Arni Jagir was a Jagir (estate) and a permanently settled

zamindari A zamindar ( Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as a ...

estate that existed in the North Arcot subdivision of the

North Arcot North Arcot was a former district in Madras Presidency, acquired by the annexation of the Arcot State in 1855 when its Nawab died without issue. It had Chittoor as its headquarters (currently in Andhra pradesh). On 1 April 1911, the Chittoor ...

district of the erstwhile

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency, or the Presidency of Fort St. George, also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision (presidency) of British India. At its greatest extent, the presidency included most of southern India, including the ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

from 1638 to 1948.

Coat of Arms

The

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vis ...

of the Arni Coat of Arms is ''Per Deum et ferrum obtinui'' which means ''By God and my sword I have obtained''.

History

Arni jagir was granted to Vedaji Bhaskar Rao Pant by the

Shahaji Shahaji Bhonsale (Pronunciation: �əɦad͡ʒiː c. 1594 – 1664) was a military leader of India in the 17th century, who served the Ahmadnagar Sultanate, the Bijapur Sultanate, and the Mughal Empire at various points in his career. As a membe ...

in 1638. Shivaji having failed in his negotiation,

Sultanate of Bijapur The Adil Shahi or Adilshahi, was a Shia Islam, Shia,Salma Ahmed Farooqui, ''A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: From Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century'', (Dorling Kindersley Pvt Ltd., 2011), 174. and later Sunni Muslim,Muhammad Qasim ...

took Arni and various other forts, and forcibly occupied the whole of Shahji's jagir in the Mysore. The Jagir of Arni was again granted as a gift to Vedaji Bhaskar pant by the Sultanate of Bijapur in 1640. In early 1677

Shivaji Shivaji Bhonsale I (; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680), also referred to as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle Maratha clan. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the declining Adils ...

and his military forces set out towards Golconda. He met Kootab Shah and negotiated a secret pact for a division of his intended conquests in the Carnatic ( excluding those that earlier belonged to his father, Shahaji). The spoils were to be divided between

, Kootab Shah and

Bijapur Bijapur, officially known as Vijayapura, is the district headquarters of Bijapur district of the Karnataka state of India. It is also the headquarters for Bijapur Taluk. Bijapur city is well known for its historical monuments of architectural ...

. With the agreement concluded and with Kootab Shah giving him money, horses and artillery, Shivaji set out in March 1677 for his invasions via Kurnool, Cuddapah and Madras. He conquered

Gingee Gingee, also known as Senji or Jinji and originally called Singapuri, is a panchayat town in Viluppuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Gingee is located between three hills covering a perimeter of 3 km, and lies west of the Sa ...

and

Vellore Vellore (English: ), also spelt as Velur (), is a city and the administrative headquarters of Vellore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Palar River in the northeastern part of Tamil Nadu and is separa ...

and contemplated seizing Tanjore. Since

Tanjore Thanjavur (), also Tanjore, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is the 11th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of South Indian religion, art, and architecture. Most of the Gr ...

and other properties had belonged to his father he tried to seize them after negotiating with his brother, Venkoji. Venkoji distrusted him and was not willing to give up his property. Shivaji did not give up and continued his battle. Vellore surrendered immediately and then Carntiegurh and two other forts reduced immediately after. Vedaji Bhaskar Pant who was in charge of Arni since the time of

, brought the keys of the Fort and tendered his services to Shivaji. Shivaji thereby confirmed the award of the Jagir of Arnee to him. After establishing

Maratha Empire The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern Indian confederation that came to dominate much of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. Maratha rule formally began in 1674 with the coronation of Shi ...

, the jagir of Arni and Venidurg were left to the son of Vedaji Bhaskar pant, out of respect for Vedaji Bhaskar Pant for his loyalty.

Treaty of 1762

After the

Battle of Arnee The Battle of Arnee (or Battle of Arni) on 3 December 1751 during the Second Carnatic War. A British-led force under the command of Robert Clive defeated and routed a much larger Franco-Indian force under the command of Raza Sahib. Backgro ...

, a treaty was signed in 1762 between the

Nawab of Arcot The Carnatic Sultanate was a kingdom in South India between about 1690 and 1855, and was under the legal purview of the Nizam of Hyderabad, until their demise. They initially had their capital at Arcot in the present-day Indian state of Tamil N ...

and Pratap Singh, Rajah of Tanjore. This was guaranteed by the Government of

Fort St. George Fort St. George (or historically, White Town) is a fortress in the coastal city of Chennai, India. Founded in 1639, it was the first English (later British) fortress in India. The construction of the fort provided the impetus for further ...

and confirmed by the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

. This once again restored and confirmed the Jagir to Thirumala I Rao Sahib under the 5th Article of the Treaty.

Extent of the Estate

The Arni jagir comprises 192 villages in the North Arcot district of Madras Presidency. Its extent was 211 square miles. The pant family ruled the region till 1948. The members of ruling family used 186 luxurious cars between 1920 and 1948, which were imported from various countries.

