Draft:The Bachhil Rajputs of India

Bachhil Rajput बच्छिल राजपूत
Classification	Kshatriya (Rajput)
Religions	Hinduism
Languages	Hindi, Awadhi, Khari Boli, Kannauji, Braj Bhasha
Country	India
Populated states	Uttar Pradesh (Rohilkhand and Awadh)
Related groups	Dynasty: Chandravanshi (Somvanshi / Lunar Dynasty) Gotra: Vatsa (Vachha) Rishi: Maharishi Chyavana, Maharishi Dadhichi, Rishi Vatsa Kuldevi: Maa Jagdamba (Maa Durga, Maa Parvati, Maa Chamunda Devi) Kuldevta: Lord Shiva (Mahadev) & Baba Mahasen Maharaj (Lok-Devta) Epigraphic Founder: King Vira Varmma (c. 900 CE) & Raja Lalla Bachhil (992 CE) Historic Strongholds: Garh Gajana (Dewal), Balmiar Barkhar, Mati, Nigohi, Tilhar, Kamp, Atwa Piparia, Risauli, Putheria, Gundlamau, Machhrehta (Anogi Garhi)

Bachhil (also spelled Bachhal, Vachhil, or Báchhil; Hindi: बच्छिल राजपूत) is an ancient Chandravanshi (Somvanshi or Lunar Dynasty) Kshatriya clan of Northern India. Historically indigenous to the riverine plains and sub-Himalayan Terai of Rohilkhand and Awadh in modern-day Uttar Pradesh, the Bachhils are documented in epigraphic monuments, Mughal imperial surveys, and British colonial gazetteers as the earliest verifiable Rajput rulers of eastern Rohilkhand and northern Awadh.

Their sovereign rule in the 10th century CE is proven by the 992 CE Dewal Stone Inscription in Pilibhit district, predating the arrival of the Katehrias and other Rajput clans in the region by nearly two centuries. Today, the clan is primarily concentrated across the districts of Shahjahanpur, Sitapur, Lakhimpur Kheri, Pilibhit, Badaun, Hardoi, Aligarh, Bulandshahr, Moradabad, and Mathura.

Etymology, Gotra, and Dynasty

• Dynasty (Vansh): In the traditional genealogies of the 36 royal Rajput races (Chhattis Rajkul) and the records of their Gotracharya, the Bachhils of Uttar Pradesh are explicitly classified as Chandravanshi (Somvanshi / Lunar race): "The Gotráchárya of the Báchhil Rajputs declares them to be Chandravansis, and their high social position is attested by their daughters being taken in marriage by Chauháns, Ráthors, and Kachhwáhas." Certain regional bardic (Bhat-Charan) traditions also associate them as an ancient sub-branch of the Tomar (Tanwar) Lunar dynasty. Unlike the Chauhan sub-clans of western India, the Chandravanshi Bachhils of Rohilkhand and Awadh constitute an older, pre-10th-century sovereign lineage indigenous to the Gangetic-Terai belt.
• Gotra and Sage Descent: The clan belongs to the Vatsa (Vachha) Gotra. Tenth-century epigraphic evidence explicitly traces their origin to the Vedic sage Maharishi Chyavana (son of Maharishi Bhrigu and grandfather of Rishi Vatsa, son of Maharishi Dadhichi). Linguistically, the clan name Vachhil or Bachhil is a Prakrit and regional vernacular derivative of the Sanskrit Vatsa (वत्स → वच्छ → बच्छिल). General Sir Alexander Cunningham also noted a secondary etymological link to the Hindi root bāchhnā ("to select or choose," signifying the chosen or elite). In the 16th-century Ain-i-Akbari, Abul Fazl also noted a distant branch of the tribe inhabiting Aramraj in the peninsula of Gujarat.
• Social Precedence: Practicing strict clan and gotra exogamy, the Chandravanshi Bachhils hold a premier rank among the landed aristocracy of Rohilkhand and Awadh, historically intermarrying on equal terms with the Chauhans, Rathores, Kachhwahas, Tomars, Sombansis, Katehrias, Gaurs, Chandels, Bais, and Raghuvanshis.

Chronological History

1. Early Antiquity: Raja Vena and King Virat of Barkhar (Pre-10th Century CE)

Colonial archaeological surveys and district gazetteers record that the Bachhils were the earliest dominant Kshatriya power in eastern Rohilkhand and the Kheri–Sitapur belt, having displaced aboriginal tribes such as the Bhars, Pasis, Thatheras, Bhidars, and Gwalas.

