Lehal Library

Suzerain of Malwa 205 instructions not to engage in any more wars nor to make any more annexations. 7 Holkar was consequently allowed to recross the Sutlej and resume his possessions. The British thus became the only real power on the Punjab's eastern frontier, with nothing but the conglomeration of Malwa chiefs between them and the Lahore Durbar. Arbitration in Malwa Immediately after the danger of an Anglo-Maratha conflict in the Punjab was over, the chiefs of t,.falwa fell out with each other and allowed a petty squabble to develop into a major conflict. The dispute arose over the ownership of the village of Daladi on the Nabha-Patiala border, a dispute resulting in the death of the Patiala agent. The chiefs of Thanesar and Kaithal espoused the cause of Patiala; Bhag Singh ofjind, that ofNabha. In a skirmish the chief of Thanesar was killed. Patiala avenged the death of his supponer by inflicting a bloody defeat on Nabha's forces. The ,ictory was, however, not decisive and it was feared that the conflagration would spread to the whole of Malwa. Both factions approached Ranjit Singh to act as arbitrator. After the annual muster of forces at Dussehra the Maharajah crossed the Sutlej with an army of twenty thousand men and marched through the territories of the Singhpurias, the Sodhis of Kanarpur and the Dallewallias, and through the prosperous towns of Phillaur, Ludhiana, andjagraon. Everywhere the chiefs came to him of their own accord and paid tribute in cash, cannon, horses, and elephants. The Maharajah arrived at Patiala, where the chiefs of Malwa waited on him. The only exception was Sahib Singh of Patiala, who had second thoughts about the wisdom of having invited Ra.njit's mediation and, not knowing what to do in the simation, simply locked himself up in his fort. A few rounds of cannon fire reminded him of his duties as a host and he too came out to 7 On Cornwallis' death, Barlow, who succeeded him temporarily, fo(. lowed the same policy.