengthened and by all means, it looked like that whole of Punjab was under preparation for war. Ambala and Jalandhar cantonments were tripled with reinforcements and new recruits from Bengal, Awadh, and Bihar. Hira Singh Dogra although knew that war with British was inevitable. Millions of Punjabis left central Punjab and settled in other states which were a protectorate of British, like Patiala, Faridkot, Nabha, and Jind. Hira Singh Dogra mobilized Punjabi troops to Kasur which was directly opposite Ferozepur. Sooner both armies directly opposed to each other. In December 1944, Henry Harding took over as Governor-General of India. He was called Tunda Lat Or One-armed lord. He sent his officers to Ferozepur and attack fearing Punjabis put on a vigil for 24 hours a day. But no attack came and standstill was averted. Then came the second round of conspiracies between Dogras and Sikhs. Pundit Jalla accused Maharani Jindan of illicit relations with one Misr Lal Singh (not general). This created a furor all over the kingdom as she was the mother of king Dilip Singh. Enraged Maharani Jindan was summoned to army panches as well as Hira Singh Dogra and Pundit Jalla. 

A couple of days earlier, Hira Singh Dogra had dismissed 500 army soldiers without pay and thus he feared worst. Maharani Jindan with her son Dilip Singh and brother Jawahar Singh came to cantonment, while Hira Singh Dogra sent advance horsemen to his uncle Gulab Singh Dogra at Jammu for help. Gulab Singh Dogra sent 1000 horsemen, and Hira Singh Dogra and Pundit Jalla came out of their palace and slowly and quietly crossed river Ravi from Shahdara and were on their way to Jammu with more crores of the treasury. Khalsa army pursued them and caught them about 14 miles away from the city. All 1000 Dogras were massacred. Pundit Jalla, Hira Singh Dogra, and their accomplice faced the wrath of the Khalsa army; their heads were put up on city streets of Lahore. Then Diwan Deena Nath, an aristocrat of Lahore took charge of the situation and appointed Lal Singh as Chief Minister of Punjab, Tej Singh Dogra as commander of Army and Dilip Singh as Maharaja of Punjab.

Punjabi Khalsa army was a much larger and stronger force and at this time British were still mobilizing their forces from Ambala and other places. Instead of attacking Ferozepur, Lal Singh Dogra waited for four months and British forces became three times stronger than the Khalsa army. It is said that Lal Singh Dogra had already negotiated with British and supplied them with the position of guns, number of soldiers, plan of attack and other vital statistics. The intrigue of Dogra brothers for their own selfish means and inability of any Sikh politicians to lead was responsible for the demise of Maharaja Ranjit Singh's Sarkar Khalsa. After Anglo-Sikh Wars, Dogra got whole Kashmir (until 1947 then it was divided between India and Pakistan), British got Punjab with the intrigue of Dogra brothers and help of recruits from Bengal, Awadh, Bihar, and Sikhs lost their hard-earned kingdom.