In early clan traditions recorded by Sir Alexander Cunningham and C.W. McMinn (Gazetteer of the Province of Oudh), the Bachhils trace their earliest regional kingship to Raja Vena (Raja Ben) and his son Raja Virat (Bairat).

• The Fortified Jungle Cities: To Raja Vena and the early Bachhils is attributed the erection of the great forts of Garhakhera and Sahgarh, while to his queen, Ketaki Rani, is assigned the excavation of the Rani Tal at the old town of Kabar. In Pargana Khutar of Shahjahanpur, the Bachhils built the ancient city of Mati (Matripura), whose ruins span two miles by one mile and contain 8th-century inscribed bricks ($18 \times 12 \times 6$ inches), octagonal masonry wells, and ancient shrines to Lord Shiva and Goddess Kali. Other early regional strongholds associated with this era include Maraori (attributed to Moradhwaj) and Barkhera (attributed to Harmal Raja).
• Balmiar Barkhar and Hargam: Raja Virat is credited with founding the fortified citadel of Balmiar Barkhar (Virat Khera) in Muhamdi tehsil of Lakhimpur Kheri (in the tract west of the Kathna river known as Paruhar or Panduhar, where local tradition states King Virat hosted the five Pandava brothers during their exile). The ruined citadel mound measures 1,000 by 600 feet and rises 20 feet high. The eastern frontier outpost of this kingdom extended directly into Sitapur District at Hargam (Hargaon). General Cunningham identified the traditional Raja Virat with the historical 10th-century Bachhil monarch King Vira Varmma of the Dewal Inscription.

2. The Golden Age of Rohilkhand and the Dewal Inscription (900–1174 CE)

The sovereign rule of the Chandravanshi Bachhil dynasty in the 10th century CE is proven by a primary epigraphic monument: the Dewal Sanskrit Stone Inscription of Vikram Samvat 1049 (992 CE), discovered near the ruined Bachhil capital of Garh Gajana (Illahabas) along the Katni river, 25 kilometers southeast of Pilibhit.

Carved in the Kutila Sanskrit character (so called because every letter features a bottom stroke bent to the right) across 32 verses, the inscription provides a verified historical record of the dynasty:

1. Royal Genealogy in Stone: The inscription records the reign of Raja Lalla Bachhil, who calls himself the nephew of Maris Chandra Pratapa and the grandson of King Vira Varmma (dating the formal establishment of Vira Varmma's reign to circa 900 CE). It states that the royal family was of the race of Chhindu and descended from the great Vedic Rishi Chyavana (alluding in Verse 4 to Chyavana's marriage to Sukanya, daughter of Saryati, and his quarrel with Indra on behalf of the Ashwini Kumaras).
2. Temples of Devapalli (Dewal): The inscription states that Raja Lalla and his wife, Maharani Lakshmi, gifted shaded villages to Brahmins and constructed numerous groves, gardens, lakes, and temples (devalayataneshucha). In Verse 27, the great temple to which the inscription was attached is recorded as dedicated to Lord Shiva by the Raja, while the Queen built another fane to Goddess Parvati. In Verse 28, they are described as "two divine temples" (sura-griha), and Verse 32 states that the God and Goddess were worshipped together under the title of Devapalli—the direct origin of the modern name Dewal.
3. The 160-Kilometer Canal Network & Sovereign Coinage: The inscription recites that Raja Lalla cut an artificial canal—the Katha nadi (now called the Katni)—from the pellucid Nirmala (now contracted to Mala) river. British engineers confirmed that the Bachhil dynasty excavated two massive artificial canals—the Katni (12 miles west of the Gomti) and the Kathna (12 miles east of the Gomti, upon whose banks stood Atwa, a later capital of the Bachhils)—totaling approximately 160 kilometers (100 miles) in length. Worshipping Lord Vishnu under the Varaha (Boar) Avatar alongside Shiva and Parvati, the Bachhil kings minted their own silver and gold coinage, numerous specimens of which were unearthed near their old capitals on the Kathna. As the Oudh Gazetteer observes: "They did more apparently for the material improvement of the country in the tenth century of the Christian era than any of their successors in the government during the ensuing nine."

