Lehal Library

L32 The Agrarian Uprising The grateful Mannu gave Kaura Mal the title of Mahli.rajah &hadur and made him governor of Multan. The Dewan, who feh that he owed his success to Sikh collaboration, heaped the misldars with favours. He retained many Sikhs in service and assigned the revenue of twelve villages to the Harimandir. In the years 1749 and 1750 a great many peasants joined the Sikh fold. Third Afghan Invasion, 1751-2: The Punjab Under Sikh Protection By the autumn of 1751 the Punjab was rife with rumours of another Afghan invasion. Mir Mannu had failed to pay the revenue of the four districts ceded to Abdali and, in the middle of November, advance units of the Afghan army under General Jahan Khan crossed the Indus; Abdali followed closely be.hind. Mir Mannu tried to buy off the invaders by paying a part of the arrears. The Afghans took the nine lacs offered them and proceeded further into the Puajab. Mannu knew it was useless to rely for help on the government at Delhi. He summoned Kaura Mal from Multan, Adina Beg Khan from Jullundur, and made preparations to fight the Afghans. Mir Mannu raised a large army of Punjabis, the largest contingent being Sikhs, who numbered over twenty thousand. 7 In December 1751 he crossed the Ravi to check the Afghans led by Jahan Khan. Instead of joining Jahan Khan, Abdali made a detour, and closed in on Lahore from the north-east. Manna quickly retraced his steps and entrenched himself outside the city walls. This manoeuvre proved to be an expensive mistake. While the Afghans had the entire countryside to feed them, Mannu had nothing more to fall back on than what was usually 7 The Sikhs did not do much fighling on this occasion. Mannu did not crust them and promised them a jagtr to keep them quie1 while he was preoccupied with the Afghans. The citizens of Lahore were also averse to having them in the city and maltreated a pany of Sikh horsemen. Thereafter Sikh forces were withdrawn. Some even went over and joined the Afghans. (Ratan Singh Bhangu, Priicin Panth PrakM.}