Ranjit Singh

Ranjit Singh

Maharaja Ranjit Singh
Reign 12 April 1801 – 27 June 1839
Investiture 12 April 1801 at Lahore Fort
Successor Maharaja Kharak Singh
Born ਬੁਧ ਸਿੰਘ, بدھ سنگھ
Buddh Singh
13 November 1780[4]
Gujranwala, Sukerchakia Misl (modern-day Pakistan)
Died 27 June 1839(1839-06-27) (aged 58)
Lahore, Punjab, Sikh Empire (present-day Pakistan)
Burial Cremated remains stored in the Samadhi of Ranjit Singh in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Spouse See Marriages
Issue Kharak Singh
Ishar Singh
Maharaja Sher Singh
Tara Singh
Kashmira Singh
Peshaura Singh
Multana Singh
Maharaja Duleep Singh
Father Sardar Mahan Singh
Mother Raj Kaur
Religion Sikhism

Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780 –1839),[5][6] was the leader of the Sikh Empire, which ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. He survived smallpox in infancy but lost sight in his left eye. He fought his first battle alongside his father at age 10. After his father died, he fought several wars to expel the Afghans in his teenage years, and was proclaimed as the "Maharaja of Punjab" at age 21.[5][7] His empire grew in the Punjab region under his leadership through 1839.[8][9]

Prior to his rise, the Punjab region had numerous warring misls (confederacies), twelve of which were under Sikh rulers and one Muslim.[7] Ranjit Singh successfully absorbed and united the Sikh misls and took over other local kingdoms to create the Sikh Empire. He repeatedly defeated invasions by Muslim armies, particularly those arriving from Afghanistan, and established friendly relations with the British.[10]

Ranjit Singh's reign introduced reforms, modernisation, investment into infrastructure, and general prosperity.[11][12] His Khalsa army and government included Sikhs, Hindus, Muslims and Europeans.[13] His legacy includes a period of Sikh cultural and artistic renaissance, including the rebuilding of the Harimandir Sahib in Amritsar as well as other major gurudwaras, including Takht Sri Patna Sahib, Bihar and Hazur Sahib Nanded, Maharashtra under his sponsorship.[14][15] He was popularly known as Sher-i-Punjab, or "Lion of Punjab".

Maharaja Ranjit Singh was succeeded by his son, Maharaja Kharak Singh.

Biography

Early life

Birthplace of Ranjit Singh in Gujranwala, Pakistan.

Ranjit Singh was born on 13 November 1780, to Mahan Singh Sukerchakia and Raj Kaur – the daughter of Raja Gajpat Singh of Jind, in Gujranwala, in the Majha region of Punjab (now in Pakistan).[5][16] His birth name was Buddh Singh, after his ancestor who was a disciple of Guru Gobind Singh, a Khalsa, and whose descendants created the Sukerchakia misl before the birth of Ranjit Singh, which became the most powerful of many small Sikh kingdoms in northwestern Southern Asia in the wake of the disintegrating Mughal Empire.[17] The child's name was changed to Ranjit (literally, "victor in battle") by his father to commemorate his army's victory over the Muslim Chatha chieftain Pir Muhammad.[5][18]

Ranjit Singh contracted smallpox as an infant, which resulted in the loss of sight in his left eye and a pockmarked face.[5] He was short in stature, never schooled, and did not learn to read or write anything beyond the Gurmukhi alphabet,[19] however, he was trained at home in horse riding, musketry and other martial arts.[5]

At age 12, his father died.[17] He then inherited his father's Sukkarchakkia misl estates and was raised by his mother Raj Kaur, who, along with Lakhpat Rai, also managed the estates.[5] The first attempt on his life was made when he was age 13, by Hashmat Khan, but Ranjit Singh prevailed and killed the assailant instead.[20] At age 18, his mother died and Lakhpat Rai was assassinated, and thereon he was helped by his mother-in-law from his first marriage.[21]

In his teens, Ranjit Singh took to alcohol, a habit that intensified in the later decades of his life, according to the chronicles of his court historians and the Europeans who visited him.[22][23] However, he neither smoked nor ate beef,[5] and required all officials in his court, regardless of their religion, to adhere to these restrictions as part of their employment contract.[23]

Wives

Maharaja Ranjit Singh's family genealogy

Ranjit Singh married many times, in various ceremonies, and had twenty wives.[24][25] Some scholars note that the information on Ranjit Singh's marriages is unclear, and there is evidence that he had many mistresses. According to Khushwant Singh in an 1889 interview with the French journal Le Voltaire, his son Dalip (Duleep) Singh remarked, "I am the son of one of my father's forty-six wives".[26]

At age 15, Ranjit Singh married his first wife Mehtab Kaur,[17] the only daughter of Gurbaksh Singh Kanhaiya and his wife Sada Kaur, and the granddaughter of Jai Singh Kanhaiya, the founder of the Kanhaiya Misl.[5] This marriage was pre-arranged in an attempt to reconcile warring Sikh misls, wherein Mahtab Kaur was betrothed to Ranjit Singh. However, the marriage failed, with Mehtab Kaur never forgiving the fact that her father had been killed by Ranjit Singh's father and she mainly lived with her mother after marriage. The separation became complete when Ranjit Singh married his second wife Raj Kaur of Nakai Misl in 1798.[27] Mehtab Kaur died in 1813.[26]

Raj Kaur (renamed Datar Kaur), the daughter of Sardar Ran Singh Nakai, the third ruler of Nakai Misl, was Ranjit Singh's second wife and the mother of his heir, Kharak Singh.[21] She changed her name from Raj Kaur to avoid confusion with Ranjit Singh's mother. Throughout her life she remained the favourite of Ranjit Singh, who called her Mai Nakain.[28] Like his first marriage, the second marriage brought him a strategic military alliance.[21] His second wife died in 1818.[26]

Maharaja Ranjit Singh with some of his wives.

