State of Jamnagar | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1540–1947 | |||||||
Official languages | Gujarati | ||||||
Religion | Hinduism ( Official ) Islam Jainism Christianity | ||||||
Government | Monarchy | ||||||
Establishment | |||||||
History | |||||||
• Battle of Mitoli | 1540 | ||||||
• Established | 1540 | ||||||
1947 | |||||||
Area | |||||||
• Total | 9,820 km2 (3,790 sq mi) | ||||||
|
Nawanagar was an Indian princely state in the historical Halar region, located on the southern shores of the Gulf of Kutch. It was ruled by the Jadeja Rajput dynasty and became a part of newly formed India. Its capital city was Nawanagar city, now known as Jamnagar. It had an area of 3,791 square miles (9,820 km2) and a population estimated at 336,779 in 1901. Its rulers, who use the title of "Jam Saheb" are of the same clan as the Rao of Kutch. [1] They were entitled to a 13-gun salute. The state flag was a rectangular red flag with a white elephant, near and facing the hoist. During the British, the state was part of the Kathiawar Agency, within the Gujarat Division of Bombay Presidency. [1] [2]
The state had a pearl fishery and much of its wealth came from this. Nawanagar is also famous for its late ruler Jam Saheb Ranjitsinhji (died 1933), who was a famous cricket player at Cambridge in England and represented England in Test cricket, before his accession to the throne.
Nawanagar was founded in 1540 by Jam Sri Rawalji, a descendant of the Jadeja ruler of Kutch, and was thereafter in an almost constant state of war with its neighbours and with the Mughal Empire. Two such major wars were the Battle of Mithoi and Battle of Bhuchar Mori fought in 1591. The "Walker Treaty of 1807" brought peace to the Kathiawar states for the first time in several generations. Nawanagar came under British protection on 22 February 1812.
K. S. Ranjitsinhji was one of the world's greatest cricket players and, later, became Jam Saheb in 1907 until 1933. [3] The inclusive circle of eight players promoted excellence in cricket, both in the county and domestic games. After his death, Ranji Trophy, a domestic first-class cricket championship played in India between different city and state sides, was started in 1934 by Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
Jam Saheb Shri Sir Ranjitsinhji remained the chancellor of the Chamber of Princes (1931–1933). After his death, in 1933, he was succeeded by his nephew Jam Saheb Shri Sir Digvijaysinhji, who became its chancellor (1937–1944) and continued to promote the octet circle in excellence in cricket, academics and welfare. In 1942 the Maharaja set up a refugee camp for Polish children in Balachadi.
Nawanagar was one of the first princely states to sign the Instrument of Accession in 1948 after Indian independence. Afterwards, the late ruler, Digvijaysinhji, served as the first Rajpramukh of Kathiawad, then represented his country at the United Nations.
In 1949, the princely states of Nawanagar and Dhrol, Jalia Dewani in Kathiawar merged into the new state of Saurashtra. On 19 June 1959, the boundaries of the district were enlarged by the inclusion of the adjoining Okhamandal, and the district was renamed Jamnagar. This district became part of the new state of Gujarat on the division of the State of Bombay on 1 May 1960.
