History of Bharatpur
Encyclopedia
Princely state
A Princely State was a nominally sovereign entitity of British rule in India that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule such as suzerainty or paramountcy.-British relationship with the Princely States:India under the British Raj ...
in India. It belonged to Rajputana Agency
Rajputana Agency
The Rajputana Agency was a political office of the British Indian Empire dealing with a collection of native states in India , under the political charge of an Agent reporting directly to the Governor-General of India and residing at Mount Abu in the Aravalli Range...
.
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
state in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
was named Bharatpur after Bharata
Bharata (Ramayana)
In the Hindu epic Ramayana, Bharata was the second brother of the main protagonist Rama, and the son of Dasaratha and Kaikeyi. Dasaratha was the Emperor of Ayodhya and belonged to the Suryavansha or Solar Dynasty...
, a brother of Lord Rama
Rama
Rama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...
, whose other brother Laxman
Lakshmana
Lakshmana was the brother and close companion of Rama, and himself a hero in the famous epic Ramayana...
.
The city and the fort of Bharatpur have been believed to be founded by Lord Aditya Consul in the early 17th century. He established a state in the Mewat
Mewat
Mewat is a historical region of Haryana and Rajasthan states in northwestern India. The loose boundaries of Mewat are not precisely determined but generally include Mewat District of Haryana and parts of Alwar, Bharatpur, and Dholpur districts of Rajasthan...
region south of Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
, with its capital at Deeg
Deeg
Deeg is a city and a municipality in Bharatpur district in the state of Rajasthan, India. It is situated in the north of Bharatpur at a distance of 32 km, and North of Agra....
. Leaders such as Gokula
Gokula
Gokula or Gokul Singh was a Jat chieftain of Sinsini village in Bharatpur district in Rajasthan, India. Later, he became a chieftain of Tilpat in Haryana. His father's name was Madu. Madu had four sons namely, Sindhuraj, Ola, Jhaman and Saman. The second son Ola later became famous as Gokula...
, Raja Ram
Raja Ram Jat
Raja Ram was a Jat leader and organizer of rebellion for freedom against Aurangzeb. He was chieftain of Sinsini in princely state of Bharatpur in India. Raja Ram was son of Bhajja Singh of Sinsini. Details about the early life of Raja Ram are not available...
, Churaman
Churaman
Marharajah Churaman was Zamindar of Sinsini and the real founder of Jat state of Bharatpur in Rajasthan, India. He was son of Bhajja Singh and younger brother of Raja Ram Jat. He was the first unanimously elected leader of Jats in 1695...
and Badan Singh
Badan Singh
Marharajah Badan Singh was the formal founder of the princely state of Bharatpur. He was nephew of Churaman.He was born in Jat family. After the death of Churaman on 22 September 1721 there were family disputes between Badan Singh and Mohkam, son of Churaman. Badan Singh aligned with Jai Singh II...
brought the Jats together and moulded them into a force to be reckoned with.
Maharaja Suraj Mal was the state's greatest ruler; he made the state a formidable force in the region. Suraj Mal took over the site of Bharatpur from Khemkaran, a son of Rustam, and established it as the capital of his state. He fortified the city by building a massive wall around it.
During the British Raj
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
, the state covered an area of 5,123 km² and its rulers enjoyed a salute of 17 guns. The state acceded unto the Dominion of India
Dominion of India
The Dominion of India, also known as the Union of India or the Indian Union , was a predecessor to modern-day India and an independent state that existed between 15 August 1947 and 26 January 1950...
in 1947. It was merged with three nearby princely states to form the "Matsya Union", which in turn was merged with other adjoining territories to create the present-day state of Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
.
Flag of Bharatpur State
When Bharatpur was a princely statePrincely state
A Princely State was a nominally sovereign entitity of British rule in India that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule such as suzerainty or paramountcy.-British relationship with the Princely States:India under the British Raj ...
