The Irishman Who Served Kangra - Thoughts on Militaristic Influences of European Mercenaries

Sansar Chand With O'Brien (Source: Chandigarh Museum and Art Gallery)

Going through some Kangra paintings, I was a little surprised to see a man dressed like a British soldier serving the great monarch of Kangra Maharaja Sansar Chand Katoch. This was quite surprising, given the period’s turbulence and the ongoing tussles of the Lahore Darbar, to which he was also a feudatory, and the British East India Company (EIC). The painting, on prominent display in the Chandigarh Museum and Art Gallery, actually turned up in my searches as a result of their official handle’s tweet that mentioned briefly his contribution (on a side note, do follow for some wonderful material they tweet out time to time). 

'Sansar Chand and O'Brien',Kangra,c.1810(240) O’Brien was described as “a European adventurer...who established a factory of small arms and raised a disciplined force of 1400 men” for the raja #kangra #portrait #painting #pahari #arthistory #indianart #history #royalty #museumchd pic.twitter.com/AVaFF3IJHD

— GovtMuseumChandigarh (@museumchd) March 27, 2019

As I started to look into this subject, I stumbled upon references recalling the presence of Irish soldier renegades in the Kangra valley. A fascinating story of a man named Henry O’Brien turned up in a book written around 1929 about the adventures of Europeans in Northern India – 1785 to 1849 – that talks about O’Brien. It recalls a letter by the Political Agent in Ludhiana in 1814, Colonel Ochterlony to the British government of the time (one must remember that this British government was actually the EIC government). This letter holds significance as it was a run-up to the impending battle with Nepal, who had reached the boundaries of Kangra valley and had even besieged theKangra fort once under the leadership of Amar Singh Thapa, during the rule of Maharaja Sansar Chand. The message, short and crisp, refers to collating troops from all sources possible for the impending battle, and mentions the following:

3^rd June 1814. Sansar Chand has a considerable body of troops commanded by a deserter who now calls himself O’Brien, but was enlisted under another name I cannot at this moment recall, but is well known in the 8^th or 24^th Dragoons, and in his new capacity, professes to be very anxious to serve his country.

The book goes on to recall another traveler’s account of 1820, mentioning the significant role being played by O’Brien, and the circumstances that led to him becoming part of Sansar Chand’s forces. As per this account, the Irishman O’Brien had gone on guard without some of his paraphernalia, which was frowned upon by his officer in command. Upon reprimand, O’Brien actually butted the officer with his gun and ran off on his horse, and wandered for a while, fearing retribution from the army, before he ended up in the service of Sansar Chand.

Interestingly, O’Brien was made in charge of a factory of small arms, and had also managed and disciplined a force of 1,400 men who were under his command. Him and another foreigner, who went by the name of James, were in charge of the gunnery and artillery, and thanks to their skills and efforts, Sansar Chand’s army had obtained a certain degree of fame in the Punjab hill plains. That it was famous can be easily seen by the fact that Maharaja Ranjit Singh depended on Sansar Chand’s army for his campaign on Kahlur (today’s Bilaspur).

 In fact, the Britishers were keener to obtain help from Sansar Chand than the Lahore durbar itself, given the fame of its gunnery and artillery, which stoked displeasure from Maharaja Ranjit Singh. A key reason for seeking the help of course was the proximity to the battles that were taking place within the reach of Sujanpur, Sansar Chand’s capital. It is interesting to note how both Sansar Chand and O’Brien, despite volumes of correspondence promising support, continued to sit on the fence with respect to the EIC requirements, as the EIC troops had at one point stood in a precarious situation and were suffering some losses at the hands of the Gurkhas during the war that was in full flow by that time. This had certainly frustrated the EIC, for they viewed this as a game of double cross being played by the various sections against them.

What is fascinating to note is this interesting point that has been seen around the time – European renegades were being employed by kings across India as they were already becoming aware of the more modern military methods being deployed by the European colonialist forces in India. Not only that, we also see an interesting degree of technology transfer taking place rather fast, showing the skill levels of the Indian smiths of the time. This is a story that does not get appreciated enough. Army modernization strategies in terms of techniques, weaponry and tactics were responsible for the rise of the likes of Mahadji Shinde and then Yeshwant Rao Holkar among others, who understood the significance of a leaner force with more advanced artillery. It is worth appreciating that within a decade of the entry of the Company guns on the Indian battle scene, these designs and improvements percolated fast into the hands of the Indians. Hence, better artillery cannot be identified as the sole reason for the eventual British domination within India; of course, that is a topic for another day.