Col J P Singh, Retd
Maharani Yasho Rajya Lakshmi, last Maharani of princely state of Jammu and Kashmir was born on 9 January 1937 in the royal family of Nepal as daughter of General Sharda Samsher Jung Bahadur Rana and grand daughter of Sri Mohan Shamsher Jung Bahadur Rana; the ruler of Kingdom of Nepal. She had 5 brothers and a sister. She was married to Yuvraj Karan Singh, the heir apparent of Princely State of Jammu and Kashmir in 1950, when she was 13 and he was 19. He was then the Regent. This was not a common marriage among two royal families but a political alliance aiming at cementing bilateral ties with a neighbouring kingdom after independence.
Both these royal families were successors of Kuchawaha and Sisodia ruling dynasties of Rajputana. Kuchawahas, the ancestors of Jammu royal family had been the rulers of Jaipur while the Sisodia’s the ancestors of royal family of Nepal had been the rulers of Udaipur. But due to prolonged stay at two different places in Jammu and Nepal, many changes had come about in language, culture and other aspects of life in these dynasties.
When married Princess Yasho Rajya was a typical Nepali girl and could speak only her mother tongue. Yet she adopted to the new set up very soon. After the marriage she learnt English from Mrs Henley and painting from Mrs. Lilian Purbi. She learnt Dogri, Hindi and English with ease. As she grew in life so did her duties and responsibilities. She soon assumed all her official duties as first lady of the state and performed them with diligence and compassion.
Maharani Yasho Rajya Lakshmi was bestowed with grace, charm and kindness in ample measure. She became caring for the weak, poor and down trodden right from the day she assumed the role of first lady of the state. Her deep interest in the welfare of poor and needy became an everlasting passion in her life. She remained involved in various social and welfare missions through out her life, initially in J&K and later in Delhi. During the 1965 Indo-Pak war, when Pak Armoured Division, in a surprise & sudden attack, pierced through the Indian defences in Chhamb sector, entire civil population was taken by surprise and thus forced to leave their homes and hearth bewildered and empty handed. They migrated to Jammu for shelter and succor. Majority of these people took shelter in Jammu city. Maharani Yasho Rajya visited them in their refugee camps and undertook various welfare schemes for these displaced people with a missionary zeal which minimised their sufferings. She also visited families of those who lost their near and dear ones in Indo-Pak war.
She was a source of great strength to Yuvraj Karan Singh during the turbulent periods of history when the princely state had been attacked by Pakistan after tragic partition of India. This was also the time when the state was passing through transformation from feudalism to democracy and the burden of this historic transformation had fallen on the young shoulders of Yuvraj. This was also the time when Pakistan wanted to annex Kashmir and world opinion favoured such plans. Despite being brought up in the environs of royalty, she adopted to active, political, democratic, missionary and people friendly way of life and became an apostle of freedom, national integration, love and compassion. She became Chairperson of Jammu and Kashmir Welfare Board and Kashmir Women’s industrial unit. She also founded ladies Clubs at Jammu and Srinagar with the aim of empowering women in J&K at a time when most privileged ladies like her were themselves not fully empowered.
When Dr Karan Singh was inducted in Union Cabinet by Mrs. Indira Gandhi, she shifted her social and welfare activities to Delhi and remained closely associated with them till her last. One of her major contribution was the creation of ‘Delhi Society for the Welfare of Mentally Retarded Children’. As a result of her initiative and substantial monetary contributions a grand institution was established which today is one of the premier institution in the country. She remained its Patron till her last. It has a modern vocational training centre, a diagnostic clinic and modern rehabilitation facilities. It caters for more than 300 mentally retarded children. She was head of Delhi Hospitals Welfare Society. She generously donated in these societies and managed them well.
Despite being born in a royal family, she led a simple social and religious life. She was a great disciple of Durga Maata like Raj Mata Tara Devi. She took keen interest in the maintenance and up keep of ancient Temples and Shrines particularly in Kashmir after the mass exodus of Pandits from the valley. Despite Pandits’ absence, Hindu religion and culture continued to thrive in the valley which happened because of Maharani Saheban’s interest in the upkeep of temples and shrines in the valley through Dharmarth Trust. Reciprocally Dharmarth Trust developed a recreational park in Jammu in her memory. She was President of Maharaja Gulab Singh Memorial Trust and remained committed to the promotion of Dogra heritage, art and culture. Trust honours one prominent son of the soil every year with Maharaja Gulab Singh Award in recognition of his services to the nation.
Maharani Yasho Rajya Lakshmi left for heavenly abode on 24 May 2009 leaving a deep and indelible mark in the social, cultural and intellectual spectrum of Indian society. She will be remembered by the posterity for the good work she did for womenfolk, poor and mentally retarded children& for promotion of art and culture. There weren’t many queens in India who had such extraordinary caliber in motivating, guiding, directing and organizing as the last Maharani of J&K had. May she be admired for her good deeds and inspire other privileged ladies to dedicate themselves in the service of poor and may her journey into the light be auspicious.
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