The Anglo-Sikh Wars, 1845-1849
Ranjit Singh’s death in 1839 set off six years of murder and collapse inside his own court. That collapse led to two wars with the East India Company. The second ended with Punjab’s annexation, the young Maharaja’s exile, and the Koh-i-Noor diamond handed to Queen Victoria.
This lesson traces the succession crisis, both wars, and Punjab’s final annexation in 1849.
How did Ranjit Singh’s death trigger six years of chaos?
Four rulers died or were removed in just a few years after Ranjit Singh’s death. Meanwhile, the Sikh army nearly tripled in size and slipped out of political control.
Maharaja Ranjit Singh had built a powerful, unified Sikh state in Punjab. His death in 1839 set off a succession crisis that his own court never recovered from.
His son Kharak Singh was removed within months and died soon after, widely believed to have been poisoned. The next heir, Nau Nihal Singh, also died mysteriously, after an archway collapsed on him.
Sher Singh became Maharaja in 1841, but was assassinated in 1843.
Through this chaos, the Sikh army grew dramatically, from about 29,000 troops and 192 guns in 1839 to over 80,000 troops by 1845. British observers feared this force had become a “dangerous military democracy,” increasingly outside anyone’s political control.
Source: standard record of the Sikh Empire’s succession crisis, 1839-1845.
Pause and decide · 1 of 7
Between Ranjit Singh’s 1839 death and 1845, the Sikh army grew from about 29,000 troops to over 80,000, even as the court itself fell into chaos. True or false?
True. British observers feared this large, growing force had become a “dangerous military democracy,” increasingly outside anyone’s political control.
How did the First War end at Sobraon?
Four battles in three months, each closer to Lahore than the last, built toward one outcome. A decisive British victory at Sobraon brought a peace treaty within a month.
The First Anglo-Sikh War ran from 11 December 1845 to 9 March 1846.
Four major battles followed in quick succession. They were Mudki (18 December 1845), Ferozeshah (21 December 1845), Aliwal (28 January 1846), and finally Sobraon (10 February 1846).
Sobraon was the decisive battle. Sikh forces suffered a heavy defeat, opening the road to Lahore itself.
The war ended within a month of that defeat, with the Treaty of Lahore signed on 9 March 1846.
Source: standard record of the First Anglo-Sikh War, 1845-1846.
Pause and decide · 2 of 7
The First Anglo-Sikh War lasted less than a month, ending almost as soon as it began. True or false?
False. It ran three months, from 11 December 1845 to 9 March 1846, across four major battles — Mudki, Ferozeshah, Aliwal, and the decisive Sobraon.
How did one 1846 treaty create the Kashmir most Indians know today?
The Treaty of Lahore stripped away Sikh territory to cover an indemnity. A separate side-deal then sold Kashmir to a different ruler entirely, creating the state’s modern borders.
The Treaty of Lahore (9 March 1846) forced the Sikhs to cede the Jalandhar Doab between the Beas and Sutlej rivers. It also ceded Kashmir, Hazarah, and other hill territories.
Those ceded hill territories were valued at 10 million rupees, counted toward a larger 15-million-rupee war indemnity the Sikhs owed the Company.
Since the Sikh court could not fully cover that indemnity in cash, a separate deal followed. Under the Treaty of Amritsar (1846), Raja Gulab Singh purchased Kashmir directly from the Company for 7.5 million rupees. In return, he received the title Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir.
A third treaty, at Bhyrowal (16 December 1846), replaced the regent Maharani Jind Kaur with a British Resident backed by a Council of Regency. This gave the Company effective control of the Lahore government itself.
Source: standard record of the Treaty of Lahore, Treaty of Amritsar, and Treaty of Bhyrowal, 1846.
Pause and decide · 3 of 7
Kashmir did not stay with the Sikh state after 1846 — it was sold separately to Raja Gulab Singh, who became Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir. True or false?
True. The 1846 Treaty of Amritsar had Gulab Singh purchase Kashmir from the Company for 7.5 million rupees. This was separate from the Jalandhar Doab territory the Sikhs ceded directly.
How did the Second War end at Gujrat?
Renewed Sikh resistance led to a second, shorter war, ending in a decisive British artillery victory that opened the way to full annexation.
