Bhadra Sinha , Hindustan Times
New Delhi, September 29, 2009
The construction of religious structures — like shrines and temples — on public land has been banned.
The Supreme Court passed this order on Tuesday and told the Centre and states to ensure it is implemented strictly.
Calling such structures — of which there are more than 60,000 just in Delhi —“unauthorised”, the court told state governments to review existing constructions and file a status report within eight weeks.
The verdict came after Solicitor General Gopal Subramanian said the Centre and states had on September 17 reached an agreement on not permitting places of worship on public land.
The ruling has its roots in the Gujarat High Court’s May 2, 2006 order to all municipal corporations in the state to demolish places of worship that caused obstructions on public roads.
The Centre challenged this in Supreme Court, saying the high court had acted on the basis of a newspaper report, without verifying facts.
On July 31 this year, the top court said such structures were a nuisance and sought the Centre’s assurance in stopping them from coming up. At this, the solicitor general pointed out that land was a state subject and the state governments were entitled to their own decisions.
But in September, the Centre and states reached a consensus.
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) got into action immediately. Its press and information director Deep Mathur said all deputy commissioners had been told to keep an eye out for new constructions.
The New Delhi Municipal Council, however, said it was yet to receive the order and would study it first.
with thanks : source : http://www.hindustantimes.com/No-new-shrines-in-public-places-SC/H1-Article1-459332.aspx
SikhsIndia
www.sohnijodi.com
www.sikhsindia.blogspot.com
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Obama State Dinner: First One Honors India
WASHINGTON — And the first state dinner of President Barack Obama's administration goes to ... India.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is coming to America for a state visit Nov. 24, just before Thanksgiving. Such visits include an elaborate arrival ceremony on the White House South Lawn, one-on-one time with the president and, in the evening, a state dinner.
It's a plum presidential nod of recognition for the world's largest democracy and most stable U.S. ally in a hostile corner of the world.
But why India first?
It was just four years ago that President George W. Bush and Singh raised their glasses and toasted the U.S.-India relationship at the start of a July 2005 state dinner.
Indian officials, however, have watched warily since then as the U.S. has become more engaged with its archrival, Pakistan, focusing on greater military cooperation in dealing with Islamist extremists there and in neighboring Afghanistan. Honoring Singh with what is considered one of the grandest and most glamorous of White House affairs 10 months into Obama's presidency may allay some of those concerns, along with perceptions that Pakistan has surpassed India as America's best friend in South Asia.
It also may be Obama's way of closing the loop with all the major U.S. allies as his freshman year in office draws to a fast close.
Obama's first-year international itinerary has taken him to the major European power centers of England, France, Germany, Italy and Russia. He has toured the Middle East and is scheduled to visit China and possibly other Asian countries in November, before Singh visits.
The president has even scheduled a day trip to Copenhagen this week – he'll spend more time in the air than on the ground – in a bid to personally boost his adopted hometown's chances of bringing the 2016 Olympic Games to Chicago.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton hand-delivered the state-visit invitation from Obama during her July trip to India.
Singh, re-elected to a second term earlier this year, and Obama met on the sidelines of a London economic summit in April, and discussed cooperating on the economic downturn, climate change and counterterrorism. Obama later called him a "very wise and decent man."
After years of mutual wariness during the Cold War, U.S.-Indian relations are at a high point, thanks partly to the Bush administration's push to allow American civilian nuclear trade with India. The Obama administration has used that accord as a foundation for improving ties and hopes of cooperation on the president's priority issues, such as climate change and countering terrorism.
"We are very committed to this relationship," Clinton said of India when questioned about deepening U.S. relations with Pakistan.
But a trip to India so far has escaped the sights of the president's travel planners.
That's where the state dinner comes in.
Obama's first one will be the talk of the town, perhaps second only to his inauguration and the parties that followed in terms of celebrity star power and got-to-be-there fever.
A ton of planning is involved, from creating the invitation itself to compiling a guest list. Meals, desserts and wines are tasted until the right pairings are found. Flowers must be chosen and arranged just so, along with the seating, place settings and entertainment.
Responsibility for the planning falls to first lady Michelle Obama and her staff, and people will be waiting to see what twists she and her social secretary, Desiree Rogers, will put on one of the White House's most staid traditions.
Early state dinner rumblings after Obama took office were about opening the events up to "real people."
Inquiring minds also want to know what other changes may be in store. Will they eat in the State Dining Room or shift chairs to the larger East Room? Will dinner courses be prepared with vegetables pulled from Mrs. Obama's popular South Lawn garden?
Would they consider putting their well-dressed guests on boats headed down the Potomac River to Mount Vernon? John F. Kennedy did that for his first state dinner a just few months into his term, in May 1961, for the president of Tunisia.
Or how about dinner and black-tie inside a big tent in the Rose Garden? Bill Clinton did that for his first such dinner a year and a half into his presidency, in June 1994, for the Japanese emperor.
Bush held his first dinner eight months in. It was for Mexico, less than a week before the terrorist attacks of September 2001.
with thanks : source : http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/29/obama-state-dinner-first-_n_303343.html
SikhsIndia
www.sohnijodi.com
www.sikhsindia.blogspot.com
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is coming to America for a state visit Nov. 24, just before Thanksgiving. Such visits include an elaborate arrival ceremony on the White House South Lawn, one-on-one time with the president and, in the evening, a state dinner.
It's a plum presidential nod of recognition for the world's largest democracy and most stable U.S. ally in a hostile corner of the world.
But why India first?
It was just four years ago that President George W. Bush and Singh raised their glasses and toasted the U.S.-India relationship at the start of a July 2005 state dinner.
