Rewa Kantha Agency with all Princely States Gujarat during British India 1811-1937 with labels

Rewa Kantha was a political agency of

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 ...

, managing the relations (

indirect rule Indirect rule was a system of public administration, governance used by imperial powers to control parts of their empires. This was particularly used by colonial empires like the British Empire to control their possessions in Colonisation of Afri ...

) of the British government's Bombay Presidency with a collection of princely states. It stretched for about 150 miles between the plain 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 ...

and the hills of

Malwa Malwa () is a historical region, historical list of regions in India, region of west-central India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin. Geologically, the Malwa Plateau generally refers to the volcanic plateau, volcanic upland north of the ...

, from the

Tapti River The Tapti River (or Tapi) is a river in central India located to the south of the Narmada river that flows westwards before draining into the Arabian Sea. The river has a length of around and flows through the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat ...

to 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 ...

crossing the Rewa (or Narmada) River, from which it takes its name. The political agent, who was also

District collector The district magistrate, also known as the district collector or deputy commissioner, is a career civil servant who serves as the executive head of a district's administration in India. The specific name depends on the state or union territo ...

of the ''

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 ...

'' (British District) of the

Panchmahal Panchmahal, also rendered as Panch Mahal, is a district in the eastern portion of Gujarat State western India. ''Panch-mahal'' means "five tehsils/talukas" (5 sub-divisions), and refers to the five sub-divisions that were transferred by the Mahar ...

, resided at

Godhra Godhra () is a municipality in Panchmahal district in Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Panchmahal district. Originally the name came from ''gou'' which means "cow" and "dhara"- which have two meanings depend ...

History

The native states came under British

subsidiary alliance A subsidiary alliance, in South Asian history, was a tributary alliance between an Indian state and a European East India Company. Under this system, an Indian ruler who formed an agreement with the company in question would be provided wit ...

s after the

Third Anglo-Maratha War The Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817–1819) was the final and decisive conflict between the British East India Company and the Maratha Empire, Maratha Confederacy in India. The war left the Company in control of most of India. It began with an in ...

of the early 19th century. The total surface was 4,971.75 square miles, comprising 3,412 villages, with a population of 479,055, yielding 2,072,026 Rupees state revenue and paying 147,826 Rupees tribute (mostly to the Gaikwar

Baroda State Baroda State was a kingdom within the Maratha Confederacy and later a princely state in present-day Gujarat. It was ruled by the Gaekwad dynasty from its formation in 1721 until its accession to the newly formed Dominion of India. With th ...

). In 1937 the princely states of the Rewa Kantha Agency were merged with

in order to form 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 ...

, which in turn merged in 1944 with 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 ...

Baroda, Western India and Gujarat States Agency The Baroda, Western India and Gujarat States Agency was an agency of the Indian Empire, managing the relations of the Provincial Government of the Bombay Presidency with a collection of princely states. The political agent in charge of the ...

. After the Independence of British India in 1947, split into India and Pakistan, the rulers of the states all agreed to accede 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 were integrated 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 ...

. Bombay state was split along linguistic lines in 1960, and Rewa Kantha became part of

, like

Saurashtra State Saurashtra State, formally known as United State of Kathiawar and later United State of Saurashtra, was a state of India that existed between 1948 and 1956, on Saurashtra alias Kathiawar peninsula, with Rajkot as its capital. History For ...

Princely States

The number of separate states was 61, mostly minor or petty states except for five. Many of them were under British influence; the largest one was

Rajpipla Rajpipla is a town and a municipality in the Narmada district in the Indian state of Gujarat. It was the capital of the former Kingdom of Rajpipla. Name Bhil population gave it the name Rajpipla for the ruler resided first under a pipal t ...

. The Agency also dealt with five first-class states named Chhota Udaipur State, Devgadh Bariya State, Santrampur, Lunawada State and Balasinor State. The total area of the states the agency related to was . In 1901 their population was 479,065. Many of the inhabitants were

Bhil Bhil or Bheel refer to the various Indigenous peoples, 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 ...

s and

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 ...

