Tej Singh Prabhakar

Maharaja Sir Tej Singh Prabhakar, KCSI (17 March 1911 – 15 February 2009) was the last ruling Maharaja of Alwar. A remotely related cousin of the previous ruler, Sir Jai Singh Prabhakar, he was selected by the British to rule Alwar, as Sir Jai Singh had been deposed by them for gross misconduct and for being anti British. Although Sir Tej (he had been knighted in 1943) proved to be an effective and popular ruler due to introduction of administrative reforms, he only ruled for a decade, from 1937-1947, before the coming of Indian independence in 1947.

In 1948, Alwar merged with other Eastern Rajputana princely states to form the Matsya Union; the union merged into that of Greater Rajasthan the following year. After 1948, Sir Tej retired to his Delhi residence, Alwar House, where he lived for the next six decades, visiting his former kingdom but rarely.

Sir Tej was formally stripped of his titles in 1971 as part of the mass derecognisation of the royal families. During the Indian Emergency, tax inspectors under the Indira Gandhi regime forcibly searched the Alwar palaces.

Sir Tej died at Alwar House, New Delhi on 15 February 2009, a month shy of his 98th birthday. He was cremated at Delhi. At his death, he was one of the last surviving princely rulers of the old Indian Empire and was the last living member of the Order of the Star of India. He was succeeded as Maharaja of Alwar by his grandson, Jitendra Singh.

Personal life

In 1931, Tej Singh, married Chand Kanwarji of Jodhpur (d. 1998). The couple had two sons and three daughters:

1. Pratap Singh (17 June 1938 – 27 March 1976). Killed under mysterious circumstances at Alwar during the Indian Emergency. Married on 26 April 1962 to the Princess of Bundi Mahendra Kumari, MP (6 February 1942 – 27 June 2002), and had one son and one daughter:
- Jitendra Pratap Singh (12 June 1971-), who succeeded as HH Raj Rishi Sawai Maharaja Jitendra Pratap Singh Veerendra Shiromani Dev Bharat Prabhakar Bahadur, Maharaja of Alwar upon his grandfather's death on 15 February 2009 (see article)
- Minakshi Kumari.
2. Yashwant Singh (19 September 1939-). Married Brinda Kumari (1942-), and has one son and two daughters:
- Yogendra Singh (3 March 1959-)
- Bhuvneshwari Kumari (1960-)
- Sohini Kumari (5 January 1968-)
3. Pratap Kumari
4. Bhanu Kumari
5. Man Kumari

Titles

1911-1937: Sri Tej Singh
1937-1941: His Highness Raj Rishi Sri Sawai Maharaja Tej Singh Veerendra Shiromani Dev Bharat Prabhakar Bahadur, Maharaja of Alwar
1941-1943: Lieutenant His Highness Raj Rishi Sri Sawai Maharaja Tej Singh Veerendra Shiromani Dev Bharat Prabhakar Bahadur, Maharaja of Alwar
1943-1944: Lieutenant His Highness Raj Rishi Sri Sawai Maharaja Sir Tej Singh Veerendra Shiromani Dev Bharat Prabhakar Bahadur, Maharaja of Alwar, KCSI
1944-1945: Captain His Highness Raj Rishi Sri Sawai Maharaja Sir Tej Singh Veerendra Shiromani Dev Bharat Prabhakar Bahadur, Maharaja of Alwar, KCSI
1945-1946: Lieutenant-Colonel His Highness Raj Rishi Sri Sawai Maharaja Sir Tej Singh Veerendra Shiromani Dev Bharat Prabhakar Bahadur, Maharaja of Alwar, KCSI
1946-2009: Colonel His Highness Raj Rishi Sri Sawai Maharaja Sir Tej Singh Veerendra Shiromani Dev Bharat Prabhakar Bahadur, Maharaja of Alwar, KCSI