Tekari Raj
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.
Tekari Raj
Estate in Gaya District, Bengal. The Tekari Raj was founded by a small landed proprietor, named Dhir Singh, at the beginning of the eighteenth century. His son, Sundar Singh, a Babhan, took advantage of the confusion created by the invasion of Nadir Shah in 1739 to lay hands on all property within his reach that he was strong enough to keep. The title of Raja was conferred on him by Muhammad Shah, emperor of Delhi, as a reward for the assistance he rendered to Ali Vardi Khan, Subahdar of Bengal and Bihar, in resisting an invasion of the Marathas. His adopted son Buniad succeeded him, but was treacherously drowned by Kasim All in 1762 in revenge for his allegiance to the British. At the time Buniad's son, Mitrajit, who was only a few months old, was with difficulty saved from Kasim Ali's emissaries. After Kasim Ali's defeat at the battle of Buxar, Mitrajit was made over by Dalil Singh, his father's diwan, in whose charge the boy had been placed, to the British commanding officer. He was subsequently restored to his estates and became a stanch friend to the British, assisted in quelling the Kolhan rebellion, and was honoured with the title of Maharaja. He died in 1840, when the Raj was divided between his two sons, the elder. Hit Narayan, getting a 9 annas share, and the younger, Mod Narayan, 7 annas.
Five years later Hit Narayan received the title of Maharaja ; but being a man of religious turn of mind, he became an ascetic and left his vast property in the hands of his wife, Maharam Indrajit Kunwar, who with her husband's consent adopted Maharaja Ram Narayan Krishna Singh as her son, and on her death left the property to his widow, Maharani Rajrup Kunwar. The latter appointed as her suc- cessor her daughter, Radheswari Kunwar, who died in 1886, leaving a minor son, Maharaj Kumar Gopal Saran Narayan Singh. The 9 annas share of the Tekari estate was brought under the management of the Court of Wards on his behalf, and remained under its charge till 1904. During this period, much has been done for the development of the resources of the property. As many as eighteen irrigation systems have been taken in hand, which have resulted in an increase to the rent-roll of over half a lakh of rupees. The two most important of these are the Jaru canal and jamu pain in the Chakand mahal. The former added Rs. 20,000 to the rent-roll, while the expenditure incurred was only Rs. 5,000 ; and by the improvement of the latter, at a trifling expenditure, the income of the mahal was, increased by Rs. 10,000 per annum. This portion of the estate was brought under settlement between the years 1893 and 1898, when it was found to contain 551 villages with a total area of 309 square miles. More than two-thirds of it is under cultivation, and nearly half of the cultivated area is irrigated ; the chief crop is winter rice. Closely connected with the fact that irrigation is required over large tracts, and that the necessary works can only be constructed and maintained at the landlord's expense, is the prevalence of the bhaoli system of produce rents (see Gaya District), which alone can furnish the necessary incentive to the landlord. About 70 per cent, of the cultivated lands is held on this system ; in the rest of the estate the average cash rent per acre is Rs. 4-9 for ryots holding at fixed rates, Rs. 4-6 for occupancy ryots, and Rs. 2-8 for non-occupancy ryots, the average size of the holdings of the three classes of tenants being 4.1 acres, 3.1 acres, and 1.3 acres respectively. The current demand for land revenue and cesses in 1903-4 was 2 lakhs and Rs. 60,000 respectively. The rent-roll is about 7-34 lakhs; but it fluctuates greatly from year to year, owing to so much of the amount being payable in kind.
The 7 annas share of the estate, which, as already stated, was held by Mod Narayan Singh, passed on his death to his two widows, who transferred the property in 1870 to a nephew of their late husband, Babu Ram Bahadur Singh, The latter received the title of Raja in 1888, but died before being invested with the khilat and was succeeded by a granddaughter. On her death six years later, the estate devolved on her daughter, Rajkumari Bhubanesvar Kunwar, who is still in possession of it, though, being a minor, she is under the guardian- ship of her grandmother. The 7 annas share contains 715 villages, with an area of 523 square miles ; the rental is about 6 lakhs.
[History of the Tekari Raj (Calcutta, 1880) ; C. J. Stevenson-Moore, Final Report on the Survey and Settlement Operations in the Tekari Wards Estate (Calcutta, 1899).]
