Jhabua State


Jhabua State was one of the princely states of India during the period of the British Raj. It had its capital in Jhabua town. Most of the territory of the princely state was inhabited by the Bhil people, who constituted a majority of the population. The revenue of the state in 1901 was Rs.1,10,000.

History

The state of Jhabua was founded by Kesho Das or Kishan Das, in 1584. He was granted the title of Raja by Mughal Emperor Jahangir of Delhi as a reward for a successful campaign in Bengal, and for punishing the Bhil Chiefs of Jhabua, who had murdered an Imperial Viceroy of Gujarat. Jhabua was later conquered by the Holkars of Indore, however the Holkar Maharaja allowed the ruling dynasty to rule the mountainous and woody areas, and the right to collect a fourth of the revenue from the districts that were directly conquered by the Holkars. There were 20 families of rank in the state who paid £1500 to the Holkars and £2500 to their own chief. In 1875 the state had a population of 55,000 and a revenue of £22,500.
During British rule the state was under the Bhopawar Agency of the Central India Agency and in 1927 it became part of the Malwa Agency.
After India's independence in 1947, Jhabua's last ruler signed the accession to the Indian Union on 15 June 1948, and Jhabua became part of the newly created Madhya Bharat state, which in 1956 was merged into Madhya Pradesh.

Rulers

The rulers of Jhabua were Rathor Rajputs. They had the title of H.H. Raja Saheb. They were granted a hereditary salute of 11 guns by the British.

Rajas