In Pakistani historiography, the representation of the Sikh history is negligible. There are few non-scholarly articles which were published in newspapers and magazines or brief chapter in history books of the Punjab. Therefore, the existing material is not enough to have a fair idea of the Sikh rule in the Punjab. There is only one book on Ranjit Singh that is written by Fakir Waheeduddin who made an attempt to clarify the misjudgement and misgivings about the Sikh rule in general and Ranjit Singh in particular. Generally, in Pakistan, the Sikhs rule is regarded as anti-Muslims and a period of chaos and anarchy in which people of the Punjab and especially the Muslims suffered immensely. The term of Sikhgardi or the anarchy and mismanagement of the Sikhs has become a proverb and is popularly referred to whenever there is political or economic crisis and lawlessness. No doubt, that this particular point of view is the product of the British who wanted to find some pretext to annex the Punjab and propagated this image to convince the people that their system of government was a blessing to the region.

Ranjit Singh has been remained a controversial from the very beginning. He was portrayed on one hand, as a greedy, licentious cunning, and callous, and on the other hand, as a friendly, generous, and tolerant person. In Pakistani historiography and also in general perception he is regarded as anti-. Muslims. According to this perception, in his reign the Muslims endured lot of hardships and were not allowed to perform their religious duties freely. The conflict with Ranjit Sing and Sayyid Ahmad in the NWF, which culminated in the battle of Balakot (1831) and death of the Sayyid, is regarded by the religious circles as a catastrophe to Islam and the Muslim community in the Punjab. The second charge is the conquest of Multan and, as result of it, the death of Nawab Muzaffar khan who died fighting valiantly against the Sikh forces. These two incidents are looked with religious perspective and not from the angle of politics. Consequently, this creates anti-Sikhs feeling. Both Sayyid Ahmad and Nawab Muzaffar emerged as heroes and shaheeds (martyrs).

Fakir Waheeduddin, who belonged to the family of Fakir Azizuddin, the most influential noble at he court of Ranjit Singh, claimed to possess papers and state documents of the Sikh darbar, made an attempt to dispel the popular belief about Ranjit Singh that he was a bigot and hostile to Muslims. The title of his book indicates his intention. The book is titled as “The Real Ranjit Singh”. It was published in 1965 and then disappeared in the libraries. There is no second reprint of it which shows that it was not well received The reason is that the author wants to present a different picture of Ranjit Singh contrary to the popular image prevalent in Pakistan. According to the author, the reality is that Ranjit Singh was not anti-Muslim or religious fanatics but a man of tolerance and humane. He proves his interpretation based on the papers that his family possesses and also on published material original as well as secondary. The weakness of the book is that it contains no references and bibliography. Sadly, the book remains unnoticed. It is hardly available even in the libraries. So, it has failed to change the general perspective of the Sikh history or Ranjit Singh in Pakistan.

There is a small group of Punjabi nationalists who owns Ranjit Singh as the first Punjabi ruler who founded an independent Punjabi kingdom and fought against those who wanted to subjugate and destroy this region. However, these views are not accepted generally and no scholarly attempt has been made to present this point of view forcefully.

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 Ranjit Singh was the product of the 18^th century and assumed maturity in the beginning of 19^th century. The period was a culmination of religious toleration and what Akbar called and followed was the policy of ‘sulh I kul’ or peace with all which had become a dominated ideology in the Indian sub-continent. The acceptance and adoption of it was the result of different religious communities which, living together and sharing with each other, produced a composite culture. On one hand, followers of different religions fought against each other for political supremacy but at the same time, they integrated culturally, socially and also religiously influenced each others’ beliefs. Even if there was no integration, they knew how to live with difference. This historical process made the Indian society religiously tolerant and people respected each other’s spiritual leaders and holy men and visited their shrines, darghas, and khanqas for blessing. There are plenty of examples that how Akbar, Jahangir and the later Mughal Emperors visited the jogis, sadhus, and gurus to gain their favour along with the Sufi-saints belonging to different mystic orders. The holy men from different faiths specially played a significant role in a situation when there was political anarchy, and a sense of insecurity. They brought people of different faiths and religions together and infused in them a sense of tolerance and feelings of brotherhood. This also subsequently created number of sects and religious movements that believed in a mixture of different religions existed in India. The Sikhism is one of such religions that emerged as a result of Bhakti movement, a movement that was against religious fanaticism and extremism of Islam and of Brahmanism.

