The reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh was characteristically different from all his contemporaries and predecessors as well. He accomplished the task of the political unification of the Punjab and brought about peace, prosperity and all round development in every aspect of the life of the people of Punjab. The Maharaja was a secular ruler in the true sense of the term. He was devout sikh; listened the bani from Sri Guru Sahib every day; paid homage at Sri Darbar Sahib frequently; made eleborate offerings in terms of money, gold and canopies. In his running of the state, however, he was always careful about the merits of persons to be appointed as administrators and generals. From the discussions in the following articles contributed by the eminent scholars of different disciplines, it can be easily made out that the Maharaja appointed Hindus, Sikhs, Muslims and even Christians in his administrative and military set-up.
The policies pursued by the Maharaja benefited all sections of society. The state policies encouraged peasants to bring more land under cultivation, with the result that the agricultural production increased and added to their prosperity. The peasantry of Punjab was much more comfortable than ever before. Likewise, there was tremendous increase and development in trade and commerce during this period and as a consequence of which, significant urban growth was witnessed in the Punjab.
Maharaja Ranjit Singh was a ruler whose parallel is difficult to find anywhere in the world. He was easily accessible to all; no capital punishment was awarded under his rule. Although several other rulers had employed Europeans in their armies, no one did succeed. The Maharaja was open to innovations and, therefore, could make the best use of the talent and experience of the Europeans to the maximum advantage of the Kingdom of Lahore. There were over sixty Europeans in his army and administrators, some of whom were nazims and commanders.
The articles included in this volume deal with several aspects of nature and relevance of the study of the rule of Maharaja Ranjit Singh understanding of the nature of the rule of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. We dedicate this volume to the memory of the Maharaja on the accasion of Bi-centenary Celebrations of his Coronation.
S.P. Singh
Jasbir Singh Sabar
Guru Nanak Dev University
Amritsar
PREFACE | ||
1. | CHARACTER OF RANJIT SINGH'S KINGDOM S.S. Bal | 1 |
2. | MAHARAJA RANJIT SINGH AS MAKER OF HISTORY Kirpal Singh | 21 |
3. | THE SIKH RULE AND RANJIT SINGH G.S. Dhillon | 24 |
4. | EMPIRE OF THE SIKHS Patwant Singh | 55 |
5. | MAHARAJA RANJIT SINGH'S RELEVANCE TODAY Pritam Singh | 62 |
6. | MAHARAJA RANJIT SINGH: ASSESSMENT OF A PERSIAN CHRONICLER Raghubir Singh | 72 |
7. | MAHARAJA RANJIT SINGH IN BENGALI LITERATURE Himadari Banerjee | 83 |
8. | MAHARAJA RANJIT SINGH'S CONTRIBUTION TO SIKH ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE: THE ENVIRONS OF RAMBAGH, AMRITSAR Sarbjot Singh Behal | 94 |
9. | THE RAMBAGH- THE SPLENDOUR IT WAS... P.C. Khanna | 113 |
10. | MAHARAJA RANJIT SINGH'S INTEREST IN THE ART OF PAINTINGS Kanwarjit Kang | 126 |
11. | MAHARAJA RANJIT SINGH'S QUALITIES OF HEAD AND HEART Gurbachan Singh Nayyar | 135 |
12. | MAHARAJA RANJIT SINGH: AN APPRAISAL Satish K. Kapoor | 140 |
13. | NATURE OF JUSTICE, LIBERTY AND EQUALITY UNDER MAHARAJA RANJIT SINGH'S RULE Jasbir Singh Sabar | 150 |
14. | MAHARAJA RANJIT SINGH: PERSONALITY AND VISION Jaswinder Kaur Dhillon | 158 |
15. | SIKH PATRONAGE OF JAGANNATH TEMPLE Sabinderjit Singh Sagar | 170 |
16. | SOHAN LAL SURI'S UMDAT-UT-TAWARIKH- AS A SOURCE ON ALMS AND CHARITIES OF MAHARAJA RANJIT SINGH Sulakhan Singh | 173 |
17. | AMRITSAR DURING THE PERIOD OF RANJIT SINGH AS DEPICTED IN THE CONTEMPORARY POETRY Rai Jasbir Singh | 180 |
18. | SRI HARIMANDIR SAHIB DURING THE REIGN OF MAHARAJA RANJIT SINGH K.S. Bajwa | 185 |
19. | TRADE AND COMMERCE UNDER MAHARAJA RANJIT SINGH'S RULE Jogeshwar Singh | 195 |
BIBLIOGRAPHY | 201 | |
INDEX | 211 |
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The reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh was characteristically different from all his contemporaries and predecessors as well. He accomplished the task of the political unification of the Punjab and brought about peace, prosperity and all round development in every aspect of the life of the people of Punjab. The Maharaja was a secular ruler in the true sense of the term. He was devout sikh; listened the bani from Sri Guru Sahib every day; paid homage at Sri Darbar Sahib frequently; made eleborate offerings in terms of money, gold and canopies. In his running of the state, however, he was always careful about the merits of persons to be appointed as administrators and generals. From the discussions in the following articles contributed by the eminent scholars of different disciplines, it can be easily made out that the Maharaja appointed Hindus, Sikhs, Muslims and even Christians in his administrative and military set-up.
