Gaj Singh, Maharaja of Jodhpur

"Gaj Singh" (born 13 January 1948), was Maharaja of Jodhpur, India and is head of the Rathore clan of Rajputs.

Early years and accession

Gaj Singh was born the only son of Maharaja Hanwant Singh of Jodhpur by his wife, Maharani Krishna Kumari of Dhrangadhra. He succeeded to the titles and dignities of his father when only four years of age, in 1952, when his father died suddenly in a plane crash. He was enthroned shortly afterwards.

The infant Maharaja and his siblings were raised by their mother, Rajmata Krishna Kumari. At the age of eight, Gaj Singh was sent first to a prep school at Cothill and then to Eton College. After Eton, he went on to Christ Church, Oxford where he obtained a Bachelor's degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics.

Family

In 1970, Gaj Singh returned to Jodhpur to take up his duties as titular Maharaja of Jodhpur and head of the Rathore clan. In 1973, he wed Hemalata Rajye, daughter of the Raja of Poonch, a major feudatory estate of Kashmir state. They are the parents of two children, being:
#A daughter, Shivranjani Rajye (b. 1974), and
#A son, Shivraj Singh (b. 1975), heir apparent to his father's dignities.

Derecognition

In 1971, the constitution of India was amended. The Maharaja and other princes were deprived of their "Privy purses", the government annuities that had been guaranteed to them both in the constitution and in the covenants of merger whereby their states were merged with India. The same act also deprived them of other privileges, such as diplomatic immunity and the enjoyment of their titles.

Career

Later, Gaj Singh served as Indian High Commissioner to Trinidad and Tobago. He also served a term in the Rajya Sabha, the Upper House of the Indian Parliament.

In 2002, Gaj Singh celebrated the Golden Jubilee of his accession as Maharaja in royal style.

References

* [http://www.4dw.net/royalark/India/jodh16.htm Genealogy of the ruling chiefs of Jodhpur]