Maharaja Ranjit Singh – Conquests, Wives and More

Maharaja Ranjit Singh was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, which ruled the northwest region of India in the early 19th century. He is known as the “Lion of Punjab” or “Sher-e-Punjab”. He is also remembered for his successful efforts to unite the various Sikh confederacies in the Punjab region, as well as his victories against invading forces, particularly those from Afghanistan. During his reign, the region saw significant reforms, modernizations, and prosperity. His government and army included people of various religions and ethnicities, including Sikhs, Hindus, Muslims, and Europeans.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s reign also marked a cultural and artistic renaissance for Sikhs. This included the rebuilding of important Gurudwaras such as the Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar and Takht Sri Patna Sahib in Bihar. He created an empire against all sorts of odds. But unfortunately the Sikh empire also had to succumb to the British the way Mughals, Marathas, Mysore, and Hyderabad did. After his death, he was succeeded by his son, Kharak Singh. In 2020, Ranjit Singh was voted the “Greatest Leader of All Time” in a poll conducted by BBC World Histories Magazine.

Establishment of the Sikh Empire under Maharaja Ranjit Singh

 After the death of Aurangzeb in 1707, the Mughal Empire began to decline and lost its ability to govern or tax much of the Indian subcontinent. In the North-western region, particularly Punjab, the formation of the Khalsa community of Sikh warriors by Guru Gobind Singh further contributed to the disintegration of Mughal power in the region. Raiding Afghans attacked the Indus river valleys, but they faced resistance from both organized armies of the Khalsa Sikhs and irregular Khalsa militias based in villages. The Sikhs had appointed their own landholders, replacing the previous Muslim revenue collectors, which provided resources to support and strengthen the warriors aligned with Sikh interests. Meanwhile, colonial traders and the East India Company had begun operations on the eastern and western coasts of India.

18th Century

By the second half of the 18th century, the North-western parts of the Indian subcontinent (now Pakistan and parts of north India) were made up of fourteen small warring regions. Of these fourteen, twelve were controlled by Sikh-led 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 included 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 often fought with each other over revenue collection, disagreements, and local priorities. However, in the event of external invasion, such as from the Muslim armies of Ahmed Shah Abdali from Afghanistan, they would usually unite.

Rise of Sikh Misls

Towards the end of the 18th century, the five most powerful Misls were those of Sukarchakia, Kanhayas, Nakkais, Ahluwalias, and Bhangi Sikhs. Ranjit Singh belonged to the first, and through marriage had reliable alliances with Kanhayas and Nakkais. Among the smaller misls, some such as the Phulkian misl switched loyalties in the late 18th century and supported the Afghan army invasion against their Khalsa comrades. The Kasur region, ruled by Muslims, always supported the Afghan invasion forces and joined them in plundering Sikh misls during the war.

Rise of Maharaja Ranjit Singh

The Lahore Family

Maharaja Ranjit Singh was known for his love of hunting, horses, and strong liquor, and he enjoyed surrounding himself with attractive people. He inherited control of the Sukerchakia, a Sikh group, at a young age upon the death of his father, Maha Singh. He married the daughter of a chieftain and later wed a girl from the Nakkais, becoming a prominent leader among the Sikh confederacy. In 1799, he captured Lahore and was made governor by the Afghan king, Zamān Shah.

However, he declared himself Maharaja of the Punjab in 1801 and began ruling in the name of the Sikh commonwealth. He conquered Amritsar, a major commercial center and sacred city for Sikhs, the following year and went on to subdue smaller Sikh and Pashtun principalities in the region. Despite attempts to expand his territory further east, his ambitions were thwarted by the English, who forced him to sign the Treaty of Amritsar in 1809, establishing the Sutlej River as the eastern boundary of his kingdom.

Consolidation

After establishing control over the Punjab region between the Sutlej and Indus rivers, Maharaja Ranjit Singh turned his attention to other areas. In 1809, he aided the Raja of Kangra in the Himalayas and acquired the region for himself.

• He joined an Afghan expedition to Kashmir in 1813, although the Afghans ultimately betrayed him and kept control of the region. He rescued the Afghan King Shah Shoja, who had been deposed and fled from the Barakzai, and occupied the fort at Attock.
• He also conquered the city of Multan in 1818 and Peshawar the following year.
• In 1820, he began modernizing his army with the help of European officers and used it to quell an uprising in the North-West Frontier and repel an Afghan counterattack on Peshawar.
• In 1831, he met with British officials regarding the fate of Sindh province, but was unhappy with their plan to put a cordon around him and began negotiating with the Afghans instead.
• In 1834, he authorized an expedition led by the Dogra commander Zorawar Singh that expanded his northern territories into Ladakh.
• In 1838, he agreed to a treaty with the British to restore Shah Shojaʿ to the throne in Afghanistan and sent troops through the Khyber Pass to participate in the victory parade in Kabul.
• However, he became ill shortly after and died in 1839, and the Sikh state he had built collapsed due to internal conflicts among rival chiefs just six years later. The primary reason for the fall of Sikh Empire was the 2 Anglo Afghan wars in the 1840s.

Why did Sikh Empire fall?

