Nawanagar was an Indian state and then a princely state 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 ...

region, located on the southern shores of the

Gulf of Kutch The Gulf of Kutch is located between the peninsula regions of Kutch and Saurashtra, bounded in the state of Gujarat that borders Pakistan. It opens towards the Arabian Sea facing the Gulf of Oman. It is about 50 km wide at the entrance b ...

. It was ruled by the Jadeja Rajput dynasty and became a part of newly formed

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 ...

. Its capital city was Nawanagar city, now known as

Jamnagar Jamnagar () is a city and the headquarters of Jamnagar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. The city lies just to the south of the Gulf of Kutch, some west of the state capital, Gandhinagar. The city was the capital of Nawanagar State, Na ...

. It had an area of and a population estimated at 336,779 in 1901. Its rulers, who use the title of "

Jam Saheb Jam Sahib () or simply Jam was a native title used by the rulers of a few princely states, notably born in western British India into the Samaa dynasty and their Jadeja branch which denotes their claimed descent from the legendary Jamshed o ...

" are of the same clan as the Rao of Kutch. They were entitled to a 13-gun salute. The state flag was a rectangular red flag with a white elephant, near and facing the hoist. 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 ...

, the state was part 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 ...

, within the Gujarat Division of Bombay Presidency. The state had a

pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle (mollusc), mantle) of a living Exoskeleton, shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pear ...

fishery and much of its wealth came from this. Nawanagar is also famous for its late ruler Jam Saheb

Ranjitsinhji Colonel Kumar Sri Sir Ranjitsinhji Vibhaji II, (10 September 1872 – 2 April 1933), often known as Ranji or K. S. Ranjitsinhji, was an Indian cricketer who later became ruler of his native Indian princely state of Nawanagar State, Nawan ...

(died 1933), who was a famous

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

player at Cambridge in England and represented

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in Test cricket, before his accession to the throne.

History

Nawanagar was founded in 1540 by Jam Sri Rawalji, a descendant of the

Jadeja Jadeja ( Gujarati, Sindhi: , or ''Jāṛejā'') is a Samma Rajput clan that inhabits the Indian state of Gujarat and the Tharparkar district of Sindh, Pakistan. They originated from Sammas of Sindh, a pastoral group, and laid a claim on the ...

ruler of Kutch, and was thereafter in an almost constant state of war with its neighbours and with the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, 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 ...

. Two such major wars were the

Battle of Mithoi A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force c ...

and

Battle of Bhuchar Mori The Battle of Bhuchar Mori, also known as Battle of Dhrol, was fought between the army of Kathiawar led by Nawanagar State and the Mughal army at Bhuchar Mori plateau near Dhrol, Saurashtra (now in Jamnagar district, Gujarat, India). It was mean ...

fought in 1591. The "Walker Treaty of 1807" brought peace to the Kathiawar states for the first time in several generations. Nawanagar came under British protection on 22 February 1812. K. S.

was one of the world's greatest cricket players and, later, became Jam Saheb in 1907 until 1933. The inclusive circle of eight players promoted excellence in cricket, both in the county and domestic games. After his death,

Ranji Trophy The Ranji Trophy is a premier domestic first-class cricket championship played in India and organized annually by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The teams representing regional and state cricket associations participate. BCCI ...

, a domestic first-class cricket championship played in India between different city and state sides, was started in 1934 by

Board of Control for Cricket in India The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is the principal national governing body of the sport of cricket in India. Its headquarters are situated at the Cricket Centre in Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. BCCI is the wealthiest governing body ...

(BCCI). Jam Saheb Shri Sir Ranjitsinhji remained the chancellor of the

Chamber of Princes The Chamber of Princes (''Narendra Mandal'') was an institution established in 1920 by a royal proclamation of King-Emperor George V to provide a forum in which the rulers of the princely states of India could voice their needs and aspiration ...

