First Anglo-Sikh War

Background and causes of the war
The Sikh kingdom of Punjab was expanded and consolidated by Maharaj Ranjit Singh during the early years of the nineteenth century, about the same time as the British-controlled territories were advanced by conquest or annexation to the borders of the Punjab. Ranjit Singh maintained a policy of wary friendship with the British, while at the same time building up his military forces to deter aggression both by the British and by the Afghans under Dost Mohammed Khan. He hired American and European mercenary soldiers to train his artillery, and also incorporated contingents of Hindus and subjugated Muslims into his army.

[edit] Events in the Punjab
Ranjit Singh died in 1839. Almost immediately, his kingdom fell into disorder. Ranjit's unpopular legitimate son, Kharak Singh, was removed from power within a few months, and later died in prison under mysterious circumstances. It was believed that he was murdered. He was replaced by his able but estranged son Kanwar Nau Nihal Singh, who also died within a few months in suspicious circumstances - crushed by a falling archway at the Lahore Fort while returning from his father's, Kharak Singh's, cremation. [1] There were at the time two major factions within the Punjab contending for power and influence, the Sikh Sindhanwalias and the Hindu Dogras. The Dogras succeeded in raising an illegitimate son of Ranjit Singh, Sher Singh, to the throne in January 1841. The most prominent Sindhanwalias took refuge on British territory, but had many adherents among the Army of the Punjab.
The army was expanding rapidly in the aftermath of Ranjit Singh's death, as landlords and their retainers took up arms. It now claimed itself to be the Khalsa, or embodiment of the Sikh nation. Its regimental panchayats (committees) formed an alternate power source within the kingdom, declaring that Guru Gobind Singh's ideal of the Sikh commonwealth had been revived, with the Sarbatt Khalsa or the Sikh as a whole assuming all executive, military and civil authority in the State. [2]. Whilst the British decried this as a "... dangerous military democracy ...". British representatives and visitors in the Punjab described the regiments as preserving "puritanical" order internally, but also as being in a perpetual state of mutiny or rebellion against the central Darbar (Court). In one notorious instance of unrest, Sikh soldiers ran riot, looking for anyone who looked as if they could speak Persian (the language used by the clerks who administered the Khalsa's finances) and putting them to the sword.
Maharajah Sher Singh was unable to meet the pay demands of the Khalsa, although he reportedly lavished funds on a degenerate court. In September 1843 he was murdered by his cousin, an officer of the Khalsa, Ajit Singh Sindhanwalia. The Dogras took their revenge on those responsible, and Jind Kaur, Ranjit Singh's youngest widow, became Regent for her infant son Duleep Singh. After the Vizier Hira Singh was killed attempting to flee the capital with loot from the Royal Treasury, Toshkana, by troops under Sham Singh Attariwala [3], Jind Kaur's brother Jawahir Singh became Vizier in December 1844. He apparently spent his term of office in a state of terror, trying to bribe the Khalsa with promises of treasure which could not be met. At an army parade in September 1845, he was butchered to death in the presence of Jind Kaur and Duleep Singh. [1]
The Khalsa nevertheless did not take over the kingdom at this point. Although Jind Kaur publicly vowed revenge against her brother's killers [1], she remained Regent. Lal Singh (reportedly the lover of Jind Kaur) became Vizier, and Tej Singh became commander of the army. Sikh historians have stressed that both these men were prominent in the Dogra faction. Originally high-caste Hindus from outside the Punjab, both had converted to Sikhism in 1818 just like the majority of the Sikhs in Punjab at that time.

[edit] British actions
Meanwhile, immediately after the death of Ranjit Singh, the British East India Company had begun increasing its military strength.
The actions and attitudes of the British, under Governor-Generals Lord Ellenborough and his successor, Sir Henry Hardinge, are disputed. By most British accounts, the main concern was that the Khalsa, now without strong leadership to restrain them, was a serious threat to British territories along the border. It was well known that the Khalsa had been asking Ranjit Singh for an opportunity to engage the British Army ever since their expansion had reached the borders of the Punjab.[citation needed] Sikh and Indian historians have countered that the military preparations made by these Governor-Generals were offensive in nature; for example, they prepared bridging trains and siege gun batteries, which would be unlikely to be required in a purely defensive operation.[2].
The British attitudes were affected by reports from their new Political Agent in the frontier districts, Major George Broadfoot, who stressed the disorder in the Punjab and recounted every tale of corrupt behaviour at the court. For some British officials, there was a strong desire to expand British influence and control into the Punjab, as it was the only remaining formidable force that could threaten the British hold in India and the last remaining independent kingdom not under British influence. The kingdom was also renowned for being the wealthiest, the Koh-i-noor being one of its many treasures. Despite this, it is unlikely that the British East India Company would have deliberately attempted to annex the Punjab had the war not occurred, as they simply did not have the manpower or resources to keep a hold on the territories (as proven by the outbreak of the Second Anglo-Sikh War).
Nevertheless, the unconcealed and seemingly aggressive British military build-up at the borders had the effect of increasing tension within the Punjab and the Khalsa. It is also equally well known that the British had been interfering in the intrigues at the Court or Lahore.[c