"Babu" ~ A Title of Respect during BRITISH INDIA

Source :  "SUPPLEMENTAL GLOSSARY OF TERMS USED IN THE NORTH WESTERN PROVINCES.PART III.REVENUE AND OFFICIAL TERMS."

Formerly Babu was used only as a title of respect; now, especially among Europeans, it is used also to designate a native clerk who writes English, such clerks being chiefly Bengalis,among whom the title of Babii has a wider acceptation than in Hindustan.

In Gorakhpur, the descendants of the younger brothers of the Sarnct Raja are called Babu, and there the term, still maintaining its original dignity, is applied generally to any man of family or influence. Crossing the Gogra into Benaudh, and Benares, we find it applied only to the younger brothers, or near
relatives of Rajas. Thus in Reg. VIII. of 1795, Sec. X., Babus are defined to mean "persons of the (Benares) Raja's blood and family." In the East, Babu is also applied to Mussalmans, as Babu Musharraf Ali Khan of Taluka Baz Bahadur in A'zamgarh.—E. add.

The term Babu is now very generally used by Europeans and natives alike, especially in Bengal and Behar, as a title of Zamindars and native gentlemen of wealth and position who have no other special title. The Zamindar of Madhuban in Pargana Mehsi of Champaran has the title of  Rajkumar Babu," to indicate his descent from the family of the Rajas of Sheohar and Maharajas of Betiyii (Bettiah).

This title has been confirmed by Government; but in most cases the title of Babu also is assumed and conferred at the pleasure of the people themselves

1912 Sovereign - GEORGIVS V D.G.BRITT:OMN:REX F.D.IND:IMP:

The above subject line is in LATIN which actually translates as "George the Fifth, by the grace of God,King of all the Britons, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India"

Below is a sovereign in the name of King George V  - Emperor of India, dated 1912 made at the Perth Mint (Australia) of the British Empire and circulated in India after the Delhi Durbar of 1911.

Bare Head of GEORGE V :

ST GEORGE on horseback,slaying DRAGON -

These carry a lot of value especially if they were made at the Mints of Melbourne and Perth compared to the Canadian Mints of the British Empire. The symbols above the date indicate the mints. If there is no letter,it is even more valuable. The value can hover between USD 2000 - USD 6000 per sovereign-depending upon the age and condition of the pieces.     

SHEOHAR RAJ ~ Raja Deo Nandan Singh

It gives me great pleasure to share the attached photograph of the KING OF SHEOHAR - Raja Deo Nandan Singh. And there were many King's in erstwhile BRITISH INDIA but this King was for the people. He handled the people with great care and took good care of them during the famines that engulfed CHAMPARAN and MUZZAFARPUR. He built schools but never put his name on it. He got respect for his work and high position.

Some refer this KING as RAJA DEORAJ NANDAN SINGH or even RAJA DEOKI NANDAN SINGH.

RAJA DEO NANDAN SINGH was married and had 4 issues ~ 2 SONS and 2 DAUGHTERS.

1st SON :

RAJKUMAR BAIDYANATH NANDAN SINGH
   1st Marriage - Maghaiya Patti - CHAINPUR ESTATE (EKSARIYA)
                          Had 2 Sons - RAJKUMAR LACHMI NANDAN SINGH and
                                                RAJKUMAR KALIKA NANDAN SINGH

  2nd Marriage - AUSANGANJ (near BENARAS). No ISSUE.

2nd SON :

RAJKUMAR GIRJA NANDAN SINGH Married into TEKARI RAJ (9 ANNAS). No ISSUE.
   He married the sister of the MAHARAJA OF TIKARI - MAHARAJA GOPAL SARAN SINGH

   Please note that another sister of MAHARAJA GOPAL SARAN SINGH of TEKARI RAJ would be 
   married  into CHAINPUR ESTATE.

DAUGHTERS of RAJA DEO NANDAN SINGH -

One of the Daughters would go on to marry BABU TRIVIKRAM DEO NARAYAN SINGH of CHAINPUR ESTATE. There would be NO ISSUE.

The Other Daughter would marry into the ZAMINDARI ESTATE of BAGOURA. The Present family of BAGOURA ESTATE traces it's roots to this LADY and the d/o RAJA DEO NANDAN SINGH.

 

CHAINPUR and TEUS

Chainpur Estate always had matrimonial alliances with several big Zamindars of Bihar and UP.

One such notable alliance was with the Zamindar family of Teus.

One of the most famous zamindar personalities of Teus - Babu Krishna Baldeo Prasad Singh was married into a family from Chainpur and his younger brother Babu Lal Narayan Singh also married into the same family of Chainpur. Because of this matrimony, both the brothers were granted a Zamindari Revenue of Rs 8000 ( Rupees Eight Thousand per annum - early 1900's figure - today worth in crores) but with debt too. They successfully paid of the debt which they got from their in-laws.

