LAHORE: Lahore will now have a unique connection with Italy after a bas-relief in bronze of Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s Italian officer General Jean Baptiste Ventura was recently unveiled at the officer’s birthplace, Finale Emilia.

To promote the legacy of the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and General Ventura, the installation of the bas-relief which has been donated by the SK Foundation UK will commemorate the unique relationship between Italians and local Italian Sikhs that number over 30,000 in Italy as well as connect two distinct places (Lahore and Finale Emile), a relationship that was previously forged between European officers and Maharaja Ranjit Singh back in the early 19th century.

The inauguration also commemorates the 225th birth anniversary of General Ventura.

The bas-relief which measures approximately 36 x 66 inches has been unveiled outside the birthplace of General Ventura’s mansion and was produced in Punjab, India but serves as not just a memory of the general but also connects all the countries together. The project was initiated by the award-winning writer and historian Bobby Singh Bansal under his organisation, SK Foundation UK, in collaboration with Commune of Finale Emilia and Sikhi Sewa Society of Italy.

It is known that European mercenaries had been employed at the Sikh court of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in the early 19th century. Among the first to arrive in Punjab were Jean Baptiste Ventura, an Italian and Jean Francois Allard from France in 1822, both of whom later became the trusted officers of the Maharaja, and served till his death in 1839.

Coincidentally, Ventura’s residence was previously what is known as Anarkali’s Tomb and later he built his residence which now forms part of the Civil Secretariat’s office where an inscription is still intact.

Jean Baptiste Ventura or ‘Rubino’ as he was known was born in 1794. At the age of seventeen Ventura enrolled as a volunteer in the militia of the Kingdom of Italy and later served with Napoleon’s imperial army, where he was promoted up to the rank of colonel of infantry, and had taken part in the battles of Wagram (1809), in the Russian campaign (1812) and in the battle of Waterloo (1815).

After the defeat of Waterloo and consequently the fall of Napoleon, he moved toward his native town, and was little disturbed over his revolutionary ideals and for having a soft corner for Napoleon.

Soon he left the country in 1817. He went first to Trieste and then to Constantinople (Istanbul), where he served as a ship-broker in a shipyard. Ventura offered his service to the Persian King, Abbas Ali Mirza (1789-1833) in his court. But soon he and his companion General Allard left Persia for Punjab.

Ventura travelled from Persia eastward along with Jean Francois Allard in 1822. They took service at the court of Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780-1839). They proved their worth and value and held command at the battle of Nowshera (March 1823) and defeated the combined Afghan forces resulting in the capture of Peshawar. Ventura conducted various campaigns successfully and enlarged the boundaries of the Kingdom of Lahore. Together with Allard, Paolo Avitabile and August Court, two other officers, Ventura was responsible for modernizing the Sikh Army.

He was also described as the Baron of the Fauj-i-Khas and re-organised the infantry into a strong defensive army.

He served faithfully under Maharaja Ranjit Singh and his descendants Maharaja Kharak Singh, Nau Nihal Singh and Maharaja Sher Singh. Ventura raised four battalions of Sikh Army comprising over 3,000 men of regular infantry and a regiment of artillery corps of 30 guns. It was partly trained on the British model and partly on the French.

Published in Dawn, May 31st, 2019