- Raj Bhavan (Madhya Pradesh)
Raj Bhavan (
Hindi for "Government House") is theofficial residence of the Governor of Madhya Pradesh. It is located in the capital city ofBhopal ,Madhya Pradesh . The present governor of Madhya Pradesh is Balram Jakhar.History
In 1880,
Sultan Shah Jahan, Begum of Bhopal constructed the presentRaj Bhavan as a place of stay for the British officers. It was initially named Lal Kothi. Thus, 1880 onwards, Lal Kothi became theofficial residence of the British Political Agents posted at Bhopal.* Commissioner Period:
On 1st June 1949 Bhopal was merged with the Union of India ending the princely rule of 250 years.
The
Government of India appointed an administrative head for Bhopal, called the Chief Commissioner and "Lal Kothi" was chosen as theofficial residence of the Chief Commissioner and was renamed "Commissioner House"The "Lal Kothi" served as a "Commissioner House" from 1st June 1949 to 1 December 1956.
* Formation Madhya Pradesh:
The
States Reorganisation Act of 1956, Bhopal state was integrated into the state ofMadhya Pradesh , andBhopal was declared as its capital.The
government of India appointedGovernors of Madhya Pradesh as the head of the state and "Lal Kothi" was one again chosen as the official residence of theGovernors of Madhya Pradesh .The "Commissioner House" was renamed as
Raj Bhavan . Since than its served as the official residence of theGovernors of Madhya Pradesh .Building
Built in year 1880 by the Nawab of Bhopal State, Begum Shahjahan by a European architecture under the supervision of Austate Cook (a French Engineer), Built over an area of convert|15423|sqft|m2|abbr=on and the total cost incurred on construction was Rs. 72,878,3 annas and one paisa.
It was the first Kothi in the city of
Bhopal with roof made of red China clay 'Kavelus' and the predominant colour of the Kothi was red. For these reason they named this building Lal Kothi.A prevalent custom in the then erstwhile State of Bhopal (a Muslim State) was that whenever the State or the feudal lords constructed any building, the foundation stone for a
masjid was laid first. Thus, a small mosque was built first around the campus of Lal Kothi. The erstwhile Bhopal Government had sought the help of the British and PWD authorities in decorating the Kothi on European lines.External links
* [http://www.rajbhavanmp.ind.in/ Official Web Site of Raj Bhavan]
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