Morvi State, also spelled as Morvee State or Morbi State, was a princely

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 ...

in the historical

Halar Halar (Haalaar) is a historical region of western India, located by the Gulf of Kutch coast on the northwestern area of Nawanagar, now Jamnagar, in Gujarat State, on Saurashtra peninsula, roughly corresponding to the present Jamnagar District ...

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 ...

'' (district) of

Kathiawar Kathiawar (), also known as Saurashtra, is a peninsula in the south-western Gujarat state in India, bordering the Arabian Sea and covering about . It is bounded by the Kutch district in the north, the Gulf of Kutch in the northwest, and by the ...

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 town of Morvi (Morbi),

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 ...

, was its capital. The Kotwals of the royal palace of Morvi were Talpada

Kolis The Koli is an Indian caste that is predominantly found in India, but also in Pakistan and Nepal. Koli is an agriculturist caste of Gujarat but in coastal areas they also work as fishermen along with agriculture. In the beginning of 20th ce ...

of Radhavanaj village of

Kheda Kheda is a city and a municipality in the Indian state of Gujarat. Kheda was known as Kaira during the British Raj. It was the former administrative capital of Kheda district. The city is known for tobacco farming. The nearest railway statio ...

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

. The rulers of the princely state belonged to the Jadeja rajput dynasty. The state's last ruler signed the

instrument of accession The Instrument of Accession was a legal document first introduced by the Government of India Act 1935 and used in 1947 to enable each of the rulers of the princely states under British paramountcy to join one of the new dominions of Dominion ...

to the

Dominion of India The Dominion of India, officially the Union of India, * * was an independent dominion in the British Commonwealth of Nations existing between 15 August 1947 and 26 January 1950. Until its Indian independence movement, independence, India had be ...

on 15 February 1948.

History

Morbi was founded as a princely state around 1698 by Kanyoji when the

heir apparent An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...

Cutch State Cutch State, also spelled Kutch or Kachchh and also historically known as the Kingdom of Kutch, was a kingdom in the Kutch region from 1147 to 1819 and a princely state under British rule from 1819 to 1947. Its territories covered the present ...

fled

Bhuj Bhuj () is a city and the headquarters of Kutch district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Etymology According to legend, Kutch (Kachchh) was ruled by the Nāga chieftains in the past. Sagai, a queen of Sheshapattana, who was married to King B ...

with his mother after his father Ravaji was murdered and the throne was seized by his uncle

Pragmalji I Rao Pragmalji I was the Rao of Cutch belonging to Jadeja Rajput dynasty, who ruled Princely State of Cutch as from 1698 to 1715. He established current lineage of rulers of the state in 1698. Life Rao Rayadhan II died in 1698. Rayadhan had t ...

. It 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 ...

in 1807. The state was in the colonial sway of the

Kathiawar Agency The Kathiawar Agency, on the Kathiawar peninsula in the western part of the Indian subcontinent, was a political unit of some 200 small princely states under the suzerainty of the Bombay Presidency of British Raj. The agency's headquarters we ...

of the Bombay Presidency. In 1943, with the implementation of the '

attachment scheme 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 ...

', Morvi State enlarged its territory by an additional 310 km² with about 12,500 inhabitants when the Hadala Taluk and the Kotda-Nayani Thana, as well as the small Malia princely state were merged. On 15 August 1947, the state officially ceased to exist by merging into the west Indian United State of Saurashtra (initially - of Kathiawar), which later merged into

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 ...

; since that was divided, it is in Gujarat.

Rulers

The rulers of the state belonged to the Jadeja clan of Rajputs, and bore the title Thakur Sahib until the last added the higher title

Maharaja Maharaja (also spelled Maharajah or Maharaj; ; feminine: Maharani) is a royal title in Indian subcontinent, Indian subcontinent of Sanskrit origin. In modern India and Medieval India, medieval northern India, the title was equivalent to a pri ...

in 1926.

Thakur Sahibs

*1698 - 1733 Kanyoji Rawaji (of Kutch) (d. 1733) *1733 - 1739 Aliyaji Kanyoji (d. 1739) *1739 - 1764 Rawaji Aliyaji I (d. 1764) *1764 - 1772 Pachanji Rawaji (d. 1772) *1772 - 1783 Waghji I Rawaji (d. 1783) *1783 - 1790 Hamirji Waghji (d. 1790) *1790 - 1828 Jyaji Waghji (d. 1828) *1828 - 1846 Prithirajji Jyaji (d. 1846) *1846 - 17 February 1870 Rawaji II Prithirajji (b. 1828 - d. 1870) *17 February 1870 – 11 July 1922 Waghji II Rawaji also called Kathiyawadi American (b. 1858 - d. 1922) ''(personal style Maharaja from 16 February 1887)'' (from 30 June 1887, Sir Waghji II Rawaji) *17 Feb 1870 - 1 Jan 1879 Regents (Council of administration) **- Shambhuprasad Laxmilal **- Jhunjhabai Sakhidas (to 187.) *11 July 1922 – 3 June 1926 Lakhdirji Waghji (''see below'') (b. 1876 - d. 1957)

Thakur Sahib Maharaja

*3 June 1926 – 15 August 1947 Lakhdirji Waghji (s.a.) (from 1 January 1930, Sir Lakhdirji Waghji)

References

External links and sources