Threat of Foreign Invasion

• Napoleon Bonaparte, a French military commander, wanted to establish relations with the Indian princes and, together with them, attack the British in their possessions. In particular, he was keen on joining the forces of Tipu Sultan and helping him drive the British out of India.
• Napoleon’s interest in India emerged around 1798 when he took the expedition to Egypt.
• In 1801, the Russian Tsar Paul I (Emperor of Russia) sent a secret proposition to Napoleon to carry out a joint invasion of India and drive out the English and the EIC. Napoleon was apprehensive of the Tsar’s suggestion and refused to join hands with him.
• In 1807, Napoleon and Tsar Alexander I signed the Treaty of Tilsit. They agreed to invade India through Turkey with Persia’s support.
• When the news of the Treaty of Tilsit reached the British through a spy, the British signed an Anglo-Persian treaty (1809) with the Persians. Under this treaty:
  • The Persian ruler agreed not to allow a foreign army to pass across their country to India.
  • In return, the British promised aid to Persia in case she came under attack by a foreign power.
• Anglo-Persian treaty ended the possibility of the French invasion.

Anglo-French Rivalry

• From 1740 to 1800, Anglo-French rivalry was primarily confined to south India and ended with the defeat of Tipu Sultan and his French connection (1799). After 1807, the Anglo-French conflict shifted to the North-west.
• After the French defeat in naval conflict, Napoleon planned to invade India via land route. Alarmed by the prospect, Lord Minto I immediately sent four diplomatic missions – Malcolm to Tehran, Elphinstone to Kabul, Charles Metcalfe to Lahore and Seton to Sindh. With the efforts of these diplomatic missions, friendly treaties were concluded with the respective governments to counter the French challenge.
• Thus, in 1809, the Treaty of Eternal Friendship was signed with the Amirs, who promised not to allow the French to settle in Sindh.
  • Under this treaty, both sides agreed to exclude the French from Sindh and to exchange agents at each other’s court.
• In 1820, the treaty was renewed to further exclude the Americans from Sindh. But soon, the commercial and navigational value of the Indus began to attract the attention of the Company’s authorities. Consequently, in 1832, William Bentinck sent Colonel Pottinger to Sindh to sign a new commercial treaty with the Amirs.
  • As per the treaty, the Amirs allowed a free passage to English travellers and merchants through Sindh and also allowed the use of Indus for commercial pursuits.
  • Later, Pottinger was stationed as the Company’s political agent in Sindh.

Anglo-Russian Rivalry

• However, Lord Auckland began to see Sindh from a larger perspective of defence for India from the Russian threat. To him, Sindh was a necessary prelude to the annexation of Afghanistan. Thus, Sindh was conquered to counter Russia. The commercial benefits from the Sindh River were also an attraction.
• Soon Ranjit Singh captured Rojhan, a town on the Sindh frontier, giving the Company a chance to offer protection to the Amirs. The Amirs had neither desired nor asked for foreign help, yet they were forced to sign a Subsidiary Treaty in 1839 and accept a British Resident at Hyderabad. The Amirs had virtually passed under British protection.
  • As per the treaty: A British subsidiary force was to be stationed in Sindh. The Amirs of Sindh were required to pay Rs 3 lakh annually for the maintenance of the Company’s troops.
• During the Afghan war (1839-42), the Amirs of Sindh found themselves saddled with the responsibility of helping the British forces. Parts of their territory like Shikarpur, Bukkar and Karachi were taken away in gross violation of the Treaty of Perpetual Friendship and they also had to contribute a large amount of money in order to maintain troops in their midst whom they did not want. The independent position of the Amirs was gone forever.
• In 1842, Lord Ellenborough succeeded Auckland as Governor-General and proved to be equally unscrupulous in his dealings with the Amirs. He was eager to find a pretext for the annexation of Sindh and in doing so, regain the English prestige which had suffered during the First Afghan war.
• In September 1842, Major Outram was replaced by Sir Charles Napier as British Resident in Sindh. Napier was equally eager to annex the province and followed a bullying policy. He charged the Amirs of hostility and disaffection towards the British government.

Annexation of Sindh (1843)

• Lord Auckland was the Governor General of India from March 4, 1836, to February 28, 1842. During his time, the British EIC clashed with Dost Muhammad of Afghanistan, which proved fatal for the British and marred British prestige.
• Lord Ellenborough, who became the Governor General of India in 1842, wanted to secure the western boundaries of British India.
• On 17 February 1843, in the Battle of Miani, the British forces under Sir Charles Napier defeated the Amir and conquered the Sindh.
  • Napier called the Sindh war as ‘the tail of the Afghan storm’.
• Finally, despite previous assurances that its territorial integrity would be respected, Sindh was annexed. In 1847, Sindh was made part of British India’s Bombay Presidency.
  • In 1936, Sindh was separated from the Bombay Presidency.

Sir Charles Napier

• Sir Charles Napier was the Commander-in-Chief of British EIC’s army and was duly awarded after the conquest.
• After the conquest, he was appointed as the First Chief Commissioner and Governor of Sindh and also received seven lakhs of rupees as prize money.