Radhanpur State

Radhanpur State was a princely state in India during the British Raj. Its rulers belonged to a family of Babi tribe descent. The last ruling Nawab of Radhanpur, Nawab Murtaza Khan, signed the instrument of accession to the Indian Union on 10 June 1948.The town of Radhanpur in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat was its capital. It was surrounded by a loopholed wall; the town was formerly known for its export trade in rapeseed, grains and cotton.HistoryIn 1753 Jawan Mard Khan II, son of Jawan Mard Khan I who assisted Mughal Empire in the rule of Gujarat, became independent ruler of Radhanpur, among other territories. In 1706 Jafar Khan was appointed governor of Patan and in 1715 his son Khan Jahan (Jawan Mard Khan I) was appointed governor of Radhanpur and other territories. After the collapse of the Mughal Empire and the beginning of Maratha rule in the area, Radhanpur State was founded as an independent kingdom around 1753 by Jawan Mard Khan II. On 16 December 1813, Radhanpur became a British protectorate and in 1819 the British helped the Nawab to expel the Khosa raiders, a predatory tribe which used to make incursions from Sindh. The state was part of the Palanpur Agency of the Bombay Presidency, which in 1925 became the Banas Kantha Agency. British administrators took charge of the regency of the state on two occasions, when two separate Nawabs died leaving a minor son as successor.