Rawal (also spelled Raval) or Raol originally is a regional variation of the Hindi princely ruler title Raja/Radjah (literally "king") used in some

princely state A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, subject to ...

s in

Rajputana Rājputana, meaning "Land of the Rajputs", was a region in the Indian subcontinent that included mainly the present-day Indian state of Rajasthan, as well as parts of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, and some adjoining areas of Sindh in modern-day ...

and Western India (notably Gujarat), and is now also used as a caste designation or surname by several communities in Southern Asia. A village near Sumer has people filled with surname- Rawal of General Category.

Princely titles

Notable (but non-salute) states using this title for their ruling prince were, both under the colonial Mahi Kantha Agency (in the third -high- of seven classes of states) and in present

Gujarat, India Gujarat (, ) is a state along the 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 fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth- ...

: * the Raol of

Malpur Malpur is a census town in Aravalli district in the Indian state of Gujarat. History Malpur State was an Indian princely state founded about the middle of the fifteenth century. Rawal Virajmal, son of Rao Kiratsinghji of Idar State, was s ...

* the Raol of Mansa

Maharawal

This 'Western' equivalent of the higher (gradually deflated) Hindi title

Maharaja Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great Monarch, king" or "high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Em ...

(literally 'great king') was notably used by three

salute state A salute state was a princely state under the British Raj that had been granted a gun salute by the British Crown (as paramount ruler); i.e., the protocolary privilege for its ruler to be greeted—originally by Royal Navy ships, later also ...

s in

(presently in

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...

), all entitled to a (high-ranking) Hereditary

gun salute A gun salute or cannon salute is the use of a piece of artillery to fire shots, often 21 in number (''21-gun salute''), with the aim of marking an honor or celebrating a joyful event. It is a tradition in many countries around the world. Histo ...

of 15-guns : * the Maharawal (also called Maharaja) of

Jaisalmer Jaisalmer , nicknamed "The Golden city", is a city in the Indian state of Rajasthan, located west of the state capital Jaipur. The town stands on a ridge of yellowish sandstone and is crowned by the ancient Jaisalmer Fort. This fort contains a ...

* the Maharawal of

Banswara Banswara is a city in the Banswara district in southern Rajasthan, India. The name, Banswara, came from "Bans wala" (bamboo) forests, as Bamboo grew in abundance around this place within the area. Banswara is also known as "City of a Hundred ...

* the Maharawal of

Dungarpur Dungarpur is a city in the southernmost part of Rajasthan, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Dungarpur District. It is the fastest developing town in the southern part of Rajasthan, alongside Aspur ''tehsil''. History Dungarpu ...

and one in

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the 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 fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the nin ...

, entitled to a (rather low-ranking) Hereditary salute of 9-guns (11-guns personal) : * the Maharaol (or Maharawal) of Bari(y)a

Surnames

As a surname, "Rawal" is found among multiple communities in

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

. * Raval/Rawal surname also found in

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests ( purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers ( ...

community in Gujarat, for example

Paresh Rawal Paresh Rawal (born 30 May 1955) is an Indian actor, comedian, film producer and politician known for his works notably in Hindi films, and Telugu, and a few Gujarati and a few Tamil films. He has appeared in over 240 films and is the recipie ...

. *

Rajput Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...

s for example

Bappa Rawal Bappa Rawal (c. 8th century) was a king of the Mewar kingdom in Rajasthan, India. The bardic chronicles describe him as a member of the Guhila Rajput Clan, and some of them consider him to be the founder of the Guhila dynasty. He is credit ...

. *

Maratha The Marathi people (Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a ...

s * The Nambudiri priests of the Badrinath and Kedarnath were given the title of "Rawal" by the king of Garhwal in 1776 * Raval (also known as Rawal or Raval Yogi), an Indian caste categorized among the Other Backward Classes * Rawal, a caste found in Pakistan and Pakistani diaspora; its members claim to be the original rulers of Rawalpindi

People

People with the title or surname Rawal include (''in alphabetical order''): *

(Rajput), legendary ruler of Mewar kingdom India * Bhim Bahadur Rawal, Nepali politician * Jam Rawal, ruler of Kachchh princely state in India *

Narendra Raval Narendra Raval (born 1962) is a Kenyan industrialist, entrepreneur and philanthropist of Indian Gujarati origin. Raval who serves as the Executive Chairman of the Devki Group of Companies, a conglomerate in East Africa that manufactures st ...

, Kenyan entrepreneur and philanthropist * Jayakumar Jitendrasinh Rawal, Indian politician *

Jitendra Jatashankar Rawal Jitendra Jatashankar Rawal (born 30 March 1943) is an Indian astrophysicist and scientific educator, recognized for his work in the popularisation of science. Rawal has served as Director of the Nehru Planetarium Mumbai. He has published about ...

, Indian astrophysicist * Kalpana Rawal, Kenyan lawyer and judge *

Lal Bahadur Rawal Lal Bahadur Rawal ( ne, लाल बहादुर रावल) is a member of 2nd Nepalese Constituent Assembly. He won Bajhang–2 seat in CA assembly, 2013 from Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) The Communist Part ...

, Nepali politician * Nisha Rawal, Indian model-actress *

, Indian actor *

Rajendra Rawal Rajendra Rawal ( ne, राजेन्द्र रावल) is a Nepali professional football midfielder, who currently plays for Jawalakhel YC in the Martyr's Memorial A-Division League Martyr's Memorial A-Division League ( Nepali: शह� ...

, Nepali footballer * Darshan Raval, Indian singer * Rawal Jaisal, ruler of Jaisalmer state in India * Rawal Mallinath, folk hero of Rajasthan, India * Rawal Ratan Singh, ruler of Mewar state in India *

Sanjay Rawal Sanjay Rawal (born October 30, 1974) is an Indian-American documentary film director who lives in New York City. His first feature length film '' Food Chains'' premiered at the Berlin Film Festival in its Culinary Cinema Programme in 2014 and ha ...

, American documentary film director * Sashi Rawal, Nepali pop singersinger * Vaibhav Rawal, Indian cricketer *

Vipul K Rawal Vipul K Rawal is an Indian scriptwriter, film maker, and author. Rawal's most recent film was '' Rustom'' starring Akshay Kumar for which Akshay Kumar won the National Award for the best actor. Rawal also wrote the episodic television series ''V ...

, Indian scriptwriter

Clan

* Rawal, A Clan Of Lord Shiva Followers.

Places

* Rawal lake, a reservoir in Pakistan * Rawal Express, a Pakistani train service between Lahore and Rawalpindi *

Rawal, Uttar Pradesh Rawal is a village in Mathura district of Mahavan Tehsil, Uttar Pradesh, India and there are about 409 families living here and it is a small village which is situated in the foothills of river Yamuna. Member of parliament Hema Malini has ad ...

References

{{authority control Heads of state Noble titles Royal titles Titles in India Titles in Pakistan Court titles History of Pakistan Titles of national or ethnic leadership Filipino royalty Hindi words and phrases Shaikh clans Social groups of Punjab, Pakistan Social groups of India