Raghugarh
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Raghugarh
(Raghogark}. Mediatized chiefship of the Central India Agency, under the Resident at Gwalior. The State lies between 24 6' and 24 34' N, and 77 7' and 77 25' E., about 17 miles south- west of Guna, in the Khichiwara district of Malwa, It takes its name from the fort of Raghugarh, founded by Lai Singh KhichI in 1677, and called after a statue of Vishnu alleged to have been dug up on the spot. It has an area of about 1 1 2 square miles, between the Khlchi estates of Dharnaoda on the north and Garha on the south, and the Sironj and Chhabra parganas of Tonk State on the east and west. The territory is situated in the Deccan trap area and is much cut up by small hills, but the soil in the valleys is very fertile and bears excellent crops of all the ordinary grains, and of poppy. The Parbati river, which flows along the western border, gives a perennial supply of water. The flora and fauna are the same as elsewhere in Malwa, The climate is temperate, and the annual rainfall averages about 30 inches.
Though this State is now a small one, considerable interest attaches to its chief as the recognized head of the Khlchi Chauhans, once a powerful branch of the great clan to which the famous Pnthwl Raj, the last Hindu ruler of Delhi, belonged. The branch is represented in Central India by the chiefs of Raghugarh, Dharnaoda, MAKSUDAN- GARH, KHILCHIPUR, and GARHA. The Khichl section of the clan is descended from Aje Rao, second son of Manik Rai of Sambhar. The Khichls appear to have settled first in the Sind-Sagar doab in the Punjab, migrating south after the defeat of Pnthwi Raj by Muizz-ud- dm m 1192. They then settled at Gagraun, now in the Jhalawar State, In 1203 Deo Singh of Gagraun received a grant of land from the Delhi emperor, which was extended by further grants to his successors, bo that by the seventeenth century the KhichI domains comprised most of the country between Guna, Sarangpur, Shujalpur, and Bhilsa, the tract receiving the name of Khichiwara or 'the land of the Khichls.' In 1697 Gagraun was taken from them by Bhini Singh of Kotah, and Bajranggarh became their stronghold, the palace and fort of Raghugarh being built seven years later. The fortunes of the Raghugarh chiefs began to wane about 1780, when they were harassed by Mahadaji Sindhia, who imprisoned Raja Balwant Singh and his son Jai Singh. The feud thus commenced lasted till 1818, being carried on principally by a Khlchi Thakur, Sher Singh, who systematically devastated the Khlchi territory so as to render it value- less to Sindhia. In 1816 Sindhia's general, Jean Baptiste Filose, granted the district of Maksudangarh, till then a part of this State, to Ben Sal, a member of the same family, whose descendants still hold it. On the death of Jai Singh in iSrS disputes arose as to the Raghugarh succession, which were settled by the intervention of the British authorities, who mediated an agreement between Sindhia and the Raghugarh chief, by which he received the fort and town of Raghugarh and land in the vicinity, supposed then to be worth 1-4 lakhs yearly, with the proviso that any revenue derived from these lands exceeding Rs. 55,000 should be paid over to the Gwalior Darbar, who on its side was to make good any deficiency. The State was never able to make up the stipulated sum , and in 1828 the Gwalior Darbar ceased its payments on the ground that the State could, if under proper management, produce the required minimum. Disputes in the family complicated matters still further; and in 1843, with the consent and mediation of the British Government, it was arranged that the original agreement should be replaced by separate agreements with the principal members of the family. In accordance with this, Bijai Singh received 52 villages forming the GARHA estate, and Chhatar Sal 32 villages forming the thakurat of Dharnaoda, while Ajit Singh continued at Raghugarh, holding it under the agreement of 1818. Ajit Singh was succeeded by Jai Mandal Singh in 1857. Bikramajit Singh, who succeeded in TQOO, was deposed in 1902 for maladminis- tration. The present chief is Bahadur Singh, who was adopted by Bikramajit Singh from a collateral branch and is still a minor, having been born in 1891. He bears the hereditaiy title of Raja.
The population has been: (1881) 16,920, (1891) 18,123, and (1901) 19,446. Hindus number 13,968, or 72 per cent. , and Animists, 4,080, or 21 per cent., mostly Sahanas. The population has increased by 7 per cent, during the last decade, and the density is 173 persons per square mile. The language commonly spoken is the Rangri dialect of Rajastham. Only 1-5 per cent, of the inhabitants are literate. The population is almost entirely supported by agriculture. Of the total area, 42 square miles, or 37 per cent., are under cultivation, of which 3 square miles are irrigable. About 23 square miles are cultivable but not cultivated. Of the cropped area 2 squaie miles are under poppy, the rest being sown with cereals and other crops. The total revenue is about Rs. 52,000, of which Rs. 37,000 is derived from the land. Till forty years ago the State had its own silver coinage, but the British rupee is now current. The chief being a minor, the State is at present managed by a superintendent under the direct supervision of the Resident at Gwalior.
The capital, Raghugarh, is situated in 24 27' N. and 77 12' E. Population (1901), 3,866. The chief feature of the place is the old palace-fort, which stands on a low hill about 1,800 feet above the level of the sea. Round it lie the remains of the city wall, which formerly enclosed a circuit of about 4 miles, within which the ruins of the old town can still be seen, the modern town lying outside it. It has a school, a hospital, and a post office.
[R. Burn, 'The Bajranggarh Mint and Corns? Journal, Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1897, part i.]
