6_Glorious_Epochs_of_Indian_History

6tH GLORIOUS EPOCH 457
With the short exception of those with the Mysore State of
Haidar and Tipu, ail the wars, which the English fought for
the sovereignty over India, had to be necessarily fought with
the Hindus alone. This clearly shows that the Hindus had
practically destroyed the political power oft he Muslims and
had snatched the imperial authority. Another equally
important point to be remembered is that the English, too,
had maintained the nominal dignity of the puppet Moghal
Emperor for fifty years after they had established their de
facto sovereign power over India in the very same manner
as the Marathas had, as a political expedient of the time
kept on recognizing the same 'king of shreds and patches' as
the 'Emperor of India'.
1098. It again exposes the snobbery and ignorance of
the Anglicized people who ridicule the Marathas for this
•'political expedient' of theirs, of a nominal recognition of the
Moghal Emperor. For the English, too, found the same
political expedient useful to them. These Anglicized people
however do not criuicize the English for this same 'weakness'
of theirs I
THE ANGLO-SIKH WARS
1099, No sooner did the English destroy the sovereign
Maratha power over India in A.D. 1818 and no sooner did
they force the rest of the Maratha states to accept their
overlordship than they had to cross swords with another
new-born Hindu power. That Hindu power was the great
kingdom of Maharaja Eanjitsing which rose to prominence
after 1818. It was after the death of Maharaja Ranjitsing
that the English took the field against the combined Hindu
might of the Sikhs, the Jats and the Dogras spread far and
•wide from the river Kabul to the river Shatadru (Sutlej) and
to the north upto Kashmir and Ladakh. In the end the
English were successful and the English sovereignty was
established from the Punjab to Kashmir round about
A.D. 1850«.