Q. Regarding the Tripartite Treaty of 1838, consider the following statements:
1.The treaty was a convention between the British, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, and the exiled Afghan ruler Shah Shuja, which significantly undermined the sovereignty of the Amirs of Sindh.
2.It stipulated that the Amirs must pay a tribute to Shah Shuja to settle his old sovereign claims, with the final amount to be determined solely by British mediation.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer: C
Notes:
Explanation:
Statement 1: Correct. The Tripartite Treaty was signed in June 1838. Although the treaty deeply affected Sindh, the Amirs were not even a party to the negotiations. It established that the British would mediate between Ranjit Singh and the Amirs.
Statement 2: Correct. The treaty forced the Amirs to pay a large sum of money (tribute) to Shah Shuja, who had long-standing (but largely ignored) claims over Sindh. The British reserved the right to decide exactly how much the Amirs should pay, effectively using this as a fund for their military campaign in Afghanistan.
