User:Keninuk/Maj. Kanwar Jasjit Singh

Kanwar Jasjit Singh of Kapurthala, born 12th April 1893, was the elder son of Kanwar Pratap Singh of Kapurthala' and the grandson of Kanwar Bikrma Singh of Kapurthala.

He was educated initially at home and then at Aitchison College, Lahore.

He was commissioned as Honourary 2nd-Lt. ILF in 1918, attached to the 6th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers, served in Afghanistan and the NWF in 1919, where he was honoured by the Waziristan medal. He was was promoted to Honourary Lieutenant in 1919, Honourary Captain in 1923, and Honourary Major in 1936. He was awarded the Delhi Durbar Silver Medal in 1911, the Silver Jubilee Medal in 1935, and the Coronation Medal in 1937.

His exceptional career included the position of the the Vice-Chairman of the Jullundur District Board, the Chief of the Army Selection Board and Honourary Magistrate for Jullundur District 1915/1943.

Known simply as "Sarkar" by every one, he was a towering political figure in the region and was responsible for defusing numerous conflicts relating to the growing problems between the Hindu/Sikh and the Muslim communities.

One of the most popular of the "Royals" at the time when Royals were less popular than they used to be, he was liked and admired by all sides of the increasingly divided India.

Kanwar Jasjit Singh was a great supporter of his cousin Rajkumari Amrit Kaur (the first woman Cabinet Minister of Independent India). He was greatly admired by Pandit Nehru and was a favourite of Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel.

At the same time he was a friend of Mohammad Ali Jinnah and one of the very few people trusted by Jinnah.

A scholar and master of 6 languages, he had a vast library containing thousands of rare books and manuscripts at his home, kapurthala House in Jullunder.

He had a son by his first wife and one daughter and two sons by his second wife. These were:

By his first wife, one son, Kanwar Prithvijit Singh - died without an issue.

By his second wife he had two sons and a daughter:

Kanwar Manjit Singh - had three issues, (from his first wife) kumari Purnima, and (from his second wife) Kanwar Chandrajeet Singh and Kanwar Anil jit Singh ' Kanwar Ranjit Singh - one son, Kanwar Vishvajit Singh (adopted by Kanwarani Surjit Kaur, the widdow of Kanwar Prithvijit Singh )

His daughter, Kumari Uma (married DaulatSingh and had four issues, Jitender DaulatSingh, Surender DaulatSingh, Vijander DaulatSingh and a daughter, Candrika Daulat Singh.

In March of 1943, Kanwar Jasjit Singh was diagnosed with a severe chest infection and was advised by his doctors to take complete rest. However, as he has given his word to a close friend that he would attend his daughter's wedding, he traveled by special train to his friend's house for the wedding. He developed pneumonia during the journey and as a result died on the 29th March 1943.