The princely states of pre-independent India threw up many charismatic leaders, political stalwarts, and influential princes. Among the more dynamic was Maharaja Ganga Singh of Bikaner (1880-1943).

Inheriting a strife-ridden kingdom as a mere adolescent of eighteen, Ganga Singh showed leadership and wisdom well beyond his years, successfully reigning in warring factions and carving out a meticulous, and far-sighted plan of progress for Bikaner, which he executed with remarkable success.

Widely acknowledged for his prowess as a warrior, he was soon regarded as an able statesman and visionary, both nationally and at international forums, many of which he attended as India's representative.

As a ruler, he changed the fortunes of his state by turning a desert kingdom into a fertile prosperous land by constructing by Gang Canal. A spokesperson for the Indian Princes and their representative to the British, he first proposed that India of a federal state.

Architect-builder, able diplomat, eloquent orator, warrior, trusted and benevolent ruler, Ganga Singh's multi-hued personality and rich legacy make him one of the most resplendent figures in the vibrant history of Rajasthan.

Paddy Grows in a Desert

As you travel from Bikaner to the towns of Sri Ganganagar or Hanumangarh around 250 km away, the monotonous landscape of the endless stretch of the Thar transforms dramatically. The dry desert, interspersed with Khejdi or Babu! trees give way, to stretches of lush rice paddy fields. Yes, paddy in a desert!

- The visionary ruler of Bikaner, Maharaja Ganga Singh, made a desert bloom!

At a time when a large part of India faces a debilitating agrarian crisis, spilling over into violent protests, the story of how the land was transformed because of a canal and planning, is worth celebrating. The transformation of Hanumangarh and Sri Ganganagar region is thanks to the magic of the Ganga Canal, also called the 'Gang Canal', built by the visionary ruler of Bikaner, Maharaja Ganga Singh who brought made a desert bloom!

Though once a core part of the Harappan Civilisation, and strewn with famed settlements like Kalibangan, Pilibangan, Bhatner, and Rangmahal, the drying up of the Saraswati river marked an end. The desert crept in and by the medieval period, this region was a barren wilderness known as 'Jangladesh' or 'wild country'. It had nomads eking out a living here and was famous for its horrific cycles of drought.

-The kingdom of Bikaner reached its greatest extent following the conquest of Hanumangarh in 1805.

It was only in the late 15th century, that Rao Bika, the eldest son of Rao Jodha, the founder of Jodhpur, following a dispute with his father, arrived here and established Bikaner in 1488 CE. For centuries, his descendants kept expanding the kingdom, which reached its greatest extent following the conquest of Hanumangarh from the Bhatti rulers in 1805. However, by the mid-19th century, Bikaner, once a thriving trade hub for caravans from Central Asia which made their way between Multan and Delhi, was now just a feudal backwater under the suzerainty of the British empire.

This was to change starting in 1888 when a young 18-year-old Maharaja Ganga Singh took on the reigns of the kingdom. Within a year of his accession, the young Maharaja had to face one of the worst famines in the history of Bikaner, the Great Famine of 1889-90 which wiped out almost 20% of Bikaner's population. The horrific loss of life and devastation due to the famine left a deep imprint on the ruler. He resolved to take measures that would ensure this would never be repeated.

- The Great Famine of 1889-90 wiped out almost 20% of Bikaner's population

The only way out, he reckoned was to bring in waters from the Punjab rivers to the desert of Bikaner. The idea of extending irrigation networks into the arid areas of Bikaner from the Sutlej river in Punjab had originally been mooted in 1885 by Col Dyas, an engineer in Punjab, but the project had failed to take off, due to the opposition of the Punjab Government and the Princely State of Bahawalpur, now in present-day Pakistan.

In order to get rid of this problem permanently, in 1903 Maharaja Ganga Singh obtained the services of A. W. E. Standley, chief engineer, who demonstrated the feasibility of the western area of the Bikaner State being brought under irrigation from the Satluj Waters. The plan of the Satluj Valley Project was drawn by then chief engineer of Punjab Mr. R. G. Kennedy, according to which the vast area of erstwhile Bikaner state could be brought under irrigation.  This was followed by almost 17 years of lobbying with the British Government. The contributions of the Bikaner army in World War I and Maharaja Ganga Singh's prestige, as a member of the Imperial War Cabinet and a signatory to the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, tipped the scales in Bikaner's favor.

