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Updated: Jun 28, 2019 14:11 IST

A life-size sculpture of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who ruled over Punjab for four decades, was unveiled in Lahore on Thursday on the eve of his 180th death anniversary.

The statue is located in an open space outside the Maharani Jindian Kaur Haveli, also known as the Sikh Gallery, in Lahore Fort, close to the building that houses Ranjit Singh’s grave and the Gurdwara Dera Sahib of Guru Arjun Dev. “Unveiling of the life-size statue of the Maharaja in Pakistan a historic move,” said Shahid Shabir, a Pakistan-based researcher on Sikh heritage.

He said three plates of brass are displayed in three languages —Urdu, Gurmukhi and English — to narrate brief history of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The platform on which the statue is erected is decorated with old-designed “Nanakshahi” bricks, he said.

The Pakistani authorities put up the statue with the help of Sikh Heritage Foundation UK director Bobby Singh Bansal who was also present on unveiling ceremony, besides Anjum Tara, creator of the gallery and museum director Faqir Saifuddin. Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar, governor of Pakistani Punjab, was scheduled to preside over the ceremony but he did not turn up.

The life-size statue, pictures of which were released on the social media, shows Maharaja Ranjit Singh riding his favourite Arabic horse Kahar Bahar, which was gifted to him by Dost Muhammad Khan, the founder of the Barazkai dynasty.

The statue, completed in eight months, is finished in fibre-cold bronze material and is matchless in its making when compared to other sculptures of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in this region.

The Maharaja, also known as Sher-e-Punjab, had a long association with Lahore. He captured Lahore in 1799 and made it as the capital of the Sikh Empire. His grave is just next to the Lahore Fort.