Ratlam State

Ratlam State रत्लाम रियासत
Princely State of British India
1652–1948
Flag Coat of arms
Ratlam State in the Imperial Gazetteer of India
Area
• 1901	1,795 km2 (693 sq mi)
Population
• 1901	83,773
History
• Established	1652
• Independence of India	1948
Succeeded by India
Today part of	Madhya Pradesh, India
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

Painting of Padam Singh, the Raja of Ratlam (1773 - 1800)

Sajjan Singh, the Maharaja of Ratlam, riding with Lt. Gen. Rimington and Sir Partab Singh. Linghem, France, 28 July 1915

Ratlam State was a 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 was originally a huge state, but the then ruler Ratan Singh opposed Auranzeb in the Battle of Dharmatpur and was killed after a brave fight. The state was then reduced and the title of Maharaja was eventually stripped away; the title was later restored by the British during Maharaja Sajjan Singh's rule. On 5 January 1819 Ratlam State became a British protectorate.

History

The state was founded in 1652. The first Ruler was Maharaja Ratan Singh who married 12 wives, among them Maharani Sukhroopde Kanwar Shekhawat Ji Sahiba, daughter of Kunwar Purshottam Das of Jhajhar (Shekhawati) in Rajasthan. She committed sati in 1658.still shree ji maharaj natwar singh of ratlam is belonging to his family and living in jaipur. state had an area of 1795 km², which was closely interlaced with the territory of the princely State of Sailana. In 1901, the state had a population of 83,773; the town of Ratlam had a population of 36,321. The state enjoyed an estimated revenue of Rs.34,000 and paid a tribute of Rs.2,850. The town was a junction on the Rajputana-Malwa Railway, and was an important trade centre, especially of opium.

Ratlam was initially held by its chiefs in vassalage to the Sindhia rulers of Gwalior State, but on 5 January 1819 it became a British protectorate, following which an arrangement was made by which the Sindhia engaged never to send any troops into the country or to interfere with the internal administration. In 1861 the tribute was assigned to the British government in part as payment of the Gwalior contingent.

The state's last ruler signed the instrument of accession to the Indian Union on 15 June 1948.

Rulers

For a long period the Ratlam region was under rule of the Rathors. The rulers belonged to the Suryavanshi Rathore line to which the Maharajas of Jodhpur State, Bikaner State and Kishangarh State also belonged.

Rajas

• 1652 - 1658 Ratan Singh (d.1658) courageous in youth, he gained Padshah Shah Jahans notice by calming the Emperors favourite elephant which had run amok in the Agra Palace Garden, fought for the Emperor against the Persians in Kabul and Qandahar, later in 1652, the Emperor substituted Jalore for the pargana of Ratlam and many other areas, and he became the first Raja of Ratlam, in 1658 a false rumour of the death of the Emperor resulted in a frenzied scramble for succession to the throne amongst his sons. Dara Shikoh who was officiating for his father, sent a combined army of Rajputs and Muslims under the command of Maharaja Jaswant Singh of Jodhpur, against his brother Aurangzeb. The Maharaja, as head of the Rathore clan, was persuaded to hand over command of the Imperial army to Maharaja Ratan Singh. Non-cooperation by the Muslim commanders resulted in the army sustaining heavy losses in the fierce battle at Dharmat, as well as the death of Ratan Singh (said to have sustained 80 sword wounds on his body), he married (amongst others), Maharani Sukhroopde Kanwar Shekhawat Ji Sahiba, daughter of Kunwar Purshottam Das of Jhajhar [Shekhawati], and had issue. He died 1658 in battle at Dharmat near Ujjain.
• 1695 - 1706 Chhatrasal (d. 1712) (personal style Maharaja)
• 1706 - Feb 1716 Keshri Singh (d. 1716)
• Feb 1716 - 1716 Pratap Singh (d. 1716)
• 1716 - 1743 Man Singh (d. 1743)
• 1743 - 1773 Prithvi Singh (d. 1773)
• 1773 - 1800 Padam Singh (b. 17.. - d. 1800)
• 1800 - 1825 Parbat Singh (d. 1825)
• 1825 - 29 Aug 1857 Balwant Singh (b. 1814 - d. 1857)
• 1825 – c.1832 Borthwick –Regent
• 29 Aug 1857 - 27 Jan 1864 Bhairon Singh (b. 1839 - d. 1864)
• 27 Jan 1864 - 20 Jan 1893 Ranjit Singh (b. 1860 - d. 1893) (from 15 Feb 1887, Sir Ranjit Singh)
• 27 Jan 1864 - 1 Jan 1880 Khan Bahadur Mir Shahamat Ali -Regent
• 20 Jan 1893 - 1 Jan 1921 Sajjan Singh (b. 1880 - d. 1947)
• 20 Jan 1893 - 15 Dec 1898 Khan Bahadur Cursetji (b. 18.. - d. 1903) Rustamji -Regent

Maharajas

• 1 Jan 1921 - 3 Feb 1947 Sajjan Singh (s.a.)
• 3 Feb 1947 - 15 Aug 1947 Lokendra Singh (b. 1927 - d. 1991)
• 1991 raja raghuveer singh

See also

• List of Rajput dynasties and states
• Malwa Agency

External links

• Media related to Ratlam State at Wikimedia Commons
• Ratlam Search Engine