Punjab Under Maharaja Ranjit Singh

Submitted by: Kismat Palsra

Submitted To: Harwinder Singh

BA Hons. Sem 2

Department of ISSER
Introduction

Who was Maharaja Ranjit Singh ?

Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839),popularly known as Sher-e-Punjab or “Lion of

Punjab”, was the first Maharaja 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

around Ranjit’s early teenage years, Ranjit subsequently fought several wars to expel the

Afghans throughout his teenage years. At the age of 21, he was proclaimed the “Maharaja of

Punjab”.His empire grew in the Punjab region under his leadership through 1839.

Rise Of Maharaja Ranjit Singh

Prior to his rise, the Punjab region had numerous warring misls (confederacies), twelve of which

were under Sikh rulers and one Muslim. 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 outside armies, particularly those arriving from Afghanistan, and established

friendly relations with the British.

Ranjit Singh’s reign introduced reforms, modernisation, investment into infrastructure

and general prosperity. His Khalsa army and government included Sikhs, Hindus, Muslims and

Europeans.His legacy includes a period of Sikh cultural and artistic renaissance, including the
rebuilding of the Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar as well as other major gurudwaras, including

Takht Sri Patna Sahib, Bihar and Hazur Sahib Nanded, Maharashtra under his sponsorship.

Ranjit Singh was succeeded by his son Kharak Singh. Ranjit Singh also founded the Order of the

Propitious Star of Punjab in 1837.

The Establishment Of The Sikh Empire

After the death of Aurangzeb in 1707, the Mughal Empire fell apart and declined in its ability to

tax or govern most of the Indian subcontinent. 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. 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.Meanwhile, colonial traders and the East

India Company had begun operations in India on its eastern and western coasts.

By the second half of the 18th century, the northwestern parts of the Indian subcontinent (now

Pakistan and parts of north India) were a collection of fourteen small warring regions.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.

This region constituted the fertile and productive valleys of the five rivers – Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi,

Bias and Sutlej. 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 theMuslim armies of Ahmed Shah Abdali from Afghanistan, they would usually unite.

Towards the end of 18th century, the five most powerful misls were those of Sukkarchakkia,

Kanhayas, Nakkais, Ahluwalias and Bhangi Sikhs. Ranjit Singh belonged to the first, and

through marriage had a reliable alliance with Kanhayas and Nakkais. Among the smaller misls,

some such as the Phulkias misl had switched loyalties in the late 18 th century and supported the

Afghan army invasion against their Khalsa brethren. The Kasur region, ruled by Muslim, always

supported the Afghan invasion forces and joined them in plundering Sikh misls during the war.

Governance in Ranjit Singh’s Empire

Ranjit Singh allowed men from different religions and races to serve in his army and

his government in various positions of authority. His army included a few Europeans,

such as the Frenchman Jean-François Allard, though Singh maintained a policy of

refraining from recruiting Britons into his service, aware of British designs on the

Indian subcontinent. Despite his recruitment policies, he did maintain a diplomatic

channelwith the British; in 1828, he sent gifts to George IV and in 1831, he sent a

mission to Simla to confer with the British Governor General, William Bentinck

while in 1838, he cooperated with them in removing the hostile Islamic Emir in

Afghanistan.
 Geography of the Sikh Empire

The Sikh Empire, also known as the Sikh Raj and Sarkar-a-Khalsa, was in the Punjab

region, the name of which means "the land of the five rivers". The five rivers are

the Beas, Ravi, Sutlej, Chenab and Jhelum, all of which are tributaries of the river Indus.

The geographical reach of the Sikh Empire under Singh included all lands north of Sutlej

river, and south of the high valleys of the northwestern Himalayas. The major towns at

time included Srinagar, Attock, Peshawar, Bannu, Rawalpindi, Jammu, Gujrat, Sialkot,

Kangra, Amritsar, Lahore and Multan.

Muslims formed around 70%, Hindus formed around 24%, and Sikhs formed around 6–

7% of the total population living in Singh's empire.

 Ranjit Singh’s Ammendments in Punjab

Maharaja Ranjit Singh was a tolerant and secular ruler, who had respect for all faiths. He

believed in the Sikh tenants of equality and universal brotherhood and regarded all humanity as

one and looked at everyone equally with his ‘Single Eye’. Ranjit Singh gave liberal patronage to

all faiths and donated to their places of worship: he guided the Harminder Sahib (Golden

Temple) as it appears today. He gave funds to Hindu temples and Mosques for their upkeep and

maintenance. It is said once a Muslim scholar was unable to sell a copy of the Quran, he

approached Ranjit Singh, who offered a generous amount to the scholar and kept the Holy

Scripture reverently in his possession. Unfortunately, due to misinformation, it has been alleged

that the Maharaja desecrated Muslim shrines. According to official documented records, he

respected Islamic heritage sites and places of worship and gave liberally for their maintenance.