Up to 1174 CE (Samvat 1231), the Bachhil Rajas possessed the dominant sovereign power across eastern Rohilkhand beyond the Ramganga river:

"It is admitted by every one that the Katehriyas succeeded the Báchhils, but the Katehriyas themselves state that they did not settle in Katehar until Sambat 1231, or A.D. 1174. Up to this date, therefore, the Báchhil rájas may be supposed to have possessed the dominant power in eastern Rohilkhand beyond the Rámganga, while western Rohilkhand was held by the Bhidar, Gwâlâ, and other tribes, from whom the Katehriyas profess to have wrested it. Gradually the Báchhils must have retired before the Katehriyas, until they had lost all their territory to the west of the Deoha or Pílíbhít river. Here they made a successful stand, and though frequently afterwards harried by the Muhammadans, they still managed to hold their small territory between the Deoha river and the primeval forests of Pilibhit."

— Maj.-Gen. Sir Alexander Cunningham, Archaeological Survey of India Reports (Vol. I, p. 356) & Gazetteer of the Province of Oudh (Vol. II, pp. 241–242)

During this medieval expansion, a branch of the Bachhils from Barai Thana (in Shahjahanpur), led by Udai and Tas, also marched southward into Pargana Katiari (Tahsil Bilgram, District Hardoi), where they displaced the aboriginal Thatheras, Baihar Ahirs, and Dhanuks alongside the Sombansis and Katiars, retaining proprietary possession of five villages into the British era.

3. The Delhi Sultanate Era: Raja Udarana, the Fall of Nigohi, and Tilhar (13th–16th Century CE)

During the 14th century, the Bachhil kingdom centered at Nigohi (holding sovereignty over the country comprising Muhamdi, Pasgawan, Atwa Piparia, and Bhur in Oudh, along with Baragaon, Nigohi, and Shahjahanpur in Rohilkhand) faced devastating invasions from the Delhi Sultanate. In 1379–1380 CE, Sultan Firuz Shah Tughlaq passed through on his way to Khairigarh and laid waste to the entire country to avenge the massacre of the Governor of Budaun by the Katehrias. Clan annals and Muslim historians record that 365 Rajput forts were leveled and 23,000 inhabitants were carried into slavery, turning the cultivated country into a dense wilderness.

• The Martyrdom of Raja Udarana’s Twelve Sons: During the capture of the Bachhil capital of Nigohi by the Sultan of Delhi, the reigning Bachhil monarch, Raja Udarana (Aorana), fought to the bitter end. All twelve sons of Raja Udarana were captured and put to death; the twelve cenotaphs (chhatris) of these martyred princes continued to be shown at Nigohi into the late 19th century.
• The Guerrilla Campaign of Chhavi Rana (Chhabi Singh): Shortly after this catastrophe, Chhavi Rana (Raja Chhabi Singh)—the grandson of one of the murdered princes of Nigohi—fled to the Lalchi jungle, where he supported his warrior band by plundering imperial convoys. When imperial orders to exterminate his band failed, he presented himself before the King of Delhi (and in later regional records, Emperor Akbar) and obtained the district of Nigohi, Kant, and Tilhar as a Jagir / Sanad, where his descendant Tarsam Singh still held the town of Nigohi and surrounding villages in the late 19th century.
• Raja Trilok Chand Bachhil and the Founding of Tilhar: In the 16th century, the prominent Bachhil ruler Raja Trilok (Tilok) Chand Bachhil founded the strategic town of Tilhar (and the village of Tilokpur) in Shahjahanpur, constructing a formidable fortress in the Dataganj/Hindu Patti quarter and establishing Tilhar as a major center of Rajput military power and composite war-bow (kaman) manufacturing. In Tahsil Jalalabad, the Bachhils also constructed the famous Fort of Jalalabad, whose massive mud-and-brick walls stood 25 feet high.

4. The Mughal Wars: The Ain-i-Akbari, Chinaur, and Raja Chhipi Khan (1555–1750 CE)

Throughout the Mughal era, the Bachhil territories between Bareilly, Badaun, Shahjahanpur, Kheri, Hardoi, and Sitapur formed an autonomous corridor of armed resistance. After rising in revolt in 1555 CE against Akbar's general Ali Quli Khan (Khan Zaman) and resisting the bigoted governor of Kant-o-Gola, Husain Khan Tukriya (c. 1568–1576 CE), the Bachhils were officially recorded in Raja Todar Mal and Abul Fazl’s Ain-i-Akbari (993 A.H. / 1586–1596 CE) as the dominant proprietary Zamindars across the Sarkar of Budaun, the Sarkar of Khairabad, and the Sarkar of Lucknow:

