On the 180th death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the legendary ruler of Punjab, a statue was unveiled at the Lahore Fort on Thursday. Around 500 people crossed the Wagah border to attend the unveiling ceremony. The main ceremony will take place on Saturday at Gurdwara Dera Sahib. The sculpture is the result of a collaboration between Fakir Khana Museum and Sarkar Khalsa Foundation.

Fakir Syed Saifuddin, whose ancestors were emissaries of the Maharaja, runs the prestigious museum. He said the idea was mooted about 15 years ago when U.K.-based Bobby Singh Bansal, chairperson of the S.K. Foundation, came to Pakistan and agreed to sponsor the sculpture. Many years have passed before the idea became a reality. According to Saifuddin it has been a very lengthy and tiring process from getting permission from the government to commissioning the sculpture, but it has been worth it.

He added that while India has many statues of the famous Maharaja and this will be his first sculpture in Pakistan, and this is by far the best sculpture when it comes to expressions, anatomy and overall look.

 Saifuddin said to have asked three artistes to design it. Two of them are students of the National College of Arts in Lahore and Rawalpindi, while Saifuddin and has studied from Naqsh School of Arts. This took eight months to make it said Saifuddin.

He shared how they selected the horse. A model of Ashq-e-Laila, the famous horse of Maharaja. Special care was taken while designing so that it should not overshadow the personality of Maharaja himself, who was just 5-feet, 5-inches tall. So, the sculptors chose a horse called Kahir Bahar, gifted to the Maharaja by Dost Mohammad.

It is unfortunate that our people don’t know anything about Maharaja Ranjit Singh who made the Punjab State from Lahore to Kabul. Punjab under Maharaja Ranjit Singh was an extremely prosperous and developed State said Saifuddin. Bansal wanted to now commission the sculptures of other icons like Sardar Sham Singh Attariwala and Hari Singh Nalwa through the museum.

Kamran Lashari, Director General Walled City of Lahore Authority, said that their basic objective is to promote religious tourism, which is in line with the present government’s policy as well. Kartarpur corridor is one such initiative.

Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry, an admirer of the Maharaja, said Ranjit Singh’s governance reforms, especially land reforms, were the most practical reforms made by any ruler.