MAHARAJA RANJIT SINGH

 

Our class books only have a brief description of Maharaja Ranjit Singh but he was an influential king. A relative of mine posted an article on Whatsapp about Punjabis. A small part of it is on Ranjit Singh. Seeing that, I felt that I should write an article on him so that everyone knows about him. Although Ranjit Singh had some bad habits, he was instrumental in uniting the Sikhs into a strong force. 

Ranjit Singh was born in 1780 in the city of Gujaranwala in West Punjab. It is now in Pakistan. He contracted measles in his childhood and lost the sight in his left eye. Not only that, there were pock marks on his face. When he was only 10 years old, he participated in a battle with his father. He was short. He had little education and only knew how to read Gurmukhi script. He was well trained in martial arts. 

The father of Ranjit Singh died when he was just 12 years old. At that time all the Sikhs were divided into 12 Misl's and they used to fight among themselves. Ranjit Singh's father was the head of one Misl. After his father's death, his mother Raj Kaur managed the estate or Misl with the help of another person. An assassination attempt was made on Ranjit Singh when he was 13 years old but Ranjit Singh killed the assailant. 

When he was 13-14 years old, he became addicted to intoxicating drinks. That habit became much more in the later years. But he was not a smoker. 

Ranjit Singh had 20 wives and many concubines. He also married a Muslim Bhogam child. That marriage and his other anti-Sikh actions angered traditional Sikhs. Phoola Singh, who was the Jathedar of Akhal Takht at that time also got angry and called Ranjit Singh to Akhal Takht and sentenced him to whipping but on the plea of the people there he cancelled the punishment. 

Ranjit Singh's Misl is the most important of the 12 Misl mentioned so far. He intermarried with other important Misls and gradually became the head of the then 12 Misls and assumed the title of Maharaja. 

Ranjit Singh's fame and name came from his defeat of the Afghan armies. In the year 1801 he declared himself as the Maharaja of Punjab. In the year 1806 he made a treaty with the English. Accordingly the Sikh empire would not extend south of the river Sutlej, nor would they venture beyond the river Sutlej into the frontiers of the Punjab on the part of the East India Company.  

Ranjit Singh was afflicted with many diseases after 1830 due to his habits. He also had a heart attack and a stroke. His liver was also damaged due to excessive drinking. He finally died in his sleep in 1839. He was accompanied on the funeral pyre by 4 of his wives and 7 concubines. 

Ranjit Singh consolidated the Sikhs into a formidable force. He conquered the surrounding kingdoms and established a powerful Sikh Empire. He also befriended the British. 

The surprising thing is that only 3% of the Sikh Empire was Sikh. The rest were 74% Muslim and 23% Hindu. This Sikh Empire was born after the death of Mughal Padusha Aurangzeb. At its peak it extended from the Khyber Pass in the west to Tibet in the east, Mithankot (Pakistan) to Kashmir in the south. Delhi was also a part of his empire. 

The state of Jammu and Kashmir was a part of Ranjit Singh's empire. The British won the first Anglo-Sikh war after the death of Ranjit Singh in 1846 and made Maharaja Gulab Singh, a Rajput, the Maharaja of Kashmir. 

Ranjit Singh repaired the Haramandir Saheb, which was looted by the Afghans, and made it covered with marble and gold. Sikh culture and arts flourished during his time.