Beyond strategic partnership and diplomatic relationship, India and France are moving on to connect the dots from the past and shared history. France will, in September 2016, commemorate its historic ties with Punjab by installing a statue of Maharaja Ranjit Singh at Saint-Tropez in France, the birth place of his Army General Jean-Francois Allard.
While French officials said the event will help in giving visibility to the Sikh community in France, the Indians involved in the megashow believe this will promote awareness of Sikhism in the country that has had serious issues with the Sikh turban in its schools and colleges. Indians also feel the event will help sensitise authorities and local population about the challenges faced by the French Sikhs. France certainly hopes to calm Sikh sentiments with the show.
Allard served as the military adviser to Maharaja Ranjit Singh from 1822 till his death in 1839 while defending Punjab on an official assignment. During his stay in India, he married Bannu Pan Dei, Princess of Chamba. The statue of Bannu Pan Dei will also be put in Saint Tropez and a series of exhibitions and conferences will be held to highlight India-France relationship particularly in terms of Sikh connection. The event will be integrated into the three months of “Namaste France” organised by the Indian Embassy in Paris.
“This is a first-of-its-
kind programme and a completely new concept. When we talk about heritage it is
always about monuments and buildings. But there is a whole bunch of heritage related issues like this which can foster new India-French relationship. French tourists love to identify with French connection in India and the same is with India. So here is an Indo-French connection that is relatively lesser known but much respected,” said François Richier, Ambassador of France to India.
Gen Allard’s great-great-grandson Henri Prévost-Allard is in India to collect more information about the Gen and Ranjit Singh’s relationship. Henri Prévost-Allard is currently the Deputy Mayor of French city Saint-Tropez.
Over the last 20 years, he has been working towards creating closer ties between India and France, especially between the General’s native city of Saint-Tropez, Punjab and the Sikh community.
As a result of this, the Sikh community from England has offered to put up the statue of Maharaja Ranjit Singh while those in India are trying to help Henri Prévost-Allard collect information about the founder of the Sikh empire and Gen Allard’s relationship and the Indian Princess. Already, a large number of eminent Sikh people are coming forward to support the event. Copies of 19th century portraits of Maharaja Ranjit singh, General Allard and his wife are preserved by the French Government.
“The trip is to put emphasis on ancient link between France and India. I am here to establish contact with the Sikh community and other Indians who had linkage with the French. We will connect places where Gen Allard served and use the information for the exhibition in 2016. And since the Princess created the link it is also important to highlight her contribution,” Henri Prévost-Allard said. In fact, each generation of Gen Allard has been coming to India for the last 20 years to connect with the place. During this trip Henri Prévost-Allard is going to Amritsar, Chandigarh and Ropar where the Allard couple had lived.
Interestingly, Henri Prévost-Allard was recently informed that the grave of Gen Allard and his daughter Marie Charlotte in lahore has been restored. Marie Charlotte was buried in a garden called Kuri Bagh which was once part of Kapurthala House later sold off by Maharaja of Kapurthala. While Gen Allard was buried in lahore his wife was buried in St Tropez.
“Town of Saint-Tropez will be very proud and dedicated to welcome and organise during two days: cultural and economic events event dedicated to put India on the front the stage in France,” said Henri Prévost-Allard. St Tropez with a population of about 4,500 people gets over one lakh tourists in peak season. These include the high-end, rich and famous spending their vacations there. In February, actress Deepika Padukone was there for an advertisement shoot for an apparel brand.