."The Rewakantha directory"
/ref>

Rewa Kantha division

''(includes all the main states; in direct relations with the Political Agent at Godhra)''

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 ...

s : *

(Nandod), First Class, title Maharaja, Hereditary salute of 13-guns * Bari(y)a (Devgadh), Second Class, title Maharaol, Hereditary salute of 9-guns (11-guns personal) * Lunavada, Second Class, title Maharana, Hereditary salute of 9-guns * Balasinor, Second Class, title Nawab, Hereditary salute of 9-guns * Sant (Sunth) (Rampur), Second Class, title Maharana, Hereditary salute of 9-guns * Chhota Udepur, First Class, title Maharaja Maharawal, Hereditary Salute of 11 - guns Non-salute states : * Kadana, Third Class *

Sanjeli Sanjeli (Hindi: संजेली) ''cotila'', sometimes known as Sanjeda Mehvassi, is a Hindu former petty princely state, located in the present Gujarat in western India. It is a tehsil of Dahod district. History Sanjeli became a British p ...

, Third Class *

Jambughoda Jambughoda is a village and Tehsil in Panchmahal district in the Indian state of Gujarat. The village has a population of 2,731, while the overall tehsil has a population of 42,476. The Tehsil is well known for the Jambughoda Wildlife Sanctuar ...

(Narukot), Third Class

Mehwas

''Only non-salute states: two geographical groups of minor or petty rural (e)states''

Sankheda

''(near

Narmada River The Narmada River, previously also known as ''Narbada'' or anglicised as ''Nerbudda'', is the 5th longest river in India and overall the longest west-flowing river in the country. It is also the largest flowing river in the state of Madhya Prade ...

)'' * Mandwa, Third Class (personal) / Fourth Class * Gad Boriad, Third Class (personal) / Fourth Class * Shanor, Fourth Class * Vajiria, Fourth Class * Vanmala, Fourth Class (personal) / Fifth Class * Nangam, Fifth Class * Uchad, *

Agar Agar ( or ), or agar-agar, is a jelly-like substance consisting of polysaccharides obtained from the cell walls of some species of red algae, primarily from " ogonori" and " tengusa". As found in nature, agar is a mixture of two components, t ...

, * Palasni, * Khareda, * Borkhad, * Bhilodia : ** Motisinghji, ** Chhatarsinghji, * Vasan Virpur, * Vora, * Vasan Sewada, * Virampura * Alwa, * Chorangla State, * Sindhiapura, * Bihora State, * Vadia (Virampura), * Dudhpur, * Rampura, * Jiral Kamsoli, * Chudesar State, * Pantalavdi : ** Akbar Khan, ** Kesar Khan, * Rengan, * Nalia, * Nasvadi

Pandu

''(near

; all paying tribute to the Gaekwar

)'': * Bhadarwa, Third Class * Umetha, Third (personal) / Fourth Class * Sihora (Gujarat) Fourth Class *

Pandu Pandu () was the king of Kuru kingdom, with capital at Hastinapur in the epic '' Mahabharata''. He was the foster-father of the five Pandavas, who are the central characters of the epic. Pandu was born pale, to Vichitravirya's second wife ...

, Fifth Class * Chhaliar State, * Mevli, * Kanoda, * Poicha, * Dhari, * Itwad, * Gotardi, * Litter Gothda State, * Amrapur, * Vakhtapur, * Jesar, * Moka Paginu Muvadu, * Kasla Paginu Muvadu, * Rajpur, * Moti Varnol, * Nahara * Jumkha, * Nani Varnol, * Varnolmal, *

Angadh Angadh was a ''Mehwal'' (petty princely state) under British India, spanning a part of what is now Vadodara district in Gujarat. The caste of the ruling chief was recorded as Koli Koli may refer to: People * Koli people, Indian caste group ...

, ; the Dorka (e)states * Dodka, *

, * Rayka (Raika),

Fiscal Stamps

In addition to those of Rewa Kantha Agency itself, revenue and/or court fee stamps were issued for the following native states : ; in the Rewa Kantha Division (all) : # Rajpipla # Balasinor # Baria # Lunavada # Sant # Chhota Udaipur # Jambughoda # Kadana # Sanjeli ; in the Sankheda Mehwas (only these) : # Gad Boriad # Naswadi # Shanor # Vajiria ; in the Pandu Mehwas (only these) : # Bhadarva # Pandu Mewas # Umeta # Bakrol (Boru)

References

Sources and external links

Imperial Gazetteer, on DSAL - Rewa Kantha Agency
{{coord missing, Gujarat History of Gujarat Bombay Presidency Agencies of British India Panchmahal district