By 1849, Nicholson had spent ten years in India and was entitled to return home for a year's leave. During his time back in Europe, Nicholson served as the best man at his close friend Herbert Edwardes's wedding and travelled throughout Europe extensively. On his return to India in January 1852, Lawrence appointed Nicholson as the new Deputy Commissioner of the largely lawless Bannu area. In this role, Nicholson was ruthless in bringing peace and order to the region with a zero tolerance attitude on crime or any perceived disrespect shown towards the colonial government, often using flogging or other similar methods to both punish and humiliate any who dared infringe the law. At first, he was feared for his foul temper and authoritarian manner which underpinned his tyrant-style rule, but Nicholson soon gained the respect of the Afghan and North Punjabi tribes in the area for his fairhandedness and sense of honour as well as his almost complete elimination of crime. The respect that Nicholson had first gained from the Sikh people and then the Punjabi tribes became religious worship as the "Nikal Seyn" cult developed, which worshiped Nicholson as a saint-like figure who brought justice to the oppressed by punishing the strong. Amazingly, this cult survived in surprising forms and ways in some remoter parts of North-West Pakistan, into the 21st century. Rather than be flattered by this religious devotion, Nicholson found his Christian beliefs offended by the worship and would promptly whip any of the devotees who publicly practiced this cult in his presence. In 1855, at just the age of just thirty-four, Nicholson became the youngest brigadier-general in the Bengal Army. Nicholson was transferred to Peshawar in late 1856 to serve as the District Commissioner.