Controversy Over Royal Status
The origin of the royal family of Darbhanga is traced to a grant of the Sarkar of Tirhut to Pandit Mahesh Thakur by Emperor Akbar. The supporters of the theory that Raj Darbhanga was a kingdom argue that it was held by privy council that the rulership was a heridatory one with succession governed by primogeniture. The supporters argue that by the end of the eighteenth Century, the Sarkar of Tirhut was practically an independent kingdom until the conquest of Bengal and Bihar by the British.
The opponents of the theory argue that Raj Darbhanga was never a kingdom but was a zamindari with all the trappings of princely state. The rulers of Raj Darbhanga were the largest land owners in India, and thus were called Raja, and later Maharaja and Maharajadhiraja. However they were never given the status of ruling prince. Further, after conquest of Bengal and Bihar, the British Raj initiated permanent settlement, and the Raja of Darbhanga was recognised only as a Zamindar.
The references in this article to the Estate of Darbhanga as Raj Darbhanga or the ruler thereof as King of Darbhanga or Maharaja Darbhanga is not meant to comment of on this controversy but to present the facts and history in a manner as generally understood in the region of Darbhanga.
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