Dhar State

Dhar State धार रियासत
Princely State of British India
1730–1947
Flag
Dhar State in the Imperial Gazetteer of India
Area
• 1941	4,660 km2 (1,800 sq mi)
Population
• 1941	253,210
History
• Established	1730
• Independence of India	1947
Succeeded by India
Today part of	India
Columbia-Lippincott Gazetteer (New York: Columbia University Press, 1952) p. 510

Dhar State was a princely state of British Raj. It was a salute state in the colonial sway of the Central India Agency. Dhar began as one of the states during Maratha dominance in India about 1730. In 1941 it had an area of 1,798 square miles (4,660 km²) and a population of 253,210. Dhar(anagar) was the capital of the state since 1732 (from the 1728 foundation, the Raja's first seat had been Malthan/Multhan (in Maharashtra). In 1948 it became part of Madhya Bharat.^{[citation needed]}

Lying between 21°57' and 23°15' north, and 74°37' and 75°37' east, Dhar State was bordered on the north by Ratlam State and Sailana State; east by parts of Gwalior and Indore States; on the south by Barwani State, and on the west by Jhabua State and portions of Gwalior State and Indore State.

Hemendra Singh Rao Pawar is the present head of the former ruling family of Dhar.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

History[]

The Parmars, the ancestors of the last ruling family, were established in Dhar long before the Christian era. The celebrated Rajas Vikramaditya and Bhoj are said to have reigned in Dhar. Vikramaditya transferred his capital from Ujjain to Dhar.

The present Dhar dynasty was founded in 1729 by Udaji Rao Puar, a distinguished Maratha general who received the territory as a grant from the Chatrapati.^{[citation needed]}

Yeshwant Rao Puar also had prominent role in the northern expansion of the Maratha Empire. In the Third battle of Panipat (1761), Atai Khan, the adopted son of the Wazir Shah Wali Khan, was said to have been killed by Yeshwant Rao Pawar when he climbed atop his elephant and struck him down.^[6]

During the Pindhari raids, the state's territory was whittled away, until it was restored in size on 10 January 1819, when it signed a Subsidiary alliance agreement with the British East India Company and became a major Princely state, enjoying indirect rule under British protectorate.^{[citation needed]}

The state was confiscated by the British after the Revolt of 1857. In 1860, it was restored to Raja Anand Rao III Pawar, then a minor, with the exception of the detached district of Bairusia which was granted to the Begum of Bhopal. Anand Rao, who received the personal title Maharaja and the KCSI in 1877, died in 1898; he was succeeded by Udaji Rao II Pawar.

Rulers[]

The British granted Dhar a Hereditary gun salute of 15-guns.^{[citation needed]}

Rajas[]

Reign start	Reign end	Name	Birth-death
1728	1732	Udaji Raje I Pawar
1732	1736	Anand Raje I Pawar	(b. ... – died 1749)
1736	1761, 6 January	Yeshwant Raje I Pawar	(1724–1761)
1761, 6 January	1782	Khande Raje Pawar	(b. c.1758 – died 1782)
1782	1807, 10 June	Anand Raje II Pawar	(1782–1807)
1807, Dec	1810	Ramchandra Raje I Pawar	(1807–1810)
1807, Dec	1810	Maina Bai (f) (regent)
1810	1833, October	Ramchandra Raje II Pawar	(1805–1833)
1834, 21 April	1857, 23 May	Yeshwant Raje II Pawar	(1823–1857)
1857, 23 May	1858, 19 Jan	Anand Raje III Pawar (1st time)	(1844–1898)
1858, 19 Jan	1860, 1 May	state abolished
1860, 1 May	1898, 29 July	Anand Raje III Pawar (2nd time)	(1844–1898)
1898, 29 July	1926	Udaji Raje II Pawar "Baba Sahib"	(1886–1926)
1926	1931	Laxmibai Sahiba (f) (regent)
1926	1989	Anand Raje IV Pawar	(1920–1989)

Titular Maharajas[]

• 2015–present : Hemendra Singh Rao Pawar

Dhar Thikanas[]

A separate department to superintend Thakurs and Bhumias, Entitled "Department of Thakurans, Bhumian and Thikanejat" was established in 1921, at which time there were 22 such estates in Dhar State.

The nobles of Dhar 'jagir'(holdings) lands, all of whom paid tribute to the Darbar, were divided between Thakurs and Bhumias. The Thakurs with one exception were Rajput landholders whose estates were located in the North of the state. Locally, the Thakurs were styled Talukdars and their holdings, Kothari. By caste there were 8 Rathore Rajputs, one Pawar and one Kayasth.

The Bhumias or "Alloidal" chiefs were all Bhilalas, a clan claiming mixed Bhil and Rajput (Chauhan) descent. Their grants were originally obtained from the Darbar on the understanding that they kept the peace among the Bhils and other wild hill tribes. They paid yearly tribute to the Darbar, while some received cash allowances (Bhet-Ghugri), an ancient feudal custom which has its origins in Blackmail.

Thakurs[]

1.Bakhatgarh The ruler, Rao Raisinghji, a Pawar Rajput, was born in 1889 and succeeded to the gaddi in 1912. In 1915, the estate, consisting of 35 villages, yielded a revenue of Rs. 80,000.

2.Dotria The chief in 1928 was Thakur Onkar Singh, a Rathor Rajput. He was born in 1887, succeeded in 1892 and was invested in full powers in 1908. He also held lands from Gwalior. Area - 27.7 miles.

3. Kachi Baroda

4.Multhan - The estate consists of 29 villages in the Badnawar pargana.The chief, Thakur Bharat Singh, who was born in 1893 and succeeded in 1901, was adopted from a Sailana family. He was a Rathor Rajput related to the Ratlam ruling family. The residence of the chief is the Town of Multhan, situated on the Ratlam river, on the Dhar road 5 miles from Badnawar and 26 miles from Dhar city. Area 99 square miles. Population was 11804 in 1931. (the above four were holdings guaranteed by the British)

5. Bidwal The chief, Thakur Jaswant Singh, a Rathore of the Fatehsinghaut clan, was born in 1881, and succeeded on adoption in 1866. The estate consists of eight villages in the Badnawar pargana, yielding an annual revenue of Rs. 51000 in 1928.

6. Kod

7. Dharsi Khera

8. Mangaliya

9. Maswadia

10. Kathodia

11. Mangela

12. Bercha

13. Dana (Pana)

Bhumias[]

1. Bara Barkheda

2. Bharud Pawar

3. Kali Baodi

4. Pipalda (Garhi)

5. Chhota Barkheda

6. Tirla (Nimkheda)

7. Bhawania (Bazurg)

8. Kothida

Postal/Philatelic information[]

In 1897 primitive stamps with entirely native text. The second definitive issue bore the name DHAR STATE in Latin script; a total of 8 stamps. Since 1901 Indian stamps have been in use.^{[citation needed]}

See also[]

• Maratha Empire
• List of Maratha dynasties and states
• List of princely states of British India (alphabetical)
• Dewas Junior
• Dewas Senior

References[]

External links[]

• Media related to Dhar State at Wikimedia Commons

Coordinates: 22°36′N 75°18′E / 22.6°N 75.3°E / 22.6; 75.3