Udaipur: Arvind Singh Mewar, the member of the erstwhile royal family of Mewar, died early today (March 16) in Rajasthan's Udaipur after prolonged illness, family sources said. The 81-year-old was ailing for a long time and was under treatment at his residence in Udaipur.
He was also the chairman of the HRH group of hotels.
Mewar (81), a descendant of Rajput king Maharana Pratap, was ill for a long time and under treatment at his residence in City Palace in Udaipur. He is survived by wife Vijayraj Kumari, son Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar and daughters Bhargavi Kumari Mewar and Padmaja Kumari Parmar. The funeral will take place on Monday.
As a mark of respect, the Udaipur City Palace will be closed for tourists on Sunday and Monday He was the younger son of Bhagwant Singh Mewar and Sushila Kumari. His elder brother Mahendra Singh Mewar died in November last year. Arvind Singh Mewar was educated at the prestigious Mayo College, Ajmer and pursued hotel management courses in the UK and US. He received training in various international hotels.
He lived and worked in Chicago for many years before building the HRH group of hotels as a professionally-managed corporate organisation. An avid cricketer, Mewar made his debut in Ranji Trophy as Rajasthan's skipper in 1945-46 and had an eventful career for almost two decades. He was a polo-player in the 1970s before he gave up the sport due to medical reasons.
To showcase his commitment to professional polo in the UK, he instituted 'The Udaipur Cup' at the Cambridge and Newmarket Polo Club. In Udaipur, Mewar Polo was formed as a polo team with professional players who had been handpicked and specially trained for Indian tournaments. The Mewar Polo team lifted the prestigious President's Cup defeating the 61st Cavalry players in 1991.
He was also an avid pilot and has done solo flights across India in a microlite aircraft. Mewar was the Chairman and Managing Trustee of the Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation, Udaipur. He also headed other trusts. Since the death of his father Bhagwat Singh Mewar, there have been conflicts and issues between his descendants regarding the leadership of the house of Mewar and a property dispute.
Bhagwant Singh willed his property through a trust to Arvind, named him his successor, and disinherited his eldest son, Mahendra Singh Mewar, because he had filed a lawsuit against him. After the death of his father in 1984, Arvind assumed the leadership of the house. At the same time, Mahendra Singh Mewar, being the elder son, was coronated as the titular head of the family.
Mahendra Singh Mewar died in November last year and his son Vishvaraj Singh Mewar, also a BJP MLA, was made the titular head of the family. A controversy erupted when Vishvaraj Singh was not allowed to enter the City Palace of Udaipur by his cousin brother and Arvind Singh Mewar's son Lakshyaraj Singh to complete the rituals. However, the deadlock ended later after Vishwaraj Singh was allowed to enter the city Palace to visit 'dhuni' (sacred fire) to offer prayers to the deity.