Mughal Mahal (Pargana)	Sarkar & Modern District	Recorded Proprietors in Ain-i-Akbari (1586–1596 CE)	Standing Military Levy / Notes
Kant	Sarkar Budaun (Shahjahanpur & Tilhar)	Bachhil Rajputs	300 Cavalry, 2,000 Infantry (55,584 bighas)
Gola	Sarkar Budaun (Nigohi, Pawayan, Pilibhit, Kheri)	Bachhils & Dewaks	100 Cavalry, 1,000 Infantry (24,540 bighas)
Khairigarh	Sarkar Khairabad (Nighasan, Palia, Dhaurahra, Kheri)	Bachhils, Bais, Bisens	300 Cavalry, 1,500 Infantry (43,025 bighas)
Machhrehta	Sarkar Khairabad (Misrikh Tehsil, Sitapur)	Bachhil Rajputs	30 Cavalry, 2,000 Infantry (Brick Fort at HQ)
Basara	Sarkar Khairabad (Kheri–Sitapur Border)	Bachhil Rajputs	200 Infantry (21,740 bighas)
Paila	Sarkar Khairabad (Lakhimpur Kheri)	Bachhil Rajputs	Exclusive Zamindars in 993 A.H. (1586 CE)
Gopamau	Sarkar Khairabad (Hardoi)	Bachhils & Chawars (Ahban)	Joint Proprietors in 993 A.H. (1586 CE)
Sandila & Kachhandan	Sarkar Lucknow (Hardoi)	Bachhils, Gahlots, Chandels	Recorded in Ain-i-Akbari Clan Maps (1596 CE)

• The Risauli Principality (Badaun): By the 17th century, a western branch of the Bachhils established a 12-village principality centered at Risauli (near Ujhani, Badaun), encompassing Risauli, Bara, Abdullaganj, Rauli, Jamrauli, Allahpur, Niranjanpur, Barsuma, Kathauli, Pusganwa, Gathuna Garhi, and Sanjarpur (which was gifted in dowry when two Risauli Bachhil princesses married scions of the royal Anangpal Tomar dynasty of Delhi).
• The 1647 Kant Treasury Raid & The Battle of Chinaur (13,000 Martyrs): In 1647 CE, during the reign of Emperor Shah Jahan, the Bachhil Rajputs (joined by the Gaurs) ambushed and plundered an imperial Mughal treasury convoy passing through Kant. Shah Jahan dispatched his Afghan generals Diler Khan and Bahadur Khan with a massive imperial army to crush the clan. In a pitched battle fought at Chinaur (near Shahjahanpur), approximately 13,000 Rajputs—predominantly Bachhil warriors—were martyred, while 1,100 Mughal soldiers were killed. To permanently contain the Bachhils, Shah Jahan awarded 14 villages to Diler Khan and ordered him to build a fort at Noner Khera, founding the city of Shahjahanpur and populating it with 52 tribes of Afghans.

Raja Chhipi Khan ("Beta Chhipi"), His Eight Sons, and the Siege of Kamp

In the 17th century, during the reign of Emperor Shah Jahan, the paramount Bachhil warlord was Raja Chhipi Khan (also recorded in regional chronicles under the name Dulnaran Singh).

• The "Gore-Besprinkled Chief": In Kheri and Sitapur, Chhipi Khan held possession of Pargana Barwar-Anjana ("the unknown Barwar"), Kamp-Dhaurahra (spanning both banks of the Chauka river, including Dhaurahra, Nighasan, and Bhur), and parts of southwest Sitapur. Emperor Shah Jahan dispatched the Bachhil leader to crush a rebellion in Karra Manikpur. Defeating the rebels, the Bachhil chief rode rapidly back to Delhi and entered the Emperor's presence with the blood stains of battle still wet upon his clothes. While the Mughal courtiers were shocked, Shah Jahan honored him with the title "Beta Chhipi Khan"—meaning "My son, you gore-besprinkled chief".
• The 18-Month Siege of Fort Kamp: When Emperor Aurangzeb (Alamgir) ascended the throne, Chhipi Khan defied Mughal authority from his fortress at Kamp (Kanp) in Pargana Bhur, situated on a high bluff overlooking the three-mile-wide swollen current of the Chauka river and surrounded by dense, malarious sal forests. Under Aurangzeb's orders, the Chauhan chief Chitrgupt besieged Chhipi Khan at Kamp. The imperial forces blockaded both the main fort and a western redoubt located a mile away, which was defended with masculine resolution by Chhipi Khan's loyal companion (a courageous dancing girl), who collected stores and secretly smuggled supplies to keep the garrison alive. After an 18-month blockade, the imperial general ran a subterranean mine from the low grounds into the interior of the fort at night, putting the sleeping garrison to the sword and killing Chhipi Khan in combat. When the supply porters brought back news of Chhipi Khan's death, the heroine of the forest plunged a dagger into her own heart.
• Foundation of Gundlamau (Sitapur) & The Two Marriages of Chhipi Khan: In Sitapur District, Chhipi Khan's son, Gundla Singh Bachhil, founded the town and pargana of Gundlamau (in Tahsil Misrikh, immediately bordering Pargana Machhrehta):

