Background
Born in Kapurthala as the second son of Raja Nihal Singh of Kapurthala (from his second Rani, the legendary philanthropist Mai Hiran), he was one of the main progenitors of the 19th Century Sikh Renaissance, being one of the founders of the Singh Sabha Movement aimed at a revival of the Gurudwaras as centres of worship and learning which ultimately culminated in the Gurudwara Reform movement and led to the liberation of the Gurudwaras from the clutches of the hereditary Mahants. He was also one of the supporters of the claims of Maharaja Duleep Singh of the Punjab, the son of the Great Maharaja Ranjit Singh and, along with the Sandhawalia Sardars, sought to muster support for Duleep Singh amongst the Sikh Sardars of the erstwhile Lahore Durbar.
Career
He was well versed in Persian, Sanskrit, and Punjabi and a very eminent musicologist a great proponent of Modern Learning and of women"s education, he was the Author of "Upma Sar Granth". He was instrumental in saving the lives of the royal musicians at the Mughal Court of Delhi during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. He gave them shelter at his court in Kapurthala, thus laying the foundation of the Kapurthala Gharana of Hindustani Classical Music.
Bikrama Singh had constructed, as his personal residence, the first French inspired building in Kapurthala, the Elysee Palace.
(His example was later followed by the francophile Maharaja Jagatjit Singh, who constructed the famous French inspired Jagatjit Palace at Kapurthala). When he relocated to Jullunder, he built for himself another residence, Bikram Hall.
lieutenant has since been demolished, though the grounds, now referred to as Bikrampura, still bear his name. His father Raja Nihal Singh wanted him to succeed to the throne but this was opposed by the British.
After long litigation, a settlement was arrived at by which Bikrama Singh was given a pension by the state.
Under the terms of this settlement, Bikrama Singh left Kapurthala to settle in Jullunder. He was the joint owner of the Kapurthala Estate in Awadh, Uttar Pradesh. A settled amount was deposited into a Trust which was used to procure a fresh Estate for Bikrama Singh.
The lands finally vested in Bikrama Singh in the districts of Sitapur and Rae Bareli in the United Provinces (present day Uttar Pradesh) were formalized by the central government through the Bikrama Singh Estates Acting 1883 (an unrepealed Acting of the Government of India).
He died at Jullunder on 8 May 1887.