Regime | Rulers | Born | Died |
---|---|---|---|
1540 – 1562 | Rawalji Lakhaji | 1480 | 1562 |
1562 – 1569 | Vibhaji Rawalji | 1569 | |
1569 – 1608 | Sataji Vibhaji | 1608 | |
1608 – 1624 | Jasaji Sataji | 1624 | |
1624 – 1645 | Lakhaji Ajaji | 1645 | |
1645 – 1661 | Ranmalji Lakhaji | 1661 | |
1661 – 1664 | Raisinhji Lakhaji | ||
1664 – 1673 | Interregnum | ||
1673 – 1690 | Tamachi Rainsinhji | ||
2 October 1690 – 13 October 1708 | Lakhaji Tamachi | 1708 | |
13 October 1708 – 13 August 1711 | Raisinhji Lakhaji | 1711 | |
13 August 1711 – 1743 | Tamachi Raisinhji | 1743 | |
September 1743 - 2 November 1767 | Lakhaji Tamachi | 1743 | 1767 |
2 November 1767 – 6 August 1814 | Jasaji Lakhaji | 1814 | |
6 August 1814 – 24 February 1820 | Sataji II Lakhaji | 1820 | |
24 February 1820 – 22 February 1852 | Ranmalji Sataji II | 1852 | |
22 February 1852 – 28 April 1895 | Vibhaji II Ranmalji | 1827 | 1895 |
28 April 1895 – 14 August 1906 | Jashwantsinhji Vibhaji II | 1882 | 1906 |
12 March 1907 – 2 April 1933 | Ranjitsinhji Vibhaji II | 1872 | 1933 |
2 April 1933 – 15 August 1947 | Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji | 1895 | 1966 |
3 February 1966 – 12 October 2024 | Shatrushalyasinhji Digvijaysinhji | 1939 | living |
The Maharaja Jamsaheb of Nawanagar were also known for their jewellery collection; especially Ranjithsinhji, whose Emerald collection according to Jacques Cartier was "unequaled in the world, if not in quantity, then certainly in quality". The collection included an emerald and pearl necklace, an art deco emerald and diamond necklace designed by Jacques Cartier and an Emerald collar or choker also designed by Jacques Cartier. [4] [5]
The 61.5 carat (12.3 g) whisky-coloured diamond, "The Eye of the Tiger", was mounted by Cartier in a turban aigrette for the JMaharaja or Maharaja of Nawanagar in 1934. [6]
Kathiawar is a peninsula, near the far north of India's west coast, of about 61,000 km2 (23,500 sq mi) bordering the Arabian Sea. It is bounded by the Gulf of Kutch in the northwest and by the Gulf of Khambhat in the east. In the northeast, it is connected to the rest of Gujarat and borders on the low, fertile hinterland of Ahmedabad. It is crossed by two belts of hill country and is drained radially by nine rivers which have little natural flow aside from in monsoon months, thus dams have been built on some of these. Kathiawar ports have been flourishing centres of trade and commerce since at least the 16th century.
Jamnagar is a city and the headquarters of Jamnagar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. The city lies just to the south of the Gulf of Kutch, some 337 kilometres (209 mi) west of the state capital, Gandhinagar.
The Rajkumar College in Rajkot, Gujarat is one of the oldest K-12 institutions in India. RKC has a 28.656-acre campus in Rajkot. The foundation stone of Rajkumar College was laid in 1868. The institution was designed by Colonel Keatinge and was formally opened by the Governor of Bombay, H. B. Sir Seymour Fitzgerald, in 1870. The college was founded for the education of the princely order by the princes and chiefs of Kathiawad for their sons and relations.
Jamnagar District is a district of Gujarat in Western India. Its headquarters are located in the eponymous city of Jamnagar. It hosts the production facilities of large Indian companies such as Reliance. Among its attractions are several palaces, a Marine National Park and a Bird Sanctuary, known as Khijadiya Bird Sanctuary. In 2013, Devbhoomi Dwarka district was carved out of the western part of the district.
Jadeja is a Samma Rajput clan that inhabits the Indian state of Gujarat and the Tharparkar district of Sindh, Pakistan. They originated from Sammas of Sindh, a pastoral group, and laid a claim on the Rajput identity after marriages with Sodha Rajput women by adopting a process called Rajputisation.
Halar (Haalaar) is a historical region of western India, located by the Gulf of Kutch coast on the northwestern area of Nawanagar, now Jamnagar, in Gujarat State, on Saurashtra peninsula, roughly corresponding to the present Jamnagar District, Devbhumi Dwarka district, Morbi District and Rajkot District.
