Kharsawan State, also spelt Kharsua or kharaswan, was a princely state in India 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 ...

. The state had a privy purse of 33,000 rupees. It was one of the Odia Princely states of

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 ...

during the period of the

and the major language spoken in the area is Odia. The capital was the city of

Kharsawan Kharsawan garh is a town and a notified area in the Seraikela Sadar subdivision of the Seraikela Kharsawan district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. History Kharsawan (also spelled as Kharsuan) was founded around 1650. It was one of the Ori ...

and the former area of Kharsawan State is now a part of

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in East India, eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north ...

, where its district is named

Seraikela Kharsawan district Seraikela Kharsawan district is one of the twenty-four districts of Jharkhand state in eastern India. Seraikela town is the district headquarters of Saraikela Kharsawan district . The district is well known for Seraikela Chhau, one of the three di ...

. Kumar Aditya Narayan Singh Deo and his father Maharaj Kumar Rudra Pratap Singh Deo appreciated the name change of the district.

History

Kharsawan state was founded in 1650. The rulers of Kharsawan are descended from Kunwar Bikram Singh of Porahat, the first ruler of neighbouring

Seraikela State Saraikela State also spelt Seraikela, Saraikella or Seraikella, was a small princely state in India during the British Raj, in the region that is now the Jharkhand state. Its capital was at Saraikela. The state had an area of 1163 km2 whi ...

and belonged to Rathore clan of

Rajputs 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 ...

. His second son, Kunwar Padam Singh was the founder of Kharsawan.Rajput Provinces of India – Kharsawan (Princely State)
/ref> In 1857 Kharsawan estate was recognized as a state. In 1912 Kharsawan came under the authority of the province of

Bihar and Orissa Bihar and Orissa was a province of British India, which included the present-day Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, and parts of Odisha. The territories were conquered by the British in the 18th and 19th centuries, and were governed by the then ...

, which had been carved from the eastern districts of Bengal. In 1936 the state was placed under the authority of the Orissa Province. Saraikela, along with 24 other princely states of the

Eastern States Agency The Eastern States Agency was an agency or grouping of princely states in eastern India, during the latter years of the British Raj. It was created in 1933, by the unification of the former Chhattisgarh States Agency and the Orissa States Agenc ...

, 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 1948, with a will to merge the princely state with Orissa province of the Indian Republic. As a result, both Kharsawan and

Saraikela Saraikela (also spelled Seraikella) is the district headquarters and a nagar panchayat in the Seraikela Sadar subdivision of the Seraikela Kharsawan district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Jharkhand. It was formerly the c ...

princely states were merged with Orissa in 1948. On 1 January 1948 itself, the tribals of these two princely states, who were in a majority, revolted against the merger with Orissa resulting to the thousands of tribes killed by the Orrisa military police . This was supported by Patayet Sahib Maharajkumar Bhoopendra Narayan Singh Deo, third son of Raja Aditya Pratap Singh Deo, as a result of which he was imprisoned to ensure the popular movement died down. The central government appointed a commission under Mr. Baudkar to look into the matter. On the basis of the Baudkar commission report, Saraikela and Kharsawan princely states were merged with

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

on 18 May 1948. These two princely states became part of

when the state was separated from Bihar on 15 November 2000. From 18 May 1948 onward, many non-tribal Odias of the districts of Saraikela Kharsawan,

East Singhbhum East Singhbhum is one of the 24 districts of Jharkhand, India. It was created on 16 January 1990. More than 50% of the district is covered by dense forests and mountains, where wild animals once roamed freely. It is known for being a centre of ind ...

, and

West Singhbhum West Singhbhum or Pashchimi Singhbhum is one of the 24 districts of Jharkhand state, India. It came into existence on 16 January 1990, when the old Singhbhum district (then in Bihar) was bifurcated. Chaibasa is the district headquarters. The dis ...

have migrated and settled permanently in Orissa.

Rulers

Former rulers bore the title of 'Thakur' until 1917. The title of Raja was granted to Kharsawan rulers in 1902, beginning with Raja Ram Chandra Singh Deo. The present head of the royal family is Raja Gopal Narayan Singh Deo. The last ruler of the state, HH Raja Siram Chandra Singh Deo, signed the merger agreement acceding to the Indian Union on 18 May 1948. The Maharaja of Darbhanga used to visit this state to pay respects as the trade route to the east coast ran through the thick jungles of

Singhbhum Singhbhum was a district of India during the British Raj, part of the Chota Nagpur Division of the Bengal Presidency. It was located in the present-day Indian state of Jharkhand. Chaibasa was the district headquarters. Located in the southern l ...

and safety was guaranteed only to those who were in the good books.

Thakurs

*1857 – 1863 Gangaram Singh Deo (b. 1836 – d. 18..) (personal style Raja from 1860) *1863 – 18.. Ram Narain Singh *18.. – 2 March 1884 Raghunath Singh Deo (b. 1841 – d. 1884) * 2 March 1884 – 6 February 1902 Mahendra Narayan Singh Deo (b. 1869 – d. 19..) * 6 February 1902 – 1917 Siram Chandra Singh Deo (b. 1892 – d. 19..)

Raja

*1917 – 15 August 1947 Siram Chandra Singh Deo (s.a.)

References

Bibliography