Shere-e-Punjab Maharaja Ranjit Singh

A King, A Legend, A Statesman.

Barsi (Death Anniversary) of Maharaja Ranjit singh falls on 29th Jun 2009. He has special place in the hearts of Sikhs and is remembered as Shere-e-Punjab.

Perfectly uneducated, unable to even read or write, he has by his own natural and unassisted intellect raised himself from the situation of a private individual to a despotic monarch over a turbulent and powerful nation. By sheer force of mind, personal energy, and courage, he had established his throne on a firmer foundation than that of any other eastern sovereign. He ruled with a rod of iron, it is true; but injustice to him it must be stated, that-except in actual open warfare he had never been known to take life, though his own had been attempted more than once.

Ranjit Singh, with the sharp eye of an empire builder, sized up people, read their minds like an open book. By strong action and a well trained army, he achieved much. He brought together the warring factions under a single banner. It was with this new found unity amongst the Khalsas that Ranjit Singh withstood for the first time in history the traditional conquerors of the subcontinent. The Afghans and the Persians who had swept down the mountain passes in aggression now met a resistance from which they withdrew. Then the whole of India heard about a new leader, learnt about the Sikh Nation and came to respect the Punjabi soldier. Ranjit Singh was henceforth a Maharaja.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh died in 1839. Thereafter his eldest son Kharak singh who was unfit ruled the state. On the contrary a 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.

The Army of the Maharaja had weakened and reduced, under the peace treaty with the British Empire, to a tiny skeleton force. Massive punishing Anglo Sikh war in 1845 when Sikhs lost to British forces, the compensation destroyed any meaningful, independent fiscal policy.
Thereafter second Anglo Sikh war during 1849  snatched away youngest son Duleep singh of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh is remembered for uniting the Punjab as a strong state and his possession of the Koh-i-noor diamond. His most lasting legacy was the beautification of the Harmandar Sahib, holiest site of the Sikhs, with marble and gold, from which the popular name of the “Golden Temple” is derived.

He was also known as Sher-e-Punjab (the Lion of Punjab). The title of Sher-e-Punjab is still widely used as a term of respect for a powerful man.