Bhagvatsingh of Gondal

Maharaja Thakore Shri Sir Dr. Bhagvatsingh Sahib, GCSI, GCIE, KIH, MB, CM, SB (Bombay), MD, Hon. LLD (Edin.), Hon. DCL (Oxon.), FRS, FRCP, FRSSE, MRAS, MRI, FCP (Bombay), HPAC (24 October 1865-9 March 1944) was an immensely progressive and enlightened Maharaja of the princely state of Gondal and the only ruler of a princely state to take a medical degree.

Early life

Maharaja Sir Dr. Bhagvatsingh was born as "Kumar Sri" Bhagvatsinghji Sangramsinhji Sahib, Yuvaraja Sahib of Gondal, on 24 October 1865, the youngest but only surviving son of Thakore Sagramji II, the Thakore Sahib, or chieftain, of Gondal, a small third-class princely state that was an offshoot of the great Jadeja dynasty. The Gondal branch of the dynasty had split off from the dynasty ruling Rajkot in the early 17th century. By the early 19th century, a succession of incompetent rulers had left Gondal in a sorry state. However, upon the accession of Sagramji II to the throne, conditions in Gondal under his reign markedly improved, with the establishment of modern schools, law courts and a police force; although still a third-class state, with its ruler not even ranking as a "Raja" (prince), by 1866, Gondal had become a minor salute state of 9-guns. In 1869, Sagramji II died, and Bhagvatsingh succeeded his father at the age of four.

Dawn of a New Age

Reigning under a British regency until he came of age, Bhagvatsingh was educated in the latest scientific and technological developments, continuing and in many ways exceeding his father's efforts. After succeeding to his majority in 1884, he immediately worked on reforming Gondal. He reformed the state administration, developed its resources, erected schools, colleges and hospitals, provided free and compulsory education for both men and women through university, built technical schools for engineers and training facilities for labourers. As well, Bhagvatsingh improved the regional livestock through modern animal husbandry, built dams and irrigation networks and introduced sewage, plumbing, rail systems, telegraphs, telephone cables and electricity, becoming also a champion for womens' rights-unprecedented for the time.

Amazingly, he was so effective as a ruler that his subjects did not need to pay any taxes whatsoever, as he succeeded in improving land revenues and the state income tenfold. He provided free and compulsory education for the non-academically minded in the form of training facilities for engineers, mechanics, carpenters, joiners, surveyors, painters, and levellers. Irrigation networks and dams helped boost agriculture and cultivated wasteland.

Bhagvatsingh took a deep interest in medicine at an early age, striving his hardest to alleviate disease and suffering. To do so he enrolled at the University of Edinburgh in 1892 and studied for his degree, graduated as a medical doctor in 1895 and went on to earn his place as Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh-the only princely ruler ever to do so. In 1894, he became the President of the Organising Committee of the 8th International Congress of Hygiene and Demography at Budapest. Upon returning to Gondal, he ministered to his subjects throughout his life, working late into the night five days a week, and taking a daily tour of inspection around the capital before finally retiring to his bed. He later rose to become Vice-President of the Indian Medical Association.

Not only a scientist, but a devoted scholar as well, Bhagvatsingh later published the first ever dictionary of Gujarati, the "Bhagvatgaumandal."

Immensely enlightened for the era, Bhagvatsingh educated all his family, including his wife and daughters, one of whom was sent to Edinburgh to study art. His four surviving sons were all educated abroad-his heir apparent, Bhojirajsingh, at Eton School and Balliol College, Oxford, where he took an engineering degree. His second, Bhupatsingh,educated at Harrow School and at Trinity College, Cambridge, became a doctor like his father, going on to the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine at the University of London, becoming a DTM, MRCS and LRCP. After returning to Gondal, Bhupatsingh became its chief medical officer. The youngest two sons, Kiritsingh and Natwarsingh, both educated at Edinburgh, became directors of the state railways.

Only four years after his formal accession in 1888, Gondal was raised to the rank of a first-class state with an 11-gun salute; in 1887, Bhagvatsingh became Sir Bhagvatsingh after he was knighted that year.

Later Years

By the 20th century, Gondal boasted among the finest medical services and the finest municipal works system in the subcontinent. Sir Dr. Bhagvatsingh himself became renowned beyond India, and continued working for the benefit of his people through his old age. Sir Dr. Bhagvatsingh died on 9 March 1944 in his eightieth year after a 75 year reign, cementing his reputation as one of the most progressive monarchs in Indian history.