Ratan Kaur and Daya Kaur were wives of Sahib Singh Bhangi of Gujrat (a misl north of Lahore, not to be confused the state of Gujarat).[29] After Sahib Singh's death, Ranjit Singh took them under his protection in 1811 by marrying them via the rite of chādar andāzī, in which a cloth sheet was unfurled over each of their heads. Ratan Kaur gave birth to Multana Singh in 1819, and Daya Kaur gave birth to Kashmira Singh in 1819 and to Pashaura Singh in 1821.[30]

His other wives include Moran Sarkar in 1802, Chand Kaur in 1815, Lachmi in 1820, Mehatab Kaur in 1822, Saman Kaur in 1832, as well as Guddan, Banso, Gulbahar, Gulab, Ram Devi, Rani, Bannat, Har and Danno before his last marriage.[26]

Jind Kaur was the final spouse of Ranjit Singh. Her father, Manna Singh Aulakh, extolled her virtues to Ranjit Singh, who was concerned about the frail health of his only heir, Kharak Singh. The Maharaja married her in 1835 by 'sending his arrow and sword to her village'. On 6 September 1838 she gave birth to Duleep Singh, who became the last Maharaja of the Sikh Empire.[31]

Punishment by the Akal Takht

In 1802, Ranjit Singh married Moran Sarkar, a Muslim nautch girl.[26] This action, and other non-Sikh activities of the Maharaja, upset orthodox Sikhs, including the Nihangs, whose leader Akali Phula Singh was the Jathedar of the Akal Takht.[32] When Ranjit Singh visited Amritsar, he was called outside the Akal Takht, where he was made to apologise for his mistakes. Akali Phula Singh took Ranjit Singh to a tamarind tree in front of the Akal Takht and prepared to punish him by flogging.[32] Then Akali Phula Singh asked the nearby Sikh pilgrims whether they approved of Ranjit Singh's apology. The pilgrims responded with Sat Sri Akal and Ranjit Singh was released and forgiven.

Sons

Ranjit Singh had eight sons. Kharak Singh was the eldest from his second wife. His first wife gave birth to Ishar Singh, who died at the age of two, and, after her separation from Ranjit Singh, to the twins Tara Singh and Sher Singh. The two widows he took under his protection and married gave birth to Multana Singh, Kashmira Singh and Pashaura Singh. Duleep Singh was from his last wife.[33] Ranjit Singh acknowledged only Kharak Singh and Duleep Singh as his biological sons[34][35]

Death

The Samadhi of Ranjit Singh is located in Lahore, Pakistan, adjacent to the iconic Badshahi Mosque.

In the 1830s, Ranjit Singh suffered from numerous health complications as well as a stroke, which some historical records attribute to alcoholism and a failing liver.[29][36]

On June 27, 1839, Ranjit Singh died in his sleep.[24] Four of his wives, and seven concubines with royal titles given by Ranjit Singh, committed sati by burning themselves on the pyre of Ranjit Singh during his official cremation ceremony.[24][37][38]

Sikh Empire

Maharaja Ranjit Singh
circa 1816–29

Historical context

After the death of Aurangzeb in 1707, the Mughal Empire fell apart and declined in its ability to tax or govern most of South Asia. In the northwestern region, particularly the Punjab, the creation of the Khalsa community of Sikh warriors by Guru Gobind Singh accelerated the decay and fragmentation of the Mughal power in the region.[39] Raiding Afghans attacked the Indus river valleys but met resistance from both organised armies of the Khalsa Sikhs as well as irregular Khalsa militias based in villages. The Sikhs had appointed their own zamindars, replacing the previous Muslim revenue collectors, which provided resources to feed and strengthen the warriors aligned with Sikh interests.[39] Meanwhile, colonial traders and the East India Company had begun operations in India on its eastern and western coasts.[39]

By the second half of the 18th century, the northwestern parts of South Asia (now Pakistan and parts of north India) were a collection of fourteen small warring regions.[7] Of the fourteen, twelve were Sikh-controlled misls (confederacies), one named Kasur (near Lahore) was Muslim controlled, and one in the southeast was led by an Englishman named George Thomas.[7] This region constituted the fertile and productive valleys of the five rivers – Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Bias and Sutlej.[29] The Sikh misls were all under the control of the Khalsa fraternity of Sikh warriors, but they were not united and constantly warred with each other over revenue collection, disagreements, and local priorities; however, in the event of external invasion such as from the Muslim armies of Ahmed Shah Abdali from Afghanistan, they would usually unite.[7]

Towards the end of 18th century, the five most powerful misls were those of Sukkarchakkia, Kanhayas, Nakkais, Ahluwalias and Bhangi Sikhs.[7][17] Ranjit Singh belonged to the first, and through marriage had a reliable alliance with Kanhayas and Nakkais.[7] Among the smaller misls, some such as the Phulkias misl had switched loyalties in the late 18th century and supported the Afghan army invasion against their Khalsa brethren.[7] The Kasur region, ruled by a Pathan-Muslim, always supported the Afghan invasion forces and joined them in plundering Sikh misls during the war.[7]

Rise to fame, early conquests

"Randjiit Sing Baadour" by Alfred de Dreux

Ranjit Singh's fame grew in 1797, at age 17, when the Afghan Muslim ruler Shah Zaman, of the Ahmad Shah Abdali dynasty, attempted to annex Panjab region into his control through his general Shahanchi Khan and 12,000 soldiers.[5][7] The battle was fought in the territory that fell in Ranjit Singh controlled misl, whose regional knowledge and warrior expertise helped kill the Afghan general and rout his army. This victory gained him recognition.[5] In 1798, the Afghan ruler sent in another army, which Ranjit Singh did not resist. He let them enter Lahore, then encircled them with his army, blocked off all food and supplies, burnt all crops and food sources that could have supported the Afghan army. Much of the Afghan army retreated back to Afghanistan.[5]

In 1799, Raja Ranjit Singh's army of 25,000 Khalsa, supported by another 25,000 Khalsa led by his mother-in-law Rani Sada Kaur of Kanhaiya misl, in a joint operation attacked the region controlled by Bhangi Sikhs centered around Lahore. The rulers escaped, marking Lahore as the first major conquest of Ranjit Singh.[7][40] The Sufi Muslim and Hindu population of Lahore welcomed the rule of Ranjit Singh.[5] In 1800, the ruler of Jammu region ceded control of his region to Ranjit Singh.[41]

On April 12, 1801 – the new year in Hindu calendar, in a formal ceremony, Ranjit Singh was invested by Sahib Singh Bedi – a direct descendent of Guru Nanak, as the "Maharaja of Punjab" by applying a saffron mark on his forehead.[5][42][43] He called his rule as "Sarkar Khalsa", and his court as "Darbar Khalsa".

