Baldev Singh was the

Raja Raja (; from , IAST ') is a noble or royal Sanskrit title historically used by some Indian subcontinent, Indian rulers and monarchs and highest-ranking nobles. The title was historically used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. T ...

of Poonch from 1892 until his death in 1918.

Reign

Upon the death of his father Moti Singh in 1892, he succeeded him as the

of Poonch. On 25 March 1893, at his durbar in

Jammu Jammu () is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute ...

, Pratap Singh, the

Maharaja Maharaja (also spelled Maharajah or Maharaj; ; feminine: Maharani) is a royal title in Indian subcontinent, Indian subcontinent of Sanskrit origin. In modern India and Medieval India, medieval northern India, the title was equivalent to a pri ...

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory since 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered by India as a state from 1952 to 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (prin ...

, swore him in as the

of Poonch. A ''dastur-ul-amal'' () was given to him at the same time. Rather than ruling by his will and discretion, he was to follow it as a

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

. When the authorities in

began interfering in the affairs of Poonch, he wrote to Pratap Singh, asserting that the status of his dominions was not the same as that of the jagirs of Ramkot and

Chenani Chanani or Chenani is a town and tehsil in the Udhampur district, in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is governed by a notified area council (city council). Before 1947, it was an internal jagir ruled by a Chandel (Rajput) ...

. However, his pleas were ignored, and the authorities in

imposed even stricter measures. He grew tired of their meddling in his state affairs and established direct links with the British authorities in

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

. In 1901, they granted Poonch the status of a separate entity and instructed the authorities in

to use the term ilaqā instead of jāgīr in official correspondence. During his reign, many reforms were introduced. He aligned the administration of Poonch with modern standards. Like his father, he reigned with a secular attitude. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he remained loyal to the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

. He supplied 18,000 recruits to the army and contributed Rs. 1.5 million to the war effort.

Personal life

He married Amba Devi and another daughter of Fateh Singh,

of Dhami.{{Cite book , last=Brentnall , first=Mark , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ayYbAvECXQwC , title=The Princely and Noble Families of the Former Indian Empire: Himachal Pradesh , date=2004 , publisher=Indus Publishing , isbn=978-81-7387-163-4 , pages=163 , language=en

Death

He died on 9 September 1918 and was succeeded by his eldest son Sukhdev Singh.

Honours

He was appointed

Knight Commander Knight Commander (or Dame Commander) is the second most senior grade of seven British orders of chivalry, three of which are dormant (and one of them continues as a German house order). The rank entails admission into knighthood, allowing the rec ...

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 (:Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire, ...

in January 1909. For his services during

, he was gazetted with the honorary rank of

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

in the

British Indian Army The Indian Army was the force of British Raj, British India, until Indian Independence Act 1947, national independence in 1947. Formed in 1895 by uniting the three Presidency armies, it was responsible for the defence of both British India and ...

in 1916 and was granted a personal salute of nine guns in 1918.

References

Year of birth unknown Date of birth unknown 1918 deaths Rajput monarchs Hindu monarchs People from British India Indian Hindus Indian knights Knights Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire