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~~ Maharaj Ranjit Singh-Shere Punjab Rule ~~


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~~ Maharaj Ranjit Singh-Shere Punjab Rule ~~

Just for the readers and wider audience for Sikhawareness.com, can someone answer the following?

1. How did Shere Punjab rule started?

2. When did it started?

3. What was legal frame work? Based on sikh rehitnamas or based on overall monarch culture?

4. What was Socio-economic frame work?

5. How much influence british or wider indic community had on shera punjab rule?

6. What was structure of maharaj ranjit singh rule- monarch? different departments? reporting structure?

7. Who was under maharaja ranjit singh sabha?

Please discuss, keep it clean and civil.

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I don't think certain internet websites do enough justice to maharaja ranjit singh and give oversimplified views of his whole life. Rather it is books which seem to detail his life better. Here are a collection of ebooks which explore maharaja ranjit singh with those answers

Ranjit Singh - Griffin, Lepel Henry, Sir, 1840-1908
https://archive.org/details/ranjitsingh00grif

Maharaja Ranjit Singh - His Image and Influence At Home And Abroad Prof. (Dr.) Harnam Singh Shan Tract No. 513 - Prof. (Dr.) Harnam Singh Shan

https://archive.org/details/MaharajaRanjitSingh-HisImageAndInfluenceAtHomeAndAbroad

Soldier and traveller: memoirs of Alexander Gardner, colonel of artillery in the service of Maharaja Ranjit Singh - Gardner, Alexander [Haughton Campbell], 1785-1877. [from old catalog]

Origin of the Sikh power in the Punjab and political life of Maharaja Ranjit Singh ; with an account of the religion, laws, and customs of Sikhs (1834)

Ranjit Síngh and the Sikh barrier between our growing empire and Central Asia; - Griffin, Lepel Henry, Sir, 1840-1908

The Sikhs and Afghans, in connexion with the India and Persia, immediately before and after the death of Ranjeet Singh: from the journal of an expedition to Kabul through the Panjab and the Khaibar Pass - Shahamat Ali
The court and camp of Runjeet Sing - Osborne, William Godolphin, Lord, 1804-1888
A history of the reigning family of Lahore, with some account of the Jummoo rajahs, the Seik soldiers and their sirdars; with notes on Malcolm, Prinsep, Lawrence, Steinbach, McGregor, and the Calcutta Review - Smyth, George Carmichael
Origin [!] of the Sikh Power in the Punjab, and Political Life of Muha-raja Runjeet Singh: With ... - Henry Thoby Prinsep

The history of the Sikhs; containing the lives of the Gooroos; the history of the independent Sirdars, or Missuls, and the life of the great founder of the Sikh monarchy, Maharajah Runjeet Singh; (Volume 1) - M'Gregor, William Lewis
The court and camp of Runjeet Sing - Osborne, William Godolphin, Lord, 1804-1888

Here is one in french with some old sketches you might be able to use an online translator on the text version to get it into english

