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Information

Present Head/Ruler

Rajadhiraj MAHENDRA SINGHJI

Short History

Thakur of Achrol is the head of Balbhadrot subclan of Kachwaha Rajputs, being descended from Kunwar Balbhadra Singh, son of Raja Prithviraj Singh of Amber.

Excerpts

• Thakur Kesri Singh of Achrol is the head of the Balbhadrot sub-clan of the Kachhwaha Rajputs, being descended from Raja Prithwi Raj (1438—1528) through the latter’s son Balbhadar. Thakur Balbhadar was killed in Gujarat, and his son, Achaldas, quelled a rebellion in Shaikhawati, receiving the office of Fauj Musahib in recognition of his service. He and his followers were subsequently killed in the battle of Dhanori. His son Mohan Singh and his grandson, Kan Singh, were also Fauj Musahib in their turn. In the reign of Maharaja Ram Singh II Thakur Ranjit Singh was appointed Faujdar (City Magistrate) and subsequently Judge of the Appellate Court. Later on, he became a member of Council. Thakurs Lachhmaun Singh and Raghunath Singh also held the office of Judge of the Appellate Court. The family estate which is situated eighteen miles to the north of Jaipur serves the Darbar with horse. Thakur Kesri Singh succeeded his father, Thakur Raghunath Singh, in 1891. He has one younger brother, Kishan Singh, aged twelve years, and no son. His next relatives are Thakur Ram Nath Singh and his two brothers. (Source: Chiefs and Leading Families in Rajputana by Charles Stuart Bayley)

