Editing Duleep Singh (section)

==Early years==
[[File:Maharaja Duleep Singh.jpg|170px|left|thumb|A young Duleep Singh]]

After the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1839, Duleep Singh lived quietly with his mother, [[Jind Kaur]] Aulakh, at [[Jammu]] ruled by [[Gulab Singh]], under the protection of the [[Vizier]], Raja [[Dhian Singh]]. He and his mother were recalled to Lahore in 1843 after the assassinations of Maharaja [[Sher Singh]] and Dhian Singh, and on 16 September, at the age of five, Duleep Singh was proclaimed Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, with Maharani Jind Kaur as Regent.

He was betrothed to Tej Kaur, the granddaughter of Sham Singh Attariwala. However, this betrothal would not be honored once he came under British guardianship.

On 13 December 1845 the British [[East India Company]] declared war on the Sikhs and, after winning the [[First Anglo-Sikh War]], retained the Maharaja as nominal ruler, but replaced the Maharani with a Council of Regency and later imprisoned and exiled her. Over thirteen years passed before Duleep Singh was permitted to see his mother again.

After the end of the [[Second Anglo-Sikh War]] and the subsequent annexation of the Punjab on 29 March 1849,<ref>[http://www.tribuneindia.com/1999/99feb20/saturday/stamped.htm The tragic life of Maharaja Dalip Singh] By Reeta Sharma, ''[[The Tribune (Chandigarh)|The Tribune]]'', 20 February 1999</ref> he was deposed at the age of ten<ref>[http://www.collectbritain.co.uk/personalisation/object.cfm?uid=019XZZ000007381U00009000 Duleep Singh] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090713220346/http://www.collectbritain.co.uk/personalisation/object.cfm?uid=019XZZ000007381U00009000 |date=13 July 2009 }} www.collectbritain.co.uk.</ref> and was put into the care of Dr [[John Spencer Login|John Login]] and sent from Lahore to [[Fatehgarh]] on 21 December 1849, with tight restrictions on who he was allowed to meet. No Indians, except trusted servants, could meet him in private. As a matter of British policy, he was to be culturally anglicised in every possible aspect. His health was reportedly poor and he was often sent to the hill station of [[Landour]] near [[Mussoorie]] in the Lower Himalaya for convalescence, at the time about 4 days' journey.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Misra |first=Prachi Raturi |date=4 September 2016 |title=Mussoorie memories of a boy king |work=The Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/dehradun/mussoorie-memories-of-a-boy-king/articleshow/54007802.cms |access-date=24 August 2023}}</ref> He would remain for weeks at a time in Landour at a grand hilltop building called ''The Castle'', which had been lavishly furnished to accommodate him.<ref name=":0" />

===Conversion to Christianity===
[[File:Duleep Singh on the Lower Terrace of Osbourne, 1854.jpg|thumb|Duleep Singh, aged 16, on the Lower Terrace of [[Osborne House]], [[Isle of Wight]] in 1854]]

In 1853, under the tutelage of his long-time retainer Bhajan Lal (himself a Christian convert), he converted to [[Christianity]] at Fatehgarh Sahib with the approval of the Governor-General [[James Broun-Ramsay, 1st Marquess of Dalhousie|Lord Dalhousie]]. His conversion remains controversial, and it occurred before he turned 15. He later had serious doubts and regrets regarding this decision and reconverted to Sikhism in 1886.{{who said|date=June 2021}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Campbell |first=Christy |date=2008 |title=The Maharajah's Box |publisher=Harper Collins |page=100 |isbn=978-0-00-653078-7}}</ref>

He was also heavily and continuously exposed to Christian texts under the tutelage of the devout [[John Spencer Login|Sir John Spencer Login]]. His two closest childhood friends were both English [[Anglican]] missionaries. In May 1854 he was sent into exile in Britain.