 18the century was also important because it ended the strong centralisation of political power and allowed regions to play their role independently. The invasions of Nadir Shah (1739) and Ahmad Shah Abdali (1752) ravaged Punjab. As a result of insecurity there was a great urge among the common people to have peace, Once Ranjit Singh fulfilled this desire and gave peace and security to the region, all Punjabis recognized him as their ruler. The Muslims and the Hindus alike in his effort to defend the country against invaders supported him. It was his great achievement that he protected Punjab from the Afghan aggressors and maintained its independence. His policy towards the Afghans echoed the policy of Aluddin Khilji, who not only defended his kingdom from the Mongol invasions but also later on attacked their strongholds in Afghanistan and became an aggressor instead of the defender. We find the same in the case of Ranjit Singh who extended his kingdom up to Khyber Pass and checked any further Afghan intrusion.

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 As a Sikh ruler, the Sikh community was his support base therefore; he had to keep his community and especially the Akalis pleased in spite of their arrogance and rude behaviour. Two factors played active role in accommodating other communities in his state structure and administration. One, the Sikhs were in minority and could not control the majority of other Punjabis by share force of sword. Henceforth, it required a policy to treat the others on liberal terms. Secondly, the Sikh community so far had no experience in the art of administration, as they were either soldiers or cultivators. That was the reason that Ranjit Singh without any prejudice acquired the services of the Hindus, Muslims, and Christians. In a way, it was the continuation of the policy of the Mughals, who absorbed people of all communities to make their Empire multi-ethnic and multi-religious, which based on broader and not on narrow foundation. Once different communities converged at his court, it created not only understanding of each other but provided opportunities to share with each other socially and culturally. The logical result of this process was the outcome of toleration and minimizing religious prejudices.

 There were number of Muslims at the court of Ranjit Singh who were appointed on high posts. Muslim community was allowed to observe the Shariat laws in their religious and personal matters. Qazi Nizamuddin was appointed to settle the disputes among the Muslims. Muhammad Shah and Sadullah were the Muftis or the interpreter of the Islamic jurisprudence. Imam Bukhsh was appointed as the kotwal of Lahore.Hakim Nuruddin was in charge of the hospital (shifakhana) Fakir Azizuddin was his most trusted advisor who supervised sensitive administrative proceedings and worked as his foreign minister. His brother Imamuddin was posted as governors of the different provinces of his kingdom. Once, when he was appointed as governor of Gujarat, the high caste Hindus protested on his appointment but Ranjit Singh refused to change his decision. (1) In the army, there was no discrimination of recruiting the soldiers. Charles Masson writesthat:”The regiments are filled with Mussulmans and Sikhs, and wear for head-dresses, the pagri of the Panjab.” (2)

 He recruited a number of the European in his service with an attempt to integrate them culturally to the Punjabi society. He wanted them” to domesticate themselves in the country by marriage, not to eat beef, nor smoke tobacco in public, to permit their beards to grow, to take care not to offend against the Sikh religion, and if required, to fight against their own country.” (3) His major concern was that only people of merit should be appointed irrespective of their religion or ethnicity. On these bases he appointed non-Punjabis on high posts as Diwan Dina Nath who was a Kashmiri, Khush Hal Singh, who was the Brahman, and Dogra brothers who were ordinary soldiers. To win their loyalty, he adopted the age-old tradition to give them jagirs, award them high sounded titles, and reward them on the performance of their services in public. There is also evidence that once he conquered a city or region, he treated the vanquished leniently. For example, he patronized Nawab Qutbuddin Khan of Kusur, Nawab Hafiz Ahmad Khan of Munkira, and Nawab Sarfraz Khan of Multan. He assigned them generous pensions and stipends to live comfortably. (4)

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 Holy men belonging to different religions and sects were regarded in the Indian sub continent as having miraculous power to change the life of an individual or society by their curse or prayer. The ruler of India, therefore, mostly tried either to keep good relations with them in order to get their favour or genuinely expressed their devotion to them to win their favour, Ranjit Sing was a devout Sikh but he paid his respect to the Muslim saints as well as the Hindu sadhus. Fakir Wahiduddin writes that: “His visit to the shrines of the Muslim saints and Hindu temples were as much acts of faith as those to the Golden temple or to Taran Taaran, and to all of them he gave donations, jagirs and presents with equal generosity.” (5) He ordered that the tombs and shrines of Muslim saints that were in dilapidated condition should be repaired. The mausoleum of Data Sahib was one of them. The sajadanashin or the supervisors of the shrines got regular salaries from the Sikh darbar. He had great respect to the sajadanashin of Madhulal, SainSube Shah.and whenever he went for an expedition, he first paid his respect to him for his blessing to get success One of the holy man, known as Shah Fida Hussain, who was the brother of Sir Sayyid’s maternal grand father, received Rs.200 monthly from the Maharaja at Delhi. There was another holy man, Mastan Shah, who got Rs.100 daily from the Sikh darbar. Following the tradition of Muslim rulers, he also paid respect to the Sayyids. (6)

