Jhalawar State was a princely state in India during the British Raj. It was located in the Hadoti region. The state belonged to the Kotah-Jhalawar Agency which had headquarters at Kota and was a subdivision of the Rajputana Agency. Jhalawar was a 13 gun salute state.
The former ruling family of Jhalawar belonged to the Jhala dynasty of Rajputs, and their ancestors were kings of Halwad in Jhalawar District, in Kathiawar. About 1709 one of the younger sons of the head of the clan left his country with his son to try his fortunes at Delhi. At Kota he left his son Madhu Singh, who soon became a favorite with the Maharaja, and received from him an important post, which became hereditary. On the death of one of the Kota rajas (1771), the country was left to the charge of Zalim Singh, a descendant of Madhu Singh. From that time Zalim Singh was the real ruler of Kota. He brought it to a wonderful state of prosperity, and under his administration, which lasted over forty-five years, the Kota territory was respected by all parties.
In 1838 it was resolved, with the consent of the chief of Kota, to dismember the state, and to create the new principality of Jhalawar as a separate provision for the descendants of Zalim Singh. Madan Singh received the title of Maharaja Rana, and was placed on the same footing as the other chiefs in Rajputana. He died in 1845.
An adopted son of his successor took the name of Zalim Singh in 1875 on becoming chief of Jhalawar. He was a minor and was not invested with governing powers till 1884. Owing to his maladministration, his relations with the British government became strained, and he was finally deposed in 1896, "on account of persistent misgovernment and proved unfitness for the powers of a ruling chief." He went to live at Varanasi, and the administration was placed in the hands of the British resident. After much consideration, the British resolved in 1897 to break up the state, restoring the greater part to Kota, but forming the two districts of Shahabad and the Chaumahla into a new state, which came into existence in 1899, and of which Kunwar Bhawani Singh, a descendant of the original Zalim Singh, was appointed chief.
The former ruling family of Jhalawar belonged to the Jhala dynasty of Rajputs, and their ancestors were kings of Halwad in Jhalawar District, in Kathiawar. About 1709 one of the younger sons of the head of the clan left his country with his son to try his fortunes at Delhi. At Kota he left his son Madhu Singh, who soon became a favorite with the Maharaja, and received from him an important post, which became hereditary. On the death of one of the Kota rajas (1771), the country was left to the charge of Zalim Singh, a descendant of Madhu Singh. From that time Zalim Singh was the real ruler of Kota. He brought it to a wonderful state of prosperity, and under his administration, which lasted over forty-five years, the Kota territory was respected by all parties.
In 1838 it was resolved, with the consent of the chief of Kota, to dismember the state, and to create the new principality of Jhalawar as a separate provision for the descendants of Zalim Singh. Madan Singh received the title of Maharaja Rana, and was placed on the same footing as the other chiefs in Rajputana. He died in 1845.
An adopted son of his successor took the name of Zalim Singh in 1875 on becoming chief of Jhalawar. He was a minor and was not invested with governing powers till 1884. Owing to his maladministration, his relations with the British government became strained, and he was finally deposed in 1896, "on account of persistent misgovernment and proved unfitness for the powers of a ruling chief." He went to live at Varanasi, and the administration was placed in the hands of the British resident. After much consideration, the British resolved in 1897 to break up the state, restoring the greater part to Kota, but forming the two districts of Shahabad and the Chaumahla into a new state, which came into existence in 1899, and of which Kunwar Bhawani Singh, a descendant of the original Zalim Singh, was appointed chief.
| Ruler | Reign | |
| Madan Singh | 1838 – 1845 | |
| Prithvi Singh | 1845 – 1875 | |
| Zalim Singh | 1875 – 1896 | |
| (interregnum) | 1896 – 1899 | |
| Bhawani Singh | 1899 – 1929 | |
| Rajendra Singh | 1929 – 1943 | |
| Harisch Chandra Singh | 1943 – 1947 |
1 Rupee - In the name of Bahadur Shah II, KM#C28
Rev : Inscription - Zarb sana julus. Regnal Year RY#6
Details :
Plain edge. Old Madan Shahi series.
The first coin struck by Zalim Singh with the mintname Jhalawar is a rupee in the name of Muhammad Akbar II, RY#37 (1837). After the death of Muhammad Akbar II, he continued striking coins in the name of Muhammad Bahadur Shah II. This type of coin continued under his successor Prithvi Singh (AD1845-1875/AH1261-1292)
KM#C28
1 Rupee - In the name of Queen Victoria, KM#Y6.1
Rev : Inscription - Zarb sana julus. Regnal Year RY#21
Details :
Plain edge. New Madan Shahi series.
In 1858, on the assumption by the Crown of the Government of India, a change was made in the obverse inscription to Malikah mu’azzamah Victoria Badshah Inglistan. The engraving of the Persian script is extremely crude. On the pieces of a full flan (nazarana coins) some figures purporting to read 1915 may be found. This is the Samvat date equivalent to AD 1858. The regnal years, found on the reverse of these coins, are the years of the British Raj, commencing on the 1st November, 1858.
KM#Y6.1
References :
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jhalawar_State
- South Asian Coins & Paper Money (INDIAN EDITION) - Krause Publication
- http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php?topic=1794.0
