Porbandar State was a princely state during 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 ...

ruled by

Jethwa dynasty Jethwa dynasty was a dynasty that ruled over present day Gujarat region of India from 7th century AD till middle of 20th century, when India became independent. It was a Rajput dynasty ruled by Jethwa clan of Rajputs. Origin Jethwa (or Jethva, ...

. It was one of the few princely states with a coastline. The capital of state was the harbour town of

Porbandar Porbandar is a city in the Indian state of Gujarat, perhaps best known for being the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi and Sudama. It is the administrative center of the Porbandar District and it was the former capital of the Porbandar princel ...

. Some other important towns of this state were Bhanvad,

Chhaya Chhaya or Chaya ( sa, छाया, Chāyā, shadow' or 'shade) is the Hindu personification and goddess of shadow, and a consort of Surya, the Hindu sun god. She is the shadow-image or reflection of Saranyu (Sanjna), the first wife of Surya. ...

, Ranpar, and Shrinagar. Earlier Shrinagar served as the capital of Jethwas, then Ghumli served as the capital, but was lost to the

Jadeja The Jadeja (also spelled Jarejo) (Gujarati: ) is a Rajput clan that inhabits the Indian state of Gujarat. They claim to be descended from the legendary Jamshed of Iran. They also claim descent from Krishna. They originated from pastoral communit ...

s, however, architectural heritage built by them still stands at Ghumli. During the

, the state covered an area of , encompassing 106 villages and a population, in 1921, of over 100,000 people. It enjoyed a revenue of Rs. 21,00,000/-.

History

In 1193 Porbandar State was founded by an ancestral ruler expelled from Morvi State. In 1307 the state was renamed 'Ranpur' and in 1574 it was renamed 'Chhaya'. Finally in 1785 the state reverted to the name Porbandar. On 5 December 1809 it became a British protectorate and between 1886 and 15 September 1900 the state was administered by the

Bombay Presidency The Bombay Presidency or Bombay Province, also called Bombay and Sind (1843–1936), was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India, with its capital in the city that came up over the seven islands of Bombay. The first mainl ...

. It was part of the

Kathiawar Agency The Kathiawar Agency, on the Kathiawar peninsula in the western part of the Indian subcontinent, was a political unit of some 200 small princely states under the suzerainty of the Bombay Presidency of British India. The agency's headquarters we ...

from 1819 to 1922. In 1888, during the reign of Vikramatji Khimojiraj, the State started metre-gauge railway called Porbandar State Railway, which after independence was merged in to

Saurashtra Railway Saurashtra Railway came into being in April, 1948 with the amalgamation of state railways like Bhavnagar State Railway, Gondal Railway, Porbandar Railway, Jamnagar & Dwarka Railway, Morvi Railway, Dhrangadhra Railway, Okhamandal State Rail ...

. Upon the

Independence of India The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged from Bengal. ...

in 1947, the state acceded unto the

dominion of India The Dominion of India, officially the Union of India,* Quote: “The first collective use (of the word "dominion") occurred at the Colonial Conference (April to May 1907) when the title was conferred upon Canada and Australia. New Zealand and N ...

. It was merged with the ' United State of Kathiawar', effective from 15 February 1948 and eventually came to form part of the present-day state of

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 ...

. The grandfather of

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

, the leader of

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged from Bengal ...

, Uttamchand Gandhi and later his father – Karamchand Gandhi and uncle – Tulsidas Gandhi, served as

Dewan ''Dewan'' (also known as ''diwan'', sometimes spelled ''devan'' or ''divan'') designated a powerful government official, minister, or ruler. A ''dewan'' was the head of a state institution of the same name (see Divan). Diwans belonged to the e ...

to Rana of Porbandar state.

