SIKH YUDDHER ITIHĀS O MAHĀRĀJĀ DULEEP SIṄGH, by Barodākānta Mitra, is a brief narrative in Bengali of the fall of the Sikh kingdom and of the career of the deposed sovereign Duleep Siṅgh. Published in Calcutta in AD 1893, the monograph made use of the official records and other primary sources, besides relying heavily on a number of secondary works such as those of Cunningham, Bell, Smyth and Steinbach. Broadly, the volume can be divided into two sections, the first dealing with the Anglo-Sikh wars which, in the opinion of the author, marked the "most decisive event" in the nineteenth century history of India, and the second devoted to the life of Mahārājā Duleep Siṅgh. Mitra attributes the outbreak of hostilities between the British and the Sikhs to the excessive concentration of the military power of the former along the Sutlej and other acts of provocation such as the appointment to the frontier of Major George Broadfoot, known for his anti-Sikh bias. He holds the East India Company responsible for violating the treaty of friendship with the Lahore kingdom. In the description of the battles, he contrasts Lāl Siṅgh's treacherous role at Mudkī with the determined heroism of Shām Siṅgh Aṭārīvālā at Sabhrāoṅ. The treaty of Bharovāl ending the war is considered just, so also the administration of the British Resident at Lahore. The author is however critical of the policy of Lord Dalhousie and blames the British for delaying military intervention against the Multān mutineers. The annexation of the Punjab is described as contravening all norms of political morality.

        Mahārājā Duleep Siṅgh's life is delineated in considerable detail, drawing upon Lady Login's account as well as upon contemporary newspapers such as The Englishman, Moscow News and The Times of London. The monograph comes to a close with the Mahārājā's revolt against the British, his political activities in different European capitals and his sorrowful end in a Paris hotel in 1893.

Himādrī Banerjee