Morvi State, also spelled as Morvee State or Morbi State, was a princely

salute state A salute state was a princely state under the British Raj that had been granted a gun salute by the British Crown (as paramount ruler); i.e., the protocolary privilege for its ruler to be greeted—originally by Royal Navy ships, later also ...

in the historical

Halar Halar (Haalaar) is a historical region of western India, located by the Gulf of Kutch coast on the northwestern area of Nawanagar, now Jamnagar, in Gujarat State, on Saurashtra peninsula, roughly corresponding to the present Jamnagar District ...

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 ...

'' (district) of

Kathiawar Kathiawar () is a peninsula, near the far north of India's west coast, of about bordering the Arabian Sea. It is bounded by the Gulf of Kutch in the northwest and by the Gulf of Khambhat (Gulf of Cambay) in the east. In the northeast, it is ...

during the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

. The town of

Morvi Morbi or Morvi is a city in the Morbi district in the state of Gujarat, India. It is situated on the Kathiawar peninsula. , the city's population was determined to be 194,947. The city is on the Machhu River, from the sea and from Rajkot. H ...

(Morbi),

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the 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 fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

, was its capital. The Kotwals of the royal palace of

were Talpada

Kolis The Koli is an Indian caste found in Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Karnataka, Odisha and Jammu and Kashmir states in India. Koli is an agriculturist caste of Gujarat but in coastal areas the ...

of Radhavanaj village of

Kheda Kheda, also known as Kaira, is a city and a municipality in the Indian state of Gujarat. It was former administrative capital of Kheda district. India's First Deputy Prime Minister Vallabhbhai Patel Was Born In Kheda District of Gujarat State ...

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

. The rulers of the princely state belonged to the

Jadeja The Jadeja (also spelled Jarejo) (Gujarati: ) is a Rajput clan that inhabits the Indian state of Gujarat. They claim to be descended from the legendary Jamshed of Iran. They also claim descent from Krishna. They originated from pastoral communi ...

dynasty of

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. The state's last ruler signed the instrument of accession to the

Dominion of India The Dominion of India, officially the Union of India,* Quote: “The first collective use (of the word "dominion") occurred at the Colonial Conference (April to May 1907) when the title was conferred upon Canada and Australia. New Zealand and N ...

on 15 February 1948.

History

Morvi was founded as a

princely state A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Raj, British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, ...

around 1698 by Kanyoji when the

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

Cutch State Cutch, also spelled Kutch or Kachchh and also historically known as the Kingdom of Kutch, was a kingdom in the Kutch region from 1147 to 1819 and a princely state under British rule from 1819 to 1947. Its territories covered the present day K ...

fled

Bhuj Bhuj () is a Municipality and District Headquarters of Kutch District in the state of Gujarat, India. Etymology According to legend, Kutch was ruled by the Nāga chieftains in the past. Sagai, a queen of Sheshapattana, who was married to Kin ...

with his mother after his father Ravaji was murdered and the throne was seized by his uncle

Pragmalji I Rao Pragmalji I was the Rao of Cutch belonging to Jadeja Rajput dynasty, who ruled Princely State of Cutch as from 1698 to 1715. He established current lineage of rulers of the state in 1698. Life Rao Rayadhan II died in 1698. Rayadhan had th ...

. It became a British protectorate in 1807. The state was in the colonial sway of the

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 India. The agency's headquarters wer ...

of the

Bombay Presidency The Bombay Presidency or Bombay Province, also called Bombay and Sind (1843–1936), was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India, with its capital in the city that came up over the seven islands of Bombay. The first mainl ...

. In 1943, with the implementation of the '

attachment scheme Baroda and Gujarat States Agency was a political agency of British India, managing the relations of the British government of the Bombay Presidency with a collection of princely states. The political agent, who was also Collector of the Britis ...

', Morvi State enlarged its territory by an additional 310 km² with about 12,500 inhabitants when the Hadala Taluk and the Kotda-Nayani Thana, as well as the small Malia princely state were merged. On 15 August 1947, the state officially ceased to exist by merging into the west Indian United State of Saurashtra (initially - of Kathiawar), which later merged into

Bombay state Bombay State was a large Indian state created at the time of India's Independence, with other regions being added to it in the succeeding years. Bombay Presidency (roughly equating to the present-day Indian state of Maharashtra, excluding Sou ...

; since that was divided, it is in Gujarat.

Rulers

The rulers of the state belonged to the Jadeja clan of Rajputs, and bore the title

Thakur Sahib Thakur is a historical feudal title of the Indian subcontinent. It is also used as a surname in the present day. The female variant of the title is Thakurani or Thakurain, and is also used to describe the wife of a Thakur. There are varyin ...

until the last added the higher title

Maharaja Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, an ...

in 1926.

Thakur Sahibs

*1698 - 1733 Kanyoji Rawaji (of Kutch) (d. 1733) *1733 - 1739 Aliyaji Kanyoji (d. 1739) *1739 - 1764 Rawaji Aliyaji I (d. 1764) *1764 - 1772 Pachanji Rawaji (d. 1772) *1772 - 1783 Waghji I Rawaji (d. 1783) *1783 - 1790 Hamirji Waghji (d. 1790) *1790 - 1828 Jyaji Waghji (d. 1828) *1828 - 1846 Prithirajji Jyaji (d. 1846) *1846 - 17 February 1870 Rawaji II Prithirajji (b. 1828 - d. 1870) *17 February 1870 – 11 July 1922 Waghji II Rawaji also called Kathiyawadi American (b. 1858 - d. 1922) ''(personal style Maharaja from 16 February 1887)'' (from 30 June 1887, Sir Waghji II Rawaji) *17 Feb 1870 - 1 Jan 1879 Regents (Council of administration) **- Shambhuprasad Laxmilal **- Jhunjhabai Sakhidas (to 187.) *11 July 1922 – 3 June 1926 Lakhdirji Waghji (''see below'') (b. 1876 - d. 1957)

Thakur Sahib Maharaja

*3 June 1926 – 15 August 1947 Lakhdirji Waghji (s.a.) (from 1 January 1930, Sir Lakhdirji Waghji)

References

External links and sources