The child Duleep Singh, last Maharaja of Punjab and a helpless witness to the annexation of his princely state by Lord Dalhousie in 1849 has at last had a revenge of sorts. Thanks to BBG. The BBC in London organized a transcontinental treasure hunt, It ended with the revelation that a book obtained by Lord Dalhousie, the then Governor-general of India, from Duleep Singh, under the impression that it was a rare holy book was actually nothing of sort. It is not known if Dalhousie paid for the book. But, if he did, then it clearly was not a sensible investment, the findings of the BBC investigation was broadcast in a radio program: “The Lord, the Savored and the Gur”. ¢ program, presented by veteran broadcaster, Mark Tully, attempts to trace the whereabouts of two swords and other relics said to belong to the Tenth Guru Gobind Singh (16661708). Furtive speculation has surrounded the book ever since the discovery more than a decade ago describing the book as Granth. The note was found in the possession of Lord Dalhousie’s descendants in Scotland, during the course of an investigation by an Indian High Commission official in 1983. The official who had been asked to find out if Dalhousie’s descendants possessed Guru Gobind Singh’s swords, mentioned the note in his report An impression grew among many Sikhs in Britain that the Dalhousie family possessed the Dasam Granth, the holy book written by Guru Gobind Singh. Lord Dalhousie plundered the Punjab royal treasury in 1849 under the terms of a questionable treaty after the end of the Second Sikh War, won by ruse. Under the treaty, signed by the powerless, nine-year old Duleep Singh. The entire treasury in Lahore was handed over to Dalhousie * in part payment of the debt due to the British government and of the expenses of the war.
The wily Governor-general noted at the same time, “It would not be politic to permit any Sikh institution to obtain possession of these sacred and warlike symbols of warlike faith.” However, Lord Dalhousie was not so clever while obtaining or purchasing, what he clearly thought was a rare holy book. In his signed note, he said, this Granth was purchased for me at the Lahore Toshakhana (treasury) in 1850.” But a Sikh scholar from Canada, Jeevan Doe Singh, is under
Stood to have told the makers of the program that the book is not the Dasam Granth instead, the 19th century book contains extracts from and commentaries on the Hindu book the Bhagwad Gita. Mr. Doe Singh declared after spending four hours al the country house of Lady Broun Lindsay. A descendant of Dalhousie. This was the first examination of the book, which is written in Gurmukhi. Rani Singh, the producer of the program said, “it is still beautiful book and probably worth a lot of money.” The findings put to rest speculation on this particular heritage of the tenth Sikh guru.
And, if anything, has meant a last hearty laugh for Duleep Singh from his grave situated in a small town of Theptford in southeast England. Converted to Christianity under the influence of the British at a tender age, Duleep Singh was taken to England, where he cut a tragic figure later in life, but finally returned to his forefathers’ religion. Before dying at the age of 55, the powerless son of the great Sikh monarch, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, had to suffer a string of humiliations from the British Empire amid some indications that Duleep Singh wanted to end the colonial rule in India.
Article extracted from this publication >> October 16, 1996
