Bandhalgoti

Bandhalgoti is a Rajput clan primarily found in Uttar Pradesh, India, especially in Amethi and its surrounding regions such as Sultanpur, Ayodhya and Gonda. They are an offshoot of the Kachchhapaghata dynasty and claim Suryavanshi descent, tracing their lineage to Kush, the son of Rama and Sita. The Bandhalgoti Rajputs historically ruled several taluqdari estates including Amethi (considered the principal seat), Kohra, and Shahgarh.

The ancestry of the rulers of Kohra goes back to Raja Sodh Dev of Dausa (966–1006 CE), who migrated from Narwargarh and was a descendant of Raja Nal of Ayodhya. The Bandhalgoti line in Amethi was established in the 17th century by Babu Himmat Shah, a younger son of Raja Bikram Shah of Amethi. Though numerically a smaller group, the Bandhalgotis have been a politically and militarily influential clan. In contemporary times, prominent members include Raja Sanjay Sinh of Amethi, the present titular head, and Rakesh Pratap Singh, MLA from Gauriganj, who is from the Bandhalgoti clan.

The Bandhalgotis are primarily from Awadh, and just like other Kshatriya clans, practice community endogamy but clan exogamy — marrying within the broader Rajput community but outside their own clan. They frequently intermarry with other Rajput clans native to the region.