The Punjab government of Pakistan on Tuesday, announced plans to reinstall the restored statue of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the first ruler of the Sikh Empire, at Kartarpur Sahib on Wednesday. This initiative aims to allow visiting Sikhs from India the opportunity to see the statue as well.
Kartarpur Sahib, also referred to as Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, is located approximately 150 km northeast of Lahore, near the border with India.
The nine-foot-tall bronze statue of Maharaja Ranjit Singh was initially placed at the Lahore Fort near his Samadhi in 2019. However, it was damaged on two occasions by activists belonging to Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), a far-right Islamic political party in Pakistan.
“We are going to install Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s statue at Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, Kartarpur on Wednesday afternoon in the presence of local and Indian Sikhs,” Punjab’s first Sikh Minister and President (pardhan) of the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC) Sardar Ramesh Singh Arora told PTI.
Arora mentioned that the restored statue is being placed at Kartarpur Sahib so that visiting Indian Sikhs can have the opportunity to see it. He also assured enhanced security measures to safeguard the newly restored statue.
The minister added that restoration work on Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s Samadhi has already commenced and is expected to be completed soon.
Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the founder of the Sikh Empire, governed the northwest Indian subcontinent during the early 19th century, with Lahore as its headquarters.
Currently, 455 Sikhs who arrived from India last week to participate in events commemorating Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s death anniversary will also be present at Kartarpur Sahib on Wednesday for the unveiling of Singh’s statue.
