Rewa Kantha Agency with all Princely States Gujarat during British India 1811-1937 with labels

Rewa Kantha was a political agency of

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

, managing the relations (

indirect rule Indirect rule was a system of governance used by the British and others to control parts of their colonial empires, particularly in Africa and Asia, which was done through pre-existing indigenous power structures. Indirect rule was used by vario ...

) of the British government's

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 ...

with a collection of

princely states 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 ...

. It stretched for about 150 miles between the plain 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 ...

and the hills of

Malwa Malwa is a historical region of west-central India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin. Geologically, the Malwa Plateau generally refers to the volcanic upland north of the Vindhya Range. Politically and administratively, it is also sy ...

, from the

Tapti River The Tapti River (or Tapi) is a river in central India located to the south of the Narmada river that flows westwards before draining into the Arabian Sea. The river has a length of around and flows through the states of Maharashtra, Gujara ...

to the

Mahi River The Mahi is a river in western India. It rises in Madhya Pradesh and, after flowing through the Vagad region of Rajasthan, enters Gujarat and flows into the Arabian Sea. It is one of the relatively few west-flowing rivers in India, alongside the ...

crossing the Rewa (or Narmada) River, from which it takes its name. The political agent, who was also

District collector A District Collector-cum-District Magistrate (also known as Deputy Commissioner in some states) is an All India Service officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) cadre who is responsible for ''land revenue collection'', ''canal revenu ...

of the ''

prant A prant is a historical district in India, and a native British Raj age term for a colonial district. The same name can thus have different meanings depending on the period. Pre-colonial Some prants are traditional names for parts of historica ...

'' (British District) of the

Panchmahal Panchmahal, also known as Panch Mahals, is a district in the eastern portion of Gujarat State western India. ''Panch-mahal'' means "five tehsils/talukas" (5 sub-divisions), and refers to the five sub-divisions that were transferred by the Maharaj ...

, resided at

Godhra Godhra is a municipality in Panchmahal district in Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Panchmahal district. Originally the name came from ''gou'' which means "cow" and ''dhara''- which have two meanings dependi ...

History

The native states came under British

subsidiary alliance A subsidiary alliance, in South Asian history, was a tributary alliance between a South Asian state and a European East India Company. Under this system, an Indian ruler who formed a treaty with the company in question would be provided wi ...

s after the

Third Anglo-Maratha War The Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817–1819) was the final and decisive conflict between the English East India Company and the Maratha Empire in India. The war left the Company in control of most of India. It began with an invasion of Maratha ter ...

of the early 19th century. The total surface was 4,971.75 square miles, comprising 3,412 villages, with a population of 479,055, yielding 2,072,026 Rupeese state revenue and paying 147,826 Rupees tribute (mostly to the Gaikwar

Baroda State Baroda State was a state in present-day Gujarat, ruled by the Gaekwad dynasty of the Maratha Confederacy from its formation in 1721 until its accession to the newly formed Dominion of India in 1949. With the city of Baroda (Vadodara) as its ...

). In 1937 the princely states of the Rewa Kantha Agency were merged with

in order to form the

Baroda and Gujarat States Agency Baroda and Gujarat States Agency was a political agency of British India, managing the relations of the British government of the Bombay Presidency with a collection of princely states. The political agent, who was also Collector of the Britis ...

, which in turn merged in 1944 with the

Western India States Agency The Western India States Agency (WISA) was one of the agencies of British India. This agency was formed on 10 October 1924 as a part of the implementation of the Montague Chelmsford report on constitutional reforms. It was formed by merging the ...

Baroda, Western India and Gujarat States Agency The Baroda, Western India and Gujarat States Agency was an agency of the Indian Empire, managing the relations of the Provincial Government of the Bombay Presidency with a collection of princely states. The political agent in charge of the ag ...

. After the Independence of British India in 1947, split into India and Pakistan, the rulers of the states all agreed to accede to the

Government of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

and were integrated into

Bombay State Bombay State was a large Indian state created at the time of India's Independence, with other regions being added to it in the succeeding years. Bombay Presidency (roughly equating to the present-day Indian state of Maharashtra, excluding So ...

. Bombay state was split along linguistic lines in 1960, and Rewa Kantha became part of

, like

Saurashtra State Saurashtra, also known as United State of Kathiawar, was a State of India that existed between 1948 and 1956, on Saurashtra alias Kathiawar peninsula, with Rajkot as its capital, History Formation as United State of Kathiawar Saurashtra ...

Princely States

The number of separate states was 61, mostly minor or petty states except for five. Many of them were under British influence; the largest one was

Rajpipla Rajpipla is a town and a municipality in the Narmada district in the Indian state of Gujarat. It was the capital of the former Kingdom of Rajpipla. Geography Rajpipla is located at . It has an average elevation of 148 metres (485 ...

. The Agency also dealt with five first-class states named

Chhota Udaipur State The Chhota Udaipur State or 'Princely State of Chhota Udaipur', ( gu, છોટાઉદેપુર; hi, छोटा उदैपुर) was a princely state with its capital in Chhota Udaipur during the era of British India. The last ruler of ...

, Devgadh Bariya State,

Santrampur Santrampur, which used to be known as Brahampuri, is a town in Mahisagar District, Gujarat, India. It serves as the administrative headquarters for Santrampur tehsil and is located on the banks of the Suki river in the lap of the Aravalli hill ...

Lunawada State Lunavada State, also known as Lunawada State, was a princely state in India during the time of the British Raj. Its last ruler acceded to the Union of India on 10 June 1948. Lunavada State had an area of 1,005 km2 and fell under the Rew ...

and

Balasinor State The State of Balasinor was a princely state in Balasinor during the era of British India and founded by Sardar Muhammed khan Babi and Murtuza Bhatia The last ruler of Balasinor signed the accession to join the Indian Union on 10 June 1948. Its ...

