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State of Alwar
Princely State From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The State of Alwar, also known as Alwar State, was a princely state ruled by the Rajputs of the Naruka clan of the Kachhwaha dynasty.
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History
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Perspective
Bar Singh, the eldest son of Udaikaran, the Raja of Amber, took offence when his father became interested in a woman Bar Singh was meant to marry.[1] He asked his father to marry her instead and relinquished his claim to the throne of Amber in favour of any offspring from that union.[1] Nar Singh, the son born from that union, succeeded to the throne of Amber after Udaikaran's death, while Bar Singh received an estate of 84 villages as his appanage.[1] Bar Singh was succeeded by his son Mairaj, who in turn was succeeded by Naru.[1] It was after Naru that his descendants came to be known as Naruka.[1]
Naru had five sons: Lala, Dasa, Tejsi, Jeta, and Chitar.[1] The descendants of Lala came to be known as Lalawat, and the rulers of Alwar are descended from him.[1] Although Lala was the eldest son of his father, he was not treated accordingly and received only Jhak and twelve villages as his patrimony.[1] Lala received from him the title of Rao and a banner in recognition of the loyal spirit he displayed towards his chief, Bharmal.[1] Lala's son, Udai Singh, served under Bharmal and usually led the vanguard in battle.[1] Udai's son, Lar, was often with Man Singh I and is said to have received the title of Khan from Akbar.[1] Lar Khan had a son, Fateh Singh, who in turn had four sons: Kalyan Singh, Karan Singh, Akhai Singh, and Ranchor Das.[1]
Sons of Fateh Singh
- Fateh Singh
- Kalyan Singh
- Karan Singh
- Akhai Singh
- Ranchor Das
After the death of his father, Kalyan succeeded to his ancestral estate.[1][2] However, when he did not support Jai Singh I against a rival, his estate was confiscated, and he was banished to Macheri.[1][2] He later served at Kama, which had originally been conferred on Jai Singh I by Aurangzeb, and tried to take control of it.[2] His attempt failed, and a son of Jai Singh I succeeded his father in Kama, forcing Kalyan to return to Macheri.[1][2]
Kalyan’s son, Anand Singh, had two grandsons, Zorawar Singh and Zalim Singh, who divided Macheri between them.[1] Zorawar, the elder, received Macheri, and from him the rulers of Alwar claim descent, while Zalim, the younger, received Bijawar in his appanage.[1] Zorawar Singh's grandson, Partap Singh, received an estate comprising two and a half villages and, with the permission of the Maharaja of Jaipur, built a fort at Rajgarh.[1] In the years that followed, he constructed several forts and maintained cordial relations with Mirza Najaf Khan.[1] When the rulers of Bharatpur failed to pay the arrears for the Alwar Fort, Pratap Singh was summoned by the fort commandant to take possession of the fort, and following his acquisition, his kin began to pay homage and present him with nazars, or offerings.[1] One Swarup Singh opposed Pratap, and when Andha Naik brought him as a prisoner before Pratap, the latter asked Swarup to present the nazar.[1] When he failed to comply, Pratap put him to death and took possession of his estates.[1] Pratap was granted the Mahi Maratib, and he renounced his allegiance to Jaipur.[1] He established the State of Alwar in 1775.[3][4]
Under the British Empire
In the year 1803, during the reign of Bakhtawar Singh, Alwar entered into a mutual offensive and defensive alliance of permanent friendship with the East India Company.[5] By doing so, Alwar became the first state in Rajputana to enter into permanent treaty relations with the East India Company.[5]
Accession
On 3 June 1947, Lord Mountbatten announced that the British would transfer power to the representatives of the Dominion of India and the Dominion of Pakistan on 15 August 1947.[6] The princely states were given the following options: depending on their geographical location and demographic composition, they could either accede to the Dominion of India or the Dominion of Pakistan, or remain independent.[7][8] Following the partition of India in 1947, Tej Singh Prabhakar acceded the Alwar State to the Dominion of India.[9][10]
Merger
Alwar State was merged on 18 March 1948 with three other princely states, namely Bharatpur, Dholpur, and Karauli, to form the Matsya Union.[11][12] On 15 May 1949, the Matsya Union was merged with Greater Rajasthan to create the United State of Greater Rajasthan, which later became Rajasthan.[11][13]
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Geography
Alwar State covered an area of 3,217 square miles, with an extreme length of 80 miles and a breadth of 60 miles.[14][15] Of the total area, approximately 2,627 square miles consisted of plains, while the remaining 590 square miles comprised hilly tracts.[14]
It lay between 27° 5′–28° 10′ N and 76° 10′–77° 15′ E, and was bounded on the north by Gurgaon, Bawal of Nabha State, and Kotkasim of Jaipur State; on the east by Bharatpur State and Gurgaon; on the south by Jaipur; and on the west by Nabha State, Patiala State, and Jaipur State.[5][14]
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Composition
For administrative purposes, the Alwar State was divided into ten nizamats, or administrative sub-areas, which were distributed between the Northern District and the Southern District.[5] The Northern District consisted of the following nizamats: Alwar, Behror, Mandawar, Kishangarh, and Tijara.[5] The Southern District consisted of the following nizamats: Ramgarh, Lachhmangarh, Rajgarh, Thanagazi, and Bansur.[5]
Population
According to the 1941 census, the population of Alwar was 823,055.[14]
Rulers
The rulers of Alwar belong to the Naruka branch of the Kachhwaha clan of the Rajputs.[16][17] Like the royal house of Jaipur, the royal house of Alwar claims descent from Kush, the eldest son of Rama of Ayodhya.[5] The ancestors of the family eventually settled in Amber, from where the house later divided into two branches: Alwar and Jaipur.[5] Alwar represented the senior branch of Amber.[5] The ruler of the state was entitled to a permanent gun salute of fifteen.[17][18]
Titles and styles
The ruler of Alwar bore the title Raj Rishi Shri Sawai Maharaja (personal name) Singhji Veerendra Shiromani Dev Bharat Prabhakar Bahadur, Maharaja of Alwar, with the style of His Highness.[11]
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Bara Kotri
Bara Kotri, meaning the twelve fiefs or houses, was a term Alwar took from its parent state, Jaipur.[21][2] It referred to the families closely related to the ruler of Alwar on his paternal side.[22] Rao Kalyan Singh had five sons, and those sons established five families, collectively known as the panch thikanas or five fiefs, while the offshoots of these families are referred to as bara kotri.[16][2] In all, twenty-five families belong to this class.[16] Succession in these families followed the rule of primogeniture, and suitable provisions were made for the younger sons out of the income of the estates.[16]
Sons of Kalyan Singh
- Kalyan Singh
- Anand Singh
- Shyam Singh
- Jodh Singh
- Amar Singh
- Ishri Singh
They were hereditary nobles of Alwar and would, in durbar, take their seats to the right of the ruler.[16] In times when there was no heir to succeed in Alwar, they also decided collectively who should become the new ruler.[2]
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References
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