Empire of the Sikhs

by Patwant Singh

  A Kashmiri embroidered pashmina wool shawl has always been the vogue in Europe. General Allard, shortly before his death, ordered a richly embroidered piece at a cost of 3,000 rupees as a gift for the Queen of France. General Ventura’s shawl, especially made for him, cost him over 6,000 rupees. Generally the price of a pashmina shawl was upward of 500 rupees. European ladies turned them into dresses and scarves and draped furniture with them. The famine that ravaged Kashmir in 1820-22 slowed down production but did not destroy it. Small carpets made from pashmina were thin, uniform in colour and with a border, and some had silk embroidery worked on them. These carpets were delicate and not very durable; they were mostly used in the zenanas (harems), where the women usually went about barefoot.

  When travelling Ranjit Singh used a fine scarlet and gold embroidered tent made of pashmina. Even when at rest at night his sword and shield were always at his side, and his favourite horse was saddled and kept ready for him to ride at a moment’s notice. His horses were adorned with velvet trappings encrusted with pearls and rubies and draped with embroidered pashmina shawls. He mostly travelled in a sedan chair made of glass and gold gilt. Sometimes he used a procession of carriages. His state carriage was very large, drawn by six horses and with a platform around it which could accommodate up to twenty courtiers.

  Silk, a fabric mainly worn by courtiers, was considered a great gift for visiting dignitaries. Kinkhab, a brocade made of silk and gold thread woven in intricate designs, was especially favoured. Raw silk was imported either from Bokhara or China, as Kashmir could not supply the demand, but it was woven in many parts of Punjab, for example, Multan, Ludhiana and Shahpur. Multan was also famous for its fine woodwork and carving, especially on screens and doors. There were other centres for furniture and decorative woodwork in Kashmir, Peshawar, Gujrat, Lahore and Hoshiarpur. Examples of this splendid workmanship can be seen today in old traditional homes and museums.

  Before Ranjit Singh, trade in and out of Punjab was almost non-existent owing to chaotic conditions created by centuries of wars and invasions. The main route into the Punjab, the Grand Trunk Road, was closed. Most of the other roads were infested with robbers and very unsafe for travellers. During Ranjit Singh’s time it was decreed that wrongdoers would be severely dealt with, but although chastisement at times could be harsh there was no capital punishment. People in Punjab under Ranjit Singh felt more secure, and his kingdom had a better safety record than most other parts of India. When asked why he did not improve the roads, he replied that should he do so it would make it easier for the enemy to advance on him.

  Despite all he had to deal with, Ranjit Singh was an environmentalist far ahead of his time, who realized that wood and forests had to be preserved for the ultimate survival of humankind and not cut down indiscriminately. Lieutenant William Barr, writing around 1844 of his experiences in Punjab during Ranjit Singh’s reign, reported: ‘Wood, strange to say, is not to be bought, nor could I ever get sufficient for a small frame; which appeared so extraordinary that I concluded my servant was either misinforming me, or had not made sufficient inquiries; however, on asking the Maharajah’s officers about it, they told me it was true, and that Ranjeet Singh will not allow a tree to be felled until it is actually required for use.’9

  Ranjit Singh was fond of planting gardens and trees, notable testimony of this being the park at Amritsar, the Ram Bagh, completed in 1831. And during his brief reign his son Kharak Singh continued the tradition; he ordered trees to be planted along either side of the fifteen-mile stretch of road from Amritsar to the Tarn Taran, a tank of healing waters around a gurdwara built by Ranjit Singh.10

  The Maharaja was a superb horseman, and horses were his passion. He would often spend a whole day in the saddle without tiring. A connoisseur, he had over 1,200 horses in his stables out of which he kept a thousand for his private use. The king of England presented him with horses from Scotland, and Arabian thoroughbreds were gifted to him by the Nizam of Hyderabad. The extent to which horses affected him comes through movingly in this description dating from his later years: ‘as soon as he mounts his horse with his black shield at his back, [it] puts him on his mettle – his whole form seems animated by the spirit within, and assumes a certain grace, of which nobody could believe it susceptible. In spite of the paralysis affecting one side, he manages his horse with the greatest ease.’11

  If Ranjit Singh heard of a horse of particular beauty or grace, he had to have it – no matter what the cost. He would willingly spend the equivalent of £30,000 or more for one that caught his fancy. In the 1820s he was captivated by stories of a horse called Leila. But her owner, Yar Mohammad Khan Barakzai, governor of Peshawar, flatly refused to part with it. Not prepared to take no for an answer, Ranjit Singh ordered a detachment of his army to Peshawar to bring him the mare. It took two expeditions against the Afghans, but in the end Ranjit Singh had his Leila. A rare beauty, dark grey with black legs, Leila was joyously celebrated on her arrival at Lahore by her adoring new owner, who thought her to be ‘the most perfect animal he had ever seen’.

