Maharaja Sher Singh assassinated; Duleep Singh made Maharaja

Who: Maharaja Sher Singh and his young son Kanwar Partap Singh; the Sandhanwalia sardars Ajit Singh and Lehna (Lahina) Singh; Raja Dhian Singh Dogra, the chief minister; Dhian Singh's son Hira Singh and his uncle Suchet Singh; the army panches and General Avitabile; and Duleep Singh, aged five, with his mother Maharani Jind Kaur.

What: On 15 September 1843 Sher Singh rode out to a parade near the Shah Bilawal garden, a couple of miles from Lahore, to inspect the troops of Ajit Singh Sandhanwalia. The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism says Ajit Singh pretended to hand him an English rifle, shot him, and cut off his head; Khushwant Singh adds that the Maharaja was reaching for the weapon. Lehna Singh killed Partap Singh in a garden nearby. The Sandhanwalias rode to the Fort, lured Dhian Singh inside and Ajit Singh shot him dead. Hira Singh and Suchet Singh then turned the army against them. Khushwant Singh writes that the army panches resolved to take the city under their protection and chose Hira Singh as their leader. The Fort was surrounded that evening and bombarded, and next morning Nihang troops stormed in. Ajit Singh and Lehna Singh were killed. Duleep Singh was then proclaimed Maharaja, with Hira Singh as wazir and his mother as regent. The Encyclopaedia dates the proclamation to 16 September in one entry and 18 September in another.

Where: The Shah Bilawal baradari and parade ground outside Lahore, and the Lahore Fort.

Why it mattered: Sher Singh's reign, from 20 January 1841, about two years and eight months, ended, and the Maharaja's chair passed to a child. Khushwant Singh writes that the courtiers were soon puppets controlled by the army panches, whose chief concerns were their pay and British designs on the Punjab. He also records that Punjabis believed the British were behind the killing, that a month earlier the Governor-General had written that the affairs of the Punjab would be settled by Sher Singh's death, and that the Calcutta press admitted there was no proof of Company involvement. Jind Kaur acted as regent until the Treaty of Bhairowal removed her in December 1846.