History

Pratapgarh district is the 33rd district of Rajasthan, created on 26 January 2008. It is a part of Udaipur Division and has been carved out from the erstwhile tehsils of Chittorgarh, Udaipur and Banswara districts. Pratapgarh town (Pin Code 312605, STD Code 01478) is the administrative headquarters of the district. As of 2011 it is the second least populous district of Rajasthan (out of 33), after Jaisalmer.

Sisodia clan is amongst the ancient royal families in India.[ This family ruled Mewar for more than eight hundred years. The famous Rajputs- Maharana Sangram Singh (also known as Rana Sanga), Maharana Kumbha and Maharana Pratap (May 9, 1540 – January 19, 1597) all belonged to this family. The rulers of ‘Partabgadh-Raj’ were descendants of Sisodia clan of Mewar Rajputs.

Maharana Kumbha (1433–1468) was the ruler of Chittaurgarh state in 14th century. Legend has it that due to some family dispute on property issues with his cousin Kshem Singh alias Kshemkarna (1437–1473), angry King Kumbha expelled him from his territory. Kshemkarn’s family was refugee for some time and lived in the Aravali ranges in the southern most part of Mewar regime. In 1514, Kshemkarn’s son Prince Surajmal (1473–1530) became the ruler of Devalia. Surajmal established his capital of ‘Kanthal-Desh’ at Dewaliya, (also called Devgarh), a small town about 10 km in the west from present Pratapgarh town, where old temples,cenotaphs, a historical palace and other ruins of bygone Partabgarh regime still can be seen. Thus, historically, Pratapgarh has been an integral part of Mewar Rulers of Udaipur.