Hathwa Raj
Encyclopedia
Hathwa Raj was a zamindar
i belonging to Bhumihar Brahmin
s which encompassed 1,365 villages, was inhabited by more than 391,000 people, and produced an annual rental of almost a million rupees. It is located in the Saran Division
of Bihar
.
Sir Kishen Pratap Sahi Bahadur, who was the Maharaja
between 1874 to 1896 "had the heart of an ascetic. Soon after he was installed... he set out on a pilgrimage to the shrines of Northern India and travelled through almost the whole of India
. Later on he used to pass a portion of the year in travelling and pilgrimage, mostly in, Benares.
Because Hathwa was the hub, it was the seat of the raja's residential palace; and Hathwa and its nearby villages housed most of the key retainers of the estate. In addition to the estate Kachcheri (office), located in the Hathwa cluster of villages, were the estate manager's bungalow, the Diwan's house, the Hathwa Eden School, the post office, the Raj dispensary, and the temple called Gopal mandir.
By the 1840s Hathwa was described as having large "bazaars" and bi-weekly markets. Fort, palace and bazaar: all the markets reflecting and exercising the power and authority of this great estate were thus in place by the early nineteenth century. An early twentieth century account describes Hathwa as an impressive standard market, its shops offering a range of agricultural and consumer goods and its specialists providing a variety of services. The presence of schools and temples further accentuated its centrality in the locality. Its salience - and its value to the estate - can also be quantified: the estate collected Rs. 1,400 per annum as professional tax from traders stationed there.
Zamindar
A Zamindar or zemindar , was an aristocrat, typically hereditary, who held enormous tracts of land and ruled over and taxed the bhikaaris who lived on batavaslam. Over time, they took princely and royal titles such as Maharaja , Raja , Nawab , and Mirza , Chowdhury , among others...
i belonging to Bhumihar Brahmin
Bhumihar
Bhumihar or Babhan or Bhuin-har is a Brahmin Hindu community mainly found in the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh.- Varna status :...
s which encompassed 1,365 villages, was inhabited by more than 391,000 people, and produced an annual rental of almost a million rupees. It is located in the Saran Division
Saran Division
Saran division is an administrative geographical unit of Bihar state of India. Chapra is the administrative headquarters of the division. Currently , the division consists of Saran District, also called Chapra District, Siwan District, Gopalganj District....
of Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
.
Sir Kishen Pratap Sahi Bahadur, who was the Maharaja
Maharaja
Mahārāja is a Sanskrit title for a "great king" or "high king". The female equivalent title Maharani denotes either the wife of a Maharaja or, in states where that was customary, a woman ruling in her own right. The widow of a Maharaja is known as a Rajamata...
between 1874 to 1896 "had the heart of an ascetic. Soon after he was installed... he set out on a pilgrimage to the shrines of Northern India and travelled through almost the whole of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Later on he used to pass a portion of the year in travelling and pilgrimage, mostly in, Benares.
Because Hathwa was the hub, it was the seat of the raja's residential palace; and Hathwa and its nearby villages housed most of the key retainers of the estate. In addition to the estate Kachcheri (office), located in the Hathwa cluster of villages, were the estate manager's bungalow, the Diwan's house, the Hathwa Eden School, the post office, the Raj dispensary, and the temple called Gopal mandir.
By the 1840s Hathwa was described as having large "bazaars" and bi-weekly markets. Fort, palace and bazaar: all the markets reflecting and exercising the power and authority of this great estate were thus in place by the early nineteenth century. An early twentieth century account describes Hathwa as an impressive standard market, its shops offering a range of agricultural and consumer goods and its specialists providing a variety of services. The presence of schools and temples further accentuated its centrality in the locality. Its salience - and its value to the estate - can also be quantified: the estate collected Rs. 1,400 per annum as professional tax from traders stationed there.