Sir Pratap Singh

Relations between the two were further cemented when Pratap Singh became ruler in the 1870s, who combined the courage of the Rathores with the delighful eccentricities that came from befriending the British royals. Pratap who invented the famous ‘jodhpurs’ or riding breeches once on arriving in London insisted on living in the Buckingham Palace. On being told politely that Her Majesty had not invited him to stay there Pratap is reported to have said, "If I had invited Her Majesty to Jodhpur, would I expect her to stay in somebody else’s house or hotel?" Whereupon he marched into Buckingham Palace.

A Brave Worrier

Pratap who was on intimate terms with the British royals, and Queen Victoria’s court he said to have presented her with his own sword. The Rathore who was later knighted by the British according to one anecdote once ticked off the Prince of Wales, for dismounting while pig sticking with these words: "I know you Prince of Wales, you know you Prince of Wales, but pig no know you Prince of Wales!" Being a fearless warrior he accompanied his crack regiment called the Jodhpur Lancers to China in 1899 to help the British put down the Boxer Rebellion there, and later went with his troops into the war trenches of France and Palestine at the age of seventy. When faced with heavy fighting in Haifa, the Lancers began to fall back, he gave them simple orders. "You can go forward and be killed by the enemy’s bullets, or you can fall back and be executed by me." The Lancers took Haifa


 Pratap Singh Laid The Foundation of Modern Jodhpur

His status in Jodhpur is similar to the status of the other great leader of the region- Maharaja Ganga Singh of Bikaner. He laid the foundation of the modern state of Jodhpur, over which Umaid Singh who ruled from 1918-47 built upon. Among other things, Umaid was a pioneer in the field of aviation in India and he built one of the first airports in the country. His son Hanuwant Singh was a keen aviator as well but tragically died in an air crash at the age of 28. It was thanks to the efforts of these rulers that when Jodhpur became part of the Indian union after independence, it was not only Rajasthan’s biggest states, but also its most modern.