Partabgarh Town

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This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS.

Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.

Partabgarh Town

(Pratapgarh) (i). Capital of the State and the head-quarters of the district of the same name in Raj pu tana, situated in 24 2' N. and 74 47' E., twenty miles by metalled road west of Mandasor station on the Rajputana-Malwa Railway. The popula- tion in 1901 numbered 9,819, of whom 52 per cent, were Hindus, 27 per cent. Jains, and 20 per cent. Musalmans. The town, which was founded by, and named after, Maharawat Pratap Singh in 1698, lies i, 660 feet above sea-level, in a hollow formerly known as Doderia- ka-khera.

It is defended by a loopholed wall with eight gates built by Maharawat Salim Singh about 1758, and on the south-west is a small fort in which the chiefs family occasionally reside. The palace, which is in the centre of the town, contains the State offices and courts ; and outside the town are two bungalows, one used by the chief and the other as a guest-house. Partabgarh used to be somewhat famous for its enamelled work of gold inlaid on emerald- coloured glass and engraved to represent hunting and mythological scenes.

The art of making this jewellery is said to be confined to five families, and the secret is zealously guarded. In the town are eleven Jain and nine Hindu temples, a combined post and tele- graph office, a small jail which has accommodation for 40 prisoners and is generally overcrowded, an Anglo-vernacular middle school for boys (daily average attendance 98 in 1904), a school for the sons of the wealthier classes (daily average attendance 30 in 1904), and a hospital called the Raghunath Hospital after the present chief, which was built in 1 893 and has accommodation for 4 in-patients.