Princely State of Khaniadna was under the administration of the Gwalior Residency. At present it is a Nagar Panchayat and town in Shivpuri District, Madhya Pradesh.
The Princely State of Khaniadna, also known as Khaniadhana or Khaniyadhana, was one of the states under the indirect rule of the British Government of India. The capital of the Indian princely state was at Khaniadhana town and it came under the administration of the Gwalior Residency, which was a political office of the British Empire, which existed from the year 1782 until the independence of India and the withdrawal of the British government in 1947. At present it is a Nagar Panchayat and town in Shivpuri District, located in the state of Madhya Pradesh in India. The geographical coordinates are 25§01` N, 78§07` E. The Princely State of Khaniadna included fifty five villages in the year 1941 and was comprised of a number of small enclaves, which were bordered by the British district of Jhansi in the east and was entirely bounded by the Narwar district of Gwalior on other sides. It was situated to the west of Orchha.
The Princely State of Khaniadna or Khaniyadhana covered a total area of 68 sq m (101 sq m in 1941) and the total population of the territory during the British rule was 20,124 in the year 1941. It was a non-salute state and the native ruler or the Raja of the princely state exercised the powers and authority of a ruling chief. Khaniadna state was one of the original constituent members of the Chamber of Princes, several smaller states indirectly represented by twelve Indian princes who were elected periodically. The Chamber of Princes was an organization that was established in the year 1920. It was formed through a royal proclamation of the King Emperor in order to provide a forum to the various rulers from the different princely states of India. The ruler of the princely state of Khaniadna held the hereditary title of Rao or Jagirdar, but from the year 1911, the ruler was granted the title and style of Raja.
The dynasty of the Bundela Rajputs was the ruling family of Khaniadna. The princely state and many other nearby villages were granted to Amar Singh by his father Raja Udot Singh of Orchha in 1724. After the Marathas became the dominant power in the Bundelkhand region, a sanad was granted to Amar Singh by the Peshwa in the year 1751 and confirmed him in his grant. After this period, suzerainty was in always dispute between the Maratha state of Jhansi and Orchha. The Maratha state of Jhansi became the eventual successor of the Peshwa.
After the state of Jhansi lapsed in the year 1854, the Jagirdar of Khaniadna declared complete autonomy and independence. In 1862, the matter was settled when Khaniadna state was announced to be directly dependent from the British government of India as successor to the Jhansi Darbar and the Peshwa.
