Civil Administration :

Being continually busy in wars and entangled in politics, Ranjit Singh could not devote much time to establish any sound system of administration. The general pattern of his administration was after the Mughal type and Persian terminology was frequently adopted.

1.The Central Administration :

• The Maharaja himself was the pivot of the whole administration. He had appointed a number of ministers who assisted and advised him in the work of government. They were in no sense his colleagues and their views were not binding on him. But he generally accepted their advice. The office of the Prime Minister was held by very eminent and responsible persons. One of the most famous Prime Ministers of Ranjit Singh was Dhian Singh Dogra. Ranjit Singh appointed Faquir Aziz-ud-Din as incharge of foreign affairs. He gave advice to the Maharaja in matters of war and peace and in relations with other powers. During the early period of Ranjit Singh's reign, Dewan Chand held the office of commander-in-chief or War Minister. Misr Dewan Chand and Hari Singh Nalwa are the other well-known persons who held this office in their respective periods. In 1808, the Maharaja appointed Dewan Bhawani Das as his Finance Minister. He maintained all records of income and expenditure of the state. He organised the land revenue and taxation system in the state on sound lines. In the beginning, Jamadar Khushal Singh was appointed as Deoriwala or minister incharge of royal household. His duties were to arrange ceremonies, regulate processions and superintend royal Darbar. The Maharaja did not allow any minister to become unduly important because he himself supervised and controlled all departments. The organisation and movement of the army were also under his personal control. The commander-in-chief performed his duties according to Maharaja's orders. In spite of all this, the influence of Raja Dhian Singh increased gradually.

2.Provincial Administration :

• Ranjit Singh had divided his kingdom into provinces. All the provinces were not of uniform size. Multan and Kashmir provinces were allowed to remain as separate provinces in the beginning. But Lahore and Kabul provinces were not conquered at the same time. Instead of organising these territories into large provinces on old lines, they were formed into small provinces. Separate Nazims or Subedars were appointed in these territories, such as for Jalandhar Doab, Majha, Kangra, Wazirabad, Pind Dadan Khan Hazara and Peshawar. The office of Nazim being one of influence and power, was generally given to able and trustworthy persons. Some famous Nazims were Dewan Sawan Mal, Amar Singh Majithia, Lahena Singh Majithia, Misr Rup Lal, Col. Maha Singh and the European officer Avitable. Dewan Sawan Mal, the Governor of Multan introduced into his Suba agricultural reforms of far reaching character. Amar Singh Majithia and Lehna Singh Majithia also paid great attention to the welfare of peasants and encouraged cultivation. The Nazims were paid fat salaries but they were not uniform in all the provinces.

3.Local Administration :

• Each province was divided into Parganas, and each Pargana was divided into Taulqas and each Taulqa into 50 to 100 Mauzas or villages. Each Pargana was under an official known as Kardar. He was a revenue collector, a magistrate and a representative of the central authority all rolled in one. His chief functions were : (a) to collect revenue, (b) to maintain peace and order in the Pargana, (c) to act as a judge and magistrate and try cases according to his authority and (d) to enforce the orders of the Maharaja in the district. The Kardar was also incharge of the treasury and performed duties of an accountant. The lower unit of administration was the village or Mauza. Its administration was left in the hands of the Panchayat. The Panchayats looked after the moral and material welfare of the people living in the village. It also decided most of the civil and criminal cases in the village. The Muqadam helped the government officials in the collection of land revenue. In some villages, the Chaudhri helped the government officials in the land revenue collection work. Sometimes, a Chaudhri was incharge of a whole village.

4.Revenue System :

• Ranjit Singh aimed to raise sufficient revenue for his military campaigns and to keep his peasatry contented. He, therefore, tried to increase the revenue of his state to the maximum possible. Ranjit Singh adopted the land revenue system that had prevailed in the country since the Mughal rule. He adopted a very flexible system of land revenue which could be easily adopted according to the changing circumstances. The most common method of assessment of land revenue was the Betai system, the old method of division of crop between the cultivator and the government. In 1824, it was replaced by Kankut system, assessment of government share on the basis of standing crops. The revenue was assessed in both cash and kind. On the fertile lands, the state demand was as high as 50 per cent of the gross produce. In case of less fertile lands, the state share varied from 2/5 to 1/3. The land revenue was collected twice a year at harvest time. The chief officer incharge of the collection in a Pargana was the Kardar who was assisted by subordinate officials like Muqadams, Patwaris and Qanungos. Though the land tax was heavy, the agriculturists were not oppressed. The government took adequate measures for the relief of peasants in times of famine or some natural calamity. The Maharaja took care to promote and improve artificial means of irrigation in the tracts where rainfall was scanty. Bythe end of Ranjit Singh's reign, about one million acres of land had been brought under canal irrigation.

