THE AMBELA EXPEDITION 1863: A MILITARY FAILURE BUT A POLITICAL TRIUMPH; AN APPRAISAL

Abstract

The British annexation of Punjab took place in 1849, however, they had started sending expeditions against the Pukhtun tribes of the Indian North-West Frontier since 1847. Till 1863, they sent not less than twenty successful expeditions against the different tribes of the Frontier. In 1863, the troops engaged in the famous Ambela expedition. The Ambela expedition was directed against the Hindustani Mujahidin rather than the Pukhtun tribe (s), it, nevertheless, sparked a common rising of the people of Buner, Swat, Dir, and other areas against the British. In addition, the participation of the Akhund of Swat turned the expedition into a holy war. This study finds that the Ambela expedition proved a military disaster, badly exposing the military strategy of the troops. The troops, however, were able to win the day through not military might but through political maneuvering.