Raja Tikait Rai
Encyclopedia
Maharaja Tikait Rai Bahadur (1760–1808) was the Diwan of Awadh
from 1791 - 1796 in the regime of Asaf-u-daula.
He was a Hindu Kayasth of the Saksena Dusre sub-caste.
Maharaja Tikait Rai commanded the highest positions comparable to that of Raja Newal Rai, among the Hindu Diwans of Asaf-ud-daula. Maharaja Tikait Rai founded the towns of Tikait Nagar
and Tikait Ganj.
He is still remembered for his lavish charities and was known as the Raja Karan
A character in the Mahabharata
known for his charity and bravery. of his time. He granted stipends and pensions to many learned men and other deserving people.Ghulam All, op. cit. 136-7. On the other hand, he had the ill reputation of being an invert, which probably explains his appointment, when he became acting minister, of many inexperienced and incompetent young men to offices of responsibility.AbuTalib,op. cit. 115. In June 1792 Tikait Rai was selected to succeed Haidar Beg because of his long experience in the revenue department and the complete confidence that the late minister had reposed in him.
During Haidar Beg's absence on a mission to Calcutta in 1787 for nine months, Tikait Rai had held the entire charge of the revenue department. He appears to have been a cringing type of man lacking in that dignity of manners which commanded respect and enforced obedience at a time when personal considerations carried great weight. Tikait Rai was also feeble in character and vacillating.References to Tikait Rai in B.P.C. 15 Jun. 1792 Ives to Cornwallis 6 Jun. ; B.P.C. 1 Aug. 1795 Cherry to Shore ; B.8.C. 10 Apr. 1797 Shore to Speke 5 Apr.
Though in name Tikait Rai was Hasan Raza's assistant, he, like Haidar Beg, exercised uncontrolled authority. The two ministers undertook a journey to Calcutta in 1793 to discuss with Shore the question of reforming the administration of Oudh and the means of liquidating the nawab's debts to the Company. After their return the two gradually fell away from each other. The nawab's debts were mounting steadily and Tikait Rai often troubled Asafuddaula about them, sometimes not meeting his demands for money promptly. These things annoyed the nawab from whose favour the acting minister fell till at last in 1210 A.H. (1795–96) Raja Jhao Lai, perhaps the greatest favourite of Asafuddaula, persuaded the nawab to believe that Tikait Rai had embezzled large sums of money.Ghulam All, op. cit. 163 ; Ratan Chand, op. cit. f. 210-11. He alleged that the practice of the minister had been to appoint his relatives and favourites to the treasury (e.g. Baijnath, treasurer) to embezzle large sums of money with their help, and to lend this money to the sarkar in the names of various bankers and moneylenders at exorbitant rates of interest.Cherry mentions 36 p. c. compound. This charge was true, see B.P.C. 18 Sep. 1795 Cherry to Shore 1 Sep. Then he realised from the treasury the interest and sometimes the principal, of which a small portion went to the bankers whose names had been made use of white the greater part went to the minister himself. The nawab appointed Rai Balakram, a minion of Jhao lyal, to check up Tikait Rai's accounts, and the result was the reduction of the nawab 's debts to the bankers to about a seventh of Tikait Rai's total.Ghulam Ali, op. cit. 153. How far this reduction was fair and how far the result of Balakram's excessive zeal is not known, but that Tikait Rai's conduct had not been above board is proved from a statement of Cherry, a patron of Tikait Rai, suggesting that the minister delayed in delivering to him the accounts of the sarkar for fear of involving himself and his dependants.B.P.C. 1 Aug. 1795 Cherry to Shore 21 July ; B.P.C. 14 Aug. 1795 GO to Cherry 12 Aug.
