Treaty of Lahore 1846
Topic: Europeans in India and the Rise of Company Rule · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Treaty of Lahore of 1846 ended the First Anglo-Sikh War between the Sikh kingdom of Punjab and the East India Company. It made the Sikh state much weaker without fully taking it over. Punjab lost land, paid a large war fine called an indemnity, and had to cut the size of its army. Its independence was badly reduced. It was finally annexed in 1849 after the Second Anglo-Sikh War.
Example
In March 1846, the Sikh state gave up the Jalandhar Doab, the land between the Beas and the Sutlej rivers. It could not pay the full indemnity, so it also handed over Kashmir and nearby hill areas. Young Dalip Singh stayed on as Maharaja. A British force was posted at Lahore, and Henry Lawrence was placed there as Resident, the British officer at the court.
Don't confuse with
- Treaty of Amritsar (1846): it was signed a few days later with Gulab Singh, not with the Lahore court. Through it, the Company sold Kashmir to him for 75 lakh rupees.
Related concepts
- Divide and rule
- Dastak
- Black Hole of Calcutta
- Siraj-ud-daulah
- Robert Clive
- Battle of Plassey
- Mir Jafar
- Mir Qasim
- Battle of Buxar 1764
- Treaty of Allahabad 1765