Sardar Lehna Singh Majhitia, the patron of the arts who contributed greatly to the arts at the Sikh Kingdom, was described thus by the Europeans regarding his tenure as a govenor in current day Himachal Pradesh: "Sirdar Lehna Singh enjoyed a good reputation in the hills; he was a mild and lenient Governor, his periodical visits were not made the pretense for oppressing and plundering the people; he maintained a friendly and generous intercourse with the deposed Hill Chiefs and contributed, by his conciliatory manners, to alleviate their fallen position. At the same time, he is held in favourable recollection by the peasantry. His assessments were moderate for a native system and, although he did not possess that force of character to keep his agents under proper control, yet he never oppressed himself, nor willingly countenanced oppression in others." He was also known as Hasmuddaula, the Sword of the State and was a man of considerable ability. He was a skillful mechanist and an original inventor. He much improved the Sikh ordnance. Among other things, he invented a clock, which showed the hour, the day of the month and the changes of the moon. He was fond of astronomy and mathematics, and was master of several languages. As an administrator, he was very popular. He never oppressed the poor, his assessments were moderate and his decisions essentially just. As a statesman, he may be said to have been almost the only honest man in Lahore."
Posted on: Fri, 28 Jun 2013 22:13:51 +0000
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