Vala State or Vallabhipura was a non-salute princely state in India 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 ...

until 1948. The centre was the city of

Vallabhi Vallabhi (or Valabhi or Valabhipur) is an ancient city located in the Saurashtra peninsula of Gujarat, near Bhavnagar in western India. It is also known as Vallabhipura and was the capital of the Kingdom of Valabhi, an early medieval state rule ...

. The last ruler of the state signed the state's accession to the Indian Union on 15 February 1948.

History

Vala (Vallabhipura) princely state was founded in 1740 by Thakore Sahib Akherajji of nearby

Bhavnagar Bhavnagar is a city and the headquarters of Bhavnagar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. It was founded in 1723 by Bhavsinhji Gohil. It was the capital of Bhavnagar State, which was a princely state before it was merged into the Dominion ...

(also in

Gohelwar Gohelwar was one of the four ''prant''s or traditional provinces of Saurashtra, the others being Jhalawar or Jhalavad, Halar, and Sorath. Gohelwar covered the southeast of the Kathiawar peninsula, and roughly corresponds to the modern Bhavn ...

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 ...

''; later a

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 ...

under a

Maharaja Maharaja (also spelled Maharajah or Maharaj; ; feminine: Maharani) is a royal title in Indian subcontinent, Indian subcontinent of Sanskrit origin. In modern India and Medieval India, medieval northern India, the title was equivalent to a pri ...

), a Gohil Rajput of the Suryavanshi clan, for his twin brother Visaji, who became the first Thakore. It was one of the many states in

Saurashtra Saurashtra, Sourashtra, or variants may refer to: ** Kathiawar, also called Saurashtra Peninsula, a peninsula in western India ** Saurashtra (state), alias United State of Kathiawar, a former Indian state, merged into Bombay State and since its d ...

, mostly petty states. It comprised 40 villages, covering 492 Square Kilometers km². In 1921 it had a population of 11,386 (13.285 in 1903–4). Its state revenue was 225,000 Rupees (in 1903–4, mainly from land; later 341,773 Rupees), and it paid 9,202 Rupees tribute to the Gaekwar

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 ...

and to

Junagadh State The State of Junagadh or Junagarh was a princely state located in Gujarat, It was ruled by the Muslim Babi dynasty since 1654 by first Nawab of Junagarh, Nawab of Junagadh even within the Maratha Confederacy and later British India. which, aft ...

. It was a native state 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 ...

in charge of the colonial (originally Eastern -)

Kathiawar Agency The Kathiawar Agency, on the Kathiawar peninsula in the western part of the Indian subcontinent, was a political unit of some 200 small princely states under the suzerainty of the Bombay Presidency of British Raj. The agency's headquarters we ...

of the Bombay Presidency.,''Columbia-Lippincott Gazetteer'' p. 1417. later merged into 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 ...

. It ceased to exist by accession to freshly independent India's then state

(now part 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 ...

) on 15 February 1948. The

privy purse The Privy Purse is the British sovereign's private income, mostly from the Duchy of Lancaster. This amounted to £20.1 million in net income for the year to 31 March 2018. Overview The Duchy is a landed estate of approximately 46,000 acres (20 ...

was fixed at 520,000 Rupees.

References

{{coord, 21.8878, N, 71.8795, E, region:IN_type:landmark_source:kolossus-svwiki, display=title States under the Kathiawar Agency Princely states of Gujarat Bhavnagar district Gohils States and territories disestablished in 1948 1948 disestablishments in India