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Vandalised thrice, Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s statue to be installed at Kartarpur Sahib
The statue of Maharaja Ranjit Singh was installed in the Shahi Fort of Lahore on the occasion of his 180th anniversary in June 2019, but after attacks by some extremists, the statue was damaged.
Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s statue will be installed on the premises of Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, The Express-News reported on Monday.
The statue of Maharaja Ranjit Singh was installed in the Shahi Fort of Lahore on the occasion of his 180th anniversary in June 2019, but after attacks by some extremists, the statue was damaged.
It reported that the statue weighing 2.5 to 3.50 kg was previously installed in front of Rani Jindan’s mansion in the Shahi of Lahore, but some extremists attacked the statue three times and damaged it.
The statue was gifted by Sikh historian Bobby Singh Bansal, who is president of the UK SK Foundation. This bronze statue depicts Maharaja Ranjit Singh riding an Arabian horse named ‘Kaif Bihar’, it reported.
The Walled City of Lahore Authority repaired the statue once again, but the authority was unable to decide on its re-installation in the Shahi Qila for the past two years, as the authority was afraid that the extremists might damage it again, now a statue of Maharaja Ranjit Singh has been decided to be installed near the darshan point at Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur.
According to the officials of the Project Management Unit (PMU), Kartarpur, they have received the statue of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and it is currently kept near the darshan point. How the statue will be installed will be decided in the next few weeks.
Apart from Sikh pilgrims from all over the world, including India, other tourists also come to visit Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib.
Ranjit Singh, born November 13, 1780, Budrukhan, or Gujranwala (now in Pakistan) — died on June 27, 1839, Lahore. He was the founder and maharaja (1801-39) of the Sikh kingdom of Punjab.
