Sawai Bhawani Singh | Indian maharaja, 79

Brigadier Sawai Bhawani Singh, 79, the last maharaja - hereditary ruler - of the former Indian kingdom of Jaipur died late Saturday.

Thousands poured into the courtyard of his sprawling palace in the western Indian city of Jaipur on Sunday to pay their last respects to him.

Mr. Singh died in a hospital on the outskirts of New Delhi where he had spent the last two weeks, his daughter Diya Kumari said. He had suffered from high blood pressure and a lung infection.

He served as the maharaja of Jaipur after his father Sawai Man Singh's death in June 1970. Jaipur was one of hundreds of tiny royal kingdoms that dotted India until the country's independence from Britain in 1947.

The rulers continued to hold their titles after independence. However, Mr. Singh served formally as maharaja for only a few months until India formally abolished the royal titles in 1971.

Nevertheless, he continued to be revered in western India's Rajasthan state and was often referred to by his royal title.

He served in the Indian army and fought in India's 1971 war against Pakistan, which led to the creation of Bangladesh.

On Sunday evening, his body - dressed in a military uniform - was laid out in the courtyard of the Chandra Mahal, or Moon Palace, one of the palaces that continued to be home to the former royal family.

Thousands of local residents and tourists paid their respects, many carrying garlands of flowers to place by his body.

- Associated Press