The Source Book On Sikhism

Chapter Forty-Seven

The Rise of the Sikh Empire

The Times of Maharaja Ranjit Singh

(1799-1839)

By Dr. S.S. Kapoor

This period presents the time of the glory of Punjab and the formation of a vast Sikh state by Sher-e-Punjab, Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

Ranjit Singh was born on 13 November, 1780 at Gujranwala. His great-great grandfather, Buddha Singh, was baptised from Guru Gobind Singh and died heroically in 1716. His great grandfather, Naudh Singh died fighting against the Pathans in 1753. His grandfather, Charhat Singh, fought against Ahmed Shah Abdali and accidentally died with his own gunshot in 1774. His father, Mahan Singh, became the undisputed leader of Sukkarchak misl, fought a number of battles against the Afghan armies and died in 1792 when Ranjit Singh was only 12 years old.

Ranjit Singh was the only son of his parents. His mother, Mai Raj Kaur, was the daughter of the King of Jind. Ranjit Singh had no taste for books. His real loves were horse riding, weaponry and military training.

In 1799, following the death of his mother Sardarni Raj Kaur and his closest adviser Lakhpat Rai, Ranjit Singh took the command of his Misl in his own hands. At that time he was 18 years old.

Ranjit Singh had five wives. His first wife was the daughter of the Sardar of Kanhaiya Misl. Her name was Mehtab Kaur. This marriage took place in 1795. Mehtab Kaur bore him two sons, Sher Singh and Tara Singh; his second marriage was arranged in 1798 with Bibi Datar Kaur, daughter of Rum Singh of Nakai, she gave him Prince Kharak Singh, who succeeded Ranjit Singh after his death. Ranjit Singh married a third time in 1800 with Maharani Jind Kaur, daughter of Manna Singh Aulak. She gave birth to Prince Dalip Singh, who was the last Sikh monarch, before the fall of the Sikh Empire. Ranjit Singh’s fourth marriage took place in 1806 with a widow, Bibi Ratan Kaur, who bore him Prince Multana Singh. His last marriage was solemnized in 1808 with Bibi Daya Kaur. She gave Ranjit Singh two sons, Prince Kashmira Singh and Prince Pashora Singh.

Ranjit Singh’s five wives bore him seven sons. First wife Mehtab Kaur died in 1813, second wife Datar Kaur died in 1818, third wife Jind Kaur died, in England, in 1891, the fourth Ratan Kaur died in 1811 and the fifth wife, Daya Kaur died in 1843. Ranjit Singh himself died in 1839 at the age of 59.

Shah Zaman, the grandson of Ahmed Shah Abadali, sat on the throne of Kabul in 1783. He attacked India four times. His first attack was in 1787, which was repulsed by the Khalsa forces. He attacked again in 1788 but was defeated by the Misl Sardars. His third attack was in 1796; this time he reached up to Lahore but the joint Khalsa army gave him a crushing defeat at the outskirts of Amritsar. His fourth and last attack came in 1798. When Shah Zaman reached Lahore, he was besieged by the Misl Sardars. He shut himself up in the Lahore fort. Ranjit Singh reached the fort at the head of his forces and shouted aloud, “Oh grandson of Ahmed Shah, I the grandson of Charhat Singh, challenge you for a duel fight, come out from the fort if you consider yourself to be a man...”

The aftermath of the attempted attacks from Kabul made Ranjit Singh think that the Punjab needed a very solid and firm central government rather than a spiteful and covetous Misl system. He discussed his plan with his mother-in-law, Sardarni Daya Kaur of Kanhaiya Misl, who agreed wholeheartedly with her son-in-law’s enterprising and aspiring scenario.

Ranjit Singh conquered Lahore in 1799 and Amritsar in 1802. He defeated the Bhangi Sardars, the ruler of the two cities and gave them large estates for their living.

