Civil War in the Punjab, Early Afghan Invasions and Mir Mannu as the Governor of the Punjab :

In 1745-46, there started a civil war among the sons of Zakria Khan for the viceroyalty of the Punjab. It, eventually resulted in the victory of Shah Nawaz who became the Governor of the Punjab. But he did not feel that his position was secure because the Delhi Wazir Qamar-ud-Din considered him a usurper and wanted that Yahiya Khan be restored to his position. Shah Nawaz approached the Mughal Emperor and the Wazir for recognising him as the lawful governor of the Punjab. But they refused to confirm him to this position. Shah Nawaz opened negotiations with Ahmed Shah Abdali. Shah Nawaz agreed to recognise Ahmed Shah Abdali as his sovereign provided the Wazirship of Delhi and the governorship of the Punjab were given to him.

1.Causes of Ahmed Shah Abdali's invasions of the Punjab :

• First, Ahmed Shah was a very ambitious ruler. He was not content with the possession of his own country Afghanistan. He desired to occupy Baluchistan, Sindh, Punjab and to establish a large empire. Secondly, Abdali's motive of undertaking his Indian campaign was to consolidate his power at home. He hoped to increase his prestige by means of foreign wars and thereby win the loyalty of the Afghans. Thirdly, the weakness of the Mughal empire, wrangles of the court nobles and the imbecility of the Mughal emperor also encouraged Abdali to invade India. Lastly, the civil war among the sons of Zakria Khan, the Subedar of Punjab resulted in the victory of Shah Nawaz. But Shah Nawaz, feeling insecure about his position, promised Ahmed Shah that he would recognise him his as his sovereign provided that Wazirship of Delhi and the governorship of Punjab was given to him. Ahmed Shah readily accepted the invitation of Shah Nawaz and marched towards India in 1747 A.D.

2.Ahmed Shah Abdali's first invasion 1748 A.D. :

• Ahmed Shah Abdali readily accepted Shah Nawaz's invitation. He left Peshawar in the middle of December 1747 with a small but powerful army to invade India. He reached near Lahore and sent a message to Shah Nawaz to join him but the latter changed his mind. Shah Nawaz, instead of joining Ahmed Shah, offered him tough resistance at Lahore. Ahmed Shah plundered the city and occupied it. Shah Nawaz fled away to Delhi. From lahore, Ahmed Shah advanced to Delhi. The Mughal Emperor, thereupon sent an army of 60,000 men under the command of his Wazir Qamar-ud-Din to check the advance of Ahmed Shah. Although Qamar-ud-Din was killed in action, his son Mir Mannu defeated Ahmed Shah Abdali and compelled him to retire to Afghanistan.

3.Mir Mannu as the Governor of Punjab :

• Mir Mannu was appointed as the Governor of Lahore by the Mughal Emperor. During the period of anarchy in the Punjab from 1746-48, the Sikhs had greatly increased their power and had been disturbing the peace of the province. Mannu took some measures to restore order and reform the whole administration. He confirmed Dewan Kaura Mal as the Dewan of Lahore and appointed Adina Beg Khan as the Faujdar of Jalandhar Doab. He issued instructions to Adina Beg Khan to suppress the Sikhs in the area under his charge.

4.Ahmed Shah's Second Invasion :

• But while Mannu was busy in settling the affairs of the Punjab, Ahmed Shah entered India for the second time. Mannu appealed to the Delhi Emperor for help but the latter did not send any enforcements to him. Mannu relying on his own resources, fought against Abdali at Sodara but was defeated. Ahmed Shah occupied Lahore. Mannu agreed to cede the territories of four Mahals-Sialkot, Pasrur, Gujarat and Aurangabad to Ahmed Shah. These territories, however, continued to be governed by Mannu, but he was to pay 14 lakh rupees a year to Abdali as their surplus revenue. "Thus Ahmed Shah" as Jadu Nath Sarkar remarks, "got the first slice of India proper."

5.The Sikhs and Mannu :

• The Sikhs took full advantage of the anarchy and confusion that prevailed in the Punjab during this period. The Lahore Government had become weak due to Afghan invasions and lack of support from the Delhi Emperor. The Sikhs came out of their hilly and forest retreats. They busied themselves in recouping their strength and consolidating their organisation. They reformed Dal Khalsa and gave its command to Jassa Singh Ahluwalia on the Baisakhi day in 1748. They also constructed a mud fort near Ramsar and named it Ram Rauni. They also began to visit Amritsar frequently to celebrate the festivals of Dussehra, Diwali and Baisakhi. Some of the Sikh bands established their authority over some villages in the Bari Doab under the leadership of Hari Singh and Jhanda Singh Ahluwalia and Jassa Singh Ramgarhia occupied a large part of Jalandhar Doab.
• Mannu was greatly alarmed at the growing power of the Sikhs. He sent punitive expeditions to hunt out the Sikhs. He also revived the policy of persecution of the Sikhs which was vigorously followed by Zakria Khan and Yahiya Khan. Prizes were fixed for the heads of Sikhs. A soldier who captured a horse from a Sikh could keep it as his own. In October 1748, the Sikhs again began to stir out in search of fresh adventures and reached Amritsar to celebrate the Diwali festival. Mannu and Adina Beg Khan, the Faujdar of Jalandhar marched with a large number of troops to chastise the Sikhs. Having reached Amritsar, they laid siege to the fort of Ram Rauni (which is now known as Ram Garh). The siege continued for four months. The Sikhs felt that it was difficult to prolong the struggle against heavy odds. At this juncture Jassa Singh Ramgarhia, who was in the service of Adina Beg Khan, deserted his master and went over to the Sikhs. it strengthened the perseverance of the besieged Sikhs and they resumed the fight with great vigour. About the same time, the news reached that Ahmed Shah Abdali had entered the Punjab. Dewan Kaura Mal who had a great sympathy for the Sikhs, advised Mannu to make peace with the Sikhs. Mannu approved of Kaura Mal's suggestions and granted the Sikhs one fourth of the revenue of the pargnah of Patti and came back to Lahore.

