A British Resident had been entrusted with full authority to control the duties of every department, and with the power to occupy any fort or military post. Lord Hardinge had just concluded peace with the remnants of Ranjit Singh’s Estate. He had been forced into a war not of his own seeking. The one-eyed Sikh ruler died in 1839 and the huge army he had created became uncontrollable when his restraining hand was withdrawn. They formed ‘panchayats’ in every regiment and obeyed no other power, deposing the men in authority. Anarchy and chaos followed. Maharani Jinda’s brother was murdered short after a summary trial before hostile military panchayats. In November 1845, the Sikh army consisting of 60,000 soldiers, 40,000 armed followers and 150 guns crossed the Sutlej into British India. Commander Lal Singh lost the first two battles and Tel Singh the third, in 1846, after blowing up the bridge to prevent the escape of his own men. The British lost 2,000 troops killed and wounded.
“The river was alive with struggling mass of men. The artillery, now brought down to the water’s edge, completed the slaughter. Few escaped; none surrendered. The Sikhs met their fate with resignation.”
The British were moderate in their peace terms, the Sikh state was dismembered but the independence of the Punjab was respected. The portion between the Beas and the sutlej was ceded and an indemnity of one million and a half sterling was paid. The Resident, Sir Henry Lawrence was a courteous and kindly man, but he, too, left after the departure of Lord Hardinge, on grounds of health. The young Maharaja Dalip gingh was a Ward of the British Government who were to protect him till he reached the age of 16 in 1854.
Trouble, fanned by the Maharani Jinda, started in Multan when the Dewan Mulraj murdered to British officers who had come to take an accounting of his stewardship. Lord Dalhousie declined to stamp out the rebellion which soon spread. Maharani Jinda was banished to Benares- -this made matters worse. In November 1848, seven months after the Multan outbreak, Lord Gough moved to recoup the British position and supress the Sikh revolt. Three battles were again fought and at Jhallianwala, after a bloody battle, the British retreated. The defeat was short lived, the British, under Sir Charles Napier retrieved their position at Rawalpindi; Dalip Singh was dethroned and in December 1848, Lord Dalhousie declared that the “British army had entered Lahore, not as an enemy of the constituted government but to restore order and obediance.”
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Faced with more battles, Lord Dalhousie, whose health had begun to deteriorate, sought peace and quiet. In between the wars with the Burmese emperor, he visited the Punjab, and during one of his sojourns in the hill, chanced on this charming spot that was to bear his name. It was in 1850, when the Punjab was being reorganized under the direction of Dalhousie himself. The administration was elastic and untiring with heavy demands on his energy and devotion. The days of the men on the spot were spent in the saddle under the burning sun and nights in writing reports by the lights of candles stuck in beer bottles. The consolidator of British raj fell in love with it and arrangements were immediately made with the Rajah of Chamba for the lease of the locale. He had gone to the sylvan retreat for a ramble, and escape, he stayed to built.
Named after the Governor General, himself the first settlers there were the members of his staff and the administrators of the Punjab. British style huts and bungalows came up and by 1854 it was a fully fledged hill station. After eight years of continuous work in India, Lord Dalhousie’s health began to take a heavy toll–he was prematurely old and, at the age of 43, being scarcely able to walk due to recurring illness. Wars and annexations of other states kept him away from his beloved ‘hill station’, he made occasional visits when he could, the last in 1855, just before his departure. Two years later, partly on account of his annexations of eight large kingdoms or states, the war of 1857 broke out. Controversy raged, and still does, in history books, over his ruthless ambitions for the consolidations of empire, but over one act–there is no recrimination–the founding of Dalhousie.
After the proclamation of Queen Victoria as the Empress of India, and the beginning of the Empire period for India, Dalhousie got into full swing, with large influxes of British Army personnel escaping the soaring heat of the plains; besides charming bungalows, convent schools run by Catholic nuns and Irish Jesuits, came up providing British style education to the children. After a few years, wealthy Indians and government officials sent their children there and still doing spite of stiff admission requirements. As the years rolled on, Dalhousie began to attract the elite of the Punjab, providing an alternate to stiff and official Shimla. It reached its high point in the “Roaring Twenties”, followed by the “Gay Thirties”, when the elite of Lahore ‘cafe society’ flocked to the scenic and quiet resort. Elegant hotels came into existence for their enjoyment, while their children were sent to the schools where they were imparted a solid education, amidst cool breezes. During the forties, its popularity increased even more and Dalhousie was bursting at the seams. Gothic and neo-Gothic structures arose and the society was alive with lavish garden parties, practically every day.
However, with the independence in 1947, and due to the scattering of the rich of the Punjab, Dalhousie saw lean days. The cheapest hill resort in India, even in its heyday, it was less expensive than some of the better known stations in the Himalayas The post -Independence partition greatly reduced the number of visitors but not the amenities offered. In 1954 the City Fathers organised celebrations for its centenary and Prime Minister Nehru was requested to inaugurate the event and add a filip tc the sagging town. The Prime Minister chided the gentry for making the beautiful hill resort into a city and followed up his admonition with a “let us go to the Himalaya” call. It had the desired effect and there was an upsurge of visitors, including other classes besides, the elite who had made it, their domain.
In 1959, Tibet was taken over including large numbers of Lama by China. The Tibetans, and, at the instance of the Prime limed their country to India, mister, Dalhousie was selected to receive the exodus. WM their intrinsic artistic sense, and the great many craftsmen who came in the influx, Dalhousie got an injection of added charm. Mingled with the lovely scenery were tributes to the greater glory of God. Along the main roads they carved out giant frescoes and relief paintings. Doorways and roofs were beautifield in Tibetan style and rounding the bend, at a number of places, one chanced upon an Avaloketeshwara Buddha or lotus and every where the legend “Om Mani Padme Hum” – God rules every being, every place. Lamas, in their traditional robes, could be seen chanting prayers or conducting philosophical discussions in improvised monasteries.
The population was, however, indifferent and unappreciative of these master craftsmen who added beauty to the elegance, giving individuality to the roads chock full of fashion-able shops, and several chic hotels and restaurants. They moved on to Dharamsala, Dalhousie’s loss was Dharamsala’s gain.
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