Ravneshwar Prasad Singh | |
|---|---|
| Maharaja of Gidhaur | |
| Reign | c. 1885 – c. 1923 |
| Predecessor | Shiv Prasad Singh |
| Successor | Chandra Mouleshwar Prasad Singh |
| Born | c. 1860 |
| Died | 1923 (aged 62–63) |
| Dynasty | Chandel |
| Father | Shiv Prasad Singh |
| Children | Chandra Mouleshwar Prasad Singh |
| 2= | |
Sir Ravneshwar Prasad Singh was the Maharaja of Gidhaur from 1885 until his death in 1923.
Early life, education, and family[edit | edit source]
He was born in 1860 to Shiv Prasad Singh, the Maharaja of Gidhaur.[1][2] He was brought up by his grandfather Jaimangal Singh and was educated in Hindi, English, Sanskrit and Persian.[1][2] He was taught Vedanta and other Hindu texts and was given a course in the details of estate management.[1][2] He married in 1885 and had one son, Chandra Mouleshwar Prasad Singh, and three daughters, who went on to marry in Kanore, Neemrana and Diggi.[3]
Reign[edit | edit source]
Upon the death of his father in 1885, he succeeded him on the throne of Gidhaur.[1][2] He was formally installed on the throne on 18 September 1885.[1] The then Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal, Rivers Thompson, had on 28 August 1866, at Bhagalpur, conferred on him a khilat to recognise him as successor to his father.[1] He was exempted from attending civil courts in person.[3] He inaugurated many useful educational, social and religious reforms for the advancement of his people's welfare.[1] He commissioned a bazaar, a school, a free dispensary and a guest house in Gidhaur.[1] He also established a Sanskrit Vidyalaya where free education was imparted to Brahmins.[1] He had modernised his ancestral residence, Sri Vilas Palace, and built a new palace which was named Sukh Niwas.[4] When, due to the failure of the monsoon rains, distress was caused in larger Bihar and Orissa in 1919, he gave employment to a large number of people on his estate by constructing irrigation reservoirs.[5]
Public career[edit | edit source]
He was appointed a member of the local board of Jamui in 1887.[1] In 1888, he was made a member of the district board of Monghyr.[1] In 1890, he was granted the powers of a magistrate.[1] He was made a member of the Bengal Legislative Council in 1893 and served many years on the council.[1][2] When the province of Bihar and Orissa was created, he was made a non-official member of its Legislative Council.[1]
Personal interests[edit | edit source]
He helped establish the Bihar and Orissa Research Society on 20 January 1915.[6] He was a vice-patron and was elected a life member of the society on 8 April 1918.[6][7] He was a member of the British Indian Association of Bengal.[8]
Religion[edit | edit source]
He was a staunch adherent of Hinduism, in which he was well-versed, and used to devote a major portion of his time to practising his faith.[2] He used to maintain in his estate a series of temples and almshouses where ration and fuel were distributed free of cost to all.[1] He built a temple dedicated to Shiva and Parvati.[1] He once carried pitchers of water from the Ganges all the way from Jahangra to Baidyanath Temple in Deoghar to bathe the lingam there.[9]
Death[edit | edit source]
He died in 1923 and was succeeded in his title, rank and dignity by his son Chandra Mouleshwar Prasad Singh.[10]
Honours[edit | edit source]
He was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire by Queen Victoria in 1885.[1][4]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 Vadivelu, A. (1915). The Ruling Chiefs, Nobles and Zamindars of India. G.C. Loganadham. pp. 514–519.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 The Feudatory and zemindari India. 1922. pp. 308–313.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lethbridge, Roper (1893). 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. Robarts - University of Toronto. London Macmillan. pp. 152–153.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 O’Malley, Lewis Sydney Steward (1909). Bengal District Gazetteers : Monghyr. Bengal Secretariat, Calcutta. pp. 203–204.
- ↑ The Bihar & Orissa Gazette. 1920. pp. 759–762.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 The Journal of the Bihar Research Society. Vol. I. Bankipore: Bihar and Orissa Research Society (published September 1915). 1915. pp. 133–141.
- ↑ The Journal of the Bihar and Orissa Research Society. Vol. IV. Robarts - University of Toronto. Patna: Bihar and Orlssa Research Soceity (published June 1918). 1918. p. 243.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) CS1 maint: others (link) - ↑ Who's who in India. Newul Kishore Press. 1911. p. 6.
- ↑ Chaudhari, Ram Gopal Singh (1917). Rambles in Bihar. Express Press. pp. 157–158.
- ↑ Soszynski, Henry. "GIDHAUR". members.iinet.net.au. Archived from the original on 2017-08-02. Retrieved 2026-03-22.