Jind Kaur was born to Manna Singh and Mataji Kaur, in village Chicharwali, of Sialkot district, Gujranwala, Sikh Empire (now Pakistan). She was the third daughter of her parents. She was said to be very beautiful, because of which she was also named ‘Chanda’ (moon) at a young age. Her father, Manna Singh, was a caretaker at the royal kennel of the Lahore Darbar. Not much information is available about her early life because of the lack of sources. Her beauty caught the attention of the Maharaja, who sought her hand from her father. She was married to Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1835 at the age of 18.
From 1843 to 1846, Maharani Jindan Kaur served as the final monarch of the Sikh Empire. She was the mother of the final Maharaja, Duleep Singh, and the youngest wife of the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, Ranjit Singh. She and Sikhs learned the same two lessons from self-sovereignty: to dominate or to resist. Even though her principal role in history was that of Maharaja Ranjit Singh's wife and the mother of the last Sikh king, Maharani Jind Kaur (1817–1863), also known as Rani Jindan, made a reputation for herself.
Also Read: Maharaja Ranjit Singh: First Maharaja of Sikh Empire
She became recognized as Rani Mai or the Queen Mother by several contemporaneous writers from Europe and the local country as a result of her status and position. But the main reason for her fame was the anxiety she caused the British. Her narrative is one of a great mother who battled to preserve her late husband's royal legacy through the use of her son Duleep Singh. Her story is heartbreaking and uplifting in equal measure.
The British in India referred to her Maharani Jindan as "the Messalina of Punjab" because of her ethereal beauty and courage. The British compared the Queen to Queen Valeria Messalina, the Empress of the Roman Empire, even though they had few things in common, to harm her reputation and seize control of the country.
With the support of the troops, the ferocious Maharani Jindan seized power and removed her veil. She reinstated a balance between the army and the civil government and reestablished the Supreme Council of the Khalsa. She presided over the court, conducted official business in the open, and addressed and evaluated the troops. Overall, Maharani Jindan Kaur fought valiantly against the colonizers.
Also Read: Guru Angad Dev Ji: Gurmukhi Script
