Ranjit Singh: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|First Maharaja of the Sikh Empire (1780–1839)}}

| title        = Maharaja of Punjab<br />Maharaja of Lahore<br />Sher-e-Punjab (Lion of Punjab)<br />Sher-e-Hind (Lion of Hind)<br />Sarkar-i-Wallah (Head of State)<ref>The Sikh Army 1799–1849 By Ian Heath, Michael Perry (p. 3), "...''and in April 1801 Ranjit Singh proclaimed himself '''Sarkar-i-wala''' or head of state''...</ref><br />Sarkar Khalsaji (Head of the [[Khalsa]])<br />Lord of Five Rivers<br />Singh Sahib<ref>A history of the Sikhs by Kushwant Singh, Volume I (p. 195)</ref>

| reign2      = 15 April 1792 – 11 April 1801

| spouse      = [[Mehtab Kaur|Maharani Mehtab Kaur]]<br /> [[Maharani Datar Kaur]]  <br />

| issue        = [[Kharak Singh]]<br /> [[Ishar Singh (Sikh prince)|Ishar Singh]]<br /> [[Rattan Singh]] <br />

[[Sher Singh]]<br />[[Tara Singh (Sikh prince)|Tara Singh]]<br /> Fateh Singh<ref name="Postscript: Maharaja Duleep Singh">{{Citation|section=Postscript: Maharaja Duleep Singh|date=2017|title=Emperor of the Five Rivers|publisher=I.B. Tauris|doi=10.5040/9781350986220.0008|isbn=978-1-78673-095-4}}</ref><br />[[Multana Singh]]<br /> [[Kashmira Singh]]<br />[[Peshaura Singh]]<br />[[Duleep Singh|Maharaja Duleep Singh]]

| successor    = [[Kharak Singh]]

'''Ranjit Singh''' (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839),<ref name=britranjit/> popularly known as '''Sher-e-Punjab''' or "Lion of Punjab", was the first [[Maharaja]] of the [[Sikh Empire]], which ruled the northwest [[Indian subcontinent]] in the early half of the 19th century. He survived [[smallpox]] in infancy but lost sight in his left eye. He fought his first battle alongside his father at age 10. After his father died, he fought several wars to expel the [[Afghans]] in his teenage years and was proclaimed as the "Maharaja of Punjab" at age 21.<ref name=eos-rs/><ref name="Singh2008p9"/> His empire grew in the [[Punjab region]] under his leadership through 1839.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}<ref name="Grewal6">{{cite book|last=Grewal|first=J. S.|title=The Sikh empire (1799–1849) |publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1990|series=The New Cambridge History of India|volume=The Sikhs of the Punjab|chapter=Chapter 6: The Sikh empire (1799–1849)|chapter-url=http://histories.cambridge.org/extract?id=chol9780521268844_CHOL9780521268844A008}}</ref>

Ranjit Singh's reign introduced reforms, modernisation, investment into infrastructure and general prosperity.<ref name=tejasingh65/><ref name=kaushikroyp143/> His [[Sikh Khalsa Army|Khalsa army]] and government included [[Sikhs]], [[Hindus]], [[Muslims]] and [[Ethnic groups in Europe|Europeans]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Kaushik Roy|title=War, Culture and Society in Early Modern South Asia, 1740–1849|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zp0FbTniNaYC&pg=PA147 |year=2011|publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-79087-4 |pages=143–147 }}</ref> His legacy includes a period of Sikh cultural and artistic renaissance, including the rebuilding of the [[Harmandir Sahib]] in [[Amritsar]] as well as other major [[gurudwaras]], including [[Takht Sri Patna Sahib]], [[Bihar]] and [[Hazur Sahib Nanded]], [[Maharashtra]] under his sponsorship.<ref name=lafontp95/><ref>{{cite book|author=Kerry Brown|title=Sikh Art and Literature|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ddgO-DldmSwC |year=2002|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-63136-0 |page=35}}</ref> Ranjit Singh was succeeded by his son [[Kharak Singh]].

[[File:Ranjet Singh's Birth place..jpg|thumb|Birthplace of Ranjit Singh in [[Gujranwala]], [[Punjab, Pakistan]].|left]]

Ranjit Singh was born in a [[Jat Sikh]] family on 13 November 1780 to [[Maha Singh]] and [[Raj Kaur]] in [[Gujranwala]], [[Punjab]] region (present-day [[Punjab, Pakistan]]). His mother [[Raj Kaur]] was the daughter of [[Jat Sikh]] Raja Gajpat Singh of [[Jind State|Jind]].<ref name="Arora">{{cite book |last=Arora |first=A. C. |editor1-last=Singh |editor1-first=Fauja |editor2-last=Arora |editor2-first=A. C. |title=Maharaja Ranjit Singh: Politics, Society, and Economy |year=1984 |publisher=[[Punjabi University]] |isbn=978-81-7380-772-5 |oclc=557676461 |page=[https://archive.org/details/maharajaranjitsi0000unse/page/86/mode/2up 86] |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nDluAAAAMAAJ |chapter=Ranjit Singh's Relations with the Jind State |quote=Even before the birth of Ranjit Singh, cordial relations had been established between the Sukarchakia Misal and the Phulkian House of Jind. ... the two Sikh Jat chiefships had cultivated intimate relationship with each other by means of a matrimonial alliance. Maha Singh, the son of the founder of Sukarchakia Misal, Charat Singh, was married to Raj Kaur, the daughter of the founder of the Jind State, Gajpat Singh. The marriage was celebrated in 1774 at Badrukhan, then capital of Jind¹, with pomp and grandeur worthy of the two chiefships. ... Ranjit Singh was the offspring of this wedlock.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Singh|first1=Patwant|last2=Rai|first2=Jyoti M.|title=Empire of the Sikhs: the life and times of Maharaja Ranjit Singh|date=2008|publisher=Peter Owen|location=London|isbn=978-0720613230|page=69}}</ref>{{Efn|It has been argued that Ranjit Singh was born into a Jat clan (''got'' in Punjabi) named Sansi (which the Sandhawalias originate from), which is unrelated to the nomadic caste sharing the same name, leading to the misattribution of his origin to the Sansi caste by some.<ref>{{cite book |last1=McLeod |first1=W. H. |title=The A to Z of Sikhism |date=2009 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0810863446 |page=172 |quote=Sikhs remember Maharaja Ranjit Singh with respect and affection as their greatest ruler. Ranjit Singh was a Sansi and this identity has led some to claim that his caste affiliation was with the low-caste Sansi tribe of the same name. A much more likely theory is that he belonged to the Jat ''got'' that used the same name. The Sandhanvalias belonged to the same ''got''.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Singh |first1=Birinder Pal |title='Criminal' Tribes of Punjab |date=2012 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1136517860 |page=114 |quote=Ibbetson and Rose and later, Bedi, had clarified that the Sansis should not be confused with a Jat (Jutt) clan named Sansi to which perhaps Maharaja Ranjit Singh also belonged.}}</ref>|group=note}} Upon his birth, he was named Buddh Singh after his ancestor who was first in line to take [[Amrit Sanchaar]]. The child's name was changed to Ranjit (literally, "victor in battle") Singh ("lion") by his father to commemorate his army's victory over the [[Chattha (clan)|Chattha]] chieftain Pir Muhammad.<ref name=eos-rs/><ref>{{cite book|author=Patwant Singh|title=Empire of the Sikhs: The Life and Times of Maharaja Ranjit Singh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vr4VAQAAIAAJ |year=2008|publisher=Peter Owen|isbn=978-0-7206-1323-0|pages=58–59}}</ref>

