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Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the conqueror of Afghanistan

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@ Joe Shearer In 1979 incident SSG of Pakistan ( a muslim country...even if its foreign..doesnt matter) were used along with a few officers of France...but the boots on ground were Saudis and SSG.

And there is a difference...in the golden temple incident...those who were fighting Indian army wanted an independent country for Sikhs....to get freedom..while those rebels fighting in Saudi Arabia wanted personal demands to be fulfilled...there is a huge difference.

If you insist that the world seems like a more reasonable and rational place when you view it standing on your head, nobody is likely to care enough to persuade you that it isn't so.

The point was that armed criminals were driven out of the mosque using force. This is exactly what was done in Blue Star.

The point is that members of the same religion were used in the mosque. Given that the Indian Army is a seculR organization, both Sikhs and others were used in the temple.

Last, not least, the two groups fought for their principles, wrong-headed and lunatic though these principles may have been. Your effort to distinguish between the two sets of objectives is, frankly, lame, and not sustainable.
 
@ Maler ....Yeah Sikhs are and will always be the protectors of India since Indian Army destroyed and desecrated the Holy Sikh Shrines of Golden Temple.... dude please get some self respect....trust me if a country would have done this to our Holy sites..that country would not have existed by now.....how long will you remain in denial ???

What happened in Lal Masjid? :azn:

You are just frustrated because your mission Punjab failed very badly and now Kashmir also failed , not to mention Bangladesh :lol:
 
since when did he conquer afghanistan? stop making up history, at the most he captured peshawar, in which he didn't stay that long as pashtuns took it back. He was also very cruel to muslims in punjab
 
Afghanistan is called graveyard of empires, thats why sikhs would like to glorify themeselves by claiming ranjeet singh as conquerer of Afghanistan but the fact is sikhs only controlled peshawer valley and hazara, they were not even able to penetrate into most of the areas of present day KPK. Malakand division, the land of yousafzais, whick make bulk of KPK area and population, remained unconquered. Southern districts of KPK also didnt experienced sikh rule. No attempt was ever made to conquer FATA after their defeat at jamrud fort. The whole pashtun belt of balochistan remained untouched...afghanistan ki baat duor ki he.
Also sikh rule lasted only for 14 years, they were replaced by British.
 
A 2012 thread :lol:

conqueror is wrong word, but did fend India and modern day Pakistan from Afghan incursions.
 
Firstly, every conqueror has a share of atrocities. The Mughals didn't even care for the local muslim rulers and some times they even crushed more. Same with other Muslim dynasties. Conquerors are conquerors.

Ranjit Singh has positives as well, his regime was far less corrupt than others and muslims in Punjab were more or less satisfied with his rule and some were appointed at higher positions.

History should be read without prejudice; otherwise, no lessons would be learned.
 
since when did he conquer afghanistan? stop making up history, at the most he captured peshawar, in which he didn't stay that long as pashtuns took it back.
Kashmir and Peshawar were part of Afghanistan. Sikh Armies led by Ranjit Singh himself defeated Afghan Governor of Kashmir Jabbar Khan in 1819 in battle of Shupaiyan, in a battle commenced in a heavy downpour which gave the entrenched Afghans a advantage over Punjabis.
In October 1818 Maharajah led his troops towards Peshawer with his two generals who became terror among the tribes ,Hari Singh Nalwa(For decades after his death,t women tribal would say "Raghe Hari Singh" ("Hari Singh is coming") to frighten their children into obedience,source wiki) and Phula Singh and when the humiliating defeats of Khattak tribes reached Peshawar the Afghan governor of Peshawar fled the city and Punjabis enter the famous citadel of Afghans.Contrary to the practice of most Afghans who had usually plundered the towns and cities of northern India, the Maharajah forbade his soldiers to lay their hands on any person or property.The next morning he rode on his elephant through the bazaars and for the first time in eight hundred years the city saw an Native conqueror ride through its streets.He appointed Jahan Dad Khan as governor of Peshawar.and when Punjabis captured Jamrud , Dost Mohammed Khan knew if the Sikhs to take Jalalabad, their next stop would be Kabul.
He was also very cruel to muslims in punjab
He was the most generous leader Punjab ever had. When eighteen year old conqueror Ranjit Singh for the first time entered Lahore after the failed campain of Shah Zaman, his first act was to pay homage at the Badshahi Mosque and then at the mosque of Wazir Khan. It was Shah Zaman ruler of Afghanistan who was cruel to muslims. On hearing the news of Shah Zamans invasion and 'fight against infidels' most of the hindu and Sikh women, children took refuge in hill states . The people who suffered most in the hands of the invaders were the Punjabi Muslims who, believing that the Afghans would not touch their co-religionist, had remained in their homes but they soon realized their mistake when Gujranwala was sacked and Shahadara which was almost entirely inhabited by Punjabi Mussalmans was destroyed completely (It is said that the soil of Shahadara turned Red for many years and their was no single person alive in the city).
The factor which contributed most to Ranjit Singh's success was his respect for other faiths. It is said that a calligraphist who had spent the best part of his life preparing a copy of the Koran came to Lahore after having failed to sell his word to the Muslim chiefs of India Ranjit Singh paid a fabulous price for the work. His prime minister , Dhina Singh was a Dogra Hindu , his foregin minister and his best and loyal friend was Fakir Azizuddin, a muslim , his finance minister, Dina Nath , was a Brahmin.
On 27 June 1838 when Sher-e-Punjab died 'Brahmans performed their prayers , the priests of the Sikhs did the same from Granth Saheb and the Mussalmen accompanied them with their Ya Allah! Ya Allah! '
 
