Brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

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 ...

Sawai Sawai may refer to: *Sawai (surname), a Japanese surname *Sawai (title), a title of honor used in India *Sawai language, a South Halmahera language of Austronesian stock spoken in Indonesia *Sawai, Car Nicobar, a village in the Andaman and Nicobar ...

Bhawani Singh MVC (22 October 1931 – 17 April 2011) was an officer in the

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

and an

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...

. Singh served in the Indian army from 1951 to 1975. In the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, he was decorated with the

Maha Vir Chakra The Maha Vir Chakra (MVC) () is the second highest military decoration in India, after the Param Vir Chakra, and is awarded for acts of conspicuous gallantry in the presence of the enemy, whether on land, at sea or in the air. It replaced the B ...

and also he captured Pakistan district chachro, the country's second-highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy. He later served as an advisor to the Indian forces in Sri Lanka. After retirement, he served as India's High Commissioner to

Brunei Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with ...

. He oversaw the management of

Rambagh Palace The Rambagh Palace in Jaipur, Rajasthan is the former residence of the Maharaja of Jaipur located outside the walls of the city of Jaipur on Bhawani Singh Road. History The first building on the site was a garden house built in 1835 for th ...

which had been converted into a hotel. Singh was the son of

Man Singh II Major General Maharaja Sawai Governor Sir Man Singh II GCSI GCIE (born Sawai Mor Mukut Singh; 21 August 1912 – 24 June 1970) was an Indian prince, government official, diplomat and sportsman. Man Singh II was the ruling Maharaja of the pr ...

, the last ruling

of the princely state of

Jaipur Jaipur (; , ) is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the List of cities and towns in Rajasthan, largest city of the north-western States and union territories of India, Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had ...

during the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

. Upon the death of his father on 24 June 1970, Bhawani Singh succeeded him in receiving an annual payment (the

privy purse The Privy Purse is the British sovereign's private income, mostly from the Duchy of Lancaster. This amounted to £20.1 million in net income for the year to 31 March 2018. Overview The Duchy is a landed estate of approximately 46,000 acres (20 ...

), certain privileges, and the use of the title "Maharaja of Jaipur" under terms accepted earlier when princely states were absorbed into independent India. However, all were ended on December 28, 1971 by the 26th Amendment to the Constitution of India. Bhawani Singh married Princess

Padmini Devi Padmini Devi (born Princess Padmini Devi of Sirmur; 21 September 1943) is the titular Rajmata of Jaipur. Early life Ethnically born into the royal family of the Sirmur, her father, Maharaja Rajendra Prakash of Sirmur, presently in Himachal Pr ...

of Sirmur in 1966. Their only child, a daughter,

Diya Kumari Diya Kumari (born 30 January 1971) is an Indian politician from Bharatiya Janata Party currently serving as the 5th Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan alongside Prem Chand Bairwa in the ministry of Bhajan Lal Sharma. She currently represents ...

, is an Indian politician and a Member of Parliament. Bhawani Singh died at age 79 of multi-organ failure.

Early life

Born to

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 "" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as part ...

Sawai Man Singh II Major General Maharaja Sawai Governor Sir Man Singh II GCSI GCIE (born Sawai Mor Mukut Singh; 21 August 1912 – 24 June 1970) was an Indian prince, government official, diplomat and sportsman. Man Singh II was the ruling Maharaja of the ...

and his first wife, Marudhar Kanwar of

, Bhawani Singh was educated at Sheshbagh School,

Srinagar Srinagar (; ) is a city in Indian-administered 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 is supported by the tertiary ...

The Doon School The Doon School (informally Doon School or Doon) is a Selective school, selective all-boys Private school, private boarding school in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India, which was established in 1935. It was envisioned by Satish Ranjan Das, a lawyer ...

Dehradun Dehradun (), also known as Dehra Doon, is the winter capital and the List of cities in Uttarakhand by population, most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous Dehradun district, d ...

