Correct Option: A

Ranjit Singh, chief of the Sukerchakia misl, who first occupied Lahore (1799), the traditional capital of the Punjab, declaring himself Maharaja in 1801, extended his hegemony to Amritsar in 1805 when he took over the town from his traditional rivals, the Bhangi chiefs. Already in 1809 he had constructed the Gobindgarh Fort outside Lahauri Gate complete with a formidable moat, three lines of defence and several bastions and emplacements for heavy guns. Amritsar thus had already become his second capital. Ranjit Singh devoutly provided liberal funds to have the dome and exterior of the holy Harimandar goldplated and to have the interior ornamented with fine filigree and enamel work and with decorative murals and panels in marble inlaid with coloured stone.