In the first year of him that first
Was Emperor and King,
A rider came to the Rose-red House,
The House of Pertab Singh.
Young he was and an Englishman,
And a soldier, hilt and heel,
And he struck fire in Pertab’s heart
As the steel strikes on steel.
Beneath the morning stars they rode,
Beneath the evening sun,
And their blood sang to them as they rode
That all good wars are one.
They told their tales of the love of women.
Their tales of East and West,
But their blood sang that of all their loves
They loved a soldier best.
So ran their joy the allotted days.
Till at the last day’s end
The Shadow stilled the Rose-red House
And the heart of Pertab’s friend.
When morning came, in narrow chest
The soldier’s face tkcy lit.
And over his fast-dreaming eyes
Shut down the narrow lid.
Three were there of his race and creed.
Three only and no more:
They could not find to bear the dead
A fourth in all Jodhpore.
“O Maharaj, of your good grace
Send us a Sweeper here:
A Sweeper has no caste to lose
Even by an alien bier.”
“What need, what need?” said Pertab Singh,
And bowed his princely head.
“I have no caste, for I myself
Am bearing forth the dead.”
“Maharaj, O passionate heart,
Be wise, bethink you yet:
That which you lose to-day is lost
Till the last sun shall set.”
God only knows,” said Pertab Singh,
“That which I lose to-day:
And without me no hand of man
Shall bear my friend away.”
Stately and slow and shoulder-high
In the sight of all Jodhpore
The dead went down the rose-red steps
Upheld by bearers four.
When dawn relit the lamp of grief
Within the burning East
There came a word to Pertab Singh,
The soft word of a priest.
He woke, and even as he woke
He went forth all in white,
And saw the Brahmins bowing there
In the hard morning light.
Alas! Maharaj, alas!
O noble Pertab Singh!
For here in Jodhpore yesterday
Befell a fearful thing.
*’O here in Jodhpore yesterday
A fearful thing befell.”
“A fearful thing,” said Pertab Singh,
“God and my heart know well —
“I lost a friend.”
“More fearful yet I
Went down these steps you past
In sight of all Jodhpore you lost —
O Maharaj ! — your caste.”
Then leapt the light in Pertab’s eyes
As the flame leaps in smoke,
** Thou priest! thy soul hath never known
The word thy lips have spoke.
** My caste! Know thou there is a caste
Above my caste or thine,
Brahmin and Rajput are but dust
To that immortal line:
*’ Wide as the world, free as the air,
Pure as the pool of death —
The caste of all Earth’s noble hearts
Is the right soldier’s faith.”
- A Ballad of Sir Pertab Singh Summary by Sir Henry Newbolt tells the story of the great friendship between an Englishman and the Maharaja of Jodhpore, the seat of Maharaja Pertab Singh. This is the site of an unusual friendship between an Indian king and an Englishman (that is, one of the so-called enemies). This is also a place where it is important to maintain caste purity. This 81 lines poem is set entirely in the kingdom of Jodhpore, Hence it is an accurate picture of 19th century Princely India.
