AMRITSAR: A restored statue of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, which was vandalised thrice since its installation in Lahore Fort and relocated to the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib complex in Pakistan’s Kartarpur, will be unveiled in the neighbouring country on June 26 to mark the Sikh warrior’s 185th death anniversary.
Around 450 Indian Sikhs are currently in Pakistan to celebrate the death anniversary of Ranjit Singh, who ruled Punjab in the 19th century and was the first maharaja of the Sikh Empire.
Fakir Syed Saifuddin, director of the Fakir Khana Museum in Lahore, led the project to repair, rebuild and reconstruct the statue, which was nearly 80 percent damaged.
“I took up this project out of love and respect for Ranjit Singh. The restoration cost around Rs 2.7 million and the work took over a year. The statue was donated for installation in the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib complex,” said Saifuddin, a fifth-generation descendant of Fakir Syed Azizuddin, who served as chief secretary and foreign minister in the Ranjit Singh government. Saifuddin’s brothers Fakir Syed Imamuddin and Fakir Syed Nooruddin served as acting governors of Amritsar and Lahore respectively.
The nine-foot-tall bronze statue was sculpted by the Fakir Khana Museum in 2019. It was vandalised by religious organisations in 2019 and 2020 and by terrorist organisation Tehreek-e-Labbaik in 2021.
Around 450 Indian Sikhs are currently in Pakistan to celebrate the death anniversary of Ranjit Singh, who ruled Punjab in the 19th century and was the first maharaja of the Sikh Empire.
Fakir Syed Saifuddin, director of the Fakir Khana Museum in Lahore, led the project to repair, rebuild and reconstruct the statue, which was nearly 80 percent damaged.
“I took up this project out of love and respect for Ranjit Singh. The restoration cost around Rs 2.7 million and the work took over a year. The statue was donated for installation in the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib complex,” said Saifuddin, a fifth-generation descendant of Fakir Syed Azizuddin, who served as chief secretary and foreign minister in the Ranjit Singh government. Saifuddin’s brothers Fakir Syed Imamuddin and Fakir Syed Nooruddin served as acting governors of Amritsar and Lahore respectively.
The nine-foot-tall bronze statue was sculpted by the Fakir Khana Museum in 2019. It was vandalised by religious organisations in 2019 and 2020 and by terrorist organisation Tehreek-e-Labbaik in 2021.
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