Bettiah Raj was the second-largest zamindari in the region of India now known as

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...

. It generated annual land revenue rentals of more than 2 million rupees.

History

Before British rule

Gangeswar Deo, a Brahmin of Jaitharia clan, popularly known as ''Jaitharia Bhumihar Brahmin. Gangeswar'' Deo descendants are among the present day Kashyap Gotra of

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests ( purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers ( ...

s and a branch of this clan also set up residence at a place called Jaithar Saran near

Champaran Champaran is a region of Bihar in India. It is now divided into an East Champaran district and a West Champaran district. Notable people * Manoj Bajpai – Indian film actor * Dinesh Bhramar – poet and noted figure in Hindi and Bhojpuri l ...

, later moved east and established a state at

Bettiah Bettiah is a city and administrative headquarters of West Champaran district ( Tirhut Division) - (Tirhut), near Indo-Nepal border, north-west of Patna, in Bihar state of India. History In 1244 A.D., Gangeshwar Dev, a Bhumihar Brahmin o ...

in Bihar. They were known as ''

Bhumihar Brahmin Bhumihars, also called Babhan, are a Hindu caste mainly found in Bihar (including the Mithila region), the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, the Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh, and Nepal. The Bhumihars claim Brahmin statu ...

''. Bettiah Raj was the oldest in the region and had also been a branch of ''Raj Riyasat Sirkar'' of

since the 17th century (the time of

Shah Jahan Shihab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram (5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), better known by his regnal name Shah Jahan I (; ), was the fifth emperor of the Mughal Empire, reigning from January 1628 until July 1658. Under his emperorship, the Mugha ...

) when the raja of Bettiah was Ugrasen Singh. Both the Madhuban Raj and Sheohar estates had broken off from Bettiah Raj. even then making it the largest zamindari in

. The Rajas of Bettiah had turbulent relations with Khandavalas of Mithila , who often assisted the Nawab of Bengal in subduing the hostile chieftaincy of Bettiah. During the Bettiah Raj of Bihar, the ethnoreligious community of

Bettiah Christians The Bettiah Christians ( hi, बेतिया मसीही, ur, بیتیاہ مسیحی, transliteration: ''Béttiah Masīhī''), also known as Betiawi Christians, are the northern Indian subcontinent's oldest Christian community, which emerg ...

descended from upper-caste Hindu and Muslim converts to Christianity was established in India by missionaries belonging to the

Order of Friars Minor Capuchin The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. O.F.M. Cap.) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of Three " First Orders" that reformed from the Franciscan Friars Minor Observant (OFM Obs., now OFM ...

, a Roman Catholic religious order. It is one of the northern Indian subcontinent's oldest Christian communities that was founded after Raja Dhurup Singh requested Joseph Mary Bernini to heal his ill wife of a severe illness and was said to be successful in doing so. The Bettiah Christian Mission flourished under the blessing of

Pope Benedict XIV Pope Benedict XIV ( la, Benedictus XIV; it, Benedetto XIV; 31 March 1675 – 3 May 1758), born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 17 August 1740 to his death in May 1758. Pope Be ...

and the patronage of the royal court of the Bettiah Rajas, growing in number.

Under the East India Company

In 1765, when the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Sou ...

acquired the ''

Diwani Diwani is a calligraphic variety of Arabic script, a cursive style developed during the reign of the early Ottoman Turks (16th century - early 17th century). It reached its height of popularity under Süleyman I the Magnificent (1520–1566). ...

'' Bettiah Raj held the largest territory under its jurisdiction. It consisted of some part of

except for a large portion held by the Ram Nagar Raj (held by Shah Rajputs). Bettiah Raj also came into being as a result of ''mallikana chaudharai'' and ''quanungoi'', the connection with the revenue administration building on local dominance and the capability of controlling and protecting hundreds of villages. Internal disputes and family quarrels divided the Raj in course of time. Madhuban Raj was created as a consequence.

Under the British Raj

The last zamindar was

Harendra Kishore Singh Maharaja Sir Harendra Kishore Singh was the last ruler of Bettiah Raj. He was born in 1854 and succeeded his father, the Rajendra Kishore Singh Bahadur, in 1883. In 1884 received the title of Maharaja Bahadur as a personal distinction and a ''Khi ...

, who was born in 1854 and succeeded his father, Rajendra Kishore Singh in 1883. In 1884, he received the title of Raja Bahadur as a personal distinction and a ''Khilat'' and a ''sanad'' from the Lieutenant

Governor of Bengal The Governor was the chief colonial administrator in the Bengal presidency, originally the "Presidency of Fort William" and later "Bengal province". In 1644, Gabriel Boughton procured privileges for the East India Company which permitted them t ...

, Sir

Augustus Rivers Thompson Sir Augustus Rivers Thompson KCSI CIE (12 September 1829 – 27 November 1890) was a British colonial administrator who served as Chief Commissioner of the British Crown Colony of Burma from April 1875 to March 1878. He was Lieutenant-Governor ...

. He was created a Knight Commander of the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire on 1 March 1889. He was appointed a member of the Legislative Council of Bengal in January 1891. He was also a member of

The Asiatic Society The Asiatic Society is a government of India organisation founded during the Company rule in India to enhance and further the cause of "Oriental research", in this case, research into India and the surrounding regions. It was founded by the p ...

He was the last ruler of Bettiah Raj. Raja Sir Harendra Kishore Singh Bahadur died issueless on 26 March 1893 leaving behind him two widows, Maharani Sheo Ratna Kunwar and Maharani Janki Kunwar. Maharani Sheo Ratna Kunwar who succeeded to the estate of Raja Harendra Kishore Singh on his death as his senior widow died on 24 March 1896 and on her death Maharani Janki Kunwar became entitled to the possession of the estate. Since it was found that Maharani Janki Kunwar was not able to administer the estate, its management was taken over by the

Court of Wards The Court of Wards and Liveries was a court established during the reign of Henry VIII in England. Its purpose was to administer a system of feudal dues; but as well as the revenue collection, the court was also responsible for wardship and liv ...

, Bihar in 1897. Maharani Janki Kunwar who was a limited holder of the estate died on 27 November 1954. The Bettiah Raj forests were managed for timber production. Bihar state government took over management of the Bettiah Raj forests in 1953 and 1954 under the Bihar Private Protected Forests Act (1947). Valmiki National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary include portion of the former Bettiah Raj estate.Valmiki Sanctuary
, Bihar Environment and Forest Department. Accessed 27 September 2014

Bettiah Raj and music

The Bettiah Gharana is one of the three (others being Darbhanga Gharana, and Dumraon Gharana) oldest style of Dhrupad vocal song from the state of Bihar.

References