Lieutenant-General His Royal Highness Maharajadhiraja Maharaja Shri Sir Pratap Singh Sahib Bahadur, GCB, GCSI, GCVO
(22 October 1845 – 4 September 1922)
TITLES
1845-1873: Maharajkumar Shri Pratap Singh Sahib
1873-1877: Maharaj Shri Pratap Singh Sahib
1877-1878: Maharaj Shri Pratap Singh Sahib
1878-1886: Second Lieutenant Maharaj Shri Pratap Singh Sahib, CSI
1886-1887: Second Lieutenant Maharaj Shri Sir Pratap Singh Sahib, KCSI
1887-1897: Lieutenant-Colonel Maharaj Shri Sir Pratap Singh Sahib, KCSI
1897-1898: Lieutenant-Colonel Maharaj Shri Sir Pratap Singh Sahib, GCSI
1898-1901: Colonel Maharaj Shri Sir Pratap Singh Sahib, GCSI, CB
1901-1902: Colonel Maharaj Shri Sir Pratap Singh Sahib, GCSI, KCB
1902-1911: Major-General His Highness Maharajadhiraja Maharaja Shri Sir Pratap Singh Sahib Bahadur, Maharaja of Idar, GCSI, KCB
1911-1916: Major-General His Highness Maharajadhiraja Maharaja Shri Sir Pratap Singh Sahib Bahadur, GCSI, GCVO, KCB
1916-1918: Lieutenant-General His Highness Maharajadhiraja Maharaja Shri Sir Pratap Singh Sahib Bahadur, GCSI, GCVO, KCB
1918-1922: Lieutenant-General His Highness Maharajadhiraja Maharaja Shri Sir Pratap Singh Sahib Bahadur, GCB, GCSI, GCVO
BATTLES/WARS
Second Afghan War
Tirah Campaign
Boxer Rebellion
First World War
AWARDS
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India
Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order
HONOURS 1877-1922
Order of the Bath UK ribbon.png Ord.Stella.India.jpg Royal Victorian Order ribbon sm.jpg Kaisar-i-Hind Medal.gif
Afghanistan Medal BAR.svg India Medal BAR.svg Third China War Medal BAR.svg 1914 Star BAR.svg
British War Medal BAR.svg Victory Medal MID ribbon bar.svg Queen Victoria Golden Jubilee Medal ribbon.png King Edward VII Coronation Medal (Military) ribbon.png
King George V Coronation Medal ribbon.png Legion Honneur GO ribbon.svg EGY Order of the Nile - Grand Cordon BAR.png Star of Romania Ribbon.PNG
Empress of India Gold Medal -1877
Mentioned in Dispatches (MID)-1878
Afghanistan Medal-1878
Queen Victoria Golden Jubilee Medal-1887, with Diamond Jubilee bar - 1897
Mentioned in Dispatches (MID)-1897
Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India (GCSI)-1897
(KCSI-1886)
(CSI-1878)
India Medal w/Clasp-1898
Kaisar-i-Hind Medal 1st Class -1900
China War Medal - 1901 (He received the medal in person by King Edward VII during an audience in June 1902, when he visited London to attend the King´ s coronation)
King Edward VII Coronation Medal-1902, with Delhi Durbar Clasp-1903
King George V Coronation Medal-1911, with Delhi Durbar Clasp
Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO)-1911
1914 Star - 1918
British War Medal - 1918
Inter-Allied Victory Medal - 1918
GCB: Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath -1918 (KCB-1900) (CB-1898)
KCB(m): Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (Military Division) - 29 November 1900 - in recognition of services during the recent operations in China (Boxer rebellion). He was invested personally by King Edward VII during an audience in June 1902, when he visited London to attend the King´ s coronation.
Grand Cordon of the Order of the Nile of Egypt-1918
Grand Officer of the Legion d'Honneur-1918
Jodhpur Great War Medal-1919
Grand Cross of the Order of the Star of Romania-1921
Maharaja of the princely state of Idar (Gujarat) and heir to Ahmednagar later renamed as Himmatnagar from 1902 to 1911, when he abdicated in favour of his adopted son. Sir Pratap Bahadur was a career British Indian army officer and the third son of Maharaja of Jodhpur. Sir Pratap was also the Maharaja of princely state of Idar, in present day Gujarat, which was once part of Rajputana before independence. The Maharajadhiraja, an embodiment of a Rajput Prince, served four rulers of Jodhpur as Chief Minister and Regent. He raised and trained an elite Cavalry Regiment popularly known as Jodhpur Lancers. Later he abdicated his Idar throne in favour of his adopted son and nephew. It is quite apparent that the handsome soldier-prince’s life is a story of magnanimous service and sacrifice.
EARLY LIFE
Sir Pratap Singh was born on 22 October 1845.
He was the third son of Takht Singh of Jodhpur (1819–13 February 1873) the Maharaja of Jodhpur, and his first wife, Gulab Kunwarji Maji.
He was educated privately, and little is known of his early life.
He received administrative training under Maharaja Ram Singh of Jaipur, whose brother Maharaja Jaswant Singh of Jodhpur then invited him to his State.
From 1878 to 1895, Singh served as Chief Minister for Jodhpur following his father's death in 1873 and his eldest brother's succession to the throne. After his brother's death in 1895, he served as regent for his fifteen-year-old nephew and heir to the Jodhpur throne until 1898, then again for his grandnephew from 1911 to 1918 and finally for his second grandnephew from 1918 until his own death in 1922.
