Singrauli State

Singrauli State, also simply known as Singrauli, was a Rajput Chauhan princely state of India, with its capital at Singrauli.
With an area of about , Singrauli was the 6th largest princely state in India and the largest princely state in the Bagelkhand Agency (in terms of both gun salute and area) and the second largest in Central India Agency. Singrauli was also the third wealthiest principality in Central India, with an average revenue of 3 million rupees in 1902. It had the right to a 17-gun (plus 2 local) salute (4th in Central India Agency after Gwalior, Indore and Bhopal.)
History
The place was once known as 'Shringavali', after the sage Rishyasringa or Shringi. It was once covered with dense and unnavigable forests and inhabited by wild animals. The place was considered so treacherous that the royal family used to use it as a prison. The Maharajas of Singrauli are the heads of the Chauhan Rajputs.
With an area of about , it was the largest state in the Bagelkhand Agency (overall, in terms of gun salute and area) and second largest in the Central India Agency in terms of area (in terms of gun salute Indore, Gwalior, and Bhopal were bigger). They have a hereditary 17-gun salute and a local 19-gun salute. Singrauli was also the third wealthiest princely state in Central India, with an average revenue of rupees 3 million in 1902. They ruled up till 1949. Singrauli State had the most amount of elephants in the Central India Agency. Their rule extended from Singrauli to Sasaram in Bihar in its early stages. The British political agent for Bagelkhand resided at Singrauli, on the East Indian railway.
After Indian independence
After India's independence, the Maharaja of Singrauli acceded to the Union of India in 1948. It became part of Vindhya Pradesh, the merger of the Bundelkhand and Baghelkhand agencies. Rameshwar Prasad Singh, the last ruler of Singrauli then became the Rajpramukh of Vindhya Pradesh but he died shortly after so then Martand Singh, the last ruler of Rewa became the Rajpramukh
In 1956 Vindhya Pradesh was merged with Madhya Bharat to form Madhya Pradesh, and in 2016, the ancestral Kothi palace was converted by the royal family into a hotel.
Bagheli is spoken in the Singrauli region.
Dynastic history and current ruler
The current Maharaja of Singrauli is HH Maharaja Bhuvaneshwar Prasad Singh; he is a direct descendent of the Chahamanas of Ranastambhapura. BP Singh married Veena Singh, the daughter of Arjun Singh, the brother of the Rao of Churhat Thikana. Their son, Aishwarya Singh is married to Devyani Rana, who is a member of the Nepal royal family. Her great-grandfather was HM Shree Teen Maharaja Mohan Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana. Aishvarya and Devyani have one son. B.P Singh is fondly known as Raja Baba as he was very young when he became the Maharaja of Singrauli.
The erstwhile royal family are a part of the Chahamana Empire's lineage. BP Singh's ancestor, Prithviraja III conquered Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana and Punjab. BP Singh is the current Head of the Chauhan Rajputs.
His Highness Raj-Rajeshwar Maharajadhiraja Shri Maharaja Sir Rameshwar Prasad Singh Bahadur of Singrauli helped the British in the First World War and the Second World War. As a result, he was granted a hereditary rank in the army as Major General, he received the GCSI and GCIE orders and he was given more territory and land. His grandfather, His Highness Maharaja Narend Prasad Singh Bahadur was given the territory up till Benares which he once had but the Marathas had seized it, he got it back because he helped the East India Company quell the Indian Rebellion of 1857 in neighbouring districts and states like Jhansi. The rulers of Singrauli have been ruling the area since 1192 because Emperor Prithviraja III's son Govindaraja IV started a new branch of the Chahamana dynasty in Ranthambore, and he ruled it as a vassal state (which encompassed Singrauli) of the Ghurids. Later, in 1303, Samrat Govindaraja Chauhan ruled Singrauli as a vassal of the Delhi Sultanate once Hammiradeva was defeated by Alauddin Khilji.
List of rulers
The rulers of Singrauli bore the title of Samrat (Emperor) from 1303-1425, then the title of Raja (King) from 1425-1556, then after that the title of Samrat-E-Rajput (Emperor of the Rajputs) from 1556-1601, lastly the title of Maharaja (Great King) from 1601 onwards.