Predecessors

• Thakur BALBHADRA SINGH, Thakur of Achrol 1528/1561, son of Raja Prithviraj Singh of Amber (see Jaipur) by his wife Balan Bai [Apoorva Devi], married and had issue. When the Bhojrajputs and the Radars Kachwahas rose in rebellion against his father, Prithviraj, he was sent to restore order. After two days of fierce fighting in 1526, rebels were overcome, and he was wounded. And again, when Bhojrajputs and the Radars Kachwahas rose in rebellion, he drove them out of Booj and Newar. When the territory around Banskhoh was in a state of insurrection and the central power at Amber evidently had a loose hold on this district, he slew the chief named Dungar Singh, who was at the head of opposition, and thoroughly subdued the forces opposed to him. Afterward, he directed his attention to Lawan, a strong fort further east, and brought it and its dependencies into subjection to Amber. This occurred in 1527. In 1548, when Haji Muzaffar Khan, a Pathan commander residing in the vicinity of Gujarat in the Punjab, began to interfere in the affairs of Amber, Raja Bharmal called upon his brother Balbhadra. He instructed him to don his armor and lead an army to the northeast, which he did, and achieved significant success. Again, in 1560, the Pathans made another attempt to overrun the state, appearing this time on the borders of Torawati. He again went forth to meet the enemy. The opposing armies encountered one another on the battlefield of Todabilandarpur, near the ancient town of Bairal. The battle was fierce and bloody, and Balbhadra was slain, but his blood was not shed in vain, for the Pathans lost so many men that they were forced to return whence they came without having passed the borders of Dhundar.
  • Thakur Achal Das (qv)
  • Dayal Das, established in Raisar near Jamwa Ramgarh
  • Govind Das, settled in Jhanpari
  • Beni Das, settled in Khejuria
  • Durjan Das, died childless
• Thakur ACHAL DAS, Thakur of Achrol 1561/1590. He built a stronghold, the fort of Achalgarh, adjoining which he built a town named after himself, Achrol. He quelled a rebellion in Shekhawati and received the office of Fauj Musahib in recognition of his services, married and had issue. He was killed in the battle of Dhanori.
  • Thakur Mohan Singh (qv)
• Thakur MOHAN SINGH, Thakur of Achrol, Fauj Musahib, married and had issue
  • Thakur Kan Singh (qv)
• Thakur KAN SINGH, Thakur of Achrol, Fauj Musahib,
• ……
• Thakur KAIM SINGH, Thakur of Achrol 1815/1834. In 1817, when Colonel Muhammad Mahtab Khan marched into Jaipur territory and began to ravage it, Maharaja Sawai Jagat Singh II of Jaipur dispatched Kaim Singh and Purohit Ram Nath to give him battle and drive him out of the country, which they did at the Battle of Hindaun in 1817. Kaim Singh suffered more than 14 wounds from swords during the war. After the battle, he ordered the army back to Jaipur, but owing to his wounds, he rested at Bharangpur for two months before returning to Jaipur. Upon his return, Jagat Singh II received him with great honor and bestowed upon him siropav, an elephant, along with a village to maintain it. In 1817, he was appointed Chief Magistrate of Jaipur by Jagat Singh II, under which capacity he exerted his energies in suppressing Thagi and Dakaiti, and brought the Minas under the control of law and order, as they were causing considerable trouble. There was a saying at the time, “we have seen the Minas’ heads which were cut off in the time of the faujdari of Kaim Singh.”
  • Thakur Ranjit Singh (qv)
• Thakur RANJIT SINGH, Thakur of Achrol 1834/1879, married Thakurani Kishan Kanwar, daughter of Thakur Bhawani Singh of Lambia, and his wife, Thakurani Ratan Kanwar. Under the orders of Maharaja Sawai Ram Singh II of Jaipur, he contributed to the formation of the army, which in 1858 checked the advance of the mutineers on Delhi and saved the lives of many European refugees, among them a future Commander-in-Chief of India, Sir Donald Martin Stewart. Upon his return, the Maharaja rewarded his services by absolving him from the payment of 900 rupees yearly levied from the village of Dugraota. This village had been granted to Achrol for fulfilling the duties of Qiladar of Jaigarh, Amber. Additionally, he received an elephant and siropav, and was appointed Chief Magistrate of the city, as well as head of the Girai service. At the time when Sir John Lawrence held the Great Durbar at Agra after the mutiny was over, he received a khilat from the Government of India to mark their estimation of the services which he had rendered during that time of trouble. He performed the duties of Chief Magistrate for four years. In 1862, he became a Judge of the Appellate Court, and in 1868, when Sawai Ram Singh II formed a council for the more effective administration of the Jaipur State, he was elected as one of its members. He carried out the duties of this office until his death in 1879. His Highness the Maharana Sardar Singh of Udaipur paid a visit to Achrol in his time.
  • Kunwar (name unknown) died during his father’s lifetime.
  • Thakur Lakshman Singh (qv)
  • Thakur Raghunath Singh (qv)
• Thakur LAKSHMAN SINGH, Thakur of Achrol 1879/1883. He was appointed as the Judge of the Appellate Court in 1882 by Col. Beynon, President of the Council during the minority of Maharaja Madho Singh II of Jaipur, and continued in that office until his death in 1883. He died childless and was succeeded by his younger brother, Raghunath Singh.