In total, Pratap Singh had served four rulers of Jodhpur for over four decades. Following the death of the ruler of Idar in 1901, Pratab Singh was Maharajah of that state from 1902 until he resigned in 1911 to return to Jodhpur.
He travelled to Europe often and was close to Queen Victoria and her family, serving as aide-de-camp to Edward VII from 1887 to 1910. He was especially close towards his son, the future George V of the United Kingdom.
CHILHOOD BRAVE ACTS
Unlike the majority of
children, he never crawled on hands and knees, but used to drag himself about in a sitting position. He learned to walk by the aid of a wooden horse and wooden elephant on wheels, which moved under the pressure of his hands whenever he stood up with their aid, and compelled him to keep pace with them or come to earth.His seventh year also saw his first riding lessons, and it is typical that his first teacher, Ghazi Khan from Baroda, was not to his liking, owing to his lack of severity and habit of confining his instruction to a mere indication of pace and nothing more, whereas he strongly approved the methods of Sheik Karim Buksh, who was not only a stern disciplinarian, but
also emphasized the mistakes of his pupils with a whip. On this account Pratap Singh asked his father to transfer him to the care of this man ‘ ‘ who handled his pupils roughly he did not Imow the name, but his further description, “ The man who limps,” was enough, and the change was made without more ado. The next day Sheik Karim Buksh presented himself with the horses, touched Pratap Singh’s feet with his hands, which he then raised to his own eyes, and said : “To be sure, you are my master and giver of bread, but when you come to learn riding from me, I, as your teacher, shall be like your master, and whatever I tell you, you will have to obey.” “ Yes, Ustad (teacher) Sahib,” replied Pratap Singh; “knowing this, I applied to the Maharaja to make me your pupil, and you are free to deal with me as you think proper.”
The teacher then began a few preliminary instructions such as: “ Hold the reins thus,” “ Keep your thighs firm,” “ Have your eyes fixed between the two ears of the horse,” “ Don’t let your head stoop,” and so on. After that, if the pupil failed to observe any of these instructions, he was corrected three or four times,
and if further correction were needed the whip was made use of Pratap Singh soon became so expert a rider that to those who knew and loved him in after years it is almost impossible to think of him apart from a horse he never forgot his mentor, and used to ascribe with gratitude to him teaching he learnt about riding a tribute indeed from the man Who became one of the most perfect horsemen of the age, and one who might fairly have said, “ A horse 1 my kingdom for a horse, which, appropriately enough, appears in a Rajputana calendar in aid of the Red Cross during the war as Sir Pratap's favoraite, though possibly inspired, quotation, In his tenth year he accompanied his father on a pilgrimage to Hardwar, Prayag, and other sacred places. The tour, which involved the discomfort of a four months It IS not surprising to learn that Pratap Singh performed the entire journey on horseback, riding by the side of the Maharaja’s carriage.Shortly after their return to Jodhpur he was playing one day with his brothers and another boy, the son of a servant, in the garden of a small palace now the site of the Hewson Hospital They used to tease this boy, Jethi Singh, who generally ended by bursting into tears, but on this occasion, loaded beyond endurance, he drew his sword and struck at Pratap Singh
The sword cut through his clothes, and made two clean cuts on the arm with which Pratap had tried to guard himself. He disarmed this assailant, and the wounds were bound up; but jethi Singh was in great distress, and Maharaj jaswant Singh told his brother to keep the matter from their father, as jethi Singh would be sent to prison if the Maharaja heard about it; consequently, all peresent promised to say nothing. But prince Zorawar Singh, the Maharaja’s second son, however, broke his word, and his father asked Pratap Singh if the report was true; the boy not denied it, but, when asked why his arm was bandaged, replied that he had scrathed it in a tree, and when told to remove the bandage, stiffened his arm so that the cuts closed and really resembled scratches, and the Maharaja was satisfied with the explanation,
jethi Singh's father came afterwards humbly to express his gratitude to Pratap Singh, who had so loyally shielded his son from disgrace and punishment by his ready with.
BEGIN SHOOTING AT EARLY AGE
where he soon scored his skills by bringing down with one shot a big boar going at full speed. This so pleased his father that he made Pratap Singh a present of the gun, and allowed him to shoot regularly for the future. To cultivate accuracy of aim, he was taught by his father never to use the shot-gun, and learnt to “ de-
capitate ” duck, partridge, quail, and sand-grouse with the bullet; increasing success brought him increasing confidence, and he was soon emboldened to try his hand on more dangerous quarry.
