Lord Auckland served as Governor-General of India from 1836 to 1842. The first Anglo-Afghan war, which occurred during his reign, dealt a major blow to British prestige in India. He is noted for his mistakes in the Afghan wars and has been dubbed India's most disastrous Governor-General. This article focuses on Lord Auckland and his reign as Governor-General of India which will be helpful for UPSC exam preparation.

Lord Auckland

Lord Auckland - Background

• Lord Auckland was born on 25th August 1784 in Kent, England.
• He attended Eton and Christ Church, Oxford, and was admitted to the Lincoln's Inn Bar in 1809.
• Lord Auckland was named Governor-General of India in 1836.
• He devoted himself to the improvement of native schools and the expansion of India's commercial economy as a legislator.

Political Events during Lord Auckland

The Durrani Empire

• Formed by Ahmad Shah Abdali, came to an end in 1823 when Dost Mohammad Khan usurped the throne and occupied Kabul and Ghazani.
• Peshawar, on the other hand, had fallen into the hands of Sikhs by that time.
• Maharaja Ranjit Singh's army invaded Peshawar, and Dost Mohammad's forces, led by his son Mohammad Akbar Khan, fought the Sikhs at Jamrud in 1836 but were unable to regain the city.
• Lord Auckland, the Governor-General of British India, was approached by Dost Mohammed, and this was the first sign of British intervention in Afghanistan.
• Dost Mohammad Khan, surrounded by Sikhs and Persians, attempted to seek the British's friendship in order to reclaim Peshawar from the Sikhs.
• The British, on the other hand, were aware of and concerned by the Russian intervention in Persia. The British were concerned that Russia may strike India via Persia and Afghanistan.
• In the years 1722-23, 1796, 1804, and 1826-28, there were four Russo-Persian wars, all of which Russia won. Persia had handed over the regions surrounding the Caspian Sea to Russia, which now held a command.

The Great Game

• The Great Game, the strategic competition and conflict between the British Empire and the Russian Empire for control in Central Asia, began in Afghanistan, which was sandwiched between Russia and British India.
• Fear of a Russian strike, as well as Russia's dominant position in Afghanistan, prompted the British to strive to extend their involvement in Afghanistan.
• Dost Muhammad Khan, on the other hand, desired to reclaim Peshawar from Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Maharaja Ranjit Singh was a British ally.

Treaty of Lahore

• This Anglo-Sikh friendship was founded on the principle of "enemy's enemy is a friend." A combination commanded by Napoleon and Zamanshah was feared to attack France.
• Both parties (British and Sikhs) promised in this pact to not protect each other's enemies and not interfere in each other's affairs.
• This connection continued until Ranjit Singh's death in 1839.
• Lord Auckland's difficulty was that he couldn't afford Dost Mohammad Khan's friendship at the expense of Ranjit Singh. As a result, he had two choices.
• One option was to postpone all plans for Afghanistan. Another option was to attack Afghanistan and drive Dost Mohammad Khan out, as well as create a puppet government in the country to keep Russians and Persians at bay.
• The second alternative was chosen by Lord Auckland.

The First Anglo-Afghan War (1838-1842)

• Britain's repeated attempts to create a puppet administration in Kabul were known as the Great Game.
• Dost Mohammad was ordered by the British to cut all ties with the Iranians and Russians. Shuja Shah was the name of the puppet.
• Shuja Shah was able to regain power from Dost Mohammad Khan with the help of the British and Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1838.
• This was the June 1838 signing of the Tripartite Treaty.

Tripartite Treaty (1838)

• In June 1838, Ranjit Singh, Shah Shuja, and Lord Auckland signed a tripartite treaty. The purpose of this tripartite agreement was to aid each other in times of need. The following were the stipulations of the treaty:
  • The throne will be restored to Shah Shuja.
  • Shah Shuja will be supplied with an army by Sikh troops.
  • With the help of the British, Shah Shuja will define the country's foreign policy.
  • Shah Shuja recognised Ranjit Singh's claim to the right bank of the Indus.
  • Shah Shuja relinquished his claim to Sind.
  • The British would remain in the background.

Outcome of the Anglo-Afghan War

• After some resistance, Dost Mohammed Khan surrendered to the British and Shuja was restored to the throne by the British on August 7, 1839.
• Dost Mohammad Khan was deported as a prisoner to Calcutta.
• But Shah Shuja was a traitor. The Afghanis took Shah Shuja as a betrayer and could not accept Shah Shuja as their ruler. So, Shuja ud-Daula, leading the Afghan awam, sent Shah Shuja to hell on April 5, 1842.
• The killing of Shah Shuja also burst the balloon of British Success, which seemed to be extraordinary initially.
• The Afghanis rose in rebellion and the victims of their wrath were the British Political Agents who were cut into pieces. Many British soldiers were killed in adverse colds.
• Thus, the final outcome of this war was that a humiliating treaty was signed by the British and the British were forced to recognize Dost Mohammad as Emir of Afghanistan.
• Thus, the First Anglo-Afghan War was a stupefied project of Lord Auckland which resulted in the death of thousands of British (Indian) soldiers and the waste of Crores of Rupees.
• The names of the English Commanders murdered during this period were Alexander Burns, Charles Burns, Sir William Macnaughten & General Elphinstone.
• The Afghan Policy of Lord Auckland was criticized and he was replaced by Lord Ellenborough in 1842.
• Lord Ellenborough was a lover of military pomp and to seek an avenge, he ruined Kabul and evacuated Afghanistan.
• Mohammad Akbar, son of Dost Mohammad, secured local control.

Conclusion

Lord Auckland was named Governor-General of India in 1836. John Russell Colvin, his private secretary, attained the position of lieutenant-governor of the North-West Provinces, and his son Auckland Colvin was named after him. He devoted himself to the improvement of native schools and the expansion of India's commercial economy as a legislator. However, in 1838, problems in Afghanistan forced a halt to the project. He was named Baron Eden, of Norwood in the County of Surrey, then Earl of Auckland after a series of successful early operations. The Afghan campaign, on the other hand, was a complete failure. He returned to England the next year after handing over the governor-generalship to Lord Ellenborough.