Savanur

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Savanur was one of the princely states of British India, under the Bombay Presidency, and later the Deccan States Agency. Its Moslem rulers, styled “Nawab” descended from Abdul Karim Khan, an Afghan in the service of the Mughal Empire, who received a grant near Delhi in 1672. His successors ruled over extensive territories almost independently for over a century. However, Savanur was located between the increasing power of the Marathas and the equally powerful Nizam of Hyderabad, Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan, which gradually eroded away Savanur’s territory. By the second half of the eighteenth century, more than half of Savanur had been ceded to the Marathas. By the end of the century, Tipu Sultan had annexed the remainder. With the death of Tipu Sultan in 1799, independence returned to Savanur with about a third of its original territory. Thereafter, Savanur slowly drifted towards British suzerainty. After the destruction of the Maratha Confederacy in 1818, Sanavor accepted protection from British India.

The final ruling Nawab of Savanur, Abdul Majid Khan II, succeeded as a minor at two years old, and had been carefully raised and educated by his British overseers. He traveled widely and mixed with people in all walks of life in India and abroad. He returned to assume power determined to modernize his state, engaging in a furious program of building modern schools, dispensaries, government offices, courts, palaces, jails, irrigation tanks, and roads. In the short period of thirty-five years of his active rule, this little state advanced beyond anything achieved in the previous three centuries. The advent of Indian independence in 1947 and the withdrawal of the British caused the Nawab great sadness. Once the transfer formalities were completed, he retired to his private mansion at Dharwad, never setting foot in Savanur again. After his death in 1954, local authorities, out of sincere respect for a distinguished gentleman held in high regard almost universally, buried him in his beloved Savanur.

Savanur state covered an area of 189 square kilometers in 1901. It acceded to Dominion of India on March 8, 1948. It is currently a part of Karnataka state.

[edit] Places of interest

Dodda Hunise Mara as known in the native language Kannada is the proverbial Baobab Tree. Savanur might be the only place in the state of Karnataka or rather in whole India, which boasts of having three big Baobab trees on the outskirts of the town. This species of tree reach heights of between 5–25 m (exceptionally 30 m) tall, and up to 7 m (exceptionally 11 m) in trunk diameter. The specimens at Savanur are exceptional by all standards; the biggest one measures above 18 m at girth, the second one above 16 m and the third one above 14 m. These are said to be more than 5000 years old and locals believe that Lord Krishna brought the seeds of the same from Africa and planted them here. These are planted in a triangular shape and stand together closely. The state government has put up a fence to protect the trees and a board briefly describing the history of the trees, which also gives the statistics about height and girth. Unfortunately the trees have not got the publicity or attention they deserve, either from the Government or from the general public. It is intended shortly to put up a photo of these trees here. Click here to see image of a Baobab tree [1]

[edit] External links

• History and genealogy of the ruling princes of Savanur State
• Another genealohy of Savanur State