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Maharaja
Ranjit Singh
The Sikh court
Two Europeans, Ventura, an
Italian by birth, and Allard, a Frenchman, came to Lahore in 1822 to seek
service in the Sikh army. Both of them had served under Napoleon in the imperial
army of France. After Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo they lost their occupation
and left Europe to try their fortune in the East. They had heard many a tale of
the grandeuf of Ranjit Singh's court and were taken up with the idea of visiting
Lahore. Ranjit Singh, although not educated but was very wise and intelligent,
he knew about the exploits of Napoleon. Punjabi historians had compared them and
Ranjit Singh was even called Napoleon of the East. Ranjit Singh met these two
European and he received them kindly asked them about their health and journey,
previous employment, future plans. He showed them his troops on parade and
provided amenities for their entertainment. In April of 1822, they sent a letter
to Maharaja asking for an employment with his troops. The communication between
these soldiers and Maharaja was in French through the trusted aide Faqir
Nur-ud-din, who knew French, English, Persian as many other languages. Maharaja
wanted to make sure that these people did not had any contacts with British and
only when he was cent percent sure, he gave them command of 500 horsemen each.
This command had few Purbias (Bihari) and other Hindus of Central provinces,
employed with Ranjit Singh. They were also to train all forces of Sikhs in the
western method of drill. Ventura's army was called Fauj-e-Khas while little bit
later Allard was asked to raise a cavalry of fresh recruits. Then Ranjit Singh
also made them sign an agreement that in the event of a clash between Maharaja
and European power, they would remain loyal to Sarkar Khalsa and fight for him.
They were to wear their beards long and abstain from beef and tobacco. Ranjit
Singh provided houses for Ventura and Allard and gave them handsome salaries. To
Ventura he gave 40,000 rupees when he married a Muslim girl from Ludhiana. Two
villages were subsequently given to the daughter of Ventura as jagir. Ventura
built a house, which still exists near Anarkali, it is a beautiful Cheateau in
French style. This shows that even though Ranjit Singh was cautious but shrewd
and able enough to distinguish between people beneficial to him.
He selectively employed several more Europeans, such as Dr. Honigberger, a
native of Hungary. Evitable an Italian later appointed Governor of Peshawar.
General Court, a Frenchman who organized the artillery. Dr. Harlan an American,
who became governor of Jasrata and later Gujrat. Henry Stein Bach, a German was
made a battalion commander. Hurbon, a Spainard was an engineer. Dr. Benet, a
Frenchman was a surgeon-general of Khalsa Army. Viewkenawitch, a Russian held a
high rank in the artillery. There were a number of Englishmen too- Fitzroy,
Gillmore, Leslie, Harvey, and Foulkes, to mention but a few- who were employed
on various civil and military duties. With men of such diverse races,
nationalities and faiths to serve him, Ranjit Singh maintained a most
picturesque and cosmopolitan court. He was very kind to these foreigners. He
trusted them and gave them positions of responsibility and rewarded them
generously for their services. But he always kept a watchful eye on them and
never let them have an influence over him. They willingly submitted to his
natural dignity and served him faithfully.
Ranjit Singh's Lahore also attracted many visitors and travelers. Like his
foreign couriers, they came from all parts of the world. They were drawn by the
reports of the Maharaja's hospitality and his personal charm and joi de vivre.
What fascinated his visitors most was his unquenchable curiosity. He asked them
the most searching questions and his keenness of mind and range of interest
surprised everyone. Many travelers have written in their books of his
generosity, refined manner and mental alertness. He was always cheerful and
vivacious and transmitted the same spirit of heartiness to his visitors. In the
summer of 1821, William Moorcroft, the Superintendent of East India Company's
horses came to visit Ranjit Singh's court. A daily allowance of 100 rupees was
fixed for his entertainment. Moorcroft was also shown Sikh army, he was greatly
impressed by the turnout and discipline of the Sikh army. He also visited the
royal stables and remarked that some of Ranjit Singh's horses were the finest in
the world. On the way back from Bukhara, Moorcroft brought a letter from Prince
Nesselrode of Russia which contained greetings and good wishes from the ruler of
that country. It also expressed Russia's desire to have trade relations with the
country of Ranjit Singh. They traders from Punjab were assured welcome and
security in Russia.
Another famous traveler to visit Ranjit Singh was Baron Charles Hugel. He was a
German Scientist, who traveled extensively in the Punjab and Kashmir. In his
book, he wrote that Punjab under Ranjit Singh was safer than territories ruled
by the British. He also recorded his conversations with Ranjit Singh, who, as
usual, asked him many questions. He asked him if he had served as a soldier and
questioned him about the German armies and their wars with France. He asked him
what he thought of the Sikh army and whether it was in a fit state to confront a
European force.
Victor Jacque Mont, a French traveler, also praised Ranjit Singh's powers of
conversation and his shrewd judgment. He wrote in his book: "Ranjit Singh is
almost the first inquisitive Indian I have seen, but his curiosity makes up for
the apathy of his whole nation. He asked me a hundred thousand questions about
India, the English, Europe, Napoleon, this world in general and the other one.,
hell and paradise, the soul, God, the devil, and a thousand things besides."
There were several missionaries whom Ranjit Singh also met. Several requests to
open up churches, convent schools, etc were denied by Ranjit Singh. He asked
them to teach Punjabi language and Sikh scriptures instead. No wonder when
British took over Punjab after Ranjit Singh convent Schools were spread all over
Punjab.
He was a benevolent king. Even though the Government of Punjab was called Sarkar
Khalsa but no laws were imposed on any of the minority or majority. Sikhs at his
time were about 15% of whole population, Hindus around 25%, rest were Muslims.
He governed the forty years of his rule from Lahore with secular ideals. He
would fast with Muslims during Ramadan and play Holi with Hindus., yet he would
be at Amritsar almost every Month to take bath. A poor Muslim from Lahore had
written a Quran which he was going to take to Delhi to sell at the Mughals
court. Ranjit Singh asked him how much he wanted and paid him twice. There is
another story about Ranjit Singh. One year, crops totally die and due to a
massive famine, people were starving. So being a king, he opened up all the
state stores for people. Ranjit Singh would often roam in streets of Lahore in
disguise to check his rule, whether people are happy or not. That night he saw
an old woman who could not carry a bag of wheat to her house where her children
were starving. He carried that bag to her house on his back. Although he was a
devout Sikh but he cannot be called a strict Khalsa Sikh adhering to all the
principles of Sikhism. He was a very well disciplined soldier of Khalsa who was
also a secular as well as enjoying his life, like drinking, etc. The spirit of
stern religious discipline and sacrifice which had supported Sikhs through a
critical period of their history and led them to power and glory was dimmed in
the pomp and splendor of sovereignty. Ranjit Singh's death on June 27, 1839,
left a deep hiatus. The Khalsa lost a leader who had, by commanding personality,
foresight and skill, become their beau ideal and secured them the status of
sovereign people. The British had by then taken practically the whole of India,
except the Punjab and Sind. |
