Maharaja Ranjit Singh

 Maharaja Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839),[4][5] popularly known as Sher-e-Punjab or "Lion of Punjab", was the leader of the Sikh Empire, which ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. He survived smallpox in infancy but lost sight in his left eye. He fought his first battle alongside his father at age 10. After his father died, he fought several wars to expel the Afghans in his teenage years and was proclaimed as the "Maharaja of Punjab" at age 21.[4][6] His empire grew in the Punjab region under his leadership through 1839.[7][8]

Prior to his rise, the Punjab region had numerous warring misls (confederacies), twelve of which were under Sikh rulers and one Muslim.[6] Ranjit Singh successfully absorbed and united the Sikh misls and took over other local kingdoms to create the Sikh Empire. He repeatedly defeated invasions by outside armies, particularly those arriving from Afghanistan, and established friendly relations with the British.[9]

Ranjit Singh's reign introduced reforms, modernisation, investment into infrastructure and general prosperity.[10][11] His Khalsa army and government included Sikhs, Hindus, Muslims and Europeans.[12] His legacy includes a period of Sikh cultural and artistic renaissance, including the rebuilding of the Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar as well as other major gurudwaras, including Takht Sri Patna Sahib, Bihar and Hazur Sahib Nanded, Maharashtra under his sponsorship.[13][14]

Maharaja Ranjit Singh was succeeded by his son Maharaja Kharak Singh

Ranjit Singh was born on 13 November 1780, to Maha Singh Sukerchakia and Raj Kaur – the daughter of Raja Gajpat Singh of Jind, in Gujranwala, in the Majha region of Punjab (now in Pakistan).[15] Several different clans have claimed Ranjit Singh as their own. His grand-daughters - the daughters of his son Duleep Singh - believed that their true ancestors belonged to the Sandhawalia family of Rajasansi.[16] Ranjit Singh has been described as "Sansi" in some records, which has led to claims by some scholars that he belonged to the so-called low-caste Sansi tribe.[17][18] According to other claims he may have belonged to a Jaat gotra named Sansi; the Sandhawalias, who claimed Rajput descent, belonged to the same gotra.[19][20]

Ranjit Singh's birth name was Buddh Singh, after his ancestor who was a disciple of Guru Gobind Singh, a Khalsa, and whose descendants created the Sukerchakia misl before the birth of Ranjit Singh, which became the most powerful of many small Sikh kingdoms in northwestern Southern Asia in the wake of the disintegrating Mughal Empire.[21] The child's name was changed to Ranjit (literally, "victor in battle") by his father to commemorate his army's victory over the Muslim Chatha chieftain Pir Muhammad.[4][22]

Ranjit Singh contracted smallpox as an infant, which resulted in the loss of sight in his left eye and a pockmarked face.[4] He was short in stature, never schooled, and did not learn to read or write anything beyond the Gurmukhi alphabet,[23] however, he was trained at home in horse riding, musketry and other martial arts.[4]

At age 12, his father died.[21] He then inherited his father's Sukerchakia misl estates and was raised by his mother Raj Kaur, who, along with Lakhpat Rai, also managed the estates.[4] The first attempt on his life was made when he was 13, by Hashmat Khan, but Ranjit Singh prevailed and killed the assailant instead.[24] At age 18, his mother died and Lakhpat Rai was assassinated, and thereon he was helped by his mother-in-law from his first marriage.[25]

In his teens, Ranjit Singh took to alcohol, a habit that intensified in the later decades of his life, according to the chronicles of his court historians and the Europeans who visited him.[26][27] However, he neither smoked nor ate beef,[4] and required all officials in his court, regardless of their religion, to adhere to these restrictions as part of their employment contract.[27]