Durbar
Encyclopedia
Durbar is a Persian term meaning the Shah
's noble court
. It was later used in India
and Nepal
for a ruler's court
or feudal levy
as the latter came to be ruled and later administered by Persians and Perso-Turcomen rulers. A durbar may be either a feudal state council for administering the affairs of a princely state
, or a purely ceremonial gathering, as in the time of the British Empire in India
.
and colonial India and some neighbouring Hindu or Muslim monarchies, like the amir of Afghanistan
, received visitors in audience, conferred honours and conducted business in durbar.
A durbar could also be the executive council of a native state. Its membership was dual: the court's grandees, such as the wasir and major jagirdars, shone at the ceremonies but the real political and administrative affairs of state rather rested with an inner circle around the prince, often known as diwan. There was some overlap between the two groups. This was originally another word for audience room and council, but in India it also applies to a privy council
and chancery
.
in Delhi
and elsewhere during the period of the British Raj
, held as demonstrations of the loyalty to the crown which also proved vital in various wars in which Britain engaged.
The practice was started with Lord Lytton's Proclamation Durbar of 1877 celebrating the proclamation of Queen Victoria as the first Empress of India. Durbars continued to be held in later years, with increased ceremony and grandeur than their predecessors. In 1903, for instance, the Coronation Durbar was held in Delhi to celebrate the accession of Edward VII
to the British throne and title of Emperor of India. This ceremony was presided over by the Viceroy of India
, Lord Curzon.
The practice of the durbar culminated in the magnificent spectacle that was the Delhi Durbar
, which was held in December 1911 to officially crown the newly-enthroned George V
and his wife Queen Mary
as Emperor and Empress of India. The King and Queen attended the Durbar in person and wore their Coronation robes, an unprecedented event in both Indian and Imperial history held with unprecedented pomp and glamour. They were the only British monarchs to visit India during the period of British rule. Practically every ruling prince, nobleman and person of note, attended the ceremonies to pay obeisance to their sovereign in person.
These were perhaps the greatest official shows on earth, parading with great pomp, including elephants, as a dazzling demonstration of the successful British colonial formula of indirect rule
: the Raj could largely depend on the loyalty of most princely state rulers because of their feudal allegiance to the paramount ruler
, a position the British crown (especially since it formally took over from the HEIC) occupied instead of the toppled Mughal dynasty, as the first durbar consecrated symbolically expressed in the new style of Kaiser-i-Hind (Emperor of India). Several monuments in India serve as memorials of the King and Queen's visit, most notably the Gateway of India
in Mumbai
.
No durbar was held for later British monarchs who were Emperors of India. Edward VIII
reigned only a brief time before abdicating. On the accession of his brother George VI
, it was decided to hold no durbar in Delhi
, due to several reasons: the cost would have been a burden to the government of India
.; rising Indian nationalism
made the welcome that the royal couple would have received likely to be muted at best,; and a prolonged absence of the King from the UK would have been undesirable in the tense period before World War II.
that begun in 1897. It was a platform for Federated Malay States
rulers under British protectorate
to discuss issues pertaining state policies. The membership of Durbar increased after the Federation of Malaya
was formed in 1948 to encompass other states of Malaya.
It was further enlarged after modern federal Malaysia was formed in 1963, and became the electoral college for the federal paramount ruler
.
Shah
Shāh is the title of the ruler of certain Southwest Asian and Central Asian countries, especially Persia , and derives from the Persian word shah, meaning "king".-History:...
's noble court
Noble court
The court of a monarch, or at some periods an important nobleman, is a term for the extended household and all those who regularly attended on the ruler or central figure...
. It was later used in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
for a ruler's court
Court
A court is a form of tribunal, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law...
or feudal levy
Shire levy
A shire levy was a means of military recruitment in medieval England. As opposed to a levy of noble families, a shire levy was effected within a geographical administrative area , entailing the mobilisation of able-bodied men between the ages of 16 and 60 within the shire for military duty...
as the latter came to be ruled and later administered by Persians and Perso-Turcomen rulers. A durbar may be either a feudal state council for administering the affairs of a princely state
Princely state
A Princely State was a nominally sovereign entitity of British rule in India that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule such as suzerainty or paramountcy.-British relationship with the Princely States:India under the British Raj ...
, or a purely ceremonial gathering, as in the time of the British Empire in India
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
.
State Council
In the former sense, the native rulers of MughalMughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
and colonial India and some neighbouring Hindu or Muslim monarchies, like the amir of Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, received visitors in audience, conferred honours and conducted business in durbar.
A durbar could also be the executive council of a native state. Its membership was dual: the court's grandees, such as the wasir and major jagirdars, shone at the ceremonies but the real political and administrative affairs of state rather rested with an inner circle around the prince, often known as diwan. There was some overlap between the two groups. This was originally another word for audience room and council, but in India it also applies to a privy council
Privy council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...
and chancery
Chancellor
Chancellor is the title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the Cancellarii of Roman courts of justice—ushers who sat at the cancelli or lattice work screens of a basilica or law court, which separated the judge and counsel from the...
.
