The diamond that divided the empire
Y 1843, the last man standing was no man at all. Duleep Singh, the fiveyearold son of Ranjit Singh’s lowliest queen, was anointed Maharajah and courtiers strapped the Koh-iNoor on his plump little arm. In Duleep nobles had hoped for a puppet but Jindan had other ideas. She threw off her veil and chose to rule as regent with her son in her lap. The idea of taking orders from such a low-born woman did not sit well with some.
Watching the discord the British decided to make a move against Punjab. A largely manufactured conflict with the Sikh empire followed and, thanks to the treachery of men who ought to have been most loyal, the first Anglo Sikh War was lost to the British. Officers of the East India Company marched into Lahore insisting they had come as friends and vowing to leave when Duleep reached 16.
All but Maharani Jindan seemed to believe them. She threw her bangles at her generals, accusing them of being weaker than women, warning of annexation by stealth.
The British feared her interventions: “Her general misconduct and habits of intrigue are sufficient to justify her separation from her son…” wrote the governor general Henry Hardinge.
In December 1847 Jindan was torn screaming from the palace and locked in a tower. Duleep, barely nine, was now alone and entirely at the mercy of the British. Another war was staged and this time the Sikh empire was crushed.
In the aftermath, Duleep was forced to sign over his kingdom and the Koh-i-Noor. He was exiled hundreds of miles away and put in the care of a Scottish couple who would give him his first bible. Under their care Duleep converted to Christianity.
Locked up and powerless to help her son Jindan eventually escaped, taunting her captors in a note: “You put me in a cage and locked me up. For all your locks and your sentries, I got out by magic… I had told you plainly not to push me too hard… ”
Though she sounded defiant Jindan was in fact physically and mentally exhausted. Fleeing hundreds of miles on foot to Nepal, she claimed asylum. There, in miserable exile she pined for her son, slowly going blind as she waited.
Watching events unfurl from Buckingham Palace, Queen Victoria longed to meet the Maharajah. When aged 15 Duleep showed an interest in visiting England, Victoria immediately consented and from the moment he arrived Victoria was captivated: “He is extremely handsome and speaks English perfectly and has a pretty, graceful and dignified manner. He was beautifully dressed and covered with diamonds… I always feel so much for these poor deposed Indian Princes…”
THE two sketched each other for hours and Victoria showered him with gifts. When he turned 21 Duleep’s thoughts eventually turned to his real mother. He had heard worrying reports of her declining health and in 1860 he tried to contact Jindan in secret.
The British intercepted his letter and though they felt they could not prevent a reunion, they decided they might control it. A place far from Punjab was chosen for the meeting. The Spence Hotel in Calcutta was one of the finest hotels in the world and it was there that Duleep, flanked by representatives of the Raj, waited for his mother on January 16, 1861.
According to Punjabi folklore, when the Rani was brought in she said not one word but instead ran her hands all over her son’s face and body. Robbed of her sight she relied on her fingertips. It was only when Jindan reached the hair on Duleep’s head that she let out a howl of grief and rage. He had shorn away his long hair along with his old faith. Jindan declared she would never again be parted from him.
She travelled with Duleep back to England, the land of her enemies, and immediately filled his ears with tales of his “stolen” Koh-i-Noor. Duleep began to change, turning from a favourite pet of the royal court into a man who dared to defy its wishes.
On August 1, 1863 the Maharani died peacefully at her home in London. Though aged only 46, she looked considerably older. Jindan, like a slow poison, continued to kill her son’s love for Victoria even in death. He began to resent the British Queen, calling her “Mrs Fagin”, the receiver of stolen goods. Eventually Duleep would embark on a doomed mission to reclaim Punjab.
Rani Jindan may not have been able to win back either the Koh-iNoor or the kingdom for her son but she did win back her son from the White Queen. Checkmate.
To order Koh-i-Noor, by William Dalrymple and Anita Anand (Bloomsbury, £16.99) with free UK delivery, call the Express Bookshop on 01872 562310. Alternatively send a cheque/PO payable to Express Bookshop to Koh-i-Noor Offer, PO Box 200, Falmouth TR11 4WJ, or order online at expressbookshop.co.uk