"GUNDLAMAU, Pargana GUNDLAMAU, Tahsil MISRIKH... It is said to have been founded by Gundla Singh, the son of the famous Bachhil, Chhipi Khan, and the village still remains partly in the possession of his descendants."

— H.R. Nevill, I.C.S., Sitapur: A Gazetteer (1905)

In the southern Oudh accounts recorded by Sir H.M. Elliot (Chronicles of Oonao, pp. 63–65, reproduced in Oudh Gazetteer, Vol. II, pp. 73–74)—where a branch descending from Raja Tilok Chand through Rawat Bine Singh was headed around 1700–1740 CE by Dulnaran Singh (titled Chhipi Khan)—it is recorded that Chhipi Khan wrested Murtazanagar from the Sayyids and defeated the Faujdar of Baiswara. Chhipi Khan married twice, fathering six sons by his first marriage and two sons by his second marriage (eight sons in total). Because he insisted on dividing his estate equally per stirpes between the two wives (half going to the six elder brothers and half to the two younger brothers), a bitter family dispute erupted in which his eldest son, Kesri, slew him while he was engaged in devotion around 1740 CE. Taking advantage of the brothers' disunion, Nawab Safdar Jang of Oudh besieged their fort at Behtur without success until Rao Mardan Singh mediated; although dispossessed for forty years, the family's ancestral estates were formally restored in 1780 CE.

Martyrdom of Raja Mahasen of Terwa (Gondlamau, Sitapur)

During the Mughal conflicts in southern Sitapur, another prominent Bachhil chieftain of the Gondlamau–Machhrehta belt, Raja Mahasen Bachhil of the Terwa Estate (in Gondlamau, near Naimisharanya), forged a royal marital alliance with the neighboring Kasmanda State by marrying Mohothe Rani, daughter of Raja Mohotha Singh of Kasmanda. In a subsequent battle against Mughal imperial forces, Raja Mahasen attained Veergati (martyrdom) defending his domain. When Mughal troops attempted to capture his widow, loyal warriors of the local Pasi community sacrificed their lives to protect her, enabling Mohothe Rani to perform Sati south of Kamalapur and Maholi (where Raja Jawahar Singh of Kasmanda later erected the Mohothe Rani Mandir). Raja Mahasen was deified by the Bachhil clan as Baba Mahasen Maharaj (worshipped annually at Dengra in Sitapur).

5. The 18th & 19th Centuries: Raja Bahadur Singh, Thakur Bhagwant Singh, and the 1857 Uprising

During the Rohilla rule (1749–1774 CE), the Rohilla regent Hafiz Rahmat Khan found himself unable to subdue the Bachhils of Shahjahanpur and chose to conciliate rather than coerce them, leaving their estates practically independent.

