Hathwa Raj

Hathuwa Raj was a feudal estate belonging to Bhumihars of Baghochia dynasty. It encompassed 1,365 villages, was inhabited by more than 391,000 people, and produced an annual rental of almost a million rupees.[1] It is located in the Saran Division of Bihar.Earlier the seat of the Raj was Huseypur and Kalyanpur. The Kalyanpur chieftaincy was subjugated by the Mughal Emperor Akbar during late 16th century. The ruling dynasty has a history of over 2000 years and one of the deepest genealogy in India.

Sir Kishen Pratap Sahi Bahadur who was Bhumihar and Maharaja between 1874 to 1896 was an ascetic. Soon after his coronation, he set out on a pilgrimage to the shrines of Northern India. Later on he used to regularly go on traveling and pilgrimage, mostly in Benares.[2]

Due to its central location, Hathwa was the seat of the raja's residential palace and its nearby villages housed most of the key retainers of the estate.[3]

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, the Durga medical hall and the temple called Gopal mandir.[4]

By the 1840s Hathwa was described as having large bazaars and bi-weekly markets. By the early nineteenth century, there were forts, palaces, and several temples constructed. 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. The estate collected ₹1400 annually as professional tax from traders stationed at Hathwa.[5]

Durga Puja

Durga Puja was a major attraction for the Hathwa Raj family and all the family members would gather to worship their Durga at Thawe Mandir.[6] Rituals consisted of the Maharaja traveling in a buggy to the Gopal Mandir, and then to the Sheesh Mahal for the annual durbar and onwards on an elephant for darshan of the Maiyya on Vijayadashmi.[7] The Hathwa family still celebrates some of the customs including sacrificing buffaloes and goats during puja.[8]

Notes

  1. ↑ Yang, Anand A. (1999). Bazaar India: Markets, Society, and the Colonial State in Bihar. University of California Press. pp. 305 (at page 69). ISBN 978-0-520-21100-1.
  2. ↑ Yang, Anand A. (1999). Bazaar India: Markets, Society, and the Colonial State in Bihar. University of California Press. pp. 305 (at page 140). ISBN 978-0-520-21100-1.
  3. ↑ Yang, Anand A. (1999). Bazaar India: Markets, Society, and the Colonial State in Bihar. University of California Press. pp. 305 (at page 193). ISBN 978-0-520-21100-1.
  4. ↑ Yang, Anand A. (1999). Bazaar India: Markets, Society, and the Colonial State in Bihar. University of California Press. pp. 305 (at page 194). ISBN 978-0-520-21100-1.
  5. ↑ Yang, Anand A. (1999). Bazaar India: Markets, Society, and the Colonial State in Bihar. University of California Press. pp. 305 (at page 193). ISBN 978-0-520-21100-1.
  6. ↑ Gayatree Sharma (2012-10-22). "Ex-zamindars' tryst with Durga Puja". The Times of India. Retrieved 2012-10-22.
  7. ↑ Gayatree Sharma (2012-10-22). "Ex-zamindars' tryst with Durga Puja". The Times of India. Retrieved 2012-10-22.
  8. ↑ Gayatree Sharma (2015-03-10). "Ex-zamindars' tryst with Durga Puja". The Times of India. Retrieved 2012-10-22.

Further reading

  • Yang, Anand A. (1989). The Limited Raj: Agrarian Relations in Colonial India, Saran District, 1793-1920. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-52005-711-1.
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