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dignity formally acknowledged by the Raja of Hasanpur ; *before annexation it rested on his being the successor of those who had previously borne it ; it has now been admitted by the British Government.-|-
pass on to the history of collateral branches, which may be distinguished into those collateral to R£j Singh himself early collateral brancliand those collateral to his descendants. Regarding
- ^the first a very few words will be sufficient. It has
been seen that the estates founded by Ran Singh or Ran and Kunwar Singh fell almost immediately into the hands of Raj Singh; and it was only in the matter of time that those of R^e Singh and Sangrara Singh experienced a different fate. By partitions, mortgages, and grants to Brahmans, they gradually dwindled into insignificance, and what little of them then remained was included in the raja's general lease of 1846'. Bardg^on aione has retained its individuality, and some little importance, up to the present time. This may be partly due to the fact, that notwithstanding numerous partitions, no separate properties have been formed, and thus though a few heaids may have now and then been broken in internal dissensions, a broad point has always- been opposed to any aggression offered fron^ without. At the same time Baragaon is not as large now as it once was, foir up to nine generations ago it included also Kohra-Muhammadpur, which was then taken from it by Babu Himmat S^h, ancestor of the present holders. In the mutiny the zamindars of Baragaon rendered themselves a little conspicuous by evincing a disposition to be troublesome, and a body of troops had to be sent to their villages, where a large seizure of arms was made after the zamindars had pretended to have given up all I
now
The
Bandhalgotis'
they possessed. The Bandhalgotis' later collateral brancli*^-
The
^^ ^^^ estates held by the cadet branches of Raj Singh's house, four only, Tikri, Shd,hgarh, Kannu Kasrdwan, and Gangoli, are worthy of any special mention.
interest that attaches to Tikri is connected with the history of
founder, which is thus told by his descendants, Dharamir received from his brother, R^ja Ramdeo a moderate-sized estate of 42 villages but he lived in stirring times, and being of a warlike disposition, he offered himself as an ally to Raja Hasan Khan, then preparing for the conflict When the hostile armies were pitched in sight of each •with Riwa. other^ it was agreed that a general battle should be avoided, and that both its
- "
^°
'^
of Tikri.
having appointed champions, should abide the issue of a single comDharamir represented the raja of Hasanpur, and after a stubborn fight, in which he himself was covered with wounds, defeated and killed his adversary. In return for this signal service, Hasan Khan ceded to him five large villages, Sarwawan and others, intermediate between Tikri and Hasanpur. It reads like a tale of western chivalry that his valour was sides,
bat.
- Unless I am mistaken, lie is mentioned under this title in some fiscal documents produced by his opponent in the Kannu Kasrawan case. In those produced by himself I do not
think he is so styled. t The facts concerning this title are very obscure, there is no doubt that this rAja was popularly known as Lai Madho, if he had any real claim to the title of rAja it would have been popularly recognised whether the recognition by Hasanpur had been granted or not. Editor
