Maharaja Sir Mayurdwajsinhji Meghrajji III,
KCIE,
FRAS,
FRAI,
FRHistS
The Royal Historical Society, founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history.
Origins
The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the Histori ...
(3 March 1923 – 1 August 2010) was the last ruling
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, a ...
of
Dhrangadhra-Halvad. He was an academic, politician, member of several distinguished academic bodies, and one of the last surviving rulers of the former
princely state
A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, subject to ...
s of 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 him ...
. He was also the last surviving knight 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 the last of either of the chivalric orders of the
British Indian Empire
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 himse ...
.
Early life
Maharaja Meghrajji III was born on 3 March 1923 at Sundar Villas,
Dhrangadhra
Dhrangadhra () is a town, taluka headquarters and a municipality in Surendranagar district in the state of Gujarat, India. During the period of the British Raj, the city was the capital of Dhrangadhra State, one of the eight first-class prince ...
as the second but eldest surviving son of Maharaja Sir Ghanshyamsinjhi Ajitsinhji Sahib Bahadur (1889–1942), the Maharaja of the 13-gun
salute state
A salute state was a princely state under the British Raj that had been granted a gun salute by the British Crown (as paramount ruler); i.e., the protocolary privilege for its ruler to be greeted—originally by Royal Navy ships, later also ...
of Dhrangadhra-Halvad and his third wife, Maharani Anand Kunverba Sahiba (1895–1979). He received his earliest education at a local school, then was sent to England, where he first attended
Millfield School
Millfield is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) located in Street, Somerset, England. It was founded in 1935.
Millfield is a registered charity and is the largest co-educational boarding schoo ...
in
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lor ...
and then the
Heath Mount School
Heath Mount School is a Church of England co-educational independent prep school near Watton-at-Stone, Hertfordshire, England. It admits pupils aged 3 to 13. It was founded as Heath Mount Academy in Hampstead in 1796. In 1934 it was relocated to ...
in
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For gov ...
.
He then studied at
Haileybury College Haileybury may refer to:
Australia
* Haileybury (Melbourne), a school in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
**Haileybury Rendall School, an offshoot in Berrimah, North Territory, Australia
China
* Haileybury International School, an international ...
before returning to India just prior to succeeding his father as Maharaja.
Maharaja of Dhrangadhra-Halvad
Upon the death of his father in 1942, Mehghrajji succeeded him as Maharaja. He continued his education at
St. Joseph's Academy in
Dehra Dun
Dehradun () is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and is governed by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, with the Uttarakhand Legislative ...
and at the
Shivaji Military School in
Poona
Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...
(now
Pune
Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...
). During his reign, he served as the Patron of
Talukdari Girassia College
Taluqdars or Talukdar ( Hindustani: Devanagari: ; Perso-Arabic: , ; from ''taluq'' "estate/attachment" + '' dar'' "owner"), were aristocrats who formed the ruling class during the Delhi Sultanate, Bengal Sultanate, Mughal Empire and British ...
and of the
Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute
The Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (BORI) is located in Pune, Maharashtra, India. It was founded on 6 July 1917 and named after Ramakrishna Gopal Bhandarkar (1837–1925), long regarded as the founder of Indology (Orientalism) in Ind ...
. From 1945 to 1947, he was a member of the Standing Committee of the
Chamber of Princes
The Chamber of Princes (''Narendra Mandal'') was an institution established in 1920 by a royal proclamation of King-Emperor George V to provide a forum in which the rulers of the princely states of India could voice their needs and aspiratio ...
.
Meghrajji's reign proved to be a short one, as when independence came to India in 1947, Meghrajji signed an
Instrument of Accession to India. On 14 August, he was knighted by being appointed a Knight Commander 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 ...
(KCIE), one of the last.
However, Meghrajji threw himself wholeheartedly into the cause for his new nation, serving as a member of the
Constituent Assembly of India
The Constituent Assembly of India was elected to frame the Constitution of India. It was elected by the 'Provincial Assembly'. Following India's independence from the British rule in 1947, its members served as the nation's first Parliament as ...
from 1947 to 1948. On 15 February 1948, the Maharaja merged Dhrangadhra-Halvad into the United State of
Kathiawad
Kathiawar () is a peninsula, near the far north of India's west coast, of about bordering the Arabian Sea. It is bounded by the Gulf of Kutch in the northwest and by the Gulf of Khambhat (Gulf of Cambay) in the east. In the northeast, it is ...
and into the
Union of Saurashtra just a month later.
