Ranjit Singh (1780-1839) was a ruler of the Punjab. His kingdom was so powerful that friendship with this "Lion of the Punjab" remained for 3 decades the sheet anchor of British policy in western India.

Ranjit Singh was heir to the Sukerchakia misl, one of the 12 misls which had been established by the warlike Sikhs during the 18th century and which ruled the greater part of the Punjab. Ranjit came into his own after the death of his widowed, dominating mother in 1796. Almost immediately he gathered a force of 10,000 to 12,000 horsemen.

At this time the Afghan king, Zaman Shah, was campaigning in the Punjab. The Afghans occupied but soon lost Lahore, traditionally the capital of a unified Punjab. Apparently acting in Zaman Shah's name but actually for himself, Ranjit captured Lahore in 1799. Soon he subjugated Jammu and Kasur, won the friendship of the strong Ahluwalia misl, the important Kanheya...