On 13 April, 1801, he was declared to be a Maharaja and was anointed as such, according to the Sikh traditions, by Baba Sahib Singh Bedi. New coins were minted in the name of Guru Nanak and Guru Gobind Singh and all the coins which were released on the first day were distributed amongst the poor.

Ranjit Singh annexed Kasur in 1801 and Multan in 1803. In the next two years he brought the whole of the Central Punjab, from the Sutlej to the Jhelum under his control. He occupied Ludhiana in 1806. The Sikh Cis-Sutlej states as Nabha, Patiala and Jind appealed to the British for protection. The British and Ranjit Singh signed the Treaty of Amritsar, on 25 April 1809. By this treaty the river Sutlej was fixed as the boundary between the Sikh and the British Empire.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s advance southward of the Sutlej was stopped by the Treaty of Amritsar, now he turned his attention towards North, East, and West.

He conquered the hill states of Kangra, Jammu, Harsota, Rajouri, Bhimber, Noorpur, Jaswal and Chamba between 1807-1809. Kashmir was defeated in 1814 but officially annexed in 1819.

In the Northwest Frontier, Attock was conquered in 1813. Peshawar in 1818, Dera-Gazikhan, Hazara and Dara-Ismaillkhan were annexed in 1821. An uprising in Peshawar was quelled by Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1824, when he entered the town with great pomp and show. He was given a very warm welcome by the native population.

Ladhak in the Kashmir valley and Jamrod, a border town of Afghanistan and India, were conquered by the Maharaja in 1837.

The Maharaja was presented with the 'Kohinoor' by the Wafa Begum, the wife of Shah Sujah, the former ruler of Kabul, for saving her husband’s life first from his brother Shah Mohammed and then from Fateh Khan, the Wazir of Kashmir.

The Maharaja’s two brilliant generals, Akali Phoola Singh and Hari Singh Nalwa died heroically defending the boundaries of India. Akali Phoola Singh, the Jathedar of Akal Takhat, died in 1818 in the battle of Naushera, and Hari Singh Nalwa, the commander-in-chief of the Khalsa died in 1838 defending the fort of Jamrod.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh died in Lahore, on June 17, 1839 after a severe attack of paralysis. He was 59 years old and had very successfully ruled Punjab for about forty years. His empire extended from Sutlej to the outskirts of Afghanistan.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh was the Lion of Punjab. He was a very generous and kind ruler. He laid the foundation of the Sikh Empire and made Punjab the most powerful state in India. His cabinet included Sikh, Hindu and Muslim ministers. His famous Prime Minister was a Dogra-Brahmin, Raja Dhian Singh. His foreign minister was a Muslim, Faquir Aziz-ud-din. Diwan Bhawani Das and Raja Dina Nath were his famous Finance Ministers. Sardar Singh Nalwa, a Sikh, Diwan Mohkam Chard, a Hindu and Illahi Khan, a Muslim were his war ministers.

For administration purposes, the Maharaja had divided his kingdom into four provinces, Lahore, Mutlan, Kashmir and Peshawar. The head of the province was called a Nazim. The provinces were subdivided into districts. Each district was under a Kardar. The villages were ruled by the Panchayats, which consisted of five elders of the village. The judiciary consisted of lower village courts controlled by the Panchayats; the city courts were administered by the Kardars; the state courts were headed by the Nazims and the Adalat-e-ala at Lahore was chaired by the Minister of Justice. The final court of appeal was the Maharaja himself.

The chief source of the government revenue was a land levy which ranged from 1/3 to 1/2 of the total produce of the land. The other sources of income included custom and excise duties, anzrana, salt tax, jagir taxes and business taxes, etc.

The Maharaja was above religious bigotry. He made Punjab a truly secular state. He was a national monarch. He was a practising Sikh and had regard for all other religions. He gave very valuable gifts to Hindu mandirs and Muslim mosques. He donated tons of gold to Harmandir to cover its domes with golden plates. Hence the name of Harimandir came to be known as Golden-temple.