Ranjit Singh
ca. 1835-40
Maharaja Ranjit Singh (Punjabi: ਮਹਾਰਾਜਾ ਰਣਜੀਤ ਸਿੰਘ), also called "Sher-e-Punjab" ("The Lion of the Punjab") (1780-1839) was a Sikh emperor of the sovereign nation of Punjab and the Sikh Empire. His Samadhi is located in Lahore, Pakistan.
Early life
Maharaja Ranjit Singh was a Jat from the Punjab belonging to the Sikh faith born in 1780 in the Panjabi town of Gujranwala (now in Pakistan), into the Sandhawalia family.[1] At the time much of Punjab was ruled by the Sikhs as well as Afghans, 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 large state.
Maharaja
Ranjit Singh took the title of Maharaja on April 12 1801 (to coincide with Baisakhi day). A descendant of Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh religion, conducted the coronation ceremony [2]. 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 Peshawarthat is now Pakistan. This was the first time that Pashtuns were ruled by non-Muslims (Sikh). In a historical perspective, this event was very important because for more than a thousand years invaders coming down from the Khyber pass had been able to rule eastern lands; the capture of Pashtun territory put a stop to this. 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 created 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; at this point, Punjab was the only state not controlled by the British. He brought law and order, but never used the death penalty. He stopped Indian non-secular style practices 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 Sikhs. 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 eyes 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 secular as it did not discriminate against Sikhs, Muslims, Hindus or even atheists.[3][4] Compared to other states at the time, it was quite modern and treated all religions and non-religious traditions with great respect. The only 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, in contrast to mass conversions conducted by Mughal rulers of the past. Ranjit Singh created a state based upon Sikh traditions, with all citizen's receiving equal treatment from the government, regardless of religious or ethnic background.
Ranjit Singh died in 1839.
Sikh temples built by Maharaja Ranjit Singh
At the Golden temple much of the present decorative gilding and marblework date from the early 1800s. All the gold and exquisite marble work were conducted under the patronage of Emperor Ranjit Singh, Maharaja of the Sikh Empire of the Punjab. The Sher-e-Punjab (Lion of the Punjab), was a heavy donor of wealth and materials for the shrine and is remembered with much affection by the Punjabi people. Maharaja Ranjit Singh also built two of the other most sacred temples in Sikhism. This was due to Maharaja Ranjit Singh having a deep love for the teachings of the tenth Guru of Sikhism Guru Gobind Singh. The other two most sacred temples in Sikhism, which he built, are Takht Sri Patna Sahib (intiation or birth place of Guru Gobind Singh) and Takht Sri Hazur Sahib the place of Guru Gobind Singh's Sikh ascension into heaven.
Abolition of Capital Punishment
Maharaja Ranjit Singh abolished capital punishment during his rule[5].
Character
Maharaja Ranjit Singh once punished one of his Generals for killing a nightingale when she was warbling, which had annoyed the General[6]. Maharaja Ranjit Singh would help old men with their labour when he used to conduct his afternoon walks through Lahore, with his ministers. One incident was of an elderly man who could not lift a heavy sack. Maharaja Ranjit Singh asked the old man "Night is approaching, old man, why are you sitting here in darkness?". The elderly man answered that the sack is too heavy for me to carry home. The Maharaja carried the heavy sack all the way to the old man's house and was blessed by him[7].
Captain Murray's memoirs on Maharaja Ranjit Singh's character:
"Ranjit Singh has been likened to Mehmet Ali and to Napoleon. There are some points in which he resembles both; but estimating his character with reference to his circumstances and positions, he is perhaps a more remarkable man than either. There was no ferocity in his disposition and he never punished a criminal with death even under circumstances of aggravated offence. Humanity indeed, or rather tenderness for life, was a trait in the character of Ranjit Singh. There is no instance of his having wantonly imbused his hand in blood." Murray (Captain), op.cit., p.174. [8][9].
Conquests
Ranjit Singh and his brave Sikh generals were capable of conquering such a great expanse of land for many reasons, varying from their Sikh discipline to their modern weaponry. Ranjit Singh's early conquests were minor and forgettable when he was a young misldar (baron). He conquered vast tracts of territory on all sides of his kingdom. And by 1799, he had captured Lahore in Pakistan.
