Hanut Singh


Rao Raja Hanut Singh was a British Indian Army soldier and polo player.

Biography

Hanut Singh was born at Jodhpur on 20 March 1900, the third son of Sir Pratap Singh of Idar. He was educated at Mayo College in Ajmer and at Eastbourne College in Sussex, as well as at :fr:École de cavalerie de Saumur|L'Ecole de Cavalerie in France. He served as a Page of Honour to George V at the 1911 Delhi Durbar He was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Jodhpur State Forces in 1914 and commissioned a temporary honorary Second Lieutenant in the British Army in July 1916.
During the First World War, Hanut Singh served with his father, who was one of the seven commanding officers of the 15th Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade that was formed from the Imperial Service Troops provided by various Indian Princely States to aid the British Empire during wartime. Hanut Singh served in France, Palestine and Syria and was a part of the Jodhpur Lancers. He was present at the taking of Haifa and at the fall of Aleppo in 1918. He served in the Egyptian Rebellion of 1919 and was appointed to an honorary Captaincy in the British Army in 1921.

Post-war

Until his father, Sir Pratap Singh's death in 1922, Hanut Singh served as his private secretary. From 1923 to 1925, he served as Comptroller of the Royal Household of Jodhpur, then as Officer of the Royal Stables until 1933, when he was promoted to Comptroller of the Royal Stables. In 1934, he was promoted to the rank of Major in the . He was awarded the title of Rao Bahadur in 1937. In 1941, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel and became the Military Secretary for Jodhpur, serving until 1948. Hanut Singh was promoted to Colonel in 1946 and to Brigadier in 1947.
An outstanding polo player, he played and won many games for Jodhpur. Later he fielded his own team, Ratanada, with two of his sons, Rao Raja Bijai Singh and Rao Raja Hari Singh. Team Ratanada, won almost every tournament in India for many years.

Personal life

Rao Raja Hanut Singh married twice. His first wife, Rani Sirey Kanwar, was the daughter of of Jaipur. They had three children;
His second wife, Rani Priya Devi, was the daughter of of Sirmur. They had one son;
From 1949 to 1951, Hanut Singh served as the Minister for Health, Medical and Jails Departments for Rajasthan. In 1958, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan for his achievements and contributions to the game of polo, also receiving the Arjuna Award in 1964. He died at Jodhpur on 12 October 1982, aged 82. He left three sons.

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