Vishwanath Singh

Maharaja Vishwanath Singh Bahadur KCSI (29 August 1866 – 4 April 1932) He ruled under British supervision until his 21st birthday, when he was invested with full ruling powers.

As was well known to British authorities, Singh was openly homosexual, "exceedingly boyish for his age" in the parlance of the era.

Author E. M. Forster, himself homosexual, visited Chhatarpur in 1912–13 and met the Maharaja, recording his passions to be "philosophy, friendship and beautiful boys." On Forster's recommendation, Vishwanath Singh appointed the author J. R. Ackerley as his private secretary in 1923. Ackerley, who only served in the post for five months, from December 1923 to May 1924, later published a thinly disguised memoir about his experiences in the service of the "Maharajah of Chhokrapur" entitled Hindoo Holiday; the book was not published until after Singh's death in 1932 to avoid libel suits. A primary reason for this was, though Singh was childless and reportedly impotent due to venereal disease, he had remarried after the death of his first wife in 1921 and supposedly fathered a son and heir shortly afterwards by his second wife. According to British administrators, however, he had in reality had two of his barbers have sexual relations with the new Maharani, which was kept secret, and the imperial government desired to avoid accusations of authorising a socially unacceptable and illegal succession.

The Maharaja died on 4 April 1932, aged 65, after a reign of .