UK town to be Amritsar’s twin city in memory of Maharaja Duleep Singh
LONDON: A small UK town in the East Anglia region of England will become the twin city of Amritsar as it celebrates the 125th death anniversary of Maharaja Duleep Singh, the last Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, with a two-week-long Punjabi festival.
Thetford in Norfolk was home to Duleep Singh and the organisers of the Festival of Thetford & Punjab believe the town has strong resonance with the lush fields, intense farming activity and livestock grazing of the Indian state.
“Elveden Manor in Thetford was home to the last Maharaja of Punjab for many years and Thet fordians are extremely proud of their unusual resident,” explains Seema Anand, a historian and storyteller behind a special ‘Punjab to Thetford’ film, which will be screened on the last day of the festival on July 21.
“But perhaps Duleep Singh coming to live in Thetford was not just mere coincidence. From his statue in the town centre, which is almost an extract replica of Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s statue in Company Bagh in Amritsar, to the landscape of Norfolk, there seems to be an almost karmic connection between the two places,” she said.
The festival, a partnership project between Essex Cultural Diversity Project (ECDP) and Thetford Town Council, is planned as a cultural celebration as well as an exploration of the story of Duleep Singh and his cultural legacy.
This includes his family, the political and cultural context of the time he was living in, and how this influenced Thetford and the surrounding area today.
Peter Bance, historian and author of ‘Sovereign, Squire & Rebel: Maharajah Duleep Singh & the Heirs of a Lost Kingdom’, explains: “Thetford and Elveden was where the Maharaja had his most cherished memories, from the birth of his children to the extravagant shooting parties that were once held here.