June 28, 2019 by admin

Sikh ruler’s 9-ft sculpture installed at Lahore Fort

Chandigarh

Commemorating the 180th death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, a life-size sculpture of the Sikh ruler was installed in Lahore on Thursday.

Sculpted by various local artists, the 9-ft-high statue has been installed opposite the haveli of Rani Jindan in the Lahore Fort.

The sculpture was commissioned by the SK Foundation, UK, along with Raj Kapany of the US. Foundation president Bobby Singh Bansal said the project was initiated in 2016 to commemorate the 180th death anniversary and to promote the Sikh heritage and tourism in Pakistan. Earlier, the foundation had installed a bust of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in France in 2016 and in Italy last month.

Bansal said the statue was significant for Punjabis as there was not a single monument in Pakistan that preserves and promotes the legacy of the Maharaja when Lahore was his capital and his samadhi was there. The statue took eight months to complete and was approved by the Lahore Authority, which looks after all structures in the walled city.

Talking to the media in Lahore, Director of the Fakir Khana Museum Faqir Saifuddin said: “The sculpture shows Maharaja Ranjit riding his favorite Arabic horse, Kahar Bahar, a gift from Dost Muhammad Khan, the founder of the Barakzai Dynasty.” “The sculpture has fiber cold bronze finish.”