April 07, 2008

Maharaja Duleep Singh's Samadhi

The last emperor of Punjab and heir to the 'Gaddi' of Lahore, Maharaja Ranjit Singh's heir apparent, Maharaja Duleep Singh's Samadhi is in Thetford, Enland. It is a place of pilgrimage for thousands of Indians in general and Punjabis in particilar.The town's museum has, recently, acquired an artifact of great importance and reverance for Indians. It is a white marble tombstone which covered the temporary grave of Maharani Jind in London while arragements were being made by Maharaja Duleep Singh to ferry to India the mortal remains of his mother for cremation. Maharani Jind was an indomitable and fiercely patriotic queen who never accepted the overlordship of the Imperialists. Some day historians would highlight the role played by Maharani Jind in India's freedom struggle.

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