Maharaja Ranjit Singh's Conquests

Ranjit Singh aspired to build an empire for himself in the Punjab and to become the supreme ruler of the Khalsa. To achieve these aims, he embarked upon a carrer of systematic aggression and warfare and did not take rest till he had brought the bulk of the Punjab under his sway.

Conquest of Lahore : The first great achievement of Ranjit Singh was the occupation of Lahore.At the time of invasion of Zaman Shah, Ranjit Singh had greatly Impressed the influential citizens of Lahore by his bravery. After Zaman Shah had gone back to Kabul, the city was occupied by three Bhangi chiefs. The people of Lahore were extremely oppressed by their tyrannical rule. In the summer of 1799, the leading citizens of Lahore sent a secret invitation to Ranjit Singh to occupy the city offering him their co-operation in this task. Ranjit Singh, with the assistance of Sada Kaur and Nakkai Sardars attacked the city.The Bhangi chiefs fled away without offering any resistance. Ranjit Singh occupied the city on 7th July, 1799. Its occupation by Ranjit Singh enhanced his prestige greatly since it was known to have been the traditional capital of the province. It paved the way for the establishment of the sikh sovereignty in the Punjab.
The occupation of Lahore by Ranjit Singh was grave challenge to the neighbouring chiefs. A formidable coalition of the Bhangi and some other Sikhs chiefs was formed to put a check on Ranjit Singh’s power. Nawab Nizam-ud-Din of Kasur also joined the coalition. The combined forces gathered at Bhasin. Ranjit Singh won a victory without fighting and become the undisputed master of Lahore.

Occupation of territories of the other misls : Now Ranjit Singh adopted a twofold policy towards his rival sikh chiefs. He contracted friendship with those who were strong and waged wars against those who were weak.Ranjit Singh had already made an alliance with Sada Kaur his mother-in-law, who ruled the kanhiya possessions. He befriended Fateh Singh Ahluwalia who was another powerful chief.In the cis-Beas territory, he conquered the territory of Jalandhar from Budh Singh.He also invaded Jammu and made its chief his feudatory and exacted tribute from him.Uptil this time Fateh Singh Ahluwlia, Jassa Singh Ramgarhia and Rani Sada Kaur were his allies. Now he turned to capture their territories.In 1815, he annexed all the possessions of Ramgarhias.In 1821, he occupied all the territories of Sada Kaur except Wadani and her other cis-sutlej possessions. In 1826, Fateh Singh Ahluwalia fled across the Satluj with the whole of his family. Ranjit Singh occupied all his territories in the north of Satluj.

Cis-Satluj Expeditions : By 1805, Ranjit Singh had established a powerful kingdom in the North-West of Satluj. In 1806, he turned his attention to the rich lands of Malwa.He occupied Dharam Kot, Wadani, Machiwara, Jagraon, Naraingarh and some other territories across Satluj.In 1806, and 1808, he also exacted tribute from some chiefs in the territories between Yamuna and Satluj. These included the rulers of Patiala, Nabha, Jind, Kaithal, Kahalia, Shahbad, Ambala, Buria and Thanesar.During this period, he annexed the state of Rai Kot from Rajput Muslim chiefs.He exacted tribute from the Pathan ruler of Malerkotla.Ranjit Singh had thus given a clear proof that territories lying between the Jamuna and Satluj were under his control and almost all chieftains acknowledged his authority.But in 1809, Ranjit Singh had to enter into a treaty with British at Amritsar by which the Satluj was declared as the southern boundary of Ranjit Singh. All the cis-satluj states came under British protection.Ranjit Singh thus failed to absorb the cis-satluj states in his kingdom. Most of these states remained under British protection upto 1947.

Conquests of Multan, Kashmir, Derajat and Peshawar : After occupying the territories of the Sikh chiefs lying between Satluj and Indus, Ranjit Singh made some very other important conquests.He conquered most of the territories either from the Pathan or the Rajput chiefs.In 1813, Ranjit Singh conquered Attock from Jahan Dad Khan. In 1818, he conquered Multan from Nawab Muzzafar Khan. This brilliant victory added to the prestige of Ranjit Singh and gave a death blow to the Afghan power in the Punjab.In 1819, Ranjit Singh conquered Kashmir, the land of fabled beauty. In 1833, he added Ladakh to his kingdom.In 1834, he conquered Peshawar and Jamrud at the very mouth of the Khyber Pass.
By 1825, Ranjit singh had conquered more than twenty hilly states.These states were either merged by Maharaja into his kingdom or their chiefs became his feudatories.On the whole Ranjit Singh had become the master of those territories which had formed the provinces of Lahore, Kashmir, Multan and some parts of the Kabul province.

Conclusion : Thus by degrees, Ranjit Singh established a compact and well-knit kingdom which extended from Little Tibet in the North to the Sindh in the South and from Satluj in the East to the defiles of the Khyber in the West. These conquests entitle the Maharaja to a unique place in the annals of Indian history and as feats of arms rival with those of his European contemporary, Napolean Bonaparte.It was for the first time in the history of India that Indians marched upto the Khyber pass and established their rule over a fierce and turbulent people who for centuries had been accustomed to rule over the Indians.

By: Harman Sandhu