By looking closely , It is known that Kshatradharma cannot be followed by atheists. A devotee who has unwavering devotion and faith in Parabràhma can be a warrior or a Kshatriya of the highest order
- Kunwar Ayuvansingh Ji Hudeel
Don’t mess with Hindustan, He can insult in the way you treat them :- Maharaja Jai Singh Prabhakar King of Alwar
Maharaja Jai Singh Prabhakar of Alwar, who became the First King in India to declare Hindi as the official language & the State language of his kingdom. The royal house belongs to the Naruka clan of Rajputs, descended from the ancient rulers of Aamer.
He also declared Hindi as an employable language & mandated the use of Hindi for official works.
Colonel HH Raj Rishi Shri Sawai Maharaja Sir Jai Singhji Veerendra Shiromani Dev Bharat Prabhakar Bahadur of Alwar, was quite a striking Maharaja with some really crazy stories (the one of the Rolls garbage vans is the most bizarre story manh have ever heard)! If you Shown left the Coat of Arms of Alwar.
Born on 14th June, 1882 as the only son of Maharaja Sir Mangal Singh Prabhankar Bahadur, his rein lasted from the year 1892 to 1937.
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| Sir Mangal Singh Prabhakar, Maharaja of Alwar 1859 |
Jaisingh’s father late Maharaja Sir Mangal Singh Prabhankar Bahadur, through out his life maintained better relationship with his people.
Jai Singh (1882-1937) succeeded his father in 1892 and ruled Alwar until 1933. He came on the throne of Alwar when he was quite young, only 10 years old!
Initially he reigned the 3,213 square mile state of Alwar in Rajasthan under the control of a Regency, until he was able to carry the full ruling powers in 1903.
Maharaja of Alwar Jai Singh had organised a Polo match (horse polo) in 1905 in Alwar but after that no such matches were organised in Alwar.
Sir Jai Singh took pride in his State's infantry regiments and had them sent to China during the anti-Christian uprising in China and in the following relief operations. Alwar Lancers units served in the First World War. Recognising his services, he was appointed a Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire (GCIE) by the British in 1919.
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| H. E. Lord Minto visiting the Maharaja oF Alwar, 1909. |
The Earl of Minto arriving in an open carriage with his staff to pay a return visit to H. H. the Maharaja of Alwar on the occasion of his State Visit to Alwar. The carriage is escorted by Indian cavalry.
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| raised in 1919 and reorganised in 1922 |
Maharaja Jai Singh in his early years of his rule was exceptionally good and proved that he was a good administrator with excellent grasp of nuances of management skill of a Princely state.
The grand Sariska Palace, built in 1892 by his majesty Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh of Alwar, is truly a sight for sore eyes. Every corner of this beautiful palace drips of royalty and regality at its best. The opulent palace spreads across 120 acres of lush green landscapes, compelling the onlooker to fall in love with its grandeur. However, the main reason why the beauty of the palace is greatly multiplied is that it towers right on the edge of the Sariska National Park.
In 1911 Queen Mary & King George V visited India for Delhi Durbar. Alwar's Maharaja Jai Singh who met the Queen later washed his hands with Ganga to "purify" himself. (This indiscretion cost him dearly later in his life and in 1933 he was forced to step down by the British Crown).
Unlike many Indian kingdoms which were taken over by the wily British Raj using various pretexts, the princely state of Alwar was directly administrated by the Maharajah. So, There was no interference from the British Raj.
However, the foreign rulers had their eyes glued on this princely state and waiting for the earliest chance to grab it.
Itarana Palace at Alwar was constructed by Sawai Maharaj Jai Singh in 3 years, completed in 1917.
Vijay Mandir Palace is one of the grandest palaces in the state. Due to its splendid architecture and beauty, it has become one of the landmark attractions of Alwar. It is believed that the palace was constructed as a result of the whims of the unconventional ruler - Maharaja Jai Singh. Built during 1918 AD, Vijay Mandir Palace was built because the Maharaja was disappointed with the construction of another palace.
