Angrez Darra-e-Bolan mein: Pehli Afghan Jang (1839)

Atemad E-Magazine 20 October 2026 · 14 minute ka mutalia

Pichhle baab mein hum ne dekha ke Lasbela, Kharan aur Makuran ki riyasaten Kalat ke gird kis tarah apni apni jagah qaim thin. Is baab se hamari kahani ka chautha hissa, "British daur", shuru hota hai. 1839 ke mausam-e-bahar mein East India Company ki ek bari fauj Sindh se Kachhi ke maidan mein dakhil hui, Darra-e-Bolan se guzri aur Quetta ja pahunchi. Manzil Afghanistan thi, magar is guzargah ne Angrezon aur khanit-e-Kalat ko aamne saamne la khara kiya. Angrez afsaron ke bayanat aur Kalat ke nuqta-e-nazar ki tehqeeq ko hum alag alag rakhenge.

Angrez Afghanistan kyon gaye?

British Hind ko Russia ke Afghanistan ki taraf barhne ka khadsha tha; isi raqabat ko baad mein "Great Game" kaha gaya. Library of Congress ki "Country Study" ke mutabiq Kabul ke ameer Dost Muhammad Khan British madad na milne par Russia ki taraf mail hue. Jawab mein Governor General Lord Auckland (Lord Auckland) ne yakum October 1838 ko "Simla Manifesto" (Simla Manifesto) jari kiya, jis ke mutabiq maghribi sarhad ki hifazat ke liye Kabul mein qabil-e-aitmad halif zaroori tha, is liye muazzul badshah Shah Shuja-ul-Mulk ko takht par wapas bithaya jana tha. John Kaye (John William Kaye) ne apni "History of the War in Afghanistan" mein, aur William Dalrymple (William Dalrymple) ne 2013 ki kitab "Return of a King" mein, is mansube aur uske jawaz par sakht tanqeed ki hai.

Is se pehle June 1838 mein Lahore mein ek "seh fareeqi muahida" (Tripartite Treaty) hua tha jis ke fareeq Angrez, Sikh Maharaja Ranjit Singh aur Shah Shuja the. Punjabi University ke "Encyclopaedia of Sikhism" ke mutabiq Ranjit Singh ne is par 26 June 1838 ko dastakhat kiye; Shah Shuja ne Peshawar, Kashmir aur Multan samet in ilaqon se dastbardari qubool ki jo Sikh pehle hi le chuke the, aur apni kharija policy Angrezon ke mashware se chalane par aamada hue.

"Army of the Indus": Shikarpur se Kachhi tak

Is muhim ke liye jo fauj bani ose "Army of the Indus" (Army of the Indus) ka naam diya gaya. Archibald Forbes (Archibald Forbes) ki 1892 ki kitab "The Afghan Wars" ke mutabiq iska Bengal dasta Sir Willoughby Cotton (Sir Willoughby Cotton) ki kamaan mein 10 December 1838 ko Ferozepore se rawana hua, aur is mein taqriban sarhe nau hazar larne wale sipahi the. John Kaye (Kaye) ki "History of the War in Afghanistan" ke mutabiq is fauj ke sath artees hazar camp ke sathi aur taqriban tees hazar unt bhi the. Dalrymple ke adad, jaisa ke "Friday Times" ne naqal kiye, mukhtalif hain: ek hazar European, Company ke chaudah hazar sipahi aur Shah Shuja ke chhe hazar be-qaida jangju. Is safar ke chashm deed ahwal Cotton ke ADC Henry Havelock (Henry Havelock, 1840), William Hough (William Hough, 1841) aur James Outram (James Outram, 1840) ne likhe.

"FIBIS" (FIBIS) ke safari jadwal ke mutabiq Bengal dasta 16 se 20 February 1839 tak Shikarpur mein raha aur 23 February ko aage barha. Yahan se rasta Kachhi ke maidan se ho kar Darra-e-Bolan ke dahane par waqe Dadar tak jata tha. 1907 ke Kachhi Gazetteer mein Bhag aur Dadar donon Kachhi ki alag "niabaton" ke taur par darj hain; Burnes ki reporton ki fehristi tafseel bhi is raste ko Khan ka ilaqa manti hai.

