The Story Of The Sikhs

My poem, Kultar's Mime, which was adapted for the stage by J.Mehr Kaur and presented worldwide, has now been translated to Punjabi. This episode is a reading of the translation, ਜਮਨਾ ਪਾਰ ਤੋਂ ਤਿਲਕ ਵਿਹਾਰ - ਮਰਸੀਆ ਕੁਲਤਾਰ ਦਾ, preceded by an introduction in which I talk about the genesis of the work.

In this episode, Ranjit Singh is crowned king of the Punjab; the venerable Sardar Sahib Singh Bedi presides over the coronation and daubs the young king’s forehead with saffron. As the young king tries to consolidate power, tumultuous events roil the subcontinent. To the West the grandsons of Ahmad Shah Abdali are locked in internecine warfare as they fight for the Afghan throne. Closer to home, the Irish Prince of Hansi, George Thomas, a sworn enemy of the Sikhs is neutralized by General Perron, the French soldier of fortune in the employ of the Marathas. To the East the British under the expansionist Lord Wellesley, eye the rich territories of the Marathas, whose internal conflicts boil over into a civil war that will have disastrous consequences for their empire and will roil the subcontinent.

As the young Ranjit Singh settles in Lahore, the capital of the Punjab, which he has just captured, he has to contend with rival Muslim and SIkh chiefs, who resent his successes. Even as he deals with the immediate threats he takes note of significant events all over the subcontinent that present challenges and opportunities. There is great turmoil in Afghanistan as the king, Shah Zaman squares off against the powerful Barakzais, his erstwhile allies who are now aligned with his rebellious half brother Mahmud Mirza. Far away, the Marathas are embroiled in multiple internecine conflicts, involving the Scinida and Holkar clans, which threaten to impact the stability of the Mughal throne, which is propped up by Daulat Rao Scindia. The British, firmly entrenched in Bengal and allied with the Nawab of Awadh, turn their eyes westward, keen on engaging with the young Ranjit Singh, who they see as a bulwark agaist future Afghan invasions that might threaten their interests in Hindustan.

The beleaguered citizens of Lahore, suffering under the misrule of the Bhangi triumvirate of Chait Singh, Mohr Singh and Sahib Singh, send a petition to the young Shukerchakia chief, Ranjit Singh. With the help of his visionary mother-in-law, Mata Sada Kaur, the leader of the Kanhaiya Misl, Ranjit Singh takes the capital of the Punjab.

Shah Zaman, the grandson of Ahmad Shah Abdali, who had been the scourge of the Punjab for decades crosses the Indus again. As the Sikhs prepare to abandon their cities in the face of the Afghan juggernaut, Sardarni Sada Kaur persuades them to dig their heels in and resist. The young Ranjit Singh, the grandson of the legendary Sikh warrior Sardar Charat Singh Shukerchakia, challenges the Afghan King to single combat. An ambitious new British Governor General arrives in Calcutta and lays out an aggressive, expansionist vision, which promises to have a profound impact on the powers jockeying for position in the remains of the crumbling Mughal Empire.