Ganga Singh General Maharaja Sir Ganga Singh , ( October 3 , 1880 , Bikaner – 2 February 1943 , Bombay ) , was the ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Bikaner ( in present - day Rajasthan , India ) from 1888 to 1943 . He is widely remembered as a modern reformist visionary , and he was also the only " non - White " member of the British Imperial War Cabinet during World War I . Biography . Ganga Singh was born on October 3 , 1880 , the third and youngest son of Maharaja Lal Singh , and brother to Dungar Singh . Succeeding his brother on December 16 , 1888 , he was initially educated privately , then at Mayo College , Ajmer from 1889 to 1894 . From 1895 to 1898 , he was put under the guidance of Thakur Saheb Lall Singh Ji " Churu " for administrative training , learning administrative work from that of Patwari to that of Prime Minister . For military training , he was sent to Deoli in 1898 and attached to the 42nd Deoli Regiment , which had the reputation of being one of the finest regiments in India under the command of Lt . Col . Bell . During the first World War , he commanded the Bikaner Camel Corps which served in France , Egypt and Palestine . As a ruler , he established a Chief Court in Bikaner , presided over by a Chief Judge who was assisted by two judges . Bikaner was the first State in Rajasthan to take such a step . He announced the establishment of a Representative Assembly in 1913 . He later established a High Court with a Chief Justice and two sub - judges by an edict in 1922 . Maharaja Ganga Singhji was the first prince in Rajputana to grant full charter of powers to a high court . A life insurance and Endowment Assurance Scheme was introduced for the benefit of the employees . Also , facilities of a saving bank were made available to the people . He was one of the first rulers to introduce through legislation a Sharda Act by which child marriages were stopped . He had a personal gun salute of 19 - guns granted in 1918 and a permanent local gun salute of 19 - guns granted in 1921 . He was the Hon . ADC to HRH The Prince of Wales in 1902 , later serving him when he became His Majesty King George V , the King - Emperor , in 1910 . A Member of the Central Recruiting Board - India 1917 , he represented India at the Imperial War Conference 1917 , the Imperial War Cabinet and the Paris Peace Conference 1919 and was Chancellor of the Indian Chamber of Princes from 1920 - 26 . He also represented India as a delegate at the fifth session of the League of Nations in 1924 . As well , the Maharaja served as Patron of Benares Hindu University and Sri Bharat Dharam Mahamandal , as Vice President of East India Association and the Royal Colonial Institute , a Member of the Indian Gymkhana Club and of the Indian Army Temperance Association , the General Council of Mayo and Daly Colleges , the Indian Society of Oriental Art , the Indian Society - London , the Bombay Natural History Society , and was the first Member of the Indian Red Cross Society . Singh was a famous Indian freemason in his time . He married 1stly in July 1897 HH Maharani Vallabhkuver Sahiba of Pratapgarh ; she died 19 August 1906 . He then married 2ndly HH Maharani Sri Bhatiyaniji Sahiba of Bikamkor and had issue , four sons and two daughters . He died 2 February 1943 in Bombay after a reign of 56 years , aged 62 , and was succeeded by his son Sadul Singh