Maharaja Bhupinder Singh: A Great Ruler of the Patiala State

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A chronicle of powerful, enthralling, and multi-dimensional personality of Maharaja Bhupindra Singh of Patiala reflecting the illuminating details about the larger-than-life persona of one of the most outstanding rulers of erstwhile Phulkian Princely State.

Dr Daljit Singh is an Associate Professor and the current Head of the Punjab Historical Studies Department, Punjabi University, Patiala. In addition, he is also Head, Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur National Integration Chair at Punjabi University, Patiala. His area of specialization is Medieval Indian History, Sikh History, Religion and Culture. In 2018, he was honored by Dadhi Mahanta Memorial Social Science National Research Award and subsequently on 26 January 2020, he was honored by Punjab Government for his ground breaking research work on Sikh History. He has authored numerous articles on Sikh history and has 70 research papers published in reputed journals and conference proceedings. He has delivered more than 70 lectures as a Keynote Speaker and resource person in National and International Seminars and Seminars and Conferences. His main publications include:

1. Punjab: Socio-Economic Condition 1500-1700 AD, Delhi, 2004.

2. Cultural Diversity and National Integration in India (Edited). Punjabi University, Patiala, 2018.

3. Sri Guru Nanak Dev 1469-1539 (Edited), Punjabi University, Patiala, 2019 (in Punjabi).

4. Sri Guru Arjan Dev: Sikh Dharam Da Vikas Ate Shahadat 1581- 1606 (Edited), Punjabi University, Patiala, 2019 (in Punjabi).

5. Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur: Jiwan, Yatrawan Ate Shahadat, (Edited), Punjabi University, Patiala, 2019 (in Punjabi).

6. Partition of Punjab (Essays in the Honour of Shaheed Sardar Nanak Singh), (Edited), Punjabi University, Patiala, 2019.

7. Interfaith Understanding and Communal Harmony (Edited) Punjabi University, Patiala, 2021.

8. Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur: Jiwan Ate Bani. Punjabi University, Patiala, 2021 (in Punjabi). Gurpreet Singh Harika is an Assistant Professor & Head of the Department of History at University College, Moonak, a Postgraduate Constituent College of Punjabi University, Patiala. There are more than twenty national and international research publications to his credit covering varied research interests in the field of History of Punjab and Modern Indian History.

The erstwhile princely State of Patiala was the wealthiest of all the Native States in Eastern Punjab during the British Rule in India. It was even more populated than the neighbouring Bahawalpur State which was having nearly three times bigger area than the Patiala State. During the British period, the State was broadly divided into three major portions: the largest area was the vast plains that were situated south of the river Sutlej, the second portion was the Hilly Area stretched as far as Shimla and Kufri and the third was the secluded tracts of the Pargana of Narnaul, that was almost 180 miles away from the capital and adjoining the Shekhawati and Torawati districts of Jaipur and the States of Alwar and Loharu. It has an estimated area of 5492 square miles at the time of the accession of Maharaja Bhupinder Singh, the seventh ruler of the Patiala State.

This work is primarily focused on the life and times of Maharaja Bhupinder Singh (1891-1938) of Patiala, who evidently had the 'larger-than-life' persona and reputation that no other Prince could match. The Maharaja had achieved certain rare feats. He was the founder member of the Governing Body of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the game that is revered as holy as a religion in India. He was such a charming, daunting, and influential personality, an 'archetype of the oriental potentate' that he got the distinction and repertoire of being acquainted with almost all the prominent personalities of his times in the world. He was imbued with the longing of 'uncontainable exuberances' that was the reason behind his colossal achievements in a short span of time. With the coming of Maharaja Bhupinder Singh, the 128-year-old legacy of Patiala State entered in the twentieth century and this new phase of leadership put the Patiala State into limelight and helped in gaining more prominent position in Indian politics as well as in the entire world.