The nawab dismissed Tikait Rai and his friends and suggested to Hasan Raza the appointment of Jhao I,al as assistant minister. Hasan Raza, fearing that Jhao Lai being a favourite of the nawab would be too independent of him, induced Cherry to influence the nawab to reinstate Tikait Rai. Thus in May 1796 Tikait Rai was reappointed, but without the charge of the treasury,Ghulam Ali, op. cit. 153; B.P.C. 26 May 1796 Cherry to GG 9 May. but within a month both he and Hasan Raza were finally dismissed by the nawab. Cherry's patronage of Tikait Rai seems to have been due more to his dislike of Jhao Lai (in which he was supported by Shore's definite censure B.P.C. 26 Jun. 1795.) than for any particular admiration for Tikait Rai himself.B.P.C. 20 May 1796 Cherry to Shore 21 July 1795. When Cherry was recalled, Jhao Lai
became the principal adviser of Asafuddaula, the offices of diwani and bakhshigari being nominally conferred upon the two reputed sons of the nawab, Wazir AH and Raza Ali.B.P.C. 17 Jun. 1796 Cherry to GG 1 Jun.
His influence in Court declined during 1794-6. When on 31 March 1796 Asafuddaula had an occasion to meet the commander-in-chief, Sir Robert Abercrombie, at Lucknow, he requested him to secure the governor-general's consent to the dismissal of Tikait Rai and the appointment of Jhao Lai
in his place.B.P.C. 16 May 1796. At the time of Tikait Rai's reappointment with reduced powers in May 1796, Jhao Lai was given the charge of the nawab's household and the headship of the intelligence department.B.P.C. 20 May 1796 Cherry to Shore 9 May ; nawab-wazir to Realdent 3 May. On the final dismissal of Hasan Raza and Tikait Rai in June 1796, Jhao Lai became allpowerful.
There is one shocking thing that never got highlighted, there was one "Chhota Talab" near to tikait Rai Talab, this was encroached by some local high profile man and there is now a marriage lawn, its a shame to the government officials who manage archaeological buildings and other monuments. Where were they sleeping when it was captured?
along with his prime minister Mirza Hasan Raza Khan
and deewan Raja Tikait Rai, established a charitable institution (Rifah-e-Aam) which provided relief to thousands. Asif-ud-daula distributed salaries to the people with finance minister Raja Jhau Lal and deewan Raja Tikait Rai .
s, mosque
s, bridge
s and dug tank
s all over the state, which can still be seen. He also built imambaras to house alams. In Tehsil Bithur, Kanpur there is a Baradari and a bathing quay built of red stone on the banks of Ganges known as Patthar ghat, built by Raja Tikait Rai.
. It is a pucca talab/tank
with a separate bathing ghat
for women. It also has the Sitala Mata
temple
where an annual fair
is organized.
Awadh
Awadh , also known in various British historical texts as Oudh or Oude derived from Ayodhya, is a region in the centre of the modern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, which was before independence known as the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh...
from 1791 - 1796 in the regime of Asaf-u-daula.
He was a Hindu Kayasth of the Saksena Dusre sub-caste.
Maharaja Tikait Rai commanded the highest positions comparable to that of Raja Newal Rai, among the Hindu Diwans of Asaf-ud-daula. Maharaja Tikait Rai founded the towns of Tikait Nagar
Tikait Nagar
Tikait Nagar is a town and a nagar panchayat in Barabanki district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.-Demographics: India census, Tikait Nagar had a population of 8246. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Tikait Nagar has an average literacy rate of 54%, lower than the...
and Tikait Ganj.
Rise to power
He was successor of Haidar Beg Khan in the post of acting minister. In his youth he had been employed by Haidar Beg Khan Naishapuri, a military officer under Safdar Jung. Later he became diwan of Khushnazar Ali Khan Khwajasara, "superintendent of the armoury " (darogha-i-zanburkhana) in Shujauddaula's Government. During the ministry of Mukhtaruddaula, Tikait Rai was promoted as a clerk in the civil court and after Mukhtaruddaula's murder was appointed assistant to Mir Hasan, "supervisor of the revenue department" (darogha-i-kachehri). Tikait Rai continued to rise steadily in service and though apparently attached to Hasan Raza Khan, in fact looked up to Haidar Beg for patronage.He is still remembered for his lavish charities and was known as the Raja Karan
Karna
Karna or Radheya is one of the central characters in the epic Mahābhārata, from ancient India. He was the King of Anga...
