JestineLegg9 at 17:49, 20 March 2026

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{{Short description|Last ruling Maharaja of Kapurthala from 1877–1947}}
{{More citations needed|date=August 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2017}}
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2017}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name = Jagatjit Singh {{nobold|{{post-nominals|country=GBR|GCSI|GCIE|GBE|size=90%}}}}
| image = Photograph of Maharaja Jagatjit Singh of Kapurthala State, by Bourne and Shepherd, ca.1900's–1910's (detail).jpg
| succession = [[Maharaja]] of [[Kapurthala State|Kapurthala]]
| reign = 3 September 1877 – 15 August 1947
| predecessor = Kharak Singh ''(as Raja)''
| successor = ''Monarchy abolished'' [[Paramjit Singh (ruler)|Paramjit Singh]] ([[titular ruler]])
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1872|11|24}}
| image_size =
| caption = Photograph of Maharaja Jagatjit Singh of Kapurthala State, by Bourne and Shepherd, ca.1900's–1910's
| birth_place = [[Kapurthala]], [[Kapurthala State]], [[British Raj|British India]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1949|06|19|1872|09|05}}
| death_place = [[Bombay]], [[Bombay State]], [[Dominion of India|India]]
| religion = [[Sikh]]
| father = Kharak Singh Sahib Bahadur
| mother = Anand Kaur Sahiba
| spouse = six wives
| issue = five sons and one daughter
| dynasty = [[Ahluwalia (misl)|Ahluwalia dynasty]]
| coronation = 24 November 1890
| full name = Sir Jagatjit Singh Sahib Bahadur
}}

Colonel [[Maharajah]] '''Sir Jagatjit Singh Sahib Bahadur''' (24 November 1872 – 19 June 1949) was the last ruling [[Maharaja]] of the [[princely state]] of [[Kapurthala State|Kapurthala]] during the [[British India|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]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Singh |first1=Brig. Sukhjit |last2=Frederick |first2=Cynthia Meera |title=Prince, Patron & Patriarch ;Maharaja Jagatjit Singh of Kapurthala |date=2019 |publisher=Roli Books |location=New Delhi, India |isbn=9788193860854}}</ref>

== Early life and family ==
[[File:Photograph of the child-monarch Maharaja Jagatjit Singh of Kapurthala State and suite, ca.1880.jpg|thumb|Photograph of the child-monarch Raja Jagatjit Singh of Kapurthala State and suite, ca.1880]]

Jagajit Singh received the title of Maharaja in 1911. He learned various languages like Punjabi, English, Hindi, French, Spanish, Italian etc. Like his contemporaries Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala and Maharaja Ranbir Singh of Jind, Jagatjit Singh was also a philanthropist. When he was young he sang in front of the Viceroy with his friend, the next Maharaja of Dholpur, in French and Italian which outraged many of the visitors.{{Citation needed|date=August 2025}}

He was cousin of [[Sardar]] Bhagat Singh, one of the few Indian Justices of High Court during the British Raj. His grandson [[Sukhjit Singh (soldier)|Sukhjit Singh]] served as a Brigadier in the [[Indian Army]]. Another grandson [[Arun Singh (politician, born 1944)|Arun Singh]] was a Minister in the [[Rajiv Gandhi]] government who advised Indira Gandhi to declare [[Operation Blue Star]].{{Citation needed|date=August 2025}}

== Career ==

=== Early career ===
His dream was for Kapurthala to be a 'Paris of the East'. He built from the Jagatjit Palace in a French style modelled on the [[Palace of Versailles]], the Moorish Mosque in the North African style “Maghrebi”, the Kapurthala War Memorial and other sites.

He also built a [[Gurdwara]] at Sultanpur Lodhi. An advocate of educational opportunities for girls, Maharaja Jagatjit Singh also supported numerous undertakings to ensure women received proper medical care under schemes first initiated under The Countess of Dufferin Fund which provided medical aid, helped build hospitals and medical facilities exclusively for women.

=== Late career ===
He served as the Indian Representative to the [[League of Nations]] General Assembly in [[Geneva]] in 1925, 1927, and 1929,<ref>[http://www.indiana.edu/~league/7thassemb.htm The League of Nations Photo Collections]</ref> attended the [[Round Table Conference]] in 1931 and was Lt Governor of the [[Patiala and East Punjab States Union|PEPSU]] at the time of his death in 1949, aged 76.