Origine et progrès de la puissance des Sikhs dans le Penjab, et histoire du ... - Henry Thoby Prinsep , Xavier Raymond , William Murray 1836
Edited by JatherdarSahib
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The Maharaja was well aware that the majority of his subjects and much of the army were non-Sikh, and out of respect for them he celebrated the festivals of all the main religions. It was all very far from the theocracy of Guru Gobind Singh. In his personal life Ranjit Singh was not an irreligious man; he regularly listened to recitations from the Guru Granth Sahib, for instance. But he certainly did not follow the tenth Guru's injunction on alcohol, being extremely fond of a certain 'fire water' he had especially prepared and which reputedly contained ground pearls. He candidly admitted that he drank for excitement and developed a partiality for Scotch whisky.
The Maharaja was as secular in his choice of wives as in his choice of ministers, several of the twenty-two being Muslims. The bachelor status of the Governor-General, Lord Auckland, attracted his curiosity. Emily Eden recorded a conversation with Lord Auckland on the subject. The Governor-General explained that he did not have a wife because, 'only one was allowed in England, and if she turned out a bad one, he could not easily get rid of her. Ranjeet said that was a bad custom; that the Sikhs were allowed twenty-five wives, and they did not dare to be bad, because he could beat them if they were. G. replied that was an excellent custom, and he would try to introduce it when he got home.' [7]
The Maharaja inspired devotion in his many wives. When he died, exactly forty years after conquering his capital Lahore, four of them together with seven of his 'slave girls' chose to burn themselves alive on his funeral pyre – committing sati in accordance with the old Hindu tradition forbidden by the Gurus of the Sikh faith.
[6] Emily Eden, Up the Country, Curzon Press, London, 1978 (this edition first published by Oxford University Press in 1930), p. 200.
[7] Ibid., p. 218.
Tully, Mark; Sathish Jacob ( ). Amritsar Mrs. Gandhi's Last Battle (Kindle Locations 530-540). . Kindle Edition.
Edited by JatherdarSahib
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The Maharaja was well aware that the majority of his subjects and much of the army were non-Sikh, and out of respect for them he celebrated the festivals of all the main religions. It was all very far from the theocracy of Guru Gobind Singh. In his personal life Ranjit Singh was not an irreligious man; he regularly listened to recitations from the Guru Granth Sahib, for instance. But he certainly did not follow the tenth Guru's injunction on alcohol, being extremely fond of a certain 'fire water' he had especially prepared and which reputedly contained ground pearls. He candidly admitted that he drank for excitement and developed a partiality for Scotch whisky.
The Maharaja was as secular in his choice of wives as in his choice of ministers, several of the twenty-two being Muslims. The bachelor status of the Governor-General, Lord Auckland, attracted his curiosity. Emily Eden recorded a conversation with Lord Auckland on the subject. The Governor-General explained that he did not have a wife because, 'only one was allowed in England, and if she turned out a bad one, he could not easily get rid of her. Ranjeet said that was a bad custom; that the Sikhs were allowed twenty-five wives, and they did not dare to be bad, because he could beat them if they were. G. replied that was an excellent custom, and he would try to introduce it when he got home.' [7]
The Maharaja inspired devotion in his many wives. When he died, exactly forty years after conquering his capital Lahore, four of them together with seven of his 'slave girls' chose to burn themselves alive on his funeral pyre – committing sati in accordance with the old Hindu tradition forbidden by the Gurus of the Sikh faith.
[6] Emily Eden, Up the Country, Curzon Press, London, 1978 (this edition first published by Oxford University Press in 1930), p. 200.
[7] Ibid., p. 218.
Tully, Mark; Sathish Jacob ( ). Amritsar Mrs. Gandhi's Last Battle (Kindle Locations 530-540). . Kindle Edition.

Mark Tully is a known liar though, never heard of this 25 thing before.

Know that some of the gurus had multiple wives, but Hari Singh Nalwa told an Afghan Pricess a Sikh can only have one wife.

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Mark Tully is a known liar though, never heard of this 25 thing before.

Know that some of the gurus had multiple wives, but Hari Singh Nalwa told an Afghan Pricess a Sikh can only have one wife.

history shows sikhs were and are of different opinions on various matters

Even a liar tells the truth at least once in their lifetime

Edited by JatherdarSahib
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only one was allowed in England, and if she turned out a bad one, he could not easily get rid of her. Ranjeet said that was a bad custom; that the Sikhs were allowed twenty-five wives, and they did not dare to be bad, because he could beat them if they were. G. replied that was an excellent custom, and he would try to introduce it when he got home.' [7]

LOL where did the 25 wives thing come from? it's too funny to be true

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LOL where did the 25 wives thing come from? it's too funny to be true

reference is given Emily Eden, Up the Country, Curzon Press, London, 1978 (this edition first published by Oxford University Press in 1930), p. 218

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Country-Volume-Set-Collection-Exploration/dp/1108020755

https://archive.org/details/upcountryletter01edengoog

https://archive.org/details/UpTheCountry

https://ia600200.us.archive.org/14/items/UpTheCountry/UpTheCountry.djvu

to view the file above use this http://djvu.org/resources/

Edited by JatherdarSahib
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~~ Maharaj Ranjit Singh-Shere Punjab Rule ~~

Just for the readers and wider audience for Sikhawareness.com, can someone answer the following?

