Britain annexes the Punjab

On March 29, 1849 the Governor-General, Lord Dalhousie, proclaimed the annexation of the Punjab. The Sikh Empire, which Maharaja Ranjit Singh had built and which had stood as the last major independent state in northern India, ceased to exist. The young Maharaja, Duleep Singh, then about ten years old, gave up his throne and was sent away from his kingdom.¹²

After Ranjit Singh died in 1839, the court at Lahore fell into a succession struggle and the powerful Khalsa army began to act independently. In the First Anglo-Sikh War of 1845 to 1846 the Sikh army crossed the Sutlej and fought hard at Mudki, Ferozeshah, Aliwal and Sobraon, but lost. The Treaty of Lahore took away territory, including Kashmir, which the British sold to Gulab Singh of Jammu, and put a British Resident in charge of the court. A revolt at Multan in 1848 became the Second Anglo-Sikh War. After the bloody drawn battle at Chillianwala in January 1849 the Sikh army was beaten at Gujrat in February and surrendered in March. The Koh-i-Noor diamond was ceded to Queen Victoria. The Punjab was run by a Board of Administration, and Punjabis, notably Sikhs, became a main source of recruits for the Indian army. Their loyalty during the rebellion of 1857 helped the British to hold on.¹²