Maharaja Sir Bhim Singh II, KCSI (14 September 1909 – 20 July 1991) was the last ruling Maharaja of the

princely state A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Raj, British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, ...

Kotah Kota (), previously known as ''Kotah'', is a city located in the southeast of northern Indian state of Rajasthan. It is located about south of the state capital, Jaipur, situated on the banks of Chambal River. With a population of over 1.2 m ...

from 1940 to 1947.

Early career

The only son and heir of Maharaja Sri Sir Umed Singhji II, Bhim Singhji II succeeded his father following his death in 1940. He immediately entered into service with the

British Indian Army The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which co ...

as an officer, serving during the Second World War and being promoted to Major by 1948. Although he planned several education and modernisation programs for Kotah, they did not reach fruition before Indian independence. He was knighted with the KCSI in 1947, and signed the Instrument of Accession to the Dominion of India on 15 August. The following year, on 25 March 1948, Sir Bhim Singhji merged Kotah into the Rajasthan Union of states and became its first '' Rajpramukh'', but was demoted to ''Uprajpramukh'' (Deputy Rajpramukh) when the Maharana of Udaipur, who was of a higher rank than Sir Bhim Singhji, acceded to the Rajasthan Union. Sir Bhim Singhji continued in the office of Uprajpramukh until it, along with the office of Rajpramukh, was abolished by the Government of India on 31 October 1956.

Later Work

In 1956, Sir Bhim Singhji served as an Alternate Delegate to the United Nations General Assembly that year. Conversely, since 1959 he had been President of the Rajasthan Board for the Preservation of Wildlife.

Sports shooter

Bhim II Bahadur Maharao of Kotah 1966-1988

An expert shooter, he was Captain of the Indian shooting team at the Singapore Shooting Championships in 1969, at the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phi ...

and at the

1978 Asian Games The 8th Asian Games () were held from 9 to 20 December 1978, in Bangkok, Thailand. Originally, the host city was Singapore but Singapore dropped its plan to host the Games due to financial problems. Then Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, was de ...

Family

On 30 April 1930, Bhim Singhji II married Rathorji Maharani Shivkumari Sahiba (1 April 1916–), a younger daughter of General Maharaja Sir

Ganga Singh General Maharaja Sir Ganga Singh, (13 October 1880 – 2 February 1943), was the ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Bikaner (in present-day Rajasthan, India) from 1888 to 1943. As a member of the Imperial War Cabinet, he was present in t ...

of Bikaner. The couple had one son and two daughters: * Maharajkumar Sri Brijraj Singhji Sahib Bahadur, who succeeded as Maharajadhiraj Maharaja Mahimahendra Maharao Raja Sri

Brijraj Singh Brijraj Singh (21 February 1934 – 29 January 2022) was an Indian politician and a titular ruler as Maharao of Kotah from 1991 until his death. He was the member of parliament from Jhalawar for three terms. Biography Singh was the only son ...

Sahib Bahadur (21 February 1934– 29 January 2022) * Maharajkumari Indira Kumari Sahiba (1937–), who in 1960 married Raja Rawat Sri Bikramaditya Singh Sahib Bahadur (18 December 1936–), the Raja of Rajgarh, becoming the Rani Sahiba of Rajgarh. * Maharajkumari Bhuvaneshwari Kumari Sahiba (29 May 1945–), who married in the 1970s Thakur Sri Devi Singh of Malasar, and had twin daughters Shaivya Rathore and Divya Rathore.

Later years and death

As part of the mass derecognisation of Indian rulers in 1971 under the Indira Gandhi regime, Sir Bhim Singhji was stripped of ruling powers and titles. He died two decades later on 20 July 1991, aged 81, after a reign of 51 years, and was succeeded by his only son,

Titles

*1909–1940:

Maharajkumar Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, an ...

Sri Bhim Singh Sahib Bahadur *1940–1943: His Highness Maharajadhiraj Maharaja Mahimahendra Maharao Raja Sri Bhim Singh II Sahib Bahadur,

Maharao Maharao is a variation on the Indian (mainly Hindu) royal title Maharaja, also meaning 'great king' in Hindi. It is composed of ''Maha-'' 'great' and the royal title ''Rao'', a variation on Raja. Ruler title in British India Salute states (all in ...

Raja of

*1943–1944:

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

His Highness Maharajadhiraj Maharaja Mahimahendra Maharao Raja Sri Bhim Singh II Sahib Bahadur, Maharao Raja of Kotah *1944–1945:

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

His Highness Maharajadhiraj Maharaja Mahimahendra Maharao Raja Sri Bhim Singh II Sahib Bahadur, Maharao Raja of Kotah *1945–1946: Lieutenant-Colonel His Highness Maharajadhiraj Maharaja Mahimahendra Maharao Raja Sri Bhim Singh II Sahib Bahadur, Maharao Raja of Kotah *1946–1947: Colonel His Highness Maharajadhiraj Maharaja Mahimahendra Maharao Raja Sri Bhim Singh II Sahib Bahadur, Maharao Raja of Kotah *1947–1948: Colonel His Highness Maharajadhiraj Maharaja Mahimahendra Maharao Raja Sri Sir Bhim Singh II Sahib Bahadur, Maharao Raja of Kotah, KCSI *1948–1991: Brigadier His Highness Maharajadhiraj Maharaja Mahimahendra Maharao Raja Sri Sir Bhim Singh II Sahib Bahadur, Maharao Raja of Kotah, KCSI

Honours

King George V Silver Jubilee Medal The King George V Silver Jubilee Medal is a commemorative medal, instituted to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the accession of King George V. Issue This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir by King George V to commemorate his Silver J ...

-1935 *

King George VI Coronation Medal The King George VI Coronation Medal was a commemorative medal, instituted to celebrate the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. Issue This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir of King George VI's coronation. It was awarded to th ...

-1937 *

Golden Jubilee Medal of Bikaner-1937 *

1939-1945 Star World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

-1945 * Africa Star-1945 *

War Medal 1939-1945 War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

-1945 * Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of India (KCSI)-1947 *

Indian Independence Medal The Indian Independence Medal was instituted by the Dominion of India and approved by King George VI by way of a Royal Warrant dated 21 July 1948. It was a commemorative medal for service with the Indian armed forces at the time of independence i ...

-1947 *

Arjuna Award The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjuna, one ...

-1971

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhim Singh 02 Of Kotah Indian knights 20th-century Indian royalty Knights Commander of the Order of the Star of India 1909 births 1991 deaths Indian male sport shooters Skeet shooters Rajasthani people Recipients of the Arjuna Award Sport shooters from Rajasthan Trap and double trap shooters Olympic shooters of India People from Kota, Rajasthan History of Kota, Rajasthan Kotah, Bhim Singh II Shooters at the 1978 Asian Games Rajpramukhs Asian Games competitors for India Shooters at the 1976 Summer Olympics