Dadar aur Darra-e-Bolan: tarikhen aur mushkilat

Tarikhen makhaz mein mukhtalif hain. India Office ke akhbari tarashon ke ek album ke mutabiq fauj 6 March ko Dadar pahunchi; Forbes likhte hain ke Cotton ne 10 March ko Dadar chhora; jabke FIBIS ka jadwal 14 March ko Dadar aur 16 March ko darre mein dikhata hai. Queens Regiment aur Bengal Light Cavalry ki regimental tarikhen darre mein dakhile ki tarikh 15 March deti hain. Quetta pahunchne ki tarikh Forbes ke han 26 March 1839 hai.

Isi tarashe ke mutabiq Dadar pahunchne tak ghalla itna kam ho chuka tha ke camp ke sathiyon ko aadha ration diya jane laga; tarasha darre ko taqriban saath meel lamba, pecheedar aur aisa rasta batata hai jahan na chara tha na pani. Is mein naqal kiye gaye Kaye ke ek iqtebas mein barbardari ke maweshi raste mein marte dikhaye gaye hain. Forbes ke baqaul Cotton ne Dadar se nikalte waqt janwaron par taqriban ek mahine ka adhura ration lad rakha tha. Tarashe ke mutabiq darre mein qabaili hamla aawar dak rokte, pichhe reh jane walon ko qatl karte aur saman aur maweshi le jate the.

Burnes aur Mir Mehrab Khan

1907 ke Sarawan Gazetteer ke mutabiq 1838 mein Lieutenant Leech (Leech) Kalat ke hukmran Mir Mehrab Khan ki khair sigali hasil karne Kalat gaye, kyonke fauj ko un ke ilaqe se guzarna tha; is daure se kuch hasil na hua, aur baad mein Quetta se Sir Alexander Burnes (Sir Alexander Burnes) Kalat bheje gaye.

British Library mein mehfooz Burnes ki reporton (India Office Records, 2 March ta 20 April 1839) ki fehristi tafseel ke mutabiq Burnes chahte the ke Khan Shikarpur se aane wali rasad ki hifazat karen aur Darra-e-Bolan mein fauj ko muhafiz den, aur is ke badle derh lakh rupay diye jayen. Abdul Basit Khan aur Ayaz Muhammad (2018) bhi, Mir Ahmad Yar Khan ke hawale se, derh lakh hi likhte hain, aur Rawalpindi ke Army Institute of Military History ke ek mazmoon mein di gayi pandrah hazar pound ki raqam is zamane ki sharh-e-mubadila par taqriban itni hi banti hai. Asal mukhtalif adad Iranica ka hai, jo Aitchison (jild 11, s 209) ke hawale se pandrah hazar rupay aur rasad ki qeemat likhti hai. Inhi reporton ke mutabiq Khan Shah Shuja se wafadari zahir karte magar gomgo mein the; unhen is muhim ki kamyabi par shak tha, aur woh Barakzai khandan, maqami abadi, Iran aur Russia ke radd-e-amal se khaif the.

Aitchison (C. U. Aitchison) ke "Majmua-e-Muahidat" ke mutabiq 12 Muharram 1255 Hijri, yaani taqriban 28 March 1839 ko, Kalat mein Burnes aur Khan ne ek muahide par dastakhat kiye jis ki tauseeq Governor General ko karni thi. Is ki tamheed mein Shah Shuja aur British hukumat ki dosti ka zikr hai aur yeh ke Khan ke aaba Sadozai shahi khandan ki itaat karte aaye the; pehli shiq Khan ke apne mulk par huqooq tasleem karti hai aur doosri ke mutabiq Angrez Khan aur un ki raaya ke darmiyan mudakhlat nahin karenge.

Ilzam: British bayan

British Library ki isi file ki tafseel ke mutabiq Burnes ne ilzam lagaya ke Khan khufia taur par Kandahar se rabte mein hain aur un ke ilaqe mein fauj ki loot mar ke bare hisse ke zimmedar hain; aur Burnes aur William Macnaghten (William Macnaghten) ne Khan ko is "doghle pan" ki saza dene aur bil akhir muazzul karne ke iqdamat par ittefaq kiya. Baad mein 4 December 1839 ke Governor General ke elan mein, jo "London Gazette" mein chhapa, kaha gaya ke Bolan ke ilaqe mein hamle karne wale qabail Mir Mehrab Khan ke uksane par aisa kar rahe the, jabke Khan dosti ka daawa karte the.