Ranjit Singh contracted [[smallpox]] as an infant, which resulted in the loss of sight in his left eye and a pockmarked face.<ref name=eos-rs/> He was short in stature, never schooled, and did not learn to read or write anything beyond the [[Gurmukhi]] alphabet.<ref>{{cite book|author=Patwant Singh|title=Empire of the Sikhs: The Life and Times of Maharaja Ranjit Singh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vr4VAQAAIAAJ |year=2008|publisher=Peter Owen|isbn=978-0-7206-1323-0|pages=56–57}}</ref> However, he was trained at home in horse riding, musketry and other martial arts.<ref name=eos-rs/>

At age 12, his father died.<ref name="Lafont2002p33">{{cite book|author=Jean Marie Lafont|title=Maharaja Ranjit Singh: Lord of the Five Rivers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zjduAAAAMAAJ |year=2002|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-566111-8 |pages=33–34, 15–16 }}</ref> He then inherited his father's [[Sukerchakia Misl]] estates and was raised by his mother Raj Kaur, who, along with Lakhpat Rai, also managed the estates.<ref name=eos-rs/> The first attempt on his life was made when he was 13, by Hashmat Khan, but Ranjit Singh prevailed and killed the assailant instead.<ref>{{cite book|author=Khushwant Singh|title=Ranjit Singh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D068dKeyGW4C  |year=2008|publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=978-0-14-306543-2 |page= 6 }}</ref> At age 18, his mother died and Lakhpat Rai was assassinated, and thereon he was helped by his mother-in-law from his first marriage.<ref name="Singh2008p7">{{cite book|author=Khushwant Singh|title=Ranjit Singh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D068dKeyGW4C  |year=2008|publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=978-0-14-306543-2 |pages=7–8 }}</ref>

In 1789, Ranjit Singh married his first wife [[Mehtab Kaur]],<ref name="Atwal">{{Cite book |last=Atwal|first=Priya|date=2020|title=Royals and Rebels|publisher=Oxford University Press|doi=10.1093/oso/9780197548318.001.0001|isbn=978-0-19-754831-8}}</ref> the muklawa happened in 1796.<ref name="Lafont2002p33" /> She was the only daughter of [[Gurbaksh Singh Kanhaiya]] and his wife [[Sada Kaur]], and the granddaughter of [[Jai Singh Kanhaiya]], the founder of the [[Kanhaiya Misl]].<ref name=eos-rs/> This marriage was pre-arranged in an attempt to reconcile warring Sikh ''misls'', wherein Mehtab Kaur was betrothed to Ranjit Singh in 1786. However, the marriage failed, with Mehtab Kaur never forgiving the fact that her father had been killed in battle with Ranjit Singh's father and she mainly lived with her mother after marriage. The separation became complete when Ranjit Singh married [[Datar Kaur]] of the [[Nakai Misl]] in 1797 and she turned into Ranjit's most beloved wife.<ref name=eos-mk>{{cite encyclopedia |first=Sardar Singh |last=Bhatia |editor1-last=Singh |editor1-first=Harbans |editor1-link=Harbans Singh |title=Mahitab Kaur (d, 1813) |encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia Of Sikhism | volume=III M–R |edition=3rd|page=19 |publisher=Punjabi University Patiala |url=https://archive.org/details/TheEncyclopediaOfSikhism-VolumeIiiM-r/page/19/mode/1up |date=2011 |isbn=978-8-1-7380-349-9 |language=English}}</ref> Mehtab Kaur had three sons, [[Ishar Singh (Sikh prince)|Ishar Singh]] who was born in 1804 and twins [[Sher Singh]] and [[Tara Singh (Sikh prince)|Tara Singh]] born in 1807. According to historian Jean-Marie Lafont, she was the only one to bear the title of [[Maharani]]. She died in 1813, after suffering from a failing health.<ref name="Singh2008p300">{{cite book|author=Khushwant Singh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D068dKeyGW4C|title=Ranjit Singh|publisher=Penguin Books|year=2008|isbn=978-0-14-306543-2|pages=300–301 footnote 35}}</ref>

