Bijai Singh

Bijai Singh
Maharawal
Maharawal of Dungarpur
Reign1898 – 1918
Coronation1898
Investiture27 February 1909
PredecessorUdai Singh II
SuccessorLaxman Singh
Born(1887-07-17)17 July 1887
Died15 November 1918(1918-11-15) (aged 31)
Spouse
  • Devendra Kanwar
Issue
House Dungarpur
DynastySisodia
FatherKhuman Singh

Sir Bijai Singh KCIE (also spelled as Bijay Singh or Vijay Singh) was the Maharawal of Dungarpur from 1898 to 1918.

Early life

Singh was born on 17 July 1887 to Khuman Singh.[1][2][3] While he was five years old, he lost his father, Khuman Singh, and became the heir to the throne of his grandfather, Udai Singh.[4] Shortly afterward, he also lost his mother.[4]

Education

He was educated at Mayo College, Ajmer, where he received the college diploma in 1906.[3][4] He then entered the Imperial Cadet Corps for a brief period of time and later returned to Mayo College to join the post-diploma course.[3] He left the college in 1907.[3]

Reign

He succeeded his grandfather, Udai Singh II, as Maharawal of Dungarpur in February 1898.[2][3] As he was a minor at the time of his succession, the state was placed under direct management, and its administration was carried out by a political agent, assisted by a chief executive officer and a council of two consultative members.[2][5] He was formally invested with full ruling powers by Colonel F. H. Pinhey, the Agent in Rajputana to the Governor-General of India, on 27 February 1909.[4] He had demarcated the Dungarpur's 450 miles of reserved jungles and instituted a regular forest law.[6] He established regular courts of law and constituted the Legislative and Executive Councils in his state.[7] He reorganized the police, customs, and forest departments, modernized the excise department, and introduced the Madras system in his state.[8] During his reign, World War I broke out, and he contributed men and money to the British Government for the war effort.[7] He offered a contingent of 100 men for garrison duty in India and personally accompanied the first installment on 6 May 1918 to Nowgong and returned to Dungarpur on 11 May 1918.[9]

He attended the Delhi Durbar in 1903 and 1911.[2][10]

Personal life

He married Devendra Kanwar, the daughter of the Raja of Sailana, on 19 January 1907.[3][11] They had four sons: Laxman Singh, Virbhadra Singh, Nagendra Singh, and Pradyuman Singh, as well as one daughter, Rama Kumari.[7][12]

Death

He contracted influenza during the 1918–1920 flu pandemic, which later developed into double pneumonia, leading to his death.[13] He died on 15 November 1918 and was succeeded by his son, Laxman Singh, as Maharawal of Dungarpur.[14] He had written a will at the time of his death, stating that the administration of the Dungarpur would be carried out under the guidance of the political agent and a council.[7] During Laxman Singh's minority, which lasted for a decade, Bijai's wife, Devendra Kanwar, played a key role in serving the state's interests, and the political agents frequently sought her advice.[7]

Honours

He was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire by George V in the 1912 Birthday Honours list.[5]

Country Year Honour Class Ribbon Post-nominal letters
 British Raj 1903 Delhi Durbar Medal (1903) Gold
 British Raj 1911 Delhi Durbar Medal (1911) Gold
 United Kingdom 1912 Order of the Indian Empire Knight Commander KCIE

References

  1. ^ Bayley, C. S. (2004). Chiefs and leading families in Rajputana. Public Resource. New Delhi : Asian Educational Services. p. 37. ISBN 978-81-206-1066-8.
  2. ^ a b c d Department, India Foreign and Political (1909). A Collection of Treaties, Engagements and Sanads, Relating to India and Neighbouring Countries. Superintendent Government Printing, India. pp. 22–23.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Memoranda on Native States in India, Together with a List of Independent Ruling Chiefs, Chiefs of Frontier States, and Other Notables with Their Proper Forms of Address. Superintendent Government Print., India. 1911. p. 119.
  4. ^ a b c d Xxxxxxxx (1911). Short History Of The Dungarpur State. pp. 131–132.
  5. ^ a b Vadivelu, A. (1915). The Ruling Chiefs, Nobles and Zamindars of India. G.C. Loganadham. p. 201.
  6. ^ Hughes, Julie E. (1 March 2013). Animal Kingdoms. Harvard University Press. p. 254. ISBN 978-0-674-07478-1.
  7. ^ a b c d e K.K. Sehgal (1974). Rajasthan District Gazetteers: Dungarpur. Jaipur, Government Central Press. p. 36.
  8. ^ Not Available (1946). Report On The Administration Of The Dungarpur State Rajputana. p. 4.
  9. ^ Not Available (1919). Report On The Administration Of The Dungarpur State, Rajputana. p. 3.
  10. ^ The historical record of the imperial visit to India, 1911. John murray, London. 1914. pp. 79, 124, 132, 302.
  11. ^ Ahuja, M. L. (2009). Great Administrators of India. Gyan Publishing House. pp. 57–60. ISBN 978-81-7835-729-4.
  12. ^ Allen, Charles (1984). Lives of the Indian princes. Internet Archive. London : Century Pub. in association with the Taj Hotel Group. pp. 120, 337. ISBN 978-0-7126-0910-4.
  13. ^ Allen, Charles (1984). Lives of the Indian princes. Internet Archive. London : Century Pub. in association with the Taj Hotel Group. p. 301. ISBN 978-0-7126-0910-4.
  14. ^ Not Available (1920). Report On The Administration Of The Dungarpur State, Rajputana For 1918-19. p. 2.