Ajit Singh of Khetri

Who was Ajit Singh of Khetri?

Ajit Singh or Maharaja Ajit Singh Bahadur was a ruler of Shekhawat dynasty of the Indian princely state of Khetri, Rajasthan between 1870 and 1901. He was born on 16 October 1861 in Alsisar, India. His father was Thakur Chattu Singh, a resident of Alsisar. Ajit Singh was later adopted to Khetri and after the death of Fateh Singh, he became the eighth king of Khetri in 1870. In 1876 he married Rani Champawatiji Sahiba and the couple had one son and two daughters. He died on 18 January 1901 at Sikandra, and was cremated at Mathura.

Ajit Singh was a close friend and disciple of Swami Vivekananda. Swami Vivekananda went to Khetri and met Ajit Singh thrice in his lifetime— in 1891, 1893 and 1897. Ajit Singh is known for providing financial support to Vivekananda, and encouraging him to speak at the Parliament of the World's Religions at Chicago in 1893.

From 1891 Ajit Singh started sending monthly stipend of 100 to Vivekanada's family in Kolkata. On 1 December 1898 Vivekananda wrote a letter to Ajit Singh from Belur in which he requested him to make the donation permanent so that even after Vivekananda's death his mother gets the financial assistance on regular basis. The letter archive of Khetri reveals he had frequent communication with the family members of Vivekananda.