Jind Kaur

Maharani Jind Kaur  ( – 1 August 1863) was ruler of the Sikh Empire from 1843 until 29 March 1847. After the Sikh Empire ended on 29 March 1847, the Sikhs claimed her as the Maharani and successor of Maharaja Duleep Singh. However, on the same day the British took full control and refused to accept this.

She was the youngest wife of the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, Ranjit Singh, and the mother of the last Maharaja, Duleep Singh. She was famous for her beauty, energy but also because of the fear she gave the British in India, who described her as "the Messalina of the Punjab".

After the assassinations of Ranjit Singh's first three successors, her son Duleep Singh came to power in September 1843 at the age of 5 and Jind Kaur became ruler on her son's behalf. After the Sikhs lost the First Anglo-Sikh War she was replaced by the British.  However she still had power over people - so the British imprisoned and exiled her. Over thirteen years passed before she was again allowed to see her son, who was taken to England.Christy Campbell – Chapter 5

It was in January 1861 Duleep Singh was allowed to meet his mother in Calcutta and took her with him back to England, where she remained until her death in Kensington, London, on 1 August 1863 at the age of 46. She was first buried in Kensal Green Cemetery but then cremated the following year at Nashik, near Bombay. Her ashes were finally taken to the her husband's memorial in Lahore by her granddaughter.Anglo-Sikh Heritage Trail – Maharani Jind Kaur 

 References 

 Books 
 The Encyclopedia of Sikhism, Harbans Singh, Editor-in-Chief, Punjabi University, 2002
 The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, January 2012 edition
 B S Nijjar, Maharani Jind Kaur, Punjab Govt. Records
 Christy Campbell, The Maharajah's Box, Harper Collins, 2010, 
 E Dalhousie Login, Lady Login's Recollections, Smith Elder, 1916

Category:1817 births
Category:1863 deaths