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{{Short description|Last ruling Maharaja of Dhrangadhra from 1967–1971}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2014}}
{{more citations needed|date=September 2015}}
{{Infobox person
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| honorific_prefix = [[His Highness]]
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| honorific_suffix = [[Order of the Indian Empire|KCIE]], [[Royal Asiatic Society|FRAS]], [[Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland|FRAI]], [[Royal Historical Society|FRHistS]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1923|03|03}}
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| death_date = {{Death date and age|2010|08|01|1923|03|03}}
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{{Infobox officeholder | embed = yes
| office = Member of [[Lok Sabha]] from [[Surendranagar (Lok Sabha constituency)|Surendranagar]]
| term_start = 1967
| term_end = 1971
}}
}}
'''Maharaja Sir Mayurdwajsinhji Meghrajji III''', [[Order of the Indian Empire|KCIE]], [[Royal Asiatic Society|FRAS]], [[Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland|FRAI]], [[Royal Historical Society|FRHistS]] (3 March 1923 – 1 August 2010) was the last ruling [[Maharaja]] of [[Dhrangadhra State|Dhrangadhra-Halvad]]. He was an academic, politician, member of several distinguished academic bodies, and one of the last surviving rulers of the former [[princely state]]s of the [[British Raj]]. He was also the last surviving knight of the [[Order of the Indian Empire]] and the last of either of the chivalric orders of the [[British Indian Empire]].

==Early life==
Maharaja Meghrajji III was born on 3 March 1923 at Sundar Villas, [[Dhrangadhra]] as the second but eldest surviving son of Maharaja Sir Ghanshyamsinjhi Ajitsinhji Sahib Bahadur (1889–1942), the Maharaja of the 13-gun [[salute state]] of Dhrangadhra-Halvad and his third wife, Maharani Anand Kunverba Sahiba (1895–1979). He received his earliest education at a local school, then was sent to England, where he first attended [[Millfield School]] in [[Somerset]] and then the [[Heath Mount School]] in [[Hertfordshire]].<ref name="maharaja of dhrangadhra">{{cite journal|doi=10.1080/19472498.2010.485380 | volume=1 | title=The Jodhpur regency: princely education, politics and gender in post-colonial India | year=2010 | journal=South Asian History and Culture | pages=378–396 | last1 = Jhala | first1 = Angma}}</ref> He then studied at [[Haileybury and Imperial Service College|Haileybury College]]<ref>{{Cite web|date=2010-09-10|title=His highness, the last of India's pre-partition rulers|url=https://www.smh.com.au/world/his-highness-the-last-of-indias-prepartition-rulers-20100910-154xm.html|access-date=2020-07-01|website=The Sydney Morning Herald|language=en}}</ref> before returning to India just prior to succeeding his father as Maharaja.

==Maharaja of Dhrangadhra-Halvad==
Upon the death of his father in 1942, Mehghrajji succeeded him as Maharaja. He continued his education at [[St. Joseph's Academy, Dehradun|St. Joseph's Academy]] in [[Dehra Dun]] and at the [[Shri Shivaji Preparatory Military School (Pune)|Shivaji Military School]] in [[Poona]] (now [[Pune]]). During his reign, he served as the Patron of [[Talukdari Girassia College]] and of the [[Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute]]. From 1945 to 1947, he was a member of the Standing Committee of the [[Chamber of Princes]].

Meghrajji's reign proved to be a short one, as when independence came to India in 1947, Meghrajji signed an [[Instrument of Accession]] to India. On 14 August, he was knighted by being appointed a Knight Commander of the [[Order of the Indian Empire]] (KCIE), one of the last.<ref name="KCIE"/> However, Meghrajji threw himself wholeheartedly into the cause for his new nation, serving as a member of the [[Constituent Assembly of India]] from 1947 to 1948. On 15 February 1948, the Maharaja merged Dhrangadhra-Halvad into the United State of [[Kathiawad]] and into the [[Saurashtra (region)|Union of Saurashtra]] just a month later.