^Due to cruelty of Mughals against sikhs, sikhs turned into violent martial people. The hate against mughals turned into hate against all muslims. Sikhs started terrorizing punjabi muslims, killing and harassing, when mughal or afghan armies used to respond after massacres of punjabi muslims, sikhs would retreat to hills..when forces would return back to delhi or kabul, sikis would descend from hills and start killing muslims again. i have to say ranjeet singh was able to decrease this violent anti-muslim terrorism of sikhs and organized them..he was able to shift blood thirst of sikhs from punjabi muslims to Afghans...
During partition sikhs wanted to empty muslim majority gurdaspur and some other tehsils of east punjab of muslims, and they did so by massacres and rapes which put humanity into shame...angry punjabi muslims in pakistan then responded in tit for tat... I have to say tribals should have been mobilized against sikhs of east punjab instead of kashmir, inn ki nasal ka hi khatma kar detay.
 
Kashmir and Peshawar were part of Afghanistan. Sikh Armies led by Ranjit Singh himself defeated Afghan Governor of Kashmir Jabbar Khan in 1819 in battle of Shupaiyan, in a battle commenced in a heavy downpour which gave the entrenched Afghans a advantage over Punjabis.
In October 1818 Maharajah led his troops towards Peshawer with his two generals who became terror among the tribes ,Hari Singh Nalwa(For decades after his death,t women tribal would say "Raghe Hari Singh" ("Hari Singh is coming") to frighten their children into obedience,source wiki) and Phula Singh and when the humiliating defeats of Khattak tribes reached Peshawar the Afghan governor of Peshawar fled the city and Punjabis enter the famous citadel of Afghans.Contrary to the practice of most Afghans who had usually plundered the towns and cities of northern India, the Maharajah forbade his soldiers to lay their hands on any person or property.The next morning he rode on his elephant through the bazaars and for the first time in eight hundred years the city saw an Native conqueror ride through its streets.He appointed Jahan Dad Khan as governor of Peshawar.and when Punjabis captured Jamrud , Dost Mohammed Khan knew if the Sikhs to take Jalalabad, their next stop would be Kabul.

He was the most generous leader Punjab ever had. When eighteen year old conqueror Ranjit Singh for the first time entered Lahore after the failed campain of Shah Zaman, his first act was to pay homage at the Badshahi Mosque and then at the mosque of Wazir Khan. It was Shah Zaman ruler of Afghanistan who was cruel to muslims. On hearing the news of Shah Zamans invasion and 'fight against infidels' most of the hindu and Sikh women, children took refuge in hill states . The people who suffered most in the hands of the invaders were the Punjabi Muslims who, believing that the Afghans would not touch their co-religionist, had remained in their homes but they soon realized their mistake when Gujranwala was sacked and Shahadara which was almost entirely inhabited by Punjabi Mussalmans was destroyed completely (It is said that the soil of Shahadara turned Red for many years and their was no single person alive in the city).
The factor which contributed most to Ranjit Singh's success was his respect for other faiths. It is said that a calligraphist who had spent the best part of his life preparing a copy of the Koran came to Lahore after having failed to sell his word to the Muslim chiefs of India Ranjit Singh paid a fabulous price for the work. His prime minister , Dhina Singh was a Dogra Hindu , his foregin minister and his best and loyal friend was Fakir Azizuddin, a muslim , his finance minister, Dina Nath , was a Brahmin.
On 27 June 1838 when Sher-e-Punjab died 'Brahmans performed their prayers , the priests of the Sikhs did the same from Granth Saheb and the Mussalmen accompanied them with their Ya Allah! Ya Allah! '


where is your source for all this? It seems like sikh propaganda, most muslims have suffered brutally whenever sikhs have ruled
 
since when did he conquer afghanistan? stop making up history, at the most he captured peshawar, in which he didn't stay that long as pashtuns took it back. He was also very cruel to muslims in punjab