Expansion

In 1802 Ranjit Singh, aged 22, took Amritsar from the Bhangi Sikh misl, paid homage at the Harmandir Sahib temple, which had previously been attacked and desecrated by the invading Afghan army, and announced that he would renovate and rebuild it with marble and gold.[44]

Maharaja Ranjit Singh's throne, c. 1820–1830, Hafiz Muhammad Multani, now at V & A Museum

On 1 January 1806, Ranjit Singh signed a treaty with the British officials of the East India Company, in which he agreed that his Sikh forces would not attempt to expand south of the Sutlej river, and the Company agreed that it would not attempt to militarily cross the Sutlej river into the Sikh territory.[45]

In 1807, Ranjit Singh's forces attacked the Muslim ruled misl of Kasur and, after a month of fierce fighting, defeated the Afghan chief Qutb-ud-Din, thus expanding his empire northwest towards Afghanistan.[5] He took Multan in 1818, and the whole Bari Doab came under his rule with that conquest. In 1819, he successfully defeated the Afghan Sunni Muslim rulers and annexed Srinagar and Kashmir, stretching his rule into the north and the Jhelum valley, beyond the foothills of the Himalayas.[5][46]

The most significant encounters between the Sikhs in the command of the Maharaja and the Afghans were in 1813, 1823, 1834 and in 1837.[9] In 1813, Ranjit Singh's general Dewan Mokham Chand led the Sikh forces against the Afghan forces of Shah Mahmud led by Dost Mohammad Khan.[47] The Afghans lost their stronghold at Attock in that battle.

In 1813–14, Ranjit Singh's first attempt to expand into Kashmir was foiled by Afghan forces led by General Azim Khan, due to a heavy downpour, the spread of cholera, and poor food supply to his troops.

In 1818, Darbar's forces led by Misr Dewan Chand occupied Multan, killing Muzaffar Khan and defeating his forces, leading to the end of Afghan influence in the Punjab.[48]

In July 1818, an army from the Punjab defeated Jabbar Khan, a younger brother of governor of Kashmir Azim Khan, and acquired Kashmir, along with a yearly revenue of Rs seventy lacs. Dewan Moti Ram was appointed governor of Kashmir.

In November 1819, Dost Mohammed accepted the sovereignty of the Maharaja over Peshawar, along with a revenue payment of Rs one lac a year. The Maharaja specifically ordered his forces not to harass or molest any civilian. In 1820 and 1821, Dera Ghazi Khan, Hazara and Mankera, with huge tracts of land between Jhelum and Indus, Singh Sagar Daob, were also annexed. The victories of Kashmir, Peshwar and Multan were celebrated by naming three newborns after them. Prince Kashmira Singh, Peshaura Singh and Prince Multana Singh were born to Daya Kaur and Ratan Kaur, wives of Ranjit Singh.

In 1823, Ranjit Singh defeated a large army of Yusufzai north of the Kabul River.[49]

In 1834, Mohammed Azim Khan once again marched towards Peshawar with an army of 25,000 Khattak and Yasufzai tribesmen in the name of jihad, to fight against infidels. The Maharaja defeated the forces. Yar Mohammad was pardoned and was reinvested as governor of Peshawar with an annual revenue of Rs one lac ten thousand to Lahore Darbar.[50]

In 1837, the Battle of Jamrud and his march through Kabul in 1838, in cooperation with the colonial British army stationed in Sindh, became the last confrontation between the Sikhs led by him and the Afghans, which helped extend and establish the western boundaries of the Sikh Empire.[51][52]

In 1838, Ranjit Singh with his troops marched into Kabul to take part in the victory parade along with the British after restoring Shah Shoja to the Afghan throne at Kabul.[6]

Geography of the Sikh Empire

Ranjit Singh's Sikh Empire at its peak

The Sikh Empire, also known as Punjab, the Sikh Raj and Sarkar-i-Khalsa,[53] was a region called by historians as "Punjab" or "Panjab", comprises two words "Punj/Panj/Panch" and "Ab", translating to "five" and "water" respectively in ancient Indian languages as well as Persian.[54] When put together this gives a name meaning "the land of the five rivers", coined due to the five rivers that run through the Punjab. Those "Five Rivers" are Beas, Ravi, Sutlej, Chenab and Jhelum, all tributaries of the river Indus.[29][55]

The geographical reach of the Sikh Empire under Ranjit Singh included all lands north of Sutlej river, and south of high valleys in the northwestern Himalayas. The major towns in the Empire included Srinagar, Attock, Peshawar, Bannu, Rawalpindi, Jammu, Gujrat, Sialkot, Kangra, Amritsar, Lahore and Multan.[29][56][57]

Governance

Ranjit Singh allowed men from different religions and races to serve in his army and his government in various positions of authority.[58] His army included a few Europeans like Jean-François Allard, however he did not employ the British which were attempting to create a British colony in South Asia.[59] However, he kept an open dialogue and diplomatic channel with the British; in 1828, Ranjit Singh sent gifts to the King of Great Britain and in 1831, he sent a mission to Simla to confer with the British Governor General, Lord William Bentinck;[60] while in 1838, he cooperated with them in removing the hostile Islamic Sultan in Afghanistan.[52]

