Story of Maharani Jind Kaur: Last Queen of Punjab
The death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1839 left a major void in the rule of the Sikh Kingdom which led to the annexation of the Punjab by the British. His throne was inherited by several able heirs, none of whom could survive the intrigue and intrigue of the war of succession in the royal court. The story of Maharani Jind Kaur revolves around a story of a brave woman who through the trials and tribulations of the war of succession and all its flaws stood the test as the regent of the young Maharaja Duleep Singh, while maneuvering at the same time.
By diplomatic harassment from the British to the point that even the British distrusted her. An Indian woman, wearing a crinoline over her traditional dress and emeralds and pearls under her bonnet, walks through Kensington Gardens in 1861. She was the last Sikh queen of Lahore, the capital of the Punjab Empire, and his name is Jindan Kaur. She died two years later, in 1863, and was buried in west London.
The life of Maharani Jindan Kaur much of which was spent raging against the British Empire for swindling them out of Punjab. Her revolt began when her husband, the last Maharaja of Punjab, died of a stroke in 1839 and the British attempted to wrest the kingdom from the heir to the throne, their young son Duleep Singh.
During her reign as regent, Jindan fought two devastating wars against the British which resulted in the annexation of Punjab. She may have made major strategic mistakes due to her military inexperience and young age (she was in her early twenties), but Jindan was a fierce leader. British historian Peter Bance describes her as a “very brave woman”. As “she Maintained her position against the British and she took active control of Punjab.”
Story of Maharani Jind Kaur: Last Queen of Punjab
The Maharani has been described as “a serious obstacle” to British rule in India. They launched a smear campaign to discredit her, portraying her as the “Messalina of Punjab”, a temptress too rebellious to be controlled. She refused to cooperate and the British recognized that her influence on Duleep could lead to a revolt among the Punjabi people. They decided to separate mother and son.
Later on, nine-year-old Duleep was taken to England, where he converted to Christianity and lived the life of a quintessential English gentleman, with Queen Victoria among his friends. However, the Maharani Jindan was dragged by the hair from the Lahore court and thrown into Sheikhupura Fort and then Chunar Fort in Uttar Pradesh.
After being captured, she disguised herself as a servant and fled the fortress. She traveled through 800 miles of forest to reach the sanctuary in Nepal, where she wrote a letter bragging to the British that she escaped for “magic”. She never got her kingdom back for her son. But years later, they reunited, prompting the Maharaja to reconvert to Sikhism, abstaining the work of the British to “wash his brain”.
