Maharaja Ranjit Singh (Punjab)
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Maharaja Ranjit Singh (Punjabi: ਮਹਾਰਾਜਾ ਰਣਜੀਤ ਸਿੰਘ ), also called by the famous title "Sher-e-Punjab" ("The Lion of the Punjab") (1780-1839) was a Sikh emperor of the Sikh Empire. His Samadhi is located in Lahore, Pakistan (formerly in India).
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[edit] Early life
Maharaja Ranjit Singh was a Sikh born in 1780 in Gujranwala in modern day Pakistan, into the Sansi-Sandhawalia family. At the time much of Punjab was ruled by the Sikhs, who had divided the territory among factions known as misls. Ranjit Singh's father Maha Singh was the commander of the Sukerchakia misl and controlled a territory in west Punjab based around his headquarters at Gujranwala.
Ranjit Singh succeeded his father at the young age of 12. After several campaigns, his rivals accepted him as their leader, and he united the Sikh factions into one state.
Ranjit Singh took the title of Maharaja on April 12, 1801 (to coincide with Baisakhi day). Lahore served as his capital from 1799. In 1802 he took the holy city of Amritsar.
He then spent the following years fighting the Afghans, driving them out of western Punjab. He also captured Pashtun territory including Peshawar. This was the first time that Pashtuns were ruled by non-Muslims. In a historical perspective, this event was very important. For more than a thousand years invaders had come down from the Khyber pass and ruled eastern lands. Ranjit Singh reversed this trend. When the Sikh empire finally fell to the English, they were able to retain this province. He captured the province of Multan which encompassed the southern parts of Punjab, Peshawar (1818), Jammu and Kashmir (1819) and the hill states north of Anandpur, the largest of which was Kangra.
Singh also hired European mercenaries to train his troops, creating the first modern Indian Army- the Sikh Khalsa Army, a powerful military force whose presence delayed the eventual British colonization of Punjab. He created a powerful and heavily armed state one of his close friend Pran Sukh Yadav who was an able military commander of Narnaul brought various feudal forces and militias of Southern Punjab (now known as Haryana) under his hegemony; at this point, Punjab was the only state not controlled by the British. He brought law and order, yet was reluctant to use the death penalty. He stopped Indian non-secular style practises by treating Hindus and Muslims equally. He banned the discriminatory "jizya" tax on Hindus and Sikhs.
The majority of Ranjit Singh's subjects were Muslim and had an intense loyalty towards him and his Sikh's. This was once highlighted when the foreign minister of the Sikh Empire, a Muslim named Fakir Azizuddin, had a meeting with the British Governor-General. When Lord Auckland asked Fakir Azizuddin which of the Maharaja's eye was missing, he replied: "the Maharaja is like the sun and sun has only one eye. The splendour and luminosity of his single eye is so much that I have never dared to look at his other eye." The Governor General was so pleased with the reply that he gave his golden wrist-watch to the Maharaja's Minister at Simla.
His Empire was effectively secular as it did not discriminate against Sikhs, Muslims, Hindus or even atheists. It was relatively modern and had great respect for all religions and non-religious traditions of the Empire. The only main prominent religious symbols of the empire were the Maharaja and royal family being Sikh (but not Khalsa) and the Army being dominated by Sikh nobles and the Khalsa. The Maharaja never forced Sikhism on his subjects. Ranjit Singh had created a state based upon Sikh noble traditions, where everyone worked together, regardless of background, and where citizens were made to look at the things that they shared in common, e.g. being Punjabi, rather than any religious differences.
Ranjit Singh died in 1839.
[edit] Conquests
Ranjit Singh and his brave Sikh generals, were capable of conquering such a great expanse of land, for many reasons. Varying from the Sikh discipline, to their modern weaponry. Ranjit Singhs early conquests were minor and forgettable, when he was a young misldar (baron). He conquered vast tracts of terrictory on all sides of his kingdom. And by 1799, he had captured Lahore.
From the capture of Lahore, he rapidly annexed the rest of the Punjab. The war rising to a climax at the battle of Multan. From then onwards, he was the undisputed ruler of northern India and the land of the five rivers. And even then, to secure his empire, he invaded Afghanistan, and severly defeated the Pathan militias and tribes. The tables having been turned on the Mughals and Afghanis, Ranjit Singh conquered yet more territory. In the year 1802, Ranjit SIngh invaded (sucessfuly) Kashmir. These are but a few of his conquests.
[edit] Legacy
Rulership of the state went to his eldest son Kharak Singh. Most historians believe competent political heirs would have forged a highly durable, independent and powerful state, as Ranjit Singh had done during his rule. However, the Kingdom began to crumble due to poor governance and political mismanagement by his heirs. His successors died through accidents and murder, while the nobility and army struggled for power.
After the First Anglo Sikh War, Punjab was defeated and all major decisions were made by the British Empire. The Punjabi Army was reduced under the peace treaty with the British Empire, to a tiny skeleton force. Massive punishing war compensation had destroyed any meaningful, independent fiscal policy. At the end of the Second Anglo Sikh War, it was annexed by the British from Ranjit Singh's youngest son Duleep Singh.
Ranjit is remembered for uniting the Punjab as a strong state and his possession of the Koh-i-noor diamond. His most lasting legacy was the beautification of the Harmandir Sahib, holiest site of the Sikhs, with marble and gold from which the popular name of the "Golden Temple" is derived.
He was also known as Sher-e-Punjab, the Lion of Punjab and is considered one of the 3 Lions of India, the most famous and revered heroes in North Indian history (Emperor Rajaraja Chola and Asoka were the 2 most powerful Indian kings of history yet are not named part of the 3 Lions) - the other 2 Lions are Rana Pratap Singh of Mewar and Chhatrapati Shivaji, the legendary Maratha ruler. The title of Sher-e-Punjab is still widely used as a term of respect for a powerful man.
After his death, the British took his heir, the young prince Maharaja Duleep Singh, to England where he was put under the protection of the Crown. He converted to Christianity, before re-converting to Sikhism later in his life.
[edit] References
- Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Lord of the Five Rivers, By Joan-Marie Lafont. (Oxford University Press. Date:2002, ISBN 0195661117).
