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Palanpur was the seat of a princely
state ruled by the Lohani clan of Afghans. While the earlier history of
the family is obscure, the family has apparently lived in India since at least the
16th century; a forbear of the family is reputed to have wed the foster-sister of
the mughal
emperor Akbar
and received Palanpur and surrounding areas as dowry. However, the family comes
into historical prominence during the period of instability that followed the demise
of Aurangzeb in the early 18th century.
It was overrun soon afterwards by the Marathas;
the Lohanis followed the trend of seeking recourse in the HEIC
against them and finally entered the subsidiary alliance system in 1817, along with all other neighbouring states.
The state encompassed an area of 1766 km² (682 mi²) and a population, in 1901, of
222,627. The town of Palanpur housed a population of only 8000 people that year.
The state commanded a revenue of approximately Rs.50,000/- per year, and paid a
tribute to the Gaekwad, the
Maratha ruler of
Baroda, of Rs.2,564/- per year. It was traversed by the main line of
the Rajputana-Malwa railway, and contained the British cantonment of Deesa. Wheat,
rice and sugar-cane were the chief products. Watered by the Sabarmati river, the
state was heavily forested in its northern reached (the present-day Jessore sanctuary)
but undulating and open in the south and east. The country was on the whole somewhat
hilly, being at the edge of the
Aravalli Range.
Palanpur Agency :
Palanpur also lent its name to a political agency, or collection of native states,
on the border between present-day Gujarat
and Rajasthan. The agency oversaw
some 17 princely states and estates in the area, encompassing an area of 6393 square
miles (16,558 km²) and a population, in 1901, of 467,271.
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