Mahi Kantha was a political agency or collection of princely states in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

, within the Gujarat Division of Bombay Presidency. In 1933, the states of the Mahi Kantha Agency, except for Danta, were included in the

Western India States Agency The Western India States Agency (WISA) was one of the agencies of British India. This agency was formed on 10 October 1924 as a part of the implementation of the Montague Chelmsford report on constitutional reforms. It was formed by merging the ...

. The total area of the agency was ; the population in 1901 was 361,545.

History

The states came within the British sphere of influence after the

Second Anglo-Maratha War Second Anglo-Maratha War (from 1803 –1805) was a large conflict within the Maratha Confederacy, Maratha Empire involving the British East India Company. It resulted in major loss of territory for the Marathas, including regions around Delhi a ...

of 1803–1805. In 1811, when the Maratha power was declining, the British Government stipulated to collect and pay over to the ruler of Baroda the yearly tribute of the Mahi Kantha states. In 1820 they finally took over the management of the whole territory, agreeing to collect and pay over the tribute free of expense to Baroda, while Baroda was pledged not to send troops into the country, or in any way to interfere with the administration. After a few disturbances in the 1830s, in 1857-58 and 1867, peace remained unbroken in the region until 1881, when the

Bhils Bhil or Bheel refer to the various indigenous groups inhabiting western India, including parts of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh and are also found in distant places such as Bengal and Tripura. Though they now speak the Bhili language, an Indo-Ar ...

of Pol rose against their chief and extorted from him a settlement of their claims.

Successor jurisdictions

In 1933 the agencies of Mahi Kantha and Banas Kantha, known as

Palanpur Agency Palanpur Agency, also spelled Pahlunpore Agency, was a political agency or collection of princely states in British India, within the Gujarat Division of Bombay Presidency. In 1933, the native states of the Mahi Kantha Agency, except for Danta ...

until 1925, were merged. However

Palanpur State Palanpur State was a princely state of India during the British Raj. It was a Salute state with the Nawab of Palanpur having a hereditary salute of 13-guns. It was the main state of the Palanpur Agency. Palanpur State became a British protector ...

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 ...

and was thus not part of the newly created agency. After the

independence of India The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic ...

in 1947, the rulers of the Mahi Kantha states 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 ...

, and the area was reorganized into districts of

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 ...

. In 1960, Bombay State was split along linguistic lines, and the area of Mahi Kantha became part of the new state of

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 ...

Mahi Kantha Agency British India map 1878

List of Princely States

Mahi Kantha Agency during British India 1820-1933 with States and Thanas

The states were classified in the following manner:

Salute states

First Class state

* Idar (styled (Maha)Raja), a 15-guns

salute state A salute is usually a formal hand gesture or other action used to display respect in military situations. Salutes are primarily associated with the military and law enforcement, but many civilian organizations, such as Girl Guides, Scouting ...

, covering over half of the territory of the agency.

Second Class state

* Danta (styled Maharana), an 11-guns

Non-Salute states

Third Class states

Malpur Malpur is the name of: * Malpur Arkan, a village in Punjab, India * Malpur State, a defunct princely state (1466-1943) in present day Gujarat, India * Malpur, Aravalli, a census town in Gujarat, India * Malpur, Bachhrawan, a village in Uttar Pra ...

* Mansa * Mohanpur

Fourth Class states

* Ilol * Ghodasar * Katosan * Khadal * Pethapur * Vallbhapur *

Ranasan Ranasan is a village located in Sabarkantha district in the state of Gujarat, India. The village is located at about 62 km from the state capital, Gandhinaga. Ranasan postal head office is Harsol. Demographics Gujarati is the local la ...

* Sudasna * Varsoda * Ambliara * Antroli * Moyad * Vaghpur

Fifth Class states

* Dabha * Dadhalia *

Ged Ged or GED may refer to: Places * Ged, Louisiana, an unincorporated community in the United States * Ged, a village in Bichiwara Tehsil, Dungarpur District, Rajasthan, India * Delaware Coastal Airport, in Delaware, US, callsign GED People * Ged B ...

* Magodi * Rupal * Sathamba * Tunadar * Valasna * Vasna (Wasna) * Wadagam * jher

Sixth Class states

* BhalusnaRAJPUT CHAUHAN PRESANT THAKUR RAJVIRSINGHJI PARMAVIRSINGHJI *Pavthi ( Thakur Sahab Mulsinhji Vadansinhji) * Bolundra * Dedhrota *

Derol Derol or Dedol is a village in the Sabarkantha district of Gujarat, in western India. History Derol was a Sixth Class princely state, including a second village in Mahi Kantha. It had a combined population of 837 in 1901, yielding a state ...

* Hadol *

Hapa Hapa () is a Hawaiian word for someone of multiracial ancestry. In Hawaii, the word refers to any person of mixed ethnic heritage, regardless of the specific mixture.: "Thus, for locals in Hawai’i, both hapa or hapa haole are used to depi ...

* Kadoli * Khedwada * Likhi *Prempur * Ramas * Satlasna * Tajpuri * Vakhtapur

Seventh Class states

* Deloli * Gabat * Ijpura * Kasalpura * Mahmadpura * Palaj * Rampura * Ranipura * Tejpuri *

Timba Timba is a Cuban genre of music based on Cuban '' son'' with '' salsa'', American Funk/R&B and the strong influence of Afro-Cuban folkloric music. Timba rhythm sections differ from their salsa counterparts, because timba emphasizes the bass d ...

* Umri * Virsoda

Estates

The agency included as well a large number of estates belonging to

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 ...

Thakur saheb Thakur is a historical feudal title of the Indian subcontinent. It is also used as a surname in the present day. The female variant of the title is Thakurani or Thakurain, and is also used to describe the wife of a Thakur. There are varying o ...

formerly feudatories of

Baroda Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is a city situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district. The city is named for its abundance of banyan ...

; several of the states paid tribute to Baroda, and some, being classed as non-jurisdictional thalukdars, were under British administration.

References

* {{coord missing, Gujarat History of Gujarat Agencies of British India Bombay Presidency 1947 disestablishments in India