• Raja Bahadur Singh Bachhil of Ujhani: In the late 18th century, Thakur Jorawar Singh Bachhil of Abdullaganj (Badaun) served under Nawab Abdullah Khan and the Nawabs of Awadh. His son, Bahadur Singh Bachhil—born with the blessing of Icchā-Mṛtyu from the mystic Saint Reta Shah—raided a British East India Company treasury convoy bound for Sahaswan at the age of twelve, slaying four of the five British soldiers sent to arrest him, and subsequently routing a full British military contingent at Ghuiyan Wale Bagh in Ujhani. Because Bahadur Singh had earlier captured and chivalrously spared the life of a British Colonel at the Battle of Kamona (who later became the Commissioner of Bareilly), the grateful Commissioner executed a namesake criminal in his stead and officially recognized him as Raja Bahadur Singh, ruler of the Ujhani estate (where his descendants, including Thakur Laxman Singh, Thakur Gulab Singh, and later Thakur Kalyan Singh of Bahadur Ganj, continued the line).
• Thakur Bhagwant Singh and the Forest Lords of Atwa Piparia (1841 CE): In Lakhimpur Kheri and Hardoi, the descendants of Raja Chhipi Khan's eleven Hindu brothers established a fortified stronghold at Atwa Piparia about a mile from their ancestors' ancient Kathna canal. Operating as a military confederacy known as the Gohar (where all able-bodied men of the surrounding villages turned out with arms upon hearing a shot fired), their last great chieftain was Thakur Bhagwant Singh Bachhil. Claiming his rightful status as the "descendant of a line of kings," Bhagwant Singh defied the Nawabs of Oudh and levied tribute from the Kathna and Gomti to Sandila. On July 3, 1841, Captain Hollings marched from Nimkhar (Naimisharanya) with three companies of British Infantry and stormed Bhagwant Singh’s camp at Ahrori at midnight. Instantly, the Gohar militia and Pasi bowmen assembled from every neighboring village, surrounding and firing upon the British troops through the night, inflicting 15 casualties, and nearly annihilating the detachment until rescued by the Special Police of the Thuggee and Dacoitee Department. Never defeated in open battle, Bhagwant Singh was treacherously beheaded a few months later by his host at Ahrori, who sent his head to Governor Farid-ud-din; his widow was subsequently decreed 100 acres at Atwa by the British courts.
• The Myau Martyrs of 1857 (Sumer Singh and Khan Chand Singh): During the Indian Rebellion of 1857, two brothers from the Risauli Bachhil lineage—Thakur Sumer Singh Bachhil and Thakur Khan Chand Singh Bachhil—were at Myau village (Badaun) protecting their maternal relatives, the Rankwar Rajputs. When the rebel commanders Bakhtawar Singh and Kandhari Singh of Bela Dandi marched into Myau clad in iron chain mail armor and set the Bachhil house on fire, Sumer Singh and Khan Chand Singh leaped into battle alone while the rest of the village bolted their doors. Striking with such force that their sword blades became lodged inside their enemies' chain mail, both brothers were decapitated; regional folk ballads record that their headless bodies (kabandha) continued wielding their swords and slaying enemies until their legs were severed.
• The Putheria Estate Tragedy of 1857 (Heera Singh, Kuiloo Singh, and Gopal Singh): During the collapse of British civil administration across Budaun in May–June 1857, intense agrarian and inter-community conflicts erupted alongside the anti-British revolt. Three Bachhil Rajput brothers—Thakur Heera Singh, Thakur Kuiloo Singh (indexed in colonial records as Kullo Singh), and Thakur Gopal Singh—held proprietary Zamindari and Pattidari revenue rights over the Putheria estate near the Ganga ghats in Budaun. Exploiting the power vacuum and "internal dissensions between the different communities," an armed coalition of the neighboring Ahir community (from villages including Hjiundpoor and Lawur) launched a massive assault on the Bachhil stronghold at Putheria to overthrow their immediate landlords and plunder the ancestral estate. During the defense of Putheria, the senior proprietors Thakur Heera Singh and Thakur Kuiloo Singh were killed, while their brother, Thakur Gopal Singh, survived the onslaught despite being severely wounded as the family property was plundered.
• Colonial Estates in Shahjahanpur: Throughout the British Raj, the Bachhils remained the largest Rajput clan in Shahjahanpur tahsil (numbering 7,988 in the district), led by the proprietors of Kakrauwa (Thakur Ewaz Singh and Thakur Baldeo Singh, sons of Thakur Khuman Singh, holding 9,837 acres assessed at Rs. 10,736 across Tilhar, Kant, Pawayan, Khera Bajhera, Jalalabad, Jamaur, Kheri, and Mainpuri), Bari (8 villages and 7 shares in Kant), and Banthara in Jamaur.

The Sitapur Stronghold: Pargana Machhrehta and Anogi Garhi

In Sitapur District, the Bachhil Rajputs established an enduring historical stronghold in Pargana Machhrehta and Misrikh Tehsil, immediately adjoining the sacred forest of Naimisharanya (Nimkhar) and the ascetic tank of Maharishi Dadhichi at Misrikh.

