Bikaner State was a princely state in the north-western most part of the Rajputana province of imperial British India from 1818 to 1947. The founder of the state, Rao Bika, was a younger son of Rao Jodha, the ruler and founder of the city of Jodhpur in Marwar. Rao Bika chose to establish his own kingdom instead of inheriting his father's. Bika defeated the Jat clans of Jangladesh, which today refers to the north and north-western Rajasthan, along with his uncle Rao Kandhal and his adviser Vikramji Rajpurohit, whereupon he founded his own kingdom. Its capital was the city of Bikaner. The emergence of the Mughal Empire witnessed the Kingdom of Bikaner pledging fealty to Mughal emperors, which led to the Kingdom becoming a loyal constituent of the Empire.
Covering a vast area of 60,391 km2 (23,317 sq mi), Bikaner State was the second largest state under the Rajputana Agency after Jodhpur State, with a revenue of Rs. 26,00,000 in 1901. Acquiescing to the 1947 call of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel to integrate the princely states into the new independent India, Bikaner's then ruler, Lt General Maharaja Sir Sadul Singh, advised by his dewan K. M. Panikkar, was one of the first rulers of a princely state to be receptive to integrating with the Indian Union. The Maharaja of Bikaner set an example for the other heads of the princely states of India to follow by issuing a public appeal in April 1947 to join the Constituent Assembly of India.
The state was noted for the Bikaner style of miniature painting.
History
The state of Bikaner was founded in 1465. During the reign of the Mughal Empire under Akbar's tutelage, Bikaner State became a loyal vassal of the Empire. It became a British protectorate on 9 March 1818. They were accorded a 17 gun salute by the British authorities. Around the time of Indian independence and the partition of India, the territory of the state of Bikaner came to share a border with Pakistan. The accession to the Indian Union was signed by the Maharaja on 7 August 1947.
Rulers
The rulers belong to the RathoreRajputs of the Suryavanshi lineage or of Solar descent representing a third junior branch of the parent ruling family of Jodhpur, the second being Idar yet Bikaner was placed second on the basis of area, wealth and power by the colonial British India.
1504 – 1505: Rao Nar Singh (Naro) (eldest son of Rao Bika)
1505 – 1526: Rao Lunkaran (younger brother of Rao Nar, 3rd son of Rao Bika)
1526 – 1542: Rao Jait Singh (second son of Rao Lunkaran)
1542 – 1571: Rao Kalyan Mal (acknowledged the suzerainty of Emperor Akbar) (eldest son of Rao Jait)
1571 – 1612: Rao / Raja Rai Singh (Important General in the Mughal army. Given title of "Raja". From 1585 to 1594 he was employed in the Deccan by Emperor Akbar where he was Subedar of Burhanpur) (eldest son of Rao Kalyan Mal)
1612 – 1613: Raja Dalpat (Sur Singh revolted against his elder brother Dalpat and killed him along with his guards with the consent of Emperor Jahangir) (second son of Raja Rai Singh)
1613 – 1631: Raja Sur Singh (younger brother of Raja Dalpat, 3rd son of Raja Rai Singh)
1631 – 1667: Raja Karan Singh(deposed by Aurangzeb and exiled to Karanapura in the Deccan) (eldest son of Raja Sur Singh)
1667 – 1669: Interregnum
Maharajas
1669 – 1698 Maharaja Anup Singh (First to be granted title of "Maharaja" by Emperor Aurangzeb) (eldest son of Raja Karan Singh)
19 Jun 1698 – 15 December 1700: Maharaja Swarup Singh (b. 1689 – d. 1700) (eldest son of Maharaja Anup Singh)
15 Dec 1700 – 16 December 1735: Maharaja Sujan Singh (b. 1690 – d. 1735) (younger brother of Maharaja Swarup Singh, 2nd son of Maharaja Anup Singh)
