Martand Singh was the last Maharaja of Rewa, Martand Singh was born in Rewa state in 1923, the son of the maharaja, Sir Gulab Singh, a formidable shikari or hunter who had shot over 500 tigers. With an area of 13,000 square miles, Rewa was the largest princely state in central India (now the Madhya Pradesh) and well known for its huge tiger population.
Martand Singh was educated at Daly College at Indore in central India, before graduating from Mayo College in Ajmer in Rajasthan in 1941. Both Daly and Mayo were Chiefs colleges, founded in northern India for the sons of the maharajas. There the young princes lived in palace-like boarding houses surrounded by retainers and strings of polo ponies. Some princes even kept their own elephants.
Soon after becoming maharaja, Singh set about conserving Rewa's forests and tigers, which he believed, more than any other animal, link environmental issues with India's religious and mythical beliefs.it is for discovering the existence of the white tiger in Rewa's jungles in 1950 that Singh is renowned. He conclusively proved that Rewa's white tigers were not freak albinos but an esoteric strain which had evolved only in this region. All white tigers in zoos around the world can trace their ancestry to the thick jungles around Rewa.It was during these conservation efforts that he came across a cub and began his investigations into the white tiger. Singh's efforts at conservation contributed towards the recent designation of Madhya Pradesh, home to around 900 tigers, a "Tiger State" to protect the animal against poachers.
In the early Forties Singh married Princess Pravina of Kutch, in western India, and succeeded his father as Maharaja of Rewa in 1946. He officially retained the title until royalty was abolished by the Indian government in 1970.
Martand Singh a politician and conservationist left the people of rewa on 20 November 1995.
Yeah its very true that Maharaja Martand Singh Ju Deo did a lot of things to save the royal animal. but its very unfortunate that his efforts are not being carried forward these days when the population of tigers has fallen to a dwindling low, there are less than 1400 of them alive across the country and even this no.can't be expressed with confidence. one has to look for the devastating effect on ecology and food chain that this reduction in the population of the royal beast is causing. bandhavgarh is a doting sanctuary for tigers, many cases of tiger killing & poaching have been heard from that place the most recent case is that of in kanha national park,a nearby reserve. there are many reasons for this reduction in the population of tigers, the prime of them is tiger hunting for their skin, some medicinal properties are also associated with certain body parts of tiger but it has been clinically proven that no medicinal cure can be made out of any of the tiger's body part. still people are living under misconceptions and wreaking a havoc on the population of tigers.another reason is the killing of the beast by local and nearby villages whenever a tiger kills the livestock of any villager, he poisons the body of that livestock and when tiger feeds upon that body it meets its end. the thing is we, as the citizens of a place which has boasted itself as a proud dwelling for tigers even white tigers, should join hands to make people aware about the ill effects of absence of the beautiful feline. i hope that we come forward and join this cause.
ReplyDeleteAnshumita Singh