Martand Singh

{{Short description|Indian conservationist and politician (1923–1995)}}

{{for|the textile conservator|Martand Singh (textile conservator)}}

{{Use Indian English|date=June 2016}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2016}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Martand Singh

| image =

| imagesize =

| caption =

| office = Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha

|term_start = 1971

|term_end = 1977

| constituency = Rewa

| predecessor = S.N.Shukla

| successor = Yamuna Prasad Shastri

| office2 = Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha

|term_start2 = 1980

|term_end2 = 1989

| constituency2 = Rewa

| predecessor2 = Yamuna Prasad Shastri

| successor2 = Yamuna Prasad Shastri

| birth_date = 15 March 1923

| birth_place = Rewa, Bagelkhand Agency, British India

| death_date = {{death date and age|1995|11|20|1923|03|15|df=yes}}

| death_place = India

| restingplace =

| restingplacecoordinates =

| othername =

| occupation = Conservationist
Parliamentarian
Maharaja of Rewa

| yearsactive =

| spouse = Maharani Pravina Kumari

| domesticpartner =

| children = Pushpraj Singh

| parents = Maharaja Gulab Singh

| website =

| awards = Padma Bhushan

}}

Martand Singh (15 March 1923{{spnd}}20 November 1995) was an Indian wildlife conservationist, parliamentarian and the last ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Rewa.{{cite web | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-maharaja-martand-singh-of-rewa-1523492.html | title=Obituary: Maharaja Martand Singh of Rewa | publisher=Independent | work=News report | date=1 December 1995 | access-date=9 May 2016 | author=Kuldip Singh}} Born in 1923 to Gulab Singh at Fort of Govindgarh, then the Maharajah of Rewa, he did his college studies at Daly College, Indore and continued at Mayo College, Ajmer from where he graduated in 1941.{{cite web | url=http://www.rewacity.in/2010/09/last-maharaja-of-rewa-maharajadhiraja.html | title=Last Maharaja of Rewa | publisher=The Rewa City Info | date=2016 | access-date=9 May 2016}} After the imprisonment of his father in 1946, he became the Maharajah of Rewa and retained the title, but not the power, until the government abolished royalty in 1970.

Fascinated by the rare breed of white tiger which was native to Rewa, he worked to protect the species and making the region poacher-free.{{cite book|author=R. C. Sharma|title=The Wildlife Memoirs: A Forester Recollects|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Chxpu5jU3VYC&pg=PA7|date=1 January 2008|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|isbn=978-81-8069-517-9|pages=7–}} He also reared a white tiger which he found as a cub. After the abolition of royalty, Singh represented Rewa in the 5th Lok Sabha (1971), 7th Lok Sabha (1980) and the 8th Lok Sabha (1984). The Government of India awarded him the third-highest civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan, in 1986, for his contributions to society.{{cite web|url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |title=Padma Awards |publisher=Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India |date=2016 |access-date=3 January 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015193758/http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |archive-date=15 October 2015 }}

Singh was married to Princess Pravina of Kutch and the couple had one son. He died on 20 November 1995, at the age of 72. He was again in the news in 2013 when his son filed a lawsuit regarding the allegedly illegal sale of Rewa Kothi, their Mumbai bungalow with a reported value of {{INR}}2 billion, using a fake power of attorney. Martand Singh's property is controlled by His Highness Maharaja Martand Singh Charitable Trust.{{cite web | url=http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-03-07/news/37531989_1_bungalow-mumbai-pedder-road | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151020182632/http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-03-07/news/37531989_1_bungalow-mumbai-pedder-road | url-status=dead | archive-date=20 October 2015 | title=Fraud deal: Maharaja's Rs 200 cr bungalow sold for Rs 20 cr | publisher=Economic Times | date=7 March 2013 | access-date=9 May 2016}}

Singh committed to nature conservation and the fight against poaching. The foundation of the Bandhavgarh National Park in the Vindhya Mountains was his initiative.

In particular, the preservation of the rare species of the white tiger (a half albino), which is native to Rewa, was close to his heart. Martand Singh even succeeded in breeding this breed in captivity for the first time with the male tiger Mohan, who was captured in the jungle in 1951. All white Bengal tigers living in zoological gardens or shown in shows worldwide today ultimately trace their pedigree back to this specimen.{{Cite web |title=The White Tigers of Rewa |url=https://www.outlookindia.com/traveller/mp/inspire-me/wildlife/white-tigers-rewa/ |access-date=2022-10-24 |website=Outlook Traveller |language=en-US}}