Ranjit Singh received support from Muslim Punjabis who fought under his banner and repeatedly defeated invasions of Punjab by Muslim armies who were arriving in Punjab from Afghanistan and created the Sikh Empire of Punjab.
Almost 777 years of foreign rule, starting from the Turkish invader Mahmud of Ghazni in 1022 after ousting the Hindu Shahi ruler Raja Tarnochalpal, until the time Maharajah Ranjit Singh entered the gates of Lahore on July 7, 1799; Punjabis had not ruled their own land.
Maharajah Ranjit Singh's reign introduced reforms, modernization, investment into infrastructure, and general prosperity. His army and government included Sikh Punjabi, Muslim Punjabi, Hindu Punjabi, and included Polish, Russian, Spanish, Prussian and French officers.
Maharajah Ranjit Sing government reflected a secular pattern, his Prime Minister Dhian Singh was a Hindu Dogra Punjabi, his Foreign Minister Fakir Azizuddin was a Mulsim Punjabi, his Finance Minister Dina Nath was a Hindu Brahmin Punjabi, and artillery commanders such as Mian Ghausa, Sarfaraz Khan were Muslim Punjabi.
The Khalsa army of Maharajah Ranjit Singh reflected the regional population. In the Doab region, his army was composed of the Punjabi Jat Sikhs, in Jammu and northern Indian Hills, it was Punjabi Hindu Rajputs, while relatively more Punjabi Muslims served his army in the Jhelum river area and closer to Afghanistan.
Maharajah Ranjit Singh ensured that Panjab was self-sufficient in all Panjab manufactured weapons, equipment and munitions that his army needed. His government invested in infrastructure in the 1800s and thereafter, established raw materials mines, cannon foundries, gunpowder and arms factories. Some of these operations were owned by the state, others operated by private operatives.
The prosperity of his Empire, in contrast to the Mughal-Sikh wars era, largely came from the improvement in the security situation, reduction in violence, reopened trade routes and greater freedom to conduct commerce.
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