Indian officials, however, have watched warily since then as the U.S. has become more engaged with its archrival, Pakistan, focusing on greater military cooperation in dealing with Islamist extremists there and in neighboring Afghanistan. Honoring Singh with what is considered one of the grandest and most glamorous of White House affairs 10 months into Obama's presidency may allay some of those concerns, along with perceptions that Pakistan has surpassed India as America's best friend in South Asia.
It also may be Obama's way of closing the loop with all the major U.S. allies as his freshman year in office draws to a fast close.
Obama's first-year international itinerary has taken him to the major European power centers of England, France, Germany, Italy and Russia. He has toured the Middle East and is scheduled to visit China and possibly other Asian countries in November, before Singh visits.
The president has even scheduled a day trip to Copenhagen this week – he'll spend more time in the air than on the ground – in a bid to personally boost his adopted hometown's chances of bringing the 2016 Olympic Games to Chicago.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton hand-delivered the state-visit invitation from Obama during her July trip to India.
Singh, re-elected to a second term earlier this year, and Obama met on the sidelines of a London economic summit in April, and discussed cooperating on the economic downturn, climate change and counterterrorism. Obama later called him a "very wise and decent man."
After years of mutual wariness during the Cold War, U.S.-Indian relations are at a high point, thanks partly to the Bush administration's push to allow American civilian nuclear trade with India. The Obama administration has used that accord as a foundation for improving ties and hopes of cooperation on the president's priority issues, such as climate change and countering terrorism.
"We are very committed to this relationship," Clinton said of India when questioned about deepening U.S. relations with Pakistan.
But a trip to India so far has escaped the sights of the president's travel planners.
That's where the state dinner comes in.
Obama's first one will be the talk of the town, perhaps second only to his inauguration and the parties that followed in terms of celebrity star power and got-to-be-there fever.
A ton of planning is involved, from creating the invitation itself to compiling a guest list. Meals, desserts and wines are tasted until the right pairings are found. Flowers must be chosen and arranged just so, along with the seating, place settings and entertainment.
Responsibility for the planning falls to first lady Michelle Obama and her staff, and people will be waiting to see what twists she and her social secretary, Desiree Rogers, will put on one of the White House's most staid traditions.
Early state dinner rumblings after Obama took office were about opening the events up to "real people."
Inquiring minds also want to know what other changes may be in store. Will they eat in the State Dining Room or shift chairs to the larger East Room? Will dinner courses be prepared with vegetables pulled from Mrs. Obama's popular South Lawn garden?
Would they consider putting their well-dressed guests on boats headed down the Potomac River to Mount Vernon? John F. Kennedy did that for his first state dinner a just few months into his term, in May 1961, for the president of Tunisia.
Or how about dinner and black-tie inside a big tent in the Rose Garden? Bill Clinton did that for his first such dinner a year and a half into his presidency, in June 1994, for the Japanese emperor.
Bush held his first dinner eight months in. It was for Mexico, less than a week before the terrorist attacks of September 2001.
with thanks : source : http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/29/obama-state-dinner-first-_n_303343.html
SikhsIndia
www.sohnijodi.com
www.sikhsindia.blogspot.com
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Emerald and seed-pearl Necklace, worn by Maharani Jindan Kaur wife of Maharaja Ranjit Singh is for sale at www.bonhams.com
An important emerald and seed-pearl Necklace from the Lahore Treasury, worn by Maharani Jindan Kaur (1817-63), wife of Ranjit Singh, the Lion of the Punjab (1780–1839) Lahore, first half of the 19th Century
comprising six polished emerald beads, one later converted to a pendant, each bead gold-mounted and fringed with seed-pearl drop tassels, gold clasp, in fitted cloth covered case, the inside of the lid inscribed: "From the Collection of the Court of Lahore formed by HH The Maharajah Runjeet Singh & lastly worn by Her Highness The Late Maharanee Jeddan Kower"
8th Oct., 2009
the necklace 38 cm. diam.; emeralds total weight approx. 50 ct
Estimate: £25,000 - 35,000
Footnote:
Provenance:
Collection of Maharajah Ranjit Singh and Maharani Jindan Kaur, sold by Frazer and Hawes from Garrards, Regent Street, London; English provincial saleroom, where it was acquired by the vendor: it was stated that the lot had been in the same local family for at least two generations.
Another necklace from the Lahore Court, retailed by Frazer and Hawes from Garrards, in a similar fitted case with identical inscription appeared at auction in 1999 (Christie's, Magnificent Mughal Jewels, London, 6th October 1999, lot 178) and is now in the collection of Satinder and Narinder Kapany.
Between 1849 and 1850, when the British took control of the court in Lahore, they entered the Treasury, where they found the court jewels wrapped in cloth. The Treasury was fabled to be the greatest and largest treasure ever found. The most famous and well-known jewels were taken away as gifts for Queen Victoria, including the Koh-i Noor and the Timur Ruby. Confiscated treasures were sold by Messrs Lattie Bros. of Hay-on-Wye in the Diwan-i-Am of the Lahore Fort. The items were listed in seven printed catalogues and the sales took place over five successive days, the last one starting on 2nd December 1850. It is also know that some jewels were boxed in Bombay by Frazer and Hawes, and were sent to London, where they were sold by Garrards, but this would have Garrards are said to hold a secret list of the jewellery, the contents of which has not been made public. From the boxing, this would have been done after the Maharani's death.
Maharani Jindan Kaur
Maharani Jindan Kaur was born in 1817 in Chahar, Sialkhot, Punjab. Of humble origins, she was the daughter of Manna Singh Aulak, the Royal Kennel Keeper at the Court of Lahore. She grew into a young lady of exquisite beauty and came to the attention of Maharajah Ranjit Singh at a young age. Manna Singh was reported to have pestered the Maharajah, promising that his daughter would make him youthful again. In 1835, she became Ranjit Singh's seventeenth wife and in 1838 bore him a son, Duleep. Duleep was his last child and just ten months later Ranjit Singh died following a stroke. Jindan was the Maharajah's only surviving widow, rejecting the practice of 'Sati' or throwing herself on the funeral pyre with his other wives, choosing to bring up her young son instead.
