Bhopawar Agency
Bhopawar was an sub-agency of the Central India Agency in British India with the headquarters at the town of Bhopawar, so the name . Bhopawar Agency was created in 1882 from a number of princely states in the Western Nimar and Southern Malwa regions of Central India, which included :-
- Dhar.
- including the future independent petty states of : Jamnia, Kali-Baori, Nimkhera & Rajgadh ; which were then under administrative control of Dhar State, also known as rajputEstates.
- also including the British guaranteed Fiefdoms (Jagirs) of : Multhan, Kachhi-Baroda, Bakhatgarh & Dhotria ; which always remained under complete suzerainty of Dhar Durbar, also known as Feudatory Estates.
- Amjhera.
- The last Raja of Amjhera : Baktawar Singh Rathore revolted against the East India Company during the Mutiny of 1857, thus he was arrested and blown off by the cannon in Dhar (so was the commander of his army who was also arrested and hanged by the neck in Indore) . The captured territories of Amjhera State were transferred as gift to Gwalior Durbar as a measure of goodwill for his steadfast support to British Government during the revolution thereafter . Hence, the entire State of Amjhera (approx. 800 sq.miles) became Gwalior State's Territory .
- Jhabua .
- also including around about seventeen (17) Feudal lords (Jagirdars) who paid direct tribute (nazarana/khillat) to Indore Durbar .
- Barwani .
- Alirajpur .
- including the extinct State of Phulmaal which was incorporated into it earlier as well as Fiefs (Jagirs) of Ondhwa & Sondhwa .
- Jobat .
- Mathwar .
- Kathiwara .
- Ratanmaal .
- This state was merged with the state of Baria (Devgadh) in Bombay Province few years before Independence .
- Indore State Territory's few enclaves like - Petlawad Tehsil, Dahi Jagir, etc. .
When created it had a total area of 7,684 square miles (19,900 km2), and its population on that area was 547,546 in 1901 . In 1904 certain districts were transferred from this agency to the Indore Residency, created in 1899, and the area of Bhopawar was thus reduced by 3,283 square miles (8,500 km2) . In 1925 Bhopawar Agency was merged into Malwa Agency, and in 1927 the agency was renamed the Malwa-Bhopawar States Agency, which was renamed again as the Malwa Agency in 1934 .
The other chief towns of this region were :- Badnawar, Kukshi, Manawar & Sardargarh .
After Indian Independence in 1947, the rulers of the princely states within Malwa-Bhopawar Agency acceded to the Union of India, and the region became part of the new state of Madhya Bharat . Madhya Bharat was merged into Madhya Pradesh on 1 November 1956.
References
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press