Bikaner Laxmi Niwas PalaceMaharaja Anup Singh of Bikaner hunting elephantsHonorific insignia in gold offered to the Maharaja of Bikaner by the Mughal Emperor.Raja Karan Singh of Bikaner, Aurangzeb's ally and enemy.MaharajaGanga Singh of Bikaner with his son Sadul Singh in 1914.Bikaner Camel CorpsBoard of combat daggers at the Darbar Hall
Bikaner State was the Princely State in the north-western most part of the Rajputana province of imperial British India from 1818 to 1947. The founder of the state Rao Bika was a younger son of Rao Jodha ruler of and founder of the city of Jodhpur in Marwar. Rao Bika chose to establish his own kingdom instead of inheriting his father's. Bika defeated the Jat clans of Jangladesh which today refers to the north and north-western Rajasthan along with his uncle Rao Kandhal and his adviser Vikramji Rajpurohit and founded his own kingdom. Its capital was the city of Bikaner.
Covering a vast area of 60,391km2 (23,317sqmi) Bikaner State was the second largest state under the Rajputana Agency after Jodhpur State with a revenue of Rs.26,00,000 in the year 1901.[3] Heeding the 1947 call of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel to integrate the princely states into the new independent India, Bikaner's last ruler, Maharaja Sadul Singh, advised by his dewanK. M. Panikkar a respected historian was one of the first rulers of a princely state to display willingness to join the Indian Union. By issuing a public appeal in April 1947 to his fellow princes to join the Constituent Assembly of India the Maharaja of Bikaner set an example for other heads of the princely states of India to follow.[4]
The state of Bikaner was founded in 1465. It became a British protectorate on 9 March 1818. They were accorded a 17 gun salute by the British authorities. Around the time of Indian Independence and the partition of India, the territory of the state of Bikaner came to share a border with Pakistan. The accession to the Indian Union was signed by the Maharaja on 7 August 1947.[5]
Rulers
The rulers belong to the RathoreRajputs of the Suryavanshi lineage or of Solar descent representing a third junior branch of the parent ruling family of Jodhpur,[6] the second being Idar yet Bikaner was placed second on the basis of area, wealth and power by the colonial British India.
1504 – 1505: Rao Nar Singh (Naro) (eldest son of Rao Bika)
1505 – 1526: Rao Lunkaran (younger brother of Rao Nar, 3rd son of Rao Bika)
1526 – 1542: Rao Jait Singh (second son of Rao Lunkaran)
1542 – 1571: Rao Kalyan Mal (acknowledged the suzerainty of Emperor Akbar) (eldest son of Rao Jait)
1571 – 1612: Rao / Raja Rai Singh (Important General in the Mughal army. Given title of "Raja". From 1585 to 1594 he was employed in the Deccan by Emperor Akbar where he was Subedar of Burhanpur) (eldest son of Rao Kalyan Mal)
1612 – 1613: Raja Dalpat (Sur Singh revolted against his elder brother Dalpat and killed him along with his guards with the consent of Emperor Jahangir) (second son of Raja Rai Singh)
1613 – 1631: Raja Sur Singh (younger brother of Raja Dalpat, 3rd son of Raja Rai Singh)
1631 – 1667: Raja Karan Singh(deposed by Aurangzeb and exiled to Karanapura in the Deccan) (eldest son of Raja Sur Singh)
1667 – 1669: Interregnum
Maharajas
1669 – 1698 Maharaja Anup Singh (First to be granted title of "Maharaja" by Emperor Aurangzeb) (eldest son of Raja Karan Singh)
19 Jun 1698 – 15 December 1700: Maharaja Swarup Singh (b. 1689 – d. 1700) (eldest son of Maharaja Anup Singh)
15 Dec 1700 – 16 December 1735: Maharaja Sujan Singh (b. 1690 – d. 1735) (younger brother of Maharaja Swarup Singh, 2nd son of Maharaja Anup Singh)
16 Dec 1735 – 15 May 1746: Maharaja Zorawar Singh (b. 1713 – d. 1746) (eldest son of Maharaja Sujan Singh)
15 May 1746 – 25 March 1787: Maharaja Gaj Singh (b. 1723 – d. 1787) (1st cousin brother of Maharaja Zorawar Singh, grandson of Maharaja Anup Singh from his 3rd son Maharaj Anand Singh)
25 Mar 1787 – 25 April 1787: Maharaja Raj Singh (b. 1744 – d. 1787) (eldest son of Maharaja Gaj Singh)
25 Apr 1787 – 9 October 1787: Maharaja Pratap Singh (b. 1781 – d. 1787) (eldest son of Maharaja Raj Singh)
25 Apr 1787 – 25 March 1828: Maharaja Surat Singh (Regent to 9 October 1787) (b. 1766 – d. 1828) (uncle of Maharaja Pratap Singh, younger brother of Maharaja Raj Singh, 6th son of Maharaja Gaj Singh)
25 Mar 1828 – 7 August 1851: Maharajadhiraj Shri Narendra Shiromani Maharaja Ratan Singh (b. 1790 – d. 1851) (eldest son of Maharaja Surat Singh)
7 August 1851 – 16 May 1872: Maharajadhiraj Shri Narendra Shiromani Maharaja Sardar Singh (b. 1818 – d. 1872) (second son of Maharaja Ratan Singh)
16 May 1872 – 19 August 1887: HH Shri Maharajadhiraj Narendra Shiromani Maharaja Sir Dungar Singh (b. 1854 – d. 1887) (grandson of Maharaja Sardar Singh's second cousin brother: Maharaj Sakat Singh, Great Great Great Grandson of Maharaja Gaj Singh via his 5th son Maharajkumar Chattar Singh ancestor of the Bikaner family of Lalgadh Palace, Ridi and Tejrasar)
