Bijawar State was a princely state of colonial India, located in modern Chhatarpur 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 seco ...

. The native state of Bijawar covered an area of 2520 km² (973 sq. m.) 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 ...

. Forests covered nearly half the total area of the state, which was believed to be rich in minerals, but lack of transport facilities had hindered the development of its resources.

History

The state takes its name from the chief town,

Bijawar Bijawar is a city the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Bijawar Taluk, and was formerly the capital of a princely state of British India of the same name. The people of Bijawar are demanding the distri ...

, which was founded by Bijai Singh, one of the Gond chiefs of Garha Mandla, in the 17th century. The first ruler of the state was Bir Singh Deo (1765–93). It was conquered in the 18th century by Chhatarsal, the founder of Panna, by whose descendants it is still held. Bijawar became a British protectorate on 27 Mar 1811 and the rule of the territory was confirmed to Ratan Singh in 1811 by the British government for the usual deed of allegiance. In 1857 Bham Pratap Singh rendered signal services to the British during the

Revolt of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against Company rule in India, the rule of the East India Company, British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the The Crown, British ...

, being rewarded with certain privileges and a hereditary salute of eleven guns. In 1866 he received the title of ''

Maharaja Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, a ...

'', and the prefix ''Sawai'' in 1877. Bhan Pratap was succeeded on his death in 1899 by his adopted son, Sanwant Singh, a son of the Maharaja of Orchha. The state acceded to India on 1 January 1950, and became part of the 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 ...

, which was merged into Madhya Pradesh on 1 November 1956.

Rulers

The rulers of the state belonged to the

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 ...

dynasty.

Rajas

* 1765 – 1793 Bir Singh Deo * 1793 – 1802 Himmat Bahadur (usurper) * 1802 – 1810 Keshri Singh * 1811 – 1833 Ratan Singh * 1833 – 1847 Lakshman Singh * 1847 – 1877 Bham Pratap Singh

Sawai Maharajas

* 1877 – 1899 Bham Pratap Singh * 1900 – 1940 Savant Singh * 1940 – 1947 Govind Singh

Titular Maharaja

* 1947 – 1983 Govind Singh * 1983 – present Jai Singh

References