Empire of the Sikhs - SOAS

Thanks to a private donor, we were able to take some young people from Birmingham to London to view the most talked about exhibition of the summer - ‘Empire of the Sikhs’. This exhibition was curated by the United Kingdom Punjab Heritage Association (UKPHA) to help widen knowledge and understanding of Sikh history. The exhibition was held at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS).

On arriving we were greeted by the Chair of UKPHA, Amandeep Madra OBE. We were given a private tour of the exhibition, where we learnt more about the Sikh Empire, the story of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and art pieces that explored stories further. Along the walls were timelines, showing the effect it has on society today. Many young people did not know about the history or story of Maharaja Ranjit Singh so this was a chance to learn more about the men and women featured in the art.

This exhibition was special to the young people we brought with us and they found out about what happens behind the scenes when creating an exhibition for a wide range of audience. They saw with their own eyes a collection of jewellery that was privately loaned for this exhibition. With courtesy of Davinder Toor, a private collector of Sikh art, we learnt more about the jewellery and weaponry that belonged to Maharaja Ranjit Singh and Maharani Jind Kaur. The jaw dropping earrings and necklaces of display were the main talking point!

Our Journey from Home project explores the stories and experiences of South Asian Servicemen during First World War and this exhibition ensured that the young people got to learn what was happening years before war was declared.

After our visit of the exhibition, we took the young people to Constitution Hill to see the Memorial Gates. Located at Hyde Park corner end of Constitution Hill, the war Memorial Gates are free to visit. The Gates commemorate five million men and women that volunteered their services to the Armed Forces during First and Second World War. It commemorates those from the Caribbean, Africa and India. The Memorial Gates were inaugurated in 2002 by HM The Queen. On the side of the gate there is a quote from Ben Okri reading:

“Our future is greater than our past” 

Many of our young people have never visited Central London, and what is a trip to London without a visit to Buckingham Palace!