L - Gurmat Veechar

FOREWORD
In tenns of its literary value, Shah Mohammed's jangnamah
may not be all that notable. But, in tenns of its social and cultural
significance, it is unsurpassed. Three things combine to make
it exceptionally significant.
One, the poem was written after the ftrst Anglo-Sikh War.
In other words, the second such war which was to lead to the
annexation of the Punjab by the East India Company had yet
to take place. That important developments, social as well as
political, began to occur even in the wake of the ftrst Anglo Sikh
War, becomes evident from a close reading of the poem. To quote
the translator, "AII wealth is today garnered by the sons of
moneylenders and gumashtas in the main. II In other words, a
class of commercial entrepreneurs came into existence as soon
as that war was over and the British settled down to appropriate
Ranjit Singh's empire. It was this very class which was to rise
into prominence during the later years. But then, the author was
obviously not in a position to foresee what would happen later.
However, what he observed with his own eyes is referred to by
him. Taking into account the later history of the state of Punjab,
one cannot but admire the incisiveness of the poet in noting what
would not have been noted by those who were not so observant.
The second thing that stands out (and it has been underlined
by Nijhawan) is Shah Mohammed's complete and unconditional
identiftcation with the Khalsa Darbar. Even six years after the
death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, his loyalty to the regime
established by him had not diminished in any way. If anything,
he laments the cracks that had appeared in the structure built
by Ranjit Singh. He talks of the various intrigues that were taking
place and does so with a feeling of deep regret. Instead of
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