Punjab Medal

 

The Second Anglo-Sikh War 1848 - 1849.

 

Further relevant historical context can be found at the foot of this entry.

 

 

The Punjab Medal was a British Empire campaign medal presented for service during the Second Anglo-Sikh War. The medal was instituted in 1849 and was awarded to officers and men who served during the Punjab campaign between 7 September 1848 and 14 March 1849 - operations which ended in the British annexation of the Punjab.

 

A large number of these medals were awarded to Indian troops but many of them were later melted down for their silver content. As a result more examples are found named to European recipients than native troops.

 

 

The medal is circular 36mm in diameter and was struck in silver. The obverse of this medal bears the head of Queen Victoria and the inscription; 'VICTORIA REGINA'.

 

The reverse depicts Sir Walter Gilbert receiving the Sikh surrender with the inscription; 'TO THE ARMY OF THE PUNJAB' above and the date; 'MDCCCXLIX' below.

 

The ribbon suspender is of the swivelling ornate scroll style, attached to the medal by a claw mount.

 

The recipient's details can be found on the medal's rim impressed in capital letters similar to the style found on the Military General Service Medal.

 

 

 

The ribbon is 32mm wide and dark blue in colour with narrow yellow stripes towards either edge.

 

 

The medal was issued with the following clasps:-

 

 

NB: While three clasps were authorised, no medals were awarded with all three clasps. No unit qualified for both the clasps Mooltan and Chilianwala. The medal was issued without a clasp to those units that were present in the Punjab but did not take part in fighting.

 

Further relevant historical context can be found at the foot of this entry.

 

 

 

* It should be noted that the values quoted above reflect the average price that a medal dealer may expect to sell this medal for - please see the ‘things you should know’ web page for more details about valuing medals.

 

 

This section contains information on:-

 

- The Second Anglo-Sikh War.

- The Siege Of Multan.

- The Battle Of Chilianwala.

- The Battle Of Gujrat.

- The Honourable East India Company.

- The Army Of The Honourable East India Company.

 

The Second Anglo-Sikh War - The Second Anglo-Sikh War took place in 1848 and 1849, between the Sikh Empire and the Honourable East India Company. It resulted in the subjugation of the Sikh Empire, and the annexation of the Punjab and what subsequently became the North-West Frontier Province by the East India Company.

 

This information was taken from ‘Wikipedia’. The original article and details of the authors can be found here. It is reproduced on this web-site under the ‘creative commons’ licence which can be found here.

 

The Siege Of Multan - In 1817, Maharaja Ranjit Singh sent a body of troops to Multan under the command of Diwan Bhiwani Das to receive from Nawab Muzaffar Khan the tribute he owed to the Sikh Darbar.

 

In 1818, Kharak Singh and Hindu Commander Diwan Misr Chand armies lay around Multan without making much initial headway. Maharaja Ranjit Singh sent a large cannon named Zamzama . Though in name Armies was commanded by Prince Kharak Singh however it was the military genius of Diwan Misr Chand which captured Multan Fort.

 

Muzzafar Khan urged the Majority Muslim population of Multan to fight a holy war against Sikhs and Hindus, however the tactics of Muzzafar Khan failed miserably as Sikh armies were able to suppress the religious revolt of Multan population.

 

In the battle Diwan Misr Chand led Sikh armies to a decisive victory over Durrani General of Multan Nawab Muzaffar Khan. Muzzafar Khan and seven of his sons were killed before the Multan fort finally fell on March 2, 1818.

 

The death of Durrani General Nawab Muzzafar Khan brought the death of Muslim rule in Multan. After the defeat of Muslims in 1818, Multan came under Muslims only when British Empire divided India into two Portion and gave Muslim majority areas to Muslims in 1947

 

Kharak Singh left Jodh Singh Ramgarhia with 600 men to guard the fort of Multan. The Sikhs thereafter ruled Punjab until 1849, when it was lost in the Second Anglo-Sikh War. Sardar Karan Narain's son was awarded the title 'Rai Bahadur' and knighted by the British Raj for switching to their side. After the Anglo-Sikh Wars, Multan was made part of the British Raj.

