Bharatpur

Bharatpur, in eastern Rajasthan, grew from the heart of the Jat-ruled princely state of Bharatpur. The kingdom was founded in 1722 by Maharaja Badan Singh of the Sinsinwar Jat clan, but it was his successor Maharaja Suraj Mal who transformed the region into a powerful state in the mid-18th century. Suraj Mal built the walled city of Bharatpur around 1733, carving it out of the Mewat region and naming it after Bharat, the brother of Lord Rama. Laxman, another brother of Rama, became the family deity of the rulers, and his name appeared on state emblems and arms. The fortified town and nearby Deeg acted as strongholds that successfully resisted several Mughal and later British attacks. Under British paramountcy, Bharatpur remained a princely state until Independence in 1947, when it was integrated into Rajasthan. In the 20th century the area south of the city evolved into the famous Keoladeo Ghana, once a royal duck-shooting reserve and later protected as Keoladeo National Park, a Ramsar site and UNESCO World Heritage bird sanctuary. Today Bharatpur is known both for its Jat royal heritage—forts, palaces and temples—and for its globally important wetland ecosystem.