Historical Foundation in Machhrehta and Gundlamau

As recorded in the Ain-i-Akbari (1590 CE) and the Sitapur District Gazetteer (1905), Pargana Machhrehta (which then included the adjoining tract of Gundlamau) in the Mughal Sarkar of Khairabad was the official proprietary domain of Bachhil Rajputs, who maintained a brick fort at the Machhrehta headquarters and fielded a standing military force of 30 cavalry and 2,000 infantry. In the 17th century, Gundla Singh Bachhil, son of the famous Bachhil warlord Raja Chhipi Khan, founded Gundlamau in Tahsil Misrikh, and his descendants consolidated their hold across the Gundlamau, Misrikh, and Machhrehta parganas (sharing portions of the wider pargana alongside neighboring Rajput houses such as the Kachhwahas of Bihat Bairam and the Bais).

Establishment of Anogi Garhi

In the 19th century, the fortified mud-and-brick estate of Anogi Garhi (Anoghi Garhi, Village Anogi) was established in Pargana Machhrehta by Thakur Dal Ganjan Singh Bachhil, son of Thakur Basti Singh. Constructed as a traditional Awadhi Garhi (fortified manor) to exercise local judicial, agrarian, and military authority, the estate’s proprietary rights and Zamindari / Pattidari shares were subsequently consolidated and formally recorded during the British Regular Settlement of Sitapur in the Khewat and Shajra Nasab by his grandson and successor, Thakur Chokhe Singh Bachhil (son of Thakur Pohop Singh).

Contemporary Leadership, Socio-Economic Profile, and Genealogical Succession

Through the 20th and 21st centuries, the Bachhil Rajput community of Anogi Garhi has maintained a prominent socio-economic and political stature across Sitapur and Lucknow. While respected elders reside across the village, the primary patriarchal authority of the estate descends through the line of Thakur Chokhe Singh, Thakur Munnu Singh, Thakur Harihar Singh, and Thakur Shivmangal Singh. Following the abolition of the Zamindari system in Uttar Pradesh in 1952, the family seamlessly transitioned from feudal landownership into democratic politics, government contracting, large-scale agriculture, and higher education:

• Thakur Ram Prasad Singh (son of Thakur Kallu Singh and grandson of Thakur Chokhe Singh) served as the Vice Block Head (Up-Pramukh) of Machhrehta Block, as officially notified in The Gazette of India — Government of Uttar Pradesh (1962).
• Thakur Abhay Kumar Singh ("Barkat") and Thakur Vijay Kumar Singh ("Sarkat") (the sons of Thakur Shivmangal Singh) serve alongside the senior elders of the village as the current patriarchs of the Bachhil Rajputs of Anogi Garhi.
  • Thakur Abhay Kumar Singh ("Barkat") is the senior head of the estate in Anogi Garhi, married to Smt. Shanti Singh of the Raghuvanshi clan.
  • Thakur Vijay Kumar Singh ("Sarkat") is a highly respected patriarch and influential figure within the University of Lucknow community. Having spent extensive years at Lucknow University pursuing his B.A. LL.B. degree, he was actively involved in student politics during his university tenure and continues to command deep respect and strong ties across the Lucknow University alumni network.
• Thakur Praveen Kumar Singh (elder son of Thakur Abhay Kumar Singh and Smt. Shanti Singh; born October 10, 1975, at Anogi, Sitapur; educated at Sitapur and Lucknow University) is a prominent agriculturist, PWD contractor, and political leader. Reclaiming the clan's 400-year historical leadership over the pargana, he was elected as an independent candidate and served as the Block Pramukh of Machhrehta Block from 2011 to 2015, before joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in March 2024.
• Thakur Rana Pratap Singh ("Guddu") is a prominent agriculturist and a highly influential local leader. Serving as the current Sarpanch (Gram Pradhan) of the Anogi Gram Panchayat, he represents the community with a deep commitment to public welfare and rural development. Due to his selfless dedication to the people of Anogi, he has been continually entrusted with the position of Gram Pradhan for an extended tenure, maintaining the clan's legacy of localized governance.
• The Modern Vanguard: While the senior generations of Anogi Garhi have excelled in regional politics, public works contracting, and agriculture, the newest generation is highly educated and qualified across different domains like technology, science, management, legal studies, and competitive sports & athletics.

