Bring Maharaja Duleep’s ashes back: Bajwa to PM
Thursday, 29/03/2018
http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/bring-maharaja-duleep-s-ashes-back-bajwa-to-pm/565473.html
New Delhi : Congress MP Partap Singh Bajwa on Wednesday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and demanded the retrieval of the ashes of Maharaja Duleep Singh, which currently lie in England.
“The Sikh community worldwide wants that the body of Maharaja Duleep Singh be exhumed and his ashes brought back from England to India. Maharaja Duleep Singh was the youngest son of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who was the ruler of Punjab from 1799 to 1839. He could not return to India despite his wishes,” Bajwa said in a letter to the PM.
He said after the annexation of Punjab by the British on March 29, 1849, Maharaja Duleep Singh was exiled to England at the age of 15 and was not allowed to meet his mother during the initial few years of the exile.
“He was converted to Christianity at the age of 15. On reuniting with his mother in 1861, Maharaja Duleep Singh learnt of the rich history of Sikh empire in India. He learnt how the British had annexed their territories and wanted to return home after the death of his mother,” Bajwa said.
The MP added that Maharaja’s Duleep Singh’s efforts to embrace Sikhism again were thwarted by the British as a sign of rebellion.
“On October 22, 1893, the Maharaja died at the age of 55 in Paris. He was cremated according to Christian rites at the Elveden estate in England. His wish for his body to be returned to India was not honoured for the fear of unrest, given the symbolic importance the funeral of the last Maharaja of Punjab would have held and the growing resentment against the British rule in India. In this regard, I urge your Government to hold talks with its British counterpart and ensure his ashes are brought back and cremated as per Sikh traditions,” the letter said.
