History
The earliest rulers of the later princely state of Benares were zamindars for the Awadh (Oudh) province of the Mughal Empire. Most of the area currently known as Varanasi was acquired by Mansa Ram, a zamindar of Utaria. Balwant Singh, the ruler of Utaria in 1737,took over the Jagirs of Jaunpur (except Bayalasi which was ruled independently by Zamindar of Purenw), Varanasi, and Chunar, in 1737 from the Mughal EmperorMuhammad Shah of Delhi. The Kingdom of Benaras started in this way during the Mughal dynasty. Other places under the kingship of Kashi Naresh were Chandauli, Gyanpur, Chakia, Latifshah, Mirzapur, Nandeshwar, Mint House and Vindhyachal. With the decline of the Mughal Empire, the Bhumihars under the leadership of Kashi Naresh strengthened their sway in the area south of Avadh and in the fertile rice growing areas of Benares, Jaunpur, Gorakhpur, Basti, Deoria, Azamgarh, GhazipuGhazipur, Ballia and Bihar and on the fringes of Bengal[4] As the Mughal suzerainty weakened, the Benares zamindari estate became Banaras State, thus Balwant Singh of the Narayan dynasty regained control of the territories and declared himself Maharaja of Benares in 1740. The strong clan organisation on which they rested, brought success to the lesser known Hindu princes. There were as many as 100,000 men backing the power of the Benares rajas in what later became the districts of Benares, Gorakhpur and Azamgarh. This proved a decisive advantage when the dynasty faced a rival and the nominal suzerain, the Nawab of Oudh, in the 1750s and the 1760s. An exhausting guerrilla war, waged by the Benares ruler against the Oudh camp, using his troops, forced the Nawab to withdraw his main force. Later after the defeat in the battle of Buxar the nawab tried to give the zamindari of benares to the British even though having no rights over it as treaty of benares but the shrewd brits already knew this and they very politely refused the treaty. ;ater under Warren hastings rule the company accepted the offer and benares came under the direct control of governer genral which made the Bhumihar clan and Maharaja very angry and as a result they did not pay any tribute to the brithish. this incident made short tempered warren hasting very angry and he came to benares to check the matter. after arviing in benares he ordered a house areest to maharaja chet singh which worked as fuel in ember and the people of benares revolted against him . the people killed the mercenary soilders guarding the chet singh ghat [ current name] and freeing the maharaja who went straight to the ramnagar fort. here seeing the benarasis overpowring his soiders hasting escaped to chunar disguised as a woman in the palki of maharaja's relatives who helped him escape . there is a famous idiod which is used by the people of benares about this incident "ghode pe hauda hathi pr jean aisa bhaga warren hasting " . After reaching chunar hasting got reinforcements and he again charged for benares this time maharaja was outnumbered and lost and had to flee to gwalior . Benares became a princely state in 1911. It was given the privilege of the 13-gun salute.
History of Ramnagar
The residential palace of the Naresh is the Ramnagar Fort at Ramnagar near Varanasi, which is next to the river Ganges.
The Ramnagar Fort was built by Raja Balwant Singh with creamy chunar sandstone in the eighteenth century. It is a typically Mughal style of architecture with carved balconies, open courtyards, and picturesque pavilions.
Kashi Naresh donated over 1,300 acres (5.3 km2) of land on the outskirts of the city to build the campus of Banaras Hindu University.
On 28 January 1983, the Kashi Vishwanath Temple was taken over by the government of Uttar Pradesh and its management was transferred to a trust, with the late Vibhuti Narayan Singh, then Kashi Naresh, as president, and an executive committee with the Divisional Commissioner as Chairman.
Ram Leela at Ramnagar
When the Dussehra festivities are inaugurated with a colourful pageant, the Kashi Naresh rides an elephant at the head of the procession. Then, resplendent in silk and brocade, he inaugurates the month-long folk theatre of Ramlila at Ramnagar.
The Ramlila is a cycle of plays which recounts the epic story of Lord Rama, as told in Ramcharitmanas, the version of the Ramayana written by Tulsidas. The plays, sponsored by the Maharaja, are performed in Ramnagar every evening for 31 days. On the last day the festivities reach a crescendo as Rama vanquishes the demon king Ravana. Maharaja Udit Narayan Singh started this tradition of staging the Ramleela at Ramnagar in the mid-nineteenth century.
Over a million pilgrims arrive annually for the vast processions and performances organized by the Kashi Naresh.
Geogarphy
From 1737, the state included most of present-day Bhadohi, Chandauli, Jaunpur, Mirzapur, Sonbhadra, and Varanasi districts, including the city of Varanasi. Balwant Singh expelled Fazl Ali from present-day Ghazipur and Ballia, and added it to his domains.
Between 1775 and 1795, the British gradually took over administration of most of the state, leaving the rajas to directly administer two separate areas – an eastern portion, corresponding to present-day Bhadohi district, and a southern portion, comprising present-day Chakia tehsil of Chandauli district. These two areas made up the princely state of Benares from 1911 to 1948. The rajas retained certain revenues from rents, and certain administrative rights, in the rest of the territory, which the British administered as Benares Division, part of the United Provinces. The rajas made their main residence in Ramnagar.
Saraswati Bhawan at Ramnagar Fort
A rare collection of manuscripts, especially religious writings, is housed in Saraswati Bhawan. It includes a precious handwritten manuscript by Goswami Tulsidas. There are also many books illustrated in the Mughal miniature style, with beautifully designed covers.
Rulers
The rulers of the state carried the title "Maharaja Bahadur"
Maharaja Bahadurs[edit]
1737–1740 Mansa Ram Singh (d.1740)
1740 – 19 Aug 1770 Balwant Singh (b. 1711 – d. 1770)
19 Aug 1770 – 14 Sep 1781 Chait Singh (b. 17.. – d. 1810)
14 Sep 1781 – 12 Sep 1795 Mahip Narayan Singh (b. 1756 – d. 1795)
12 Sep 1795 – 4 Apr 1835 Udit Narayan Singh (b. 1778 – d. 1835)
4 Apr 1835 – 13 Jun 1889 Ishwari Prasad narayan Singh(b. 1822 – d. 1889) (
1 Apr 1911 – 4 Aug 1931 Sir Prabhu Narayan Singh (b. 1855 – d. 1931)
4 Aug 1931 – 5 Apr 1939 Aditya narayan Singh (b. 1874 – d. 1939) (from 3 Jun 1933, Sir Aditya Narayan Singh)
5 Apr 1939 – 15 Aug 1947 Vibhuti Narayan Singh (b. 1927 – d. 2000)
Titular Maharajas[edit]
15 Aug 1947 – 25 Dec 2000: Vibhuti Narayan Singh (b. 1927 – d. 2000)
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