The Princely State of Datia was an erstwhile state that was located in the Bundelkhand region, established in 1626. It is currently situated in the state of
Madhya Pradesh, India. The
Rajputs of the Bundela dynasty were the ruling family, who descended from one of the sons of a former raja of Orchha. Datia state was administered as a division of the
Bundelkhand Agency of Central India. The territory was situated in the extreme north west of Bundelkhand near
Gwalior. It was bordered on all sides by other Indian princely states of Central India and was bounded by the United Provinces in the east. The princely state of Datia was ranked second highest amongst all the Bundela states after Orchha. The state was given a 17 gun salute and the ruler or Maharaja of the state held the hereditary title of Second of the Princes of Bundelkhand.
The princely state covered a total area of 2130 square miles and the total population of the territory was 53,759 in the year 1901. During the period 1896- 1897 and again in 1899- 1900, the princely state of Datia was severely affected by famine. After India gained independence from the rule of the British Empire in India in the year 1947, the Maharaja of Datia acceded the princely state to the Union of India, and was later merged with the Dominion of India. Datia state, along with the other regions in the Bundelkhand agency, was included as a part of the newly formed Vindhya Pradesh state in the year 1950.
Later in 1956, Vindhya Pradesh state was merged with certain other territories in order to form the modern state of
Madhya Pradesh, within the
Union of India.
Rulers of Princely State of Datia
The chronology of the rulers of the princely state of Datia is mentioned below-
* Rao Ramchandra Singh, who ruled from 1706 to the year 1733
* Rao Indrajit Singh, who succeeded the previous ruler in 1733
* Rao Raja Parichhat, who ascended the royal throne in 1802 to the year 1839
* Raja Bijai Singh, who reined from 1839 to 1857
* Raja Bhavani Singh, who ruled from 1857 to 1865
* Maharaja Bhavani Singh, who ascended the royal throne in 1865 and ruled until 1907
* Maharaja Govind Singh, who succeeded the preceding ruler in 1907 and reigned until 1947
