LONDON:
Could there be a contrast more stark?
The stance of the Indian government at the time when the marble bust
of Maharaja Duleep Singh was auctioned and when Christie's sought to
auction a letter written by Mahatma Gandhi clearly brought out the
utter insensitivity of New Delhi about any issue that bothered the
Sikhs. Auctioneers Christie's withdrew the letter a day before it
was to go under the hammer, so that New Delhi can take steps to
retrieve what it calls part of its historical heritage. The letter,
written by Gandhi, on January 11, 1948, just 19 days before he was
assassinated, has been at the centre of a row for some time now and
was expected to fetch upwards of £12,000 at the auction. There were
demands that the Indian Government should try to procure the
letter.
The manuscript could now be returned through
negotiations across the table and will enable New Delhi to get it
back without entering into a bidding race with private collectors.
But the Sikhs will vividly recall the concerns of the
community when the marble bust of Maharajah Duleep Singh was sold in
London for 43 times its estimated value. The bust by Victorian
sculptor John Gibson RA had originally been expected to fetch
between £25,000 to £35,000, and many Sikh organisations wanted that
some community organisation should get it.
Some Sikh MPs did talk about taking up the matter
with the Indian government but the response was so lukewarm that all
such intiatives fell through. The Punjab Heritage and Education
Foundation (PHEF) and even the Shiromani GurdwaraParbandhak
Committee (SGPC) had made appeals to Sikhs and Sikh organizations
worldwide, and the Indian government, to purchase the bust and
repatriate it. Though Duleep Singh was a minor figure in British
colonial history, he continues to hold deep historical and
cultural significance for Indians and the Sikh diaspora. He was also
the owner of the famed Koh-i-Noor diamond, but New Delhi's efforts
at acquiring the diamond have never moved beyond lip service. The
diamond is currently part of the Queen Mother’s crown jewels.
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