3837 1 Rani Jindan entered Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s life in his sunset years, but managed to find a pride of place in his heart and subtly came to wield influence over him. Vikramdeep Johal For long a mere footnote in the history of Punjab, Maharani Jind Kaur or Rani Jindan has gained much-deserved prominence in recent years through books, plays and films. Kavi Raz’s 2017 movie ‘The Black Prince’ featured veteran actor Shabana Azmi as Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s youngest wife, a feisty woman who fought hard — but in vain — to save the Sikh Empire (1799-1849) from being wiped out by the rampaging, scheming British. The Queen and her beloved son, Maharaja Dalip (or Duleep) Singh, also figured in ‘Kohinoor: The Story of the World’s Most Infamous Diamond’ (2018), authored by William Dalrymple and Anita Anand, and Navtej Sarna’s ‘The Exile’ (2016). Now comes ‘The Last Queen’, a fictionalised first-person account by Rani Jindan herself.