Punjab Revolts: The role of Rai Ahmad Khan Kharal in 1857 War of Independence

With official bulletins titled “All well in the Punjab” and the “Punjab is perfectly quiet” the idea of Punjabis being loyal during the 1857 War of Independence was a narrative constructed by Sir John Lawrence who headed the administration of Punjab. These were measures taken on the psychological front to nullify the fervor of the rebellion in Punjab by the Raj administration. Colonial historians also never paid any heed as to investigate and perhaps challenge this narrative, an obvious case of bias. For example, T. Rice Holmes in his History of Indian Mutiny only dealt with the subject in half a page. There is also not much written by British historians between 1857 to 1862.  The dismissive attitude towards the Gogira rebellion makes sense because whenever possible the Punjabis especially the Muslims resisted as evidenced by the advice of Governor General of India, Lord Canning to Sir John Lawrence “Do not trust Mahomedans being more faithful than the Hindoos”.  

Rai Ahmad Khan Kharral

Described as “a man above the average – bold and crafty” by British compiler of the Montgomery Gazette and  “a wealthy determined old patriarch” by Deputy Commissioner of Gogira, Major Mardsen, Rai Ahmad Khan Kharral was born in a village of Jhamra in Faislabad district in 1786. Besides being educated at a madrassa in what is now present day Okara, he was trained in the arts of war and horse riding by his elders. Later on he was passed on the leadership of the Kharral tribe by his uncle who acknowledged on his deathbed that his own sons were not capable of being handed over the torch.

As leader of Kharrals he was well respected by not just fellow Muslim tribal leaders, but also among non-Muslim ones when the governance of Punjab belonged to the coercive regime of Ranjit Singh despite the fact the two sides went to war earlier during the rise of the Sikhs. The relationship between Rai Ahmad and Ranjit Singh was utilized fully to the benefit of Punjabi Muslims by the Kharral leader. On one occasion Rai Ahmad went to meet Ranjit Singh and the Maharaja offered Ahmad any gift he wished, so the latter asked for the release of all Muslim prisoners.

Rebellion:

The 1857 War of Independence was not a unified movement rather they were locally organized efforts that spurred up all over the Indian subcontinent. There was a rebellion in Eastern Punjab as well, but as far as Western Punjab the revolt began when Joyia tribe in Pakpattan tehsil refused to pay their taxes. Not only that the tribesmen proceeded to loot British chowkis and post offices on July 8^th, 1857. Then on July 26th there was an uprising in Gogira jail which claimed 51 casualties. Both of these were put down by the British who suspected Rai Ahmad Khan Kharral to be behind them which was indeed the case. The suspicion lead to Rai Ahmad’s arrest in order to prevent a district wide revolt, but without any tangible proof he was released.

The British even offered to buy out Rai Ahmad and according to oral story tellers the exchange between the Assistant Commissioner of Gogira, Lieutenant Leopold Berkley “Provide me with horses and men, Rai Ahmad and I will secure a citation for you from London. Rai Ahmad: “No one in his life ever shares wives, land and mares with others.” before leaving for home after being released. He was to be put on surveillance and required special permissions to leave the area. The panic of the colonial administration also lead to disarmament of locals and even raise levies to keep the population in check.

After being released Kharral organised a secret late night meeting with other Muslim rebel chiefs where he convinced them of his leadership and the meeting concluded with declaring a revolt against the imperial power. They were to flee the area, but a traitor within Kharral’s own camp, his political opponent, Sarfraz Kharral alerted the authorities of the plan, but the chiefs successfully evaded the authorities. This was now going to be a third attempt at a revolt in less than three months.  

“No one in his life ever shares wives, land and mares with others.”

Rai Ahmad Khan Kharral to Lieutenant Berkley

The estimated strength of the rebels was put at being between 2000-5000 by Chaplain of Moveable Column, Reverend John Cave Browne, while this was a guess, what is definite was the widespread  nature of the revolt. Before he found himself in a bloody encounter in Chichawatni, Major Mardsen while on the chase for rebels in Jhullee jungle found deserted villages with only old people left behind as they could not join the movement and described the revolt as “popular rebellion”.  

The town of Kamalia of Toba Tek Singh district changed hands twice. After re-entering the area Assistant Commissioner W. McMahon called for help but was driven out again before anything could materialize. Harappa which was one of the centers of Indus Valley civilization saw its tehsil headquarter and administration being taken over by the resistance forces. Major Chamberlin found himself besieged at a garrison in Chichawatni. It was only after reinforcements from Multan and twice from Lahore arrived along with their powerful artillery that the rebels were pushed out.

Moharumwala, Jhumrah, Muhammadpur, Kore Shah also saw clashes between the two sides and there were travel restrictions on Europeans along Sutlej river. The rebels even tried to push into Lahore district which prompted the Raj to take strict measures and guard the boundaries of the district from insurgents before they could provoke a movement there. Reverend John Cave Browne remarked “Thus to the utmost were the available resources at every point brought to bear on the rebels; and the network only slowly closing in around them”.  