Also, considering the fact that Muslims formed forty five percent of Punjab’s population and

many were employed in his army, he could not have defiled their religious sites without evoking

the wrath of his Muslim subjects.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh, like other contemporary kings of his time had twenty two wives, a number

small comparted to hundreds or thousands maintained by other rulers. He was respectful to

women and married the women he liked. He even undertook a religious punishment to marry a

Muslim women, Moran, whom he loved and married after obtaining consent from her parents and

community. He treaded his children from his marriages with respect and dignity and ensured that

they received adequate upbringing

 Maharaja Ranjit Singh employed people from all faiths and nationalities in his

government and army. His Foreign Minister was a Muslim, his Chief Minister was a Hindu, one

of his most important and trusted general’s was Sardar Hari Singh Nalwa, a Sikh. Muslims were

employed in the artillery and were experts in handling canons. The Sikhs soldiers were excellent

horsemen and later on became proficient in infantry and matched in drills with their European

counterparts. Maharaja Ranjit Singh employed some of the best Europeans in his army. They

helped in transforming his army into one of the finest, well disciplined and modern fighting

machines of the time. Maharaja offered a better pay and compensation to his soldiers as

compared to the ones employed by the British. As long as he was alive, his soldiers were

motivated and willing to carry out campaigns at remote locations and under the harshest

conditions.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh had a well-established government machinery and administrative

setup during his rule, which resulted in economic prosperity of its inhabitants. The taxes imposed

on the farmers were fair and just. Even though the land may have been accessed at a higher value

based on the potential yield, his officials were lenient and often collected lower taxes on the

produce. During the times of famine or natural disasters, he exempted the people from paying taxes

or collected a reasonable amount from them. This put less economic burden on the farmers. Also,

family members of farmers worked for his Army; the generous salary they earned from military

service was remitted back to the villages and their inhabitants. The liberal taxes and highrate of

employment resulted in economic prosperity for people of Punjab. They were happy and content

with the Sikh rule after decades of hardship, persecution and intolerance .
Education was encouraged in Punjab. Both men and women were inspired to take up education in

their childhood and there were village schools, which offered education in basic local language,

math and science. Compared to rest of India, Punjabis were reasonably well educated and there

were less social evils and superstition in Punjab as compared to other parts ofthe sub-continent.

Hospitals and medical facilities also existed in villages and major cities of Punjab. There

were reasonable means of communication between towns/villages. Crime rate was relatively low

in Punjab. Maharaja Ranjit Singh had abolished capital punishment during his reign. His officials

imparted fair justice to the citizens and they were free to approach the Maharaja if they felt that

they were unjustly tried by the lower courts.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh was a patron of fine art and architecture. His reign may be

considered the golden age for Sikh art. During his rule, artists from the hills settled in Punjab

plains and produced one of the most unique pieces of art, which can be seen today in museums

and is in the possession of private collectors. His reign saw the emergence of Sikh architecture,

which was a fusion of Hindu and Muslim styles. This architecture can been seen at various Sikhshrines in

both present day India and Pakistan. Numerous Gurdwaras were constructed by him and his generals. The

Gurdwara at Hasan Abdal, Panja Sahib was constructed by patronage of his General Hari Singh Nalwa.

Various forts were erected during his reign to protect the bordersas well as major cities. These structures are

still in extant in Punjab and are still used by the present Government .
 Maharaja Ranjit was a humble human being, who preferred to be seated on a simple chair as

opposed to an expensive throne. He lived a modest lifestyle, dressed in a plain attire and hardly

put on any jewellery, expect on special occasions, when he wore the famous diamond ‘Koh-i-

Noor’. He however encouraged his courtiers to be handsomely dressed while in his presence. He

was a devout Sikh, who listened to the Sikh scriptures diligently; however, he was not an

orthodox person who imposed his religious views on others. His liberal attributes, leadership

skills, and vision to unite the people, and look after their welfare won the hearts of his subjects.

He earned their respect and is considered to be one of the greatest leaders of his time, while his

reign can be termed as the Golden Age of

Conclusion
At the end of the thesis the conclusion for the betterment of Punjab and it’s economy,

Maharaja Ranjit Singh played a great role…His contributions and his non specific ideology

paved the way for the welfare of Modern day Punjab..He not only worked in the field of defence

but also healthcare..His ideology about all the religions made him a great leader. To which his

successful leadership gave rise to modern day Punjab.

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