, it was the only political entity ever to have a chartreuse
Chartreuse (color)
Chartreuse is a color halfway between yellow and green that was named because of its resemblance to the green color of one of the French liqueurs called green chartreuse, introduced in 1764...
coloured flag.
Chronology of Bharatpur rulers
Sinsinwar
Sinsinwar is a gotra of Jats found in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, India. The Bharatpur rulers of the Sinsinwar gotra have originated from Sini/Shini in the ancestry of Krishna; which itself is derived from Krishna's own gotra, Vrishni. They are Chandravanshi kshatriyas...
clan of Jat people
Jat people
The Jat people are a community of traditionally non-elite tillers and herders in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in late medieval times, and subsequently into the Delhi Territory,...
Which is indo-sythian tribe migrated in india around 100AD.
According to Cunningham and William Crooke
William Crooke
William Crooke was an English orientalist and "the central figure in Anglo-Indian folklore" according to Richard Mercer Dorson. He was a member of a family that had been settled in Ireland for many years, with his father being a doctor in Macroom. County Cork...
, the city of Gohad
Gohad
Gohad , also Gohud, is a city and a municipality in Bhind district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. A town of historical importance it is situated close to the city of Gwalior.-History:...
was founded in 1505 by the Jats of Bamraulia village, who had been forced to leave Bamraulia by a satrap
Satrap
Satrap was the name given to the governors of the provinces of the ancient Median and Achaemenid Empires and in several of their successors, such as the Sassanid Empire and the Hellenistic empires....
of Firuz Shah Tughluq
Firuz Shah Tughluq
-External links:*...
. Gohad developed into an important Jat state, and was later captured by the Maratha
Maratha
The Maratha are an Indian caste, predominantly in the state of Maharashtra. The term Marāthā has three related usages: within the Marathi speaking region it describes the dominant Maratha caste; outside Maharashtra it can refer to the entire regional population of Marathi-speaking people;...
s. The Jat people of Gohad signed a treaty with the British and helped them capture Gwalior and Gohad from the Marathas. The British kept Gwalior and handed control of Gohad to Jat people in 1804. Gohad was handed over to the Marathas under a revised treaty dated 22 November 1805 between the Marathas and the British. As a compensation for Gohad, the Jat ruler Rana Kirat Singh
Kirat Singh
Kirat Singh Rana or Rana Kirat Singh was the last Jat ruler of Gohad state in Madhya Pradesh, India. He was the first Jat Rana ruler of Dholpur...
was given Dhaulpur, Badi and Rajakheda; Kirat Singh moved to Dhaulpur in December 1805.
In the 10th century, the Jat people took control of Dholpur, which had earlier been ruled by the Rajput
Rajput
A Rajput is a member of one of the patrilineal clans of western, central, northern India and in some parts of Pakistan. Rajputs are descendants of one of the major ruling warrior classes in the Indian subcontinent, particularly North India...
s and the Yadavs. Dholpur was taken by Sikandar Lodhi
Sikandar Lodhi
Sikandar Lodi , born Nizam Khan, was the second ruler of the Afghan Lodi Dynasty, who reigned over Sultanate of Delhi from 1489 to 1517.-Biography:...
in 1501, who transferred it to a Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
governor in 1504. In 1527, the Dholpur fort fell to Babur
Babur
Babur was a Muslim conqueror from Central Asia who, following a series of setbacks, finally succeeded in laying the basis for the Mughal dynasty of South Asia. He was a direct descendant of Timur through his father, and a descendant also of Genghis Khan through his mother...
and continued to be ruled by the Mughals
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
until 1707. After the death of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb
Aurangzeb
Abul Muzaffar Muhy-ud-Din Muhammad Aurangzeb Alamgir , more commonly known as Aurangzeb or by his chosen imperial title Alamgir , was the sixth Mughal Emperor of India, whose reign lasted from 1658 until his death in 1707.Badshah Aurangzeb, having ruled most of the Indian subcontinent for nearly...
