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The Ghanta Ghar of the Bettiah Raj Mahal

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]

History[edit]

Pre-British rule[edit]

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]

East India Company[edit]

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]

British era[edit]

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]

Bettiah Raj and music[edit]

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]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Yang, Anand A. (1999). Bazaar India: Markets, Society, and the Colonial State in Bihar. University of California Press. p. 69. ISBN 978-0-520-21100-1.
  2. ^ Refer Page 5 (22 July 1980). "Supreme Court of India Judgement 1980 PETITIONER: SHYAM SUNDER PRASAD SINGH & ORS. Vs. RESPONDENT: STATE OF BIHAR & ORS" (PDF). SUPREME COURT OF INDIA. Retrieved 4 December 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ a b c Lethbridge, Roper (1893). The golden book of India, a genealogical and biographical dictionary of the ruling princes, chiefs, nobles, and other personages, titled or decorated, of the Indian empire. Robarts - University of Toronto. London Macmillan. p. 67.
  4. ^ a b c Ram, Bindeshwar (1998). Land and society in India: agrarian relations in colonial North Bihar. Orient Blackswan. ISBN 978-81-250-0643-5.
  5. ^ Bar, Swarup (23 February 2021). The Spirit Shaped Church: A Spirit Ecclesiology in India. Fortress Press. p. 17. ISBN 978-1-5064-6690-3. the Bettiah Christians, converted from upper and middle castes
  6. ^ "Bihar Christians have fostered faith harmony 250 years". Union of Catholic Asian News. 6 November 1995. Retrieved 14 November 2020. 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.
  7. ^ Kalapura, Jose (2015). "Philanthropic Organizations and Community Development: The Case of the Bettiah Christians in India". Asian Journal of Social Science. 43 (4): 403. doi:10.1163/15685314-04304005. A majority of the Bettiah Christians originally belonged to the high castes, a considerable number belonged to the occupational or middle castes
  8. ^ Robinson, Rowena; Kujur, Joseph Marianus (6 August 2010). Margins of Faith: Dalit and Tribal Christianity in India. SAGE Publications. p. 77. ISBN 978-81-321-0467-4. Bettiah Christians, converted largely from upper and middle castes at Bettiah town in West Champaran district, but spread all over north India
  9. ^ "Bihar Christians have fostered faith harmony 250 years". Union of Catholic Asian News. 6 November 1995. Retrieved 14 November 2020. 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.
  10. ^ John, Jose Kalapura (2000). "King, Fort, Zamindaris and Missionaries: The Founding of Bihar's Oldest Christian Community, 1745". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 61: 1011–1028. ISSN 2249-1937. JSTOR 44148177.
  11. ^ Asiatic Society of Bengal (1865). Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. American Museum of Natural History Library. Calcutta : [The Society].
  12. ^ Archives, Royal. "Bettiah (Zamindari)". Royal Archives. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  13. ^ "बेतिया राज की अंतिम महारानी जानकी कुंवर की पुण्यतिथि पर दी गई भावभीनी श्रद्धांजलि।". NAARAYANI NEWS. 27 November 2020. Archived from the original on 4 December 2023. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  14. ^ "Valmiki Sanctuary", Bihar Environment and Forest Department. Accessed 27 September 2014
  15. ^ "Many Bihari artists ignored by SPIC MACAY". The Times of India. 13 October 2001. Retrieved 16 March 2009.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bettiah_Raj

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