The Anglo-Sikh Wars Explained | Amarpal Singh

Today I have the pleasure to talk to Amarpal Sidhu, a software industry expert as well as a military historian.
Amarpal has published two books focusing on the Anglo-Sikh Wars, the first being published in 2013 and the second in 2016, as well as a recent book, published in July this year, focusing on and titled, the ‘Siege of Delhi’. Amarpal has also appeared and collaborated on history programs for several TV channels.
As always here is a time stamped breakdown of the conversation:
00:00 - Introduction
00:28 - Upbringing, education and how you got to where you are today.
06:34 - 19th century books covering the Anglo-Sikh Wars
10:00 - Why was there a change from ‘The Sikh Wars’ to ‘The Anglo-Sikh Wars’?
12:58 - Does ‘Anglo-Sikh’ truly reflect the nature of those involved in the wars?
16:10 - Were there any European soldiers who fought on the side of the Lahore Darbar?
19:50 - Have you ever come across accounts of Sikh soldiers fighting on the side of the British?
21:25 - There is a generalised view that the Lahore Dabar had more soldiers, more guns, better suppliers and materials, and still lost, mainly due to internal treachery. To what extent is this true?
30:26 - If there had been generals such as Akali Phula Singh or Hari Singh Nalwa, would the Anglo-Sikh wars have panned out differently?
37:32 - Ultimately, is it due to the poor management of the Sikh Generals, such as Lal Singh and Tej Singh, that led to the Sikh demise? Even though, on paper, the Sikhs seemed to be the far superior side.
43:55 - Why were the Sikh armies setup with their backs against the river in some of the battles?
50:11 - What role do the European Generals play in the Anglo-Sikh Wars?
52:29 - What were the type of weapons used by the Sikh army & what level of industrialisation was present in Punjab to create these weapons?
58:26 - What was the role of the Phulkian Misl & the Royal House of Patiala?
01:00:33 - Would it be fair to say the Cis-Sutlej states were always at odds with the Lahore Darbar?
01:04:12 - Would it be fair to say that those who stayed neutral did so out of survival?
01:07:11 - What were the main reasons for the outbreak of the first Anglo-Sikh War?
01:14:00 - Now I know the main 5 battles that are focused on when discussing the first Anglo-Sikh War are Mudki, Ferozeshah, Baddowal, Aliwal and Sobraon. However, there are three minor battles, 2 before Mudki, which are Wadni Fort & Phillaur Fort, and one after Sobraon, which is the battle of Kangrah. How do these fit into the context of things and why are they not paid as much attention as the others?
01:19:51 - What occurs during the inter-war period & what is the role of Rani Jind?
01:30:00 - Just to clarify, is the 2nd Anglo-Sikh war an accident?
01:33:14 - The second Anglo-Sikh War is marked by four main engagements, Ramnuggar & Sadulpore, which are close and inconclusive contests, Chillianwala and Gujrat. Could you please explain what occurs at each battle & what occurs from one to the other?
01:43:31 - What is the fate of the Dogra brothers, Lal Singh, Tej Singh and Diwan Mulraj?
01:49:13 - Considering how close the Anglo-Sikh Wars are to the Mutiny, why is there a relaxed response from the Sikhs during the Mutiny?
01:55:22 - Conclusion
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[@insley200]

Chillianwala was defo a victory for the Sher Singh & co. Muslims and Sikhs fought together Muslims were manning the cannon’s simple fact the redcoats had never taken so many losses before they was in shock. I belong to chillianwala Mandi bahauddin Punjab Pakistan proud Gujjar 😉

[@jaipreetsingh6566]

God knows how long I was waiting for this

[@AmarpalSinghSIdhu]

Hope you enjoyed it Jaipreet

[@mr.falcon54]

Commanders Lal Singh, Tej Singh and Dogras of Jammu- treachery and traitors leading to loss of Sikh Empire

[@NoName-jq7tj]

And than the Dogras were ousted by what happens in Kashmir post 1947.

