State of Alwar

Bar Singh, the eldest son of Udaikaran, the Raja of Amber, took offence when his father became interested in a woman Bar Singh was meant to marry. He asked his father to marry her instead and relinquished his claim to the throne of Amber in favour of any offspring from that union. Under the British Empire In the year 1803, during the reign of Bakhtawar Singh, Alwar entered into a mutual offensive and defensive alliance of permanent friendship with the East India Company. By doing so, Alwar became the first state in Rajputana to enter into permanent treaty relations with the East India Company. The princely states were given the following options: depending on their geographical location and demographic composition, they could either accede to the Dominion of India or the Dominion of Pakistan, or remain independent. Following the partition of India in 1947, Tej Singh Prabhakar acceded the Alwar State to the Dominion of India. Merger Alwar State was merged on 18 March 1948 with three other princely states, namely Bharatpur, Dholpur, and Karauli, to form the Matsya Union. On 15 May 1949, the Matsya Union was merged with Greater Rajasthan to create the United State of Greater Rajasthan, which later became Rajasthan. == Geography ==

Alwar State covered an area of 3,217 square miles, with an extreme length of 80 miles and a breadth of 60 miles. Of the total area, approximately 2,627 square miles consisted of plains, while the remaining 590 square miles comprised hilly tracts. It lay between 27° 5′–28° 10′ N and 76° 10′–77° 15′ E, and was bounded on the north by Gurgaon, Bawal of Nabha State, and Kotkasim of Jaipur State; on the east by Bharatpur State and Gurgaon; on the south by Jaipur; and on the west by Nabha State, Patiala State, and Jaipur State. == Composition ==

For administrative purposes, the Alwar State was divided into ten nizamats, or administrative sub-areas, which were distributed between the Northern District and the Southern District. The Northern District consisted of the following nizamats: Alwar, Behror, Mandawar, Kishangarh, and Tijara. The Southern District consisted of the following nizamats: Ramgarh, Lachhmangarh, Rajgarh, Thanagazi, and Bansur. == Population ==

According to the 1941 census, the population of Alwar was 823,055. == Forces ==

Alwar had one Lancer regiment, the Mangal Lancers, and two infantry battalions, namely, the Alwar Jey Paltan, and the Alwar Pratap Paltan. The Mangal Lancers, the Alwar Jey Paltan, and the Alwar Pratap Paltan continued in the Class-A Mangal Lancers This unit was raised in Alwar in 1884. It was reorganised as Imperial Service Troops in 1884 and as Indian States Forces in 1922. It was reorganised as Imperial Service Troops in 1888 and as Indian States Forces in 1922. Its officers wore scarlet uniforms with white facings. During the Indian Rebellion of 1857, it assisted the East India Company in quelling the insurgents at Bharatpur. It later took part in the Boxer Rebellion. During World War I, it served in Egypt and Palestine, and during World War II, in the Middle East. Alwar Pratap Paltan This unit was raised after World War I, at Alwar, in 1919, by Jai Singh Prabhakar. It was reorganised as the Indian States Forces in 1922. == Rulers ==

The rulers of Alwar belong to the Naruka branch of the Kachhwaha clan of the Rajputs. Like the royal house of Jaipur, the royal house of Alwar claims descent from Kush, the eldest son of Rama of Ayodhya. Titles and styles The ruler of Alwar bore the title Raj Rishi Shri Sawai Maharaja (personal name) Singhji Veerendra Shiromani Dev Bharat Prabhakar Bahadur, Maharaja of Alwar, with the style of His Highness. == Bara Kotri ==

Bara Kotri, meaning the twelve fiefs or houses, was a term Alwar took from its parent state, Jaipur. It referred to the families closely related to the ruler of Alwar on his paternal side. Rao Kalyan Singh had five sons, and those sons established five families, collectively known as the panch thikanas or five fiefs, while the offshoots of these families are referred to as bara kotri. In all, twenty-five families belong to this class. Succession in these families followed the rule of primogeniture, and suitable provisions were made for the younger sons out of the income of the estates. • Kalyan Singh • Anand Singh • Shyam Singh • Jodh Singh • Amar Singh • Ishri Singh They were hereditary nobles of Alwar and would, in durbar, take their seats to the right of the ruler. In times when there was no heir to succeed in Alwar, they also decided collectively who should become the new ruler. ==Notes==