Yadavindra Singh

Yuvraj of Patiala
Maharaja of Patiala
Sir Yadvinder Singh in 1971
Maharaja of Patiala
Reign 23 March 1938 – 15 August 1947
Predecessor Maharaja Bhupinder Singh
Successor State abolished
Minister of State
Born Yadvinder Singh Mahendra Bahadur
(1914-01-17)17 January 1914
Patiala, Punjab
Died 17 June 1974(1974-06-17) (aged 60)
The Hague, Netherlands
Maharanis
Hem Prabha Devi (m. 1935–1974)

Issue
  • Heminder Kaur (daughter)
  • Rupinder Kaur (daughter)
  • Amarinder Singh (son)
  • Malvinder Singh (son)
Dynasty Phulkian
Father Maharaja Bhupinder Singh
Mother Bakhtawar Kaur
Religion Sikhism
Sir Yadvinder Singh Mahendra Bahadur
Cricket information
Batting Right-hand bat
Bowling -
International information
National side
Career statistics
Competition Tests First-class
Matches 1 52
Runs scored 84 1629
Batting average 42.00 20.88
100s/50s -/1 2/7
Top score 60 132
Balls bowled - 2891
Wickets - 50
Bowling average - 30.73
5 wickets in innings - 1
10 wickets in match - -
Best bowling - 5/131
Catches/stumpings 2/- 32/-
Source:

Lieutenant-General Sir Yadvinder Singh Mahendra Bahadur GCIE GBE  pronunciation  (17 January 1914 – 17 June 1974) was the 9th and the last Maharaja of Patiala from 1938 to 1947. He was also an Indian cricketer who played in one Test in 1934.[1]

Born and family

Born at Patiala, Punjab in 1914, Maharaja Yadavindra attended Aitchison College, Lahore. He served in the Patiala State Police, became its Inspector General and served in Malaya, Italy and Burma during the Second World War. In 1935, he married his first wife, Hem Prabha Devi of Saraikela (1913–2014).

Yadavindra Singh of Patiala

He succeeded his father, Maharaja Bhupinder Singh, as the Maharaja of Patiala on 23 March 1938 and was later remarried, to his second wife, Mehtab Kaur (1922–2017) in 1938. It was believed that his remarriage was due to the stated reason that his first wife being issueless, which was in fact, was due to the influences of Akali leaders who wanted the future Maharaja of Patiala to marry to a Sikh family in order to beget genuine Sikh heirs.[2]

Political career

Yadavindra served as president of the Indian Olympic Association from 1938 to 1960. He was instrumental in organizing the Asian Games. He founded Yadavindra Public School. Lal Bagh Palace, the building in which Yadavindra Public School is housed was donated by Sir Yadavindra Singh. He was a noted horticulturist by passion and later served as chairman of Indian Horticulture Development Council. He was also the president of BCCI.

Following his accession to the throne of Patiala, Yadavindra pursued a political and diplomatic career, serving as chancellor of the Chamber of Princes from 1943 to 1944. In 1947, when India gained independence, he was the pro-chancellor of the Chamber of Princes. At a special session he said "After centuries time has come when India has gained independence from foreign rule and it's the time when we all (princely states) should unite for our motherland" and persuaded many other rulers to join the Indian Union.

Partition (1947) and attempts to create Khalistan/Sikhistan

During the Partition of India numerous pogroms occurred in and around the princely state of Patiala[3]. In several cases, organized bands of Sikhs and Hindus were responsible for atrocities. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru believed Maharaja Yadavindra Singh had tacitly or explicitly approved of these pogroms as part of an attempt to "get complete supremacy of Sikhistan"[4]. Harkishan Singh Surjeet, later general secretary of the CPI(M) was an eye-witness and is quoted as saying he believes the pogroms were planned in advance and Yadavindra Singh was involved[5]. The Maharaja was actively involved in the Khalistan Movement, which aimed to create a state for Sikhs. Nehru believed the Maharaja had sought to ethnically cleanse the territory of Muslims as part of this effort. Master Tara Singh had proposed such a plan to the Maharajas of Patiala and Faridkot, and Yadavindra Singh is quoted as having said "We won't leave a Muslim here" at a party with British officers[6]. The Foreign Minister of Patiala, Sardar Bari Ram Sharma issued a denial stating "I definitely assert that no Patiala soldier has associated himself with or has been involved in any killings in any part of the East Punjab."[7]

He agreed to the incorporation of the princely state into India on 5 May 1948. He was Rajpramukh of the new Indian state of Patiala and East Punjab States Union until it was merged with Punjab in 1956.

Donation

In 1956 Yadvinder Singh donated the Anand Bhawan, a 150 bigha palace, to the Government of Punjab (before the creation of Himachal) for a holiday home for poor children, which was later leased out to Baba Ramdev for his Patanjali Trust.

Later life and death

He continued his career from 1956 onwards, serving as Indian delegate to the United Nations General Assembly from 1956 to 1957 and to UNESCO in 1958. He also headed the Indian delegation to the FAO on and off during 1959-1969. Sir Yadavindra served as Indian Ambassador to Italy (1965–1966) and as Indian Ambassador to the Netherlands from 1971 until 17 June 1974, when he died suddenly in office at The Hague from heart failure, age 61, after a reign of 36 years. On specific instructions of Indira Gandhi, he was cremated with full state honours.

