Description

Having come to the aid of the Raja of Koch Bihar, the Bhutanese entrenched themselves in Western Duārs. For fear of renewed Mughal invasion the Raja of Koch Bihar was reluctant to take steps against them.Taking advantage of the weakening of the Koch Bihar king dom, the Raikats of Baikunthapur – who had already become independent — were trying to fish in troubled waters and to extend the bounds of their territory. The thirteenth Raikat Dharmadeva (1713-26) had shifted his headquarters from Baikunthapur in the jungles to Jalpaiguri in the open, that is, near the borders of Koch Bihar kingdom.In 1736 the fourteenth Raikat Bhupdeva died, leaving behind two young sons Vikramadeva and Darpadeva. The absence of a strong Räikat at the helm of affairs at Jalpaiguri in Baikuntha pur, was inducement enough for the faujdär of Rangpur Saukat Jung to invade Baikunthapur and take the two brothers as captives to Rangpur. The invasion took place some time between 1736 and 1739. Baikunthapur was declared a Mughal pargana under the faujdär of Rangpur. The revenue of the pargana began to be deposited at the collectorate at Rangpur.In 1752 or ’53 the then faujdār of Rangpur Kāsim Ali led an army to subdue the rebellious chiefs of Baikunthapur. who had become independent in the meanwhile, taking advantage of Murshidābād’s preoccupation elsewhere. Kāsim Ali took the who imprisoned descendants of the Rāikat family with him to Baikunthapur and after subduing the rebellious chiefs made Vikramadeva the Räikat. After having spent the best seventeen years of his life in imprisonment Vikramadeva was in no mood to rebel against the suzerainty of Murshidābād. After the death of Vikramadeva, Darpadeva (1758-93) became the Rāikat of Baikunthapur parganā in 1758. Never in his Räikatship did he formally renounce the suzerainty of Murshidābād.In 1765 the Dewăni of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa was conferred on the East India Company by Shah Alam, Emperor of Delhi. Shortly thereafter the Company entered into relations with Koch Bihār and Jalpāiguri. In 1774 the Räikat of Batrishazāri or Baikunthapur (more or less the present Sadar subdivision of
Jalpuguri) was Darpa Deva. He was confirmed in his possession by the Company but a revenue was assessed on his lands and he was placed on exactly the same footing as an ordinary zamindar. It is interesting to note that Darpadeva in a petition of remonstrance against the heavy revenue assessed on him, which he addressed in 1777 to the Collector of Rangpur, calls himself Raja of Batrishazari, and it seems he was popularly called Rija. Baikunthaplur was annexed by the Company in 1772. The zamindar was made to pay an annual tribute of Rs. 10,000 but after an inquiry was made into the resources of the country in 1774. the revenue payable was increased to Rs. 25.000, which was further increased to Rs. 30.000 in the following year. This was maintained in spite of the Raja’s energetic remonstrances. Baikunthapur was infested by sannyasis, who ravaged the country in armed bands of several hundreds.In 1789 a large body occupied the Baikutuhapur forest,whence they issued on their predatory excursions. The forest was composed of tree jungle interwoven with cane, and was impassable except by narrow paths known only to the dacoits. The Collector of Rangpur got together a force of 200 barkandazes and held all the entrances of the forest.