MrBeast at 21:34, 10 March 2026

2026-03-10T21:34:06Z

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{{Short description|Chieftaincy in Bihar}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}}
{{Use Indian English|date=April 2017}}
{{Infobox country
|image_map = Hathwa Raj Map.png
|image_map_caption=Map of the Hathwa chieftaincy in 1900
|native_name =
|conventional_long_name = Hathwa
|common_name = Hathwa Raj
|religion = [[Hinduism]]
|era = [[Mughal Empire|Mughal period]]
|status =
|government_type =
|life_span =
|year_start = Early medieval period
|year_end = 1952
|event_start =
|date_start =
|event1 =
|date_event1 =
|event2 =
|date_event2 =
|event_end =
|date_end =
|capital = [[Kalyanpur village, Saran district|Kalyanpur]]
|leader1 =
|leader2 =
|year_leader1 =
|year_leader2 =
|title_leader = }}
{{History of Bihar}}
'''Hathwa Raj''' also known as the '''Kalyanpur chieftaincy''' was a chieftaincy established in what is now [[Saran division]] of Bihar. It comprised 1,365 villages across [[Chhapra]], [[Siwan district|Siwan]], and [[Gopalganj district, India|Gopalganj]] districts of Bihar, with a population exceeding 391,000 and generating an annual revenue of nearly one million rupees at the time of independence.<ref>{{cite book
| first = Anand A.
| last = Yang
| title = Bazaar India: Markets, Society, and the Colonial State in Bihar
| publisher = [[University of California Press]]
| year = 1999
| isbn = 978-0-520-21100-1
| pages = 305 (at page 69)
}}</ref>
Earlier seats of the Raj included Huseypur, Kalyanpur, Balchowra and Baghoch. The Kalyanpur chieftaincy was subjugated by the Mughal Emperor [[Akbar]] during late 16th century.

==History==
Legends state that the region of Kalyanpur was originally ruled by the [[Chero dynasty|Cheros]] who were later supplanted by the [[Rajputs]] who in turn were replaced by the [[Bhumihar]]s who became the ancestors of the Hathwa Rajas. The earliest reference to the Hathwa chieftaincy is in 1539 when Emperor [[Humayun]] sought refuge in Kalyanpur after his defeat at the [[Battle of Chausa]]. The Raja of the time, Raja Jay Mal provided aid to Humayun by giving food to his troops. Because Jay Mal provided aid to his enemy, [[Sher Shah Suri]] attempted to punish the Hathwa chieftain who in turn fled to the forests of [[Gorakhpur]] to lead an insurgency. By the time Humayun had returned to the throne, he rewarded Jay Mal's grandson, Raja Jubraj Shahi, with a substantial amount of land.<ref name="Ansari2019">{{cite book |author=Tahir Hussain Ansari |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kUueDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT288 |title=Mughal Administration and the Zamindars of Bihar |date=20 June 2019 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-00-065152-2 |pages=288–293}}</ref>
<ref name="Jha 1980">
| first = Hetukar
| last = Jha
| author-link = [[Hetukar Jha]]
| title = Permanent Settlement in Bihar
| publisher = [[Social Scientist]]
| year = 1980, Vol. 9, No.1 (Aug., 1980)
| pages = 53-57
</ref> Jubraj Shahi also engaged in a conflict with Kabul Mohammad of Barharia, a neighbouring chieftain of [[Afghanistan|Afghan]] origin. Jubraj Shahi emerged victorious after he killed Kabul Mohammad and captured his fort and land. Because Kabul Mohammad was also rebelling against the Empire, Emperor [[Akbar]] rewarded Jubraj Shahi with additional land.<ref name= "Ansari2019" /> [[Abul Fazl]] provides information on Kalyan Mal, the chieftain of Hathwa in the 1580s. When the rebel of [[Ghazipur]], Masum Khan Farankhudi, was defeated by the Mughal general, [[Shahbaz Khan Kamboh]], Farankhudi sought shelter in Kalyanpur. However Kalyan Mal refused to grant any assistance and as a result the rebel went back to Ghazipur and submitted himself before the Mughal governor. Local sources indicate that it was due to this and other instances of providing assistance that Akbar granted him the title of [[Raja]].<ref name= "Ansari2019" />

There is little information about Hathwa from imperial sources during the reign of Emperor [[Jahangir]] although local sources indicate that Raja Khemkaran maintained good relations with the Emperor and was granted the title ''Raja Bahadur'' in 1625. He also changed the location of his capital from Kalyanpur to Husainpur whereupon a new fort was built.<ref name= "Ansari2019" />

Sir Kishen Pratap Sahi Bahadur who was the [[Maharaja]] between 1874 and 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 travelling and pilgrimage, mostly in [[Benares]].<ref>{{cite book
| first = Anand A.
| last = Yang
| title = Bazaar India: Markets, Society, and the Colonial State in Bihar
| publisher = [[University of California Press]]
| year = 1999
| isbn = 978-0-520-21100-1
| pages = 305 (at page 140)
}}</ref>
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.<ref name=":0">{{cite book
| first = Anand A.
| last = Yang
| title = Bazaar India: Markets, Society, and the Colonial State in Bihar
| publisher = [[University of California Press]]
| year = 1999
| isbn = 978-0-520-21100-1
| pages = 305 (at page 193)
}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite book
| first = Anand A.
| last = Yang
| title = Bazaar India: Markets, Society, and the Colonial State in Bihar
| publisher = [[University of California Press]]
| year = 1999
| isbn = 978-0-520-21100-1
| pages = 305 (at page 194)
}}</ref>

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 money annually as professional tax from traders stationed at Hathwa.<ref name=":0" />

[[File:Hathwa kila.jpg|thumb|Palace belonging to the Hathwa Raj]]

==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]].<ref>{{cite news
| url = http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-10-22/patna/34652704_1_chief-priest-durga-puja-animal-sacrifice
| archive-url = https://archive.today/20130126092938/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-10-22/patna/34652704_1_chief-priest-durga-puja-animal-sacrifice
| url-status = dead
| archive-date = 2013-01-26
| title = Ex-zamindars' tryst with Durga Puja
| author = Gayatree Sharma
| work = [[The Times of India]]
| date = 2012-10-22
| access-date = 2012-10-22
}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news
| url = http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/Ex-zamindars-tryst-with-Durga-Puja/articleshow/16908429.cms
| title = Ex-zamindars' tryst with Durga Puja
| author = Gayatree Sharma
| work = [[The Times of India]]
| date = 2012-10-22
| access-date = 2012-10-22
}}</ref> The Hathwa family still celebrates some of the customs including sacrificing buffaloes and goats during puja.<ref>{{cite news
| url = http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/Ex-zamindars-tryst-with-Durga-Puja/articleshow/16908429.cms
| title = Ex-zamindars' tryst with Durga Puja
| author = Gayatree Sharma
| work = [[The Times of India]]
| date = 2015-03-10
| access-date = 2012-10-22
}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Zamindars of Bihar]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |title=The Limited Raj: Agrarian Relations in Colonial India, Saran District, 1793-1920 |first=Anand A. |last=Yang |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-52005-711-1 |year=1989 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ck4jmD7H34UC}}

{{Saran Division topics}}

[[Category:Zamindars of Bihar]]
[[Category:Hindu dynasties]]
[[Category:Indian maharajas]]
[[Category:Quasi-princely estates of India]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1956]]
[[Category:1956 disestablishments in India]]

Hathwa Raj - Revision history

MrBeast at 21:34, 10 March 2026