Despite the 1846 settlement, Sikh resistance to British control resumed. The Second Anglo-Sikh War ran from 18 April 1848 to 29 March 1849.
The Battle of Chillianwala (13 January 1849) was fiercely contested, with heavy British casualties, even though it ultimately favoured British strategic goals.
The Battle of Gujrat (21 February 1849) proved decisive. British artillery bombardment, followed by a cavalry pursuit, broke the remaining Sikh forces for good.
Source: standard record of the Second Anglo-Sikh War, 1848-1849.
Pause and decide · 4 of 7
The Battle of Gujrat, not Chillianwala, is considered the most decisive battle of the Second Anglo-Sikh War. True or false?
True. Chillianwala (13 January 1849) was fiercely contested with heavy British casualties, but Gujrat (21 February 1849) broke the remaining Sikh forces for good.
What happened to the young Maharaja and the Koh-i-Noor?
An 11-year-old Maharaja signed away his own kingdom. He was exiled to England on a pension, while the Koh-i-Noor diamond he once owned became part of the British crown jewels.
Governor-General Lord Dalhousie proclaimed British control of Punjab on 2 April 1849. The young Maharaja, Duleep Singh, just 11 years old, signed the annexation documents during a durbar ceremony at Lahore Fort.
The final settlement stripped Duleep Singh of property worth some 15 million rupees, including the famed Koh-i-Noor diamond, which passed to Queen Victoria.
Duleep Singh moved to England in 1854, spending the rest of his life in exile there. He received an annual pension of 120,000 rupees, roughly £50,000, and grew close to Queen Victoria despite losing his kingdom and its treasures.
Punjab’s annexation completed British paramountcy over the subcontinent. See ModHist0074 — The Sikh Empire of Ranjit Singh for the fuller story of the state these wars ultimately dismantled.
Source: standard record of Punjab’s 1849 annexation and Duleep Singh’s exile.
Pause and decide · 5 of 7
Duleep Singh was an adult ruler in his thirties when he signed the documents confirming Punjab’s annexation. True or false?
False. He was just 11 years old when he signed the annexation documents during a durbar ceremony at Lahore Fort in 1849.
Pause and decide · 6 of 7
The Koh-i-Noor diamond passed to Queen Victoria as part of the settlement that stripped Duleep Singh of his property after Punjab’s annexation. True or false?
True. Duleep Singh later moved to England in 1854, where he lived in exile on an annual pension of about 120,000 rupees, roughly £50,000.
Exam Angle: The Usual Traps Here
Trap 1: don’t confuse the 1846 Treaty of Lahore, which ended the First War, with the separate 1846 Treaty of Amritsar, which sold Kashmir to Gulab Singh. They were signed within months of each other, but they are two different documents.
Trap 2: keep the battle sequence straight. Mudki, Ferozeshah, Aliwal, and Sobraon belong to the First War (1845-46). Chillianwala and Gujrat belong to the Second War (1848-49).
Trap 3: the annexation of Punjab in 1849, not the 1846 Treaty of Lahore, is what actually ended Sikh political independence. The 1846 settlement had left a reduced Sikh state in place under British oversight.
Source: standard exam-angle analysis of the Anglo-Sikh Wars.
Pause and decide · 7 of 7
The 1846 Treaty of Lahore ended Sikh political independence outright, the same year as the First Anglo-Sikh War. True or false?
False. The 1846 settlement left a reduced Sikh state in place under British oversight. It was the 1849 annexation, after the Second War, that actually ended Sikh independence.
Check your understanding
Answer the seven checks above. You will see each explanation after choosing.
Primary sources
- Standard record of the Anglo-Sikh Wars, 1845-1849, and Punjab’s 1849 annexation.
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ModHist0074 — The Sikh Empire of Ranjit SinghModHist0374 — The Anglo-Maratha Wars, 1775-1819ModHist0366 — Lord Dalhousie: The Doctrine of Lapse, Railways and AnnexationModHist0373 — The Anglo-Mysore Wars, 1767-1799ModHist0357 — Lord Wellesley: The Subsidiary Alliance and the Conquest of India❓ Practice this topic
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