  The saddles and bridles of Ranjit’s horses were exquisitely tooled in silver and gold, a rich mixture called ganga jamni. This is described as follows by a contemporary: ‘Runjeet’s own horse-equipments are very gorgeous, the holster pipes being covered with gold tinsel, and studded with precious stones, particularly emeralds and topazes; while the bridle reins are formed of pieces of gold or silver, connected together over the leather which is thus concealed.’12

  Baron Charles Hugel, who was taken to have a closer look at the horses by Ranjit Singh, noted: ‘a pommel of one of the saddles struck me as particularly worthy of remark, having a ruby two inches square, bearing on it the name of Jehanghir. Dow, in his History of Hindosthan, tells us, that when Jehanghir had his name engraved on this beautiful stone the celebrated Empress Nur Jehan told him that she thought it a pity; to which he answered, “This jewel will more assuredly hand down my name to posterity than any written history. The House of Timur may fall, but as long as there is a king, this jewel will have its price.” Many other names are now engraved on it, the best known being Ahmed Shah’s.’13 This 352.5-carat stone originally belonged to Timur who carved his name on it. Although known as the ‘Timur Ruby’, the stone is actually a spinel. It was a gift from the East India Company, along with other incomparable treasures including the Koh-i-noor, to Queen Victoria in 1851 after the annexation of Punjab.

  Ranjit Singh much enjoyed hunting as a sport. He and his guests participated enthusiastically in tiger, wild hog, black partridge and hare shoots while riding on elephant-back. Fields of sugarcane and grain were especially cultivated for game. Since elephants played an important role in his hunting expeditions, he owned about 700 of them; his favourite, Sundargaj (‘beautiful elephant’), the most imposing of them all, was a gift from the king of Nepal. Hugel describes him as being of immense size and ‘ornamented with a splendid gilt howdah and crimson velvet cushions. Red velvet housings fell as low as his knees, trimmed with a gold border and fringe. The long tusks were cut at the end, as is the case with all tame elephants; but this deficiency was supplied by tops of silver gilt, united by a golden chain. Round his ankles were curiously wrought heavy gold bangles such as the Hindus wear. The price of this elephant’s ornaments, according to the Maharaja’s account, was 130,000 florins [£13,000].’14

  Ranjit Singh had his elephants serve another enjoyable purpose in his life. These stately creatures, uniquely attired and outfitted under his specific instructions, had beautifully carved lanterns fixed to their upturned tusks, so that when the Maharaja took a favourite like Moran or Gul Begum through the streets of Lahore at night his path was romantically lit by them. It is said that Sundargaj looked like a well-lit jeweller’s shop as he made his way through Lahore in all his finery and lanterns.

  Little has been written on the distinctive coinage of the Sikhs. Yet it is an integral part of the Sikh heritage. Apart from C.J. Rodgers, who wrote on Sikh coins
in 1881, it has taken numismatists over a century to study them. They are original in a way that sets them apart from any other currency of the time, exhibiting a theme of divinity and valour which the Sikhs see as their hallmark. So coins are a part and parcel of the struggle and sacrifices of the Gurus, Banda Bahadur, the misls and of Ranjit Singh himself – all of whom carried a vision of a Sikh nation to which each in his own way gave specific form and substance. They testify to a nation in which its people were at last free to practise their religion and live in peace and harmony; a land in which the tenets of the Gurus and other religions could coexist – a truly secular land. It is impossible to describe the coinage of Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s period without touching on earlier history.

