Cooch Behar
Cooch Behar | |||||
1586-1950 | |||||
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Capital | Chef Bihar | ||||
Form of government | Princely State | ||||
surface | 3413 km² | ||||
population | 678,000 (1941) | ||||
founding | 1586 | ||||
resolution | January 1, 1950 | ||||
State religion: Hinduism Dynasty: Narayan |
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Map excerpt from The Imperial Gazetteer of India | |||||
Palace of Cooch Behar |
Cooch Behar ( Koch Bihar ; Bengali : কোচবিহার , Kocbihār ) was one of the princely states of the Bengal Province of British India in what is now the state of West Bengal . Its capital was the place Cooch Behar ( Koch Bihar ).
history
The principality, which has existed since 1250, was ruled by Maharajas of the Koch (Cooch) dynasty from 1510 . Chandan Narayan (1510–1523) enlarged the principality, and Nar Narayan (1554–1587) even conquered Manipur and Tripura . Pran Narayan (1626–1665) fought in Bengal against the Mughal Empire and conquered Dhaka in 1661 , but had to make peace in 1664. Rup Narayan (1693-1714) moved the capital from Athaokotha to Guriahati Gram, today's Bihar . Cooch Behar was occupied by Bhutan from 1765 to 1772 and a British protectorate from 1773 to 1947. In 1941 it had an area of 3413 km² and 678,000 inhabitants. The British Empire saluted 13 rounds.
On August 20, 1948, Maharaja Jagaddipendra Narayan transferred his authority to India , and Cooch Behar became a central government administered province on September 12, which was incorporated into the state of West Bengal on January 1, 1950.
The state is mentioned in the refrain of Bertolt Brecht's cannon song from the first act of the Threepenny Opera .
Personalities
Princess Gayatri Devi (1919–2009), who was considered one of the most beautiful women of her time and who married the Maharaja of Jaipur Man Singh II in 1940 , became internationally known .
See also
literature
- Cooch Behār State. In: The Imperial Gazetteer of India. Volume 10: Central Provinces to Coompta. New Edition. Clarendon Press, Oxford 1908, pp. 379-389 .
- George B. Malleson: An historical sketch of the native states of India. Longmans, Green & Co., London 1875, ( digitized version ).
- Joseph E. Schwartzberg (Ed.): A historical atlas of South Asia (= Association for Asian Studies. Reference Series. 2). 2nd impression, with additional material. Oxford University Press, New York NY et al. 1992, ISBN 0-19-506869-6 .