Before the Republic of India was established on 26 January 1950, all Indian subjects of the princely states and Indian rulers were entitled to substantive knighthoods (the Order of the Star of India and the Order of the Indian Empire). [1] Those Indian rulers who received other British orders of knighthood were only considered honorary members of those orders.[ citation needed ]
The following is a partial list of honorary British knighthoods as given to Indian rulers and members of the ruling families up to 1947 (the Orders of the Star of India and the Indian Empire are considered substantive). Rulers of states that are presently part of what is now Pakistan are included in this article. The order moves from the most prestigious states (21-guns) to least prestigious (9-guns).
Note that this list does not include knighthoods awarded by the various Royal Houses in India, which are described in the articles of the individual princely states. This list also does not include orders of knighthood granted to Indian rulers by other foreign countries, such as France.
Hyderabad
Mysore
Jammu and Kashmir
Gwalior
Bhopal
Kolhapur
Kotah
Bahawalpur (now in Pakistan)
Bikaner
Cutch
Jodhpur
Patiala
Dholpur
Dhar
Idar
Rampur
Swat (now part of Pakistan)
Kapurthala
Nawanagar
Ratlam
Jaora
Palanpur
Rajpipla
Tripura
Assam
Hiralal Phukan -1917(A.D.)
Received Order of British India First Class in Delhi Durban.
Narendra Nath Phukan -1941
For fighting courageous in the Second World War. And, also received the Indian Recruiting Badge.
Morvi
Narsingarh
As a religious head, the Aga Khan is not a monarch per se, but until 1947 merited a 13-gun salute
Those ruling families had lost ruling rights by the 20th century.
Murshidabad (entitled to a 19-gun personal salute)
Sir is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as part of "Monsieur", with the equivalent "My Lord" in English. Traditionally, as governed by law and custom, Sir is used for men who are knights and belong to certain orders of chivalry, as well as later applied to baronets and other offices. As the female equivalent for knighthood is damehood, the suo jure female equivalent term is typically Dame. The wife of a knight or baronet tends to be addressed as Lady, although a few exceptions and interchanges of these uses exist.
The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes:
The Major-General commanding the Household Division commands the Household Division of the British Army and is also the General Officer Commanding London District. In British Army parlance, "The Major-General" always refers to the Major-General commanding the Household Division. The Major-General has sole responsibility for the Service aspect of all State and ceremonial occasions within London District. The office holds executive command of the Household Division and of any other units brought into London for providing military security to the Sovereign, the Royal Palaces as well as for ceremonial purposes and is the main channel of communication between the Household Division and the Monarch. He or she is appointed by The Sovereign, and will previously have commanded a Regiment or Battalion within the Household Division.
General Maharaja Sir Ganga Singh,, was the ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Bikaner from 1888 to 1943. As a member of the Imperial War Cabinet, he was present in the Palace of Versailles during The Signing of Peace in the Hall of Mirrors.
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.
Maharaja Sir Madho Rao Scindia of Gwalior, was the 5th Maharaja of Gwalior belonging to the Scindian dynasty of the Marathas.
Field-Marshal His Highness Maharaja Sri Teen Chandra Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana was the Prime Minister of Nepal from the Rana dynasty. He served in this capacity from 27 June 1901 to his death in 1929 after he successfully deposed his liberal and reformist brother Dev Shamsher. Although generally perceived as despotic and conservative, he is credited with several reforms including the abolition of slavery and establishing the Nepal-Britain Treaty of 1923, which recognised Nepal as an independent nation and an ally of Britain.
Lieutenant-General Sir Pratap Singh,, was a decorated British Indian Army officer, Maharaja of the princely state of Idar (Gujarat), administrator and Regent of Jodhpur and heir to Ahmednagar later renamed as Himmatnagar from 1902 to 1911.
Lieutenant-General HH Shri Raj Rajeshwar Saramad-e-Raja-e-Hindustan Maharajadhiraja Maharaja Sir Umaid Singh Bahadur, Assoc KStJ, also spelled Umed Singh, was the Maharaja of Jodhpur State of the historic Rathore dynasty of Marwar from the year 1918 to 1947 until his death.
Colonel HH Shri Raj Rajeshwar Saramad-e-Raja-e-Hindustan Maharajadhiraja Maharaja Sir Sumair Singh Bahadur, was the Maharaja of Jodhpur State of the Rathore dynasty of Marwar from 20 March 1911 to 3 October 1918 the shortest of reign any Jodhpur ruler had.
Major-General HH Rashtrawar Kulabhushan Maharajadhiraj Shri Huzur Maharaja Shrimant Sir Sajjan Singh Bahadur was an esteemed British Indian Army officer and Maharaja of the Princely State of Ratlam State in modern day Madhya Pradesh, ruling from the year 1893 until 1947 six months before the independence of India from the imperial British Rule.
The following list includes a brief about the titles of nobility or orders of chivalry used by the Marathas of India and by the Marathis/Konkanis in general.
The 1935 Birthday Honours for the British Empire were announced on 3 June 1935 to celebrate the Birthday and Silver Jubilee of King George V.
The 1902 Coronation Honours were announced on 26 June 1902, the date originally set for the coronation of King Edward VII. The coronation was postponed because the King had been taken ill two days before, but he ordered that the honours list should be published on that day anyway.
HH Saramad-e-Raja-e-Hindustan Raj-Rajeshwar Raj-Rajendra Maharajadhiraj Shri Maharaja Sawai Sir Madho Singh II, was the Maharaja of the Princely State of Jaipur from the year 1880 until 1922. He was the adopted son of the previous ruler Sawai Ram Singh II, Maharaja of Jaipur.
The New Year Honours 1921 were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by members of the British Empire. They were published on 31 December 1920.
The 1921 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of the King, and were published on 3 and 4 June 1921.
The 1911 Delhi Durbar was held in December 1911 following the coronation in London in June of that year of King George V and Queen Mary. The King and Queen travelled to Delhi for the Durbar. For the occasion, the statutory limits of the membership of the Order of the Star of India and the Order of the Indian Empire were increased and many appointments were made to these and other orders. These honours were published in a supplement to the London Gazette dated 8 December 1911.
The Order of the Star of India was an Indian Knighthood established in 1861 to strengthen bond between the rulers of India and the British Crown.