Religious policies

Ranjit Singh banned cow slaughter in his empire.[60][61] He objected to cow slaughter inside the British camp during joint operations in northwestern region of South Asia.[60] In employment contracts he gave to foreigners such as the Europeans, he insisted that they do not eat beef, not smoke, not cut their hair, marry and settle down with Indian women.[23]

The Sikhs led by Ranjit Singh never razed places of worship to the ground belonging to the enemy.[62] However, he did convert Muslim mosques into other uses. For example, Ranjit Singh's army desecrated Lahore's Badshahi Mosque and converted it into an ammunition store,[63] and horse stables.[64] Lahore's Moti Masjid (Pearl Mosque) was converted into "Moti Mandir" (Pearl Temple) by the Sikh army,[64][65] and Sonehri Mosque were converted into a Sikh Gurdwara, but upon the request of Sufi Fakirs, Ranjit Singh restored the latter back to a mosque.[66] Lahore's Begum Shahi Mosque was also used as a gunpowder factory, earning it the nickname Barudkhana Wali Masjid, or "Gunpowder Mosque."[67]

Ranjit Singh restored and built historic Sikh Gurdwaras – most famously the Golden Temple of Amritsar, but he also joined the Hindus in their temples as Vedic hymns were chanted, visited Sufi mosques and holy places, and ordered his soldiers to neither loot nor molest civilians. Ranjit Singh had a Hindu Raj Guru (Royal priest) who's offspring later on became the Shah of Gurshankar, Punjab - Shah Pundit Purmeshawri Das (father of Colonel Ramesh Vats, and grandfather of the present Shah Abhinav Vats) [68]

He received support from Afghan Muslims who accepted his sovereignty, Punjabi Mussalmans who fought under his banner against Afghan forces of Nadir Shah and later of Azim Khan. His court reflected a secular pattern, his prime Minister Dhian Singh was a Dogra, his foreign Minister Fakir Azizuddin was a Mulsim, his finance Minister Dina Nath was a Brahmin, artillery commanders such as Mian Ghausa, Sarffaraz Khan were Muslims. There were no forced conversions in his time. His wives Bibi Mohran, Gilbahar Begum retained their faith and so did his Hindu wives.[69]

The Sikh Khalsa Army under Ranjit Singh

Ranjit Singh's army included Europeans. Left: Jean-François Allard, Right: Alexander Gardner

The army under Ranjit Singh was not limited to the Sikh community. The soldiers and troop officers included Sikhs, but also included Hindus, Muslims and Europeans.[70] Hindu Brahmins and people of all creeds and castes served his army,[71][72] while the composition in his government also reflected a religious diversity.[70][73] His army included Polish, Russian, Spanish, Prussian and French officers.[12] In 1835, as his relationship with the British warmed up, he hired a British officer named Foulkes.[12]

However, the Khalsa army of Ranjit Singh reflected regional population, and as he grew his army, he dramatically increased the Rajput and Jat Sikhs who became the predominant members of his army.[11] In the Doab region his army was composed of the Jat Sikhs, in Jammu and northern Indian hills it was Hindu Rajputs, while relatively more Muslims served his army in the Jhelum river area closer to Afghanistan than other major Panjab rivers.[74]

Reforms

Ranjit Singh changed and improved the training and organisation of his army. He reorganised responsibility and set performance standards in logistical efficiency in troop deployment, manoeuvre, and marksmanship.[73] He reformed the staffing to emphasise steady fire over cavalry and guerrilla warfare, improved the equipment and methods of war. The military system of Ranjit Singh combined the best of both old and new ideas. He strengthened the infantry and the artillery.[11] He paid the members of the standing army from treasury, instead of the Mughal method of paying an army with local feudal levies.[11]

While Ranjit Singh introduced reforms in terms of training and equipment of his military, he failed to reform the old Jagirs (Ijra) system of Mughal middlemen.[75][76] The Jagirs system of state revenue collection involved certain individuals with political connections or inheritance promising a tribute (nazarana) to the ruler and thereby gaining administrative control over certain villages, with the right to force collect customs, excise and land tax at inconsistent and subjective rates from the peasants and merchants; they would keep a part of collected revenue and deliver the promised tribute value to the state.[75][77][78] These Jagirs maintained independent armed militia to extort taxes from the peasants and merchants, and the militia prone to violence.[75] This system of inconsistent taxation with arbitrary extortion by militia, continued the Mughal tradition of ill treatment of peasants and merchants throughout the Sikh Empire, and is evidenced by the complaints filed to Ranjit Singh by East India Company officials attempting to trade within different parts of the Sikh Empire.[75][76]

According to historical records, states Sunit Singh, Ranjit Singh's reforms focused on military that would allow new conquests, but not towards taxation system to end abuse, nor about introducing uniform laws in his state or improving internal trade and empowering the peasants and merchants.[75][76][77] This failure to reform the Jagirs-based taxation system and economy, in part led to a succession power struggle and a series of threats, internal divisions among Sikhs, major assassinations and coups in the Sikh Empire in the years immediately after the death of Ranjit Singh;[79] an easy annexation of the remains of the Sikh Empire into British India followed, with the colonial officials offering the Jagirs better terms and the right to keep the system intact.[80][81][82]

Infrastructure investments

Ranjit Singh ensured that Panjab manufactured and was self-sufficient in all weapons, equipment and munitions his army needed.[12] His government invested in infrastructure in the 1800s and thereafter, established raw materials mines, cannon foundries, gunpowder and arm factories.[12] Some of these operations were owned by the state, others operated by private Sikh operatives.[12]

However, Ranjit Singh did not make major investments in other infrastructure such as irrigation canals to improve the productivity of land and roads. The prosperity in his Empire, in contrast to the Mughal-Sikh wars era, largely came from the improvement in the security situation, reduction in violence, reopened trade routes and greater freedom to conduct commerce.[83]