Titles

*1865-1869:Kumar Shri Bhagvatsinghji Sangramsinhji Sahib, Yuvaraja Sahib of Gondal
*1869-1877:His Highness Thakore Shri Bhagvatsinghji Sahib, Thakore Sahib of Gondal
*1877-1887:His Highness Thakore Shri Bhagvatsinghji Sahib, Thakore Sahib of Gondal, KIH
*1887-1888:His Highness Thakore Shri Sir Bhagvatsinghji Sahib, Thakore Sahib of Gondal, KCIE, KIH, LLD
*1888-1892:His Highness Maharaja Thakore Shri Sir Bhagvatsinghji Sahib, Maharaja Thakore Sahib of Gondal, KCIE, KIH, LLD
*1892-1894:His Highness Maharaja Thakore Shri Sir Bhagvatsinghji Sahib, Maharaja Thakore Sahib of Gondal, KCIE, KIH, MB, CM, MRCP, Hon.LLD (Edin.)
*1894-1895:His Highness Maharaja Thakore Shri Sir Bhagvatsinghji Sahib, Maharaja Thakore Sahib of Gondal, KCIE, KIH, MB, CM, FRS, MRCP, Hon.LLD (Edin.), Hon. DCL (Oxon.)
*1895-1897:His Highness Maharaja Thakore Shri Sir Dr. Bhagvatsinghji Sahib, Maharaja Thakore Sahib of Gondal, KCIE, KIH, MB, CM, MD, FRS, FRCP, MRAS, MRI, Hon.LLD (Edin.), Hon. DCL (Oxon.)
*1897-1909:His Highness Maharaja Thakore Shri Sir Dr. Bhagvatsinghji Sahib, Maharaja Thakore Sahib of Gondal, GCIE, KIH, MB, CM, MD, FRS, FRCP, MRAS, MRI, Hon.LLD (Edin.), Hon. DCL (Oxon.)
*1909-1913:His Highness Maharaja Thakore Shri Sir Dr. Bhagvatsinghji Sahib, Maharaja Thakore Sahib of Gondal, GCIE, KIH, MB, CM, MD, FRS, FRCP, FRSSE, MRAS, MRI, Hon.LLD (Edin.), Hon. DCL (Oxon.), HPAC
*1913-1937: His Highness Maharaja Thakore Shri Sir Dr. Bhagvatsinghji Sahib, Maharaja Thakore Sahib of Gondal, GCIE, KIH, MB, CM, SB (Bombay), MD, FRS, FRCP, FRSSE, FCP (Bombay), MRAS, MRI, Hon.LLD (Edin.), Hon. DCL (Oxon.), HPAC
*1937-1944:His Highness Maharaja Thakore Shri Sir Dr. Bhagvatsinghji Sahib, Maharaja Thakore Sahib of Gondal, GCSI, GCIE, KIH, MB, CM, SB (Bombay), MD, Hon. LLD (Edin.), Hon. DCL (Oxon.), FRS, FRCP, FRSSE, MRAS, MRI, FCP (Bombay), HPAC

Honours

Maharaja Sir Dr. Bhagvatsingh received numerous prestigious honours, both academic and political, through his long reign, perhaps the highest of which was his election as a full Fellow of the Royal Society in 1894, thus making him the only Indian monarch to receive the title of FRS. Given here is a full list of his honours and academic degrees:

Academic Degrees

*Bachelor of Medicine (Edin.) (MB)-1892
*Master of Surgery (Edin.) (CM)-1892
*Medical Doctor(Edin.) (MD)-1895

Honours

*Prince of Wales Gold Medal-1875
*Kaiser-i-Hind Gold Medal (KIH)-1877
*Fellow of Bombay University-1885
*Queen Victoria Golden Jubilee Medal-1887
*Hon. LLD (Edin.)-1887
*Hon DCL (Oxon.)-1892
*Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS)-1894
*Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (FRCP)-1895 (MRCP-1892)
*Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire (GCIE)-1897 (KCIE-1887)
*Delhi Durbar Gold Medal-1903
*Member of the Royal Asiatic Society (MRAS)
*Member of the Royal Institution of Great Britain and Ireland (MRI)
*Fellow of the Royal Society of Sanitation Engineers(FRSSE)-1909
*Delhi Durbar Gold Medal-1911
*King George V Coronation Medal-1911
*Fellow of the College of Physicians (FCP-Bombay)-1913
*Honorary Master of Surgery (SB-Bombay)-1913
*King George V Silver Jubilee Medal-1935
*Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India (GCSI)-1937
*King George VI Coronation Medal-1937

ources

[http://www.4dw.net/royalark/India/gondal3.htm Detailed Biography, Genealogy and History]