Geographically the historical Afghanistan is not the same Afghanistan of today. Back then Afghaniastan also included all the lands o Pakistan west of the river Indus. The entire north west frontier province/FATA was once part of Afghanistan, that is before the Sikhs conquered it. Even Kashmir was taken from Afghanistan by the Sikhs. The Sikhs managed to not only take it but also rule it.

It is wrong to say Maharaja Ranjit Singh was cruel to the Muslims. The Sikh state was a secular state much like Akbar's rule. Here Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs enjoyed equal rights. Maharaja Ranjit Singh had not only Sikh but also Muslim and Hindu ministers and advisers. The Punjabi and Kashmiri Musilms enjoyed full freedom to practice their religion. On the other hand Afghan and Mughals did not treat the Sikhs very honourably when they ruled over the Sikhs. They killed Sikhs, destroyed Gurdwaras. During that period, Sikhs were literally forced to move into the jungles and hills of northern punjab to escape persecution. It is a miracle of God that such a small persecuted minority ended up ruling Punjab.
 
where is your source for all this? It seems like sikh propaganda, most muslims have suffered brutally whenever sikhs have ruled

What brutality have Muslims suffered under Sikh rule? Muslims were never forced to renounce their faith and become Sikhs, neither were Masjids touched by the Sikhs and the fact that we still have Masjids and other Islamic shrines of that time period all over north India is proof of it. In fact, Sikhs respected holy men from all religions. Maharaja Ranjit Singh gave donations to Masjids Mandirs and Gurdwaras alike.
 
^Due to cruelty of Mughals against sikhs, sikhs turned into violent martial people. The hate against mughals turned into hate against all muslims. Sikhs started terrorizing punjabi muslims, killing and harassing, when mughal or afghan armies used to respond after massacres of punjabi muslims, sikhs would retreat to hills..when forces would return back to delhi or kabul, sikis would descend from hills and start killing muslims again. i have to say ranjeet singh was able to decrease this violent anti-muslim terrorism of sikhs and organized them..he was able to shift blood thirst of sikhs from punjabi muslims to Afghans...
During partition sikhs wanted to empty muslim majority gurdaspur and some other tehsils of east punjab of muslims, and they did so by massacres and rapes which put humanity into shame...angry punjabi muslims in pakistan then responded in tit for tat... I have to say tribals should have been mobilized against sikhs of east punjab instead of kashmir, inn ki nasal ka hi khatma kar detay.

1. The Punjabi Muslims were never persecuted by Sikhs. Sikhs only fought against those Punjabi Muslims who fought against the Sikhs or helped the Afghans and Mughals in persecuting the Sikhs. During the Afghan and Mughal period, being a Sikh was state crime. They had put a price on the heads of Sikhs. As a result many criminal elements from amongst the local Muslims began to see this as an opportunity to make money by killing Sikhs and present their head to the Afghan or Mughals to get their reward money. It was such people that Sikhs killed. The average Punjab was never touched. Sikh rule before M Ranjit Singh was also a secular rule. In fact many times Punjabi Muslim warlords like the Chatthas would join the Sikh armies during war as allies before M Ranjit Singh's rule stated.

2. The partition violence did not begin with the Sikhs. The first shots of violence was by the Muslim league which began attacking Sikhs of north west Punjab during the "direct action day" in 1946. When they saw that Sikhs of the rest of Punjab had not reacted, the Muslim league was confident that more such violence could be done on the Sikhs and the Sikhs will not react and that is what happened to Sikhs of west Punjab from mid 46 and into the start of 47. When east Punjab began to be filled by Sikh refugees from west Punjab(which included my grand parents), violence erupted all over east Punjab. It is unfortunate that the innocent Muslims of east Punjab had to suffer for the crimes of the Muslim league workers of west Punjab.

