princely state · Indian princely states
Cooch Behar State
Origins
The Koch kingdom rose under Biswa Singha in the early 16th century and reached its height under Nara Narayan. After a division of the realm in the 1580s, the western half, Koch Bihar, continued under Nara Narayan's line, while the eastern Koch Hajo fell to the Mughals and Ahoms.
Rule and society
The Maharajas ruled the plains between the Teesta and Sankosh rivers, at times in conflict with Bhutan and the Mughals. A 1773 treaty with the East India Company against Bhutanese incursions made it a tributary state. Nripendra Narayan, married to Suniti Devi, daughter of the reformer Keshab Chandra Sen, built the Cooch Behar Palace and modernised the administration.
Decline and legacy
Maharaja Jagaddipendra Narayan signed a merger agreement with India in August 1949, and Cooch Behar became a district of West Bengal in January 1950. Gayatri Devi, later Maharani of Jaipur, was born into its royal family.
Lineage
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (2)
- Cooch Behar State was a protectorate of Company rule in India1773 CE – 1858 CE
- Cooch Behar State was a protectorate of British Raj1858 CE – 1947 CE
More states of Indian princely states →
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Cooch Behar State. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/cooch-behar-state
- MLA
- “Cooch Behar State.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/cooch-behar-state. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Cooch Behar State.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/cooch-behar-state.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Cooch Behar State’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/cooch-behar-state (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