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{{About|the Maharaja of Alwar, Tej Singh Prabhakar|the Bundela Rajput commander of the Gingee fort, Raja Tej Singh|Desingh|the Dogra Sikh commander|Tej Singh|other uses|Tej Singh (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2019}}
{{more citations needed|date=October 2008}}
'''[[Maharaja]] [[Sir]] Tej Singh Prabhakar''', [[Order of the Star of India|KCSI]] (17 March 1911 – 15 February 2009), was the last ruling [[Maharaja]] of [[Alwar State|Alwar]].

==Maharaja of Alwar==
Tej Singh, a remotely related cousin of the previous ruler, [[Jai Singh Prabhakar Bahadur|Sir Jai Singh Prabhakar]], was selected by the British to rule Alwar, as Sir Jai Singh had been deposed by them for gross misrule. Initially he had limited administrative control, but was given executive authority eventually in the last days of the [[British Raj]] by the [[Viceroy of India]] in 1944.<ref name=indiaofthepast>http://www.indiaofthepast.org/contribute-memories/read-contributions/life-back-then/535-the-rise-and-fall-of-the-princely-state-of-alwar</ref>

[[Sir]] Tej Singh was a supporter of [[Hindu nationalism]] through the [[Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha]], and hosted the Akhil Bharatiya Kshatriya Mahasabha of which he served as president in 1947. He opposed [[Mahatma Gandhi]]'s [[Non-cooperation movement]]. There is speculation that he supported and funded the [[Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh]].<ref>The Indian Princes and their States By Barbara N. Ramusack p.142</ref> He appointed [[Narayan Bhaskar Khare|Dr N.B. Khare]] as his prime minister who failed to prevent, and some say encouraged pushing, Alwar into sectarian violence that saw Muslims forcefully converted, forced out, and in some cases murdered during the [[Partition of India]].<ref>The Further Shores of Partition: Ethnic Cleansing in Rajasthan 1947 By Ian Copland, Oxford University Press</ref> He was accused but found innocent of playing a role in the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi,<ref name=indiaofthepast /> with a claim (never upheld) that the revolver used in the assassination came from Sir Tej Singh. His association with the implicated Hindu Mahasabha and a prominent suspect at the time, Dr N.B. Khare (his Prime Minister), added to the suspicion.<ref>http://m.indiatoday.in/story/nathuram-godse-bridge-alwar-has-three-life-saving-stories-since/1/418616.html</ref> The issue remains controversial to this day.<ref>http://m.timesofindia.com/city/jaipur/Protest-over-Tej-Singhs-mention-in-conspiracy-to-kill-Gandhi/articleshow/7102007.cms</ref><ref>http://m.timesofindia.com/city/jaipur/Goof-up-on-Gandhi-Two-officials-shunted/articleshow/7130279.cms</ref>

Sir Tej Singh ruled for a decade, from 1937-1947, with administrative control only granted in 1944,<ref name=indiaofthepast /> before the coming of [[Partition of India|Indian independence]] in 1947.

In 1948, possibly under pressure during the Gandhi assassination investigation,<ref name=indiaofthepast /> Sir Tej Singh agreed that Alwar be merged with other Eastern [[Rajputana]] [[princely states]] to form the [[United States of Matsya|Matsya Union]]; the union merged into that of Greater [[Rajasthan]] the following year. After 1948, Sir Tej retired to his [[New Delhi]] residence, Alwar House, where he lived for the next six decades, visiting his former kingdom but rarely.

==Derecognisation==
[[Sir]] Tej Singh was formally stripped of his titles in 1971 as part of the mass derecognisation of the royal families. During the [[Indian Emergency]], tax inspectors under the [[Indira Gandhi]] regime forcibly searched the Alwar palaces.

Sir Tej Singh died at Alwar House, [[New Delhi]], on 15 February 2009, a month shy of his 98th birthday. He was cremated at [[Delhi]]. At his death, he was one of the last surviving princely rulers of the old [[British Raj]] and was the last living member of the [[Order of the Star of India]]. He was succeeded as Maharaja of Alwar by his grandson, [[Jitendra Singh (Congress politician)|Jitendra Singh]].

