History of Bikaner - Ganga Singh

Ganga Singh

Ganga Singh was educated at the Mayo College at Ajmer and was invested with full powers in 1898. He attended King Edward's coronation in 1902 and accompanied the British army in person in the Chinese campaign of 1901 in command of the Bikaner Camel Corps, which also did good service in Somaliland in 1904. For his conspicuous services he was given the Kaisar-i-Hind medal of the first class, made an honorary major in the Indian army, a G.C.I.E., a K.C.S.I., and A.D.C. to the Prince of Wales. The military force consisted of 500 men, besides the Imperial Service Corps of the same strength.

The reign of Maharaja Ganga Singh was notable for great socio-political and economic development in every sphere of life, namely, education, health, sanitation, water supply, power generation and electricity, irrigation, post and telegraph, roads and railways, trade and commerce, etc. The state owes to this ruler the opening up of new railways across the great desert, which was formerly passable only by camels and the tapping of the valuable coal deposits that occur in the territory. The railway from Jodhpur had been extended towards Bhatinda in the Punjab; on the northern border, the Ghaggar canal in the Punjab irrigated about 5,000 acres (2,023 ha) (20 km²).

Drought is a common occurrence, and the region faced the most severe famine in 1899-1900 which was so severely felt that by 1901 it reduced the population to 584,627, a decrease of 30%.

When Maharaja Ganga Singh died in 1943, he was succeeded by Maharaja Sadul Singh. he was the colonel of the Regiment of 2nd lancers.