Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Maharana

Raj Raj or RAJ may refer to: History * British Raj, the 1858–1947 rule of the British Crown over India * Company Raj, the 1757–1858 rule of the East India Company in South Asia * Licence Raj, the Indian system of elaborate licences, regulation ...

Shri 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), Javanese, ...

Pratapsinhji

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 ...

(12 April 1907 – 4 June 2007) was last official Maharana Raj Sahib of

Wankaner Wankaner is a city and a municipality in Morbi district in the State of Gujarat. Until 2013, Wankaner was part of the Rajkot district. Etymology The city was named after its location on the Machhu River, "Wankaner" translating to "riverbend" ( ...

belonging to Jhala dynasty from 28 June 1954 till 28 December 1971, when

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

abolished official symbols of princely India, including titles, privileges, and remuneration, privy purses. He was son of Captain Maharana Raj Shri Sir Amarsinhji Banesinhji Sahib, the Maharana Raj Sahib of Wankaner.
Indian States: A Biographical, Historical, and Administrative Survey
'. Asian Educational Services; 1922 [Retrieved 5 March 2017]. . p. 756.
Indian & Pakistan Year Book & Who's who
'. Bennett, Coleman & Company; 1951 [Retrieved 5 March 2017]. p. 496. He 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 ...

and later moved to England for further studies and studied at

Cheltenham College ("Work Conquers All") , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent School Day and Boarding School , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Head , head = Nicola Huggett ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

and

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. Upon his return he joined Officer-in-charge of the Revenue Department of Wankaner State - 1929–1931, and the Treasury Office 1931–1932. He took over the title of ''Maharana Raj Sahib of Wankaner'' upon the death of his father, 28 June 1954 and held the title till was abolished by Government of India on 28 December 1971. He was founder member of Cricket Club of India and a member of

Bombay Natural History Society The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), founded on 15 September 1883, is one of the largest non-governmental organisations in India engaged in conservation and biodiversity research. It supports many research efforts through grants and publi ...

. He served as Chairman of governing body of Rajkumar College, Rajkot. He received the Silver Jubilee Medal (1935) and the Coronation Medal (1937), and the Sri Saktimat Makhapraphulla Order of Jhalavad 1st class. He was director of Amrasinhji Mills of Wankaner. He converted his

Ranjit Vilas Palace Ranjit Vilas Palace may refer to: * Ranjit Vilas Palace (Rajkot), a palace in Rajkot, Gujarat, India * Ranjit Vilas Palace (Ratlam), a palace in Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh, India * Ranjit Vilas Palace (Wankaner), a palace in Wankaner, Gujarat, I ...

at Wankaner into a luxury hotel.Bob Rupani.
Driving holidays in India
'. Rupani Media; 2005 [Retrieved 5 March 2017]. p. 187. He sold his Wankaner House at

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

, a decision which he later regretted.Royal regrets selling Wankaner House to US govt
/ref> He is father of Digvijaysinh Jhala and

MK Ranjitsinh Jhala Dr. MK Ranjitsinh Jhala (born 19 February 1939) is an author and authority on wildlife and nature conservation from India. He served also as Chairman of the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI); Dir-Gen CAPART; Dir. and Regional Co-ordinator WWF Tige ...

. He died in 2007 at age of 100.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Amarsinhji, Pratapsinhji 1907 births 2007 deaths Indian royalty People from Rajkot district Gujarati people Indian businesspeople in textiles Indian centenarians Men centenarians Maharajas of Wankaner People educated at Cheltenham College Alumni of the University of Cambridge Members of the Bombay Natural History Society