A floral tribute to Maharaja Ranjit Singh as flashed on the f.b. on December 19,2010.

Bishwa Nath Singh:


Maharaja Ranjeet Singh who was born on November 13, 1780 in Gujranwala now in modern day Pakistan is widely remembered as the great warrior, fearless soldier, able administrator, clement ruler, statesman and liberator of Punjab had died on June 27,1839 at the age of fifty nine. His Samadhi (memorial) is located in Lahore, Pakistan where thousands of pilgrims & tourist pay their reverence every day. It would be very appropriate if we could have a glimpse on his life-history in brief to remember him very fondly and join to pay our floral tribute to hism for his statesmanship and love for secularism .
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(Photo of  Samadhi (memorial) of Raja Ranjit Singh  is located in Lahore, Pakistan where thousands of pilgrims & tourist pay their reverence every day)

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Bishwa Nath Singh:
 Maharaja Ranjeet Singh was born on November 13, 1780 in Gujranwala now in modern day Pakistan, into the Sansi-Sandhawalia family. At the time, much of Punjab was ruled by the Sikhs, who had divided the territory among factions known as mis...ls. His father Maha Singh was the misaldar ("commander", "misl leader") of the Sukerchakia misl and controlled a territory in west Punjab based around his headquarters at Gujranwala. Ranjit Singh succeeded his father as the misaldar, at the young age of twelve. The name of his mother was Mai Raj Kaur. Mai Raj Kaur was the daughter of the king of Jind. She was also known by the name of ‘Malwain’. He conquered Lahore in 1799, at the age of nineteen. He gained more and more territory every year he ruled Punjab for forty years. He had a vast empire by the time he left for heavenly abode in 1839 at the age of fifty nine.. His kingdom was so vast that he had to divide his kingdom into 4 different states, and he appointed Governors for those states. He won territory in far away places. In fact, the present day boundaries between Pakistan and Afghanistan and also between Northern India and China were defined his kingdom. He was so strong that invaders from Afghanistan stopped attacking India very year. On the east, the Tibet Government, or present day China, signed a peace treaty with him. In the South, the British also signed a peace treaty with him, which defined his kingdom's boundaries. He was a very kind and fair ruler and he never gave the capital punishment to anybody during his forty year rule. He would go to common people in the evening and at night in disguise to find out their problems and their feelings about his kingdom. He would change his policies based on the true feedback from the people. The British were very impressed with his personality. He also had many European Generals, especially French, in his army. Even the Russian Government sent their ministers to his kingdom. The Sikhs went through religious persecution for more than 50 long years, as described before. Maharaja Ranjeet Singh's kingdom gave them the opportunity to settle down into civilian life. The Sikh community prospered during his time. He built many Gurdwaras during his period. He put all the Gold on Sikhism's most sacred place in Amritsar, that's why it is now known as Golden Temple. After several campaigns, his rivals accepted him as their leader, and he united the Sikh factions into one state and he took the title of Maharaja on April 12 1801 to coincide with Baisakhi day with Lahore serving as his capital from 1799. In 1802 he took control of the holy city of Amritsar. He brought law and order, yet was reluctant to use the death penalty. He stopped India's non-secular style and practises. He treated both Hindus and Muslims equally. He banned the discriminatory religious tax the "jizya" on Hindus and Sikhs which had been imposed by the various Muslim rulers. Maharaja Ranjeet Singh too made a huge contribution to Harmandir Sahib. At the suggestion of one of his courtiers, he decided to beautify the shrine; to enhance its beauty, he arranged a gold leaf for the top half and decorated the enamelled marble right up to the bottom half of the building. The Maharaja took about twenty seven years to complete this task and spent approximately four mounds twelve seers of pure gold valued at more than 66 lacs of rupees. The Kashi Vishwanath Temple that attracts Hindu devotees and other visitors not only from India but also the world over. Lord Vishwanath is considered the supreme repository of the spiritual truth and strengthens the bonds of universal brotherhood. Late Maharani Ahilya Bai Holkar of Indore built the temple in the present shape, way back in 1780. In the year 1785, a Naubatkhana was built up in front of the Temple at the instance of Governor General, Warren Hastings. In 1839, two domes of the Temple were covered by gold, donated by Maharaja Ranjeet Singh, the ruler of Punjab.He was one who will be remembered for his great love for secularism.Maharaja Ranjeet Singh who was the great warrior, fearless soldier, able administrator, clement ruler, statesman and liberator of Punjab died on June 27,1839 at the age of fifty nine. His Samadhi (memorial) is located in Lahore, Pakistan ( whose picture is appended above) where thousands of pilgrims & tourist pay their reverence every day.

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Anil Kumar thanks sir.
 
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f.b.
December19,2010.