Talpur - Second Chauyari

Second Chauyari

The mantle now passed on to his eldest son Mir Noor Mohammad Khan who, following the path of his illustrious uncles and father, continued with the Chauyari form of rule, including his brother Mir Mohammad Naseer and cousins Mir Sobdar Khan and Mir Muhammad Khan in the ruling Council. Mir Noor Mohammad continued to rule judiciously. The British were slowly and gradually gaining influence by fanning discontent within the ranks of the Talpurs and were coming up with a succession of new treaties which were to their advantage alone. There have been attempts by various historians to present the Talpur era as one riddled with differences and consequent incompetence and malfeasance. Nothing could be further from the truth. While there were differences within the ranks they weren't allowed to fester. Attempts were made to resolve and accommodate the just demands. This is apparent from the fact that no Talpur or other Baluch was put to the sword for dissent during the two Chauyaris. There is a website on which some sections of Talpurs and some personalities have been praised to the detriment of others. This is not the right attitude as it is neither accurate nor does it reflect the tolerance practiced by the persons mentioned. The purpose of this site not to gloss over the differences and the drawbacks that were present then but to present them in the proper historical perspective, to see events in light of the times in which they events occurred, not to judge history by today's standards. The British, despite all assurances kept working for their own interests. In 1838 a new agreement was signed which was not at all in the interest of Sindh. Mir Noor Mohammad died in 1841. The rule now passed to Mir Mohammad Naseer Khan. In the same year Sir Charles Napier was sent to Sindh to achieve the ultimate goal of annexation of Sindh to the British Empire. Differences between the Talpurs began to crop up anew and the old grievances came to fore. There were differences between the sons of Mir Noor Mohammad. Mir Sobdar Khan in Hyderabad and Mir Ali Murad in Khairpur failed to realize that the English would eventually not be their friends either. The British presented new terms for a treaty and Mir Naseer Khan was an unwilling signatory as there were many unjust demands. The British wanted Karachi, Thatta and Bakhaar permanently. They wanted the Mint to be closed and no taxation for their traders. They wanted to replace Mir Rustam Khan Talpur with his brother Mir Ali Murad and kept making unjust demands on him. Eastwick says that at one point Mir Rustam was so fed up with their demands that he said he couldn't accept them. After all, he was a Baluch. "A Glance at Sindh Before Napier " by Eastwick presents the true picture of those times. Napier forced Mir Rustam to go to Hyderabad. Mirsahib was old and ailing at that time. The Talpurs and other Baluchs were infuriated at this. To make the matters worse, Napier started his incursion towards Hyderabad to provoke the Baluchs. He confiscated Mir Rutam's possessions on flimsy pretexts in December 1842. Napier continued his provocations by words and deeds. The Baluchs knew for certain that Napier would use the logic of the wolf that is bent upon devouring the sheep and not relent even if all his demands were met. They decided to meet force with force. On 5 February Major Outram's post near Kotri was attacked but he embarked on the steamer and escaped. Napier had camped near Miani and the Baluchs assembled there to fight it out.

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