Far East Kingdoms

Bundela Rajas of Bundelkhand (Panna)
AD 1707 - Present Day

Bundelkhand was a province under the Moghul empire in India during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, ruled directly by their vassals, the Gond kings of Garha Mandla and the Upper Narmada Valley. The Bundelas were (and still are) Chhatri Suryanvanshi Rajputs by origin. In the early fourteenth century, their earliest known ancestor, Sahanpal Bundela, first came down into southern India, along with the armies of the Rajput Parmara and Chauhan kings and captured the regions forming what we now know as Bundelkhand (in the present states of Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh). The Bundela clan settled down in this region as vassals of the other two Rajput clans.

Amongst the most famous Bundela kings was Raja Chhatrasal, a descendent of Rudra Pratap of Orcha. By the start of the eighteenth century, revolts were springing up against the strict rule of Emperor Aurangzeb and his empire started to fracture under the strain. When he died in 1707, Raja Chhatrasal removed himself from vassalage and proclaimed an independent kingdom. He also divided his kingdom between his sons and his adopted son (and also his son-in-law), the Maratha Peshwa, Bajirao I who had married his daughter Mastani.

Subsequently, there were many small principalities and fiefdoms that arose from these main Bundelkhand kingdoms (such as Ajaigarh, Banda, Banka, Banpur, Bijna, Chanderi, Chirgaon, Chatrapur, Datia, Durwai, Jhansi, Khaniadhana, Mahewa, Mahoba, Shahagarh, Tori Fatehpur, etc), mainly as inheritances of the various Bundela princes.

1707 - 1731

Raja Chatrasal

Son of Champatrai of Orcha. Kingdom founder. Born 1649.

1707

Upon the death of Aurangzeb, Chatrasal seeks help from the Marathas to remove himself from Moghul vassalage. Shivaji advises him to strive to do it himself, which he promptly does, and proclaims an independent kingdom.

The Bundela fight against the Moghuls was unexpectedly successful, conquering swathes of territory from them and paving the way for an independent state

1731

When Chatrasal dies, his eldest son succeeds him in Panna, while other descendents rule from separate minor kingdoms such as Ajaigarh, Charkhari, Chatarpur, Jaitpur, and Jaso.

1731 - 1739

Harde Sah / Hirde Sah

Son. Captured Rewah.

1739 - 1752

Sabha Singh

Son.

Sabha Singh battles against his brother, Prithvi Singh, (who is supported by the Marathas) and has to cede Shahgarh.

1752 - 1758

Aman Singh

Son. Murdered by his own brother, Hindupat Singh.

1758 - 1778

Hindupat Singh

Brother.

?

Alibahadur

Grandson of Peshwa Bajirao. Raja of Banda.

1761

Alibahadur is the son of Shamsher Bahaddur by his wife Mastani, and the grandson of Peshwa Bajirao. Shamsher Bahadur dies aged twenty-seven, fighting for the Marathas at Panipat. His son later has to fight the other Bundelas for his lawful inheritance and he eventually rules from the state of Banda.

Alibahaddur's son, Zulfikar Ali, sides with the rebels during the 1857 uprising against the British. His descendents are pensioned off by the British.

1778 - 1779

Anirudh Singh

Son.

1779 - 1785

Anirudh Singh succeeds as a minor and dies early. The state is ruled by his ministers, Beni Hazuri, Khemraj Chaube and Sonesah Ponwar, between whom a power struggle soon breaks out. The state is soon divided between the ministers who rule from Maihar, Paldeo and Chhatarpur respectively.

1785 - 1798

Dhokal Singh

Brother.

1798 - 1834

Kishor Singh

Son. Died 1840.

Kishor Singh aligns himself with the British and is awarded the Sohawal and Nagod regions. He also builds Jaggannath Temple at Panna.

1834 - 1849

Harbans Rai

Son.

1849 - 1870

Mahendra Nirpat Singh Judev Bahadur

Brother.

1857 - 1858

Mahendra Nirpat Singh Judev Bahadur helps the British Governor-Generalship during the 1857 uprising by holding on to Kalinjer Fort and fighting rebels at Damoh. The king later donates land required for the East India Railway, and constructs Loksagar tank near Panna, a market area known as Bada Bazaar, the Ram Janki Temple, and more.

1870 - 1893

Sir Rudrapratap Singh

Son. Constructed temples such as Baldevji, and Govindji.

1893 - 1898

Lokpal Singh

Brother.

1898 - 1902

Madho Singh

Son.

1902

After constructing the Mahendra Bhavan palace, Madho Singh is deposed on charges of complicity in the murder of his uncle, Rao Khaman Singh.

1902 - 1963

Sir Yadavendra Singh Judev Bahadur

Son of Rao Khaman Singh.

1947 - 1950

India gains independence from Britain on 14 August 1947 and by 1949 all the princely states (barring one or two) have been merged, one by one, into the Indian state, signing the instrument of accession with the new Indian national government. India is declared a republic on 26 January 1950, leaving the princes holding their titles and little more.

Sir Yadavendra Singh Judev Bahadur is appointed Uparajya Pramukh of Vindhya Pradesh (which eventually becomes part of present day Madhya Pradesh state).

1963 - 1990

Narendra Singh

Born 1915. Politician and social worker.

1990 - 2009

Manvendra Singh

Born 1939.

2009 - Present

Raghvendra Singh