Sir Jashwant Singh II (or Jaswant Singh II) KCIE (1864–1919) 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 Sailana from 1895 until his death in 1919.

Early life

He was born on 3 September 1864 to Bhawani Singh, the Jagirdar of Semlia. In 1884, he was adopted by Duleh Singh, the

of Sailana. In the same year, the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

approved his adoption.

Education

He received his early education in the vernacular and

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

from Bhawani Singh. Later, he was sent to Daly College in

Indore Indore (; ISO 15919, ISO: , ) is the largest and most populous Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The commercial capital of the state, it has been declared as the List of cleanest cities in India, cleanest city of In ...

for his further studies. He was proficient in Persian.

Succession

Following the death of Duleh Singh in October 1895, he became the

of Sailana. He was installed on the throne by David Barr on 24 December 1895 and was simultaneously granted full administrative powers. On the occasion, the

Ratlam Ratlam is a city in the northwestern part of the Malwa region in Madhya Pradesh state of India. The city of Ratlam lies above sea level. It is the administrative headquarters of Ratlam district, which was created in 1947 after the independe ...

presented claims regarding the ceremony of Talwar Bandhai, but they were rejected.

Reign

One of the first challenges he faced upon his succession was that his predecessor had left the state with a heavy debt and the affairs of state were in disarray. He made considerable efforts to improve the financial condition of the State and nearly paid off its debt. However, the Indian famine of 1899–1900 caused a setback, and the State had to take another loan of 100,000 Rs. He paid off the entire state debt. He reorganized each department to align with modern requirements. He organized the state police and established permanent Courts of Justice. He constructed Jaswant Niwas at a cost of 200,000 rupees and oversaw the reconstruction of the fort and the stepwell known as Govind Kund. He served as president of Akhil Bharatiya Kshatriya Mahasabha in 1911.

Delhi Durbars

Durbar of 1903

He was invited to attend the Delhi Durbar on 1 January 1903 but did not attend due to state obligations.

Durbar of 1911

When the Delhi Durbar of 1911 was scheduled, the

Governor-General of India The governor-general of India (1833 to 1950, from 1858 to 1947 the viceroy and governor-general of India, commonly shortened to viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom in their capacity as the emperor o ...

sent him a Kharita invitation. He attended it along with his sons. On the occasion, his sons, Mandhata Singh and Ramchandra Singh, served as pages to the Queen-Empress Mary. Both received diamond badges from Mary.

Personal life

Marriages

He married four times. He first married Bhatianiji, the daughter of the jagirdar of Barodia under

, in 1882. She died in 1898. In 1888, he married Kachhawaiji, the daughter of the

of Machhand under

Gwalior Gwalior (Hindi: , ) is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; It is known as the Music City of India having oldest Gwalior gharana, musical gharana in existence. It is a major sports, cultural, industrial, and political c ...

. In the same year, he married Ranawatiji, the daughter of the Rao of Dhariawad. He married Sisodniji, the daughter of the Rana of

Barwani Barwani or Badwani () is a municipality, municipal town in Barwani district of Madhya Pradesh, India, that is situated near the left bank of the Narmada River. It is the administrative headquarters of Barwani district and has also served as th ...

, in 1895.

Children

He had six sons and five daughters of whom one son and two daughters died in infancy. His sons were

Dileep Singh H.H. Raja Sir Dileep Singh K.C.I.E. (18 March 1891 - 8 February 1961) was the last official ruler of the princely state of Sailana from 1919 to 1948. Raja Sir Dileep Singh was educated at the Mayo college Ajmer and completed his diploma and pos ...

, Bharat Singh, Mandhata Singh, Ramchandra Singh, and Ajatshatru Singh.

Dileep Gopalakrishnan Padmanabhan, better known by his stage name Dileep, is an Indian actor, producer, comedian and entrepreneur who predominantly works in the Malayalam film industry. He has also acted in Tamil, Hindi, and Kannada films. He has ...

was his heir and successor. Bharat was adopted in Multhan and succeeded there in 1901. Mandhata was granted an estate of Adwaria which consisted of three villages. He was later granted the

jagir A jagir (), ( Hindustani: जागीर/جاگیر, ''Jāgīr''), ( Marathi: जहागीर, ''Jahāgīrá'') also spelled as jageer, was a type of feudal land grant in the Indian subcontinent at the foundation of its Jagirdar ( Zamindar ...

of Raoti. Ramchandra was given the

of Kaneri. Ajatshatru received Advani, Govindpura, and other villages as his appanage. He had houses built for each of his sons. Both Mandhata and Ajatshatru left Sailana in 1919 due to a conflict with their elder brother and moved to

Bikaner Bikaner () is a city in the northwest of the States and territories of India, state of Rajasthan, India. It is located northwest of the state capital, Jaipur. It is the administrative headquarters of Bikaner District and Bikaner division. Fo ...

. His daughters were Devendra Kanwar, Shiva Kanwar, and Lakshmi Kanwar. Devendra Kanwar was married to Bijai Singh, the Maharawal of

Dungarpur Dungarpur is a city in the southernmost part of Rajasthan, India. History Dungarpur is the seat of the elder branch of the Guhilot of Mewar family. The seat of the younger branch is that of the Maharana of Udaipur. The city was founded in ...

. Shiva Kanwar was married to Arjun Singh,

of Narsinghgarh, and Lakhsmi Kanwar was married to Durjan Sal, Rao of Khilchipur.

Death

He passed away on 13 July 1919 and was succeeded by

as the

of Sailana.

Honours

He received the Kaisar-i-Hind gold medal in 1901. In June 1904, he was appointed a

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, ...

and was formally invested with the honor by

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. George w ...

, then

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

, in November 1905 at

. In 1904, he was awarded the title of Bahadur. In 1904, George Curzon arranged a conference to discuss the reorganization of Mayo College in

Ajmer Ajmer () is a city in the north-western States and union territories of India, Indian state of Rajasthan. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Ajmer district and Ajmer division. It lies at the centre of Rajasthan, earning it the ...

of which he was selected a representative. He was later appointed a permanent member of the General Council of Mayo College. He was appointed a permanent member of the Daly College Council.

References

1864 births 1919 deaths Indian royalty Indian knights Hindu monarchs Rajput monarchs People from British India Knights Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire Recipients of the Kaisar-i-Hind Medal {{india-royal-stub