Fall of the Mughal Empire v1.c15.s4.8

v1.c15.s4.8

Thus the threat of civil war in Lahor was ended and unity of command was seemingly restored to the government of the province. But the Panjab is not a country to be ruled by a woman acting for an infant in arms. If we can believe the evidence of the son of the man whom she murdered, the widow lost her character and indulged in foolish pranks. (Ghulām Ali’s *Shah Alam-namah*, 26.) “Owing to the widow regent’s simplicity each officer represented affairs to her in a different way. Eunuchs and slaves ruled the State. The peasants were ruined worse than before. The administration fell into disorder and decay. And the number of the Sikhs increased in consequence.” (*Siyar*, iii. 51.) The infant *subahdar* died in May 1754, displaying the same symptoms of poisoning as his father. And then nothing could prevent utter confusion from bursting upon the Panjab administration and ruin from overwhelming the life and property of the people.