Banganapalle State

Banganapalle State బనగానపల్లె
Princely State
1665–1948 →
Flag
Map of the princely state of Banganapalle, 1893
History
•	Established	1665
•	Accession to the Union of India	1948
Area
•	1901	712 km2 (275 sq mi)
Population
•	1901	32,279
	Density	45.3 /km2  (117.4 /sq mi)
Today part of		Andhra Pradesh, India

1913 map of the Madras Presidency showing location of the Banganapalle State

Banganapalle State was one of the princely states of India during the period of the British Raj. The state was founded in 1665 and had its capital in Banganapalle. Its rulers were Shia Muslims and the last one signed the accession to the Indian Union on 23 February 1948.^[1]

History

The fortified village of Banganapalle emerges from obscurity in 1601, when Sultan Ismail Adil Shah of Bijapur is recorded to have displaced the previous ruler, Raja Nanda Chakravarthy, and taken possession of the fortress. Several decades later, Banganapalle was part of a large province which the Sultan of Bijapur placed under the control of his trusted general, Siddi Sambal. The Siddi, a man of African extraction, is credited with having significantly improved the fortifications of Banganapalle.

In 1665, Sultan Adil Shah II of Bijapur granted Banganapalle and the surrounding areas as a Jagir (fiefdom) to Muhammad Beg Khan-e-Rosebahani, as a reward for services rendered. Rosebahani died without male heirs, and left the estate in the control of his adopted son and namesake, Muhammad Beg Khan Najm-i-Sani, entitled Faiz Ali Khan Bahadur. Faiz Ali and his brother Fazl Ali were officers under the Bijapur Sultan, and had come into contact with Rosebahani in that capacity. According to some sources, Faiz Ali was the son of a daughter of Rosebahani. In either case, the inheritance was not strictly legal, but the times were very unstable, and control was more important than legal niceties. In 1686, the Sultanate of Bijapur was extinguished after being defeated by the Mughals under Aurangzeb. By a fortuitous coincidence, Aurangzeb's viceroy of the Deccan, Mubariz Khan, was none other than a maternal uncle of Faiz Ali Khan. The fief of Banganapalle was secured to Faiz Ali Khan by the intervention of Mubariz Khan.

However, Faiz Ali Khan also died with surviving male issue

Banganapalle was ruled by the descendants of Faiz Ali Khan initially as a fief of the Mughal empire, and after the Nizam of Hyderabad declared his independence from the Mughals in 1724, as a fief of Hyderabad. Faiz Ali Khan also died without a male heir, and Banganapalle was inherited by his grandson, Husain Ali Khan. Toward the end of Husain Ali Khan's reign, Hyder Ali of Mysore was expanding his power in the region, and Husain Ali Khan switched his allegiance to Hyder Ali. Husain Ali Khan died in 1783, and his young son, Ghulam Muhammad Ali, succeeded him, with his paternal uncle as regent. Within the space of a year, Hyder's successor Tipu Sultan had driven them from Banganapalle; they took refuge in Hyderabad, returning to reclaim Banganapalle in 1789. Shortly thereafter, the nearby jagir of Chenchelimala was acquired by the Nawab of Banganapalle through marriage.

Banganapalle became a princely state of British India in the early 19th century. The British governor of the Madras Presidency twice took over the administration of the state for financial mismanagement, the first time from 1832 to 1848, and the second time for a few months in 1905.

In 1901, the princely state of Banganapalle had a population of 32,264 and an area of 660 km² (255 sq. mi.).

In 1948, the ruler of Banganapalle acceded to newly independent India, and Banganapalle was incorporated into Kurnool district of the then Madras Presidency. In 1953, the northern districts of Madras State, including Kurnool District, became the new state of Andhra, which in 1956 became Andhra Pradesh

See also

• Nawab of Masulipatam
• Masulipatam
• Nizam of Hyderabad
• Formation of Andhra Pradesh

References

Coordinates: 15°19′00″N 78°14′00″E / 15.3167°N 78.2333°E / 15.3167; 78.2333