By Bobby Singh Bansal 

Fridy Times: 07 Oct 2016

Bobby Singh Bansal on the historical link between Punjab and south France

 

The bust of the Sikh emperor Maharaja Ranjit Singh (famously known as Sher-e-Punjab) was unveiled at Allard Square in St Tropez, in the south of France, on Saturday, the 17th of September 2016. The unique military ceremony was attended by over 300 guests from various countries and local French officials.
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had handed over the bust to the French ambassador to India, Alexander Ziegler, during the latter’s visit to Punjab Bhawan in Chandigarh on the 12th of July earlier this year.

The project was initiated in 2015 by myself, along with Ranjit Singh Goraya, a representative of ‘Sikhs des France’ and based in Paris, along with St Tropez Municipal Council and Tourism Department. The 110kg bronze bust was installed with a military guard of honour at St Tropez, which was the birthplace of the French General Jean Francois Allard, who served in the Maharaja’s army.

General Allard played a key role in modernising the Sikh army
General Allard was one of the most trusted officers of the Maharaja, who played a key role in modernising the Sikh army and arrived in Lahore with General Ventura, an Italian, in 1822. The following year they both formed the Fauj-i-Khas or Royal Brigade, which became the elite unit of the mighty Sikh army and took part in the Battle of Naushera: defeating the Afghan forces of Azim Khan Barakzai in 1823. By 1827, numerous European mercenaries had descended on the Punjab frontier, hoping to enlist in the service of Maharaja Ranjit Singh – much to the alarm of the British in Calcutta. These were men such as General Avitabile – a ruthless Italian who eventually became an administrator – who became governor of Wazirabad and Peshawar from 1838 to 1842 and the Frenchman General Claude Court, whose expertise in modernising the Sikh artillery was exemplary.

Generals Allard and Ventura were gifted the tomb of Anarkali as their official residence in Lahore, which today serves as the Punjab Secretariat. There is even a plaque that commemorates their historical association with the structure today. Allard was one of the few officers not only respected by his own regiment but the Maharaja himself – he arranged Allard’s marriage to a Punjabi princess, Bannu Pan Dei from Chamba (now in Himachal Pradesh) – whose bust was also unveiled during the ceremony. Becoming Ranjit Singh’s most loyal confidante, especially on foreign policy, General Allard along with General Hari Singh Nalwa accompanied the Maharaja to the historic meeting with the Governor-General of India Lord William Bentinck at Ropar in 1831. Maharaja Ranjit Singh was quite apprehensive and filled with doubts about the entire affair with the British, whose ulterior motives were detected by the Sikh entourage and seen as being counter to the interests of the Lahore Durbar. The Punjabi rulers contemplated cancelling it, had it not been for General Allard’s shrewd guidance and advice. And so that the meeting on the banks of the Sutlej River went ahead.

After serving the Maharaja for over twelve years, General Allard sought permission from the Maharaja to take leave with his family, to go back to France in 1834. He now had five children. It is said when it came to leaving, it was an emotional affair: both the Maharaja and General Allard parted tearfully in the Lahore fort. When asked by the Maharaja why he was going to France, he is supposed to have said, “It is because I need to show my family from where I come from and wish that my children meet their uncles, aunts and grandparents and I promise that I shall return to Lahore!”

Sadly General Allard kept his solemn promise to return to Lahore in the winter of 1837, but without his family – who had stayed behind in St Tropez. He was greeted ceremoniously by the Maharaja, who had been quite ill at the time. Allard simply resumed his post in Peshawar, where he died suddenly in 1839. His body was brought back to Lahore by troops from his own regiment who had lined the streets of Lahore where his body was interned, much to the sadness of the Maharaja.

General Ventura

A depiction of General Allard and his family from the Punjab, dating back to the early 1830s
Ranjit Singh arranged Allard’s marriage to a Punjabi princess, Bannu Pan Dei from Chamba
The ceremony at St. Tropez was well attended by French officials, India’s former chief of Army, General JJ Singh, Indian ambassador to France Mr. Mohan Kumar, Colonel Harinder Singh Attari and Dinesh Singh Attari (both descendants of Sham Singh Attariwala), the mayor of St Tropez, Jean Tuveri, French historian Jean Marie Lafont, Henri Allard (fifth descendant of General Allard) and and Ranjit Singh Goraya (Sikhs des France).
General Allard’s great-great grandson Henri Allard, who is now the deputy Mayor of St Tropez, seriously considered our proposal, which was instantly approved by the local French authorities. The national anthems of France and India were also played on the occasion which marked the historic occasion. The bust of Maharaja Ranjit Singh installed at Allard Square in Saint Tropez was a resounding success due to a dedicated team. It will give visibility to the Sikhs and Punjabis in Europe and help to promote and preserve the historical links between Punjab and Europe – especially France.
Bobby Singh Bansal, a British born Sikh writer, has been working on Sikh heritage since 1989 and has travelled to the remote regions of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border to compile material for his new book Remnants of the Sikh Empire – Historical Sikh Monuments in Pakistan and India