JAGATJIT SINGH, MAHARAJA

JAGATJIT SINGH, MAHARAJA (1872-1949), son of Raja Kharak Singh, was born on 23 November 1872 and ascended the throne of Kapurthala state on 16 October 1877. He assumed full ruling powers in November 1890 and then commenced his unusual career as a world traveller and a Francophile. He received the title of Maharaja in 1911. He was a man of high aesthetic taste and turned Kapurthala into a city of beautiful palaces and gardens. His main palace at Kapurthala was modelled on the Versailles Palace.

He also built in the city a mosque and a handsome gurudwara at Sultanpur Lodhi, sacred to Guru Nanak. Jagatjit Singh was one of the representatives of India at the League of Nations in 1926, 1927 and 1929. On the lapse of British paramountcy in August 1947, Kapurthala state acceded to the Indian Union and joined the Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU) as constituted in 1948. Maharaja Jagatjit Singh was appointed UpRajpramukh of the Union. Maharaja Jagatjit Singh died on 19 June 1949.

References :

1. Ganda Singh, The Patiala and the East Punjab Slates Union. Patiala, 1951
2. Griffin, Lepel, The Rajas of the Punjab [Reprint]. Delhi, 1977