Contemporary and later perspectives on Maharaja Ranjit Singh
by Radha Sharma
Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s persona continues to evoke academic interest. Although a devout Sikh (his government was referred to as Sarkar-e-Khalsa) he kept the Akalis in check and "by destroying the misls and allowing the gurmata to decay" he transformed "the whole constitution of the Sikhs from an irregular theocratic commonwealth of a loose federal type into an absolute monarchical type`85" thus uniting Punjab under his rule and extending his sway beyond the state’s frontiers. Merit and not caste, community or creed decided employment and promotion in his empire. This book contains writings by assorted chroniclers on the Maharaja during his reign as well as after Punjab’s annexation, depicting the changing scholarly perceptions in the process.

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