Ranjit Singh's empire stretched from the Indian Ocean to the Himalayas, with its southern boundary bordering British India. His court was fabled for its patronage of the arts and sciences, and for its riches. The Russian painter Alexis Solykoff wrote on visiting the court: "What a sight! I could barely believe my eyes. Everything glittered with precious stones and the brightest colours arranged in harmonious combinations". Upon the Maharajah's death, his body was carried through the streets to his funeral pyre in a golden ship, "with sails of gilt cloth to waft him into paradise'. Immediately after his death, Ranjit Singh's golden empire began to crumble. His eldest son, Kharak Singh took the throne, but was murdered two years later; the reign of Sher Singh was similarly short-lived and he was assassinated in 1843, upon which Duleep was proclaimed Maharajah at the age of five, with his maternal uncle as Prime Minister and his mother, Jindan, as Regent. His uncle's position as Prime Minister was brief, after the Khalsa Army declared him a traitor and killed him. As Jindan came to power, she was swiftly confronted by the British army that had moved to her southern border in the hope of conquering one of the last independent states of northern India.
As Regent, Jindan became a thorn in the side of the East India Company. She waged two unsuccessful wars against the British, the First and Second Anglo-Sikh Wars of 1846-49, which brought about the annexation of the Punjab. In 1846 she was deposed as Regent and in February 1847 the British took possession of the capital, Lahore, installing Sir Henry Lawrence as British Resident to oversee their affairs. The British continued to see her as a major threat to their control of the Punjab, since she was instrumental in organising Sikh resistance, rallying her armies to battle and plotting rebellion against the British. Thus in August 1847, to halt her influence on the young king, Duleep was sent away from the palace and Jindan was ordered by Sir Henry Lawrence to the Summan Tower of Lahore Fort and was then was incarcerated in the fort at Sheikhurpura. After being moved around several prisons, in 1849 she escaped from British captivity at Chunar Fort, leaving a note for the British: "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 – but don't think I ran away, understand well that I escape by myself unaided...When I quit the fort of Chunar I threw down two papers on my gaddi and one I threw on a European charpoy, now don't imagine I got out like a thief!". Disguised as a beggar woman, she fled to the Himalayas, where she found troubled sanctuary in Kathmandu, Nepal. All her jewels and gold that had been left in the government treasure in Benares were confiscated, with the added threat that if she went to Nepal she would lose her pension as well.
In Kathmandu, she lived under the protection of the Nepalese King and government, and spent her time studying scriptures and doing charitable work through a temple she had built near her house. Life was not easy for her and she was kept as a virtual prisoner with a meagre allowance. Under pressure from the British officials at Kathmandu, who portrayed her as dangerous with her alleged efforts to create disaffection against the British, the Nepalese imposed humiliating restrictions upon her. In the meanwhile, the British press began a campaign to blacken her name, calling her the 'Messalina of the Punjab', a term first coined by Governor-General Lord Hardinge. Like Messalina, the wife of the Roman Emperor Claudius, Jindan was portrayed as a licentious seductress, who was powerful and influential, and too rebellious to control.
The young Maharajah, Duleep, was moved to Fategarh, where he lived under the guardianship of Dr John Login and his wife, and eventually arrived in Britain in 1854, at the age of sixteen, where he was adopted as a godson by Queen Victoria. Under the influence of the Logins, he converted to Christianity and was brought up as a young English gentleman. In 1860, Duleep sent his native attendant to Kathmandu to find out about his mother and a report came back through the British resident at Nepal that: "The Rani had much changed, was blind and lost much of her energy, which formerly characterised her, taking little interest in what was going on". The Governor General agreed to a meeting based on this report of the Rani's condition, thinking that the last queen of the Punjab no longer posed a threat.
In 1860, tired of her exile and isolation, and the indignity she was made to suffer, she travelled to meet her son in Calcutta. For the first time in thirteen and a half years, they were reunited at Spence's Hotel in January 1861. Duleep found her almost blind and suffering from poor health. He offered her a house in Calcutta, but she expressed her wish to stay with her son, following years of enforced separation. And so it was agreed that the Rani would travel to England. Her private property and jewels, previously taken by the British authorities, would be restored to her on the basis that she left India and in addition she would be granted a pension of £3,000 per annum. Her jewels were returned to her at Calcutta at the start of the journey.
The Maharajah returned to London with his mother and took a house in Bayswater. Lady Login observed: "The half-blinded woman, sitting huddled on a heap of cushions on the floor with health broken and eyesight dimmed, her beauty vanished, it was hard to believe in her former charms of person and conversation! However, the moment she grew interested and excited in a conversation unexpected gleams and glimpses of the torpor of advancing age revealed the shrewd and plotting brain of the one who had been known as the 'Messalina of the Punjab'".
Lady Login noted a change in the Maharajah and for the first time heard him talk about his private property in the Punjab, information that only Jindan could have given to him. It is possible that the Rani saw it as a chance for retribution against the British for what they had done. During this time, she reawakened her son's true faith and royal heritage, telling him stories of all that had been lost to the British. She had sown the seeds of discontent in Duleep Singh's mind, which would bring about his fall from grace in later life. John Login tried to persuade the Maharajah to find his mother a separate house, feeling that her influence was bad for him. This did not happen until 1862 when she was moved to Abingdon House in Kensington under the charge of an English lady.
By 1863, Duleep Singh had set his sights on the Elveden Estate in Suffolk. On the 1st August of the same year, Jindan died in her Kensington home in the country of her sworn enemy, just two and a half years after being reunited with her son and leaving him inconsolable.