Maharaja Jai Singh was an art lover and had a very deep passion for beautiful palaces and forts. During his reign, he ordered the construction of Yaswant Niwas in an Italian style of architecture. However, when the construction of the palace was complete, he was very displeased and as a result, he ordered the construction of another palace – Vijay Mandir Palace immediately.
Isnt Vijay Mandir Palace seems actual adaptation of the Scale model of Gold Ayodhya Nagri at Soni Ji ki Nasiya Ajmer.
Vijay Mandir Palace is truly one of the most luxuriant and beautiful palaces in the city. Surrounded by picturesque verdant gardens by the lake, the palace is home to 105 opulently decorated rooms, each of them exquisitely furnished. It is said that the palace was built to resemble a ship, just like all the other dazzling structures built by Maharaja Jai Singh. Vijay Mandir Palace represents the grand lifestyle of the royals in Rajputana during that time. the garden surrounding the palace is filled with a large number of vibrant flowers and lush trees. It is very poplar among tourists. there is also a famous temple inside the palace called the Sita Ram Temple. It is dedicated to Lord Ram and his wife – Sita. The best time to visit this temple is during the festival of Ramnavami, when the entire temple is beautifully decorated and thronged with thousands of devotees. This festival over here is celebrated with a lot of zest and till date, remains as one of the major attractions of Alwar.
Another popular attraction is the Vijay Sagar Lake, which is located right next to the palace. It is said that when the sky is clear and the weather is agreeable, entire reflection of the palace can be seen in the lake.
In 1921 Jai Singh was worth a personal salute of 17-gun-shots.
In 1933, provided official patronage to the Arya Samaj and its Shuddhi movement of conversion to Hinduism. The Hindu Mahasabha and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) grew in importance with the patronage of their durbars. The Mahasabha’s V. D. Savarkar set in motion a policy of courting Hindu princes.
Both states officially changed the official script from Nastaliq to Nagari, and banned the teaching of Urdu and Persian in state schools. The Shahi Jama Masjid in Alwar was one of several important buildings that were converted by order of the government. The Congress at the time to appease Muslims pumped up the so called “Kisan aandolan” and propped up a M Hadi who founded “Anjuman Khadim Uk Islam” in 1925 against taxation led to a tax revolt by the Muslim Meo population.
Later Ch. Yasin Kham took the mantle in 1932, which caused large scale riots led by Bahadur Azizuddin Bilgrami, in the course of which the state army opened fire on a crowd with machine guns at Govindgarh on January 7-8, 1933, and killed more than 30 people.
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| A scenic capture of Jaisagar reservoir located next to Amanbagh built in 1920 by Maharaja Jai Singh Ji of Alwar. |
Sadly for him, The British government of India saw in this the evidence of sufficient misrule to remove Jai Singh from Alwar and take over the administration he fell into disgrace and he was removed from executive authority by the British Government. He was banned from within the boundaries of Alwar for the rest of his life, sounds almost like a kind of death sentence…
Now that residing in Alwar wasn’t an option anymore he went into exile in Paris. This is also his terminal destination where he died on 19th May 1937. Jai Singh was succeeded by his son Maharaja Sir Tej Singh.
There were quite some rumors around Maharaja Jai Singh, some had a hint of truth, others were mere figments of the imagination.
One of his passions was buying expensive, flashy cars and making modifications. the “coronation coach” was exclusively made for the Maharajah.
The model of the car was an Lanchester 40HP. The Lanchester 40 was introduced at the first post-war Motor Show in London in November,1919. This car was a direct competitor for the Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost, and cost only slightly less for the chassis. Better looking than the aging Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost,
It could reach a top speed of 80mph (129 km/h). Added advantage was front wheel brakes. Based on the model of the coronation coach of the European royalty Maharajah Jai Singh had the state carriage built on an extra-long chassis.The Maharajah’s car became so much popular that it was featured in the magazine “Popular Mechanics” in its October,1924 issue. The coronation coach car – a combination of a car and a coach, it was believed, was one of his crazy designs bordering on horrible eccentricity.
