Rajkot State was one of the

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, ...

s of

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 ...

during the period of

British rule 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 hims ...

. It was a 9-gun

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 ...

belonging to 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 ...

. Its capital was in

Rajkot Rajkot () is the fourth-largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat after Ahmedabad, Vadodara, and Surat, and is in the centre of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat. Rajkot is the 35th-largest metropolitan area in India, with a population of ...

, located 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 ...

region 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 ...

on the banks of the Aji River. Nowadays, Rajkot is the fourth largest city of

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 ...

state.

History

Rajkot was founded by Thakur

Sahib Sahib or Saheb (; ) is an Arabic title meaning 'companion'. It was historically used for the first caliph Abu Bakr in the Quran. The title is still applied to the caliph by Sunni Muslims. As a loanword, ''Sahib'' has passed into several langua ...

Vibhoji Ajoji Jadeja in 1620. He was the grandson of Jam Shri Satarsal (Sataji) Vibhaji Jadeja of Nawanagar. 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 ...

Rulers

The rulers of Rajkot were titled 'Thakur Sahib' with the style of 'His Highness.

Thakur Sahibs

*1694 – 1720 Mehramamji II Bamaniaji (d. 1720) *1720 – 1732 Masum Khan Shughaat-Mughal governor(d. 1732) *1732 – 1746 Ranmalji I Mehramamji (d. 1746) *1746 – 17.. Lakhaji I Ranmalji (1st time) (d. 1796) *17.. – 1794 Mehramamji III Lakhaji (d. 1794) *1794 – 1795 Lakhaji I Ranmalji (2nd time) (s.a.) *1795 – 1825 Ranmalji II Mehramamji (d. 1825) *1825 – 1844 Surajji Ranmalji (d. 1844) *1844 – 8 Nov 1862 Mehramamji IV Surajji (d. 1862) * 8 Nov 1862 – 16 Apr 1890 Bawajiraj Mehrmansinhji (b. 1856 – d. 1890) *1862 – 1867 Thakurani Bai Shri Naniba (d. 1893) Kunverba (f) -Regent **1867 – 17 Jan 1876 J.H. Lloyd -Regent *16 Apr 1890 – 2 Feb 1930 Lakhajiraj III Bawajiraj (b. 1885 – d. 1930) (from 3 Jun 1918, Sir Lakhajiraj III Bawajiraj) **16 Apr 1890 – 21 Oct 1907 .... -Regent * 2 Feb 1930 – 11 Jun 1940 Dharmendrasinhji Lakhaji (b. 1910 – d. 1940) *11 Jun 1940 – 15 Aug 1947 Pradumansinhji (b. 1913 – d. 1973)

British agents and residents

The city of Rajkot became the headquarters of the

Western India States Agency The Western India States Agency (WISA) was one of the agencies of British India. This agency was formed on 10 October 1924 as a part of the implementation of the Montague Chelmsford report on constitutional reforms. It was formed by merging the ...

in 1924.

Agents of the Governor-general for the Western India States Agency

*10 Oct 1924 – 15 Jul 1926 C.C. Watson *16 Jul 1926 – Nov 1926 A.O. Macpherson *21 Nov 1926 – 17 Oct 1927 C.L. Watson *18 Oct 1927 – 18 May 1928 E.H. Kealy *19 May 1928 – 2 Apr 1929 H.S. Strong * 3 Apr 1929 – 23 Oct 1929 T.H. Keyes *24 Oct 1929 – 1931 E.H. Kealy *15 Aug 1931 – 1932 A.H.E. Mosse *14 Aug 1932 – 26 May 1933 Courtenay Latimer *27 May 1933 – 13 Oct 1933 John Creery Tate *14 Oct 1933 – 5 Jun 1936 Courtenay Latimer * 6 Jun 1936 – 1 Nov 1936 J. de la H. Gordon * 2 Nov 1936 – 31 Mar 1937 Courtenay Latimer

Residents for the Western India States Agency

* 1 Apr 1937 – 10 Oct 1937 Courtenay Latimer *11 Oct 1937 – 31 Jan 1941 Edmund C. Gibson (1st time) * 1 Feb 1941 – 14 Mar 1941 G.B. Williams *15 Mar 1941 – 3 Apr 1942 M.C. Sinclair * Apr 1942 – Nov 1942 Edmund C. Gibson (2nd time) * 2 Nov 1942 – 6 Sep 1944 Philipp Gaisford * 7 Sep 1944 – 4 Nov 1944 Cyril P. Hancock (b. 1896 – d. 1990)

Residents for Baroda, Western India States and Gujarat Agency

In 1944 the Western India States Agency was merged with the

Baroda and Gujarat States Agency 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 ...

to form the

Baroda, Western India and Gujarat States Agency The Baroda, Western India and Gujarat States Agency was an agency of the Indian Empire, managing the relations of the Provincial Government of the Bombay Presidency with a collection of princely states. The political agent in charge of the a ...

. * 5 Nov 1944 – 14 Aug 1947 Residents in

Baroda Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capital ...

References

External links

*
Palaces of India - Heritage Khirasara Palace, Khirasara, Rajkot, Gujarat
* {{Authority control Rajputs History of Rajkot Rajkot district Bombay Presidency 1620 establishments in India 1948 disestablishments in India