The Real Ranjit Singh

The Real Ranjit Singh: An Account based on the Archive of Fakir Family
H.S. Virk
Department of Physics, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar-143005
History is not science and it can be twisted to suit the whims of the ruling class. Much
has been written about Maharaja Ranjit Singh during his bicentenary to eulogize his
achievements. No doubt he was a great ruler who liberated Punjab from the clutches of
Afgan invaders and created a secular state in India but he had all the vices of a medieval
monarch. The most authentic source about the personal life of Maharaja Ranjit Singh is
the book written by Fakir Syed Waheed-ud-Din of Lahore, a doyen and descendant of the
famous Fakir family which served with dedication and devotion to the Maharaja. The
book is based on the archival material in the possession of the Fakir family. It resolves
some of the mysteries about Maharaja’s personal life and state policy.
The author writes that Maharaja Ranjit Singh entered Lahore Fort as a conqueror on
July 7, 1799. He was admonished by a holy ‘voice’ to obey four commandments as a
ruler, if he wants to prosper:
1. To say his prayers every morning without fail.
2. Never to hold court sitting on the throne of the Mughal emperors.
3. To treat his subjects equally, without distinction of caste or creed.
4. To respect and befriend Fakir family, which would serve him truly and well as a
spiritual guardian of the new state.
These four commandments became the corner stone of his state policy. Maharaja
Ranjit Singh was a devout Sikh and his daily routine began with early morning prayers
and listening to recitation of Guru Granth. He started his military campaigns after
seeking guidance or ‘hukamnama’ from Guru Granth Sahib. He had a profound
reverence for all that was holy and spiritual, irrespective of what religion it pertained to.
He paid regular visits to Harimandir Sahib (Golden Temple) on special occasions. His
visits to the shrines of Muslim saints and Hindu temples were as much acts of faith as
those to the Golden Temple. He donated liberally to the religious places of all sects in
Punjab. He participated in religious festivals of both Hindus and Muslims. Thus he was
the first true Sikh, secular King of Punjab.
Following the second commandment, Ranjit Singh never sat upon a throne but
held his durbar sitting cross-legged on a chair. He never added any royal emblem to his
turban or attire. He used to tell his courtiers, “I am a peasant and a soldier, and do not
care for external pomp. My sword is enough to win for me all the distinction I need”.
He had a keen sense of delight in beauty, colour and gaiety in his surroundings.
His courtiers, councilors and military officers were among the best-looking and most
magnificently dressed men of their time. It is doubtful if any court in Europe possessed
such grandeur as the court of Sarkar-i-Khalsa in Lahore.
Fakir Azizuddin attributed Ranjit Singh’s lack of interest in his looks and dress to
an utter lack of personal vanity and humble acceptance of a disadvantage which it had
pleased God to inflict on him. He had a deeply pitted face, a blind eye and a diminutive
figure and he wasted no time or money on trying to improve it. Fakir Azizuddin also
endorses the well-known exchange of remarks between Ranjit Singh and Akali Phula
Singh, the Nihang Chief and Jathedar of Akal Takhat. One day, while the Maharaja was
passing under Phula Singh’s balcony riding on an elephant, the Jathedar shouted down at
him, “O you one-eyed man, who gave you that he-buffalo to ride on?” Ranjit Singh
looked up and said with mock humility, “Your Honour, it is a gift from you.” Akali
Phula Singh represented Khalsa Sarkar and Maharaja Ranjit Singh considered himself a
humble servant (sevadar) only.
Historians have not done justice to the stellar role played by Rani Sada Kaur and
Sarbat Khalsa in building up the foundations of Sikh Empire ruled by Ranjit Singh. Shah
Zaman, the Afgan ruler marched into India at the head to 30,000 men and plundered
Punjab. All the Sikh chiefs were afraid to fight with the Afgans. Sada Kaur called the
Sarbat Khalsa on behalf of Ranjit Singh at Amritsar and threw a challenge to Sikh
misaldars, “Khalsa Jee, if you fail to summon courage to fight, I shall die fighting to save
the honour of Punjab”. Thus, Ranjit Singh was chosen to commend the defending army
at the young age of 19 at the bidding of Sada Kaur. He laid the siege of Lahore fort, rode
upto Samman Burj and challenged Shah Zaman to single combat. Demoralised and
defeated Shah Zaman returned to Kabut and Ranjit Singh became the acknowledged
leader of the Sikhs. Sada Kaur was not only a mother-in-law of Ranjit Singh but she also
guided his destiny and helped him to acquire the Sikh Empire in Punjab. In later years,
she felt ignored and nursed a grudge against Ranjit Singh. She was even imprisoned and
put under house arrest in Lahore and was allowed to return to her estate in Batala only
when she signed the ownership deed in favour of Prince Sher Singh, her grand-son and
the second son of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
Maharaja’s fascination towards horses was matched only by his love for liquor,
aphrodisiacs and pretty women. His harem comprised forty-six women of four
categories: nine whom he married in the orthodox Sikh manner, another nine, all of them
rich widows, whom he adopted as his wives by casting his mantle (Chadar) over them,
seven courtesans, mostly Muslim dancing girls and the rest consisted of concubines.
Fakir Nuruddin, the Home Minister, was also incharge of Maharaja’s palaces and the
harem. Due allowance being made for his reticence, it is remarkable that there exists
hardly any account or mention of anything scandalous that happened in the harem. The
size of his harem was much smaller than the average monarch of Oriental history.
Ranjit Singh conducted an expedition against Raja Sansar Chand of Kangra,
especially to marry his two daughters, Guddan and Raj Banso, known for their beauty
and good looks. Ranjit Singh’s favourite queen, however, was Moran, a dancing girl of
Amritsar, with whom he fell violently in love at first sight when he was just twenty-two.
Ranjit Singh accepted all the conditions of Moran’s father to marry her as per custom of
the courtesan’s family. After this marriage, Akali Phula Singh reprimanded Maharaja
Ranjit Singh and he presented himself at the Akal Takhat to receive the ‘tankhah’
imposed by the Jathedar, by baring his back to receive the lashes.
Maharaja was fond of spending his hours of relaxation in singing and dancing
soirees in the presence of his courtiers and guests. He would drink his special wine, an
extract of raisins with ground pearls mixed in it, at these soirees. The service was
provided by a royal troupe consisting of a hundred and twenty five girls chosen for their
good looks from all over the Maharaja’s domains. The upper age limit was twentyfive
after which these girls were given to the Maharaja’s officers as a favour or a reward for
good work. The prima donna of this royal troupe was Bashiran, whom the Maharaja
used to call ‘Billo’ because of her brown eyes.
Glowing tributes have been paid by Fakir Wahid -ud-Din in his book, “The Real
Ranjit Singh” to the Lion of Punjab. It is a personal account of Maharaja’s rule of
justice, his secular politics, his conquests and empire building and his relations with the
British. However, it fails to determine the causes of the fall of Sikh Empire within a
decade of Maharaja’s death.

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