Muslim accounts

The mid 19th-century Muslim historians, such as Shahamat Ali who experienced the Sikh Empire first hand, presented a different view on Ranjit Singh's Empire and governance.[84][85] According to Ali, Ranjit Singh's government was despotic, and he was a mean monarch in contrast to the Mughals.[84] The initial momentum for the Empire building in these accounts is stated to be Ranjit Singh led Khalsa army's "insatiable appetite for plunder", their desire for "fresh cities to pillage", and entirely eliminating the Mughal era "revenue intercepting intermediaries between the peasant-cultivator and the treasury".[79]

According to Ishtiaq Ahmed, Ranjit Singh's rule led to further persecution of Muslims in Kashmir, expanding the previously selective persecution of Shia Muslims and Hindus by Afghan Sunni Muslim rulers between 1752 and 1819 before Kashmir became part of his Sikh Empire.[46] Bikramjit Hasrat describes Ranjit Singh as a "benevolent despot".[86]

The Muslim accounts of Ranjit Singh's rule were questioned by Sikh historians of the same era. For example, Ratan Singh Bhangu in 1841 wrote that these accounts were not accurate, and according to Anne Murphy, he remarked, "when would a Musalman praise the Sikhs?"[87] In contrast, the colonial era British military officer Hugh Pearse in 1898 criticised Ranjit Singh's rule, as one founded on "violence, treachery and blood".[88] Sohan Seetal disagrees with this account and states that Ranjit Singh had encouraged his army to respond with a "tit for tat" against the enemy, violence for violence, blood for blood, plunder for plunder.[89]

Decline

Scholars state that Ranjit Singh made his Empire and the Sikhs a strong political force, achievements for which he is deeply admired and revered in Sikhism.[90] However, his era also marked the general decline in religious and moral fervor from alcoholism and licentious life, along with demoralisation of the Sikh court and nobility.[90] Ranjit Singh failed to establish a lasting structure for Sikh government or stable succession, and the Sikh Empire rapidly declined after his death. The British easily defeated the confused and demoralised Khalsa forces, then disbanded them into destitution.[90]

Other scholars, such as Harjot Oberoi state that while the decline from licentiousness is evidenced, yet this is not linked to Sikhism nor does it imply that Sikhism declined. This phenomenon, states Oberoi, is observed in many Empires and cultures.[91]

Another explanation, according to Clive Dewey, was the Jagirs-based taxation system and economy that Ranjit Singh inherited and retained from the Mughal times. After his death, a fight to control the tax spoils emerged, leading to a power struggle within the nobles and his family from different wives, ending in a rapid series of assassinations of his descendants and palace coups, and the annexation of the Sikh Empire into the colonial British Empire.[79]

Legacy

A lithograph by Emily Eden showing one of the favourite horses of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and his collection of jewels, including the Koh-i-Noor.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh is remembered for uniting Sikhs, and founding the Sikh Empire. He is also remembered for his conquests and building a well-trained, self-sufficient Khalsa army to protect a prosperous Sikh Empire.[92] He amassed considerable wealth, including gaining the possession of the Koh-i-Noor diamond from Shuja Shah Durrani of Afghanistan. Ranjit Singh willed the Koh-i-Noor to Jagannath Temple in Puri, Odisha in 1839.[93][94]

His most lasting legacy was the restoration and expansion of the Harmandir Sahib, most revered Gurudwara of the Sikhs, with marble and gold, from which the popular name of the "Golden Temple" is derived.[95]

Gurdwaras built by Maharaja Ranjit Singh

At the Harmandir Sahib, much of the present decorative gilding and marblework date back from the early 19th century. The gold and intricate marble work were conducted under the patronage of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Maharaja of the Punjab. He was a generous patron of the shrine and is remembered with much affection by the Sikhs. Ranjit Singh also sponsored protective walls and water supply system to strengthen security and operations related to the temple.[14]

Maharaja Ranjit Singh deeply loved and admired the teachings of the Tenth Guru of Sikhism Guru Gobind Singh, in whose memory he built two of the most sacred temples in Sikhism. These are Takht Sri Patna Sahib, the birthplace of Guru Gobind Singh, and Takht Sri Hazur Sahib, the meditation place of Guru Gobind Singh since SatYug, and where Guru Gobind Singh merged himself with the universal energy i.e. God, in Nanded, Maharashtra in 1708.

The Harmandir Sahib (also known as the Golden Temple) was completely renovated by Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

Memorials and museums

The Samadhi of Emperor Ranjit Singh was built next to the Badshahi Mosque in Lahore, Pakistan
Samadhi of Ranjit Singh

Samadhi of Ranjit Singh in Lahore, Pakistan marks the place where Ranjit Singh was cremated, and four of his queens and seven concubines became sati.[96][97] The central hall has a marble chhatri that once had carved marble knobs commemorating the Maharaja and his four queens, seven concubines and two pigeons who performed satī on his funeral pyre.[98] These knobs were recently removed and are now locked in a storeroom.[99][100]

Statue in the Parliament of India

On 20 August 2003, a 22-foot-tall bronze statue of Singh was installed in the Parliament of India.[101][102]

Maharaja Ranjit Singh Museum

A garden was laid out in 1818 in the north of the Amritsar city at the behalf of Shalimar Bagh of Lahore, known as Ram Bagh at the name of Guru Ram Dass. Maharaja devoted his time in this palace in summer days during the visit of Amritsar. It has been converted into the shape of Museum during the 400th years celebrations of Amritsar City. The Museum displays objects connecting to Maharaja Ranjit Singh such as arms and armour, outstanding paintings and centuries old coins, manuscripts, and jewelry.[103]

