Fateh Singh
Maharana of Udaipur
HH 108 Shri Maharajadhiraj Raj Rajeshwar Ravi Kula Bushana-Mahi Mahendra Yavadarya Kula Kamaldhivakara Chattis Rajkul Shringar Maharana Shri Sir Bahadur Hindua Suraj Hindupati (16 December 1849 – 24 May 1930), was the Sisodia Rajput ruler of the Princely State of Udaipur once known as Kingdom of Mewar for nearly 46 years from the year 1884 to 1930, with Udaipur as his capital, and resided in the grandiose City Palace, Udaipur. He was born on 16 December 1849 at Shivrati, son of Maharaj Dal Singh of the Shivrati branch of Mewar dynasty – A descendant of the fourth son, Arjun Singh, of the Rana Sangram Singh II (AD 1710–1734). First he was adopted by his elder brother, Gaj Singh who had no heir, subsequently Maharana Sajjan Singh of Udaipur, who too had no heir, adopted him, he eventually became the Maharaja of Udaipur in 1884. In 1889, he built the "Connaught Dam" on Lake Dewali to mark the visit of Duke of Connaught, son of Queen Victoria, this enlarged the lake, and it was later renamed, Fateh Sagar Lake. He also built Fateh Prakash Palace in Chittorgarh fort, which is an edifice with a tower on each of its four corners crowned by domed chhattris. This palace is a grand specimen of modern Indian architecture and at present houses a museum. The Shiv Niwas Palace
at Udaipur was also built by him. The palace was reserved exclusively by the House of Mewar for visiting dignitaries and guests during British Raj. It now has been turned into a luxury hotel. He was the only Maharaja to not attend the Delhi Durbar, both of 1903 and 1911. Then in 1921, when Edward, Prince of Wales, son of King George V and Queen Mary, visited Udaipur, he refused to receive him, citing illness and instead sent his son. The independent attitude adopted by Fateh Singh observed in his refusal to appoint a Dewan and his direct or indirect association with people of known anti-British sentiments such as Kesari Singh Barhath and Shyamaji Krishna Verma made him a problematic figure for the British Government. This left him at odds with the British, thereafter, under the garb of ignoring a social unrest in Mewar, on 28 July 1921, his powers were curtailed and he was formally deposed, he was however allowed to retain his title, the effective power was handed to his son and heir, Bhupal Singh. He was first married in 1867, to Rani Phool Kumari, daughter of the Thakur of Khod in Marwar, who died in 1877. Subsequently, he was married in 1878, a daughter of Thakur Chanda Kol Singh of Varsoda, and had son, Bhupal Singh, and daughters, Ankaran Bai, married in 1904 to Madan Singh of Kishangarh, and Kishor Kunwar, married 1908 to Sardar Singh of Jodhpur. He died on May 24, 1930, at Udaipur.
The Indian Army during British rule, also referred to as the British Indian Army, was the main military force of India until national independence in 1947. Formed in 1895 by uniting the three Presidency Armies, it was responsible for the defence of both British India and the princely states, which could also have their own armies. As stated in the Imperial Gazetteer of India, the "British Government has undertaken to protect the dominions of the Native princes from invasion and even from rebellion within: its army is organized for the defence not merely of British India, but of all possessions under the suzerainty of the King-Emperor." The Indian Army was an important part of the forces of the British Empire, in India and abroad. The term Indian Army appears to have been first used informally, as a collective description of the Presidency armies, which collectively comprised the Bengal Army, the Madras Army and the Bombay Army, of the Presidencies of British India, particularly after the Indian Rebellion of 1857. In 1879, the Presidency armies were integrated into a system of four Commands with a central Commander-in-Chief. The Presidency armies were abolished with effect from 1 April 1895 by a notification of the Government of India through Army Department Order Number 981 dated 26 October 1894, unifying the three Presidency armies into a single Indian Army. The armies were amalgamated into four
commands, Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western. The Indian Army, like the Presidency armies, continued to provide armed support to the civil authorities, both in combating banditry and in case of riots and rebellion. One of the first external operations the new unified army faced was the 1899 to 1901 Boxer Rebellion in China. The 1st, 4th, and 14th Sikhs; 3rd Madras Native Infantry, 4th Goorkas, 22nd and 30th Bombay Native Infantry, 24th Punjab Infantry, 1st Madras Pioneers, No. 2 Company Bombay Sappers, No. 3 Company Madras Sappers, No. 4 Company Bengal Sappers, and the 1st Bengal Lancers, among other Indian units, all served during the Rebellion. Numerous Indian soldiers earned the China War Medal 1900 with the "Relief