19th century Sikh warrior items newly catalogued at the British Library
(16 June 2008)

A collection of personal effects which once belonged to the renowned Sikh nationalist Bhai Maharaj Singh have recently been re-catalogued on the British Library’s India Office Select Materials catalogue. Bhai Maharaj Singh became an important leader during the second Anglo-Sikh War (1848-49), waging a series of revolts against the British, before he was captured on December 28 1849 by Henry Vansittart (1818-1896), the deputy commissioner of Jalandhar. He was sent by ship to Singapore in May 1850, where he was imprisoned until his death on 5 July 1856.

The collection includes two steel bracelets, a seal ring which is engraved Akal Sahai Maharaj Singh ji (“The Immortal God Protects: Maharaj Singh”), a miniature knife, a conch shell, a needle and thread, as well as three manuscripts once belonging to Bhai Maharaj Singh. Two of the manuscripts are anthologies of hymns from the Adi Granth and the Dasam Granth and the third contains a small selection of miscellaneous documents, including a chronology of the ten Gurus of Sikhism written in verse, and list of auspicious days.

The collection was originally given to the India Office Library between 1925 and 1927 by Henry Vansittart's son. In 1982 the India Office Library became part of the British Library, and the Bhai Maharaj Singh collection moved to the British Library building in St Pancras in 1998.

New catalogue entries for the collection were produced as part of the British Library’s ongoing remit to make its collections available for researchers online. The catalogue entries for the objects will be online from 20 June 2008 and detailed online catalogue entries for the manuscripts will soon be posted on the United Kingdom Punjab Heritage Association’s website. For conservation reasons, the items are classified as restricted access, but can be made available to researchers after discussion with curatorial staff.

Jennifer Howes, Curator of Art Objects in the Asia Pacific and Africa Collections at the British Library, commented: “These objects are of international importance to anyone interested in Sikh heritage. Preparing online catalogue entries for them has been a real honour. I am pleased that the full story behind these exceptional items is now available to researchers worldwide.”