[@creativeminds7343]

Why you are blaming whole Dogra community for this

[@tonyt7948]

It's all about treachery when Britain took over India and it wasn't the British being treacherous

[@strategos1850]

Great presentation - and the books by Amarpal are the best modern works on the subject. Thanks both of you!

[@RamblingsofaSikh]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@AmarpalSinghSIdhu]

Thanks Strategos. Glad you like the books!!

[@gssaran88]

@@AmarpalSinghSIdhu def gona buy and read the books

[@garylynch9206]

Very good interview. I always wondered why the Sikhs didn't join The Mutiny.

[@roxannekosarek1777]

Disease, weather, dysentery...the real winner in all wars (@ 32:00). very interesting, i've been looking for current historical books on Punjab. Thx!

[@AmarpalSinghSIdhu]

Yes quite correct Roxanne. People forget the damage disease, weather, dysentery etc cause during any particular campaign inasmuch as destroying whole armies in history.

[@benbrown2292]

Excellent conversation, glad I found this channel. There is little English language content on Sikh history and culture. When you were discussing the Sikh shift from the Anglo Sikh war to the mutiny I couldn't help thinking of the Highlanders from Culloden to Quebec in 13 years

[@harkamal]

Great Podcast! I was curious as to what happened to the Akali-Nihangs after the Anglo-Sikh wars?

[@RamblingsofaSikh]

Will make sure to include this in a future podcast with Amarpal

[@AmarpalSinghSIdhu]

Not much actually Jaipreet. They were irregular troops rather than regulars. And much of the irregulars were disbanded as well as the bulk of the regulars by the British in the aftermath of the war.

[@gursimarsingh5505]

After Sikh empire was annexed, British banned akali nihangs and gave order to shoot on sight because they were really becoming a problem in spreading of Christianity in punjab because they brought people to Christianity by deceiving rather than really converting by faith. And also akali nihangs didn't stand when they saw a British official and they just grabbed whatever they had and slaughtered any British officials. You know, you treat our people bad and then even rule and even then not treat us with respect then u ain't getting any in return. So, by order of shooting nihangs on sight all akali nihangs either made camp and started to live on foothills of Himalayas and what is today himachal pradesh and jammu but mostly went to Nanded , Hazur sahib in today maharashtra which was at that time under rule of Hyderabad Nawab. And the Nawab of Hyderabad was happy with sikhs as Previously maharaja ranjit singh ji sent some artisans and soldiers to make Nanded sahib, Hazur sahib gurdwara. And when it was done there was a revolt against the nawab but he didn't have any troops handy because of the pact British made that no kings should have any army of his own and British would provide them, so, he used troops of maharaja Ranjit Singh ji and they were quite good in fighting off the rebellion so he was just so impressed that When Maharaja Ranjt Singh ji passed away the nawab made the Sikhs settle in Nanded only and marry the local women. At that time Sikhs were very religious and they didn't want to get died down or their population lowered because of marrying to other religion. So, even today you can see many Sikhs of nanded who marry local hindu women, but when their daughter (Sikh) would marry a hindu family then They had one condition that The family in which their daughter is being married would Become Sikh and then only the married would take place. That's quiet radical at first glance but when you see on ground reality it isn't because everybody Loved Guru Sahab and considered themselves as a sikh. Religious radicalism has come now only but before all people lived and loved each other. And yes so yeah akali nihangs went to himachal pradesh and Hazur sahib because they were ordered to shoot on sight, and in hazur sahib the nawab loved sikh so much that he let go of this ban and let the sikhs remain happily.

[@bhuvanc4992]

@@gursimarsingh5505 Then it's very sad to see how the akalis and nihangs of today are allowing so much of Christian conversion to happen in Punjab.

[@arjansingh8329]

Extremely great video! Amarpal Singh is very wise, would like to hear more!

[@5abi143]

Great podcast bro. It’s almost as if you are covering the exact topics and answer the questions that wander around in my mind.