Politician and academic
From 1948 to 1952, Meghrajji served as ''Uprajpramukh'' (Deputy
Rajpramukh
Rajpramukh was an administrative title in India which existed from India's independence in 1947 until 1956. Rajpramukhs were the appointed governors of certain Indian provinces and states.
Background
The British Indian Empire, which inclu ...
) of the state of
Saurashtra, also serving briefly (in 1949) as president of its state bank. In 1953, he attended the coronation of
Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states durin ...
. In 1967, he became a Member of the
4th Lok Sabha
List of Members of the 4th Lok Sabha (4 March 1967 – 27 December 1970), elected February–March 1967. The Lok Sabha (House of the People) is the lower house in the Parliament of India.13 sitting members from Rajya Sabha were elected to 4 ...
, representing
Surendranagar
Surendranagar Dudhrej is a municipality in Surendranagar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Dudhrej municipality is directly connected with Wadhwan city and Wadhwan municipality.
Etymology
Dudhrej was originally a nes (hamlet) settled ...
, as Member of Parliament from 1967 to 1971. Working to keep the tradition of royal India's monarchies alive, Meghrajji simultaneously held the chair of Intendant-General for the Consultation of Rulers of Indian States in Concord for India until 1971.
In the 1950s, Meghrajji studied at
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniq ...
, where he took a
B.Litt degree in 1958. He also studied at the
Ruskin School of Drawing and at the
Institute for Social Anthropology at Oxford.
Personal life
In 1943, Meghrajji married Maharani Shrimati Sri Rajni Brijraj Kunverba Sahiba of
Jodhpur
Jodhpur (; ) is the second-largest city in the Indian state of Rajasthan and officially the second metropolitan city of the state. It was formerly the seat of the princely state of Jodhpur State. Jodhpur was historically the capital of the ...
. The couple had three sons:
*Sodhsalji Shatrujitdev Sahib,
Yuvaraja
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 ...
of Dhrangadhra-Halvad, who succeeded him to the Maharaja Raj Sahib of Dhrangadhra-Halvad throne
*Dr. Jayasinhji Jawahirdev Sahib
*Siddhrajsinhji Gautama Deo Sahib
Later life
Since 1966, he had served as the President of
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 design ...
and of the Sri Rajaram Educational Foundation. He was also a life member of the
Millfield Society, the Indian Council of World Affairs, the Indian Parliamentary Group, the
Commonwealth Parliamentary Association
The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), previously known as the Empire Parliamentary Association, is an organisation which works to support good governance, democracy and human rights.
In 1989 the patron of the CPA was the Head ...
(all since 1967), the Linguistic Society of India, the Numismatic Society of India, the Heraldry Society of India and the
World Wildlife Fund
The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the W ...
. As well, he was a Fellow of the
Royal Asiatic Society
The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, commonly known as the Royal Asiatic Society (RAS), was established, according to its royal charter of 11 August 1824, to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the en ...
and of the
Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland
The Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland (RAI) is a long-established anthropological organisation, and Learned Society, with a global membership. Its remit includes all the component fields of anthropology, such as biolo ...
. He was also a member of the
Cricket Club of India
Cricket Club of India (CCI) is a cricket club in India. It is located on Dinsha Wacha Road, in Churchgate of Mumbai, India. It was conceived as India's counterpart to the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). It is considered one of the most prestigiou ...
and a Fellow of the
Royal Historical Society
The Royal Historical Society, founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history.
Origins
The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the Histori ...
.
Death
The Maharaja died of complications of old age at Dhrangadhra on 1 August 2010, aged 87. He was succeeded by his eldest son Sodhsalji Shatrujitdev, the heir and titular Maharaja to the throne of Dhrangadhra-Halvad.
Awards
*Knight Commander 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 ...
(KCIE) -
1948 New Year Honours
The 1948 New Year Honours were appointments by many of the Commonwealth realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1948 for the Briti ...
, back-dated to 14 August 1947
*Honorary rank of Major in the Indian Army - 1948
References
External links
Sad Demise August 1, 2010 : Phulchhab Daily, Gujarati Language Paper
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meghrajji 03 Of Dhrangadhra-Halvad
1923 births
2010 deaths
India MPs 1967–1970
Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford
Fellows of the Royal Asiatic Society
Fellows of the Royal Historical Society
Founders of Indian schools and colleges
Indian anthropologists
Indian knights
20th-century Indian royalty
Knights Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire
Members of the Constituent Assembly of India
Maharajas of Gujarat
People educated at Millfield
People from Surendranagar district
Rajpramukhs
Saurashtra (state)