As a Sikh queen, cremation was the traditional practice, but one that was not allowed under English law. With the help of John Login, the Maharani's body was moved to the Dissenters Chapel at Kensal Green Cemetery until such time that it could be take to India for the last rites. The simple ceremony at Kensal Green was attended by a number of Indian dignitaries and the Maharani's retinue that she had brought with her, and the Maharajah spoke to them in their own language. Her body remained at Kensal Green for nearly a year and recently a marble gravestone bearing her name inscribed in English and Gumurkhi was found in the catacombs of the Dissenters Chapel. At the time, Charles Dickens wrote: "Down here in a coffin covered with white velvet, and studded with brass and nails, rests the Indian dancing woman whose strong will and bitter enmity towards England caused Lord Dalhousie to say of her, when in exile, that she was the only person our Government near feared".
In 1864, permission was granted to take the body to India, which had been her dying wish, and she was cremated at Bombay (Duleep was not allowed to go to the Punjab), her ashes scattered on the Godavai and a small memorial or samadh erected on the left bank. In 1924, her ashes were later moved to Lahore by her grand-daughter Princess Bamba Sutherland, and deposited at the samadh of Ranjit Singh. Finally the 'Messalina of the Punjab' returned home to rest.
with thanks : source : http://www.bonhams.com/cgi-bin/public.sh/pubweb/publicSite.r?sContinent=EUR&screen=lotdetailsNoFlash&iSaleItemNo=4387717&iSaleNo=16851&iSaleSectionNo=1
thanks : http://www.punjabnewsline.com/content/view/19162/92/
SikhsIndia
spreading awareness
comprising six polished emerald beads, one later converted to a pendant, each bead gold-mounted and fringed with seed-pearl drop tassels, gold clasp, in fitted cloth covered case, the inside of the lid inscribed: "From the Collection of the Court of Lahore formed by HH The Maharajah Runjeet Singh & lastly worn by Her Highness The Late Maharanee Jeddan Kower"
8th Oct., 2009
the necklace 38 cm. diam.; emeralds total weight approx. 50 ct
Estimate: £25,000 - 35,000
Footnote:
Provenance:
Collection of Maharajah Ranjit Singh and Maharani Jindan Kaur, sold by Frazer and Hawes from Garrards, Regent Street, London; English provincial saleroom, where it was acquired by the vendor: it was stated that the lot had been in the same local family for at least two generations.
Another necklace from the Lahore Court, retailed by Frazer and Hawes from Garrards, in a similar fitted case with identical inscription appeared at auction in 1999 (Christie's, Magnificent Mughal Jewels, London, 6th October 1999, lot 178) and is now in the collection of Satinder and Narinder Kapany.
Between 1849 and 1850, when the British took control of the court in Lahore, they entered the Treasury, where they found the court jewels wrapped in cloth. The Treasury was fabled to be the greatest and largest treasure ever found. The most famous and well-known jewels were taken away as gifts for Queen Victoria, including the Koh-i Noor and the Timur Ruby. Confiscated treasures were sold by Messrs Lattie Bros. of Hay-on-Wye in the Diwan-i-Am of the Lahore Fort. The items were listed in seven printed catalogues and the sales took place over five successive days, the last one starting on 2nd December 1850. It is also know that some jewels were boxed in Bombay by Frazer and Hawes, and were sent to London, where they were sold by Garrards, but this would have Garrards are said to hold a secret list of the jewellery, the contents of which has not been made public. From the boxing, this would have been done after the Maharani's death.
Maharani Jindan Kaur
Maharani Jindan Kaur was born in 1817 in Chahar, Sialkhot, Punjab. Of humble origins, she was the daughter of Manna Singh Aulak, the Royal Kennel Keeper at the Court of Lahore. She grew into a young lady of exquisite beauty and came to the attention of Maharajah Ranjit Singh at a young age. Manna Singh was reported to have pestered the Maharajah, promising that his daughter would make him youthful again. In 1835, she became Ranjit Singh's seventeenth wife and in 1838 bore him a son, Duleep. Duleep was his last child and just ten months later Ranjit Singh died following a stroke. Jindan was the Maharajah's only surviving widow, rejecting the practice of 'Sati' or throwing herself on the funeral pyre with his other wives, choosing to bring up her young son instead.
Ranjit Singh's empire stretched from the Indian Ocean to the Himalayas, with its southern boundary bordering British India. His court was fabled for its patronage of the arts and sciences, and for its riches. The Russian painter Alexis Solykoff wrote on visiting the court: "What a sight! I could barely believe my eyes. Everything glittered with precious stones and the brightest colours arranged in harmonious combinations". Upon the Maharajah's death, his body was carried through the streets to his funeral pyre in a golden ship, "with sails of gilt cloth to waft him into paradise'. Immediately after his death, Ranjit Singh's golden empire began to crumble. His eldest son, Kharak Singh took the throne, but was murdered two years later; the reign of Sher Singh was similarly short-lived and he was assassinated in 1843, upon which Duleep was proclaimed Maharajah at the age of five, with his maternal uncle as Prime Minister and his mother, Jindan, as Regent. His uncle's position as Prime Minister was brief, after the Khalsa Army declared him a traitor and killed him. As Jindan came to power, she was swiftly confronted by the British army that had moved to her southern border in the hope of conquering one of the last independent states of northern India.