16 Dec 1735 – 15 May 1746: Maharaja Zorawar Singh (b. 1713 – d. 1746) (eldest son of Maharaja Sujan Singh)
15 May 1746 – 25 March 1787: Maharaja Gaj Singh (b. 1723 – d. 1787) (1st cousin brother of Maharaja Zorawar Singh, grandson of Maharaja Anup Singh from his 3rd son Maharaj Anand Singh)
25 Mar 1787 – 25 April 1787: Maharaja Raj Singh (b. 1744 – d. 1787) (eldest son of Maharaja Gaj Singh)
25 Apr 1787 – 9 October 1787: Maharaja Pratap Singh (b. 1781 – d. 1787) (eldest son of Maharaja Raj Singh)
25 Apr 1787 – 25 March 1828: Maharaja Surat Singh (Regent to 9 October 1787) (b. 1766 – d. 1828) (uncle of Maharaja Pratap Singh, younger brother of Maharaja Raj Singh, 6th son of Maharaja Gaj Singh)
25 Mar 1828 – 7 August 1851: Maharajadhiraj Shri Narendra Shiromani Maharaja Ratan Singh (b. 1790 – d. 1851) (eldest son of Maharaja Surat Singh)
7 August 1851 – 16 May 1872: Maharajadhiraj Shri Narendra Shiromani Maharaja Sardar Singh (b. 1818 – d. 1872) (second son of Maharaja Ratan Singh)
16 May 1872 – 19 August 1887: HH Shri Maharajadhiraj Narendra Shiromani Maharaja Sir Dungar Singh (b. 1854 – d. 1887) (grandson of Maharaja Sardar Singh's second cousin brother: Maharaj Sakat Singh, Great Great Great Grandson of Maharaja Gaj Singh via his 5th son Maharajkumar Chattar Singh ancestor of the Bikaner family of Lalgadh Palace, Ridi and Tejrasar)
19 Aug 1887 – 2 February 1943: HH Shri Maharajadhiraj Narendra Shiromani Maharaja Sir Ganga Singh Bahadur (b. 1880 – d. 1943) (from 24 July 1901, Sir Ganga Singh) (younger brother of Maharaja Dungar Singh, Great Great Great Grandson of Maharaja Gaj Singh via his 5th son Maharajkumar Chattar Singh ancestor of the Bikaner family of Lalgadh Palace, Ridi and Tejrasar)
2 February 1943 – 15 August 1950: HH Shri Maharajadhiraj Narendra Shiromani Maharaja Sir Sadul Singh (b. 1902 – d. 1950) (since 1 January 1946, he was addressed as Sir Sadul Singh) (eldest son of Maharaja Ganga Singh)
Titular Rulers
1950 – 1971: Maharaja Dr. Karni Singh (privy purses were withdrawn in 1971 and post and titles were also withdrawn) (eldest son of Maharaja Sadul Singh)
XX. Dungar Singh, Maharaja of Bikaner (1854–1887; r. 1872–1887)
XXI. Ganga Singh, Maharaja of BikanerGCSI, GCIE, GCVO, GBE, KCB (1880–1943; r. 1887–1943)
XXII. Sadul Singh, Maharaja of BikanerGCSI, GCIE, CVO (1902–1950; r. 1943–1949; titular ruler: 1949–1950)
Maharaj Bijay Singh Ji, younger son of Maharaja Ganga Singh Ji.
XXIII. Karni Singh, Maharaja of Bikaner (1924–1988; titular Maharaja: 1950–1971; family head: 1971–1988)
XXIV. Narendra Singh, Maharaja of Bikaner (1946–2003; family head: 1988–2003)
Maharaj Amar Singh Ji Bahadur (1925–2007)
Maharaj Chandra Shekhar Singh Ji (b. 1948)
XXV. Ravi Raj Singh, Maharaja of Bikaner (1977–2022; family head: 2003–2022)
Orders of chivalry
The Royal House of Bikaner awarded two dynastic orders, the Order of the Star of Honour and the Order of Vikram Star. Maharaja Ganga Singh established the Order of the Star of Honour in six grades in order to "mark his golden jubilee on the throne". The Order of the Vikram Star was established in 1944 by Maharaja Sadul Singh of Bikaner in five grades "to recognize services to the state." The first grade (Grand Commander) includes a cordon with jewel, along with a breast star. The breast star features "Twelve alternate petals of gold and silver overlapping and radiating from a central motif showing the Goddess Karni blessing Rao Bikaji who is standing with lance in hand next to his horse." A red enamelled diamond in the center of the breast star, which is surrounded by a wreath, contains the inscription in the Devanagari script Shri Karni Aasisadi Bikatothirraj (Blessing by Karni Mati for his Perpetual Rule).