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When some influential
courtiers of the Maharaja called on Yar Muhammad Khan for a fair deal
for the horse, they were dismayed to hear from him that "Laili was
dead and he had already noised about it all over the region". The
vigilance wing of Maharaja Ranjit Singh was convinced that Yar Muhammad
Khan was telling a lie and the death of Laili was disproved. Maharaja
Ranjit Singh, then, sent an expeditionary force under the command of his
son, Prince Sher Singh and General Ventura, and subsequently obtained
the possession of Laili.
The presence of General Ventura and
of General Allard at Peshawar in connection with the Laili affair proved
to be of material service to the Maharaja as he was thereby able to
rescue that city and district from the fanatical followers of Syad
Ahmad, who had defeated the Afghan troops and slain Yar Muhammad Khan
himself. Peshawar was, for a time, relinquished to the Afghans and the
Sikh army withdrawn.
Laili was continually in Maharaja
Ranjit Singh’s thoughts and almost constantly in his sight, covered
with jewels and rich caparisons. He was never weary of talking to or
caressing this horse. It was in the beginning of 1839 that Laili was
found almost abandoned. When Lieut, Barr and his soldiers saw the horse
they were highly disappointed as by then Laili had grown old. It was by
then speckled grey, fat and dirty, and its heels, for want of paring and
exercise, were so high that it limped long with difficulty. Soon after
Laili died. It has been painfully recorded by Lieut Barr in his
autobiography that there was no one to mourn the death of the horse who
had once been the cynosure of Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s eyes.
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DURING
the glorious days of the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, lovers and
admirers of horses in his magnificent court often spoke of the beauty
and grandeur of a Peshwari horse lovingly known as Laili. It was owned
by Yar Muhammad Khan of Peshawar. Since Maharaja Ranjit Singh had much
passion for such horses, he made up his mind to have Laili for
exhibiting as his favourite stud. When the Maharaja spoke about Laili to
Moorcroft, an excellent judge of this animal, he replied that Laili was
believed to be a horse of surpassing beauty and excellence. Maharaja
Ranjit Singh, therefore, set his heart on becoming the owner of this
coveted horse. In the meantime Fateh Ali Shah of Persia offered Rs
75,000 for Laili —an offer which was politely declined by Yar Muhammad
Khan.