India - Princely state - Jhalawar State - Article

      

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Jhalawar State झालावाड़ रियासत Period:    1838 – 1949    → Republic of India
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Established : Independence of India : Area (1901) : Today part of :	1838 1949 2,106 km2 (813 sq mi) Rajasthan, India

Jhalawar State  was a princely state in India during the British Raj. It was located in the Hadoti region. The main town in the state was Jhalawar.

The state belonged to the Kotah-Jhalawar Agency which had headquarters at Kota and was a subdivision of the Rajputana Agency.

Jhalawar State in the The Imperial Gazetteer of India

History

The former ruling family of Jhalawar belonged to the Jhala dynasty of Rajputs, and their ancestors were kings of Halwad in Jhalawar District, in Kathiawar. About 1709 one of the younger sons of the head of the clan left his country with his son to try his fortunes at Delhi. At Kota he left his son Madhu Singh, who soon became a favorite with the Maharaja, and received from him an important post, which became hereditary. On the death of one of the Kota rajas (1771), the country was left to the charge of Zalim Singh, a descendant of Madhu Singh. From that time Zalim Singh was the real ruler of Kota. He brought it to a wonderful state of prosperity, and under his administration, which lasted over forty-five years, the Kota territory was respected by all parties.

In 1838 it was resolved, with the consent of the chief of Kota, to dismember the state, and to create the new principality of Jhalawar as a separate provision for the descendants of Zalim Singh. The districts then severed from Kotah were considered to represent one-third (120,000) of the income of Kotah; by treaty they acknowledged the suzerainty of the British and agreed to pay an annual tribute of Rs.8000/-. Madan Singh received the title of Maharaja Rana, and was placed on the same footing as the other chiefs in Rajputana. He died in 1845.

An adopted son of his successor took the name of Zalim Singh in 1875 on becoming chief of Jhalawar. He was a minor and was not invested with governing powers till 1884. Owing to his maladministration, his relations with the British government became strained, and he was finally deposed in 1896, "on account of persistent misgovernment and proved unfitness for the powers of a ruling chief." He went to live at Varanasi, on a pension of Rs.2,000/- and the administration was placed in the hands of the British resident.

After much consideration, the British resolved in 1897 to break up the state, restoring the greater part to Kota, but forming the two districts of Shahabad and the Chaumahla into a new state of area 810 square miles (2,100 km²), which came into existence in 1899, and of which Kunwar Bhawani Singh, a descendant of the original Zalim Singh, was appointed chief. The population of the state was 90,175 in 1901, with an estimated revenue of Rs.26,000/- and a tribute of Rs.2000/-.

Rulers

The Jhala clan of Rajputs are still regarded as the rulers of Jhalawar state and thus maintain a large majority of their power over Jhalawar. They were entitled to a 17 gun salute by the British authorities.

• 8 Apr 1838 – 1845 Madan Singh (b. 1808 – d. 1845)
• 1845 – 29 Aug 1875 Prithvi Singh (b. 1830 – d. 1875)
• 29 Aug 1875 – 2 Mar 1896 Zalim Singh (b. 1865 – d. 1912)
• 29 Aug 1875 – 21 Feb 1884 .... -Regent
• 2 Mar 1896 – 1 Jan 1899 interregnum
• 1 Jan 1899 – 13 Apr 1929 Bhawani Singh (b. 1874 – d. 1929) (from 26 Jun 1908, Sir Bhawani Singh)
• 13 Apr 1929 - 2 Sep 1943 Rajendra Singh (b. 1900 – d. 1943) (from 9 Jun 1938, Sir Rajendra Singh)
• 2 Sep 1943 – 15 Aug 1947 Harisch Chandra Singh (b. 1921 – d. 1967)