Nihal_Singh

Nihal Singh

Nihal Singh

Maharaj-Rana of Dholpur from 1873 until his death in 1901

Nihal Singh CB (4 May 1863 – 20 July 1901) was the Maharaj-Rana of Dholpur from 1873 until his death in 1901.

Quick Facts Maharaj-Rana of Dholpur, Reign ...

Early life

Nihal Singh was born on 4 May 1863, to Kulendra Singh, the heir-apparent of Dholpur, who was born in 1863 and passed away in 1870, and his wife, Basant Kaur, the daughter of Narendra Singh, the Maharaja of Patiala, who died in 1888.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

Marriage

He married Harbans Kaur, the second daughter of Shahzada Shahdeo Singh, grandson of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, on 30 April 1879, by whom he had two sons, Ram Singh and Udai Bhan Singh.[7][3]

Reign

He succeeded his grandfather, Bhagwant Singh, as a minor to the throne on 9 February 1873.[8][9][2]

Minority

Dinkar Rao was appointed as a guardian to oversee the general administration of the state, granting him general powers of control.[10][11][12][6] However, these powers were subject to the overall control of British authorities.[6] Due to his ill health, he resigned shortly thereafter.[10][6] Subsequently, a British officer was appointed to oversee the political affairs of Dholpur and to manage the education of Maharaj-Rana.[6]

The administration of the state was carried out from 1874 to 1883 by Thomas Dennehy, upon whose departure, a council was replaced by the appointment of a Diwan.[13]

Investiture

He was invested with full ruling powers by Sir Edward Bradford, the-then Agent to the Governor-General of India for Rajputana, on 19 February 1883.[14]

Feud between Dholpur and Scindia

Royal Houses of Gwalior and Dholpur never had friendly relations, and the feud between them was always exploited by the British.[15][16][17] However this fued between them was abandoned at a public durbar in 1875.[16] This occurred when Jiwajirao Scindia, the Maharaja of Gwalior, visited Dholpur and embraced Nihal Singh, the Maharaj-Rana.[18]

State Bank of Dholpur

State Bank of Dholpur was inaugurated on 16 August 1894.[19] Its initial capital was provided by the Maharaj-Rana. It was established to assist impoverished individuals as well as tenants and zamindars who required financial assistance at a low interest rate.[20]

Wild Life Sanctuary

The establishment of the Wildlife Sanctuary in Dholpur traces its origins to the tenure of Thomas Dennehy as the Political Agent in Dholpur during the minority of the Maharaj-Rana.[21][22] During this period, a place within the Van Vihar Forest[23][24] was inhabited by seven sadhus for fifty years.[22] These sadhus objected to killing animals in the forest on religious grounds, and it is believed that the idea of the first sanctuary originated thus.[22]

Maharaj-Rana and Herbert Cunningham Clogstoun made further improvements, and another area was designated as a sanctuary after the creation of an artificial lake by building a dam on the Banganga River in 1904.[22]

Personal life

He had an impressive collection of jewels, art, historic items, carriages, polo ponies, and dogs.[25] After his passing, most of these possessions had to be sold to settle his personal liabilities.[25] He was an expert horseman, hunter, and pigsticker, and earned many trophies.[25]

Titles, styles, honours & military ranks

Titles and Styles

Major His Highness Rais-ud-Daula Sipahdar-ul-Mulk Saramad-i-Rajah-i-Hind Maharajadhiraj Sri Sawai Maharaj-Rana Sir Nihal Singh Lokendra Bahadur Diler Jang Jai Deo, Maharaj-Rana of Dholpur, CB.[2][26]

Honours

Military Ranks

He was an Honorary Major in the Central India Horse.[1][2][5]

Death

He died on 20 July 1901 at Mashobra, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Ram Singh.[1][6][5]

