Pakistan unveils Ranjit Singh's statue at Kartarpur

Pakistani authorities have installed a statue of Punjab's first Sikh ruler, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, at Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib. The statue was unveiled in a ceremony attended by Sikh pilgrims from India, as reported by Radio Pakistan on Thursday.

Ranjit Singh was a prominent leader and the founder of the Sikh Empire in the early 19th century, reigning from 1801 until his death in 1839. Known as the “Lion of Punjab,” he consolidated various Sikh factions and established a powerful kingdom that spanned the Punjab region of modern-day India and Pakistan. He is still widely admired as a hero within the Sikh community for his strong leadership, military prowess, and efforts to unify Punjab under Sikh rule.

“The statue of Punjab’s first Sikh ruler, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, has been permanently installed at Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib,” reported Radio Pakistan. “Punjab’s Minister for Minority Affairs and Pardhan of the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee, Sardar Ramesh Singh Arora, along with officials from the Project Management Unit Kartarpur and Sikh pilgrims from India, attended the installation ceremony,” it added.

The event coincided with the presence of Sikh pilgrims from various countries in Pakistan to commemorate Ranjit Singh’s 185th death anniversary on Saturday in Lahore. Arora, the Punjab minister, emphasized the importance of protecting the statue while addressing the gathering.

Ranjit Singh’s nine-foot-tall bronze statue was previously installed at Lahore Fort, where it was vandalized in 2020 and 2021. Pakistan established the Kartarpur Corridor as a visa-free border crossing to facilitate Indian Sikh pilgrims visiting the place where the founder of their religion, Guru Nanak, spent the last 18 years of his life.