Cheros

The Chero chieftaincy was a principality located within the Mughal province of Bihar Subah.

Prior to the Mughal period, the Cheros held a collection of small principalities in the districts of Bhojpur, Saran, Champaran, Muzaffarpur as these fell, the most powerful emerged in Palamu.

History

Origin

Cheros emerged in the region after the fall of the Pala Empire when various small principalities began to appear in the areas of Western and Southern Bihar in the 12th century. Some sources went as far as describing them as the "masters of the Gangetic plains" during this time. However their conflict with the Ujjainiyas led to them being expelled from many places until they formed their base in Palamu. The Cheros of Palamu claimed descent from Raja Salabahim of Chainpur.

The first Chero to establish power in Palamu was Bhagwant Rai who had originally worked under a chieftain called Man Singh but later killed him and stole his kingdom in 1572.

Conflict with Afghans

The 16th century historian, Abbas Sarwani, writes that due to the power amassed by Maharata Chero, Sher Shah Suri of the Sur Empire sent his commander, Khawas Khan, to subdue them. However before he could, the Battle of Chausa began and the attack on the Cheros had to be delayed.

Ahmad Yadgar relates another incident where Sher Shah Suri wanted to take possession of a White elephant from Maharata. On his refusal, Sher Shah dispatched Khawas Khan with 4000 horses against the Raja. The Chero chief was besieged and compelled to surrender the elephant and Khawas Khan captured a huge booty.

Mughal period

The first Chero chieftain to find mention during the Mughal period is Anant Chero. In 1590, Man Singh after suppressing the chief of Kharagpur and Gidhaur, attempted to subjugate Anant Chero. Cheros offered strong resistance to the invading army but they were outnumbered. A large number of them were killed and many were taken as prisoners. Raja Man Singh captured valuable booty including fifty-four elephants. Palamu was thereafter brought under Mughal administration. Soon after the death of Akbar, Anant Chero drove out the imperial troops and declared his independence. In 1607, Jahangir ordered an expedition against Anant Chero. Mughal officials launched repeated attacks on Cheros and the Cheros had to shift their capital deep into the jungle.

The Cheros of Palamu began to grow in power again in the 17th century and under the leadership of Pratap Rai, they started to raid cattle from neighbouring Mughal districts. Because of this, Shah Jahan sent the Mughal Governor of Bihar, Shaista Khan, on an expedition to subdue the Cheros and stop the rebellion from taking place. During this expedition, the Mughals had trouble reaching the Chero stronghold in Palamu due to the hilly and forested terrain which made it almost inaccessible. Eventually, after 6 months the Mughals managed to surround the Palamu Forts and Pratap Rai surrendered which the Mughals accepted.

At the same time, in 1607, another branch of the Cheros fell under a leader called Kumkum Chand Jharap. This branch wished to retake the lands that the Cheros had lost to the Ujjainiyas a few centuries earlier in the northern parts of Bihar. Initially the Ujjainiyas could not offer much resistance because their chief Raja Narayan Mal who had usurped the throne after disposing Raja Mukut Mani in 1607, had gone to Mughal court in Delhi to pay homage to Emperor Jahangir. He brought these developments to the notice of emperor and also got assurance of imperial support against the Cheros. Immediately after his return, he raised his headquarters at Buxar, regrouped the Ujjainiyas and began his efforts to capture the lost territory. Kum Kum Chand Jharap upon realising he would not able to resist the onslaught of Narayan Mal alone for long, appealed to the Chero tribes of the Sonpari reign for assistance. At that time, Thakur Rai Kalyan Singh, the Bakshi of the Mughal imperial army who had been left at Buxar by Narayan Mal with half the army reached Bhojpur and joined the Ujjainiyas. Words spread in the Chero camp that the Mughal army had arrived to help the Ujjaniyas. This had the effect of demoralising the Cheros. After a long struggle between the two sides, the Ujjainiyas eventually emerged victorious in 1611.

The next notable Chero chief who finds mention is Medini Ray who came into power in 1620. He began a process of expanding the chieftaincies territory. He invaded the neighbouring Khokhra Chieftaincy, defeated its then chief, Durjan Shah, and then sacked the capital of Navratangarh. At its peak, the chieftaincy under Medini extended up to South Gaya and certain divisions of Hazaribagh. Other smaller chieftaincies were either outright conquered or made into vassals. Local folklore also portrays Medini Ray as a benevolent ruler who distributed land to the poor. He died in 1634 and was succeeded by his son, Raja Pratap Rai.

British-era

During the British period, the Cheros began to face a heavy economic burden from the revenue demands of the British East India Company. By 1814, the chieftaincy was bankrupt due to the lavish spending of Raja Churaman Rai, and the zamindari was confiscated on the grounds of bad management.

Rulers

References

{{Reflist
States and territories established in the 12th century
States and territories disestablished in the 19th century
History of Bihar
Dynasties of India
Kingdoms of Bihar
History of Jharkhand
Vassal and tributary states of the Mughal Empire