As Regent, Jindan became a thorn in the side of the East India Company. She waged two unsuccessful wars against the British, the First and Second Anglo-Sikh Wars of 1846-49, which brought about the annexation of the Punjab. In 1846 she was deposed as Regent and in February 1847 the British took possession of the capital, Lahore, installing Sir Henry Lawrence as British Resident to oversee their affairs. The British continued to see her as a major threat to their control of the Punjab, since she was instrumental in organising Sikh resistance, rallying her armies to battle and plotting rebellion against the British. Thus in August 1847, to halt her influence on the young king, Duleep was sent away from the palace and Jindan was ordered by Sir Henry Lawrence to the Summan Tower of Lahore Fort and was then was incarcerated in the fort at Sheikhurpura. After being moved around several prisons, in 1849 she escaped from British captivity at Chunar Fort, leaving a note for the British: "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 – but don't think I ran away, understand well that I escape by myself unaided...When I quit the fort of Chunar I threw down two papers on my gaddi and one I threw on a European charpoy, now don't imagine I got out like a thief!". Disguised as a beggar woman, she fled to the Himalayas, where she found troubled sanctuary in Kathmandu, Nepal. All her jewels and gold that had been left in the government treasure in Benares were confiscated, with the added threat that if she went to Nepal she would lose her pension as well.
In Kathmandu, she lived under the protection of the Nepalese King and government, and spent her time studying scriptures and doing charitable work through a temple she had built near her house. Life was not easy for her and she was kept as a virtual prisoner with a meagre allowance. Under pressure from the British officials at Kathmandu, who portrayed her as dangerous with her alleged efforts to create disaffection against the British, the Nepalese imposed humiliating restrictions upon her. In the meanwhile, the British press began a campaign to blacken her name, calling her the 'Messalina of the Punjab', a term first coined by Governor-General Lord Hardinge. Like Messalina, the wife of the Roman Emperor Claudius, Jindan was portrayed as a licentious seductress, who was powerful and influential, and too rebellious to control.
The young Maharajah, Duleep, was moved to Fategarh, where he lived under the guardianship of Dr John Login and his wife, and eventually arrived in Britain in 1854, at the age of sixteen, where he was adopted as a godson by Queen Victoria. Under the influence of the Logins, he converted to Christianity and was brought up as a young English gentleman. In 1860, Duleep sent his native attendant to Kathmandu to find out about his mother and a report came back through the British resident at Nepal that: "The Rani had much changed, was blind and lost much of her energy, which formerly characterised her, taking little interest in what was going on". The Governor General agreed to a meeting based on this report of the Rani's condition, thinking that the last queen of the Punjab no longer posed a threat.
In 1860, tired of her exile and isolation, and the indignity she was made to suffer, she travelled to meet her son in Calcutta. For the first time in thirteen and a half years, they were reunited at Spence's Hotel in January 1861. Duleep found her almost blind and suffering from poor health. He offered her a house in Calcutta, but she expressed her wish to stay with her son, following years of enforced separation. And so it was agreed that the Rani would travel to England. Her private property and jewels, previously taken by the British authorities, would be restored to her on the basis that she left India and in addition she would be granted a pension of £3,000 per annum. Her jewels were returned to her at Calcutta at the start of the journey.
The Maharajah returned to London with his mother and took a house in Bayswater. Lady Login observed: "The half-blinded woman, sitting huddled on a heap of cushions on the floor with health broken and eyesight dimmed, her beauty vanished, it was hard to believe in her former charms of person and conversation! However, the moment she grew interested and excited in a conversation unexpected gleams and glimpses of the torpor of advancing age revealed the shrewd and plotting brain of the one who had been known as the 'Messalina of the Punjab'".
Lady Login noted a change in the Maharajah and for the first time heard him talk about his private property in the Punjab, information that only Jindan could have given to him. It is possible that the Rani saw it as a chance for retribution against the British for what they had done. During this time, she reawakened her son's true faith and royal heritage, telling him stories of all that had been lost to the British. She had sown the seeds of discontent in Duleep Singh's mind, which would bring about his fall from grace in later life. John Login tried to persuade the Maharajah to find his mother a separate house, feeling that her influence was bad for him. This did not happen until 1862 when she was moved to Abingdon House in Kensington under the charge of an English lady.
By 1863, Duleep Singh had set his sights on the Elveden Estate in Suffolk. On the 1st August of the same year, Jindan died in her Kensington home in the country of her sworn enemy, just two and a half years after being reunited with her son and leaving him inconsolable.
As a Sikh queen, cremation was the traditional practice, but one that was not allowed under English law. With the help of John Login, the Maharani's body was moved to the Dissenters Chapel at Kensal Green Cemetery until such time that it could be take to India for the last rites. The simple ceremony at Kensal Green was attended by a number of Indian dignitaries and the Maharani's retinue that she had brought with her, and the Maharajah spoke to them in their own language. Her body remained at Kensal Green for nearly a year and recently a marble gravestone bearing her name inscribed in English and Gumurkhi was found in the catacombs of the Dissenters Chapel. At the time, Charles Dickens wrote: "Down here in a coffin covered with white velvet, and studded with brass and nails, rests the Indian dancing woman whose strong will and bitter enmity towards England caused Lord Dalhousie to say of her, when in exile, that she was the only person our Government near feared".
In 1864, permission was granted to take the body to India, which had been her dying wish, and she was cremated at Bombay (Duleep was not allowed to go to the Punjab), her ashes scattered on the Godavai and a small memorial or samadh erected on the left bank. In 1924, her ashes were later moved to Lahore by her grand-daughter Princess Bamba Sutherland, and deposited at the samadh of Ranjit Singh. Finally the 'Messalina of the Punjab' returned home to rest.
with thanks : source : http://www.bonhams.com/cgi-bin/public.sh/pubweb/publicSite.r?sContinent=EUR&screen=lotdetailsNoFlash&iSaleItemNo=4387717&iSaleNo=16851&iSaleSectionNo=1
thanks : http://www.punjabnewsline.com/content/view/19162/92/
SikhsIndia
spreading awareness
Haryana Sikhs, expressing support to SGPC, appear before Akal Takht
By Ravinder Singh Robin
Amritsar Sep. 28 - ANI: Opposing the demand to form a separate Sikh committee for Sikhs in Haryana, thousands of Sikhs from the State appeared before Akal Takht and presented a memorandum.