[@dalturbo]

Thank you both. Fantastic episode and easy to digest.

[@AmarpalSinghSIdhu]

Thanks dal turbo. Glad the episode went down well!

[@sandhubals]

Very good interview, thanks for sharing. Look forward for more to come.

[@jazbains4410]

Such a educational podcast, a lot od these questions that were asked I had for years wondering around in my head. I really loved how Amarpal Singh was surprisingly not biast & not romanticizing anything which of course being a Sikh you would not blame him if he did. He also is very factual & certainly knows his stuff from a military strategy point of view

[@rick2687]

Keep up the good work! 👍

[@loveandpeees]

I am from Mudkee as a kid I always eager to know about what had happened here which Jang had been fought over here and as growing up I am learning more more about sikh raj especially Maraja Ranjit singh and after his death

[@RamblingsofaSikh]

I'll be doing a series of podcasts with Amarpal going through each battle of the Anglo-Sikh Wars, so will certainly cover the Battle of Mudkee.

[@loveandpeees]

Thanks brother! I have one question! What were the 'Kirdaar' of Sikh army during maharaja Ranjit singhs time! Because all Gurus worked really hard to develop the Sikh kirdaars which we see in later on history where great Singh and Singhnia'n set examples! In world history We can see the how the winner armies treated the conquerd people!

[@HypocriticYT]

I find researching individual British officers in the Indian Mutiny you find information very particular to actions that they were in such as chasing down rebels. I find the details interesting, not just names of generals etc.

[@chaudhry6769]

Brother also invited Dr. Turab ul Hassan Sargana on the podcast too would be highly appreciated ❤️❤️❤️

[@chaudhry6769]

He is the author of "Punjab and the War of Independence 1858-59: From collaboration to resistance"

[@RamblingsofaSikh]

@@chaudhry6769 thank you for the suggestion, will certainly reach out to him.

[@chaudhry6769]

@@RamblingsofaSikh ❤️❤️❤️

[@anillchandi]

This is fantastic

[@AmarpalSinghSIdhu]

Thx!

[@anillchandi]

@@AmarpalSinghSIdhu we hear so much about the history, but what i really like about your interview is the details. Almost gives you an insight in to the mentality of the people and its an unbiased view point. I applaud you. If if wasnt for people like you our history will be lost. 🙏🏽

[@AmarpalSinghSIdhu]

@@anillchandi Thank you! Glad the heavy detail was interesting rather than boring. Can easily go the other way!

[@jaipreetsingh6566]

Would be a dream come true if you bring someone who knows something about sarbloh granth ...I'm not aware of any scholarly work on it though... dr kamalroop singh ji may know quite a lot about it though

[@RamblingsofaSikh]

Working on it as we speak

[@scottp.1884]

It's 317 am in Canada Irwin Poon

[@RamblingsofaSikh]

I appreciate the dedication to watch it at this hour

[@AmarpalSinghSIdhu]

Thanks for watching Irwin! Would love to meet up on a future visit to Canada . Appreciate your work and social media output

[@FilesdocumentsAndreposit-kr3vb]

20:30 - the Mughal dynasties were established by the armies of native tribes and clans who had converted to Islam. For example , janjuas had been the core fighting force of Humayun and they swron to place him on the throne of Delhi. Also did you know that , Mughals couldn't even extract taxes from the regions of Bihar up until 1748. After that the British started raising soldiers from this very region to beat various ruling houses in Bihar and Bengal and then even UP. What has happened is that the people and elites have been very successful in eradicating every possible history of this region. For example , a person called Ganda Singh wrote a book on purviyas. He was a Sikh. As per him , the purviyas had defeated the Sikhs , Marathas , rajputs and many other kingdoms and clans across the subcontinent. He wrote this book in early 1900s... The dominance of these people was well established back then , unlike today where they are poor and pretty broke as a society.

[@insley200]

Chinab river

[@kulwindersingh2927]

Great presentation please speak Punjabi