One night Maharaja Takhat Singh wounded a panther, which at daybreak they followed up on foot and found in a bush about 50 yards away; believing it unable to move, the Maharaja threw a stone, which roused the beast effectually, and it charged from 25 yards. The Maharaja and Maharaj Jaswant Singh both misfired, but young Pratap Singh coolly dispatched it with a bullet at short range, a feat which his father signalized by the gift of his own double- barrelled gun.
On another occasion when out hunting they came upon a sheep recently killed, and, looking about the hill, got a hasty glimpse of an animal which might be a panther or hyena . It was a bare hill with practically no cover, so the little pairty began to beat; Pratap Singh had gone by himself to the left, and at last came upon a panther with its head and half its body under a loose stone, the other half being in the open, but invisible even from a short distance. Pratap Singh advanced until he reached the stone, and, standing on it, prepared to fire with his new double-barrel when he thought, to use his own words : “ There is a nice chance to use the sword.” Scarcely, however, had be begun to draw it than the panther raised its head ; they were face to face at arm’s length, the powerful full-grown brute and the boy of nine.
Pratap Singh let go the sword and again took his gun, the barrel of which the beast promptly seized in its jaws; the boy pulled the trigger, and the panther rolled over on its back stone dead !
His father, on. hearing the details, scolded him roundly, asking how he thought a boy of nine would have the strength to kill a panther with the sword alone, and telling him he would surely be lolled some day, he threatened, moreover, if ever Pratap Singh attempted such a foolhardy thing again, to take away his gun and sword It appears that the rebuke was given more for form's sake than m seriousness, for he narrated the exploit with pride to his Sardars, and after that he used to address Pratap Singh as Bankara Bahadur or *' little hero ”
Another time, as he was chasing a hymna down a hill covered with loose atones, while trying to kill the beast with his sword his horse fell , apart from bruises, the whole of his nght side from eye to ankle was severely injured, and the wounds took four and a half months to heal.
SOLDIER OF THE EMPIRE
Commissioned in the Jodhpur Risalda in 1878, Singh served during the Second Afghan War and was mentioned in dispatches. He was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel in 1887, served under General Ellis in 1897 and served in the Tirah Campaign in 1898 under General William Lockhart, during which he was wounded. Promoted to an Honorary Colonel the same year, he commanded the Jodhpur contingent during the Boxer Rebellion and was promoted to an Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB).
In late 1901 he accepted the post of honorary commandant of the Imperial Cadet Corps under Lord Curzon,
and was promoted to the honorary rank of Major-General on 9 August 1902.
The first batch of Imperial Cadet Corps (ICC) that began in Jan 1902 had 21 cadets, out of which 14 cadets were Rajputs including four cadets from Jodhpur itself! Maj WA Watson was the Commandant & Sir Partap was the Honorary Commandant of ICC.
Even as an elderly man of 70, Sir Pratap commanded his regiments heroically during the First World War in France and Flanders from 1914-1915 and in the Palestine Mandate at Haifa and Aleppo. He was promoted to Lieutenant-General in 1916.
Anecdotes illustrate the colourful life of Sir Pratap. Upon arriving in London once, he was told that rooms were booked for him and his entourage in a hotel. He promptly goes to Buckingham Palace to meet with the Queen. The Secretary of the Queen asks him what the matter is. Sir Pratap replies, “When Queen visits Jodhpur, where would she stay – in the palace or a hotel? Sir Pratap promptly got an invitation to stay in the Buckingham Palace.
H.H Sir Pratap Singh In China War.
During the second half of the nineteenth century, European countries were keen to develop stronger commercial links with China, especially in the profitable opium trade. From time to time open war broke out, forcing the Chinese to grant concessions which included the establishment of trading posts along the coast – the British at Wei-Hai-Wei, the French at Kwangchowan and the Germans at Kiaochow. The traders were followed by missionaries, who wished to convert the Chinese to Christianity. The latter responded to what they quite reasonably saw as an invasion of their homeland, through a number of secret societies. Prominent amongst these were the Boxers, whose slogan was ‘Destroy the Foreigner!’
