Takhtsinhji
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Maharaja Raol Sir Takhtsinhji Jaswantsinhji KIH (6 January 185829 January 1896), was
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, a ...
of Bhavnagar, a
Rajput Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...
chief of the
Gohil Gohil may refer to: * Gohil dynasty, 12th-century rulers of Saurashtra in modern Gujarat * Gohil, a Gujarati'rajsthani clan * Gahlot, a clan of rajputs * Dinita Gohil, British actress * Gigabhai Gohil (died 2020), Indian politician * Manav Gohil (b ...
clan, and ruler of Bhavnagar state in
Kathiawar Kathiawar () is a peninsula, near the far north of India's west coast, of about bordering the Arabian Sea. It is bounded by the Gulf of Kutch in the northwest and by the Gulf of Khambhat (Gulf of Cambay) in the east. In the northeast, it is ...
. He succeeded to the throne of Bhavnagar upon the death of his father, Jaswantsinhji, in 1870.


Life

Takhtsinhji attended the Delhi Durbar in 1877 and was granted a personal gun salute of 15 guns. During his minority studies, which ended on 5 April 1878, he was educated at the Rajkumar College, Rajkot being the first student. Afterward, he studied under an English officer, while the administration of the state was conducted jointly by Mr. E. H. Percival, a member of the
Indian Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 300 million p ...
, and Gaurishankar Udayshankar, C.S.I., one of the foremost native statesmen of India, who had served the state in various capacities since 1822. At the age of twenty, Takhtsinhji found himself the ruler of a territory nearly in size. His first public act was to sanction a railway connecting his territory with one of the main trunk lines, which was the first enterprise of its kind on the part of a raja in western (if not all) India. The amount of commerce, trade, economic and social development of the state that came in the wake of this railway confirmed Takhtsinhji as supporting a policy of progressive administration. Further educational establishments, hospitals, dispensaries, trunk roads, bridges, handsome edifices, and other public works projects followed. Takhtsinhji was awarded the Empress of India Gold Medal in 1877, and knighted as a KCSI in 1881. In 1886, he inaugurated a system of constitutional rule, by placing several departments in the hands of four members of a council of state under his own presidency. This innovation—which had the support of the governor of
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-m ...
,
Lord Reay Lord Reay, of Reay in the County of Caithness, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. Lord Reay (pronounced "ray") is the hereditary Clan Chief of Clan Mackay, whose lands in Strathnaver and northwest Sutherland were known as the Reay Country. ...
—provoked a virulent attack upon the chief, who brought his defamers to trial at the
High Court of Bombay The High Court of Bombay is the high court of the states of Maharashtra and Goa in India, and the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. It is seated primarily at Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay), and is one of the o ...
. The punishment of the ringleaders broke up a blackmailing system to which rajas were regularly exposed. The public spirit toward Takhtsinhji in freeing his brother chiefs from blackmail was widely acknowledged throughout India, as well as by the British authorities. In 1886, he was promoted to
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) # ...
, and five years later his hereditary title of '' Thakur'' was raised to that of ''
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, a ...
''. In 1893 he took advantage of the opening of the
Imperial Institute The Commonwealth Education Trust is a registered charity established in 2007 as the successor trust to the Commonwealth Institute. The trust focuses on primary and secondary education and the training of teachers and invests on educational pro ...
to visit England in order to pay personal homage to
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...
, then sovereign of the
British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...
. During that occasion, the
University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...
awarded him the degree of LL.D. As the first pupil of Rajkumar College, Rajkot, Takhtsinhji became its greatest patron and benefactor following his accession to the throne of Bhavnagar. He was also a great benefactor to
Gujarat College Gujarat Arts & Science College, popularly and previously known as Gujarat College, is one of the oldest educational institution of India and second arts and science college of Gujarat, near Ellis Bridge, Ahmedabad. The institution was founded ...
,
Fergusson College Fergusson College is an autonomous public-private college offering various courses in the streams of arts and science in the city of Pune, India. It was founded in 1885 by the Deccan Education Society. Professor Vaman Shivram Apte was its fir ...
, and the Wadhwan Girassia School, as well as several girls' and women's schools. He founded
Samaldas Arts College Samaldas Arts College or Samaldas College is a college in Bhavnagar, Gujarat, India. It was founded in 1885 by Takhtsinhji, the Maharaja of Bhavnagar State in memory of his Diwan (minister) Samaldas Paramananddas Mehta. It is one of the oldest c ...
in 1885, which he named after the later Diwan of State, Samaldas Mehta. During his reign, he undertook intensive developments, reformed the revenue department, erected water works and modern docks, extended medical relief, built a port, bridges, hospitals, and schools and worked to and modernize Bhavnagar. Celebrated as a "model ruler of a model state" during his own lifetime, the Maharaja died at the Moti Bagh Palace on 29 January 1896 at the age of 38. He was succeeded as Maharaja of Bhavnagar by his eldest son,
Bhavsinhji II Colonel Maharaja Raol Sir Shri Bhavsinhji II Takhtsinhji, KCSI (26 April 1875 – 16 July 1919) was a Maharaja from the Gohil dynasty, who ruled the Bhavnagar State in western India from 1896 until 1919.The Royal Coronation Number and Who ...
.