Son in Congress Party

He was succeeded by his son Amarinder Singh, who is a politician with the Congress Party and who served as Chief Minister of the Indian State of Punjab from 2002 to 2007. He is also the current Chief Minister of Punjab . His daughter, Heminder Kaur, was married to K. Natwar Singh, the former external affairs minister of India.

Titles

  • 1913-1935: Sri Yuvaraja Yadavindra Singh Sahib-ji
  • 1935-1938: Lieutenant Sri Yuvaraja Yadavindra Singh Sahib-ji
  • 1938-1939: Lieutenant His Highness Farzand-i-Khas-i-Daulat-i-Inglishia, Mansur-i-Zaman, Amir ul-Umara, Maharajadhiraja Raj Rajeshwar, 108 Sri Maharaja-i-Rajgan, Maharaja Yadavindra Singh, Mahendra Bahadur, Yadu Vansha Vatans Bhatti Kul Bushan, Maharaja of Patiala
  • 1939-1942: Captain His Highness Farzand-i-Khas-i-Daulat-i-Inglishia, Mansur-i-Zaman, Amir ul-Umara, Maharajadhiraja Raj Rajeshwar, 108 Sri Maharaja-i-Rajgan, Maharaja Yadavindra Singh, Mahendra Bahadur, Yadu Vansha Vatans Bhatti Kul Bushan, Maharaja of Patiala
  • 1942-1944: Major His Highness Farzand-i-Khas-i-Daulat-i-Inglishia, Mansur-i-Zaman, Amir ul-Umara, Maharajadhiraja Raj Rajeshwar, 108 Sri Maharaja-i-Rajgan, Maharaja Sir Yadavindra Singh, Mahendra Bahadur, Yadu Vansha Vatans Bhatti Kul Bushan, Maharaja of Patiala, GBE
  • 1944-1945: Lieutenant-Colonel His Highness Farzand-i-Khas-i-Daulat-i-Inglishia, Mansur-i-Zaman, Amir ul-Umara, Maharajadhiraja Raj Rajeshwar, 108 Sri Maharaja-i-Rajgan, Maharaja Sir Yadavindra Singh, Mahendra Bahadur, Yadu Vansha Vatans Bhatti Kul Bushan, Maharaja of Patiala, GBE
  • 1945-1946: Major-General His Highness Farzand-i-Khas-i-Daulat-i-Inglishia, Mansur-i-Zaman, Amir ul-Umara, Maharajadhiraja Raj Rajeshwar, 108 Sri Maharaja-i-Rajgan, Maharaja Sir Yadavindra Singh, Mahendra Bahadur, Yadu Vansha Vatans Bhatti Kul Bushan, Maharaja of Patiala, GBE
  • 1946-1974: Lieutenant-General His Highness Farzand-i-Khas-i-Daulat-i-Inglishia, Mansur-i-Zaman, Amir ul-Umara, Maharajadhiraja Raj Rajeshwar, 108 Sri Maharaja-i-Rajgan, Maharaja Sir Yadavindra Singh, Mahendra Bahadur, Yadu Vansha Vatans Bhatti Kul Bushan, Maharaja of Patiala, GCIE, GBE

Honours

(ribbon bar, as it would look today; UK decorations only)

[8]

References

  1. ↑ "The Greatest: One Test Wonders". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  2. ↑ KC, Singh. "Tales from two Punjabs". https://www.tribuneindia.com/. External link in |website= (help)
  3. ↑ Mustafa Janjua, Haroon (January 7, 2014). "Daily Times - Unheard cries: atrocities in Patiala, 1947".
  4. ↑ Nehru, Jawaharlal (May 7, 1987). S. Gopal, ed. Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru - Second Series - Volume 4. Oxford University Press. p. 243. ISBN 978-0-19-561948-5. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  5. ↑ Noorani, A.G. "Horrors of Partition". Frontline India. The late Harkishan Singh Surjeet, of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), witnessed the events and said in our interview: ‘The communal attacks on the minorities were definitely planned. I know more about the persons involved in the eastern wing because I was there. I saw those dreadful acts with my own eyes. In that conspiracy, the Maharaja of Patiala was involved. The idea was that if the Muslims were driven out, the Sikhs could form their own state in eastern Punjab.'” The attacks on Sikhs and Hindus in March 1947 in Rawalpindi are regarded as one of the major crimes that triggered off others.
  6. ↑ Hajari, Nisid. Midnight's Furies: The Deadly Legacy of India's Partition.
  7. ↑ Singh, Ganda (April and August 1960). "A Diary of the Partition Days - 1947". JOURNAL OF INDIAN HISTORY. XXXV (Part I, No. 112): 270. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ↑
Yadavindra Singh
Born: 17 January 1914 Died: 17 June 1974
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Bhupinder Singh		 Maharaja of Patiala
1938–1947		 Succeeded by
State abolished
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