The group urged Jathedar Akal Takht to ex-communicate Jagdish Singh Jhinda and others those who were responsible for the attack on the historical shrineChevin Patshahi, dedicated to the sixth Sikh Guru Guru Hargobind Singh--on September 13 in Kurukshetra.
Supporting Shiromani Gurdwara Parbhandhak Committee (SGPC), the group, claiming to represent hundreds of thousands of Sikhs in Haryana, presented a memorandum to Giani Gurbachan Singh, the Jathedar of Akal Takht.
It also demanded a stern action against Jagdish Singh Jhinda and his associates who occupied the Gurdwara Chevin Patshahi, located around 110 kilometres from Chandigarh.
The group opposed the move to create separate Sikh committee for Haryana at any cost.
Bhupinder Singh, former member SGPC from Haryana said, We will never allow this to happen and will do everything to stop a separate committee for the Sikhs to be formed in Haryana.
He said that we also urged the Jathedar to excommunicate those who not only hurt the sentiments of the Sikhs but also violated the Sikh code of conduct.
Kulbir Kaur, a Sikh activist from Panchkula of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), said: We fully support the SGPC to take care of the Sikh shrines situated in Haryana and elsewhere. Poeple like Jhinda should be given punishment for trying to divide the Sikh community.
Meanwhile Jathedar Akal Takht Giani Gurbachan Singh confirmed that today he did receive a memorandum on behalf of Sikhs living in Haryana conveying their support to SGPC and demanding action against Jagdish Singh Jhinda.
Gurbachan Singh said that five Sikh Jathedars would be meeting at Akal Takht on October 1 to discuss the issue. - ANI
with thanks : source : http://www.littleabout.com/news/36806,haryana-sikhs-expressing-support-sgpc-akal-takht.html
SikhsIndia
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Amritsar Sep. 28 - ANI: Opposing the demand to form a separate Sikh committee for Sikhs in Haryana, thousands of Sikhs from the State appeared before Akal Takht and presented a memorandum.
The group urged Jathedar Akal Takht to ex-communicate Jagdish Singh Jhinda and others those who were responsible for the attack on the historical shrineChevin Patshahi, dedicated to the sixth Sikh Guru Guru Hargobind Singh--on September 13 in Kurukshetra.
Supporting Shiromani Gurdwara Parbhandhak Committee (SGPC), the group, claiming to represent hundreds of thousands of Sikhs in Haryana, presented a memorandum to Giani Gurbachan Singh, the Jathedar of Akal Takht.
It also demanded a stern action against Jagdish Singh Jhinda and his associates who occupied the Gurdwara Chevin Patshahi, located around 110 kilometres from Chandigarh.
The group opposed the move to create separate Sikh committee for Haryana at any cost.
Bhupinder Singh, former member SGPC from Haryana said, We will never allow this to happen and will do everything to stop a separate committee for the Sikhs to be formed in Haryana.
He said that we also urged the Jathedar to excommunicate those who not only hurt the sentiments of the Sikhs but also violated the Sikh code of conduct.
Kulbir Kaur, a Sikh activist from Panchkula of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), said: We fully support the SGPC to take care of the Sikh shrines situated in Haryana and elsewhere. Poeple like Jhinda should be given punishment for trying to divide the Sikh community.
Meanwhile Jathedar Akal Takht Giani Gurbachan Singh confirmed that today he did receive a memorandum on behalf of Sikhs living in Haryana conveying their support to SGPC and demanding action against Jagdish Singh Jhinda.
Gurbachan Singh said that five Sikh Jathedars would be meeting at Akal Takht on October 1 to discuss the issue. - ANI
with thanks : source : http://www.littleabout.com/news/36806,haryana-sikhs-expressing-support-sgpc-akal-takht.html
SikhsIndia
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Sikh personalities
Sat Sri Akal,
Please read about a few Sikh personalities as below :
- Amrit and Rabindra Kaur Singh - Paintings
- Amarjit Singh Bamrah / Jagdish Kaur Bamrah - Tanjore paintings
- Gulab Singh ji - minare khalsa
- Jaswant singh Jafar : Sikh art mool mantar through oil paintings
- Dr. (Mrs.) Gurdeep Kaur - PHD on Guru Granth Sahib
- Jatinder singh Shunty - a massiha for the downtrodden
- Bhupinder singh Kohli - in the service of mankind
- Kanwar Singh Dhillon - art of Punjab
You can read about these persons by clicking the link as below :
http://www.sohnijodi.com/Sikh%20Personalities.htm
If you can add more such personalities, plz mention in the comments section or plz mail us. We will be pleased to upload details about them.
Best regards
sikhsIndia
spreading awareness
http://www.sohnijodi.com/
http://www.sikhsindia.blogspot.com/
Please read about a few Sikh personalities as below :
- Amrit and Rabindra Kaur Singh - Paintings
- Amarjit Singh Bamrah / Jagdish Kaur Bamrah - Tanjore paintings
- Gulab Singh ji - minare khalsa
- Jaswant singh Jafar : Sikh art mool mantar through oil paintings
- Dr. (Mrs.) Gurdeep Kaur - PHD on Guru Granth Sahib
- Jatinder singh Shunty - a massiha for the downtrodden
- Bhupinder singh Kohli - in the service of mankind
- Kanwar Singh Dhillon - art of Punjab
You can read about these persons by clicking the link as below :
http://www.sohnijodi.com/Sikh%20Personalities.htm
If you can add more such personalities, plz mention in the comments section or plz mail us. We will be pleased to upload details about them.