, Raja Kalyan Singh Bhadauria obtained possession of Dholpur
Dholpur
Dholpur is a city in eastern-most parts of the Rajasthan state of India. It is the administrative headquarters of Dholpur District and was formerly seat of the Dholpur princely state, before Independence....
, and his family retained it until 1761. After that, Dholpur was taken successively by the Jat ruler Maharaja Suraj Mal
Maharaja Suraj Mal
Maharaja Suraj Mal was ruler of Bharatpur in Rajasthan in India. He has been described by a contemporary historian as "the Plato of the Jat people" and by a modern writer as the "Jat Ulysses", because of his political sagacity, steady intellect and clear vision.-Early life:Surajmal was born on...
of Bharatpur; by Mirza Najaf Khan in 1775; by the Scindia ruler of Gwalior in 1782; and finally, by the British East India Company
British East India Company
The 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...
in 1803. It was restored by the British to the Scindias under the Treaty of Sarji Anjangaon, but in consequence of new arrangements, was again occupied by the British. In 1806, Dholpur again came under the Jat rulers, when it was handed over to Kirat Singh of Gohad. Dholpur thus became a princely state
Princely state
A Princely State was a nominally sovereign entitity of British rule in India that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule such as suzerainty or paramountcy.-British relationship with the Princely States:India under the British Raj ...
, a vassal of the British during the Raj.
Ballabhgarh
Ballabhgarh
Ballabhgarh is a town and a tehsil in Faridabad District of Haryana, India, and is part of the National Capital Region...
was another important princely state established by the Jat people of the Tewatia clan, who had come from Janauli village. Balram Singh, the brother-in-law of Maharaja Suraj Mal
Maharaja Suraj Mal
Maharaja Suraj Mal was ruler of Bharatpur in Rajasthan in India. He has been described by a contemporary historian as "the Plato of the Jat people" and by a modern writer as the "Jat Ulysses", because of his political sagacity, steady intellect and clear vision.-Early life:Surajmal was born on...
was the first powerful ruler of Ballabhgarh. Raja Nahar Singh
Raja Nahar Singh
Raja Nahar Singh was a King of the princely state of Ballabhgarh in Faridabad District of Haryana, India. His forefathers were Jats who had built a fort in Faridabad around 1739...
(1823–1858) was another notable king of this princely state.
Other Jat states of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries included Kuchesar
Kuchesar
Kuchesar is a village in the Bulandshahr district of Uttar Pradesh, at a distance of 80 km from Delhi, off the NH 24. It was the seat of Zamindari, or small princely estate, during British Raj....
(ruled by the Dalal
Dalal
Dalal is a surname of a family which is mainly found in Bangladesh. This gotra is mainly found in Sirajganj Sirajgonj and Munshiganj Distrit of Bangalsdeh. Dalal is a clan or gotra of Jats found in Bangladesh and India also.In India this gotra is mainly found at Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi...
Jat clan of Mandoti, Haryana), and the Mursan
Mursan
Mursan is a town and a Nagar Panchayat in Mahamaya Nagar district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.Mursan was a state located in the Hathras district. The most well-known ruler of this estate was the Jat nobleman, Raja Mahendra Pratap , who was popularly known as Aryan Peshwa...
state (the present-day Hathras district in Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar 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...
) ruled by the Thenua
Thenua
Thenua Thenuva Thenewal Thinwal is a gotra of jats found in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. This gotra originated from Tanwars...
Jats.
The Jat people also briefly ruled at Gwalior and Agra
Agra
Agra a.k.a. Akbarabad is a city on the banks of the river Yamuna in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, west of state capital, Lucknow and south from national capital New Delhi. With a population of 1,686,976 , it is one of the most populous cities in Uttar Pradesh and the 19th most...