, and later

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner an ...

in the United Kingdom.Maharaja of Jaipur Bhawani Singh passes away
/ref> As the first male heir born to a reigning maharaja of Jaipur for generations (all others, including his father, who was originally a minor noble, were adopted), his birth was a celebrated event in

. It is said that so much champagne flowed in celebration of his birth that the new heir was nicknamed "Bubbles". The Hindu – 20 October 2002

Military career

Singh was commissioned into Indian Army in the 3rd Cavalry as a second Lieutenant holding a short-service commission in 1951 and was selected for the President's Bodyguards in 1954. On 31 July 1957, he received a regular commission as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

(seniority from 22 October 1954, and seniority as a second lieutenant from 22 October 1952) with the service number IC-9015. Promoted to the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

on 22 October 1958, he served in the President's Bodyguard till 1963. Singh was posted to 50th Parachute Brigade in 1963. Later, he was posted as Adjutant of the

Indian Military Academy The Indian Military Academy (IMA) is one of the oldest military academies in India, and trains officers for the Indian Army. Located in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, it was established in 1932 following a recommendation by a military committee set up ...

from January 1964 to 1967, during which time he was promoted to major on 22 October 1965. In 1967, Singh was appointed

second-in-command Second-in-command (2i/c or 2IC) is a title denoting that the holder of the title is the second-highest authority within a certain organisation. Usage In the British Army or Royal Marines, the second-in-command is the deputy commander of a unit, f ...

of the 10th battalion, Parachute Regiment (Commando) (10 Para Cdo), one of the two elite

Special Forces Special forces or special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

battalions. He was appointed the

Commanding Officer The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually give ...

(CO) in 1968.

Indo-Pakistani War of 1971

In 1970, Singh helped train the

Mukti Bahini The Mukti Bahini, initially called the Mukti Fauj, also known as the Bangladesh Forces, was a big tent armed guerrilla resistance movement consisting of the Bangladeshi military personnel, paramilitary personnel and civilians during the Ba ...

before the commencement of the

Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War (, ), also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, was an War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalism, Bengali nationalist and self-determination movement in East Pakistan, which res ...

. During the war, as an acting lieutenant-colonel, he commanded 10 Para (Commando). The battalion, led by Singh, was responsible for the capture of Chachro in

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

, for which he was decorated with the

(MVC): The citation for his MVC reads as follows:

Post-war career

Promoted to substantive lieutenant-colonel on 17 June 1973, Singh took early retirement from the army with effect from 23 May 1975. While the Indian Army was in action in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

under

Operation Pawan Operation Pawan ( ''Kãryvãhi Pavan'', lit. "Operation Wind") was the code name assigned to the operation by the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) to take control of Jaffna from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), better known as the T ...

, the

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Rajiv Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi (20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was an Indian statesman and pilot who served as the prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the Assassination of Indira Gandhi, assassination of his mother, then–prime ...

requested him to go to Sri Lanka and boost the low morale of his old unit (10 Para Cdo). He was successful in this venture and, for this, the President bestowed upon him the honorary rank of

on 29 November 1991. A promotion after retirement was considered a rare honour.

Diplomatic career

After his retirement from Indian Army, Singh served as High Commissioner of India to

from 1994 to 1997.

Royal life

Their Highnesses the Maharaja and Maharani of Jaipur

Bhawani Singh ascended the throne of

on 24 June 1970 following the death of his father, and held the title of

until the abolition of the princely order, his

Privy Purse The Privy Purse is the British sovereign's private income, mostly from the Duchy of Lancaster. This amounted to £20.1 million in net income for the year to 31 March 2018. Overview The Duchy is a landed estate of approximately 46,000 acres (20 ...

and other royal entitlements by

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and stateswoman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 un ...

in 1971, although he remained generally honoured like most other erstwhile rulers. He married Princess

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

on 10 March 1966 in a ceremony held at

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

. She was the daughter of his father's polo-playing friend HH Maharaja Rajendra Prakash of Sirmur by his wife Maharani Indira Devi.Maharani Padmini Devi
, from the Durga Diya website. Retrieved 23 November 2009 The couple had one daughter,

(b. 30 January 1971). Having half-brothers but no son, in November 2002 he adopted his daughter's elder son,

Padmanabh Singh Padmanabh Singh (born 2 July 1998) is an Indian Polo player and head of the Kachhwaha clan, the former royal family of the Jaipur State. Personal life Padmanabh Singh was born in New Delhi on 2 July 1998 to Diya Kumari, an Indian politician, ...

