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| Sikhs demand return of Maharaja Dalip Singh's belongings |
| Press Trust of India / London May 26, 2009, 11:24 IST |
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A Sikh group in Britain has demanded the immediate return of treasures, including personal belongings of the last ruler of Sikh Raj Maharaja Dalip Singh, which were taken from India in the days of the British Raj.
The group from Slough has written to the British Queen requesting that the treasures as well as the letters, diaries and writings of the Maharaja, exiled to Britain in the 19th century, be returned to India, 'The Daily Telegraph' reported.
"We have written to the Queen asking for access rights and the eventual return of items such as historic copies of the Sikh national sacred writings, together with swords and weapons of the Sikh gurus," Jagdeesh Singh of Sikh Community Action Network was quoted as saying.
According to Singh, the treasures, including the Maharaja's belongings, are part of the Royal Collection, some of which are housed at Windsor Castle.
"These things were plundered by the British and are now hidden away in various Royal palaces. I am sure that the Queen does not really know what is there and we would like to do a proper inventory," Singh said.
However, a Spokesman for the Royal Collection insisted that it did not own any swords or armour relating to Maharaja Dalip Singh, while the Royal Archives claimed to have only a number of papers relating to Singh but not his writings.
Maharaja Dalip Singh, the last Maharaja of Sikh Raj and the youngest son of "Lion of the Punjab" Maharaja Ranjit Singh, is considered as Britain's first Sikh settler, having been exiled to its shores in 1854, after being dethroned and his country annexed by the British Raj in 1849.
After his exile to Britain, he was befriended by Queen Victoria, to whom he gave the prized Kohinoor diamond which is now part of the Crown Jewels, set in Crown of Queen Elizabeth, and on display in the Jewel House in the Tower of London.
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