Maharaja Hari Singh: From Royalty to Philanthropy
As a belated mark of respect to the late Maharaja’s contribution to the humanity, the UT of J&K declared 23 September as an official holiday three years back
By Colonel Satish Singh Lalotra
The land of this sub-continent venerated from eons being blessed by countless seers, thinkers of extraordinary mettle, and rulers with benevolent bent of mind has been on a roll for keeping the larger good of masses at their core. The rulers of countless states, principalities and such like estates going by an equally vast lexicon as Maharaja, Raja, Nawab, Rana etc were considered as an extension of God incarnation itself by the vast subjects of theirs.
Is it any wonder that even today the relics of their past in the form of various trusts, foundations, and numerous such entities keep guiding to this day the denizens of this sub –continent.India is full of tales of yore that had various rulers go incognito and mingle with their subjects in order to find the pulse of their rule.
One such Maharaja who has been able to etch his name in the annals of history as well as the mental firmament of his subjects to this day has been late Maharaja Hari Singh the last ruler of Dogra dynasty of J&K, a race considered as the sword arm of northern India. Today, the 23 September 2025 happens to be the 130th birth anniversary of this great Maharaja cum philanthropist, administrator, reformer, thinker and above all a nationalist to the core.
Though reams of papers, books ,pamphlets, coffee table books, discourses & lectures etc have been written, spoken and discussed at the highest echelons of national & international pulpits , what most of us miss has been the unrelenting and unwavering commitment of few of trusts and foundations named after the famed yet underrated ruler of J&K. One such trust that has been a silent worker yet creating ripples around countless masses who have been benefitted by the reach of this trust is known by the name of RCT ( Rajput charitable trust) , Jammu.
Found under the aegis of ex ruling family of Dogra dynasty , ‘Rajput charitable trust’ presently being helmed by its President M.K. Ajat Shatru Singh & Kr Ritu Singh is heralding an unstinted legacy of rendering both material and moral support to myriad social causes that have been plaguing the society from time to time. Once known worldwide as a harbinger for sociallyuplifting and ameliorating the cause of his subjects, Maharaja Hari Singh’s progenies are doing him proud by steadfastly following the path of social guidance as shown by him by their personal indulgence.
So very seldom found in today’s fractured society which has single most motto of ‘self-aggrandizement’. This apex organization which is primarily Jammu based, though is not at all myopic in its mission & vision. An all-encompassing attitude is the way forward for this trust. Under its myriad actions, issues like widow pension, help& support to underprivileged children of marginalized sections of the society, up gradation of education facilities in remote parts of Jammu & Kashmir that have an overwhelming numbers of Rajput children etc are the high points of this trust.
In fact this trust functions in close coordination with another equally important foundation going by the name—‘Maharaja Hari Singh Social & educational foundation’. Though this foundation is hardly 25 years old, it focuses primarily on providing services to the masses as such in Jammu division. The major activity of this particular foundation which is sub-classified into education is engaged in the ‘General school education’ with second stage of the secondary level & senior higher secondary level being its main forte.
One of the major milestones of RCT, Jammu has been the singular act of theirs whereby underprivileged students of remote schools have been offered the seminal chance of integrating with modern education system by way of bridging activities of their various DPS (Delhi Public Schools) that lie in near vicinity of these underprivileged schools.
In one such ‘bridging activity’ way back in 2005’/06 my wife Madhu Lalotra being the central coordinator of DPS Jammu was earmarked as the ‘resource person’ cum ‘liaison link’ between DPS Jammu where she had been teaching for many years to uplink with the nearest underprivileged schools, identify the problems being faced by these schools in terms of requirement of qualified teachers, integrating the students of this school with DPS Jammu by way of conducting special classes, showcasing the state of the art lab rooms, equipment as well as latest pedagogical methods in vogue and render material support. Quite a humongous mandate indeed.
Well that used to be the guiding mantra of HH Maharaja Hari Singh too who was one of the first few rulers in India to start ‘compulsory primary education’ in his state much before Mahatma Gandhi even thought of it. For the Maharaja, it was his abiding mantra to identify himself with his subjects in totality, and what better way to do so than upholding his cherished dream of universalizing of education in his princely state?
The various natural and man-made calamities in the form of October earthquake of 2005 in J&K, the deluge of September 2014, the corona pandemic of 2020 and now the monsoon destruction by way of cloud bursts, landslides etc saw RCT rise up to its erstwhile subjects with an unwavering resolve by opening its coffers as never seen before. Even otherwise RCT doesn’t ever miss a chance to assuage the general feelings of masses of Jammu region by its unstinted support in whatever manner it deems fit.
For the general information of the readers of this article of mine it would be quite revealing that the Maharaja was ‘numerouno’ in the country in kick starting many of the welfare schemes for his subjects that came to the fore of other rulers of India in a much latter time frame. Notably among these schemes were ‘Widow Remarriage’ in Jammu & Kashmir in a time and age when such actions and thoughts were considered as an outright anathema, leave alone implementing.
Opening the portals of all religious sites to the most down trodden of the society was another such tectonic milestone on the firmament of Jammu& Kashmir which proved unequivocally his unwavering commitment to his subjects. Agriculture was considered as a lowly and menial in the eyes of many of the people of Jammu & Kashmir.
It prompted Maharaja Hari Singh in a rare gesture to wield the plough with bullocks himself in full public glare and show his stand to his state. The institutions of higher learning, hospitals, schools, public libraries and the ilk in Jammu & Kashmir will always remain as the hallmark of the late Maharaja which no time and tide can ever erase from the memory of his subjects.
The ultimate price that the late ruler had to pay was to think much ahead of his times and read the writing on the wall much better and faster than most of his peers. Taking a nationalistic stand at the round table conference at London in the presence of high and mighty of British crown as well as Indian leaders in 1931 in the capacity of Vice chancellor of ‘chamber of princes’ cost him his pride of place in the comity of rulers as well as ensured that he was a marked man in the eyes of the British for ruffling the feathers of the British crown.
But the proverbial ‘coup de grace’ to the evil designs of Pakistan was dealt by the late Maharaja when under immense pressure from the tribal attacks in October 1947 he signed the instrument of accession with the dominion of India , thereby once again bringing to the fore his nationalistic streak in full glare as was demonstrated in 1931 in London.
As member of the war cabinet of Sir Winston Churchill during the 2 WW, Maharaja Hari Singh equaled the fame and reach of his peer Maharaja Ganga Singh of Bikaner who was the member of war cabinet in the then British Prime Minister David Lloyd during the first WW.
The unceremonious exit of his very being from his home state in 1949 was a sequel to his playing the game on his own terms that was fair and square even in the eyes of his detractors in a later time fame tinged with a hue of hind sight.
As a belated mark of respect to the late Maharaja’s contribution to the humanity, the UT of J&K declared 23 September as an official holiday three years back. An act that should have seen the light of the day many years ago. But better late than never, since seldom do personalities of such subtle acclaim as the late Maharaja Hari Singh walk on earth.