, who succeeded him as head of the erstwhile royal family of Jaipur upon his death.

Other

In the same vein as his father, the first hotelier prince in India, Bhawani Singh ran many palaces as hotels, including the

, Raj Mahal Palace, or other former royal residences. He was the first Indian prince to turn his Rambagh Palace in to luxury hotel in 1958. He conducted certain ceremonies and customs from the traditional seat of royal power, the sprawling

City Palace, Jaipur The City Palace, Jaipur is a royal residence and former administrative headquarters of the rulers of the Jaipur State in Jaipur, Rajasthan. Construction started soon after the establishment of the city of Jaipur under the reign of Maharaja Saw ...

, part of which remains under the control of his family. He became one of the richest maharajas of post-independent India.

Political career

He was also involved in local politics, as was his late stepmother,

Gayatri Devi Gayatri Devi (born Princess Gayatri Devi of Cooch Behar; 23 May 1919 − 29 July 2009) was the third Maharani consort of Jaipur from 1940 to 1949 through her marriage to Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II. Following her husband's signature for the ...

, his father's third wife. In 1975 he was arrested and imprisoned for a short period during The Emergency by Congress government at center, due to political vendetta along-with Gayatri Devi but was released after protests from various people including Indian Army and

Lord Mountbatten Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy), Admiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (born Prince Louis of Battenberg; 25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979), commonly known as Lord Mountbatten, was ...

, who spoke to

. Sawai Bhawani Singh contested the

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of Parliament of India which is Bicameralism, bicameral, where the upper house is Rajya Sabha. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a ...

elections in the year 1989 for the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

Party but lost to the

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...

leader

Girdhari Lal Bhargava Girdhari Lal Bhargava (11 November 1936 – 8 March 2009) was a member of the Lok Sabha (lower house of parliament) in India. A member of the Bharatiya Janata Party, he was elected six consecutive times for the Jaipur (Lok Sabha constituenc ...

. He then retired from active politics and devoted his time to his family and the protection and continuation of Jaipur's traditional arts and heritage.

Death

Bhawani Singh was admitted to a private hospital in Gurgaon, Haryana on 29 March and died on 17 April 2011 following multi-organ failure.

Ashok Gehlot Ashok Gehlot (born 3 May 1951) is an Indian politician who served as the Chief Minister of Rajasthan from 1998 to December 2003, then again from 2008 to December 2013, and later from 2018 to December 2023. He represents Sardarpura (Vidhan Sabha ...

, then

Chief Minister of Rajasthan The chief minister of Rajasthan is the head of government, chief executive of the Indian state of Rajasthan. In accordance with the Constitution of India, the Governors of states of India, governor is a state's ''de jure'' head, but ''de facto' ...

announced two days of state mourning. His body was flown to Jaipur and kept at the City Palace for people to pay their last respect before being cremated. He was cremated on 18 April 2011 at Gaitore Ki Chhatriya, the royal crematorium in Jaipur with full state honours.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Bhawani 1931 births 2011 deaths Rajasthani politicians Indian Army officers Recipients of the Maha Vir Chakra Indian amateur radio operators People from Jaipur Military personnel from Rajasthan People educated at Harrow School The Doon School alumni Indian people imprisoned during the Emergency (India) Indian National Congress politicians High commissioners of India to Brunei 20th-century Indian royalty 20th-century Indian military personnel