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The Karamwar Rajputs (also spelled as Karmwar rajputs) are a Rajput clan that inhabits the state of Bihar and parts of Uttar pradesh.[1]

They are considered to have played a prominent role in the political history of medieval Bihar with many of their strongholds being established in the erstwhile Saran and Bhojpur districts of Bihar. It is often treated as a branch of Gaharwar Clan of Rajputs. According to this, they trace their ancestry to Kantitgarh presently known as Kantitsharif where the Gaharwar Rajput kings ruled until their lands were occupied by Ali Kuli Khan and Bahadur Khan. After settling in Bihar, the locals started to refer to them as Karamwar. They call themselves Ujjainiya Parmars.

History

In the early 11th century AD, Bhoja from the Paramar Rajput dynasty became king of Ujjain. He gained popularity similar to Vikrmaditya. In his lineage was King Bas Deo who ascended to the throne of Ujjain after 50 years of Bhoja. Bas Deo had two sons who killed each other. Therefore Ram Deo, the chief military officer of Ujjain, was declared as the King of Kannuaj. Ram Deo gave some portion of his territory (present Manikpur) to his brother Man Deo. He named the region as Manpur. In the family of Ram Deo, Jaychand and Manikchand were born who became the rulers of Kannuaj and Manpur respectively. The daughter of Jaychand was Sanyogita who got married to famous Rajput King Prithviraj Chauhan. When Manikchand became the king of Manpur, the region was renamed as Manikpur. The defeat and death of Jaychand in 1194 AD from the hand of Mahmud Ghori forced Manikchand to shift towards Benares. He settled in the region which was at the bottom of Vindhyachal Mountains and south of Allahabad (present Raj Kantit). In present time, the entire region is divided between Allahabad and Mirjapur districts of Uttar Pradesh. Manikchand had four sons namely Tal Deo, Ala Deo, Lakshman Deo and Premjeet. Tal Deo, who was declared as successor by Jaychand before his death, was defeated by Sultan Qutubuddin Aibak at Chandwar place in Etawah. After the defeat, he fled towards Marwad Bikaner and established a kingdom there. In the lineage of Ala Deo, was King Gudan (Gadan) Deo, who established the Kantit-Bijaipur Raj in 1401 AD. The descendants of Gudan Deo also ruled over Manda and Daiya estates in Allahabad district. In the lineage of Gudan Deo at Kantit came Dadu Rai. He was very famous and associated with folk song kajli / kajri. In one of his essays, Bharatendu Harishchandra writes – “In Kantit country, there once was a Gaharwar Kshatriya King named Dadu Rai. He ruled over Mara, Bijaipur etc. Ruins of his broken down fort can still be seen at the nala near the Vindhyachal Devi temple. He had made his fortress (garh) in the middle of four mairag and he would not allow Musalmans to touch Gangaji in his raj. The rains failed in his kingdom and he performed many a religious deeds; and then it rained. On his death and his Rani committing Sati, the women of Kantit sang their glory (kirti) in ragas and dhuns of their own composition. That is how it came to be called Kajli.” Very similar description about Kajli has been given by Ram Gharib Chaube who writes that ‘After death of Dadu Rai, musalmans touched the Ganges and troubled the Hindus of Raj in various ways. It seems that Musalmans particularly outraged his harem. Those who could manage fled to a dense forest in the vicinity of his capital with all female attendants, whose number was very great. They sang the trouble and indignities that befell them at the hands of the Musalmans in a gloomy strain. The same song was later named as Kajli. The following couplet is common among the educated natives of Mairzapur district -

'Kahan gaye Dadu Raiya, jeh bin sab jug soona

Turkan Ganga jhutara bin Arjun'

‘where you went Dadu Rai, the entire world is gloomy without you. The Turks have sullied Ganga in the absence of Arjuna (Dadu Rai is compared with hero Arjuna of Mahabharata)’. The folk tale is confirmed historically too. Dadu Rai was killed by Ali Quli Khan Zaman and Bahadur Khan in 1564 AD. The queen committed sati. The young and small Bhupal was taken to Majhauli Raj by his fufa Madhav Mall. The entire region faced atrocities from Khan brothers till they were killed by Akbar in June 1567. Sakat Singh, son of Dadu Rai, became Raja of Kantit in the sub-ordination of Mughal empire. It should be noted that by this period, all Rajput estates of eastern Uttar Pradesh including the Majhauli Raj became part of Mughal Empire headed by Akbar. Sakat Singh brought tappah Kon of Bhadoi (in the period after compilation of the Ain-e-Akbari) under Kantit’s control by getting the same in dowry after marriage with the daughter of Raja Maunas. He built Saktisgarh after destroying the strong settlements of Kols. The young Bhupal Rai, who was shifted to Majhauli Raj, joined the Mughal army. From Majhauli King, he got small zamindari of 5 villages near Padrauna as a reward for his bravery. This seeded a new estate belonging to the karamwars of Kantit. Further, the Karamwar Rajputs migrated slowly to the eastern turf covering the state of Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh and settled in the plains there capturing important Zamindaris. The most important zamindari under Karamwar Rajputs in Bihar Was the Amnaur Zamindari of the Saran District of Bihar.