Shiv Rattan Dev 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 1940 until his death in 1967.

Birth

He was born in April 1925 to Jagat Dev Singh, the

of Poonch, and his wife, Padmavati.

Education

He was educated at

Aitchison College Aitchison College is an elite private, boarding school, boarding Junior School, Secondary School for boys in Lahore, Pakistan. It has educated Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime ministers, including Imran Khan, Feroz Khan Noon, president of Pakist ...

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 ...

, under the supervision of a European tutor. He was later enrolled at Mayo College,

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 ...

. He completed his

LL.B. A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

University of Lucknow University of Lucknow (informally known as Lucknow University, and LU) is one of the oldest public state university based in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. LU's main campus is located at Badshah Bagh, University Road area of the city with a second ...

Succession

Upon the death of his father in 1940, he succeeded him as the

of Poonch. As he was a minor at the time, the affairs of the state were administered by a regency council. 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 ...

appointed Sheikh Abdul Qayum as the administrator of Poonch and Baldev Singh Pathania as his guardian. The latter remained in this role until October 1941. During his minority, Hari Singh continued appointing civilian and military officers to oversee the administration of Poonch.{{Cite book , last1=Duschinski , first1=Haley , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UUrCEAAAQBAJ , title=The Palgrave Handbook of New Directions in Kashmir Studies , last2=Bhan , first2=Mona , last3=Robinson , first3=Cabeiri deBergh , date=2023-06-01 , publisher=Springer Nature , isbn=978-3-031-28520-2 , pages=45–47 , language=en However, this was not well received by Shiv’s family and the people of Poonch.

Personal life

He married Nalini Rajya Lakshmi Devi, the daughter of Tribhuvan and his wife, Ishwari. He and his wife had issue: three daughters— Hemlata Rajye, Rajni Kumari, and Urmila Kumari—and two sons, Raman Dev Singh and Ratish Dev Singh. Following the

partition of India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...

, he, along with his family, moved from

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 ...

, losing his property in

and

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, third-largest city in the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is a commercial and industrial hub, being the list of cities in P ...

in the process. They then relocated to a

haveli A ''haveli'' is a traditional townhouse, mansion, or manor house, in the Indian subcontinent, usually one with historical and architectural significance, and located in a town or city. The word ''haveli'' is derived from Arabic ''hawali'', me ...

Haridwar Haridwar (; ; formerly Mayapuri) is a city and municipal corporation in the Haridwar district of Uttarakhand, India. With a population of 228,832 in 2011, it is the second-largest city in the state and the largest in the district. The city is s ...

, built by his ancestor

Dhian Singh Raja Dhian Singh (22 August 1796 – 15 September 1843) was the longest serving wazir of the Sikh Empire, during the reign of Maharajah Ranjit Singh, and the brief rule of four of his successors over four years. He held the office for twenty fiv ...

, before finally settling in

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 ...

, where he had purchased a house.

Death

He died in

in 1967.

References

1925 births 1967 deaths Rajput monarchs Hindu monarchs Indian Hindus