What Punjab’s last Maharaja and an Ethiopian Prince had in common Maharaja Duleep Singh and Prince Alemayehu did not have an easy time in England despite their royal lineage and “imperial” benefactor. And their remaining there was also a consequence of geopolitics—protecting British commercial and political interests The connection between India and Ethiopia—once called Abyssinia—goes back a long way. Thanks to more recent dissemination of information (particularly via social media, not textbooks) many Indians now know not only about Razia Sultan’s Abyssinian lover Jamaluddin Yaqut but about the Ethiopian mercenaries who came to India to fight battles for many kingdoms in the Deccan including Malik Ambar and Ikhlas Khan. But there’s a more recent link. This week there’s news that Britain has turned down yet another request from Ethiopia to return the remains of their young Prince Alemayehu, who lies buried among many British monarchs, aristocrats and clergy inside St...
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