The area around
Suratgarh was called 'Sodhawati' and south-east of
Bhatner was once occupied by the Sodha Rajputs before being evicted from these regions by
Bhati Rajputs, after which they moved their base to
Thar Desert. A branch of
Parmaras left
Abu and settled in Radhanpur led by Bahar Parmar. His descendant Rao Sodho G became the founder of Sodha clan of Rajputs and captured Ratokot in 1125 AD. With base at Ratokot, they consolidated neighbouring villages under their influence. Further, Sodhoji's ambitious descendant Rana Raj Dev began plotting for the
Amarkot fort held by the
Soomras. For this purpose, he sent his trusted
Charan allies Junfahji and Budhimanji to Amarkot to prepare the ground for the invasion, where they lived for some time before returning to Ratokot.
Rana Parshad, the Sodha Rajput ruler of Amarkot, gave him refuge. Rana Prasad Rao of Amarkot duly welcomed Humayun into his home and sheltered the refugees for several months. Here, in the household of a Hindu
Rajput nobleman, Humayun's wife Hamida Bano, daughter of a Sindhi family, gave birth to the future Emperor
Akbar on 15 October 1542. The date of birth is well established because Humayun consulted his astronomer to utilise the
astrolabe and check the location of the planets. The infant was the long-awaited heir-apparent to the 34-year-old Humayun and the answer of many prayers. Shortly after the birth, Humayun and his party left Amarkot for Sindh, leaving Akbar behind, who was not ready for the grueling journey ahead in his infancy.
Annexation by Marwar and British rule The Amarkot Kingdom ruled by Sodha Rajputs was annexed by
Jodhpur State in the 18th century, which caused the decay of power as the Sodha rulers became vassals to retain independence from Jodhpur but it never happened they even tried to seek help from
Marathas (
Mahadji Shinde) in return they promised to help them against
Timur shah Durrani if he invaded. The Amarkot area and its fort was later handed to the British in 1847 by the Maharaja of Jodhpur in return for reducing the tribute imposed on
Jodhpur State by Rs.10,000 and the territory came under direct rule of British India, and the Ranas were reduced to category of
Jagirdars.
End of Reign The Sodha rule came to an end in 1947
Partition of British India, after the Amarkot king Rana Arjun Singh contested for the
All-India Muslim League platform, and decided to join the new nation of Pakistan.
Descendants , the 26th Rana and a prominent Pakistani politician.
Rana Chandra Singh, a federal minister and the chieftain of the
Hindu Sodha Rajput clan and the
Amarkot Jagir, was one of the founder members of
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and was elected to the
National Assembly of Pakistan from Umarkot, seven times with PPP between 1977 and 1999, when he founded the Pakistan Hindu Party (PHP). Chandra Singh's son
Rana Hamir Singh is the 26th
Rana of
Tharparkar,
Amarkot and
Mithi. ==References==