The Panth Piploda Province was one of the former provinces of British India. At present, the territory is located in the district of Ratlam in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Panth Piploda was amongst the smallest provinces under the rule of the British Empire in India, which covered a total area of 65 sq km. It comprised of a total population of 5267, of which 2666 were males and 2601 were females, according to the census of India in the year 1941. The British province was situated in the Malwa region and comprised of various separate enclaves, which were bordered by the erstwhile Indian princely states of Dewas, Gwalior and Jaora. The Panth Piploda Province was administered and managed by a Chief Commissioner of British India who was appointed by the Governor General of India. Lieutenant Colonel Sir Walter Fendall Campbell KCIE served as the Chief Commissioner of Panth Piploda region from May 1942 to August 1947.
History of Panth Piploda Province
The Panth Piploda Province was a diminutive and undersized tract of land that consisted of around 10 villages, which were governed and ruled by 5 distinct native rulers who held the title of Thakur. In the year 1765, the Peshwa of the Maratha Empire transferred the revenues from the local villages to the family of a Karadhe Brahmin named Sambhaji Attaji. They later became the ruling family of the territory and later became renowned as the family of the Khandekar Pandits. The reassignment of the revenues made by the Peshwa of the Maratha Empire was accepted and appreciated by the British Government of India when seized over the region of Panth Piploda and took charge of the administration from the Maratha Empire in the year 1817.
The ruling family of Panth Piploda Province did possess any proprietary rights whatsoever in the villages located within the territory. They acted as mere recipients of the cash allowance and revenues, known as Tankadars. The cash allowance was paid to the native rulers by the Resident of British India, also known as Political Agent, who was placed in the Malwa Agency. The British resident realized it from the Thakurs in whose territories the villages were located.
The estate was supervised and administered by a Superintendent who operated under the authority of the Resident of British India with headquarters at Kharua. In the year 1936, there were 2 guaranteed Tankadars, who were granted allowance and payments of a huge sum. Panth Piploda was appointed as province in the year 1942, under the dominion of the British rule.