Sarangpur
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.
Sarangpur
Town in Dewas State, Central India, situated on the east bank of the Kali Sind, in 23 34' N. and 76 29' E., 30 miles from Maksi station on the Ujjain-Bhopal Railway, and 74 miles from Indore on the Bombay-Agra road. Population (1901), 6,339. Th fi site is very old, but the town as it now stands does not date back earlier than the days of the Muhammadan kings of Malwa (fifteenth century), and is entirely Muhammadan in character. That it was a place of importance in Hindu times is shown by the discovery of old coins of the punch-marked Ujjain type, while many fragments of Hindu and Jain temples are to be seen built into walls.
The place first became important under Sarang Singh Khichi in 1298, from whom it received its present name. During the fifteenth and sixteenth cen- turies it rose to great importance, and is constantly mentioned by the Muhammadan historians ; while the wide area covered by the ruins of the old town shows that it was then a large and flourishing place. In 1526 it was wrested from Mahmud KhiljT II of Malwa, by Rana Sanga of Chitor but during the confusion caused by Babar's invasion it fell to one Mallu Khan, who attempted to assume independence in Malwa, but was soon after subdued by Sher Shah. It was then included in the governorship of Shujaat Khan, and on the fall of the Suri dynasty passed to his son Bayazid, better known as Baz Bahadur, who assumed independence and struck coins, of which a few have been found. Sarangpur is best known as the scene of the death of the beautiful Rupmatl, the famous Hindu wife of Baz Bahadur.
She was renowned throughout Malwa for her singing and composition of songs, many of which are still sung. Her lover is described by Muhammadan writers as the most accomplished man of his day in the science of music and in Hindi song, and many tales of their love are current in the legends of Sarangpur and MANDU. In 1562 Akbar sent a force to Sarangpur under Adham Khan. Baz Bahadur, taken by sui prise and deserted by his troops, was forced to fly, and Rupmatl and the rest of his wives and all his treasures fell into the hands of Adham Khan. Various accounts of Rupmatl's end are current, but the most probable relates that she took poison to escape falling into the hands of the conqueror.
Baz Bahadur, after various vicissitudes, finally presented himself at Delhi, and was graciously received and raised to rank and honour. He died in 1588, and lies buried at Ujjain, according to tradition, beside the remains of Rupmatl. Sarangpur was from this time incorporated in the Sfibah of Malwa, and be- came the chief town of the Sarangpur sarkar. In 1734 it fell to the MarSthas, and was held at different times by the chiefs of Dewas, Indore, and Gwalior, and the Pindari leader Karim Khan. In 1818 it was restored to Dewas under the treaty made in that year.
Sarangpur was in former days famous for its fine muslins. The industry has decayed since 1875, and, though it still lingers, is gradu- ally dying out. There are few buildings of any note now standing, and those which remain are in a dilapidated state. One is known as Rupmatl kd Gumbaz, or 'Rupmatl's hall'; but from its absolute simi- larity to the buildings near it, this title would appear to be an invention of later days. Another similar domed building bears an inscription of 1496, stating that it was erected in the time of Ghiyas-ud-din of Malwa.
A Jama Masjid, once a building of some pretensions, bears a record dated in 1640. There was formerly a fort, but all that now remains are portions of the wall and a gateway with an inscription referring to its repair in 1578. A mosque, called the Pir jan kl Bhati, is a pic- turesque building now in a dilapidated state. Among the numerous Hindu and Jain remains, one statue of a Tirthankar has been found which was erected in A, u. 1121. Up to 1889 the two blanches of the State exercised a joint control ; but in that year the town was divided into two equal shares, each section being controlled by a kamasdar with a separate establishment. A joint school and sarai^ an inspection bungalow, and a combined post and telegraph office are maintained in the town.
[A. Cunningham, Archaeological Survey Report of Northern India^ vol. ii, p. 288.]
