In Picture - 26th Oct 1927: Maharaja Ganga Singh ji Rathore of Bikaner at the inauguration of Ganga Canal. Plan of the Canal was laid down in 1906, but it took 19 yrs to lay the foundation station. Maharaja Ganga Singh had witnessed the heart-wrenching horror of the infamous 'Chhappaniya Kaal' lying between 1899 and 1900. Seeing the people being asked for food and water, he had resolved to arrange wa ter for his princely state as a permanent solution. The most revolutionary and far-sighted work, which was done by him for his state was to bring the water of Sutlej river of Punjab to a dry region like Bikaner through 'Gang-Canal' and to enable the farmers to cultivate and settle in the canal-irrigated area. Due to these efforts of Maharaj Ganga Singh, people gave him the title of ' Bhagiratha of Kali yuga '. Due to the tireless efforts of Maharaja Ganga Singh, Ganganagar district was established and he also gave priority to the development of Ganganagar city and got many constructions done there. Ganga Singh ji had to fight a 19 yr long legal battle with Nawab of Bahawalpur and British authorities due to their reservations against the project. Canal irrigated 303,000 hectares of land which turned th e region into a Grain Bowl, earning him the epithet "Modern Day Bhagirath". During partition, Radcliffe planned to award Ferozpur & Zira tehsils of Frozepur district to Pakistan. This would have put the headwaters of the Ganga Canal in Pakistan. Maharaja warned the Viceroy Mountbatten against it's repercussions, Pt Nehru also wrote to viceroy about concern of Maharaja. Subsequently, Radcliffe removed th e salient & awarded entire Ferozpur to India. Maharaja at the time of Independence was Sadul Singh ji. In 1919, Sadul Singh ji was present at the Paris Peace Conference and attended the 1924 meeting of the League of Nations. He was among the first princes to accede to the Dominion of India, which he did on 7 August 1947. The Visionary Maharaja Ganga Singh ji of Bikaner represented India at Versailles treaty negotiations. He persuaded the US President to admit India as a founding member of the League of Nations, and befriended France's Prime Minister, inviting him to India. Tribute to Bhagirath of Kaliyuga! Santha Maharaja Ganga Singh ji Rathore of Bikaner Bhagirath of Kaliyuga: A TO Z INDIA ● MAY 2022 ● PAGE 10