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 ...

Maharana The Maharana ("Great Rana") is a variation on the Indian royal title Rana. Maharana denotes ' great king' or ' high king', similar to the word " Maharaja". The term derives from the Sanskrit title "Mahārāṇaka". Usage at the time of independ ...

Raj

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 Assamese, Meitei ( Manipuri), Marathi, Malay (including In ...

Pratapsinhji

Sahib Sahib or Saheb () is a term of address originating from Arabic (). As a loanword, ''Sahib'' has passed into several languages, including Persian, Kurdish, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Kazakh, Uzbek, Turkmen, Tajik, Crimean Tatar, Urdu, Hi ...

(12 April 1907 – 4 June 2007) was last official Maharana Raj Sahib of

Wankaner Wankaner is a city and a municipality in Morbi district in the State of Gujarat. Until 2013, Wankaner was part of the Rajkot district. Etymology The city was named after its location on the Machhu River, "Wankaner" translating to "riverbend" ...

belonging to

Jhala Jhala (Hindi: झाला, ) is a term in Hindustani classical music which denotes the fast-paced conclusions of classical compositions or raga A raga ( ; , ; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a mus ...

dynasty from 28 June 1954 till 28 December 1971, when

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

abolished official symbols of princely India, including titles, privileges, and remuneration, privy purses. He was son of Captain Maharana Raj Shri Sir Amarsinhji Banesinhji Sahib, the Maharana Raj Sahib of Wankaner.
Indian States: A Biographical, Historical, and Administrative Survey
'. Asian Educational Services; 1922 [Retrieved 5 March 2017]. . p. 756.
Indian & Pakistan Year Book & Who's who
'. Bennett, Coleman & Company; 1951 [Retrieved 5 March 2017]. p. 496. He was educated at

Rajkumar College, Rajkot The Rajkumar College (or RKC) in Rajkot, Gujarat is one of the oldest K-12 institutions in India. RKC has a 28.656-acre (1,15,965 m²) campus in Rajkot. The foundation stone of Rajkumar College was laid in 1868. The institution was designed by ...

and later moved to England for further studies and studied at

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 ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

and

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. Upon his return he joined Officer-in-charge of the Revenue Department of

Wankaner State Wankaner State was one of the princely states of India in the historical Halar region of Kathiawar during the period of the British Raj. It was an eleven gun salute state belonging to the Kathiawar Agency of the Bombay Presidency. Its capital ...

- 1929–1931, and the Treasury Office 1931–1932. He took over the title of ''Maharana Raj Sahib of Wankaner'' upon the death of his father, 28 June 1954 and held the title till was abolished by Government of India on 28 December 1971. He was founder member of

Cricket Club of India Cricket Club of India (CCI) is a cricket club located on Dinsha Wacha Road, in Churchgate of Mumbai, India. It was conceived as India's counterpart to the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). It is considered one of the most prestigious clubs in the na ...

and a member of

Bombay Natural History Society The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), founded on 15 September 1883, is one of the largest non-governmental organisations in India engaged in conservation and biodiversity research. It supports many research efforts through grants and publ ...

. He served as Chairman of governing body of Rajkumar College, Rajkot. He received the Silver Jubilee Medal (1935) and the Coronation Medal (1937), and the Sri Saktimat Makhapraphulla Order of Jhalavad 1st class. He was director of Amrasinhji Mills of Wankaner. He converted his Ranjit Vilas Palace at Wankaner into a luxury hotel.Bob Rupani.
Driving holidays in India
'. Rupani Media; 2005 [Retrieved 5 March 2017]. p. 187. He sold his

Wankaner House Lincoln House, owned by Indian army, is a 50,000 sq foot heritage property located at 78, Bhulabhai Desai Road, in the billionaires row of Mumbai, India. Property history A Grade-III listed mansion designed 1933 by British architect Claude ...

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

, a decision which he later regretted.Royal regrets selling Wankaner House to US govt
/ref> He is father of

Digvijaysinh Jhala Digvijaysinh Pratapsinhji Jhala (20 August 1932 – 4 April 2021) was an Indian politician from Gujarat. He served as India's first environment minister in the central government. Early life Jhala was born at Ranjit Vilas Palace at Wankane ...

and MK Ranjitsinh Jhala. He died in 2007 at age of 100.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Amarsinhji, Pratapsinhji 1907 births 2007 deaths Indian royalty People from Rajkot district Gujarati people Indian businesspeople in textiles Indian men centenarians Maharajas of Wankaner People educated at Cheltenham College Alumni of the University of Cambridge Members of the Bombay Natural History Society