"Ranjit Singh was one of the greatest personalities of India history." Explain it.
Maharaja Ranjit Singh was the most important personality in the history of Punjab. He was born at Gujranwala on 2 November, 1780 in the family of Mohan Singh who was the leader of Sukerchakia Misl. He lost his father at the age of twelve and assumed the responsibility of ruler of the area between river Ravi and Chenab. He appointed Dal Singh as the Prime Minister of the state and started his political activities. At first he brought together all the Sikh Misls and strengthened the Sikh community
A) Conquests of Ranjit Singh : Ranjit Singh wanted to establish a strong Sikh kingdom so he followed the policy of“Blood and Iron” and took advantage of the disturbing situation in Afghanistan. The Afghan rulers authorised him to occupy Lahore because Ranjit Singh had helped Zaman Shah Abdali during the invasion of the Punjab in 1798. Thus Ranjit Singh occupied Lahore in 1799. In 1805 Ranjit Singh occupied Amritsar. Encouraged by these initial success Ranjit Singh embarked in conquests in all directions. He captured Akalgarh, Dallewallia Misl, Gujarat etc. Ranjit Singh wanted to bring the Cis-Sutlej territories which was known as Malwa under his control. He got the opportunity to interfere in a dispute which took place in between the ruler of Patiala and Nabha. Consequently, he marched with 20,000 men and captured many important territories and collected huge tribute from Raja Sahib Singh of Patiala. But he did not occupy their territories. During second expedition of Malwa the British rulers became alert. Consequently, Ranjit Singh stopped his further expedition and concluded a treaty which came to be known as the treaty of Amritsar 1806.
B) The treaty of Amritsar: The treaty of Amritsar took place in between Ranjit Singh and the British govt. in India. Following were the terms of the treaty.
i) Ranjit Singh and the British govt. in India agreed to maintain friendly relations with each other.
ii) The British govt. fixed river Sutlej as boundary between the territories of Ranjit Singh and the English.
iii) Both the parties agreed not to interfere in each others internal affairs.
iv) Ranjit Singh promised that he would not invade the areas lying south of Sutlej;
v) Both the parties agreed to help each other if they are attacked by any third power.
C) Administration of Ranjit Singh : Great as a conqueror Ranjit Singh was equally great as an administrator. He introduced so many reforms in the field of administration which have been discussed under the following heads:
i) Central Administration: He wanted to strengthen the Sikh kingdom so he concentrated all powers in his own hand. However, he used to consult his ministers on all important matters. He possessed all the military and civil powers. He had divided the whole administration into different departments which were being looked after by different ministers.
ii) Provincial Administration: The whole of Sikh kingdom was divided into four provinces for the enforcement of efficient administration. These four provinces were Lahore, Peshawar, Multan and Kashmir. The head of the provinces were called Nizam and each province were divided into districts. The head of the district was known as Kaadar. They were entrusted with the responsibility of maintaining law and order in the district. Besides, they used to collect revenues which was submitted to the central treasury. The welfare activities of the district were also the responsibility of the district authority.
iii) Village Administration : The lowest unit of administration were the villages which were controlled by the Gram Panchayats. The Gram Panchayat was responsible for the village administration. The welfare activities of the villages were the responsibility of the village panchayats.
D) Law and Judicial System : The judicial administration of Ranjit Singh was based on the customs and usages. At the lowest level the village panchayat decided the disputes and conflicts. At the district level the Kadar heard appeals against the decisions of the panchayats. In the cities the disputes were decided by the Nazims. Sometimes special officials were appointed to discharge judicial functions. Ranjit Singh also set-up a special court at Lahore knwn as Adalat-i-Ala. It was like the present High court and heard appeals against the decision of lower authorities. The king himself was the fountain head of all the justice and the final appeal rested with him. He inflicted severe punishment to the criminals of hard nature but capital punishment was almost
unknown.
E) Military Administration : Ranjit Singh was an able conqueror and fighter. He paid due attention to military administration and organised a strong army with efficient military discipline. He recruited French officers to drill and discipline his army. He had divided the army into several units such as Fauj i-Aom, Fauj-i-Khas and Fauj-i-be-qawid. The regular army consisted of infantry, cavalry and artillery. The infantry was divided into a number of battalions. Each battalion was sub-divided into eight companies, each under Subedar. The companies were further sub divided into sections, each consisting of roughly 25 soldiers. Each section was commanded by a Havildar. Ranjit Singh paid great attention to the salary of the soldiers. He provided better facilities to the soldiers. He, for the first time introduced the system of regular monthly salaries.
F) Religious Policy: Ranjit Singh was tolerant and liberal in religious matters. He had appointed many Muslims and Hindus as important ministers. Diwan Dinanath was his finance minister and Fakir Azizuddin was a prominent minister who was very close to Ranjit Singh. He had great respect for the elders and scholars of other religious communities.
G) Estimate of Ranjit Singh : Ranjit Singh was a great politician, diplomat, administrator, soldier, reformer and devoted Sikh. Though he was an absolute monarch but he believed in people's welfare. He was the first Indian ruler who had conquered a portion of Afghanistan. He was a great brave, courageous, fearless, able soldier and commander. He is rightly called the "Lion of Punjab”. He fought several wars but never suffered a defeat. However, after his death the Sikh kingdom began to decline because his sons were not competent and fought among themselves. Consequently, the British govt interferred in their political problems and lastly Punjab was annexed to the British empire in 1849.
