Maharaja Ranjit Singh (Punjabi: ਮਹਾਰਾਜਾ ਰਣਜੀਤ ਸਿੰਘ), also referred to as "Sher-e-Punjab" ("The Lion of the Punjab") (1780-1839) was the first native emperor of the sovereign country of Punjab, in over 2000 years. Though Ranjit Singh was born a Sikh, Punjab was a strictly secular state under his rule. The members of his court represented several backgrounds including Punjabi Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs and at times even Englishmen. His Samadhi is located in Lahore, Pakistan. Kumar Shri Ranjitsinhji (10 September 1872–2 April 1933) was an Indian prince and Test cricketer who played for the English cricket team. ... Punjabi redirects here. ... 1780 was a leap year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... 1839 (MDCCCXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... An emperorrefers to Nick Herringshaw, a title, empress may only indicate the wife of an emperor (empress consort. ... “Sovereign” redirects here. ... This article is about the geographical region. ... Religions Sikhism Scriptures Guru Granth Sahib Languages English, Punjabi] A Sikh (English: or ; Punjabi: , , IPA: ) is an adherent to Sikhism. ... Punjabi (also Panjabi; in GurmukhÄ«, PanjābÄ« in ShāhmukhÄ«) is the language of the Punjab regions of India and Pakistan. ... A Muslim is a believer in or follower of Islam. ... This article is about the Hindu religion; for other meanings of the word, see Hindu (disambiguation). ... A Sikh man wearing a turban The adherents of Sikhism are called Sikhs. ... The English are people descended for a wide variety of roots, and who are associated, either by birth or by choice, with the culture of England (Latin: Anglia). ... The Samadhi of Ranjit Singh The Samadhi of Ranjit Singh is the mausoleum of the Sikh ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh. ...   (Urdu: لاہور, Punjabi: لہور, pronounced ) is the capital of the Punjab and is the second largest city in Pakistan after Karachi. ...

Maharaja Ranjit Singh

Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...

Early life

Maharaja Ranjit Singh was a Punjabi belonging to the Jat-Sikh (there are many types of Sikhs. The Jats belong to the Kshatriya caste) faith born in 1780 in North India, Gujranwala, which is now located in modern day 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. 1780 was a leap year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Dark green region marks the approximate extent of northern India while the regions marked as light green lies within the sphere of north Indian influence. ... Gujranwala (Urdu: گوجرانوالہ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan with a city population of 1,132,509 (1998 census). ... Sansi (Sandhawalia) is a very small Jat tribe (or gotra) originally from Rajasthan and now living in Punjab. ... A Sikh man wearing a turban The adherents of Sikhism are called Sikhs. ... Misl refers to a fighting clan. ... He was a Punjabi Sikh chief part of the Sikh Confederacy. ... The Sukerchakia Misl was one of 11 Sikh Misls in Punjab during the 18th century. ... Gujranwala (Urdu: گوجرانوالہ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan with a city population of 1,132,509 (1998 census). ...

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 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. is the 102nd day of the year (103rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Union Jack, flag of the newly formed United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. ... Traditional fervour and gaiety mark the celebrations of Baisakhi, which stands for the dawn of a new year in north India. ... Guru Nanak (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ, Devanagari: गुरु नानक) (20 October 1469 - 7 May 1539), the founder of Sikhism and the first of the ten Gurus of the Sikhs, was born in the village of Talwandi, now called Nankana... 1799 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Year 1802 (MDCCCII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