His second marriage was to, [[Datar Kaur]] (Born ''Raj Kaur'') the youngest child and only daughter of [[Ran Singh Nakai]], the third ruler of the [[Nakai Misl]] and his wife [[Karmo Kaur]]. They were betrothed in childhood by Datar Kaur's eldest brother, ''Sardar Bhagwan Singh,'' who briefly became the chief of the Nakai Misl, and Ranjit Singh's father Maha Singh. They were married in 1797;<ref>{{Cite book|last=Atwal|first=Priya|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aiA3ygEACAAJ|title=Royals and Rebels: The Rise and Fall of the Sikh Empire|date=2020|publisher=C. Hurst (Publishers) Limited|isbn=978-1-78738-308-1|language=en}}</ref> this marriage was a happy one. Ranjit Singh always treated Raj Kaur with love and respect.<ref>{{Cite book|author=Vaḥīduddīn, Faqīr Sayyid|title=The real Ranjit Singh|date=2001|publisher=Publication Bureau, Punjabi University|isbn=81-7380-778-7|oclc=52691326}}</ref> Since Raj Kaur was also the name of Ranjit Singh's mother, she was renamed Datar Kaur. In 1801, she gave birth to their son and heir apparent, [[Kharak Singh]].<ref name="Singh2008p7" /> Datar Kaur bore Ranjit Singh two other sons, [[Prince Rattan Singh|Rattan Singh]] and Fateh Singh.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fc0L06O1eac|title=Mahanian Koharan Tehsil .Amritsar District .AmritsarState .Punjab|via=www.youtube.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|author=Yudhvir Rana|date=1 May 2015|title=Descendants of Maharaja Ranjit Singh stakes claim on Gobindgarh Fort |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/descendants-of-maharaja-ranjit-singh-stakes-claim-on-gobindgarh-fort/articleshow/47123514.cms|access-date=22 September 2021|website=The Times of India|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|author=Yudhvir Rana|date=18 August 2021|title=Seventh generation descendent of Maharaja Ranjit Singh writes to Imran |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/seventh-generation-descendent-of-maharaja-ranjit-singh-writes-to-imran/articleshow/85432426.cms|access-date=22 September 2021|website=The Times of India|language=en}}</ref> Like his first marriage, the second marriage also brought him strategic military alliance.<ref name="Singh2008p7" /> She was exceptionally intelligent and assisted him in affairs of the State.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=2021|title=Tuberculosis: Poor Awareness Leads to Poor Control|journal=Journal of Sheikh Zayed Medical College|volume=11|issue=3|pages=1–2|doi=10.47883/jszmc.v11i03.158|s2cid=236800828|issn=2305-5235|doi-access=free}}</ref> During the [[Siege of Multan (1818)|expedition to Multan in 1818]], she was given command alongside her son, [[Kharak Singh]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U2FRAAAAYAAJ&q=datar+kaur|title=Journal of Sikh Studies|date=2001|publisher=Department of Guru Nanak Studies, Guru Nanak Dev University.|language=en}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{Cite book|last=Atwal|first=Priya|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LPcTEAAAQBAJ&q=royals+and+rebels|title=Royals and Rebels: The Rise and Fall of the Sikh Empire|date=2021|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-756694-7|language=en}}</ref><ref name="Postscript: Maharaja Duleep Singh">{{Citation|section=Postscript: Maharaja Duleep Singh|date=2017|title=Emperor of the Five Rivers|publisher=I.B. Tauris|doi=10.5040/9781350986220.0008|isbn=978-1-78673-095-4}}</ref> Throughout her life she remained Ranjit Singh's favorite <ref>{{Cite book|last=Tibbetts|first=Jann|title=50 Great Military Leaders of All Time|publisher=VIJ Books (India) PVT Limited|year=2016|isbn= 978-9386834195}}</ref> and for no other did he have greater respect for than Datar Kaur, who he affectionately called ''Mai Nakain.''<ref name=eos-rk>{{cite encyclopedia |first=Sardar Singh |last=Bhatia |editor1-last=Singh |editor1-first=Harbans |editor1-link=Harbans Singh |title=Raj Kaur (d. 1838)  |encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia Of Sikhism | volume=III M–R |edition=3rd |page=443 |publisher=Punjabi University Patiala |url=https://archive.org/details/TheEncyclopediaOfSikhism-VolumeIiiM-r/page/443/mode/1up |date=2011 |isbn=978-8-1-7380-349-9 |language=English}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Khushwant Singh|url=http://archive.org/details/ranjitsinghmahar0000khus_h0y2|title=Ranjit Singh Maharajah Of The Punjab 1780–1839|date=1962|publisher=George Allen & Unwin Ltd|others=Servants of Knowledge}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last1=Fakir|first1=Syed Waheeduddin|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DEnRAAAAMAAJ&q=the+real+ranjit+singh|title=The Real Ranjit Singh|last2=Vaḥīduddīn|first2=Faqīr Sayyid|date=1965|publisher=Lion Art Press|language=en}}</ref>  Even though she was his second wife she became his principal wife and chief consort.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Sood|first=D. R.|title=Ranjit Singh.|date=1981|publisher=National Book Trust|oclc=499465766}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|first=Patwant|last=Singh|title=Empire of the Sikhs: the life and times of Maharaja Ranjit Singh|date=2013|publisher=Peter Owen Publishers|isbn=978-0-7206-1524-1|oclc=841311234}}</ref> During a hunting trip with Ranjit Singh, she fell ill and died on 20 June 1838.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Khurana|first=Gianeshwar|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YMUtAAAAMAAJ&q=umdat-ut-tawarikh+mai+nakain|title=British Historiography on the Sikh Power in Punjab|date=1985|publisher=Allied Publishers|isbn=978-0-8364-1504-9|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|first=Lala Sohan |last=Lal Suri|title=Umdat-ut-tawarikh ['Umdat at-tawārīh, engl.] An outstanding original source of Panjab history by Lala Sohan Lal Suri.|date=1961|oclc=163394684}}</ref>[[File:Maharaja Ranjit Singh with wives Wellcome V0045197.jpg|thumb|Maharaja Ranjit Singh with some of his wives.

Ratan Kaur and Daya Kaur were wives of Sahib Singh Bhangi of [[Gujrat, Pakistan|Gujrat]] (a ''misl'' north of Lahore, not to be confused the state of Gujarat).<ref name="Smith1920p690">{{cite book|author=Vincent Arthur Smith|title=The Oxford History of India: From the Earliest Times to the End of 1911|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=p2gxAQAAMAAJ |year=1920|publisher=Oxford University Press |pages=690–693 }}</ref> After Sahib Singh's death, Ranjit Singh took them under his protection in 1811 by marrying them via the rite of ''chādar andāzī'', in which a cloth sheet was unfurled over each of their heads. The same with Roop Kaur, Gulab Kaur, Saman Kaur, and Lakshmi Kaur,  looked after Duleep Singh when his mother Jind Kaur was exiled. Ratan Kaur had a son [[Multana Singh]] in 1819, and Daya Kaur had two sons [[Kashmira Singh]] and [[Pashaura Singh]] in 1821.<ref name=eos-dkr>{{cite encyclopedia |first=Sardar Singh |last=Bhatia |editor1-last=Singh |editor1-first=Harbans |editor1-link=Harbans Singh |title=Daya Kaur, Rani (died 1843) |encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia Of Sikhism | volume=I A–D |edition=3rd |page=539 |publisher=Punjabi University Patiala |url=https://archive.org/details/TheEncyclopediaOfSikhism-VolumeIA-d/page/539/mode/1up |date=2011 |isbn=978-8-1-7380-100-6|language=English}}</ref><ref name=eos-rkr>{{cite encyclopedia |first=Sardar Singh |last=Bhatia |editor1-last=Singh |editor1-first=Harbans |editor1-link=Harbans Singh |title=Ratan Kaur, Rani  |encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia Of Sikhism | volume=III M-R |edition=3rd|page=491 |publisher=Punjabi University Patiala |url=https://archive.org/details/TheEncyclopediaOfSikhism-VolumeIiiM-r/page/491/mode/1up |date=2011 |isbn=978-8-1-7380-349-9 |language=English}}</ref>

[[Jind Kaur]], the final spouse of Ranjit Singh. Her father, Manna Singh Aulakh, extolled her virtues to Ranjit Singh, who was concerned about the frail health of his only [[heir]] Kharak Singh. The Maharaja married her in 1835 by 'sending his arrow and sword to her village'. On 6 September 1838 she gave birth to [[Duleep Singh]], who became the last Maharaja of the [[Sikh Empire]].<ref name=eos-jkm>{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Hasrat |first1=B. J. |editor1-last=Singh |editor1-first=Harbans |editor1-link=Harbans Singh |title=Jind Kaur, Maharani (1817–1863) |encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia Of Sikhism | volume=II E–L |edition=3rd |pages=381–384 |publisher=Punjabi University Patiala |url=https://archive.org/details/TheEncyclopediaOfSikhism-VolumeIiE-l/page/381/mode/1up |date=2011 |isbn=978-8-1-7380-204-1 |language=English}}</ref>

He was also married to Rani Har Devi of Atalgarh, Rani Aso Sircar and Rani Jag Deo According to the diaries, that [[Duleep Singh]] kept towards the end of his life, that these women presented the Maharaja with four daughters. Dr. Priya Atwal notes that the daughters could be adopted.<ref name="Atwal"/> Ranjit Singh was also married to Jind Bani or Jind Kulan, daughter of Muhammad Pathan from Mankera and Gul Bano, daughter of Malik Akhtar from Amritsar.

