Maharaja Ranjit Singh
Ranjit Singh was the founder of the Sikh Empire and is popularly named the Sher-e-Punjab (the Lion of Punjab). In the early 1800s, he created a modern empire based on toleration, striking a balance between his role as a faithful Sikh and protector of Muslims and Hindus living within his boundaries. In a poll conducted by the BBC, Ranjit Singh was voted the greatest leader in world history, contended against the likes of Elizabeth I, Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill.
​
He was born in November 1780 just north of Lahore, a city once prized by the Mughal Empire and reputed to have great beauty. However, Mughal power lessened throughout the 18th Century and the city fell to Afghan rule under Ahmad Shah Abdali by 1761. Throughout 1761, Abdali ordered the massacre of 30,000 Sikhs throughout Punjab and the demolition of the Harmandir Sahib, which was filled with cow carcasses. In the late 1770s, Sikhs challenged Abdali’s rule and Lahore was abandoned by the Afghans. Into this fragile era, Ranjit Singh was born.
​
By 1780, Punjab had been split into 12 Sikh Misls, sovereign states of the Sikh Confederacy. These Misls formed a natural aristocratic society in which wealth was shared between three Sikh chiefs. Biannual meetings of these Misls and their leaders were held in Amritsar. Singh’s father, Maha Singh Sukerchakia was the Misaldar of the Sukerchakia Misl, which had become the most powerful Misl of the twelve. Singh’s mother was Raj Kaur, daughter of Raja Gajput Singh of Jind. In 1792, Maha Singh Sukerchakia passed away, leaving Ranjit Singh to inherit the Sukerchakia Misl estates as his only son. At the age of 15, he married Mehtab Kaur, daughter of Gurbaksh Singh Kanhaiya of the Kanhaiya Misl. However, this marriage failed, and he went on to be married another 19 times.
​
In 1798, Ranjit Singh set out to unify Punjab. Singh’s first victory came following a failed occupation attempt by Shah Zaman, ruler of the Afghan Durrani empire. This victory served as a catalyst for Ranjit Singh’s confirmation as governor of Lahore. Further victories over Afghan forces quickly saw Singh emerging as the foremost military commander of Punjab and in 1801, Ranjit Singh proclaimed himself as Maharaja of Punjab after successfully consolidating control of the region. He held a formal inauguration ceremony which was carried out by Baba Sahib Singh Bedi, tenth in direct descent from Guru Nanak. From this, the Sarkar Khalsa (Sikh Empire) was born.
​
Ranjit Singh had new coins created in the name of Guru Nanak named the NanakShahi in the early 1800s. Shortly after in 1802, Singh captured Amritsar from the Bhangi Sikh Misl to solidify his borders. Here, he began a campaign to restore the Harmandir Sahib in marble and gold whilst also donating a tonne of gold to plate the Hindu Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi. Much of the present design of the Harmandir Sahib was introduced under Singh, who also commissioned protective walls and a water supply system to fortify the gurdwara.
​
Singh’s empire of tolerance is widely praised for respecting all communities. He was a secular king who followed Sikhi and would offer thanks at the Harmandir Sahib after victories. However, he was known to join Hindus at their temples and visited Sufi mosques. His 20 marriages were to twelve Sikhs, six Hindus and two Muslim women, one of which he built the Mai Moran Masjid for and all of whom he allowed to practice their faiths openly. As well as this, Singh built a vast amount of Gurdwaras, Mandirs and Mosques throughout Punjab, also prohibiting the slaughter of cows as a sign of respect towards Hindus. Within his empire, forced conversions were largely unheard of.
​
After capturing Amritsar, Singh advanced northwest and conquered the Muslim Misl of Kasur. He was compelled to sign the Treaty of Amritsar with the East India Company whereby he agreed not to expand past the Sutlej river, fixing his eastern boundary. He had also agreed to expel a Maratha force which had sought refuge in Punjab. Throughout the 1810s, Ranjit Singh continued to expand northwest and brought Multan, Majhan, Srinagar, Peshawar and most of Kashmir under his control. This stretched his rule into the Jhelum valley, past the Himalayas to consolidate between the Sutlej and Indus rivers. In 1813, Ranjit Singh was given the Koh-i-noor diamond by Shah Shuja.
​
Every victory of Ranjit Singh’s was achieved by his Punjabi army, composed of Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus and his commanders were from every religious background. Likewise, his administration was just as diverse; his prime minister was from the Rajput warrior clan, his foreign minister was a Muslim and his finance minister was a Brahmin. Throughout the 1820s, Singh began to modernise his army, hiring European officials (mostly those that had served under Napoleon I) to train his infantry and the artillery. His new Punjabi army fought in campaigns around the Afghan border, thwarting uprisings and repulsing attacks made by the Afghans.
​
In October 1831, British officials pressured Singh to allow them to keep the Sindh province, now in southeast Pakistan. These cordons led to Singh negotiating with Afghans, eventually leading to the sanctioning of his territories being expanded northwards into Ladakh. In 1837, Ranjit Singh led his last confrontation against Afghan forces in the Battle of Jamrud, preventing them from capturing Peshawar. A year after, he agreed to sign a tripartite treaty between himself, Shah Shuja (Afghan) and Lord Auckland (British). This treaty reinstated Shah Shuja to the Afghan throne, provided army to help Shah Shuja, recognised Singh’s claim on the right bank of the Indus and gave up Shah Shuja’s claims on Sindh.
​
In 1839, Ranjit Singh fell ill and passed away in Lahore after ruling his Sikh empire for almost 40 years. However, the system of governance he had created was so dependant on his rule it collapsed only six years after his death. He had implemented no lasting structure for future government of his empire and a power struggle between nobles and his wives families had broken out. These divisions created an uneven balance of power and gave the East India Company a chance to intervene in Punjab. Two Anglo-Sikh wars were fought and by 1849 these ended with his former Sikh Empire becoming incorporated into the British Empire.
​
Since his rule, Ranjit Singh’s once tolerant empire has been divided between India and Pakistan, yielding to religious and political divides.
​
By Simran Purewal & Teg Singh