Ranjit Singh : (1780-1839), Maharaja of Punjab. He created a Sikh kingdom extending from Peshawar to the Sutlej & from Kashmir to Sind in the teeth of violent opposition from Afghans, English, & many co-religionists, earning the title of the Lion of Punjab. In 1808, invited by his short-sighted co-religionists, the Cis-Sutlej (i.e. east of Sutlej), Nabha, Jind & Patiala, the wily Octopus in the form of Gilbert Elliot Minto (1751-1814), Gov.-Gen. (1807-13), first offered to negotiate an offensive & defensive alliance with Ranjit Singh against the French who it claimed would invade Punjab through Persia. Ranjit Singh demanded acknowledgement of his sovereignty over all Sikh States in Cis-Sutlej as a price for this alliance. While the negotiations dragged on Napoleon was embroiled in the Peninsular War & England’s relations with Turkey had improved after the Treaty of Dardanelles in 1809, so Minto despatched an army to Punjab under David Ochterlony. Ranjit Singh’s army (like all armies of native rulers of the time) was perforce officered mostly by European mercenaries who promptly left ship. At Amritsar in April 1809, Ochterlony extracted a treaty from the defeated Ranjit Singh that reduced him to a figurehead (like all British treaties always did to native rulers) confined to the right side of the Sutlej. Then, as his ‘just reward’ appropriated the Cis-Sutlej states, under the pretext of imposing British protection. On 30th March 1849, Lord Dalhousie, unauthorised by E.I. Co., annexed Punjab, because: “However contrary to our past views & to our present views, annexation of Punjab is the most advantageous policy for us to pursue.” The unfortunate young Dalip Singh (Ranjit Singh’s grandson) had to rest content with a paltry pension of five lacs of rupees a year. Sent to England with his mother, he ultimately embraced Christianity & lived for a time as an English landowner in Norfolk. He subsequently came back to the Punjab & returned to his old faith but not to his old position. His mother died in London. [Glossary & Index…, 1989; Fatehsingh Rao’s Sayājirao..., 1989; Buckland; Columbia Ency., 1950; An Advanced History of India, R.C. Majumdar e al, 1973-1974:735-40]
... While the system was a complete success, it undermined the independence of Indian rulers and gave the British total power in India. The Sikhs of Punjab, after the death of Ranjit Singh, attacked British positions, starting a costly war. The Sikhs were one of many groups or individual states that resisted British exploitation, brutality and territorial seizures at sporadic intervals... Company. All that now remained was the conquest of Sind and the Punjab. The former fell in the aftermath of the disastrous Anglo-Afghan war. In Punjab as a result of the anarchy following the death of Ranjit Singh, his successors could not stand up to the British. A few years later Dalhousie became the Governor-General. Determined to extend direct British control over large areas, Dalhousie introduced the ...
... to our posterity.... In teaching geography, we impress upon the minds of our students that India is their motherland. and that Maharashtra produced Shivaji , that the Punjab was once ruled by Ranjit Singh. and that the Himalayas gave shelter to our ancient Rishis ." He also favoured learning and harnessing modern scientific inventions of the West for the welfare of mankind. Then to Bombay.... also to our posterity.... In teaching geography, we impress upon the minds of our students that India is their motherland, and that Maharashtra produced Shivaji, that the Punjab was once ruled by Ranjit Singh, and that the Himalayas gave shelter to our ancient Rishis." He also favoured learning and harnessing modern scientific inventions of the West for the welfare of mankind. But he was finding ...
... India, we felt that, even if we could not hope to bring stories about every possible games, we should at least have one on cricket. We found a very refreshing short essay by A.G. Gardiner about Ranjit Singh, a Prince Batsman who enchanted quite long ago the British and Indian crowds, a legend in the annals of cricket. T he last ball has been bowled, the bats have been oiled and put away, and ...
... substance of the letters that had passed between Patel and the Thakur and the part played by the Dewan in helping the Thakur retract from the agreed terms. He also recounted the story of the suicide of Ranjit Singh because he was insulted by the Viceroy in the Chamber of Princes. Then the subject of Federation came up. SRI AUROBINDO: When is the Government going to inaugurate Federation? PURANI: The ...
... where they flow. In our national schools, when we teach the children about Maharashtra we describe the land in which Shivaji lived. Speaking about Punjab, we tell the children about the Punjab of Ranjit Singh. Speaking about the geography of the Himalayas, we teach them how the land of the Himalayas has become holy because of its Rishis. We also teach the geography of other nations, but what we impart ...
... great Mogul structure and again made a last attempt at empire. On the brink of the final and almost fatal collapse in the midst of unspeakable darkness, disunion and confusion it could still produce Ranjit Singh and Nana Fadnavis and Madhoji Scindia and oppose the inevitable march of England's destiny. These facts do not diminish the weight of the charge that can be made of an incapacity to see and solve ...
... education in Bengal. In teaching geography, we impress upon the minds of our students that India is their motherland, and that Maharashtra produced Shivaji, that the Punjab was once ruled by Ranjit Singh, and that the Himalayas gave shelter to our ancient Rishis. History and philosophy, too, are taught in a similar manner with a view to awaken the spirit of nationality amongst the pupils. Nothing ...
Share your feedback. Help us improve. Or ask a question.