  The first Sikh coin was minted at a time of upheaval. Baba Banda Singh Bahadur – appointed leader of the Sikhs by Guru Gobind Singh in 1708, intent on avenging the brutal killing of the Guru’s two sons by the Mughals, hounded though he was by the Mughal army and fighting one battle after another with them, unfazed nevertheless – struck the first Sikh coin in 1710 after he had consolidated the Sikh seat of power at Lohgarh. The coin was historically unique. It broke away from the accepted numismatic practice of bearing the ruler’s name, title or portrait. The Sikh rupee carried none of these and was dedicated instead to the glory of the Sikh faith and its Gurus. In those troubled times this helped reinforce the Sikhs’ resolve and self-assurance and gave them added strength in their fight for their rights and beliefs. They believed that fateh or victory and power could not be gained without the help, blessings and guidance of the Sachcha Padshah, the True Lord. The coins were minted with the following couplets in Persian. On the obverse:

  Sikka Zad Bar Har Do Alam Fazl Sachcha

  Sahib Ast Fath-I-Gur Gobind Singh

  Shah-I-Shahan Tegh-I-Nanak Wahib Ast

  (‘Coin struck in the two worlds [spiritual and secular] by the grace of the true Lord, Nanak, the provider of the sword [power] by which Guru Gobind Singh, King of Kings, is victorious.’)

  On the reverse:

  Zarb Khalsa Mubarak Bakht

  Ba-Aman Ud-Dahr

  Zinat At-Takht

  Mashwarat Shahr

  Sanah – 2

  (‘Struck at the Refuge [presumably Lohgarh] of the world, the Council City, the Ornament of the Throne, of the Blessed Fortune of the Khalsa, year 2 or 3.’)

  Banda Bahadur’s victory at Sirhind on 14 May 1710 inaugurated a new calendar starting with the year 1, and the regnal years 2 and 3 pertain to this new era. There is no mint name, but from the honorific names assigned to cities at the time Lohgarh seems to be the most probable location. The verse on the obverse would later come to be known as the Nanakshahi couplet.

  The Sikh coins were minted in the names of Guru Nanak and Guru Gobind Singh to further emphasize the message of Sikhism. They also served as symbols of defiance against the religious persecution which the Mughals relentlessly carried out against the Sikhs in their ongoing efforts to force them to convert to Islam. Thousands of Sikhs were killed because they refused to renounce their faith. So the first Sikh coins were struck to send a clear message to their Mughal oppressors that the Sikhs, with the help and blessings of their Gurus, would never succumb or be vanquished. After Banda’s execution in 1716 these coins were accorded great reverence by the Sikhs. This was anathema to the Mughals, who confiscated them and put to death anyone caught possessing them.

  Some Mughal coins from Lahore also dated 1710, in the name of Emperor Shah Alam Bahadur (1707-12), have a khanda, emblem of the Khalsa, on them. The khanda symbol was perhaps put on a few of the coins quietly, unbeknown to the Mughals, by a few daring Sikhs, an act which elated all Sikhs, who were thrilled at seeing a Mughal coin with a Sikh symbol circulating in Punjab. By late October 1710 the Sikhs had taken most of Punjab east of Lahore, and Banda had even reached the outskirts of Lahore.

  When the misls, leaderless after Banda’s death and banded together to achieve their common goal of annexing the cities in Punjab which were under Afghan and Mughal rule, emerged victorious after taking Lahore in 1765 they minted coins as a mark of their sovereignty. The couplet used on these coins was taken from the official seal of Banda Bahadur, which he used on hukamnamas and farmans – edicts and orders – and patterned after Guru Gobind Singh’s seal. The legend on these coins, too, was in Persian. On the obverse:

  Deg Teg O Fateh Nusrat Be-dirang

  Yaft Az Nanak Guru Gobind Singh

  (‘Abundance, the sword, victory and help without delay Guru Gobind Singh obtained from Nanak.’)

  The Kanahiya and Bhangi misls kept a steady flow of coinage through the years after 1765 even while having to defend Lahore against the Afghans. In 1772, after taking Multan, the Sikhs issued silver rupees from there until 1779 when the city was taken back by the Afghans. In 1775 coins were issued for the first time from the sacred city of Amritsar. Once they had achieved paramountcy in Punjab the Sikhs kept the mints at Amritsar, Lahore and Multan fully employed in striking coins in praise of the Gurus. The legend used was taken from Banda Bahadur’s coins. In addition it had on the reverse:

  Sri Ambratsarjio zarb [VS … year]

  Maimanat Julus Bakht Akal Takht

  (‘Struck at the blessed Amritsar [VS … year] during the tranquil reign of the Akal Takht.’)

