Himmatsinhji (general)
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Major-General Kumar
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Himmatsinhji
Jadeja Jadeja ( Gujarati, Sindhi: , or ''Jāṛejā'') is a Samma Rajput clan that inhabits the Indian state of Gujarat and the Tharparkar district of Sindh, Pakistan. They originated from Sammas of Sindh, a pastoral group, and laid a claim on the ...
CIE (1897 – 9 January 1973) was the first Deputy defence minister of India and the first
Lieutenant-Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a " second-in-com ...
of
Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; Sanskrit: ''himācāl prādes;'' "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a States and union territories of India, state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen Indian Himalayan ...
. A descendant of the rulers of
Nawanagar State Nawanagar was an Indian state and then a princely state in the historical Halar region, located on the southern shores of the Gulf of Kutch. It was ruled by the Jadeja Rajput dynasty and became a part of newly formed India. Its capital cit ...
, he served with the
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, reaching the rank of major-general. He was later a member of the two most recent predecessors of the lower house of the
Parliament of India The Parliament of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Government of India, Government of the Republic of India. It is a bicameralism, bicameral legislature composed of the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok ...
– the
Central Legislative Assembly The Central Legislative Assembly was the lower house of the Indian Legislature, the legislature of British India. It was created by the Government of India Act 1919, implementing the Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms. It was also sometimes calle ...
and the
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. He also played several
first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...
matches and was the nephew of
Ranjitsinhji Colonel Kumar Sri Sir Ranjitsinhji Vibhaji II, (10 September 1872 – 2 April 1933), often known as Ranji or K. S. Ranjitsinhji, was an Indian cricketer who later became ruler of his native Indian princely state of Nawanagar State, Nawan ...
and brother of Duleepsinhji, both of whom played
Test cricket Test cricket is a Forms of cricket, format of the sport of cricket, considered the game’s most prestigious and traditional form. Often referred to as the "ultimate test" of a cricketer's skill, endurance, and temperament, it is a format of i ...
for England.


Early life and family

Himmatsinhji was born at Sarodar a village in Nawanagar State on
Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...
's
Kathiawar Kathiawar (), also known as Saurashtra, is a peninsula in the south-western Gujarat state in India, bordering the Arabian Sea and covering about . It is bounded by the Kutch district in the north, the Gulf of Kutch in the northwest, and by the ...
peninsula. Himmatsinhji's brother Duleepsinhji, a
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cricketer for
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, and Digvijaysinhji, who succeeded the brothers' uncle,
Ranjitsinhji Colonel Kumar Sri Sir Ranjitsinhji Vibhaji II, (10 September 1872 – 2 April 1933), often known as Ranji or K. S. Ranjitsinhji, was an Indian cricketer who later became ruler of his native Indian princely state of Nawanagar State, Nawan ...
, as ruler of Nawanagar. Rajendrasinhji, was India's first Chief of the Army Staff.


