British Sikh MPs asked to preserve Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s legacy

FORMER Indian lawmaker Sardar Tarlochan Singh has urged British Sikh MPs and peers to commission proper research into the scattered treasures of Maharaja Ranjit Singh so they can be catalogued and preserved in a museum for future generations.

The 92-year-old former Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Indian parliament) MP and former chairman of the National Commission for Minorities was speaking at an event hosted in his honour by the British Sikh Association at the House of Lords in London on Monday (8).

Singh referred to media reports about a colonial-era file that recorded many of the possessions of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the 19th-century ruler of the Sikh Empire in India.

“A list of the treasures from Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s toshakhana (treasury) should be released so that our children can take pride in our Sikh heritage,” Singh said.

“Historical records show that Guru Gobind Singh Ji’s sacred plume, which adorned his turban, was kept in the toshakhana and Maharaja Ranjit Singh used to touch it every day. There were many such precious items. The Maharaja’s golden chair is now on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, but several other items remain in storage and could be brought together under one roof."

Singh, who was instrumental in setting up a museum on Maharaja Ranjit Singh in Amritsar, stressed that he was not calling for these artefacts to be returned to India but for them to be properly cared for and displayed in the UK.

“I appeal to Sikh parliamentarians in the UK to ensure that our heritage, scattered across collections including the V&A, Sandhurst and the British Museum, is brought together and displayed for younger generations,” he added.

The philanthropist, awarded the Padma Bhushan (third-highest civilian honour in India) in 2021 for his contribution to social service, also called on the British Sikh Association to mark the 1897 Battle of Saragarhi in London – recently depicted in the 2019 Bollywood film Kesari.

“We will be marking the 128th anniversary of this historic battle this week on Friday (12), when just 21 Sikh soldiers of the British Indian Army’s 36th Sikh Regiment defended the Saragarhi outpost against thousands of Afghan tribesmen,” said Lord Rami Ranger, chairman of the British Sikh Association.

“Sardar Tarlochan Singh has given us a lot of food for thought and the association will set up a Saragarhi Memorial Society to take this forward,” he added.

Lord Kuldip Singh Sahota, a Labour peer born in India, spoke about a bronze statue of Havildar Ishar Singh in Wednesfield, Wolverhampton, which commemorates his role in the Battle of Saragarhi.

Labour MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi praised Sardar Tarlochan Singh’s lifelong efforts to inspire Sikhs around the world to serve their communities, as he presented him with the British Sikh Association’s Sikh Jewel Award.

The event concluded with the association and Lord Rami Ranger donating £2,000 towards flood relief efforts being organised by the Daily Ajit newspaper in Punjab.

(PTI)