After a long wait of 138 years, a memorial will be raised on the banks of the Godavari near Nasik in Maharashtra where Maharani Jind Kaur (Jindan), the last queen of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, was cremated.

The British Government had refused to carry the body of the Maharani to Punjab. She died in England in 1863.

Talking to TNS, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said he had deputed his Special Principal Secretary Sarvesh Kaushal to visit Nasik for preparing the report on the recommendation of Mr Tarlochan Singh, Vice-Chairman, Minorities Commission. Though, the building was in a dilapidated condition and had been with the Public Works Department of the Punjab Government, the one-acre land for the memorial was purchased by the then ruler of Kapurthala who enjoyed good relations with Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

Mr P.C. Alexander, Governor, and Mr Vilasrao Deshmukh, Chief Minister, Maharashtra, in their communications to Mr Tarlochan Singh appreciated the idea of raising a memorial in the name of the Maharani.

Mr Tarlochan Singh said Mr Badal had agreed to raise the memorial where a museum would be set up depicting the story of the last queen of Punjab. He said it was last wish of Maharani Jind Kaur that her cremation should take place in Punjab.

 Aerial view of GobindGarh Fort

Meanwhile, Mr Badal said the government had chalked out a programme to preserve the historic Gobindgarh Fort which was built by Maharaja Ranjit Singh after the name of Guru Gobind Singh. The fort was currently under the control of the Army. Mr Badal said he would take up the matter with the Army authorities.

According to Dr Sukhdev Singh, state convener of Intach, the fort was built by the Maharaja on the way to Lahore.

Comments (0) >>

Show/Hide comments

Write comment

You must be logged in to post a comment. Please register if you do not have an account yet.