Ranjit Singh married many times, in various ceremonies, and had twenty wives.<ref name="Anand2015p13">{{cite book|author=Anita Anand|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Cd4yBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA13|title=Sophia: Princess, Suffragette, Revolutionary|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic|year=2015|isbn=978-1-63286-081-1|page=13}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Patwant Singh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vr4VAQAAIAAJ|title=Empire of the Sikhs: The Life and Times of Maharaja Ranjit Singh|publisher=Peter Owen|year=2008|isbn=978-0-7206-1323-0|page=69}}</ref> [[Lepel Griffin|Sir Lepel Griffin]], however, provides a list of just sixteen wives and their pension list. Most of his marriages were performed through chādar andāz.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Griffin|first=Lepel Henry|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q0ABAAAAQAAJ&dq=raj+&pg=PA468|title=The Panjab Chiefs: Historical and Biographical Notices of the Principal Families in the Territories Under the Panjab Government|date=1865|publisher=T.C. McCarthy|language=en}}</ref> Some scholars note that the information on Ranjit Singh's marriages is unclear, and there is evidence that he had many concubines. Dr. Priya Atwal presents an official list of Ranjit Singh's thirty wives.<ref name="auto" /> The women married through chādar andāzī were noted as concubines and were known as the lesser title of [[Rani]] (queen).<ref name="Postscript: Maharaja Duleep Singh"/> While Mehtab Kaur and Datar Kaur officially bore the title of [[Maharani]] (high queen), Datar Kaur officially became the Maharani after the death of Mehtab Kaur in 1813. Throughout her life was referred to as [[Empress consort|Sarkar Rani]].<ref>{{Cite book|first=Lala Sohan |last=Lal Suri|title=Umdat Ul Tawarikh}}</ref> After her death, the title was held by Ranjit's youngest widow Jind Kaur.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lafont|first=Jean Marie|title=Maharaja Ranjit Singh: lord of the five rivers|date=2002|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=0-19-566111-7|location=New Delhi|oclc=49618584}}</ref> According to Khushwant Singh in an 1889 interview with the French journal ''[[:fr:Le Voltaire (journal)|Le Voltaire]]'', his son Dalip (Duleep) Singh remarked, "I am the son of one of my father's forty-six wives."<ref name="Singh2008p300" /> Dr. Priya Atwal notes that Ranjit Singh and his heirs entered a total of 46 marriages.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Atwal|first=Priya|title=Royals and Rebels|year=2020}}</ref> But Ranjit Singh was known not be a "rash sensualist" and commanded unusual respect in the eyes of others.<ref name="auto1">{{Cite book|last=Duggal|first=Kartar Singh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4udb8LsF3-oC&q=rash|title=Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the Last to Lay Arms|date=2001|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-81-7017-410-3|language=en}}</ref> Faqir Sayyid Vaḥiduddin states: "If there was one thing in which Ranjit Singh failed to excel or even equal the average monarch of oriental history, it was the size of his harem."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Vaḥīduddīn|first=Faqīr Sayyid|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uaQGAQAAIAAJ|title=The Real Ranjit Singh|date=1965|publisher=Lion Art Press|language=en}}</ref><ref name="auto1" /> George Keene noted, "In hundreds and in thousands the orderly crowds stream on. Not a bough is broken of a wayside tree, not a rude remark to a woman".<ref name="auto1" />

In 1802, Ranjit Singh married [[Moran Sarkar]], a Muslim [[nautch girl]]. This action, and other non-[[Sikh]] activities of the Maharaja, upset orthodox Sikhs, including the [[Nihang]]s, whose leader [[Akali Phula Singh]] was the [[Jathedar]] of the [[Akal Takht]].<ref name="Kartar">{{cite book|last1=Singh|first1=Kartar|title=Stories from Sikh History: Book–VII|date=1975|publisher=Hemkunt Press|location=New Delhi|page=160}}</ref> When Ranjit Singh visited [[Amritsar]], he was called outside the Akal Takht, where he was made to apologise for his mistakes. Akali Phula Singh took Ranjit Singh to a tamarind tree in front of the Akal Takht and prepared to punish him by flogging.<ref name="Kartar" /> Then Akali Phula Singh asked the nearby Sikh pilgrims whether they approved of Ranjit Singh's apology. The pilgrims responded with ''[[Sat Sri Akal]]'' and Ranjit Singh was released and forgiven. An alternative holds that Ranjit went to visit Moran on his arrival in [[Amritsar]] before paying his respects at [[Harmandir|Harmandir Sahib Gurdwara]], which upset orthodox Sikhs and hence was punished by Akali Phula Singh. [[Iqbal Qaiser]] and [[Manveen Sandhu]] make alternative accounts on the relationship between Moran and the Maharaja; the former stating they never married, while the latter state that they married. Court chronicler, Sohan Lal Suri makes no mention Moran's marriage to the Maharaja or coins being struck in her name. Bibi Moran spent the rest of life in Pathankot.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Graham|first=Ian|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=azwhCwAAQBAJ&q=moran+sarkar&pg=PA206|title=Scarlet Women: The Scandalous Lives of Courtesans, Concubines, and Royal Mistresses|date=2016|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=978-1-250-06263-5|language=en}}</ref> Duleep Singh makes a list of his father's queens which also does not mention Bibi Moran.

* [[Kharak Singh]] (22 February 1801 – 5 November 1840) was the eldest and the favorite of Ranjit Singh from his second and favorite wife, Datar Kaur.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Singh|first=Khushwant|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D068dKeyGW4C&q=favourite+wife|title=Ranjit Singh|date=2009|publisher=Penguin Books India|isbn=978-0-14-306543-2|language=en}}</ref> He succeeded his father as the Maharaja.  

* [[Rattan Singh]] (1805–1845) was born to Maharani Datar Kaur.<ref>{{Cite web|author=Yudhvir Rana|date=1 May 2015|title=Descendants of Maharaja Ranjit Singh stakes claim on Gobindgarh Fort |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/descendants-of-maharaja-ranjit-singh-stakes-claim-on-gobindgarh-fort/articleshow/47123514.cms|access-date=17 September 2021|website=The Times of India|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|author=Yudhvir Rana|date=18 August 2021|title=Seventh generation descendent of Maharaja Ranjit Singh writes to Imran |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/seventh-generation-descendent-of-maharaja-ranjit-singh-writes-to-imran/articleshow/85432426.cms|access-date=10 September 2021|website=The Times of India|language=en}}</ref> He was granted the [[Jagatpur, Punjab|Jagatpur Bajaj]] estate as his jagir.  

