Sailana State was an 11 gun salute

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, ...

in India, 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 ...

of Central India 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 state enjoyed an estimated revenue of Rs.5,00,000.

History

Sailana State was founded by Raja Jai Singh, great-grandson of Maharaja Ratan Singh, founder of

Ratlam State Ratlam State was a 13 gun salute (15 local) princely state in India, part of the Malwa Agency of Central India during the British Raj. The state's capital was Ratlam town in modern Ratlam district of Madhya Pradesh. Ratlam State was original ...

. It is a branch of the

Rathore The Rathore is a Rajput clan found in Northern India. Subclans Jodhana, Vadhel, Jaitawat, Kumpawat, Champawat, Meratiya, Udawat, Karamsot etc. are the branches or subclans of Rathore Rajputs. Coverage This article discusses the "Kanauji ...

house. In 1716 Jai singh took revenge against his uncle for the murder of his father, he killed him in a pitched battle at sagode and secured

Ratlam Ratlam, known historically as Ratnapuri (lit. ''gem city''), is a city in the northwestern part of the Malwa region in Madhya Pradesh state of India. The city of Ratlam lies above sea level. It is the administrative headquarters of Ratlam di ...

for his elder brother. The two brothers then divided the state between themselves. Jai singh's capital was initially at

Raoti Raoti or Rawati is a town and tehsil of Ratlam district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It was once a part of the Sailana State It falls in the Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh. History Raoti was founded in the year 1635–1636, when the ...

. He built

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 ...

as his new capital in 1736. During this period the Maratha influence in central India had been growing and several states had been annexed or forced to pay heavy tributes to the Peshwa. However Jai singh had the wisdom to form alliances with the Maratha officials, he helped the Peshwa agent Ambaji Pant Trimbak Purandare to collect tribute in Malwa and used the situation to annex the surrounding lands. He fought 22 battles in his lifetime, establishing himself as an independent ruler. Jai singh maintained an army that was feared by the surrounding states forcing some states to take

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 Marat ...

's aid against him. The Raja of Sailana favoured Rajputs and Pathans as horsemen while the infantry was drawn from the local populace. His descendant Mokham Singh however replaced this army composition with a surplus of elephants and emptied the state coffers, allowing the Marathas and Pindaris to encroach and loot with impunity. Jai Singh was succeeded by a string of weak rulers. During Raja Mokham Singh's rule much of the territory of

was annexed by

Scindia The Scindia dynasty (anglicized from Shinde) is a Hindu Maratha dynasty of maratha origin that ruled the erstwhile State of Gwalior. It had the Patil-ship of Kumberkerrab in Wai. It was founded by Ranoji Scindia, who started as a personal serva ...

and

, the Raja's of Sailana were further forced to pay tribute to the Scindias of Gwalior. Raja Lakshman Singh of

tried to push the Scindia's out of his kingdom, in 1818 he refused to pay

chauth Chauth (from Sanskrit, meaning ''one fourth'') was a regular tax or tribute imposed from the early 18th century by the Maratha Empire in the Indian subcontinent. It was an annual tax nominally levied at 25% on revenue or produce, hence the name, ...

which was regularly levied, the Scindias retaliated by sending an army under Bujang Rao, the

Gwalior Gwalior() is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; it lies in northern part of Madhya Pradesh and is one of the Counter-magnet cities. Located south of Delhi, the capital city of India, from Agra and from Bhopal, the s ...

army which had European arms and was French trained lost its advantage on the hills en route to

and was defeated by Lakshman Singh, the captured soldiers were allowed to leave but all of their guns and artillery were taken. In 1819, Bapu Rao Sindia was appointed to punish the raja of

and enforce tribute upon him. Bapu Rao had previously been sent by the Scindia's to defeat and exact tributes from the Maharaja of

Jaipur Jaipur (; Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had a population of 3.1 million, making it the tenth most populous city in the country. Jaipur is also known ...

and the Maharana of

Udaipur Udaipur () (ISO 15919: ''Udayapura''), historically named as Udayapura, is a city and municipal corporation in Udaipur district of the state of Rajasthan, India. It is the administrative headquarter of Udaipur district. It is the historic capit ...

. On 5 January 1819,

John Malcolm Major-General Sir John Malcolm GCB, KLS (2 May 1769 – 30 May 1833) was a Scottish soldier, diplomat, East India Company administrator, statesman, and historian. Early life Sir John Malcolm was born in 1769, one of seventeen children of Ge ...

mediated between

and

upon which Raja Lakshman Singh accepted British protection and agreed to pay a fixed tribute to

until 1860, in return for

Daulat Rao Sindhia Shrimant Daulat Rao Shinde (also Sindhia; 1779 – 21 March 1827) was the Maharaja (ruler) of Gwalior state in central India from 1794 until his death in 1827. His reign coincided with struggles for supremacy within the Maratha Empire, and war ...

agreeing to refrain from any interference in

. The tribute treaty did not last for long as Daulat Rao soon relinquished his rights of tribute on Sailana and Ratlam, the tribute was thus paid directly to the British instead. During British rule

saw development under the capable rule of Raja Jashwant Singh II and then under his son Raja Dileep Singh, many reforms were introduced over the coming years, with particular attention being paid to education and the provision of vernacular educational facilities. By 1947, education and medical aid were provided free of charge, the local municipality was placed on a democratic footing and the judiciary and executive made independent of each other. Although the economy was primarily agricultural, some limited industrialisation included oil mills, and iron and steel works. On 15 June 1948, Raja Dileep Singh signed the accession to the Indian Union.

Rulers

The chiefs of Sailana are

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 and have a common ancestry with the Maharajas of

Jodhpur Jodhpur (; ) is the second-largest city in the Indian state of Rajasthan and officially the second metropolitan city of the state. It was formerly the seat of the princely state of Jodhpur State. Jodhpur was historically the capital of the Ki ...

and

.Indian States: A Biographical, Historical, and Administrative Survey By R. V. Solomon, J. W. Bond. Pg.629-634
/ref>

Rajas

Jagirdars of Sailana State

All the jagirdars owe fealty and service to the ruler and pay cesses and tanka. No jagirdar has the right to adopt without the permission of the raja. The 1st class jagirdars are allowed to wear gold anklets, and at their succession, they are installed by the ruling raja himself. Half of the states lands were alienated because of the large number of Jagirs. Raja Dilip Singh () later extinguished several Jagirs and replaced them with governors. This harsh but effective action helped the states revenue which was then used to provide medical and educational facilities in Sailana.Sailana through the ages by Jayantilaal Mehta p. 109 The following were the 1st class Jagirdars of Sailana in 1908. The following were the 2nd class Jagirdars of Sailana in 1908. The 3rd class jagirdars were hereditary office holders of the state.

External links

Royal house of Sailana

References