The Boxers were secretly supported by the Dowager Empress, Tzu Hsi. By the year 1900 the Boxers were out of control; Chinese Christians were massacred, missionaries tortured and killed, a railway station destroyed. In June, now supported by regular Chinese troops, they set fire to a large area of the capital, Peking. On 20 June, they surrounded the Legation Quarter of the city where the foreign embassies were concentrated. The countries whose legations were besieged responded by assembling the first truly multinational force in history, comprising troops from France, Germany, Great Britain, India, Japan, Russia and the United States of America.
The Indian contingent included State Forces from Alwar, Bikaner, Jodhpur and Malerkotla, and were accompanied by the Maharajas of Bikaner and Jodhpur. However, the siege was lifted in mid-August before many of the Indian troops arrived. It was not until 6 August that the 4th Indian Infantry Brigade, which included dismounted men of the Bikaner Camel Corps as well as the Jodhpur Lancers, was ordered to leave for China.
Amar Singh of Kanota had served with Jodhpur Lancers from 1896 to 1901. Later he was inducted into Imperial Cadet Corps. He had multidimensional personality. His descendent have made a small muesum in Kanota which highlights his personality with reference to military career.
Amar Singh, a protégé of Sir Pratap, was a risaldar in the Jodhpur Lancers at that time and wrote a daily diary that gives us a first-hand account of the exploits of the regiment in China. He acted as regimental adjutant and secretary to Sir Pratap throughout the campaign. Sir Pratap was, of course, overjoyed at the news that the regiment had been selected for service overseas, with him as honorary commandant. Hari (Hurjee) Singh, a favourite of Sir Pratap’s, was the commanding officer.
Three squadrons of the Jodhpur Lancers on parade in Shan Hai Kuan, China, 1901 | General Amar Singh Library Museum and Trust, Castle Kanota, Jaipur
Major Turner, a squadron commander in Gardner’s Horse and the senior British adviser to Imperial Service troops in Rajasthan, together with Captain E.M. Hewiss, also accompanied the regiment to China. When the orders to move were received the regiment was quartered at Mathura in United Provinces because of shortage of fodder in Jodhpur. They had relieved the 9th Lancers, who had been sent to South Africa to join other British troops who were fighting the Boers.
( L to R ) Cap Prithvi Singh of Bera , Maharaj Guman Singh and Dalpat Singh of Rohet Jodhpur State Forces.
From Mathura the regiment went by special trains to Calcutta, where they embarked for China at the end of August, regimental headquarters being on board the SS Mohawk. After thirty days at sea, during which time the regiment lost six horses, the Lancers arrived at Shanghai on 24 September, and, having disembarked, waited there for a fortnight before they were assigned a task.
Sections of the regiment took part in the Nikko Shimanzai and Funnig expeditions, where they saw some fighting. At one time, the regiment was divided into fifteen detachments. Some of these were guarding the railway to Peking while others were sixty miles from it! On 8 October, Amar Singh and his squadron were ordered to take part in a reconnaissance sweep around Shanghai.
 |
| Sword of a Chinese Soldier/Commander, snatched in combat by Jemadar Hanuman Singh, a Rajput soldier of Jodhpur Lancers. |
The squadron was divided into four patrols, Amar Singh accompanying one of them under the command of Jemadar Bhaboot Singh with twenty sowars that were to ride out as far as Wusung, about ten miles away. When the patrol reached the village of Wusung, Amar Singh sent back the following report: ‘Way is all clear. No signs of hostility appear at all.… Country all flat but full of canals and ditches.… Horses take to the stone bridges quite willingly. In some places the path lies alongside the line of houses’.
The patrol proceeded on to the railway station, from where Amar Singh sent a further report, before returning. (This report commented on the rain, which made the ground slippery, and also on the number of ditches and buildings that made the area difficult for cavalry.) Amar Singh’s reports were duly forwarded to the Brigade headquarters, and a staff officer – Captain Stewart – replied to Major Turner:
‘The General would be glad if you would express to Sir Pratap his appreciation of the way the Jodhpur Lancers worked today. He is afraid they must have had a very long and trying day for both men and horses. The country he knew was a very bad one but he had every confidence, which has not been misplaced, that the Jodhpur cavalry would get over it if anyone could.’