But it is true that he was one of the biggest spenders of Indian Royalty! Obviously he favoured the Hispano-Suiza marque, because he was the single-largest owner in the world with more than 15 models! Several of his Hispano-Suizas had an extended wheelbase and of course all had different coachwork, but his favourite was the 8-liter H6C series as you can see in the previous article (POTW).
Jai Singh’s preference for Hispano-Suiza above its competitor, the Rolls-Royce, might have originated after this bizarre story took place!
The Maharaja, who used to stay at the Mayfair Hotel in London, one day wandered into the nearby Rolls-Royce showroom and was spoken to rudely by a salesperson who thought him too shabby for a Rolls.
Fuming, the Maharaja ordered seven Rollses and turned them into garbage collection vans at his home state in India.
Rolls-Royce were appalled and apart from profuse apologies, reportedly gave him a few cars in exchange for restoring the garbage vans to their appropriate glory.
So this is how this Maharaja took advantage of the situation, probably better no mock at such people!
But he was not a bad man and he could also be very generous! He once gifted his Boulogne Hispano (chassis 10651) to his friend, the Maharaja of Rewa (shown below). Now that is what you call a gesture of generosity!
As an orthodox Hindu he was a strict vegetarian, so none of his exceptional cars – to name some, other than his Hispanos: Rolls-Royces, Bugattis and Lanchesters – had any trace of leather in them. The upholstery of his automobiles was thus always done in single-point French tapestry and even the normal leather gaiters that protect sections of the suspension were made of material other than leather.
The different cars he used for various state duties all had a silver plate affixed on either side of the bonnet, inscribed with the name of the duty, such as ‘kutcheri’ for court work. His shikar (hunting) cars had glass show cases, which could hold three weapons each, mounted on the footboards. One of his Hispanos had seats that could turn a full 180 degrees to facilitate shooting of escaping or attacking tigers. Wait a minute, wasn’t he a strict vegetarian?
All his cars were equipped with powerful lights and large searchlights for night hunting. These were exclusively Lucidus (on Boulogne 10651) or Stephen Grebel. The cars also featured cow-guards and bells, to supplement the standard horn, in order not to frighten cattle on the road … smart!
Time for some craziness again… HH of Alwar was very fond of practical jokes, like me : ) He bought his automobiles in batches of threes and ceremonially buried his cars when he was tired of them every third year! It is said that even today, if you dig around the hills of Alwar, you may not strike gold, but you might strike vintage! Would this be another of those jokes, or a true anecdote?
Yet another story concerns a fabulous palace he was once building and the entire ship carrying the furniture, fittings and fixtures for the palace was sunk during World War I, together with a fleet of cars he had ordered from Europe. So if you are bored, look for those sea-finds or burried-finds! Jai Singh died at the age of 55 in Paris and he was finally allowed to return to Alwar, the final destination for his death ceremony known as shraddha.
His extraordinary, custom-built, ceremonial Lanchester – built on an extended 14 feet 10 inch long chassis, which was a true copy of the British coronation coach, with gold carriage lamps, carried him on his last journey. This ceremony was witnessed by hundreds of his people, women and children weeping and crying loudly. Richly jewelled Colonel HH Raj Rishi Shri Sawai Maharaja Sir Jai Singhji Veerendra Shiromani Dev Bharat Prabhakar Bahadur of Alwar left this world in a peaceful fire.
The strange aspect of his story was people, who were very much affected by his cruel rule(as british claimed), did not believe that their king Jai Singh was dead.
So, when the body of the Maharajah was brought to Alwar, people close to him, had the dead body dressed in full maharajah regalia, put him on his famous coronation coach car in upright position and driven around the street before cremated him with state honors.
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