Lunavada State, also known as Lunawada State, was a princely state in

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 time of 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 ...

. Its last ruler acceded to the Union of India on 10 June 1948. Lunavada State had an area of 1,005 km² and fell under the

Rewa Kantha Agency Rewa Kantha was a political agency of British India, managing the relations (indirect rule) of the British government's Bombay Presidency with a collection of princely states. It stretched for about 150 miles between the plain of Gujarat an ...

of the Bombay Presidency, later integrated into the

Baroda and Gujarat States Agency Baroda and Gujarat States Agency was a political agency of British India, managing the relations of the British government of the Bombay Presidency with a collection of princely states. The political agent, who was also Collector of the Brit ...

. Its capital was located in Lunavada town in present-day

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 ...

state,

History

According to tradition the predecessor state was established in 1225 by descendants of Sidhraj, Raja of Anhilwara Patan, as the state of Virpur. In 1434, Rana Bhimsinghji moved the capital to Lunavada on the other side of the

Mahi River The Mahi (माही नदी) is a river in western India. It rises in Madhya Pradesh and, after flowing through the Vagad region of Rajasthan, enters Gujarat and flows into the Arabian Sea. It is one of the relatively few west-flowing river ...

. Before the town was established, the area was controlled by the princely state of Santrampur, ruled by Puwar

Rajput 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 ...

s. In 1826 Lunavada State became a

British protectorate British protectorates were protectorates under the jurisdiction of the British government. Many territories which became British protectorates already had local rulers with whom the Crown negotiated through treaty, acknowledging their status wh ...

and was a second class state in the Rewa Kantha Agency. The capital was Lunavada town, said to have been founded in 1434. The 1901 census records that the population had a decrease of 28% in the previous decade, due to

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food caused by several possible factors, including, but not limited to war, natural disasters, crop failure, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenom ...

. Col. HH Maharaja Sri Virbhadrasinhji Ranjitsinjhi 1929/1986, born 8 June 1910 in Lunawada, invested with full ruling powers on 2 October 1930, Member of the Chamber of Princes, married Maharajkumari Manher Kunwari

H Maharani Kusum Kunwari of Lunawada H, or h, is the eighth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, including the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''aitch'' (pronounced , plural ''aitches'' ...

daughter of Capt. HH Maharana Raj Saheb Shri Sir Amarsinhji Banesinhji (Gangubha) of Wankaner, and had issue. He died in 1986.

Rulers

The rulers had the title 'Rana' and were accorded a status of 9-

gun salute A gun salute or cannon salute is the use of a piece of artillery to fire shots, often 21 in number (''21-gun salute''), with the aim of marking an honor or celebrating a joyful event. It is a tradition in many countries around the world. Histo ...

by the British authorities.Princely States of India
/ref>

Ranas

* 1674 - 1711 Bir Singh (d. 1711) * 1711 - 1735 Nar Singh (d. 1735) * 1735 - 1757 Wakhat Singh (d. 1757) * 1757 - 1782 Dip Singh (d. 1782) * 1782 - 1786 Durjan Singh (d. 1786) * 1786 Jagat Singh * 1786 - 1818 Partab Singh * 1818 - 1849 Fateh Singh (d. 1849) * 1849 - 1851 Dalpat Singh (d. 1851) * 1851 - 1852 interregnum * 1852 - Jun 1867 Dalil Singh (d. 1867) * 31 Oct 1867 – 27 Apr 1929 Wakhat Singh Dalil Singh (b. 1860 - d. 1929) (from 25 May 1889, Sir Wakhat Singh Dalil Singh) * 27 Apr 1929 – 15 Aug 1947 Virbhadra Singh Ranjit Singh (b. 1910 - d. 1986)

References

External links

Heraldry of the princely states of Gujarat
{{Princely states of the Baroda and Gujarat States Agency Princely states of India History of Gujarat Mahisagar district Rajputs

History

Rulers

Ranas

See also

References

External links