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 ...

Bahadur Singh, MC (17 March 1920 – 24 December 1977) was the 28th and last official ruler of the princely state of

Bundi Bundi is a town in the Hadoti region of Rajasthan state in northwest India. Climate The climate is hot semi arid (BSh), not having enough rainfall to qualify as a tropical savanna climate (Aw). The climate is quite warm, and most of the ra ...

ruled by the

Hada Chauhan Hada is a sub-branch of the Chauhan Rajputs that claim Agnivanshi descent. They live in Hadoti and it is claimed they ruled the states of Bundi, Jhalawar and Kota. History ''Hada Chauhans'' conquered Asir in times of Ashtipal Chauha ...

clan of

Rajput Rājpūt (, from Sanskrit ''rājaputra'' meaning "son of a king"), also called Thākur (), is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating fro ...

s. He was born on 17 March 1920 and was the elder son of Dhanurdhar Singh, who was adopted in 1933, by Sir Ishwari Singh of Bundi, the erstwhile ruler of Bundi.Indian States: A Biographical, Historical, and Administrative Survey edited by Arnold Wright pp:157-163 He was educated at Mayo College at

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 married in April 1938 to Gulab Kunverba, the daughter of Sajjan Singh, the Maharaja of

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 ...

and had children.
Indian Princely Medals: A Record of the Orders, Decorations, and Medals of ... By Tony McClenaghan p. 108 1996 As a Yuvaraja, Rajkumar, with the title of Maharaj Kumar Bahadur Singh, he was commissioned into the

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

on 26 November 1942 and served with

Probyn's Horse The 5th Horse is an armoured regiment of the Pakistan Army. It was previously known as the 5th King Edward's Own Lancers Probyn's Horse, which was a regular cavalry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was formed in 1921 by the amalgamation of ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, seeing action in

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

and was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

. He ascended to the throne of Bundi upon the death of

Ishwari Singh Maharaja Sir Ishwari Singhji, Order of the Indian Empire, KCIE (8 March 1893 – 23 April 1945) was the 27th ruler of the princely state of History of Bundi, Bundi belonging to Hada Chauhan clan of Rajputs.Indian States: A Biographical, Historic ...

on 23 April 1945. He was sent back to Bundi from Burma immediately after the news was received by his regiment.An account of the operations in Burma carried out by Probyn's Horse during February, March and April 1945 He acceded his state of Bundi to the

Dominion of India The Dominion of India, officially the Union of India, * * was an independent dominion in the British Commonwealth of Nations existing between 15 August 1947 and 26 January 1950. Until its Indian independence movement, independence, India had be ...

on 7 April 1949. He held the title of Maharaja of Bundi, until the entitlements and official recognition were abolished by the Government of India through the 26th amendment to the Constitution of India in 1971. He remained the

titular ruler A titular ruler, or titular head, is a person in an official position of leadership who possesses few, if any, actual powers. Sometimes a person may inhabit a position of titular leadership and yet exercise more power than would normally be expecte ...

of Bundi until his death. He died on 24 December 1977 survived by one son, Ranjit Singh of Bundi and one daughter, Mahendra Kumari.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bundi, Bahadur Singh 1920 births 1977 deaths Maharajas of Bundi Hindu monarchs Mayo College alumni Indian recipients of the Military Cross Indian Army personnel of World War II British Indian Army officers 20th-century Indian royalty