See also

References

  1. ↑ The Sikh Army 1799–1849 By Ian Heath, Michael Perry(Page 3), "...and in April 1801 Ranjit Singh proclaimed himself Sarkar-i-wala or head of state...
  2. 1 2 maharajaranjitsingh.com
  3. ↑ A history of the Sikhs by Kushwant Singh, Volume I(Page 195)
  4. ↑ S.R. Bakshi, Rashmi Pathak (2007). "1-Political Condition". In S.R. Bakshi, Rashmi Pathak. Studies in Contemporary Indian History – Punjab Through the Ages Volume 2. Sarup & Sons, New Delhi. p. 2. ISBN 81-7625-738-9. Retrieved 2010. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
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  6. 1 2 Ranjit Singh Encyclopædia Britannica, Khushwant Singh (2015)
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Khushwant Singh (2008). Ranjit Singh. Penguin Books. pp. 9–14. ISBN 978-0-14-306543-2.
  8. ↑ Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, (Edition: Volume V22, Date: 1910-1911), Page 892.
  9. 1 2 Grewal, J. S. (1990). "Chapter 6: The Sikh empire (1799–1849)". The Sikh empire (1799–1849). The New Cambridge History of India. The Sikhs of the Punjab. Cambridge University Press.
  10. ↑ Patwant Singh (2008). Empire of the Sikhs: The Life and Times of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Peter Owen. pp. 113–124. ISBN 978-0-7206-1323-0.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Teja Singh; Sita Ram Kohli (1986). Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Atlantic Publishers. pp. 65–68.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Kaushik Roy (2011). War, Culture and Society in Early Modern South Asia, 1740–1849. Routledge. pp. 143–144. ISBN 978-1-136-79087-4.
  13. ↑ Kaushik Roy (2011). War, Culture and Society in Early Modern South Asia, 1740–1849. Routledge. pp. 143–147. ISBN 978-1-136-79087-4.
  14. 1 2 Jean Marie Lafont (2002). Maharaja Ranjit Singh: Lord of the Five Rivers. Oxford University Press. pp. 95–96. ISBN 978-0-19-566111-8.
  15. ↑ Kerry Brown (2002). Sikh Art and Literature. Routledge. p. 35. ISBN 978-1-134-63136-0.
  16. ↑ According to Sher Singh, Ranjit Singh is believed to be the descendent of the Sansi clan. See: Singh, Sher (1965). The Sansis of Punjab: a Gypsy and denotified tribe of Rajput origin. Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal. pp. Maharaja Ranjit Singh: the most glorious Sansi, p. 13.
  17. 1 2 3 4 Jean Marie Lafont (2002). Maharaja Ranjit Singh: Lord of the Five Rivers. Oxford University Press. pp. 33–34, 15–16. ISBN 978-0-19-566111-8.
  18. ↑ Patwant Singh (2008). Empire of the Sikhs: The Life and Times of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Peter Owen. pp. 58–59. ISBN 978-0-7206-1323-0.
  19. ↑ Patwant Singh (2008). Empire of the Sikhs: The Life and Times of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Peter Owen. pp. 56–57. ISBN 978-0-7206-1323-0.
  20. ↑ Khushwant Singh (2008). Ranjit Singh. Penguin Books. p. 6. ISBN 978-0-14-306543-2.
  21. 1 2 3 Khushwant Singh (2008). Ranjit Singh. Penguin Books. pp. 7–8. ISBN 978-0-14-306543-2.
  22. ↑ Khushwant Singh (2008). Ranjit Singh. Penguin Books. pp. 6, 253–254. ISBN 978-0-14-306543-2.
  23. 1 2 3 Ben Macintyre (2008). The Man Who Would Be King: The First American in Afghanistan. Macmillan. pp. 154–157. ISBN 978-1-4668-0379-4.
  24. 1 2 3 Anita Anand (2015). Sophia: Princess, Suffragette, Revolutionary. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 13. ISBN 978-1-63286-081-1.
  25. ↑ Patwant Singh (2008). Empire of the Sikhs: The Life and Times of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Peter Owen. p. 69. ISBN 978-0-7206-1323-0.
  26. 1 2 3 4 5 Khushwant Singh (2008). Ranjit Singh. Penguin Books. pp. 300–301 footnote 35. ISBN 978-0-14-306543-2.
  27. ↑ Sardar Singh Bhatia. "Mahitab Kaur (d, 1813)". Encyclopaedia of Sikhism. Punjabi University Patiala. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
  28. ↑ Sardar Singh Bhatia. "Raj Kaur (d, 1838)". Encyclopaedia of Sikhism. Punjabi University Patiala. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
  29. 1 2 3 4 5 Vincent Arthur Smith (1920). The Oxford History of India: From the Earliest Times to the End of 1911. Oxford University Press. pp. 690–693.
  30. ↑ Sardar Singh Bhatia. "Daya Kaur, Rani (d. 1843) and Ratan Kaur, Rani". Encyclopaedia of Sikhism. Punjabi University Patiala. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
  31. ↑ Hasrat, B. J. "Jind Kaur, Maharani (1817–1863)". Encyclopaedia of Sikhism. Punjabi University Patiala. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
  32. 1 2 Singh, Kartar (1975). Stories from Sikh History: Book-VII. New Delhi: Hemkunt Press. p. 160.
  33. ↑ "Articles on named sons of Ranjit Singh". Encyclopaedia of Sikhism, Editor-in-Chief: Harbans Singh. Punjabi University Patiala. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
  34. ↑ Fane, Henry Edward (1842). Five Years in India, Volume 1, Chapter VII, page 120. Henry Colburn. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  35. ↑ E. Dalhousie Login (1916). "Lady Login's Recollections, Chapter VII, page 85". Smith, Elder & Co, London. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  36. ↑ Kartar Singh Duggal (2001). Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the Last to Lay Arms. Abhinav Publications. pp. 107–108. ISBN 978-81-7017-410-3.
