The Bettiah Raj was the second-largest zamindari in the Bettiah region of Bihar, India. It generated annual land revenue rentals of more than 2 million rupees. [1]
The Bettiah Raj was the second-largest zamindari in the Bettiah region of Bihar, India. It generated annual land revenue rentals of more than 2 million rupees. [1]
An early ruler was Gangeswar Deo, a Bhumihar-Brahmin of the Jaitharia clan, popularly known as Jaitharia Bhumihar Gangeswar Deo. The descendants of which are among the present day Kashyap gotra. [2] A branch of this clan also set up residence at a place called Jaithar Saran near Champaran, [3] and later moved east and established a state at Bettiah in Bihar. They were known as the Bhumihar . Bettiah Raj was the oldest in the region and had also been a branch of Raj Riyasat Sirkar of Champaran since the 17th century (the time of Shah Jahan) when the raja of Bettiah was Ugrasen Singh. Both the Madhuban Raj and Sheohar estates had broken off from Bettiah Raj. [3] [4] Even still, it remained the largest zamindari in Bihar. The Rajas of Bettiah had turbulent relations with Khandavalas of Mithila, who often assisted the Nawab of Bengal in subduing the hostile chieftaincy of Bettiah.[ citation needed ]
In 1765, when the East India Company acquired the Diwani , Bettiah Raj held the largest territory under its jurisdiction. [4] It consisted of a portion of the territory of Champaran. Bettiah Raj also came into being as a result of mallikana chaudharai and quanungoi, the connection with the revenue administration building on local dominance, and their ability to control and protect hundreds of villages. Internal disputes and family quarrels divided the Raj as time moved forward. Madhuban Raj was created as a consequence of such. [4]
During the Bettiah Raj of Bihar, the ethnoreligious community of Bettiah Christians, largely descended from upper-caste and middle-caste Hindu and Muslim converts to Christianity, was established in India by missionaries belonging to the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, a Roman Catholic religious order. [5] [6] [7] [8] It is one of the northern Indian subcontinent's oldest Christian communities. The mission was founded after Raja Dhurup Singh requested Joseph Mary Bernini to heal his ill wife of a severe illness and was said to be successful in doing so. [9] The Bettiah Christian Mission flourished under the blessing of Pope Benedict XIV and the patronage of the royal court of the Rajas, growing in number. [10]
The last zamindar was Harendra Kishore Singh, who was born in 1854 and succeeded his father, Rajendra Kishore Singh in 1883. In 1884, he received the title of Raja Bahadur as a personal distinction and a Khilat and a sanad from the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal, Sir Augustus Rivers Thompson. He was created a Knight Commander of the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire on 1 March 1889. [3] He was appointed a member of the Legislative Council of Bengal in January 1891. He was also a member of The Asiatic Society. [11] He was the last ruler of Bettiah Raj.
Raja Sir Harendra Kishore Singh Bahadur died heirless on 26 March 1893 leaving behind two widows, Maharani Sheo Ratna Kunwar and Maharani Janki Kunwar. Maharani Sheo Ratna Kunwar who succeeded to the estate of Raja Harendra Kishore Singh on his death as his senior widow died on 24 March 1896 and on her death Maharani Janki Kunwar became entitled to the possession of the estate. Since it was found that Maharani Janki Kunwar was not able to administer the estate, its management was taken over by the Court of Wards, Bihar in 1897. Maharani Janki Kunwar who was a limited holder of the estate died on 27 November 1954. [12] [13]
The Bettiah Raj forests were managed for timber production. Bihar state government took over management of the Bettiah Raj forests in 1953 and 1954 under the Bihar Private Protected Forests Act (1947). Valmiki National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary include a portion of the former Bettiah Raj estate. [14]
The Bettiah Gharana is one of the three (the others being Darbhanga Gharana, and Dumraon Gharana) oldest styles of Dhrupad vocal song from the state of Bihar. [15]
Bihar, a state of India, has produced musicians like Bharat Ratna Ustad Bismillah Khan and dhrupad singers like the Malliks and the Mishras along with poets like Pandit Dhareekshan Mishra, Bhikhari Thakur, the shakespeare of Bhojpuri and Vidyapati Thakur who contributed to Maithili Music. The classical music in Bihar is a form of the Hindustani classical music.
Bettiah is a city and the administrative headquarters of West Champaran district - (Tirhut). It is near the Indo-Nepal border, 225 kilometres (140 mi) northwest of Patna, in the state of Bihar, India.
The Darbhanga Raj, also known as Raj Darbhanga and the Khandwala dynasty, was a Maithil Brahmin dynasty and the rulers of territories, not all contiguous, that were part of the Mithila region, now divided between India and Nepal.
Bhumihar, also locally called Bhuinhar and Babhan, is a Hindu caste mainly found in Bihar, the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, the Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh, and Nepal.
Giuseppe Maria Bernini, also known as Giuseppe Maria da Gargnano, who lived from 1709–1761, was an Italian Capuchin missionary, physician and Orientalist. His efforts led to the establishment of the northern Indian subcontinent's oldest Christian community—the Bettiah Christians. Bernini was the first European to author tracts in Hindustani (Hindi-Urdu), as well as to translate Indian classics from Sanskrit into Italian.
The Sonbarsa Raj was a medieval chieftaincy and later a zamindari (estate) during British Raj in modern-day Bihar, in erstwhile Bhagalpur district. It was controlled by the Gandhavariya Rajputs.
The Tekari Raj was a zamindari estate of the Bhumihar community in South Bihar. They controlled 2,046 villages on their estate, which covered a 7,500 square kilometres (2,900 sq mi) area, near to the town of Gaya.
