Gaharwar in sainthwar Sangh
Gaharwar in sainthwar Sangh || Gaharwar Kshatriyas of Padrauna;- The Gaharwar (also known as Raikar) families of the Malla-Sainthwar-Rajput community traced their lineage from the family of Raja Jaychand of Kannuaj. The defeat and death of Jaychand in 1194 AD from the hand of Mahmud Ghori forced Manikchand to shift towards Benares. He settled in the region which was at the bottom of the Vindhyachal Mountains and south of Allahabad (present Raj Kantit) .
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Manikchand had four sons namely Tal Deo, Ala Deo, Lakshman Deo and Premjeet. In the lineage of Ala Deo, was King Gudan (Gadan) Deo, who established the Kantit-Bijaipur Raj in 1401 AD (or 1542 ??). The descendants of Gudan Deo also ruled over Manda and Daiya estates in Allahabad district [72] [73] . In the lineage of Gudan Deo at Kantit came Dadu Rai.
He was very famous and associated with folk song kajli / kajri [74] . Dadu Rai was killed by Ali Quli Khan Zaman and Bahadur Khan in 1564 AD. The queen committed sati. The entire region faced atrocities from the Khan brothers. Many Kshatriya families were devastated, displaced and some even took shelter in the nearby forests. The Khan brothers were killed by Akbar in June 1567.
The young Bhupal Rai was taken to Majhauli Raj by his uncle (Hindi – Fufa) Madhav Mall. Once young, he joined the Mughal army and got the title of Rai for his valorous work. He, Rai Bhupal Rai, was designated as an officer for the Mughal artillery. Soon he was able to make some 50 close associates and all these people were inducted in the Majhauli army by then King Bhim Mall.
The group helped Majhauli to defeat their enemies. In return for their valorous work, the Majhauli king gave Zamindari of 5 villages to Bhupal Rai, the chief of the group. That time, the Makwani kings were ruling the area of Sidhua Jobna. Bhupal Rai defeated the Makwani kings and established a small estate. This happened around 1580 – 1590 AD [75] .
S. N. R. Rizvi mentioned the period of Bhupal Rai as 1650 AD, which looks wrong considering 4 rulers of Padrauna after him till Rai Nattha Rai of 1681 AD [76] .
In the lineage of Rai Bhupal Rai came Rai Jagat Rai, Rai Vasdev Rai, Rai Vanmala Rai, Rai Harihar Rai and then Rai Nattha Rai who attended the courts of Aurangzeb from 1681 AD. He helped Padrauna to get recognized as Princely estate in 1686 AD. He also received a grant of 33 villages in Padrauna tahsil yielding annual revenue of Rs. 5,500 [76] .
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Bhup Narain Rai was son of Nattha Rai and zamindar of Padruana till 1760 AD. The territory of Padrauna expanded further after Majhauli King gifted 12 villages to him as a respect to Ramdatt Rai (brother’s son) who helped Majhauli to defeat the Mughal army but died in the war showing his great valor. Ginu Narain Rai was zamindar of Padrauna from 1760 till 1795 AD.
He helped his friend Fatteh Shahi of Hussainpur, district Shahabad of Bihar (and Raja Chet Singh of Benaras) in his rebellion against East India Company [77] . In the records of Company Zalim Singh, Ginu Narain (Gehnu) Rai, Prithvipal Singh and Fatteh Sahi are recorded as prominent zamindars who took active part in the rebellion [78] [79] . After Ginu Narain Rai, the Padrauna estate was divided between his two brothers – Ram Narain Rai and Meharban Rai.
6.241 Dubari Rai participating in Indian rebellion of 1857 – the Kachhi Fansi
During Indian rebellion of 1857, the zamindar Madan Gopal Rai (first branch) helped the British Empire to crush the rebellion under the direction of Ishwari Pratap Rai. Opposite to this, Dubari Rai (second branch) helped the rebellion against the British rule. He was sentenced to death by hanging from a banyan tree near the temple of ‘Hatthi Mai’ situated near Chhawani, north to Kubersthan road. The hanging is known as ‘Kachhi Fansi’ [80] . After the rebellion, the entire property was seized by the British officer Mr. Ward and his zamindar brother Rai Raghupati Rai was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Madan Gopal Rai did not have a successor. Therefore, on 16th August 1880, he declared Udit Narain Rai (son of Raghupati Rai, second branch) as heir of the Padrauna estate. On 8th Feb 1886, he initiated the process of his nomination on government records. After a small court battle with Vindhyachal Prasad Rai, on 8 th May 1891 Udit Narain was finally declared as the legal heir of Padrauna estate. He was conferred with the title of ‘Raja’ by the British Government.
6.25 Social grouping of the Bisens of Madhuban, the Gaharwars of Padrauna, and the Rajputs associated with Mahabat Khan’s rebellion
After conversion episode of Raja Bodh Mall alias Raja Salem, the Bisens of Madhuban and associated kin lost their kinship ties with Bisens of Majhauli and other Bisens. They were slowly isolated by the powerful Majhauli estate on both political and social front and referred them as Malla of the Malla – Sainthwar population. It should be noted that the area under Madhuban already had large ‘Mall’ titled population (Sainthwar) related to the ancient Pava.
The Gaharwars of Padrauna, who were close relatives of Madhuban Bisens and whose ancestor Nattha Rai denied help to Raja Bodh Mall, faced a major financial crisis in the reign of Rai Dhanu Rai (around 1765 AD). The Gaharwar too faced ire of Majhauli. This way, both Madhuban and Padrauna families of very low populations got separated from mainstream Kshatriyas / Rajputs. The Rajput families related to Mahabat Khan’s rebellion were already living as an endogamous groups. The three groups established social ties with each other and continued their living as zamindars.
6.26 Clubbing of Bisens, Gaharwars and Rajputs with Malla-Sainthwar Kshatriyas in the census of British India
Nearly after 150 years of Raja Salem episode, the three groups (BisenMalla, Gaharwars and all Rajputs) were considered as Malla-Sainthwar in society. The first census of British India completed in 1865 as the “Census of North–West Provinces 1865” clubbed the three groups with ancient Malla-Sainthwar Kshatriya populations. Together all these populations were labeled as agricultural caste due to the Buddhist ancestry of the majority population and the absence of social ties with Brahmanic or orthodox Kshatriyas.
Padrauna royal family
Gaharwar in sainthwar Sangh || Gaharwar Kshatriyas of Padrauna
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