Kalat ka bayan: wazir ka kirdar

Khud British daur ka Gazetteer is ilzam ko ek aur rukh deta hai. 1908 ka Imperial Gazetteer mukhtasaran likhta hai ke Mulla Muhammad Hasan aur Syed Muhammad Sharif ne Macnaghten aur Burnes ko dhoka diya. Tafseel 1907 ke Sarawan Gazetteer (s 31 ta 33) mein hai. Is ke mutabiq Khan ne nichle tabqe ke Daud Muhammad ko morusi wazir Fateh Muhammad par tarjeeh di thi; taqriban 1833 mein Fateh Muhammad ke bete Mulla Muhammad Hasan ne Daud Muhammad ko qatl kiya aur wazir bane, magar apne walid ka badla lena chahte the. (Hunter ke Gazetteer aur 1840 ke London Gazette mein yahi wazir "Muhammad Hussain" ke naam se aata hai; donon naam ek hi shakhs ke hain.) Gazetteer ke baqaul Leech ke daure ki nakami ke pichhe bhi yahi wazir the, aur unhon ne yeh taasur phailaya ke Khan ne fauj ke liye jama kiya gaya ghalla zabt kar ke zaya kar diya hai. Woh khud Khan ke elchi ban kar Kachhi mein Bhag ke maqam par Macnaghten se mile, Angrezon ke samne apne aaqa ko badniyat bataya, aur Kalat laut kar Khan se kaha ke Angrez unhen barbad karne par tule hain. Khan ki mohar un ke pas thi, aur Gazetteer ke mutabiq unhon ne Khan ke ilm ke baghair yeh mohar lutere qabail ke sardaron ke naam aise khuton par lagayi jin mein fauj ki rasad ko tang karne ka kaha gaya tha; in mein se bahut se khat Sindh ke Political Agent Ross Bell (Ross Bell) ke hath lage aur Khan ke khilaf qatai suboot maan liye gaye. Burnes ke sath muahide ke baad tay hua ke Khan Quetta ja kar Shah Shuja ko salam karenge, magar Khan ko yaqeen dilaya gaya ke Quetta mein unhen qaid kar liya jayega, aur raste mein Burnes ko loot kar raqam ke sath Khan ka dastakhat shuda musawwada bhi chheen liya gaya; is wardat ko Khan ka kaam zahir kiya gaya.

Muhammad Naeem aur Nasreen Afzal Qurtuba University ke majalle "The Dialogue" mein likhte hain ke British hukumat ne Mir Mehrab Khan par ghaddari ka jhuta ilzam lagaya, aur Mulla Muhammad Hasan ne shahi moharon se Khan ke naam jaali khutoot likhwa kar fauj par banawati hamle karwaye. Abdul Basit Khan aur Ayaz Muhammad (2018) ke mutabiq Angrezon ne Kalat par hamle ke liye Khan ki "ghaddari" ko bahana banaya. Kalat ke sabiq wazir-e-darbar Mir Naseer Khan Ahmedzai ki tareekh par "Dawn" ke tabsire ke mutabiq un ke han Khan ek ishtial angez British khat ke bawajood pur-aman rahe.

Quetta se fauj Kandahar ki taraf barhi, aur Quetta Pishin Gazetteer ke mutabiq Captain Bean (Bean) Shah Shuja ki taraf se Quetta ke Political Agent muqarrar hue.

Agle itwar: Kalat ka suqoot aur Mir Mehrab Khan (1839).

