Rawatsar

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Rawatsar Baba Khetarpal ji ki Nagri
city
Ranjeet Burj Rawatsar
Rawatsar Location in Rajasthan, India Rawatsar Rawatsar (India) Show map of RajasthanShow map of IndiaShow all
Coordinates: 29°17′N 74°23′E / 29.28°N 74.38°E / 29.28; 74.38Coordinates: 29°17′N 74°23′E / 29.28°N 74.38°E / 29.28; 74.38
Country	India
State	Rajasthan
District	Hanumangarh
Elevation	176 m (577 ft)
Population  (2011)
• Total	35,102
Languages
• Official	Hindi
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	335524
Telephone code	+91-1537
Sex ratio	950 ♂/♀

Rawatsar is a city, a municipality, and one of the seven tehsils in Hanumangarh district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. This city is divided into 35 wards for which elections are held every 5 years.

History[]

Establishment by Rawat Raghodas[]

Rawatsar was established in 1584 by Rawat Raghodas through conquest. It was then an area called Sihagoti as it was under the Siyaag Jaats and some parts were also ruled by Guhilot Rajputs. They had a common oppressor, the Nawab of Rania who would raid and pillage at will in the area. Rawat Raghodas defeated him and 120 villages of the Hanumangarh region fell before him establishing the thikana of Rawatsar. Rawat Raghodas earned the title of Rawat which carries a great deal of dignity along with the headseat of the Kandhalot clan (descendants of Rawat Kandhal) for his contributions in Battles in the Deccan, South India, Gujarat and Sultanpur. The headseat of the clan shifted to Rawatsar from Jaitpur (from where the Rawat had originally belonged). He also constructed the Khetarpal ji Temple where many pilgrims come from all around Rawatsar, Punjab and Harayana.

The descendants of Rawat Raghodas also proved themselves to be worthy of the title of Rawat which is still in use today. Although there are innumerable instances of gallantry in all Rajput clans, the title of Rawat was only earned by 2 Thikanas in the Rathore dynasty, Rawatsar and Jaitpur.

Rawatsar later on became a Sirayat from a Thikana which made it among the 4 major Thikanas of Bikaner.^[1]

S.No.	Name	Notes
1	Rawat Raghodas	Established Rawatsar in 1584 and earned the headseat of the Kandhalot clan (descendants of Rawat Kandhal) shifting it from Jaitpur to Rawatsar through his contributions in various Battles in Deccan, South India, Gujarat and Sultanpur. Established the Khetarpal ji Temple.
2	Rawat Jagat Singh	Succeeded his father and martyred fighting as a commander in the Bikaner contingent in the Mughal army in a Battle against the ruler of Gujarat.
3	Rawat Raj Singh
4	Rawat Lakhdir Singh	Hosted Guru Govind Singh in Rawatsar and pleased by the hospitality of Rawatsar the guru gave a boon to the lands of Rawatsar that after some years the land which was totally barren would become green. This actually came true in the future with the Indira Gandhi Canal. Now even Rice can be seen growing in Rawatsar even though it has sand dunes all around it.
5	Rawat Chattar Singh	Rallied support in 1740 along with Thakur Kushal Singh of Bhukarka and defeated the Marwar forces under Maharaja Abhai Singh which had besiedged the Junagarh fort. Also defeated Malla Godara, a Johiya ruler who had occupied the Bhatner fort. The Bhatner fort was also captured.
6	Rawat Anand Singh	Battled the Marwar forces when Maharaja Abhai Singh again attacked Bikaner in 1747. Rebelled against the Bikaner ruler, Maharaja Gaj Singh for extracting extra taxes but was later embroiled in fines and due to this Rawatsar fort was besieged by the Bikaner forces. He then constructed a new fort named Anand Garh.
7	Rawat Jai Singh	Faced an era of total anarchy where he had to wage a relentless struggle against various groups such as Raths, Johiyas and Bhatis who repeatedly invaded areas in and around Rawatsar due to Rawatsar being the Northern most frontier of Bikaner.
8	Rawat Amar Singh	Continued to defy the Bikaner ruler. He was forced to abdicate, however was successful in escaping and re-establishing authority. In return the Bikaner ruler again forced him to abdicate in favour of his brother, Rawat Himmat Singh.
9	Rawat Himmat Singh
10	Rawat Vijay Singh	Captured the Bhatner fort along with the Mahajans and Bikaner forces in 1804 and renamed it as Hanumangarh fort. Initiated the process of construction of a new fort for Rawatsar.
11	Rawat Bhom Singh
12	Rawat Nahar Singh	Constructed a Temple dedicated to the Saint Ramdev. Rawat Nahar Singh had contracted a skin disease and he decided to go to Runecha, where the main Temple of Baba Ramdev was but he was stopped on his way by a messenger from the saint himself who told him to build a Temple of his in Rawatsar. Rawat Nahar Singh agreed and it is said that his disease miraculously cured.
13	Rawat Zorawar Singh	Acting as an acception in the history of Rawatsar, he had cordial relations with the Bikaner court and provided foot soldiers and horsemen to the Bikaner contingent to aid the British in the Sikh wars in 1857 and again at the time of the mutiny in 1857.
14	Rawat Ranjeet Singh	Constructed the Ranjeet Burj at the Rawatsar Fort which contains gold carvings and a room of mirrors but was later assassinated on the order of Maharaja Dungar Singh of Bikaner due to his defiance to pay high taxes to the Bikaner ruler levied on him.
15	Rawat Hukam Singh	Joined Mayo College in 1885 but passed away at the age of 25.
16	Rawat Man Singh	Studied at Mayo College. Was falsely charged for treason, disloyalty and bribery and was detained in the Junagarh fort for 12 years. When his sentence was about to end, he was assassinated. It is said that Maharaja Hari Singh of Kashmir (a friend of Rawat Man Singh from Mayo College) himself came to free him from abdication but was unsuccessful as Maharaja Ganga Singh denied his bail.
17	Rawat Tej Singh	Studied at Mayo College from 1928 to 1934. He became a part of the committee which formed a new constitution for Bikaner. After the independence declaration he was recruited in the civil service in Rajasthan. Maharaja Ganga Singh who although had Rawat Tej singh's father (Rawat Man Singh) assassinated, he had been kind to Rawat Tej Singh and married him with Rani Lakshmi Kumari Chundawat from the Thikana of Deogarh which was among the most important Thikanas of Mewar. She herself was a great achiever and this marriage proved to be an important marital alliance for Bikaner.
18	Rawat Ghanshyam Singh	A titular head of Rawatsar, he passed his senior Cambridge from Mayo College. He joined the Indian Air Force in 1958 and retired as Wing Commander in 1980. He saw active service in the 1961 Goa Operation as also Indo China war in 1962. In 1965 Indo-Pak war he was based in Jodhpur and was commended for his work as Radar Controller Officer. A similar function was carried out by him during the 1971 war against Pakistan.
19	Rawat Balbhadra Singh	Brother of Rawat Ghanshyam Singh and Son of the late Rawat Tej Singh Rawatsar, passed his Senior Cambridge From Mayo College and M.A. (History) from Dungar College, Bikaner. He retired as the Director General of the Rajasthan Police. He Joined the Indian Police service in 1967, held positions in the Police department, served as First Secretary in the Embassy of India in Washington DC and also served as the Director Vigilance and security, Indian Airlines. He has been bestowed with Police medal for meritorious service and President's Police Medal.

