![Maharaja Raghbir Singh of Jind photographed 1875](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/Maharaja_Raghbir_Singh_of_Jind_photographed_1875.jpg)
Maharaja Raghubir Singh (1832 – 7 March 1887) was a Maharaja of
Jind State
Jind State (also spelled Jhind State) was a princely state located in the Punjab region of north-western India. The state was in area and its annual income was Rs.3,000,000 in the 1940s. Jind was founded and ruled by Jat Sikh rulers of Sidhu cla ...
of the
Phulkian dynasty
The Phulkian (or Phoolkian) Maharajas were Jat-Sikh rulers and aristocrats in the Punjab region of India. They governed the states of Faridkot, Jind, Nabha, Malaudh and Patiala, allying themselves with the British Raj as per the Cis-Sutlej t ...
who reigned from 1864 to 1887.
Early life
Singh was born at Bazidpur in 1832, the younger of two sons of
Swarup Singh of Jind
Raja Swarup Singh (30 May 1812 – 26 January 1864; his name is alt. spelt as Sarup Singh) was a Sidhu Jat Raja of Jind State of the Phulkian dynasty who reigned from 1834 to 1864. He was noted for his bravery as a warrior.
Early life
Swarup Si ...
. In 1848, he became heir apparent to his father upon the death of his older brother. During the
Great Uprising, he fought alongside his father in armor and mail at some of the major battles against the rebels.
Maharaja of Jind
Following his father's death in 1864, Raghubir Singh ascended the Jind ''gadi'', having his coronation on 31 March of that year. The coronation was attended by the Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab, Robert Montgomery, as well as by the Maharaja of Patiala-the head of the Phulkian clan. Raghubir Singh established his main residence at
Sangrur
Sangrur is a city in Sangrur district of the Indian state of Punjab, India. It is the headquarters of Sangrur District.
Geography
Sangrur is located at . It has an average elevation of 237 metres (778 feet).
Climate
Health s ...
, and began a long campaign to remodel his state. He rebuilt the Sangrur bazaar, constructed gardens and built temples, water tanks, public buildings and paved roads. In 1872, he contributed a contingent of the Jind artillery for service in the outbreak of
Kuka movement.
In 1874, he faced a serious revolt in
fifty villages in his territory of
Charkhi Dadri, as well as in some other lands acquired after 1857, but he took personal command of his troops and subdued the revolt in a month and crushed it. Three principal villages which took part in the rebellion, Charkhi, Mankinas and Jhanjhu, were burned down.
In 1875, Raghubir Singh was knighted with the GCSI, the highest imperial dignity, receiving the KIH in 1877 and the CIE in 1878. During the Second Afghan War, he sent 700 cavalry and infantry to the aid of the British forces in Afghanistan. In 1877, Raghubir Singh was made a Councillor of the Empire (an ADC to the Viceroy). He was granted the title of ''Raja-i-Rajgan'' in 1881, and died six years later after a 23-year reign, aged 53. As his only son had died in 1883, he was succeeded by his grandson, Ranbir Singh.
Personal life
Raghubir Singh married twice, first marrying Sama Kaur, the daughter of Jawahar Singh. The couple had a son and a daughter:
*1. Balbir Singh (1857–1883). Married twice, first to a lady from Lahore (d. 1875) and secondly in 1872 to a daughter of the Sardar of Shahzadpur. He had a son and a daughter by his second wife:
**1.
Ranbir Singh, who succeeded his grandfather as Raja and later Maharaja of Jind.
**2. Balbir Kaur, who married the Raja of Hathras (1886–1979) in 1902 and had one son.
*2. A daughter, who married the Rai of Kalsia and had two sons.
Titles
*1834-1848:
Maharajkumar
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 ...
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 ...
Raghubir Singh
*1848-1864: Sri
Tikka 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 ...
Raghubir Singh
Bahadur
*1864-1875:
His Highness
Highness (abbreviation HH, oral address Your Highness) is a formal style (manner of address), style used to address (in grammatical person, second person) or refer to (in grammatical person, third person) certain members of a reigning or formerl ...
Farzand-i-Dilband, Rasikh-ul-Itiqad-i-Daulat-i-Inglishia,
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, an ...
Sri Raghubir Singh Bahadur,
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, an ...
of
Jind
Jind is one of the largest and oldest city in Jind district in the Indian state of Haryana. It is administrative headquarter of Jind district. Rani Talab is the main destination for tourists while Pandu-Pindara and Ramrai are the main reli ...
*1875-1878: His Highness Farzand-i-Dilband, Rasikh-ul-Itiqad-i-Daulat-i-Inglishia, Maharaja Sri
Sir
''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...
Raghubir Singh Bahadur, Maharaja of Jind,
GCSI
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 (:Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India, GCSI)
# ...
*1878-1881: His Highness Farzand-i-Dilband, Rasikh-ul-Itiqad-i-Daulat-i-Inglishia, Maharaja Sri Sir Raghubir Singh Bahadur, Maharaja of Jind, GCSI,
CIE
*1881-1887: His Highness Farzand-i-Dilband, Rasikh-ul-Itiqad-i-Daulat-i-Inglishia, Raja-i-Rajgan, Maharaja Sri Sir Raghubir Singh Bahadur, Maharaja of Jind, GCSI, CIE
Honours
*
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 appointmen ...
(GCSI)-1875
*Prince of Wales gold medal-1876
*
Empress of India Medal
The Empress of India Medal, also referred to as KIH Medal, was a commemorative medal awarded to mark the occasion of the proclamation of Queen Victoria as Empress of India in 1877. It was the first wearable medal issued to mark a commemorative o ...
, gold-1877
*
Companion 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 ...
(CIE)-1878
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jind, Raghubir Singh
Indian Sikhs
19th-century Indian monarchs
Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India
Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire
1834 births
1887 deaths
Jind
Indian knights