Maharajadhiraja 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 ...

Sawai Madho Singh II (28 August 1862 – 7 September 1922), was the

Jaipur Jaipur (; Hindi Language, Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Rajasthan. , the city had a pop ...

from 1880 until 1922. He was the adopted son of

Ram Singh II Sawai Ram Singh II (28 September 1833 – 17 September 1880) was the Maharaja of Jaipur from 1835 until 1880, succeeding after the death of Jai Singh III. Reign Ram Singh ascended the throne of Jaipur in 1835 after the death of his father Jai ...

, Raja of Jaipur.

Biography

He was born Kaim Singh, the second son of the Thakur of Isardha, a petty chieftain related to the ruling house of Jaipur. After the death of their father, a dispute with his elder brother over the succession left the teenaged Kaim exiled and living in poverty. He found work as a

risaldar Risaldar, meaning the commander of a ''risala'' or ''risalah'' (a body of horse, regardless if troop or regiment) in Persian, is a mid-level rank in cavalry and armoured units of the Indian and Pakistan Army. In other arms, such as the infantry, t ...

in the cavalry of the

Nawab of Tonk Tonk was a Princely State of India at the time of the British Raj. The town of Tonk, India, Tonk, which was the capital of the state, had a population of 273,201 in 1901. The town was surrounded by a wall and boasted a mud fort. It had a high ...

. His fate was altered by his encounters with the guru Brahmachari Giridhari Sharan, whose disciple he became, and with the ruling

. When Ram died in 1880, he had no heir, and chose on his deathbed to adopt the 18-year-old Kaim, who was crowned under the name Madho. Married a Jadaun lady, daughter of Rao Budhpal Singh of Ummargarh estate, Etah, U.P. As ruler of the large and prosperous state of Jaipur, Madho Singh embraced modern ideas on education and sanitation. He built schools, colleges, hospitals and a museum. When famine struck in 1896–1897 and 1899–1900, he used state funds to feed the population. He also appealed to the Viceroy,

Lord Curzon George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, (11 January 1859 – 20 March 1925), styled Lord Curzon of Kedleston between 1898 and 1911 and then Earl Curzon of Kedleston between 1911 and 1921, was a British Conservative statesman ...

, to start a permanent Famine Relief Fund, which Singh began with a gift of £133,000 (). Singh was exceptionally loyal to the British crown, and sent his troops and horses to assist the British side in fighting in Chitral in 1894–1895, the

Tirah Campaign The Tirah campaign, often referred to in contemporary British accounts as the Tirah expedition, was an Indian frontier campaign from September 1897 to April 1898. Tirah is a mountainous tract of country in what was formally known as Federally ...

in 1897–1898 and in the

South African War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

. In the First World War, he again sent his men and machine guns to assist in the

Mesopotamian campaign The Mesopotamian campaign was a campaign in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I fought between the Allies represented by the British Empire, troops from Britain, Australia and the vast majority from British India, against the Central Powe ...

at his own expense. Singh was made an honorary Major-General, and was further rewarded with honours. He was made Knight Grand Commander of the

Order of the Star of India The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes: # Knight Grand Commander (GCSI) # Knight Commander ( KCSI) # Companion ( CSI) No appointments ...

and of the

Order of the Indian Empire The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes: #Knight Grand Commander (GCIE) #Knight Commander ( KCIE) #Companion ( CIE) No appoi ...

, and a Knight Grand Cross of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...

and of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

. In 1921, he adopted the second son of the Thakur of Isarda, whose wife was related to his Jadaun Maharani. He died in 1922 and was succeeded by his adopted son, the Maharaja

Man Singh Man Singh I, popularly known as Mirza Raja Man Singh (21 December 1550 – 6 July 1614) was the 29th Kachwaha Rajput Raja of Amer, later known as Jaipur state, in Rajputana. He was the most powerful and trusted general of the Mughal e ...

Honours

He was honored with GCSI in 1896, GCIE in 1901, and GCVO in 1903 AD. He was given the honorary degree of LLD by the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

in 1908. He also received the Hon rank of Major General in 1911 AD. In 1919, he was honored with GBE. He also received: *Member of the First Class of the

Order of the Crown of Prussia The Royal Order of the Crown (german: Königlicher Kronen-Orden) was a Prussian order of chivalry. Instituted in 1861 as an honour equal in rank to the Order of the Red Eagle, membership could only be conferred upon commissioned officers (or civ ...

: 1910Leading Officials, A. (2017). ''Leading Officials, Nobles, And Personages In The Native States Of Rajasthan : Not Available : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive''. nlineInternet Archive. Available at: https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.34620/page/n27 ccessed 8 May 2019 *Donat of the Order of the Hospital of the St. John of Jerusalem: 1912

Style & Title

Saramad-i-Rajha-i-Hindustan, Raj Rajeshwar Shri Maharajadhiraja Maharaja Sir Sawai Madho Singh II Bahadur, Maharaja of Jaipur, GCSI, GCIE, GCVO, GBE, with the style of ''His Highness''.

Salute

He was entitled to a salute of 21 guns.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Madho, II Madho 1862 births 1922 deaths Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire Indian Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Indian Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire