WANT TO KNOW ABOUT RAJASTHAN -
THE LAND OF RAJAS (KINGS)
The history of human settlement in north Indian state of Rajasthan dates back to about 5000 years ago with parts of North Rajasthan at the heart of the Indus Valley Civilization.This region was long known as Gurjaratra that is country protected or ruled by the Gurjars
before it came to be called Rajputana, early in the Muslim period.
It is also the famous land of the Rajput
warriors renowned for their heroic deeds on the battlefield. The
majestic palaces, forts and other architectural edifices of historical
significance tell interesting tales of the Rajput rulers who once
exercised sovereignty over this northwestern state of India.
Ancient history
Parts of Rajasthan belonged to the Indus Valley Civilization between about 3500 and 1750 BC. Excavations at Kalibanga in Northern Rajasthan have revealed the existence of human settlements of the Harappan times on the banks of a river that dried up later, which is believed to be the River Saraswati by some scholars. The historical evidence found in Bairat reflects the presence of Pre-Aryan people. The first Aryan settlement was at the Dhundhar region around 1400 BC. Matsya or Meena (Sanskrit for fish) was the name of a Kshatriya tribe and the state of the Vedic civilization of India.
It lay to south of the kingdom of Kurus and west of the Yamuna which separated it from the kingdom of Panchalas. It roughly corresponded to former state of Jaipur in Rajasthan, and included the whole of Alwar with portions of Bharatpur.
The capital of Matsya was at Viratanagar (modern Bairat) which is said to have been named after its founder king Virata.
Meenas are brothers and kinsmen of Virata, the ruler of Virat Nagar. They ruled this area(near to Virat Nagar) till 11th century.
Rajasthan was a part of the illustrious Mauryan Empire around 321-184 BC. It had also been a part of Republics like Arjunyas, Hunas, Kushans, Malavas, Saka Satraps and the Yaudheyas. The Guptas reigned in the 4th century. Some Buddhist caves and Stupas have been found in Jhalawar, in the southern part of Rajasthan.
The decline of the 300 year old Gupta Empire in the 5th century led
to the political unrest in the Northern India and was followed by an
epoch of instability as numerous chieftains tried to gain power.
Gurjar pratihars were well known for their hostility towards Arab
invaders.The Arab chronicler Sulaiman describes the army of the Gurjar
Pratihars as it stood in 851 CE, The king of Gurjars
maintains numerous forces and no other Indian prince has so fine a
cavalry. He is unfriendly to the Arabs, still he acknowledges that the
king of the Arabs is the greatest of kings. Among the princes of India
there is no greater foe of the Islamic faith than he. He has got riches,
and his camels and horses are numerous.
Around 1000-1200, the Rajputs had internal strife among themselves
and were engaged in armed conflicts with each other. A struggle for
supremacy took place among the Parmars, Chalukyas,
and Chauhans. During the eighth - twelfth centuries, the Rajput clan
gained supremacy and altogether the Rajputs were divided into 36 royal
clans and 21 dynasties like the Hadas of Jhalwawar, Kota & Bundi, Sisodias of Mewar, the Bhatis of Jaisalmer, the Shekhawats of Shekhawati, the Kachhwahas of Jaipur and the Chauhans of Ajmer, the Rathores of Marwar and Jodhpur.
Rajasthan includes most of Rajputana, comprising a number of Rajput kingdoms as well as Jat kingdoms and a Muslim kingdom. The Jats were rulers in Bharatpur and Dholpur. Tonk was ruled by a Muslim Nawab. Jodhpur, Bikaner, Udaipur, and Jaipur were some of the main Rajput states. Rajput families rose to prominence in the 6th century, establishing kingdoms in Rajputana and across northern India.
Medieval period
Maharana Pratap, a Rajput ruler and great warrior of his time.Mughal emperor Akbar sent many missions against him. However he survived and ultimately gained control of all areas of Mewar excluding fort of Chittor.
Prithviraj Chauhan fought a brave battle against the foreign invader Muhammad Ghori
and defeated him in the first battle of Tarain in 1191 (but was
defeated in the Second Battle of Tarain in 1192), but was defeated in
the seventeenth battle with Ghori. After getting defeated for sixteen
times, Ghori begged for his life saying a sentence with a literal
meaning "I am your cow, Forgive". In the seventeenth battle, a traitor
from Chauhan's kingdom supported Ghori's army and landed up in the
defeat. What happens after this is clear from the local folk songs still
prominent in Rajasthan. It is said that Prithviraj was taken to
Afghanistan along with his raj-kavi cum friend, Chandbhar. In
Ghori's court, Prithviraj and Chandbhar were brought in shackles.
Prithviraj was asked to show the art of archery, wherein he could aim
and shoot just by hearing the sound. It is also known as Shabdbhedi-baan.
Ghori asked him to show him this art. To make game interesting for
himself, he got his eyes pierced with hot iron rods. Chandbhar says, "A
king, though as a prisoner, can receive command only from a king. So it
would be an honour if you command Him to shoot". Then he says few verses
or poetry, few of those lines were,"Char baans chobis guz, aangal asht
pravan, taa upar sultan hai, mat chooko Chauhan". Chaar baans meant four
bamboos stick, chaubis guz as approximately 24 yards, aangal asht
praval meant eight fingers width. All this combined gave the exact
location of Ghori sitting on his throne i.e. 4 bamboos stick high, 24
yards away and exactly eight fingers up was the Ghori sitting. "Go ahead
O Chauhan and don't miss the aim". This is how PrithviRaj kills Ghori
in his court and obviously to meet his own death. Grave of PrithviRaj
Chauhan is present till date next to Ghori's grave. And after the defeat
of Chauhan around 1200, a part of Rajasthan came under Muslim rulers.
The principal centers of their powers were Nagaur and Ajmer. Ranthambhor
was also under their suzerainty.In the 12th century the Bhatti rajputs
of jaselmer so enragged the emperor Alo Din Khilji by looting his rich
carvan,so his army attacked the state and captured the fort.At their
conqure the rajput women committed the jauhar. At the beginning of the
13th century, the most prominent and powerful state of Rajasthan was
Mewar. The Rajputs resisted the Muslim incursions into India, although a number of Rajput kingdoms eventually became subservient to the Delhi Sultanate. Mewar led others in resistance to Muslim rule: Rana Sanga fought the Battle of Khanua against Babur, the founder of the Mughal empire.
In order to gain the trust of the Rajput rulers, the Mughal Emperor Akbar
arranged matrimonial alliances. He also sought reconciliation with the
hostile Rajputs after performing the matrimonial alliances. He himself
married the Rajput princess- Jodha Bai who was the daughter of the Maharaja of Amber.
He granted high offices to a large number of Rajput princes and this
maintained very cordial relations with these Rajputs. Soon most of the
Rajputs were transformed into friends of Akbar from adversaries and many
of them surrendered their kingdoms to Akbar. Rulers like Raja Maan Singh
of Amber were trusted allies. However all Rajput rulers were not ready
to accept Akbar’s dominance and preferred to remain independent. One
such ruler was Raja Uday Singh of Mewar, who founded the city of Udaipur. He never accepted Akbar’s supremacy and was at constant war with him. Akbar forcefully seized Chittor, his capital. After his death, this struggle was continued by his son – Rana Pratap. He fought a terrible battle with Akbar at the Haldighat
pass where he was defeated and wounded. Since then Rana Pratap remained
in recluse for 12 years and attacked the Mughal ruler from time to
time. He fought valiantly throughout his life never ceded his
independence to the Mughal ruler.
The traditional sacrifice and the self-respect of the Rajput women
are also worth mentioning while discussing the imperial rule of
Rajasthan during the medieval epoch. When the Rajput rulers were forced
to surrender their kingdoms to other invaders, the Rajput women in order
to protect their chastity and self-respect used to light up a pyre and
together they used to jump into the fire thus sacrificing and ending
their own lives. This custom of collective sacrifice was known as Jauhar.
Rajasthan's formerly independent kingdoms created a rich
architectural and cultural heritage, seen today in their numerous forts
and palaces (Mahals and Havelis) which are enriched by features of Muslim and Jain architecture.
Modern period
Rajasthan had never been united politically until its domination by
Mughal Emperor Akbar. Akbar created a unified province of Rajasthan.
Mughal power started to decline after 1707. The political disintegration
of Rajasthan was caused by the dismemberment of the Mughal Empire. The Marathas penetrated Rajasthan upon the decline of the Mughal Empire. In 1755 the Maratha general Scindia occupied Ajmer. The beginning of the 19th Century was marked by the onslaught of the Pindaris.
The Rajput kings concluded treaties with the British in the early
19th century, accepting British sovereignty in return for local autonomy
and protection from the Marathas. Following the Mughal tradition and
more importantly due to its strategic location Ajmer became a province
of British India, while the autonomous Rajput states, the Muslim state (Tonk), and the Jat states (Bharatpur and Dholpur
Post independence
At the time of India's Independence in 15 August 1947, Rajasthan consisted of 19 Princely States, two chieftains and a British administered province of Ajmer-Merwara besides a few pockets and territories outside its main boundaries.
It took seven stages to form Rajasthan as defined today. In March 1948 the Matsya Union consisted of Alwar, Bharatpur, Dhaulpur and Karauli was formed. Also, in March 1948 Banswara, Bundi, Dungarpur, Jhalawar, Kishangarh, Kota, Pratapgarh, Shahpura
and Tonk joined the Indian union and formed a part of Rajasthan. In
April 1948 Udaipur joined the state and the Maharana of Udaipur was made
Rajpramukh.
Therefore in 1948 the merger of south and southeastern states was
almost complete. Still retaining their independence from India were
Jaipur and the desert kingdoms of Bikaner, Jodhpur
and Jaisalmer. From a security point of view, it was vital to the new
Indian Union to ensure that the desert kingdoms were integrated into the
new nation. The princes finally agreed to sign the Instrument of
Accession, and the kingdoms of Bikaner, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Jaipur
were merged in March 1949. This time the Maharaja of Jaipur, Man Singh
II was made the Rajpramukh of the state and Jaipur became its capital.
Later in 1949, the United States of Matsya,
comprising the former kingdoms of Bharatpur, Alwar, Karauli and
Dholpur, was incorporated into Rajasthan. On January 26, 1950, 18 states
of united Rajasthan merged with Sirohi to join the state leaving Abu and Dilwara to remain a part of Greater Bombay and now Gujarat.
In November 1956 under the State Re-organisation Act, 1956 the
erstwhile part 'C' State of Ajmer, Abu Road Taluka, former part of
princely State Sirohi (which were merged in former Bombay), State and
Sunel Tappa region of the former Madhya Bharat merged with Rajasthan and
Sirohi sub district of Jhalawar was transferred to Madhya Pradesh. Thus
giving the existing boundary Rajasthan. Today with further
reorganisation of the states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar.
Rajasthan has become the largest state of the Indian Republic.
The princes of the former kingdoms were constitutionally granted handsome remuneration in the form of privy purses and privileges to assist them in the discharge of their financial obligations. In 1970, Indira Gandhi,
who was then the Prime Minister of India, commenced under-takings to
discontinue the privy purses, which were abolished in 1971. Many of the
former princes still continue to use the title of Maharaja but the title
has little else power other than status symbol. Many of the Maharajas
still hold their palaces and have converted them into profitable hotel
while some have made good in politics. The democratically elected
Government runs the state with a Chief Minister as its executive head
and the Governor as the head of the state. Currently, including the new
district of Pratapgarh, there are 32 districts, 105 sub-divisions, 37889
villages, 241 tehsils and 222 towns in Rajasthan.
Gurumukh Nihal Singh and Homendra Rajan Battu from Rajasthan was
appointed as first governor of Rajasthan.Hiralal Shastri was first
nominated cheifminister who worked from 7th April 1949,after two more
nominated chiefminiters Tikaram Paliwal became first elected cheifminister from 03-03-1951.
