Maharaja
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 ...
Sir
''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...
Lakshmeshwar Singh, Maharaja of Darbhanga (25 September 1858 – 16 November 1898) was the Zamindar and principal landowner of
Darbhanga
Darbhanga is the fifth-largest city and municipal corporation in the Indian state of Bihar situated centrally in Mithila region.
Darbhanga is the headquarters of the Darbhanga district and the Darbhanga division. It was the seat of the erstw ...
in the
Mithila Mithila may refer to:
Places
* Mithilā, a synonym for the ancient Videha state
** Mithilā (ancient city), the ancient capital city of Videha
* Mithila (region), a cultural region (historical and contemporary), now divided between India and Nepal
...
region, presently in the State of
Bihar
Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...
, India. His philanthropic works, administrative abilities and management of his estate (
Raj Darbhanga
The Darbhanga Raj, also known as Raj Darbhanga and the Khandwala dynasty, was a Maithil Brahmins dynasty and the rulers of territories, not all contiguous, that were part of the Mithila region, now divided between India and Nepal.
The rulers ...
) were highly appreciated and lead to development of his estate.
Biography
Lakshmeshwar Singh was the eldest son of Maharaja Maheshwar Singh of Darbhanga, who died when Lakshmeshwar was aged two. The
British Raj
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...
placed the estate of Darbhanga under the control of the
Court of Wards
The Court of Wards and Liveries was a court established during the reign of Henry VIII in England. Its purpose was to administer a system of feudal dues; but as well as the revenue collection, the court was also responsible for wardship and liv ...
because the heirs to the estate were minors. He was placed under the tutorship of Chester Macnaghten, who later served as the founding Principal of the oldest Public school in India, the
Rajkumar College, Rajkot
The Rajkumar College (or RKC) in Rajkot, Gujarat is one of the oldest K-12 institutions in India. RKC has a 26-acre (105,000 m²) campus in Rajkot.
History
The foundation stone of Rajkumar College was laid in 1868. The institution was designe ...
from 1870 to 1896.
For the next 19 years, till he attained majority, he was caught in political one-upmanship between his mother, who was supported by family priests, and the Tutors appointed by the British Government, who wanted him to be free from ''Zenana'' influence. He along with his younger brother Rameshwar Singh (who became Maharaja of Darbhanga after Lakshmeshwar Singh's death) received a western education from Government appointed tutors as well as a traditional Indian education from a
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
Pandit
A Pandit ( sa, पण्डित, paṇḍit; hi, पंडित; also spelled Pundit, pronounced ; abbreviated Pt.) is a man with specialised knowledge or a teacher of any field of knowledge whether it is shashtra (Holy Books) or shastra (Wea ...
, one of his uncles, a
Maulvi
Mawlawi ( ar, مولوي; also spelled Maulvi, Molvi, Moulavi and Mawlvi) is an Islamic religious title given to Muslim religious scholars, or ulama, preceding their names, similar to the titles Mawlānā, Mullah, or Sheikh. Mawlawi generally ...
and a Bengali gentleman. During the period when Lakshmeshwar Singh was under the guardianship of the Court of Wards, he received a monthly allowance of
Rs.
Rupee is the common name for the currencies of
India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, and of former currencies of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (as the Gulf rupee), British East Africa, B ...
5 a month even though the annual income of his estate was equivalent to a six digit figure in pounds sterling.
On attaining his majority, Lakshmeshwar Singh devoted himself entirely to public duties of his position. He was appointed and served as a Member of the Legislative Council of the Viceroy, and took a leading part in the debates of that body. During the lengthened discussions on the important Bengal Tenancy Bill, he acted (in conjunction at first with the lamented patriot,
Kristodas Pal, and subsequently with the Raja
Piari Mohan Mukharji, (C.S.I.) as the representative of the landowners of Bengal and
Behar
Behar, BeHar, Be-har, or B'har ( — Hebrew language, Hebrew for "on the mount," the fifth word, and the Incipit, first distinctive word, in the parashah) is the 32nd weekly Torah portion (, ''parashah'') in the annual Judaism, Jewish cycle of Tor ...
and received warm recognition of the ability and moderation he brought to bear on this and other questions from successive Viceroys.
He was also a member of the
Royal Commission on Opium
The Royal Commission on Opium was a British Royal Commission that investigated the opium trade in British India in 1893–1895, particularly focusing on the medical impacts of opium consumption within India. Set up by Prime Minister William G ...
of 1895, formed by British Government along with
Haridas Viharidas Desai
Haridas Viharidas Desai (1840–1895) was Diwan of Junagadh state from 1883 onwards. He was a pious man and a brilliant administrator who in a decade made the most important reforms in every department of the Junagadh state. He built the 12,0 ...
who was the Diwan of
Junagadh
Junagadh () is the headquarters of Junagadh district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Located at the foot of the Girnar hills, southwest of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar (the state capital), it is the seventh largest city in the state.
Literally t ...