*1303-1327: Samrat Govindaraja Chauhan
*1327-1359: Samrat Gulabaraj Chauhan
*1359-1376: Samrat Hariraja Chauhan
*1376-1397: Samrat Duryodhan Chauhan
*1397-1425: Samrat Ramchandra Chauhan, the title of Samrat was taken by the Sultan of Delhi and Raja title was given.
*1425-1442: Raja Someshwar Chauhan
*1442-1469: Raja Vigraha Chauhan
*1469-1498: Raja Prithviraja Chauhan
*1498-1512: Raja Govind Chauhan
*1512-1529: Raja Udai Chauhan, became a vassal of the Mughal Empire in 1528.
*1529-1540: Raja Raghuraj Chauhan
*1540-1556: Raja Chandra Chauhan
*1556-1594: Samrat-E-Rajput Aadidev Chauhan, friend of Akbar and helped him conquer Rajputana as a result got the title of Samrat-E-Rajput.
*1594-1601: Samrat-E-Rajput Anirudh Chauhan, after Akbar died the title Samrat-E-Rajput was taken and Jahangir gave the Maharaja title.
*1601-1629: Maharaja Anoop Chauhan
*1619-1629: Maharaja Amar Chauhan
*1629-1648: Maharaja Agniraja Chauhan
*1648-1679: Maharaja Vikram Chauhan
*1679-1697: Maharaja Hari Chauhan
*1697-1712: Maharaja Ajit Chauhan
*1712-1720: Maharaja Ram Chauhan
*1720-1758: Maharaja Jaswant Chauhan
*1758-1787: Maharaja Aryaman Chauhan
*1785-1787: Maharaja Karan Chauhan, assassinated by a relative, as he did not have any male heirs his eldest daughter's son became the Maharaja after him
*1787-1802: Maharaja Vikramaditya Chauhan
*1802-1819: Maharaja Veer Chauhan, Singrauli became a Princely State under his rule on 4 April 1814, the Maharajas changed their names from Chauhan to Singh as a sage told Veer Chauhan that if he doesn't change his last name he will not have any male heirs.
*1819-1826: Maharaja Ramanuj Prasad Singh
*1826-1832: Maharaja Aditya Prasad Singh
*1832-1854: Maharaja Vishwanath Prasad Singh
*1854-1898: His Highness Maharaja Raj-Rajeshwar Saramad-I-Samrat-I-Hindustan Indar-Mahendra Narendra-Shiromani Maharajadhiraj Shri Maharaja Sir Narend Prasad Singh Bahadur, Sipar-I-Saltanat-I-Inglishia, Farzand-I-Khas-I-Inglishia, Mansur-I-Zaman, Amir-Ul-Amara, KStJ. He helped the British quell the rebellion in nearby states, districts and cities like Jhansi, Meerut and Lucknow; As a result was in the KStJ order.
*1898-1932: Lt. Colonel His Highness Raj-Rajeshwar Saramad-I-Samrat-I-Hindustan Indar-Mahendra Narendra-Shiromani Maharajadhiraj Shri Maharaja Sir Rudr Prasad Singh Bahadur, Sipar-I-Saltanat-I-Inglishia, Farzand-I-Khas-I-Inglishia, Mansur-I-Zaman, Amir-Ul-Amara, KStJ. He fought with the Maharaja of Rewa, Gulab Singh and Singrauli won. Provided troops etc. in the First World War as a result was granted an honorary rank in the army.
*1932-1947: Major General His Highness Raj-Rajeshwar Saramad-I-Samrat-I-Hindustan Indar-Mahendra Narendra-Shiromani Maharajadhiraj Shri Maharaja Sir Rameshwar Prasad Singh Bahadur, Sipar-I-Saltanat-I-Inglishia, Farzand-I-Khas-I-Inglishia, Mansur-I-Zaman, Amir-Ul-Amara, GCSI, GCIE, KStJ. He helped in the Second World War as a result got more territory etc. and was the first Maharaja of Singrauli's to be in the GCSI and GCIE orders. He also became the first Rajpramukh of Vindhya Pradesh.
Titular Maharajas
*Rameshwar Prasad Singh (1948-1953)
*Bhuvaneshwar Prasad Singh (1953-present), born 1951

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