Verified Pedigree (Vanshavali) of Anogi Garhi, Sitapur

Thakur Basti Singh Bachhil
 └── Thakur Dal Ganjan Singh (19th-Century Founder of Anogi Garhi, Pargana Machhrehta, Sitapur)
      ├── Thakur Parvan Singh
      ├── Thakur Bhagauti Singh
      └── Thakur Pohop Singh
           ├── Thakur Kalika Singh
           ├── Thakur Baldev Singh
           └── Thakur Chokhe Singh (Consolidated Zamindari in the British Regular Settlement)
                ├── Thakur Gajraj Singh
                ├── Thakur Kallu Singh
                │    └── Thakur Ram Prasad Singh (Vice Block Head, Machhrehta, UP Gazette 1962)
                └── Thakur Munnu Singh
                     ├── Thakur Ram Narayan Singh
                     ├── Thakur Babu Singh
                     ├── Thakur Putai Singh
                     └── Thakur Harihar Singh
                          ├── Thakur Mahaveer Singh
                          └── Thakur Shivmangal Singh
                               ├── Thakur Abhay Kumar Singh [Barkat] (Current Patriarch of Anogi Garhi; m. Smt. Shanti Singh, Raghuvanshi Clan)
                               │    ├── Thakur Praveen Kumar Singh (b. 1975; LU Alumnus; PWD Contractor; Block Pramukh, Machhrehta 2011–2015; m. Smt. Kammo Singh, 2007)
                               │    │    ├── Kshitij Singh Vats (b. Feb 1, 2008)
                               │    │    └── Devansh Singh Vats
                               │    └── Thakur Amit Kumar Singh (Agriculturist; m. Smt. Soni Singh, 2010)
                               │         ├── Gauransh Singh Vats
                               │         └── Shaanvi Singh Vats
                               └── Thakur Vijay Kumar Singh [Sarkat] (Current Patriarch of Anogi Garhi; Prominent B.A. LL.B. Alumnus & Student Leader, Lucknow University)
                                    └── Anshuman Singh Vats

Religion, Kuldevi, and Clan Traditions

Kuldevi and Kuldevta

As proven by Verse 27 and Verse 32 of the 992 CE Dewal Inscription—which records that Raja Lalla Bachhil dedicated his royal temple to Lord Shiva while Queen Lakshmi dedicated hers to Goddess Parvati—and corroborated by the Oudh Gazetteer accounts of the Bachhils of Atwa Piparia offering forest oblations to Maa Bhavani, the clan’s religious traditions have remained unchanged for over a millennium:

• Kuldevi: Maa Jagdamba (worshipped across the clan in her manifestations as Maa Durga Bhavani, Maa Parvati, and Maa Chamunda Devi).
• Kuldevta: Lord Shiva (Mahadev).
• Shastra and Shaastra Poojan: The clan observes traditional Ayudha Puja (worship of ancestral weapons and scriptures) during Mahanavami and Vijayadashami (Dussehra).

Worship of Baba Mahasen Maharaj and the Dengra Mela (Sitapur)

In Sitapur District—specifically across the Bachhil strongholds of Gondlamau and Machhrehta blocks (including Anogi, Terwa, Kakori, Rampur, Lohangpur, Gaitha, Kothawa, Para Patti, Mahmudpur, Devri Kail, Gopalpur, Tarapur, Ismailganj, Hariharpur, Gandhariya, Kusauli, Gangupur, Asal, Kuchlai, Kasra, and Maheshpur)—the Bachhil Thakurs revere their martyred ancestor Baba Mahasen Maharaj (Raja Mahasen of Terwa) as a regional Kul-Devta / Lok-Devta.

• The Annual Ashadh Shukla Saptami Mela: Every year, beginning on the seventh day of the bright fortnight of Ashadh (Ashadh Shukla Saptami, typically in July), a massive 15-day fair is held at the ancient open-sky shrine of Baba Mahasen Maharaj at Dengra (located 27 km from Naimisharanya on the Sidhauli–Misrikh route). According to local belief, Baba Mahasen refuses to reside beneath a roofed temple structure, remaining in an open-air sanctum.
• Devai and Sacrificial Traditions: Bachhil Thakur families gather at Dengra to perform Mundan (tonsure) ceremonies for children, bride/groom post-wedding blessings (Devai), and traditional goat sacrifices (beginning with the ceremonial offering of Raja Chaudiya) upon the fulfillment of vows, where devotees note the miraculous absence of flies despite hundreds of offerings.
• The Strict "No Tawa" Custom: On Ashadh Shukla Saptami, every Bachhil Rajput household in the region strictly abstains from placing an iron griddle (tawa) on the stove; no flat rotis are baked on that day. This ancestral taboo is observed so devoutly that married daughters of the Bachhil clan follow the custom in their marital homes regardless of which district or region they are married into.