Chhatarpur

Chhatarpur princely state was founded in 1785 and ruled by the descendants of Bundela Rajput leader Chhatrasal after whom the state was named. The state was guaranteed to Kunwar Suni Singh Ponwar in 1806. In 1854 it would have lapsed to the British government for want of direct heirs, but was conferred on Jagat Raj as a special act of grace. Chhatarpur was accessioned to the Indian Union on 1st January, 1950 and became a part of Madhya Pradesh state.

The state of Chhatarpur was founded in the latter part of the 18th century by Kunwar Sone Sah Ponwar or Pamar who was a retainer of Raja Hindupat of Panna. On Hindupat’s death in 177 his son Sarnat Singh was forced to leave the state and retire to Rajnagar near Chhatarpur. He died leaving a minor son Hira Singh whose guardian was Kunwar Sone Sah Ponwar. Taking advantage of the youth of his master, Sone Sah seized the jagir in 1785 to which he added much territory during the disturbed period of the Maratha invasion. In 1800 he, together with the other Bundelkhand chiefs, became a tributary to Ali Bahadur, the Nawab of Banda.

On the establishment of British supremacy in Bundelkhand, Sone Sah received a sanad in 1806 by which certain lands he then held were reserved for the British, including the town of Chhatarpur. In 1808 however, these lands were returned to him. Sone Sah died in 1816, having divided his possessions among his five sons.