Rulers

Porbandar State was ruled by the

Jethwa Jethwa (or Jethva, Jaitwa, Jethi) is a clan (Gotra) Rajput and Koli castes of Gujarat. See also *rathwa Origin It has been suggested that the Saindhava dynasty ruling eastern part of Saurashtra peninsula is now represented by the presen ...

dynasty 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 ...

s.Rajput Provinces of India – Porbandar State (Princely State)
/ref> By 1947, the rulers held the style of "Highness" and the title of "Maharaj Rana Sahib"; they were entitled to a salute of 13 guns as a hereditary distinction.

Ranas

*1699 – 1709 Bhanji Sartanji (d. 1709) *1709 – 1728 Khimoji III (d. 1728) *1728 – 1757 Vikmatji III Khimoji (d. 1757) *1757 – 22 April 1813 Sartanji II Vikmatji (d. 1813) *1804 – 1812 Haloji Sultanji -Regent (d. 1812) *22 Apr 1813 – 20 June 1831 Khimojiraj Haloji (d. 1831) *20 Jun 1831 – 21 April 1900 Vikramatji Khimojiraj (b. 1819 – d. 1900) *20 Jun 1831 – 1841 Rani Rupaliba Kunverba (f) -Regent (d. 1841) *21 Apr 1900 – 10 December 1908

Bhavsinhji Madhavsinhji Maharaja Rana Shri Bhavsinhji Madhavsinhji Sahib Bahadur (26 December 1867 – 10 December 1908) was the Maharaja of Porbandar belonging to Jethwa dynasty, who ascended the throne of princely state of Porbandar on 15 September 1900 and ruled ...

(b. 1867 – d. 1908) *10 Dec 1908 – 1 January 1918

Natwarsinhji Bhavsinhji Lieutenant-Colonel Maharaja Rana Shri Sir Natwarsinhji Bhavsinhji Sahib Bahadur, KCSI (30 June 1901 – 4 October 1979) was the last Maharaja of Porbandar belonging to Jethwa dynasty, who ascended the throne of princely state of Porbandar on ...

(b. 1901 – d. 1979) *10 Dec 1908 – 1909 Regents ** – J.K. Condon (to 1909) ** – Rao Bahadur A.S. Tambe (1909–1910) ** – Wala Vajsur Valera (1909–1913) (b. 1873 – d. 19..) ** – F. de B. Hancock (1913–1916) (d. 1916) ** – Edward O'Brien (Apr 1916 – 1918) (b. 1872 – d. 1965)

Maharaja Rana Sahib Shri

* 1 January 1918 – 15 August 1947

(s.a.) (from 3 June 1929, Sir Natwarsinhji Bhavsinhji) ** 1 January 1918 – 26 January 1920 Edward O'Brien -Regent (s.a.)

Administrators

*1886 – 1890 Frederick Styles Philpin Lely (b. 1846 – d. 1934) *1890 – 1894 Shankar Pandurang Pandit *Mar 1894 – 1896 William Thomson Morison *Nov 1897 – 1900 Francis William Snell

Symbols

Flag

The flag is an elongated triangle in light orange with a purple variegated edge; near the pole, a red triangle with a double triangular red flag on its shaft, a long inscription in red.

Coat of Arms

The coat of arms features

Hanuman Hanuman (; sa, हनुमान, ), also called Anjaneya (), is a Hindu god and a divine '' vanara'' companion of the god Rama. Hanuman is one of the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is an ardent devotee of Rama and on ...

. The crest is a bull, and

supporter In heraldry, supporters, sometimes referred to as ''attendants'', are figures or objects usually placed on either side of the shield and depicted holding it up. Early forms of supporters are found in medieval seals. However, unlike the coro ...

s are two bisons. The

motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. M ...

was "''Sri Vusubh dwujay numah''" (I bow to the flag, whose sign is the bull)

References

External links

* {{coord, 21, 37, 48, N, 69, 36, 00, E, region:IN_type:landmark_source:kolossus-svwiki, display=title States and territories established in 1193 States and territories disestablished in 1948 Kathiawar Agency Porbandar district Princely states of Gujarat Former countries in South Asia Former protectorates Former monarchies of South Asia Rajputs 1193 establishments in Asia 1948 disestablishments in India 12th-century establishments in India