Monday, 29 June 2009

The first sikh settler in UK

I was surfing BBC website and I came across an article about first recorded sikh settler in UK.

"The first recorded Sikh settler in Britain was Maharajah Duleep Singh. Duleep Singh was the last ruler of the Sikh kingdom of Punjab.

The Maharajah was dethroned after six years' rule, and exiled to Britain in 1849 at the age of 14, after the Anglo-Sikh wars.

There is a statue to the Maharajah at Butten Island, Thetford, Norfolk, near the Elveden Estate where he lived in Britain. The statue was unveiled by the Prince of Wales in 1999.

Despite the early arrival of the Maharajah, the first Sikh Gurdwara (temple) was not established until 1911, at Putney in London."

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/sikhism/history/britishsikhism.shtml

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