(1931–1933). After his death, in 1933, he was succeeded by his nephew Jam Saheb Shri Sir Digvijaysinhji, who became its chancellor (1937–1944) and continued to promote the octet circle in excellence in cricket, academics and welfare. In 1942 the Maharaja set up a refugee camp for Polish children in

Balachadi Balachadi is a village in Jodiya Taluka of Jamnagar district, Gujarat, India. It is 25 kilometres east of Jamnagar, near the Gulf of Kutch. History During the British period, Balachari belonged to the Hadiana sub-division of the Jodiya ''parga ...

. Nawanagar was one of the first princely states to sign 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 ...

in 1948 after Indian independence. Afterwards, the late ruler, Digvijaysinhji, served as the first

Rajpramukh Rajpramukh was an administrative title in India which existed from India's independence in 1947 until 1956. Rajpramukhs were the appointed governors of certain Indian provinces and states. Background The British Indian Empire, which incl ...

of Kathiawad, then represented his country at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

. In 1949, the princely states of Nawanagar and

Dhrol Dhrol is a city and a municipality in Jamnagar district in the state of Gujarat, India. Geography Dhrol is located at . It has an average elevation of 26 metres (85 feet). Demographics India census,https://censusindia.gov.in/pca ...

, Jalia Dewani in Kathiawar merged into the new state of

Saurashtra Saurashtra, Sourashtra, or variants may refer to: ** Kathiawar, also called Saurashtra Peninsula, a peninsula in western India ** Saurashtra (state), alias United State of Kathiawar, a former Indian state, merged into Bombay State and since its d ...

. On 19 June 1959, the boundaries of the district were enlarged by the inclusion of the adjoining Okha mandal, and the district was renamed

. This district 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 ...

on the division of the State of Bombay on 1 May 1960. Bhanji Dal Jadeja commanded Jam Sataji's force during the

Mughal Mughal or Moghul may refer to: Related to the Mughal Empire * Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries * Mughal dynasty * Mughal emperors * Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia * Mughal architecture * Mug ...

attack on

Junagadh State The State of Junagadh or Junagarh was a princely state located in Gujarat, It was ruled by the Muslim Babi dynasty since 1654 by first Nawab of Junagarh, Nawab of Junagadh even within the Maratha Confederacy and later British India. which, aft ...

and defeated the attack.

Rulers (Jam Saheb)

Jewellery collection

The Maharaja Jamsaheb of Nawanagar were also known for their jewellery collection; especially Ranjithsinhji, whose

Emerald Emerald is a gemstone and a variety of the mineral beryl (Be3Al2(SiO3)6) colored green by trace amounts of chromium or sometimes vanadium.Hurlbut, Cornelius S. Jr., and Kammerling, Robert C. (1991). ''Gemology'', John Wiley & Sons, New York ...

collection according to

Jacques Cartier Jacques Cartier (; 31 December 14911 September 1557) was a French maritime explorer from Brittany. Jacques Cartier was the first Europeans, European to describe and map the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the shores of the Saint Lawrence River, wh ...

was "unequaled in the world, if not in quantity, then certainly in quality". The collection included an emerald and pearl necklace, an art deco emerald and diamond necklace designed by Jacques Cartier and an Emerald collar or choker also designed by Jacques Cartier. The 61.5 carat (12.3 g) whisky-coloured diamond, "The Eye of the Tiger", was mounted by

Cartier Cartier may refer to: People * Cartier (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Cartier Martin (born 1984), American basketball player Places * Cartier Island, an island north-west of Australia that is part of Australi ...

in a turban

aigrette The term aigrette (; from the French for egret, or ''lesser white heron'') refers to the tufted crest or head-plumes of the egret, used for adorning a headdress. The word may also identify any similar ornament, in gems. History and description ...

for the '' JMaharaja'' or

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 ...

of Nawanagar in 1934.

References

External links

* * {{coord, 22.47, N, 70.07, E, region:IN_type:landmark_source:kolossus-svwiki, display=title Saurashtra (region) Hindu states Princely states of Gujarat 1540 establishments in India Rajput history Jadejas States and territories established in 1540 Rajput clans of Gujarat States and territories disestablished in 1948 1948 disestablishments in India Gun salute princely states States under the Kathiawar Agency

History

Rulers (Jam Saheb)

Jewellery collection

See also

References

External links