Savanur State

Savanur State,[1] Nawab of Savanur was one of the princely states of British India. It was the only state belonging to the Dharwar Agency under the Bombay Presidency,[2] which became later part of the Deccan States Agency. The last ruler of the state acceded to the Dominion of India on 8 March 1948.

Savanur State
ಸವಣೂರ ಸಂಸ್ಥಾನ
Princely State of British India
1680–1948

Savanur State in the Imperial Gazetteer of India
Area 
• 1901
189 km2 (73 sq mi)
Population 
• 1901
18,446
History 
• Established
1680
1948
Preceded by		Succeeded by
Maratha Empire
India
Today part ofKarnataka, India
The Nawab of Savanur and his sons ca. 1855-1862

Savanur State covered an area of 189 square kilometers and had a population of 18,446 in 1901. Its capital was Savanur.

Savanur was one of the former states of the Southern Maratha Country. Following the Independence of India it became part of Mysore State and is currently in Karnataka State.

History

Early history

Savanur State was founded in 1672 when Abdul Karim Khan, an Afghan of the Miyana tribe from Kabul,[3] in the service of the sultanat of Bijapur, was granted the jagir of Sarkar Bankapur near Bijapur in 1672.

His successors ruled over extensive territories almost independently for over a century under Mughal tutelage.

However, Savanur was conquered and made a tributary by the Marathas, 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.

The remainder of Savanur became part of Hyder Ali's territory and by the end of the century, Tipu Sultan had annexed the Nawab. Although having their territory annexed by various powers the "Nawab of Savanur" continued to be a political entity. The occupation by the Kingdom of Mysore had begun on 29 October 1786 and lasted until 17 December 1791. Later all the territories were returned by Mysore to the Marathas, following the Battle of Gajendragad.

The name Savanur is said to be the corruption of the Persian word Shahnoor, which means 'king of light'. Few others claim that the city was established in the Hindu month of Shravan, and hence the name Savanur.[4]

British hegemony

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 collapse of the Maratha Empire in 1818, following the Third Anglo-Maratha War, Savanur accepted protection from British East India Company and became a British protectorate.[5]

The final ruling Nawab of Savanur, Abdul Majid Khan II, succeeded as a minor at the age of two years, 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.

Nawabs of Savanur

The Nawabs of Savanur were tolerant of all religions, and donated liberally to several Hindu temples and mutts. Betel leaves, jowar and cotton were the principal exports of the Savanur state. The Nawabs also had cordial relationship with the Dvaita mutt associated with Sri Satyabodhatirtha.[4]

In the latter part of the 19th century the Nawab of Savanur was renowned because he used to drink only water that had been brought from the Ganges. Apparently he did so because of the medicinal properties of the water of that river.[6]

Royal Titles
Role Royal Title
The Ruling Prince Meherban Nawab (personal name) Khan Bahadur, Diler Jang, Nawab of Savanur
The Consort of the Ruling Prince Meherban Nawab (personal name) Begum Sahiba
The Heir Apparent Nawabzada (personal name) Khan, Wali Ahad Sahib
The sons of the ruling prince Nawabzada (personal name) Khan Sahib
The daughters of the ruling prince Nawabzadi (personal name) Begum Sahiba
The male descendants of the ruling prince, in the male line Sahibzada (personal name) Khan Sahib
The female descendants of the ruling prince, in the male line Sahibzadi (personal name) Begum
The more remote male descendants of the ruling prince Sardar (personal name) Khan Sahib

Rulers

The rulers of Savanur State were Sunni Muslim and used the title 'Nawab'.

Nawabs of Savanur
  • 1680 - 23 Jun 1720 Dalil Khan "Abdul Rauf" (b. 16.. - d. 1720)
  • Jun 1720 - Sep 1720 Abdul Fath Khan (d. 1720)
  • Sep 1720 - Feb 1721 Abdul Mahmad Khan (d. 1721)
  • Feb 1721 - 7 Apr 1726 Abdul Ghafur Khan (d. 1726)
  • 7 Apr 1726 – Oct 1755 Abdul Majid Khan I (d. 1754)
    • 7 Apr 1726 - 19 Oct 1730 Abdul Sattar Khan -Regent
  • Oct 1755 - 20 Feb 1794 Diler Abdul Hakim Khan I (d. 1794) (exiled 29 Oct 1786 – 17 Dec 1791 when the state was occupied by Mysore)
  • 20 Feb 1794 – 25 Nov 1796 Abdul Husain Khan (b. 17.. - d. 1802)
  • 25 Nov 1796 - 2 Nov 1827 Abul Khair Khan I (b. 17.. - d. 1827) (recognized by Peshwa as vassal ruler from Nov 1794 until 1818)
  • 2 Nov 1827 - 12 Jan 1828 Faiz Khan (d. 1828)
  • 8 May 1828 - 17 Aug 1834 Munawwar Khan (b. 1805 - d. 1834)
  • 17 Aug 1834 - Aug 1862 Abul Diler Khan II (b. 1807 - d. 1862)
  • Aug 1862 - 11 May 1868 Abul Khair Khan II (b. 1836 - d. 1868)
  • 11 May 1868 - 11 Aug 1884 Diler Khan (b. 1862 - d. 1884)
    • 11 May 1868 - 12 Jun 1883 Diwan Muhammad Ghaus Khan -Regent
  • 11 Aug 1884 - 26 Jul 1892 Abdul Tabriz Khan (b. 1865 - d. 1892)
  • 11 Aug 1884 – 1 May 1887 .... -Regent
  • 26 Jul 1892 - 1954 Abdul Majid Khan II (b. 1890 - d. 1954)
  • 26 Jul 1892 - 12 Nov 1912 Daud Muhammad Khan Sahib Pathan -Regent
  • 1954 - 1993 (nominal Nawab after 1973) Abdul Rashid Khan Bahadur
  • 1993 - (nominal Nawab) Abdul Majid Khan Bahadur
  • benki nawab ghouse ali sultan §ghouse khan
  • Nawab Abdul Rauf Hussain Khan Bahadur
  • Nawab Ahsan Khan Bahadur
  • Nawab Najeeb Khan Bahadur
  • Sana rauf khan bahadur
  • Ainan khan bahadur
  • Nawab Arhan Hussain Bahadur

See also

References
  1. Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 22, p. 155.
  2. Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Bombay Presidency" . Encyclopædia Britannica. 4 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 186.
  3. Chitnis, Krishnaji Nageshrao (2000). The Nawabs of Savanur. ISBN 9788171565214.
  4. Azer, Rahman (19 August 2014). "Nawabs and paan leaves" (Bangalore). Deccan Herald. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  5. Bombay Gazetteer, Karnataka Dharwad district Chapter III. ed. and publ. by James M. Campbell, 1863, pp. 58–59
  6. Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, ed. by James Hastings. 1912

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