Babu Krishna Baldeo N. Singh and his younger brothers namely - Babu Lal Narayan Singh , Babu Gopal Narayan Singh and Babu Radhe Shyam Singh were one of the high-profile families of Teus Babuani. They held several important political positions and served as MLCs for the province of Bihar.

Parsagarh - Babu RajDev Prasad Narayan Singh and Sir Chandreshwar Prasad Narayan (CPN) Singh

As mentioned earlier about Parsagarh and the Zamindar Family being one of the oldest families of the district, it is my honour to bring to light one of the most eminent Zamindars of his era - Babu Rajdev Prasad Narayan Singh.  There were 5 pattis in Parsagarh and Babusaheb and Sir CPN Singh belonged to different Pattis. While Sir CPN Singh got great fame in various assignments for the country, Babu Rajdev Prasad Narayan Singh opened one of the better schools of the area - In Parsagarh, the school is named after the son of the soil - RA NA High School. His grandson, Shri Prakash Jee also served as a secretary of the school. Once again a Bhumihar Zamindar gave great leadership to society and to the people who formed a part of his Zamindari. It is our duty to not only respect such work but keep on taking such ideas forward - generation by generation.

Below is the photograph of Babu Rajdev Prasad Narayan Singh and one of his associates - Shri Ojha Jee.

In the near future, we hope to publish photos of the school as well as the GARH.

One of the nearby Shiv Temples at Parsagarh -

Sheohar Raj - An offshoot of the Legendary Bettiah Raj

While writing about the great Zamindar estate of Sheohar Raj - which dominated over the entire Muzaffarpur Area of Bihar and erstwhile Bengal for for more than two centuries, it becomes our duty to pay obeisance to MAHADEV, in whose name the place - SHIV-HAR or SHEOHAR came into being.

Below is one of the beautiful scenery of the local Shiv Temple at Sheohar. The Shiv Temple in the photo


below belongs to the family of one of the earlier babus who had their origins from Bettiah Raj and came and settled around Sheohar even before Sheohar Raj came into existence. And as it is said, those who beleive in Lord Shiva, troubles just flyaway.

The pond beside the Shiva Temple is owned by the Zamindar family of Sheohar Raj and it serves as a Fishery. Once again, it is the family's thought, planning and investment over the decades that has beautified the environment.

And now that we did speak about Lord Shiva and Shiv-har, we have to pay our respects to Mata Parvati and the lord's favourite gana - Nandi. It is a sanskara that when we pray to the Lord, we pray to the Mother Goddess (Shakti) and his favourite - Nandi. Below are the silver idols (over 100+ years old) of the trio mentioned above. Courtesy - Sheohar Raj folks.

Also, there is a very nice "Hanuman" temple made in the premises of the descendants of Sheohar Raj - It was made by Rani Kishori Kunwar (Daughter of RAJA BAHADUR HARIHAR PRASAD NARAYAN SINGH of AMAWAN RAJ ) who was married to RAJA MAHESH NANDAN SINGH of SHEOHAR RAJ. She was popularly referred to as "Kishori Aaji Jee" by the people of Sheohar.

Watch out this space from more. While starting the write up on Sheohar Raj, the first thing that came into my mind was MAHADEV / LORD SHIVA - so started with his blessings first by showing his forms - courtesy the legendary SHEOHAR RAJ. More will follow on the high-profile family which not only survived the transformation from BRITISH INDIA to INDENPENDENT INDIA , but marched ahead with the same vigour leaving behind several Zamindar families of Bihar.

Also including the photo of crystal of Lord Shiva used for prayer -

Bhumihar Zamindars contribute to Bihar's Development of Fisheries (Pisci-Culture)

With the blessings of Lord Narasimha, Chote Babu (Mr S.D.N.Singh) of Chainpur Estate is developing more ponds at Konchi (Gaya), thus contributing towards Bihar's agro-development. Also, these ponds are surrounded by trees, thus giving a very beautiful look to the environment. Following ponds are currently under Work in Progress -

Currently, there is so much sand found in these ponds being excavated that the contractors, right from Tekari in the North to Sherghati in the South come and take the sand for construction purposes. So, Chote Babu's mud and sand is now being used in roadways construction to building construction in Bihar. Yet again the Bhumihar Zamindars of Konchi, Gaya are contributing towards Bihar's progress.

Hopefully, by next year these ponds would be fully functional and would serve as a fine example for Biharis on how they can invest and help in their state's progress. Bhumihar Zamindars may have done their part but each and every Indian Farmer can also implement such things which would only enrich the environment they live in.