The Samadhi of Emperor Ranjit Singh in Lahore, Pakistan

He then spent the following years fighting the Afghans, driving them out of western Punjab. He also captured Pashtun territory including Peshawar. This was the first time that Pashtuns were ruled by non-Muslims. In a historical perspective, this event was very important. For more than a thousand years invaders had come down from the Khyber pass and ruled eastern lands. Ranjit Singh reversed this trend. When the Sikh empire finally fell to the English, they were able to retain this province. 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. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2272x1712, 221 KB) This is the picture of the mausoleum of Ranjit Singh or the Samadhi of Ranjit Singh. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2272x1712, 221 KB) This is the picture of the mausoleum of Ranjit Singh or the Samadhi of Ranjit Singh. ... The Samadhi of Ranjit Singh The Samadhi of Ranjit Singh is the mausoleum of the Sikh ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh. ...   (Urdu: لاہور, Punjabi: لہور, pronounced ) is the capital of the Punjab and is the second largest city in Pakistan after Karachi. ... The Pashtuns (also Pushtun, Pakhtun, ethnic Afghan, or Pathan) are an ethno-linguistic group consisting mainly of eastern Iranian stock living primarily in eastern and southern Afghanistan, and the North West Frontier Province, Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Baluchistan provinces of Pakistan. ...   (Urdu: پشاور; Pashto: پښور) literally means City on the Frontier in Persian and is known as Pekhawar in Pashto. ... The Khyber Pass, also referred to as The Khyber (also spelt the Khaiber Pass or Khaybar Pass) (Urdu: درہ خیبر) (altitude: 1,070 m , 3,510 ft) is the mountain pass that links Pakistan and Afghanistan. ...   (Urdu: پشاور; Pashto: پښور) literally means City on the Frontier in Persian and is known as Pekhawar in Pashto. ... Year 1818 (MDCCCXVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Jammu   (Hindi: जम्मू, Urdu: جموں) is one of the three regions comprising the disputed state of Jammu and Kashmir. ... Kashmir (or Cashmere) may refer to: Kashmir region, the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent India, Kashmir conflict, the territorial dispute between India, Pakistan, and the China over the Kashmir region. ... 1819 common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Anandpur Sahib is a holy Sikh city and one of the five most holy places in Sikhism. ...

Singh also hired European mercenaries to train his troops, creating 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, Jammu and Kashmir, Peshawar etc., were not controlled by the British. He brought law and order, yet 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. Sikh Khalsa Army (1801-1849) was the military force of the Sikh Empire responsible for land warfare, land defence, and all responsibilities, last and final, for the protection of the Empires political institutions and national security. ... In states ruled by Islamic law, jizya or jizyah (Arabic: جزْية; Ottoman Turkish: cizye) is a per capita tax imposed on able bodied non-Muslim men of military age. ...

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. The Sikh Empire (from 1801-1849) was formed on the foundations of the Sikh Confederacy by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. ... George Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland, 2nd Baron Auckland (1784 – January 1, 1849), served as a politician in the United Kingdom and as Governor-General of India. ... , Shimla   (Hindi: शिमला), originally called Simla, is a city in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. ...

His Empire was effectively secular as it did not discriminate against Sikhs, Muslims, Hindus or even atheists. It was relatively modern and had great respect for all religions and non-religious traditions of the Empire. The only main 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. This was in sharp contrast with the ethnic and religious cleansing of past Mughal rulers. Ranjit Singh had created a state based upon Sikh noble traditions, where everyone worked together, regardless of background, and where citizens were made to look at the things that they shared in common, e.g. being Punjabi, rather than any religious differences. Religions Sikhism Scriptures Guru Granth Sahib Languages English, Punjabi] A Sikh (English: or ; Punjabi: , , IPA: ) is an adherent to Sikhism. ... Khalsa (Punjabi: , literally Pure) refers to the collective body of all baptized Sikhs. ... Khalsa (Punjabi: , literally Pure) refers to the collective body of all baptized Sikhs. ... Sikhism (IPA: or ; Punjabi: , , IPA: ), founded on the teachings of Guru Nanak Dev and nine successive gurus in fifteenth century Northern India, is the fifth-largest religion in the world. ... The Mughal Empire (alternative spelling Mogul, which is the origin of the word Mogul) of India was founded by Babur in 1526, when he defeated Ibrahim Lodi, the last of the Delhi Sultans at the First Battle of Panipat. ...

Ranjit Singh died in 1839. 1839 (MDCCCXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

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 Punjab. The Sher-e-Punjab Empire]] of the (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 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. // Invention of the Jacquard loom in 1801. ... Maharaja Ranjit Singh (Punjabi: ), also called Sher-e-Punjab (The Lion of the Punjab) (1780-1839) was a Sikh ruler of the Punjab. ... The Punjabi people (Punjabi: ਪੰਜਾਬੀ, پنجابی, also Panjabi people) are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group from South Asia. ... A traditional portrait of Guru Gobind Singh Ji. ... Patna Sahib is located in Patna capital city of Bihar. ... Hazur Sahib is located on the banks of Godavari river in Maharashtra. ...