Maharaja Sir Harendra Kishore Singh was the last ruler of Bettiah Raj. He was born in 1854 and succeeded his father, the Rajendra Kishore Singh Bahadur in 1883. He died childless on 26th March, 1893. In 1884 received the title of Maharaja Bahadur as a personal distinction and a Khilat and a sanad from the hands of the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal, Augustus Rivers Thompson. He was created a Knight Commander of the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire on 1 March 1889. He was appointed a member of the Legislative Council of Bengal in January 1891. He was also a member of The Asiatic Society
Christianity in Bihar, a state of India, is a minority religion, being practised by less than 0.5% of the population. Most people, about 83%, in Bihar are Hindus. Padri Ki Haveli is a Roman Catholic church in Bihar, which exists for centuries. The Diocese of Patna of the Church of North India and Emmanuel Christian Fellowship Centre (ECFC) are present in Bihar and the Pentecostal Holiness Church are present in Bihar as well as the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Patna. The archdiocese has suffragan dioceses:the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bettiah, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bhagalpur, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buxar, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Muzaffarpur and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Purnea, all of whom have their seat in Bihar. Bihar has numerous house churches and a Christ Church Diocesan School exists in Patna. Indian Pentecostal church of God Northern Region is the leading and oldest Pentecostal church in Bihar. Oldest Pentecostal Fellowship started in Rajendra Nagar, Patna. And Bihar has Christian Revival Church.
Maharaja Harendra Kishore Public Library is a depository library in Bettiah in West Champaran district in the Indian state of Bihar. It was established in 1905 as Victoria Memorial Library and was renamed to its present name, Maharaja Harendra Kishore Public Library on Maharaja Sir Harendra Kishore Singh's birthday in 1955.
Government Medical College and Hospital, Bettiah is a government medical college situated at Bettiah, in the West Champaran district of the Indian state of Bihar.This college came into existence into year 2008.
Rajputs in Bihar are members of the Rajput community living in the eastern Indian state of Bihar. They traditionally formed part of the feudal elite in Bihari society. Rajputs were pressed with the Zamindari abolition and Bhoodan movement in post-independence India; along with other Forward Castes, they lost their significant position in Bihar's agrarian society, leading to the rise of Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
Dumraon Raj was a zamindari fedual state in the erstwhile Shahabad district in the present-day Buxar district of Bihar ruled by the Ujjainiya dynasty. The name Dumraon Raj came from the capital town of Dumraon. During the time of Indian independence, Dumraon Raj covered an area of 2,330 km2 which streched from Buxar district in west Bihar to Ballia district in the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh. In Ballia district, Dumraon Raj covered rights of more than 70 villages which are located on the banks of the Ganga river.
The Zamindars of Bihar were the autonomous and semi-autonomous rulers and administrators of the Mughal subah of Bihar and later during British rule. The zamindars of Bihar were numerous and could be divided into small, medium and large depending on how much land they controlled. Within Bihar, the zamindars had both economic and military power. Each zamindari would have their own standing army which was typically composed of their own clansmen.
The Jagdishpur estate was a zamindari estate situated in modern-day Bihar, India, in erstwhile Shahabad district. The centre of the estate was the town of Jagdishpur, however the estate also included neighbouring towns and villages. The estate was also protected by a fort.
The 1781 revolt in Bihar was an uprising by certain Zamindars and chieftains against the British East India Company in the Indian state of Bihar. The majority of the rebel zamindars were from South Bihar and were likely pushed to revolt due to the recurring droughts which hampered their revenue collections.
The House of Baghoch commonly known as Baghochia was the ruling dynasty of Hathwa Raj until 1947 when the state was abolished and merged into the newly formed Union of India. The House takes its name from Baghoch and Bharhichowra, the ancient seats of the rulers of Hathwa Raj. The name Baghauch also may have been associated with the clan from totemistic stage as the name makes reference to Bagh (Tiger) as the clans totem. Based on the totem the name of the first capital was Baghauch. They are a sub-group of the Vats gotra Bhumihar Brahmin. The founder of the dynasty was Raja Bir Sen who played an instrumental role in the invasion of the Sakyas by the Kosla Maharaj Virudhaka in 6th century BCE, and it is in the aftermath that Raja Bir Sen got part of the newly invaded country as his Raj. This makes the Baghochia dynasty one of the oldest and the longest ruling dynasty in the world and also a clan with one of the deepest genealogy.
The Bettiah Christians, also known as Betiawi Christians, are the northern Indian subcontinent's oldest Christian community, which emerged in the 18th century. The origins of the Bettiah Christian community lie in Champaran in what is now the Indian state of Bihar, in which the king of the Bettiah Raj, Maharaja Dhurup Singh, invited Roman Catholic missionaries of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin to establish the Bettiah Christian Mission there.
Jaitharia or Jetharia is a clan of Bhumihar (Babhan) community. They are mostly found in the Saran, Muzaffarpur and Vaishali district of Bihar, India. They are also considered among the top and most reputed bhumihars of Bihar because of their big land owning zamindars.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)the Bettiah Christians, converted from upper and middle castes
Catholics in the Bettiah region of Muzaffarpur diocese trace the origin of their faith community to Italian Capuchins, who set up a Christian community in 1745 with converts from upper- and middle-caste Hindus.
A majority of the Bettiah Christians originally belonged to the high castes, a considerable number belonged to the occupational or middle castes
Bettiah Christians, converted largely from upper and middle castes at Bettiah town in West Champaran district, but spread all over north India
Cherubim John, a writer and historian, said the Bettiah community began after Italian Capuchin Father Joseph Mary Bernini cured the local queen of an "incurable" illness. The king donated 16 hectares of land later known as the "Christian Quarters" to the Capuchins. The king allowed Father Bernini, who was on his way to Tibet, to preach, and helped build a church next to his palace.