  37. ↑ Altekar, Anant S. (1956). The Position of Women in Hindu Civilization: From Prehistoric Times to the Present Day. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 132. ISBN 978-8120803244.
  38. ↑ Honigberger, John Martin (1852-01-01). Thirty-five Years in the East Relating to the Punjab and Cashmere. London: Sang-e-Meel Publications. p. 97.
  39. 1 2 3 Sunit Singh (2014). Pashaura Singh and Louis E. Fenech, ed. The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies. Oxford University Press. pp. 60–61. ISBN 978-0-19-100411-7.
  40. ↑ Patwant Singh (2008). Empire of the Sikhs: The Life and Times of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Peter Owen. pp. 73–76. ISBN 978-0-7206-1323-0.
  41. ↑ Jean Marie Lafont (2002). Maharaja Ranjit Singh: Lord of the Five Rivers. Oxford University Press. p. 64. ISBN 978-0-19-566111-8.
  42. ↑ Khushwant Singh (2008). Ranjit Singh. Penguin Books. p. 35. ISBN 978-0-14-306543-2.
  43. ↑ Harjot Oberoi (1994). The Construction of Religious Boundaries: Culture, Identity, and Diversity in the Sikh Tradition. University of Chicago Press. pp. 114–115. ISBN 978-0-226-61593-6.
  44. ↑ Patwant Singh (2008). Empire of the Sikhs: The Life and Times of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Peter Owen. pp. 18, 177. ISBN 978-0-7206-1323-0.
  45. ↑ Anita Anand (2015). Sophia: Princess, Suffragette, Revolutionary. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 12. ISBN 978-1-63286-081-1.
  46. 1 2 Ishtiaq Ahmed (1998). State, Nation and Ethnicity in Contemporary South Asia. Bloomsbury Academic. pp. 139–140. ISBN 978-1-85567-578-0.
  47. ↑ Patwant Singh (2008). Empire of the Sikhs: The Life and Times of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Peter Owen. pp. 113–116. ISBN 978-0-7206-1323-0.
  48. ↑ Singh, Khushwant (11 October 2004). A History of the Sikhs: 1469–1838 (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 252. ISBN 978-0-19-567308-1. Retrieved 1 April 2011.
  49. ↑ Patwant Singh (2008). Empire of the Sikhs: The Life and Times of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Peter Owen. pp. 120–124. ISBN 978-0-7206-1323-0.
  50. ↑ Singh, Khushwant (11 October 2004). A History of the Sikhs: 1469–1838 (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 265. ISBN 978-0-19-567308-1. Retrieved 1 April 2011.
  51. ↑ Khushwant Singh (2008). Ranjit Singh. Penguin Books. pp. 227–231, 246. ISBN 978-0-14-306543-2.
  52. 1 2 Kaushik Roy; Peter Lorge (2014). Chinese and Indian Warfare – From the Classical Age to 1870. Routledge. pp. 100–103. ISBN 978-1-317-58710-1.
  53. ↑ Ganda Singh. "KHALSA". Encyclopaedia of Sikhism. Punjabi University Patiala. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
  54. ↑ Joseph Baly (1897). Eur-Aryan Roots: With Their English Derivatives and the Corresponding Words in the Cognate Languages Compared and Systematically Arranged. Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Company. p. 13.
  55. ↑ Jean Marie Lafont (2002). Maharaja Ranjit Singh: Lord of the Five Rivers. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-566111-8.
  56. ↑ Marshall 2005, p. 116.
  57. ↑ Bennett-Jones, Owen; Singh, Sarina, Pakistan & the Karakoram Highway Page 199
  58. ↑ Kartar Singh Duggal (2001). Maharaja Ranjit Singh: The Last to Lay Arms. Abhinav Publications. pp. 125–126. ISBN 978-81-7017-410-3.
  59. ↑ Kuiper, Kathleen (2010). The culture of India. Rosen Publishing Group. p. 136. ISBN 1615301496.
  60. 1 2 3 Henry Thoby Prinsep (2011). Origin of the Sikh Power in the Punjab, and Political Life of Muha-Raja Runjeet Singh. Cambridge University Press. pp. 152–161. ISBN 978-1-108-02872-1.
  61. ↑ Vigne, G.T., 1840. A Personal Narrative of a Visit to Ghuzni, Kabul, and Afghanistan, and a Residence at the Court of Dost Mohammed..., London: Whittaker and Co. p. 246
  62. ↑ K.S. Duggal, Ranjit Singh: A Secular Sikh Sovereign, Abhinav Publications (1989) ISBN 81-7017-244-6
  63. ↑ Sidhwa, Bapsi (2005). "City of Sin and Splendour: Writings on Lahore". Penguin Books. Retrieved 7 January 2017., Quote: In Lahore, just as he had grasped its historic citadel and put it to his own hardy use or desecrated the Badshahi Mosque and converted it into a functional ammuniation store..."
  64. 1 2 Amin, Mohamed; Willetts, Duncan; Farrow, Brendan (1988). Lahore. Ferozsons. p. 95. ISBN 9789690006943.
  65. ↑ Latif, Syad Muhammad (1892). Lahore: Its History, Architectural Remains and Antiquities. Printed at the New Imperial Press. p. 125.
  66. ↑ Latif, Syad Muhammad (1892). Lahore: Its History, Architectural Remains and Antiquities. Printed at the New Imperial Press. pp. 221–223, 339.
  67. ↑ "Maryam Zamani Mosque". Journal of Central Asia. Centre for the Study of the Civilizations of Central Asia, Quaid-i-Azam University. 19: 97. 1996.
  68. ↑ Khushwant Singh (2008). Ranjit Singh. Penguin Books. pp. 25–26. ISBN 978-0-14-306543-2.
  69. ↑ Singh, Khushwant (11 October 2004). A History of the Sikhs: 1469–1838 (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 295. ISBN 978-0-19-567308-1. Retrieved 1 April 2011.
  70. 1 2 Teja Singh; Sita Ram Kohli (1986). Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Atlantic Publishers. pp. 56, 67.
