Rai Singh of Bikaner
Raja Rai Singh was the Bikawat Rathore Rajput ruler of Bikaner between 1571 and 1612. He served Mughal Emperor Akbar first as the Subahdar of the province of Lahore. He participated in the imperial Mughal campaigns in Gujarat and Malwa, and later served as the imperial governor in Burhanpur and Lahore.He was also the father-in-law of Mughal Emperor Jahangir.
Biography
He was born in 1541. After the death of his father in 1571, Rai Singh assumed the rule of Bikaner. In 1576, when the emperor Akbar was visiting the shrine at Ajmer, he went there with 6000 horse and paid homage to the emperor.Subsequently, Rai went on to join the force against the Gujarat Sultanate. In the Gujarat campaign, Bikaneri forces suffered heavy losses. On the completion of the campaign, Rai Singh received the title of Raja as well as a grant of 52 parganas.
In 1585, he was sent to Khandesh in the Deccan. Between 1587 and 1592, he was the general in command on the Deccan front. In 1593, when a large force was assembled against Burhan Nizam Shah II, he served as the principal advisor to Prince Daniyal Mirza. He was made the governor of Burhanpur.
By the 1590s, tension had grown between Rai and the minister Karam Chand Bachhawat, who was at the helm of affairs in Bikaner while Rai served in imperial campaigns. In 1595, after a plot to assassinate Rai was discovered, Karam Chand had to flee Bikaner.
In 1604, the emperor Akbar died and Jahangir ascended the Mughal throne. The same year, Karam Chand also died. Rai was once again dispatched as governor to Burhanpur, where he proceeded with his son Sur Singh. In 1612, he died in Burhanpur. Three of his queens and three concubines performed sati on his pyre.