There are a number of reasons why the Sikh Empire, which was founded by Maharaja Ranjit Singh in the early 19th century, eventually fell. Some of the most significant factors include:

• Lack of strong leadership: After the death of Ranjit Singh in 1839, the empire was ruled by a series of weak and ineffective leaders who were unable to maintain the unity and strength of the kingdom.
• Internal conflicts: The empire was plagued by internal conflicts and power struggles among different factions, which weakened its unity and effectiveness.
• External threats: The Sikh Empire faced external threats from neighbouring powers, including the British East India Company and the Afghan Durrani Empire, which sought to expand their own territories at the expense of the Sikhs.
• Economic problems: The empire struggled with economic issues, including a lack of sufficient resources and a decline in trade, which made it difficult for the government to maintain its military and administrative functions.

Overall, these factors contributed to the decline and eventual fall of the Sikh Empire.

Personal Life – Wives, Children and Concubines of Maharaja Ranjit Singh

Maharaja Ranjit Singh married several times and fathered a number of children. There is no consensus among scholars on the number of wives Maharaja Ranjit Singh had. The estimates vary from 16 to 30. His marriages can be seen as:

 Ranjit Singh married Mehtab Kaur, the daughter of Gurbaksh Singh Kanhaiya, in 1789 in an attempt to reconcile rival Sikh Misls. However, the marriage was unhappy as Mehtab Kaur never forgave Ranjit Singh for the death of her father at the hands of his father. She had three sons with Ranjit Singh and separated from him after he married Datar Kaur, the daughter of Ran Singh Nakai, in 1797. This marriage was successful and Datar Kaur became his favorite wife, assisting him in state affairs and even leading military expeditions alongside their son Kharak Singh. She bore him two additional sons and was affectionately known as Mai Nakain. Datar Kaur passed away in 1838 during a hunting trip with Ranjit Singh.

Wives of Maharaja Ranjit Singh

Other wives of Maharaja Ranjit Singh

• Ranjit Singh took several women under his protection by marrying them through the rite of chādar andāzī, including Ratan Kaur, Daya Kaur, Roop Kaur, Gulab Kaur, Saman Kaur, and Lakshmi Kaur, all of whom were previously married to Sahib Singh Bhangi of Gujrat.
• These women looked after Duleep Singh, Ranjit Singh’s son with Jind Kaur, when she was exiled. Ratan Kaur had a son, Multana Singh, in 1819, and Daya Kaur had two sons, Kashmira Singh and Pashaura Singh, in 1821.
• Ranjit Singh also married Mehtab Devi of Kangara, also known as Guddan or Katochan, and Raj Banso, daughters of Raja Sansar Chand of Kangra.
• Additionally, he was married to Rani Haar Devi of Atalgarh, Rani Aso Sircar, and Rani Jag Deo, who are reported to have presented him with four daughters in the diaries of Duleep Singh.
• He was also married to Jind Bani or Jind Kulan, the daughter of Muhammad Pathan from Mankera, and Gul Bano, the daughter of Malik Akhtar from Amritsar. It is worth noting that some of these marriages may have been informal or symbolic, rather than legally recognized.

Religious Policies of Maharaja Ranjit Singh

Like many Punjabis of the time, Ranjit Singh was a secular king and followed the Sikh path. He was also a devoted Sikh and restored and built several historic Sikh Gurdwaras, including the Harmandir Sahib. He celebrated his victories by offering thanks at the Harmandir and also visited Hindu temples out of respect for their beliefs. Under his rule, the veneration of cows was promoted and cow slaughter was punishable by death. He also ordered his soldiers to not loot or molest civilians.

• Maharaja Ranjit Singh built several gurdwaras, Hindu temples, and even mosques. One of the mosques, Mai Moran Masjid, was built at the request of his beloved Muslim wife, Moran Sarkar.
• The Sikhs under Singh never destroyed places of worship belonging to their enemies. However, they did convert some Muslim mosques into other uses, such as turning Lahore’s Badshahi Mosque into an ammunition store and horse stables, and converting the Moti Masjid (Pearl Mosque) into the Moti Mandir (Pearl Temple).
• Sunehri Mosque was also converted into a Sikh Gurdwara, but upon the request of Sufi Fakir (Satar Shah Bukhari), Ranjit Singh restored it back to a mosque. Lahore’s Begum Shahi Mosque was used as a gunpowder factory, earning it the nickname Barudkhana Wali Masjid, or “Gunpowder Mosque.”

Conclusion 

Maharaja Ranjit Singh was a highly influential and successful ruler who is remembered for his military achievements, his administrative reforms, and his cultural achievements. He united the various Sikh factions and created a strong, centralized state that was able to defend itself against external threats. He also implemented a series of administrative and economic reforms that helped to modernize the state and improve the lives of his subjects. Under his rule, the Sikh Empire experienced a period of peace, prosperity, and cultural flowering.

However, it should be noted that Maharaja Ranjit Singh was also a ruthless and autocratic ruler who did not tolerate opposition and was known for his strict punishment of those who opposed him. He was also accused of being excessively indulgent and of squandering the state’s resources on his personal pleasure and extravagance. Despite these criticisms, his rule is generally seen as a positive period in the history of the Sikh Empire.

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