1. How did Shere Punjab rule started?

2. When did it started?

3. What was legal frame work? Based on sikh rehitnamas or based on overall monarch culture?

4. What was Socio-economic frame work?

5. How much influence british or wider indic community had on shera punjab rule?

6. What was structure of maharaj ranjit singh rule- monarch? different departments? reporting structure?

7. Who was under maharaja ranjit singh sabha?

Please discuss, keep it clean and civil.

I've started reading Kushwant Singh's book on Ranjit Singh and what I pull together to answer those question so far was Ranjit Singh was a descendent of someone who took amrit from Guru Gobind Singh known as Budh Singh. It appears the writer says Maharaja Ranjit Singh was also named Budh Singh early on and renamed. From his ancestor he left behind a great set of villages, they became protectors of the neighbouring villages and were paid for it. That village was name sukherchak the sardars which came from those who had raised a jatha of Sikhs became known as the shukarchakiyas. Ranjit Singh's father killed the father of his first wife who was from the kanhya misl and in a bid to take power Ranjit Singh was married off to the daughter of the Kanya Misl. Later on Ranjit Singh's misl hood which had grown into cities being taken over, were then challenged by the Ramgharia misl and he found the Kanhya misl were not strong enough so he married into the bhangi misl for their alliance.

It appears these misls all had similar beginings are probably came up after the fall of Banda Singh Bahadur's empire and their resolve only grew and grew. Until maharaja ranjit singh became infused with alcohol, lost trust in sikhs found more trust in the british. In that book above it carries onto say the maharaja showed his treasury to the british and he had never shown it to any other sikh. The maharaja seems to have inherited banda singh's idea but mixed in mughal practices and made it monarch based with a mixture of rehatnamas. We find stories of when he didn't listen to akali phoola singh on his marriage to a supposed muslim. Some say akali phoola singh ordered all sikhs not to respond to him or accept his regular donation to harmander, it was after he took a lashing punishment was it acceptable.

In one of the other books posted above one british writer said maharaja ranjit singh was a great diplomatic then the finest of british diplomats. But it seems all the books suggest he spent too much time drinking more then he should have.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ranjit-Singh-Maharaja-The-Punjab/dp/0143065432

Edited by JatherdarSahib
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I've started reading Kushwant Singh's book on Ranjit Singh and what I pull together to answer those question so far was Ranjit Singh was a descendent of someone who took amrit from Guru Gobind Singh known as Budh Singh. It appears the writer says Maharaja Ranjit Singh was also named Budh Singh early on and renamed. From his ancestor he left behind a great set of villages, they became protectors of the neighbouring villages and were paid for it. That village was name sukherchak the sardars which came from those who had raised a jatha of Sikhs became known as the shukarchakiyas. Ranjit Singh's father killed the father of his first wife who was from the kanhya misl and in a bid to take power Ranjit Singh was married off to the daughter of the Kanya Misl. Later on Ranjit Singh's misl hood which had grown into cities being taken over, were then challenged by the Ramgharia misl and he found the Kanhya misl were not strong enough so he married into the bhangi misl for their alliance.

It appears these misls all had similar beginings are probably came up after the fall of Banda Singh Bahadur's empire and their resolve only grew and grew. Until maharaja ranjit singh became infused with alcohol, lost trust in sikhs found more trust in the british. In that book above it carries onto say the maharaja showed his treasury to the british and he had never shown it to any other sikh. The maharaja seems to have inherited banda singh's idea but mixed in mughal practices and made it monarch based with a mixture of rehatnamas. We find stories of when he didn't listen to akali phoola singh on his marriage to a supposed muslim. Some say akali phoola singh ordered all sikhs not to respond to him or accept his regular donation to harmander, it was after he took a lashing punishment was it acceptable.

In one of the other books posted above one british writer said maharaja ranjit singh was a great diplomatic then the finest of british diplomats. But it seems all the books suggest he spent too much time drinking more then he should have.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ranjit-Singh-Maharaja-The-Punjab/dp/0143065432

Europeans often had this notion of casting any fellow advanced culture or race in a less than appeasing light. Look at the achievements of the Native Americans yet their image was cast as horse riding savages.

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Europeans often had this notion of casting any fellow advanced culture or race in a less than appeasing light. Look at the achievements of the Native Americans yet their image was cast as horse riding savages.

I've seen some european writers over praise certain groups perhaps with the tactic to make them have their ego over come their rational sense making them easier to conquer.

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