Ajaigarh or Ajaygarh is a town and a

nagar panchayat A nagar panchayat (town panchayat; ) or Notified Area Council (NAC) in India is a settlement in transition from rural to urban and therefore a form of an urban political unit comparable to a municipality. An urban centre with more than 12,000 ...

in the Panna District of

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the second ...

state in central

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

Ajaigarh State Ajaigarh State was one of the princely states of India during the period of the British Raj. The state was ruled by Bundela clan of Rajput. The state was founded in 1785 and its capital was located in Ajaigarh, Madhya Pradesh Madhya Prade ...

was one of the

princely state A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, subject to ...

s of

during the period of the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was him ...

. The state was founded in 1785, and its capital was in Ajaigarh.

History

Ajaigarh was the capital of a princely state of the same name during the British Raj. Ajaigarh was founded in 1765 by Guman Singh, a

Bundela The Bundela is a Rajput clan. Over several generations, the cadet lineages of Bundela Rajputs founded several states in area what came to be known as Bundelkhand anciently known as Chedi Kingdom from the 16th century. Etymology As per Jaswant ...

Rajput Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...

who was the nephew of Raja Pahar Singh of

Jaitpur Jaitpur is a village and a Gram panchayat under Barahiya Tehsil in Lakhisarai district of Bihar, India. It is situated on the bank of river Ganges at a distance of 3.5 km from Barahiya, 15.5 km from Lakhisarai and 117 km dista ...

. After Ajaigarh was captured by the British in 1809, it became a princely state in the

Bundelkhand Agency The Bundelkhand Agency was a political agency of the British Raj, managing the relations of the British government with the protected princely states of the Bundelkhand region. History Historical background The Marathas ceded parts of Bu ...

of the

Central India Agency The Central India Agency was created in 1854, by amalgamating the Western Malwa Agency with other smaller political offices which formerly reported to the Governor-General of India. The agency was overseen by a political agent who maintained ...

. It had an area of , and a population of 78,236 in 1901. The rulers bore the title of ''sawai maharaja''. He commanded an estimated annual revenue of about £15,000/-, and paid a tribute of £460/-. The chief resided at the town of Nowgong, at the foot of the hill-fortress of Ajaigarh, from which the state took its name. This fort, situated on a steep hill, towers more than above the eponymous township, and contains the ruins of several temples adorned with elaborately carved sculptures. The town was often afflicted by

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. ...

, and suffered severely from famine in 1868–69 and 1896–97. The state acceded to the

Government of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

on 1 January 1950; the ruling chief was granted a privy purse of Rs. 74,700/-, and the courtesy use of his styles and titles. All of these were revoked by the government of India in 1971, at the time when these privileges were revoked from all erstwhile princes. The former princely state became part of the new Indian state of

Vindhya Pradesh Vindhya Pradesh was a former state of India. It occupied an area of 23,603 sq. miles. It was created in 1948 as Union of Baghelkhand and Bundelkhand States, shortly after Indian independence, from the territories of the princely states in the ea ...

, and most of the territory of the former state, including the town of Ajaigarh, became part of Panna District, with a smaller portion going to Chhatarpur District. Vindhya Pradesh was merged into

on 1 November 1956. Ajaygarh Palace

Rulers of Ajaygarh

Maharajadhiraja Chhatrasal : 1649–1731 (founder ruler of many kingdoms) ___________________________, ______________________________ Hirdeshah Jagatraj Bhartichandra (Panna) (Jaitpur) (Jaso) ____________________________, ______________________________ Vir Singh Kirat Singh Pahar Singh (1758–1765) ____________________________, ______________________________ Khuman Singh Guman Singh (1765–1792) Durg Singh (Charkari) (Banda)(No issues) , , __________________Son of______, Bhakhat Singh :b. 1792-d. 1837 (Founder ruler of Ajaigarh) _____________________________, _______________________________ Madho Singh (r. 1837–1849) Mahipat Singh (r. 1849–1853) (No male issue) , , Ranjore Singh (K.C.I.E)__________Vijay Singh (R. 1853–1855) (born 1844; died 1919) (died early, fell from horse) _____________________________, ________________________________ Jaipal Singh Bhopal Singh (K.C.I.E.) Pakshpal Singh (born 1866; died 1942) , , Col. Deshpal Singh : (1914 - ) Punyapratap Singh: , , (born 1884; died 1958) Ajaiveer Singh Ashit Varn Singh (1953-2017) , (No Male Issue) , Devendra Vijay Singh , (born 1913; died 1984) Hraday Shah ---------------, (Privy Purses, titles abolished) _____________________________, _________________________________ Mahipendra Singh Kaushalendra Singh Surendra Singh , (born 1934; died 1982) , , , , Shailendra Singh Ajayraj Singh Tarunendra Singh

Ajaigarh Fort

Ajaigarh or Ajaygarh Fort is among the top attractions of the region. It stands alone on a hilltop in the district of Panna and is easily accessible from

Khajuraho Khajuraho () is a city, near Chhatarpur in Chhatarpur district of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. One of the most popular tourist destinations in India, Khajuraho has the country's largest group of medieval Hindu and Jain temples, famous ...

. The fort is bordered by the

Vindhya Hills The Vindhya Range (also known as Vindhyachal) () is a complex, discontinuous chain of mountain ridges, hill ranges, highlands and plateau escarpments in west-central India. Technically, the Vindhyas do not form a single mountain range in the ...

and provides views of the

Ken River The Ken River is one of the major rivers in the Bundelkhand region of central India and flows through the states of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. It is a tributary of the Yamuna. Course The Ken River originates near the village Ahirgawan ...

. This fort is noted for its rich historical past and its architecture, which dates to the

Chandela The Chandelas of Jejakabhukti was an Indian dynasty in Central India. The Chandelas ruled much of the Bundelkhand region (then called ''Jejakabhukti'') between the 9th and the 13th centuries. They belonged to the Chandel clan of the Rajputs. ...

dynasty. The fort is visited by both history and art lovers. This fort has two gates (earlier there were five), two temples and two rock-cut tanks, close to the northern gate. These tanks have been named as Ganga and Yamuna.

Gallery

Demographics

As of the 2001 India

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

, Ajaigarh had a population of 13,979. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Ajaigarh has an average literacy rate of 59%, which is lower than the national average of 59.5%; with 61% of the males and 39% of females literate. 16% of the population is under 6 years of age.

References

External links

Ajaigarh photo calleryAjaigarh Fort & Valley
{{Coord, 24, 54, N, 80, 16, E, source:kolossus-cawiki, display=title Populated places established in 1765 Bundelkhand Cities and towns in Panna district Tourist attractions in Panna district