The Sonbarsa Raj was a medieval chieftaincy and later a

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 ...

(estate) during

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 ...

in modern-day

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

, in erstwhile

Bhagalpur district Bhagalpur district is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar state, India. It is one of the oldest districts of Bihar. Bhagalpur city is the administrative headquarters of the district. Geography Bhagalpur district occupies an area of . Bha ...

(now in

Saharsa Saharsa is a city and municipal corporation in the Saharsa District in the eastern part of the state of Bihar, India. It is situated near the eastern banks of the Kosi River. It serves as the administrative headquarters for the Saharsa District ...

). It was controlled by the Gandhavariya

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 ...

The grants and sanad shows that Gandhavariyas were important Rajas under the Mughals in sarkar Tirhut. Beside Sonbarsa, the Gandhavarias landlords were found in Baruari, Parsarma, Barail, Sokhpur, Jadia, Basantpur, Durgapur, Sukhsena, Bhatattan, Panchgachhia etc. The Zamindari estate of Mangwar established by Babu Bhagwan Singh also belongs to the Gandhavaria clan, whose descendants Babu Sagar Prasad Singh lives there.

History

Sonbarsa Raj was founded by Raja Ranjit Singh in the present district of Saharsa. It became a powerful and large estate in the region. The Sonbarsa Raj family traces its origin from

Raja Raja (; from , IAST ') is a noble or royal Sanskrit title historically used by some Indian subcontinent, Indian rulers and monarchs and highest-ranking nobles. The title was historically used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. T ...

Vikramaditya Vikramaditya (Sanskrit: विक्रमादित्य IAST: ') was a legendary king as mentioned in ancient Indian literature, featuring in traditional stories including those in ''Baital Pachisi, Vetala Panchavimshati'' and ''Singhasan ...

Ujjain Ujjain (, , old name Avantika, ) or Ujjayinī is a city in Ujjain district of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the fifth-largest city in Madhya Pradesh by population and is the administrative as well as religious centre of Ujjain ...

and belongs to the Agni branch of Kshatriya. The Sonbarsa raj originated in 1654, when the Mughal emperor

Aurangzeb Alamgir I (Muhi al-Din Muhammad; 3 November 1618 – 3 March 1707), commonly known by the title Aurangzeb, also called Aurangzeb the Conqueror, was the sixth Mughal emperors, Mughal emperor, reigning from 1658 until his death in 1707, becomi ...

granted the title of raja, along with a zamindari estate based at Narsinghpur, to Raja Kesri Singh. A later descendant, Amar Singh, built a fort at Sihaul. The grant and sanad related to Sonbarsa Raj shows that Gandhavarias were important Rajas under 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 ...

and were loyal to the ruling dynasty. They therefore played an important role in the politics of the time in the region of Sarkar Tirhut of Mithila. One of the famous zamindars of Sonbarsa was Raja Harivallabh Narayan Singh, who was honoured by

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his pa ...

at the imperial Delhi durbar held in 1911 and was provided with a royal chair along with the other royalty of India. The present palace at Sonbarsa was built during his tenure.

References

Villages in Saharsa district Zamindari estates Rajput estates {{India-hist-stub

History

See also

References