Rai Saheb
Rai Sahib / Rao Saheb / Roy Sahib / Rao Sahib abbreviated R.S., was a title of honour issued during the era of British Raj, British rule in India to individuals who performed faithful service or acts of public welfare to the nation. From 1911 the ...
Koovarji Karsan Rathor (1898–1976) was a noted
Kutchi railway & civil contractor, businessman & philanthropist from
Cuttack
Cuttack (, or officially Kataka ) in Odia is the former capital and the second largest city in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the headquarters of the Cuttack district. The name of the city is an anglicised form of ''Kataka'' which literall ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
.
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]
Life sketch
He was born to Karsan Bhima Rathor in Madhapar
Madhapar is a village located in Kutch district in the state of Gujarat, India. It is one of the richest villages in India in terms of bank deposits. The village has around 7600 households and 2000 crore Indian rupee worth bank deposits.
Histor ...
, who belonged to Mestri community of Kutch.[ His father Karsan Bhima was a noted railway contractor, who settled in Cuttack, while doing railway contract. The Shail Sadan Palace in ]Bolangir
Balangir also known as Bolangir, is a city and municipality, the headquarters of Balangir district in the state of Odisha, India. Balangir has one of the best cultural heritage in India. It is also known as one of the finest places for tourists ...
belonging to royal family of Patna Raj was constructed in 1910 by Karsan Bhima Rathor, Jagmal Bhima Rathor & other contractor of Kutch like Parbat Vira of Khambhra
Khambhra or Khamra is a village near the town Anjar and the taluka of Kutch district in the Indian state of Gujarat. The village is eight kilometres from the nearest town, Anjar.
History
It is one of the 18 villages founded by Kutch Gurjar K ...
.[ Further, Karsan Bhima and his elder brother Jagmal Bhima were the contractors, who were involved in building of railway lines from ]Kharagpur
Kharagpur () is a planned urban agglomeration and a major industrial city in Paschim Medinipur district of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of the Kharagpur subdivision. It is the largest, most populated, multicultural and cosmopol ...
to Cuttack
Cuttack (, or officially Kataka ) in Odia is the former capital and the second largest city in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the headquarters of the Cuttack district. The name of the city is an anglicised form of ''Kataka'' which literall ...
during the years 1892 to 1898 along with other contemporary Mistri
Mistri, or Mistry, is a term for a master-craftsman, foreman or supervisor of manual workers in India. Mistri is being replaced with "supervisor" and other terms, as for example by the Indian Railway who replaced it with supervisor in 2005.
The w ...
contractors like Manji Jeram of Madhapar, Khora Ramji
Khora Ramji Chawda (1860–1923), better known as Seth Khora Ramji, was a reputed railway contractor, coal mines owner, banker and philanthropist of the early 20th century in India, who worked from Dhanbad and Jharia.
Life-sketch
He was born in ...
and others from Sinugra
Sinugra (also spelled Shinoogra / Sinogra / Sinougra) is a village 7 km from the town of Anjar, in the Anjar taluka of Kutch district in the Indian state of Gujarat.
History
The village is one of the eighteen villages founded by Mistris ...
, Khambhra
Khambhra or Khamra is a village near the town Anjar and the taluka of Kutch district in the Indian state of Gujarat. The village is eight kilometres from the nearest town, Anjar.
History
It is one of the 18 villages founded by Kutch Gurjar K ...
, etc. In 1897 they were involved in laying the lines and building the bridge over Dhelang River in Khurda Road
Jatni (or Khurda Road, Name of the Railway Station) is a town and a major sub-urban area of Bhubaneswar, the state capital of Odisha. It is also a municipality in Khordha district in the Indian state of Odisha.
Jatni, also known as Khurda Road ...
to Puri
Puri () is a coastal city and a Nagar Palika, municipality in the state of Odisha in eastern India. It is the district headquarters of Puri district and is situated on the Bay of Bengal, south of the state capital of Bhubaneswar. It is als ...
section for Bengal Nagpur Railway
The Bengal Nagpur Railway was one of the companies which pioneered development of the railways in eastern and central India. It was succeeded first by Eastern Railway and subsequently by South Eastern Railway.
History
The opening of the ...
, in 1902 works in Gondia
Gondia (also spelled Gondiya) is a city and municipal council in the Indian state of Maharashtra which serves the administrative headquarters of the eponymous administrative district. Gondia is also known as ''Rice City'' due to the abundance ...
- Jabalpur
Jabalpur is a city situated on the banks of Narmada River in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. According to the 2011 census, it is the third-largest urban agglomeration in Madhya Pradesh and the country's 38th-largest urban agglomeration. J ...
section, in 1906 works in Gondia - Nagbhid
Nagbhid, also known as Nagbhir, is a town and a municipal council in Chandrapur district in the Indian state of Maharashtra.
It Connected to NH-353D and MSH-9.
