Founder of Khetri Trust
Raja Bahadur Sardar Singh
Raja Bahadur Sardar Singh, the 11th Raja of Khetri (1927 – 1987) was
born on the 16th of March 1920. He studied at the Chillon College,
Switzerland from 1932 to 1934 and passed the Cambridge School
Certificate with High credits. Thereafter he studied at the Mayo
College, Ajmer from 1934 to 1938 and obtained a first class in the
Higher Diploma. He was awarded the Master in Arts Degree from the Corpus
Christi College, University of Cambridge on 18th June 1940. Raja
Bahadur Sardar Singh was "Called to the Bar" by the Honorable Society of
the Middle Temple, London on 29th April 1942. Mr. BhaskarMitter, one of
the former Trustees of Khetri Trust was his friend in college and they
completed their Bar Examination together in 1941.
Raja Bahadur Sardar Singh took over the charge of the Khetri
Administration in 1942 during which time he was also member of the
Jaipur Constitutional Reforms Committee. In 1943, he became member of
the Jaipur Post-war Reconstruction Committee and in 1944 he became the
member of the Jaipur Franchise and Delimitation Committee. He was
elected to the Jaipur Legislative Council and the State Rural
Development Board in 1945 and to the Constituent Assembly of India in
1947. He became member of the Standing Committee for Communications of
the Legal Assembly of India in 1948. He was member of the Provisional
Parliament from 1950 to 1952 and also the member of the Rajya Sabha from
1952 to 1956. He was appointed Ambassador for India at Laos from 1958
to 1961.
On 25th November 1948, Raja Bahadur Sardar Singh married Rani Bhuvan
Laxmi Devi, daughter of Supradipta Manyabara Lt. Gen. Maharajkumar
Singha Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana of Nepal. However, they were divorced
with mutual consent in later years. Raja Bahadur Sardar Singh died on
28th January 1987 without any issue.
In his last Will dated 30th October 1985, he bequeathed his entire
properties, situated anywhere, movable and immovable, in favor of a
Testamentary Trust created in his Will and named by him as the Khetri
Trust. The said Trust was created for the benefit of the public at large
and for purpose of promotion of education, that is to say, advancement
of studies of Science, Literature and Arts, by the grant of scholarships
to deserving students for study in India or abroad, by the
establishment of libraries, reading rooms, schools, academics,
laboratories, research centres or other institutions, as the funds would
allow and the Trustees would think fit. Lady Olga Manning, Mr. Romesh
Thapar, Mr. Daniel Latifi and Mr. Parmeshwar Prasad were appointed as
the first Trustees of Khetri Trust in the Will with power to appoint
further Trustees on vacancy up to a maximum of five Trustees in
perpetuity.
