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Jagatjit Singh

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Colonel Maharajah Sir Jagatjit Singh Sahib Bahadur GCSI, GCIE, GBE, NH (24 November 1872 – 19 June 1949) was the last ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Kapurthala during the British Raj in India, from 1877 until his death, in 1949. He ascended to the throne of Kapurthala state on 16 October 1877 and assumed full ruling powers on 24 November 1890 as well indulging in traveling the world and being a Francophile.[1]

Jagatjit Singh
GCSI, GCIE, GBE, NH
Maharaja of Kapurthala
Reign3 September 1877 – 15 August 1947
Coronation24 November 1890
PredecessorKharak Singh (as Raja)
SuccessorMonarchy abolished
Paramjit Singh (titular ruler)
Born(1872-11-24)24 November 1872
Kapurthala, Kapurthala State, British India
Died19 June 1949(1949-06-19) (aged 76)
Bombay, Bombay State, India
Spousesix wives
Issuefive sons and one daughter
Names
Sir Jagatjit Singh Sahib Bahadur
DynastyAhluwalia dynasty
FatherKharak Singh Sahib Bahadur
MotherAnand Kaur Sahiba
ReligionSikh

Early life and family

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He was born in an Ahluwalia Sikh family. He received the title of Maharaja in 1911. He learned various languages like Punjabi, English, Hindi, French, Spanish, Italian etc. Like his contemporaries Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala and Maharaja Ranbir Singh of Jind, Jagatjit Singh was also a philanthropist, womanizer and alcoholic. When he was young he sang in front of the Viceroy with his friend, the next Maharaja of Dholpur, in French and Italian which outraged many of the visitors.

He was cousin of Sardar Bhagat Singh, one of the few Indian Justices of High Court during the British Raj. His grandson Sukhjit Singh served as a Brigadier in the Indian Army. Another grandson Arun Singh was a Minister in the Rajiv Gandhi government who advised Indira Gandhi to declare Operation Blue Star.

  • First marriage at Paprola, on 16 April 1886, to Maharani Harbans Kaur Sahiba, daughter of Mian Ranjit Singh Guleria of Paprola (died 17 October 1941 in Mussoorie from heart failure). They had two sons.
  • Second marriage at Katoch, 1891, to Rani Parvati Kaur Sahiba, daughter of a Sardar of Katoch (died 20 February 1944 in Kapurthala). They had a son.
    • Amarjit Singh Sahib Bahadur
  • Third marriage at Bashahr, 1892, to Rani Lakshmi Kaur Sahiba, a Princess of a Rajput family from Bashahr (died September 1959 in Kapurthala).
  • Fourth marriage at Jubbal, 1895, to Rani Kanari Sahiba, daughter of the Dewan of Jubbal (died circa 1910). They had a son and a daughter.
  • Fifth marriage at Paris, 28 January 1908 (later divorced), to Rani Prem Kaur Sahiba [née Anita Delgado], (born 1890 in Málaga, Spain, died 7 July 1962 in Madrid, Spain from heart failure). They had a son.
    • Ajit Singh Sahib Bahadur
  • Sixth marriage at Kapurthala, 1942, to Rani Tara Devi Sahiba [née Eugenia Marie Grossupovai]; she was an actress and the daughter of a Czech count.

Early career

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His dream was for Kapurthala to be a 'Paris of the East'. He built from the Jagatjit Palace in a French style modelled on the Palace of Versailles, the Moorish Mosque in the North African style “Maghrebi”, the Kapurthala War Memorial and other sites.

He also built a Gurdwara at Sultanpur Lodhi. An advocate of educational opportunities for girls, Maharaja Jagatjit Singh also supported numerous undertakings to ensure women received proper medical care under schemes first initiated under The Countess of Dufferin Fund which provided medical aid, helped build hospitals and medical facilities exclusively for women.

 
Portrait of the Maharaja of Kapurthala, Jagatjit Singh. Digitized by Panjab Digital Library

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Late career

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He served as the Indian Representative to the League of Nations General Assembly in Geneva in 1925, 1927, and 1929,[2] attended the Round Table Conference in 1931 and was Lt Governor of the PEPSU at the time of his death in 1949, aged 76.

He spent lots of his time travelling, he visited China, Indonesia, Japan, Morocco, Italy, Spain, France, Great Britain, United States of America, Brazil, Argentina and other areas. He had a liking for Japan and France.

He was the first Sikh Maharaja to have cut his Kesh (uncut hair), and was known to have secretly converted to Islam. The Shiromani Akali Dal took on this matter and pressured him. Since 1946 he started becoming closer to his religious heritage and announced that his grandson (Sukhjit Singh) would be a Keshdhari Sikh.

During the Partition of India the 60 percent of Muslims in his state were pushed out by his Kapurthala State Forces to Pakistan, leaving only 1 percent left afterwards.

Death

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Under his leadership, the Kapurthala State joined the Patiala and East Punjab States Union (P.E.P.S.U.) after the Partition of India. Maharaja Jagatjit Singh passed away in 1949.

Honours

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British and Indian

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Foreign

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In media

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See also

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jagatjit Singh.

Footnotes

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  1. ^ Singh, Brig. Sukhjit; Frederick, Cynthia Meera (2019). Prince, Patron & Patriarch ;Maharaja Jagatjit Singh of Kapurthala. New Delhi, India: Roli Books. ISBN 9788193860854.
  2. ^ The League of Nations Photo Collections
  3. ^ "No. 28559". The London Gazette. 8 December 1911. p. 9357.
  4. ^ "No. 26947". The London Gazette. 14 March 1898. p. 1676.
  5. ^ "No. 32178". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 1921. p. 7.
  6. ^ "No. 33333". The London Gazette. 29 November 1927. p. 7662.
  7. ^ Acović, Dragomir (2012). Slava i čast: Odlikovanja među Srbima, Srbi među odlikovanjima. Belgrade: Službeni Glasnik. p. 602.
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Jagatjit Singh
Born: 24 November 1872 Died: 19 June 1949
Regnal titles
Preceded by Raja of Kapurthala
1877–1911 		Himself as
Maharaja
New title Maharaja of Kapurthala
1911–1947 		Succeeded by
Monarchy abolished Accession to the Dominion of India
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