RAS question
Maharaja Ummed Singh of Jodhpur is remembered for building which famous palace?
Correct answer: (C) Umaid Bhawan Palace.
Maharaja Umaid Singh of Jodhpur is remembered for building Umaid Bhawan Palace.
Explanation
Umaid Bhawan Palace is the famous Jodhpur palace linked to Maharaja Umaid Singh. He was the ruler who built it between 1929 and 1943, with Henry Lanchester as designer, 347 rooms, Chittar sandstone, and a role as a famine-relief project. Rajasthan Tourism, Government of Rajasthan describes Umaid Bhawan as an early 20th-century art deco building in Jodhpur and says it was one of the most expensive and modern structures built by Maharaja Umaid Singh. Rajasthan Tourism also states that he began construction during a famine in 1928 to provide employment to 3,000 of his subjects. That makes Umaid Bhawan Palace, not a Jaipur or Udaipur monument, the only defensible answer.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Lake Palace is associated with Udaipur, so it does not match a question asking for the famous palace built by Maharaja Umaid Singh of Jodhpur.
- (B) City Palace, Jaipur is in Jaipur, while the relevant palace is in Jodhpur.
- (D) Hawa Mahal is also a Jaipur monument, so it cannot be the Jodhpur palace linked to Maharaja Umaid Singh.
Concept
This tests Rajasthan's princely-state architecture and the association between rulers, cities and major monuments. It recurs in RAS because palace patronage, famine-relief construction and regional heritage sites are compact facts often asked in culture questions.