State of Bikaner बीकानेर रियासत | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1465–1947 | |||||||
Motto: "Jai Jungaldhar Badshah" Victory to the king of deserts | |||||||
Official languages | Rajasthani and Hindi | ||||||
Religion | Hinduism (state religion) [1] | ||||||
Demonym(s) | Bikaner | ||||||
History | |||||||
• Established | 1465 | ||||||
1947 | |||||||
Area | |||||||
• Total | 60,391 km2 (23,317 sq mi) | ||||||
Population | |||||||
• 1931 estimate | 936,218 | ||||||
| |||||||
Today part of | Rajasthan, India |
Bikaner State was the Princely State in the north-western most part of the Rajputana province of imperial British India from 1465 to 1947. The founder of the state Rao Bika was a younger son of Rao Jodha ruler of and founder of the city of Jodhpur in Marwar. Rao Bika chose to establish his own kingdom instead of inheriting his father's. Bika defeated the Jat clans of Jangladesh which today refers to the north and north-western Rajasthan along with his uncle Rao Kandhal and his adviser Vikramji Rajpurohit and founded his own kingdom. Its capital was the city of Bikaner.
The state was noted for the Bikaner style of Miniature Painting. [2]
Covering a vast area of 60,391 km2 (23,317 sq mi)Bikaner State was the second largest state under the Rajputana Agency after Jodhpur State with a revenue of Rs.26,00,000 in the year 1901. [3] Heeding the 1947 call of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel to integrate the princely states into the new independent India, Bikaner's last ruler, Maharaja Sadul Singh, advised by his dewan K. M. Panikkar a respected historian was one of the first rulers of a princely state to display willingness to join the Indian Union. By issuing a public appeal in April 1947 to his fellow princes to join the Constituent Assembly of India the Maharaja of Bikaner set an example for other heads of the native states to follow. [4]
The state of Bikaner was founded in 1465. It became a British protectorate on 9 March 1818. They were accorded a 17 gun salute by the British authorities. Around the time of Indian Independence and the partition of India, the territory of the state of Bikaner came to share a border with Pakistan. The accession to the Indian Union was signed by the Maharaja on 7 August 1947. [5]
The rulers belong to the Rathore Rajputs of the Suryavanshi lineage or of Solar descent representing a third junior branch of the parent ruling family of Jodhpur, [6] the second being Idar yet Bikaner was placed second on the basis of area, wealth and power by the colonial British India.
The Dewans and Chief Ministers of the state were:
The post of Dewan was reinstated in 1927.
Maharaj Bijay Singh Ji, younger son of Maharaja Ganga Singh Ji.
[ citation needed ]
The Royal House of Bikaner awards two dynastic orders, the Order of the Star of Honour and the Order of Vikram Star. Maharaja Ganga Singh established the Order of the Star of Honour in six grades in order to "mark his golden jubilee on the throne". [8] The Order of the Vikram Star was established in 1944 by Maharaja Sadul Singh of Bikaner in five grades "to recognize services to the state." The first grade (Grand Commander) includes a cordon with jewel, along with a breast star. [8] The breast star features "Twelve alternate petals of gold and silver overlapping and radiating from a central motif showing the Goddess Karni blessing Rao Bikaji who is standing with lance in hand next to his horse." [9] A red enamelled diamond in the center of the breast star, which is surrounded by a wreath, contains the inscription in the Devanagari script Shri Karni Aasisadi Bikatothirraj (Blessing by Karni Mati for his Perpetual Rule). [9]
Bikaner is a city in the northwest of the state of Rajasthan, India. It is located 330 kilometres (205 mi) northwest of the state capital, Jaipur. It is the administrative headquarters of Bikaner District and Bikaner division.
The three Round Table Conferences of 1930–1932 were a series of peace conferences, organized by the British Government and Indian political personalities to discuss constitutional reforms in India. These started in November 1930 and ended in December 1932. They were conducted as per the recommendation of Muhammad Ali Jinnah to Viceroy Lord Irwin and Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald, and by the report submitted by the Simon Commission in May 1930. Demands for Swaraj or self-rule in India had been growing increasingly strong. B. R. Ambedkar, Jinnah, Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, V. S. Srinivasa Sastri, Sir Muhammad Zafrulla Khan, K. T. Paul and Mirabehn were key participants from India. By the 1930s, many British politicians believed that India needed to move towards dominion status. However, there were significant disagreements between the Indian and the British political parties that the Conferences would not resolve. The key topic was about constitution and India which was mainly discussed in that conference. There were three Round Table Conferences from 1930 to 1932.
