Raja Sir Maharaj Singh (17 May 1878,

Kapurthala Kapurthala is a city in Punjab state of India. It is the administrative headquarters of Kapurthala District. It was the capital of the Kapurthala State, a princely state in British India. The aesthetic mix of the city with its prominent build ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

– 6 June 1959,

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...

) was the first Indian

Governor of Bombay Until the 18th century, Bombay consisted of seven islands separated by shallow sea. These seven islands were part of a larger archipelago in the Arabian sea, off the western coast of India. The date of city's founding is unclear—historians tr ...

. He was also the Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir during

Maharaja Hari Singh Maharaja Sir Hari Singh (September 1895 – 26 April 1961) was the last ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. Hari Singh was the son of Amar Singh and Bhotiali Chib. In 1923, following his uncle's death, Singh became ...

's rule and also the Dewan of Jodhpur for a short while.

Life

Maharaj Singh was the son of Raja Harnam Singh of the Kapurthala royal family in the direct line founded by

Jassa Singh Ahluwalia Sultan-ul-Qaum Sardar Jassa Singh Ahluwalia (3 May 1718 – 23 October 1783) was a Sikh leader during the period of the Sikh Confederacy, being the Supreme Leader of the Dal Khalsa. He was also Misldar of the Ahluwalia Misl. This period w ...

. His mother was Rani Priscilla Kaur Sahiba (née Priscilla Golaknath). He was educated at

Harrow School (The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God) , established = (Royal Charter) , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , religion = Church of E ...

and

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

, where he completed his MA, and was called to Bar by the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

in 1902. Starting off as the Deputy Collector of United Provinces, he held several positions in the government of India. He was elected the chancellor of Lucknow University in 1941 and served for a short span as the Prime Minister of Kashmir. He was the Governor of Bombay from 1948 to 1952. He was appointed a CIE in 1915 and

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

ed in 1933. At the age of 72, he captained the

Bombay 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- ...

Governor's XI against a touring

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

XI in a

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

match starting on 25 November 1950. This makes him the oldest cricketer to make his first-class debut and the oldest player to play a first-class game. Coming in to bat at No. 9, he edged

Jim Laker James Charles Laker (9 February 1922 – 23 April 1986) was an English professional cricketer who played for Surrey County Cricket Club from 1946 to 1959 and represented England in 46 Test matches. He was born in Shipley, West Riding of York ...

for 3 and one run later, was caught at first slip off the same bowler. He took no part in the game after the first day and

Yadavindra Singh of Patiala Maharaja Sir Yadavindra Singh () was the 9th and last ruling Maharaja of Patiala from 1938 to 1971. He was also an Indian cricketer who played in one Test cricket, Test English cricket team in India in 1933–34, in 1934. Early life and fami ...

captained the side in his absence. Laker was 44 years younger than the man he dismissed. The Test cricketer

Rusi Modi Rustomji Sheriyar Modi (11 November 1924 – 17 May 1996) was an Indian cricketer who played for the India national cricket team from 1946 to 1952. Modi belonged to Parsi community. His test career started at Lord's in India's first test in ...

served as his

ADC ADC may refer to: Science and medicine * ADC (gene), a human gene * AIDS dementia complex, neurological disorder associated with HIV and AIDS * Allyl diglycol carbonate or CR-39, a polymer * Antibody-drug conjugate, a type of anticancer treatm ...

while he was the Bombay governor. ''Rajkumari Bibiji'' Amrit Kaur, who was the Minister of Health in the

Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...

government, was his younger sister. Married to Gunwati Maya Das of Ferozepore, Maharaj Singh had two sons, Raja Ranbir Singh, a diplomat (died June 1995) and Kanwar Mahindar Singh a tennis player and businessman based in Chandigarh (died August 2004), as well as one daughter, Prem Maharaj Seth (née Singh) (died September 2019).

Titles

*1878-1915: Kanwar Maharaj Singh *1915-1932: ''Kanwar'' Maharaj Singh, CIE *1932-1933:

Raja ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested f ...

Maharaj Singh, CIE *1933-1937: Raja

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 p ...

Maharaj Singh, CIE *1937-1959: Raja Sir Maharaj Singh, CIE,

CStJ The Order of St John, short for Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (french: l'ordre très vénérable de l'Hôpital de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem) and also known as St John International, is a British royal order of c ...

*1948-1952:

His Excellency Excellency is an honorific style (manner of address), style given to certain high-level officers of a sovereign state, officials of an international organization, or members of an aristocracy. Once entitled to the title "Excellency", the holder ...

Sri Sir Maharaj Singh, CIE, CStJ,

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of the

State of Bombay Bombay State was a large Indian state created at the time of India's Independence, with other regions being added to it in the succeeding years. Bombay Presidency (roughly equating to the present-day Indian state of Maharashtra, excluding S ...

Honours

(ribbon bar, as it would look today) Knight-Bachelor

King George V Silver Jubilee Medal ribbon

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)-1915 *

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...

-1933 *

King George V Silver Jubilee Medal The King George V Silver Jubilee Medal is a commemorative medal, instituted to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the accession of King George V. Issue This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir by King George V to commemorate his Silver J ...

-1935 *Commander of the Order of St John (CStJ)-1937 *

King George VI Coronation Medal The King George VI Coronation Medal was a commemorative medal, instituted to celebrate the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. Issue This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir of King George VI's coronation. It was awarded to th ...

-1937 *

Indian Independence Medal The Indian Independence Medal was instituted by the Dominion of India and approved by King George VI by way of a Royal Warrant dated 21 July 1948. It was a commemorative medal for service with the Indian armed forces at the time of independence i ...

-1948

References

External links

* Times Obituary, 8 June 1959
Indian Princely States - Kapurthala

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Raja Maharaj 1878 births 1959 deaths People educated at Harrow School Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Members of the Middle Temple Indian cricketers Knights Bachelor Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire Indian Knights Bachelor Indian diplomats Punjabi people Cricketers from Punjab, India Commanders of the Order of St John Governors of Bombay