Titles

Over his life, Takhtsinhji was known by the following titles: *1858–1870: ''
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 ...
'' ''
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), Javane ...
'' Takhtsinhji Jaswantsinhji Sahib
Gohil Gohil may refer to: * Gohil dynasty, 12th-century rulers of Saurashtra in modern Gujarat * Gohil, a Gujarati'rajsthani clan * Gahlot, a clan of rajputs * Dinita Gohil, British actress * Gigabhai Gohil (died 2020), Indian politician * Manav Gohil (b ...
,
Yuvraj Yuv(a)raj(a) (Sanskrit: युवराज) is an Indian title for the crown prince, and the heir apparent to the throne of an Indian (notably Hindu) kingdom or (notably in the Mughal Empire or British Raj) princely state. It is usually applied t ...
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 lang ...
of Bhavnagar *1870–1877: ''
His Highness Highness (abbreviation HH, oral address Your Highness) is a formal style used to address (in second person) or refer to (in third person) certain members of a reigning or formerly reigning dynasty. It is typically used with a possessive adject ...
''
Maharaj 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 ...
Raol
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), Javane ...
Takhtsinhji Jaswantsinhji Sahib, Maharaj Raol Thakore Sahib of Bhavnagar *1877–1881: ''His Highness'' Maharaj Raol Shri Takhtsinhji Jaswantsinhji Sahib, Maharaj Raol Thakore Sahib of Bhavnagar, KIH *1881–1886: ''His Highness'' Maharaj Raol Shri
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 ...
Takhtsinhji Jaswantsinhji Sahib, Maharaj Raol Thakore Sahib of Bhavnagar, KCSI, KIH *1886–1891: ''His Highness'' Maharaj Raol Shri Sir Takhtsinhji Jaswantsinhji Sahib, Maharaj Raol Thakore Sahib of Bhavnagar,
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) # ...
, KIH


Honors

During his lifetime, Takhtsinhji received the following honors: *Prince of Wales gold medal: 1875 * Empress of India Gold Medal: 1877 *
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): 1886 (KCSI: 1881) *Personal title of ''
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, a ...
'': 1891


References

*{{EB1911 , wstitle=Takhtsingji , volume=26 , page=365 , first=Mancherjee Merwanjee , last=Bhownagree , authorlink=Mancherjee Bhownagree 1858 births 1896 deaths Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India Maharajas of Bhavnagar Gujarati people Rajput rulers Bhavnagar district Founders of Indian schools and colleges Indian knights 19th-century Indian philanthropists