. The Jat rulers Maharaja Bhim Singh Rana
Maharaja Bhim Singh Rana
Maharaja Bhim Singh Rana was the most powerful ruler of princely state Gohad in northwestern Madhya Pradesh, India. According to Alexander Cunningham and William Cook, Bamraulia gotra jats from village Bamrauli in 1505 founded the city Gohad near Gwalior.Singhandev was the founder of Gohad state....
(1707–1756) and Maharaja Chhatar Singh Rana
Chhatar Singh
Maharaja Chhatar Singh Rana was the ruler of Gohad Jat state in Madhya Pradesh, India. He became the ruler of Gohad after the fall of Bhim Singh Rana. Rana Bhim Singh had no son. Girdhar Pratap Singh became his successor in 1755. Girdhar Pratap Singh was son of Samant Rao Balju, a family friend of...
(1757–1782) occupied the Gwalior fort twice, Maharaja Bhim Singh Rana from 1740 to 1756, and Maharaja Chhatra Singh Rana from 1780 to 1783. Maharaja Suraj Mal captured Agra Fort on 12 June 1761 and it remained in the possession of Bharatpur rulers till 1774. After Maharaja Suraj Mal, Maharaja Jawahar Singh, Maharaja Ratan Singh
Maharaja Ratan Singh
Ratan Singh was the ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Bharatpur from 1768 to 1769. He ascended to the throne on the death of Maharaja Jawahar Singh. Jawahar Singh had no son, hence he was succeeded by his brother, Ratan Singh. Ratan Singh was ultimately killed by a juggler at Mathura. His...
and Maharaja Kehri Singh
Maharaja Kehri Singh
Maharaja Kehri Singh was the ruling Maharaja of princely state of Bharatpur . He ascended to throne on the death of Maharaja Ratan Singh. Maharaja Nawal Singh succeeded him in 1771.----...
(minor) under resident ship of Maharaja Nawal Singh
Maharaja Nawal Singh
Maharaja Nawal Singh was the ruling Maharaja of princely state Bharatpur . He succeeded Maharaja Kehri Singh in 1771. After his death in 1776 his successor was Maharaja Ranjit Singh....
ruled over Agra Fort
Agra Fort
Agra Fort, is a monument situated at Agra, is a UNESCO World Heritage site located in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is about 2.5 km northwest of its more famous sister monument, the Taj Mahal...
.
The chronology of Sinsinwar
Sinsinwar
Sinsinwar is a gotra of Jats found in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, India. The Bharatpur rulers of the Sinsinwar gotra have originated from Sini/Shini in the ancestry of Krishna; which itself is derived from Krishna's own gotra, Vrishni. They are Chandravanshi kshatriyas...
Jat clan rulers of Bharatpur is:
- GokulaGokulaGokula or Gokul Singh was a Jat chieftain of Sinsini village in Bharatpur district in Rajasthan, India. Later, he became a chieftain of Tilpat in Haryana. His father's name was Madu. Madu had four sons namely, Sindhuraj, Ola, Jhaman and Saman. The second son Ola later became famous as Gokula...
, ? - 1670 - Raja RamRaja Ram JatRaja Ram was a Jat leader and organizer of rebellion for freedom against Aurangzeb. He was chieftain of Sinsini in princely state of Bharatpur in India. Raja Ram was son of Bhajja Singh of Sinsini. Details about the early life of Raja Ram are not available...
, 1670–1688 - ChuramanChuramanMarharajah Churaman was Zamindar of Sinsini and the real founder of Jat state of Bharatpur in Rajasthan, India. He was son of Bhajja Singh and younger brother of Raja Ram Jat. He was the first unanimously elected leader of Jats in 1695...
, 1695–1721 - Badan SinghBadan SinghMarharajah Badan Singh was the formal founder of the princely state of Bharatpur. He was nephew of Churaman.He was born in Jat family. After the death of Churaman on 22 September 1721 there were family disputes between Badan Singh and Mohkam, son of Churaman. Badan Singh aligned with Jai Singh II...
