Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as part ...

Uday Chand Mahtab KCIE the Maharajadhiraja Bahadur of

Bardhaman Raj The Bardhaman Raj (, ), also known as Burdwan Raj, was a ''zamindari'' Raja estate that flourished between 1657 and 1955 in the Indian state of West Bengal. Maharaja Sangam Rai Kapoor, a Punjabi Khatri from Kotli mahalla in Lahore, Punjab, who ...

, K.C.I.E., (14 July 1905 – 10 October 1984) was the last ruler of Burdwan Raj, who ruled from 1941 until 1955, when the

zamindari A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous Indian feudalism, feudal lord of a ''zamindari'' (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian language, Persian was the offi ...

system was abolished in India.

Life

He was the eldest son of

Bijay Chand Mahtab Maharajadhiraja Bahadur Sir Bijay Chand Mahtab, (19 October 1881 – 29 August 1941) was the ruler of Burdwan Estate, Bengal Presidency in British India (present-day West Bengal, India) from 1887 till his death in 1941. Early life Mahtab's pred ...

. He did his graduation from

Presidency College, Calcutta Presidency University, formerly Presidency College, is a public state university located in College Street, Kolkata. Established in 1817 as the ''Hindoo College'', it was later renamed ''Presidency College'' in 1855 and functioned as a leadi ...

and

Calcutta University The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University (), is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Kolkata, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate c ...

. During the regency of his father he served as Dewan-i-Raj for several years and succeeded to the throne of Burdwan Raj after the death of his father. During

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

, he headed and was a member of several committees like, member of the Damodar Canal Enquiry Committee 1938, Select Committee on Calcutta Municipal (amendment) Bill 1940; Chairman of Burdwan District Flood Relief and Bengal Central Flood Relief Committees 1943–44; Chairman of Indian Red Cross Appeal (Bengal) 1943-1946 and of Calcutta War Committee 1943-1946 and of Damodar Flood Central Enquiry Committee 1944; Member of Bengal Tanks Improvement Bill Select Committee 1944 and of Advisory Committee on Terrorist Convicts in Bengal 1944; Member of West Bengal Forest Denudation Enquiry Committee 1944 and of Select Committee on Bengal Agricultural Income Tax Bill 1944; Member of the Indian Constituent Assembly – 1946–1947. He also presided the West Bengal group of Legislators, in 1946, which voted 58:21 in favor of partition of Bengal. He served as President of the non-Muslim block of the Bengal Partition meeting in 1947 and was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Bengal from years 1937 to 1952. In the first election after independence in 1952, Sir Uday Chand Mahtab lost to a freedom fighter and communist,

Benoy Choudhury Benoy Choudhury (14 January 1911 – 6 May 2000) was an Indian revolutionary freedom fighter and politician, belonging to the CPI(M), who played a major role in land reforms in the Indian state of West Bengal. Early life He passed matriculation ...

, in spite of a campaign in his favor by

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 ...

. The election defeat was followed by legislation for abolition of the

system in 1954. After the abolition of the zamindari system in 1955, he shifted from

Bardhaman Bardhaman (, ), officially Bardhaman Sadar, is a city and municipality in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of Purba Bardhaman district, having become a district capital during the period of British rule. Burdwan, an a ...

to his family's house at Alipur in Calcutta. Here he became a director of

IISCO IISCO Steel Plant of Steel Authority of India Limited is an integrated steel plant located at Burnpur, a neighbourhood in Asansol city, in the Asansol subdivision of Paschim Bardhaman district, West Bengal, India. Overview IISCO Steel Plant o ...

, and several other leading mercantile firms of the day, such as Dunlop,

Metal Box ''Metal Box'' is the second studio album by Public Image Ltd, released by Virgin Records on 23 November 1979. The album takes its name from the round metal canister which contained the initial pressings of the record. It was later reissued in s ...

and

Brooke Bond Brooke Bond is a brand of tea owned by Lipton Teas and Infusions, except in India, Nepal, and Indonesia where it is owned by Unilever. Brooke Bond was formerly an independent tea- trading and manufacturing company in the United Kingdom, known ...

. He acceded to the request of the

Chief minister of West Bengal The chief minister of West Bengal (IAST: Paścim Baṅgēr Mukhya Mantrī) is the '' de facto'' head of the executive branch of the Government of West Bengal, the subnational authority of the Indian state of West Bengal. The chief minister is ...

, Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy and handed over his palace, Mahtab Manzil and Golap Bagh to the

University of Burdwan The University of Burdwan (also known as Burdwan University or B. U.) is a public state university located in Purba Bardhaman, West Bengal, India. It was established by the West Bengal Government as a teaching and affiliating university on 1 ...

. He donated a piece of land in Bardhaman to the numerous employees of the Raj so that they could build accommodation there. With the end of the Raj, he immersed himself in his commercial and business interests. He was also a Steward of the Royal Calcutta Turf Club. He instituted a fund for The Maharajadhiraja Uday Chand Mahtab of Burdwan Memorial Cup at Calcutta Race Course. He died on 10 October 1984 leaving behind three sons and three daughters. The eldest son is Maharajaadhiraja Saday Chand Mahtab of Burdwan. Born on 26 May 1936.

Titles

Maharajadhiraja Bahadur Maharaja (also spelled Maharajah or Maharaj; ; feminine: Maharani) is a royal title in Indian subcontinent of Sanskrit origin. In modern India and medieval northern India, the title was equivalent to a prince. However, in late ancient India ...

(hereditary)

Honours

*: **

UK King George V Silver Jubilee Medal ribbon

–

King George V Silver Jubilee Medal The King George V Silver Jubilee Medal is a commemorative medal, instituted to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the accession of King George V. Issue This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir by King George V to commemorate his Silver Ju ...

-1935. **

UK King George VI Coronation Medal ribbon

–

King George VI Coronation Medal The King George VI Coronation Medal was a commemorative medal, instituted to celebrate the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. Issue This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir of King George VI's coronation. It was awarded to th ...

-1937. *: ** Order of the Indian Empire Ribbon

–

Knight Commander 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 ( GCIE) #Knight Commander ( KCIE) #Companion ( CIE) Appoint ...

– 1945.

Reign

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahtab, Uday Chand 1905 births 1984 deaths Knights Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire Indian knights Bengali zamindars People from Purba Bardhaman district Indian royalty Founders of Indian schools and colleges Members of the Constituent Assembly of India Monarchs who abdicated Businesspeople from West Bengal 20th-century Indian philanthropists Bengal MLAs 1937–1945 Bengal MLAs 1946–1947 West Bengal MLAs 1947–1951 Indian National Congress politicians from West Bengal Bengali knights