Rawal (also spelled Raval) or Raol originally is a regional variation of the Hindi princely ruler title Raja/Radjah (literally "king") used in some

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 in

Rajputana Rājputana, meaning "Land of the Rajputs", was a region in the Indian subcontinent that included mainly the present-day Indian state of Rajasthan, as well as parts of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, and some adjoining areas of Sindh in modern-day ...

and Western India (notably Gujarat), and is now also used as a caste designation or surname by several communities in Southern Asia. A village near Sumer has people filled with surname- Rawal of General Category.

Princely titles

Notable (but non-salute) states using this title for their ruling prince were, both under the colonial

Mahi Kantha Agency Mahi Kantha was a political agency or collection of princely states in British India, within the Gujarat Division of Bombay Presidency. In 1933, the states of the Mahi Kantha Agency, except for Danta, were included in the Western India States Ag ...

(in the third -high- of seven classes of states) and in present

Gujarat, India Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

: * the Raol of Malpur * the Raol of Mansa

Maharawal

This 'Western' equivalent of the higher (gradually deflated) Hindi title

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 ...

(literally 'great king') was notably used by three

salute state A salute state was a princely state under the British Raj that had been granted a gun salute by the British Crown (as paramount ruler); i.e., the protocolary privilege for its ruler to be greeted—originally by Royal Navy ships, later also ...

s in

(presently in

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern ...

), all entitled to a (high-ranking) Hereditary

gun salute A gun salute or cannon salute is the use of a piece of artillery to fire shots, often 21 in number (''21-gun salute''), with the aim of marking an honor or celebrating a joyful event. It is a tradition in many countries around the world. Histo ...

of 15-guns : * the Maharawal (also called Maharaja) of

Jaisalmer Jaisalmer , nicknamed "The Golden city", is a city in the Indian state of Rajasthan, located west of the state capital Jaipur. The town stands on a ridge of yellowish sandstone and is crowned by the ancient Jaisalmer Fort. This fort contains a ...

* the Maharawal of Banswara * the Maharawal of Dungarpur and one in

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

, entitled to a (rather low-ranking) Hereditary salute of 9-guns (11-guns personal) : * the Maharaol (or Maharawal) of Bari(y)a

Surnames

As a surname, "Rawal" is found among multiple communities in

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 ...

. * Raval/Rawal surname also found in

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 ( ...

community in Gujarat, for example

Paresh Rawal Paresh Rawal (born 30 May 1955) is an Indian actor, comedian, film producer and politician known for his works notably in Hindi films, and Telugu, and a few Gujarati and a few Tamil films. He has appeared in over 240 films and is the recipien ...

. *

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 ...

s for example Bappa Rawal. *

Maratha The Marathi people ( Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed a ...

s * The

Nambudiri The Nambudiri (), also transliterated as Nampoothiri, Nambūdiri, Namboodiri, Nampoothiri, and Nampūtiri, are a Malayali Brahmin caste, native to what is now the state of Kerala, India, where they constituted part of the traditional feudal e ...

priests of the

Badrinath Badrinath is a town and nagar panchayat in Chamoli district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. A Hindu holy place, it is one of the four sites in India's Char Dham pilgrimage and is also part of India's Chota Char Dham pilgrimage circuit. ...

and Kedarnath were given the title of "Rawal" by the king of

Garhwal Garhwal may refer to the following topics associated with Uttarakhand, India: Places *Garhwal Himalaya, a sub-range of the Himalayas *Garhwal Kingdom, a former kingdom *Garhwal District (British Garhwal), a former district of British India *Garh ...

in 1776 * Raval (also known as Rawal or Raval Yogi), an Indian caste categorized among the Other Backward Classes * Rawal, a caste found in Pakistan and Pakistani diaspora; its members claim to be the original rulers of Rawalpindi

People

People with the title or surname Rawal include (''in alphabetical order''): * Bappa Rawal(Rajput), legendary ruler of Mewar kingdom India *

Bhim Bahadur Rawal Dr. Bhim Bahadur Rawal ( ne, डा.भीम बहादुर रावल) commonly known as Bhim Rawal is a Nepali politician, former Deputy Prime Minister & Defence Minister of Nepal in Second Oli cabinet. He served as the Minister of Hom ...

