This book examines the Punjab's return to empire in the mid-nineteenth century: its transition from Sikh monarchical rule to British colonial rule. Following brief analyses of the ecology and social structure of the region and the dynamics of Ranjit Singh's Sikh kingdom, the study explores the changing fortunes of a key social group--the Punjabi chieftain class--through five successive periods: from the death of Ranjit Singh in 1839 to the first Anglo-Sikh war in ...
