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organization of the Sikh army with a brief outline of the work of the early Gurus, describing how the army of Ranjit Singh really originated in the 300 horse and 60 artillerymen in the service of Hargobind (1607-1644), who was the first of the Gurus to enter upon a military career. Under Gobind Singh, his grandson, the men were organized inte troops and bands, supplemented by the engagemen) of profes. sional soldiers, who were plentiful in those days; while under Banda Bahadur (1708-1716) the troops were definitely divided into three classes, t12., (1) the true Sikhs who fought for the sake of their faith, (2) the mercenaries, who were secretly maintained by such of the Sikh chiefs as did not wish to place themselves in overt opposition to the Mughal Empe. pur. and (3) the irregulars, who were attracted to outap by the prospect of loot and plunder. By the date of Banda Bahadur's death, the simple Sikh peasant of Hargobind's army had become "a regu. lar, well-equipped soldier of the Khalsa, adept in the use of arms and trained in the methods of guerilla warfare."
In 1748 was founded under Jassa Singh Kalal the Dal Khaled or standing national army, comprising the entire body of fighting Sikhs. The dal was democratic in constitution : for "every Sikh who had acquired some proficiency in the use of arms could get himself enrolled in the national army and fight under the banner of some chief, and he could, if he
o wished, transfer his services from one chief to another." Composed as it was of the forces of vari. ous chiefs, atationed in their respective territories, the dal mustered in force every year at the Dasahra festival. And on special occasions also was summoned by the Akalis or warrior priests in charge of the great temple at Amritsar. The permanence of the dal, however, depended on the spirit of co-operation; and no sooner had the threatened danger to the Sikh religion disappeared with the collapse of the Abdoli monarchy, than fissiparous tendencies be. came evident, and each chief commenced to streng. ther his own resources and establish his own standing army. Side by side with this feudal movement, another important change manifested itself. The fighting men gradually developed into a separate class; the militant Khalsa became a body of professionat soldiers. At the close of the eighteenth century this Khalsa army was composed almost wholly of cavalry: a certain proportion of artillery was maintained, but was not efficient; while the infantry, which was not rated highly, was employed on garri. son and other minor duties. Mr. S. R. Kohli briefly
cribes the weapons and mode of nghting employ ed by this army, their dress and uniform, their drill and discipline. The latter feature was to seek, ite place being supplied by courage and fanatical enthusiasm.
Under Ranjit Singh the character of the Sikh army underwent & radical alteration. The two
branches of the Army, the infantry and artillery, which were despised and even ignored in the eight. eenth century, now " came to be regarded as the mainstay of the military strength of the State." This result was due to the change of public opinion regarding the tactical efficiency of the various arms. The old guerilla warfare and irregular attacks by cavalry, which had proved so successful under men like Sivaji in the Deccan, were observed to be really of less value than steady fire from gun and musket and the general acceptance of this view led inevitably to the disappearance of the feudal levies of the chiefs and their replacement by a stand. ing national army, paid regularly by the State. The growth of the East India Company as a military and political power, and its employment of trained artillery and large bodies of disciplined infantry, were really the predisposing causes of the general abandonment of the old tactics. Marathê chiefs like Sindia and Holkar and Sikh leaders like Ranjit Singh realized quickly that a new era in warfare had dawned, and that no Indian State, with its antique weapons and mothods of warfare, could hope to confront successfully & European power. Mr. Sita Ram Kohli gives an interesting sketch of the growth of the Khalsa army under Ranjit Singh, and in the second part of his monograph discusses the history, organization, strength and efficiency of the Sikh artillery. The result of the policy of the ruler of the Panjab is apparent from certain observations of Sir G. Gough on the Sikh war. "Never did a native army," he wrote, "having so relatively slight an advantage in numbers, fight a battle with the British in which the issue was so doubtful as at Ferozeshah : and if the victory was decisive, opinion remains divided as to what the result might have been, if the Sikh troops had found commanders with sufficient capacity to give their qualities full oppor. tunity."
We shall look forward to the publication of fur. ther instalmente of Mr. Kohli's researches into the records of the Sikh government. The present monograph offers a guarantee that they will be a valuable addition to the history of the period.
S. M. EDWARDES.
THE SAHITYADARPANA OF VISVANATHA (Parichchhe. das I-X), with notes on Parichchhedas, I, II, X, and HISTORY OF ALANKARA LITERATURE, by P. V. KANE, M.A., second edition. Bombay, 1923.
The present edition of this book, which was first published in 1910, contains two important features, which were absent from the first edition, namely (a) an exhaustive history of Alankara literature, and (6) the whole of the text of the Sabityadarpana, in the settlement of which Mr. Kane has collated three manuscripte. Alankara literature is a subject which Mr. Kane has made peculiarly his own, past issues of this Journal will show, and in this work ho