Just like Maharaja Ranjit Singh has donated to have the Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar covered with gold leaf, he donated gold so that the roofs of Vishvanath temple in Banaras and Jwalamukhi and Kangra temples can be covered with gold leaf ^[3]. He had willed that the Kohinoor diamond be donated to the Jagannath Temple in Puri^[4]. Benares (also known as Banaras, Kashi, Kasi and Varanasi (वाराणसी)) is a Hindu holy city on the banks of the river Ganga or Ganges in the modern north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. ... Kangra is a town in Kangra District of Himachal Pradesh state in northern India, and lends its name to the district of the same name. ... Koh-i-noor is Persian and means Mountain of Light. The Koh-i-Noor, Koh-i-Nur, or Kohinoor is a 108 carat diamond that originated in the subcontinent of India and belonged to various Indian and Persian rulers at different points in its history. ... Jagannath(far right) with his brother Balarama(far left) and sister Subadra (center) in Radhadesh, Belgium Jagannath is a Sanskrit term used to describe a deity form of Krishna. ...

Abolition of Capital Punishment

Maharaja Ranjit Singh abolished capital punishment during his rule. ^[5]

Character

Popular figurine of Maharajah Ranjit Singh

Maharaja Ranjit Singh once punished one 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]. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Binomial name Luscinia megarhynchos (Brehm, 1831) This article is about the bird. ...

Captain Murray's memoirs on Maharaja Ranjit Singh's character.

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.

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 Mughals and Afghans, Ranjit Singh conquered yet more territory. In the year 1802, Ranjit Singh successfully invaded Kashmir. Multan shown on a 1669 world map   (Urdu: ملتان) is a city in the Punjab Province of Pakistan and capital of Multan District. ... The Pashtuns (also Pushtun, Pakhtun, ethnic Afghan, or Pathan) are an ethno-linguistic group consisting mainly of eastern Iranian stock living primarily in eastern and southern Afghanistan, and the North West Frontier Province, Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Baluchistan provinces of Pakistan. ... Kashmir (or Cashmere) may refer to: Kashmir region, the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent India, Kashmir conflict, the territorial dispute between India, Pakistan, and the China over the Kashmir region. ...

The Guru's Prophecy

The tenth Guru of Sikhism had ordered his Sikhs not to build any monument of him.^[10]. The place where Guru Gobind Singh, made ascension, and left the earth was Nanded in current Maharashtra in 1708. Anyone who did build any monument of him, would make his living male progeny and blood lineage die and extinct.^[11] Maharaja Ranjit Singh was renowned for his love of the tenth Guru of Sikhism^[12]. Scholars of the time record he often used to refer to himself as "Guru Gobind Singh's Drum". His love 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 Gurdwara, Takht Sri Hazur Sahib^[13]. 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^[14]. Much has been written about the ending of Maharaja Ranjit Singh's Empire, family and the Guru Prophecy. The most recent being a book written by English author Christy Campbell in his renowned book "The Maharajah's Box: An Imperial Story of Conspiracy, Love and a Guru's Prophecy"^[15]. A traditional portrait of Guru Gobind Singh Ji. ... , Nanded (Marathi: नांदेड) is a the second largest city in Marathwada region of Maharashtra state of India. ... , Maharashtra (Marathi: महाराष्ट्र , IPA  , translation: Great Nation) is Indias third largest state in area and second largest in population after Uttar Pradesh. ... // Events March 23 - James Francis Edward Stuart lands at the Firth of Forth July 1 - Tewoflos becomes Emperor of Ethiopia September 28 - Peter the Great defeats the Swedes at the Battle of Lesnaya Kandahar conquered by Mir Wais In Masuria one third of the population die during the plague J... Hazur Sahib is located on the banks of Godavari river in Maharashtra. ... 1839 (MDCCCXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... This article is about the capital of France. ...

Legacy

Rulership of the state went to his 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. Kharak Singh (1801-1840) was a Sikh ruler of the sovereign country of Punjab and the Sikh Empire. ...

After the First Anglo Sikh War, Punjab was defeated and all major decisions were made by the British Empire. The Khalsa Army 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. At the end of the Second Anglo Sikh War, it was annexed by the British from Ranjit Singh's youngest son Duleep Singh. The First Anglo-Sikh War (1845–1846), resulted in partial subjugation of the Sikh kingdom by the British East India Company. ... The British Empire in 1897, marked in pink, the traditional colour for Imperial British dominions on maps. ... The Second Anglo-Sikh War (1848–1849), resulted in the subjugation of the Sikh kingdom and absorption of the Punjab into lands controlled by the British East India Company. ... Portrait of Duleep Singh by Franz Xaver Winterhalter Duleep Singh (Lahore, 6 September 1838 - Paris, 22 October 1893) was a Sikh ruler of the sovereign country of Punjab and the Sikh Empire. ...

