Medieval and Modern Indian History

The Arabs were the first to invade the Indian territories. They invaded Sindh in 712 CE. As a result of their victory, the provinces of Sindh and Multan came under their control. With this, the Islam started taking roots in the newly conquered lands. However, the Arab aggression soon decelerated.

Mahmud of Ghazni was the first Turk invader. He attacked India from north-western side 17 times. He invaded India only with the idea of plundering because he wanted a lot of money to establish a well-equipped army.

During the Mughal period, the province of Punjab was administratively divided into the subahs of Lahore and Multan.

During the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the Sikh Empire expanded extensively, and the Sutlux River served as the recognized political and eastern boundary of his kingdom, particularly established by the Treaty of Amritsar in 1809 with the British.

The Khyber Pass was the strategic western gateway of the Sikh Empire under Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

The Treaty of Amritsar (1809) established the Satluj River as the boundary between the British Empire and the Sikh Empire of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

In the early of sixteenth century Babur used Hindustan to describe the geography, the fauna, and the culture of the inhabitants of the subcontinents.

Following were the reasons for the outbreak of second Anglo-Sikh war.

• Sikhs were not happy with British ruling them.
  
• Treaty of Lahore did not last long and the resignation of the governor of Multan led to chaos in Punjab.
  
• Queen Mother Jindan was arrested and charged with treason for inciting other Sikhs. She was deposed. This disgraceful behaviour with queen mother led to the outbreak of war.
  

Second Anglo-Sikh war broke out between the years 1848 and 1849. On January 22, the Multan fortress was taken by General Wish, then he proceeded to Gujarat battle in which the Sikh army had to surrender at Rawalpindi, and their Afghan allies were chased out of India.

First Anglo-Sikh war was fought between the years 1845 – 1846. Between 1845 and 1849 Sikhs and British fought two battles. One battle was fought on 28th January at Aliwal and the other battle was fought on 10th February at Sobraon. These battles resulted in Treaty of Lahore.

The Treaty of Lahore was signed on 9 March 1846 after the First Sikh War.

• As a part of the treaty, Sikhs agreed to give away  Kashmir, Hazara and Jalandhar Doab to the British. 
  
• 1.5 Crore rupees was paid as war indemnity
  
• King agreed that he would not make an appointment to service without the consent of the British.
  
• The treaty also resulted in famous Kohinoor diamond falling into the hands of British.
  

Maharaja Ranjit Singh was invited to take control of Lahore by the prominent residents (citizens) of the city who were dissatisfied with the rule of the Bhangi Sardars.

The conquest of Lahore was a major turning point that established Ranjit Singh as a significant political power in the region and greatly enhanced his prestige and popularity.

The Battle of Bhasin (1800) resulted in the defeat of the Bhangi Sardars without a major direct conflict, as they fled upon the arrival of Ranjit Singh's forces.