![]() History of Princely State of Makrai Mughal rulers conferred the traditional title of Raja Hatiyarai to the rulers of Makrai. The native ruler of the state held the official title of Maharaja, who was invested with full ruling powers and was supported by a diwan in administrative functions. The state of Makrai did paid any tribute to other states. The Makrai state was one of the original constituent members of the Chamber of Princes, a number of smaller states indirectly represented by 12 princes who were elected periodically by them. The princely state of Makrai was founded in the 16th century by Rajgond Raja Karkat Rai. The native rulers of Makrai state belonged to the earliest Raj Gond dynasty. It is considered that Raja Karkat Rai of Chandrapur received the territory from the ruler of the Garha Mandla kingdom. Although the history of the region is rather vague, but it is considered that Makrand Shah constructed a fortress in the state and seized over 50 villages. The successors of Raja Karkat Rai struggled with the Maratha forces who took control over several villages in the province in the year 1750 and again in 1765. They had seized the tahsil of Harda as well. In the early 19th century, the princely state of Makrai fought with the Pindaris also. In the year 1844, the princely state came under the protection of the British Government of India and was improved to the rank of a feudatory state in the year 1865. After the country achieved independence from the dominion of the British Empire in India in the year 1947, the last ruler of the princely state of Makrai acceded to the newly formed Union of India, also known as Dominion of India. Later the territory was merged with the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, which was formed from the erstwhile Central Provinces and Berar. |