 The presence of people belonging to different religion at the court consequently promoted the cultural life. This is what J.S. Grewal calls “cultural secularisation” (7) all religious and seasonal festivals were celebrated with fervour and gaiety. Once when, the Shia community was not allowed to display Taziyas on the occasion of Muharram because of the opposition of the Akalis; he interfered and allowed them to take their procession as usual. He participated in the Basant festival at the shrine of Madhulal and assigned jagir for the sustenance of the devotees with these words that though he was not like the rulers of Chughati dynasty but was ready to help financially as much as he could. (8)

He took care to patronize the institutions of the Arabic and Persian scholarship. Such an institute was in Bazaar- i Hakiman. He financially supported it where poor students got stipends. In another case, Charles Masson writes that: “Although himself illiterate, he has a respect for acquirements in others, and when occasion presented itself, during the first visit to Peshawar, of showing his esteem for literature, he did not neglect it, and issued positive orders for the preservation of the extensive library of the Mussulman saint at Chamkanni”. (9)

 On his popularity Masson writes that:” He is equally popular with the generality of his subjects, and rules with an equal hand both Mussulman and Hindu.The only hardship of which the former complains is the interdiction of azan, or summons to prayers”. (10)

 It is argued that Ranjit Singh, by integrating all communities living in the Panjab, created a sense of Punjabi identity. This, according to Grewal, is reflected in architecture, painting, and literature.” Only in this context can we appreciate Sawan Yar’s Sihafi sarkar ki praising the rule of Ranjit Singh, Jafar Beg’s siharfi lamenting his death, and Hakam Sing’s siharfi celebrating the exploits of Hari Singh Nalwa.Qadir Yar identified with the Punjabi ruling class against their Afghan opponents.” (11) However, this is disputable that how long this Punjabi identity survived. We see its collapse just after the death of Ranjit Singh. It is evident that the structure of Ranjit Singh kingdom depended on his person and not on the stable state institutions. That was the cause of the decline and end of the Sikh state.

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In ‘Furstenspiegel’ or ‘Mirror of Princes’ literature (Manuals which were written for the guidance of rulers), the rulers were advised to remain in contact with their subjects in order to know their grievances and not to hide themselves behind the walls of forts and palaces. Ranjit Singh, from the very beginning of his rule, decided to be accessible to the people. It was the routine of Ranjit Singh that whenever there was his procession, people were allowed to stop the Maharaja by shouting’Dohai Sarkar’. Fakir Waheeduddin write that:” But sometimes people used to stop him with this cry for all sorts of fanciful things. One of these was to touch his body. Some of the people who wanted to touch him literally believed that his touch had the power of turning base metal to gold.”(12)

  Fakir Wahiduddin also publishes a Farman of Ranjit Singh in which he orders that people of his kingdom should be protected. It mentions that”: Nor should you allow any high-handedness to be practised upon woodcutters, fodder-vendors, oil-vendors, hores-shoers, etc. In such case also you should prevent the oppressor from oppression…so that every person’s rights are secured and no person be oppressed”. (13)

 The irony of history is that as Ranjit Singh spent most of his time in fighting wars, so, contemporary as well as modern historians focus their observations and researches either on his wars or on his diplomacy and not on his domestic policy. However, whatever, material is available, it proves that he was an assuming, sagacious and tolerant ruler.

 References

 1.Naqush (Lahore Number) No. 92,Feburar, 1962, p.370.

 2.Masson, Charles: Narrative of various Journeys in Balochistan, Afghanistan,

  and the Panjab.Vol. I,OUP, Karachi 1974,p432.

 3.Grey, C.: European Adventurers of Northern India.Falcon Books Lahore 1982, p.12.

 4.Kohli, Sitaram:Maharaja Ranjit Singh ( Urdu) Allahabad, 1933,p.316.

 5.Fakir, Syed Waheeduddin:The Real Ranjit Singh.Karachi 1966, p.20.

 6.Naqush, p.371.

 7.Grewal,J.S.: The Sikhs of the Punjab( The New Cambridge History of India)

  Cambridge 1990, p.112.

 8.Fakir, p.23; Naqush, 371.

 9.Fakir, p.121; Masson, p. 440.

 10.Masson, p. 439.

 11.Grewal, p. 117.

 12.Fakir, p. 166.

 13. Ibid., pp. 32, 33.