Nabha royal family scion Hanuwant Singh dies at 65

Hanuwant Singh, 65, a scion of the Nabha royal family of Punjab, died of illness at Mussoorie, Uttarakhand, on Friday. He was cremated at Haridwar on Saturday.

A grandson of Nabha’s former maharaja Ripudaman Singh and son of the last anointed maharaja Partap Singh, Hanuwant Singh Malvinder Bahadur belonged to one of the seven Sikh princely states. The Nabha family was part of the Phulkian clan to which chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh, from the Patiala dynasty, too belongs. Amarinder’s younger brother Randhir Singh was among those who attended.

The CM issued a condolence message.

Even though the titles stand long abolished, Hanuwant was designated ‘maharaja’ within the family after the demise of his father in 1995.

The Nabha estate held religious significance too because articles of Guru Gobind Singh were in its possession, though these are now with the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC).

In 2013, Hanuwant courted controversy after an FIR was registered against him for “selling” Hira Mahal, which was once the residence of the royal family and which his father had converted into a gurdwara in 1967 to display the tenth Sikh guru’s articles. He was absolved in the inquiry and his lawyer booked for forging some documents.

He had faced some embarrassment in 2008, too, related to possession of the articles — including a turban, comb with some hairs and a sword — that had been originally given to a fakir, Budhu Shah, by Guru Gobind Singh after the battle of Bhangani. These had later come to the Nabha maharaja and kept along with Guru Granth Sahib at Hira Mahal for public display.

Hanuwant, who headed the trust formed for upkeep, allegedly moved the relics, some heirloom and writings to his house in Delhi.

On court directions in 2008, the items were brought back from Delhi, but are since in Patiala.

Hanuwant primarily resided in Delhi and his property in Mussoorie , the Nabha Palace, was leased to a private group and converted into a heritage hotel.

HANUWANT SINGH MALVINDER BAHADUR BELONGED TO ONE OF SEVEN SIKH PRINCELY STATES OF PUNJAB