Idar State, also known as Edar, was a princely state located in present-day Gujarat state of India. During the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

era, it was a part of the

Mahi Kantha Agency Mahi Kantha was a political agency or collection of princely states in British India, within the Gujarat Division of Bombay Presidency. In 1933, the states of the Mahi Kantha Agency, except for Danta State, Danta, were included in the Western In ...

, within the Gujarat Division of Bombay Presidency.

History

Rao Dynasty rule

Idar State was a princely state that was founded in 1257 by Rao Sonag. Its rulers of all time were Rathore Rajputs. On the question of the succession of the state of Idar, the Sultan of Gujarat, Muzaffar Shah, and

Rana Sanga Sangram Singh I (12 April 1482 – 30 January 1528), most commonly known as Rana Sanga, was the Rana of Mewar, Maharana of Mewar from 1509 to 1528. A member of the List of Ranas of Mewar, Sisodia dynasty, he controlled parts of present-day Ra ...

of Mewar supported rival claimants. In 1520, Sanga established Raimal on the Idar throne, with Muzaffar Shah sending an army to install his ally Bharmal. Sanga himself arrived in Idar and the Sultan's army was beaten back. Rana pursued the Gujarati army and plundered the towns of Ahmadnagar and

Visnagar Visnagar is a city and a municipality in Mehsana district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Visnagar is also a taluka capital. History "Visnagar" named after its founder king Visaladev from Ajmer Dynasty was founded in 953 on the auspicious day ...

of Gujarat, chasing the Sultan's army as far as

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ), also spelled Amdavad (), is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 ...

. the Rathore's ruled Idar for 12 generations until they were defeated by the

Mughals The Mughal Empire was an early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to the highlands of pre ...

under

Murad Baksh Mirza Muhammad Murad Bakhsh (9 October 1624 – 14 December 1661) was a Mughal prince and the youngest surviving son of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan and Empress Mumtaz Mahal. He was the Subahdar of Balkh, till he was replaced by his elder ...

in 1656. Idar then became a part of the Mughal Province of Gujarat.

Marwar Dynasty takeover

In 1729, Anand Singh and Rai Singh, brothers of the Maharaja of

Jodhpur Jodhpur () is the second-largest city of the north-western Indian state of Rajasthan, after its capital Jaipur. As of 2023, the city has a population of 1.83 million. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Jodhpur district and ...

, captured Idar by force. They captured the districts of Idar, Ahmednagar, Morasa, Baad, Harsol, Parantij and Vizapur. Five other districts were made tributaries of their new state. The state was soon annexed by the Marathas under Damaji Gaekwad in 1753 and Anand Singh was killed in battle. When Rai Singh got to know about his brother's death he gathered a force and once again captured Idar; he placed Anand Singh's son on the throne and became his guardian. After Rai Singh's death in 1766, the Marathas once again threatened Idar upon which Rao Seo Sinh, son of Anand Singh, agreed to hand over the districts of Parantij and Vizapur to the Peshwa and Morasa, Baad and Harsol to the Gaekwads. In 1875, Idar state had a revenue of £60,000 and paid a tribute of £3,034 to the Gaekwads of

Baroda State Baroda State was a kingdom within the Maratha Confederacy and later a princely state in present-day Gujarat. It was ruled by the Gaekwad dynasty from its formation in 1721 until its accession to the newly formed Dominion of India. With th ...

. The population of the state in 1875 was 217,382. The rulers were Rathore Rajputs of the Joda family and were entitled to a gun salute of 15 guns. In 1924, Idar was made part of the Western India States Agency. It was transferred to the

Rajputana Agency The Rajputana Agency was a political office of the British Raj, British Indian Empire dealing with a collection of native states in Rajputana (now in Rajasthan, northwestern India), under the political charge of an Agent reporting directly to ...

in the early 1940s. On 10 June 1948, Idar became part of the Indian Union. In 1949, it was dissolved and split between

Sabar Kantha district Sabarkantha district is one of the 33 districts of Gujarat state of India, located in the northeastern part of the state. The administrative headquarters of the district are located in Himatnagar and the National Highway no. 48 passes though thi ...

and

Mehsana district Mehsana district (alternate spelling "Mahesana") is one of the 33 districts of Gujarat state in western India. Mehsana city is the administrative headquarters of this district. The district has a population of over 1.8 million and an area of over ...

, which were at that point in

Bombay State Bombay State was a large Indian state created in 1950 from the erstwhile Bombay Province, with other regions being added to it in the succeeding years. Bombay Province (in British India roughly equating to the present-day Indian state of Mah ...

.''Columbia-Lippincott Gazetteer'', p. 824 Both districts were included in

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, 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 List of states and union territories ...

when it was formed in 1960.

List of rulers of Idar

Sir Pratap Singh Pratap Singh I, (22 October 1845 – 4 September 1922), was a Maharaja of the Kingdom of Idar, administrator and Regent of the Kingdom of Marwar and heir to Ahmednagar later renamed as Himmatnagar from 1902 to 1911. Early life Pratap w ...

Himmat Singh Maharaja Himmat Singh (2 September 1899 – 24 November 1960) was the last ruler of the princely state of Idar State. He was Maharaja of Idar from 1931 to 1948.List of Ruling Princes, Chiefs and Leading Personages by Rajputana (Agency) - 1938 ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Idar (Princely State) 13th-century establishments in India 1250s establishments in Asia 1948 disestablishments in India Rathore (clan) Princely states of Gujarat Sabarkantha district Gun salute princely states