  The history of the major misls can be traced through their coins. Although the coinage from Amritsar, Lahore and Multan is attributed to the Bhangi misl, there is enough evidence to believe that other misls, too, minted coins in these cities, especially Amritsar. Because the couplets were in praise of the Gurus, the coins came to be known as Gobindshahis and Nanakshahis. The misls played a significant role in propagating the Sikh faith and continued to mint coins till the ascendancy of Ranjit Singh. Starting with the messages on the coins, they rallied Sikhs from far and wide to join together to throw the Afghans out of their cities, reclaim their lands and to look forward to a period of consolidation and growth.

  It was accepted practice for a monarch on attaining power to mint coins in his own name, so that with their circulation throughout the realm not only his subjects but neighbouring kingdoms and other countries would come to know who was the current ruler of the kingdom. Coinage was considered an important part of governance, as necessary then as it is now, and has been for millennia. India and Greece, in fact, were the first two civilizations to mint their own coins. What is rare about Ranjit Singh is that when he became monarch of Punjab at the age of twenty the coins he struck on Baisakhi Day in 1801 were in the name of the Gurus, not his own. Even though a monarch, he believed that he was but a servant of the Gurus and hence the coinage should bear their names, not his. Even his official seals reflect his deep humility and the reverence in which he held the Gurus and his faith.

  Brilliant administrator that he was, Ranjit Singh knew the importance of a monetary system. His contemporaries, the Marathas, Durranis, Mughals and others, all had their own to collect revenues, pay soldiers’ salaries and for barter and trade, all of which took place in the currency of the reigning monarch. Now for the first time among the Sikhs Ranjit Singh developed a complete and comprehensive currency system which consisted of the gold mohur, silver rupee, half and quarter rupees and two, one and half paisas in copper, a system which remains the basis of India’s currency today. The gold mohur was not used as currency but on special occasions as nazaranas (gifts and tributes). The gold coins in circulation were the Dutch and Venetian ducats, which were called buttkis. The copper paisas introduced by Ranjit Singh were minted at Amritsar, in Gurmukhi script, and had the legend ‘Akal Sahai Guru Nanakji’ – ‘Help from God and Guru Nanak’.

  Since Ranjit Singh was a secularist all his life – in his choice of ministers, generals and administrators, in matters of religion and of wives – his coinage reflected his secularism. The script was in Persian, the legend was of the Sikh faith, the dates followed the Hindu calendar established by King Vikramaditya, the Vikramditya Samvat, in which VS year 57 corr
esponds to AD 1 and New Year is defined by the vernal equinox. The rupee (10.7-11.1 g) had the highest purity of silver and was much in demand for its intrinsic value, as opposed to the other currencies in circulation – Mughal, Durrani and East India Company. It was in Ranjit Singh’s reign that the rupee coins of the Sikhs came to be known as Nanakshahi rupees.

  With his eye for detail, Ranjit Singh took a keen interest in his coinage, especially as he associated it with the Gurus. While the misl coins were rather crude in material and style, Ranjit Singh’s currency exhibits a refinement in terms of both artistry and workmanship. Embellished with chand and sitara – moon and stars – little flowers, beads and chevron and dotted borders, their calligraphy was of superb quality, especially those minted in Peshawar. A variety of symbols appear from time to time. In 1802 a hand (punja) is seen on the coins of Amritsar – the year Ranjit Singh took it over. A royal umbrella, fish, kartar (dagger), and the Hindu god Ram can be seen in different years. Significantly, all Ranjit Singh’s coins have one symbol in common: a leaf; because of its stylistic variations it is difficult to trace its botanical origins. It has been speculated that it could be a pipal, ber or lotus leaf, but whatever its origin it is always very prominent and easily recognizable. The intention was most probably that the people of Punjab should be able to identify their own coins easily, and so the mints wisely continued to put the leaf on all coins.

  As his dominions increased, Ranjit Singh set up mints in Multan (1818), Kashmir (1819), Derajat (1821) and Peshawar (1834), with Lahore (1801) and Amritsar (1802) remaining the Durbar’s main mints. Between 1801 and 1849 it was estimated that the amount of rupees struck from Lahore and Amritsar alone was in the region of 65 million. Amritsar’s annual output was over one million rupees, and there between 1830 and 1840 one Nanakshahi rupee could buy 82.5 lb of wheat, 17 lb of rice, just over 8 lb of cotton, two rupees a sheep, 40-50 rupees a cow and 100 rupees a milk buffalo.