Punjab's French Connection: French Town Saint Tropez To Install Statue Of Maharaja Ranjit Singh
Darpan News Desk IANS, 20 Jul, 2015 10:11 AM
A statue of Maharaja Ranjit Singh will soon be installed in a coastal town of France following years of efforts by a historian and descendant of a French officer who served under the Sikh king, a media report said on Monday.
The statue will be installed at Saint Tropez along with the statue of General Jean-Francois Allard, who served as a military adviser to the king of Punjab from 1822 to 1839, Sikh24.com reported.
Jean-Francois Allard was an officer in the Napoleon army before being exiled to India in 1822. Maharaja Ranjit Singh appointed him to train his royal brigade -- Fauj-e-Khas.
The installation of the statue has been made possible by Henri Prevost Allard, who is the deputy mayor for tourism of Saint Tropeza and a direct descendant of Jean-Francois.
One hundred and fifty years after the end of the American civil war, South Carolina's Indian-American governor Nikki Haley finally added her powerful voice to growing demands for removing the rebel Confederate flag from the State Capitol.
A memorial service was held in the Irish village of Ahakista in County Cork on Tuesday to honour the Air India Flight 182 crash victims who died when a bomb exploded on board off the Irish coast 30 years ago, media reported.
A Dubai-based Indian woman has sought financial aid from local residents for treatment of her ill and prematurely-born baby, media reported on Tuesday.
