Explanation:

Explanation:

First Afghan War(1838-42)

• The three Anglo-Afghan Wars (1839-1919) saw Great Britain, operating out of its base in India, wanting to control the neighboring Afghanistan to oppose Russian influence there. The first war was of great significance historically for Afghanistan and the British.
• The Anglo-Afghan wars were a direct result of the Great game between Great Britain and Russia which began in 1830.
• The British were concerned about Russian advances in Central Asia. England used Afghanistan as a buffer state to protect all approaches to British India from a Russian invasion.
• British concern about the Russian influence on Afghanistan led to the First Anglo-Afghan War (from 1838 to 1842) and the Second Anglo-Afghan War (from 1878 to 1880). The Third Anglo-Afghan War began in May 1919 and lasted for a month.
• Great Britain no longer had control of Afghanistan’s foreign affairs after an armistice was signed on August 8, 1919.

Punjab Wars(1845-49):

• Period after the death of Maharaj Ranjit Singh (1839) saw great instability in Punjab.
• Ultimately, Power fell into the hands of the brave and patriotic but utterly undisciplined army called Khalsa, which interfered in the affairs of state.
• Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s son Dalip Singh was on the throne but state was ruled by his mother Rani Jindan with help of her favourite officers who on one hand intrigued with the British on one hand and incited the Khalsa on other.
• British had signed a treaty of perpetual friendship with Ranjit Singh in 1809 but they were looking for every opportunity to conquer Punjab.
• The Punjab army was provoked by the warlike actions of the British and their intrigues with the corrupt chiefs of the Punjab.

          1st ANGLO-SIKH WAR (1845-46)

• In 1845, when news reached the Khalsa that Lord Gough, the Commander-in-Chief, and Lord Hardinge, the Governor-General, were marching towards Ferozepur, it decided to strike and war started.
• Though Punjab army fought with exemplary courage but it lost as the Prime Minister, Raja Lal Singh and the Commander-in-Chief, Misar Tej Singh conspired with the British.
• After defeat of battle of Sobraon, Punjab Army conceded defeat and had to sign the humiliating Treaty of Lahore in March 1846.
• British annexed the Jalandhar Doab and Jammu and Kashmir was given to Raja Gulab Singh Dogra for a cash payment of five million rupees.
• Punjab Army was reduced in strength and a strong British force was stationed at Lahore.
• Later, in December 1846, another treaty was signed giving the British Resident at Lahore full authority over the state permitting them to station troops in any part of the state. Thus, the British Residential became the real ruler of the Punjab; it became a vassal state.

      2nd ANGLO-SIKH WAR(1848-1849)

• In 1848 there were numerous local revolts in Punjab. Two prominent revolts were led by Mulraj at Multan and Chattar Singh Attariwala near Lahore.
• The Punjab army fought bravely symbolized by famous Battle of Cillianwala but it was defeat after the final battle of Gujarat (a place in Punjab) in 1849.
• Lord Dalhousie, the new Governor-General annexed Punjab in 1849.
• Thus, it was the last independent state of India annexed to the British Empire of India.Maharaja Ranjit Singh was the leader of the Sikh Empire, which ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. His empire grew in the Punjab region under his leadership through 1839. Many reforms were introduced in the political, religious spheres along with modernization, investment into infrastructure and general prosperity during his reign. He was popularly known as Sher-e-Punjab, or “Lion of Punjab”. Recently, a statue of Ranjit Singh, who ruled Punjab for almost four decades (1801-39), was recently inaugurated in Lahore n the occasion of 180th death anniversary of the legendary Sikh ruler.

 The Crimean Wars(1853-1856):

The Crimean War (October 1853–February 1856), also known as Eastern War, was fought mainly on the Crimean Peninsula between the Russians and the British, French, and Ottoman Turkish and Sardinia .Geopolitical causes of the war included:

• the decline of the Ottoman Empire
•  the expansion of the Russian Empire in the preceding Russo-Turkish Wars
• the British and French preference to preserve the Ottoman Empire to maintain the balance of power in the Concert of Europe.
• The flashpoint was a disagreement over the rights of Christian minorities in Palestine, then part of the Ottoman Empire, with the French promoting the rights of Roman Catholics, and Russia promoting those of the Eastern Orthodox Church.The Crimean War marked a turning point for the Russian Empire. The war weakened the Imperial Russian Army, drained the treasury and undermined Russia's influence in Europe. The empire would take decades to recover. Russia's humiliation forced its educated elites to identify its problems and to recognise the need for fundamental reforms. They saw rapid modernisation as the sole way to recover the empire's status as a European power. The war thus became a catalyst for reforms of Russia's social institutions, including the abolition of serfdom and overhauls in the justice system, local self-government, education and military service