We all have heard of the British provinces in India such as Bombay, Madras, Bengal, Assam, Punjab etc. Some of us even know about the island province in Rajputana - Ajmer-Merwara. But the story of Panth Piploda province is so rare that it's always left out while narrating the British Indian narratives. This was the tiniest British province located in the labyrinth of Central India Agency, so small that it could be hardly noticed on any map.
Located in today's Ratlam district of Madhya Pradesh, it was separated from Bombay Province in 1935. If one looks at a zoomed-in map of the territory, Panth Piploda is sandwiched between Central India Agency states such as Indore, Dhar and Ratlam, and states of Gwalior Residency such as Ujjain. An interesting fact is that Panth Piploda had something known as 'half village'. Panth Piploda had some 10½ villages and the village of Sabdi was divided into a British territory and Piploda estate (part of Central India Agency). The province was so small that it was being decided to annex it to Ajmer-Merwara province after independence.
Even the name 'Panth Piploda' is interesting in its origin. Several villages of the Chambal Valley (where it is situated) were renewed their road systems and so the prefix 'Panth' was added to several villages. Hence the names such as Panth Piplai, Panth Melki, Barodiya Panth, Baroda Panth, Jalodiya Panth, Nawad Panth etc. could be found. The province was among few other 'island' British provinces that were surrounded by other states or provinces from all sides. Others were - Delhi, Ajmer-Merwara and Coorg (these provinces and Andaman & Nicobar Islands were later combined under Lieutenant Governor's Province) . The connection went down to a point that while drafting the constitution, it was suggested by B.R. Ambedkar to treat these former provinces alike and draft similar governing laws, to which certain concerns were raised by fellow lawyers and lawmakers. Eventually, the region went to the newly created Madhya Bharat (1948-1956).
Another important point to be noted is, while Panth Piploda was a British province, just some 60 odd kilometres west of it, was the Rajput State of Piploda, also neighbouring Jaora State but to its east. Fascinating how the same name area was also a State and a British Province.
But the question arises, how such a tiny place became a Province and not a Princely State? Surrounded by Jaora to the north and west, Ujjain to it's south and Dewas to it's east, Panth Piploda didn't had a single authority to be claimed as a Princely State. The neighbouring 'thakurs' and ruling Brahman 'tankadars' shared control over this tiny region, devoiding it to have a single ruler. But why Panth Piploda in particular? Originally it was known as Tappa Piploda, and formed part of the former Pargana of Mandawal, in Sarkar of Mandsaur. A greater part of the Tappa (equivalent to a revenue township) belonged to the Nawab of Jaora according to a grant made in 1765 by Peshwa Madhav Rao I, the 9th Peshwa of Maratha Empire. This was done to regularise salaries (or tankhas) to Deshashtha Brahmin family of Sambhaji Attaji, who was responsible for a minor administration in Malwa region. This means, the family was not the official controller of these villages of Panth Piploda, hence there was no formal authority on them. When the British took over the Marathas after defeating them in 1817, they respected this deal but since there was no official ruler of Panth Piploda, it automatically became as a British Province, although this official status took place in execution only by 1928. Between 1817 to 1928, it remained as a British estate with a British political agent stationed. For a decade more than a century, it was neither absorbed by the Bombay Province, nor by the Central Provinces. Eventually, in 1928, after a series of failed attempts in scrutinising the paperwork and a lack of ruler, Panth Piploda became a British province - the smallest of the lot.
But why not any other village or territory treated this way? Sambhaji Attaji lead the Deshashtha Brahmin family that was integral to the Maratha Empire and the Peshwas and hence he was granted revenue rights of Piploda. Anyone claiming authority over the territory was equivalent to waging a war against the Marathas, which no one really wanted to. Also, to make Sambhaji Attaji an absolute ruler would go against the Peshwas as it would mean to invite another potential competitor. Hence, he was restricted to collect only stipends or taxes here. And why not any other village treated the same way? Simply because Piploda was a strategic location in the Malwa to ease administration as it was sandwiched between the great Maratha states of Gwalior, Ujjain and Indore.
Here's a map of Panth Piploda province. Enlarged, its current location is shown with respect to neighboring towns and cities in today's India.
@mapsbysagar
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