==Politician and academic==
From 1948 to 1952, Meghrajji served as ''Uprajpramukh'' (Deputy [[Rajpramukh]]) of the state of [[Saurashtra (region)|Saurashtra]], also serving briefly (in 1949) as president of its state bank. In 1953, he attended the coronation of [[Elizabeth II]]. In 1967, he became a Member of the [[4th Lok Sabha]], representing [[Surendranagar]], as Member of Parliament from 1967 to 1971. Working to keep the tradition of royal India's monarchies alive, Meghrajji simultaneously held the chair of Intendant-General for the Consultation of Rulers of Indian States in Concord for India until 1971.

In the 1950s, Meghrajji studied at [[Christ Church, Oxford]], where he took a [[Bachelor of Letters|B.Litt]] degree in 1958. He also studied at the [[Ruskin School of Drawing]] and at the [[Institute for Social Anthropology]] at Oxford.

==Personal life==
In 1943, Meghrajji married Maharani Shrimati Sri Rajni Brijraj Kunverba Sahiba of [[Jodhpur]]. The couple had three sons:
*Sodhsalji Shatrujitdev Sahib, [[Yuvaraja]] of Dhrangadhra-Halvad, who succeeded him to the Maharaja Raj Sahib of Dhrangadhra-Halvad throne
*Dr. Jayasinhji Jawahirdev Sahib
*Siddhrajsinhji Gautama Deo Sahib

==Later life==
Since 1966, he had served as the President of [[Rajkumar College, Rajkot]] and of the Sri Rajaram Educational Foundation. He was also a life member of the [[Millfield Society]], the Indian Council of World Affairs, the Indian Parliamentary Group, the [[Commonwealth Parliamentary Association]] (all since 1967), the Linguistic Society of India, the Numismatic Society of India, the Heraldry Society of India and the [[World Wildlife Fund]]. As well, he was a Fellow of the [[Royal Asiatic Society]] and of the [[Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland]]. He was also a member of the [[Cricket Club of India]] and a Fellow of the [[Royal Historical Society]].

==Death==
The Maharaja died of complications of old age at Dhrangadhra on 1 August 2010, aged 87. He was succeeded by his eldest son Sodhsalji Shatrujitdev, the heir and titular Maharaja to the throne of Dhrangadhra-Halvad.

==Awards==
*Knight Commander of the [[Order of the Indian Empire]] (KCIE) - [[1948 New Year Honours]], back-dated to 14 August 1947<ref name="KCIE">{{London Gazette|issue=38161 |supp=y|page=7|date=30 December 1947}}</ref>
*Honorary rank of Major in the Indian Army - 1948<ref name="gazette">{{cite news|url=http://egazette.nic.in/WriteReadData/1948/E-2434-1948-0000-112125.pdf|title=The Gazette of India - Extraordinary - Ministry of Defence|work=The [[Gazette of India]] |date=14 August 1948}}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://groups.yahoo.com/group/rkcrajkot/attachments/folder/1072768431/item/995217031/view Sad Demise August 1, 2010 : Phulchhab Daily, Gujarati Language Paper],

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Meghrajji 03 Of Dhrangadhra-Halvad}}
[[Category:1923 births]]
[[Category:2010 deaths]]
[[Category:4th Lok Sabha members]]
[[Category:Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Asiatic Society]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Historical Society]]
[[Category:Founders of Indian schools and colleges]]
[[Category:Indian anthropologists]]
[[Category:Indian knights]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian royalty]]
[[Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire]]
[[Category:Members of the Constituent Assembly of India]]
[[Category:Maharajas of Gujarat]]
[[Category:Members of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly]]
[[Category:People educated at Millfield]]
[[Category:People from Surendranagar district]]
[[Category:Rajpramukhs]]
[[Category:Saurashtra (state)]]

Meghrajji III - Revision history

>LoopaMoopa at 07:07, 10 December 2021