[[File:Maharaja Ranjit Singh in Darbar with sons and officials. Signed by Imam Bakhsh.jpg|thumb|Maharaja Ranjit Singh in [[Durbar (court)|Darbar]] with sons and officials. Signed by Imam Bakhsh]]According to the pedigree table and [[Duleep Singh]]'s diaries that he kept towards the end of his life mention another son Fateh Singh was born to Mai Nakain, who died in infancy.<ref name="Postscript: Maharaja Duleep Singh"/> According to Henry Edward only Datar Kaur and Jind Kaur's sons are Ranjit Singh's biological sons.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-rZFAAAAIAAJ&q=colburn+%22five+years+in+india%22&pg=PR1 |title=Five Years in India, Volume 1, Chapter VII| page= 120 |last1=Fane |first1=Henry Edward |year=1842 |publisher=Henry Colburn |access-date=4 August 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/stream/ladyloginsrecoll00logirich#page/n9/mode/2up |title=Lady Login's Recollections|chapter=Chapter VII |page =85 |year=1916 |publisher=Smith, Elder & Co, London |access-date=4 August 2016}}</ref>

It is said that [[Ishar Singh (Sikh prince)|Ishar Singh]] was not the biological son of Mehtab Kaur and Ranjit Singh, but only procured by Mehtab Kaur and presented to Ranjit Singh who accepted him as his son.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Griffin|first=Lepel Henry|title=The Panjab chiefs: historical and biographical notices of the principal families in the Lahore and Rawalpindi divisions of the Panjab|date=1890|publisher=Civil and Military Gazette Press|oclc=777874299}}</ref> [[Tara Singh (Sikh prince)|Tara Singh]] and [[Sher Singh]] had similar rumors, it is said that Sher Singh was the son of a chintz weaver, Nahala and Tara Singh was the son of Manki, a servant in the household of [[Sada Kaur]]. Henry Edward Fane, the nephew and aide-de-camp to the Commander-in-Chief, India, General Sir Henry Fane, who spent several days in Ranjit Singh's company, reported,

"Though reported to be the Maharaja's son, Sher Singh's father has never thoroughly acknowledged him, though his mother always insisted on his being so. A brother of Sher, Tara Singh by the same mother, has been even worse treated than himself, not being permitted to appear at court, and no office given him, either of profit or honour." ''Five Years in India'', Volume 1, Henry Edward Fane, London, 1842{{full citation needed|date=June 2022}}{{page needed|date=June 2022}}

[[File:Portrait of a young Maharaja Ranjit Singh of the Sukerchakia Misl initially and later Sikh Empire.jpg|thumb|Portrait of a young Maharaja Ranjit Singh]]

Ranjit Singh's fame grew in 1797, at age 17, when the Afghan Muslim ruler Shah Zaman, of the Ahmad Shah [[Abdali dynasty]], attempted to annex Panjab region into his control through his general Shahanchi Khan and 12,000 soldiers.<ref name=eos-rs /><ref name="Singh2008p9" /> The battle was fought in the territory that fell in Ranjit Singh controlled misl, whose regional knowledge and warrior expertise helped resist the invading army. This victory gained him recognition.<ref name=eos-rs /> In 1798, the Afghan ruler sent in another army, which Ranjit Singh did not resist. He let them enter Lahore, then encircled them with his army, blocked off all food and supplies, burnt all crops and food sources that could have supported the Afghan army. Much of the Afghan army retreated back to Afghanistan.<ref name=eos-rs />

In 1799, Raja Ranjit Singh's army of 25,000 [[Sikh Khalsa Army|Khalsa]], supported by another 25,000 Khalsa led by his mother-in-law Rani Sada Kaur of Kanhaiya ''misl'', in a joint operation attacked the region controlled by Bhangi Sikhs centered around Lahore. The rulers escaped, marking Lahore as the first major conquest of Ranjit Singh.<ref name="Singh2008p9" /><ref>{{cite book|author=Patwant Singh|title=Empire of the Sikhs: The Life and Times of Maharaja Ranjit Singh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vr4VAQAAIAAJ |year=2008|publisher=Peter Owen|isbn=978-0-7206-1323-0|pages=73–76}}</ref> The Sufi Muslim and Hindu population of Lahore welcomed the rule of Ranjit Singh.<ref name=eos-rs /> In 1800, the ruler of Jammu region ceded control of his region to Ranjit Singh.<ref>{{cite book|author=Jean Marie Lafont|title=Maharaja Ranjit Singh: Lord of the Five Rivers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zjduAAAAMAAJ |year=2002|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-566111-8 |page=64 }}</ref>

In 1801, Ranjit Singh proclaimed himself as the "Maharaja of Punjab", and agreed to a formal investiture ceremony, which was carried out by Baba [[Sahib Singh Bedi]] – a descendant of Guru Nanak. On the day of his coronation, prayers were performed across mosques, temples and gurudwaras in his territories for his long life.<ref name="Singh2011">{{cite book|author=Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh|title=Sikhism: An Introduction|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e0ZmAXw7ok8C&pg=PA129|year=2011|publisher=I.B. Tauris|isbn=978-1-84885-321-8|pages=129–}}</ref> Ranjit Singh called his rule as "Sarkar Khalsa", and his court as "Darbar Khalsa". He ordered new coins to be issued in the name of Guru Nanak named the "NanakShahi" ("of the Emperor Nanak").<ref name=eos-rs /><ref>{{cite book|author=Khushwant Singh|title=Ranjit Singh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D068dKeyGW4C |year=2008| publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=978-0-14-306543-2 |page=35 }}</ref><ref name="Oberoi1994p114">{{cite book|author=Harjot Oberoi|title=The Construction of Religious Boundaries: Culture, Identity, and Diversity in the Sikh Tradition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dKl84EYFkTsC |year=1994|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0-226-61593-6 |pages=114–115 }}</ref>

In 1807, Ranjit Singh's forces attacked the Muslim ruled Kasur and, after a month of fierce fighting in the [[Battle of Kasur]] defeated the Afghan chief Qutb-ud-Din, thus expanding his empire northwest towards Afghanistan.<ref name=eos-rs>{{cite encyclopedia |first=Kushwant |last=Singh |editor1-last=Singh |editor1-first=Harbans |editor1-link=Harbans Singh |title=Ranjit Singh (1780–1839) |encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia Of Sikhism | volume=III M–R |edition=Third |pages=479–487 |publisher=Punjabi University Patiala |url=https://archive.org/details/TheEncyclopediaOfSikhism-VolumeIiiM-r/page/479/mode/1up |date=2011 |isbn=978-8-1-7380-349-9 |language=English}}</ref> He took [[Multan]] in 1818, and the whole [[Bari Doab]] came under his rule with that conquest. In 1819, he successfully defeated the Afghan Sunni Muslim rulers and annexed Srinagar and [[Kashmir]], stretching his rule into the north and the Jhelum valley, beyond the foothills of the Himalayas.<ref name=eos-rs/><ref name=iahmed1998/>

The most significant encounters between the Sikhs in the command of the Maharaja and the Afghans were in 1813, 1823, 1834 and in 1837.<ref name=Grewal6/> In 1813, Ranjit Singh's general [[Dewan Mokham Chand]] led the Sikh forces against the Afghan forces of [[Mahmud Shah Durrani|Shah Mahmud]] led by Fateh Khan Barakzai.<ref>{{cite book|author=Patwant Singh|title=Empire of the Sikhs: The Life and Times of Maharaja Ranjit Singh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vr4VAQAAIAAJ |year=2008|publisher=Peter Owen|isbn=978-0-7206-1323-0|pages=113–116}}</ref> The Afghans lost their stronghold at [[Battle of Attock|Attock]] in that battle.

