dalsingh101 Posted January 10, 2011 Report Share Posted January 10, 2011 (edited) Nice to put a face to a name. Here is a painting of Venceslas Victor Jacquemont du Donjon (taken without permission from The Lions's Firanghis by Bobby Singh Bansal). Another interesting quote by Jacquemont, haven't checked to see if I previously posted this, so forgive the repetition if I have: Quote Ranjit has two sons; the elder Kharak Singh is 26 or 28 and is very like his father to look at, but is very feeble minded. The other Sher Singh, is less than 20 and is not at all like his father but is very intelligent. Both are now in the north campaigning against the Syed. It is likely that the Sikh monarchy will end with the death of Ranjit; the two princess will undoubtedly fight for the throne, and the great jagirdars will arise to assert their independence. If in the confusion that ensues any cavalry pass the Sutlej to plunder the villages in Patiala this will certainly be a pretext for the British to invade the the Punjab, and a legitimate one. The rajah is quite indifferent as to what will happen after his death and takes no measures to ensure a continuance of order. Edited June 11, 2021 by dalsingh101 Added new picture 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSD1 Posted January 13, 2011 Report Share Posted January 13, 2011 The rajah is quite indifferent as to what will happen after his death and takes no measures to ensure a continuance of order. Not surprising, many people in our community have suspected this for some time. At least we have proof now. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dalsingh101 Posted January 13, 2011 Report Share Posted January 13, 2011 (edited) Not surprising, many people in our community have suspected this for some time. At least we have proof now. I can't help but think that towards the end he looked about him at apnay and just knew the clowns he saw around him didn't have what was required to hold things up and make the right maneuvers after his demise, so he became indifferent. It seems highly unlikely that a man as shrewed as him couldn't have had an inkling of what was to happen after his death. Every last European visitor to the kingdom seems to have 'prophesised' it. If those twats could figure it out, I'm sure Ranjit did. To his credit he modernised the Khalsa fighting machine and gave them the best chance militarily speaking at least. Sadly, whilst the rank and file soldiery were full of the type of patriotic pride required for success and sacrifice, very little of the ruling classes seemed to have any interests outside of personal material ones. Edited January 13, 2011 by dalsingh101 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSD1 Posted January 13, 2011 Report Share Posted January 13, 2011 A king decides who is around him, if he saw idiots it was of his own doing. People say he was like Napoleon but I see him as being more akin to Attila the Hun in the way he saw his people as a bargaining chip (a violent army that could lay waste to empires) but thought that foreigners were incredibly intelligent (Attila and Ranjit both appointed mediocre foreigners to high positions around them). It was a different time back then though, losing his father at a young age and what supposedly happened to his mother must have had an effect on his outlook on life. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dalsingh101 Posted January 13, 2011 Report Share Posted January 13, 2011 Be real too. Sikh Panjabis aren't the most pleasant bunch to preside over, certainly not now, and probably not then either. Curiously after Ranjit, only the British knew how to press the right buttons to subdue apnay, but I guess a large part of this was down to large scale deaths of truly free-spirited Singhs in the wars with the Afghans and the subsequent wasp battles? Don't be too dismissive or harsh on Ranjit, he was a great man, but like any man, he had his human weaknesses too. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dalsingh101 Posted June 16, 2015 Report Share Posted June 16, 2015 Bumping this up as it contains lots of information on M. Ranjit Singh's empire through French eyes. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crystal Posted June 17, 2015 Report Share Posted June 17, 2015 ). It was a different time back then though, losing his father at a young age and what supposedly happened to his mother must have had an effect on his outlook on life.What happened to his mother?.Crystal 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dalsingh101 Posted June 11, 2021 Report Share Posted June 11, 2021 Here's an extract from a source I've never read before. It's fascinating because it's actually an internal one. A translation of the Persian Umdat-Ut-Tawarikh, which are recordings of the events at M. Ranjit Singh's darbar by Sohan Lal Suri . Here we have an account of the circumstances around Frenchman Jacquemont's arrival in Panjab and his interview with Ranjit Singh, extracts of which are recorded above. Thanks to shastarSingh from SS for linking me to the work. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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