Common Hero for Dobhi and Katehar Raghuvanshies

Deo KunwarOur common,proven ancestor,thoroughly heroic but woefully neglected:Deo Kunwar.

Deo Kunwar came to Deorayee in 1380 samvat.One new version claims Nain Deo as his father and Nangayee Rao as his brother Devan Rai’s son,while the other son having gone away to Kashmir,known as None Rao,whom I attributed to having developed a dynasty coming down to Dr. Karan Singh of Kashmir,as something to please Dr. Karan Singh,thity-five years ago,after coming in contact with him for sometime
However the duo of the uncle and the nephew stay put in Deorayee.Nangayee Rao fathered Gang deo who settled Gangpatti or Chhoti Deorayee.
In Deorayee Deo Kunwar fathered Bhuj Rai and Birhaj Rai.
Bhuj Rai had six sons: Keel Rai,Randhir,Barmal,Kuber,Keval(Bole Rai) and Thakurayee.
Keel Rai being the eldest inherited Deorayee and fathered Dhundiraj and Daman Singh.
Dhundiraj fathered Narain,Guru Baksh and Shiv Baksh,in Deorayee,at the same time enjoying the proceeds of Village Parapati with Daman Singh’s descendent’s.
The fifth son Keval Rai or Bole Rai married three maidens,which led to birth of Ganesh Rai in the forth generation.Ganesh Rai had two sons who were prolific and produced twelve sons,which was equaled on his own by our own Baba Pukar Rai,through tthree maidens of Balrampur estate.
This seems to be the reason for giving Ganesh Rai credit for settling Dobhi,which must have been an original paragana of the Gharwar Kings and later the jagir of the Nawabs of Avadh:96 paraganas.Today it is not so and in new administrative disposition Deorayee is in erstwhile Rai Chan Singh’s Bayalisee.
This is for the fact that the folklore goes that Raja Banar gave away two paraganas to the Raghuvanshi Raja of Ayodhya as in dowry,viz.:Dobhi and Katehar.
So quite clearly,if you draw a chart of Deo Kunwar’s genealogical descendents Ganesh Rai was not a first cousin of Pukar Rai.Pukar Rai was a son of Birhaj Rai or a direct grandson of Deo Kunwar and Ganesh Rai ,a great,great,great grandson of Bhuj Rai who was also a son of Deo Rai(Kunwar),but directly connected.
So who is closer to Deo Kunwar? Would it be Pukar Rai or Ganesh Rai?Proximity of Dobhi to Deo Kunwar came about by way of shifting of the twelve sons of Pukar Rai all over the Pargana of Katehar,quite far away from Niyar and still further off from Deorayee.However the history book hailing them as Hindu Kings(mentioned in the Plebeians) mentions Doman Deo as ninth in descent from Deo Kunwar
So it is an unhappy situation that we have begun to celebrate only Pukar Rai’s glory and have unwittingly ignored the truly historical conqueror of deorayee,his own grand-father.By correcting ourselves,say by going to Deorayee,every Ram-Navmi Day,we can pay our humble obeisance to the mighty Raghuvanshy Prince,responsible for our settlement in Dobhi and Katehar,far away from Ashtha-chakra Ayodhya.
Let me also correct the divisive minds amongst us that Deo Kunwar belongs to Dobhi.He belongs equally to both Dobhi and Katehar as well as to Bayalisee.
Let us resolve to raise a monument to the first historical figure of the Raghuvanshies in migration,on whose might and efforts we overcame all the perils of survival and multiplied in tens of thousands over the generations,in Varanasi and Jaunpur.He deserves to be celebrated with jest and exuberance from all of us.
Yours Truly:Suresh Pratap Singh
Read my Blog:Raghuvanshies of Katehar-Hindu Kings,1194AD onwards.and
Varanasi Based-Raghuvanshies of Katehar.website:www.1857-amartyramongpwwbks.com
The Book can be read on the blog: The plebeians who would be the Kings.
Contact:singhsp65@yahoo.com12.
04.2010
Varanasi