Long before a group of Akali ministers stood at the Akal Takht and humbly accepted religious punishment or sewa, there was a young king who stood at the same place with folded hands. It was 1802, and Ranjit Singh, the founder of the Khalsa Empire, was just 22 years old. He had been summoned by Akali Phula Singh, the commanding jathedar of the Akal Takht and a general in his army, who was almost twice his age.
Lore has it that Ranjit Singh was part of the sarbat khalsa (a convention of Sikhs) in 1800 that appointed Akali Phula Singh, a Nihang leader of the Budha Dal who had been raised as a saint-soldier, as the Akal Takht jathedar. A year later, Phula Singh intervened to avert a battle between Ranjit Singh’s army and that of Amritsar’s custodian, the Bhangi Misl’s Mai Sukhan, who later accepted Ranjit Singh’s rule.
Akali Phula Singh, who had joined Ranjit Singh’s army a year earlier with 3,000-odd Nihang warriors, was enraged when he learned that the young king had married a Muslim courtesan named Moran. This act violated the moral code of conduct that forbade practising Sikhs from associating with prostitutes, let alone marrying one. Furious, Phula Singh declared Ranjit Singh a tankhaiya, and summoned him. The young king appeared on the appointed day. A picture of humility, Ranjit Singh admitted his mistake. Akali Phula Singh sentenced him to 50 public whiplashes. Ranjit Singh quickly acquiesced, removing his kurta. Some European writers suggest he was tied to a tamarind tree near the sarovar (holy pool) around the Harmandir Sahib. However, when Phula Singh asked the congregation whether he should proceed with the flogging, they urged him to spare the young king this humiliation. Phula Singh relented, imposing instead a fine of 1,25,000 rupees, a princely sum at the time.
Professor Indu Banga, a historian specialising in Punjab history, notes that while there is no written record of this episode by Indian historians, the story has been passed down the generations in Amritsar. European travellers who visited Ranjit Singh’s Lahore court also documented it as part of the gossip they picked up there. “By then, several rehatnamas (codes of conduct) had already been written, outlining what a Singh could and couldn’t do, along with the associated punishments,” says Banga. Ranjit Singh was deeply enamoured with 21-year-old Moran, renowned for her prowess in music and dance. “She was probably his first love, as his relationship with his wife Mehtab Kaur was acrimonious,” adds Banga.
In History of the Sikhs, Vol. V: The Sikh Lion of Lahore, author Hari Ram Gupta writes that Ranjit Singh was so smitten with Moran that he spent nights at her house, and she joined him on his morning horse rides. He took her for a dip in the holy Ganges at Benaras after their marriage, during which he was declared a tankhaiya and summoned by Akali Phula Singh.
The Maharaja is said to have built a bridge over a canal dug during the reign of Emperor Shah Jahan, which brought water from the Ravi River to Lahore to irrigate the Shalimar Gardens. This bridge, intended to meet Moran, who hailed from Makhanwindi village in Amritsar, was long known as Pul Kanjri. Located about 5 km from the Wagah border, it is now part of the national heritage circuit and has been restored and renamed Pul Moran in her memory. In Lahore, he also built a mosque called Masjid-e-Tawaifan at her request, which was renamed Mai Moran Masjid in 1998.
Dr Fauzia of Pakistan, author of a book titled Taboo on Lahore’s Hira Mandi, notes that Moran came from the tawaif community, dedicated to preserving the performing arts. She says that Ranjit Singh married Moran to uplift her community, granting them land near Amritsar called Sharifpura and encouraging them to adopt other occupations.
In 1820, Ranjit Singh embarked on a 10-year project to beautify the Harmandir Sahib, covering it with gold and transforming it into what is now known as the Golden Temple (Swarna Mandir). “Though it is commonly believed that Ranjit Singh coronated himself as Maharaja in 1801, a year after conquering Lahore, records show he was addressed as Maharaja only after the installation of the plaque above the Golden Temple upon its completion,” says Banga.
The golden plaque at the entrance to the sanctum sanctorum reads: “Sri Maharaj Guru Sahib ji ne, apne param sewak Sikh jaan kar, Sri Darbar Sahib ji ki sewa Sri Maharaj Singh Sahib Ranjit Singh par daya kar ke karayee (The Guru, in an abundant act of mercy, upon regarding him as prime Sikh servitor, bestowed upon Maharaja Ranjit Singh the privilege to serve Sri Darbar Sahib).”
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By this time, Ranjit Singh was at the peak of his power. “In the 1820s and 1830s, he was the only sovereign ruler in the country. His kingdom stretched from Ladakh and Kashmir to Kabul, Multan, and Punjab. He also had the strongest indigenous army in Asia at the time,” adds Banga.
The plaque coincided with a change in his title. “Previously, he was addressed as ‘Akal Sahay’ (God be the helper) Ranjit Singh, a term used by earlier Sikh chieftains. In written correspondence, he was variously referred to as ‘Hazur-e-Ali,’ ‘Hazur-e-Wala,’ and ‘Hazur-e-Anwar.’ In the 1806 treaty with the British, he was referred to as ‘Sardar’; in 1809 as ‘Raja Ranjit Singh.’ By 1832 and 1838, he was clearly addressed as the ‘Maharaja,’” says Banga.
A devout Sikh, Ranjit Singh, remembered as Sher-e-Punjab, visited the Golden Temple on every Sankrant (the first day of the month in the Bikrami calendar). “Though he controlled the appointments of those who managed the Darbar Sahib, he never attempted to replace Akali Phula Singh,” says Banga. Phula Singh remained the Akal Takht jathedar till his death in the Battle of Nowshera in 1823.
