Ajaigarh or Ajaygarh is a town and a

nagar panchayat A nagar panchayat () or town panchayat or Notified Area Council (NAC) in India is a settlement in transition from rural to urban and therefore a form of an urban political unit comparable to a municipality. An urban centre with more than 12,00 ...

in the Panna District of

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, Indore. Other major cities includes Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the List of states and union te ...

state in central

India India, officially the Republic of India, 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 by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. Ajaygarh is the administrative headquarters of tehsil in Panna district, Ajaigarh State was one of the princely states of India during the period of the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

. The state was founded in 1785, and its capital was in Ajaigarh.

History

Ajaigarh was the capital of a princely state of the same name during the British Raj. Ajaigarh was founded in 1765 by Guman Singh, a

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 Jaswa ...

Rajput Rājpūt (, from Sanskrit ''rājaputra'' meaning "son of a king"), also called Thākur (), is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating fro ...

who was the nephew of Raja Pahar Singh of Jaitpur. After Ajaigarh was captured by the British in 1809, it became a princely state 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 B ...

of the Central India Agency. It had an area of , and a population of 78,236 in 1901. The rulers bore the title of ''sawai maharaja''. He commanded an estimated annual revenue of about £15,000/-, and paid a tribute of £460/-. The chief resided at the town of Nowgong, at the foot of the hill-fortress of Ajaigarh, from which the state took its name. This fort, situated on a steep hill, towers more than above the eponymous township, and contains the ruins of several temples adorned with elaborately carved sculptures. The town was often afflicted by

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

, and suffered severely from famine in 1868–69 and 1896–97. The state acceded to the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

on 1 January 1950; the ruling chief was granted a privy purse of Rs. 74,700/-, and the courtesy use of his styles and titles. All of these were revoked by the government of India in 1971, at the time when these privileges were revoked from all erstwhile princes. The former princely state became part of the new Indian state of

Vindhya Pradesh Vindhya Pradesh was a former state of India. It was created in 1948 as Union of Baghelkhand and Bundelkhand States from the territories of the princely states in the eastern portion of the former Central India Agency. It was named as Vindhya P ...

, and most of the territory of the former state, including the town of Ajaigarh, became part of Panna District, with a smaller portion going to Chhatarpur District. Vindhya Pradesh was merged into

on 1 November 1956.

Geography

Ajaygarh is located on . It has an average elevation of 344 metres (1128 feet).

Demographics

As of the 2011 India

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

, Ajaigarh had a population of 16,656.https://www.citypopulation.de/en/india/madhyapradesh/panna/2341001000__ajaigarh/ Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Ajaigarh has an average literacy rate of 59%, which is lower than the national average of 59.5%; with 61% of the males and 39% of females literate. 16% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Ajaigarh Fort

Ajaigarh or Ajaygarh Fort is among the top attractions of the region. It stands alone on a hilltop in the district of Panna and is easily accessible from

Khajuraho Khajuraho () is a city, near Chhatarpur in Chhatarpur district of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. One of the most popular tourist destinations in India, Khajuraho has the country's largest group of medieval Hindu and Jain temples, famous ...

. The fort is bordered by the Vindhya Hills and provides views of the

Ken River The Ken River is one of the major rivers in the Bundelkhand region of central India and flows through the states of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. It is a tributary of the Yamuna. Course The Ken River originates near the village Ahirgawan ...

. This fort is noted for its rich historical past and its architecture, which dates to the

Chandela The Chandelas of Jejakabhukti was an Indian dynasty in Central India. The Chandelas ruled much of the Bundelkhand region (then called ''Jejakabhukti'') between the 9th and the 13th centuries. They belonged to the Chandel clan of the Rajputs. T ...

dynasty. The fort is visited by both history and art lovers. This fort has two gates (earlier there were five), two temples and two rock-cut tanks, close to the northern gate. These tanks have been named as Ganga and Yamuna. Ajaygarh Fort, also known a
Ajaypal
Fort, is an ancient and mysterious fort located in the Panna district of Madhya Pradesh. It was built by the Chandela kings and stands atop a high hill. At the main entrance of the fort, there is an old inscription that no one has been able to decipher till today. It is believed that this inscription holds the secret path to a hidden treasure.

Gallery

References

External links

Ajaigarh photo calleryAjaigarh Fort & Valley
{{Authority control Populated places established in 1765 Bundelkhand Cities and towns in Panna district Tourist attractions in Panna district