From the capture of Lahore, he rapidly annexed the rest of the Punjab. The war rose to a climax at the battle of Multan. Thereafter he was the undisputed ruler of northern India and the land of the five rivers. And even then, to secure his empire, he defeated the Pashtun militias and tribes. The tables having been turned on the Muslim Mughals and Afghans, Ranjit Singh conquered yet more territory. In the year 1802, Ranjit Singh successfully invaded Kashmir.
The Guru's Prophecy
The tenth Guru of Sikhism Guru Gobind Singh had ordered his Sikhs not to build any monument on the place where he ascended into heaven[10]. The place where Guru Gobind Singh, made ascension, and left the earth was Nanded in current Maharashtra in 1708. Anyone who did built any monument on this place, would make his living male progeny and blood lineage die and extinct. Maharaja Ranjit Singh was renowned for his love of the tenth Guru of Sikhism[11]. Scholars of the time record he often used to refer to himself as "Guru Gobind Singh's Drum". His devotion for the Guru would bring him into conflict with the prophecy; he defied it, and built one of the five holiest sights in Sikhism, a temple, Takht Sri Hazur Sahib[12]. Takht Sri Hazur Sahib was built as a monument and sacred place of worship to honour the place where Guru Gobind Singh left the earth and made ascension. It was completed in 1839 and that same year Maharajah Ranjit Singh died. All of his sons, except Dalip Singh, died within 5 years of his death and the temple's completion. His only remaining infant son Maharajah Dalip Singh was made kingdom less as a child by the British, within 10 years of Maharajah Ranjit Singh's death. He died penniless, in a hotel room in Paris, after spending most of his life trying to return to Punjab, his people and regain his lost Empire[13]. Much has been written about the ending of Maharaja Ranjit Singh's empire, family and the Guru Prophecy, the most recent being The Maharajah's Box[14].
Legacy
After Maharaja Ranjit Singh died in 1839 rulership of the state went to his unfit 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.
In 1845 after the First Anglo Sikh War The State of Punjab was defeated and all major decisions were made by the British Empire. The Army of the Maharaja was reduced, under the peace treaty with the British Empire, to a tiny skeleton force. Massive punishing war compensation destroyed any meaningful, independent fiscal policy. In 1849 at the end of the Second Anglo Sikh War, it was annexed by the British from Ranjit Singh's youngest son Duleep Singh.
Maharaja Ranjit Singh is remembered for uniting the Punjab as a strong state and his possession of the Koh-i-noor diamond. Ranjit Singh willed the Koh-i-noor to Jagannath Temple in Orissa while on his deathbed in 1839. 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. While Emperor Rajaraja Chola and Asoka were the 2 most powerful Indian kings of history, they are not named among 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.
References
- ^ History of the Jatt Clans - H.S Duleh (Translation from original Punjabi work "Jattan da Itihas" by Gurjant Singh).
- ^ Sikh Cyber Museum - History
- ^ Ranjit Singh: A Secular Sikh Sovereign by K.S. Duggal. (Date:1989. ISBN 8170172446)
- ^ [1]
- ^ maharaja_ranjit_singh
- ^ A Gateway to Sikhism | THE SIKH RULE AND RANJIT SINGH - A Gateway to Sikhism
- ^ Sikh Cyber Museum - History
- ^ Murray (Captain); History of The Punjab, Vol. II (Reprint, Patiala 1970)
- ^ A Gateway to Sikhism | THE SIKH RULE AND RANJIT SINGH - A Gateway to Sikhism
- ^ The Maharajah's Box, By Christy Campbell. (ISBN 0006530788)
- ^ The Maharajah's Box, By Christy Campbell. (ISBN 0006530788)
- ^ The Maharajah's Box, By Christy Campbell. (ISBN 0006530788)
- ^ The Maharajah's Box, By Christy Campbell. (ISBN 0006530788)
- ^ Christy Campbell, The Maharajah's Box: An Imperial Story of Conspiracy, Love and a Guru's Prophecy
See also
Literature
- Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Lord of the Five Rivers, By Jean-Marie Lafont. (Oxford University Press. Date:2002, ISBN 0195661117).
- Noblemen and Kinsmen History of a Sikh Family: History of a Sikh Family, By Preminder Singh Sandhawalia (Author), (Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers. Date:1999, ISBN 8121509149).