| Surguja State | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Princely State ofBritish India | |||||||||
| 1613–1948 | |||||||||
 Flag | |||||||||
 Surguja State in theImperial Gazetteer of India | |||||||||
| Capital | Ambikapur | ||||||||
| Area | |||||||||
• 1901 | 15,770 km2 (6,090 sq mi) | ||||||||
| Population | |||||||||
• 1901 | 351,011 | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
• Established | 1613 | ||||||||
| 1948 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Surguja State was one of the mainprincely states ofCentral India during the period of theBritish Raj, even though it was not entitled to anygun salute. Formerly, it was placed under theCentral India Agency, but in 1905 it was transferred to theEastern States Agency.
The state spread over a vastmountainous area inhabited by many different people groups such as theGond,Bhumij,Oraon,Panika,Korwa,Bhuiya,Kharwar,Munda,Chero,Rajwar,Nagesia andSantal.[1] Its former territory lies in the present-day state ofChhattisgarh and its capital was the town ofAmbikapur, now the capital ofSurguja district.
The family of the Maharaja is very ancient, and is stated to belong to the Rajputs of the Lunar race.The family is descended from ruling family of aRaksel Raja ofPalamau. The state became aBritish protectorate in 1818 after theThird Anglo-Maratha War. Neighbouring Udaipur State was founded in 1818 as an offshoot of Surguja State. In 1860 The State was conferred to younger son ofMaharaja Amar Singh Deo, toRaja Bahadur Bindeshwari Prasad Singh DeoCSI. The Chief resided at PratappurPratappur, the headquarters of a tract which he held as a maintenance grant inSurguja, and was a ruler of considerable ability and force of character. In 1871 he aided in the suppression of a rebellion in theKeonjhar State, for which he received the thanks of Government, and gifts of an elephant with gold-embroidered trappings and a gold watch and chain. He obtained the title ofRaja Bahadur as a personal distinction, and was also made aCompanion of the Most Exalted Order of the Star of India. In 1820 hereditary title ofMaharaja was conferred on ruling chief ofSurguja. Surguja was one of theChota Nagpur States[3] and its rulers wereRajputs of the Raksel dynasty. They were thede facto overlords of the smaller states ofUdaipur,Jashpur,Koriya (Korea) andChangbhakar that were fringing its territory.[4]
Maharaja Indrajit Singh Deo (1827–1879) of Surguja was described as alunatic by Anglo-Indian writerGeorge Robert Aberigh-Mackay in 1877.[5]
Maharaja Ramanuj Saran Singh Deo, the last ruler of this princely state signed the accession to theIndian Union on 1 January 1948.[6] The Maharaja has the notorious record of having shot and killed a total of 1710Bengal tigers, the highest known individual score;[7][8] he doesn't hold the official record of shooting into extinction 3 of the last physically recordedAsiatic cheetahs in India, effectively making the species almost locally extinct in 1947, considering that a female was spotted in what was to be theDistrict of Korea in 1951. The last three Asiatic Cheetas were shot by Maharaja Ramanuj Partap Singh Deo ofKorea.[9][2]
The rulers of Surguja State bore the title of 'Maharaja', although a few had the title of 'Maharaja Bahadoor', including the last head of the state.[10]
Media related toSurguja State at Wikimedia Commons