6.Third Invasion of Ahmed Shah Abdali :

• In 1752, Ahmed Shah invaded the Punjab for the third time. He took Mannu by surprise and besieged Lahore. Mannu delayed action with the hope of getting reinforcements from Delhi. During this period, the Afghans entirely laid waste the country around Lahore within a radius of 50 miles. As a result, "no lamp was lighted in any house for a distance of three marches and an extreme scarcity of grains prevailed in the camps of both the armies." In March 1752, the fighting began between the two opposing armies. Dewan Kaura Mal was killed in the field. Adina Beg treacherously withdrew his troops and Mannu was taken a prisoner.

7.Mannu appointed as the first Afghan Governor of the Punjab :

• Ahmed Shah Abdali was so much struck by the noble bearing, boldness of address and frank manner of Mannu that he pardoned him. By a treaty, Mannu ceded to Ahmed Shah Abdali the provinces of Lahore and Multan. But Ahmed Shah left these provinces to be governed by Mannu in the same way as before without disturbing the administrative arrangement in any way. Ahmed Shah conferred upon Mannu the title of Farzand Khan Bahadur Rustam-i-Hind and appointed him the governor of the Punjab on his behalf. Thus Punjab passed into the hands of the Afghans.

8.Abdali's fourth invasion 1756 :

• Ahmed Shah Abdali was much concerned with the affairs of the Punjab as he considered the interference of the Delhi Wazir in the Punjab Government as a direct challenge to his authority. Consequently, in 1756, Ahmed Shah crossed the Indus for the fourth time. He met with no resistance and easily occupied Lahore and Delhi. He forced the Mughal Emperor to formally cede to him the provinces of Lahore, Multan, Sindh, Kashmir and the district of Sirhind. But before he left for Kabul, he appointed his son Timur Shah incharge of governments of Lahore and Multan and associated Jahan Khan with him as his adviser. He also appointed Najib-ud-Daula as his agent (Mukhtar) at Delhi.

9.Timur Shah and the Sikhs :

• Timur Khan's main concern was to restore law - and order in the Punjab. He sent a large force under Haji Atal Kha r. and Jahan Khan to crush the Sikhs. A bloody battle was fought betwee the Afghans and the Sikhs at Gorhwal in the neighbourhood of Amr*r. The Sikhs were defeated and put to flight. Their leader Deep Singh was severely wounded in the neck but he went on fighting until he fell dead in the precincts of Golden Temple. But despite this defeat, the Sikhs remained unsubdued.

10.Timur and the Marathas :

• Jahan Khan mistrusted Adina Beg Khan, the Faujdar of Jalandhar and fell out with him. Early in (1758) Adina Begh Khan had made an alliance with the Sikhs and also invited the Marathas to invade the Punjab and to expel the Afghans. The Maratha leaders Malhar Rao and Raghunath Rao invaded the Punjab and overran the East Punjab. Adina Beg and his Sikh allies joined the Marathas and their combined armies marched towards Lahore. Timur Shah and his deputy Jahan Khan met with a crushing defeat and they managed to escape to Afghanistan.

11.Fifth invasion of Ahmed Shah and the Third Battle of Panipat :

• In 1759, Ahmed Shah again invaded Punjab to avenge the defeat of his son, Timur Shah. He also wanted to punish the Marathas and the Sikhs, who in alliance with Adina Beg had recovered the Punjab from his agents. The Maratha force led by Dataji came to check Abdali's advance but was routed. Ahmed Shah spent one year in the neighbourhood of Delhi. In 1761, the historic battle of Panipat was fought in which Ahmed Shah gave a crushing defeat to the Marathas and eliminated them from the Punjab politics. But the Sikhs, fired with the spirit of religious fervour remained unsubdued. Ahmed Shah left for Afghanistan in March 1761. While he was passing through the Punjab, the Sikhs frequently harrassed him. They began to plunder the stragglers from his camp and relieved them of a portion of rich booty.

Thus, after the Third Battle of Panipat, only two powers, the Afghans and the Sikhs were left in the field to contend for the possession of the Punjab, and Ahmed Shah, therefore, aimed the next blow at the Sikhs. The struggle between the Sikhs and Ahmed Shah Abdali went on for six or seven years. Ultimately the Sikhs came out triumphant in this struggle. They drove away the Afghans from the Punjab and established their twelve independent states called the Misls.