Pithapuram Zamindari 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 ...

in the

East Godavari East Godavari is a district in the Coastal Andhra region of Andhra Pradesh, India. Its district headquarters is at Rajahmundry. As of 2011 Census of India, census 2011, it became the most populous district of the state with a population of 5,151,54 ...

district of

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 ...

. In 1802,

Pithapuram Pithapuram, historically known as Pittapore, is a town and a municipality in the Kakinada district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The town also forms a part of Godavari Urban Development Authority. The town is home to one of the eighteen ...

was overshadowed by the renowned

Peddapuram Peddapuram is a town in the Kakinada district of Andhra Pradesh in South India. The town also forms a part of Godavari Urban Development Authority. Peddapuram is known for its milk based sweet called PalaKova. The town is also popular in manufac ...

estate. But, in 1843, all other villages of Peddapuram were lost except Kottam and they were left with only 36 villages. In this period, Pithapuram gained prominence purchased some estates of Peddapuram like

Thotapalle Estate Thotapalle is a village in the East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh. It is the Mansabdari estate with the same name which is resumed by Government in 1881. It has a revenue of 46,462/- by 1874-75 and peskash of 6,310/-. It was an impartible ...

. By 1874-1875 this estate had a revenue of Rs 5 lakhs and paid a tribute of Rs 2.5 lakhs. The Pitapuram Raja sponsored the monumental classical

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

dictionary ''Sri Suryarayandhra Nighantuvu'' and commissioned the first typewriter in Telugu.

History

The Zamindars of this estate belonged to the Padma Nayaka

Velama Velama is a caste found mainly in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The earliest occurrence of ''Velama'' as a term for a community dates from the 17th century. Origin and history The Velamas are described by that name from the 17th century and in ...

Stock. This family traces its origin to the

Venkatagiri Venkatagiri is a town in Tirupati district Tirupati district () is one of the twenty-six districts in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and one of the eight districts in the Rayalaseema region of the Andhra Pradesh state. The district h ...

royal family. One of the members of Venkatagiri family came to Godvari districts as a Sardar, whose descendants later settled there. This family came to

Godavari District Godavari District was a district in Madras Presidency in British India created in 1859, which was formerly within the Rajahmundry (Rajamahendravaram) District created in 1823. In 1859, Rajahmundry district, along with Masulipatnam and Guntur di ...

in 1571 and was given the

Jagir A jagir ( fa, , translit=Jāgir), also spelled as jageer, was a type of feudal land grant in the Indian subcontinent at the foundation of its Jagirdar (Zamindar) system. It developed during the Islamic rule era of the Indian subcontinent, start ...

of Anaparthi. They were made the Sardars of

Rajahmundry Rajahmundry, officially known as Rajamahendravaram, is a city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and District headquarters of East Godavari district. It is the sixth most populated city in the state. During British rule, the District of Rajah ...

who led 4000 troops. They got the Zamindari sanad in 1749 from Rustum Khan, a general of

Nizam The Nizams were the rulers of Hyderabad from the 18th through the 20th century. Nizam of Hyderabad (Niẓām ul-Mulk, also known as Asaf Jah) was the title of the monarch of the Hyderabad State ( divided between the state of Telangana, Mar ...

. Later they made a permanent settlement with the British in 1802. The total area of the estate in 1903 was 393 square miles with a revenue of INR 9,14,000/- paying a peskash of 2,44,000/-. Later they were also given the titles of

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 ...

as a personal distinction.

Relations

The Zamindars of Pithapuram are closely related to the

Nuzvid Estate Nuzvid Zamindari is one of the ancient Zamindari of the Madras Presidency. It comprises nearly about 288 villages or 18 paraganas. It pays a peskash of 95,443/-. It is further divided into Vuyyuru, Mirzapuram, Kapileswarapuram and other esta ...

Rajas through marital alliances.

Bobbili Bobbili is a town in Vizianagaram district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Geography Bobbili is located at . It has an average elevation of 103 metres (337 feet). History The town of Bobbili was founded during the 17th ce ...

, Venkatagiri, and Jetprole royal families are very closely related to Pithapuram royal family as they all claim their descent from the same ancestor.

References

{{Reflist Zamindari estates History of Andhra Pradesh Madras Presidency

History

Relations

Further reading

References