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// Workers AI · dad joke modeIs Virendra Mohan Dar a morning person? Dar-k circles under his eyes.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Maharaja
Virendra Mohan Dar
Bahadur[1]
Portrait (c. 1782)
1st Maharaja of Dar Raj
In office
1771–1821
Monarchs
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byRaja Mukund Mohan Dar
Personal details
Born(1758-09-14)September 14, 1758
Dar, Akhnoor
DiedFebruary 3, 1821(1821-02-03) (aged 62)
Dhaka
Parent
  • Ramhari Dar (father)
Signature

Maharaja Virendra Vasudev Mohan Dar Bahadur (Persian: ویرِندرا واسودِو موهان دار), also known as Raja Virendra Mohan Dar, was the founder of the Dar Raj and a Kashmiri Pandit Maharaja, Jagirdar and the king of Dar and Nannar from 1771 until his death in 1821.[2][3][4]

Early Life and Education

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Virendra Mohan Dar was born on 14 September 1758, in Akhnoor, Kashmir. He completed his education, in Persian, Sanskrit, English and Mathematics under kashmiri pandits such as Pt. Madhussudan Kaul.[2][5][4]

Official Cipher of Raja Virendra Mohan Dar

Accession

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During the reign of Ahmad Shah Durrani, he was formally conferred the title of Maharaja and was coronated in 1771. His role is considered significant in the political and social history of Kashmir.[6][7] The death of Ahmed Shah Durrani in 1772 resulted in the decline of the Durrani Empire due to which the Dar Raj eventually lost power in Akhnoor and the Cashmere Valley, hence they shifted to Bengal (Now Bangladesh).[8][9]

Virendra Mohan Dar was spontaneously titled the "Saffron King" by merchants for his systematic regulation and expansion of the saffron trade in his 11,000-acre Akhnoor domain. He institutionalized cultivation and implemented a "Charter of Fair Commerce" to prevent product adulteration and maintain market integrity.[10]

Virendra Royal Succession Charter

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Dar established a formal constitutional code known as The Virendra Royal Succession Charter (or the Virendra Royal Succession Charter of the House of Dar). Promulgated around 1773, the document was intended to provide legal clarity for the inheritance of the Dar Raj and was engrossed in both Sanskrit and Persian. The Charter consists of 18 articles that define the hereditary rights and administrative symbols of the dynasty.[11]

Articles of the Virendra Royal Succession Charter:[12][13]

  • Article I: Establishes the sovereignty of the Dar Raj as hereditary and non-elective.
  • Article II: Mandates agnatic primogeniture, stating the eldest legitimate son succeeds to the throne.
  • Article III: Reserves the title of Yuvraj exclusively for the eldest legitimate son during his father's lifetime.
  • Article IV: Assigns the title of Rajkumar to younger legitimate sons.
  • Article V: Grants the title of Rajkumari (Princess) to legitimate daughters for their lifetime.
  • Article VI: Stipulates that legitimate sons and their lines always take precedence over female lines.
  • Article VII: Provides for succession in the absence of sons, moving first to the eldest son of the eldest daughter; if no male descendants exist in the female line, the eldest surviving daughter may ascend as Maharani Regnant.
  • Article VIII: Details that the eldest son of a Maharani Regnant succeeds as Maharaja.
  • Article IX: Clarifies the order of succession through collateral female branches if the primary female line fails to produce a male heir.
  • Article X: Directs succession to the nearest legitimate male descendant of the senior collateral branch if the reigning Maharaja has no direct descendants.
  • Article XI: Explicitly prohibits adoption from creating any dynastic rights to the throne, titles, or royal estates.
  • Article XII: Excludes children born outside of a lawful marriage from hereditary claims.
  • Article XIII: States that marriage into the royal family does not confer independent sovereignty; a spouse does not become a sovereign by right of marriage.
  • Article XIV: Defines the title and precedence of the Maharani Consort (also Queen Consort), who has no sovereign authority unless appointed as a Regent.
  • Article XVI: Declares the Crown, titles, and supreme authority one and indivisible, prohibiting the partitioning of the Raj among multiple heirs.
  • Article XVII: Establishes the permanence of the Charter, requiring unanimous consent from the Royal Council and senior family members for any alterations.
  • Article XVIII: Mandates that each sovereign assume a personal Royal Crest and Cipher (e.g., V I, V II) to be used on the Great Seal and official instruments.

