Bhagwant Rai Khichi
Raja Bhagwant Rai, was an 18th-century Khichi Rajput ruler of Asothar and Ghazipur in Fatehpur district|Fatehpur District of Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, who is known for his resistance against the Mughal Empire and established his independent state till the end of his reign.
Background
The Khichi|Khichar family of Asothar is said to have been founded by one Deogaj Singh, who in 1543 came from Khichiwara, better known as Raghogarh (Vidhan Sabha constituency)|Raghogarh, in central India state of Madhya Pradesh, and married the daughter of the Gautam Rajput|Gautam Raja of Aijhi on the banks of the Yamuna|River Yamuna, to whose possessions he subsequently succeeded. Raja Bhagwant Rai was son of Araru Singh a descendant of Deogaj Singh. A man of great ability and courage Raja Bhagwant Rai, for many years held a practically independent state and successfully defeated the Mughal Empire|Mughal troops till in 1735 when he was killed owing, it is said, to the treachery of Chaudhri Durjan Singh of Kora Jahanabad|Kora. He was succeeded by his son, Rup Singh, who held his possessions in peace till his death in 1780, when his place was taken by Bariar Singh
Patron of Literature
Raja Bhagwant Rai of Asothar was not only a poet himself, who use to write and sing Dhrupad verses, but was a great patron of literature, collecting around him several persons of minor celebrity, such as Bhudhar of Asothar, Shimbhunath Misr, and Shiam Lal of Jahanabad. His nephew, Bhawani Singh, patronized the poet Sarang of Asothar, and his descendant, Kamta Parshad of Lakhpura, who was born in 1854, wrote in Sanskrit, Prakrit, Persian and the vernacular
Conflict with Mughals
During the reign of Araru Singh and his son Bhagwant Rai, they rose to power and acquired a large estate, headquarters being at new fort at Ghazipur Fatehpur district|district Fatehpur. It was then the attention of Mughal Empire|Mughal Government was attracted when faujdar of Kara-Manikpur|Kara and Kora Jahanabad|Kora, Jan Nisar Khan, brother of the Qamar-ud-din Khan|Wazir Qamr-ud-din, was killed by Khichi|Khichar in 1734. A large army was brought from Delhi against Ghazipur, and the fort was besieged, but Bhagwant Rai escaped and took refuge in Asothar. Eventually Qamar-ud-din Khan|Qamr-ud-din abandoned the attempt and left Muhammad Khan Bangash to carry on the campaign; but Bhagwant Rai managed to get rid of him, it is said by a payment of money, and then recovered his power, getting the whole of Kora Jahanabad|Kora within his grasp. Bhagwant Rai attempted to further strengthen his position by calling in the aid of the Maratha Empire|Marathas & Chhatrasal|Maharaja Chhatrasal Bundela as-well. In 1735 Saadat Ali Khan I|Saadat Ali Khan the then Nawab of Awadh (Aoudh) took a large force against Ghazipur, and a severe action ensued, the Khichi|Khichar leader being at first successful defeating the significantly larger Army in a fierce Battle at Mudchaura near Ghazipur. It is said that, post this battle, Bhagwant Rai and his nephew Bhawani Singh were killed by the treachery of Durjan Singh, Chaudhri of Kora Jahanabad|Kora.
References
External links
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