== Personal life ==

In 1931, Tej Singh married Chand Kanwarji of Jodhpur (d. 1998). The couple had two sons and three daughters:
*1. Pratap Singh (17 June 1938 – 27 March 1976). Killed under mysterious circumstances at Alwar during the [[Indian Emergency]]. Married on 26 April 1962 to the Princess of Bundi [[Mahendra Kumari]], [[Member of Parliament|MP]] (6 February 1942 – 27 June 2002), and had one son and one daughter:
**Jitendra Pratap Singh (12 June 1971-), who succeeded as HH Raj Rishi Sawai Maharaja [[Jitendra Singh (Congress politician)|Jitendra Pratap Singh]] Veerendra Shiromani Dev Bharat Prabhakar Bahadur, Maharaja of Alwar upon his grandfather's death on 15 February 2009 (see article)
** Minakshi Kumari.
*2. Yashwant Singh (19 September 1939-). Married Brinda Kumari (1942-), and has one son and two daughters:
**Yogendra Singh (3 March 1959-)
**[[Bhuvneshwari Kumari]] (1960-)
**Sohini Kumari (5 January 1968-)
*3. Pratap Kumari
*4. Bhanu Kumari
*5. Man Kumari

==Titles==

*1911-1937: [[Sri]] Tej Singh
*1937-1943: [[His Highness]] Raj Rishi [[Sri]] Sawai Maharaja Tej Singh Veerendra Shiromani Dev Bharat Prabhakar Bahadur, [[Maharaja]] of [[Alwar]]
*1943-1944: His Highness Raj Rishi Sri Sawai Maharaja [[Sir]] Tej Singh Veerendra Shiromani Dev Bharat Prabhakar Bahadur, Maharaja of Alwar, [[Order of the Star of India|KCSI]]
*1944-1945: [[Captain (land and air)|Captain]] His Highness Raj Rishi Sri Sawai Maharaja Sir Tej Singh Veerendra Shiromani Dev Bharat Prabhakar Bahadur, Maharaja of Alwar, KCSI
*1945-1946: [[Lieutenant-Colonel]] His Highness Raj Rishi Sri Sawai Maharaja Sir Tej Singh Veerendra Shiromani Dev Bharat Prabhakar Bahadur, Maharaja of Alwar, KCSI
*1946-1971: [[Colonel]] His Highness Raj Rishi Sri Sawai Maharaja Sir Tej Singh Veerendra Shiromani Dev Bharat Prabhakar Bahadur, Maharaja of Alwar, KCSI

==Honours==

<center>
(ribbon bar, as it would look in 1950)

[[File:Ord.Stella.India.jpg|100px]]
[[File:India Service Medal BAR.svg|100px]]
[[File:39-45 Star BAR.svg|100px]]
[[File:Africa Star BAR.svg|100px]]

[[File:Italy Star BAR.svg|100px]]
[[File:War Medal 39-45 BAR.svg|100px]]
[[File:GeorgeVSilverJubileum-ribbon.png|100px]]
[[File:GeorgeVICoronationRibbon.png|100px]]
[[File:Indian Independence medal 1947.svg|100px]]

</center>
*[[King George V Silver Jubilee Medal]]-1935
*[[King George VI Coronation Medal]]-1937
*[[Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of India]] (KCSI)-1943
*[[War Medal 1939-1945]]-1945
*[[Africa Star]]-1945
*[[Italy Star]]-1945
*[[1939-1945 Star]]-1945
*[[India Service Medal]]-1945
*[[Indian Independence Medal]]-1947

{{s-start}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Jai Singh Prabhakar Bahadur]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Maharaja of Alwar]] |years=1937 – 1971 <br />1971 – 2009 (titular)}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Jitendra Singh (Congress politician)|Jitendra Singh]]}}
{{end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}
*http://wayback.archive.org/web/*/http://www.uq.net.au/~zzhsoszy/ips/a/alwar.html (Dead link: wayback machine copy)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh Prabhakar Bahadur, Tej}}
[[Category:1911 births]]
[[Category:2009 deaths]]
[[Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the Star of India]]
[[Category:Maharajas of Alwar|Tej]]
[[Category:Indian knights]]

Tej Singh Prabhakar - Revision history

103.66.98.111 at 09:20, 31 July 2021