Yadavindra Singh: Difference between revisions

| pre-nominals       = [[Maharaja]], [[Sir]]

| name               = Yadavindra Singh

| post-nominals     = [[GCIE]], [[Knight Grand Cross of the British Empire|GBE]]

| module            = {{Infobox royalty

| image          = Yadvindra.jpg

| successor      = [[Amarinder Singh]] (as [[Pretender|titular monarch]])

| birth_date    =  

| birth_place    = [[Patiala]], [[Patiala State]], [[British Raj|British India]]

| nationality    = Indian

| citizenship    = Indian

| death_date    =  

| module2           = {{Infobox officeholder | embed            = yes

| module3           = {{Infobox cricketer | embed            = yes

| testdebutagainst  = England

[[Maharaja]] [[Sir]] '''Yadavindra Singh''' {{post nominals|country=GBR|GCIE|GBE}} ({{audio|Yuvraj_of_Patiala.ogg|pronunciation}}) was the 9th and last ruling [[Maharaja of Patiala]] from 1938 to 1971. He was also an [[India]]n [[cricket]]er who played in one [[Test cricket|Test]] [[English cricket team in India in 1933–34|in 1934]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/666983 |title=The Greatest: One Test Wonders |work=International Cricket Council |access-date=19 April 2018}}</ref><ref name="Bio">{{Cite web|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/player/32278.html |title=Yadavindra Singh|access-date=31 May 2020 |work=ESPN Cricinfo}}</ref>

 

He succeeded his father, [[Maharaja Bhupinder Singh]], as the [[Maharaja of Patiala]] on 23 March 1938 and subsequently married his second wife, [[Mehtab Kaur of Patiala|Mehtab Kaur]] (1922–2017), in 1938. Although the stated reason for his second marriage was that it was due to his first wife being issueless, it was believed that the actual reason was the influences of [[Shiromani Akali Dal|Akali leaders]] who wanted the future Maharaja of Patiala to marry a woman from a Jat Sikh family in order to beget genuine Sikh heirs.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/comment/tales-from-two-punjabs/446088.html|title=Tales from two Punjabs|last=Singh|first=K.C.|date=3 August 2017|website=[[tribuneindia.com]]}}</ref>

 

Yadavindra served as president of the [[Indian Olympic Association]] from 1938 to 1960. He was instrumental in organizing the [[Asian Games]]. He was a noted horticulturist by passion and later served as chairman of Indian Horticulture Development Council. He was also the president of [[Board of Control for Cricket in India|BCCI]].

 

During the [[Partition of India]] numerous pogroms occurred in and around the princely state of Patiala.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Mustafa Janjua|first1=Haroon|title=Daily Times - Unheard cries: atrocities in Patiala, 1947|url=https://dailytimes.com.pk/106317/unheard-cries-atrocities-in-patiala-1947/|date=January 7, 2014}}</ref> In several cases, organized bands of Sikhs were responsible for atrocities. The late [[Harkishan Singh Surjeet]], of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), witnessed the events and claimed in an interview: ‘The communal attacks on the minorities were definitely planned. I know more about the persons involved in the eastern wing because I was there. I saw those dreadful acts with my own eyes. In that conspiracy, the Maharaja of Patiala was involved. The idea was that if the Muslims were driven out.' The attacks on Sikhs and Hindus in March 1947 in Rawalpindi are regarded as one of the major crimes that triggered off others. Nehru believed the Maharaja had sought to ethnically cleanse the territory of Muslims as part of this effort. Maharajas of Patiala and Faridkot, and Yadavindra Singh is quoted as having said "We won't leave a Muslim here" at a party with British officers.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hajari|first1=Nisid|title=Midnight's Furies: The Deadly Legacy of India's Partition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eAUnCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT158|isbn=9781445648095|date=15 June 2015}}</ref> The Foreign Minister of Patiala, Sardar Bari Ram Sharma issued a denial stating "I definitely assert that no Patiala soldier has associated himself with or has been involved in any killings in any part of the East Punjab."<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Singh|first1=Ganda|title=A Diary of the Partition Days - 1947|journal=Journal of Indian History|date=1960|volume=XXXV|issue=Part I, No. 112|page=270|url=https://archive.org/stream/ADiaryOfThePartitionDays1947Dr.GandaSingh/A+Diary+Of+The+Partition+Days+1947+-+Dr.+Ganda+Singh_djvu.txt}}</ref>

 

In 1956, Sir Yadavindra Singh donated the [[Anand Bhawan]], a 150 [[bigha]] palace, to the Government of Punjab (before the creation of Himachal) for a holiday home for poor children, which was later leased out to [[Ramdev|Baba Ramdev]] for his [[Patanjali Trust]].

 

He founded Yadavindra Public School. Lal Bagh Palace, the building in which Yadavindra Public School is housed was donated by Sir Yadavindra Singh. The Yadavindra Public School, Mohali is also named after him and was established by the members of his family.  

 

[[File:Sir Yadavinder Singh 9th and last Maharaja of Patiala in London.jpg|thumb|Sir Yadavindra Singh with leading members of the Indian business community in London.|alt=|left]]{{Unreferenced section|date=March 2022}}

He continued his career from 1956 onwards, serving as Indian delegate to the [[United Nations General Assembly]] from 1956 to 1957 and to [[UNESCO]] in 1958. He also headed the Indian delegation to the [[Food and Agriculture Organization|FAO]] on and off during 1959–1969. Sir Yadavindra served as Indian Ambassador to Italy (1965–1966) and as Indian Ambassador to the Netherlands from 1971 until 17 June 1974, when he died suddenly in office at [[The Hague]] from [[heart failure]], age 60. On specific instructions of [[Indira Gandhi]], he was cremated with full state honours.

 

He was succeeded as family head by his son Captain [[Amarinder Singh]], who is a politician with the Congress Party and who served as [[Chief Minister]] of the Indian State of [[Punjab (India)|Punjab]] from 2002 to 2007 and again starting in 2017 to 2021. His daughter, Heminder Kaur, was married to [[K. Natwar Singh]], the former external affairs minister of India.

{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}

 

 

 

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