The Last Queen Book Review: An incredibly immersive book, 'The Last Queen' by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is a detailed story exploring the life of Rani Jindan Kaur, the courageous and last Queen of Punjab. Set in 1839, the iconic era pays the finest attention to historical details as it also marked the glorious rule of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, known as the 'Lion of Punjab'. [SUBSCRIBE TO MY WEEKLY NEWSLETTER ON SUBSTACK]
Chitra Divakaruni's The Last Queen: Story of Rani Jindan Kaur
A rich detailed account follows to articulate the rise of the beautiful and courageous young girl from a remote village in Punjab who goes on to become the Last Queen. Not only does Jindan use her intelligence to ward off the jealous and menacing moves of the other wives of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, she also wins the loyalty of the Khalsa army and the respect of the powerful nobles.
She makes it her life's mission to fight the deceitful schemes of the British and safeguard the throne and the famous Kohinoor diamond to its rightful heir - her son who is not even an year old at the time that his father Maharaja Ranjit Singh dies.
Traveling alone to safety with her son all the way to Kashmir and then returning to Amritsar, you can sense the dangerous times that the Last Queen lived through with courage and poise.
A striking characteristic of the Last Queen is that Rani Jindian Kaur does not give up trying.
Be it fighting the British at every point when they try to use their muscle power and money power to browbeat her son's rightful inheritance or when her own son is deceptively taken away to Britian and converted to Christianity, Rani Jindan Kaur dedicates her life to change her own son's unconventional choices.
Sifting between the roles and responsibilities as Queen and as mother to a future King, the book also reveals the hidden faultlines of the period itself such as the network of spies, the palace intrigues and web-like control of many royal influencers.
Chitra Divakaruni establishes beyond doubt her mastery of retelling timeless stories through the eyes of women who were wronged and ignored by history.
It's the kind of deeply immersive book that you can see playing out in front of you.
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The tricky part of the historical narrative - where Rani Jindan Kaur is candid about her relationship with another man. This is treated with deep sensitivity even as it is she who makes the first move and later takes responsibility for her actions. [BOOK REVIEW: Is Padmavati a real story?]
I felt terribly sad to read about how her young son was smuggled out of the country by the British, 'adopted' by the Queen and how, like a musk deer that is unware of its own fragrance, the young man knelt down and presented India's famed Kohinoor back to the British Queen herself.
Not realising the glory of Punjab, the son of Maharaja Ranjit Singh unknowingly tosses away his own royal legacy to please the Queen.
Indeed Punjab's fiery Last Queen, Jindan Kaur must have suffered deep anguish.
In her last years, she shows her remarkable will power and determination to persuade her son to see the true colours of the British - which was to solely steal his title, his legacy as the son and heir of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, strip him of his royal titles and possessions and convert him into a symbolic 'Christian' - all at the cost of preserving the glory and might of the British kingdom.
With 'The Last Queen', Chitra Divakaruni shows us the life of Rani Jindan Kaur, the youngest, boldest and most beautiful wife of Sher-e-Punjab Ranjit Singh, thereby showcasing to the world a woman's view of what really happened in Punjab's glorious history and how it was brought down by foul play of the British.
Through 'The Last Queen', I absolutely loved reading the story of Rani Jindan Kaur.
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