Text: Dr. Mohinder Singh and Rishi Singh

Photography: Sondeep Shankar
Paperback, Full Color 95 pages
UBS Publishers and Distributors in association
with National Institute of Punjab Studies
ISBN: 81-7476-372-4

Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780-1839) popularly known as the Lion of the Punjab is , perhaps the most outstanding figure in the history of Punjab. Because of his extraordinary qualities, Ranjit Singh is often compared with Napolean Bonaparte and Bismarck. Rising from the position of the chief of one of the twelve Sikh confideracies in the eighteenth century, Ranjit Singh became the first ruler who established a vast empire in North India. Through his genius Ranjit Singh built a powerful military system and modernized his army on European lines with the help of French and Italian Generals. Ranjit Singh?s administration provided a subject wherein all his subjects with diverse religious beliefs and practices could live in peace and harmony. This book tries to capture the life and times of the Maharaja based on some of the hitherto inaccessible and unpublished material collected from various repositories in India, Pakistan and the United Kingdom.

The text has been provided by Dr. Mohinder Singh, an eminent Sikh historian and Director of National Institute of Punjab Studies, and his research associate Rishi Singh. The pictures once again come from India?s leading photographer, Sondeep Shankar.