IGNOU HISTORY NOTES : India History From Mid 18th to Mid 19th Century - The Punjab

IGNOU HISTORY Study Notes for IAS, UPSC Exams

History India From Mid 18th to Mid 19th Century

The Punjab

Structure

5.0 Objectives
5.1 Introduction
5.2 The Punjab Polity Before Autonomy
5.3 Sikhism: Religious to Political Identity
5.4 Rise of the Sikh State
5.5 The Sikh State and the English East India Company
5.6 Organisation of the State
5.6.1 Territorial Administration
5.6.2 Revenue Administration
5.7 Nature of the Sikh Polity
5.8 LetUsSumUp
5.9 Key Words
5.10 Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises

5.0 OBJECTIVES

Thisunitis on the development of independent state in the Punjab during the mid-18th
I and the mid-19th century. In this Unit you will learn about:

the development in the Punjab polities before the establishment of the Sikh rule,
the transformation of the Sikh religious order into a political force,
the process through which the Sikh state emerged and its final absorption into the British imperial system,
the organisation of the state, and
the nature of the Sikh rule.

5.1 INTRODUCTION

In Units 2,3 and 4 we have discussed how autonomous political authority developed
in Bengal, Awadh, Hyderabad, Mysore and in the Maratha region during the 18th
century. Here our focbs is on the Punjab. The development in the Punjab had a
different trend compared to the other Mughal provinces. In the case of the Punjab it
was not the Mughal provincial governor but a group of the local people, the Sikhs,
who established an independent political authority in the province. Naturally, it would
be interesting to see how the Sikhs uprooted the Mughal authority from the province
and in its place established thei~ own rule. This Unit first introduces you to the
political situation in the Punjab before the emergence of the Sikh state. Then it takes
you to the transformation of the Sikh religious order into a territorial power and after
that the establishment of the Sikh state. Finally, this Unit deals with the administrative
system of the Sikh state and nature of the Sikh rule.