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Product Description
A comprehensive history of the Lahore Durbar, the glorious reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and his exemplary organizational skills that led to forming of the formidable Sikh army and the fiercely fought Anglo Sikh wars.
The Last Sunset: The Rise and Fall of the Lahore Durbar recreates history of the Sikh empire and its unforgettable ruler, Maharaja Ranjit Singh of the Shukarchakia dynasty. An outstanding military commander, he created the Sikh Khalsa Army organized and armed in Western style, acknowledged as the best in undivided India in the nineteenth century. Ranjit Singh’s death in 1839 and the subsequent decline of the Lahore Durbar, gave British the opportunity to stake their claim in the region till now fiercely guarded by Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s army.
Captain Amarinder Singh chronicles in detail the two Anglo-Sikh wars of 1845 and 1848. The battles, high in casualties on both the sides led to the fall of Khalsa and the state was finally annexed with Maharaja Duleep Singh, the youngest son of Maharaja Ranjit Singh put under the protection of the crown and deported to England.
About the author
Captain Amarinder Singh, who is from the royal family of Patiala, was educated at the Doon School. After graduating from the National Defence Academy at Kharakavasla and the Indian Military Academy at Dehra Dun, he was commissioned into the 2nd Battalion of the Sikh regiment. During the 1965 war with Pakistan, he was ADC to the GOC-in-C, Western Command, in whose theatre of operations the entire war was fought. Later, as Member of Parliament, he was a member of Parliamentary Defence Committee.
Amarinder Singh spent four terms in the Punjab legislature, during which time he served as Minister in the Punjab Government. He is presently President of the Congress Party in the state of Punjab. He was then the Congress President in Punjab and later Chief Minister of Punjab from 2002 to 2007. He is presently in the state legislature. |