, Nepali politician *

Jam Rawal Jam Rawal Lakh (1480–1562), was Jadeja Rajput ruler, who ruled Kutch State from 1524 to 1548 and later was founder-ruler of Nawanagar State from 1540 to 1562. Ruler of Kutch Jam Raval was son of Jam Lakhoji, the chief of Tera branch of Kutc ...

, ruler of Kachchh princely state in India *

Narendra Raval Narendra Raval (born 1962) is a Kenyan industrialist, entrepreneur and philanthropist of Indian Gujarati origin. Raval who serves as the Executive Chairman of the Devki Group of Companies, a conglomerate in East Africa that manufactures ste ...

, Kenyan entrepreneur and philanthropist *

Jayakumar Jitendrasinh Rawal Jaykumar Rawal is a member of the 13th Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. He represents the Sindkheda Constituency. Jaykumar Rawal is a descendant of the royal family of Dondaicha Sansthan and his grandfather Sahakar Maharshi Dadasaheb Rawal was ...

, Indian politician * Jitendra Jatashankar Rawal, Indian astrophysicist *

Kalpana Rawal Kalpana Hasmukhrai Rawal (born 15 January 1946 in Bhuj, India) is a Kenyan-Asian lawyer and the former Deputy Chief Justice and Vice President of the Supreme Court of Kenya. She was sworn in on June 3, 2013 as the Deputy Chief Justice of Kenya in ...

, Kenyan lawyer and judge *

Lal Bahadur Rawal Lal Bahadur Rawal ( ne, लाल बहादुर रावल) is a member of 2nd Nepalese Constituent Assembly. He won Bajhang–2 seat in CA assembly, 2013 from Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) The Communist Part ...

, Nepali politician *

Nisha Rawal Nisha Rawal (born 18 November 1980) is an Indian actress, known for her role in television show '' Main Lakshmi Tere Aangan Ki'' (2011-2012). Career Before getting into acting, Rawal appeared in advertisements for Sunsilk, Coca-Cola and Fem B ...

, Indian model-actress *

, Indian actor * Rajendra Rawal, Nepali footballer * Darshan Raval, Indian singer * Rawal Jaisal, ruler of Jaisalmer state in India * Rawal Mallinath, folk hero of Rajasthan, India * Rawal Ratan Singh, ruler of Mewar state in India *

Sanjay Rawal Sanjay Rawal (born October 30, 1974) is an Indian-American documentary film director who lives in New York City. His first feature length film ''Food Chains'' premiered at the Berlin Film Festival in its Culinary Cinema Programme in 2014 and had i ...

, American documentary film director * Sashi Rawal, Nepali pop singersinger *

Vaibhav Rawal Vaibhav Prem Rawal (born 9 November 1991) is an Indian cricketer who plays for Delhi in domestic cricket. He is a left-hand batsman and leg-break bowler. He is a member of the Kolkata Knight Riders squad in the Indian Premier League. He made ...

, Indian cricketer *

Vipul K Rawal Vipul K Rawal is an Indian scriptwriter, film maker, and author. Rawal's most recent film was '' Rustom'' starring Akshay Kumar for which Akshay Kumar won the National Award for the best actor. Rawal also wrote the episodic television series ' ...

, Indian scriptwriter

Clan

* Rawal, A Clan Of Lord Shiva Followers.

Places

* Rawal lake, a reservoir in Pakistan * Rawal Express, a Pakistani train service between Lahore and Rawalpindi * Rawal, Uttar Pradesh

References

{{authority control Heads of state Noble titles Royal titles Titles in India Titles in Pakistan Court titles History of Pakistan Titles of national or ethnic leadership Filipino royalty Hindi words and phrases Shaikh clans Social groups of Punjab, Pakistan Social groups of India