Raja Sir Surendra Bikram Prakash Bahadur, (14 November 1867 – 4 July 1911) was a

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 ...

of the

princely state A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Raj, British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, ...

Sirmur Sirmur (also spelled as Sirmor, Sirmaur, Sirmour, or Sirmoor) was an independent kingdom in India, founded in 1616, located in the region that is now the Sirmaur district of Himachal Pradesh. The state was also known as Nahan, after its main ...

from 1898 until his death in 1911. Surendra Bikram was the son of Raja Sir Shamsher Prakash, GCSI (1846–1898), and succeeded as Raja on his death in 1898. The State of Sirmur, which was sub-Himalayan, in what is now the

Sirmaur district Sirmaur is the southernmost district of Himachal Pradesh, northern India. It is largely mountainous and rural, with 90% of its population living in villages. Some of its towns include the capital Nahan, Tuheri, Bhawan, Shamra, UchaTik ...

, was also sometimes known as Nahan, after its main city

Nahan Nahan is a town in Himachal Pradesh in India and is the headquarters of the Sirmaur District It was the capital of the former Sirmur princely state.Nahan is also known as the Town of ponds. Geography Nahan is located at . It has a ...

. The Raja had a salute of 11 guns, and he was the 44th of his line. He continued a progressive policy adopted by his father, including reorganizing the Courts of Justice in the state, and amalgamated the postal service with that of British India. According to a contemporary obituary, he "gave personal attention to administrative details". The Viceroy, Lord Curzon, nominated him to a seat on the

Imperial Legislative Council The Imperial Legislative Council (ILC) was the legislature of the British Raj from 1861 to 1947. It was established under the Charter Act of 1853 by providing for the addition of 6 additional members to the Governor General Council for legislativ ...

, where he served from 1902 until 1907. He attended the

Coronation Durbar The Delhi Durbar ( lit. "Court of Delhi") was an Indian imperial-style mass assembly organized by the British at Coronation Park, Delhi, India, to mark the succession of an Emperor or Empress of India. Also known as the Imperial Durbar, it was ...

at Delhi in 1903. Raja Surendra Bikram was appointed a Knight 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 appointments ...

(KCSI) in the

1901 Birthday Honours The King's Birthday Honours 1901 were announced 9 November 1901, the birthday of the new monarch Edward VII. The list included appointments to various orders and honours of the United Kingdom and British India. The list was published in ''The Ti ...

list on 9 November 1901. He died at Mussoorie on 4 July 1911, after an illness lasting some time. He married, in 1883, Suketwala Rani Subhadra Deviji Sahiba (1865–1907), daughter of Raja Rudra Sen Bahadur, Raja of Suket. Their son Amar Prakash (1888–1933) succeeded him as Raja in 1911, and was later raised to the title of Maharaja.

References

1867 births 1911 deaths Knights Commander of the Order of the Star of India People from Punjab Province (British India) {{India-royal-stub