Muslim League Attack on Sikhs and Hindus in the Punjab 1947
 
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Not everything is present on Wikipedia or google.This is from book 'Maharaja of Punjab' the author of which took references from afghan and british sources mostly written in parsi,english.
If you only believe Pakistani sources here are few about the bravery of Ranjit Singh.
The Maharaja
In August 1991, when I first saw it, the house was in perfect fettle. This was surprising for it was constructed around the year 1830 and was then fully 160 years old. The marble plaque on the façade, fixed by some thoughtful British civil servant after the annexation of Punjab read, “Summer residence of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, AD 1830-1837”.
Inspired by European architecture, the house was unlike a traditional vernacular residence. It had verandas on two sides with rooms on the remaining two and a central atrium. The side rooms and the verandas had lower roofs while that of the central foyer’s was higher. The rafters, door and window frames and every other timber fixture were first class teak.
The house sat on the east bank of the Chenab River, just outside Rasulnagar (Gujranwala district), right by the ancient ferry where a young Ranjit Singh had deprived the Afghans of the Zamzama that now sits outside Lahore Museum. Here, long after he had defeated the Afghans and put an end to their predatory raids, the Maharaja would have reposed with his customary glass of strong drink, watching the brown waters of the Chenab roll past forever and ever.
This house became part of my book Gujranwala: The Glory That Was (1992). It also featured in one of the episodes of my PTV documentary series “Nagri, nagri ghoom musafir” produced during 1998-1999. I returned to the house a number of times thereafter when I was pressing for it to be taken over by the district administration to turn it into a library or a museum so that it may be preserved forever.
But we, the people of Pakistan, have no connection with the dharti. We have severed the umbilical that would bond us with the motherland to give us a sense of belonging and pride. Without the connection, we drift aimlessly in a wasteland harbouring vague and false notions of Arab or Central Asiatic ancestry. The disconnect is so strong that nothing that belongs to this land turns us on. We simply do not care.
Last August, I returned to Rasulnagar again to digitally preserve Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s house. What I beheld left me in tears. The house that had withstood every vagary of nature until about 2004, was a ruined hulk. The roof was gone; every single door, window and ventilator removed. What was once the interior of the house was now a pile of debris.
Until 2004, the house stood in open fields. But this time round, there was next to the historical building, a semi-permanent house inhabited by what seemed to be a family of gypsies. They had plastered the walls of the Maharaja’s house with cow dung patties.
No one seemed to know who had laid low this historic building. Neither the gypsies nor the men minding the nearby tube well. In fact, one man even ventured that the building had been in that state since the time of his ancestors!
Though I do not know who to blame for the crime, I know the teak fixtures of the building now adorn the house of some well-connected thug. When he or his men started to dismantle this historic building which should have been part of the national heritage, the DCO and his minions simply looked away. No one bothered as it went down bit by bit.
Rasulnagar is historically a very interesting place because it sat on a busy ford. An elderly ferryman once told me that until well into the 1950s, there used to be fully 100 boats catering to the back and forth traffic. Moreover, this was the very place where Ranjit Singh, just 19-year-old and leading a small force, had routed a much larger Afghan army to bring their periodic raids to an end.
This also is the place where the Sikhs under Sher Singh Atariwala, 15,000-strong, fought a desperate battle against the British in November 1848. The British prevailed, the Sikhs withdrew to the west of the river to fight and lose their final battle two months later at Chillianwala.
All this — and more — makes Rasulnagar a tourist destination for the history buff. But we do not belong to this land, so what do we do with our heritage? We destroy it.

From today newspaper
Are the Americans really pulling out? – The Express Tribune
For centuries, Afghanistan has been easy pickings for marauding armies. First came Alexander of Macedonia, then the Mongol, Genghis Khan, Emir Timur of Central Asia, an assortment of Mughals, Russian Czars, Brits, on whose empire the sun never set, and the Soviets. And finally, a coalition of Nato troops led by the Americans, the world’s self-appointed policemen. Some pillaged and plundered. Others fought to repulse marauding tribesmen. Some, like the Brits, to set boundaries. And some, like the Americans, to contain and destroy the Taliban insurgency, which is perpetrated with a fetid passion and threatens to engulf the whole region. But the only troops who systematically defeated the Afghans and the tribes of the Khyber Pass in a decisive victory were the warriors of the one-eyed Sikh leader Ranjit Singh and his outstanding commander Hari Singh Nalwa. Today, Afghanistan is still what it used to be in the days before the Second World War — a tribal society looking for its place in the sun, where misery is fuelled by small-minded jealousy and rivalry and everybody gets to wince. The difference is that with the billions of dollars that the US has poured into the country, there are now speechless accumulations of money and increased smuggling into Pakistan.
 
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