Maharaja Bhupinder Singh

Bhupinder Singh Bhupinder Singh, born 12 October 1891 in Patiala, India –23 March 1938, Patiala) was the ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Patiala from 1900 to 1938. He is best known for his extravagance, and for being a cricketer. He was born at the Moti Bagh Palace in Patiala, and educated at Aitchison College. At age the age of 9 he succeeded as maharaja of Patiala state upon death of his father, Maharaja Rajinder Singh, on 9 November 1900. A Council of Regency ruled in his name until he took partial powers shortly before his 18th birthday on 1 October 1909, and was invested with full powers by the Viceroy of India, the 4th Earl of Minto, on 3 November 1910. He represented India at the League of Nations in 1925, and was chancellor of the Indian Chamber of Princes for 10 years between 1926 and 1938, also being a representative at the Round Table Conference.

He was well known for the construction of buildings with bold architectural designs in Patiala, including Kali Temple, Patiala, and Chail View Palace in the summer retreat of Kandaghat. He was known to have a collection of Rolls Royce cars. He was also known for an exceptional collection of medals, believed to be the world's largest at the time. According to legend, Maharaja Bhupinder Singh would be driven in a motorcade of 20 Rolls Royce cars. He also got a unique monorail system built in Patiala known as Patiala State Monorail Trainways. He was the captain of the Indian cricket team that visited England in 1911, and played in 27 first-class cricket matches between 1915 and 1937. He also donated the trophy for the Ranji Trophy, which is a domestic first-class cricket championship in India.

He was succeeded by his son Yadavindra Singh, who was the last Maharaja of Patiala after Patiala was incorporated into the new India on independence. His grandson Amarinder Singh became a politician and has served as the Chief Minister of Punjab from 2002-2007. Bhupinder passed away on 28 March 1938.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh

Commonly known as Sher-e-Punjab (the lion of Punjab) (1780-1839) was the first ruler of the Sikh Empire. He was born in Gujranwala at a time when the Punjab was ruled by the Sikhs under the confederate sarbat khalsa and was divided into 11 different territories or misls. His major accomplishment was uniting the Sikh factions into one large kingdom. He ruled his empire, which stretched from Afghanistan to Kashmir, from his capital Lahore and whilst he was alive the British did not dare to attack. He was the father of Maharaja Duleep Singh who was the first sikh settler in Britain. Ranjit Singh was a brilliant ruler as he stopped non-secular practices by treating muslims and hindus equally, he also brought law and order without ever having to use the death penalty. He never forced Sikhism on his subjects in stark contrast to the Mughal rulers of the past who forced mass conversions. He ordered the gold and marble work on the Harmandir Sahib or Golden Temple. He also ordered the Takht Sri Patna Sahib, the birthplace of Guru Gobind Singh and Takht Sri Hazur Sahib, the place of Guru Gobind Singhs' ascension to God. After his death in 1839 he was succeeded by Kharak Singh who ruled for just over a year, then Nau Nihal Singh his son ruled, then Sher Singh and finally Maharaja Duleep Singh before the empire was annexed by the British Raj in 1849. The image below is that of Maharaja Ranit Singh's gold throne.