| Pratap Singh | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||
| Maharaja of Orchha | |||||
| Reign | 15 March 1870 ā 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 | ||||
| Father | Sujan Singh II | ||||
Pratap Singh Ju Deo was the Maharaja of Orchha (in Bundelkhand) from 1874 until his death in 1930.
Early life and family[edit | edit source]
He was born on 3 July 1854 to Sujan Singh II.[1][2] He married and had three children: two sons and a daughter.[3] His eldest son, Bhagwant Singh, predeceased him in 1920.[3] His younger son, Sawant Singh, was adopted by Bhan Pratap Singh, the Maharaja of Bijawar, and succeeded his adoptive father in June 1900.[3] His daughter married Vishwanath Singh, the Maharaja of Chhatrapur, in 1884 and died in 1921.[3]
Reign[edit | edit source]
After the death of his brother, Hamir Singh, in March 1874, he became the Maharaja of Orchha.[4] On this occasion, the British government sent Major A. Mayne to temporarily oversee the administration of the state.[5] On 4 June 1874, Pratap took over the administration, and the British officer was withdrawn in May 1876.[4][5] He took a great interest in girls' education and established a girls' school in 1875, the first of its kind in Bundelkhand.[5] He established a series of schools throughout his dominions, where education was provided free of cost.[5][6] Books were also distributed at no charge, and the state covered students' expenses when they appeared for university examinations.[5][6] In 1876, he established regular courts of justice and organized the police force.[5][6] He abolished all transit duties in Orchha in 1880.[4] In 1895, he established a postal system in Orchha.[6] During the Indian famine of 1896ā1897, he worked tirelessly to provide famine relief.[6] The famine relief efforts cost a total of 1,300,000 rupees.[5][6] The women who observed purdah were given suitable work.[6] Those who could not work received grains daily from the state granaries.[6] He combated the famine of 1905 with the same zeal.[6] He attended the Delhi durbars of 1877, 1903, and 1911.[7] 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.[7] 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.[8] His procession included a cavalry escort, richly caparisoned state horses, spearmen, mace-bearers, chhata (transl.āumbrella), suraj-mukhi (transl.āsun-face), pankha (transl.āfan) and bearers carrying Ganges water.[8] There was also a silver and gold palanquin, chanwars (transl.āyak tail whiskers), morchals (transl.āpeacock feather whiskers), aftaba, pandan (transl.ābetel nut box), itardan (transl.ābottle used to hold attar), and other paraphernalia.[8] His mounted personal attendants wore elaborate gold embroidery, and he was followed by the Raja of Dhar.[8] 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.[9] He settled 217 villages, excavated 73 tanks, and dug 7,086 wells.[9] This significantly improved people's lives and increased agricultural productivity.[9] He constructed several buildings and architectural structures.[9]
Death[edit | edit source]
He died on 3 March 1930 and was succeeded by his grandson, Vir Singh.[10]
Titles, styles, salute and honours[edit | edit source]
Titles and styles[edit | edit source]
In 1882, the Government of India conferred upon him the title of Sawai Bahadur and, in 1886, granted him the hereditary title of Saramad-i-Rajah-i-Bundelkhand.[4][11] He also held the titles Bharat Dharma Ratnakar and Yog Vidya Vinod.[7] 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.[7][12]
Salute[edit | edit source]
As the ruler of Orchha, he was entitled to a fifteen-gun salute.[4][7] However, the Government of India later increased it to seventeen as a personal distinction.[4][13]
Honours[edit | edit source]
He was appointed GCIE in 1898 and GCSI in 1906.[12] He was made KCB in 1901.[14] The University of Oxford conferred upon him an honorary Doctorate of Civil Law in 1911.[14]
References[edit | edit source]
- ā Soszynski, Henry. "ORCHHA". members.iinet.net.au. Archived from the original on 2017-07-08. Retrieved 2026-03-10.
- ā Not Available (1911). Who's Who In India Vol 1. pp. 40ā42.
- ā 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Not Available (1933). Memoranda On The Indian States 1930. pp. 43ā45, 48ā49.
- ā 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 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. 9ā10.
- ā 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 India, Central (1907). The Central India State Gazetteer Series. Thacker, Spink. pp. 36ā64.
- ā 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 ACL-ARCH 00269 Indian Princes And The Crown. pp. 333ā336.
- ā 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 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.
- ā 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 The Historical Record of the Imperial Visit to India, 1911. government of India. 1914. pp. 80ā81.
- ā 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Pradesh (India), Madhya; Krishnan, V. S. (1995). Madhya Pradesh District Gazetteers: Tikamgarh. Government Central Press. p. 73.
- ā A Collection of Treaties Engagements and Sanads: Relating to India and Neighbouring Countries (Vol-V). Government of India central publication branch,Calcutta. 1930. pp. 8ā11.
- ā 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. 225ā226.
- ā 12.0 12.1 Vadivelu, A. (1915). The Ruling Chiefs, Nobles & Zamindars of India. G.C. Loganadham. pp. 162ā163.
- ā Purushotam Vishram Mawjee (1911). (1911) Imperial durbar album of the Indian princes, chiefs and zamindars, Vol. I. p. 137.
- ā 14.0 14.1 Debrett's Illustrated Peerage and Baronetage, Titles of Courtesy and the Knightage. Kelly's Directories. 1917. p. 941.
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