Colonial mythologies

an alliance was cemented between them tha kept the ambitions of both sides in balanc

Within six years of his death, however, th picture was utterly transformed. Ranjit Singh’s erstwhile allies, the British, were at war with his heirs. Four years after that, March 1849, the East India Company subje ed his entire kingdom to its rule, effectively cementing British imperial predominance south Asia. Despite all this, the Company’s leading authorities claimed that they ha consistently shown unstinting loyalty to the friendship and memory of the late, great maharajah. How could this be fairly square -

The answer to this messy political history lies in the mythology spun around Ranjit Singh’s life – most prominently by the Company’s political officers working in and around th Punjab. Across a growing array of press coverage, fictional writings and governme t proclamations, a compelling narrative was offered about Ranjit Singh’s personality an glowing career as an empire builder. The maharajah was viewed – according to European colonial logic – as an admirabl exception among the “oriental despots” of hi day. “For his age and country, he may truly called a great, and in some respects, a goo king,” wrote Henry Lawrence (who becam Resident at Lahore in 1846) in his 1845 nov Adventures of an Officer in the Service of Runjeet Singh. “Kind and liberal to those within his sight, he is much beloved by his personal followers.”

On the other hand, Lawrence’s novel

•