Mul Raj was governor or Diwan of Multan, a Sikh city that had fallen under British rule in 1846 after the 1st Anglo-Sikh War (1845-1846). In a dispute over taxation the British ordered his replacement by Sikh Governor Sirdar Khan Singh, and a British political agent, Lieutenant Patrick Vans Agnew. Agnew (1822-1848), an East India Company official, was sent to Multan in April 1848 to oversee the transfer of governorship to Singh. However, when Agnew arrived at Multan he and his associate, Lieutenant William Anderson, were murdered by an angry mob. Agnew’s corpse was decapitated and his head returned to the British by Multan’s rebellious governor Mul Raj. Although it is unlikely that Mul Raj ordered the murders, because of them he was forced into open rebellion, so beginning the 2nd Sikh War.
Patrick Vans Agnew Ferezopore 1848
In late November 1848 a British force under General Whish marched on Multan. His army was accompanied by 150 artillery pieces, many of which were heavy guns or mortars. These were used to create breaches in the city walls. On December 27 the British attacked and after heavy fighting Multan was finally secured by January 22, 1849. Mul Raj was captured and although spared execution was sentenced to life imprisonment.
It was during his incarceration that Surgeon John McCosh (1805-1885) photographed him and this probably accounts for his sombre expression. Surgeon McCosh had also photographed Lt Agnew in Ferezopore in 1848 before he left for his posting at Lahore on March 31, 1848, little knowing the grim fate that awaited him.