Pratap Singh Ju Deo
| Pratap Singh | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||
| Maharaja of Orchha | |||||
| Reign | 15 March 1870 – 3 March 1930 | ||||
| Predecessor | Hamir Singh | ||||
| Successor | Vir Singh Ju Deo | ||||
| Born | 3 July 1854 | ||||
| Died | 3 March 1930 (aged 75) | ||||
| Issue |
| ||||
| |||||
| House |  Orchha | ||||
| Dynasty | Bundela | ||||
Pratap Singh Ju Deo was the Maharaja of Orchha from 1874 until his death in 1930.
Birth
[edit]He was born on 3 July 1854.[1]
Succession
[edit]After the death of his brother, Hamir Singh, in March 1874, he became the Maharaja of Orchha.[2] On this occasion, the British government sent Major A. Mayne to temporarily oversee the administration of the state.[3] On 4 June 1874, Pratap took over the administration, and the British officer was withdrawn in May 1876.[2][3]
Reign
[edit]He took a great interest in girls' education and established a girls' school in 1875, the first of its kind in Bundelkhand.[3] He established a series of schools throughout his dominions, where education was provided free of cost.[3][4] Books were also distributed at no charge, and the state covered students' expenses when they appeared for university examinations.[3][4] In 1876, he established regular courts of justice and organized the police force.[3][4] He abolished all transit duties in Orchha in 1880.[2] In 1895, he established a postal system in Orchha.[4] During the Indian famine of 1896–1897, he worked tirelessly to provide famine relief.[4] The famine relief efforts cost a total of 1,300,000 rupees.[3][4] The women who observed purdah were given suitable work.[4] Those who could not work received grains daily from the state granaries.[4] He combated the famine of 1905 with the same zeal.[4] He attended the Delhi durbars of 1877, 1903, and 1911.[5] At the Durbar of 1911, his grandsons, Vir Singh and Karan Singh, were selected to serve as pages to George V and Charles Hardinge, the Governor-General of India, respectively.[5] During his state entry into Delhi for the Delhi durbar of 1911, he was accompanied by his eldest son, Pritchard, the Political Agent in Bundelkhand, and the Madur-ul-Maham.[6] His procession included a cavalry escort, richly caparisoned state horses, spearmen, mace-bearers, chhata (transl. umbrella), suraj-mukhi (transl. sun-face), pankha (transl. fan) and bearers carrying Ganges water.[6] There was also a silver and gold palanquin, chanwars (transl. yak tail whiskers), morchals (transl. peacock feather whiskers), aftaba, pandan (transl. betel nut box), itardan (transl. bottle used to hold attar), and other paraphernalia.[6] His mounted personal attendants wore elaborate gold embroidery, and he was followed by the Raja of Dhar.[6] In 1924, he celebrated the golden jubilee of his reign by opening schools, remitting taxes, introducing the Gajshahi rupee, and constructing a Jubilee Hall in the palace.[7] He settled 217 villages, excavated 73 tanks, and dug 7,086 wells.[7] This significantly improved people's lives and increased agricultural productivity.[7] He constructed several buildings and architectural structures.[7]
Personal life
[edit]He married and had three children: two sons and a daughter.[8] His eldest son, Bhagwant Singh, predeceased him in 1920.[8] His younger son, Sawant Singh, was adopted by Bhan Pratap Singh, the Maharaja of Bijawar, and succeeded his adoptive father in June 1900.[8] His daughter married Vishwanath Singh, the Maharaja of Chhatrapur, in 1884 and died in 1921.[8]
Death
[edit]He died on 3 March 1930 and was succeeded by his grandson, Vir Singh.[9]
Titles, styles, salute and honours
[edit]Titles and styles
[edit]In 1882, the Government of India conferred upon him the title of Sawai and, in 1886, granted him the hereditary title of Saramad-i-Rajah-i-Bundelkhand.[2][10] He also held the titles Bharat Dharma Ratnakar and Yog Vidya Vinod.[5] His titles were:
- His Highness Saramad-i-Rajah-i-Bundelkhand Mahendra Maharaja Sawai Sir Pratap Singh Ju Deo Bahadur, Bharat Dharma Ratnakar, Yog Vidya Vinod, Maharaja of Orchha.[5][11]
Salute
[edit]As the ruler of Orchha, he was entitled to a fifteen-gun salute.[2][5] However, the Government of India later increased it to seventeen as a personal distinction.[2][12]
Honours
[edit]He was appointed GCIE in 1898 and GCSI in 1906.[11] He was made KCB in 1901.[13] The University of Oxford conferred upon him an honorary Doctorate of Civil Law in 1911.[13]
References
[edit]- ^ Not Available (1911). Whos Who In India Vol 1. pp. 40–42.
- ^ a b c d e f India (1892). A collection of treaties, engagements, and sunnuds relating to India and neighbouring countries, compiled by C.U. Aitchison, revised and continued by A.C. Talbot. [With] An index, compiled by M. Belletty. revised. pp. 9–10.
- ^ a b c d e f g India, Central (1907). The Central India State Gazetteer Series. Thacker, Spink. pp. 36–64.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i ACL-ARCH 00269 Indian Princes And The Crown. pp. 333–336.
- ^ a b c d e The Imperial Publishing Co., Lahore. His Imperial Majesty King George 5 And The Princes Of India And The Indian Empire ( Historical Biographical) Compiled By K. R. Khosla, 1937, Lahore The Imperial Publishing Co., Lahore. p. 39.
- ^ a b c d The Historical Record of the Imperial Visit to India, 1911. government of India. 1914. pp. 80–81.
- ^ a b c d Pradesh (India), Madhya; Krishnan, V. S. (1995). Madhya Pradesh District Gazetteers: Tikamgarh. Government Central Press. p. 73.
- ^ a b c d Not Available (1933). Memoranda On The Indian States 1930. pp. 43–45, 48–49.
- ^ A Collection of Treaties Engagements and Sanads: Relating to India and Neighbouring Countries (Vol-V). Government of India central publication branch,Calcutta. 1930. pp. 8–11.
- ^ Lethbridge, Sir Roper (1900). The Golden Book of India. A Genealogical and Biographical Dictionary of the Ruling Princes, Chiefs, Nobles, and Other Personages, Titled Or Decorated, of the Indian Empire. With an Appendix for Ceylon. S. Low, Marston & Company. pp. 225–226.
- ^ a b Vadivelu, A. (1915). The Ruling Chiefs, Nobles & Zamindars of India. G.C. Loganadham. pp. 162–163.
- ^ Purushotam Vishram Mawjee (1911). (1911) Imperial durbar album of the Indian princes, chiefs and zamindars, Vol. I. p. 137.
- ^ a b Debrett's Illustrated Peerage and Baronetage, Titles of Courtesy and the Knightage. Kelly's Directories. 1917. p. 941.
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