The Imperial Order of the Crown of India is an order in the British honours system. The Order was established by Queen Victoria when she became Empress of India in 1878. The Order was open only to women, and no appointments have been made since the Partition of India in 1947. The Order was limited to British princesses, wives or female relatives of Indian princes and the wife or female relatives of any person who held the office of:
Chand Kaur was fourth ruler of the Sikh Empire, proclaimed as Malika Muqaddisa on 2 December 1840. She was born to Sardar Jaimal Singh of the Kanhaiya Misl. In 1812, she was married to Crown Prince Kharak Singh, son and heir apparent of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and Maharani Datar Kaur. In 1821 she gave birth to their only son Nau Nihal Singh, who became second in line of succession to the throne of Punjab.
Rajkumari Dame Bibiji Amrit Kaur DStJ was an Indian activist and politician. Following her long-lasting association with the Indian independence movement, she was appointed the first Health Minister of India in 1947 and remained in office until 1957. She also held the charge of Sports Minister and Urban Development Minister and was instrumental in setting up the National Institute of Sports, Patiala. During her tenure, Kaur ushered in several healthcare reforms in India and is widely remembered for her contributions to the sector and her advocacy of women's rights. Kaur was also a member of the Constituent Assembly of India, the body that framed the Constitution of India.
Anita Delgado Briones (1890–1962) was a Spanish flamenco dancer and singer from Andalusia who achieved fame for having married the Indian Maharaja of Kapurthala, thus becoming a Rani of Kapurthala.
The principles of Sikhism state that women have the same souls as men and thus possess an equal right to cultivate their spirituality with equal chances of achieving salvation. Women in Sikhism participate in all religious, cultural, social, and secular activities including lead religious congregations, take part in the Akhand Path, perform Kirtan, perform Gatka and work as a Granthis.
Maharaja Sir Bhupinder Singh, was an Indian royal and cricket player. He was the ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Patiala in British India from 1900 to 1938. He was born in a Sidhu royal Jat Sikh family.
Bhawanigarh, earlier known as Dhode, is a town and a municipal council (Class-2) in the Sangrur district in the state of Punjab, India. It is also the headquarters of Bhawanigarh tehsil, which was formed in December 2016. The town is also called Dhode, after the clan of its original founders. The town lies 19 kilometres east of Sangrur on the Patiala-Sangrur road whereas Patiala is 39 kilometres east of Bhawanigarh. The literacy rate is higher than other places of Sangrur. Bhawanigarh is divided into 15 wards. The Bhawanigarh block consists of 66 villages in the Sangrur district.
Shahabad Markanda is a sub-division of Kurukshetra district within the Indian state of Haryana. It is located on the left bank of the Markanda River, 20 km (12 mi) south of Ambala Cantonment and 22 km (14 mi) from the historical city of Kurukshetra.
Maharajah Sir Jagatjit Singh Sahib Bahadur was the last ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Kapurthala during the British Raj in India, from 1877 until his death, in 1949. He ascended to the throne of Kapurthala state on 16 October 1877 and assumed full ruling powers on 24 November 1890 as well indulging in traveling the world and being a Francophile. He was born in an Ahluwalia Sikh family. He received the title of Maharaja in 1911. He built palaces and gardens in the city of Kapurthala; his main palace, Jagatjit Palace there was modelled on the Palace of Versailles. He also built a gurdwara at Sultanpur Lodhi.
Raja Sir Harnam Singh Ahluwalia , KCIE was a member of the Kapurthala royal family in the direct line founded by Jassa Singh Ahluwalia.
HH Maharajadhiraj Shri Maharaja Mahim Mahendra Maharao Raja Sir Bhim Singh II Bahadur, KCSI was the last ruling Maharaja of the Hada Chauhan dynasty of the Princely State of Kotah from the year 1940 to 1947.
Maharaja Ripudaman Singh, later known as Sardar Gurcharan Singh, was the Maharaja of Nabha State from 1911 to 1928, when he was deposed by the British. He later became an Indian revolutionary.
Raja Swarup Singh was a Sidhu Jat Raja of Jind State of the Phulkian dynasty who reigned from 1834 to 1864. He was noted for his bravery as a warrior.
Jath State, was one of the non-salute Maratha princely states of Deccan States Agency, one of the former Southern Maratha Jagirs. Jath State and Daphlapur State were the only two states belonging to the Bijapur Agency under the Bombay Presidency, which later became part of the Deccan States Agency.
Siokot was a state in India that preceded the princely state of Mandi, which was founded in 1527. Formerly part of the Kingdom of Suket in the Punjab Hills, the rajput dynasty traditionally goes back to 765 AD. In about 1100, Vijaya Sen had two sons, Sahu Sen who ruled over Suket and Bahu Sen who ruled over Kullu. Bahu Sen's descendants emigrated to Kullu until the tenth descendant, Kabakha Sen was killed by the Raja of Kullu and his son had to flee to Siokot, not very far from the present city of Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, which was founded during Ajbar Sen's rule.
Mandi State was a native state within the Punjab, later the Punjab States Agency, with the town of Mandi as its capital. The state of Mandi, which included two towns and 3,625 villages, was part of the States of the Punjab Hills. It was located in the Himalayan range, bordering to the west, north, and east on the British Punjabi district of Kangra; to the south, on Suket; and to the southwest, on Bilaspur. As of 1941, population of Mandi State was 232,598 and area of the state was 1,139 square kilometres (440 sq mi).
Brigadier Sukhjit Singh, MVC is a former Indian Army officer who served with The Scinde Horse. He was awarded the Maha Vir Chakra, India's second highest award for gallantry, for his leadership and courage in facing the enemy during the Battle of Basantar in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.
In Search of Amrit Kaur: A Lost Princess and Her Vanished World is a literary nonfiction book about Amrit Kaur of Mandi, by the Italian author and journalist Livia Manera Sambuy, published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux on March 14, 2023. The book tells the story of a quest: an investigative journey to uncover the truth behind a Sikh princess’ secret life in Paris during World War II, that, unexpectedly, becomes a journey of self-discovery as well.
Tara Devi, born Eugenie Grosup, was a Czech actress and dancer who became the sixth wife of Maharajah Jagatjit Singh of Kapurthala, India, in 1942. They had met several years earlier in Vienna, where she played Anitra in Henrik Ibsen's drama Peer Gynt at the Burgtheater.
