Martand Singh (15 March 192320 November 1995) was an Indian wildlife conservationist, parliamentarian and the last ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Rewa. Born in 1923 to Gulab Singh at Fort of Govindgarh, then the Maharajah of Rewa, he did his college studies at

Daly College The Daly College is a co-educational residential and day boarding school located in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India. It was founded by Sir Henry Daly of the British Indian Army during India's colonial British Raj, following an English public sch ...

, Indore and continued at

Mayo College Mayo College (informally Mayo) is a boys-only independent boarding school in Ajmer, Rajasthan, India. It was founded in 1875 by Richard Bourke, 6th Earl of Mayo, who was the Viceroy of India from 1869 to 1872. This makes it one of the oldest Pub ...

, Ajmer from where he graduated in 1941. After the death of his father in 1946, he became the Maharajah of Rewa and retained the title, but not the power, until the government abolished royalty in 1970. Fascinated by the rare breed of

white tiger The white tiger or bleached tiger is a leucistic pigmentation variant of the Mainland tiger. It is reported in the wild from time to time in the Indian states of Madhya Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, in the Sunderbans region and ...

which was native to Rewa, he worked to protect the species and making the region poacher-free. He also reared a white tiger which he found as a cub. After the abolition of royalty, Singh represented Rewa in the

5th Lok Sabha List of Members of the 5th Lok Sabha, ( 15 March 1971 — 18 January 1977) elected February–March 1971.The term of the House was extended two times by one year at a time. However, the House was dissolved after having been in existence for a ...

(1971),

7th Lok Sabha List of Members of the 7th Lok Sabha, (18 January 1980 – 31 December 1984) elected December 1979 – January 1980. The Lok Sabha (House of the People) is the lower house in the Parliament of India nine sitting members from Rajya Sabha were el ...

(1980) and the

8th Lok Sabha The 8th Lok Sabha ran from 31 December 1984 to 27 November 1989. Politicians were elected in December 1984, taking office by the end of the month. The Lok Sabha (House of the People) is the lower house in the bicameral Parliament of India. 9 s ...

(1984). The Government of India awarded him the third-highest civilian honour of the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

, in 1986, for his contributions to society. Singh was married to Princess Pravina of Kutch and the couple had one son. He died on 20 November 1995, at the age of 72. He was again in the news in 2013 when his son filed a lawsuit regarding the allegedly illegal sale of ''Rewa Kothi'', their Mumbai bungalow with a reported value of 2 billion, using a fake

power of attorney A power of attorney (POA) or letter of attorney is a written authorization to represent or act on another's behalf in private affairs (which may be financial or regarding health and welfare), business, or some other legal matter. The person auth ...

. Martand Singh's property is controlled by His Highness Maharaja Martand Singh Charitable Trust. Singh committed to nature conservation and the fight against poaching. The foundation of the

Bandhavgarh National Park Bandhavgarh National Park is a national park of India, located in the Umaria district of Madhya Pradesh. Bandhavgarh, with an area of , was declared a national park in 1968 and then became Tiger Reserve in 1993. The current core area is spread ov ...

in the Vindhya Mountains was his initiative. In particular, the preservation of the rare species of the white tiger (a half albino), which is native to Rewa, was close to his heart. Martand Singh even succeeded in breeding this breed in captivity for the first time with the male tiger Mohan, who was captured in the jungle in 1951. All white Bengal tigers living in zoological gardens or shown in shows worldwide today ultimately trace their pedigree back to this specimen. As a philanthropist and donor, Martand Singh supported many social and medical institutions for needy and sick people, and the establishment and further development of a modern infrastructure in his constituency was also one of his main concerns.

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* Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in public affairs India MPs 1971–1977 India MPs 1980–1984 India MPs 1984–1989 1923 births 1995 deaths Indian royalty Lok Sabha members from Madhya Pradesh Indian conservationists {{environmentalist-stub