Maharajadhiraj
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, a ...
Mirza
Mirza may refer to:
* Mirza, Kamrup, town in Assam, India
* Mirza (name), historical royal title & noble
* ''Mirza'', the genus of giant mouse lemur
* "Mirza", song by Nino Ferrer
* ''Mirza – The Untold Story'', Punjabi action romance film wri ...
Maharao
Maharao is a variation on the Indian (mainly Hinduism, 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 state ...
Sri
Shri (; , ) is a Sanskrit term denoting resplendence, wealth and prosperity, primarily used as an honorific.
The word is widely used in South and Southeast Asian languages such as Marathi, Malay (including Indonesian and Malaysian), Javanes ...
Madansinhji Vijayaraji
Sawai Bahadur (12 October 1909 – 21 June 1991) was the last official ruler of the
Princely State of Cutch
Cutch, also spelled Kutch or Kachchh and also historically known as the Kingdom of Kutch, was a kingdom in the Kutch region from 1147 to 1819 and a princely state under British rule from 1819 to 1947. Its territories covered the present day K ...
, from 26 February 1948 to 1 June 1948.
[Kutch]
Early life
Madansinhji was born as Meghraji and was the eldest son of
Maharao Sri Vijayaraji Khengarji and Maharani Shri Padmakunwar Ba Sahiba. He was named
Yuvraj
Yuv(a)raj(a) (Sanskrit: युवराज) is an Indian title for the crown prince, and the heir apparent to the throne of an Indian (notably Hindu) kingdom or (notably in the Mughal Empire or British Raj) princely state. It is usually applied t ...
Sahib
Sahib or Saheb (; ) is an Arabic title meaning 'companion'. It was historically used for the first caliph Abu Bakr in the Quran. The title is still applied to the caliph by Sunni Muslims.
As a loanword, ''Sahib'' has passed into several langua ...
Meghraji and was educated at
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 ...
.
He became
heir apparent
An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...
with the title of
Yuvraj Sahib Meghraji on 15 January 1942, when his father succeeded to the throne of the
Princely State of Cutch
Cutch, also spelled Kutch or Kachchh and also historically known as the Kingdom of Kutch, was a kingdom in the Kutch region from 1147 to 1819 and a princely state under British rule from 1819 to 1947. Its territories covered the present day K ...
upon the demise of his grandfather Maharao Shri Sir
Khengarji III
Maharajadhiraj Mirza Maharao Sir Khengarji III Sawai Bahadur (23 August 1866 – 15 January 1942) was a progressive and one of the longest ruling monarchs of a dependent state and also the longest ruling king of the Princely State of Cutch ...
.
He was left to administer the state whenever his father Vijayaraji was away. In 1947, upon the independence of India, it was he who, on behalf of his father, Maharao Shri Vijayraji (who was away for medical treatment at London), signed the
Instrument of Accession of Kutch, on 16 August 1947, on his behalf, as Heir Apparent for the Princely State of Kutch.
INTERNATIONAL LAW REPORTS VOLUME 50
Maharao of Cutch
He was President of
Cutch State Council
Cutch or Kutch may refer to:
* Andrew McCutchen (born 1986), professional baseball outfielder
*Cutch State, a princely state of British India
* Cutch Agency, a political agency of British India
* Kutch, a district of Gujarat, India
*Catechu
...
from 1943–1948. He acceded to the throne upon the death of his father on 26 January 1948 under the name and style of Madansinji and ruled for a short period until 1 June 1948, when the administration of the Princely State was completely merged into the
Dominion of India
The Dominion of India, officially the Union of India,* Quote: “The first collective use (of the word "dominion") occurred at the Colonial Conference (April to May 1907) when the title was conferred upon Canada and Australia. New Zealand and N ...
.
[
Although the princely state of Cutch had been merged with India, he held the title until the entitlements were abolished by the Government of India through the 26th amendment to the Constitution of India in 1971.
]
Diplomatic career
He joined the Indian Foreign Service
The Indian Foreign Service (IFS) is the diplomatic service and a central civil service of the Government of India under the Ministry of External Affairs. The Foreign Secretary is the head of the service. Vinay Mohan Kwatra is the 34th and the ...
in 1953, and served as Hon Minister-Counsellor at London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
1953–1956, Ambassador to Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
1957–1960, and Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
1960–1961. In 1962, his brother Himmatsinhji became the member of the Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-past ...
representing the Kutch community.
On 1 January 1977, he founded "Maharao of Kutch Aina Mahal Trust". The Madansinhji Museum was made under this trust. This museum has two parts. One part is the Kala Atari Picture Gallery and another part is a marvellous old palace called Aina Mahal. During Indo-China War of 1962, he donated his personal gold of 100 kg for the Indian Army, as a patriotic gesture.[
]
Sports career
He was a tennis player, who was active in the 1930s. He represented India at the Davis Cup
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the organis ...
in 1936. In 1937, in Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* ...
, he met Franjo Kukuljević
Franjo Kukuljević (; 7 October 1909 – 8 November 2002) was a Yugoslav tennis player. He played for the Yugoslavian team at the International Lawn Tennis Challenge from 1930 to 1939. He was a 13-time national champion – one in singles, ...
, with whom he played doubles and from that point, they became lifelong friends.
Personal life
He was married to Maharani Rajendra Kunverba, daughter of Lt.-Col. Umdae Rajhae Buland Makan Maharajadhiraja Maharaja Sir Madan Singh Bahadur of Kishangarh
Kishangarh is a city and a Municipal Council in Ajmer district in the Indian state of Rajasthan.
History
Kishangarh State was founded by the Jodhpur prince Kishan Singh in 1609. Prior to the rule of Kishan Singh this area was ruled by Ra ...
in 1930, and had issue.
He died on 21 June 1991 in London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, however, his body was brought back to India and cremated at Bhuj with all honors.[ His eldest son ]Pragmulji III
Maharao Pragmulji III of Kutch (3 May 1936 – 28 May 2021) was the ruler of Kutch from Jadeja dynasty.
Biography
He did his primary education from Mayo College, Ajmer and Doon School, Dehradoon and later graduated from The Hindu College, Delhi ...
inherited the title Maharaja of Kutch (in pretense) as a scion of the Jadeja dynasty. There were some disputes leading to a court case, which started during his lifetime and continued after his death regarding his estate, worth millions of rupees.The erstwhile ruler said in his will that Prithvirajsinhji would not get anything from his riches if he did not withdraw a court case filed by him in 1980 over the division of property.
Kutch ruler's son cannot claim father's riches: Court.
References
{{authority control
1909 births
1991 deaths
Maharajas of Kutch
Indian royalty
Ambassadors of India to Chile
Ambassadors of India to Norway
Indian male tennis players