Tarakote State

Tarakote or Tarakote State was a princely state in Korai, Odisha which was established under the Mughal Empire and was later reduced to a Zamindari state during the subsequent Maratha and the British rule. Its capital was at Barundei-Tarakot, in the western part of the present day Korai block.[1]

Tarakote State ତାରାକୋଟ تارآکوٹ
Princely State of Mughal India
1683–1751
Flag
Area
• 1683	559 km^2 (216 sq mi)
Historical era	17th Century
• Established as a Mughal parganah	1683
• Annexed by the Maratha Empire	1751
Preceded by Succeeded by Mughal Empire Maratha Empire Company Raj British Empire
Today part of	Odisha, India

The state was bounded in the north by Baitarani River, Labanga village in the west, Madala village in the east and by the Brahmani river in the south.[2]

History

The Tarapur/Tarakote state was established in the 1680s in Korai by the Mughal general Syed Habibullah Ali Mirja, from the territories presented to him by Abu Nasar, the deputy of the Mughal prince Muhammad Azam Shah, who was then the Mughal Subedar of Odisha. Habibullah styled himself as Rajah Miyan after acquiring the jaagirs. The Tarakote rulers had shown extreme resistance and had fought back the Marathas from Odisha in the battle of Kanthajharigada. During the reign of Shahjahan, Orissa was reorganised into 12 Sarkars and 276 Mahals in places of 3 Sarkars and 62 original Parganas. This reorganisation took place in 1692 A.D., after Orissa being separated from Bengal constituted a separate Subah under the Mughal Empire. Tarakote fell under the Jajpur/Tarakote Sarkar which had 5 Mahals under it. A total sum of Rs 1, 27, 208 was assessed from these 5 Mahals.[3][4][5][6]

After Odisha was handed over to the Marathas by Alivardi Khan in 1751, Tarakote's territories were gradually erroded away. By the second half of the eighteenth century, more than half of Tarakot had been ceded to the Marathas, who reduced it to an intermediary Quasi Princely Zamindari state. Tarakote was only left with Bansipur, Gourpur, Icchapur, Jaintria, Jugala, Jugalakana, Khosalpur, Kundapur, Nayahat Patna, Sahaspur, Talia, Tulasipur, Bangarkote, Barundai, Biruanapada, Khajuribindha, Khajurinaula, Santsahi, Tarapada, Uttarakhajira, Uttarkot, Pacchikote, Godarapal, Kadama, Paramanandpur and Patarakna. After the British occupation of Odisha in December 17, 1803, Tarakote along with the other subsidiary Maratha zamindari states in Odisha fell under the Company's rule. The glory of the state was further reduced when the Raja Miyan could not pay the taxes to the British on time as a result of which a major portion of the state including Godarapal, Kadama, Paramanandpur and Patarakna villages were auctioned and sold out to the Raja of Pacchikote, who in turn also made attempts to annex the rest of the territories of Tarakote. This led to a series of war between the rulers of the two states, in which Raja Syed Irfan Ali Choudhury of Tarakote defeated the Raja of Pacchikote. In 1886 Raja Syed Irfan Ali built the first girls school in the district, which is presently known as Tarakot Urdu girls Makhtab school.[7] Later in the 1920s the largest source of revenue of Raja Syed Irfan Ali Choudhury, the "haat" or the local bazaar was also sold off by the British. With the abolition of the Zamindari system in India in 1956, Tarakot state was abolished.[8]

Rulers

The rulers of Tarakote state were Sunni Muslims of the Sayyid branch, who bore the title of Raja Miyan till the year 1892.[9]

• 1683 – 1702 Raja Miyan Syed Habibullah Ali Mirja

• 1703 – 1747 Raja Miyan Syed Ruknuddin Ali Mirja

Tarakote gets reduced to a Zamindari state

• 1747 – 1788 Raja Miyan Syed Haroon Ali Choudhury

• 1788 – 1804 Raja Miyan Syed Zulfiqar Ali Choudhury

• 1804 – 1869 Raja Miyan Syed Nuruddin Ali Choudhury

• 21st January 1869 – 11th July 1890 Raja Syed Irfan Ali Choudhury (b 1842, d 1890)

• 1890 - 1892 Bibi Badi Begum Saheb

• 3rd March 1892 – 23rd January 1956 Choudhury Mohammed Dabiruddin (adopted) (b 1885, d March 1970)

After the British acquisition of the state, the British changed its name to Tarakot from Tarapur, as they considered it too small a state to be called "pur". The Tarakote state was legally abolished in the year 1956 with the abolition of the zamindari system in India.[10]

Titular rulers

• Choudhury Mohammed Muzzamil Hussain
• Choudhury Mohammed Hussain Rabi Gandhi

See also

• Mughal Empire
• Subedar
• Dharakote
• Banki State

References

1. "Village & Panchayats | Jajpur District:Odisha | India". Retrieved 24 June 2020.
2. "Tarakote Bis, Sargada Parganah".
3. "Muslim Economic administration in Odisha" (PDF).
4. "Muslim Administration in Orissa (1568-1751) | Odisha State Archive". odishaarchives.nic.in. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
5. Roy, B. C. (1950). "RAJA MANSINGH AND THE FINAL CONQUEST OF ORISSA BY THE MUGHALS". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 13: 243–253. ISSN 2249-1937.
6. Parida, Hemanta Kumar (2014). "MUSLIM INSCRIPTIONS OF ODISHA". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 75: 418–420. ISSN 2249-1937.
7. "TARAKOT URDU GIRLS MAKTAB TARAKOTE BARUNDEI KORAI JAJPUR". www.odishahelpline.com. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
8. "Tarakote state" (PDF).
9. Lethbridge, Sir Robert. The Golden Handbook. p. 246.
10. "Tarakote Village | Barundei | KORAI | JAJPUR | Odisha Helpline". www.odishahelpline.com. Retrieved 24 June 2020.