Sahaspur

Sahaspur was the largest Zamindari in Moradabad and Badaun districts of Uttar Pradesh. An ancestor, Prithvi Singh, of the present Raja went along with the Lodi kings when they were at Sambhal, Moradabad district, and after their defeat in 1526 at Panipat, by the Moghul Emperor, Babur, they settled peacefully in Punjab. They however kept in touch with Badaun and Katehr (old name of Moradabad) and at the insistence of Rao Pahar Singh Gaur, a relative, came back at the end of Aurangzeb's reign to receive the title of 'Rai' and were made 'Chakladars' of Bijnor District in 1713. Raja Jagat Kumar Singh, the present Raja's grandfather and predecessor, died in 1934. He left behind a widow, Rani Pritam Kunwar, and a young daughter, Rajkumari Indra Mohini (Diamond), who are the grandmother and mother of the present Raja. As per the law (court of wards) and family custom, Raja Chandra Vijay Singh, being the male heir, succeeded to the title of Raja at birth. Rani Pritam Kunwar, the present Raja's maternal grandmother was the granddaughter of Baba Khem Singh Bedi (K.C.I.E), one of the founders of the Singh Sabha movement and fourteenth spiritual head of the Sikhs by direct descent from Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of the Sikh faith. The Raja was extremely close to his grandmother and named the schools he founded in his lifetime after his maternal grandmother.

His father's family is from Bilaspur State (founded about 880AD). About 200 years ago an ancestor from his father's side (the younger brother of Raja Udai Chand of Bilaspur) was exiled, and whose family ultimately found their way to serve as hereditary Prime Ministers of Bahawalpur (Pakistan). The present Raja's paternal grandfather, Dewan Tek Chand, broke that chain after he joined the Indian Civil Service(officially known as the Imperial Civil Service) in 1894 becoming the Deputy Commissioner and later Commissioner of Punjab Province (of undivided India). He was a member of the Imperial Legislative Council (1915-1916) and a Member of the Council of State (1923-1925). He was educated at the Christ Church College at Cambridge University and trained as a barrister in England thereafter. He was a member of the The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, in London. The Raja's father, Major General Dewan Misri Chand (b.1907), served in the army being commissioned from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, in 1927. He saw active in the North West Frontier (Afghanistan). He was an avid flyer and took part in a number of air races like the King's Cup Air Race, the Viceroy's Cup Air Race and the Schlesinger African Air Race. In 1936, he became the very first native Indian to win the Viceroy's Cup Air Race. In 2009, the Indian Government issued postal stamps to honour Major General Misri Chand.