Back in Gogirah the Deputy Commissioner, Lieutenant N.W. Elphistone sent Extra Assistant Commissioner Leopold Fitzgerald Berkley to go put out the rebellion and clear the blockade of GT road that lasted for seven days that cut off Lahore from Bombay, which at the time was the only line of communication between those cities. The task of neutralizing the crafty guerrilla leader wasn’t going to be easy and at one point after nearly being captured Rai Ahmad had a conversation with Berkely from opposite banks of the river. The Mutiny Records Correspondence states “that chief himself soon made his appearance, and in reply to Mr. Berkeley’s threats and remonstrances informed him that he had renounced his allegiance to the British Government and considered himself a subject of the king of Delhi, from whom he had received orders to raise the whole country”. After clearing the GT road, Berkley moved on to repel insurgents from gathering at Muhammadpur, but was slain at Kaure Shah by Murad Dalil of Fatyana tribe. This was the most noteworthy casualty on the European side.

For the rebels, they experienced their biggest blow when Captain Black and Lieutenant Chichester were alerted of Rai Ahmad’s whereabouts by local informants. Again it wasn’t easy to get a hold of the evasive Kharral chief as the British almost got encircled twice. Both sides fought hard, but the superior British war machine, particularly the artillery had no match from the rebels. On September 21st, 1857, at the age of 80 years old, Rai Ahmad Khan Kharral was martyred in Norrey di Dall, Okara district, shot dead while praying Asr namaaz. Lieutenant N.W. Elphinstone is quoted “This expedition, though attended with severe loss on our side, thus ended in irreparable disaster to the insurgents. Ahmad Khan had been chief instigator of the movement; his reputation for success in former insurrections was considerable, and his influence over the tribes on the Ravee unbounded”.

Aftermath

The revolt did not die immediately, for instance there were three unsuccessful attempts by British to takeover Jhullee jungle on October 9^th, 14^th and 16^th despite the fact the rebels were already surrounded and pounded with artillery from all sides. Majors Mardsen and Hamilton requested more reinforcements from Multan and Gogira and only then were they able to control the area. However, gradually the combination of the superior British war machine and local informants giving away rebel hideouts paid dividends. In one incident, Major Mardsen chased the rebels away after attacking their camp who were then forced to flee and take shelter with the Nawab of Bahawalpur. The treacherous Nawab ordered that every insurgent to be seized upon entering his territory and handed over to Major Voyle despite offering a promise of protection. The rebels were now reduced to groups of twos and threes and eventually the revolt was crushed when the last group of fugitives was arrested on January 29^th, 1858.

Gogira was still not a safe place even after the rebellion was completely putout, which is why administration was moved to what is now called Sahiwal.  Punishments ranged from political, physical and economic. Hundreds of rebels were exiled to Andaman Islands in Bay of Bengal. Robert Montgomery described the rebels as “primitive, restless and thievish”. Government of Punjab of the time described them as “anti-state elements”. Cave Browne described Rai Ahmad as “cattle lifter” and “a traitor”.

“This expedition, though attended with severe loss on our side, thus ended in irreparable disaster to the insurgents. Ahmad Khan had been chief instigator of the movement; his reputation for success in former insurrections was considerable, and his influence over the tribes on the Ravee unbounded”.

Lieutenant N.W. Elphinstone

On the other hand, the present day feudal lords of Punjab can trace their fortunes to collaborating with the Raj against Rai Ahmad Khan Kharral. The elders of Shah Mahmood Qureshi and the Makhdooms were handsomely rewarded for their treachery along with other “gaddi nasheen” of the region whose descendants now pioneer the recently manufactured Saraiki identity. Some other prominent collaborators were Murad Shah Gardezi and Sadiq Mohammad Khan Badozai.  

One may wonder, what would have happened had this rebellion succeeded? It would have perhaps given some lifeline to Bahadur Shah Zafar’s government, but by then the European civilization was far ahead in material and technological terms, which allowed them to subdue the rest of the world.  So, there is no way the British would have left the sub-continent let alone Punjab, where most of its topography doesn’t offer any advantages either. Sooner or later, the Raj would have ruled the sub-continent.

References:

Butt, S.A (2015). Rai Ahmad Khan Kharral(Myth or Reality). JPUHS, Vol.28, No.2, July – December, 2015. Retrieved July 21^st, 2020 from http://pu.edu.pk/images/journal/HistoryPStudies/PDF-FILES/13-Saeed_V28_no2.pdf

MALIK, S. (1977). 1857 GOGIRA REBELLION IN SOUTHEASTERN PANJAB: A FORGOTTEN CHAPTER OF MUSLIM RESPONSE TO BRITISH RULE IN INDIA. Islamic Studies, 16(2), 65-95. Retrieved July 20, 2020, from www.jstor.org/stable/20847030