. The Royal Opium Commission consisted of a 9-member team of which 7 were British and 2 were Indians and its chairman was
Earl Brassey
Earl Brassey was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1911 for the Liberal politician and former Governor of Victoria, Australia, Thomas Brassey, 1st Baron Brassey, eldest son of the railway magnate Thomas Brassey (1 ...
.
Lakshmeshwar Singh championed freedom of speech, personal and political rights. In 1898, he and W. C. Banerjee, were the only prominent Indians to publicly criticise and fight against the proposed widening of scope of section 124-A and 153-A of the Indian Penal Code that was meant to suppress freedom of press in reporting news that could be deemed seditious in nature or against Government policy and insertion of section 108 in Indian Penal Code that gave right to postal authorities to seize any material that was suspected of containing matter obnoxious to section 124-A and 153-A of
Indian Penal Code
The Indian Penal Code (IPC) is the official criminal code of India. It is a comprehensive code intended to cover all substantive aspects of criminal law. The code was drafted on the recommendations of first law commission of India established in ...
.
Lakshmeshwar Singh died on 17 December 1898. He did not have any children and thus his younger brother, Rameshwar Singh, succeeded him as Maharaja
Public charity
![Maharaja Lakshmeshwar Singh, 1888](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/Maharaja_Lakshmeshwar_Singh%2C_1888.jpg)
Maharaja Lakshmeshwar Singh spent approximately £300,000 on relief work during the
Bihar famine of 1873–74
Bihar (; ) is a states and union territories of India, state in eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, 2nd largest state by population in 2019, list of states and union territories of India by are ...
. He constructed hundreds of miles of roads in various parts of the Raj, planting them with tens of thousands of trees for the comfort of travellers, as part of generating employment for people effected by famine. He constructed iron bridges over all the navigable rivers of the Raj Darbhanga, and completed an elaborate system of irrigation works, for prevention of famine. The lakes, ponds, dams, and other water bodies created during his rule still exist today and form important part in irrigation in northern Bihar. In addition to the £300,000 expended in charitable relief during the Bihar famine of 1873–74, in every time of scarcity the late Maharaja's arrangements for meeting it were on a splendid scale, and were in many cases the models for the Government measures. He built, and entirely supported, a first-class Dispensary at Darbhanga, which cost £3400; a similar one at Kharakpur, which cost £3500 ; and largely contributed to many others.
He built an Anglo-vernacular school at a cost of £1490, which he maintained, as well as nearly thirty vernacular schools of different grades; and subsidised a much larger number of educational institutions.
Most of the late Maharaja's munificence was devoted to objects of charity pure and simple, such as famine relief, medical aid, and the like. But he also contributed very largely to objects of general public utility — as, for instance, in the gift of Rs.50,000 to the funds of the Imperial Institute. It was computed that during his possession of the Raj an aggregate sum of something like two millions sterling was expended on charities, works of public utility, and charitable remissions of rent.
The late Maharaja devoted special attention to all agricultural improvements, and especially to improvements in the breeds of horses and cattle in Bihar. He was a liberal patron of the turf, and was the owner of the largest and most valuable racing stud in India. He was also a keen sportsman.
The Maharaja was also one of the founders of
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...
as well as one of the main financial contributor thereto Maharaja Lakshmeshwar Singh is known for purchasing Lowhter Castle for the venue of the 1888 Allahabad Congress session when the british denied permission to use any public place.
Other information
He constructed
Anand Bagh Palace
Anand Bagh Palace (also known as Lakshmivilas Palace) is a palace situated in town of Darbhanga in the Indian state of Bihar. Anand Bagh Palace was constructed during the reign of Maharaja Lakshmeshwar Singh in the 1880s and was severely damag ...
(also called Lakshmivilas Palace, after him) at Darbhanga and became well known in England because of sketches that appeared in the city's illustrated papers. The palace was later donated by his nephew, Maharaja Kameshwar Singh, to the Government of India for use as a university to promote the Sanskrit language. It is now the head office of Maharaja Kameshwar Singh Sanskrit University. The botanical and zoological gardens that once surrounded it have vanished due to official apathy.
On the occasion of the
Golden Jubilee of Great Queen Victoria, Lakshmeshwar Singh was created a
, being promoted to Knight Grand Commander in 1887.
The British Governor commissioned
Edward Onslow Ford
Edward Onslow Ford (27 July 1852—23 December 1901) was an English sculptor. Much of Ford's early success came with portrait heads or busts. These were considered extremely refined, showing his subjects at their best and led to him receiving a ...
to make a statue of Lakshmeshwar Singh. This is installed at
Dalhousie Square
B. B. D. Bagh, formerly called Tank Square and then Dalhousie Square (1847 to 1856), is the shortened version for Benoy-Badal-Dinesh Bagh. It is the seat of power of the state government, as well as the central business district of Kolkata in ...
in
Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
.
[''A Handbook for Travellers in India, Pakistan, Burma and Ceylon'' at Page 121. Author – Laurence Frederic Rushbrook Williams]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Maharaja Lakshmeshwar
Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire
1858 births
1898 deaths
Maharajas of Darbhanga
Indian knights
Indian National Congress politicians
Founders of Indian schools and colleges
Indian philanthropists
Indian Hindus
Indian royalty