History of Jhalawar district is synonymous with tales of the Hadas, a major branch of the great Chauhan clan of Agnikula Rajputs. Jhalawar is situated in the south-eastern region of Rajasthan, a region widely known as Hadoti (Hadavati), the land of Hadas. In the 12th century A.D., Hada Rao Deva conquered this territory and founded Bundi state and Hadauti. Later in the early 17th century A. D. during the reign of Mughal emperor Jahangir, the ruler of Bundi, Rao Ratan Singh gave the smaller principality of Kota to his son, Madho Singh, but when Shah Jahan became the emperor, he issued a firman in the name of Madho Singh, recognizing as him the King of Kota. The domain of the Hadas of Bundi and Kota extended from the hills of Bundi in the west to the Malwa plateau in the east, with a similar expense from north to south.
The state of Jhalawar was founded on 8 April, 1838, out of the Kota territory. Jhalawar state got rise as a result of a treaty between English rulers, Kota state, and Malwa state. Jhalawar was founded by Jhala Zalim Singh (First), who was the then Diwan of Kota state (1791 A.D.). He established this township, then known as Chaoni Umedpura, as a cantonment. The township was surrounded with dense green forests and wild animals. Jhala Zalim Singh often came here for hunting and he liked the place so much that he wanted to develop it as a township. 
The objective to develop this place as a military cantonment was due to the fact that Maratha invaders passed through this central place from Malwa towards Kota to capture Hadoti states. He recognized the importance of this place and started to develop the place as a military cantonment and township, so that he could use this place to attack and stop Maratha invaders before they can reach to Kota state.
It was around 1803-04 AD that Chaoni Umedpura got developed as a cantonment and township. Colonel Todd, who visited the region in December, 1821 described this area as the cantonment established by Jhala Zalim Singh plus a well-established township with large houses, havelis, and surrounding walls. In the year 1838, the rulers of the British East India Company separated Jhalawar from Kota and handed it over to Jhala Madan Singh, the grandson of Jhala Zalim Singh. He developed his administration services to develop Jhalawar. He resided in Jhalara Patan for a long time and started to build The Garh Palace (1840 - 1845 A.D). He was the first ruler of Jhalawar and made a great contribution in the history of Jhalawar.
Jhala Madan Singh ruled Jhalawar from 1838 to 1845. After his death, Jhala Prithvi Singh became the ruler of Jhalawar, and ruled for around 30 years. Rana Bhawani Singh Ji, who ruled Jhalawar state from 1899 to 1929 A.D., did remarkable work in the development of Jhalawar. He was actively involved in social activities, public works (construction), education, administration, etc. During his time, Jhalawar witnessed much development and modernisation, and he was successful in laying down the groundwork for the district of Jhalawar as it exists today.