Shift to Bengal

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Virendra Mohan constructed the Dhar Rajbari at Char Talibari, in the Rajrajeshwar area of Bengal (Now Bangladesh), at a cost of 2 million rupees. Later, due to severe erosion by the Padma River, the palace was completely destroyed. He then built the 250 room Dhar Zamindar Palace at Jalsin, Nannar Village in Dhamrai at a cost of 3 million rupees, which is also known as Nannar Rajbari.[7][14][15] The House of Dar under The Maharaja, spanned over 40,000 acres of land across Bangladesh and Jammu.[16] In 1813, the title of Bahadur was formally conferred upon Virendra Mohan Dar by Nawab Zain-ud-Din Ali Khan of Murshidabad, with the official sanction of the British Governor-General, Lord Minto I, in recognition of his significant contributions to land expansion, the construction of irrigation works, and consistent revenue payments to the East India Company.[17]

Death and Legacy

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Virendra Mohan Dar is mentioned in various historical texts and records, where he is identified as one of the influential local rulers of Kashmir during the Durrani period. He died in 1821 of cancer.[18][19][20][21] His son, Raja Mukund Mohan Dar, was coronated the following year.

References

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  1. ↑ Anirban Chattopadhyay, "Virendramohan of Dar Raj: Locating Subaltern Voices in the Bengali Novel", in: Tirthankar Roy and Tapati Guha-Thakurta, eds, Literary Cartographies of Bengal, Volume 2: Textual Politics and the Colonial State, Kolkata: Academic Publishers, 2014, pp. 114-132.
  2. 1 2 Mukherjee, Ramesh Chandra (1987-07-21). Mahārāja Vīrendra Mohan Dār of Akhnūr. Calcutta: Nīldhôni Prokāśônā.
  3. ↑ Nalinikanta Bhattacharya (1938-04-18). Dar Raj (Dhar Raj) of Akhnur and Dhaka.
  4. 1 2 Basu 1919, pp. 10–14.
  5. ↑ BL, Jitendranath Ghose (1931-07-21). The Raja of Dar- Life and Legacy of Virendra Vasudev of Dar- ویرِندرا واسودِو موهان دار. Bridgebit Printing Works, Bowbajaar, Calcutta 1931. pp. 21, 22, 23.
  6. ↑ Khan, Mohammad Ishaq (2004). History of Medieval Kashmir. Srinagar: Gulshan Books. pp. 312–314.
  7. 1 2 Mukherjee, Ramesh (1979-12-06). وِرینٛدر موہن دار (in Arabic). Banwara Publishing.
  8. ↑ BL, Jitendranath Ghose (1931-07-21). The Raja of Dar- Life and Legacy of Virendra Vasudev of Dar- ویرِندرا واسودِو موهان دار. Bridgebit Printing Works, Bowbajaar, Calcutta 1931. pp. 54, 58, 59.
  9. ↑ Basu 1919, pp. 21–28.
  10. ↑ Sen 1941, p. 88.
  11. ↑ Sen 1941, p. 96.
  12. ↑ Sen 1941, pp. 97–106.
  13. ↑ The Dhar Family- Succession (Private collection of the Dhar Raj family). Metcuff Printing Works 34 Mechuabazar Street, Calcutta. (published 28 October 1933). 1933-10-28.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  14. ↑ Badal, M. N. C. (1949-06-11). ZAMĪNDĀRS OF EARLY BAṄGĀL AND EAST PĀKISTĀN AND DECLINE OF ZAMĪNDĀR SYSTEM. Baṅgāl Granthālaya Prakāśan.
  15. ↑ Basu 1919, pp. 112–125.
  16. ↑ Singh, Ravinath. (1974). The life and death of Virendra of Dhar Raj: A critical analysis of the final siege of Dhar. In K. P. Acharya & D. Sharma (Eds.), Historiography of the Central Provinces: Vol. 4. The Paramara Epoch (A. M. C. Hollingbery, Trans.; 3rd ed., pp. 412, 414, 419, 421–485). Oriental Research Publishing House. (Original work published 1921).
  17. ↑ Sen 1941, p. 204.
  18. ↑ Ikram, Sheikh Mohamad (1989). History of Muslim Civilization in India and Pakistan: A Political and Cultural History. Institute of Islamic Culture. pp. 201–202. ISBN 978-969-469-001-8.
  19. ↑ Sufi, G. M. D. (1974). Kashīr, Being a History of Kashmir from the Earliest Times to Our Own. Light & Life Publishers. pp. 85–86.
  20. ↑ Historical Abstracts: Modern history abstracts, 1775–1914. Part A. American Bibliographical Center, CLIO. 1988. pp. 69, 70, 98.
  21. ↑ Commissioner, India Census (1933). Census of India, 1931. Manager of Publications. pp. 186, 188.

Bibliography

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