Miniature painting of Raja Swarup Singh of Jind

Raja Swarup Singh K.C.S.I. (30 May 1812 – 26 January 1864; his name is alt. spelt as Sarup Singh) was a

Sidhu Sidhu is a Punjabi Jat clan found in Punjab. The Sidhus have had a significant impact on Sikh history. Etymology and origin During British Raj, historians like HA.Rose and Alexander Cunningham note an account of local bards (bhatts) hi ...

Jat The Jat people (, ), also spelt Jaat and Jatt, are a traditionally agricultural community in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, many Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in l ...

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 ...

Jind State Jind State (also spelled Jhind State) was a princely state located in the Punjab and Haryana regions of north-western India. The state was in area and its annual income was Rs.3,000,000 in the 1940s. This state was founded and ruled by the Sidh ...

of the Phulkian dynasty who reigned from 1834 to 1864. He was noted for his administration and leadership during a crucial time in the history of Punjab.

Early life and family

Swarup Singh was born at Wazidpur (today in Patiala District), the only son of ''Sardar'' Karam Singh (d. 1818), who was himself a nephew to Raja Bagh Singh of Jind (1760-1819; r. 1789–1819) through his father, Rajkumar Bhup Singh (1771–1815). In his earlier years, Karam Singh had served under

Maharaja Ranjit Singh Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839) was the founder and first maharaja of the Sikh Empire, in the northwest Indian subcontinent, ruling from 1801 until his death in 1839. Born to Maha Singh, the leader of the Sukerchakia Misl ...

. In 1815, Karam Singh was granted the fief of Bazidpur after Bhup Singh's death. Through his father, Swarup Singh was a first cousin once removed to Hira Singh of Nabha. Karam Singh died in 1818, and Swarup Singh succeeded his father as Sardar of Bazidpur. He was the great grandson of Raja Gajpat Singh and hence a nephew of

. Swarup Singh married twice, first to an unknown princess (d. 1877) and secondly to Rani Sri Nand Kaur Sahiba. He had two sons: # Tikka Sri Randhir Singh Sahib Bahadur (d. 1848). No issue. # Sri Tikka Sahib Raghubir Singh, who succeeded his father as Raja of Jind.

Early career

Reign

In 1834, Swarup Singh's second cousin, Raja Sangat Singh (1810–1834; r. 1822–1834) died of alcoholism after a profligate and repressive 12-year rule that had brought Jind to the brink of financial collapse; he left no sons. The British were set upon annexing the Jind State. To prevent the state falling into British hands, a joint council of Patiala, Nabha, Kaithal and Jind states all decided to nominate Swarup Singh as Raja at Dodhan (nowadays Bhawanigarh) and Swarup Singh became officially Raja of Jind in 1837.

Anglo-Sikh Wars

His conduct during First Anglo-Sikh War was somewhat complex as Jind was fined 10,000 rupees by the British for not coordinating as expected, as he tried to slow the British troops from moving through his state. He did not participate in the Second Anglo-Sikh War.

Late career

Revolt of 1857

During the First War of Independence, he sent his troops into battle against the rebels, personally fighting through many of the major battles clad in

armor Armour (Commonwealth English) or armor (American English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, e ...

and

chain mail Mail (sometimes spelled maille and, since the 18th century, colloquially referred to as chain mail, chainmail or chain-mail) is a type of armour consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh. It was in common milita ...

. He rushed his forces to defend the British cantonment at

Karnal Karnal () is a city located in the state of Haryana, India and is the administrative headquarters of Karnal District. The city is well connected as it lies on National Highway 01, in the south of the city lies the cities of Panipat and Sonipa ...

, then served at Alipur and at the Battle of Badli-ki-Serai. He fought alongside the British forces during the

siege of Delhi The siege of Delhi was a decisive conflict of the Indian Rebellion of 1857. The rebellion against the authority of the East India Company was widespread through much of Northern India, but was essentially sparked by the mass uprising by the ...

for which he was mentioned in despatches in 1858 and received the Indian Mutiny Medal. Also in 1858, he received several titles of honour from the British government. In 1860, he was granted a further title, a gun salute of 11-guns, 14 villages and the Delhi properties of a Mughal prince, Shahzada Mirza Abu Baqar. The following year, Swarup Singh received a further 11 villages as a reward.

Social reforms

Not merely a warrior, but also a progressive and humane ruler, Swarup Singh issued several stern decrees outlawing infanticide, ''

sati Sati or SATI may refer to: Entertainment * ''Sati'' (film), a 1989 Bengali film by Aparna Sen and starring Shabana Azmi * ''Sati'' (novel), a 1990 novel by Christopher Pike *Sati (singer) (born 1976), Lithuanian singer *Sati, a character in ''Th ...

'' and slavery.

Death

In 1863, Swarup Singh was appointed a Knight Companion of the

Order of the Star of India The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes: # Knight Grand Commander ( GCSI) # Knight Commander ( KCSI) # Companion ( CSI) No appointments ...

. The following year, he unexpectedly died from acute

dysentery Dysentery ( , ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications may include dehyd ...

after a 30-year reign, aged 51. He was succeeded by his only surviving son, Raghubir Singh. He died in 1864 and his Samadh is built in Wazidpur.

Titles

*1812-1818:

Kunwar Kunwar (also spelt Kanwar , Kaur , Kuar or Kaurwar) for Rajput is an Indian Royal title denoting a prince. It is derived from the Sanskrit word Rajkumar. It was traditionally associated with the feudal Rajputs such as the son of a Rana, Babu an ...

Sri Swarup Singh *1818-1834:

Sardar Sardar, also spelled as Sardaar (, , 'commander', literally 'headmaster'), is a title of royal family, royalty and nobility that was originally used to denote princes, noblemen, chiefs, kings and other Aristocracy (class), aristocrats. It ha ...

Sri Swarup Singh *1834-1858:

Sri Swarup Singh,

Jind Jind is one of the largest and oldest cities in Jind district in the Indian state of Haryana. It is the administrative headquarter of Jind district. Rani Talab is the main destination for tourists while Pandu Pindara and Ramrai are the ma ...

*1858-1860:

His Highness Highness (abbreviation HH, oral address Your Highness) is a formal style (manner of address), style used to address (in grammatical person, second person) or refer to (in grammatical person, third person) certain members of a reigning or formerly ...

Farzand-i-Dilband, Rasikh-ul-Itiqad, Raja Sri Swarup Singh Bahadur, Raja of Jind *1860-1863: His Highness Farzand-i-Dilband, Rasikh-ul-Itiqad-i-Daulat-i-Inglishia, Raja Sri Swarup Singh Bahadur, Raja of Jind *1863-1864: His Highness Farzand-i-Dilband, Rasikh-ul-Itiqad-i-Daulat-i-Inglishia, Raja Sir Swarup Singh Bahadur, Raja of Jind, K.C.S.I.

Honours

Mentioned in Despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

-1858 *

Indian Mutiny Medal __NOTOC__ The Indian Mutiny Medal was a campaign medal approved in August 1858, for officers and men of British and Indian units who served in operations in suppression of the Indian Rebellion of 1857. The medal was initially sanctioned for award ...

-1858 *Knight Companion of the

(K.C.S.I.) -1863

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Swarup 19th-century Indian monarchs Knights Companion of the Order of the Star of India 1812 births 1864 deaths Jind Indian knights Maharajas of Jind