Princely State of Amala

The Princely State of Amala was amongst the major native states during the rule of the British Empire in India. During the early 19th century, the region was appointed as one of the princely states of India under the indirect rule of the British administration. The territory covered a total area of 119.77 sq miles and comprised of a total population of 7,080 in the year 1941. In the year 1888, after the final settlement of the final status of the Dangs, the native state of Amala included around 50 villages. The princely state of Amala was the 3rd largest amongst the Dangs states in both population and area, comprised of 2 separate blocks of land to the south and the west of the Dangs.

The Princely State of Amala was under the administrative control of the Baroda Agency, which was a sub division of Western India States Agency. Later the state became a part of the modern state of Gujarat, India.

History of Princely State of Amala
The native ruler of the former native state was considered as a Bhil. The Bhil tribe was aborigines who settled in the northern Ghats and eastern branches of the range, on the region that detached Malwa from Gujarat, and also in the east of Gujarat. The ruling family was badly treated by the Maratha Empire and was also defeated by the Mughal forces. The Bhils were the politically prevailing tribe in the Dangs region during rule of the British Empire in India. They were formally classified as a Hindu primitive caste. The succession of the royal throne of the princely state of Amala was goverened by the rule of male primogeniture. The native ruler of the state, who held the title of Raja, did not hold any sanad of adoption. The ruling chiefs did not take the charge of administration of the territory due their incapacity to manage and rule.

The rulers were all indigenous natives and due to their backwardness in education, jurisdictional powers were exercised by the Resident of British India, also known as Political Agent, on their behalf. The Rajas of Amala state retained specific revenue rights over their own regions and certain customary rights of settling disputes. The native rulers and the headmen of the villages, who held the title of Patels, were around 300 and 400. They met the British resident 3 or 4 times annually; but in his absence, the ruling chiefs met with the Civil Administrator in Darbar. The claims of Baroda to economic rights in the Dangs were transformed into a fixed annual payment. All the rulers received a pension from the British Government of India as well.

After the independence of India in the year 1947, the state was acceded to the newly formed Union of India, also known as Dominion of India. The erstwhile princely state is currently a part of the state of Gujarat.