A character in the Mahabharata
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
known for his charity and bravery. of his time. He granted stipends and pensions to many learned men and other deserving people.Ghulam All, op. cit. 136-7. On the other hand, he had the ill reputation of being an invert, which probably explains his appointment, when he became acting minister, of many inexperienced and incompetent young men to offices of responsibility.AbuTalib,op. cit. 115. In June 1792 Tikait Rai was selected to succeed Haidar Beg because of his long experience in the revenue department and the complete confidence that the late minister had reposed in him.
During Haidar Beg's absence on a mission to Calcutta in 1787 for nine months, Tikait Rai had held the entire charge of the revenue department. He appears to have been a cringing type of man lacking in that dignity of manners which commanded respect and enforced obedience at a time when personal considerations carried great weight. Tikait Rai was also feeble in character and vacillating.References to Tikait Rai in B.P.C. 15 Jun. 1792 Ives to Cornwallis 6 Jun. ; B.P.C. 1 Aug. 1795 Cherry to Shore ; B.8.C. 10 Apr. 1797 Shore to Speke 5 Apr.
Though in name Tikait Rai was Hasan Raza's assistant, he, like Haidar Beg, exercised uncontrolled authority. The two ministers undertook a journey to Calcutta in 1793 to discuss with Shore the question of reforming the administration of Oudh and the means of liquidating the nawab's debts to the Company. After their return the two gradually fell away from each other. The nawab's debts were mounting steadily and Tikait Rai often troubled Asafuddaula about them, sometimes not meeting his demands for money promptly. These things annoyed the nawab from whose favour the acting minister fell till at last in 1210 A.H. (1795–96) Raja Jhao Lai, perhaps the greatest favourite of Asafuddaula, persuaded the nawab to believe that Tikait Rai had embezzled large sums of money.Ghulam All, op. cit. 163 ; Ratan Chand, op. cit. f. 210-11. He alleged that the practice of the minister had been to appoint his relatives and favourites to the treasury (e.g. Baijnath, treasurer) to embezzle large sums of money with their help, and to lend this money to the sarkar in the names of various bankers and moneylenders at exorbitant rates of interest.Cherry mentions 36 p. c. compound. This charge was true, see B.P.C. 18 Sep. 1795 Cherry to Shore 1 Sep. Then he realised from the treasury the interest and sometimes the principal, of which a small portion went to the bankers whose names had been made use of white the greater part went to the minister himself. The nawab appointed Rai Balakram, a minion of Jhao lyal, to check up Tikait Rai's accounts, and the result was the reduction of the nawab 's debts to the bankers to about a seventh of Tikait Rai's total.Ghulam Ali, op. cit. 153. How far this reduction was fair and how far the result of Balakram's excessive zeal is not known, but that Tikait Rai's conduct had not been above board is proved from a statement of Cherry, a patron of Tikait Rai, suggesting that the minister delayed in delivering to him the accounts of the sarkar for fear of involving himself and his dependants.B.P.C. 1 Aug. 1795 Cherry to Shore 21 July ; B.P.C. 14 Aug. 1795 GO to Cherry 12 Aug.
The nawab dismissed Tikait Rai and his friends and suggested to Hasan Raza the appointment of Jhao I,al as assistant minister. Hasan Raza, fearing that Jhao Lai being a favourite of the nawab would be too independent of him, induced Cherry to influence the nawab to reinstate Tikait Rai. Thus in May 1796 Tikait Rai was reappointed, but without the charge of the treasury,Ghulam Ali, op. cit. 153; B.P.C. 26 May 1796 Cherry to GG 9 May. but within a month both he and Hasan Raza were finally dismissed by the nawab. Cherry's patronage of Tikait Rai seems to have been due more to his dislike of Jhao Lai (in which he was supported by Shore's definite censure B.P.C. 26 Jun. 1795.) than for any particular admiration for Tikait Rai himself.B.P.C. 20 May 1796 Cherry to Shore 21 July 1795. When Cherry was recalled, Jhao Lai
became the principal adviser of Asafuddaula, the offices of diwani and bakhshigari being nominally conferred upon the two reputed sons of the nawab, Wazir AH and Raza Ali.B.P.C. 17 Jun. 1796 Cherry to GG 1 Jun.