He spent lots of his time travelling, he visited China, Indonesia, Japan, Morocco, Italy, Spain, France, Great Britain, United States of America, Brazil, Argentina and other areas. He had a liking for Japan and France.
[[File:A group photograph of North Indian rulers, taken on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee of HH the Maharajah of Kapurthala, 30 November – 4 December 1927 at Kapurthala, Punjab.jpg|thumb|A group photograph of North Indian rulers, taken on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee of HH the Maharajah of Kapurthala, 30 November – 4 December 1927 at Kapurthala, Punjab]]
He was the first Sikh Maharaja to have cut his Kesh (uncut hair). The Shiromani Akali Dal took on this matter and pressured him. from 1946 he started becoming closer to his religious heritage and announced that his grandson (Sukhjit Singh) would be a Keshdhari Sikh.

During the Partition of India the 60 percent of Muslims in his state were pushed out by his Kapurthala State Forces to Pakistan, leaving only 1 percent left afterwards.

== Death ==
Under his leadership, the Kapurthala State joined the [[Patiala and East Punjab States Union]] (P.E.P.S.U.) after the [[Partition of India]]. Maharaja Jagatjit Singh died in 1949.

== Marriages ==
*First marriage at Paprola, on 16 April 1886, to Maharani Harbans Kaur Sahiba, daughter of ''[[Mian (title)|Mian]]'' Ranjit Singh [[Guleria]] of [[Kangra district|Paprola]] (died 17 October 1941 in [[Mussoorie]] from heart failure). They had two sons.
**[[Paramjit Singh (ruler)|Paramjit Singh Sahib Bahadur]]
**Mahijit Singh Sahib Bahadur
*Second marriage at Katoch, 1891, to Rani Parvati Kaur Sahiba, daughter of a ''[[Sardar]]'' of [[Katoch]] (died 20 February 1944 in Kapurthala). They had a son.
**Amarjit Singh Sahib Bahadur
*Third marriage at Bashahr, 1892, to Rani Lakshmi Kaur Sahiba, a princess of a [[Rajput]] family from [[Bushahr|Bashahr]] (died September 1959 in Kapurthala).
*Fourth marriage at Jubbal, 1895, to Rani Kanari Sahiba, daughter of the ''[[Dewan]]'' of [[Jubbal]] (died circa 1910). They had a son and a daughter.
**Karamjit Singh Sahib Bahadur
** [[Rani Amrit Kaur Sahib of Mandi|Amrit Kaur Sahiba]]
*Fifth marriage at [[Paris]], 28 January 1908 (later divorced), to Rani Prem Kaur Sahiba [née [[Anita Delgado]]], (born 1890 in [[Málaga]], Spain, died 7 July 1962 in [[Madrid]], Spain from heart failure). They had a son.
**Ajit Singh Sahib Bahadur
*Sixth marriage at Kapurthala, 1942, to [[Tara Devi (Queen)|Rani Tara Devi Sahiba]] [née Eugenie "Nina" Grosup]; she was an actress and the daughter of a [[Czech (people)|Czech]] actress (Maria Eleanora Grosup) and a [[Hungarians|Hungarian]] aristocrat (Count Karátsonyi).

==Honours==

=== British and Indian ===
*First Class of the [[Rampur State#Orders of_chivalry|Order of Hamid]] of the [[Rampur State]] of India 1926
*[[Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India]] (GCSI) ''[[1911 Delhi Durbar Honours]]'' (''previously appointed KCSI in the [[1897 Diamond Jubilee Honours]]'')<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=28559 |date=8 December 1911 |pages=9357 }}</ref><ref name="gazette26947">{{London Gazette|issue=26947 |date=14 March 1898 |page=1676 }}</ref>
*[[Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire]] (GCIE) ''[[1921 New Year Honours|1 January 1921]]''<ref>{{London Gazette |date=1 January 1921 |supp=y |issue=32178 |pages=7 }}</ref>
*[[Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire]] (GBE) ''29 November 1927''<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=33333 |page=7662 |date=29 November 1927}}</ref>
*[[Queen Victoria Diamond Jubilee Medal]] in Gold 1897
*[[Delhi Durbar Medal]] in Gold 1903
*[[King George V Coronation Medal]], with [[Delhi Durbar Medal#Delhi Durbar Medal, 1911|Delhi Durbar Clasp]] 1911
*[[King George V Silver Jubilee Medal]] 1935
*[[King George VI Coronation Medal]] 1937
*[[Indian Independence Medal]] 1947