Rao JodhaRathore was the 15th Rajput chief of Rathore clan who ruled the Kingdom of Marwar in the present-day state of Rajasthan. He was the eldest son of Rao Ranmal. He is known for his illustrious military career and for founding the city of Jodhpur in 1459, which subsequently became the new capital of Marwar after Mandore.
Junagarh Fort is a fort in the city of Bikaner, Rajasthan, India. The fort was originally called Chintamani and was renamed Junagarh or "Old Fort" in the early 20th century when the ruling family moved to Lalgarh Palace outside the fort limits. It is one of the few major forts in Rajasthan which is not built on a hilltop. The modern city of Bikaner has developed around the fort.
The region of Bikaner, stretching across north-western state of Rajasthan in India, was earlier known as Jangladesh. It included the present-day districts of Bikaner, Churu, Ganganagar, and Hanumangarh. It is bounded on the south by Marwar and Jaisalmer regions, on the east by Ajmer-Merwara region.
Mehta is an Indian surname, derived from the Sanskrit word mahita meaning 'great' or 'praised'. It is found among several Indian religious groups, including Hindus, Jains, Parsis, and Sikhs. Among Hindus, it is used by a wide range of castes and social groups, including Rajputs, Brahmins, Tyagi and sikh.
Kingdom of Marwar also known as Jodhpur State during the modern era, was a kingdom in the Marwar region from 1243 to 1818 and a princely state under British rule from 1818 to 1947. It was established in Pali by Rao Siha, possibly a migrant Gahadavala noble, in 1243. His successors continued to struggle against regional powers for domination and 9 out of 15 rulers till 1438 died in combat. In 1395, its capital was changed to Mandore by Rao Chunda of Mandore and to Jodhpur in 1459 by Rao Jodha.
HH Sri Raj-Rajeshwar Maharajadhiraj Narendra Shiromani Maharaja Sir Dungar Singh was the Rathore Rajput ruler of the Princely State of Bikaner from the year 1872 to 1887 succeeding his childless predecessor Maharaja Sardar Singh after his death in 1872.
Colonel HH Maharajadhiraj Shri Maharaja Mahim Mahendra Maharao Raja Sir Umaid Singh II was the 18th Hada Chauhan ruler of the Princely State of Kotah from the year 1889 to 1940.
Brigadier HH Shri Maharajadhiraj Maharaja Mahim Mahendra Maharao Raja Sir Bhim Singh II Bahadur, KCSI was the last ruling Maharaja of the Hada Chauhan dynasty of the Princely State of Kotah from the year 1940 to 1947.
Kishangarh State was a Princely State in central Rajputana territory of British India from 1611 to 1948. It was founded by the Jodhpur prince Kishan Singh in the year 1611.He was given the land in and around Kishangarh by Mughal Emperor Jahangir owing to his loyal services as well as a close family relationship.
Karamchand Bachhawat (1542-1607) (विभूति) was the Dewan, Prime Minister of Bikaner State in the former Rajputana from 1571 to 1591. Karamchand, a descendant of Bachhraj, was a valiant warrior, a good administrator and a strategist in Bikaner and had a good relationship with Akbar. In 1591, fearing for his life, he resigned. At Akbar's invitation, Karamchand later joined the emperor as an adviser to the Lahore court.
Delwara, nestled in the Aravalli Range hills, is a small town about 28 km away from Udaipur, Mewar, and close to Eklingji Temple, on the way to the temple town of Nathdwara, in the state of Rajasthan, India. Delwara was originally known as ‘Devkul Patan Nagri’, which means the town of god. It boasted over 1500 temples at one time, out of which there were over 400 Jain temples. Delwara was the center of learning and culture before the 15th century AD. Around the middle of the 13th century, Raja Sagar, a Deora Chauhan and a descendant of Rao Kirtipal of Jalore, was a very brave king of Delwara (Mewar). Descendants of Raja Sagar sacrificed their lives while fighting alongside Ranas of Mewar against Muslim invaders. Raja Sagar was the progenitor of Bachhawat and Bothra clans of Oswals. Sagar's son, Kunwar Bohitya was immensely influenced and inspired by Jain philosophy. Samdhar, a grandson of Bohitya and a Deora Chauhan, was the first man in his genealogy to convert to Jainism.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Bikanir". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.