Bikaner
Princely state capital, 1818–1947
बीकानेर
Today Bikaner, Rajasthan, India. Same place, same name.
Key facts
- Historical name
- Bikaner
- Type
- Princely state capital
- Coordinates
- 28.0181° N, 73.3169° E(seed dataset)
- Governance
- Administered through an Agency
- Record confidence
- Medium confidence
- Identifiers
- Q200718
Administered through a British Agency covering a group of states. Not part of British India in the statutory sense.
Location
Pin placed at the coordinates recorded for this place. Colonial-era boundaries are not drawn.
Description
Walled desert capital of Bikaner State in the Thar, a Rathore Rajput kingdom in treaty relations with the British from 1818.
Historical notes
Maharaja Ganga Singh (1887-1943) built the Ganga Canal and represented India at the Imperial War Cabinet and the Versailles conference; the Bikaner Camel Corps served in imperial campaigns.
Administrative history
Administrative parenthood changed over time. Each row states the years it is recorded for, and the source it comes from.
| Years | Relation | Unit | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| from 1901 | Part of | Rajputana AgencyAgency · Administered through an AgencySnapshot from the 1901 census and the Imperial Gazetteer of India (1908-31). End of the relationship not established; recorded as open rather than inferred. | Medium confidencesource |
| from 1901 | Part of | BikanerPrincely state · Princely stateSnapshot from the 1901 census and the Imperial Gazetteer of India (1908-31). End of the relationship not established; recorded as open rather than inferred. | Medium confidencesource |
| from 1901 | Capital of | BikanerPrincely state · Princely stateSnapshot from the 1901 census and the Imperial Gazetteer of India (1908-31). End of the relationship not established; recorded as open rather than inferred. | Medium confidencesource |
Recorded names
Every documented spelling and transliteration held for this place. The historical name is canonical; modern names redirect to it.
| Name | Script | Type | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bikaner | Latin | Historical English | — |
| Bekaner | Latin | Alternative spelling | — |
| Bikaner City | Latin | Alternative spelling | — |
| बीकानेर | Devanagari | Indigenous | — |
Records and references
- Imperial Gazetteer of India
- Imperial Gazetteer of India (1908-31), Vol. VIII (8)
- Census of India
- Census of India, 1901, Vol. XXV (25): Rajputana
Sources
- Database· identityCC0
Wikidata (Q200718), Wikimedia Foundation
Wikidata, CC0 1.0
Retrieved 2026-08-29
- Gazetteer· administrativeLicence unverified
Digital South Asia Library, University of Chicago — the 1908–31 text is public domain, but DSAL's digital presentation states no licence; link-out only
Retrieved 2026-08-29
- Encyclopedia· generalCC BY-SA
Wikipedia: Bikaner, Wikimedia Foundation
Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0
Retrieved 2026-08-29
- Archive· descriptionPublic domain
Internet Archive scan: in.gov.ignca.31039, Internet Archive
Scanned volume of a pre-1929 publication (Imperial Gazetteer of India 1908–31 / Census of India 1901); public domain. Digitisation courtesy of the Internet Archive.
Retrieved 2026-08-29
Sources tagged “Licence unverified” are linked to rather than reproduced. Scans and images are only displayed inline where the licence is confirmed permissive.