belonging to a Bhumihar Brahmin
family. Abolished after India became a republic, it used to be good source of tax money.
Oldest and biggest zamindari
They descend from Gangeshwar Dev, a Bhumihar Brahminof Jaitharia clan who settled at Jaithar in Champaran, Bengal
about 1244 AD. One of his descendants Agar Sen acquired a lot of territory in the reign of Emperor Jehangir and was confirmed the title of Raja by Emperor Shah Jahan
. In 1659, he was succeeded by his son Raja Guj Singh, who built the palace of the family at Bettiah
. He died in 1694 A.D. leaving six sons, of whom three died without issue. The eldest, Raja Dalip Singh, succeeded his father at Bettiah
, the second was the ancestor of Raja Sheoraj Nandan Singh of Sheohar Raj in Muzaffarpur
and the third was the ancestor of the zamindars in Madhubani in Darbhanga
.
Dalip Singh's son and successor, Raja Dhrup Singh, received a firman from Emperor Farrukhsiyar
. In 1760, he was summoned to help the Emeperor Shah Alaam II in his expedition to Bengal
and subsequently, to escape the exactions of the Nawab Mir Qasim
of Patna
, he poisoned himself, and was succeeded by his daughter's son, Raja Jugalkishore Singh. Raja Jugalkishore Singh's grandson, Raja Anandkishore Singh received the title of Maharaja Bahadur, with a khilat as a personal distinction from Lord William Bentinck
for good services rendered during the Naplese War. He was followed by his brother and nephew Maharaja Rajendra Kishore Singh Bahadur who succeeded in 1855. He was succeeded by his only son and the last Maharaja of Bettiah Maharaja Sir Harendra Kishore Singh
In 1765, when the East India Company
acquired the Diwani
Bettiah Raj held the largest territory under its jurisdiction. It consisted of all of Champaran except for a small portion held by the Ram Nagar Raj (also held by Bhumihar
family). Bettiah Raj also came into being as a result of mallikana chaudharai and quanungoi, the connection with the revenue administration building on local dominance and the capability of controlling and protecting hundreds of villages. Internal disputes and family quarrels divided the Raj in course of time. Madhuban Raj was created as a consequence.
But Bettiah Raj was the oldest in the region and had also been a branch of Raj Riyasat Sirkar of Champaran since the 16th century (the time of Shah Jahan
) when the raja of Bettiah was Ugrasen Singh. Both the Madhuban Raj and Ram nagar estates had broken off from Bettiah Raj. even then making it the second largest zamindar
i in Bihar
.
State of Bihar v. Radha Krishna Singh and Ors.
In the case of State of Bihar v. Radha Krishna Singh and Ors. (AIR 1983 SC 684, 1983 (1) SCALE 789, (1983) 3 SCC 118, [1983] 2 SCR 808), where the petitioner was represented by Laxmi Mall Singhvi, S.C. Mishra, U.P. Singh, S.N. Jha, L.K. Pandey and others, Justices A. Varadarajan, Fazal Aliand V. B. Eradi spoke on the history of Bettiah Raj in the following words:
Coming to the history of the Bettiah
BettiahBettiah is the headquarters of West Champaran district in the state of Bihar, near the Indo-Nepal border, 225 Kilometres north-west of Patna. Bettiah, pronounced as 'Betiya', derived its name from 'baint'...
Raj, we have to go back to the 17th century. The undisputed position is that Bettiah Raj was an impartible estate having properties in the States of BiharBiharBihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
and Uttar PradeshUttar PradeshUttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
. The Raj was established by one Raja Ugra Sen as far back as the middle of 17th century and was commonly known as the Riyasat of Sirkar of Champaran, consisting of four parganas, viz,. Majhwa, Simrown, Babra and Maihsi. Raja Ugra Sen was succeeded by Raja Dalip Singh, Raja Gaj Singh and ultimately by Raja Dhrub Singh in 1715. Raja Dhrub Singh died in 1762 without leaving any male issue, but leaving a daughter named Benga Babui who had married one Raghunath Singh. On the death of Raja Dhrub Singh, his daughter's son, Raja Jugal Kishore Singh entered into possession of the estate of Bettiah Raj and was in possession thereof at the time when the East India CompanyEast India CompanyThe East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
assumed the Government of the province. The Company could not tolerate any resistance from the Rulers and a battle was fought in the course of which Raja Jugal Kishore Singh was driven into the neighbouring State of BundelkhandBundelkhandBundelkhand anciently known as Chedi Kingdom is a geographic region of central India...
