Dewas Junior was established by Jivaji Rao I Puar in 1728 during the Maratha conquest of Central India. It was a 15-gun salute Maratha princely state. On 12 December 1818, it became a British protectorate.[1]

Dewas State (Junior Branch)
देवास (छोटी पाती राज्य / धाकटी पाती संस्थान)
State Within the Maratha Confederacy (1728 - 1818)
Princely State of British India
1728–1948
Flag of Dewas
Flag

Dewas Sr and Dewas Jr. states in the Imperial Gazetteer of India
Area 
• 1901
1,100 km2 (420 sq mi)
Population 
• 1901
54,904
History 
• Established
1728
1948
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Maratha Empire
India
Today part ofIndia

History

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The original state was founded in 1728 by Jivaji Rao, from the Puar clan of Marathas who together with his older brother (Tukoji) had advanced into Malwa with Peshwa Baji Rao, as part of the Maratha conquest.[2]

The brothers divided the territory among themselves; their descendants ruled as the junior and senior branches of the family. After 1841, each branch ruled his own portion as a separate state, though the lands belonging to each were intimately entangled; in Dewas, the capital town, the two sides of the main street were under different administrations and had different arrangements for water supply and lighting.[3]

The Junior branch had an area of 440 sq mi (1,100 km2) and had a population of 54,904 in 1901.[4] Both Dewas states were in the Malwa Agency of the Central India Agency. After India's independence in 1947, the Maharajas of Dewas acceded to India, and their states were integrated into Madhya Bharat, which became a state of India in 1950. In 1956, Madhya Bharat was merged into Madhya Pradesh state.

Dewas Junior Darbar (Court) was composed of Sardars, Mankaris, Istamuradars, Thakurs and Jagirdars.[5][6]

Rulers

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HH Raja Narayan Rao Puar (first from left) in front of the Rajwada of Dewas Junior.
 
A rare photograph of the 3 successive Maharajas of Dewas Junior State. (L to R - HH Maharaja Sadashiv Rao Puar, HH Maharaja Yeshwant Rao Puar and HH Maharaja Malhar Rao Puar)
 
HH Raja Narayan Rao Puar with Dewas Junior Nobility
 
HH Maharaja Malhar Rao Puar, Royal family, Sardars, Mankaris, Jagirdars and Thakurs in front of the Dewas Junior Rajwada.
Title Part of Start of reign End of reign Name
Raja Maratha Empire 1728 15 Aug 1774 Jivaji Rao Puar "Dada Sahib" (d. 1774)
15 Aug 1774 2 Dec 1790 Sadashiv Rao I Puar (d. 1790)
2 Dec 1790 1817 Rukmangad Rao Puar (b. 17.. – d. 1817)
1817 1818 Anand Rao Puar "Rao Sahib" (d. 1840)
British protectorate 1818 1840
1840 12 May 1864 Haibat Rao Puar (d. 1864)
12 May 1864 19 Jan 1892 Narayan Rao Puar "Dada Sahib" (b. 1860 – d. 1892)
12 May 1864 1877 Yamuna Bai Sahib -Regent + Rao Bahadur R.J. Bhide (Superintendent)
9 Jan 1892 1 Jan 1918 Malhar Rao Puar "Bhava Sahib" (b. 1877 – d. 1934) (from 1 Jan 1917, Sir Malhar Rao Puar)
19 Jan 1892 10 Aug 1913 Lala Bisheshas Nath – Regent
Maharaja 1 Jan 1918 4 Feb 1934 Sir Malhar Rao Puar "Bhava Sahib" (s.a.)
4 Feb 1934 2 Dec 1943 Sadashiv Rao II Puar "Khase Sahib" (b. 1887 – d. 1943)
2 Dec 1943 15 Aug 1947 Yeshwant Rao Puar "Bhau Sahib" (b. 1905 – d. 1965) (from 14 Aug 1947, Sir Yeshwant Rao Puar)

Colonel HH Maharaja Sir Yeshwant Rao Puar had two daughters, 'Durgaraje' (d/o Padmaraje) who married into the Sardar Phalke family of Gwalior and 'Udayaraje' (d/o Maneka Raje) who married the Raja of Prayagpur.

List of rulers

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Rulers

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The ruler is a titled 'Maharaja' with respect to 15 gun salute.

Name Term Began Term Ended
2 Dewas Junior State Council 1965 -
4 Dewas Junior State Council with S Parmar 2024 -

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Meyer, William Stevenson, Sir; Burn, Richard, Sir; Cotton, James Sutherland; Risley, Sir Herbert Hope. Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 11. p. 278.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ Mayer, Adrian C. (1960). Caste and Kinship in Central India: A Village and Its Region: International library of sociology and social reconstruction. University of California Press. p. 13. ISBN 9780520017474. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  3. ^ Lethbridge, Sir Roper (1893). The golden book of India: a genealogical and biographical dictionary of the ruling princes, chiefs, nobles, and other personages, titled or decorated, of the Indian empire. Macmillan. p. 116. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  4. ^   One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainChisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Dewas". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 8 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 137.
  5. ^ Madan, T.N. (1988). Way of Life: King, Householder, Renouncer : Essays in Honour of Louis Dumont. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 129. ISBN 9788120805279. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  6. ^ Russell, Robert Vane (1916). "Pt. II. Descriptive articles on the principal castes and tribes of the Central Provinces".

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