On 9 October, the Mohawk sailed to Shan Hai Kuan, northeast of Peking at the eastern end of the Great Wall of China and strategically sited on the coast road to Manchuria. Here the Lancers were to remain throughout the long cold winter. On the night of 31 January 1901 there was thirty-nine degrees of frost; the ink froze in the ink stands. Amar Singh commented in his diary that the city was dirty, filthy and very smelly but that the regiment’s quarters were good, with warm stables for the horses. The troops settled down to a routine of patrols searching for weapons in the surrounding villages.
The maharaja gifted the Chinese cannon trophies to the police headquarters, Jodhpur | Karam Puri
On Christmas Day there was a gymkhana organized by the allied forces. The staff section of the Jodhpur Lancers won the tent-pegging competition and Amar Singh himself won a race which involved pistol-shooting and riding. Major Turner presented him with a silver bottle and two tumblers as a prize. Colonel Beatson wrote: ‘The officers and men had a full share of roughing it but they were always willing, ready for anything and absolutely uncomplaining. All showed great hardiness and withstood the privation and intense cold exceedingly well.
The presence of Sir Pratap was a great incentive to all ranks by the splendid example he set, making nothing of the hardest work and privations in the severest weather.’
The regiment’s only serious engagement with the enemy came on 12 January 1901 when shots were fired at a Jodhpur party, which was out collecting wood by a large body of Chinese armed brigands, about five miles north-east of Shan Hai Kuan.
| Millennia of military ethos and tradition among Rajputs. |
You don't need much, just few pages of History to see both Honor and Chivalry of Rajputs.
Boxer Uprising(1899-01),Jodhpur Lancers were in China.
Russians were busy with raping-looting Chinese.
Once Russians stripped Chinese women.
Women were saved by Thakur Hari Singh from being paraded naked.
He ordered Russians to let them go.
Hindu Code of Conduct is unparalleled
Anyway, the Fabian Socialists will never stop their assault on our being.
Source: The Life of Lieut. General H. H. Sir Pratap Singh ~ R.B. Van Wart (1926)
Boxer Uprising(1899-01),Jodhpur Lancers were in China.
Russians were busy with raping-looting Chinese.
Once Russians stripped Chinese women.
Women were saved by Thakur Hari Singh from being paraded naked.
He ordered Russians to let them go.
Hindu Code of Conduct is unparalleled
When Kunwar Amar Singh ji captured the women of Abdul Rahim's family Maharana Pratap order him to send them back to Mirza's family with full honour, This incident changed the heart of Abdur Rahim Khan and he turned into Krishna Bhakt Rahim Das
Anyway, the Fabian Socialists will never stop their assault on our being.
Source: The Life of Lieut. General H. H. Sir Pratap Singh ~ R.B. Van Wart (1926)
MAHARAJA Sir Pratap Singh of Jodhpur designed CLOSE COLLAR JACKETS, IT WAS CALLED JODHPURI
Sir Pratap Singh of Jodhpur, also known as the Grand Old Man of Indian Polo .
Sir Pratap had established the Jodhpur Lancers with the help of Col. Struat Beatson, the team won the Rajputana Challenge Cup of 1893. This team comprised Sir Pratap Singh, Col. Beatson, Thakur Hari Singh, and Thakur Dhonkal Singh. All four of them rank among the best polo players in the history of the country.
In 1889, the first formal Jodhpur polo team was formed by the legendary Sir Pratap Singh. Within a few years, they were winning trophies in both India and England, and their trademark jodhpuri trousers became a fashionable rage.
He led India’s first polo team to compete abroad and made Jodhpur breeches, the special riding trousers, popular across the world. At home he continued to provide unstinting support and guidance to the Jodhpur state as Chief Adviser and Regent.
Antique piece of Architecture "The Ship House" of Jodhpur.
It was built by Sir Pratap in 1886 AD. Ship House was built on a small hill near Nagauri Gate. It was built for his private residence. due to the shape of the Ship its called "Ship House.
Sir Pratap Singh ji did a remarkable job in education system in Marwar, he has constructed most of the schools in Marwar, which has the famous Chopasni School of Jodhpur.
Sir Pratap High school IDAR
A favourite of Queen Victoria, he threatened to protest at the doorsteps of the Viceroy if he was not permitted to serve in the war, eventually getting decorated extensively in the battle fields of Afghanistan, China, France, Flanders and Palestine. Even at the ripe age of seventy years, true to his martial traditions of loyalty, he insisted on serving the Empire in the Great War by leading his cavalry unit armed with only swords and lances in the Middle East, in the process covering his regiment with glory.
