Raigarh 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

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 state was ruled by the

Gond dynasty Gond may refer to: * Gondi people, people of central India * Gondi language, the Dravidian language of the Gondi people * Gond (raga), a musical composition in the Sikh tradition * Gond (Forgotten Realms), a fictional deity in the Forgotten Realms ...

of Gond clan.

History

Raigarh estate was founded in 1625 by Madan Singh. He was descended from the Gond kings of Chanda. In 1911 Raigarh estate was recognized as a state. The state had an area of 3,848 square km and a population of 174,929, according to the 1901 census. The capital of the state was the city of

Raigarh Raigarh is a city in northern Chhattisgarh known as the 'Cultural capital of Chhattisgarh'; Raigarh is famous for its dance form “SUWA” (as Raigarh Gharana) and classical music; Raigarh is also known as Sanskritidhani. It is also known for ...

, which had a population of 6,764 inhabitants in 1901. The Rajas of Raigarh also owned the Estate of

Bargarh Bargarh is one of the major towns of Western Odisha and a municipality in Bargarh district in the state of Odisha in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Bargarh District and an important town of Odisha because it is known as the ...

and so held the title of Chief of Bargarh. Around 1625, the Raja of

Sambalpur Sambalpur () is the fifth largest city in the Indian State of Odisha. It is located on the banks of river Mahanadi, with a population of 335,761 (as per 2011 census). Prehistoric settlements have been recorded there. It is the home of the Samb ...

, created Daryo Singh as Raja of Raigarh. However, under British, it became a princely state only in 1911, during the reign of Raja Bahadur Bhup Deo Singh. Among the notable rulers of State were Deonath Singh, who assisted the British in the Mutiny of 1857. Other rulers were Raja Bahadur Bhup Deo Singh, Raja Chakradhar Singh.Raigarh darbar by P. D. Ashirwadam Agam Kala Prakashan, 1990 On the contribution of Chakradhar Singh, Raja of Raigarh, 1905-1947, to Kathak dance and Hindustani music. Chakradhar Singh is noted for his contributions to

Kathak ''Kathak'' is one of the eight major forms of Classical Indian dance, Indian classical dance. Its origin is attributed to the traveling bards in ancient northern India known as ''Kathakar'' ("storyteller"), who communicated stories from the ...

and

Hindustani music Hindustani classical music is the Indian classical music, classical music of the Indian subcontinent's northern regions. It may also be called North Indian classical music or ''Uttar Bhartiya shastriya sangeet''. The term ''shastriya sangeet'' ...

, especially for founding of Raigarh Gharana. The last ruler was Lalit Kumar Singh, his son succeeded him to the throne of Raigarh and ruled briefly before the Raigarh State was merged into Union of India on 14 December 1947. The princely states of

Jashpur Jashpur District is a district of the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh bordering Jharkhand and Odisha. Jashpur Nagar is the administrative headquarters of the district. The district was formerly a princely state before Independence. Highly ...

, Raigarh, Sakti, Sarangarh and

Udaipur Udaipur (Hindi: , ) (ISO 15919: ''Udayapura'') is a city in the north-western Indian state of Rajasthan, about south of the state capital Jaipur. It serves as the administrative headquarters of Udaipur district. It is the historic capital of t ...

were united later to form the

Raigarh district Raigarh district is a district of the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh. Raigarh is the district headquarters. The district was formed by merging the princely states of Raigarh State, Raigarh, Sakti State, Sakti, Sarangarh State, Sarangarh, ...

in present Chhattisgarh.Publication by Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics - 1973- Issue 61 - Page 346India Today 1992- Page 74

Rulers

Rajas

*c. 1800 - c. 1830 Jujhar Singh *c. 1830 - 1863 Deonath Singh *1863 - 1890 Ganshyam Singh *1890 - 1911 Bhup Deo Singh (b. 1867 - d. 1917)

Raja Bahadurs

*1911 - 22 Mar 1917

Bhup Deo Singh Raja Bhup Deo Singh Bahadur (1867–1917) was the Raja of Raigarh and Chief of Bargarh ruled by Gond dynasty. He was the ruler of the Princely state of Raigarh from 1894 till his death in 1917. He was son of Raja Deo Nath Singh. Bhup Deo Singh ...

*22 Mar 1917 - Feb 1924

Natwar Singh Natwar Singh (16 May 1931 – 10 August 2024) was an Indian politician and diplomat of the Indian Foreign Service who later served as India's Minister of External Affairs from May 2004 to December 2005. Having been suspended by the Indian Nati ...

(b. 1891 - d. 1924) *23 Aug 1924 – 15 Aug 1947 Lal Chakradhar Singh (b. 1905 - d. 1947) *15 Aug 1947 – 1 Aug 1948 Lalitkumar Singh (b 1924 - d. 2000)

References

{{Princely states of the Eastern States Agency Princely states of Chhattisgarh History of Chhattisgarh Raigarh district 1947 disestablishments in India States and territories disestablished in 1947 States and territories established in 1911 1911 establishments in India

History

Rulers

Rajas

Raja Bahadurs

See also

References