Munveer Singh

  

Volume 9 | Issue IV | December 2025

Menlo School ’26

California, United States

  

My fascination with the Sikh Empire began with family stories passed down through generations about pre-partition Punjab. Growing up, I heard about the glory days of Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s court, which sparked my curiosity about how such a formidable empire could disappear so quickly after his death. What started as a childhood interest evolved into a serious historical inquiry when I began examining primary sources and court chronicles. My paper on the collapse of the Sikh Empire and its annexation by the British East India Company allowed me to explore questions that had lingered since those early conversations: How do personality-based regimes survive their founders? What role does institutional strength play in a state’s survival? What transforms allies of convenience into existential threats? Through months of research, including an analysis of British residency dispatches and Sohan Lal Suri’s court chronicles, Umdat-ut-Tawarikh, I discovered a complex story of internal fractures meeting external imperial ambitions. Writing for The Schola pushed me to dig deeper into the nuances of this historical moment. I learned to see beyond simple narratives of conquest, understanding instead how Orientalist ideologies, geopolitical anxieties, and institutional weaknesses created a perfect storm for annexation. The research process taught me the importance of examining multiple perspectives and questioning accepted historical narratives. In addition to historical research, I enjoy hiking California’s trails and immersing myself in a good book.