Maharaja Ranjit Singh beats Winston Churchill as the greatest leader of all time

Maharaja Ranjit Singh was the Sikh warrior known for his vast conquests & religious toleration has been voted the greatest leader of all time.

Maharajah Ranjit Singh, founder of the Sikh Empire, defeated rival nominees including Winston Churchill and Abraham Lincoln, by gaining 38 per cent of the poll of more than 5,000 readers of BBC World Histories magazine.

The historian Matthew Lockwood nominated the so-called Lion of Punjab, arguing that while he was a conqueror, he formed a “modern empire of toleration” that unravelled after his death when the British took his former territories.

The academic, at the University of Alabama, wrote: “Though certainly an imperialist, Ranjit Singh represented a different, more enlightened, more inclusive model of state-building, and a much-needed path

In second place, with 25 per cent of the vote, is African independence fighter Amílcar Cabral (nominated by Hakim Adi), who united more than one million Guineans to free themselves from Portuguese occupation and in turn propelled many other colonised African countries to rise and fight for independence. British prime minister Winston Churchill (nominated by Andrew Roberts) is in third position with 7 per cent of the vote for his sharp political manoeuvring that kept Britain in the war.

Further down the list, American president Abraham Lincoln (nominated by Adam I P Smith) is in fourth place and British monarch Elizabeth I (nominated by Tracy Borman) is the highest ranked female leader in fifth position, with 4 per cent of the vote.

See full list here  https://www.historyextra.com/magazine/who-greatest-leader-world-history/

Source: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/