Maharana Shambhu Singh (22 December 1847 – 7 October 1874), was the

Maharana Maharana is a variation on the Indian royal title Rana. Maharana denotes ' king of kings', similar to the word "Maharaja". Ruler title in British India Salute states (all in present India) The gun salutes enjoyed by the states that acceded to ...

(r. 1861–1874) of

Princely state of Udaipur Kingdom of Mewar, sometimes known as Udaipur State, was ruled by the Sisodia dynasty. It was an independent kingdom in Rajputana region of India. It was established around the 7th century as minor rulers of the Nagada-Ahar region of Udaipur an ...

. He was a son

Sher Singh Sher Singh (4 December 1807 – 15 September 1843) was the fourth Maharaja of the Sikh Empire. Elder of the twins of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, founder of the Sikh Empire and Maharani Mehtab Kaur. His reign began on 18 January 1840 following his ...

Bagore Bagor is a town with Sub-Tehsil in Mandal tehsil of Bhilwara district of Rajasthan State, India. Prehistoric Housing Site Bagor (Rajasthan) on the river Kothari is the largest Mesolithic site in India and has been horizontally excavated. Bag ...

and nephew of Maharana Swarup Singh. The rich and diverse land of India had faced numerous invasions and marauding before the British set their foot as merchants and slowly took over the dominance of the Indian main land. With the great Indian rebellion of 1857, the governance of India was transferred to the Queen and a new era had begun with Maharana Shambhu Singh ascending the throne of Mewar. He was a descendant of Maharana

Sangram Singh II Sangram Singh II (24 March 1690 – 11 January 1734) was a ruler of Mewar, India. He reigned from 1710 to 1734. He was succeeded by his son Jagat Singh II. Maharana Sangram Singh II was a great ruler of his time. He ascended the throne at a c ...

; was adopted by Maharana Swarup Singh as his nominated heir. Maharana Shambhu Singh ascended the throne as a minor and a British Political agent was appointed to guide the young Maharana. Unlike his predecessors, the financial conditions at the time were relatively stable and progressive and he continued to replenish the state treasury after he was provided full powers as the king of Mewar. After attaining complete control, he set up various new rules and offices for improving administrative resources, organised administration and income of temples and sacred places and introduced new legal code for Mewar. Under him the military was reorganised, various jail reforms were introduced and new construction of roads and railway tracks started. In spite of being formally uneducated, he gave education supreme importance and expanded various existing schools and introduced numerous new ones. Most importantly, he was the first to set up a school for girls and thus promoted opportunities of education for everyone. He enforced special measures to curb the Sati pratha and imposed heavy monetary fines on offenders. Thus with various reforms in public facilities and infrastructure, Shambhu Singh was considered a liberal and well-managed king of his times. But with his untimely death at a young age of 27 years, his dreams of the revival of his homeland to the ancient golden times were stalled. He left behind no heir and his nephew Sajjan Singh, who himself was a minor at the time of his death; succeeded him and went ahead in continuation with the reforms paved by his predecessor.

References

Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India Mewar dynasty 1847 births 1874 deaths {{India-royal-stub