Wife of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, regent for Maharaja Duleep Singh; 1817-1863
Maharani Jindan Kaur
The daughter of a keeper of the royal kennels, Maharani Jindan Kaur became regent for her son Maharaja Duleep Singh, took off her veil to rule in public, and led the Lahore Darbar into the first Anglo-Sikh war. The British removed her from power, interned her, and she escaped to Nepal, passing away in England in 1863.
Regent
Her son was proclaimed Maharaja in September 1843. She worked with the army panchayats, who called her Mai Sahib, to overthrow Hira Singh and his adviser Pandit Jalla, and made her brother Jawahar Singh wazir. She reviewed troops, held court in public and rebuilt the Khalsa council. After the army killed Jawahar Singh she named Misr Lal Singh in his place in November 1845.[EoS]
Under the British
The Treaty of Bhairowal of December 1846 ended her power and gave her an annuity of 150,000 rupees. Sir Henry Lawrence and Lord Hardinge accused her of intrigue. She was moved to Sheikhupura in 1847, and sent to Varanasi and then Chunar in 1848. She escaped from Chunar disguised as a maid and reached Kathmandu on 29 April 1849.[EoS][EoS]
Exile
The British took her jewellery and stopped her pension. Jung Bahadur of Nepal sheltered her, though their relations turned hostile. She met her son in Calcutta after 13 years and went with him to England, where she passed away at Kensington on 1 August 1863. He brought her ashes to India in 1864, and was not allowed to take them to Punjab.[EoS][EoS]
What the sources disagree on
- Her role in the war
Some historians said she wanted the Khalsa army destroyed in a war with the British. B. J. Hasrat, writing in the Encyclopaedia, rejects this from British papers and argues that she alone showed resolve during the war.[EoS]
- Her reduced allowance
One entry says her allowance was cut to 48,000 rupees, and another to 12,000.[EoS][EoS]
Images
A folio credited to Rani Jindan's prayer book of 1828-30, held according to Commons by the British Library. No shelfmark was confirmed.
Unknown, c. 1828-1830. British Library (as credited on Commons). Public domain. Source