of Pekin" clasp for contributing to the relief of Peking and the International Legations from June 10 to August 14, 1900. The Kitchener reforms began in 1903 when Lord Kitchener of Khartoum, newly appointed Commander-in-Chief, India, completed the unification of the three former Presidency armies, and also the Punjab Frontier Force, the Hyderabad Contingent and other local forces, into one Indian Army. The principles underlying the reforms were that the defence of the North-West Frontier against foreign aggression was the army's primary role and that all units were to have training and experience in that role on that frontier. Furthermore, the army's organisation should be the same in peace as in war, and maintaining internal security was for the army a secondary role, in support of the police. Lord Kitchener found the army scattered across the country in stations at brigade or regimental strength, and in effect, providing garrisons for most of the major cities. The reformed Indian Army was to be stationed in operational formations and concentrated in the north of the subcontinent. The Commander-in-Chief's plan called for nine fighting divisions grouped in two corps commands on the main axes through the North-West Frontier. Five divisions were to be grouped on the Lucknow–Peshawar–Khyber axis, and four divisions on the Bombay–Mhow–Quetta axis. However, the cost of abandoning some thirty-four stations and building new ones in the proposed corps areas was considered prohibitive, and that aspect of the plan had to be modified.
The Sisodia was an Indian royal dynasty belonging to the clan that ruled over the Kingdom of Mewar, in the region of Mewar in Rajasthan. The Sisodia dynasty traced its ancestry to Rahapa, a son of the 12th century Guhila King Ranasimha. He founded the village of Shisoda, in modern day Rajsamand district, as his capital, after which his descendants were called Sisodias. The main branch of the Guhila dynasty ended with their defeat against the Khalji dynasty at the Siege of Chittorgarh (1303). In 1326, Rana Hammir, who belonged to Sisodiya branch, reclaimed control of the region with the help of Baruji Sauda and his Charan allies, re-established the dynasty, and also became the founder of the Sisodia dynasty clan, a branch of the Guhila dynasty, to which every succeeding Maharana of Mewar belonged, and the Sisodias regained control of Chittor, the former Guhila capital. The Sisodiyas were engaged in multiple battles against Sultans of Malwa, Nagor, Gujarat and Delhi. They were a significant reason in weakening of the adjacent sultanates including the Delhi Sultanate.
According to the Rajprashasti genealogy, one of these – Rana Samar – married Prithi, the sister of Prithviraj Chauhan. His grandson Rahapa adopted the title Rana (monarch). Rahapa's descendants spent some time at a place called Sisoda, and therefore, came to be known as "Sisodia". The most notable Sisodia rulers were Rana Hamir (r. 1326–64), Rana Kumbha (r. 1433–68), Rana Sanga (r.1508–1528) and Rana Pratap (r. 1572–97). The Bhonsle clan, to which the Maratha empire's founder Shivaji belonged, also claimed descent from a branch of the royal Sisodia family. Nainsi in his book mentioned Shahji descended from Chacha, son of Rana Lakha.[10] Similarly, Rana dynasty of Nepal also claimed descent from Ranas of Mewar. According to the Sisodia Chronicles, when the Delhi Sultan Alauddin Khalji attacked Chittorgarh in 1303, the Sisodia men performed Saka (fighting to the death), while their women committed Jauhar (self-immolation in preference to becoming enemy captives). This was repeated twice: when Bahadur Shah of Gujarat besieged Chittorgarh in 1535, and when the Mughal emperor Akbar conquered it in 1567. Frequent skirmishes with the Mughals greatly reduced the Sisodia power and the size of their kingdom. The Sisodias ultimately accepted the Mughal suzerainty, and some even fought in the Mughal army. However, the art and literary works commissioned by the subsequent Sisodia rulers emphasized their pre-Mughal past. The Sisodias were the last Rajput dynasty to ally with the Mughals, and unlike other Rajput clans, never intermarried with the Mughal imperial family. The Sisodias cultivated an elite identity distinct from other Rajput clans through the poetic legends, eulogies and visual arts commissioned by them. James Tod, an officer of the British East India Company, relied on these works for his book Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, or the central and western Rajpoot states of India (1829–1832). His widely read work further helped spread the views of the Sisodias as a superior Rajput clan in colonial and post-colonial India.
Awards: Collar and star of the Most Exalted Order of the Star of India, Insignia and star of the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire, Star of the Royal Victorian Order.
