The Maharaja’s residence

[Inqhilab]

The Maharaja
By Salman Rashid
(The writer is author, most recently, of The Apricot Road to Yarkand (Sang-e-Meel, 2011) and a member of the Royal Geographical Society salman.rashid@tribune.com.pk)
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.

Before coming to this site I was reading the book ' Maharaja of Punjab' and to hear about the situation of home left me really sad.
"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."
[From Maharaja of Punjab] Collins,British Resident,after the annexation of Punjab said "Without Ranjit Singh the whole of Punjab which is the richest province would have become a desert waste since it is the boast of these northern savages (the Afghans) that the grass never grows where their horses have once trodden."
I am surprised to see that the invaders whether it is Gori,Ghaznavi,Timur,Abdali who just represents Barbarism and killed ,looted ,raped the people are celebrated as Heroes by their decendents and those Son of Soils who protect its people are subjected to this treatment.

 

[Umair Nawaz]

These so called son of soils were hindus n Siks and heros of yr country not ours.

This article is Salman Rashid's personal opinion.

BTW the Muslim Armies had came here to save the people Barbarism and killing ,loot and rape from their non Muslim Maharajas not the other way around.
That is why we the people who r the natives of this land celebrate them as Heroes, the Ghauris, Taimurs, Ghazanavis, Abdalis etc etc r the Greats no doubt.

 

[Ayush]

Makes for a nice read man.here its a matter of giving religion more importance than origin.

 

[Contrarian]

These so called son of soils were hindus n Siks and heros of yr country not ours.

This article is Salman Rashid's personal opinion.

BTW the Muslim Armies had came here to save the people Barbarism and killing ,loot and rape from their non Muslim Maharajas not the other way around.
That is why we the people who r the natives of this land celebrate them as Heroes, the Ghauris, Taimurs, Ghazanavis, Abdalis etc etc r the Greats no doubt.

Actually all the Muslim armies came here to do was rape and pillage as India was quite rich at the time.

All that the Ghauris, Taimurs and all did was loot the country, rape the women, convert lakhs to Islam by force and left. They were truly barbarians of the first order.

The only reason they are celebrated as heroes in Pakistan is because Pakistan is as a nation confused over its own identity. Almost all the Pakistani's are converted Hindus. As such they cannot take pride in their own non Islamic past, and have had to resort to making the barbarians as their heroes because the barbarians were able to defeat the local kings and queens.And frankly, since they cannot have non Muslims as role models -fed since childhood with religious bigotry and extremism against any non muslim, Pakistani's cannot respect people of other religions and belief's, fed in the barbaric arabian tribal mentality.

So what option then is left apart from Afghan barbarians.

That said, this is also one of the reasons why Pakistani's have an Arab fetish, why many imagine that they are descendants of arabs, not the converted Hindus.

 

[Azazel]

These so called son of soils were hindus n Siks and heros of yr country not ours.

This article is Salman Rashid's personal opinion.

BTW the Muslim Armies had came here to save the people Barbarism and killing ,loot and rape from their non Muslim Maharajas not the other way around.
That is why we the people who r the natives of this land celebrate them as Heroes, the Ghauris, Taimurs, Ghazanavis, Abdalis etc etc r the Greats no doubt.

Another wannabe Arab with an acute Identity crisis

 

[Umair Nawaz]

Another wannabe Arab with an acute Identity crisis

Kid its funny yr telling me this who dont know that is he a muslim or hindu or in b/w.......

This is what we believe in and these were the Muslim armies n being a Muslim was enough at that time. There was no Arab or something talk back then.

There is a main rule when u read history that When ever u read history u understand it with the scenarios of that time and consider ground realities of that time itself!!!!

 

[A.Rafay]

Baseless propaganda article!

 

[Umair Nawaz]

Actually all the Muslim armies came here to do was rape and pillage as India was quite rich at the time.

All that the Ghauris, Taimurs and all did was loot the country, rape the women, convert lakhs to Islam by force and left. They were truly barbarians of the first order.

The only reason they are celebrated as heroes in Pakistan is because Pakistan is as a nation confused over its own identity. Almost all the Pakistani's are converted Hindus. As such they cannot take pride in their own non Islamic past, and have had to resort to making the barbarians as their heroes because the barbarians were able to defeat the local kings and queens.And frankly, since they cannot have non Muslims as role models -fed since childhood with religious bigotry and extremism against any non muslim, Pakistani's cannot respect people of other religions and belief's, fed in the barbaric arabian tribal mentality.

So what option then is left apart from Afghan barbarians.

That said, this is also one of the reasons why Pakistani's have an Arab fetish, why many imagine that they are descendants of arabs, not the converted Hindus.

Another RSS mental case is on the lose

The armies came here because they were actually invited by the local and were given support by the locals here.

And it was Muslims who had made this country a golden sparrow by establishing their nisam e adl in SA.

Even yr own hindu writers write the same about them eg Aurangzeb Alamgir, Akbar, Zaheer ud Din babar, Bahadur Shah Zafar etc etc.

 

[jayron]

Another RSS mental case is on the lose

The armies came here because they were actually invited by the local and were given support by the locals here.

And it was Muslims who had made this country a golden sparrow by establishing their nisam e adl in SA.