Railway
Nagbhid town is served by Nagbhir Junction railway station. Nagpur-Nag ...
section and in 1910 the Tatanagar
Tatanagar Junction railway station, station code TATA, is the main railway station serving the city of Jamshedpur in the Indian state of Jharkhand. It is located on the Howrah–Nagpur–Mumbai line of the Indian Railways. It has 6 platforms an ...
- Gorumahsini section with other Mistri railway contractors of Kutch.[Nanji Bapa ni Nondh Pothi by Nanji Govinji Tank of Tatanagar. Compiled by Dharshi Jethalal Taunk (1999) It is a diary of railway contacts noted by Nanji Govindji Tank during his lifetime with last entry in 1954 later published as book with recorded documents. Book given ''Aank-Sidhhi Award'' by Kutch Shakti in 2000.][Kutch Gurjar Kshatriya Samaj : A brief history & glory by Raja Pawan Jethwa (2007 : Calcutta).pp :19. Jagmal Bhima & Karsan Bhima - Railway Contracts & Rai Sahib Koonvarji Karsan Rathor - a brief life-sketch.] They have also done works of building palaces, courts & highway in erstwhile princely states of Mayurbhanj
Mayurbhanj district is one of the 30 districts in Odisha state in eastern India. It is the largest district of Odisha by area. Its headquarters are at Baripada. Other major towns are Rairangpur, Karanjia and Udala. , it is the third-most-popu ...
, Patna, Keonjhar
Kendujhar is a town with municipality in Kendujhar District in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the administrative headquarters of the Kendujhar district, and it is one of the fifth scheduled areas of Odisha.
Climate
Politics
Mohan char ...
& Sundargarh
Sundergarh is a town in Sundergarh district of the Indian state of Odisha. As of 2011 2011 Census of India, census, the municipality had a population of 45,036. Sundargarh is recognized as an industrial district in Odisha. Steel, fertilizer, ce ...
.[Kutch Tari Asmita (1926) pp : 267][
Koovarji Karsan did his primary education in Madhapar and later studied from various school in ]Mayurbhanj
Mayurbhanj district is one of the 30 districts in Odisha state in eastern India. It is the largest district of Odisha by area. Its headquarters are at Baripada. Other major towns are Rairangpur, Karanjia and Udala. , it is the third-most-popu ...
and Cuttack
Cuttack (, or officially Kataka ) in Odia is the former capital and the second largest city in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the headquarters of the Cuttack district. The name of the city is an anglicised form of ''Kataka'' which literall ...
. He joined his father's business along with his brother Raghu Karsan, as railway & civil contractor. But later he diversified into other businesses and started ice factory & flour mill in Cuttack named Bhima Ice Factory in the year 1922. Further, he also started another factory by same name at Chilika
Chilika Lake is a brackish water lagoon, spread over the Puri, khordha and Ganjam districts of Odisha state on the east coast of India, at the mouth of the Daya River, flowing into the Bay of Bengal, covering an area of over . It is the bigge ...
in 1928. Looking into plight of poor fisher-mans, he for many years, did not take storage charges from them. The present Ice Factory Road in Cuttack is named after their ice-factory.[Diary of Golden Days at Jharia – A Memoir and History of Gurjar Kashtriya Samaj of Kutch in Coalfields of Jharia – written by Natwarlal Devram Jethwa of Calcutta compiled by Raja Pawan Jethwa published in 1998 in English.pp:15 Life-sketch : Karsan Bhima & Koonvarji Karsan Rathor of Madhapar, Cuttack.] He also started cold storage and ice factories in Kalapada, Behrampore and Babugam.[ Later in 1929 he was one of the founder director of Cuttack Electric Supply Co Ltd.][ He also started and owned a cinema hall and several hotels with his brother Raghu Karsan and was one of the big land-owners at Cuttack.][Koovarji Karsan : Legal]
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He was also noted for his philanthropy works like starting of school named ''Gujarati Pathshala'' in 1928, which was renamed Anglo-Gujarati School at Cuttack in 1941.[ Further, he also started a library having more than three thousand books at Cuttack in year 1931.] He was given title of Rai Sahib in 1926 by British for his works in development of railways, industries and philanthropy.[ He also started a ]Dharamshala
Dharamshala (; also spelled Dharamsala) is the winter capital of Himachal Pradesh, India. It serves as administrative headquarters of the Kangra district after being relocated from Kangra, a city located away from Dharamshala, in 1855.
The ...
& public dispensary in Cuttack and Puri for pilgrims[ and also built a ]Shiva
Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...
temple in Cuttack, in memory of his father in 1964.[
In his ancestral village at Madhapar in Kutch, the huge artificial pond made by his uncle, Jagmal Bhima Rathor in 1900, is today known as Jagasagar Lake, named after its builder.][ His father Karasan Bhimjee also built an artificial lake with steps near Suralbhit Temple, which today is known by name Karasan Bhimjee's pond.][
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rathor, Koovarji Karsan
1898 births
1976 deaths
People from Kutch district
Gujarati people
Businesspeople from Odisha
Indian people in rail transport
Founders of Indian schools and colleges
People from Cuttack
Rai Sahibs
20th-century Indian philanthropists