The Enduring Legacy Of Maharaja Ranjit Singh | Burning Issues | PDF Download

Context

• Statue of Ranjit Singh, who ruled Punjab for almost four decades (1801- 39), was inaugurated in Lahore.
• June 27 is his death anniversary. His legacy endures for Punjabis around the world.

Life and times

• Ranjit Singh was born on November 13, 1780 in Gujranwala, now in Pakistan.
• Ranjit Singh overthrew the warring Misls
• He was given the title Lion of Punjab (Sher-e-Punjab)
• His general Hari Singh Nalwa built the Fort of Jamrud at the mouth of the Khyber Pass
• At the time of his death, he was the only sovereign leader left in India.

Modernized Army

• Ranjit Singh’s combined the strong points of the traditional Khalsa army with western
• Appointed French General Jean Franquis Allard to modernise his army.
• He also employed a large number of European officers
• During the Battle of Chillianwala,
• the second of the Anglo-Sikh wars that followed Ranjit Singh’s death, the British suffered the maximum casualties of officers in their entire history in India.
• Ranjit Singh’s trans-regional empire spread over several states.
• The boundaries of his state went up to Ladakh — Zorawar Singh, a general from Jammu, had conquered Ladakh in Ranjit Singh’s name — in the northeast.
• His empire extended till Khyber pass in the northwest, and up to Panjnad in the south.

Legacy

• The maharaja was known for his just and secular rule
• The Sikhs take pride in him for he turned Harimandir Sahib at Amritsar into the Golden Temple
• Right at the doorstep of the sanctum sanctorum of the temple is a plaque that details how in 1830 AD
• Funded Hazoor Sahib gurudwara at the final resting place of Guru Gobind Singh in Nanded, Maharashtra.

Recognition

• In 2016, the town of St Tropez in France unveiled the maharaja’s bronze statue .
• His throne is displayed prominently at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
• Exhibitions on his rule are frequent in western countries home to the Punjabi diaspora.
• Last year, London hosted an exhibition that focused on the history of the Sikh Empire

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