Duleep Singh and the Fascinating Stories of Punjabis in Britain’s History
Image credit, Getty Images
Duleep Singh became a Sikh Maharaja at the age of five. However, after the British took control of the Sikh Empire in 1849, he was exiled to Britain.
Although he made efforts to return to India, he was never granted permission to go back to his homeland. Born in 1838, he lived until 1893.
At 25, he purchased Elveden Hall in Suffolk and made it his residence. His first marriage was to Bamba Müller from Germany.
Discovery
Nearly a century later, in 1996, Peter Bance from Asics visited this house and was deeply moved by the story of Duleep Singh’s life.
Since then, he has spent almost three decades collecting materials and stories related to the Maharaja. While researching the Indian prince, Bance recalls feeling as if he was searching for his own roots.
According to Bance, Singh’s arrival in Britain in the 1850s demonstrates how long Punjabi history has been part of this country.
Among Duleep Singh and Bamba’s six children, Bance says Princess Catherine was the most beloved.
“Her story was not well-known,” said 52-year-old Bance during the closing week of South Asian Heritage Month.
“She was the one who saved Jewish families who were sent to concentration camps,” Bance explained.
“She helped people who had no connection to her religion, background, or heritage. Those people were complete strangers, and she acted out of pure humanity.”
Image credit, Peter Bance Collection
Bance adds, “I wanted to learn more about these children because I am myself the son of immigrant parents, and I see my connection in them.”
“I was born and raised here (in England). So I was curious to understand more about these mixed heritage children. Ethnically they were Punjabi, but they grew up here.”
Collection of Materials
In the 1990s, Bance placed advertisements in local newspapers seeking people who knew about the princesses.
Around 300 people responded, some of whom had known the princesses or worked for the family, and many had received gifts from them.
Bance wanted to purchase those items but many people generously donated priceless belongings, wanting them preserved securely.
He says this collection is both his life’s important work and a personal passion. “I now possess over 2,000 items related to the family. Among them, my favorite is a beautiful photograph of the three princesses taken during a dance ceremony.”
Bance revealed that Duleep Singh’s youngest daughter, Sophia, played a significant role in women’s rights.
He discovered her involvement in the women’s suffrage movement through conversations with a relative of a family member.
Image credit, Peter Bance Collection
Currently, Bance’s collection includes the Maharaja’s jacket, princesses’ saris, toys, letters, and photographs.
Many of these items are on display at the ‘The Last Princesses of Punjab’ exhibition at Kensington Palace in West London, running until November.
Actor, activist, and writer Jassa Ahluwalia, who is connected to Indian and English cultures, collaborated with his sister Ramnik as advisors for the exhibition.
He said that the experience of a mixed cultural identity helped him feel a deep resonance with these stories.
“These stories had a profound impact on me and my sister. We see both the similarities and differences in our experiences,” he explained.
“Elveden Hall felt like a reflection of myself: very English on the outside, but deeply Indian at its core.”
Image credit, Peter Bance Collection
Ahluwalia said, “These stories provide a way for people like us, growing up in 21st-century England with mixed Punjabi identity, to understand ourselves. We realize our story is not new; it has its own history and we are part of a long tradition of cultural exchange.”
He also emphasized that this history is alive and ongoing.
“If we don’t present our nation’s history properly, others will create fictional narratives which will not reflect our true story.”