The debacle and its causes
http://www.dawn.com/weekly/dmag/dmag12.htm
By Shaikh Aziz
On March 24, 1843, exactly 160 years back, Sindh saw a historical change. Power changed hands from the Baloch Talpurs to English colonialists.
Changes of a similar kind have occurred in the recorded history of the human race. But this was a simple one, with a wide range of political and economic agenda. This was going to affect the economy, social setup and geopolitical conditions of the entire region.
The capture of Sindh came as the result of two battles - Miani battle on February 17, 1843 and the Dubbo battle near Hyderabad on March 24, 1843.
By showing friendliness, the English were able to establish an English factory in Shahbandar in 1758 (Kalhora period). Even at that time, some members of the ruling family opposed it, but it was commissioned. After the sinister intentions of the English became obvious, it was closed down.
Still, the Britons were not dejected as they had eyed the future. After the fall of the Kalohoras and capture of the Talpur family in 1781, the managers of the East-India Company again launched a move to seek a foothold in Sindh. They watched the situation of Sindh from the sidelines and when in 1802, Mir Fateh Ali Talpur died and Mir Ghulam Ali Talpur led the reign of power, English diplomacy reactivated. In 1803, Capt David Sten came here to represent the company. His main thrust was that by extending ties with the English, Sindh would benefit in many regards. At last, on July 24, 1804, an agreement was signed between the English and the Talpur rulers which authorized the English to establish a trading house in Thatta and that the Talpurs will buy arms from the English only. Furthermore, that the English would provide security to the Talpurs.
In 1827, Dr James Burnes undertook a detailed visit of Sindh with the objective of looking for the access they can have to Afghanistan, Central Asia and the hot waters. He came to know that it was the Indus by which they can have approach to the Middle East. He was followed by many officials specially drawn from the English army. They included Henry Pottinger, Alexander Burns, James Mason and Henry Cousens who did not only survey Sindh and Balochistan, but also sent reports underlying the future moves.
The English moves were watched closely by Ranjeet Singh of Punjab who had thoughts of capturing Sindh and making it a part of Greater Punjab. He even asked the English to allow him to capture Sindh, to keep the upper part with him and let lower Sindh go to the English. The English knew his intentions and was bluntly told not to make any advances.
It was at this stage that the Talpurs came to know about the actual ambitions of their alien partners, but unfortunately they could hardly help themselves, bound in various agreements and any violation leading to confrontation - the ultimate end for which the English were trying to find a pretext. In one of such agreements signed on April 20, 1833, the English were granted the right to use all land and water routes without paying any tax.
The Talpurs were divided and had principalities in Hyderabad, Khairpur and Mirpurkhas. The English exploited the situation and developed close friendship with the Talpurs of Khairpur, who in their opinion were the most isolated ones. This rewarded them with the establishment of a cantonment in Bakhar Fort, the nerve centre of Sindh. From here they gained access to Shikarpur - the road to Balochistan and Afghanistan. Without consulting the Hyderabad Talpurs, the English sent reinforcements to Bakhar from Karachi.
Once again, the English used the disunity of the Talpurs of Mirpurkhas to bear the expenses of Rs50,000 for the English army and any complaint about them would only be heard by an English officer. This also implied that the Talpurs would not enter into any agreement with any third party without the consent of the English. The third condition bound the Talpurs that the coins would bear the English insignia on one side while the other side would bear the name of the Talpurs.
The agreement signed on November 24, 1842, bore all humility the English could impound upon the Talpurs. By this, the Talpurs were prevented to mint their coins and the territory of Thatta and Karachi were to be used by Sir Charles Napier for which they would be paid Rs5,000. The Talpurs refused to sign it and that was the beginning of their end.
The Talpurs wanted to get rid of the English but the latter had become too firm. The Talpurs thought to fight it out and a battle took place at Miani near Hyderabad on February 17, 1843, that was lost by the Talpurs. Infuriated by this, Mir Sher Mohammad Talpur of Mirpurkhas led an army and on March 24, 1843, fought the English army near Dubbo, also near Hyderabad. This was also lost and the Talpur rulers were arrested and sent to Surat and Calcutta.
After Sindh, the English captured Punjab, thus making a clear passage towards Afghanistan and Central Asia. Karachi was promoted as a seaport and by containing czarist Russia, they got a safe passage to the open sea.
The capture of Sindh was a pre-determined move. It could have been prevented, but many factors contributed towards this debacle - political, administrative and economical. In fact, it has roots deep in history. After the fall of the Samma rulers (1499), Sindh had suffered at the hands of alien rulers for 344 years. To perpetuate their rule, every ruling family favoured tribes which created their own armies and engaged in trivial rivalries. Political opposition was termed sedition. Innocent people were punished for no fault of theirs. Absence of economic policies brought frequent famines, forcing people to migrate. Trade activity slumped and only consumer goods could get through. Education got almost no attention and a few private schools and colleges offered education to the people. Same was the case with health care, resulting in deaths on a massive scale.
This all created a sense of isolation among the citizens. On the one hand, they felt insecure, and on the other, they were treated as slaves to generate revenue to fill the coffers of ruling families. Job opportunities shrunk with every new ruler. The Talpurs themselves had no financial policy. No doubt, Sindhi language was the lingua franca, jobs were preferred for those knowing Persian, leaving the average citizen to physical work for earning two square meals. Naturally, in case of a war, no citizen bothered about the change and welcomed whosoever came to power.
All these factors made the work of the English easy. The English knew this and after capturing Sindh, worked in a way that the average people did not feel alienated.