Makhaz

John William Kaye, History of the War in Afghanistan, 3 vols., third edition, W. H. Allen, London, 1874 (vol. I: the Simla Manifesto and its critique; Burnes's mission to Kalat; Book III, ch. I: the Bengal army left Ferozepore on 10 December, "about 9500 men and 38,000 camp-followers. Some 30,000 camels accompanied the army"; quoted in a contemporary cutting on the baggage cattle dying in the Bolan). Project Gutenberg ebook 48083: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/48083/48083-h/48083-h.htm · 1851 edition scan: https://archive.org/details/historywarinafg01kayegoog
William Dalrymple, Return of a King: The Battle for Afghanistan, 1839–42, Bloomsbury, London, 2013 (criticism of the restoration plan; strength of the force, as quoted in item 15). Review: https://defencejournal.com/2013/09/10/return-of-a-king-the-battle-for-afghanistan-1839-42 (print)
C. U. Aitchison (comp.), A Collection of Treaties, Engagements and Sanads relating to India and Neighbouring Countries, vol. XI (Khelat section: agreement with Mehrab Khan, Kalat, 12 Muharram 1255, preamble and Articles 1–2, ratification by the Governor-General; the Tripartite Treaty in the Afghanistan section). QDL scans: https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023462215.0x0000aa · https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023462215.0x0000c3 · https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023947391.0x000017
Imperial Gazetteer of India, Provincial Series: Baluchistan, Superintendent of Government Printing, Calcutta, 1908, Kalat history section (short statement that Mulla Muhammad Hasan and Saiyid Muhammad Sharif deceived Macnaghten and Burnes). https://archive.org/details/ImperialGazetteerOfIndiaBaluchistan
British Library, India Office Records, IOR/L/PS/5/375, ff. 113–142, Burnes's reports on negotiations with the Khan of Kelat, 2 March–20 April 1839 (help for supplies through Shikarpur and a guard through the Bolan for 1.5 lakh rupees; the Khan's doubts and fears of the Barakzais, Persia and Russia; Burnes's allegations of correspondence with Kandahar and of plundering; agreement with Macnaghten on measures to dethrone him). Catalogue: https://searcharchives.bl.uk/catalog/041-003695786 · https://searcharchives.bl.uk/catalog/040-002311305
The London Gazette, issue 19825, p. 297, notification by the Governor-General of India, Camp Deothanee, 4 December 1839 (tribes near the Bolan acting "at the instigation" of Meer Mehrab Khan). https://thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/19825/page/297/data.pdf
Scrapbook of newspaper cuttings about Afghanistan, India Office Records, f. 17r and f. 22v (Dadur reached 6 March; camp followers on half rations; length and condition of the pass; raids on couriers, stragglers and baggage; extract from Kaye). Qatar Digital Library: https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100024093679.0x000023 · https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100024093679.0x00002e
Archibald Forbes, The Afghan Wars 1839–42 and 1878–80, Seeley, London, 1892, chapter II, "The March to Cabul" (Bengal column from Ferozepore 10 December 1838; "about 9500 fighting men", no camel or follower figures; left Dadur 10 March with a month's partial food; Quetta 26 March). https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/8428 · chapter text: https://www.historion.iovan.net/afghan-wars-1839-42-and-1878-80/chapter-ii-march-cabul
Henry Havelock, Narrative of the War in Affghanistan in 1838–39, 2 vols., Henry Colburn, London, 1840 (author as Cotton's aide-de-camp). https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/afghanuno/150/
William Hough, A Narrative of the March and Operations of the Army of the Indus in the Expedition to Affghanistan in the Years 1838–1839, W. H. Allen, London / Calcutta, 1841 (ch. III, Shikarpoor to Dadur, p. 35; ch. IV, Dadur through the Bolan to Quetta, p. 47; the onward march to Candahar). https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/n/narrative-march-operations-army-indus.html
James Outram, Rough Notes of the Campaign in Sinde and Affghanistan in 1838–39, American Mission Press, Bombay, 1840; J. M. Richardson, London, 1840 (journal of the campaign). https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/afghanuno/164