• Thakur RAGHUNATH SINGH, Thakur of Achrol 1883/1891. He entered the Nobles’ School, Jaipur, in 1886 and studied English and Sanskrit for thirteen years. After this, he specialized his reading and acquired a high proficiency in Hindu and Muslim civil and criminal procedure, as well as the texts called Manusmriti and Mitākṣarā. He was a distinguished student, having been presented with the medal of his class by Lord Mayo when he visited Jaipur in 1871. Lord Mayo was so pleased with his intelligence that he sent him a copy of Tennyson’s poems as a reward. Education report for the Jaipur State for the year 1874-1875 records about him: “Among the advanced students of this school, Ragunath Singh, the youngest son of the Thakur of Achrol, deserves particular mention. He has acquired a high proficiency in Hindi and Sanskrit, and his knowledge of English is not inferior to that of the undergraduates of the Maharaja’s College. Since the beginning of the last year, he has been studying Hindu and Muhammadan law, and he promises to excel in this branch as well. This young man, it is hoped, will set an example for his class, whose conservative feelings are gradually giving way to the realization that the aristocracy of Rajputana can no longer afford to remain illiterate amidst the march of intellect among the other classes.” He was first appointed Superintendent of the Intelligence and Postal departments, and held these positions for seven months. Later, he was assigned as an assistant to Rawal Bijay Singh of Samode when he was appointed by the Council to guide and instruct Maharaja Sawai Madho Singh II of Jaipur. He performed these duties to the satisfaction of the Maharaja until he obtained full powers in 1883. He was appointed Superintendent of the Zenana and the private Karkhanas. When his brother died without an heir in 1884, he was appointed Thakur of Achrol. At the same time, he was appointed as a Judge of the Appellate Court in Jaipur. The commission appointing him to the Judgeship recorded, “Whatever Thakur Raghunath Singh has done up to this time has been done well and loyally, and for his services, he is appointed Judge of the Appellate Court.” He married and had issue. He died in February, 1891.
  • Thakur Kesri Singh (qv)
  • Thakur Kishan Singh, born 1882, married the eldest daughter of Thakur Sagat Singhji of Daspan, and his wife Thakurani Heera Kanwar.
• Thakur KESRI SINGH, Thakur of Achrol 1891/-, born 27^th August 1875. He was appointed Judge of the Appellate Court in 1902. When Maharaja Sawai Madho Singh II of Jaipur went to England in 1902, in compliance with a request to be present at the Coronation of Edward VII and Alexandra as King and Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, he appointed Kesri Singh as a Member of the Council to assist in the management of state affairs and safeguard the interests of the country in his absence. He married Thakurani Anand Kanwar, daughter of Thakur Bhim Singh of Kanota, and had issue, two sons and three daughters.
  • Rajadhiraj Hari Singhji (qv)
  • Colonel Maharaj Rao Saheb Shardool Singhji, born 27^th February 1906, married Rani Indra Kumari of Ameta, she has one daughter.
    • Baisa Laxmi Kanvar [Thakurani Laxmi Kanvar of Sudasna], married Thakur Kirtikumar Singhji of Sudasna, and has issue, one daughter.
  • Baijilal Birad Kunwar (eldest daughter), married (as his second wife), February 1911, Major-General HH 108 Sri Maharaj Adhiraj Raj Rajeshwar Ravi Kula Bushana-Mahi Mahindra Yavadarya Kula Kamaldhivakara Chattis Rajkul Singar Maharana Shri Sir Bhupal Singhji Bahadur Hindua Suraj Hindupati, Maharana of Udaipur. She held a prominent position in the Mewar court. She adhered to traditional values and actively participated in social gatherings, such as inaugurating the railway line from Mavli to Kheroda in 1948. She was a devout devotee and visited almost every temple in Mewar, making grants to many. Among the most significant grants were those to the Shree Eklingnathji temple, Shree Asawra Mataji temple, Shreenathji temple, Shree Vitthalnathji temple, and Shree Dwarkadhishji temple.
  • Baijilal Aman Kunwar (second daughter), married (as his first wife), Dharmalankar Dharm-Bhushan Dharm-Diwaker Sahityabhusan Shreeman Maharaj Bharat Singhji Sahib, Raja Sahib of Multhan in Madhya Pradesh, and had issue.
  • Kumari Shri Nainkunwarba [HH Maharani Shri Nainkunwarba Sahiba] (third daughter), married 12^th May 1937, HH Maharaja Shri Vikramsinhji Bhojrajsinhji Sahib of Gondal, and had issue.
• Rajadhiraj HARI SINGHJI, Thakur of Achrol, born 15^th July 1901, he served as Honorary Sigha Member in the Police and Judicial Department of the Jaipur State Council; married Rani Thirthraj Kumari of Jigni, and had issue.
  • Rajadhiraj Mahendra Singhji (qv)
  • Thakur Jayendra Singhji, married Thakurani Madhvi Kumari of Kodh, M.P., and has issue.
    • Kunwar Aanand Singh
    • Kunwar Abhey Singh
  • Thakur Ravi Singhji, married Thakurani Padmini Singh of Podah in Jaisalmer, and has issue.
    • Baisa Arundhati Singh
    • Kunwar Achal Kirti Singh
• Rajadhiraj MAHENDRA SINGHJI, Thakur of Achrol (see above)

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