Page:The Imperial Durbar Album of the Indian princes, chiefs and zamindars.djvu/62

44 Ratan Singh died in 1851 A.D. and was succeeded by his son, Sardar Singh. He did good service during the Mutiny and co-operated with the British against the rebels of Hansi and Hissar; and as a reward he received in 1861 A.D. a grant of the Tibi pargana consisting of forty-one villages in Sirsa district. Sardar Singh's rule was remarkable for the constant change of ministers, of whom there were no less than eighteen in twenty-one years. For a few years the State was well administered but subsequently its affairs fell into confusion; a large amount of debt was increased; and the exactions of the Maharaja, in his anxiety to increase the revenue, gave rise to much discontent.

In 1868 A.D. the Thakurs rose to resist the extortions of their Chief, which was an attempt on his part to increase the amount of the tribute payable by them in lieu of military service; and it was not till the British force from Nasirabad had marched a considerable distance towards Bikaner, that the majority of the Thakurs surrendered unconditionally to the Political Agent. A Political Agent was permanently located at Bikaner, and the differences between the Chief and his nobles were gradually adjusted.

Sardar Singh died in 1872 A.D. He had received a sanad of adoption in 1862 A.D.; and, his widow and the principal persons of the the State selected Dungar Singh as his successor. The choice was confirmed by the British Government, and Dungar Singh was invested with full powers in 1873 A.D. He died in 1887 A.D. without issue, having shortly' before his death adopted his brother, Ganga Singh. The choice was approved by the Paramount Power, and Maharaja Ganga Singh, who was born in 1880 A.D., succeeded as the twenty-first Chief of Bikaner. He was educated at the Mayo College, Ajmer; and was invested with full powers in 1898 A.D. During his minority the State was managed by a Council presided over by the Political Agent.

In a sandy country like that of Bikaner, famine is no uncommon visitor. The devastating effects of the last famine of 1899-1900 were, however, mitigated by the liberal expenditure of the Durbar and the well-considered measures of relief supervised by the Maharaja himself.

The State maintains art Imperial Service camel-corps 500 strong, and an irregular local force of 380 cavalry, 500 infantry, and 38 artillery-men with 33 serviceable guns. The camel-corps was raised in 1889 A.D. and is called the Ganga Risala. It served in China in 1900-1 A.D. and did particularly well in Somali-land in 1903-4 A.D.

This State has an area of 23,311 square miles, having 2,110 villages containing a population 5,84,627 inhabitants and a normal revenue of about Rs. 26,00,000.

His Highness Maharaja Raj Rajeshwar Shiromani Shri Maharajadhiraj Ganga Singh holds the Kaisar-i-Hind medal of the first class, is an honorary Colonel in the Indian Army, a G.C.I.E., a K.C.S.I., and an A.D.C. to H. M. the King-Emperor. The State pays no tribute, and the Chief is entitled to a salute of 17 guns.