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Punjab
moves to get Maharaja Duleep's bust back
WSN Network
 Patiala: It’s Punjabi pride at work again. And perhaps rightly so.
Anxious that Maharaja Duleep Singh’s bust — being put on auction by
Bonhams of London soon — may go out of India, Punjabis have begun
exploring moves to have the community hold on to it.
Taking a lead is the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC),
which has decided to send a representative from Amritsar, or
elsewhere, to stand guard during the April 19 sale. The bust in
question was sculpted by John Gibson, a Roman artist. “The bust is
our pride,” said SGPC president Jathedar Avtar Singh Makkar. “We
will either send a buyer or have someone else, it could even be a
company, buy it for us. We will leave no stone unturned in our
effort to get such a precious thing back.”
Duleep Singh, ruler of Punjab and the last Indian sovereign to own
the famous Koh-i-Noor, was just 11 when he was removed from his
throne by the East India Company after the Anglo-Sikh Wars. He was
then exiled to Britain and in 1854 brought to London where he lived
in luxury and high fashion. His father, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, also
called the ‘Lion of Punjab’, had in 30 years of rule carved out a
huge kingdom stretching from Sindh to Kashmir.
Notably, the SGPC had recently written a letter to prime minister
Manmohan Singh and asked him to “do something about it”. This came
even as foreign secretary S Menon wrote back to Makkar saying no
request for participation in the auction had been received by the
auctioneers. He then suggested that any prospective buyer interested
in purchasing the bust, priced at around 25,000-35,000 pounds, must
get in touch with one “Mrs Christina” who looks after the Islamic
and Indian Art department of Bonhams.
Punjab Foundation enters fray
Patiala: Punjab Heritage and Education
Foundation, Chandigarh, too has jumped into the get-bust initiative
and appealed to Sikhs the world over to purchase the rare sculpture
and place it in Amritsar’s Maharaja Ranjit Singh museum.
An impassioned plea on this has been sent to Manmohan Singh, chief
minister Parkash Singh Badal, Makkar and Delhi Gurdawara Parbandhak
Committee president Paramjit Singh Sarna among others.
“Yes, we need to get back what is precious to us, especially now
that we are in a position to do so,” said Kamaljit Singh Boparai, a
Ludhianabased lawyer who has been trying for years to get back the
kalgi (plume) of Guru Gobind Singh.
The kalgi, sacred to Sikhs, was taken away by Lord Dalhousie and
after a brief exhibition in the Victoria and Albert museum of London
remains untraceable.
28 March 2007
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