Palaces and Architecture

In the town of Arni, which is the headquarters of the Arni jagir two palaces were built during 19 century.

Diwan Khane Palace

The first palace, is a two-storey building known as ''Diwan Khane'', which was originally meant as a guest house for women and children of the royal family. It is spread over 35 acres, the palace had circular brick pillars, Indian motifs, arches, gothic columns and Madras terrace built with the lime and mortar method. Peacock pattern glass panels on the doors, door handles and engravings with flora and fauna — characteristic of the Mughal style of architecture — were also introduced. The palace had fish-typed door stoppers and floors that were made of lime but resembled tiled flooring. The last two features were unique to the architecture followed by Arni rulers of those times. At present, the palace is in ruins.

Poosi Malai Kuppam Palace

The second palace, known as ''Poosi Malai Kuppam'', was built as a guest house for the rulers. It is a single-storey structure, which had separate loft for pigeons, four chimneys (despite the town experiencing generally hot climate). The palace is constructed in a typical British style. Most of the structure now remains intact but needs immediate conservation. In fact, Mr. Hariharan said, the forest palace was the earliest structure in the region to use steel rafters instead of traditional wooden rafters for its roof. Such steel rafters added strength to the structure.

Arni House

The '' Arni House'' was constructed by Jagirdars of Arni in 1903, which was later bought by Maharaja

Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV (Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar; 4 June 1884 – 3 August 1940) was the twenty-fourth maharaja of the Kingdom of Mysore, from 1902 until his death in 1940. He is popularly called ''Rajarshi'' ( sa, rājarṣi, lit ...

and gifted to his nephew

Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar (18 July 1919 – 23 September 1974) was the 25th Maharaja of Mysore from 1940 to 1950, who later served as the governor of Mysore and Madras states. Early life Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar was born on 18 July 1919 at ...

and named it as The Jayamahal Palace. In 1949

Maharaja of Mysore The maharaja of Mysore was the king and principal ruler of the southern Indian Kingdom of Mysore and briefly of Mysore State in the Indian Dominion roughly between the mid- to late-1300s and 1950. In title, the role has been known by differe ...

Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar sold the palace to Maharaja of Gondal. The Jayamahal Palace was spread across 24 acres in

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

Titles

*The

conferred upon Vedaji Baskar Pant the title of ''Rao Sahib'', which subsequently replaced the surname ''Pant'' of the ruling family. * In 1765, Srinivasa I Rao Sahib the 6th Jagirdar of Arni was granted the title "

Raja ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested f ...

". From their onwards the ruling family used the title "

Rulers of Arni

In 1902, when the Jagirdar Raja Srinivasa III Rao Sahib died, Raja Thirumala IV Rao Sahib the next raja was a minor, and the estate was being continued under the management of the Court of Wards by Government's orders. After the death of Raja Thirumala IV Rao Sahib his eldest son Raja Srinivasa IV Rao Sahib succeeded, the estate. The rulers of the Arni belonged to

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...

Deshastha Madhva Brahmin Deshastha Brahmin is a Hindu Brahmin subcaste mainly from the Indian state of Maharashtra and northern area of the state of Karnataka. Other than these states, according to authors K. S. Singh, Gregory Naik and Pran Nath Chopra, Deshastha Bra ...

family and were devout followers of

Uttaradi Math Shri Uttaradi Math (IAST:''Śrī Uttarādi Maṭha'') (also known as Uttaradi Peetha), is one of the main monasteries (matha) founded by Madhvacharya with Padmanabha Tirtha as its head to preserve and propagate Dvaita Vedanta (Tattvavada) outs ...

. They used the titles ''Rao Sahib'' and ''Raja''. The rulers of Arni Jagir were: * Vedaji Bhaskar Rao Pant – 1640 (founder)

Rao Sahib's

* Koneri Rao Sahib * Ramachandra Rao Sahib – 1679 * Venkata I Rao Sahib * Thirumala I Rao Sahib

Rajas

* Raja Srinivasa I Rao Sahib – (1765–1795) * Raja Thirumala II Rao Sahib – (1795–1823) * Raja Srinivasa II Rao Sahib – (1823–1853) * Raja Thirumala III Rao Sahib – (1853–1871) * Raja Srinivasa III Rao Sahib – (1871–1902) * Raja Thirumala IV Rao Sahib – (1902–1931) * Raja Srinivasa IV Rao Sahib – (1931–1948) – accession in 1948

Abolition

The Jagir of Arnee was abolished under sections 41 (1) and 50 (7) of the Madras Estates (Abolition and Conversion into Ryotwari) Act, 1948 (as a result of the Zamindar Abolition Bill in 1948). The annual revenue of the Jagir at the time of abolition was around 2.5 lakhs.

References

External links

A collection of papers relating to the Arni jagir in the Madras Presidency. Madras: Govt. Press, 1908

{{Nobility of the Raj Historical Indian regions Zamindari estates Madras Presidency 1948 disestablishments in India 1640 establishments in India 1638 establishments in India