Jadeja

A Jadeja Chief in Kutchi attire during the reign of Maharao Deshalji II, 1838.

The Jadeja is a Rajput clan who claim to be descended from the Hindu god Krishna and thus to belong to the Yaduvanshi Rajputs,^[1] who in turn form a part of the Chandravanshi (Lunar Dynasty).^[1]

A Jadeja dynasty ruled the princely state of Kutch between 1540 and 1948, at which time India became a republic. This state had been formed by king Khengarji I, who gathered under him twelve Jadeja noble landowning families, who were also related to him, as well as two noble families of the Waghela Rajput community. Khengarji and his successors retained the allegiance of these Bhayat (chieftains) until the mid-18th century.^[2]

Among other territories or princely states ruled by Jadeja before independence of India, were Dhrol^[3] Gondal,^[4] Morvi,^[5] Nawanagar,^[6] Rajkot,^[7] and Virpur.^[8]

Although the British rulers found the tradition distasteful, the Jadeja's high social status and the rigid caste system that forbade intermarriage with lower social groups contributed to the community's tradition of female infanticide because it was difficult and costly to arrange suitable marriages for female offspring, with substantial dowries often being required. The practice continues to some degree today, although where modern facilities are available it may take the form of female foeticide.^[9]

Notable people

• K. S. Ranjitsinhji, cricketer, Anglophile and appointed — rather than ancestral — ruler of Nawanagar between 1907 and 1933^[10] after whom Ranji Trophy is named
• Kumar Shri Duleepsinhji, nephew of K. S. Ranjitsnhji, noted cricketer, later served as High Commissioner of India in several countries.^[11] after whom Duleep Trophy is named.
• Himmatsinhji M. K., a noted ornithologist, politician hailing from ruling family of Cutch.^[12]
• General Maharaj Shri Rajendrasinhji - the first Chief of Army Staff of the Indian army and later Commander-in-Chief of the Indian armed forces and head the Indian Army - hailing from the ruling family of the Nawanagar State.^[13]

References

1. Mcleod, John (6–9 July 2004). The Rise and Fall of the Kutch Bhayati (PDF). Eighteenth European Conference on Modern South Asian Studies, University of Lund. p. 5. Retrieved 13 September 2012.
2. Mcleod, John (6–9 July 2004). The Rise and Fall of the Kutch Bhayati (PDF). Eighteenth European Conference on Modern South Asian Studies, University of Lund. pp. 1–5. Retrieved 13 September 2012.
3. Gazetteers: Jamnagar District, Gujarat (India) - 1970 - Page 614 Before the integration of States, Dhrol was a Class II State founded by Jam Hardholji, the brother of Jam Raval, who hailed from the ruling Jadeja Rajput family of Kutch.
4. Gazetteer , Volume 8. Government Central Press, Bombay (India). 1884. pp. 61, 444.
5. Rajkot. India. Superintendent of Census Operations, Gujarat. 1964. pp. 45–46.
6. Indian Princely Medals: A Record of the Orders, Decorations, and Medals of ... By Tony McClenaghan. 1996. p. 207.
7. Indian States: A Biographical, Historical, and Administrative Survey edited by Arnold Wright. 1922. p. 722.
8. Gazetteers: Rajkot District. Directorate of Government Print., Stationery and Publications. 1965. p. 36.
9. Vishwanath, L. S. (2006). "Female Infanticide, Property and the Colonial State". In Patel, Tulsi. Sex-Selective Abortion in India: Gender, Society and New Reproductive Technologies. SAGE. pp. 275, 278–282. Retrieved 13 September 2012.
10. Majumdar, Boria (2006). Lost Histories Of Indian Cricket: Battles Of The Pitch. Psychology Press. p. 8. ISBN 9780415358859. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
11. "Kumar Shri Duleepsinhji". The Open University Making Britain. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
12. "Kutch's royal family member passes away". One India News. 22 February 2008. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
13. Gazette of India. 1953. p. 1475. Major General M. S. Pratapsinhji; 2. Major General M. S. Himatsinhji; 3. Maharaj Shri Duleepsinhji; and 4. Lieutenant General M. S. Rajendrasinhji; members of the family of the Ruler of Nawanagar for the purposes...

Further reading

• Mehta, Lyla (2005). The Politics and Poetics of Water: The Naturalisation of Scarcity in Western India. New Delhi: Orient Blackswan. ISBN 9788125028697.
• Lauterpacht, E., ed. (1976). International Law Reports. 50. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521463959.
• Dilipsinh, K. S. (2004). Kutch: In Festival And Custom. New Delhi: Har-Anand Publications. ISBN 9788124109984.
• Sen, Satadru (2005). Migrant Races: Empire, Identity and K.S. Ranjitsinhji. Manchester University Press. ISBN 9780719069260.

External links

• Media related to Jadeja at Wikimedia Commons