Bilbari State (or Dhude or Dudhe ) was a minor princely state during 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 ...

in what is today

Gujarat State 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- ...

India. It was initially administered by the

Surat Agency The Surat Agency was one of the agencies of British India in the Bombay Presidency. History This agency was formed in the 19th century as the Khandesh Agency, after the region of Khandesh, becoming the Surat Agency in 1880.''The Indian Year B ...

and then by 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 ...

, and with a population of 27 and an area of 1.65 sq miles it was potentially the smallest Princely State in India. possibly only beaten by Vijanones. It was more specifically classified as one of the 14 minor princely states of the Dangs, in the

Dang district, India Dang is a district in the southeastern part of the state of Gujarat. The administrative headquarters of the district are located in Ahwa. Dang has an area of 1,764 km2 and a population of 228,291 (as of 2011). As of 2011, it is the least popu ...

. Whenever Bilbari was referenced in print, it was almost always to mention its small area and minuscule population. So for example did the ''Marion Star'' (1948-02-09) lament its passing on the abolition of the Indian Princely States in 1948: ''"The world never heard of Bilbari and there were few to mark its passing. Its government must have operated on the Jeffersonian precept that the government is best which governs least."''

History

The area of Khandesh became a British possession in 1818 following the defeat of

Peshwa The Peshwa was the second highest office in the Maratha Empire, next in rank and prestige only to that of the Chhatrapati. Initially serving as the appointed prime minister in the Maratha Kingdom, the office became hereditary when Shahu gave t ...

Baji Rao II Baji Rao II (10 January 1775 – 28 January 1851) was the 13th and the last Peshwa of the Maratha Confederacy . He governed from 1795 to 1818. He was installed as a puppet ruler by the Maratha nobles, whose growing power prompted him to flee h ...

during the

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

. The neieghbouring Dang principalities were seen as separate states and conducted routine raids into the Khandesh territories. In 1825 the

Gaekwar Gaekwads (also spelled as Gaikwads, Guicowars, Gaekwars) (IAST: ''Gāyakavāḍa''), a Hindu Maratha dynasty of the former Maratha Empire and its subsequent (erstwhile) princely state of Baroda in western India from the early 18th century until ...

Baroda Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is a city situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district. The city is named for its abundance of banyan ...

sent a force of 10 000 men to subdue the Dangs but were defeated, the Dang states omly subjugated in 1839. In 1842 parts of the Dang teak forests, surrounding 446 villages, were leased by the Government in Bombay, the lease extended in perpetuity and to the whole territory in 1862. Some time after 1842 the tribute demanded of the Dang states by the Desmukh of Mulher lead to heavy disturbances, which resulted in the British Government deducting the Desmukh's tribute from the sum paid to the Dang chiefs for leasing their forests. In 1880 the state had a yearly revenue of ca. 9 £ (90 Rupees)

Rulers

The Rulers of Bilbari held the title of Powar, and their caste was registered as Animist. The Dang Chiefs held the power to settle criminal and civil disputes, including being able to issue fines, have witches sentenced to be burnt alive and other capital offenders being killed by being shot by arrows. * Mhosha walad Vaghu (b. ca. 1860) fl. 1893 * Bhavji walad Mahasia Konkna (b. 1891) 1903-at least January 1934 * Maharu Bhavjia Konkna (b. 1924) 12th October 1934-fl. 1940 "Memoranda On The Indian States 1940", P. 20 https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.35376/page/n29/mode/2up

References

{{coord missing, Gujarat Princely states of Gujarat History of Gujarat 1948 disestablishments in India States and territories disestablished in 1948