Maharaja Ranjit Singh Death Anniversary 2022

Maharaja Ranjit Singh

We’re remembering Maharaja Ranjit Singh on his 183rd Death Anniversary on 29th June 2022, Wednesday. He is known as Sher-e-Punjab. The entire population of the Punjab used to sing his praises. Those who had enjoyed the pleasure and comfort of his rule used to fondly describe it to their grandchildren as long as they lived.

Brief Intro

Ranjit Singh was born in Gujranwala on November 2, 1780. He was the only son of Mahan Singh and grandson of S. Charhat Singh of Sukarchakia misl. His mother’s name was Raj Kaur.

During his early childhood, he had a virulent attack of smallpox. He survived the attack, but it deprived him of his left eye and deeply pitted his otherwise handsome face. He was thus somewhat disfigured.

No one, not even the wildest daydreamer, could have then dreamt that this frail, disfigured child was destined to be a great man and that he would, one day, become master of the Punjab and of the Punjabis’ hearts; that he would inspire terror in the hearts of those terrible people who had so often invaded, plundered and laid waste this rich and beautiful land of five rivers; that he would be universally acclaimed the ‘Lion of the Punjab’.

The saga of his Rule

Ranjit Singh – Maharaja of the Punjab freed his countrymen from centuries-old slavery of fierce, fanatic, foreign rule. Thereby, he enabled his countrymen to hold their heads high with pride and self-respect. He established a secular and national state in which all communities were equal partners. He did something by virtue of which he endeared himself to all sections of the people and came to be regarded by all Punjabis as their friend, liberator, and protector.

For centuries the Afghans and Pathans had become a terror to Indians, particularly to Punjabis who had been the first victims of their raids and invasions. But Maharaja Ranjit Singh turned the tables on them so that the Punjabis became a source of dread and terror to the erstwhile Afghans and Pathans.

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Maharaja Ranjit Singh made all Punjabis feel the urge of Punjabi nationalism, and regard themselves as Punjabis first, and Hindus, Muslims, or Sikhs afterward. As a result, his Sikh and Hindu troops subdued the Sikh and Hindu chieftains of the Punjab. His Muslim soldiers rejected the appeals to their Indian, Pathan, and Afghan co-religionists to crusade against the ‘infidel’, as they called the Maharaja of the Punjab. Instead of crusading against him, they helped him to liquidate the crusaders. All Punjabis were happy and prosperous under him.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh Death Anniversary 2022 Image

Maharaja Ranjit Singh died on 27th June 1839 and almost immediately the cherished ideal of a strong Sikh state began to dissolve. Ranjit Singh’s peaceful tactics lapsed and almost at once, the Sikhs resorted to political killings.

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Ranjit Singh rose from the status of a petty chieftain to become the king of a huge empire. It was extended from Gilgit and Tibet to the deserts of Sindh and from the Khyber Pass to the Satluj. He persuaded the turbulent Sikhs and Muslims to Punjab to become the willing instruments of an expansionist policy which brought the Kashmiris and the Pathans of the North-West Frontier and Baluchis of Multan province under his subjugation.

The popularity of Ranjit Singh

He was democratic in his administration and as an individual, he was considered liberal and a generous monarch, who had the knack of owning and endearing people. Read More