Information
Title : Maharajah
Race : Ahluwalia
Religion : Sikh
Size : 630 square miles
Gun Salute : 13
The founder of this dynasty was Jassa Singh Ahluwalia who seized Kapurthala from Ibbrahim Bhatti in 1777. He was succeeded by Sardar Bhag Singh who in turn was succeeded by Rajah Feteh Singh in 1801. Fateh Singh served the Maharajah of Lahore, Maharajah Runjeet Singh for many years. Later Rajah Feteh Singh was tricked by an advisor in to joining the British under whom the state of Kapurthala became a firm ally of the British.
The Britsh granted Rajah Jagatjeet Singh the title of Maharajah in 1911. He was an ardent francophile, and he constructed many buildings based upon French palaces. He was a womens man and had over 300 women in his harem.
Maharajah Jagatjeet Singh signed up to the union of India in . He was awarded an annual privy purse of 2 lakhs and seventy thousand rupees a year. He later served as Rajparmakh of the newly created Indian state of PEPSU. He died in 1949.
He was suceeded by his son Maharajah Paramjeet Singh. The current head of the Kapurthala dynasty is Maharajah Sukhjit Singh.
In the 1960's an English women claimed that Maharajah Paramjit Singh had left his fortune to her. She produced a hand written will and tried to claim the contents of a safety deposit box in Paris. She was thwarted by theFrench udge who ruled that the rightful owner of the box was Maharajah Sukhjit Singh. The box is said to have contained gold watches, pearls and other jewelery with an estimated value of 600,000 British pounds.
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