An ‘extraordinary’ connection with Himachal

Shailaja Khanna

A book on Maharaja Jagatjit Singh of Kapurthala was released in Chandigarh last week in the presence of the Punjab Governor and Chief Minister. 

The connection the ruler had with Himachal is extraordinary – apparently “many summers of his youth were passed in hill stations such as Dharamsala, Dalhousie and Simla.” In his words “Simla may have been the pre-eminent hill station in British India, but in Mussourie you could live without the feeling that the Viceroy was looking over your shoulder.” (The Chateau in Mussourie remains a fabulous property even today).

The Maharaja’s main consorts were from Himachal. The senior Maharani, Harbans Kaur, was a Princess from Paprola in Kangra valley, daughter of Mian Ranjit Singh Guleria. The shagun ceremony was performed by Raja Sir Jai Chand of Lambagraon, and the marriage solemnised on April 16, 1886. The opulence of the age is vividly brought out in the description of the wedding. The wedding party which travelled to the Kangra valley from Kapurthala “included 4,494 persons with 37 elephants…additionally the Raja of Mandi joined at Palampore with a party of 1,600 followers.” At Paprola, every single subject, including women and children, were given a silver rupee to celebrate the nuptials.

“In keeping with the tradition of the day, two additional Ranis were added – Maharani Parbati Kaur of Katoch in 1891 and Maharani Lachmi of Bushair in 1892.” In 1895, the ruler married Rani Kanari from Jubbal. His son and heir apparent Tikka Raja Paramjit Singh was married to a princess of Jubbal, Brinda Mati; his second marriage, too, was to Rani Lilawati Devi of Kangra, in 1932. Maharaja Jagatjit Singh’s only daughter married the Prince of Mandi. One of his granddaughters married a prince of Jubbal and resided in Simla at Woodville Palace all her life.

The book is co-written by Brig HH Sukhjit Singh, grandson of Maharaja Jagatjit Singh, and a highly decorated cavalry officer. Thus there are several personal anecdotes, which make fascinating reading. Apparently, the Maharaja was close to Empress Victoria – even now in the Durbar Hall in her home Osborne House in the Isle of Wight, there are two paintings – one of Maharaja Duleep Singh, and a portrait of Maharaja Jagatjit Singh. 

Another interesting read is a letter from Queen Elizabeth thanking the Maharaja for his wedding gift of “a beautiful hemstitched bedspread embroidered in silk in such delicate colouring”.

A tolerant ruler, concerned with the well-being of all his subjects, the Maharaja constructed a gurdwara for his Sikh subjects and in 1930, a beautiful mosque for his Muslim subjects, modeled on the Qutbia Mosque in Marrakesh. The total cost was Rs 4 lakh, which was an enormous amount in those days and the then Viceroy questioned this extravagance. The Maharaja apparently replied “as 60 per cent of his population was comprised of loyal Muslim subjects, it was therefore in the fitness of things that the best place of worship in the state be constructed for them.” The photographs are extraordinary and capture a bygone era. There are photographs of his palaces, palace interiors, dining table setting, clothes, his medals, guests, prominent state buildings and much more. At 250 pages, the book is a fascinating account not just of a prince, but of his times; a period that has vanished into history. The release of the book in Simla is planned in 2019; the Delhi release in the end of January 2019.