Lehna Singh Majithia (d. 1854), his personal name is also

Romanized Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and ...

as Lahina or Lahna, was a Sher-Gill

Jat The Jat people ((), ()) are a traditionally agricultural community in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in late medieval times, and su ...

polymath A polymath ( el, πολυμαθής, , "having learned much"; la, homo universalis, "universal human") is an individual whose knowledge spans a substantial number of subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific pro ...

inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...

, warrior, and statesman. Lehna Singh was the father of famous businessman and philanthropist,

Dyal Singh Majithia Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia (1848–1898) was an Indian banker and activist in progressive and social reform measures in Punjab. He established ''The Tribune'' newspaper in Lahore in 1881, and later remained founder chairman of the Punjab Nati ...

Biography

Sardar Lehna Singh of the renowned Majithia family was the towering Sardar of

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

Darbar who earned the maximum number of bravery titles during his time. He was described as “the wisest man”, “the best”, “the purest”, “the most cultured”, “kind and benevolent man”, “the most enlightened”, “the most honest and able administrator of the Sikh Chiefs”. In his book “Dyal Singh Majithia: Life and Achievements”, Mr.

Madan Gopal Madan may refer to: Places Armenia *Kapan, a city in Armenia, formerly ''Madan'' *Madan, a small village above Alaverdi in Lori Marz Bulgaria * Madan, Montana Province, a village in the Boychinovtsi municipality of northwestern Bulgaria * Mada ...

wrote, “Lehna Singh Majithia was the only Sardar with a scientific bent of mind at

Maharaja Ranjit Singh Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839), popularly known as Sher-e-Punjab or "Lion of Punjab", was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, which ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. He s ...

’s Darbar. He was also a skillful mechanic and original inventor. He designed a mechanism resembling a clock, showing the hour, the date, the day of the week and the phases of moon and other constellations. At the request of the Maharaja, he also modified the calendar and made a name for himself among the Indian astronomers of the time. He had been awarded the titles of ''Kasir-ul-Iktidar'' ('Chief of Exalted Dignity') and ''Hasam-udaula'' ('the Sword of the State') by

Ranjit Singh Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839), popularly known as Sher-e-Punjab or "Lion of Punjab", was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, which ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. He s ...

. He left Punjab in March of 1844 for Haridwar, eventually settling in Banaras. He was arrested and kept under surveillance by the British from 23 January 1846 until the end of the

First Anglo-Sikh War The First Anglo-Sikh War was fought between the Sikh Empire and the British East India Company in 1845 and 1846 in and around the Ferozepur district of Punjab. It resulted in defeat and partial subjugation of the Sikh empire and cession of ...

. He returned to Punjab in 1851 and stayed for two years before returning again to Banaras where he passed away in 1854.

Inventions

Lehna Singh Majithia looking through telescope with pundit

*Compass *Sikh calendar *Sikh firearms (notably pistols) *Sikh cannons, some of which were renowned as being technologically superior to the cannons the Britishers possessed *Clock-like mechanism that showed hour, weekday, date, time, moon phase, and constellations. It was called the ''Dhup Ghari'' (meaning 'sun clock')''''

Construction Projects

*Supervised the redecoration of the Golden Temple and the reconstruction of Amritsar during Sikh-rule'''' *Assisted with the construction of the Summer Palace of Ranjit Singh (known as ''Ram Bagh'') *A garden that spread over 84-acres surrounded by a high wall and a moat. It contained rare plant species

References

External links

A GOLDEN LEAF FROM THE ANNALS OF SIKH HISTORY

Biography

Inventions

Construction Projects

References

External links

Further reading