The northern Bihar was under state of lawlessness after end of empire of TUGHLUQ, Dynasty. Tughlaq had attacked and taken control over entire Bihar and after end of Tughlaq Empire and till establishment of the MUGHUL EMPIRE, there was anarchy and chaos in Bihar. Emperor AKBER realizing that taxes from Mithila can only be collected if there is a Brahmin King who can ensure peace in Mithila region. One of the main reasons for deciding upon Brahmin as a King was dominance of Brahmin in Mithila region and secondly that even earlier Mithila had Brahmin Kings.
Emperor Akbar called upon Rajpandit (Royal Priest) Chandrapati Thakur to Delhi from Garh Mangala (now in MADHYA PRADESH) and asked him to name one of his sons who could be made Caretaker of his taxes and lands in Mithila. Chandrapati Thakur named his middle son Pt. Mahesh Thakur as fit for caretaker in Mithila. Emperor Akbar declared Pt. Mahesh Thakur as the caretaker of Mithila on the day of Ram Navami in 1499 San i.e. in 1577 AD. Some poet has written in Garh Mangala about this event-
“ Ati pavitra mangal karan, ramjanm ke din. Akbar Tushit Maheshko Tirhut Raja kaun?”
“Navgrah Ved Vasundhara, Shakme Akbar Shah, Pandit subudh Maheshko, kinho Mithila Raj.”
(A very good omen has happened on the day of Ram Navami, Akbar Asked Mahesh - Who is King of Tirhut? Nine Planet, Vedas and the Mother Nature. Hearing this, Akbar made wise Pandit Mahesh King of Mithila.
The family / descendants of Mahesh Thakur gradually consolidated the power of family in social, agrarian and political matters and came to be regarded as King of Madhubani(Headquarter in Darbhanga, though they bought a land from local people). Their Family is known as Khandavala Family (Richest Landlord). This family was not regarded as kings by British Government but at the same they were allowed to prefix Maharaja and later Maharajadhiraj by the British Government (no any documentation only verbal commitment). The British Government never granted them formal status of a ruling princely estate. They had all the trappings of a princely state.
For a long period of twenty years (1860 - 1880), Darbhanga Raj was also placed under Court of Ward by British Government. During this period, Darbhanga Raj (Raj is a huge campus, built by them. They sold most of there Raj campus property in financial crisis) was also involved in litigation regarding succession. This litigation decided that the estate was impartible and succession was to be governed by primogeniture.
Darbhanga became seat of power of the Raj Darbhanga Family from 1762. The other prominent place of Darbhanga Raj was Rajnagar, situated in MADHUBANI District of BIHAR, INDIA.
Estate of Darbhanga Raj was estimated to cover an area of 2,410 sq. miles. It also had indigo concern in Sarahia and Bachaur in MUZAFARPUR District, Pandaul in MADHUBANI District and Gonswara in PURNEA District. Raj Darbhanga also started several companies like Newspaper & Publication Pvt. Ltd. (it published newspapers and periodicals such as THE INDIAN NATION, Aryavarta, Mithila Mihir, etc.), Walford (dealers in automobiles having branches at Calcutta, Guwahati and Imphal), Ashok Paper Mills, Pandaul Sugar Factory, Sakri Sugar Factory, etc. Darbhanga Raj contained 4,495 villages under 18 circles in Bihar and Bengal and employed over 7,500 officers to manage the estate. Darbhanga Raj was the best managed estate at the time of abolition of Zamindari.
Raj Darbhanga had several Palaces in Darbhanga namely Rambagh Palace, Lakshmeshwar Vilas Palace, Nargona Palace and Bela Palace. Apart from these it had palace at Rajnagar in Madhubani District. Raj Darbhanga had properties at almost every prominent city of British India like DELHI, CALCUTTA, BombaY, Shimla, Mussoorie, Allahabad, Varanasi, Patna, RancHi, etc.
Raj Darbhanga under Maharaj Lakshmeshwar Singh and Maharaja Rameshwar Singh became a model estate in India. Several work pertaining to famine relief, Road construction, canal and bridge construction, etc. were carried out. Raj Darbhanga came to be known for its benevolent management. During great Bengal famine (1873-74), Maharaj Lakshmeshwar Singh contributed Rs.300,000.00 towards relief works.
The Maharajas of Darbhanga were supporters of devoted to Sanskrit traditions and thus had orthodox viewpoint of religion and caste. However, their views did not prevent them from having a broader nationalistic outlook. Even though, the Royal Family of Darbhanga is ignored in contribution to Indian Freedom Movement, the Maharajas of Darbhanga , while maintaining their loyalty to British Government, were major financial supporters of Indian National Congress. In fact, even Mahatma Gandhi in a letter dated March 21, 1947 acknowledged his friendship with Royal Family of Darbhanga and further wrote of Maharaja Kameshwar Singh Bahadur as a son to him.
After independence of India from British Rule, the Government of India initiated several land reform actions and Zamindari was abolished. After abolition of Zamindari, the fortunes of Darbhanga Raj dwindled.
Last Maharaja of Darbhanga Raj was Maharaja Bahadur Sir Kameshwar Singh, K.C.I.E. He died heirless. The remaining descendants of Raj Darbhanga have been involved in bitter contest over inheritance and have no public recognition.
COURTESY-- WIKIPEDIA