A 157-mile-long railway line was planned to complement the canal.

A tripartite agreement was signed between the governments of Punjab, Bahawalpur, and Bikaner on 4th September 1920 and soon the work began. The plan was for a massive project of an 80-mile-long concrete canal on the Sutlej river, which would begin at Ferozepur in Punjab, and through a network of feeder canals and distributaries, cover an area of 600 miles irrigating more than 65,000 acres of land. To complement the canal system, a 157-mile-long railway line was planned that would connect various Canal colonies that were to be built.

1950s Map of the 'Gang' or'Ganga' canal system in Sri Ganganagar

The estimated cost of the project was Rs 5.5 crores in the 1920s and this was entirely financed by the Bikaner state through loans from the Marwari merchant diaspora based in Calcutta and Bombay. The Maharaja himself laid the foundation stone of the project at Ferozepur on 5th December 1925 and within a short span of two years, the project was completed. The Ganga Canal was finally opened on 26th October 1927 by Lord Irwin, the Viceroy of India. It was a lavish ceremony in which Maharaja Ganga Singh drove the 'Hal' or the plough into the ground, while his wife the Maharani, sowed read pearls in the furrows.

The foundation was laid in 1925 with Maharaja driving the plough into the ground.

Very soon the change in the landscape was obvious. MM Sapat, a state official would later recall 'As far as the eye could see there were green fields where the desert had been, and what a matter of pride it was, not only for him (Maharaja Ganga Singh) but for all of us who went there and saw it'. The Maharaja also invited a number of farmers from Punjab to settle in the area and in 1931, a new well-planned township named Sri Ganganagar was laid out.

Thar Desert I LHI

Soon after, more layers of infrastructure were added. An extensive railway network was completed and schools, hospitals, colleges, and airfields were also built across the state. But, the Maharaja had even bigger plans and wanted to irrigate other parts of Bikaner, through the Bhakra Dam project. A proposal to build the Bhakra Dam in Punjab and its network of canals had been mooted as early as 1919, but despite Maharaja's best efforts, the project did not bear fruit in his lifetime.

- Today, the Sri Ganganagar and Hanumangarh districts are referred to as the 'bread basket' of Rajasthan.

Maharaja Ganga Singh passed away due to throat cancer on 2nd February 1943 at Devi Bhawan, his palace at Napean Sea Road in Bombay, It is said that one of the last things that he said, was 'Bring me the Bhakra Dam file'. The dam was only completed in 1963. The bloom of the rich paddy today I LHI

The foundation stone of the Canal Head Works at Ferozepur was laid on 5 December 1925 and the work was completed in 1927 by constructing 89 miles of lined canal. The opening ceremony was performed on 26 October 1927 by Lord Irwin, the then-viceroy of India. Irrigated parts of then Bikaner State now came under the Sri Ganganagar district and Hanumangarh district. The canal irrigates 303,000 hectares of land, roughly equivalent to that of the Upper Bari Doab Canal.

Interestingly, the Ganga Canal had an important impact in 1947, during the Partition of India. Originally, the Ferozepur town in Punjab, where the canal's headworks lay had been assigned to Pakistan by the Boundary Commission. However, Maharaja Ganga Singh's son and successor Maharaj Sadul Singh told Lord Mountbatten in no uncertain terms that without Ferozepur, deprived of its waters, Bikaner would have no choice but to join Pakistan. The joint pressure put by Sadul Singh as well as Jawaharlal Nehru worked, which meant that Ferozepur was assigned to India at the last minute.

Today, the Sri Ganganagar and Hanumangarh districts are referred to as the 'bread basket' of Rajasthan. The canal and the prosperity of the region are a testimony to the great Maharaja, who brought the waters to his people and transformed their lives. A lesson on what can be done.

The Ganga Canal is a unique gem of engineering heritage and extends right up to the national capital. As a route for migratory birds flocking to the Ganga and Yamuna wetlands, it also offers several opportunities for enjoying the irrigation heritage of India.

The Ganga Canal, in its entirety, is a grand tribute to human invention and endeavor.