Chait Singh, Maharaja of Benares: Biography, Facts and Career

Rafa'at wa Awal-i-Martabat Maharaja Shri Chet Singh Sahib Bahadur (died 29 March 1810), commonly known as Raja Chet Singh, a king from the Narayan dynasty, was the 3rd ruler of Kingdom of Benaras in northern India. Chet Singh belonged to the Babhan or Bhuinhar Babhan community, the same caste as the Rajas of Hutwa, Bettiah, and Tikari, to which much of the landed aristocracy of Bihar belonged. The word "Babhan" is neither Sanskrit nor Prakrit, but appears to have been used in the inscriptions of Asoka in the sense of Brahmin. Chet Singh succeeded his father, Maharaja Balwant Singh, to the throne as the Raja of Benares in 1770. Although the Nawab of Awadh still wished to hold total suzerainty over the control of Beneras, the British authorities encouraged him to recognise Chet Singh as the ruler of Benaras in 1773. Two years later, the Nawab, by now fed up with British interference, transferred the domain to the East India Company (EIC) under control of the Governor-General of Bengal, Warren Hastings. Under the new British terms, Chet Singh was forced to contribute cavalry and maintenance grants for the company's sepoy battalions. The Raja refused and began to secretly correspond with enemies of the EIC in hopes of forcibly breaking the increasing control of the Company in India. The EIC discovered his plan with the help of some traitors and tried to place him under house arrest in August 1781, pending an audience with Hastings.

Quick facts about Chait Singh, Maharaja of Benares

• Full name: Chait Singh, Maharaja of Benares
• Known as: Royal
• Wikidata ID: Q15647656

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