The Sikh Empire in books: Ranjit Singh, Maharani Jindan, Hari Singh Nalwa
2026-09-29 · 6 min read · Kitab Hut, Moosa
Read the Sikh Empire in this order: Sohan Singh Seetal's Sikh Raj Kiven Banya for how the kingdom was made, a life of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, a life of Hari Singh Nalwa, then Maharani Jind Kaur and Seetal's Sikh Raj Kiven Gaya for how it was lost.
The Sikh kingdom lasted half a century. Ranjit Singh took Lahore in 1799 and was proclaimed Maharaja in 1801. He died in 1839. Ten years later, in 1849, the British annexed Punjab. Nearly every book on this shelf is about one part of that rise and fall, and they read best in the order the events happened.
1. Before the kingdom: Banda Singh Bahadur and the misls
The eighteenth century comes first: Banda Singh Bahadur, then the misls, the confederacies that held Punjab before one of them absorbed the rest. Sohan Singh Seetal's Sikh Mislan Te Sardar Gharane covers the misls and the families that led them.
2. How the kingdom was made
Seetal's Sikh Raj Kiven Banya is the place to begin. He was a dhadi performer as well as a historian, and the book is told rather than argued.
3. The Maharaja, and his general
Baba Prem Singh Hoti Mardan wrote the lives that Punjabi readers have used for generations: Sher-e-Punjab Maharaja Ranjit Singh, and Hari Singh Nalwa, the general who held the north-west frontier and died at Jamrud in 1837.
4. How it was lost
After Ranjit Singh's death the court turned on itself. Maharani Jind Kaur, mother of the boy Maharaja Duleep Singh, ruled as regent and was then separated from her son by the British. Read her life, and then Seetal's Sikh Raj Kiven Gaya, which takes the story to the annexation.
- Sikh Mislan Te Sardar Gharane, Sohan Singh Seetal — ₹300
- Sikh Raj Kiven Banya, Sohan Singh Seetal — ₹240
- Sher-e-Punjab Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Baba Prem Singh Hoti Mardan — ₹280
- Hari Singh Nalwa, Baba Prem Singh Hoti Mardan — ₹275
- Maharani Jind Kaur — ₹350
- Sikh Raj Kiven Gaya, Sohan Singh Seetal — ₹240
Sikh and Punjab history books — The whole shelf.
Questions readers ask
What is the best book on Maharaja Ranjit Singh in Punjabi?
Sher-e-Punjab Maharaja Ranjit Singh by Baba Prem Singh Hoti Mardan is the life most Punjabi readers begin with. Sohan Singh Seetal's Sikh Raj Kiven Banya sets it in the history of the kingdom.
When did the Sikh Empire begin and end?
Ranjit Singh took Lahore in 1799 and was proclaimed Maharaja in 1801. The British annexed Punjab in 1849, ten years after his death.
Who was Maharani Jind Kaur?
The youngest wife of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and mother of Maharaja Duleep Singh. She ruled as regent for her son in the 1840s and is often called Maharani Jindan.