Halar (Haalaar) is a

historical region Historical regions (or historical areas) are geographical regions which at some point in time had a cultural, ethnic, linguistic or political basis, regardless of latterday borders. They are used as delimitations for studying and analysing soci ...

of western

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

, located by the

Gulf of Kutch The Gulf of Kutch is located between the peninsula regions of Kutch and Saurashtra, bounded in the state of Gujarat that borders Pakistan. It opens towards the Arabian Sea facing the Osman Gulf. It is about 50 km wide at the entrance be ...

coast on the northwestern area of Nawanagar, now Jamnagar, in

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 nin ...

State, on Saurashtra peninsula, roughly corresponding to the present

Jamnagar District Jamnagar District is a district of Gujarat in Western India. Its headquarters are located in the eponymous city of Jamnagar. It hosts the production facilities of large Indian companies such as Reliance. Among its attractions are several palaces ...

Devbhumi Dwarka district Devbhumi Dwarka District is a district of India located on the southern coast of the Gulf of Kutch in the state of Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, mos ...

, Morbi District and

Rajkot District Rajkot district is one of the 33 districts of the Indian state of Gujarat. Located in Saurashtra peninsula, Rajkot city is the administrative headquarters of the district. It is the third-most advanced district in Gujarat and the fourth most p ...

. In 1901 it had an area of 19,365km² and a population of 764,992 inhabitants.

History

The name is derived from Jam Sri Halaji Jadeja who is supposed to be the 9th-generation grandfather of Jam Sri Rawalji Lakhaji Jadeja (who is the founder of the region and the first king to reign in the region); Halar was first established with this name by Jam Shri Rawalji Lakhaji, a Jadeja

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 ...

, in 1540. During the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi language, Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Q ...

Halar region was the western of the four ''

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 historical ...

s'' or historical districts of

Kathiawar Kathiawar () is a peninsula, near the far north of India's west coast, of about bordering the Arabian Sea. It is bounded by the Gulf of Kutch in the northwest and by the Gulf of Khambhat (Gulf of Cambay) in the east. In the northeast, it ...

, belonging to 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 ...

, the others being

Gohelwar Gohelwar was one of the four '' prant''s or traditional provinces of Saurashtra, the others being Jhalawar or Jhalavad, Halar, and Sorath. Gohelwar covered the southeast of the Kathiawar peninsula, and roughly corresponds to the modern Bhav ...

(southeast),

Jhalawar Jhalawar () is a city, municipal council and headquarter in Jhalawar district of the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is located in the southeastern part of the state. It was the capital of the former princely state of Jhalawar, and is the admin ...

''(north) and Sorath (southwest).

Princely States in Halar region

At that time the region included numerous

princely state 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 ...

s belonging to the Kathiawar Agency, mostly ruled by Jadeja

Rajputs 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 ...

. Its salute states were : * First Class states : ** Nawanagar, title Maharaja Jam Sahib, Hereditary salute of 15-guns (19-guns locally) ** Gondal, title Maharaja, Hereditary salute of 11-guns **

Morvi Morbi or Morvi is a city in the Morbi district in the state of Gujarat, India. It is situated on the Kathiawar peninsula. , the city's population was determined to be 194,947. The city is on the Machhu River, from the sea and from Rajkot. ...

, title Maharaja, Hereditary salute of 11-guns * Second Class states : **

Dhrol Dhrol is a city and a municipality in Jamnagar district in the state of Gujarat, India. Geography Dhrol is located at . It has an average elevation of 26 metres (85 feet). Demographics India census,https://censusindia.gov.in/pca/Se ...

, title Thakore Sahib, Hereditary salute of 9-guns **

Rajkot Rajkot () is the fourth-largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat after Ahmedabad, Vadodara, and Surat, and is in the centre of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat. Rajkot is the 35th-largest metropolitan area in India, with a population of ...

, title Thakore Sahib, Hereditary salute of 9-guns Its major non-salute states (mostly minor, usually several village) included : * Fourth Class states : Kotda Sangani, Malia, Virpur * Fifth Class states : Gavridad,

Jalia Devani Jalia Devani (Hindi जलिया देवानी) is a former Hindu Rajput non-salute princely state on Saurashtra peninsula, in Gujarat, western India. History The princely state, in Halar prant, was ruled by Jadeja Rajputs. It compr ...

, Kotharia, Rajpara, Mengni,

Pal Phase Alternating Line (PAL) is a colour encoding system for analogue television. It was one of three major analogue colour television standards, the others being NTSC and SECAM. In most countries it was broadcast at 625 lines, 50 fields (25 ...

* Sixth Class states :

Bhadva Bhadva is a village in Kotda-Sangni Taluka of Rajkot district, Gujarat, India. It is situated fifteen miles south-east of Rajkot and about thirteen miles north-east of Gondal. History During British period, Bhadva was a separate tribute-paying ...

. * Seventh Class states : Khirasra, Lodhika Other non-salute state, granted no class, were : * multiple villages, yet mostly minor except the first : DHRAFA State (known as DHRAFA 24C , means 24 villages under Dhrafa's rule) Amran, Kanpar Ishwaria, Mulila Deri, Satodad Vavdi, Sisang Chandli, * single village, petty states :

Bhalgam Baldhoi (Bhalgam) Baldhoi is a village and former non-salute princely state in Gujarat, western India. Village Modern Baldhoi lies in Jasdan Taluka of Rajkot district, on Saurasthra peninsula. It includes the site of a deserted village called Bha ...

, Kansiali, Kotda Nayani,

Makaji Meghpar Makaji Meghpar () (also known as Meghana) is a village and former chiefdom of Hardhrol Jadeja chieftains in the Jamnagar district of Gujarat, India. It was founded in 1754 by Makanji Jadeja of Dhrol State. Gujarati writer Harilal Upadhyay w ...

, Virvao.

Bibliography

References

{{reflist Historical Indian regions Regions of Gujarat

History

Princely States in Halar region

Bibliography

See also

References