Reviving a custom after 124 years, 13-year-old Nabha scion reclaims his turban, royal legacy

Haryana CM Nayab Saini at Hira Palace, Nabha to meet Nabha royal family, Tuesday. (Express photo)

A day earlier, his ‘dastaarbandi‘ was solemnized with full religious sanctity and traditional rituals. Clad in royal heirloom and jewels, Abhyuday also took an elephant ride as he bowed in front of Sri Guru Granth Sahib to embrace the “dastaar” (turban).

The event was attended by several eminent personalities including Radha Soami Satsang Beas head Gurinder Singh Dhillon, Punjab Assembly Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan, Punjab Cabinet Ministers Gurmeet Singh Khudian and Tarunpreet Singh Sond, SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami, and taksali Akali leader Prof Prem Singh Chandumajra, among others. On Tuesday, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, who is leading BJP’s outreach in Punjab, also reached the palace in Nabha to meet the family.

As the flags of the disbanded “Nabha estate” fluttered and the pre-colonial era Hira Mahal came back to life, the ceremony evoked mixed response with many hailing the teenager’s decision to embrace turban even as critics questioned the relevance of “Raja-Maharaja ceremonies” in a democratic setup.

According to the royal family, it was after a gap of two generations that a Nabha royal has decided to grow “kesh” (unshorn hair). The family insiders said that it was after a gap of 124 years that an “akhand path” (recital of Gurbani for three consecutive days) was held at the palace for the ceremony.

The royal fervour returned to Hira Mahal, Nabha, Monday. (Express photo)

The Nabha’s royal lineage starts from Maharaja Hira Singh, whose son Maharaja Ripudaman Singh, was exiled by the British due to his staunch nationalist views, support to Akali Lehar and opposition to the British rule. He died in 1942 at Kodaikanal (then Madras Presidency) under house arrest. His son, Maharaja Pratap Singh, the last ruler of Nabha dynasty, was crowned a king when he was just eight after his father’s deposition, but the British took him to England where he had to cut his hair short. He took over formally as Nabha’s last ruler when he returned from England at 21 and re-grew his kesh. He ruled until 1948 when the princely estates were merged into independent India.

After independence, Pratap’s eldest son Maharaja Hanuwant Singh and younger son Raja Himmat Singh also did not keep kesh. Himmat Singh’s son Raja Bhanu Pratap too did not grow hair. Abhyuday is Bhanu Pratap’s son. Himmat Singh’s wife Rajmata Uma Singh Nabha is the current matriarch of the family.

“Both my father-in-law Raja Himmat Singh and husband Raja Bhanu Pratap Singh did not grow hair. Though my husband wears turban but he has short hair. However, my son insisted that he wanted to grow his hair and hold a ceremony with traditional rituals so we did it,” said Rani Preeti Kaur Nabha, Abhyuday’s mother.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Abhyuday, a class 8 student at Punjab Public School (PPS), Nabha, said that he just “wanted to return to his roots.”

Abhyuday Pratap Singh with portrait of his great-great grandfather Maharaja Ripudaman Singh Nabha. (portrait in background). (Express photo)

“We were living in Delhi but I told my parents that I want to return to the Hira Mahal so we shifted here in 2021. I was studying at a school in Delhi. It feels like home here,” said Abhyuday

Preeti further said: “The dastaarbandi ceremony is more a Sikh ritual than a royal one. We all are commoners now and we also do not believe in these titles of Raja, Rani etc, and the royal touch in ceremony was purely symbolic. Dastaarbandi is a pious ritual for a young Sikh boy who embraces turban in front of Sri Guru Granth Sahib. It is considered even bigger than marriage. It is after a gap of 124 years that an Akhand Path in “Ek Chowkra” (a person reciting Sri Guru Granth Sahib for three consecutive days uninterrupted) has been done in the Hira Mahal. Last it was held during Maharaja Hira Singh’s times”.

Paramvir Singh, professor and head, department of encyclopaedia of Sikhism, Punjabi University, Patiala, says “a young boy returning to his Sikh roots was a heart-warming sign” but warns “nothing more should be read into this.”

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“It wasn’t a “Raj Tilak” which marked coronation of Kings in colonial times. In today’s times, “Rajas” and “Maharajas” are just titular, who can’t become rulers again in a democratic country. Those times are now a bygone,” said the professor.

Abhyuday Pratap is a class 8 student at PPS, Nabha. (Express photo)

Minister Khudian said that it was 124 years ago that Bhai Narayan Singh, father of noted scholar Bhai Kahan Singh Nabha, had performed an ‘Akhand Path’ at the same location while seated at one place, and the revival of the tradition was a matter of pride.

Recalling, Ripudaman Singh’s service to Punjab, Sikhism and the nation, Speaker Sandhwan said the society continues to hold similar expectations from his descendants.

Saini said the ‘dastaarbandi‘ of Kunwar Abhyuday Pratap Singh was not merely a private family event but also a revival of the rich legacy of the Phulkian dynasty, which has shaped the social and spiritual landscape of the region for centuries.

Meanwhile, family sources said that the children of late Maharaja Hanuwant Singh and late Raja Himmat Singh are also engaged in a dispute over the possession of royal properties.