The Jhargram Raj Palace is the current residence of the Malla Deb Royal family. Situated in

Jhargram district Jhargram is a district in the state of West Bengal, India.The district lies between the Kangsabati River in the north and the Subarnarekha in the south. Jhargram has one of the lowest population densities among the districts of West Bengal, ...

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

. About 10 rooms on the ground floor have been converted into a Heritage Hotel run by the family.

History

Jhargram Raj was founded around 1592 AD by Sarveshwar Singh who along with his elder brother who were Generals under Man Singh of

Amer Amer may refer to: Places * Amer (river), a river in the Dutch province of North Brabant * Amer, Girona, a municipality in the province of Girona in Catalonia, Spain * Amber, India (also known as Amer, India), former city of Rajasthan state ** Am ...

and came to conquer Bengal when Emperor Akbar granted Subehdari of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa to Raja Man Singh. Sarveshwar Singh belonged to the

Chauhan Chauhan, historically ''Chahamana'', is a clan name historically associated with the various ruling Rajput families during the Medieval India in Rajasthan. Subclans Khichi, Hada, Songara, Bhadauria, Devda etc. are the branches or subclan ...

clan of Rajputs from

Fatehpur Sikri Fatehpur Sikri () is a town in the Agra District of Uttar Pradesh, India. Situated 35.7 kilometres from the district headquarters of Agra, Fatehpur Sikri itself was founded as the capital of Mughal Empire in 1571 by Emperor Akbar, serving th ...

. He defeated and vanquished the local Mal tribal kings who were ruling the region known as Junglekhand, even today in order to commemorate this victory, every year an idol of Mal Raja is made and slain on

Vijayadashami Vijayadashami ( sa, विजयदशमी, Vijayadaśamī, translit-std=IAST), also known as Dussehra, Dasara or Dashain, is a major Hindu festival celebrated at the end of Navaratri every year. It is observed on the tenth day in the Hindu ...

day. As a reward, Raja Man Singh, granted ''mansabdari'' of the entire region of Junglekhand to his victorious generals Sarveshwar Singh Chauhan and his elder brother, under suzerainty and subordination as a tributary vassal state to the Mughal Emperor Akbar. He named his capital Jhargram which means 'a village surrounded by deep forests', hence the rulers of Jhargram assumed the title "Malla Deb".
In 1799, the ruler of Jhargram, revolted against 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 ...

along with rulers of Bishnupur and others and the revolt was termed as Chuar Mutiny. The ruler was forced to surrender and the status Jhargram kingdom made to a Zamindari estate under the British authority. The kingdom had eight sardars under the system and one Sub Zamindar of Beliaberah.
The royal family ruled their dominions and estates from Jhargram Palace. The kingdom had its golden era during the reign of Raja

Narasingha Malla Deb Narasingha Malla Deb, O.B.E. (22 January 1907 – 11 November 1976) was a member of the Parliament of India and the 18th Raja of Jhargram, which he led from 1916 until the abolition of zamindaris by the West Bengal State Acquisition and Tenancy ...

, under the guidance of his mentor and Dewan Rai Bahadur Debendra Mohan Bhattacharya, he developed Jhargram town into a modern planned township and commissioned the new Palace in 1931 which is one of the finest example of

Indo Saracenic Indo-Saracenic architecture (also known as Indo-Gothic, Mughal-Gothic, Neo-Mughal, or Hindoo style) was a Revivalism (architecture), revivalist architectural style mostly used by British architects in India in the later 19th century, especially ...

architecture in Eastern India and spread over 30 acres.

Architecture

The Main Building is impressive. The Jhargram Raj Palace is an opulent Italianate structure, set in carefully laid lawns and gardens. The Palace was restructured in 1931 CE, by the Calcutta Improvement Trust during the reign of Raja

Bahadur. In the Palace campus, so evocative of a regal lifestyle, the past comes alive. The Palatial Guest House is a part of the Jhargram Raj Palace it has been a host to several dignitaries right from its inception some of the dignitaries who have officially stayed in this building as per the records are: * Lord Willingdon, the British

Viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning "k ...

of India; * Sir John Arthur Herbert, the

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

; * Lord Richard Casey, the Governor of Bengal; *

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari Chakravarti Rajagopalachari (10 December 1878 – 25 December 1972), popularly known as Rajaji or C.R., also known as Mootharignar Rajaji (Rajaji'', the Scholar Emeritus''), was an Indian statesman, writer, lawyer, and Indian Independence M ...

; *

Prafulla Chandra Ghosh Prafulla Chandra Ghosh (24 December 1891 – 18 December 1983) was the first Premier of West Bengal, India from 15 August 1947 to 14 August 1948. He also served as the Chief Minister of West Bengal in the "Progressive Democratic Alliance Fron ...

; * Bidhan Chandra Ray ; *

Lal Bahadur Shastri Lal Bahadur Shastri (; 2 October 1904 – 11 January 1966) was an Indian politician and statesman who served as the 2nd Prime Minister of India from 1964 to 1966 and 6th Home Minister of India from 1961 to 1963. He promoted the White Re ...

; * Morarji Desai ; * General Cariappa; * Uttam Kumar; *

Saiyid Nurul Hasan Saiyid Nurul Hasan (26 December 1921 – 12 July 1993) was an Indian historian and an elder statesman in the Government of India. A member of the Rajya Sabha, he was the Union Minister of State (with Independent Charges) of Education, So ...

; *

Pranab Mukherjee Dr. Pranab Mukherjee (11 December 193531 August 2020) was an Indian politician and statesman who served as the 13th president of India from 2012 until 2017. In a political career spanning five decades, Mukherjee was a senior leader in the India ...

; *

Mamata Banerjee Mamata Banerjee (; born 5 January 1955) is an Indian politician who is serving as the eighth and current List of chief ministers of West Bengal, chief minister of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal since 20 ...

Heritage tourism

The proprietors of Jhargram Palace have developed a hotel and other tourism infrastructures in and around the palace which is boosting tourism in West Bengal.

Transport

Jhargram lies on AH46 which is a part of the

Asian Highway Network The Asian Highway Network (AH), also known as the Great Asian Highway, is a cooperative project among countries in Asia and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) to improve their connectivity via hig ...

. For local transportation bus, taxi, minibus, cycle-rikshaws, and autos are available. Jhargram is also connected by train to nearest big city like Kolkata, Tatanagar and Ranchi.
The nearest airport is

Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport is an international airport located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India, serving the Kolkata Metropolitan Area and is the aviation hub for eastern and northeastern India. It is located approximatel ...

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

155 km (by train) and 169 km (by road- AH46). Sonari Airport of

Jamshedpur Jamshedpur (, ) or Tatanagar is the largest and most populous city in Jharkhand and the first planned industrial city in India. It is a Notified Area Council and Municipal Corporation and also the headquarter of the East Singhbhum district. It ...

is located at a distance 96 km by train.

Birsa Munda Airport Birsa Munda Airport is a domestic airport serving Ranchi, the capital city of the Jharkhand, India. It is named after the Indian tribal freedom fighter Birsa Munda, and is currently managed by Airports Authority of India. The airport is locate ...

Ranchi Ranchi (, ) is the capital of the Indian state of Jharkhand. Ranchi was the centre of the Jharkhand movement, which called for a separate state for the tribal regions of South Bihar, northern Odisha, western West Bengal and the eastern area ...

is located at a distance of 233 km (by road- NH-33) and 258 km (by train).

References

External links