The Sainik School, Balachadi, in Jamnagar, Gujarat, is one of the leading Sainik Schools in the chain of Sainik Schools. It is one of the outstanding boarding schools for public education in Gujarat. It was established in July 1961 by the then Honorable Minister of Home Affairs, Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri. It is an elite English medium, fully residential boarding school for boys and girls, providing premium public education, with a military bias, up to 10+2 stage, as per the Central Board of Secondary Education.
Sir Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji Jadeja, known to some as the Good Maharaja, was the Maharaja Jam Sahib of Nawanagar from 1933 to 1966, succeeding his uncle, the famed cricketer Ranjitsinhji.
Saurashtra State, formally known as United State of Kathiawar and later United State of Saurashtra, was a State of India that existed between 1948 and 1956, on Saurashtra alias Kathiawar peninsula, with Rajkot as its capital,
Lakhajirajsinhji II was the ruler of the Indian princely state of Rajkot from April 1890 until his death, holding the title Thakore Saheb. He came to the throne at the age of four, following the death of his father and his three older brothers. However, he did not govern in his own right until the age of 21, in 1907. Lakhajirajsinhji became one of the most progressive princely state rulers, introducing some of the first democratic institutions in India. He also fostered a culture of openness and intellectualism that laid the foundation for Rajkot as a centre of the Indian independence movement.
Jam Rawal Lakh (1480–1562), was a Jadeja Rajput ruler, who ruled Kutch State from 1524 to 1548 and later was founder-ruler of Nawanagar State from 1540 to 1562.
Jamnagar & Dwaraka Railway was a 1,000 mm metre gauge in the Nawanagar State in Gujarat during 19th century.
Kharedi-Virpur was a third class princely state in British India under Kathiawar Agency. It was ruled by Jadeja Rajput chiefs descended from the Nawanagar ruling family.
Shatrusalyasinhji Jadeja is a former Titular Maharaja of Nawanagar State and a former first-class cricketer.
Morvi State, also spelled as Morvee State or Morbi State, was a princely salute state in the historical Halar prant (district) of Kathiawar during the British Raj.
Major-General Kumar Shri Himmatsinhji Jadeja CIE was the first Deputy defence minister of India and the first Lieutenant-Governor of Himachal Pradesh. A descendant of the rulers of Nawanagar State, he served with the Indian Army, reaching the rank of major-general. He was later a member of the two most recent predecessors of the lower house of the Parliament of India – the Central Legislative Assembly and the Constituent Assembly. He also played several first-class cricket matches and was the nephew of Ranjitsinhji and brother of Duleepsinhji, both of whom played Test cricket for England.
Rajkumar Shri Indravijaysinhji Dilawarsinhji Jadeja was an Indian cricketer. A descendant of the ruling family of Nawanagar State, and a nephew of Ranjitsinhji, who played Test cricket for England, Indravijaysinhji was introduced to cricket at the Rajkumar College, Rajkot where most of his family had been educated. He went on to play Ranji Trophy matches for Western India, Nawanagar, and Saurashtra, captaining Nawanagar. He also appeared for several combined teams against touring international sides, and finished his career with 28 first-class matches and a single first-class century.
Balachadi is a village in Jodiya Taluka of Jamnagar district, Gujarat, India. It is 25 kilometres east of Jamnagar, near the Gulf of Kutch.
Jam or may called Ja'am is a native title of rulers of a few princely states, notably born in western British India by the Samaa dynasty and their Jadeja branch which denotes their claimed descent from the legendary Jamshed of Iran.
The Good Maharaja is an unreleased Indo-Polish war epic film directed by Vikash Verma, and produced by G7 Films Poland. The film stars Sanjay Dutt in the title role of Digvijaysinhji Ranjitsinhji Jadeja, the Maharaja Jam Sahib of Nawanagar. The film also features Dhruv Verma in lead role, while Deepraj Rana, Gulshan Grover and Sharad Kapoor in supporting roles.