Makrai State was a

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 ...

in India during the time 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 seat was in

Makrai Makrai is a village in the Harda district of Madhya Pradesh, India. The village was the headquarters of the Makrai princely state during the British Raj. History According to legend the Makrai princely state was established in 1663 by Raj G ...

. In 1892 the state covered an area of forming an

enclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

surrounded by the

British territory The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remnants of the former Bri ...

of the Nerbudda Division of the

Central Provinces The Central Provinces was a province of British India. It comprised British conquests from the Mughals and Marathas in central India, and covered parts of present-day Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra states. Its capital was Nagpur ...

. Makrai State had a population of 16,784, which was reduced by

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompan ...

to 13,025 by 1901. The state's rulers were of

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 ...

lineage and bore the 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 ...

''. According to tradition the ruling family originally held the ''

taluka A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

''of Kalibhit in

arda Arda or ARDA may refer to: Places *Arda (Maritsa), a river in Bulgaria and Greece * Arda (Italy), a river in Italy * Arda (Douro), a river in Portugal *Arda, Bulgaria, a village in southern Bulgaria * Arda, County Fermanagh, a townland in County ...

district.

History

According to legend Makrai princely state was established in 1663 century by Gond Raja Karkat Rai who hailed from a family that owned land in

Harda Harda is a town and a municipality in Harda district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Harda is the administrative headquarters of Harda. History Mughal period During the Mughal period, Harda was a mahal in the Handia sarkar. In ...

tehsil A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its adminis ...

. In the 18th century the

Scindia The Scindia dynasty (anglicized from Shinde) is a Hindu Maratha dynasty of maratha origin that ruled the erstwhile State of Gwalior. It had the Patil-ship of Kumberkerrab in Wai. It was founded by Ranoji Scindia, who started as a personal serva ...

and the

Peshwa The Peshwa (Pronunciation: e(ː)ʃʋaː was the appointed (later becoming hereditary) prime minister of the Maratha Empire of the Indian subcontinent. Originally, the Peshwas served as subordinates to the Chhatrapati (the Maratha king); later ...

warriors took over the forested areas of Kalibhit and Charwa from Makrai. In December 1890 the British government took over Makrai State under the

doctrine of lapse The doctrine of lapse was a policy of annexation initiated by the East India Company in the Indian subcontinent about the princely states, and applied until the year 1858, the year after Company rule was succeeded by the British Raj under the ...

owing to bad administration. Power was restored to the native ruler in 1893 under the condition that he appoint a Diwan (Minister) duly approved by the British Head Commissioner. Makrai State was under the administrative authority 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 ...

until 1933, when it was transferred to the

Bhopal Agency The Bhopal Agency was a section of British India's colonial Central India Agency, a British political unit which managed the relations of the British with a number of autonomous princely states existing outside British India.Great Britain India ...

subdivision of the

in 1933 from the

Central Provinces and Berar The Central Provinces and Berar was a province of British India and later the Dominion of India which existed from 1903 to 1950. It was formed by the merger of the Central Provinces with the province of Berar, which was territory leased by the B ...

. After Indian independence in 1947, the rulers of Makrai acceded to the Union of India on 1 February 1948. The principality was incorporated into the state 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 ...

, which in turn was created from the territories under the former Central Provinces and Berar. As of 2012, the titular Maharaja of Makrai is Raja Ajay Shah, born on 21 January 1956, married on 20 May 1986 and crowned on 21 December 1987.

Rulers

With the 26th Amendment to the

Constitution of India The Constitution of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme law of India. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental ...

, the Government of India abolished official recognition for all titles, classes and privy purses for heads of former princely states. However, many royal households continue succession and generally have limited social influence on their former subjects. The former Kings and Princes do not wield any legislative or jurisdictional power unless elected through general democratic representation. For Makrai, the ceremonial present ruler is Raja Sahib Ajay Kumar Shah, Raja of Makrai.

Rajas

Except for Rani Birj Kune, Rani of Makrai in 1749, all rulers were male.Indian Princely States
/ref> *Makrand Shah, 1663 - .... *Fateh Shah, married Rani Birj Kune, .... - .... *Rani Birj Kune, 1749 - .... *Dhar Shah, .... - .... *Bharat Shah, 1765 - .... *Udai Shah, .... - .... *Devi Shah Hathriya Rai, 1832-1866 *Lacchu Shah Hathriya Rai ka Bharat Shah*Lacchu Shah Hathriya Rai, 1866-1911 *Chhatrasal Shah Hathriya Rai, 1911-1918 *Drigpal Shah Hathriya Rai, 1918-1929 *Sahib Todar Shah Hathriya Rai, 1929, married to Uma Kuwar and had three sons: Yuvaraj Devi Shah, Bharat Shah and Vikram Kesri Shah.

Recent family History

Yuvraj Devi Shah, married Yuvarani Sita Rani Rana ow Rajmata Sita Rani Devi of Makrai daughter of Shri Sthir Jung Rana of Nepal, and his wife, Rani Saheb Padma Kumari. Yuvraj Devi Shah has four sons (Raja Ajay Shah, Kuwar Vijay Shah, Kuwar Dhananjay Shah and Kuwar Sanjay Shah) and four daughters (Kiran Shah, Uma Shah, Purnima Shah and Archana Shah). Among sons, the first one is the present Raja of Makrai whc is married to Hemlata Kushwaha (d/o Kok Singh Kushwaha, Jagirdar of Harshi, dist Gwalior, originally from Narwar in district Shivpuri, and Tej Kumari Tomar of Nonera, district Bhind). They have two sons (Abhijeet and Rajyavardhan). Kuwar Vijay Shah is MLA from Harsood and former Cabinet Minister in BJP government of Madhya Pradesh and married to Bhawna Kushwaha of Bagli Jagir, District Dewas, Madhya Pradesh. They have one son (Divyaditya). Kuwar Dhananjay Shah is Additional Superintendent of Police in Madhya Pradesh and married to Priti Chakrawarti of Tikamgarh, Madhya Pradesh. They have one son (Apratim) and one daughter (Advitiya). Kuwar Sanjay Shah is MLA from Timarni, Madhya Pradesh, married to Shailja of Bardibas, Mahottari, Nepal. They have one daughter (Raima) and one son (Raibhaya). Among the four daughters of Yuvraj Devi Shah, Kiran Shah is married to late Additional Commissioner Mahipal Singh of Bendi, Anuppur and they have one daughter (Sukriti) and two sons (Rudra Pratap and Narmada Pratap). Uma Shah is married to Dr Krishna Hamal of Pipal Bhanjyang, Udaypur district of Nepal, currently residing in Canberra, Australia, and they have two daughters (Natasha and Abhilasha). Purnima Singh is married to Yogendra Singh of Dhamkan Jagir, Muraina district, Madhya Pradesh, and they have two sons (Yuvraj and Dushyant). Archana Shah is married to Naresh Thapa of Chandanpur, Sankhuwa Sabha district of Nepal, currently residing in Canberra, Australia, and they have one daughter (Asmita).

References

{{EB1911 , wstitle=Central Provinces and Berar , volume=5 , pages=681–683 Hoshangabad district Princely states of Madhya Pradesh Rajputs 1663 establishments in Asia

History

Rulers

Rajas

Recent family History

See also

References