Jhabua State was one of the princely states 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 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 him ...

. It had its capital in

Jhabua Jhabua is a town and a municipality in Jhabua district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of Jhabua District. Recently the district has got international recognition because of its endemic hen species ...

town. Most of the territory of the princely state was inhabited by the

Bhil people Bhil or Bheel is an ethnic group in western India. They speak the Bhil languages, a subgroup of the Western Zone of the Indo-Aryan languages. As of 2013, Bhils were the largest tribal group in India. Bhils are listed as tribal people of the ...

, who constituted a majority of the population. The revenue of the state in 1901 was Rs.1,10,000.

History

The state of Jhabua was founded by Kesho Das or Kishan Das, in 1584. He was granted the title of ''

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 ...

'' by

Mughal Emperor The Mughal emperors ( fa, , Pādishāhān) were the supreme heads of state of the Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, mainly corresponding to the modern countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The Mughal rulers styled t ...

Akbar as a reward for a successful campaign in

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

, and for punishing the

Bhil Bhil or Bheel is an ethnic group in western India. They speak the Bhil languages, a subgroup of the Western Zone of the Indo-Aryan languages. As of 2013, Bhils were the largest tribal group in India. Bhils are listed as tribal people of t ...

Chiefs of

Labana Lubana (also spelled Lubana, Labana, Lavana, Lubhana; ) is a merchant and transportation community in India engaged in maritime trade and land trade which includes trading and transportation of goods like saltpetre, silk, diamonds, etc. In the ...

, who had murdered the wife and daughters of the Imperial Viceroy 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 ...

. Khushal Singh was the ruler of Jhabua in 1698, he gave much of his lands to his brothers and sons and was too weak to rule his state effectively. This allowed the

Maratha The Marathi people ( Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as ...

s to actively invade Jhabua on a regular basis. Raja Shiv Singh was an infant and therefore the states administration during this time was managed by the raja's mother and the nobles. The Marathas under

Holkar The Holkar (Pronunciation: �o(ː)ɭkəɾ dynasty was a Maratha clan of Dhangar origin in India. The Holkars were generals under Peshwa Baji Rao I, and later became Maharajas of Indore in Central India as an independent member of the Mara ...

took advantage of this situation to take control of Jhabua. The threat from Jai Singh of

Sailana Sailana is a town in the Malwa region of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Sailana is from Ratlam city and away from Banswara district of the neighboring state of Rajasthan. Sailana was once the capital of the Sailana State before it merged ...

forced the nobles of Jhabua to rely on Maratha protection, Holkar thus sent his officers to manage the states affairs.Malwa in Transition Or a Century of Anarchy: The First Phase, 1698-1765, published in 1993, pg.185, 282

/ref> Jhabua later came under British protection in 1817 A.D. and was under the

Bhopawar Agency Bhopawar Agency was a sub-agency of the Central India Agency in British India with the headquarters at the town of Bhopawar, so the name. Bhopawar Agency was created in 1882 from a number of princely states in the Western Nimar and Southern Malwa ...

of the

Central India Agency The Central India Agency was created in 1854, by amalgamating the Western Malwa Agency with other smaller political offices which formerly reported to the Governor-General of India. The agency was overseen by a political agent who maintained ...

and in 1927 it became part of the

Malwa Agency Malwa Agency was an administrative section of India's Central India Agency. The headquarters of the political agent was at Mandsaur (Mandasor) / Neemuch (Nimach). The other chief towns of the region were : Ratlam and Jaora. History The Malw ...

.There were 20 families of rank in the state who paid £1500 to the Holkars and £2500 to their own chief. In 1875 the state had a population of 55,000 and a revenue of £22,500. After India's independence in 1947, Jhabua's last ruler signed the accession to the Indian Union on 15 June 1948, and Jhabua became part of the newly created

Madhya Bharat Madhya Bharat, also known as Malwa Union, was an Indian state in west-central India, created on 28 May 1948 from twenty-five princely states which until 1947 had been part of the Central India Agency, with Jiwajirao Scindia as its Rajpramukh. ...

state, which in 1956 was merged into Madhya Pradesh.

Rulers

The rulers of Jhabua were Rathor Rajputs. They had the title of H.H. Raja Saheb. They were granted a hereditary salute of 11 guns by the British. ;Rajas

References

Princely states of Madhya Pradesh Rajputs Jhabua 1584 establishments in India 1948 disestablishments in India {{India-hist-stub

History

Rulers

See also

References