=== Foreign ===
*{{flag|Kingdom of Prussia}}:
**Grand Cross of the [[Order of the Crown (Prussia)|Order of the Crown]], 1st Class, 1911
*{{flag|Kingdom of Egypt}}:
**Grand Cordon of the [[Order of the Nile]], 1924
*{{flag|Morocco}}:
**Grand Cordon of the [[Order of Ouissam Alaouite|Sharifan Order of Alaoui]], 1924
*{{flag|Kingdom of Italy}}:
**Grand Cross of the [[Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus]], 1924
*Grand Cross of the [[Order of Merit (Chile)|Order of Merit]] of [[Chile]] 1925
*Grand Cross of the [[Order of the Sun (Peru)|Order of the Sun]] of [[Peru]] 1925
*Grand Cross of the Order of the Red Cross of Honour and Merit of [[Cuba]] 1925
*Grand Cross of the [[Order of the Star of Romania]] 1926
*Grand Cross of the [[Order of Menelik II]] of [[Ethiopia|Empire of Ethiopia]] 1928
*Grand Cross of the [[Order of St. Sava|Order of Saint Sava]] of the [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia]] 1928<ref>{{Cite book|last=Acović|first=Dragomir|title=Slava i čast: Odlikovanja među Srbima, Srbi među odlikovanjima|year=2012|location=Belgrade|publisher=Službeni Glasnik|pages=602}}</ref>
*Grand Cross of the [[Order of Charles III]] of the [[Spain|Kingdom of Spain]] 1928
*Grand Cordon of the [[Order of Glory (Tunisia)|Order of Glory]] of [[French protectorate of Tunisia|Tunisia]] 1928
*Grand Cross of the [[Royal Order of Cambodia]] 1929
*Grand Cordon of the [[Order of the Crown (Iran)|Order of the Crown]] of [[Pahlavi Dynasty|Empire of Iran]] 1930
*Grand Cross of the [[Order of the White Lion]], 1st Class of [[Czechoslovakia]] 1934
*Grand Cross of the [[Order of Saint Agatha]] of [[San Marino]] 1935
*Grand Cross of the [[Order of St. Sylvester|Order of Saint Sylvester]] of the [[Holy See|Vatican]] 1935
*Grand Cross of the [[Legion of Honour]] of [[French Fourth Republic|France]] 1948 (Grand Officer: 1924)

==In media==
*Probably as a reminiscence of his marriage to Anita Delgado, [[Don Pimpón]], a character in the [[Barrio Sésamo|Spanish version of ''Sesame Street'']], claimed to have travelled the world extensively with "his friend the Maharaja of Kapurthala."
*He appeared in the ''[[American Horror Story: Freak Show]]'' episode "[[Orphans (American Horror Story)|Orphans]]" in a flashback where he gives Elsa Mars custody of Mahadevi "Ma Petite" Patel.

==See also==
{{Commons category|Jagatjit Singh}}
* [[Amrit Kaur|''Rajkumari Bibiji'' Amrit Kaur]], the first female Indian Cabinet Minister (his first cousin).

==Footnotes==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{cite web |last1=Pathé |first1=British |title=Diamond Jubilee Of Maharaja Of Kapurthala |url=https://www.britishpathe.com/video/diamond-jubilee-of-maharaja-of-kapurthala |website=www.britishpathe.com |access-date=25 July 2022}}
* [https://kapurthala.gov.in/history/ The history of Kapurthala is the history of the Ahluwalia Dynasty]

{{s-start}}
{{s-hou|[[Ahluwalia (misl)|Ahluwalia dynasty]]|24 November|1872|19 June|1949}}
{{s-reg}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Kharak Singh of Kapurthala|Kharak Singh]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Raja of [[Kapurthala State|Kapurthala]]
|years=1877–1911}}
{{s-non|reason=Himself as ''Maharaja''}}
{{s-new|reason=}}
{{s-ttl|title=Maharaja of [[Kapurthala State|Kapurthala]]
|years=1911–1947}}
{{s-aft|after=''Monarchy abolished'' Accession to the [[Dominion of India]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Jagatjit}}
[[Category:1872 births]]
[[Category:1949 deaths]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire]]
[[Category:Indian Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour]]
[[Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of the Sun of Peru]]
[[Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of St. Sava]]
[[Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of the White Lion]]
[[Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of the Star of Romania]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Cambodia]]
[[Category:Punjabi Sikhs]]
[[Category:Maharajas of Kapurthala State|Kapurthala, Jagatjit Singh]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus]]
[[Category:Rajpramukhs]]
[[Category:Recipients of orders, decorations, and medals of Ethiopia]]
[[Category:People from Punjab Province (British India)]]

Jagatjit Singh - Revision history

JestineLegg9 at 17:49, 20 March 2026