The valourous Maharaja of Jaipur (1931-2011)
Brigadier Sawai Bhawani Singh Bahadur was born on 22 October 1931 in Jaipur. He was the first maleborn heir to the ruling Maharaja and his birthday was celebrated in style. So much champagne flowed that he was called Bubbles. He was educated at Doon School Dehradun and later at Harrow in UK. Like his father who served the Army as Lt General, he was keen to join the army and was commissioned into 3 Cavalry in 1954 and later served in the President`s Bodyguard for eight years. In 1963, he was posted to Headquarters 50 Independent Parachute Brigade. He volunteered to carry out a parachute drop at a height of 20,000 feet without oxygen. He was adjutant of the Indian Military Academy in Dehradun from 1964 to 1967. He married Princess Padmini Devi, daughter of his father’s polo playing friend Maharaja Rajendra Prakash of Sirmur on 10 March 1966. They were blessed with one daughter, Princess Daya Kumari on 30 January 1971. He took over command of 10 Para Commando Battalion in 1967 and organised training on new concepts. Bhawani Singh ascended the throne of Jaipur in 1970, following the death of his father and held the title of Maharaja till 1971, when royal titles and privy purses were abolished by the Government of India.
In the 1971 War, 11 Infantry Division advanced on the Manabao- Parbat Ali Axis for attack on Nayachor in Southern Rajasthan on 4 December. 10 Para Commando was tasked to carry out deep penetration and raid Chachro, Viravah and Nagar Parkar. Lt Col Bhawani Singh led the unit in an 80 kms deep penetration to raid the Indus Rangers HQ at Chachro in Sind, Pakistan. For four days and nights, in complete disregard to his own safety, he led relentless attacks on enemy posts. These attacks helped the Army to deepen the operations in Sind. His inspired leadership and personal courage led to the capture of large areas of the enemy territory and created panic and confusion forcing the enemy to retreat, leaving behind large number of prisoners and equipment. They next raided Viravah and Nagar Parkar and then returned to their base. These raids could only be compared to the famed acts of British SAS in Africa in World War II. Lt Col Bhawani Singh was awarded the Maha Vir Chakra(MVC). In addition, the unit earned two Veer Chakras, three Sena Medals and one Mention-in- Dispatch. The unit was awarded Battle Honour Chachro and Theatre Honour Sind. People lined up on both sides of the Delhi-Jaipur highway to welcome him when he returned from Delhi, after receiving the MVC from President V V Giri. In City Palace Jaipur, a life-size photograph of the investiture ceremony of President Giri pinning the medal on Lt Col Bhawani Singh has been displayed. In 1972, he took voluntary retirement from the army to look after the ancestral property, necessitated due to the demise of his father in June 1970.
10 Para Commando took part in Operation Pawan in Sri Lanka. On 10 October 1987, a jeep of 10 Para was hijacked as reprisal of capture of about 200 LTTE rebels and all the five occupants were killed. Based on Intelligence reports of the presence of rebels in Jaffna University a heliborne operation was carried out on 12 October by 10 Para and 13 Sikh LI. The troops who had landed in the football field came under intense fire as the LTTE had intercepted the radio message and had laid an ambush. They suffered heavy casualties and the remaining troops were extracted by a detachment of 65 Armoured Regiment. The failure resulted in a setback to the morale of the unit. Lt Col Bhawani Singh MVC visited the unit on a request from Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. His visit to the unit helped to restore the morale of the unit. For this act, the president bestowed on him the rank of Brigadier, a rare honour for a retired officer.
He was imprisoned for a short period during the Emergency. He contested and lost the elections to the Parliament in 1989. He was appointed First Resident Commissioner to the State of Brunei from July 1993 to January 1997. In 2002, he had adopted his grandson to succeed him. He passed away on 17 April 2011 in a private hospital in Gurgaon. Ashok Gehlot, then the Chief Minister of Rajasthan, declared three days mourning.