Best regards
sikhsIndia
spreading awareness
http://www.sohnijodi.com/
http://www.sikhsindia.blogspot.com/
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Sikh matrimonial : add your profiles absolutely free on a Sikh web portal with around a lakh hit's per month
Sat Sri Akal,
Please feel free to add your matrimonial profile with / without a pic, absolutely free, on a Sikh web portal with around a lakh hit's per month. You can also add your Gurdwara listing, your Business listing absolutely free on the portal. You can also add details of any Gurmat samagam in your Gurudwara, anywhere in the world, absolutely free on the web portal. The portal contains wide details about Sikhism alongwith pics & vids. Please log on to www.sohnijodi.com
Best regards
SikhsIndia
Please feel free to add your matrimonial profile with / without a pic, absolutely free, on a Sikh web portal with around a lakh hit's per month. You can also add your Gurdwara listing, your Business listing absolutely free on the portal. You can also add details of any Gurmat samagam in your Gurudwara, anywhere in the world, absolutely free on the web portal. The portal contains wide details about Sikhism alongwith pics & vids. Please log on to www.sohnijodi.com
Best regards
SikhsIndia
Punjabi to be Canada’s 4th biggest language by 2011
Punjabi is set to become the fourth largest spoken language in Canada by 2011 after English, French and Chinese, according to Canadian Immigration Minister Jason Kenney.
The minister made the announcement Friday night after inaugurating the seventh Spinning Wheel Film Festival at the Royal Ontario Museum here that will feature films by or about Sikhs.
More than two dozen films from around the world will be screened at the two-day festival.
Before opening the event, the minister unveiled two huge portraits of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and his son Duleep Singh. These portraits will now be permanently displayed at the museum.
Lauding the contribution made by Sikhs to the Canadian society, the minister said they have thrived after their initial struggles and made a place for themselves in Canada.
The 2006 census showed that Punjabi is the sixth largest spoken language after English, French, Chinese, Italian and German in Canada. But it is projected to surpass German and Italian by 2011.
Referring to the 1914 incident when more than 350 passengers from India – Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus – were not allowed to disembark from the Komagata Maru ship and sent back to Kolkata, the minister said Canada has recognized its racist past and apologized for it.
Toronto-based philanthropist and physician Birinder Singh Ahluwalia, the brain behind the festival, said the aim was to showcase the rich cultural heritage of the Sikhs.
The Amritsar-born doctor, among most successful 25 Canadian immigrants, said the organisers received more than 120 film entries from around the world.
“But we are showing only the 27 best films chosen by the screening committee,” said Ahluwalia, who announced that $50,000 will be given every year to filmmakers wishing to make films with Sikh themes.
A huge exhibition of Sikh paintings has also been mounted at the museum.
Some rare paintings depict the struggle of Sikhs in the two World Wars in which many of them won the highest military honour of Victoria Cross.
“A Prisoner’s Song” featuring a rare audio recording of a Sikh prisoner of war in Germany in World War I opened the film festival.
with thanks : source : http://www.123breakingnews.com/punjabi-to-be-canada%E2%80%99s-4th-biggest-language-by-2011-12829-123
SikhsIndia
www.sohnijodi.com
www.sikhsindia.blogspot.com
Sikhs spool out their angst on film
Divya A, TNN 27 September 2009, 03:02am IST
In an attempt to tell their side of the story, NRI Sikhs have undertaken an interesting exercise – they’re making films about their faith and their
community and screening them at festivals they organize for the purpose in various parts of the world.
The trigger, it seems, is the community’s collective angst over developments such as the Army operation at the Golden Temple in 1984, the riots that followed Indira Gandhi’s assassination and the recent turban ban in France.
Just last week, the Sikh Art and Film Foundation (SAFF) in New York organized the Annual Sikh Film Festival, which acquired especially grand tones for the first time in its 10-year history. There was a red carpet and it was attended by more than 1,000 people. Meanwhile, Visions of Truth, a two-month-long traveling film festival with movies about 1984, was on in California. It was organized by Jakara, a California Sikhs’ club. In addition, Sikhnet, a website dedicated to building bridges between Sikhs abroad, announced its 2009 Youth Online Film Festival, inviting Sikh youth to share videos about “being a Sikh”.
But how healthy is it for a community to focus on a painful past and present itself to the world as a suffering and wronged people?
Why ever not, retorts Rajya Sabha MP Tarlochan Singh. “There are 25 million Sikhs worldwide, with more than a million in America and Canada, and about half a million in UK. An acute identity crisis in the post 9/11 world has compelled them to tell people that there is a difference between a Sikh and an Iranian or the Taliban.”
Prof S P Singh, former V-C of Amritsar’s Guru Nanak Dev University, explains it as a consequence of “the wounds inflicted on the collective Sikh psyche (which) have not been addressed so far. Time doesn’t heal the injury that hasn’t been redressed. Otherwise, Udham Singh wouldn’t have avenged Jallianwala Bagh massacre 25 years later!” Perhaps. The film Storming the Temple, part of Visions of Truth, lays out the events that ended in the Army entering the Temple; Reaching for Home is a fictional account around the incident and Amu addresses issues of identity with 1984 as the backdrop.
So too the New York film festival, which kicked off with 1984 and the Via Dolorosa, an attempt to portray Sikh suffering in the context of the Christian belief in the pain Christ suffered while carrying the cross.
So, does the community collectively alternate between self-congratulation and suffering then? On the phone from New York, SAFF president Tejinder Singh Bindra explains, “We celebrate the heritage of Sikhs and their immigrant experience and promote Sikhism in a land where people persecuted us in the wake of 9/11.”
Gurumustak Singh Khalsa, an American Sikh, who founded SikhNet told STOI from New Mexico that it would be wrong to see the festivals as navel-gazing hype. “Most people don’t have a clue who Sikhs are. The genesis of the festival came from the proliferation of short videos on websites and enabled us to reach out to more people.”