  71. ↑ Khushwant Singh (2008). Ranjit Singh. Penguin Books. p. 128. ISBN 978-0-14-306543-2.
  72. ↑ Kaushik Roy (2011). War, Culture and Society in Early Modern South Asia, 1740–1849. Routledge. p. 147. ISBN 978-1-136-79087-4.
  73. 1 2 Singh, Khushwant (2008). Ranjit Singh: Maharaja of the Punjab. New Delhi: Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-143-06543-2.
  74. ↑ Teja Singh; Sita Ram Kohli (1986). Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Atlantic Publishers. pp. 83–85.
  75. 1 2 3 4 5 Sunit Singh (2014). Pashaura Singh and Louis E. Fenech, ed. The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies. Oxford University Press. pp. 62–65. ISBN 978-0-19-100411-7.
  76. 1 2 3 Kate Brittlebank (2008). Tall Tales and True: India, Historiography and British Imperial Imaginings. Monash University Press. p. 65. ISBN 978-1-876924-61-4.
  77. 1 2 J. S. Grewal (1998). The Sikhs of the Punjab. Cambridge University Press. pp. 114–119. ISBN 978-0-521-63764-0.
  78. ↑ Harjot Oberoi (1994). The Construction of Religious Boundaries: Culture, Identity, and Diversity in the Sikh Tradition. University of Chicago Press. pp. 85–87. ISBN 978-0-226-61593-6.
  79. 1 2 3 Clive Dewey (1991). D. A. Low, ed. Political Inheritance of Pakistan. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 263–265. ISBN 978-1-349-11556-3.
  80. ↑ Sunit Singh (2014). Pashaura Singh and Louis E. Fenech, ed. The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies. Oxford University Press. pp. 65–68. ISBN 978-0-19-100411-7.
  81. ↑ Nicola Mooney (2011). Rural Nostalgias and Transnational Dreams: Identity and Modernity Among Jat Sikhs. University of Toronto Press. pp. 68–69. ISBN 978-0-8020-9257-1.
  82. ↑ Major, Andrew J. (1991). DA Low, ed. "The Punjabi Chieftains and the Transition from Sikh to British Rule". Springer, Cambridge University Commonwealth Series: 53–85. ISBN 978-1-349-11558-7. doi:10.1007/978-1-349-11556-3_3.
  83. ↑ Sunit Singh (2014). Pashaura Singh and Louis E. Fenech, ed. The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies. Oxford University Press. pp. 62–63. ISBN 978-0-19-100411-7.
  84. 1 2 Christopher Alan Bayly (1996). Empire and Information: Intelligence Gathering and Social Communication in India, 1780–1870. Cambridge University Press. p. 233. ISBN 978-0-521-66360-1.
  85. ↑ Chitralekha Zutshi (2004). Languages of Belonging: Islam, Regional Identity, and the Making of Kashmir. Oxford University Press. pp. 39–41. ISBN 978-0-19-521939-5.
  86. ↑ Bikramajit Hasrat (1977). Life and Times of Ranjit Singh: A Saga of Benevolent Despotism. V.V. Research Institute. pp. 83, 198. OCLC 6303625.
  87. ↑ Anne Murphy (2012). The Materiality of the Past: History and Representation in Sikh Tradition. Oxford University Press. pp. 121–126. ISBN 978-0-19-991629-0.
  88. ↑ Gardner, Alexander (1898). "Chapter XII". Memoirs of Alexander Gardner – Colonel of Artillery in the Service of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. William Blackwood & Sons. p. 211.
  89. ↑ Sohan Singh Seetal (1971). Rise of the Sikh Power and Maharaja Ranjeet Singh. Dhanpat Rai. p. 56. OCLC 6917931. (note: the original book has 667 pages; the open access version of the same book released by Lahore Publishers on archive.com has deleted about 500 pages of this book; see the original)
  90. 1 2 3 Harjot Oberoi (1994). The Construction of Religious Boundaries: Culture, Identity, and Diversity in the Sikh Tradition. University of Chicago Press. pp. 207–208. ISBN 978-0-226-61593-6.
  91. ↑ Harjot Oberoi (1994). The Construction of Religious Boundaries: Culture, Identity, and Diversity in the Sikh Tradition. University of Chicago Press. pp. 208–216. ISBN 978-0-226-61593-6.
  92. ↑ Ian Heath (2005). The Sikh Army 1799–1849. Bloomsbury. pp. 5–8. ISBN 978-1-84176-777-2.
  93. ↑ The Real Ranjit Singh; by Fakir Syed Waheeduddin, published by Punjabi University, ISBN 81-7380-778-7, 1 Jan 2001, 2nd ed.
  94. ↑ Isabel Burton (2012). Arabia, Egypt, India: A Narrative of Travel. Cambridge University Press. p. 168. ISBN 978-1-108-04642-8.
  95. ↑ Eleanor Nesbitt (2016). Sikhism: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press. pp. 64–65. ISBN 978-0-19-874557-0.
  96. ↑ ‘Sati’ choice before Maharaja Ranjit’s Ranis, The Tribune, Jun 28, 2015
  97. ↑ The Sikh Empire - Places & Architecture
  98. ↑ Samadhi of Ranjit Singh – a sight of religious harmony, Pakistan Today JANUARY 16, 2016, NADEEM DAR
  99. ↑ A Reflection on the talk “Lahore Revisited – The city & its 19th century guidebook” by Dr. Nadhra N. Khan
  100. ↑ Commemorative lotus bulbs now removed
  101. ↑ Singh, Ranjit (20 August 2003). "Parliament to get six more portraits, two statues". Times of India. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  102. ↑ "Ranjit Singh's statue unveiled in Parliament House". The Tribune. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  103. ↑ "Maharaja Ranjit Singh Museum, Amritsar". Punjab Museums. Retrieved 11 August 2012.

Bibliography

Further reading

Biographies
Preceded by
Charat Singh		 Leader of the Sukerchakia Misl
1792–1839 		Succeeded by
None
Preceded by
None		 Maharaja of the Sikh Empire
1801–1839 		Succeeded by
Kharak Singh
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