Himmatsinhji (general)

Major-General Kumar Shri Himmatsinhji
1st Lieutenant-Governor of Himachal Pradesh
In office 1 March 1952 – 31 December 1954
Preceded by	Office created
Succeeded by	Bajrang Bahadur Singh
Personal details
Born	1897 British India
Died	January 1973 Republic of India

Major-General Kumar Shri Himmatsinhji Juvansinhji Jadeja (1897–1973) was the first Lieutenant-Governor of Himachal Pradesh. A descendant of the rulers of Nawanagar State, he served with the Indian Army, reaching the rank of major-general. He was later a member of the two most recent predecessors of the lower house of the Parliament of India – the Central Legislative Assembly and the Constituent Assembly. He also played several first-class cricket matches, and was the nephew of Ranjitsinhji and brother of Duleepsinhji, both of whom played Test cricket.

Early life and family

Himmatsinhji was a son of Rajkumar Shri Juvansinhji (or Juwansinhji; 1871–1942). His father's family were prominent in Sarodar (or Sadodar), a village in Nawanagar State on Gujarat's Kathiawar peninsula. His paternal grandfather was descended from the Jam Sahibs of Nawanagar, and his paternal grandmother was a daughter of Takhatsinhji, the Maharaja of Jodhpur. Himmatsinhji's brothers included Duleepsinhji, a Test cricketer for England, and Digvijaysinhji, who succeeded the brothers' uncle, Ranjitsinhji, as ruler of Nawanagar. A cousin, Rajendrasinhji, was India's first Chief of the Army Staff, while a nephew, Daulatsinhji, was a member of the Jamnagar constituency in the Lok Sabha. Members of the family generally used the surname Jadeja where one was required.^[1]

Sporting career

Cricket information
Batting style	Right-handed
Bowling style	Right-arm fast-medium
Role	Batsman, wicket-keeper
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1933–1937	Rajputana
Career statistics
Competition FC Matches 5 Runs scored 92 Batting average 11.50 100s/50s 0/0 Top score 39 Catches/stumpings 3/0
Source: CricketArchive, 24 September 2014

A keen sportsman, like many in his family, Himmatsinhji was introduced to cricket during his education in England, where he boarded at Malvern College in Worcestershire.^[2] By his last year at the college, 1916, he was considered good enough to open the batting (and occasionally keep wicket) for the school team, with his best score an innings of 84 runs against Cheltenham College.^[3] Later in the season, he captained a combined Public Schools team against a team from the Royal Horse Artillery. The match, played at Lord's and umpired by Himmatsinhji's brother, Digvijaysinhji, included six other (future and former) first-class cricketers: for the Public Schools, Lionel Hedges and Nigel Atkinson, and for the Artillery team, Edward Lee, Graham Doggart, Frank Orr, and Peter Remnant.^[4] Himmatsinhji remained in England until at least the following year, when he played a charity match for an Indian XI against an Australian XI, for the benefit of war widows and orphans.^[5]

Having returned to India, Himmatsinhji played several matches at first-class level during the 1930s.^[6] His debut came for a Viceroy's XI against the Roshanara Club in February 1932, where he kept wicket but scored a duck in his only innings.^[7] Himmatsinhji's remaining matches came for Rajputana representative sides, predecessors of the current Rajasthan cricket team, including a match against the touring English season during the 1933–34 season and a match against a touring Australian side led by Frank Tarrant during the 1935–36 season. He also twice played at Ranji Trophy level, during the 1936–37 and 1937–38 editions of the tournament.^[6][8] Himmatsinhji's two highest first-class scores, innings of 20 and 39 runs, came during the first of these matches, which Rajputana lost to Central India by 125 runs.^[9] He played his last match at first-class level in the following season's tournament, again against Central India, and recorded a pair.^[10]

Military career and later life

Himmatsinhji enlisted as an officer in the British Indian Army in World War I, and saw service in Mesopotamia. Two of his relatives also served overseas during the war – a cousin, Savaisinhji Devisinhji, was wounded in African campaign, while a brother, Dajirajsinhji, was killed in action in France in 1917.^[11] By the end of the war, Himmatsinhji had been promoted to captain. He and two of his brothers, Pratapsinhji and Digvijaysinhji, were on especially good terms with their uncle, Ranjitsinhji, the Jam Sahib of Nawanagar, and regularly vacationed together at Ballynahinch Castle, his residence in County Galway, Ireland.^[12] In 1930, the three brothers were recalled from the Indian Army to take up roles in the armed forces of Nawanagar, with Himmatsinhji named Commander-in-Chief.^[13] However, his time in this position was short. Ranjitsinhji died in April 1933, having named Dijvijaysinhji as his heir.^[14]

After a brief period in the diplomatic service, Himmatsinhji returned to the army, eventually reaching the rank of major-general. He was elected to the Central Legislative Assembly, India's pre-independence lower house, in 1946, and was later a member of the Constituent Assembly, the transitional body established after independence. A member of the Indian National Congress, he was a party whip before being appointed Deputy Minister of Defence in Jawaharlal Nehru's first ministry.^[15] In this position he chaired a committee responsible for recommended improvements to India's defences along its border with what was then the Kingdom of Tibet, prior to China's invasion and eventually annexation.^[16] Upon retirement, Himmatsinhji was appointed the first lieutenant-governor of Himachal Pradesh, a newly created Part C state of India. He served in the position from 1952 to 1954, when he was succeeded by Bajrang Bahadur Singh. In the role, he drew an initial salary of Rs. 3,500, with a monthly allowance of Rs. 500.^[15] Himmatsinhji died in January 1973.^[17]

Family tree

References

1. NAWANAGAR (Princely State). Retrieved 24 September 2014.
2. Miscellaneous matches played by Himmatsinhji (12) – CricketArchive. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
3. Malvern College v Cheltenham College, Other matches in England 1916 – CricketArchive. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
4. Royal Horse Artillery Cadets (St John's Wood) v Public Schools, Other matches in England 1916 – CricketArchive. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
5. Australian XI v Indian Gymkhana, Other matches in England 1917 – CricketArchive. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
6. First-class matches played by Himmatsinhji (5) – CricketArchive. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
7. Roshanara Club v Viceroy's XI, Other First-Class matches in India 1931/32 – CricketArchive. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
8. Ranji Trophy matches played by Himmatsinhji (2) – CricketArchive. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
9. Rajputana v Central India, Ranji Trophy 1936/37 (East Zone) – CricketArchive. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
10. Central India v Rajputana, Ranji Trophy 1937/38 (East Zone) – CricketArchive. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
11. Wild, Roland (1934). The Biography of Colonel His Highness Shri Sir Ranjitsinhji Vibhaji, Maharaja Jam Saheb of Nawanagar, G.C.S.I., G.B.E., K.C.I.E. London: Rich & Cowan Ltd. p. 181.
12. Wild 1934, p. 261
13. Wild 1934, p. 288
14. Wild 1934, p. 312
15. — (15 February 1952). "New Lieutenant-Governors" – The Hindu. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
16. Inder Malhotra (14 December 2007). "Antony’s sudden awakening: appalling management of China border" – The Tribune. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
17. Himmatsinhji player profile and statistics – CricketArchive. Retrieved 24 September 2014.