But isn’t it maudlin for Sikhs to focus so acutely on 1984? S P Singh says there may be another angle to this. He says that playing up the 1984 imagery serves the vested interests of those who sought political asylum abroad in the aftermath of Operation Blue Star. “If the movement dies down, all facilities and aid extended to them will be terminated.”
with thanks : source : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/sunday-toi/special-report/Sikhs-spool-out-their-angst-on-film/articleshow/5061084.cms
SikhsIndia
www.sohnijodi.com
www.sikhsindia.blogspot.com
In an attempt to tell their side of the story, NRI Sikhs have undertaken an interesting exercise – they’re making films about their faith and their
community and screening them at festivals they organize for the purpose in various parts of the world.
The trigger, it seems, is the community’s collective angst over developments such as the Army operation at the Golden Temple in 1984, the riots that followed Indira Gandhi’s assassination and the recent turban ban in France.
Just last week, the Sikh Art and Film Foundation (SAFF) in New York organized the Annual Sikh Film Festival, which acquired especially grand tones for the first time in its 10-year history. There was a red carpet and it was attended by more than 1,000 people. Meanwhile, Visions of Truth, a two-month-long traveling film festival with movies about 1984, was on in California. It was organized by Jakara, a California Sikhs’ club. In addition, Sikhnet, a website dedicated to building bridges between Sikhs abroad, announced its 2009 Youth Online Film Festival, inviting Sikh youth to share videos about “being a Sikh”.
But how healthy is it for a community to focus on a painful past and present itself to the world as a suffering and wronged people?
Why ever not, retorts Rajya Sabha MP Tarlochan Singh. “There are 25 million Sikhs worldwide, with more than a million in America and Canada, and about half a million in UK. An acute identity crisis in the post 9/11 world has compelled them to tell people that there is a difference between a Sikh and an Iranian or the Taliban.”
Prof S P Singh, former V-C of Amritsar’s Guru Nanak Dev University, explains it as a consequence of “the wounds inflicted on the collective Sikh psyche (which) have not been addressed so far. Time doesn’t heal the injury that hasn’t been redressed. Otherwise, Udham Singh wouldn’t have avenged Jallianwala Bagh massacre 25 years later!” Perhaps. The film Storming the Temple, part of Visions of Truth, lays out the events that ended in the Army entering the Temple; Reaching for Home is a fictional account around the incident and Amu addresses issues of identity with 1984 as the backdrop.
So too the New York film festival, which kicked off with 1984 and the Via Dolorosa, an attempt to portray Sikh suffering in the context of the Christian belief in the pain Christ suffered while carrying the cross.
So, does the community collectively alternate between self-congratulation and suffering then? On the phone from New York, SAFF president Tejinder Singh Bindra explains, “We celebrate the heritage of Sikhs and their immigrant experience and promote Sikhism in a land where people persecuted us in the wake of 9/11.”
Gurumustak Singh Khalsa, an American Sikh, who founded SikhNet told STOI from New Mexico that it would be wrong to see the festivals as navel-gazing hype. “Most people don’t have a clue who Sikhs are. The genesis of the festival came from the proliferation of short videos on websites and enabled us to reach out to more people.”
But isn’t it maudlin for Sikhs to focus so acutely on 1984? S P Singh says there may be another angle to this. He says that playing up the 1984 imagery serves the vested interests of those who sought political asylum abroad in the aftermath of Operation Blue Star. “If the movement dies down, all facilities and aid extended to them will be terminated.”
with thanks : source : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/sunday-toi/special-report/Sikhs-spool-out-their-angst-on-film/articleshow/5061084.cms
SikhsIndia
www.sohnijodi.com
www.sikhsindia.blogspot.com
Punjabi English Magazine from Seatle titled " Aasra "
Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh
Since January of 2006, we have published Punjabi English Magazine from Seattle titled “Aasra”. We wanted to have a media for the Sikhs. Our goal was to educate about Sikh religion and to encourage literature and poetry and other events. We print it every two months. We have received encouragement and response from the community and the public. You will see contributions from American and other non-Sikh community coming to contribute to this magazine. We have plans now to expand it and reach other cities and audience also.
I am happy to inform you that it is now available through the Saltfleet Branch Library, Ontario, Canada, King County Library System, Whatcom County Library System and WA State Library.
Please check it out and help spread the word. At this time we do not have any media to represent Sikhs. The content that targets the wider audience is very little. National magazines, television, radio or other media hardly cover people of other faiths, but rather give message of violence and attack. Top it with discrimination in the work place. Hardly a day passes when there isn’t an incident when Sikhs face hardships to practice their religion freely. Aasra Magazine is an effort to overcome this. It is this lacuna that we are trying to fill. I had dreamed of seeing a Sikh magazine in every library. It is this sewa that Waheguru has given us. We can’t do it alone. A lot needs to be done. We need your help. I look forward to your feedback, advertisement and subscription to help us reach more community.
A Sikhnet review of the magazine is also available.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Sarab Singh Editor, Aasra Punjabi English Magazine PO Box 5716, Kent, WA 98064
Phone: (206) 550-3154Email: aasra@q.com Web: www.sikhism.com/aasra
SikhsIndia
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Kanwar Singh Dhillon - art of Punjab
Born in Amritsar India, Kanwar Singh Dhillon has been engaged in the process of art making for as long as he can remember. He is influenced by a host of past masters such as Sobha Singh, Caravaggio and J.W Waterhouse.
Growing up in Toronto Canada, Kanwar explored several paths that would allow him to work as a professional artist including animation and book illustration. However, it wasn’t until he started to take an interest in the history of the Sikhs that his art took a definitive turn for the better.
With his painting style Kanwar Singh Dhillon aspires to combine the grace and beauty of Sobha Singh’s portraits with the documentary style of Sikh history painters such as Devender Singh. Punjab’s history is rich with the exploits of heroes and sages from the time of Alexander to Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The spread of the Sikh faith and the rise of the Khalsa have featured heavily in his recent works.
With thanks : source : www.artofpunjab.comSikhsIndia
www.sohnijodi.com
www.sikhsindia.blogspot.com
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