Cooch Behar, also known as Koch Bihar was a princely state in India during the British Raj. The state was placed under the Bengal States Agency, part of the Eastern States Agency of the Bengal Presidency. It is located south of the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, in present day West Bengal.
Cooch Behar formed part of the Kamarupa Kingdom of Assam from the 4th to the 12th centuries. In the 12th century, the area became part of the Kamata Kingdom, first ruled by the Khen dynasty from the capital at Kamatapur. The Khens, an indigenous tribe ruled till about 1498 AD.
Cooch Behar State was formed when the Kamata Kingdom under Koch dynasty split following the death of Nara Narayanan (the last ruler of Koch Kingdom) in 1586. The eastern portion , Koch Hajo, was absorbed by Ahom. The western portion, Koch Bihar, formed a separate unit that came under direct challenge by the Mughal Empire. (Akbar and later Jahangir). Lakshmi Narayan (1587-1621) was the first ruler of the Koch Bihar portion. The capital was Attharokotha
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After weathering the Mughal threat, a new threat emerged from the Bhutanese and Tibetans. This period of invasions, conflicts, controls and reversals continued from 1680 to 1772. During this period, Maharaja Rup Narayan transferred the capital from Attharokotha to Guriahati (now called Cooch Behar town) on the banks of Torsa river (between 1693 and 1714). Although the threat was pushed back, a Bhutanese regent was installed in the royal court. Bhutan seized direct control of Behar territories . However, this rule did not last for long. The Koch Bihar court decided to invite British intervention. Maharaja Dharendra Narayan appealed to the British.
This came in the form of military assistance. However, the British East India Company sought guarantees whereby the independence of Koch Bihar was limited by treaties (1774). In 1765, The British East India Company had taken over control of Bengal.
The rulers of Cooch Behar State held the title of Maharaja from 1884 onwards. They were entitled to a 13 gun salute.
When the British colonial rule terminated, the Koch Bihar state acceded to and merged with India in 1949 and became part of West Bengal. The district, Cooch Behar District, is named after this erstwhile kingdom.
The two famous women of the Cooch Behar family, Indira Raje and her daughter Gayatri
Indira Raje, (1892-1968), later Maharani Indira of Cooch Behar. In the summer of 1913, the "Sketch" in London carried a picture of an exquisitely beautiful woman under the headline ''Not Engaged, After All''. The lady was Indira Raje, daughter of Sayajirao Gaekwad III of Baroda. She was the only daughter of her parents, and was the first princess to go to school and college during those times. She was engaged two years earlier to Madho Rao Scindia, then the Maharaja of Gwalior with much fanfare. Her fiancé was 18 years older and was already married. She did not want to live in strict purdah and as a junior wife. She had led a life of relative freedom in Baroda and abroad. When she met the charming heir-presumptive of Cooch Behar, Jitendra, at the Delhi Durbar of 1911, she did the unthinkable for those days as an 18 year old. She wrote to her fiancé in Gwalior, that the wedding was off and she did not wish to marry him. Her family denied consent and defied her wish on account of humiliations, cast, and religious practice. Jitendra was even summoned and given a personal warning to stay away. They took her to Europe and guarded her closely. She remained unmoved and when it looked like she would elope and cause further humiliations, the Gaekwads reluctantly agreed. She married the man she loved in 1913, and became Indira Devi of Cooch Behar. She married in London. However, after ten years her husband died in 1923. Indira was only 30 years old when her eldest son was crowned the new Maharaja. As he was only seven years old, she became regent. With five children to raise, as a widow and to manage the hostilities in the State, she faced the challenges with courage. Among her children was her second daughter, Gayatri, who would become a celebrity later, after becoming the wife of the Maharaja of Jaipur. She startled many by refusing to abide by conventional norms of how a widow was perceived to conduct herself. A lady with a remarkable character, she went to London and made it her headquarters. She led a carefree life as a trendsetter of those days.
Her famous Chiffon Sarees were ordered from a Paris fashion house always.
She had a lot of fan - following by the youth in England. The British finally had to order her to retreat to India, as she set trends for the youth to follow a free style of living. She returned to Cooch Behar in 1929, after two and a half years and brought England to India. She organised Tiger shoots, hunting parties, and developed lots of well wishers. As a Maharani Regent, she managed to pay off long pending debts, maintaining a life of glamour and was known as one of the most beautiful Indian princess to enthrall the Western society. Her personality continued to radiate glamour even during her later years. The Maharani spent the last years of her life in Mumbai and died there in 1968
Gayatri Devi's (1919-2009). Her life could be summed up as extraordinary and unconventional. One of the most modern, independent and beautiful Maharanis of India, she had a life that was respected and idolized. Elegant and graceful in her sarees and sometimes in khaki pants, she was listed by Vogue as one of the most beautiful women in the world. She said that she had learned about style from her mother. She had a larger than life personality as a person and was rebellious, opinionated and strong. Ayesha as she was called was the daughter of the Maharaja of Cooch Behar. Being the daughter of Indira Devi, it was evident that Gayatri wasn't going to live her life dictated by the society. She was educated in London and Switzerland. When she was 12, she fell for the most sought after young man in India (when he had come to play polo), who was then 21 years old. Sir Sawai Man Singh who by then had two wives, simply couldn't' help being enchanted by the charming Gayatri. They married in 1940. She was an excellent polo player, a good shot and was fond of cars and owned an aircraft. Unlike other wives, she refused to confine by Purdah. She rejected ostracization of women in the country. She was known as the bold and beautiful.
She won her first elections in 1962 by a record margin of 1,75,000 votes that earned her a spot in the Guinness Book of Records. She remained a minister of Parliament from 1962 to 1975.
The privy purses were abolished in 1971, terminating all royal privileges and titles. She was arrested during the Emergency due to political vendetta and served five months in Tihar jail. She was 56 years old and was undergoing medical treatment then. She developed gastric problems in prison that later grew worse. She died in 2009, due to lung failure
1/2 Rupee, Prana Narayan, 1633-1665, silver, weight 4.8 gm, Obverse has Sri Sri (mat) Pra na Na (rayana) Sya Sa (ke) and Reverse has Sri Sri (Shi) va Cha ra (na) (ka ra) sya.
1/2 Rupee, Upandra Narayana, 1715-1764, silver, weight 4.7 gm
One Rupee, Nara Narayan, Saka 1477 (AD 1555), silver, weight 10.4 gm, Obverse has inscription in 5 lines in Bengali with name of king as Sri Sriman Nara Narayana Bhupalasya and date as Saka 1447, Reverse has inscription in 4 lines in Bengali which shows as Sri Sri Shiva Charana Kamala Madhu Karasya
Well researched and interesting background about the two iconic royal ladies.
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