File:Content page of the 'Umdat-ut-Tawarikh' by Lala Sohan Lal Suri, lithograph, circa late 19th century.jpg

Background (from: [1]):

Sohan Lal Suri, the author of Umdat-ut-Tawarikh was first diarist and then a chronicler of the reign of Ranjit Singh and his successors. From 1771, his father Ganpat Rai had recorded the events connected with Sardar Charhat Singh, his son Mahan Singh and his grandson Ranjit Singh. Sohan Lal started his record in 1812 and continued to keep it till the annexation of the Punjab in 1849. Being closely associated with the court of the Maharaja as a Vakil Lala Sohan Lal's chronicle of Lahore Darbar is typical illustration of the traditional method of recording events. As a Vakil at the court he had the advantage to chronicle the events as an eye-witness at the metropolis. He could verify the records from the notable personages of the period and also had direct access to official reports and records. His chronicle , therefore, is considered as an authoritative, comprehensive and coherent among all the extant indigenous sources of history of the early nineteenth century Punjab. Though the chronicle covers the period from the foundation of the Sikh religion to the annexation of the Punjab by the British yet the author himself was a witness to the period from 1812 to 1849.

Sohan Lal Suri's services as a Vakil were well appreciated by the Maharaja. His services were requisitioned from time to time for political and diplomatic missions also. After annexation of the Punjab his services to the history of the Punjab were acknowledged by the British administrators who gave him a revenue free grant worth 1000 rupees a year for his life. But he did not live long to enjoy this munificence. He died in 1852. Sohan Lal Suri's son Mul Chand and his grandson Harbhagwan cherished his memory. They were encouraged by the new rulers of the Punjab to take interest in his work. With their efforts, in the 1880s they got his work lithographed with a subsidy from the Panjab University College of Lahore of which G.W. Leitner was the Registrar. Only 500 copies were lithographed. By now the Umdat-ut-Tawarikh is a rarity.

The voluminous work by Lala Sohan Lal (the chronicle) consists of five daftars or volumes. The first daftar covers the period from Guru Nanak to 1771, the year of Ahmad Shah Abdali's last invasion. By this time Sardar Charhat Singh had come into power. The second daftar deals with the career of Sardar Charhat Singh , ascendency of Ranjit Singh, expansion and consolidation of the kingdom of Lahore with its well defined boundaries covering the period upto 1830. At this time the glory of the kingdom and grandeur of the court of Lahore was at its zenith. The third daftar in five parts, is the narrative of events from 1831 to the death of Ranjit Singh in 1839. The fourth daftar in three parts, covers the period from 1839 to 1845. These were the most unfortunate years in the history of the Punjab. The successors of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and the courtiers engaged themselves in incessant intrignes at the court. The political stability of the court reached at its lowest ebb and exposed to grave danger from the formidable neighbours on the eastern and western sides. The last daftar with the last phase of the kingdom of Lahore from 1845 to 1849 when the deterioration in managing affairs of the state was leading it towards annexation. The first daftar had 172 pages, the second 408 pages, the third 764 and the fourth 218 and the fifth has 175 pages. The whole account of Umdat-ut-Tawarikh thus contains over 1700 pages.