Rao Raj Kunwar Singh (17 November 1897 – 1968) was a noted

zamindar A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous feudal lord of a ''zamindari'' (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian was the official language; ''zamindar'' is the ...

, known as Raja of

Barauli Rao Barauli Rao is a town, panchayat block and Vidhansabha constituency in Aligarh district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Geography It is situated 25 km from Aligarh city, 15 km from Qasimpur Power House Colony and 20 km dis ...

and member of legislative assembly in British India.

Life sketch

Early life

He was adopted son of Rao Karan Singh, who was also the ruler of the Bajgarhi estate, Aligarh. His mother was daughter of Rao Karan Singh, Zamindar of Barauli Rao and was married to Rao Raghuraj Singh, who was also the ruler of the Bajgarhi estate. Karan Singh, who had no male issues had adopted him as his son.The Times of India Directory and Year Book Including Who's who by Sir Stanley Reed - 1949

Family history

The Taluka of Barauli was held by his family of

bargujar The Badgujar (also spelt as Bargujar and Badgurjar) is a clan of Rajputs. They are also a distinct caste in Maharashtra. History and Origin Similar to several other Rajput clans, the Badgujars also claim descent from the ancient Suryavanshi ...

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 ...

s who claimed to be the eldest branch of the clan settled in this area, and the other branch was settled in

Bulandshahar district Bulandshahr district (also spelled Bulandshahar) is a district in the Meerut region in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh (UP), situated between the Ganga and Yamuna rivers. It is a part of the National Capital Region of India, and Bulandsh ...

, who later converted to Islam. The estate was founded by the

Raja Pratap Singh Raja Pratap Singh was the founder Raja of Barauli, in the Aligarh district. He close associate of Prithiviraj Chauhan, who founded his kingdom with capital at Barauli near Bulandshahar after defeating the Meos from Pahasu, Dibai and Anupsha ...

who had founded the town of Barauli in 1065, when there were 1656 villages attached to it, and got further 156 villages in dowry from Dor king of Kol. His father, Rao Karan Singh had won a suit in Privy Council, which established him as rightful inheritor of his ancestors several estates of around 400 villages. In January, 1913, the title of Rao for the Zamindars of Barauli was made hereditary by British authorities.

Rao of Barauli

Raj Kunwar did his schooling from

Aligarh Aligarh (; formerly known as Koil) is a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Aligarh district and lies northwest of state capital Lucknow and approximately southeast of the capital, New Delhi. ...

& later graduated from the Rajput College,

Agra Agra ( ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is the ...

and became the Rao of Barauli upon death of Rao Karan Singh. He was a member of the district board and vice president of other committees. He was also a prominent member of Agra Province Zamindar's Association, for which he also served as a President. He was a Member of

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

and also a member of

Central Legislative Assembly The Central Legislative Assembly was the lower house of the Indian Legislature, the legislature of British India. It was created by the Government of India Act 1919, implementing the Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms. It was also sometimes calle ...

as a representative of the Zamindars of Agra Province Zamindar's Association. He was last official Rao of Barauli as after independence of India, as the

Zamindari A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous Indian feudalism, feudal lord of a ''zamindari'' (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian language, Persian was the offi ...

was abolished in 1950.

Death

Kunwar Singh died in 1968.Rao Raj kunwar Singh: Obitury : Aligarh Rajput Association : 1968

Family

He had two wives Rani Laxmi Kunwar and Rani Phool Kunwar and had a son named Rao Madhusudan Singh.

Gallery

File:Rao Karan Singh.jpg, "Rao Karan Singh", father of Raj Kunwar Singh File:Rao Madhusudan Singh.jpg, "Rap Madhusudan Singh", son of Rao Raj Kunwar Singh File:Rao Madhusudan Singh (Barauli) is opening of a programme.jpg, "Rao Madhusudan Singh" of Barauli is muharat of a "Jais Chauhan"'s TV serial "Dharamveer" at Aligarh.The Actors "Saihinsh Raghav"(middle) & 'Mohd. Kalim Khan'(left)

References

{{authority control 1897 births 1968 deaths Members of the Central Legislative Assembly of India Indian royalty People from Aligarh district Members of the Council of India