Even yr own hindu writers write the same about them eg Aurangzeb Alamgir, Akbar, Zaheer ud Din babar, Bahadur Shah Zafar etc etc.

appreciate your thoughts

BTW, are you sure about Akbar? he is considered by many Pakistanis as anti islam because he was less bigoted.

 

[Umair Nawaz]

appreciate your thoughts

BTW, are you sure about Akbar? he is considered by many Pakistanis as anti islam because he was less bigoted.

LOL u hindu that do u meant we sure r not talking about hindu maharaja here remember!!!

BTW i was talking abt Hindu writers to another guy not u......this is what happens when u quote post out of context n references.

 

[Sinnerman108]

Actually all the Muslim armies came here to do was rape and pillage as India was quite rich at the time.

All that the Ghauris, Taimurs and all did was loot the country, rape the women, convert lakhs to Islam by force and left. They were truly barbarians of the first order.

The only reason they are celebrated as heroes in Pakistan is because Pakistan is as a nation confused over its own identity. Almost all the Pakistani's are converted Hindus. As such they cannot take pride in their own non Islamic past, and have had to resort to making the barbarians as their heroes because the barbarians were able to defeat the local kings and queens.And frankly, since they cannot have non Muslims as role models -fed since childhood with religious bigotry and extremism against any non muslim, Pakistani's cannot respect people of other religions and belief's, fed in the barbaric arabian tribal mentality.

So what option then is left apart from Afghan barbarians.

That said, this is also one of the reasons why Pakistani's have an Arab fetish, why many imagine that they are descendants of arabs, not the converted Hindus.

Hello,

Your arguments are part correct, and maybe misplaced.
There is little arguing over the nature of northern barbarians, and I have to agree with what you have listed as their motives to raid India.

However to assert that it was JUST force that converted hunderends of thousands of people to Islam would be far from reality.

India, with it's fertile lands would definately have boasted a larger population than the desert / moutain nomads that were afghans.
India with it's longer history would have projected a deeper cultural / religious imprint; not some thing that can be erased and re-written with a foreign religion in a couple of decades.

I believe it is wroth mentioning that Indian (Hindu) culture itself presented a ripe atmosphere, where people wanted to convert.
The oppressed part of society is always looking for a change.
Hindu caste system, and selective religious / aristocratic elite provided enough detested populance which converted to Islam.

The same populance that converted to Islam however didn't forget their oppression and to make things even invented "arab ancestory".

 

[INDIC]

LOL u hindu that do u meant we sure r not talking about hindu maharaja here remember!!!

BTW i was talking abt Hindu writers to another guy not u......this is what happens when u quote post out of context n references.

Which Hindu writer, can you name them.

 

[Contrarian]

Hello,

Your arguments are part correct, and maybe misplaced.
There is little arguing over the nature of northern barbarians, and I have to agree with what you have listed as their motives to raid India.

However to assert that it was JUST force that converted hunderends of thousands of people to Islam would be far from reality.

India, with it's fertile lands would definately have boasted a larger population than the desert / moutain nomads that were afghans.
India with it's longer history would have projected a deeper cultural / religious imprint; not some thing that can be erased and re-written with a foreign religion in a couple of decades.

I believe it is wroth mentioning that Indian (Hindu) culture itself presented a ripe atmosphere, where people wanted to convert.
The oppressed part of society is always looking for a change.
Hindu caste system, and selective religious / aristocratic elite provided enough detested populance which converted to Islam.

The same populance that converted to Islam however didn't forget their oppression and to make things even invented "arab ancestory".

You are right. And it was the sufis who made a far bigger impact in spread of islam.
Hinduism too presented perfect opportunity...a highly oppressive caste system begets no loyalties.


My post was only limited to the afghan invaders and their motives and actions.

 

[jayron]

LOL u hindu that do u meant we sure r not talking about hindu maharaja here remember!!!

BTW i was talking abt Hindu writers to another guy not u......this is what happens when u quote post out of context n references.

if you want to have private conversation with an individual, call him or email him.

You are right. And it was the sufis who made a far bigger impact in spread of islam.
Hinduism too presented perfect opportunity...a highly oppressive caste system begets no loyalties.


My post was only limited to the afghan invaders and their motives and actions.

most of Pakistani converts were not oppressed by Hindu caste system. They were in fact the oppressing high caste hindus of the time like Bhats/ rajputs and sethis.

 

[MadDog]

Another wannabe Arab with an acute Identity crisis

Dude, I agree with the fact that Ranjit Singh was a son of Punjab and " P " in Pakistan means Punjab..and he is indeed considered a great leader by many Pakistanis. But at the same time the people he fought ( Afghans/Pushtuns) today are the second biggest ethnic group of Pakistan with a poppulation of 28 million...and their heroes are also respectible for us as Pakistanis, since Pakistan's KPK province used to be part of Afghanistan at that time...and its inhabitants were Afghans who fought Ranjit Singh.....Pakistan means Punjab, Afghania (old name of KPK), Kashmir, Sindh and baluchisTAN. So both the heroes of Punjab and Pukhtunkhwa have to be respected by us Pakistanis...this is a fact which Indian members here need to understand.