British Empire
In the latter sense, the word has come to be applied to great ceremonial gatherings called the Delhi DurbarDelhi Durbar
The Delhi Durbar , meaning "Court of Delhi", was a mass assembly at Coronation Park, Delhi, India, to mark the coronation of a King and Queen of the United Kingdom. Also known as the Imperial Durbar, it was held three times, in 1877, 1903, and 1911, at the height of the British Empire. The 1911...
in Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
and elsewhere during the period of the British Raj
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
, held as demonstrations of the loyalty to the crown which also proved vital in various wars in which Britain engaged.
The practice was started with Lord Lytton's Proclamation Durbar of 1877 celebrating the proclamation of Queen Victoria as the first Empress of India. Durbars continued to be held in later years, with increased ceremony and grandeur than their predecessors. In 1903, for instance, the Coronation Durbar was held in Delhi to celebrate the accession of Edward VII
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
to the British throne and title of Emperor of India. This ceremony was presided over by the Viceroy of India
Governor-General of India
The Governor-General of India was the head of the British administration in India, and later, after Indian independence, the representative of the monarch and de facto head of state. The office was created in 1773, with the title of Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William...
, Lord Curzon.
The practice of the durbar culminated in the magnificent spectacle that was the Delhi Durbar
Delhi Durbar
The Delhi Durbar , meaning "Court of Delhi", was a mass assembly at Coronation Park, Delhi, India, to mark the coronation of a King and Queen of the United Kingdom. Also known as the Imperial Durbar, it was held three times, in 1877, 1903, and 1911, at the height of the British Empire. The 1911...
, which was held in December 1911 to officially crown the newly-enthroned George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
and his wife Queen Mary
Mary of Teck
Mary of Teck was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, as the wife of King-Emperor George V....
as Emperor and Empress of India. The King and Queen attended the Durbar in person and wore their Coronation robes, an unprecedented event in both Indian and Imperial history held with unprecedented pomp and glamour. They were the only British monarchs to visit India during the period of British rule. Practically every ruling prince, nobleman and person of note, attended the ceremonies to pay obeisance to their sovereign in person.
These were perhaps the greatest official shows on earth, parading with great pomp, including elephants, as a dazzling demonstration of the successful British colonial formula of indirect rule
Indirect rule
Indirect rule was a system of government that was developed in certain British colonial dependencies...
: the Raj could largely depend on the loyalty of most princely state rulers because of their feudal allegiance to the paramount ruler
Paramount Ruler
The term Paramount Ruler, or sometimes Paramount King, is a generic description, though occasionally also used as an actual title, for a number of rulers' position in relative terms, as the summit of a feudal-type pyramid of rulers of lesser polities in a given historical and geographical context,...
, a position the British crown (especially since it formally took over from the HEIC) occupied instead of the toppled Mughal dynasty, as the first durbar consecrated symbolically expressed in the new style of Kaiser-i-Hind (Emperor of India). Several monuments in India serve as memorials of the King and Queen's visit, most notably the Gateway of India
Gateway of India
Its design is a combination of both Hindu and Muslim architectural styles, the arch is in Muslim style while the decorations are in Hindu style. The Gateway is built from yellow basalt and reinforced concrete. The stone was locally obtained, and the perforated screens were brought from Gwalior.The...
in Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
.
No durbar was held for later British monarchs who were Emperors of India. Edward VIII
Edward VIII of the United Kingdom
Edward VIII was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and Emperor of India, from 20 January to 11 December 1936.Before his accession to the throne, Edward was Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay...
reigned only a brief time before abdicating. On the accession of his brother George VI
George VI of the United Kingdom
George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death...
, it was decided to hold no durbar in Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
, due to several reasons: the cost would have been a burden to the government of India
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
.; rising Indian nationalism
Indian independence movement
The term Indian independence movement encompasses a wide area of political organisations, philosophies, and movements which had the common aim of ending first British East India Company rule, and then British imperial authority, in parts of South Asia...
made the welcome that the royal couple would have received likely to be muted at best,; and a prolonged absence of the King from the UK would have been undesirable in the tense period before World War II.
Malaysia
In Malaysian history, Durbar is the Conference of RulersConference of Rulers
The Conference of Rulers in Malaysia is a council comprising the nine rulers of the Malay states, and the governors or Yang di-Pertua Negeri of the other four states...
that begun in 1897. It was a platform for Federated Malay States
Federated Malay States
The Federated Malay States was a federation of four protected states in the Malay Peninsula—Selangor, Perak, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang—established by the British government in 1895, which lasted until 1946, when they, together with the Straits Settlements and the Unfederated Malay...
rulers under British protectorate
Protectorate
In history, the term protectorate has two different meanings. In its earliest inception, which has been adopted by modern international law, it is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity...
to discuss issues pertaining state policies. The membership of Durbar increased after the Federation of Malaya
Federation of Malaya
The Federation of Malaya is the name given to a federation of 11 states that existed from 31 January 1948 until 16 September 1963. The Federation became independent on 31 August 1957...
was formed in 1948 to encompass other states of Malaya.
It was further enlarged after modern federal Malaysia was formed in 1963, and became the electoral college for the federal paramount ruler
Paramount Ruler
The term Paramount Ruler, or sometimes Paramount King, is a generic description, though occasionally also used as an actual title, for a number of rulers' position in relative terms, as the summit of a feudal-type pyramid of rulers of lesser polities in a given historical and geographical context,...
.