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 CHAPTER IV

Sketch of the History of the Sikhs and the Sutlej War

At this juncture, when the Sikhs were about to enter into that trial of strength with the English which Ranjít Singh had been so anxious to avoid, it may be as well to give a sketch of their past history.

The Sikhs were only a fraction, though a large fraction, and the leading section, of the races that occupied the Punjab. They can and do include all castes of Hindus; but as regards caste distinctions, they form only one caste, a military brotherhood, with one special aim, the military and political exaltation of the whole body, and one special antipathy — that towards Muhammadans. The peasantry — the Ját Sikhs, who constitute their principal fighting body, both horse and foot, are the best class in the community — are generally dull-witted and simple-minded, not good in the council, but splendid in the battle-field. They have come out in these later days at their very best, are excellent cultivators, contented and prosperous in civil life, and unsurpassed as soldiers in the native ranks of the British army. They were originally organized in a few large confederacies, called Misls, with the head of some particular family