In 1813–14, Ranjit Singh's first attempt to expand into Kashmir was foiled by Afghan forces led by [[Azim Khan]], due to a heavy downpour, the spread of cholera, and poor food supply to his troops.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}

In 1818, Darbar's forces led by Kharak Singh and Misr Dewan Chand occupied Multan, killing Muzaffar Khan and defeating his forces, leading to the end of Afghan influence in the Punjab.<ref>{{cite book|last=Singh|first=Khushwant|title=A History of the Sikhs: 1469–1838|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MD9uAAAAMAAJ|access-date=1 April 2011|edition=2nd|date=2004|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-567308-1|page=252}}</ref>

In July 1818, an army from the Punjab defeated Jabbar Khan, a younger brother of governor of Kashmir Azim Khan, and acquired Kashmir, along with a yearly revenue of Rs seventy lacs. Dewan Moti Ram was appointed governor of Kashmir.<ref name="lee">{{Cite book |last=Lee |first=Jonathan |title=Afghanistan: A History from 1260 to the Present |publisher=Reaktion Books |year=2019 |isbn=978-1789140101 |pages=170–190 |language=English}}</ref>

In 1834, Mohammed Azim Khan once again marched towards Peshawar with an army of 25,000 Khattak and Yasufzai tribesmen in the name of jihad, to fight against infidels. The Maharaja defeated the forces. Yar Mohammad was pardoned and was reinvested as governor of Peshawar with an annual revenue of Rs one lac ten thousand to Lahore Darbar.<ref>{{cite book|last=Singh|first=Khushwant|title=A History of the Sikhs: 1469–1838|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MD9uAAAAMAAJ|access-date=1 April 2011|edition=2nd|date=2004|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-567308-1|page=265}}</ref>

On 25 November 1838, the two most powerful armies on the Indian subcontinent assembled in a grand review at Ferozepore as Ranjit Singh, the Maharajah of the Punjab brought out the ''Dal Khalsa'' to march alongside the sepoy troops of the East India Company and the British troops in India.<ref>Perry, James ''Arrogant Armies'', Edison: CastleBooks, 2005 pp. 109–110.</ref> In 1838, he agreed to a treaty with the British viceroy Lord Auckland to restore Shah Shoja to the Afghan throne in Kabul. In pursuance of this agreement, the British army of the Indus entered Afghanistan from the south, while Ranjit Singh's troops went through the Khyber Pass and took part in the victory parade in Kabul.<ref name=britranjit>[https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ranjit-Singh-Sikh-maharaja Ranjit Singh] Encyclopædia Britannica, Khushwant Singh (2015)</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Kenneth Pletcher|title=The History of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VsujRFvaHI8C&q=ranjit+singh+entered+kabul&pg=PA248|year=2010|publisher=Britannica Educational Publishing|isbn=978-1615302017}}</ref>

The Sikh Empire, also known as the Sikh Raj and Sarkar-a-Khalsa,<ref name=eos-Khalsa>{{cite encyclopedia |first=Ganda |last=Singh |editor1-last=Singh |editor1-first=Harbans |editor1-link=Harbans Singh |title=Khalsa |encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia Of Sikhism | volume=II E–L |edition=Third |page=473 |publisher=Punjabi University Patiala |url=https://archive.org/details/TheEncyclopediaOfSikhism-VolumeIiE-l/page/473/mode/1up |date=2011 |isbn=978-8-1-7380-204-1 |language=English}}</ref> was in the Punjab region, the name of which means "the land of the five rivers". The five rivers are the [[Beas River|Beas]], [[Ravi River|Ravi]], [[Sutlej]], [[Chenab]] and [[Jhelum River|Jhelum]], all of which are tributaries of the river [[Indus]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Jean Marie Lafont|title=Maharaja Ranjit Singh: Lord of the Five Rivers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zjduAAAAMAAJ |year=2002|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-566111-8 }}</ref>

Muslims formed around 70%, Hindus formed around 24%, and Sikhs formed around 6–7% of the total population living in Singh's empire<ref>{{cite journal |journal=[[Economic and Political Weekly]] |volume=38 |number=26 |date=June–July 2003 |pages=2693–2701 |publisher=Economic and Political Weekly |title=Scheduled Castes in Sikh Community: A Historical Perspective |first=Harish K. |last=Puri |jstor=4413731}}</ref>{{rp|2694}}

==Religious policies==

As consistent with many Punjabis of that time, Ranjit Singh was a secular king<ref>{{Cite book|title=Ranjit Singh: A Secular Sikh Sovereign|last=Duggal|first=K.S.|date=1993|publisher=Abhinav Pubns|isbn=8170172446}}</ref> and followed the Sikh path.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The evolution of the Sikh community: five essays|last=McLeod|first=W. H.|date=1976|publisher=Clarendon Press|isbn=0-19-826529-8|location=Oxford|oclc=2140005}}</ref> His policies were based on respect for all communities, Hindu, Sikh and Muslim.<ref name= Singh2011 /> A devoted Sikh, Ranjit Singh restored and built historic Sikh [[Gurdwara]]s – most famously, the [[Harmandir Sahib]], and used to celebrate his victories by offering thanks at the Harmandir. He also joined the Hindus in their temples out of respect for their sentiments.<ref name= Singh2011 /> The veneration of cows was promoted and cow slaughter was punishable by death under his rule.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/2003/20030308/windows/above.htm|title=The Tribune – Windows – This Above All|website=www.tribuneindia.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Polk|first=William Roe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ozFDDwAAQBAJ&dq=sikh+empire+anti+islamic&pg=PA263|title=Crusade and Jihad: The Thousand-year War Between the Muslim World and the Global North|date= 2018 |publisher=Yale University Press|pages=263|isbn=978-0300222906 |author-link=William R. Polk}}</ref> He ordered his soldiers to neither loot nor molest civilians.<ref>{{cite book|author=Khushwant Singh|title=Ranjit Singh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D068dKeyGW4C  |year=2008|publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=978-0-14-306543-2 |pages= 25–26 }}</ref>

