BANSWARA

BANSWARA

The Sisodia Dynasty

BRIEF HISTORY

Banswara became a separate state in 1527 when Maharawal Uday Singh of Dungarpur divided his patrimony between his two quarrelling sons. He assigned Dungapur to the elder son and gave Banswara to the younger son, Jagmal Singh. Although this did not end the dispute between the brother, the Raja of Dhar acted as arbitrator, finally establishing an agreed border between the two states in 1529. Dungarpur attacked Banswara thirty years later, prompting the Banswara ruler to accept Mughal suzerainty. However, this incurred the displeasure of his clan chief, the Maharana of Udaipur, who promptly sent a punitive expedition against him. Udaipur attacked or sent in punitive expeditions into Banswara several times during the following century. The little state was formally held by Imperial authority, but whenever this authority weakened or could not be enforced, she fell victim or allied herself to Dhar, Dungapur or Udaipur. The state fell under the sway of the Marathas at the end of the eighteenth century, but became weary of submitting to their demands for treasure and sought protection from the British. Banswara became a tributary of the HEIC in 1818, when the latter abandoned its previous strictures against a forward policy in Rajputana.

CLAN:
Sisodia clan of Rajputs.

SALUTE:
15-guns (1877).

ARMS:
Gules two chevrons ermine within a bordure or; over all, on a canton of the field , a sun in splendour (with twelve rays) or. Helmet: Or. Crest: Demi-lion proper holding a "trisul" (trident) or. Supporters: Black Bull with horns proper and a cheval (horse) argent main and tail purpure. Motto: Mithya papayor ghrinankuru. Lambrequins: gules and argent.

FLAG:
Rectangular flag of red with a yellow border (1/8^th the width of the fly).

STYLES & TITLES:
The ruling prince: Rai Rayan Maharawal Shri (personal name) Sinhji Sahib Bahadur, Naresh Rajya, Maharawal of Banswara, with the style of His Highness.
The consort of the ruling prince: Maharani Shrimathi (personal name) Sahiba, Maharani of Banswara, with the style of Her Highness.
The Heir Apparent: Shriman Maharaj Raj Kumar Shri (personal name) Singhji Sahib, Yuvaraj Sahib of Banswara.
The consort of the Heir Apparent: Maharaj Raj Kumarani Shrimathi (personal name) Sahiba, Yuvarani Sahib of Banswara.
The younger sons of the ruling prince, in the lifetime of their father: Maharajkumar Shri (personal name) Singhji Sahib.
The daughters of the ruling prince: Maharajkumari Shrimathi (personal name) Baijilal Sahiba.
The sons of the Heir Apparent: Yuvarajkumar Shri (personal name) Singhji Sahib.
The daughters of the Heir Apparent: Yuvarajkumari Shrimathi (personal name) Baijilal Sahiba.
The brothers of the ruling prince: Maharaj Shri (personal name) Singhji Sahib.
The consort of a brother of the ruling prince: Rani Shrimathi (personal name) Sahiba.
The other granddaughters of the ruling prince, in the male line and during the lifetime of their grandfather: Bhanwar Baijilal Shrimathi (personal name) Sahiba.

ORDERS & DECORATIONS:
None known.

RULES OF SUCCESSION:
Male primogeniture, with the right of adoption by the recognised head of the family on the failure of natural male heirs.

SOURCES:
Chiefs and Leading Families in Rajputana (The Ruling Princes, Chiefs and Leading Personages in Rajputana and Ajmer). Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing, Calcutta, 1894, 1903, 1912, 1916 and 1935.
Alexander Kinloch Forbes. Ras-Mala, Hindu Annals of Western India, with particular reference to Gujarat. Heritage Publishers. New Delhi, 1973.
Memoranda on The Indian States 1940 (Corrected up to the 1st January 1940). Manager of Publication, Government of India, Delhi, 1940.
Mahamahopadhyaya Rai Bahadur Gaurishankar Hirachand Ojha. The History of Rajputana. Vol III. Part II. History of the Banswara State. Vedic Yantralaya, Ajmer, 1937.
The Rajputana Gazetteer. Volume I. Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing, Calcutta, 1879.
Report on the Administration of the Banswara State. 1909/10-1913/14, 1916/17, 1919/20, 1921/22, 1929/30-1930/31, and 1932/33-1941/42. IOR/V/10, Oriental and India Office Collection, British Library, St Pancras, London.
The Ruling Princes. Chiefs and Leading Personages in the Western India States Agency, 1st edition. Rajkot, 1928.
The Ruling Princes. Chiefs and Leading Personages in the Western India States Agency, 2nd edition. Manager of Publications, Delhi, 1935.
Thacker's Indian Directory. Thacker's Press & Directories, Ltd., Calcutta 1863-1956.
A. Vadivelu, The Ruling Chiefs, Nobles & Zamindars of India. G.C. Loganadham Bros., Madras, 1915.
Copyright© Christopher Buyers
SPECIAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:
Kanwar Purujit Singh Tarwar, of Koti.

Father Lawrence Ober, SJ.

Deepshikha Rathore.

Maharaj Shri Nareshwar Singh, of Pipalda.

BANSWARA 2

BANSWARA 3

BANSWARA 4

BANSWARA 5

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