. The total area of the states the agency related to was . In 1901 their population was 479,065. Many of the inhabitants were

Bhil Bhil or Bheel is an ethnic group in western India. They speak the Bhil languages, a subgroup of the Western Zone of the Indo-Aryan languages. As of 2013, Bhils were the largest tribal group in India. Bhils are listed as tribal people of ...

s and

Kolis The Koli is an Indian caste found in Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Karnataka, Odisha and Jammu and Kashmir states in India. Koli is an agriculturist caste of Gujarat but in coastal areas they ...

."The Rewakantha directory"
/ref>

Rewa Kantha division

''(includes all the main states; in direct relations with the Political Agent at Godhra)''

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 : *

(Nandod), First Class, title Maharaja, Hereditary salute of 13-guns * Bari(y)a (Devgadh), Second Class, title Maharaol, Hereditary salute of 9-guns (11-guns personal) *

Lunavada Lunavada (also transliterated as Lunawada) is a municipality in the Mahisagar district, formerly in the northern part of Gujarat state of India. Lunawada is the administrative headquarters of the Mahisagar district and one of most developing to ...

, Second Class, title Maharana, Hereditary salute of 9-guns *

Balasinor Balasinor, also known as Vadasinor, is a city located in the Mahisagar district of Gujarat, India. The city was formerly part of Balasinor State, a princely state ruled by the Babi dynasty, from September 1758 until its accession to India in J ...

, Second Class, title Nawab, Hereditary salute of 9-guns * Sant (Sunth) (Rampur), Second Class, title Maharana, Hereditary salute of 9-guns * Chhota Udepur, First Class, title Maharaja Maharawal, Hereditary Salute of 11 - guns Non-salute states : * Kadana, Third Class *

Sanjeli Sanjeli, (Hindi: संजेली)cotila or sometimes known as Sanjeda Mehvassi, is a Hindu former petty princely state, located in the present Gujarat state in western India. It is now also one of the tehsils of Dahod district. History It ...

, Third Class *

Jambughoda Jambughoda is a village and Tehsil in Panchmahal district in the Indian state of Gujarat. The village has a population of 2,731, while the overall tehsil has a population of 42,476. The Tehsil is well known for the Jambughoda Wildlife Sanctuary ...

(Narukot), Third Class

Mehwas

''Only non-salute states: two geographical groups of minor or petty rural (e)states''

Sankheda

''(near Narmada River)'' * Mandwa, Third Class (personal) / Fourth Class * Gad Boriad, Third Class (personal) / Fourth Class * Shanor, Fourth Class * Vajiria, Fourth Class * Vanmala, Fourth Class (personal) / Fifth Class * Nangam, Fifth Class * Naswadi, Gujarat, * Uchad, *

Agar Agar ( or ), or agar-agar, is a jelly-like substance consisting of polysaccharides obtained from the cell walls of some species of red algae, primarily from ogonori (''Gracilaria'') and "tengusa" (''Gelidiaceae''). As found in nature, agar i ...

, * Palasni, * Khareda , * Borkhad , * Bhilodia : ** Motisinghji, ** Chhatarsinghji, * Vasan Virpur, * Vo(h)ra, * Vasan Sewada, * Alwa, * Chorangla, * Sindiapura, * Bihora, * Vadia (Virampura), * Dudhpur, * Rampura, * Jiral Kamsoli, * Chudesar, * Pantalavdi : ** Akbar Khan, ** Kesar Khan, *

Regan The family name Regan, along with its cognates O'Regan, O Regan, Reagan, and O'Reagan, is an Anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó Riagáin or Ó Ríogáin, from Ua Riagáin. The meaning is likely to have originated in ancient Gaelic ''ri'' ...

, * Nalia,

Pandu

''(near

; all paying tribute to the Gaekwar

)'': * Bhadarwa, Third Class * Umetha, Third (personal) / Fourth Class *

Sihora Sihora is a town and a municipality in Jabalpur district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Sihora is located at . The first cooperative society in madhya pradesh state was established in Sihora block of Jabalpur district in 1904. Sihora was ...

, Fourth Class *

Pandu In the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata'', Pandu ( sa, पाण्डु, Pāṇḍu, pale) was a king of the Kuru Kingdom. He was the foster-father of the five Pandava brothers, who were the boons bestowed upon his wife Kunti by a number of deitie ...

, Fifth Class * Chhaliar, * Mevli, * Kanoda , * Poicha, * Dhari, * Itwad, * Gotardi, * Litter Gothda, * Amrapur, * Vakhtapur, * Jesar, * Moka Pagi nu Muvadu, * Kalsa Pagi nu Muvadu, * Rajpur, * Moti Varnol, * Jumkha, * Nani Varnol, * Varnolmal, * Angadh, ; the Dorka (e)states * Dorka, * Angadh, * Rayka (Raika),

Fiscal Stamps

In addition to those of Rewa Kantha Agency itself, revenue and/or court fee stamps were issued for the following native states : ; in the Rewa Kantha Division (all) : # Rajpipla # Balasinor # Baria # Lunavada # Sant # Chhota Udaipur # Jambughoda # Kadana # Sanjeli ; in the Sankheda Mehwas (only these) : # Gad Boriad # Naswadi # Shanor # Vajiria ; in the Pandu Mehwas (only these) : # Bhadarva # Pandu Mewas # Umeta # Bakrol (Boru)

References

Sources and external links

Imperial Gazetteer, on DSAL - Rewa Kantha Agency
{{coord missing, Gujarat History of Gujarat Bombay Presidency Agencies of British India Panchmahal district