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Concept
Benares State
Summary
Benares or Banaras State was a kingdom and later princely state in what is today Uttar Pradesh, India. On 15 October 1948, Benares' last ruler signed the accession to the Indian Union.
The state was founded by the local zamindar, Raja Balwant Singh, who assumed the title of "Raja of Benares" in mid 18th century, taking advantage of the Mughal Empire's disintegration. His descendants ruled the area around Benares after liberation from awadh and as feudatories East India Company. In 1910, Benares became a full-fledged state of British India. The state was merged in India after India's independence in 1947, but even today the Kashi Naresh (the titular ruler) is highly respected by the people of Varanasi. The Ruler of Benaras was the state’s religious head and the people of Benares considered him to have been ordained the throne of Kashi by Lord Shiva (making him Kashi Naresh by proxy). He was also the chief cultural patron and an essential part of all religious celebrations. In 1948, the 88th ruler of Kashi Sir Vibhuti Narayan Singh accepted the request of the first Indian Prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and signed the accession to the Indian Union.
The earliest rulers of the later princely state of Benares were originally zamindars for the Awadh province of the Mughal Empire who later became independent state.
Most of the area currently known as Varanasi was acquired by Mansa Ram, a zamindar of Utaria. Balwant Singh, the ruler of Utaria in 1737, took over the Jagirs of Jaunpur (except Bayalasi which was ruled independently by Zamindar of Purenw), Varanasi, and Chunar, in 1737 from the Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah of Delhi. The Kingdom of Benaras started in this way during the Mughal dynasty. Other places under the kingship of Kashi Naresh were Chandauli, Gyanpur, Chakia, Latifshah, Mirzapur, Nandeshwar, Mint House and Vindhyachal.
As the Mughal suzerainty weakened, the Benares zamindari estate became Banaras State, thus Balwant Singh of the Narayan dynasty regained control of the territories and declared himself Maharaja of Benares in 1740.
Official source
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