JANGNAMA LAHOW

JANGNAMA LAHOW

JANGNAMA LAHOW:, by Kahn Singh, is a poem describing the battles fought between the British and the Sikhs during 1845-46. Kahn Singh belonged to Bariga, Jalandhar district, and undertook the work at the instance of the British Deputy Commissioner of the area, Mr Vanistart. Though there is no internal evidence to date the work, we can safely assume it to have been completed sometime before 1853 as one of the several manuscript copies of the work which are extant is dated 1910 Bk/AD 1853 by the scribe. The only printed text available is in the anthology Prachin Varan te Jangndme, edited by Shamsher Singh Ashok.

The Jangndmd written in a language that is a mixture of Punjabi, Hindi and Persian, has 444 couplets composed in the masnavi style. After the customary invocation to the Divine, the Jangndmd proper begins with the treaty of friendship signed between the British and Maharaja Ranjit Singh who is praised for his qualities of valour and justice. However, after his death on Thursday, Har sudi Ekam 1896 Bk/27 June 1839, the intrigues and machinations of courtiers and officials led to internal feuds resulting in the fall of the Sikli kingdom. Since the Jangndmd was written on the instruction of a British official, the poet tends to be biased in favour of the British, though at places he does give credit to the Sikh soldiers for their stamina and chivalry.

The sole responsibility for the AngloSikh war is fastened upon Jind Kaur, the widow of Ranjit Singh, who, according to the author, wished to avenge the murder other brother, Jawahar Singh, by having the Sikh forces punished by the British. The battles of Mudki, Pheru (Shahr), Baddoval and Sahhraori, have been dealt with in detail by the poet, and in the process he has given names of some Siklis who got killed in action.

Among them are BhaT Jaimal Singh Akali (26465) and his brother Buddh Singh Akali (29698), Afar Singh Kaliarivala (29495), Kaur Singh (290), Ganda Singh Bhandan of Butala (299), Nidhan Singh of Turig (32224), Sham Singh Alarivala, Hira Singh (38S84), Hukam Singh Malvai (38), Parijab Singh, Bela Singh (381), General Mcva Singh Majithia (380) and Makhe Khan (377). This feature is especially noteworthy, for no other contemporary or near contemporary work records the names of so many of the warriors who were killed in the first AngloSikh war.

References :

1. Ashok, Shamsher Singh, ed., Prdchm Varan tejniignnme. Amritsar, 1950

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