The Sonbarsa Raj was a medieval chieftaincy and later a zamindari (estate) during

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 ...

in modern-day

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

, in erstwhile

Bhagalpur district Bhagalpur district is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar States and territories of India, state, India, and Bhagalpur town is the administrative headquarters of this district. Majority of Bhagalpur district lies in South Bihar. Geography ...

(now in

Saharsa Saharsa is a city and Municipal corporation in the Saharsa District in the eastern part of the state of Bihar, India. It is situated near the eastern banks of the Kosi River. It serves as the administrative headquarters for Saharsa District an ...

). It was controlled by the

Gandhavariya The Gandhavariya (also known as Gandhawariya and Gandhawaria) are a Rajput clan based in northern Bihar. They are descendants of King Vikukshi and they are descendants of Lava, son of Lord Rama . They ruled over parts of Madhepura district and S ...

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 ...

Beside Sonbarsa, the Gandhavarias landlords were found in Baruari, Parsarma, Barail, Sokhpur, Jadia, Basantpur, Durgapur, Sukhsena, Bhatattan, Panchgachhia etc. The Zamindari estate of Mangwar established by Babu Bhagwan Singh also belongs to the Gandhavaria clan, whose descendants Babu Sagar Prasad Singh lives there.

History

Sonbarsa Raj was founded by Raja Ranjit Singh in present district of Saharsa. It became powerful and very big estate in region. The Sonbarsa Raj family traces its origin from

Raja ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested f ...

Vikramaditya Vikramaditya (IAST: ') was a legendary king who has been featured in hundreds of traditional stories including those in ''Baital Pachisi'' and ''Singhasan Battisi''. Many describe him as ruler with his capital at Ujjain (Pataliputra or Pratis ...

Ujjain Ujjain (, Hindustani language, Hindustani pronunciation: Help:IPA/Hindi and Urdu, �d͡ːʒɛːn is a city in Ujjain district of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the fifth-largest city in Madhya Prad ...

and belong to Agni branch of Kshatriya. The grant and sanad related to Sonbarsa Raj shows that Gandhavarias were important Rajas under the Mughal and were loyal to ruling dynasty. They therefore, had played very important role in the politics of time in the region of Sarkar Tirhut of Mithila. One of the famous zamindars of Sonbarsa was Raja Harivallabh Narayan Singh, who was honoured by

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...

in the imperial Delhi durbar held in 1911 and was provided a royal chair along with the other royalty of India.

References

Villages in Saharsa district Zamindari estates Rajput estates {{India-hist-stub

History

See also

References