Sophia Singh- The forgotten princess of Punjab
- Ankita Mohanty
- Mar 2, 2021
- 5 min read
By Ankita Mohanty
Princess Sophia Duleep Singh, daughter of Maharaja Duleep Singh, was a member of the women’s political and social union, a proud brown aristocrat whose Godmother was the queen of England and her grandfather was Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
Yet, we aren’t here to talk about her exemplary lineage. We are here to talk about the quintessential Sophia-the darling of the British ton and an Indian princess.
“An embarrassment to the Empire for her ‘antics’ and her connection with Indian revolutionaries, Sophia was the quintessential Sikh, who stood up for the weakest.” – Anita Anand in ‘Sophia: Princess, Suffragette, and Revolutionary’
Born into an illustrious ancestry of eighteenth-century India, Sophia Duleep Singh was the Sikh princess fathered by Duleep Singh who was sent to exile in England indefinitely at the tender age of 15. He had been forced to abdicate his kingdom to the East India Company at age 11 and gave the famous 'Koh-i-noor' diamond to Lord Dalhousie.
Sophia’s Upbringing
Sophia Duleep Singh was born in 1876 and was the youngest daughter of Duleep Singh and his first wife, Bamba Muller. Queen Victoria was Sophia’s godmother and their traditional English estate was transformed into a Mughal palace with an ornate and exotic interior by the exiled Maharaja. It housed leopards, beneath the nursery and jewel-coloured parrots. By age 10, Sophia was well aware of her tumultuous identity and the baggage that came with it.
It was in 1886 that Duleep Singh sailed to India on the qualms of conquering his birthright but was soon arrested. Befitted by his failed attempt at redemption Duleep Singh fell into gambling, drinking and debt and that led to his early demise. Sophia along with her 5 siblings found themselves orphaned and in a dire need of housing. Queen Victoria who was rather fond of our princess let her stay at the Hampton Court. Now, this may try to paint the British monarchy in a flattering light but the readers must understand that Sophia was a princess who had immense wealth and power. Unfortunately due to the crude wiles of imperialists the wealth was filling the already full coffers of the British Empire.
Sophia in her early years was a celebrity of sort. She, with her fashionable address, wore Parisian dresses, bred championship dogs, pursued photography and cycling, and attended parties. The elite British society had already claimed her as the darling of the ton with her life revolving around parties and photoshoots. The glamour and glitz of peerage- all came to a halt when she visited India in 1907.
The great Transformation
It was during her visit to India that she confronted with everything they have lost. She would leave London- a high society darling and return as a revolutionary/pioneering rebel.
The reaction that she received from the poor in particular made her realise just what an extraordinary leader her grandfather Ranjit Singh must have been. Everywhere she went she could hear murmurs about how great her lineage was and all she could see was the acute poverty that had surrounded her fallen kingdom. Her trip coincided with the growing political moment for India’s independence and Sophia found herself influenced by revolutionaries like Lala Lajpat Rai.
In the meantime, Bamba-her sister- couldn’t pursue medicine to become a surgeon in Germany, because it was ruled out as a profession for women, by virtue of legislation. Her other sister had to live a life of secrecy in Germany because she had fallen in love with a woman. Huddled by injustices inflicted on her people and family she was filled with revolutionary fervour.
She realized how little women had control over their lives and were constantly governed by a society that was perceived through the male gaze. This Punjabi princess had discovered her Sikh warrior spirit.
And that was the beginning a very long journey towards suffrage.
Involvement in Suffrage moment
Her experience in India had a lasting effect on her, and she went on to become a militant activist for women’s rights in 1909. Emmeline Pankhurst, the woman Suffragette pioneer, selected Sophia as a leading member of the Women’s Tax Resistance League. Because Sophia enjoyed a premium position in British peerage, her standing up for the cause of women right became pivotal.
"Taxation without representation is a tyranny… I am unable to pay money to the state, as I am not allowed to exercise any control over its expenditure.” – Sophia’s reply in court, on being charged with refusal to pay licence fees and rates.’
Princess Sophia refused to pay taxes on her carriage, servants and dogs. She fought for British women, voicing the slogan “no taxation without representation”.
On the day that is now considered ‘The Black Friday’, Sophia marched with 300 women to the House of Commons. The Suffragettes’ campaign involved political lobbying, chaining themselves to railings, smashing windows and starving themselves to the point of death in prison. She was indeed a brave woman- a woman of colour, courage & compassion.
It was in 1921 all women were given the right to vote.
Her legacy
It was a strange paradox of her placement in social convention and divided loyalties which dissuaded her from being a leader in the real sense. She was an Indian princess with a lost kingdom fighting for women who wanted equal leverage. Her brown skin and her honed determination rendered her one of the pioneering characters of the Suffrage movement.
The defiant Princess refused to pay both taxes and fines for non-payment. She threw herself at the prime minister’s car, fought the police, bankrolled suffragettes and refused to pay her taxes – goading the authorities to throw her into prison. King George V was so vexed by her behaviour that he exclaimed: “Have we no hold on her?”
Before her death, in 1948, she was asked to contribute to Who’s Who. Her entry was brief. Under ‘interests’, she wrote: ”The Advancement of Women”. She died at the age of 71. It was her final wish to be cremated like a Sikh. She left money in her will to 3 schools- 3 girl schools- one was Hindu, one was Muslim and one was Sikh.
The reason why I did this piece on her is because of how much her courage helped in shifting the balance of power. It was her along, with countless many, whose sacrifices made us enjoy the basic rights that we do right now. If a brown woman in a dominant white society could bring a change, so could you. She could not find a reference in our history books. I figured she should find a reference in our heart.
For the change to come discussions are to be made and stories are to be retold. Again and again-until change is real
So, let’s talk
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❤️ interesting