|
Darbhanga Raj, also known as Raj Darbhanga and the Royal Family of Darbhanga, were a family of Zamindars and rulers of territories that are now part of Mithila and Darbhanga district, Bihar, India. Their seat was at the city of Darbhanga. The estate of Darbhanga Raj was estimated to cover an area of , incorporating 4,495 villages within 18 circles in Bihar and Bengal and employing over 7,500 officers to manage the estate. The Raj Darbhanga trace their origin to maithil Brahmin at the beginning of the sixteenth century. ==History== North Bihar was under a state of lawlessness at the end of the empire of the Tughlaq dynasty. Tughlaq had attacked and taken control of Bihar, and from the end of the Tughlaq Empire until the establishment of the Mughal Empire in 1526 there was anarchy and chaos in Bihar. Emperor Akbar (ruled 1556–1605) realised that taxes from Mithila could only be collected if there was a king who could ensure peace in the Mithila region. The Brahmins were dominant in the Mithila region and Mithila had Brahmin kings in the past. Emperor Akbar summoned Rajpandit Chandrapati Thakur to Delhi from Garh Mangala (now in Madhya Pradesh) and asked him to name one of his sons who could be made caretaker and tax collector for his lands in Mithila. Chandrapati Thakur named his middle son, Mahesh Thakur, and Emperor Akbar declared Mahesh Thakur as the caretaker of Mithila on the day of Ram Navami in 1577 AD. A poet has written about this event: The family and descendants of Mahesh Thakur gradually consolidated their power in social, agrarian, and political matters and came to be regarded as kings of Madhubani. Darbhanga became the seat of power of the Raj Darbhanga family from 1762. They also had a palace at Rajnagar Bihar situated in Madhubani district. They bought land from local people. They became known as a ''Khandavala'' family (the richest landlord). This family was not regarded as kings by the British Raj but they started using the title of King to impress upon the local population. The family was known to as cruel tax collectors. For a period of twenty years (1860–1880), Darbhanga Raj was placed under Ward of Court by the British government. During this period, Darbhanga Raj was involved in litigation regarding succession. This litigation decided that the estate was impartible and succession was to be governed by primogeniture. The estate of Darbhanga Raj was estimated to cover an area of . It had an indigo concern in Sarahia and Bachaur in Muzaffarpur district, Pandaul in Madhubani District, and Gonswara in Purnea district. Raj Darbhanga started several companies. Newspaper & Publication Pvt. Ltd. published newspapers and periodicals such as ''The Indian Nation'', ''Aryavarta'', and Mithila Mihir''. The Walford company was a chain of automobile dealerships having branches at Calcutta, Guwahati, and Imphal. The family owned Ashok Paper Mills, Pandaul Sugar Factory, Sakri Sugar Factory, and others. Darbhanga Raj contained 4,495 villages under 18 circles in Bihar and Bengal and employed over 7,500 officers to manage the estate. Raj Darbhanga had several Palaces in Darbhanga: Rambagh Palace, Lakshmeshwar Vilas Palace, Nargona Palace, Bela Palace, and at Rajnagar in Madhubani District. Raj Darbhanga had properties at almost every prominent city in British India. Raj Darbhanga under Maharaja Lakshmeshwar Singh (1858–1898) and Maharaja Rameshwar Singh became a model estate in India. Several works pertaining to famine relief, road construction, and canal and bridge construction were carried out. Raj Darbhanga came to be known for its benevolent management. During the Bihar famine of 1873–74 Maharaj Lakshmeshwar Singh contributed Rs. 300,000.00 towards relief works. The Maharajas of Darbhanga were devoted to Sanskrit traditions and maintained an orthodox viewpoint of religion and caste. However, their views did not prevent them from having a broader nationalistic outlook. Even though the Royal Family of Darbhanga's contribution to the Indian independence movement is ignored, the Maharajas of Darbhanga, while maintaining their loyalty to the British government, were major financial supporters of the Indian National Congress. In a letter dated 21 March 1947 Mahatma Gandhi acknowledged his friendship with the royal family of Darbhanga and said Maharaja Kameshwar Singh Bahadur was as a son to him. After the independence of India from British rule in 1947, the Government of India initiated several land reform actions and the Zamindari system was abolished. The fortunes of Darbhanga Raj dwindled. The last Maharaja of Darbhanga Raj was Maharaja Bahadur Sir Kameshwar Singh, K.C.I.E. He died heirless i.e. no one was made the king after that. The rule of Raj Darbhanga was finished.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Imperial Gazetteer2 of India, Volume 11, page 163 -- Imperial Gazetteer of India -- Digital South Asia Library )〕〔''Mithila: A Union Republic''. Author – Lakshman Jha〕〔''Language, Religion and Politics in North India''. Author – Paul R. Brass〕〔''A Golden Book of India – A Genealogical and Biographical Dictionary of Ruling Princes, Chiefs, Nobles and Other Personages, Titled or Decorated, of the Indian Empire''. Author – Sir Roper Lethbridge. First published 1893.〕〔http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Darbhanga http://www.uq.net.au/~zzhsoszy/ips/d/darbhanga.html〕〔http://www.muzaffarpurtimes.com/Muzaffarpur_history.htm file=2006052601290300.htm&date=2006/05/26/&prd=fr&〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Raj Darbhanga」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|
