The Princely State of Raigarh was part of the Chhattisgarh States Agency in the Eastern States Agency. At present the district of Raigarh is situated in the Chhattisgarh state. The administrative headquarters of the district is at the city of Raigarh. Raigarh State covered a total area of 1,486 sq miles and comprised of a total population of 312,643 in the year 1941. The princely state of Raigarh, as well as Bargarh was located in the former Orissa. The territory of the princely state was bounded by the state of Udaipur in the north and west, by Jashpur in the northeast, by the British district of Sambalpur in the southeast, Sarangarh in the south, by the British district of Bilaspur in the southwest and by the region of Sakti in the west.
History of Princely State of Raigarh
The ruling family of the princely state was established by Madan Singh, who was a Gond. The clan was previously settled in Bairagarh but after they were driven out, the family established themselves in Raigarh. In the first half of the 17th century, the zamindari, which was a feudatory of Sambalpur, granted the title of raja to the chief of the dynasty for military service. In the year 1803, during the rule of Jujhar Singh, the Sambalpur group of states was ceded by the Marathas to the Company. The territory of Raigarh belonged to the Sambalpur group of states. It was restored back in 1806. But the princely state of Raigarh remained under the protection of the British administration of India. Later in the year 1865, the title and style of Raja was bestowed as the status of feudatory chief.
Bargarh was a zamindari region consisting of a total area of 399 sq miles and a population of 18,000. It was ceded to the British government of India by Nagpur in 1826. In the year 1833, it lapsed on the assurance of the zamindar for mutiny and rebellion. Due to the adverse effects of the rebellion, the region of Bargarh was handed over to Raja Deonath Singh, who was the son and successor of Jhujhar Singh. The Raja exercised the full powers of a ruling chief and was assisted by a Dewan. The princely state of Raigarh was segregated into 3 parganas, namely Raigarh, Tamnar and Bargarh.
The princely state of Raigarh was one of the original constituent members of the Chamber of Princes, which included a number of smaller states indirectly represented by 12 princes who were elected periodically. In the year 1940, the Raja of Raigarh was admitted to the Chamber in his own right.