Baluchistan District Gazetteer Series, vol. VI-A: Kachhi, Times Press, Bombay, 1907 (Bhag and Dadhar niabats; Leech deputed; the Bengal column at Dadhar in March 1839). https://dspace.gipe.ac.in/xmlui/handle/10973/36860 · https://irrigation.sindh.gov.pk/files/Books//137.pdf
Baluchistan District Gazetteer Series, vol. V: Quetta-Pishin, R. Hughes-Buller, 1907 (Captain Bean as political agent at Quetta for Shah Shuja, as summarised by FIBIS). https://dspace.gipe.ac.in/xmlui/handle/10973/36971 · summary: https://wiki.fibis.org/w/Quetta-Pishin_District
"Tripartite Treaty (June 1838)", The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism, Punjabi University, Patiala (Ranjit Singh's signature 26 June 1838; Shah Shuja's renunciations; foreign relations through the British). https://eos.learnpunjabi.org/TRIPARTITE%20TREATY%20(JUNE%201838).html
"From Humayun's Exile To British Cantonment: A Historical Overview Of Quetta", The Friday Times, 11 July 2025 (Dalrymple's figures for the force). https://www.thefridaytimes.com/11-Jul-2025/from-humayun-s-exile-to-british-cantonment-a-historical-overview-of-quetta
Library of Congress, Federal Research Division, Afghanistan: A Country Study, "The First Anglo-Afghan War" (Dost Muhammad's turn towards Russia; the Simla Manifesto). https://countrystudies.us/afghanistan/13.htm
Families in British India Society (FIBIS) wiki, "Invasion of the HEIC Army" (itinerary: Shikarpur 16–20 February, departure 23 February, Dadur 14 March, Bolan 16 March) (pointer). https://wiki.fibis.org/w/Invasion_of_the_HEIC_Army
Regimental histories: "The Queen's in Afghanistan", Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment Museum (entry into the pass 15 March), https://queensroyalsurreys.org.uk/reg_in_india/india13_1.shtml · "2nd Bengal Light Cavalry: the Bolan Pass", britishempire.co.uk, https://www.britishempire.co.uk/forces/2blcbolanpass.htm
Army Institute of Military History, "1st Anglo-Afghan War 1839–1842", Rawalpindi, 2025 (safe passage for 15,000; Mehrab Khan unable to protect the army from tribal raiders). https://aimh.gov.pk/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/4-1st-Anglo-Afghan-War-1839-1842.pdf
Muhammad Naeem and Nasreen Afzal, "The British Occupation of Kalat: A Critical Appraisal of the Establishment of British Rule in Baluchistan", The Dialogue, Qurtuba University (Mehrab Khan "falsely accused"; forged letters under the royal seals). https://journals.qurtuba.edu.pk/ojs/index.php/thedialogue/article/view/86126
Abdul Basit Khan and Ayaz Muhammad, "Evolution of the Baloch Nationalism (Origin to 1947): A Historical Discourse", Journal of the Research Society of Pakistan 55/1 (January–June 2018) (the Khan's alleged betrayal as pretext; the 1.5 lakh rupees, citing Ahmad Yar Khan 1975). https://pu.edu.pk/images/journal/history/PDF-FILES/1_55_1_18.pdf
Review of Mir Naseer Khan Ahmedzai Kambarani Baloch, A History of the Baloch and Balochistan, Oxford University Press, Karachi, Dawn (Books and Authors) (the Khan silent and peaceful despite a provocative British letter; author as former Vizier-e-Durbar of Kalat). https://www.dawn.com/news/1820156 · publisher: https://oup.com.pk/a-history-of-the-baloch-and-balochistan.html
Baluchistan District Gazetteer Series, vol. VI: Sarawan, Times Press, Bombay, 1907, History, pp. 31–33 (Daud Muhammad, Fateh Muhammad and Mulla Muhammad Hasan, "about 1833"; Leech's visit in 1838; the grain; Muhammad Hasan meets Macnaghten at Bhag; the Khan's seal affixed to letters to predatory chiefs, many of which "fell into the hands of Mr. Ross Bell, the Political Agent in Sind"; Burnes deputed from Quetta with Saiad Muhammad Sharif; treaty signed; Burnes waylaid and robbed of money and the signed draft). https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.22668
Brian Spooner, "Baluchistan i. Geography, History and Ethnography", Encyclopaedia Iranica (the Khan to receive "Rs 15,000 in addition to the cost of provisions (Aitchison, XI, p. 209)"). https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/baluchistan-i/

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