Maharaja Ranjit Singh – Greatest Leader in the world
The recent poll by BBC World Histories Magazine showed Maharaja Ranjit Singh as the greatest leader in the world. It asked the historians ‘to nominate the greatest leader – someone who exercised power and had a positive impact on humanity – and to explore their achievements and legacy.’ Maharaja Ranjit Singh was nominated by Matthew Lockwood, assistant professor of history at the University of Alabama. He wrote a small piece on the life of the Maharaja. His comments over the unveiling of the statue of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in Lahore in 2019 were warm and true in the times we live in.
in a region riven by ethnic and religious strife, in an era scarred by rising religious fundamentalism and growing tension between India and Pakistan, the statue was intended to be a symbol of a previous age of toleration and stability, and the near-mythical ruler who presided over it: Maharaja Ranjit Singh.[1]
More than 5,000 readers voted in the poll. Maharaja Ranjit Singh got 38 per cent vote. Here is the list of all the nominees and their reigns.
1. Amenhotep III, 1390-1352 BC
2. Isabella of Castile, 1474-1504
3. Oda Nobunaga, 16th century
4. Boudica, first century AD
5. Maharaja Ranjit Singh, 1801-39
6. William III, 1689-1702
7. Wu Zetian, 690-705
8. Oliver Cromwell, 1653-58
9. Joan of Arc, 15th century
10. Elizabeth I, 1558-1603
11. Mansa Musa, c1312-c1337
12. Winston Churchill, 1940-45 and 1951-55
13. Innocent III, 1198-1216
14. Amilcar Cabral, 20th century
15. Catherine the Great, 1762-96
16. Alfred the Great, 871-99
17. St Anthony the Great, ancient Christian hermit
18. Blanche of Castile, 1226-34 and 1248-52
19. Akbar, 1556-1605
20. Abraham Lincoln, 1861-65
History of the Misls and the Sikh Kingdom is not primarily focused on or explored by the writers and historians of the Sikh Religion. However, there are few books which are available but the efforts and time while exploring the history of Misls and Sikh Kingdom were not as much as they’d spent to go through the history of the Sikh Gurus.
Joseph Davey Cunningham[2] tried to give minute details about the events that unfurled during the Sikh Kingdom and the Anglo-Sikh Wars. There might be more sources available both in English and Punjabi/Persian that will be valuable to the readers of history and specifically to Sikhs. Whether the Maharaja is known to be the greatest leader or not, we can certainly value the policies of his empire which are still crucial for the humans when we’re trying to tear each other apart on the basis of creeds and skin colours.
The inclusivity in terms of how he ran his empire was remarkably striking. In the words of Lockwood:
Ranjit Singh presided over a multi-ethnic, multi-faith, multi-caste empire of remarkable toleration and inclusivity. The army, the empire’s predominate institution, included Hindus, Muslims, and European Christians – French, Spanish, Polish, Russian, and Prussian, though not British, who history showed should be kept at arm’s length – as well as Sikhs.
When the right-wing extremism is on the rise, we should seek the inclusivity, otherwise we will be thrown into a world where we will hate the second person we meet, who is different from us.
On a side note, I even do not know enough of the Misl period or the Sikh Empire. We should explore this by reading books. Just do not wait for a researcher or historian to write a book after analysing tens of books of that period. We can do it ourselves with whatever the information, how small it may be, we get our hands on by reading the books. Make notes of that, and use that while writing on a topic. Bhai Kahn Singh Nabha mentioned the same technique in his Gurmat Sudhakar.[3]
[1] Taken from the online edition of the magazine, written by Matthew Lockwood on www.historyextra.com.
[3] A book that talks about the philosophy and values of the Sikh Religion. This includes the superstitions that crept into Sikh Religion at that time, and their explanation that why they are of no use according to the Sikh Values.
He wrote, “My beloved brothers, by focusing on the rules mentioned above, I have been writing/taking notes from the Sikh scriptures, and Gurbani, Vaars of Bhai Gurdas, the writing of Bhai Nand Lal. By collecting them in one place, with more elaboration, in this book, Gurmat Sudhakar, I give it to you.’
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