He built several gurdwaras, Hindu temples and even mosques, and one in particular was Mai Moran Masjid, built on the behest of his beloved Muslim wife, [[Moran Sarkar]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Hari Ram Gupta |title=History of the Sikhs |publisher=Munshirm Manoharlal Pub Pvt Ltd |date=2001 |isbn=8121505402}}</ref> The Sikhs led by Singh never razed places of worship to the ground belonging to the enemy.<ref>{{cite book |author=K.S. Duggal |title=Ranjit Singh: A Secular Sikh Sovereign |publisher=Abhinav Publications |date=1989 |isbn=81-7017-244-6}}</ref> However, he did convert Muslim mosques into other uses. For example, Ranjit Singh's army desecrated Lahore's [[Badshahi Mosque]] and converted it into an ammunition store,<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AxnjJp_kpFkC&pg=PA23|title=City of Sin and Splendour: Writings on Lahore|first=Bapsi|last=Sidhwa|year=2005|publisher=Penguin Books |access-date=7 January 2017|isbn=978-0143031666 |quote=In Lahore, just as he had grasped its historic citadel and put it to his own hardy use or desecrated the Badshahi Mosque and converted it into a functional ammuniation store...}}</ref> and horse stables.<ref name=amin95>{{cite book|last1=Amin|first1=Mohamed |last2= Willetts|first2= Duncan|last3= Farrow|first3= Brendan|title=Lahore|date=1988|publisher=Ferozsons|isbn=978-9690006943|page=95}}</ref> Lahore's [[Moti Masjid (Lahore Fort)|Moti Masjid]] (Pearl Mosque) was converted into "Moti Mandir" (Pearl Temple) by the Sikh army,<ref name=amin95/><ref>{{cite book|last1=Latif|first1=Syad Muhammad|title=Lahore: Its History, Architectural Remains and Antiquities|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.107067|year=1892|publisher=Printed at the New Imperial Press|page=[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.107067/page/n175 125]}}</ref> and [[Sunehri Masjid, Lahore|Sonehri Mosque]] were converted into a Sikh [[Gurdwara]], but upon the request of Sufi Fakir (Satar Shah Bukhari), Ranjit Singh restored the latter back to a mosque.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Latif|first1=Syad Muhammad|title=Lahore: Its History, Architectural Remains and Antiquities|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.107067|year=1892|publisher=Printed at the New Imperial Press|pages=[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.107067/page/n343 221]–223, 339}}</ref> Lahore's [[Mosque of Mariyam Zamani Begum|Begum Shahi Mosque]] was also used as a gunpowder factory, earning it the [[nickname]] ''Barudkhana Wali Masjid'', or "Gunpowder Mosque."<ref>{{cite journal|title=Maryam Zamani Mosque|journal=Journal of Central Asia|year=1996|volume=19|publisher=Centre for the Study of the Civilizations of Central Asia, Quaid-i-Azam University|page=97}}</ref>

Singh's sovereignty was accepted by Afghan and Punjabi Muslims, who fought under his banner against the Afghan forces of Nadir Shah and later of Azim Khan. His court was ecumenical in composition: his prime minister, [[Dhian Singh]], was a Hindu ([[Dogra]]); his foreign minister, [[Fakir Azizuddin]], was a Muslim; and his finance minister, Dina Nath, was also a Hindu ([[Brahmin]]). Artillery commanders such as Mian Ghausa were also Muslims. There were no forced conversions in his time. His wives Bibi Mohran, Gilbahar Begum retained their faith and so did his Hindu wives. He also employed and surrounded himself with astrologers and soothsayers in his court.<ref>{{cite book|last=Singh|first=Khushwant|title=A History of the Sikhs: 1469–1838|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MD9uAAAAMAAJ|access-date=1 April 2011|edition=2nd|date=2004|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-567308-1|page=295}}</ref>

Ranjit Singh had also abolished the [[gurmata]] and provided significant patronage to the [[Udasi]] and [[Nirmala (sect)|Nirmala]] sect, leading to their prominence and control of Sikh religious affairs.{{refn|<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mandair |first=Arvind |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ftdcvmviy_8C&pg=PR35 |title=Teachings of the Sikh Gurus: Selections from the Sikh Scriptures |date= 2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1136451089 |pages=xxxv (35)}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Mann|first=Gurinder Singh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bTCFDfh7Qv4C&pg=PA150|title=Studying the Sikhs: Issues for North America|date= 1993 |publisher=State University of New York Press|page=150|isbn=978-0791414255 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Van Die |first=Marguerite |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GxZqGT-IrJ4C&pg=PA348 |title=Religion and Public Life in Canada: Historical and Comparative Perspectives |date= 2001 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |isbn=978-0802082459 |page=348}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Mandair |first=Arvind-Pal S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dzeCy_zL0Q8C&pg=PA264 |title=Religion and the Specter of the West: Sikhism, India, Postcoloniality, and the Politics of Translation |date= 2009 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-51980-9 |page=264 |language=en |quote=As Khalsa Sikhs became more settled and as Ranjit Singh's rule became more autocratic, the Gurumata was effectively abolished, thereby ensuring that the doctrine of the Guru Panth would lose its efficacy. At the same time, however, Ranjit Singh continued to patronize Udasi and Nirmala ashrams. The single most important result of this was the more pronounced diffusion of Vedic and Puranic concepts into the existing Sikh interpretive frameworks}}</ref>}}

However, the Khalsa army of Ranjit Singh reflected regional population, and as he grew his army, he dramatically increased the Rajputs and the Sikhs who became the predominant members of his army.<ref name=tejasingh65/> In the Doaba region his army was composed of the Jat Sikhs, in Jammu and northern Indian hills it was Hindu Rajputs, while relatively more Muslims served his army in the Jhelum river area closer to Afghanistan than other major Panjab rivers.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Teja Singh|author2=Sita Ram Kohli|title=Maharaja Ranjit Singh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YrG_aJTgnw0C |year=1986|publisher=Atlantic Publishers|pages=83–85}}</ref>

==Death and legacy==

In the 1830s, Ranjit Singh suffered from numerous health complications as well as a stroke, which some historical records attribute to alcoholism and a failing liver.<ref name="Smith1920p690" /><ref>{{cite book|author=Kartar Singh Duggal|title=Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the Last to Lay Arms|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4udb8LsF3-oC&pg=PA107 |year=2001|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-81-7017-410-3|pages=107–108 }}</ref> According to the chronicles of Ranjit Singh's court historians and the Europeans who visited him, Ranjit Singh took to alcohol and [[opium]], habits that intensified in the later decades of his life.<ref>{{cite book|author=Khushwant Singh|title=Ranjit Singh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D068dKeyGW4C  |year=2008|publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=978-0-14-306543-2 |pages= 6, 253–254 }}</ref><ref name="Macintyre2008p154"/><ref>{{Cite book |last=Das |first=Aditya |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q5McDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA133 |title=Defending British India Against Napoleon: The Foreign Policy of Governor-General Lord Minto, 1807–13 |date=2016 |publisher=Boydell & Brewer |isbn=978-1-78327-129-0 |page=133 |language=en}}</ref> However, he neither smoked nor ate beef,<ref name=eos-rs/> and required all officials in his court, regardless of their religion, to adhere to these restrictions as part of their employment contract.<ref name="Macintyre2008p154">{{cite book|author=Ben Macintyre|title=The Man Who Would Be King: The First American in Afghanistan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i6XLFu1xMOMC |year=2008|publisher=Macmillan |isbn=978-1-4668-0379-4|pages=154–157 }}</ref>  He died in his sleep on 27 June 1839.<ref name="Anand2015p13" /> Four of his Hindu wives- Mehtab Devi (Guddan Sahiba), daughter of Raja Sansar Chand, Rani Har Devi, the daughter of Chaudhri Ram, a Saleria rajput, Rani Raj Devi, daughter of Padma Rajput and Rani Rajno Kanwar, daughter of Sand Bhari along with seven Hindu concubines with royal titles committed [[Sati (practice)|sati]] by voluntarily placing themselves onto his funeral pyre as an act of devotion.<ref name="Anand2015p13" /><ref>{{cite book|last=Altekar|first=Anant S.|page=132 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VYG4K0yYHQgC&pg=PA131|title=The Position of Women in Hindu Civilization: From Prehistoric Times to the Present Day |year=1956 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-8120803244}}</ref>

