| Native Name: | ଖରସୁଆଁ ରାଜ୍ୟ |
| Conventional Long Name: | Kharsawan State |
| Common Name: | Kharsawan |
| Nation: | British India |
| Subdivision: | Vassal state of Maratha Confederacy (1740 - 1803) Princely State |
| Year Start: | 1650 |
| Year End: | 1948 |
| Event End: | Independence of India |
| S1: | India |
| Flag S1: | Flag of India.svg |
| Image Map Caption: | Kharsawan State in a 1909 Imperial Gazetteer of India map |
| Stat Area1: | 396 |
| Stat Year1: | 1892 |
| Stat Pop1: | 31,051 |
Kharsawan State, also spelt Kharsua or kharaswan,[1] (Odia:ଖରସୁଆଁ)was a princely state in India during the British Raj.[2] The state had a privy purse of 33,000 rupees. It was one of the Odia Princely states of India during the period of the British Raj and the major language spoken in the area is Odia.
The capital was the city of Kharsawan and the former area of Kharsawan State is now a part of Jharkhand, where its district is named Seraikela Kharsawan district. Kumar Aditya Narayan Singh Deo and his father Maharaj Kumar Rudra Pratap Singh Deo appreciated the name change of the district.
Kharsawan state was founded in 1650. The rulers of Kharsawan are descended from Kunwar Bikram Singh of Porahat, the first ruler of neighbouring Seraikela State and belonged to Rathore clan of Rajputs. His second son, Kunwar Padam Singh was the founder of Kharsawan.[3] In 1857 Kharsawan estate was recognized as a state.
In 1912 Kharsawan came under the authority of the province of Bihar and Orissa, which had been carved from the eastern districts of Bengal. In 1936 the state was placed under the authority of the Orissa Province. Saraikela, along with 24 other princely states of the Eastern States Agency, acceded to the Government of India on 1 January 1948, with a will to merge the princely state with Orissa province of the Indian Republic.
As a result, both Kharsawan and Saraikela princely states were merged with Orissa in 1948. On 1 January 1948 itself, the tribals of these two princely states, who were in a majority, revolted against the merger with Orissa resulting to the thousands of tribes killed by the Orrisa military police . This was supported by Patayet Sahib Maharajkumar Bhoopendra Narayan Singh Deo, third son of Raja Aditya Pratap Singh Deo, as a result of which he was imprisoned to ensure the popular movement died down. The central government appointed a commission under Mr. Baudkar to look into the matter. On the basis of the Baudkar commission report, Saraikela and Kharsawan princely states were merged with Bihar on 18 May 1948. These two princely states became part of Jharkhand when the state was separated from Bihar on 15 November 2000. From 18 May 1948 onward, many non-tribal Oriyas of the districts of Saraikela Kharsawan, East Singhbhum, and West Singhbhum have migrated and settled permanently in Orissa.
Former rulers bore the title of 'Thakur' until 1917. The title of Raja was granted to Kharsawan rulers in 1902, beginning with Raja Ram Chandra Singh Deo.
The present head of the royal family is Raja Gopal Narayan Singh Deo.
The last ruler of the state, HH Raja Siram Chandra Singh Deo, signed the merger agreement acceding to the Indian Union on 18 May 1948. The Maharaja of Darbhanga used to visit this state to pay respects as the trade route to the east coast ran through the thick jungles of Singhbhum and safety was guaranteed only to those who were in the good books.