Sporting career

A keen sportsman, like many in his family, Himmatsinhji was introduced to cricket during his education in England, where he boarded at
Malvern College Malvern College is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, fee-charging coeducational boarding school, boarding and day school in Malvern, Worcestershire, Malvern, Worcestershire, England. It is a public school (United Kingdom), public school ...
in
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. By his last year at the college, 1916, he was considered good enough to open the batting (and occasionally keep wicket) for the school team, with his best score an innings of 84 runs against
Cheltenham College Cheltenham College is a public school ( fee-charging boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18) in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The school opened in 1841 as a Church of England foundation and is known for its outstanding linguis ...
. Later in the season, he captained a combined Public Schools team against a team from the
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. The match, played at
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and umpired by Himmatsinhji's brother, Digvijaysinhji, included six other (future and former) first-class cricketers: for the Public Schools, Lionel Hedges and Nigel Atkinson, and for the Artillery team, Edward Lee, Graham Doggart, Frank Orr, and
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. Himmatsinhji remained in England until at least the following year, when he played a charity match for an Indian XI against an Australian XI, for the benefit of war widows and orphans. Having returned to India, Himmatsinhji played several matches at first-class level during the 1930s.First-class matches played by Himmatsinhji (5)
– CricketArchive. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
His debut came for a
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's XI against the Roshanara Club in February 1932, where he kept wicket but scored a
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in his only innings. Himmatsinhji's remaining matches came for Rajputana representative sides, predecessors of the current
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, including a match against the touring English team during the 1933–34 season and a match against a touring Australian side led by Frank Tarrant during the 1935–36 season. He also twice played at
Ranji Trophy The Ranji Trophy is a premier domestic first-class cricket championship played in India and organized annually by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The teams representing regional and state cricket associations participate. BCCI ...
level, during the 1936–37 and 1937–38 editions of the tournament. Himmatsinhji's two highest first-class scores, innings of 20 and 39 runs, came during the first of these matches, which Rajputana lost to
Central India Central India refers to a geographical region of India that generally includes the states of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. The Central Zonal Council, established by the Government of India, includes these states as well as Uttar Prades ...
by 125 runs. He played his last match at first-class level in the following season's tournament, again against Central India, and recorded a pair.


Military career and later life

In World War I, Himmatsinhji received a temporary commission 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 ...
and saw service in Mesopotamia. Two of his relatives also served overseas during the war – a cousin, Savaisinhji Devisinhji, was wounded in African campaign, while a brother, Dajirajsinhji, was killed in action in France in 1917. By the end of the war, Himmatsinhji had been promoted to
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 26 March 1919, Himmatsinhji received a substantive commission in the British Indian Army as a second lieutenant, with date from 21 September 1918. He was promoted to lieutenant on 21 September 1919, and to captain on 26 March 1924. His brothers, Pratapsinhji and Digvijaysinhji, with their uncle, Ranjitsinhji, the Jam Sahib of Nawanagar, regularly vacationed together at Ballynahinch Castle, his residence in
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,
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. In 1930, the three brothers were recalled from the Indian Army to take up roles in the armed forces of Nawanagar, with Himmatsinhji named Commander-in-Chief. As a result, Himmatsinhji relinquished his British commission on 14 June 1931. However, his time in this position was short. Ranjitsinhji died in April 1933, having named Dijvijaysinhji as his heir. After a brief period in the diplomatic service, Himmatsinhji returned to the army, seeing service in the Second World War. A war-substantive lieutenant-colonel at the war's end, he eventually reached the rank of major-general. He was appointed a Companion 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, ...
(CIE) in the
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. He was elected to the
Central Legislative Assembly The Central Legislative Assembly was the lower house of the Indian Legislature, the legislature of British India. It was created by the Government of India Act 1919, implementing the Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms. It was also sometimes calle ...
, India's pre-independence lower house, in 1946, and was later a member of the
Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...
, the transitional body established after independence. A member of the
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, he was a party
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before being appointed Deputy Minister of Defence in
Jawaharlal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a pr ...
's first ministry.— (15 February 1952)
"New Lieutenant-Governors"
– ''
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''. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
In this position he chaired a committee responsible for recommended improvements to India's defences along its border with what was then the Kingdom of Tibet, prior to China's invasion and eventually annexation. Upon retirement, Himmatsinhji was appointed the first lieutenant-governor of Himachal Pradesh, a newly created Part C state of India. He served in the position from 1952 to 1954, when he was succeeded by Bajrang Bahadur Singh. Himmatsinhji died at Jamnagar on 9 January 1973.


See also

* ''Himmatsinghji Committee Report'' or the ''North and North East Border Defence Committee''


References

{{s-end 1897 births 1973 deaths Governors of Himachal Pradesh Indian cricketers Indian generals Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire Indian National Congress politicians from Gujarat Members of the Central Legislative Assembly of India Members of the Constituent Assembly of India People educated at Malvern College People from Jamnagar district Rajasthan cricketers Cricketers from Gujarat Union deputy ministers of India