Sophia: Princess, Suffragette, Revolutionary

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This is an interesting history of both the British in India and women's fight for the vote, and all the oppression that went with them. Princess Sophia Duleep Singh and her ancestors provide an excellent lens through which to view those histories. Gethin says: I think it's a book that everyone should have. It's a brutally honest account of how David Nott steps away from his day-to-day life as a general and vascular surgeon and goes to work in the heart of war zones around the world. It does go into quite graphic detail about situations, but also talks about the impact of his experiences and what he's learned. History isn’t just about dates and events. It’s about human beings doing things to other human beings and I am completely compelled by this,” Anand says. The book very much tells the story on its own terms and historical context. There is no attempt made to try and link events to current events and themes. Overall this is refreshing (such comparisons are frequently over-bearing, presumptuous – the reader can choose to draw her/his own links and anachronistic). Biography of Sophia Duleep Singh, granddaughter of Ranjit Singh the legendary Maharajah of the Sikh Empire, her father Duleep (Ranjit’s youngest son and the last Maharajah) was effectively the puppet ruler of the Kingdom under British governance before being deposed (having signed over the Empire and the Koh-i-Noor diamond to Queen Victoria), Anglicised and then exiled to England where he became a favourite of Queen Victoria and where Sophia was born (with Victoria as her godmother). She later became a prominent and controversial (given her links to the Royal Family and the sensitivity of the British Rule in the Raj) campaigner both for Indian rights in England (campaigning both for Lascars and later for injured WWI Sepoys) and for woman’s rights (becoming an increasingly prominent and militant Suffragette, particularly in the Women’s Tax Resistance League).

Wow, I really loved this book. All the way through, except for the very beginning, which now in retrospect I think was good. I was going to give the book four stars. By the end, I realized I had come to know Sophia so very well and I liked her so very much that I simply had to give the book five stars. I was happy that the author focused on Princess Sophia Alexandra Duleep Singh (1876 – 1948), even though any of the siblings could have been the focus of a book. M.S. Merian - R. Tagore International Centre of Advanced Studies in the Humanities and Social Sciences: Metamorphoses of the Political (ICAS:MP), New Delhi, India Anand has presented the BBC Radio 4 show Midweek, and on television she has been a presenter on the Heaven and Earth Show. She has co-presented the Daily Politics on BBC Two with Andrew Neil from September 2008, with a break for maternity leave from January to September 2010. Bio of Indian suffragette Princess Sophia Duleep Singh. This is an absolutely amazing story. Sophia was the daughter of Duleep Singh, the last maharaja of the Sikh empire who was forced to sign over his power to the British Raj as a boy. She was brought up in England, god-daughter of Queen, yet still treated like a second class citizen, and she found her purpose in fighting alongside the suffragettes. She tried her hardest to get arrested, used her power for publicity, and then when war broke out she made a spectacular contribution to funds for sepoys (Indian soldiers, grossly underequipped by the British) and worked as a nurse for Sikh soldiers. All this while suffering from lifelong and dreadful depression and a spectacularly terrible family life. These questions have yielded three books so far, and the popular ongoing podcast Empire, which Anand co-hosts with the historian William Dalrymple.Anand is a patron of the Richmond Society [17] and of the Museum of Richmond. [19] See also [ edit ] My first major role on an award-winning, crowd-rousing, primetime British television show, Bodyguard, as the suicide-bomber Nadia, became a national talking point on the portrayal of South Asian women on screen. To be the poster person of this timely moment of discourse felt terrifying. It made me question my internal GPS: what was my own position in this global conversation on representation? The enthralling story of an extraordinary woman and her part in the defining moments of recent British Indian history