References

  1. [1]
    Imperial coronation durbar 1911. The Imperial Publishing, Lahore. 1911.
  2. [2]
    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.
  3. [3]
    Bayley, C. S. (2004). Chiefs and leading families in Rajputana. Public Resource. New Delhi : Asian Educational Services. ISBN 978-81-206-1066-8.
  4. [4]
    Massy, Charles Francis (1890). Chiefs and Families of Note in the Dehli [sic], Jalandhar, Peshawar and Derajat Divisions of the Panjab. Printed at the Pioneer Press.
  5. [5]
    The Imperial Gazetteer of India: Coondapoor to Edwardesābād. Today & Tomorrow's Printers & Publishers [1972. 1908.
  6. [6]
    Department, India Foreign and Political (1909). A Collection of Treaties, Engagements and Sanads, Relating to India and Neighbouring Countries. Superintendent Government Printing, India.
  7. [7]
    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.
  8. [8]
    De, Amrita Lal (1889). The students' history of Rajpootana, being an account of the Princes of Rajpootana from the earlist (sic) ages to the modern times. Robarts - University of Toronto. Calcutta Printed by Bama Churan Dutta, at the Nobo Sarassuta Press.
  9. [9]
    Webb, William Wilfrid (1893). The Currencies of the Hindu States of Rájputána. A. Constable and Company.
  10. [10]
    The New Volumes of the EncyclpÆedia Britannica: Constituting, in Combination with the Existing Volumes of the Ninth Edition, the Tenth Edition of that Work, and Also Supplying a New, Distinctive, and Independent Library of Reference Dealing with Recent Events and Developments ... A. & C. Black. 1902.
  11. [11]
    Buckland, Charles Edward (1906). Dictionary of Indian Biography. Library Reprints, Incorporated. ISBN 978-0-7222-2504-2.
  12. [12]
    Neogy, Ajit K. (1979). The Paramount Power and the Princely States of India, 1858-1881. K. P. Bagchi.
  13. [13]
    Brockman, H. E. Drake (1957). Gazetteer of Eastern Rajputana (Bharatpur, Dholpur and Karauli).
  14. [14]
    Various Census of India. 1884.
  15. [15]
    Rajasthan (India) (1962). Rajasthan District Gazetteers. Printed at Government Central Press.
  16. [16]
    Mauji, Purushottama Viṣrama (1911). Imperial Durbar Album. Lakshmi Arts, Bombay.
  17. [17]
    Keene, Henry George. The Fall of the Moghul Empire of Hindustan. Library of Alexandria. ISBN 978-1-4655-2035-7.
  18. [18]
    Scindia, Vijaya R.; Malgonkar, Manohar (1 September 1987). The Last Maharani of Gwalior: An Autobiography. SUNY Press. ISBN 978-0-88706-659-7.
  19. [19]
    Sharma, Harish Chandra (1969). Growth of Banking in a Developing Economy: A Case Study of Evolution, Growth, and Future Prospects of Banking in Rajasthan in Relation to Other States of India. Sahitya Bhawan.
  20. [20]
    Singh, Bhagat (1914). Annual Report On The Administration Of The Dholpur State For The Year Ending 30 September 1913.
  21. [21]
    Rao, C. Hayavando (1915). The Indian biographical dictionary. University of California Libraries. Madras : Pillar.
  22. [22]
    S Szafranski (1953). A Note on the Dholpur Wild Life Sanctuary, Rajasthan. with a Sketch Map and Two Plates.
  23. [23]
    "Dholpur Tourism: Best Places To Visit In Dholpur - Rajasthan Tourism". Official Website of Department of Tourism, Government of Rajasthan.
  24. [24]
    "Wildlife Sanctuary in Dholpur, Ramsagar Sanctuary Dholpur". www.dholpuronline.in. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  25. [25]
    ACL-ARCH 00269 Indian Princes And The Crown.
  26. [26]
    Encyclopaedia Indica: Princely States in colonial India. Anmol Publications. 1996. ISBN 978-81-7041-859-7.
  27. [27]
    Army, Great Britain (1898). The Monthly Army List. H.M. Stationery Office.
  28. [28]
    "The India General Service Medal, 1895. Punjab Frontier, Tirah". www.northeastmedals.co.uk. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
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