. In 1766, the entire estate of Bettiah Raj was seized and placed under the management of the officers of the Company. During the absence of Raja Jugal Kishore Singh, Sri Kishen Singh and Abdhoot Singh who were the sons of Prithi Singh and Satrajit Singh respectively and were younger brothers of Raja Dalip Singh, enjoyed the confidence of the Company and were placed in charge of the Bettiah Raj. However, in 1771, the Company reinstated Raja Jugal Kishore Singh obviously because he probably tendered his apologies and made a solemn promise to be loyal to the Company, as a result of which negotiations started between the Government and Raja Jugal Kishore Singh regarding the estate in question and ultimately he was allotted the Zamindari of Majwha and Simrown which formed part of the Bettiah Raj estate and Babra and Maihsi were left in the possession of Srikishen Singh a nd Abdhoot Singh. The East India Company had formally announced this arrangement by a decision dated July 24, 1771. Soon thereafter, there was some dispute between Raja Jugal Kishore Singh and the Company, as a result of which he was again dispossessed by the Company as he failed to pay the Government revenue. Thus, the entire Sirkar of Champaran passed into the possession of the Government and was held by small farmers on temporary settlements. Raja Jugal Kishore Singh received an allowance for maintenance and died sometime in 1783, leaving a son named Bir Kishore Singh who was succeeded by his eldest son, Maharaja Anand Kishore Singh in 1790. Upon his death, leaving no issue, he was succeeded by his younger brother, Maharaja Nawal Kishore Singh who was Succeeded by his eldest son, Rajendra Kishore Singh who was ultimately succeeded by Maharaja Harendra Kishore Singh, whose estate is the subject matter of this suit. Nobody messes with the state. The stupid rulers (Bhumihars) learnt it the hard way.
On 22 September 1790, Lord Cornwallis recommended to the Board of Revenue that estate of Majhwa and Simrown should be restored to Raja Jugal Kishore Singh but as he had died by this time. The Company directed that the heirs of Raja Jugal Kishore Singh, Srikishen Singh and Abdhoot Singh be restored the possession of their respective Districts. Bir Kishore Singh, was not at all satisfied with the decision of the Board, mentioned above, because he claimed the entire province (Sirkar of Champaran) but in obedience to the order of the Governor-General, he took possession of the parganas of Majhwa and Simrown.
Thereafter, a long-term litigation started between Bir Kishore Singh and the heirs of Raja Jugal Kishore Singh in respect of Majhwa and Simrown and ultimately suits were filed which were followed by Memorial to the Lieutenant Governor. It appears that whereas in the earlier suit, Raja Deoki Nandan Singh's predecessor had pleaded that Raja Jugal Kishore Singh was the son of Raja Dhrub Singh's daughter and, therefore, not a member of the family of Raja Dhrub Singh, Bir Kishore Singh had pleaded that Raja Jugal Kishore Singh having been adopted by Raja Dhrub Singh had become a member of his family. It was pleaded in the Memorial that Raja Jugal Kishore Singh, who belonged to the Gautam gotra, had been, adopted by Raja Dhrub Singh who belonged to the Kashyap gotra, and had been appointed as his successor.
To cut the matter short, it may be stated that a spate of litigation followed putting forward rival claims to the estate left by Raja Dhrub Singh. It may, however, be noted that in none of the suits instituted in 1895, 1896 and 1905, the question as to whether Raja Jugal Kishore Singh had become a member of the family of Raja Dhrub Singh, by virtue of his adoption as putri ka putra, was decided despite a plea having been raised in all those suits. As already mentioned, out of the four suits that were filed, one of them was withdrawn. In the present appeals, we are only concerned with two rival claims put forward to the Bettiah Raj on the death of Maharaja Harendra Kishore Singh and his two widows. In suit No. 25/1958, the claimants were Ambika Prasad Singh and others claiming the estate on the basis that as Raja Jugal Kishore Singh succeeded to the gaddi of Sirkar as the adopted son and successor to Raja Dhrub Singh and not as his daughter's son, Ambika Prasad being nearest among the reversioners was entitled to succeed to the estate after the death of the widows. The suit of Ambika Prasad Singh was dismissed by the trial court as also by the special Bench of the High Court and some appeals were brought to this Court by certificate. The said appeals, being civil appeal Nos. 114-119 of 1976, in Shyam Sunder Prasad Singh and Ors. v. State of Bihar and Ors. MANU/SC/0385/1980 came up for hearing before a Bench consisting of P.N. Bhagwati, A.P. Sen and E.S. Venkataramiah, JJ. this Court dismissed the appeals and rejected the claim of Ambiqka Prasad Singh holding that as Raja Jugal Kishore Singh could not in law be considered as putri ka putra his claim to the estate left by Raja Dhrub as being the nearest reversioner, cannot succeed.
The claim of Radha Krishan Singh and others in suit No. 5 of 1961 was left to be decided by another Bench and it is these appeals that have now been placed before us for hearing.
