The Scinde Medal () was authorised on 22 September 1843 and issued to soldiers of the

Honourable East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

, the 22nd Regiment of Foot of the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

and members of the

Indian Navy The Indian Navy (IN) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Navy, maritime and Amphibious warfare, amphibious branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of the Naval Staff (India), Chief ...

who crewed the Indus Flotilla, who participated in Major General Sir Charles Napier's conquest of

Scinde Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

between 1842 and 1843.

History

Sir Charles Napier was sent to Sindh for the purpose of quelling the

Amirs Emir (; ' (), also transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or ceremonial authority. The title has ...

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

, Mir Rustam Khan Talpur,

Mir Nasir Khan Talpur Mir Nasir Khan Talpur(Balochi language, Balochi:) was the last Baloch people, Baloch Talpur amir of the land that included Sind province, Sindh and parts of present-day Balochistan and was one of the most active administrators and fighters after th ...

and

Mir Sher Muhammad Talpur Mir Sher Muhammad Talpur was the last Mir of Mirpur Khas who belonged to the Manikani house of the Talpur dynasty. The son of Mir Ali Murad Talpur, the founder of Mirpur Khas, he ascended the throne in 1829 and held onto it until he was defeat ...

. They had made various hostile demonstrations against the British government after the termination of the

First Anglo-Afghan War The First Anglo-Afghan War () was fought between the British Empire and the Emirate of Kabul from 1838 to 1842. The British initially successfully invaded the country taking sides in a succession dispute between emir Dost Mohammad Khan ( Bara ...

, conducting frequent raids on British convoys travelling between

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. General Napier's campaign against these Amirs resulted, after the victories of Miani and

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

, in the complete subjugation of the province of Sindh, and its annexation to the Bombay Presidency of the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

Description

The medal, designed by

William Wyon William Wyon (1795 – 29 October 1851) was a British engraver who was official chief engraver at the Royal Mint from 1828 until his death. Biography Wyon was born in Birmingham and, in 1809, was apprenticed to his father, Peter Wyon who ...

, was a silver disc wide, with the following design:
''Obverse'': Left facing,

diadem A diadem is a Crown (headgear), crown, specifically an ornamental headband worn by monarchs and others as a badge of Monarch, royalty. Overview The word derives from the Ancient Greek, Greek διάδημα ''diádēma'', "band" or "fillet", fro ...

ed bust of Queen

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

facing left with inscription VICTORIA REGINA. ''Reverse'': Three different versions were issued, all containing the name and year of the battle(s) where the recipient was present, surrounded by a laurel wreath and surmounted by a crown: * MEEANEE / 1843. For participation in the

Battle of Miani The Battle of Miani or Meeanee () was a battle between forces of the Bombay Army of the East India Company, under the command of Charles Napier and the Baloch army of Talpur Amirs of Sindh, led by Mir Nasir Khan Talpur. The battle took ...

(or Meeanee), 17 February 1843. * HYDERABAD / 1843. For participation in the

Battle of Hyderabad The Battle of Hyderabad (), sometimes called the Battle of Dubbo, was one of the major campaigns of the British against Sindh, which was fought on 24 March 1843 between the forces of the British East India Company and the Talpur dynasty, Talpur ...

, 24 March 1843. * MEEANEE / HYDERABAD / 1843. For participation in both battles. ''Suspender'': Straight Steel Clip and straight bar suspender. The suspenders on the medals issued to the 22nd Foot were replaced with silver ones at the expense of the unit's Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Pennefather after they particularly distinguished themselves. ''Ribbon'': rainbow pattern watered red, white, yellow, white and blue. ''Engraving'': Impressed or engraved with recipient's name and regiment around the rim.

References

External links

Medals of the World

Peter Duckers, British Campaign Medals 1815-1914, 2000

Online Medals, Scinde Medal
{{Campaign medals of the Honourable East India Company British campaign medals Medals of the Honourable East India Company History of Sindh 1843 in British India