5.Administration of Justice :

• The judicial system under Ranjit Singh was simple, rough and ready and did not differ much from that of the Mughals. The Panchayat courts administered justice in the villages. The decisions of the Panchayats were held in high esteem and even the most unruly member of the community was ready to accept its decisions willingly. In some towns there were the courts of Qazis. They continued to ordain marriage ceremonies, to register last testaments and attest deeds. It was not necessary for the non-Muslims to appear in the Qazi's court. But in all the cases which were filed in the court of the Qazi, the Quranic law or Sharah was applied. Besides, there was the Adalat-i-Ali at Lahore probably to hear appeals from different parts of the country. There were other courts such as Adalti courts, Nazim's courts and Kardar's courts. The Maharaja was the fountain-head of justice. He was the highest court of appeal and heard appeals against the judgements of Kardars, Nazims, Adaltis and ministers. As regards punishments in criminal cases, there were only two penalties, i.e.. fine and mutilation. Mutilation was reserved for such crimes as adultary, sedition, violent thefts and robbery. Imprisonment was almost unknown and death penalty rare.

6.Ruling Class :

• Maharaja Ranjit Singh granted Jagirs to his subordinate chiefs and made them a part of his ruling class. They were given responsible positions in the administration. But their number was small and the Maharaja needed the services of more and more trusted officers for the administration of his expanding empire. He realised that it would be impossible for him to carry on a complex administrative system by making use of only one community. So he crossed all bounds of caste, colour and creed in selecting his officers for the ruling class. He appointed Dogras, Rajputs, Sikhs, Hindus, Mohammedans and even Europeans as his courtiers or high officials. Noteworthy among his Hindu courtiers were Raja Dhian Singh, Raja Dina Nath, Dewan Muhkam Chand, Dewan Ram Dayal and Dewan Bhawani Das. Among his prominent Muslim courtiers were Faqir Aziz-ud-Din and his brother Nur-ud-Din. Of the Sikhs, most important were Hari Singh Nalwa, Lehna Singh, Atar Singh and Chatar Singh. The European generals like Ventura, Court and Allard also held high positions in the ruling class.
• The ruling class assisted the Maharaja in the administration of the kingdom. This included the ministers, Nazims, Dewans and Kardars. They performed the duties of maintaining law and order, collection of revenue, and for the maitenance of the army. Some of these officers were paid their salaries in cash, but most of them were granted Jagirs. The ruling class was divided into groups which were hostile to one another. The Maharaja had to remain vigilant and to take strict action to keep them in check. The Maharaja took severe action against official oppression and mismanagement. The Maharaja himself toured indefatigably and punished those officers severely who abused their powers.

7.Civil Administration aimed at the welfare of the subjects :

• The Maharaja never forgot that the end of the state was the welfare of the governed. Under his strong and efficient rule, the Punjab enjoyed peace and prosperity, freedom from religious bigotry and persecution for the first time after the great Akbar. The Maharaja's interest in welfare of the peasants was particular. Although the state share of the produce was high yet the cultivators were not oppressed. He frequently wrote to the Nazims, Kardars and Jagirdars asking them to look after the welfare of all the subjects in all administrative measures especially in the collection of land revenue and to avoid every kind of oppression of the cultivator. In a letter to Lehna Singh Majithia, the Maharaja wrote "Take care that all residents of the country are happy and in the cradle of comfort and ease. See that all Zamindars have prosperous houses. Realise the revenue with sweet tongue." The maharaja also established a public works department which built about 300 miles of canals in Multan, Muzzafargarh and Lahore districts. The government also granted Taccavi loans to the farmers to enable them to dig wells. In the time of war, the Maharaja issued special instructions to his military officers not to cause damage to standing crops at the time of march. The Maharaja also took measures against official oppression and mismanagement. He would send his responsible ministers or himself visit the districts to hear complaints of the people against the local officers. He would severely rebuke the governors of those regions in which too many appeals or complaints were made. The Maharaja had put up a box outside his palace at Lahore, where the subjects lodged their complaints. The key of the box always remained with the Maharaja himself. He had appointed news-writers at almost all the important places in his kingdom. They would send confidential reports to the Maharaja of all the happenings there.