ABSTRACT
The Result of the Annexation of the Punjab.— A new phase in Afghan history opened with the overthrow of the Sikh armies by the British and the subsequent annexation of the Punjab. Up to 1846 the policy of the British Government had mainly been concerned with the creation in Afghanistan, in Persia, and in Central Asia to a lesser degree, ot a favourable political situation that would help to protect India from invasion by distant foes. But, between 1 846 and 1 849, the British assumed control of the provinces conquered by Ranjit Singh, which marched with the loosely defined boundaries of Afghanistan. The Indian Empire had thereby reached its natural limits and, by this advance, the North-West Frontier automatically became, and still remains, the most important question with which British admini strators are faced.1