Maharaja Sir Harendra Kishore Singh
Maharaja Sir Harendra Kishore Singhwas born in 1854 and succeeded his father, the late Maharaja Rajendra Kishore Singh Bahadur in 1883 and in 1884 received the title of Maharaja Bahadur as a personal distinction and a Khilat and a sanad from the hands of the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal
, Sir Augustus Rivers Thompson
. He was created an Knight Commander of the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire
on 1 March 1889. He was appointed a member of the Legislative Council of Bengal in January, 1891. He was also a member of The Asiatic Society He was the last ruler of Bettiah Raj.
(Shyam Sunder Prasad Singh & Ors. vs State Of Bihar & Ors. on 22 July 1980 and State Of Bihar vs Radha Krishna Singh & Ors. on 20 April 1983)
Maharaja Sir Harendra Kishore Singh Bahadur died issueless on March 26, 1893 leaving behind him two widows, Maharani Sheo Ratna Kuer and Maharani Janki Kuer. Maharani Sheo Ratna Kuer who succeeded to the estate of Maharaja Harendra Kishore Singh on his death as his senior widow died on March 24, 1896 and on her death Maharani Janki Kuer became entitled to the possession of the estate. Since it was found that Maharani Janki Kuer was not able to administer the estate, its management was taken over by the Court of Wards, Bihar in 1897. Maharani Janki Kuer who was a limited holder of the estate died on November 27, 1954.So great was the esteem in which Maharaja Sir Harendra Kishore Singh was
held by the Government that the Lt. Governor of Bengal
came to Bettiah personally to offer his condolence on his death.
Bettiah Raj and music
The Bettiah Gharana was one of the oldest style of vocal music. A section of Dhrupadsingers of dilli gharana (Delhi Gharana
) from Mughal
emperor Shah Jahan
’s court had migrated to Bettiah
under the patronage of Bettiah Raj and thus was sown the seed of Bettiah Gharana. The famous Dagar brothers had praised the Bettiah Dhrupad
singers and some of them were invited to the Bharat Bhavan
in Bhopal to perform with other accomplished singers in 1990.
Bettiah National Park/ Valmikinagar National Park
The Valmiki National Parkis spread across a core area of 335.64 km2 of more than 800 km2. of the Valmiki Sanctuary located in the West Champaran district of Bihar. Valmiki was established as the 18th tiger reserve in 1990. The Government of Biha r, in 1978 declared an area of 464.60 km2., which now forms the Reserve as Wildlife Sanctuary and national park in 1989. Later on, in 1990, about 419.18 km2. was added to the Sanctuary, totalling to 880.78 km2.
The park is bounded by the Royal Chitwan National Park of Nepal in the north and the river Gandak on the western side with the Himalayan Mountains as a backdrop. Adjacent to the sanctuary, in the forests in Chitwan National Park of Nepal, is the historic Valmiki Ashram. The park consists of moist sal bearing forests, dry sal bearing forests, moist mixed deciduous forests without sal, cane and tropical seasonal swamp forests containing reed beds and wet grasslands. The one-horned rhinoceros and Indian bison often migrate from Chitwan to Valmikinagar. The forest here is a mix of extensive Savannah lands and swamp forests. The forest in the sanctuary is rich in Bhabar-Dun sal, dry Siwalik sal, khair and cane. The extensive forest area of Valmikinagar was owned by the Bettiah Raj and Ramanagar Raj until early 1950s.
Places of interest: The Asoka Stupa, the Bawan Garhi and the Someshwar Fort are replete with tales of the past. Triveni where the three rivers Gandak, Sonha and Pachanad merge, not long after they emerge from the hills, is said to be another attraction.
Animals found: Tiger, black buck, sloth bear, wolf, various species of deer, leopard, python, peafowl, chitals, sambars, nilgais, leopards, hyenas, Indian civets, jungle cats, hog deer and wild dogs. One-horned rhinoceros and Indian bison often migrate from Chitwan to Valmikinagar.
Present condition
The present condition of Raj properties is pathetic, with the royal garden Named Nazar Bagh having been turned into garbage dumping ground, and even the palace and its land have become the hunting ground of all sorts of greedy elements.Except for the Bettiah Raj, other estates had clear lines of succession. Consequently, the Bettiah Raj came under the ‘court of wards’, and this mammoth estate became the object of accumulation and greed, earlier by the pre-Independence administrators and later by our indigenous governing elites. Bipin Biharee Verma, the manager of Bettiah Raj, who scripted most of the primitive accumulation and leakage, was said to have had direct patronage from a very prestigious address in Delhi.
Criminals such as Bhagar Yadav who was on the run for three decades; ultimately surrendered before the Superintendent of Police of Bihar’s West Champaran District, K.S. Anupam in May 2008, reflecting improving "law and order" and return of the state in Bihar. He started his career as a cattle guard from the Udaipur jungle, where he finetuned his kidnapping skill. Over the years, he diversified his accumulation, apart from eyeing the left-overs of the Bettiah Raj. He is said to now control the cultivation of about 10000 acres (40.5 km²) of diara land, ghats, contracts and levies on the incoming and outgoing goods of the region.