Question

Why did the residents of Lahore invite Ranjit Singh to attack Lahore?

Answer 1

This column seeks to explore the circumstances and twist of events that finally saw him win his ‘dream and crowning glory’ – ‘Takht-i-Lahore’. The first thing to remember is that Sikh rule started in 1768 and ended in 1849 when the East India Company took over. So, in these 81 years, events kept changing fast and furiously. Ranjit Singh entered Lohari Gate on July 7, 1799 as the chief of the Sukerchakia Misl of Gujranwala. He ended the 31-year rule of the Sikh triumvirate which started with Lahna Singh and Gujjar Singh of the Bhangi Misl and Sohba Singh of the Kanhiya Misl. How these three captured Lahore was explored in last week’s column. By the time Ranjit Singh stood outside the city walls, the triumvirate had died and their three feeble sons taken their place. The time for weak leadership to fall had come.

To understand the complete picture, let us start from 1796 AD when news of invasion of the Punjab by Afghan Shah Zaman reached Lahore. The three Sikh rulers immediately sent their precious belongings and families to the Kashmir hills. He entered Lahore in 1798 and stayed for a month and left in a hurry without appointing any governor, as his brother Mahmud Shah was taking over Kabul with the help of Baba Khan Qachar of Iran. On his way home he lost 12 cannons in the Jhelum river. On the promise of Ranjit returning at least eight of them, he was, allegedly, given a ‘royal investiture’ of the capital of the Punjab. At least Ranjit claimed he was given one but never showed it to anyone.

But by then Chet Singh, Muhr Singh and Sahib Singh, sons of the original triumvirate, quickly returned and took over their lost rule. The ‘zamindars’ of Lahore who had supported Shah Zaman, namely Mehr Mohkam, quickly invited the Kasur pathan ruler, Nizamuddin Khan Kasuri, to invade Lahore. The army of the triumvirate defeated Kasuri as well as punished the ‘zamindars’.