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Gravestone of Duleep Singh's son in UK restored

third eye

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I wonder how many among us noticed this small news item & how many are aware of its importance.

It was the closure of all possible organised resistance to the East India Company and later the British Empire by any Indian ruler of importance.

Ranjit Singh & Punjab remained the last possible threat. On his demise the Brits under Henry Lawrence and his boys managed to exile Duleep Singh his son from Jindan kaur to England at the age of 13. It was decided to systematically change him & his religion , he lived with the Queen as a child and was deprived of all connections to his land.

This article speaks of his one day old child who was born the heir to Punjab.

These events secured for the Brits the security a decade later when the Mutiny took place - had Punjab revolted the history of this Sub continent would have been different.

This is something for all ( on both sides) and Punjabis in particular to be aware and take note of.




Gravestone of Duleep Singh's son in UK restored - Indian Express

In a solemn occasion marked by cloudy skies and a piper playing the lament, Sikhs, Scots and others came together at a church in Perthshire, Scotland, to commemorate one of Maharaja Duleep Singh's children, who died there in 1865.

Duleep Singh, the last ruler of the Sikh empire, was exiled to Britain in 1854, aged 13, after the British annexation of Punjab.

Known for his lavish lifestyle, he moved to Scotland and came to be known as the Black Prince of Perthshire.

Duleep Singh's child was born in Perthshire on August 4, 1865, but died within hours. The child was buried in Perthshire.

The gravestone where the child was buried was restored and consecrated at the ceremony organised by the Anglo-Sikh Heritage Trail (ASHT) in Kenmore Kirk yesterday.

The restoration work was commissioned by Kenmore parish church and the local project Kenmore in Bloom, with financial contribution by ASHT on behalf of the Sikh community, reports from Scotland said.

Harbinder Singh, director of the ASHT, said: "Despite this remote location the tragic obscurity surrounding this infant child remains a fact that he was born an heir to the Sikh kingdom".

He added: "His grandfather Ranjit Singh and father Duleep Singh remain potent symbols not only of our heritage but also of the defining period in history which forged the current ties between Sikhs and the UK."

On the gravestone's restoration, Reverend Anne Brennan, minister at Kenmore, told The Times: "We've had it cleaned up a bit and made the writings on it much clearer".

Recalling the remarkable course of events in Duleep Singh's life that included his presenting the iconic Kohinoor diamond to Queen Victoria, Harbinder Singh said the late maharaja was married to an Arabic-speaking woman called Bamba Muller.

Singh said: "Duleep Singh and Bamba had six children. On 4 August, 1865, their first son was born, but tragically the baby only lived for 24 hours and was not named. As Singh and his wife were Christians, their child – who would have been heir to the throne – was buried in Kenmore, so it is now is a place of historical significance for Sikhs worldwide."

Guests at yesterday's event included Glasgow's first Sikh councillor, Sohan Singh, who was elected in June.

A businessman, Sohan Singh said the Kenmore ceremony was a "great moment" for Scotland's estimated 50,000 Sikhs.

He told the local media: "It will be a tremendous honour to attend as Duleep Singh is a very famous name in our history. He was the heart and soul of India, especially in the Punjab in Northern India – for Sikhs, Muslims and Christians – and he is famous also in Pakistan."

Duleep Singh died in Paris in 1893 but his body was taken to Elveden in Suffolk, where he is buried in the churchyard.

ASHT's main aim is to promote a greater awareness of the shared heritage between Sikhs and Britain.
 
I was moved to read the news but then few points makde me think over again.

1. Singh and his wife were Christians thus this garvetsone place is very very important for the Sikhs worldwide???


2. He presented Koh-e-noor to queen of england ahhh lakh dee lanat
 
I was moved to read the news but then few points makde me think over again.

1. Singh and his wife were Christians thus this garvetsone place is very very important for the Sikhs worldwide???


2. He presented Koh-e-noor to queen of england ahhh lakh dee lanat

A 13 year old boy, it was obtained through deceit. His guardians too were English.

Recall that even in the case of young Akbar , Bairam Khan was the guardian who took all decisions in the best interest of his young king.

Yes , it is important because the child would have been the Heir to Punjab had he been in Punjab.

Religion not withstanding , there is nothing that cannot be undone.
 
A sad tale.....But I believe that even if the British had not conquered the Punjab - the Sikh Empires day's were numbered - simply because the vast majority of Punjabi's then and today are Muslim - and therefore it was untenable.
 
For those who be interested to read on this subject, there a wonderful book called " The Exile' by Navtej Sarna.

This book chronicles well the history & events of this time including Duleep Singh's life after he was removed from Punjab, kept in western UP and finally moved to England after lively exchanges between the Governor General & England.

A sad tale.....But I believe that even if the British had not conquered the Punjab - the Sikh Empires day's were numbered - simply because the vast majority of Punjabi's then and today are Muslim - and therefore it was untenable.

It isnt a question of whether or not the days of Sikh empire was numbered or not.

It was more of a case of the act of removing the last possible thorn in the side. Punjab then held the key both as it was the last bastion of possible resistance to the EIC and also its connection to Af & Persia.

Remember, the guiding thoughts towards conquest westwards for the brits was to prevent the Russians from coming south . Punjab & later Af remained the key links.
 
When was Shikh empire a threat to Brits? Learn some history.

Shiks always back stabbed Indian against brits and ultimate blow was sepoy mutiny. Brits rewarded the king with British Immigration with Christianity. Not only that they kept on rewarding Shiks for the remainder of their rule in India. A vast majority of Shikh became very rich in England by screwing their own country people.
 

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