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Hasht-Bhaiya

cluster of jagirs (feudal estates) in central British India (1690–1948)

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionDec 13, 2024
Entity authorityQ17297442
Source-derived summary

The Hasht-Bhaiya (Hindi: आठभैया, romanized: ath bhaiya, lit. 'Eight Brothers') (e)states were a group of jagirs (small feudatory estates, formally ranking below a proper princely state) of Central India during the period of the British Raj.

They belonged to the Bundelkhand Agency and all of them had been originally part of the princely state of Orchha. The Hasht-Bhaiya Jagirs were British protectorates between 1823 and 1947. Their last jagirdars (rulers) joined the Indian Union in 1948.

History

Early history

Towards 1690 Udot Singh, the Maharaja of Orchha, gave to his brother, Diwan Rai Singh, the jagir of Baragaon near Jhansi.

After Rai Singh's death, the jagir went to his sons and it was divided into eight parts (hasht) among the brothers (bhaya) in order to form the following estates:

Kari (extinct)

Pasari (extinct)

Tarauli (extinct)

Banka-Pahari 13 km2, pop. 1056 in 1901

Bijna 70 km2, pop. 1578 in 1901

Chirgaon (annexed by the British in 1841)

Dhurwai 47 km2, pop. 1826 in 1901

Tori-Fatehpur 93 km2, pop. 7099 in 1901

Three jagirs were merged into the others, owing to lack of issue, a fourth would later be annexed by the British.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Hasht-Bhaiya” is cluster of jagirs (feudal estates) in central British India (1690–1948). The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Hasht-Bhaiya, cluster and jagirs, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1823, 1947, 1948, 1690—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1690. For this dossier, Hasht-Bhaiya, cluster and jagirs is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “cluster of jagirs (feudal estates) in central British India (1690–1948)” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Dec 13, 2024. The linked authority identifier is Q17297442. Authority coordinates are 25.500, 79.000. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1823, 1947, 1948 and 1690.

Critical limits

Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
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Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Hasht-Bhaiya”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Hasht-Bhaiya primary sources, Hasht-Bhaiya archive and Hasht-Bhaiya research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Hasht-Bhaiya” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.