Bahadur Singh of Rawatsar[]

The Bhatner fort is only 24 miles from Rawatsar, so the Rawats invariably played a key role in its annexation. In 1799, the Maharaja Surat Singh of Bikaner sent a force of 2000 under the leadership of Bahadur Singh (the fourth son of Rawat Anand Singh) to take back Bhatner which had been occupied by Bhatti Muslims along with Thakur Madan Singh of Bhukarka and Rawat Padam Singh of Jaitpur. The Bhattis led by Ahmad Khan were defeated at Dabli and the Bikaner Forces erected a fortification known as Fatehgarh. The Bikaner forces were unable to resist the famous George Thomas of Hissar who with the Bhatti allies took Fatehgarh in 1799. However Bahadur Singh recaptured it by a sudden assault. However Fatehgarh was again lost and Bahadur Singh martyred during the struggle. Although he did not become a Rawat, he left his mark in the Rawatsar house.^[2]

Geography[]

Rawatsar is located at

29°17′N 74°23′E / 29.28°N 74.38°E / 29.28; 74.38.^[3] It has an elevation of 176 metres (577 feet).

Demographics[]

As of 2011 India census,^[4] Rawatsar had a population of 35,102. Males constitute 18,308(52%) of the population and females 16,794(48%). Rawatsar has an average literacy rate of 69.16%, higher than state average of 66.11%: male literacy is around 78.91%, and female literacy is 58.66%.

Language[]

Bagri,^[5] a dialect of Rajasthani language, is spoken by majority of population. The linguistic survey of Bagri was carried out by a team of scholars of Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi in 1993 and it was a major development for linguistic work on Bagri. A lot of research work (given in references) is done on Bagri in recent times. Now, Bagri has a reference grammar, dictionary, primers, and other reference material. The prominent poet on Bagri was Chander Singh "Birkali" who wrote "Loon", "Badli" and "Damfar" poems in the early-twentieth century.

Education[]

There are several educational campuses in Rawatsar; it is the native place for all the small villages as far as education part is concerned. most of people lives in agriculture lands. there is no engineering college or institutes. no govt. college. Choudhary Pvt ITI Rawatsar In Two Trade-Electrician (2Year) Copa (1Year).

Khetapal Ji temple and fair[]

When Rawat Raghodas had gone to Battle along with the Bikaner contingent numbering anywhere from 60,000 to 80,000 troops to Burhapur, the armies supplies of food and water had depleted due to a drought. Due to the pressure he faced he saw it better to kill himself rather than failing his followers. While he was trying to kill himself, it is said that Lord Bhairav appeared in front of him and guided him to go to a certain place where he would find rations for the entire army and an idol of his. He did so and this idol was placed in the Khetarpal ji Temple which is still there. Every year a large fair held here known as Ramdevji and KhetarPalji Mela (Jan-Feb). Large group of devotees come here from far to attend the fair. In the temple, large number of devotees make a Darshan of Baba Ramdev Ji and Baba Khetarpal Ji. In Rawtsar tehsil, Kinkriya is another fair which is held every year several times for kesranath ji which is consider a treatment of snake.^[6]

Historical places[]

• Indira Gandhi Canal
• Rawatsar Fort
• Khetapal ji Temple
• Ramdev ji Temple
• 400-year-old banyan tree near Khetarpal ji Temple

Banks[]

There are several nationalized, scheduled and rural banks in the city.

Nationalized Banks: Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, State Bank of India (Bank Correspondent), State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur and State Bank of Patiala (SBI associates)

Other Scheduled Banks: ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, AXIS Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank

Rural Banks: Rajasthan Marudhara Grameen Bank, Hanumangarh Kendriya Sahakari Bank

References[]