Wait a minute – am I really seeing this? India often throws surprises but this is something so outlandish that my sleepy eyes pop out. I watch the scene bewildered, rooted to the spot even as few locals on their morning walk, pause, bow their heads in reverence and amble away; as if it is another normal morning ritual.
After the smoking session, the gentleman offers flowers at the feet of the garlanded statue, lights up a bundle of incense sticks and then murmurs a prayer worshipping the statue. A fire on the pedestal completes the picture of a deity you would normally see in a temple.
But In a country where we worship millions of Gods, an assortment of plants and animals, and cricketers; we still keep looking to add to the list.
Musahib-i-Ala of Jodhpur State, Lieutenant-General His Highness Maharajadhiraja Maharaja Shri Sir Pratap Singh Sahib Bahadur (1845-1922), Kacheri Bhawan, Jodhpur, Rajasthan
A gentleman dressed in a suit has clambered up the platform next to this stately statue. The garlanded statue is resplendent in military regalia and a billowing robe. The gentleman lights up a cigarette and holds – yes, it is unbelievable but true – the lighted cigarette to the mouth of the statue. The statue seems to inhale and then lets out a puff of smoke. Few more puffs and the cigarette is gingerly placed in the fingers of the statue’s hanging right hand.
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| Kacheri Bhawan, currently housing Rajasthan’s High Court. |
We are witnessing another chapter being written in the book of incredibly astounding India.
which was built in 1897 during the regency of Musahib-i-Ala of Jodhpur State, Lieutenant-General His Highness Maharajadhiraja Maharaja Shri Sir Pratap Singh Sahib Bahadur (1845-1922) whose statue is still holding the burning cigarette.
Lt.-Gen. H.H. Maharajadhiraja Shri Sir Pratap Singh of Idar with his adopted son and successor, Daulat Singh, and Col. O'Donnell.
The best known and most popular Indian of his day who had ballads dedicated to him, the battle-hardened swashbuckling warrior, now wants to reminisce about his colourful and fulfilling life in his golden years. The man who worships him daily understands that. There is no better way for the grand old man of Indian Polo than to deeply fill the lungs with the silken acrid smoke to puff it out and watch the swirling smoke create a collage of past wonder years.
Maj Gen HH Maharaja Sir Pratap Singh Ji of Idar and Regent of Jodhpur, Featured on the Great War magazine cover
H.H Sir Pratap Singh, an aristocratic officer of the Jodhpur Lancers, had an incomparable mix of energy, professionalism and charm.He was 73 years old when he went to war in 1914, becoming the oldest soldier in the British trenches on the western front. But he was still young at heart.
An indefatigable socialite, Singh would take leave of his regiment in France to dine with the powerful and famous - the list included French President Raymond Poincaré, the French Army's Commander-in-Chief Joseph Joffre, King Albert I of Belgium and the British Royal family.
Jun 29 1916 Telegraph publishes this photo of Sir Douglas Haig introducing 71-year-old Lt Gen Sir Pertab Singh to General Joffre.H.H Sir Pratap Singh's two teenage sons, Hanut and Sagat, joined him in the trenches also as officers of the Jodhpur Lancers. He took them with him when the Lancers moved to the Middle East in 1918, and they served together in Egypt, Jordan and Palestine.
H.H Sir Pratap Singh's performance was astounding in September 1918 in Palestine at the Battle of Megiddo - the Indian Army's crowning battlefield achievement against the Turks to confirm the Ottoman Empire's downfall.
Aged 74, he stayed in the saddle for 24 hours among charging horsemen on the offensive. Yet this feat proved too much even for him; he had to retire sick. But within weeks Singh was back on his feet pleading to represent India at the Paris Peace Conference.
"Of all the soldier princes of India, I think I am the only soldier who has stuck to his post at the front throughout the war," he wrote to the King George V to make his case.
The British did not grant him his wish, leaving him to rue the punitive Treaty of Versailles imposed on Germany in 1919. "Politically, it was a mistake," he wrote at the time. "I am sure the Germans would not rest without taking revenge some day."
Still in progress
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