<P> The geographical reach of the Sikh Empire under Ranjit Singh included all lands north of Sutlej river, and south of high valleys in the northwestern Himalayas . The major towns in the Empire included Srinagar, Attock, Peshawar, Bannu, Rawalpindi, Jammu, Gujrat, Sialkot, Kangra, Amritsar, Lahore and Multan . </P> <P> Ranjit Singh allowed men from different religions and races to serve in his army and his government in various positions of authority . His army included a few Europeans like Jean - François Allard, however he did not employ the British which were attempting to create a British colony in South Asia . However, he kept an open dialogue and diplomatic channel with the British; in 1828, Ranjit Singh sent gifts to the King of Great Britain and in 1831, he sent a mission to Simla to confer with the British Governor General, Lord William Bentinck; while in 1838, he cooperated with them in removing the hostile Islamic Sultan in Afghanistan . </P> <P> Ranjit Singh banned cow slaughter in his empire . He objected to cow slaughter inside the British camp during joint operations in northwestern region of South Asia . In employment contracts he gave to foreigners such as the Europeans, he insisted that they do not eat beef, not smoke, not cut their hair, and asked them to marry and settle down with Indian women . </P> <P> The Sikhs led by Ranjit Singh never razed places of worship to the ground belonging to the enemy . However, he did convert Muslim mosques into other uses . For example, Ranjit Singh's army desecrated Lahore's Badshahi Mosque and converted it into an ammunition store, and horse stables . Lahore's Moti Masjid (Pearl Mosque) was converted into "Moti Mandir" (Pearl Temple) by the Sikh army, and Sonehri Mosque were converted into a Sikh Gurdwara, but upon the request of Sufi Fakirs, Ranjit Singh restored the latter back to a mosque . Lahore's Begum Shahi Mosque was also used as a gunpowder factory, earning it the nickname Barudkhana Wali Masjid, or "Gunpowder Mosque ." </P>

Maharaja ranjit singh lord of the five rivers pdf