Ruled the Sikh Empire in the Punjab

Princess Bamba Sutherland (1869–1957) was the last member of the family that ruled the Sikh Empire in the Punjab. She returned to Lahore from her childhood in England where she was said to have "lived like an alien in her father’s kingdom.

Bamba Sofia Jindan Daleep Singh was the eldest daughter of Duleep Singh Sukerchakia and his first wife Bamba Müller. She was born on 29 September 1869 in London. She led an unusual life as her father (the ruler of the Punjab) had been brought to Britain as a child under the care of the East India Company, after the close of the Second Anglo-Sikh War and the subsequent annexation of the Punjab on 29 March 1849.

Bamba's future father was forcibly separated from his mother and brought up as a Christian. When Duleep returned from burying his mother in India he married an illegitimate girl who was working at a missionary school in Cairo. He brought her back to England as his wife and they lived a life of luxury and were known to Queen Victoria. Bamba was their first daughter and was named after her mother, her maternal grandmother and her paternal grandmother respectively.The name "Bamba" means pink in Arabic.

Bamba's grandmother, Jind Kaur, suffered a poor life in India after Bamba's father was taken from her. Eventually she was allowed to rejoin her son in England. Duleep collected her after special permission was given. Duleep was allowed by the British to visit India for the second time to bury his mother's ashes after she died in Britain, although the body had to remain at Kensal Green Cemetery for nearly a year whilst this was agreed. His mother's ashes were not allowed to be buried in Lahore but had to be placed in a memorial in Bombay.
Bamba lived at Elveden Hall until her mother died from kidney failure. She and the rest of her brothers and sisters were placed in the care of Arthur Oliphant, who was her father's equerry. There she completed her schooling until she went to Somerville College at Oxford.

Film: Rebel Queen

                             The film Rebel Queen tells the remarkable story of the last Sikh ruler of Lahore – a fearless Maharani who waged two wars against British rule in India. She is an inspiring figure for young Asian women today.

An Indian woman wearing a crinoline over her traditional clothes, and emeralds and pearls under her bonnet, walks in Kensington Gardens in 1861. She is the last Sikh queen of Lahore, the capital of the Punjab empire, and her name is Jindan Kaur. She died two years later, in 1863, and was buried in west London

Maharani Jindan Kaur's life – much of which was spent raging against the British empire for cheating her out of the Punjab, then a vast country stretching from the Khyber Pass to Kashmir – is the subject of a film called Rebel Queen, which premiered at New York's International Sikh film festival and is set to be shown in the UK in February

Maharani Jind Kaur, (1817 – 1 August 1863) was the youngest wife of the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, Ranjit Singh, and the mother of the last Maharaja, Duleep Singh. She was renowned for her beauty, energy and strength of purpose and was popularly known as Rani Jindan, but her fame is derived chiefly from the fear she engendered in the British in India, who described her as "the Messalina of the Punjab".

Kashmir on my mind, have shed my blood there: Army chief

New Delhi, UNINew Delhi, July 09, 2012
Army chief General Bikram Singh's close association with the Kashmir Valley came to the fore today as he shared his feelings with the children from the terrorism-hit area.
"The valley is always on my mind . I have shed blood there,"General Singh said. The school children  from the valley had come to meet the army chief as part of their countrywide tour 'Watan ki Sair'.
The tour is conducted by the Indian Army under Operation Sadbhavana to bring people of Jammu and Kashmir into the mainstream. Receiving the students at the Army headquarter here he reminded them that he was shot at in an encounter in his earlier posting in the state. "Vaadi toh mere jehan mein hai, maine khoon bahaya ha wahan, maine goli khaayee thi (The valley is in my mind, I have shed my blood and have taken bullets)," he said in chaste Hindi and exhorted the students to join the army.
The army chief expressed satisfaction over the improvement in situation in the valley. He expressed the hope that the younger generation of the state would live in peaceful atmosphere.
"How many of you would like to join army?" he asked and almost all the students raised their hands in affirmation.
'Remain committed and be focused in your approach to achieve your goal,' he said while giving tips to these students on how to achieve success in life.
The students invited the army chief to visit to Kashmir. He readily accepted the invitation and told them that he will come to see them in their schools.
Vice chief of army staff Lt General SK Singh, who was also present on the occasion, ruled out any reduction of troops from the valley. Pressure should remain to retain the peaceful atmosphere in the state.
Answering questions, he said anti-peace elements were still active in the valley and constant vigil was needed to maintain peace. He denied the media reports that some battalions were being moved from Jammu and Kashmir to the north-eastern region of the country. "The report is baseless. This is not even under consideration," he added