 

This information was taken from ‘Wikipedia’. The original article and details of the authors can be found here. It is reproduced on this web-site under the ‘creative commons’ licence which can be found here.

 

The Battle Of Chilianwala - The Battle of Chillianwala was fought during the Second Anglo-Sikh War in the Chillianwala region of Punjab (Mandi Bahauddin), now part of modern-day Pakistan.

 

The battle was one of the bloodiest fought by the Honourable East India Company and a Sikh victory. Within the British Army, such was the consternation over the events at Chillianwala that, after the disastrous 'Charge of the Light Brigade', when Lord Lucan remarked 'This is a most serious matter…', General Airey replied, 'It is nothing to Chillianwala.The loss of British prestige at Chillianwala was one of the factors which contributed to the Indian Mutiny some nine years later'.

 

The battle was a strategic check to immediate British ambitions in India and a shock to British military prestige.

 

This information was taken from ‘Wikipedia’. The original article and details of the authors can be found here. It is reproduced on this web-site under the ‘creative commons’ licence which can be found here.

 

The Battle Of Gujrat - The Battle of Gujrat was a decisive battle in the Second Anglo-Sikh War, fought on 21 February 1849, between the forces of the East India Company, and a Sikh army in rebellion against the Company's control of the Sikh Empire, represented by the child Maharaja Duleep Singh who was in British custody in Lahore.

 

The Sikh army was defeated by the British regular and Bengal Army forces of the Honourable East India Company. After it capitulated a few days later, the Punjab was annexed to the East India Company's territories and Duleep Singh was deposed.

 

This information was taken from ‘Wikipedia’. The original article and details of the authors can be found here. It is reproduced on this web-site under the ‘creative commons’ licence which can be found here.

 

The Honourable East India Company - The East India Company, originally chartered as the Governor and Company of Merchants of London trading into the East Indies, and more properly called the Honourable East India Company, was an English and later (from 1707) British joint-stock company formed for pursuing trade with the East Indies but which ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent, Qing Dynasty China, North-West Frontier Province and Balochistan.

 

Commonly associated with trade in basic commodities, which included cotton, silk, indigo dye, salt, saltpetre, tea and opium, the Company received a Royal Charter from Queen Elizabeth in 1600, making it the oldest among several similarly formed European East India Companies. Shares of the company were owned by wealthy merchants and aristocrats.

 

The government owned no shares and had only indirect control. The Company eventually came to rule large areas of India with its own private armies, exercising military power and assuming administrative functions. Company rule in India effectively began in 1757 after the Battle of Plassey and lasted until 1858 when, following the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the Government of India Act 1858 led to the British Crown assuming direct control of India in the era of the new British Raj.

 

The company was dissolved in 1874 as a result of the East India Stock Dividend Redemption Act passed one year earlier, as the Government of India Act had by then rendered it vestigial, powerless and obsolete. Its functions had been fully absorbed into the official government machinery of British India and its private presidency armies had been nationalised by the British Crown.

 

This information was taken from ‘Wikipedia’. The original article and details of the authors can be found here. It is reproduced on this web-site under the ‘creative commons’ licence which can be found here.

 

The Army Of The Honourable East India Company - The presidency armies were the armies of the three presidencies of the East India Company's rule in India, later the forces of the British Crown in India. The presidency armies were named after the presidencies: the Bengal Army, the Madras Army and the Bombay Army. Initially, only Europeans served as commissioned or non-commissioned officers. In time, Indian Army units were garrisoned from Peshawar in the north, to Sind in the west, and to Rangoon in the east.

 

The army was engaged in the wars to extend British control in India (the Mysore, Maratha and Sikh wars) and beyond (the Burma, Afghan, First and Second Opium Wars, and the Expedition to Abyssinia).

 

The presidency armies, like the presidencies themselves, belonged to the Company until the Indian Rebellion of 1857, when the Crown took over the Company and its three armies. In 1895 the three presidency armies were merged into a united Indian Army.

 

This information was taken from ‘Wikipedia’. The original article and details of the authors can be found here. It is reproduced on this web-site under the ‘creative commons’ licence which can be found here.