Lahore (Punjabi: لہور, Urdu: لاہور) is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich history dating back over a millennium, Lahore is a main cultural centre of Pakistan. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains an economic, political, transportation, entertainment, and educational hub.
Lahore successively served as regional capital of the empires of the Shahi kingdoms in the 11th century, the Ghaznavids in the 12th century, the Ghurid State in the 12th and 13th centuries the Mughal Empire in the 16th century, the Sikh expansion in the early 19th century, and it was the capital of the Punjab region under the British Raj in the mid 19th and early 20th century. The traditional capital of Punjab for a thousand years, Lahore was the cultural center of the northern Indian subcontinent which extends from the eastern banks of the Indus River to New Delhi. Mughal structures such as the Badshahi Mosque, the Lahore Fort, Shalimar Gardens, and the mausolea of Jehangir and Nur Jehan are tourist attractions. Lahore is also home to many British colonial structures built in the Indo-Saracenic style, such as the Lahore High Court, the General Post Office, Lahore Museum and many older universities including the University of the Punjab. The Lahore Zoo, thought to be the fourth oldest in the world, is also situated here.
Maharaja Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 20 June 1839) was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire.
Ranjit Singh belonged to a Sikh clan of Northern India. He was born in Gujranwala, now in modern-day Pakistan. According to some historians, into a Jatt Sikh family and some that he was born into a Sansi Sikh family who were Sukerchakia misldars. As a child he suffered from smallpox which resulted in the loss of one eye. At the time, much of Punjab was ruled by the Sikhs under a Confederate Sarbat Khalsa system, who had divided the territory among factions known as misls.
Ranjit Singh's father Maha Singh was the Commander of the Sukerchakia misl and controlled a territory in the west Punjab based around his headquarters at Gujranwala. After his father's death he was raised under the protection of Sada Kaur of the Kanheya Misl. Ranjit Singh succeeded his father at the age of 18. After several campaigns, he conquered the other misls and created the Sikh Empire.
Pashtun King Amir Ahmad Shah Abdali 1747–1772 of Afghanistan Durrani Known as Kings of Kings first crossed the Indus River in 1748, the year after his ascension – his forces sacked and absorbed Lahore during that expedition. The following year (1749), the Mughal ruler was induced to cede Sindh and all of the Punjab including the vital trans Indus River to him, in order to save his capital from being attacked by the Afghan Pashtun forces of the DurraniEmpire.
Rabba hai rabba
Rabba hai rabba
Kisi da tu kya laage
Lo tute kache dhaage
Phire dil mara mara
Yaar da tuta sahara
Kyun hai bhala Ye dooriyan
Kyun hai Khala ab Darmiyan
Rabba tu itna bata de
Haan bata de baata de raaba
Ki Kara main hoon ki kara ve
Haan bata de baata de rabba
Bhaga bhaaga phirta hai yeh dil
Hai jaane aisi kya hain mushkil
Tere bina jeena nahi hai
Tu to meri saason mein shaamil
Ho teri duhaiya tere sadke soniya
De de rehaiya mainu dil se soniya
Dil ka kahi hai kya sahara
Kyu hai bhala ye dooriyaan
Rabba tu itna bata de
Haan bata de baata de raaba
Ki Kara main hoon ki kara ve
Bata de baata de rabba
Tere bina jiya na mora laga tere bina
Tere bina jiya na mora lage tere bina
Jiya na laage
Rootha rootha rehta hain yeh maan
Hai jaane aisi kya hain uljhan
Tere bin hasta nahi hai
Jaane mere kyun hai dushman
Ho meri tanhaiyan dase mujhko soniya
Hogi ruswaiya tere dil ki soniya
Mere nahi hai ab gujara
Kyun hai bhala yeh dooriyan
Rabba tu itna bata de
Haan bata de baata de raaba
Ki Kara main hoon ki kara ve
Bata de baata de rabba
Rabba hai rabba
Rabba hai rabba
Rabba hai rabba
Rabba hai rabba