As Mohan Singh was still a minor at the time, the diwan Ajab Singh, a descendant of Dudaji who had served as a minister of Chhatar Singh, was made regent of the Umatwara estate. The capital was moved back to Dungarpur for the duration of Ajab Singh's regency, and the town of Rajgarh was founded in 1640. After Ajab Singh died in battle at Nalkhera in 1668, his son Paras Ram succeeded as manager of the estate. At this point, Mohan Singh moved his capital to Rajgarh, while Paras Ram moved his capital to Patan, just south of Rajgarh, where he built a fort. The division of Umatwara into Rajgarh and Narsinghgarh States took place in 1681. An initial division of villages had been made in 1675, leading to a sort of dual jurisdiction between Mohan Singh and Paras Ram that proved to be unmanageable. Thus, a formal division of the Umatwara territory into two states was made in 1681, with the ruler of Rajgarh (Mohan Singh) receiving five extra villages in recognition of his seniority. The daughter Mrinalini fled to the Himalayas and named her new seat (in present Himachal Pradesh) Rajgarh as well. In 1855, Rajgarh State contributed Rs. 25,000 towards the construction of the parts of the Agra-Bombay road that were within its borders. After India's independence in 1947, the last ruling Raja acceded to the Indian government on 15 June 1948. Rajgarh became part of Madhya Bharat state, which was formed out of the western half of the Raj's Central India Agency of princely states. In 1956 Madhya Bharat was merged into Madhya Pradesh state. Geography The southern and eastern parts of Rajgarh State lay on the Malwa plateau, while the northern part was very hilly. The northern hills were Vindhyan sandstone, while the rest of the state was part of the Deccan Traps. This area has a mostly temperate climate, with more variation in temperature in the hills. The main rivers traversing the former state's territory are the Parbati, on the eastern border, and its tributary the Newaj. Around the turn of the 20th century, 214,900 acres of Rajgarh State were covered by forests, about half of which were in the pargana of Biaora. These forests consisted of decidious trees interspersed with patches of bamboo. Common trees included the karrai (Sterculia urens), Bombax malabaricum, Butea frondosa, Buchanania cochinchinensis, dhaora (Anogeissus latifolia), and Diospyros tomentosa. Animal