Ranjit 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. This article is about the diamond. ... This article is about the diamond. ... History of Sri Jagannath Temple There was a great rotary king named INDRADUMNYNA ruling from the city of ABANTI in the state of MALAB. It is also believed that he was a great devotee of BHAISNAB DHAMA and 5th son of Lord VISHNU in a temple. ... , Orissa   (Oriya: ଓଡ଼ିଶା), is a state situated on the east coast of India. ... Harmandir Sahib or Darbar Sahib(also Hari Mandir, Harimandar and other variants; Punjabi: ਹਰਿਮੰਦਰ ਸਾਹਿਬ) is the most sacred shrine in Sikhism, located in Amritsar, Punjab, India. ... For the Golden Pavilion Temple in Kyoto, Japan, see Kinkaku-ji. ...

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 Maharaja Chola and Ashoka 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. Allegiance: Magadhan Empire Rank: Emperor Succeeded by: Dasaratha Maurya Reign: 273 BC-232 BC Place of birth: Pataliputra, India Battles/Wars Kalinga War Emperor Ashoka the Great (Devanagari: अशोक(:); IAST transliteration: , pronunciation: ) (304 BC–232 BC) (Imperial Title:Devanampiya Piyadassi ie He who is the beloved of the Gods who, in... Maharana Pratap (1540-1597) was the ruler of Mewar, a state in north-western India. ... This article needs cleanup. ... The Marāthās (Marathi: , also Mahrattas) form an Indo Aryan group of Hindu warriors and peasants hailing mostly from the present-day state of Maharashtra, who created a the expansive Maratha Empire, covering a major part of India, in the late 17th and 18th centuries. ...

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 was forced to convert to Christianity, before re-converting to Sikhism later in his life. Maharaja Duleep Singh was the son of the Sikh Emperor, Maharaja Ranjit Singh After the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the young prince was taken by the British to England and placed under their protection. ...

The Sikh Confederacy (from 1716-1799) was a collection of small to medium sized independent sovereign, punjabi Sikh states, which were governed by barons, in Punjab[1]. They were loosely politically linked but strongly bound in the cultural and religious spheres. ... The Sikh Empire (from 1801-1849) was formed on the foundations of the Sikh Confederacy by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. ... The British Empire in 1897, marked in pink, the traditional colour for Imperial British dominions on maps. ... Major-General H.H. Farzand-i-Dilband Rasikh- al-Iqtidad-i-Daulat-i-Inglishia, Raja-i-Rajagan, Maharaja Sir Jagatjit Singh, Bahadur, Maharaja of Kapurthala, GCSI , GCIE , GBE The word Mahārāja (also spelled maharajah) is Sanskrit for great king or high king (a karmadharaya from mahānt great... The Sikh Empire (from 1801-1849) was formed on the foundations of the Sikh Confederacy by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. ... Kharak Singh (1801-1840) was a Sikh ruler of the sovereign country of Punjab and the Sikh Empire. ...

References

Literature

• Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Lord of the Five Rivers, By Jean-Marie Lafont. (Oxford University Press. Date:2002, ISBN 0195661117).

See also

• History of Punjab
• Sikh Empire
• Baradari of Ranjit Singh

// Introduction The first known use of the word Punjab is in the book Tarikh-e-Sher Shah (1580), which mentions the construction of a fort by Sher Khan of Punjab. The name is mentioned again in Ain-e-Akbari (part 1), written by Abul Fazal, who also mentions that the... The Sikh Empire (from 1801-1849) was formed on the foundations of the Sikh Confederacy by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. ... East and North sides of the Baradari. ...

External links

• Official government of Pakistan cultural history article on Maharaja Ranjit Singh

• Maharaja Ranjit Singh family history

• Ranjit Singh profile from sikh-history.com

• Ranjit Singh military career profile

• Extra profile from sikh-history.com

• Foreign officers in Ranjit Singh's Court

• Detailed article on Ranjit Singh's Army

• Article on Maharaja Ranjit Singh Museum
• http://dr-upinder-fotadar.sulekha.com/blog/post/2006/11/maharaja-ranjit-singh-a-homage.htm