Hira Singh of Nabha

Sir Hira Singh GCSI GCIE (18 December 1843 – 24 December 1911) was the ruler of Nabha State from 1871 to 1911. Nabha was one of the Phulkian states in the Punjab.

Early life Hira Singh was born at Badrukhan, Jind, on 18 December 1843, the second son of Sukha Singh (died 1852), from a distant branch of the royal Sikh Phulkian dynasty of Patiala, Jind and Nabha. He was a descendant of Raja Gajpat Singh of Jind, being the great-grandson of his grandson. Little is known about his early life. He was the head of a village until he was called upon to succeed the throne of Nabha. He received the honorary rank of Colonel in the Army and was appointed a Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire (GCIE) in the 1903 Durbar Honours on 1 January 1903. He was made a Colonel of the 14th King George's Own Ferozepore Sikhs in the British Indian Army in 1904.

Death and succession Only a fortnight before his death, Hira Singh was raised to the rank of Maharaja of Nabha. Hira Singh died at the Hira Mahal on Christmas Eve 1911, aged 68 after a four-decade reign. He was succeeded by his only son, Ripudaman Singh.

Legacy Valentine Cameron Prinsep stated the following on Hira Singh:

Family Hira Singh married four times and had two children, a son and a daughter 1. Karangarhwalia; married in 1858 2. Aonanliwali Rani; 3. Jasmir Kaur (d 1921). Married in 1880 and had one son and one daughter: Ripaduman Singh, who succeeded to the Nabha throne as Maharaja Ripudaman Singh (1883–1942); r. 1911–1928. Ripudaman Devi (1881–1911); married Ram Singh 4.wife; Khachedu bai

Honours Prince of Wales gold medal-1876 Empress of India Medal-1877 Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India (GCSI)-1879 Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire (GCIE)-1903 Delhi Durbar gold medal-1903 Delhi Durbar gold medal-1911