Maharaja Ranjit Singh – Forging India's Glorious Sikh Empire for Enduring Prosperity

 Part 7: India’s Glorious Past Which Has Great Potential to Shape the Future Today

Let's know our own heroes who made India shine and flourish. The Macaulay education system since 1835 systematically tried to erase this history and implant our invaders' history in our minds and knowledge systems, but India has demonstrated it can rise from the ashes again and again.​

Maharaja Ranjit Singh (r. 1801–1839 CE), founder of the Sikh Empire, unified Punjab's fractured misls into a secular, multi-ethnic powerhouse through modern military reforms, tolerant administration, and economic policies that revived trade, agriculture, and infrastructure, bringing prosperity to northwest India amid post-Mughal chaos.​

Rise and Conquests

Born in 1780, Ranjit Singh captured Lahore in 1799, establishing his capital and consolidating Sikh confederacies by 1813 via diplomacy and force. Campaigns annexed Multan (1818), Kashmir (1819), and Peshawar (1834), expanding from Sutlej to Khyber Pass while honoring the 1809 Treaty of Amritsar with the British, securing borders without major conflict.​

Secular Administration

Ranjit Singh's Lahore Darbar featured diverse officials—Sikhs, Hindus (e.g., Dogra brothers), Muslims, and Europeans like French general Allard—in roles from finance (diwan) to judiciary, promoting merit over religion. Provinces (prahlads) under cardars handled revenue and justice locally, with the king intervening for equity, fostering stability and loyalty across faiths.​

Military Modernization

He built Europe's envy—a 100,000-strong Khalsa army with European-trained artillery (Topkhana), infantry, and cavalry, blending Sikh valor with Western tactics under officers like Ventura and Avitabile. This force deterred Afghans and Mughals, enabling secure frontiers and reallocating conquest wealth to civilian welfare.​

Economic Flourishing

Agriculture boomed via low taxes (25–50% on produce), irrigation canals, and crop incentives, turning Punjab's fertile plains into granaries exporting wheat and cotton. Trade routes reopened safely, linking Amritsar's shawl/wool markets to Central Asia, Persia, and British India; minimal duties spurred handicrafts, banking, and caravans, filling treasuries with gold/silver coins.​

Urban hubs like Lahore thrived with bazaars, while guilds regulated commerce equitably.​

Cultural and Religious Patronage

Ranjit Singh gilded the Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple), rebuilt gurdwaras like Hazur Sahib, and patronized arts, architecture, and literature in Persian, Punjabi, and Sanskrit, blending Sikh, Hindu, and Islamic motifs. Tolerance—protecting mosques, temples, and shrines—ensured harmony, elevating Punjab as a cultural beacon.​

India's Prosperity under Ranjit Singh

Ranjit Singh's rule transformed Punjab from anarchy to affluence, slashing violence for booming trade, agrarian surplus, and infrastructure that connected India globally. Secular meritocracy integrated communities, funding welfare and arts while resisting foreign incursions, embodying indigenous revival and stability.