His influence in Court declined during 1794-6. When on 31 March 1796 Asafuddaula had an occasion to meet the commander-in-chief, Sir Robert Abercrombie, at Lucknow, he requested him to secure the governor-general's consent to the dismissal of Tikait Rai and the appointment of Jhao Lai
in his place.B.P.C. 16 May 1796. At the time of Tikait Rai's reappointment with reduced powers in May 1796, Jhao Lai was given the charge of the nawab's household and the headship of the intelligence department.B.P.C. 20 May 1796 Cherry to Shore 9 May ; nawab-wazir to Realdent 3 May. On the final dismissal of Hasan Raza and Tikait Rai in June 1796, Jhao Lai became allpowerful.
There is one shocking thing that never got highlighted, there was one "Chhota Talab" near to tikait Rai Talab, this was encroached by some local high profile man and there is now a marriage lawn, its a shame to the government officials who manage archaeological buildings and other monuments. Where were they sleeping when it was captured?
Famine of 1784-85
Nawab Asif-ud-daulaAsaf-Ud-Dowlah
Asaf-Ud-Daula was the nawab wazir of Oudh from 26 January 1775 to 21 September 1797, and the son of Shuja-ud-Dowlah, his mother and grandmother being the begums of Oudh, whose spoliation formed one of the chief counts in the charges against Warren Hastings.-Life:A contemporary chronicler describes...
along with his prime minister Mirza Hasan Raza Khan
Hasan Raza Khan
Mirza Hasan Raza Khan Sarfarazuddaula Intizamulmulk was the Prime Minister of Awadh from September 1776 to June 1796 in the regime of Asaf-ud-daula.-Personal:...
and deewan Raja Tikait Rai, established a charitable institution (Rifah-e-Aam) which provided relief to thousands. Asif-ud-daula distributed salaries to the people with finance minister Raja Jhau Lal and deewan Raja Tikait Rai .
Welfare construction
He also constructed many templeTemple
A temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A templum constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur. It has the same root as the word "template," a plan in preparation of the building that was marked out...
s, mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
s, bridge
Bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...
s and dug tank
Temple tank
Temple tanks are wells or reservoirs built as part of the temple complex in Indian temples. Bathing in the sacred waters of these tanks is thought to cure disease and maladies...
s all over the state, which can still be seen. He also built imambaras to house alams. In Tehsil Bithur, Kanpur there is a Baradari and a bathing quay built of red stone on the banks of Ganges known as Patthar ghat, built by Raja Tikait Rai.
In memory
Raja Tikait Rai Ka Talab - This was built by the NawabsNawab of Awadh
The Nawab of Awadh is the title of rulers who governed the state of Awadh in India in the 18th and 19th century. The Nawabs of Awadh originated form Persia-Establishment:...
. It is a pucca talab/tank
Temple tank
Temple tanks are wells or reservoirs built as part of the temple complex in Indian temples. Bathing in the sacred waters of these tanks is thought to cure disease and maladies...
with a separate bathing ghat
Ghats
As used in many parts of South Asia, the term ghat refers to a series of steps leading down to a water body, usually a holy river. In Bengali-speaking regions, this set of stairs can lead down to something as small as a pond or as large as a major river....
for women. It also has the Sitala Mata
Shitala Devi
Shitala , also called Sitala , is a Hindu goddess widely worshipped in North India, West Bengal, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan as the pox-goddess. Shitala Devi literally means the cold Goddess.-Name and variants:...
temple
Temple
A temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A templum constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur. It has the same root as the word "template," a plan in preparation of the building that was marked out...
where an annual fair
Fair
A fair or fayre is a gathering of people to display or trade produce or other goods, to parade or display animals and often to enjoy associated carnival or funfair entertainment. It is normally of the essence of a fair that it is temporary; some last only an afternoon while others may ten weeks. ...
is organized.