19 Aug 1887 – 2 February 1943: HH Shri Maharajadhiraj Narendra Shiromani Maharaja Sir Ganga Singh Bahadur (b. 1880 – d. 1943) (from 24 July 1901, Sir Ganga Singh) (younger brother of Maharaja Dungar Singh, Great Great Great Grandson of Maharaja Gaj Singh via his 5th son Maharajkumar Chattar Singh ancestor of the Bikaner family of Lalgadh Palace, Ridi and Tejrasar)
2 February 1943 – 15 August 1950: HH Shri Maharajadhiraj Narendra Shiromani Maharaja Sir Sadul Singh (b. 1902 – d. 1950) (since 1 January 1946, he was addressed as Sir Sadul Singh) (eldest son of Maharaja Ganga Singh)
Titular Rulers
1950 – 1971: Maharaja Dr. Karni Singh (Privy purses were withdrawn in 1971 and post & titles were also withdrawn) (eldest son of Maharaja Sadul Singh)
1988 – 2003: Maharaja Narendra Singh Bahadur (eldest son of Maharaja Dr Karni Singh)
2003 – 2022: Maharaja Raviraj Singh Bahadur (son of Maharaja Narendra Singh's 1st cousin brother: Maharaj ChandraShekhar Singh, Great Grandson of Maharaja Sadul Singh via his younger son Maharaj Amar Singh)
2022 onwards - Vacant Seat (closest male line relatives of the last Maharaja are his 6th cousins and their sons from the cadet branches of Bikaner)
The Royal House of Bikaner awards two dynastic orders, the Order of the Star of Honour and the Order of Vikram Star. Maharaja Ganga Singh established the Order of the Star of Honour in six grades in order to "mark his golden jubilee on the throne".[8] The Order of the Vikram Star was established in 1944 by Maharaja Sadul Singh of Bikaner in five grades "to recognize services to the state." The first grade (Grand Commander) includes a cordon with jewel, along with a breast star.[8] The breast star features "Twelve alternate petals of gold and silver overlapping and radiating from a central motif showing the Goddess Karni blessing Rao Bikaji who is standing with lance in hand next to his horse."[9] A red enamelled diamond in the center of the breast star, which is surrounded by a wreath, contains the inscription in the Devanagari script Shri Karni Aasisadi Bikatothirraj (Blessing by Karni Mati for his Perpetual Rule).[9]
Demographic Trends (1891–1931): During the decade ending in 1901, the population of the state saw a significant decline due to a series of famines in 1891–92, 1896–97, and 1899–1900. These famines not only led to high mortality—primarily from cholera and malaria—but also prompted substantial emigration to neighbouring districts in the Punjab and Sindh. However, the following decade (1901–1911) marked a reversal of this trend. Improved rainfall and good harvests, along with generous state concessions such as land revenue remissions and taccavi loans for seeds and cattle, encouraged many former residents to return. Additionally, as the adjacent districts in Punjab had little remaining fallow land for grazing or cultivation, news of the Sutlej Canal's extension (Gang Canal) into the Hanumangarh and Mirzawala Tehsils drew new settlers—especially Sikh peasants—who were granted extensive tracts of Banjar (wasteland) at favourable rates for agricultural use.[14] The 1921 Census of Bikaner State recorded a population decline of 41,298 people (–5.9%) over the decade. This was primarily due to the failure of the 1920 monsoon, along with severe outbreaks of plague (1917) and influenza (1918), the latter causing an estimated 61,000 deaths—nearly 10% of the total population at the time. Migration also played a major role, with 126,615 people emigrating, compared to 53,273 immigrants, resulting in a net loss of 73,342. The largest number of emigrants—79,161—moved to Punjab, followed by 20,105 to Bengal. mostly for agriculture and trade.[15] Between 1921 and 1931, Bikaner's total population rose dramatically by 41.9%, with the Gang Canal area alone experiencing a 401.6% increase in population. A good number of Punjabi Sikhs & Muslims also came into the state, and the total number of immigrants reached 161,303 in 1931, more than a threefold rise, largely attributed to canal irrigation.[16]
1 2 Haynes, Ed (2014). "The Awards of the Indian Pincely States: A Survey in a Broad Historical Context". Journal of Management Sciences and Applications. 65 (5): 29–30.
1 2 McClenaghan, Tony (1996). Indian Princely Medals: A Record of the Orders, Decorations, and Medals of the Indian Princely States. Lancer Publishers. p.81. ISBN978-1-897829-19-6.
Martinelli, Antonio; Michell, George (2005). The Palaces of Rajasthan. London: Frances Lincoln. p.271 pages. ISBN978-0-7112-2505-3.
Tod, James. Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, Volume II (With a Preface by Douglas Sladen). Oriental Books Reprint Corporation. 54, Jhansi Road, New Delhi-1100055.
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