What do you do if you are the daughter of an estranged Indian royal family marooned in the heart of late-Victorian and Edwardian London? You join the ranks of the various revolutionaries and other assorted malcontents, while maintaining social proprieties to the very end. But most of all she obsessed about her pooches, refusing suggestions that she might put the dogs in steerage with her maid, and “adamant that she was the best person to care for them, she fed the dogs on fine cuts of meat and the occasional nip of brandy”. Although Sophia was involved in a number of causes during her life, I was left with the feeling that her passionate nature resulted in her being caught up in the causes of others rather than those that might have been her own choice without their influence, and that on some level she was used by them. Less emphasis was put on her work on behalf of Indian soldiers and the lascars, although these seemed to be causes that were not unique to her, but ones which she chose without undue influence. Anand has also written articles for India Today and The Asian Age newspaper, and used to write a regular column in The Guardian ("Anita Anand's Diary", 2004–2005 [10] [11]). Whenever I go to vote, I cry. The thought of the women who came before me and fought for what I have now, moves me to tears. Reading the legacy of Princess Sophia Duleep Singh and her place in the fight, brought it all the more close to my heart.Last year for the second MISS DARK'S APPARITIONS book I read two books on British relations with India, one dealing with the Koh-I-Noor diamond and the other with Indians in London. Both of them mentioned Princess Sophia Duleep Singh, daughter of the last maharajah of the Punjab who became a firebrand suffragette and supporter of Indian independence. So, I decided to catch her biography on audiobook. I'm glad I did, because it was often fascinating. Sophia is the sort of remarkable, almost unbelievable untold true story that every writer dreams of chancing upon. A wonderful debut, written with real spirit and gusto. Anita Anand has produced a winner

In 2022, Anand collaborated with historian William Dalrymple to create the podcast Empire, which examines the British East India Company and British involvement and influence on India. [9] The pair had previously worked together on the book Koh-i-Noor: The History of the World's Most Infamous Diamond. Anand married science writer Simon Singh in 2007. The couple have two sons and live in Richmond, London. [17] [18] Dalrymple, William; Anand, Anita (2017). Koh-i-Noor: The History of the World's Most Infamous Diamond. Bloomsbury Publishing, ISBN 978-1-63557-076-2. Miss Anand writes extremely well. Whilst it is clear that she respects and admires her subject, her writing does not appear to me to be sycophantic; certainly, Sophia is not presented as a paragon of virtue but as committed, caring but sometimes a little eccentric and irascible individual seeking a role in life in a country determined to deny her one. Then the real story begins with Sophia's famed grandfather, who was King of the Punjab, proceeds to discuss her deposed father and mother and finally focuses on Sophia and her surviving five siblings who grew up at the estate Elveden in Suffolk. Here her father recreated a Moghul palace with gardens, leopards, monkeys and exotic birds! Queen Victoria was godmother to both Sophia and her oldest brother Victor. The fabled Koh-I-Noor diamond was in fact her family's. The first half of the book follows all of the siblings, not just Sophia, so the title is a bit deceptive.

Sophia’s letters are gone, but the author has found people who lived with her during the Second World War, evacuees and children and the housemaid. What they have to say is revealing. The book covers the entire lives of all the family members. Meera says: In so many ways I love it. Sophia Duleep Singh was the granddaughter of the last Maharajah of the Punjab. Her father, Duleep Singh, was taken to England and became Queen Victoria's pet. His daughters were all brought up in grace and favour of Queen Victoria. And the deal was: As long as you behave yourself, I will give you all this money. You are my pet. Never think of India again. Duleep Singh was then raised by British people until Queen Victoria decided that he was really cute and wanted him to go to England. She lavished attention on him and considered herself to be his best friend. He was not reunited with his mother until he was an adult. This is an exceptional book highlighting parts of British social, political and economic history through the life of Sophia Duleep Singh.

We publish a Literature Newsletter when we have news and features on UK and international literature, plus opportunities for the industry to share. Until October 2007, Anand presented in the 10:00pm till 1:00am slot on Monday to Thursdays on BBC Radio 5 Live. She went on to co-present the station's weekday Drive (4:00–7:00pm) slot with Peter Allen, having replaced Jane Garvey in 2007. Aasmah Mir replaced her when she left for maternity leave. [6] Anita Anand's gripping book is a sad story of dispossession and dislocation … The story is fast-paced and thrilling … A noble book ****The United Kingdom's international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. Sophia seems to have been a woman in search of a purpose in life. At one point she became a famous socialite and fashion icon; then a successful dog breeder and show competitor; and then abandoned it all to throw herself into the suffragette cause (she was never prosecuted for her militant activities because of her connection to her godmother Queen Victoria). Her life intersected with a whole cast of famous characters and some who should be more famous but aren't--like her, they were women and/or non-whites and their stories were systematically hidden from public view. Anand was privately educated at Bancroft's School in Woodford Green in Redbridge, east London. [4] Anand then entered King's College, London, in 1990, graduating with a BA in English in 1993.