The policies pursued by the Maharaja benefited all sections of society. The state policies encouraged peasants to bring more land under cultivation, with the result that the agricultural production increased and added to their prosperity. The peasantry of Punjab was much more comfortable than ever before. Likewise, there was tremendous increase and development in trade and commerce during this period and as a consequence of which, significant urban growth was witnessed in the Punjab.
Maharaja Ranjit Singh was a ruler whose parallel is difficult to find anywhere in the world. He was easily accessible to all; no capital punishment was awarded under his rule. Although several other rulers had employed Europeans in their armies, no one did succeed. The Maharaja was open to innovations and, therefore, could make the best use of the talent and experience of the Europeans to the maximum advantage of the Kingdom of Lahore. There were over sixty Europeans in his army and administrators, some of whom were nazims and commanders.
The articles included in this volume deal with several aspects of nature and relevance of the study of the rule of Maharaja Ranjit Singh understanding of the nature of the rule of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. We dedicate this volume to the memory of the Maharaja on the accasion of Bi-centenary Celebrations of his Coronation.
S.P. Singh
Jasbir Singh Sabar
Guru Nanak Dev University
Amritsar
PREFACE | ||
1. | CHARACTER OF RANJIT SINGH'S KINGDOM S.S. Bal | 1 |
2. | MAHARAJA RANJIT SINGH AS MAKER OF HISTORY Kirpal Singh | 21 |
3. | THE SIKH RULE AND RANJIT SINGH G.S. Dhillon | 24 |
4. | EMPIRE OF THE SIKHS Patwant Singh | 55 |
5. | MAHARAJA RANJIT SINGH'S RELEVANCE TODAY Pritam Singh | 62 |
6. | MAHARAJA RANJIT SINGH: ASSESSMENT OF A PERSIAN CHRONICLER Raghubir Singh | 72 |
7. | MAHARAJA RANJIT SINGH IN BENGALI LITERATURE Himadari Banerjee | 83 |
8. | MAHARAJA RANJIT SINGH'S CONTRIBUTION TO SIKH ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE: THE ENVIRONS OF RAMBAGH, AMRITSAR Sarbjot Singh Behal | 94 |
9. | THE RAMBAGH- THE SPLENDOUR IT WAS... P.C. Khanna | 113 |
10. | MAHARAJA RANJIT SINGH'S INTEREST IN THE ART OF PAINTINGS Kanwarjit Kang | 126 |
11. | MAHARAJA RANJIT SINGH'S QUALITIES OF HEAD AND HEART Gurbachan Singh Nayyar | 135 |
12. | MAHARAJA RANJIT SINGH: AN APPRAISAL Satish K. Kapoor | 140 |
13. | NATURE OF JUSTICE, LIBERTY AND EQUALITY UNDER MAHARAJA RANJIT SINGH'S RULE Jasbir Singh Sabar | 150 |
14. | MAHARAJA RANJIT SINGH: PERSONALITY AND VISION Jaswinder Kaur Dhillon | 158 |
15. | SIKH PATRONAGE OF JAGANNATH TEMPLE Sabinderjit Singh Sagar | 170 |
16. | SOHAN LAL SURI'S UMDAT-UT-TAWARIKH- AS A SOURCE ON ALMS AND CHARITIES OF MAHARAJA RANJIT SINGH Sulakhan Singh | 173 |
17. | AMRITSAR DURING THE PERIOD OF RANJIT SINGH AS DEPICTED IN THE CONTEMPORARY POETRY Rai Jasbir Singh | 180 |
18. | SRI HARIMANDIR SAHIB DURING THE REIGN OF MAHARAJA RANJIT SINGH K.S. Bajwa | 185 |
19. | TRADE AND COMMERCE UNDER MAHARAJA RANJIT SINGH'S RULE Jogeshwar Singh | 195 |
BIBLIOGRAPHY | 201 | |
INDEX | 211 |
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