On November 2, 1780, a legend was born, and on June 27, 1839 he died. A boy born the son of Mahan Singh and Raj Kaur died the son of Punjab, and a boy born as Ranjit Singh died as Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the one and only Maharaja that led Punjab to the peak of its success and the height of its power. Ranjit Singh a boy whose childhood was unlike any others and which led him to his evident success.
Most of Ranjit’s early childhood was devoted to hunting and war games, for he showed no interest in books and never received any formal education. The smallpox which stole from him the sight of one eye and left its scars all about his face seemed no drawback to young Ranjit, for at the age of 8 he was already going on expeditions with his father. By the age of 12 Ranjit was joining his father in battles. In one such battle his father became ill and returned to his home, leaving the command of the army in Ranjit’s hands. He fought bravely and fiercely and was soon rewarded with victory. But upon acquiring this victory, Ranjit lost something very close and dear to himhis father. Soon after the death of his father, Ranjit began to take over the leadership of his father’s misl, Sukarchakia, with the help of his mother and his advisor Lakhpat Rai. He took complete control of the misl by age 18, One by one Ranjit Singh had all other misls under his control, as well.
Even before gaining this leadership, at age 15, he wed Mehtab Kaur the daughter of Gurbax Singh of the Kanheya misl. Ranjit’s motherinlaw, Sada Kaur, wasa very brave and courageous lady and was a great influence to Ranjit. It was her training and advice which shaped Ranjit’s future; and a powerful future it was.
In 1799, when he was only 19 years old, he conquered Lahore and assumed the title of Maharaja. After this, it seemed as if fortune was his fate. He succeeded in everything he set out to do, and true to his name victor of the Battlefield Ranjit won every battle in which he engaged. He became possessor of the world famous diamond (KOHENOOR). Maharaja Ranjit Singh tuled in the name of God and in a truly democratic empire. He killed no one except his enemies. He”appointed ministers without any discrimination of cast or religion. Maharaja Ranjit Singh was leader to all and admired by all, and he truly deserved the adoration which he received.
Ranjit Singh gave generously to places of worship as well as to the poor and needy. He donated gold to the Hindu temple Somnath and covered the entire Harmander Sahib in a sheet of gold. Ranjit Singh contributed greatly to many other gurdwaras as well as building many of his own. He rose victor in all he did and accomplished all he set out to do, gaining the love of his people and the respect which came with acquiring the leadership he had achieved.
At the peak of his success, Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s empire extended from Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh in the North, up to Jamnud in the west, and the Sutlej River was used as the Southeast boundary. Even the British empire was afraid of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and his powerful rule and did not even dare to look towards Lahore which they longed to gain control of.
Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s life came to an abrupt end when a stroke disabled him and the brief illness which followed killed him. He did on June 27, 1839.
Soon after his death the empire Ranjit Singh had built began to crumble. A power struggle within the royal family left Punjab weak. And within 10 years Britain seized the vast empire created by a single man Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Throughout the past 4 years of high school, we have endured a great deal together. We have had good and bad times, happy and sad. Four years ago, we came into this school, not knowing what to expect. Would it be difficult and could we handle it? And by the looks of it, it appears that we have handled ourselves very well. For many of us we are at the same stage now that we were four years ago. We will all be pursuing our goals and dreams of life. Some will go onto college some will enter the work force, some will start a family, and others will join the armed” services. Success is the name of the game. We all wish to be successful and through the work and study habits that have been instilled into us by the many fine teachers here at LaSalle, the future is looking brighter by the moment and all our goals and dreams are within reach. But the whatever we do decide to do, the class of 1989 will have a ‘major impact on the world in years to come!
On August 31, 1988 we came back to school with the attitude of “yes we are bad, yes we are seniors, let’s live every moment to the fullest, and when is our last day”!!? Well by 10:50 a.m. tomorrow June the 2nd 1989, our last day will be here and gone. We will take our last test turn in our last assignment and fall asleep for the last time in high school. There will be a lot of yelling, screaming and a whole lot of tears falling. When we finally leave this school, we will all wonder “where did it all go,” How could it seem possible that just yesterday we were Jreshmen and now we are at the top of the ladder as seniors graduating. Earlier in the year before school had started. I was talking to Mr. Sacchini and he told me to study hard and have a lot of fun, with this being my senior year, He also told me when you step up to receive your diploma, you will remember this conversation as if it were just yesterday. And as usual Sack was correct. Now I’m always asking myself, where did it all go?? If we could’ve only bottled up our senior year to preserve all of the great MEMOTIES.
Our ship is temporarily docked but is getting ready to set sail again, We are all the captains. Wherever we lead that ship is where we will turn up. So guide it safely and with much knowledge for that destination unknown will be your future. I wish you all a safe voyage in whatever you pursue and good luck to everyone!
Article extracted from this publication >> June 30, 1989