Singh is remembered for uniting Sikhs and founding the prosperous Sikh Empire. He is also remembered for his conquests and building a well-trained, self-sufficient Khalsa army to protect the empire.<ref>{{cite book|author=Ian Heath|title=The Sikh Army 1799–1849|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=bT8UvgAACAAJ|year= 2005|publisher= Bloomsbury |isbn= 978-1-84176-777-2|pages= 5–8}}</ref> He amassed considerable wealth, including gaining the possession of the [[Koh-i-Noor]] diamond from [[Shuja Shah Durrani]] of Afghanistan, which he left to [[Jagannath Temple, Puri|Jagannath Temple]] in [[Puri]], [[Odisha]] in 1839.<ref name="ReferenceA">''The Real Ranjit Singh''; by Fakir Syed Waheeduddin, published by Punjabi University, {{ISBN|81-7380-778-7}}, 2001, 2nd ed.</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Isabel Burton|title=Arabia, Egypt, India: A Narrative of Travel|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=egyyNGelXQcC |year= 2012|publisher= Cambridge University Press|isbn= 978-1-108-04642-8|page=168}}</ref>

Perhaps Singh's most lasting legacy was the restoration and expansion of the Harmandir Sahib, the most revered Gurudwara of the Sikhs, which is now known popularly as the "Golden Temple".<ref>{{cite book|author=Eleanor Nesbitt|title=Sikhism: A Very Short Introduction|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=XebnCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA64 |year= 2016|publisher= Oxford University Press|isbn= 978-0-19-874557-0|pages=64–65}}</ref> Much of the present decoration at the Harmandir Sahib, in the form of gilding and marblework, was introduced under the patronage of Singh, who also sponsored protective walls and water supply system to strengthen security and operations related to the temple.<ref name=lafontp95>{{cite book|author=Jean Marie Lafont|title=Maharaja Ranjit Singh: Lord of the Five Rivers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zjduAAAAMAAJ |year=2002|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-566111-8 |pages=95–96 }}</ref> He also directed construction of two of the most sacred Sikh temples, being the birthplace and place of assassination of Guru Gobind Singh – [[Takht Sri Patna Sahib]] and [[Takht Sri Hazur Sahib]], respectively – whom he much admired.{{citation needed|date=February 2018}} The nine-storey tower of [[Gurdwara Baba Atal]] was constructed during his reign.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Teja |first=Charanjit Singh |date=29 March 2021 |title=Guru's legacy muralled on wall in Gurdwara Baba Attal Rai |url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/arts/gurus-legacy-muralled-on-wall-in-gurdwara-baba-attal-rai-231518 |access-date=2023-01-07 |website=Tribuneindia News Service |language=en}}</ref>

*On 20 August 2003, a 22-foot-tall bronze statue of Singh was installed in the [[Parliament of India]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Singh|first=Ranjit|title=Parliament to get six more portraits, two statues|url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2003-08-20/india/27212843_1_new-portraits-patriots-and-politicians-statues|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130512235014/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2003-08-20/india/27212843_1_new-portraits-patriots-and-politicians-statues|archive-date=12 May 2013|access-date=11 August 2012|newspaper=[[The Times of India]]|date=20 August 2003}}</ref>

*On 27 June 2019, a nine-feet bronze statue of Singh was unveiled at the Haveli Maharani Jindan, [[Lahore Fort]] at his 180th death anniversary.<ref>{{cite web|title=Statue of Ranjit Singh unveiled on his 180th death anniversary|date=28 June 2019|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1490828|access-date=29 June 2019}}</ref> It has been vandalised several times since, specifically by members of the [[Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Statue of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in Lahore vandalised by a man because Singh had converted a mosque into a horse stable|date=12 December 2020|url=https://www.geo.tv/latest/323914-raja-ranjit-singhs-lahore-statue-vandalised-for-the-second-time|access-date=13 December 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Kumar |first1=Anil |title=Maharaja Ranjit Singh's statue in Pakistan vandalised by activist of banned far-right outfit |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/maharaja-ranjit-singh-statue-pakistan-vandalised-tlp-activist-1841863-2021-08-17 |website=India Today |access-date=17 August 2021}}</ref>

In 1783, Ranjit Singh established a crafts colony of Thatheras near [[Amritsar]] and encouraged skilled metal crafters from [[Kashmir]] to settle in [[Jandiala Guru]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=112387|title=Traditional brass and copper craft of utensil making from Punjab gets inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, UNESCO, 2014.|website=pib.nic.in|access-date=1 July 2019}}</ref> In the year 2014, this traditional craft of making brass and copper products got enlisted on the [[UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists|List of Intangible Cultural Heritage]] by [[UNESCO]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/traditional-brass-and-copper-craft-of-utensil-making-among-the-thatheras-of-jandiala-guru-punjab-india-00845|title=UNESCO – Traditional brass and copper craft of utensil making among the Thatheras of Jandiala Guru, Punjab, India|website=ich.unesco.org|language=en|access-date=1 July 2019}}</ref> The [[Government of Punjab, India|Government of Punjab]] is now working under Project Virasat to revive this craft.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/age-old-craft-of-thatheras-to-get-new-life/articleshow/64715430.cms|title=Jandiala utensils: Age-old craft of thatheras to get new life |date=24 June 2018|first=Yudhvir |last=Rana |website=The Times of India – Chandigarh News|language=en|access-date=1 July 2019}}</ref>

 

In 2020, Ranjit Singh was named as "Greatest Leader of All Time" in a poll conducted by '[[BBC]] World Histories Magazine'.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/maharaja-ranjit-singh-named-greatest-world-leader-in-bbc-poll/articleshow/74497790.cms?from=mdr | title=Maharaja Ranjit Singh named greatest world leader in BBC Poll | newspaper=The Economic Times }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/sikh-warrior-maharaja-ranjit-singh-voted-the-greatest-leader-of-all-time-2v8b9f86c | title=Sikh warrior Maharaja Ranjit Singh beats Winston Churchill as the greatest leader of all time }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://uk.news.yahoo.com/greatest-leaders-bbc-poll-095652054.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAJaMwBAAE288T_HclBWkzwsLxPweg2Nn8WPfbosMaAhXIKRoTSHXmpZgh8N51m4_bO-TwyRstziCh5e8n87VnxTorf66A3WGQ_SfJgnLH-iyehO555eB_h0YRjxGHDbjpkS7gRfTABKz0XlHVu1dKEk1x0lhZB64e4z7d8CT3yqB | title=Sikh warrior voted greatest leader of all time in BBC poll }}</ref>

* [[Battle of Balakot]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rekhta.org/ebooks/shah-ismail-shaheed-ebooks|title=Shah Ismail Shaheed|website=Rekhta}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://islamhouse.com/en/books/51908|title=Strengthening the Faith – English – Shah Ismail Shaheed|first=Shah Ismail|last=Shaheed|website=IslamHouse.com}}</ref><ref name=GoogleBooks>[https://books.google.com/books?id=LFaIp-8BEDoC&dq=shah+ismail+shaheed&pg=PT4 Profile of Dehlvi on books.google.com website] Retrieved 16 August 2018</ref>

 

* ''The Real Ranjit Singh'' by Fakir Syed Waheeduddin, published by Punjabi University, {{ISBN|81-7380-778-7}}, 2001, 2nd ed. First ed. published 1965 Pakistan.

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