Name Ranbir Jind | ||
Ranbir Singh (11 October 1879 – 31 March 1948) was the Maharaja of Jind (Panjab at that time, now Jind city falls in Haryana and the rest of his state is in Panjab). He ruled Jind from 1887 to 1948.
Contents
Early life
Singh was born on 11 October 1879 as the only son of Tikka Sri Balbir Singh Sahib Bahadur (1857-1883), the only son of Raghubir Singh of Jind and the heir apparent to the throne of Jind. When Ranbir Singh was four, his father died, and he became the heir. In 1887, his grandfather Raghubir Singh died, and he succeeded him as the Raja of Jind.
Raja and Maharaja
After ruling under a regency for a decade, Singh came of age and was formally installed in 1899. He contributed contingents of the state army to serve with the British in the Tirah Campaign of 1897, the East African campaign during the First World War and in the Third Afghan War of 1919 and the Malayan campaign against the forces of Imperial Japan during the Second World War. Ranbir Singh himself pursued a military career, eventually rising to the rank of Brigadier in the British Army.
A progressive ruler, Singh built schools and hospitals, established charities for widows and orphans and instituted free primary education in Jind. In 1909, he was knighted with the KCSI and two years later was granted the hereditary distinction of Maharaja of Jind. He was appointed a GCIE in 1916. In 1918, he received the additional title of Rajendra Bahadur; in 1926, he was granted an increased permanent gun salute of 13-guns with a 15-gun local salute. He was appointed a GCSI in 1937.
His inability to rise against the British Monarchy, as a domininant characteristic of the other Phulkian city-states like Patiala, Nabha, Faridkot, etc., eventually led to his lack of dominance and invitation to the town-hall by Sardar (by Title, not inheritance) Patel, which decided the fate of Sikh states joining the Indian union.
He was known as the Bola Raja, or the 'Deaf King', not only about his inability to understand things mentioned to the right side of him, due to a congenital defect, but also due to his attitude of turning his head to ignore any viewpoints that were contrary to his own.
He was known to be impotent, so the section below and the references seem divergent and plausible.
In March 1947, Singh celebrated his Diamond Jubilee, marking 60 years on the throne of Jind-the longest reign of any of the rulers of the Phulkian clan. He signed the Instrument of Accession to the Dominion of India five months later and died on 31 March 1948, aged 68 after a 61-year reign. He was succeeded by his son, Rajbir Singh.
Personal life
Singh married five times, first to Dhelma Kaur, then to Jaswant Kaur (née Olive Monalescu), the daughter of a Romanian barber, third to Deepkumar Kaur and fourth to Gurcharan Kaur. He had 12 children, five sons and seven daughters: