SIKHISM AND RANJIT SINGH

Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780-1839) founder of the Sikh empire who forged a modern empire of tolerance and who famously owned the Koh-i-Noor diamond and has been known as the greatest leader in world history. Ranjit Singh’s father was the ruler of one of the 14 kingdoms that emerged in the wake of the Mughal collapse that grew in the rich region of Punjab. Ranjit had begun to make a name for himself the previous year when he led an army that turned back the invasion of Zaman Shah, ruler of the Afghan Durrani Empire. By 1801 he had sufficiently consolidated his control of Punjab and proclaimed himself to be the Maharaja and thus, the Sikh empire was born. Ranjit Singh was compared to Napoleon in miniature by some contemporaries and was said to have married a series of women, from 18 to as many as 46. In a place of immense religious diversity, he struck a careful balance between his role as a faithful ruler and the desire to be a protector of his empire’s Muslim and Hindu people. The army, the empire’s predominant institution, included Hindus, Muslims, and European Christians – French, Spanish, Polish, Russian, and Prussian, though not British, who history showed should be kept at arm’s length – as well as Sikhs.