Princess Catherine Duleep Singh, daughter of Maharaja Duleep Singh and sister to Princess Sophia Duleep Singh, is today known as a suffragist, a queer pioneer, and for being instrumental in aiding the escape of many Jewish families from Germany during the second World War. She is also known to have moved to Germany in 1908 with her former governess and life partner, Lina Schafer, next to whom she also asked to be buried when she died. Today, we see them as a queer, interracial couple, and we see Catherine as an example of heroic South Asian queer representation.
The piece I chose for the Undefining Queer collection is a saree belonging to the princess. A saree presents as a symbol of her South Asian heritage that she remained close to despite her upbringing in British society and education, as well as that of her expression of her femininity and feminist values. A saree holds the history of the craftsmanship and artistry that was opposed by colonization, as the expression of South Asian heritage and identity was diminished and squashed in hopes of controlling and dominating the society. The saree is therefore a symbol of the opposition to these attempts and a rebellion against the erasure of the heritage, which feels very reminiscent of Catherine’s character as she spent her life rebelling against patriarchal and heteronormative norms. Her queerness presents the saree as a symbol of living a queer life, free to self-express against societal norms and binary boxes.
And so, my choice of this piece is an attempt to reflect my personal interpretation of what it means to live a queer and empowered life, and also an attempt to represent South Asian heritage in this collection.
By Arshya Mittal, 2022.
Listen to an audio description of this gold thread and silk brocade or kinkhab, which was part of the acquisition of the last Maharaja of Punjab- Duleep Singh, written and recorded by (Un)Defining Queer Participant Arshya:
Queering The Whitworth 
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