Apart from the above points, it would also be important to make mention the point that despite

being a Sikh ruler he did not discriminate against members of other communities, and was the
harbinger of Punjabi or common Punjabi identity. One clear reiteration of this point is the fact that
the Fakir Azizuddin along with his other two brothers was amongst Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s most
trusted advisors. Azizuddin handled all issues pertaining to foreign affairs. Fakir Aijazuddin (who
belongs to the Fakir family) has illustrated this point in a number of writings and books. His latest
book, The Resourceful Fakirs – Three Muslim Brothers at the Sikh court of Lahore, reiterates this
point while narrating accounts of visitors to Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s court. For instance, Aijazuddin
quotes the views of Victor Jacquemont, a French visitor to the Maharaja’s court, who while
commenting on the proximity of the Fakir brothers to the Maharaja said:

“Among his most intimate councilors are three Mohammadan brothers, who conceal their wealth
under an outward appearance of poverty and seek to atone for their intrusion by the humility of
their behavior. All of them bear the title of ‘Fakir,’ as do their sons. They know Arabic and have read
the medical books in that language, hence their reputation for deep scientific knowledge. The eldest,
whom I met near Amritsar, is more or less the minister for foreign affairs; it is he who writes all the
dispatches from Ranjit to the British government. Another is the trusted agent at Govindgarh. The
third, whom I meet every day, is sometimes appointed governor of the city, when Ranjit does not
take him away with him. These brothers have a cipher which they use in correspondence among
themselves and this artifice, hitherto, I believe, unknown in the East, gives them a reputation for
great cleverness.”

While the recognition of Maharaja Ranjit Singh by the Pakistani government is important for the
reasons which have been discussed above, it is also important to point out that acknowledging a
personality who was not Muslim, and who for a long period of time has been omitted from the
country’s history, is significant. One of the major reasons for the rising intolerance in Pakistan can be
attributed to a skewed view of history, where in an urge to create a cohesive Pakistani identity, some
important personalities of the region belonging to other religions have been ignored or relegated to
the sidelines.

A number of publications have flagged this issue. For example, AH Nayar and Ahmad Salim, the
editors of “The subtle subversion: the state of curricula and textbooks in Pakistan,” have pointed to
the inaccuracies of creating a false sense of nationhood and thereby fostering intolerance.
Prominent public intellectuals like Aitzaz Ahsan, a senior politician and lawyer and the author of
Indus Saga: From Pataliputra to Partition and Ayaz Amir have spoken in favor of recognizing common
heroes of India and Pakistan in general, and the two Punjabs in particular, as opposed to looking to
the Middle East. Raza Rabbani, now Chairman of the Pakistan Senate, has also flagged this issue and
stated that teaching Pakistani students about figures like Maharaja Ranjit Singh would not harm
Pakistan in any way.

While naming monuments or roads after Maharaja Ranjit Singh may not help either in improving
bilateral relations or countering radicalism in Pakistan, similar steps will go a long way in sending an
unequivocal message: that sane elements are willing to take steps for altering the current narrative.
Not only is giving minorities a stake in Pakistan’s national project important, but so is taking a more
rational, dispassionate view of history something which has been missing for a long time.

Under his tenure, the Sikh Empire was very secular since it allowed men from different religions as
well, to rise to commanding positions of authority. In his empire, none of the subjects were
discriminated on account of their religion. He never forced Sikhism on non-Sikhs and respected all
religions.