Jaswant Singh II


Jaswant Singh II, GCSI, was Maharaja of Jodhpur from 4 February 1873 – 11 October 1895.

Birth

He was born in 1838 at Ahmadnagar in Gujarat and was eldest son of Takht Singh.

Marriage

He had eight wives, of which the first–the daughter of the Jam Sahib of Nawanagar, Puariji–was chief consort.

Accession

He acceded to the throne of Jodhpur in 1873 upon death of his father, Takhat Singh,

Reign

The reign of Jaswant Singh II was marked with remarkable prosperity and reforms and development works. He established Courts of Justice, introduced system of revenue settlement and re=organizing all the state departments. Further, he developed infrastructure of the state by introducing telegraphs, railways, and developing roads. He formed Imperial Service Cavalry Corps, which later rendered active service in European War. He was honoured and created the Knight Grand Commander of the Most Exalted Order of the Star of India in 1875.

Swami Dayananda incident

Jawant Singh had invited Swami Dayananda as he was influenced by his ideas. But the tragedy occurred when Dayananda was poisoned on 29 September 1883, when he was the royal guest of Jaswant Singh II, by Dayananda's own cook, who had conspired with a court dancer. The Maharaja was quick to arrange the services of a doctor and arranged for Swamiji to be sent to Mount Abu upon the advice of Residency.

Death

He died 11 October 1895 and was succeeded by his only son Sardar Singh.

Jaswant Thada

The Jaswant Thada is an architectural landmark located in Jodhpur. It is a white marble memorial built by Sardar Singh in 1899 in memory of
Maharaja Jaswant Singh II.