Quote · Empire: World History
369. The First British Indians: The Suffragette Princess (Ep 1)
Where this was said
The Delhi Durbar: First Encounter with Colonial Racism
At 34:07 · chapter starts 31:12
The year 1902 marks the pivot of Sophia's life. The Delhi Durbar — a spectacular celebration of Edward VII's coronation (which Edward himself declined to attend) — is the social event of the Anglo-Indian world, and every one of Sophia's circle is going. But the sisters have no invitation and scheme to attend anyway, booking different ships to avoid detection. What should be a triumphant homecoming — returning to the homeland where their father was Maharaja — is instead a humiliation: British officials treat them with contempt, exclude them from main ceremonies, and shun them entirely. Anand draws the parallel to Gandhi's experience: Indians who flourish in England become colonial subjects the moment they step back on Indian soil. Lahore's streets are named for Victoria; there are statues of the Queen everywhere; no road acknowledges the Sikh rulers. Yet everywhere Sophia travels in Punjab, Sikhs prostrate themselves at her feet calling her 'the lion's cub' and pledging to fight for her. The contrast between colonial erasure and popular Sikh reverence turns her mind completely.
At the 1902 Delhi Durbar, Sophia and her sisters sneaked past the Secretary of State's refusal to find themselves frozen out by British officials and shunned from ceremonies — invisible in the very empire built on their grandfather's land. Then Sikhs prostrated themselves at her feet calling her 'the lion's cub', and she met Lala Lajpat Rai. Nothing would be the same again.