, 1722–1756 - Maharaja Suraj MalMaharaja Suraj MalMaharaja Suraj Mal was ruler of Bharatpur in Rajasthan in India. He has been described by a contemporary historian as "the Plato of the Jat people" and by a modern writer as the "Jat Ulysses", because of his political sagacity, steady intellect and clear vision.-Early life:Surajmal was born on...
, 1756–1767 - Maharaja Jawahar Singh, 1767–1768
- Maharaja Ratan SinghMaharaja Ratan SinghRatan Singh was the ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Bharatpur from 1768 to 1769. He ascended to the throne on the death of Maharaja Jawahar Singh. Jawahar Singh had no son, hence he was succeeded by his brother, Ratan Singh. Ratan Singh was ultimately killed by a juggler at Mathura. His...
, 1768–1769 - Maharaja Kehri SinghMaharaja Kehri SinghMaharaja Kehri Singh was the ruling Maharaja of princely state of Bharatpur . He ascended to throne on the death of Maharaja Ratan Singh. Maharaja Nawal Singh succeeded him in 1771.----...
, 1769–1771 - Maharaja Nawal SinghMaharaja Nawal SinghMaharaja Nawal Singh was the ruling Maharaja of princely state Bharatpur . He succeeded Maharaja Kehri Singh in 1771. After his death in 1776 his successor was Maharaja Ranjit Singh....
, 1771–1776 - Maharaja Ranjit SinghMaharaja Ranjit Singh, BharatpurMaharaja Ranjit Singh was the ruling Maharaja of princely state Bharatpur and successor of Maharaja Nawal Singh.Maharaja Jawahar Singh ruled from 1763 to 1768. As he left no son, he was succeeded by his incapable, licentious and extravagant brother Maharaja Ratan Singh. Ratan Singh was...
, 1776–1805 - Maharaja Randhir SinghMaharaja Randhir SinghMaharaja Randhir Singh was the ruler of princely state Bharatpur and successor of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Maharaja Randhir Singh ascended the throne after death of his father Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1805....
, 1805–1823 - Maharaja Baldeo SinghMaharaja Baldeo SinghBaldeo Singh was the ruling Maharaja of princely state Bharatpur and successor of Maharaja Randhir Singh after his death in 1823. He was born in Jat family. Maharaja Randhir Singh had no son...
, 1823–1825 - Maharaja Balwant SinghMaharaja Balwant SinghBalwant Singh was the ruling Maharaja of princely state Bharatpur from 1825 till his death, and successor of Maharaja Baldeo Singh....
, 1825–1853 - Maharaja Jashwant SinghMaharaja Jashwant SinghJashwamt Singh was the ruling Maharaja of princely state Bharatpur 1853 - 1893 in Rajasthan, India. His successor was Maharaja Ram Singh....
, 1853–1893 - Maharaja Ram SinghMaharaja Ram SinghMaharaja Ram Singh , Kaiser-i-Hind was the ruling Maharaja of princely state Bharatpur and successor of Maharaja Jashwant Singh.-Live:...
, 1893 - 1900 (Exiled) - Maharani Girraj KaurMaharani Girraj KaurMaharani Girraj Kaur, CI was the ruling Maharani of princely state Bharatpur and successor of Maharaja Ram Singh, whose ruling powers were suspended on 10 August 1900 after the murder of one of his personal servants...
, regent 1900-1918 - Maharaja Kishan SinghMaharaja Kishan SinghMaharaja Sir Kishan Singh, KCSI was the ruling Maharaja of princely state Bharatpur and successor of Maharani Girraj Kaur....
, 1900–1929 - Maharaja Brijendra SinghMaharaja Brijendra SinghMaharaja Brijendra Singh was the last ruling Maharaja of princely state Bharatpur and successor of Maharaja Kishan Singh.Maharaja Brijendra Singh was born at Savar Mahal, Bharatpur on 1 February 1918. He was the eldest son of Maharaja Kishan Singh by his wife Maharani Rajendra Kaur...
, 1929-1947 (Joined the Indian Union)