LAHORE-A life-size sculpture of Maharaja Ranjit Singh was unveiled on June 27 outside the Sikh Gallery at Lahore Fort on the180th death anniversary of Ranjit Singh. The life-size statue of Sikh Punjabi ruler is first of its kind in Pakistan.

Ranjit Singh in sculpture is sitting on his favorite Arabic horse named Kahar bahar, which was gifted to him by Dost Muhammad khan (founder of Barakzai dynasty and prominent rulers of Afghanistan during the First Anglo-Afghan War).

The statue was built and installed by the Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA) in collaboration with the UK-based Sikh Heritage Foundation, which funded the project.

“The statue weighs around 250-330 kilograms. The sculpture is made up of 85 per cent bronze, 5 per cent tin, 5 per cent lead and 5 per cent zinc,” Sikh Heritage Foundation president Bobby Singh Bansal said.

WCLA Conservation and Planning Director Najam-Us-Saqib said the statue will be a “good tourist attraction” and iron grills would be erected around the sculpture to protect it.

The statue was made by artists from Lahore’s National College of Art and Naqsh School of Art under the supervision of Faqir Khana Museum Director Faqir Saifuddin. “This sculpture is a tribute and homage to the son of the soil,” he said, adding that Lahore has had rich cultural and religious diversity for centuries and Ranjit Singh was one important part of it.

Sikh Heritage Foundation UK (SK foundation) Director Boby Singh Bansal, who commissioned the sculpture, commented that ‘History is in making. This is the first venture in Lahore Fort. We are extremely happy to be a part of this historic moment”.