Deo Raj, was a

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) situated in what is now Aurangabad district of

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

. The Deo Raj family were notable for being the protectors of Deo Sun shrine (Deo Surya Mandir).

Origins

In the 14th and 15th century, there was a migration of

Sisodia The Sisodia is an Indian Rajput dynasty belonging to the clan that ruled over the kingdom of Mewar in Rajasthan. The name of the clan is also transliterated as ''Sesodia'', ''Shishodia'', ''Sishodia'', ''Shishodya'', ''Sisodya'', ''Sisodiya'', ...

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 from

Mewar Mewar or Mewad is a region in the south-central part of Rajasthan state of India. It includes the present-day districts of Bhilwara, Chittorgarh, Pratapgarh, Rajsamand, Udaipur, Pirawa Tehsil of Jhalawar District of Rajasthan, Neemuch and Man ...

to South Bihar. These migrant Rajputs along with local

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

Rajas played an important role in freeing the numerous Hindu shrines and temples from the Muslim rule They eventually became the founders of the Deo Raj estate. Sun-temple DEO Aurangabad Bihar,India

The Deo Rajas were among a number of Rajput migrant groups to arrive in Southern Bihar and they replaced the previous Umga chiefs who had fallen to Muslim invasion.

Relations with the British

The zamindars of the Deo estate generally maintained cordial relations with the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

. They refused to join other rebellious zamindars in the 1781 rebellion and the 1857 rebellion. They also refused to join the nearby tribal uprisings including the

Santhal rebellion The Santhal rebellion (also known as the Sonthal rebellion or the Santhal Hool), was a rebellion in present-day Jharkhand and West Bengal , Eastern India against both the British East India Company (BEIC) and zamindari system by the Santhal. I ...

. It is notable that the Rajas of Deo did not provide help to

Kunwar Singh Kunwar Singh (born: 13 November 1777 – died: 26 April 1858), also known as Babu Kunwar Singh, was a leader and military commander during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. He led a selected band of armed soldiers against the troops under the comm ...

despite Raja Fateh Narayan Singh, the then ruler of Deo, marrying his daughter of to Kunwar Singh.

References

{{reflist History of Bihar Zamindari estates Deo, Bihar Rajput estates Kingdoms of Bihar

Origins

Relations with the British

See also

References